MIDTERM 2

1- Problem

There are many definitions which can explain the meaning of “problem” .

Briefly, generally a problem is a state of difficulty which needs solution. It occurs when there is uncertainity about solution and when we are aware of them. For that reason problems do not have easy answers. If they did, they would be already solved. Since everyday we face new things and explore them , various problems arises. Also every solution leads us to new problems and so it goes…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem

http://www.biodiversity.ru/coastlearn/policy-eng/problemanalysis_definition.html

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CUTS/ce790/problem.pdf

2-

a) Method

Generally, method is a systematically planned way of doing something. It is a procedure implemented when attaining a goal. It comes from the ancient Greek word methodos means “ pursuit of knowledge”, -meth- ; among, between,in common” and “–odos- ; way,motion, journey.”

http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/method/

http://www.answers.com/topic/method?cat=technology

http://www.blurtit.com/q984120.html

b)Methodology

Methodology is the techniques applied when analyzing methods within a discipline. It is the general concept on different methods rather than severally seperated methods .It comes from the word methodologia (Ancient Greek) “method” + “logos”. It starts with the gathering of information –theories or ideas-. Then it goes on with the search of other approaches and ends with the comparison of individual perspective with the other’s approaches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodology

http://www.answers.com/topic/methodology?cat=technology

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=methodology&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

3-

a)Theory

Too basically , theory means imperfect fact because it is based on expectation of what should happen. Actually theory has many different meanings in different fields of knowledge depending on their methodologies.Theories can never be proven , they can always be revised.For example; evolution theory can never be a law because evolution process differs from one living creature to another.Therefore very few theories can become laws.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory

http://www.google.com.tr/search?hl=tr&rlz=1G1GGLQ_TRTR265&pwst=1&defl=en&q=define:theory&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

b)Hypothesis

In scientific methodology, after making some preliminary assumptions and compare them with the existing theories , an assumption (hypothesis) is brought forward. Then its reliability can be tested to see whether it can be valid or not. Generally hypothesis has the same meaning as in science. It is an unproved theory to explain an observation , a phenomenon temporarily – until it can be tested by further investigation. We use hypothesis to make predictions before we start to search.

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=hypothesis&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypotheses#Hypothesis

http://www.karakutu.com/frmt6789/metodoloji-nedir-

c) Paradigm

Paradigm is the perspective you have to understand the world. It is like the empty and the filled parts of a glass. It is like two people looking at outside and one sees the dirt on the ground and other one sees the beautiful sky. In science , Thomas Kuhn has used the word paradigm as all the beliefs,rules,values and conceptual-experimental tools which a certain scientific approach use to question nature and to find and overall explanation about the relationships in nature. Unlike theory , paradigm does not involve objectivity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm

http://www.yourdictionary.com/paradigm

http://retailindustry.about.com/library/terms/p/bld_paradigm.htm

http://www.toplumdusmani.net/modules/wordbook/entry.php?entryID=2474

4-

a) Strategy

The word strategy comes from the Greek word stratēgos, -stratos (army)- and –ago( Ancient Greek for leading)-. As it is seen it was a word used for military at the beginning. It contains the tactics about the conditions of troops especially where to place them .A strategy is mostly based on winning policy. In business , strategy is determining the opportunities that company will follow. Strategy is perspective, position, plan and pattern.Strategy is the way that company use to realise its mission and vision. It is not stable and can be shaped by the actions taken in the progression of the organization.

http://blog.pennlive.com/shoptalkmarketing/2007/05/a_brief_definition_of_strategy.html

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=strategy&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy

http://home.att.net/~nickols/strategy_definition.htm

b) Plan

Plan is a way of changing the present conditions to intended conditions. Therefore, there is a need of some intended methods to achieve that. Every company make plans to compose a strategy and within their strategies they change some of them to adapt the changing conditions .Thus plans have less validity (time) unlike strategies which are mad efor long terms. According to these plans they proceed.For example , a marketing plan involves the actions that is intended to interest the potential customers in your product and persuading them to buy it. There are business plans made in doing this.

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=plan&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_plan

http://www.google.com.tr/search?hl=tr&rlz=1G1GGLQ_TRTR265&q=define%3Aplan&btnG=Ara&meta=

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/marketplan.htm

c) Control

Control means having power to check or restrain something. It comes from Medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contra 'opposite' + rotula 'roll, little wheel'. Control is one of the managerical functions like planning , organizing , staffing and directing. Control in management means setting standards, measuring actual performance and taking corrective action.These tree composes the control in management.

As Henri Fayol said “Control consists of verifying whether everything occurs in conformity with the plan adopted, the instructions issued, and principles established. It ['s] object [is] to point out weaknesses and errors in order to rectify [them] and prevent recurrence”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_%28management%29

http://www.brainyquote.com/words/co/control147765.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control

5-

a) Model

A model is a miniature representation of a thing. It is used to preliminarily display the product before producing the original one. We use models when making presentations.

We use economic models to represent economic processes by a set of variables and a set of logical and quantitative relationships between them. They have two functions ; simplification and selection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_%28economics%29

http://www.yourdictionary.com/model

http://www.brainyquote.com/words/mo/model191086.html

b) Snowball Effect

Snowball effect is a growing process.It is like a small snowball gains speed and size while rolling down a hill . This term is mostly used for very small and insignificant things to grow up exponentially and become very significant .It can be used to describe things which show a rapid growth.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snowball+effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_effect

c) Waterfall Diagram

Waterfall method describes a no turning back process which means that once a development phase is completed , there is no chance tor reverse it back. Like a waterfall flow down from a mountain can never flow up again , the process taken in waterfall method can not be done again.

Advantages: It allow for

-departmentailization

-managerical control

Each phase of development proceed in an order without any iteration.

Disadvatages: It does not allow

-revision

-reflection

Since there is no turning back , once an application goes to the testing stage , there is no chance to change it.

Here is a sample of a waterfall diagram.

http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci519580,00.html

6-

a)Validation/validity

Validity underscores the power of our deductions and how accurate our theories are. It is a point that decides if the result is correct or if it is prejudiced .

Validity consist of three parts;namely, relevance,accuracy and utility.

Types of validity: it is concerned about the appearance of measure , the reliability and the attainability of information about it.

• Face Validity: it is concerned about the appearance of measure , the reliability and the attainability of information about it
• Criterion related validity:the accuracy of a measure when compared with another validity type which is valid.

• Construct validity: it is the approximate truth of the conclusion that your operationalization accurately reflects its construct
• Content validity: it reflects the intended domain of content which is based on some extent of measurement.

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Colosi/lcolosi2.htm

http://www.niu.edu/assessment/Resources/Assessment_Glossary.htm

http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/relval/pop2b.cfm

b) Significance

Most generally , significance is the scope which something matters. In economics if a finding has implications for scientific interpretation or policy practice (McCloskey and Ziliak, 1996), it is said to be of economic significance. If a finding is occured randomly by a chance it is called statistically significant.Another term comes up here ; significance level.Significance level refer to a number p-value which decides the null hypothesis is significant or rejected. The smaller the p-value,the more significant the result.

http://economics.about.com/od/economicsglossary/g/signif.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_significance

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=significance&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

c)Reliability

The consistency or repeatability of our measures is called reliability. Reliability can never be calculated it can be just estimated.

There are four types of reliability:

•Inter-Rater or Inter-Observer Reliability

It is the evaluation of degrees which raters/observers gives consistently to the same phenomenon.

•Test-Retest Reliability

Measurement of a consistency from time to time.

•Parallel-Forms Reliability

Evaluation of the consistency of the results of two tests held in the same way.

•Internal Consistency Reliability

Evaluation of the consistency of results across items within a test.

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/f/reliabilitydef.htm

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/reltypes.php

d) Relevance/Relevant

Relevance is the closeness measurement of a term which fits best to the user’s search for information.It is the relationship between the subject which is in the document and the given matter.Similarly, relevant means directly related or connected.

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=relevant&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/vancouvering.html

7-

a) Event

Event,generally, is something that happens at a given place and a time. Events can cause another event;thus this will create an event chain which will probably affect the project.This changes can cause the failure of project. The events which have the most potetial to affect the project called “critical events”. By identifying these critical events we can relieve the negative effects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_chain_methodology

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/event

http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/event/

b) Process

Process means a logicall related and ordered actions which can transform an input to an output .Process definion discusses the start and end points of actions.All the activities made by each department is involved in the process.Process consists of many steps; namely,purpose,structure,rationale(reasoning behind the process),roles and ordering

Business process starts with a customer’s needs and ends with the fulfillment of these needs.There are three types of business process:

· Management Processes,manage the operation of a system

· Operational Processes, constitutes core business

· Supporting Processes,support the core business

http://www.gaudisite.nl/WhatIsAProcessPaper.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process

http://oeas.ucf.edu/process_analysis/what_is_pa.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process

c) Life Cycle

The systems development life cycle is a model used in Project management which means a methodical approach to planning and leading project processes from begining to the end. In general a life cycle methodology consists of many steps:

-The evaluation of existing system

-The things that are required for the new system are defined

- Desing of the proposed system

-Development process of the new system

-Release of this new system and its use

-evaluation of this system

For products , life cycle again involves many phases which are market introduction , growth , mature and decline or stability stages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_life_cycle_management

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/quest/gloss1a.htm#l

8-

a) Iterative

Iterative refers to actions which is repeated multiple times. If the sequence of instructions is executed repeatedly, it is called a loop in computer programming , and we say that the computer iterates through the loop.In software development , without planning iterations, you have very little idea about the end time of the project, the resources will be needed to complete the project, or when these resources will be needed.

And the basic pattern by which the work on an iteration is planned and managed:

The difficulty in iterative development is the compatibility of all iterations. The advantage of of iterative development is that instead of waiting until the application is at the end of development process and it is not easy to make changes on it; problems are identified and solved at each stage of development.Therefore the process is circular.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/may05/bittner-spence/index.html

http://www.blurtit.com/q138804.html

http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci519105,00.html

b) Sequential

Like sequence ,which means the ordered list of objects or events, sequential in science means a list of methods which is involved in testing a hypothesis is made to accept or reject the hypothesis or to continue sampling. There must be a consistency in sequential events which means that all instructions should be performed in an order and every written operation should be visible throughout the system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_sequential

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212962,00.html

9-Correlate beautiful vs. Kitsch picture taking exercise with “data collection”, “observation”, “abstraction” and “awareness”.

To make this exercise, we first defined the goals of the data colllection and made a methodology for the data collection plan. Then we started observation . Observations are statements which are determined by using the five senses(sight,smell,touch,hear and taste). This exercise was mostly based on sight. According to our observations we collected datas about beautiful and kitsch. After making observations and took photos , the abstraction part began. Abstraction (soyutlama) means the simplification or the narrowing down process of generalization of information in order to acquire the desired purpose.In order to acquire the desired photos we started to eliminate them until they satisfy the conditions of including beautiful and kitsch. Awareness here helped us in all of those steps. While we were collecting datas , we did not gather them unconsciously. Step by step we analysed our findings deeply and then determined which of them are the ones we needed.

beatiful versus kitsch - Devrim and MM

Types of Engineers

1-Electrical Engineering:Electrical engineering is the application of the laws of physics governing electricity, magnetism, and light to develop new technologies to help humankind.Applications in electrical power systems, complex digital systems for computers, control systems, robots, remote sensing and measurement systems.
2-Computer Engineering:It is a combination of software and and electrical engineering.Involves mainframes and microcomputers, distributed and parallel processing, languages, computational theory, wireless and mobile computing, data mining, and the mathematical structure.
3-Mechanical Engineering:The oldest field of engineering since it deals with the design of mechanical sytems including team and gas turbine power plants, automobiles, cooling systems for mechanical and electronic systems, and manufacturing processes.
4-Civil Engineering:A type of engineering that focuses on the design of structures for various purposes, primarily transportation.
5-Environmental Engineering: The application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment and provide a healthy water,air and land for human habitation and for other organisms.
6-Biomedical Engineering: involves the devices of devices that are intended to be used in medicine.Biomedical engineers design everything from mechanical prosthetic limbs and synthetic organs to advanced wheelchairs.
7-Chemical Engineering: involves studying the way atoms and molecules interact and react with the help of physical science and mathematics.
8-Aerospace Engineering: Includes design and production of aircraft, spacecraft, aerospace equipment, satellites and missiles.
9-Agricultural Engineering: The engineers who apply engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing, and to the management of natural resources.
10-Metallurgy and Materials Engineering: This area deals with the development and production of metallic elements and their applications.
11-Mining Engineering: Involves many of other engineering disciplines as applied to extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment.
12-Petroleum Engineering: Deals with the production of hydrocarbons which can be either crude oil or gas.
13-Molecular biology and Genetic Engineering: It is concerned with the molecular cloning and transformation.
14-Industrial Engineering: a branch of engineering that concerns the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, material and process.Industrial engineers are concerned with the management side of operations not the machinery side.Industrial engineers are given a broad background in electricity, computers, mechanics, and economics.Thus, while other types of engineers works in specific areas, industrial engineers can work in every field.Also since industrial engineers are responsible of increasing the efficiency of workplace they can make other engineers work more efficiently and productive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_engineering
http://www.nativeaccess.com/types/manag_industrial.html
http://www.uta.edu/engineering/discovereng/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_various_types_of_engineering
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=285
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering#Main_Branches_of_Engineering

What Do Engineers Do?

Engineers apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to economical solution of pratical technical problems and they design all kinds of functional systems, products and services for modern living by applying a combination of mathematical, scientific and engineering fundamentals.Engineers solve problems and get things better , more efficiently and cheap.Engineers ensure that the products they manufacture are of the highest quality and meet safety standards.Engineering managers are distinguished from other managers by the fact that they possess both an ability to apply engineering principles as well as being able to organize, plan and manage technical projects.
In addition engineers not only contribute to modern technology but also to other fields including architecture, the global environment and medicine.

http://appsci.queensu.ca/prospective/engineering/info/
http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ugrad/prospective/engdo.html
http://www.teachingtools.com/Slinky/engineers.html

Engineering as a Proffesion

Engineering is a profession that provides people both mathematical and natural knowledge in order to have a control over materials and natural forces to facilitate our lives.Thus , by being an expert on these areas, engineers creates machines ,structures and processes. They should generate several solutions according to their knowledge and experiences. Therefore by discretion and judgement they reach optimum solutions.In addition they must be aware of their responsibilities since any kind of product can affect society.Consequently an engineer must be sure that the positive effects of a product overweights its hazards and it is good for people.

Origins of Engineering and Beginning of Engineering Education

From the earliest days of universities in the Middle Ages, proffesional schools have been associated with institutions of higher education. These schools provided training and education according to the needs of society. Those days, subjects were mainly about medicine.
As society's needs progress , some other subjects qualified for participation in university environment,including engineering. First, military engineers came up as the first engineers by the government in order to build up roads,bridges and fortifications.Then the term "civil engineering" entered the lexicon as a way to distinguish between those specializing in the construction of such non-military projects and those involved in the older discipline of military engineering.
As the other types of engineering appeared , universities began to give engineering education to their students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering#History
http://www.seas.ucla.edu/hsseas/history/origin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_education

Preference

If I were one of those scientists, I would prefer to be Henry Ford.The reason that influences me about him is his magnificent works about cars. Other scientist were mainly focused on improving the efficiency in the workplace by doing some researches on worker's psychology or how they work. Unlike them , Henry Ford mostly worked on designing cars or other vehicles that facilitates life and made distances even closer for all people from every class. He used assembly lines and and Ford Company sold millions of cars in a few decades. Thus, he is one of the scientists I have admired most...