The Importance of Wound Healing in Relation to Nutrition Dissertation

The Importance of Wound Healing in Relation to Nutrition - Dissertation Example This research will begin with the statement that the relationship between nutrition and wound healing has long been established by many researchers and scholars. The potential power of various nutrients (protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, energy sources, and hydration) to accelerate or impede wound management has attracted the attention of the healthcare industry. It is therefore essential to know the potential impacts of these nutrients in the wound healing process. This paper seeks to explore how far nutrition or nutrition supplementation contributes to effective wound healing especially among the older population in U.K who are found to be vulnerable towards chronic wounds and nutrition deficiency. The introduction unearths the purpose of the research, reveals the scope and significance of the topic and states the research questions. The literature review of the paper addresses the various factors preventing wound healing, nutritional support in wound healing, phases of wou nd healing, the list of nutrients that consist of protein, amino acids, antioxidants, energy sources, hydration and other dietary supplements. The literature review also deals with the wound healing and the nutritious requirements of the older population in U.K. A qualitative research methodology is followed and the paper seeks to draw its conclusions from the vast number of literature reviewed. The study identifies the potential power of nutrition in wound management; however, in-depth researchers are essential for more authentic research outcomes.... Antioxidants: Vitamins and minerals a). Vitamin A b). Vitamin C c). Vitamin E d). Zinc e). Iron f). Copper 4). Energy sources and hydration 2.9. Other Dietary supplements 2.10. Wound healing and the nutritious requirements of the older population in U.K Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Discussion and Analysis 4.1. Nutrition and Wound Healing among the Older Population in UK 4.2. Role of nurses in wound healing and nutritional assessment Chapter 5: Conclusions/Recommendations References Appendices 1. Appendix 1: Nutrient Impacts on the Phases of Wound Healing 2. Appendix 2: Post-surgery or Trauma Protocol 3. Appendix 3: Role of key nutrients in tissue viability and wound healing 4. Appendix 4: Consequences of malnutrition 5. Appendix 5: Principles of Wound Care 6. Appendix 6: Daily food choices 7. Appendix 7: Guidelines for nutrition 8. Appendix 8: Grading of Wounds 2 5-8 6 6 7 9-30 9 10 11 14 16 16 17 19 29 30 33 34-39 35 39 43 46-52 53-61 53 54 55 57 58 59 60 61 Chapter 1: Introduc tion Wound management has become a significant health care issue and researches have pinpointed that nutrition plays a dominant role in wound healing and wound care practices. It has been identified that poor nutrition before and after the wound adversely affect the wound healing process. The morbidity and mortality rates associated with wound healing can be brought down only through maintaining effective nutritional health of the patients. It is therefore imperative that health care professional including nurses realize the relationship between nutrition and wound healing and that they are specially trained to implement nutritional support to promote timely wound healing. Chronic wounds pose great threat to the health care system of the nation and therefore it is imperative that

Public Administration and Democratic Governance Essay

Public Administration and Democratic Governance - Essay Example Traditionally public administration has been the forte of orthodox public administrators. They believed in monopolistic policy making and forced enforcement of these policies. With "Change" occurring at rapid phase democratic governance in public administration is inevitable to provide responsive and effective service to citizens. Citizen awareness has been another driving force enabling changes in functioning of the public administration. Citizens are more demanding, ask for more out of less and have raised the bar for public administrators from just governance to good governance. This notion has moved the responsibilities of public servants from service providers to the ones responsible for greater public good and minority upliftment. The three branches of governance - Legislative, Executive and Judiciary are no more seen as separate entities, instead, their packaged service accessibility is one of the other major responsibilities of a public administrator. The drivers mentioned above lay the stepping stone for "New Public Administration" (NPM). This initiative has become a synonym for public administration's effort towards democratic governance aiming to achieve greater economic and social development. The self governance process introduced by NPM is driven by innovation at all levels intending to face the turbulent dissatisfaction environment. Decentraliza

Massimo Vignelli Essay Example for Free

Massimo Vignelli Essay In this modern day of computers and information technology, creating and designing an amazing object or place will be much easier due to the graphic design programs that are available to help modern day artist and designers. Nevertheless, it still involves the knowledge, skills, and experience of the designer. The talent of the designer to recreate a detailed yet beautiful design for a particular object is the one that are being paid for. One of the respected and successful designers in New York is Massimo Vignelli. He dedicated his life in designing and almost involved in various areas that requires his skills in creating and organizing beauty out of nothing. This well-known designer was born in Milan, Italy. He took up his bachelors’ degree in architecture at the Milan Polytechnic from 1950 to 1953 before completing it at the Universita di Architettura in Venice where he met his wife, Leila Vignelli. Massimo Vignelli’s first professional work was at Venini where he used to be a glassware designer. He taught at the Chicago Institute of Design from 1958 up to 1960 while his wife, Leila, worked as an architect for Skidmore, Owing and Merrill in New York. With their intention to still be connected to their homeland, they returned to Milan and open a practice institution for design which was named Leila and Massimo Vignelli Office for Design and Architecture. In 1965, Vignelli came to Chicago where he arranged a meeting with Ralph Eckerstrom, once a design director at Container Corporation of America (CCA) and a good friend. In this meeting came the idea of establishing a new design firm. Then, Unimark International was born with its co-founders Vignelli and Eckerstrom. With their similar viewpoints and principles in design, Vignelli and Eckerstrom took the challenge in the corporate design world. The firm’s vision: combining American marketing techniques with European modernist design within the same organization, creating an international firm that would get its strength through the best designs in the world, refinement of communications and educating the American design market. The beginning of Unimark International would not be successful without the people who believed in the concept of the two founders. Among those people who join the team of Vignelli and Eckerstrom were Bob Noorda, Larry Klein, James Fogelman, Robert Moldafsky, and at that time the respected design specialist Herbert Bayer. In 1971, Massimo Vignelli together with his wife, Leila Vignelli, founded the Vignelli Associates in New York. At the early years of the design firm, they have attained many corporate projects from Knoll, American Airlines, Bloomingdales, Xerox, Lancia, Cinzano, United Colors of Benetton, International Design Center New York and Ford Motors. Additional contracts from Venini, Steuben, and Sasaki for glassware design were also taken by the firm. Vignelli Associates was also responsible for the design of the showrooms of Artemide and Hauserman. Soon, Vignelli put his attention in designing furniture for Sunar, Posenthal, Morphos and Knoll. Among the well-known works of Vignelli are the Handkerchief Chair and Paper Clip table of Knoll. With the reputation of the Vignelli as a designer of versatility with illustrious design characteristic of clean work and the reputation of using bold lines and pure color in their design, they took the responsibility in designing the New York Subway signage. The Vignelli Associates first design the subway in 1968. Vignelli together with Bob Noorda planned to make a signage based on simple principle of delivering the necessary information to the people through the use of the Helvetica Medium which was then an exotic medium from Switzerland. The New York Standard Medium was used in the design due to the unavailability of the first proposed medium. After four years, Vignelli proposed a new design of the New York subway that replaced his previous work. This time, no more obscured angle of train routes instead all angles are set to 45 and 90 degree angle. Each stop was represented by a dot and each train line was represented by a color. The final work was a beauty of design art yet it still taken geographical correctness. Internationally, Massimo Vignelli’s works were published to various museums and art galleries. Among the notable museums and galleries that houses Vignelli’s work are the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. His works can also be seen at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Montreal and at Die Neue Sammlung in Munich. He also became a lecturer in design at premier universities in the United States. Vignelli assumed many positions in various organizations in the US. These include the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the Alliance Graphique Internationale as president in both organizations. He was also the past vice president of the Architectural League in the US and a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). Vignelli’s work was also been aired worldwide through the two feature-length television programs. A Europe tour of his work between 1989 and 1993 allow some places to discover and see his magnificent art works. Vignelli received many awards and appreciation for his art works. Among Vignelli’s many awards are as follows: Gran Premio Triennale di Milano (1964), Compasso d’Oro (1964, 1998) from the Italian Association for Industrial Design, Industrial Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects (1973), Visionary Award from the Museum of Art and Design (2004), and the most recent is the Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2005. His latest work was the e-book entitled â€Å"The Vignelli Canon† which was released in January 2009. The copy of this modern version of Vignelli’s work can be downloaded for free from his website. References Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work. Retrieved April 5, 2009 @ http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1982/?id=255 â€Å"Massimo Vignelli of vignelli associates†. Designboom (2000). Retrieved April 6, 2009 @ http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/vignelli.html Unimark International. Retrieved April 6, 2009 @ http://www.unimark-international.com/beginnings1.html#beginnings1

Air France Flight 447 Crash 2009 Engineering Essay

Air France Flight 447 Crash 2009 Engineering Essay On May 31, 2009, Air Frances flight AF447 left Rio de Janeiro to take its 228 passengers to Paris. After sending the last message to Brazil ATC three hours after the flight took off, the aircraft suddenly disappeared while passing through the equatorial ITCZ. The aircraft computer system managed to transmit 24 fault messages indicating speed sensor problems to the Air Frances Paris Centre before it went missing. In the early morning hours of June 1, 2009, the aircraft dived into the Atlantic Ocean killing all passengers onboard. The investigation positively identified the main cause of the disaster as the pitot tube or the speed and temperature sensor malfunction located underneath the aircrafts cockpit. The cause of the pitot tube malfunctioning was determined to be due to the accumulation of ice crystals around it. Consequently, the aircrafts computerized navigational system was affected resulting in failure of different flight control systems. However, the physical evidences recov ered from the crash site suggest that the main pilot was not in the cockpit during the critical moments of the flight. Moreover, bodies of passengers and crew were found scattered in the crash indicating the possibility that they were not prepared for a crash landing. The analysis of the incident points to the possibility that the control of the aircraft during its final hour was left in the hands of a less experienced third officer. In general, the weather condition in the area where flight AF447 flew is the main causal factor that caused the pitot tube to malfunction. Another is Air France continuous use of a particular pitot tube that was implicated in a number of aircraft incidents in the past. Human error is also a contributing factor when the pilot made a very bad decision of flying through a known danger zone while others were diverting their route to avoid it. Another is the possibility that the captain was never in the cockpit during the critical hour as evidenced by the un prepared crew and passengers. Human error was involved in the safety design of the aircrafts computerized navigational system as evidenced by the sudden shut-down of the flight computers during the most critical moments of the incident. Finally, the worlds aviation industry and associated organizations are considered causal factors for their failure to set proper guidelines and standards for pitot tubes and travel across ITC zones. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 The Crash of Air France Flight 447 5 2.1 Background 5 2.2 Weather Condition 7 2.3 The Air Traffic Controllers 10 2.4 The Passengers of Flight AF447 11 2.5 The Aircraft and its Navigational Computer Systems 12 2.6 The Flight Crew and Human Errors 18 2.7 The World Aviation and other Organizations 23 Discussion and Conclusion 25 References 29 Appendices 32 Introduction On May 31, 2009 at 19:03 Brazilian local time, Air Frances flight AF447 was on its way to Paris from Rio de Janeiro carrying 228 passengers and crew when it encountered some technical problem. The A330 Airbus flew over the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where it encountered numerous thunderstorms and on the morning of June 1, 2009, the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing all passengers and crew. The rescuers found small pieces of the aircraft indicating that it had landed like a flat hand into the waters with the nose slightly pointing upwards. The results of the investigation suggest that the cause of the incident was a malfunctioning pitot tube that was gradually covered by ice crystals during the flight. The pitot tube failed to send speed data to the aircrafts computerized navigation system resulting in a chain of problems and eventual loss of control. Four minutes before the aircraft finally hit the Atlantic Ocean, the computer system sent 24 messages informing the Air France Paris centre of the occurring failures. The last message sent by the pilot to Brazil and Senegal ATC was the one informing them that the aircraft reached high level 350 three hours after takeoff. The ATC never heard from the aircraft again and there was no way to monitor since the aircraft was out of the radar range. The investigation of the incident reveals some surprising details such as the absence of the pilot from the cockpit during the final hour of flight AF447 and dead bodies of passengers and cabin crew that seemed unprepared for an emergency landing. Moreover, the aircrafts position when it hit the water appears it had lost track of its altitude while the pilot was struggling to bring the nose up. The weather condition in the ITCZ area is undoubtedly the causal factor in flight AF447 crash since the extreme weather condition rendered the pitot tube useless. However, it could have been a successful flight if the pitot tube was designed to withstand such weather conditions or if the pilot took a diversion avoiding passing through a dangerous area. To summarize in a nutshell, three major causal factors are involved in flight AF447 disaster namely weather, pitot tube, and human error. The following sections discuss the details of the incident including background information before the disaster, the causal factors that may have contributed to the disaster, graphs and other details, discussion, and conclusion. The Crash of Air France Flight 447 Background The A330-200 Airbus, Air Frances flight AF447, was on its way to Paris from Rio de Jenario when in the early hours of that ill-fated day of June 1, 2009 something terrible and unexpected happened. Brazilian ATC got the last message from the AF447 and then all contact was lost. The plane was carrying 228 passengers and crew when it suddenly disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. This set the background for one of the worst catastrophe in the aviation history, which killed 228 people. After hours of search and inquiry about the lost aircraft, the Air France officials did a detailed investigation of the messages transmitted from the plane before the accident. Except for some printout data indicating problems measuring air speed and difficulty in the in-flight computer control systems, the Brazilian and Senegalese air traffic controller reported that the plane never sent any distress signals. After about five days of the incident, the wreckage of the aircraft was found floating on the Atla ntic. About a month later, several pieces of the aircraft and some bodies were recovered but the flight data recorder or the black box was never recovered due to the extreme depth of the ocean (Kilner 2010, p.121). Sudden disappearance of flight AF447 causing a terrible air disaster and its discovery couple of days later, completely wrecked in pieces in the Atlantic Ocean, raises a lot of questions as to what went wrong. Various theories are given as well as various opinions. To unravel the mystery of AF447 air crash, a number of elements need to be evaluated. Since the black box was never found, people have no way of telling the actual cause of the crash. It may be because of the problem reported in the last message or some other problems after that. However, since there was no distress signal sent to the ATC except for some flight data printout of problems in air speed and computer control systems resulting in technical failures, the aircrafts flight control system would top the list. Second most prominent element that was evaluated in the investigation was the human error; the crew and particularly the pilots who were supposed to contact the ATC in case of any emergency. There were also some speculations about an explosion before the aircraft hit the water due to the presence of a long oil slick near the crash site (CNN World 2009, p.1). However, the constituting elements in this type of an accident is not limited to the people directly involved in the flight or terrorism, but extends to the prevailing weather, the control agencies, and other people who are responsible for commercial aviation (Kilner 2010, p.121). Weather Condition Meteorological analysis on the weather condition on AF447 crash doom day revealed its role in the cascade of events that occurred. There is substantial evidence that the thunderstorm and lightening resulted in raging turbulence, which affected the plane. The first thunderstorm encountered by AF447 was near Sao Luis in Brazil, followed by a dense cluster of thunderstorm and lightening in the Fernando de Noronha area, which comes in the ITCZ, the low pressure belt area at the equator. Such thunderstorms can create updrafts, which can reach up to 100 mph pooled up with downdrafts caused by cool air and vertical dry air mixing, which can lead to severe turbulence to aircraft. Other flights that were scheduled to fly the same night on the same route took a diversion of about 90 miles to avoid the storm zone, which encompassed about 50,000 feet of altitude. Then what prompted the experienced pilot and crew members of AF447, even after knowing the trouble, to enter the trouble zone? Would any pilot opt to fly in such a bad storm? This needed a serious thought and on investigating this matter it was observed that due to the small thunderstorm that the aircraft faced in the Sao Louis area before entering the huge thunderstorm front, the flights weather radar system may have got confused and thus the pilot and the crew were not aware of the big storm that was coming towards them. This reasoning is possible as aircraft radar system works on radio echoing principle. The tilt of the radar antenna beam helps the aircraft to detect the weather forecast. If by any means the tilt of the radar is set to a different angle then it is possible that the weather that might affect the aircraft ahead be missed (Ian Gilbert, 2005). This revelation about the weather condition and the radar operation raises another question as to when the weather condition was dangerous why AF447 did not try to avoid the storm and go around it. The satellite images obtained during the investigation showed that flying through the storm was inevitable for the Air France flight, as the storm covered approximately 400 miles and was in the route of the destination, making it impossible for the aircraft to go over or around the storm; unless they flew back. In such a situation, the only source to rely on for the pilot and the cabin crew would have been the onboard weather radar to navigate through, but the radar can only detect rain and not the turbulent wind shear. It is quite possible that these tempestuous weather conditions may have led to structural or electrical failure that was reported by the automated computer communications between the AF447 and Air France Paris headquarters. It is generally accepted that the weather in the route where flight AF447 was flying is very bad as evidenced by a number of accidents occurring particularly in that part of the equator. The weather forecast on that day was bad and it was up to the pilot to avoid the heavy thunderstorms they would encounter en-route to their destination. According to the analysis conducted on the incident, two engine planes like the A330 Airbus can withstand such conditions and flexible enough to go around any heavy thunderstorm. However, the weather condition on this situation may be too severe and created some unexpected problems for the aircraft (Kilner 2010, p.122). According to the analysis of the Baringer et al. (2010, p.182), there are evidences to suggest that the weather was an influencing factor in the crash of flight AF447. The report points to the large warm pool directly underneath the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ which was very active during that year. The Air Frances commercial flight that started its trip on the night of May 31 flew over the ITCZ passing an area of strong cumulus towers overnight. Equatorial weather data for the whole year of 2009 suggest that rainfall over the equator and tropical Pacific is 150% above normal (See satellite images in Figure A-1, p.32 and Figure A-2, p 33 in Appendix A). Aside from the ITCZ, there were also speculations about the occurrence of a microburst, a weather phenomenon that was implicated to a number of aircraft crashes like the Continental flight 3407 in New York and Delta Flight 191 in 1985 which killed 135 people (see Figure A-3, p.33 in Appendix A). According to McCormick et al. (2003, p.165), weather can play a role in accidents particularly in air transports. For instance, some of the most common affect of weather is reduced visibility, turbulence and gusting conditions, wind shear, ice and rain water on runways, and microburst conditions. In the annual review of aircraft accidents in 1995 conducted by the U.S. National Safety Board, weather contributes to 39 percent of fatal accidents while the majority at 87 percent is pilot error. The chart provided by U.S. National Safety Board shows the most usual initiating events of aircraft accidents and the most likely contributing factors. (See figure B-1 and B-2, p.34 in Appendix B) The Air Traffic Controllers In context to AF447 crash, ATC data becomes the prominent evidence in understanding the most probable reason behind the crash. The ATC details showed that the last contact made by the crew was with Brazilian ATC at 01:33 UTC, as the aircraft approached the Brazil Atlantic radar surveillance edge. After this routine message, the only information received was the 24 automated error messages received detailing flight problems and warnings, which was about 40 minutes after the last contact made at the Brazilian ATC. The last automated error message transmitted was at 2:14 UTC which mentioned about the cabin depressurization after which nothing was heard about the Air France 447. On deeper analysis of the ATC communication data that transpired during the flight, it shows that between 21:40 hr and 23:18 hr, there was successful communication between the crew and ATC. At 1 h 35 min 46 sec, the controller reported the aircraft to maintain an altitude of FL350 and to give TASIL estimate. Between 1 h 35 min 53 sec and 1 h 36 min 14 sec, the ATLANTICO checked with the crew on the estimate time of their reaching the TASIL point, which went unanswered. (BEA 2009, p.33). All these details point towards a strong possibility that the crew of flight AF447 was trying to contact the ATC before the incident but due to distance and bad weather conditions, the crew failed to get through. The ATC on the other hand had no radar coverage of that area and no weather data to warn the crew before it took off (Kilner 2010, p.122). The transcript of the investigation clearly stated that the pilot of flight AF447 reported flight level 350 which means the plane had reached its proper altitude after 3 hours. This is the last communication sent by AF447 with the ATC. In case there was a single message asking ATC for help then there might be some reason to implicate ATC on the incident, but there was none (Traufetter 2010, p.6). At this point, even the investigation conducted after the crash did not mention anything linking the Brazilian and Senegalian ATC to the incident except that they have a limited capability. The Passengers of Flight AF447 Aside from the angle of terrorism, the passengers seem an irrelevant factor contributing to the incident particularly when there was no indication of explosion in the recovered aircraft parts. However, one cannot eliminate the possibility that someone disabled the pilots and ditched the plane into the ocean. The possibility of terrorism is narrow and it cannot be eliminated completely but since there were actual distress messages from the aircraft before the crash, the possibility is irrelevant to consider. For instance, there were indeed data to prove that the aircrafts navigational system was failing minutes before the crash. Moreover, the rescue team sent to the crash site found considerable evidence that show that the crash occurred so suddenly that the bodies of passengers were not prepared for an emergency landing. The stewardess was also not sitting in the emergency seat and the life jackets were not used. From an ordinary passenger who may have been travelling through a commercial airline number of times, it is easy to visualize how crew members assigned in the cabin would prepare passengers in an emergency situation. If the imminent crash is known beforehand, passengers will be prepared for emergency landing and will be found almost in the same position and location during the rescue. Apparently, the report says that they were scattered everywhere indicating that cabin crew and passengers were not informed and wearing no seatbelts (Faith 2010, p.6). This surprising fact is linked to the man in control of the aircraft minutes before the crash. If the captain is the one maneuvering the plane, was he as an experienced and responsible person would not order or inform his cabin crew to prepare for an emergency? The passengers and even the cabin crew were mere victims and not in any way connected or contributed to the crash. The Aircraft and its Navigational Computer Systems The Airbus A330 is a modern aircraft and most commercial aircrafts are generally well-maintained. However, this aircraft model had been previously reported in one or two cases involving air speed measurement problems like the incident involving A340 flight from Tokyo to Paris, several months before the AF447 incident. Going by the investigation details, a day before the accident, the captain of AF447 had complained about some problem with the VHF1 selection key on RMP1, which was looked into. The routine Type A checks that were done on this aircraft type also did not identify any anomalies. These facts clearly indicate the otherwise good condition of the aircraft before the tragic flight. Measuring and maintaining the required air speed of the aircraft especially at high altitudes is very relevant. When air speed is not measured correctly, the pilot has a hard time controlling the plane particularly while flying in a very bad weather condition. In air transport, the most dreaded challenge faced by the pilots when things go out of control at high altitudes is the coffin corner, the area where the margin of error becomes very narrow. AF447 may also have faced the same fate with no chance of escape. On close speculation of the events that happened on 1st June, 2009 at 3 AM BST time, two main events surface. The A330 airbus reported that it has encountered bad weather and severe turbulence and ten minutes later the autopilot got disengaged as per the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). The succession of these two events indicate that flying the 233 ton heavy aircraft and managing the internal condition was becoming tough for the crew at the advent of storm battering the aircraft from all sides. Reviewing the error messages that were received at the Air France Paris headquarters, it was evident that the three Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) computers were showing different information. This information is the compilation of the data received from the pitot tubes that is then transferred to aircraft computers. Speed is a crucial factor in aerodynamics. At high altitudes, speed alteration can be treacherous. As the air becomes thinner at higher altitudes, the more speed is required to push the plane forward and to maintain its lift. If the speed is less, the plane will start stalling. At the same time, if speed becomes too much then because of passage of more air above the wings the center tends to move backwards pushing the nose of the plane down resulting in nosedive. As reported from the ACARS, it got 24 error messages from the autopilot before losing the connection. It becomes very clear from this fact that the crew members of AF447 were unaware of the actual speed and various equipments were showing inconsistent speeds. A big issue that comes up here is whether it was a complete system failure that occurred? The fact that during the vigorous attempts to save the aircraft and the passengers the plane was sending data to the maintenance facility gives a clear evidence that there was some electricity in the plane, which is impossible in case of 100% system failure. So that aspect can be completely eliminated. Investigating the automated error messages, it included 19 warnings and 5 failure messages. The equipment failure messages included the failure of cabin pressure control, autopilot, and flight controls. The warning messages were about the disengaged autopilot and disagreement between the air data systems, also warning about the cabin vertical speed. These messages and data strongly point towards speed discrepancies that happened in the aircraft due to equipment failure. From this standpoint, pitot tube is also being implicated as the most likely cause of the disaster as Pitot tube is a component of the aircraft maintenance computer or the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). The system transmit messages via satellite to ground stations which were the same messages received by the ATC before the AF447 incident. Going by reports, based on Air France Airbus earlier incidents, it was identified that the existing Pitot tubes had a high probability of malfunctioning in cold and icy conditions. The problems that were highlighted at that time due to Pitot tube malfunctioning were fluctuating and wrong speed indications, automatic switch off of the autopilot, and even a false warning under extreme conditions. On 1st June, 2009 before AF447 vanished into the Atlantic, the first automatic error message that ATC reported was that the aircraft was fluctuating badly, which followed by automatics switch off of fly-by-wire system. On comparing both the reports and facts of the incident, the vulnerability of the pitot tubes that were attached to the aircrafts cockpit comes out more distinctly, which in turn decided the fate of the aircraft and its passengers on the doom day. A330-200 Airbus had three pitot probes fitted to its aircraft, so it seems like all the three pitot tubes got iced up simultaneously. Most probably, all three of them were unable to tolerate the extreme conditions faced by AF447. According to BEA investigation report, it was identified that the present pitot tubes are certified only to handle temperatures of -40C. From the meteorological details and satellite images obtained on crash day in and around the ITCZ area, it is very obvious that the aircraft was in the bulk of the cloud fields for a significant amount of time due to the heavy thunderstorms and the super-cooled water in the clouds may have blocked and disabled all the three pitot tubes. Pitot tubes malfunction had caused several incidents in 2008 and generated similar messages or print out data that preceded the flight AF447 crash in June 1, 2009. According to Hichri (2009, p.5), unlike other commercial airlines which upgraded their pitot tubes, Air France did nothing about the problem. Examining the initial physical evidence found on the scene and the information sent by flight AF447 before it crashed, investigators said that the aircraft went through a heavy turbulence without a fully functioning flight control system. The flattened and crushed nose cone of the aircraft tells the story of its high speed impaction with the water. Consequently, the pilot may have struggled to revive their flight management computers while the aircraft was breaking up due to excessive speed (Aviation Human Factors 2009, p.2). Failure of in-flight computer systems is not a novel issue. In fact, it was the mostly considered causal factor in previous aviation incidents. For instance, the causal factor in the shutdown of the busy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in April 19, 2006 was caused by software malfunction. The communication failure between FAA Air Traffic Control Center and the aircraft in September 14, 2004 at the Los Angeles International Airport was due to the sudden and unexpected computer shut-down. The crash of Korean Air Flight 801 was also partly caused by malfunctioning Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system or MSAW and the failure of FAA to adequately manage the system. Another is the crash of American Airlines Flight 965, where errors in navigational computer programming are the leading cause of the incident. Similarly, the onboard automating reporting system in Air Frances Flight AF447 sent a total of 24 error messages while the computerized navigational systems failed throu ghout the aircraft (Wong et al., 2009, p.1-8).. After several months of investigation, the scenario depicting the final hour of Flight AF447 was constructed. (See figure C-1, p 35 in Appendix C). This scenario suggests that the horrific disaster was caused by a very small technical failure a false reading from the temperature sensor covered by ice crystals (Traufetter 2010, p.1). Since there was no more airspeed to gather and display, the autopilot and the automatic throttle system also malfunctioned and the computer automatically entered the emergency control mode. At this point, the pilot could no longer control the aircraft as it sped towards the ocean at 2, 500 feet per minute. As a natural reaction, it can be expected that the pilot tried every second to regain control of the aircraft by restarting the flight computer, but evidence suggests that he failed. The disaster in this scenario took place in a matter of four minutes after the pilot lost control of the navigational system due to failure of the temperature probe. Another causal factor suggested by Anleitner (2010, p.123) is the material used in the wiring of this type of aircraft. Kapton an insulating material used in the wiring of most modern aircraft has been shown to decay over time. The same material was one of the suspected causal factors in Swiss Air Flight 111 incident in 1998, TWA 800 disaster, and being considered as a potential contributing factor in the crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic. When completely decayed, this type of material contributes to short circuit or strong electrical arcing which can ignite fuel vapor. Computers have been blamed for several disasters including the death of 22 American servicemen due to faults in the Blackhawk helicopters computer-based fly-by-wire system. Similarly, an Iraqi Scud missile penetrated the U.S. military barracks due to the failure of the computerized Patriot missile defense system. The failure of the Hubble space telescope was also associated with programming error that shut down the onboard computer unexpectedly. Much worse is the downing of the Korean Air Lines flight 007, sinking of the HMS Sheffield in the Falklands, and the Nepalese A320 disaster caused by faulty software running a computerized fly-by-wire system (Forester Morrison 1994, p.3). The Flight Crew and Human Errors The flight crew of flight AF447 was very experienced but according to Kilner (2010, p.122), too much experience can make some people overconfident. There is, therefore, a possibility that the pilot of flight AF447 overestimated his capability and underestimated the danger ahead. The fact that the pilot decided to fly despite bad weather forecast is an indication of extreme confidence, which novice pilots would never do in such a situation. A less experienced person would probably delay the flight, re-route, or make an emergency stopover in an airport somewhere before the ocean. There is indeed a possibility of a pilot error or errors contributed by one of the crew. For instance, the first officer and the navigator are all working inside the cockpit and their functions if not performed correctly can lead to unimaginable disaster. The first officer is in charge of communication between the plane and the ATC and any mistake can put the plane in a critical situation. The first officer is also in charge of assisting the captain and can put the aircraft in or out of the automated mode, which if done out of procedure or if the captain is not aware can result in sudden or severe dive. Similarly, any wrong input of the navigator in the flight computer can result in wrong flight directions which are very dangerous (McCormick et al. 2003, p.120). In Air Frances flight AF447, the computer system had warned the pilot and the crew of faults very early in the flight. In fact, 24 error messages reached the Air France centre in Paris before the crash. The pilot could have heeded the warnings and turned back, but he never did and in fact took the chances maneuvering over numerous thunderstorms in the ITCZ area. Human error not only exists in inputs or confusions over a navigational chart and communication but does exist in ignorance of warnings also. According to Faith (1997, p.164), pilots are trained individuals that would likely follow set procedures precisely. However, these trainings and familiarity with procedures can sometimes create problems particularly when independent thinking is required. For instance, a certain pilot for Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 flying from Frankfurt to London suffered the most fatal pilot problems a pilot could have indecisiveness. Having years of experience and training, the pilot was considered perfectly competent, but with a tendency to go by with routine procedures regardless of circumstances. Heathrow Airport was clear and most pilots decided to land on it rather than in the foggy area of Gatwick; however, the Ariana Afghan flight 701 pilot decided to land on Gatwick and while nearing the airport, thinking of something else, the pilot was surprised by a thick fog and tried to pull the aircraft nose up but it was too late. Consequently, a second pause killed 43 passengers and all the o ccupants of the house swept by the aircraft. Apparently, the pilot had a second thought on landing the aircraft at the Gatwick airport He was actually hesitating and this may be the reason why he was not concentrating and paused a moment during the approach. The possibility of human error in flight AF447 is great. Although, the weather is the major contributing factor that caused the instability of the aircraft, the warnings from the weather forecast and those released by the computer system could have saved all 228 passengers and crew, if the pilot listened to them and made emergency landing to the nearest available airport. Clearly, the pilot decided to depart from Brazil despite the bad weather on his route and while experiencing tremendous pressure from the ITCZ area, he never decided to return. Confusion inside the cockpit happens, and in an aircraft accident in Dulles International Airport in 1975, confusion over the approach chart and the air traffic controller instructions brought a descending aircraft to a ridge (Johnson Palanque (2004, p.20). According to Forester Morrison (1994, p.2), regardless if the problem is directly associated with computers, the cause of failure is eventually human error. This is because they were designed by humans and the software running them are also produced by humans. Another problem is human input which in many occasions is the cause of computer glitches. For instance, when an American Airlines jet crashed in Colombia, the investigators found out that the pilot missed one letter of the computer command. This very small error sent the plane crashing into the mountain and killed 163 innocent people. The pilot, the investigator reported, entered the coordinated for Cali, their actual destination was coordinates, but made a mistake in one letter of the code which sent the aircraft to the opposite direction towards Bogota (Pfleeger Atlee 2009, p.43). Incidents like these are good example how humans, regardless of advanced computer systems can take erroneous actions res

Black Holes :: space black hole

Introduction Black holes are one of the more interesting topics in astrophysics. Even though they are commonly accepted as being real, their actual existence has yet to have been proven2. Black holes are objects that have such a concentration of mass that nothing can escape their gravitational pull once it crosses the black hole's event horizon or Schwarzschild radius. The Schwarzschild radius is the radius where, for anything inside, the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light. Since the speed of light is the maximum possible velocity, nothing escapes from a black hole. They are given their name from the fact that they do not emit any light, since light is also pulled into them. History The term "black hole" was first introduced in 1971 by John Archibald Wheeler1. The actual phenomena the term describes was theorized to exist back in 1916 by Karl Schwarzschild. Then, it was just a curiosity as a possible solution to Einstein's general theory of relativity which described gravity as a curvature of space-time2. It wasn't until 1939 that Oppenheimer and Snyder seriously considered the possibility that massive stars could collapse and become what is now called black holes at the end of their lives. Today, black holes are a commonly accepted theory that even the average person has some idea of what they are. There was even a recent Associated Press story about two black holes in the NGC6240 galaxy that scientists predict will someday merge. Properties Black holes have many interesting properties. The most obvious from their name is the fact that they can't be seen since no light is emitted from them. One of the ways they can be detected is by the x-rays given off by the matter being pulled into them before it crosses the Schwarzschild radius. As the matter is pulled in, it gains kinetic energy, heats up, ionizes, and when it reaches a few million Kelvin, emits x-rays3. Black holes can also be detected by the way nearby objects are affected by their immense gravity. As you get nearer to a black hole, light begins to be bent toward it. Black holes have a radius around them that forms what is called the photonsphere. At this point, photons of light can actually orbit the black hole4.

Computer Crime :: essays research papers fc

Computer Crime: Prevention and Innovation Since the introduction of computers to our society, and in the early 80 ¡Ã‚ ¦s the Internet, the world has never been the same. Suddenly our physical world got smaller and the electronic world set its foundations for an endless electronic reality. As we approach the year 2000, the turn of the millenium, humanity has already well established itself into the  ¡Ã‚ §Information Age. ¡Ã‚ ¨ So much in fact that as a nation we find our selves out of a service economy and into an information based economy. In a matter of only a few years almost all systems are run buy computers in some way, shape, or form. We depend on them for everything. Even the smallest malfunction or glitch in a system could now cause unfathomable amounts of trouble in everything from riding the bus, having access to your money, to getting your prescription at the pharmacists. Furthermore, Icove suggested that with the price of home computers that work faster and store more memory going down every year due to comp etition in the market, it is estimated that by the year 2011 most every American home will have a PC with instant access to the Internet. With an increase in users everyday and new businesses taking advantage of perks of an alternate electronic world, this information dimension will only get bigger, more elaborate, provide more services, and we will find society as a whole more and more dependent on it. However, even in an artificial environment such as the cyberspace, it appears mankind cannot escape from its somewhat overwhelming natural attraction to wrongful behavior or criminal tendencies. In turn this alternative dimension has been infected with the same criminal behavior that plagues our physical reality. The information age has opened the doors to anti social, smart, and opportunistic people to find new and innovative ways to commit old crimes. These people are called hackers. What is the social Problem? Computer crime is the official name given to this criminal phenomenon driven by hackers. Although a solid definition of computer crime has yet to be agreed upon by scholars, it is described in a functional manner encompassing old crimes such as forgery, theft, mischief, fraud, manipulation or altering of documents; all of which are usually subject to criminal sanctions everywhere. Also included in the description or computer crime is the unauthorized invasion or trespass of data base systems of private companies or government agencies.

Animal Farm Comprehension Questions Essay

1. Writing as if you were speaking in Napoleon’s voice talking to the other animals, explain why Boxer is sent to the Knacker’s. Comrades of Animal Farm! We are gathered here today not to mourn Boxer but to understand him. You see, Boxer was a great worker, he had two great ways of looking at life. 1) â€Å"I will work harder!† and 2) â€Å"Napoleon is always right!† In these two ways, Boxer was right. But you see, Boxer was not who we thought he was. Boxer was a mischievous horse and he working for Snowball! You see, comrades, it turns out that Snowball was not on but he was actually sneaking around the very grounds of Animal Farm! His plan was to infiltrate Animal Farm by. Converting our best worker into a double-agent, a spy, and a sabotaging (insert adjective here)! And furthermore, it worked. Squealer was doing his routine act of informing when he came upon Snowball and Boxer discussing these no-longer confidential plans in this very barn! This, comrades is why I have called this meeting to order. I couldn’t have all of you grieving over something that is not worthy of :insert emotion here: So carry on, comrades and know that he died for a reason. forward, comrades! If you believe this is hard, then think about this, do you really want Jones back? Snowball and Boxer would have found a way to bring him back, and as your leader, I could not let that happen. I brought you all here today to tell you this, that I have rid us of a backstabber and doublee-crosser. Long live Animal Farm! 2. Animal Farm is an allegory. Find out what an allegory is, and in your own words explain what you think George Orwell is trying to explain about human behavior through this story about animals. Describe three characters with human personality traits that are universal and timeless, and speculate on what kind of people they represent. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that symbolizes a â€Å"hidden meaning† or maybe an idea. In this case, I believe that George Orwell is intending to symbolize politics and more specifically, socialism. In socialism, distribution of the output was decided by individual contribution. For example, the pigs claimed they were contributing the most via brain power and thought and therefore needed more food than the other animals. One character that has universal and timeless personality traits is Napoleon the pig, and leader of Animal Farm. Napoleon is power hungry like a lot leaders and eventually, in my opinion, becomes corrupt. He might represent ::::insert leadership role here:::. Another character with timeless personality traits is Boxer and well, the rest of the horses. Boxer was an extremely hard worker and adopted the motto â€Å"I will work harder†. Boxer even started getting up a full hour earlier and stayed up later than the rest of the animals just so he could work on the windmill. For these reasons I believe that Boxer and the horses represent the working class. A third character with universal personality traits is Mollie. She is vain, conceited and wants the best for herself and is not concerned with the rest of the farm. She eventually abandons animal farm and decides to live on another farm so she may have more sugar cubes. This is the case with a lot of people. I believe Mollie represents the upper-class. 3. Research propaganda and its techniques. How does Napoleon use Squealer for his own propaganda? Explain at least three techniques of propaganda and describe how Squealer uses these on the animals. Why do they work? Napoleon uses Squealer for his own propaganda by â€Å"advertising† how great he is as a leader, how Animal Farm has significantly improved, and how Napoleon is in control. One method of propaganda is called glittering generalities. This method uses very â€Å"glittering† and positive language that make the listener feel great. The words suggest a very positive meaning but since the words are so general, they don’t actually guarantee anything. Squealer uses this when he brags about how marvelous Napoleon is as a leader and when he talks about how amazing their life will be before they overthrow Jones. Another method is called plain folks, which uses language to make the idea seem necessary, even for the most simple person. Squealer uses this method by telling the animals that they were to engage in trade with neighboring farms only, of course, to obtain materials that were essential to building the windmill. After all, the windmill was their first and foremost priority. A third method is to have an important person advertise the idea to make it seem like the important person believes in the idea strongly enough o advertise it. This will reinforce the listeners’ trust in the idea because if said important person was trustworthy, then why shouldn’t the listener like the idea? Squealer uses this when Boxer disagrees with him. When Boxer starts to protest Squealer immediately says â€Å"Napoleon said it.† Of course, Boxer’s motto is â€Å"Napoleon is always right.† so he went along with it. These methods of propaganda work because the animals are ignorant and they will believe what they want to believe, not necessarily what is true. They believed Napoleon was a good leader because they thought anybody was better than Jones. But the truth is, Napoleon ended up being just as bad and maybe even a worse leader than Jones. 4. How do the pigs use education and the lack of it to control the other animals? What larger point do you think Orwell is trying to make about knowledge and the power of education? The pigs use use the lack of education in Animal Farm to their own advantage. The majority of the animals are not very bright and will believe practically anything that they hear without thinking about it twice. Therefore the pigs, mainly Squealer and Napoleon, tell massive untruths to the animals of Animal Farm and nobody objects. You see, because the majority of the animals aren’t educated they don’t known what is true and what is not. The animals go along with what they are told because they don’t know any better. I believe the larger point that Orwell is trying to make is that education is more important than we think, we shouldn’t take it for granted. If the majority of the USA was uneducated, the government might start getting different ideas on how to run the country which is basically what happened on Animal Farm. Knowledge is extremely valuable and absolutely essential. Had the animals been smarter they might have realized what was going on right under their noses. Or asked for proof when Squealer claimed they found documents that proved Snowball was evil. The power of education was underestimated in Animal Farm, and Orwell is trying to show that it is also underestimated in politics. 5. Compare Animal Farm to a book you have read recently. How is the message about society or human nature the same? What do the authors express that is different? Many books from the reading list on the back would make an interesting comparison. A book I read over the summer was Mockingjay. The message about society or human nature is very similar in each book. In either book there is a rebellion that leads to different government. The government ends up being corrupt, controlling, and will do anything to maintain their image as powerful. For example in Mockingjay, each year they have the Hunger Games where 23 people are killed, and only one survives. This is to remind the people that the goverment is in control and it demonstrates their power very well. In Animal Farm, any animal that stands up to Napoleon or argues the slightest bit later ends up confessing to some sort of crime and being slaughtered. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The main idea of the book is rebellion or corrupt governmentMost of the people in either book don’t understand what is going on and that works to the governments advantage. The people are busy with other struggles, for example a dead daughter/son or a spoiled wheat crop. The books do have many differences, however. In Mockingjay the government is corrupt because the president wants to get revenge on the citizens for rebelling oh-so-many years ago. He does this by secretly torturing people in the capitol city, hosting the Hunger Games, and killing anybody who poses a threat to his power. In Animal Farm Napoleon just slowly corrupts and acquires to his own needs rather than the needs of his animals. Napoleon modifies the rules to justify his actions. Like when Napoleon sleeps in a bed, drinks alcohol, or even murders another animal he adjusts the rules from â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed†, â€Å"No animal shall drink alcohol†, and ‘No animal shall kill any other animal† to â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets†, â€Å"No animal shall drink alcohol to excess†, and â€Å"No animal shall kill any other animal without cause†. Animal Farm is considered a famous, class and significant book in 20th century literature. Research and reflect on its importance George Orwell was a political writer. He had very intense feelings and emotions, specifically hate, that were projected in his writing. This is demonstrated in Animal Farm What events in his life might have influenced this book? Orwell had experiences in the Spanish Civil War that affected the way he viewed government and its relationship with its people. His experiences with Soviet communism basically inspired this book, and therefore the book was based on Soviet communism. Publishers especially did not want to publish this book because it was about two Russian dictators, and they were portrayed as pigs. What was the world like when he wrote Animal Farm? World War II had just ended and much of Western Europe was happy with communist Russia with its efforts to beat Germany. Most people were pro-Soviet in 1943 What happened when Orwell tried to publish the book, and how was it received when it was printed? When Orwell tried to publish Animal Farm, he had trouble finding a publisher that would publish his book. Animal Farm was basically a slap in the face to Soviet communism and a lot of people didn’t want to publish anti-Soviet literature. People greatly liked Stalin’s Soviet Union and therefore did not want to hear any criticism that Orwell had to offer, especially since this book is written out of animosity. Some even thought he was a Nazi supporter because of his stance on Soviet communism, since the two main pigs Snowball and Napoleon were obviously Stalin and Trotsky. After the war, however, Frederic Warburg decided to publish Animal Farm. What SPECIFIC historical figures and events does the story refer to in its allegory? This story refers to two Russian dictators, Trotsky and Stalin. The revolt against Jones symbolizes the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The Battle of the Windmill represents World War II and specifically the Battles of Stalingrad and Moscow. People still read it today–even people who weren’t required to read it over summer vacation? In your opinion, why is this an important and well-liked book? People still read this book today, and it was extremely popular throughout the 1900s, after it was sold of course. I believe this book is well-liked because people like to know the truth. Its important to know the potential of bad government, and its opened my eyes to what the government could be hiding or what lies they could have told. This book is well-liked because although it is not explicitly said, this book is a warning for the Socialist movement and attempts to show its true colors, meaning, display how corrupt it can be. Orwell intentionally tried to make it harder for politicians to fool people in order to gain power. People do not like to be fooled at all, and I’m certain that is why this book is popular. Not only is it different than most stories and interesting, but it exposes the truth