Saturday 28 May 2016

End of Journey & Study Tips.





End of Journey & Study Tips.


Yesterday was officially the last lecture of my six year journey at the University of Malta, although I
wanted this day to come very badly, yesterday I felt emotional and confused.

As they say every beginning has its ending and every ending has a new beginning…since I’m a full time employee and was studying part time, I will dedicate my free time to write, read and spend some quality time with my loved ones.

When I first stepped into the University of Malta, six years ago on a Thursday afternoon I felt disoriented, people were coming from all sides and directions, luckily I figured out were I had to go and therefore I went to class were I saw some familiar faces (and that was a relief).


(University of Malta)

Exams and assignments came along and the 1st year was over in a blink of an eye.

People started to drop out and the group of students became more concise, with this in mind our group got more together and new friendships were born. 
During my 4th Year at University I joined forces with a group of people which together we were invincible, we were and still are like bread and butter; we study together and support each other mentally. Although yesterday was our last lecture we still have two exams and a 25,000 word dissertation to go through…but now I’m seeing light in the end of the tunnel and that light will be clearer when I graduate in December 2016 :)

Being a full time employee and a part time student is not an easy task but with some determination and motivation anyone can do it.

Here are some study tips which I wanted to share with you:

  •  While studying I love to motivate myself with some online shopping…and when I say some it means a lot… I buy everything from a selfie light to a dress
  • Study with a group: I love to study with a group of people; we help and motivate one another,
    Thanks to them I don’t feel like I’m an island standing alone
  • Plan a holiday: While studying I love to plan holiday, they can be real or not..but yes I spent time going to flights and hotels
  • Watch youtube videos: I love vlogs and yes I spend some time watching videos likes tips for exams etc...
  • Don’t drink a lot of coffee: I used to drink a lot of coffee to keep me focused and ended up with a regular headache which is a big NO NO
  • Eat chocolate: during this time you are allowed to eat chocolate
  • Listen to classic music: I love to listen to classic music..it relaxes me a lot

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST SEARCH FOR SOME MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES…..THEY HELP AND IF YOU ARE NERVOUS AND YOU FIGHT WITH YOUR BF/GF REMEMBER YOU ARE EXCUSED.



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Friday 27 May 2016

Is Time Running Out?

Is Time Running Out?

I have such a love for watches…big, small, statement watches or ones just to tell the time on so when I came across this initiative run by DiscountWatchStore.com, Time Telling Initiative I just had to write about it!


Yes, I know, I live in the UK so it doesn’t really affect me in any way what so ever but I just thought it was such a good scheme that maybe something like this could/should be done in the UK. Do you remember back in the Summer of possibly last year when Joey Essex was on I’m a Celebrity and he admitted he couldn’t tell the time, well since then there seem to be so many other adults admitting the same thing. To be honest, it was such a long time ago that I learn’t that I really can’t remember what I was taught or how I was taught but I guess someone must have!

‘We conducted a study earlier in 2015, in the Bronx, NY area. The participants were children between the ages of 6-12. What we found was that only 1 in 5 actually scored full marks in the study . That’s just 20% having the ability to tell time on an analog watch.’

I guess now that analog clocks and watches are almost a thing of the past, it’s only natural that the younger generation either don’t own, use or know how to use one, especially when they can just look at the front screen of their smartphone and find out that way. I do however think it’s a shame that this seems to be an area that is being forgotten so I think it’s a great idea that this initiative is being done over in the US.Did you know, these days only 1 in 10 children own a wrist watch! That’s crazy when I think back to my childhood…all those many, many years ago, oh how times have changed!

‘In the spirit of this tightening race, DiscountWatchStore.com has created some countdown timers. Wherever you plant your feet – to the left, right, or somewhere in the middle, these countdown timers remind us that democracy is strong in the U.S. of A.’

Oh, and for any of you in the US reading this, don’t forget, you can vote on the 2016 election countdown timers that DiscountWatchStore are running on their website. Vote here. I think it’s just for fun but not living in the US I’m not 100% sure how they do things over there!

Thank you for reading.
Becky

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Thursday 26 May 2016

Monday Blues


Monday Blues


Oh Monday's. How we all despise you so. It seems as if the weekends fly by, and the fun moments within those two days are nothing but a memory upon waking Monday morning. Once you hear the all too familiar sound of your alarm clock go off unbearably early on Monday morning, it seems as if all the life that was in you drains away little by little throughout the week.

Maybe you work in hospitality, or any job other than in an office setting, and you don't have the typical Saturday and Sunday off. Maybe you have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Whatever it may be, do you find yourself counting down the days, hours, maybe even minutes until you're running out the door to escape to what little freedom it seems you have?

Don't worry, you're not alone. In fact, I'm willing to bet that most of us are living for our days off. We work as if we're all robots or better yet, zombies going through the monotonous routine of our daily schedule. The paycheck, the fancy, overpriced coffee and our coworkers seem to be the only inspiration that keeps us returning to the same maddening regimen that creates this ghastly and undeniably lethargic sense of being.


Well, what if I told you that your working days didn't have to be as somber as they seem? What if I told you on the days you work, you could be just as happy as you are on your weekends? Sounds great, right? It's not an insurmountable concept. It's simply a matter of pre-conditioned perception. As we grew up, our culture conditioned us to hate "Monday's." It's prevalent in the news, television shows, and movies alike.


And as a result of our indoctrination, into the "we hate Monday's club" we have learned to hate the day of the moon. Which in turn leads to our suffering. This is also the result of placing a negative connotation on things in our lives. So how do we reverse our preconditioned connotations?


Simple, we react the way we do to certain things because our minds have been trained to do so. So what we're actually dealing with is the question of how do we retrain our subconscious to less perceive Monday's, or anything really for that matter, in a negative light? The answer is repetition.


When negative thoughts, regarding any matter, creep into our minds we must be cognizant of them and stop them abruptly. And then we simply replace them with a desired thought. This will take time as we are trying to undo the conditioning of many years. However, with diligence, success can be found. Our perspective is ultimately what we choose it to be. The only difference is whether or not we choose to control them.


Did I just blow your mind or what? Perhaps you're bored with my logistical thinking about our perceived "definition" of what a Monday usually stands for. Maybe you're intrigued. Either way, regardless of if it's a Monday or not, try retraining your thought process to avoid the downward spiral of negative thinking. Try putting some pep into your step, be more friendly with your customers, smile a little more. I mean, you have to go to work anyways, might as well make the most of it. Who knows, you may just end up having a new and blissful definition of the term, "Monday Blues."

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Wednesday 18 May 2016

Jet packs, Smart homes and the Model X

Jet packs, Smart homes and the Model X


Hello and a warm welcome here from Designing Brilliance. We hope you are having a wonderful week. Today our post will be about Jet packs, Smart homes and the Model X.


We have all dreamed of what life would be like in the future, and I know what your thinking jet packs, smart homes and flying cars. We still have a long way to go but for now I can settle for electric cars. When I say electric cars I’m not talking about those so called smart cars that look like a kids toys on the road or the 3 wheeled abominations produced by Toyota the “i-Road” more like “i-get off the road” because our prayers have been answered. 
 
God has sent us our technological messiah Elon Musk who has brought with him the answer to the age old question how to save the planet without looking like a total clown? 

The tesla Model X.

Firstly this car looks the business with 303 miles of range a 90 kWh battery and an acceleration from zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds this 6 seater SUV is a beast of a car, but if that doesn’t get your electric motor running then how about the awesome looking falcon wing doors the real time maps and navigation or the auto pilot that actually works. If that wasn’t enough due to automatic emergency breaking extended crumple zone and lack of a combustion engine this is the safest thing that you can drive, for all those who care about that stuff.

This car is the future but as we all know the future does not come cheap, this electric awesomeness will set you back up to £60,000. Wow I know if like me this car is out of your price range then do not despair because Tesla have heard our cries and they have responded with the tesla Model 3. A spacious 4 door sedan which will have everything but the falcon doors at an affordable $35000. They say good things come to those who wait and wait we must as the car is not in mass production yet it is estimated that the first Model 3’s will leave the factory early 2017.

 By Kennedy Nwosu

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The Ice Cream Girls

Hello everybody. Its Rahul from Designing Brilliance and today we have another guest post from Ori Spi

Today I wanted to write about one of my favorite all time book..The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy

Koomson.

First I’m going to introduce you to this amazing author Dorothy Koomson. Born in 1971, Koomson is a full time writer, her published works amount to eleven books the latest was published in May of this year namely “When I was invisible”

The Ice Cream Girls is about two teenage girls who fell in love with their Mathematics teacher. In 1995 they are accused of murdering the teacher they both loved. The story is a recount of their experience, together with their present lives.

One of the girls had to go back to her home town after her mother fell sick, the other girl Poppy at the
time got out of prison..and they were forced to confront each other.

For all the bookworms out there, who loves fiction, drama, romance and a thriller…this book is the
perfect mix for this recipe…

I also had the opportunity to watch the TV drama which was featured by ITV.com but nowadays I can’t seem to find it…This drama was based on the book The Ice Cream Girls but the heading was different as it was called The Two Ice Cream Girl. The girls in the drama have different personalities than those in the book. So yes, I would definitely suggest that before watching the Tv Drama...READ THE BOOK

If you are interested in this author you can drop by her website which is www.dorothykoomson.co.uk

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Monday 16 May 2016

Summertime sadness...

Summertime sadness...
Hello everybody. Its Rahul from Designing Brilliance and today we have a very special guest post from Ori Spi who will be posting some fabulous content from this day onward.

To all the people who want to look good in their denim jeans, their maxi dress and their bikinis.
To all the people who refused to go for a walk during the others seasons and instead indulged in piece of snickers cake
To all the people who refused to eat healthy and eat lots of junk food thinking its going to be oki….
P.S: Summer is around the corner…(and I can hear the screams of people who cannot get in their bikini)…oh no I think I’m hearing myself….
So today I made an effort: ROAD TO CHANGE
I’m not a person who likes to eat breakfast.. My mornings usually consists of two cups of coffees (with milk) and then I skip immediately to lunch which by that time I will be starving and binge on bread..
Today I had only one cup of coffee and I had some breakfast which consisted of a smoothie: 1 Banana Yogurt, 1 Banana, 1 Peach and some Chai Seeds.

For lunch I’m planning to have some tuna salad but I’m still clueless for dinner…..
What about you? What are your meal plans?

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Friday 13 May 2016

PPF Curve -Microeconomics


PPF Curve

So today we will be talking about the PPF curve and the economics theory behind it.
If you miss the first economics post of this series of posts click here->  how markets work?

So what are PPF curves?

PPF curve- Well PPF curve stands for production possibility frontier which in essence show the maximum productive potentials of an economy using two goods or services when working at full capacity.
The PPF curve can also show the opportunity cost of using scarce resources.
For example if the scarce resource is milk, then there is a trade-off between producing cheese or yoghurt from the milk. The PPF curve can show this like in the diagram below.





That's all for today guys. Hope that the information was helpful regardless of the posts size. If you missed our last post on Scarcity, click here -> Scarcity

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Wednesday 11 May 2016

Economic Resources - Microeconomics

Economic Resources

So today we will be talking about economics resources and the economics theory behind it.
 If you miss the first economics post of this series of posts click here->  how markets work?

So what is economics resources?

They are goods and services that are available to both individuals and businesses which are ultimately used to produce valuable consumer products.

Economics resources are therefore the factors of production. These are Capital, Enterprise, Land and Labour. These are explained in more detail in the table below.






These four factors can be remembered using the acronym CELL.

C- capital
E- enterprise
L- land
L- labour

The environment is a scarce resource and the planet has a limited amount of resources. They are made up of non-renewable and renewable resources.

Renewable resources- Renewable resources are resources that can be used over and over again without potentially running out and also it can be replenished. Examples of this include oxygen, fish or solar and wind power. However if the resource was to be in demand more than the amount being produced or able to produce the resource would decline.

This could be prevented and controlled by for example reducing deforestation, or imposing fishing quotas.

Non-renewable resources- Non-renewable resources are resources that cannot be used over and over again due to the fact that they will finally run out at some point. Examples of this are oil, fossil fuels etc... as they cannot be replenished at the rate they are being used.

That's all for today guys. Hope that the information was helpful. If you missed our last post on Economics Methodology, click here -> Economics Methodology

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Tuesday 10 May 2016

Economics methodology- Microeconomics

Economics Methodology

Welcome to the designing brilliance blog and today we will be discussing and talking about economic methodology.

So in economics, economists need to make assumptions. Assumptions on events that may occur or things that may change or stay the same such as whether the shares market may grow or go into decline.  Economists are not able to conduct scientific experiments and therefore use real-life scenarios to make models such as the demand curve and supply curve which was shown in yesterdays post on how markets work? There are two types of assumptions that are made; these are positive and normative statements.

Positive statements- 

They are statements which are objective and therefore can be tested by factual information to be proven true or false. The statements would use words such as 'will ' and or  'is'.

For example "raising the taxes on alcohol will lead to a fall in demand of alcohol and a fall in profits of pub landlords". This is a positive statement.

Another example of a positive statement would be " higher temperatures will lead to an increase in the demand for sun-cream"

The key part to remember when identifying a positive statement is that it includes words such as 'will' and the statement can be tested and results can be examined and then the statement can be accepted or rejected.

Normative statement- 


Normative statements are value judgements; so in essence they are opinion based and can be subjective. They are not based of factual information! Normative statements use words such as 'should' generally.

For example " the free market is the best way to allocate resources" is a normative statement as it is opinion based as it suggests one way is better than another without any factual evidence

Another example of a normative statement would be " The government should increase tax on alcohol".


That's all for today guys. Hope that the information was helpful. If you missed our last post on how markets work?, click here -> how markets work?

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Monday 9 May 2016

How markets work ?- Microeconomics

How markets work ?

A warm welcome and hello from everyone here at Designing Brilliance. It been quite a while since we last posted however we are in the process of putting a new team together. So we look forward to posting more posts on our blog!

So in today's post we will be looking into education and microeconomics in particular.

The first topic we will be looking at is how markets work. We will be taking a look at the basics on supply and demand and the determinants of price.

Lets get started with a quick definition of price mechanism- the price mechanism is the means by which consumers and producers interact to determine the allocation of resources between different goods and services. In essence this basically means that consumers and producers decide where resource (e.g oil, wheat etc...) are used.

There are three types of functions of price mechanism which can be remembered using the acronym SIR

S-signalling
I- incentive
R- rationing

DEMAND

 Now moving onto demand. What is demand? It is an insistent and peremptory request. That is the google definition; however demand in economics is the wants and the needs of the consumer. Demand is shown in a graph known as the demand curve which shows the relationship between the price of and item and the quantity demanded over a period of time. The demand curve is shown below in red.

There are some factors that cause a shift in the demand curve as shown by the movements of the demand curve from the red to the blue as shown in the graph above. These factors include

Income- So for example an increase in income would suggest or imply that the consumer has more disposable income and therefore may demand more of product thus increasing demand (shift of demand curve to the right)

Tastes/ trends- Tastes and trends are one of the most common factors that cause shifts in demand. This is because a sudden change in rend for an item can cause demand for a product to change. For example lets say a new craze of converse shoes comes into fashion or trend then more consumers will be requesting or asking for the product and in essence will cause the demand curve to shift to the right. A shift to the left would occur if the trend became negative (e.g a bad review or health impact causing demand for the product to reduce).

Substitutes- What are substitutes. Well this can be kind of hard to explain so I am going to give an example. So different brands offering the same product. E.G Heinz baked beans Vs Tesco baked beans.

Competition- Between brands competing can change demand for one or more products.

Price- The price of a product can determine whether the consumer would want to buy one good over another. For example I would probably buy a can of beans costing £0.50 rather than £0.51 or any more expensive. Therefore the demand for the beans costing £0.50 would increase theoretically and the demand for the other beans would theoretically decrease.

SUPPLY

Finally onto the last part of today's article we will look at supply. What is supply? Supply is the quantity of a good or service that a producer is willing and able to supply to a market at a given price in a given time period. Supply is shown on a graph using the supply curve as shown in the diagram below.


There are some factors that cause a shift in the supply curve as shown by the movements of the supply curve from S to S1 in the blue as shown in the graph above. These factors include:

Weather- If there was good weather then it could potentially mean that a farmer may have a larger yielded crop resulting in a shift in supply to the right where as if there was to be a natural disaster such as a drought it would most likely result in a decrease in supply (shift to the left).

Subsidies-  Subsidies are amounts of money that are given to individual firm in order o help boost their production in order to supply more and the subsidies do not need to be paid back. Subsidies allow producers to reduce over all and cost per unit item; therefore allowing producers to supply more goods and services.

Technology- Technology can play a part in increasing the supply. If better technology is used for example using machine to make a product and making the process automated rather than having workers making items it will reduce costs as well as increase productivity and thus increase quantity supplied.

Cost of production- If costs of production are high it is very likely that producers will only be able to produce a limited amount of products or services whereas if costs of production are kept low then the amount that is supplied is considerably higher. resulting in a shift in the supply curve to the right.

That's all for today guys. Hope that the information was helpful. Don't forget to subscribe and leave comments below and share share share !  :)

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