Security vs. Rights essays

Security vs. Rights essays "The detentions from the beginning have been veiled in secrecy. This decision will help to lift that veil so ... at least we can put names to prisoners' faces, and the families will know if their loved ones have been arrested." - Curt Goering. Although this may sound like some fascist, 1984 Orwellian "disappearing" of people against the government, it is actually your milk man. Ever since the events of September 11th, government officials have taken away many "suspected" terrorists to undisclosed locations. This includes your electrician, plumber, professor and city counsel member. The Bush Administration is in wrong doing by not granting constitutional rights to the 1,200 foreign nationals held in secretive detainment; especially issuing no warrants during their arrest. These rights are set forth to all people on American soil, as is the moral and law abiding thing to do. Granting these people their rights is morally justified. These "material witnesses" are nothing more than your next door neighbor, John Snackle, who works at the supermarket, and not part of a hidden terrorism cell. John Sanckle is your everyday law following citizen; however, he broke the unwritten law of being a foreign national, someone born in another country. By breaking this "law", John was detained by an undercover FBI agent on his way home from work and flown off to a maximum security prison. In essence, the government is running a gross racial profiling of all unofficial United States citizens of any decent from the "Axis of Evil" and shipping them off to a secretive location. It is in no way humanitarian to barge into someone's life, without a warrant, and "disappear" them. The Washington Post reported September 14th that "after countless investigations of thousands of suspects" a trio of men were the first "since the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and th e Pentagon to be accused of operating a terrorist cell in the United States"...

German Names for Pets - Haustiernamen

German Names for Pets - Haustiernamen If you want a cool German name for your dog, cat or other pet, this list can help you find the right one. While people in German-speaking countries sometimes name their pets with English names, this list includes only German or Germanic pet names. Inspirations for German Pet Names Literary Germanic names include  Kafka, Goethe, Freud (or Siggi/Sigmund) and Nietzsche. Famous Germanic music figures include  Amadeus,  Mozart or Beethoven.  The names of German pop singers like Falco (who was Austrian), Udo Lindenberg, or Nena are also popular for pets. The names of figures out of German literature include  Siegfried (m.) or Kriemhild (f.) from the Nibelungenlied, or  Goethes Faust versus Mephistopholes. On the lighter side, you could go with Idefix, the dog in the popular European Asterix cartoon series, the rotund Obelix character or the hero Asterix himself. Germanic names or words with a certain meaning include  Adalhard (noble and strong), Baldur (bold), Blitz (lightning, fast), Gerfried (spear/peace), Gerhard (strong spear), Hugo (smart), Heidi (based on feminine names containing heid or heide; Adelheid noble one), Traude/Traute (dear, trusted) or Reinhard (decisive/strong). Although few Germans today would be caught dead with such names, theyre still great pet names. Other categories for pet names include movie characters (Strolch, Tramp in The Lady and the Tramp), colors (Barbarossa [red], Lakritz[e] [licorice, black], Silber, Schneeflocke [snowflake]), drinks (Whisky, Wodka) and other characteristics of your pet. German Cat Names Just as with dogs, there are some typical, clichà ©d names for cats. The German equivalent of kitty is Mieze or Miezekatze (pussycat). Muschi is a very common cat name, but since it carries all the same meanings as pussy in English, you need to be careful about throwing it into a German conversation. But theres nothing wrong with the word as a name for your cat. One top-10 list of cat names in German ranked the following feline appellations: Felix, Minka, Moritz, Charly, Tiger (tee-gher), Max, Susi, Lisa, Blacky, and Muschi, in that order. Some lists also include names for couples or pairs (Prchen), such as Max und Moritz (from the Wilhelm Busch stories), Bonnie und Clyde or Antonius und Kleopatra.   Alphabetical List of German Pet Names Names ending in -chen, -lein, or -li are diminutives (little, y-ending in English). Although most are just names (e.g., Beethoven, Elfriede, etc.), in some cases the English meaning for a German name is indicated: Adler (eagle).   Names for females are marked (f.). Other names are masculine or work with both genders. Names marked * are usually for cats. A AbboAchimAdalheid/Adelheid (f.)AdiAdler (eagle)AframAgatha/Agathe (f.)Aico/AikoAladinAloisAmadeus (Mozart)AmbrosAnka (f.)Annelies (f.)Antje (f.)ArndtArnoAsterixAttilaAxel B BachBeethoven, BrahmsBaldoBaldurBalkoBr/Brchen (bear)Brbel (f., pron. BEAR-bel)Brli (little bear)Beate (f., pron. bay-AH-tuh)Bello (barker)Bengel (rascal, lad)BennoBerndBernhardBertolt (Brecht)Biene (bee, pron. BEE-nuh)Bismarck, Otto vonBlaubart (bluebeard)Blitz (lightning)Blà ¼mchen (f., little flower)Bà ¶hnchen (beanie)Boris (Becker)BrandyBrechtBritta (f.)Brummer (roarer)Brunhild(e) (from Wagnerian opera and the Germanic Nibelungenlied legend) C Carl/KarlCarlchenCsar (Caesar, Kaiser)Charlotta/Charlotte (f.)Cissy (Sissi) (f.) D Dagmar (f.)DierkDina (f.)DinoDirk(A-)Dur (A major, music)Dux/Duxi E Edel (noble)EgonEigerEikeEisbrEitelElfriede/Elfi/Elfie (f.)ElmarEmilEngel (angel)Engelchen/Engelein (little angel) F FabianFabio/FabiusFalco/FalkoFalk (hawk)Falka (f.)Fanta (f.)Fatima (f.)Fantom (ghost, phantom)Faust/FaustoFee (f., fairy, pron. FAY)Felicitas/Felizitas (f.)Felidae* (loyal, true)Felix (Mendelssohn)Fels (rock)Ferdi, FerdinandFidelio (Beethoven opera)Fix (und Foxi, cartoon characters)Flach (flat)Flegel (brat)Flocke/Flocki (fluffy)Floh (flea)Flà ¶hchen (little flea)FlorianFokusFoxi (f.)FrancisFranzFreda (f.)Freja (f.)Freud (Sigmund)Frida (f.)Fritz (Freddy)Fuzzi (sl., weirdo) G Gabi (f.)Gauner (rascal, rogue)Genie (genius, pron. ZHUH-nee)Gertrud(e)der Gestiefelte Kater*Puss in BootsGoethe, Johann WolfgangGolo (Mann)Gà ¶tzGreif (griffin)Gà ¼nther (Grass, German author) H HagenHaiko/HeikoHalka (f.)Halla (f.)Handke, PeterHannesHannoHansHnsel (und Gretel)Haro/HarroHassoHeinrich (Henry)Hein(o)HeintjeHektorHelge (Schneider, m.)HeraHexe/Hexi (f., witch)HeydaHilgerHolgerHoraz I Idefix (from Asterix comic)IgnazIgorIlka (f.)Ilsa (f.)IngoIxi J Jan (m.)Janka (f.)JankoJohann(es), Hansi (Johnny)Joshka (Fischer, German politician)Julika (f.) K Kaffee (coffee)Kafka, FranzKai (pron. KYE)Kaiser (emperor)Kaiser WilhelmKarl/CarlKarla (f.)Karl der Große (Charlemagne)Kà ¶nig (king)Kà ¶nigin (f., queen)Krà ¶te (toad, minx)Krà ¼mel (little one, crumb)Krà ¼melchenKuschiKuschel (cuddles) L Landjunker (squire)Lausbub (rascal)LasterLaika (f., first dog in space - Russian name)LenaLeni (Riefenstahl, f., film director)Liebling (darling, sweetheart)Lola (rennt, f.)Lotti/Lotty (f.)LukasLulu (f.)Là ¼mmelLump(i) (rogue, blackguard)Lutz M Maja/Maya (f.)ManfredMargit (f.)Marlene (Dietrich, f.)Max (und Moritz)MeikoMiau* (meow)Miesmies*Mieze*Mina/Minna (f.)MischaMonika (f.)Moppel (tubby)MoritzMotte (moth)Murr*Muschi*Muzius* N Nana (granny, f.)Nena (f.)Nietzsche, FriedrichNina (f.)Nixe (mermaid, sprite)Norbert O Obelix (from Asterix comic)Odin (Wodan)OdoOrkan (hurricane)OskarOssi (und Wessi)OtfriedOttmarOtto (von Bismarck)Ottokar P PalaPanzer (tank)Papst (pope)PaulchenPestalozzi, Johann Heinrich (Swiss educator)Piefke  Ã‚  Piefke is Austrian or Bavarian slang for a Prussian or northern German, similar to the term gringo used by Mexicans.Platon (Plato)Poldi (male nickname)Prinz (prince)Purzel(baum) (somersault, tumble) Q QuaxQueck R ReikoRolfRomy (Schneider, f.)Rudi/Rà ¼diRà ¼diger S Schatzi (sweetie, treasure)SchnuffiSchuftiSchupo (cop)SebastianSemmelSiegfried (from Wagnerian opera and the Germanic Nibelungenlied legend)SiggiSigmund (Freud)Sigrid (f.)Sigrun (f.) (Wagner opera)Sissi (f.)Steffi (Graf, f.)Sternchen (little star)Susi (und Strolch)  Ã‚  German names for Disneys Lady and the Tramp T Tanja (f.)Traude/Traute (f.)TraugottTristan (und Isolde)Trudi (f.) U Udo (Lindenberg)UfaUli/UlliUlrichUlrike (f.)Ursula (Andress, f.)Uschi (f.)Uwe V ViktorViktoria (f.)Volker W WaldiWaldtraude/Waldtraut (f.)WhiskyWilhelm/WilliWolf (pron. VOLF)Wolfgang (Amadeus Mozart)Wotan (Odin)Wurzel Z Zack (pow, zap)Zimper-PimpelZoschZuckerl (sweetie)Zuckerpuppe (sweetie pie)

Case Study 1 (Stage 1) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1 (Stage 1) - Case Study Example Enterprise Resource Planning systems entail packages which use interpersonal technological database in integrating numerous units of information in an organization. (Hachani,n.d.). ERP systems are recognized as software’s that deliver modules which are isolated but integrated. This is easily connected and mounted through packages for various organizations. It is evident that majority of companies use separate and different information systems since they merge with different companies which have acquired varied systems. The main reason as to why the BP Company can develop ERP systems is because they are fond of integrating distinct information systems hence resulting to enhanced data reliability and processing productivity. In the past ERP systems were only associated with big companies which wanted to integrate their businesses but currently even the micro companies have emerged to use the systems. The popularity of ERP systems and its outstanding success owes to its ability to advance customer service, simplification of business transactions and elimination of work that has little value. Research indicates that other information systems have been rendered obsolete and outdated since the introduction of ERP systems. The main challenge to having an ERP system installed in our company is the cost which is roughly $100,000,000 so as to implement a larger ERP system to contain the organization’s needs. Nevertheless, the system is significant and capable of providing benefits that would improve the quality of information thus creating way for good management decisions at the BP Company for ideal business operations. Grid computing is a collection of computers put together to form a particular task so as to achieve a common goal. Alternatively, grid computing is a system that applies the use of several computers to form a network to solve a problem which may

Literary analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Literary analysis - Essay Example When reading a poem such as â€Å"A Song on the End of the World† by Czeslaw Milosz, one has the option of learning the history behind the poem since the poem makes sense either way, but a great deal more meaning can be gleaned from it when history is taken into account. The poem presents a picture of what seems to be a very peaceful day. The author shows his readers the insects drifting over the flowers, the daily peaceful activities of the people as they mend nets, take leisurely walks, sell vegetables, consider napping on a green lawn, tend to their gardens and play music that greets the night time sky. Animals are present too as the birds play in some remnant rain water, a snake moves through the area and â€Å"happy porpoises jump in the sea† (4). There is nothing overly aggressive or threatening in the scene presented other than the author’s assertion that this is the day the world ended. In presenting these descriptions, the author works to use as few abstract terms as possible, giving the reader a sense that he is being very specific as to his subject. However, this is somewhat misleading as it becomes clear that none of these actions, each an indication of a quiet, small-town lifestyle, provide any specific detail as to where these actions are taking place. The closest he comes to providing actual specifics as to location is when he points to a â€Å"yellow-sailed boat† that â€Å"comes nearer the island† (11). The porpoises are ‘happy’, the bee ‘circles’ and the people are ‘disappointed’, but each of these abstract terms are given specific definition by their context within the poem. This confines the reader on the page and within the vision the author is bringing forward. The way in which Milosz wrote this poem seems to discourage people from looking beyond the text of the poem itself for meaning. Although some abstract terms are used, as has been discussed, they are used in specific ways that seem to

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Example for Free

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Early-age cracking, autogenous shrinkage and self-desiccation are almost inevitable problems for concrete, especially for mass high performance concrete, for the permeability of which is too low for external curing water to get in and fully hydrate the cement paste inside. The better hydration of the cement paste, the less and smaller cracks the concrete have, and the better durability and reliability the concrete structures do. In order to solve this problem, scientists have consider an unconventional methods to cure the concrete from the inside out so a better hydration can be achieved. As early as 1957, Paul Klieger[1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. Nowadays, this method as internal curing has been fully developed and widely used to get low-cracking high-performance concrete with better hydration by replacing part of natural fine aggregates with saturated lightweight aggregates. The goal is clear and simple, but the ways to achieve the same purpose is various and have different advantages and disadvantages. In this report, several techniques and materials with different properties that could be used in internal curing, such as expanded shale clay or slate(ESCS)[2] and Superabsorbent polymers(SAP)[3], would be introduced and comment. Internal curing has a good performance especially in fields like mass concrete, or high performance concrete with low permeability. The properties why internal curing is a practical consideration for these instance s would be discussed in this report. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Concrete has many good properties as modern building material. It has high compression strength, fire proof, and cheap to produce. Since the using of concrete has a long history, the techniques of concrete structure construction may be fully developed. However, there still are some problems that almost inevitable for concrete, such as self-desiccation, autogenous shrinkage and chemical shrinkage. All of these issues may lead to cracking of concrete, and the chloride may penetrate through the cracks easily and cause corrosion of the reinforcement. As we all know, most of the failures of concrete structures are due to the corrosion of the reinforcement. Hence, concrete with less cracks or later to have cracks may contribute to a longer service life of a concrete structure. What’s more, most of these unwanted cracks develop at the early-age of concrete placing. That’s why proper curing, which limits the early shrinkage and lowers the chance of early-age cracking, is so important to ensure the concrete develop the required properties and durability to reach their designed service life. Conventional curing uses methods to provide additional water to keep high relative humidity on the concrete surface, such as ponding and misting, or uses curing compounds, plastic membrane and evaporation retarder to slow evaporation. No matter water adding or moisture loss avoiding work mostly on the upper part of concrete, since the permeability of concrete is limited, the deeper inside concrete, the harder for water to penetrate. On the other hand, self-desiccation (the reduction of the internal relative humidity in the concrete due to hydration reaction) will lead to autogenous shrinkage (concrete volume change occurring without moisture transfer to the environment) even without external moisture loss. Concrete shrinkage over time , will induce cracking that can reduce the service life expectation of concrete structure severely. In short, even proper conventional external concrete curing cannot provide perfect environment for concrete to develop its durability efficiently. Since 1980’s, the production of high-performance concrete(HPC) became more common, and to achieve their much higher strength and durability properties, lower water cement ratio and lower permeability is required. The self-desiccation and autogenous shrinkage problem became even more severe a situation for HPC than for normal portland cement, because external curing water would be more difficult to penetrate deeply into the low permeable concrete to supply the loss water due to hydration and evaporation. When shrinkage happens, cracking is almost inevitable. Concerning a long time situation, internal relative humidity has a strong relationship with free autogenous shrinkage. 1.2 Internal curing Is there any solution that can settle down this problem? Or is there a way that can cure concrete more efficiently so can limit the cracks? The answer is yes. Since curing concrete from outside in has its limit, deeper part inside the concrete cannot be cured properly, how about cure concrete from inside out? As early as 1957, Paul Klieger [1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. In 1991, Philleo [2] suggested incorporating saturated lightweight fine aggregate into the concrete mixture to provide an internal source of water to replace that consumed by chemical shrinkage during hydration of the paste. Nowadays, this method that use water-containing materials , replacing with normal aggregates to cure concrete, has been well developed and been named as internal curing. Such water-containing material could be saturated lightweight fine aggregates, sup erabsorbent polymers, or saturated wood fibers. Internal curing has been defined by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) as â€Å"supplying water throughout a fleshly placed cementitious mixture using reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, that readily release water as needed for hydration or to replace moisture lost through evaporation or self-desiccation† 2 Benefits of internal curing Internal curing distributes the extra curing water throughout the 3-D concrete microstructure so that it is more readily available to maintain saturation of the cement paste during hydration, avoiding self-desiccation in the paste and reducing autogenous shrinkage. Along with this process, the main benefits bring about by internal curing may be concluded as below: 2.1 Reducing cracks due to shrinkage Concrete is susceptible to plastic shrinkage cracking at early age, especially when the evaporation rate is high. Right after placing, the concrete paste is still in a fluid state. The aggregates and cement particles tend to settle down due to gravity, while internal water is likely to bleed out onto the surface. Such layer of water will keep the evaporation of the concrete surface in a relatively constant rate. But this situation won’t last for a long time after the cement particles contact each other and start to develop strength. The rate of settlement will highly reduce along with much less water bleeding. During this period, highly tensile stress occur inside the concrete due to surface tension of drying out internal water. Because at this time, concrete is under a plastic state but having develop enough strength to resist this tensile stress, cracks will occur. For internal curing concrete, the pre-wetted aggregates will provide water to replenish the evaporation from the surface of concrete. It makes the pores within the hydrating cement pastes fluid filled and thus helps to reduce the tensile stress. Shrinkage will be much less sever and cracks will less likely to happen. Besides limiting the happening of cracking, internal curing also contributes to delaying the age of cracking. As the volume of pre-wetted aggregates increases, the age of cracking is delayed, until an asymptote appears to be reached when sufficient pre-wetted aggregates has been added according to the research done by Schlitter et al (2010).[3] 2.2 Long-term strength gaining Cement particles inside concrete finish most of hydration in the first 28 days, but the cement particles have not been completely hydrated after 28 days. Some unhydrated cement remain in the concrete and takes time to continue hydration. That’s the reason why as time goes by, the strength of concrete will increase even after a long period of time. For lower water cement ratio concrete, the required time to be fully hydration is longer. As to very low water cement ratio concrete, it may even be impossible for it to be fully hydrated. The hydration will stop when there is no longer capillary water available. In conventional curing, the capillary water inside the concrete will soon run out after early hydration, and the external water is not easy to penetrate into the concrete to hydrate the unhydrated cement particles. By using internal curing method, after most of the capillary water been used, the internal relative humidity drops, and the pre-wet ted aggregates will provide water for cement to keep hydrating steadily for a longer time. As for the using of light-weight aggregates to provide internal curing, the reduction strength due to the light-weight aggregates can be compensate by this long-term strength gaining. 2.3 Reduction of permeability The principal contribution of internal curing results in the reduction of permeability due to a significant extension in the time of curing. It was shown that extending the time of curing increased the volume of cementitious products formed which caused the capillaries to become segmented and discontinuous.Reducing permeability leads to less penetration of aggressive agents that accelerate corrosion of embedded reinforcement. This decrease in permeability results from internal curing could obviously enhance the durability of concrete structures. 2.4 Working well with SCM Environment problem have been paid more and more attention by people today. In order to lower carbon footprint for using concrete, replacing cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs i.e., silica fume, fly ash, metokaolin, calcined shales, clays and slates) is suggested as a way to use substantially less clinker. SCMs (except for silica fume) take longer time to hydrate, therefore requiring water to be present for a longer time. While more than one research has shown both internal curing and SCMs improve long term durability performance. Luckily, recent work has shown that internal curing works particularly well with SCMs. Internal curing enables the SCMs in these mixtures to react for a longer time, since the higher water content needed to support the reaction of the SCMs can be maintained. 2.5 Improving behavior of the contact zone Contact Zone refers to two distinctly different phenomena: (1) the mechanical adhesion of the cementitious matrix to the surface of the aggregate; (2) the variation of physical and chemical characteristics of the transition layer of the cementitious matrix close to the aggregate particle (ASTM STP 169 D [2006] Chapter # 46 Holm Ries). In the contact zone, the C-S-H is not evenly distributed in the outer product, and porosity is greater at aggregate surface within 15-50 µm. What’s more, the obvious elastic difference between aggregate and the surrounding cementitious matrix make the transfer of stress from bulk cement paste to stiffer aggregate causes ‘softening’(microcracking) in interfacial transition zone. High incidence of interfacial cracking or aggregate debonding will have a serious effect on durability if these cracks fill with water and subsequently freeze. All of these factors make the contact zone a weaker location in the concrete. By using internal curing, more internal water can be provide around the aggregates and lead to a better hydration at the interfacial transition zone, which decrease the porosity and increase the strength. The lower permeability also contributes to the difficulty for the chloride to penetrate. What’s more, the lower modulus of the light weight aggregate and the improved transition zone around the light weight aggregate particles due to their generally vesicular surface, helped reduce stress concentrations between the paste and the aggregate and those reductions subsequently reduced the amount of early-age cracking in the concrete. 3 Material and methods for internal curing As long as the principle is the same, different ways can be applied to achieve internal curing. Besides of light weight aggregates, the properties of other techniques and materials will be presented in this chapter. And their advantages and disadvantages will be commented. 3.1 Bentonite clay Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate. It has a high specific surface, most of which more than 100 m2/g, and this property enables them to adsorb several molecular layers of water between their platelet structures [10]. The absorbed water is held by secondary chemical bonds and the bentonite may swell up to 14 times as its original volume as a result of the water absorption. If the relative humidity in the surroundings is lowered, this water is reversibly released. Potentially, bentonite or other layered clay minerals may be used as a water reservoir for internal water curing. However, there still one important problem remain to be solved for the application of bentonite. In high ionic media, such as in cementitious materials, these clays agglomerate and form a compact structure instead of spreading out evenly [11]. And whether inducing same charge into bentonite as water reducer do to make the bentonite particles repel from each other could solve this problem remain to be investigated. Figure 3.2 Superabsorbent polymers A superabsorbent polymer, SAP, is a polymeric material which is able to absorb a significant amount of liquid from the surroundings and to retain the liquid within its structure without dissolving [12], SAPs are principally used for absorbing water and aqueous solutions. With the present polymer types the theoretical maximum water absorption is approx. 5000 times their own weight. However, the absorbency of commercially produced SAPs is around 50 g/g in dilute salt solutions such as urine, and in high ionic solutions such as cement paste pore fluid the absorbency may be below 20 g/g [13]. The absorption of water in the SAP is based on secondary chemical bonds, and the water is so loosely held that all of it essentially can be considered bulk water. Most SAPs are cross-linked polyelectrolytes. Because of their ionic nature and interconnected structure, they absorb large quantities of water and other aqueous solutions without dissolving. SAPs have found a wi despread use as a high-tech material e.g. for contact lenses, breast implants, fire fighting, drug delivery, in baby diapers and as soil conditioners. Today’s world production exceeds 500,000 tons per year of which about 85% is used for baby diapers [14]. Figure 5.1: Superabsorbent polymers are swellable substances which can absorb many times their own weight of liquids by forming a gel. The absorbed liquid is not released even under moderate pressure [12]. The picture shows a dry, collapsed and a swollen suspension polymerized SAP particle. A description of the use of SAP for internal water curing can be found in the literature [2,13,15]. Compared with lightweight aggregate SAP has some peculiarities. SAP can be used as a dry concrete admixture since it takes up water during the mixing process. Furthermore, the use of SAP permits free design of the pore shape and the pore size distribution of the hardening concrete, however, the pores introduced by the SAP in the concrete may preferably be selected in the range 50-300  µm. 3.3 Crushed Returned Concrete Aggregates Recycled aggregate consists of stone particles with mortar from the original concrete attached to them. The volume fraction of this mortar may amount to 20 to 60%, and results in a significantly higher water absorption of recycled concrete aggregates compared to conventional aggregates [8]. The relatively high water absorption of recycled aggregate, however, may be difficult to utilize for internal water curing. The cement paste fraction of recycled aggregate will, typically, have a fine and tight pore structure which cannot supply water to the coarse pore structure of a hydrating cement paste at early ages. For this reason, recycled aggregate may be less useful than normal aggregate for internal water curing. However, some experiments have shown promising results for recycled aggregate. By blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with an appropriate lightweight aggregate sand, a substantial reduction in autogenous shrinkage will be a chieved, with minimal reduction in long term compressive strength. The mortars based on light weight aggregate sand substitutions alone provided the highest compressive strengths and the greatest reductions in autogenous shrinkage. But, blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with the light weight aggregate sand may provide the optimum mixture in terms of material costs and sustainable development.[ICwCCA] 3.4 Artificial LWA Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Lightweight Aggregate The Earth has been producing LWA from volcanoes since the beginning of time. This natural material, however, is inconsistent and very little is suitable for making concrete. ESCS is specially made for concrete and has been manufactured from surface†mined raw shale, clay or slate for nearly 100 years. (ESCS raw materials typically do not have any other conventional purpose in the construction industry because they are too soft.) The raw materials for ESCS production are placed into a rotary kiln at approx. 1200 °C until it turns into a strong consistent material which is called expanded shale, clay or lightweight aggregate or just ESCS for short. ESCS is a uniform, high quality, ceramic aggregate that’s about 1/2 the weight of natural aggregates. Pores are created in ESCS during the manufacturing process as gases escape due to the application of heat. The newly created pores are ideally suited to accommodate the absorption of water, much like a sponge. ESCS’s greatest contribution is its ability to desorb water. Unlike a sponge, it does not have to be squeezed for the water to be released. This characteristic naturally permits water to egress or be desorbed from the pores of pre-wetted ESCS when the cement demands more water during the hydration process. The physical ability of the pores to manage water movement is the key to internal curing. However, the manufacturing heating process of ESCS is relatively expensive. Moreover, compared with other lightweight aggregate, ESCS has a relatively fine and less continuous pore system, a large part of the pores are closed. Some of the pore water is held down to at least RH=70%. Consequently only a part of the water held in ESCS will be useful for internal curing [6]. 3.5 Natural LWA – Perlite and Pumice Perlite is a naturally occurring silicious, glassy rock which contains 2-6% combined water. When quickly heated to above 900 °C, the crude rock expands 4-20 times its original volume as the combined water vaporizes and creates countless tiny bubbles. This results in a bulk density in the range 30-400 kg/m3, and a water absorption of 200-600%. Perlite has found multiple uses such as for filtration, as an abrasive and within horticulture to provide aeration and moisture retention. However, perlite is primarily used within the construction area for example as concrete aggregate and as a cavity-filling insulation. Disintegration of perlite particles has been observed during mixing due to their high porosity and consequently low strength [18]. This may have adverse effects on the concrete. Fully saturated, the water content of perlite may be 4.5 kg/kg [18]. Pumice is a porous volcanic rock which resembles a sponge, see Figure 5.2. The porous s tructure is formed by dissolved gases which are precipitated during the cooling as the lava hurtles through the air. All types of magma may form pumice. The connectivity of the pore structure may range from completely closed to completely open. A representative value for the absorption of pumice is 0.27 kg/kg [18].

High School Athletes Should Consider College Over the NBA Essay

In the last ten years many young and talented high school basketball players have chosen to enter the NBA draft. These 17 and 18 year olds decide to skip college, and instead they choose to take a big risk and enter the NBA, hoping to become stars and earn millions of dollars. In many cases, these youngsters’ careers are a failure because they don’t turn out as talented as they thought to be. They end up spending only a few seasons in the NBA because they are not good enough to compete at that level. Many of them have to move on to doing other things, such as playing basketball overseas, doing everyday jobs, or going back to college to earn a degree. This essay will help you understand why making the jump from high school to the NBA is not good in most cases, and it will show you the benefits, for these kids, of going to college. The Success Rate Reggie Harding was the first high school player to make the jump from high school to the NBA, and he did this in 1963. He spent five mediocre seasons in the NBA and was never the special player that people thought he would have been. Since then, there have been around 40 high school players who have decided to skip college and declare for the NBA draft. The bulk of these players have come within the last seven to ten years. Out of these forty or so players, no more than ten have had a successful career. Last year seven high school players entered the NBA draft, and only one of those seven had a successful first season, and that was Lebron James (Smith). Although many youngsters fail in the NBA, there are a few high school players who have had, or do have a successful career in the NBA. Some of these are, Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tracey McGrady, and this year’s most valu... ...arnett won’t give up as teammates change. 23 March 2001. ESPN NBA Online. 1 May 2004. . Carter, Fred. Pros and cons of high schoolers going pro. 11April 2003. ESPN NBA Online. 1 May 2004. . Hodge, Bill. Swift is 10th prep star to enter 2004 NBA Draft. 6 May 2004. ESPN College Sports. 7 May 2004. . Lebron James Player Profile. NBA Media Ventures. 2004. 1 May 2004. . Smith, Sam. Hype over LeBron doesn’t match Alcindor’s. 22 July 2003. ESPN NBA. 7 May 2004. . Tim Duncan Player Profile. NBA Media Ventures. 2004. 1 May 2004. .

Competitive Strategies That Accenture Use Essay

Based on the sources gained, Accenture is practicing a competitive strategy which is differentiation strategy. Differentiation strategy is to offer products or services that are unique and superior value compared to the competitors but to target wide market. Accenture is a company that provides global consulting management services, technology services and outsourcing services to 257000 clients in more than 120 countries. Accenture is expertise in consulting management strategies to all types of Business Company. They always try to improve their performance to advance their clients. They operating and formulate new strategies to meet client’s business goals. Accenture helps their clients around the world enter new markets, increasing revenue in existing markets, improve their operational performance and deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently by providing their services. Besides that, Accenture tries to enhance in outsourcing business recently because Accenture says that it is a wider market for the business going forward. This will make Accenture not only focus on one part of business, but going to service wider market of clients. Because of Accenture provides many types of services, we can indicate that Accenture aims to provide services to a wide market. Why we say that Accenture is providing unique and superior services to their clients? It is because Accenture works with their clients to understand the inside working procedure of the company, analyse their company, assess the business operating performance, define the business case, design the operating model strategy and explain to the clients to help them to achieve the goals. It has shown that Accenture designs the management strategies to the company based on different companies and finds the best way to help them improve their performance. For example, Accenture introduce an approach, called Value-Driven Business Process Management (BPM). It is a process that helps companies to realise their mistake immediately, correct the process of work and measure the result easily. It is an Accenture’s unique combination of skills, approaches, assets and tools to result the value quickly, gives a measurable result and tries to bring out a longer life BPM solution than other companies’ while they only provide assistance with specific elements of BPM. That is why Accenture can easily differentiate with other competitors, trusted by clients all around the world and have a good public praise.

Poem Nettles

When analysing poems ‘Netttles' and ‘born yesterday', both are similar in how they show a parents love and responsibility for a child. While ‘Nettles' highlights the anxieties that a parent has for their child, the latter deals with the hopes a parent can wish upon their child. Both use various language techniques and structure to convey how parents can have different ways of expressing their relationship and love for a child. Born yesterday depicts this love for a newborn baby, but this poem is written in a more hopeful, unconventional manner.The first stanza of Born Yesterday highlights his views of what â€Å"the others*( seeming to mean most people) hope for in a newborn, which comes across as fairly sarcastic and almost as if he despises upon this general opinion of your child having the best things that life can offer. This sarcasm or mocking appears to be shown in the line â€Å"running off a spring of innocence and love†. In the fourth line he uses t he term â€Å"usual stuff , which further highlights this negative opinion as Larkin seems to think they are boring and non-realistic.His love for this baby is comes across in a specific way and is fairly unusual almost as if he is just writing it in hope, for example in the last line of the first stanza â€Å"well, you're a lucky girl† These unconventional aspirations continue into the second and final stanza where he gives a more personal view on how he would like to see this child grow up. Despite the repetition of negatives that he uses such as towards the end its still clear that he cares deeply about this child's future as it is still written with positive hopes.The oxymoron on the third line â€Å"An average of talents†, expresses that someone that is not at rock bottom but still not having many luxuries at the same time can result in the baby having a happy life, and this sums up the overall message that Larkin is getting across to the audience. This can even be seen before on the second line where it could be said to almost be insulting when he says â€Å"may you be ordinary†. Furthermore, he says how he wishes for the baby to not be ugly but immediately following with â€Å"not good-looking†, balancing his wishes in order to reinforce the baby being nothing more but nothing less in life.Repetition in â€Å"unworkable† and â€Å"working† in the eighteenth and nineteenth lines increases the sense that this one thing spreads to disrupt everything else, but also shows the extent of how specific a parent could be in detail about a child. The way in which Larkin writes the poem, particularly in the first stanza when explaining the special hopes for a child that are normal, shows that these things may inevitably and that she may not have much control over living her life, almost the opposite way to how he would like. This tells he understands how complicated a persons dreams for a child can be.The five adjectives i n quick succession towards the later part of the final stanza show how complicated this â€Å"catching of happiness† is. In addition, the rhyming couplet in the last two lines gives these lines more meaning as the repetitive adjectives stay in the readers mind and it leads to an obvious close. The last four lines also tell us that happiness can come in many ways, and that this is what he truly wants for the baby, and this has been his feelings throughout. However these lines do stand out to the more controversial tone of the rest of the poem.With the poem consisting of just two stanzas each makes it very effective by how it gets the idea across of how someones life could plan out so differently, despite how much a person wishes it could plan out. In contrast, Scannal *(poet of Nettles) Nettles takes a simple and common occurance, and thinking about its implications shows various techniqus to show the possibl outcome of a parents protective measures. The poem is only one stanz a with 16 lines and has a strong reguler rhyme scheme. The rhythm gives the poem this organised and at the same time a rigid feel to it.Its possible that the poem consisting of 16 lines is done with intent as a symbol to how long a parent has a bond with a child. It is also reminiscent of a sonnet, often a love poem. The love in this poem is of a father who is trying to protect his son but who realises the futility of this. Every other line rhymes in this poem which has the effect of making the poem seem more intense as the rhyme is not overly obvious. It is also written in the first person which makes it seem so much more personal, â€Å"my son,† â€Å"I saw† and shows Scannal wanting to make the reader sympathies for the child.He reminds us in the last two lines our lives are exposed to physical and negative pain. This Ab Sb cd cd rhyme scheme pattern used throughout to possibly suggest how soldiers march in complete sink and can maintain this synchronisation. The us e of the iambic pentimeter adds tro this structured effect as it uses a 10 syllable limit a line. Line 10 has an extra beat which shows the poets anger at these nettles and really makes it stand out. The use of enjambment in the fourth, fifth and sixth line shows a narrative style and brings out an overall theme of emotion with the use of alliteration.This alliteration can be seen on the 6th line. The bold sound shows the pain that the child is suffering with the term â€Å"tender skin† used as a contrast to the child's vulnerability. The word â€Å"bed† in the first line makes you think about what the nettles represent, and by using words referring to the military, this can be seen by the extended metaphor. These military/army metaphors bring out the nettles spite more vividly, together with his own feelings of anger and aggression. They also make the hurts that are inflicted upon the child sound more severe than they actually are.This demonstrates how a parents love for a child can reach the point of where they exxagerate reality, in order to make us as an audience feel more sypathetic for the person they care moe than anything else about. This is shown when he explains how he â€Å"lit a funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead†, implying that these nettles could be something that could inflict pain upon his son in the future. The sympathetic tone at times shows he is aware of his sons vulnerability once again in the 6th line as the aggressive sound reflect the sharp pains that were experienced.The idea that he knows theres only so much he can do in protection is shown on the second from last line, when he explain how the â€Å"tall recruits† had been â€Å"called up† again. Overall , after analysing both poems, I fell that Nettles is more effective in it showing how relationships are present among families. Through the use of a catalogue of language techniques he manages to get across the emotional and enduring pain that fami ly relationships can bring, and that despite the amount of care one can have for a child, this may not be enough to stop them from meeting issues in their future.

Gender-Friendly Military essays

Gender-Friendly Military essays Pride, morale and efficiency of the United States' Armed Services may be being toyed with by a rave of "gender equality". Military readiness and defensive ability of the United States are being jeopardized by the debate to be a kinder, more equal military. Since the Second World War the United States has been known for its supremacy in military capability, however there is a new challenge for these Armed services. Many new opinions see the military as a shining example of how a glass ceiling can deny women of their chance to compete equally with men. Traditionally shadowed with hard corps discipline, courage and challenging curricula, the United States has kept a combat ready force since we have become the superpower. However a new breed of soldier is to be implemented, one of the couch potato age. Why the couch potato standard? Because the former grueling and challenging training standards have been modified as of late to accommodate people of all physical abilities and people of bo th genders. Radicals have made their points clear that they believe that women belong everywhere men are in the Armed Forces. Females are gradually becoming more and more influential in today's military, meeting the new standards, and leading ground to a more gender friendly, but less combat friendly warfare. Conservatives state that the Armed Forces of the United States are being treated to much as a job force and not enough like a defense force. Women are expecting to be treated fairly and have equal opportunities in a job that they are generally not prepared for; This "gender equality" is leading to a weaker, kinder, and less productive military. But the equality that is valued so preciously in America is at stake. There must be a decision made, between the gender friendly service, and perhaps the harsh reality that does not include women on the front lines and in the trenches. Since the evolution to the All-Volunteer Force in nineteen seventy-three,...

Grizzly Bear Facts (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Grizzly Bear Facts (Ursus arctos horribilis) The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a subspecies of brown bear found in North America. While all grizzlies are brown bears, not all brown bears are grizzlies. According to some specialists, the grizzly bear lives inland, while the North American brown bear lives on the coast due to its reliance on food sources like salmon. Meanwhile, the Kodiac brown bear lives in the Kodiac Archipelago of Alaska. While habitat affects their appearance and behavior, there is no genetic difference between these bears. Thus, most scientists simply refer to any brown bear living in North America as a North American brown bear. Fast Facts: Grizzly Bear Scientific Name: Ursus arctos horribilisOther Names: North American brown bearDistinguishing Features: Large brown bear with a muscular shoulder hump.Average Size: 6.5 ft (1.98 m); 290 to 790 lb (130 to 360 kg)Diet: OmnivorousAverage Life Span: 25 yearsHabitat: Northwestern North AmericaConservation Status: Least ConcernKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: CarnivoraFamily: UrsidaeFun Fact: Adult male grizzly bears weigh about twice as much as females. Description Brown bears are easily distinguished from black bears by their large muscular shoulder hump, short ears, and rump that is lower than the shoulders. Because they eat a lower protein diet, grizzly bears tend to be smaller than coastal brown bears, but they are still very large. The average female weighs between 130 and 180 kg (290 to 400 lb), while males typically weigh between 180 and 360 kg (400 to 790 lb). Grizzly bears range in color from blond to black. Most bears are brown with darker legs and gray or blond tipped hairs on their back and flanks. Their long claws are well-adapted to digging. Lewis and Clark described the bear as grisley, which could have referred to the grizzled appearance of the bears gray-or-gold-tipped fur, or to the gruesome ferocity of the animal. Distribution Originally, grizzly bears ranged across much of North America, from Mexico through northern Canada. Hunting greatly reduced the bears range. Presently, there are about 55,000 grizzly bears, mostly found in Alaska, Canada, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Grizzly bear range over time. Cephas Diet and Predators The grizzly bear, together with the gray wolf, is the apex predator in its range. Grizzlies pursue large prey (i.e. deer, bison, moose, elk, caribou, and black bears), smaller prey (i.e. voles, marmots, ground squirrels, voles, bees, and moths), fish (i.e. trout, bass, and salmon), and shellfish. Grizzly bears are omnivorous, so they also eat grasses, pine nuts, berries, and tubers. Grizzly bears scavenge carcasses, and they will eat human food and garbage when available. The bears have been known to kill and eat humans, but about 70% of human fatalities are caused by females defending their young. While adult grizzlies dont have predators, cubs may be killed by wolves or by other brown bears. Grizzly bears eat grass as well as meat. Keith Bradley / Getty Images Reproduction and Life Cycle Grizzly bears reach sexual maturity around five years of age. They mate in the summer. Embryo implantation is delayed until the female seeks a den for the winter. If she does not gain sufficient weight over the summer, she will have a miscarriage. Grizzly bears do not truly hibernate, but the females energy is diverted toward gestation while she sleeps. She gives birth to one to four cubs in the den and nurses them until summer comes. The mother stays with her cubs and fiercely defends them for about two years, but then she chases them away and avoids them if the bears meet later in life. A female does not mate when caring for her cubs, so the grizzly has a slow reproductive rate. Female bears live somewhat longer than males. The average lifespan is about 22 years for a male and 26 years for a female. This disparity is most likely caused by the injuries male bears incur while fighting for mates. Grizzly bears can breed with other brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. However, these hybrids are rare because the species and subspecies dont usually have overlapping ranges. Conservation Status The IUCN Red List categorizes the brown bear, which includes the grizzly, as least concern. Overall, the species population is stable. However, the grizzly is considered threatened in the United States and endangered in parts of Canada. Threats include habitat loss from human encroachment, human-bear conflict, pollution, and climate change. While the bear is protected in North America, reintroducing it into its previous range is a slow process, partly because the grizzly has such a slow life cycle. Even so, the grizzly was delisted from the Endangered Species Act in June 2017. As an example of the species recovery, the grizzly population in Yellowstone National Park has risen from 136 bears in 1975 to about 700 bears in 2017. Sources Herrero, Stephen (2002). Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-58574-557-9.Mattson, J.; Merrill, Troy (2001). Extirpations of Grizzly Bears in the Contiguous United States, 1850–2000. Conservation Biology. 16 (4): 1123–1136. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00414.xMcLellan, B.N.; Proctor, M.F.; Huber, D. Michel, S. (2017). Ursus arctos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2017: e.T41688A121229971. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T41688A121229971.enMiller, Craig R.; Waits, Lisette P.; Joyce, Paul (2006). Phylogeography and mitochondrial diversity of extirpated brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations in the contiguous United States and Mexico. Molecular Ecology, 15 (14): 4477–4485. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03097.xWhitaker, John O. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals. Chanticleer Press, New York. ISBN 0-394-50762-2.

Repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) Research Paper

Repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) - Research Paper Example It would contribute in reducing the abuses of insurance industry. According to the government, the bill will give more protection to American nation on health issues. Children will get more health care as compared to past; there will be no limit for the annual health care for people (Healthcare.gov, 2011). Patients will get preventive services without sharing any cost. Government tends to implement the plan in practice from 2014. Despite all the goods that plan seem to bring in the health care of Americans, there are a lot many reservations in the public (Healthcare.gov, 2011). Middle class suffers more as the tax cut from small businesses and insurance policies would help poor or low-income people to buy policies for them. The plan is aimed at reducing the premium of businesspersons running small businesses to help the needy people. Republicans have rejected the law for not having any constitutional authority and have raised voice for repeal (Healthcare.gov, 2011). The Repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) is a pending piece of political legislation and its repealing has many reasons behind it. This paper discusses the issue of repeal of the Affordable Care Act in detail. ...ore, Richard Neal, William Pascrell, Gary Peters , Earl Pomeroy , Linda Sanchez, Allyson Schwartz, Ike Skelton, Fortney Stark, John Tanner, Michael Thompson, Dina Titus, Christopher Van Hollen and John Yarmuth (GovTrack.us 2009). The Republicans who sponsored the Affordable Care Act are Virginia Brown-Waite, Walter Jones and Todd Platts (GovTrack.us, 2009). American Nurses Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, Association of American Medical Colleges, National Association of Community Health Centers, American Osteopathic Association, Catholic Health Association, American Public Health Association, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Doctors for America and National Hispanic Medical Associatio n consider the Affordable Care Act as a revolutionary act that keeps the capability of attending all the problems associated with health care (Foster, 2011). According to the mentioned health care communities, repeal of Affordable Care Act will be depreciative for health care services and will take health care back to its backward form (Foster, 2011). Ostensible Objectives of the Legislation According to the legislature, ObamaCare Act has many ostensible objectives. They are to make certain relaxed admittance to emergency facilities, to make certain that all people are insured under the law, to make employers responsible for their employees for the provision of health care insurance services, to ensure betterment of insurance policies by increasing insurance coverage, to make sure that the premiums of insurance are kept low and to impose tax penalties for people with no health insurance (ACEP, 2010). Hidden Agendas or Objectives to the Proposed Law Democrats and republicans both hav e some

Your pick of this week's news (Responses) Assignment

Your pick of this week's news (Responses) - Assignment Example Only then could the information be considered comprehensive and objective. The ability of the author to present a balanced discourse was aptly acknowledged. One affirms that the presentation of facts; in conjunction with provision of support from the reliable details enabled the contents to be duly validated. As such, readers get to appreciate the comprehensiveness of the report. It is articles like this that make journalism earn its professional stance. cellphones while on flight. Since it was clear that the opinion of Saunders were predominant, readers were aptly warned that it could be skewed towards this contention. Therefore, it was already appreciated that the supposed compromise solution was provided. However, one significantly affirms that there are more valid and credible reasons from banning the use of cellular phones in the plane during flight. The information from credible sources, based on previous studies or research could have been provided to increase the reliability and validity of the