Relationship Between Religious Beliefs Essay

‘The relationship between religious beliefs, religious organisations and social groups is complex and diverse. Different groups have different needs and priorities.’ To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? Statistics show that women have a greater participation rate in religious organisations than men. Women are more likely to express a greater interest in religion, to have a stronger personal faith and believe in life after death. They are more likely to involve themselves in religious rituals and worship, for example, attend religious services and lead a more religious life generally. There are many sociological explanations as to why women are more religious than men. Firstly, Miller and Hoffmann suggest that gender socialization means females are brought up to be more compliant, obedient and nurturing than males. They state that women are more involved with feelings, co-operation and caring for others. However, Walter and Davie see women as more exposed than men, to the ups and downs and changes of life. This is because of their biological involvement through childbirth, and through their greater participation in paid caring jobs, for example as teachers, nurses, social workers. Davie suggests that these factors give women a closer association with birth and death than men, and these are also central issues for many religions. They make women more aware of the helplessness of human life, and more familiar to the spiritual dimensions for human existence. Women are also more likely to turn to religion as a result of feeling deprived; they are more likely to experience poverty, family problems, less self confidence and less power. This means they turn to religion for comfort, particularly in religious sects and new religious movements which provide theodicies explaining their feelings, as well as solutions and support. Status frustration may be experienced by some women, who lack personal fulfilment or status as a result of being restricted to the home by the constraints of housework and childcare, or are in unsatisfying lower-middle-class jobs, which are mainly done by women. Religious participation, particularly in religious sects or new age cults, may help to overcome or compensate for this. Due to women staying at home for child care or having part time jobs, some would argue that this allows women to have far more spare time to be able to attend religious groups, therefore increasing their attendance. Statistics show women’s attendance to religious organisations are higher than men’s, however some Marxist  feminists such as Bevoir and Bird argue that religion is used to oppress women. The view that religion has negative consequences for women is conveyed in the study by Bevoir, who sees religion as patriarchal and oppressive. She supports the Marxist perspective and suggests that religion is oppressive and serves to control and reimburse the second class status given to woman. Which is similar to Marx’s viewpoint on the polerteriants who believe religion gives women a false belief that they will be compensated for their suffering on earth by equality in heaven. This argument suggests that religion is patriarchal therefore it is inevitable that it will end up having negative consequences for women. According to feminists there are countless example of patriarchy which have been used to control and later oppress women. Places of worship show this as they often segregate the sexes. An example of this is the Jewish synagogue in which women are placed behind screens separate from the men who in turn are situated in the main centre space. This highlights the marginalisation between the men and women. Although there are some rising female readers of religion, scriptures were first and foremost written and interpreted by men and it is men that are the head of the churches in Islam and Catholicism. This could mean that many values and ideologies such as wearing the Burka, beatings, female circumcision and bans on contraception may have been misinterpreted for men’s gain and passed on through generation to generation. May religious women are still not permitted to become priests or are only allowed to work themselves up to a certain level before they hit a religious ‘glass ceiling’, identifying where they want to be, but not being able to reach it due to the constraints set upon them. On the other hand, there are views to suggest that women are no longer oppressed in religion. For example, many cults are run by women and Paganism, from which many New Age religions originate, remains the most female-friendly approach to religion with a strong feminist element, where God is a mixture of male and female, and strong female leadership is common. Individuals seem to develop a greater attachment to religion as they grown older. Religious belief is lowest among those under 34, and highest among those over age 55. Young people are not only less likely to participate in mainstream religious activity than older people; more than half of them say they don’t regard themselves as religious at all, as shown in such studies as the British  Social Attitudes survey and the European Values study. There are three main reasons as to why older people might be more religious than the younger generation. The first being disengagement. This means that as people get older, they become detached from integrating mechanisms of society, such as participation in workplaces through paid employment. Older people may face increasing social isolation as partners and friends die. Participation in religious organisations provides a form of social support in this situation, and a network of people to relate to. The second is religious socialization, where older people are more likely to have a greater emphasis places on religion through the education system and socialization in the family when they were younger. Lastly, ill health and death. Older people tend to be faced with declining health, and death looms on the horizon. These are the very things that religion concerns its self with. The aging process and disengagement from society may therefore generate an engagement with religion for comfort, coping, meaning and support. Young people are less religious in terms of their expressed religious belief in surveys and their participation in mainstream religions, however this may be because these are simply being expressed in new, private ways which are difficult to record in surveys. Lynch suggests that young people may be running away from conventional ideas of religion as they can now go ‘spiritual shopping’. This involves an increasing exposure and accessibility to a diversity range of religious and spiritual ideas. This has encouraged new ways of exploring religion and spirituality. Young people may be choosing to take of their religion, of whatever faith or mix of beliefs, as a private matter. Davie expressed this in the words ‘believing without belonging’. This is where individuals may have a belief in something, however they do not chose to practice this belief. Secular spirituality and the sacred, Lynch suggested that young people may not have lost all religiosity , but that is simply finding new forms, many of which are associated more with the secular and non-religious world than with religious as it is currently understood by most people. Pragmatic reasons also mean there are a range of possible more practical or pragmatic explanations for the decline of religious belief and commitment amongst young individuals. Leisure activities have become a much bigger part of life, and shops and pubs all open for very long hours, including Sundays. Young people have more demands on their time and they may  simply have more interesting ad enjoyable things to do.

Biology Coursework: Effect of Sugar Solution on Potato Chips Essay

Planning Before planning the experiment, I will research osmosis, so that I can make predictions. This will help me to discover how to make this investigation fair and safe. Planning ahead will help me find out the order in which to carry out the experiment. This should lead me to good results at the end of the experiment. Hypothesis Osmosis is the passage of water from a region of high water concentration through a semi-permeable membrane to a region of low water concentration. When a potato is placed in water, the cells will expand by gaining weight depending on the concentration levels of the solution. When the concentration of the water is lower, more water molecules are allowed to pass through the potato cell. This causes the potato to gain weight and expand. If the concentration levels of the solution are higher, the cells will lose water and cause the potato to lose weight and therefore shrink. Prediction I predict that when the lower the concentration of sugar solution in the water, the more the potato will expand by osmosis. When the concentration of water is identical to the concentration of the potato cell, there will be no increase or decrease in weight. This is because the amount going into the cell will be the same as the amount going out. As soon as the water concentration becomes higher, the cells will shrink because more water will be leaving the cell than entering it. In distilled water alone, I predict that the water in the potato will be more concentrated. Because of this, the water should transfer from the solution to the potato, and the potato will gain weight. In the 0.2 molar solutions, the substances will be very similar in concentration. There should be little change to the size and weight of the potato. When the potato is placed in 0.4 molar solutions, the substances will still be very similar but the concentration of the water solution should be slightly greater to that of the potato. This will cause the potato to shrink slightly. As the molar solutions get higher, the water will transfer more and more from the potato to the water solution, therefore decreasing its size and weight. The most extreme shrinking should occur when the potato is placed in 1.0 molar solution, as here the difference in the water concentration is at its largest. Safety I will be using a very sharp knife, which could injure someone if it is not handled properly. And I will also be careful that the solutions do not get into my body internally as I am not fully aware of the damage it could cause. Method I will cut chips from the same potato because different potatoes may act differently and affect the results. I will cut them 15mm long exactly with square ends 5mm wide and 2mm thick. I will use a chopping and knife for this. They all need to be exactly the same size to ensure that it is a fair test. I will weigh the chips to ensure that they are the same size and weight. This will also give us a measurement to compare them to afterwards. I will use three identical potato chips in each solution. This is because the experiment may not go to plan. If we have three chips, an average can be taken at the end of the experiment to obtain more accurate results. The three potatoes will be placed in 6 different solutions, 1.0 being the strongest and distilled water being the weakest. The solutions I will use are as follows: 0.0 (Distilled water) 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 The boiling tubes will be placed in a rack with an equal amount of molar solution. This is because identical solutions are needed for it to be a fair test. The potatoes will be covered with the solutions, if not the water will not be able to pass in and out and the potatoes would dry out. The solutions will all need to be the same temperature and the chips will need to remain in the test tube for the same length of time. The length of time I have chosen to keep the potatoes in the solution is 5 minutes. This should be enough time for the osmosis to take affect. When the potatoes are removed from the solution, the osmosis stops. I will then dry the potatoes using a paper towel being careful so that none of the potatoes fall apart. I will place them into sets of three depending on when which solution they were placed in and weigh and measure them. To get the most accurate results, I will take the average reading of the three pieces. I will then analyse my results and see if they match my prediction.

Modern history of JAPAN

Distinct features of constitution: 1.According to Meiji constitution, all political power is in the Emperor’s hand. 2.The principle that sovereignty resided in person of the Emperor, by virtue of his divine ancestry â€Å"unbroken for ages eternal†, rather than the people, No other have chance to take position 3.The Emperor, nominally at least, united within himself all three branches (executive and legislative and judiciary) of government, albeit subject to the â€Å"consent of the Imperial Diet†. 4.Sacred and inviolable†, a formula which was construed by hard-line monarchists to mean that emperor retained the right to withdraw the constitution, or to ignore its provisions. 5.The Emperor’s commands (including Imperial Ordinance, Edicts, Rescripts, etc) had no legal force within themselves, but required the signature of a â€Å"Minister of State†. 6.The Emperor also had the sole rights to make war, make peace, conclude treaties Democracy in Meiji constitution. People’s right 1. Freedom of speech, assembly and association 2. Privacy of correspondence 3. Private property 4. Freedom of movement 5. Freedom of religion 6. Right to be appointed to civil or military or any other public offices equally. Moreover, according to constitution, the Emperor’s commands (including Imperial Ordinance, Edicts, Rescripts, etc) had no legal force within themselves, but required the signature of a â€Å"Minister of State†. Depart from Democracy. 1 All political powers in the Emperor’s hand. 2 The Meiji Constitution was founded on the principle that sovereignty resided in person of the Emperor, by virtue of his divine ancestry â€Å"unbroken for ages eternal†, rather than the people 3 The Emperor, nominally at least, united within himself all three branches (executive and legislative and judiciary) of government, 4 Ministers of State were appointed by (and could be dismissed by) the Emperor alone, and not by the Prime Minister or the Diet. 5 The Emperor also had the sole rights to make war, make peace, conclude treaties

Field Experience Observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Field Experience Observation - Essay Example Following the contextualisation of the topic and the introduction of Kendale Elementary School, the author's observations will be analytically presented, with the final section articulating the field's study's findings. The challenge of attempting to comply with special education regulations established at the local, state, and federal level has grown in recent years. Strict legal requirements affect the way students with disabilities receive their education. A movement to include more students with special needs within general education classes has caused some educators to question their ability to effectively serve students with various disabilities. Some critics argue that placing students with disabilities in a general education classroom consumes too much time from the workday of an already overworked teacher and reduces the actual time on task for all the students. Another argument against the inclusion movement is the belief that curriculum standards must be lowered to accommodate students with learning disabilities. One of the most consistent beliefs relating to American educational practices of the past century is that all students are entitled to an equal educational opportunity. Parents, educators, and advocacy groups have contended that the educational services provided to students with disabilities are frequently less effective than the educational experiences that are offered to students without disabilities. Not all students respond positively to traditional educational programs of instruction. Some have social or emotional needs that require different educational environments or strategies. As an immediate result of the aforementioned, school districts around the country have been restructuring their educational programs to accommodate special learners with increasingly complex needs. The response of educational policy makers was to create a separate system of special education to serve these students. As may be deduced from the foregoing, therefore, the delivery of effective ESE is a c hallenging undertaking. The question of how educators and the school system meet these challenges will be analytically reviewed in relation to a Florida Elementary School. 1.2 Kendale

Deductions from income including medical expense, state and local Essay

Deductions from income including medical expense, state and local taxes, interest, charitable deductions, personal and business - Essay Example Deductions of interest upon tax are categorized into six: Home mortgage (publication 936), Business or trade, Investment (publication 550), Passive activity, Personal and Student loan interests For interest to be deductible upon one’s return of tax, it is determined by how money was borrowed and how such money was utilized. Form 1040’s schedule A upon the tax return shows the kinds of interest one can deduct on the return regarding investment interest, points and home mortgage interest. This is with regards to the Internal Revenue Service. (wwwebtax.com, 2011) Section of the IRS code that the IRS will use to support its position of disallowing the deduction Section 506 of the House Bill talks about revaluation of gifts and the same House Bill extends its special rule for such gifts as provided by Chapter 14 of gifts in entirety. (rpifs.com, 2011) Starting august 1997, subsequent to Taxpayer Relief Act’s implementation, revaluation of gifts was considered as follo ws with regards to tax return. After 1997 August, IRS is no longer in a position to revalue gifts and this is following the expiry of the statute of the limitations duration. For this provision to apply, though, the gift’s value must be finally determined. ... Also the fair market value has to be determined, unless the regulations have not made it a requirement to state the market value of the whole entity if the interest value in that entity is reached without utilizing the entity’s net asset value. An explanation of how the fair market value was reached has to be included, the relation ship existing between the recipient and the donor and lastly, the description of the taxpayer’s position he/she is taking contrary to the regulation of the treasury or a ruling of revenue. (Mitchell, 2008 p6-10) Support that Donald will need to defend his position that the interest is investment related and should be deductable for tax purposes Mitchell gives an example, where the recipient of a gift may challenge a decision reached by IRS. According to the example given by Mitchell, a lady by the name Smith, Grace gave out a gift six years prior to her demise and which was valued at 1,000,000USD ( Assuming that Smith was supposed to pay the IRS a rate of tax on gift of 55%). The statute that governs this gift passed this without carrying out an audit of the return of gift. The IRS went through the return by Smith and decided on the correct value, though. This led to a scenario where the estate was supposed to have a credit for the taxes on the gift that were previously payable of an amount of 825,000USD instead of 550,000USD gift tax that was actually paid upon filing of the return. This would result to an estate tax increasing since such revaluation pushes that estate to an upper bracket of tax. In a case where the estate was in the top-most tax bracket, such a revaluation would not have any impact, though. In case the IRS gives a final notice with regards to the redetermination in accordance

How convincing is Porters model of national competitive advantage in Essay - 3

How convincing is Porters model of national competitive advantage in explaining the characteristics and performance of the business systems of major economies - Essay Example There are some critical factors within this model such as demand and factor conditions, firm’s strategy, competition and structure, chance factors, supporting and related industries, and government intervention. Porter’s model of national competitiveness is regarded as an appropriate framework for evaluating firm’s competitive position. On the contrary, this model is not considered as a suitable framework from economist’s perspective. It is stated as a model that helps to determine competitive position of a company rather than a country or nation. This study would reveal real world scenarios where Porters model was beneficial enough to analyze competitive position of nations. The study has been divided into various subsections where theoretical model will be elaborated along with its application on nations. Michael Porter designed a new model to analyze the reason behind firms belonging to specific nations happen to design better strategies in comparison to other firms. Porter took into consideration ten countries such as UK, Germany, USA, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Singapore and Switzerland (Davies and Ellis, 2000). The main objective for designing this model was to identify why some regions possesses competitive advantage compared to rest. Diamond model was designed by Michael Porter was to predict sector’s or country’s competitive advantage. This particular model has been elaborated in figure1. As per figure1, this model helps in designing a structure required for achieving competitive position in a sector. The factors of this model play a significant role in context of achieving competitiveness for long-term (Smit, 2010). All the factors represented within diamond model are determinants of sectors. These factors encompass skills and assets which are important for competitive advantage of an industry. It even consists of information that provides guidance

Marriage between relatives in the Arab countries Essay

Marriage between relatives in the Arab countries - Essay Example That is followed by the trends in marriage to identify any other factors influencing the consanguinity in the Arab culture. After developing a deep understanding of the Arab culture and trends, the practice of consanguinity is discussed itself. This is followed by the causes of consanguineous marriages in the Arab world. Different factors contribute to the practice of consanguinity such as culture, family, location, etc., are then discussed in the light of previous studies. The misconceptions about the practice are also taken into consideration. The consequences of consanguineous marriage are then discussed with the help of empirical evidence on the topic. The reproductive and genetic disadvantages of consanguineous marriages are discussed in particular. The paper ends with a conclusion on the subject matter. The Arab world basically consists of 23 countries stretching from Morocco to the Persian Gulf, also including the Northern Africa. The term ‘Arab’ is used to refer to people whose first language is Arabic or to people who belong to this culture. The Arab world is vast and occupies all the parts of the Arabic Gulf, Mesopotamia, Middle East, and North Africa, while it also includes some parts of the East and West Africa (Tadmouri, 2010). The total population of the Arab world is more than 315 million (Tadmouri, 2010). The Arab world is relatively diverse as it does not only refer to a single race. The Arab world includes people belonging to different race and culture as some Arabs may have coloured eyes and light skin while others may be dark or somewhere in the middle. Hence Arabs cannot be defined by the colour of their skin, nor do they all belong to a single religion. Though the Arab world is dominated by Muslims, millions of Christian and thousands of Jews are also a part of the Arab world and culture (ADC, 2010). Being an Arab is

Compare the role of voice-over narration in any two (or three) films Essay - 1

Compare the role of voice-over narration in any two (or three) films screened in this course (Dr Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange - Essay Example Such a film device is not in any way new or inventive. It is a story-telling technique that is used by different directors to elaborate a plot, based on the needs of the plot and the messages they wish to convey to the audience. As such, this brief analysis will track and consider the ways in which directors of three distinct films—Dr Strangelove (1964), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), and The Big Lebowski (1998)—employ this technique. Through such an analysis, the author hopes to reveal the different nuanced levels of meaning that the individual directors hope to invoke through story-telling techniques such as the voice-over narrative. Kubrick himself, when discussing how he would cast and direct a satire on the lunacy of the Cold War, noted that it should be presented to the audience in a form of dark humour. In this way, it could more readily convey the levels of truth and the different meanings that are portrayed (Bilandzic & Buselle, 2011, p. 30). As a means t o accomplish this end, Kubrick employed many techniques that sought to mirror elements of true life that the audience would readily be able to identify with and would appreciate. Of course one of the most powerful mechanisms that he employed was presenting news-like stories to the viewer in a matter of fact way; regardless of how utterly insane they might be in content. Kubrick further sought to provide a type of societal commentary that housed the work in a convenient yet detached framework. Rather than allowing the individual characters to stand out, ultimately diminishing the message that Kubrick was attempting to communicate, the director regarded central omniscient or seemingly omniscient narrator as a better mechanism. Thus, the director was able to present a serious and gripping subject matter in a satirical way from a detached standpoint. The detached standpoint itself is further compounded by the effect of the monotone voice of the voice-over narration, impressing upon the viewer an influential point of view. The overall effect that the director was attempting to incorporate into the film was precisely this: it was only necessary to add elements of realism into a script that was already tinged by elements of absurdity since the satire engaged the viewer with the preposterous nature of the Cold War and Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) (Kirshner 2001, p. 40). In this way, the voice-over narration provided the necessary ethos that Kubrick required to accomplish a sense of realism and authority. Iguarta (2009, p. 58) offers a comprehensive insight regarding Dr Strangelove (1964), particularly from the perspective of using the voice-over technique: Voice-over narration in Kubrick's films evolves from an element that shows the mastery of the text by itself and an element of coherence that assures the perfect fitting of each element in the first films. They also show a more detached, ironic relationship of narrator to the text, which hints at the growing f eeling in the later films that reality cannot be controlled and that the text is unable to present it to us in a clear, reassuring way. This passage seems marked by the absence of voice-over narration in 2001, a reference to the organizing, clarifying function it had fulfilled in

How the European Economy Works and How This Integration Can Be Affecte Coursework - 1

How the European Economy Works and How This Integration Can Be Affected by the Recession - Coursework Example The European Union is undoubtedly one of the most flourishing business regions in the world with rich countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain. The efforts to build the integration in 25 years have paid off with a formidable team such as the European Union.   However, due to increasing global linkages, such as through bilateral and multilateral agreements, it became inevitable that the region is dragged by the recession in other countries such as what happened in the USA. The financial crisis that happened in the United States has affected a lot of its close partners such as Mexico. The European Union is one of those regions with a partnership with the US. Aside from this, the region’s economy has also some of its weaknesses. This, together with the global financial crisis that started from the US has become a threat to the region.In this paper, there is an attempt to analyze the effect of the global recession on the European Union and its member countries . First, we conduct a short study on what the integration has achieved so far in 25 years, then we look at the current figures to see the effect of the recession and lastly we analyze what this means for the future of the European Union, with a particular focus on the European business environment.Efforts to foster unity and integration between and among the European countries began in 1949, after the Second World War, when West Europe created the Council in Europe, although at this time the continent is still split between East and West   (European Commission).  Ã‚   The integration began with six European nations: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg when the Coal and Steel Treaty was signed, then expanding to nine in 1973 with the addition of Denmark, United Kingdom and Ireland   (European Commission). It took around 20 years before the expansion took place. Prior to the expansion, plans of having a single currency among the EU states was already coined,   but was only formally introduced in 2002, distributing them in 12 member countries   (European Commission). Currently, the member states of the EU number to up to around 27, with the addition of some countries like Spain, Finland and Greece.

Is Illegal Immigration Harmful to the United States Essay Example for Free

Is Illegal Immigration Harmful to the United States Essay â€Å"The mighty tides of immigration†¦ bring to us different languages, opinions, customs, and principles†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Immigration opposing views 26). Immigrants from all over the world contribute to the United States by revitalizing cities, building the economy, and bringing their energizing culture to the bland society of America. About 12 million people in the United States are living illegally (scholastic, New York Times Subtitle) only because of the U. S code title 8 1325, which states that you have committed a federal crime if an improper entry has been attempted by an alien (legal information institute par. 1). Illegal immigration should not be considered harmful to the United Sates; hence, it molds society into a multi cultural and prosperous country. The current immigration policy brings tension to family ties and tears them apart. About one million spouses and children wait daily for visas in hopes of reuniting with their families (immigration opposing views 138-139). In some cases children are left behind in the care of their grandparents or uncles, while their parents go in search of a better job and a new life in order to support their family, or go back to their home country to resume their lives while their children get a better education, which causes many children separation anxiety. A reporter interviewed a 23 year old who now is in the process of becoming legal because of the Dream act. From now on she will be known as subject A. She first came here from Nicaragua legally with her mother on the year of 2001 to spend Christmas with her family. She has an older sister (Subject B) who was already here when subject A arrived. Subject B came to the United States from Nicaragua legally in the year of 1998, as her 15th birthday present, as she was visiting a category 5 Hurricane, known as hurricane Mitch struck all of Central America and the Yucatan peninsula but Honduras and Nicaragua were especially hit hard, on October 22 of 1998 (history par. 2 3), which did not allow her to go back to Nicaragua. As a result of all the damage done by the deadly storm the United States lend a helping hand to those countries in need by granting TPS (temporary protected status) to migrants of those countries. Subject B was eligible to receive TPS on January fifth 1999; she was given an employment authorization document (EAD) and was granted travel authorization if it was needed, as well as the reassurance that she could not be removed from the United States. Subject B was not able to fly out, so she had to stay with her mother’s sister also subjects B aunt (subject D). Subject D as very close with subject A and B; they even sometimes saw them as their second parents. Subject A and C had to fly back home, as Subject A had to return to her regular life, as Subject A approached the age of 13 she was told she had a colon disease which could not be treated in Nicaragua because of the lack of technology advancement. She quickly returned to the United States with her mother. As she stayed for about 3 months, her medical conditions worsened, Subject A’s family came to a mutual decision that she should stay in the care of her aunt (subject D) her uncle and her older sister (subject B). Soon after her mother flew back, and subject A was getting accustomed to the fast pace American life. The validity of her visa card came to an end, and she was now an illegal immigrant. She felt comfortable for only about two to three months, little by little she started to shut down and talked less and started to have pessimistic thoughts about life. Growing up as an illegal immigrant Subject A did not fell indifferent, only because she did not now situation she was in. Everything changed once she entered high school; she did not have the ‘normal teenage’ experience. But as she got older she grew to understand and started to have hatred feeling towards her mother for what she called ‘abandoning’ her and her sister. She grew jealous of certain family members because they growing up with both parents and they were able to go to parks with their dads while she went with her sister or aunt. As other kids were learning how to drive and taking the streets on their own, she was not able to, she had no driver’s license and that’s when she was seen as the ‘weirdo’, both Subject A and B had different responsibilities than just the normal chores. Subject B, while in high school worked because she was given the TPS, but she didn’t have the luxury to spend her pay check on herself, she was to send it to her mother back home in Nicaragua. She was starting to have ideas of wishing her mom would supply her financially instead of her, as she saw her teenage friends buy the trendiest clothes while she used thrift shopped clothing items. Subject B had a different experience than her younger sister besides everything, because she was older and was able to build a mother daughter relationship. In school Subject B would be bullied and sometimes harassed, what she saw as jokes because of her lack of understanding for the English language were actually meant as hurtful remarks, which lead her to become insecure about herself and her life. Subject A saw it as betrayal from her mother’s side, and she would have wished her mom was there to experience her first date, prom and several other high school milestones. Not only that but she was rejected from several colleges and universities because she was an undocumented immigrant. She grew frustrated, because she was brought up into a family that saw education as the only thing the government or your peers can’t take away from you, so she was always the top of her class, graduating with a 3. 97 GPA. Just to know that all those study halls, sleepless nights, and put down hangouts with her friends were in the end worth nothing. She was not able to qualify for scholarships, as a legal immigrant would be granted with the grades she acquired. Because of her situation she was charged as an international student, when her life was very well seen as the ‘American’ one. As she saw she had no hopes in enrolling into her dream university she entered a technical school, Robert P. Morgan. She was able to study in there for a few months as a business administrator for a few semesters because of the grants the government would gift certain community colleges to help man young adults in Subject A’s situation. She was later kicked out of the school because of the many budget cuts. Subject A felt as if her hands were tied to her back and she could not do anything to further her future, while she saw her friends and family move on with their lives. Her dreams were shuttered and many doors were closed in her face until they government would pass a bill aiding many illegal young adults in the education aspect of life, which in the 90’s it was not even thought of. As a result they both look back on their experience and are thankful for it. They have grown from it to become independent. Subject A has now been eligible for a driver’s license, id, and work permit because of the Dream Act, thanks to the endless protests and inspiring words of illegal high school and college students along with their teachers, mentors and peers. Once she is done with the lengthened process she will finish school, and hopefully in the near future will open a business that will give kids a helping hand, if it is only by giving them a shoulder to lean on o someone to talk to. As when she was growing up, her community discriminated against ‘aliens’. She would like to show them and lead them through different routes other than the one which many teenagers fall into; ingesting drugs, theft. Subject B did not have as many struggles as Subject A, she was able to wok a well paying job, and did not have to use public transportation everyday to get to and from work. She is now a single parent attending school to acquire her master’s degree in business administration, with a six year old attending kindergarten, which she is proud to know she can share her story with when he reaches and understandable age. Both subject and Subject B are strong believers of the idea that even though adults are not granted a legal life in the United States, illegal children should be. Because by denying them a legal status in this country you are shutting down possible opportunities of them ever having a proper education, a well paying job, and the future they deserve, not only because children are the future for this world but because they do not decide how they are going to live at the age of six. In other cases, parents are the ones who struggle financially and emotionally. Many are willing to leave their families in stable hands to come to the United States crossing borders in dark nights where the only light seen is the moonlight, just to make sure food is being placed every night and day at the dining table, and that their children have clothes to put on their backs. Many adults face discrimination when it comes to jobs, they are given low wages because many employers are aware that their employees are desperate for a job. Furthermore they are faced with abuse and harassment, which many are scared of the consequences if they report their employers, so they tolerate the mistreatment. Others go to sleep with regrets, thinking that maybe if they would have waited they could have found better opportunities, selling illegal drugs at a local corner they would have made it out better. Not only do they face hardships once they have been ‘settles down’ but also while they are crossing borders, many immigrants running away from patrols during their crossings are beaten with batons, fists or even their feet. Others are being tortured in their jail cells by being denied water or food, and many times they are sexually abused by border patrols (immigration opposing viewpoints pg 130-131). Usually the local residents of Arizona and Texas which tend to be Native Americans or anti- immigration citizens do not agree with the ‘felony’, but even though they have committed a crime by chasing the ‘American dream’ they have heard so much about, in an illegal way because it was their only option since all their other doors have been closed, they should not be treated like animals (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 130-131). They have not taken a life away from the earth; they are only on a search for a better life. Many local residents decide to take matter into their hands and go ‘immigrant hunting’ as a recreational activity, which consists of gong late at night searching for immigrants crossing the border which they can target with their rifles (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 130-131). Many of the patrol officers are thankful for all the ‘help’ the residents of the area have given them (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 130-131) Many American citizens tend to see immigration as nothing but a disgrace to this Country. But there are others that strongly disagree. Illegal Immigrants revamp the economy by adding an extra 50 billion dollars of federal income taxes to the economy in the years of 1993 to 2003 (procon. org par. 11). A lot of citizens believe that by abolishing and making several laws to remove illegal immigrants out of this country will only make it better, but by several researches it has been proved that it will only make it worse, annually aliens contribute about 625 billion dollars, in sales tax, home rents, and utility payments (scholastic magazine par. 8). Usually the government just brings new technology to replace several problems in society but this is one is irreplaceable. Americans have to big of an ego to do jobs like clean toilets, work in construction or coal mines, all the work the call ‘scum work’, and these types of jobs are necessary, and illegal immigrants are willing to do it without complaints. Even though there are good amount of aliens that did not obtain doctorate degrees, much less are wealthy, but they do have patience, gratitude and most of all common sense, which gets the work that is looked down upon done. Many media circuits tend to believe that illegal immigrants do nothing but bring down the wages of American citizens, many are yet to be proved right. There are several statistics to prove that this is just false, also as logic and common sense when one gets a hold of something better they will not let go, they will fight for it. Some do receive low wages because they are forced to, but they will not go down without a fight. It might be hard to gain raises for them, but as they have been grown up to believe they will not give up. Sometimes America tends to forget that to empower their economy they need cheap labor. Not only that, but if you were to be unemployed all the aliens, there would still be more than 1. 4 million jobs opened, which cannot be left untaken. There are 8. 1 million illegal immigrants and 7. 5 million unemployed Americans (Houston chronicle 2008). Even if they were to build the highest walls, cannot deny that they need them, the market is talking (Houston chronicle 2008). Employers, men of affairs and industry leaders say immigrants are not a curse they are a blessing. They are still needed for industrial and commercial development, and credit should be given to them for the art they are playing in American industries. Consequently, they should be able to receive certain benefits and be able to use their gaining’s freely, even though many American that live in the immigration zone can say otherwise, it is only common sense to have equality (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 83). The idea of having open borders throughout the United States scares many, because it may open doors to terrorists and the ones who want to do harm. The rate of illegal immigration is increasing rapidly, which may cause corruption, unless immigrants keep in touch with the technology and ideas of the government (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 31). The problem seems to be keeping the wrong people out and not letting too many people in (pg. 174), that’s when the idea of putting up a wall seems comforting. â€Å"Immigrants come here to realize the American dream; terrorists come to destroy it† (pg. 174). Terrorists come from all over the world to cause harm to those living in peace, and because of the tragic event that occurred on September 11, it has ruined many opportunities of a bill passing that will legalize illegal aliens. The best thing to do is to allow immigrants into this country but stronger restrictions should come into play, that way the welfare status of the country is safe from fraud (pg. 31-41). By adding regulations it offers all (immigrants and non-immigrants) a comfortable way of living (pg. 31-41). Because certain events have given immigrants a bad representation, they are not welcomed, and the government thinks they have found a solution to their problem by building a wall keeping all the ‘unwanted’ out. The border would cost about 1. 2 million dollars per mile for it to come to life. The wall will have an annual cycle of 25 years, which will cost anywhere from 1. 64 to 70 million dollars to keep it standing (procon. org little did you know? ). Much of this money will come from taxpayers who include teachers, small business owners, and many employees with low income wages. Money will be taken out from their already invisible paycheck to set up a barrier for people who are trying to give a better life to their family by working. As seen to millions of dollars will be needed to withhold the ‘wall’ so many people are willing to put up, and these people are known to be big business owners, the ones that are well off, who don’t mind to pay for something with that high of the cost but they tend to forget about the ones that are already having a bad time as it is. Opening up the borders, will give an immense boost to the economy in the United States because of tourism, work and visitation, and as a result all the bad effects of illegal immigration will soon go away (Latino Americans and immigration laws 2006). The Idea of the U. S. being a melting pot has worn off and is now to be said it is a mosaic, because many newcomers and Natives prefer to keep their own heritages and to mix them than to give up on their traditions in order to adapt to the ‘normal American’ one (Latino Americans and immigration laws pg. 12-13). The United States of America has been known to have a foundation and to be a country of immigrants. Most seem to have been taught that the U. S. was first a British colony, when historians strongly disagree and state that â€Å"it is very clear that Spanish settlers were the first Europeans to have a colony permanently in North America† (pg. 34). Because the United States has been seen as a country of immigrants it is strange to many that there have been several disagreements on whether America should accept foreign born citizens (immigration opposing viewpoints pg. 69). Immigration from all over the world is what keeps the U. S. rowing, a regular American women has an average of 1. 93 children throughout her whole lf time with a replacement rate of 2. 1. With immigrants the U. S. population in 2050 would be 397 million without it would be 328 million. Without immigration illegal or legal the American population will shrink little by little (pg. 82-83). Denying immigrants contradicts the base this country was founded on; as a result we should extend the same welcome to them as our ancestors extended to us (pg. 139). Illegal immigrants should not be seen as harm to the United States; hence it mold society into a multicultural and prosperous country. Due to all the research there should be no doubt that immigration in general, is needed because of the mere fact that it revitalizes out cities, boosts our economy, adds an energizing culture and reinsures our basic values. If one was being persecuted because of basic right like religion and freedom of speech or equalities one should already have or just to chase the infamous ‘American dream’, would you like to be seen as criminal that has committed a felony for something anyone would do if they were to walk a mile in one of the citizens shoes that lives in a underdeveloped country? Several illegal immigrants have devoted their lives to this one country because they have hope for this country and their families, as a result they should be seen and be given equal rights especially those who have not committed any other crime than the one of entering this country illegally.

Digital Image Enhancement Methods for Multimedia Technology

Digital Image Enhancement Methods for Multimedia Technology Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction In today’s communications networks, multimedia is a growing field. There are increasing demands on incorporating visual aspect to other modes of communications. It is therefore unable to be avoided to have situations in which the video and transmitted images being corrupted or degraded in their perceptual quality by variety of ways. 1.2Digital Image Processing An image is defined as two- dimensional function, f(x,y), where x,y are plane coordinates and the amplitude of ‘f’ at any pair of coordinates (x,y) is called the intensity or gray level of the image. When x, y and the intensity values of f are all finite and discrete quantities, we call the image a digital image. To processing the image by means of computer algorithms is called as digital image processing. As compared to analog image processing, digital image processing has many advantages. It can avoid problems such as signal distortion, image degradation and build-up of noise during processing. 1.2 Image Restoration and Enhancement Methods: Now day’s digital images have covered the complete world. Images are acquired by photo electronic or photochemical methods. The sensing devices tend to reduce a quality of the digital images by introducing the noise and blur due to motion or misfocus of camera. One of the first applications of digital images was in the news paper industry, when pictures were sent by submarine cable between New York and London. Introduction of cable picture transmission system in the early 1920’s reduced the time required to transport a picture across Atlantic from more than a week to less than three hours. Some of the initial problems in improving the visual quality of these early digital pictures were related to the selection of printing procedures and distribution of intensity levels. Digital image processing techniques began in the late 1960s and early 1970s to be used in medical imaging, remote Earth resources observations and astronomy. Tomography was invented independently by Sir Godfrey N. Hounsfield and Professor Allan M.Cormack who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in medicine for their invention. But, X-rays were discovered in 1985 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Geographers use the similar technique to study the pollution patterns from aerial and satellite imagery. Image enhancement and restoration procedures are used to process the degraded images of unrecoverable objects or experimental results too expensive to duplicate. The use of a gray level transformation which transforms a given empirical distribution function of gray level values in an image into a uniform distribution has been used as an image enhancement as well as for a normalization procedure.( I. Pitas) Image enhancement refers to increase the image quality by sharpening certain image features (edges, boundaries and contrast) and reducing the noise. Digital image enhancement and restoration are two dimensional filters. They are broadly classified into linear digital filters and non linear filters. Linear digital filter can be designed or implemented either spatial domain or Frequency domain. (K.S. Thyagarajan) In Spatial Domain methods refers to the image plane itself .Image processing methods, spatial domain methods are based on direct manipulation of pixels in an image. The intensity transformations and spatial filtering are two principal categories of spatial domain methods. In Frequency domain methods, first image is transformed to frequency domain. It means that, the Fourier transform of the image is computed and performed all processing on the Fourier transform of the image. Finally Inverse Fourier transform is performed to get the resultant image. (Rafael C.Gonzalez and Richard E.Woods) Image Enhancement Techniques are Median filtering Neighborhood averaging Edge Detection Histogram techniques In 1980, recent work on c.c.d. scanners is reviewed and solid-state scanners which include on-chip signal processing functions are described. Future trends are towards `smart’ scanners; these are scanners with on-chip real-time processing functions, such as analogue-to-digital conversion, thresholding, data compaction, edge enhancement and other real-time image processing functions.( Chamberlain,1980) The image enhancement algorithm first separates an image into its lows (low-pass filtered form) and highs (high-pass filtered form) components. The lows component then controls the amplitude of the highs component to increase the local contrast. The lows component is then subjected to a non-linearity to modify the local luminance mean of the image and is combined with the processed highs component. The performance of this algorithm when applied to enhance typical undegraded images, images with large shaded areas, and also images degraded by cloud cover will be illustrated by way of examples. (Peli, T., 1981) Enhancement algorithms based on local medians and interquartile distances are more effective than those using means and standard deviations for the removal of spike noise, preserve edge sharpness better and introduce fewer artifacts around high contrast edges. They are not as fast as the mean-standard deviation equivalents but are suitable for large data sets treated in small machines in production quantities.( Scollar,I.,1983) Filtering CT images to remove noise, and thereby enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in the images, is a difficult process because CT noise is of a broad-band spatial-frequency character, overlapping frequencies of interest in the signal.A measurement of the noise power spectrum of a CT scanner and some form of spatially variant filtering of CT images can be beneficial if the filtering process is based upon the differences between the frequency characteristics of the noise and the signal. For evaluating the performance, used a percentage standard deviation, an index representing contrast, a frequency spectral pattern, and several CT images processed with the filter. (Okada., 1985) A two-dimensional least-mean-square (TDLMS) adaptive algorithm based on the method of steepest decent is proposed and applied to noise reduction in images. The adaptive property of the TDLMS algorithm enables the filter to have an improved tracking performance in nonstationary images. The results presented show that the TDLMS algorithm can be used successfully to reduce noise in images. The algorithm complexity is 2(NÃâ€"N) multiplications and the same number of additions per image sample, where N is the parameter-matrix dimension. The algorithm can be used in a number of two-dimensional applications such as image enhancement and image data processing.( Hadhoud,M.M.,1988) Image processing techniques are used to determine the range and alignment of a land vehicle. The approach taken is to establish a state vector of quantities derived from an image sequence, and to refine this over the mission. The image processing techniques applied fall into the generic categories of enhancement, detection, segmentation, and classification. Approaches to estimating the alignment and range of a vehicle in computationally efficient ways are presented. The estimates of quantities extracted from single image frames are subject to errors. This approach facilitates the integration of results from multiple images, and from multiple sensor systems.( Atherton, T.J.,1990) The JPEG coder has proven to be extremely useful in coding image data. For low bit-rate image coding (0.75 bit or less per pixel), however, the block effect becomes very annoying. The edges also display `wave-like appearance. An enhancement algorithm is proposed to enhance the subjective quality of the reconstructed images. First, the pixels of the coded image are classified into three broad categories: (a) pixels belonging to quasi-constant regions where the pixel intensity values vary slowly, (b) pixels belonging to dominant-edge (DE) regions which are characterized by few sharp and dominant edges and (c) pixels belonging to textured regions which are characterized by many small edges and thin-line signals. An adaptive mixture of some well-known spatial filters which uses the pixel labeling information for its adaptation is used as the adaptive optimal spatial filter for image enhancement. (Kundu, A.1995) The videotexts are low-resolution and mixed with complex backgrounds; image enhancement is a key to successful recognition of the videotexts. Especially in Hangul characters, several consonants cannot be distinguished without sophisticated image enhancement techniques. In this experiment, after multiple videotext frames containing the same captions are detected and the caption area in each frame is extracted, five different image enhancement techniques are serially applied to the image: multi-frame integration, resolution enhancement, contrast enhancement, advanced binarization, and morphological smoothing operations and tested the proposed techniques with the video caption images containing both Hangul and English characters from various video sources such as cinema, news, sports, etc. The character recognition results are greatly improved by using enhanced images in the experiment. (Sangshin Kwak.,2000). The use of an adaptive image enhancement system that implements the human visual system (HVS) has the properties for contrast enhancement of X-ray images. X-ray images are poor quality and are usually interpreted visually. The HVS properties considered are its adaptive nature, multichannel mechanism and high nonlinearity. This method is adaptive, nonlinear and multichannel, and combines adaptive filters and homomorphic processing. The median filtering method is a simple and efficient way to remove impulse noise from digital images. This novel method has two stages. The first stage is to detect the impulse noise in the image. In this stage, first one identify the noise pixel and second one the pixels are roughly divided into two classes, which are noise-free pixel and noise pixel. Then, the second stage is to eliminate the impulse noise from the image. In this stage, only the noise-pixels are processed. The â€Å"noise -free pixels† are directly copied to the output image. Here, hybrid of adaptive median filter with switching median filter method is used. The adaptive median filter framework in order to enable the flexibility of the filter to change it size accordingly based on the approximation of local noise density. The switching median filter framework in order to speed up the process and also allows local details in the image to be preserved. (Kong, NSP., 2008) One of the advantages of Level-2 Improved tolerance based selective arithmetic mean filtering technique is that this filtering technique is to detect and remove the noisy pixels and restore the noise free information. However the removal of impulse noise is often accomplished at the expense of blurred and distorted features of edges. Therefore it is necessary to preserve the edges and fine details during filtering. (Deivalakshmi,S., 2010) An efficient non-linear cascade filter is used to removal of high density salt and pepper noise in image and video. This method consists of two stages to enhance the filtering. The first stage is the Decision based Median Filter (DMF) which is used to identify pixels likely to be contaminated by salt and pepper noise and replaces them by the median value. The second stage is the Unsymmetrical Trimmed Filter, either Mean Filter (UTMF) or Midpoint Filter (UTMP) which is used to trim the noisy pixels in an unsymmetrical manner and processes with the remaining pixels The basic idea is that, though the level of denoising in the first stage is lesser at high noise densities, the second stage helps to increase the noise suppression. Hence, this method is very suitable for low, medium as well as high noise densities even above 90%. This algorithm shows better image and video quality in terms of visual appearance and quantitative measures. ( Balasubramanian, S.,2009) The enhancement algorithm enhances CR image detail and CR image enhanced has good visual effect, so the method id suit for edge detail enhancement of CR medicine radiation image. (Zhang., 2010). Three dimensional TV is considered as next generation broadcasting service.TOF sensors are a relatively new technology allowing real time capture of both photometric and geometric scene information. In order to generate the natural 3D video, first we develop a practical pipeline including TOF data processing and MPEG-4 based data transmission and reception. Then we acquire colour and depth videos from TOF range sensor. Then Alpha matting and enhancement are performed to handle fuzzy and hairy objects (Ji-Ho Cho Sung-Yeol Kim Lee, 2010). Chapter 2 2.1 Median Filtering Median Filtering is a non -linear signal enhancement technique for the smoothing of signals, the suppression of impulse noise, and preserving of edges. In the one dimensional case it consists of sliding a window of an odd number of elements along the signal, replacing the centre sample by the median of the samples in the window. Noise is any undesirable signal. Noise is everywhere and thus we have to learn to live with it. Noise gets introduced into data via any electrical system used for storage, transmission, and/or processing. In addition, nature will always play a â€Å"noisy† trick or two with data under observation. When encountering an image corrupted with noise you will want to improve its appearance for a specific application. The Techniques applied are application-oriented. Also, different procedures are related to the types of noise introduced to the image. Some important types of noise are: Gaussian or white, Rayleigh, Salt-pepper or impulse noise, periodic, sinusoidal or coherent, uncorrelated, and granular. In statistics, a median is described as the numeric value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the numbers from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one. For example: The observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4]. First, we are arranging in ascending order or lowest value to highest value. [1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8] Then the middle one is picked. Here, number of observations n=9, it is an odd number. The middle value=5. So, the median =5. If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values. For example: observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4,6]. First, we are arranging in ascending order or lowest value to highest value. [1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8] Then the middle one is picked. Here, number of observations n=10, it is an even number. So, averaging the observation 5 and 6 and gets the median value. The observation values are 5 and 6. The averaging value of 5 and 6 gives 5.5. So, the median =5.5. Most scanned images contain noise caused by the scanning method (sensor and its calibration-electrical components, radio frequency spikes) this noise may look like dots of black and white. Median filter helps us by erasing the black dots, called the Pepper, and it also fills in white holes in an image, called salt â€Å"Impulse Noise†. It’s like the mean filter but is better in pixels and will not affect the other pixels significantly. This means that mean does that. Preserving sharp edges Median value is much like neighbourhood Median filtering is popular in removing salt and pepper noise and works by replacing the pixel value with the median value in the neighbourhood of that pixel. When applied on: 1. We do brightness -ranking by first placing the brightness values of the pixels from each neighbourhood in ascending order. 2. The median or middle value of this ordered sequence is then selected as the representative brightness value for that neighbourhood. 2.2Median Filter Action The median filter is also sliding -window spatial filter, but it replaces the centre pixel value in the window by the median of all pixel values in the window. As for the mean filter, the kernel is usually square but can be any shape rectangular, circular, etc depends on an image. An example of median filtering of a single 3*3 window of values is shown in figure 2.1. To arrange the pixel value in ascending order: 0,2,3,3,4,6,19,97 The median value=4(Here no of items=9) The centre pixel value 97 is replaced by the median value 4 as shown below. Figure 2.2 This illustrates one of the celebrated features of the median filter: its ability to remove ‘impulse’ noise. The median filter is also widely claimed to be ‘edge-preserving’ since it theoretically preserves step edges without blurring. However, in the presence of noise it blurs edges in images slightly. 2.3 Synthetic Image Let us consider 6*6 window size. Here, we take 3*3 mask size, to find out the median value. The order of the pixel value:1,2,3,3,3,4,5,7,8.The median value of this mask size=3. Here, the centre pixel value 3 is replaced by the median value 3. Here, we find out the A to P value as shown in figure 2.5. First, we find out the median value for 3*3 mask size and replacing the original centre pixel value by these values. To find A: Order: 1, 2, 3,3,3,4,5,7,8. Median=3. To find B: Order: 1, 3, 3,3,4,4,5,6,8. Median=4. To find C: Order: 2, 3, 3,4,4,5,6,8,9. Median=4. To find D: Order: 1, 2, 2,3,4,5,6,8,9. Median=4. Similar way, we have to calculate F to P. To find P: Order: 2, 4,5,5,5,8,8,9 Median=5. The final output of synthetic image of â€Å"6*6† window as shown in figure 2.6. By checking the synthetic image output by using Matlab. To Refer the Matlab Coding in Appendix A. Output: 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 4 4 4 1 2 4 4 4 4 8 1 4 4 4 5 7 1 4 4 5 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Both Hand calculation synthetic image output and Matlab synthetic image output are same. 2.4 Median Filter Implementation on Mat lab: In past years, linear filters become the most popular filters in image processing. The reason of their popularity is caused by the existence of robust mathematical models which can be used for their analysis and design. However, there exist many areas in which the nonlinear filters provide significantly better results. The advantage of non linear filters lies in their ability to preserve edges and suppress the noise without loss of details. The success of nonlinear filters is caused by the fact that image signals as well as existing noise types are usually nonlinear. Due to the imperfection of image sensors, images are often corrupted by noise. The impulse noise is the most frequently referred type of noise. The most cases, impulse noise is caused by malfunctioning pixels in camera sensors, faulty memory locations in hardware, or errors in data transmission. We distinguish two common types of impulse noise. They are Salt-and-Pepper noise and the random valued shot noise. For images corrupted by salt-and-pepper noise, the noisy pixels have only maximum or minimum values. In case of random valued shot noise, the noisy pixels have arbitrary value. Traditionally, the impulse noise is removed by a median filter which is the most popular non linear filter .A standard median filter gives poor performance for images corrupted by impulse noise with higher intensity. A simple median filter utilizing 3*3 or 5*5 pixel window is sufficient only when the noise intensity is less than approximately 10-20%. Here, we implement the median filter using Matlab. To refer the Matlab coding in Appendix B. Output: problem The Noisy Image is corrupted by Salt-and-Pepper noise. By using median filter, 3*3 mask size most of noise has been eliminated. If we smooth the noisy image with larger median filter 7*7 mask size, all the noisy pixels disappear as shown above figure. 3.0 Neighbourhood Averaging Filters Neighborhood averaging filters are similar to mean filters. The Neighborhood averaging filter is the simplest low pass filter; here all coefficients are identical. These filters sometimes are called Averaging filters. The characteristics of neighborhood averaging are defined by kernel height, width and shape. When Kernel size increases, the smoothing effect also increases. The idea behind these filters is straight forward. By replacing the every pixel value in an image by the average of the intensity levels in the neighborhood defined by the filter mask, this process results in an image with reduced â€Å"sharp† transitions in intensity levels. The window is usually square, but can be any shape like rectangular, circular, etc. depending on the size of an image. Each point in the smoothed image, is f(x,y)obtained from the average pixel value in a neighbourhood of (x,y) in the input image. For example, if we use a 33 neighbourhood around each pixel we would use the mask Each pixel value is multiplied by 1/9, summed, and then the result placed in the output image. This mask is successively moved across the image until every pixel has been covered. That is, the image is convolved with this smoothing mask (also known as a spatial filter or kernel). However, one usually expects the value of a pixel to be more closely related to the values of pixels close to it than to those further away. This is because most points in an image are spatially coherent with their neighbours; indeed it is generally only at edge or feature points where this hypothesis is not valid. Accordingly it is usual to weight the pixels near the centre of the mask more strongly than those at the edge. Some common weighting functions include the rectangular weighting function above (which just takes the average over the window), a triangular weighting function, or a Gaussian. In practice one doesnt notice much difference between different weighting functions, although Gaussian smoothing is the most commonly used. Gaussian smoothing has the attribute that the frequency components of the image are modified in a smooth manner. Smoothing reduces or attenuates the higher frequencies in the image. Mask shapes other than the Gaussian can do odd things to the frequency spectrum, but as far as the appearance of the image is concerned we usually dont notice much. The arithmetic mean is the standard average, often simply called the mean. The mean may be confused with the median, mode or range. The mean is the average of a set of values, or distribution; however, for probability distributions, the mean is not necessarily the same as the median, or the mode. For example: The observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4]. First, we find out the total value for these observations. Total=7+5+6+8+1+3+8+5+4=47 Then, finding the average one. Here, number of observations n=9. Average=total/9. =47/9 Average=5.22(Equivalent to 5) So, the average =5. 3.1 Synthetic image Let us consider 6*6 window size. Figure 3.1 Here, we take 3*3 mask size, to find out the Neighbourhood averaging value. The order of the pixel value:1,2,3,3,3,4,5,7,8.The averaging value of this mask size=4. Here , the centre pixel value 3 is replaced by the averaging value 4. By using this method, we have to calculate the median value for whole window size 6*6. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 A B

Kite Runner :: Literary Analysis, Khaled Hosseini

Silence is like pushing the off button on life (Hosseini 361). In the novel Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Amir is an exceptional model as to how ignoring life can later cause a unlike conclusion. The event of his friend, and later revealed half brother, being raped affected his life towards the end of the story. Throughout the novel, numerous differences come up like customs, everyday objects, and punishments that are not the same as the United States. This book gives a verbal view point as to how the two diverse locations (the United States and Afghanistan) are not even close to being similar at any point in their resident’s lives. Kite Runner gives the privileged citizens of the United States situations that some might not even consider acceptable living environments and conditions. Customs serve as a significant stand out as to why Afghanistan and America are not on the same page in many instances. For example, Afghanistan permits men the right to more than one wife because Baba’s second cousin, Homayoun, family consisted of two wives (82). America’s men are only supposed to be married to one women or else it is considered polygamy. If any American man was married to more than one woman at the time then it would be unacceptable and the punishment would most likely be jail. In the story Amir describes the traditional family dinner he has that consists of eating on the floor while sharing the meal on a common platter in groups (85).However, most Americans eat dinner with their family at a dinning room table and have their own individual plates of food. A life changing moment for Amir was when he asked his father to ask General Taheri for his daughter’s hand in marriage (161). Usually in America the fathers do not have to agree upon the marriage for it to even take place. In other words, Amir would have asked General Taheri himself or he would not have cared about the fathers opinion and just went straight to popping the question to Soraya, General Taheri’s daughter. Customs are what make everyone distinct from each other but it can also cause a discrepancy if they are to unrelated and insulting to one another. The fact that the two places think unconstructively of each other is made apparent in various snippets of the novel.

Moving Around as a Child Essay example -- Personal Narratives Courage

Moving Around as a Child So far in my life I have moved eight times and been to twelve different schools. I’m not talking about just moving houses. I’m talking about eight times, packing all of my things and moving to a whole different state. In all this I have learned the most important quality that anyone needs to get through all of the hardships and changes in moving. That quality is courage. Courage is as stated in The New International Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language to be â€Å"the capacity to meet danger or difficulty with firmness.† In my mind courage has always meant doing what you had to do, and dealing with it because you had to. I never had a choice in my life whether I wanted to move to a different city or not. I just would get told one day that I had about a month before I had to pack up all of my things, say goodbye to all of my friends, say goodbye to my school, and leave everything I had know for the last year or so and move to a whole different place that I didn’t know. For a young child this can be hard. I learned early on, that I was suppost to â€Å"stay strong,† as my father always said. He would tell me that I had to be courageous, and a trooper through all of this and that it would be a new adventure. That’s how I looked at it, as another challenge to face. Courage has to be found deep within you. It isn’t always easy to find, as I have learned from experience, and every time a hardship or a difficult situation comes up yo...

funeral games of Patroclus(iliad) from a different perspective :: essays research papers

The Funeral Games of Patroclus Narrated by Meriones   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hey, I’m Meriones, the son of Molus and the comrade and squire of Idomeneus. Today I found that some â€Å"great warrior† was killed. His name was Patroclus or something. Everyone was acting ridiculous in my opinion. First Achilles called everyone outside so we could drive our chariots around his body. Wow, what a great way to show we care for someone†¦not. While I was driving my chariot everyone around me was weeping and mourning for the loss of Patroclus. To tell you the truth I’ve never heard of Patroclus doing anything special for the Achean army. I think that Zeus probably commanded Achilles to make a big deal out of this death. Otherwise we probably would have just thrown him on some wood and burned him or the easier funeral, throw him in the ocean. Meanwhile Hector, the leader of the Trojan army, was dead and we had the body. Achilles went on a mad streak and dragged the body and threw him out for the dogs. Well that really gives a good reputation for the Acheans. Achilles announced that he is also going to slay twelve noble Trojan men and cattle while they burn Patroclus’ body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later Achilles started getting ready for the funeral. He asked me to go out and find an ox that was worthy enough to get slayed with Patroclus. In that case, I decided that the only thing worthy ebough for him would be a pig. So, jokingly I brought the pig back to Achilles. He shockingly but sternly replied, â€Å" You, Meriones, are a poor disgrace for a soldier, and have never deserved and honor in anything you’ve done. I don’t think you have ever even won anything in your life! Ha! I am ashamed of you especially to dishonor such a great man like Patroclus. Now, go away we do not need your help.† After he said that I got very angry. I had to think of a away to get him back.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later Achilles called us out and told us that Patroclus had come to him in a vision told him to hurry up and bury him so he could enter the gates of Hades. When Achilles said that I couldn’t help but laugh because that right there proves that Achilles is the one with the problem, not me. It seems that just because I’m not as serious as the rest of the army and that I like to have fun, he won’t respect me for who I am.

Cpoe for Emory Healthcare

Business Case NEU Consulting Group Prepared by: Kuan-ling Chiu Wenjie Xie Executive Summary This business case outlines how the CPOE Project will address current business concerns, the benefits of the project, and recommendations and justification of the project. The business case also discusses detailed project goals, performance measures, assumptions, and constraints. 1 Issue Since the perception of patient safety has arisen, many medical organizations were striving to improve medication safety.Emory Healthcare, the largest and most comprehensive health care system in Georgia, was one of them who were seeking ways to prevent medication errors. In recent years, some highly influential studies revealed that medical errors occurred in inpatient and outpatient settings at alarmingly high rates. Researchers point out approximately 1. 3 million injuries occurred annually to patients in U. S. hospitals, at a high percentage of which were at least partially due to errors in patient managem ent.In the Emory Healthcare, physicians place orders by writing them on an orders sheet attached to the patient chart or they would call a nurse and ask him/her to write the orders on the order sheet. Orders are paper-based or just by verbalization. Furthermore, medication orders ordered by radiology technicians or phlebotomists would be carried out by a unit clerk who is responsible for to fax or scan and then sent orders directly to the pharmacy. Such paper-driven work is not efficient and prone to errors; without standardization, physicians carry no responsibility for orders, which is critical and directly points to medical errors.It was calculated that 37% of the patient cases had medication treatment fault in the Emory Healthcare because of its paper-driven prescription process  which is prone to error. Around 9%  of injuries were  partially  due to  inaccurate medical order  input. Furthermore, 60% of the patients were not satisfied with their  treatment. 2 Antic ipated Outcomes In order to prevent medical errors and improve order accuracy, the suggestion of implement CPOE (Computerized Provider Order Entry) has surfaced.CPOE will establish order standard and let physicians write orders electronically and directly, thus prevent order inaccuracy. Furthermore, paper-driven work will be eliminated and replaced by electronic process. Computerized processing will improve efficiency of workflow, accuracy of input and reduce cost. Ultimately, all physician orders will be standardized, electronic and traceable. Thus, medical errors caused by human negligence will be reduced to minimum. 3 RecommendationVarious options and alternatives were analyzed to determine the best way to improve physician order processes and reduce the error and cost. The recommended CPOE project will methodically migrate the physician orders and the patient records of current mainframe system to the new computer-based platform in order to preserve data integrity. The new compu ter-based platform will improve the efficiency and accuracy of managing orders and records. The project will achieve its desired results: †¢ Physicians will directly enter orders electronically by standardized requirements. The system will check the orders and alert the users with inappropriate entries. †¢ Orders will be saved and can be accessed immediately. Orders and patient records are traceable and easy to obtain. †¢ The system will provide users with alerts and guides of best practice, duplicate, drug interactions when assigning prescription or orders. Business Case Analysis Team The following individuals comprise the business case analysis team. They are responsible for the analysis and creation of the Emory Healthcare Project business case. Role |Description |Name/Title | |Executive Sponsor |Provide executive support for the project |A, White | |Technical Lead |Provides all technology support for the project |E, Chen, Technical Lead | |Process Improvement |Adv ises team on process improvement techniques |Leland Choi, Process Team Lead | |Project Manager |Manages the business case and project team |B Brown, Project Manager | |Software Support |Provides all software support for the project |Jack Xie, Software Group Lead | Problem Definition 1 Problem Statement In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers point out approximately 1. 3 million injuries occurred annually to patients in U. S. ospitals, 69% of which were at least partially due to errors in patient management. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine published a report that concluded that more people died each year from preventable errors in hospitals than from car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. Medical errors caused by human oversight are the main issue inside Emory Healthcare. In 1986, it was calculated that 37% of the patient cases had medication treatment fault. The problems are due to the lack of standard for orders by physicians. Physicians would place orders by hand writing, and then they would call a nurse and ask him/her to write the orders on the order sheet. Orders are paper-based or just by verbalization.Such paper-driven work that without standardization is not efficient and prone to errors. Moreover, physicians carry no responsibility for orders, which is critical and directly points to medical errors. During the last five years, 60% of the patients were not satisfied with their treatment. Furthermore, works driven by paper are costive and time-consuming. 2 Organizational Impact The CPOE project will impact the Emory Health Care in different aspects. The following provides a high-level explanation of how the organization, tools, process, and roles. Tools: COPE project mainly focuses on designing a new system to improve the accuracy rate of order entry.The system will also enhance the function of dealing emergency situation. This will require training both physicians and nurses to manipulate the new system. A tutorial function also includes in the applicat ion to make employee adapt the system quickly. Processes: with CPOE Project comes more efficient and controlled by physicians. Physicians have more jobs to do within the whole procedure. Before the CPOE, new medication reconciliation will be placed after the communication between the doctor and the nurse. Now physicians should be able to place the order by themselves and send them to the providers directly. Nurse’s job is only to take care of inpatients.Roles and Responsibilities: the CPOE project provides greater power to physicians and fewer burdens on nurses. The number of clerks will decrease sharply because now physicians can send orders to the providers directly. The middle layer is useless with this condition. IT department should provide more solutions to help employees be familiar with the new system. More training sessions should be taken place for employees who are unwilling to accept the system update. The new platform needs more computers and an appropriate datab ase to support the system operation. Thus, the financial department should set up new budget for the new equipment required.Hardware/Software: in addition to the computers and licenses for the project, NEU Consultant team will be required to purchase additional servers and database to accommodate the platform and its anticipated growth for the next 5 years. 3 Technology Migration In order to effectively make employees be familiar with the computerized provider order entry system, a phased method has been designed which will result in minimal disruption to day to day operations, administration, and payroll activities. The following is the high-level overview of the system. Phase I: Hardware/Software (including database, servers and new computers) will be purchased for new system.IT department staff will response for the configuration of back end equipment. Phase II: All employees will receive training on the new system. Depending on different roles, they will get diverse learning ses sions. For example, physicians will learn how to place prescriptions and medication reconciliation. Nurse will study how to allocate patients room and update patients’ status. Phase III: System might be altering depending on employees’ reflections to make the system be manipulated easily. NEU consulting group will provide strong support in this period. Phase IV: The new system will go live and the older pattern of hand-written entry will be stood down. Project OverviewThe CPOE Project overview provides detail for how this project will address Emory Healthcare business problem. The overview consists of a project description, goals and objectives for the CPOE Project, project performance criteria, project assumptions, constraints, and major milestones. As the project is approved and moves forward, each of these components will be expanded to include a greater level of detail in working toward the project plan. 1 Project Description The purpose of this project is to imple ment Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) across Emory Healthcare. Computerized Provider Order Entry is a computer application that is used by physicians to enter diagnostic and therapeutic patient care orders.In most cases these orders are communicated electronically to the departments and personnel responsible for carrying them out, either by directly connecting to specific departmental computer systems that execute the order (such as laboratory or pharmacy systems), or by staff printing out the orders in the appropriate locations for execution. For CPOE applications electronically connected to departmental systems, confirmation of the order and the following result (in the case of tests) are transmitted back to the ordering physician. There are three major deliverables associated with this project. †¢ A consolidated and standardized Order Sets to facilitate CPOE that are evidence based †¢ 100% CPOE Compliance across the organization.Physicians will enter in real-tim e, all orders directly into CPOE system thereby eliminating transcription and the use of third-person (i. e. Nurses etc. ) to enter orders into patients’ electronic health records: Lab, Imaging, Consult, Nutrition, Medications, Patient Care. †¢ Decision Support Alerts – alerts to guide best practice, duplicate, drug interactions etc. Provide rules and alerts to guide healthcare decisions Alerts for drug interactions, dosage and adverse event Online help for alerts 2 Goals and Objectives The goal of this project is to implement the Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE SYSTEM) at Emory Healthcare in order to facilitate the full use of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) throughout the hospital.It is expected that Emory Healthcare will realize benefits in improved clinical diagnostic capabilities and clinical workflow processes as a result of the implementation of CPOE. Implementation of CPOE addresses a number of key requirements for achieving meaningful use of their Electronic Health Record per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Also, implementation of CPOE will lay the foundation for enabling additional clinical functionality through the implementation of additional modules such as, Clinical Alerts and other models. A number of other clinical initiatives must be completed in order to achieve full COE functionality including Care Plans, Order Sets and Process Mapping.It is important to realize that the implementation of CPOE is an ongoing performance improvement initiative that will require ongoing enhancements and refinements in order to accommodate the changing of information system healthcare environment. This includes workflow refinements, additional order sets, and training process The CPOE Project directly supports several of the corporate goals and objectives established by NEU Consulting group. The following are the business goals and objectives that the CPOE Project supports and how it supports them: Goals: †¢ I mproved clinical decision making as a result of timely access to historical patient information at the point of care (existing medications, lab results, allergies) †¢ Reduce number of adverse events as a result of clinical ordering errors †¢ Reduced patient length of stay Improved clinical decision making as a result of timely access to clinical order information at the point of care (historical orders, interactions and conflicts) †¢ Reduction in costs and manual effort associated with manual ordering process †¢ Improvements in workflow processes for ordering tests and transmitting †¢ The ability to access patient order information throughout the hospital and from remote locations †¢ Obtain information that can provide reports about productivity and performance metrics †¢ High physician and patient satisfaction †¢ Reduce / elimination of paper orders †¢ Reduce chance of clinical errors through the use of order validation and checking Obje ctives: †¢ To provide emergency alert in order to monitor patient’s real-time status. †¢ To reduce order processing time by 25%. †¢ To increase order entry accuracy to 98%. To reduce medication turnaround time by 60% †¢ To provide alert function for physicians when writing orders or prescription. †¢ To standardize physician orders and patient records. †¢ To cut the clerk’s department in order to save transaction time. †¢ To transform hand written patient records into digital records by 95%. 3 Project Assumptions The following assumptions apply to the WP Project. As project planning begins and more assumptions are identified, they will be added accordingly. †¢ The core implementation team will consist of key resources from Emory Healthcare. This team will collaborate in order to coordinate the project activities between their organizations. The implementation team will have access to the areas within the hospital where they need t o work †¢ The implementation team will have cooperation from the Emory Healthcare staff as necessary but with the intention that disruption will be minimal †¢ Resource requirements and costs for ongoing system support will be agreed upon by Emory Healthcare and NEU Consulting group during the initial phase of the project †¢ Emory Healthcare resources will be available as needed †¢ Regular review of project status will occur and be communicated through communication plan †¢ Client will attend the required training 4 Project Constraints The following constraints apply to the CPOE Project. As project planning begins and more constraints are identified, they will be added accordingly. †¢ Dependencies of CPOE Vendor delivery and order of module upgrades and installations †¢ Resource availability (IT, non IT, and vendor) †¢ Budgets: The total cost of the project should be done under the budget approved by the board of directors and make sure to cont rol the cost not exceed the budget of each year. Schedule: Fully operational in 3 years †¢ Quality: CPOE system and process improvement service shall meet all quality standards and client’s requirements. 5 Selected Approach Various options and alternatives were analyzed to determine the best way to improve physician order processes and reduce the error and cost. The selected CPOE project will methodically migrate the physician orders and the patient records of current mainframe system to the new computer-based platform in order to preserve data integrity. The new computer-based platform will improve the efficiency and accuracy of managing orders and records. The project will achieve its desired results: Physicians will directly enter orders electronically by standardized requirements. †¢ The system will check the orders and alert the users with inappropriate entries. †¢ Orders will be saved and can be accessed immediately. Orders and patient records are traceab le and easy to obtain. †¢ The system will provide users with alerts and guides of best practice, duplicate, drug interactions when assigning prescription or orders. 6 Major Project Milestones The following are the major project milestones identified at this time. As the project planning moves forward and the schedule is developed, the milestones and their target completion dates will be modified, adjusted, and finalized as necessary to establish the baseline schedule. Milestones/Deliverables | Target Date | |Contract / Board Authorization |12/10/2012 | |Project Management Plan approval |05/05/2013 | |System Implementation Kick off |05/27/2013 | |Functional review |06/05/2013 | |Hardware technical design |10/20/2013 | |Order and receive hardware and software |11/17/2013 | |System implementation complete (software) |03/10/2014 | |Database design and configuration complete |07/20/2014 | |System installation (hardware and software) |09/09/2014 | |Complete test plan |09/22/2014 | |Test and enable network connectivity |01/20/2015 | |System testing complete |04/25/2015 | |Nurse, Pharmacy documentation preparation and training |07/14/2015 | |Physician documentation preparation and training |07/18/2015 | |System maintenance plan complete |10/25/2015 | |System on live |01/01/2016 | |System maintenance start |01/01/2016 | Cost and Saving Analysis The following two tables capture the cost associated with the CPOE Project, descriptions of these actions, and the total associated with the cost item for CPOE project. CPOE Ongoing Cost – Estimate Cost Item |Action Type |Description |Cost | |Hardware and Software |Cost |Application Software Maintenance |$150,000 | | | |Third-Party Software maintenance | | | | |Workstation Maintenance | | |Network |Cost |LAN maintenance |$35,000 | | | |Network Monitoring equipment | | |Staff required to support CPOE |Cost |Pharmacy analyst |$60,000 | | | |CPOE Project Manager | | | | |Clinical Programmer/builder | | | | | Additional Help Desk Support Network/equipment support | | | | |staff | | |Others |Cost |None IT Resources |$100,000 | |Net Cost | | |$345,000 | CPOE One-Time Cost – Estimate |Cost Item |Action Type |Description |Cost | |Hardware and Software |Cost |Application License Cost (CPOE, Scanning software etc. |$1,000,000 | | | |Third party software license costs | | | | |Workstations/Printers | | |Network |Cost |Install Wireless LAN |$450,000 | | | |Upgrade to LAN/Wireless | | | | |Networking monitoring equipment | | |Implementation |Cost |Vendor cost |$155,000 | | | |Consultant cost | | | | |Travel cost | | | | |Outsource staff cost | | |Internal Project teams |Cost |IT Management |$300,000 | | | |Project Manager | | | | |Analyst | | | | |Technical staff | | |Training |Cost |Vendor cost |$30,000 | | | |Consultant cost | | | | |NurseTraining | | | | |Physician Training | | | | |Other Training | | |Net Cost | | |$1,935,000 | CPOE Ongoing/one time saving Emory Heal thcare has saved approximately &270,000 annually through elimination of transcription cost and increased radiology revenues by over $300,000 annually through better capture of documentation with CPOE. Alternatives Analysis The following alternative options have been considered to address the business problem. These alternatives were not selected for a number of reasons which are also explained below. No Project (Status Quo) |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Keep the origin mainframe legacy system |Newly computerized system can improve the efficiency of work | | |CPOE definitely reduces errors | | |The new system provides the real time function which solves | | |emergency situation | | |Cut off middle layer in order to save processing time | |Alternative Option |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Outsource the implementation to two different companies in |Hardly meets the requirements of Emory Healthcare. | |order to short development cycle. |Difficult to communicat e between two companies. | |High cost to support two cycles. | |Alternative Option |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Develop software internally |Lack of qualified resources especially not enough developers | | |Lack of expertise to guarantee the security of the system. | | |Huge cost for the cycle of developing | | |Schedule restricts developing time. |

Effects of Weather on Mood

Enhanced College Writing Cause and Effect Essay September 27, 2012 Effects of Weather on your Mood Many of us have moods that are changeable like the tides, and like the tides, for many of us those moods are dictated by many things including the weather. While you might think that you ‘just woke up on the wrong side of bed' it may in fact be that there are other things at play here – diet, tiredness, weather and more. In fact you could probably go as far as to say that the side of bed that you got out of is unlikely to really have had much to do with your mood at all.Weather is one particularly large indicator of how your mood is going to turn out for the day. The first and most well-known way in which weather affects mood is in what is known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. This condition can also be known as winter depression, winter blues or seasonal depression and basically it describes a condition in which the individual finds their mood so tied to the changin g of the seasons that they in fact exhibit symptoms close to depression every winter.There are various explanations as to why someone might experience SAD, but generally it is believed to relate to the amount of light. This then means that it is not in fact the cold of winter that causes the depression, but rather the lack of light getting into your brain. At the same time temperature can also affect mood and this is as a result of energy usage. In the winter our immune systems are going to try harder in order to keep our bodies warm and our heart rate will speed up.All this means that energy is directed toward those tasks and so is not available in as large quantities for other activities. At the same time this is also why you are more likely to become ill your immune system is already under pressure from the cold and thus it becomes less able to stave off the attacks from bacteria and viruses. In order to avoid getting ill then and to avoid the depression that can come from it, ma ke sure to eat lots of vitamins and minerals that can help to boost your immune system and to get plenty of sleep.At the same time make sure to use lots of heating in order to warm the house and to keep illnesses at bay. Sleep is also affected by the weather and this in turn can make us more likely to feel depressed. If it is cold for instance then you are more likely to sleep more lightly and that gives your body and mind less quality time in which to recover from your day's activities. Again you are more likely to suffer illnesses and to have low energy, but this can also result in headaches and bad moods.Furthermore you will be getting up in darkness when your body is telling you to go back to sleep and so hormonally you are unprepared for the day. There are countless different ways in which the weather can affect mood then and this includes direct effects on mood and hormones, as well as more subtle second order impacts. Make sure that you stay warm and dry and that you make up for lower energy in your diet.