Thursday, October 31, 2019

Construction assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Construction - Assignment Example In order to implement a given responsibility, relationships need to be established in partnering. Type of relationship depend on the type of partnering, for example in the joint venture contract between a contractor, and a design firm is a one-off type of relationship since it does not last. A single firm with both the design and construction capability is a long-time relationship type since the parties involve are employed full time and permanent. When the agreement is successful, then the flow of work is always continuous, for example, a contractor will undertake all the work awarded to him. The contractor will then get a written approval from the Engineer-in-charge or the supervisor. The contractor will then plan its operation. If the supervisor realize that there is a risk factor involve, the supervisor has the right to stop the work. An inspector always ensures that the construction meet the quality level required, but they do not have the authority to get a contractor to give the owner of the highest quality material. If the engineer or the owner dispute the work being performed by a subcontractor, then the owner should attempt to resolve the issue with the main contractor first before embarking on the administration. CQC is the contractor Quality control. The purpose and function of the CQC are to assure that the completed project meets the quality requirement. The representative also has the duty of guiding the contrac tor by preparing a plan. However, the Corps ad engineer provides guidance to Corps in performing effective CQM. In order to manage construction firm but fair policy need to be implemented. Firm but fair policy is a type of policy where both or all parties involve are considered to stick to the laid down policy. An inspector always ensures that the construction work is done according to the laid down codes. They are responsible for; pointing

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Theories Of Perception Essay Example for Free

Theories Of Perception Essay How the mind works during perception have been one of the mysteries of the mind. Cognitive psychology is involved in the investigation and the understanding of behaviors that is caused by cognitive functioning. If developmental psychology had to deal with the nature-nurture debate, the theories of perception are generally conceived either as a bottom-up approach or the top-down approach. The bottom-up approach says that perception visual stimuli is dependent on the characteristics of the stimuli, if the stimuli has the right color, shape, intensity and background, then the mind would readily perceive the stimuli (Noà «, 2004). On the other hand, the top-down approach says that perception is influenced by previous experience and learning, wherein perception is dependent on what the mind have previously known and conceived about the stimuli (Noà «, 2004). Thus, the mind has a sort of schema that guides the mind in identifying the stimuli presented to him/her. It is also interesting to note that perception as with everything else is shaped by the social and cultural context in which it occurs. In a conservative culture, same sex marriages may be perceived as immoral and abnormal, but to cultures who have endorsed homosexuality do not perceive it as such. In another example, a Catholic whenever he sees a cross or a church would surely make the sign on the cross while a Protestant or a Baptist would not. In order to illustrate the difference between the two approaches to perception the following examples are provided. Bottom-up The ability to appreciate an abstract painting is an example of the bottom-up approach. The individual viewing the painting do not have any idea what the painting is and what it depicts. The mind then processes the painting in terms of the different color gradients, shapes, spatial characteristics and then tries to present a coherent whole that the mind can understand (Marr, 1982). Thus, an abstract painting can be interpreted in different ways since the viewer may manipulate the different strokes, colors and lines to form an object or a figure that is pleasing to the eye. However, our perception of what the abstract painting represents can be affected by the cultural orientation of the perceiver. A person coming from a very structured environment may find the abstract painting worthless as he cannot understand it for it lacked structure, while a person who is very open-minded may find the painting a challenge since it makes him think. Top-down The famous expression â€Å"looking for a needle in a haystack† is an example of the top-down approach. The expression is meant to convey difficulty in finding a specific object or person, but when we look at it cognitively, it is not that difficult. The person who must find the needle already have a concept of what the needle looks like, it is thin, shiny and has a sharp edge (Gregory, 1990). This information could have been formed during previous encounters with a needle, thus the task becomes easier because the person has to focus only on one thing, and that is the needle. He/she may eliminate the hay straws since they do not look like a needle. However, it would have been a different scenario if the person tasked with finding the needle has not had any experience with a needle, an example is Sleeping Beauty. Due to the banishment of the spindle in her kingdom, she did not know what it looked like and hence she got pricked by one and was placed on a spell. Similarly, culture shock may also be caused by the lack of prior experience or knowledge of what the new culture will be like, hence the individual is overwhelmed with the new stimulus. Bottom-up and Top-down The perceptual process involved in the perception of an object embedded in the background includes the bottom-up and top-down approach. The person directed to find   the objects hidden in the picture will first look at the picture and then analyze its characteristics and what it represents then he/she will look for the shapes, lines or a shift in color or depth (bottom-up) to determine where the hidden objects might be found. When the person has found the hidden object and identifies what it is, he/she then proceeds to look for the other objects guided by the knowledge of what the object would be (top-down). If the hidden object is as universal as a face, then identifying it would not be difficult, but if it were an obscure figure like a zodiac sign, then only those who have had prior knowledge of zodiacs would be able to find the hidden object. References    Gregory, R. L. (1990). How do we interpret images? In H. Barlow C. Blakemore M. Weston-Smith (Eds.), Images and Understanding, Thoughts About Images, Ideas About Understanding (pp. 310-330). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Marr, D. (1982).  Ã‚  Vision.  Ã‚   New York:  W. H. Freeman and Sons. Noà «, A. (2004).   Action in Perception, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Debate on Free Will Vs Determinism

Debate on Free Will Vs Determinism The debate over free will and determinism has been going on for centuries from the time of great thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and Isaac Newton and therefore these debates have been the part of political and economic theories. Centuries back, majority adopted the notion of determinism and destiny which never allowed individuals to think out of the box. It restricted the individuals then to their resources and their philosophy permitted them to want for more. If it was not for free will then a person born disabled would give up all the hopes in life and would not find cure to make his life better, populations would accept oppression and ignore the fact of a revolution. Along with this, law and justice could not be enforced as the judgements would be made on destiny. Although determination is deeply rooted from centuries asit dictates the life of disabled people like Tatyana McFadden and luck plays its part as it did for Justin Bieber, however free will is the ideology of modern world be cause it has given birth to the concept of accountability, struggle, hard work, courage, planning, and therefore effecting norms of social responsibility and renaissance. Free will is making decisions based on desires and then being accountable for the fact that whether it is a bad or good decision. The theory of free will suggests that the individual makes decisions according to his preferences and is responsible for it, i.e. the individual is rational and is not bounded by any external factors and what he chooses is best for him. Doctor Herald Shipman portrays this theory as he first chose to be a doctor and then later used his profession to be a murderer. After witnessing his mother’s sufferings from lung cancer Shipman motivated himself to be a doctor. After graduating as a doctor in 1970, Shipman changed his priorities and chose to kill his patients. He was sent to a rehab when it was found that he is addicted to a painkiller which he used to obtain from his patient’s prescriptions and suffered constant blackouts due to it. However, after two years he was declared fit and got his license reissued. After getting a second chance Shipm an never changed his priorities and ended up killing 250 of his patients intentionally. When proven guilty, Shipman was jailed where he chose to commit suicide. Hence individuals like Shipman chose what they seek are best for them and are held completely responsible for it. Along with this free will has its cons too and it can lead an individual to ignore all the limits and end up in bad acts. It all depends on the personal responsible that how he treats it. Free will can be devastating for a person as in the case of Malcolm X who indulged in larceny, drugs and prostitution before he found the purpose of his life. Malcolm X had a turbulent early life, his house was burnt down. His father died when Malcolm was six years old and his mother suffered emotional breakdown and was sent to rehab. Malcolm had to live in an orphanage for few years. Later he got to know gangsters, thieves, pimps and drug dealers. He ended up being a drug addict and adopted burglary as means of earning; some biographies even say that sometimes he had sex with other men to earn money. He was arrested for burglary at the age of twenty and was imprisoned for seven years. Malcolm X is a great example of free will in itself however he chose activities which disintegrated his life. Furthermore free will impacts the decision making power of an individual as it governs one’s aptitude to struggle, recognize their abilities and ponder over how to make use of them. It empowers one to motivate them and not give up in life. For example Oprah Winfrey had to face harsh realities very early in her life but she never thought of giving up and ended up being an inspirational figure for women all over the world. Winfrey suffered from sexual harassment in her childhood and all the tensions forced her to run from her house in her teen age. However she chose a better life for herself and with her free will and spirit she made decisions which helped her improving her life. Her willpower can be seen from the fact that after such a disappointing childhood Oprah never gave up and sought way in education; winning scholarship at a university. She recognized her abilities as a motivational speaker and joined a radio station at the age of seventeen and later she hosted The Oprah Winfrey show and became the voice of thousands of people. This reflects that her passion and commitment with her work and will to not give up made her one of the most influential personalities in the world. On the contrary, the concept of predestined has a major part as some characteristics are determined by birth and they structure one’s future, i.e. whether that individual gives up or fight hard against the odds. Tatyana McFadden is a great example of the later as she was born with a paralyzed lower part of body but still ended up being gold medallist in Paralympics. When her mother got to know of her daughter’s disability she abandoned her and McFadden lived in an orphanage for six years. McFadden however was optimistic and had to walk on her hands because she was not able to afford a wheelchair. She never got discouraged by her illness and after her adoption she took part in many sports like gymnastics and wheelchair basketball. At the age of eight she won two medals in Athens and since then McFadden hasn’t looked back and went on going to win sixteen medals, including nine gold medals in her career. Hence it can be implicated that free will is the answer to hur dles set by what is determined at the start of one’s life and how that individual wants to go along the life. Along with this destiny determines success for some and over shadow the free will, the very pattern worked for Justin Bieber as his career began through cyber fame. Destiny determined Justin Bieber to be where he is today, it casted away his free will. Bieber’s career started when he uploaded his music videos on You Tube to show his friends and family. He was lucky when Ushers agency contacted him and signed him up for Hollywood. It’s destiny that can change people’s lives in seconds and can ruin it at the same time. There are so many talented people who upload videos on You Tube but all do not have the luck to be famous. Free will does not only direct the life of an individual but thrives the success of many great nations and teams. From all the success stories of independence, fights, revolutions and renaissance it can be seen that it is the will of the people constituting that notion and uniting themselves to bring success. Manchester United is a living model of such teams who combat what is determined for them. On the sixth of February 1958, United’s squad was returning to The UK when their plane crashed at Munich Airport after it was refuelled and out of forty four passengers, twenty one died instantly and many of the team members died later. Nonetheless, United never gave up and the depleted team went on Semi Finals of the European cup the same year. The staff and players together supported each other and were eager to regain their status as champions. This willingness to succeed and not to give up resulted in United becoming the English Champions nineteen times and the European Champions thrice since then. This verifies that free will can lead to hard work and can overturn the routes laid by what is predestined and of that what is to come in future. Free will and determinism are two concepts which are very much different from each other but also related at the same time. Stephen Hawking, an active member at Cambridge University is quoted as saying â€Å"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.† Apart from this, success stories of Winfrey, McFadden and Manchester United reflect how individuals are masters of their own ships and they never let the circumstances, determinism or destiny take over them. These people choose their own destiny and outcomes. It is true that determinism exists but if the concept of free will is eliminated then the models of social responsibility, accountability, law and justice, morality, hard work and planning will all fail and life will have no meaning. Therefore it can be concluded that free will navigates the life of individuals as it allows them to tress pass determinism.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers

Procrastination Procrastination is the act or habits of putting things off till the end out of laziness. Almost every student knows this dreaded word. They know if it becomes a habit, disaster happens with a sharp decline in school grades. But what they don’t realize is that procrastinating can actually benefit you in school. It can make you work harder, faster, and more efficiently on school assignments. Even life skills in the real world can be created from procrastinating. Procrastination can actually help you work harder, faster, and more efficiently. It sounds like an impossible thing, however if you’re like me or any other person that wants a fairly good mark on the next assignment, procrastinating can help you. While your friends are working hard on it, go play, and do the thing... Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers Procrastination Procrastination is the act or habits of putting things off till the end out of laziness. Almost every student knows this dreaded word. They know if it becomes a habit, disaster happens with a sharp decline in school grades. But what they don’t realize is that procrastinating can actually benefit you in school. It can make you work harder, faster, and more efficiently on school assignments. Even life skills in the real world can be created from procrastinating. Procrastination can actually help you work harder, faster, and more efficiently. It sounds like an impossible thing, however if you’re like me or any other person that wants a fairly good mark on the next assignment, procrastinating can help you. While your friends are working hard on it, go play, and do the thing...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Advertisement In Media Right or Wrong ?

We all are living in the era of commercialism, modernization and sophistication. Where we don’t care of even ourselves in ethical means or as a human being. In our daily life we come across with a lot of events and incidents which put an important impact in our daily life. Here advertisement of different things plays a key role in our life. When talking about advertisement in media, it has both Positive impact as well as stigmatic effects on our lives, which means that up to some extent Advertisement in media is acceptable for our minds; otherwise it is not less than a curse. Lets have a glance in our life in previous times. Yes we were passing through a very simple but pure and meaningful life which was free from advertisements and commercialism. When talking about our society, people were living a balanced life. Our ancestors had given time to each other to establish a mature society. While we talk about the negative impacts of advertisement in news papers, TV or magazines we generally face these type of effects in our Quality of life, like demoralization of our Social as well as ethical values. We have often heard that it is an international rule that every advertisement in media, TV, or magazine must have to pass the Code of Conduct before publishing. In code of conduct there includes various prohibitions, for example use of kids as a a target audience in advertisement is strictly restricted but the situation is reverse in every cultural society apart from Pakistan. Similarly abuse material should not be advertised e. g. Cigarettes advertisement etc We have talked about the demoralization of Social values in our society by advertisement; like for example when we travel through the metropolitan streets we see a lot of Billboards having the display of different products of different types. In these billboards most of companies, advertising their products have displayed ladies to attract the people toward them. Just think as a Muslim, whether it is good or bad? Because Islam has given very respectful status to women. But instead of advocating that status is it right to hang the picture of a lady on billboards? Obviously not . So continue to talk about the negative impacts of advertisement in our society. Now a days advertisement in either media or in Newspaper, and magazines have become more glamour oriented. These glamour oriented advertisements. It is there fore said that Advertisement in an exaggerated way has created a destructive effect in our attitudes, habits and mindsets. For example in our society like Pakistan here more than 7o% people run after his bread and butter of life. Glamour in advertisement or exaggeration in advertisement creates greediness among people. Because one thing is very simple and clear that ‘’EVERY ONE FIGHTS FOR THE THING, HE DOES NOT HAVE’’ Said by Hitler. Most of the time the products that are advertised on sign boards or TV, media and magazines are costly. That’s why people want to get those things by hook or by crook. As we see that glamour in advertisement of different products attracts people of society. In other words it creates feelings of Self deprivation among people which consequently boost up the crime rate in our society so we can say that glamour in advertising create a negative role in our lower middle class and in lower Class people. Similarly we live in Pakistan where like every cultural society in the world , a layman is unable to get the basic necessities of life, so when we see the different companies advertising their products in a quite aggressive fashion, these companies spend lot of money on it. But the simple thing is that if these companies spend money on advertising in a moderate way, then they people can save a lot of money and can improve the quality of life of poor people . We should not ignore the positive effects of advertising as well. While talking about the positive impacts of advertising. We can say advertising is a gateway of information of new things, products, services and awareness. In the recent technological era there is introduction of various new things including electronics, household appliances, pharmaceutical products and etc. So awareness regarding these things are very much needed at public level. In this regard Advertisement has played a vital role to upgrade the life of human beings in our society. Advertisement in TV. Newspaper and in Magazines etc has improved the taste of slice of life of people in a positive way as well. When we talk about the health segment of society we shall come to know that by spreading awareness about different topics or diseases, our people have improved their way of living as well as their health. In this regard we if focus diabetes, we will conclude that a decade ago diabetes in our society considered to be a deadly disease but know of course advertisement in media an at public level has totally change the old concept of diabetes. Similar is the case with other awareness programs of health as well. Advertisement is a very ready and sophisticated source to spread the information. I think that if advertisement is in moderate way and if it is not like that of today, the automatically we can balance our society and regain the loosed rapport among ourselves and each other.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Political commentator Essay

Inspector Goole is an ingenious character; manipulated by Priestley to display many functions within the play, as he is used as a political commentator, universal inquisitor and truth seeker. -Many people view Inspector Goole as a representative for political and moral value, but overall, he is just a mere dramatic device, used for the purpose of delivering Priestley’s opinion across to the audience, in the context of a domestic backdrop. The audience becomes first aquatinted with the character of Inspector Goole, when he enters the play at the beginning of Act One. -During this arrival, the Inspector interrupts Mr. Birling in midst of his pro-capitalist speech, thus disrupting the pretentious calm of middle-class luxury displayed before. -Mr. Birling, who represents the Capitalist opinion in full, speaks extremely arrogantly, as he believes that all knowledge and experience is held within his grasp:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve learnt in a good hard school of experience – that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mr Birling, act one). -Through this, Mr Birling shows that he is a Capitalist, and is one who feels that he has to take many risks to keep hold of his aesthetic power in status and money. He uses the speech to reveal all of his secrets and predictions around living life to the full, and in mid-flight of this, is rudely interrupted by the doorbell ringing. This doorbell acts as a dramatic device and medium for Inspector Goole’s entrance. – It’s shrewd disturbance, possibly acting as a symbol for his disagreement in ethics, but also, the lack of respect for Mr Birling’s Capitalist beliefs. Mr Birling is immediately phased by this impertinence, as just the Inspector’s presence stops him from carrying on. The audience knows at this point that Birling isn’t the great ‘power figure’ that he made himself out to be and in fact, someone far greater has taken his dominating role for good. – The Inspector is now ‘number one’. At first, the other characters are completely unaware of the Inspector’s purpose within the play, as though they don’t realise there is something to hide from. However, this arrogance and disregard for others is soon transformed, as they become conscious of the brutal truth of what they have done. Sheila and Eric become vividly changed, whereas the somewhat stubborn Mr and Mrs Birling remain seemingly callous within their original Capitalist views: – but even with their supposed ‘unchanged opinions’, the effect of Inspector Goole steel haunts them, as all the characters will never be the same. The overall impression that surrounds Inspector Goole throughout the whole play is that of mystery and superior presence. This notion is partly created by the Inspector’s manner but also his name, ‘Goole’, which is obviously an inference to mythical creatures of the medieval times, by the name of ‘Ghouls’. This similarity could just be a mere coincidence, but I think it is a metaphor, used to describe the Inspector’s mystical character in short. Ghouls by legend are mysterious, magical creatures that are associated with death; and through this comparison, (plus the Inspector’s style of just appearing with immediate authority), the same can be said about him. – Priestley ultimately wanted to create a presence of â€Å"massiveness, solidity and purposefulness† (directional notes, Act one) and through the Inspector’s deliberate name, manner and timing, he has created just that.  Paragraph 4 – The Inspector’s function as a Protagonist – 1st Re-Draft  The most influential role of the Inspector and perhaps the most crucial in setting up his political authority within the play, is his imminent function as a ‘Protagonist’. In this role, Priestley has allowed the Inspector’s character to immediately hold power and influence over the plot, thus giving him enough status to later deliver a political opinion to the audience. The first indication of the great power Inspector Goole has within the play, is only given upon his entrance into the plot, as it is then and only then, that the main proceedings are allowed to unfold. The audience is instantly left in suspense as they await the Inspector’s motive for coming to the Birling household on such a joyous occasion. – Although he immediately reveals his intentions: â€Å"I’d like some information, if you don’t mind†(The Inspector, Act one), they know he wants more. This mere ‘information’ is all too trivial for Priestley to make such an atmosphere around the Inspector and thus, it is not viewed upon as just a light-hearted inquiry, but far more. The audience realises that the Inspector has immense power – even enough to disrupt people of higher class; therefore they know he is here to reveal something life changing – something important, and they won’t stop watching until they find out exactly what. Throughout the play, Inspector Goole is the dominating character, as he leads the proceedings through immense interrogation. Every action he takes part in changes the reactions of the other characters, as he continually delivers Priestley’s socialist opinion across to the audience. Before the Inspector enters though, Mr. Birling fulfils this role, as he roams through the dominion of a middle-class celebration, in flare of his true Capitalist mind. However, Birling’s power is only temperamental, as it is immediately transferred to the Inspector as soon as he arrives into the plot. This switching of power and purpose between Inspector Goole and Mr Birling upsets the overall equilibrium of the play. The contrast of reign is thus shown vividly, as the pretentious calm of Capitalist wealth is rapidly morphed into the blunt truth of socialism. Priestley emphasises this change in mood specifically in his directional notes at the beginning of Act One:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder† (Directional notes). This change in light signifies the transferral of power between characters, but also the transformation of the plot’s tone. It shows that during Inspector Goole’s entrance, the barrier of higher-class wealth does not matter, as he holds the power where no one can hide. ‘Light’ in religious terms is a symbol for truth, and I think that this ‘brighter’ light in the directional notes is a sign of the honesty in Inspector Goole, as Priestley shows the Inspector’s beliefs to be pure and genuine.  Later on in the plot, after the Inspector has left, the other characters are close to restoring the equilibrium to how it previously was. They try to gain power back and delude themselves into thinking that the Inspector’s existence was merely a hoax: â€Å"There isn’t any such Inspector. We’ve been had.† (Gerald, Act three).  The characters are purely interested in just their own statuses and therefore, try to make up excuses of why Inspector Goole’s testament is not valid, so that in the end they can go about their lives, un-affected. However, the Inspector’s power was so great and commanding, that Sheila and Eric are transformed and therefore, can not let the Inspector’s morals go on forgotten. In the end, they stand up for what they believe, and in agreement with the Inspector they allow his reign to have justice until the very end – the equilibrium of which, does not return.