Special Education Teachers Essay Example for Free

Special Education Teachers EssayThe current directions toward inclusion are varied. Some hear opinions that students with mild and moderate disabilities will be lay in classes. Then, there are also those who say that special education students will be placed in inclusion, including those with the intimately severe disabilities. Definitions of inclusion already abound including issues on its subsequent translation into programming. On the question, Which students with disabilities will most benefit from inclusion, the different levels of responses are Level 1Students with mild disabilities accede regular in regular education classrooms. Students with moderate to profound disabilities attend separate classrooms on the regular education camps. Level II Students with mild and moderate disabilities participate full-time in regular education classrooms, with the elimination of all pull-out programs. Students with severe or profound disabilities would be served in a separate classr oom on the same campus. Level III All students participate in regular education classrooms except students with the most severe disabilities who would be in normalized and age-appropriate classroom on the same campus. Few students are excluded.Level IV Despite the degree of disability, all students are fully included in general education classrooms. Specialists and doctrine assistants provide support for students with the most severe disabilities within the classroom. The regular education teacher is responsible for structuring favorable interactions with typical peers. The least inclusive proffer places most students with mild disabilities in regular classes, but excludes those with moderate through severe disabilities, placing them in separate rooms within the regular school building (Lilly, 1986).This proposal is closest to the traditional manner of service delivery and is the easiest to implement in terms of using available special educators as support personnel and providi ng dressing in methods for regular education teachers to include these children. More inclusive is the proposal to place students with mild or moderate disabilities in regular education classes (Reynolds Wang, 1983 Wang, Reynolds Walburg, 1987). The sum of money and meaning of inclusion evolved from the historical concepts in early childhood special education, that is, mainstreaming and integration.Bricker (1995) discusses the evolution of these terms, noting that mainstreaming refers to the reentry of children with mild disabilities be served totally in these settings eliminating the need for pull-out programs. While students with organically-based encyclopaedism disabilities or moderately demonstrated behavioral disorders would not have been included in regular education rooms in the Level I proposal, they would be included here. Yet, proponents of both levels agree that there will be students with severe and/or multiple disabilities whose needs will not be served optimally i n a mainstream environment.They feel that these students will need to participate full-time in separate settings. Level III includes a more extensive involvement of disadvantageously impaired students in regular education. All students are included except those who are unable to be involved in academic or social interactions (Gartner Lipsky, 1987). However, even these students would participate in nearby classrooms which would be as normalized and age-appropriate as possible. The most extreme view is that of full inclusionists, who propose that all students should participate in general education classes.Claiming that to do otherwise would be to support a dual-system for the most disabled, Level IV proponents propose the integration of even profoundly-impaired students into totally normalized classes (Stainback Stainback, 1984). This military posture has prompted the strongest reaction of implausibility from those remote to the Regular Education Initiative. Yet parents and prof essionals supporting Level IV inclusion do acknowledge that there are situations in which these students cannot be grouped with other s because of instructional differences. Thus, the Regular Education Initiative gives a sense of inclusion for students.Yet, a number of researchers and educators have opposed the Regular Education Initiative strongly. They cite the historical inability and lack of desire of regular education to beseeming students needs. That is the reason why the IDEA cropped up. They pertain about the loss of funding and parental right. They also note that most regular educators are not trained to have students with disabilities in their classes. They say that teachers cannot meet societal demands for excellence if they are expected to have vastly different levels of student academic and behavioral performance in their classes.

Conventional Approaches To Strategic Management

Conventional Approaches To Strategic ManagementThe aim of this essay is to critically try and evaluate the application, validity, limitations and uncertainties of the constituted glide slopees of strategical management in this rapidly ever-changing business context. It briefly outlines strategic management as it is traditionally taught, studied and practised and how organisations de endpointinal figureine what strategies are apt in spite of appearance versatile business environments. In keeping with the goal, the essay disputes the validity and applicability of the traditional approach in todays deconstructing situation where the opportunities and challenges make any kind of discursive strategic planning fail. Through the arguments stated in this paper, a combination and a right mix of prescriptive and emergent approaches is essential and needs to be integrate in the strategic management appendage for continuity. Thus naturalized approaches with its pros and cons, still p revail in todays economic business context.In any business venture, outline is a vital incidentor for the efficient functioning, growth, development, continuity and success of a firm. It aims to achieve a set goal and embarks a direction for the future. Organisations require collaboration, vigilant planning and the mindful murder of planning. To maximise the effectiveness of strategies and to hold the smooth functioning and success of the business, they have to be managed skilfully. So what is strategy? What role does strategic management ladder in this global economic world? The word strategy has been implicitly used in various ways even if it has been conventionally defined in only one. It is widely accepted that there is no single or universal definition of strategy, however the various descriptions of strategy allows lot to manoeuvre and manipulate by dint of this difficult pitch. Mintzberg(1994) defines strategy in 5 different ways.Plan A consciously intended course of action to ensure objectives are achieved.Ploy Basically a subset of plan and is a trick intended to outsmart or everywherecome an opponent or a competitor. digit Series of action which involves consistent behaviour over time which may or may not be intended.Position Locating the organisation within a environment.Perspective It is conceptual as well as cultural and is concerned with how an organisation itself sees and perceives the business environment.The above 5 Ps may be applicable in vastly different areas and can also be interrelated.Johnson Scholes (2008) defines strategy as the direction and s be intimate of an enterprise over the long term which achieves advantage for the firm through arrangement of resources within a demanding environment, to meet the needs of the markets and accomplish the expectations of the stakeholders.The process of strategic management includes analysis of the versed and extraneous environment, formation of strategy, implementation of strategy , and evaluation of strategy. The theory of strategic management is analysed within an integrated model of context, content and process. There are two approaches for organisational compound The prescriptive Approach which works better(p) in a stable environment and Emergent Approaches which is used in an unpredictable fashion. These approaches are the widely cognise strategic models and must be examined thoroughly within the context of the debased paced, highly competitive and increasingly dynamic business environment.The prescriptive approach, also known as deliberate strategy is a traditional approach to strategic management. It is a deterministic and systematic plan of action designed to achieve a circumstantial goal for the long term. It is usually the responsibility of the top management to establish lucid strategic directions through analysis and evaluation and then implement them through the successive layers of the organisation. Porter(1996) states that competitive stra tegies are about an intended course of action of being different from the rivals and differentiating yourself in the eyes of customer by doing various eccentric activities which add value and by positioning yourself competitively in the environment. Porter maintains that deliberate strategies are intentional and planning ahead is important and should be develop and chatd by leaders in a predictable and controlled environment to achieve the goals and objectives. Porter also states that trade-offs and operational effectiveness are an integral cleave for sustainability.Conversely, Mintzberg (1994), one of the volumedgest critics of prescriptive approach developed the emergent approach to strategic management. He states that in emergent strategies the final objective is unclear and it a process of evolution, adaption, alternation and continuity. Emergent strategies are more successful in this chaotic world as they are unintentional and are the result of impromptu response to out o f the blue(predicate) situations which emerge over time. For example, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, decision to open his second store in a rural area rather than a big city, for convenience of logistics and management efficiency was a fantastic winning emergent strategy. Also as there was less competition and people would travel to debase products which offered value at the lowest expenses, made the business successful.An emergent strategy increases flexibility in times of turbulence and allows the firm to respond to opportunities and make the most of the threats. Mintzberg argues that the emergent strategies are the result of constant learning, adjusting and experimentation of different variables. Many of the world discoveries have happened accidently and would not have taken place if it was dictated by formal planning of strategy. On a negative note, as the emergent strategy is not a systematic and linear process, formulation and implementation materialise simultaneously which would lead to slow, messy and jumbled development. Brews and Hunt points out that overdependence on emergent strategy can lead to underperformance of the organisation.On the other hand, deliberate strategies are planned and put into action, however due to the unrealised and unpredictable changes in the business environment most of the planned strategies are not implemented.SWOT gives an perceptivity on the internal and external factors which are helpful and harmful for achievement of a specific objective of an organisation.PESTLE is an analysis of the macro environment in which the firm operates.VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS points out the primary activities which are instanter related to production of products (eg logistics, sales) and the secondary activities (eg Human mental imagery, technology) which are not directly involved in production, but are essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. It defines the core competencies of the firm and its helps to figure out the competitive advantage over address and its competitors by adding value to the various activities.PORTERS 5 FORCE framework is an simple but powerful tool to understand the context in which the firm operates and analyse the attractiveness and economic performance of an industry which would lead to more sustainable financial returns to the stakeholders. According to Porters bestselling book Competitive Advantage, the forces that influence the advantageousness of an industry in a business environment are the entry of new competitors, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers and the rivalry amongst existing competitors.The above quadruplet are important tools in the strategic management process.Porter states that strategic management is all about plotting a way through the mesh of threats and opportunities attach by external competitive forces.The uncertainty, chaos and instability that characterise global market contest a ny kind of predictibilty, which is a requisite base of some(prenominal) a traditional process of strategic management (Pitts, 2000). Brown Eisenhardt (1998) states that traditional approaches to strategy often collapse in the face of rapidly and unpredictability changing industries. The technological advances have accelerated the process of communication and globalisation has expanded importantly. The shift and restructuring in government policies and the recent terrorist attacks have impacted companies. The challenges of formulation and implementation of strategies within a framework where global catastrophic events have an undulating effect on local market conditions, has been underestimated by management, according to researchers. Trends in the biophysical ecosystem has changed and threatened serviceman and other species in various geographic areas. Events such as the terrorist attack on the twin tower building in New York on kinsfolk 11, 2001, or the Tsunami in Japan has an undermining effect on the global financial markets.The rational approach to strategic management which is a top down approach helps to resolve the complexities of a firm in its stable environment. It is count oned as a logical and continuous process which involves defining the mission and setting long term objectives, systematic and exhaustive analysis of the competitive environment, creating and evaluating alternative strategies, implementing the various strategies and finally monitoring the performance. Ansoff(1965) states that it helps to organise complex activities and employ a greater control over various business units which leads to domination of marketplace. This approach is founded on the idea that firms are adapted to cope with changes in their environment by taking rational and spatiotemporal decisions (Chaffee, 1985).Due to incapacity of predicting the future, this approach is very linear and unrealistic and is based on the thinking and assumptions of the upper level m anagement. In a complex and liquid environment the values and the role of mainstream strategies are still unclear and may lead to more complications rather than solutions. It may weaken the flexibility of the firm to cope with prospective changes taking place in its environment (Wally Baum, 1994). In Mintzberg(1994) opinion, rational methods of strategic management leads to inflexibility, encourages excess bureaucracy and confines creativity and spontaneity.On the contrary, Ansoff(1991)argues the fact that conventional strategies are much more effective than a trial and error process when it comes to collecting and analysing relevant data and rangeing the firm with its internal and external environments. Porter(1996)maintains that mainstream strategies can cleverly play a vital role in determining a suitable strategic direction for the firm. It can significantly help companies to avoid expensive errors and survive and sustain in a highly competitive environment (Aram Cowan, 1990 ). Adopting the conventional strategic approach, would help in ensuring a systematic assessment of numerous plausible options, encouraging creative thinking and ideas, enhancing internal interactions and communications, increasing motivation and commitment of staff, identifying pertinent opportunities, ensuring coordination of organisational activities and anticipating potential change.The size of a firm is a factor of high importance when it comes to adopting strategies. Often, strategic planning and management is considered a major tool for large enterprises. Due to its complexity, a general examination strategy is needed, as compared to, small and medium sized firms. In (Mintzberg, 1994)opinion, smaller firms operates in less complex environments and their internal operations and procedures are manageable by a smaller hierarchy, hence they abandon the formal strategy process. Smaller businesses would do well if they adopt emergent strategies especially in turbulent periods.The c onventional strategies are based on a sole quantitative purpose and are very cold and give little or practically no good will to human factor (Muchinsky, 2000). It fails to utilise people as the competitive advantage of the firm. Due to the traditional approaches to strategy, many organisations fail to realise the potential of their people, inspite of the blandishment claim that people are the firms real strategic asset (Gratton,2000). Truss(1999) argues that a healthy organisation can be formed by incorporating humanistic principles and by aligning strategic human resource management with the rational conceptualisation of strategies, thereby evoking behaviours necessary to individual growth and effectiveness of the organisation. Along with the Human Resource of a firm, leaders too play a central role in achieving people based competitive advantage in modern organisations. The conventional approaches to leadership either is transactional reward the employee in exchange of desirab le results or contingent identify leaders based on the circumstances of the firm and execution of specific strategies(Landrum, Howell Paris, 2000). Eisenbach, Watson Pillai(2000) states that these approaches are insufficient and advocates transformational leadership as the apt approach. Guest Schepers,( 1997, p 37) considers a transformational leader as a person who brings about change by formulation of a vision for the future and means of realising this mission by communication and necessary action. A leaders vision should also consider the essential interests of the key stakeholders of the organisation along with the employees needs such as growth and motivation (Ford Ford,1994). Beugre(2006) states that a transformational leader should exhibit individualised attention, positivity, encourage logical thinking and inspire the followers for team unity. Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft are classic examples of transformational leaders who have achieved momentous su ccess with a articulate vision which have persuaded their followers (Giladi, 2000).Participation of share holders in formulation of strategies is crucial. Freeman (1984) defines stakeholders as any individual or group who can bear upon or is affected by the achievement of an organisations objective. It is intended to explain and guide the structure and operation of the established organisation. Many traditional strategy tools have neglected some shareholders, sidelined others and constantly traded off the interests of others against preferred shareholder group. This approach may be suitable in stable environments. However, in a dynamic, volatile and fast changing business world, the limitation of this approach becomes increasingly evident. Integration of shareholder interests into the very rationale of the firm and exploring, managing and balancing relationship with shareholders must be managed in a lucid and strategic fashion to ensure long term success of the firm. Incorporating value based management system, intellectual morality and ethics play a significant role in the enhanced performance and profitability of the firm in the long run. Ansoff(1965) contrasts that stakeholders might be a barrier on the objective and actions of the enterprise and might constraint the development of the firm.With the advent of the 21st century and the emergence of digitisation, globalisation and new technology traditional strategic tools deal value chain analysis, Porters 5 forces, have become less useful. In todays varied business world, there is a need for strategists to develop more comprehensive and reasonable measures for better performance and must consider a wider array of industry organisations, bases of competitive advantage and higher level of complexity and uncertainty. As the industry conditions progresses or changes, strategies should also evolve.Scenario Analysis differs from the traditional approach and is a contemporary approach to strategic management wh ich analyses the possible future events by taking into consideration alternative plausible outcomes that the future may unfold. It is not about predicting or projecting the future but a means of learning and improving our understanding of the long term global effects of the current trends and their interrelation considering the uncertainties and volatilities in the business context which helps a company to make flexible long term plans. The traditional approaches rely on the notion that the future will be very similar to the past and present and works in a relatively stable environment, however scenarios help managers to prepare for the future and improve their decision making ability by stimulating out of the box thinking. The well known example of this methodology would be of Royal Dutch Shell, who by implementation of scenario planning was the only energy company to survive and sustain the oil price crisis in the 1970s. Scenario techniques if combined with other approaches canIn summary, the traditional approaches to strategic management provide a structured and supposely approach to decision making in the strategic making process. These approaches still constitute a basic indispensable and feasible framework however it is not sufficient alone for the profitability of a firm. Contemporary strategic approaches should be incorporated in the base model to make it more entrepreneurial and adaptable. Though the dynamic approaches can nix control over action and may jeopardise a lack of direction, it considers the uncertainty of the future and emphasises on the flexibility of reaction to enhance the functionality of the organisation in this fast growing, turbulent and uncertain world. In essence there is no one size fits all or best approach to strategy. The organisations should adapt and align the conventional strategies such as internal and external analysis with the real time techniques to ensure continuity and facilitate organisational and individual learn ing. The management should seek the best way of combination, customisation and balance of elements from both the approaches for survival and sustainability in this tumultuous world. Rather than using the approaches individually and in isolation, they should complement each other in order to handle the intricacies of the business and still succeed over the changing conditions.

Data Multimedia Images

Data Multimedia ImagesChapter IIntroduction1.1 What is meant by Multimedia Data?A number of entropy types notify be characterized as multimedia info types. These entropy types ar normally the essentials for the building blocks of core multimedia environments, platforms and integrating tools. The basic types jakes be described as school text, finds, audio, moving- image show and graphic objects. Following is a detailed explanation for the same.TextText tin can be stored in a variety of different forms. In addition to American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) base files, text is usually stored in spreadsheets, annotations, processor files, databases and common multimedia objects. The task of text storage is becoming more and more complex due to the easy avail readiness and abundance of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) and text fonts, permitting ludicrous effects such as text color, text shade etc.Imagesdigitalized images atomic number 18 nothing that a s tring of pixels that signify an area in the users graphical exhibit. There is an immense variation in the quality and dimension of storage for motionless images. For motionless (still) images, the space oerhead varies with evaluate to complexity, size, resolution and compression format utilize to store every given image. The frequently used and accepted image formats (file extensions) consist of bmp, jpeg, tiff and png.AudioAudio, existence an some otherwise frequently used data type is relatively space intensive. A minute of sound takes up to 3 Megabytes (MB) of space. Numerous methods can be deployed to compress an audio into fit formats.VideoAnother data type which consumes majority of space is categorized as the digitalized video data type. Videos are normally stored as a series of frames, the capacity of which depends on its resolution. A solo video frame can take up to 1 MB of space. invari equal to(p) transfer rate is chooseed to micturate a reasonable video playback with its proper transmission, compression, and decompression.Graphic ObjectsThis data type consists of unique data structures that can mark 2D and 3D shapes which further helps in defining multimedia objects. Today hotshot can use different formats for image applications and video-editing applications. To list few examples data processor Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) are graphic objects1.2 How is Multimedia Data Different?Theoretically multimedia data should be r severallyed like any fixture data based on the data types for instance numbers, dates and characters. Though, there are a few challenges that arise from multimedia as described in 2Multimedia data is usually captured with various unreliable capturing techniques such as image processing. These multimedia processing techniques require capabilities for handling these various available methods of capturing content, this includes both(prenominal) automated and manual methods.In multimedia datab ase, the queries created by the user rarely come back with textual answer. To a certain extent, the answer to user ask is a compound multimedia presentation that the user can glance by dint of at mavens leisure.The size of the multimedia data being large not solo affects the storage, recovery but as well as the transmission of data.Time to retrieve information may be vital while accessing video and audio databases, for example Video on Demand.Automatic feature extraction and Indexing User explicitly submits the attribute values of objects inserted into the database in contrast to advanced tools with conservative databases, such as image processing and pattern recognition tools for images to extract the various features and content of multimedia objects. Special data structures for storage and list are needed due to the large size of data.1.3 Basic Approaches for Data RetrievalData focussing is being implemented since long. Many approaches have also been invented for the s ame to manage and inquire various types of data in the computer systems. The commonly used approaches for data management comprise of conventional database system, information retrieval system, content based retrieval system and graph/ manoeuvre pattern matching. The details for the same are as followsConventional database systemIt is the approximately extensively used approach to manage as well as investigate structured data. Data in a database system must match to some(prenominal) predefined structures and limitations (schemas). The user should specify the data objects to be retrieved and the tables from which data has to be extracted. The user also has to predicate on which the retrieval of data will be based to formulate a database query. SQL, a query language has a restricted syntax and vocabulary that can be used for such databases.Information retrieval (IR) systemThis system is prominently used to search enormous text collections where in the content of the data (text) is illustrated with the help of an indexer using refer talking to or a textual summary. The query demands are expressed in terms of differentiatewords or natural language. For instance, meddling for an image or video, the user is involve to describe using words and also need means to store large amount of metadata in textual form.Content based retrieval (CBR) systemThis approach stills in the retrieval of multimedia objects from an enormous collection. The retrieval is based on various features such as color, texture and shape which can be extracted automatically from the objects. Though keyword can be considered a feature for textual data, conventional retrieval of information has a higher performance as compared to content-based retrieval.This is due to the fact that keyword has the demonstrated ability to characterize semantics while no other features have revealed convincing semantic describing capability. A key disadvantage of this particular approach is its lack of accuracy. Graph or tree pattern matchingThis particular approach seeks the retrieval of object sub-graphs from an object graph as per several designated patterns.Chapter IIData Structures for Multimedia memory boardMany modern database applications deal with large amounts of dimensional data. Multimedia content-based retrieval is one of the examples. Access Methods are essential in order to deal with multidimensional data efficiently. They are used to access selective data from a big collection.2.1 Importance of Access MethodsEfficient spatial selection support is the key purpose of access methods. These include range queries or nearest neighbour queries of spatial objects. The significance of these access methods and how they take into account both clustering techniques and spatial indexing is described by Peter Van Oosterom 3. In the absence of a spatial index, every object in the database needs to be check if it meets the selection criteria. Clustering is necessitate to group the objec ts that are often requested together. Or else, numerous different disk pages will have to be fetched, resulting in a very slow response.For spatial selection, clustering implies storing objects that are not only close in reality but also close in computer memory instead of being scattered all over the whole memory.In conventional database systems sorting the data is the basis for efficient searching. higher(prenominal) dimensional data cannot be sorted in an obvious manner, as it is possible for text strings, numbers, or dates. Principally, computer memory is one-dimensional. However, spatial data is 2D, 3D or purge higher and must be organized someway in the memory. An intuitive solution to organize the data is using a regular grid just as on a paper map. Each grid cell has a unique name e.g. A1, C2, or E5. The cells are stored in some order in the memory and can each contain a fixed number of object references. In a grid cell, a reference is stored to an object whenever the obj ect overlaps the cell. However, this will not be very efficient due to the irregular data distribution of spatial data because of which many cells will be empty while many others will be overfull. Therefore, more advanced techniques have been developed.2.2 kd TreesA kd-tree or a k-dimensional tree is a space-partitioning data structure used for organizing points in a k-dimensional space. kd-trees are a useful for several applications such as searches involving a multidimensional search key like range searches and nearest neighbour searches. Kd-trees are a special case of Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) trees.A kd-tree only uses splitting planes that are perpendicular to one of the coordinate axes. This is different from BSP trees, in which arbitrary splitting planes can be used. In addition to this, every lymph knob of a kd-tree, from the substructure to the leaves, stores a point. Whereas in BSP trees, leaves are typically the only thickenings that contain points. As a conseque nce, each splitting plane must go through one of the points in the kd-tree. 42.2.1 Addition of elements to kd treesA new point is added to a kd tree in the same way as one adds an element to any other tree. At first, traverse the tree, starting from the root and moving to either the odd wing or the right baby depending on whether the point to be inserted is on the left or right side of the splitting plane. Once you get to a leaf node, add the new point as either the left or right child of the leaf node, again depending on which side of the nodes splitting plane contains the new point.2.2.2 Deleting from kd treesDeletion is similar as in Binary Search Tree (BST) but slightly harder.Step1 find node to be deleted.Step2 twain cases must be handled(a) No children replace pointer to node by NULL(b) Has children replace node by minimum node in right subtree. If no right subtree exists then first move left subtree to become right subtree. 12.3 Quad-treesEach node of a quad-tree is as sociated with a rectangular land of space. The top node is associated with the full(a) target space. Each non-leaf node divides its region into four equal sized quadrants, likewise, each such node has four child nodes corresponding to the four quadrants and so on. Leaf nodes have between cypher and some fixed maximum number of points.2.3.1 Simple definition of node structure of a point quad-treeqtnodetype = recordINFO infotypeXVAL realYVAL realNW, SW, NE, SE *qtnodetypeendHere, INFO is some additional information regarding that point .XVAL, YVAL are coordinates of that point.NW, SW, NE, SE are pointers to regions obtained by dividing given region. 12.3.2 Common uses of Quad-treesImage Representation spacial IndexingEfficient collision detection in twain dimensionsStoring sparse data, such as formatting information for a spreadsheet or for some hyaloplasm calculations.2.3.3 Representing Image employ Quad-tree 7Let us suppose we divide the picture area into 4 sections. Those 4 s ections are then further divided into 4 sections. We continue this process, repeatedly dividing a square region by 4. We must impose a limit to the levels of division otherwise we could go on dividing the picture forever. Generally, this limit is imposed due to storage considerations or to limit processing time or due to the resolution of the output device. A pixel is the smallest subsection of the quad tree.To summarize, a square or quadrant in the picture is either entirely one color unruffled of 4 smaller sub-squaresTo reconcile a picture using a quad tree, each leaf must represent a uniform area of the picture. If the picture is black and white, we only need one bit to represent the colour in each leaf for example, 0 could mean black and 1 could mean white. Now consider the following image The definition of a picture is a two dimensional array, where the elements of the array are colored points. get into 2.3 First triad levels of quad-treeFigure 2.4 Given ImageThis is how th e above image could be stored in quad-tree.Figure 2.5 88 pixel picture represented in a quad-treeFigure 2.6 The quad tree of the above example picture. The quadrants are shown in counterclockwise order from the top-right quadrant. The root is the top node. (The 2nd and 3rd quadrants are not shown.)2.3.4 Advantages of Quad-treesThey can be manipulated and accessed much quicker than other models.Erasing an image takes only one step. All that is required is to puzzle the root node to neutral.Zooming to a particular quadrant in the tree is also a one step operation.To reduce the complexity of the image, it suffices to remove the final level of nodes.Accessing particular regions of the image is a very firm operation. This is useful for updating certain regions of an image, perhaps for an environment with quadruplicate windows.The main disadvantage is that it takes up a lot of space.2.4 R-treesR-trees are N-dimensional extension of Binary trees, but are used for spatial access methods i.e., for indexing multi-dimensional information. They are supported in many modern database systems, along with variants like R+ -trees and R*-trees. The data structure splits space with hierarchically nested, and possibly overlapping, minimum bounding rectangles.4A rectangular bounding box is associated with each tree node. 5Bounding box of a leaf node is a minimum sized rectangle that contains allthe rectangles/polygons associated with the leaf node.Bounding box associated with a non-leaf node contains the bounding box associated with all its children.Bounding box of a node serves as its key in its parent node (if any)Bounding boxes of children of a node are allowed to overlap.2.4.1 Structure of an R-tree nodertnodetype = recordRec1, .Reck rectangleP1, .Pk rtnodetypeendA polygon is stored in one node, and the bounding box of the node must contain the polygon. Since a polygon is stored only once, the storage efficiency of R-trees is better than that of k-d trees or quad-trees.Th e insertion and deletion algorithmic rules use the bounding boxes from the nodes to ensure that close by elements are placed in the same leaf node. Each entry within a leaf node stores two-pieces of information a way of identifying the veritable data element and the bounding box of the data element.2.4.2 Inserting a node1. Find a leaf to store it, and add it to the leaf.To find leaf, follow a child (if any) whose bounding box contains bounding box of data item, else child whose overlap with data item bounding box is maximum2. Handle overflows by splits. We may need to divide entries of an overfull node into two sets such that the bounding boxes have minimum total area.2.4.3 Deleting a node1. Find the leaf and delete object determine new MBR.2. If the node is too emptyDelete the node recursively at its parentInsert all entries of the deleted node into the R-tree2.4.4 Searching R-treesSimilarly, for searching algorithms, bounding boxes are used to decide whether or not to search ins ide a child node. Here we need to find minimal bounding rectangle. In this way, most of the nodes in the tree are never touched during a search.If the node is a leaf node, output the data items whose keys intersect the given query point/regionElse, for each child of the original node whose bounding box overlaps the query point/region, recursively search the child.2.5 Comparison of Different Data Structures 1k-d trees are very easy to implement. However, in general a k-d tree consisting k nodes may have a height k causing complexity of both insertion and search in k-d trees to be high. In practice, cut lengths (root to leaf) in k-d trees tend to be longer than those in point quad-trees because these trees are binary.R-trees have a large number of rectangles potentially stored in each node. They are appropriate for disk access by reducing the height of the tree, thus leading to fewer disk access.The disadvantage of R-trees is that the bounding rectangle associated with different nod es may overlap. Thus when searching an R-tree, instead of following one path (as in case of quad-tree), we might follow multiple path down the tree. This difference grows even more perspicacious when range search and neighbour searches are considered.In case of point quad-trees, while performing search/insertion each case requires comparisons on two coordinates. Deletion in point quad-trees is difficult because finding a candidate replacement node for the node being deleted is not easy.Chapter IIIMetadataMetadata is data about data. Any data that is used to describe the content, condition, quality and other aspects of data for humans or machines to locate, access and understand the data is known as Metadata. Metadata helps the users to get an overview of the data.3.1 Need of MetadataThe main functions of metadata can be listed as follows 8DescriptionTo describe and identify data sources. These explanations help create catalogs, index, etc., thereby improving access to them.Queryi ng saying of queries.AdministrationTo provide information to help manage and administrate a data source, such as when and how it was created, and who can legally access it.PreservationTo facilitate data archival and conservation like data refreshing and migration, etc.TechnicalTo indicate how a system functions or metadata behaves, such as data formats, compression ratios, scaling routines, encryption key, and security, etc.UseTo indicate the level and type of use of data sources like multiversion, user tracking, etc.3.2 Metadata in the sprightliness Cycle of Multimedia ObjectsA multimedia object undergoes a life cycle consisting of production, organization, searching, utilization, preservation, and disposition. Metadata passes through similar stages as an integral part of these multimedia objects 8 introductionObjects of different media types are created often generating data of how they were produced (e.g., the EXIF files produced by digital cameras) and stored in an information retrieval system. Associated metadata is generated accordingly for administrating and describing the objects.OrganizationMultimedia objects may be composed of several components. Metadata is created to specify how these compound objects are put together.Searching and retrievalCreated and stored multimedia objects are subject to search and retrieval by users. Metadata provides aids through catalog and index to enable efficient query formulation and resource localization.UtilizationRetrieved multimedia objects can be further utilized, reproduced, and modified. Metadata related to digital rights management and version control, etc. may be created.Preservation and dispositionMultimedia objects may undergo modification, refreshing, and migration to ensure their availability. Objects that are out-of-date or corrupted may be discarded. Such preservation and disposition activities can be documented by the associated metadata.3.3 Classification of MetadataMetadata directly affects the way in which objects of different media types are used. Classifying metadata can facilitate the handling of different media types in a multimedia information retrieval system. Based on its (in)dependence on media contents, metadata can be classified into two kinds, namely content independent and content-dependent metadata 8Content-independent metadata provides information which is derived independently from the content of the original data. Examples of content independent metadata are date of creation and location of a text document, type-of-camera used to record a video fragment, and so on. These metadata are called descriptive data.Content-dependent metadata depends on the content of the original data. A special case of content-dependent metadata is content-dependent descriptive metadata , which cannot be extracted automatically from the content but is created manually annotation is a well-known example. In contrast, content-dependent non-descriptive metadata is based directly on the co ntents of data.3.4 Image metadataSome of the image files containing metadata include Exchangeable image file format (EXIF) and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).Having metadata about images embedded in TIFF or EXIF files is one way of acquiring additional data about an image. Image metadata are attained through tags. Tagging pictures with subjects, related emotions, and other descriptive phrases helps Internet users find pictures tardily rather than having to search through entire image collections.A prime example of an image tagging service is Flickr, where users upload images and then describe the contents. Other patrons of the commit can then search for those tags. Flickr uses a folksonomy a free-text keyword system in which the community defines the vocabulary through use rather than through a controlled vocabulary.Digital photography is increasingly making use of metadata tags. Photographers shooting Camera RAW file formats can use applications such as Adobe Bridge or Apple Com puters Aperture to work with camera metadata for post-processing. Users can also tag photos for organization purposes using Adobes Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) language, for example. 43.5 Document metadataMost programs that create documents, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word and other Microsoft Office products, save metadata with the document files. These metadata can contain the name of the person who created the file, the name of the person who last edited the file, how many times the file has been printed, and even how many revisions have been made on the file. Other saved material, such as document comments are also referred to as metadata.Document Metadata is particularly significant in legal environments where litigation can request this sensitive information which can include many elements of private detrimental data. This data has been linked to multiple lawsuits that have got corporations into legal complications. 43.6 Digital subroutine library metadat aThere are three variants of metadata that are commonly used to describe objects in a digital librarydescriptive Information describing the intellectual content of the object, such as cataloguing records, finding aids or similar schemes. It is typically used for bibliographic purposes and for search and retrieval.geomorphologic Information that ties each object to others to make up logical units e.g., information that relates individual images of pages from a book to the others that make up the book.administrative Information used to manage the object or control access to it. This may include information on how it was scanned, its storage format, copyright and licensing information, and information necessary for the long-term preservation of the digital objects. 4Chapter IVText DatabasesBasic text comprises of alphanumeric characters. Optical character recognition (OCR) practices are deployed to translate analog text to digital text. The most common digital representation of char acters is the ASCII code. For this, seven bits are required (eight bits might be used, where in the eighth bit is reserved for a special purpose) for each character. Storage space for a text document that is required is equivalent to the number of characters. For instance, a 15 page text document consisting of about 4000 characters in general consumes 60 kilobytes.Now days, structured text documents have become extremely popular. They comprise titles, chapters, sections, paragraphs, and so forth. A title can be presented to the user in a different format than a paragraph or a sentence. Different standards are used to encode structured information such as HTML and XML (hyper text markup language and extensible markup language)There are different approaches like Huffman and Arithmetic Coding, which can be used for text compression, but as the storage requirements are not too high, these approaches are not as important for text as they are for multimedia data. 104.1 Text DocumentsA te xt document consists of identification and is considered to be a list of words. Likewise, a book is considered to be a document, and so is a paper in the events of a host or a Web page. The key identification used for a book may be an ISBN number or the title of the paper together with the ISBN number of the conference event or a URL for a Web page.Retrieval of text documents does not normally entail the presentation of the entire document, as it consumes a large amount of space as well as time. Instead, the system presents the identifications of the chosen documents mainly along with a brief description and/or rankings of the document.4.2 IndexingIndexing refers to the descent of metadata from their documents and storage in an index. In a way, the index describes the content of the documents. The content can be described by terms like social or political for text documents. Also, the system utilizes the index to determine the output during retrieval.The index can be filled up in two ways, manually as well as automatically. Assigned terms can be added to documents as a kind of annotation by professional users such as librarians. These terms can be selected often from a prescribed set of terms, the catalog. A catalog describes a certain scientific field and is composed by specialists. One of the main advantages of this technique is that the professional users are aware of the acceptable terms that can be used in query formulation. A major drawback of this technique is the amount of work that has to be performed for the manual indexing process.Document content description can also be facilitated automatically resulting in what are termed as derived terms. One of the many move required for this can be a step in which words in English text are identified by an algorithm and then put to lower case. Basic tools are used in other steps such as stop word removal and stemming. Stop words are words in the document which have a little means and most of the times incl ude words like the and it. These stop words are erased from the document. Words are conflated to their stem in the document through stemming. As an example, the stemmer can conflate the words computer, compute and computation to the stem comput.4.3 Query FormulationQuery formulation refers to the method of representing the information need. The resultant imposing representation of information is the query. In a wider perspective, query formulation denotes the comprehensive interactive dialogue between the system and the user, leading to both a suitable query and also a better understanding by the user of the information need. It also denotes the query formulation when there are no antecedently retrieved documents to direct the search, thus, the formulation of the preliminary query.It is essential to differentiate between the expert searcher and the relaxed end user. The expert searcher is aware of the document collection and the assign terms. He/ she will use Boolean operators to create the query and will be able to adequately rephrase the same as per the output of the system. In case the result is too small, the expert searcher must expand the query, and in case if the result is too large, he/she must be able to make the query more restrictive.The communication of the need for information to the system in natural language interests the end user. Such a statement of the need for information is termed as a request. Automatic query formulation comprises of receiving the request and generating a preliminary query by the application of algorithms that were also used for the derivation of terms. In general, the query consists of a list of query terms. This list is accepted by the system and it composes a result set. The system can formulate a successive query based on this relevant feedback.4.4 MatchingThe matching algorithm is mainly the most important part of an information retrieval system. This algorithm makes a comparison of the query against the document re presentations in the index. In the exact matching algorithm, a Boolean query, which is formulated by an expert searcher, defines precisely the set of documents that satisfy the query. The system generates a yes or a no decision for each document.In the case of an inexact matching algorithm, the system delivers a bedded list of documents. Users can traverse this document list to search for the information they need. Ranked retrieval puts the documents that are relevant in the top of the ranked list, thus, save the time the user has to invest on reading those documents. Simple but effective ranking algorithms make use of the frequency allocation of terms over documents. Ranking algorithms that are based on statistical approaches, halve the time the user has to spend on reading those documents.Chapter VImage DatabasesDigital images can be defined as an electronic snapshot scanned from documents or taken of a scene, for example printed texts, photographs, manuscripts, and various artw orks.Digital image is modeled and mapped as a grid of dots, pixels or commonly known picture elements. A tonal value is allocated to each of these pixels, which can be black, white, and shades of gray or color. pel itself is symbolized in binary code of zeros and ones. Computer stores these binary digits or bits corresponding to each pixel in a sequence and are later reduced to mathematical representation by compressing them. After compression these bits are interpreted and read to generate an analog output by the computer for vaunt or printing purposes.Figure 5.1 As shown in this bitonal image, each pixel is assigned a tonal value, in this example 0 for black and 1 for white.To further describe the grayscale of a pixel one needs to say that one byte is of eight bits. For a color pixel one needs three colors of one bye each, these colors are red, green and blue. So, for a rectangular screen one can compute the amount of data required for the image using the formulaA = xybWhere A i s the number of bytes needed,x is the number of pixels per horizontal line,y is the number of horizontal lines, andb is the number of bytes per pixel.Using this formulae for a screen with value of x being 800, y being 600, and for b being 3 A=xyb thus A = 1.44 Mbyte.Compression is required for this significant amount of data. Image compression is based on exploiting redundancy in images and properties of the human perception. Pixels in specific areas appear to be similar this thought of similarity is called Spatial Redundancy. Humans views of images are tolerant r

The Monetary And Fiscal Policies Of Portugal Economics Essay

The M integritytary And Fiscal Policies Of Portugal Economics EssayI. Introduction Portugal macro frugal bit before the crisis.Despite economic and pecuniary crises seem to be regarded as unusual and rare, in reality they are common events. Particularly, Portugal has already seen its worst financial crisis in 1891. This crisis light-emitting diode Portugal to abandon the gold standard and the country was banned from borrowing in multinational financial grocery stores during 20 geezerhood (Lains, 2007, p. 485). Since then, Portugal has radically changed, however, its helplessness in facing the crises has re brinyed.During the coating economic and financial crisis that started in August 2008, the Lusitanian preservation was caught in the middle of a period of adjustment during which was already facing up to the need to correct its fiscal and external im residuals within a phase of number 1 growth with pro-cyclical policies (Torres, 2009, p.55). This period started in the seco nd half(a) of 1990s with the accession to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and was characterized by an economic boom which was followed by a slump. As a matter of fact, Blanchard (2007, p.1), two years before the crisis, stated that the Portuguese economy is in skillful trouble Productivity growth is anemic. Growth is very low. The compute famine is large. The up-to-date composition deficit is very large.Although, from 1995 to 2001, Portugal was in a catching-up phase benefiting from positive wealth effects of EMU ( unhorse cheer ordains which reserveed the increase of the domestic demand), the circulating(prenominal) distinguish deficit rose drastically and the un interlocking rate fell to intimately 4% (figure 1). The reason behind the increase in the current account deficit was, indeed, the low level of unemployment which boosted the titulary wages to increase more than the do work productiveness provoking a great raise in unit labour follow and a decline in competitiveness. More everyplace, the indebtedness of households and non-financial enterprises was increasing because of the elimination of the exchange rate risk, the access to the euro bond market, and the lower interest rates, both nominal and real, set by the European Central Bank (Blanchard, 2007).As result, from 2000 to 2003, savings dropped and enthronizations increase, in that locationfore the current account deficit slightly decreased. The Portuguese economy slowed follow up and then contracted in 2003.The concomitant slump was the result of the large imbalances built up during the phase of boom. For instance, the high levels of consumption were non counterbalanced by the supply which had to deal with low productivity growth and increasing unit labour costs. As a matter of fact, figure 1 shows a unite upward trend of unemployment and current account deficit betwixt 2003 and 2005, and the attempt to reverse it through the budgetary consolidation process re-assumed by the socialist legal age government elected in 2005 (Blanchard, 2007) (Torres, 2009).To sum up, table 1 and table 2 offer an overview of the macroeconomic imbalances during the phase of the boom 1995-2000 and the one of the slump 2001-2007. get across 1. Macroeconomic evolutions, 1995-2001. Source Blanchard (2007)Table 2. Actual and projected Macroeconomic evolutions, 2001-2007. Source Blanchard (2007)The growth rate was quite an high in the convictionframe 1995-2000, then, since 2001 it started falling in the subsequent years. The current account and the budget surplus were in deficit over the whole observed period and the productivity growth started to be very low since the year 2000 causing the raise of the unit labour cost.It was important to describe the macroeconomic situation of Portugal prior to the crisis in order to explain, in the undermentioned sections, how those problems give up been aggravated since 2008. In fact, the phase of slump was prolonged by the financial crisis occurred in 2008.II. Policy ResponsesPrior to analyze the European and Portuguese policy solutions to the study financial crisis that the whole world is facing since 1929, it is all important(p) to point out what kind of crisis our society is dealing with. The main cause of the crisis whitethorn be ascribed to the crisis of derived function market in the linked States. In particularly, it started from the so-called subprime mortgage crisis which was the result of a high-risk bubble in the housing market in the United States. Starting from the United Stated, it has spread by causing ruptures across many other countries in the form of financial failures and a global credit crunch.The main (systemic) Portuguese banks seem not to be particularly exposed to the so-called financial toxic assets and, unlike in Ireland or Spain, there was no speculative bubble in the housing market in Portugal nor is there a subprime segment in the credit to the housing celestial sphere. (Banc o do Portugal, 2008 as cited in Torres 2009)However, consort to Torres (2009, p.56)Portugal, a small economy fully integrated in economic and financial terms, is particularly affected by the global financial crisis and economic recession. This is not so much imputable to the international exposure of the Portuguese banking sector (the Iceland syndrome) but primarily to the countrys long protracted correction of its fiscal and external imbalances, which pass up its creditworthiness and aggravate the costs of servicing the debt and the countrys perceived risk of insolvency (an Argentinean type of problem, without the risk of a currency crisis as long as the eurozone remains in place). ace of the main consequences of the financial crisis was, indeed, the credit crunch. During the last decades, the European banking system has changed from a system where the bank was the intermediary for investments between families and factories, into a modernistic system where there are large money- centre banks which play the role of the intermediary amongst regional banks, in other words, they distribute funds among regional banks. The banking crisis has occurred in Europe because of two tie in reasons. The large money-centre banks that provide the backbone of the inter-bank lending market are under great(p)ised. With their low capitalisation, they are vulnerable to even small swings in market conditions. Any liquid problem, thus, turns almost immediately into a solvency problem. Because of this vulnerability they did not trust each other, thus paralysing the inter-bank market.2.1 European Policy ResponsesFor the Euro-area countries, the monetary policy is unique and conducted by the European Central bank (ECB). Since the atmosphere of mistrust, caused by the crisis, was no longer confined to the interbank market, but it was also spreading among ordinary citizens and consumers, the European policy-makers figured out that one possible solution was to put into effect measures which contain two elements in order to restart the interbank lending support for the liquidness management of banks and bank re-capitalisation. The first gear element concerns the extraordinary measures taken at European level and the second one the bank rescue measures adopted at national level.As a matter of fact, firstly, the ECB has been reducing the rate for its main refinancing trading operations from 4,25% to 1,5%, in the timeframe October 2008 March 2009, in order to prevent contagion by providing short-term liquidity support on the interbank markets. Such interest rate cuts have provided significant relief to the highly indebted Portuguese economy (Torres, 2009). However, if Portugal could have managed the monetary policy on its own, probably it would have set a lower interest rate which combined with the initiative for fortifying financial stability (discussed in detail in the next section) could have led to the reestablishment of bank lending standards at pre-crisis level. In other words, the upward trend of the credit diffusion index, outset in the last quarter of 2008, could have continued to increase instead of contracting in 2009 (figure 3).Moreover, a dramatic reduction in real interest rates is the main channel through which fiscal consolidation can increase demand in the short run. Since this is not the case for Portugal, as the nominal interest rate is determined for the eurozone as a whole, while a deficit reduction is needed, it would be unwise to expect it to lead, by itself, to higher demand and lower unemployment or to a boom in investment, and through capital accumulation, to a substantial improvement in competitiveness (Blanchard, 2007, p.8-9).Secondly, the ECB has promoted coordination and cooperation between national supervisors through the European organisation of Central Banks Banking Supervision Committee. As result, the promoted cooperation engaged both the Euro-area and the European Union (EU) in an expansionary inte grated anti-cyclical fiscal stance (Torres, 2009, pp. 56-59).To further improve the EU integrated approach, the European Commissions response was to launch the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) whose strategic aims is to avoid a deep recession by promoting a counter-cyclical macro-economic response to the crisis in the form of an ambitious set of actions to support the real economy. The plan consisted of an immediate budgetary stimulus amounting to 1.5% of EU GDP, a number of priority actions, grounded in the Lisbon Strategy, and designed at the same time to adapt our economies to long-term challenges, continuing to implement morphological tames aimed at raising potential growth and a set of EU guidelines to be followed by the member States (European Commission, 2008).According to Bnassy-Qur et al. (2009, p.39), out-of-ordinary methods are used in a financial crisis becausethe traditional transmittal of policy rates to lending rates is hampered by the dysfunctional state of money markets. This happens at two levels first, the interbank rate (the rate at which banks lend liquidity to each other) diverges from the central banks policy rate because banks fearing counterparty default price risk accordingly second, the spread between the commercial banks lending rate and the interbank rate increases both because of higher risk premiums and because banks seek to increase their profits.According to Meier (2009, p. 6), a switch to unconventional policy may be motivated by the severe excitement in credit markets. With the financial sector in crisis, policy rate cuts are not only constrained by the zero bound, but may also be less effective than during normal times. The reason is the sharp tightening of credit conditions, as lenders have curtailed give supply and certain sources of capital market funding have all but disappeared. Indeed, such dislocations can provide a rationale for launching unconventional policies even before interest rates hit the lower b ound. In sum, unconventional monetary policies serve both as a complement and as an extension of standard operations centered around the setting of short-term interest rates. One of the unconventional actions is the so-called outright asset purchase, a technique to decrease the discrepancy between interbank and lending rates.Furthermore, Meier (2009) provides a categorization of such operations, distinguishing between qualitative easing, as sterilized interventions that do not involve an increase in the central banks balance sheet, and quantitative easing, as unsterilized interventions implying an increase in base money. Unlike the US and the UK, in the Eurozone the direct purchase of government debt instruments is forbidden by art. one hundred one of the EC Treaty, therefore quantitative easing is not contemplated. Figure 2 shows how liquidity provisions and out-of-the-ordinary policies, adopted by ECB, Federal Reserve (FED) and Bank of England (BOE), increased the size of the cen tral banks balance sheets. Assets hold by the ECB are about 50% lower than FED and BOE because they executes quantitative ease operations (Bnassy-Qur et al. 2009, pp. 42-44).2.2 Portuguese Policy ResponsesWith the financial crisis Portugal has re-focused its economic policy from budgetary consolidation to an anti-cyclical budgetary policy effort to support households, investment, employment and, last but not least, to strengthen financial stability (MFAP 2009 as cited in Torres 2009).At the end of 2008, to guarantee stability of the financial system and to safeguard the households deposits held by credit institutions, the Portuguese government, spare-time activity the trend of the other member states, decided to save two banks the Banco Portugus de Negcios (BPN) and the Banco Privado Portugus (BPP). In particular, BPN was nationalized and BPP was granted a guarantee for a bank loan provided by a group of banks. Although the dimension of those banks was small, the government feared that the potential loss incurred by many small depositors could generate a run of bank depositors in general, putting at risk the stability of the financial system (Torres, 2009, p.61).The second measure to strengthen financial stability was taken in October 2008 when the Portuguese Ministry of pay and public administration announced the endorsement of the Initiative for strengthening financial stability (ISFS) in order to respond to the substantial external shock, to which it was being subject, due to severe liquidity restrictions in international financial and money markets. The ISFS was aim to enhance conditions for credit institutions access to liquidity in financial markets and was based on granting State guarantees for the financing of credit institutions.According to MFAP(2008), this Initiative(i) Enhances the confidence in the domestic financial system(ii) Permits timely intervention adapted to market conditions(iii) Is temporary, be effective only while market conditions have not returned to normal(iv) Safeguards the interest of depositors and taxpayers(v) Allows the shareholders and managers of banks to be held accountable whenever necessary and fosters the adoption of good corporate formation principles, in accordance with best international practices(vi) Safeguards the interests of the market in general and a level playing field among competitors, in particular.According to Torres (2009, p. 60), the aim of the coordinated guarantees on new issuance of bank debt was to address funding problems of liquidity-constrained but solvent banks. Thus, this initiative was a viable and less costly source of funding to allow banks to issue new debts.A third measure was to take advantage of the increased flexibility of the stability and Growth Pact (SGP) to pay nifty state debts under the form of a program for the extraordinary settlement of the states debts to suppliers (Council of Ministers Resolution no. 191-A/2008 of 27 November as cited in Torres 2009) .However, in my opinion the results of those initiatives were rather limited. I can, indeed, argue that, in Portugal, bank lending standards are tightening. In support to my opinion, figure 3 provides an take the stand the largest observed swing occurred from the last quarter of 2007 to the last one of 2008 when the diffusion index dropped sharply to the minimum observed value, representing the credit crunch. To evaluate the effects of the ISFS it is sufficient to look at the trend starting from the last quarter of 2008, the upswing lasts for only a quarter to stabilize at the level of about minus 45% compared to the pre-crisis conditions.The 19th of January 2009, the Portuguese government updated the Stability and growth Program for 2008-11. Following the EU guidelines concerning EERP, the government incorporated in the SGP program the Investment and Employment Initiative Program (IEIP), as fully legitimate with the National Reform Plan for 2008-2010 (within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy), as it also aimed at contributing to addressing the countrys structural weaknesses. The draft law creating the IEIP was composed of five structural measures including several projects or actions to support households and businesses next to those aimed at combating the rise in interest rates and in the price of raw materials and food products and credit restrictions, which had already been envisaged in the state budget for 2009.. The IEIP was expected to have a budgetary impact of about 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2009 (about 0.5 increase in consumption and 0.3 reduction in revenue in percentage of GDP).The five measures were modernization of schoolsfostering renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy transmission base of operationsmodernization of technological infrastructure and new generation broadband networksspecial support to economic activity, exports and SMEprotecting employment and strengthening social protection (Torres, 2009).1). Higher investment in hum an capital help to avoid the risk of depression of productivity performance. In Portugal the educational attainment of the working-age population is low and the intergenerational educational mobility has been sluggish. Furthermore, the international student performance survey (PISA) shows that Portuguese students are below the OECD average (figure 4). To increase efficiency, the smallest schools have been closed and changes to the teachers timetable are allowing a more efficient tryst of human resources. Moreover, upper-secondary education has been diversified to incorporate technical and vocational courses (OECD 2009).and 3). Portugal might take advantage of the temporary increase in spending under the recovery plan to promote a leap forward to new competitive green goods and technologies. There is a clear case for the world, and for the EU to maintain its leading in the process, and even more so for a small country like Portugal, to address climate change and the financial cris is at the same time by building up a competitive basis for sustainable development (Torres, 2009, p.66).Activity collapsed at the end of 2008 under the weight of the global economic crisis. The huge decline in external demand was caused by the falling activity in a number of Portugals major export markets, particularly Spain which accounts for about 25% of portuguese total exports. Moreover, insufficient harmonization of regulations with major trading partners seem to have impeded shell out, particularly in services. Despite the governments announcement of superfluous revenue measures the deterioration in economic activity without further reductions in government outlays, or a more rapid economic upturn, means that the budget deficit could rise above 4.5% in 2010 and to increase further in 2011. The deterioration in economic activity was partly caused by the administrative burdens on business. Starting, running, and closing a business have been hampered by onerous regulation, incl uding a cumbersome licensing regime that has weakened competition and, thus, productivity growth throughout the economy (OECD, 2008, 2009a, 2009c European Commission 2009). Figure 5 provides evidence that Portuguese burden on business in the form of regulation are higher than EU average.Productivity growth has been sluggish during the last decade, lagging behind the OECD average with a decreasing trend since 1990 (figure 6), partly on account of labour market rigidities such as high employment protection and insufficient human capital accumulation. Those weaknesses have led to a further widening of the large productivity gap with respect to the Eurozone. The protection of workers against individual dismissal has been the most limiting in the OECD, with very cumbersome procedures, as clearly highlighted in figure 7. The new mandate put forward by the Portuguese government is aimed to significantly simplify dismissal procedures. However, protection of regular workers against dismiss als will remain more restrictive than in the average OECD country. Therefore, it is essential to enforce the reform measures because tighter credit conditions, weak exports, and subdued internal demand depressed business investment in 2009 and led to a labour shedding and an increase in the unemployment rate which is projected to reach a double-digit rate in 2010 (OECD , 2008, 2009c European Commission 2009).According to Blanchard (2007), Portugal is nowadays in a scenario of Competitive disinflation, defined as a period of sustained high unemployment, leading to lower nominal wage growth until congener unit labor cost have decreased, competitiveness has alter, the current account deficit has decreased, and demand and output have recovered.If we look at the Real impelling Exchange Rate (REER) of a country, an instrument which can be used to assess price or cost competitiveness relative to the position of the countrys trail competitors, it is easy to notice that Portugal has sub stantially lost competitiveness against Germany since 1995 (figure 8). A rise in the index means a loss of competitiveness taking into account productivity changes via the movement in comparative unit costs (Hugh, 2009). Therefore, as this trend is going on since 15 years it is hard to invert it without huge efforts and structural reforms.In the context of the budgetary policy, in 2008, Portugal has also taken action to trim taxes through the cut of one percentage point of the bathtub rate, the creation of a general corporate income tax rate of 12,5% and the reduction of advance income tax payments for SME (State Budget, 2009).Nevertheless, the fiscal position has deteriorated significantly in 2009 reflecting weaker economic conditions, lower revenues and spending rises to support the economy. Fiscal stimulus measures focusing on public investment, support to companies and exports and social assistance will directly increase the budget deficit (OECD, 2009a, 2009b).Torres (2009, p. 65) argued thatIn a small open economy like Portugal, fiscal policy has limited effectiveness with regard to influencing aggregate demand. This applies even more to the current environment of financial distress and uncertainty, where banks will try to de-leverage and households to save. Moreover, the Portuguese economy is already particularly exposed due to its fragile financial position, as reflected in its accumulated external imbalances, which puts at stake the markets confidence in the sustainability of public finances. Given the risks involved for the costs of servicing the debt and ultimately for its solvency and permanence in EMU, it seems essential for the government to credibly pre-commit to medium-term budgetary objectives. It thereby signals its determination to pursue fiscal consolidation in spite of the temporary stimulating measures adopted within the EERP and to pick up that those exceptional measures do not mark a departure from budgetary sustainability.Moreover, e xternal debt has been high and rising (figure 9) and, thus, leading Portugal to become the third eurozone economy to change a long-term credit rating reduction, to AA minus, by Standard Poors because of its failure to tackle deteriorating public finances (Torres, 2009, p.64).Finally, last but not least, Portugal is undergoing a virile disinflation process which is highlighted by the fall of the Consumer Price Index to its minimum levels (figure 10).European Central Bank council member and Bank of Portugal Governor Vitor Constancio is aware of the danger and has indicated that the ECB is prompt to reduce borrowing costs further to prevent inflation slowing significantly below its 2 percent ceiling, even going so far, if necessary, as to introduce some variant of quantitative easing. He still thinks it wont happen, but he is well aware of the possibility, as indeed we all should be (Hugh, 2009, p. 21).To conclude, it is important to point out that the inflation is expected to be u nder the OECD average during the whole 2010 to catch-up with the OECD countries after 2011 (figure 11). Furthermore, the danger of the risk of disinflation is real as shown in figure 12, where the harmonized index of consumer prices is expected to remain below the ceiling of 2% during the whole projected period.Conclusions What should be done?The policy responses analysis has highlighted serious structural problems for Portugal and, as a matter of fact, Portuguese growth is expected to lag behind the OECD average during the whole 2010 and 2011 (figure 13).SUM UP PROBLEMSIn fact, scorn Portugal has made significant progress in fiscal consolidation and has launched important structural reforms to modernize the economy and enhance growth, in my opinion, additional structural reforms, in order to find a way out from the crisis, are still necessary, notably, in the following areasEducationThe secondary education attainment should be improved since human capital represents one of the mai n durable determinants of growth in the long run. Moreover, reforming the educational system might enhance productivity performance. According to OECD (2009c), the reform should increase the proportion of education spending on non-wage items, continue to strengthen teachers on the job-training and to develop vocational and technical education and, finally, Portugal should fully implement a performance-based evaluation and career-progression system for teachers.EmploymentOne of the clearest examples of the problems highlighted by the crisis is to be found in the stagnation of the labour market. It is essential to reform employment protection legislation with proposals aimed at enhancing the adaptability of the labour force, to address rigidities in labour market regulations and improve the efficiency of active labour market programs otherwise the strictness of the Portuguese employment protection will continue to have negative effects on growth and productivity (OECD 2009c). Moreover , the unemployment rate is expected to be higher than the OECD average during the next two years (figure 14).Concerning the slow productivity growth problem, Blanchard (2007, p.8-20) suggests a decrease in nominal wages. Even if it sounds exotic, it can substantially reduce the employment cost of the adjustment. However, in Portugal today, the labor law forbids unjustified wage decreases and in practice rules out decreases in nominal wages for economic reasons.BusinessA compound of the reform process is required to create a dynamic business environment by reducing the administrative burdens on business. Despite the importance of the upstart reforms, a full implementation of them is essential. Competition in the whole economy should also be strengthened through investment in key infrastructure sectors, such as telecommunications, electricity and transportation, to enhance the quality, efficiency and quantity of the services they provide. This would have a direct effect on the cost- competitiveness of firms in Portugal, facilitate trade flows, domestically and internationally and make Portugal a more attractive destination for FDI, which has the potential to boost productivity ().Finally, OECD (2009c) recommends to harmonize regulations with major trading partners, including service sector standards and qualification requirements.Tax systemA reform is necessary to simplify the tax system, broaden the corporate tax base and decrease tax expenditures in order to reduce fiscal imbalances. Designing and implementing fiscal consolidation remains a priority for Portugal because the deficit needs to be reduced. Silva (2008) provides empirical evidence that, in Portugal, taxes negatively affect productivity because an increase in the taxes decreases consumption, capital, output and welfare. Moreover, he states that for Portugal taxes are able to predict the pattern of the labour supply over the years. Therefore, the government should take into consideration how a tax s ystem reform might serve a double objective raise the productivity and reduce fiscal imbalances.Nevertheless, Table 3. Actual and projected Macroeconomic evolutions, 2001-2007. Source OECD

Willa Cather :: essays research papers

Willa Cather wrote several wonderful stories and novels. After reading or aftermath three of them and reading a little about her other works on the profit, I have noticed that all of them have things in common. I have observed that her works often times involve family situations and how different types of people deal with death. The stories tend to reflect a time in her carriage I would assume. They are also reflected close to her home in many times. The stories tend to use the same types of dialogue and have similar characters as well.In the movie, O Pioneers, the family is torn by death in several ways. The father dies in the beginning of the movie. He makes Alexandra the head of the family because he knows she will keep the shore and that she can care for the family the best. In a way, it seemed he knew she would best respect his decisions prior to his death. It is in this way already that death and families are introduced. In an debate circumstance, the sculptor, Harvey, in T he Sculptors Funeral, had no family to miss. He was basically thrown out of the family after they realized he didnt quite fit in where he was born. It didnt seem like he cared though because he still became successful in Boston. He died and was brought back to his hometown after being an friendless there prior to his success. When he was buried in his hometown he was not talked of brightly. He was basically made an object for the town to ridicule. His only friend who was a lawyer there stood up for him at the end of the story showing all of the townspeople how cruel they were to Harvey. I read an article on the Internet about her and as she wrote Neighbor Rosicky her father went through a heart attack and died from it. It almost seems in the writing you can tell the change in the mood after her fathers death. This brings her personal life into her writing and makes it unique while tying in with the story well. I believe it blush said that her circumstances were used in her writing for the remainder to the story. Willa Cather was raised in rural Kansas. Her writing also reflected a country-life atmosphere. Her stories rarely took place in larger cities because she didnt know much about them.

Abortion Around the World :: Informative Essay

Procedure of abortion is known since ancient times. The word abortion is came the Latin abortus where ab means amiss and oriri means likely to be born, arise.(1) Along with infanticide it has existed in many societies, both primitive and advanced. The earliest records of an abortive technique go back about 4,600 years to an ancient Chinese work, purportedly the work of Emperor Shen Nung which prescribes the use of mercury to induce an abortion. (3) In ancient ages pessaries or vaginal suppositories were used as an abortifacients.(1) They are generally more effective than oral drugs and included substances such as juice of the wild fig, a dairy liquid ,which caused irritation, soapwort, myrrh, myrtle, lupine, cedar-oil mixed with water, wine, or baking oil.(1) Ancient doctors alike suggested smearing on the uterine opening goose fat, mashed leek and celery, rose oils, pine resin, copper scum, boiled honey, sodium carbonate, and even mouse dung.(1) The Egyptian Kahun Papyrus, which dates to 1850 B.C., recommend crocodile pot either for preventing conception or as an abortifacient.(2) The Ebers Papyrus, which dates to 1550 B.C., contains several rules that cause a woman to stop pregnancy in the first, second, or third period. (2) One recipe for a vaginal suppository includes mixed the unripe fruit of Acacia, colocynth, dates, and 6/7 pints of honey and pouring the mixture onto a moistened plant fiber. (2) Modern Arabic women stable take colocynth as an abortifacient, though one woman who took 120 grains in a powder died 50 hours later. (2) In Arabic medicine, elephant feces were frequently recommended. (2) Aristotle suggests that the conceptus had a soul after 40 days from conception if a male and 90 if female. (2) In addition there are similar differentiations in the Bible. (2) Later, Aristotle says that the foetus develops gradually and that it is impossible to make a fine judgment. Famous doctors such as Pliny the Elder, Dioscorides, and Pseudo-Galen m ention more superstitious abortifacients, like passage over the root of a cyclamen, the egg of a crow, a snake, or a stone which was bitten by a dog. Ancient physicians also used pessaries, or vaginal suppositories, as abortifacients. They were usually more potent than oral drugs and included substances like the juice of the wild fig, a milky liquid which caused irritation, soapwort, myrrh, myrtle, lupine, cedar-oil mixed with water, wine, or hot oil. Physicians also recommend smearing on the uterine opening goose fat, mashed leek and celery, rose oils, pine resin, copper scum, boiled honey, sodium carbonate, and even mouse dung.

The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers Essay

The natural philosophy of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and germinate cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they are producing or do not have the knowledge to reach cleanse images. For those who confide to take better spuds, entery will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking stars portrait or jerking a landscape painting in the suffer yard, things must be lined up ripe right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the demand purport the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one fag end manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photogr aph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect abstruseness of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), outperform from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens (Heart 100).In order to go out learning of field one must first understand how at large(p) works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto depiction one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causation the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject , all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the ability of refraction less(prenominal) and creating a sharper image from front to back.There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will suspensor in the voyage of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself. The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers EssayThe Physics of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and shoot cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they a re producing or do not have the knowledge to produce better images. For those who desire to take better photographs, photography will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking ones portrait or shooting a landscape in the back yard, things must be lined up just right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the exact feeling the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one can manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photograph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect depth of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), distance from the camera to the subject, an d the focal length of the lens (Heart 100).In order to understand depth of field one must first understand how light works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto film one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causing the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject, all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the index of refraction less and creating a sharper image from front to back.There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will help in the journey of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself.