Panama Canal Construction Problems

Panama Canal Construction Problems The canal of Panama is 77km long and it facilitates shipping in region by connecting the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. This waterway has been a vital route for trade in international maritime. The US canal project commenced in 1904 and completed in 1914. Since its completion, it has witnessed an increase of traffic from approximately 1000 ships per year to 14,702 ships per year in 2008. This was one of the most complex and huge engineering project ever carried out. Its completion had a huge effect on navigation between the two water bodies since it aided to eliminate treacherous and long route through the Cape Horn and Drake Passage. The idea of a canal in the neighborhood of Panama was embarked from early 16th century. The primary effort to build a canal started in 1880 under French headship, although it was deserted after 21,900 workers were reported to have died. Many deaths were caused by landslides and diseases specifically yellow fever and malaria. The US started another at tempt to construct the same canal that resulted to 5,600 additional deaths although managed to open the canal in 1914. After completion, United States government took over authority of the canal and neighboring Zone of Canal. The control of Panama was placed under transition by the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties and starting from 1979 until 1999, the water way was under joint control of Panama and US. However, starting from 31st December 1999, the management of the waterway was passed to Waterway Authority of Panama. Panama Canal construction raised several issues that resulted to change of the initial design. French Construction Issues The French government was inspired after it successfully completed the Suez Canal construction in 1869. This gave them confidence to pursue the project of same magnitude which was to join Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. The La Societe Internationale du Canal Interoceanique Company was established in 1876 to oversee the project and after two years from its creation it acquired a concession from the Government of Columbia, which at that time had the control of land, to construct a canal passing through Isthmus. The leader of the project was a Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, who oversaw the building of Suez waterway. Ferdinand managed to gain enthusiastic leadership accumulated from success of Suez Canal project. This kind of leadership allowed him to convince ordinary citizens and speculators to invest in the project to raise about US $400 million. Exceptionally, Ferdinand was not an engineer by profession although he succeeded in the previous scheme. The building of Panama water way was very distinct compared to Suez Canal that was simply digging a ditch in a level desert of sand, which represented few problems. The Central America terrain runs to a low spot at Panama, while still elevated to the altitudes of 110 meters from level of sea at the lowest areas. Lesseps suggestion of sea level canal would need enormous digging presenting a challenge as a result of differentiated rock hardness. French was faced with another challenge presented by rivers passing across the canal because their flows would increase substantially in wet seasons. The water would interfere with canal because it would raise a very serious danger to shipping. Therefore, the rivers cutting right across the canal course needed to be redirected. Another grave challenge that faced the French project was diseases in tropics, specifically yellow fever and malaria. This was aggravated even further by the lack of skills on how diseases spread and any prevention measure was futile. The legs of hospital beds used by French workers were put into containers full of water to prevent insects from infesting the bed, little did they tha t the tins provided suitable environment for mosquitoes breeding. The Panama project as proposed by Lesseps was dogged by deficiency of engineering professionalism from its initial stages. The meeting in Paris of international engineering congress in May 1879 comprised of 136 members with merely 42 professions in engineering and the rest comprising of non-professions. The building of the canal by French started in 1882 and a huge manpower was prepared in 1888. The labor force comprised of approximately 20,000 workers where 90% of them were afro-Caribbean men originating from West Indies. The status of project and well-paid French engineers fascinated professionals from French engineering schools but massive losses of workers from diseases lowered their attraction. In early 1885, it became apparent to many that a canal of sea level was impossible and that a raised ditch with locks was the only feasible solution. Nevertheless, Lesseps did not readily buy the idea until late 1887 when the design of lock canal was accepted. At the time of adopting the plan, the project was dogged with a lot of challenges such as mudslides, floods, death tolls, engineering problem and financial crisis. Additionally, the company was declared bankrupt in 1889 forcing it to abandon the project in 1889. Until the collapse of the project, money amounting US $ 234,795,000 had be used and project was only 40% done. The project was entirely abandoned in 1893 as a result of inadequate skills and other difficulties. U.S Construction US showed a huge interest in constructing the waterway through Isthmus and in 1902, the US government embarked on the project of Panama waterway. The then US president, Roosevelt Theodore, decided to purchase the excavation and machineries from French at a cost of US $ 40 million and the job was commenced in 1904. The head of Engineering between 1905 to 1907, John Stevens, opposed the plan of French to build a sea level canal. Fortunately, President Theodore bought the idea of chief engineer to built waterway with locks and dams. Engineer John Stevens managed to lay down infrastructures in panama that were vital for completion of the project. He improved the transport technology by restructuring Panama Railway and developing a way of collecting soil from the digging via rail. Additionally, he put in place good shelters for workers and encouraged funding to improve sanitation. He also gave attention to programmes of controlling mosquitoes in order to remove yellow fever and malaria fr om the region. The building of a raised waterway with locks started to be feasible after the considerable redesigning of the infrastructure and effective diseases control programmes were put in place. The US government saw the need to replace the deteriorating machineries of French with equipment designed for massive jobs to hasten the speed of construction. The Ellicott Dredges Company in US developed the cutter dredges utilized in building Panama waterway. The initial equipment to be build by the company was 900 HP steam engine with dredge of 20 inches. The completion of constructing Panama Canal was finished in 1914, much early than it was projected. The waterway was officially opened on August of the same year of completion. Panama Canal Technology The technology that was employed to construct Panama waterway by French was sea level design. This is because they had successfully employed the same technology in construction of Suez Canal. Unfortunately, the technique did not work in the Panama Canal project. With the development of technology in field of engineering, the United States ignored the design of French and continued with the design based on a huge lake raised with one and two lock combination on the side of pacific and three locks at the Atlantic side at Gatun. The technology employed in design of sea level suffered severely from the huge volume of digging needed and from flooding that would have happened on the Charges River. This river was usually frequented by flooding that would have put the waterway into peril and affect traffic flow. The engineering technology allowed US to built dam close to the Chagres River mouth in order to mitigate impacts of flood and reduce excavation. The locks were controlled by highly d esigned electro-mechanical control system that are still functioning since 1914.The issue of diseases that had cropped in French project was tackled by US through technological improvement in the field of science. A Doctor from Cuba, Dr. Reed Walter, had been able to discover that mosquito was the vector that transmitted malaria. In addition, technology saw US in the replacement of old ineffective equipments with machineries that were designed to handle huge work like the big hydraulic crusher. Conclusion French government embarked on the attempt of constructing Panama Canal in 1982 after gaining motivation from successful completion of Suez Canal. The French head of project was not an engineer by profession and he employed the design that was used to build Suez Canal although Panama terrain was different. A sea level design utilized by French was faced with high elevations and rivers passing across the canal. Workers during French project perished from floods and diseases because of lack of skills to deal with those challenges. Owing to lack of enough skills and other difficulties, the project was entirely abandoned in 1893. In 1902, the Government of US embarked on the construction of Panama Canal. Learning from failure of French, US opted to use different design that employed locks and dams. There was a considerable redesigning of the infrastructure and effective diseases control programmes. The engineering technology enabled US to built dam close to the Chagres River mouth in orde r to mitigate impacts of flood and reduce excavation. The technology that was used in1914 to operate locks is still in use today.

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Period of a Pendulum :: Papers

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Period of a Pendulum I could investigate the following factors: * Angle of displacement * Length of string * Pendulum weight I am going to investigate and see if varying the length of string will affect the period of the pendulum. My prediction is: The longer the string the longer the period. The period will be longer as the pendulum has farther to travel. My theory is demonstrated below. Pendulum A has a shorter string. This gives it a shorter period. Pendulum B has a longer string and has a much larger period as it has farther to travel to get from X to Y to X which is one period. [IMAGE] I made my prediction based on a previous experiment I have done. The length affected the period as stated above and I think this will happen again in this experiment. I looked at a clock with a pendulum to see how it worked. I found that to change the speed of a second you adjust the length of the pole which the pendulum hangs from, so I also based my prediction on that as it is the same principle. I set up a trial experiment to test out the following: * Which angle of displacement to use (e.g. 90Â °) * How many readings to take * Which lengths of string to measure (e.g. every 10cm) * Where to carry out the experiment (on a desk/floor etc..) To ensure the test is fair I am going to: * Use the same piece of string * Use the same weight pendulum (preferably the exact same pendulum) * Make sure the string is measured accurately To ensure the test is safe I am going to: * Use a sensible angle of displacement * Not to swing the pendulum near others To ensure the test is accurate I am going to:

Myth Interpretation

The movie industry had delved with so many themes already that creating a fairy tale or a fantasy movie is not something new. These fantasy movies became mainstream attractions thanks to the new technology of 3D and animations that makes imaginary characters come to life and walk and talk like humans. In these fantasy movies, one can not help but question the inspiration for the story; the insight for the roles created; and the symbolism each character represents.There would be parallelism with each fantasy story, as every good fantasy movie would be, since it mainly caters young audiences, like for example the eternal battle between good and evil. Pan’s Labyrinth is not any difference, it tackled the parallelism and many more, although some symbolisms were graphically demonstrated, to the point of disgust, it is still a fantasy movie.These parallelisms between the symbolism in the movie and the myths would be analyzed and discussed in this paper. The liminality as every heroi c tale should have would be pointed out in any way possible as it pertains to the Neo-Platonism idea of The One.Summary of the MoviePan’s Labyrinth or El Laberinto Del Fauno in its original title in Spanish or literally translated as The Faun’s Labyrinth, is a fantasy film that delves in a young girl’s struggle to keep the reality beautiful by completing tasks in another parallel world. In so doing she will take the throne that was rightfully hers and become a Princess once again in the parallel world.There were two worlds in which Ofelia, the protagonist was living. The real world where her mother is sick with the baby, where her ruthless stepfather Captain Vidal lives, and where there are rebels prepared to take offense against the Captain’s forces; and the second world, where Ofelia is the long lost Princess Moana, daughter of the King and she must get back to him as soon as possible. To be able to go back to her father, Ofelia was tasked to complete t hree tasks before the full moon rises, in order to ensure that her â€Å"essence† is intact. First she must retrieve the golden key from the belly of a giant toad that was living off the life of an old tree.She successfully got the key and proceeded on with the next one, with the Faun’s guidance, to retrieve a golden knife from a pale man’s dwelling and she was successful again, but lost the lives of her assistant fairies. The Faun was so angry that he said Ofelia could never return to her kingdom. Meanwhile, the condition of her pregnant mother is getting worse, and the rebels who are against the fascist rule of her stepfather are building a plan of their own. Her mother lost her life in giving birth to her baby brother, her friend Mercedes was caught by Vidal for spying, and Vidal had caught Ofelia lying to him and imprisoned her in the attic with orders of shooting Ofelia first if the rebels attacked.Taking pity on the poor Ofelia, the Faun appeared again and gave her another chance; all she had to do is take her baby brother to the labyrinth. After much hardship and running away from Captain Vidal, Ofelia finally reached the labyrinth where the Faun was waiting for her with instructions to â€Å"prick† her little brother with the golden knife and let his blood flow through the labyrinth. Ofelia refused to hurt her baby brother, this led to the Faun’s disappointment and left Ofelia on her own, as Captain Vidal finally caught up with her, killed her and took the baby.Ofelia’s blood spilled in the labyrinth and Captain Vidal was met by Mercedes and her rebel friends and they killed Vidal. All the while, in another world, Ofelia rose and was called upon by her father as Princess Moana. She was astonished to find herself in a big castle with her father and her mother waiting for her. She had finally come home; while on the other end, Mercedes cradles the lifeless body of Ofelia.Contrasting Concepts and Symbolisms: Good vs. EvilAs every fairy tale is supposed to have, the ensuing battle against the good and the evil, wherein no matter how much hardship the good guys had, the good will eventually triumph over the evil. In Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia represents the goodness in both worlds; the real world and the world underneath. The rebels signify the integrity and righteousness in the real world in their fight against the dark evil as manifested by the ruthless Captain Vidal. He is both the evil in Ofelia’s life as well as the rebels, and he had made their lives literally a living hell by torturing and killing the captured rebels, and later on, by taking Ofelia’s innocent life.As Ofelia went through difficult times and losing her life in the process, she triumphed for she had passed the test and did not fall into an evil-like behavior by sacrificing her baby brother. It is the goodness in her heart that finally led her to where she wants to be, with her mother and her father (altho ugh they are all dead already), and the only way she could do that was to die herself, and be reborn as Princess Moana of the Underworld. Ofelia is the epitome of good while Captain Vidal is the utmost evil by killing her. However, the other symbolism for good is the rebels who took Vidal’s life. Although the manner in which they did is not really â€Å"good†, in reality per se it is an acceptable way to end a fairly evil man. In this sense, Ofelia’s objective of making both worlds a better place to live in was achieved – in the fantasy world by completing all her tasks and in the real world through her death.Characters as Compared to Greek MythsThe title itself was a referral to the Greek god Pan, although the director and writer of the story denied having derived the Faun from Pan the Greek God. Perhaps, it is the similarity of the features that was compared to. The Faun personification of half man-half goat was first used in The Chronicles of Narnia as the trickster who wanted to kidnap Lucy but changed his mind later on. In Pan’s Labyrinth, the Faun was used as the guide with unknown objective – either the good or the bad. Is he telling the truth? Is he just tricking Ofelia to lure her into his trap? But we find out later that he was just testing Ofelia’s good heart if she could spill an innocent’s blood just to achieve her goals.The pale man who was guarding the magical dagger was perhaps derived from the â€Å"Cycladic idols† that archaeologists found in the Cycladic Islands. These figurines have white bodies, featureless faces, and stiff, formal poses and were thought to represent death. Just like the pale man, who represented nothing but death of children (in the drawings and the mountain full of children’s shoes).The stuffing of magic stones into the big toad’s mouth ended his reign thus giving birth to the key by tricking the toad into eating the magic stones when Ofelia pla ced a big bug along with the stones and held out her hand. This was perhaps derived from the Greek myth of the feud between Zeus and his father Kronos. Kronos had this habit of eating his children when they are born, and his wife Rhea, grew tired of seeing her children being swallowed by her husband that she tricked him into swallowing a rock instead of Zeus. Therefore, Zeus grew up and eventually killed Kronos.Underlying Interpretationa. As a belief SystemThe myth surrounding Pan’s labyrinth stemmed through Ofelia’s belief system that was encouraged by the Faun of her being â€Å"The One†. The lost Princess Moana of another world, and longing to escape the present reality in which she wants to save her mother and her unborn brother, she goes on to complete the tasks presented. Ofelia firmly believed that if she could pass the stages and fulfill the responsibilities given to her, she would finally be able to see her father, who was waiting for her for a long tim e.Embodying a Social ConflictPan’s labyrinth was set in the Post Civil War Spain in 1944. Captain Vidal is the head of one unit somewhere in the province who still hunts and kills rebel guerillas who are against the fascist rule. Carmen, Ofelia’s mother, had submitted herself, Ofelia and her unborn son’s fate into the hands of Captain Vidal. Perhaps love? But the sternness of Vidal and the lack of amiability between supposed to be husband and wife (Vidal and Carmen) lead the writer to assume that perhaps it is a mother’s survival instinct. Widowed with one kid during the hard times, perhaps the best chance of survival is to go with a powerful man to protect her self and ensure a good future for her children.Unknowingly, Carmen had entered a dark realm in which the man she though would rescue them, would be the sole reason of their demise. Confronted with the reality that Captain Vidal is a â€Å"bad† man, Ofelia tried to tell her mother who refuses to see the â€Å"real† Captain Vidal. Therefore, having no resolution and powerless to change the situation, Ofelia resulted into building her own world, from her imagination, through the fairy tale books that she was reading. It was through her mind that the blank book that the Faun gave her imprint instructions on what to do and how to do it.It was also with the Faun’s help that Carmen’s health condition got better (for a while) by placing a mandrake root under her bed; although one person in the real world, through Mercedes, may have seem to have the courage to change things, but still powerless to help Ofelia and her mother during their suffering, eventually stepped up to change and had Captain Vidal killed, but it was already too late for Carmen and Ofelia, for both have already lost their lives.c. AllegoryThe tasks performed by Ofelia in the parallel world are an allegory of her trying to escape and stop the cruel ruling of her stepfather Captain Vidal. O felia had pushed the stone that she found at the road to a mouth of a stone sculpture that started the chain of events – Carmen felt better to continue the travel. The Faun represents another entity that forces Ofelia to follow orders and be a good girl – just like Captain Vidal, he gives orders to his men and expects loyalty and respect or else he would kill them. The task of retrieving the magic key inside a giant toad’s stomach could be an allegory of Ofelia trying to find favor from Captain Vidal, but unlike the toad where she was successful; she was repulsed by Vidal and was treated just like anybody else.The pale man in the long table with bountiful fruits and images of children being eaten and mound full of children’s shoes is an allegory of Captain Vidal seating on the same setting, eating delicious food while the rest of the townspeople fall in line to get their rations. The last task that is to sacrifice her little brother for her to be able to open the portal, but did not do so and in the eventuality lost her life; is an allegory of Vidal sacrificing Ofelia’s life, he did what Ofelia did not do, that is to kill, and the consequence of Vidal’s action was death in the hands of the rebels. All the while, Ofelia was pointed out as The One that would make a significant change in the real world, and as The One missing Princess Moana in the parallel world.ConclusionThe movie was full of symbolism and parallelism that are subject to different opinions and interpretations by various scholars. The comparisons and allegories discussed in this paper may seem absurd or untoward by other scholars but myth interpretation is by itself subjective, and as a free and imaginative thinker, through a proper structure, the writer had expressed his/her opinions and views accordingly. There may be some that the writer had missed or other areas that were overlooked, but all things considered, this is a brief analysis of the movie Pan ’s Labyrinth with regards to myth interpretation.ReferencesCampbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces.Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. Fifth Edition

Organizational Behavior Of The United States Marine Corps

According to Bauer and Erdogan, organizational behavior is the â€Å"systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work† (2014). With the large amount of detail that goes into organizational behavior, there is no better example of how dynamic it can be than the United States Marine Corps. Rich in its tradition and history, the United States Marine Corps has a robust structure, very unique culture, and a fervent passion that is almost indescribable as words will only fail to articulate what it means to be a Marine. This inevitable failure of an attempt will begin anyways, but in the hopes that some learning will occur, as we study what is the organizational behavior of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is not just an organization but instead it is a mindset, a spirit if you will, that extends far beyond the combat elements or even the individual marine. Even though the rich Marine Corps history is quite fascinating and full of notoriety, if there is but one way to best describe the organizational heart and soul, it would be Esprit D’ Corps. Although somewhat literal in meaning, the â€Å"spirit of the Corps† is densely packed with passionate brotherhood, comradery, and long-suffering sacrifice. Many have joked that the Marine Corps is not a military branch but that it is instead a cult. In all honesty, it would be best attributed to Esprit D’ Corps that it is actually an unquenchable desire toShow MoreRelatedOrganizational Behavior846 Words   |  4 PagesOrganizational Behavior is the study and application of understanding about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. Its function is to assemble better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives. 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