Significance of US Involvement in WWI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Significance of US Involvement in WWI - Essay Example The World War I had a significant play on the USA’s further development and growth. For corporate America, the war has started long before it began for the common citizens. Charles Schwab, the president of Bethlehem Steel, one of the world’s largest weapons merchants, within first two months of strive took a trip to London having money-making interests in mind where he received contracts from the British government for millions of weaponry shells and ten 500-ton submarines. Assembling of such foreign vessels was against the law, however Bethlehem Steel went ahead with it, and the Wilson administration did not take any action to prevent it from doing so. The company earned $61 million in 1916, which was more than its combined gross revenues for the previous eight years. (Dwyer, 2004) Another thing that the war brought was an influx in funds selling ammunition, which had a positive effect on the economy of the United States. According to Thomas Fleming in The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I, the United States was supplying Great Britain, France and Russia with 40 percent if their war material.(Fleming,71) The president Woodrow Wilson, upon being elected with the slogan â€Å"he kept us out of war† only few months later appealed to Congress to declare that a state of war between the United States and Germany. When calling for war, he was appealing to the grates American idea – fight to make the world safe for democracy. (Fleming, 1-3) By the time America officially declared war to Germany, the international banking firm of J. P. Morgan in New York already loaned Britain and France $2.1 billion (which is worth around $30 billion by 2004 measures), and had gained $30 million – around $425 million in 2004 dollars – in profit. (Fleming, 70) Perhaps the next significant fact of participating in the war is best explained by the president Woodrow Wilson’s in his own words when he said, in regards to his concept ion for American-inspired democratic after-war global peace and harmony and unity: As head of a nation participating in the war, the president of the United States would have a seat at the peace table, but . . . if he remained the representative of a neutral country, he could at best only ‘call through a crack in the door. (Fleming, 79) What Wilson really wanted to get through the war was to raise the status of the USA in the world, for the country to have more influence on an international scale. No American interest was at stake in WWI, the war never affected American territory, however a total of 120, 000 men died. The war significantly raised the authority of the US in major international issues. It allowed the United States to interfere in solving European issues, which did not even concern them. (Thomas, 137) So the most significant changes that World War I brought was a strengthened economy and bigger authority in international matters. Another significant fact about Wo rld War I is that it set the stage for War World II. The Life and Death of Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York was born the third oldest of a family of eleven children. The York family just barely managed to make a living by farming and hunting, and York became a proficient marksman at an early age. Prior to the World War I, York was employed on the railroad as a day laborer. He had virtually no experience with money managing and later suffered from chronic fiscal problems. When York had the money, he would spend it, invested it poorly, and would generously give it away to other people who he believed needed it. As York came of age he earned a reputation as a deadly accurate shot and a trouble maker. He would spend too much time drinking and gambling in borderline. He was generally considered a problem and someone who "would never amount to

The Construction of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Essay Example for Free

The Construction of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Essay The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a government owned authority. The site is approximately ten miles south of Spring City, TN, approximately 1. 25 miles south of the Watts Bar Dam that it is named for, and on the west bank of the Tennessee River. There are two units, Unit 1 which is operational and Unit 2 which is unfinished. The Groundbreaking for Unit 1 took place in 1972, with major construction beginning in 1973 (TVA website). However Unit 1 did not begin commercial operation until 1996 – twenty-three years after major construction started and according to Munson (2002) at a cost of $7 billion – and Unit 2 has yet to be completed. Construction licenses for both units were awarded by the nuclear regulator of the time the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1973, and construction of both units was supended in 1985. Unit 1 construction was restarted in 1990 and the full power operating license was issued in 1996. Unit 2 remained only partially constructed until 2007 when TVA announced it would resume construction. Detailed information about the original tender, construction process, numbers of workers, time scales and original budgets is not available for Unit 1 as the project began in the early 1970s and the information is archived and not easily retrievable (Johnson, personal communication). However Unit 1 is typical of the reactors of its time so some general information is available. For example, in terms of the plant overall, figures from 1974 (Peterson, 2003) indicate that the construction of a typical nuclear plant required 40 metric tons (MT) of steel and 190 cubic meters (m3) of concrete per average megawatt of electricity (MW(e)) generating capacity. With a capacity of over 1000 MWe, figures for the construction of Unit 1 can be estimated as over 40,000 MT of steel, and 190,000 m3 of concrete. Due to the geologic features of the site (see below), it is reasonable to assume that the real figures were even higher. There is some information with regards the restart of construction for Unit 2. Reactors Both units are Westinghouse Four-loop Pressurized-Water Reactor (PWR), as shown in the figure below (TVA website) capable of electrical output of 1125 MWe. A four-loop Westinghouse plant has four steam generators, four reactor coolant pumps, and a Pressurizer. There are 193 fuel assemblies arranged in a 17 x 17 array inside a reactor vessel that has an internal diameter of 173 inches. The reactor vessel is constructed of a manganese molybdenum steel, and all surfaces that come into contact with reactor coolant are clad with stainless steel to increase corrosion resistance. The reactor coolant flows to the steam generator (USNRC, 2003). Typically, PWR containments typically consist of heavily steel-reinforced concrete cylinders ranging in thickness from 3. 5 feet to 4. 5 feet, capped by a hemispherical dome of steel-reinforced concrete. The cylinder is typically 140 feet high, with a 140-foot diameter. Reinforcement bars that form a cage within the concrete are typically Grade 60 #18 steel bars on 12-inch to 15-inch centers. A #18 rebar is two and one-quarter inches in diameter (ABS Consulting, 2002). Additional reinforcement may be called for depending on the results of the seismic survey undertaken for the site. This was the case for the Watts Bar reactors. The Final Safety Analysis Report for WBN (TVA 1991), reported that the plant is located in the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Highlands, and the major geologic feature at the site is the Kingston thrust fault, which developed 250 million years ago. The fault has been inactive for many millions of years, and recurrence of movement is not expected. The fault lies to the northwest of the site area and is not involved in the foundation for any of the major plant structures. The SAR for the WBN states that it was designed based on the largest historic earthquake to occur in the Southern Appalachian Tectonic Province the 1897 Giles County, Virginia earthquake. This earthquake is estimated to have had a body wave magnitude of 5. 8. The Safe Shutdown Earthquake for the plant has been established as having a maximum horizontal acceleration of 0. 18 g and a simultaneous maximum vertical acceleration of 0. 12 g WBN Unit 2 Restart of Construction As Unit 2 is essentially identical to Unit 1, the scope of work for Unit 2 duplicates that of Unit 1 as much as possible with some additional scope for Unit 2 not included in the Unit 1 startup such as another cooling tower, transmission system, various upgrades and work completed since Unit 1 startup such as a process computer upgrade (Moll, 2007). Estimated cost of the project to complete startup is 2. 49 billion, over 54 months with commercial operation of the unit scheduled for early 2012 (Westinghouse, 2008). Moll reports that peak staffing is estimated at 2,300 craft and technical personnel. The project phases will include the Engineering and Analysis phase, which will include plant walk downs to establish the current condition of the plant, the engineering evaluations of program work and identification of design discrepancies. The second phase as outlined by Moll is the Design Production phase to correct identified deficiencies and design changes required to maintain consistency between units. The third phase is the implementation phase which will include the construction, the modifications required in supporting two units, the maintenance activities, testing, non-design repairs and clean up. Finally the Startup Test phase that will ensure the systems are capable of safe shutdown before the operations phase. Major Issues Affecting the Contruction of WBN Unit 1 Nuclear power reactors are regulated by federal and state laws to protect human health and the environment. These regulatory requirements are of paramount consideration in the construction of any nuclear facilities. Regulatory costs for the nuclear industry are a significant percentage of construction and on-going operating costs and as such regulatory considerations play a large role in dictating all aspects of the project from the chosen site to the reactor design to the management of on-going operations. The construction period of the Watts Bar reactors coincided with significant changes in the regulatory environment. The most significant nuclear regulatory authority in the US is United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). The Watts Bar reactors were in the construction phase when the accidents occurred at Three Mile Island in 1979, and later, Chernobyl in 1986. Reaction to these events resulted in further and more stringent regulatory requirements. Environmental obligations have also become ever more important, and operators must also satisfy requirements for environmental impact statements. Construction of both units was suspended in 1985, primarily because numerous TVA staff made complaints that the construction process was inadequate and that there may be resulting safety risks (NRC, Safety Evaluation Report, 1995). On September 17, 1985 the NRC required TVA to address various deficiencies in its activities and TVA withdrew its certification that Unit 1 was ready to load fuel. The NRC Safety Evaluation Report notes the findings that there were significant problems in construction quality and quality assurance. Deficiencies in construction involved a number of systems and issues including the quality of welding and cabling. There were many staff concerns and complaints that also needed to be addressed. In the report the NRC itself recognises its own role in not providing sufficient regulatory oversight. The report notes the extensive corrective actions performed by TVA, which included a Nuclear Performance Plan to address material, design and programmatic deficiencies and included inspection and testing of the construction issues and programs to respond to staff concerns. Unit 1 construction was resumed in 1990. In terms of estimating and producing time lines for such a project, The Watts Bar example demonstrates that as well as being aware of industry codes and building standards it is crucial to understand the regulatory requirements for the relevant industry. Unforseen delays also need to be considered, as does whether risks of such are allocated to the contractor. If risks are allocated to the contractor, the risk of a long delay should be considered in the estimate. Some of this risk may be offset when components in a project can be worked on independently or concurrently with each other, rather than build components that need to be constructed sequentially. The Watts Bar Unit 1 reactor is a good example of unforseen events affecting the construction process (for example, discovery of the fault, the changes in the regulatory environment after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979). Although Unit 1 was on-line by September 11, 2001, security requirements for installations such as nuclear power stations were increased, and on-going construction projects for security sensitive projects were affected at that time. Changes to regulatory requirements, standards and codes need to be tracked for any project. Quality Assurance systems must be in place, and accounted for in the initial estimating process. References 1. TVA Website Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Retrieved April 3, 2008 from : http://www. tva. gov/power/nuclear/wattsbar. htm 2. Munson, Richard.The Electricity Journal, Vol:15, Issue:10, December 2002 pp76-80. 3. NRC, Partial Chronology WB Unit 2 (Table) (2007 August 23) Retrieved April 3, 2008 from: http://www. nrc. gov/reactors/plant-specific-items/watts-bar/watts-bar-partial-chronology. html 4. (Terry W Johnson, Communications, Tennessee Valley Authority, personal communication, April 5, 2008). 5. Peterson, F. â€Å"Will the United States Need a Second Geologic Repository? † The Bridge National Academy of Engineering Vol:33, No. 3, Fall 2003. 6. TVA Website (Figure of Reactor). Retrieved April 3 2008 from: http://www. tva. gov/sites/wattsbarnuc. htm# 7. USNRC Technical Training Center, Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Systems 2003. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from: http://www. nrc. gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/04. pdf 8. ABS Consulting and ANATECH, Aircraft Crash Impact Analyses Demonstrate Nuclear Power Plant’s Structural Strength, December 2002. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from: http://www. stpnoc. com/EPRI%20study. doc 9. The Final Safety Analysis Report for WBN (TVA 1991), excerpt retrieved from: http://www. hanford. gov/rl/uploadfiles/ea/ea1210/section4. htm

Information technology for a company’s business processes and decision making

Information technology for a company’s business processes and decision making Q1:->How can information technology support a companys business processes and decision making, and give it a competitive advantage?Give examples to illustrate your answer Ans.1 Information technology Support a Companys Business Processes And Dicision Making An d Its Cometitive Aadvantage Is:- Support Business Process:-As a Consumer ,You Regularly Enconter Information Systems That Support The Business Processes And Operation At The Many Retail Sstores Where YOU shop. For Example:- Most Retali Stores now use computer -bassed Information Systems To Help Them Record Coustmer Purchhases,Keep Track Of Inventory ,Pay Employes But New MeRchandise,And Evaluaate sales Trends ,Store operations Would Grind To aA Halt Without The Support Of Such Information systems. Support dicision making:-Information system also Help Stores Managers And Other Business Professionals make Better Desions. For example:-Decisions on What Lines Of MerchandiseNeed To Be Added Or discontinued or On what Kind Of Investing they Require,Are Typically made after an analysis Provided By Computer -Based Information systems.this Not Only supports The Decisions Making Of Stores Managers,Buyers And Others But also Helps Them look For ways to Gain An Advantage Over Other Retailers In The Competition For Customers. Support Competitive advantage:-Gaining a Strategic Advantage Over Competitiors Requires Innovative Of Information Technologies. For Example:- Store Management might Make a Decision To Instaall Touch Screne Kiosks In All Stores, With Links To Their E-commerce WebsiteFor Online Shopping .This Might Attract New coustmer And Build Coustemers Localty Because Of The Ease Of Shopping And Buying Merchandise Provide Products And Services That Give a Business a Comparative Advantage Over Its Competitors. Q2:->Identify several basic competitive strategies and explain how they can use information technologies to comfront the competitive forces faced by a business. Ans.2 There Are Five Basics competitive Strategies 1.Cost Leadership Strategy. 2.Differentition Strategy. 3.Innovation Strategy. 4.Growth strategies. 5. Alliance strategies. 1.Cost Leadership Strategy:-A Low-cost ProDucer Of Products and Services In The Industry, Or Finding Ways To Help Its Suppliers OR Customers Reducee Thier Costs Or To increase The Costs Of their Competitors. 2 .Differention Strategy:- Developing Ways to Differentiate a fiems Products And service s from Its Competitiors Or Reduce The differentiation Advantages of Competitiors. This May Be A Firm To Focus Its products Or services To Give It an Advantage In Particular Segments Or Niches Of a Market. 3.Innovation Strategy:- find The New Way Of Doing Buiseness.This May Involve The Development Of Unique Products And Service Or Entry Into UniqueMarkets Or Markket niches.It May Also Involve Making Radial Changes To The Business Processes For Producing Or Distributing Products And Services That Are So Different From The Way a Business Has Been Conducted That They Allow The Fundamental structure Or An Industry. 4.Growth Strategy:- Significantly Expanding A company Capacity To Produce Goods and Servieces Expanding Into Global markets, Diversifing Into New Products And services,or Integrating Into Related Products And Services. 5.Alliance Strategies;- Establish New Business Linkage And alliance With Coustemers, Suppliers,Competitiors,joint Ventures,forming Of virtual companies or Other Marketing Manufacture Or DisTriBution agreements Between a Business And It Trading Pateners. Q3:-> Identify the major types and uses of micro-computer, midrange and mainframe computer systems ? Ans3. The Major Types And Uses Of Micro-Computer, Midrange And AminFrame computer SystemsAre:- 1.Micro-computer:-It Is Most Important Categoty Of The Computer Systems For Business People And Consumers. Through Usually Called a Personel Computer, Or a PC,A microcomputer IS Much More Than A Small Computers for Use By An Individuals computers . 2. Mid Range :-Midrange computers Are High-End Network Srvers and Other Types Of Servers And Other Types Of servers That can Handle The Large-scale Procesing Of Many Business Applications Throught Not As Powerful As Mainframe Computers They Are Less Costly To buy Operate And Maintain Than mainframe systems,And Thus Meet The Computing Need OF Many Organizations. 3.Mainframe Systems:- IT IS The Large ,Fasr And Powerful Computers systems. For Example:- Mainframes ccccccccan Process Thousands Of Million instruction Per Sec Mainframes can Also Have Primary Storage Capacities. Q4:->Outline the major technologies and uses o computer peripherals for input , output and storage? Ans4. The Major Tecnologies And Uses AComputer For Input Output And Storage Tecnologies is:- Peripherals Is The Generric Name Given To All Input Output And Secondary Storage devices That Are The Part Of The Cpu Pheriperals Depend On Direct Connections Or Telecommunications Links To The Centerals Processing Unit Of a Computer Systems. All Pheriperials Are Online devices That Is They Are Separate From But Can Be Electronically Connected To Attend By The Cpu. 1.Moniters 2.PRINTERS 3.Scanners 4.Hard disk drives 5.CD And DVD Drives 6.Backup Systems. Q5:-> What trends are occuring in the development and use of the major types of computer systems? Ans.5 Software. Computer software consists of two major types of programs: (1) application software that directs the performance of a particular use, or application, of computers to meet the information processing needs of users, and (2) system software that controls and supports the operations of a computer system as it performs various information processing tasks. Refer to Figure 4.2 for an overview of the major types of software. Â · Application Software. Application software includes a variety of programs that can be segregated into general-purpose and application-specific categories. General-purpose application programs perform common information processing jobs for end users. Examples are word processing, electronic spreadsheet, and presentation graphics programs. Application-specific programs accomplish information processing tasks that support specific business functions or processes, scientific or engineering applications, and other computer applications in society. Â · System Software. System software can be subdivided into system management programs and system development programs. System management programs manage the hardware, software, network, and data resources of a computer system during its execution of information processing jobs. Examples of system management programs are operating systems, network management programs, database management systems, system utilities, application servers, and performance and security monitors. Network management programs support and manage telecommunications activities and network performance telecommunications networks Q6:-> Explain the following terms: (a)DTP :-DTP Stands for Desktop Publishing And It Use to End Users And Organizations to Produce Thier Own Printed Materials That looks Professionally published That Is design and Print Their Own Newsletter,Brochures,Manuals,And BooksWith Several Type Styles,Graphics,Photos And colors On Each Page. (b)Presentation Graphics:-It Helps To Convert Numeric Data Into Graphics displays such as Line Charts ,Bar Graphs,pie Charts,And Many Other Types Of Graphics. Mostly Top Package Also Helps U Prepare Multimedia Presentations OF Graphics,Photos,Animation,And Vidio Chlips Includind To The World Wide Web (c)Software licensing:-A S/w Applications Is Purchased COTS Or Is accessed Via An ASP,The Software Must Be Licenced for Use Software Licence Is Complex Topic Which Involve Considerations Of The Specials characteristics Of Software In The Context of The UnderLying Intellectual ProPerty Rights ,Including Copyright,Trademark And Secrets As well As Traditionls Contracts Law Including Contract LawIncluding the Unigorm Commercial code(UCC). (d)RAID:-RAID Stands for Redundant Arrays Of Independent DisksThey Combines from 6 To More Then 100 Small Hard disks Drivers And Their Control MicroProcecessors Into A single Unit. RAID Units ProVide Large Capacities With High acess Speed Since Data aRe Accessed In Parallel Over Multiple Paths From Many Disks. (e) Application service providers:-It Is A Large And Fast Growing Number Of Companies Are Turning To Application service Providers Instead OF Developing OR Purchasing The Application Software They Need To Run Their Business Applications service Provides That Own Operate And Maintain ApplicationsSoftware And The Computer System ResourcesRequired To Offer The Use Of the applications Software For a Fee As a Sservice Over the Internet. (f)Programming languages:-It Is A Measure Catagory Of System Software They Require The Use Of Varity Off PRograming Packages To Help Programmers Develop Computer Programs, And Language Translator Programs To convert Programming Language Instructions Into Machine codes. The Five Main Major Levels Of Programing Langauges Are Machine lAnguages Assembler Languages,High-Level Languages,Fourth Generation Languages,And Object-Oriented Languages Oriented Languages Like Java and XML Are Being Widely Used Web Based Business Applications And Services.

1970’s American Culture and the Impact on Dance Essay -- Sociology Ess

1970’s American Culture and the Impact on Dance The freedom of the American life and culture of the 1970’s overflowed to make a major impact on music and dance during this period. American culture flourished. The events of the times were reflected in and became the inspiration for much of the music, literature, entertainment, and even fashion of the decade. Choreographers wanted to motivate the dancers to leap into the unknown and experience the contact of dance in their own way. Free love and the idea surrounding it helped break down barriers from traditional dance movements. Men and women began using their bodies to portray physical acts, built on to each other creating unique and interesting positions. They were working with the physical forces of gravity, momentum, and inertia. They would use the force of one body hurling into another to find out what would happen. For the first time in history, it was not unusual for a man and woman to depict the act of making love on the dance floor. The term â€Å"bump and grind† did start during this era of free love. Another ...

Hippa and Information Technology Essay

In this checkpoint I will be discussing certain questions that involve HIPPA and information technology. With technology growing every single day, there are questions that are always involved when dealing with medical record issues. One question would be what advantages could a standardized medical records database offer? What HIPPA issues could arise? And why do you believe technology in the medical records management industry is so far behind other industries? These are the questions I will be answering in this checkpoint. I will start off by talking about the advantages a medical records database could offer. The main advantage of a standardized medical records database would be the convenience. To be able to locate a file with the push of a button would make work for the staff a lot faster. With paper documents it could take hours for another physician or hospital to obtain the information they would need. Another advantage would be the time it would take for a person to travel to and from their physician office to obtain their records for another facility. What HIPPA issues could arise? The main issue when dealing with medical records being online would be their patient’s information staying safe. In these days too many people are able to access sites and databases that should be secure. With people being able to hack and steal identities, this is a major problem when it comes to HIPPA issues. Another issue that could arise would be a patient not signing the forms to allow information to be posted. If a patient does not sign their name, their information should not be put online or given to any other individual. Who do you believe technology in the medical records management industry is so far behind other industries? I believe that the medical record management industry is behind others is because of security. The information that this industry deals with is very sensitive and should be protected at all costs. There are several laws that are in place to insure the protection of the patients and if any of their information were to be leaked, the facility would be in a position for legal action.

Biography of the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Honourable Kathleen Wy nne, Minister of Municipal Af f airs and Housing Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ABOUT | NEWSROOM | JOB OPPORTUNITIES | CONTACT US You are here > Home > About the Ministry > The Honourable Kathleen Wynne The Honourable Kathleen Wynne Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Kathleen Wynne was first elected as the MPP for Don Valley West in October 2003, and is currently serving her third term. On October 20, 2011, Kathleen was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.She has previously served as Minister of Transportation from 2010 to 2011 and Minister of Education from 2006 to 2010. During Kathleen’s tenure as the Minister of Transportation, she secured a new transit expansion plan for Toronto including the Eglinton-Scarborough LRT and oversaw Ontario’s largest highway investments including the Highway 407 East Extension and the Windsor-Essex Parkway. In addition, Kathleen worked t o introduce the Ontario Photo Card for non-drivers.As the Minister of Education, Kathleen led the government's efforts to reduce class sizes in the primary grades, to implement full-day kindergarten and to provide more opportunities for high school students to graduate and reach their full potential. Building on a lifetime of political activity and a career of public service, Kathleen is a knowledgeable and passionate advocate for her community of Don Valley West. She has led citizens groups in a number of grassroots community projects and has played a major role as an organizer and facilitator.She was formerly a Public School Trustee in Toronto. All of this has led to a results-based approach to life, government and community. Kathleen has three children, Chris, Jessie and Maggie, and two granddaughters, Olivia and Claire. Kathleen and her partner Jane have lived in North Toronto for more than twenty-five years. CONTACT US | ACCESSIBILITY | PRIVACY | SITE MAP COPYRIGHT Â © QUEEN'S PRINTER FOR ONTARIO, 2008 | IMPORTANT NOTICE – LAST MODIFIED:TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 www. mah. gov . on. ca/page7077. aspx 1/1