Academic Scholarships Untapped Financial Resources free essay sample

Salmon 1 Donovan M. A. Salmon Dry. Margaret Connors ENG 101-1 16: English Composition 28 March 2014 Academic Scholarships: Untapped Financial Resource The pursuit of a college education has continued to be a daunting experience for college bound students and the parents who support them. Adult students who are responsible for their own support, while pursuing a college degree, can find themselves delaying their academic pursuits because of the escalating cost. In some extreme cases, they opt to abandon their goals completely because they are unable to finance the cost.Other students may opt to take on the burden of crippling debt in order to finance their college education. This stark reality was emphasized by President Barack Obama in his speech at Henning High School, Syracuse, New York on August 22, 2013. The President stated, The average student who borrows for college now graduates owing more than $26,000, and a lot found people owe a lot more than that (Obama). We will write a custom essay sample on Academic Scholarships: Untapped Financial Resources or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Are academic scholarships-?the untapped financial resource-?the key to unlocking the code of a debt free college education?A useful resource is The College Board website. Myra Smith, past Executive Financial Aid: Peel Grant Director of Financial Aid Services at The College Board (Smith), provides a brief synopsis of how to start the thinking process around the cost of college and developing the financial plan. Personal Funds + Aid Source: Example Of a college budget developed by Donovan Salmon. Students attending BOMB, as a freshman responsible for their own support for the academic year 2013-2014 can expect to pay $2,100. 00 per semester or between $180. 00 to $370. 0 per credit in tuition cost plus other fees. The model presented is a budget for a freshman. It is clear from the data that this student would have to apply for a scholarship or a loan to cover the cost of $2,401. 0 that could not be financed by personal funds and financial aid. Investing the time and energy to explore the financial benefits of academic scholarships could make a difference-?not having to abandon ones academic goals or incur long-term debt-?having the financial freedom and resources to achieve ones academic potential.Scholarships provide financial resources that can be utilized by Salmon 3 students to finance the cost of their college education. The funding provided by scholarships do not have to be repaid by the student. Scholarships, when combined with Federal student grants and Federal work study programs, can alp to cover the cost of a college education, possibly eliminating the need to apply for a loan. There is a variety of scholarships on the BOMB website available to the student population. BOMB scholarships are administered by the BOMB Foundation, Inc.Applying for a BOMB scholarship has specific requirements. Applicants must complete an online application, submit a personal statement, obtain two recommendations and maintain at least a 3. 0 grade point average. It is also recommended that students applying for scholarships get involved in the BOMB community by volunteering. Christopher S. Penn, author of Scholarship Search Secrets, alludes most students applying for scholarships often make fundamental mistakes that compromise their scholarship applications.Penn, in his book, provides very useful information that can help students successfully navigate the scholarship search and application process. Penn suggests that students pay critical attention to the elements that will improve their opportunity for receiving a scholarship. One of the most vital elements of the scholarship application process is the Scholarship Essay, also known as a Personal Statement. Students often fail to take advantage of the scholarship opportunities that are available because they are required to submit a personal statement and find this process intimidating.Considering the potential financial benefits that can be derived from applying for scholarships, why would students not apply? Penn indicates that the scholarship search is a full time job (Penn 10). Penn also states, While it may seem that many scholarships are intended for the very top academic performers or the Salmon 4 poorest students, the reality is that there are scholarships for everyone (11). However, based on data available on the website for The National Center for Education Statistics, scholarships account for the smallest percentage of financial aid resources that are utilized by students.

Accessing and Managing MS Excel Sheets With Delphi

Accessing and Managing MS Excel Sheets With Delphi This step-by-step guide describes how to connect to Microsoft Excel, retrieve sheet data, and enable editing of the data using the DBGrid. Youll also find a list of the most common errors that might appear in the process, plus how to deal with them. Whats Covered Below: Methods for transferring data between Excel and Delphi. How to connect to Excel with ADO  (ActiveX Data Objects) and Delphi.Creating an Excel spreadsheet editor using Delphi and ADORetrieving the data from Excel. How to reference a table (or range) in an Excel workbook.A discussion on Excel field (column) typesHow to modify Excel sheets: edit, add  and delete rows.Transferring data from a Delphi application to Excel. How to create a worksheet and fill it with custom data from an MS Access database. How to Connect to Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet calculator and data analysis tool. Since rows and columns of an Excel worksheet closely relate to the rows and columns of a database table, many developers find it appropriate to transport their data into an Excel workbook for analysis purposes; and retrieve data back to the application afterwards. The most commonly used approach to data exchange between your application and Excel is  Automation. Automation provides a way to read Excel data using the Excel Object Model to dive into the worksheet, extract its data, and display it inside a grid-like component, namely DBGrid or StringGrid. Automation gives you the greatest flexibility for locating the data in the workbook as well as the ability to format the worksheet and make various settings at run time. To transfer your data to and from Excel without Automation, you can use other methods such as: Write data into a comma-delimited text file, and let Excel parse the file into cellsTransfer data using DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)Transfer your data to and from  a worksheet using ADO Data Transfer Using ADO Since Excel is JET OLE DB compliant, you can connect to it with Delphi using ADO (dbGO or AdoExpress) and then retrieve the worksheets data into an ADO dataset by issuing an  SQL query  (just like you would open a dataset against any database table). In this way, all the methods and features of the ADODataset object are available to process the Excel data. In other words, using the ADO components let you build an application that can use an Excel workbook as the database. Another important fact is that Excel is an out-of-process ActiveX server. ADO runs in-process  and saves the overhead of costly out-of-process calls. When you connect to Excel using ADO, you can only exchange raw data to and from a workbook. An ADO connection cannot be used for sheet formatting or implementing formulas to cells. However, if you transfer your data to a worksheet that is pre-formatted, the format is maintained. After the data is inserted from your application to Excel, you can carry out any conditional formatting using a (pre-recorded) macro in the worksheet. You can connect to Excel using ADO with the two OLE DB Providers that are a part of MDAC: Microsoft Jet OLE DB Provider or Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers. Well focus on Jet OLE DB Provider, which can be used to access data in Excel workbooks through installable Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM) drivers. Tip: See the  Beginners Course to Delphi ADO Database Programming  if youre new to ADO. The ConnectionString Magic The ConnectionString property tells ADO how to connect to the datasource. The value used for ConnectionString consists of one or more arguments ADO uses to establish the connection. In Delphi, the TADOConnection component encapsulates the ADO connection object; it can be shared by multiple ADO dataset (TADOTable, TADOQuery, etc.) components through their Connection properties. In order to connect to Excel, a valid connection string involves only two additional  pieces of information -  the full path to the workbook and the Excel file version. A legitimate connection string could look like this: ConnectionString : ProviderMicrosoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data SourceC:\MyWorkBooks\myDataBook.xls;Extended PropertiesExcel 8.0;; When connecting to an external database format supported by the Jet, the extended properties for the connection needs to be set. In our case, when connecting to an Excel database, extended properties are used to set the Excel file version.   For an Excel95 workbook, this value is Excel 5.0 (without the quotes); use Excel 8.0 for Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and ExcelXP. Important:  You must use the Jet 4.0 Provider since Jet 3.5 does not support the ISAM drivers. If you set the Jet Provider to version 3.5, youll receive the Couldnt find installable ISAM error. Another Jet extended property is HDR. HDRYes means that there is a header row in the range, so the Jet will not include the first row of the selection into the dataset. If HDRNo is specified, then the provider will include the first row of the range (or named range) into the dataset. The first row in a range is considered to be the header row by default (HDRYes). Therefore, if you have column heading, you do not need to specify this value. If you do not have column headings, you need to specify HDRNo. Now that youre all set, this is the part where things become interesting since were now ready for some code. Lets see how to create a simple Excel Spreadsheet editor using Delphi and ADO. Note:  You should proceed even if you lack knowledge on ADO and Jet programming. As youll see, editing an Excel workbook is as simple as editing data from any standard database.

MARKETING REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MARKETING REPORT - Essay Example In the last two years, the tourism revenues of the state have decreased especially that of Gold Coast City because of decrease in the number of tourists. The financial crisis that rooted from US and now influencing other countries of the world including Australia is posing great threats to the economies. The aim of the Australian tourism industry is to promote tourism by introducing innovative and effective marketing strategies. The Australian tourism target was $ 6.3 billion for 2014 as compared to $ 3.7 billion in 2002 and it requires the growth rate of 6% to achieve this level. However, there is a gap produced between the targeted and actual level. Although number of visitors is increasing because of the increasing corporate events however; the challenge is to close this gap by increasing the length of stay along with number of tourists. Government has planned to invest $410 million in the tourism industry of Australia in the next three years; however, the need of products and ser vices with effective marketing strategies to attract the tourists is not ignorable. Our proposal is to introduce Corporate Tourists Social Network (CTSN) service which will not only provide the corporate customers an opportunity to attend the corporate events in a more luxurious manner, but it will also enhance their social network by enhancing their interactions with each other and creating a linkage among them through online database. We have high expectations from our proposal because it will attract the corporate people by fulfilling their needs and meanwhile it will also improve tourism industry and investment opportunities in Australia. Australian Tourism Industry has been facing many challenges for the last two years because of financial global crisis. This project sets out the strategies of Australian Tourism and introduces a new tourism service. The topic area of this project is to research the

Admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Admission - Essay Example The GRE Course at Kaplan, in Los Angeles, Intensive English Program at UCLA Extension, Los Angeles, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in King Abdulaziz University College of Economics and Administration, Jeddah, KSA have provided me with reasonable perfection in the theoretical aspect. On the practical experience side, I have handled various important assignments working with Al Hamra Hotel, Jeddah, KSA. I initially worked as an Administrative Assistant (part-time) for International Modern Industries Co. Ltd and now I am holding the position of General Manager Assistant in the same organization. For my excellence in studies, I was awarded King Abdullah Scholarship and Ministry of Higher Education Scholarship. I possess adequate computer knowledge relating to Knowledge of PC and Macintosh formats: Word, Excel and PowerPoint. As for languages, Arabic is my mother tongue and I am fluent in English. My approach to the business world is simple and straightforward. That which is not practical, cannot be a good theory either! My attitude to the MBA@WT program is based on this principle. It is my earnest endeavors to obtain OPT and gain experience in modern financial services and equip myself for joining an established US organization to get the working experience for a year. As such, Maryland University, which is a renowned educational institution, is my first choice. The next part of my career plan is to move to Dubai to join a financial institution there. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have a treaty in financial transactions, which will assist me to attain my long-term goals to take active part in the financial revolution in Saudi Arabia, initiated by King Abdullah, with the creation of Financial District (KAFD) in 2011. With this backgrounder information related to my academic credits and practical experience, I am fairly confident that I will an ideal raw material to take up responsibility in top managerial positions and earn a

Enhanced Frame-based Video Coding

Enhanced Frame-based Video Coding Abstract- This paper displays the improved edge based feature coding plan. The info source feature to the improved edge based feature encoder comprises of a rectangular-size feature and states of subjectively molded questions on feature outlines. The rectangular edge composition is encoded by the ordinary casing based coding method and the feature objects shape is encoded utilizing the form based vertex coding. It is conceivable to accomplish a few valuable substance based functionalities by using the shape data in the bit stream at the expense of a little overhead to the bitrate. Magic words Video coding, substance based, hyper feature, intuitiveness, shape coding, polygon. I. INTRODUCTION Through the years, the advanced feature engineering has been developing rapidly regarding the ways feature substance is delivered, conveyed, and devoured. Accordingly, clients are not content with just the pressure efficiency in a feature coding engineering; they are currently requesting more peculiarities. To meet the client requests, the new feature coding plans are obliged help substance based intuitiveness, permit content- based feature indexing and recovery, adapt up to data transfer capacity and bit slip rates of transmission systems, and accomplish retrogressive similarity with existing feature coding plans notwithstanding giving a decent squeezing efficiency. For this reason, the new feature encoders oblige the source info feature to be in such a structure, to the point that the feature substance can be effectively identified and described. The info feature source to the article based feature coding approach in MPEG-4 standard [1] is as discretionarily formed feature items and their shapes as demonstrated in Fig. 1(a). The MPEG-4 item based feature encourages client intuitiveness with individual items. Notwithstanding, the decoders focused around prior MPEG models are not equipped for interpreting the MPEG- 4 item based feature bit streams. Besides, the exact division of semantically compelling items from a rectangular feature still remains a testing issue. Then again, erroneous division of feature items might antagonistically influence the pressure efficiency [2]. In the sub-picture coding [3], a feature casing is apportioned into one or more client defined non-covering rectangular sub-pictures and a remaining foundation picture (see Fig. 1(b)). It is conceivable to appoint distinctive mistake insurance and quality levels to diverse sub-pictures focused around their imperativeness by utilizing sub-picture coding. In any case, the rectangular sub-pictures dont by and large speak to the genuine feature objects with which a client might want to cooperate. Some feature transmission plans propose typifying the MPEG-2 and the MPEG-4 feature streams inside the MPEG-2 vehicle stream to give the worth included administrations, for example, substance based intelligence [4]. Despite the fact that these plans furnish the retrograde similarity with the current (a) (b) Fig. 1. Cases of info source feature designs for (a) the MPEG-4 item based coding, and (b) the sub-picture coding. traditional MPEG-2 decoders, they have the disservice of considerably expanding the expense of the decoders so as to backing more than one MPEG standard. The goals of the proposed upgraded casing based feature encoder (EFBE) are the accompanying: 1) to serve as a basic augmentation of the customary edge based feature encoder architectures and to give retrogressive similarity, 2) to accomplish about the same execution as far as feature quality and packing proportion as contrasted with the ordinary edge based feature coding execution, and 3) to address the client requests for substance based functionalities. The construction modeling, the peculiarities and the execution of the upgraded edge based coding plan are portrayed in the accompanying. II. PROPOSED ENHANCED FRAME-BASED VIDEO CODING In the proposed improved casing based coding, the data source feature comprises of a rectangular-size feature and states of subjectively molded protests on feature outlines. We define the object of investment (OOI) in a rectangular edge feature as the subjectively formed semantically significant feature object which is of enthusiasm to a client. There are three steps included at the present time getting the coded representation of feature utilizing the improved edge based feature coding scheme:1) preprocessing, 2) encoding shape and composition, and 3) post- preparing. In the first step, an OOI is identified and its shape data is gotten as either a layout form representation or a division veil. The diagram shape representation of an OOI can be acquired by denoting the framework of OOI on the screen physically; along these lines the shape data can be effectively produced by a client. Programmed division [6] and self-loader division procedures [7]. For the proposed EFBE, the limits of portioned feature articles require just speak to a rough blueprint of the range having a place with a feature object and there is no necessity for division to be exact. In the second step, the rectangular casing surface and the feature objects shape are encoded. The square graph of the EFBE is indicated in Fig. 2. The post-preparing step includes partner the shape data with Fig.2 The enhanced frame-based video encoder. he composition of the item it speaks to. The state of an OOI identifies the range fitting in with the OOI on the rectangular casing feature so that the region carries on as a hotspot on the feature outline. This hotspot is connected with a connection to an alternate terminus like a hyperlink in the World Wide Web. This connection can be to either an alternate feature (which might possibly contain joins) or a HTTP protest, for example, a page, file, or CGI script. The following and in addition the connection data is multiplexed into the bit stream alongside surface and shape data. In this paper, we concentrate chiefly on the second venture to propose another feature encoding plan, Whatever the strategies utilized for preprocessing and post-transforming. Encoding shape and surface. As indicated in Fig. 2, the significant segments of the proposed EFBE are edge based composition coding and shape coding. The shape coding is performed in two steps: 1) polygonal rough guess of shape limit, and 2) vertex coding. The composition and shape bits are multiplexed into a solitary bit stream. The EFBE has two modes of operation: autonomous shape- surface (IST) mode and ward shape-composition (DST) mode. The IST/DST switch permits the exchanging between the two modes. In the IST mode, the rectangular edge surface and feature objects shape are encoded autonomously. Shape coding: Unlike the MPEG-4 which utilizes bitmap- based strategies for shape coding, the proposed EFBE utilizes form based method which fits the semantic shape characterization. The shape form as either the division veils limit or the framework shape representation of OOI is approximated by a polygon utilizing successive technique such that the separation between the polygon and the form is short of what or equivalent to a given average rough guess mistake ÃŽ ´ . In consecutive strategy, the form is checked from an introductory indicate on the bend focus the longest conceivable edge having the rough guess blunder short of what or equivalent to ÃŽ ´. The procedure is rehashed with the end purpose of the current edge as the following beginning stage. The vertices of the polygon are coded utilizing the article versatile vertex Fig 3. The horizontal and vertical distances of the vertex ai belonging to polygon A from polygon B. encoding system depicted in . The measure of shape mutilation is controlled by differing the estimation of ÃŽ ´Ãƒâ€ ; the bigger the estimation of ÃŽ ´ , the higher the shape twisting. Lossless shape coding is accomplished by setting ÃŽ ´0 . The separation between the polygonal rough guesses of OOI shape in the current and the reference casing is utilized to catch the measure of worldly variety fit as a fiddle. The separation between two polygons is processed as takes after. Let A and B be the polygonal estimates of the current and the reference OOI shape. Let hi and vi be the flat and vertical separation of the ith vertex of A from B (see Fig. 3). At that point the separation of A from B is defined as DAB =max (di) where di=min(hi , vi ). For the objects of investment, for example, talking-head, the variety OOI fit as a fiddle over an arrangement of adjacent casings is typically little. Accordingly when the lossy shape coding is craved, the shape data is not transmitted with each casing. Rather, the polygonal estimate of the current OOI shape is coded and transmitted just if the separation between the polygonal estimates of the current and reference OOI shapes is more prominent than or equivalent to an edge T . Overall no shape data is transmitted in the current edge. At the decoder, the most as of late decoded shape is utilized to distinguish the OOI if no shape data is available in the current edge. 2) Texture coding: The essential steps of composition coding in the EFBE are basically the same as those in a normal rectangular edge based encoder. These fundamental steps comprise of separating a feature outline into an exhibit of essential units called macro squares and preparing every macro square by applying discrete cosine change, quantization and variable length coding. Truth be told, the surface coding square in the EFBE can be any rectangular edge based feature encoder (e.g., MPEG- 1, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 (basic profile) feature encoder). In our execution of EFBE, we have utilized MPEG-4 (straightforward profile) encoder for casing based feature composition coding. In the DST mode, the shape data is utilized to alter the composition coding parameters. The fundamental thought is to encode the composition in the area having a place with the polygonal estimate of the OOI shape with a finer quantization as contrasted with whatever remains of the feature outline. The quantizer qualities utilized for the two locales are installed in the header data which is annexed to the shape bit stream. At the decoder, the decoded shape data is used to accurately distinguish the locale fitting in with feature question on the feature outline and the quantizer data in the bit stream header is used for disentangling the edge surface. 3) Multiplexing shape and composition bits: The proposed upgraded casing based feature coding plan includes the multiplexing surface bits with the extra bits comprising of the shape bits and the bits that are produced by the post- preparing stage for following and connecting the objects of investment. The proposed improved casing based feature decoders would use the extra bits to give the substance based functionalities. We utilize the client information parcel insertion plan for MPEG-4 is depicted for this reason. We join the shape bits, extra header bits and the connection data bits into client information and spot the client information into the bit stream created by the edge based composition coding piece of the EFBE. III. FEATURES OF THE EFBE The construction modeling of the proposed EFBE is planned such that it can be actualized as a basic augmentation of a current casing based encoder structural planning. The main extra multifaceted nature that EFBE adds to a casing based encoder is that needed for shape coding. At the point when an EFBE bit stream is gotten by a current traditional edge based feature decoder, the shape data exhibit in the bit stream would essentially be overlooked and just rectangular casing composition would be decoded and showed. Since the shape and surface are encoded autonomously in the IST mode operation of EFBE, the IST mode furnishes the retrograde similarity with the routine edge based feature decoders. Notwithstanding, the DST mode of EFBE Fig. 4 The source videos used in our experiments: a) the first frame in Akiyo and the corresponding shape contour of the OOI, and b) the third frame in Foreman and the corresponding shape contour of the OOI, does not help retrogressive similarity with the current customary edge based decoders on the grounds that the composition coding is reliant on the shape data in this mode of operation. The installed shape data in the bit stream of the EFBE can be used to help a few substance based functionalities. At the beneficiary, the shape data of a feature protest in the bit stream encourages the identification of the locale having a place with the item as a hotspot on the rectangular casing. A hyperlink can be accommodated the item on the rectangular casing when a client initiates the article by clicking on the hotspot. Subsequently the decoded feature works just about like a Web page, permitting individuals to connect with the picture on the screen. Such a feature bit stream in which a connection and substance data is connected with a district on a feature casing is for the most part alluded to as Hyper Video. Besides, lossy shape coding can be utilized to accomplish higher clamping. The annotation of feature hyperlinks as little symbols containing the polygonal estimate of article con- visit can be shown at the base of the rectangular feature for a client to distinguish the problem areas in an edge. Here, the annotations give a thought regarding the present, past and next scenes to a client through the showcase of polygonal close estimations that give semantic depiction of the items in the scenes. This will permit a client to effortlessly look for a scene in a feature. Besides, amid quick forward or quick invert operations, no one but shape can be decoded and showed as opposed to deciphering the whole rectangular casing surface. In the event that the limits of the shape cover consummately match the genuine limits of OOI (as on account of shape data acquired through the standard blue-screen system in studio situations), one may pick the lossless shape coding by setting the polygonal estimate lapse ÃŽ ´=0 . This permits the client to concentrate the OOI from the rectangular casing and overlay the OOI on a foundation picture of his own decision to show a feature scene which is unique in relation to the one present in the bit stream. The DST mode of the EFBE is fit for giving extra substance based functionalities, for example, allocating distinctive quality, clamping, and lapse insurance levels to the areas of investment and the remaining zones in a feature outline. IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The ordinary edge based feature encoder (CFBE) in the MPEG-4 Verification Model (VM) programming [1] is utilized as the premise to actualize the proposed EFBE. We joined the accompanying modifications to VM programming: 1) expansion of our shape coding module, 2) conformity of quantization step focused around shape data in the DST mode, and 2) multiplexing the client information comprising of encoded shape data and the connection data of hotspots with the composition and header information. We utilize the first 100 edges of the 30hz CIF-size Akiyo and Foreman feature groupings and related OOI shape forms in our analyses. Fig. 4 demonstrates an example outline and related OOI shape form in the first features. The feature successions are encoded at 10 edges/sec; so there are 34 coded casings in the bit stream. Initially, we think about the execution of the IST mode of the EFBE with the execution of the CFBE. Since the surface coding in the IST mode of EFBE is the same as that in the CFBE, both the encoders yield the same feature quality. In this manner, we look at just the bit stream size. The accompanying encoder settings are utilized. A fixed quantization venture of Q=16 is utilized amid surface coding. For the EFBE, we have to define two extra parameters to be specific ÃŽ ´ and T connected with shape coding. In our investigations, we set ÃŽ ´=10 and we use T=0 for Akiyo and T=5 for the Foreman. The Fig. 5 demonstrates the polygonal rough guess of OOI in an edge for ÃŽ ´=10 . The bitrates are recorded in Table I. Since T=5 is utilized for coding the state of Akiyo, we saw in our tests that the OOI shape was encoded in just four out of the 100 casings and the aggregate number shape bits in the whole bit stream was 720; 720/34=21 along these lines the normal number of shape bits for every edge is , which is an irrelevantly little esteem as contrasted with the normal number of surface bits. If there should be an occurrence of the Foreman, the state of OOI in each one casing is encoded in light of the fact that T=0. We watch that the shape bits are 0.125% and 1.29% of the surface bits for Q=8 and Q=16 , separately. On the other hand, this little extra overhead of shape bits in the EFBE bit stream as contrasted with the CFBE bit stream is incredibly justified by the benefit attained as far as a few helpful substance based functionalities that the shape data empowers. We introduce the correlation of the execution of the DST mode of the EFBE with that of the CFBE utilizing the Foreman feature. A fixed quantization venture of Q =16 is utilized for all the macro pieces in CFBE. Though in the DST mode operation of EFBE, a lower quantizer (Q =8) is utilized for OOI district and higher quantizer ( Q=31) is utilized for the remaining piece of the casing to attain almost the same composition bits as that needed by CFBE. For the shape coding in the DST mode of the EFBE, we set(ÃŽ ´=10 T=0 ) . The quality and bitrate for the first Intra-edge encoded by the two encoders are exhibited in Table II. A higher PSNR for the OOI area is attained at the expense of lower PSNR for the foundation district as contrasted with the general PSNR acquired with the CFBE. The EFBE requires extra 128 bits for coding the state of the OOI V. CONCLUSIONS The building design and configuration of the proposed improved casing based feature encoder is introduced. The fundamental point of the proposed encoder is to give an upgrade to the traditional edge based coding. It is conceivable to attain a few helpful substance based functionalities by inserting the coded representation of a feature objects form alongside the coded surface in the bit stream,. The overhead of extra bits needed for shape coding is short of what 2% of the aggregate bits of the customary edge based coding in our exploratory results.

Professional Development Plan Essay

When forming teams in a professional work environment it is important to understand the personalities of your teammates to determine strengths and weaknesses. When a leader is able to define the strengths and weaknesses of the team members it is easier to delegate tasks, encourage brain storming sessions and be successful as a team. Team C is composed of five members all with great leadership skills and a desire to learn and complete excellent work together. The first week of class we completed a DISC assessment that identified our individual personality traits. According to â€Å"Disc Profile† (n.d.), â€Å"The initial DISC model comes from Dr. William Marston, a professor at Columbia University in the 1920s, who was curious about the behavior of normal people. He did not create an instrument from his theory, but others did† (Disc Overview). As a potential leader of this team, I was able to examine my own leadership styles and apply that to our assignment which is to create a professional development plan to identify the characteristics of the members to lead them to success. My DISC assessment concluded that I was a Cautious personality type. I see this in my personality. I often think or overthink what I do and tasks that I complete at work and in the school environment. I rarely rush into an assignment or partially complete an assignment. I often am very detail-oriented in projects and assignments. My leadership mentality is mainly to lead by example. I rarely will task another person without knowing exactly what is involved in completing the job. This is probably due to a desire to have control over a situation and know exactly what is involved and how long it will take to complete. Plus I am a person that prefers to build trust by having examples of competent behavior to reference. Three members of my team have the â€Å"Steadiness† personality. Betty, Shawn, and Harlan are more steady and security-oriented, meaning they prefer to know precisely what they are doing as far as job related and school related tasks are concerned. When leading them in the team I would make sure they  understand the assignments of projects we work on as a team and I may be able to help them understand the projects better by fully explaining what we would hope the result would be. This might help team members to have more confidence in the projects. Brian has an interactive personality and it shows as he is able to learn about an assignment and take charge in explaining and delegating tasks for it. Brain is very confident in his assessments of situations and tasks. He has a very good way of being so excited about an assignment that it influences others in a positive manner. If I were to lead this team, I would have to have an understanding of the strengths of Brian’s ability to motivate the team and my ability to help the others understand the project so we may be successful in completion. Betty, Harlan, and Shawn are the key players in this as they will strive to do an incredible job in maintaining a strong will to succeed and complete the tasks. As a general rule, the steady personality listens well, creates very strong relationship bonds and work very well with others (â€Å"Uniquely You†, n.d.). They are able to be objective about situations that other people might not handle well. They can handle stress well and are reliable and really care about others feelings and will often take action that will help others feel good. References Disc Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/ Uniquely You. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.uniquelyyou.com/disc.php

Critical Issue in Education Essay

Education is the key determinant of development in any country in the contemporary world. Human capital development plays an important role in the overall development of any country. Schools have a common mission of providing students with developmentally appropriate education which emphasize high academic performance in addition to the student becoming socially responsible. In the long run, education is aimed to earn the students skills and knowledge that encourage them to be productive, responsible citizens in the dynamic global society. The government and teachers have a common vision in supporting education programs and students. The vision of teachers is to produce citizens who will participate productively and responsibly in a rapidly changing society through using problem solving techniques to handle everyday challenges, communicating effectively, respect of self, others and environment in which they are working in. School leaders encounter a multitude of critical issues while carrying out their day to day responsibilities and this pose a challenge in the realization of the vision and mission set by the school. The challenges experienced in most American schools include school violence, low performance due to introduction of bilingual system of education among other challenges. This paper will discuss challenges that are facing school leaders today as a result of school violence. This paper will identify several causes of school violence and the appropriate measures taken to curb the problem. What is the issue and why is it critical for schools/school leaders? School violence has affected the academic performance in schools and therefore the problem must be addressed to realize improved performance. Population is growing rapidly as indicated by the high number of students in public schools as compared to educators. Leadership in schools is been blamed for the continued increase of the school violence problem. However, discipline management in schools especially public schools has become difficult due to the high ratio of students to teachers. It becomes to do individual student follow-up. Most educators have also fallen victims of school violence and therefore some have been silenced due to improper organizational structure to govern student behavior. Students have been noted to riot while educators are in class and this raised alarm over student behavior management. School leaders experience a problem in controlling school violence due to inadequate support from parents’ especially those who argue that their kids must carry weapons to school for self defense due to increased insecurity in schools. Literature Review Many researches on school violence indicate varied results as to the causes of the social dysfunction. Forensic psychologists who study criminal behavior argue that school killers are very different from other violent youth, such as gang members or drug dealers. The school killers usually experience inferiority complex by feeling powerless and therefore become obsessed with killing or injuring others. The school killers hence direct their threats to those that threaten them or taunt them. Social loafing has been argued to increase incidences of violence in schools. Some quiet decent students become violent when in a group during a school riot or mob justice incidence. Students engage in mob justice when confronting people who attack those using guns as a defense mechanism. School viol4ence continues to create an on going challenge to the nation’s educational environment. To address the problem of school violence in the United States, it demands collaboration among educators, students, parents and social service organizations in analyzing the problems that are facing the student community, their causes and effect of the school violence. The stakeholders should then jointly find lasting solutions. Research indicates that children look for caring adults’ up to adolescence who can share with them about the critical issues facing them. Freud, a psychoanalyst theorist argues that early life experiences where children are exposed to violence at home and community around them may have a deepening effect which pushes them to violence. Criminologists, physiatrists, counselors have put the blame on the media for providing a steady diet of movies where violence is glorified and on the evolution of single parent homes. Kids who watch violent movies usually perceive violence as fun and adventurous. Moynihan in his article â€Å"Deviancy Go Down† argues that kids from single parents are more likely to engage in robbery with violence, rape and other social disorders because in most cases the single parent is financially unstable and therefore the kids look for alternative ways to achieve the socially approved goals. Lack of respects and accountability at homes has contributed to lack of respect for the law. Survey indicates that it’s common for police in the U. S. to encounter kids between ages 7 and 8 who disrespect law (Dewey, 2006). Research indicates that inequalities in the education system has contributed top the problem of increased school violence. Discrimination of some cultures, races has also led to higher levels school violence among the African-Americans who perceive that the education system disfavors them. The socio-economic disparity between Whites and blacks create rivalry between Whites and blacks. The black kids perceive that their White counterparts are being favored because of their color and social status. Research indicates that most cases of school violence go without report and it’s on the rampant rise. Physical violence at homes, appraisal of violence movies and bullying are identifies as major contributors of violence in American schools. What does the research say about this issue? School violence has become a social problem not only in the United States but also in Australia and England. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a survey in American schools in 2003 and reported that 5% of students between ages 12 and 18 have been involved in nonfatal crimes, 4% in theft crimes while 1% of the student population had been reported as victims of violent crimes. The rate of school violence is reported to be higher in public than in private schools as indicated by the ratio of 7: 5 percent (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). A national survey indicated that rural students had a high probability to be bullied in school than their urban and suburban counterparts. This is mainly because the rural students are generally considered to be innocent and highly regard social unity and harmony, due to difference in socialization from urban and suburban counterparts. Socialization is the process by which beliefs, norms and culture are passed from generation to generation. There are two types of socialization which include primary and secondary socialization. Primary socialization usually takes place at tender age, that is, up to 6 years. The children learn through imitation of family members, relatives and neighbors who are close to the kid. It lays a foundation for the secondary socialization. Secondary socialization agents are mainly teachers, peers and media. A national survey undertaken in 1999 among high school students indicated that 7% of students carried a weapon to school in the last month, 14% said they had been involved in a physical fight in the school premises in the past year while 5% of the students had misses school at least once in the past month because they felt unsafe in school. 1999-2001 national survey undertaken by National Center for Education Statistics indicated that 20% of all public schools experienced one or more serious crimes such as rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assaults (Henry, 2000; National Center for Education Statistics, 2003; Dewey, 2006). Public schools in particular reported 71% incidences of violence and 46% of theft. Violence in schools is on the rise worldwide. However, it’s hardly reported until a kid picks a gun and slaughters another. A nationwide study undertaken by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control on violent deaths in U. S schools indicated that 77% of the school deaths were done using guns while 17% were done using knives. A study conducted between July1, 1992 and June 30, 1999 indicated that out of 323 school-associated violent death events were mainly carried by firearms obtained from the perpetrators’ homes or from friends and relatives (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003; Dewey, 2006). National Center for Education Statistics national study in 2003 indicates that male students are more likely to fall victims of school violence than their female counterparts (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). 17% of high school girls have been reported to be abused physically while 12% of high school girls are sexually abused (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2003). Survey carried out by Justice Department in U. S in 1992 indicated a remarkable decrease in violent crime victimitization at school between 1992 and 2001 from 4. 89% in 1992 to 2. 8% in 2001. A study on school crime and safety in 2003 indicated that from 1997-2001, teachers were victims of approximately 1. 3 million nonfatal crimes at schools including 817,000 thefts and 473,000 violent crimes such as rape or sexual assault and aggravated or simple assault(Department of Education and United States Department of Justice, 2003; Dewey, 2006). School violence has become a major concern among many individuals worldwide. School violence not only affects students but teachers too. School violence has contributed to 57% deaths that occur in schools (Dewey, 2006). Exposure to violence to kids at tender age has been argued to contribute greatly to the kid been violent at school. School violence has become a determinant factor in the performance of schools. Most students fail to go to school at least once in a month for fear of being physically assaulted in school. Availability of guns in most American states has contributed greatly to the violent incidences in schools. Teachers have declared school violence as a monster affecting performance in schools. Public schools which usually have a high population of students experience the problem of school viol3nce more than private schools. This may be contributed by the high ratio of students to teachers in public schools. Some parents too have contributed to the problem of school violence because they forbid teachers to discipline their kids when they misbehave. Have Others Addressed the Issue School violence has become a significant social problem that affect the security of most schools worldwide. Various institutions and organizations have proposed solutions to solve the social problem in schools. Some propose a solution by encouraging students to engage in mob justice against those students or individuals that use guns in school. Some educators too carry guns as self defense mechanism. This has resulted in more harm than good. Most states in America have approved that educators should discipline students who are caught in engaging in violence. Some states have established juvenile delinquency rehabilitation centers where violent students are taken so as to reform. However, the centers have become overcrowded and this has reduced the effectiveness of the solution. Findings and Conclusion The problem of school violence is increasingly becoming rampant especially in the last 15 years. Research indicates that the problem can only be solved if and only if there is collaboration between educators, parents, students and social service organizations. Neglect of kids by parents especially due to commitment to jobs has deprived the kids’ parental guidance in handling everyday challenges and thus they follow their peers and mass media advices which in most times are incorrect (Edwin, 2004). Youth violence has increased significantly in the U. S over the last 15 years. Homicide has become the second leading cause of deaths for persons between ages 15 and 24 and the leading cause of death for African-Americans in this age group (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). However, most cases are never reported in the national data so the magnitude of the problem is always underestimated. National level data indicates that middle and high schools especially larger schools are at high risk for serious violence. The problem arises from the difficult in administration of discipline among the students who are usually too many for the school leaders or educators to handle. Research indicates that male students are more likely to be victims of school violence than their female counterparts. Therefore male students are more violent that female students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). The government should acknowledge that school violence has become a major social problem in the contemporary times and therefore direct more resources towards control of school violence. Emerging Consensus about ways to solve the Issue Physiatrists, counselors and criminologists have agreed that the problem of school violence can be solved if a policy which regulates programs in the mass media is passed. The policy should also regulate what tapes; video compact disks (VCDs) are released to the market. This will ensure that young adults are not exposed to violent scenarios or movies that may trigger them to do the same. The problem cannot be solved by one party and therefore it has been agreed that collaboration between educators, parents, students and social service organizations and other stakeholders can bring lasting solution if the stakeholders analyze the problems facing the student community, their causes and effect of school violence and then eventually generate lasting solutions to the root problems. It has been proposed that students should be involved in community development projects like cleans-ups, destitute children visitation, planting of trees among other projects. This will enhance teamwork skills and promote communication skills. This will help reduce conflict among students and consequently reduce school violence (Walker, 1995). Proposed Solutions/Recommendation Management of school violence causes will help to promote discipline and consequently high performance in academics. Several solutions have been proposed to reduce school violence cases in the American schools. The major solution involves dialogue between parents, teachers, students, social service organizations and other stakeholders on the problems facing students, their causes and effects of school violence. The stakeholders can then communally focus on finding solutions (Edwin, 2004). School should intensify security through employment of personnel that have metal detectors to ensure that no student enters the school compound with any metallic weapon like a gun which have become common weapons in the recent years. The government should install surveillance cameras within the school compound to keep track of the behavior of students. This can help reduce the incidences if school violence for fear of being caught through images taken by the cameras. This therefore enhances conformity to rules and regulations governing students. The government should finance schools to collaborate with bomb-sniffing dogs to avoid the recent trends where the Islamic students enter with bomb in their bodies and while in company of other students explode themselves (Walker, 1995). Building or enhancing student-staff relationship help reduce incidences of school violence like theft, aggravated assault and simple assault. Teachers should be encouraged to respect students in their dialogue and behavior and this will help reduce school violence which erupts as a result of inferiority complex by some students. Schools should have a referral system for neglected and abused kids. The neglected and abused kids usually experience inferiority complex and therefore develop an urge to kill or harm the people that abuse them. When separated the threat is eliminated and consequently harmony is restored (Walker, 1995). Educators and policy makers (Edwin, 2004)should involve students in future planning to avoid conflicts that arise from new laws and policies which students perceive to be undermining or threatening and therefore riot. Most riots can be avoided through dialogue to ascertain whether the proposed policies or laws are ideal and just. Educators should emphasize on academic excellence and this will encourage students to focus their energies towards academics. Educators should support students to excel through guidance and counseling in areas of deficiency and support through tuition so as to keep the students busy and focused on academics. The community should involve students in community development projects, for example, visitation of the elderly, hospital clean-up, city clean-up activities and mountain climbing to instill the participation motivation. Such activities enhance teamwork skills and this help reduce conflict that yield school violence (Walker, 1995). Summary School violence (Edwin, 2004) is a social problem which has become common in most schools worldwide. School violence has continued to increase in the last 15 years as indicated by the high school deaths in the last 15 years. School violence can only decrease if the educators, parents and students agree to do their part effectively. School violence has been contributed by various factors, for example, childhood experiences, media, neglect of kids by parents, bullying by other students and exposure to violence in the community among other factors. Surveys indicate that male students are more prone to violence than their female counterparts. Incidences of school violence (Edwin, 2004) are more in public schools than in private schools. This is said to be contributed by the high number of students in public schools who pose a challenge in discipline management. The problem of school violence has attracted many debates in most states. Leaders especially in public schools are appealing to parents, students and social service organizations to come together to analyze the problems facing the students, their causes and effects of school violence so as to communally find lasting solutions. . References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2003). â€Å"Source of Firearms used by Students in school-Associated Violent Deaths. United States, 1992-1999. † Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Edwin, G. R. (2004). Handbook of School Violence. Education New York: Routledge. U. S. Department of Education and U. S. Department of Justice, (2003). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2003. Dewey, G. C. (2006). School Violence: Fears versus Facts. Psychology. California: California University Press. Henry, S. (2000). What is School Violence? An Integrated Definition. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Problems, 3(2): 11-132. National Center for Education Statistics, (2003). National Data of School Violence in The United States in 1992-2001. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (2003). The Formative Years: Pathways to Substance Abuse. Walker, H. M. (1995). Antisocial Behavior in School: Strategies and Best Practices. New York: Cole Publishing Company.