LIFE AND EXISTENCE - A 21ST CENTURY PHILOSOHER'S CONTEMPLATION

 

Living everyday like it's our last has by far been the best way to remind ourselves that we do not know where we came from and we have no idea where we are headed when we leave here!

Only a fool will proceed with the pursuits of life without thinking about where it all came from and why we are here in the first place. Many theories are sold to us, from different quarters, Everyone gives a different explanation of the origin, largely or sparingly different, everyone has claimed that their message is the "truth" and the "absolute" one. 

Wouldn't we be set free indeed from this confusion if we came to learn the truth?

All the time we have lived many-a-men, many-a-lifetimes, many-a-generations, many-a-civilizations, many-a-wars, we still come and go and the Earth keeps spinning. 

And Oh! Did they say this is just one of nine? Did they say our universe was only one out of many, discovered and yet to be?

So what is going on? Really what are we doing here? There is too much detail in everything, a thinking soul couldn't help but ponder how all existence in its entirety became.

Oh how weak we are, how short a time we have! how limited a memory we can bear! Who remembers what happened a generation ago? Who records what transpires here or there on a daily basis? Not the news that is curated, but the mouse that died today or the bird that brought forth child. Is it unnecessary to record? If it is, then why is it happening? If we won't be here forever then what are we doing here and where will we go?

We do realize that we played absolutely no part in choosing whether to come here or not, unless of course our former actions in a former life or existence warrants us to be here, calling into remembrance the theory of action and reaction. 

Shall we stop to ponder on what to do? Who shall we ask or who shall we go to for the "answers"? Are we helplessly living or dying or just existing? We want this, but when we get it we want another thing. We think once we have this then we will find the solution, but alas, when we find it our unending desire swallows it whole and wants more. Helplessly we set out to pursue a new thing and the cysle continues until "our time is up" and we are no more.

It's so vast to even contemplate!  But wait!..are we the only ones thinking? Are our co-habitants, the animals thinking too? DOes the fish in the river want to know what happened to her great grand mother or from where it came or to where it is headed too?

Oh don't they? Don't they need to know? If they don't, why do we need to know? Ahhh, it becomes necessary that there is someone or something or circumstance deciding and moving existence. What did he want? Is he here with us? Where is he? Did he embark on a really long trip or is he done with this very project and is on to another?

The elements; fire, water, land, air, matter all...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY, HVAC, THERMAL COMFORT AND PASSIVE DESIGN

 

The central philosophy behind green building is the judicious use of resources in a manner that provides for man’s needs today without jeopardizing the ability of the future generation to fulfill their own energy needs.

The illustration above shows the authors’ conceptualization of how energy consumption is related to the use of HVAC equipment, which emanates from the need to maintain a comfortable indoor environment for the occupants in terms of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The arrows indicate the two way relationship between the sections implying that any change in either of the sections bears significance on the others.  The authors’ argue that for energy consumption to reduce, passive design strategies must be adjusted to provide alternative sources of natural ventilation and thermal comfort. Such design strategies may include but not limited to design issues affecting building height, form, orientation, etcetra.

If we are going to continue building tall, we must figure out how to keep the energy consumption of such buildings within environmentally and economically sustainable limits. 

ARCHITECTURAL 3D VISUALIZATION 3-IN-ONE PRACTICAL COURSE

 

Download program brochure to learn more about the private visualization course. You may contact the author if you are interested in having a private online training course after reading through the brochure. 

VISA EXTENSION - INDIA - PROCEEDURE AND GUIDELINES

If you live or work in India and you are looking for the proceedure for extending your current visa to afford you more time to complete your purpose of visit, then you may want to be careful with the website(s) you visit because there are lots of websites purporting to be visa and travel agencies who may ask for money where there MAY BE absolutely no fee - Yes, absolutely no fee.

For avoidance of any doubts, it is advised that anyone seeking to extend a subsisting visa within India should log on to the efrro official website and follow the simple steps specified on the visa extension form.

You will have to complete the application form for visa extemsion ( it is advised that the individual be present in India at the time of completing the application). The office would typically reachout to you via the email address you provided when registering on the frro portal. They may request additional documentation depending upon the nature of the susbsisting visa or where necessary.

Once your submitted documents are vetted and deemed satisfactory, you may be required to make some payment - especially in the case of a research visa. Note that there is no payment as of date for extension of other categories of student visa.

At every stage of your application, you may communicate with the frro office through the official website for any clarifications you may require. Be ware of predatory websites that may purport to be "accredited" agents of the frro office and may charge you a fee in the name of helping you apply for your visa extension. You can do it all yourself through your official account on the official  efrro official website

I wish you the best of luck!

Ph.D in India Vs. Ph.D in Nigeria - A Contemplation

 

Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu - During Ph.D in India - 2021

A PhD in any field of study is a rigorous self-undertaking that usually involves a lot of sacrifice on the part of the scholar.  The entire process leading up to the award of a Doctorate degree in any discipline is structured to ensure that the researcher makes a real contribution to knowledge in that field.

Often times, what we consider as the task at the beginning of our expression of interest to undertake a PhD research changes many times during the process and it helps to have proper guidance and a tailored program of work.

Speaking of proper guidance, it is expected that a Ph.D. research scholar must be guided by a supervisor who him / her self have earned their own doctorate in a related field. As a Nigerian who had enrolled for a Ph.D. study in Nigeria for six(6) years before deciding to leave the country to pursue the same degree abroad, my experience has been tough but I have learnt a lot for which I am immensely grateful.

In this post, I share the highlights of my experience as I can't help comparing conditions of study in both countries.

1. IMPROVED LECTURER'S ACCESSIBILITY 

In Nigeria, I had a hard time accessing my supervisor, he was of the Professor cadre and this meant he was only in school on scheduled days. If you didn't catch him on any of those, then you had to wait till the next time. It's different here in India. The Professors are always on seat and willing to discuss your work anytime. This was a real consolation to me because now I knew I only had to focus on the progress of my research and not bother about chasing the guide, since he's always on sit.

2. INFO/EXPOSURE TO LATEST RESEARCH TOOLS 

In my university in Nigeria, because the lecturers are not very accessible, it's harder to grab guidance on what best research tools are there and how best to combine them. There seems to be a certain "darkness" surrounding this and sometimes one would almost conclude it appears they are not very hands-on with the tools, themselves. This makes it tougher for research scholars in Nigeria to compete with their global counterparts. In India however, I found most research guides had practical current knowledge of research tools and software applications. We were literally thought the use of simulation softwares during the coursework part of our first year. 

This was a huge departure from my African background where if you learnt to use any software at all, you either enrolled for a private lesson at a private tutor place or you got a friend to show you privately, practical exposure to research/simulation software never came from my supervisors.

3. FEWER DISTRACTIONS

The biggest challenge I faced while enrolled as a Ph.D. research scholar in Nigeria was my own inability to focus on the research due to multiple distractions from other engagements such as my very demanding private practice, family, and lecturing. It was easy to drift off from the research when you had a thriving Architecture practice and a demanding lecturing job. I figured if I would make any headway with my PhD work, then I had to get away from all the distractions and the only way to do so was to leave the country to the greatest surprise of everyone, to go somewhere I can focus and finish off the research and probably get better supervision. I had to leave and I had to do so quickly!

I realized PhD research was in itself a full time engagement.

4. NO STUDENT LEVIES

In Nigeria, it was common to have the students levied by lecturers and the school for buying research related equipment for the department. One time we had to pay NGN5,000 each in order to procure a new set of public address system and projector for the department seminar room. The condition was that whoever did not contribute this sum, would not be permitted to present his work in the seminar room and ofcourse you could forget about getting any objective feedback on your work.

In India, I havent paid a rupee for anything departmental asides my tuition and exam fees. Everything is taken care of by the department and maintained by the school authority. This was also a relief.

5. HIGHER GLOBAL BEST PRACTISE AWARENESS

As they say, PhD degree is the highest academic degree obtainable and it is a globally recognized academic venture. Coming to India helped me refine my research to take a global perspective on the research questions I was trying to find answers to. 

6. BETTER QUALITY OF RESEARCH OUTPUT

For some reason Nigerian scholars abroad seemed to be producing richer quality of research output in many disciplines compared to our colleagues in Nigeria. This is a personal observation and I am still unsure why it is so. I think there is no pressure to compete international scheme of things at home in Nigeria, this has a negative effect on researchers ambitions. We settle for whatever can get us past the degree, even if its not relevant anywhere else. 

Also, I saw a metric somewhere that rated research publications from Nigeria, Kenya South Africa and the United States. In terms of economic impact of research, Nigeria scored zero. This points to the fact that in Nigeria, it's either the government does not rely on research output for making economic decision or the research output do not have any immediate or midterm economic relevance. This should be looked into.

7. EXPOSURE TO OTHER INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Doing research while surrounded by a diverse community of co-researchers and scholars naturally lifts your threshold for excellence.

Subscribe to this blog for more of such discussions and leave a comment below if you find any more differences or think differently about something I've highlighted here. Would be glad to discuss