Tuesday 11 February 2014

Characteristics of entrepreneurs


Here are the 10 characteristics of most entrepreneurs:
  • You are driven by motivation and ambition
  • Highly disciplined
  • Leadership, planning, and management skills
  • You are proactive and take initiative
  • Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others
  • Realize that success is the only option
  • Willing to exploit new opportunities
  • Knowledgeable of the subject matter and willing to learn more
  • You prefer the excitement of risk
  • You are committed no matter the obstacles


Attributes of Successful Entrepreneurs

To the right you will find a list of attributes that many entrepreneurs share. I believe though that although all of those can be found in many entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs usually have the following five attributes.
  • Ambition - The desire to succeed is a key attribute determining the success of an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur must be passionate about what he/she is doing and truly believe in the success of the venture.
  • A Vision - An entrepreneur doesn't just have ideas, he has a vision on how to make an idea a success - a plan for actually implementing the idea.
  • Creativity - We often hear about "thinking outside the box" but as an entrepreneur, this is a particularly important concept because as an entrepreneur, you want to provide solutions beyond the ordinary ones - as an entrepreneur you strive to have extraordinary ideas.
  • Intelligence - This one is a bit misleading since there are all sorts of intelligences. There's the traditional IQ intelligence which is called logical-mathematical intelligence and there's interpersonal intelligence which is the ability to interact well with others, among others. I believe that the required intelligence differs based on the industry.
  • Risk taking - An entrepreneur usually has a higher risk tolerance than the average person - he takes calculated risks and this really sets him apart from the average person.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Seasons

Seasons
A season is a part of a year. In most areas of the world there are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Seasons are there because of the earth being tilted on its axis as it moves around the sun. During the different seasons that we have, the earth will lean towards the sun or away from the sun. These seasons are a reflection of how solar energy is distributed to the Earth based on its axis of rotation as well as its shape.

Earth_tilt_animation.gif

The four seasons is caused by the Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt from the line perpendicular to its orbit plane (toward the sun during summer). Thus, at any given time during summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the Sun (see the next figure).






Beam spreading
The increase in surface area over which radiation is distributed in response to a decrease of solar angle. The greater the spreading, the less intense the radiation (and vice versa).










Friday 7 February 2014

Het wordt steeds drukker in Mumbai


VIDEO: Het-wordt-steeds-drukker-in-mumbai

Megacities

A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of ten million people. A megacity can be a single metropolitan area or two or more metropolitan areas that converge. 

In 1800, only 3% of the world's population lived in cities, a figure that rose to 47% by the end of the twentieth century. In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding one million; by 2007, this number had risen to 468. If the trend continues, the world's population as a whole will double every 45 years.



Rank
Megacity
Country
Continent
Population
1
Tokyo
Japan
Asia
34,800,000
2
Guangzhou
China
Asia
31,700,000
3
Shanghai
China
Asia
28,900,000
4
Jakarta
Indonesia
Asia
26,400,000
5
Seoul
South Korea
Asia
25,800,000
6
Delhi
India
Asia
24,000,000
7
Mexico City
Mexico
North America
23,800,000
8
Karachi
Pakistan
Asia
23,500,000
9
Manila
 Philippines
Asia
22,200,000
10
New York City
United States
North America
21,600,000
11
São Paulo
Brazil
South America
21,600,000
12
Mumbai
India
Asia
21,400,000
13
Beijing
China
Asia
19,300,000
14
Los Angeles
United States
North America
17,200,000
15
Osaka
Japan
Asia
16,800,000
16
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Asia
16,300,000
17
Cairo
Egypt
Africa
16,100,000
18
Kolkata
India
Asia
16,000,000
19
London
United Kingdom
Europe
15,500,000
20
Buenos Aires
Argentina
South America
14,500,000










1975
2000
2015 Projected
Tokyo
New York
Shanghai
Mexico City
São Paolo
19.8
15.9
11.4
11.2
10
Tokyo
Mexico City
Mumbai
São Paolo
Shanghai
New York
Lagos
Los Angeles
Kolkuta
Buenos Aires
Dhaka
Karachi
Delhi
Jakarta
Osaka
Metro Manila
Beijing
Rio de Janeiro
Cairo
26.4
18.1
18.1
17.8
17
16.6
13.4
13.1
12.9
12.6
12.3
11.8
11.7
11
11
10.9
10.8
10.6
10.6
Tokyo
Mumbai
Lagos
Dhaka
São Paolo
Karachi
Mexico City
New York
Jakarta
Kolkuta
Delhi
Metro Manila
Shanghai
Los Angeles
Buenos Aires
Cairo
Istanbul
Beijing
Rio de Janeiro
Osaka
Tianjin
Hyderabad
Bangkok
26.4
26.1
23.2
21.1
20.4
19.2
19.2
17.4
17.3
17.3
16.8
14.8
14.6
14.1
14.1
13.8
12.5
12.3
11.9
11
10.7
10.5
10.1
 Source: State of the World Population 200,1 Chapter 3,  UNFPA


Challenges in megacities:


Megacities will have to face different challenges of social, economic and ecologic dimensions, and should develop new solutions and actions, to answer to citizens to all their needs.

  • Buuildings, housing, slums
  • Homelessness
  • Traffic congestion
  • Waste
  • Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl)
  • Gentrification
  • Environmental problems (air pollution)
  • Energy
  • Water


Monday 3 February 2014

Primate city

Some countries have one city (the primate city) which, in terms of its population size and functions, dominates all other urban places. A primate city is the leading city in its country or region, disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. 

A primate city is at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant. 




A primate city is number one in its country in most aspects, like politics, economy, media, culture and universities.