Kilauea Volcano

Located in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands are the cone-shaped tops of gigantic ocean volcanoes. Located in the southeast region of the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea sits on the flank (or the side) of the active Mauna Loa volcano, and is one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Island of Hawaii. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, and it is the youngest. Kilauea stands just under 4,200 feet tall above sea level at its highest point. The staff of the U. S. Geological Survey at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory currently lists Kilauea’s Volcano Alert Level as watch  and its Aviation Color Code as orange. Kilauea is studied and constantly monitored because of its continuous lava flow. Kilauea is a broad shield volcano which is a gently sloping mountain made from a large number of usually very fluid lava flows. It is also locally interbedded with deposits of explosive eruptions. Eruptions at Kilauea happen mainly either from the summit caldera or along either of two long rift zones (East and Southwest) that extend from the caldera and run approximately parallel to the coastline and extend to the sea on both sides. Rift zones are fractured zones of weakness within the volcano. The Southwest rift zone is very active and has a desert effect. The crater located at this rift is called Pu’u ‘O’o; the East rift zone is called the Kupaianaha crater. Steam and sulfur vents can be seen and smelt in different areas on Kilauea. The surface of Kilauea is about 90% lava flow less than 1,100 years old, and 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The Kilauea summit caldera is about two miles wide and more than three miles long. A caldera is the actual caving in of the top of the mountain. The summit caldera houses the crater. The high summit of Kilauea is caused by more frequent eruptions than other locations on the volcano. The crater is the main vent inside the caldera, the opening through which lava flows. Eruptions from Kilauea are known for creating volcanic smog (vog). This smog affects many areas of the Hawaiian Islands, including Oahu and Honolulu whenever winds come out of the south or southeast. The estimated age of the earliest above ground (subaerial) eruptions of Kilauea is between 50,000-100,000 years. The last eruption began on January 3, 1983 to the present. During this time, the lava flows have unfortunately caused destruction of nearly 200 houses, resurfaced over 13km of highway with lava, destroyed the National Park visitor center, and a 700 year-old Hawaiian Temple. It has also added new coastline to the island. There are no signs that the current eruption is slowing or will end anytime soon. Kilauea has little vegetation. Kilauea has the volcano status of Historical. Kilauea has had 61 historical eruptions, not counting the continuous lava-lake activity in the crater. The oldest dated rocks from Kilauea are 23,000 years old. The Island of Hawaii sits on (almost in the middle of) the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is a giant jigsaw piece of the Earth’s crust that is slowly moving in a northwesterly direction. It moves about four inches a year. There is a basically stationary hot spot deep within the Earth’s mantle. Heat from this hot spot makes molten lava and rock (magma) that rises through the Pacific Plate and erupts continuously on the ocean floor. After thousands of eruptions and over many many years, an island forms a rocky mass above sea level. It is estimated that Kilauea began to form about 300,000-600,000 years ago, and has been active ever since. Kilauea rose above the surface of the sea as an island approximately 50,000-100,000 years ago. Through geologic studies of surface exposures and drillhole samples, it is known that Kilauea is made mostly of lava flows. Research over the past few decades shows that Kilauea has its own magma-plumbing system, extending to the surface from more than 60km deep in the Earth. On an average day, Kilauea puts out several hundred thousand cubic yards of lava. It also causes frequent earthquakes, but many of them are small enough that only a few people feel them. In Hawaiian the word Kilauea means â€Å"spewing† or â€Å"much spreading†, referring to the continuous lava flow. Kilauea is the home of Pele, the Hawaiian fire and volcano goddess. Several special lava formations are named after Pele. Pele’s Tears are small droplets of lava that cool in the air and keep their teardrop shapes. They are jet black in color. Pele’s Hair are thin, brittle strands of volcanic glass that often form during the explosions that occur with a lava flow, usually from lava fountains. Kilauea Crater is part of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea is the Earth’s most visited active volcano. Unlike most other active volcanoes, Kilauea is approachable, is world-famous, and has been called the â€Å"drive-up† volcano because of the easy access to many of its areas of volcanic activity, especially the summit caldera. I wanted my landform to be in the USA! I chose Kilauea because it is in Hawaii, and one of the most active volcanoes in the world. I thought it would be cool to research.

There are 2 Either one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

There are 2 Either one - Essay Example Therefore, the people would need not to worry about their security and living. To begin with, the expression of freedom of rights was a progressive measure in the country (General Assembly of the United Nations 2). This did not only protect the lives of Americans, but also protected the lives of other people across the globe. For instance, many countries have emulated the universal rights in their constitution. This is to show solidarity in the world. This marked the end of an era where people’s rights would be infringed without a course of action from law enforcers. Previously, there have been judicial and unconstitutional killings and infringement of rights. Unfortunate, the perpetrators did not face justice. This was due to absence of a stringent and stipulated law that governed such activities. Progressively, with the declaration of human rights, such activities have been minimized. Similarly, in the past, citizens used to lose property through unexplained circumstances. T he epitome of leadership was in vast control, which gave the elites more power. This power and control was inappropriately used to devour the citizens of the country. Many people lost property since they had inapt fear and respect to the leaders. Under such circumstances, many people did not know what action to take in repealing their belongings. However, with the initiation and declaration of human rights, such instances are minimized. In the first article, it is explicitly stated that all human beings are born free with equal rights and dignity (General Assembly of the United Nations 3). This has enhanced the freedom of people as every person is regarded equal. Apparently, this has been a supporting clause for women who feel discriminated. Equality and equity is not based on gender. Since everyone is equal, this has been a point of focus to women in the society. Under such circumstances, it is hard to discriminate women or any other person in the society. For instance, disabled pe ople are equal human beings and should be treated equally. Since this is envisaged in the rights of human beings, there is equal treatment irrespective of physicality, gender and disability. In the previous years, race, ethnicity, language, sex, colour, religion and sexuality was used as a distinction. Such factors affected the world in the most negative way. The rights of marginalised groups were infringed without any course of action to rectify such situations. This led to a drift in the society as many people discriminated each other. As a fact, this led to eruption of tension and communal wars in the fight for supremacy. However, with the inauguration of the human rights, such situations are under control. This was a revelation to the many communities that were involved in communal conflicts. Since the human rights entitled everyone to their rights without any distinction, this would end all their conflicts (General Assembly of the United Nations 4). Without such an approach, th e world would still be experiencing the supremacy battles. In the past, slavery was a manoeuvre to enhance the economy of a country. Some countries noted that cheap labour was appropriate for enhanced economic development. As such, many people were slaves, offering fee labour. In some instances, slaves were executed by their owners. This was an inhumane treatment to equal human beings. Apparently, this was a heinous

Midlife development on Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midlife development on Marriage - Research Paper Example This paper aims to identify the challenges that couples go through during the empty nest years or midlife marriage. From a review of the current literature, the paper reveals some of the proposed solutions offered by psychologists and marriage counselors to resolve the problems that couples may encounter. The metaphor of the empty nest has been commonly used to refer to the time when couples are left alone again, after the children have grown up and left their home to build their own lives. The empty nest, as some authors identify, brings challenges to the married couple (Arp & Arp, 1996; Waldron & Kelly, 2009). Some may find these years to be challenging while others may struggle with the new setup. The problems dealt with in midlife marriage are different from those that occur in the early stages of marriage when the couples are young, children are little, and opportunities abound to offer excitement. The current literature suggests that the challenges in midlife marriage are often related to midlife crisis (Jones, 2008; Courter & Gaudettte, 2003). The sad part is, even though both the husband and wife are experiencing the crisis stage, women find it more difficult to deal with their husband’s crisis. ... In many stories, the midlife marriage was ruined by the crisis, as the husband demonstrated incapability to understand and face their crisis. In the same way, unaware of what their husbands are going through, the wives were caught unprepared for the crumbling marriage. The stories of women imply the tendency of the husband to find a new partner despite many years of peaceful marriage, and in spite of the women’s effort to build a perfect home. One of the common characteristics of unhappy midlife marriage implied in the narratives (Courter & Gaudette, 2003; Waldron & Kelly, 2009) is the man’s infidelity alongside with the woman’s financial dependency. Some women confessed doing what they thought would please their husband such as making the house tidy before the man arrives and taking care of the children. Despite these, however, they found out one day the shocking proof that their marriage has fallen as their husband found another woman. Thus, the core of the pro blem could be traced in the way the man deals with his crisis. As Courter and Gaudette note, it is the inability of the man to identify the ambiguities of his experiences and his inability to express his feelings that could lead to a further marital problem. In contrast with the men, women deal with their midlife crisis differently. In Thurnher’s (1976) study, which investigates the differences in midlife marriage perceptions between the two genders, the author notes that women more than men in the middle life express a more displeased evaluation of marriage. Comparing the result of this study to the observation from the Courter and Gaudette (2008) stories, one may verify the inability of men to express their true feelings.

What Are the Fundamental Purposes of Business and the Responsibilities Assignment

What Are the Fundamental Purposes of Business and the Responsibilities of Strategic Leaders - Assignment Example the consuming public, reference will not only be made to those who patronise the products and services of particular businesses but all other people who in a way may be affected by what a business entity does. It is not surprising that in the 1970s, Milton Friedman saw the sole purpose of business as making profits but with time, this changed to a much holistic responsibility of creating and keeping customers by Peter Drucker. Based on the dynamic needs of society by the years, it will strongly be accepted that today, the primary purpose of business is to solve peoples problems. This is certainly an all-in-all purpose that comes with a lot of implications for doing business. First, it implies that people are the real focus for doing business. With people being the real focus of doing business also, it is not just about creating business around people and taking opportunity of them but then engaging in a shared-responsibility that ensures that the people also benefit from the business (Porter & Kramer, 2006). There are a number of theories and concepts that have been used in literature to explain the form of shared-responsibility between businesses and the people. One of these is the concept of sustainability. Under the sustainability framework, businesses are expected to be functional from three major perspectives which are economic, social, and environmental (Porter & Kramer, 2006). As far as economic su stainability is concerned, the old school of thought on the purpose of making profit can be said to be applicable. In the remaining two which are social and environmental however, businesses are deemed to operate in a way that makes them useful to the larger society and the environment surrounding them (Wolfe, 2011). Because of the change with the purpose of businesses, the responsibility of the people behind the wheels of any typical business has also changed very significantly. Today, it can be said that the primary responsibility of senior leaders is to

Bachalor of Commerce, Knowledge and Organisational Learning Essay

Bachalor of Commerce, Knowledge and Organisational Learning - Essay Example Knowledge management has recently emerged to be a successful management strategy that can help organizations manage the available human capital in the business (Noe and Hollenbeck, 2004, p. 1-3). People in the organization are most valuable assets and therefore recruiting and retaining knowledgeable, skilled, experienced and productive people have become highest priority of modern human resources management. This piece of research paper described knowledge management, as an HRM interdisciplinary and examines how it becomes relevant in today’s business landscape. This paper presents various elements that are relevant in the knowledge management process and examines various strategic perspectives as well as suitable technologies for fostering knowledge management in the business. Knowledge Management As Noe (2002, p. 168) noted, knowledge management is a management process that the performance of a business can be enhanced by designing, implementing and strategically aligning va rious tools, processes, systems, structure and cultures with a view to create and share knowledge among its people and to use for overall business purpose. The very basic three elements included in Knowledge management are 1) creation of the knowledge through some effective strategies, 2) sharing of the created knowledge among people and 3) making it available and useful for any business purpose. Knowledge Management has been found to be useful for the organization as it helps it get the products to the target market quicker, develop innovative ideas, serve the customer well in order to maintain customer loyalty and retention and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. As Boxall and Macky (2009, p. 10) emphasized, knowledge management helps a business achieve high performance working through various strategic processes and organizational development programs. Knowledge Management has emerged to be a management tool that focuses on data, information and knowledge among the employ ees in an organization (Awad and Ghaziri, 2007, p. 26) and encompasses the processes by which experience, skills, expertise, knowledge and abilities are gathered, then shared among the people and utilized so that these can be converted to collective organizational learning process (Foster, 2005, p. 397). Knowledge Management Models Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Knowledge management talks about creating, storing, sharing and utilizing data, information and knowledge either throughout papers, documents and database, or throughout the minds of people. This is a classification of knowledge based on where data and information are stored. When it comes to the management aspects, pure data and pure information have relatively less impact for a manager whereas structured data and information are relatively highly useful and effective measures that can be used to analyze and find solutions to issues (Noe, , 2002, p. 170). Based in the above classification, knowledge management is systematic p rocess and strategic approach for obtaining and making use of knowledge in the business throughout papers or documents or computers as commonly referred as explicit knowledge or sharing and making use of the knowledge throughout the people’s minds as commonly termed as tacit knowledge. To be more specific, KM is managing either explicit knowledge, or tacit knowledge or both together effectively. In managing

The role of the management in organizational Behavior Essay

The role of the management in organizational Behavior - Essay Example A readjustment of work-roles and behavior of employee teams, to cope with new challenges, is the first step to initiating changes in organizational culture. It is this first step that translates into new attitudes. Thus, behavior changes attitudes, and not the reverse; change happens from bottom up, and not top down. And for this to happen effectively, the CEO should be willing to change too, based on the signals received by her from the teams at the grassroots. Additionally she has the task of encouraging these teams to 'lead' the company in the direction required, without herself being directive. Her role is that of a competent doctor assisting childbirth. If the process is going smoothly, the doctor waits and encourages the mother, and provides her all the assistance required. Medical intervention should happen only in an emergency! What is the process that teams go through while resolving business issues Beer et al (p160) state that research has proven that "interfunctional coordination, decision making, work organization and concern for people" are the four indicators of performance-in the long run-and not financial parameters, which in the short term, can spike or recede in response to other factors. These four factors are directly connected with team functioning. Apart from this, they talk of six distinct steps (pp161-164) taken by successful managers to elicit task-related responses-i.e. a response ideally suited to deal with the task at hand. What are these six steps First, mobilizing commitment to change through a joint diagnosis of business issues. Here, the operative word is 'joint'. The participation in this process ensures a commitment to the process of change required to tackle this problem. Second comes the process of drafting a 'shared vision' to organize to cope successfully with the situation. Note, it is not the CEO spelling out the steps to be taken, it is the team ('shared') doing this. In this process, new roles and responsibilities are taken on, but since it does not involve change in titles or remuneration there is less resistance to the steps. Here, cross-functional teams operate-teams from across different departments and at different levels of the hierarchy-the only criterion for the composition of teams being that it is the most conducive to task attainment. Then (third) comes a pro-active fostering of consensus for the new way of functioning, and building competence and cohesion to achieve it. The new way of functioning would require new skills, and employees seek to gain these skills. This process is assisted by the management. Apart from this, if the management sends out a message that team functioning is what is required, then the building of competence and cohesion happens quickly and smoothly. (Fourth) Once team functioning has succeeded in one department, it has to spread to other departments. However, it is likely to fail if it is a top-down effort. Other departments, which would be at various levels of readiness to reorganize themselves into new functional teams, need to work out their own way of attaining this. The management has to stand by and cheer, as it were, without pushing. (Fifth) Once the process of change has more or less spread through most departments, the new roles and team relationships have to be institutionalized, so that the company does not inadvertently slip back to the

Analysis of General Theories of History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of General Theories of History - Essay Example Experiences from one generation to another do not vary greatly; thereby it is important to learn lessons from the overall course of history. The first attempt to record the science of history was undertaken by the Greeks about twenty-five hundred years ago. The need to comprehend history and translate its effects into the future does not arise in societies with long-standing and relatively steady social structures. Such a state of affairs is not given much consideration. However, when societies face sudden drastic turmoil which triggers changes in the social structure, then understanding the underlying motives which led to the change becomes imperative. Usually wars, travelling, trade and colonization result in an entirely different culture being imposed on the society which they come into contact with. This forced integration of diverse cultures culminates in a clash between different social strata; so it becomes crucial to identify and comprehend the sources and foundations of such oppositions. Men of knowledge compare and contrast various sorts of governments and social structures in an attempt to resolve differences and bring harmony to the society. It is obvious that conflict resolution is not possible unless conflict description and diagnosis are accurate enough. The role and responsibility of creating accurate problem diagnosis is within the domain of political theorists. Neither has history been created nor have our social structures evolved in accordance with a pre-defined plan. Nature has not dictated the course of events rather it is the people who compose societies who chose their cultural norms, established various institutions and developed ideologies. It is time to realize that the human nature itself is determined by changes in life and labour. History has been shaped by economic progress, division of society in different social-economic strata, changes in condition of labour, advancements in production and trading. In this respect there have be en a number of different contributions to thought on political history from various quarters. The evolution of political history in its current forms can be seen as deriving from the Age of Enlightenment where thinkers such as Hegel and Kant picked up the gauntlet to define history in such a manner. This work was carried on later by numerous others including Karl Marx who has had a major impact on the modern day given his role in the creation of a communist ideology. In more modern terms, the earliest thoughts on the philosophy of history derived from the views and work of Kant. He held that humanity had been driven into its current state of autonomy through the use of enlightened despotism (Kant, 1991) (Murphy, 1994). Kant’s views on the issue can be seen more clearly through his work titled Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose. Kant produced a paradoxical picture by expounding on the one hand that national liberation was only possible through enlightened despotism while ultimate autonomy rested entirely with the individual’s will to gain it (Williams, 1992). Kant recognised that history ensured that progress had to come in human affairs but Kant’s method of delineating the mechanism remains self-contradictory (Hampsher-Monk, 1993). Strangely he holds that liberation lies solely through