Archive for December 2011
Astrology – A Science?
Astrology is thriving from times immemorial, playing on the hopes and anxiety of mankind to know about tomorrow. Based on the planetory positions and their reported influences of the human beings, this pseudo-science has been taking the mankind for a ride all these years. People practising this weird art, have been claiming that this is a science. The astrologists predict our future and tell us about our past. They practise the art of reading a man’s mind in distress and make predictions that would definitely soothe his anxious feelings. It is a moot point whether their predictions come true. But for the mind that is seeking refuge in small things of comfort, these forecasts and prophecies come as a drink of cold water in a desert.
Astrolgers and astrology have been part and parcel of the ancient kingdoms. Touted as a science , people flocked in large numbers to listen to oracles and soothsayers. The fear of the unknown pushed many people to spend money on consulting these self-styled pundits. In reality , this occult science has no real scientific basis. They do calculate the ephemeral and other astronomic numbers but any resemblance to science stops there. The zodiac is divided into twelve signs, known as Sun Signs. There are specific personal characteristics and traits for persons born under each Zodiac Sign. In India, they have what is known as Moon Signs. These are based on a group of two and a half stars in 12 signs. (There are 27 birth stars). Each star , like the zodiacal sign, attributes special characteristics and traits for persons born under it. Based on the planetory position at birth and the planetory periods of the particular person at present, predictions are made. The predicitons are mostly highly generalised and broad. Seldom specific forecasts are made.
Astronomical science has progressed far from the days of the ancient kingdom. Man has landed on the Moon and has already successfully landed unmanned probes in other planets. Extreme temperature conditions and lack of oxygen make these planets devoid of any signs of life. How these planets can be said to be influencing the day to day lives of the people on earth? Destiny, Astrology all these things belittle the human endeavour and his spirit for adventure. If everything has been decided in advance and if everything could be foretold, then why do mankind still engage in a mad race for material wealth?
Best Digital multimeters
Testers or digital manufacturing companies have become very popular and a lot of them make all types of digital multi meters ranging from digital multi meters for home appliances to industrial ones. No matter what type of electronic repairing you do, a digital multi meter is an important tool that can help you save time in attempting to fix the broken devices to ensure that each of these parts are can be repaired ideally with as little errors as possible. The diversity of digital multi meters really shows how each of the digital multi meters plays unique roles to ensure that each of these devices that get broken or fails can be repaired. Though digital meters are some what similar they are altogether very different, depending which on manufacture made it, and for what appliances the device can be used on.
It is common occurrence that people normally purchase digital multimeters without looking at their specifications to see if they are designed for the appliances that they are made to repair. This is the main reason why many digital multi meters manufacturing companies have selective set of rules that will ensure that if the meter is used for unsuitable device it will not damage or cause it to break. Needless to say, there are many digital meters that many repair specialists consider them to be the best. Best digital multi meters that most repair technicians choose have a very similar role that they play and their uniqueness make them to be used for all types of electronics regardless r size or shape of the device. This is why when choosing these you have to be careful of which one you select. There are few criteria’s that make these digital multi meters to be considered the best. The main important thing to remember here is that most of these selection is based on what repair technician say and as they are the ones who do the repairs.
The number of the best digital multi meters grows on daily bases as more and more advanced digital meters are introduced to the market to cater for the influx of electronics that continue to die or fail on daily bases. It’s a well known fact that without these digital meters, repairing electronics will be complicated and not easy. Though it can be considered that these digital meters play a similar role, in reality each one has its own uniqueness and how it’s used. This is the main reason why many people are very selective of what meter they use for which electronic components. In the past repairing different types of electronics as very difficult as one type of digital had to be used for all types of electronics.
Australian University Rankings – A Comparison
What are the top ten Australian Universities? There is no official government ranking of universities in Australia. However there is a number of university league tables produced every year by relevant bodies such as the Melbourne Institute, The Australian Newspaper, The Good Universities Guide, THES and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s academic ranking of world universities.
The Melbourne Institute (operated by the University of Melbourne) has produced its own ranking of the international standing of Australian universities. This ranking is based on a number of performance indicators such as international standing of staff, views of Deans and CEOs, resources, undergraduate programs, undergraduate intake and graduate programs.
According to Melbourne Institute 2007 the top ten Australian Universities (in order of ranking) are: Australian National University (ANU), University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Monash University, University of Western Australia (UWA), University of Adelaide, Macquarie University and Queensland University of Technology. From this ranking ANU was the number one Australian university in terms of international standing and reputation, followed by Melbourne and Sydney. Is this result representative? Here we will analyze and compare it with the other two famous international league tables – THES and Academic ranking of world universities (ARWU).
Ranking Comparison:
- The list of top four universities produced by the Melbourne Institute are the same in ranking order as THES and ARWU 2007. We are confident to say that they are the Best Four – ANU, Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland.
- Group of Eight (Go8) Universities are among the top 8 universities as ranked by the three different league tables. These include the Best Four and the rest of the group – UNSW, Monash, UWA and Adelaide.
- Macquarie and QUT are among the top ten list (after Go8) in the Melbourne Institute and THES league tables.