Thursday, October 31, 2019

History of American Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of American Economics - Essay Example The US economy has overthrown all other economies since then and is ever-growing with the passage of time. A brief chart is given below for further understanding. Table 1: RAILROAD MILEAGE INCREASE BY GROUPS OF STATES 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 New England 2,507 3,660 4,494 5,982 6,831 Middle States 3,202 6,705 10,964 15,872 21,536 Southern States 2,036 8,838 11,192 14,778 29,209 Western States and Territories 1,276 11,400 24,587 52,589 62,394 Pacific States and Territories 23 1,677 4,080 9,804 TOTAL USA 9,021 30,626 52,914 93,301 129,774 SOURCE: Chauncey M. Depew (ed.), One Hundred Years of American Commerce 1795-1895 p 111 (Source Wikipedia) The independent yeoman farmer continued to exist, particularly in New England and the middle colonies, but most settled land in North America by 1750 was devoted to the cultivation of a cash crop. New England turned its land over to the raising of meat products for export. The middle colonies were the principal producers of grains. By 1700 Philadelphia exported more than 350,000 bushels of wheat and more than 18,000 tons of flour annually. The Southern colonies were, of course, even more closely tied to the cash crop system. South Carolina, aided by British incentives, turned to the production of rice and indigo. North Carolina, although less oriented toward the market economy than South Carolina, was nevertheless one of the principal suppliers of naval stores. Virginia and Maryland steadily increased their economic dependence on tobacco and on the London merchants who purchased that tobacco; and for the most part they ignored those who recommended that they diversify their economie s by turning part of their land over to the cultivation of wheat. Their near-total dependence upon the world tobacco price would ultimately prove disastrous, but for most of the 18th century Virginia and Maryland soil remained productive enough to make a single-crop system reasonably useful. As America evolved from subsistence to commercial agriculture, an influential commercial class increased its power in nearly every colony. Boston was the centre of the merchant elite of New England, who not only dominated economic life but also wielded social and political power as well.. And it is clear that the commercial importance of the colonies was increasing. During the years 1700-10, approximately 265,000 sterling was exported annually to Great Britain from the colonies, with roughly the same amount being imported by the Americans from Great Britain. By the decade 1760-70, that figure had risen to more than 1,000,000 sterling of goods exported annually to Great Britain and 1,760,000 annually imported from Great Britain. (Source Britannica encyclopedia) Situation now days The United States of America holds the honor of world's greatest economic power in terms of gross national product (GNP) and is among the greatest powers in terms of GNP per capita. The nation's wealth is partly a reflection of its rich natural resources. With only 5 percent of the world's population, the United States produces nearly one-fifth of the world's output of coal, copper, and crude petroleum. The agricultural sector produces nearly one-half of the world's corn (maize); nearly one-fifth of its beef, pork, mutton, and lamb; and more than one-tenth of its wheat.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Structure and Agency in Revolutionary Theory Essay

Structure and Agency in Revolutionary Theory - Essay Example The school of culture and agency is based on the premise that repeated conditioning of individuals through their culture patterns human behaviour. Agency forwards the notion that human behaviour is determined by free will that charts the way for independent action and free will in making choices. Revolutions are occurrences in governance that result to a change in leadership, which is achieved through various means. Numerous schools of thought have been forwarded in an attempt to explain and the understanding of the making and the instigators of revolutions. This paper seeks to highlight the debate between structural theorists and the culture and agency school to the 1906 constitutional revolution in Iran. The 1906 constitutional revolution in Iran was instigated by the Shah’s extravagance, which led to the exploitation and destruction of the nation’s economy (Poulson 104). Teheran was the seat of Persian power and majority of the population was composed of merchants, noble classes, religious authorities and the educated elite who felt and understood the consequences of the Shah’s extravagance (Poulson 106). They were the main instigators of the revolution that called for the removal of the chancellor who was to blame for the dire economic situation. After the removal of the chancellor the Shah did not change his extravagant ways and the same group campaigned and advocated for the establishment of an institution would rule by law instead of royal and foreign influence. In the context of this discussion, the 1906 revolution in Iran can be viewed from both perspectives that are presented by structural theorists and the culture and agency school of thought. This is b ecause according to Skocpol, there are always structural forces that underlie the uprising of a revolution. Persia was facing an economic meltdown under the leadership of the Shah, which means the societal structure was under threat (Geels 32). This is in the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Automated Diabetic Retinopathy Detection System

Automated Diabetic Retinopathy Detection System ABSTRACT DETECTION OF EXUDATES USING GUI Automated diabetic retinopathy detection system is an essential requirement due to developing diabetic retinopathy patients around the globe. The primary intention of the research is to detect exudates in digital fundus image for diabetic retinopathy. In this particular study, we provide an efficient method for identifying and classifying the exudates as soft exudates and hard exudates. Apart from these, this study compares three methods namely Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization, Histogram Equalization and Mahalanobis Distance for enhancing a digital fundus image to detect and choose the best one to classify exudates in Retinal images by adopting graphical user interface with the help of MATLAB. From the findings of the study, in the image enhancement application of blood vessels, Mahalanobis distance is recognized as the best algorithm. It was evident from the analysis that the monitoring and detecting exudates in the fundus of the eye are essential for diabetic patien ts. Moreover, it shows that hard and soft exudates are a primary tool of diabetic retinopathy that can be quantified automatically. In addition to these, it appears that drawbacks must be resolved to predict an appropriate detection method for exudates in digital fundus images. From the findings, it was evident that suitable algorithm has to be selected and verified on several images which provide likely and excellent outcomes. LIST OF TABLES Comparison of Histogram Equalization (HE), Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and Mahalanobis Distance(MD)14 LIST OF FIGURE Image before enhancement Histogram before enhancement Image after histogram equalization Histogram after HE Image after CLAHE Histogram after CLAHE Image after Mahalanobis distance enhancement Histogram after Mahalanobis distance enhancement Flow chart of the method CIELab color space Input image K-means clustered image Morphological image Dilated image Eroded image Optic disc detection Exudates image   Hard and soft exudates Input DFI   Enhancement methods of DFI Step-1 of exudate detection Step-2 by giving input image Step-3 enhancing input image Step-4 exudates image of abnormal eye Normal eye output displaying no exudates LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AHE Adaptive Histogram Equalization CIE Commission Internationale de lEclairage CLAHE Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization CMYK Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key DRD iabetic Retinopathy DFI Digital Fundus Image HE Histogram Equalization MD Mahalanobis Distance MM Mathematical Morphology RGB Red, Green, Blue RRGS Recursive Region Growing Segmentation Chapter 1 Introduction Research Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a common disease nowadays that can prevail in anyone having type 1 or type-2 diabetes. The opportunity of being influenced by this disease relies on the time duration of a person having diabetes. Long-term diabetes leads to greater blood sugar level that causes harm by changing the flow of blood in retinal blood vessels. It is similar that in the previous stage DR shows no symptoms and hence without facing medical investigation it is not feasible to predict the existence of the disease. Exudative retinopathy is a condition referred by the occurrence of yellow or white mass that exists due to leakage of proteins and fats along with water from vessels of blood in the retina. It is important to predict the exudates occurrence in fundus oculi because the collection of these exudates may lead to complete loss of vision (Manpreetkaur, 2015). Walter et al. (2001) has mentioned that the disease of DR evolved exudates in eye fundus. The physicians regard exudates as on e of the primary indicators of DR severity. Exudates are yellow spot resided in fundus. This disease of diabetes causes leakage of fluid from vessels of blood. For a long time, uncontrolled diabetes may evolve as exudates in eye fundus. The exudates initiate to develop in little number and size. If the diabetes is not monitored or controlled for a long time the number and size of exudates will grow. The exudates growth in eye fundus may cause blindness. Tasman and Jaeger (2001) have stated that exudates seem as bright deposits of yellow-white on the retina due to lipid leakage from abnormal vessels. Their size and shape differ with various stages of retinopathy. These lesions are related to many diseases of retinal vascular involving DME (diabetic macular edema), DR (diabetic retinopathy), retinal venous obstruction, hypertensive retinopathy, radiation retinopathy and retinal arterial microaneurysms, capillary hemangioma of retina and disease of the coat. Welfera et al. (2010) have stated that exudation is a hazardous case because it can lead to a loss of vision when existing in the central macular area. Thus such lesions must be predicted, and appropriate medical intervention must be acquired to avoid damages to visual acuity of the patient. Automatic exudates detection in DR patients retinas could enhance early prediction of DR and could support doctors track the treatment progress over time. Thus it can be inferred that exudates detection by computer could provide a precise and rapid diagnosis to specialist examination and support the clinician to acquire timely decision to take proper treatment. Problem Statement: Diabetes is a rapidly developing common disease among people globally which causes various organs dysfunction. Diabetic retinopathy is the primary blindness cause in adults. Sometimes, due to long-term diabetes, the retinal blood vessels are harmed, this eye disease is known as diabetic retinopathy. It is essential to automatically predict the lesions of diabetic retinopathy at an early stage to hinder further loss of vision. Exudates are significant diabetic retinopathy symptoms. Exudates are bright lesions that are an important sign of this disease. It is the major signs of DR a major vision loss cause in diabetic patients. Primary concern of the research Aim: The primary goal of the study is to analyze an automated way for exudates in eyes. Objectives: To examine the causes of exudates in diabetic retinopathy patients. To analyze the types of exudates used in digital fund images. To evaluate the different enhancement methods used to predict the exudates in fundus images. To determine the drawbacks of enhancement methods of exudates in digital fundus images. To propose a promising algorithm to detect the exudates in digital fundus images. Limitations of the study: This study is limited to diabetic retinopathy patients. This study is restricted to exudates detection only. This study evaluates an automated way for exudates in eyes. The structure of the thesis This argument is made up of the following five chapters: Chapter 1: This is the introduction section that gives the necessary research background andconcepts related to the research. Chapter 2: This chapter is the review of literature that analyzes several existing worksrelated to finding an automated way for exudates in eyes. Chapter 3: This chapter describes the design of the system that explains in detailabout the enhancement methods applied in digital fundus image for detection of diabetic retinopathy. Chapter 4: This chapter discusses the implementation plan of digital fundus images and compares different researches done by authors and depicts the results of the proposed system. Chapter 5: This is the conclusion section that gives the outcome of the research byanswering the research questions and recommendations for future improvement. In addition to that, this thesis has bibliography containing the sources used in collecting secondary data in the study and an appendix that has tools like questionnaires are utilized in the gathering primary data for the research. Chapter-2 Literature Review Introduction: This chapter provides an overview on the detection of exudates in digital fundus image for diabetic retinopathy. This chapter discusses in detail about the digital fundus image. In addition to these, this chapter discusses in detail about the classification of exudates in retinal images. Apart from these, this study provides the comparison of Histogram equalization (HE), contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and Mahalanobis distance (MD) methods to enhance the digital fundus image for detection. Literature on Digital fundus images The benefits of digital imaging are rate of access to information (images), quick and accurate duplication, chronicling and transmission, and prompt access to the outcomes. The imaging technique can be rehashed if the nature of the underlying result is deficient. Despite the fact that film-based images can be digitized (to register macular color thickness conveyance from two different wavelength-based pictures or to evaluate the status of the optic nerve), quick access to the images is unrealistic, as it is important to build up the film first. This deferral keeps the picture from checking the outcomes and in this manner redressing any issue in the procurement procedure, which can be efficiently accomplished in digital imaging at no extra cost. The digitization of fundus photos was tended to by (Cideciyan et al., 1991) who proposed a nonlinear rebuilding model fusing four parts: the eye, the fundus camera, the film and the scanner. Scholl et al. (2004) observed digitized images to be valuable for evaluating age-connected maculopathy and age-connected macular degeneration. Comparison Table 1: Comparison of Histogram Equalization (HE), Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and Mahalanobis Distance (MD) Histogram equalization Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization Mahalanobis distance This technique is based on the specification of the histogram. CLAHE is considered as the necessary preprocessing step, and it has the tendency to generate the images for extracting the features of a pixel in the classification process. This method has carried out by identifying the pixels of the background images only by leaving the foreground images. HE is relatively straightforward technique and an invertible operator. Indiscrimination is one of the biggest disadvantages of this method. CLAHE is also denoted as the automatic and efficient method to detect the exudates effectively. The selective enhancement of MD has created the fewer artifacts for further processing than HE and CLAHE. HE has used the neighborhood-based approach on the pixels, and it has the tendency to operate based on the modification of histogram to obtain the new images efficiently. The technique of CLAHE has the capability to provide the green channel image enhancement with high quality. This method can produce the similar curve to the Gaussian-shaped curve ideally. HE has uniformly distributed the output histogram by using the cumulated histogram like the mapping function. CLAHE has limited the process of amplification by clipping the histogram at the predefined value. MD algorithm has given better histogram result when compared to HE and CLAHE Research gap: This study examines about the detection of exudates in digital fundus image for diabetic retinopathy. The research gap predicted in this study is that there are many studies on the detection of exudates in digital fundus image for diabetic retinopathy. But no studies have clearly determined the successful approaches towards the detection of diabetic retinopathy in fundus images. Detection and classification of diabetic retinopathy pathologies in fundus images have been investigated by Agurto (2012). He studied the effects of image compression and degradation on an automatic diabetic retinopathy screening algorithm. In addition to these, the Agurto et al. (2012) investigated the detection of hard exudates and red lesions in the macula using the multi-scale approach. Walter et al. (2002) carried out an investigation to contribute the image processing to the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Authors also focused on automatic detection of diabetic retinopathy from eye fundus images (Man preetkaur, 2015). There are also studies that are focused on coarse-to-fine strategy for automatically identifying exudates in color eye fundus images. Chapter-3 Research Design Introduction: This part examines the design of the study to determine an automated way for finding exudates in eyes. This study compares three methods namely CLAHE (Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization), Histogram Equalization (HE) and Mahalanobis Distance (MD) for enhancing a digital fundus image to detect and choose the best one to classify exudates in Retinal images by adopting graphical user interface in MATLAB. Research design: The reason of the study is to detect exudates in digital fundus image for diabetic retinopathy. In this particular study, we provide an efficient method for identifying and classifying the exudates as soft exudates and hard exudates. The retinal image seen in the CIELab space of the color is pre-processed for eliminating noise. Further, a network of blood vessels is removed for facilitating detection and removing the optic disc. At the same time, optic disc is removed using the technique of Hough transform. Candidate exudates are identified using the method of k-means clustering. At last, exudates are categorized as the soft and hard one by their threshold and edge energy. Developed method has yielded better outcomes. Histogram Equalization: Histogram equalization is a technique for adjusting image intensities to enhance contrast. HE is an operation that is based on histogram specification or modification to obtain new pictures. The objective of this contrast enhancement technique is to get a new enhanced image that has a uniform histogram that only plots the frequency at each gray-level from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Each histogram represents the frequency of occurrence of all gray-level in the image. Figure 1: Image before enhancement Figure 2: Histogram before equalization Figure 3: Image after histogram equalization Figure 4: Histogram after histogram equalization Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization: CLAHE is considered as a locally adaptive method for contrast enhancement. CLAHE is an enhanced version of adaptive HE (AHE) method. The technique AHE has a realistic restriction that homogenous part in the image leads to over-amplification of noise due to thin series of pixels are plotted to a whole range of visualization. In the meantime, it was noticed that contrast limited AHE (CLAHE) was designed for preventing this noise over-amplification in homogenous regions. CLAHE restricts the sound amplification in the image in such a way that image looks like very real. Figure 5: Image after CLAHE Figure 6: Histogram after CLAHE Mahalanobis Distance: Image enhancement using the Mahalanobis distance method is performed by identifying the background image pixels and eliminating them, leaving only the foreground image. It is based on the assumption that in image neighborhood N, the background pixels has significantly different intensity value than those of the foreground pixels. For each pixel (x, y) in the picture, the mean  µn (x, y) and the standard deviation à Ã†â€™n (x, y) of the statistical distribution of intensities in N are estimated. The sample means;  µn is used as the estimator for  µn (x, y) and the e sample standard deviation; à Ã†â€™ n is the estimator for à Ã†â€™n (x, y). If the intensity of pixel (x, y) is close to the mean intensity in N, it is considered to belong to the background set ÃŽÂ ². As defined mathematically in Eq. 1, the expression implies that pixel (x, y) belongs to ÃŽÂ ² if the stated condition is satisfied. Those images would later be combined to evaluate the MD image, which can be segmented using the threshold t to identify the background pixels. Figure 7: Image after MD enhancement Figure 8: Histogram after MD enhancement Summary: This research compares three methods namely CLAHE, HE, MD to enhance a digital fundus image to detect and choose the best one to classify exudates in Retinal images by adopting graphical user interface in MATLAB. It was evident from the above findings that candidate exudates are identified using the technique of Mahalanobis Distance enhancement. Chapter 4 Implementation Plan, Discussion, and Results Introduction: This chapter presents the implementation plan of detection of exudates in digital fundus images by proposed technique. The results of proposed method are also shown. Implementation Plan: The proposed system is implemented using the digital fundus images. DFIs (digital fundus images) are essential in finding the pathological fact that would lead to different diseases. However, digital fundus images have many illumination and contrast issues which make enhancement an important factor. Subsequently, digital fundus images must be developed to permit for good visualization to satisfy ophthalmologists to undertake their diagnosis. The below figure shows the implementation plan of detection of exudates in digital fundus images: Figure 9: Flow chart of the method 4.3 Conversion from RGB color space to CIELab color space A Lab color space is a color-opponent space with dimension L* for lightness and a* and b* for the color-opponent dimensions, based on nonlinearly compressed CIE XYZ color space coordinates. The CIELab color scale is an approximately uniform color range. In a standard color scale, the differences between the points plotted in the color space correspond to the visual difference between the colors plotted. The CIELab color space is organized in a cube form. The L* runs from top to bottom. The maximum for L* is 100, which represents a perfect reflecting diffuser. The minimum for L* is zero, which represents black. The a* and b* axes have no specific numerical limits. Positive a* is red, Negative a* is green. Positive b* is yellow, Negative b* is blue. Figure 10: CIELab color space It is perceptual uniform color space. Perceptual uniformity means how two colors differ from seeing when human observe that two colors. Hence uniform color spaces were defined in such way that all the colors are arranged by the perceptual difference of the colors. The L component closely matches human perception of lightness, and by having it as an independent quantity to control, it can be used to make accurate color corrections without affecting the a* and b* color twins. RGB or CMYK color spaces are designed to model the output of physical devices rather than human visual perception. This color model is used in this work to identify even a small intensity variation. K-means Clustering K-means clustering is a method of vector quantization, originally from signal processing, that is accessible for cluster analysis in data mining. K-means clustering aims to partition n observations into k clusters in which each observation belongs to the cluster with the nearest mean, serving as a prototype of the cluster. This results in a partitioning of the data space into Voronoi cells. K-Means algorithm is chosen because of its simplicity. In this work, k-means clustering is used to partition the data into groups for identifying exudates locations. K-means Usage in our project: Because of the computational simplicity of the k-means algorithm over other clustering algorithms, we decided to use the k-mean clustering in the proposed work. The k-mean clustering algorithm is a particular case of the generalized hard clustering algorithms. It is applied when point representatives are used, and the squared Euclidean Distance is adopted to measure the dissimilarities between vectors and cluster representatives. The k-means algorithm is given below. The steps involved in K-Means algorithm are: Select an initial partition with k clusters Generate a new partition by assigning each pattern to its closest cluster center. Compute new cluster centers. Continue to do steps 2 and 3 until centroids do not change. Figure 11: Input image Figure 12: k-means clustered image Blood vessel detection To facilitate exudates extraction from the pre-processed image, blood vessel network is detected and then eliminated from the picture using Morphological operations. Morphological operations can readily be used in medical image analysis as it supports powerful tools to extract pathologies. The morphological operations employed in the proposed work are given below. An important part of applying morphological operations is to decide on the shape and size of structuring element. In the proposed work, a ball-shaped structuring element of size 8, was found to be optimal for eliminating the blood vessel network from the retinal images of local database Morphological Image Processing: Mathematical morphology (MM) is a theory and technique for the analysis and treatment of geometrical structures, based on set theory, lattice theory, topology, and random functions. MM is most commonly applied to digital images, but it can be employed as well on graphs, surface meshes, solids, and many other spatial structures. Topological and geometrical continuous-space concepts such as size, shape, convexity, connectivity, and geodesic distance, were introduced by MM on both continuous and discrete spaces. MM is also the foundation of morphological image processing, which consists of a set of operators that transform images according to the above characterizations. The basic morphological operators are erosion, dilation, opening, and closing. Dilation: Dilation is one of the two first operators in the area of mathematical morphology, the other being erosion. The primary effect of the operator on a binary image is to gradually enlarge the boundaries of regions of foreground pixels (i.e. white pixels, typically). Thus areas of foreground pixels grow while holes within those regions become smaller. The dilation operator takes two pieces of data as inputs. The first is the image which is to be dilated. The second is a (usually small) set of coordinate points known as a structuring element (also referred to as a kernel). It is this structuring element that determines the precise effect of the dilation on the input image. Figure 13: Dilated image Erosion: Erosion is one of the two first operators in the area of mathematical morphology, the other being dilation. The main effect of the operator on a binary image is to erode away the boundaries of regions of foreground pixels (i.e. white pixels, typically). Thus areas of foreground pixels shrink in size, and holes within those areas become larger. The erosion operator takes two pieces of data as inputs. The first is the image which is to be eroded. The second is a (usually  small) set of coordinate points known as a structuring element (also referred to as a kernel). It is this structuring element that determines the precise effect of the erosion of the input image. Figure 14: Eroded image Figure 15: Morphological image Hough Transform The Hough transform is a feature extraction technique used in image analysis, computer vision, and digital image processing. The purpose of the method is to find imperfect instances of objects within a particular class of shapes by a voting procedure. This voting process is carried out in a parameter space, from which object candidates are obtained as local maxima in a so-called accumulator space that is explicitly constructed by the algorithm for computing the Hough transform. In this project work, circular Hough transform is used to detect optic disk in a retinal image. Elimination of optic disk is necessary for detection of exudates. If the optic disk is not eliminated from a picture, there is a chance of identifying optic disk as exudates, which leads to the false result. Circular Hough Transform Algorithm works is presented below. Step1: Convert color retinal image into grayscale Step2: Create a 3D Hough array (accumulator) with the first two dimensions representing thecoordinates of the circle origin, and the third dimension represents the radii. Step3: Perform edge detection using the Canny edge detector. For each edge pixel, increment thecorresponding elements in the Hough array. Step4: Collect candidate circles, and then delete similar circles. Step5: Circle the object. Figure 16: Optic disc detection Classifying Hard and Soft exudates The final step is to classify the exudates as hard and soft based on the threshold value and edge energy. Edge power calculation is required to extract the exudates with sharp edges which are a characteristic feature of hard exudates. We preferred canny operator over Kirsch operator for edge energy detection. The hard exudates are extracted by combining this edge energy and a Threshold value. To obtain the soft exudates subtract the hard exudates image from the picture that contains both types of exudates. Hard exudates and soft exudates are classified by using reference sum value of white pixels in exudates image. Figure 17: Exudates image Figure 18: Hard and soft exudates Chapter 5 Results and Conclusion Introduction: This section presents the results and conclusion of the research by answering research questions and suggestions for future studies. Results: From the proposed system the results acquired are that the exudates are predicted, then it is categorized as hard, and soft exudates and the severity level is estimated. The first figure shows the input as an original image: Figure 19: Input image Source: Author In the next figure the enhancement methods are applied to digital fundus images for detection of diabetic retinopathy: Figure20: Enhancement methods of DFI Next, the exudates are detected which is depicted in the below set of figures: Figure 21: Step-1 of exudate detection Figure 22: Step-2 giving input image Figure 23: Step-3 enhancing the input image Figure 24: exudate image of abnormal eye Repeating the same procedure for normal eye and is shown in the following figure: Figure 25: Normal eye output displaying no exudates The results of the study reveal that Mahalanobis Distance is the best algorithm for the blood vessels image enhancement application. Throughout the experiment, we have found an average of 88% sensitivity and 60% accuracy. Conclusion Automated diabetic retinopathy detection has become an important research because of the severity of increase in cause of blindness among the diabetes patients. DR is caused mainly by the alterations in retinas blood vessels due to increased level of blood glucose. Exudates are one of the major signs of D

Friday, October 25, 2019

Canada :: essays papers

Canada This ISP is is about my views on the Canadian Constitution and what I think needs to be changed in it. Some topics I have chose to discus, which I think need to be changed ar ones such as the notwithstanding claws and it's disadvantages, as well as the discanct society claws and it's disadvantages as well as what effects it has on the Canadian socity. I will also discuis the effects and disadvantages of what the appontiment of the suprem court judges. The supreme court of Canada is yhe higest court in Canada. The role of the suprem court is to hear cases which have been heard in provincal court and have been appeled to the supreme court for futher ruling. The court also hears cases which deal with constutitionl law and cases that deal with criminal and civil cases. In appointing judges for the supreme court a process of elimination is used by going through all of the provincal lawers untill one is found who is thought to be fit for the possition. Judges manitain officewith good behavoruntill age 75 and can only be removed by the Governal general of Canada with addvess from the senate and house of commons. The Supreme Court is also a general court of appeal for criminal cases. In theory any citizen may come before the Supreme Court to plead his own case, but such instances are rare. In criminal cases the court will hear appeals if an acquittal has been set aside or if there has been a dissenting judgement in a provincial Court of Appeal on a question of law. A guilty verdict in a case of first-degree murder may automatically be appealed to the Supreme Court. If it first grants leave to appeal, the court may also hear appeals on questions of law arising from summary convictions or indictable offences. In civil cases appeals may only be presented with the prior permission of the court; such permission is granted when the court believes that the case raises a question of public importance or an important issue of law or of mixed law and fact that ought to be decided by the court in the national interest. In about 75% of its cases, the court explains its reasoning along with its decision. In about 56% of these cases, it has upheld the decision of the lower court. Normally the justices go into conference immediately after the argument of a case, review its elements and compare their opinions. One of the justices drafts the court's judgement. If, after receiving and reading this judgement, his colleagues disagree with it, there may be Canada :: essays papers Canada This ISP is is about my views on the Canadian Constitution and what I think needs to be changed in it. Some topics I have chose to discus, which I think need to be changed ar ones such as the notwithstanding claws and it's disadvantages, as well as the discanct society claws and it's disadvantages as well as what effects it has on the Canadian socity. I will also discuis the effects and disadvantages of what the appontiment of the suprem court judges. The supreme court of Canada is yhe higest court in Canada. The role of the suprem court is to hear cases which have been heard in provincal court and have been appeled to the supreme court for futher ruling. The court also hears cases which deal with constutitionl law and cases that deal with criminal and civil cases. In appointing judges for the supreme court a process of elimination is used by going through all of the provincal lawers untill one is found who is thought to be fit for the possition. Judges manitain officewith good behavoruntill age 75 and can only be removed by the Governal general of Canada with addvess from the senate and house of commons. The Supreme Court is also a general court of appeal for criminal cases. In theory any citizen may come before the Supreme Court to plead his own case, but such instances are rare. In criminal cases the court will hear appeals if an acquittal has been set aside or if there has been a dissenting judgement in a provincial Court of Appeal on a question of law. A guilty verdict in a case of first-degree murder may automatically be appealed to the Supreme Court. If it first grants leave to appeal, the court may also hear appeals on questions of law arising from summary convictions or indictable offences. In civil cases appeals may only be presented with the prior permission of the court; such permission is granted when the court believes that the case raises a question of public importance or an important issue of law or of mixed law and fact that ought to be decided by the court in the national interest. In about 75% of its cases, the court explains its reasoning along with its decision. In about 56% of these cases, it has upheld the decision of the lower court. Normally the justices go into conference immediately after the argument of a case, review its elements and compare their opinions. One of the justices drafts the court's judgement. If, after receiving and reading this judgement, his colleagues disagree with it, there may be

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Leadership scenario Essay

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the paper is to explore the various types of leadership styles that affected the motivation of the employee. Jonathan and Dan have two different managerial styles. Jonathan a manager in super market who prefers to change the duties of his subordinates. He is effective manager who is liked by his employees and everyone in supermarket wants to work for him. Dan a manager who prefers a consecutive routine and adherence with a focus on repeatability. He is moderator for 30 minutes lunch break. The main characters are two friends Alex and Stephanie. They work full time and this job helps them to pay for college. Alex works for Dan, he portrayed as unhappy and disappointed. Stephanie works for Jonathon and always ready to work, she is vigorous and high motivated. This case â€Å"A Question of Motivation† will be analyzed through the Needs – Goal Theory (Maslow), Equity Theory of Motivation, Hershey – Blanchard Life-Cycle Theory and Path-Goal Theory. NEEDS – GOAL THEORY (MASLOW) â€Å"Maslow states that human beings possess the five basic needs and theorizes that they can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance – the order in which individuals generally strive to satisfy them†.(Certo&Certo, 2012, p.371) Motivation has a significant meaning in understanding subordinate’s behavior; motivation can influence this behavior to rich goals. Maslow’s Motivational theory is based on the idea that human behavior is controlled through a limited number of developing fundamental needs which operate in a fixed sequence. Need is defined as a condition of deficit. Individuals are perceived as a biological being having psychological capacities. The psychological needs – the needs that are usually taken as the starting point for motivation theory are so-called psychological drivers.2 The Maslow hierarchy of needs starts from the bottom of the pyramid. First step is _psychological needs_, these needs include necessities like food, sleep, water, sexual drive, breathing, air. These necessities required for body to survive and normal function. Next step is _security needs,_ they contain  security of family, health, body, resources, property, employment, a safe work environment. Next is _social needs_, it includes the desire for social contact and interaction, friendship, family, affection and other various types of support. Above social needs are _esteem needs_ which include status, recognition, confidence, respect of others. As they are satisfied, individual goes upper and stands on final need_- self-actualization needs._ At this stage an individual needs morality, problem solving, creativity, desire for achievement, personal growth and development. The movement from one level to the next was termed satisfaction progression by Maslow and it was assumed that over time individuals were motivated to continually progresses upward through these levels. In the case study, â€Å"A Question of Motivation†, Robbins and Judge 12th edition many of these levels are demonstrated, for instance, sense of safety â€Å"†Though pay isn’t great, it’s a steady job that allow them some flexibility, which helps when scheduling classes†(Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 712). It’s security of having a job and security of being able to pay for college. An example of social needs described in first paragraph, it states that Alex and Stephanie became friends because similar situation made them closer to each other. Their managers Dan and Jonathan are differ in esteem needs, especially Dan is making Alex’s self-respect descend while it’s opposite for Stephanie. According to Robbins and Judge â€Å"_A Question of Motivation,_ 12th edition, Alex’s manager (Dan) supervises the produce department and prefers for subordinates to work in the same position at all times, he often humiliate Alex. Stephanie’s manager (Jonathan) is very friendly, he encourages his subordinates to increase their horizon by letting creativity and working and working in different positions. Stephanie is able to be challenge at work that’s why she is very confident, while Alex feels like grotty and useless because his manager doesn’t let him show his abilities and do his best. Alex has a low self-estimate because of another worker who is doing the same job but she is a new worker and gets more money than Alex. Stephanie’s manager helps her to encounter self-actualization needs; he puts the trust at her and what she is doing. When there is lack of items, Jonathan enables his workers the ability to achieve tasks by ordering supplies She is heartened, she has high problem solving skills, also she can  apply her creativity on making new recipes. This all is the result of manager’s motivational and management skills. EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION All people seek for fairness between what they put into job and what they get of it. Adams calls these inputs and outputs. According to Certo&Certo(2012) â€Å"Equity theory looks at an individual’s perceived fairness of an employment situation and finds that perceived inequities can lead to changes in behavior† (p. 369). This theory based on the social comparison process of examining the ratio of inputs and outcomes between oneself and a comparison other, for example, individuals compare themselves with others, and perceive what they benefit from job. When individuals aren’t treated fairly when compared to their coworkers, they tend react in a number of ways, including changing their work habits to better reap the rewards, resent coworkers and management for the inequality or in extreme cases quit (Certo & Certo, 2012). Inputs typically include: determination, tolerance, hard work, loyalty, effort, commitment, support of colleagues and subordinates, ability, flexibility, personal scarifies, heart and soul. Outputs are typically financial rewards: pay, salary, expenses, bonus payment, travel, development, perks, interest, reputation, respect, praise and thanks, sense of achievement and advancement, promotion, stimulus. If individual feels that inputs are rewarded by outputs, then he/she is happy to work and more motivated to continue inputting at the same level. However, if individual feels that ratio of inputs to outputs is less beneficial than the ratio of others, then he/she becomes unmotivated to work and decreases inputting. In this case â€Å"A Question of Motivation†, Robbins and Judge, 12th edition, there is an unfair in Alex and Stephanie duties. Stephanie has a boss who inspires and empowers her to make decisions and try to do her best, while Alex’s boss Dan seems to be stingy for praise and promotion, he holds his subordinates back. That’s why Stephanie loves her job but Alex doesn’t. Jonathan gives Stephanie opportunity to get rewards for good work. This gives her pride for her job and inspiration to continue working at the same  level. (Robbins and Judge, 12th edition). Alex is unhappy with his job. He becomes dispirit with job â€Å"I don’t even care anymore. What’s the point? If I stock more apples, or something meaningless like that, what does it get me-another sticker that says ‘good job†? ( Robbins and Judge, 12th edition, p. 713). Discouraged with Dan and his management styles he gives up changing the situation, but doesn’t quit because he needs the job. Alex doesn’t want to struggle about fact that another employee has been working less time and is being paid more because she tells compliments to his manager. Alex and Stephanie work in the same place of employment, the same work schedule, but the feedback of this job is different. My opinion that this type of motivation has only one side with good destination. As result, Stephanie is high motivated, while Alex is just working for salary without receiving any skills. THE HERSEY – BLANCHARD LIFE CYCLE THEORY OF LEADERSHIP Leadership is a major way in which people change the minds (influence) of others and move minds of others and move organizations forward to reach identified goals.†The Life Cycle Theory of Leadership is a rationale for linking styles with various situations to ensure effective leadership† (Certo&Certo, 2012, p.342). This theory is based on the employee’s maturity and their ability to work without supervision. Also this theory states that successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they’re leading and the details of the task. Leaders using this theory should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and on the relationships with the people they’re leading. According to Certo&Certo, 2012, p.342, there are four different phases to the Life cycle: High task – Low relationships. In this phase employees first join an organization, they usually need direction and require specific instructions as to what to do. Employees must be familiar with organizations procedures and policies. The most appropriate approach is a task-oriented leadership. High task – High relationships. A manager becomes more familiar with  subordinates and trust in their performance. At this phase, followers might be willing to work on the task, but they still don’t have the skills to complete it successfully. Low task – High relationships. Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities. As subordinates abilities and performance become obvious and as experience increases, subordinates seek more responsibility. However managers continue to support and encourage subordinates. Low task – High relationships. At this phase subordinates are able to work on their own. They have high self-confidence and skills. Leaders still oversee in progress but less involved in decision making situations. This case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† Robbins and Judge 12th edition is described two managers. Stephanie’s manager Jonathan is portrayed as â€Å"a 10-year veteran who everyone generally admires for his friendly demeanor and relaxed management style† and that â€Å"he often assigns his employees different duties each week so workers don’t get bored†. Two years ago when Stephanie started working she had high task-low relationships phase. Through the years her maturity increased by this four phases. And now Stephanie merits Jonathan confidence to complete challenging tasks without total supervision â€Å"The nice thing is that I’ll be able to do this on my own, without someone breathing down my neck† (Robbins & Judge, 12thed., p. 714). It is seen that Alex doesn’t like Dan and he doesn’t respect him. They have difficult relationship. When Alex was hired he had a high task-low relationship phase and still without any movement. So, relationship and maturity get stuck. Dan’s attitude toward Alex is shown in lunchtime when Dan told Alex: â€Å"I thought that college students were supposed to be smarter than this. At the very least I would think that they could tell time. I guess the university must have glossed over you applications.† (Robbins & Judge, 12thed., p. 714). It can be see that because of manager’s leadership level Stephanie and Alex receive different skills, though, working at the same time and position. PATH-GOAL THEORY Path – goal theory states that a manager can affect the performance and motivation by offering rewards for achieving goals â€Å"The path-goal theory of leadership suggests that the primary activities of a leader are to make desirable and achievable rewards available to organization members who attain organizational goals and to clarify the kinds of behavior that must be performed to earn those rewards†(Certo&Certo, 2012, p.345). So, this theory based on motivating subordinates to accomplish goals. The manager must use a style that best meets the subordinate’s motivational needs. According to Certo&Certo (2012) there are four path-goal types of leader behavior: DIRECTIVE – The leader gives specific guidance of performance to subordinates, for instance, what to do, how to perform task. SUPPORTIVE – The leader is friendly and shows concern for the subordinates. It is most appropriate for situations in which tasks and relationships are physically or psychologically challenging. PARTICIPATIVE – The leader consults subordinates before making decisions and considers their suggestions. It’s most effective when subordinates are highly disciplined and involved in work. ACHIEVEMENT – The leader puts challenging goals and expects subordinates to have high level performance. In this case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† Robbins and Judge 12th Ed. It’s obviously seen that Jonathan uses the path-goal theory. He allows his subordinates to change duties time to time. This style helps subordinates to learn each functional area in produce department, increases their productivity. He set a goal to Stephanie to sell 10 bottles of truffle oil and if she achieves it, Jonathan will reward her with a $75 bonus. Jonathan is respected and well-liked, everyone wants to work for him, he created an environment and system that employees find both interesting and challenging â€Å"Most employees want to work for Jonathan, as he often assigns his employees different duties each week so workers don’t get bored.† (Robbins & Judge, 12th Ed., p. 712). It can be seen that Alex’s manager Dan doesn’t use the path-goal theory. He doesn’t interest in participating and supporting his subordinates. He doesn’t set some goals to achieve subordinates. So, Dan  doesn’t change his behavior in any situation. CONCLUSION To complete my leadership scenario I’d like to tell that the most effective and best managers are those who able to unite both motivational and leadership theories to accomplish goals of individual or organization and facilitate the employee performance. The case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† shows that the most appropriate characters to these four theories of motivation and leadership are Stephanie and Jonathan. Stephanie uses Needs – Goal Theory (Maslow) and Equity Theory of Motivation, she prospers in her job and very happy to be under Jonathan control. As for Jonathan, he uses Hershey – Blanchard Life-Cycle Theory and Path-Goal Theory. We can see that because of Dan’s low level of leadership, Alex suffers and couldn’t do anything. So Dan should learn a lot by observing Jonathan in order to improve and increase his leadership style and behavior. REFERENCES 1) Certo, S. C., & Certo, S. T. (2012). _Modern Management: Concepts and Skills._ Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2) Maslow, A.H., 1943, A theory of Human Motivation, p. 372-396. 3) Carrell, Michael R. and Dittrich, John E., 1978, Equity Theory: The Recent Literature, Methodological Considerations, and New Directions, p. 202-208.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Prevention is better than cure Essay

Out of a country’s health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from treatment to spending on health education and preventative measures. The rising costs of health care have become an issue for many countries in the world. To deal with this problem, it is recommended that a big part of the state health budget be used for health education and disease prevention instead of treatment. First of all, many kinds of diseases are preventable and preventing a disease is usually much cheaper than treating it. For example, people could prevent catching a cold if they dress warmly and get good rest when the weather first gets cold in the winter. But many people get sick because they fail to do so and have to spend much more money seeing a doctor. Another case in point is cancer, the leading cause of death in the world. But lung cancer, liver cancer and many other kinds of cancer could all be effectively prevented if people take measures for their health in an early stage. Small t hings such as smoking less or eating more healthy food would have kept millions of families from becoming bankrupt if the patients took measures for early cancer prevention. In addition, health education also plays a key role in improving people’s health. By giving people more information about health, countries could help people understand the importance of disease prevention and ways to achieve it. However, emphasizing on disease prevention is not downplaying the significance of medical treatment. After all, prevention and treatment are just two different means toward the same goal.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on What Are People Really In Search Of

What Are People Really in Search Of In his play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone August Wilson dramatizes the introduction of African Americans into the industrial economy of the twentieth century. Wilson’s play takes place in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911. This setting is appropriate since most of the characters are displaced people, migrating north, whether uprooted by desires of opportunities or fleeing the tyranny of the South. Recognizing that all characters in this play are on a search for self-actualization, the search by the characters Seth Holly, Rutherford Selig, Bynum Walker, and Herald Loomis is not motivated by practical consideration, but rather economic opportunities and spiritual renewal. Seth is a boarding-house owner determined to achieve material success. He refuses to acknowledge any suggestion of his African heritage. Seth’s focus in life is to become financially stable by any means necessary. He is very demanding of boarders, insisting on advanced payment in full, and is preoccupied with maintaining a respectable house. The revealing aspect of Seth is his scorn for the African American movement north. When one of his young boarders gets in trouble with the police, Seth tells Bynum, â€Å"These niggers coming up here with that old backward country style of living. It’s hard enough now without all that ignorant kind of acting. Ever since slavery got over there ain’t been nothing but foolish-acting niggers† (Wilson 2042). The expression reveals Seth’s refusal to acknowledge any affinity with his African past. He is a man who wants to blend into the white man’s world. The representation of white material success t hat Seth longs to imitate is Rutherford Selig. His ongoing negotiations with Selig over the manufacture and sale of dustpans manifest his longing for the white man’s success and opportunities to exploit African Americans. Seth is a hard worker, not only does he run the boardi... Free Essays on What Are People Really In Search Of Free Essays on What Are People Really In Search Of What Are People Really in Search Of In his play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone August Wilson dramatizes the introduction of African Americans into the industrial economy of the twentieth century. Wilson’s play takes place in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911. This setting is appropriate since most of the characters are displaced people, migrating north, whether uprooted by desires of opportunities or fleeing the tyranny of the South. Recognizing that all characters in this play are on a search for self-actualization, the search by the characters Seth Holly, Rutherford Selig, Bynum Walker, and Herald Loomis is not motivated by practical consideration, but rather economic opportunities and spiritual renewal. Seth is a boarding-house owner determined to achieve material success. He refuses to acknowledge any suggestion of his African heritage. Seth’s focus in life is to become financially stable by any means necessary. He is very demanding of boarders, insisting on advanced payment in full, and is preoccupied with maintaining a respectable house. The revealing aspect of Seth is his scorn for the African American movement north. When one of his young boarders gets in trouble with the police, Seth tells Bynum, â€Å"These niggers coming up here with that old backward country style of living. It’s hard enough now without all that ignorant kind of acting. Ever since slavery got over there ain’t been nothing but foolish-acting niggers† (Wilson 2042). The expression reveals Seth’s refusal to acknowledge any affinity with his African past. He is a man who wants to blend into the white man’s world. The representation of white material success t hat Seth longs to imitate is Rutherford Selig. His ongoing negotiations with Selig over the manufacture and sale of dustpans manifest his longing for the white man’s success and opportunities to exploit African Americans. Seth is a hard worker, not only does he run the boardi...