The Teachings of Confucius and Dao Essay Example for Free

The Teachings of Confucius and Dao Essay Confucius stressed that a harmonious society can be created through the practice of Li. Discuss how this is possible by using the Five Relationships concepts. What is the Five Relationships? * In Confucianism, it’s between superior and inferior person. They are ruler – subject, husband – wife, father – son, older brother – younger brother, and elder friend – younger friend. * Each has a formal responsibility to carry out toward the other. The husband has responsibility for li toward his wife as she has an obligation for li toward him. The family is formally structured among males. * Friendships outside the family are ritually governed. * Relationship between ruler and subject entail obligations on each side. * Younger people learn from their elders and the elders learn from observing the junzi. In summary, there are five distinctive qualities or virtues in the junzi. (1) Humans exert their uprightness regardless of outward circumstances. (2) Humans are magnanimous, expressing forgiveness toward others. Humans are not to be ruled by laws but follow an internal principle. (3) Humans are sincere in speech and action and are not a mouthpiece for hire. Their world is their bond. (4) Humans are earnest. They want to be rather than seem to be. Genuine good work replaces the mere appearance of it (5) Humans are benevolent, always generous in their relationship with people. Why Confucius think education is important? * Li present as the principle of harmony that should rule the home, the society and the empire. Li has to do with ritual, the correct formal way to behave in religious rites or in court ceremonies. * Li applied to the naturally good human being yield yi, which is the personalization of Li. * Yi is internalized Li. When humans internalize the rites, selfishness is overcome and benevolence takes its place. They act on what is appropriate to themselves and to their position in society. They attain the mean that gives harmony. * Confucius taught that Li is learned in studying rites and music, which included poetry. Music is required study, as its performance accompanied all ceremonies, whether religious sacrifice, court assembly or family entertainment. Harmony in music reflects harmony in society and the universe. * Ren (jen) is humaneness, the quality of being a genuine human being to other human beings. This quality of human kindness is in balance with Li and Yi – to keep formalism from destroying the highest and best possibilities of human personalities. Ren seeks the good of others as well as the self. * In Confucianism, Shu is reciprocity which means individuals treating others as they would like to be treated. They do not do to others what they would not want done to themselves. Taoism Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) * A later Daoist and he wrote Dao De Jing to distinguish Daoism from Confucianism. * Also known for the philosophical questions he raises regarding the experience of dreaming. Beneath the apparently simple questions lie some profound questions about what is real and how to know what is real. * For example, Chuang Chou (Chuang Tzu) dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly fluttering about, enjoying itself. It did not know that is Chuang Chou. But suddenly, he awake and he did not know whether he was Chuang Chou who had dreamed that he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly dreaming that he was Chuang Chou. Between Chuang Chou and the butterfly, there must be some distinction. That is what is called the transformation of things. According to Daoism, societies suffer when they disregard the Dao. Interpret the statement with you own opinion. In my own opinion, yes, societies suffer when they disregard the Dao. Societies suffers because of disharmony with the nature and universe. * Suffering comes from trying to conquer nature, altering the way of the universe and establishing artificial human organizations. * Artificial needs to develop and value foreign to natural order to entice humans away from the source of their peace and harmony. * Civilization is an enemy of the contented human. Humans| * The best human is natural human. * Humans are essentially good and can enjoy a good life in the world. * They should seek to live as long as long as possible, old age is a sign of wisdom in fulfilling the proper human role. * People should not be forced into educations, rituals, social organization and etiquette. * Humans are best when they were born weak and simple. | Problem| * Their disharmony with the universe. * Suffering comes from trying to conquer nature, altering the way of the universe and establishing artificial human organizations. * Artificial needs to develop and value foreign to natural order to entice humans away from the source of their peace and harmony. * Civilization is an enemy of the contented human. | Solution| * Human solve their problem by returning to a simple life. * Living in harmony with the nature, either in a forest or in a small village, is the best way for a person to resolve tensions and experience peace of body and soul. * A good, long life is the reward of those who learn to go with the flow of the Dao. |

Adaptive Optics Overview

Adaptive Optics Overview Adaptive Optics Adaptive optics is a technological development used for optical system performance improvement. It works by reducing the effect of wavefront distortions. Light from a distant celestial object gets distorted as it passes through earths atmosphere, thus a telescope located on earths surface cannot form accurate images. It would take a telescope placed above Earths surface, such as the Hubble Space telescope, to acquire accurate images or a telescope able to measure the effect and attempt to correct it. Instruments using adaptive optics have been created for this exact purpose to eliminate the incoming distortion in light under the effect of our ever-moving atmosphere. Through adaptive optics, optical systems are able to adapt in order to compensate for the effects imposed by the medium in between an object and its image. This is considered the most revolutionary technical development in the field of Astronomy ever since 1609, when Galileo first used an astronomical telescope. A graphical example of this effect is presented below: Figure 1 When uniform waves of starlight enter Earths atmosphere they get distorted due to the variations in temperature in atmospheric cells. This causes the light to travel slightly faster in less dense and warm air, resulting in a non-uniform refraction. An adaptive optical system works by measuring the distortion of an incoming wave of light and correcting its deformation through deformation of a mirror. These optic systems function at high frequencies of around 1000 Hz, which is too fast to allow deformation of a primary mirror so a secondary mirror is used, along with other optical elements placed in the light path. The main use of adaptive optical systems is in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems. It has other uses as well, such as microscopy and retinal imaging systems, but the primary progress has been developed in telescope technology. To better understand the way adaptive optics work, think of starlight as waves. When these waves reach Earths atmosphere, they are entirely flat, but the turbulence causes them to change shape. The telescope receiving a misshaped wave will return a blurry image. If a telescope with adaptive optics is used, the distorted waves would then reflect off of a deformable mirror which is equipped with hundreds of actuators on its back. These actuators detect the shape of the incoming wave and change the mirrors shape to match that of the wave. The result of this process is an almost entirely accurate image of a flat wave just as it was before entering Earths atmosphere. See figure 2. Figure 2 The system performs wave front sensing and wave front reconstruction, with input from adaptive mirrors. Wavefront Sensing (WFS) WFS provides a signal that is used to estimate the wave front shape. It involves an optical device that is phase- sensitive, along with a highly efficient, low noise detector for photons. The achromatic wave front means that the sensors usually operate within the visible spectrum where the CCD chips and photo diodes have a high quantum efficiency and are virtually noise free. There are mainly three types of WFS that operate in the broadband spectrum with varying sensitivity and dynamic range. They are the curvature WFS, the Shack-Hartmann WFS, and the Pyramid WFS. The Shack-Hartmann WFS is based on producing numerous spots corresponding to the local wavefront through the use of lenslets located across the aperture. The average wavefront slope over the subaperture is determined by observing the position of these spots. The Pyramid WFS is very similar to the Shack-Hartmann WFS when the pyramid is modulated. When the prism is hit on either side by an aberrated ray, it only appears in one pupil. Thus the slope is measured through the distribution of pupil images. The curvature WFS measures intensity distributions in two different planes, corresponding to the wavefronts curvature. The most advantageous part of the curvature WFS is the ease of use. In terms of sensitivity at high spatial frequencies, the curvature WFS performs better than the Shack-Hartmann but has low performance when it comes to low special frequency. Wavefront Reconstruction This helps to calculate a suitable correction vector (consisting of voltages sent to the DM from slopes measured at the WFS) to reconstruct the wavefront. In a closed loop, the WFS operates linearly, therfore the reconstruction of the wavefront can be described as: Dv = s + n Where n is the measurement noise usually assumed to be Gaussian and uncorrelated, D is matrix for the interaction between the wavefront sensing and the deformable mirror These vector matrix calculations are computing intensive, especially because they have to be carried out in microseconds regime. Linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) or Kalman filter can be used to predict the systems state which would be an improvement of wavefront reconstruction and control. Using such a setup, telescope vibrations can be introduced in the state vector and corrected. The only drawback would be the computational complexity which may be overcome by keeping the use of the scheme to a minimum only applying it to certain modes. Deformable Mirrors (DM) The atmosphere distorts the incoming light. The induced optical path differences are corrected by the DM. The mirror surface can be deformed by the movement of many small actuators present beneath the optical surface. The resolution of this deformation depends on the number of actuators, their separation, operation speed, and response time. There are thousands of actuators present in the DM system for large ( There are three primary technologies used to produce adaptive optics deformable mirrors: deformable secondary mirrors (DSM), piezo deformable mirrors and micro-optical-electrical-mechanical systems (MOEMS ). DSM provides adaptive optics correction while keeping up and high transmission and low thermal emissivity. The position of the actuators is handled by an internal control loop. They are normally separated by a few cm and attached to an optical shell. Piezo DMs have a spacing of actuators of several millimeters. Their response time is over a hundred microseconds. Piezo DMs usually require to be controlled by 8 Davies Kasper, an adaptive optics system to provide stable wavefront quality because they do not have local position control. MOEMS use electro-static actuation. They are much smaller than other DMs due to their interactuator spacings of a few hundred microns. Their response time is almost instantaneous, however they require a very large number of actuators, which is currently a technological challenge. Throughout the development of the telescope which started 400 years ago with a small, manual device that later on evolved into a sophisticated, computerized instrument, two parameters have been vital: the diameter of the telescope and the angular resolution. Since the perfect telescope would have the resolution directly proportional to the inverse of the telescopes diameter, the ideal would be to convert incoming wavefronts into a perfectly spherical wavefront, only restricted by the diffraction limit. Adaptive optics were first envisioned by Horace W. Babcock in 1953,[6] but only entered common usage in 1990s, following computer technology development which made it a practical technique. This system was first applied to flood-illumination retinal imaging for the purpose of producing images of single cones in the human eye, in conjunction with scanning laser ophthalmoscopy to produce the first images of retinal microvasculature and associated blood flow and retinal pigment epithelium cells in addition to single cones. In 1995, Lawrence Livermore installed a laser guide star on the 3-meter Shane telescope at the University of Californias Lick Observatory, which later became the first major astronomical telescope consisting of full adaptive optics. There has been massive development in adaptive optics in the field of astronomy following these memorable points in history. However, given that in practice there are still too many errors distorting the wavefront, both due to atmosphere and telescope system, even adaptive optics have limitations. The primary challenges of adaptive optics are: the ability to create an optical system mechanically capable of correcting incoming waves of light and computers ability to keep up with the speed required by the atmosphere. For the first impediment, the telescopes at Mount Wilson Observatory, for example, use two mirrors working together a tip-tilt mirror which provides the correction of incoming light and a second deformable mirror which aims to shape after the distorted wave of light, making it reflect its actual shape as if outside Earths atmosphere. Both the distorted and undistorted images must be known by the system in order to determine the shape of the deformable mirror. There are several methods that can be used for determining the final shape of a point source at the Earths surface. The adaptive optics system at Mount Wilson uses a star near the telescopes target as the source of the distorted wavefront. That is, it looks at a star as seen through the telescope close to the object under study and determines how it has been distorted from its expected appearance. This technique is advantageous because no extra equipment is needed, the light from the source passes through the entire atmosphere and it is located in proximity to the object studied. The downside is that it requires the object being observed to be close to a relatively bright star. Because the isoplanatic patch for the atmosphere is so small, only a small part of the sky could be close enough to a bright star to be observed. There have been attempts to overcome this limitation by using lasers to excite sodium atoms producing an artificial star instead of a guide star. The technique involves projecting a laser beam into the sky close to the object of interest. As long as the lasers light is bright enough, there is no need for a guide stars light. The second challenge is caused by the ever-changing distortions. The deformable mirror must modify quickly to keep up with the incoming light. Since this part of the process must be handled through the use of computers, it requires that the systems be fast enough to analyse the incoming wave of light and transmit the appropriate commands to the mirror many times per second. Thus if the turbulence in the atmosphere is increased, the system will have to worker harder in order to achieve accurate results. Since the first astronomical adaptive optics systems were brought into common use in the early 1990s, a vast number of technical developments have been achieved, numerous ingenious techniques have been created, and it has now come to a point where it is inconceivable to even consider building a large telescope without adaptive optics. Sadly, many of the complex concepts today still exist only on paper or demonstrated on small scale only. Even though many of these innovations have arisen after 2000s, recent years have been mostly dedicated to developing the technology for practical, large scale use of these systems. It seems adaptive optics are fully developed on a theoretical level, but the practical progress is still lacking. It is expected that in the years to come the main areas to be explored and developed will be high-density deformable mirrors with thousands of actuators, high-power sodium lasers and powerful real-time computers with processors exceeding 109 to 1010 operations per second, along with, possibly, fast and low-noise near-IR detectors, since optical detectors with sub-electron read-noise and very high quantum efficiency are already close to perfection. Many recent astronomical discoveries are directly attributed to the new optical observation developments. With the help of Very Large Telescopes, the role of adaptive optics is very important. With this capability, their huge light-gathering along with the ability to resolve small details, has the potential to bring major progress in ground-based astronomy in the new decade. Further in the future, giant optical telescopes such as E-ELT, will rely on advanced adaptive optics systems for virtually all their observations.

Reflective Overview Of The Business Modules Commerce Essay

Reflective Overview Of The Business Modules Commerce Essay After joining the course I gained lot of knowledge from taught modules and various individual assignments which I have written earlier in this module. Rite from the portfolio submissions i gained understanding about concepts behind marketing skills and knowledge which are needed by the managers. Marketing strategy for managers (MKT-4010) modules overall outcomes was unimaginable because it included presentations, Portfolios, Case study and Lectures. In the beginning of the course we were allocated in the groups and provided with a video for group presentation. Our group presentation was about ZSL London zoo, about which, we watched a video in the group and afterwards we discussed about the video and recoded some important points. Later on we did lot of research in internet to gain knowledge about ZSL London zoo. Subsequently we came with certain theories which we can apply in our group presentation. Such as Porters 5 forces, Swot Analysis, Ansoff matrix which we learned in our Lectur es. Then we progressed with our Lectures and we learned about Situation analysis. We had given Nike case study which was non-assessed but we tried to figure out facts from case study and we made a sincere attempt about Market orientation of Nike. Then we learned about Strategic Marketing Process which is situation analysis, Designing marketing strategy, marketing program development, Implementing and managing strategy. After learning situation analysis now i am able to implement in real world industry. I have done my situation analysis of Accenture in my Marketing plan phase 1. The important strategic issues of the company have been studied here. I have learnt Competitive costing competitive advantage in industry along with targeting various demographic factors from our Accenture project. I have also learnt how companies can get into a position where it steadily increases its market share and brand value to compete in the current market. I have learnt a lot about different strategies that different types of companies has to adopt, for instance, Ikea, Slendertone and many more while preparing portfolios. I have also understood the devastating outcomes if the company does not have an expanded presence around the world which could be detrimental for them. This needs to be increased for a better strategic management. This assignment has resulted in my understanding towards the key roles of each and every aspect of strategic plan and implementation from the case studies of various companies from different Industries. I implemented all types of research techniques in my projects that I learnt from my course, and used core text books to collect secondary data. Identifying reliable sources for data collection is vital for any research or project in order to get updated data. These sources can be found from sources on the web, journals, articles and books. Updated collected online or journals are considered as secondary data which is also vital apart from primary data collected from various books. Secondary data can also be collected from companys financial statements and online publications on their official websites. But it is always essential that data collected should be relevant, accurate and interpretable. These data should help one to gain a better knowledge and understanding towards the company and its strategies. I have based all my conclusions of my analysis in projects of strategies on a single case studies but it is un-ethical to use it as a base for all brands. These research on marketing strategies can be used even on a large scale taking different geographical areas of a country where there are many individual companies are operating. This is shown in the assignments on IKEA, Slendertone, Nanophase. These strategy researches might change with context to different countries as a result of change in their internal and external environments as stated in the case studies of IKEA, Slendertone and Nanophase. I learnt about strategic brand management in our guest lecture which will be of great help in my future because branding is an important component of Marketing Mix. Positioning is one of the aspects of the theory that has been applied in all my case studies. It is very important to know how positioning works in strategies. Positioning in Strategic Management these days are referred to as the process through which marketers attempt to create an Brand Image or Identity in the minds of their target market for its products, its organisation and brand. I have understood that it is only a relative competitive comparison their products would occupy in an indented market which is referred as target market. After learning Porters 5 forces, PESTAL, SWOT analysis, Ansoffs matrix and many other theories which are very helpful in designing the corporate strategy in an organisation. Success alone should not be the goal of any company but also being ethical and practicing healthy practices to achieve market success is also important as it is vital for good image about the organisation in the minds of customers and also with its peers. Now I believe completely capable of taking right decisions at right time. Learning outcomes from the module: 1). Developed a deep understanding about issues, roles and activities of strategic marketing within any organisation through exploring theoretical and practical skills and also knowledge to come up with an outstanding strategy for marketing success. 2). It helped me to understand the core concepts, principles and techniques inside the boundaries of strategic marketing. 3). It has helped me develop inter-personnel skills, organizational skills, soft skills, communication skills, confidence as a result of proper knowledge I have managed to acquire from this module. 4). This module has not only given me knowledge, but also has added weight to my qualification in the current competitive market. After learning theories and models now I am able to implement these in my Situation analysis of Accenture. I feel that I am very successful in learning Marketing strategy for Managers from my core module. The Knowledge I have gained from this module would definitely come in handy when I actually enter the market. In over all, I have learnt each and every aspect of marketing and marketing strategies from this module and used it in my reports. This module helped me to get a deep understanding about real situation in market and learnt that even a single right strategy can make tremendous change everything into useful opportunities. Hence, I strongly believe that outcomes of this module have given me an edge to be successful in strategic marketing management in an organisation.

History of Swimming :: essays research papers fc

HISTORY OF SWIMMING Swimming was invented before recorded history. Humans discovered how to swim by accident. A person probably fell into the water and struggled to shore using a dog-paddle stroke. There was an Egyptian hieroglyph for swimming dating from 2500 BC. The ancient Greeks and Romans made swimming an important part of their military training programs. There have been known swimming contests that were organized in Japan as early as the 1st century BC. During the Middle Ages in Europe, swimming declined in popularity. People felt that the water was contaminated and a source of disease. Not everyone feared the water, however, Louis XI reportedly swam daily in the Seine. During the early 19th century, swimming enjoyed a revival, especially in England, Lord Byron swam the Dardanelles river, to prove that the mythological hero Leander could have done it. Organized competitive swimming began in England in the 1840s. In 1844 the British were surprised when two American Indians demonstrated the efficiency of a method of swimming similar to the modern crawl. The British still swam with the head above the water, a holdover from the days when people believed that the water was contaminated. An overhand stroke was introduced into England in 1873 by J. Arthur Trudgen, who had seen South American Indians using this method to swim really fast. When the flutter kick was introduced, the modern "Australian crawl† was born, and this stroke has since become the most common and most important swimming stroke. FITNESS COMPONENTS To swim well u need to know how to coordinate your arms and legs to get you through the water. At first you will probably need to have lessons. Also to swim u need agility and just gravity. Swimming also requires balance and quickness in some cases. Not much is needed to know if you want to swim. Swimming improves heart and lung efficiency, enhances muscle strength and endurance, improves flexibility, and reduces stress. It’s easy on the joints, and uses more muscles than most other forms of exercise. Although swimming burns a great deal of calories, recreational swimmers tend to lose less weight than would be expected from other types of aerobic activity. Scientists say that cold water removes heat from the body, stimulating appetite to keep the body warm. Exposure to cold water may encourage the body to maintain fat stores for insulation. To lose weight by swimming, its necessary to cut down on the calories you eat, and to swim fast enough and long enough. Swimming can burn more than 660 calories an hour when performed correctly and causes less injuries to joints and muscles than aerobics or jogging.

Essay --

In 12 different states, former ex-felons even after serving their term have a large chance on losing their voting rights for good; don’t you think that is too harsh? 19 states give the ex-felons a chance to redeem their rights after their term of incarceration, parole, and probation, while another 19 states give their rights back after their term is up. In this case you can conclude that no matter how large or small the charge, the ex-felon was convicted of that their rights for voting should not simply be given back to them after their term, although the ex-felons should have the right to earn back their legal, vote it should not be that easy. The NAACP is talking to the U.N. to make sure all former convicted felons in the United States can vote. They are currently trying to recommend ways to U.S. authorities on the topic of restoring all citizens’ voting rights. The NAACP states that â€Å"nearly 6 million citizens are barred from voting because of previous felo ny convictions† (Jamey Keaten) and that number is too high. The government officials in charge of the rights of ex-felons need to create a solution to allow majority of the former convicted inmates to vote again under certain circumstances and rules. The rights of ex-felons should be reestablished after their term is complete to a certain extent, maybe a jury of U.S. authorities can vote on a guideline or format regarding the voting rights of these ex-inmates that would fall under being uneducated or unserious, they could follow these rules and if deemed eligible to vote by the council they receive back their voting rights. The other ex-inmates who have committed less severe crimes should be given an opportunity to earn back their vote in all 51 states as well. Just becau... ...re there for a reason and aren’t right-minded. This opinion is very tempting to support, anyone can see where they are coming from when they are explaining why they do not agree on voting rights and that’s because they have a very plausible reason not to. Former ex-felons should be granted the right to vote after their term is up to a certain extent. The U.S. states are split on their point of views of voting rights and the U.S. should have a national law regarding voting rights of former felons. Ex-felons should have to take an IQ test and post a reasonable score and follow mandatory guidelines after they are released from prison to ensure that they are responsible and smart enough to cast a reasonable vote. This rule would benefit the candidates in voting’s, help provide more accurate results, and give the ex-felon a sense of dignity and self-importance.

Engineering Project Management Essay

Typical Practice Estimating time to undertake design and drafting tasks, such as the crafting of blueprints for the construction of wooden furniture (e.g. stool, desk, chest) by an expert and the creation of blueprints for buildings of commercial establishments by an architect, requires the method of estimating labor costs. After all, cost estimates require time estimates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Computing the labor cost (technically called as the direct labor cost in management accounting) proceeds by adding the worker’s base rate and indirect payroll costs, such as government securities and insurance. The result is multiplied with the worker’s labor hours. The product of the operation is the labor cost. If labor cost is known and the estimated labor hour is unknown, the manager only has to work around the equation to obtain the estimated time of performing the task. This is the easiest method for the manager, and also the most unreliable because it relies on past data of labor costs. It relies on past data of labor costs because an empirical method is needed, which this method does not include. In such a case, this method is just mere ‘speculation’. It is not an ‘estimation’ in the proper sense of the term because there are no trials and errors done to gather data. From this, there is also a differentiation between ‘past data’ and ‘empirical data’. Past data are also empirical data, but they are gathered in the past, therefore acquiring a less accurate information. Empirical data, after all, require certain use of tools to be obtained. Also, it is unreliable because if the company is new, it cannot use this method—there is no recorded information regarding past operations. Only a long-existing company can benefit from this method of estimating labor hours.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One problem in estimating the time and cost in performing design and drafting jobs is that managers can only speculate about the amount of time required by a specific job. For instance, the manager of a firm that designs and produces musical instruments can not know exactly how long in a day can a staff of twenty finishes a certain number of musical instruments. Time is a variable that depends on the quality and quantity of tools, materials, equipment, and workers assigned in performing tasks. In the example of designing musical instruments, the manager should know how long each instrument is designed in its entirety by a specific worker. It would help to get an average rate for this. Afterwards, the average rate will be multiplied to the number of instruments to be designed. If one stops here, this is an incomplete method of computing labor time. The manager should get the time it took the labor to prepare for the task, and how long it took him to bring the musical instrument to the corresponding collectors of the aforementioned products in the management system. Then, the sum is multiplied with the distance of the labor from the shop or wherever he is taking the musical instruments. The resulting product is then added to the product of the average rate and the number of instruments to be designed. Another method in estimating the labor time is by taking the average hours of preceding homogenous tasks. In creating a musical instrument, the manager gets the time it took for a worker to complete one instrument. He then obtains data from the proceeding tasks. By getting the average of the values, we obtain the average hours. Variability and Contingencies The accuracy of the first method is low. First, there is a huge possibility of error in relying past data or performance. A company that designs cars ought to measure the time and cost of labor through direct empirical methods, such as obtaining the rates by which workers accomplish their jobs. However, this method depends on the accuracy of historical data. If historical data are inaccurate, there is a 100% tendency that the result of using this method will produce inaccuracies. This is not recommended for companies because it is not an engineering standard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second method is more empirical and far more accurate than the first method. Considering the computation of the average rate, one can not be sure of the precision of this statistical tool. Using the mean, median or mode as a way to produce data for the estimation of the time and cost of labor is inefficient. It is recommended that a variance analysis be conducted so that deviations will be taken into consideration. After all, workers are not robots. They have higher levels of inefficiency and inconsistency of output. A worker has fluctuating labor rates. The time he finishes a job fluctuates in hours or minutes, thereby changing the amount of labor cost. Using the variance analysis as a statistical method in obtaining work rates is more efficient. When this is done, it makes the second estimation method more accurate because deviant cases, or changes in time and labor costs, are taken into consideration. The variance analysis can also be applied on the third method, which also relies on using the mean, median or mode. Since averages are less reliable than doing a variance analysis, the third method can be inaccurate. More statistical methods are needed. Monitoring and Updating As the design and drafting tasks proceed, the practices used to update estimates are the following: regular, intermittent, and periodical recording of average rates in designing and drafting jobs. The practice of having a regular recording system, which requires inputs for every day of labor, is the most accurate but also the most costly. Therefore, it is far from inefficient. Only a huge company can take advantage of this, if there is a high risk involved in not monitoring the time and cost of labor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An intermittent recording practice entails intermediate accuracy and cost. This requires inputs every week, month or quarter of the year, depending on the needs of the company to monitor the progress of the fluctuations in time and cost of labor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A periodical recording practice is the least costly, but has the risk of being inaccurate because it does not measure everything. It only measures the fluctuations in time and cost of labor between points in time, and not within a span of time. References: Baskette, C. (2006). Avoided cost estimation and post-reform funding allocation for California’s energy efficiency programs. Electricity Market Reform and Deregulation, 31, 1084-1099. Farsi, Mehdi. (2006). Cost efficiency in the Swiss gas distribution sector. Energy Economics, 28, 1050-1062. ASSIGNMENT 2 (Y) Basis for Project Methodology The specific method chosen for a certain project is based on the inherent characteristics of that project. There are as many methods as there are kinds of projects. The basis for choosing a method depends on the variables that differentiate one project from another, like the level of complexity involved in the activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The following is the list of factors that may be the basis of project methodology: Project area Level of complexity Type of communication used   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the many considerations in project methodology decision-making is the project area. Is the project small, medium, or large? Even this question requires some thinking, since the size of a project is arbitrary. It depends on the sizes of other projects the manager or company considers as points of comparison. The area of the project may mean the geographical area concerned. For instance, an electric company that aims to build a network of electric facilities may be one kilometer by 500 meters. Judging whether this is small, medium, or large varies from one project to another. There may have been other similar projects built, requiring only two or three hectares of land. In such cases, this project may be considered large in area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The area can also be seen in terms of influence. In the example of an electric company building a network of electric facilities, the area may mean the number of households it would serve. Again, judging whether a number of ten-thousand households is small, medium or large depends on other similar projects made.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another basis is the level of complexity involved in the project. Complexity can be measured by how many interactions among units are required to accomplish a task, and judging the data whether the project system is simple or complex. In the above example, measuring the complexity of building a network of electric facilities may require determining the organization of managers and workers that are involved in the project. Some organizations interact according to hierarchy. These kinds of organizations tend to be simple because there are defined ways on how the units interact among one another. Some, which are more complex, require units to interact in different ways. To put it concretely, let us say that the electric company assigns the maintenance department to be always under the engineering department, which means that the staff would only take commands from the latter. This is a simple scenario. A complex scenario would be when the company assigns the maintenance department to communicate with the other divisions of the company in accomplishing its own task. The connection between complexity and method is that the complexity determines the method. After knowing a project’s level of complexity, the method may then be configured depending on this information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third basis is communication. What is the message of the project? What are the kinds of media used? For whom is the message? These are significant things to take in mind when characterizing what sort of communication exists in an activity. Is the electric company making use of an intranet, which simplifies complex interactions? What tools are used for one division to communicate with another? Are telephones preferred over online chatting between departments?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also significant to determine the contexts in which communication occurs. Is it one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many? Determining this also affects the level of complexity of the project. A one-to-one communication is simple but slow and inefficient. A one-to-many communication is fast and efficient, but the message reception loses quality. Many-to-many communication is fast and complex, thereby increasing the level of complexity in the project. Decisions regarding matters on communication are only part of choosing what methodology to use. Criteria for Best Project Methodology In order to illustrate how one method is better than another given a specific project, let us take the following popular methods in project management: Waterfall Development, Rational Unified Process, and Extreme Programming (Asrilhant, 2005). These are the best methods in project management because they generally are flexible to different factors, like budget and project size. They compliment each other. One strategy’s weakness is another’s strength.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the project has high budget, one may say that the Waterfall Development is the best method for it. That is because this method requires little or zero corrections in inputs. This is possible because the planning function of the management is more crucial. A low budget means a high risk to undertake the project. Therefore, quality planning is indispensable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For instance, if the electric company funds a 5-hectare electric network facility 30% lower than similar projects, the management has to undertake Waterfall Development. This means the planning function is geared on decreasing costs. There will be much labor required on the part of engineers and analysts to increase the level of certainty in inputs. The company cannot afford to do experimentations and much testing. High technical proficiency is required.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the project entails intermediate risk, and there is an intermediate number of staff who would man it, then the Rational Unified Process may be used as the best methodology. This is because risk management is balanced with a medium amount of budget or allowance for failure in inputs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the electric company funds a 10-hectare electric network facility 2% lower than similar projects, the management may afford to increase the costs of testing and experimenting with inputs to produce outputs in electric services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, if there is a need for regular testing and experimentation of inputs, and corrections in testing failures, then the Extreme Programming may be undertaken as the best methodology. Budget given here is high, and the risks are lower. The population of staff is also considerably higher than the two other methodologies. Here, the management can afford to run the risk of losing resources, albeit with prudence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determining which method is best for a project requires measuring the amount of risks associated with the project, the budget allocated for the activity, the number of participants in the staff, and the affordability of the project to receive failing outputs. References: Asrilhant, Boris. (2005). On the strategic project management process in the UK indutrial sector. Omega, 35, 89-103. ASSIGNMENT 3 Alternative Classification   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rationale of having a new project classification is to respond against the inefficiencies of the older classifications. The project method concerns itself much on the processes and ways on how tasks are carried out in the activity. However, it is too formalistic and technical. It is formalistic because it is focused on empirical observations. It is too technical because it does not leave room for speculation and theorizing. There is a huge chance that it will lose sight of the project’s objectives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The project end-product, being goal-oriented, is weak on the part of specific matters. It may lose sight on technical issues such as the method of computation to use in estimating labor costs. If a firm that manufactures cars undertake an activity in which the project is classified as belonging under the project end-product, the managers will fall short on practicality. Important details are missed, like the choosing of a certain metal as a material in making automobiles. There may be one end-product but there are many methods in which inputs can be processed into outputs. These methods determine the level of costs associated with the production. If a company is too concerned about output, it loses sight on the possibility of gaining productivity by merely choosing the method. This is to say that a new classification is needed—a new classification that would account for the weaknesses of project methodology and project end-product. Since the two classifications do not take into consideration certain factors of production and labor, which are important determinants of the success of a project, a new chosen classification is labeling projects according to the types of constraints. The traditional constrains in a project are the following: Time Cost Production Labor These variables define the shape or form of the project. Changing one variable changes the whole project in its entirety. To illustrate, assume that an automobile manufacturing company undertakes a project of creating fifty units of luxury cars. The time constraint associated with the project makes it different from all the other projects with similar methods and end-products. For instance, this project is similar to five other projects whose goals are also to create fifty units of luxury cars. The only hypothetical difference is the amount of days required to accomplish it. This is to say that a project is different from another when there is a significant time interval between the required time to accomplish one project and the required time to accomplish another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, it is too trivial if the manager only relies on the time constraint. Costs are also important contributors of project type determination. The amount of money allotted for a budget determines the influence of the project on the area it is being undertaken, and on the unit is serving. This is an indispensable category because the cost also gives way to knowing the area and quality of the project.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the car company gives a budget to a car-manufacturing project which is 50% lower than that of another project with similar end-product, then the two projects are different because the former is constrained in using resources. It must tap the planning function of the management at its best, because it cannot afford high risks and high expenses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Production is a consequence of the cost constraint. The number of cars to be produced by the company depends on the allotted budget in producing these cars. Consequently, this is also related to labor in the sense that, if the budget is low and the production is high, then the labor must be intensive. It is empirically impossible to increase labor if the budget remains the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In short, projects can be classified according to the variability of their traditional constraints. They be classified as the following: Long-term undertaking, high-budgeted, labor intensive. Mid-term undertaking, with intermediate budget, intermediate production, and medium labor intensiveness. Short-term undertaking, low-budgeted, small production, and low concentration in labor. This is not to say that there are only three ways to classify projects. There are different permutations of classifying them because a project can be both long-term and low-budgeted, short-term and high-budgeted, and the like. There are twenty-seven combinations possible for the project manager. It is helpful for the project manager because there are varied choices to be undertaken with this typology. Enhancement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This classification gives an enhanced understanding of project management because the inefficiencies of project end-product and project method are revealed and solved. The old classification system is poor because there are only small categories where projects fall under. In logic, the lesser concepts there are to stand for heterogeneous things, the more abstract the ideas become. By taking into consideration the traditional constraints of a project, and basing from it to form a new project classification, one achieves a more concrete and detailed description of the different projects that are to be executed. Project classification, through this kind of classification, becomes more useful not only as a mere science of classification. It also helps management keep an improved system of managing the projects, thereby increasing productivity and output quality. This project classification also enhances the understanding on the content of projects. Project method concerns itself with the processed item but not the one being processed. Project end-product concerns itself with the output but not the materials or inputs that led to its creation. This classification gives a new lens through which projects are seen by the manager. References: Project management. Retrieved September 4, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management#Project_systems

Jose Rizal Essay

I. Introduction Jose rizal and andress bonifacio, ever heard of those name? what about their contribution and sacrifices for you as a Filipino? have you heard/know something about it? two people with the same desire and love for the country but has different beliefs and ways on acquiring their wants. Two people who came from the past and lived a greatest mark on the history of our nation, a men who awaken the desire of every indios in acquiring the freedom that was taken away from them for almost 300 years. Jose rizal was known from being the national hero of the Philippines. Who wouldn’t know about him? He was in every history book of phil. Same as bonifacio. They both sacrifice their lives to prove how much they love their country and for their desire to see the Philippines as a country having its own freedom and sovereignity. This research paper will tackle the nationalistic movement of jose rizal and andress abonifacio. II. Jose Rizal and his Nationalistic Movement Jose Rizal felt so guilty in Spaniards of being harsh and abusing Filipino people. Rizal form a organization called propaganda movement. The Propaganda Movement was a literary and cultural organization formed in 1872 by Jose Rizal. The aim of the propaganda movement was a peaceful assimilation, referring to the transition of the Philippines from being a colony to a province of Spain. These reforms were as follows: equality of the Filipinos and Spaniards before the laws; restoration of the Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes; secularization of the Philippine parishes and the  expulsion of the friars, and human rights for Filipinos, such as freedom of speech. Freedom of the press and freedom to meet and petition for redress of grievances. Those who join this peaceful campaign were the Filipino exiles of 1872, the patriots who left the islands to escape persecution, and those who had been to Spain for their studies. Another Movent of Jose Rizal is The La Liga Filipina. social background is illumined and concretely defined by individual acts of intervention, such as Rizal’s novels, without which society and the physical world remain indifferent. We need this dialectical approach to comprehend in a more all-encompassing way Rizal’s vexed and vexing situation, together with his painstakingly calculated responses—all cunning ruses of Reason in history (for Hegel). Such ruses actually register the contradictions of social forces in real life, reflected in the crises of lives in each generation. The substantial biographies of Rizal–from Austin Craig to Rafael Palma, Leon Maria Guerrero to Austin Coates–all attempted to triangulate the ideas of the hero with his varying positions in his family, in the circle of his friends and colleagues in Europe, and in relation to the colonial Establishment. Their main concern is to find out the origin of the hero’s thoughts and their impact on the local environment. But the twin errors of contemplative objectivism and individualist bias persisted in vitiating their accounts. They ignored the historical-materialist axiom that the changing of circumstances and of personal sensibility/minds, as Marx advised, â€Å"can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionary practice†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is, sensuous collective praxis in material life. In Palma’s biography, for example, the novelty of Rizal’s project of the Liga Filipina became simply â€Å"a means to defray the expenses of the colonization of Borneo† (1949, 202; see Zaide and Zaide 1984). In reality, the Liga is the chief emblematic index of that transformative praxis fusing personal experience and objective circumstances. It is the crucible marking the failure of La Solidaridad reformism and the transition to the stage of popular mobilization mediated by the rising organic intellectuals of the dispossessed, in particular Andres Bonifacio, Jacinto, and others. Rizal’s radicalizing agenda was already distilled in his bold testimony of communicative action, the eloquent â€Å"Letter to the Women of Malolos†(more later), and articulated in the two letters dated June 20, 1892, letters whose resonance andvalue can  perhaps be compared only to St. Paul’s epistles to the early converts of the faith. By all accounts, the formation of the Liga is the key event marking Rizal’s leap from intellectual gradualism to collective separatism. Before his exile to Dapitan in 1892, Rizal met with members of the Masonic Balagtas Lodge in the home of Doroteo Onjungco, including Ambrosio Salvador, Timoteo Paez, Pedro Serrano, Domingo Franco, and, last but not least, Andres Bonifacio, who was then not distinguishable from the crowd of about thirty individuals. After Governor Despujol decreed Rizal’s banishment, the Liga members met secretly in the Azcarraga apartment of Deodato Arellano, among them Andres Bonifacio and Gregorio Del Pilar, who later died fighting American troops pursuing the fleeing Aguinaldo headed for Palanan (Palma 1949, 225). That historic gathering of seven persons signaled the launching of the Katipunan, The organization of â€Å"sons of the people† committed to overthrowing Spanish colonial tyranny. References: http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/philippines/philippines20.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Movement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_nationalism