Kobe Earthquake Essays - Seismology, Great Hanshin Earthquake

Kobe Earthquake Essays - Seismology, Great Hanshin Earthquake Kobe Earthquake An earthquake is defined as a shaking or trembling of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in origin. In the case of the Great Hyogo (Hanshin) earthquake of Kobe, Japan it is tectonic in origin. This devastating earthquake which occurred on the 17th of January at 5:46 a.m measured at a whopping 7 (7.2) on the Richter scale. This was the largest recorded earthquake to ever hit Japan. According to the Japan Meteorological its epicentre was in 34.6 north and 135.0 east in the northern tip of Awaji Island with a focal depth of 14 km. According to the results of the recorded in 24 observation centre, the fracture which triggered the earthquake was happened inside the Nojima Fault. Also investigation in the sea bed by the Ocean observatory Centre shows that the cracks occurred in Nojima Fault. This fault forms a part of a group of faults known as the Rokko Fault', which extends from Awaji Island through Kobe City to the foot of Mount Rokko. The movement of the fault can be explained by the Tectonic characteristic of west Japan. The main reason for the big earthquakes in west part of Japan are the tectonic activities of the Eurasian, the Pacific, the North America and the Philippine plates. The collision between these plates in the central part of Honshu (Japan main island) is the main source of strain accumulation in the crust of western part of Japan. Casualty figures quickly mounted by the hour and when it was all said and done 5,472 people had lost their lives and 415,000 people were left injured. By the fourth day after the earthquake about 310,000 residents spent the night at 1,077 refugee centres. More than 350 fires broke out wiping out around 100 hectares of densely populated area. Fire fighting was virtually ineffective due to an inadequate water supply and access to fires. Lifeline facilities were severely damaged over a large area and following the earthquake, 900,000 households were left without electricity, 850,000 households were without gas, and water supply cuts affected about 2.5 million people. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corp.'s 160,000 lines out of 800,000 lines were out of order. The damage to major infrastructure, especially to the elevated expressway and shinkansen (bullet train) tracks, shocked engineers, planners and the general public. According to news reports its tracks were damaged at 42 locations. The first Shinkansen train was to run 30 minutes after the time of the earthquake. Had the disaster occurred few hours later, with an average capacity of about 1,600 passengers/train, casualty rate could have been much higher. Sections of elevated Hanshin expressway toppled virtually cutting off major transport lines to the affected areas. A contiguous section supported by eighteen single columns had fallen sideways in Higashi Nada-ku. Modern buildings and structures retrofitted with up-to-date engineering techniques fared well in the Great Hyogo quake. Much of the damage occurred in traditionally built older homes and in areas near the coast where liquefaction of the soil caused instability in structures. A large number of reinforced concrete structures were completely devastated. The economic damage estimates vary from around 100 - 150 billion dollars US. The most extensively and severely damaged structures were smaller commercial buildings (often with residences upstairs) constructed with limited engineering design and traditional homes. The smaller commercial and mixed occupancy buildings are typically framed with wood or light steel and have walls of stucco over wood slats. Many of these buildings have a large shop window in the front and lack interior walls, factors which weaken the first floor. Traditional homes, typically those built before the 1970s, have heavy tile roofs with tiles set in a thick clay and mud mortar, few partitions, and are not waterproofed which causes widespread dry rot and water damage. Little nailing is used; wood joinery is more common. Many casualties were found in damaged and collapsed traditional homes. The heavy tile roofs stressed the walls, which cracked, crumbled and often collapsed, triggering fires from broken gas pipes. The Kobe earthquake exposed more modern and engineered buildings to stronger forces than any previous earthquake. The preliminary report indicates more studies are needed to evaluate seismic codes, design practice and construction

Monopolistic competition in fastfood business Essay

Monopolistic competition in fastfood business - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the competition in the fast food industry fits the description of "monopolistic competition "as well evaluate how major fast food chains compete in the industry and what challenges they currently face. It is clear that fast food industry is one of the most competitive industries in the USA. Most of the fast food chains provide their customers with almost identical menus (especially two largest rival companies - Burger King and McDonalds), it is relatively easy for the company to enter the market of the fast food; in spite of the fact that domestic market is saturated fast food industry is still regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In the USA, consumers spent more than 100 billion dollars on the fast food in the year 2000, and according to the information provided by National Restaurant Association, the sales in 2006 might reach the new record level of 142 billion dollars (though this is less that the level exhibited by full service restaurants- 173 billion dollars). According to many observers fast food restaurants have been recently under competitive pressure from fast casual restaurants that provide their customers with food of higher quality at the reasonable price. 3 There are many fast food chains in the USA, and most of them prov... taurants have been recently under competitive pressure from fast casual restaurants that provide their customers with food of higher quality at the reasonable price. 3 Product differentiation in the fast food industry. There are many fast food chains in the USA, and most of them provide the customers with almost identical products. There is a slight difference in cooking process between Big Mac provided by Mc Donald's and King Supreme, relatively new product of Burger King. Neither the menu of Wendy International (with standard set of hamburgers and chicken salads) differs in any significant aspect from the menu provided by two largest national fast food chains-McDonalds and Burger King. In order to succeed in the market the companies have to promote and advertise their products as successful advertisement campaign might create some "virtual "differences among the products; they also should stay abreast of the latest changes in the market. These differences are usually created through advertisement and are very important in the industry of "monopolistic competition". With the increased health consciousness among the consumers of the fast food chains, new advertisements campaigns conducted by the chains are aimed to convince the consumers that the food is healthier. This is usually done by including more salads in the menus of the chains. For instance John Schuessler, a chairman of Wendy's chain claimed that it poorly performance in 2004, might have been caused by the steps taken by competitors that included salads to their menus.4 Other commentators however claimed that poor advertisement campaign and inability of the chain to adapt to the new challenges were the main reasons of the poor results that the company showed. Apart from adding salads other chains

History of Canadian Labour Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of Canadian Labour - Article Example Thousands of workers earlier excluded from the labor movement found a home in the Knights. Women now came to the union movement for the first time in our history. In another further thinking step, the Knights allowed separate local assemblies for French and English workers in Montreal. However, this grace did not expand to Chinese and other Asian workers, in particular in British Columbia. The Knights in Canada were part of a bigger movement that had appeared in the United States in the 1860s. This was not unexpected since workers all through North America faced the same problems. Fraternal ties between workers in the two states gave the impression of making good sense. The Knights' assemblies in Canada, however, emerged first and principally out of local conditions. In small communities like Galt and St. Catharines, Ontario as well as in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and other larger centers, workers established assemblies to address local grievances in their workplaces, as well as the general health of their communities. Concerned with the effects of an increasingly competitive labor market and poor living environment in their towns, the Knights attempted to moderate this situation that appeared to go hand-in-hand with industrialism.

Economic Topics Essay Example for Free

Economic Topics Essay Discuss how the government can use discretionary fiscal policy and automatic stabilisers to stabilise fluctuations in real GDP. What tools does the government have at its discretion to stabilise the economy? Suppose the government decides to decrease income taxes. Show in a diagram and explain how this policy will lead to an increase in real GDP. Explain how potential output may be affected. Any government program that tends to reduce fluctuations in GDP automatically is called an automatic stabilizer. The reduction in economic activity automatically reduced tax payments, reducing the impact of the downturn on disposable personal income. Furthermore, the reduction in incomes increased transfer payment spending, boosting disposable personal income further. Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditures and taxes to influence the level of economic activity; it is the government counterpart to monetary policy. Fiscal policy is the best counter-stabilisation tool available to any government. Discretionary government spending and tax policies can be used to shift aggregate demand. Expansionary fiscal policy might consist of an increase in government purchases or transfer payments, a reduction in taxes, or a combination of these tools to shift the aggregate demand curve to the right. A contractionary fiscal policy might involve a reduction in government purchases or transfer payments, an increase in taxes, or a mix of all three to shift the aggregate demand curve to the left. Income taxes affect the consumption component of aggregate demand. A reduction in income taxes increases disposable personal income, increases consumption (but by less than the change in disposable personal income), and increases aggregate demand. That shifts the aggregate demand curve rightward by an amount equal to the initial change in consumption that the change in income taxes produces times the multiplier. Suppose, for example, that income taxes are reduced by $200 billion. Only some of the increase in disposable personal income will be used for consumption and the rest will be saved. Suppose the initial increase in consumption is $180 billion. Then the shift in the aggregate demand curve will be a multiple of $180 billion; if the multiplier is 2, aggregate demand will shift to the right by $360 billion. Thus, the equilibrium level of real GDP rises to $12,260 billion, and the price level rises to P2. $12,000 $ 12,260 $12,360 The economy shown here is initially in equilibrium at a real GDP of $12,000 billion and a price level of P1. A reduce of $200 billion in the level of Income Taxes (ΔT) shifts the aggregate demand curve to the right by $360 billion to AD2. The equilibrium level of real GDP rises to $12,260 billion, while the price level rises to P2.

Replacement of the Book with Computers Essay -- Reading Electronic Tex

The Book Is Dead! Long Live the Book! The book, so post-structuralists critics have long been assuring us, just isn't what it used to be—or, to be more accurate, what we used to think it was. It's no longer a discrete entity, a little world unto itself wedged between two covers, a piece of discourse that speaks to us with a unified voice, the work of an individual author. Instead, as critical discourse by the likes of Barthes (1979) and Derrida (1974) have informed us, the contents of one book or article are inextricably linked to dozens, even hundreds or thousands, of others, and its contents, in turn, are absorbed by other texts. Texts refer to other texts endlessly: our awareness of the labours Page 2 of our predecessors battling with the written word gives rise to writing that is a dense and complex weave of references and allusions which lead Barthes in â€Å"From Work to Text† (1979) to characterise individual works as networks linked by paths, a web of texts which was effectively authorless. The striking similarities between hypertext and the Text as described by post- structuralist critics accounts, in part, for the magnitude and scope of the hype that has accompanied its debut as a viable medium of information. Mention hypertext to a colleague or acquaintance today, and the chances are he or she will certainly have heard of it—even if very few people have actually seen any examples of it. Put simply, hypertext is information (usually text, but also graphics, video, and audio clips) that is mediated by a computer, generally divided into chunks of information connected by computer links. Readers can work their way through texts in a variety of different orders, sometimes following sequences already mapped... ... â€Å"When Freedom of Choice Fails: Ideology and Action in a Secondary School Hypermedia Project.† NAPA Bulletin 12 (1993): 66-72. Barthes, Roland. â€Å"The Death of the Author.† Image, Music, Text. Trans. Stephen Heath. New York: Hill and Wang, 1977: 142-149. __________. â€Å"From Work to Text.† Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structural Criticism. Ed. Josuà © Harari. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979: 73-82. Crane, Gregory. â€Å"Composing Culture: The Authority of an Electronic Text.† Current Anthropology 32.3 (1991): 293-311. Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Trans. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976. Edward, Deborah M. and Lynda Hardman. â€Å"‘Lost in Hyperspace’: Cognitive Mapping and Navigation in a Hypertext Environment.† In Hypertext: Theory into Practice. Ed. Ray McAleese. Oxford: Intellect Books, 1990: 105-125.

“The Importance of Bees”

Barnett, Misty Carl W Simpson COM 100- section 107 4 November 2010 â€Å"The Importance of Bees† General Purpose: to inform Specific Purpose: to inform my audience of the importance of bees, and the recent decline in their numbers due to the colony collapse disorder. Central Idea:I hope my audience walks away with the knowledge that we are dependent on bees for a variety of things, and of their unexplained deterioration in numbers. Introduction I’m sure everyone in this room enjoys eating.Maybe you like eating foods like kiwi, oranges, apples, blueberries, carrots, cherries, broccoli, onions, brazil-nut, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin, zucchini, macadamia, passion fruit, vanilla, or honey? Did you know that all of these foods are reliant on pollination from bees to produce more food? Since the 1980’s habitat destruction of pollinating insects has made these crops reliant on honey farms to bring in bees to pollinate their crops, but since 2007 we have had some of the largest decline in bee numbers on record.As I have mentioned in my first speech, I have my own bee hive. This is my second year with my hive, it’s doing pretty good, and this last year I was able to collect 6 gallons of honey. I have worked around bees since I was knee high to a grass hopper, and bee keeping is a hobby I hope to always able to have. I have several friends that also have hives, and we get together to socialize and help each other work with our bees. The small group of friends I have has even seen a decline in bee population.Last year my friend Johnse lost four of his five hives, and Tom lost all 5 of the hives he had. Body I) The colony collapse disorder, and its affects. A) Drs. Buchmann and Nabhan stated that bees pollinate about 75% of the world's crop plants. B) Large losses for US. a) It was reported in 2007 to have killed 32 percent of America’s honeybees. And in 2008 another 36 percent—more than a million hives— were re ported dead. C) Not just the US affected. ) According to Bernard Vaissiere, a pollination specialist with the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, â€Å"the situation for bees in Europe is no better than for bees in North America. † D) The presents of losses in different countries. c) A report by the European food Safety Authority estimates that the UK lost 30% of its honeybees in 2007, while Italy lost 40 to 50 percent. II) Theories about causes of the CCD. E) Cell phones not the culprit. F) Genetically modified crops not the culprit.G) Pesticides, viruses, fungi, and poor colony nutrition are the new theories. d) Dewey Caron, a University of Delaware entomologist who co-authored a recent report on CCD's toll, â€Å"I'd bet it's a virus that's fairly new or one that's mutated to become more virulent. † e) Entomologist, Lynn Royce, says â€Å"I think we brought this on ourselves. † III) Congresses gets involved. H) Congress has earmarked a few mi llion dollars for research to get to the heart of the problem, but the money has yet to start trickling out, and results are years away.The bees might be able to wait that long, but we can’t. Conclusion So in conclusion I hope you are can now walk out of this room with a little more understanding about the important of bees, and are now more aware of how their numbers are drastically declining.Works Cited Stipp, David. Flight of the honeybee. 156th ed. New York: time inc. , 1992. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. Jesiolowski, Jill. Get bugs to boost your yields. Vol. 43. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. Curmmins, Coroline. Silent Spring. Vol. 17. N. p. : The Environmental Magazine, 2006. Web. 13 Nov. 2010

Pro Choice Vs. Pro Life - 1186 Words

Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life: Abortion Should Remain Legal Jaelyn Evans Atlanta Metropolitan State University The controversy surrounding abortion has been long debated since the Roe v Wade case (1973) as pro-life advocates and pro-choice advocates go neck to neck on whether the process should be banned or remain legal. According to APA (American Psychological Association), abortion is the â€Å"medical or surgical termination of a pregnancy and is one of the oldest, most common and most controversial medical procedures†. To be Pro-Life means to be against the termination of a fetus; one who is not in favor of the practice. Pro-life advocates believe a woman should continue the pregnancy and deliver the baby no matter the circumstance. Pro-choice represents those who believe the woman deserves a choice to carry the baby or have an abortion. Although the 1973 Roe vs Wade case legalized abortion, abortion is still currently a much heated debate in America as the surgical procedure is possibly on the verge of becoming illegalized. However, abortion should definitely remain legal fo r various reasons such as individual freedom, victim protection, life opportunities, failed contraception, and it is not fair for the government to make such crucial decisions for a woman’s life. Pro-life advocates argue that personhood begins at conception, though quite contrarily, Sarah Fox published an article to TheBrainBank science blog in defense of her argument that a fetus does not begin primaryShow MoreRelatedPro Life vs Pro Choice772 Words   |  4 PagesProfessor Brenza Essay-2 March 17th 2015 Pro-life vs. Pro-choice The issue of abortion in the United States will always be a controversial one. Developing two sides of the debate, pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life are the individuals who do not believe in the option of abortion. Pro-choice are the individuals who believe every woman has the choice to go through with their pregnancy or to not. Despite their contrasts, pro-life and pro-choice explore valid ideas of religion, law and healthRead MorePro Choice Vs Pro Life1482 Words   |  6 Pagesabortions since the decision was made in Roe vs. Wade in 1973 (Life News). Some people look at this number and are appalled. But others see this and think of all the people who used abortion as a means to a second chance. Abortion has long been a controversial topic in the U.S. but lots of people are choosing sides without really knowing all the facts. Abortion can be seen from many different sides but most know these sides as pro-choice or pro-life. Pro-choice is known for supporting women’s right t oRead MorePro Life Vs Pro Choice Debate1636 Words   |  7 PagesKayla Weekes English 10B Honors Mrs. Kim-Miles The Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice Debate History of Abortion The 1973 court case Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision for United States history, and it still remains very controversial today. The Court ruled that the right to privacy applied to a woman’s choice to have an abortion, therefore legalizing the action. Abortion is officially defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. TodayRead MorePro Life Vs. Pro Choice2608 Words   |  11 PagesMedical Ethics October 28th, 15 UTEID: psp593 Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice The word abortion can be defined as a spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation. The debate on abortion has been widely contemplated for centuries. Mainly focusing on whether or not it is morally acceptable for a woman to decide if she can terminate the pregnancy. The act of abortion only justifies that a woman should have the right to exercise her moral ethics with her best interest in mindRead MoreThe Pro Life Movement Vs. Pro Choice Movement Essay1371 Words   |  6 Pageswoman’s right to choose is a constant in healthcare policy. The pro-life movement vs the pro-choice movement has been debating for decades. A nurse has an intimate role in care of these patients and personal beliefs may influence her willingness to care for these patients. A recent ruling in Texas rejected a proposed bill that would greatly hinder a woman’s ability to obtain a safe abortion in that state. Whole Women’s Health vs. Hellerstadt (Texas HB2) was rejected in a 5-3 ruling in June ofRead MoreAbortion: Pro Life vs Pro Choice Essay1748 Words   |  7 PagesAbortion: Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Abortion: Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice â€Å"Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus† (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, duringRead MorePro Choice Vs. Pro Life : A False Dichotomy2314 Words   |  10 PagesEnglish 2 Carlos Mujal May 13, 2016 Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life: A False Dichotomy One of the most controversial and emotionally charged topics in the United States still being debated on is abortion. Despite Roe v Wade passing the law for a woman’s right to attain an abortion, there is still much debate surrounding the topic. Questions like, â€Å"When does Life begin?†, â€Å"Is the mother’s life considered as well?†, and most importantly, â€Å"Are you pro-choice or pro-life?† come up consistently before and inRead MoreReproductive Rights : Pro Choice Vs. Pro Life Essay2242 Words   |  9 PagesReproductive rights: Pro-choice vs. pro-life For more than 30 years, reproductive rights have been a controversial topic in the United States pushing people into opposing views as pro-choice and pro-life . In 1973, Roe v Wade granted the legal right for women to abort fetuses before they are viable (Gostin Reingold, 2016) . However in 1992, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey gave states more rights to regulate abortions in a way to protect the mother and fetus (Gostin Reingold)Read MoreAbortion - Pro Life vs. Pro Choice3265 Words   |  14 PagesOne subject in society that is greatly debated is abortion. The debates are basically divided into Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. Pro-life supporters want abortion to be illegal and not performed anywhere. Pro-choice supporters want the choice to be up to the woman and no one else. There is no ethical way to decide between the two subjects and its all based on what the persons moral values. Abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by loss of or destruction of an egg, embryo orRead More Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life: No Correct Answer Essay1707 Words   |  7 Pagesthe right to abort brought back to the table. In 1973, the Supreme Court case â€Å"Roe vs. Wade† made abortion legal. The case stated that abortion was legal in the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy (O’Brien par. 17). Since that day over 30 years ago, there have been many cases in which abortion has been disputed. Congress has passed many laws restricting abortion rights, including in cases such as Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services and Stenberg v. Carhart (O’Brien par. 18). There are