Category Archives: Navigation system

His Most Famous Sculpture – Cloud Shepherd – Jean Arp

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Jean Arp / Hans Arp (September 16, 1886 – June 07, 1966) was one the most prolific, venerated and famous German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. His designs were concrete in nature and he would distort reality to express his political viewpoint in the form of art. Arp had adopted many styles, especially ‘Surrealism’ and ‘Abstractionism.’ He also founded ‘Dadaism.’ Jean’s main interest lied in ‘Surrealism,’ as through it, he could liberally express his philosophical and political opinions. In 1931, he ventured for sculpturing, which while being substantial in nature, also symbolized his particular viewpoint. One such most famous sculpture by Jean Arp is “Cloud Shepherd,” unveiled at the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, Venezuela, in 1953. The sculpture continues to grace the university.

The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas is famous for its architectural brilliance and urban planning. This university was exceptionally famous for its massive and prolific art sculptures, all of which were initially planned by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva. Many sculptors from around the world contributed to this project. Noteworthy among them was “Cloud Shepherd” by Jean Arp. During the construction of the sculpture, the world had just survived from the Second World War. Arp wanted to depict his political viewpoints, which he achieved through this sculpture.

Placed near Plaza Cubierto in the university, this sculpture, made from pure bronze, was quite tangible in nature. This was different from the traditional methods of sculpturing, which were more abstract and deviated from the reality. “Cloud Shepherd” was more real, as it occupied more space, which Arp intended, since he believed that sculpture was a composition like ‘a fruit that grows in man’. This sculpture had clear shape and structure, on which when a sudden gleam of light falls; it illuminates the entire surrounding with its refraction. The curve of the sculpture symbolized the marvels of nature, such as clouds, hills, and lakes to depict his dislike against machines and money, which were the root cause for the wars.

Flavored with ‘Surrealism’ and ‘Dadaism,’ through “Cloud Shepherd,” Hans Arp wanted to express his dislike of the bourgeois capitalist society. Due to its architectural marvel, the site of “Cloud Shepherd,” Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, UNESCO, in 2000, listed it as ‘The World Heritage Site.’ The contribution of Jean Arp for this university project cannot be forgotten, owing to his innovative sculpture “Cloud Shepherd,” a perfect memento to the field of art.

Starting An Import Export Company In Kenya

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The basic steps involve:

Register a company name and obtain the Certificate of Incorporation/Certificate of Registration

Obtain an Export /Import Code Number from the Customs and Excise Department on the submission of copies of a above).

Obtain a PIN number from Kenya Revenue Authority

Obtain a VAT certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority

Obtain a Local Authority License example from Nairobi City Council.

Certificate of Origin (at the time of exporting) {Certificate of Origin are issued by the Customs Department, Kenya Revenue Authority depending on the export destination.

The Certificate of Origins issued are; COMESA Certificate of Origin, EUR-1 Form, GSP, EACD and Ordinary Certificate of Origin and AGOA Certificate of Origin

The purpose of the Certificate of Origin is to indicate the origin of exports so that they can enjoy preferential duty entry into the export market depending on the prevailing trade arrangement between Kenya and the importing country. For any individual to have an import export company there company has to be a member of KIFWA. KIFWA membership is Ksh 17000 (Admission Ksh 10,000, Subscription Ksh. 7,000). Membership takes a few minutes. Once paid up you will receive a clearance certificate which a copy should be given to KRA for you to get a license.

The import export companies can be in two categories:

• Clearance and forwarding companies

• Importers of raw material to make finished goods.

It is necessary to make the companies limited.

All documentation gets processed in September, and they are also forwarded to the Customs Union.

KIFWA interviews the new directors and in case of failure an individual can always appeal or try the next year. When an individual passes they get to be given the license and the password for the KIFWA site.

The timeline of this whole process will take 5 to 6 months. Once accepted the company should be able to take a custom bond fee from 300,000 to up to 600,000.

The primary objective of applying PVoC is to ensure quality of products, health and safety, and environmental protection for Kenyans. Among the benefits expected, besides products being shipped conforming to standards and regulations, PVoC is expected to:

♦ Block unfair competition from sub-standard products and especially stop the influx of counterfeit products

♦ Speed up release process of imports

♦ Reduce importation costs

♦ Reduce the number of destructions or re-exportation of consignments

The Pre-export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to Standards programme is a conformity assessment and verification procedure applied to specific imported products at the respective countries of export, to ensure their compliance with the applicable Kenyan Technical Regulations and Mandatory Standards or approved equivalents. The overall objective is to minimize the risk of unsafe and substandard goods entering Kenyan market, thus ensuring health, safety and environmental protection for Kenyans.

GPS and RTK-GPS: A Comparison

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Global Positioning System (GPS) is a global satellite navigation system. The GPS system was created by the United Statement Department of Defense. It was established in 1973 to produce a better navigation system that would replace previous navigation systems.

Normal satellite receivers compare a signal sent from the satellite to the internally generated copy of the same signal. The receiver must delay the signal in order for the two to match up. The delay is the time for the signal to receive the signal and can be used to determine the distance from the satellite.

The accuracy of the measurement is based on the ability of the receiver’s electronics accurately compare the two signals. Generally, receivers are able to align the signals to around 1% of one bit. This translates to a receiver being accurate to within 0.01 microseconds since the GPS system sends a bit every 0.98 microseconds. In terms of distance, this is accurate to 3 meters. However, other effects introduce errors and the accuracy of an uncorrected signal is around 15 meters.

Real time kinematic (RTK) is based on the use of carrier phase measurements of GPS signal where a single reference station provides the real-time corrections. This allows for up to centimeter accuracy. RTK can also be used with the Russian GLONASS, Chinese Compass, or the European Union’s Galileo. Carrier-Phase Enhancement or CPGPS is another common name for RTK GPS.

RTK systems use a single base station along with a mobile unit. The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it measured. The mobile unit compares their own phase measurements with the one received from the base station. This allows the units to calculate their relative position to millimeter accuracy. However, the absolute accuracy is only as accurate as the position of the base station. Typically, this allows for accuracies of 1 centimeter horizontally and 2 centimeters vertically.

Since a base station connection is required for precision, RTK is has limited usefulness for general navigation. However, it is perfect for surveying. The base station is located at a known surveyed location. The mobile unit which is connected to the base station can then produce an accurate map by taking measurements relative to that point.

Rapid static GPS is one of the most accurate GPS techniques. A minimum of two GPS receivers are required. One receiver always remains on the control station while the other is moved progressively from one point to the next. A session is conducted for each point, but the times are significantly shorter than for static surveys. Raw GPS data is recorded continuously and the post-processed later using GPS data processing software.