Friday, March 20, 2020

Do you belive that Opedius is essays

Do you belive that Opedius is essays Pier Paolo Pasolini created a film based on the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This film is considered one of the finest renderings of a classical Greek subject that the cinema has ever produced. Pasolini has in this film rearranged the flow of events, so that they follow the chronological order. The story starts with the shepherd carrying a child to the desert, while in the original myth from Sophocles the point of departure is different; the messenger come to ask Oedipus for help in saving the dying city. Furthermore Pasolini adds a modern prologue and epilogue, which are brilliantly lyrical and charged with great intensity of personal feeling. Pasolinis Oedipus Rex may be taken to be as much about Pasolini himself as about Sophocles hero. According to Pasolini this film is the most autobiographical of all his creation. One of Pasolinis claims about his film was that the little boy of the prologue is himself, the boys father is his father, and the mother is his own mother. Oedipus is born into circumstances of Pasolinis childhood, with his parents clothes in the film inspired by photographs of Pasolinis parents. Pasolini tried to create his own form of Oedipus; he wanted to avoid any connections that the audience could make with the original story. For this reason the location where the story was filmed was moved from Greece to Morocco. In portraying Oedipus, Pasolini had made some insertions into the story. Somewhere at the beginning of the story line he presents Oedipus at the age of 20 throwing discus at the competition and what was significant about this event was the cheating of Oedipus. This fact might suggest to us that Pasolini didnt think that Oedipus is a completely innocent, but.... Oedipus is allowed to kill in the film by Pasolini, in order to defend his pride, but is the killing the act of the innocent person or does Pasolini ...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Disposing Nuclear Waste in Ocean Trenches

Disposing Nuclear Waste in Ocean Trenches It seems to be a perennial suggestion: lets put our most hazardous wastes into the deepest sea trenches. There, they will be drawn down into the Earths mantle well away from children and other living things. Usually, people are referring to high-level nuclear waste, which can be dangerous for thousands of years. This is why the design for the proposed waste facility at Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, is so incredibly stringent. The concept is relatively sound. Just put your barrels of waste in a trench - well dig a hole first, just to be tidy about it - and down they inexorably go, never to bring harm to humanity again. At 1600 degrees Fahrenheit, the upper mantle isnt hot enough to alter the uranium and make it nonradioactive. In fact, its not even hot enough to melt the zirconium coating that surrounds the uranium. But the purpose isnt to destroy the uranium, its to use plate tectonics to take the uranium hundreds of kilometers into the Earths depths where it can naturally decay.   Its an interesting idea, but is it plausible?   Ocean Trenches and Subduction Deep-sea trenches are areas where one plate dives beneath another (the process of subduction) to be swallowed up by the Earths hot mantle. The descending plates extend down hundreds of kilometers where they are not the least bit of a threat. It isnt completely clear whether the plates disappear by being thoroughly mixed with mantle rocks. They may persist there and become recycled through the plate-tectonic mill, but that wouldnt happen for many millions of years.   A geologist might point out that subduction is not really secure. At relatively shallow levels, subducting plates become chemically altered, releasing a slurry of serpentine minerals that eventually erupt in large mud volcanoes on the seafloor. Imagine those spewing plutonium into the sea! Fortunately, by that time, the plutonium would have long since decayed away. Why It Wont Work Even the fastest subduction is very slow - geologically slow. The fastest-subducting location in the world today is the Peru-Chile Trench, running along the west side of South America. There, the Nazca plate is plunging beneath the South America plate at around 7-8 centimeters (or approximately 3 inches) per year. It goes down at about a 30-degree angle. So if we put a barrel of nuclear waste in the Peru-Chile Trench (never mind that its in Chilean national waters), in a hundred years it will move 8 meters - as far away as your next-door neighbor. Not exactly an efficient means of transport.   High-level uranium decays to its normal, pre-mined radioactive state within  1,000-10,000 years.  In 10,000 years, those waste barrels would have moved, at maximum, just .8 kilometers (half a mile). They would also lie only a few hundred meters deep - remember that every other subduction zone is slower than this. After all of that time, they could still be easily dug up by whatever future civilization cares to retrieve them. After all, have we left the Pyramids alone? Even if future generations left the waste alone, the seawater and seafloor life would not, and the odds are good that the barrels would corrode and be breached. Ignoring geology, lets consider the logistics of containing, transporting and disposing of thousands of barrels each year. Multiply the amount of waste (which will surely grow) by the odds of shipwreck, human accidents, piracy and people cutting corners. Then estimate the costs of doing everything right, every time. A few decades ago, when the space program was new, people often speculated that we could launch nuclear waste into space, maybe into the sun. After a few rocket explosions, nobody says that any more: the cosmic incineration model is infeasible. The tectonic burial model, unfortunately, isnt any better. Edited by Brooks Mitchell

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Analysis of the Present and the Future Based on History Essay

Analysis of the Present and the Future Based on History - Essay Example He predicts that no shots will be fired, instead the three imperial rivals will woo and coerce, relying on distinct styles. The United States bids military protection, along with the promise of democracy and human rights. The European Union hangs down the prospect of affiliation with the world’s most successful economic club. China talks trade, investment and infrastructure projects with its would-be client states. (Khanna 09) Mr Kotkin is an optimist urban scholar. In stark contrast to Mr Khanna’s â€Å"Second World†, Mr. Kotkin in his book "The Next Hundred Million," looked deep into the opportunities America has to maintain it rule as a world power in the future. He shed light on the facts like Americas population is expected to expand dramatically in coming decades and points to a slowly rising birth rate and to the continuing in-migration of young workers from poorer countries. Apart from this he mentioned that most of Americas population growth between 2000 and 2050 will be in its racial minorities providing it a wide ethnic diversity unmatched to any other developed regions in the world. Mr. Kotkin in translates population growth into economic vitality, the capacity to create wealth, raise the standard of living and meet the burdens of future commitments. Thus in relative terms a country with a youthful demographic enjoys a big advantage over its global counterparts. In the upcoming decades most of the developed countries in both Europe and Asia will transform into old-age homes due to the stagnant population growth. And thus the state apparatus of such economies will face crushing pension obligations and without the young workers cost couldn’t be defrayed. (Kotkin 11) In one sense the two books contradict each other, Mr. Khanna in the â€Å"Second World" argues that the United States is in decline as a World

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Specific events over the past years that have affected the stock Essay

Specific events over the past years that have affected the stock market - Essay Example Prices remain steady and predictable and investors are confident in the market remaining steady. Markets respond to changes in the economy and a major change in the economy often results in major shifts in the stock market. Market crashes are precipitate by something occurring within the economy or war (or the threat of war). The stock market (New York Stock Exchange) responds to changes by gaining value or losing value. Markets losing value are not good. Changes in the economy can be real or perceived (the belief that something bad is going to happen). The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) has responded in the past to changes (some perceived, some real) in the economic environment. Careful study of the stock markets since 1900 shows several events that affected the markets. Crashes in the market were swift and often lasted more than a year before the markets recovered. The most recent stock market crash was from January of 2000 to October 2002. During this time frame the markets were affected by the bursting of the 'tech bubble'. A lot of small '.com' start-ups went out of business and their investors incurred great losses. Also, during this time frame the twin towers were toppled by a terrorist attack (September 11th 2001). The instability this caused was reflected in market performance. The market dropped 37.8% before it recovered. According to Brenda Spotten, Associate Professor ... other symptoms of financial instability may adversely affect the real economy if they impair the ability of the financial markets to provide funds and hence transfer command over resources."(Spotten, B p1) In essence, a perceived inefficiency in the market can affect the economy and vice versa. Recently another 'bubble' burst. The housing market currently is in a slump. Good advice for investors would be to not invest in trendy new investments like 'tech bubble' start-ups. Investing in funds that are market resistant (such as a diversified fund) would provide some protection from market instability. Changes in the Federal Reserve lending rate can cause ripples in financial markets. Sometimes investors watch closely when the Federal Reserve changes interest rates for overnight lending (for banks). In 2004 investors were relieved when then Chairman, Alan Greenspan, raised the interest rate by 2.5%.(Ip, G p1) The markets continued to remain stable. Between November of 1973 and December of 1974 the market lost 45% of its value before recovering. During this time frame the Vietnam campaign was winding down. The retreat of American forces from Vietnam and the Watergate investigation had the affect of reducing consumer confidence in the market. Going back further in history finds another stock market crash that was the result of events in history. During 1939 and 1942 the United States grappled with entering World War Two. During this time frame the stock market lost 40% of its value. The attack on Pearl Harbor cemented the United States' entry into the war. As wartime production increased, the markets recovered. Prior to the United States' commitment to the war, politics, and fear of war, fueled the market crash during this period. The early American

Saturday, January 25, 2020

An Analysis of the Semiconductor Industry

An Analysis of the Semiconductor Industry The semiconductor industry began when the first transistor was built in 1947 by Bell Labs. This first use was as a hearing aid. In 1971 Intel introduces microprocessors which are the brains of the computer onto one chip for the first time. Then in 2005 the semiconductor industry reaches sales of $227 Billion dollars (SIA. 2011). In 2010 the sales were about $300 Billion dollars. The growth of the semiconductor industry has been tremendous. Semiconductors are everywhere. They are used in computers, electronics, telecommunication, industrial machines, transportation, wireless systems, medical, and military. The semiconductor industry is spread out internationally. There are major manufactures in the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. You can see the scope and geography of the semiconductor industry is immense and meets us at nearly every aspect of our lives. Its hard to comprehend how much of an impact this industry has made on the way we interact with one another on a regular basis. Semiconductors can do several things. In general, semiconductors process and display information, handle power, store data, condition signals, and alternate between light and electrical energy sources (PPRC, 2008). These processes are unseen but very present in areas mentioned in the above paragraph. The top three semiconductor producers as ranked by isupply.com are Intel, Samsung Electronics, and Toshiba. Intel and Samsung Electronics are set apart from all the others in terms of revenues as you will be able to see in a graph representing this data within the five forces framework section of the report. This industry is very competitive. As technology changes consistently, industry competitors fight to bring the latest and greatest products to market. The semiconductor industry is well known for their innovations and volatile environment. The Industry structure Supply chain End products G-STEP Global In the 1980s, Asia was primarily a place for low-cost semiconductor assembly and low-end consumer electronic product sales. Today, the region not only leads in electronic equipment production-from low-end to advanced products-but it is also a significant consumer of sophisticated electronics. China is now the largest market for cellular handsets, representing 20 percent of demand, and the second largest market for personal computers. South Korea has the most advanced nationwide cellular network in the world. The electronic equipment and semiconductor industries have evolved into a truly global market. Sociocultural Demographic Children have started getting exposed to electronic devices at a much younger age, than ever before. The electronic device manufacturers, also, use the technology to create things targeted towards children as young as 2-3 years old. This indicates that the market for these devices is continually increasing, hence, higher use of semiconductors. Another trend that we see is people switching to smartphones, which again use comparatively more semiconductors that their current phones. In companies, increasing use of cloud computing to store data also helps the sales of semiconductors go up. In general our lifestyle is changing to a world where we use a lot of semiconductors. (Rephrase the last statement) Efficiency will drive the industry. Lower power consumption wins!   doent really matter, its a very global industry. And everyone uses it. The workplace is already filled with people of different ethnicities. (What can I say about it?) (Read income distribution again!) Technological The semiconductor industry is heavily driven by the technological advancements in the products, processes and materials within the semiconductor domain. It is the technological upgrade rate that makes the industry highly cyclic. The industry is constantly striving for low cost, high speed, energy efficient and smaller chips. The technological upgrades are a prime reason for the barriers to entry in the fab segment of the industry, as the change of the fabrication process is a very expensive affair. But since then our public investment levels have been dropping. In 2011, federal investment in research and development has dropped below 1% of GDP. (http://www.scienceprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SciProgResearchandDevelopment-101.pdf) (Page 3 graph) With the emergence of associations like SEMATECH, SEMI and SIA some of the burden was taken off of the individual companies. Intellectual property is now much more perishable than ever before and there are too many challenges to solve alone. We must recognize that alliances in the early stages of technological innovation are imperative to achieving breakthrough results that will deliver against the top and bottom line. John Warlaumont, VP of Advanced Technolog http://www.sematech.org/corporate/annual/annual09.pdf In the  semiconductor industry, for example, a confluence of cost, technology and demand trends is creating a shakeout in manufacturing. Indeed, the fixed costs and minimum scale associated with building a new chip fabrication plant have risen almost as precipitously as unit costs (under Moores Law) have fallen. As a result, few companies can still make the next leap to fabs costing $4 billion apiece. This has created a new set of fabless semiconductor companies, along with the foundries, which focus on manufacturing chips designed by others. Semiconductor companies will need to carefully weigh their strategy. http://www.bain.com/bainweb/consulting_expertise/industries_detail.asp?indID=14 Economic The economy of the country has an indirect impact on this industry. As the economy does poor the wages go lower, unemployment increases. This in turn affects the sales of electronic goods in which these semiconductors are used. However, if the economic health of the country is good, the industry is rewarded. The projected growth in the industry from 2011 2013 seems to be about 10.5%. (http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=87078rt=Semiconductor-Industry-Forecast-to-2012.html). During the past recession the wages of the Silicon Valley tech workers dropped down by 10%. (http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=157950) Political/Legal In the past five years, information technology, fueled by faster and cheaper chips, has reduced the U.S. inflation rate significantly and has doubled the nations productivity growth rate. http://www.sia-online.org/cs/about_sia Semiconductor design and manufacturing facilities are strategic to our nations economic growth. However, our industry is faced with fierce global competition and our policymakers and regulators must ensure that we have balanced tax, regulatory and trade policies to allow our industry to continue to flourish in the U.S. and remain Americas largest export industry, Brian Toohey, President SIA concluded in 2010. http://www.sia-online.org/cs/papers_publications/press_release_detail?pressrelease.id=1869 The president of SIA proposed a RD tax credit for the US companies. This is in the favor of the industry, as they can spend more money in RD. (Recent paper 17th news) Industry analysis Financial Performance Based on the U.S. semiconductor companies revenues and net incomes 2007 2010 (Figures A,B,;;) the profit margins in the industry generally low. Some companies like AMD and Freescale were making losses even in 2007 before the recession hit. The three biggest U.S. semiconductor suppliers, Intel, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, have been profitable during all the last four years. The smaller companies by revenue have clearly had worse financial performance. That suggest that the bigger players would have some advantage. Of the top three companies Intel is integrated device manufacturer wheras Texas Instruments (Not Fabless IBM REPORT) and Qualcomm are fabless companies (see Strategic Groups section). There is no clear evidence that one of the strategies would be better than the other based on the recent financial performance. Figure XXX. Top 9 U.S. Semiconductor Companies Revenues and Net Incomes 2007. Data from WRDS COMPUSTAT. Figure XXX. Top 9 U.S. Semiconductor Companies Revenues and Net Incomes 2008. Data from WRDS COMPUSTAT. Figure XXX. Top 9 U.S. Semiconductor Companies Revenues and Net Incomes 2009. Data from WRDS COMPUSTAT. Figure XXX. Top 9 U.S. Semiconductor Companies Revenues and Net Incomes 2010. Data from WRDS COMPUSTAT. The annual data for the rest of the 9 companies is not currently available. Market Shares The Top 20 Semiconductor industry players had a combined 65.2 % market share in 2010 (Figure XXX). The semiconductor industry overall is very fragmented, especially the product development. However, the amount of cutting edge technology chip manufacturers seems to be decreasing. Globally American companies hold about half of the market share. Japan and Asia-Pacific companies have about 20 % each and the rest is EMEA companies. Semiconductor business is a very global business. The importance of Asia-Pacific region has been increasing during the recent years. Figure XXX. Preliminary Estimate Semiconductor Suppliers Revenue Share % 2010. Data from iSuppli (Ford, 2011) Figure XXX. Preliminary Estimate of Global Semiconductor Revenue Share % 2010 by Headquarters Location. Data from iSuppli (Ford, 2011) Porters Five forces Threat of New Entrants Traditionally, because of the huge capital expenditures for startup, it is very difficult for those new entries to be successfully invading the semiconductor industry. Obviously, it is great news for those large companies who can control the market in their favor by using their economies of scale. Besides, the pointed end research and development are other two indispensable barriers for new entries. (Ciolli, 2011)However, recently, with the evolvement of the industry, smaller players could move their attention from manufacturing to research and development. Benefit from the subcontracting of manufacturing, smaller companies has more resources and capital to invest into research of new technologies. The cooperation of subcontracting eased the financial burden of the smaller players and reduced the barrier of semiconductor industry to them. (Investopedia, 2011) This is extremely significant for those smaller entrepreneurial corporations even for the whole structure of the semiconductor industry. Moreover, except the high technology requirement for new entry, another significant barrier to entry the semiconductor market is the software compatibility. As a powerful semiconductor player, they are required to not only create physical technology, but also need to design convenient and compatible software which could collaborate with their processors well so customers could enjoy their product. ? What is the source for this paragraph? Power of Suppliers In terms of large semiconductor companies, they have inherent advantages when choose suppliers from thousands of them (Investopedia, 2011). The large diversified companies usually use enough number of suppliers to minimize the power of each. However, in the specialized semiconductor industry, in which the fabless manufacturing model is used by most of the companies. As a result, fabless companies play an important role in this specialized sector. Besides, not every sub-contractor has the capability to satisfied the needs of the specialized companies, so suppliers are much powerful than those in the large generic semiconductor sector (Ciolli, 2011). There are several supplier groups present to the semiconductor industry. A few of those groups are; capital equipment makers, suppliers of silicon, chemicals, gases, water, energy, metals and other materials are used in manufacturing semiconductor products (PPRC, 2008). Rivalry Among Industry Players The semiconductor industry is very highly competitive. The firms within this industry compete on a daily basis to produce or manufacture a product that is smaller, faster and cheaper. The industry changes rapidly as technology changes rapidly. This keeps it competitive as each competitor can seek and opportunity to create something great before the others do. Within this competitive industry there is a constant pressure to come up with better products. The products of this industry are much undifferentiated as the products they are trying to create are essentially improvements to similar products that already exist. The accomplishments of the products change very little. The methods of production is where can see differentiation. The players are trying to come up with innovative ways to do the same things only in a smaller, faster, and cheaper manner (Investopedia, 2010). Comment by Joona: I disagree with this paragraph to some extent. For example ARM has gained very much competitive advantage with is mobile chip technology, similarly Intel has been the number one in the laptop microprocessors becaus of superior product performance The result of an industry that is this competitive is emerging technology that is cutting-edge. The technology is constantly changing into something better so for competition it makes it hard to remain at the top. What tends to happen in this type of an industry is that there are several industry players with similar size rise as the larger players. This is because no one player can keep excelling with the newest, fastest, and cheapest product available. The four main products of the semiconductor industry are memory chips, microprocessors, commodity integrated circuit, and complex SOC (system on a chip) which is a combination of a system of semiconductors compacted into one small product. The following are the top ten ranked semiconductor industry leaders as of 2010: Intel, Samsung Electronics, Toshiba Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, Renesas Electronics, Hynix, STMicroelectronics, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, and Elpida Memory (Ford, 2010). The graph below shows how these competitors are doing against each other in terms of revenue. It gives a basic understanding how they sit against each other and who are the major players. Figure XXX. Top 20 Semiconductor Suppliers Revenues 2010. Data from iSuppli (Ford, 2011). Power of buyers The buyers of the semiconductor industry are endless. There is a buyer at literally every corner. The switching costs of the buyers in the commodity semiconductor market is small as they can purchase from any semiconductor industry player who is representing the lowest cost available as long as the technology is compatible. The strong role of the industry giants like Intel and Samsung limits the bargaining power of buyers. Computers are definitely the largest piece of demand presented by the buyers in 2011, although it is declining due to the rising sales of smart phones and media tablets (Mutschle, 2011). Buyers in the semiconductor tend to be very price sensitive as the industry is constantly producing products at a lower cost to push the demand of their product. Within the buyers, there are several buyer groups that should be mentioned. The computer industry takes of the bulk of buyer demand, mobile devices and tabloids, and the medical industry to mention a few. These buyers make purchases from the semiconductor industry to continue in daily operations as they are a large part of ongoing business. Joona: This sentence needs clarification. Threat of substitutes The industry has the ability to change in a very short time. This takes away opportunities from substitutes to enter the market segment. It would not take the semiconductor industry very long to respond to a successful substitute as they would find a way to produce the product themselves. The problem that would be present is the money constraint. It can be done but at a cost. The industry players can find themselves spending a lot of money to research and develop new products just to find that their competition beat them to it by a few months. This keeps the business environment volatile and competitive. Joona: This paragraph would need some sources to back the claims up. In addition I found it hard to understand some of the logic. Strategic groups Joona: This is one way to classify the industry. I dont know if it is necessarily the best way to do it. Product line based classification is at least one alternative, but it requires some effort. Groups Based on Level of Vertical Integration Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDM) Some companies, such as IBM and Intel, have both semiconductor design and manufacturing capability. They try to achieve efficiency through vertical integration. Foundry Companies Merchant manufacturers do manufacturing for companies that do not have own manufacturing capacity. Cutting edge semiconductor manufacturing process technology is getting more and more expensive, and thus less and less companies can afford to have own production capacity (Jelinek, 2010). The largest foundry company is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). It is a pure play foundry, which means that it only offers manufacturing services without designing own products. Fabless The fabless companies do not have manufacturing capacity. They design chips and buy manufacturing capacity from foundry companies. The fabless companies do not have as large risks relating to manufacturing technology, but as the amount foundry companies decreases, the foundry companies bargaining power will likely increase. This group includes companies like Qualcomm, AMD, Nvidia, Broadcom and MediaTek (Osborne, 2010). Key Success Factors What would it take for some firm to compete successfully in the industry(9) Joona (these guesses are just out of my head, no sources, no proof of validity): Ability to constantly develop new, better, cheaper faster designs Ability to produce breakthrough innovations Ability to form effective networks and partnerships in order to gain advantage of the resources of the collaborating companies New opportunities and threats What are the major emerging trends in the industry that may impact the industry firms in a significant way?(8) The New Threats and Opportunities The most critical treat for semiconductors industry is the rapid price declines due to more player enter the market and the substitute products become available. (Joona: Are new players really a threat given the resources and money needed to enter the industry?) The research by Ross Seymore (A Deutsche Bank Equity Research analyst) suggested that compare with the 30% revenue growth in last year, the chip industry faces a 25% revenue drop due to lower average selling prices for chips and the cyclical demand for semiconductors hits a lull. Seymore also mentioned that a largest average selling price drop may be waiting for the the memory segment which could cause risk to margins across the industry following 2010s record levels as well. ( KAWAMOTO,2011). However, there are some news opportunities for semiconductors players as well. One is the Smart Grid which could save resources in the busy time to balance the application amount of the power. Currently, about two-thirds of power is wasted because of the power grid aging. Inevitably, those aging power grid will be substituted by Smart Grid, which will give a new profit growth point to semiconductors industry. (Xiaona, 2010) Another significant technical innovation will benefit the semiconductors industry is the Immersion lithography which probably will drive the the lithography solution for semiconductor devices manufacturing in the following generation. Who can grasp this new technology will take a vantage point in the next decade of competition.(JVSTB, 2004) Joona: We should try to find some big picture opportunities and threats that have could have a significant impact on the industry Predictions (Next 5 years) How dynamic is the industry, stage of its life cycle? What is the likely demand situation during the next five years?(7) High inventory levels in Q4 2010 According to iSuppli the semiconductor suppliers inventories reached the highest levels in two and a half years during the fourth quarter of 2010. If the the semiconductor industry growth slows in 2011, this could bring troubles to the companies. (Stiefel, 2011) This is another example of the cyclicality and weak predictability of the industry. Joona: Could we somehow combine this with the previous section. More predictions needed. My best guess is that the industry is going to end up in a somewhat stable situation. 2010 was a boom because of the recession 2008-2009 and low inventory levels. ************** Future : http://isscc.org/doc/2010/ISSCC2010_TechTrends.pdf http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/19/intel-to-spend-5-billion-on-new-14nm-fab-in-arizona-creating-4/ Ravi: The fortunes of the semiconductor industries are ultimately tied to the demand of the end products. (Dirk Meyer, president and CEO of AMD, NDTV, interview) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpDx7LPdhqsfeature=related   Semiconductor design and manufacturing facilities are strategic to our nations economic growth. However, our industry is faced with fierce global competition and our policymakers and regulators must ensure that we have balanced tax, regulatory and trade policies to allow our industry to continue to flourish in the U.S. and remain Americas largest export industry, Brian Toohey, President SIA concluded in 2010. http://www.sia-online.org/cs/papers_publications/press_release_detail?pressrelease.id=1869 Intellectual property is now much more perishable than ever before and there are too many challenges to solve alone. We must recognize that alliances in the early stages of technological innovation are imperative to achieving breakthrough results that will deliver against the top and bottom line. John Warlaumont, VP of Advanced Technolog http://www.sematech.org/corporate/annual/annual09.pdf

Friday, January 17, 2020

Project Noah Essay

The Philippine government’s Department of Science and Technology or DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute along with the help of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PhilVolcs) and University of the Philippine’s National Institute of Geological Science and its College of Engineering launched its project called â€Å"National Operation Assessment of Hazards and Risk† known as â€Å"Project NOAH† last July 6, 2012 in the city of Marikina to promote and combine advance science and technology to enhance the disaster management and prevention capacity of the Philippines. This project was designed to answer the need for a systematic early warning system for floods in the country. As we all know, the Philippines have experienced unexpected huge calamities these past few years examples of those were the Typhoon Ondoy happened last 2009 and the recent monsoon happened two weeks ago that caused great damages on the lives of our fellow countrymen, their properties and source of living which also affected the whole country’s economy. Due to this repetitious and unavoidable condition, this project would provide a more accurate, timely and easy to access warning about hazards that would affect the country for the safety of our people in every area of the Philippines. With the use of advance technology, this project would be able to provide a six hour ahead of time warning in the communities subjected to danger against incoming floods by the use of a geo- hazard vulnerability map which will be accessed using the internet. Presently this project has only eight major components which will provide the Project NOAH quick, accurate and more reliable information about floods and disaster. These are the Hydromet Sensors Development, the Disaster Risk Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM), Flood information Network (FLOODNET), Weather Hazard Information Project (WHIP), Enhancing Geo- hazards Mapping through Light detection and ranging (LIDAR), Local Development of Doppler Radar Systems (LaDDeRS), Landslide Sensors Development Project and the Coastal Hazards and Storm Surge Assessment and Mitigation (CHASSAM). This project was said to distribute Hydrometeorological (Hydromet) devices in different areas in the Philippines composed of 600 automated rain gauges (ARG) and 400 water level monitoring stations (WLMS) in 18 major river basins of the Philippines namely, the Marikina River Basin, the Cagayan de Oro River Basin, Iligan River Basin, Agno River Basin, Pampanga River Basin, Bicol River Basin, Cagayan River Basin, Agusan River Basin, Panay River Basin, Magaswang Tubig River Basin, Jalaur River Basin, Ilog- Hilabangan River Basin, Agus River Basin, Davao River Basin, Mindanao River Basin, Tagum- Libuganon River Basin, Tagaloan River Basin and Buayan- Malungun River Basin in December 2013 that will provide a better picture of the country’s surface waters which will be very helpful in detecting floods. It also aims to provide three- dimensional hazard maps in the major river systems and water sheds as well as in the flood prone areas like the city of Marikina throughout the country. Building the Flood Information Network or FloodNet which will provide computer models for critical River Basins, automation of data gathering, modeling and distribution of information about flood forecasts was also said to be completed as well as the 50 sites in the Philippines to added by the newly adopted landslide sensors which the cities of San Francisco, Surigao del Norte, Tago, Surigao del Sur, Tublay Bugias, Bokod in Benguet, Guihulngan, Negros Occidental, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte and Tubungan in Iloilo presently have now was said to be completed at the end of 2013.. On the other hand, by year 2014 the government targets to use a LIDAR or Light detection and ranging and computer- assisted analysis technology that will identify exact areas in the country prone to landslides. They also targets to complete the installation of the Coastal Hazards and Storm Surge Assessment and Mitigation technology that will generate wave surge, its refraction and coastal circulation models that would help the people understand, find solutions and prepare early in case of coastal erosion. Presently, it has been reported that Doppler radars which will help in sensing the dynamic parameters of our country’s sea surfaces like wave, wind field and its surface present velocity are currently installed already all throughout the country as preparation for the completion of the Project NOAH in two years of time. This project was highly supported and participated by public and private; both local and international agencies and organizations in the country namely by PAG-ASA, DOST- ASTI, PHILVOLCS, DOST-STII, -UP NIGS EML Laboratory, ClimateX Project, UP NIGS VTEC Laboratory, nababaha.com, UP DEGE- TCAGP, UP- MSI, British Council, British Embassy, UK Environment Agency, Cabot Institute of Bristol University, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Potsdam, MediaQuest Holdings Inc., Manila Observatory, DRRNet, DILG, MMDA, Smart Communications Incorporated, SUN Cellular, Globe Telecommunications, Google Crisis Response, Petron, Government of Japan, DENR, DPWH and the lifesomundane.net THE PROJECT NOAH SYSTEM 1. First, go to www.noah.dost.gov.ph 2. The website of Project Noah will appear like this: 3. Suppose that you are in Intramuros, Manila†¦ You may put your location on the Search Tab above then click enter to show the map of your location 4. You may look for the Probability of Rain in the Weather Outlook Tab, the Flood Map, the available weather stations, stream and rain gauges in the Weather Stations Tab on your location 5. It will also inform you about the Flood hazard based on the Flood Hazard Map released by the Philippine government by clicking the Legend Tab FLOOD HAZARD MAP BY DOST FLOOD HAZARD ON NOAH.DOST.GOV.PH 6. The website will also provide you basic information that makes you understand what PROJECT NOAH is about by clicking the ABOUT Tab 7. It gives step by step instructions on how to use the system by clicking the Help Tab in the upper right side of the website†¦ Since the World Wide Web and the development of technology are very rampant nowadays on the present generation, having an access to the DOST’s Project NOAH would not be a problem. It would be very helpful to the people to prepare and plan ahead before a disaster would strike their areas. It would help in reducing casualties and extreme property loss due to hazardous events like what happened during the monsoon two weeks ago in many parts of the country where not only the livestock of the people were sacrificed but also the lives of our fellow men. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://noah.dost.gov.ph/ http://www.nababaha.com/ http://region4a.dost.gov.ph/index.php/press-release/296-dosts-project-noah-to-strengthen-nationwide-disaster-risk-reduction-efforts.html http://ad2.ycasmd.info/custompopup.php?ref=animehere.com&aid=18 http://www.philippinecollegian.org/project-noah/ http://www.gov.ph/ http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?keywords=DOST http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/headlines-mt/28746-monsoon-flood-toll-reaches-60 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/244837/tuesday-rains-surpass-ondoys-2009-rainfall-pagasa http://www.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/lintech/how-tos-and-lifehacks/16730-project-noah.html http://blogwatch.tv/2012/08/nababaha-tutorial-of-project-noah-via-twitter/ http://kamalayangkalayaan.wordpress.com/agham-o-siyensiya/project-noah-nationwide-operational-assessment-of-hazards/ http://inagist.com/gone

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Baseball and the American Military during World War - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2854 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/02 Category Sports Essay Level High school Tags: Baseball Essay Did you like this example? Just as my grandpa spread the love of the game to my family, the United States Navy was instrumental in introducing and popularizing the game of baseball around the world. Baseball was first brought to Japan in 1870 and when U.S. naval ships docked later in the 1870s, they began playing against the local teams. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Baseball and the American Military during World War" essay for you Create order From Japan, the game spread to Korea and Taiwan. Before the start of World War I, the U.S. Navy had introduced the game in China, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, and the Philippines.3 Countries surrounded by water were easily reached and were common stopping points for the U.S. Navy. During World War I, baseball was what brought soldiers together. It was an integral part of Navy training. The War Department developed the slogan Every American Soldier a baseball player and it was assimilated into training camp drills and activities. Throughout the course of the war, 440 major and minor league ball players fought overseas, and only six died. Baseball was often used as a diplomatic tool. Tensions in a meeting could be lessened on the playing field because sports bring people together in a way that nothing else does. At the start of the 1941 baseball season, America was not yet involved in the war in Europe. A national publication that dominated in covering baseball called The Sporting News, released a cartoon that was titled Europes national pastime seems to be war; Americas is baseball. That season would be the last for a while, with the war raging on in Europe, many players enlisted to join the fight. The 1941 season was known for three things; Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees had a 56-game hitting streak, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox accrued a .406 batting average, and the World Series was between two New York rivals the Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The United States entered the war just two months after the World Series ended, with DiMaggio and Williams both enlisting in 1943. December 7, 1941 was the day that the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was to have their baseball championship. The baseball teams from the battleship USS Arizona and the USS Enterprise were set to play. Unfortunately, the game was delayed due to the USS Enterprise being unable to return to port on time, and the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred instead. 1,177 crewmen died on the Arizona, many of which were the baseball players who were meant to be playing in a game that day.5 The USS Arizona was completely destroyed during the strike and was sunk by the Japanese. Parts of the sunken battleship still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor where there is a memorial to those who died on it. Pearl Harbor was the catalyst for propelling America head on into World War II. Military leaders also recognized baseball as an excellent training device and tool for success. Army Commander General Brehon Somervell said The sandlots and big league ballparks of America have contributed to our military success. A million and a half kids from junior sandlot teams are in the Armed Forces. They learned the teamwork it takes to win a battle or war. We never dare forget that a campaign can be upset by a ninth inning rally. We dare not relax until the last man is out. In baseball, you learn that anything can happen to change the course of the game, just as in war. One base hit or one battle can mean the difference between winning and losing. It is also vital to remember that even if you are up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the game is still on. Many sailors had these lessons instilled in them from a young age due to their playing ball, which was beneficial then being in the Navy. It is also important to note that sports train sailors to be better than the enemy both mentally and physically because they are used to the pressure, competitiveness, and dedication it takes to succeed in athletics. One of the most important components of success during war time is morale. A military can have thousands of weapons and soldiers, but if they arent happy or invested in the cause, then that causes a problem. The United States War Department made it a goal to provide opportunities to increase morale. They recognized baseball as a crowd favorite with sailors. Leaders made it a priority to provide ships loaded with bats, balls, and other gear. Baseball fields were also constructed, especially in the Pacific, for sailors to play on in their free time. Professional players were sent out to these fields to play exhibition games for the troops as entertainment and a way for the men to escape the horrors of war for an afternoon. Baseball was so instrumental in raising sailors spirits because it reminded them of home. Its Americas national pastime, it brings different generations together, teaches life lessons, and provides a time where everyone can forget about lifes problems for the length of the game. It can be played in the backyard with friends and family, or watched in a stadium with thousands of people. Baseball in the navy discouraged homesickness because picking up a bat and ball could bring back memories of playing ball in the backyard and make them feel like they were home. Playing also gave them something to do during long trips at sea or while docked waiting for instructions. Baseball was not only played and talked about, but it was utilized in military names. The Allied campaign in North Africa was named Play Ball, pilots named their planes Winning Run, and warships were named after famous players like the SS Lou Gehrig and the SS Christy Mathewson. These names also brought a sense of connection to home and what they missed. Before sailors even went to war, they were first recruits trained in the United States. The main two training grounds were the Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside of Chicago, where my grandfather was trained, and the Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia. The Great Lakes Naval Training Station was founded in 1911 and remains to this day the Navys largest training facility. The station was also the first site to allow African American trainees in 1942. While at first segregated, all training was integrated by mid-1945. Over four million sailor served on active duty for the United States Navy in World War II, and over one million of those sailors were trained at the Great Lakes Training Station. After leaving the training center, sailors were sent out across the Pacific or Atlantic. It was on their ships that they made teams and scheduled games for when they reached land. Phil Rizzuto, a Hall of Famer who played shortstop for the New York Yankees said he never met anyone w ho didnt like baseball while in the Navy.10 Sailors could talk about a good game for days, and they followed their favorite teams anytime they could get news. Baseball was one thing that everyone on the ship could have in common, a devout Christian from Texas and a Jewish sailor from New York could bond over their love of the game. With the war in full force, the United States Military put on the Servicemens World Series from September 22nd to October 15th, 1944 in Honolulu. Navy defeated Army in eight out of eleven games awarding the title of champion to the United States Navy team. 50 players participated in the series and 36 of them had played in the major leagues back home. Although the Navy won many more games, all eleven games were played so that as many people could watch the games as possible and they were exclusively for servicemen with almost 20,000 attending each game. These games allowed for an escape from the fighting, and an opportunity for all the men in the military to come together and enjoy Americas favorite pastime, something they were all fighting to protect. Over the course of World War II, over 500 major league players and 4,000 minor league players joined the United States Military, with 15 Hall of Famers joining the Navy. One of such men was Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller. In his seven years playing professional baseball before the war, he accumulated a record of 107-54. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Feller was driving back to Cleveland after visiting his terminally ill father in order to meet with his bosses to sign his 1942 contract with the Indians. Although Feller was exempt from military service due to his fathers illness, he gave up his chance to earn $100,000, which would be $1.7 million today, with the Indians to became the first professional athlete to join the Navy just two days after Pearl Harbor. Feller called fighting in the Navy one of the greatest experiences of his life. He went on inactive duty in August 1945 and started for the Indians two days after returning home. Since he was able to play during his time in the Navy and remained in shape during his four-year absence, he allowed only four hits during his first game back and won 4-2 against the Tigers. In an interview Feller did in 2006, he said you can talk about teamwork on a baseball team, but Ill tell you, it takes teamwork when you have 2,900 men stationed on the U.S.S Alabama in the South Pacific. Teamwork is a vital aspect of both baseball and war, but if you have previous experience with teamwork in a sport, it is easier to apply it in a vital event like an invasion or battle. The Bob Feller Act of Valor Foundation was created to educate youth about the valor, commitment, and duty to country. The Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honors service men and women who have recognized the importance of service to ones country, and have sacrificed in times of national need. The inspiring part about Fellers story is that he was at the peak of his career, would have continued to thrive in the majors, and was about to make $1.7 million in one season, but gave it all up to serve his country. His sacrifice and courage over 70 years ago, still motivates people today. Feller stated over 67,000 people came to watch his first game back from the war. Baseball players who fought in the war and returned home were welcomed back with open arms and treated as even bigger heroes than when they left. They were idols for being more than just good ball players, they helped save millions of people too. At the start of the war, there was much debate about whether professional ball players should be exempt from the draft or if there should even be a 1942 baseball season at all. Harry Williams, the secretary of the Pacific Coast League was quoted as saying, We went to the trouble of teaching the Japs baseball, and we dont intend to let them obliterate it.15 In mid-January, Commissioner Landis wrote a letter to President Roosevelt asking if professional baseball should continue during the war. The President responded that in his personal opinion, baseball should keep going. His reasoning was that because of the war, less people were unemployed and were working longer, harder hours than before. This meant that everyone deserved a chance to relax and enjoy a night out more than before the war. Roosevelt stated that even if less players were able to play due to being drafted, the lower quality of teams would not dampen the popularity of the sport because it still provided entertainment to millions of people. Congressman LaVern Dilweg said that baseball was important to those at war because they hungrily await news of sports, and a journalist named Quentin Reynolds said, Hitler has killed a great many things in the past few years. Do not let him kill baseball. With the arrival of Roosevelts letter, the 1942 season began as scheduled. After the season began, baseball pledged $25,000 towards purchasing equipment for the army and navy sports programs and donated all proceeds from the All-Star Game that year towards the Bat and Ball Fund. The first order from this fund comprised of 18,000 baseballs and 4,500 bats. Every destination received a package containing three bats, twelve balls, and a complete set of catching equipment. Troops also received copies of the Sporting News, the national baseball publication. The sport raised money by putting part of each ticket towards the purchase of a B-17 bomber, a second all-star game was suggested each season to raise money for the Bat and Ball Fund, players and umpires wore a patch on their uniform that supported a physical fitness program sponsored by the Office of Civil Defense, and people were encouraged to take part of their salary in war bonds. Throughout the season, autographed baseballs were auctioned off to buy war bonds, and some clubs allowed fans to get into games if they donated scrap mental instead of buying a ticket. The war threatened a baseball players career in more ways than one. Other than the possibility of death and injury, a player may have only had a year or two left of his career when he joined the military for a three-year deployment. In addition, a player who was in his prime when he enlisted or was drafted may have lost his spark and never played the same again. After the Selective Service Director of the draft, Lewis Hershey, announced that deferments should be available to actors and reporters, the public went into uproar.20 Hershey then clarified by stating that no replaceable man would be deferred. Americans wanted movies and baseball to continue in full force, but they didnt want the stars to get special treatment in the draft in order for them to continue. Many famous ballplayers enlisted on their own anyways, Phil Rizzuto and Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy, Joe DiMaggio enlisted in the Navy even though he could have been deferred. It was the correct decision to continue professional baseball during the war. Although most rosters depleted and had to resort to much lower quality players, they survived the war. Many players who would never have normally seen the majors, played there for a whole season. Pete Gray who had one arm played for St. Louis in 77 games in 1945, and a fifteen-year-old pitched in a game in 1944 for the Reds. In the 1945 World Series, the Detroit Tigers played the Chicago Cubs and a sportswriter wrote that neither team was good enough to win. Major league attendance dropped to 7.5 million in 1943 but climbed to an all-time high in 1945 at 10.8 million tickets. Nevertheless, every season continued and baseball still remained a high point of Americans lives and in the lives of soldiers and sailors overseas. Baseball was necessary for keeping servicemen in good spirits during the war. World War II and the Navy spread baseball everywhere they went, and popularized it more in places it already existed. It provided a connection to home and the lives that were left behind or put on hold during the war. Baseball taught teamwork, dedication, and to never give up until the game or battle was over. The game helped form friendships and bonds between sailors who had no similarities or connections to one another. It also forms bonds between family members, it gives them time to spend together like it gave me and my grandfather. There really is no sport like baseball. Bibliography Act of Valor Award. Bob Feller Act of Valor Foundation. 2018. https://www.actofvaloraward.org/ Baseball Warms up for World War II. Puget Sound Navy Museum. 2018. https://www.pugetsoundnavymuseum.org/baseball-warms-wwii/ The Birth of Navy Baseball. Puget Sound Navy Museum. 2018. https://www.pugetsoundnavymuseum.org/when-baseball-went-to-war/ The Origins of Baseball. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 2018. https://www.wbsc.org/baseball/history-of-baseball/ Who Invented Baseball? History.com. March 27, 2013. https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-baseball Frank, Joel S. Reviews of Bullock, Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II and Powers-Beck, The American Indian Integration of Baseball. Pacific Historical Review 75, no. 3 (2006): 530-32. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/phr.2006.75.3.530?Search=yesresultItemClick=truesearchText=baseballsearchText=ANDsearchText=navysearchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dbaseball%2BAND%2Bnavyrefreqid=search%3Acb44929b37a8d6bb51b29e6561b1b745seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents Keene, Anne Raugh. During World War II, the Game of Their Lives. The New York Times. July 29, 2018. https://case.summon.serialssolutions.com/#!/search?bookMark=ePnHCXMw42LgTQStzc4rAe_hSmECnVdqagwsCS1NWWBHORkbG3Ign_HEyaDjAt6VpwBeQqIQnlik4OmpowA0R8E9MTdVIT9NIQQ0cK7gAzqMlYeBNQ0YOam8UJqbQdXNNcTZQxdWmsaDmqQFiQXAFlS8kYG5ubmloRF4Yw5x6gBziThQ Roberts, James C. Baseball on the Home Front. American Veterans Center. 2016. https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-media/magazine/wwiichronicles/wwii-chronicles-issue-xxxix/baseball-goes-to-war-the-national-pastime-in-world-war-i Schwarz, Allan. Feller Proud to Serve in Time of Need. The New York Times. December 16, 2010. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/sports/baseball/17reflect.html Steven P. Gietschier. Uncle Sam Needs Only to Call: Baseball and othe United States Peacetime Military Draft, 194042. NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture 24, no. 1 (2015): 29-56. https://muse.jhu.edu/ Werner, Dave. Baseball and the U.S. Navy: All Who Play Win. The Sextant. November 9, 2018. https://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/11/09/baseball-and-the-u-s-navy-all-who-play-win/