Saturday, August 31, 2019

Step Away from Them

An Analysis of Frank O’hara’s â€Å"A Step Away From Them† At the turn of the 20th century, the movement of modern art began to distinguish itself by moving away from traditional and classical forms. Artists like Pablo Picasso were deconstructing their formal techniques by abstracting forms of conceptual art. We began to question and criticize: â€Å"Is that art? † By mid-20th century, the schools of the modern movement already began to echo into literature, dance, and music. Abstract Expressionist literature emphasizes spontaneity of motions and their fleetingness. Once a detail is mentioned, it disappears but resurfaces in the subconscious in the form of a daydream. Frank O’Hara’s â€Å"A Step Away From Them† adapts his unique style of free verse with arbitrary line breaks and enjambment. There is a relay of split-second action followed by spontaneous thought. Overall, the poem ventures into synapses of the mind in an urban space. O’Hara is the observer, self-satisfied, and content. In the first line, there is a felt quality of impulsive action. â€Å"So I go† gives a sense of urgency that we experience the moment our lunch hour hits. The meter of each word can be equal stressed. The I is a soft vowel, therefore, there is emphasize is on so and go. O’Hara combines two senses of visual and sound with â€Å"hum-colored. † Both senses capture dynamic movements like when someone takes a still photo of a moving object. The image of a cab smears across the photo. There is a distinction of the way space moves. Hum-colored can resonate sound that an engine makes. When we walk out the door into the city, the pace is already set. By line 3, the mind quickly wanders to the next visual moment. â€Å"Down the sidewalk† tells our awareness to focus on lunch hour of laborers. We are walking and capturing still photos. â€Å"Dirty glistening torsos† signifies the way construction workers eat shirtless. Another interpretation can perceive oil rubbed on their shirt hence the term, blue collar workers. At this moment, O’Hara draws an unconscious connection with the â€Å"yellow† colored helmets from the previous visual of hum-colored cabs. Yellow was missed due to the motion and sound. The color resurfaces from our short-term memory. He interjects nonchalant irony and inner wit with â€Å"I guess†. Despite stuffing themselves, they must protect themselves from falling objects. We have a sense of O’Hara’s humor and his eye for function. As your visual context moves upward to falling bricks, O’Hara draws the attention of the movement around ground floor, â€Å"heels† and â€Å"grates†. He does not add a space between lines. He follows each line with heavy enjambment. â€Å"Then onto the avenue† has a progression of walking around the corner to the next street. There is a new scene, new spatter of paint. He refers to a movie scene in pop culture by stating: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Then onto the avenue where skirts are flipping above heels and blow up over grates. (lines 9-11) In 1955, Marilyn Monroe filmed The Seven Year Itch in New York City. The scene of her skirt being blown up had caused a spectacle making Marilyn a movie sex icon. Motion of upward movement is describe with gestures like â€Å"flipping above†, â€Å"up over†, and â€Å"stir up. † The city is hot. According to O’Hara, â€Å"cabs stir up the air† (line 12). In the city, there is always a cab in sight. How they motion around the city block without air conditioning. There is no escape from the heated engine but O’Hara is indifferent and aloof by the motion around him because â€Å"[he looks] at bargains in wristwatches† (line 13-14). He is still to himself, an observer. In line 14, â€Å"sawdust† draws back to previous space, down the street of laborers construction site. He allows the reader’s thoughts to dilate at each new scene. At the end of each moment of space, he draws inward almost as if he constricts his pupils to see an off detail. â€Å"There/ are cats playing in sawdust. † (line 13-14) It is as if he has seen them playing from the corner of his eye. He ends line 14 with a period and finally begins a new sentence on line 15. The poem opens up â€Å"On to Time Square,† O’Hara bring our attention to the skyline. †¦and higher/ the waterfalls pours lightly† (lines 16-17). There is a use of abstract imagery in comparing the sky to waterfalls. When scanning the space in between the building, it narrows down further as if we look further down Broadway. The blue image may look like water pouring out. The poem takes place in the summer heat. Waterfalls have a feelin g of cool air and openness but nature is contrasted by the â€Å"†¦ sign / blows smoke over head† (lines 15-16). To blow smoke is an idiom that describes someone telling falsehood or lie. Advertising in Time Square is saturated with hype of consumerism and billboard marketing. The same interaction of hype is exchanged by the people of Time Square, the poem follows: . †¦A Negro stands in a doorway with a toothpick, languorously agitating A blonde chorus girl clicks: he smiles and rubs his chin†¦. (lines 17-21) In the previous space, onto the Avenue, O’Hara makes a reference to Marilyn Monroe. She is idolized again in Time Square as the â€Å"blonde chorus girl†, a character she plays in most of her movies. An African-American male easily talks as if he is hounding around lazily. In an urban space, interracial lines are not separated or set by bounds. â€Å"Clicks† can describe how someone talks with gum in their mouth. The click can be an interpreted as the tapping sound of high heels walking by. â€Å"Everything/ suddenly honks† (line 21-22). Our attention is drawn to pause again to gridlock on Broadway. We may think it is the blonde who causes everyone to honk. O’Hara reverts back to time and day, â€Å"†¦. 12:40 / of a Thursday† (lines 22-23). We are reminded that the hour is coming to a close. O’Hara is consumed by time, like the bargain wristwatch on the avenue. To him, with whatever is going on, time marks the next. The poem changes momentum when O’Hara sits down to eat. He quickly writes in a style like Edwin Denby, a critic and poet of modern dance. Comparing â€Å"neon in the daylight is a / great pleasure† with â€Å"light bulb† we associate neon with bright color and light bulbs being plain white. Time Square is synonymous for its light and color at night. This is the place O’Hara has lunch. He finds the daylight enjoyable and adds texture by juxtaposing words that provide a mixture of different culture and art. He sets more periods and commons like he is itemizing a list. He spells out names as though he is thinking about them in association of. There is less action or verbs and more inward thinking. He has an American â€Å"cheeseburger† and â€Å"chocolate malt† in an Italian Actress’s restaurant, JULIET’S CORNER. I think about when people migrated to United States and how they take on the American tradition. Comparing â€Å"Juliet† with â€Å"Giuletta Masina†, it is typical to change name spelling to English form. Giuletta Masina’s husband, â€Å"Federico Fellini† writes and directs movie. His signature style is bizarre, foreign, and surreal. O’Hara writes in Italian â€Å"e bell’ attrice† which translates to beautiful actress. I imagine when O’Hara watched foreign movies they had English subtitle. So far, names mentioned are all artists who have an influence in the arts. O’Hara is an elitist. It is who he knows that allows him to separates himself from mainstream. He watches foreign films, speaks Italian, and wonders about the function of clothing. He loves all forms of art. Still, the humble, ubiquitous cab captures his eye, O’Hara states: A lady in foxes on such a day puts her poodle in a cab. (lines30-32) In line 31, â€Å"on such a day† reminds us about the heat. There is a surreal moment about a lady wearing fur carrying a dog while he drinks a cold drink. She is out of place by wearing something out of season. He does not linger in the thought. He moves on to the avenue, on an upbeat, pointing out that it is the Puerto Ricans that â€Å"makes it beautiful and warm. † The poem makes another iconic turn. He mentions the deaths of three friends, a writer, a musician, and a painter. O’Hara poses a question: â€Å"But is the / earth as full of life was full, of them? † (lines 33-34) Lang Bunny, John Latouche, Jackson Pollack were able to capture life through their art. When they passed away was the world done with them? Puerto Ricans, in the avenue, were carrying on. Everything around still was beating and alive. It was through life moved on, O’Hara writes: And one has eaten and one walks, past the magazines with nudes and the posters for BULLFIGHT and the Manhattan Storage Warehouse, which they'll soon tear down. I used to think they had the Armory Show there. (lines 40-46) It makes me think about how the modern art movement started. The impressionist painting of Manet’s Le Dejeuner Dur L'herbe had shocked the art world because clothed men were painted having a Luncheon with a nude woman. Goya’s realist painting of Bullfighting spoke about humanity. He was the first to paint blood during the Spanish Revolution. However, where mass production of magazine and poster were sold, people ate and walk pass, the world was full of life. The world keeps moving. It feels like an end of an era when the poem mentioned â€Å"Manhattan Storage Warehouse† was being torn down. The â€Å"Armory Show† is also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art which was formed in New York. O’Hara thought that exhibition was here. There is a feeling that the exhibition is held somewhere else. O’Hara ends on a brighter note. He is self-satified. Before he heads back to work, he has papaya juice. â€Å"My heart is in my / pocket, it is Poems by Pierre Reverdy. †(lines 49-50) The heart symbolizes love and affection. To have it in your pocket means that it is carried close to him. Pierre Reverdy is a critic, writer, poet of Cubism, Pablo Picasso. O’Hara love for the art will always be with him. Imitation of â€Å"Step Away From Them† I’m waking up from my first nap of day, the phone rings underneath a noise of pigeons. The angular sun peeks through lace curtains while dust particles slowly attempt to move. After the 10th ring, I’m wondering if it was important mostly likely, not. I’m out the door; down the three flights of winding stairs, let the kid from Apartment K through the security gate. K collects bright colored cans around the neighborhood. I refused to make eye contact. Someone is still buzzing him in, speaking inaudible sounds through a muffled rattling speaker. A van drives by. How many rings does it take? On Mission Street, the 14 runs every 5 minutes. Stores are tagged but stocked with novelty items of Golden Gates, painted ladies, and cable cars. Whoever wears these shirts, might as well, give up their wallets. A bootleg VHS copy of Natural Born Killers is being sold by a street vendor. Tiny feet hurry up the second floor. The Haitian drums resonated across the wooden floors, bouncing off high ceiling. It’s a Wednesday; another day same as the others. We are warming up for the next class. It’s was only a year ago that they decided to robbed Muddy’s. Ran, Rich, and Joker were in jail now. I’m swinging my arm trying to break the chain. Were they ever free? Was it the squeak in their voice that gave it away? Swinging and stomping. I am raising my machete to cut through sugar cane fields. My heart is in-sync with the drums.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Kibera Slum

Kibera Case Study:- [pic] Kibera is a slum divsion in the City of Nairobi, Kenya. It is located 5 kilometres from the city centre. It is the largest slum in Nairobi and the second largest in Africa. A 2009 population and housing survey reported that Kibera’s population as 170,070. It is hard to acccurately compute the population due to the fact that the slum hasnt been officially reconised by the Kenyan government. Furthermore because it is a slum, residents may not be able to read or write, so filling in censes are a problem. General Facts:- |Population |700-900k | |Distance from Nairobi |7 km | |Physical size (acres) |~630 | |Portion of people earning 15% | |Est. AIDS orphans |>50,000 | |Portion of people renting |93% | |Avg. monthly rent |$15USD | |Avg. # rooms per dwelling |1. 11 | |Typical room size |9†² x 9†² | It is a place where the people who live there face innumerable challenges, including the following, to name a few†¦ †¢ Living in one-room houses made of mud, with tin roofs with about 1m? of space per person. †¢ No running water (most water has to be purchased from brokers) †¢ Little to no access to electricity †¢ Widespread unemployment and low wage-earning rates (< $1 a day for the majority) †¢ Rampant disease, from malaria to cholera to HIV †¢ Lack of ownership of their property Improvements:- After a decade or so there has been an increase in efforts to improve conditions. The most notable example is KENSUP, or the Kenya Slum Upgrading Project, which is sponsored by UN-HABITAT. Resulting from a 2000 meeting between President Moi and the UN Human Settlements Programme, KENSUP aims to improve physical structures in Kibera and other slums through a process called â€Å"slum upgrading. † The program calls for the temporary relocation of residents of Kibera to adjacent â€Å"decanting sites,† allowing the construction of permanent dwellings to proceed in the Kiberan villages. Work has commenced in the Soweto East village, and as of September 2009, the first decanting site was under construction. Kibera needs land/tenancy rights, housing, water, electricity, health clinics, education, employment, security plus much more. All these issues are being addressed to a lesser or greater extent by many organizations including the Churches, UN-Habitat, MSF, AMREF etc. Money is finding its way through from many international organizations including Gates Foundation, Bill Clinton Foundation, all the well known charities and of course the churches both in Africa and internationally.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 25

I'd sworn I'd never go back into my bedroom, but just then, I needed my bed. I spent the rest of the day in it, curled up in the proverbial fetal position. Much like when I'd made Seth leave, I didn't feel anything. I was dead inside. There was nothing left, nothing in my life, nothing to keep me going. Some wise part of my brain said I should cry. I knew there was grief inside of me, grief that would eventually explode. But I was blocking it for now, afraid to acknowledge that all of this was real or face the consequences. This, I realized, was why Yasmine had screamed. It was a terrible thing to be cut off from something you loved so much. To be cut off from the thing that gave your existence meaning. Hours passed, and light and shadows moved across my bedroom as the sun began its descent. My room grew dark, but I didn't bother flipping on the lights. I didn't have the energy or motivation. I don't know how much time passed before I heard the knock. At first, I wasn't even sure that's what it was. Then, it sounded again – definitely someone knocking on my front door. I stayed in bed, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. What if it's Seth? Some small part of me clung to that hope, that maybe he'd changed his mind. The rest of me didn't believe it. I'd seen the look in his eyes. The resolve. He wasn't coming back. And if he wasn't coming back, then there was no point in being social. My visitor knocked a third time, louder still. Beside me, Aubrey turned her head toward the living room, then toward me, no doubt wondering why I wouldn't put a stop to the noise. With a sigh, I crawled out of bed and stalked toward the front of the apartment. Half-way there, I stopped. It wasn't Seth. â€Å"Georgina!† wailed a twangy soprano voice. â€Å"I know you're in there. I can sense you.† I'd sensed Tawny too, of course, which is why I'd stopped walking. I sighed again, wondering if it would be possible to ignore her. Probably not. Even if I didn't answer, she'd probably stand out there all day, now that she knew I was here. I opened the door, expecting to be barreled into with tears and fanfare. Instead, I found Tawny standing calmly outside my door, hesitant to enter. Her eyes were wet after all, but she seemed to be trying very hard to rein herself in. The trembling of her lip suggested that wasn't going to be easy. And she had a glow. â€Å"C-can I come in?† she asked. I stepped to the side and waved her in. â€Å"You want me to take you out for a drink to celebrate your conquest?† That was it. She lost it. Sobbing into her hands, she sank down on to my loveseat. Still numbed from the Seth fallout, I had no mental energy to deal with this. Not enough energy to hate her, not enough energy to pity her. I was living apathy. â€Å"Tawny, I – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry!† she interrupted. â€Å"I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want to. I didn't want to do it. But he told me if I did that it'd pay off for both of us, that he'd pull strings to get me faster advancement and that I'd – â€Å" â€Å"Whoa, hang on,† I said. â€Å"Who's ‘he'? Niphon?† She nodded and produced a pack of tissues from her purse. At least she traveled prepared now. She blew her nose loudly before going on. â€Å"He told me to fake it – fake being bad. I mean†¦well, actually, I am kind of bad. Okay, a lot bad. I can't flirt like you. And I really can't dance.† She paused a moment, as though this caused her particular pain. â€Å"But you were right in saying it was impossible for me to not get sex from someone. I did. I just lied and said I couldn't.† It was just as I'd suspected for a while now, but hearing her confirm it didn't really cheer me up. It was yet another reminder of all the miserable things in my life these last couple of weeks. Staring at her, I still couldn't bring myself to feel angry at her. Partially because I was still drained of feeling and partially because it just wasn't worth it. Niphon had used her to play me, but he'd played her too. â€Å"You're a good liar,† I told her finally. â€Å"I could never be sure if you were telling the truth or not – but you seemed to be. I'm usually good at reading people.† Tawny smiled, just a little, with something almost like pride. â€Å"I hustled people a lot when I was mortal. Worked some con jobs.† The smile disappeared. â€Å"Until that asshole dumped me for a cheap blond whore. She had no idea what she was doing, but did he care? No. Dick. He's sorry now. They both are.† I blinked. I hadn't expected to hear that. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that. Suddenly, Tawny's initial desire to make men everywhere suffer made a lot more sense – as did the reason she might have sold her soul in the first place. I hoped her current appearance wasn't some weird bastardization of the cheap blond whore. Because that would just be kind of creepy. â€Å"Well, um, I'm†¦sure they are. And you know, the skills you need to hustle and con aren't that different from seduction.† Maybe it was the moving and talking, but as I sat there, my sluggish brain began to stir to life and analyze the situation. â€Å"Tawny, why are you telling me this? If you're working for Niphon, he's probably not going to appreciate you blowing his cover.† â€Å"You're right. He doesn't know I'm here. But†¦but I was afraid. I know it'll all come out if you tell, and I don't want to go down with him! I thought if I came and talked to you and told you what happened that maybe†¦maybe you could forgive me. I'm starting to like it here. I don't want to leave. And if they punish him, they'll punish me too and – â€Å" â€Å"Wait, wait. Stop again. Punish him for what? For getting you to lie?† I frowned. â€Å"And what is it I'm going to tell?† Tawny was so surprised that she forgot to sniffle. â€Å"About her.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"That – that hag. The one who came into my dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Nyx? Oh. That really is how you hid your glow. Hugh was right.† â€Å"I hated it,† said Tawny vehemently. â€Å"Every time he made me go to her so she could suck me out. And then I'd have such weird dreams.† Think, Georgina, think! It was all coming together here if I could just put my own romantic disaster off to the side of my mind for a moment. â€Å"You†¦went to Nyx willingly? To have your energy sucked out so I wouldn't find out that you were lying?† Tawny nodded. My brain hurt. â€Å"And he – Niphon – made you, and – † I stopped. â€Å"Niphon knew about Nyx. You both did. And how to find her.† â€Å"He's the one who got her to come here when she escaped. Promised her two succubi,† sniffed Tawny. She gave me a puzzled look. â€Å"I thought†¦I thought you knew all that? I heard you were there when they captured her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tawny looked a little nervous, like she was wondering if maybe she'd done the wrong thing in betraying Niphon. As for me, I was suddenly reliving the battle back in my bedroom and Nyx's offer to help me get revenge on the one who'd sent her after me†¦. Niphon. â€Å"Niphon?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Niphon sent a crazy chaos goddess after me? Why? Why does he hate me that much?† Tawny's eyes went wide, no doubt surprised at my sudden outburst. â€Å"I†¦I don't know. He just said that he wanted to make things difficult for you. Screw up your life. Maybe get you sent away.† Hugh's words came back to me. All I know is that when an imp shows up and is going to this much trouble over something, the evidence suggests it's big. My heart raced, and I grabbed hold of her hand. â€Å"Tawny. Did he ever say anything about my contract? Any contract at all?† She shook her head frantically, tousling her blond curls even more than they already were. â€Å"No, not while I was around.† â€Å"Are you sure? Think! Think of anything, anything at all he might have said to explain why he did what he did.† â€Å"No, nothing!† She broke her hand away. â€Å"I'm telling you the truth this time. He just made it sound as though†¦well, like he didn't like you. He wanted you to be unhappy. Suffer. I don't know.† Niphon. So many things could be laid at his feet. According to Tawny, he'd used her to make me look like a bad mentor (which I was, kind of) and possibly get sent away. The imp had also talked to Seth about selling his soul – despite my warnings. Seth's decision to leave me had been his own, true. But, I realized, Niphon had played a role in getting Seth to think about such things. The distraction Nyx had caused – which apparently Niphon had brought about too – had cut me off from spending time with Seth. Realizing how close he'd been to selling his soul had driven Seth away. The fear of how that would affect him and me both had been too strong – strong enough that he chose to walk away from me. â€Å"Georgina?† I made a decision then. It wasn't going to change what had happened with Seth and me, but it was going to make me feel better. â€Å"Georgina?† repeated Tawny, peering at me. â€Å"Are you okay? You aren't going to get me sent away, are you? Georgina?† I rose from my chair, surprised at how my muscles had become kinked. No longer wanting to be dressed up, I shape-shifted out of the dress and into jeans and an empire cut sweater. Black. Like my mood. I glanced over at Tawny. â€Å"You want to go to a party with me?† I drove us over to Peter and Cody's, where the â€Å"evil† holiday party was taking place. I barely noticed that it was raining again. I walked up the building's stairs like one going to her own funeral, grim and purposeful – and with enough speed that Tawny had to scurry to keep up in her stilettos. When I felt the immortal signatures within the apartment, smug relief flooded me upon discovering Niphon was still there. Peter opened the door before I finished knocking. He wore a red sweater with an appliqu? ¦ Santa on it. It matched his tree, of course. â€Å"Look at this,† he said sarcastically. â€Å"She deigns to show up and join us lowly – â€Å" I strode past him without a word. He gaped. Moving through the room, I was vaguely aware of the others there. Jerome. Cody. Hugh. But I didn't want any of them. Niphon, standing with a glass of wine, regarded me with curious amusement as I headed straight for him. Considering I usually avoided him if it all possible, my approach undoubtedly astonished him. But not as much as when I punched him. I didn't even need to shape-shift much bulk into my fist. I'd caught him by surprise. The wineglass fell out of his hand, hitting the carpet and spilling its contents like blood. The imp flew backward, hitting Peter's china cabinet with a crash. Niphon slumped to the floor, eyes wide with shock. I kept coming. Kneeling, I grabbed his designer shirt and jerked him toward me. â€Å"Stay the fuck out of my life, or I will destroy you,† I hissed. Terror filled his features. â€Å"Are you out of your fucking mind? What do you – † Suddenly, the fear disappeared. He started laughing. â€Å"He did it, didn't he? He broke up with you. I didn't know if he could do it, even after giving him the spiel about how it'd be better for both of you. Oh my. This is lovely. All your so-called charms weren't enough to – ahh!† I'd pulled him closer to me, digging my nails into him, and finally, I felt an emotion. Fury. Niphon's role had been greater than I believed. My face was mere inches from his. â€Å"Remember when you said I was nothing but a backwoods girl from some gritty fishing village? You were right. And I had to survive in gritty circumstances – in situations you'd never be able to handle. And you know what else? I spent most of my childhood gutting fish and other animals.† I ran a finger down his neck. â€Å"I can do it for you too. I could slit you from throat to stomach. I could rip you open, and you'd scream for death. You'd wish you weren't immortal. And I could do it over and over again.† That wiped the smirk off Niphon's face. Behind me, the rest of the room had come to life. â€Å"For fuck's sake,† yelled Jerome. â€Å"Get her off him.† Strong hands pulled me back, Cody and Hugh each grabbing one of my arms. I fought against them, struggling to get back to a cringing Niphon. My friends were too strong. I couldn't break free and didn't have the life left to shape-shift added bulk. â€Å"Get rid of him, Jerome!† I yelled. â€Å"Get rid of him, or I swear to God, I really will rip him apart. He set me up to fail with Tawny. He brought Nyx here, for fuck's sake! Get rid of him!† I saw my boss's face. He didn't like being yelled at or ordered around – particularly in front of others. His face was hard and angry. I could tell he was about to tell me to shut up, and then something in his expression shifted. He turned his attention back to Niphon. â€Å"Get out,† the demon said. Niphon stared open-mouthed. Very fishlike, actually. â€Å"Jerome! You can't just – â€Å" â€Å"Get out. I know what you were trying to do, but you shouldn't have done it behind my back. Go back to your hotel, and be out of town by tomorrow.† Niphon still wanted to protest. But then, he looked at Jerome, looked at me, and then looked at Jerome again. Swallowing, the imp scrambled to his feet and grabbed a briefcase sitting on the couch. With one more glance back at me, he ran out the door. Jerome's gaze fell on Tawny, who was pressing herself against the wall in a futile effort to disappear. â€Å"It's not her fault,† I said quickly. â€Å"Don't punish her.† Jerome studied her a few more moments before sighing impatiently. â€Å"Later. I'll deal with you later.† I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but the fact that he hadn't smote her on the spot was a positive sign. Judging from the grateful look on her face, she agreed. Cody and Hugh still had a death grip on me, but after several moments, they released me. I sagged with exhaustion, surprised to see I was breathing heavily. Tension filled the room. Finally, Cody said, â€Å"Where did you learn to throw a right hook?† â€Å"You don't live through the Dark Ages without learning stuff like that,† mused Peter. He glanced at the spilled wine and sighed. â€Å"Club soda's not going to get that out.† â€Å"Georgie,† said Jerome in a rumbling voice. â€Å"Do not ever speak to me like that.† I steadied my breathing and swallowed back the bloodlust coursing through me. I met Jerome's dark eyes defiantly. â€Å"Noted,† I said. Then, unable to handle my friends' looks of both astonishment and concern, I ran out of the apartment. I made it down one flight of stairs before collapsing and sitting on the landing. I buried my face in my hands and started sobbing. The grief had finally won. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Hugh sat down beside me and put his arms around me. I pressed my face to his chest and kept crying. â€Å"You'll get over this,† he said quietly. â€Å"No. I will never get over this. I'm alone. I wish I was dead.† â€Å"No, you don't. You're too wonderful and have too many people who love you.† I lifted my head and looked at him. I'd never seen his face so compassionate, so serious – except when he'd yelled at Seth during poker. I sniffed and ran a hand over my wet eyes. â€Å"We broke up. This is what you wanted. You didn't want me and Seth to be together.† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"I like Seth. I want you to be happy. If you could be together without all the heartache, I'd send you on with my blessing. But I don't think that's possible. I think this is best.† â€Å"You told him the only way I'd let him go is if he hurt me, if he was an asshole. Do you think that's why he did it? Slept with Maddie? Because only something drastic would drive me away?† Hugh looked surprised at the reference to Maddie. â€Å"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know what he was thinking.† Sighing, I leaned back into him. â€Å"I will never get over this.† â€Å"You will.† â€Å"It's going to take a lot of time.† â€Å"Well, you have a lot of time.†

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Poverty and social status Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poverty and social status - Essay Example Because of his overly suffered pains and no gains, he sometimes thinks about stealing from Mr. Ganesh Pai, the owner of the shop. The writer informs about Indian society and the lives of people who are totally different socially such as the politicians, rich children having ice-cream and poor carters laying in rain without any coverage and doing work more than their capacity. The treatment of rich people towards Chenayya and other people like him was very ill and odd. He was just treated as an animal that should perform his duties without troubling anyone else. Adiga reveals about the low status people of India in the character of Chenayya who compares himself with many animals in the story in order to reveal his position in his society. Firstly, he compared himself to a pig, then to an elephant and then to dogs. He had to continue his job of pulling carts in order to earn his livelihood. The greatest factor that is revealed through this story is that people do not even pay him according to his struggles. Chenayya is unable to earn good money, is disliked by people and even the prostitute is unable to give him any heed for which, he is very angry. He becomes very angry at times and wishes to hurt someone with his saw. He also abuses people while pulling cart and while moving in the traffic. His abusing and his anger are an outcome of his hardships. He has no place to live except the cart. He is unable to marry because of his inability to earn a livelihood that is enough for two. The writer of the short story sketches the life of a poor carter who thinks overly about his state of living and wishes to bring in some difference. However, the carter is unable to earn enough money even to fulfill his needs. The story reveals about poverty faced by the lower most class of Indian

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Reading Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Reading Response - Essay Example The reading was also in accordance with some of my thoughts regarding some things I encounter in daily. People seem to assume that those living with disabilities have to be helped with everything and in everything they do. Helping them in their tasks can make them feel fewer humans or useless. As a result, I only offer help when it is necessary or when asked to do so. The reading reinforced my experience with deaf persons. For the few deaf people I have met in life, I hardly make any meaningful communication apart from greetings. Communicating with the deaf is problematic because I lack the knowledge and understanding of the sign language. The information presented about mobility impairment relates well with some things I have encountered in life. When I was young, my neighbor had a son who had impaired legs. The boy could not walk and his time at home. In fact, he never got a chance to move out of their home even when he got ill. His parents restricted him to his wheelchair and always spent his time in the house. When my mother would send me to take cards or other valuables to their home, I ensured that I met the boy and checked how he was doing. His parents, however, did not like people near him. Immediately after greetings, they would tell me that is enough and that Mike did not want disturbance. I would, however, see Mike’s need for friends in his eyes. His parents thought it was their mistake for having Mike. They thought having a child with a disability was a taboo and would be laughed at by the community.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Skoda Auto Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Skoda Auto - Case Study Example Globally, Skoda Auto commands significant brand recall. Their claim to fame was always their pedigree. Skoda Auto realized the need to communicate information about its product features. The recent print campaign attempts that. In June last year, the company played the safety card. The advertising strategy is pitched on safety. So there is a mother and kid print ad, and the copy reads we fill our airbags with life.' The proposition was centered on the fact that Skoda automobile comes with six airbags - a feature that safeguards the owner and his little one. This feature targets customers who are safety conscious. "We use television commercials as part of the corporate branding strategy, while the print advertisements communicate the benefits," explains Vaid. The recent well built' television commercial is a 30-second film shot in exotic locales in Goa. It says that the car needs to be well built to carry one's loved ones. However, the contemporariness of models has a big impact on purchase decision. The perception of the car in terms of its performance and design, quality, sales and after-sales, cost of ownership, apart from brand image, all affect the purchase decision. Product quality has the highest correlation with brand image, Bhatia says.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Graphology Vs Forensic Document Examination Assignment

Graphology Vs Forensic Document Examination - Assignment Example It does analytical unveiling photocopies, check writers as well as typewriters of certain texts under scrutiny (Headrick & Huber, 2010). It can examine to note any similarity amid inks and uncover exact writing too used. FDE also observes any alterations, hence acting as a legal basis for forensic identification of a trailed culprit (Headrick & Huber, 2010). In the U.S, for one to be recognized as a forensic document examiner he or she needs certification by The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE), unlike for graphologists (Lewis, 2014). In addition, recognized firms normally before considering one eligible for this profession emphasizes on an individual who has a baccalaureate degree, which is a basis for membership. Therefore,  for one to be an FDE candidate he or she ought to have an undergraduate or master’s degree (Lewis, 2014). Conversely, most graphologists gain their respective know-how by themselves. Graphology endeavors to prognosticate character traits or behavior through a close scrutiny of one’s handwriting. FDE entails scrutinizing as well as ascertaining any comparisons amid documents with known material to ascertain who could be the author and exact source of the text. Graphology is entirely diverse from FDE (Headrick & Huber, 2010). These organizations have been there for quite a long time, with the former instituted in 1977 and the recent one 1913. This is unlike graphology, which has no well-instituted organization but an analysts group which is dated back only 18 years (Lewis, 2014). The objectives of the forensic document boards embrace devising, maintaining as well as and enhancing qualification standards for its experts. The graphology web page links young graphologists to experts in graphology to help them improve on their skill (Handwritingpro, 1998).

Sunday, August 25, 2019

See attachment Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See attachment - Movie Review Example We are led slowly into the past. For an American audience, this is especially useful, as Sophie’s story is a trans-Atlantic one that takes place in both Europe and America. This deeply personal focus is another way in which this film differs from other miniseries. Part of the success of this focus comes from Meryl Streep’s performance. The film is virtually unimaginable without her presence. She manages to bring to life the central heroine. This deeply personal story of a woman and her choice sets this film apart from other miniseries. One of the most striking aspects of the cinematography focusing on the Holocaust is that it is in black and white. The colour is sapped from this world. Sophie, whose lips are usually red, has virtually no colour in her face in these scenes. She is living in a nightmare of death and despair, from which there is no real exit. The filmmakers are very careful to create this sense of claustrophobia, and it is very effective. Rather than show huge acts of violence, the filmmakers are content to let much of this happen off screen. The filmmakers also film a lot of scenes indoors, with Stingo, Nathan, and Sophie all very close together. This indicates how trapped each of them is in the worlds they have created for themselves. It is a curious and effective trick. Each of the choices that the characters make—when to act and how to act—have limited their lives in some way. The filmmakers communicate this by filming scenes indoors and in small rooms. There is also a theatrical element to the acting—especially Kevin Kline’s performance as Nathan. It is almost as if he is always on stage. This is an interesting choice in direction as it suggests that Nathan is a man who has dramatized himself. Perhaps he only wants to be with Sophie because of the sense of drama that she offers to him. Like

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Exploratory Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exploratory Paper - Essay Example For one, various enhancements in the Internet such as flash playing and audio embedding has provided new and effective ways for people to communicate. In addition to this, the wideness of its reach has convinced companies to use the Internet as a major communication medium in tapping their primary target markets. Also, the immensity of information that could be accessed in the Internet has influenced the creation of passion groups or digital tribes. These are primarily comprised of people who interact with those who share the same interests with them. Lastly, the Internet has also been used by non-profit organizations in advocating their programs that aim at furthering social causes. For example, anti-human trafficking initiatives are commonly broadcasted in the groups’ Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter accounts. Through these examples, it can be claimed that the role of the Internet in connecting people has helped it foster the so-called ‘global digital community’. F or one, micro-blogging sites like Twitter keeps people updated with the current societal events—whether local or international. Youtube encourages people to be more ‘content creators’ rather than mere ‘passive users’ by allowing them to upload original videos. ... As such, miscommunications and disputes may transpire in the Internet, especially when taken into consideration the capacity of the Internet in disseminating information in a highly fast manner. It is through these aforementioned reasons that an in-depth analysis of the social implications of the Internet is vital. In this light, this paper shall expose the positive and negative effects of the Internet in peoples and cultures, and why key institutions of human society must work hand-in-hand in optimizing the benefits obtained from the Internet. Positive Implications of the Internet At this point, a critical examination of the social benefits of the Internet must be done in relation to technology and culture. Firstly, the Internet allows for an easier and more dynamic access and transfer to information (Brey 3). With the increase in the Internet’s storage capacity, massive information could now be stored and accessed in almost all websites, as supported by search engine giants like Yahoo! and Google. Interestingly, hard copies of numerous pieces of literature are now present in the Internet, too. In addition to this, the convergence of various media in the Internet paves the way for an easier exchange of information (Brey 3). For example, Tweeting is now linked to the user’s Facebook account, while websites now have share buttons that aid in the faster distribution of information. Traditional television, furthermore, has incorporated QR codes in its programs to lead its audiences to specific websites. Apart from these examples that reinforce how the Internet allows for an easier and more dynamic access and transfer of data, it can be claimed that the Internet

Friday, August 23, 2019

Interpretation of Financial Statements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Interpretation of Financial Statements - Essay Example With the help of this information one can compute financial ratios relating to liquidity, profitability, gearing and efficiency that help in assessing the financial performance of the company. ... 8594 33607 Acid-test ratio 0.97 1.13 Â   1.19 0.82 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Cash and short term deposits 107 47.8 Â   13698 4660 Current Liabilities 758.1 713.5 Â   28594 33607 Cash ratio 0.14 0.07 Â   0.48 0.14 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   GEARING Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Total equity 133.4 140.5 Â   66230 62166 Long term debt 802 906.4 Â   1316 575 Long-term debt to equity 6.01 6.45 Â   0.02 0.01 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   EBIT 529.8 478.3 Â   19782 17161 Interest expense 25.3 50.8 Â   374 307 Interest cover 20.94 9.42 Â   52.89 55.90 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   INVESTMENT Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Price 2,053.00 1,177.00 Â   652.5 25.8 EPS 188.50 156.00 Â   32.6 29.6 P/E ratio 10.89 7.54 Â   20.02 0.87 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   DPS 66 55 Â   16.65 17.15 EPS 188.5 156 Â   32.6 29.6 Dividend payout 0.35 0.35 Â   0.51 0.58 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   EPS 188.5 156 Â   32.6 29.6 DPS 66 55 Â   16.65 17.15 Dividend cover 2.86 2.84 Â   1.96 1.73 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   DPS 66 55 Â   16.65 17.15 Price 2,053.00 1,177.00 Â   652.5 25.8 Dividend yield 3.21% 4.67% Â   2.55% 66.47% (Next Plc, 2010; Ted Baker, 2010). Financial analysis of Next Plc (NXT) & Ted Baker Plc (TED) Profitability- For the financial year 2010 the gross profit margin of both the companies has increased as compared to the last year. Ted Baker reported a gross profit margin of 58% in 2009 and this increased to 61% in the following year whereas Next Plc reported a margin of 27% in 2009 and it increased to 29% in the immediate year. The gross profit margin of the former is more than double that of latter; this implies that the management of Ted Baker has exercised efficient control over the operating costs. However the operating profit margin of Next Plc is marginally higher than Ted Baker Plc. For 2010 the former reported an operating profit margin of 15% as compared to12% by Ted Baker Plc. This suggests that

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Los angeles city Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Los angeles city - Essay Example The question thus arises if this is really something to be bothered about and if it does pose a threat to users of technological devices. There may be disadvantages to the use of gadgets however it is not as bad or destructive to people’s interpersonal relationships or social life as some experts claim it to be, as documented in this paper. For many parents, cell phones are viewed as instruments for them to keep in touch with their children and also for emergency purposes. Nevertheless, the increasing number of virtual communications is now causing alarm because it is viewed as a threat to the development of interpersonal skills of children. Such problem is presented by Sherry Turkle in her article entitled â€Å"No Need to Call†. She cites some examples of people who seem to be unable to communicate well with others but are now able to hide behind their computers to communicate with friends. For instance, the author tells that Elaine, a teenager, views texting and emailing as a preferred means of communication for shy people and even for outgoing people because they are able to edit and think about what they say before they send the message to the recipient (374). Unlike telephone calls and face to face interactions wherein the response should be quick and could not be edited or even taken back, texting serves as a convenient way of communicating. However, the confidence one has when he is communicating virtually, is often not displayed during close encounters and this worries experts. The same concern is shared by some parents but some disagree with the idea. Hilary Stout also gives examples of parents who are optimistic about social networking that strengthens some of the examples given by Turkle. For instance, she mentions Robert Wilson, a father of a 14-year-old shy and introverted Evan, who is worried about his son’s social life. When Evan signed up for facebook, Robert was glad to find

Theme Assignment- Night Essay Example for Free

Theme Assignment- Night Essay Night Theme Assignment Holocaust survivors provide an opportunity for studying the lasting effects of massive suffering and extremely stressful experiences. Before the Second World War, the Germans made laws, which said that Jewish people are no longer welcomed in Germany. German people began to persecute them. When the Second World War started most of the Jews were brought to concentration camps all over Europe including Eliezer and his father. Everyone who was in one of these concentration camps will never forget their experience during the war. In the novel, Night, Elle Wiesel states the theme, that the victims of the Jewish holocaust are profoundly affected by their hellish experiences. Many quotations from different major characters extracted from the novel support the theme. â€Å"One day I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not yet seen myself since the ghetto†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 115) this quotation is a final statement about the effect the Holocaust has had on Eliezer. He implies that even though he has survived the war physically, he is essentially dead; his soul was killed by the suffering he witnessed and experienced. In this quote he indicates a fundamental separation between his sense of self and his identity as a Holocaust victim. His body-image reminds him of how much he suffered throughout the holocaust and how much of himself-his faith in God, his innocence, his faith in mankind, and his family. Eliezer survives and develops a sense of identity that will endure beyond the Holocaust. In assessing the impact of the Holocaust on survivors, it needs to be said that no person could have survived Hitlers concentration camps and emerged totally unchanged. Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed â€Å"(p. 34, 11-12) this is one of the first quotation which shows that Eliezer’s life change from the beginning of the camp. The quotation is taken after Eliezer is brought to the camps. In his head there are always these memories from the journey they had to make. He thinks about Mrs. Schachter who went crazy in the train because she had no water. He thinks about the smoke from the crematoria which scared him a lot. And he thinks about all his lost hope. Elizer doesn’t believe in god anymore beginning from this point. He thinks if someone like god would exist, he wouldn’t have to suffer in a concentration camp and he wouldn’t have to see all these pain. â€Å"That night, the soup tasted of corpses† (p. 65) this passage occurred after the pipel suffered, struggled between life and death, under Eliezer’s eyes, as he was obligated to watch a criminal act. Eliezers had seen worse, like the old man and the Polish boy who had done wrongs to deserve the punishments they received. The Polish boy stole during the bombing session and the old man ate soup from the cauldron. The pipel on the other hand did not really do anything wrong, but refused to talk and sacrificed his life. The death of the innocent child represents the death of Eliezer’s own innocence. Elizer was starting to lose faith in god in a world where an innocent child could be hung on the gallows and his entire emotional worldview transformed. The fact that the young boy remained alive and experienced death slowly made them cringe the most, which is why the soup tasted like corpses. Many psychological effects caused by the Holocaust forever changed the way the Jewish people view the world and themselves. â€Å"Many years later in Paris, I sat in the Metro, reading my newspaper. Across the aisle, a beautiful woman with dark hair, and dreamy eyes. I had seen those eyes before. † (p. 53, 21-23) this quotation occurs when Eliezer is working in a factory. One day, unprovoked, Idek, a German officer, savagely beats Eliezer, after which a French girl who works next to Eliezer in the warehouse offers some small kindness and comfort. She tells him to keep his anger for another day and advise him not to begin consider rebellion but to rely on faith. Eliezer sees after many years this one French girl again in Paris. He still remembers her look, especially her eyes. They talk about what happened in their past and in this one moment they shared. This quotation proves that pain goes by, but the horrible memories are still alive and can be affective in a person’s life. â€Å"Men to the left, women to the right† (p. 29) eight words spoken, indifferently, without emotion with painful life changing meanings. These ords separated Eliezer and his mother and sister forever, as well as countless other husbands and wives, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters on their arrival. The weak, old, and young people were basically worthless and had to be immediately executed by the SS officers. It emphasizes the cruel Nazi guards and the tragedies that were daily upon Jews in Auschwitz concentration camp. Millions of J ewish lives were profoundly affected by the Holocaust as a result. Being separated from your loved ones at such a young age is something that sticks with you your whole life and can make you cold as a person. Years later I witnessed a similar spectacle in Aden. Our ship’s passengers amused themselves by throwing coins to the â€Å"natives,† who dove to retrieve them† (p. 100, 18-20) in this quotation Elizer is after the Holocaust on a ship for holidays. When this ship passes natives the passengers starting to throw coins to them. Elizer sees how to young children are fighting in the water to grab these coins. Immediately his old memories are coming up when he is sitting in the train and people try to help by throwing bread into the wagons. But the people in there are starting to kill each other for bread. Deeply in Eliezer’s memories is one moment when a son kills his own father just to eat his bread. Elizer who felt this pain already once doesn’t want to happen it again, so he tells the passengers on the ship to stop it. All this proves that his experience and all the things that happened in concentration camps will never be forgotten by the prisoners â€Å"Jews, listen to me! That’s all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen to me! † (p. 7) this passage occurs after Moshe returns and describes how the deportation trains were handed over to the German secret police at the Polish border. He escaped the concentration camp in order to warn Eliezer about the situation, but no one wanted to believe his story and people thought he was a lunatic. Moshe was a different person when he returned to his hometown; the joy inside of him was gone. His horror stories about deprivation, killing, and taking away everything you owned sounded so awful and unbelievable that his truth was dismissed. Moshe tried his best to warn the people from Sighet, but they ignored him and as a result everything that he was telling the citizens actually occurred again in 1944. This time he was clever enough to slip away before getting caught again. This quotation proves that Moshe’s previous hellish experience affected his chance of surviving. â€Å"I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name. † (p. 42, 23) The Nazis started in the camp to mark people. They did it so they wouldn’t have to learn the names of the prisoners and the Nazis could handle with numbers and letters to identify them. Every prisoner became his own number. This number is a symbol for how he was seen in Auschwitz, as a slave and not as a person. This tattoo will always stay on Eliezer’s body, and it constantly reminds him of the many bad memories and feelings at the camp. So the most terrible thing which will always remind Elizer of his ominous time at Auschwitz is his tattoo. Night mostly occurs when suffering is worst, and its presence reflects Eliezer’s belief that he lives in a world without God. In Night, Eliezer exploits this allusion and develops the theme that the victims of the Jewish holocaust are deeply affected by their hellish experiences. Wiesels experiences in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald are very well detailed in the story; his accounts of starvation and cruelty are shocking—an intense testimony to the penalties of evil. The Holocaust was perhaps the most evil single event ever performed by human beings. Today, he is a writer, professor, political activist, and a holocaust survivor. â€Å"No human race is superior, no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them† Eliezer Wiesel.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Car Rental System Literature Review

Car Rental System Literature Review The Rental vehicles web system is a web-based that creates by JavaScript. Our software application aims to be a complete solution for a web based car rental broker companies with the support of call center functionality in Langkawi Island It can be easy for tourist , travel agency ,and Private visitor to online make research , comparison vehicles prices and make reservation , online payment when they travel . It also allows the administrator managed data source in short time. It accepts new reservation vehicles, View vehicles model, view date reservation for vehicles, and travel information so that customers can easy look out travel location they need. The system will add on the new feature like validation form to tell the user key in the correct value. The system wills keep records for the customers, and purchases items. So that administrator can manage customers reservation lists. 1.2 Problem background The web-based that creates by administrator has many useful functions. It contains auto save data, show customer products, contact and feedback form. The web system is focuses on web-based orders, products and data binding. This system is just design for online web-based system implementation, used for administrative purpose. This system will show customers details, order details, product details, payment lists and also including online product itemized bills. 1.3 Project aim The main mission of Rental vehicles web-based system is looking for Lankawi island rental vehicles market. It can be easy provide for tourist, travel agency, and Private visitor to online make research, comparison vehicles prices and make reservation when they travel 1.4 Project objective In the objectives, we aim to improve the Rental vehicles business market in langkawi Island and we also consider to provide customers able to user easy way to make reservation .Example customer can use internet access to web-based system to, looking for vehicles detail or prices and so on . -The system will save all customers details for feature references. Customers can save Time, save cost, get information on the web-based and can access in any time any where Develop for Rental Vehicles business market in Langkawi Island. -Easy administrator manages reservation data or processing data with customers. -More suitable to customer with administrator to communication on internet 1.5 Project scope The scope of this project is create a user friendly web-based system for customers. The web-based system must be secured and easy to manage by administrator. The following feature to be focused on my web system. In booking list, this function enables customers to see booking date when customer booking . In registration account this function enables customers to create user details and information. In vehicles model list this function enables customers to view all types of vehicles . In payment list this function enables customers to view total of pay booking list. Last, in feedback-form enables customers to send admin suggestion. 1.6 The important of the project The important weakness in the current system are include, connects between web pages and layout theme or maybe more. the connection at storing data to web system loading will be slow, because the system is trying to load data files on the web-based first then only will load the contents. Sometimes it may fails and need to refresh the page again and again. Then is the layout theme, the administrator was weak in web designing. Some of the webpage tables or images maybe corrupted. 1.7 Summary In summary, my design ideas is force on the web-based it can be completely to store all the customers overall details and reservation data into the online application system. Although this is my first time to create this kind of web-based application system and also it a challenge of myself . Chapter 2 Literature review Introduction This chapter were provides the literature review which is related to the project development and make reference to existence of other systems. The sources are refer from the book, articles, journals and also sources from internet. 2.2 Car rental System In this twenty first century car rental system it are famous using to tourism Web-based system understands as server components of distributed applications which use the HTTP protocol to exchange data between servers and clients(browser). By this definition, the principal problem of Web-based system development becomes apparent From business perspectives. Web-based systems can be classified as follows (Kaiser, 2000): 2.3 Technologies Research and Development This chapter we are provides technologies research and development technique for this project. We will explain why we using java technology to plan develop on this project, and it also compares the other open source technology. 2.3.1 XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) in 1974 Charles Goldfarb, Ed Mosher and Ray Lorie invented GML at IBM. Advantages of XML Readability: It is text-based and therefore human readable. Moreover, given the use of text tags to demarcate the data, data represented by XML is usually somewhat understandable to the reader without reference to any other file or definition. Universality: It supports the Unicode Standard, so text from any character set can be used. Moreover, the text and elements can be specified in different character sets. Disadvantages of XML Inefficient: XML was not originally defined as a database storage platform. It was designed to accommodate the exchange of data between nodes of dissimilar systems. Compared to other storage algorithms XML is relatively inefficient. The XML tags, which make it readable to humans, require additional storage and bandwidth. XML Stylesheet: XML can be used to transmit and store documents for visual display. However, storage is not its primary or original purpose. To use it for anything beyond basic display of the data using markup requires an additional file the XML Stylesheet. XML Stylesheets are conceptually identical to HTML CSS files, but with a different syntax 2.3.2 JAVA Java was created in 1991 by James Gosling et al. of Sun Microsystems. Initially called Oak, in honor of the tree outside Goslings window, its name was changed to Java because there was already a language called Oak. Advantages of java Chapter 3 Research methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter we are provides the method and approach which have used to development on this System. We will discuss different type of model objects in this system project and a detailed explanation of each phase in developing on this project. A methodology is part of important technique use to managing and controlling for research in project to achieve the specified objectives within a given time. In order to complete this research, there are five major phases involved. Each phase involved in this project have significance in achieving the objectives of the project. This project begins with knowledge acquisition phase and finished with the documentation of result. As mentioned in the objective of this project, data matching technique is applied to provide car rental service to the users. 3.2 Project Methodology On this project we need found the best methodology which to easy improve , high market value in future develop on this project model . Finally were choosing Waterfall model to become planed and develop idea for this system project. The Waterfall Model is the earliest method of structured system development and his create by Winston W. Royce in 1970 It is a highly structured development process, first used on DoD software projects in the 1970s. It is the traditional approach to software development and was derived from defense and aerospace project lifecycles now day The Waterfall Model is still common and widely used in software develop filed. Requirement Analysis Definition: All possible requirements of the system to be developed are captured in this phase. Requirements are set of functionalities and constraints that the end-user expects from the system. The requirements are gathered from the end-user by consultation, theses requirements are analyzed for their validity and the possibility of incorporating the requirements in the system to be development is also studied. Finally, a Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model. System Software Design: Before build the actual coding and actual design we must to understand what we are going to create and what requirement material used to? The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system architecture and specifications with serve as input for the next phase of the model also. Implementation Unit Testing: This step is receiving system design documents, the job are divided in to the modules and started with the actual coding. When the system is first to developed in small programs we will called this units, which are integrate in the next phase. Each unit is developed and tested for its functionality; this is referring to as Unit Testing. Unit testing mainly verifies if the modules or units meet their specifications. Integration System Testing: Specified as above the system is first divided in units which are developed and test for their functionalities. These units are integrated into a complete system during Integration phase and test with all the modules coordinate between each other and the system as a whole behaves as per the specifications. After successfully testing the software, it will hand in to the customer. Operations Maintenance: This phase of The Waterfall Model is virtually never ending phase. Generally, problems with the system developed which are not found during the development life cycle come up after its practical use starts, so the issues related to the system are solved after deployment of the system. Not all the problems come in picture directly but they arise time to time and needs to be solved; hence this process is referred as Maintenance. 3.4 Methodology Justifications Now in this project we will discuss how can we justification idea of waterfall model ,why we choose waterfall model to be software development idea, and what advantages in waterfall model . The waterfall model is follows a linear and strict set of stages during its development process. The waterfall model can be process model follows a particular life cycle in order to ensure success in process of software development. Important is the waterfall model have high value in software development field and now a day still a lot of software develop company used to develop they are software productions. The advantage of waterfall model is it allows for departmentalization and managerial control, after than a schedule can be set with an end time for each stage of development and a product can proceed through the development process like a shirt in a washing machine, and theoretically, can be finish on time. Development moves from concept, through design, implementation, testing, installation, troubleshooting, and end up at operation and maintenance. Each phase of development proceeds in strict order, without any overlapping or iterative steps. 3.5 System Requirements In the development system we will refer to the develop phase and will follow the certain requirements in order to make work more efficiently. 3.5.1 Hardware Requirements In hardware part we will suggest used Intel core i5 Processer(centre unit processor) to run for sever web base .The amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) that is required depend many factors such as requirement to other services, frequently accessed content files, operating system paging files and the web service application. It is recommended to have at least 1GB (Gigabyte) of RAM in order to run the application. Having more RAM (2GB or 4GB) in your server will be better as it will allow more files to be cached, reducing disk 3.5.2 Software Requirements In software Requirement will used MYSQL to be save data. Because MySQL has its built-in command prompt window to run the required commands. It is recommended to use SQLWave 5 which makes it easier to create, edit, update and delete MySQL databases with its powerful GUI (Graphical User Interface) 3.6 Summary The methodology used is the Waterfall process model because it is the most suitable method for this project. It has a linear framework and goes forward within a strict set of phases. This method has more advantages when compared with other methods. The system requirements which is the hardware and software requirements needed for the project were also discussed in this chapter. The next chapter covers the design and implementation part of this project. Chapter 4 Design and implementation Introduction In this chapter we will discuss more in details about the system design and implementation of the web base online reservation system. In the system design and application implementation architecture we will provides more advantage develop technique and further with visual diagram 4.3 System Flows In the system flows will follow for the online rental vehicle system and it will be discussed in details with the help of Use Case Diagrams and Sequence Diagrams. The Use Case is used to represent distinct pieces functionalities of whole system in a graphical and overview in terms of actors and their goals and any dependencies between them. In part of main idea is will represent which actor is performing for what system functions, and also will describes the roles of actors in the system. On the other hand ,a sequence diagram can map a scenarios described by a use case in step by step detail to define how objects collaborate to achieve applications goals.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Cracks Detection using Digital Image Processing

Cracks Detection using Digital Image Processing Cracks detection using digital image processing   in MATLAB Usually visual investigation methods have been used for inspection and monitoring of concrete infrastructures. Huge and tall structure such as cables bridges, high rising towers, dams and industrial power plant are known to have an inaccessible area and limitations in inspection field due to its geometry structure which is often dangerous , labor -intensive and involves lot of risks. So, with rapid development in technology and its uses, researcher   are trying to overcome these problem. Every now and then some research is going regarding these problem and trying to overcome it. So, I also have come with the idea of using digital Image processing   in mat lab to detect the cracks in such structure. Literature   Review:- As   of todays world, digital Image processing is getting better and better   and used in all areas of science. With   the help of digital image processing tools, various image processing can be applied to detects the cracks in structure. Not only in structures but also for   bridges, towers, power plant and also in structure   like steel ,roads, fatigues and sewer pipes. A number of research studies have been conducted regarding   detection of cracks by using Digital   image processing .(1)The author of Korea Institute   combines UAV technology in the process of recent breakthroughs and digital image analysis techniques   to detect cracks in structure. In this study, the crack detection program with digital image analysis techniques was developed in order to the crack and width of the structure automatically. The developed program attempted to perform the image analysis for crack detection with Morphology method based morphological hydraulics and specially designed Morphological link for crack(Morph link-C)algorithm for S/W development was applied to the program. The digital image was acquired in order to evaluate UAV applicability and performance and field application of the crack detecting program after targeting the bridges in common use. Comparing with the measured values in order to verify reliability of the new structural inspecting system for application in this study, it is verified that the accuracy above a certain level is secured. Also, The below three core technologies shall be considered to develop the technology possible to detect cracks and calculate crack width of large structure through the digital image analysis and to put this technology to practical use. Optimal digital image acquisition and filming equipment configuration Crack analysis technique of a number of mass digital images Combining technique of multiple images that different positions are captured And also the author from china(2)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   proposed   inspection system for measuring cracks in concrete structure and providing objective crack data to be used in safety assessment. The system consists of the mobile robot system and crack detecting system. The mobile robot system is controlled to keep a constant distance from the wall to acquire image data with a CCD camera on scanning along the wall. The crack detecting system extracts crack information from the acquired image using image processing. To improve accuracy of crack recognition, the geometric properties and patterns of cracks in a structure were applied to image processing. Also,   an inspection system using an image process, which can be a solution to the problems of crack detection in concrete structure, slow rate, subjectivity, and the inefficiency in managing data. Also, the system ensures the validity and possibility based on the experiment in the indoor structure, road tunnel, and subway tunnel. However, an erroneous recognition of a crack as non-crack and vice versa prevails. Therefore, the system is semi automated to get rid of wrong recognition of non crack as crack, and to identify crack by a graph search method using the user-based input of the start point and end-point of crack. In order for a crack inspection system to develop into an expert system, there needs to be further study of the characteristics of cracks and the algorithm must move towards complete automation. Similarly,(3) The Komatsu Engineering Company has developed and commercialized an image acquisition system that can acquire the images of road and tunnel lining by using a laser-scanning device .(4) The Railway Technical Research Institute in Japan developed an image acquisition system of railway tunnel lining by using line CCD cameras. (5)Road ware Group Inc., Canada commercialized a system that acquires an image of the road with a CCD camera, an ultrasonic sensor, and a gyro-sensor with a speed of80km/h and a resolution of 3~4cm [7]. Those systems are useful to collect data of cracks, leakage, scale, and spall but only by using the image acquisition, and not through automatic defect detection. The algorithm for crack detection and measurement is required for fully automatic inspection system. It is necessary, therefore, to develop the automatic crack detection and measurement algorithm to obtain both fast inspection and objective crack data. From the author of University of central Florida , paper describes the mechanism of non-destructive bridge inspection methods using HRDI and HDV digital crack detection and IR thermograph   technology and the benefits of the combination thereof. The feasibility of applying these technologies for in-service bridge inspections are demonstrated and evaluated in the State of Florida under  the university-government-industry collaboration research program. The purpose of the joint research effort is to utilize the innovative technology for more efficient bridge inspection programs and bridge management in Florida by developing a new quantitative performance measure for long term bridge monitoring, such as crack ratio and delaminated area, and the use of objective data resulting in more efficient and scientific bridge inspection database and management system. With the quantity of roadway structure assets increasing annually, coupled with concurrent increasing rates of deteriorati on being experienced by many of the existing structures, bridge owners need to find new and creative ways to ensure the structural safety of their bridges while they all too often face problems of reduced budgets and dedicated bridge inspection resources. Currently, the determination of bridge condition ratings in  many countries is generally subjective depending on individual inspectors knowledge and experience, as well as varying field conditions. For the evaluation and documentation of concrete deterioration (cracks, efflorescence, delaminating, spalls, etc.) and changes overtime, the current practice of visual inspections can be lacking in accuracy and completeness, as well as time consuming and costly if road closures and access equipment  are required for the inspection. Using the proposed new non-destructive technologies, bridge engineers can quickly and efficiently obtain objective current bridge condition information that has traditionally been obtained by more time con suming and more subjective close-up visual inspections and sounding tests. The digital output of these NDE inspection techniques improves on-site inspection safety and objectivity and contributes to improved inspector efficiency by significantly reducing the amount of inspection time in the field. However, it must be noted that while most of the NDE or sensor technologies do offer new efficiencies and/or additional objective assessment results to the bridge inspection process, they are not a substitute for inspectors conducting on-site specific follow-up and detailed structure investigations. While improved efficiencies in bridge inspection methods resulting from the application of the above NDE technologies bring significant benefits to the overall bridge inspection process, they are not a substitute for the continued need for sound and experienced engineering judgment. The authors believe that by offering new and improved inspection technologies to experienced bridge engineers and inspectors, bridge inspection programs will be strengthened through enhanced inspection data and will be more objective, consistent, scientific, and efficient. Based on the nature of calculation   and development of technology approach to process image, Image Processing Technique for crack detection can be divided into several categories. Each image consists of pixel which are represented by its integer values from 0 to 255. Based on these pixel values Operation technique conducted is accomplished in the spatial domain. However , desirable outcome cannot be obtained in spatial domain. So in this case ,usually Fourier or wavelet transformation is performed on the image. Again, the outcome image is processed in frequency domain. After wise, to reconstruct the image in spatial domain   an inverse transformation is applied. Another procedure to detect cracks using image is based on the training algorithm to solve a problem. In this process ,some technique directly deal with image without any training while other first construct   a database which is divided into two subsets, the subset with crack image and subset with un-cracked images. For each subset ,a decision line is defined to represent the characteristics index, such as shape factor. With the help of these image , a program is used which is capable of comparing new images with decision line and assign it to the subset where it belongs. Especially Neural network and clustering   method are widely used among the popular training techniques to learn the decision line. Basically, two approaches have been applied to detect cracks from the images.   Using dye solution and the other is without using dye solution to the surface material. Usually ,In this dye based detection process, a particular dye solution such as fluorescent is injected on the surface of concrete or other material. Depending on the solution type   and color special or ordinary cameras are used to scan the surface of the material. These dye based method were used in past for detection of mini or micro cracks in different types of material like concrete ,ceramics tiles etc and also any kind of structure. The other approach for finding crack   is based on the color image without using dye solution. Since these method is less costly and less time consuming it is currently more popular. A number of research studies have been conducted regarding the surface   crack detection technique in different material. One of these attempts can be seen in work of Kittler at al. They proposed an idea of training based algorithm to get samples of the region, which are void of defects in the spatial domain. In this process, the new pictures were analyzed for the presence of any defects and also to find the location of the defects. In this method, clustering technique and morphological operation were performed to analyze the images. The experimental output of this method is shown in the figure below.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Figure . Crack detection on ceramic tiles (Kittler, Marik, et al. 1994) Image processing technique has been used for inspection of cement based materials for micro cracks and other micro defects (Ammouchea at al 2000). In this process, a red dye solution is used with the surface. So the dye solution can penetrate the porous region of the surface while the excessive solution are   removed by polishing the sample surface. Once the dye solution is injected, a color image of 256 x 265 was taken from camera of the surface. The following operation is carried out on the taken image. O(x,y) = max { R(x,y)0 G(x,y) } Where, O(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Intensity of the output gray level image at (x,y) co-ordinates R(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Intensity of the original image at (x,y) co-ordinate in red region. G(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Intensity of the original image at (x,y) co-ordinate in gray region. Afterward, using a thresholding value, the gray level   image is converted to the binary image. Then, using entropy maximization method value of the thresholding is evaluated. This method is based on maximization of the entropy function à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å" of gray level pixel. à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å"(k)=   [  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   ] where, Pà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢ is the probability of a given pixel to have an intensity of i (Pà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢=Nà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢/N)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ni Number of pixel having i intensity   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   N Total no of pixel   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Wà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ W1 Lower and upper bound of the probability to find pixel intensity And also computed as:-   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   k Based on the threshold to obtain binary image, a lower bound thresholding operation is performed. Then , using two morphological operations of eroding and rebuilding the binary image is post processed. This operation is conducted to eliminate noisy and small objects (i.e. Less than 10 pixel) from the image. However, second series of operation are needed to obtain the shape factors which are used to decide whether the pixels in a binary image are associated with cracks or other defects. To do so, a dimensionless packing density index Fc is defined. Fc = (2-4) Where, Aab=Object area Aac= Area of its circumscribed circle The value of Fc is equal to 1 for a circle and tends towards 0 for a very elongated object.Fig below shows results obtained in this method Fig. Also, Abdel-Ghader (_Abdel,Osama and kelly 2003) proposed an idea to find cracks on concrete surface using image processing technique .In this work, they implemented   and compared 4 cracks detection method   which include Fast   Haar Transform( FHT), Fast Fourier Transform( FFT),Sobel edge detector   and canny edge detection. They used 50   concrete image from a bridge deck of which 25 pictures with cracks and 25 pictures without cracks for   their research .From their research ,they concluded that FHT was more efficient and effective method rather than other 3 method. Basically, FHT, a simplified   Wavelet transformation decomposes the image into low and high frequency components, the mother Wavelet à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t) of Haar function and scaling à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å"(t) are defined as: à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t) =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Relationship between Haar wavelet and scaling function and scaling function with itself is shown below   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t)=)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   (t)=) In this process, to detect crack the three quadrants of the first level transformation i.e. 2,34 are passed through a high pass filter to reduce nose and   combined together to get magnitude of images. To decide whether crack exists or not, an empirical thresholding value is used. Fast   Fourier transfer motion (FFT) are used to derive the frequency component of the image intensity. The transformation and   the inverse transformation were carried out using: F(u, v)= F(x, y)= The canny edge detection is a convolution filter to detect filter noise from the image while processing. In addition, thresholding value is defined to see if a pixel belongs to an edge region or not. The   Sobel edge detection is also a convolution filter defined for vertical and horizontal edges in images. This edge detection technique helps to detect the change in the image intensity in neighboring pixels. Filtering was done using convolution operation for each filter separated. Then, two filtered images is combined together at each location and result is a gray level image with enhanced edges. G x =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   G y= Default value of thresholding is defined as  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   where Another attempt to detect cracks in concrete specimen using optical fluorescent microscopy can be found in   this research( Litorowicz   2006). To continue these processes, a fluorescent dye solution   was used. The specimens were then light using Nikon optical microscope at a magnification of 10 times. The images were captured using a Sony DXC 350 P video camera. Then, image pro Plus analysis software was introduced to perform the image processing operation. Then, using segmentation method, the RGB images is connected into a binary image. The threshold level was calculated based on the effect of the dye solution to the surface. To distinguish cracks pattern, several parameters were introduced: Angle between the vertical axis and the major axis of the ellipse covering   the connected component Area of each connected component Dendritic   length, which is the total length of all the one-pixel thick branches.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   4. Area ratio (i.e. of the area of the counted object and the entire area of the active image.)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   5.Radius ratio (i.e. The ratio of maximum radius and minimum radius for each connected component)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   6. Roundness using perimeter 2/4à Ã¢â€š ¬2 x Area. Intelligent crack detection on the concrete crack image using neural network was proposed in Moon and Kim paper (2011). This research was conducted to develop an automatic detection system that analyze the concrete surface and visualize the crack more effectively and efficiently. Basically this research consists of two parts: Image processing and image classification. First stage include image processing tools like filtering, subtraction and morphological operation in order to extract cracks from the background image (i.e. data such as the number of pixel and the ratio of major axis to minor axis for pixel area. While in second step, existences of cracks are identified using neural network to automate the image classification. In this process, 105 images (cracked and non-cracked) of concrete were used as a trained image including every kind of cracks. Following steps were carried out for image processing : Fig. Image processing steps   to detect cracks First step in image processing is to convert RGB image into gray level intensity image followed by a subtraction transformation as follows: à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- ) = à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¡Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥ {à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¡Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã…“-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- [à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼(à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- ) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼(à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- )], 0} Where ,I(xi)   and I(xj) are   the intensity pixel of xi and X j respectively.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ri Neighborhood of that pixel xà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢ . When the subtraction is negative number, it is represented as zero. Once improved subtraction method is used, threshold value is defined to detect cracks more effectively. The thresholding operation is given as: à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦) = {2 ÃÆ'- à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦) à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬Å" à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   > à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¡   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬Å" à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¡ To further smooth the image, a Gaussian law pass filter was applied. Then, an input gray level image is converted to a binary image where the values are represented as 0 or 1. Using Otsus   method or valley emphasis method, the threshold value was selected. Morphological image processing including closing and   labeling were applied to the image to extract image component such as shape of crack. The optimal parameters and their level associated with above operation are   mentioned below:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Fig. Parameters and their levels Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) crack images were distinguished from non-cracked images. Also images were automatically identified as the crack or non-cracked images using ANN. The output value was represented either cracked (value 1) or non-cracked (value 2). Another example of tracing based image processing technique can be found on Nishikawa research paper (2012). A robust automated image processing method was applied to crack detection on concrete surface. This method consists of two parts: First part consists of automatic construction of a filter for crack detection while the other part consists of noise removal and determination of indistinct cracks using iterative process. Using generic algorithm the part is conducted, where genetic individuals was represented as a tree structure. Using a trained   program, a large number of images were combined and several images filtered were converted into a tree structure. An illustration of tree structure concept is shown below.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Fig. Construction of Tree structure   with multiple filters(Aoki and Nagao 1999) A combination of generic program was computed to train the program and results were compared to the target image (i.e. image generated by visual inspection. The comparison was between the distinct distributions of brightness between the images. To measure the filter performance the following formula was used. E= Where,    N- No of training images in database K-th target image -Output image -weighted image . -   Brightness of the weighted image in crack region )- brightness of k-th target image at position (i,j) To reduce the false negative result, a superimposition operation using low resolution image was implemented. Figure below shows the algorithm used in above algorithm. { algorithm}

Monday, August 19, 2019

Inherit the Wind - Character Development of Matthew and Sarah Brady Ess

Inherit the Wind - Character Development of Matthew and Sarah Brady Films with intense legal themes generally present very dry, professional characters with occasional moments of character development. In the film Inherit the Wind, the head legal counsel for the prosecution, Matthew Harrison Brady, first appears as a dynamic man of the people. He and his wife, Sarah, seem to be a perfect couple in the spotlight of American politics. Both characters wear broad smiles, walk tall and proud, and sport conservative, yet fashionable attire. Sarah proudly applauds in support of her husband as he addresses the town of Hillsboro as their lead prosecutor. However, the director and screenwriter of the film continue to develop the Bradys as a couple with a long history full of emotion and love. In the scene entitled "Rachel Visits the Bradys," the characters of Matthew and Sarah Brady emerge as not only a political power couple, but as two very emotionally connected people. The director, Stanley Kramer, uses lighting, sound, and costuming in the character development of Matthew and Sarah Brady. These staging techniques accentuate the intense dialogue between Sarah and Rachel Brown, the preacher's daughter, and between Sarah and Matthew. In this scene, Rachel pays a visit to the Brady's hotel room to confront Matthew about his decision to put her on the witness stand against Bertram Cates. Instead of speaking with Matthew, Rachel and Sarah have a powerful exchange. Matthew then enters, half asleep, to hear Rachel exclaim that she is no longer a child. After Rachel's exit, Sarah and Matthew discuss the case, Matthew's integrity, and their relationship. As the conversation progresses, specific ligh... ...d when he is in public. The final scene shows the couple exchanging roles, accentuated by the rising and falling volume of voices to demonstrate tension. In public life, Matthew appears strong and confident but in their private life, Sarah acts as the source of reassurance. This role reversal suggests that in a relationship, one person cannot always be the assertive partner, but each person has to be strong at different times. In this setting, the Bradys appear to comfort each other in a very intense way. Matthew becomes vulnerable and Sarah rebuilds the image he presents in their public life. The political display they present for the town of Hillsboro is not an accurate representation of their life together. By establishing this contrast, Kramer reveals the misperceptions that result when society assumes that public life replicates private life. Inherit the Wind - Character Development of Matthew and Sarah Brady Ess Inherit the Wind - Character Development of Matthew and Sarah Brady Films with intense legal themes generally present very dry, professional characters with occasional moments of character development. In the film Inherit the Wind, the head legal counsel for the prosecution, Matthew Harrison Brady, first appears as a dynamic man of the people. He and his wife, Sarah, seem to be a perfect couple in the spotlight of American politics. Both characters wear broad smiles, walk tall and proud, and sport conservative, yet fashionable attire. Sarah proudly applauds in support of her husband as he addresses the town of Hillsboro as their lead prosecutor. However, the director and screenwriter of the film continue to develop the Bradys as a couple with a long history full of emotion and love. In the scene entitled "Rachel Visits the Bradys," the characters of Matthew and Sarah Brady emerge as not only a political power couple, but as two very emotionally connected people. The director, Stanley Kramer, uses lighting, sound, and costuming in the character development of Matthew and Sarah Brady. These staging techniques accentuate the intense dialogue between Sarah and Rachel Brown, the preacher's daughter, and between Sarah and Matthew. In this scene, Rachel pays a visit to the Brady's hotel room to confront Matthew about his decision to put her on the witness stand against Bertram Cates. Instead of speaking with Matthew, Rachel and Sarah have a powerful exchange. Matthew then enters, half asleep, to hear Rachel exclaim that she is no longer a child. After Rachel's exit, Sarah and Matthew discuss the case, Matthew's integrity, and their relationship. As the conversation progresses, specific ligh... ...d when he is in public. The final scene shows the couple exchanging roles, accentuated by the rising and falling volume of voices to demonstrate tension. In public life, Matthew appears strong and confident but in their private life, Sarah acts as the source of reassurance. This role reversal suggests that in a relationship, one person cannot always be the assertive partner, but each person has to be strong at different times. In this setting, the Bradys appear to comfort each other in a very intense way. Matthew becomes vulnerable and Sarah rebuilds the image he presents in their public life. The political display they present for the town of Hillsboro is not an accurate representation of their life together. By establishing this contrast, Kramer reveals the misperceptions that result when society assumes that public life replicates private life.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Ice Hockey Vs. Roller Hockey Essay -- essays research papers

Despite the fact that ice hockey and roller hockey both have the word hockey in common, there are extreme differences between the two sports. There are the obvious differences like one being played on ice and the other on a plastic surface, but many of the differences are only noticed by people that have played both sports. As everyone knows, ice hockey is played on ice, which makes it an extremely high paced game. Unlike ice hockey, Roller hockey is played on a plastic floor that consists of many six-inch by six-inch tiles. The plastic floor makes roller hockey a much slower paced game than ice hockey. The reason that roller hockey is so much slower than ice hockey is because there is more friction. The friction is produced in the bearings of the wheels as well as between the floor and the wheels. Turning, stopping, and making lateral movements are extremely easy to do on ice, but roller hockey is completely different. In roller hockey there is no such thing as making a tight turn or stopping on a dime, because the wheels just slide out from underneath the player. The stopping technique for roller hockey is basically the same as ice hockey, but the player slides a little before coming to a complete halt. If a player happens to fall in ice hockey he or she just slides along the ice and most of the time it doesn't hurt, but in roller hockey if a player falls on the plastic floor, it is going to hurt. When players in roller hockey fall, they do not slide, it is more of a...