The Argument of Plato's Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Argument of Plato's Republic - Essay Example Would he still choose to tell only the truth to a person in such a state? According to Socrates, therefore, saying the truth and retuning what one has received do not qualify to be justice. In that case, truth telling and giving back is not justice. Polemarchus, inheriting the argument from Cephalous went ahead to give his understanding of justice. According to Polemarchus, justice means giving favor to friends and mistreating enemies. That is, it is what renders good to friends when he is good and harms to enemies when he is bad. Socrates contradicts his description on the basis of what circumstances should the just man can benefit from friends and receive evil from enemies. According to him, Polemarchus refers to justice as a kind of stealing to benefit friends and harm enemies. It is just to wrong the unjust. Differentiating between friends and enemies becomes difficult, therefore. Many people who seem good in many cases are not. Socrates gives an example of one who is skilled to give a blow as the one most cautious to secure a guard from a blow. Polemarchus admits the argument saying he did not know what he meant. He still believes, though, that justice benefits friends and harm enemies. Thrasymachus then came into the conversation. According to him, the just is the advantage of the stronger. He points out various regimes of rule such as tyrants, democracy rules, and aristocracy. According to him, the ruling party sets the goals and laws. Justice, therefore, is the advantage obtained by the ruling party.

Ben and jerry study case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ben and jerry - Case Study Example Also, it failed in increasing average return on shareholders’ equity. From 5% in 1997, it had reached till the case writing to 9%, which was not a big leap forward on the shareholders’ money. 2. Do you think that, in general, it is possible for a for-profit company to be committed to â€Å"improve the quality of life of a broad community† and still maximize shareholder value? Why or why not? It is possible for a for-profit company to remain dedicated to the community cause and at the same time record high earnings for the shareholders. Off late social issues of the communities where corporations have their offices have become relevant enough to provide a brand name and image to a company that promises to offer intangible value to the surrounding communities. This intangible value appreciates in time and changes into tangible results later when public at large prefers investing in its shares because of the earned reputation from the social work done to improve the standard of life of the surrounding communities. If I were Henry Morgan, I would recommend the Board to accept the offer made by Unilever. Unilever is the only company that is offering shareholders’ $36 in cash for each share. Offering shareholders the cash return for their investments in Ben $ Jerry’s provides them freedom of investing in any other company. Another company, Meadowbrook Lane is offering $32, which is less in value to the offer made by Unilever. Other than that the proposal made by Unilever offers to include some select members of B&J management in the integrated division of Unilever’s frozen desserts. A conflict of interests arises over Unilever’s proposal to limit social commitments and interests, but this is the same in the proposals of Meadowbrook Lane and Dreyer’s Grand. 4. If you are thinking about starting a new business, would social consciousness be a consideration for you? Was there anything you learned in

Legal and Ethical Implications Essay Example for Free

Legal and Ethical Implications Essay In the classroom there is responsibility and duties for the teachers, students, as well as the parents. These responsibilities help the classroom to run smoothly and they help to build a well-managed classroom. Of those responsibilities teachers, students and parents need to understand legal and ethical issues in classroom management. This paper will discuss two articles and address the legal and ethical issues for classroom management. It will address how the articles relate to the rights and responsibilities of students, teachers, as well as the parents. Lastly, I will discuss how each article will make a difference in the way I will manage my classroom in the future. Article One: Untangling Legal Issues that Affect Teachers and Student Teachers This article discussed legal issues and focused on child abuse, safety in the art room, freedom of expression and religion, and special education and how these topics affects art teachers as well as student teachers. From the article I learned that the Tenth, First, and Fourteenth Amendments hold significance for educational law in the Unite d States. Next, from the article I read that it is required by law that a teacher reports child abuse. The article defined child abuse as a non-accidental, patterns of injuries, sexual abuse, neglecting treatment, physical or mental injuries, or mistreatment of a child under the age of eighteen (Untangling Legal Issues that Affect Teachers and Student Teachers, 2009, page 48). Child abuse is a federal crime and teachers could be held responsible if they don’t report it. If it is not reported a teacher can receive a misdemeanor and the penalty could range from spending time in jail to being fined. Safety in the art room is another topic discussed in this article. From the article I learned that a teacher could be held liable for injuries if the injuries are found to be negligent. An example of a negligent injury is teacher not demonstrating to students the proper care and handling of materials and tools. Art teachers should not assume that materials are safe and they should send out permission forms that let parents know what material students will be working with, have parents lists their contact information, and any know allergies the child may have. The article states that the art room should be set up properly, hazardous materials should be labeled, and teachers should lock up hazardous materials. This article discusses how children with exceptional needs cannot be excluded public education. Also, I read in the article about freedom of religion and how teachers cannot preach their beliefs in school nor have religious conversations with student and I read how students have freedom of expression but it is the art teacher responsibility to make sure the students art work is displayed in a way that is appropriate. Then the article goes into detail to discuss the liability of student teachers. From the article I read that student teachers are responsible for the same duties as full time teachers and the liability is the same as also. After reading this article it has impacted how I will manage my class. It made me realize how important it is to get to know all of my student and their parents, how to pay careful attention to my students, how to set my classroom up appropriately, and make sure I demonstrate how to use materials appropriately. It definitely made me realize the importance of freedom of expression and religion. I will respect all my students and never try to force my religion on them. Also, I will report child abuse if I see it. I didn’t realize how important all these things were but this article made me aware and my outlook on classroom management is differently. When managing my classroom I will make sure it incorporates all these things like freedom of expression, religion, and I will make sure the classroom is set up in a way that I am able to monitor my students for things like child abuse and to make sure they use certain materials appropriately. Article Two: Using Time-Out Effectively in the Classroom In this article it discusses how to use time out effectively and how it could lead to legal problems if used ineffectively. From the article, time out is defined as a procedure or form of punishment where students are denied access to all opportunities for reinforcement and it is used when inappropriate behavior is displayed (Using Time Out Effectively in the Classroom, 2007, page 60). Time-out has been used by many teachers to address inappropriate behaviors in the classroom. There are four different types of time-out and they are: inclusion time-out, exclusion time-out, seclusion time-out, and restrained time-out (Using Time-Out Effectively in the Classroom, 2007). Inclusion time-out involves removing the reinforcement from the student. Some variations that involved in this type of time-out are ignoring and removal of materials. Exclusion time-out is when the student is removed from the enhancing setting that caused the behavior. Exclusion time- out requires a student to be removed from instructional activities. Restrained time-out which is the most preventive form of time-out requires both a restraint and restriction. Restrained time-out is when the teacher places the student into a time-out position and maintains the student and position using physical restraint (Using Time Out Effectively in the Classroom, 2007, page 62). Isolation time- out better known as Seclusion time-out involves the teacher removing the student from the classroom and places them in a room or assigned area where he or she is restricted from leaving until they serve their time in this area. From the article I read that time-out becomes ineffective when typical pitfalls include classroom environments that are insufficiently reinforcing to the students or when time-out procedures lose their punishing qualities and take on reinforcing qualities (Using Time-Out Effectively in the Classroom, 2007, page 62). Also, I read over some recommendations on how to make the classroom reinforcing, use effective teaching strategies, how to come up with a time-out plan, and how to develop a hierarchical behavior management plan. I learned that we as teachers should be trained in methods of controlling behaviors. I learned some ways time-out is used inappropriately. For example, a teacher used it for a mild behavior. By doing this it could result to legal problems. After reading this article it has definitely changed my view on how I will manage my class in the future. When I manage my class, I plan to apply time-out effectively and use it in a way that is appropriate and will reduce the misbehavior within the student. Next, I will make sure I develop a hierarchical behavior management plan as well as a time-out plan so that the behavior and time-out is managed properly. Next, I will document when I use time- out which includes important information like the student name, date, behavior, duration, etc. By doing this, this can assist staff in determining if time-out was effective an d this could reduce chances of legal problems. I will make sure I establish a time out policy and I will go over this policy with my students on the first day of school and send a copy home to the parents to make sure they understand the time-out policy. Conclusion There are many responsibilities for parents, teachers, and students when it comes to managing a classroom. Teachers need to make sure they take the proper precautions and follow the state laws and schools policies when managing a classroom, and students need to make sure they understand the rules, policies, and procedures in the classroom. Also, parents need to be notified of these rules, policies, and procedures. Understanding and communication needs to co-exist between parents, students, and teachers so that legal and ethical issues don’t arise. References Bain, C. (2009). Untangling legal issues that affect teachers and student teachers. Art Education: TX. Katsiyannis, A., Ryan, J., Sanders, S., Yell, M. (2007). Using time-out effectively in the classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children 39(4), 60-67.

Image To Voice Converter Is Software Computer Science Essay

Image To Voice Converter Is Software Computer Science Essay Image to Voice converter is software or a device to recognize an image and convert it into human voice. The purpose of the conversion is to provide communication aid for blind people to sense what the object in their hand or in front of them. This converter is also suitable for children at the age of three until six years old for early education part. In this project converter, it consists of image processing and sound generation. For an image processing, it is a series of calculation techniques for analyzing, reconstructing, compressing, and enhancing images. When an object is inputting, an image will captured through scanning or webcam; analyze and manipulate of the image, accomplished using various specialized software applications such as MATLAB and output like a printer or a monitor. Image processing has several techniques, including template matching, KNN (K-Nearest Neighbour), thresholding and etc. For the template matching, it is a technique for finding small parts of an image to match with the template image; it is also used to identify printed characters, numbers, and other small, simple objects. KNN (K-Nearest Neighbour) is an algorithm that can work very well in practice and easy to understand. It is also a lazy algorithm that does not use the training data points to do any generalization. Besides, thresholding technique is one of the most important approaches to image segmentation. It is a non-linear operation that can converts a gray-scale image into a binary image. The purpose of image processing in this project is to analysis of a picture using techniques that can identify shades, colours and relationships that cannot be observed by the human eye. Besides that, an image processing is used to solve identification problems, i.e. in forensic medicine or in establishing weather maps from satellite photos. It assigns with images in bitmapped graphics form that have been scanned in or taken with digital cameras. For sound generation is to generate a sound through window sound library or play a wav file from computer. Problem Statement Nowadays, many visually impaired people still using blind mans stick to sense the road of the direction and object in front of them in this society. With just only a plain stick and a pair of covered eye, it is difficult for a human to get sense of their direction. Probably, they would not know what the objects around the people which had been blinded eye. As we can see the economy nowadays is getting worse, most of the people or family members were getting busy on their busy work life; they have no extra time to spend on the handicap people to give them a good care. In this case, for all the handicap people especially blind people, they have to get use to it on their living style. In order than that, this product is also available to help the small kids to improve the ability on distinguishing or differentiate the daily use objects. This is the reason why the product mentioned above was developed. Project Aim and Objective: The aim of this project is to develop an Image to Voice converter which able to recognize an image from the webcam and then convert it into sound by window sound library or wav file with good performance. To achieve the main objective of this project, there are sub-objectives need to be carry through as follows: To develop a unique image recognition algorithms for shapes and colours for real time application using MATLAB. To analyze the performance of the image recognition algorithm in term of accuracy and time processing. To develop an algorithm to convert recognized image to voice using MATLAB. To analyze the performance of image to voice conversion algorithm. Test the performance of the closed loop interface for the image and sound processing converter system. To develop Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the image to voice converter for case of user finding. Project Scope/Limitation The scope of this project is to construct a unique image to voice converter within a period of time at cost not to exceed RM200. Referring to this project, it consists of hardware which is webcam and software which is MATLAB. The system of this project is to capture an image using webcam, then recognize an image and generate a sound using MATLAB with several techniques. This product specially created for visually impaired people or to improve small kids learning capability. There was few limitation of this project which specified as follows: Shape limitation Colour limitation Resolution limitation Distance limitation Literature Review Image processing is a technique to convert an image into digital specification and go through some actions on it, so as to get an enhanced image or to collect some advanced information from it. It is a kind of signal exemption in which input is image, like video frame or photograph and output may be image or features related with that image. Frequently, image processing institution consist of treating images as two dimensional signals while applying already set signal processing techniques to them[1]. For the image recognition process can be divided into several algorithms which are image acquisition, image pre-processing, image segmentation, image representation and image classification. For the image acquisition, it is a digital image that captured by one or a few image sensors, such as various types of light-sensitive cameras, range sensors, tomography devices, radar, ultra-sonic cameras and etc. According to the type of sensor, the outcome of an image data is an generally two dim ensional image, a three dimensional capacity, or an image order. The pixel values usually correspond to strength of light in one or a few spectral bands, but can also be involved many physical measures, such as depth, absorption or reflectance of sonic or electromagnetic waves, or nuclear magnetic resonance. Image pre-processing is one of the algorithms that can increase the dependability of an optical inspection. This algorithm can be categorized into two categories which are image enhancement. Image enhancement requires intensifying the different features of images either for display or analysis targets. The enhancements techniques are edge enhancements, noise filtering, magnifying and sharpening an image. Several filter operations which increase or reduce certain image features allow an easier or faster evaluation. For examples, mean filter, median filter, wiener filter, and etc. With continuous use, an image will becomes degraded and has many errors. Image restoration is the process used to restore the degraded image. This process is also used to correct images read from different sensors that show up murky or out of focus[2]. Next, image segmentation is performed to assemble pixels into salient image areas, for example, areas corresponding to specific surfaces, objects, or inherent sections of objects. Segmentation could be used for object recognition, occlusion boundary estimation within motion or stereo systems, image density, image editing, or image database. The traditional image segmentation method can be divided into several techniques including gray threshold segmentation method, edge extraction method, regional growth method and split consolidation method and etc. Threshold technique was applied in this project. It is a technique that deals with gray-scale images. For the moment of the influence of noise or illumination, it can be assumed that the majority of pixels belonging to the objects will have a relatively low gray-level, whereas the background pixels will have a relatively high gray-level. For example, Black is represented by a gray-level of 0, and White by a gray-level of 255. Based on th is observation, we can divide the pixels in the image into two dominant groups, according to their gray-level. These gray-levels may serve as detectors to distinguish between background and objects in the image. On the other hand, if the image is one of smooth-edged objects, then it will not be a pure black and white image; hence this would not be able to find two distinct gray-levels characterizing the background and the objects. This problem intensifies with the existence of noise[3]. In order to overcome the ill influence of noise and shading, there are two methods that can solve this problem which are Otsu known as Global Threshold and Neighbourhood known as Adaptive Threshold. For the image representation, all information is commonly represented in binary. This is real of images as well as numbers and text. However, an important differentiation needs to be made between how image data is shown and how it is stored. Displaying includes bitmap representation while storing as a file includes many image formats, such as jpeg and png[4]. There are few techniques for image representation which are Roundness ratio known as Circularity, Fourier Descriptors and etc. The intent of the image classification procedure is to sort all pixels in a digital image into one of several land cover categories, or themes. This categorized data may then be used to deliver thematic maps of the land cover present in an image. Ordinarily, multispectral data are used to carry out the classification and truly the spectral pattern present within the data for each pixel is used as the numerical basis for categorization. The purpose of image classification is to determine and describe, as a distinct gray level or colour, the characteristics occurring in an image in terms of the object or kind of land cover these characteristics practically express on the ground[5]. The technique for this algorithm is using template matching and KNN (K-Nearest Neighbour). Table : Comparison of image sensors for image acquisition[6, 7] Types of Image Sensor Strength Weakness 1 Webcam allow face to face interaction low cost easy to use low resolution not portable no optical zoom lenses no auto-focus 2 Digital Camera high resolution portable with batteries has optical zoom lenses has auto-focus high operating speed less durability battery consumption faster high cost many complex function From the Table 1, it can be seen that both image sensors have its own strengths and weaknesses. This research will more focus on webcam due to this image sensor is using for this project. Webcam can be used to connect with computer to capture an image for image recognition. On the other hand, it is easy to use and cheaper compare with digital camera which is more complex and high cost. However, the megapixel of digital camera is higher than webcam. .. Table : Comparison of several types of filter for image pre-processing[2, 8] Types of filter Strength Weakness 1 Median filter more robust more smoothing provide good results memory consuming complex computation 2 Mean filter intuitive simple to use smoothing not good in sharpen images susceptible to negative outliers 3 Wiener filter short computation time controls output error straightforward to design results often too blurred spatially invariant From the Table 2, it can be seen that all filters have its own strengths and weaknesses. This research will focus on two types of filter which are median filter and mean filter. Median filter have been chosen for this project is because median filter is more robust on average than mean filter and so a not representative pixel in a neighbourhood will not influence the median value significantly. Since the median value needs to be the value of one of the pixels in the neighbourhood, the median filter does not establish new unrealistic pixel values when the filter straddles an edge. This is because of the median filter is better at preserving sharp edges than the mean filter. Also, median filter removes the noise level more than mean filter. Table : Comparison of threshold techniques for image segmentation [9, 10] Threshold Techniques Strength Weakness 1 Otsu fast ease of coding easy to use less sensitivity assumption of uniform illumination does not use any object structure or spatial coherence complex computation 2 Neighbourhood produce a good result less computation memory consumption time consumption sensitive From the Table 3, it can be seen that both techniques have its own strengths and weaknesses. Otsus method, named after its inventor Nobuyuki Otsu, is a global threhold that consists of many binarization algorithms[11]. This method involves iterating through all probable threshold values and computing a measure of propagates for the pixel levels each side of the threshold, i.e. the pixels that can be falls in background or foreground. The purpose is to find the threshold value where the total of foreground and background propagate is at its minimum. Neighbourhood which known as adaptive threshold is used to separate desirable foreground image objects from the background based on the difference in pixel intensities of each region. The differences between both methods were Otsu uses a histogram to threshold the image and the Neighbourhood method uses a histogram to threshold the pixels in a small region/neighbourhood around the pixel. In addition, Otsu methods suffer less errors occur t hat are caused by the sensitivity of the local algorithms to image noise compare with the Neighbourhood methods. Table : Comparison of the two techniques for image representation[12] Techniques of Image Representation Strength Weakness 1 Roundness Ratio very fast algorithm scale, position and rotation invariant high accuracy if image shape can be preserved properly after segmentation susceptible to errors if object shape is changed due to improper segmentation 2 Fourier Descriptor medium speed produce a good result low computation cost overcome the weak discrimination ability scale, position and rotation invariant difficult to obtain high order invariant moments cannot deal with disjoint shapes From the Table 4, it can be seen that both techniques have its own strengths and weaknesses. Roundness is defined in term of a surface of revolution like cylinder, cone or sphere where all marks of the surface alternated by any plane vertical to a common axis in case of cylinder and cone are equal in distance from axis. As the axis and centre do not exist, measurements have to be made with consultation to surfaces of the figures of revolution only. The circularity of the outline is to measuring roundness[12]. Fourier Descriptors are used to describe the feature of contour of shape. It was founded in the early sixties last century by Cosgriff and Fritzsche. According to the Fourier analysis theory, Fourier coefficients can be often generated by Fourier transformation. Lower frequency coefficients have the general shape of the signature, and higher frequency coefficients have the more information about the shape. As the harmonic amplitude and the phase angle can represent the Fourier D escriptor, and Fourier coefficients are usually normalized by dividing the first Fourier coefficient separately. Because there are some fast algorithms in computing the coefficient of Fourier series, many recognition systems in machine vision using these coefficients as shape features. Table : Comparison of several techniques for image classification [13-15] Techniques for Image Classification Strength Weakness 1 Template Matching easy to implement high degree of flexibility high accuracy of detection shape limitation computation speed susceptible to scaling and rotation 2 K-Nearest Neighbour easy to implement very effective improve accuracy improve run-time performance poor run-time performance if the training set is large very sensitive outperformed by more exotic techniques 3 Neural Network minimize energy function high accuracy easy to use unstable curse of dimensionality space consumption From the Table 1.5, it can be seen that all techniques have its own strengths and weaknesses. This research will focus on two techniques which are Template Matching and K-Nearest Neighbour. The standard template matching technique is known as simple mechanism, high accuracy of detection, and is used as a general model assessment and error estimation. Hence, it plays a very important role in image processing, and is commonly used in object detection and recognition. But the contradiction between rapidity and accuracy is exceptional. The main factors affecting rapidity are searching calculation, and operations of template matching. Appropriately decreasing positions and similarity computing precision can increase the speed of template matching obviously. That is becoming a focus in this field. Many studies focus on improving the searching algorithm, decreasing the matching times by decreasing the matching points on the template of images, which need to be detected so that rapidity is r ealized. The typical algorithms are pyramid algorithm, genetic algorithm and so on. Each matching operation is based on the template matching, thus it is necessary to pay attention to improving the computation speed of template matching fundamentally[14]. The intuition underlying Nearest Neighbour Classification is quite straightforward, examples are classified based on the class of their nearest neighbours, it is often useful to take more than one neighbour into account so the technique is more commonly referred to as K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) Classification where k-nearest neighbours are used in determining the class. Since the training examples are needed at run-time, i.e. they need to be in memory at run-time; it is sometimes also called Memory-Based Classification. Because induction is delayed to run time, it is considered a Lazy Learning technique[13]. . Analysis on Similar Products and Paper Literatures Oral Image to Voice Converter by Takaaki HASEGAWA and Keiichi OHTANI[16]: In this paper, the authors propose a new speech communication system to convert oral image into voice, Image input Microphone. This system synthesizes the voice from only the oral image. This system provides high security and is not affected by acoustic noise, because actual utterance is not always necessary to input. Moreover, since the voice is synthesized without recognition, this system is independent of languages. Simulations to convert oral image to voice about Japanese five vowels are carried out as basic investigation. A vocal tract area function is estimated from the oral image, and PARCOR synthesis filter is obtained from the vocal tract area function. The PARCOR synthesis filter is driven by a pulse train. The performance of this system is evaluated by hearing tests of the synthesized voice. As a result, audible voice has been synthesized and the mean recognition rate of Japanese five vowels has been 91%. This paper describes a system to convert oral image into voice with considering humans lip-reading ability. In the proposed system, the voice is directly synthesized only from the oral image without recognition, and actual utterance is not always necessary to input. They use both the feature of a tongue and the feature of lips obtained from the oral image. Therefore this system is not affected by the acoustic noise, and simultaneously, it provides high security because of no utterance input capability. The system structure of this product is using a vocal tract area function which is equivalent to the transfer function of the vocal tract as a parameter. Indirect means synthesis via the vocal tract area function. The vocal tract area function is obtained from the PARCOR analysis of speech signals, and speech signals are synthesized by inverse processing of PARCOR analysis. Therefore if the vocal tract area function is estimated from oral image signals, they can convert the oral image to the corresponding voice. Human utters various voice by changing the vocal tract, and each articulator moves not independently but cooperatively in utterance, It is generally known that the information of articulation is obtained from lip-reading. Software Comparison Table below shows that the two comparison of the software between MATLAB and C++. Table : Comparison of software between MATLAB and C++[17] Types of Software Strength Weakness 1 MATLAB easy to learn fast numerical algorithms inexpensive software fast development slow processing complex computation 2 C++ mature standard large community fast complex computation difficult to debug low level programming From the Table 6, it can be seen that both types of software have its own strengths and weaknesses. MATLAB is software that has been widely used in image processing and computer vision community. Multiple image analysis function has been build into this software; it is very useful image analysis tools for end user. C++ is a standard template library (STL), computer graphics, and image processing. Based on C++ template mechanism, the library accepts all C++ build-in types as the image data, although certain functions are only valid to subset of build-in types. MATLAB has been selected due to the project analysis characteristic. MATLAB version R2010b will be used to analyze the image quality and performance in this project. Project Methodology This project has been divided into hardware and software. For the hardware section is the webcam as the input and speaker as the output. For the software section is using MATLAB to recognize image to sound with several image processing techniques. Block Diagram Webcam Image Segmentation (Thresholding) Image Acquisition (Acquire image) Image Preprocessing (Median filtering) MATLAB Image Representation (Roundness Ratio) Sound Generation (WAV file) Image Classification (Template Matching using KNN) Speaker Figure 1: Block diagram of Image to Voice converter. The block diagram shown in Figure 1 is the basic concept on the system interface that needed to be carried out. Base on the block diagram, first prepared a webcam. Then, capture the image in front of the webcam. After that, perform a median filtering in image pre-processing using MATLAB. It will filtered unwanted signal or noise inside the image. Next is image segmentation, referring to the literature review, the most suitable method is using Otsus method in thresholding techniques to convert grayscale image into binary image to do segmentation. Secondly, find the largest object and do the image representation using roundness ratio to calculate the ratio of the largest object to determine which one is the nearest to the template ratio. Next stage is image classification, using template matching with KNN techniques to find the small part of the image to match with the template image. After matching done, it will automatically generate a sound from the computer with WAV file. Flow Chart Start Acquire image from webcam Perform median filtering Colour Space Conversion Thresholding using Otsu Image labelling Find the largest object Image Representation -roundness ratio Template matching using KNN Is the image matched? No Yes Generate Sound Figure 2: Flow chart of Image to Voice converter. Based on Figure 2, before the beginning of image recognition, first, acquire an image in front of the webcam, and then the acquired image will go through image enhancement process to perform median filtering to filter some unwanted noise and sharpening the image. After that, the image will perform a colour space conversion which is convert the image colour space to another colour space, i.e. RGB, HSV, YCbCr and etc. The purpose of converting the colour space is to ensure that the converted image to be as same as the possible to the original image. Next, perform a threshold technique using Otsus method to calculating a measure of spread for the pixel levels each side of the threshold. The reason of doing this is to separate the objects from the background. Once the thresholding technique is done, perform a image labelling by taking the outside lines in the image and label them as occluding the background. After that, find the largest object and do the image representation using roundn ess ratio to calculate which object is similar to the template ratio. Then, perform a template matching techniques to find a match between the template and a portion of the image. The template that most closely matches the object is then found using the KNN method to do a matching system with the database image. If the data is matched, it will generate a sound automatically by using MATLAB to load the wav file from the computer or laptop. After that, it will repeat the procedure starting from the first step. If the data is unmatched, it wont generate a sound and it will go back to the first step and repeat the procedure again until the data is matched. Projects Method Median Filter Median filters are nonlinear rank-order filters based on replacing each element of the source vector with the median value, taken over the fixed neighbourhood of the processed element. These filters are widely used in image and signal processing applications. The purpose of median filtering is to removes impulsive noise, while keeping the signal blurring to the minimum[18]. Otsu Method Otsus method is a widely used method of segmentation, also known as the maximum infra-class variance method or the minimum inter-class variance method. This method involves iterating through all the possible threshold values and calculating a measure of spread for the pixel levels each side of the threshold, i.e. the pixels that either falls in foreground or background. The aim is to find the threshold value where the sum of foreground and background spreads is at its minimum[11]. Roundness Ratio/Circularity Roundness is defined as a condition of a surface of revolution like cylinder, cone or sphere where all points of the surface intersected by any plane perpendicular to a common axis in case of cylinder and cone. Since the axis and centre do not exist physically, measurements have to make with reference to surfaces of the figures of revolution only. For measuring roundness, it is only the circularity of the contour which is determined[12]. Template Matching The classical template matching method is charactered as simple mechanism, high accuracy of detection, and is used as a general model evaluation and error estimation. Therefore, it plays a very important role in image processing, and is widely used in object detection and recognition. It is a technique for finding small parts of an image to match with a database image[14]. K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) is a branch of simple classification and regression algorithms. It can be defined as a lazy method. It does not use the training data points to do any generalization. Although classification remains the primary application of KNN, it can use to do density estimation also. Since KNN is non parametric, it can do calculation for arbitrary assignation[19]. Project Specification This project is divided into 3 main sections which are hardware, software and project estimate cost. Hardware The hardware was using for this project is Logitech HD Webcam C310, below is the basic requirement of the webcam: logitech-hd-webcam-c310.png Figure 3: Logitech HD Webcam C310[20] Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) or Windows 8 1 GHz 512 MB RAM or more 200MB hard drive space Internet connection USB 1.1 port (2.0 recommended) Software The software for this project is using MATLAB for image recognition and sound generation. Project Estimate Cost The estimate cost for this project is RM89 which was the Logitech HD Webcam C310, because this project was basically software based project and the software to be used is MATLAB from college engineering lab. Gantt Chart

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - Witches as Heroines :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Witches as the Heroines of Macbeth Traditionally, the witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth have been treated as symbolic manifestations of the potential for evil. Many students and critics of Macbeth enjoy blaming the witches, along with Lady Macbeth, for Macbeth's downfall. Regardless, it may be argued that the witches are the heroines of the play. One eminent modern literary critic, Terry Eagleton, has addressed the issue of the witches as heroines directly: To any unprejudiced reader--which would seem to exclude Shakespeare himself, his contemporary audiences and almost all literary critics--it is surely clear that positive value in Macbeth lies with the three witches. The witches are the heroines of the piece, however little the play itself recognizes the fact, and however much the critics may have set out to defame them. (William Shakespeare, p. 2) For Eagleton, the social reality of the witches matters. They are outcasts, much like feminists they live on the fringe of society in a female community, at odds with the male world of "civilization," which values military butchery. The fact that they are female and associated with the natural world beyond the aristocratic oppression in the castles indicates that they are excluded others. Their equality in a female community declares their opposition to the masculine power of the militaristic society. They have no direct power, but they have become expert at manipulating or appealing to the self-destructive contradictions of their military oppressors. They can see Macbeth's destruction as a victory of a sort: one more viciously individualistic, aggressive male oppressor has gone under. This suggestion is not entirely serious (Eagleton observes that the play does not recognize the issue he is calling attention to), but it underscores a key point in the tragic experience of Macbeth, its connection to a willed repudiation of the deep mysterious heart of life, the place where sexuality and the unconscious hold sway. This aspect of life is commonly associated with and hence symbolized by women, for complex reasons which there is not time to go into here (but which would seem to be intimately bound up with women's sexuality and fertility, contacts with the irrational centres of life which men do not understand and commonly fear). In seeking to stamp his own willed vision of the future onto life, the tragic hero rejects a more direct acquaintance with or acceptance of life's mystery.

The Impact of Modern Science and Technology Essay -- Medical Medicine

The Impact of Modern Science and Technology The quest for scientific knowledge should be boundless. There should not be any type of barriers to prevent such an enrichment of knowledge, and that is exactly what science presents to us. Scientific knowledge can only help us in the long run and even perhaps save us from catastrophes that may occur naturally in the world. There could be an agreement that science has produced many dangerous and destructive things which have brought society many problems, but on the same token the good things that science has produced seems to outweigh the bad. There is much to be said about the bad things that science has produced throughout history. For instance, the creation of nuclear weapons, which have the potential of destroying the whole planet in a matter of hours. There are also many other negative outcomes which science has created in our environments like the depletion of natural resources, technological unemployment, and environmental pollution. Unfortunately, the adversaries of science only want you to look at the negative things that science has created without mentioning and without giving recognition to the good things that science has created. In fact, many of these opposing individuals of science can be called hypocrites from their failure of using technology for their own need and satisfaction. As Bishop mentions in his article "Enemies of Promise", there are many people who are ignorant when it comes to science and, yet these ignorant individuals still have opinions that mislead other people who are less educated and less informed; what greater reason should there be for us in knowing more about science. Under all the scrutiny science has gone through by their adversarie... ...ving no matter how bad our situation becomes or how bad our environment gets and sometimes the combination of both. One could say that science is here to stay and there is nothing to stop it, and if that is the case one must try to learn everything that science introduces to us. It does not matter if the science being done is undesirable, we should still educate ourselves to understand the problem and perhaps fix the problem with newer and even more advanced technology. Trying to avoid science and to go against it would be like putting on blinders because everyone around you is looking forward for something new that could improve the standard of living and even once self being. Work Cited Lunsford, Andrea and John Ruszkiewicz. The Presence of Others: Voices that call for Response 2nd ed. New York: St. MArtin's, 1997 Bishop,J. Michael. "Enemies of Promises" The Impact of Modern Science and Technology Essay -- Medical Medicine The Impact of Modern Science and Technology The quest for scientific knowledge should be boundless. There should not be any type of barriers to prevent such an enrichment of knowledge, and that is exactly what science presents to us. Scientific knowledge can only help us in the long run and even perhaps save us from catastrophes that may occur naturally in the world. There could be an agreement that science has produced many dangerous and destructive things which have brought society many problems, but on the same token the good things that science has produced seems to outweigh the bad. There is much to be said about the bad things that science has produced throughout history. For instance, the creation of nuclear weapons, which have the potential of destroying the whole planet in a matter of hours. There are also many other negative outcomes which science has created in our environments like the depletion of natural resources, technological unemployment, and environmental pollution. Unfortunately, the adversaries of science only want you to look at the negative things that science has created without mentioning and without giving recognition to the good things that science has created. In fact, many of these opposing individuals of science can be called hypocrites from their failure of using technology for their own need and satisfaction. As Bishop mentions in his article "Enemies of Promise", there are many people who are ignorant when it comes to science and, yet these ignorant individuals still have opinions that mislead other people who are less educated and less informed; what greater reason should there be for us in knowing more about science. Under all the scrutiny science has gone through by their adversarie... ...ving no matter how bad our situation becomes or how bad our environment gets and sometimes the combination of both. One could say that science is here to stay and there is nothing to stop it, and if that is the case one must try to learn everything that science introduces to us. It does not matter if the science being done is undesirable, we should still educate ourselves to understand the problem and perhaps fix the problem with newer and even more advanced technology. Trying to avoid science and to go against it would be like putting on blinders because everyone around you is looking forward for something new that could improve the standard of living and even once self being. Work Cited Lunsford, Andrea and John Ruszkiewicz. The Presence of Others: Voices that call for Response 2nd ed. New York: St. MArtin's, 1997 Bishop,J. Michael. "Enemies of Promises"

Disability and Individual Disabled Person

* Explain the potential impact of disability on the outcomes and life chances of children and young people (CYP 3. 7 3. 1) The potential impact of disability on the outcomes and life chances of children and young people are that they get physical impairments and chronic medical conditions may compromise healthy development and disrupt their educational experiences. Adper children’s all round development, move on further into the future to have financial difficulties and restricted opportunities and career paths.All of these outcomes can destabilize families and relationships causing stress and depression. * The importance of positive attitudes towards disability and specific requirements helps a person with additional needs to feel more valued and equal to every other child or young person, it also prevents isolation of a child. A positive attitude ensures inclusive and tting. It builds positive relationships so that everyone in the setting and in the world feels respected, sa fe and happy where they live, and spend their time. Explain the social and medical models of disability and the impact of each on practice (CYP3. 7 3. 3) The medical model promotes the view of a disabled person as dependent and needing to be cured or cared for, and it justifies the way in which disabled people have been systematically excluded from society. The disabled person is the problem, not society. Control resides firmly with professionals; choices for the individual are limited to the options provided and approved by the ‘helping' expert.The medical model is sometimes known as the ‘individual model’ because it promotes the notion that it is the individual disabled person who must adapt to the way in which society is constructed and organised. By labelling a child because of their disability can prevent us from seeing the child as a whole person like their gender, culture and social background the medical models is a traditional view of disability and that through medical intervention the person can be cured where in fact in ost cases there is no cure. They expect disabled people to change to fit into society. * Explain the different types of support that are available for disabled children and young people and those with specific requirements (CYP3. 7 3. 4) Specialised services  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ in my setting we have a special educational needs coordinator and we use other services such as physio therapist, speech therapists, school nurse, social services we use these services in order to provide the right care for the children in need.