Promo Material

After taking some time to develop good design elements, such as the quadrants we were able to develop promotional  material. We decided to have our event at the China National Convention Center, inspired by the structure we decide to add it to our design to allow our guests to remember the experience. The different colors give the convention a sense of unity and still gives off a strong message with the right language.

Slogan Ideas

MASS MERGE

united by common ground

unity through common ground

combined thoughts for an efficient world

combined consciousness for earthly efficiency

connecting ideas through common ground

finding common ground in an ever-changing world

supplying unified earth action

connected by earthly concern

meeting of the minds

connecting forces

earthly efficiency

mutual

confluence

connecting minds

linking ideas

assemblage

supporting an ever-growing population through joint earth efficiency

assemblage for a common purpose

connection in a changing world

linking ideas for earthly efficiency

balance

connecting voices for earthly change

Edited Quadrant

I edited my original quadrant study because there were a few things that I needed to change. I switched out the venue image because we decided on the China National Convention Center. The professors suggested I change the triangular image to show more variation, so I replaced it with an image of rushing water. I also changed the type to our conference name, Mass Merge, along with a possible slogan.

Quadrant Studies

The professors agreed that 'Mass Merge' worked well as a conference name as it implied people coming together to exchange ideas in order to devise more environmentally-efficient strategies for dealing with over-population. They thought my last quadrant worked best and was a design I could move forward with. Jeff suggested I use a different image for the triangular portion as it basically repeats the circular one. I also plan on changing 'Summation' to 'Mass Merge.' We settled on the China National Convention Center as our location for the conference.

Type Studies

I played around with some type studies for our activist group name. After meeting with the professors, we decided they were overly-designed and did not need to be complicated.

Six Major Problems

Unforeseen effects of Three Gorges Dam
Heavy consumption of fertilizers/pesticides
Conversion of wetlands for agriculture, deforestation
Coal consumption and greenhouse gases
Large-scale, long distance transportation of natural resources
Poor energy efficiency, improper waste disposal in factories

Word List (continued)

• alter(ed)
• state
• conscious(ness)
• perception
• eyes
• sense
• formation
• create
• sum(mation)
• forge
• path
• form
• stable
• stability
• course
• correct
• scope
• tipping
• point
• connect(ed)
• collective
• regulate
• exchange
• reflect(ion)
• discover
• balance
• harmony
• compromise
• give and take
• view(point)
• angle
• part
• together
• life(force)
• connect
• connection
• connectivity
• connected
• range
• power
• feeling
• compound
• secure
• population
• take hold
• in reach
• project
• parallel
• growth
• height
• distribute
• distribution
• knowledge
• build(ing)
• enter
• encompass
• embody
• combine
• involve
• revolve
• incorporate
• element(ary)
• integral
• component
• link
• unite
• make
• merge
• implicate
• implications
• inclusive
• compose
• content
• fundamental
• innate
• dynamic
• collate(d)
• common
• mass(ed)
• mutual
• unified
• unify
• communal
• composite
• effort
• aim
• undertaking
• transition
• transaction
• action
• meaning
• emerge
• merge
• voice

Mission Statement Ideas

“From the highest to the lowest, self-development must be deemed the root of all, by every man. When the root is neglected, it cannot be that what springs from it will be well-ordered.” Superior Man is a devoted organization that is focused on reducing, promoting, and establishing alternatives to Chinas biggest environmental concerns.

Key words/notes
~~~Reducing water traffic, compensation to farmers, proper rotation monitored by specialized comittee, regulations, protected areas, promote alternative energy sources restrict usage of coal Incentives for planting public transportation implementation of fish farms establish more trade connections for importing goods government incentive. 

Abstract

With China now at the height of industrialization, it is imperative that steps be taken to resolving the major environmental issues that not only plague the country and its people, but the entire world. China’s ever-growing population has become so substantial that its’ supply of natural resources is at risk, and its high demand for products creating world-wide shortages. Due to the vast amount of people and industry, construction of housing and factories has only added to the extreme pollution that is plaguing the country. China’s reliance on coal for energy has dangerously polluted the air, while improper dumping of factory chemicals has made many of the country’s water sources unsafe for consumption or irrigation. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam has created way more issues than originally anticipated, including the mass displacement of communities, altering of water levels and subsequent climatic changes. Agriculture is such an important aspect of Chinese culture and rural life that the conversion of wetlands has lead to extreme erosion and desertification, and run-off from fertilizers and pesticides has only added to the pollution issue. If drastic changes are not made immediately, it is highly likely that the country’s environmental problems will worsen and farther endanger the world’s economy. The first step is for China to call attention to these issues and raise awareness, hopefully causing a shift in consciousness in the priorities of the people. China’s entire belief system is based on the concept of virtuosity and connectivity with nature, which is why the people should return to the basic foundations and meaning behind their culture in order to help correct the damage that has taken place thus far.

Behaviors to Encourage/Discourage

Main Problems:
Unforeseen effects of Three Gorges Dam
Heavy consumption of fertilizers/pesticides
Nutrient runoff from agricultural lands
Improper disposal of (chemical) waste
Conversion of wetlands for agriculture
Construction driving species from natural homes
Large-scale, long distance transportation of natural resources
Coal consumption and greenhouse gases
Deforestation and desertification
Exhaust gas pollution
Overfishing and hunting
Depleting resources to keep up with market/consumers
Rural areas excluded form main energy grids
Poor energy efficiency in factories


Ways to Help:
Reduce water traffic on rivers, especially around Three Gorges Dam
Government gives compensation to farmers who use safe fertilizers
Proper rotation of cropland, could be monitored by specialized committee
Government needs to pass regulations to combat improper chemical disposal
Set up protected areas of land, national park system, research before building
Promote alternative energy sources, closer to high density areas
Promote use of solar power, can be used within urban communities
Restrict usage of coal, provide incentives for use of other energy sources
Incentives for planting trees and native plants, especially in heavily eroded areas
Promote public transportation, restrictions on car mpg, promote hybrids
Implementation of fish farms, regulations on areas where species are endangered
Establish more trade connections for importing, less stress on native resources
Promote small-scale alternate forms of energy for rural areas, government incentive


Messages:
“One should try to obtain small things only”
Implications of Power
Collateral Damage
Perilous Height
"By investigation of things, their knowledge became extensive; their knowledge being extensive, their thoughts became sincere; their thoughts being sincere, their purposes were rectified; their purposes being rectified, they cultivated themselves; they being cultivated, their families were regulated; their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed; their states being rightly governed, the empire was thereby tranquil and prosperous."
“From the highest to the lowest, self-development must be deemed the root of all, by every man. When the root is neglected, it cannot be that what springs from it will be well-ordered.”
Development of higher conscious(ness), especially corporate/political leaders
Return to nature, respect for your environment
Utilizing personal strengths to better community
Implementing knowledge from past problems to develop current solutions
Learn from past to better future
Forging a connection with natural world

Visual Language

• Code Red
• The Great Wall
• Muddy the Waters
• Road Block
• Stonewall
• Hang Up
• Hold Up
• Domino (Effect)
• Transmission
• Weight of the World
• Overrun
• Eclipsed
• Like a Light
• Unearth
• Lifting the Veil
• Enshroud
• Smokescreen
• Parched
• Mass
• Underflow
• Overkill
• Wasteland
• Overgrowth
• Black Out
• Bottleneck
• Coalition
• Ringleader
• Ripple Effect
• Disruptor
• Agitator
• Spark Plug
• Wave Maker
• Aftershock
• Spiral
• Verge
• Borderline
• Brink
• Edge
• Margin
• Threshold
• Selvage
• Brim
• Outskirt
• Wilt
• Waste Away
• Whither
• Dry Up
• Breakdown
• Wane
• Exhaust(ed)
• Decay
• Decadence
• Downfall
• Up in Smoke
• Fall Short
• Meet with Disaster
• Miss the Boat
• Run Around
• Standing Water
• Ominous
• Clash
• Disharmony
• Rift
• Rupture
• Crash
• Turmoil
• Tumult
• Uproar
• Upheaval
• Succession
• Short-Lived
• Cut Off
• Cut Short
• Transitory
• Fugitive
• Episodic
• Lightning Rod
• Drain
• Deplete
• Consume
• Blot Out
• Desolate
• Tear Down
• Devour
• Dearth
• Fracture
• Fragment
• Interference
• Dam'd
• Collateral Damage
• Catalyst
• Perilous Height
• K'an the Abysmal
• The Abysmal Water
• Repetition of Danger
• The Abysmal Repeated
• Turmoil Within
• Superior Man
• Depends on Consistency
• Misfortune is the Natural
• One should try to obtain small things only
• The superior man walks in lasting virtue
• Earthen Vessels
• Mutual Danger
• Line of Least Resistance
• Entangled
• Implications of Power
• Science of the Sands

Symbolism

SUPERIOR MAN
The central idea of Confucius is that every normal human being cherishes the aspiration to become a superior man—superior to his fellows, if possible, but surely superior to his own past and present self. This does not more than hint at perfection as a goal; and it is said of him that one of the subjects concerning which the Master rarely spoke, was “perfect virtue.” He also said, “They who know virtue, are few”, and was far from teaching a perfectionist doctrine. It refers rather to the perpetually relative, the condition of being superior to that to which one may be superior, be it high or low,—that hopeful possibility which has ever lured mankind toward higher things.

ENDLESS KNOT
The endless knot originally symbolized the cyclical nature of all existence, the futility of life coursing without end, a chain that can be broken through heeding the teachings of the Buddha who shows endless compassion. In popular Chinese folk tradition, it came to be associated with Buddhism in general as well as longevity, magical Daoism’s primary objective. It remains a popular symbol.

BAMBOO
Daoists employed bamboo as a means of showing strength in (apparent) weakness; the bamboo yields to the storm and hence is not uprooted or broken and survives. Confucians likened bamboo’s ability to bend without breaking to being a desirable virtue in a “gentleman,” and the painting of bamboo in the same black ink as one writes Chinese characters was said to be a fundamental accomplishment of a correct education. For the Confucians, bamboo represents integrity.

EIGHT TRIGRAMS
From yin and yang spring all else, a concept that the Chinese explain through the evolution of the Eight Trigrams. Each trigram consists of three lines, broken or unbroken, and represents one the eight different combinations that can be made of three broken or unbroken lines. The solid lines represent yang, the broken lines yin. Each of the eight basic trigrams has a symbolic meaning and is associated with an animal, a direction, and a natural force, progressing rationally from the three solid lines that represent heaven to the three broken lines that represent earth. When these eight trigrams are paired, they create the sixty-four hexagrams, the traditional basis of all things to the Chinese, including science, medicine, and even future events. China’s divination classic, the Yijing (Book of Changes), is based upon the bi polarities of yin and yang and the sixty-four hexagrams. Its earliest recorded usage dates back to the seventh century BCE. As an art motif, the eight trigrams are one of the oldest representations found in traditional Chinese folk art. Their depiction on ancient pottery and carvings represents the harmony of all nature and life itself. There is magic in all this, something not lost on a modern-day Asian who hangs an octagonal plaque of the yin/yang motif surrounded by the eight trigrams to ward off evil in his office or home.

K’AN (one of Eight Trigrams)
Middle son, water, clouds and rain, the moon, a pit, peril, difficulty, dangerous, blood red, pig

PIG
The pig is one of the most important animals in the Chinese economy, where ownership of a pig was a sign of wealth, rightly earning the pig its position as one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Despite having several homophones, its symbolic meaning is restricted to the important role it plays as a sign of general prosperity, wealth, and overall good fortune.

The Eight Trigrams: K'an

K'an, Khan

• -Pitfalls
• -Water
• -"Mastering Pitfalls (Double Pitfall): In mastering pitfalls there is truthfulness; thus the mind develops. There is excellence in practice."
• -"The possession of sincerity, through which the mind is penetrating. Action, in accordance with this, will be of high value."
• -Meanings: withdrawal, abysmal, perilous, injuring, danger, adapt to difficult circumstances, flow like water around obstacles
• -Water, north, second son, ear, dangerous, in motion, pig

Ethics of Confucius: What Constitutes the Superior Man

The central idea of Confucius is that every normal human being cherishes the aspiration to become a superior man—superior to his fellows, if possible, but surely superior to his own past and present self. This does not more than hint at perfection as a goal; and it is said of him that one of the subjects concerning which the Master rarely spoke, was "perfect virtue." He also said, "They who know virtue, are few", and was far from teaching a perfectionist doctrine. It refers rather to the perpetually relative, the condition of being superior to that to which one may be superior, be it high or low,—that hopeful possibility which has ever lured mankind toward higher things.

The aim to excel, if respected of all, approved and accepted by common consent, would appeal to every child and, logically presented to its mind and enforced by universal recognition of its validity, would become a conviction and a scheme for the art of living, of transforming power and compelling vigour.

Purpose. "The superior man learns in order to attain to the utmost of his principles."

Rectitude. "The superior man thinks of virtue; the ordinary man thinks of comfort."

Prudence. "The superior man wishes to be slow in his words and earnest in his conduct."

Growth. "The progress of the superior man is upward, the progress of the ordinary man is downward." "The superior man is distressed by his want of ability; he is not distressed by men's not knowing him."

Capacity. "The superior man cannot be known in little matters but may be entrusted with great concerns."

Openness. "The faults of the superior man are like the sun and moon. He has his faults and all men see them. He changes again and all men low look up to him."

The Golden Rule. "When Gm cultivates to the utmost the capabilities of his nature and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do unto others."

The Art of Living. " The practice of right-living is deemed the highest, the practice of any other art lower. Complete virtue takes first place; the doing of anything else whatsoever is subordinate."

This speaks throughout of self-development, of that renunciation of worldly lusts which inspired the cry: "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"; but this is not left doubtful—for again in "The Great Learning" he says: "From the highest to the lowest, self-development must be deemed the root of all, by every man. When the root is neglected, it cannot be that what springs from it will be well-ordered."

"By nature men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart."

In the same book is reported this colloquy: "Tsze-loo asked 'What constitutes the superior man?' The Master said, 'The cultivation of himself with reverential care'"; and in the " Doctrine of the Mean," "When one cultivates to the utmost the capabilities of his nature and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path."

"By investigation of things, their knowledge became extensive; their knowledge being extensive, their thoughts became sincere; their thoughts being sincere, their purposes were rectified; their purposes being rectified, they cultivated themselves; they being cultivated, their families were regulated; their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed; their states being rightly governed, the empire was thereby tranquil and prosperous."

And again he refers to this inexcusable reversal of the natural order, thus: "When a man's finger is deformed, he knows enough to be dissatisfied; but if his mind be deformed, he does not know that he should be dissatisfied. This is called: 'Ignorance of the relative importance of things.'"

Sincerity. "Their knowledge being extensive, their thoughts became sincere."

Rectification of Purpose. "Their thoughts being sincere, their purposes were rectified."

There may, then, be such men; no impossible standard is here set up. Confucius had long held his conduct up to it and says of himself: "With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink and my bended arm for a pillow, I still have joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honours, acquired by unrighteousness, are to me as a. floating cloud."

http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/eoc/eoc06.htm

The Matrix

Conditions in China.

10/04/11

While working on the matrix we found that all our facts come across the issue of 'Population impacts on the environment' this is due to China being the country with the largest population. It was tough to find further information on specific problems due to China eliminating all its information from Google, sadly but truly that is our first and most reliable resource. Though we have been able to find some good information we will search for more information in the library. In the mean time here are some fun facts!

• In the last two years, China has emerged as the dominant player in green energy — especially in solar power.
• China has a rural population of 750 million. Due to economic and technical limitations, people in the most rural areas still use traditional biomass energy.
• China is the worlds number one user of chemical pesticides and fertilisers
• Factories that dump pollutants into the air and water produce cheaper products than ones that filter out pollutants and treat waste water.
• The massive hydroelectric dam, sandwiched between breathtaking cliffs on the Yangtze River in central China, may be triggering landslides, altering entire ecosystems and causing other serious environmental problems.
• Economic development has spurred deforestation and pollution in surrounding provinces in central China, endangering at least 57 plant species, including the Chinese dove tree and the dawn redwood

We are having a tough time finding 'alien species' that China has an invasion with...