On February 22nd, 2009, Yali and I are finally married, by pastor Luke, at the Trinity Weslyan Church, in Midland, Michigan. After the 5 years of dating, we love each other more and more, to a point that we want to share our life together. As pastor Luke said, after the wedding, we are officially stuff of each other. It's like my body, I will take her wherever I go. Unlike other stuff, this stuff is a commitment, as the round wedding band, there is no beginning and there is no end. From now on we face the world in one pair of eyes, and feel the world with a joint heart.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Switzerland's Economy (1)
Switzerland has more than what it's known for: chocolate, watches and army knives. In fact, this small central european country on a mountain enjoys one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, low unemployment, low inflation and an enviable social political stability. Being small and having little natural resource don't stop Switzerland from becoming the centers of international banking, world-class pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and the synonym of high quality products. I would like to start a research project to study why Switzerland is so successful both economically and socially.
In John Fund's article about Switzerland's economy, he cited several important factors that contributes to the success of this economy: (1) a highly skilled and ethical workforce; (2) an effective financial system; (3) an attractive investment environment; (4) a stable individualistic society owed to a highly democratic political structure.
Switzerland's highly skilled workforce is owed to the world-class and accessible education system. I need to gather more data on this topic. A typical problem for a highly education workforce, which a lot of western countries are suffering, is high wages. To fully employ this workforce while maintaining high real wage, the productivity of the workforce must be justifiably high. Switzerland's idea-based industry can generate high profit-margin, high growth products that sustain the standard of living of this country.
Businesses find Switzerland a trouble-free heaven to operate in, thanks to its respect for the rule of law, an efficiently working judicial system, and high levels of transparency and accountability within public institutions. Flexible labor markets and excellent infrastructure facilities are two healthy features of the business environmen
We've all heard about Swiss banks, especially for its reputation on secrecy of client's information. Professional and independent banking service and a stable currency, attracts deposits worldwide. Additionally, states in the country has a great degree of freedom to tailor their tax policy attract business.
The nation has a high degree of personal freedom, linked to a decentralized government in which voters are the ultimate sovereign through an elaborate system of direct democracy—citizens can both propose their own laws and challenge any action of the government.
In John Fund's article about Switzerland's economy, he cited several important factors that contributes to the success of this economy: (1) a highly skilled and ethical workforce; (2) an effective financial system; (3) an attractive investment environment; (4) a stable individualistic society owed to a highly democratic political structure.
Switzerland's highly skilled workforce is owed to the world-class and accessible education system. I need to gather more data on this topic. A typical problem for a highly education workforce, which a lot of western countries are suffering, is high wages. To fully employ this workforce while maintaining high real wage, the productivity of the workforce must be justifiably high. Switzerland's idea-based industry can generate high profit-margin, high growth products that sustain the standard of living of this country.
Businesses find Switzerland a trouble-free heaven to operate in, thanks to its respect for the rule of law, an efficiently working judicial system, and high levels of transparency and accountability within public institutions. Flexible labor markets and excellent infrastructure facilities are two healthy features of the business environmen
We've all heard about Swiss banks, especially for its reputation on secrecy of client's information. Professional and independent banking service and a stable currency, attracts deposits worldwide. Additionally, states in the country has a great degree of freedom to tailor their tax policy attract business.
The nation has a high degree of personal freedom, linked to a decentralized government in which voters are the ultimate sovereign through an elaborate system of direct democracy—citizens can both propose their own laws and challenge any action of the government.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Fundamental Problems Underlying Chinese Business
As a chinese, I am proud of the progress in economic development my country has made in the recent decade. Even the rest of the world is deeply stranded in a huge recession originated from the housing and credit crisis in U.S. (now proliferated to nearly all sectors), China's GNP is still enjoying a 9% annual growth, thanks to the huge population. We shouldn't, however, like many of us, turn blind eyes to the existing or emerging problems that might turn out to be the fundamental bottlenecks for china's economy. This great article did a thorough analysis of some problems underling chinese business practice. Here I highlight several examples that I agree.
Although we have been enjoying one the fastest growth in the world and a minority of chinese cities have experience such a significant modernization that we almost forget where our country's economy is right now among our peers and how we come to this point. When you ask different parties what contributes to chinese economic achievement, you surely will get a manifold of answers. But the fact is, accept it or now, China's economy is built on its low labor and operational cost. Due to plenty of supply of cheap labor from the rural area, and less stringent environmental requirements, china has created an economic edge that attracts multinational companies to outsource their manufacturing jobs here. Not really because the chineses are smarter, as many of us tend to think.
If we look back in time, we can see that the path china is on is exactly the one that the "asian tigers" were on 20 years ago: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and HongKong used to manufacture low-profit-margin products for the West. If history repeats itself, we will see most of the labor-intense, export-oriented manufacturing jobs that now feed billions of mouths in china, will sooner or later be outsourced to even cheaper locations like Southeastern Asia and Africa, as long as their social political environments stabilize.
Although there are several key advantages that china might enjoy to keep the multinational companies here, such as access to the largest market in the world, the huge foreign currency reserves and holdings of financial assets, there is still an inevitable need to pave a sustainable road for its future. The article has pointed out that, in order to reinvent china's labor-based manufacturing sector, significant amount of efforts should be put to add innovations to the mix. Data has shown that our export is characterized by low-technology and low-quality. Although we have probably the largest population of college-and-beyond graduates in science and engineering in the world, but the lack of high tech brands rooted in china or high tech products coming out of chinese companies still signify the problem that we are not taking advantage of our engineering resources. There are several key issues that stand in the way of innovating in china, as pointed out in the articles. Most importantly, there is a lack of intellectual property protection system in china. Nobody wants to invest in R&D when their results are unprotected and are subject to copy right away. Secondly, majority of the chinese economy is still state-owned. The managements in those companies are frequently rotated, and their rewards are not transparently tied to how much value they have created during or beyond their tenures. There are thus no incentives to innovate in those companies. Don't want to be technologically suffocated in state-owned companies, the best graduates prefer foreign companies to the native ones. The remaining just deviates from engineering. The last but not the least, the financial system in china is so tied to a handful of state-owned companies that private enterprises couldn't get enough of a pie in terms of getting loans from banks. Lack of financial and human resources, and legal protections for their fruits, it's not hard to understand how a small-mid-size business would choose an easy route over a hard one: continue making low profit margin products instead of venturing for sophisticated ones.
The article has also pointed out that the chinese can actually make high quality products. High-end gadgets ranging from Ipods to GPS, luxury apparels to furniture, are all made in china. Lots of the manufacturers can't make their names recognized largely due to legal binding. But that also indicates there is a lack of marketing science to help this manufacturers to create and culture their own brands. Making a good leather handbag might be an art, but alluring billions of people lining up to buy them is the true business, and there must be a way to make that happen in china.
Although we have been enjoying one the fastest growth in the world and a minority of chinese cities have experience such a significant modernization that we almost forget where our country's economy is right now among our peers and how we come to this point. When you ask different parties what contributes to chinese economic achievement, you surely will get a manifold of answers. But the fact is, accept it or now, China's economy is built on its low labor and operational cost. Due to plenty of supply of cheap labor from the rural area, and less stringent environmental requirements, china has created an economic edge that attracts multinational companies to outsource their manufacturing jobs here. Not really because the chineses are smarter, as many of us tend to think.
If we look back in time, we can see that the path china is on is exactly the one that the "asian tigers" were on 20 years ago: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and HongKong used to manufacture low-profit-margin products for the West. If history repeats itself, we will see most of the labor-intense, export-oriented manufacturing jobs that now feed billions of mouths in china, will sooner or later be outsourced to even cheaper locations like Southeastern Asia and Africa, as long as their social political environments stabilize.
Although there are several key advantages that china might enjoy to keep the multinational companies here, such as access to the largest market in the world, the huge foreign currency reserves and holdings of financial assets, there is still an inevitable need to pave a sustainable road for its future. The article has pointed out that, in order to reinvent china's labor-based manufacturing sector, significant amount of efforts should be put to add innovations to the mix. Data has shown that our export is characterized by low-technology and low-quality. Although we have probably the largest population of college-and-beyond graduates in science and engineering in the world, but the lack of high tech brands rooted in china or high tech products coming out of chinese companies still signify the problem that we are not taking advantage of our engineering resources. There are several key issues that stand in the way of innovating in china, as pointed out in the articles. Most importantly, there is a lack of intellectual property protection system in china. Nobody wants to invest in R&D when their results are unprotected and are subject to copy right away. Secondly, majority of the chinese economy is still state-owned. The managements in those companies are frequently rotated, and their rewards are not transparently tied to how much value they have created during or beyond their tenures. There are thus no incentives to innovate in those companies. Don't want to be technologically suffocated in state-owned companies, the best graduates prefer foreign companies to the native ones. The remaining just deviates from engineering. The last but not the least, the financial system in china is so tied to a handful of state-owned companies that private enterprises couldn't get enough of a pie in terms of getting loans from banks. Lack of financial and human resources, and legal protections for their fruits, it's not hard to understand how a small-mid-size business would choose an easy route over a hard one: continue making low profit margin products instead of venturing for sophisticated ones.
The article has also pointed out that the chinese can actually make high quality products. High-end gadgets ranging from Ipods to GPS, luxury apparels to furniture, are all made in china. Lots of the manufacturers can't make their names recognized largely due to legal binding. But that also indicates there is a lack of marketing science to help this manufacturers to create and culture their own brands. Making a good leather handbag might be an art, but alluring billions of people lining up to buy them is the true business, and there must be a way to make that happen in china.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
千与千寻
今天看了千与千寻。
我一直很喜欢宫崎骏（或者他的工作室）的作品。从小时候依稀记忆的“高立的未来世界”，到让我感动不已的“再见萤火虫”，宫崎骏朴实的画风，对主题深刻的探讨，还有在作品中体现出的对美好生活的向往和天马行空的想象，都给我留下深刻的印象。可以说每次看他的作品，都让我对生活又多一次感动，多一些思考。
在千与千寻里，小女孩千寻跟着爸妈进入了一个荒废了的主题公园。爸妈因为吃了不该吃的东西，被魔法变成了猪。千寻则被带到一个由巫婆经营的澡堂里打工。在那打工的人都不知道自己的过去，只知道工作和赚钱（他们也没有别的选择）。巫婆的徒弟，小白，仿佛以前就认识千寻。他帮助千寻在澡堂找到工作，和帮她适应这个地方。
这个故事里头充满里对人类社会的映射和比喻。影片有几处给我留下很深刻的印象，甚至让我思考。
一天澡堂里来了一个"腐烂神"。它是一个很肮脏的神。澡堂的人都不愿意让它进去。当它真的进去了以后，新来的千寻只好被派去招呼它。在给这个又臭又脏的神洗澡的时候，千寻发现它身体上插了一根倒刺。当大家费劲了力气把倒刺拔下来以后，发现原来肮脏的腐烂神变成了重新充满活力的河神! 而身上这个倒刺则是人类倒到河里的垃圾。我们对大自然毫不保留的破环和利用，到头来却掀起它又臭又脏。
一个不速之客，“无脸人”，走进了澡堂。因为它能够从掌心里变出无尽的金子，所以澡堂的员工都一个劲的招呼它和讨好它。得意忘形的无脸人不断地吞噬金子换回来食物，甚至还把三个员工给吞噬到肚子里。看见自己的同事被吞噬了，大家一片恐慌。由于千寻不受无脸人金子诱惑，无脸人没法吞噬她。但是其实无脸人并不是吃人不眨眼的恶魔。它只是一个很孤独和寂寞的灵魂。为了引起大家注意和让大家围绕这自己，它因为给大家金子，大家就会喜欢它。在这种虚幻的受宠当中，无脸人迷失了自我。这正比喻现实中很多人，以为享乐和金钱能够换来友谊和别人的关心。但是相反，吞噬越多享乐，就会像无脸人那样越忘记了自己原来善良的面目。
前面说到男主人公小白和千寻仿佛似曾相识。但是自从进了澡堂当徒弟了以后，小白就像其他员工一样，渐渐忘记了自己的名字和过去。在一次偶然的机会，千寻想起了自己小时候曾经掉到一条河里，差点没了命。最后是河水把她冲到了岸边救了她一命。可是这条河后来被填了，并在上面盖上了高楼，所以渐渐没有人知道河的存在。这条河的名字叫琥珀川。当千寻念到这个名字的时候，小白身上的诅咒突然被解除了！原来琥珀川就是小白的真名。他们就是在那次时间中认识的。是拜金的巫婆，或者是现代的人类建设，把琥珀川的真面目所埋没。又一次通过比喻映射了人类的生存对自然界原来的面目给以了无情的，不可复返的改造。看到这里，我不由自主的流下了感动的眼泪。能自由地感动也是一种幸福哦。
最后一个要点就是，记得澡堂里的所有员工都忘记了自己的真正的名字和过去，只顾着工作和金钱。这本身也是一个比喻。澡堂象征这拜金的现实社会和物质享乐。在物质享乐中，人们会迷失自我，忘记童年时的纯真和梦想，而只顾生存和谋生，沦为尘世中毫无个性的众生。
整个故事通过比喻和映射，呼吁我们返璞归真，重新拥抱自然，拥抱自我，不要在物质和享乐中迷失。这就是我的观后感。
我一直很喜欢宫崎骏（或者他的工作室）的作品。从小时候依稀记忆的“高立的未来世界”，到让我感动不已的“再见萤火虫”，宫崎骏朴实的画风，对主题深刻的探讨，还有在作品中体现出的对美好生活的向往和天马行空的想象，都给我留下深刻的印象。可以说每次看他的作品，都让我对生活又多一次感动，多一些思考。
在千与千寻里，小女孩千寻跟着爸妈进入了一个荒废了的主题公园。爸妈因为吃了不该吃的东西，被魔法变成了猪。千寻则被带到一个由巫婆经营的澡堂里打工。在那打工的人都不知道自己的过去，只知道工作和赚钱（他们也没有别的选择）。巫婆的徒弟，小白，仿佛以前就认识千寻。他帮助千寻在澡堂找到工作，和帮她适应这个地方。
这个故事里头充满里对人类社会的映射和比喻。影片有几处给我留下很深刻的印象，甚至让我思考。
一天澡堂里来了一个"腐烂神"。它是一个很肮脏的神。澡堂的人都不愿意让它进去。当它真的进去了以后，新来的千寻只好被派去招呼它。在给这个又臭又脏的神洗澡的时候，千寻发现它身体上插了一根倒刺。当大家费劲了力气把倒刺拔下来以后，发现原来肮脏的腐烂神变成了重新充满活力的河神! 而身上这个倒刺则是人类倒到河里的垃圾。我们对大自然毫不保留的破环和利用，到头来却掀起它又臭又脏。
一个不速之客，“无脸人”，走进了澡堂。因为它能够从掌心里变出无尽的金子，所以澡堂的员工都一个劲的招呼它和讨好它。得意忘形的无脸人不断地吞噬金子换回来食物，甚至还把三个员工给吞噬到肚子里。看见自己的同事被吞噬了，大家一片恐慌。由于千寻不受无脸人金子诱惑，无脸人没法吞噬她。但是其实无脸人并不是吃人不眨眼的恶魔。它只是一个很孤独和寂寞的灵魂。为了引起大家注意和让大家围绕这自己，它因为给大家金子，大家就会喜欢它。在这种虚幻的受宠当中，无脸人迷失了自我。这正比喻现实中很多人，以为享乐和金钱能够换来友谊和别人的关心。但是相反，吞噬越多享乐，就会像无脸人那样越忘记了自己原来善良的面目。
前面说到男主人公小白和千寻仿佛似曾相识。但是自从进了澡堂当徒弟了以后，小白就像其他员工一样，渐渐忘记了自己的名字和过去。在一次偶然的机会，千寻想起了自己小时候曾经掉到一条河里，差点没了命。最后是河水把她冲到了岸边救了她一命。可是这条河后来被填了，并在上面盖上了高楼，所以渐渐没有人知道河的存在。这条河的名字叫琥珀川。当千寻念到这个名字的时候，小白身上的诅咒突然被解除了！原来琥珀川就是小白的真名。他们就是在那次时间中认识的。是拜金的巫婆，或者是现代的人类建设，把琥珀川的真面目所埋没。又一次通过比喻映射了人类的生存对自然界原来的面目给以了无情的，不可复返的改造。看到这里，我不由自主的流下了感动的眼泪。能自由地感动也是一种幸福哦。
最后一个要点就是，记得澡堂里的所有员工都忘记了自己的真正的名字和过去，只顾着工作和金钱。这本身也是一个比喻。澡堂象征这拜金的现实社会和物质享乐。在物质享乐中，人们会迷失自我，忘记童年时的纯真和梦想，而只顾生存和谋生，沦为尘世中毫无个性的众生。
整个故事通过比喻和映射，呼吁我们返璞归真，重新拥抱自然，拥抱自我，不要在物质和享乐中迷失。这就是我的观后感。
Blog Renaissance
I decide to revitalize my blog.
It is easy to abandon a blog, especially when no one reads it.
It is even easier to live a life without any trace, when you seem to be the only one who cares, or doesn't.
We can readily remain alive by keeping breathing, eating, sleeping,and doing whatever animals do to maintain the status of a living creature. Only thing is, time elaspes and evaporates into eternity behind us. If you can't tell the difference between the you of today, and the you of, say, two months ago, you really can't declare that you have LIVED two months. It's just another two-month pass you by.
Human beings need to experience, observe and think, consciously. This is the only way to differentiate ourselves from a machine that is fed on foods and air. A life path is not only a geographical route of where you have been, nor a chronological documentary of what you have done, but a rather a spiritual journey of what you have understood.
Ok, end of my sermon today.
There are many things have happened when my blog was in hibernation during the last couple months. In fact, it's been quite a dramatic period of time. There are sources you can easily get to know what the world has been through. So I will just briefly go through what I have been through:
1. I took part in two catalyst characterization projects. Meantime, by reading and exchanging ideas with colleagues, I learned quite a lot about heterogeneous catalysis, XPS and EXAFS. Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics by Chorkendorff and Niemantsverdriet is a great book on these topics.
2. I have also got myself involved several other projects, including synthesizing so anisotropical nanostructures and nanocomposites for water filtration applications.
3. I started to pick up organic chemistry left behind long time ago.
4. I started reading economy systematically. Reading the Op-Ed sections in New York Times becomes my daily ritual. Columists like Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert and Thomas Friedman become familiar to me and actually grow on me. Under their influences, I got more and more interested in thinking about how the world can be explained by simple economic principles. The Economist magazine also becomes my econ-tutor. From having no idea of what the articles on it, to slowly making sense of them, I feel that I am seeing the world in a gradually different perspective. Currently I am reading "Economics-making sense of the modern economy" from The Economist Press. I understood the process of globalization, the rise of china and india, and the working of Finance. This is an interesting intellectual arena that I definitely will keep exploring.
5. I started to buy stocks and invest in mutual funds.
6. Like many others, I experienced the economic recession in 2008 (ongoing in 2009). My company has laid off 11% workforce, including some of the folks I know and work with. More layoffs are expected to come. All we can do is, understand that, like the economy, life has ups and downs. We are flexible enough to weather through the crsis.
7. Yes, I am getting married in Feburary, 2009 :)
It is easy to abandon a blog, especially when no one reads it.
It is even easier to live a life without any trace, when you seem to be the only one who cares, or doesn't.
We can readily remain alive by keeping breathing, eating, sleeping,and doing whatever animals do to maintain the status of a living creature. Only thing is, time elaspes and evaporates into eternity behind us. If you can't tell the difference between the you of today, and the you of, say, two months ago, you really can't declare that you have LIVED two months. It's just another two-month pass you by.
Human beings need to experience, observe and think, consciously. This is the only way to differentiate ourselves from a machine that is fed on foods and air. A life path is not only a geographical route of where you have been, nor a chronological documentary of what you have done, but a rather a spiritual journey of what you have understood.
Ok, end of my sermon today.
There are many things have happened when my blog was in hibernation during the last couple months. In fact, it's been quite a dramatic period of time. There are sources you can easily get to know what the world has been through. So I will just briefly go through what I have been through:
1. I took part in two catalyst characterization projects. Meantime, by reading and exchanging ideas with colleagues, I learned quite a lot about heterogeneous catalysis, XPS and EXAFS. Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics by Chorkendorff and Niemantsverdriet is a great book on these topics.
2. I have also got myself involved several other projects, including synthesizing so anisotropical nanostructures and nanocomposites for water filtration applications.
3. I started to pick up organic chemistry left behind long time ago.
4. I started reading economy systematically. Reading the Op-Ed sections in New York Times becomes my daily ritual. Columists like Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert and Thomas Friedman become familiar to me and actually grow on me. Under their influences, I got more and more interested in thinking about how the world can be explained by simple economic principles. The Economist magazine also becomes my econ-tutor. From having no idea of what the articles on it, to slowly making sense of them, I feel that I am seeing the world in a gradually different perspective. Currently I am reading "Economics-making sense of the modern economy" from The Economist Press. I understood the process of globalization, the rise of china and india, and the working of Finance. This is an interesting intellectual arena that I definitely will keep exploring.
5. I started to buy stocks and invest in mutual funds.
6. Like many others, I experienced the economic recession in 2008 (ongoing in 2009). My company has laid off 11% workforce, including some of the folks I know and work with. More layoffs are expected to come. All we can do is, understand that, like the economy, life has ups and downs. We are flexible enough to weather through the crsis.
7. Yes, I am getting married in Feburary, 2009 :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)