Apophis The Space Rock That Started a Panic

Planet Earth has undergone many close calls with invaders from space throughout its 4.5-billion-year history. One huge impact resulted in the formation of the Moon. Many other objects also smacked into our world, causing widespread damage. Just ask the dinosaurs, whose end was hastened 65 million years ago by a piece of errant space rock a few hundred meters across. It could happen again, and scientists are on the lookout for incoming impactors. There are nightly searches for objects that might stray too close to Earths orbit and could cause problems if they hit. The best theory about the formation of the Moon says that the infant Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia collided early in the history of the solar system. The remnants were blasted to space and eventually coalesced to form the Moon. NASA/JPL-Caltech  Ã‚   Enter Apophis: The Earth-orbit-crossing Asteroid In 2004, planetary scientists discovered an asteroid that looked like it was on a collision course toward  Earth within a few decades. Since theres not really a way to deflect incoming asteroids (yet), the discovery was a stark reminder that Earth shares space with lots of objects that hit it. The discoverers, Roy A. Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi, used Kitt Peak Observatory to find the rock, and once they confirmed its existence, assigned a temporary number to it: 2004 MN4. Later on, it was given a permanent asteroid number of 99942 and they suggested it be named Apophis after a villain in the show Stargate, and harks back to ancient Greek legends about a serpent that threatened the Egyptian god Ra. A lot of very deep calculations took place after the discovery of Apophis because, based on orbital dynamics, it seemed very possible that this little bit of space rock would be aimed squarely at Earth on one of its future orbits. No one was sure if it would hit the planet, but it seemed clear that Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole near Earth that would deflect its orbit just enough that the asteroid would collide with Earth in 2036. It was a scary prospect and people began observing and charting the orbit of Apophis very closely. Radar images of Apophis taken in 2012 helped astronomers determine its size and shape. NASA/JPL   Searching Out Apophis NASAs automated sky search called Sentry made further observations, and other astronomers in Europe used a program called NEODyS to track it as well. As the word got out, many more observers joined the search to contribute as much orbital data as they could. All observations point to a very close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029 — so close that a collision could occur. During that flyby, Apophis will be closer to the planet than some of the many geosynchronous communications satellites we use, passing within 31,200 kilometers. It now appears that Apophis will not slam into Earth that day. However, the flyby will change Apophiss trajectory slightly, but it will not be enough to send the asteroid on a path to impact in 2036. First, the size of the keyhole Apophis has to pass through is only going to be about a kilometer across, and astronomers have calculated that it will completely miss that keyhole. That means Apophis will sail on by Earth, at a distance of least 23 million kilometers. Safe, for Now The detection and refinement of Apophiss orbit by a world-wide skywatching community was a good test of the observational systems that NASA and other agencies have in place for near-Earth asteroids that might stray into our orbital path. More could be done, and groups such as the Secure World Foundation and the B612 Foundation are researching further ways that we can detect these things before they get too close. In the future, they hope to have deflection systems set up to ward off incoming impactors that would significantly damage our planet (and us!). More about Apophis So, what is Apophis? Its a massive space rock about 350 meters across and part of a population of near-Earth asteroids that regularly cross our planets orbit. Its irregularly shaped and looks fairly dark, although during its passes by Earth it should be bright enough to spot with the naked eye or a telescope. Planetary scientists call it a Class Sq asteroid. Class S means it is mainly made of silicate rock, and the q designation means it has some metallic features in its spectrum. Its very similar to carbonaceous-type planetesimals that formed our Earth and the other rocky worlds. In the future, as humans branch out to do further space exploration, such asteroids as Apophis might well become sites for mining and mineral extraction.   Missions to Apophis In the wake of the near-miss scare, a number of groups at NASA, ESA, and other institutions began looking at possible missions to deflect and study Apophis. There are several ways to change an asteroids path, given the right time and technology. Attaching rockets or explosives to gently nudge an asteroid slightly off its path is one, although mission planners need to be very careful not to take it into a more dangerous orbit. Another idea is to use a so-called gravity tractor to orbit a spacecraft around the asteroid and use the mutual gravitational pull to change the asteroids trajectory. No specific missions are underway right now, but as more Near-Earth asteroids are found, such a technological solution may well get built to prevent a future catastrophe. Currently, there are somewhere between 1,500 known NEOs orbiting out there in the dark, and there could be many more. At least, for now, we dont have to worry about 99942 Apophis making a direct hit.   Fast Facts Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) with an orbit that takes it fairly close to Earth.Planetary scientists have observed this object and determined that it is not likely to hit Earth in the coming decades.Apophis is a piece of space rock, an asteroid that measures about 350 meters across. Sources â€Å"Asteroid Apophis Has One in 100,000 Chance of Hitting Earth, Expert Estimates.†Ã‚  Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology, Phys.org, phys.org/news/2017-08-asteroid-apophis-chance-earth-expert.html.Dunbar, Brian. â€Å"NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis.†Ã‚  NASA, NASA, 6 June 2013, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/asteroid20130110.html.NASA, NASA, cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/doc/apophis/.

I Hear The Mournful Wail White Simone And Billings

In the essay I Hear the Mournful Wail White Simone and Billings†¦ (p. 393) Frederick Douglas an escaped slave and a member of the Massachusetts antislavery society was invited â€Å"to commemorate Independence Day in Rochester New York†. P. 393 Douglas immediately sets himself apart from the rest of the audience by calling Independence Day their holiday. Frederick Douglas uses questions to draw the audience in asking them to question why indeed do they celebrate Independence Day when equality does not reign for all. White Simone and Billings state that an introduction should â€Å"engage the reader† and Douglas accomplishes this well in his essay. P. 126 Douglas then talks to the audience about the inequality of slavery and the rights of the slave, Douglas ask the audience if a Negro is a man. Douglas contradicts the argument that God has ordained slavery. Douglas States that â€Å"slavery is not divine† nor â€Å"did God establish it instead the doctors o f divinity or mistaken†. P. 396 Douglas’s essay rails against slavery and ask the audience to lay aside their beliefs on slavery and instead see slavery for what it is â€Å"revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy†. White, Simone and Billings’ state for an opinion to become an arguable theses then it must have these components â€Å"it must be presented as a problem capable of being investigated and â€Å"the argument must be substantive†. P. 5 â€Å"and I am therefore called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the

Essay on the Play Trifles free essay sample

She traveled to the scene of the crime in Indianola, Iowa, where the farmer John Hossack was murdered after midnight on December 2, 1900. According to Margaret Hossack, who had been married to John Hossack for thirty-three years, she was sleeping beside him and awoke to the sound of an axe twice striking something that turned out later to be her husbands head [2]. In her testimony, she leapt out of bed and ran into the living room, where she saw a light and heard the door closing. She returned to her bedroom with her children and discovered him to be mortally injured. Setting The sheriff Henry Peters and the county attorney George Henderson arrive with the witness Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale at John Wrights farmhouse, where the police are investigating Wrights murder. Lewis Hale recounts how he discovered Mrs. Wright acting bizarrely, as she told him that her husband was murdered while she was sleeping [2]. Although a gun had been in the house, Wright was gruesomely strangled with a rope. The men continually disparage the women for worrying about trifles instead of about the case, but Henderson allows the women to collect some items for Mrs. Wright, who is in custody, as long as he agrees that the objects are irrelevant to the case [3]. Characters George Henderson The county attorney, he has been called to investigate the murder of John Wright and will probably serve as the attorney for the prosecution in the event of a trial. He is young and professional in manner, but he often dismisses the female interest in minor details of domesticity, and he disparages Mrs. Wright for what he perceives as her lack of homemaking abilities [3]. Henry Peters The middle-aged local sheriff and husband of Mrs. Peters, he is at John Wrights house to examine the scene of the crime. Like Henderson, he gently teases the women about their interest in Mrs. Wrights quilt [3]. Lewis Hale A neighboring farmer, he had entered the Wright farmhouse to ask John about acquiring a telephone, only to find a strangled man and a wife acting very bizarrely. He says, Women are used to worrying about trifles. Mrs. Peters A relative newcomer to the town who never knew Mrs. Wright before John Wright married her, Mrs. Peters is a slight, wiry woman with a thin, nervous face. She is married to the sheriff and prefers to follow the law, often apologizing for the behavior of the men because they are only doing her duty. Mrs. Peters understands loneliness and the world of the female domestic [4]. Mrs. Hale The wife of the farmer Lewis Hale, she is of a heavier build than Mrs. Peters and resents the condescension shown to her by the men in general and Henderson in particular because of her gender and domestic occupat ion. She remembers Mrs. Wright as the young Minnie Foster, and she feels sorry for Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale regrets not having come to visit Mrs. Wright to alleviate her cheerless life [4]. John Wright A local farmer, he was commonly considered a good, dutiful man, but he was also a hard man and neglected his wifes happiness. He paid little attention to his wifes opinions and prevented her from singing. The play centers on the motive for his murder [4]. Mrs. Wright Born Minnie Foster, she used to be a happy, lively girl who sang in the local choir, but after she married John Wright, her life became unhappy and forlorn. Although she does not appear in the play, she is the main suspect in her husbands murder and sends Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to collect a few minor items for her from the farmhouse[2]. Plot Upon investigation, no items were missing from the farmhouse, and the coroners inquest divulged no new information. The local sheriff eventually arrested Margaret Hossack during her husbands funeral, based on the discovery of the murder weapon in the corn granary and on neighbors suggestions of discontent within their marriage. Glaspell provided thorough coverage of the case, from the news of the murder to the results of the April 1901 trial, and she often made use of a lurid combination of gossip, rumor, and truth to report her stories. Glaspells descriptions of Margaret generally painted her as an insane murderer until her visit to the farmhouse in mid-December, after which her depiction softened Mrs. Hossack into a meek, elderly woman [1]. Without retaining any names or specifics, Trifles nonetheless allows the fictionalized Margaret Hossack in the form of Mrs. Wright to regain her ignity by giving her a motive for murder which is sympathetic and understandable, if not entirely moral. In the first Provincetown Players presentation of Trifles at the Wharf Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Susan Glaspell played Mrs. Hale, the woman who empathizes with the plight of the suspected Mrs. Wright and who convinces Mrs. Peters to hide the evidence so that Mrs. Wright will be acquitted in trial. In the yea r after her August 8, 1916, performance of Trifles, Glaspell adapted the play into the short story A Jury of Her Peers. This title reflects the sense that women have a better comprehension of Mrs. Wright’s dismal domestic situation than do the men who dismiss female opinions and difficulties [4]. Stage Directions Trifles begins with stage directions that introduce the five speaking characters of the play as well as the dismal setting of the disheveled kitchen in a recently abandoned farmhouse. Susan Glaspell got her inspiration for Trifles from her real-life visit to the dreary kitchen of Margaret Hossack, whose trial for the murder of her husband formed the basis for the plot, and accordingly, the setting establishes the melancholy, thoughtful mood of the play. Furthermore, although Trifles is in essence a murder mystery, the play takes place in the kitchen instead of at the crime scene of the bedroom or in a more official domestic setting such as the police station. As a result, the play exists in a private, domestic, and female domain rather than what in the early twentieth century was the primarily male public domain, foreshadowing the focus of the work on the women [3]. Symbolism In Susan Glaspells, Trifles, symbolism is used to emphasize the meaning of the play. Glaspell writes of a woman who murdered her husband because he was to blame for her cold and lonely life. The women characters in the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, solve the murder, while the men, the county attorney and sheriff, wonder about trying to figure it out. Glaspell used symbolism as clues to the murderers motive that only the women were able to figure out, and in turn kept the motive of the murderer a secret due to the bond of women [4]. Themes When speaking to the female characters in Trifles, Henderson and the other men make a key mistake in their assumption that the women derive their identity solely from their relationship to men, the dominant gender. For example, Henderson tells Mrs. Peters that because she is married to the sheriff, she is married to the law and therefore is a reliable follower of the law. Mrs. Peters response is Notjust that way, suggesting that over the course of the play, she has rediscovered a different aspect of her identity that ties more closely to her experience as a woman than to her marriage to Henry Peters. As Mrs. Hale concludes, women all go through the same thingsits all just a different kind of the same thing. For Mrs. Hale, Minnie Wrights murder of her husband is the ultimate rejection of her husbands imposed identity in favor of the memory of the person Minnie Foster used to be [1]. Genre In Trifles, the men believe that they grant female identity by virtue of the womens relation to men rather than through their inherent qualities as females. Except for the absent Minnie Wright, the women have no first name and take their husbands last names, despite being the protagonists of the story instead of the named male characters[3]. This institutionalized male superiority is so pervasive that the men feel comfortable in disparaging Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hales interest in trifles, with the clear implication that the women are too flighty and small-minded to worry about important issues such as the investigation at hand. In addition, when the men observe the troublesome state of the kitchen, they immediately conclude that the woman must be at fault in her homemaking abilities because they all know John Wright as a good, dutiful man and in consequence form a unified front protecting John Wrights reputation. Because of this male solidarity, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale can only aid Mrs. Wright if they ally with their own gender[1]. Conclusion Symbolism was a key part to this short play. Glaspell used it throughout to show the bonding between the women. She used certain items that only the women could understand and relate to in order to exemplify female bonds. The men in the play didnt understand the jar of cherries or even notice the bird cage without a bird because, as Glaspell showed, the men dont think or notice the same things women do. References: 1. Glaspell, Susan. â€Å"Trifles. † The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Booth, Alison et al, eds. New York: WW Norton, 2005. 1314-23. Print. 2. Alkalay-Gut, Karen. Jury of Her Peers: The Importance of Trifles. Studies in Short Fiction 21 (Winter 1984): 1-9. 3. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. 8th Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2007. 4. Makowsky, Veronica. Susan Glaspells Century of American Women: A Critical Interpretation of Her Work. New York: Oxford UP, 1993.

Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation

The article under analysis called Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation considers the role of leadership styles, as well as supervisor-subordinate relationships, in increasing organizational performance and culture (Butler 139). The author provides an overview of connections between efficient decision-making and its influence on productivity levels in a company.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The article starts with identifying leadership in terms of its relation to business performance. The researcher also provides a distinct analysis of leadership, particularly how it differs from managers. Further, the author proceeds with the assessing communication that is crucial in promoting leadership skills. Therefore, leaders should be able to generate favorable behavioral patterns and shape an effective organizational envir onment. With an emphasis on organizational culture, leaders should be able to use power effectively to influence other people. As a result of such relations, leaders evoke certain moods, expectations, and images which later allow managers to carry specific roles. To emphasize importance of leadership for organizational performance, the author also touches on the problem of cultural diversity in Arab multicultural organizations. Implementing specific leadership styles can both encourage and motivate employees to work more enthusiastically. Therefore, concept of cultural diversity comes to the forth. At the end of the studies, the scholar concludes that leadership should underline charisma to attract employees’ attention and increase their satisfaction. It has also been found that commitment to organizational goals is strongly associated with quality of relations between supervisors and their subordinates. Clarity and Usefulness The article has well organized and transparent st ructure. The author’s ideas closely relate to the structure and organization and provide the readers with the overall concepts and connections. Therefore, the article is consistent and logical. In addition, the article is useful because it highlights aspects and challenges of managing cultural diversity in UAE. The author has managed to shed light on leadership in a narrow cultural concept. The author also presents information about features and conditions under which multicultural organization can improve its performance. In addition to the consistent structure, the article provides a number of reliable evidence stipulating the usefulness of the research under consideration. In particular, the authors provides similar research studies related to cross-cultural issues.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research Methodology The study is based on a qualitative method ology which allows to analyze 137 employees working in a multicultural Arab company. By means of Likert scale, the participants had to choose seven variants of answers, which ensure greater objectivity of the text. The chosen sample for the research is adequate for conducting a research provided the sample covers the entire population. Although the give methods allows to provide significant findings, as well as practical implications for future research, introducing quality methods, such as interviewing of the focus groups, individual interviewing, and recording of the answers, could contribute greatly to the analysis of employees behaviors, as well as their attitude toward the challenges of multicultural environment. Quality of Hypothesis and Data The hypotheses of the research study are relevant because they are confined to a specific problem investigated in an Arab leadership context. Each hypothesis out of five is followed by detailed explanations of purposes and arguments that should be researched and discussed. Specific attention is paid to the analysis of the necessity to establish frames within which leadership influences other organizational aspects, as well as human resources. By discussing various traits of leadership, the author skillfully finds correlations with other dimensions of organizational leadership, including employees’ commitment, reward and recognition schemes, cultural backgrounds, and leadership styles. Apart from the topic relevance, the given hypotheses allow for assessment of employees’ behavior. They also predict further implications for studying leadership styles and their influence on a multicultural environment. The quality of data delivered in the article is justified because it is taken from the real-to-life environment. Discussion Evaluation (Good no need to add any more points, just I need explanation on some point, so I can get it for my discussion with my teacher) Though there is no particular heading for di scussion, it still involves explanations that are matching with all hypothesis posed at the beginning of the research. The explanations, however, do not provide consistent and systematic responses to the research questions, but are incorporated into thematic domains. While evaluating the persuasiveness of the highlighted themes, specific emphasis should be placed on considering logical connections established between employees’ responses and leadership theories.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The value of the discussion is enhanced because it relates to a specific cultural context within which leadership styles are considered. Despite the consistency and clarity, much concern is connected with the generalized conclusions based on the surveys. So, there should be more references to the initial hypothesis, instead of gene ralized statements. In particular, the discussion focuses primarily on general assumption, but not on practical implementation of the discussion. Findings and Practical Implications The findings are represented in a clear and transparent way. Each of the conclusions made in the passage correspond to the numerical data received during the survey. Because the research refers to a certain multicultural variety, as well as the way it is treated in an Arab world, the findings could be used to make the corresponding changes to work and objectives of an organization. Despite the narrow context, the findings can also be applicable to the multinational organizations established in other countries. For example, it has been defined that â€Å"commitment to the organization is related to the quality of supervisor-subordinate relations† (Butler 139). The finding proves the importance of introducing person-oriented approaches in managing multicultural organizations. Therefore, the research proves the reliability and validity of the findings. Practical implications introduced in the article reflect further perspectives for analyzing business environment in terms of culture and organization. Limitations for Academics and Consultants The limitation of the study lies in a narrow-focused discussion of supervisor-subordinate relations in a particular organization. The findings related to this topic could not be applied to other organizations with various cultural backgrounds. Indications on Future Research Because the research under analysis focuses mainly on the analysis of leadership qualities and their impact on employees’ performance, future research should be dedicated to the analysis of employees’ behavior and their influence on the development of new leadership styles.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, the author pays closer attention to language and communication skills as essential components of successful cross-cultural interaction. Managers and leaders should be more concerned with understanding cultural peculiarities. A person-centered approach is more justified. Relevance of the Research to an Arab Management Context The research studies are based on the survey of employees working an UAE multicultural company, but their nationalities differ. On the one hand, because UAE culture shapes the basis of organizational culture, the research findings are highly relevant to the topic. On the other hand, the employees who take part in the research originate from different cultures and, therefore, their answers that do not depend on the UAE cultural peculiarities. Such perspectives, however, could be used in any multicultural context to meet the needs of culturally diverse employees. The task of Arab leaders, therefore, is to correspond to international standards of manag ing business. Works Cited Butler, Colin. Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 30.2 (2009): 139-151. Print. This case study on Leadership in a Multicultural Arab Organisation was written and submitted by user Trevor Frye to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.