Reflection-"How to start a movement" by Derek Sivers

After watching the video on "How to start a movement' by Derek Sivers, I learnt that a movement actually just needs one's courage to step out and do it. In the video, a man was dancing in the middle of the beach shirtless. It would seem as though he is doing something really weird in the public. However, one person from the ran to him and started to do the same thing as him. He started dancing with the shirtless man. It may still seem weird now but there were more and more followers who started to join the crowd and dance along. At this time, it no longer looked weird, however if you are still sitting down there along, you would look like the odd one out. From this example, I can see that if you are brave enough, you just have to step out to show what you think is right or wrong. It may be very discouraging as all of the others was siding on the same thing and you are scared of being laughed at or failure. However, as long as you can start it, you are already halfway through it, all you are left is the followers. 

-Teo Lian Wei Vesy (20) 2E

Anhui Museum

We will be going to Anhui Museum! Our group is tasked to research on Anhui Museum and Hangzhou Art and Crafts Museum. So we will be going to explain to you about these both museums in this and the other post.

Anhui Museum 

Introuduction:The Anhui Provincial Museum (Anhui sheng bowuguan), built in 1956, is the largest and most comprehensive museum in the province. The 9000-square-meters of space here houses over 100,000 exhibits, many fossils or historical relics that date back over 2,000 years. The museum has no English, however, and so is really only good either for those into their Chinese history or Chinese readers.

 

Exhibits 

A lot of the exhibits are related to the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD), a time immortalized by the book of the same name, although exhibits mainly concentrate upon the Cao family. Calligraphists will be pleased with the mostly Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) exhibition pieces of the Four Treasures of Chinese Calligraphy.

There is an exhibition of the Four Treasures of the Scholar's Study with high-quality ink sticks, heavy carved ink stones, weaselhair brushes and multicoloured papers. 

There is a room in the Anhui Museum that houses objects that have been excavated in the Anhui region over the past decades and there are some magnificent things! The gold-rimmed amber bowl from the Song Dynasty, the silver wine vessel also from the Song Dynasty and a lacquer box from the Qing dynasty are just a few of this fantastic collection. All of us are excited about this room that we hope to visit.

Anhui Provincial Museum houses three permanent displays: exhibitions on the ancient history of Anhui, the province's revolutionary history, and ancient plants and animals

A highlight of the exhibition is the Shang bronze unearthed in Anhui Province, such as an exceptional Shang bronze pot in the shape of an animal unearthed from the Cai Marquis Tomb of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). The ChuDing, which is 113 cm high and weighs 400 kilograms, is the biggest and heaviest extant one of its kind since the Zhou Dynasty.

A precious celadon bowl, unearthed in 1963 from a Susong County tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), is a rare treasure. Luxie Painting (Reed and Crab Painting) by Liang Zaibang of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is a gem of the art of iron painting.

The Anhui Museum in Hefei, is housed in a spectacular new building over seven floors, displaying superb collections of natural history specimens. Nearby Huanshang Mountain, one of the five great mountains of China, was the centre of Huizhou culture, with its own architecture, commerce, neo-Confucianism and opera and cuisine

Architecture: The provincial artwork ,which is unique of Anhui Province, consists of two separate buildings which seems like a unified body through the poetic design of the skin.  Because it’s designed with the aim of holding international art activities, the Anhui Provincial Art Museum pays special attention to spaces’ distribution. The museum complex aims to achieve different functions such as collection, research, exhibition, education, communication, services, features; it focuses on collections. Exhibition reflects the history of art development in Anhui province and outside through artists’ works of art and literature. 

**[Tourist Information]

Address: in the middle section of Anqing Road, Hefei City

Opening hours: 08:30-10:40 & 14:00-16:00, Monday-Friday; 08:30-11:40 & 14:00-17:00, Saturday and Sunday.

Cost: RMB10 for foreigners.

[What Can We Learn]

The Museum's exhibition focuses on the local history and is arranged into three basic displays: Ancient History of Anhui, Revolutionary History of Anhui and Fossils of Ancient Extinct Life in Anhui. In addition to the annual exhibitions, the museum often organizes temporary special exhibitions at home and abroad.

Works published by the Museum include Selected Masters' Painting, Collections of Anhui Provincial Museum, and Excavations from the Cai Marquis Tomb in Shou County, etc.

 

And some questions that we are curious about! 

When we go to the museums,

-We are wondering whether we will have another tour guide to guide us when we arrive at the museum?

-Why are the exhibits related to the Three Kingdoms Period? (Anhui museum)

-How long will the trip to the museums take? 

-What do we need to bring or prepare before going to the museums? 

Hope that you have learned somehting new today! :-) 

Reflection

Derek sivers: How to start a movement 

The video is about leadership and how to make a movement. From the video, the leader needs the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. A video is shown where a shirtless man starts dancing randomly. He appears to be the leader in this situation. Before long, a follower appears and starts dancing with him. The leader treats him as an equal. The first follower then asks people to join them in dancing. This first follower now acts as a leader, because he has the guts to stand out. After that, more and more people join the dancing, which forms a movement. Those who decide to stick with the crowd on the floor, not joining in the movement will eventually be ridiculed for not joining. So this is how you make a movement.

I learnt that even though most people would say that the shirtless man who started dancing alone would be the most important leader, in actual fact, the first follower was the one who transformed the shirtless man into a leader. I learnt that if you really start a movement,  have the courage to follow and show others how to follow. So it takes two to really start a movement.

-Gwen Su(18)

2E

Reflection- "How to start a movement"

"how to start a movement" Derek Sivers

 After watching this video, I realize movements not only need a leader, but it takes 2 people. Basically, this video is about leadership.

  Very importantly, a leader needs the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. Being confident is one of the most important qualities in being a leader. You must have the courage and confidence to lead other people. Then Derek Sivers showed a video of a man dancing without wearing any shirt in front of many people. But what he’s doing is so easy to follow.So here’s his first follower with a crucial role; he’s going to show everyone else how to follow.

I notice that the leader embraces him as an equal. This is not about the leader anymore, but both of them. Plural. Actually, the first follower is an underestimated form of leadership in itself. And the first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader. After that, more people come to join them dancing. Now it's definitely not many nuts, but a crowd has actually formed. A public movement is formed! Something I learned that I feel it's very important : we should not just show the leader, but the followers, because the followers emulate the new followers, not the leader.

  What is the most important lesson? Leadership over glorified. Although it was the shirtless guy who first started, and he would be getting all the credit, but it was really the first follower that transformed the lone nut into a leader. It was him who started the movement with the leader.

So, as we’re told that we should all be leaders, that would be really ineffective. We shouldn't always just try to lead people and be the leaders, but to be courageous to start a movement with your followers. In this over competitive society, if everyone just wants to be the leader, then who are the followers? How are the leaders going to start a movement if there are no followers? 

-Yeo Yu Zhen (23) 2E

How Does Economic Growth Affect Society?

Economic growth is the increase in the market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP.Of more importance is the growth of the ratio of GDP to population (GDP per capita), which is also called per capita income. An increase in per capita income is referred to as intensive growth. GDP growth caused only by increases in population or territory is called extensive growth.

Advantages of Economic Growth:

Higher living standards – i.e. an increase in real income per head of population

Employment effects - growth stimulates more jobs to help new people as they enter the labour market

In the long term, an economy grows because technology gets better and we get better at producing things. In the short term, growth is an indication that the economy is producing as much as it could be and resources are not being needlessly wasted. With a growing population and rising wages, the economy has to grow to create sufficient new jobs.

Fiscal dividend – sustained GDP growth boosts tax revenues and provides the government with extra money to improve public services such as education and healthcare. It makes it easier for a government to reduce the size of a budget deficit

Investment - the accelerator effect - rising demand and output encourages investment – this sustains growth by increasing long run aggregate supply

Consumer and business confidence - growth has a positive impact on business profits & confidence. A stronger economy will help to persuade consumers that the time is right to make major purchases

Growth can also help protect the environment such as low-carbon investment, innovation and research and development, resulting in more efficient production processes to reduce costs. Ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility has become important in recent years.

Disadvantages of Economic Growth:

Inflation risk: If demand races ahead of aggregate supply the scene is set for rising prices. Many fast growing developing countries have seen high rates of inflation in recent years, a good example is India

Working hours – sometimes there are fears that a fast-growing economy places increasing demands on the hours that people work and can upset work-life balance

Structural change – although a growing economy will be creating more jobs, it also leads to structural changes in the pattern of jobs. Some industries will be in decline whilst others will be expanding. Structural unemployment can rise even though it appears that a country is growing – the labour force needs to be occupationally mobile.

Environmental concerns:

Fast growth can create negative externalities for example higher levels of noise pollution and lower air quality arising from air pollution and road congestion

Increased consumption of de-merit goods which damages social welfare

It can leads to a huge increase in household and industrial waste which again creates external costs for society

Growth that leads to environmental damage may lower the sustainable rate of growth.  Examples include the destruction of rain forests through deforestation, the over-exploitation of fish stocks and loss of natural habitat and bio-diversity created through the construction of new roads, hotels, retail malls and industrial estates.

Deforestation releases more CO2 into the atmosphere each year than all of the world's planes, trains and automobiles put together. Globally, an area almost the size of England and Wales is cut down every year releasing billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Using-up scarce resources:

“The consequences of environmentally unsustainable production are already visible. Increased exposure to drought, floods and environmental stress is a major impediment to realizing people’s aspirations”

Source: UNDP Report, 2011

The world’s resources are limited, and recognizing this fact and trying to preserve them for future generations is vital for sustainable growth. Our rampant use of oil has run many reserves dry and each year it becomes more difficult to find new oil fields.

Even water, which so many people take for granted will become a scarce resource, like many other raw materials. According to the United Nations, by 2025 1.8bn people will be affected by water scarcity. The pollution caused by economic growth is another concern.

The Stern Report highlighted the dangers of our disregard for the environment, especially large CO2 emissions. It is predicted that many species will become extinct as forests and jungles, homes for many animals, are cut down to pave way for the growing world population.

At present 16,000 species are threatened today. In 1900 according to the UN’s Global Environmental Outlook, there were 7.91 hectares per person, while it is estimated that there will only be 1.63 by 2050 if present trends continue.

-Gwen Su (18)

2E

How does economic growth affects the society?

How does economic growth affects the society?

Economic growth is a long-term expansion of a country’s productive potential.

China and India are examples of very fast-growing countries. Their annual growth has far exceeded that for most advanced economies; China has out-paced India although both have experienced a slowdown in growth over the last couple of years.

There have been numerous research studies in what determines long term GDP growth. Every country is different, each factor will vary in importance for a country at a given point in time. The advantages of economic growth are higher living standards where there will be an increase in real income per head of population and also employment effects where growth stimulates more jobs to help new people as they enter the labour market. Growth can also help protect the environment such as low-carbon investment, innovation and research and development, resulting in more efficient production processes to reduce costs.

There are also disadvantages of an economic growth. Firstly, it is the Inflation risk. If demand races ahead of aggregate supply the scene is set for rising prices. Many fast growing developing countries have seen high rates of inflation in recent years, a good example is India. Secondly, the working hours of adults will be increased. A fast-growing economy places increasing demands on the hours that people work and can upset work-life balance. Lastly, there will be a structural change. Although a growing economy will be creating more jobs, it also leads to structural changes in the pattern of jobs. Some industries will be in decline whilst others will be expanding. Structural unemployment can rise even though it appears that a country is growing – the labour force needs to be occupationally mobile. There are also environmental concerns such as fast growth can create negative externalities for example higher levels of noise pollution and lower air quality arising from air pollution and road congestion, increased consumption of de-merit goods which damages social welfare. It can leads to a huge increase in household and industrial waste which again creates external costs for society.Growth that leads to environmental damage may lower the sustainable rate of growth.  Examples include the destruction of rain forests through deforestation, the over-exploitation of fish stocks and loss of natural habitat and bio-diversity created through the construction of new roads, hotels, retail malls and industrial estates.Deforestation releases more CO2 into the atmosphere each year than all of the world's planes, trains and automobiles put together. Globally, an area almost the size of England and Wales is cut down every year releasing billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Not all of the benefits of growth are evenly distributed. A rise in real GDP can lift millions of people out of absolute poverty but it can often be accompanied by widening income and wealth inequality in society that is reflected in an increase in relative povertyIf inequality grows as a country becomes richer, this raises important questions about a potential trade-off between equity and efficiency. 

Fast growth often lead to a widening of inequalities in both developed and developing countries. Examples are very high increases in the pay of people in the top-paying jobs – market-based economies offer the highest rewards to households with the most valuable skills, education and access to capital , increasing wealth including rising property prices – fast-growing economies will often seen a rapid increase in property prices, growing gaps between urban and rural areas with rural poverty on the increase, high fertility in the poorest households and linked effects of inequality in health and education.

-Teo Lian Wei Vesy (20) 2E

How does economic growth affect society?

Firstly, Economic growth is the increase in the market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP. Some effects of economic growth are unemployment and inflation.

A number of arguments have been raised against economic growth.It may be that economic growth improves the quality of life up to a point, after which it doesn't improve the quality of life, but rather obstructs sustainable living. Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and personal resources.

Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet.

Changes in social structures occurring during the process of economic growth can be considered direct consequences of this process, while other changes are caused by factors such as technological progress, that affect simultaneously social structures and growth.

The impact of economic growth on poverty has been documented. The relationship is not direct. In some cases it can be positive i.e.economic growth leading to reduction in poverty, whereas in some cases it can be negative, ie economic growth leading to increase in poverty. The impact of economic growth on poverty depends highly on the inequalities that are prevailing in an economy.And thus it doesn't make sense to measure poverty in a developed economy in the same way you would meausre it a developing country, because the definitions of poverty will definitely differ in different economies. 

The manner in which generative and distributive effects drive ultimate outcomes and affect the economy is complex. Consequently, it is important to understand the types of economic impacts that may be generated by transportation investments.

Costs of Production and Competitiveness—Improved highway systems reduce costs for delivery of goods and services; they also support faster, more reliable transportation from one place to another. These, in turn, reduce the costs of collecting inputs and delivering products to markets in several ways:

less driver time on the road thus lower labor costs;

increased trip miles per time period per vehicle and thus smaller vehicle fleet needed for the same amount of work ("freight efficiency");

lower vehicle repair and operating costs; and

improved transportation reliability.

The first three work directly to reduce total product costs. Improved transportation reliability works to reduce production costs via reductions in inventories of inputs, spare parts, and/or finished goods.

Cost reductions that are realized will enhance the competitive position of enterprises with access to the improved highway network. In turn, this can stimulate increased trade domestically and/or internationally, resulting in improved trade balances. Moreover, expanded demand can generate economies of scale and improved productivity as enterprises take advantage of these market opportunities—thus inducing another round of cost reduction. The relative impact of these effects vary among sectors (i.e., the type of economic activity or industry) and vary according to the level of pre-highway urbanization and development.

Labor Pool—Because labor can more readily reach employment locations from farther away (assuming there are vehicles to transport them over the highway system), enterprises have a larger employment pool from which to draw. Competition could reduce wages, but an expanded labor pool should also encourage a more efficient match between skills and jobs. In some circumstances, improved connections between hometown and employment opportunities prompts workers to move closer to employment opportunities since they do not need to sever their ties to family when they migrate. Thus improved access can affect demographic patterns as well as production costs of individual enterprises.

Economic Structure—Transportation costs and improved physical access may change the mix of economic activities. That is, major investments can alter the mix of economic activities where transportation cost (or access) was an inhibiting factor. For example, previously self-sufficient areas may specialize in those activities that earn the greatest income and use that income to "import" products that used to be produced locally. The lure of reduced transportation costs can lead to shifts in geographic distribution of economic activity to take advantage of these changes. To the degree that such structural changes improve productivity, national output (per capita) is increased.

-Yu Zhen (23) 2E