Validity and Reliability Essay Example for Free

Validity and Reliability Essay The Monte Carlo simulation is used as a method that is used in projects to estimate the risk and uncertainty attached. In construction projects, engineers need to measure the time and the cost involved. These measurements are based on prior experience of the project manager. The time and the value of the project are estimated on the basis of certain assumptions. Monte Carlo simulation works in a way that a random number is selected for the each task. The model is then made which is based on the random numbers. The result that is generated from the model is stored and the process is repeated several times. A normal simulation done through the Monte Carlo method calculates thousands of values. This results in the large number of values which are generated through the random number of inputs. The results are in the form of numbers which are the assumption on which different probabilities are measured. This measure the chances of getting various result in a model (Taylor Francis, 1995). The information which the model yields is used to calculate the financing needed for the construction project, worker that need to be hired, insurance etc. Validity and Reliability: The reliability of the simulation is limited to the extent of its estimation. If the variables are estimated accurately then the simulation gives the best measurement of the variables. Moreover, it can be argued that it is a reliable method for estimation of risk in project because of its quantitative management techniques. The Monte Carlo simulation is used by the project manager to fit in every possible circumstance associated with a risk and to calculate the probability of success associated with that risk. It is also used for the purpose of designing a project, which is done with help of different variable used as inputs (Loosemore Uher, 2003). The strength of the simulation lies on the fundamental fact that the estimate of the variable must be accurate for the best result needed. Moreover the extent of its measurement of the probability is surprising. It can calculate the success rate of the project before the starting the project. This is an advantage to the engineers as they can see the future of the project. The limitations, however that affect its proper usage include the difficulty to find the hardware and the software that is needed to perform the simulations (Brenda, 2003). Then the engineers and the project managers involved are hesitant in using the simulation because they find it difficult to deal with statistical methods. Then many critics to the Monte Carlo simulation technique suggest that the method can yield the time schedule of the project that must be kept in reserve as well as the monetary aspect that must be stored as a reserve which can be disadvantageous to the cause of the project (Kwak Ingall, 2007). Another reason that acts as a barrier for the use of this simulation is common construction project is that the simulation uses multiple parameters thereby forming a complex model. It does not emphasize in the use of the single parameter which is used is most of the cases. Then in many cases the results that are generated through the simulation are perceived skeptical by the users, because of the psychological impact on the decision making. And finally, while making a model it is very difficult to define the connection between the activities which can never be estimated. So an approximation is used in the model to simplify the process. These approximations are uncertain and can at time be wrong. When the approximations are wrong the can affect the interval and manipulate the result of the simulation (Brenda, 2003). Conclusion: Monte Carlo Simulation method is a very supportive tool for the purpose of making engineering projects. The reason is that the complexity of the simulation can manage different variable affecting the project and can present an analysis of the probability of success associated with the project. Reference: 1. McCabe, Brenda. (2003). Monte Carlo simulation for schedule risk. 2. Kwak, Young H. , Ingall, Lisa. (2007). Exploring monte carlo simulation applications for project management. Risk Management , 9. Retrieved from http://home. gwu. edu/~kwak/Monte_Carlo_Kwak_Ingall. pdf 3. Taylo, , Francis, . (1995). Construction management and economics. E. F. N. Spon. 4. Hinze, Jimmie. (1998). Construction planning and scheduling. Prentice Hall. 5. Flanagan, Roger, George , Norman. (1993). Risk management and construction. Wiley-Blackwell. 6. Landau, David P. , Binder, Kurt. (2005). A Guide to monte carlo simulations in statistical physics. Cambridge University Press. 7. Loosemore, Martin, Uher, Thomas E. (2003). Essentials of construction project management. UNSW Press.

The Deception of Visual Memory :: Photography Essays

The Deception of Visual Memory What is visual memory? And what does it mean to remember through images? Unlike verbal memory, visual memory functions primarily through a dependence on its materiality, on the texture and availability of the paintings, icons, photographs, films, and video clips that give it shape. We remember whole events through condensed images that reduce complex and multidimensional phenomena into memorable scenes. The meanings of wars, political conflicts, tragic romances, and cataclysmic disasters can all be found within a painter's brush or a camera's lens, as in Emanuel Leutze's 1851 rendition of George Washington crossing the Delaware River or Joe Rosenthal's photographic capture of the flag-raising atop Iwo Jima during World War II. The materiality of visual memory is deceptive, in that it overstates elements of the visual that cater particularly well to memory work. Visual memory depends on images that are simplified, conventional, schematic, and often composite. These images tend to arbitrarily connect with the event or object being remembered, rarely making explicit how they construct what we see and remember. Collectively held images thus act as signposts, directing people who remember to preferred meaning by the fastest route. These signposts are deceptive, favoring certain strategies for making, collecting, retaining, storing, recycling, and forgetting images that privilege certain ways of remembering over others. With photographs, visual memory's deception is particularly acute.We need only think of the photo of a dazed Jackie Kennedy gazing upon the swearing-in of Lyndon Baines Johnson as the next U.S. President or of the image of a small boy, his hands stretched above his head, being herded out of the Warsaw Ghetto by German soldiers, to recognize how well photographs work as vehicles of memory. But their strength is offset by the fact that in memory, one function of photography - its ability to "tell it like it is," commonly called its verisimilitude - is understated in order to privilege a second function - the ability of the photo to act as a symbol. In memory, then, contingent details matter less than the way in which contingent details are made part of a larger interpretive scheme. Holocaust photography bears this out with troubling implications for our understanding of contemporary atrocity. Photos of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps in 1945 were recorded with inaccurate or incomplete captions, with few credits, and with an uneven relationship to the words at their side.

Self-Verification

Self-verification is a social psychological theory that asserts people want to be known and understood by others according to their firmly held beliefs and feelings about themselves, that is self-views (including self-concepts and self-esteem). Because chronic self-concepts and self-esteem play an important role in understanding the world, providing a sense of coherence, and guiding action, people become motivated to maintain them through self-verification. Such strivings provide stability to people’s lives, making their experiences more coherent, orderly, and comprehensible than they would be otherwise.Self-verification processes are also adaptive for groups, groups of diverse backgrounds and the larger society, in that they make people predictable to one another thus serve to facilitate social interaction. To this end, people engage in a variety of activities that are designed to obtain self-verifying information. According to self-verification, people prefer feedback that i s consistent with their self-concept even when that feedback is unflattering. They will not accept feedback that is at odds with their self-concept.In our hypothesis, men who chose to use urinals for urination are meant to be more confident and have a stronger self-esteem than those who chose to use toilet bowls. They have a stronger self-concept and hence stronger self-verification. They would consider that they did a good job and deserved a more positive feedback. Therefore, a more positive feedback would increase their motivation and performance. If less positive feedback is given to this group of people, they would not receive this feedback as the less positive feedback did not match with their self-concept.For those chose to use toilet bowl, which showed that they had less confidence and lower self-concept, a less positive feedback would cause a higher motivation and performance since they think they deserved less positive feedback. They would accept it and hence it satisfied t heir self-esteem. Once their self-esteem is satisfied, they would promote to a higher hierarchy: self-actualization. P. s. I dun know when to use self-concept, self-esteem, self-verification these suck words. Since I only got the fucking old both without these suck words and definitions.

Starbucks Coffee Operation Management - 1661 Words

Introduction: 3 The Transformation Role of Operations Management: 3 Starbucks Coffee Hiratage: 3 Starbucks Coffee Mission: 4 Starbucks Supply Chain Objectives 5 Product quality, service reliability and management of operations at Starbucks 6 Introduction: Every business is managed through multiple business functions each responsible for managing certain aspects of the business. Operations management (OM) is the business function responsible for managing the process of creation of goods and services. It involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling all the resources needed to produce a company’s goods and services. Because operations†¦show more content†¦We are fully accountable to get each of these elements right so that Starbucks – and everyone it touches – can endure and thrive. Today, with more than 18,000 stores in 62 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. And with every cup, we strive to bring both our heritage and an exceptional experience to life. Core Competence and Visions: The Company’s primarily role or responsibility is to ensure that the organisational culture is compatible with the talented people that they want to attract and retain. Starbucks tries to create a sense of belonging (partnership) and build a sense of trust and confidence in what the Company stands for with the employees and customers. The reason that their customers come back is the quality of the coffee, environment, and the experience; of course this experience is because of the employees and how they treat their customers because theyre customer oriented. Starbucks believes in a good, competitive business strategy that is facilitated by passion for the product. They have good leadership and management approach. The Company’s motivation to develop the most recognisable brand was also based on the good planning and positioning strategy. 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