Uploadng Your Brain Essay -- essays research papers

UPLOADING YOUR BRAIN†¦ "I'm sorry, Jim, but I just don't think it's right for a man's atoms to be scattered all over creation and then brought back together again. It's just not right." (Character, Dr. Leonard McCoy, original Star Trek series) I wonder what Bones would have to say about swallowing, or being injected with billions of microscopic robots, or nanobots, to enter into a three dimensional cyberspace - a virtual reality environment or to enable him to live forever? In an article that could be taken from a Star Trek: Voyager script, I think Dr. Kurzweil is proposing the coming of the perpetual human as a result of nanobot technology. I guess it's not that strange a conception for science and sci-fi to be bedfellows. It's actually quite exciting to see some of the fantastic ideas once seen only in the entertainment media come to fruition. I just wish they'd work on the teleporting theory so that commuting would become a thing of the past. It would sure help the ozone layer. In due time, I suppose, but I don't know if I'm ready for an energizer bunny type of human being. Neural implants are now being used to counteract tremors from Parkinson's disease as well as multiple sclerosis. Cochlear implants are helping the deaf to hear and a retinal implant is now underway in the hopes that the blind may one day see again, or for the first time. Along those lines, Dr. Kurzweil, believes that nanobot based implants will enhance the human brain and in effect I believe, create a race of super intelligent humans. At present, the nanobots cannot be made small enough. But he states that in 30 years we will be able to miniaturize (shades the movies Fantastic Voyage and Inner Space) them and send billions of the blood cell sized scanning machines through every capillary of the brain to create a complete noninvasive scan of our every neural feature. Perhaps noninvasive on a physical level, but what about our emotional and spiritual levels? Right now we find our rights being stepped on more and more as the federal government takes control of areas in which we should be governing ourselves. When governments, extremist groups and terrorists get hold of this of kind of technology the results will be devastating. Mind boggling, if you will. Instead of bugging your phone or house you could be slipped a "nanobot mickey" and the "spy nanobots"... ...l your thoughts and actions. Talk about the ultimate violation. They could be put in the food or water supply of an entire population. Forget cryogenics or cloning. If you combine cybernetic and nanobot technologies you could upload your knowledge and experiences into a computer and then be put into a cybernetic body (the Bionic Man/Woman meet Bicentennial Man) you could, quite conceivably, live forever. But, would you want to? I might if I could outrun a car and eat all the cheeseburgers and chocolate cake I wanted without gaining an ounce! Seriously, though, I doubt that I would. I personally do not feel comfortable with the human race having access to this kind of knowledge. We're not exactly the most stable of species. I want to live my 'natural' life in my biological body as I was meant to. Not some man made super body. Dr. Kurzweil regards the freeing of the human mind from its severe physical limitations as a necessary next step in evolution. He sees it as moving us inexorably closer to becoming like God. Maybe God had a very good reason for our physical limitations. No, I'd rather take the natural, age-old approach to God myself - dying as we were meant to do.

link between strategies Essay

The Business is shaping to be highly unpredictable, challenging and innovative by the passing day. Organizations face complex environment for which they need to formulate complex and full proof strategies to ensure competitive advantage, profit maximization and cost minimization, for which they need to adapt strategic approaches, theories and models. However, the role of theory is not always significant in scrutinizing the human resource(HR) strategy and the strategic plans. However, depending on the organizational strategy, HR strategies can be matched. This critique thoroughly discusses the linkages between Business strategies and the Human Resource Management (HRM) and their relevance in the dynamic environment. Strategic management is defined as the set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long run performance of a corporation.(Hills and Jones,2001) Moreover, strategy is an action a company takes to attain superior performance.(Wheelan and Hunger, 1995) Strategic human resource management is ‘the process of linking HR practices to business strategy’(Ulrich,1997) To maintain the hierarchy in the market, organizations need to constantly formulate strategies to meet the customer requirements. There are various theories that have been formulated for firms to manage complex and problematic environment. These theories are broken down into two models; internal model which includes the Resource Based View ( RBV) and external based model formulated by Whittington (2001); which include Classical, Evolutionary, Processual and Systemic approaches. Due to the increasing value and appreciation of individuals as one of the major competitive advantage for organizations, there have been strong efforts to develop HRM. Beer et al suggest that ‘An organization’s HRM policies and practices must fit with its strategy in its competitive environment and with the immediate business conditions that it faces’ (Beer et al., 1984, p. 25). This is accomplished by applying different strategies which include two main models namely; ‘Best practice’ or Universalism’ and Best Fit’ or contingency’ or Matching model’. Strategic integration is used as one of the means to explore possible links between different approaches to strategy and HRM. So far, it has been recognized as a two-way process,  where HRM informs the nature of organizational strategy as well as being informed by it; that is full integration. Alternatively, it may be a one- way process where organizational strategy informs H RM without being informed by it in any intended or planned way; that is partial integration .(Millmore et al, 2007) Classical approach follows clear, rational, deliberate, linear, logical, and top-down approach to formulating strategy. (Millmore et. al, 2007) According to Sloan(1963), The long term aim of the approach is clearly profit maximization. For this approach, classicists choose best fit strategy and create a match between organization’s internal resources and the opportunities available in the external environment to achieve competitive advantage; its main goal. However, since the approach is subjective, the process of strategy development is affected by political, cultural and capability factors which need a complex model that clearly suggest the relationship between strategy making and HRM to represent such linkages in reality. (Millmore et. al, 2007) Looking at evolutionary approach, markets are highly unpredictable and hence the role of this strategy is to respond to the environment for survival and profit. To state an example, Sony released over 100 different versions of portable cassette player in 1980s and allowed the market to decide which would survive and removed the rest as a result of market failure.( Richard Whittington, 2007) Such conditions lead to strategic conservatism, where organizational efforts are focused on the basics of production, to minimize costs, sought operating efficiency, impose tight control and performance monitoring. Therefore, this strategy stresses on environmental determinism due to which, matching model is deemed to be most appropriate for such organizations. It is believed that this approach can be seen as strategically integrated only in relation to the strategic imperative to control costs. SHRM requires a wider remit where emphasis is placed on developing and integrating the ‘human’ side as opposed to the ‘resource utilisation’ aspect.( Storey, 1989) Processual approach emphasizes strategy making as an adaptive and emergent  process driven by organizational learning . It is believed that decision- makers lack the ability to act with pure reason and only a few factors affecting a decision can be dealt with, this limitation of human cognition is known as bounded rationality. ( Simon, 1991) The actual scenario of the market is unpredictable and hence managers develop imperfect representations of complicated world which helps strategists to trouble shoot problems and aim on sufficient profit rather than maximizing profit. Mintzberg(1979) believes that the development of emergent strategies in organizations is based on learning. This needs to be recognized and supported through HR strategies. Systemic approach recognizes that strategy and strategy making will be affected by the social and cultural system within which this occurs. To state an example, multinational organizations need to be aware of the cultural system in the host country to formulate achievable organizational strategies. This suggests that HR strategy and its integration into organizational strategy will vary, underpinned by societal values. Another example mentioned by Whittington, tells us about the series of conglomerates developed in South Korea which characterized small and family owned businesses nearby Taiwan. This suggests that HR strategy need to be conceived and integrated into Organizational strategy to avoid non conceptualization of HRM. Resource- based view is popularly associated with the work of Prahalad and Hamel( 1994). They argue that competitive advantage stems, from building ‘core competencies’ which are superior to those of rivals, over a long run. In a nutshell, they assert that it is a firms’ ability to learn faster and apply its learning more effectively than its rivals, which gives it competitive advantage. Different types of link have been identified between RBV and HRM. To start with, Resource Based Theory (RBT) sees resources and capabilities as the principal source of competitive advantage, which gives HR a central position to realize this. According to RBT, capabilities need to be built or developed rather than being bought.( Teece et al.1997) Therefore the management seeks to improve the utilization of an existing capabilities , particularly in a situation of rapid change. Another link  between HRM and RBT is related to the potential contribution of human resource policies or strategies.HR strategies are important in developing an organisation’s capabilities.HR practices related to recruitment and selection, managing performance, training and development and reward can be designed to attract, develop and retain high quality employees. Hence, it can be concluded that the linkages completely depend on the organization size, social and culture and the dynamic environment. It is seen that the resources need to strategically formulated to enhance organizational capabilities and competitive advantage of the firm. Indeed there are no clear linkages but the performance and effects are visible if not accomplished. REFERENCES Beer M, Sector B, Lawrence, P, Quinn M.D., Walton R, (1984), â€Å"Managing Human Assets†, New York: The free press Hamel, G., & C. K. Prahalad (1994), â€Å"Competing for the Future†, Boston, MA: Harvard,Business School Press. Hill, C, Jones, G. (2001), â€Å"Strategic Management: An integrated Approach† (5th ed), Boston, M.A.: Houghton Mifflin. Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Structuring of Organizations: A Synthesis of Research. Prentice Hall, Englewood. Mortimer, D & Ingersoll, L 2009, Human Resource and Industrial Relations Strategy, Pearson Australia. Simon, H, A,1991, â€Å"Bounded rationality and Organizational Learning† Organization Science, Vol 2, Iss 1,March 1991, pp 125-134. Last viewed on 24th August 2013. Sloan,A.(1963),†My Years with General Motors.†London,Sedgewick and Jackson. Storey, J (1989) â€Å"From personnel management to human resource management† ed Storey J. New perspective on human resource management, London : Routledge. Teece, D., G. Pisano, and A. Shuen (1997). â€Å"Dynamic capabilities and strategic management‟, Strategic Management Journal, 18, pp. 509-533. Ulrich, D. (1997), â€Å"Human Resource Champions : The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results†, Boston: Harvard Business School Press Wheelan, T. L., Hunger, J.D. (1995),† Strategic Management and Business policy,† 5th ed, Reading : Addison – Wesley Longman. Whittington, R (2007) , â€Å"Theories of Strategy’, Strategy for business: a reader,† The Open University, Sage  Publications, in Mazzucato, M 2002.

Guyana Defence Force in National Development

THE GUYANA DEFENCE FORCE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CIVILIAN-MILITARY RELATIONS – SOME PERSPECTIVES The case for the Guyana Defence Force to be involved in national development is enshrine in the birth of the Force and it is articulated as the third part of the Force’s tripartite role: 1. â€Å"Defend the  territorial integrity  of Guyana. 2. Assist the civil power in the maintenance of law and order when required to do so. 3. Contribute to the economic development of Guyana. †[1] The question then has to be, how will the Force be most effective in fulfilling this role. This essay contends that good civil-military relations with government and non-government organisations are critical to the successful fulfilment of this role. To demonstrate the relationship between successful national development activities and good civil-military relations, I will examine areas of development the Force can be most effective and show that the level of effectiveness will be driven by the quality civil-military relations in the said area. What then are the areas of development that the Guyana Defence Force can be most effective? The following areas of development were selected because the military role and level of success is easily measureable: 1. Engineering – infrastructural work; road construction, housing projects for low income earners, etc. 2. Health services – medical outreaches; military doctors, dentists providing service in hinterland areas, etc. 3. Education – military personnel both soldiers and civilians are employed as teachers in hinterland areas where there are limited schools, etc. 4. Economic – military personnel being employed on economic projects; such as the establishment of micro-industries, for example, farming. . Administrative – Officers are seconded to administrative positions in government agencies and even the other Services of the Joint Services. 6. Aviation – Augmenting the transportation of people and goods to the hinterland regions. Throughout most of its history the Force has been involved in national development by way of executing engineering projects particularly in the areas of hinterland roads and bridges construction. Also, the construction of low cost housing and airstrip rehabilitation are other areas where the Force participated in engineering works. This commitment to national development by way of executing engineering projects was highlighted in â€Å"Guyana’s Draft Second Development Plan, 1972-1976 which assigned specific responsibilities, to the Engineer Corps, for the construction of hinterland roads and bridges, the upgrading of airstrips and projects such as the rehabilitation of the hydro-electric power station at Tumatumari†[2] The success of the Force involvement in these ventures is commendable, however, the Force was unable to remain committed to such ventures as a single source agency as time progress. This was due to lack of resources; both human and mainly material. Therefore, one can argue that a civil-military relation framework by way of partnership with a government or non-government would have enhanced the Force’s longevity in its commitment to such ventures. This was not lost to the Force administration and is exemplified in the Force’s most recent commitment to engineering projects as detailed in the Stabroek News. â€Å"Five ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) received keys to new homes at Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo last week as part of a an ongoing partnership between Habitat for Humanity Guyana; the Ministry of Housing and the army to assist ranks with affordable housing. [3] Noteworthy is the commitment of government or non-government organisations to have such partnerships with the Force in this sector, as detailed in the same article, â€Å"Chairman of the Management Board at Habit for Humanity, Alex Graham remarked that the GDF has the capacity to play an integral role in various aspects of the housing response while pointing out that the army can also help in the building of homes for persons outside the GDF family. †[4] This demonstrates that there is clear recognition by non-government agencies that good civil-military relations are beneficial to both parties. Further the Force will not be required to singlehandedly seek out and forge these partnership. The Force has a rich history of providing medical services to rural and hinterland villages as part of its medical outreaches. The Force has been impressive in its support to national development in this sector by providing free medical and dental care to thousands of Guyanese. This is not surprising since common to most underdeveloped countries is the lack of capacity to provide quality medical services as you move away from the cities and main towns. This is the case in Guyana and its exasperated by our demographics, terrain in hinterland areas and the lack of adequate transportation facilities to hinterland and rural areas. The support by the Force in this sector has continued throughout its existence and remains source of kudos as highlighted in the following excerpt from Stabroek News. â€Å"Close to 200 Upper Berbice River residents benefited from dental and general medical care when a team from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Medical Corps hosted an outreach exercise there recently. According to the army, residents said they were grateful for the exercise and expressed the desire for a doctor to visit at least once per year. †[5] The quality and level of success gained in this sector can be improved with better civil-military relations with government and non-government organisation. Similar sentiments in regards to the value of these relations were expressed by the Chief of Staff in his 2011 Command Directive. â€Å"In 2011, I plan to establish statecraft partnerships with the Ministries of Education and Health. †[6] The use of military personnel to augment the efforts of the Ministry of Education to provide education at any level and in any area of the country has not been a feature of the Force for any substantive period. Notwithstanding this, one can argue that the efforts by the Force to educate its ranks directly impacts on national development. Since when members of the Force return to civilian life their level of technical and vocational education will have a direct impact on how they are integrated to the countries labour force. Therefore the Force commitment to educating its ranks underscores its efforts to national development in this sector. However, the efforts of the Force to educate its ranks have had its own challenges. The main challenge was the ability of the Force to establish a system that linked educational development with the evolution of soldier’s careers. â€Å"As part of their promotion standards, soldiers are required to attain specified levels of academic education but these standards had to be waived since no formal means existed for upgrading soldiers’ education. † [7] The importance of good civil-military relations to enhance the Force performance in this sector has been underscored by the recent efforts by the Force in launching of its Academic Education Programme. 8] This coupled with the Career Development Plan[9] and the advent of â€Å"promotion examinations for promotion up to the rank of major†[10], underscores a recognition by the Force that civilian input and to an extent civilian oversight is critical to success in this sector. Also, the aforementioned planned stat ecraft partnership with the Ministry of Education and the fact that Force Education Department is staffed primarily by civilian teachers, establishes the importance of good civil-military relation for the strengthening of the Force’s capacity in this sector. The Force direct involvement in economic activity in support of national development is demonstrated with its involvement in agriculture. The Force Agriculture Corps has the mandate to produce mainly poultry, pork and eggs to augment the Force’s ration requirements. Throughout its history from since the establishment of Agriculture Corps the Force had measured success in this sector. This success is termed measured since in Guyana’s Draft Second Development Plan, 1972-1976, the Force â€Å"was tasked with the development of farms at Onverwagt in Berbice, Butenabu in Mahaicony, Vergenoegen in the Essequibo, and at Garden of Eden in Dememerara. [11] However, presently the Force only has one farm at Garden of Eden in Dememerara. Hence, after existing in excess of three decades the Force Agriculture Corps has not achieved the capacity to provide the Force with its ration requirements of meat, eggs and vegetables. The lack of fulfilment of its potential in this sector can b e attributed to the lack resources; both human and material. The Force performance in this sector can improve via partnerships with government and non-government organisations. The establishment of such civil-military relations will impact positively on the Force performance in this sector. To this end the Force continues to pursue such partnership as demonstrated with the Force involvement in â€Å"the national pig-breeding programme, a joint effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana Defence Force†[12]. The Force at various period of its existence seconded mainly officers and in a few cases other ranks to government and non-government organisation. Officers were primarily seconded to administrative positions in government agencies and even the other Services of the Joint Services. This practice helped in National Development by making managerial and administrative skills readily available to beneficiary government agency. The Force involvement in this sector illustrates the value of good civil-military relations both to the Force and the Nation. This is underscore by the fact that military officers have attained high ranking appointments, namely permanent secretary and currently Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance. The Force since its early days of existence played a pivotal in aviation in Guyana. The Force helped in the pioneering efforts in aviation in Guyana. Aviation is arguably the first area where the value of good civil-military relations and the capacity of the Force to positively impact on National Development were demonstrated. [13] However, as the civilian capacity developed in this sector the Force was seen has having a negative impact in the commercial viability of this sector. I am of the view that the deterioration of civil-military relations in this sector helped in fostering this perception of the Force. There remain numerous areas in this sector where the Force, the private sector, and government and non-government organisations can benefit from good relations. No one entity can satisfy the commercial, security and safety requirements for aviation support in Guyana. The wide expanse of hinterland settlements, the limited aircraft and technically trained personnel suggests that there is room for all stake holders to make a positive impact in this sector. The Guyana Defence Force recognises and accepts it has a role to play in National Development. This is exemplified in the many initiatives and projects the Force has been involved throughout its existence primarily in Engineering, Health Services, Education, Economic, Administrative and Aviation Sectors. The question of how the Force will be most effective in fulfilling its role of contributing to National Development has been answered. The Force must embrace partnership with government and non-government agencies in those sectors where we are poised to make an impact on National Development. This pursuit and ultimate realisation of good civil-military relations will enhance the Force capacity to contribute to national development activities. REFERENCES Best G. A. R. (2010) Career Development Plan Guyana Defence Force. Guyana Defence Force Best G. A. R (2011) Chief of Staff Command Directive. Guyana Defence Force Granger D. A. (1975) The new road. Guyana Defence Force. Granger D. A. (2005) A brief history of the Guyana Defence Force. Free Press. Huntington, S. (1957). The soldier and the state: theory and practice of civil-military relations. Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Johnson, J. (1981). The role of the military in underdeveloped countries. New Jersey, Princeton University. Greenwood Press Reprint . Lehmann, D. (1979). Democracy and development in Latin America: Economics, politics and religion in the post-war period. Temple University Press. Smith, K. A. and Welch, E. C. (1974). Military role and rule. Massachusetts, Duxbury Press,. Tachau, F. (1974). The developing nations (What paths to modernization? ). New York, Dodd, Mead and Co. Thompson W. S. (1983). The third world: Premises of U. S policy. San Francisco: JOS Press. ———————– [1] Granger D. A The New Road A Short History of The Guyana Defence Force – 1966 -1976, 1975 pg 47. [2] Granger D. A A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force, 2005 pg75. [3] Stabroek News Sunday, June 15, 2008. 4] Stabroek News Sunday, June 15, 2008. [5] Stabroek News Tuesday, August 17, 2010. [6] Best G. A. R Chief of Staff Command Directive 2011, pg 22. [7] [8] Stabroek News Saturday, April 10, 2010. [9] Best G. A. R Career Development Plan Guyana Defence Force, 2010 pg17. [10] Best G. A. R Chief of Staff Command Directive 2011, pg 39. [11] Granger D. A A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force, 200 5 pg74. [12] http://www. gina. gov. gy/archive/daily/b080407. html 2011-10-30. [13] See Granger D. A A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force, 2005 pg75.

Biography of Genghis Khan Essays - Genghis Khan, Western Xia

Biography of Genghis Khan The old world had many great leaders. Alexander the Great, Hannibal and even Julius Caesar met with struggle on their rise to power. Perhaps Genghis Khan was the most significant of all these rulers. To prove that Genghis Khan was the greatest ruler, we must go back to the very beginning of his existence. We must examine such issues as; Genghiss struggle for power/how his life as a child would affect his rule, his personal and military achievements and his conquests. Genghis Khan was originally born as Temujin in 1167. He showed early promise as a leader and a fighter. By 1206, an assembly of Mongolian chieftains proclaimed him Genghis Khan. Which meant Universal or invincible prince. This was a bold move for the assembly. They obviously saw some leadership qualities in Genghis that others didnt. When Genghis Khan was little, his chieftain father poisoned. With no leader left, the tribe abandoned Genghis and his mother. They were left alone for many years to care for themselves. Throughout these years, his family met many hardships such as shortage of food and shortage of money. Though unable to read, Genghis was a very wise man. His mother told him at a very early age the importance of trust and independence. "Remember, you have no companions but your shadow" Grolier Encyclopedia. (1995) CD ROM This quote was to mean to Genghis, dont put to much trust in anyone, trust no one but yourself and if you must go your own way then do so. In 1206, Genghis Khan proclaimed the ruler of Mongolia. Genghis was a very respected leader. Like other leaders he knew what his people wanted. They want everything that is good and nothing that is bad. Genghis knew he could not promise this so instead he pledged to share both the sweet and the bitter of life. Genghis did not want to end up being poisoned like his father so instead he made alliances, and attacked anyone who posed a serious threat. Through this method of leadership, Genghiss army grew to the point where they were unbeatable. Genghis contributed alot of items to the chinese and even western civilizations. Perhaps his greatest contribution was a code of laws that he declared. Since Genghis couldnt read or write, these law were documented by one of his followers. His laws were carried on by people though the many generations to the point of still being in use today. Either as a modification of Genghiss laws or as Genghis had declared them. Genghis Khan promoted the growth of trade between China and Europe. This allowed him to gain essential supplies such as food, weapons and other essential survival materials. Genghis also invented a system similar to the pony express. It was a system in which the horse and rider could silently communicate, a system that is still in use today. Perhaps the greatest gift ever given by Genghis Khan was the gift of language. Genghis was the first ruler to develop a Mongolian language. Genghis Khan was also a military and strategic genius. He structured his army in a unique and interesting fashion. He integrated soldiers from different tribes into one powerful fighting force. This was a brilliant idea. Not only could he have diversity and people who specialize in certain aspects of warfare, but it also inspired loyalty to the mongolian army as a whole rather than to a specific group of people. Genghis used harsh training and strict discipline to create a superior fighting force, he also insured that everyone of his soldiers was well equipped and could easily adopted new warfare tactics. His soldiers were always learning. Whether it be a new tactic Genghis had invented or a new weapon He decided the army would use, his soldiers were coneztly learning. Genghis inspired loyalty by a unique way of promotion. Genghis felt that the best way to gain a loyal following was to promote people on the basis of achievement and not within the family. This did not only inspire a great deal of loyalty but it also made his army better and actually raised the morale of his soldiers. Every soldier gave their life to

A striking feature of weak states is that they face very few Essay

A striking feature of weak states is that they face very few challenges from the people living in them. Why do weak states persist - Essay Example Research and analysis revel that the major contributor of weak states’ persistence is international support and assistance. Political scientists’ perception about the concept of state relies on Max Weber’s definition which entitles state as a corporate group that: holds a certain jurisdiction; practices continuous organization; maintains monopoly of power over territory and its population, in addition to all activities in its jurisdiction. The concept is primarily based on empirical and de facto aspects of statehood. The test for Weber’s state is the claim to monopoly of force in its jurisdiction. It implies that if an internal or external group or organization gets the hold and monopolistic control of a certain jurisdiction, it becomes a state. When there are several groups contesting for the same territory, and none can get control over and practice monopolistic force, Weber attributes this situation as â€Å"statelessness† (qtd. in Jackson and Carl 2-3). According to Weber’s empirical approach to statehood, many African states can be disqualified from the status of being a state because they don’t practice monopoly of force over their territorial jurisdiction. Rivals to the national government effectively established monopoly in some of the cases. Absence of continuous control of a permanent political organization and anarchy exist in these states. Regardless of the lacking governmental control, anarchy, and uncertainty, these states persist as members of international society of states. If we consider that the empirical statehood led to the persistence of state, some of the African states must disqualify. However, they persist and none of the claimant governments who practiced de facto control could establish new states in the particular area (Jackson and Carl 3). States definition that is based on juridical attributes of statehood is Ian Brownlie’s. He defines state as a legal person authorized by international law.

Modelling Unknown System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modelling Unknown System - Essay Example Finite impulse response filters known as Finite Impulse Response are fed forward or nonrecursive filters, which are stable since they have no feedback. Finite impulse response filters can have linear phase characteristic unlike the IIR making them a stable form of filter. However, these filters are not always the desired choice that is why they are facing out on the market. LMS is one of the two basic algorithms in the area of adaptive filtering; however, these algorithms in their simplest forms suffer from several drawbacks and limitations [4]. The convergence of LMS filters is flawed by two main problems: the spread of the eigenvalue correlation matrix of the input signal and the coupling between modes of convergence. Eigenvalue spread results in nonuniform speed of convergence for the filter values; mode coupling results in nonmonotonic trajectories toward convergence of coefficients of filter and in eigenvalue propagation of the disparity effects between the various modes. This l eads to irrecoverable instability problems in the finite impulse response filters. In order to improve on the normal LMS algorithm, alternative adaptive structures like the LMS lattice and the LMS frequency-domain are designed for mode coupling counteraction, though at the price of a greater non adjustment. Pre-whitening filters are proposed applications in system identification and time-delay estimation to reduce the eigenvalue spread consequences [4]. Yule-Walker equations and its mathematics as applied to solving the various problems. The equation is applied in the estimation of the autoregressive (AR) parameters of an observed AR process in time-series analysis, with varied applications that include: blind channel identification, speech analysis, signal detection, spectral estimation, adaptive filtering and speech coding. Yule-Walker equations are a classical tool for the estimation problem applied to autocorrelation [3]. When the driving noise is Gaussian, the estimate resultin g from solving the Yule-Walker equations with the correlations estimated coincides asymptotically. This occurs when the end effects are negligible with the maximum Likelihood (ML) estimate. This estimate is asymptotically unbiased and optimal in the sense of mean square estimation error, asymptotically attaining the Cram?er-Rao lower bound (CRLB) associated with it [3]. However, with non-Gaussian driven noise, the estimate resulting is no longer ML (maximum likelihood estimate) and may be far from the optimal. The derivation and computation of the ML estimate may then become computationally clumsy in some cases. For the case of a Gaussian-Mixture which is intractable, it is of interest, in such cases, to look for other, simpler estimates, which, although not optimal, may still offer significant improvement over the correlations based estimate [3]. Autocorrelation is the similarity between the observations and time of separation between signals. It is termed as the mathematical tool for determining repetitive patterns like periodic signals damped under noise. It is also used for locating and identifying the missing basic frequency in a signal implied by its harmonic frequencies, often used for processing of signals for analyzing functions [2]. Autocorrelation is used in processing of signal for evaluating the series of values and functions such as time domain signals. Autocorrelation

Reflective of future thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reflective of future thinking - Essay Example However, there are a myriad of factors to be considered before developing innovations in a company, including the sustainability aspect of new products and technology. Overall, there are many changes in the world, as well as in the business world. These have mainly been realized because of the advanced changes in technology, which in turn influence the economy of a country and the global economy as well. Various industries today also exhibit great changes in their practice and products, compared to past decades. In this presentation, the main focus is on the car industry, which has not been left behind, with regard to technology. In the world of technology today, new inventions are developed to increase efficiency. Similarly, in the car industry, major new technologies are unveiled on a regular basis. These might be concerned with improving safety of cars, usefulness of cars, cars’ entertainment and luxury aspects, or for purely innovative reasons. Most of the new car innovati ons are exciting and have improved efficiency in various aspects of cars. The first car was invented in the year 1769. Today, this first car cannot be compared to the present supercars, in terms of technology and efficiency. As a result of increased technological advances in cars, today’s cars are more safe and reliable than they were in past years. In the car industry, technological advancement is key, therefore, it is expected that this industry will produce more technologically advanced cars in the future (Christidis, Hildalgo & Soria 2003). However, different factors will influence the extent to which technology is adopted in the car industry in future. These include the availability of fuel and level of pollution by cars. With regard to fuel, the car industry, compared to the pat years, has increased the number of cars that it manufactures, and reduced the cost of cars, thus making cars to be affordable to many people. This therefore, has led to high consumption of fuel, and it is feared that in future, fuel might become scarce, since it is being exhausted today at a high rate. Additionally, the car industry is regarded as one of the top industries that highly contribute to global warming. Most cars today use petroleum, which emits Carbon dioxide gas on combustion. Therefore, in future, the car industry might consider fuel economy and reducing global warming, when it develops new car models, as these factors will promote sustainability (Macrel & Cooper 2011). In order to analyze the future of cars with regard to technological improvement, this paper will employ different tools and techniques of foresight. The initial thinking about the future holds that there is so much unpredictability in the future. It is therefore, not possible for people to perfectly figure out what the future holds, since a myriad of factors, which are beyond human control, influence the events of the future. Human beings have different expectations about the future. Although no human being can peer into the future, these use their minds and imagination to create a picture of the future, which might be unrealistic. Overall, people expect positive things to happen in the future. However, these expectations might not be in line with what the future really holds. This