Friday, November 15, 2019
Temperature, Humidity and Air Quality Index Relationship
Temperature, Humidity and Air Quality Index Relationship The relationship between temperature and humidity and air quality index in Suzhou and Jinan Lixiu. Zhang in class two. (Student ID: 1514401038) Soochow University. College of Science and technology Abstract This is a study about the relationship between temperature and humidity and air quality in Suzhou and Jinan. A hypothesis was formed that higher temperature and humidity can result in better air quality. The data was collected daily from May 12th to May 30th. Using simple linear regression model, the study found no significant correlation between these three variables in either Suzhou or Jinan. Introduction à à Air pollution today is becoming an increasingly serious issue in China. As incomes rise and priorities shift away from only pursuing money to ensuring a better life, environmental awareness is also soaring. So more and more attention has been paid to what affects air quality. This study tried to find the relationship between air quality and weather elementshumidity and temperature. Considering that high near-ground temperature will accelerate vertical air convection, which will dramatically reduce near-ground pollutants, a hypothesis was formed that: the higher the temperature, the better the air quality. Another hypothesis was that higher humidity will cause better air quality, which is based on the fact that droplets in the air can combine solid particles like PM 2.5 to reduce air suspension. This study assessed the effect of humidity and temperature on air quality, in which humidity refers to relative humidity, expressed as a percent. The unit of temperature is ââ¬Å¾Ãâ. AQI is short of Air Quality Index, which is calculated from five major air pollutants: O3, CO, SO2, NO2, and PM2.5. Higher AQI value means a greater level of air pollution and greater health concern,which is shown as follows: AQI 0-50 51-100 101-150 151-200 201-300 Levels of air pollution good moderate Slightly-polluted Moderately-polluted Heavily-polluted Suzhou and Jinan were involved in this study. Suzhou, a major city located in southeastern Jiangsu Province, has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate . As the capital of Shandong Province, Jinan has a warm temperate continental monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. These two cities were chosen because they have similar climate except Suzhou is more humid. Thus they can be compared to obtain more reliable data. Sampling methods and schedule of data collection are presented in Method section. Tables and graphs are showed in Results part. Discussion part is the explanation of the data. A summary with recommendation of improvement follows in Conclusion part. Methods The data, containing the value of humidity, temperature and AQI, were collected daily at 3PM-4PM from May 12th to May 30th. To make it more representative and reliable, the data was collected in two cities and from two different sources: www.nmc.cn ( the website of National Meteorological Center ) and Moji APP. The final data was collected after comparing these two sources. Results The data contains three variables from two cities, and is 19 days in total, from May 12th to May 30th. The data collection efforts was effectively carried out, and missing values were minimal (below 5%). Graphs and tables are shown as follows: figure 1: AQI VS temperature in Suzhou figure 2: AQI VS temperature in Jinan figure 3: AQI VS humidity in Suzhou figure 4: AQI VS humidity in Jinan Based on the analysis of simple linear regression, the relationship between variables are revealed by regression equations, which are shown in the figures. Rà ² is also presented to show how well the points fits. Note that figure 1 fits well except points (19ââ¬Å¾Ãâ,107) and (28ââ¬Å¾Ãâ,107), which is probably due to the low humidity on those two days. The peak value of AQI appeared in May 25th in Suzhou with 28ââ¬Å¾Ãâ and humidity of 75%. For Jinan, the peak value lies in May 27th, with 18ââ¬Å¾Ãâ and humidity of 71%. Discussion Figure 1 presents the relationship between temperature and AQI in Suzhou. Though not significant, this figure does suggest a positive correlation between these two variables. In other words, the higher the temperature, the worse the air quality, which contradicts the first hypothesis: higher temperature causes better air quality., As shown, most of the points fit well except for the two outliers as mentioned in last part, which pull down the value of Rà ². While figure 2 shows no correlation between temperature and AQI in Jinan with Rà ² less than 0.1. Maybe this is because the human factor is more significant in Jinan . As for humidity, there are no correlation in either figure 3 or figure 4, with Rà ²=0.13012 in Suzhou and 0.00383 in Jinan. As humidity gets greater, the value of AQI hardly changes or changes irregularly, which suggests that the second hypothesis is also wrong. There is no relationship between humidity and AQI. Conclusion To conclude, theres no significant relationship between temperature and AQI. Although AQI turns higher as temperature goes up in Suzhou, the correlation is not so significant. Neither in Suzhou nor Jinan were the relationship found between humidity and AQI. This is because air quality is the result of combined effects of multi-factors, so its very hard to figure out the effects of a single variable. Limitations exist because the size of sample is too small. Bias is possible as the data was collected in two big cities, in which human factors are very significant, and thus rural area and other small cities are excluded in this research. I recommend that further research should collect abundant data and choose more representative cities or countries. Furthermore, if conditions allow, future researcher had better singularize the variable when analyzing how a specific variable affect air quality. References The Website of National Meteorological Center. ( May, 2016). http://www.nmc.cn/. Moji Weather.(May, 2016). Moji Fengyun science and technology company. Appendix original data
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Advanced Medical Technology Solution Essay
Would you, as Mr. Winter, recommend a loan to AMT? If so, on what basis? As Mr. Winter, I would recommend a loan to Advanced Medical Technology Corporation (AMT). There are several reasons why I would recommend a loan to AMT. The biggest factor is this company is still in the growth / infancy stage of its life cycle. They have invested large amounts of capital into the research and development, and marketing of its products, and it is too soon to see the rewards from these investments. Some of the changes that need to be made in order for a loan to be approved for AMT include improving manufacturing efficencies, short-term loans, operations, and managing their accounts recieveables. The manufacturing operations of AMT can be streamlined which will enable AMT to see greater profits. Right now they are building in ten to twelve week lot sizes, and they are not always making the products they need. With the investment into a information system, they can streamline this process. This was installed in 1984, and they are making progress. I would recommend reshuffling some positions (i. e. , MRP, planning, master data) in order to obtain the full benefit of the information system. They can build larger lot sizes of some products which will cut down on the direct labor costs for the materials. Making only the products they know they have demand on will minimize the excess and obsolesnce amount they have to reserve for each quarter. AMT can also improve its accounts receivable days outstanding ratio by having more control over itââ¬â¢s A/R. Having someone do background checks on new customers instead of granting all new customers the same 30 days. Some customers with poor credit history should be given no credit, and must pay COD or before the products are shipped to minimize risk of default. Well-known customers or customers with great credit can be given more than 30 days. Also, collection of past-due accounts should be pursued more aggressively. Based on the criteria mentioned, and the financial statements, I would give AMT the full $8 million line of credit. The company has had great growth in its revenues. Although this company has not been profitable over the last three years, if it had to turn a profit, it could do so by eliminating research and development. Just by selling existing products, it would have had a net income of $3. 8 million in 1985 if it did not have the research and development expense. I am not advising the removal of R&D, I am just providing a worst case scenario for the company. Ending the R&D department would cause no new products, and new improvements to existing products in an ever changing evenronment. This company has the potential to become profitable in 1986, and pay down significant amounts to its debt by the end of 1987. And they need to pay down some debt in order to improve their working capital which was fine in 1983, but because of expenses (possibly related to the installation of the information system) in 1984 its working capital has soured.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Age of Extremes Essay
The twentieth century was rich in events and outstanding personalities. In his book Age of Extremes, Eric Hobsbawm provides an extensive review of what happened during the Twentieth Century and the impact of those events on human development. According to Hobsbawm, the Twentieth Century was both the Age of Catastrophe and the time of the extraordinary economic growth ââ¬â a complex sandwich of events and developments that changed the human society ââ¬Å"more profoundly than any other period of comparable brevityâ⬠(Hobsbawm, 1995). In the first two chapters of Age of Extremes, Eric Hobsbawm (1995) tries to evaluate the social and historic legacy of the Twentieth Century and creates a brief picture of the events and accomplishments that took place between 1914 and 1991. The author is confident that human society cannot distance itself from the events of the past, because everyone on the globe, irrespective of their life history and personal background, went through more or less similar central experiences that affected them all (Hobsbawm, 1995). Hobsbawm (1995) traces the evolution of the Twentieth Century from the First World War, which marked ââ¬Å"the breakdown of the western civilization of the nineteenth centuryâ⬠(p. 6). The western civilization was characterized by capitalist economy, liberal constitutional structure, bourgeois image of the hegemonic class, and the glory of scientific, educational, technological, knowledge, and moral advance (Hobsbawm, 1995). The decades following the beginning of the First World War were the Age of Catastrophe: until the end of WWII, the society stumbled from one calamity to another and lived at the edge of survival (Hobsbawm, 1995). The failure of the major colonial empires and the economic crisis of unprecedented depth added their share of complexity to the state of world affairs (Hobsbawm, 1995). Hobsbawm (1995) believes that the victory of the Soviet Union over Hitler was one of the most important events of the Twentieth Century. Without it, the whole Western world could have turned into set of variations on fascist themes (Hobsbawm, 1995). The rise of the socialist movements was the direct result of the weaknesses in the nineteenth-century bourgeois society (Hobsbawm, 1995). How and why the world threw itself into the Golden Age of capitalism between 1947 and 1973 remains one of basic historical puzzles; but the Golden Age could not be endless and the global crisis that followed affected all, irrespective of their political, social, and economic configurations (Hobsbawm, 1995). The economic crisis gradually extended to cover political issues ââ¬â the collapse of the Soviet Union produced an enormous zone of political uncertainty and destroyed the stable system of international relations (Hobsbawm, 1995). The economic and political uncertainties were followed by the moral and social crisis ââ¬â the crisis of beliefs, which humans had used over the course of the Twentieth Century to win their battle over the nineteenth centuryââ¬â¢s ideology (Hobsbawm, 1995). The century that had begun with unbelievable optimism and faith in the future ended with a bang and a whimper, leaving the society in the midst of the moral, social, economic, and mental collapse (Hobsbawm, 1995). In Hobsbawmââ¬â¢s (1995) view, the Twentieth Century was the time of unprecedented achievements and dramatic failures. The cyclical nature of evolution resulted in continuous instability and profound economic, social, and political shifts. For many countries, the Twentieth Century became the time of remarkable changes and the beginning of the new era of uncertainty and chaos. Whether countries succeed in resolving the existing controversies depends on how well they can learn the lessons of the past and use wisely the historical, political, and moral legacy of the stormy Twentieth Century. Conclusion The Twentieth Century was the time of unprecedented achievements and failures. The capitalization of the word combination ââ¬Å"Twentieth Centuryâ⬠by Hobsbawm (1995) is not accidental. The author feels that the Twentieth Century reflected a unique paradox: the triumph of the material values and their absolute rejection at the end of the era. The century that had begun with unbelievable optimism and faith in the future ended with the deep crisis of the moral and mental ideologies, leaving humanity in the midst of the social, economic, cultural, and moral collapse. Whether countries succeed in resolving the existing controversies depends on how well people can learn from the past and use wisely the historical, political, and moral legacy of the stormy Twentieth Century.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Woolly Worm Caterpillars and Winter Forecasts and Folklore
Woolly Worm Caterpillars and Winter Forecasts and Folklore Every October, NOAAs Climate Prediction Center releases a winter outlook to give the public the best possible scientific prediction of how the winter may shape up across the nation; but in the pre-NOAA days, folks got this same information from a more humble sourcethe Woolly Bear caterpillar.à à Called woolly bears in the Midwest and Northeast, and woolly worms in the Southern U.S., Woolly Bear caterpillars are the larvae of Isabella tiger moths. Theyre common to the United States, northern Mexico, and the southern third of Canada, and are easily recognized by their short, stiff bristles of reddish-brownà and black fur. How to Read a Woollys Colors According to folklore, the woolly worms coloring is said to indicate how severeà the coming winter will be in the local areaà where the caterpillarà is found.à The Woolly Bear caterpillars bodyà has 13 distinct segments. According to weather lore, each one corresponds to one of the 13 weeks of winter. Each black bandà represents one week of colder, snowier, and more severe winter conditions, whereas orange bands indicateà that many weeks of milder temperatures. (Some even believe that the position of the bands which part of winter. For example, if the tail end of the caterpillar is black, it means that winters end will be severe.)à à Two other versionsà of this folklore exist. The first relates the severity of winter toà the thickness of the caterpillars coat. (Thicker coats signalà colder winters, and a sparse coat, milder winters.)à The finalà variation deals with the direction in which the caterpillarà crawls. (If a woolly crawls in a southerly direction it means hes trying to escape the cold winter conditions of the north. If he travels on a northward path, that indicates a mild winter.) à Significance of Solid-Colored Woolly Worms Not all woolly worms have alternating orangeà and black markings. Occasionally, youll spot one thats all brown, all black, or solid white. Like their brown and black relatives, they too have : Orange:à Just as reddish-brown segments signal a week of mild temperatures, an all brown caterpillarà suggestsà an overall mild winter with above-normal temperatures and insignificant snowfall.Black: An all black caterpillarà signals the onset of a very hard upcoming winter.White (sand-colored): White woolly worms are said to predict winter snowfall. Spotting one is supposedly a strong indicator that heavier than average snows à or even a blizzardà can be expected in the region during the winter season.à How Fame Found the Woolly Worm The woolly worms talent was first discovered in the late 1940s by Dr. Charles Curran, former curator of insects at New York Cityââ¬â¢s Museum of Natural History. As the story goes, Dr. Curran measured the coloration of woolly bear caterpillars between 1948 and 1956à atà Bear Mountain State Park. During those years, he found that 5.3 to 5.6 of the observed caterpillars 13 body segments wereà orange. As his counts suggested, the winters for each of those years turned out toà indeed beà mild.à A reporter friend of Currans leaked hisà forecasts to a NYC newspaper,à andà theà publicity the storyà generated made woollyà bear caterpillars a household name. Is the Folklore True? Dr. Curran found that the width of reddish-brown fur correctly matched the winter type with 80% accuracy. While his data samples were small, for some people this was enough to legitimizeà the folklore.à However, for the majority of todaysà professionals, it isnt sufficient data. They argue that not only is a woolly bears coloringà based on its age and species, but alsoà that it would take researching an awful lot of caterpillars in one place over a great many years in order to make any conclusions aboutà woollys andà winter weather. One thing most can agree on is that regardless of whether or not the folklore is true,à its a harmless and fun autumn tradition to take part in. When and Whereà to Spotà Woolly Worms Woolly worms are usually seenà in autumnà on sidewalks andà roadways.à If you do meet one, dont expect it to hang around for long. Woollys are busy creatures, always on-the-goà searching for a cozy home underneath a rock or log to overwinter in. Theyà moveà pretty fast too (as worms go)!à à One sure-fireà way to meet a woolly is to attend aà woolly worm festival. 2016à Woolly Worm Festivals Likeà theà groundhog, woolly worms have become soà popular, several festivals have sprouted up across the United States to honor them. Theà longest-running festivals are celebrated in:à Vermilion, Ohio. Ohios annualà Woollybear Festivalà is one of the longest-running in the US. The festival started more than four decades ago, whenà TV weatherman, Mr. Dick Goddard, proposed the idea of a celebration built around using the worm to forecast the upcoming winter. He still hosts the festival to this day.à This years festival is scheduled to be held October 2, 2016. Banner Elk, Northà Carolina.à Held every third weekend in October.à This years 39th Annual Woolly Worm festival dates are October 15-16, 2016.à Beattyville, Kentucky. Beattyvilles Woolly Worm Festival is always the last full weekend in October.à This years 29th annual festival will take place October 21-23,à 2016.à Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Currently in its 19th year, this years festival will take place on October 15, 2016. If youre a fan of woolly worm festivals, let us also recommend these weather-focused festivals.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Farewell My Concubine essays
Farewell My Concubine essays There are many themes that permeate Chen Kaiges film, Farewell My Concubine. Fore the purposes of this paper they will be presented in three parts: historical perspective, sexual identity and relationships, and social commentary/criticism. Although some critics of the film make the argument that the film is not about a historical perspective, but rather on sexual identity and human relationships, it is not possible to altogether excuse the historical elements of the film, because there are few and the ones shown are extremely critical to the other themes the movie presents. So then one must question not whether these historical scenes are important in analyzing the film, but why was each historical event selected to be used, and how does it add to the other themes of sexual identity, relationship interaction, and social commentary and criticism? While the films main plot follows the relationship between two Beijing Opera stars, Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi, from their childhood to old age, there are also many subplots, such as the fragmentation of their relationship as a result of Duans marriage to Juxian and the historical events that challenged their loyalty to each other in the face of physical and emotional torture. It is the combination of all of these plots in the context of the three thematic approaches presented in this paper that the full effect of Chen Kaiges film may be realized. Historically, Farewell My Concubine covers the time period from the late Qing dynasty to the post-Mao era, mainly focusing on two key events in Chinese history, the Japanese invasion and the Cultural Revolution. The Japanese invaded China and entered the capital of Beijing in 1937. This invasion launched the pacific front of the Second World War whose fighting didnt end until 1945 with the Americans atomic bombing of Japan. The atrocities committed by the Japanese are shown in the scenes following Duan ...
Sunday, November 3, 2019
A hypothetical disaster scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
A hypothetical disaster scenario - Essay Example However, there is no difference between this earthquake and the California earthquake. Data needs to be collected on the extension of the effects of the earthquake. The earthquake might have triggered other earthquakes or even tsunamis. Facts deploy that the crustal plates that compose the surface of the planet are seen moving all the time. They are identified moving at a rate that is equal to the development of fingernails. They are ought to be moving away from each other. This then leads to the oozing of the magma up which forms a new crust. Therefore, they may slide past each other or even towards each other which makes the current crust to be destructed. The main thing that may make them stick together thus forcing a deformation when they continue their movement is through friction. The faults are subjected to breakage where seismic waves are when friction is by deformation. However, the divergent boundaries may occur at the mid-ocean ridges or even in the rift zones. This is where the new crust if formed. These regions are subjected to earthquakes of which they are not that hazardous in the part because they appear to be small and happen to be far away from people. During the time when the plates are moving apart, the transform boundaries are the motion of strike slip of the San Andreas Fault. The earthquakes happening in these regions happen to be shallow and thus they produce moderate magnitude earthquakes. The convergent boundaries occur when there is a collision of the plates. If the plates are both continental plates, huge mountain ranges created by the crust that crumbles out in the process of formation just like the Himalayas. If the movement happens to be in between the continent and the ocean, the oceanic plate which is of high density, is sub ducted in the floating continental plate which happens to be of low density. The regions where subduction takes place are always terrifying thus they occur infrequently in that the locals
Friday, November 1, 2019
Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture Essay
Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture - Essay Example Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture For an individual, it is imperative to comprehend the multicultural values especially in the business environment to successfully perform the assigned activities. With this concern, in order to ascertain cultural distinctiveness of the host or target country i.e. Australia, a person working in the corporate sector in the nation was interviewed. Subsequently, a number of critical facets have been derived that would enable to meet the ensuing challenges in a diverse culture. The objective of the study is to determine the various cultural dimensions which differentiate the business and cultural environment of Australia from Portugal. The behavioral dimension, work purpose, time and human nature among factors are evaluated. The cultural environment of Australia differs from that of Portugal on the basis of certain grounds. From the conversation with the designated individual and from revealed researches, it has been ascertained that the culture of Australia gives much significance to ascertaining harmony of the country which influences the workplace. The harmony is valued to bring cohesiveness and promote diversity in Australia which supports the work culture to a great extent. Australia renders more significance to the individualistic culture, which makes the society loosely knit. This characteristic is displayed in the business environment where the employees are estimated to be self-reliant and exhibit initiative. The people of Australia are modest, val ue authenticity, sincerity and give more importance to the business. The hiring and the promotion of the people in Australia depend on the merit of the individuals. Conversely, in Portugal, the importance is given to the moral and relationship factor. The cohesiveness of the people in Australia makes it a better place for business than in Portugal. The Portugal culture gives more importance to personal relation than business. The commitment among the people is more in Portugal as they follow the collective approach, which gives more importance to the group member than an individual (ITIM, ââ¬Å"What about Australiaâ⬠; ITIM, ââ¬Å"What about Portugalâ⬠). UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE The rules and procedures are flexible in Australia as it follows the pragmatic culture for avoiding uncertainty. With reference to Hofstedeââ¬â¢s cultural dimension, it is observed that the score of Australia is 51 as compared to 104 of Portugal which signifies that the Australian culture gives em phasis on idea generation, innovation and has a risk taking approach to help the work environment to flourish amid the changing uncertainties. Whereas, the Portuguese culture states that they follow rigid rules and procedures which help them to avoid uncertainty better than Australia. The people do not focus on emotions much and emphasize planning to make the business grow. The culture emphasizes more emotions, beliefs and have a risk-averse behavior (ITIM, ââ¬Å"What about Australiaâ⬠; ITIM, ââ¬Å"What about Portugalâ⬠). SOURCES OF TRUTH In the Australian organizational culture, the managers are easily accessible due to a flexible hierarchical system. The communication system is informal in Australia which gives scope for both the management and the employees to have a free interaction. Thus, employee for any query or in search of truth
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