Basin and Range Topography Overview

Basin and Range Topography Overview In geology, a basin is defined as a bounded area where the rock within the boundaries dips inward toward the center. By contrast, a range is a single line of mountains or hills forming a connected chain of land higher than the surrounding area. When combined, the two make up basin and range topography. A landscape comprised of basins and ranges is characterized as having a series of undulating mountain ranges sitting parallel to low, broad valleys (basins). Normally, each of these valleys is bounded on one or more sides by mountains and although the basins are relatively flat, the mountains can either rise abruptly out of them or slope upward gradually. The differences in elevations from the valley floors to the mountain peaks in most basin and range areas can range from several hundred feet to over 6,000 feet (1,828 meters). Causes of Basin and Range Topography The resulting faults are called normal faults and are characterized by rocks dropping down on one side and rising on the other. In these faults, there is a hanging wall and a footwall and the hanging wall is responsible for pushing down on the footwall. In basins and ranges, the hanging wall of the fault is what creates the range as they are the blocks of the Earths crust that are pushed upward during crustal extension. This upward movement occurs as the crust spreads apart. This portion of the rock is located on the margins of the fault line and moves up when the rock being moved in the extension gathers on the fault line. In geology, these ranges forming along fault lines are called horsts. Conversely, the rock below the fault line is down dropped because there is a space created by the divergence of lithospheric plates. As the crust continues to move, it stretches and becomes thinner, creating more faults and areas for rocks to drop into gaps. The results are the basins (also called grabens in geology) found in basin and range systems. One common feature to note in the worlds basins and ranges is the extreme amount of erosion that occurs on the peaks of the ranges. As they rise, they are immediately subject to weathering and erosion. The rocks are eroded by water, ice, and wind and particles are quickly stripped and washed down the mountainsides. This eroded material then fills the faults and collects as sediment in the valleys. The Basin and Range Province Within the Basin and Range Province, the relief is abrupt and the basins normally range from 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200- 1,500 m), while most of the mountain ranges climb 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900-1,500 m) above the basins. Death Valley, California is the lowest of the basins with its lowest elevation of -282 feet (-86 m). Conversely, Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range to the west of Death Valley has an elevation of 11,050 feet (3,368 m), showing the enormous topographic prominence within the province. In terms of the Basin and Range Provinces physiography, it features a dry climate with very few streams and internal drainage (a result of the basins). Although the area is arid, much of the rain that does fall accumulates in the lowest basins and forms pluvial lakes such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah and Pyramid Lake in Nevada. The valleys are mostly arid however and deserts such as the Sonoran dominate the region. This area also affected a significant portion of the United States’ history as it was a major barrier to westward migration because the combination of desert valleys, bounded by mountain ranges made any movement in the area difficult. Today, U.S. Highway 50 crosses the region and crosses five passes over 6,000 feet (1,900 m) and is considered The Loneliest Road in America. Worldwide Basin and Range Systems Western Turkey is also cut by an easterly trending basin and range landscape that extends into the Aegean Sea. It is also believed that many of the islands in that sea are portions of ranges between basins that have a high enough elevation to break the sea’s surface. Where ever basins and ranges occur, they represent an enormous amount of geologic history as it takes millions of years to form to the extent of those found in the Basin and Range Province.

buy custom The Education System in California essay

buy custom The Education System in California essay Introduction California is the most populous state in the United States of America. With a student population of more than six million, learning institutions especially in the public institution are feeling the burden. The education system consists of both the private and the public schools. California State is a cosmopolitan state inhabited by the people of all races. However, the highest number of the inhabitants is the immigrants especially from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The attractive nature of the California city to people from various places of the world has been contributed to the strategic nature of the town to both economic and social facilities. The rapid increase in population of the city has however had negative impact to social facilities available. The education sector was among the hardest hit with inadequate learning material and quality of education being the key problems. Education system and brief history According to Sidlow (p245), Californias education system at one time was the strongest worldwide. Public education began with state funding of pre-schools. This trend continued to the elementary, secondary education, collages and the universities. California has three public systems of higher education; the California community collage, the California state university system and the university of California system. The California community collages serves as the gateways to the four year collages and universities. Usually a student is allowed to study in the community collages for given number of years (usually two) before transferring to the collages and universities to complete for the collage certificate. The main state research university is the University of California which has ten major campuses spread all over United States. California state university is the third largest university system in the `unites states. Notable private university of equal importance is the Universit y of Stanford, Toure University and the University of Southern California (Lawrence.p37). California has several other private collages spread all over California State. The educational facilities provided a number of learning opportunities to the citizens of California and other states. The deteriorating education system The California ones formidable educational system began declining with the introduction and passage of policies that undermined education giving priorities to other sectors (Sidlow, p343). Many people mark the decline of the quality education with the passage of the proposition 13bill.The property tax measure reduced funds to most schools and provided even less to schools that needed funds most. Since then the policymakers and the schools in general have been grabbling with this limited funds. Although many efforts have been made to avert the whole staggering problem, the piecemeal reforms and the educational fads have undermined the achievement. Also the some well intentioned innervations drafted by the educationists and economists targeting reduction of the size of students per single teacher, curriculum revision and test based accountability have been too little and too late. At the same time this policies have been loaded with the unintended consequences that worsen the problem ( Mooney.p26). Mismanagement is also a major problem (McChesney, p76). Some issues regarding mismanagement are so complex that they can not be solved locally. Solving mismanagement problem requires that state officials hold all the districts accountable for the making sure that all the resourced get into the classroom and the needy students. It also requires intervention and action when local problems are detected. However the state has no mechanism to make reliable follow up and monitoring to discern such action from happening. Because of the poor policy that leads to inadequate funding, teachers and other professional in the teaching field have been inadequate. Many of the teachers were deployed forcing them to move to other states to search for jobs. Currently California has the highest number of students per single teacher. Students are congested in classes with few learning material hence raising question on the quality of education that is provided in such institution (Laspina, p45). A research carried out recently proved that highest number of Latino African American students and students from poor families have the biggest shortage of textbooks, the lowest numbers of qualified teachers (Smart, p20). In conjunction to this, the same students attend the states most overcrowded schools. California educational and accountability system has failed because lack of inadequate systems and mechanisms to put all the perpetrators into justice. The people who shold hold the management accountable have no control power. For instance teachers have no control power over overcrowded schools and the students can not insist being thought by teachers who are demoralized because of the low salaries or demotion. Teachers, students and the state government have both roles of ensuring that educational standards are raised. Access of quality education to all inhabitants of California is crucial for faster development of the state (McChesney, p81). Quality education is of high concern also because of the worrying separation and unequal system of education. The poor students, student of color and English language learners do not access to the same educational resources as their wealthier and white peers. It should be agreed that such fundamental opportunities to learn are critical for learning and for the future of California citizens all together. This unfair learning condition has contributed to the inequalities in the access to higher education and skilled jobs. Educational inequality will result to increased state insecurity as resources will only revolve around a few families leaving the rest suffering (Sproul, p69). Overhauling educational standards in California Due to dwindling of educational system, the state government of California and stakeholders in the education sectors joined together to come up with a long term solution to the problem (Kemerer, p68). Among the recommendations that were arrived at was the drafting of a master plan that was to address the whole issue of education accessibility and inequality. This plan was intended to serve as a benchmark for policy makers, educators, educational and community based agencies, business leaders in making decision that supports the quality and accessibly education. This was also intended to give clear statements and goals as well as the responding to immediate local needs. However it was agreed that quick sort term measurement was needed first to change the situation in the ground. The adoption of this positive development plan was envisioned to develop and maintain a coherent system of first rate schools, colleges and universities that is to prepare all the students for learning and for transition and successful in all aspects of education (Sonstelie,p36). Effective and accountable educational system must focus fist on the learner. Strictures, policies, and financing must be revaluated to ensure that they are supportive to the learners and their acquisition of the knowledge and skills (Johnson.p59). Good education must target the success of learner. Therefore policy that focuses on the helping all learners achieve their educational needs without bias. Students from poor background have equal opportunities of accessing quality education just like those from the rich background. Equal education for all has been broad goal in the Americas public education for many years. To achieve this goal, the government of United States and the state of California have role to ensure that all public schools are provided with the instructional material and other equipments that will ensure that children have succeeded in their educational career. Instructional materials may include the provision of adequate and relevant learning material such as textbooks. The distribution of such materials should be priorities in areas of high demand especially in schools that are overpopulated and lack crucial learning materials. Secondly, strict ,mechanism have been placed to ensure that al children will not only get to school in an already established system but ensure that the children are natured and rewarded such that they will ultimately graduate from both high school and colleges with knowledge, skills that will self initiate the life long self learning (Laspina, p79). In this spirit, it is believed that the more and more children will get access to quality education that will help them in their lives. All school going children should be granted access to free public education as outlined in the constitution of United States (Johnson, p57). This guarantee is applicable to all students attending rural, suburban and urban schools; students from low, middle and high income families. Also formidable mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the students whose home language is not English and those who have spoken English at the entire of their life have accessed quality education. Adult learners who had never had opportunity to go to school have to be factored as they form the backbone and bulky of the workforce in the industries. This means that quality education should also be granted to the adults should they choose to pursue adult or postsecondary education with California states. Every element of the California educational system is therefore informed byy the new plans and will work to ensure that appropriate learning opportunities occur resulting to considerable gains in the every students knowledge and intellectual development. The underlying policy of equipping all learning institution with modern learning equipment should be done fairly and transparently. Effective and transparent mechanism is to be employed to ensure t hat each individual in the education sector is held accountable for actions that might be demeaning the education sector. Greater academy achievement can be realized by encouraging the students to work hard and have positive attitude towards learning (Johnson, p61). Effective remuneration should be given to all teachers to boost there morale in handling the overwhelming number of children enrolment in public school (Laspina, p91). Teachers play a central role in the development of children. Quality training, behavioral changes and willingness to give the best to learners are key virtues that should be engraved in the heart of each teacher. In pursuit of quality but affordable education, the state government of California should consider retraining all those teachers whose performance are in great drought. This will aims at not only improving teachers performance but also create faith in many parents who have for long time held low opinion on the most training schools in California. Thousands of teachers redeployed due to bad economic times should be returned to work. this might not be possible as majority got jobs else ware but by offering them attractive salaries and good working conditions, they might decide to come back as many are still attached with the splendor and attractive scenery of Chicago state. However if this strategy fails, the state government has a responsibility of sourcing teaching workforce from outside the United States to fill the already vacant spaces(Sonstelie,p36). According to the educational experts, the greatest factor that caused deterioration of the educational standards California is lack of funding and poor ineffective policies(Johnson,p52).. Without funding learning institutions will not manage to handle the overwhelming number of students in public institutions, Funding also helps in the provision of facilities such as laboratories and libraries that are key requirement in any educational institution. Therefore, the state government of California together with the government of United States should work hand in hand in sourcing enough funds to cater for expenses incurred in the education sector. Billion of dollars is required to finance this expensive exercise. Appropriate mechanism to utilize spending and use of this funds should be put in place to ensure that the money is not mismanaged by the corrupt individuals with vested self interests (Sproul, p48). Education Excellency and academic success can never be achieved by single person (Kemerer, p63). The state government of California should call upon the positive minded professionals and ordinary people to give moral support to the new systems. The education professional and policy makers should borrow a leave from states such as Illinois, New York and others that have hard success in their educational system. The people California have a role of promoting learning culture among themselves and their children. The children on the other hand should see practically the benefits of quality education. Parents are great role model to their children and many of them tend to immolate what their parents do (Laspina, p42). Conclusion The dwindling educational standards in California have been largely caused by poor and unpopular policies (Mooney, p24). This is a classical example of how bad policies can destroy the future generation of a country. Although it has taken long time, more than two decades, to realize the impact of such poor policies that resulted to reduction in annual spending of the states in educational matters, California can be in the right path. It is decision to adopt new educational policies that are designed to cater for every child regardless of background origin has got backup from many people. All children especially from the poor homes should get free quality education. It is there right and not a privilege as many people may believe. However the achieving of this worthy cause of action has a number of obstacles that stand in the way. Parents should ensure that children especially the adolescent do not get access to drugs. The exorbitant amount of capital needed to finance the new recomme ndation may be a problem .This calls the state government to cooperate with other states in sourcing the funds. The members of the public are also supposed to work hand in hand with the state authorities in providing lasting solution to these problems (Laspina, p86). Buy custom The Education System in California essay

John F. Kennedy Speech in Regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

John F. Kennedy Speech in Regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis - Essay Example The document begins with a very brief timeline of events that lead up to the evening in question when Kennedy decided to address the American people about his plans to deal with the crisis at hand. The two biggest players during this period in time were Kennedy and Russian President Nikita Khrushchev. The source was created as a way to give the reader an idea f the events that lead up to the speech, while also including the text of the exact speech which Kennedy gave that night. After observing the main page, the primary source was created as part of a greater source collection on July 4, 1996. After selecting the feature to learn more about the website, the reader is able to read that The History Place is in fact from the Boston area and most importantly, not a part of any political affiliation. It was created by Philip Gavin who attended both Northeastern University and Boston University. Important to note, unless otherwise mentioned, the website reports that the articles that do n ot make specific notation of another author, are in fact written by Gavin himself. The intended audience of the user would be anyone that wishes to know more about the history of the United States and taking into consideration a few of the other sources located on the site, the history of the rest of the world as well. Primary benefit from this site would undoubtedly be felt by those who are students. In looking at the information and the way in which it is arranged, it appears that the primary goal of the site creator(s) was to be first and foremost factual in the nature that the information is shown, judging by the numerous instances that speeches are included, so that the readers are able to fully grasp the material which they are reading. With the fact that the website claims to have no political connections, thus claiming a sense of political neutrality, it would have to be assumed that the presentation was made with the utmost concern for no sort of bias as it came to the material which was included. As for whether or not the document contains words which could have changed meaning over time, it would be quite doubtful that the words expressed in the 1962 speech by Kennedy would have changed meaning in the last 46 years. Other speeches provided on The History Place, in dating back to the 1500s, would most definitely have word usage that, in looking at today's modern society, would have changed meaning over time. While the dialect which President Kennedy spoke in was New England and as such does alter the manner in which words sound as they are spoken, despite this nothing which he would have said would differ in meaning now. The document has an incredible value for both teaching, as well as learning. In an era of study of times of possible serious conflict faced by world leaders, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the definitive example of a major world power on the brink of possible war with another country. The historical questions it raises about the past center on the decisions of those in power and how it can lead a country to a state of peace, or a state of war. Historians and students both can engage with the speech to find a better understanding of what one leader faced as he set out to save his people and the rest

Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in Essay

Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in which copyright operates. Discuss in the light of(a) the technicaland (b)the practicalan - Essay Example One has to consider what moral rights are because morality is a very hard area to regulate, because one could argue that it is immoral for those with the digital technology to abuse the ownership rights of the copyright owner by making it available to all those who access the website for free1. Yet, on the other hand, one could argue that it is immoral for the copyright holder not to freely disclose information over the internet for free, especially if it benefits society on either educational or health and safety ground2. One could argue that the confidentiality and copyright afforded to Prince Charles over his diaries was immoral because is it right that the next King of England harbors such overtly biased political views Therefore this discussion will have to consider what is moral and not moral, which is a very difficult endeavor because morality one could argue is a subjective view. This exploration will also focus on the WIPO treaty because it is the latest in the international legal framework to balance the rights of society (Utilitarian Rights) and the rights of the individual (Personality Theory Rights) in the new digital age. ... Intellectual Property, Copyright & Rights: Intellectual property rights like property rights have been protected in UK, US and Canadian law as individual and not the realm of the government to encroach into them. This is different from the approach being suggested in global copyright harmonization which considers a different approach, a utilitarian approach which weighs up the interests of society against the individual where the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few. Copyright in Intellectual Property law usually refers to the protection of ideas in intellectual property prior to their public release; therefore in respect to copyright it can also refer to artistic designs of goods and jingles prior to completion, but the most important factor is that it portrays the traditional approach of UK law, which is similar to the US and Canada, i.e. individual property rights should not be invaded against by government, i.e. they can not be treated in a utilitarian manner, rather the personal and public concerns need to weighed and balanced. The most interesting area of intellectual property law and copyright law is personal rights v's the general welfare of society, i.e. the public nature of artistic and literary works v's protection a persons private property rights in respect to copyright items. The International Copyright Treaty is the latest in a long line of international copyright harmonization. Copyright protection is afforded to literary and artistic works that are in substantial form, i.e. sheet music, recording or written book. The work must be original and not copied.3 There also has to be labor and skill performed by the author/artist4 and

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Compare and contrast - Essay Example The two writers Dillard and Wolf have given their different essays the theme of how death is approached or embraced. Since death is an ultimate circumstance, which is unavoidable, the question raised is on how to face it (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 49). Death is the antagonist in the two essays. Answers on how to face death vary since having a conflict against death or embracing and accepting peaceful death can be options. The climax of the essay comes when the two moths face their death. Dillard in her essay has portrayed an approach to death, which involves struggling and running away. Contrarily, Woolf has given death an acceptable approach in that death is experienced calmly (Woolf 7). The two essays by Annie Dillard and Virginia Wolf compare superficially in that they have a similar title â€Å"death of a moth†, which go on to exemplify the theme of conflict with death. In the two essays, the writers have focused on depicting how the moths face their death. The moths are the characters of the essays propelling the theme being addressed (Woolf 8). The essays also compare in that the moths seem to be conscious of the fate waiting, which in this case is death. The two essays are also similar because they show that it does not matter the form of death or approach of dying, death is definitive (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 51). Woolf’s moth rotates around the window; its life has been limited around the window pane, which happens to be the same spot where it meets its death. Dillard’s moth meets its death after being burnt by a candle flame while flying around it. In the two essays, the approaches to death are different taking into consideration the description from Woolf and Dillard (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 52). In wolf’s essay, she portrays the moth in a way that it accepts death the moth is brave enough to embrace death in a dignified manner. Contrarily, in

What Is Knowledge According To Plato Philosophy Essay

What Is Knowledge According To Plato Philosophy Essay Plato had a strong belief that what we know in this life is recollected knowledge that was obtained in a former life, and that our soul has all the knowledge in this world, and we learn new things by recollecting what the soul already knew in the first place. Plato offers three observations of knowledge and he puts Socrates to reject all three of them. Platos first observation is that true belief is knowledge. Socrates rejects this by stating that when a jury believes the accused to be guilty by just hearing the prosecuting attorneys argument, rather than of any concrete evidence, it cannot be known if a defendant is guilty even if he is guilty. The jurys true belief is therefore not knowledge. The second observation is that knowledge and perception are the same. Socrates rejects this by saying that we can perceive without knowing and we can know without perceiving. For example, we can see and hear a sound without us knowing what or where it is coming from. If we can perceive without knowing, then knowledge cannot be the same as perception. Platos third observation is that true belief along with a logical account is knowledge, but true belief without a logical account is different from knowledge. The only problem with this observation is the word account. All the definitions of the word account are not valid for this argument. These observations are a great example of attacking the insufficient theories of knowledge, but Plato never gives a complete answer on what is the definition of knowledge. Plato preferred truth as the highest value, stating that it could be found through reason and logic in discussion. He called this dialectic. Plato preferred rationality rather than emotional appeal, for the purpose of persuasion, discovery of truth, and as the determinant of action. To Plato, truth was the higher good, and every person should find the truth to guide his or her life. Platos doctrine of recollection says that rather than learning in the common sense, what is actually happening when people are thinking about a problem, and find a solution to that problem, is that they are recollecting things that they already knew. The reason that Plato came up with this theory was because of the learners paradox. The learners paradox is that how can someone learn something if they dont even know what it is. As Meno points out if we dont know what something is then how will we know when we have it? When, for example, we say that we dont know what 946308 divided by 22 is, how can it be that we can find the answer to be 43014? If we dont already know that 946308 / 22 = 43014 then when someone tells us this we should not be able to know that answer is right. Aristotle also believes that knowledge is a form of recollection. He believes that there are universal causes and particular causes, however, unlike Plato; he believes that particulars carry an essence of the form. The four causes, or what makes an object what it is, are its efficient, material, formal, and final causes. The efficient cause is the primary source of the change. The material cause is the material of which it consists. The formal cause is its form. The final cause is its aim or purpose. Using the example of a skyscraper, the efficient cause is the act of building the skyscraper, the material cause is the material used to build it, the formal cause is the blueprint, and the final cause is using the skyscraper as a skyscraper. Everything has these four causes, but substantially changing any of them will cause the skyscraper to lose its skyscraperness. If you know all of a particulars causes, you know its essence. Everything has to have a cause. To truly understand something, we must know its explanation and that it cannot be otherwise. Demonstration must be from things that are true because deducing something from a falsehood would not give understanding of it. Things that are less general and closer to perception are prior relative to us. Things that are more general and further from perception are prior by nature. Demonstrations must be from things that are prior by nature. The premises of demonstrations must give the reason why the conclusion is true. Aristotle defines syllogism as a discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so. One syllogism that he used was: Socrates is a man, All men are mortal, therefore Socrates is mortal. Plato and Aristotles understanding of knowledge are complimentary in that they both believe knowledge is obtained by recollection. Also, they both value truth as the best way to obtain knowledge. What makes it contradictory is that Aristotle goes deeper into the subject of knowledge by stating that particulars have to carry an essence of the form and gives four causes that aid in finding the essence. Therefore, their understanding of knowledge is both complimentary and contradictory. I think we have abandoned the dialectical and demonstrative methods to a certain extent, but not completely. Most classes teach in the way that sophists teach, by just giving us the facts. An example could be my college algebra class, that teaches me how to do a problem but it doesnt tell me why it is like that. But then we have other classes, for example Mr. Hindmans classes, that do use those 2 methods. I think we need to incorporate these valuable methods more into our public school systems and it might help in raising grades up.

Comparing T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickins :: essays papers

Comparing TS Eliot and Charles Dickins The poetry written by Thomas Stearns Eliot, Portrait of a Lady has a strong connection with the novel by Henry James. Both deal with almost the same issues. In the poem Eliot talks about how a person will live his or her life during the 19th century. How they would always do exactly what was considered right during that era in society. Eliot mention how rare and strange it is to find true friends. In the novel everyone pretend to be your best friend and was only using the person to benefit something for his or her own convections (Lozano, 2). You do not know how much they mean to me, My friends, and how, How rare and strange it is, to find In a life composed so much, So much of odds and ends (Eliot 19-21). Many people during the 19th century really made friends so that they can have more people coming to their tea parties, one of the things that are mention in the poem as well as in the novel (Lozano, 3). Isabel Archer was considered to be a very innocent lady; she was being taken advantage so that others can get what they wanted when all she wanted was a real friend. Madame Merle was a clever woman who used her to get money for her daughter (Henry, 181). Repeatedly saying in this poem that he will serve tea to his â€Å"friends†. He is saying that in this era there was no such thing as a real friend even though everyone wanted one of his or her own. For everybody said so, all our friends, They all were sure our feelings would relate So closely! I myself can hardly understand. We must leave it now to fate.