The Invention of Fire Sprinkler Systems

The Invention of Fire Sprinkler Systems The world’s first sprinkler system was installed in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the United Kingdom in 1812. The systems consisted of a cylindrical airtight reservoir of 400 hogsheads (95,000 liters) fed by a 10in (250mm) water main which branched to all parts of the theatre. A series of smaller pipes fed from the distribution pipe were pierced with a series of 1/2 (15mm) holes which poured water in the event of a fire. Perforated Pipe Sprinkler Systems From 1852 to 1885, perforated pipe systems were used in textile mills throughout New England as a means of fire protection. However, they were not automatic systems, they did not turn on by themselves. Inventors first began experimenting with automatic sprinklers around 1860. The first automatic sprinkler system was patented by Philip W. Pratt of Abington, Massachusetts in 1872. Automatic Sprinkler Systems Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, Connecticut, is considered the inventor of the first practical automatic sprinkler head. Parmalee improved upon the Pratt patent and created a better sprinkler system. In 1874, he installed his fire sprinkler system into the piano factory that he owned. In an automatic sprinkler system, a sprinkler head will spray water into the room if sufficient heat reaches the bulb and causes it to shatter. Sprinkler heads operate individually. Sprinklers in Commercial Buildings Until the 1940s, sprinklers were installed almost exclusively for the protection of commercial buildings, whose owners were generally able to recoup their expenses with savings in insurance costs. Over the years, fire sprinklers have become mandatory safety equipment  and are required by building codes to be placed in hospitals, schools, hotels and other public buildings. Sprinkler Systems Are Mandatory- But Not Everywhere ​In the United States, sprinklers are required in all new high-rise and underground buildings generally 75 feet above or below fire department access, where the ability of firefighters to provide adequate hose streams to fires is limited. Fire sprinklers are also  mandatory safety equipment North America in certain types of buildings, including, but not limited to newly constructed hospitals, schools, hotels and other public buildings, subject to the local building codes and enforcement. However, outside of the US and Canada, sprinklers are not always mandated by building codes for normal hazard buildings  which do not have large numbers of occupants (e.g. factories, process lines, retail outlets, petrol stations, etc).

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt The way in which we divide the day into hours and minutes, as well as the structure and length of the yearly calendar, owes much to pioneering developments in ancient Egypt. Since Egyptian life and agriculture depended upon the annual flooding of the Nile, it was important to determine when such floods would begin. The early Egyptians noted that the beginning of akhet (inundation) occurred at the heliacal rising of a star they called Serpet (Sirius). It has been calculated that this sidereal year was only 12 minutes longer than the mean tropical year which influenced the flooding, and this produced a difference of only 25 days over the whole of Ancient Egypts recorded history. 3 Egyptian Calendars Ancient Egypt was run according to three different calendars. The first was a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months, each of which began on the first day in which the old moon crescent was no longer visible in the East at dawn. (This is most unusual since other civilizations of that era are known to have started months with the first setting of the new crescent!) A thirteenth month was intercalated to maintain a link to the heliacal rising of Serpet. This calendar was used for religious festivals. The second calendar, used for administrative purposes, was based on the observation that there was usually 365 days between the heliacal rising of Serpet. This civil calendar was split into twelve months of 30 days with an additional five epagomenal days attached at the end of the year. These additional five days were considered to be unlucky. Although there is no firm archaeological evidence, a detailed back calculation suggests that the Egyptian civil calendar dates back to circa 2900 BCE. This 365-day calendar is also known as a wandering calendar, from the Latin name annus vagus since it slowly gets out of synchronization with the solar year. (Other wandering calendars include the Islamic year.) A third calendar, which dates back at least to the 4th century BCE was used to match the lunar cycle to the civil year. It was based on a period of 25 civil years which was approximately equal 309 lunar months. The Leap Year in Ancient Egypt An attempt to reform the calendar to include a leap year was made at the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty (Decree of Canopus, 239 BCE), but the priesthood was too conservative to allow such a change. This pre-dates the Julian reform of 46 BCE which Julius Caesar introduced on the advice of the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenese. Reform did, however, come after the defeat of Cleopatra and Anthony by the Roman General (and soon to be Emperor) Augustus in 31 BCE. In the following year, the Roman senate decreed that the Egyptian calendar should include a leap year, although the actual change to the calendar didnt occur until 23 BCE. Months, Weeks, and Decades The months of the Egyptian civil calendar were further divided into three sections called decades, each of 10 days. The Egyptians noted that the heliacal rising of certain stars, such as Sirius and Orion, matched the first day of the 36 successive decades and called these stars decans. During any one night, a sequence of 12 decans would be seen to rise and was used to count the hours. (This division of the night sky, later adjusted to account for the epagomenal days, had close parallels to the Babylonian zodiac. The signs of the zodiac each accounting for three of the decans. This astrological device was exported to India and then to Medieval Europe via Islam.) Egyptian Clock Time Early man divided the day into temporal hours whose length depended upon the time of year. A summer hour, with the longer period of daylight, would be longer than that of a winter day. It was the Egyptians who first divided the day (and night) into 24 temporal hours. The Egyptians measured time during the day using shadow clocks, precursors to the more recognizable sun dials seen today. Records suggest that early shadow clocks were based on the shadow from a bar crossing four marks, representing hourly periods starting two hours into the day. At midday, when the sun was at its highest, the shadow clock would be reversed and hours counted down to dusk. An improved version using a rod (or gnomon) and which indicates the time according to the length and position of the shadow has survived from the second millennia BCE. Problems with observing the sun and stars may have been the reason the Egyptians invented the water clock, or clepsydra (meaning water thief in Greek). The earliest remaining example survives from the Temple of Karnak is dated to the 15th century BCE. Water drips through a small hole in one container to a lower one. Marks on either container can be used to give a record of hours passed. Some Egyptian clepsydras have several sets of marks to be used at different times of the year, to maintain consistency with the seasonal temporal hours. The design of the clepsydra was later adapted and improved by the Greeks. The Influence of Astronomy on Minutes and Hours As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, a great wealth of knowledge of astronomy was exported from Babylon into India, Persia, the Mediterranean, and Egypt. The great city of Alexandria with its impressive Library, both founded by the Greek-Macedonian family of Ptolemy, served as an academic center. Temporal hours were of little use to astronomers, and around 127 CE Hipparchus of Nicea, working in the great city of Alexandria, proposed dividing the day into 24 equinoctial hours. These equinoctial hours, so called because they are based on the equal length of day and night at the equinox, split the day into equal periods. (Despite his conceptual advance, ordinary people continued to use temporal hours for well over a thousand years: the conversion to equinoctial hours in Europe was made when mechanical, weight driven clocks were developed in the 14th century.) The division of time was further refined by another Alexandrian based philosopher, Claudius Ptolemeus, who divided the equinoctial hour into 60 minutes, inspired by the scale of measurement used in ancient Babylon. Claudius Ptolemaeus also compiled a great catalog of over one thousand stars, in 48 constellations and recorded his concept that the universe revolved around the Earth. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, it was translated into Arabic (in 827 CE) and later into Latin (in the 12th century CE). These star tables provided the astronomical data used by Gregory XIII for his reform of the Julian calendar in 1582. Sources Richards, EG. Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History. Oxford University Press, 1998.General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa. James Curry Ltd., University of California Press, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1990.

Improving Parent-Educator Relationships for Rural Special Education Essay

Improving Parent-Educator Relationships for Rural Special Education - Essay Example But the authors emphasize that it is not yet too late for them to work in increasing the awareness level of parents. To ensure that the roles of both sides are clearly delineated, teachers must take the initiative in being sensitive about the structure of special education teams and in reaching out to the parents. In holding parent-educator meetings, time and place is a crucial factor; such meetings should allow the two parties to work together and interact in a common venue. Conclusion Effective special education programs are the result of the collective efforts of all stakeholders. Without parents in the circle, educators and members of the larger community will not be able to develop authoritative special education intervention programs since these lack ‘humanness,’ with no bases on real-life experience. In the rural setting, since parents are on the underprivileged side, educators and other special education professionals are supposed to go the extra mile in making t hem involved in developing strategies for educating special children. The article reviewed has clearly articulated the abovementioned message. Since this is more of a survey of previous literature, it is suggested that future studies concentrate on the erring side, the educators, for a fairer assessment of the whole special education process. Using a multi-method approach (i.e., employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods) will help generate reliable information regarding the respective roles of teachers and parents in providing quality education for special children, as well as in applying intervention strategies to help such children cope with the learning environment. Reference Trussell, R.P.,... This essay analyzes that effective special education programs are the result of the collective efforts of all stakeholders. Without parents in the circle, educators and members of the larger community will not be able to develop authoritative special education intervention programs since these lack ‘humanness,’ with no bases on real-life experience. In the rural setting, since parents are the underprivileged side, educators and other special education professionals are supposed to go the extra mile in making them involved in developing strategies for educating special children.The article reviewed has clearly articulated the above-mentioned message. Since this is more of a survey of the previous literature, it is suggested that future studies concentrate on the erring side, the educators, for a fairer assessment of the whole special education process. Using a multi-method approach will help generate reliable information regarding the respective roles of teachers and pare nts in providing quality education for special children, as well as in applying intervention strategies to help such children cope with the learning environment. With the rise in the number of special children in general education classes, today’s teachers are confronted with the challenge of meeting the needs of such exceptional students. From this realization, Jenkins and Yoshimura (2010) demonstrated how professional development will play an integral role in helping teachers acquire basic knowledge and skills in special education.

Abortion Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abortion - Article Example The author points out that forcing an unwilling mother to have a child is like forcing the kidnapped person to stay connected to the violinist for as long as he needs it. This scenario immediately strikes us as unfair, why should any-one be unwillingly obliged to spend nine years on a bed so that some-one else can live. The point is that even though the violinist has the right to live, he does not have the right to make use of your kidneys when you have not willingly agreed to it. A similar argument can be drawn up in the case of the mother and the fetus. The fetus has a right to live but does he have any rights from the mother that she is unwilling to give. This argument is specially powerful in the case of a rape pregnancy or even in the case of a pregnancy that is unwanted and has happened despite appropriate precautions. An important crux of the argument given by the author is that even if the demands are small and it would be almost indecent and despicable to refuse that still does not imply a right over the mother if she is not willing to take on the responsibility. Although the Good Samaritan principle might be used by anti-abortionists the author points out that it is only in this particular scenario that we are forcing a human being to act as a Good Samaritan and not leaving it to their

Education - What is it Really Worth? Essay -- Educate Education Essays

Education - What is it Really Worth? Carl Jung believed that, One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child (Fitzhenry 135). Education is important to succeed in life, but it needs to come along with compassion and learning on a personal level rather than in an autocratic atmosphere. Everyone has different views of education, but what they all have in common is how necessary it is when one wants to become a self-actualized individual. Education also plays an important role in getting a job in todays world and leading a self fulfilled life. Authors such as Bell hooks, Mike Rose, Jon Spayde, and Adrienne Rich all see education through the eyes of the excluded and emphasize the importance of education and what its really worth. I believe that education helps us achieve what we want to do but its actually up to each and every one of us to carry through. Every one of us could be educated but it doesnt necessarily mean that we learned anything to help us in the real world. We also need to self educate ourselves and not always rely on the classroom. We could do this by reading newspapers, magazines or even watching the news to expand ones awareness of the worlds issues. We need to be able to think for ourselves and make our own decisions rather than relying on what we have been taught in school. I am not saying that we should disregard what we have been taught, we just need to be able to relate to what we have been taugh t and make our own decisions. Education is especially valued in North America, it is very hard to truly succe... ...homework and sitting in class, it also about learning to work with others and making choices about the future. Works cited Fitzhenry, Robert I., ed. The Harper Book of Quotations, Third Edition. NY: HarperPerennial, 1993, 135. Hooks, Bell. Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education. The Presence of Others. eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, NY: Bedford/ St.Martins, 2000, 93-103. Rich, Adrienne. What Does a Woman Need to Know? The Presence of Others. eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, NY: Bedford/ St.Martins, 2000, 65-71. Rose, Mike. Life on the Boundary. The Presence of Others. eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, NY: Bedford/ St.Martins, 2000, 105-118. Spayde, Jon. Learning in the Key of Life. The Presence of Others. eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, NY: Bedford/ St.Martins, 2000, 58-63.

Necessities for the party Essay

Cannery Row takes place in a small area that has sardine fisheries and is located in Monterey, California. The city Monterey is also known as Cannery Row. The novel Cannery Row is mainly about the people living in Cannery Row during the Great Depression and the affects of over-fishing which was one of the great biological disasters that wiped out the sardine harvest and focuses on Doc who is a dear friend of Steinbeck, the author of the novel. Because of Doc’s kindness and support, Mack and the boys want to do give a surprise party for Doc. Doc is an owner of a biological supply house on the Row. Doc is a friend and caregiver to everyone. However, he suffers from loneliness. Mack and the boys plan to give Doc a party and they are full of energy and good spirits as they obtain the necessities for the party. Mack and the boys prepare the party in Doc’s lab one night while he is gone on a trip to collect items for his lab. However, the boys start the party premature while they wait for him to return. Unfortunately, when Doc comes back late from his trip, his lab is totally trashed. After this incidence there was a bad sense of emotion that spread throughout the Row and lasted for a long time. It wasn’t long after the party that an influenza plague spread throughout Cannery Row and several other regrettable events occurred; however, later in the novel there was a turn around from all the bad events and the town began to heal. Again, Doc does something wonderful for Mack and the boys by curing their sick puppy. When Doc cured the puppy, Mack and the boys decided again to do something wonderful for Doc. They decided to throw Doc another party. However, this time Doc got a change to attend the party. The boys made sure to carefully plan the party well. The party was a success and after the party, the story ends with Doc feeling great about life. During the Depression, an influenza epidemic hits the small Cannery Row community. Doc through his concern for people even though he is not a real doctor, but a scientist, treats many of the poor people and influences Dora, a woman who manages a whorehouse and her whores to become nurses to families that are in need of help. Dora runs a whorehouse but she attempts to be â€Å"moral† by not selling hard liquor and by servicing her clients with a reasonable price and rate for the whores and she is very congenial to those who helped her during the Depression. For the people who survived the Depression, Mack was one of the leaders and a mentor to many of them who were in the same condition as he was having no family, no money, and no goals in life except for continually trying to find a way to get food to survive. Sometimes Mack had to steal or lie to get help for himself and the people. Mack has some guilt about lying, stealing and being deceitful but usually when he is doing these â€Å"sins† he is doing it for a good purpose and usually he is able to plead his case when doing these actions because he is doing it for the common good. Hazel, who lives with Mack and the boys, is a very loyal person. The way he influences others is by being a good communicator. He listens to people effectively and remembers everything that was told to him. The theme of the novel is more focused on the community itself and the results of individual behavior within the community because the environment is the main focus of the story. The environment is to a great extent dealing with the violence. In the first chapters, two people have already committed suicide. In addition, there are several other acts of aggression that occur when the Chinaman has an encounter with the little boys. The hidden cruelty in the narrative reveals the imperfection and evil nature of human beings. However, in order to generate the greater good in people, there is a need for violence to be balanced which is described in chapter two. Within the marine community, the problem with over fishing of sardines required a balance just as a balance is needed within the human community regarding violence and moral behavior due to not having enough food supply. Due to the over fishing problem, a lack of fish resulted in the local people not having enough food which they relied on for nutrition and survival. Within the marine community if there is not a balance of fish within the ocean, this result in an imbalanced production of various types of fish within the ocean resulting in the overproduction of some fish and the under production of certain other fish according to the food chain of sea creatures. In many cases, certain fish will become extinct due to a problem with over fishing. Over-fishing is really a main problem in the novel for the characters. Back in the post-depression, this really affected the people of Cannery County due to very low level success of reproduction of sardines. Fish is one of the main resources of the ocean and the ocean must stay balanced with the right amount of fish in order to have a healthy ecosystem. Over fishing destroys the ocean’s ecosystem. However, there is no limitation to how much a person should fish because there is no ownership of the ocean’s resources. Therefore, the more people continue fishing; it results in a lower production of fish. This is what the author is trying to convey as he uses Cannery Row’s sardine fishery as an example. In regards to the human community, Cannery Row is disturbed by known and unknown instances of violence and cruelty. In the novel, Doc finds a dead girl on the beach. Because of the depression, many people gave up and a retarded boy is sent to an institution for stealing a gift for a person he loves. The war only did so much for the people on the Cannery Row to end the Depression. Establishing a whorehouse, stealing, lying are all ways chosen by various people residing in Cannery Row to survive in a world with little resources during the Depression. The characters in Cannery Row show strength, courage, sadness and even happy moments even though they suffer through a Depression. In spite of everything, they still manage to throw parties in the mist of their â€Å"storm. † Doc was the main character who had the most character and integrity in spite of his own depression and loneliness. However, at the end, Doc looks at life in a whole new fashion and a new hope is created for in him after celebrating his party with Mack and the gang. Within the marine community, if the ecosystem is not completely destroyed, the ocean can be replenished and the balance restored within the ocean. Like so, within the human community, because the people came together and learned to survive against the odds, their community was also moving toward restoration. In conclusion, Cannery Row is a story about the over-fishing problem in Monterey, California. The story speaks about how it affected the ocean’s ecosystem and the people. It also shows the sadness and happiness of the people in that small community during the Depression and how the characters will come together to survive. However, they use stealing as a means to survive as well as working at a whorehouse, lying and various other dishonest means to survive during the Great Depression. Most of the characters were very good people just happened to be victims of a point in time of economic breakdown. John Steinbeck’s novel is scientifically and emotionally outstanding in the way he explicitly describe the terror in the community and the survival tactics used by the characters during the Depression. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. Cannery Row. New York: The Viking Press, 1945

Analysis Of Ben Johnson And Christopher Marlow Essay

Now, you all know about the famous playwright William Shakespeare. However, do you know about the other famous play writers of the time? Now, your reaction might be, â€Å"Wait, huh? There were other playwrights during Shakespeare’s time?† Yes there were, and they were actually quite famous. Two of the most prominent ones were Ben Johnson and Christopher Marlow. Today, we mainly focus on Shakespeare and his works. However, each of these men were making plenty of moolah back in the day. They even each other and had very light rivalries. I will be talking about these two men’s works and how they affected Elizabethan drama. (Volunteer doopededoo) So, let’s start with Ben Johnson. This man was first born in London, England in 1572, just nine years after Shakespeare was born. Shortly after little Ben was born, his dear sweet father died. His mother, being, you know, poor, remarried a bricklayer. Ben would then go to the St. Martin’s Parish school and learn about many classical figures, such as the scholar William Camden. After graduating, Ben became a bricklayer, just like his new father! Yet, he didn’t really like this too much, so he went to serve in the military at Flanders. Yet, he didn’t really like this either. So, he decided to be an actor instead! Ben was finally on the road to making some great literary works! In 1594, Ben married Anne Lewis and had too beautiful children. Besides this, we don’t know much about his family. Ben described his wife as