The Civil War Essays (4040 words) - United States,

The Civil War The Civil War was the most convulsive and significant war in American history. After the Constitution was adopted by all of the States in 1789, uniting the States into one nation, differences between the States had been worked out through compromises. By 1861 these differences between the Northern States, which included the Western States, and the Southern States had become so great that compromise would no longer work. Therefore, a conflict started within our nation that was called the Civil War. Although causes of the Civil War have long time been debated by historians, there are many reasons that are agreed on. For more than thirty years arguments between the North and South had been growing. One of these controversies was about taxes paid on goods brought into this country from foreign countries. This kind of tax is called a tariff. In 1828 Northerners helped get the Tariff Act passed. It raised the prices of manufactured products from Europe, which were sold mainly in the South. The purpose of the law was to encourage the South to buy the North's products. It angered the Southern people to have to pay more for the goods they wanted from Europe or pay more to get goods from the North. Either way the Southern people were forced to pay more because of the efforts of Northern businessmen. Though most of tariff laws had been changed by the time of the Civil War, the Southern people still remembered how they were treated by the Northern people. In the years before the Civil War the political power in the Federal Government, centered in Washington D.C., was changing. The Northern and Mid-Western States were becoming more powerful as the populations increased. The Southern States were losing political power. Just as the original thirteen colonies fought for their independence, the Southern States felt a growing need for freedom from the central Federal authority in Washington D.C. They felt that each State should make its own laws. This issue was called State's Rights. Some Southern States wanted to break away from the United States of America and govern themselves. (The Civil War Homepage) Probably the most emotional issue of the cause of the Civil War was over the issue of slavery. Farming was the South's main industry and cotton was the primary farm product. Not having the use of machines, it took a great amount of human labor to pick cotton. The people in the South needed more people (slaves) to work the cotton for them that is why large number of slaves were used in the South. Many slaves were also used to provide labor for the various household chores that needed to be done. Many Northerners thought that owning slaves was wrong, for any reason. Thus, the disagreement. Some of those Northerners loudly disagreed with the South's laws and beliefs concerning slavery. Except slavery had been a part of the Southern way of life for well over 200 years and they didnt want to give it up without a fight. The Constitution of the United States guaranteed the right to own property and protected against anyone taking their property. To them a slave was property. The people of t he Southern States did not like the Northern people telling them that owning slaves was a great wrong. A person either believes that slavery is right or that slavery is wrong, so how can two people arguing over this issue come to a compromise? (The American Civil War). Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860. He vowed that he would keep the country united and the new western territories would be free from slavery. Many Southerners were afraid that he would not sympathetic to their way of life and would not treat them fairly. South Carolina was the first State to separate from the United States soon after the election of Abraham Lincoln. Six other Southern States quickly followed and also left. These States joined together and formed a new nation, which they named the Confederate States of America. They elected Jefferson Davis as their first president. On April 12, 1861 the Confederate States of America attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, which was held

Determining Significant Figures

Determining Significant Figures Every measurement has a degree of uncertainty associated with it. The uncertainty derives from the measuring device and the skill of the person doing the measuring. Lets use volume measurement as an example. Say you are in a chemistry lab and need 7 mL of water. You could take an unmarked coffee cup and add water until you think you have about 7 milliliters. In this case, the majority of the measurement error is associated with the skill of the person doing the measuring. You could use a beaker, marked in 5 mL increments. With the beaker, you could easily obtain a volume between 5 and 10 mL, probably close to 7 mL, give or take 1 mL. If you used a pipette marked with 0.1 mL, you could get a volume between 6.99 and 7.01 mL pretty reliably. It would be untrue to report that you measured 7.000 mL using any of these devices because you didnt measure the volume to the nearest microliter. You would report your measurement using significant figures. These include all of the digits you know for certain plus the last digit, which contains some uncertainty. Significant Figure Rules Non-zero digits are always significant.All zeros between other significant digits are significant.The number of significant figures is determined by starting with the leftmost non-zero digit. The leftmost non-zero digit is sometimes called the most significant digit or the most significant figure. For example, in the number 0.004205, the 4 is the most significant figure. The left-hand 0s are not significant. The zero between the 2 and the 5 is significant.The rightmost digit of a decimal number is the least significant digit or least significant figure. Another way to look at the least significant figure is to consider it to be the rightmost digit when the number is written in scientific notation. Least significant figures are still significant! In the number 0.004205 (which may be written as 4.205 x 10-3), the 5 is the least significant figure. In the number 43.120 (which may be written as 4.3210 x 101), the 0 is the least significant figure.If no decimal point is present, the right most non-zero digit is the least significant figure. In the number 5800, the least significant figure is 8. Uncertainty in Calculations Measured quantities are often used in calculations. The precision of the calculation is limited by the precision of the measurements on which it is based. Addition and SubtractionWhen measured quantities are used in addition or subtraction, the uncertainty is determined by the absolute uncertainty in the least precise measurement (not by the number of significant figures). Sometimes this is considered to be the number of digits after the decimal point.32.01 m5.325 m12 mAdded together, you will get 49.335 m, but the sum should be reported as 49 meters.Multiplication and DivisionWhen experimental quantities are multiplied or divided, the number of significant figures in the result is the same as that in the quantity with the smallest number of significant figures. If, for example, a density calculation is made in which 25.624 grams is divided by 25 mL, the density should be reported as 1.0 g/mL, not as 1.0000 g/mL or 1.000 g/mL. Losing Significant Figures Sometimes significant figures are lost while performing calculations. For example, if you find the mass of a beaker to be 53.110 g, add water to the beaker and find the mass of the beaker plus water to be 53.987 g, the mass of the water is 53.987-53.110 g 0.877 gThe final value only has three significant figures, even though each mass measurement contained 5 significant figures. Rounding and Truncating Numbers There are different methods which may be used to round numbers. The usual method is to round numbers with digits less than 5 down and numbers with digits greater than 5 up (some people round exactly 5 up and some round it down). Example:If you are subtracting 7.799 g - 6.25 g your calculation would yield 1.549 g. This number would be rounded to 1.55 g because the digit 9 is greater than 5. In some instances, numbers are truncated, or cut short, rather than rounded to obtain appropriate significant figures. In the example above, 1.549 g could have been truncated to 1.54 g. Exact Numbers Sometimes numbers used in a calculation are exact rather than approximate. This is true when using defined quantities, including many conversion factors, and when using pure numbers. Pure or defined numbers do not affect the accuracy of a calculation. You may think of them as having an infinite number of significant figures. Pure numbers are easy to spot because they have no units. Defined values or conversion factors, like measured values, may have units. Practice identifying them! Example:You want to calculate the average height of three plants and measure the following heights: 30.1 cm, 25.2 cm, 31.3 cm; with an average height of (30.1 25.2 31.3)/3 86.6/3 28.87 28.9 cm. There are three significant figures in the heights. Even though you are dividing the sum by a single digit, the three significant figures should be retained in the calculation. Accuracy and Precision Accuracy and precision are two separate concepts. The classic illustration distinguishing the two is to consider a target or bullseye. Arrows surrounding a bullseye indicate a high degree of accuracy; arrows very near to each other (possibly nowhere near the bullseye) indicate a high degree of precision. To be accurate, an arrow must be near the target; to be precise successive arrows must be near each other. Consistently hitting the very center of the bullseye indicates both accuracy and precision. Consider a digital scale. If you weigh the same empty beaker repeatedly, the scale will yield values with a high degree of precision (say 135.776 g, 135.775 g, 135.776 g). The actual mass of the beaker may be very different. Scales (and other instruments) need to be calibrated! Instruments typically provide very precise readings, but accuracy requires calibration. Thermometers are notoriously inaccurate, often requiring re-calibration several times over the lifetime of the instrument. Scales also require recalibration, especially if they are moved or mistreated.

Managing Human Resources (assign to Writer# 4592 or 3665) Essay

Managing Human Resources (assign to Writer# 4592 or 3665) - Essay Example ss has been suggested for National Lewis and Clark Corporation (NL&C) in consultation with different department heads, which can be consistent among all departments and which will drive company performance. The first requirement is to have a carefully structured system of appraisal where individuals do not judge the work performance of others. Different department heads should maintain record and describe in clear, concrete, objective language what occurred--who, what, where, when, and how rather than stating interpretations (Foster). Feelings expressed increases the responsibilities of the HR directors who have to review and correct the evaluations. It can also create motivational, ethical, and legal problems (ANA, 2006). Periodic interviews based on performance documentation would help to examine and discuss the performance while identifying strengths and weakness as well as oppurtunities for improvement and development. Appraisals should not be linked to rewards because this encourages biased appraisals. It also holds back an employee from discussing his weaknesses. To bring uniformity in appraisals, rating scales should be used where each employee is appraised on the same criteria and which allows ratings to be easily compared and contrasted. The rating-scale traits should be standardized so that they are relevant to all departments. It should not contain any traits that are specific to one department. A specific time should be allotted to give ratings so that department heads do not give false ratings under time constraints and other work pressure. They should be made to take the appraisals as a project so that justice is done to the employee. They should be encouraged to give an objective description and if necessary we can train the department heads to write the performance documentation. Human beings have a tendency to see what they want to see in a person and this cannot be eliminated but can be reduced to a great extent. Management by Objectives