Are there fundamental differences between western mathematics and Essay

Are there fundamental differences between western mathematics and tranditional chinese mathematics - Essay Example Instead back then they utilized alphabets so as to represent numbers. This reflects that mathematical terminologies are in use since the ancient times. However, in the present days rapid development has been witnessed in the field of mathematics. Mathematics originated simultaneously with other human production activities of the older times. The Ancient Chinese call mathematics as one of the six arts and it has been also treated as the preliminary point of philosophy by the Ancient Greeks. After thousands of years of developmental phase, mathematics has undergone various theoretical and practical changes. In the present times it is defined as the branch of science which deals with skillful operations. The rules and concepts of Mathematics are primarily developed for the purpose of conducting dexterous procedures. The basic emphasis of the subject has always been upon the development of new concepts. The concepts of basic mathematics, especially elementary geometry, were designed in order to define the units which are directly used in the real world (Wigner 1960). Chinese civilization is as ancient as Babylonian and Egyptian civilization. Somewhere in 1200 BC, during the times of Shang Dynasty, Chinese used to do mathematical calculations with the help of markings on tortoise shells and animal bones. This reflects that they were more inclined towards the numeric calculations rather than inventing new mathematical concepts. Similarly the ancient Chinese mathematics books have a vast collection of practical problems, giving the problems first and followed by their solutions. In this modern age Chinese still use the same pattern for teaching purposes. However, contrary to the Chinese mechanical algorithm, western mathematics focuses on the proof and derivation so as to develop new concepts in the field of mathematics (Boyer and Merzbach 2011, p. 7). The basic purpose of Chinese mathematics is to utilize the mathematical concepts in

Kellys (2005) account of Britains trades unions demonstrates that Essay

Kellys (2005) account of Britains trades unions demonstrates that workers in Britain no longer feel the need for the collective representation of their intere - Essay Example A quarter of a century ago almost 75% of the workforce were enrolled as members of a trade union. Presently in the public sector 3 out of every 5 workers are union members and has greater aggregate membership than the private sector where only one employee out of 6 is a union member. Sue Fernie and David Metcalf in their Book "Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise" 2 (2005) analyses the decline of trade unions and its future prospects. It contains contributions from leading analysts on the labour movement including Richard Freeman, John Kelly, Paul Willman, Howard Gospel, Rebecca Givan, David Marsden, Morris Kleiner and Claus Schnabel. In Chapter 4 of the Book discussing "Social Movement Theory and Union Revitalization in Britain", John Kelly, paints a very gloomy picture on the future prospects of trade union movement in Britain. According to him a stage has reached where workers in Britain no longer feel the need for collective representation of their interests. In this treatise we shall try to understand how relevant Kelly's observations are. The trends over the last two de... Another disturbing trend noticed was the reluctance by the employers to recognise unions as representatives of their employees for collective bargaining. As a result of this unions have not been able to retain their authority at workplaces. It was noticed that with the erosion in their bargaining power there was a drop in the incomes of the unions adversely affecting their vibrancy. Managements started bypassing unions over work models, deployment/ redeployment of labour force, their recruitment and training etc, which were domains where unions had a dominating influence. Unions being circumvented by the managements had an adverse effect on union membership and its influence over the employees. Unhelpful government legislations in the 1980s further eroded union status and employers started taking advantage of the situation. This state of affairs led to another far-reaching trend in workplace disputes. Meaningful two-way dialogue was a recognized form of unions' collective bargaining ethos. Gradually this form of two-way communication started to spillover beyond unions to non-union formats. This form of informal direct two-way dialogue with entities such as problem-solving groups and the statutory works council, etc, started making incursions into other domains of formal two-way dialogues also. It is of interest to note that in the United States under the Wagner Act the union voice is the only permitted form of dialogue for resolution of work place disputes. Countries who have adopted democratic principles of governance for their society accepts only formal employee voice provided by recognised trade unions as an accepted arrangement for workplace dispute resolution. However, in Britain a new approach