Applying an Ethical Theory on Assisted Death Essay

Life is a beautiful gift from God, death comes after life. Death is meant to come without notice, There’s a saying â€Å"you never know when it’s your time to go â€Å". Should one make a decision to end his or her life, to terminate pain and suffering cause by a severe illness? Physician assisted death is an outgoing dispute throughout the world, many will never come to an agreement on. Philosophers explain many different theories that are used to determine logic and reasoning beliefs. Deontologist states that it’s a moral duty to support and sustain life and assisted suicide should not be allowed. I agree with Deontologist point of view I believe it is immoral for a Physician to assist a patient in death. Throughout this essay I will examine the deontological perspective on physician assisted suicide. Deontological ethical theory Deontologist argue to sustain a life is moral and is immoral to end a human life no matter what the situation may be. â€Å"It is important to remember that deontologists do not deny that acts have consequences; their point is that those consequences should not play a role in evaluating the act’s morality. Rather, deontological ethics focuses on the will of the person acting, the person’s intention in carrying out the act, and particularly, the rule according to which the act is carried out. Deontology focuses on the duties and obligations one has in carrying out actions rather than on the consequences of those actions (Mosser, 2013). To make a decision to end your life can be caused by being pain and suffering .Another cause can be family or friends persuading by saying ending your life is the best way to relieve pain. Deontological theory believes Physician assisted is committing suicide because a life is ending and not being preserved. â€Å"Many argue that a compromise is to continue to develop drugs and other forms of palliative care—treatment that reduces suffering—to alleviate a terminally ill person’s  anguish. Utilitarianism ethical theory â€Å"When given a choice between two acts, utilitarianism states that the act that should be chosen is the one that creates the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people†(Mosser,2013). Assisted suicide will not create the greater number of happiness. Ending a life is never happiness loved ones are in pain to see a love one suffer and in even more pain to watch their life end. â€Å"Both utilitarianism and deontology have certain advantages. Utilitarian calculations are, at least at first glance, fairly easy to devise and provide a quick way to evaluate the moral worth of an act. Deontology, on the other hand, has the appeal of being easily explained and develops rules that seem to make sense and are also widely appliedâ € (Mosser,2013). I believe Deontology theory is most effective in assisted suicide, for example if a patient suffered for ten years with cancer and five doctors agree to stop treatments, but two doctors are willing to continue treatment ,Utilitarianism theory would stop treatment because the greater number rules. Deontology theory would evaluate what’s the best decision over all. Happiness comes from the heart, there are many different programs design to help the severe ill one is hospice,†The hospice movement emphasizes the reduction of end-of-life suffering and promotes death with dignity, and it has thus become an increasingly attractive option for those who resist endorsing PAS† (Mosser, 2013). It is important that all medical staff and professional properly analyzed a patient for making a decision end of life intervention. Assisted suicide requires strict specific steps to follow, In Oregon PAS is legal. The patient must be a resident of Oregon and must have 6 or less months to live .Patient must also consent verbally and give written notice to end life. Although the patient is giving more than enough time to make the decision to end their life, ending your life is a bias choice, life is precious. Pain and suffering can be temporarily why make a choice that God has last say so to. Physician-assisted suicide cause love was to lose faith it will also prevent doctors from taking extra steps to save a life. Miracles happen on a daily basis, a blind man can vision is now clear, the man who once was in a wheel chair can now run faster than he ever could .I am a firm believer that God has all power to around any situation. Making a choice to end a life is never a choice of a human . Although many may not agree with Deontological theory, to sustain a life vs  ending a life is the moral way of life. References Kant, I. (2008). Groundwork for the metaphysic of morals. In J. Bennett (Ed. & Trans.), Early Modern Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfs/kant1785.pdf (Original work published in 1785). Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Annas, J. (2006). Virtue ethics. In D. Copp (Ed.), the Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory (pp. 515– 36). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/case_studies/10-kenyaecotourism- handbook.pdf

Financial Inclusion for Inclusive Growth

Financial Inclusion for Inclusive Growth: Institutions and Innovations Debesh Roy( I. Introduction An essential pre-requisite for inclusive and sustainable growth is capital formation through credit and financial services. While the benefits of growth due to reforms in India, have concentrated in the hands of those already served by the formal financial system, a large section of the rural and urban poor still do not have access to the formal banking channel. The backward regions of the country, too, lack basic financial infrastructure.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, therefore, formulated the policy of financial inclusion with a view to provide banking services at an affordable cost to the disadvantaged and low-income groups. Financial inclusion makes growth broad based and sustainable by progressively encompassing the hitherto excluded population. The idea of financial inclusion in India has its roots in the co-operative movement which started in the year 1904. Historically, na tionalization of commercial banks in 1969 was the most significant effort towards financial inclusion, which led to the spread of bank branches in rural and semi-urban areas.The access to banking services has increased considerably, as may be gauged from the fact that the average population per branch has decreased from 64,000 in 1969 to 13,400 as at the end of March 2011[1]. However, there are still some under-banked states in the country like Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and the North-Eastern States. Further, in spite of the enhanced outreach of banks in rural areas and the implementation of directed credit, the growing credit needs of farmers, rural artisans and entrepreneurs could not be adequately met from banks during the post-nationalization period.The RBI, therefore, urged banks to review their existing banking practices to align them with the objective of financial inclusion. According to the RBI (RBI, 2008) access to safe, easy and affordable credit and other financial services by the poor and vulnerable groups, disadvantaged areas and lagging sectors is recognized as a pre-condition for accelerating growth and reducing income disparities and poverty. Moreover, access to a well-functioning financial system, by reating equal opportunities, enables economically and socially excluded people to integrate better into the economy and actively contribute to development and also protect themselves against economic shocks. NSSO data reveal that 45. 9 million farmer households in the country (51. 4 per cent), out of a total of 89. 3 million households do not have access to credit, either from institutional or non-institutional sources (Government of India, 2008). Further, despite the vast network of bank branches, only 27 per cent of total farm households are indebted to formal sources (of which one-third also borrow from informal sources).Farm households not accessing credit from formal sources as a proportion to total farm households is especially high at 95. 91 per cent, 81. 26 per cent and 77. 59 per cent in the north-eastern, eastern and central regions respectively. Thus, apart from the fact that exclusion in general is large, it also varies widely across regions, social groups and asset holdings. The poorer the group, the greater is the exclusion (RBI, 2008). The RBI has observed that out of 600,000 habitations in the country, only about 5 per cent have a commercial bank branch (RBI, 2010).Also only about 61 per cent of the population across the country has bank account (savings), and this ratio is much lower in the north-eastern states. Further, 18 per cent of the population has debit cards and about 2 per cent has credit cards (RBI, 2011). India has a significantly low level of financial penetration compared with OECD countries. Further, while the access to bank branches in India fares better than that of China and Indonesia it is worse off when compared with Malaysia and Thailan d. However, in terms of financial access through ATMs, India fares poorly compared to select Asian peer group countries (RBI, 2010[2]).In view of the poor level of financial inclusion in India, the RBI has accorded top-most policy priority to financial inclusion, by advising commercial banks, to formulate specific Board approved Financial Inclusion Plans (FIP) and to act on them on a mission mode. Banks were also advised by the RBI to provide banking services tin every village having a population of over 2000 by 31 March 2012, through bank branches as well as through various ICT-based models including through Business Correspondents (BCs).Banks were also encouraged to cover the peripheral villages with population less than 2000. There has been some improvement in the status of financial inclusion in the country in the last couple of years. Yet the extent of financial exclusion is staggering. Out of every 1000 persons, only 99 had a credit account and 600 had a deposit account as at end-March 2011. This underlined the need to strengthen the financial inclusion drive through well thought out policies (RBI, 2011).Against this backdrop this paper attempts to examine and analyse policy issues related to the promotion of financial inclusion through various institutional and product innovations, and their impact on the achievement of widespread and sustainable inclusive growth. Rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section II presents the status of financial inclusion in India. State-wise Index of Financial Inclusion (IFI) has been developed in Section III. Section IV analyses the role of institutions in promoting financial inclusion.Section V examines innovations in financial inclusion which could lead to inclusive growth. Demand side innovations for financial inclusion have been analyzed in Section VI. Section VII concludes the paper and suggests policy initiatives for the achievement of inclusive growth through financial inclusion. II. Status of Financial Inc lusion in India There has been a consistent increase in the penetration of banking services in India in recent years. However, the rate of increase in the penetration of banking services in the rural and semi-urban areas has been much lower than that in the urban areas.Further, penetration of banking services has been lower in the central, eastern and north-eastern regions of the country compared to the more developed northern, southern and western regions. In order to address this issue, the RBI liberalized the branch authorization policy in December 2009, giving freedom to domestic scheduled commercial banks to open branches at Tier 3 to 6 centres (with population of up to 49,999 as per the Population Census of 2001) without having the need to take permission from RBI in each case, subject to reporting.The RBI has been encouraging banks to expand their network both through setting up of new branches and through the Business Correspondent (BC) model by leveraging upon information a nd communication technology (ICT). This has resulted in an improvement in the status of financial inclusion in 2010-11 over the previous year, as indicated in Table 1. However, the extent of financial exclusion is still quite substantial. This is evident from the fact that only 61. 2 per cent of the population had a deposit account, and 9. 9 per cent had a credit account.Hence, the extent of financial exclusion underscores the need to focus on the strengthening of the financial inclusion drive through a planned, coordinated and innovative approach. Table 1 Progress of Financial Inclusion in India |Sl. No. |Indicator |2009-10 |2010-11 | |1 |Credit-GDP Ratio |53. 4 |54. 6 | |2 |Credit-Deposit Ratio |73. |76. 5 | |3 |Population per Bank Branch |14,000 |13,138 | |4 |Population per ATM |19,700 |16,243 | |5 |Percentage of Population having deposit accounts|55. 8 |61. 2 | |6 |Percentage of Population having credit accounts |9. 3 |9. | |7 |Percentage of Population having debit cards |15. 2 |18. 8 | |8 |Branches opened in Tier 3-6 centres as a per |40. 3 |55. 4 | | |cent of total new bank branches | | | |9 |Branches opened in hitherto unbanked centres as |5. 6 |9. | | |a per cent of total new bank branches | | | Source: Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2010-11, RBI During 2010-11 4826 new branches of scheduled commercial banks were opened. It may be observed from Table 2 that majority of the branches (66. 4 per cent) were opened in the more developed regions viz. northern (23. 2 per cent), southern (26. 2 per cent) and western (17. 0 per cent). The less developed regions accounted for 33. per cent of new branches opened viz. central (18. 1 per cent), eastern (13. 5 per cent) and north-eastern (2. 0 per cent). Further, rural and semi-urban branches accounted for 22. 3 per cent and 41. 7 per cent of new branches, respectively. On the other hand, the share of urban and metropolitan branches stood at 17. 9 per cent and 18. 1 per cent, respectively. Table 2 Distribution of New Bank Branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks across Regions and Population Groups (2010-11) |Regions |No. of new branches |Population groups |No. f new branches | |Central |874 (18. 1) |Rural |1077 (22. 3) | |Eastern |650 (13. 5) |Semi-urban |2011 (41. 7) | |North Eastern |97 (2. 0) |Urban |865 (17. 9) | |Northern |1120 (23. 2) |Metropolitan |873 (18. ) | |Southern |1263 (26. 2) | | | |Western |822 (17. 0) | | | |Total |4826 | |4826 | Note: Figures in parentheses are percentages to total new bank branches. Source: Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2010-11, RBIA major instrument of financial inclusion is the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). KCC enables farmers to access credit at the right time, to meet their pre-sowing as well as well as post-harvest needs. Region-wise and institution-wise status of sanction of KCC as on 31 March 2011 is furnished in Table 3. It may be observed that the southern region accounted for the highest share of KCC issued (36. 3 pe r cent) and the amount sanctioned (32. 5 per cent), followed by the central region with 22. 8 per cent of KCC issued and 23. 7 per cent of the amount sanctioned.The eastern region was ranked third with 17. 2 per cent of cards issued, but was ranked fourth with 10. 2 per cent of the amount sanctioned. The northern region which was ranked fourth (12. 6 per cent) in terms of cards issued, was ranked third in terms of amount sanctioned (23. 6 per cent). The more developed western region, however, accounted for 9. 5 per cent of cards issued and 9. 2 per cent of amount sanctioned. The least developed north-eastern region accounted for 1. 6 per cent of cards issued and 0. 8 per cent of the amount sanctioned.Government of India has launched a programme called ‘Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI)’ in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, with a view to address the constraints limiting the productivity o f rice based cropping systems. BGREI is expected to raise the demand for agriculture credit and accordingly, banks need to give a special thrust to issuing KCC in these states. Among institutions, the share of commercial banks was the highest in terms of the number of KCC issued (54. per cent) as well as amount sanctioned (69. 4 per cent). While the share of cooperative banks in terms of the number of KCC issued was higher (27. 7 per cent) than that of RRBs (17. 4 per cent), the share of RRBs (15. 8 per cent) was higher than that of cooperative banks (14. 8 per cent) in terms of amount sanctioned. It is, therefore, imperative that in order to achieve greater financial inclusion, there should be a focus on strengthening RRBs and the cooperative credit institutions. Table 3 Kisan Credit Card Scheme (As on 31 March 2011) (Amount in `crore and Number of cards issued in ‘000) |Cooperative Banks |RRBs |Commercial Banks |Total | |Region |Cards Issued |Amount Sanctioned |Cards Issued |Amount |Cards Issued |Amount | | | | | |Sanctioned | |Sanctioned | |High Financial | | | | | | | |Inclusion (0. 5-1) | | | | | | |Punjab |1. 00 |0. 85 |0. 34 |0. 61 |1 |6 | |Karnataka |0. 75 |0. 59 |0. 48 |0. 59 |2 |9 | |Maharashtra |0. 61 |0. 37 |1. 00 |0. 57 |3 |2 | |Kerala |0. 92 |0. 85 |0. 28 |0. 57 |4 |10 | |Tamil Nadu |0. 74 |0. 50 |0. 9 |0. 52 |5 |4 | |Himachal Pradesh |0. 86 |0. 98 |0. 16 |0. 51 |6 |11 | | | | | | | | | |Medium Financial | | | | | | | |Inclusion (0. 3-0. 5) | | | | | | | |Uttarakhand |0. 71 |0. 4 |0. 15 |0. 46 |7 |5 | |Haryana |0. 71 |0. 65 |0. 17 |0. 45 |8 |1 | |Andhra Pradesh |0. 74 |0. 46 |0. 26 |0. 45 |9 |8 | |All-India |0. 50 |0. 35 |0. 40 |0. 41 | | | |Jammu & Kashmir |0. 57 |0. 41 |0. 24 |0. 39 |10 |21 | |Sikkim |0. 7 |0. 81 |0. 07 |0. 37 |11 |3 | |Gujarat |0. 54 |0. 42 |0. 17 |0. 36 |12 |7 | |West Bengal |0. 44 |0. 25 |0. 29 |0. 32 |13 |17 | | | | | | | | | |Low Financial | | | | | | | |Inclusion (

Globalisation as a Catalyst for Western Job Loss Essay

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Police pursuits - Essay Example e inability to control pursuits resulting in problems to the public have become a common phenomena and it is high time that clearcut tactics, legislation and policies are formulated and executed in this regard. The question is whether the police pursuits add to public security or public misery. The moral question is whether the benefits derived from a successful chase would compensate for the concomitant risk to public health and safety. Lack of applicable standards to decide whether the police pursuit was for the right cause or to prove that the police officers have not shown any neglect of duty of care is the major drawback related to police pursuits. The policy pursuits very often result in liabilities for accidents, or litigation for injury to personal and property. Viola king in this regard remarks that â€Å"...officer liability in police pursuits arises only when the police vehicle actually impacts the other vehicles.† (King, Viola.) Thus, it is clear that the police do not have to take the liability for any accidents which are not directly caused due to their pursuits. But the officers have to be judicious enough to decide and employ high speed chases only when it is necessary. If the police ask a speeding car to stop and it doesn’t, it is well within the officer’s jurisdiction to pursue it. The high rate of crashes, injuries and deaths during police pursuits has not set a positive note for the department from the public. In a survey conducted by John Hill, it was found that, by and large, the public did not want to be passerby during high speed pursuits. Although 58 % of them felt that it was morally right for the officer to stop a speeding vehicle, and if the vehicle did not stop, it was well within their right to chase it. But when the question came as to whether the officer was justified in hot pursuit if it involved danger to public health and safety, the proportion who justified police pursu it, dropped from over 58 % to just 29%. (Karen, J.

City reader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

City reader - Essay Example In the join messages by Harvey and Engels, these divisions are said to be made as impacts of the industrialist budgetary schema. As both Patel and Engels will uncover to us underneath, the methodology of urbanization has totally schewed conclusions and effects for differing social get-togethers, and this in like manner demonstrates spatially. It is likely that urban extents populated by belittled tenants will bear the brunt of negative natural change, despite the fact that other, better-off parts of urban groups will acknowledge advancement. Engels was especially charmed by the negative conclusions that copied urbanization in the 1800s. In Manchester, where his recognitions happened, the built environment of the city clearly signified as far as possible and transformed into a picture on the poorer life states of the working populace who were: "distinctly separated from the sections of the city held from the middleclass. The working populace districts were set along the highroad, with the objective that it was concealed to the regular. This physical disconnection of living plan makes it clear, that structures and developed environment shows social points of confinement. Be that as it may most foremost, the working population comfort conditions are a result of the free venture drive for surplus by the landowners. The author shows an exchange Marxists account, and further discusses the issue of cabin and settlement for the working populace in association with class fight and private undertaking. As expressed by him, the agglomeration of handling in urban regions all around industrialization included an enthusiasm for comfort for the working populace. As a response to that, two "techniques" in order to give settlement were associated by the normal: One was suburbanization; that is dispersal to provincial extends outside the urban groups, underpinned by terrible transportation structures. An exchange was an

Compare and contrast Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast Essay Often adults feel the need to say â€Å"When I was your age† or â€Å"Things were different back then when I was a young, how things have changed since then.† But what exactly has changed? Although, there are some very obvious differences, there are still some similarities between generations that remain the same. Change, a small word, yet so powerful, frightening yet so embracing Change is inevitable. Frightening feelings can arise when one hears the word change because something that is so accustomed to them from a daily routine or even to new fashion styles, are being changed, resulting in bitter feelings towards the new product, or in this case the newer generation. If really thought about the people of the past bring out the people of the future. The gap between generations is huge, two very different types of people, yet both seem to be so alike. Much like today, racism flooded the streets in the 1960’s. Racism in the 1960’s was a decade of war, between white and colored people, that still today has not been put to an end. Propaganda played a huge role in the influence of white people not liking the colored people back in the 1960’s, but has there really been any difference in today’s society? 50 years later, the people of America still continue to feed off of these allegations from the 60’s that trying to change this issue has almost become impossible, and permanent. President Bush, in the summer of 2003, made a five day trip to Senegal, Africa, where many Africans once passed before being herded onto slave ships. He made comment and it said the following: â€Å"My nation’s journey has not been easy and it is not over. The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still troubles America have roots in the bitter experience of other passed times.† He clearly states that the problem is acknowledge yet â€Å"undermining any effort to deal with the problem.†(Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor) One similarity between today’s generation and the past generation(s) is racism still exists. Of course in today’s world, money truly does make the world go round. In this generation and in past generations, everyone was money hungry and still continue to be. But it’s imperative to be money hungry, because without that desire, we would not have what we have today. During the 1960’s the United  States practiced its longest continual period of economic development in history. America’s overseas investments increased to $49.2 billion dollars by 1965. After World War II the US economy improved even more and more leaving less to worry. Americans were out getting jobs because inflation at that current time was stable and corporate profits were also at a high. Unemployment rate was at 1.4 percent, during the winter of 1966 the economy was great, it the actual growth was 9 percent to be exact. This gave President Johnson an annual dividend of $4-5 billion in extra to spend. Just like back in the â€Å"baby boomers and generation x† period, today’s are also money hungry. Teenagers are starting to work harder and harder for their money leaving them the opportunity for a vast area of expertise in the work field at a young age. Parents encourage their kids to get jobs so they know what responsibility is and that you have to earn what you want by working for it, resulting in a money hungry society. Yet, today’s economy is not doing as well as the economy in the 1960’s, leaving that as one of the differences between now and then. Generation Z (1995-2007), contain individuals who more self-expressive, whereas, generation X (1960-1985) are to themselves (Isacosta’site.) Many would argue that one of the reasons why this current generation is â€Å"wild† but what is failed to realize is that people in the generation x era raised us to be this way. Children who were born from 1995-2007 are not responsibly for the way they act because they were raised to be that way. It is thought from a young age to talk about our feelings and express what exactly is going on because we are trying to stay away from being depressed, conservative and uptight like generation x. This comes around full circle, to blame the children of today’s generation for the way they were raised it pathetic. Back then girls had to wear turtle necks, and skirts below the ankle, there were no such thing as showing your shoulders, and now girls where crop tops and short shorts. Women weren’t allowed to question anything, whatever was said by your spouse it what had to be followed. The people of this generation found their voice in society and won’t settle for anything they do not deserve. As much as people want to think things are completely different from these  two generations, they fail to see that some things remain the same. Change happens more than the regular human can realize. There is change all around this world, from the moment one wake up to the moment one falls asleep. Change cannot be stopped, paused or regretted. Moving forward and embracing it is the only way to feel at ease with it. Yet, the general populations fail to realize that there are some similarities, racism and money hungry individuals still ponder the streets of our nation and will continue until change occurs. Although both differentiate in self-expressiveness and conservative aspects, together, unknowingly make change happen. Works Cited Adams, Katie. Generation Gap. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. International Socialist Review. International Socialist Review. KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. US History: Economics of the 1960s. US History: Economics of the 1960s. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.

Exorcism in religion and psychology

Exorcism in religion and psychology Contrary to what may seem to be common sense, nowadays the beliefs in paranormal are still very prevalent in the society. Indeed, the revival of the interest and acceptance of such phenomena as poltergeists, ghosts, and devil took place in a quite secularized modern society dominated by the scientific thinking and medical worldview (Milner, 2000). However, it is not that surprising. It could be assumed that the possibility of the belief in the existence of such phenomena is rooted in the peoples understanding of the functioning of the world with religion being one of the sources that provide this kind of information. Some modern scientists propose that religious and spiritual phenomena consist of multiple factors like inherited or developed neural circuitry of the brain, pro-social tendencies selected through evolution, and the general biology of the human mind which generates the specific cognitive processes like religious beliefs (Fayard, Pereau, Ciovica, 2009). This kind of biological predisposition for spirituality and religion might explain why similar phenomena such as possession by the spirits as well as the subsequent healing and expulsion of these spirits are found in many different cultures and religions around the world despite the existing significant differences in ideology and practice. Furthermore, it may also explain why the belief in such paranormal phenomena is still alive in the society even when many old religions and beliefs were extinguished or substituted by science, and modern religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and etc. The revival of the interest in exorcism in the mainstream Christianity was evoked by the rise of the interest in the occult in the society in general such as the fascination with New Age movements which are interested in learning more about the occult (Milner, 2000). Acknowledging all the risks involved in the exorcism, the Christian church was afraid that vulnerable individuals might be hurt by the ritual performed by the healers who lack proper training, beliefs, and resources despite their good intentions, if such are present(Milner, 2000). Furthermore, fascinated by the enthusiasm, spirituality, and mass appeal of various Charismatic and Pentecostal movements that put the emphasis on various occult practices including exorcism, the mainstream Christianity tried to incorporate such practices into their worship in part in response to the demands of the society and due to the perceived threat to the authority of the mainstream Christianity (Milner, 2000). As a result, the issue of e xorcism was brought back to life, however in the light of science. Exorcism defined Despite the revival of interest in exorcism for many people including the ones involved in the Christian ministries, it still remains a bizarre and frightening ritual that came from the past targeting the vulnerable individuals who could be traumatized by this practice (Milner, 2000). For instance, within the legal system traditionally exorcism is defined as physical act of holding down the individual while facing the spiritual, psychic and physical opposition from him. It might be even recognized by the court as the false imprisonment, if exorcism is performed without the consent of the individual (Koploy, 2010). On the other hand, in certain religious groups this ritual is considered to be fundamental to faith just like baptism or marriage (Koploy, 2010). Furthermore, due to the fact that exorcism is very closely connected to the belief system and basic religious experiences, it might be seen as a indirect way of controlling and leaning peoples minds (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). It is very hard to describe the actual ritual of exorcism because the practices as well as the beliefs in demons and spirits vary greatly even within the branches of Christianity (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). However, every incidence of exorcism regardless of the religion within which it is performed includes common elements and can be assessed by the following criteria (Versteeg Droogers, 2007): demonological criterion the nature of the evil: personal or impersonal, spiritual or human; etiological criterion the explanation of the problem, spiritual and natural causes; diagnostic criterion methods of finding the cause: discovering spirits and other medical causes; tropical criterion the experience of reality by the people involved in the ritual: direct or metaphorical; ritual criterion: the structure of the ritual, the people involved in it, and other treatments scientific or spiritual that accompany the exorcism. In the Christian perspective the exorcism is the violent and dangerous battle between the person performing the ritual and the devil inside the individual (Milner, 2000). Therefore, the possessed individual may express uncontrollable anger, strange noises, supernormal extrasensory perception and strength, may uncontrollably call the name of Jesus or devil and have a strong desire for drugs, alcohol, and abnormal sexual practices, be subject to violent rages and be able to speak in language they never knew before (Milner, 2000). Furthermore, they might be unable to perform certain religious practices such as praying, reading Bible, and participating in meditation. In addition, the possession affects the social life of individual due to the rapid deterioration of their relationships with other people and outbursts of panic, terror and envy (Milner, 2000). However, the main danger of such practice as exorcism is not the lack of the acceptance in the society, but rather the too much emphasis on it, which may escalate into a full blown paranoia of attributing everything that is contrary to a specific understanding of the world and religion to the work of devil (Milner, 2000). This misunderstanding may result in tragic occurrences such as abuse, violence, criminal activity, suicide or homicide (Milner, 2000). Furthermore, looking from the psychological perspective, the focus on the devil as the cause of the behavior and demonizing what is not demonic encourage people to ignore the psychological and physiological needs and characteristics of the person and may lead to the diffusion of responsibility or even encourage people to deny that they are in fact responsible for their own actions and behavior (Miquel, 2010). Thus, the presence of devil becomes a very quick and simple explanation and may distract the attention from various psychologi cal, medical or social problems (Milner, 2000). Demon possession Being the result of the problem, it is hard to explore exorcism from both religious and psychological side without taking into account its primary cause, demon or spiritual possession. The word possession within the field of psychology usually refers to the belief that the persons mind and body can be controlled by another personality (Stevenson, 1995). That personality might be represented as the deceases person or an evil spirit. This idea was accepted almost universally till the 16th century and was almost always linked to witchcraft (Stevenson, 1995). However, even after the 16th century when the first skeptical work on witchcraft and magic started to appear, such beliefs remained prevalent in the society. The literature indicates many ways of differentiation among the states of possession such as ritual non-ritual, good evil, or voluntary involuntary, but no single classification is yet developed (Stevenson, 1995). The research shows that the incidents of possession are even though infrequent, but not that uncommon as people usually think. For instance about 2% of general Canadian population reported having experiences a possession (Bull, 2001). Furthermore, even though the general religious affiliation declined in the last century, the cases related to vampires, werewolves, and demons have not ceased (Bull, 2001). Despite the fact that such instances are highly influenced by the traditional culture, the beliefs in paranormal and supernatural are common in the modern society and that many of them arise from the direct personal experience (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). Scientists agree that spiritual possession is a more cultural phenomenon (Miquel, 2010). This suggests that the existence and identification of this phenomena depends not only the perception and the beliefs prevalent in the society, but also on the interpretation given by the typical members of this culture (Miquel, 2010). Therefore, it is understandable that while working with the Christian clients the reports related to demonic encounters may even increase. For instance the survey of the 343 Swiss Protestants patients showed that about 38% of them believe that evil spirits or demons may be the cause of their psychiatric illness and around 30% of them actually tried the healing prayer or exorcism (Bull, 2001). The frequency increases even more if the individuals with the Dissociative Identity Disorder better known to the general population as the Multiple Personality Disorder are assessed. In one study around 29% out of 236 individuals with this diagnosis indentified their other per sonality as a demon (Bull, 2001). Interestingly enough, the tendency to attribute mental illnesses to the work of devil and possession exists in our society from the Stone Age (Ward Beaubrun, 1980). Even though this etiological theory advanced a lot, it is still evident in the modern society. One of the disorders proposed in DSM-IV-TR for further research and possible inclusion in upcoming DSM-V is Dissociative Trance Disorder (2000). The defining diagnostic criterion for this disorder is the presence of a single or episodic altered state of consciousness in which the identity of the person is replaced by another altered identity usually attributed to the spirit or deity (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). However, such diagnosis is valid only if this experience leads to distress or dysfunction. Therefore, it could be said that within the framework of religion, not all possessions are pathological and require some kind of treatment. Furthermore, the possessions experienced during the specific ritual ceremonies may even have a valid individual and social function (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). However, in some countries such as Italy possession disorders where another identity is identified as a demon appear to be quite widespread. In one survey done in the 1990s 46% of respondents said that th ey believe in devil (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). Furthermore, there was a higher incidence of various paranormal and magical phenomena among this group of respondents. The fact that the majority of the majority of respondents who reported these beliefs and the incidents of encounter with paranormal were women might possibly be explained by the fact that women are considered to be more religious than men (Spilka, 2003). In addition women are also more likely to have Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is often associated with the demon possession (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). However, some researchers indicate that the belief in paranormal, magical and spiritual phenomena is not pathological unless it interferes with the functioning of individual on both interpersonal and intrapersonal levels (Ward Beaubrun, 1980). Furthermore, possession may even be seen as the culturally appropriate coping mechanism because it offers the way to escape the stressful reality and reduction of guilt by transferri ng it to the evil entity that possessed the individual (Ward Beaubrun, 1980). Exorcism in Christianity Within the Christian tradition, exorcism often belongs to the broader category of ministry called deliverance (Milner, 2000). It includes dealing with such paranormal phenomena as poltergeists, ghosts, and devil. Therefore, the term deliverance derived from the line of the Lords Prayer deliver us from evil is the preferred official term for exorcism in Christianity (Milner, 2000). However, deliverance may apply to both people and places or things, while the term exorcism still traditionally is used only in connection to people. The existence of such practice is defended by the Bible, which describes Jesus healing abilities, one of them being to cast out demons (Koploy, 2010). Thus, the main task of the person performing exorcism is defined as to confront the demon that possessed a person, and restore the victim of possession to life making the person again whole with self, community, church, and God (Milner, 2000). This description allows seeing that the ritual of exorcism is meant t o bring not only religious, but also psychological and social benefits. However, due to its nature the ritual of exorcism can be easily abused, if not carefully controlled. Therefore, churches had to develop the guidelines for diagnosing the need for this kind of interventions in the cases involving the paranormal as well as for the way to carry them out (Milner, 2000). The control is executed by normalizing and medicalizing the primary cause of the exorcism which is demon possession, as well as bureaucratizing and rationalizing the procedures of exorcism. Furthermore, the revival of exorcism in the secularized and scientific society is risky because it raises many issues about the proper balance between the etiological explanations that emphasize the role of the paranormal and spiritual activity or the role of the material and physical factors. These tensions may lead to the reduced cooperation between the medical professionals and spiritual healers (Milner, 2000). Thus, exorcism may become one of those battle fields, where the ideas of medicine, psycho logy or science in general clash with the ideas of religion eliminating each other from their own worldview. However, according to the famous psychologist David G. Myers, this should not necessarily be the case and both religion and psychology may complement each other by addressing different sides of the same issue (1991). Some members of the church involved in the healing ministry try to take an approach that helps to ease the tensions. They still believe in possibility that the devil can be present inside the person, but they also accept other psychological and physical explanations of the condition (Milner, 2000). The healers try to normalize the process of exorcism making it anything but bizarre to the society and develop a healing model that would correspond to the treatment of the whole person which is emphasized in the modern medicine. The actual process of exorcism includes the involvement of doctors, therapists as well as the healers at every level. Thus, such regulations make an exorcism the last option of healing if neither medical nor psychiatric or psychotherapeutic approaches work (Milner, 2000). The healers are trying to make exorcism a highly regulated and infrequent procedure used together with medical diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Furthermore, they emphasize the idea that the task of the person doing exorcism is not only to cast out demon, but to help the person recover in religious, physical, psychological, and social spheres (Milner, 2000). Therefore, the medical, psychiatric or psychological help remains essential even after the exorcism is performed. As one of the authors stated, The results are important, not theories (p.262). Furthermore, the healers tend to distinguish between the possession syndrome, when people due to other medical, psychiatric or psychological factors falsely believe to be possessed, and the actual possession, when the devil is involved (Milner, 2000). Thus, now it is not uncommon to meet an expert in spiritual healing who also has education and professional training in psychotherapy or counseling (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). Exorcism in psychology In the field of psychology of religion, exorcism received some attention in the light of research done on other topics such as cults, Satanism, and even conversion (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). It is known that some experiences such as religion can create and sustain a community because they provide a common purpose for existence, help to define the identity of the group as well as legitimize the community and its goals (Singleton, 2001). Thus, religious experiences are very important elements of the religion, faith, and culture (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). The supernatural experiences of evil and the encounters with the devil are quite obvious examples of such religious experiences. For instance 80% of the Australian Protestants believe that evil spirits are active in this world and 65% of them have no doubt about it (Singleton, 2001). Even though the actual percentage of such people varies according to the doctrines of specific Christian denomination, it still could be said that the b eliefs in the devil are very widespread. Furthermore, Christians believe that both physical and spiritual parts of the body can be subject to the attack of the devil, thus allowing for the physical as well as spiritual healing (Singleton, 2001). However, despite the prevalence of these beliefs in the society, the literature on psychotherapy generally describes exorcism as being not therapeutic for psychiatric patients and even harmful (Bull, 2001). The fact that exorcism is a part of the religious healing practice leads to the view that it is not scientific or psychological and thus could be dismissed as not feasible treatment. In the literature concerning the Dissociative Identity Disorder points out that those performing exorcism are prone to confuse the other protective or self-destructive identity of the person with the presence of the demon (Bull, 2001). Only small percentage of authors actually considers the possibility of implementing exorcism as a treatment option for the disorder. However, the extremely negative and deteriorative outcomes for the exorcised patients found in several separate studies even lead to the idea that exorcism should never be used in therapy (Bull, 2001). The main two objections for its use a re formulated as the lack of psychological or medical understanding of the disorders by the members of the church performing the exorcism as well as the lack of cooperation of the patient during this process (Bull, 2001). However, the therapists with the Christian background, such Friesen and Mungadze, who acknowledge both the presence of the demon as well as the disorder, see exorcism being a helpful treatment in addition to the psychotherapy for some of the patients having a particular religious background (Bull, 2001). They allow the possibility that the psychological disturbance may coexist with the spiritual disturbance, which could be a defining justification for the application of both psychological and spiritual treatments. Even in the same studies that found the negative outcome to be associated with exorcism some positive outcomes were also reported (Bull, 2001). The differentiating factors in these situations were whether the exorcism was couples with psychotherapy and whether the patient felt coerces to participate in exorcism. For instance, even Allison, one of the pioneers in treatment of dissociative identity disorder had mentioned that he has too much experience of the demon possession , exorcism, and positive outcomes to completely dismiss this possibility (Bull, 2001). Furthermore, medicine and science alone are not capable of fully explaining human abilities. Therefore, it is proposed that both the neurobiology of the individual as well as the context of culture significantly contribute to the development of complex human abilities and the ability to relate to God among them (Fayard, Pereau, Ciovica, 2009). This implies that spiritual or religious experience does not exist apart from our physical reality and daily life in the immaterial spiritual reality. Thus, both religion and science can work hand in hand in order to increase the wellbeing of the individual. Bull proposes the phenomenological model of application of exorcism to the treatment of certain disorders such as Dissociative Identity Disorder (2001). According to him, current treatment of this disorder includes the usage of the perception of the patient without taking into account and questioning the reality or truthfulness of what the patient reports. Therefore, the same approach might be used while applying the exorcism as a treatment. This allows to avoid the clash between the religion and psychology by dismissing the delicate question about the actual existence of demons that is so puzzling for some secular therapists and to work within the belief system of the patient in order to use the beliefs otherwise considered irrational and delusional for the benefit of the patient (Bull, 2001). In addition, this also allows keeping the personal biases of the therapist at minimum. Thus, the religion practices and beliefs being the part of the culture and cultural identity of the perso n, the incorporation of such beliefs in the therapy might be seen as a simple culture-sensitive therapeutic approach. Furthermore, taking into account the idea that the patient is coming from the religious background that acknowledges the belief in the existence of demons and views the problem as caused by the foreign evil entity possessing the mind or the body, gives the therapist one more psychological tool for helping the patient (Bull, 2001). Such beliefs and worldview propose the idea that if the patient believes that something was put into the mind or the body, then it can be expelled. This technique showed to improve the overall social functioning of the individuals diagnosed with the Dissociative Identity Disorder (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). Thus, the therapist may help the patient to apply their own spiritual resources while fighting the psychological or psychiatric diseases or at least coping with it (Bull, 2001). However, some research also indicates that religious coping strategies may be helpful for patients who identify themselves religious leading back to the issue of working within the belief system of the patients (Wildman McNamara, 2008). The same approach is suggested not only in the cases of psychotherapy but also in family therapy or counseling (Bull, 2001). In addition to the beliefs, the actual term exorcism might also be concern while adopting this approach. Due to the negative depiction of this ritual in the popular media such as in the famous film The Exorcist, this term may evoke a negative reaction. Therefore, for the sake of the comfort of the patient it can be substituted with more appropriate terms like the one preferred by the church which is deliverance or spiritual warfare (Bull, 2001). Furthermore, the therapists are even advised to use the same work describing the perceived foreign evil entity inside the patient that the patient uses (Bull, 2001). The therapist should not only identify the evil spirit that possesses the patient, but also ask the patient to tell if he or she believe in the any higher force that is more powerful than the one inside them in order to use this reference in the further treatment trying to expel the foreign evil entity (Bull, 2001). Assessing this approach from the perspective of the Christian healers, it should be said that it does not contradict the scripture. The Bible shows many episodes of exorcism. However, there are no strict guidelines regarding the symptoms, places or the ways to perform it. Furthermore, the patients from the Judeo-Christian background that perceive themselves being possessed also believe in the power of God who can help to expel the demons (Bull, 2001). However, the personal and professional skills of the person performing exorcism are no less important than the skills of the psychologist because they both provide the guidance during the exorcism necessary to achieve the regenerative outcome (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). Conclusion The presence of extensive literature on exorcism and demon possession in the fields of theology, anthropology and sociology where spirit possession is considered to be a classic topic, and the lack of it in the fields of psychology of religion or psychiatry shows that these phenomena are not very well researched (Versteeg Droogers, 2007). Even though such incidents are not very common, they are also not as rare as society perceives them to be. For instance, about 10% of the patients in India who are diagnosed with dissociative disorder not otherwise specified actually have a possession disorder (Ferracuti Sacco, 1996). Thus, studying the psychological significance of exorcism within the Christianity or any other religion and the ways it can be applied for the benefit of the patients in combination with other medical or psychological treatment may bring some substantial results. However, as Wildman and McNamara state, while doing an empirical study in the field of religion the resea rchers should be very careful considering the social implications of their research (2008). Even the unbiased study on religion still occurs in the specific social and cultural context. Thus, the results of the ideologically neutral study might escalate and have a profound effect on the social policies, laws, and both religious and non-religious self-understanding of individuals (Wildman McNamara, 2008). Handling such controversial topic as exorcism and its application in medical, psychological or psychiatric treatment which brings together the issues of religion, medicine, psychology and psychiatry requires even more carefulness because it possesses both the benefits and the problems of each field.

Detection and Tracking of Arbitrary Objects in Video

Detection and Tracking of Arbitrary Objects in Video Kleanthis Constantinou Abstract— Detection and tracking of arbitrary objects in video is a technique which detect object and an object tracker follows that object even when the detectable part cannot be seen. The goal to detect an object in video or image is to determine whether there are any defined object in the video and return their locations, for example the object can be individual team members in a video showing sports, and it’s also been useful for the police in hot pursuit of vehicle by detecting the vehicle while moves. In this paper includes an analyses a methodology for detecting and tracking arbitrary objects in videos and documentaries. This work will explain how a moving object can allow deriving and maintaining a dynamic template of each moving objects. INTRODUCTION This paper will examine and analyze the paths followed for the implementation of a system that makes the detection and tracking of an arbitrary object possible. In addition the paper will point out the importance of embedding such a system in surveillance systems enhancing the need of those systems upon collecting cohesive temporal information though such an implementation. Section II will distinguish need for implementing such a system and how it can benefit its host. Section III will be stating the structure and the techniques used to properly manage the events of tracking and detection of an arbitrary object. Section IV will refer to the variety of problems disclosed in detection and tracking systems such as operation interference, while in addition it will state the required precautions that need to take place in order to prevent any operation interference and allow the system to run efficiently and effectively enhancing its accuracy. Section V will briefly explain the different types of surveillance systems and how they can be accessible. Lastly Section VI will display the steps followed in a moving detection system. In Video analysis the first step is the detection of moving objects and the areas which can be used are surveillance videos, tracking and monitoring people and traffic, therefore in this section we will be stating some examples on how the system works from a camera view and how effective the system can react. II. Reasons The reasons for providing an algorithm to make possible the detection of video objects is due to the need of acquiring data to be forced as an input to a computer based vision application. The application’s goal is to rebut tracking objects in the scene considering parameters in the background and the camera. Background based variables include the variation of light and objects that can change their status from moving to stopped and vice versa. The algorithm consists of two parts, the object detection which is light in terms of programming and a second part which is based on a more sophisticated structure that functions behalf of detecting objects in videos. The process of locating and tracking a moving object in video over time can be done by using a camera. Detection and tracking does not satisfy the purpose of extracting information’s but also to make implementation of systems such as traffic control, security and surveillance, medical imaging, human computer interaction, video communication and compression, augmented reality and video editing possible. Establishing correspondence of objects parts between consecutive frames of video it is the main goal of the tracking. The task of this application provides us with data that are used to enhance lower level processing like motion segmentations and data extraction such as activity analysis and behavior recognition which categorized as higher level processing. Methods and algorithms of detection and tracking The tracking and detection methods are categorized based on how an application can use them. Generally object tracking systems are adequate for outdoor surveillances videos where tracking parts of an object is necessary for several indoor surveillance systems. It is necessary to distinguish objects from each other in order to track and analyze their actions reliably. The main methods for object tracking include firstly the correspondence matching points and secondly to carry out explicit tracking by making use of position prediction or motion estimation. The techniques used for designing surveillance camera systems include the use of stationary cameras to allow the segmentation of each image into a set of regions representing the moving objects by using background differencing, and by using the method of k-Gaussian expand the video processing and allowing process of real stream videos with time varying background and without dedicated hardware. Figure 1: Tracking block diagram The diagram above shows the main blocks followed for object detection and tracking, where foreground and background are the basis for defining images. The information extraction in this scenario includes object attributes and features that could be used in applications and real time video applications. The Methods which classified as point detectors, background subtraction and segmentation is object detection. The information expected to be derived from the tracker is the trajectory of the path which has been followed from a moving object over time by locating its position in every individual video frame. The use of detection and tracking algorithms include implementation of techniques such as: data mining neural network artificial intelligence wireless sensor network biometrics. IV. Problems and Solutions Based on statements made in section II, background changes refers to light changing scenarios such as an outdoor scene, clouds covering the sun and for an indoor scenario such as turning off the lights. By considering those two factors there is problem for an object to be detected and tracked. So the approach cannot be based on frame difference where frame rate it is also depended on the object speed. From this perspective the attention must be laid on the moving object detection based on the background suppression where background model is computed and evolved frame by frame. Clarifying that statement object motion is defined by the difference between the current frame and the background model. Apart from that there must be a high response rate between the changing nature of background and reliable background model computation. Then a model must deal with erroneous ghost detection which includes objects in background that appear as moving in order to be able to compute the differenc e between those objects original position and the position that those objects where projected to after performing motion. Another puzzling fact that makes the algorithm more difficult and not approachable were the existence of shadows and moving objects while the associated shadows are sharing the same features of visual such as detectability and motion, so when the background is updated, the shadows and the moving objects are detected and grouped at the same time. The tasks that are affected by shadows its object classification and the assessment of moving object. This kind of problem mostly affects a system that controls the traffic which is evaluating the trajectories of vehicles. To eliminate such problems the approach of shadow detection needs to be defined and suppressed based on a color analysis HSV space. Another thing that interferes with the processes of tracking and detecting objects in video is the availability of video sensor, the zoom capabilities and videos streams acquired by moving platforms. In such situations the background differing techniques cannot be used because they rely on stabilization algorithm for canceling the motion of cameras, and because the stabilization and the detection are based on the background and cannot perform perfectly since it requires stabilization algorithms in order to affine the perspective model for motion compensation where the quality of compensation depends on the observed scene. To increase the accuracy of detecting a moving object we used a stabilization algorithm that locates regions of an image where this region detecting the normal component of the optical flow field. Surveillance Surveillance systems is been used for monitoring of the behavior, activities or other changing information and more often of people for influencing, managing, directing or protecting them. Such surveillance system serving government and law to enforcement to maintain social control, giving the privilege to prevent or eliminate threats because of the services suck monitoring and recognition which surveillance systems provide. Types where this kind of program and technologies are used: Computers: where responsible for the monitoring of data and traffic through internet, which is categorized in real time monitoring Computer surveillance is used monitoring all phones calls, emails, web traffic; instant messaging etc. Telephones: the official and unofficial tapping telephone lines, the program which is on use for monitoring it is on real time. By using speech to text software creates this kind of algorithm intercept audio and then processed by automated call analysis program where search for certain key words or phrases. Social network analysis: Creating social map network based on data were collected from Facebook, twitter from social sites and from phones call records. Biometrics: this kind of technology its for human analysis for their physical characteristics such fingerprinting, DNA and facial patterns. The technique used is called facial recognition and is based on person’s facial features to accurately identify them from video surveillance. Aerial: Aerial: is an airborne vehicle surveillance which is collecting visual imagery or video. Because this kind of system extraction is high resolution imagery of identification object of extremely long distance it require to use a surveillance hardware such as micro aerial vehicle Data mining and profiling: Data mining is mathematical algorithm method and statistical techniques to identify previously unnoticed relationships within the data. And the process of assembling information about a particular individual or group is called Data profiling which is use of generate profile.. Such application is use for economic and social transactions where the amount of data is large where application is working by following the electronic trail. Every transaction nowadays is electronic, resulting in an electronic trail like credit card, phone card, rented video etc. The most common type of Surveillance systems include utilization of cameras in order to survey a particular space. Surveillance videos up until now consisted of systems analogous to three differentiated generations, 1GSS, 2GSS, and 3GSS. The first generation was used for controlling a room using various cameras at different positions where the role controller was a person. The second generation involved the use of digital and analog subsystems where digital video was focusing on real time detection consequently giving the video human operators for filtering out spurious events. The third generation systems provide end-to-end digital systems followed by today’s video object detection systems. Examples From Video analysis Crossing line detection: The object is detected when a moving object crossing the â€Å"safety† line through the video processing. The safety line can be setup base on the background and the various security zones in arbitrary shapes within the cameras view. So when the object crosses the line the program will automatically activate the alarm and the object will be marked with an alert frame so that the system will mark its moving trace and will alert security personnel to pay attention to the object recognizing it as intruder. Figure 2: moving object crossing the safety line Appearing detection: when an object appears within the camera view alert detects and identifies it as a moving object, if the object behavior is according to the pre-defined alert condition the system will alarm and detect its moving tracks. This system will automatically detect any moving object like human vehicle in a designated area. Figure 3: Moving vehicle Guarding region Entry detection: By setting various security zones in arbitrary shape with in cameras view and through the intelligent video processing technique, automatically will detect moving objects such as human animals, vehicle etc. and if the object does not met the predefined rules when they entered to the security zone then alarm will alert and the object will be marked with an alert frame. Figure 4: Security zone in arbitrary shape Leaving detection: Can set alert areas or regions when an item is removed from its region and indicate its track using alarm frame when the object is removed from it position. Prevent prison break and kids who left the safe place from the kindergarten. Figure 5: Alert area or region CONCLUSION In this paper we analyzed the fact that a system for tracking and detection is necessary for computer vision application implementations such as video compression, video surveillance, vision based control, human computer interfaces, medical imaging, augmented reality etc. this kind of systems provide key tasks for monitoring and controlling applications by providing input data to video databases such content based indexing and retrieval. Reference point [1].http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=arnumber=784651url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=784651 [2]. http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.3288 [3]. http://www.google.com/patents/US20130322689 [4]. http://www.slideshare.net/yuhuang/object-processing11 [5]. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~wdn/myresearch.html [6]. http://jivp.eurasipjournals.com/content/2013/1/42 [7].http://www.reoll.com/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=5Itemid=8lang=en [8]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_tracking [9]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSL_and_HSV

Brave New World :: essays papers

Brave New World Imagine living in a society where there is no such thing as mothers or fathers, where you look exactly like the 500 people standing next to you, where casual sex and drug use is not only allowed, but is encouraged. Well, the society in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, is just that. While the prophecies from the Brave New World society are quite different from those of today, they can be argued as both right and wrong, but , and the technology to make them happen may be just around the corner. The society of the Brave New World is quite different from ours, with their lack of spirituality proving that point. â€Å"The pleasure-seeking society pursues no spiritual experiences or joys, preferring carnal ones. The lack of religion that seeks a true transcendental understanding helps ensure that the masses of people, upper and lower classes, have no reason to rebel† . Another main difference, is the absence of mothers and fathers, and the technology that makes it possible. â€Å"Brave New World is a futuristic society designed by genetic engineering, and controlled by neural conditioning with mind-altering drugs and manipulative media. It predestines human embryos to certain levels of intelligence, and chemically does away with the concept of old age†. Today, the technology is simply not available to create hundreds of humans from the same egg. Yet another prophecy that differs greatly from those of today, is the use of soma and casual sex. In today’s soc iety both of these things are frowned upon greatly. However, in the brave new world, they are promoted. The prophecies promoted in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, are quite different from those promoted in today’s society. Even though the new society digresses greatly from today’s, were the ideas promoted really all that bad? It could be argued either way. One side may argue that there is nothing really wrong with continuously physically pleasuring yourself. After all, if â€Å"everybody belongs to everybody else†, there would be a lot less fighting. If technology did not allow for any of the consequences associated with drugs, then what would be so wrong about them? What if you did not have to go through life behaving yourself, because the concept of having to get into heaven simply did not exist. Would it not be nice to not have to deal with all the pain and grieving death brings, to be able to simply accept it and move on?

Protein Power Essays -- Eating Health Essays

Protein Power 1. Description Met-Rx can be used as a meal supplement or meal companion. It is mostly used by body builders in order to build body mass. It is packaged in the form of food bars or powdered shakes. (www.metrx.com/tutorials-and-quiz/quiz.html) The purpose of this treatment is to "support protein synthesis, energy production, and fat utilization" (www.met-rx.com/faq/default.htm). The ingredients contained in these combinations allow the body to acquire all the necessary nutrients for maximum metabolic effect. 2. Types of Protein Supplements Shakes are used so that the time consuming calorie counting, etc. can be avoided. They are also designed to "maximize the oxidation and storage potential of some metabolic pathways (protein and carbohydrates) and limits others (fat)" (www.metrx.com/tutorial-and-quiz/lesson7c.html). Currently, whey protein has the highest Biological Value (a number used for comparing protein value in foods.) The fact that whey protein was produced as a result of milk protein and there is no inclusion of fat or lactose allows whey protein to be very beneficial. Whey protein has also shown an increase in levels of glutathione (an antioxidant which is necessary in a healthy immune system). (www.powersupplements.com/protein.htm) For this reason, the University of Nebraska Medical Center studied the effects of a protein diet on hamsters. They concluded that the "life span of hamsters was extended by 60% by supplementing their diet with whey protein" (www.powersupplements.com/protein.htm). Considering this study deals with hamsters, the results can not be assumed exact for humans, nonetheless they are encouraging. 3. Food Vs. Protein Supplement ... ...cience Nutrition. Jul;39(4):317-328. (3) Dohm GL. (1984). Protein nutrition for athletes. Clinical Sports Medicine. Jul;3(3):s595-604. (4) Jenson, MB and I Hessov. (1997). Dietary supplementation at home improves the regain of lean body mass after surgery. Nutrition. May;13(5):422-430. (5) McCarthy, D and D Weihofen. (1999). The effect of nutritional supplements on food intake in patients undergoing radiotherapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. Jun;26(5):897-900. (6) Nesheim, MC. (1999). What is the research base for the use of dietary supplements? Public Health Nutrition. Mer;2(1):35-38. (7) Arslanian, S. and S DaSilva, FL Goss, J Kang, KF Metz, RJ Robertson, RR Suminski, and AC Utter. (1997). Acute effect of amino acid ingestion and resistance exercise on plasma growth hormone concentration in young men. Int. J. Sport Nutrition. Mar;7(1):48-60.

Socrates Essay example -- essays research papers

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the life of Socrates. Central Idea: I plan on telling the audience what Philosophy is, who Socrates was, and the methods he used in teaching his philosophy. INTRODUCTION Attention Getter: "The unexamined life is not worth living." This is the most famous quote of the most popular philosopher of all time: Socrates. Reveal Topic: I plan on telling you what philosophy is and how Socrates viewed philosophy. Credibility: I am able to speak on this topic because I have taken a philosophy course, and I have done extensive research in to Socrates life. Central Idea: I plan on telling the audience what philosophy is, who Socrates was, and tell the way he viewed philosophy in order to better understand his quote. (Connective: First, lets talk about what philosophy is.) BODY I. Philosophy is a term with many meanings. A. Philosophy is the process of thinking through every little question imaginable to try to come up with the most rational explanation or truth. B. It is an attempt to describe "the ultimate and real nature of reality." C. Philosophy also helps us to determine the limits of out knowledge by its source, value, nature and validity. D. It is a continuous thought process searching for the underlying knowledge of all causes or things as they appear to us, finding out why a thing is what it is. (Connective: Now let's learn a little about Socrates life.) II. Socrates's Life A. He grew up in Athens with little schooling. B. He married late in life but did have 3 sons. C. He was a political figure because of his wisdom, but never was interested in running for any type of public office. D. He was a major figure during a war which is where he first gained his recognition. E. He wrote none of his thoughts down. The information we have about him today comes from one of his students, his best, Plato. He recorded several of the dialogs he had with Socrates and put them in a book. F. His main... ...le he was in prison. They had actually devised an escape plan, and also a guard "forgot" to lock the door, but Socrates said he wanted to comply with the law and die for his reason, cause, and beliefs. F. He said he didn't fear death because you can't fear anything you don't have any knowledge of. CONCLUSION Well, I hope everyone can come up with their own interpretation of why the unexamined life wasn't and isn't worth living. According to Socrates, we should be asking questions about everything we see, hear, or think we know. I interpret the quote as having to know yourself inside and out. You have to come up with your own beliefs and values, not the one's of anyone else. I believe to have a happy life, you have to examine and know every little aspect of your life. If your thoughts and beliefs aren't questioned by yourself over and over again, how will you know if they are your thoughts or the ones of others'? If you are living the values and beliefs of your best friend or a group of friends, the values are not your own, so therefor, your life is unexamined and why should you live a life that isn't yours? Socrates Essay example -- essays research papers Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the life of Socrates. Central Idea: I plan on telling the audience what Philosophy is, who Socrates was, and the methods he used in teaching his philosophy. INTRODUCTION Attention Getter: "The unexamined life is not worth living." This is the most famous quote of the most popular philosopher of all time: Socrates. Reveal Topic: I plan on telling you what philosophy is and how Socrates viewed philosophy. Credibility: I am able to speak on this topic because I have taken a philosophy course, and I have done extensive research in to Socrates life. Central Idea: I plan on telling the audience what philosophy is, who Socrates was, and tell the way he viewed philosophy in order to better understand his quote. (Connective: First, lets talk about what philosophy is.) BODY I. Philosophy is a term with many meanings. A. Philosophy is the process of thinking through every little question imaginable to try to come up with the most rational explanation or truth. B. It is an attempt to describe "the ultimate and real nature of reality." C. Philosophy also helps us to determine the limits of out knowledge by its source, value, nature and validity. D. It is a continuous thought process searching for the underlying knowledge of all causes or things as they appear to us, finding out why a thing is what it is. (Connective: Now let's learn a little about Socrates life.) II. Socrates's Life A. He grew up in Athens with little schooling. B. He married late in life but did have 3 sons. C. He was a political figure because of his wisdom, but never was interested in running for any type of public office. D. He was a major figure during a war which is where he first gained his recognition. E. He wrote none of his thoughts down. The information we have about him today comes from one of his students, his best, Plato. He recorded several of the dialogs he had with Socrates and put them in a book. F. His main... ...le he was in prison. They had actually devised an escape plan, and also a guard "forgot" to lock the door, but Socrates said he wanted to comply with the law and die for his reason, cause, and beliefs. F. He said he didn't fear death because you can't fear anything you don't have any knowledge of. CONCLUSION Well, I hope everyone can come up with their own interpretation of why the unexamined life wasn't and isn't worth living. According to Socrates, we should be asking questions about everything we see, hear, or think we know. I interpret the quote as having to know yourself inside and out. You have to come up with your own beliefs and values, not the one's of anyone else. I believe to have a happy life, you have to examine and know every little aspect of your life. If your thoughts and beliefs aren't questioned by yourself over and over again, how will you know if they are your thoughts or the ones of others'? If you are living the values and beliefs of your best friend or a group of friends, the values are not your own, so therefor, your life is unexamined and why should you live a life that isn't yours?

The Long Term Impact of Staff Reduction on Surviving Staff: Starbucks Experience

Research Aims Staff reductions are often required as part of the restructuring of an organisation, or as a response to economic conditions. However, the focus of the research here is to look at the long term and whether this type of staff reduction has an impact on the staff that remain, rather than focussing on those that leave. It is argued, at the outset, that the remaining members of staff are often overlooked, as they are perceived to be the â€Å"lucky ones†. Despite this, the basis of the research is that there will be both a psychological and practical impact on those remaining staff and these issues needs to be considered with much greater emphasis by the management team when looking at this type of restructuring. The aim is to provide a much greater understanding, by looking at Starbucks as an example, so that the management team is in a better position to deal with these types of situations in the future (Ferrie et al., 2001) Objectives In order to achieve this aim and to look at the broader issues associated with staff reactions, it is recognised that there will need to be several focussed objectives. Staff reactions are by their very nature going to vary, depending on a variety of subjective factors and by being clear with the objectives this will ensure that the overall aim remains the focus of the research throughout. The key objectives are as follows: To gain an understanding of the initial redundancy or downsizing process, including the impact of the various selection processes; for example, the long-term impact is likely to be different where the redundancy is voluntary and therefore understanding the involvement of those staff retained in the process is the first step to understanding the reactions. To understand the perception of individuals, depending on their role within the downsizing process; this recognises that there are multiple staff being impacted on when some are made redundant as well as the retained staff. These include the staff members who were not involved in the process, in the first place, as well as the managers, to make the ultimate decision. To appreciate the psychological reactions and individual perceptions of those staff members who remain within the organisation, depending on the way in which this process is managed; for example, is there a difference between staff who are engaged with post-redundancy, or does it generally seem preferable to return to a â€Å"business as usual† mentality (Armstrong-Stassen, 1993) Finally, the impact on the performance of the business over a longer time horizon will then be considered, looking at the immediate aftermath, as well as six months or even one year down the line, with potential reference to the ways in w hich staff members then react when the recovery process takes place. For example, it is potentially suggested in the literature that staff lack loyalty to the organisation and when general economic conditions improve may be more likely to look for alternative employment, as a result of the treatment they received during the recessionary period. Research Questions Two key questions emerge from this proposed research: Which factors impact on and to what extent do they impact on the remaining employees, following a period of downsizing or redundancy How can a management team look to mitigate the negative effects of downsizing and redundancy Critical Review of the Literature The literature in this area has already dealt with a variety of factors relating to redundancy and the impact on an organisation, but has not looked specifically at the longer term impact on the retained staff and the wider staff groups that may not have been directly linked to the restructuring and decision making. Firstly, it is noted that research in this area recognises that staff members will typically understand that there are often periods where it is necessary to downsize or restructure, to such an extent that there will be involuntary redundancies. Klein (2009) states that, although staff will recognise this need, there is now also a recognition that the business managers are making decisions with the staff in mind, but are instead looking specifically at the immediate business demands. This shows lack of long term recognition of business sustainability, when it comes to retaining staff loyalty. Research by Machlowitz (1983) looked at the emotions of the individuals, following on from a redundancy situation where they were survivors. This looked at the immediate aftermath, from an individual perspective, finding that individuals typically felt emotions of guilt or isolation, as well as a feeling of betrayal, where they felt that the process had not been undertaken completely fairly. Research from Brockner et al. (1985) looked at a laboratory experiment where students were subject to â€Å"lay offs†, finding that feelings of inequality were emerging and a sense of disgruntlement happened where it was felt that the relationship between the individuals was in some way unfair. This indicates that where there is a redundancy situation, the vitally important aspect to consider is the process of the downsizing, rather than the actual downsizing itself. Anxiety also ranked as a driving factor, as there was the concern that others would be made redundant, in the future. These perceptions and fears potentially result in efficiency within the organisation reducing and the staff then being more prepared to look towards other locations for their long term employment (Hughes, 2000). The longer term impact of staff reduction and downsizing remains largely unexamined and the purpose of this paper is to look at how these activities can have an impact on the longer term operation within the business, by understanding the way in which the surviving individuals react (Cascio,1993). Further research is also required to ensure that the management team understands the impact of the way they handle a downsizing process and that this can have a direct and lasting impact on the success of the business, in the long run. Industry background In order to explore this issue in more detail and to create a relevant analysis, Starbucks is being looked at as a case study. Starbucks presents an interesting opportunity for analysis, as it has risen very rapidly from its first store which opened in 1971 to an organisation that has stores in nearly 21,000 locations across the world. Despite this, during the last ten years, the store has actually reduced its numbers, in the wake of the global financial crisis and lowering profits (Jennings, 2008). Starbucks was not seemingly on the brink of disaster and in fact continued to open up other stores across the world, yet chose to close 600 stores across the United States, creating an interesting question as to how it impacted upon staff members where there were reports of a globally successful organisation that was still experiencing redundancies in their local area. Arguably, the reason for the downsizing in the United States was the recognition that they had achieve the maximum growth available within the industry and they simply had too many stores. Takeaway coffee is largely a luxury product, with a limited number of affluent individuals able to partake on a regular basis. Despite Starbucks being a popular location for individuals and being recognised as an outlet in which individuals can choose to spend a large amount of time working or meeting friends, there are some limits to the number of customers who are prepared to pay premium price for good quality beverages. With an industry essentially at saturation point, there needs to be a readjustment of strategy, yet there is likely to be a reaction from the employees who feel somewhat jilted having been involved in the dramatic growth and now suffering from their own success and hard work. This type of reduction is therefore particularly interesting, as it is a reaction within the industry, rather than something which can necessarily be attributed to the staff members themselves. Research design The research design for this paper is particularly important, as it involves looking at the feelings and reactions of individuals, thus making it a different type of research than simply collecting statistical data and then analysing this in a quantitative manner. In order to look at the reactions of individuals to a downsizing scenario, it is necessary to consider a sufficiently broad range of individuals, to gain any material understanding of exactly what is actually going on and the way in which individuals react. Different individuals will naturally react differently to a downsizing scenario. Certain individuals may even view this as an opportunity to further their own position, as there will be less competition within the organisation when it comes to securing their future; others will be much less positive, despite both individuals being part of the same process (Vahtera et al., 1997). For this reason, the primary method of research will be a detailed case study of precisely what is happening within the organisation. This will include an understanding of the management theory behind the downsizing, before then going on to undertake a relatively detailed questionnaire with individuals from a variety of different locations, all of whom have been affected by the downsizing in some way, as well as completing at least two focus groups where individuals are brought together to discuss their experiences. This form of research is particularly important in this scenario, due to the fact that when individuals are left to openly discuss their thoughts and feelings, it is likely that they will open up and produce a much deeper understanding of their reactions (Weca, 2008). Data Analysis Plan Due to the qualitative nature of the research planned, the necessary data analysis also needs to be sufficiently open to looking at individual reactions and trying to find consistency of patterns of behaviours or thoughts. For this reason, the questionnaires will involve a quantitative analysis of the results, which will offer an understanding of any patterns being formed, before then looking towards the qualitative aspect of the research, in order to understand why certain responses have been obtained. By taking this two-stage approach, it is anticipated that the overall conclusions will have sufficient certainty, based on the quantitative analysis and will also be able to add to the understanding, through the use of individual thoughts and responses. A particular concern does arise, however, that there will be some limitations in the accuracy of the research. Firstly, the research focuses on survivors within a certain location or organisation and there may be an unwillingness of th e individuals to be completely open about their thoughts and feelings, for fear of jeopardising their own position in the future. There are also likely to be limitations, due to the fact that this research is focusing on one organisation alone and downsizing may have different responses in different organisations (Stone, 2008). By ensuring that any results obtained are dealt with anonymously, this will assist in some way to ensure greater accuracy. Nevertheless, there will always be the need to recognise that interviewing survivors of a redundancy process is potentially a skewed approach and some individuals are going to present an inaccurate picture, purely to further their own position, or at least to protect it. On balance, however, this overall analysis is likely to present the most balanced result and also establish some themes and generalisations which will be useful for the future. Conclusion In conclusion, understanding the impact of a downsizing programme on surviving staff members is crucial to the approach taken by the management team and any such situations in the future, either within the same organisation or for management teams of other organisations (Schwaner-Albright, 2008). Personal reactions to a situation can be somewhat difficult to appreciate and understand, due to the fact that individuals, by their very nature, will react differently to exactly the same factual scenario. The aim of this research, is to identify themes and generic strategies that may be useful to those looking at downsizing in the future, in order to ensure that surviving members of staff do not suffer from the negative effect of the redundancies and that the organisation is able to return to full efficiency, as soon as possible. Time-scale for Project This research is being undertaken over one academic year, although the plan is to undertake a full research and write-up within eight months. The following chart depicts the general approach that is being followed. 12345678 Background, Aims and Objectives Literature Review Research Design Research Collection Analysis of Research Writing Up Revisiting and Checking The majority of this research will involve the collection of primary data and the analysis of the research findings that have then been collected. It is anticipated that there will need to be several re-visits to the original data, as new information or themes arise. For example, analysing questionnaires will provide a strong starting point for the focus groups, but following the focus groups, it may then be necessary to go back to the questionnaires to further explore certain key issues. It is for this reason that the research collection and analysis of research findings takes up such a substantial part of the time allowed. There is a degree of flexibility in this process and the research will be sufficiently flexible to ensure that the key points arising from both the case study, conducted as part of the literature review and the research collection, is able to take a longer period of time, if required. Resources As noted previously, the research is focusing entirely on the experience of individuals within one organisation. Therefore, good access to those individuals will be an essential element of ensuring that this research is conducted in sufficient depth. It is also noted at the outset that one of the main aims of this research is to provide the management team with guidance as to how it can better manage a downsizing operation in the future and therefore having management support in order to gain access to key individuals is a necessary resource. Secondly, understanding the responses received and looking at existing literature will also require access to a variety of different publications, although this can largely be obtained through library facilities. On balance, the key resource within this research is the ability to speak to a variety of individuals who have survived the downsizing process in Starbucks. This will require the management team to be completely supportive of the overall agenda. Individuals may be reluctant to speak about the subject or do not feel that the management team is supportive of this. No specific software is required for the analysis, although Microsoft Office suite including Excel will be useful, in order to collate the information received. References Armstrong-Stassen, M. (1993). Survivors reactions to a workforce reduction: A comparison of blue-collar workers and their supervisors. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 10: 334-343. Cascio, W. F. (1993). Downsizing: What do we knowWhat have we learnedAcademy of Management Executive, 7: 95-106. Ferrie, J. E., Shipley, M. J., Marmot, M. G., Martikainen, P., Stansfield, S. A., & Smith, G. D. (2001). Job insecurity in white-collar workers: Toward an explanation of associations with health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6: 26-42. Hughes, J. (2000). Avoidance of emotional pain during downsizing in a public agency. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 52: 256-268. Jennings, L. (2008). Starbucks to pull breakfast items, shut 100 units, put focus back on java. Nation’s Restaurant News. [Online Version] published 11th February 2008, reproduced in bnet.com, available from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_6_42/ai_n24267543 [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Kivimaki, M., Vahtera, J., Pentti, J., & Ferrie, J. (2000). Factors underlying the effects of organizational downsizing on health of employees: Longitudinal cohort study. British Medical Journal, 320: 971-976. Schwaner-Albright, O., (2008). Tasting the future of Starbucks coffee from a new machine. The New York Times. [Online Version]. Published March 26th 2008, available from: http://www.nytimes.com/03/26/dining/26starbucks.html?_r?=2&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&oref=slogin [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Stone, B. (2008). Starbucks Plans Return to its Roots. The New York Times, [Online Version], published March 20th 2008, available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/20sbux.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&scp=3 [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Vahtera, J., Kivimaki, M., & Pentti, J. (1997). Effect of organizational downsizing on health of employees. The Lancet, 350: 1124-1128. Weca (2008). Pay more/ stop reliance on Tips. Mystarbucksidea.com. Posted May 23rd 2008, available from http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaView?id=087500000004hShAAI[Accessed 12/11/2014].