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Analysts are still studying whether the two strips of cloth called gap filler that are poking out from the bottom of the orbiter could cause uneven heating during re-entry that may constitute a threat to the craft and crew, the mission's lead flight director, Paul Hill, said in a press briefing this morning. If the analysts decide that the gap fillers do pose a threat, he said, the mission manager may call for a risky spacewalk and repair maneuver in which astronauts try to pull the tough material the rest of the way out, push it in or cut it off. Mr. Hill said a spacewalk repair was not likely but that his engineers and analysts were looking closely at the issue and that he could not rule one out. Gap fillers, as their name implies, fill the gaps that NASA leaves between some shuttle tiles to allow for expansion and contraction of the shuttle's body from the extremes of heat and cold that it is exposed to. The fillers themselves are heat resistant, and are made of alumina-borosilicate fiber. Having gap filler poke its way out up from between tiles is not uncommon, but it could be a concern because it causes an uneven surface and can lead to unusual patterns of heating during re-entry. If a filler pokes out too much, especially if it is far forward on the shuttle so that its downstream heating affects a larger part of the shuttle's belly, it could be a problem, Mr. Hill said. NASA, through a long examination of all previous landings with protruding bits of gap filler, had found a comfort level with protrusions in the same areas that stick out a quarter of an inch, he said. But the two pieces on this flight are one inch and six-tenths of an inch, he said. This shuttle and the space station have been outfitted with more cameras and sensors than ever before, and so they might be detecting something that has happened many times in the past; it is possible that the feltlike material burns down during re-entry, and that longer protrusions have occurred in the past. But one quarter inch is within "our conventional wisdom," Mr. Hill said, and so the little strips of cloth have become an intense focus of aerodynamic analysis, he said. Aerodynamics experts have been studying the size and the position of the two gap filler protrusions, Mr.

Renminbi Our Currency, Is It Your Problem

China’s Renminbi: â€Å"Our currency, Your Problem†? China in the last century has gone through many dramatic changes. 35 years ago there would not even be talk about China’s currency because under Mao ZeDeng all trading with China had to be through the British colony of Hong Kong. Now China has opened up its economy and allowed many companies to privatize. The problem facing China and U. S. relations revolve mostly around two main elements; trade deficit, and currecy.The most important cultural aspect which must always be in the back of one’s mind is that China is still under a communist rule, meaning that the government has more control of businesses and industries then many of the countries which the US handles trades. At the moment, the American government has made it clear that it has concerns about the Chinese government interfering with its currency, specifically undervaluation the . Under a new law that was passed in 2011, if a countrie’s c urrency is determined to be a â€Å"currency manipulator† then the Obama administration can take legal action against China. Chinese officials†¦ threatened a trade war†[1] when they learned that the United States Congress was trying to pass this bill. This is a small example of the tensions between the US and China because of currency. If there were to be a revaluation of the Yuan, which would lead to an appreciation of the currency there will be major effects in China’s business. China is a country where 33% of its GDP (2012) is manufacturing, the highest in the world. [2] Most of their manufacturing comes from foreign companies who move their plants to China to produce goods at a lower cost.This lower cost comes from the exchange rate between these Western countries and China, which favor the developed countries. With China’s currency stronger, these developed countries get less money for their currency, thus making goods more expensive. Consequentl y on the other side, goods produced outside China, like in Germany or the United States would be less expansive then before the revaluation. With the cost of manufacturing increasing, China may lose business with all these foreign companies whose reason for moving manufacturing in China was lower costs.Another problem that China will face with an appreciated Yuan is the effect it will have on the Chinese US treasury bonds. Along with the huge trade deficit, China holds a lot of US treasury bonds, because when China’s market was first opened up, many of the Chinese believed America to always be stable. With the low interest rate and the appreciation of the Yuan, China will not be making as much, if any, off of the bonds. Once more and more Chinese begin to figure that out, less will buy US treasury Bonds.Since China owns a majority of US debt, if China stops buying debt from the US then the US will lose a huge intake of cash flow. [3] With a revaluation of the Yuan, many goods that are made in China will increase in price. This will cause some companies that produce low-cost products, to move their manufacturing to countries that are cheaper to do business with. Meanwhile, with a growing middle class in China, more will be able to afford goods that for example, are made in America, thus, exporting to China will be cheaper.This change in trading may help with the US and China trade deficit; even though there will still be a deficit because of the bonds China holds, it will be more balanced then before. With regards to imports and exports in China, a revaluation should cause the goods from Western countries to be cheaper in China; however, China has a double taxation on luxury items. For brands like Nike, they will not be more expensive, but for brands like Ralph Lauren, Cartier, Channel, their products will be even more expensive because the Chinese government will tax them again more heavily, in order to try to promote their own luxury brands.Since most of these Western countries produce high luxury goods, this is not good news. With a raising upper and middle class, there are more Chinese who can afford these goods, but because of the governments’ double taxation, they are still making these products unaffordable. [4] Japan’s relationships with the western countries will increase if there is a revaluation of the Yuan, but it will hinder the relationship between China and Japan. Japan also manufactures some of its products in China so that it can also produce products at a lower cost.Also, many companies have manufacturing in Japan because it is easier to ship products from China and finish the final product in Japan because it is geographically closer, and therefore cheaper. Japan has also been running a deficit with China since 1995, and China became the number one trading partner in Japan. An appreciation of the Yuan will make goods in Japan more expensive. [5] However, without regards to the appreciating Yuan the new President in China, Xi Jinping, Japan and China relations are to forecasted to become stronger. For some countries, an appreciation of the Yuan is beneficial.For NIE’s and developing countries, they are now beginning to look favorable to western companies that wish to produce goods at a cheaper cost. Countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh will look favorable because manufacturing in these countries will be cheap and their currencies are more favorable to western countries. For workers in China an appreciation in Yuan will be good for the migrant workers who flock to the coastal cities to work at these lower paying jobs. Their money is now worth more and will allow them to buy more products that are not made in China.With an appreciation, more manufacturing will be leaving china, and therefore taking jobs away from China, so an appreciation is a double edged sword for the workers of China. Generally speaking, exports for manufacturing goods will be lower, and Ch ina may start importing from other countries for low cost goods. Imports for goods made in Western countries will increase. Since China has been working on their IT industry, China does have a saving grace. Lenovo is now the number one computer manufacturer in the world. Many businesses in Asia are buying more and more of Chinas software and information technology.The exports for It will increase. All of these assumptions are only taking into consideration for the appreciation of the Yuan. There are other factors that go into cheap manufacturing like purchasing power parity, cost of labor and supply chain. Many other supporting industry companies have gone to China to make it easier to produce goods. If manufacturing were to move to other countries, these other industries and companies would also have to move. There is one other element that is important to consider, that the Yuan is not as undervalued as the US government claims.After joining the WTO, China had to agree to complete ly give up control of the banks by the end of December 11th 2011. With this bank reform, China has less control over manipulating their currency. According to Eswar Prasad at Cornell University, the IMF will have a difficult time creating a strong case the Yuan is undervalued. â€Å"All of the relevant indicators, the currency account and trade surpluses, the pace of reserve accumulation and the exchange rate itself have moved in the direction of suggestion the Yuan is no longer much undervalued,†. 6] There is no doubt that the Yuan is going to continue to appreciate, however it is becoming more and more apparent that the currency is not being as manipulated as it was before. ———————– [1] Favole, Jared A. , and Ian Talley. â€Å"Obama Urges Caution on RMB Bill. † Wall Street Journal [New York] 7-8 Oct. 2011, World Business sec. : 6. Print. [2] â€Å"Investing and Economics Blog. † Manufacturing Output as a Percent of GDP by Country at Curious Cat. Curious Cat, n. d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. [3] Busch, Anton. â€Å"Why Does China Buy U. S. Debt? † EHow.Demand Media, 26 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. Daily, Jing. â€Å"Price Still â€Å"Biggest Obstacle† for Luxery Items in Beijing. † Jing Daily. Jing Daily, 14 Sept. 2010. Web. [4] Xing, YuQing. â€Å"Japan's Unique Economic Relaions with China. † East Asia Policy. Page 56, n. d. http://www. eai. nus. edu. sg/Vol1No1_XingYuqing. pdf [5] Talley, Ian â€Å"IMF to Review Whether Yuan Is Undervalued† Wall Stree-$T—? E ¦Ã‚ §?  ©? IU? u8uy Z x z o ? E 6 F ? †¹ ? ? ? A ? `e{|MZ[_o[pic]-.  «OU0 ±uou? ueuaaaUaUaaUaaUOuOOIEIaIEA a? a?  µ?  µ? t Journal [New York] 30, Jan. 2012, World News: Asia. : 3. Print

A Study On Ecosystem Profile - 1868 Words

Part A: Ecosystem Profile On the 10th and 11th of August, Year 11 Biology students from Trinity Lutheran College went on a fieldwork excursion to monitor the quality of water in the surrounding ecosystems of 3 lakes in the Gold Coast region. Aquatic ecosystems are an integral part of our environment and play an important role in maintaining the quality of water. The quality of water is important in lakes because it doesn’t just protect the health of the public but it also provides ecosystem habitats, contributes to recreation and tourism and is used for fishing, mining and farming. It’s essential to measure the quality frequently so biotic and abiotic features are surviving in a sustainable ecology. If the quality isn’t maintained, not only will the environment suffer but the recreational and commercial value of water resources will also reduce (NSW Environment and Heritage, 2014). Water quality is measured using different tests to investigate the pH, temperature, salinity, suspended solids, light penetration, nitrates and phosphates. pH The pH of water is a measure of its degree of acidity or alkalinity (Biology Textbook). Its scale has a minimum of 0 and maximum of 14. The higher the number the more basic it is, the lower the number, the more acidic it is. A pH of 7 is considered to be neutral. The pH of water determines the biological availability and solubility of chemical components including nutrients and heavy metals (Department of Ecology, n/d).Show MoreRelatedEnvironmental Risk Assessment931 Words   |  4 Pagesthe risk. Reviewing data on sources, stressors, effects, and ecosystem and receptor characteristics helps to develop endpoints and conceptual models that are used to complete an analysis plan (2002). 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We feel our proposed project team, including Hatch, Lura Consulting, I2S, Pet Shop Productions and TeleconRead MoreGenetic Engineering And Forensic Criminal Investigations Through Dna Profiling1122 Words   |  5 Pagesbuilding blocks of life. Every living thing contains Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). The discovery of the DNA structure by James Watson and Francis Crick was a major breakthrough in the study of science. DNA is found in all living organisms and transferred to the offspring of that organism and used in general scientific studies, their discovery of DNA has led to advancements in genetic engineering and forensic criminal investigations through DNA profiling; in contrast, it has also led to the exonerationRead MoreWomen During World War I1202 Words   |  5 Pagesworkforce comprising of equal number of men and women the focus is to ensure the certain high profile jobs are not only dominated by men. Women are not able to show equal statistics in high profile jobs. It is time to take on the next challenge to ensure equality not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality. A root causes analysis of the lack of success of women in high profile jobs, points to some common reasons. One of the prime reasons is the fact that a woman strugglesRead MoreInnovation And Marketing Of Marketing Management Essay1300 Words   |  6 Pageswas conducted in Beijing. The companies we visited were . The objective of this report is to focus on the innovation and challenges faced by Beike, iPinyou, and Nutech to provide possible solutions and suggestions to solve the problems. Purpose of study What is innovation? The Importance of Innovation and creativity in advertising/marketing industry Creative advertising and marketing management is necessary in order to have a complete understanding of how producers and sales companies work effectively