Taleb on Black Swans, Fragility, and Mistakes
Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest thoughts on robustness, fragility, debt, insurance, uncertainty, exercise, moral hazard, knowledge, and the challenges of fame and fortune.
Kennedy on the Great Depression and the New Deal
David Kennedy of Stanford University and the author of Freedom from Fear talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Great Depression and its political and economic relevance. Kennedy talks about the economic policies of Hoover and Roosevelt, and how the historical narrative was shaped and evolved over the decades. The conversation concludes with Kennedy's thoughts on the nature and value of history.
Munger on Private and Public Rent-Seeking (and Chilean Buses)
Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about private and public rent-seeking. When firms compete for either private profit opportunities or government contracts, there are inevitably firms or people who spend resources but end up earning little or nothing. What are the differences, if any between these two forms of competition? How do they related to competitions that award prizes for discovering new technologies? The conversation begins with a discussion of a recen
Strategic Plan for a website
Strategic planning for the Bazaar Ceramics website. The client is considering upgrading to an e-commerce site. It has therefore been decided to review the organisation's strategic plan and develop a gap analysis before proceeding. Your task is to review the strategic plan and current system, perform a gap analysis and develop an action plan based on any recommendations for improvements.
Systems Testing for a website
The company you work for have expanded their operations to include web-hosting services. This project involves investigating systems testing tools and using these tools to ensure the web server/websites function as required. You are required to develop a test plan and prepare the test environment for testing the web server and individual websites. You then need to conduct testing of the individual and system components and analyse test results.
Determine control mechanisms and corrective actions for food safety hazards
The monitoring system within a food safety program
indicates whether the critical control point is under control. It provides feedback
that the product is being produced safely. The main types of monitoring are visual
inspections, time and temperature measurements, chemical measurements and microbial
measurements. When it is determined that a critical control point has not been
controlled during production, corrective action must be taken to overcome the
problem and bring
Making Videos
Practical exercise designed to develop skills in basic image and video editing and presentation using Windows Movie Maker, a freely available editing software that is part of the Windows Operating System. A local travel agency, Top Travel has asked us to produce a 30-second multimedia presentation for their web site promoting the various attractions on offer in this region.
Investigate sustainable water cycle management
This Unit of Competency focuses on the understanding and management of the water cycle, sustainable water usage and the testing of water quality. It contains information, activities and suggested assessment tasks that enable learners to understand the link between the services and systems of the water organisation and its supply to and use by consumers. Learners find out about a range of water systems that we use to capture, store and distribute water and discover that the water services we rely
Design a basic water system model
This Unit of Competency focuses on the features of basic water and wastewater systems. It contains information, activities and suggested assessment tasks that enable learners to understand the characteristics of simple water and wastewater systems, together with the basic scientific principles used in the development of a working water system model. Learners discover how water flows and find out about the operations behind a working water system and use this knowledge to design a water system mo
Facetted aluminium dendrites
In this system, pro-eutectic aluminium dendrites form with facetted morphologies. Such morphologies are uncommon but are a consequence of the diluteness of the aluminium in the melt. The rest of the melt has solidified as a fine Al-Sn eutectic.
9.011 The Brain and Cognitive Sciences I (MIT)
Survey of principles underlying the structure and function of the nervous system, integrating molecular, cellular, and systems approaches. Topics: development of the nervous system and its connections, cell biology or neurons, neurotransmitters and synaptic transmission, sensory systems of the brain, the neuro-endocrine system, the motor system, higher cortical functions, behavioral and cellular analyses of learning and memory. First half of an intensive two-term survey of brain and behavioral s
21W.777 The Science Essay (MIT)
Did Ben Franklin really fly that kite? What are the ethical dimensions of the creation of chimeras—and what should the public know in order to take part in the conversation about them? Is the science of nutrition really science? How did the technology of birth control end up in the delivery system that we know as "the pill"? Is it possible to time travel—and why would scientists even spend time thinking about it? In this class we celebrate, analyze and practice the art of writing abo
How Individual Rights Transformed World Politics
Have individual rights transformed world politics? Prof. Reus-Smit challenges the circumscribed nature of this debate, arguing the relationship between individual rights and world politics has a longer history and is more fundamental than it suggests. Have individual rights transformed world politics? Debate on this question has focused to date on the efficacy, or lack thereof, of the international human rights regime. Prof. Reus-Smit challenges the circumscribed nature of this debate, arguing t
Cu 70, Sn 30 (wt%) bronze, as cast
High tin Cu-Sn alloy. The phase diagram of this system is complicated, at room temperature the equilibrium phases are α (copper) and ε.
15.094J Systems Optimization: Models and Computation (SMA 5223) (MIT)
This class is an applications-oriented course covering the modeling of large-scale systems in decision-making domains and the optimization of such systems using state-of-the-art optimization tools. Application domains include: transportation and logistics planning, pattern classification and image processing, data mining, design of structures, scheduling in large systems, supply-chain management, financial engineering, and telecommunications systems planning. Modeling tools and techniques includ
Historical skills : dating documents
Explains the different dating conventions employed in historical documents. For example, the system of dating by reference to a religious feast day and the year of the reigning monarch has little in common with the modern calendar. Even where a recognisable date is provided, it may not be what it at first appears.... The resource includes a glossary, bibliography and translation of relevant Latin numbers/phrases. Illustrative images of items from our collections appear throughout.
TALAT Lecture 4601: Introduction to Brazing of Aluminium Alloys
This lecture describes the characteristics of brazing aluminium and the process involved; it helps to understand the use potential and the limitations of brazing aluminium. Basic knowledge of aluminium alloys designation system, surface treatment and corrosion behaviour is assumed.
Architectural Composition in Digital Space
In this paper the possibilities of using the computers at course of architectural compositions are considered. As the start point of the new teaching method of architectural composition we used the course of tradition architectural composition, elaborated at our Faculty. The course of Digital Architectural Composition was finished in 2002. The main goal of using the new digital media for modelling architectural forms was checking the new possibilities of form creation. Traditionally, searching o
Mobile Learning Applications using Handheld Devices: Ubiquitous training of visual-spatial skills [A
This research seeks the development of mobile learning applications that provide ubiquitous training in visual-spatial skills using wireless handheld mobile devices (i.e. PDA, cell phones). The paper reports about the findings of a first stage in which the application targeted the handling of spatial representations and the qualitative understanding of 3D spaces. Evidence was collected regarding effectiveness of the instructional strategy related to specific aspects of the students? visual-spati
An Integrated approach for 3D simulation of construction sequence
In order to eliminate design-related problems and to ease planning difficulties, a new integrated approach is required to manage and present design and construction information. This paper examines the feasibility of integrating design and construction scheduling information produced by 'industry standard' software. It describes the structure of a prototype which has been developed to generate a 3D simulation model for the cons
