Clearer Views

As we grow older, habits, appearance, actions as well as our personality changes. From the time we were born until now, we undergo a transformation unlike any other living thing simply because we undergo not only physical changes, but mentally and psychologically as well. But what exactly fuels the change? Is it the experiences we have? The lessons we learn? The variety of emotions that we feel? For me, I believe it is a combination of all things that makes wonders in our lives. From meeting a new friend to getting enrolled in a good school, I believe the most important thing that starts the change is the change in perspective we have. I think the different perspectives we develop as we grow up affects our actions and the way we think. But the thing that makes us all most unique, is that we are always able to generate a positive outlook in life. Never can we say that the way we view life in particular can't change anymore, because we are bound by infinite possibilities, making us to able to comprehend the things that already happened, the things happening right now, and more importantly the endless situations and possibilities we can still face in the future.

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Elections was the main topic this week at our INTRICT class. That's because our discussions centered thoroughly about the different kinds of informations systems that could improve or enhance the current state of the election process. Year in, year out, countless news stories center about votes being manipulated and the elections being a symbol of the severe case of corruption our country's experiencing right now. With that in mind, society has turned for help, and in this case, technology and more importantly, informations systems. With reducing vote manipulation, increasing accuracy, as well as speeding up the process in mind, two IS have been specifically created, the Optical Mark Recognition and the Direct-Recording Electronic. Details about the two machines can be found below:

Optical Mark Reader

• Process is somewhat the same as college entrance tests. (Shading circles and machines checking it.)
• Advantages: Fast
• Disadvantages: Less accurate and longer process resulting in more chance for vote manipulation.

Direct-Recording Electronic

• Uses touch screen in an individual process. (One person at a time per machine.)
• Advantages: More accurate because of direct-recording nature and harder-to-manipulate results.
  
• Disadvantages: Slower because of the individual process.

Trailblazers

As we study about the numerous technological advancements every week at our INTRICT course, I can't help but to think about the reasons why each technological step was made? Maybe just out of pure curiosity, scientific reasons or maybe the efficiency it can possibly bring to mankind, the thing I realized is that each person does things based on his own reasons. Realizing this, my mind came across the topic of "Greatness", what specifically is greatness? Stereotypically, it can be viewed as the achievements we have in life, like awards or money, but look closer at the subject, and maybe you can see the entire truth. Greatness, I think, is how a person blazes his own trail in life. It isn't the money, awards or valuables we have, it is the specific trail the we leave when we have long gone away from this world. Greatness is achieved when we create a burning trail that encompasses time, creating a better world and future, for everyone, in the past, present and the future.

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This week at INTRICT, the discussion centered around informations systems development. Because of the wide range of topics regarding it that we took up last week, I finally understood why informations systems development is sometimes viewed as a simple process even though in reality it's as complex as anything can be. Given index cards containing information regarded as "Things that cannot be forgotten", all the discussions we had were merely a cloak for the things we learned because as we listened to the lectures, I felt that we needed to use our critical thinking so that we could get the gist of it. Unfortunately, the week was cut short because our professor was sick, we hope he gets well soon. All in all, as always, it was a productive week learning all about the world of informations systems.


The Parts of Informations System Development

• Stages of Development
• Organizational Knowledge
• Information Problems
• Information System Elements
  

MEGA_Squid/ Intrict: Week in Review

Tofuness and MEGA_squid, what comes to mind whenever you hear these names? The answer. Simply none. Being two of the most random names I have come across, it showcases the individuality and uniqueness of each person in this world. Also, I think it makes us realize that sometimes, we can't discover everything we want to. I think people often misunderstands the famous line, "Everything has a reason.", simply because sometimes, there just isn't. I think the uncertainty in this world is what makes it go around, religion, I think is one of the hardest puzzles Science can't seem to solve. Also, the names MEGA_squid and Tofuness poses a modern-day question, simply because you cant think of a way how people come up with these names. Weird as it may be, the names signify magnificence because it symbolizes the remaining potential mankind still has.
The names are derived from:
http://tofuness11.blogspot.com/
http://profiles.friendster.com/8680587
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This week's sessions at INTRICT put us in the shoes of modern day IT professionals. Proposing, designing as well as troubleshooting information systems, it especially showed us how tiresome and worthwhile our future jobs can be all at the same time. As a substitute for our exams this week, we had an activity where we really experienced the pressures and issues IT professionals need to address on a daily basis. For the most part, the activity was all about asking the right questions so that we could make the right information system for a given imaginary coconut juice company. While the activity was fun, what really struck me was that almost all the questions we gave at the early part of the discussion were wrong. As the week ended, I realized that instead of looking at the smaller picture, we should always look at the bigger one to become successful IT professionals. All in all, this was certainly one of the most productive weeks attending INTRICT.

A Rocket to the Moon

"3, 2, 1, Launch Off". Surely, the phrase reminds us of the ignition of a rocket. The launching of a rocket, I think, is in many ways similar to the situations we face in life. This last few weeks, something in me realized that we sometimes stray away from the things we were meant to do because of the different situations and circumstances. Problems, pressure, relationships, I think all of them contribute to blurring our vision of what we want to be, what we want to do and certainly, what we want to achieve. As a rocket ignites and goes straight to the moon, all kinds of problems often occur in the cockpit. From low fuel, energy and all kinds of things, the thing that strikes me is the never fading determination of the astronauts. With their dreams and goals in mind, they never heed away from pressure, instead they learn to embrace it to improve themselves in all aspects. I think it resembles how shall handle our goals and dreams, destiny as it is. Destiny, I think is a word clouded by stereotypical means of communications. During modern times, many of us view destiny as a thing certain, cannot be changed. While I believe destiny is true, I don't believe in the saying that we cannot change it. In fact, I think everyday, every hour, our destiny changes, but we are in control of what we path we want to pursue. There are many faults in the world today, failed relationships, marriage, abortion and all kinds of things, but the thing I realize is that we shouldn't make any of it as an excuse for not reaching our goals. Because each problem, each trial only shows us how much we want that dream, how much we value it. As millions of people stray away from the paths they have chosen, one thing's for sure, their hearts will guide them to where they really belong.
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This week at INTRICT, the topic we shifted our focus on was the nature, characteristics, effects and application of modern-day informations systems. The thing most people would be surprised about is that informations systems can literally be found anywhere, be it at home, office, schools, malls and supermarkets. Simply, it is a thing that almost every enterprise is getting into with the belief of the promise of much improved company efficiency, profits and the overall company's processing flow. With each session this week, we gained numerous insights, as well as opinions, regarding the true nature of informations systems, its advantages as well as disadvantages. With the current uprise of technology in our society today, certain companies cannot be blamed when they apply IS to their enterprise just for the sake of having it, without properly educating themselves of how it may affect the company, without weighing all the pros and cons. The reality is, with the right use of IS, it can simply boost the total efficiency of the company up to the skies, but the downside of it is that, with the wrong one it can literally bring a company down to its feet, along with the economy of the whole nation. Important facts learned/gathered:

• Inverse Proportionality: (IS- Up, Jobs Available- Down): Just like stated earlier, application of IS in the wrong situations can do more harm than good in businesses as well as our society. Incompetent informations systems provide only minor improvements of a company's efficiency in exchange for a boatload of unemployed citizens.
• Application of Informations Systems: Is can be found everywhere in the world today, it is applied efficiently as well as non-efficiently. For every informations systems we see, which ones are applied correctly, which ones are not?
• Assessing Situations: Being a successful IT professional is all about correct judgement on situations, and the application of IS is a situation which requires one.

*Music suggested by MEGA_Squid. Jan HENDRICK Chua.
*Title of blog is from a band of the same name.

The Dripping Water

" The dripping water, a vision made possible by a thousand of atoms and molecules linked together. What can we see? What can't we?"

Do you remember the old adage that states, " What you see is what you get"? I find it quite ironic that even though it is indeed a saying that's quite famous, it's as wrong as quotations can get. I always considered the human eyes to be so deceiving, capable of painting imagery that are most of the time biased to the way we think. I think the eyes can only see what it wants to see, and the reality is, there are many things that we elude just so that we could paint a perfect picture for our own, and sometimes, others convenience. Treat it as a way for the human to escape reality, minus the intention. One of the most intriguing lines I have heard goes " A performance is made up of ninety percent preparation, the other ten percent, is left for the performance itself. Think of a performance as seeing the tip of the iceberg, and discarding the other parts of it submerged in water." I think the human tendency is that we value the things that we can actually see, hear or feel, but the truth is, most of the times, the tiniest of things are the ones that matter most. From the example of the components of a performance to the example of the iceberg, I think they can all be related to the main topic we discussed this week, the job of the operational and tactical manager. At first glance, we may think that the jobs are of totally different nature, without connection, but try to look and understand it more, isn't the relation quite similar to the examples mentioned?
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All clad in business attires, surely we started of our week in INTRICT in a different note. Our first session this week started with the groups presenting their outputs and their findings on the interviews they've conducted last weekend. As each group's presentation passed, I slowly got a better picture of the the life and the job of the operational and the tactical manager. It made me realize how tiresome personnel management can be as well as showed me the numerous advantages knowing how the people around you feel in a business and a personal environment.

• The Operational Vs. The Tactical: An operational manager manages day to day activities, otherwise known as short term goals, while tactical managers worry about the long term visions and solutions.
• Company Structures: There are many kinds of structure that we could use when we build an enterprise, cost-efficiency as well as suitability are only two of the many elements for making the decision.
• Different Functional Units: We also learned about the different functional units that run a company. From the finance to the IT department, each unit contributes something essential for the continued growth and lifespan of the enterprise.

*Special thanks to Jun Lacsoo for the time given for our interview. Our group may have had just a little time to spend with him, but I'm sure each of us learned something we could find essential for our whole life, especially in the aspect of professionalism.