The Great Gatsby Essays (694 words) - The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby

The Great Gatsby Book Review The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920's during the Jazz Age. Nick Carraway is a man in his late twenties residing on West Egg island in Long Island, New York living a ?normal? life. That is, until he meets his mysterious neighbor, a wealthy man named Jay Gatsby. He is a man of mystery, living in a mansion that is constantly full of people, music, and fun. Nick's ?normal? life gets thrown topsy-turvy when he gets involved in the life of this extraordinary millionaire. Marred by jealousy, cheating, and lying, Nick begins to feel the essence of living a glamorous life in the ?20's. He showed this when he said, ?Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.? All along, I felt sorry for Nick being dragged into more and more tragedy, but I especially felt bad for him during one instance. His friend Daisy was married to Tom, but Tom was having an affair with Mrs. Wilson and Daisy had a thing for Gatsby. Daisy and Gatsby were driving home from town after an argument amongst the group of friends when they passed the Wilson's gas station. Mrs. Wilson ran out to Gatsby's car, because they were driving Tom's car, and was hit. Mr. Wilson went positively crazy, and Nick felt torn by his mixed feelings towards his supposed friend Gatsby. ?I disliked him so much by this time that I didn't find it necessary to tell him he was wrong.? Gatsby's insensitivity brought on by his lifestyle made Nick despise him. This is the part where I think Nick really started opening his eyes to how Gatsby really was. This book really displays how the life of an important person is, especially in that time period. At first, Nick is awed and drawn in by the glamour and prestige, but he eventually figures out for himself how rough it really was. Although this book was set back in the ?20's, the lessons you learn from it still apply to society and life in general today. Anyone could read this book and draw a few lessons about life from it. Summary The Great Gatsby was set in the 1920's. It's about the lives of a group of people who all become entangled in a web of, lying, scandal, and cheating together. Nick Carraway lives a ?normal? life on Long Island, until he meets his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Parties went on every weekend, and Nick gets caught up in Gatsby's ?glamorous? lifestyle. Soon, everyone is involved in scandal, Daisy's cheating on Tom with Gatsby, Tom's cheating on Daisy with Mrs. Wilson, and Nick's caught in the middle. Gatsby ends up convincing Nick to get Daisy to come to Gatsby's house, because they had a history together. Daisy comes, and both she and Gatsby find out that their love for each other never went away. The trouble really begins when Tom finds out that Daisy's love for Gatsby has rekindled. One day while in town, Tom and Daisy fight, so Gatsby drives Daisy home in Tom's car. On the way, they hit a woman who turns out to be Mrs. Wilson who was thought the person in the car was Tom, and was trying to talk to him. All the while, Nick starts realizing how terrible a life like Gatsby's is despite the outer glamour. He also becomes emotionally attached to golf player, Jordan Baker. After Mr. Wilson finds out who was in the car that killed his wife, he goes crazy and kills Gatsby. In the end, two people wind up dead, and everyone winds up hurt in one way or another. Daisy and Tom remain together, Mr. Wilson is crazy, and Nick is hurt by Jordan who never loved him back. After all of this emotional suffering, Nick realizes that he learned a valuable lesson about life: Some of the supposed happiest people with the best lives often are a lot worse off, or end up a lot worse off than people with ?normal? lives. The only thing he can do is go on living his life the way it was meant to be lead: not as a millionaire, or a prestigious person in society, but as a normal guy-the only way he knows how. Book Reports

Family Delphinidae

Family Delphinidae Delphinidae is the family of animals commonly known as the dolphins. This is the largest family of cetaceans.Members of this family are commonly called dolphins or delphinids. The Family Delphinidae includes such recognizable species as the bottlenose dolphin, the killer whale (orca), the  Atlantic white-sided dolphin,  Pacific white-sided dolphin, spinner dolphin,  common dolphin, and pilot whales. Dolphins are vertebrates and marine mammals. Origin of the Word Delphinidae The word Delphinidae comes from the Latin word delphinus, meaning dolphin. Delphinidae Species Cetaceans in the Family Delphinidae are  Odontocetes or  toothed whales. There are  38 species  in this family.   Characteristics of Delphinidae The Delphinidae are generally fast, streamlined animals with a pronounced beak, or rostrum.   Dolphins have cone-shaped teeth, an important characteristic that distinguishes them from porpoises. They have one blowhole, which distinguishes them from baleen whales, which have a pair of blowholes.   Dolphins also use echolocation to find their prey. They have an organ in their head called a melon which they use to focus clicking sounds which they produce. The sounds bounce off objects around them, including prey. In addition to its use in finding prey, delphinids also use echolocation to communicate with other dolphins and to navigate. How Big Are Dolphins? According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, the Delphinidae can range in size from about 4 or 5 feet (e.g., Hectors dolphin and the spinner dolphin) to about 30 feet in length (the killer whale, or orca). Where Do Dolphins Live? Delphinids live in a wide range of habitats, from coastal to pelagic areas.   Dolphins in Captivity Dolphins, especially bottlenose dolphins, are kept in captivity in aquaria and marine parks. They are also kept in some facilities for research. Some of these animals are once-wild animals that came into a rehabilitation center and were unable to be released. The first marine park in the U.S. was  Marine Studios, now known as Marineland. This park began exhibiting bottlenose dolphins in the 1930s. Since dolphins were first displayed in aquaria, the practice has become more controversial, with activists and animal welfare advocates especially concerned about the stress levels and health of captive cetaceans, especially orcas. Dolphin Conservation Dolphins are also sometimes the victims of drive hunts, which have grown more widely known and controversial. In these hunts, dolphins are killed for their meat and to be sent to aquariums and marine parks. Even before that, people advocated for the protection of dolphins, who were dying by the thousands in nets used to catch tuna. This led to the development and marketing of dolphin-safe tuna. In the U.S., all dolphins are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.   References and Further Information Committee on Taxonomy. 2014. List of marine mammal species and subspecies. Society for Marine Mammalogy, Accessed October 31, 2015.Perrin, W. F., Wursig, B., and J.G.M. Thewissen, editors. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press.

Computer Software Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer Software Review - Essay Example However, unlike previous software packages, it is not possible to acquire windows 8.1 through the windows update program (Sosinsky, 2013). It was the intention of the developers of windows 8.1 to address the various complaints that users of windows 8 had. These complaints emanated from the difficulties in understanding the user interface of the software, to incompatibility problems with some important computer software programs (Sosinsky, 2013). Visible enhancements introduced in windows 8.1 includes an improvement in the start screen, a tight integration of OneDrive, additional number of snap views, internet explorer 11, an additional bundled apps, a unified search system that is empowered by Bing, capability of restoring a visible start button on the computer taskbar, capability of restoring previous behavior of an opening of the desktop of a user on the login, as opposed to the start screen (Sosinsky, 2013). Furthermore, windows 8.1 has managed to add support features for emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, high resolution displays, Miracast streaming, Wi-Fi Direct, etc. Furthermore, the user interface of windows 8.1 enables users to get the capability of easily interacting with the computer system. It uses a graphical user interface, and a point to click technology of the cursor and the mouse. This makes it to be very user friendly, giving users a good experience in using the computer system that is installed with windows 8.1 (Sosinsky, 2013). It is important to understand that the common features of a graphical user interface include menus, and icons. In windows 8.1, the start screen is able to provide the first interaction that an individual has with the operating system. This is the first image that an individual sees in a monitor, once the system has been booted. It is able to provide an individual with an access to the tools, and applications of the commonly used programs of the computer

Analysis Of The Legal Issues Pertaining To Cliffhanger Festival Essay

Analysis Of The Legal Issues Pertaining To Cliffhanger Festival - Essay Example The Cliffhanger festival is a major outdoor event that aims at attracting people from all over the world to come and join in the fun of its outdoor games and exhibitions. A cliffhanger is an annual event that is rotated across the UK and this year, it is being held in Sheffield between July 2nd and 4th. The festival is organized by Heason Events, Sheffield City Council, and Events Sheffield. Heason events are the primary event organizer. The partners include BKSA, British Military, International Federation of Sporting Councils, Jury’s Inn, Millhouse Works, Real Radio, and SYO. Sponsors include Decathlon, Climbing Works, Yorkshire Hotels and Hammer design. Music and camping services are rendered in partnership with Alpkit UK. The festival will be opened to members of the public and it primarily targets families. It will involve a series of outdoor events and camping as well as entertainment and fun. The main events include bike riding, bowling, training sessions, caves, climbin g, demonstrations by professional fitness trainers, golf, races, food and drink exhibitions, blood donations, swimming, music and amusement, camping and jumping. Most of the event will be held at Millhouse Park, Abbeydale, Sheffield which has 200 parks, woodlands, and gardens and is the greenest city in Britain. There will be an admission fee of  £6 for adults and  £1 for an accompanying person under 16 and free for an accompanying person under the age of 4. This shows the fact that the festival seeks to promote family participation.

PROBLEMS WITH THE PAROLE AND PROBATION SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES Research Paper

PROBLEMS WITH THE PAROLE AND PROBATION SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES - Research Paper Example This specific problem is one which can be attributed to the system with the probation programs because of the inability to meet the needs of those that are adjusting back into society. Problem within Probation Programs The criminal offender conduct is the main concept that is focused on with probation programs. Those who are working with criminals who have just been released from prison are focused on changing mannerisms and ensuring that the prisoner is able to work within society as a citizen. Getting steady employment, staying away from further crime and developing new habits within society are some of the associated concepts that are a part of probation programs. Supervising those individuals and working with counseling programs are also some of the attributes that are a part of probation programs. However, there is a noticeable re-entry crisis that occurs among criminals. The inability to change the focus out of the habits from past crimes and the inability to provide criminals with the ability to move into a completely correctional system are causing many criminals to go through probation periods then move back into the same crimes as in the past (Johnson et al, 2006). The problem with those who are in parole systems is one which is showing a high return rate that is not decreasing with the systems that are in place. In 2006, an average of 35% of all inmates returned to prison during or after the probation period. This was a result of parole violations, as opposed to new crimes that were committed. The state of California held the highest of parole violations, which was inclusive of two-thirds of inmates returning to prison because of the same violations. The problems with probation include the first problem of too many inmates being supervised with too little supervision. In 2006, 4 million offenders were placed into probation. The officers were primarily responsible for the movement back into society with other court orders that were associated with thi s. It was found that the restrictions with probation, such as not being able to find employment because of a criminal record, led to many being forced into breaking the probation rules to try to integrate into society (Lawrence, 2008). The parole systems, while known to assist with the integration back into society, are causing the reverse problem to occur. Those who are within the system and are going through parole are aware that there is difficulty in getting past probation systems and staying in society. There are many who have created the mentality that they will go back into prison during their probation period, adding in a psychological response to the known statistics and rates of those who are going in and out of the justice system. Those who are going back into prison work as an example of the difficulties within the probation and parole system, making the trend arise among those who are a part of the probation system and which are trying to work back into an integrated so ciety. The psychological responses, trends and the large amount of criminals that go back into prison add into the complexity of those who are going through the parole system (Johnson et al, 2006). Theories of Criminal Justice Practice There are several theories that apply to the criminal justice practice and the way in which individuals integrate into society. Historically, those who had committed a crime were only required to serve

The Importance Of Flood Inundation Modeling Environmental Sciences Essay

The Importance Of Flood Inundation Modeling Environmental Sciences Essay In recent years, flood inundation models become important increasingly in both flood forecasting and damage estimation as it provides the basis for the decision making of flood risk management. Such models are mainly used to simulate flood inundation extent and depths at different sections of the studied flood rivers. With their help, hydrologists are able to study and analyse the hydrologic systems of floods well. This project was initiated to further understand the flood model Lisflood-FP global climate change and predict the future intensity of precipitation and temperature in Singapore. This will allow engineers and other professionals to gauge the intensity of the future weather and conduct necessary works to prevent unwanted event like flooding, from happening. Background Floods are the most destructive and recurring natural disasters all over the world and a wide range of the world population and their property is at the risk of flooding. Thus, one of the crucial tasks in quantifying the damage estimation of the flood events is that determining the reliable prediction of potential extent and water depth of flood inundation. In General, flood inundation predications are used to service the decision-making in design urban planning in future. The principle of predication are derived from single realisation of numerical hydraulic models and applied on a forward-modeling framework (BatesandDe Roo, 2000). Despite calibration studies are underway to determine a single parameter set that optimises the model fit to some observed data, the confidence level of the predicted results becomes a major problem for decision makers. If the uncertainty is considered in terms of input parameters (e.g. geographical information, hydrological data, hydraulics parameters, and boundary conditions), only a small portion of a typical issue might be regarded as certain or deterministic. The rest inevitably contains uncertainty that arises from the complexity of the system, lack of knowledge or human-induced errors. In previous studies, the uncertainty sources associated with the flood inundation modeling have been generalised into three categories, such as input data, hydraulics parameters and model structures (Bales and Wagner, 2009). Different uncertainty techniques (e.g. Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation) have been applied into the flood inundation modelling to assess the uncertainty derived from one or multiple factors. However, limited studies have been further discussed the sensitivity of uncertainty sources like roughness coefficients. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis methods applied in previous studies relied heal Objective and Scope This report is a write up on the research of Final Year Project, Flood Inundation Modeling under stochastic uncertainty, had been carried on by the author for the last 10 months. The objective of this project is to systematically study and analyse the impact or effects of uncertainties associated with parameter of roughness coefficient in flood inundation modeling, which is Lisflood-FP Modeling. The predicted data can be used for the predication of future flood inundation and damage estimation under risk analysis. In this report, the following preliminary study works will be covered. To review the one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) hydraulic models for flood inundation modeling, and to review the uncertainty sources associated with the flood inundation modeling process and the available uncertainty analysis methods. To conduct a Monte Carlo simulation to assess the propagation of uncertainty associated with roughness coefficients to the results of flood inundation modeling, in terms of water depths and inundation extent. The scope of this project includes a comprehensive literature review on flood inundation modeling process and recognition of the uncertainty effects from various sources. On the basis of literature review, the impact of the uncertainty of roughness coefficients is to be analysed a hypothetical study case. A conclusion will be made according to the preliminary data analysis and the ideas for futures work will be shaped. Methodology (GLUE) Annual reports of companies and information from public domain were reviewed extensively to identify current GHG emissions reduction measures that are adopted by shipping companies. Academic research papers and reports from agencies such as IMO, DNV and World Shipping Council (WSC) were examined to gather information on the potential and effectiveness of the measures and to identify critical issues. Primary research was conducted through a two-pronged approach of surveys and interviews. Survey questions were designed in accordance to the objective of this study and the questionnaires were posted to container liner shipping companies, both with and without offices in Singapore. A small number of survey responses were anticipated and therefore the surveys were used to capture ground information. The interviews with governmental agency, classification societies and selected shipping companies serve as the second pillar of the primary information collection in this study. Report Structure Figure 1. Report structureThis report includes 5 chapters as shown in Error: Reference source not found. A list of abbreviations and a glossary are also included. This report consists of 6 chapters shown in Figure 1.1. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction of background and scope of this study. Chapter 2 reviews the hydraulic models used for flood inundation modeling, the associated uncertainty sources and the uncertainty analysis methods. In Chapter 3, a 2-D hydraulic model is established for a study case adapted from a real world river system, where the model configuration and simulation results are introduced. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 discuss the effects of the uncertainty of the roughness coefficients on flood inundation modeling. In Chapter 6, a summary is made and the ideas for future studies are presented. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEWS The information acquired through various literature reviews are discussed in this chapter to understand the background of floods and flood hazards, as well as the importance of flood inundation modeling. On the other hand, the 1-D/2-D hydrodynamic models for simulating both channel and floodplain flows were reviewed respectively. Subsequently, an overview of this chapter is provided. 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Floods Throughout the long human history, floods are the most frequently occurring natural hydrological phenomena, which consist of the futures such as water depth, flow velocity, and temporal and spatial dynamics. The regular-magnitude floods occur every year at the expected stream flow range. It is beneficial to provide fertilise soil with nutrients, transport large quantities of sediment and deposit on the floodplain, and clean-up a river with any stagnant contaminates. However, some floods become disasters due to the extreme events, which happen suddenly without any warning, such as storm, dam break, storm surge and tsunami. As a result, their significant impacts cause imponderable damage on human society and ecosystems, particularly in terms of life loss and property damage. Flood can be defined as water body rises to overflow the lands where is not normally submerged with the perspective of flooding wave advancement (Ward, 1978). This definition includes two main flood types, namely river floods and costal floods. River floods are mostly arising from excessively or long-drawn-out rainfall, thus the river discharge flow exceeding the stream channels capacity and overtopping the banks and embankments. Especially in urban area, floods may also take place at the sewage drains when the heavy storms water surcharged in and overflow the drains. In addition, some natural or man-induced catastrophe could result in the water level is risen up suddenly and then overflow the river bank or dam. The reasons why the costal floods appear are usually originated from the severe cyclonic weather systems in terms of a combination of high tides, elevated sea level and storm surges with large waves. The inundation at coastal areas may results from the overflowing as the water level exceeds the crest level of defense, or from the overtopping as the waves run up and break over the defense, or defense structure failure itself (Reeve and Burgess, 1994). Furthermore, tsunami can cause long ocean waves due to the great earthquake and resulting in coastal floods. 2.1.2 The flood hazard Flood hazard is defined that those floods generate pop-up threats to the life and properties of human beings at the flood-prone areas where man had encroached into. The hazard level is validated by a combination of physical exposure and human vulnerability to the flood inundation process. Floods have been regarded as the top of the most destructive hazards from everlasting. In China, floods account for about 1/3 of all the natural catastrophes and responsible for 30% of the overall economic losses (Cheng, 2009). Furthermore, some south-east Asian countries are flood-prone areas, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar, which are bearing the disasters from the frequent river and coastal floods. In 2004, the mega-quake, which exceeds magnitude of 9.0, induced a series of destructive tsunamis with the highest wave of 30 meters along the coasts bordering the Indian Ocean. There were over 230,000 victims lost their lives in around 14 countries. Hence, Indonesia was the hardest hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand (Paris et al., 2007). Moreover, the tropical cyclone Nargis happened on 2nd May, 2008 attacked the Southwest Coast of Myanmar. There were 24 million people been affected and approximately 50,000 to 100,000 people been killed (Kenneth, 2008). However, flooding is not only the critical issue in Asian, but also in the entire world. In 1927, the United States met the most devastating flooding of the Mississippi River in American history. The levee system was broken out and submerged 27,000 km2. Because of millions of population living along the Mississippi River, it led over 400 million US dollars in loss and 246 human deaths (Barry, 1998). In Europe, Netherlands had affected by the critical river floods in the past years since the most areas are below the sea level. The worst flood disaster happened in 1953 killed 1,835 people, covered almost 200,000 hectares of land, destroyed 3,000 family houses and 200 farms, and drowned 47,000 heads of cattle (Lamb and Knud, 1991). The facts mentioned above proven that the global flooding management is increasingly vital to protect millions of worldwide population from the severe threat. However, because of the high costs and inherent uncertainties, it is impossible and unsustainable to build up the absolute flood protection system, but it can be managed to reduce the hazard to lives and property by the most cost-effective measures. Therefore, flood inundation models become the most useful predictive tools which are used to evaluate and analyse the flood hazards, as well as to improve and mitigate the flood risk management. 2.1.3 The Importance of flood inundation modeling From the perspectives of physical processes and anthropogenic influence, the floodplain is a dynamic flow environment. Since it is much difficult to handle the confliction between maximising benefit-over-cost ratio and minimising the human impact, the application of inundation modeling becomes the most likely moderate approach for flood management strategy. Actually, the final objective of flood inundation studies could be minimise susceptibility and vulnerability to loss in both economy and human lives aspects (Parker, 1995). Therefore, it is necessary to use flood inundation models to simulate and predict the possible impacts of floodplain development. The principle of flood inundation models is to allow the upstream flood flow to discharge directly to the downstream flood extent. Those models become much valuable and helpful flood predictive tools which are able to apply in different real and virtual scenarios for analysis. In comparison with those traditional statistical models, which are according to all the numeral data observations of past flood events, the largest advantages of physically-based inundation models are their capability of spatial and temporal variables in terms of discharge, water level, velocity, flow duration and inundation extent, on the processive flood events. Meanwhile, they also support the hydro-system operation, flood warning, risk quantification and decision making for the design and planning of flood mitigation measures. Besides, the flood risk maps are able to be determined on the basis of the flood inundation modeling results. They are static two-dimensional maps indicating the flood probability with flood depth and extents, which is usually generated through flood uncertainty quantification techniques, i.e. Monte Carlo Simulation. They are widely adopted by government and insurance company to delineate areas of land at high risk and guide the investment and emergency response strategies. 2.2 LISFLOOD-FP Flood Inundation Model A flood inundation model is an intergraded flood simulation model-chain which includes an estimation of stochastic rainfall, a simulation of rainfall-runoff and an inundation model of flood development (McMillan and Brasington, 2008). For stochastic rainfall estimation of certain catchment, according to the available precipitation records, a long synthetic rainfall series could be created. Hereafter, these series are applied into a rainfall-runoff model to generate the corresponding discharge estimation series. And the estimations of discharge are imported into a 2-D hydrodynamic model, which utilizes high-resolution elevation data to enable urban floodplain modeling at the smallest scales and paves the way for additional modules for vulnerability and damage assessment. Finally, the flood inundation model is expected to run within a proven uncertainty estimation framework and subsequently to compare with the real-world scenarios for model calibration and allow explicit uncertainties analysis. LISFLOOD-FP model is one of the most popular flood inundation models all over the world (Bates and De Roo, 2000). It is a coupled 1D/2D hydraulic model on the basis of a raster grid. LISFLOOD-FP model treats the flooding as an intelligent volume-filling process from the perspective of hydraulic principles by embodying the key physical notions of mass conservation and hydraulic connectivity. 2.2.1Principles of LISFLOOD-FP Model 2.2.1.1Model Structure and Concepts The basic components of the LISFLOOD-FP model is a raster Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (Bates and De Roo, 2000) of resolution and accuracy suf ¬Ã‚ cient to identify surface roughness for both the channel (location and slope) and those elements of the  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡oodplain topography (dykes, embankments, depressions and former channels) considered necessary to  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ood inundation prediction. A  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ood consists of a large, low amplitude wave propagating down valley (Bates and De Roo, 2000). When the bankful  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow depth is reached, water stops to be contained only in the main river channel and water spills onto adjacent shallow gradient  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡oodplains. These  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡oodplains act either as temporary stores for this water or additional routes for  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow conveyance. C:UsersDaniel SunAppDataRoamingTencentUsers703775521QQWinTempRichOle[[emailprotected]){LA]KX[A1$UE8M8AV.jpg Figure 1 Conceptual model of the LISFLOOD-FP flood inundation model (Wilson, 2003a; 2003b) 2.2.1.2 Assumptions for LISFLOOD-FP Model In order to design a physical model simulating the flood development and to simply the numerical computation, the assumptions are stated as followings: The flow within channel can be represented by the kinematic wave approximations. The channel is assumed to be so wide and shallow that the wetted perimeter is approximated by the channel width. The flood flow can be gradually varied. Both In-channel and Out-of-channel flooding flow are treated as raster grids by using a series of storage discretised cells. Flow between storage cells can be calculated using analytical uniform flow formulas, i.e. the Saint-Venant and Manning equations. There is no exchange of momentum between main channel and floodplain flows, only mass is exchanged. 2.2.2 In-Channel Flow The hydraulic models consist of two main processes, representing the flow within the channel (In-channel Flow) and flow on the floodplain (Out-of-channel Flow). But we ignore the effects at the channel- ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡oodplain interface development of intense shear layers leads to a strongly turbulent and three-dimensional  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow  ¬Ã‚ eld. In this project, one of the objectives is to quantify the uncertainty associated with the inundation process. In-channel Flow is defined that the channel flow is below bankful depth. Thus, the flow process is represented by using a classical one-dimensional hydraulic routine approach (1-D approach), which is described in terms of a simplification of the full one-dimensional St. Venant equation system (Knight and Shiono, 1996), which leads to a kinematic wave approximation obtained by eliminating local acceleration, convective acceleration and pressure terms in the momentum equation. 2.2.2.1 Saint-Venant Equations Due to simplicity of computation and ease of parameterization, the one-dimensional (1-D) Saint-Venant equations have been the most widely adopted approach for unsteady open channel flow. The partial differential Saint-Venant equations comprise the continuity and momentum equations under the following assumptions (Chow et al. 1988): Flow is 1-D, and depth and velocity vary only in the longitudinal direction of the channel. Velocity is constant, and the water surface is horizontal across, any section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Flow varies gradually along the channel so that hydrostatic pressure prevails and vertical accelerations can be neglected. The longitudinal axis of the channel is approximated as a straight line. The bottom slope of the channel is small and the channel bed is fixed. The effects of scour and deposition are negligible. Resistance coefficients for steady uniform turbulent flow are applicable so that relationships (e.g. Mannings equation) can be used to describe resistance effects. The fluid is incompressible and constant density throughout the flow. Therefore, the continuity equation states that the change in discharge with distance downstream (), and the change in the cross-sectional area of flow over time () are in balance. Thus, the lateral inflow ( ) to or from the channel and floodplain can be expressed as (Wilson, 2004). (2.1) where Q is the volumetric discharge in channel [L3/T], x is the longitudinal distance along the channel [L], t is time interval [T], A is the cross-sectional area of flow [L2] and q is the lateral inflow from other sources per unit length along channel [L2/T]. The momentum equation states that total applied forces is equal to the rate of momentum change in each unit of flow, plus the net outflow of momentum (Chow et al. 1988). For this project, the full dynamic wave equations can be simplified in terms of kinematic wave model. The assumptions are that local acceleration, convective acceleration and pressure terms are ignored, and the flow gravitational forces are equal to the frictional resistance force. The momentum equation can be written as: (2.2) where is the down-slope of the bed [-] and is the slope of friction [-] Roughness coefficients are defined as the resistance to flood flows in channels and floodplains. To introduce Mannings roughness ( n ), the Manning Equation is chosen. Therefore, the friction slope in the momentum equation can be described as: (2.3) where R is hydraulic radius [L]. Substituting the hydraulic radius, the momentum equation can be written as: (2.4) where n is the Mannings coefficient of friction and P  is the wetted perimeter of the flow [L]. However, for the Equation (2.4), there are some limitations such as only considering the down gradient hydraulic characteristics, and neglecting the backwater effects and shock waves. 2.2.2.2 Numerical Solution The 1-D Saint-Venant Equations are discretized using numerical methods of a finite difference approximation (Chow, 1988). Stream flow and cross section values are calculated with a simple linear scheme that uses a backward-difference method to derive the finite difference equations. Therefore, they are combined to obtain the following equations: (2.5) where Q is the volumetric discharge in channel [L3/T], x is the longitudinal distance along the channel [L], t is time interval [T], q is the lateral inflow from other sources per unit length along channel [L2/T], and is the geometry and frication factor of channel which is written as: (2.6) where is the Manning friction coefficient [T/ L1/3], is the channel width [L], and is the channel slope. Meanwhile, the finite difference equation can be set up in order to calculate the quantity Qi,j at each node (i, j), where i represents the space and j the time : (2.7) (2.8) in order to create a linear equation, the value of Q in the expression of Equation (2.5) is found by averaging the following values : (2.9) Note: All Equations variables refer to the definitions in Figure 2 C:UsersDaniel SunAppDataRoamingTencentUsers703775521QQWinTempRichOleH37F%N4L(VS%DNUG`X_(I4E.jpg Figure 2 Finite difference box for the linear kinematic wave equation 2.2.3. Channel Discretisation by Mesh Generation In order to conduct the kinematic wave simulation, the flow domain is spatially discretised into discrete elements or grid cells to represent the arbitrary modling area by numerical mesh generation process. It starts at the inflow point of each grid cell with indicator of the direction to the next downstream cell. With the help of Airborne Laser Altimetry (LiDAR) and Stereo Air-photogrammetry, the high-resolution DEM grid cells are able to contain topographic data, such as channel width, bed slope, manning friction coef ¬Ã‚ cient and bankful depth. Therefore, the numerical solution can be approximate obtained with the advantage of high-performance digital computers and high numerical stability. In this project, the regular high resolution rectangular grids mesh generation is adopted. However, despite that the mesh resolution in the region is increased, it resulted in less smooth of friction coefficients. This is because the polygonal area over which the various friction contributi ons were averaged was reduced. 2.2.4 Out-of-Channel Flow Out-of-Channel flow (i.e. Floodplain Flow) is defined that water is transferred from the channel to the adjacent overlying floodplain areas when bankful depth is exceeded by flood. However, the 1-D approach is not suitable to simulate the floodplain flows due to its incapability of capturing velocity variations and free surface across the channel. Thus, floodplain flows can be similarly described in terms of classical continuity and momentum equations, discretized over a grid of square cells, which allows the model to represent 2-dimensional dynamic flow on the floodplain. Therefore, we assume that each cell is treated as a storage volume and the change in cell volume over time is therefore equal to the  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uxes into and out of it during the time step (See Figure 3, Wilson, 2003a; 2003b). (2.10) where is the volume variation [L3] of each cell during time [T], and , , and are the volumetric flow rate [L3/T] respectively coming from the up, the down, the left and the right adjacent cells of the grid. C:UsersDaniel SunAppDataRoamingTencentUsers703775521QQWinTempRichOle7L0})O%E([emailprotected] Figure 3 Flows between cells on the floodplain with LISFLOOD-FP (Wilson, 2003a; 2003b) Flow between two cells is assumed to be simply a function of the free surface height difference between these cells, hence the following discretisation of continuity Equation (2.1) (See Figure 4 5) (2.11) (2.12) (2.13) where   is the water free surface height [L] at the cell node (i,j), and are the cell dimensions [L],    is the effective grid scale Mannings friction coefficient for the floodplain, and  and  describe the volumetric flow rates [L3/T] between the floodplain cell node (i,j). C:UsersuserDesktop1.jpg Figure 4 Discretization scheme for floodplain grid C:UsersDaniel SunAppDataRoamingTencentUsers703775521QQWinTempRichOleM`G%`D63ODY2$7)H3G4O7OQ.jpg Figure 5 Floodplain Flows between Two Cells The flow depth,  hflow, represents the depth through which water can flow between two cells, and is defined as the difference between the highest water free surface in the two cells and the highest bed elevation (this definition has been found to give sensible results for both wetting cells and for flows linking floodplain and channel cells). 2.3 Uncertainty in flooding inundation modeling It is the key factor to reduce or prevent the level of flood hazards that ensuring prediction accurately of the flood inundation area and providing reliable information of risk. In general, the result produced by flood models is only a single deterministic prediction for the peak flow of the flood. However, the confidence level of the output results would be affected by the uncertainty of input data in terms of peak flow, the topographic data, and the model parameters. As a result, the uncertainty associated with the flood inundation modeling is seldom quantified, It most likely because that the sources of uncertainty are not totally realised and lack of available data to study uncertainty. Uncertainty analysis of LISFLOOD-FP modeling has been studied in recent years. From those reports, the sources of uncertainty can be summarised into three major catalogues in terms of model data inputs, hydraulics parameters and model structures. 2.3.1Model data inputs 2.3.1.1 Hydrologic and meteorological data One of the most dominant input parameters is the design flow, which comes from flood frequency analysis and provides the boundary condition. However, the uncertainty of steamflow is inherent since it is derived from the stage-discharge rating curves on the basis of flood records, especially for the high-return-period flow events. In summary, there are four types of uncertainties associated with the hydrograph of steamflows, namely (1) watershed characteristics; (2) storm precipitation dynamics; (3) infiltration and (4) antecedent conditions. However, the storm precipitation dynamics has the largest impact on the prediction. Furthermore, the overall prediction of hydrologic models could be increase due to uncertainty-added by lacking of understanding of the spatial and temporal variability in precipitation, evapotranspiration, and infiltration. 2.3.1.2 Topographic data The topographic data is including both land surface digital elevation model (DEM) and river bed bathymetry. It is one of the dominant factors to predict the flood inundation area accurately. It does not only influence the hydrologic modeling process, but also the mapping water surface elevations. Firstly, the extraction of watershed characteristics (e.g. slope, streams and watershed boundaries) from DEM is affected by its resolution, leading to varied discharge values estimated from the hydrologic model. Secondly, the resolution of DEM and the accuracy of bathymetry affect the cross sections extracted for 1-D channel flow simulation and the interpolated meshes (or grids) for 2-D overland flow simulation. Thirdly, Bales and Wagner (2009) investigated the Tar River basin and revealed that high-quality topographic data, along with the appropriate application of hydraulic models are likely the most important factors affecting the horizontal extent and vertical water surface elevations of flood inundation maps. 2.3.2 Model structures The flood inundation models are also sensitive to the channel geometry in terms of cross sections number, cross-sectional spacing in between, finite-element mesh quality and hydraulic structures. Additionally, the type of model (1-D, 2-D or coupled) used in simulating the river hydrodynamics also brings uncertainty to the overall results. The geometry representation of channel is more critical to 2-D and (3-D) models since the elevation is defined at each mesh node distributed throughout the channel and floodplains. Moreover, the mesh generation strategies will affect 2- and 3-D models not only in the prediction of inundation area, but also the computational time (Horritt et al. 2006). 2.3.3 Hydraulics parameters Hydraulic models (e.g. 1-D, 2-D or coupled) used to simulate the river hydrodynamics and water surface elevation in floodplain are sensitive to a set of model parameters. Friction values (Mannings roughness coefficient, n), accounting for effects of variable cross sections, non-uniform slope, vegetation and structures at the sub-grid scale, have a significant impact on hydraulic simulations (Merwade et al., 2008). Mannings roughness coefficient (n), which is commonly assigned by using standard look-up tables for different substrate types, can range from 0.035 to 0.065 in the main channel, and 0.080 to 0.150 in the floodplains (Chow et al. 1988). Distributed data throughout the floodplain are seldom available as a basis for estimating friction values for the model domain. Many of the uncertainties in hydraulic models are lumped in the Mannings n value, such that the models can be calibrated through adjusting such a parameter. The difference in magnitude and changing channel conditions will cause the optimal set of parameters to be found in a slightly different area of the parameter space for each different flood event. Wohl (1998) analysed the uncertainty of Mannings n relative to a commonly used step-backwater model for channel reaches in five canyon rivers. The results indicated that the uncertainties in discharge estimation resulting from the roughness coefficients in step-backwater modeling of paleo-floods were comparable to or lower than those associated with other methods of indirectly estimation flood discharges. Pappenberger et al. (2005) analysed the uncertainty caused by Mannings n (range from 0.001 to 0.9) in the unsteady flow component of the 1-D model HEC-RAS. The results showed that many parameter sets could perform equally well even with extreme values. However, this was dependent on the model region and boundary conditions. Pappenberger et al. (2007) employed a fuzzy set approach for calibrating flood inundation models under the uncertainties of roughness and cross-section. The roughness of channel has been identified as more sensitive than the standard deviation of the cross-sectio n. 2.4 Integrated modeling and uncertainty analysis framework Flood risk maps are critical to help manage the risk of inundation, which are generated based on good understanding of the uncertainty associated with the various variables involved in flood inundation modeling. A sequential process is normally adopted, where hydrologic analysis starts first, and then hydraulic analysis and geospatial processing will follow. Merwade et al. (2008) proposed a conceptual fr

Janet Fitch Essay

Over the years, Janet Fitch has enjoyed wider and more diverse audience. Her works were appreciated by critics, regular readers and even by celebrities. One of the popular followers of Janet Fitch is the celebrity television show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey who â€Å"fell in love† with Janet Fitch’s works particularly White Oleander, a story which, according to Oprah herself, is something that moved her (Oprah Talks to Janet Fitch 2). But the power of Fitch’s works is appreciated even by ordinary individuals. One of the very good examples illustrating this fact is the numerous comments among readers and prospective readers found in the Amazon. com section for Paint It Black. The readers/bloggers also pointed to the fact that the stories depict a certain high degree of realism in comparison of real life and the story. It was enveloped in a wide range of emotions (Hughes 4), a sense of closeness to real life that others describe as stories told by characters, the story and the characters both ring with authenticity (West 2); While other critics believe that the talent of Fitch involves the creation of characters which possess distinct and believable characteristics typical of an ordinary human individual (Ginsberg 4). Janet Fitch’s works is considered as praiseworthy and notable by many critics. One of the reasons why this is the case is because of how Janet Fitch’s works transcend the literary realm and impact real life. The lessons and realizations derived from her works are constructed in a design that maximizes and optimizes the ability of the works to touch the senses of the readers through Fitch’s discussion of life, death and finding life’s paths (not before losing the sense of direction first) in her works, particularly in the White Oleander and Paint It Black. An essential approach that Janet Fitch takes in tackling the issues of real human life, that makes her works and stories appreciated by the readers and touches the emotions of the readers, is her use of contemporary setting (or close to contemporary setting) and tackling about issues that almost every individual is vulnerable to suffer or is constantly suffering. The readers are more attached to the stories that Fitch paint. There are many cases that the aspect of life as tackled by Fitch through her character are issues that are seldom addressed by society and issues that many individuals are easily vulnerable to, wrapping it up around a very emotional life not just for the protagonist but also exposing the depth of the serious emotional vein found in other major and minor casts in her stories. For example, the â€Å"White Oleander† is a work that breaks off from the traditional feel good reading that gives readers an escape. Through the White Oleander, Fitch does not provide escape from reality as fairy tales do, but instead, remind the readers of the social problems and real life as reflected in White Oleander and its characters, a story described by Laura Miller as something that is â€Å"no fairytale (Miller 1). † The impact of the stories Janet Fitch wrote is centered largely on realizations which readers often can relate to, particularly during the realizations happening in the end or close to the end of the story. It is an aspect of Janet Fitch’s writing style and design which is considered by some readers as one of Fitch’s strengths as an effective writer (West 1). One of the prevailing realizations about life is how the characters eventually end up getting enough courage to face the past and the present. This was the case of Astrid in White Oleander and the case of Josie in Paint It Black (Hughes 3). But the lessons and realizations is not just facilitated by the aspects of life, of being alive and living. The instances of death also often touch a raw nerve among the readers who are affected by the works. Death, especially the death of someone special or important to one’s life, is something that everyone experienced or will soon experience. Fitch has effectively painted the emotions engulfing the person during the time of death, like the anguish Astrid felt after the death of Claire Richards in White Oleander. Depiction of death-related emotions in Paint It Black involving the suicide of Michael and the impact it has on the state of emotional and mental stability of Josie immediately after the tragedy. It is an analogy of powerful emotions including anger and dislocation something considered as beautifully described by Fitch (Campbell 3). There are also other subplots and aspects of the stories Fitch creates that are constantly present like drug addiction and sex, issues that face many individuals today. It can be one of the linchpins that allows readers to relate to the story and to the main characters, like Astrid in White Oleander and Josie in Paint it Black, who tried to cope with emotional problems through alcohol and drugs (Boulter 1). It is the same predicament of Astrid and the same predicament of many individuals in today’s life. The greatest source of emotional impact that readers can easily detect and relate to is the presence of significant mother-daughter relations as well as problems (Oktay 256) and the strong role of family in the stories written by Fitch, and with focus as well to the narcissistic tendencies of mothers both in White Oleander and in Paint it Black (Valby 1). It was revealed in the musings of the lead characters like when Astrid noted how her mother â€Å"was not herself in the time of the Santa Anas (Fitch 1),† noting the central role of the mother in the daughter’s life, not just in White Oleander but also in Paint It Black. In White Oleander, the struggle of Astrid in her emotionally unstable relationship with her mother Ingrid, who she still loved in the end, despite how Ingrid treated her when she was young, provides many instances that many mother-daughter relationships experience. Astrid’s journey around several foster homes and the perpetual need to be loved, accepted and taken care of is also a perennial emotional issue many individuals struggle with openly or in their own private recluse. A more distorted or more complex mother-daughter relationship is found in Paint It Black (Campbell 4). In these two stories, several roles of the mother and the daughter and several different situations allow readers to pick points wherein they can relate to, allowing Fitch’s fanbase to grow because of this sense of attachment to the characters/story/predicament presented in Fitch’s works. In a way, it makes Fitch a catalyst or even a channel for individuals to find someone (even fictional) that they can relate to and share similar experiences with, in the hope that the later realizations can assist the readers towards certain realizations and closures in their own personal lives and in their own personal struggles, challenges and problems. There is no doubt that in the analysis of what critics, observers, analysts and even the ordinary individual reader, Janet Fitch is a writer above average. This is because of what she wrote, how she wrote it, how she developed characters, and how these characters and stories have the power to influence the emotions of the readers as it reflected real life, real death-related issues and the process and journey towards self discovery and the unfolding of the path for the individual despite what the characters have undergone in the story, despite Josie â€Å"couldn’t settle anywhere (Fitch 8). † It is, in its own way, inspiring the readers and empowering them towards inward personal values that can make them better individuals and cope better with their own personal challenges like how the characters of Fitch did in the stories, doing in a manner considered as masterful storytelling. Boulter describes Paint It Black as â€Å"well written† (Boutler 4). Ginsberg believed that Fitch was able to make an â€Å"indelible literary mark† because of her opus White Oleander (Gindsberg 1). Farr discussed in the book about the personal connections the reader has on the different aspects of White Oleander like story and characters and how these affected them and how they reacted to it (Farr 105). Works Cited Boulter, Maryann. â€Å"Paint It Black – Janet Fitch. † Nightsandweekends. com. 2006. 16 May 2009 . Campbell, Karen. â€Å"’Paint It Black’ is a compelling tale of suicide, memory, and perception. Boston Globe. † Globe Newspaper Company. 18 September 2006. 16 May 2009 . De Turenne, Veronique. â€Å"’White Oleander’ Author Returns with ‘Paint It Black’. † NPR. 4 October 2006. 16 May 2009

Qatar’s Struggle to Reduce Traffic Accidents

QATAR’S STRUGGLE TO REDUCE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Submitted To: Dr. Michael Long Date: January 25, 2006 Date: Sunday, January 25, 2006 To:Dr. Michael Long Instructor CM 2300: Report Writing Subject: Formal Report on Traffic Accidents in Qatar I am submitting the attached report, entitled Qatar’s Struggle to Reduce Traffic Accidents, in accordance with the requirements for the CM2300 Report Writing course. The report covers background material concerning traffic accidents and its implications for society. Traffic accidents are considered one of the most important reasons of death in the Gulf.This paper examines possible practical approaches Qatar may consider, or is considering, in efforts to reduce the increasing number of traffic accidents. This paper discusses various aspects of public transportation problems in Doha, Qatar, and presents a proposal for reducing the risks, as well as penalizing drivers who are consistently involved in accidents. Research for this assignment was completed largely through the use of Internet where government publications and newspaper articles were easily accessible. Sincerely, TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 0 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 1 Thesis Statement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 1. 2 Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 1. 2. 1 Road Traffic Accidents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 1. 2. 2 Fatality Rates†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 1. 2. 3 Traffic Congestion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 2. 0 Causes. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 2. 1 Construction Boom†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 2. 2 Careless Driving†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 2. 3 Stress†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦15 3. 0 Effects†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 3. 1 Increased Insurance Rates†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦16 3. 2 Increased Fatality Rates†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦16 4. 0 Problems of Reducing Traffic Accidents †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦. 17 5. 0 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 18 5. 1 Future Plans from the Government†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 5. 2 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦21 6. 0 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦23 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Graph†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Figure 2: Graph†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Figure 3: G raph†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Figure 4: Table†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 Figure 5: Road Accident†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Figure 6: Installation of Radar†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦19 Figure 7: Installed Radar†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦. 20 SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to identify the reasons why traffic accidents are so high in this region of the world, and to determine the possible impact that they can have on society and humanity. This report discusses the causes and effects of traffic accidents in Qatar and discusses possible solutions to minimize them. After examining specific data, it is evident that traffic accidents account for the most number of deaths in Qatar. They continue to rise and pose a threat to society.In order for Qatar to reduce this menace, the following recommendations have been suggested: (1) Public education and awareness, (2) Dedicated traffic controlling systems, (3) Penalizing drivers who are consistently involved in accidents, (4) Installation of radars throughout the major highways in Qatar, and (5) Increasing the fees on fines for breaking the traffic law INTRODUCTION Traffic accidents are not only a serious problem in Qatar, but all over the world. Countries in the Wes tern Europe, North America and the Middle East have acknowledged the fact that road accidents are a major cause of death and injury.While some people think that traffic accidents are not a serious problem today, consider these statistics. In 2002, while the death rate in Qatar due to cancer was only 10. 6%, the mortality rate due to traffic accidents stood at a whopping 40%, according to Ministry of Public Health statistics. (Al Binali, 2004). I was shocked when I discovered that in Great Britain, over ? 1 billion is spent each year on a wide range of road safety measures. (Jacobs, 1986) 1. 1 THESIS STATEMENT High construction activity, poor driver education, inefficient policing, and the roundabout system are the causes of Doha’s soaring accident problems.Without a proper traffic management system in place, traffic accidents will continue to rise in Qatar. 1. 2 BACKGROUND The following three sections provide background information on traffic accidents, beginning with the his tory of road traffic accidents and fatality rates, followed by how traffic congestion is increasing the problem. 1. 2. 1 ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are increasingly being recognized as a threat to society and the people of Qatar. Qatar, which drives most of it economy on oil, has a very high amount of vehicles on its roads.Due to the construction boom, there has been a high influx of immigrants and workers, resulting in an increase in vehicle numbers, accompanied by regularly expanding road constructions. Previous studies have shown that fatality rates in Qatar are much higher than in the developing countries. The number of accident casualties in Qatar has risen to 40,000 per annum, which is a 17% increase in the number of casualties for 2004 compared to those of 2003; 90% of such casualties are linked to road traffic accidents. (Al Musleh, 2005). Let’s take a look at a case.On March 20, 2003, Sugathadasa Atapattu, 56, was taking a stroll after dinne r in downtown Doha when he was knocked down by a speeding vehicle. Atapattu was taken to hospital where he lay unconscious for three months. He regained consciousness later but remained bed-ridden and lost his speech. His son came here and took him back home late last year after he spent about eight months in the hospital. At home too, he remains bed-ridden. (Pandit, 2004) You can imagine the impact on Atapattu’s life just because of one uneducated careless driver. Atapattu might be bed-ridden all his life, for no mistake of his own.He was just taking a walk and got hit. What did he do to cause this accident? Nothing, but he still has to bear the consequences all his life. 1. 2. 2 FATALITY RATES Figure 1 shows the fatality rates per 10,000 vehicles licensed. As you can observe, developing countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and Kenya have the highest fatality rates. Qatar approximately has a fatality rate of 20 per 10000 vehicles Figure 2 uses an alternative approach and show s the fatality rates per 10,000 persons. Using this measure of death rate, a completely different order of ranking is obtained.As you can clearly observe, Qatar is on the top of the order of ranking. Poor countries such as Ethiopia, India, Niger and Pakistan now appear at the bottom of the order of ranking. Figure 3 shows the relationship between fatality rate (per 10000 vehicles) and vehicle ownership in developed and developing countries. It is clearly observed that as the number of vehicles increase, the number of fatalities decrease. This is a very converse scenario to what one would think. One would think that as number of vehicles increase, number of fatalities should increase.But, this is not the case because we forget to take into fact the population increase of cars and its relation to the number of accidents. As the population of cars increases, the risk of accidents decreases because there is no space for a driver to drive fast and cause accidents. Therefore, number of fa talities decrease, as observed. http://www. transport-links. org/transport_links/filearea/publications/1_603_PA1164_1986. pdf http://www. transport-links. org/transport_links/filearea/publications/1_603_PA1164_1986. pdf http://www. transport-links. rg/transport_links/filearea/publications/1_603_PA1164_1986. pdf http://www. psychology. nottingham. ac. uk/staff/dec/references/Bener(2005)%20-%20 Advances%20in%20TranStudies. pdf Figure 4 shows a comparison of road accident fatalities in 2 developed countries UK and USA; and 2 developing countries UAE and Qatar, in the year 2000. The table lays out the number of motor vehicle deaths and the number of cars in each country. It also shows the death rates per 100,000 population and per 100,000 vehicles. Qatar has the second highest fatality rates after the UAE.But both developing countries have generally higher death rates than the developed countries. 1. 2. 3 TRAFFIC CONGESTION Road conditions are generally better in most Gulf states than o ther developing countries, but dangerous driving is common especially on highways. As a result, fatality rates due to traffic accidents are much higher here than other developing countries when compared with vehicle ownership. Most families in the more developed countries own their own car. The car gives people greater mobility and improves their access to places where they work, shop, are educated or find recreation.However, it is the widespread use of the car that is increasing traffic congestion in most cities. It is one of the most serious transport issues relating to cities all over the world. It is a recent problem in Doha but is much less worse than traffic problems in cities like Tokyo or Beijing. Insufficient transport systems and natural increase have made Qatar’s traffic problems one of the worst in the Gulf. Roads have been built long back, at a time when population was very low. As population is increasing, roads are becoming less capable to contain high amount o f cars.They are not designed for the volume of traffic today. Accidents and traffic jams are very often seen on roundabouts and traffic lights (See Figure 5). Figure 5: A photograph of an accident at the Toyota junction. [pic] http://www. gulf-times. com CAUSES The following three sections provide detailed information about some causes of traffic accidents. 2. 1 CONSTRUCTION BOOM The construction boom in Qatar has led to many problems in the traffic scenario of Qatar. Regular road blocks and diversions are seen everywhere, resulting in traffic snarls. When a road is blocked, all cars are diverted to another road.That road may not be able to cope up with such a high number of cars. Sometimes, cars are filled on roads from one junction to another, blocking routes for other cars on the junction. This results in absolute mayhem and chaos. Everyone wants to reach office or drop their kids to school on time. So, they take upon themselves, to swerve through traffic as they deem correct. Th ey enter roads which have no entry signs, they cut through traffic by driving in the parking lanes or they drive on the footpaths. This causes major traffic accidents where most of the time more than one car is involved.I have seen 3 accidents at the same time, on just 1 stretch of road, which led to staggeringly high amount of traffic. Basically, one thing leads to another. 2. 2 CARELESS DRIVING Careless driving is identified as the most important factor in traffic accidents, accounting for over 35% of all incidents, while excessive speed is known as the second most common cause. (Bener, 2005). People who drive carelessly and don’t abide by the traffic laws are a nuisance on the roads. They don’t stop on traffic lights, pedestrian crossings or on road stop signs. They constantly change lanes and confuse others as well as themselves.This causes confusion to others and they might bang their car into another. 2. 3 STRESS Everyone is stressed in life. If someone has finan cial problems, another has family problems. A husband has just had a fight with his wife or a youngster has just broken up with his girlfriend. A parent is under stress to get his child to school on time. In all these situations, the driver is driving under so much stress that he cannot give full concentration on the road. I would like to include here an example about myself. Recently, my father died an untimely death due to a cardiac arrest. days after this incident, I went out to buy some grocery nearby and I had a terrible accident. I hit a car and injured the other driver. I recall no memory of seeing that car or of the accident. All I know is that I hit a car. This was all due to the stress and tension I was under. I was so stressed about the problems in my life that I wasn’t concentrating on the road at all; therefore I didn’t notice this car approaching me and hit it head-on. There are several cases out there like these, where stress overcomes the driver and the y lose control of the situation. It is known as one of the major causes of accidents in recent times.Stress accounts for an estimated 12. 8m lost working days a year in Britain and costs businesses at least $4bn. It is difficult to measure how much of this can be put down to commuting, but in one study 44% of drivers named rush-hour traffic as the most stressful aspect of their lives. (Hall, 2006) EFFECTS 3. 1 INCREASED INSURANCE RATES A whole lot of insurance companies have increased their insurance rates and the amount of paperwork, due to the alarming rise in the number of accidents. Some insurance companies even had to shut down some of their branches, because they couldn’t bear the losses.The money an insurance provider has to dole out in claims for death and injuries as well as vehicle repairs in accidents run into millions of riyals. One such insurance provider said it lost QR2. 2m in the first half of 2005 due to compensation given in cases of accident-related deaths and injuries. (, 2005). So, just because of mistakes of others, innocent drivers have to face higher insurance rates. 3. 2 INCREASED FATALITY RATES Statistics suggest there were 840 road accidents in January 2003 with the number going up to 1,173 in January this year.In February 2003, road accidents totalled 675 but in February 2005, the figure reached 1,086. (, 2005). As the number of accidents is rising, the number of fatalities is rising also. Many people are dying because of traffic accidents. Some die due to mistakes of others too. A speeding car may hit a pedestrian and kill them for no mistake of their own. In 2004, 165 people died in road accidents with 79 per cent of the victims being in the age group of 11- 40 and 35 per cent being pedestrians. In 2005, 125 people were killed on the roads. (Bibbo, 2005) PROBLEMS OF REDUCING TRAFFIC ACCIDENTSProblems of reducing traffic accidents are many. Firstly, youngsters between the age group of 16-24 have a tendency to drive very fast . It is an ego problem. They think they have to drive fast to look cool and show off. I can say this because it partly relates to me. No matter how much they are taught, they will continue to drive fast. Even though public awareness is apparent, it is not enough, because they do not truly realize the consequences. Even if they are involved in an accident, they shrug it off as a mistake from the past and continue doing the same, until an accident does not take their life.Only if they can practically see the effect of some horrible accidents, and only if they themselves go through a rough time, then they will realize what their actions can do to society. Secondly, punishments are not enough. There are only meagre fines on breaking the traffic law. Other than that, there are no other punishments given to troublesome drivers. That’s why no one understands the problem because for them it is not a problem at all. No one goes around killing people because they know the punishment fo r murder is death. Therefore, if punishments are increased for breaking traffic rules, then they will realize it as a problem hey should not cause and will become cautious drivers. Lastly, fines are too low. There is only a meagre fine of QR200 on breaking the speed limit. Local Qataris are very rich and they get off by paying small fines. Paying money is not a big deal for them. You can see cars with 10 fine stickers on them, because they don’t care. They can either pay it off from their large bank accounts, or call their friends in the traffic police and get the fines cancelled. CONCLUSION No matter how much one tries to avoid an accident, it is evident that when an accident has to happen, it will happen.If one knew that an accident is going to take place then surely one would avoid it. But, what is in our hands is our safety. We can not avoid accidents but at least we can make sure that we are properly prepared for the situation. 5. 1 FUTURE PLANS FROM THE GOVERNMENT The M inistry has said that Qatar plans to spend over QR1bn over the next three years for the expansion and improvement of its road network, keeping in the view the rapid pace of urbanisation and population growth. Their main concern will be on replacing all major roundabouts in and outside Doha with modern traffic junctions.Tenders for the TV, Midmac, Al Ahli and Passport roundabouts have been released around 3 years ago and work has already started on some and some are already finished. I think this is appropriate because all the above roundabouts are the very congested roundabouts of Doha. Only congested roundabouts should be changed into traffic junctions because it costs a lot of money to change a roundabout into a traffic signal. Previously announced plans of constructing five flyovers and interchange overpasses in and around Doha to cope with increasing volumes of traffic by the start of the new millennium are underway.There are five interchange overpasses in Qatar at present. New radar systems are also being installed to catch drivers jumping traffic lights or speeding (See Figures 6 & 7). Plans are afoot to install 101 radars and cameras all over Qatar to check traffic violations and accidents. 53 mobile radar cabins and 48 cameras are to be installed at traffic signals over the next six months, which would go a long way in ensuring road safety. (Al Malki, 2005) Figure 6: This is a photograph of traffic policemen setting up radar surveillance equipment by the side of roads in Doha. [pic] http://www. ulf-times. com Figure 7: This is a new radar camera installed to detect those who jump traffic lights at the Ramada junction in Doha. [pic] http://www. gulf-times. com Several amendments to the traffic law will now impose stiffer penalties including jail terms on unscrupulous motorists. Violators of the traffic rules will face fines from QR6,000 up to QR12,000 and jail terms between one and six months. Driving without a valid number plate, without a licence or e ngaging in racing and jumping traffic signals, will also be considered serious violations which will carry a fine.The measures are the last in a number of initiatives by governmental bodies that aim to curb the death toll on the road. (Bibbo, 2005) The law prescribes a fine of QR200 for a motorist using a mobile phone while driving. A hands-free set can, however, be used. A similar fine is to be imposed on motorists watching TV while driving. People making children under 10 years of age sit in the front of a vehicle are to be fined QR200 too. (Al Dosri, 2005) 5. 2 RECOMMENDATIONS A fully computerized traffic control system needs to be put in place; a system which automatically notes out drivers that are a danger to society.Radars have to be put in place, not only on signals, but also on roads, to catch drivers driving above speed limits. Any driver caught 3 times on radar should have his license revoked for a temporary period. Drivers who are often a cause of accidents should be bla cklisted and monitored. These are some ways accidents can be reduced. Wearing a seat belt while driving, concentrating totally on driving and nothing else, and following all driving regulations will ensure our safety. In any case of an accident, police and medical authorities have to be prepared also.We can ensure this by following few of these ideas: 1. Training police and medical staff in first aid and handling traffic injuries. 2. Equipping ambulances with state-of-the-art equipment. 3. Improving hospital emergency rooms and facilities 4. Training medical staff to handle injuries at a crash site as well as in hospitals 5. Improving coordination between police, emergency response teams and medical services Movement of heavy duty vehicles should be restricted on the roads to minimize traffic accidents. The traffic police have advanced the morning peak hours by half an hour to start from 6am, instead of 6. 0am now. The morning peak hours would be from 6am to 8am, and in the afternoo n from 12. 30pm to 2pm, same as now. During the peak hours, movement of heavy-duty vehicles and machinery will be banned from city roads. (Marafia, 2004) This will come as a benefit to office-going public and schoolchildren. REFERENCES Al Binali, D. H. (2004). Roads take higher toll than cancer: Minister. The Peninsula. Retrieved Jan 02, 2006, from http://www. thepeninsulaqatar. com/Display_news. asp? section=local_news&month=june2004&file=local_news2004062023618. xml Jacobs, G. D. (1986, Jul 14).Road accident fatality rates. Retrieved Dec 24, 2005, from http://www. transport-links. org/transport_links/filearea/publications/1_603_ PA1164_1986. pdf Al Musleh, D. A. (2005). Road traffic accidents, second killer after cardiovascular disease. Retrieved Dec. 26, 2005, from http://www. hmc. org. qa/enews. asp? id=216 Pandit, M. (2004). Lankan accident victim gets QR562,000 in damages . The Peninsula. Retrieved Jan 06, 2006, from http://www. thepeninsulaqatar. com/Display_ news. asp? secti on=local_news&month=july2004&file=local_news20040712325 29. xml Bener, A. & Crundall, D. (2005, Apr 15).Road traffic accidents in the UAE compared to western countries. Advances in Transportation Studies, Retrieved Jan 20, 2006, from http://www. psychology. nottingham. ac. uk/staff/dec/references/Bener (2005)%20-%20Advances%20in%20TranStudies. pdf Insurance firms shut down branches at QTIC premises. (2005). The Peninsula. Retrieved Dec 16, 2005, from http://www. thepeninsulaqatar. com/Display_news. asp? section=local_news&month=september2005&file=local_news2005090421520. xml Al Malki, C. M. (2005). More radars to detect traffic violations. The Peninsula. Retrieved Dec 18, 2005, from http://www. hepeninsulaqatar. com/Display_news. asp? section=local_news&month=march2005&file=local_news2005031525951. xml Bibbo, B. (2005). Qatar includes jail terms in amendments to traffic law. Gulf News. Retrieved Jan 08, 2006, from http://archive. gulfnews. com/articles/05/09/20/182668. html Hall, T. (2006). How not to drive yourself mad. The Weekend, p. 61. Al Dosri, B. (2005). New traffic rules come into force. The Peninsula. Retrieved Jan 23, 2006, from http://www. thepeninsulaqatar. com/Display_news. asp? section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=October2005&file=Local_News2005102633414. xml [pic][pic][pic]

Anomaly Based Intrusion Detection System Essays

Anomaly Based Intrusion Detection System Essays Anomaly Based Intrusion Detection System Paper Anomaly Based Intrusion Detection System Paper Intrusion detection solved. This paper begins with a review of the most well-known anomaly- based intrusion Anomaly detection detection techniques. Then, available platforms, systems under development and research IDS systems and platforms projects in the area are presented. Finally, we outline the main challenges to be dealt with Assessment for the wide scale deployment of anomaly-based intrusion detectors, with special emphasis on assessment issues. A 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are security tools that, like other measures such as antivirus software, firewalls and access control schemes, are intended to strengthen the security Of information and communication systems. Although, as shown in Kabuki and Giordano (2005) and Sobs (2006), several IDS approaches have been proposed in the specialized literature since the origins of this technology, two highly relevant works in this direction are Dinning (1987) and Stanford-Chem. et al. (1998). Noteworthy work has been carried out by CDC (Common Intrusion Detection Framework), a working group created by DARPA in 1 998 mainly oriented towards coordinating and defining a common framework in the IDS field. Integrated thin IETF in 2000, and having adopted the new acronym IDS (Intrusion Detection Working Group), the group defined a general IDS architecture based on the consideration of four types of functional modules (Fig. L): E blocks C Event-boxes): This kind of block is composed of sensor elements that monitor the target system, thus acquiring information events to be analyzed by other blocks. D blocks (Database-boxes): These are elements intended to store information from E blocks for subsequent processing by A and R boxes. A blocks (Analysis-boxes): Processing modules for analyzing events and detecting potential hostile behavior, so that some kind of alarm will be generated if necessary. * Corresponding author. Department of Signal Theory, Telemetric and Communications - ? Computer Science and Telecommunications Faculty, University of Granddad, C/ Periodical Daniel Sauced Rand, 18071 Granddad, Spain. Tell. : 958242305; fax: 958240831. E-mail addresses: [emailprotected] SE (P. Garcia a-Terror), [emailprotected] SE (J. Del AZ-Overdue), [emailprotected] SE (G. Maniac -Fern need), [emailprotected] did. Mum. SE (E. Va squeeze). 0167-4048/$ -? see front matter a 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Did:1 0. 016/j. cosec. 2008. 08. 003 19 A-box E-box D-box R;box Fig. 1 General CEDE architecture for IDS systems. R blocks Correspond-boxes): The main function of this type of block is the execution, if any intrusion occurs, of a response to thwart the detected menace. Other key contributions in the IDS field concern the definition of protocols for data exchange between components (e. G. IDS, Intrusion Detection exchange Protocol, RFC 4767), and the format considered for this (e. G. TIMED, Intrusion Detection MEssage Format, RFC 4765). Depending on the information source considered (E boxes in Fig. ), an IDS may be either host or network-based. A hostesses IDS analyzes events such as process identifiers and system calls, mainly related to SO information. On the other hand, a network-based IDS analyzes network related events: traffic volume, IP addresses, service ports, protocol usage, etc. This paper focuses on the latter type of IDS. Depending on the type of analysis carried out (A blocks in Fig. ), intrusion detection systems are classified as either signature-based or anomaly-based. Signature-based schemes (also denoted as misuse-based) seek defined patterns, or signatures, within the analyzed data. For this purpose, a signature database corresponding to known attacks is specified a priori. On the other hand, anomaly-based detectors attempt to estimate the normal behavior of the system to be protected, and generate an anomaly alarm whenever the deviation between a given observation at an instant and the normal behavior exceeds a predefined threshold. Another possibility is to model the abnormal behavior of the system and to raise an alarm when the difference between the observed behavior and the expected one falls below a given limit. Signature and anomaly-based systems are similar in terms f conceptual operation and composition. The main differences between these methodologies are inherent in the concepts of attack and anomaly. An attack can be defined as a sequence of operations that puts the security of a system at risk. An anomaly is just an event that is suspicious from the perspective of security. Based on this distinction, the main advantages and disadvantages of each IDS type can be pointed out. Signature-based schemes provide very good detection results for specified, well-known attacks. However, they are not capable of detecting new, unfamiliar intrusions, even if they are built as minimum Arians of already known attacks. On the contrary, the main benefit of anomaly-based detection techniques is their potential to detect previously unseen intrusion events. However, and despite the likely inaccuracy 2. A-NDIS techniques Although different A-NDIS approaches exist (Est. postoperative et al. , 2004), in general terms all of them consist of the following basic modules or stages (Fig. 2): Parameterization: In this stage, the observed instances of the target system are represented in a pre-established form. Training stage: The normal (or abnormal) behavior of the yester is characterized and a corresponding model is built. This can be done in very different ways, automatically or manually, depending on the type of A-NDIS considered (see classification below). Detection stage: Once the model for the system is available, it is compared with the (parameterized) observed traffic. If the deviation found exceeds (or is below, in the case of abnormality models) a given threshold an alarm will be triggered (Est. ;fez-Topiary et al. , 2004). According to the type of processing related to the behavioral model of the target system, anomaly Parameterization n formal signature specifications, the ra te of false positives (or UP, events erroneously classified as attacks; see Section 2) in anomaly-based systems is usually higher than in signatures ones. Given the promising capabilities of anomaly-based network intrusion detection systems (A-NDIS), this approach is currently a principal focus of research and development in the field of intrusion detection. Various systems with A-NDIS capabilities are becoming available, and many new schemes are being explored. However, the subject is far from mature and key issues remain to be solved before wide scale deployment of A-NDIS littorals can be practicable. Focusing, thus, on A-NDIS technologies, the rest of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the various algorithms proposed for anomaly detection. Then, existing A-NDIS platforms, either currently available or under development, and which include anomaly detection functionalities, are presented in Section 3. This constitutes a valuable contribution of the present paper in comparison with other published work. The fourth section discusses open issues and challenges in this field, with special emphasis on A-NDIS assessment. Finally, Section 5 summarizes the main mints of the paper. Monitored environment Training Model Detection Intrusion report Fig. 2 Generic A-NDIS functional architecture. 0 detection techniques can be classified into three main categories (Lacerative et al. , 2005) (see Fig. 3): statistically, knowledge- based, and machine learning-based. In the statistical-based case, the behavior of the system is represented from a random viewpoint. On the other hand, knowledge-based A-NDIS technique uses try to capture the claimed behavior from available system data (protocol specifications, network traffic instances, etc. ). Finally, aching learning A-NDIS schemes are based on the establishment of an explicit or implicit model that allows the patterns analyzed to be categorized. Two key aspects concern the evaluation, and thus the comparison, of the performance of alternative intrusion detection approaches: these are the efficiency of the detection process, and the cost involved in the operation. Without underestimating the importance of the cost, at this point the efficiency aspect must be emphasized. Four situations exist in this context, corresponding to the relation between the result of the detection for an analyzed event (normal vs.. Intrusion) and its actual nature (innocuous vs.. malicious). These situations are: false positive (UP), if the analyzed event is innocuous (or clean) from the perspective of security, but it is classified as malicious; true positive (HTTP), if the analyzed event is correctly classified as intrusion/malicious; false negative (FAN), if the analyzed event is malicious but it is classified A. L) A) Statistical based Multivariate Time series model 8. 1) B) Knowledge based 8. 2) 8. 3) c. 3) C) Machine learning based inebriate c. 5) c. 6) FSML Description languages Expert systems Bayesian networks Markova models Neural networks Fuzzy logic Genetic algorithms Clustering outlier detection Fig. 3 Classification of the anomaly detection techniques according to the nature of the processing involved in the behavioral model considered. As normal/innocuous; and true negative (TN), if the analyzed event is correctly classified as normal/innocuous. It is clear that low UP and FAN rates, together with high HTTP and TN rates, will result in good efficiency values. The fundamentals for statistical, knowledge and machine learning-based A-NDIS, as well as the principal subtypes of each, are described below. The main features of all are unmarried in Table 1 . Above and beyond other possibilities, the question of efficiency should be a prime consideration in selecting and implementing A- NDIS methodologies. 2. 1. Statistical-based A-NDIS techniques In statistical-based techniques, the network traffic activity is captured and a profile representing its stochastic behavior is created. This profile is based on metrics such as the traffic rate, the number of packets for each protocol, the rate of connections, the number of different IP addresses, etc. Two datasets of network traffic are considered during the anomaly detection process: one responds to the currently observed profile over time, and the other is for the previously trained statistical profile. As the network events occur, the current profile is determined and an anomaly score estimated by comparison Of the two behaviors. The score normally indicates the degree of irregularity for a specific event, such that the intrusion detection system will flag the occurrence of an anomaly when the score surpasses a certain threshold. The earliest statistical approaches, both network oriented and host oriented IDS, corresponded to inebriate models, which modeled the parameters as independent Gaussian madman variables (Dinning and Neumann, 1985), thus defining an acceptable range of values for every variable. Later, multivariate models that consider the correlations between two or more metrics were proposed (Ye et al. , 2002). These are useful because experimental data have shown that a better level of discrimination can be obtained from combinations of related measures rather than individually. Other studies have considered time series models (Detecting Hackers), which use an interval timer, together with an event counter or resource measure, and take into account the order and the enter-arrival times of the observations as well as their values. Thus, an observed traffic instance will be labeled as abnormal if its probability of occurrence is too low at a given time. Apart from their inherent features for use as unemployable techniques, statistical A-NDIS approaches have a number of virtues. Firstly, they do not require prior knowledge about the normal activity of the target system; instead, they have the ability to learn the expected behavior of the system from observations. Secondly, statistical methods can provide accurate notification of malicious activities occurring over long roods of time. However, some drawbacks should also be pointed out. First, this kind of A-NDIS is susceptible to be trained by an attacker in such a way that the network traffic generated during the attack is considered as normal. Second, setting the values of the different parameters/metrics is a difficult task, especially because the balance between false positives and false negatives is affected. Moreover, a statistical distribution per variable is assumed, but not all behaviors can be 21 Table 1 Fundamentals of the A-NDIS techniques Technique: basics A) Statistical-based: autistic behavior B) Knowledge-based: availability of prior knowledge/data C) Mach nine learning-based: categorization of patterns Pros Cons Us Betsey Prior knowledge about normal activity not required.

Tragic flaw Essays

Tragic flaw Essays Tragic flaw Paper Tragic flaw Paper To what extent is the Summer Song sequence, sung by the narrator, a watershed in the play Blood Brothers? The three main themes of Willy Russells Blood Brothers are superstition, fate and class divides. These themes are overtly represented throughout the play. Because the play opens with a scene of the two dead boys there is a constant dramatic irony to all actions in the play; this inevitable tragedy undermines all the happiness in an ironic way. Near the start of the play, the deaths are only suggestions in the boys futures, but as the play develops the themes become more evident, eventually Summer Song is the turning point, the point of no return, the point where everything is as good as it gets. Russell gives the play a very clear and simple structure. The audience knows they are to sympathise with Mrs Johnstone. Not only is she a single mother, she is poor and working class too. Her character is the most developed and given more stage time and songs. Foreshadowing is a very important component of the plays structure. During the childrens game with toy guns, Mickey says, I dont want to die. He is subconsciously appealing to the devil to change his fate. We begin to pity Mickey because he is so defenceless and weak. The narrator creates tension and a feeling of inevitability by using phrases such as hes gonna find y' He is often depicted as Fate, appearing before and after important events, sometimes during, as if to pinpoint the moment, such as when Mrs Johnstone must swear on the bible that she will give away her baby. His snide and often ironic comments about the mothers are generally ambiguous and could apply to either mother (An did y never hear of the mother so cruel. ) The audience is told to come to their own decisions about the mothers (come judge for yourselves. ) The narrator creates tension, always hovering in the background, almost omnipresent, even wearing funeral clothes. He is like a vulture circling above the twins, waiting for their inevitable deaths. His constant presence on stage and in the script keeps the ominous tones going. As they get older, he appears more often, worrying and reminding you that the twins death is coming closer. The Summer Song is when the boys pass the middle of their lives, the peak of the mountain, and begin to accelerate downwards with an unstoppable chain of events leading to their certain deaths. The boys envy each other, I wish I was a bit like That guy, and events occurring to either of them are usually echoed or mirrored by the other. As children, Mickey is seen as the lucky one in the game of life, while Edward seems destined to watch from the sidelines. However, after the Summer Song, once the boys are adults, there is no time for laughter, the game has ended, and Mickey can no longer play and must now work. Edwards lifestyle becomes the ideal, which angers Mickey. Blood Brothers is structured like a Greek tragedy, using death as a spectacle, one main plot and a sad ending. It has a clear time frame, songs and music and, most importantly, a tragic hero (Mickey), someone who falls from grace due to their tragic flaw. Most events are mirrored, for example the childrens game with toy guns(I shot y), to Sammys air rifle(he produces an air rifle), to the gun at the fair, to the gun Sammy uses to shoot someone(an explosion from the gun), to the gun Mickey kills Edward with (the gun explodes and blows Edward apart). Before the Summer Song the guns are either imaginary or toys, safe and harmless. However, afterwards, they are still used as freely as the pretend guns, but take real lives. References to Marilyn Monroe are constant. Like bright young things, like Marilyn Monroe. Dreams all night of girls that look like Marilyn Monroe. In the first song (Marilyn Monroe) Marilyn Monroe is a symbol of youth and beauty, but throughout she changes into one of tragedy, referring to her drug taking and consequential death, which coincides with Mickeys addiction to his anti-depressants. Sexier than Marilyn Monroe to off the rails, treats his ills with daily pills, he was dead, Like Marilyn Monroe The childrens game is echoed after the Summer Song. In the first half I got y, I shot y, An y bloody know I did, And in the second, You shot him, you shot him. I know I bloody did. This is a conversation between Mickey and Sammy, his older brother.

Are maritime transportation loosing out its competitive advantage over Essay

Are maritime transportation loosing out its competitive advantage over other modes of transportation like air and road transportation Justify your views - Essay Example The existence of maritime routes or in other words the fact that regular itineraries are existent is said to be the concept of maritime transportation.1 There have been quite a few technological transformation which have had the potential of affecting water transports, the most recent one is that of the modification of water canals, increasing the size as well as the automation and specialization of vessels. However it has been noted that the increase in maritime traffic has had the consequences of major ecological disasters.2 It needs to be pointed that the bulk of circulation that takes place through maritime transportation is limited along coast line and further three continents have limited fluvial trade. The majority of maritime infrastructure requires a huge maintenance cost for the modification of waterways or investments on the expansion of capacities of ports, which is very expensive and on the other hand takes a lot of space.3 It needs to be pointed out at this point that not every country has direct access to the ocean, these countries are better known as the maritime enclave that is they have difficulties in undertaking maritime trade since they are not part of what is called the domain of maritime circulation. So it requires agreements between neighboring countries to have access to the facilities of port via road, rail line or any other possible alternative. It is important to keep in mind that the countries which are enclave are not excluded from international trade or in other words it can not be implied that they can not take part in international trade, but the problem that they face are that they face higher costs which might lead to weakening of economic development.4 It has been proved that due to the establishment of commercial linkage between continents, maritime transport has been able to sustain a substantial amount of traffic which covers approximately 90% of intercontinental transport demand of