Case Study Of The Three Gorges Dam

Case Study Of The Three Gorges Dam The following case study on the Three Gorges Dam illustrates the pros and cons of concrete gravity dam construction and is an excellent complement to the material discussed in the technical paper. Chinas Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is the largest power generating plant in the world. The TGD is a hydroelectric concrete gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River, in Hubei province.5 It is located in the Xilingxia gorge which is one of the three gorges of this river.5 Costing a total of over 30 billion US dollars 6, the TGD project was put in place for several reasons including flood protection, energy production, increased navigability throughout the Yangtze River and access to fresh water for the citizens. 3 The construction of this dam is having a major impact on Chinas national economy, and its performance is critical to the large population living in Three Gorges region. 3 Upon its completion, the dam will measure 2.6 kilometres in length, 186 meters in height and it will form a 645 kilometre long reservoir in the midsection of the Yangtze. 3 The dam is designed to generate an output of 17680MW which includes 26 generators at 680 MW per unit. 3 The following figure shows the exact location of Three Gorges dam. Figure 3: Map of the Three Gorges Dam In terms of construction, the dam will be composed of 32 primary generators which will allow the dam to reach its maximum power output capacity. 26 generators are found on the dam itself while the remaining are built below a neighbouring mountain.6. Furthermore, a ship lift capable of vertically transporting ships (weighing as much as 3000 tons) from one water level to another will be built on the north side of the Three Gorges Dam.6. Other than the ship lift, a series of locks have been installed designed for boats weighing up to 10 000 tons; approximately four hours are needed for transit of these vessels. 6. The ship lifts and locks constructed as part of the TGD are very beneficial aspects as they promote increased navigability throughout the Yangtze River. By transporting more freight on the river, a reduction in emissions caused by the trucking industry is predicted,6 which is beneficial to the environment. The following table shows a summary of several specifications of the da m: Table 3: TGD Physical Summary (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12142004-125131/unrestricted/SAllin_010304.pdf) Location Dam Site Sandouping, Hubei Province, China Dam Crest 185 meters Dam Length 2,000 meters Reservoir Specifications Normal Pool Level 175 meters Flood Control Level 145 meters Total Storage Capacity 39.3 billion cubic meters Flood Control Storage 22.1 billion cubic meters Power Generation Installed Capacity 17,680 MW Unit Capacity 26 units, 680 MW/unit Inundation Land 632 km-long, 19 cities, 326 towns Arable Land 30,000 hectares Population 1,980,000 people As mentioned previously, prevention or mitigation of the effects of floods is one of the primary reasons for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam since Chinese records show that about one major flood per decade occurs in the area, some killing over 300 000 people. 3 The TGD which has a total of 22 billion cubic meters of capacity destined to flood control will allow China to control some major floods which also have a great impact on the economy.3 Energy production is also a major benefit involved in the construction of the dam. In fact, with its output of 18 million KW, the TGD is worlds most powerful plant. It was found that the TGD would produce a total of nearly 10% of the available energy in China.3 A third reason for the construction of the dam would be for consistent access to fresh water for consumption or agricultural use. In fact, it is known that the Yangtze Rivers water level fluctuates significantly which could affect the amount of water available for use; the TGD wi ll be able to supply this water consistently, mitigating the effects of these fluctuations in the water level of the river. 3. Finally, increased navigability in the river is another benefit related to the construction of this dam. The Three Gorges Dam allows for a direct access from the Pacific Ocean into mainland China, which in turn promotes increased trade in the cities; in the end, increased navigability will create new job, new markets will emerge, and there will be a better economic vitality in general.3 It is clear that there are significant benefits to the construction of this dam, as it will not only have a positive impact on the Chinese economy, but it will also increase the quality of life of Chinese citizens and contribute to human development. Unfortunately, some argue that the environmental and social price to be paid with respect to the construction of the Three Gorges dam outweighs its benefits to society. In fact, the environmental impacts including effects on biodiversity, emissions, erosion and sedimentation as well as waste, and the social effect of relocation of millions of citizens causes great harm to the Chinese population. The following information on the environmental and social effects of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam is written with the help from a report from Samuel Robert Fishleigh Allin which will be listed in the references used for this technical paper. Environmental effects The construction of dams definitely has a detrimental impact on the environment. Some of the impacts involved are greenhouse gas emission, loss of aquatic biodiversity, loss of water quality, loss of wildlife, and creation of wetlands. The construction of the dam negatively alters the composition of the water in the Yangtze River, already one of the most polluted rivers in the world due mainly to coal shipping. First, the dust resulting from the construction itself will enter and pollute the water. It is found that the oxygen levels as well as the temperature of the water, which affects fish downstream, are also altered upon the dams completion. Furthermore, greenhouse gases are released from the breakdown of vegetation and silt, which lowers the surrounding air quality. Also, a silt build-up in the river could possibly affect the reservoirs of the dams increasing the possibility of floods, upstream from the dam. The flow of silt throughout the river is very crucial to aquatic wildli fe; without it in proper quantities, the organisms can be deprived of a sufficient quantity of nutrients. Moreover, the Three Gorges Dam affects the stream flow of the River and this disrupts the aquatic ecosystems which are very dependent on the timing of the water level fluctuations. Finally, one more aspect that is more related to the health and safety of the population is the fact that the TGD was built near a fault line and the magnitude and force that this dam exerts on the ground can increase the chances that an earthquake occurs. Social effects It is important to account for the different negative social impacts before launching the construction of a large dam. The most significant social implication related to the Three Gorges Dam is the fact that over one million people living near the reservoir area had to be relocated, many already living in severe poverty, while the compensation for relocation was often inadequate. Water from the Three Gorges Dam is expected to flood 13 cities and over 100 000 acres of farmland which really disturbs the people`s everyday life as it results in loss of jobs and well being. Some of the difficulties involved in the resettlement process include medical services, schools, drinking water and food as well as electricity. Also, another social impact is the fact that some of the archaeological sites near the dam including historical artefacts will become inaccessible due to the construction of the dam. On the other hand, one social benefit of the TGD is flood control provided by the dam will sav e people from disasters in the future as the frequency of a major flood is expected to be at 1 in 100 years frequency. To end the section on social impacts a figure of the scope of the resettlement area caused by the construction of the TGD is shown: http://www.ctgpc.com/benefifs/images/06.jpg In conclusion, although the construction of the Three Gorges Dam is great for the development of the Yangtze River, contributes to the Chinese economy, and presents benefits such as flood control, energy production, increased navigability and access to fresh water, it is clear that the negative social and environmental price to pay to sustain these benefits is a major cause of concern for the future.

Artificial Intelligency

This paper illustrates the social implications of artificial intelligence as a part of Information technology. So the paper tries to investigate on the origin, evolution, types and purpose of artificial intelligence technology. In order to understand the technology of AI, the paper closely observes the technical architecture and related functionality of AI as an Informational technology.Then the study tries to observe the applicable areas of AI under different industrial segments. The paper analyses the real impact by observing the positive as well as negative outcomes of the AI on the society.The paper concludes that as like other technologies, the features of AI are highly useful to the society and there is a necessity to concentrate on restructuring the legal frame work while operating with such an efficient system as it almost replaces the human intervention in many cases. Introduction:Artificial intelligence is one of the advanced fields to investigate in information technology. It is the branch of science combined with engineering that uses the computer programs in making intelligent machines. AI is mainly concerned with designing of systems that exhibit the characteristics associated with human intelligence like understanding of language, learning, reasoning, solving problems etc.The field attracted many IT researchers due to its enormous underlying intellectual challenges. Researchers are creating systems which can imitate human thoughts, understanding of speech, logical processing, and automatic math calculations etc.The dream of smart machines becoming true due to advanced progress in AI programming techniques. It is related to the usage of computers to understand human intelligence, but AI has not confined itself to methods that are biologically observable.The ultimate effort of AI is to make computer programs that can solve problems and achieve goals that can replace the human effort. For this reason, the field of AI has become controversial in the sight of social, ethical, and philosophical practitioners.Scope of study:The current study tries to identify the social implications of Artificial intelligence. Back ground: History of AI:The AI name was proposed in 1950s but it was implemented at 1956 at a conference on the campus of Dartmouth College.   John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell and Herbert Simon, were the pioneers of AI research. They wrote programs for solution for word problems in algebra, proving logical theorems and speaking English.At that time, they worked on machines to develop the machines to do the work as equal to human intelligence can do.   But due to the difficulties like lack of raw computer power, the inflexible combinatorial explosion of their algorithms, the difficulty in representing commonsense knowledge and doing commonsense reasoning, the incredible difficulty of perception and motion and the failings of logic, their dreams were not come true.The Specialization of various AI Studies and d ifferent AI-related studies had developed during the 70's. Edward Feigenbaum started research on expert systems and Roger Schank advanced language analysis with interpretation of meanings to words. Due to the success of expert systems like MIS, knowledge system, medical diagnosis, the AI field was revitalized in early 1980s and also commercial growth has taken place with a big place for market in the IT industry.The market for AI was crossed more than a billion dollars. In the 90s, AI achieved great successes giving its credit to the factors like incredible power of computers and joint ventures to have new tie-ups between AI and other fields working on similar problems.Artificial intelligence was adopted throughout the technology industry in the areas like medical processing, heavy logistics, data mining, remote controlling, space science, military sciences and critical math computing areas etc.,Purposes of Artificial Intelligence:The development of AI has two motivations. Those are technological and psychological motivations. So far, development in AI programs has been conducted with these two motivations. Some developers want to make computers to do useful task without caring how developers do that task. These are methods such as   sensitivity to ultraviolet light, or an extensive search in advance through all the legal chess moves for several steps.Other developers are using AI to learn about human brains.   The medicine technology wants to investigate on human brain. AI gives a simulating edge to do such investigations on machines instead of conducting critical experiments directly on humans. This process of investigation in turn helps to develop psychological theories for the benefit and advancement of human kind.Development o f AI:Over the past 50 years, AI has made its impact on many sectors like education, medicine, logistics, pharmacy, R&D etc., to enhance the utilities in the daily lives of people in society. AI is being used in everyday consumer items such as robotic vacuum cleaners, running shoes along with advanced aeronautic navigation systems and medical computer imaging systems.  Artificial intelligence focused on developing hardware and software systems to solve problems which can only be solved by human intelligence usually. The AI includes studying and developing machines such as robots, automatic pilots for airplanes, space ships, and â€Å"smart† military weapons.Artificial Intelligence is aims to create intelligence through man made systems. This intelligence can range from low-level insect intelligence to human level intelligence.Artificial intelligence is to manipulate the information and interact with the environment which entails intelligence in an organism. The main idea behind the AI is that human beings and animals acquire knowledge from their environment and manipulation that knowledge in an efficient manner.Artificial Intelligence is slowly becoming part of our daily life. The AI applications r ange from video game to military applications.In practice, AI’s effective computability is drawn similar to the human intelligence in the lines that mind is represented by program controlled machines and mental structures refer to symbolic data structures, while mental processes implement algorithms. With this architecture, AI filed facilitates the computers to adopt advanced problem solving approaches to solve the complex situations.Artificial Intelligence is not limited to the field of information technology but also it encompasses on certain fields of Linguistics, Physiology and Psychology.AI is also very much helpful to Psychologists. They can express their theories clearly as programs. If the program fails to produce the proposed results, then the theory is incorrect, but the executed program will give a way to find out the mistake very easily in the instances like simulation, which would be very difficult and time consuming to find otherwise.However, if the program succ eeds, it does not just infer that the results for the theory are true in actual sense; but they help to correlate the practical outcome with the theories.AI is being using in the areas like financial processing, R&D design engineering, public transport schedulers, planning & architecture, security protocols etc., AI systems can provide guidance on gardening, travel, car maintenance in daily life and In order to assist the disabled persons AI robots were also developed.The theory and practice of AI is leading to the development of a wide range of artificially intelligent tools. Sometimes these tools will work under the guidance of a human and sometimes without external guidance, those are able to solve or help to solve a steadily increasing range of problems. (David Moursund)

Theme of struggle

The Struggle Struggle is when you make forceful efforts to get free of a restraint. Usually something critical happens that causes you to struggle frequently. This critical thing can happen over time, or it can happen all of a sudden. Frequently struggling usually leads to depression, the same way that struggling can keep you depressed. Everything has to happen for a reason, and in this case struggling was the reasoning for depression. Since the beginning of his wanting to go to a very academic school, Craig studied crazily like.He studied so much that one of the times he went to his room to study â€Å"[he] got comfortable with [his] room for the first time. † Most depressed people like to stay in their room for a long time because they want to isolate themselves. Studying for three hours a day in his room, is one the things that allowed himself to isolate himself, even though it was not intentional. He, like many other depressed people felt safe somewhere, and for him, it wa s his room.When you cannot do anything about your struggle you tend to panic and/or stress which can dead to long term physical and/or mental pain. Most people who throw up are sick, but there are certain people who vomit because they are stressed and Craig is one of them. Within months of his new school, which is one of the hardest high schools there are, he had stress vomited. Craig stress vomiting is very significant in It's Kind of a Funny Story because it is when all his struggling begins. It usually shows that that person is not strong as to how they came off to be.Towards the beginning of the kook, Craig had everything together, which is usually other people's lives are as well, but as more goes on to their plate as they can chew, they vomit and it shows that they are struggling. This conveys that every person who has stress vomited because of all the things they had to handle, really believed they were that person, someone who could do everything with ease. Struggling someti mes makes you lose control, so it may seem like you are in control, but in reality you are Just pretending to be.Since Craig has trouble digesting is food he has to tell himself he is â€Å"still in control of [his] mind and [he] has medication and [he] is going to make this happen† (37-38). If anyone is taking medication for something that they cannot control, like Craig eating abilities, it means that they are already no longer in control of their mind. Craig thinking that he is still in control conveys that he has found taking medication a normal thing, that it is no longer something that sets him apart from others.When you think of someone who takes medication to help them with depression along with other things, you hint their name and you think depression and medication along with them. It has become one with them. Craig became depressed because he was continuously struggling with simple things and harsh things that were a struggle. It can be predicted that over time Cr aig will come out of his depression when he gets out of his comfort zone, when he actually does something about one of his struggles. He will learn how to do that with all struggles and that will slowly end his depression.

Chem essays

Chem essays Many in the world of science do not succeed as prominent individual considering it is a tough field not only to achieve in but to maintain an identity. Mario J. Molina was someone that prospered as a minority and Nobel Laureate in this particular field. Mario was a Mexican American chemist, born in Mexico City in the year of 1943. Although, he has obtained several awards for his scientific work, a distinction among his awards was noted when awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry, which he shared with Rowland and Paul J. Crutzen, a Dutch chemist, for their work in atmospheric chemistry. It was the first Nobel Prize awarded for work in the environmental sciences (Oaks 110) He has a Chemical Engineering degree of 1965 from the Mexican University named Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and achieved a postgraduate degree two years later from the University of Freiburg located in West Germany. In the year 1972 at age 29, from the Berkeley University of California, Mario attained a Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry. Subsequently, as a research fellow in Irvine he became a part of Rowlands laboratory. Comfortable at this University he diverged from this position and in the year of 1975, Molina became a professor at the University. Eight years later, in 1983, leaving Irvine, he was a designated senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology also known as Caltech. In his years of career, in 1989 he came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology otherwise known as MIT appointed as a professor in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the In stitute of Medicine and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He has served on the US President's Committee of Advisors in Science and Technology, the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology.(http://web.mit....

Army values essays

Army values essays Being a member of the United States Army is a job that must be upheld by the men and woman who chose to answer the call of duty. All that you have learned in Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Permint Party serves a roll in your every day duty. No matter if its shooting expert on the M16, learning dill movements in basic, brushing up on your boot shining skills in AIT, or trust in your fellow solders in permint party. Lots of thing helps make a solder from learning the heritage and traditions, to coutesies, to the army values all the way down to serving as a member of a team. The Army values are the foundation for good soldiering in the United States Army. To pick just one value to discuss or to break is difficult to follow without tapping into any of the other seven. Thus I will follow in suit by discussing all seven of the values. Loyalty is to bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers. Bearing true faith and al legiance is a matter of believing in, and devoting yourself to it but , At this time Im going to take the time to focus on a section of belifes that helps mold a solder into what he is and that is the 5 Rs. Right place, right time, right uniform, right attitude, and respect to others. And to top that off I will also be talking about leadership and why its so important. Being at the right place is important. Why you may ask. Well have you ever got a verbal party invation from your friend about a party he or she may be having. The time and place was given. Later on that day you get ready hop in your car set out and for got where the location was. You decide to chace it thinking you remember but as time nears to the party you get lost. Your gas runs low, time pass by, your lost. Well the same can happen in the Army. If your given a block of instructions by your chain of command on where to meet and you get ready boots all shine, uniform pressed ...

Increased Women's Issues and Its Significance in American Culture Essay

Increased Women's Issues and Its Significance in American Culture - Essay Example Women were offered low payment compared to men in 1820 and this facilitated them to replace men in school teacher’s position. Women as they started receiving jobs, they gained an acknowledgeable position in the society. The concept of republicanism initiated equality between women and men, and even altered family and social values. Woman’s rights movement was one of the causes behind women gaining significance in American culture. Abolitionist movement and women rights movement took place at the same time. These movements were closely knitted with one another since they reinforced each other. Both the movements were associated with incorporating equality within the system. Second Great Awakening indicated that women shall be considered to be moral reformers of society as well as family. There were circumstances when women were observed to become a part of abolitionist sphere. This strengthened women in order to stand up for equality in the society. Abolitionist proposal enabled women to criticize any wrong happenings occurring in American society.1 Several American institutions were abused who not only supported women empowerment but also was against equality for African Americans. Women’s Rights Convention was organized in 1848 in New York. This was one of the reasons behind evolution of women’s issues. The convention held was an act of protest, mainly in context of mistreatment towards women in religious, social, political and economic dimension. The convention ended with Declaration of Independence, which clearly stated that women would be provided with equal privilege and right like men, encompassing right to vote. This change in laws and regulations made women powerful in American culture. The new set of laws designed was in favor of women and their societal position. American society noticed turmoil with the emergence of women’s issues.

Management and Spurious Correlation Research Paper

Management and Spurious Correlation - Research Paper Example The term spurious is derived from the Latin origin. It is meant to mean not true or false. Management and spurious correlations are terms that are used in the field of statistics to make assumptions about certain things and calculations. When looking at the term spurious relationship, it can duly be noted that it is commonly used in statistics and in a particular way to provide certain answers. It is specifically used in particular to help in the  experimental research  techniques which would go a long way in answering some questions. Using spurious correlation in experimenting in research techniques help in the understanding and prediction of other relationships, namely direct causal relationship. An example of a direct causal relationship can be (X > Y). There is also a relationship called a non-causal correlation. A non-causal correlation may and can be created spuriously by a factor that is called an antecedent. An antecedent, for example, causes both the relationship as show n; (W > X and W > Y). Certain variables, known as intervening variables if undetected may make the indirect causations seem to look direct (Wooldridge, 2009).  An example of an intervening variable can be seen in the form of (X > W > Y). Because of the effect of indirect causations being made to look direct, correlations that have been identified through experiment are not seen to represent  relationships otherwise known as casual. This is  unless spurious relationships can be ruled out. Only then can it happen. The purpose of this essay is to bring to light the importance of management and spurious correlations as used in statistics. As the name suggests, the essence of this essay is to bring out the importance of identifying correlations before they become misleading. This topic is important because many people tend to confuse the relationship between variables and by the end of this essay, it will be clear on the methods. In order to become a statistician or a social scient ist, it is paramount that one understands that correlation be shown by being proven statistically. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the widespread occurrence of spurious correlation (Kleinbaum & Kleinbaum, 2008).   In order to test and prove whether a correlation between two variables or constants is genuine or spurious, there are some additional variables and equations that have to be introduced in order to widen the parameters of getting legit results. There have to be sufficient assumptions being made and they must be made in order to help with the proper identification. This proper identification is of the parameters of a wider system and will help in the obtaining of results. It the results are found that the two variables, which were original, are causally related in a wider system, then the conclusion of the correlation is that it is genuine. The difference between a true and spurious correlation is that a true correlation exists and does not have to be proven whi le a spurious one needs to undergo experiments in order to be proven to be wrong. Statistical research has been affected by the identification problem, where many statisticians have been unable to conclude on where the problem is. An example of spurious corr