Thursday, August 15, 2019
Are Modern Sitcoms Too Controversial
With today’s society being much more open and accepting about many different topics, the material content used as entertainment in many comedies is becoming more and more controversial. Popular television shows such as Absolutely Fabulous, Family Guy and American Dad! are consistently proving that jokes focusing on risque topics such as abortion, religion, alcohol and drug abuse, sexism, racism and even the subject of disabilities are more entertaining and therefore, despite some audiences watching these shows in horror, they are becoming more and more socially acceptable. Entertainment of the past was rather held back when compared to what is on television today. This raises the question, are modern comedy sitcoms too controversial? In 1992, the BBC aired the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous, introducing viewers to two of the most self-indulgent and irresponsible women to have ever graced our television screens. This show which was created by the wonderful Jennifer Saunders, focused on two champagne-swigging, chain-smoking, outrageously past-their-prime characters – Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone. These two characters made popping pills, drink driving and harassing Edina’s straight laced daughter a regular occurrence. Socially, if these characters were â€Å"real people†, their crazy antics would not be accepted within today’s society. This hilarious show however, has won its creator two BAFTA awards, seven Emmy awards and three British Comedy Awards (The Coffee Junkie, WordPress: 2010). Animated comedy’s controversial material as exemplified by Family Guy and American Dad! both of which were created by Seth Macfarlane, continue to push the boundaries due to the profanities, animated nudity, racism, sexism, Nazism, violence, abortion and almost every other risque topic one could possibly think of, referenced in these shows. Family Guy is one of the most controversial television shows currently on the air, and due to the nature of its material, complaints were made resulting in the show being cancelled. This show was cancelled not once however, but twice. Family Guy has been subject to much criticism, especially over its handling of sensitive issues such as HIV / AIDS and Down Syndrome, however, after extremely strong petitioning from such a large fan base, TV Executives put the show back on air, not wanting to risk losing such a large following. The result of this then provides the evidence that offensive humour is the key to a modern comedy’s success. Entertainment of the past has dramatically been transformed to suit the tastes of today’s audience. Creators are favouring television shows which constantly push the boundaries of political correctness. Society, it appears, is now more than happy to welcome this extremely cheeky form of entertainment into their homes. Gone are the days of sitting around the coffee table with TV dinners on your lap, watching shows such as Family Ties or Full House with the entire family. So the question, once again, has been raised as to whether comedy sitcoms are too controversial and in this day and age, it would seem that to find this form of humour offensive is considered prudish. In order to succeed, one must be at least one step ahead. Therefore, with society’s views on such topics easing up, entertainment must change as well. These shows may be extremely controversial, and will continue to be so. Just keep in mind that a good laugh has never done anyone any harm.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Change Detection Techniques of Remote Sensing Imageries
Change Detection Techniques of Remote Sensing Imageries 1.1 Introduction Over the past years, academics have suggested enormous numbers of change detection techniques of remote sensing imageries and classified them from a different point of views [ 28 ]. These techniques depend on the assumption of spatial independence among pixels. This assumption is valid only for low, medium and high-resolution images but insufficient for VHR images [ 1 ]. This chapter presents the concept, implementation, and assessment of seven change detection techniques using low, medium and high-resolution ORSI. The rest of this chapter is organized into eight sections. Section 3.2 presents a brief description of the study areas. Section 3.3 describes the dataset characteristics of the study areas (Sharm El-Sheikh city and Mahalla al-kubra city – Egypt). Section 3.4 presents the pre-processing performed on the image dataset before change detection process. Section 3.5 provides the accuracy assessment measures used for evaluation of the change detectio n process. Section 3.6 illustrates the concepts of the selected seven change detection techniques . These techniques are post-classification, direct multi-date classification (DMDC), image differencing (ID), image rationing (IR), image symmetric relative difference (ISRD), change vector analysis (CVA), and principal component differencing (PCD). Section 3.7 presents the experimental work. It explains the Implementation and accuracy assessment of applying the selected change detection techniques on an image dataset of Sharm El-Sheikh city- Egypt. Section 3.8 presents the application of â€Å"post-classification†change detection technique on an image dataset of El-Mahalla El-kubra City-Egypt to detect the urban expansion over the agricultural area through the period from 2010 to 2015. Finally, section 3.9 gives the chapter summary. 1.2 The study areas In this chapter, two study areas are selected for the application of the selected change detection techniques. The first area is a part of Sharm el-Sheikh city. It is located on the southern landfill of the Sinai Peninsula, in the South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal bar along the Red Sea as shown in figure (3.1). Its population is approximately 73,000 as of 2015 [ 62 ]. Sharm El Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Governorate, which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, St. Catherine and Mount Sinai. Today the city is a holiday resort and significant center for tourism in Egypt. The selected area is about 12.5 Km 2 . The second study area is a village belongs to El Mahalla El Kubra city. El Mahalla El Kubra is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta Branch tributary, as shown in figure (3.2). The city is known for its textile industry. It is the largest city of the Gharbia Governorate and the second largest in the Nile Delta [ 63 ]. The selected area is about 38 Km 2 . 1.3 Images datasets of the study areas In this chapter, two datasets are used. The first dataset consists of two images of Sham el-Sheikh city acquired by Landsat 7 at 2000 and 2010 respectively as shown in figure (3.3). Area of the image lies between Lat. 28 0 37.0091 N, Lon. 34 17 56.3381 E and Lat. 27 57 20.8804 N, Lon. 34 24 43.6080 E. Table (3.1) summarizes the characteristic of these images. Table (3.1 ) Characteristic of Sham el-Sheikh dataset No Spatial resolution Radiometric resolution Number of bands Acquisition date Size [pixels] Area [km 2 ] Width Height 1 30 m 8 bits 3 2000 382 364 12.5143 2 30 m 8 bits 3 2010 382 364 12.5143 (a) (b) Fig (3.3 ) Dataset of Sharm el-Sheikh city- Egypt acquired by Landsat 7 at (a) image acquired at 2000 and the (b) image acquired at 2010. Figure (3.4) illustrates the second dataset of a village belongs to EL Mahalla al-Kubra city in Egypt. It consists of two images acquired in 2010 and 2015. It is taken by El-Shayal Smart web online Software that could acquire Satellite images from Google Earth. The image area lies between Lat. 30 57 46.9032 N, Lon. 31 14 35.4776E and Lat. 30 54 47.00 N, Lon. 31 18 19.98. Table (3.2) summarizes the characteristic of this dataset. (a) (b) Fig ( 3.4 ) Dataset of EL mahalla al-kubra city- Egypt ( Google Earth) (a) image acquired at 2010 and (b) image acquired at 2015. Table (3.2 ) Characteristic of EL mahalla al-kubra dataset No Spatial resolution Radiometric resolution Number of bands Acquisition date Size [pixels] Area [km 2 ] Width Height 1 6 m 8 bits 3 2010 1056 1007 38.2821 2 6 m 8 bits 3 2015 1056 1007 38.2821 1.4 Image Pre-processing for Change Detection Before change detection process, it is usually necessary to carry out the radiometric correction and image registration for the dataset used [ 64 ]. In sections 3.4.1and 3.4.2, the concept of radiometric and image registration are described. The execution of preprocessing on the dataset used is given in section 3.7.2. 1.4.1 Radiometric correction Radiometric conditions are influenced by many factors such as different imaging seasons or dates, different solar altitudes, different view angles, different meteorologic conditions and different cover areas of cloud, rain or snow etc. It may affect the accuracy of most change detection techniques. Radiometric correction is performed to remove or reduce the inconsistency between the values surveyed by sensors and the spe ctral reflectivity and spectral radiation brightness of the objects, which encompasses absolute radiometric correction and relative radiometric correction [ 26 ]. Absolute radiometric correction It mainly rectifies the radiation distortion that is irrelevant to the radiation features of the object surface and is caused by the state of sensors, solar illumination, and dispersion and absorption of atmospheric etc. The typical methods mainly consist of adjusting the radiation value to the standard value with the transmission code of atmospheric radiation, adjusting the radiation value to the standard value with spectral curves in the lab, adjusting the radiation value to the standard value with dark object and transmission code of radiation, rectifying the scene by removing the dark objects and so on. Due to the fact that it is expensive and impractical to survey the atmospheric parameter and ground objects of the current data, and almost impossible to survey that of the histor ical data, it is difficult to implement absolute radiometric correction in most situations in reality. Relative radiometric correction In a relative radiometric correction, an image is regarded as a reference image. Then adjust the radiation features of another image to make it match with the former one. Main methods consist of correction by histogram regularization and correction with fixed object. This kind of correction can remove or reduce the effects of atmosphere, sensor, and other noises. In addition, it has a simple algorithm. So it has been widely used. The radiation algorithms that are most frequently used at present in the preprocessing of change detection mainly consists of image regression method, pseudo-invariant features, dark set and bright set normalization, no-change set radiometric normalization, histogram matching, second simulation of the satellite signal in the solar spectrum and so on. It should be pointed that radiometric correction isn’t n ecessary for all change detection methods. Although some scholars hold that radiometric corrections are necessary for multi-sensor land cover change analysis Leonardo studies at 2006 have shown that if the obtained spectral signal comes from the images to be classified, it is unnecessary to conduct atmospheric correction before the change detection of post-classification comparison. For those change detection algorithms based on feature, object comparison, radiometric correction is often unnecessary [ 64 ]. 1.4.2 Image registration Precise registration to the multi-temporal imageries is essential for numerous change detection techniques. The importance of precise spatial registration of multi-temporal imagery is understandable because generally spurious results of change detection will be formed if there is misregistration. If great registration accuracy isn’t available, a great deal of false change area in the scene will be caused by image displacement. It is commonly approved that the geometrical registration accuracy of the sub-pixel level is recognized. It can be seen that the geometrical registration accuracy of the sub-pixel level is necessary to change detection. However, it is doubtful whether this result is suitable for all registration data sources and all detected objects and if suitable how much it is. Another problem is whether this result has no influence on all change detection techniques and applications and if there is any influence how much it is. These Problems are worth to be studied further. On the other hand, it is difficult to implement high accuracy registration between multi-temporal especially multi-sensor remote sensing images due to many factors, such as imaging models, imaging angles and conditions, curvature and rotation of the earth and so on. Especially in the mountainous region and urban area, general image registration methods are ineffective and orthorectification is needed. Although geometrical registration of h igh accuracy is necessary to techniques used for low, medium and high resolution (like image differencing techniques and post-classification), it is unnecessary for all change detection t. For the feature-based change detection methods like object-based change detection method, the so-called buffer detection procedure can be employed to associate the extracted objects or features and in this manner, the harsh prerequisite of perfect registration can be escaped [ 65 ]. However, these methods neglect the key problem of the distinction between radiometric and semantic changes. So, it does not address the problem of change detection from a general perspective. It just focuses on specific applications relevant to the end user [ 1 ]. 1.5 Accuracy Assessment used for Change Detection Process evaluation The accuracy of change detection depends on many factors, including precise geometric registration and calibration or normalization, availability and quality of ground reference data, t he complexity of landscape and environment, methods or algorithms used, the analyst’s skills and experience, and time and cost restrictions. Authors in [ 66 ] summarized the main errors in change detection including errors in data (e.g. image resolution, accuracy of location and image quality), errors caused by pre-processing (the accuracy of geometric correction and radiometric correction), errors caused by change detection methods and processes (e.g. classification and data extraction error), errors in field survey (e.g. accuracy of ground reference) and errors caused by post-processing. Accuracy assessment techniques in change detection originate from those of remote sensing images classification. It is natural to extend the accuracy assessment techniques for processing single time image to that of bi-temporal or multi-temporal images. Among various assessment techniques, the most efficient and widely-used is the error matrix [ 26 ]. It describes the comparison or cr oss-tabulation of the classified land cover to the actual land cover revealed by the sample sites results in an error matrix as demonstrated in the table (3.3). It can be called a confusion matrix, contingency table [ 67 ], evaluation matrix [ 68 ] or misclassification matrix [ 69 ]. Different measures and statistics can be derived from the values in an error matrix. These measures are used to evaluate the change detection process. These measures are overall accuracy, procedures accuracy and user accuracy [ 70 ]. Overall accuracy of the change map It presents the ratio of the total number of correctly classified pixels to the total number of pixels in the matrix. This figure is normally expressed as a percentage. It can be expressed as follows: The overall accuracy =                       (3.1) User’s accuracy (column accuracy) It is a measure of the reliability of change map generated fro m a CD process. It is a statistic that can tell the user of the map what percentage of a class corresponds to the ground-truthed class. It is calculated by dividing the number of correct pixels for a class by the total pixels assigned to that class. The user accuracy =                  (3.2) Producer’s accuracy (raw accuracy) It is a measure of the accuracy of a particular classification scheme. It shows what percentage of a particular ground class was correctly classified. It is calculated by dividing the number of correct pixels for a class by the actual number of ground truth pixels for that class. The procedure accuracy =             (3.3) Table ( 3 . 3 ) Change error matrix or confusion matrix. Classified land cover Actual land cover Class1 = change Class2 = no change Class1 = change Correct False Class2 = no change False Correct 1.6 Concepts of the selected change detection techniques Seven LULC change detection techniques are selected to be implemented on our dataset. These techniques are post-classification, direct multi-date classification ( DMDC ), image differencing (ID), image rationing (IR), image symmetric relative difference (ISRD), change vector analysis (CVA), and principal component differencing (PCD). Image differencing Itis based on the subtraction of two spatially registered imageries, pixel by pixel, as follows: ID =X i (t 2 ) – X i (t 1 )                                                          (3.4) Where: X represents the multispectral images with I (number of bands) acquired at two different times t 1 and t 2 . The pixel s of changed area are predictable to be scattered in the two ends of the histogram of the resulting image (change map), and the no changed area is grouped around zero as shown in figure (3.5). This simple manner easily infers the resulting image; conversely, it is vital to properly describe the thresholds to perceive the change from non-change regions [ 71 ] . Image Rationing It is similar to image differencing method. The only difference between them is the replacement of the differencing images by rationed images [ 71 ].
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Group Policy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Group Policy - Coursework Example Security: due to the various security breaches evident, it is important to use the group policy to curb that. For instance, an organization can experience security breach due to the employees using very weak passwords. With the group policy, it is easy for an organization to set certain requirements for the users to follow when setting passwords. Cost and time: it enables installation or upgrading of software from one location and ensures that every machine is serviced simultaneously (Moskowitz, Hicks, & Burchill, 2013). Moreover, it is also possible to conduct the upgrade outside the business hours to avoid disruption of the work schedule. There are various potential pitfalls. One, because the SQL server is configured for windows authentication only, it becomes difficult to manage data in all the other relational databases. Moreover, the database can only be accessed from within the local area network. Beyond that, it becomes inaccessible. Lack of firewalls between the servers and the applications of the client becomes difficult to get into the client’s database and gather the additional information required. The types of data elements that will be difficult to capture are the compound data elements. These are data elements consisting of three field’s control, component count field together with the total length of the required data elements. The reason is due to lack of firewall between the server and the applications of the clients. It is able to establish a boundary between a trusted and un-trusted network (Moraes, 2011). Thus, the user is not restricted by any set of rules applicable and can therefor e conceal the compound data elements in such a way that it becomes difficult for them to be found. The main considerations include enhancing security. Among the 120 end users, there can be some using some practices that can lead to breach of security for the organization. This can be quite costly since the
Monday, August 12, 2019
Proposal report for ERP strategic to Omar A. Balubaid Company Limited Essay
Proposal report for ERP strategic to Omar A. Balubaid Company Limited - Essay Example This section concludes with the benefits that will be brought about in Omar A. Balubaid after the implementation of ERP system. ERP systems tend to save time for any organization- this aspect has been discussed, along with the cost of implementation for other companies and Omar A. Balubaid. Risks of implementation have been discussed in the report. Several ways have been identified that can be adapted to handle the risks. Choosing a suitable vendor is an important step in the process of ERP implementation, therefore several vendors have been mentioned and then benefits of the chosen one have been discussed. Lastly, the implementation process of ERP systems has been discussed to give an overview to the reader about the factors that are needed to be considered during the implementation. The modern world has become a test for survival for companies around the world. Consumers have become more aware about their choices and tend to switch brands frequently. This creates the need for current information about the market trends, consumer behaviours and effective strategic planning. Companies need to be equipped with up-to-date systems so that they are not left behind in the race for revenues and market share. While keeping these things in mind, three new strategies were proposed for Omar Abu Bakar Balubaid. Co. Ltd. Omar A. Balubaid Co. Ltd. holds the status of being one of the first car companies in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1952 in Jeddah with the capital of SR 300,000 [1]. Over the years, the company has flourished and has established 50 branches to manage their operations and sales. It proudly owns the agencies of General Motors (GM) and Peugeot [2]. The company’s systems and procedures were being handled in the conventional manner of papers and files. Better IT infrastructure came about in the company in 1997 and MS Office got
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Business Research Discussion Week 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Business Research Discussion Week 11 - Essay Example When p-value goes down, the price goes up; on the contrary, the price goes up whenever the p-value goes up. However, when the p-value goes up, the mile goes up and vice-versa. Therefore, an increase on p-value will automatically lower the price of purchasing the gas. Thus, the expenditure will go down as well. On the other hand, an increase in p-value lead to an increase in mile covered. Therefore, this means that a decrease in p-value will lead to a decrease in mile and hence reduce the expenditure. The determination of the coefficient significance is by what best measures the strength of the relationship and it is r2. The strength is expressed in the given levels of probability (Sonneveld, 2008). The data can be used to make principal decision based on the implications. A decrease in p-value lead to a decrease in price of purchasing the gas, then the company can make a decision on how to reduce the p-value, hence reduce their expenditure as well. Consequently, the company can use the data to decide on how to lower the p-value hence lower the miles covered. Thus, this will in turn lower their annual expenditure and hence more profit to the company (Neudecker &
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Project Staff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Project Staff - Essay Example unctioning is explained in this paper with special emphasize to functioning of effective work groups, elements of group effectiveness, process gains and process losses. Many of the current organizations are encouraging group work or team work because of the immense advantage team work have on individual work. In fact most of the project works need team performances rather than the individual performances in order to execute it successfully. Individual brilliance may not reflect in a team work. For example, if one out of the 10 members of a team performs badly, the entire mission could be failed even if the all the rest nine members perform excellently. For the effective functioning of the team, the entire team members need to identify the various processes involved in the project for the team’s progress. Process gains and process losses are the part of a project team functioning. Identification of these characteristics will help the team to perform well. A winning team is like orchestrating a piece of music and it doesnt happen by chance. It requires a great deal of information, careful thought, and sound resource management (Vokoun, 2009). It is not necessary that all the workgroups function well. The characteristics of the work group members are important in making the group work effective. Each member of a group is just like the links in chain. Even a single weak link can spoil or break the chain. Same way even single member of the group can spoil the entire objectives of the group work. In other words, a group work will be effective when all the group members combine well and complement each other. The first step in constructing a productive and goal-oriented work group is to gather information (Vokoun, 2009). Information about the project, its objectives and the skills required to complete the project are important for forming the work group. It is not necessary that an effective and efficient member in a group would be effective in another group.
ECT170 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
ECT170 - Essay Example The internet is the central source of data among the external sources. The inputs of an MIS include scheduled reports produced periodically such as weekly or monthly, demand reports, produced, to provide certain information upon request. There are several characteristics of an MIS. One characteristic is that it provides reports with fixed and standard form as well as producing both soft and hard copies of the reports. It also uses internal data stored in a computer system allow users to develop customs report. The MIS requires user requests for reports developed by systems personnel (Stair and Reynolds 303). MIS can be divided along functional lines. Financial management information systems provide financial information to executives. Some financial MIS subsystems and outputs include profit/loss and costs systems, auditing and management of funds. Manufacturing MIS subsystems and outputs include monitoring and controlling the flow of materials, design and engineering, inventory control, process control and quality control. Marketing MIS supports product development, pricing and its distribution. Marketing functions are increasingly being performed on the internet. The subsystems involved include marketing research, product development, product pricing, sales analysis and advertising. The human resource MIS are concerned with issues related to previous, current and potential employees. Its subsystems include human resource planning, personnel selection, training and skills inventory, scheduling and job placement as well as salary administration (Stair and Reynolds 305). Decision support systems (DCCs) are used when the problem is unstructured. These systems’ performance is a function of decision quality and problem complexity. The problem complexity depends on how hard the problem is to solve. The DCC provides rapid access to information and can handle
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