Friday, November 29, 2019

Verbal Culture An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Introduction Verbal culture refers to the art in which the word of mouth is used as a means of enhancing communication, preserving people’s habits, and utilizing the â€Å"spoken word† in the daily interactions. The verbal word has been used since time immemorial in various cultures in the world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Verbal Culture: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In verbal culture, indexing of sound is a complicated and unthought-of of task. Instead of using text, verbal culture employs spoken words in ensuring that cultural practices are cherished, preserved and utilized through unwritten means (Donovan and Thompson, pp. 4-33; Adams, p.17). Description The phrase â€Å"An apple a day keeps the doctor away† has its origin in Wales, United Kingdom. The uniqueness of the island of Wales, with its distinctive mountains and a splendid coastline, i s likely to have contributed to the ever increasing popularity of the proverb (Rhys, John and Brynmor, pp.89-94). This maxim, having been established in 1866 and commonly used in the Italian language, was later used in fork-lore and rustic speech with the belief that it would encourage more people to stay healthy. While the use of apples has a lot of importance to the health to people, the formulation of this phrase was hardly in line with most of its renowned medical value. Different versions of this phrase do exist. The original reference to the term â€Å"apple† was with reference to any fruit that was round in shape and could be found on a tree (Mieder, p.26). Background history Vitamin C contained in apples helps to strengthen the immune system while the phenols in them reduce the level of cholesterol in people’s bodies. The other benefit of apples is that they kill bacteria and clean teeth thus preventing tooth decay. Furthermore, the other minute vitamins contai ned in apples aid in the protection of brain cells from any form of neuro-degenerative malfunctions such as the Alzheimer’s infections (Hastings, pp.32-41).Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the modern world, the phrase has continued to be crucial in encouraging parents to practice healthy eating and ensure that children remain healthy, proactive, and effective in all their endeavors that minimize the rate at which people fall sick. The proverb was first used in the United States of America in the year 1913 in an effort to bolster healthy eating habits in the country. How the proverb affects Wales In both cultures of Wales and Italy where the proverb was first used before it became relevant in the United States, the proverb has continued to have a profound impact. The literal meaning of the proverb and its application emanate from the understanding that healthy living is of utmost importance in life. While the traditional culture of the Welsh on food and nutrition was greatly influenced by the culture, its impact on the culture has increasingly become less significant (Mieder, pp.435–464). More people have lost focus on the proverb’s original meaning while others have continued to conform to the modern meanings ascribed to the apple fruit. People have continued to be healthy by focusing on eating healthy food stuffs rather than constantly consuming food stuffs that add little or no value to the body. Though the term â€Å"apple† was used in the proverb in reference to any fruit, people in Wales literally derived the meaning of the proverb to the specific benefits accrued from an apple fruit. Welsh people continue to endear themselves to fruits due to the understanding of the value of fruits and the need for people to maintain healthy eating habits (Raymond, pp.19-23). Consequently, the popularity of the proverb also encourages the Welsh to venture in the production of a range of fruits and vegetables. Sadly, the proverb discouraged some people from seeking medical attention with the belief that maintaining a balanced diet was as good as seeking medical attention when one is seek. Some people deceived into believing that there was literally no need for people to seek health services. This misconception led to increased death rates, though this only happened in remote parts of Wales. In the modern world, people’s behavioral patterns and their response to this proverb have continued to lose value.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Verbal Culture: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Rather than being applied in studies as a teaching tool for people to live balanced lives, the proverb’s impact with reference to people’s eating habits and their response to diseases has become insignificant (D ominguez, pp.19-42). Effect of the proverb on the American culture Understanding that an apple fruit contains vitamin C which boosts people’s immune system remains to be a major benefit associated with the proverb. Though directly not forced to use the fruit, most Americans have resorted to the use of fruits with the aim of ensuring that they remain healthy. Prevention of cancers, reduction of the rate of tooth decay, reduction of brain related diseases, and control of lungs related infections is a sure benefit to the Americans (Gwyn, pp.6-32; Mieder and Alan, p.45).Prevention of heart diseases in human body is a major benefit accrued from the application of the proverb. This proverb greatly encourages individuals to develop healthy eating habits by consuming fruits such as apples. As a result, it has become important for most people in society to eat fruits, and to generally maintain healthy eating habits. In fact, Americans have become healthy thus reducing the overall gove rnment expenditure on health and nutrition (Dornacher, p.37). The proverb has also helped to shape the attitude and behavioral patterns of the Americans towards the doctors as most of them have in return, though contrary to what would otherwise be the case, become very respectful to fitness and health related professions. American culture has greatly embraced the use of fruits. The stress levels among the America due to the ever increasing cost of living has made more people to suffer from heart related diseases such as cardiovascular malady, high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary, atherosclerosis, and arrhymia among others. Being an educated society, the American culture is shaped on the understanding that apple fruits are rich in flavonoid which helps to minimize the impact of most heart diseases. Indeed, a normal size apple has about 70 and 100 calories. This is the reason why Americans love apples. Apples also have calories have an antioxidant effect (Mieder, p.13). Facts colle cted during the interviewAdvertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ethnographic information To enhance better understanding and application of the proverb â€Å"an apple a day keeps the doctor away†, a thirty nine year old gentleman, Bhutan Cline, was interviewed and vital information collected with regards to the proverb. Though the Cline is originally from Wale, he has been living in the United States for over twenty years. 2. Informant’s Interpretation The interviewee, Cline, revealed vital information on the meaning of the proverb. The relevance addressed was with reference to two cultures – Wales and the United States of America, with emphasis on the American culture. According to Cline’s understanding, the term â€Å"apple† as used in the proverb refers to any consumable fruit. The word ‘doctor† denotes problems and other forms of health tribulations in people’s lives (Mieder, p.7). The apple is therefore used as a symbol of good health, better living, and having hope for the future. It is evident from the interview that the importance of the proverb lies in the value associated with an apple fruit. It is evident that the proverb encourages people to eat a balanced diet by integrating the use of fruits in their menu and that my misconception of what the term grape meant was put right (Braux, pp.25-27). Scholarly research In both Wales and the U.S., proverbs play a crucial role in educating the public and passing vital information from one generation to the other (Mieder, pp. 17-21). Proverbs shape people’s cultural values as well as determining some of their common behavioral patterns. According to Braux (2009: 95), health is a vital topic that can never be ignored. Williams (34) also explains that fruits are crucial in enhancing people’s wellbeing. In the US, the proverb in question has greatly been used in most institution of learning to encourage children and the youths to desist from dangerous eating habits. In summary, both the Walsh and the Americ ans have heavily relied on verbal culture in a number of ways. Emphasis on key proverbs aims at enhancing a morally healthy society. The proverb has continued to gain significance even in modern times. Works Cited Adams, Guy. Celts descended from Spanish fishermen, study finds’-,This Britain, UK-The Independent 20 September 2006, The Independent, London, and 2006.Print. Braux, Alain, How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food, Alain Braux International Publishers, 2009.Print. Dominguez, Barajas, The function of proverbs in discourse, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2010.Print. Donovan, Sandy and Thompson, Collins, Does an Apple a Day Keep the Doctor Away?: and Other Questions about Your Health and Body, Lerner Publishing Group, 2010, 4-33.Print. Dornacher, Karla, Sweat as Apple Pie, Daily Inspiration of Healthy and Fruitful Living, Nashvile, 2011.Print. Gwyn,.Williams, The Welsh in their History, Wales: published, 1982.Print. Hastings, Adrian, The Construction of Natio nhood: Ethnicity, Religion, and Nationalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.Print. Mieder, Wolfgang and Alan, Dundes, The wisdom of many: essays on the proverb. (Originally published in 1981 by Garland. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994.Print. Mieder, Wolfgang, Proverbs in Nazi Germany: The Promulgation of Anti-Semitism and Stereotypes through Folklore. The Journal of American Folklore 95, No. 378, 435–464.Print. Pryor, Francis, Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans by Francis, 1998, 121-122. Harper Perennial. Print. Raymond, Joseph, and Tension in proverbs: more light on international understanding. Western Folklore, 1956.Print. This essay on Verbal Culture: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away was written and submitted by user Sage to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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Monday, November 25, 2019

Cell Communication essays

Cell Communication essays In the human body there are many parts that work together in order for everything to function properly, but even these parts need to have a way to know what to do. This is where cell communication comes into play. Tiny cells in the body contain astounding networks that allow for this communication. Scientists are discovering why these messages from cell to cell are so efficient, and this could lead to new therapies for diseases. In the past 15 years, scientists have discovered more of the code the cells use for their internal communications. Signal transmission begins when a messenger docks temporarily with a specific receptor on a recipient cell. This receptor is physically connected to the cytoplasm, and because of this is able to relay a message. The receptor is usually a protein that includes three domains: an external docking region for the messenger, a component that spans the cells outer membrane, and a tail that extends into the cytoplasm. When the messenger binds to the external site, it generates a change in the shape of the tail. This eases the tails interactions with the information-relaying molecules in the cytoplasm, which lead to more cellular signaling. Through this knowledge, the question of how messages reached their destinations without being diverted along the way was aroused. Efforts began to identify the first cytoplasmic proteins that are contacted by activated (messenger-bound) receptors in a large and important family: the receptor tyrosine kinases. The receptors transmit the commands of hormones, which control replication, specialization, or metabolism of cells. The binding of hormones to receptor tyrosine kinases at the cell surface causes the individual receptor molecules to cluster into pairs and to attach to phosphates to the tyrosines on each others cytoplasmic tails. The altered receptors interact directly with proteins that contain a module...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Fin Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fin Project - Essay Example The QFMA Code encourages companies to consider and implement voluntarily the appropriate policies, about the companys circumstances, even though the Code is not prescriptive yet. The article mainly aims to compare the QFMA Code with the international benchmark of the Principles of Corporate Governance of the OECD of 2004, so as to develop recommendation to the on how the QFMA can strengthen their corporate governance framework. The article first looks at a brief overview of the QFMA Codes. This is done with respect to the major issues of the duties of the director, mechanisms of control, rights of the shareholders, disclosures, compliance and corporate governance. The benchmarks in the OECD Principles are used to compare these key areas. Finally, the article looks at the recommendations about how the QFMA can be able to meet the set standards by the OECD Principal, and help in strengthening the corporate governance framework of the Qatari (Zain, 2011). Corporate governance can be dated back to the 19th Century when there was the introduction of the agency theory on the background of public corporations. There was a great need to separate functions from those functions of the owners and maintain some control over management performance (Gregary, 2000). Corporate governance encompasses the mechanism of control for a business that is organized in a limited liability corporate. Other people consider corporate governance to be a set of rules, regulations and voluntary practices that are aimed at resulting in the best performance by humans and maximizing the entitys net worth through securing and safeguarding its interests (Chee, 2002). Various scholars have overviewed different theoretical perspectives on corporate governance and further elaborated within various domains (Kirkpatrick, 2005). All this results from the corporate governance ground and its

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Advertising in the UK fastfood industry Dissertation

Advertising in the UK fastfood industry - Dissertation Example sh this aim, the study targets the following objectives: 3.1 To determine the status of fast food advertising in the UK, for the period 2003 to present (to include findings from the Hastings review and the study by the Food Standards Agency.) 3.2 To understand the cultural issues and considerations that surround fast food advertising 3.3 To draw insight as to how an understanding of cultural attributes may make the advertising of fast foods more effective and mutually beneficial for both consumers and business. 4. Statement of the research problem and sub-problems What are the cultural considerations that advertisers should take into account in promoting the fast food business in the UK? 4.1 What is the current status of fast food advertising in the UK? 4.2 With the ban imposed on advertising for children, what strategic shift in marketing should fast foods consider in targeting the adult market? 4.3 Based on the revised marketing strategy, what are the social norms, beliefs and atti tudes of adults that advertising must consider in pursuit of the new strategy? 5. Significance of the research topic The research topic is a timely and relevant issue in the United Kingdom, where in January 2007 a total ban was implemented by the Office of Communications (OFCOM) on the advertising of junk food and fast food to children. The new legislation was the result of the unrelenting campaign of parents and pressure groups, with the support of the British Medical Association, who were concerned about the worsening obesity problem besetting not only the UK but almost all developed nations. The ban covers all advertising of foods deemed to have particular appeal for children and youth under the age of sixteen. The advertising ban also comes at the end of an exhaustive three year... The research topic is a timely and relevant issue in the United Kingdom, where in January 2007 a total ban was implemented by the Office of Communications (OFCOM) on the advertising of junk food and fast food to children.   The new legislation was the result of the unrelenting campaign of parents and pressure groups, with the support of the British Medical Association, who were concerned about the worsening obesity problem besetting not only the UK but almost all developed nations.   The ban covers all advertising of foods deemed to have particular appeal for children and youth under the age of sixteen.     The advertising ban also comes at the end of an exhaustive three year research on the effects of junk food and fast food advertising on the eating habits of children, mandated by the UK government for OFCOM to undertake.   Lobbyists from either side participated, including representatives from food manufacturers who worried about revenue deterioration.   At this point, health campaigners are pushing for a furtherance of the ban to include all advertising of junk and fast foods before the watershed of 9pm.   The move had made advertisers more creative, foregoing television advertising and resorting to social networking sites and mobile phones. (Fast Food Nation, 2011).Cultural aspects of advertising.   There is current debate about the relationship between advertising and the culture in which the advertising campaign is being launched.   Many are apparently of the opinion that advertising influences those segments.

Monday, November 18, 2019

BUSINESS LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

BUSINESS LAW - Essay Example Legislation is the only solution to face the challenging situation. In fact, Law is de jure and is applied by a country to regulate the relationship between its people, government and business. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in his great law book, The Common Law (1881) states: "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience". This contradicts English jurist Sir Edward Coke's observation that 'logic is the life of the law'. The legal system of Australia is governed by common law developed by case laws and precedents, and included in it are equity law and a little of statute law. Based on Grew (2002), the legal system of Australia has two sources. The first one is the parliament that is legislation, and the other is the judicial courts that are responsible for case laws. Legislations are created by parliament and the courts put forward the law by means of precedents. Here, in this essay, we analyze the strength and weaknesses of common law and legislation along with the role of courts and legislature in regulating the contemporary business practices. Common law has its roots of development in England from 1066. It is an unenacted law written by judges in judgments or case law decisions (Latimar, 2007, p.4). In Australia the judges decide a case based on past decisions taken in a similar case. This method tends to be consistent and authentic as many cases have been decided in the past in a similar way. The doctrine of precedent is based on this concept that when cases are decided based on past decisions, the judgment is consistent. The lower courts are bound to follow the higher courts and this leads to treating the case under similar circumstances in the same way as it was done before. 'The high court's decisions in passed cases, will have the lower courts legally bound' (Barron & Fletcher 2001 p30). When precedents are followed in deciding a case it allows the judges to reduce the time taken in passing a judgment. This is because the law is already applied in similar cases by taking into consideration the facts and the issuing of evidence, which makes the task of a judge easy. The doctrine of precedent is defined as 'The common law principle which binds a judge or a magistrate to follow previous similar decision of higher courts in the same hierarchy; also known as stare decisis' (Vickery & Pendleton 2006), which implies the decision stands. The precedents may be binding and persuasive precedents. It becomes binding 'ratio decidendi' when the closing decree or 'res judicata' is passed by the court on the affected parties, and has a legal consequence established on the central causes for the decision."Common law relies on precedent. However, precedent is an illogical and inefficient tool for the regal regulation of business. Legislation is much more effective in the regulation of modern business practices". This statement stands good in the modern day judgments. Even though common law is tailor made and easy to follow, it still has its own pitfalls. The major weakness of common law is that, the precedent followed in sensitive cases may not be relevant for the present case. Also it could limit the development of law. As common law depends on past cases and the society is changing rapidly so it is obvious that history may not repeat itself in the same way and under the same circumstances. It becomes very difficult

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Plant Diseases Through Image Processing Techniques Computer Science Essay

Plant Diseases Through Image Processing Techniques Computer Science Essay Damage of plant is an important issue in agriculture. There are lots of factors involving weather, fungi, artificial drying, and mechanical damage during harvest and storage which can cause damage. NIR spectroscopy for classifying sound and damaged soybean seeds is very useful. NIR spectrometer is used to collect the spectra of single seed then PLS and neural network are used for classification of sound and damaged seeds. Near infrared spectroscopy is used because machine vision cannot provide information related to chemical composition because it is only useful for visible regions. NIR spectroscopy is useful for both physical and chemical properties. Seeds of six categories are used which are sound, weather damaged, frost-damaged, sprout-damaged, heat damaged and mold damaged. Grams/32 software is used for changing reflectance of spectrum in color space L, a , b. L ranges from 0(black) to 100(white), a ranges from -100(green) to 100(red)and b ranges from -100(blue)to 100(yellow). NIR spectrometer is used to collect spectra at a rate of 30/s. Spectrum of 700 sound seeds and 900 seeds damaged by other factors were measured. Two class and six class models are used for classification of sound and damaged soybean seeds with the help of Partial Least Square (PLS) software. Two class model is used for classifying sound and damaged soybean seeds whereas six class model is used for classifying sound seeds and weather, frost, sprout, heat and mold damaged seeds. In order to develop a neural network model for classification of sound and damage soybean seed the Neural Works Professional II/Plus software package is used. The neural network model package is based on back propagation networks. In back propagation networks increment or decrement in weights is needed because of the errors. At first weights are randomly allocated but after every trial weights are adjusted until the errors are reduced to acceptable values. Physical and chemical properties of sound and damaged soybean seeds are totally different so by using only visible wavelength region results in poor classification. By using near infrared region important information can be obtained. Highest classification accuracies can be obtained by using full wavelength region (490-1690nm). By using visible and NIR wavelength region alone results in lower classification accuracy. The best classification can be obtained by using neural network without hidden layer. PLS gives higher classification accuracy if two class classifications is used but in case of classification of six categories classification neural network (NN) gives higher accuracy results. Computer Vision Based Weed Identification Under Field Conditions Using Controlled Lighting Identification of weeds in crops is done by using methods of digital image analysis. Different kind of weeds often grow up with crop and its difficult to differentiate crop and weed so digital image analysis are used which are useful for differentiating both. Images were captured through MatroxMeter(RGB) ,this device provides controlled lighting. Two crops cabbage and carrot are used in greenhouse and open field experiments . For greenhouse experiments weed was added but for open field experiments natural weed population In digital images, it is difficult to differentiate between crop plants and weeds especially when they reached on advanced growth stage. Segmentation algorithm is used for differentiating crops and weeds and soil. This algorithm is based on union of two sets of each image which are S(soil) and V(vegetation). V has two components C (crop) and W (weed). The crop image data used in this research was the image of cauliflower at four different growth stages which are grouped. Experiments were performed on the 12 images. Colour is an important distinguishing feature and used as one component of the selection algorithm. Noise can occur in images through which misclassification occur and can deal by using square morphological closing filter. in a large bright region this filter can reduce the noise by removing small dark holes. Erosion is used for suppressing small bright region and removed pixels from the outer edge of large bright regions. The central position of each plant is located by processing Pv with a large erosion filter. The output of erosion filter is bright central position of crop plant. At growing stage 4 this approach is modified, centroid of soil region has to be found instead of centroid of crop plant. weeds are the main source of bias in the location of grid point. Segmentation algorithm is used to identify crop plant pixels but there was a higher probability of weed pixels being classified as crop plant pixels because they are very close to crop plants and grew in rows. So the difference between the size and texture of crop plant and weed is used in order to find the location of crop plant boundary. Morphological opening filter separates crop from adjoining areas of weed. The last stage involved thresholding the output of opening filter. Improving Plant Discrimination In Image Processing By Use Of Different Colour Space Transformation Image processing is becoming popular in different agricultural applications. color images taken by a digital camera stored in RGB colour space. Colour cameras can deal with large variety of situation for differentiating single object from an image. Thresholding is applied on each colour channel. Separation of object can be improved by transforming RGB by weighting each channel in different way in order to emphasize specific features. Different colour transformations were performed and then compared them. 40 images of RGB colour spaces are used discriminant analysis, canonical transformation, i1i2i3, HSV, HSI and Lab colour spaces were used for transformation. Thresholding is performed on transformed image to convert it into binary images in order to differentiate plant and soil. Manual and automatic thresholding was for i1i2i3,thresholding according to hemming was used for HSV,HSI and Lab colour spaces. Discriminant analysis consists of colour transformation and binarisation. Thresho lding was not needed in discriminant analysis. Linear and logarithmic discriminant functions were used. Logarithmic discriminant analysis is the most effective in discriminating but it takes much time for processing of one image. HSV,HSI am Lab colour spaces gave better results but not in open field.i1i2i3 were recommended for plant detection . This transformation is more useful if the reflection occur due to high solar radiation or some water on leaf. Image pattern classification for the identification of disease causing agents in plants For the identification of plant diseases machine vision system is used. Different images of cotton crops which shows diseased region were used, enhanced, segmented and the feature extraction is performed. The extracted features were then used as inputs to SVM classifier and then testing will be performed to choose the best classification model. Different features such as shape, texture, greylevel, connectivity etc were extracted from segmented region. Co-occurrence matrix was used in order to calculate the image texture. This method is used to measure occurrence of greylevels between a specific position in image and neighboring pixels according to distance and direction. Fractal dimension is a feature which measured dimension of object and box counting algorithm is used to estimate this measurement. Lacunarity was a multiscaled method which measures texture associated with spatial dispersion and gliding box algorithm was used to calculate lacunarity. Different features extracted from 117 images of cotton crops were labeled according to disease they belonged. SVM used Radial Basis Function kernel. There are different problems in classification if it involves more than two classes are used then multiple classes classification was used which uses one-against-one method. Different approaches were used to identify best classification model. Each feature is used as a single input to classifier .the groups of feature were used as inputs to classifier and then all the features except one is used as input. All features were not give the same amount of information so 7 fold cross validation is used. . Fall Armyworm Damaged Maize Plant Identification Using Digital Images An algorithm is developed to identify damaged maize plant by the fall armyworm at simplified lighting conditions using digital color images. Eight different stages of diseased and non-diseased maize plant were taken in three different light intensities. This algorithm involves processing and image analysis. First, the binary images were created by segmentation and then the images were divided into blocks and classified as diseased or non-diseased. The algorithm starts by converting original RGB image into greylevel image then by iterative threshold method it is converted into binary image then by applying 383 median filter its is converted into binary filteres image. These steps are part of first stage which is image processing. For next stage image analysis binary image is subdivided into 12 blocks. Blocks were selected from the subdivided image and then by object identification and counting damaged and non-damaged blocks were classified A review of advanced techniques for detecting plant diseases Diseases in plants are major issue in field of agriculture as they result in major production and economic losses. There is a mechanism called scouting is used for this purpose but this is not only expensive but also time consuming so there is need for a mechanism which is rapid, cost-effective so there are different technologies spectroscopic and imaging based and volatile profiling based plant disease detection methods. In the spectroscopic and imaging techniques, fluorescence spectroscopy, visible IR spectroscopy, fluorescence imaging and hyperspectral imaging involved. In VOC profile-based metabolite analysis released by healthy and diseased plants as a tool for identifying diseases. These methods can accurately detect plant diseases. Automatic Identification of Weed Seeds Image processing techniques were used to obtain seed size, shape, color and texture characteristics. Large database of images were used. Naà ¯ve bayes classifier was used for evaluation. It gives excellent results. Not only the color images were used but also the black and white images of weed seeds were used. By using morphological and textural characteristics as classification feature, it would reduce the complexity and cost. Naà ¯ve bayes classifier and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) were used for weed seed identification but naà ¯ve bayes has an excellent performance as compared to ANN. Identification of citrus disease using colour texture features and discriminant analysis Machine vision and AI techniques are used to achieve intelligent farming including early detection of diseases. Colour co-occurrence method is used to determine whether HIS color features in conjunction with statistical classification algorithms would be used to identify diseased and normal citrus leaves under laboratory conditions. Greasy spot, melanose, normal and scab are four different classes of citrus leaves used. By using image processing techniques, algorithms were designed for feature extraction and classification. Colour cooccurence methodology is used for feature extraction. It used colour and texture to get unique features. SAS discriminant analysis is used to evaluate the potential classification accuracies and this can be achieved by a traditional statistical classifier. Image texture feature dataset appeared as the best data model for citrus leaf classification, it uses reduced hue and saturation feature set. It gets high classification accuracy, less computation time and the elimination of intensity features which is beneficial in highly variable outdoor lighting conditions. Fast and accurate detection and classification of plant diseases First the images were acquired using a digital camera then the image processing techniques were applied to extract features which are useful. Then the classification is performed. The algorithm starts by acquiring RGB images. In the next step colour transformation is applied on RGB images. Images were then segmented using K-means clustering techniques. Green pixels are masked by using Ostus method. Pixels with zeros red, green, blue values and boundary pixels of infected objects were removed. The infected cluster is then converted into HIS from RGB. In the next step SGDM matrix were generated for H and S. For calculation of features GLCM function is used. Neural Network is used as a classification tool. Statistical and neural network classifier for citrus disease detection using machine vision Image data sets of common disease of citrus were collected and then CCM is used for detection of diseases. Different strategies and algorithms were developed for classifications which were based on feature obtained from CCM and then compared the classification algorithm in order to check accuracies. After acquiring images image processing algorithms for feature extraction and classification were developed. Feature extraction used CCM methodology. SAS discriminant analysis was used to evaluate the classification accuracies. Classification tests were applied on different classification algorithms. Statistical classifier using Mahalanobis minimum distance method achieved 98% classification accuracy. Neural network classifier using back propagation algorithm and neural network classifier using Radial Basis Function achieved 95% accuracy rate so the Mahalanobis minimum distance method is the best for classification. Rice disease identification using pattern recognition techniques For the identification of rice disease , software prototype system is described. Image segmentation techniques used to detect infected parts of the plants. These infected parts were further used for classification using Neural Network. For feature extraction first the segmentation is performed and for this entropy based bi-level thresholding method is used. After segmentation boundary detection algorithms were applied this uses 8- connectivity method. In the next step spot detection is applied for the normalization of spot size and interpolation method is used for fractional zooming. After this when all the uniform size spots were obtained, unsupervised learning technique Self Organinzing Map is used. Classification of grapefruit peel diseases using colour texture feature analysis Colour texture feature were used for detection of citrus peel disease.images of normal and five common peel diseases which are canker, copper burn, greasy spot, melanose and wind scan were used. Using colour cooccurence method, 39 image texture features were determined. Before applying CCM, RGB is transformed into HSI. SGDM( Spatial Gray level Dependence Matrix)was used to develop color cooccurence texture analysis. Texture feature were then calculated by SGDM. SAS procedure STEPDISC can find variables which are important for discriminating samples and it will use for texture feature selection. SAS procedure DISCRIM creates a discriminant function which was used to develop classification model. This is also used to test the accuracies of classification models. Plant leaves classification based on morphological features and a fuzzy surface selection technique Artificial vision system is designed to extract special features from plant leaves. Feature selection approach is used to identify significant image features and for the classification test Neural Network is used. In morphological feature extraction, morphological and geometrical features were extracted from plant leaves. These features provide critical information. Feature selection is very important task which is needed to determine the most relevant features for pattern recognition. Neural Network take features as inputs and perform classification. Weed seeds identification by machine vision There is a need of fast and reliable method for the identification and classification of seeds. Seeds of 57 weed species were used. Different features extractes were used as classification parameter . 12 classification parameters were used in which 6 morphological, 4 colour and 2 textural were involved. With the help of these parameters naà ¯ve bayes and Artificial Neural Network were compared for the identification of seed species. ANN performed better than naà ¯ve bayes.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Analysis of Corinthians 2:1-17 Essay -- Bible Analysis

In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this matter. Finally, Paul puts the focus on Christ; for it is in Him that we are adequate thereby becoming His fragrance to others. In this passage, Paul first addresses the fact that he did not want to return to the church at Corinth and bring pain upon them again. Paul had a previously painful situation with this church. We are not told the specifics of the current situation which caused Paul to write to Corinth, but we know that Paul was very sensitive in dealing with the matter. He did not desire to harm them or bring sorrow upon them. The word â€Å"pain† Paul was referring to is from the Greek word là ºpÄ“. This word means to grieve, torment, afflict with sorrow, or bring pain upon. We see similar instances where this word is used in scripture. Job said, â€Å"nights of trouble are appointed me† (Job 7:3) . Jeremiah similarly said, â€Å"My sorrow is beyond healing, my heart is faint within me† (Jer. 8:18). Paul didn’t want to bring undue sorrow upon the church or cause the situation to intensify ... ...e around us, we can agree with Mr. Sankey the hymn writer, faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Works Cited Garland, David E. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987. Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996. Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000.

Monday, November 11, 2019

How Beneficial an Online Education Can Be for You

An online education is a wonderful opportunity. You have the flexibility of taking a course on your own time. The flexibility of an online education allows you to be able to attend classes no matter your work schedule, or home schedule. Anywhere you have access to the Internet you can take classes. With recent computer mobility in the form of netbooks and the iPad, the opportunity to receive an education is endless.Learning online enables you to become Internet and computer savvy, two skills that are necessity in the ever-changing world of technology. You have access to course material round the clock. In a virtual classroom setting, you are able to go over lectures, lessons and other dicussions multiple times. You can learn at your own pace and do not have to worry about missing a class because of illness or other personal reasons.Participating in an online lesson discussion is not as daunting as in a regular classroom setting. Students remain pretty much anonymous are not judged by age, race or gender. Many people feel intimidated to participate in a regular classroom for fear of being judged or not having time to catch up to what is being taught. On the Internet, students have a chance to give thought to a question before answering and submitting their comments. The virtual classroom makes it easier for students to approach their instructor.They feel it is easier to speak with their instructor through online chats and email; this form of communication boosts student and instructor interaction. Everybody wins in this type of environment. Students that need flexibility because they have to work or have to care for children or other members of their family, the opportunity to earn a degree virtually is invaluable. With all the benefits of an online education, it is no wonder there is an ever-increasing number of students are turning towards an education online.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Federal Government of the United States and Sequestration

Understanding Sequestration Christine Miller Webster University Author Note Christine A. Miller, Webster University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christine Miller, 21356 89th Street, California City, CA 93505. E-mail: [email  protected] net Abstract Understanding sequestration can be overwhelming. What are government sequestration and the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 and how do they impact us? Which government agencies will feel the impact the most? Are there agencies that are exempt from the sequestration?And finally, is there a way to prevent the sequestration? A budget sequester is when money under current law is used to fund the budget deficit. President Barack Obama signed into law on Aug 2, 2011 a federal statute titled The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011. This federal statute will impose limits on discretionary programs by more than $1 trillion over ten years from 2012 through 2021. These limits are based on the Congressional Budget Offi ce baseline from 2010 (Kogan, 2011). Sequestration was technically triggered when Congress failed to reach an agreement by Jan. 5, 2012, but because the cuts do not begin until 2013, Congress really has until the end of this year to enact new legislation that would cancel or delay the cuts (OMB Watch, Nov 6, 2012). As an employee on a military installation, the impacts of the sequestration could cause short and long term effects on our contractor support. Understanding Sequestration Sequestration can be broadly defined as the action of taking legal possession of assets until a debt has been paid or other claims have been met. In government terms, a sequestration is an attempt to reform Congressional voting procedures.This is an effort to make the size of the Federal government's budget deficit a matter of conscious choice rather than simply the outcome of an appropriations process. A process in which no one ever looked at the cumulative results until it was too late to change them. If the appropriation bills passed separately by Congress provide for total government spending in excess of the limits Congress earlier laid down for itself in the annual Budget Resolution, and if Congress cannot agree on ways to cut back the total, then an automatic form of spending cutback takes place.This automatic spending cut is what is called sequestration (Johnson, 2005). What are the major elements of the BCA of 2011? First, it allowed the President to raise the debt limit by $2. 1 trillion. This limit is estimated to be enough through early 2013. Second, established limits on annual appropriations bills which cover discretionary or non-entitlement programs such as defense, education, national parks, the FBI, the EPA, low-income housing assistance, medical research, and many others; the limits reduce projected funding for these programs by more than $1 trillion through 2021.Third, it required the House and Senate to vote in the fall of 2011 on an amendment to the Constitutio n to mandate a balanced budget every year. Fourth, it established a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to produce legislation to reduce projected deficits by at least an additional $1. 2 trillion through 2021 (beyond the savings generated by the discretionary caps). And finally, the BCA established a contingency mechanism to ensure that $1. 2 trillion in deficit reduction would be achieved if the Joint Select Committee failed.This provided for automatic, across-the-board budget cuts in many programs in 2013 and reductions in each year from 2014 through 2021 in the annual caps on discretionary appropriations as well as automatic cuts in selected entitlement programs (Kogan, 2011). Which government programs will feel the impact the most? If sequestration does take place the cuts will be divided evenly between the defense and non-defense programs, approximately $55 billion each.Non-exempt non-defense programs like Head Start and education programs will have an 8. 2% cut, appro ximately $38 billion. Non-exempt non-defense mandatory programs like agricultural disaster relief will have a 7. 6% cut, approximately $5. 6 billion. Payments to Medicare providers and health insurance plans will have a 2% cut, approximately $11 billion. In addition, non-exempt defense discretionary programs will have a 9. 4% cut, approximately $54. 6 billion (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012).This includes keeping military bases open, paying salaries and research and development. The approximately $55 billion in 2013 defense cuts will be imposed in a similar but not identical manner. The defense cuts will occur through across-the-board, proportional reductions in the funding provided for defense accounts in the appropriations bills. War costs within the National Defense function are subject to sequestration, as are defense unobligated balances carried over from prior years.Although military personnel are not exempt from sequestration the President can exempt some or all military personnel fun ding from the sequestration. This is because the funds for fiscal year 2013 will already have been appropriated by Congress. However, if he chooses that option, the cuts in other defense funding would have to increase. As of Nov 13 the President did exempt military personnel from sequestration (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). Which government programs are exempt from automatic cuts?A number of programs are exempt to include Social Security benefits, all programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, interest on the federal debt, refundable tax credits, and several low-income programs. Low-income programs that are exempt include food stamps, child nutrition programs, Medicaid, foster care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, mandatory funding under the Child Care and Development Fund, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Supplemental Security Income program (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). So what are the expectations for 2014 and beyond?The process for 2014 and out is quite different. The required defense funding cut of approximately $55 billion in each year from 2014 through 2021 will occur through reductions in the annual statutory caps on defense funding that the Budget Control Act sets for each of those years if sequestration is triggered. Unlike in 2013, there will be no automatic cut of all affected defense programs by the same percentage; instead, the Appropriations Committees will decide how to live within the newly reduced defense funding caps (Kogan, 2011).For non-defense programs the process will be the same as in 2013 for entitlements but different for non-defense discretionary programs. Medicare payments to both providers and health insurance plans will continue to be cut by 2 percent. However, because Medicare costs are projected to rise through 2021, the dollar amount saved will increase from $11 billion to approximately $18 billion in 2021. In years 2014 through 2012, the remaining amount of the approximately $55 billion i n non-defense cuts will be applied proportionally to other non-exempt mandatory programs and overall non-defense discretionary funding.Because Medicare will take a progressively larger share of the $55 billion non-defense cut, other non-defense programs cuts will continue to decline (Kogan, 2011). One of the biggest concerns of the sequestration is the possibility of prompting a recession in 2013. The combination of expiring tax cuts and the reductions in spending on discretionary government programs, known as the ‘fiscal cliff’, could throw the country back into recession. However, the hopes are that a budget deal would be reached in early 2013 that would retroactively cancel the sequestration.Within the Department of Defense (DoD) there is a lot of concern with sequestration and the automatic cuts that would be implemented in fiscal year 2013 if Congress fails to reach an agreement on the deficit reduction plan. The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) is working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure the Department is ready to implement sequestration in January if it occurs. In the meantime, consistent with OMB guidance, a memo titled Guidance on Fiscal Year 2013 Joint Committee Sequestration has been issued stating that DoD needs to continue normal spending and operations.The memo states to not let our programs, personnel, and activities to begin to suffer the harmful effects of sequestration while there is still a chance it can be avoided. The memo has directed that all commanders and managers in the DoD continue the defense mission under current laws and policies, without taking any steps that assume sequestration will occur (A. B. Carter, personal communication, Sep 25, 2012). In other words, the DoD is to continue business as usual. Although it is business as usual, government contractors may feel the greatest impact.In conclusion, sequestration would have long enduring and painful effects on all aspects of government agencies, DoD and non-DoD alike. If Congress does not meet the requirements imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 DoD government contractor layoffs and potential government shutdowns may occur and non-DoD government programs, like education and Medicare, will have long term consequences. Sequestration can only be prevented if Congress passes legislation that undoes the Budget Control Act of 2011 before January 2, 2013. References Johnson, P. (2005). A Glossary of Political Economy Terms.Retrieved from http://www. auburn. edu/~johnspm/gloss/sequestration Kogan, R. (2012). How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work. Retrieved October 30, 2012, from http://www. cbpp. org/cms OMB Watch (Nov 2, 2012). Mitigating the Impact of a Temporary Sequester. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from http://www. ombwatch. org/mitigating-impact-of- automatic-spending-cuts OMB Watch (Nov 6, 2012). White House and Federal Agencies Could Manage Effects of Automatic Spending Cuts in E arly 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from http://www. ombwatch. org/node/12266

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Character analysis plus theme analysis essays

Character analysis plus theme analysis essays The main character in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield. The most noticeable trait about Holden is how extremely judgmental he is about everything. He criticizes and people who are boring, insecure and phony. He said, For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life. (Salinger page 13) He then goes on and describes how Mr. Haas treats people whos parents are rich better than other parents. He hates the way phony people treat rich people like kings and queens just because they are rich. Another aspect of Holdens personality is his child-like behavior. This is evident when he says, Ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row. (Salinger page 34) This quote shows Holdens childlike behavior. He is a 17 year old boy yet he is still amused by childish memories. Holden is also a character with a lack of self confidence. He has always believed that he was the one that did not belong. In his family he always mentions h ow much of a success his brother is or how smart his little sister is or his dead brother was, but he is always putting himself down. We can see this when Holden says, "My brother D.B.s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. Im the only really dumb one." (Salinger page 67) Holden, the protagonist, is also the narrator of the story and these traits play a very important part of the novel. Another important character in the novel is Phoebe Caulfield, Holdens younger sister. Phoebe is a very bright, young child. She is a very intelligent child for her age. This is shown when Holden asks her if she a song and she corrects him by saying, "It's 'If a body meet a body coming through the rye'! It's a poem. By Robert Burns." (Salinger page 172) This shows a great deal of intelligence as you do not expect a young...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Assignment 7 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

7 - Assignment Example In this case, the society incorporates biased attitudes that favor men. For instance, organizations prefer to employ men than women, despite having the same qualifications. In addition, some employers affirm that men have a huge responsibility of taking care of family, thus will be devoted to work compared to women. Callister states that women ought to be given equal chances to work in organizations so as to enhance the Gross Domestic Product of a nation. This is because women who stay at home taking care of the young ones and conducting household do not contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy. Callister came up with a six year research, so as to improve the recruitment and progress of women in organizations. As a result, there was improvement in the recruitment and advancement of women between 2003 and 2009 at Utah State. Currently, most women are able to advance their studies, resulting to reduction in illiteracy and women unemployment rate (Eaton 2). In conclusion, the education sector in any given nation should be enhanced so as to give women the opportunity to attend school. In this case, the government should employ qualified teachers, construct many schools and subsidize education fees. More so, organizations should come up with codes of conducts that protect the rights of women such as sexual harassment from male colleagues. The sexual harassers should be punished by the organization or the government law

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Leadership Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Leadership Philosophy - Essay Example When a leader has lost the confidence of the team, that leader must resort to the least effective ways of getting things done. Leaders that do not have the confidence of the team must cajole and discipline unwilling employees to accomplish the stated goals of the organization. This creates a toxic relationship on the team. However, if a leader is wise enough to interact with everyone in an atmosphere charged by integrity then trust is built. Trust is one of the most liberating sensations one can experience in the workplace or in our personal lives. I believe that establishing this relationship of trust is essential because my belief is that good leaders lead best by modeling correct actions and allowing their subordinates the freedom choose to follow the effective practices modeled. One of these skills an effective leader can model the strong critical thinking skills. The effective leader must be able to cast aside assumptions about established procedures so improvements can be discovered through the use of a critical eye. Good leaders are not bound by tradition. They do follow established protocols, but are able to look beyond the immediate needs of the team or organization by firmly establishing in their minds what is most important and of greatest priority at any given time. Modeling critical thinking for a leader is essential, because this is the type of skill I expect and employee to possess and to be able to deploy on an independent basis. The good thing about critical thinking skills is they can be acquired. By being in contact often with other members of the team, a good leader can use conversations to help employees evaluate their actions in a given situation that perhaps didn’t work out well due to a lack of critical thinking. These teachable moments are important if a leader is to build leadership capacity in other members of the team. Critical thinking builds on the basis of trust