Friday, January 24, 2020

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath :: essays papers

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath â€Å"The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales† had numerous unique characters, but the Wife of Bath struck me as the most interesting personality. Through the narrator’s use of direct and indirect characterization, significant details, and motivations for actions I was able to analyze the distinct traits of â€Å"the worthy woman from beside Bath city.† The narrator was very successful in portraying the wife. The wealth of the wife was distinct. â€Å"Her hose of finest scarlet red† shows the fortune she possesses. The wife also had enough fortune to travel to the most important shrines in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. The narrator’s described her appearance well. â€Å"Bold was her face, handsome, and red in hue† allows the reader to picture the wife as an attractive woman of her time. The middle-aged woman had impressive large hips and â€Å"gap-teeth† which express lust. Her corpulent figure was a very favorable aspect of the time; it indicated wealth and beauty. â€Å"She’d had five husbands, all at the Church door† allows the reader to grasp much about the wife. Having five husbands shows that she is sociable and interested in love and marriage. Her experiences with marriage allow her to be very knowledgeable of love, which is â€Å"an art in which she knew the oldest dances.† â€Å"†¦ All at the Church door† shows her devotion to tradition and her faith. Her dedication to the Catholic Church and the forbidding Church rules of the time, allow the reader to infer she did not divorce her husbands. Therefore, all of her husbands passed away, which allows us to conclude she may have married older men. This wealthy world-traveler, on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, is not motivated by her faith as she travels on this mediocre trip.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Building a 21st Century Organization

The power and versatility of the human visual system derive in large part from its remarkable ability to find structure and organization in the images encoded by the retinas. To discover and describe structure, the visual system uses a wide array of perceptual organization mechanisms ranging from the relatively low-level mechanisms that underlie the simplest principles of grouping and segregation, to relatively high-level mechanisms in which complex learned associations guide the discovery of structure.The Gestalt psychologists were the first to fully appreciate the fundamental importance of perceptual organization (e. g. , see Kohler, 1947; Pomerantz & Kubovy, 1986). Objects often appear in different contexts and are almost never imaged from the same viewpoint; thus, the retinal images associated with physical objects are generally complex and varied. To have any hope of obtaining a useful interpretation of the retinal images, such as recognizing objects that have been encountered p reviously, there must be initial processes that organize the image data into those groups most likely to form meaningful objects.Perceptual organization is also important because it generally results in highly compact representations of the images, facilitating later processing, storage, and retrieval. (See Witkin & Tenenbaum, 1983, for a discussion of the importance of perceptual organization from the viewpoint of computational vision. ) Although much has been learned about the mechanisms of perceptual organization (see, e. g. , Beck, 1982; Bergen, 1991; Palmer & Rock, 1994; Pomerantz & Kubovy, 1986), progress in developing testable quantitative theories has been slow.One area where substantial progress has been made is in models of texture grouping and segregation. These models have begun to put the study of perceptual organization on a firm theoretical footing that is consistent with the psychophysics and physiology of low-level vision. Two general types of model for texture segr egation have been proposed. In the feature-based models, retinal images are initially processed by mechanisms that find specific features, such as edge segments, line segments, blobs, and terminators.Grouping and segregation are then accomplished by finding the image regions that contain the same feature or cluster of features (see, e. g. , Julesz, 1984, 1986; Marr, 1982; Treisman, 1985). These models are relatively simple, are consistent with some aspects of low-level vision, and have been able to account for a range of experimental results. In the filter-based models, retinal images are initially processed by tuned channels, for example, â€Å"contrast-energy† channels selective for size and orientation.Grouping and segregation are then accomplished by finding those image regions with approximately constant output from one or more channels (Beck, Sutter, & Ivry, 1987; Bergen & Landy, 1991; Bovik, Clark, & Geisler, 1990; Caelli, 1988; Chubb & Sperling, 1988; Clark, Bovik, & Geisler, 1987; Fogel & Sagi, 1989; Graham, Sutter, & Venkatesan, 1993; Victor, 1988; Victor & Conte, 1991; Wilson & Richards, 1992).These models have some advantages over the existing feature-based models: They can be applied to arbitrary images, they are generally more consistent with known low-level mechanisms in the visual system, and they have proven capable of accounting for a wider range of experimental results. However, the current models do not make accurate predictions for certain important classes of stimuli. One class of stimuli are those that contain regions of texture that can be segregated only on the basis of local structure (i. e. , shape).Another broad class of stimuli for which most current perceptual organization models do not make adequate predictions are those containing nonstationary structures; specifically, structures that change smoothly and systematically across space. Nonstationary structures are the general rule in natural images because of perspective pr ojection, and because many natural objects are the result of some irregular growth or erosion process. A simple example of a nonstationary structure would be a contour formed by a sequence of line segments (a dashed contour) embedded in a background of randomly oriented line segments.Such contours are usually easily picked out by human observers. However, the elements of the contours cannot be grouped by the mechanisms contained in current filter-based or feature-based models, because no single orientation channel or feature is activated across the whole contour. Grouping the elements of such contours requires some kind of contour integration process that binds the successive contour elements together on the basis of local similarity. A more complex example of a nonstationary structure would be an image of wood grain.Such a texture contains many contours whose spacing, orientation, and curvature vary smoothly across the image. Again, such textures are easily grouped by human observe rs but cannot be grouped by the mechanisms contained in the current models. Grouping the contour elements of such textures requires some form of texture integration (the two-dimensional analogue of contour integration). The heart of the problem for existing quantitative models of grouping and segregation is that they do not represent the structure of the image data with the richness achieved by the human visual system.The human visual system apparently represents image information in an elaborate hierarchical fashion that captures many of the spatial, temporal, and chromatic relationships among the entities grouped at each level of the hierarchy. Grouping and segregation based on simple feature distinctions or channel responses may well be an important initial component of perceptual organization, but the final organization that emerges must depend on more sophisticated processes.The major theoretical aim of this study was to develop a framework for constructing and testing models o f perceptual organization that capture some of the richness and complexity of the representations extracted by the human visual system, and yet are computationally well defined and biologically possible. Within this framework, we have developed a model of perceptual organization for two-dimensional (2D) line images and evaluated it on a number of â€Å"textbook† perceptual organization demonstrations.In this article we refer to this model as the extended model when it is necessary to distinguish it from a simplified version, the restricted model, described later. Perceptual organization must depend in some way on detected similarities and differences between image elements. Furthermore, it is obvious that similarities and differences along many different stimulus dimensions can contribute to the organization that is perceived. Although there have been many studies of individual stimulus dimensions, there have been few systematic attempts to study how multiple dimensions inter act (Beck et al., 1987; Fahle & Abele, 1996; Li & Lennie, 1996). The major experimental aim of this study was to measure how multiple stimulus dimensions are combined to determine grouping strength between image elements. To this end, we conducted a series of three-pattern grouping experiments to directly measure the tradeoffs among two, three, or four stimulus dimensions at a time. Predictions for these experiments were generated by a restricted version of the model appropriate for the experimental task. The experimental results provided both a test for the restricted model and a means of estimating the model's parameters.The estimated parameter values were used to generate the predictions of the extended model for complex patterns. The next four sections describe, respectively, the theoretical framework, the restricted model, the experiments and results, and the extended model and demonstrations. Theoretical Framework for Perceptual Organization In this section we discuss four imp ortant components of perceptual organization: hierarchical representation, detection of primitives, detection of similarities and differences among image parts, and mechanisms for grouping image parts.These components taken together form the theoretical framework on which the restricted and extended quantitative models are based. Hierarchical Representation It is evident that the mechanisms of perceptual organization yield a rich hierarchical representation that describes the relationship of â€Å"parts† to â€Å"wholes† at a number of levels; that is, the wholes at one level often become the parts at the next level. However, there is evidence that the process by which the hierarchical representation is constructed does not proceed strictly either from local to global or from global to local.The global structure of a large letter composed of small letters can be discovered before the structure of the individual small letters is discovered (Navon, 1977), and there exist ambiguous figures, such as R. C. James's classic Dalmatian dog, that can be solved locally only after at least some of the global structure is discovered. On the other hand, the discovery of structure must sometimes proceed from local to global; for example, it would be hard to extract the symmetry of a complex object without first extracting some of the structure of its subobjects.Any well-specified theory of perceptual organization must define what is meant by parts, wholes, and relationships between parts and wholes. Given the current state of knowledge, all definitions, including the ones we have adopted, must be tentative. Nonetheless, some basic definitions must be made in order to form working models. In our framework, the most primitive objects are defined on the basis of the current understanding of image encoding in the primary visual cortex of the primate visual system.Higher order objects are defined to be collections of lower order objects (which may include primitive objects), together with information about the relationships between the lower order objects. The range of relationships that the visual system can discover, the order and speed with which they are discovered, and the mechanisms used to find them are unsettled issues. As a starting point the relationships we consider are quantitative similarities and differences in size, position, orientation, color, and shape.These dimensions were picked for historical and intuitive reasons: They are major categories in human language and therefore are likely to correspond to perceptually important categories. The precise definitions of these dimensions of similarity between objects are given later. Detection of Primitives: Receptive-Field Matching One of the simplest mechanisms for detecting structure within an image is receptive-field matching, in which relatively hard-wired circuits are used to detect the different spatial patterns of interest.For example, simple cells in the primary visual corte x of monkeys behave approximately like hard-wired templates: A strong response from a simple cell indicates the presence of a local image pattern with a position, orientation, size (spatial frequency), and phase (e. g. , even or odd symmetry) similar to that of the receptive-field profile (Hubel & Wiesel, 1968; for a review, see DeValois & DeValois, 1988). The complex cells in the primary visual cortex are another example.A strong response from a typical complex cell indicates a particular position, orientation, and spatial frequency independent of the spatial phase (Hubel & Wiesel, 1968; DeValois & DeValois, 1988). Receptive field matching may occur in areas other than the primary visual cortex, and may involve detection of image structures other than local luminance or chromatic contours, for example, structures such as phase discontinuities (von der Heydt & Peterhans, 1989) and simple radially symmetric patterns (Gallant, Braun, & Van Essen, 1993).An important aspect of receptive -field matching in the visual cortex is that the information at each spatial location is encoded by a large number of neurons, each selective to a particular size or scale. The population as a whole spans a wide range of scales and hence provides a â€Å"multiresolution† or â€Å"multiscale† representation of the retinal images (see, e. g. , DeValois & DeValois, 1988). This multiresolution representation may play an important role in perceptual organization.For example, grouping of low-resolution information may be used to constrain grouping of high-resolution information, and vice versa. The quantitative models described here assume that receptive-field matching provides the primitives for the subsequent perceptual organization mechanisms. However, to hold down the complexity of the models, the receptive-field matching stage is restricted to include only units similar to those of cortical simple cells with small receptive fields. These units proved sufficient for the line pattern stimuli used in the experiments and demonstrations.Receptive-field matching is practical only for a few classes of simple image structure, such as contour segments; it is unreasonable to suppose that there are hard-wired receptive fields for every image structure that the visual system is able to detect, because of the combinatorial explosion in the number of receptive-field shapes that would be required. Thus, there must be additional, more flexible, mechanisms for detecting similarities and differences among image regions. These are discussed next. Similarity/Difference Detection MechanismsStructure exists within an image if and only if some systematic similarities and differences exist between regions in the image. Thus, at the heart of any perceptual organization system there must be mechanisms that match or compare image regions to detect similarities and differences. (For this discussion, the reader may think of image regions as either parts of an image or as grou ps of detected primitives. ) Transformational matching A well-known general method of comparing image regions is to find out how well the regions can be mapped onto each other, given certain allowable transformations (see, e.g. , Neisser, 1967; Pitts & McCulloch, 1947; Rosenfeld & Kak, 1982; Shepard & Cooper, 1982; Ullman, 1996). The idea is, in effect, to use one image region as a transformable template for comparison with another image region. If the regions closely match, following application of one of the allowable transformations, then a certain similarity between the image regions has been detected. Furthermore, the specific transformation that produces the closest match provides information about the differences between the image regions.For example, consider an image that contains two groups of small line segment primitives detected by receptive-field matching, such that each group of primitives forms a triangle. If some particular translation, rotation, and scaling of one of the groups brings it into perfect alignment with the other group then we would know that the two groups are identical in shape, and from the aligning transformation itself we would know how much the two groups differ in position, orientation, and size. There are many possible versions of transformational matching, and thus it represents a broad class of similarity-detection mechanisms.Transformational matching is also very powerful—there is no relationship between two image regions that cannot be described given an appropriately general set of allowable transformations. Thus, although there are other plausible mechanisms for detecting similarities and differences between image regions (see section on attribute matching), transformational matching is general enough to serve as a useful starting point for developing and evaluating quantitative models of perceptual organization. Use of both spatial position and colorThe most obvious form of transformational matching is based on standard template matching; that is, maximizing the correlation between the two image regions under the family of allowable transformations. However, template matching has a well-known limitation that often produces undesirable results. To understand the problem, note that each point in the two image regions is described by a position and a color. The most general form of matching would consist of comparing both the positions and colors of the points. However, standard template matching compares only the colors (e. g. , gray levels 2 ) at like positions.If the points cannot be lined up in space then large match errors may occur even though the positional errors may be small. A more useful and plausible form of matching mechanism would treat spatial and color information more equivalently by comparing both the spatial positions and the colors of the points or parts making up the objects. For such mechanisms, if the colors of the objects are identical then similarity is determined solely by how well the spatial coordinates of the points or parts making up the objects can be aligned and on the values of the spatial transformations that bring them into the best possible alignment.In other words, when the colors are the same, then the matching error is described by differences in spatial position. For such mechanisms, B matches A better than B matches C, in agreement with intuition. Later we describe a simple matching mechanism that simultaneously compares both the spatial positions and the colors of object points. We show that this mechanism produces matching results that are generally more perceptually sensible than those of template matching. Attribute matchingAnother well-known method of comparing groups is to measure various attributes or properties of the groups, and then represent the differences in the groups by differences in the measured attributes (see, e. g. , Neisser, 1967; Rosenfeld & Kak, 1982; Selfridge, 1956; Sutherland, 1957). These attributes might be simple measures, such as the mean and variance of the color, position, orientation, or size of the primitives in a group, or they might be more complex measures, such as the invariant shape moments. It is likely that perceptual organization in the human visual system involves both transformational matching and attribute matching.However, the specific models considered here involve transformational matching exclusively. The primary reason is that perceptual organization models based on transformational matching have relatively few free parameters, yet they are sensitive to differences in image structure—an essential requirement for moving beyond existing filter- and feature-based models. For example, a simple transformational matching mechanism (described later) can detect small differences in arbitrary 2D shapes without requiring an explicit description of the shapes.On the other hand, specifying an attribute-matching model that can detect small differences in arbitr ary shapes requires specifying a set of attributes that can describe all the relevant details of arbitrary shapes. This type of model would require many assumptions and/or free parameters. Our current view is that transformational matching (or something like it) may be the central mechanism for similarity/difference detection and that it is supplemented by certain forms of attribute matching. Matching groups to categoriesThe discussion so far has assumed implicitly that transformational and attribute matching occur between different groups extracted from the image. However, it is obvious that the brain is also able to compare groups with stored information because this is essential for memory. Thus, the visual system may also measure similarities and differences between groups and stored categories, and perform subsequent grouping using these similarities and differences. These stored categories might be represented by prototypes or sets of attributes.Rather than use stored categori es, the visual system could also measure similarities and differences to categories that emerge during the perceptual processing of the image. For example, the visual system could extract categories corresponding to prevalent colors within the image, and then perform subsequent grouping on the basis of similarities between the colors of image primitives and these emergent color categories. Grouping Mechanisms Once similarities and differences among image parts are discovered, then the parts may be grouped into wholes.These wholes may then be grouped to form larger wholes, resegregated into a different collection of parts, or both. However, it is important to keep in mind that some grouping can occur before all of the relevant relationships between the parts have been discovered. For example, it is possible to group together all image regions that have a similar color, before discovering the geometrical relationships among the regions. As further relationships are discovered, the rep resentations of wholes may be enriched, new wholes may be formed, or wholes may be broken into new parts and reformed.Thus, the discovery of structure is likely to be an asynchronous process that operates simultaneously at multiple levels, often involving an elaborate interleaving of similarity/difference detection and grouping. Within the theoretical framework proposed here we consider one grouping constraint—the generalized uniqueness principle—and three grouping mechanisms: transitive grouping, nontransitive grouping, and multilevel grouping. The uniqueness principle and the grouping mechanisms can be applied at multiple levels and can be interleaved with similarity/difference detection.Generalized uniqueness principle The uniqueness principle proposed here is more general: it enforces the constraint that at any time, and at any level in the hierarchy, a given object (part) can be assigned to only one superordinate object (whole). An object at the lowest level (a pr imitive) in the hierarchy can be assigned to only one object at the next level, which in turn can be assigned to only one object at the next level, and so on. The sequence of nested objects in the hierarchy containing a given object is called the part–whole path of the object.The generalized uniqueness principle, if valid, constrains the possible perceptual organizations that can be found by the visual system. Nontransitive grouping Our working hypothesis is that similarity in spatial position (proximity) contributes weakly to nontransitive grouping. If proximity were making a dominant contribution, then separated objects could not bind together separately from the background objects. Proximity contributes powerfully to a different grouping mechanism, transitive grouping, which is described next.We propose that transitive and nontransitive grouping are in some competition with each other and that the visual system uses both mechanisms in the search for image structure. Refere nces Beck, J. (Ed. ). (1982). Organization and representation in perception. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Beck, J. , Sutter, A. , & Ivry, R. (1987). Spatial frequency channels and perceptual grouping in texture segregation. Computer Vision, Graphics and Image Processing, 37, 299–325. Bergen, J. R. (1991). Theories of visual texture perception. In D. Regan (Ed. ), Spatial vision (pp. 114–134). New York: Macmillan. Bergen, J. R., & Landy, M. S. (1991). Computational modeling of visual texture segregation. In M. S. Landy & J. A. Movshon (Eds. ), Computational models of visual processing (pp. 253–271). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Bovik, A. C. , Clark, M. , & Geisler, W. S. (1990). Multichannel texture analysis using localized spatial filters. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 12, 55–73. Caelli, T. M. (1988). An adaptive computational model for texture segmentation. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 18, 9–17. Chub b, C. , & Sperling, G. (1988). Processing stages in non-Fourier motion perception.Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 29Suppl. 266. Clark, M. , Bovik, A. C. , & Geisler, W. S. (1987). Texture segmentation using a class of narrowband filters. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (pp. 571–574). New York: IEEE. Fahle, M. , & Abele, M. (1996). Sub-threshold summation of orientation, color, and luminance cues in figure–ground discrimination. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 37Suppl. S1147. Fogel, I. , & Sagi, D. (1989). Gabor filters as texture discriminator. Biological Cybernetics, 61, 103–113.Gallant, J. L. , Braun, J. , & Van Essen, D. C. (1993, January). Selectivity for polar, hyperbolic, and Cartesian gratings in macaque visual cortex. Science, 259, 100–103. Geisler, W. S. , & Albrecht, D. G. (1995). Bayesian analysis of identification in monkey visual cortex: Nonlinear m echanisms and stimulus certainty. Vision Research, 35, 2723–2730. Geisler, W. S. , & Albrecht, D. G. (1997). Visual cortex neurons in monkeys and cats: Detection, discrimination and identification. Visual Neuroscience, 14, 897–919. Geisler, W. S. , & Chou, K. (1995). Separation of low-level and high-level fac

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Hans Asperger And Stereotypes Of Autism - 972 Words

1.2 Hans Asperger and Stereotypes of Autism In the 1940’s, Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, observed children with autistic-like behaviors and social and communication challenges. These kids had normal intelligence as well as normal language development. Asperger syndrome is a type of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). PDDs involve delays in the development of skills, mostly around social, communication, imagination, and abstract thinking skills. Many experts argue that Asperger syndrome is a milder form of autism, referred to today as high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Asperger’s work consisted of a historical review of specific Autism case studies that were not representative of the entire spectrum even though they were a great basis for the upcoming research in the field (Draaisma, 2009). Unlike Asperger believed, it is not true that only males have the disorder. Yet, most of Asperger’s observations on autism are still relevant to the way autism is perceived today (Draaisma, 2009). Most of the knowledge about autism among the general public is drawn from the representations of autism in the media, such as novels, TV series, movies, or autobiographies. This is usually a representation of an individual with autism who also has special abilities or talents. Unfortunately, these examples of gifted individuals are not representative of the majority of this population and have led to some misconceptions about the disorder. AspergerShow MoreRelatedAutism Prevalence, Research And The Historical Viewpoint1343 Words   |  6 PagesAutism Prevalence, Research and the Historical Viewpoint Historically, from the published accounts of autism, it has been a male orientated disorder (Thompson et al., 2003; Werling and Gerschwind, 2013). It first came to light in the early 1940s and during this period Doctor Leo Kanner introduced the idea of â€Å"early infantile autism† (Kanner, 1943), this previously unreported model of behaviour was characterised by significant impairment in the areas of social interaction and communication, andRead MoreWhat Can Cause Autism?1176 Words   |  5 PagesAutism has turned into a fairly common, but is a serious developmental disorder that decreases the ability to communicate and interact. This impairs social, verbal and nonverbal interaction, and also brain development. Although there are many myths to what can cause autism, there are very few known true causes or preventions. The most commonly known cause is a mutation in chromosomes. Males are four times more likely to develop autism due to females having a ‘backup’ g ene. Women hold two X chromosomesRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder ( Autism )2850 Words   |  12 Pagesis a lot to know about autism, but like any medical phenomenon there is still more to be learned and discovered. This paper incorporates the research of various studies in accordance to the distinguished disorder known as Autism. It is also referred to, interchangeably with classic autism as well as autism spectrum disorder. The title represents the paper’s goal in classifying autism as the word spectrum is used to classify something but it also shares the name with autism spectrum disorder. TheRead MoreThe Curious Incident Of The Dog1246 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them.† The innovative and fresh-outlook on autism was my first exposure to the workings of the poorly understood condition. Mark Haddon’s â€Å"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time† is a novel that f ocuses on a boy, Christopher Boone, who has Asperger’s syndrome: a form of autism. He is proficient at mathematics, yet cannot interpret anything but the simplest facial expressions from the people in his immediateRead MoreCt 276 Understand How to Support Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Conditions4912 Words   |  20 Pagesdeveloped about ADHD and Autism. There appears to be a vast amount of similarities with the three disorders. Fragile X is a genetic syndrome which results in a spectrum of characteristic physical and intellect limitations and emotional and behavioural features which range from severe to mild manifestation. Fragile X is the most common known single gene cause of Autism, as well as one –third of all children diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome also have some degree of Autism. (FragileX.ORG) FragilexRead MoreDescription Of An Example Of A Presentation8050 Words   |  33 Pagescalled Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Autism (Autism Society of America Home Page) Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as 1 in 500 individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1997). Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows

Monday, December 30, 2019

Barack Clinton And Donald Trump Essay - 2267 Words

In the beginning, God said, â€Å"Let there be poverty,† and there was poverty. Although this is obviously false, poverty has been a growing problem in the United States since its founding in 1776. For centuries, presidents have been conjuring up ways to cure this ongoing headache in our society with policies and procedures that have been either somewhat successful or a complete failure. This year, on November 8th, Americans will choose the next candidate who will try to defeat this problem once again. The 2016 presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have drastically different views on how to attack poverty in America. Trump believes in the system of â€Å"trickle-down economics†, while Clinton seeks to raise the federal minimum wage while taxing the rich in order to create a more fair economy. After comparing the policies of both candidates, I have concluded Hillary Clinton’s policies will more effectively address the problem of poverty in Ame rica. In order to more clearly understand the severity of poverty in our nation, we must first look back to the source of the issue. With the start of The Great Depression in the 1920s, economic downturn was at it’s worst. After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, millions of investors on Wall Street were uprooted. This caused consumer spending to drastically decline over the next several years. With this decrease in consumer spending, nearly 15 million Americans were laid off and half of the country’s banks failed. PresidentShow MoreRelatedBarack Clinton And Donald Trump Essay2000 Words   |  8 Pagespresident of the United States of America are Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. As of today, these candidates are in a tough tie. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have similar and opposite issues with America. These two candidates have been through a very irrational presidential campaign due to Hillary’s accusation on some very confidential emails being deleted and hacked from a personal email of Hillary Clinton. Also, the accusations on Donald Trump sexually harassing plenty of young women, whichRead MoreBarack Clinton And Donald Trump Essay2001 Words   |  9 PagesHillary Clinton and Donald Trump, as being dangerous and not qualified to become the President of the United States of America. I was confronted by this question myself when my younger brother at the tender age of seven recently asked me who I would vote for if I could. Bemused, I told him I honestly didn’t like either candidate much. I despise Donald Trump s reckless attitude and ability to insult every head of state he manages to meet within a 30 minute period. I also think that Hillary Clinton hasRead MoreBarack Clinton And Donald Trump1229 Words   |  5 PagesThe 2016 election has been an eventful and by far surprising one. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the least liked of the possible candidates, but they still have many supporters. This is because they still know how to interact with the people and know what their supporters want to hear. Knowing how to effectively communicate with the audience is an important part of winning the election. If the audience does not feel like they can relate to the candidates or that the candidates do not have theRead MoreBarack Clinton And Donald Trump Essay1403 Words   |  6 PagesWith the 2016 Presidential Election approaching, the citizens of the United States of America have chosen Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presidential candidates. The two competitors have been receiving quite a lot of attention from the media, exposing the controversies that they have been involved in. Some voters will focus on and base their votes off of these controversies rather than how each candidate will handle the United States’ problems. Howeve r, it is essential for voters to be awareRead MorePresident Obama Is The President Of The United States852 Words   |  4 PagesPresident of the United States on 8th November 2016. President Barack Obama is not qualified for re-election due to term restrictions established in the Constitution. The victor of the 2016 presidential balloting will be confirmed into office on 20th January 2017. Donald Trump is considered a cultural phenomenon, a television showman, and tycoon whose business runs from real estate to fashion wear to global beauty pageants. Donald Trump is a Republican Candidate for Presidential office of the UnitedRead MorePresident Elect Donald Trump And The Republican National Convention Essay1488 Words   |  6 Pageshave been several talks about President-Elect Donald Trump and the Republicans surprising landslide victory in the recent election results for the President, Congress, and House of Representatives. Although Donald Trump did not win the popular vote in the November 8th election, he will be the next President of the United States of America once he is inaugurated on January 20, 2017. Unfortunately, the popular vote went to Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton and many people believe that she gained popularityRead MoreHillary Clinton : A Successful Woman Essay1545 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom Hillary Clinton as she was facing head to head with her o pponent Donald Trump for the seat at the White House to be the next President of the United States. Although she did not win, Hillary had many different campaign strategies and styles that she expressed throughout her two year journey of campaigning. With this being said, Hillary had various ups and downs all which I will be comparing to Barack Obama’s campaign when he was running for President back in 2008. Hillary Clinton is a very successfulRead MoreThe President Of The United States832 Words   |  4 Pagesimminent doom considering the two frontrunners for the 2016 Presidential election are currently Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Controversy surrounds both candidates due to demagogic comments from Trump and an FBI investigation looming over Clinton. Political parties divide the the two nominees and set up for a fierce debate if they are chosen to represent America in the vital election of 2016. Donald J. Trump’s Presidential campaign began with much fanfare. Many saw the reality show stars announcementRead MoreHistory Is The Study Of Past Events Essay1459 Words   |  6 Pagesreconciliation. Upon reading Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if President Barack Obama would have read Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address, in todays society. In light of the presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, what our nation would have been like if Hillary had won, and what our nation can expect from Donald Trump winning the presidency. President Lincoln begins his 2nd Inaugural Address by stating that there is no need for aRead MoreWikileaks Exposed The Corruption And Unethical Behavior Within The Democratic Party Essay1227 Words   |  5 Pageswould be enough for the American People. The establishment in the Democratic Party helped Hillary Clinton win the nomination over Bernie Sanders, which they should blame themselves for the strongest repudiation by the American People after losing all three branches of government. The Obama’s Legacy President and First Lady Obama, who are well-loved and respected, bet their legacy on Hillary Clinton and now it’s tarnished. The American People felt the President and First Lady was trying to convince

Sunday, December 22, 2019

University Tuition Costs are Too High Essay - 1239 Words

The cost of tuition for higher education is quickly rising. Over half of college freshmen show some concern with how to pay for college. This is the highest this number has been since 1971 (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). The amount of college graduate debt has been rapidly increasing also. With limited jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, college graduates find themselves staying in debt even longer. Although grants and financial aid are available to students, students still struggle to pay for their college tuition. Higher education costs are prohibitively expensive because the state’s revenue is low, the unemployment rate is high, and graduates cannot pay off their student loans. One reason that higher education†¦show more content†¦Now most receive less than 50 percent† (Hulsey 24). Some schools, such as the University of Michigan, receive less than seven percent (Hulsey 24). These numbers hit some schools extremely hard. Acc ording to Hulsey in his article about the cost of education: State contributions to the 2009-10 operating budget declined by $189 million at UCLA, $109 million at University of Florida, $99 million at University of Washington, and $63 million at Louisiana State University (LSU), according to a Nov.1, 2009, New York Times article by Paul Fain. The percentage decline was equally significant, ranging from 33 percent at UCLA to 27 percent at LSU. (24) As a result of this, states receive pressure to make up for this and must raise tuition. Grant donors are also becoming less generous in their contributions to students as well. This makes affording college even harder for students. Not only do the states’ low revenues cause affordability problems, but high unemployment rates contribute as well. As of December 2009, the nation’s unemployment rate was at ten percent (Boskin 22-27). The unemployment rate for people ages twenty to twenty-four is fifteen percent (Dickler). These numbers are still significantly high. This makes finding jobs extremely difficult for college students. Since the nation’s overall unemployment rate is high, students find themselves competing with everyone for jobs. This becomes very difficult for them. Without jobs,Show MoreRelatedIs College Tuition Too High?1056 Words   |  5 PagesIs College Tuition To High? Jeffery J. Selingo stated in The Washington Post, â€Å"How long can we go with tuition until it is to much?† This statement is what many people think, who are struggling to pay off there tuition. The cost of tuition is extremely too high. Earlier in the 1900’s the cost of tuition was merely 200 dollars a year, but now tuition can be from 15,00 to 50,00 dollars a year. (UNIVERSITY HISTORY. Educational Costs (1900-1909), University of Pennsylvania University Archives. WebRead MoreThe Cost of Tuition Among Colleges and Universities in Highly Diversified and Indefinite926 Words   |  4 PagesThe cost of tuition among colleges and universities is highly diversified and indefinite. Students shouldn’t be financial problems that are associated with the high tuition cost for their education because it creates unnecessary stress and financial problems. The student’s primary concern should be their academic performance and learning. The tuition fee includes extra curricular expenses such as lifestyle amenities that may not be essential toward the student education yet they are still being chargedRead MoreHow Student Loans Have Affected The Cost Of Tuition964 Words   |  4 Pagescould attend a public four-year university for $2,500 and a private university for a little over $5,000. Although, most of these universities are offering the same mediocre education from the last three decades; the cost of tuition has more than tripled for public universities and for private universities, it has gone up a staggering 85%. Canada holds an average educational cost of 5,974 and England follows with an estimated average cost of 5,288. In spite the tuition in the United States being moreRead MoreCollege Tuition Is Too Expensive770 Words   |  3 Pages College Tuition Is Too Expensive There are many colleges around the world and most people like to attend one. Students study hard and try their best just so they can get an acceptance letter from their dream college. However, college tuition is not that affordable; college tuition is increasing in price every single year while the yearly salary of a father stays the same or barely increases. College tuition should be affordable to everyone regardless of his or her family status and position. StudentsRead MoreHigh Quality Standard Free Of Charge976 Words   |  4 PagesAs each year passes, we see the same trend: inflation rates on the cost of higher education increase at a rate greater than that of household income. This makes it more difficult for lower and middle class families to finance their children through college, and put themselves in a position to be successful in life. Without being able to get a college education, it makes it nearly impossible to land the jobs that are going to bring in higher level inco me. People need to be educated to go out intoRead MoreShould Taxpayers Fund College Tuition? No?909 Words   |  4 PagesCollege Tuition? No Dear Representative John Kline, Executive Summary: In the United States, college should remain an accessible opportunity for Americans. Any one who is willing to put in the hard work and effort to make their future better, should be secured an education. A college education is important to one s future and can make a huge difference in how successful someone can become. There have been multiple presidents and politicians offer a solution to higher education costs being soRead MoreDecrease The Cost. ​Now That A College Education Is No1491 Words   |  6 Pages Decrease the Cost ​Now that a college education is no longer an option, but it’s rather vital, parents and students all across the nation fear to pay tuition every year. Over the past few decades the cost of tuition has increased by 137.2 percent. That is going from 13 thousand dollars a school year to 31 thousand dollars a school year. This 137.2 percent increase just goes to show you that tuition is way too high and has been substantially increasing over the past fifty decades. These increasesRead MoreEffects of Higher College Tuition on California Students1211 Words   |  5 Pages Effects of Higher College Tuition on California Students Hudson Pacific Ocean University EFFECTS OF HIGHER COLLEGE TUITION ON CALIFORNIA STUDENTS Read MoreHigher Education At The United States Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesHigher education in the United States was introduced in 1636 when Harvard University first opened its doors. At the time, college was seen as an exclusive institution, typically reserved for the wealthy elite. In the 1600’s, a college degree was not necessary to get a decent job and make a living; therefore, there was not a high demand for it. Since then, public opinion and attitudes about higher education have changed significantly. In today’s job market, a college degree is a requirement for aRead MoreCollege Tuition Rising : I m Currently A Sophomore / Junior At Siue Essay1269 Words   |  6 PagesTaiAnn Williams Adam Cleary Eng 102 11.16.2015 College Tuition Rising I’m currently a sophomore/junior at SIUE and there’s thing that I just don’t understand why we take unnecessary classes or all this fees are a part of our tuition. Now my school is the lost in the state and schools like University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana or Illinois State University there tuition is sky high and these are people choices of where people want to share their college experiences at but how when they can’t

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Modern-Day Discrimination in America Free Essays

Tim Manyak 10/21/12 English ! 01 DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA Although great strides have been made in the past century for awareness and avoidance of discrimination of all types, these practices remain prevalent to some extent. There has been a change in perception such that when the term discrimination is used that it refers primarily to racial bias against minorities. Racial discrimination towards any particular group is to be condemned. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern-Day Discrimination in America or any similar topic only for you Order Now The prevailing stereotype may be that racial discrimination is mostly directed toward African Americans but there is ample evidence that it is also directed toward other groups. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness of these occurrences so that all may try to avoid such practices and activities. One group of people in particular that are discriminated against is Hispanics. Bias against Hispanics is well documented and it is difficult to separate whether this discrimination is on the basis of ethnic or racial grouping. Hispanics are discriminated against in several ways. One example of this discrimination is Arizona’s ratification of â€Å"The  Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act†. This is a law that requires all aliens older than fourteen be registered with the U. S. government, and be in possession of these documents at all times. The law also makes it illegal for any alien to be in Arizona without carrying these documents with them and, thus, subjects them to arrest. This law encourages racial profiling because it makes it legal for law enforcement officials to arrest any alien on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Another group of people that are discriminated against is Whites. In recent times, it would seem that people are selected or considered for something based more so on the fact that they are a minority. A substantial amount of racial bias is brought upon by affirmative action as well. A prime example of this would be the case Fisher vs. University of Texas. In this case, student Abigail Fisher felt she was denied admission to the University of Texas based on the fact that she was white, not on her academic performance. In 2003, the Supreme Court passed a law saying that race could play a role in the admissions process of universities, again encouraging racial profiling. Another example of racial discrimination against Whites would be the media bias in the Trayvon Martin case. Many news stations were quick to draw conclusions and pass judgment on George Zimmerman. In an attempt to make the attack seem racially motivated, some stations even played edited versions of the recorded 911 call made by Zimmerman minutes before the attack. Racial oppression of Whites occurs daily in America, and while on some occasions subtle, it continues diminish the lives of citizens all over the country. Another population of Americans that are heavily discriminated against are the Sikhs. Sikhs are a religious people, originally from South Asia, and very rich in culture and tradition. Sikhs are often confused with Muslims, who are of a completely different religion and background. As a result of this confusion and the many conflicts between the U. S. and the Middle East, Sikhs have received a very considerable amount of racial discrimination from other people. An example of this discrimination took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist, walked into a local Sikh temple and opened fire, killing six and injuring another four, before taking his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. No one is completely certain as to why Page committed this horrifying crime, but experts strongly imply that it was racially induced. Sikhs have faced the most brutal and direct type of discrimination due to the consistent conflict with the Middle East throughout the last decade. With the number of racially motivated crimes in America constantly increasing, it is also becoming increasingly more evident that there is much to be done to restore the fairness in America today. In order for true equality to occur in America, it is up to it’s citizens to overcome decades of ignorance and injustice. Racial discrimination exists against all races. Awareness of the problem will help continue the fight against discrimination. We must all do our part to be aware and prevent discrimination. How to cite Modern-Day Discrimination in America, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

SME Product Development for Mobile Phones -myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theSME Product Development for Mobile Phones and Tablets. Answer: Introduction The customers are now going advanced and using mobile application platforms to be updated. They are using mobile phones; tablets are other mobile devices to gather the necessary information. That is the reason mobile applications are so important in the current market. It must be understood that by the mobile applications, customers are able to have all the information at their fingertips. Along with this, it is crucial to have mobile phones in the workplace to enhance the customer base for the success of the business. no matter what is business is, mobile apps are helpful in getting and retaining more customers as customers go online for searching the product or service. If the business is available online and company has mobile application then business will make good impression among the customers. To get competitive advantage, Company X needs to develop a mobile application for their customers to use. On the basis of some key facts, it is analyzed that people are spending more ti me on the mobile phones. Due to mobile applications, 62% of the population of world can change their mind on any specific brand. If any brand is providing opportunity for the mobile access to the customers then customers will have positive perception for that particular brand. This report provides an understanding of necessary requirements for developing mobile application in the Company X (Baldwin, 2016). Objectives Every project should have a clear objectives and purposes. In this case, Company X has also some specific objectives while developing mobile applications for the business operations. Effective objectives in the project management are specific. Specific objectives for the business improve the chances for specific results. So, objective should be clear and should improve the relations with the customers. There are three basic objectives i.e. functional requirements, structural requirements and resource requirements (Purvis, 2016). Functional requirements- The functional requirement deals with the specification of the product to satisfy the fundamental reasons for the existence. In case of Company X, mobile application can be considered as the product. Developing mobile application is essential for the company to have competitive advantage among the customers. By developing the mobile application, aim of the company is allows the customers to find out the offered products to the customers on the online platforms. The functional requirements deal with the business requirements i.e. attracting more and more customers for the food products. Based on the business requirements of Company X, the functional requirements for the mobile applications are as follows: To check customers requirements and demands, to check the real time market price and to receive the information about the location of the potential customers, To advertise the products and services among the potential customers in the market, To indicate product distribution to the customers based on the requirements and quantity, To display the real time prices of the food products in the market, and To attract the customer base by providing offers and discounts and achieve competitive advantage in the market. Structural requirements- To develop the mobile app for Company X, it is important to have structure of the requirements which is essential in the process. Undoubtedly, mobile app development process is a costly and complex process. There are some steps which are required for developing strong mobile app for the company i.e. analyzing the market, deciding the type of app, forecasting the budget, and execution the mobile app. These all steps are equally important. From the perspective of development and implementation of application, there are some requirements with the structure which must be fulfilled by the developers (Khorkov, 2017). Those steps are described below: Analyze the customers persona and customer journey map, Sketching or wire framing of the app, User interface design, Planning to development, Clickable prototype, Development process, Quality assurance, and Launch, maintenance and support (Ghiciuc, 2017) Resource requirements- In the resource requirements, there are some necessary resources to develop the mobile app for the Company X. There are some general assets which must be required for the app development. Company would need icons of supported size i.e. iOS @1x, @2x images and Android i.e. mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi etc. Further, there would be the need of Splash screens of supported sizes, screenshots in the correct sizes with the required languages. For developing the app, there would be the requirement of app descriptions along with the required languages, search keywords in the required language and list of supported devices and the OS version (Vliet, 2007). In the Google Play store, there would be the need of Google play developer access, store listing name, description of paid or free access, short description, full description, App icon, App type, category, feature graphics, content ratings, contact email, privacy policy and screenshots etc (Dave, 2017). Building mobile application is complex and long process. Apart from investing the money, it includes long-term commitment with the customers. At the research and analysis stage, the mobile application development can take few months. It depends upon the type of app the company wants to build based on analyzing the end-users and its unique value proposition which is mandatory. Conclusion Based on above description, it is observed that mobile applications are now important for every business as companies are able to achieve competitive advantage in the operating markets. Customers are now active on the online platforms to compare one brand from others. Based on the online access, they have perception about specific product and brand. For this manner, Company X, a food products provider is going develop a mobile application so that the company can attract large customer base. It is observed that every project must have clear objectives. In this way, there are three basic objectives for developing the mobile app i.e. functional requirements including basic functions of mobile app, Structural requirements including basic structure of developing and implementation process and Resource requirements including the necessary and required resources to develop he mobile app like Google play developer access, store listing name, description of paid or free access, short descript ion etc. References Baldwin, C. (2016). 14 Reasons Why Your Restaurant Needs a Useful Mobile App. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://buildfire.com/restaurant-mobile-app/ Dave, J. (2017). How to Build a Mobile App Requirements Document. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://clearbridgemobile.com/how-to-build-a-mobile-app-requirements-document/ Gair, G. (2011). The app store landscape is moving toward segmentation and niche stores. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://www.research2guidance.com/the-app-store-landscape-is-moving-towardssegmentation-and-niche-stores/ Ghiciuc, L. (2017). All the Phases of the Mobile and Web Product Development Process. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://www.thinslices.com/phases-mobile-product-development-process/ Khorkov, E. (2017). From Idea To Development: How To Write Mobile Application Requirements That Work. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/05/writing-mobile-application-requirements/ Purvis, C. (2016). 6 key mobile app objectives. Retrieved on 11th October 2017 from https://blog.exiconglobal.com/6-key-mobile-app-objectives/ Vliet, H.V. (2007). Software Engineering: Principles and Practice. Singapore: Wiley.