Don't have a topic choice one Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Don't have a topic choice one - Research Paper Example Despite the fact that various developments are considered to have taken place, some groups remained assertive that further action is needed to resolve gender issues. In some cases, media has been arguably blamed for frustrating the gender mainstreaming process as much as it is expected to play a pivotal role. This paper proposes a study to assess the role of media in reconciling gender issues, such as in terms of women representation and content inclusivity. Problem Statement Various developments have taken course regarding the gender issues. Some of the developments have pertained to media. Whereas some articles have pointed out that there are still problems within the media in supporting gender mainstreaming, there are those that insist media has made various developments in fostering gender mainstreaming. The question is then how these could be effectively ascertained. Importance of the Research Policymakers are concerned about the state of gender mainstreaming and the need to rea lize equality for all persons. This study would go a long way in informing the policy makers about the situation. This will in turn help formulate appropriate measures to address the problem. If the results would present the media positively, it would form a basis for the society to celebrate the achievements. Hypothesis H1: Media has responded positively to the requirements of gender mainstreaming. H2: Media has not aligned gender representation. H3: Media has not assured women about the inclusivity of content. Variables There are two variables that would be given uttermost considerations. These are media representation of media and inclusivity of media content regarding gender, as far as gender sensitivity is concerned. Aims of the Study 1. To find out the state of treatment of gender subject in the media. 2. To find out the state of women representation in the media. 3. To ascertain the state of content inclusivity with regard to media. 4. To suggest the need to take measures. Ba ckground and Literature review The subject of gender issues is traced to a period that was characterized by gender movement in Western society. This was in response to various discrimination policies. In America, women did not vote, access education, or even engage in politics. Rampant incidences of sexual violence directed at women were not uncommon. Worse still, women were always the main victims of domestic violence. Women were looked down upon and discriminated in all areas of life. However, the evolution of the world was accompanied by various changes pertaining to women rights owing to emergence of women rights movement so that there were various developments between 1900 and 1970 (Stratigaki, 2005). With several years down the line, it is expected that a lot of developments have taken place. As far as media and gender issues are concerned, literary works on gender issues are well documented. The United Nation Platform for Action (1996) singled out the portrayal of women in me dia as that marred with stereotypes, further singling out that women possessed limited access to the creation of the products of the media, as well as in making decisions pertaining to media and culture. Woodward (2003) defines gender mainstreaming as the process where the public policy gender element is recognized and incorporated into gender dimensions in policy provision. Gender mainstreaming is characterized by a set of three essential elements, which include equal

Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Human Resources - Essay Example Key parts to this style are: (1) identifying goals to reduce conflict; (2) analyzing what actions can meet these goals; (3) finding ways to alter behavior that could provoke conflict; (4) changing any non useful responses to productive responses; (5) improving overall communication ability in order to minimize conflicts; and (6) minimizing the harmful effects of conflict to all parties (Noble, p.3). The author mentions that this type of coaching can either be tailored to individuals who often find themselves in unwanted conflicts, or can be specific to certain types of situations (p.3). Executive coaching is a second model that focuses on an executive who is mentored by a more seasoned executive (Thach, p. 205). In this type of coaching, both individuals lay out goals to increase the manager’s performance at the work level and the organizational level (p. 205). Executive coaching involves: (1) contracting; (2) data collection; and (3) coaching. The contracting step is a plan t hat is drawn up which includes goals, resources, and initial planning. The data collection step may involve skill assessment, interviews, and other methods for the collection of data. The coaching step is the largest step where two individuals analyze the data in order to develop a plan to overcome issues previously identified (Thach, p.206). An executive coaching example was mentioned by the author where 281 executives participated to either improve managerial effectiveness, or be able to assume a top executive role if needed. The study found that executive coaching did significantly improve both types of situations (Thach, p. 213). Steven Downward in his article â€Å"Coaching vs. Training---What Really is the Difference?† outlines differences between the two practices. One major difference is with the degree of learning involved (Downward, p.1). Training is the act of imparting knowledge to another person that would usually involve more intense one-on-one interaction and f eedback between the two parties (p.1). Coaching is more focused with guiding people to meet goals. Coaches do not necessarily have expertise that trainers would provide, but they do try to ensure that goals are met and outcomes are achieved (Downward, p.2). Another type of development is mentoring which is described as a much more extensive and long lasting process than coaching (insala.com, p.1). The difference between mentoring and coaching is that mentoring is a long term relationship that will develop between two individuals where an individual is providing guidance and knowledge to their pupil and lasts over a longer period of time while coaching is usually finished once a specific task is completed. In addition, mentoring will target more complete development of an individual while coaching is limited to usually one measure of performance (p.2). Coaches will influence people’s behavior, but mentors will be involved in every aspect of creating

Chirnside v Fay

Chirnside v Fay I Introduction On 6 September 2006 the Supreme Court released its important and controversial judgment in Chirnside v Fay . Elias CJ and Tipping and Blanchard JJ took very different approaches to the issue of whether or not to grant an equitable allowance to the defendant. This essays primary aim is to provide a detailed description of their Honours differing opinions as to that issue and also outline the authors own opinion as to what approach should be adopted. This essay starts with a brief description of the fact situation and the general law behind equitable allowances. It then describes the differing approaches taken in Chirnside . Next, the author makes a principled argument that the broad approach should be preferred when considering whether or not to grant an allowance. II Analysis of Chirnside v Fay A Fact Situation The plaintiff, Mr Fay (MF), and the defendant, Mr Chirnside (MC), were both property developers. They had known each other since the early 1980s and in 1997 decided to enter into a project together in respect of an old building. They had Harvey Norman (HN) in mind as the potential anchor tenant. Although MF made the initial contact with HN MC became almost solely responsible for dealing with them and entered into a conditional contract in his name only. HN made the final commitment to the project on 7 July 2000. By that time MC had gone cold on MF, largely due to his limited involvement. Instead of telling MF this MC intended to complete all the transactions through Rattray Ltd while convincing MF that he himself was no longer involved. MF argued that there had been a partnership and that he was entitled to proceeds, which was denied by MC. The project was ultimately completed. MF sued. By the time this case got to the Supreme Court the only viable cause of action that MF had was breach of fiduciary duty. The Supreme Court was unanimous in finding that MC had breached his fiduciary obligations. B Equitable Allowance There is a presumptive requirement that once a breach of fiduciary duty has been established the errant fiduciary must disgorge all profits made by dint of the breach. That is commonly referred to as the no-profit rule. There are two main exceptions to that rule. The first is where there has been some antecedent agreement for profit sharing. The second is where the court decides to exercise its discretion to grant the errant fiduciary an allowance for their skill, labour or expertise in making the profits. The onus is on the defendant to satisfy the court that an allowance should be made. In Chirnside there was an antecedent profit-sharing arrangement between the parties. Because of that agreement MC was entitled to a deduction of 50 per cent to the amount he had to account to MF. In addition to that, MC argued that he was entitled to an allowance due to the effort he exerted in gaining the profit from the joint venture. There were two different approaches taken to this issue both in regards to the actual law itself and the application of it. 1 Elias CJ Elias CJ took a strict approach to the issue of when an allowance should be granted. Her Honours main point was that allowances should remain exceptional, as Lord Templeman and Lord Goff in Guinness Plc v Saunders suggested they should be. She expressed the view that an allowance should generally only be permitted if the fiduciarys breach was wholly innocent and the beneficiary was-wholly undeserving, as in Boardman v Phipps . She accepted, however, that there had been cases where allowances had been granted despite the fiduciary not being blameless. She was of the opinion that the allowances were granted in such cases due to the fiduciary creating extraordinary profits outside the scope of what was envisaged in the fiduciary relationship while not having committed any significant wrongdoing. To evidence this point she analysed the cases of OSullivan v Management Agency , Estate Realties v Wignall , Badfinger Music v Evans , and Say-Dee v Farah Constructions . She suggested that in t hose cases the fiduciary had created substantial and unexpected profits and in most of them the wrongdoing was mere non-disclosure, which supported her proposition. Thus, she was of the view that an allowance could only be granted here if MC could show that he was wholly innocent and MF was-wholly undeserving or that he created extraordinary profits, essentially outside the scope of the fiduciary undertaking, while not having committed any significant wrongdoing. She then applied that reasoning to the facts. She held that MC had committed significant wrongdoing because by actively concealing his breach of duty at a vital time he had directly undermined the obligation of loyalty which is the cornerstone fiduciary obligation. Moreover, she was of the opinion that the work which MC had done was expected of him and thus was within the scope of the joint venture giving rise to the fiduciary obligations. Based on those two findings she denied MC an allowance. She did, however, make two additional points. Firstly, she saw no significance in the fact that MCs work had been undertaken before he had committed the breach because he was required to account for all profits made through the opportunities he obtained as a fiduciary which covered the whole joint venture. Secondly, the fact that MC was entitled to a 50 per cent deduction by dint of the antecedent agreement was important to her because she felt that if an allowance were to be granted he would essentially be receiving the full benefit he might have expected had he been wholly loyal which would significantly undermine the obligation of loyalty. 2 Tipping and Blanchard JJ Tipping and Blanchard JJ took a broad approach to the issue of when an allowance should be granted. They expressed the view that what a court should consider is whether, on the overall balance of the equities between the parties, it is fair and just to grant an allowance. In considering that, all the relevant circumstances must be taken into account. The essence of this exercise was to come to a fair conclusion as to what the fiduciary had to account. Thus, unlike Elias CJ they were of the opinion that the significance of the defendants breach and the personal input that they put into creating the profits were only factors to be taken into account rather than criteria that had to be satisfied. However, they did emphasise the need for restraint when calculating the amount of an allowance. That is, they expressed the view that the amount of allowances should generally not be liberal in order to deter others from committing breaches of fiduciary duty. Their main authority for this appro ach was OSullivan , Warman International , Estate Realities , and Murad v Al-Saraj . They analysed Saunders , which was a crucial case for Elias CJ, and distinguished it based on the finding that the obligations in that case were expressly accepted whereas in this case the obligations were imposed. They stated that it would be unfair and conflict with the pillars of equity to apply such a strict approach as was done in Saunders in a case such as this. They then applied that reasoning to the facts. There were four key factors which led to them ruling that it was fair and just to grant MC an allowance. Firstly, they held that MCs breach was not significant because it was not fraudulent or dishonest and MC genuinely believed he was entitled to act as he did. Secondly, they held that most of MCs work was done prior to his breach of duty and as such the breach did not facilitate in any way the making of the relevant profit. This was relevant to them because due to that ruling there could be no suggestion in their minds that by granting an allowance the fiduciary relationship would be undermined by encouraging fiduciaries to act in breach of duty. Thirdly, they held that MC had contributed far more effort in bringing the joint venture to profit than MF. In particular, MC had incurred all legal and financial liability and engaged in most of the negotiations with HN on his own. Fourthly, had the project been completed with MF then it was clear that he would have agreed to recognise MCs disproportionate contribution in a reasonable way which would have probably included an element of disproportionate profit sharing. Having found that an allowance was suitable they then exercised restraint in calculating the amount of the allowance, which they ultimately considered to-be $100,000. 3 Conclusion Thus, the key distinction between these two approaches is that while Elias CJ believed it was necessary to keep allowances exceptional by adopting a strict approach based on general elements Tipping and Blanchard JJ considered the issue by asking a much broader question based on notions of fairness. III Authors Opinion as to the Appropriate Approach to Allowances Every court of equity has the broad aim of doing justice between the parties. Indeed, equity was originally developed in order to address the injustices that resulted from the strict application of common law rules and since then it has been consistently stated that equitable remedies must be fashioned to fit the nature of the case and its particular facts. It would be more consistent with these broad goals for the decision of whether to grant an allowance to not be based on general rules but rather on an overall assessment of the particular facts and the merits and claims of the defendant. That is because a court is much more able to come to a decision that is fair between the parties if it is able to take account of all the circumstances of the case and not be limited to discussing a couple of general issues as courts that adopt the strict approach are. While the major issues in deciding whether to grant an allowance will often be the moral blameworthiness of the defendant and the personal input that they put into creating the profits, which are the two issues addressed under the strict approach, there are other important issues that can only be properly taken into account under a broad approach. For example, the circumstances in which the breach occurred , the circumstances in which the gains or profits were derived , the beneficiarys reliance on the fiduciarys involvement in the arrangement , and the extent to which the defendant has already been compensated through professional fees . The case of Chirnside illustrates this point that in taking a broad approach the court is more likely to come to a decision that is fair and just. In Chirnside it was clear that although the plaintiff had breached his fiduciary obligations it would be unfair if he was not granted an allowance. That was because the defendant had almost singlehandedly brought the joint venture to profit and the plaintiff was originally going to compensate him for his significant efforts. Elias CJ took a strict approach to the case and due to its rigid nature she was unable to do justice between the parties. However, in taking a broad approach the main judgment was able to take account of all the circumstances and reach a fair and just decision. Thus, courts should use the broad approach because they will be more able to reach fair and just decisions and be more in line with foundational aspects of equity. Furthermore, a broad approach is more consistent with the important equitable maxim of he who seeks equity must do equity. That is, under a broad approach the court will always be able to recognise whether the profits to which the beneficiary is entitled are in the nature of a windfall and as such rule that the beneficiary should provide some recompense for the work that has produced it because equity is not in the business of unjustly enriching plaintiffs. Furthermore, the broad approach is a lot more flexible than the stricter approach and as Tipping J stated in Chirnside it is undesirable to adopt rigid equitable approaches unless the justification for such an approach is compelling. The reason for that is that one of the foundational aspects of equity was its remedial flexibility in that it was first developed to address the rigour and rigidity of the common law. The way in which one typically makes such an argument is to suggest that the rigidity of the stricter approach tends towards much greater certainty, which is particularly desirable due to the significant vulnerability and broad liability involved in the application of the approach, and as such it is necessary in the overall interests of justice to adopt a rigid approach. In this case, while adopting the stricter approach would create more certainty it is not particularly important to do so here because the burden of proof is on defendants who will have breached some of thei r obligations and allowances are usually modest. Accordingly, there is no compelling reason in this regard to adopt a stricter approach. An argument that is frequently postulated in favour of a stricter approach is that such an approach will be more effective in deterring fiduciaries from acting in breach of their duties. It seems farfetched to suggest that a defaulting fiduciary will not engage in certain behaviour for fear that it will be unremunerated. Indeed, many cases show that a fiduciary will engage in conduct in breach of duty regardless of the potential sanction. Moreover, if equitys true goal was deterrence then a defaulting trustee would not be allowed to retain a proportion of the profit made from acquiring an asset with mixed funds. Also, courts that adopt the broad approach still pay regard to this concern by exercising restraint when they calculate the allowance. Thus, it seems unsound to not adopt a broad approach based on notions of deterrence. It is sometimes argued that allowances should never be granted because the making of an allowance means that there is no sanction for the defendants conduct. This argument is ill-conceived. The purpose of an allowance is to properly fix compensation or damages on the basis of disgorgement of profits properly analysed, not to apply a sanction or punishment for the breach of duty. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that the approaches taken by Elias CJ and Tipping and Blanchard JJ are very distinct and will reasonably frequently lead to differing results, as in Chirnside itself. It is this authors opinion that the broad approach used by Tipping and Blanchard JJ is the more appropriate approach because it is more in line with foundational aspects of equity and the arguments in favour of the strict approach are not compelling enough to go against that. Given the main judgment in Chirnside , and Estate Realities , it is likely that the broad approach will be used in New Zealand for the foreseeable future.

The Impact of Media on Children Essay -- Television Censorship Media E

The Impact of Media on Children Stan, Kyle, Catman and Kenny - four-foul mouthed third graders who abuse each other and find delight in making fun of authority figures. Yet they possess a dumb innocence that makes their bad behavior forgivable to anyone with an honest memory of their childhood. Most parents do not approve of the bleepable expletives that fly out of the kids mouths on ‘South Park’ or the fact that Kenny dies violently in every episode. A lot of people want shows like this to be censored or taken off of the air. Parents try to shelter their children too much. They should let them experience life in the real world and not censor everything that they disagree with. Some shows can and cannot be shown on television because of their content and some parents want select shows off of the air because of their language, violence and profanity, but we as individuals should be able to choose what shows we want to watch. Television networks have a hard time deciding what shows they want to put on the air. They have to put a lot of thought into picking the correct shows to draw in the attention of the viewer. They first have to realize what type of audience they want to have. If it is a network like Nickelodeon, then they will want to look for something a child would be entertained by. If it is ESPN, then they would want something that the sports fanatic would love. Another point that they want to have in a good show is how it relates to reality. Every television show needs some reality. If the show’s content is meant to be able to happen in real life, then it should look realistic. If the age group will relate to the show’s topic is also put into consideration(Nesbit). Networks also have to figure out if the show is useable or not by seeing how much violence, language and profanity. Again they have to consider the show’s target audience. There wouldn’t be the same amount of violence allowed to be shown on ‘Barney’ as there would be allowed on ‘America’s Most Wanted.’ Television has now put a rating on TV shows. It is based on the same principal that the rating system of movies is. In movie theaters, G means the movie is suitable for all ages, PG means some material is not suitable for pre-teenagers and parental guidance is suggested, PG-13 means that parents should be strongly cautioned to give special viewing guidance to those under the age of ... ...not be able to prohibit the viewing of certain shows. Parents should be the ones making the decision of their child’s viewing. Even if the networks do censor shows, doing so will not make a big difference on anyone’s life. If parents want to keep their children innocent then they will never be able to see the light of day because there is violence happening around us at all times. In the First Amendment, there are five freedoms mentioned: exercise of religion, press, assembly, petition to the government, and speech. If they censor television, then they are breaking that amendment by not letting everyone have freedom of speech (Nesbit). We cannot protect all of the children in the world by censoring a few television shows. If anyone is at fault for exposing their child to the bad in the world, it is their parents. Remember what the 8 year old said about South Park’s swear words, â€Å"My daddy says them every single day† (Newsweek 60). It is the parents’ choice if they want to protect their children from all of the violence and profanity that is out there, it is in no way a choice of television networks. Everyone has a right to speak their minds and not have their thoughts censored.

Facial Identification Of Driver Fatigue Health And Social Care Essay

Driver weariness is frequently one of the prima causes of traffic accidents. In this concluding twelvemonth undertaking, a computing machine vision attack which exploits the driver ‘s facial look is considered, utilizing a combination of the Viola-Jones face sensing technique and support vector machines to sort facial visual aspect and find the degree of weariness.Section 1: DescriptionIntroductionStatisticss show that driver weariness is frequently one of the prima causes of traffic accidents. Over the past few old ages, a batch of research and attempt has been put forth in planing systems that monitor both driver and driving public presentation. A computing machine vision attack which exploits the driver ‘s facial look is considered in this concluding twelvemonth undertaking. The Viola-Jones real-time object sensing model working on a boosted cascade of Haar ripple characteristics is adopted for face sensing. To find the degree of weariness, multiple characteristic cate gorization is so performed utilizing support vector machines. The motives for taking to develop the system in this mode are the rapid face sensing times coupled with the simple and inexpensive overall execution, avoiding the demand to put in expensive and complex hardware.Concise Literature ReviewThis subdivision gives a wide reappraisal of the literary work related to face sensing in fatigue monitoring systems and engineerings, concentrating peculiarly on what has been done in the field of driver weariness. In subdivision 1.2.1, several statistics of fatigue-related motor vehicle accidents are mentioned and analysed. Section 1.2.2 high spots some of the more successful systems ( both commercial and non-commercial ) that have been implemented in recent old ages. On the other manus, subdivision 1.2.3 nowadayss an enlightening overview of the algorithms and techniques typically used in the development of such systems, particularly those refering to both face and facial characteristic sensing. Representative plants for each of these methods will be included.Statisticss Related to Driver FatigueDriver weariness has been one of the chief causes of route accidents and human deaths in recent old ages, and in this subdivision an effort is made to foreground some of the more of import statistics that demonstrate this negative tendency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) [ 1 ] estimations that 2-23 % of all vehicle clangs can be attributed to driver weariness. Every twelvemonth, around 100,000 traffic accidents and 71,000 hurts related to driver sleepiness are reported in the United States, out of which more than 1,300 are fatal [ 2 ] . The NHTSA [ 3 ] besides reports that in the twelvemonth 2005 entirely, there were about 5,000 route human deaths ( around 8.4 % ) which were caused either by driver inattention ( 5.8 % ) or sleepy and fatigued drive ( 2.6 % ) . Furthermore, 28 % of fatal traffic accidents were due to lane maintaining failure, one of the indirect effects of weariness on drivers, ensuing in the loss of 16,000 lives. Undoubtedly, truck drivers are more capable to tire chiefly because of the long hours travelled on main roads, taking to inevitable humdrum journeys. In fact, a survey by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) [ 4 ] confirmed that weariness was the finding factor in 51 out of 87 instances of truck accidents. These dismaying statistics pointed to the demand to plan and implement systems capable of tracking and analyzing a driver ‘s facial features or organic structure provinces and giving a warning signal at the first noticeable marks of weariness to seek and forestall the likely happening of an accident. In the following subdivision of this literature reappraisal, a figure of these systems will be presented.Existing Fatigue Monitoring SystemsMany different attacks for systems undertaking the job of driver fatigue have been studied and implemented over the past few old ages. Earlier devices tended to be instead intrusive, necessitating physical contact to mensurate fatigue characteristics while driving. These characteristics included bosom rate variableness, analysis of encephalon signals every bit good as the driver ‘s physiological province. Other systems studied the relation of driver sleepiness to maneuvering clasp and vehicle motions, with some besides using lane tracking installations. However, the focal point nowadays is more towards independent non-intrusive systems that work in the background without deflecting the driver in any manner, able to observe and track caput and oculus motions by agencies of one or more cameras mounted on the vehicle ‘s splashboard. The bulk of merchandises tracking weariness have been designed for on-road vehicles, such as autos, trucks and engines, and these will be reviewed in the undermentioned subdivision. In Section 1.2.2.2, other types of weariness monitoring systems that have been deployed will be analysed.On-Road Fatigue Monitoring SystemsCommercially Implemented SystemsIn the system presented by Advanced Brain Monitoring Inc. [ 5 ] , a caput mounted device in the signifier of a baseball cap uses the encephalon ‘s EEG ( Electroencephalography ) signals to mensurate weariness. Two electrodes inside the baseball cap are connected to the driver ‘s scalp to capture these signals, directing them v ia wireless moving ridges to a processing device 20 pess off from the driver. Russian seller Neurocom marketed the Engine Driver Vigilance Telemetric Control System ( EDVTCS ) [ 6 ] for usage within the Russian railroad system. EDVTCS continuously track drivers ‘ physiological province by mensurating alterations in the electro cuticular activity ( EDA ) i.e. alterations in the tegument ‘s opposition to electricity based on the eccrine perspiration secretory organs of the human organic structure, located chiefly on the thenar of our custodies and the colloidal suspensions of our pess. One of the first non-intrusive driver weariness supervising systems was ASTiD ( Advisory System for Tired Drivers ) [ 7 ] . It consists of an up-to-date knowledge-base theoretical account exposing a 24-hour anticipation form sing the possibility of the driver traveling to kip piece at the wheel, and a guidance wheel detector system capable of placing humdrum driving intervals, such as those in main roads, every bit good as unusual maneuvering motions as a consequence of driver weariness. Lane trailing is another attack taken to place distraction forms while driving. SafeTRAC, by AssistWare Technology [ 8 ] , consists of a picture camera located on the windscreen of the vehicle ( confronting the route ) and a splashboard mounted having device to which it is connected. The camera is able to observe lane markers in roads and issues hearable, ocular or haptic warnings if fickle drive forms, such as changeless impetuss between lanes, are observed. Sing the issues encountered in earlier systems, more importance now started being given to systems that monitored driver head motions, face and facial characteristics. MINDS ( MicroNod Detection System ) , described in [ 9 ] , paths head place and motion, with caput nodding being the chief weariness characteristic used for observing micro-sleep ( short periods of distraction ) while driving. Head motion is tracked by an array of three capacitance detectors located merely above the driver ‘s cockpit. Yet another attack was taken by David Dinges and Richard Grace [ 10 ] at the Carnegie Mellon Research Institute ( CMRI ) in the development of the PERCLOS proctor, which determines the oculus closing per centum over clip for fatigue sensing. In [ 11 ] , PERCLOS is defined as the proportion of clip the eyes are closed 80 % or more for a specified clip interval. FaceLAB [ 12 ] focal points on both face and oculus trailing, mensurating PERCLOS ( PERcentage of oculus CLOSure over clip ) and analyzing water chickweeds in existent clip ( including wink frequence and wink continuance ) . A important difference from other systems is that the absolute place of the eyelid, instead than the occlusion of the student, is used to mensurate oculus closing, doing it much more accurate. The 2001 AWAKE undertaking of the European Union [ 13 ] focused specifically on driver weariness, integrating many of the above mentioned steps. The chief end of this undertaking, ( its acronym standing for System for effectual Assessment of driver watchfulness and Warning Harmonizing to traffic hazard Estimation ) , was to supply research on the real-time, non-intrusive monitoring of the driver ‘s current province and driving public presentation. Many spouses were involved in AWAKE, including developers, makers and providers of electronics, research institutes, universities, auto makers and terminal users. The undertaking ‘s initial ends were those of accomplishing over 90 % dependability, a lower than 1 % false dismay rate and a user credence rate transcending 70 % . Car fabrication companies, such as Toyota, Nissan and DaimlerChrysler [ 9 ] are besides in the procedure of developing their ain weariness supervising systems.Research Based SystemsMany research documents closely related to driver fatigue monitoring have been published in recent old ages. Assorted attacks have been proposed, among which skin coloring material information has been really popular. Smith [ 14 ] nowadayss a system based on skin coloring material predicates to find weariness from oculus wink rate and caput rotary motion information. Similarly, in the gaze way monitoring system proposed by Wahlstrom et Al. [ 15 ] , coloring material predicates are used to turn up the lip part by finding those pels that match the needed coloring material values. Face extraction by skin coloring material cleavage utilizing the normalized RGB skin coloring material theoretical account is adopted in both [ 16 ] and [ 17 ] . Veeraraghavan and Papanikolopoulos [ 16 ] developed a system to observ e forms of micro-sleep by continuously tracking the driver ‘s eyes. PERCLOS is the fatigue characteristic measured in Aryuanto and Limpraptono ‘s system [ 17 ] . Horng and Chen [ 18 ] attempted to utilize the HSI coloring material theoretical account to take the consequence of brightness from the image. Machine acquisition is another common attack to tire sensing. Yang et Al. [ 19 ] choose to follow a Bayesian Network based â€Å" probabilistic model † to find the fatigue degree. A Bayesian Network theoretical account is besides constructed in [ 20 ] , where Zhu and Lan track multiple ocular cues, including caput and oculus motions and facial looks via two cameras, one for the face and the other concentrating specifically on the eyes, every bit good as Infra-Red illuminators to illume up the needed countries of the face. A nervous web attack is adopted by D'Orazio et Al. [ 21 ] and RibariA†¡ et Al. [ 22 ] in their proposed systems. In [ 21 ] , the oculus is detected based on the border information of the flag, with its darker coloring material doing it much easier to turn up. A back extension nervous web is trained to sort the province of the eyes ( either unfastened or closed ) . On the other manus, in [ 22 ] , a intercrossed nervous web and a combination of the â€Å" HMAX theoretical account † and â€Å" Viola-Jones sensor † together with a Multi-Layer Perceptron ( MLP ) are used to turn up the face. The grade of caput rotary motion, oculus closing and oral cavity openness are the fatigue steps calculated. To sort driver public presentation informations, Liang et Al. [ 23 ] make usage of Support Vector Machines ( SVMs ) . They focus on cognitive ( mental ) , instead than ocular driver distractions. For fast face and facial characteristic sensing, the method proposed by Viola and Jones affecting a boosted cascade of characteristics based on Haar ripples is adopted in a figure of documents, including [ 24 ] and [ 25 ] . Often, a loanblend of techniques are used to obtain better consequences for driver weariness sensing. Saradadevi and Bajaj [ 26 ] usage Viola-Jones ‘ method for mouth sensing and SVMs to right sort normal and yawning oral cavity cases. On the contrary, the one presented by Narole and Bajaj [ 27 ] combines pixel-based skin coloring material cleavage for face sensing and a mixture of nervous webs and familial algorithms to optimally find the weariness index, with the nervous web being given as initial input values for oculus closing and oscitance rate.Other Fatigue Mo nitoring SystemsAs with drivers in autos, pilots in aircrafts are obviously capable to tire, chiefly due to the drawn-out flight continuances. NTI Inc. and Science Applications International Corporation ( SAIC ) [ 28 ] designed the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool ( FAST ) , a system intended to track and foretell weariness degrees for U.S. Air Force pilots, based on the SAFTE ( Sleep, Activity, Fatigue and Task Effectiveness ) theoretical account created by Dr. Steven Hursh. Another application in which weariness monitoring is utile is in the bar of Computer Vision Syndrome [ 29 ] , a status caused by working for drawn-out hours in forepart of show devices, such as computing machine proctors. Matsushita et Al. [ 30 ] besides developed a wearable weariness monitoring system which detects marks of weariness based on caput motions. The broad assortment of different applications developed to supervise weariness is an grounds of the turning importance of this field. The focal point in the following portion of the literature reappraisal will switch to the weariness analysis attack taken in this thesis: the sensing of faces and their characteristics in images. The implicit in methods and algorithms typically used in this procedure will be discussed.Reappraisal on Face and Facial Feature Detection TechniquesKnowledge-based methodsDetecting faces in knowledge-based techniques involves the encryption of a set of simple regulations specifying the features of the human face, including pixel strengths in the images and the places and correlativities between the different characteristics, since these are common to all human existences. In a knowledge-based method presented by Yang and Huang [ 31 ] , a hierarchy of grayscale images of different declarations together with three different classs of regulations are used. The images are analysed for possible face campaigners by using regulations that have to make with the cell strength distribution of the human face. An betterment to this multi-resolution method was proposed by Kotropoulos and Pitas [ 32 ] . Alternatively of ciphering the mean pixel strength of each cell, merely those for each image row and column are computed, organizing perpendicular and horizontal profiles severally. To vouch a high sensing rate, the regulations in knowledge-based methods must neither be excessively general nor excessively specific, and hence, the coevals of regulations for the face must be performed really carefully. Because of the complexness required in coding all possible face constellations, rule-based techniques do non provide for different face airss [ 33 ] , doing them decidedly inappropriate for weariness monitoring applications.Feature-based methodsFeature-based attacks to confront sensing differ in a important manner from rule-based techniques in that they foremost attempt to place a individual ‘s facial properties and later find whether the latter are valid plenty to represent a human face, ensuing in the sensing of that face.Facial FeaturesThe presence of faces in images is frequently determined by trying to observe facial characteristics such as the eyes, nose and mouth. In a method presented by Sirehoy [ 34 ] , the egg-shaped nature of the human face is used as the footing for face sensing in grayscale images with littered backgrounds. Due to the different visual aspects of facial characteristics in images, Leung et Al. [ 35 ] usage a combination of several local characteristic sensors utilizing Gaussian derivative filters together with a statistical theoretical account of the geometrical distances between these characteristics to guarantee accurate face localisation. Han et Al. [ 36 ] , on the other manus, usage morphological operations that focus chiefly on the oculus part in their efforts to observe faces, based on the logical thinking that this is the most consistent facial part in different light conditions. A more robust and flexible feature-based system was presented by Yow and Cipolla [ 37 ] . The theoretical account cognition of the face that is used screens a wider country, including the superciliums, eyes, nose and mouth. A figure of Partial Face Groups ( PFGs ) , tantamount to a subset of these characteristic points ( 4 ) , are used to provide for partial face occlusions.Face TextureAnother face cue that is used for sensing intents is its textural form, this being specific to worlds and hence easy discriminable from other forms. Manian and Ross [ 38 ] present an algorithm that uses the symmetricalness and uniformity of the facial form as the footing of sensing. Rikert et Al. [ 39 ] tackle texture-based sensing in a different manner, utilizing a statistical method that learns to correctly sort whether an image contains a face or non.Skin ColourMany plants related to human clamber coloring material as a face sensing cue have been presented in recent old ages. Detection can be either pixel-based or region-based. The former attack is normally taken, in which each pel is analysed and classified as either tegument or non-skin. Two chief picks are made during this procedure: the coloring material infinite and tegument modeling method. Harmonizing to [ 40 ] , the normalized RGB, HSV and YCrCb coloring material infinites are typically used to pattern skin coloring material. Normalized RGB [ 41 – 45 ] is reported to be consistent in different light conditions and face orientations. On the other manus, YCrCb [ 46 – 48 ] and HSV [ 49 – 51 ] are normally chosen since they specifically separate the luminosity and chrominance constituents of the images. In [ 40 ] , several other tegument patterning techniques normally adopted are mentioned.Template matching methodsAnother proposed method for face sensing involves the storage of forms of the face and its characteristics, which are so compared to existent face images and given a correlativity value ( i.e. the degree of similarity between the existent image and the stored form ) . The higher this value, the greater is the opportunity that the image contains a face. Works on templet fiting techniques in recent old ages have focused both on fixed and variable-size ( deformable ) templets.Fixed-size TemplatesFengjun et Al. [ 52 ] and Ping et Al. [ 53 ] usage a combination of skin coloring material cleavage and templet matching for face sensing. Two grayscale templets with predefined sizes – one covering the whole face and the other concentrating merely on the part incorporating the two eyes – are utilised in both systems. Fixed-size templets, although straightforward to implement, miss adaptability to different caput places since sensing is greatly affected by the orientation defined in the templet.Deformable TemplatesAn improved templet matching method is one in which the templet can be altered to better reflect the input images and therefore would be able to place a wider assortment of faces in different airss. Yuille et Al. [ 54 ] propose deformable oculus and mouth templet matching in their work. Initially, the templets are parameterized through pre-processing to bespeak the expected form of both characteristics. The work presented by Lanitis et Al. [ 55 ] besides parameterizes the templet s, concentrating on the coevals of flexible molded human face theoretical accounts through the usage of a â€Å" Point Distribution Model † ( PDM ) [ 56 ] which is trained on a figure of images per individual with characteristic fluctuations within and between faces.Appearance-based methodsRather than being based on a set of preset templets, appearance-based face sensing relies on machine larning techniques that identify the presence of faces and their major features after a procedure of developing on existent universe informations. One of the most widely adopted machine larning attacks for face sensing are nervous webs, chiefly because of the success they achieved in other applications affecting pattern acknowledgment. Rowley et Al. [ 57 ] propose a robust multi-layer multi-network nervous web that takes as input pre-processed 20Ãâ€"20 grayscale pel images to which a filter is applied at each pel place, returning a face correlativity value from -1 to 1. The concealed beds o f the nervous web are designed to supervise different shaped countries of the human face, such as both eyes utilizing a 20Ãâ€"5 pel window and single eyes and other characteristics with the 5Ãâ€"5 and 10Ãâ€"10 Windowss. The web so outputs another mark finding the presence or otherwise of a face in a peculiar window. Yang et Al. [ 58 ] establish their system on a Sparse Network of Winnows ( SNoW ) [ 59 ] . Two mark nodes ( â€Å" linear units † ) patterning face and non-face form characteristics are used in this instance. The active characteristics ( with binary representation ) in an input illustration are first identified and given as input to the web. The mark nodes are â€Å" coupled via leaden borders † to a subset of the characteristics. To update the weights for farther preparation, the Winnow update regulation method developed by Littlestone [ 60 ] is adopted. A additive categorization technique in the signifier of Support Vector Machines ( SVMs ) was used to observe faces in an application presented by Osuna et al [ 61 ] in 1997. While the bulk of machine acquisition attacks ( including nervous webs ) effort to take down the â€Å" empirical hazard † , i.e. the mistake value in the preparation procedure, SVMs attempt to cut down the upper edge of the expected generalisation mistake in a procedure called â€Å" structural hazard minimisation † . Viola and Jones [ 62 ] present a rapid object sensing system holding face sensing as its motive. A important difference from other proposed systems is that rectangular characteristics, instead than pels, nowadays in the inputted grayscale images are used as the bases for categorization. This has the consequence of increasing the velocity of the overall procedure. Viola and Jones ‘ method will be discussed in item in the following chapter of this thesis.Purposes and AimsFamiliarization with the OpenCV tool. Literature Review about bing systems and methods to be used in this Dissertation. Fast face sensing utilizing Viola-Jones technique. Execution of multiple facial characteristics used to find the fatigue degree. Application of Support Vector Machine classifier to observe unsafe state of affairss such as driver kiping etc. Real-time execution of the proposed methods within OpenCV.MethodsViola-Jones technique for face sensing. Support vector machines to sort facial visual aspect ( e.g. open/closed eye/mouth ) . Features to be taken into consideration: caput motion, oculus closing and frequence of oral cavity gap ( bespeaking yawning ) . Eye weariness steps include PERCLOS ( PERcentage Eye CLOSure over clip ) and AECS ( Average Eye Closure Speed ) .EvaluationComparing the developed system to other systems found in literature in footings of preciseness, callback and truth. Deducing some trial informations on which the algorithms will be tested. Test topics seeking out the application. Showing the consequences obtained.DeliverablesProgress Report. Review Report. 2 page abstract for ICT Final YearA Student Projects Exhibition. Presentation Slides and Poster. Spiral and difficult edge transcripts of the Dissertation Report. C++ application, preparation and testing resources.Section 2: Work PlanWork done so farCollected and read several documents related to bing driver weariness systems and face sensing in general. Completed the first bill of exchange of the literature reappraisal. Familiarized myself with the OpenCV environment. Used a webcam to capture two short cartridge holders inside a auto, one in sunny and the other in cloud-covered conditions. Collected 2000 positive and 4000 negative images for face sensing. Positive images: 1500 taken from FERET grayscale face database, the other 500 from the captured cartridge holders. Negative images: created a C++ application to randomly choice non-relevant countries of the frames of the two captured cartridge holders. Created another C++ application to be able to harvest the positive images to bespeak merely the needed rectangular countries, bring forthing a text file to be used in the preparation procedure. Used this information to bring forth a classifier for faces in XML format with OpenCV ‘s Haar preparation public-service corporation.SubtasksCompute truth, preciseness and callback values for the face sensing preparation. Trial with new picture cartridge holders and observing the consequences obtained. Perform Cross Validation. Train the classifier for oral cavities, once more utilizing positive and negative images. For oculus sensing, an already generated classifier will be used. Extract characteristics from face, oculus and mouth sensing. Integrate and utilize a C++ library for support vector machines, such as libSVM, to sort facial visual aspect. Write Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Evaluation, Results, Future Work and Conclusion of the Dissertation Report. Write Review Report. Write 2 page abstract for ICT Final YearA Student Projects Exhibition. Work on Presentation Slides and Poster.Schedule ( Gantt Chart )Section 3: Mentions[ 1 ] D. Dinges, M. Mallis, G. Maislin and J. Powell ( 1998 ) . â€Å" Concluding study: Evaluation of Techniques for Ocular Measurement as an Index of Fatigue and the Basis for Alertness Management † , U.S. Dept. 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Costeira ( 1999 ) . â€Å" Active Face and Feature Tracking † , Proceedings of the tenth International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing, pp. 572 – 576, [ online ] , Last accessed on 13th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.33.893 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf [ 52 ] L. Fengjun, A. Haizhou, L. Luhong and X. Guangyou ( 2000 ) . â€Å" Face Detection Based on Skin Color and Template Matching † , Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Image and Graphics, [ online ] , Last accessed on 14th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //202.197.191.206:8080/44/course/chap03/sourse/colorfacedetect.pdf [ 53 ] S. T. Y. Ping, C. H. Weng and B. Lau, â€Å" Face Detection Through Template Matching and Color Segmentation † , Stanford University, [ online ] , Last accessed on 14th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.stanford.edu/class/ee368/Project_03/Project/reports/ee368group04.pdf [ 54 ] A. L. Yuille, P. W. Hallinan and D. S. Cohen ( 1992 ) . â€Å" Feature Extraction from Faces utilizing Deformable Templates † , International Journal of Computer Vision, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 99 – 111, [ online ] , Last accessed on 14th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ittc.ku.edu/~potetz/EECS_741/SuggestedReadings/Lecture_14_Yuille_DeformableTemplates_IJCV92.pdf [ 55 ] A. Lanitis, C. J. Taylor and T. F. Cootes ( 1995 ) . â€Å" An Automatic Face Identification System Using Flexible Appearance Models † , Image and Vision Computing, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 393 – 401, [ online ] , Last accessed on 14th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bmva.org/bmvc/1994/bmvc-94-006.pdf [ 56 ] T. F. Cootes, A. Hill, C. J. Taylor and J. Haslam ( 1994 ) . â€Å" The Use of Active Shape Models For Locating Structures in Medical Images † , Image and Vision Computing, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 355 – 366, [ online ] , Last accessed on 15th November 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sci.utah.edu/~gerig/CS7960-S2010/handouts/ivc95.pdf [ 57 ] H. A. Rowley, S. Baluja and T. Kanade ( 1998 ) . â€Å" Neural Network Based Face Detection † , IEEE Transactions On Pattern Analysis and Machine intelligence, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 23 – 38, [ online ] , Last accessed on 4th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseer.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.110.5546 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf [ 58 ] M.-H. Yang, D. Roth and N. Ahuja ( 2000 ) . â€Å" A SNoW-Based Face Detector † , Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 12, MIT Press, pp. 855 – 861, [ online ] , Last accessed on 4th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.41.152 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf [ 59 ] N. Rizzolo ( 2005 ) . â€Å" SNoW: Sparse Network of Winnows † , Cognitive Computation Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005, [ online – presentation ] , Last accessed on 5th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //cogcomp.cs.illinois.edu/tutorial/SNoW.pdf [ 60 ] N. Littlestone ( 1988 ) . â€Å" Learning Quickly when Irrelevant Attributes Abound. A New Linear-threshold Algorithm † , Machine Learning 2, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 285 – 318, [ online ] , Last accessed on 5th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.130.9013 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf [ 61 ] E. Osuna, R. Freund and F. Girosi ( 1997 ) . â€Å" Training Support Vector Machines: An Application to Face Detection † , Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 130 – 136, [ online ] , Last accessed on 5th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.9.6021 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf [ 62 ] P. Viola and M. Jones ( 2001 ) . â€Å" Rapid Object Detection utilizing a Boosted Cascade of Simple Features † , Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 511 – 518, [ online ] , Last accessed on 5th December 2010, Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.137.9386 & A ; rep=rep1 & A ; type=pdf

Fusion of Real and Unreal Realms

Magic realism – fusion of real and unreal realms. A comparison of F. Weldon's â€Å"Puffball† and J. Winterson's â€Å"The Passion† â€Å"My most important problem was destroying the lines of demarcation that separates what seems real from what seems fantastic† – Gabriel Garcia Marquez At the beginning, let me introduce the term: â€Å"magic realism†. As we can read in N. Lindstrom's book â€Å"Twentieth-Century Spanish American Literature (University of Texas Press: Austin. 1994): â€Å"Magic Realism is a narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality.It is characterized by an equal acceptance of the ordinary and the extraordinary. Magic realism fuses (1) lyrical and, at times, fantastic writing with (2) an examination of the character of human existence and (3) an implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite. † I would like to make a comparison of two excellent novels: F. Weldon's â€Å"Puffball † and J. Winterson's â€Å"The Passion† based on the definition. First of all, I would like to present an interesting relation between these two titles, that is to say, an appearance of two opposite groups of characters in each of the novels: a factual and a surreal type of a personage.Fay Weldon in â€Å"Puffball† portrays this relationship in a surprising way: a factual type is a man, and surreal type is a woman. Let me introduce you to Richard and Tucker, the first one is a husband to Liffey, a city oriented, down to earth person, working in a big corporation. The second one, who is married to Mabs, in spite of being aware of his wife strange powers, is a simple farmer. In opposite, we have females: Liffey, a girl whose process of changing into a women (what I mean here is her being pregnant) is a beginning of her new, closer to Nature life which enables her to gain new abilities.Next, we have Mabs, a regular country-side witch, daughter of Nature, who tries t o stop a birth of something new and unexpected – a new sorcerers and her baby . In the book, these women are a connection between a world of unknown and fictitious happenings and reality. They are like remainders of Nature's true power. By contrast, the men (especially Richard) symbolise lust and earthly pleasures, warning us that forgetting about our Ancient Mother may complicate our lives. Also, in Jeanette Winterson's novel we have this relationship (real versus unreal heroes).Henri, a perfectly normal, young man, who however later encounters different surreal situation, follows the Emperor because of his love and respect for him. Domino, who likewise belongs to the first group of characters, is a ordinary stableman, who takes care of Napoleon's stable, loves horses and Bonaparte's mistress – Josephine. On the contrary, we have a mysterious girl without a heart, Villanell, who comes from a city as mysterious as she is – Venice. She tries to return to her home land of wonders to finally start leaving a â€Å"real† life.Likewise Patrick, an Irish priest, who possesses an extraordinary eye, which enables him to see beyond the horizon and who is banished from his motherland. While being a Napoleon's solder he misses his home. Here, we can observe a quest for love. Henri and Domino have something that Villanelle and Patrick do not have – a hope, while the last two are left with a voice of reason which shows that sometimes love is not enough. Next I would like to head to issues concerning a choice of places in these novels. In â€Å"The Puffball† we have an opposition of London (city) and Somerset (country side).It is the countryside, where all amazing situations which cannot be explained happen. Maybe it is caused by the fact that it is located in a shadow of a mountain which is believed to be mystic – Glastonbury Tor. On the contrary, London is a down to earth place, people live their lives and do not think about something different than related to this reality. From the ancient times, countryside was identified with witchcraft and magic, there were legends about forests which surrounded villages, about eerie things occurring at nights. People felt living in a countryside was unsafe.Instead, city was like a safe zone, where you might have been anonymous however you were never alone. A city was a place where everything was reasonable, explainable, and most of all it was safe – you had not to worry about something unrealistic. Russia in â€Å"The Passion† provides us with a harsh reality of war: we are witnessing death, cold, fear. We are being led through this country of suffer by Henri, Patrick and Villanelle. It is like an escape route to a better, fairy-tale like world – Venice. In Venice, we can observe a new interesting way of presenting unreality: a city within a city.The underworld of Venice, the kingdom of mysterious, but dangerous people, where nothing is sure an d known (even laws of physics), where you cannot be sure if you are going in a right direction. Venice is like a maze, here you can hide yourself and your feelings. Every night the city starts to bloom – it is a city of sin and fun. On the other hand, Russia is a sad and cold place, where is only an empty space of white. At the steppe you cannot deceive yourself, run or hide because there is merely snow. I would like to devote the last section to events of these two novels.In Fey Weldon's book Richard leads a normal, middle class life in the city of no hope or glory. He is working at the city, trying to overcome his desires, and eventually to avoid responsibility for what he had done. His relationship with Liffey shows his lack of imagination, his numerous romances and constant unfaithfulness to his pregnant wife makes him miserable man. For instance, his affairs with Bella, Miss Martin and Helga – it is ridiculous how these affairs start to rule his life. On the other hand, we have Liffey and her efforts to reborn to Nature.She constantly tries to defy Mabs black-magic, and thanks to her unborn baby she awakens to the world of Nature and witchcraft. The opposite of incidents from Richard's life and unusual happenings which for Liffy becomes a daily bread, shows us how sometimes ignorance shut our eyes to a reality of an another person – Richard denies that Liffey's life is also real and that she did not make up all the extraordinary happenings. In â€Å"The Passion† we are presented to the life of Henri's village. It is a daily life of normal farmers, where an only surreal and extraordinary event was an elope of a lady (Henri's mother) with a farmer (the father).Whereas Villanelle's world is different, it is a world where you can steal someone's hart (literally) and lock it up in a jar, where a icicle with a pendant inside does not melt. Here, you have to prepare for unknown. An ordinary, countryside life and an exotic Venice life are like a water and fire. Sometimes, we fails to observe that simple is better and that not always we should seek for an excitement. As we can see, in both novels we have prominent elements of magic realism. The opposition real versus unreal can be made in each of the group of instances mentioned above, which are in sequence: characters, places and happenings.Also, I would like to point out that in â€Å"Puffball† a witchcraft is a main theme for the surreal parts, while, in â€Å"The Passion† an urban legend performs this function. A fusion of two world is inevitable, we cannot argue that the unreal elements should not be used and we cannot separate them from the real ones, because these stories would not be as complete and enchanting as they are now. At the end, to recapitulate my thesis, I would like to quote Albert Einstein: â€Å"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. †

Free Essays on A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Betty Smith: Brooklyn Growth I.About the Author Through the many works of her career, Betty Smith became Brooklyn's unofficial advocate and was published to critical acclaim and best-seller status with her commentary of the general struggle through life in the early 1900s. Smith, like her main character, grew up impoverished in early twentieth century Brooklyn and went to the University of Michigan without a high school diploma, where she took literary classes and wrote plays. Smith went on to win the Avery Hopkins Award for work in drama, taught a three-year playwriting course at Yale, wrote features for a Detroit newspaper, worked under the auspices of the Works Project Administration in the Federal Theatre project in New York. Her writings during this period of her career garnered a Rockefeller Fellowship, a Dramatist Guild Fellowship, and the Sir Walter Raleigh award for fiction. As the critics lauded A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (it was the first work of fiction by a woman to occupy first place on the New York Times best seller list), the press and the public fell in love with the working-class celebrity of Betty Smith. Smith’s novels were characteristically by, for, and about the underprivileged and the events, politics, and ideals which surround them. The prestige of writing a best-selling critically lauded book brought assignments from the New York Times Magazine where, among other things, she wrote an acclaimed piece called "Why Brooklyn is that Way." Throughout the years, Smith’s works have garnered numerous critical and literary praises and has been cited as an influence in many writers and public figures lives. Oprah Winfrey has named it one of the most influential books in her life and has since promoted it in her Book of the Month Club; The New York Public Library even chose the book as one of the "Books of the Century." Theme: In Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Smith shows the effects of alcoholism, tr... Free Essays on A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Free Essays on A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Betty Smith: Brooklyn Growth I. About the Author Through the many works of her career, Betty Smith became Brooklyn's unofficial advocate and was published to critical acclaim and best-seller status with her commentary of the general struggle through life in the early 1900s. Smith, like her main character, grew up impoverished in early twentieth century Brooklyn and went to the University of Michigan without a high school diploma, where she took literary classes and wrote plays. Smith went on to win the Avery Hopkins Award for work in drama, taught a three-year playwriting course at Yale, wrote features for a Detroit newspaper, worked under the auspices of the Works Project Administration in the Federal Theatre project in New York. Her writings during this period of her career garnered a Rockefeller Fellowship, a Dramatist Guild Fellowship, and the Sir Walter Raleigh award for fiction. As the critics lauded A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (it was the first work of fiction by a woman to occupy first place on the New York Times best seller list), the press and the public fell in love with the working-class celebrity of Betty Smith. Smith’s novels were characteristically by, for, and about the underprivileged and the events, politics, and ideals which surround them. The prestige of writing a best-selling critically lauded book brought assignments from the New York Times Magazine where, among other things, she wrote an acclaimed piece called "Why Brooklyn is that Way." Throughout the years, Smith’s works have garnered numerous critical and literary praises and has been cited as an influence in many writers and public figures lives. Oprah Winfrey has named it one of the most influential books in her life and has since promoted it in her Book of the Month Club; The New York Public Library even chose the book as one of the "Books of the Century." Theme: In Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Smith shows the effects of alcoholism, tr...

The Devil’s Backbone Essay Example

The Devil’s Backbone Essay Example The Devil’s Backbone Essay The Devil’s Backbone Essay â€Å"The Devil’s Backbone† by Jonathan Daniels is a thriller set on the Spanish Civil War. It was about ghosts in a Spanish boy’s school, or rather, an orphanage run by the widow of an activist fighting for freedom. A young boy enters the school, unaware that he was orphaned, and he was the one who the ghost came to. An older youth took a dislike of him and the ghost terrifyingly cried out for help. And it is him the ghost keeps asking for help.A former student, who was then the school’s handyman hated the place with a passion. The cook turns out to be his fiancà ©e and they are planning to escape from there and buy a farm, but for the meantime, he greedily watches over gold ingots hidden away for the Republican army.The young boy, Carlos, eventually uncovers the secret that haunts the school and the connection between the disappearance of a young student the night the bomb fell into the courtyard and the avarice and brutality that have crept into the sc hool from an outside world enflamed by war.It is a story not merely based on ghosts but also a movie that empathizes with orphans. It tackles the traumatic experiences during the time of Spanish war but through the eyes of a child, giving a lighter perception. It also talks about, between the lines, about the mercenary and evil that was also going on at the time, as well as the non-fictional realities. Human frailties and emotional stuff.

10 Tips To Make Your First Tattoo Successful

10 Tips To Make Your First Tattoo Successful It may be clichà ©, but a tattoo is for life. You have no timetable. Before acting out, be sure that you are ready. Remember that you are continually evolving as a person. When you are about to get inked for life, consider that your tastes may not be the same in the future. For example, your tattoo of Britpop Blur group may not have the same effect in 10 years. Do not look for a discount. A tattoo is an investment. He will be there for several years, ideally. If you start looking for a discount, you may end up with a worse result than expected. Do your homework. Before going to see a tattoo artist, decide which style you like. Then search for artists who practice this technique. Then, do not hesitate to see them discuss what you want. They can advise you and help you make an informed choice. Choose the right moment. The temperature can significantly affect the healing process of your tattoo. Try to avoid the hot weather of the summer and the dry cold of the winter. Autumn and spring are the ideal moments. Listen to your tattoo artist. If the tattoo artist tells you that your drawing will not be beautiful once on your skin or that the location you have chosen is not ideal, trust him. He knows what he is doing. Prepare to get hurt.Yes, it hurts. Not a lot of pain, but still enough. Especially if the room you have taken is large enough. If you want, bring in headphones. Listening to music at the same time can help change the nonsense. Stay hydrated and feed. Getting a tattoo can be very physically demanding. Thats why its important to come to your appointment with a full stomach and a good thirst. We suggest you bring a bottle of water and a snack. Take care of your new tattoo Listen carefully to the instructions of your tattoo artist. During the first days, you have an open wound on your body. It is essential to clean it often with unscented soap. Once your tattoo has dried, create it as if your life depended on it. Avoid Polysporin or other disinfectants. Instead, favor moisturizing creams like Aveeno. You do not have to justify yourself to anyone. Once the tattoo is on your skin, it belongs to you. If you do not feel like talking about it, do not talk about it. It does not concern anyone except you.

7 page English Research Paper with 5 Annotations of 3 pages each and Essay

7 page English Research Paper with 5 Annotations of 3 pages each and 10 sources on Works Cited Page not all from iternet. The Topic and Thesis should be not to - Essay Example If not, they would not stand a chance against armed criminals. At the same time, however, Adams and Jennison report that the use of firearms by police officers jeopardizes the lives of citizens, places police officers at the risk of being shot with their own weapons and importantly, of unnecessarily inflicting grievous, possibly fatal, bodily harm upon suspects (Adams and Jennison, 447). Accordingly, while police officers need to carry firearms, their crime-fighting arsenal should be supplemented by less than lethal weapons such as tasers. While tasers have their shortcomings and cannot act as a replacement for traditional firearms, with the proper training they can significantly contribute to law enforcement’s ability to fight crime without unnecessarily inflicting grievous bodily harm or putting innocent bystanders in harm’s way. Guns are a source of the majority of the nation’s violent crimes. As Hemenway and Weil explain, â€Å"guns in the United States currently exact a terrible toll: over 1,500 accidental deaths per year, close to 12,000 homicides and more than 17,000 suicides† (94). In other words, apart from the deliberate use of guns in the commission of crimes, guns are responsible for several thousands of preventable deaths per year. Despite this, however, the very notion of banning firearms is unrealistic. The American public believes that it has an inalienable right to bear arms for the purposes of self-defence. Given Constitutional provisions supporting this right, it is unrealistic to assume that any gun ban proposal will ever successfully pass into federal legislature or ever be implemented (Hemenway and Weil, 94-96). Therefore, irrespective of the role which the proliferation of guns in society play in the country’s ever-increasing crime rights, solutions to the problem ca nnot assume the form of gun bans. In other words, the most straightforward solution to the problem is simply

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Psychology - Essay Example 3. William Wundt founded structuralism. It focuses on breaking down mental processes into basic components. It is considered to be the first school of psychology. William James created functionalism and it focused on individual differences specifically focusing on the purpose of the consciousness and types of behavior. Lastly, the Gestalt school was focused on the opposite of structuralism in that they were more interested in the whole being the sum of its individual parts. 4. Anna Freud made significant contributions to the field of psychoanalysis like her father. She is considered to have started the field of psychoanalytic child psychology. June Etta Downey was an American psychologist who was one of the first to study personality from a scientific approach. Letta Stetter Hollingworth was feminist psychologist who was a pioneer in the field of women’s psychology. 5. Humanistic psychology emphasizes the will of the individual. People are capable of making choices, which influence their health and well being. Humanistic psychologists also take into consideration the effect that environment has on an individual. Behaviorism is based off observable behavior, which is what makes classical conditioning and operant conditioning a component of this theory. They also believe that all learning occurs through some form of observation. 6. Conscious thought processes are readily accessible to the person. This consists of the actions, cognitions, and beliefs, which are at the surface. Unconscious processes exist below the consciousness and are not accessible. Information from this level passes back and forth unknown to the person. Freud hypothesized that this information manifests itself in dreams. Unconscious processes cannot be observed directly, unlike conscious processes. 7. The first step for psychologists would be to determine what construct of love they would want to study.

Contemporary issues in human resource management Assignment

Contemporary issues in human resource management - Assignment Example The study aims at highlighting the contemporary issues involved in human resource management, such as discriminations, job stress, safety issues, emotional labour, diversity, and employee burnout. In this report specifically the issue of Virgin Australia Airline has been chosen and their new policy of not allowing male passengers to sit beside children, as they are considered unsafe. This policy was regarded as a discrimination approach of Virgin Airlines, by its male customer. In such cases the role of human resource management and the department needs to be evaluated. Human resource management (HRM) plays a very important role in the development of modern economies. The difference between developed and developing countries lies in difference in their human resources, otherwise most of the resources are same. It has been seen that though exploiting the financial, physical, natural resources are very important in modern times, but none of them are as important as committed and efficient work force. It is often said that most of the development come from the human minds (Robbins, and Coulter, 2008, p. 366-367). The traditional importance of HRM was due to the recruitment and selection process which they handled, but now a strategic approach of HRM in administration, personnel management and other accomplishments have made the role of HRM momentous in organizations. There are numerous additional roles that the human resource department of the company has to supervise along with staffing and selection of the employees. These roles includes training the employees, monitoring performance of the employee for appraisal, job analysis, ascertaining the remuneration for a particular job position.., allotting incentives for good performance, taking care of the employee benefit policies of the company, acting as a communication channel between the employees and the top level management, developing employee welfare, safety and health care plans, taking care of promotions, transfers, maintaining industrial relationships, handling the issues of the Trade Union, solving disputes within the employees or departments, assessing the ethical issues in the department or organization, etc (Aswathappa, 2008, p. 5-6). The human resource department also has the responsibility to ensure that gender discrimination does not prevail in the organisation on the basis of gend er, according to the Civil Rights Act 1964 (Kurtz, and Boone, 2008, p. 54). Problem Areas This section involves the contemporary issues of human resource with respect to Virgin Australia Airline. The company has recently reviewed its policies in which they have restricted men to sit beside children on the flights. The policy

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