Beware of the Media essays

Beware of the Media essays Through out the history of the United States of America, the Constitution has constantly been put challenged and tried. The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the press. The great founders of this incredible country originally created the first amendment to enable colonists to defy the British and create a new standard of living. The press in the 17th century was generally accurate and informative with little competition among journalists. However, today in the 21st century, the media has evolved into a mass of . Due to incredibly high amount of competition among journalists today, the information is usually exaggerated and slanderous in order to capture a viewing audience. The media is everywhere you turn. You can find the media in various forms such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and now on the information superhighway. In the process of capturing ratings, who is the media hurting more? Is it people who are accused of a crime, such as O.J. Simpson, or is it the American publics stupidity for believing everything they hear? Limitations greatly need to placed upon the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution in regard to freedom of the press because presently the media is doing more harm than good. The job of the media is to find the truth and tell it to the people. The media has the power to inform the public, but often the information they receive is distorted. The media has shaped our view of society and the process by which we choose our leaders, make our rules, and construct our values. The media has the power, although indirectly, to encourage people to like or hate the government. The media promotes what it believes is easiest for the public to accept, but in the process it fails to cover the issues adequately. The media can make us wiser, fuller, sure and sweeter than we are. (Orr 61) But, the media can also cloud the publics judgments, and cause confusion and disill...

Grumman F4F Wildcat - World War II

Grumman F4F Wildcat - World War II F4F Wildcat - Specifications (F4F-4): General Length: 28 ft. 9 in. Wingspan: 38 ft. Height: 9 ft. 2.5 in. Wing Area: 260 sq. ft. Empty Weight: 5,760 lbs. Loaded Weight: 7,950 lbs. Crew: 1 Performance Power Plant: 1 Ãâ€" Pratt Whitney R-1830-86 double-row radial engine, 1,200 hp Range: 770 miles Max Speed: 320 mph Ceiling: 39,500 ft. Armament Guns: 6 x 0.50 in. M2 Browning machine guns Bombs: 2 Ãâ€" 100 lb bombs and/or 2 Ãâ€" 58 gallon drop tanks F4F Wildcat - Design Development: In 1935, the US Navy issued a call for a new fighter to replace its fleet of Grumman F3F biplanes. Responding, Grumman initially developed another biplane, the XF4F-1 which was an enhancement of the F3F line. Comparing the XF4F-1 with the Brewster XF2A-1, the Navy elected to move forward with the latter, but asked Grumman to rework their design. Returning to the drawing board, Grummans engineers completely redesigned the aircraft (XF4F-2), transforming it into a monoplane featuring large wings for greater lift and a higher speed than the Brewster. Despite these changes, the Navy decided to move forward with the Brewster after a fly-off at Anacostia in 1938. Working on their own, Grumman continued to modify the design. Adding the more powerful Pratt Whitney R-1830-76 Twin Wasp engine, expanding the wing size, and modifying the tailplane, the new XF4F-3 proved capable of 335 mph. As the XF4F-3 greatly surpassed the Brewster in terms of performance, the Navy granted a contract to Grumman to move the new fighter into production with 78 aircraft ordered in August 1939. F4F Wildcat - Operational History: Entering service with VF-7 and VF-41 in December 1940, the F4F-3 was equipped with four .50 cal. machine guns mounted in its wings. While production continued for the US Navy, Grumman offered a Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9-powered variant of the fighter for export. Ordered by the French, these aircraft were not complete by the fall of France in mid-1940. As a result, the order was taken over by the British who used the aircraft in the Fleet Air Arm under the name Martlet. Thus it was a Martlet that scored the types first combat kill when one downed a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber over Scapa Flow on December 25, 1940. Learning from British experiences with the F4F-3, Grumman began introducing a series of changes to the aircraft including folding wings, six machine guns, improved armor, and self-sealing fuel tanks. While these improvements slightly hampered the new F4F-4s performance, they improved pilot survivability and increased the number that could be carried aboard American aircraft carriers. Deliveries of the Dash Four began in November 1941. A month earlier, the fighter officially received the name Wildcat. At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy and Marine Corps possessed 131 Wildcats in eleven squadrons. The aircraft quickly came to prominence during the Battle of Wake Island (December 8-23, 1941), when four USMC Wildcats played a key role in the heroic defense of the island. During the next year, the fighter provided defensive cover for American planes and ships during the strategic victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the decisive triumph at the Battle of Midway. In addition to carrier use, the Wildcat was an important contributor to Allied success in the Guadalcanal Campaign. Though not as nimble as its main Japanese opponent, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the Wildcat quickly earned a reputation for its ruggedness and ability to withstand shocking amounts of damage while still remaining airborne. Learning quickly, American pilots developed tactics to deal with the Zero which utilized the Wildcats high service ceiling, greater ability to power dive, and heavy armament. Group tactics were also devised, such as the Thach Weave which allowed Wildcat formations to counter a diving attack by Japanese aircraft. In mid-1942, Grumman ended Wildcat production in order to focus on its new fighter, the F6F Hellcat. As a result, manufacture of the Wildcat was passed to General Motors. Though the fighter was supplanted by the F6F and F4U Corsair on most American fast carriers by mid-1943, its small size made it ideal for use aboard escort carriers. This allowed the fighter to remain in both American and British service through the end of the war. Production ended in fall 1945, with a total of 7,885 aircraft built. While the F4F Wildcat often receives less notoriety than its later cousins and possessed a less-favorable kill-ratio, it is important to note that the aircraft bore the brunt of the fighting during the critical early campaigns in the Pacific when Japanese air power was at its peak. Among the notable American pilots who flew the Wildcat were Jimmy Thach, Joseph Foss, E. Scott McCuskey, and Edward Butch OHare. Selected Sources Military Factory: F4F WildcatChuckhawks: F4F Wildcat

Asian philosphy reflection Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Asian philosphy reflection - Article Example These limbs are referred to as the Dharana, which implies the practice of turning the attention of the mind to a particular point, item or object. Patanjali explains that, this custom is meditative and can only be attempted after perfecting asana, pranayama and pratyahara (PatanÃŒÆ'jali & Ranganathan, 2009). According to Patanjali, Dharana, does not represent an end in itself, however, it acts as a preparation stage, which leads to other meditative feats, particularly the dhyana, which is described as an incredibly advanced stage of meditation that cannot be contrasted with ordinary prayer. On equal measure, the book gives an image of the benefits of justification for meditation of a spiritual character, which includes allowing the yogis to comprehend themselves. On a similar note, the book gives a picture on the three aspects that explains the â€Å"perfect constraint of the mind†. These aspects include concentration, reflection of profound spiritual character and liberating state of absorption (Samadhi) (PatanÃŒÆ'jali & Ranganathan, 2009). Another aspect evident in this book is the process of that an aspirant takes from dharanja to dhyana and then to Samadhi. This process is summed as the Samyama, which implies the perfect constraint of the mind. The primary significance of Samyama that is repeatedly referred in this book is its ability to lead to the luminescence of wisdom. We learn that this process occurs in a progression trend (PatanÃŒÆ'jali & Ranganathan, 2009). On the closing pages, Patanjali succeeds to offer an alternative but systematic philosophy of understanding how soteriological freedom from disturbances of the mind is similar with moral freedom to live in accordance to one’s uppermost responsibility, which is attributed to the normative theory of the social

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example The unique characteristic of the financial intermediary here is that their assets and liabilities are overwhelmingly financial.2 The financial intermediaries succeed by using customer’s savings (who save in order to maximise the savings but with minimal risk) to lend to investors (who fights to get the money at the cheapest rate as possible but with less strings attached) with the aim of making a return on their investments for themselves and their customers. Their main role can be said to be channelling of customer’s savings to investors who so need the money to make meaningful investments that give rise to an economic growth and development for the society.3 The financial intermediary strives to make the better deal of a large profit as possible from these savings as to keep the institution running. (See appendices 2) According to J.O. Sanusi (2002), availability of investible funds for investment in any economy can be said to be the key factor in the growth process of that economy especially as it is realised that these funds are a necessary condition for output production and employment growth. Efficient financial intermediaries through the role they play in any economy are of course seen as the best means of achieving higher levels of output production, employment, and income which invariably enhance the living standards of the population. It cannot be argued therefore that countries that have enjoyed or are enjoying economic prosperity such as the Western countries are having such an efficient mechanism for mobilising financial resources and allocating same for productive investment.4 Banks long ago were considered as the best intermediary since they are able to provide an important positive means of mobilising the savings from customers, and allocating these funds to the investors for finance investment projects

Background History of Burberry Company Assignment

Background History of Burberry Company - Assignment Example The essay "Background History of Burberry Company" concerns the Company of Burberry and its Background History. Burberry Fashion Company started in 1856 by Thomas Burberry who was former learner of the country draper. The 21 year old Burberry opened various outfit shops in Hampshire, England and Basingstoke. The business grew steadily making Burberry to be known as ‘emporium’ due to the development and increased focus of outdoor clothing’s to the sportsmen and local residents who made frequent visits to the store. The invention of breathable fabric gabardine was not only waterproof but it was extremely durable. The opening of London Haymarket in 1891 by Burberry became the Burberry’s corporate headquarters. Further, in 1901, Burberry was commissioned by the British War Office to scheme new service uniforms for British officers. Moreover, in 1904, the Burberry Equestrian Knight logo was developed and registered as a trade mark that led to more opening of the stores in New York and Paris . Various scholars such as Captain Roald Amundsen and Ernest Shackleton were outfitted by the Burberry fashion for their visits towards the South Pole. In 1924, Burberry was checked and registered as a trade mark and introduction of the trench coats lining. The image of the Burberry could start to be seen almost in every fashion including the umbrellas, scarves and luggage in 1967. The mission of the Burberry was based on quality and unique production of various fashions for different outlets.

Lift And Drag Coefficients Of Planes Engineering Essay

Lift And Drag Coefficients Of Planes Engineering Essay The term fluid in everyday language typically refers to liquids, but in the realm of physics, fluid describes any gases, liquids or plasmas that conform to the shape of its container. Fluid mechanics is the study of gases and liquids at rest and in motion. It is divided into fluid statics, the study of the behavior of stationary fluids, and fluid dynamics, the study of the behavior of moving, or flowing, fluids. Fluid dynamics is further divided into hydrodynamics, or the study of water flow, and aerodynamics, the study of airflow. Real-life applications of fluid mechanics included a variety of machines, ranging from the water-wheel to the airplane. Many of the applications are according to several principles such as Pascals Principle, Bernoullis Principle, Archimedess Principle and etc. As example, Bernoullis principle, which stated that the greater the velocity of flow in a fluid, the greater the dynamic pressure and the less the static pressure. In other words, slower-moving fluid exerts greater pressure than faster-moving fluid. The discovery of this principle ultimately made possible the development of the airplane. Therefore, among the most famous applications of Bernoullis principle is its use in aerodynamics. In addition, the study of fluids provides an understanding of a number of everyday phenomena, such as why an open window and door together create a draft in a room. Wind Tunnel Suppose one is in a room where the heat is on too high, and there is no way to adjust the thermostat. Outside, however, the air is cold, and thus, by opening a window, one can presumably cool down the room. But if one opens the window without opening the front door of the room, there will only be little temperature change. But if the door is opened, a nice cool breeze will blow through the room. Why? This is because, with the door closed, the room constitutes an area of relatively high pressure compared to the pressure of the air outside the window. Because air is a fluid, it will tend to flow into the room, but once the pressure inside reaches a certain point, it will prevent additional air from entering. The tendency of fluids is to move from high-pressure to low-pressure areas, not the other way around. As soon as the door is opened, the relatively high-pressure air of the room flows into the relatively low-pressure area of the hallway. As a result, the air pressure in the room is reduced, and the air from outside can now enter. Soon a wind will begin to blow through the room. The above scenario of wind flowing through a room describes a rudimentary wind tunnel. A wind tunnel is a chamber built for the purpose of examining the characteristics of airflow in contact with solid objects, such as aircraft and automobiles.   Theory of Operation of a Wind Tunnel Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles (primarily  airplanes) in free flight. The wind tunnel was envisioned as a means of reversing the usual paradigm: instead of the airs standing still and the aircraft moving at speed through it, the same effect would be obtained if the aircraft stood still and the air moved at speed past it. In that way a stationary observer could study the aircraft in action, and could measure the aerodynamic forces being imposed on the aircraft. Later, wind tunnel study came into its own: the effects of wind on manmade structures or objects needed to be studied, when buildings became tall enough to present large surfaces to the wind, and the resulting forces had to be resisted by the buildings internal structure. Still later, wind-tunnel testing was applied to  automobiles, not so much to determine aerodynamic forces per second but more to determine ways to reduce the power required to move the vehicle on roadways at a given speed. In the wind tunnel the air is moving relative to the roadway, while the roadway is stationary relative to the test vehicle. Some automotive-test wind tunnels have incorporated moving belts under the test vehicle in an effort to approximate the actual condition. Its represents a safe and judicious use of the properties of fluid mechanics. Its purpose is to test the interaction of airflow and solids in relative motion: in other words, either the aircraft has to be moving against the airflow, as it does in flight, or the airflow can be moving against a stationary aircraft. The first of these choices, of course, poses a number of dangers; on the other hand, there is little danger in exposing a stationary craft to winds at speeds simulating that of the aircraft in flight. Wind tunnel Wind tunnels are used for the study of aerodynamics (the dynamics of fluids). So there is a wide range of applications and fluid mechanic theory can be applied in the device. airframe flow analysis (aviation, airfoil improvements etc), aircraft engines (jets) performance tests and improvements, car industry: reduction of friction, better air penetration, reduction of losses and fuel consumption (thats why all cars now look the same: the shape is not a question of taste, but the result of laws of physics!) any improvement against and to reduce air friction: i.e. the shape of a speed cycling helmet, the shape of the profiles used on a bike are designed in a wind tunnel. to measure the flow and shape of waves on a surface of water, in response to winds (very large swimming pools!) Entertainment as well, in mounting the tunnel on a vertical axis and blowing from bottom to top. Not to simulate anti-gravity as said above, but to allow safely the experience of free-falling parachutes. The Bernoulli principle is applied to measure experimentally the air speed flowing in the wind tunnel. In this case, the construction of Pitot tube is made to utilize the Bernoulli principle for the task of measuring the air speed in the wind tunnel. Pitot tube is generally an instrument to measure the fluid flow velocity and in this case to measure the speed of air flowing to assist further aerodynamic calculations which require this piece of information and the adjustment of the wind speed to achieve desired value. Schematic of a Pitot tube Bernoullis equation states: Stagnation pressure = static pressure + dynamic pressure This can also be written as, Solving that for velocity we get: Where, V is air velocity; pt is stagnation or total pressure; ps is static pressure; h= fluid height and à Ã‚  is air density To reduce the error produced, the placing of this device is properly aligned with the flow to avoid misalignment. As a wing moves through the air, the wing is inclined to the flight direction at some angle. The angle between the  chord line and the flight direction is called the  angle of attack  and has a large effect on the  lift  generated by a wing. When an airplane takes off, the pilot applies as much  thrust  as possible to make the airplane roll along the runway. But just before lifting off, the pilot  rotates  the aircraft. The nose of the airplane rises,  increasing the angle of attack  and producing the  increased lift  needed for takeoff. The magnitude of the lift  generated  by an object depends on the  shape  of the object and how it moves through the air. For thin  airfoils,  the lift is directly proportional to the angle of attack for small angles (within +/- 10 degrees). For higher angles, however, the dependence is quite complex. As an object moves through the air, air molecules  stick  to the surface. This creates a layer of air near the surface called a  boundary layer  that, in effect, changes the shape of the object. The  flow turning  reacts to the edge of the boundary layer just as it would to the physical surface of the object. To make things more confusing, the boundary layer may lift off or separate from the body and create an effective shape much different from the physical shape. The separation of the boundary layer explains why aircraft wings will abruptly lose lift at high angles to the flow. This condition is called a  wing stall. On the slide shown above, the flow conditions for two airfoils are shown on the left. The shape of the two foils is the same. The lower foil is inclined at ten degrees to the incoming flow, while the upper foil is inclined at twenty degrees. On the upper foil, the boundary layer has separated and the wing is stalled. Predicting the  stall point  (the angle at which the wing stalls) is very difficult mathematically. Engineers usually rely on  wind tunnel  tests to determine the stall point. But the test must be done very carefully, matching all the important  similarity parameters  of the actual flight hardware. The plot at the right of the figure shows how the lift varies with angle of attack for a typical thin airfoil. At low angles, the lift is nearly linear. Notice on this plot that at zero angle a small amount of lift is generated because of the airfoil shape. If the airfoil had been symmetric, the lift would be zero at zero angle of attack. At the right of the curve, the lift changes rather abruptly and the curve stops. In reality, you can set the airfoil at any angle you want. However, once the wing stalls, the flow becomes highly unsteady, and the value of the lift can change rapidly with time. Because it is so hard to measure such flow conditions, engineers usually leave the plot blank beyond wing stall. Since the amount of lift generated at zero angle and the location of the stall point must usually be determined experimentally, aerodynamicists include the effects of inclination in the  lift coefficient.  For some simple examples, the lift coefficient can be determined mathematically. For thin airfoils at subsonic speed, and small angle of attack, the lift coefficient  Cl  is given by: Cl = 2 where  Ã‚  is 3.1415, and  a  is the angle of attack expressed in radians: radians = 180 degrees Aerodynamicists rely on wind tunnel testing and very sophisticated computer analysis to determine the lift coefficient. Lift coefficient The  lift coefficient  (  Ã‚  or  ) is a  dimensionless  coefficient that relates the  lift  generated by an aerodynamic body such as a  wing  or complete  aircraft, the  dynamic pressure  of the fluid flow around the body, and a reference area associated with the body. It is also used to refer to the aerodynamic lift characteristics of a  2D  airfoil  section, whereby the reference area is taken as the airfoil  chord.  It may also be described as the ratio of lift pressure to  dynamic pressure. Aircraft Lift Coefficient Lift coefficient may be used to relate the total  lift  generated by an aircraft to the total area of the wing of the aircraft. In this application it is called the  aircraft  or  planform lift coefficient   The lift coefficient  Ã‚  is equal to: where   is the  lift force,   is fluid  density,   is  true airspeed,   is  dynamic pressure, and   is  planform  area. The lift coefficient is a  dimensionless number. The aircraft lift coefficient can be approximated using, for example, the  Lifting-line theory  or measured in a  wind tunnel  test of a complete aircraft configuration. Section Lift Coefficient Lift coefficient may also be used as a characteristic of a particular shape (or cross-section) of an  airfoil. In this application it is called the  section lift coefficient  Ã‚  It is common to show, for a particular airfoil section, the relationship between section lift coefficient and  angle of attack.  It is also useful to show the relationship between section lift coefficients and  drag coefficient. The section lift coefficient is based on the concept of an infinite wing of non-varying cross-section, the lift of which is bereft of any three-dimensional effects in other words the lift on a 2D section. It is not relevant to define the section lift coefficient in terms of total lift and total area because they are infinitely large. Rather, the lift is defined per unit span of the wing  Ã‚  In such a situation, the above formula becomes: where  Ã‚  is the  chord  length of the airfoil. The section lift coefficient for a given angle of attack can be approximated using, for example, the  Thin Airfoil Theory,  or determined from wind tunnel tests on a finite-length test piece, with endplates designed to ameliorate the 3D effects associated with the  trailing vortex  wake structure. Note that the lift equation does not include terms for  angle of attack   that is because the mathematical relationship between  lift and  angle of attack  varies greatly between airfoils and is, therefore, not constant. (In contrast, there is a straight-line relationship between lift and dynamic pressure; and between lift and area.) The relationship between the lift coefficient and angle of attack is complex and can only be determined by experimentation or complex analysis. See the accompanying graph. The graph for section lift coefficient vs. angle of attack follows the same general shape for all  airfoils, but the particular numbers will vary. The graph shows an almost linear increase in lift coefficient with increasing  angle of attack, up to a maximum point, after which the lift coefficient reduces. The angle at which maximum lift coefficient occurs is the  stall  angle of the airfoil. The lift coefficient is a  dimensionless number. Note that in the graph here, there is still a small but positive lift coefficient with angles of attack less than zero. This is true of any airfoil with  camber  (asymmetrical airfoils). On a cambered airfoil at zero angle of attack the pressures on the upper surface are lower than on the lower surface. A typical curve showing section lift coefficient versus angle of attack for a cambered airfoil Drag Coefficient In  fluid dynamics, the  drag coefficient  (commonly denoted as:  Ã‚  Ã‚  or  ) is a  dimensionless quantity  that is used to quantify the  drag  or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the  drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less  aerodynamic  or  hydrodynamic  drag. The drag coefficient is always associated with a particular surface area. The drag coefficient of any object comprises the effects of the two basic contributors to  fluid dynamic  drag:  skin friction  and  form drag. The drag coefficient of lifting  airfoil  or  hydrofoil  also includes the effects of lift  induced drag.  The drag coefficient of a complete structure such as an aircraft also includes the effects of  interference drag. Definition The drag coefficient  Ã‚  is defined as: where:   is the  drag force, which is by definition the force component in the direction of the flow velocity,   is the  mass density  of the fluid,   is the  speed  of the object relative to the fluid, and is the reference  area. The reference area depends on what type of drag coefficient is being measured. For automobiles and many other objects, the reference area is the frontal area of the vehicle (i.e., the cross-sectional area when viewed from ahead). For example, for a sphere  Ã‚  (note this is not the surface area =  ). For  airfoils, the reference area is the  planform  area. Since this tends to be a rather large area compared to the projected frontal area, the resulting drag coefficients tend to be low: much lower than for a car with the same drag, frontal area and at the same speed. Airships  and some  bodies of revolution  use the volumetric drag coefficient, in which the reference area is the  square  of the  cube root  of the airship volume. Submerged streamlined bodies use the wetted surface area. Two objects having the same reference area moving at the same speed through a fluid will experience a drag force proportional to their respective drag coefficients. Coefficients for unstreamlined objects can be 1 or more, for streamlined objects much less.

Racism and Sexism in Toni Morrisons Sula Essay -- Toni Morrison Sula

Racism and Sexism in Toni Morrison's Sula Racism and sexism are both themes that are developed throughout the novel Sula, by Toni Morrison. The book is based around the black community of "The Bottom," which itself was established on a racist act. Later the characters in this town become racist as well. This internalized racism that develops may well be a survival tactic developed by the people over years, which still exists even at the end of the novel. The two main characters of this novel are Nel Wright and Sula Peace. They are both female characters and are often disadvantaged due to their gender. Nel and Sula are depicted as complete opposites that come together to almost complete one another through their once balanced friendship. Nel is shown to be a good character because she plays a socially acceptable role as a woman, submissive wife and mother, while Sula conforms to no social stereotypes and lets almost nothing hold her back, thus she is viewed as evil by the people in her community. Both women are judged b y how well they fit into the preconceived social conventions and stereotypes that exist in "the Bottom." The social conventions that are set up in this book play out in a small black community in Ohio called "the Bottom." The community itself formed when a white slave owner tricked his naà ¯ve black slave into accepting hilly mountainous land that would be hard to farm and very troublesome instead of the actual bottom (fertile valley) land that he was promised. The slave was told "when God looks down, it's the bottom. That's why we call it so. It's the bottom of heaven-best land there is" (4), and on the basis of this lie a community was formed. Its almost as if the towns misfortune is passed down ... ... what happened as a turn in life and does not feel like she is the cause of Chicken Little's death. She mourns his death and then moves on. Sula has a feminist spirit and refuses to melt into the typical mold of a woman. She "discovered years before that [she was] neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to [her]" (52). Because of this she decides to lead her life on her own terms. Sula encounters both racism and sexism and is placed in a situation in which she has no release for her wild spirit. She cannot live out in the world with the freedoms of a man, but doesn't want to live as a stereotypically sheltered woman either. In attempting to break these boundaries she is hated by the town and viewed as an "evil" person by the community in which she lives. Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Sula. Plume. New York: 1973.

A life of designs

Like many children growing, I was in a quandary on the career path that I would take once I entered college. Looking back, many paths seemed to open for me, all as enticing as the others. But in hindsight, I guess I wanted to follow in the footsteps of one man, my father. His vocation was that of a designer.Since I could remember, I could see myself with him in his office as he worked at his job as a software designer. It wasn’t easy for me, but my mom kept telling me how integral my father was to the company. My father taught me the value of enterprise and industriousness in the job that he was going to do.That was one trait I would ever give credit to my father for teaching me that one value. I believe that passion is not acquired; it is the result of endless hours at honing one’s craft and looking for ways to improve oneself.But my father was not all work; he taught me also to be versatile in life.   To my surprise, my father also had endeavors in a variety of acti vities. Among them were guitar playing, sketching images of still life and rendering designs for furniture.He taught me that one’s life needs to find a sense of balance, not that he didn’t enjoy his work, but I guess that his creativity needed to have release valves, if you will, so that he can work at his â€Å"day† job.Once I arrived in college, finally knowing my life’s vocation to be a designer, one could feel a sense of being awestruck with it all. The pressures of meeting deadlines, accomplishing all the projects and the homework, and then some, tend to take the wind out of one’s sails. Fortunately for me though, I met another influential figure whom would aid me in my quest to become a designer. His name was Professor Joseph Velasquez, or simply â€Å"Pepe†.Professor Velasquez, or Pepe, was very influential in the cultivation of my talents as a future designer. He patiently worked with me in all my subjects and projects, like a guidin g, and sometimes stern, hand to bring out what was inside me, all that passion I had inside of me. In all of the three years I had stayed in college, I would say that not even my non major subject mentors had had such a profound effect on me as Professor Velasquez.In fact, many of the students always sought a meeting met with him after class and studio that I had to wait an average of two hours just to get to talk to him. I hope that one day I will be able to impart the knowledge he graciously and sacrificially gave us to future designers if I get the opportunity to teach at this learning facility.As with all students in college, we all dream of becoming like our icons someday, people who we admire and wish to imitate even in the slightest way. For me, that was my all-time favorite artists, Craig Mullins. Mullins would be for me the embodiment of what I strive for as an artist and as a designer.Mullins, in my opinion, has the capacity in inducing that emotion in his concept arts wor ks and his paintings that make him a cut above the rest.   His medium in provoking that emotion is born out of his choice of colors and his composition of his work. Sometimes, when I encounter a â€Å"block† in my artistic flow, I would consider what Mullins would do for the piece.

Piper Alpha Disaster Essays

Piper Alpha Disaster Essays Piper Alpha Disaster Paper Piper Alpha Disaster Paper Abstract Piper Alpha was operated by Occidental Petroleum. The platform began its production in 1976, first as an oil production and then later converted to oil and gas production. In the night of July 6th 1988, the platform was engulfed in a catastrophic fire, which caused the death of 167 men and cost billions of dollars in property damage. There are only 61 survivors who saved their lives by jump off the platform in to the sea. At the time of the disaster, the Piper Alpha disaster was the worst offshore disaster in terms of live lost and industry impact. There are two main factors that lead to the disaster, which are human factor and the design and process factor. Lord Cullen has made some recommendations on improvements and preventions on the offshore installations. The improvements and preventions are the Permit to Work System should be taken seriously when there are any maintenance works on being carried out on the platform. The offshore platform management should provide good training and well prepared their workers in emergency procedures when emergency situations. Besides, the two improvements and preventions, the offshore platform management should upgraded their fire walls to blast walls, to prevent the fire walls from disintegrated on the gas explosion, penetrating oil and gas pipe lines that can lead to fire. 1. Introduction 2. 1 Background of Piper Alpha The Piper Alpha Oil Production platform was located about 120 miles northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland and built it for the Piper Field in the North Sea. The Piper Field was, discovered by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd. in January 1973, with the Piper Alpha platform becoming operational in 1976. 2. 2 The purpose of Piper Alpha operation The Piper Alpha platform had been designed as an oil production platform at first, but then the Piper Alpha platform went through several modification and redesigns to accommodate increased gas and oil production for the fields nearby. This redesigning make the Piper Alpha platform changed from a pure oil production platform to an oil and gas production platform in late 1980. A sub-sea pipeline, shared with the Claymore platform, connected Piper Alpha to the Flotta oil terminal on the Orkney Islands. Piper Alpha also had gas pipelines connecting it to both the Tartan platform and to the separate MCP-01 gas-processing platform. In total, Piper Alpha had four main transport risers: An oil export risers, The Claymore risers, The Tartan gas riser and The MCP-01 gas riser. The image below shows the locations of the platforms in the North Sea with their associated oil and gas terminals. 2. 3 What had happen to Piper Alpha Piper Alpha platform was engulfed in a catastrophic fire on July 6th 1988. The disaster caused the death of 167 men out of 228 men, which are 165 men on board of the Piper Alpha platform, and other two men on board a rescue vessel. The Piper Alpha disaster all began with a routine maintenance procedure. The Piper Alpha platform consists of two groups of workers, which are morning shift workers and night shift workers. On the morning of the 6th of July 1988, the morning shift workers have removed a gas condensate pump from service for maintenance of its Pressure Safety Valve (PSV). The Piper Alpha platform had two such pumps (gas condensate pump), which has been indicated as Pump A and Pump B. When the routine maintenance work had being carried out, the Pump A had been isolated and shut down. The maintenance work could not be completed by the end of morning shift worker finish their work, so they have been given permission to leave the rest of the maintenance work to be continued on the next day. Temporarily the PSV had been installed with a plate; this was to ensure to keep debris out of the pipework while the PSV was maintained. But the plate was not been installed tightly. Unfortunately, the night shift workers do not aware of this. The night shift workers had not been informed by the morning shift worker, that the Pump A as been isolated and shut down for maintenance work and temporarily installed a plate at the PSV. After few hours, the night shift workers took over from the morning shift workers, the primary condensate pump failed. None of the night shift workers were aware that a crucial part of the pump had been removed and decided to start the backup pump. Gas escaped from the hole left by the valve which was not closed tightly. Gas audibly leaked out at high pre ssure, ignited and exploded and produces a catastrophic fire which blown through the fire walls. The fire from the explosion had destroyed some of the oil lines and soon larger quantities of stored oil were burning out of control. An automatic system, which has been designed to spray water on such fire, had been turned off. Moreover, the accommodations were design in such a way that not smoke-proofed. Some of the workers realized that the only way to survive would be by jumping in to the sea and hoping to be rescued by boat. Only 61 men were survived, but most of them died due to suffocated carbon monoxide and fumes in the accommodations area on the Piper Alpha platform. . 4 The purpose of this report The purpose of the report is to examine the objectives and structures of the management of Piper Alpha platform for the oil and gas production industry in the North Sea, United Kingdom. Other than to examine the objectives and structures of the management of Piper Alpha, this report also is written to examine the causes of the explosion and the subsequent inquiry into the incident that claimed 167 men lives, and also how to improve in the management systems so that to prevent the Piper Alpha accident from occurring. 2. Management and Operation of Piper Alpha 3. 5 The Management and the Objectives of Piper Alpha Piper Alpha started its operation as a pure oil production platform in the North Sea approximately 170 miles northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland in 144 meters of water and comprised four modules separated by firewalls. McDermott Engineering at Ardersier and UIE at Cherbourg constructed the Piper Alpha platform. For safety reasons, they had made sure the Piper Alpha modules were organized so that the most dangerous operations were distant from nearby platform. Few years later, when the platform being converted from pure oil production to oil and gas production, it broke this safety concept. By this conversion, the sensitive areas were brought together to each other. The Tartan and Claymore platforms were installed in the Piper Field nearby to the Piper Alpha platform after the Piper Alpha platform being installed in the Piper Field. These two newly installed platforms also producing crude oil and gas and their export oil lines joining Piper Alpha’s oil export line to the Flotta terminal. After several modifications, the Piper Alpha platform then became a hub, processing its own gas, collecting gas from the Tartan platform and pumping this gas on to the MCP-01 platform. A pipeline was installed linking Piper Alpha platform to Claymore platform, receiving and supplying gas to Claymore platform as required for gas lifting purposes. At the time of the disaster Piper Alpha was one of the heaviest platforms operating in the North Sea. 3. Causes of the Piper Alpha Disaster 4. 6 The Causes of the Piper Alpha Disaster Later that year, in November, Department of Energy from United Kingdom Government Body who responsible for the operation and safety of offshore oil and gas installation has appointed Lord Cullen, a very experienced Scottish Jurist, to conduct a Public Inquiry in to the cause of the Piper Alpha disaster. Later by the end of year 1990, Lord Cullen has concluded and published his inquiry on the Piper Alpha disaster. The causes of the Piper Alpha disaster based on the Lord Cullen Inquiry are as follows. There are two main factors that lead to the Piper Alpha disaster which are Human Factors and Design and Process Factors. 4. 7. 1 Human Factor Permit to Work (PTW) is a document that notes the identity and location of the component that the work is to be carried out. In any offshore platform installations the PTW must be raised before any work can be carried out. PTW is an extensive, normally foolproof safety document kept in the platform control room. Once the work completed, the PTW is signed off and filed for future reference. On the morning of the disaster, the morning shift workers have removed a gas condensate pump (Pump A) from service for maintenance of its PSV, so the PTW was still ‘live’ and in force. It appears the Permit to Work System had become too relaxed with no verbal confirmation taking place at shift handovers from the morning shift workers to the night shift workers. Later, it has been discovered that, this was one of the main factor that lead to the Piper Alpha disaster. 4. 7. 2 Design and Process Factor McDermott Engineering at Ardersier and UIE at Cherbourg had constructed the Piper Alpha platform. For safety reasons, they had made sure the Piper Alpha modules were organized so that the most dangerous operations were distant from nearby platforms. After the Piper Alpha platform being converted from pure oil production to oil and gas production, the sensitive areas were brought together to each other. Like the Tartan platform and the Claymore platform. By this major conversion, it has been broken the safety concept that had been introduce earlier upon the construction of Piper Alpha. When the explosion occurs, the Tartan platform and Claymore platform continued to supply their products to the Piper Alpha platform, despite the fire from the Piper Alpha platform visible to the workers on the Tartan and Claymore platforms. Although it had been said that the explosion caused by the escape of gas from the PSV of Piper Alpha platform was the initial cause of the disaster, the major failure and rupture of the gas risers were responsible for Piper Alpha’s destruction and preventing the Piper Alpha workers evacuation. Although the Piper Alpha platform does have fire walls, they were not upgraded to blast walls. The fire walls in the platform were disintegrated on the gas explosion, penetrating oil and gas pipe lines and machinery, adding to the fire. Moreover, the Piper Alpha accommodations for the workers were not smoke-proofed and the lack of training that caused the Piper Alpha platform workers to repeatedly open and close the accommodation doors only worsened the problem. Some of the platform workers realized that the only way to survive is to escape from the Piper Alpha platform. However, the workers found the routes to life boats were blocked by the flames and smoke. Only 61 men were survived by jumping in to the sea but the other 167 men died due to suffocated carbon monoxide and fumes in the accommodations area on the Piper Alpha platform. 4. The Improvement and Prevention on the Offshore Installations Based on the Lord Cullen inquiry on the Piper Alpha disaster, we have known that there are two main factors that lead to the Piper Alpha disaster. Besides the findings of the factors that lead to the Piper Alpha disaster, Lord Cullen also has made some recommendations on improvements and preventions on any next offshore installations. There are some key lessons we can learn from the Piper Alpha disaster and made some improvements and preventions on the next offshore platforms. The improvements and prevention as follows: 5. 7 Permit to Work System The Permit to Work System was a system of documents that had been designed to have communications between all the workers on the platform that had been involved in any maintenance work that being carried out on the platform. Based on the Lord Cullen Inquiry, the permit to work system on the Piper Alpha platform became too relaxed on this system. There were also no formal verbal communication or confirmation that been done on shift handovers. In the earlier place, if the Permit to Work system had been implemented properly, the initial gas leak would never had occurred and lead to the explosion. So, the managements of offshore platforms should take a look this system seriously because it would save lots of lives of the workers. 5. 8 Safety training to the workers As we know, the accommodations on the Piper Alpha platform were not smoke-proofed. The workers on the Piper Alpha platform were not well trained in the emergency situations, the workers frequently open and close the accommodation doors and this only worsened the problem. The Piper Alpha management also was not responsible and not well trained to make up the gap and provide good leadership during emergency situations. The offshore platforms management should provide good training to their workers and well prepared their workers in emergency procedures when emergency situations. The managements also should take the responsibility and make up the gap and provide good leadership during emergency situations. 5. 9 Fire walls upgrading Although the Piper Alpha platform do had fire walls, but the fire walls was useless due to the Piper Alpha platform productions. At the time of the disaster, Piper Alpha platform were producing oil and gas. The fire walls should have been upgraded or improved to the blast walls, after the conversion had been made to the Piper Alpha platform from pure oil production to oil and gas production. If the fire walls in the Piper Alpha platform had been upgraded to blast walls, it would have withstood the initial explosion containing the resultant fire to the accommodations in the Piper Alpha platform. Therefore, all the offshore platform management should upgrade or improved their fire walls to blast walls, to prevent the fire walls from disintegrated on the gas explosion, penetrating oil and gas pipe lines that can lead to fire. 5. 10 Temporary Refuge The workers, who died in the Piper Alpha disaster, due to suffocated carbon monoxide and fumes in the accommodations area on the Piper Alpha platform. Based on this situation, we can conclude that the management of Piper Alpha platform does not provide safe accommodations to its workers. The offshore platforms management should learn from this major error and prevent this error repeat again by introduce or improve their current workers accommodations to Temporary Safety Refuge. This Temporary Safety Refuge should be designed in such a way that, the refuge has a breathable atmosphere through prevention of smoke ingress and provision of fire protection. This temporary safety refuge is a temporary shelter to the workers until evacuation is arranged. . 11 Evacuation and Escape At the moment of the Piper Alpha disaster, some of the Piper Alpha platform workers realized the only way to survived is to escape from the Piper Alpha platform immediately. Unfortunately, the routes to the life boats were blocked by the smoke and flames. Only 61 men were lucky enough to survive, as they made a jump to the sea and hoping to be survived by the res cue boats. The management of offshore platforms should earlier designed more than one route to the lifeboats or helicopter to ensure evacuation of the platform in emergency situations. The offshore platforms management should provide the secondary escape routes such as ropes, nets and ladders as a backup for the more sophisticated methods. 5. Conclusion Piper Alpha Oil Production platform was located about 120 miles northeast of Aberdeen and built it for Piper Field in the North Sea. The Piper Alpha platform had been designed as an oil production platform at first, but then the Piper Alpha platform went through several modifications and been changed from pure oil production to oil and gas production. Piper Alpha platform was engulfed in a catastrophic fire on July 6th 1988. The disaster caused the death of 167 men and with only 61 men as survivors. The disaster also cost billions of dollars in property damage. At the time of the disaster, the Piper Alpha platform accounted approximately 10% of North Sea oil and gas production. Later, the disaster was known as the worst offshore disaster in terms of live lost and industry impact. On November 1988, Cullen Inquiry was set up to find out the cause of the Piper Alpha. Based on the Cullen Inquiry, we can learn some key lessons from the Piper Alpha disaster and we can improve and do some prevention on the other offshore platforms. The first lesson we can learn and improve is the Permit to Work System. Based on the Cullen Inquiry, the Permit to Work System on the Piper Alpha platform became too relaxed and there were no formal verbal confirmation that been done on shift handovers. The management offshore platforms should take a look this system seriously. The second lesson that we can learn from is to provide safety training to the workers. The offshore platforms management should provide good safety training and well prepared their workers in emergency situations. The fire walls should be upgraded to blast walls. This upgrading is to prevent the fire walls from disintegrated on the gas explosion, penetrating oil and gas pipe lines that lead to fire. The offshore platforms management should provide temporary safety refuge and provide more than one route to the lifeboats or helicopter to ensure evacuation of the platform in emergency situations. The management also should provide the secondary escape route such as ropes, nets and ladders as a backup for the more sophisticated methods.

Technology Has Helped Destroy The Planet Essays

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