Self Reflection

Communicative Skills for Portfolio

1.    What part of the 2103 course did you like best? Liked least?

Everything I took in this course was useful; I really enjoyed every single topic in this course. Especially the part of summarizing that I really enjoyed.

2.    What skills did you improve through this course?

Writing reports and also the skill of summarizing articles.

3.    How do you imagine using these skills in the future?

 These skills are very useful and will aid me on performing many tasks on my job.

4.    What are your biggest challenges in written communication?

    Since that English is not my mother tongue, I believe I faced a lot of challenges such as defining some difficult words and also writing without grammar mistakes.

5.    What can you do to improve or fix these weaknesses?

  I need to keep practicing more in order that I can keep the skill functioning in the future

       6.    What are your final recommendations for future 2103 sections?

             I think we needed to practice our speaking skills even though this is a writing course

LSC2_2103_Final_Project_format-_Fossil Fuel King of Saudi Arabia

Fossil Fuel
King of Saudi Arabia

Introduction.

Fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for the last several hundred years. However they will not last forever. They cause a lot of pollution and this in turn lends to diseases and to global warning. Therefore there are major projects being studied to try to allow for the development of alternatives to heavy traditional fuels such as oil, coal and gas (Industrial Revolution, 2013). What is more likely is that there will still be a heavy use of fossil fuels but a blended energy strategy will emerge. Currently the major producers of fossil fuels are in the Middle East as well as N. America. There are as are strategic targets for ever more economic development and so they hold a major influence in the world. The key resources required for industry and all manufacturing and so the price of oil and gas is passed on in other areas. Therefore countries in the Middle East are looking at other options to make their supplies last longer such as renewables like solar, water and nuclear options. This study well look at the possible solutions for each option discussed and focus in depth on KSA
 (Industrial Revolution, 2013).

Possible Energy Solutions.

There are a number of possible solutions for the fossil fuel issue. The first is a blended solution that allows the use of fossils together with nuclear and renewables. This is currently being considered in the UAE, for example. The renewable options include water, solar, wind and geo- thermals. The key idea is to make traditional fuel reserves last longer. This is part of national security and so it is very important. Manufacturing or transportation cannot take place without fuel.  Some renewable options include using oil from plants like rapeseed, but this means that big parts of land has to be used for fuel instead of food (Anonymous, 2006).Green diesels are made through this process, for example (Holmgren, et al, 2007)

However one advantage is reducing the amount of pollution caused by fossil fuels (Wang et al, 2008). This is known to be a factor behind global warming and flooding. Carbon-based fuels are heavy and produce too much carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere and this is linked to the green-house effect (Paula, 2010).

A major factor is cost. The fuel has to be extracted and processed cheaply and so this means exploration and research. The Gulf of Mexico British Petroleum disaster has shown the risks of this process. Other traditional options like natural gas are also running out and are expensive to freeze and transport. Much remains under the floor of the oceans (Paula, D., 2010).

However, if other options are not explored there will be an energy shortage and prices will continue to rise. Governments tax fuel and use it to fund their social programs. Therefore this is a very important topic and consumption is key (Lincoln, 2005).

Strategies in KSA

Saudi Arabia is the biggest oil exporter in the world. They hold the largest reserves and are concerned about Western strategies for alternative fuel options. They believe that this will stop them developing their reserves for the future, but are still spending record amounts to pump millions of barrels a day. Oil is not likely to stop bung the main source of oil, but they are receiving conflicting messages from the West. (Mouawad, 2009).This uncertainty has led to differences in prices in the market. The market fluctuation influences the law of supply and demand.

They understand that it will take a long time and major investment to diversity the fuel economy strategy globally and so they are still in first position for demand. In addition, the costs of bio-diesels are not as economic as many other options. Companies like Saudi Aramco are anxious to promote an environmentally friendly profile. This is in spite of the growth in transport and manufacturing. Therefore fuel efficiency is being targeted by governments and the Saudi’s are looking at a new generation of fuels with even more reduced sculpture content (Al Zahrani, 2010). Sulfur recovery has already helped reduce as pollution at key plants and this is set to continue. Since energy is key to economic development, the clean fuel production in KSA is set to continue in line with the expansion of global giants such as China.

Therefore, this issue is central to most government globally and both impacts economic development and climate change to a great extent.

References

Al-Zahrani, S. (2010, January 1). The road to Saudi Arabian Cleans Fuels . Hart Fuel . Retrieved May 22, 2013, from www.hartfuel.com/0908/f.saudicleanfuels.html

Anonymous, A. (2006, March 8). Heat-loving bacteria could churn out renewable fuels. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/218363575/13E3229D0005FEC868/1?accountid=1215

Holmgren, J., Gosling, C., Marinangeli, R., & Marker, T. (2007, September 1). New developments in renewable fuels offer more choices. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/225205634/13E3260DDEA7AFC9EDB/1?accountid=1215

Industrial Revolution . (2013, May 15). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

Lincoln, S. F. (2005, December 1). Fossil Fuels in 21st Century. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/207671740/13E3248B04315E9DF90/1?accountid=1215

Litao, W., Jiming, H., Kebin, H., Shuxiao, W., & Junhua, L. (2013, August 1). A Modeling Study of Coarse Particulate Matter Pollution in Beijing. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/214375793/13E3240853A672883D8/1?accountid=1215

MOUAWAD, J. (2009, February 11). Saudi View of Alternative-Fuel 'Nightmare' .  Environment - The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/saudi-view-of-alternative-fuel-nightmare/

Paula, D. (2010, March 15). CERAWeek: Technology, gas key to fossil fuels future. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/274338725/13E3264C6C2460F205D/1?accountid=1215

APA formatting by BibMe.org.

Fertile past unearthed from sands of Arabia 2

• Fertile past unearthed from sands of Arabia

                                                                                                                  

The Arabian peninsula is central of the development of hunter gatherers from Africa. A study by Pr0f.Pofaglci has shown that settlements were affected by climate change and this made life unsettled for the communities. Archaeological evidence was retired to reveal where colonies existed and help piece to gather the location of early encampments. This study is focused an Arabia and is funded by the European council and is also in conjunction with Oman and the UAE. It is seen as relevant to other study on climate that are taking place currently. Many sources show that the Penunsula area was rich of drinking water but climate affected badly on maintaining the same sources.

Word count 112

REFERENCES:

Fertile past unearthed from sands of Arabia

The National 17 May 2012

The article discuss the Arabian Peninsula may hold the key to understanding how humans travelled out of Africa to populate the rest of the world. Arabian Desert has a deep history more than 100,000 years ago. Therefore, a major research project will be done by the University of Oxford into our evolutionary heritage. Prof Petraglia explained Arabian Peninsula is the stepping stone out of Africa and yet so little is known about it. He admits that desert environments generally don’t preserve sites as well as the rest of the world, but there have been a few key sites in recent years that have started to change. For instance, Jebel Faya in the UAE is the most ancient human settlement found so far and yielded evidence of three different Paleolithic settlements from 125,000 to 25,000 years ago. Furthermore, stone tools discovered in mountain near the Strait of Hormuz and archaeologists argue it provides proof that African populations crossed the Bab Al Mandab Strait about 125,000 years ago. Finally, the main question is what happened to the humans when the climate changed.

Fossil Fuel King of Saudi Arabia

Fossil Fuel
King of Saudi Arabia

Introduction.

Fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for the last several hundred years. However they will not last forever. They cause a lot of pollution and this in turn lends to diseases and to global warning. Therefore there are major projects being studied to try to allow for the development of alternatives to heavy traditional fuels such as oil, coal and gas (Industrial Revolution, 2013). What is more likely is that there will still be a heavy use of fossil fuels but a blended energy strategy will emerge. Currently the major producers of fossil fuels are in the Middle East as well as N. America. There are as are strategic targets for ever more economic development and so they hold a major influence in the world. The key resources required for industry and all manufacturing and so the price of oil and gas is passed on in other areas. Therefore countries in the Middle East are looking at other options to make their supplies last longer such as renewables like solar, water and nuclear options. This study well look at the possible solutions for each option discussed and focus in depth on KSA
 (Industrial Revolution, 2013).

Possible Energy Solutions.

There are a number of possible solutions for the fossil fuel issue. The first is a blended solution that allows the use of fossils together with nuclear and renewables. This is currently being considered in the UAE, for example. The renewable options include water, solar, wind and geo- thermals. The key idea is to make traditional fuel reserves last longer. This is part of national security and so it is very important. Manufacturing or transportation cannot take place without fuel.  Some renewable options include using oil from plants like rapeseed, but this means that big parts of land has to be used for fuel instead of food (Anonymous, 2006).Green diesels are made through this process, for example (Holmgren, et al, 2007)

However one advantage is reducing the amount of pollution caused by fossil fuels (Wang et al, 2008). This is known to be a factor behind global warming and flooding. Carbon-based fuels are heavy and produce too much carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere and this is linked to the green-house effect (Paula, 2010).

A major factor is cost. The fuel has to be extracted and processed cheaply and so this means exploration and research. The Gulf of Mexico British Petroleum disaster has shown the risks of this process. Other traditional options like natural gas are also running out and are expensive to freeze and transport. Much remains under the floor of the oceans (Paula, D., 2010).

However, if other options are not explored there will be an energy shortage and prices will continue to rise. Governments tax fuel and use it to fund their social programs. Therefore this is a very important topic and consumption is key (Lincoln, 2005).

Strategies in KSA

Saudi Arabia is the biggest oil exporter in the world. They hold the largest reserves and are concerned about Western strategies for alternative fuel options. They believe that this will stop them developing their reserves for the future, but are still spending record amounts to pump millions of barrels a day. Oil is not likely to stop bung the main source of oil, but they are receiving conflicting messages from the West. (Mouawad, 2009).This uncertainty has led to differences in prices in the market. The market fluctuation influences the law of supply and demand.

They understand that it will take a long time and major investment to diversity the fuel economy strategy globally and so they are still in first position for demand. In addition, the costs of bio-diesels are not as economic as many other options. Companies like Saudi Aramco are anxious to promote an environmentally friendly profile. This is in spite of the growth in transport and manufacturing. Therefore fuel efficiency is being targeted by governments and the Saudi’s are looking at a new generation of fuels with even more reduced sculpture content (Al Zahrani, 2010). Sulfur recovery has already helped reduce as pollution at key plants and this is set to continue. Since energy is key to economic development, the clean fuel production in KSA is set to continue in line with the expansion of global giants such as China.

Therefore, this issue is central to most government globally and both impacts economic development and climate change to a great extent.

References

Al-Zahrani, S. (2010, January 1). The road to Saudi Arabian Cleans Fuels . Hart Fuel . Retrieved May 22, 2013, from www.hartfuel.com/0908/f.saudicleanfuels.html

Anonymous, A. (2006, March 8). Heat-loving bacteria could churn out renewable fuels. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/218363575/13E3229D0005FEC868/1?accountid=1215

Holmgren, J., Gosling, C., Marinangeli, R., & Marker, T. (2007, September 1). New developments in renewable fuels offer more choices. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/225205634/13E3260DDEA7AFC9EDB/1?accountid=1215

Industrial Revolution . (2013, May 15). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

Lincoln, S. F. (2005, December 1). Fossil Fuels in 21st Century. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/207671740/13E3248B04315E9DF90/1?accountid=1215

Litao, W., Jiming, H., Kebin, H., Shuxiao, W., & Junhua, L. (2013, August 1). A Modeling Study of Coarse Particulate Matter Pollution in Beijing. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/214375793/13E3240853A672883D8/1?accountid=1215

MOUAWAD, J. (2009, February 11). Saudi View of Alternative-Fuel 'Nightmare' .  Environment - The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/saudi-view-of-alternative-fuel-nightmare/

Paula, D. (2010, March 15). CERAWeek: Technology, gas key to fossil fuels future. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/274338725/13E3264C6C2460F205D/1?accountid=1215

APA formatting by BibMe.org.

Ggaed first assessay : Torre pendente di Pisa

Torre pendente di Pisa

Introduction

They called it in Italian the structure “Torre pendente di Pisa”, The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Pisa is a Greek word and it means marshy land and this name dates from 600 BC. It is one of the most remarkable in Italy. It was supposed to be a vertical tower but began to slip after Alibd built it in 1173 and finished it in 1399.

Construction

It began the tilt rods after construction but it was supposed to be a vertical tower. There was no construction of the tower continuously because of the continuous war and debt. Architects did not find solutions to repair the leaning tower. They supported the tower with columns that helped to stop the tower from leaning, because the tower was in danger of falling. Also it had begun to lean because of the soft ground and the soil led to the tendency of the Tower of Pisa to lean further. In addition it sank further and leaned more because of the weight on the extra floors. The architects said “who designed the leaning Tower of Pisa are a mystery" ( Tower of Pisa Facts - Leaning Tower of Pisa ). In the first phase Bonanno Pisano and Gherardo din Gherardo worked on it but in the second phase Giovani di Simone and Tommaso Pisano finished the tower of Pisa. Pisa is a small town in Tuscany, Italy and this is the Tower of Pisa is located there.

Dimensions

The foundation of the tower was laid, on the 9th of August 1173, and the third floor completed in 1185. The build stopped because of wars with Florence, after that the lean began in the tower, until 1272, and did not begin the build again. Then they stopped for 35 years because more of wars with neighboring cities. After that in 1399 the tower was completed. The tower was a hollow cylindrical tower, built of white and pastel marbles marble. The tower is the exceptional example of the old Romanesque style. Caprona, Agnano and Caprona San Giuliano are places near Pisa, and most of the building material came from there. Built by blocks of stone from 32400 stones which their weight were 14700 tons. Furthermore the tower is 55.863 meters high from the ground and leans at 3.97 degrees. It has 8 floors, 297 steps, with 7 bells, and the largest bell is “the Assumption” and the oldest bell is “Pasquarreccia”. The tower cost €18,523,123 to build (How did the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean? (n. d). ).

Current and future significance

A number of solutions to the lean were looked at recently. The tower had to be propped up structurally but it was an expensive long time project. This involved the use of cable weights and removing soil to equalize the tower. This will make it sound for around 300 years. Every so often maintenance will have to continue so, the tower of Pisa will continue to attract tourists, but not to lean so dramatically. This will preserve the life span of this tower and still bring money more generations will be able to see this splendid building. It is a dramatic sight and is a cultural draw due to its striking design and attractive store. This was an expensive process.

Conclusion

Pisa attracts millions of global tourists to marvel at the tower. While the lean was dangerous to the building it made it even more famous. This means it is a heritage site and significant structure and will always be the source of attention. I don't think it will fall like what engineers say, they can't let it fall because if it falls the world will lose beautiful structure called Torre pendente di Pisa.

Word : 614

References

 LEANING TOWER OF PISA . (2000, January 4). SWEETHOMES. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from sweethomes.freeservers.com/lean1.html

Harris, W. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks "Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever fall?". HowStuffWorks "Learn how Everything Works!". Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/will-leaning-tower-of-pisa-fall.htm

How did the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?. (n.d.). WIKI ANSWER. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_lean

Leaning Tower of Pisa - Pisa, Italy. (n.d.). Sacred Sites at Sacred Destinations - Explore sacred sites, religious sites, sacred places. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/pisa-leaning-tower

Leaning Tower of Pisa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2013, April 6). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa

Malandra, O. (2008, January 12). Information on the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy | USA Today. Travel Tips - USA Today. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/information-leaning-tower-pisa-italy-3391.html

Spiegel, J. (2010, August 18). Leaning Tower of Pisa | Italy Travel Guide. Italy Travel Guide to Hotels, Vacations, Tours. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/leaning-tower-of-pisa.html

Tower of Pisa Facts - Leaning Tower of Pisa. (n.d.). Leaning Tower of Pisa. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.towerofpisa.info/Tower-of-Pisa-facts.html

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