Wednesday, February 26, 2020

American History Since 1865 Annotated Bibliography - 1

American History Since 1865 - Annotated Bibliography Example Site summary: The site is very easy to navigate and the other sites mentioned in it are quite useful and provid more information about the history of women suffrage. The writing is quite academic, because of the use of formal language and the reference to other important information. The information included on the webpage itself, however, is too short. It is more of an introduction to the wider history of women’s suffrage. I believe it should have included already some more information about the key events of the suffrage history. Annotation: This website analyzes how the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the failure of the Weimar Republic. This corresponds to the material on pages 484-485 of our textbook. It discusses the territorial, military, financial, and judicial elements of the Treaty of Versailles. Scheck provides a detailed but brief analysis of what went wrong and what went right with the Treaty and how it fuelled World War II. He notes that the Treaty is judged as either too harsh or too lenient with Germany, and still, it failed to stop another war from erupting. By virtue of its inability to prevent another World War, the Treaty of Versailles cannot be treated as a genuine peace agreement that all stakeholders accept as fair and respectful of each nation’s autonomy. Site summary: The site is easy to navigate and contains academic material. The author surely wrote with knowledge and experience about the topic, since he is a college professor in history. The analysis of the weaknesses and the strengths of the Treaty provided additional knowledge on the topic that is worth exploring further. This is an important resource for readers who want to know more about why the Treaty of Versailles also contributed to World War II. The main weakness of the website is that it does not cite its sources. There should have been footnotes at least to substantiate the facts and assertions mentioned there. Annotation: This website

Monday, February 10, 2020

Ethical case study( The loss of the Shuttle Columbia) Essay

Ethical case study( The loss of the Shuttle Columbia) - Essay Example The recommendations balance deontological and utilitarian ethics; thus, NASA would achieve better outcomes in terms of research and space exploration. The Loss of the Shuttle Columbia: An Ethical Case Study The 28th flight of the Columbia forming the 113th mission of the Space Shuttle Program ended in loss of the mission and a tragic loss of the crew. The mechanical cause of the loss of the Shuttle Columbia and the seven crew members on board has been reported to be a breach in the spaceship’s Thermal Protection System on the left side-wing resulting from a piece of insulating foam (Niewoehner, Steidle, and Johnson 11). However, the loss of the Shuttle Columbia has attracted different perspectives of analysis, besides the mechanical viewpoint, as to other determinants of the outcomes. Studies into the loss of the Shuttle Columbia are important since a number of lessons can be discerned from the mechanical, leadership and ethical view points. Besides, it helps to generate recom mendations for action that would guide space missions and the wider engineering field to avert similar occurrences. This study provides a background on the engineering/technical failure that resulted in the loss of the Shuttle Columbia as reported. An in-depth evaluation of the engineering, management, regulatory and socio-technical issues surrounding the unfortunate incident is undertaken. This is then followed by an analysis of the ethical lapses that contributed to the loss of the Shuttle Columbia, before the generation of recommendations based on an ethical framework. BACKGROUND Engineering Failures: As a prelude, the Space Shuttle Program launched the Columbia in January 28, 1986; a launch had never been undertaken at such cold temperatures. The shuttle exploded after only 7 seconds of launching (Baura 148). Lessons had not been learned when similar oversights occurred seventeen years later with the loss of the Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003. Shuttle Columbia was launched on January 16, 2003 for a 16 day mission to orbit the earth and promote science research. The first evidence of engineering failure appeared 81.7 seconds after the launch when Columbia was approximately 65,820 feet above the ground. With the shuttle traveling at about 1650 mph, a large piece of insulating form that was hand-crafted came off the Orbiter-external tank attachment area. The fall-out piece then struck the leading edge of the shuttle’s left wing at 81.9 seconds after the launch. These incidents were not detected immediately either by the on-board crew or by the ground team; rather, they were observed the next day by the ground support team upon detailed analysis of the launch’s videos and pictures. The damage on the lead left wing appeared to have not had any effects on the 16 day space operations of the shuttle as the mission met its space objectives. Reports provide details that the Columbia Shuttle re-entered the earth’s atmosphere with an existin g breach to its leading edge of the left wing. The exact position of the breach is reported as proximal to the panel 8 of the RCC (Reinforced Carbon-Carbon). The breach is deemed sufficiently big enough to allow for the penetration of super-heated air – above 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit – into the space behind the RCC panel. The super-heated air was then able to penetrate the left wing and destroy its structural parts such as the insulation and the aluminum wing spur. Detailed analysis o