Argument Analysis 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Argument Analysis 2 - Essay Example And in the third and final part, I shall assess the truth and validity of Aquinas’ argument with the help of logical reasoning. I will conclude that Aquinas’ argument is indeed a valid argument for the existence of God, based on its logical structure, but I shall argue that the entire argument is weak for it is founded upon a mere assumption. To begin with, Aquinas starts his argument by observing that there exists an â€Å"order of efficient causes† (â€Å"Summa Theologiae†). So, all events entail the existence of a prior cause, which causes its occurrence. If something is caused, then it must be caused by something other than itself. It must be caused by something other than itself, for it is logically impossible to be the cause and be caused in the same way and in the same respect. However, if something causes another thing’s occurrence, which causes the occurrence of another thing, which in turn causes another, then an order of efficient causes would entail, an infinite chain of causes. There cannot be an infinite chain of causes, for there would be no first cause. The absence of a first cause would entail the absence of a beginning from which all things began to occur. There must exist a first uncaused cause that initiated the chain of efficient causes, which is God. Therefore God exists. Given the aforementioned reconstruction, I began by claiming premise one by referring to the law of causality, which is a given in Aquinas’ argument. In premise two, the first premise is then applied to the occurrence of X, from which it was inferred, by virtue of â€Å"material implication,† that X was caused by something prior to it, that is, Y, as premise three verifies it (Copi and Cohen 395). Premise four applies the same principle, by virtue of material implication, from which it was inferred that Y was caused by something prior to it, that is, Z. However, premise five shows that this order of efficient causes lead to an infinite regress, from which

Analysis of Earthmoving Equipment

Analysis of Earthmoving Equipment Earthmoving equipment is typically used due to the high efficiency of the construction work. In early era human power has been used to move earth requiring plenty of time and manpower. But with the development of technology earthmoving equipment has been introduced to the construction field and nowadays more advanced and easily maneuverable earthmoving equipment are available. Thus the time consumption and manpower is greatly reduced resulting a more efficient and time saving construction methods. There are number of earthmoving equipment that can be used for the construction and each equipment provides a different purpose. (equipment, 2014) Excavators Figure 1: Excavator Excavators are mainly se to excavate soil. Excavators are very useful in deep excavations as well as it can be used for different applications by changing the bucket to different gadgets. Typically excavators are used in cutting trenches, digging holes and foundation pits, Handling of Material , Construction, General grading or landscaping work, Mining of minerals and gems, River dredging, pile driving, , shafts drilling for footings and blasting of rocks etc.(equipment, 2014) Backhoe Figure 2: Backhoe Backhoe is a versatile equipment which widely used in construction industry. It is a combination of an excavator and bulldozer. It can be used for quick earthmoving work and it can replace both excavator and bulldozer if the scale of the work is low. Also due to its 4 wheel system it can easily move through any rough terrain. Hence backhoe is typically seen on any construction field. The levers are operated by hydraulic pistons and the bucket can be replaced with other useful add-ons accordance to the requirement. (equipment, 2014) Bulldozer Figure 3: Bulldozer Bulldozer is a very powerful equipment which can be used to move earth and prepare surfaces. Due to its high power and belt wheel system it is used to move heavy soil lumps in one go. It has a large plate or blade attached to its front which facilitates pushing mechanism of large soil, rubble, gravel or other materials. By changing the blade to a ripper it can be used for farming or ground loosening work. Skid steer loader Figure 4: Skid Steer Loader Skid steer loader is a small scale equipment which can be used for quick work and for the places where large equipment cannot be accessible. Easily maneuverability is one of the main advantage of the equipment. Also it can be used to load soil into dump trucks. The main characteristic of this equipment is its wheel can be rotated independently allowing it to turn in limited spaces. (equipment, 2014) Trencher Figure 5: Trencher Trencher is another useful equipment that can be used to dig trenches in construction work.trencher has a long arm equipped with rotating belt of blades. The blades dig trenches while the equipment is moving along the required line. This can also be used for digging of irrigation channels, foundation trenches, road drainages etc. trenchers are also used in farming industry as well. (equipment, 2014) Motor Grader Figure 6: Motor Grader Motor grader is another useful earthmoving equipment. This equipment is heavily used in road construction. The main purpose of a motor grader is to prepare surfaces according to required slopes and angles. With the long blade attached to front arm of the equipment it can prepare flat surfaces. The motor grader is also referred to as road grader due to its heavy usage in road construction. This equipment is also used in irrigation construction as well. (History of the Bulldozer. Retrieved 2008-12-17.) For the given project I would use excavators, backhoes and Skid steer loader. The main reason for the excavator the amount of soil needs to be excavated to prepare the basement. Backhoes will be used to small scale work and slope preparation work. Skid steer loaders will be used for the small work where space is limited for big equipment. To ensure the equipment is used efficiently, effectively and economically I will preplan the earth moving process and schedule the work plan with allocating time for each equipment so that every equipment is not used at once wasting time. Also I will allocate specific tie limit for each equipment and the operator should be able to finish the allocated work within the given period of time. With such management mechanisms I can use the provided equipment effectively, efficiently and economically. What methods and resources will you employ to ensure safe and productive operations in deep excavations and trenching for your project? Justify your choice. Support your answer with examples. I will use shoring method to ensure the stability of soil while deep excavating and also a safety officer should be allocated for supervision of excavation work. Excavations will not be done on rainy days. Also the excavations will be done maintaining minimum slope angles for stability. There are several steps that need to be taken in order to assure safe and productive opertaions in deep excavations Preplanning of the work to be done taking following factors into account Traffic Proximity and physical condition of nearby structures Soil classification Surface and ground water Location of the water table Overhead and underground utilities Weather Quantity of shoring or protective systems that may be required Fall protection needs Number of ladders that may be needed Other equipment needs Protective Systems OSHA generally requires that employers protect workers from cave-ins by:   Sloping and benching the sides of the excavation; supporting the sides of the excavation; or Placing a shield between the side of the excavation and the work area. Define types of temporary works required to deal with stability and groundwater problems in the project. Typically during excavation process dewatering has to be done while maintaining stability of slopes. There are several practices used in industry maintain stability. Caissons Caisson is a structure that is developed at area if the   site is ashore, yet in the event that the venture site is seaward, it is built ashore and afterward skimmed to the site seaward. In the caisson technique for development, the unearthing is performed from inside the permanent structure. After the caisson is in position, uncovering from inside the caisson structure starts. As the unearthing is done, the caisson structure begins to sink by its own weight, or if fundamental, by forced burdens. This strategy proceeds until the coveted foundation level is accomplished. Figure demonstrates this procedure schematically. ( Wilson,1873) Figure 7: Caissons Installing Ground Freezing The theory of ground solidifying is to change the water in the soil into a strong mass of ice. This mass of ice is totally impermeable. Ground solidifying is utilized for groundwater cutoff, for earth bolster, for brief supporting, for adjustment of earth for passage removal, to capture landslides and to balance out deserted mineshafts. The principals of ground solidifying are undifferentiated from pumping groundwater from wells. To solidify the ground, a column of stop channels are set vertically in the soil and warmth vitality is expelled through these funnels. Isotherms (an isotherm is a line interfacing areas with equivalent temperature) move out from the stop channels with time like groundwater forms around a well. Once the earth temperature comes to 32  °F (0  °C), water in the soil pores swings to ice. At that point additionally cooling continues. The groundwater in the pores promptly solidifies in granular soils, for example, sands. For example, soaked sand accomplishes magnificent quality at just a couple of degrees underneath the point of solidification. On the off chance that the temperature is brought down further, the quality increments hardly. In strong soils, for example, muds, the ground water is molecularly fortified at any rate to some degree to the soil particles. On the off chance that delicate mud is chilled off to solidifying temperature, a few segments of its pore water to start to stop and it causes the earth to harden. With further decrease in temperature, more pore water solidifies and subsequently more quality pick up is accomplished. When planning for solidified earth structures in firm soils, it might be important to determine generously bring down temperat ures to accomplish the required quality, than in attachment less soils. A temperature of +20  °F might be adequate in sands, though temperatures as low as -20  °F might be required in delicate soils. The outline of a solidified earth obstruction is represented by the warm properties of the fundamental oils and related reaction to the solidifying framework. Arrangement of solidified earth boundary creates at various rates relying upon the warm and water powered properties of every stratum. Ordinarily, shake and coarse-grained soils solidify quicker than muds and sediments. (Jessica Morrison ,2013) Figure 8: Ground freezing method Dewatering Methods Wellpoints The wellpoint comprises of an opened or punctured pipe which is secured with a screen work. At the foot of this pipe is a hole which licenses flying of the pipe into the ground amid foundation. A well-point dewatering framework comprises of a progression of firmly set little distance across wells introduced to shallow profundities. These wells are associated with a pipe or header that encompasses the removal and is joined to a vacuum pump. The development ventures in the well point framework are: 1. The wellpoints are jetted into the ground; 2. The annulars void is filled with filter media; 3. The wellpoints are connected to a header pipe by means of a riser; 4. The header pipe is connected to suction pumps for pumping. Powers, J. Patrick (1992). Figure 9: Well points What types of plant and equipment will you use in substructure and drainage activities in your project? Justify your choice. Support your answer with examples. For the given project first thing that needs to do is providing drainage. While providing proper drainage by means of dewatering pumps and wells. Then to stabilize the earth proper shoring should be needed. Once the shoring is properly established further excavation and substructure work can be commenced. Drainage and dewatering Backhoes Dewatering pumps Drilling machines Hoses Generators etc. Earth stabilizing Shoring machines Cranes Welding plants Backhoes and excavators Substructure work Skid Steer loader Backhoe Excavator Piling machine What techniques of installing piling systems and ground stabilization activities will you use in your project? Justify your choice. Support your answer with examples. The foundation procedure and technique for foundations are similarly critical components as of the outline procedure of heap foundations. Pilefoundation techniques are foundation by heap mallet and exhausting by mechanical auger.In request to evade harms to the piles, amid plan, foundation Methods and foundation hardware ought to be precisely selected.If foundation is to be done utilizing pile pound, then the accompanying components ought to be taken into thought: Size of the pile and the weight of the pile The available head room and space The availability of supporting equipment and machinery The noise pollution and regulations. The driving resistance for the designed drilling Pile driving methods (displacement piles) Methods of pile driving can be categorised as follows: Dropping weight Explosion Vibration Jacking (restricted to micro-pilling) Jetting Drop hammers   Ã‚   A hammer with around the heaviness of the pile is brought a reasonable stature up in a guide and discharged to strike the pile head. This is a straightforward type of mallet utilized as a part of conjunction with light casings and test piling, where it might be uneconomical to bring a steam heater or compressor on to a site to drive extremely set number of piles. There are two main types of drop hammers 1. Single-acting pile hammers which operates using steam or compressed-air comprise a large weight in a cylindrical container. Steam or compressed air rises it up the fixed piston rod. At the top of the blow, or at a reduced height which can be operated by the operator, the steam is cut off and the cylinder falls freely on the pile helmet. 2. Double-acting pile hammers can be run by steam or compressed air. A pilling mount is not mandatory with this mode of hammer which can be fixed to the upperpart of the pile by leg-guides, the pile being directed by a timber structure. When used with a pile mount, back directs are fastened to the hammer to engage with leaders, and only short leg-guides are used to stop the hammer from moving relatively to the top of the pile. These type of hammers are used mainly for sheet pile driving. Pile driving by vibrating Vibratory sledges are normally electrically fueled or using pressurized water controlled and comprises of contra-pivoting unconventional masses inside a lodging connecting to the heap head. The abundancy of the vibration is adequate to separate the skin erosion on the sides of the heap. Vibratory strategies are most appropriate to sandy or gravelly soil. Jetting:to help the entrance of piles into sand or sandy rock, water streaming might be utilized. In any case, the strategy has exceptionally restricted impact in firm to solid muds or any dirt containing much coarse rock, cobbles, or stones. Boring methods (non-displacement piles) Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) Hardware contains a portable base transporter fitted with an empty stemmed flight wood screw which is pivoted into the ground to required profundity of pilling. To shape the heap, cement is put through the flight twist drill as it is pulled back from the beginning. The twist drill is fitted with defensive top on the outlet at the base of the focal tube and is pivoted into the ground by the top mounted turning pressure driven engine which keeps running on a transporter joined to the pole. On achieving the required profundity, profoundly workable cement is pumped through the empty stem of the wood screw, and under the weight of the solid the defensive top is disconnected. While pivoting the wood screw in an indistinguishable bearing from amid the exhausting stage, the ruin is removed vertically as the twist drill is pulled back and the heap is shaped by loading with cement. In this procedure, it is essential that pivot of the wood screw and stream of cement is coordinated that fall of sides of the opening above cement on lower flight of twist drill is evaded. This may prompt to voids in loaded with soil in cement. The strategy is particularly viable on delicate ground and empowers to introduce an assortment of exhausted heaps of different widths that can infiltrate a large number of soil conditions. Still, for fruitful operation of revolving twist drill the dirt must be sensibly free of tree roots, cobbles, and stones, and it must act naturally supporting. Amid operation little soil is brought upwards by the twist drill that horizontal burdens are kept up in the dirt and voiding or extreme slackening of the dirt limit. Be that as it may, if the pivot of the wood screw and the progress of the twist drill are not coordinated, bringing about evacuation of soil amid penetrating perhaps prompting to fall of the side of the gap. Figure 10: Piling and Auguring Underreaming An extraordinary component of wood screw exhausted heaps which is here and there used to empower to misuse the bearing limit of appropriate strata by giving a developed base. The dirt must be fit for standing open unsupported to utilize this method. Firm and to hard muds, for example, the London dirt, are perfect. In its shut position, the underreaming instrument is fitted inside the straight area of a heap shaft, and after that extended at the base of the heap to create the underream appeared in fig. 3.Normally, after establishment and before cement is threw, a man conveying enclosure is brought down and the pole and the underream of the heap is reviewed. (Fleming et al, 1985,) What methods and processes of constructing foundations including will you use in your project? Justify your choice. Describe the resources that you will use for the construction of foundations. Justify your choice. In the event of soils having low bearing limit, overwhelming auxiliary burdens are generally bolstered by giving Raft or tangle establishments. Likewise if the structure is defenseless against subsidence on being situated in mining range or because of questionable conduct of its sub-soil water condition, flatboat or tangle establishments ought to be favored. Raft or Mat Foundations gives an efficient answer for troublesome site conditions, where heap establishment cant be utilized profitably and free section balance gets to be distinctly impracticable. Raft or tangle establishments comprises of thick fortified solid slab covering the whole range of the base of the structure like a story. The piece is strengthened with bars running at right points to each other both close base and top face of the section. Now and again it is important to convey the over the top section stack by a course of action of reversed principle shafts and auxiliary bars, cast solidly with the flatboat piece. The Raftslab for the most part ventures for a separation of 30 cm. to 45cm. on every one of the sides of the external dividers of the structure in that capacity the region of exhuming is marginally more than the range of the structure itself. The unearthing is made to the required profundity and the whole uncovered territory is very much united. This surface, when dry, gives the base whereupon the flatboat or tangle section is laid. Every one of the precautionary measures that are important to be seen amid the strengthened solid development are entirely clung to and promote development is begun simply after the curing of the Raft has been completely done.Halpin, Daniel W.; Senior, Bolivar A. (2010). Describe methods and resources that you will use in processes, undertaking drainage works including culverts and installing services in your project. Culverts and drainage works Excavation The area of the proposed drainage will be set out on the ground by checking with paint and pegs at pit areas. Where works are along edge of existing roadway movement light or stop/go framework might be set up to do works. A trench will then be unearthed between pits utilizing an excavator with material stacked to dump truck. The trench width will differ contingent upon the measure of the pipe. Installation Where drains are being introduced a layer of geotextile material should be put along the framework of the trench and a layer of channel stone might then be put in base of trench to get pipe work. The pipe work should then be laid to the right line and level by utilizing a review laser Backfilling of Ducting The remaining stone might then be put by six ton dumper up to underside of topping where geotextile should be turned out under topping layer. The rest of the depleted might be bested up once surfacing works are done up to wearing course level. Establishment of layer of Geogrid should likewise be done at this stage. All chambers on the deplete lines might be built with pre-thrown solid catch pits and should be put as pipeline continues. (Turner-Fairbank Highway research Center ,1998) Figure 12: Culverts What types of plant and equipment will you use in the construction of superstructure your project? Justify your choice. Support your answer with examples. Construction of superstructure requires lot of machinery and equipment and the uses may vary throughout the different stages of the project. Following are a list of equipment and the uses of each equipment. Equipment Uses Batching plant Concrete Production Concrete pump Concrete pouring to higher levels Tower crane Shifting materials Elevator Shifting materials and laborers Formwork systems Form the structure Scaffolding For higher level work Poker vibrator For compaction of concrete The batching plant will produce concrete required to construction and concrete mixture truck and pump will support to pour concrete to slabs, columns and beams. Tower crane and elevator will help to move goods and laborers respectively. Scaffoldings, formwork systems and poker vibrator will be used for concrete pouring and form the columns, slabs and beams of the building. What methods and resources will you use in undertaking the main forms of structural activities in you project? Include the use of concrete in its various forms as well as the use of structural steelwork. Provide relevant examples. Justify your choices. Mainly concrete will be used together with steel to form the superstructure. Typically formwork will be established first and then concrete together with steel will be used to cast columns, beams and slabs of the building. For the aforementioned task concrete pumps, poker vibrators, laborers and skilled supervisors will be needed. Concrete is typically used for this type of construction work due to its workability. Liquid state of concrete allows us to cast different required shapes and forms of structures with ease. Whereas steel is a pre-fabricated material hence steel does not provide the freedom to use for different shapes. But steel is also a very good construction material which facilitates fast construction. Structural steelwork can be used together with concrete to produce composite structures. Also steel can be used alone for buildings as well. (Concrete Association, 2013) What methods of false work and formwork will you use in the superstructure activities in your project? Provide examples. Justify your choice. What processes of concrete production, delivery and placement will you use in your project? Justify your choice. Formwork implies the surface of the frame and surrounding used to contain and shape wet cement until it is self-supporting. Formwork incorporates the structures on or inside which the solid is poured and the casings and propping which give soundness. Albeit ordinarily alluded to as a component of the formwork get together, the joists, bearers, propping, establishments and footings are actually alluded to as false work. Formwork development may include high hazard exercises like working fueled portable plant like cranes, working at stature and unearthing establishments. The outline of the last solid structure can majorly affect the simplicity of formwork development and the wellbeing and security of individuals amid development. For the most part the more essential and basic the last solid structure, the more secure it is to develop, erect and destroy the formwork. An accomplished formwork creator ought to be counseled amid the plan of in-situ solid structures to empower the wellbeing and dangers amid formwork development and destroying to be considered in the outline. The formwork originator must be equipped in formwork configuration including reporting brief work stages and exceptional gear required for safe formwork development on location. A creator may utilize a specialized standard or a blend of gauges and building standards significant to the plan prerequisites the length of the result is an outline that meets administrative necessities. Concrete production Concrete Batching plant Concrete will be produced in a batching plant to ensure the quality and strength of the concrete. Concrete Delivery Mixture truck Mixture trucks will be used to deliver concrete to the site from the batching plant to prevent loss of workability and quality of concrete Concrete Placement- Concrete pump truck Concrete will be placed to higher levels using a concrete pumping truck. This way we can efficiently pour concrete.   (Concrete Association, 2013) Identify and assess the hazards arising from the substructure activities. Falling of unstabilized soil Falling to deep excavated trenches and pits Hazards associated with excavators Shorings can be weak Damages to underground electrical wires Explain the legal framework of health, safety and welfare and the requirements of the current CDM Regulations. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) addresses the management of health, safety and welfare of workers in construction projects. CDM 2015 substituted the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) and the Accepted Code of Practice which is providing supporting direction on CDM 2007 was inhibited. CDM 2015 aims to uplift health and safety in the industry by providing guidance to: Rationally plan the work so the risks tangled are succeededthroughout. Have the correct people for the correct job at the correct time collaborate and organize your work have the properinfo about the risks and how they are managed convey information efficiently to those who need to know consult and occupy workers for the risks management activities and educate them how they are being managed The CDM2007 Regulations expect to lessen development mischances and sick wellbeing in Great Britain by empowering the different partners of the development business to enhance in arranging and dealing with their activities contemplating matters of security and wellbeing at an early stage in the venture definition. By beginning concentrating on these basic focuses toward the start of a venture, dangers can be recognized and supervisors can use sound judgment in front of challenges. In this new form of the directions, the HSC concentrates on correspondence and co-appointment between every one of the gatherings required in the development venture and set up a few obligations for each of the distinctive partners. It likewise highlights that the measure of printed material and all the administration brought on by the past rendition of the controls ought to be diminished and the attention put on the arranging and administration. The CDM set up commitments for customers and fashioners. The fundamental commitment forced to the customer is to delegate the primary partners for the arranging and the acknowledgment of development work. By development work, the CDM extensively alludes to the doing of building, structural designing or building development word .Among the dutyholders which take an interest to the doing of the venture are the Client, the Designer, the CDM-Coordinator, the Principal Contractor and the Contractors. (The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations ,2007) Evaluate and justify the role of the planning coordinator who has been appointed to the project. Construction project coordinators plan, organize, and guide the actions of a construction project, under the guidance of a manager. He works on-site most of the time, over looking the day-to-day tasks of the project. He works for residential, commercial and industrial construction companies or for construction departments of companies outside the construction industry. Generally, construction project coordinators: Make contracts and negotiate alterations to contracts with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, and subcontractors. Suggest and implement QC programs. Make progress reports for clients. Control the acquisition of building materials and land. Hire and supervise subcontractors and staff. During the excavation works the contractor found that the sub-soil in a section of the site to be contaminated. All site activities were halted pending further investigations. Following the investigations it was found that the site was contaminated with caustic soda and from material linked to buried heavy fuel tanks. The client has asked for a design solution to the problem. The contaminated ground can be treated with 5% ferric chloride treat the caustic soda contamination. Proper waterproofing of basement can further ensure that the caustic soda intrusion is completely blocked. Burried heavy fuel tanks should be properly sealed to prevent further leakages. If the contaminated section can be completely removed it should be removed and disposed safely to continue construction work. (Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, Human Health Evaluation Manual) Produce a risk assessment for the above problem. Hazard identification Caustic Soda and Heavy fuel Contamination. Laborers and stakeholders can be affected Sub soil needs to be treated or removed

Biosphere 2 :: Papers

Biosphere 2 Biosphere 2 is a supersealed â€Å"greenhouse† enclosing an area of 3.15 acres. Exit and entry is through a double airlock. It consists of several different ecosystems within the â€Å"greenhouse.† It houses a tropical rainforest, savannah, scrub forest, desert, fresh- and salt-water marshes and a miniocean that even contains a coral reef. This biosphere is inhabited by over 4000 species in all. The biosphere is able to preserve it environment because; water vapor from evaporation and transpiration of plants is condensed to produce high amounts of rainfall over the tropical rainforest. From there the water runs back towards the marshes and ocean as is filters through the soil, providing for an ample supply of fresh water for the humans as well as the ecosystems. The carbon dioxide released from respiration is absorbed for photosynthesis and necessary oxygen is replenished. Thus, meeting the necessary requirements for a sustainable biosphere. Biosphere 2 is not completely self-sufficient, it does depend on solar energy, and the energy demands that are created to power the necessary machinery, would require another 30 acres of solar collectors. The conclusion of the â€Å"cycle† is that not everything went exactly as planned. The oxygen level at one point dropped and additional oxygen had to be added to compensate for the underestimated amount of oxygen used by the decomposers in the soil. Larger amounts of carbon dioxide were used because of chemical reactions with exposed concrete. A large number of the species introduced especially insects necessary for pollination, died off, requiring pollination of many plants by hand. Despite these drawbacks the water, soil, and nutrients they started with were the same as when finished, having gone through the cycle a countless number of times. We have learned from this experiment that it is possible to build a biosphere, that integrates humans, and have it function within the tolerable limits of sustainability. Future versions of this experiment may be used in constructing permanent space stations or for long distance space exploration. If we continue mistreating our present biosphere we may end up living in structures similar to Biosphere 2. In my opinion this experiment proved to be very valuable if we wish to set up colonies on the Moon or other planets. This experiment is the beginning of the necessary information that will be needed to construct a completely self-sufficient biosphere.

Disaster Paper Essay

When you deliberate on a disaster, it becomes clear that any such event has three phases to it. Initially, there are antecedents that lead to the disaster. When enough antecedents have accumulated, the disaster occurs at that specific tipping time. Finally after the disaster has happened the final phase of resolutions occurs. The resolutions are steps that the society attempt to implement to revert the effects that the event has produced. Consider the Deepwater Horizon disaster that happened on July 17th 2010. Upon critical review the group have identified series of antecedents that led to the disaster. At the tipping point the disaster occurred, lives were lost and numerous crew members injured. After the initial shock of the disaster and evacuation of the crew engineers and BP staff attempted to close the well with numerous trials. Eventually policy makers were involved in development of the new safety policies. Numerous investigations and trials were performed to better understand the disaster and avoid similar events. At the end numerous antecedents have been identified, the disaster was resolved and the consequences identified. The Deepwater Horizon accident was found to have multiple antecedents that caused this tragedy. Specifically, a sequence of eight safety barriers that were breached led to the explosion which killed eleven people and caused widespread pollution throughout the Gulf of Mexico. At first the annulus cement barrier was installed improperly and did not isolate the hydrocarbons coming from the well. The shoe track barrier did not isolate the hydrocarbons. As a consequence these two events allowed hydrocarbons to rise up the well and aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig. The negative pressure test was incorrectly interpreted. The influx of hydrocarbons was not recognized until it was too late. Well control response actions failed to regain the control of the well. This led the well flow to be diverted to the mud gas separator causing gas to be vented onto the vessel rather than being diverted over board. Safety fire and gas systems did not prevent hydrocarbon ignition from the engine room. Finally, the blowout preventer (BOP) emergency modes did not seal the well due to the accumulation of previous seven events mentioned above. With these eight events leading one to another, it was much more difficult to seize the explosions and fire that damaged the MUX cables and hydraulic lines. This resulted in failure of the emergency disconnect system. To conclude, it is clear that specific and identifiable antecedents can be discovered and that their accumulations to a tipping point lead to the disaster. The second phase of the Deepwater Horizon disaster deals with engineers and BP technical staff trying to close the well so that the oil spill is stopped. To reduce the oil spill the leaking oil is set on fire with the hope that the spill will be reduced. On May 2nd, 2010 PB starts to drill a relief well that should overtake that leaking site. On May 5th one of the leaking sites is capped, however oil continues to leak from the well. On May 7th BP engineers use the containment chambers to close the remaining leaks. The idea fails and is abandoned. On May 9th a â€Å"junk shot† approach is implemented, the following day â€Å"top hat† approach is planned out. The attempt to reduce the leak continues, numerous other approaches and plans are implemented to either reduce the oil spill or completely halt it. On august 4th BP reports that using the latest attempt the â€Å"static kill† appears to be successful and attempts to permanently seal the leak are in the process. On September 19th the Deepwater Horizon leak have been permanently sealed. The nightmare that happened on May 2nd has been halted but not fully resolved. The environmental affect that the disaster caused will hunt the future of Gulf of Mexico waters for decades. For example, seahorse populations in the region decline and the Hippocampus zosterae, dwarf specie of seahorses, is on the verge of extinction. The role of engineers in the Deepwater Horizon disaster is immense. During the accumulation of antecedents there are evidences that engineers knew about chaos that was occurring on the Deepwater Horizon rig. However, due to poor management and lack of communication between companies involved in the project, engineers had little impact in correcting the antecedents. Eventually, when the disaster occurred, the BP engineers tried various attempts and ideas to close the opened well. Lastly environmental engineers are and will be involved in cleaning efforts of the Gulf of Mexico waters. Therefore it is important to consider the engineers as not only the antecedents in a disaster but also as proactive members of society that attempt fixing the environment to pre-disaster state. Therefore, engineering is involved with all disaster phases. As a group, we plan to incorporate each disaster phase into the final report and discuss how engineering process have been aiding the future avoidance of similar disasters. It is important to understand that media reports cover just a few aspects of disasters and news in general. In many cases the scope of media reports is within political and economic spectrums. Therefore further research into documents released by various commissions and investigators that are publicly available will be looked at and analysed by the group and its members. The group process is moving according to the milestones developed and outlined in the proposal paper. Despite this, new opportunities in scheduling allows for the group to have a few extra meetings and perhaps finish the final report ahead of the scheduled time. The comparison chart of milestones is outlined below. Over all there are a few challenges that the group have to work through. As mentioned above the group plans to analyze some reports developed by the investigators of the disaster. The challenging part is to read through pages of technical analysis and to identify related parts for the assignment. Since there are new group meetings, it should be possible to accomplish this task in professional manner. In addition the group will do a presentation on the project therefore these two meeting dates will be allocated towards that time. The final paper will contain a more detailed and chronological outline of the disaster phases. The paper will discuss the causes, antecedents and policy developments that occurred as of the result of the disaster. The general breakdown of the parts has not changed since they were assigned during the composition of the proposal paper.

Impact of Globalisation on Education Essay

The effects of globalisation on education bring rapid developments in technology and communications are foreseeing changes within learning systems across the world as ideas, values and knowledge, changing the roles of students and teachers, and producing a shift in society from industrialisation towards an information-based society. In the research paper an effort is made to highlight the positive and negative implications of Globalisation on education and also remedies to the challenges faced by it. On moving towards its positive aspects it is evident that due to globalization there is explosion of knowledge. Access to knowledge has been made easier through Information Technology, satellites, supersonic travel etc, No country can afford to erect walls around it. A country like India for example, has no reason to discard globalisation because it has a large potential for natural resources, large national market, strong industrial base, a powerful R & D infrastructure and above all a highly knowledgeable and skilled manpower that can stand on its own in global competition and rise to any challenge. Employment based education was the most precious gift of gobalisation. Education can be globalised in three ways: (i) By setting up educational campuses abroad, (ii) By offering educational programmes in foreign countries through tie-ups or collaborations with their educational institution, and (iii) By admitting foreign and NRI students in our educational institutions. On moving towards its darker side, there are many challenges faced by our education system. Due to commercialization of education it creates a divide between ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’. As education came in the reach of privates institutions it is going out of reach of poor. Moreover, the quality of education imparted in private and govt. nstitution have the difference of sky and earth. Quality of education in govt. institution is degrading and private institutions are beyond the reach. What a pity! Many foreign institutions and other private institutions are merely degree delivering machines. The objective of education from knowledge sharing is shifting merely to p rofit maximizing. This is a degradation in the values of Indian education system which has the glory of ‘Vishw Guru’ and where the concept of gurukul and teacher-student relationship exists but today that respect of student towards teacher and even the dedication and care of teacher towards student is missing. Along with all these, the increase craze of medical, engineering and business administration and downfall in plain courses of science, commerce and arts has only resulted in many doctors ,engineers and MBA students not recognized and no longer produces efficient and honest administrators which is a die-heart need in country like India which is in the grip of cancerous corruption. Looking to all its positivity and negativities the attempt in the research paper is to explore the remedies to the challenges faced by education . To make globalization meaningful and productive, we need to design a system of education that is universal, affordable, based on the principles of justice and related to the life of the community. This new universal system of education must incorporate social and moral values in its curriculum and produce world citizens who are free from prejudices and who are the builders of an ever advancing civilisation.

Essay What Causes Love at First Sight

Essay What Causes Love at First Sight Essay: What Causes Love at First Sight? The concept of love at first sight is one that continues to be a debatable topic, because of the many controversial issues about love in the present day. A good source of primary information on factors that cause someone to fall in love at first sight is those who profess to have fallen in love with their significant other upon meeting them for the first time. One of the issues these individuals may state is when they first came into their significant others presence, they felt a tingling effect all over their bodies that made them excited to be at the same place as the person they were attracted to and had fallen in love with. The difference with the excitement of falling in love at first sight is that the sensation is stronger than they had experienced before, when they were infatuated with another individual. The whole feeling of falling in love is highly emotional, because couples that have reported falling in love report having a strong emotional connection with their significant other. These couples also report getting to know more about the person they fell in love with in a shorter amount of time than when they got to know their other friends. Falling in love makes people want to know more about a significant other than those who they have spent a very long time knowing. One other interesting thing about falling in love at first sight is the feeling that one gets makes him or her want to profess their love to that individual the very first time they meet. The unwritten rule of love emphasizes that one should profess one’s loves to the other individual after a couple of dates, as well as after both parties feel they have known the other individual enough to be very comfortable around one another. Love at first sight; however, makes one feel like saying he or she loves the other individual even before really getting to know the other individual. When one falls in love at first sight, one gets preoccupied with the other individual just hours after meeting the individual and always wants to spend a significant amount of time with that individual. One may also feel like telling the other individual everything about themselves. When one falls in love with another individual, the relationship with the other individual seems very easy to pursue and one finds it very easy to put up with the individual’s weaknesses. Those who fall in love quickly usually state they get worried or are deeply concerned about their significant other shortly after they have met that individual for the first time. At you can have a great opportunity to fill in the order form and to get a custom essay written from scratch!

spectrophotometery essays

spectrophotometery essays The purpose of this lab experiment is to understand the uses of spectrophotometry. This experiment concentrates on the uses of the spectrophotometer, and using this instrument to specifically determine the absorption spectrum of a cobalt chloride solution, a galactose solution, and to determine an unknown concentration of a galactose solution. Modern biologists frequently use the measurement of light absorption to determine concentration of chemicals. The technique is called spectrophotometry. However, why is light absorbed? Light may be simply scattered by particles, but this is extremely important to the measurement of truly absorbed light. Light is the part of electromagnetic radiation to which the human eye is sensitive. Light is energy, and when absorbed by a chemical it results in a change in energy levels of the chemical. The energy of light depends on its wavelengths. Longer wavelengths, such as infrared, have less energy than shorter wavelengths, such as ultraviolet. A molecule will absorb light energy when a wavelength exactly matches the energy difference between two energy states of the molecule. A spectrophotometer makes use of the transmission of light through a specific solution to determine the concentration of a solute within a solution. It is based on a simple design of passing light of a known wavelength through a sample and measuring the amount of light energy that is transmitted. The design of a single beam spectrophotometer involves a light source, a prism, a sample holder, and a photocell. Connected to each are the appropriate electrical or mechanical to control the illuminating intensity, the wavelengths, and for conversion of energy received to readable data that can be recorded, which is known as a voltage fluctuation. This voltage fluctuation is displayed digitally and recorded for further analysis. The whole idea of spectrophotometery determining the concentration of a compound is ba...

Bronze Age Greece

Bronze Age Greece When Was the Greek Bronze Age?: Put Bronze Age Greece in Perspective: Major Intervals in Ancient History The Aegean Bronze Age, where Aegean refers to the Aegean Sea where Greece, the Cyclades, and Crete are situated, ran from about the beginning of the third millennium to the first, and was followed by the Dark Age. The Cyclades were prominent in the Early Bronze Age. On Crete, Minoan civilization named for the legendary king Minos of Crete, who ordered the building of the labyrinth is divided into Early, Middle, and Late Minoan (EM, MM, LM), which are further subdivided. Mycenaean civilization refers to late Bronze Age culture (c.1600 - c.1125 B.C.). Bronze Age - Glossary Entry The following paragraphs describe important terms to learn connected with the Greek Bronze Age. Cyclades: The Cyclades are islands in the south Aegean circling the island of Delos. During the Early Bronze Age (c. 3200-2100 B.C.) pottery, marble, and metal goods were produced that wound up in grave sites. Among these are the marble female figurines that inspired 20th century artists. Later in the Bronze Age the Cyclades showed influence from Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. Minoan Bronze Age: British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans began excavating the island of Crete in 1899. He named the culture Minoan and divided it into periods. In the early period newcomers arrived and pottery styles changed. This was followed by the great palace-building civilization and Linear A. Catastrophes destroyed this civilization. When it recovered, there was a new style of writing known as Linear B. Further catastrophes marked the end of the Minoan Bronze Age. Early Minoan (EM) I-III, c.3000-2000 B.C.Middle Minoan (MM) I-III, c.2000-1600 B.C.Late Minoan (LM) I-III, c.1600-1050 B.C. Minoan Bronze AgeDark Age Greece Knossos: Knossos is a Bronze Age city and archaeological site in Crete. In 1900, Sir Arthur Evans bought the site where ruins had been found, and then worked on restoring its Minoan palace. Legend says King Minos lived at Knossos where he had Daedalus build the famous labyrinth to house the minotaur, the monstrous offspring of King Minos wife Pasiphae. KnossosThe Palace of Minos - Kris Hirst - Archaeology at About.comLabrysMinotaurDaedalus Mycenaeans: The Myceaneans, from mainland Greece, conquered the Minoans. They lived in fortified citadels. By 1400 B.C. their influence extended to Asia Minor, but they disappeared between about 1200 and 1100, at which time the Hittites also disappeared. Heinrich Schliemanns excavations of Troy, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Orchomenos revealed Mycenaean artifacts. Michael Ventris probably deciphered its writing, Mycenaean Greek. The connection between Myceaneans and the people described in the epics attributed to Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, is still debated. Who Were the Mycenaeans? Schliemann: Henirich Schliemann was a German maverick archaeologist who wanted to prove the historicity of the Trojan War, so he excavated an area of Turkey. Schliemann Linear A and B: Just as Schliemann is the name associated with Troy and Evans with the Minoans, so there is one name connected with the deciphering of Mycenaean script. This man is Michael Ventris who deciphered Linear B in 1952. The Mycenaean tablets he deciphered were found at Knossos, showing contact between Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. Linear A has not yet been deciphered. Linear A - Kris Hirst - Archaeology at About.comLinear B - Kris Hirst - Archaeology at About.com Graves: Archaeologists learn about the culture of ancient peoples by studying their remains. Graves are a particularly valuable source. At Mycenae, wealthy warrior chieftains and their families were buried in shaft graves. In the Late Bronze Age, warrior chieftains (and family) were buried in decorated Tholos tombs, round stone subterranean tombs with vaulted roofs. Shaft GravesTholos Tombs Bronze Age Resources: Crete The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Ed. M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 1996. Neil Asher Silberman, Cyprian Broodbank, Alan A. D. Peatfield, James C. Wright, Elizabeth B. French Aegean Cultures The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996. Lesson 7: Western Anatolia and the Eastern Aegean in the Early Bronze Age

International trade( to be specified) Research Paper

International trade( to be specified) - Research Paper Example The first task will be identifying the articles that can help in addressing the topic of the research. The data will be collected through primary as well as secondary sources. Primary data will be collected by the help of questionnaires and by conducting interviews from the selected population; whereas the secondary data will be collected from scholarly sources including books and journal articles. Regression analysis will be used to interpret the data collected through primary sources. Baier and Bergstrand state in their article that the free trade agreement is considered to be an effective way for introducing the foreign markets to the exporters of any country. Trade agreements are a source of reducing the barriers concerning exports, while protecting the interest of the countries and also enhancing the law in the countries that are FTA partners. The gravity equation also plays a significant role in analyzing the flow of international trade and in particular the effects of FTAs on international trade. However the facts suggest that the formation of a transparent and stable trading association and the reduction in the barriers associated with trade have the made investment much cheaper for the exporters of FTAs partner countries in case they want to export their products and services to the other trading markets. Statistics suggests that America in the year 2013 enjoyed trade surplus in their manufacturing industry with other FTA partners of approximately $60 bill ion, which was 30 percent more than the previous year (Baiera & Bergstrand, 2007). The topic of the research is considered to be significant from the economic point of view. Many nations do support the notion of free trade as they think that the agreement neglects the rights of the importers and focus on the rights and benefits of the exporters. For effectively

Consumer behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Consumer behaviour - Case Study Example Situational analysis on the company is conducted to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which used as a basis of formulating the various alternative strategies for addressing the underlying issue. The best option is selected for the implementation and this option is cost effective and has significant favorable effects to the company. Problem statement Levi Strauss & Co. is a giant apparel company based in San Francisco and it is privately by the Levis for the last 147 years which has been marked by the years of success characterized with increased profits and the overall sale of its cloth wears. Levi Strauss is an all American brand and that its corporate image among the potential and the existing customers has a higher level of publicity. Therefore the goals and the objectives of this giant apparel cloth wear company for the last few years is to constantly sustain their increased sales and profitability, maintain its market share, consistently develop new products that is available to the existing and the emerging market segments through regular company research and development and finally is to consolidate its customer base by maintaining customers loyalty and satisfaction. Unfortunately Levi Strauss & Co in the recently over a period of time has become difficult in meeting these goals and objectives. Notably this trend has been attributed by the consumer changes in the cloth ware and apparel industry where there is frequent changes in fashion and designs thus affecting the changes and preference of the consumers across the entire market segment (Stamatiadis 2009). The key move that Levi Strauss & Co did not take keenly in during this period of fashion change and designs of the clothing wear in this industry is the failure to make changes according to the changes in the taste and preference of their existing customers thus contributing to Levi Strauss & Co being always seasons behind in terms of the emerging trends and designs hence their major competitors. More important is that they have not been able to sustain the market segment that comprises the young comprising of the under twenty five and the kids who have perceive that the Levi’s styles are too tight and they are suitable for the old generation thus resulting into the loss of the market share in which the younger generation has been Levi Strauss & Co major existing customers. One of the major setbacks is the failure to consolidate the younger generation who have been contributing more to their profits (Stamatiadis 2009). These emerging issues has resulted into the company realizing little success in its operations and the overall revenue generation and the loss of the customers and the reduced market share in the cloth wear industry, the changes in the consumer behavior in due to change in their taste and preference has resulted into their competitors such as JNCO, Old Navy and Kirkwear having an added advantage over them this resulting into th e loss of market share from 31% to 17% despite increase in the market of jeans wear and the overall cloth wear in a span of three years. The implication of these problems to Levi Strauss & Co include tumbling sales due to the loss of market share and the existing customers, layoffs of the employees where they reduced the number of employees by 40% laying off over 15000 total number of employees, plant closings due to the reduced sales and the loss of t

Shakeaspear's Sonnets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shakeaspear's Sonnets - Essay Example He says that when he thinks of the past, he remembers that he had sought many things then, and regrets that he had not been able to acquire any of those things by now. The use of words like ‘sigh’ and ‘lack’ accentuates his gloomy mood and unhappy thoughts. By saying ‘many a thing I sought,’ again the sense of unfullfilment and feeling of being in a deprived state are brought through to the reader. â€Å"And with old woes new wail my dear times’ waste†: Here he expresses that his thoughts about the old miseries, renews them afresh, and he â€Å"wails† his â€Å"dear times’ waste.† Once again the use of alliteration: starting the words ‘woes’, ‘wails’ and ‘waste’ with the same consonant ‘w’, emphasizes his expression of loss, and how it affected him to think that his precious time in the past had been wasted, as he lacked now many of those things that he had so ught then. The usage of ‘old’ and ‘new’ which are of opposite meaning, closely placed: ‘And with old woes new wail†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is an example of Shakespeare’s stylistic expression. The second quatrain of the sonnet expresses the poet’s grief at the loss of ‘precious friends’. who he says are hidden in ‘death’s dateless night’. Again, the use of alliteration, i.e. repetition of the starting consonant ‘d’ in two consecutive words, adds to the rhythm of the line. The word ‘dateless’ alludes to the timelessness of death, which is eternal. The use of another poetic device ‘assonance’ is used to enhance the rhythm: i.e. similar vowel sounds in accented syllables, as the short ‘e’ sound in the words ‘precious friends.’ This is also seen in the beginning of the sonnet: ‘When to the sessions’ and ‘remembrance’. Also, the first and last words of the poem: When and end also have assonance, and serve the function of unifying the entire poem. The same tone of sad loss is repeated when he talks of weeping again over old

Company Diversification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Company Diversification - Essay Example   The business venture that the corporate managers decide on should be that can gain from the resources of the diversified company. The management can also invest in creating sustainable competitive strategies by developing chain relationships with other companies in the industry (Daft, et al, 2010). This will enable the company to enjoy from economies of chain relationships. Similarly, the company should also prioritize on the diversification chances available in the industry. One of the strategies that the organizations can take to diversify is through acquisition. This will help the company to enter the market quicker than other. It may decide to use internal startup or through a joint venture.Factors to consider for the diversification of the companyOne of the factors that the corporate managers should ask themselves is whether they understand the advantage competitive strength of cross-business strategy. This will help them to fathom how different strategic fits work in a comp any. Furthermore, it will help the company to do strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis of the business. The team manager should also ask themselves whether the organization is strong enough to take full part in the group venture. Similarly, the managers should also examine themselves whether they can afford to cope with the strategies that will thereafter be put in place. The management team also needs to prioritize diversification opportunities that are available in the industry (Daft, et al, 2010).

The organizational redesign with information systems Essay

The organizational redesign with information systems - Essay Example From this research it is clear that within legal systems, an information system is a combination of hardware, software, procedures, policies, people, information and data which is involved in the management of a firm’s business legal functions with an aim of meeting organizational objectives and goals with efficiency and effectiveness. The hardware within information systems includes the physical aspects of the system such as computer components and the related equipment. The software is a set of applications that are used alongside the hardware to effectively perform organizational or business functions. The software applications in a legal setting include information processing systems, database packages, finance and accounting packages, anti malware applications, and word processing packages. The policies of a legal information system comprise of the set standards for proper management of the system according to the internal and universal norms of legal firms’ functi oning. Davison and Deeks assert that procedures in a legal information system are the steps through which various legal activities and processes within the systems should follow to ensure that efficiency is enhanced and thus achievement of high quality of legal services. In an information system, the people are the human resource and expertise who are involved in various organizational activities and processes. Therefore the employees in a legal firm including the lawyers and firm management are the people who are involved in the processing of information within the information system. Data or information is a significant aspect of an information system because it helps organization to function and survive in the business environment through its application to enhance all business processes and to compete favorably within the market. The data in a law firm include records of law processes, client information, evidence material, legal proceedings and financial data. Kadiyala and Klei ner (2005) say that examples of information systems applicable in a law firm include transaction processing systems which include as set of applications for the processing of the daily legal activities and processes of the firm. Decision supports systems are other examples of information systems that are important in the decision making process of law firms and thus serve as an essential tool for the management team. Management information systems are commonly used technologies which facilitate the management process of all functional areas of any firm as demonstrated by Broadbent and Weill (1999). Other information systems such as expert systems can be used in law firms to perform specialized functions analysis of legal scenarios that would help defense of prosecuting teams to come up with a solid argument during legal processing. Forbes Solicitors Forbes Solicitors offer legal services to both commercial and individual clients. The firm operates nine offices which are committed en tirely

Is Marriage a Dying Institution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Marriage a Dying Institution - Essay Example and ways of leading life and gay marriages, marriage is still considered a platform to ensure stability in the society and is not really a dying institution although its form and outlook have changed overtime. Few believe in the traditional words of the Book of Common Prayers that marriage is meant to last till death part the two partners. The few people who marry in UK have majority of then ending in divorce. This has even raised the concerns of the church leaders who are constantly trying to build a rescue plan. In this age of Information Technology cyber divorce ensures that a marriage can end with the click of a mouse. According to the Archbishop of Canterburry, the consumer culture has been on the rise and this has influenced the institution of marriage where people are constantly moving with the hope of finding someone better and worthier than whom he or she has. Apart from the rate of divorce, there are other factors that need to be considered. (BBC Online Network, 2007) In the modern times, the idea of living together and getting into an intimate emotional and physical relationship with one another is not much of an issue especially when some states like Canada have legalized the act. In California, such partners are known as â€Å"domestic partners†. Despite all states like North Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, Florida, North Dakota and Michigan still deem the act as a crime in the eye of law. Therefore there is no reason to lose all hope and faith in marriage and give the entire credit to cohabitation. Also, in places like India the idea of opposite sex people cohabiting without the bond of marriage is taken as a taboo. Thus, there are ways and scope to ensure that the institution of marriage still retains its bliss. Though homosexual relationships are increasingly gaining acceptance in different nations, yet these couples are not permitted to marry. Some states have identified a form of civil union, which is in practice marriage without the term

The organizational redesign with information systems Essay

The organizational redesign with information systems - Essay Example From this research it is clear that within legal systems, an information system is a combination of hardware, software, procedures, policies, people, information and data which is involved in the management of a firm’s business legal functions with an aim of meeting organizational objectives and goals with efficiency and effectiveness. The hardware within information systems includes the physical aspects of the system such as computer components and the related equipment. The software is a set of applications that are used alongside the hardware to effectively perform organizational or business functions. The software applications in a legal setting include information processing systems, database packages, finance and accounting packages, anti malware applications, and word processing packages. The policies of a legal information system comprise of the set standards for proper management of the system according to the internal and universal norms of legal firms’ functi oning. Davison and Deeks assert that procedures in a legal information system are the steps through which various legal activities and processes within the systems should follow to ensure that efficiency is enhanced and thus achievement of high quality of legal services. In an information system, the people are the human resource and expertise who are involved in various organizational activities and processes. Therefore the employees in a legal firm including the lawyers and firm management are the people who are involved in the processing of information within the information system. Data or information is a significant aspect of an information system because it helps organization to function and survive in the business environment through its application to enhance all business processes and to compete favorably within the market. The data in a law firm include records of law processes, client information, evidence material, legal proceedings and financial data. Kadiyala and Klei ner (2005) say that examples of information systems applicable in a law firm include transaction processing systems which include as set of applications for the processing of the daily legal activities and processes of the firm. Decision supports systems are other examples of information systems that are important in the decision making process of law firms and thus serve as an essential tool for the management team. Management information systems are commonly used technologies which facilitate the management process of all functional areas of any firm as demonstrated by Broadbent and Weill (1999). Other information systems such as expert systems can be used in law firms to perform specialized functions analysis of legal scenarios that would help defense of prosecuting teams to come up with a solid argument during legal processing. Forbes Solicitors Forbes Solicitors offer legal services to both commercial and individual clients. The firm operates nine offices which are committed en tirely

The importances of the primary,secondary and tertiary levels of health Essay

The importances of the primary,secondary and tertiary levels of health promotion in nursing practice - Essay Example It then becomes imperative for health nurses to define their services and to provide evidence that will support the effectiveness of the interventions they offer. In accomplishing this, Deal (1994) asserted that there should be an implementation of standardized nursing language. Unlike the last few years, roles of nurses have changed from â€Å"not a good press† to an essential ability in the improvement of healthcare. Nowadays, nurses claim that caring is just as important as technical skill. Nurses are directly involved in the implementation of health promotion. Their participation in the implementation of healthcare promotion determines the success or failure of the desired practice. The first article deals with a particular state in the United States – New York and the role of the public health nurses to the health promotion and maintenance. Firstly, health promotion is initialized through assessing the health as well as the health care needs of the population in identifying who would benefit from the health promotion or the ones that are being described in the article as â€Å"at risk of illness, injury, disability, or premature death†. Collectively, health promotion is being defined in the article as the respond to the identified healthcare needs in a form of range of activities that will contribute to health and the prevention of illness and the like. Article 1 takes the nurses as the critical and most important role inevitably involves in the promotion and maintenance of the health of the public. American Public Health Association and Public Health Nursing (2003) define nurses’ role as to â€Å"promote the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences†. Correspondingly, public health would be in great danger devoid of a strong nursing workforce. They are the ones that provide direct care to the public as a response to the implementation of health

VLSI Design and Embedded Systems

VLSI Design and Embedded Systems CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Motivation Phase locked loop (PLL) [1-3] is the heart of the many modern electronics as well as communication system. Recently plenty of the researches have conducted on the design of phase locked loop (PLL) circuit and still research is going on this topic. Most of the researches have conducted to realize a higher lock range PLL with lesser lock time [4] and have tolerable phase noise. The most versatile application of the phase locked loops (PLL) is for clock generation and clock recovery in microprocessor, networking, communication systems, and frequency synthesizers. Phase locked-loops (PLLs) are commonly used to generate well-timed on-chip clocks in high-performance digital systems. Modern wireless communication systems employ Phase Locked Loop (PLL) mainly for synchronization, clock synthesis, skew and jitter reduction [5]. Phase locked loops find wide application in several modern applications mostly in advance communication and instrumentation systems. PLL being a mixed signal circuit i nvolves design challenge at high frequency. Since its inspection in early 1930s, where it was used in the synchronization of the horizontal and vertical scans of television, it has come to an advanced form of integrated circuit (IC). Today found uses in many other applications. The first PLL ICs were available around 1965; it was built using purely analog component. Recent advances in integrated circuit design techniques have led to the development of high performance PLL which has become more economical and reliable. Now a whole PLL circuit can be integrated as a part of a larger circuit on a single chip. There are mainly five blocks in a PLL. These are phase frequency detector (PFD), charge pump (CP), low pass loop filter (LPF), voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and frequency divider. Presently almost all communication and electronics devices operate at a higher frequency, so for that purpose we need a faster locking PLL. So there are a lot of challenges in designing the mentioned different blocks of the PLL to operate at a higher frequency. And these challenges motivated me towards this research topic. In this work mainly the faster locking of the PLL is concentrated by properly choosing the circuit architectures and parameters. The optimization of the VCO circuit is also carried out in this work to get a better frequency precision. 1.2 Organization of Thesis Before going into the details of the PLL, the motivation behind this work is mentioned in the Chapter 1 of the thesis. Chapter 2 briefly describes the whole PLL system. An introduction to the PLL circuit is mentioned in the section 2.1. Section 2.2 contains the detail architecture of the whole PLL system. Different types of PLLs are mentioned in the section 2.3. Section 2.4 explains the basic terms used in the PLL system while the consecutive sections give the details about the noise and application of the PLL. Chapter 3 builds the concepts of optimization. Definition of optimization technique and different circuit optimization techniques are presented in section 3.1 and 3.2 respectively. Section 3.3 gives the brief outline of the concept of geometric programming and convex optimization. The optimization of the CSVCO circuit is explained in section 3.4. The design and synthesis of the PLL is described in Chapter 4. The different design environments used in this work is mentioned in the section 4.1. The adopted design procedure is explained in section 4.2. Section 4.3 gives the design specifications and parameters of the work. The simulation results of the different circuits used in the PLL are depicted in the different sections of the Chapter 5. The performance of the CSVCO designed using convex optimization is compared with that of the traditional method in section 5.3. Section 5.5 gives the different simulation results of the PLL and its performance comparison between schematic and post layout level. At last Chapter 6 provides the conclusion that inferred from the work. CHAPTER 2 PHASE LOCKED LOOP 2.1 Introduction A PLL is a closed-loop feedback system that sets fixed phase relationship between its output clock phase and the phase of a reference clock. A PLL is capable of tracking the phase changes that falls in this bandwidth of the PLL. A PLL also multiplies a low-frequency reference clock CKref to produce a high-frequency clock CKout this is known as clock synthesis. A PLL has a negative feedback control system circuit. The main objective of a PLL is to generate a signal in which the phase is the same as the phase of a reference signal. This is achieved after many iterations of comparison of the reference and feedback signals. In this lock mode the phase of the reference and feedback signal is zero. After this, the PLL continues to compare the two signals but since they are in lock mode, the PLL output is constant. The basic block diagram of the PLL is shown in the Figure 2.1. In general a PLL consists of five main blocks: Phase Detector or Phase Frequency Detector (PD or PFD) Charge Pump (CP) Low Pass Filter (LPF) Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) Divide by N Counter The â€Å"Phase frequency Detector† (PFD) is one of the main parts in PLL circuits. It compares the phase and frequency difference between the reference clock and the feedback clock. Depending upon the phase and frequency deviation, it generates two output signals â€Å"UP† and â€Å"DOWN†. The â€Å"Charge Pump† (CP) circuit is used in the PLL to combine both the outputs of the PFD and give a single output. The output of the CP circuit is fed to a â€Å"Low Pass Filter† (LPF) to generate a DC control voltage. The phase and frequency of the â€Å"Voltage Controlled Oscillator† (VCO) output depends on the generated DC control voltage. If the PFD generates an â€Å"UP† signal, the error voltage at the output of LPF increases which in turn increase the VCO output signal frequency. On the contrary, if a â€Å"DOWN† signal is generated, the VCO output signal frequency decreases. The output of the VCO is then fed back to the PFD in or der to recalculate the phase difference, and then we can create closed loop frequency control system. 2.2 PLL Architecture The architecture of a charge-pump PLL is shown in Figure 2.2. A PLL comprises of several components. They are (1) phase or phase frequency detector, (2) charge pump, (3) loop filter, (4) voltage-controlled oscillator, and (5) frequency divider. The functioning of each block is briefly explained below. 2.2.1 Phase Frequency Detector The â€Å"Phase frequency Detector† (PFD) is one of the main part in PLL circuits. It compares the phase and frequency difference between the reference clock and the feedback clock. Depending upon the phase and frequency deviation, it generates two output signals â€Å"UP† and â€Å"DOWN†. Figure 2.3 shows a traditional PFD circuit. If there is a phase difference between the two signals, it will generate â€Å"UP† or â€Å"DOWN† synchronized signals. When the reference clock rising edge leads the feedback input clock rising edge â€Å"UP† signal goes high while keeping â€Å"DOWN† signal low. On the other hand if the feedback input clock rising edge leads the reference clock rising edge â€Å"DOWN† signal goes high and â€Å"UP† signal goes low. Fast phase and frequency acquisition PFDs [6-7] are generally preferred over traditional PFD. 2.2.2 Charge Pump and Loop Filter Charge pump circuit is an important block of the whole PLL system. It converts the phase or frequency difference information into a voltage, used to tune the VCO. Charge pump circuit is used to combine both the outputs of the PFD and give a single output which is fed to the input of the filter. Charge pump circuit gives a constant current of value IPDI which should be insensitive to the supply voltage variation [8]. The amplitude of the current always remains same but the polarity changes which depend on the value of the â€Å"UP† and â€Å"DOWN† signal. The schematic diagram of the charge pump circuit with loop filter is shown in the Figure 2.4. When the UP signal goes high M2 transistor turns ON while M1 is OFF and the output current is IPDI with a positive polarity. When the down signal becomes high M1 transistor turns ON while M2 is OFF and the output current is IPDI with a negative polarity. The charge pump output current [3] is given by IPDI=IPUMP—IPUMP4Ï€Ãâ€"ΔÎ ¦ =2IPUMP4Ï€Ãâ€"ΔÎ ¦ =IPUMP2Ï€Ãâ€"ΔÎ ¦ =KPDIÃâ€"ΔÎ ¦ (1) Where KPDI=IPUMP2Ï€ (amps/radian) (2) The passive low pass loop filter is used to convert back the charge pump current into the voltage. The filter should be as compact as possible [9].The output voltage of the loop filter controls the oscillation frequency of the VCO. The loop filter voltage will increase if Fref rising edge leads Fin rising edge and will decrease if Fin rising edge leads Fref rising edge. If the PLL is in locked state it maintains a constant value. The VCO input voltage is given by Vinvco = KF Ãâ€" IPDI (3) Where KF is the gain of the loop filter. 2.2.3 Voltage Controlled Oscillator An oscillator is an autonomous system which generates a periodic output without any input. The most popular type of the VCO circuit is the current starved voltage controlled oscillator (CSVCO). Here the number of inverter stages is fixed with 5. The simplified view of a single stage current starved oscillator is shown in the Figure 2.5. Transistors M2 and M3 operate as an inverter while M1 and M4 operate as current sources. The current sources, Ml and M4, limit the current available to the inverter, M2 and M3; in other words, the inverter is starved for current. The desired center frequency of the designed circuit is 1GHz with a supply of 1.8V. The CSVCO is designed both in usual manner as mentioned in [3], [10, 11]. The general circuit diagram of the current starved voltage controlled oscillator is shown in the Figure 2.6. To determine the design equations for the CSVCO, consider the simplified view of VCO in Figure 2.5. The total capacitance on the drains of M2 and M3 is given by Ctot=52Cox(LpWp+LnWn) (4) The time it takes to charge Ctot from zero to VSP with the constant current ID4 is given by t1=VSPID4Ãâ€"Ctot (5) While the time it takes to discharge Ctot from VDD to VSP is given by t1=VDD-VSPID1Ãâ€"Ctot (6) If we set ID4= ID1=ID then the sum of t1 and t2 is given by t1+t2=VDDIDÃâ€"Ctot (7) The oscillation frequency of CSVCO for N number of stage is fosc=1Nt1+t2=IDNCtotVDD (8) This is equal to fcenter when Vinvco=VDD2 (9) The gain of the VCO is given by KVCO=fmax-fminVmax-Vmin HzV (10) 2.2.4 Frequency Divider The output of the VCO is fed back to the input of PFD through the frequency divider circuit. The frequency divider in the PLL circuit forms a closed loop. It scales down the frequency of the VCO output signal. A simple D flip flop (DFF) acts as a frequency divider circuit. The schematic of a simple DFF based divide by 2 frequency divider circuit is shown in the Figure 2.7. 2.3 Types of PLL There are mainly 4 types of PLL are available. They are . Liner PLL Digital PLL All Digital PLL Soft PLL 2.4 Terms in PLL 2.4.1 Lock in Range Once the PLL is in lock state what is the range of frequencies for which it can keep itself locked is called as lock in range. This is also called as tracking range or holding range. 2.4.2 Capture Range When the PLL is initially not in lock, what frequency range can make PLL lock is called as capture range. This is also known as acquisition range. This is directly proportional to the LPF bandwidth. Reduction in the loop filter bandwidth thus improves the rejection of the out of band signals, but at the same time the capture range decreases, pull in time becomes larger and phase margin becomes poor. 2.4.3 Pull in Time The total time taken by the PLL to capture the signal (or to establish the lock) is called as Pull in Time of PLL. It is also called as Acquisition Time of PLL. 2.4.4 Bandwidth of PLL Bandwidth is the frequency at which the PLL begins to lose the lock with reference. 2.5 Noises in PLL The output of the practical system deviates from the desired response. This is because of the imperfections and noises in the system. The supply noise also affects the output noise of the PLL system [12]. There are mainly 4 types of noises. They are explained below. 2.5.1 Phase Noise The phase fluctuation due to the random frequency variation of a signal is called as phase noise. This is mostly affected by oscillators frequency stability. The main sources of the phase noise in PLL are oscillator noise [12-15], PFD and frequency divider circuit. The main components of the phase noise are thermal and flicker noise. 2.5.2 Jitter A jitter is the short term-term variations of a signal with respect to its ideal position in time [16-19]. This problem negatively impacts the data transmission quality. Jitter and phase noise are closely related and can be computed one from another [18]. Deviation from the ideal position can occur on either leading edge or trailing edge of signal. Jitter may be induced and coupled onto a clock signal from several different sources and is not uniform over all frequencies. Excessive jitter can increase bit error rate (BER) of communication signal [19]. In digital system Jitter leads to violation in time margins, causing circuits to behave improperly. 2.5.3 Spur Non-desired frequency content not related to the frequency of oscillation and its harmonics is called as â€Å"Spur†. There are mainly two types of spur. They are reference spur and fractional spur. Reference spur comes into picture in an integer PLL while fractional spur plays a major role in fractional PLL. When the PLL is in lock state the phase and frequency inputs to the PFD are essentially equal. There should not be any error output from the PFD. Since this can create problem, so the PFD is designed such that, in the locked state the current pulses from the CP will have a very narrow width as shown in the Figure 2.9. Because of this the input control voltage of the VCO is modulated by the reference signal and thus produces â€Å"Reference Spur† [20]. 2.5.4 Charge Pump Leakage Current When the CP output from the synthesizer is programmed to the high impedance state, in practice there should not be any current flow. But in practical some leakage current flows in the circuit and this is known as â€Å"charge pump leakage current† [20]. 2.6 Applications of PLL The demand of the PLL circuit increases day by day because of its wide application in the area of electronics, communication and instrumentation. The recent applications of the PLL circuits are in memories, microprocessors, hard disk drive electronics, RF and wireless transceivers, clock recovery circuits on microcontroller boards and optical fiber receivers. Some of the PLL applications are mentioned below. 1. Frequency Synthesis A frequency synthesizer is an electronic system for generating a range of frequencies from a single fixed time base or oscillator. 2. Clock Generation Many electronic systems include processors of various sorts that operate at hundreds of megahertz. Typically, the clocks supplied to these processors come from clock generator PLLs, which multiply a lower-frequency reference clock (usually 50 or 100 MHz) up to the operating frequency of the processor. The multiplication factor can be quite large in cases where the operating frequency is multiple GHz and the reference crystal is just tens or hundreds of megahertz. 3. Carrier Recovery (Clock Recovery) Some data streams, especially high-speed serial data streams (such as the raw stream of data from the magnetic head of a disk drive), are sent without an accompanying clock. The receiver generates a clock from an approximate frequency reference, and then phase-aligns to the transitions in the data stream with a PLL. This process is referred to as clock recovery. 4. SkewReduction This is one of the very popular and earliest uses of PLL. Suppose synchronous pair of data and clock lines enter a large digital chip. Since clock typically drives a large number of transistors and logic interconnects, it is first applied to large buffer. Thus, the clock distributed on chip may suffer from substantial skew with respect to data. This is an undesirable effect which reduces the timing budget for on-chip operations. 5. Jitter and Noise Reduction One desirable property of all PLLs is that the reference and feedback clock edges be brought into very close alignment. The average difference in time between the phases of the two signals when the PLL has achieved lock is called the static phase offset. The variance between these phases is called tracking jitter. Ideally, the static phase offset should be zero, and the tracking jitter should be as low as possible. CHAPTER 3 CONVEX OPTIMIZATION OF VCO IN PLL 3.1 What is an optimization technique? Optimization technique is nothing but the finding of the action that optimizes i.e. minimizes or maximizes the result of the objective function. Optimization technique is applied to the circuits aiming at finding out the optimized circuit design parameter to achieve either the best performance or the desired performance. Optimization techniques are a set of most powerful tools that are used in efficiently handling the design resources and there by achieve the best result. Mainly optimization techniques are applied to the circuit for the selection of the component values, devices sizes, and value of the voltage or current source. 3.2 Types of circuit optimization method There are mainly four types of circuit optimization methods exist. They are Classical optimization Knowledge based optimization Global optimization method Convex optimization and geometric programming 3.2.1 Classical Optimization Methods: In case of analog circuit CAD, classical optimization methods [21], such as steepest descent, sequential quadratic programming, and Lagrange multiplier methods are mainly used. These methods are used with more complicated circuit models, including even full SPICE simulations in each iteration. This method can handle a wide variety of problem. For this there is a need of a set of performance measures and computation of one or more derivatives. The main disadvantage of the classical optimization methods is that the global optimal solution is not possible. This method fails to find a feasible design even one exist. This method gives only the local minima instead of global solution. Since many different initial designs are considered to get the global optimization, the method becomes slower. Because of the human intervention (to give â€Å"good† initial designs), the method becomes less automated. The classical methods become slow if complex models are used. 3.2.2 Knowledge-Based Methods: Knowledge-based and expert-systems methods such as genetic algorithm or evolution systems, systems based on Fuzzy logic, and heuristics-based systems have also been widely used in analog circuit CAD [21]. In case of knowledge based methods, there are few limitations on the types of problems, specifications, and performance measures that are to be considered. These methods do not require the computation of the derivatives. This is not possible to find a global optimal design solution using these methods. The final design is decided on the basis of the initial design chosen and the algorithm parameters. The disadvantage of the knowledge based methods is that they simply fail to find a feasible solution even when one may exist. There is a need of human intervention during the design and the training process. 3.2.3 Global Optimization Methods: Global optimization methods such as branch and bound and simulated annealing are also used in analog circuit design [21]. These methods are guaranteed to find the global optimal design solution. The global optimal design is determined by the branch and bound methods unambiguously. In each iteration, a suboptimal feasible design and also a lower bound on the achievable performance is maintained by this method. This enables the algorithm to terminate non-heuristically, i.e., with complete confidence that the global design has been found within a given tolerance. The branch and bound method is extremely slow, with computation growing exponentially with problem size. The trapping in a locally optimal design can be avoided by using simulated annealing (SA). This method can compute the global optimal solution but not guaranteed. Since there is no real-time lower bound is available, so termination is heuristic. This method can also handle a wide variety of performance indices and objects. T he main advantage of SA is that it handles the continuous variables and discrete variables problems efficiently and reduces the chances of getting a non-globally optimal design. The only problem with this method is that it is very slow and can not guarantee a global optimal solution. 3.2.4 Convex Optimization and Geometric Programming Methods: Geometric programming methods are special optimization problems in which the objective and constraint functions are all convex [22-24]. Convex optimization technique can solve the problems having a large number of variables and constraints very efficiently [22]. The main advantage of this method for which people generally adopt is that the method gives the global solution. Infeasibility is unambiguously detected. Since a lower bound on the achievable performance is given, so the method uses a completely non- heuristic stopping criterion. 3.3 Geometric programming and convex optimization Geometric programming is a special type of optimization technique in which all the objective must be convex. Before applying this technique it has to confirm that whether the given problem is convex optimization problem or not. Convex optimization problem means the problem of minimizing a convex function subject to convex inequality constraints and linear equality constraints. In IC integration convex optimization and geometric programming has become a more efficient computational tool for optimization purpose. This method has an ability to handle thousands of variables and constraints and solve efficiently. The main advantage of convex optimization technique is that it gives the global optimized value and the robust design. The fact that geometric programs can be solved very efficiently has a number of practical consequences. For example, the method can be used to simultaneously optimize the design of a large number of circuits in a single large mixed-mode integrated circuit. The de signs of the individual circuits are coupled by constraints on total power and area, and by various parameters that affect the circuit coupling such as input capacitance, output resistance, etc. Convex optimization is used to find out the optimized value of these parameter and sizing of the devices in the circuit [25]. Another application is to use the efficiency to obtain robust designs i.e., designs that are guaranteed to meet a set of specifications over a variety of processes or technology parameter values. This is done by simply replicating the specifications with a (possibly large) number of representative process parameters, which is practical only because geometric programs with thousands of constraints are readily solved. A real valued function fx defined on an interval (space) is called convex if ftx1+1-tx2≠¤tfx1+1-tfx2 (11) For every t,0 In the Figure 3.1 function fx is represented as a convex function on an interval. The convex optimization problem is in the form of minimize f0x Subjected to fix≠¤1 , i=1, 2, 3†¦, m gix=1 , i=1, 2, 3†¦, p xi>1 , i=1, 2, 3†¦, n Where fix is a posynomial function gix is a monomial function Let x1,x2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦xn be n real positive variables. We can denote the vector (xi,xi†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.xi) of these variables asx. A function f is called a posynomial function of x if it has the form fix1,x2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦xn=k=1tCkx1ÃŽ ±1kx2ÃŽ ±2k†¦..xnÃŽ ±nk (12) Where Cj≠¥0 and ÃŽ ±ij à Ã‚ µ R. The coefficients Cj must be nonnegative but the exponents ÃŽ ±ij can be any real numbers including negative or fractional. When there is exactly one nonzero term in the sum i.e. t=1 and C1>0, we call f is a monomial function. 3.3.1 Advantages:  § Handle thousands of variables and constraints and solve efficiently.  § Global optimization can be obtained. 3.3.2 Disadvantages: * Strictly limited to types of problems, performance specification and objectives that can be handled. 3.4 Optimization of the VCO circuit In my earlier design of the VCO circuit, the sizes of all the five inverter stages are same. Now the convex optimization technique is applied to find out the optimal scaling ratio of the different inverter stages to get the optimal design with a better performance. There are 5 inverter stages and the design has to give a delay of 100ps. The load capacitance of the VCO circuit is 65 fF. All these design constraints are formulated and applied to the convex optimization technique. Mainly optimization techniques are applied for selection of component values and transistor sizing. In this work I have used the geometric programming technique to find out the optimized scaling ratio of the different stages in CSVCO to meet the desired center frequency with lesser deviation. Let xi is the scaling ration of the ith stage, CL is the load capacitance, and D is the total delay of the inverter stages then optimization problem is in the form of Minimize sum (xi) Subjected to CL≠¤CLmax D≠¤Dmax Where CLmax and Dmax are required design parameters and has a constant value. CHAPTER 4 DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF PLL 4.1 Design Environment The schematic level design entry of the circuits is carried out in the CADENCE Virtuoso Analog Design Environment. The layout of the PLL is designed in Virtuoso XL using GPDK090 library. In order to analyze the performances, these circuits are simulated in the Spectre simulator of CADENCE tool. Different performance indices such as phase noise, power consumption and lock time are measured in this environment. Transient, parametric sweep and phase noise analyses are carried out in this work to find out the performances of the circuit. The optimization of the current starved VCO circuit, the scale factor for transistor sizing is found out using the MATLAB environment. 4.2 Design Procedure 4.2.1 VCO Design Since VCO is the heart of the whole PLL system, it should be designed in a proper manner. The design steps for the current starved VCO are as follows. Step 1 Find the value of the propagation delay for each stage of the inverter in the VCO circuit using the following equation. Ï„p=1Nf (13) Where Ï„p= Ï„phl= Ï„plh= half of the propagation delay time of the inverter N= no of inverter stages f= required center frequency of oscillation Step 2 Find the WL ratio for the transistors in the different inverter stages using the equation in below. WL n=CloadÏ„phl µnCoxVdd-VT,n2VT,nVdd-VT,n+ln4Vdd-VT,nVdd-1 (14) WL p=CloadÏ„plh µpCoxVdd-VT,p2VT,pVdd-VT,p+ln4Vdd-VT,pVdd-1 (15) Step 3 After finding the WL ratio, find the values for W and L. Step 4 Find the value of the total capacitance form the expression Ctot=52Cox(LpWp+LnWn) (16) Where Cox is the oxide capacitance Lp,Wp,Ln,Wn is the width and length of the PMOS and NMOS transistors in the inverter stages. Step 5 Calculate the value of drain current for the center frequency which is given by IDcenter=NCtotVddf (17) Step 6 Find the WL ratio for the current starving transistors in the circuit from the drain current expression which is represented as WL n=2Ãâ€"IDcenter µnCoxVgs-VT,n2 (18) Similarly WL p=2.5Ãâ€"WL n (19) 4.2.2 Design of Phase Locked Loop The value of the charge pump current and the component parameters of the loop filter play a major role in the design of the phase locked loop circuit. The value of the lock time mainly depends upon these parameters. So while designing the circuit proper care should be taken in calculating these parameters. For the given values of reference(Fref) and output frequency(Fout) as well as the lock in range, the following steps to be carried out in designing the filter circuit. Step 1 Find the value of the divider circuit to be used which is given by n=FoutFref (20) Step 2 Find the value of the natural frequency (ωn) from the lock in range as given below lock in range=2Ãâ€"ÃŽ ¾Ãƒâ€"ωn (21) Step 3 Find the value of the charge pump gain (KPDI) from the charge pump current used in the circuit which is given by KPDI=Ipump2Ï€ (Amps/radian) (22) Step 4 Find the value of the gain of the VCO (Kvco) circuit from the characteristics curve using the following expression. Kvco=fmax-fminVmax-Vmin (Hz/V) (23) Step 5 Find the values of the loop filter component parameters using the following expressions. C1=KPDIÃâ€"KvcoNωn2 (24) C2=C110 (25) R=2ÃŽ ¾Ãâ€°nC1 (26) 4.3 Design Specifications and Parameters 4.3.1 VCO Design Specification The current starved VCO design specifications are mentioned in the following table. Table 1 VCO design specifications 4.3.2 VCO Design Parameters Table 2 List of design parameters of the CSVCO circuit 4.3.3 PLL Design Parameters The whole PLL system design specifications and parameters are shown in the Table 3. Parameter Value Reference frequency((Fref) 500 MHz output frequency(Fout) 1 GHz Lock in range 100 MHz