Essay on Haiti - 1629 Words

Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti. The situation in Haiti was†¦show more content†¦Over one thousand miles of roads and two hundred bridges were built. The occupiers reconstructed the French irrigation system that Haiti had, new wharves and acetylene lighthouses were built. Theaters and parks were restored or built from the ground up. The public health systems were enlarged; hospitals and clinics were set up across the country. Even American doctors came to train Haitian doctors, and some Haitian doctors went to the U.S. to study (Thomas Smith: 291, video). These are the only things that Haiti benefited from this intervention. Another achievement made during this transition was that the Marines from the US established reformation of the Haitian army. They replaced it by a National Police Force (La Garde dHaiti) that dominated Haitian politics ever since. This army had been conceived as a nonpartisan peacekeeping force that would help ensure the right kind of political stability. During the occupation it did so. Afterward, however the existence of such a force ended by helping political strongmen stay in power. The Haitian Garde was especially created to fight against other Haitians. It received its baptism of fire in combat against its countrymen. And the Garde, like the army it was to sire, has indeed never fought anyone but Haitians. Its most important campaign was its participation alongside the Marines in the war against the peasant nationalists led by Charlemagne Peralte and Benoit Battraville, when Marines and Garde togetherShow MoreRelatedHaiti : A Country Of Haiti2156 Words   |  9 PagesHaiti is considered one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, with more than 60% of its population living in poverty. The long history of political and economic instability along with Haiti’s growing susceptibility to natural disasters has negatively impacted the long-term sustainable development of the small island. Due to the conditions of Haiti and stark division between the rich and poor, nearly half of the population lack access to education, health and economic reso urces necessaryRead MoreCulture of Haiti1296 Words   |  6 PagesThe Culture of Haiti Carrie St. Jean Axia College of University of Phoenix What does the average American really know about the country, Haiti? Is the lifestyle all black magic, spells, and sà ©ances? Is this media portrayal of Voodoo the only way of life and what is Voodoo, any way? These questions come to mind when someone wants to know the truth about Haitian culture and life in Haiti. Haitian culture consists of deep rooted religious beliefs, music, and Haitian cuisineRead MoreEconomics of Haiti2342 Words   |  10 PagesThe economics of Haiti has deceased in the last 4 years after the devastating earthquake that struck it 4 years ago. The Haiti economy has become very poor and one of the poorest country in the south, Central America and Caribbean region making it ranked 24 out of 29 countries in this area and its overall score is below average. Haiti’s economic freedom is 48.1 making it economy the 151st freest country while in the last several years Declines in the management of government spending, freedom fromRead MoreThe Lost Country : Haiti1572 Words   |  7 PagesThe Lost Country: Haiti The Caribbean country, Haiti, is known to be one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. Despite the country’s wealth in natural resources, the people of Haiti have been plagued by decades of unstable government, corrupt leaders, and debilitating natural disasters. The small country was once known to be the wealthiest country in the West Indies. Dominated by its European oppressor, France, Haiti thrived in production during the slaving era. Haiti became globallyRead MoreThe Hardship of Haiti Essay1755 Words   |  8 PagesHaiti is a beautiful Caribbean country that has had more than its fair share of hardship. A culture of strength and perseverance is evident from the moment one arrives and it only feels stronger the further one travels from Port au Prince. The people are of African descent, with a strong French influence creating a uniquely mixed culture that is rare in the western hemisphere. The business climate is such that there are very few foreign busine sses or joint ventures in Haiti and although thereRead MoreHaiti And The Dominican Republic Essay1581 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The caribbean is where a small island, contains two countries within its borders and a long history of conflict. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are two different country, with completely different cultures, from religion, to the food they eat, Two countries, with two different, yet correlating stories. A story of conflict is what unites these two countries. This paper will attempt to analyse that story, and answer how this small island came to be divided into two countries, and inhabitedRead MoreThe Caribbean Country of Haiti1499 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction to Haiti Haiti is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola. It is the third largest Caribbean nation with a population of 10.4 million which makes it the most populous full-member state of the Caribbean community. Haiti is also the poorest country in the Americas as measured by the human development index. Haiti is so poor that people used to work as restavecs(unpaid household servant).half of the children in Haiti are unvaccinated.2%of theRead MoreA Country Of Chaos : Haiti1635 Words   |  7 PagesA Country in Chaos: Haiti Haiti is the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere, but it once was a very wealthy nation. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean with the Dominican Republic. They are blessed with beautiful mountains and beaches, copper, gold, and oil. At one point, Haiti was more wealthy than the British colonies that were located in the Caribbean. Haiti is rich with natural resources, so why is Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere? They are the poorestRead MoreSpeech: History of Haiti1721 Words   |  7 PagesTitle: The history of Haiti Purpose: To understand how Haiti became what it is and all the trials it has endured Thesis: In order to explain Haiti’s history I will discuss its location, when and how it became independent and Haiti today and also its early history Intro: Attention Getter: Who here has heard of the horrible plight of Haiti? Haiti has been through constant suffering everyday due to economic difficulty, lack of food, lack of clean water, hurricanes, and possibly everythingRead MoreResearch on Haiti Essay1156 Words   |  5 PagesHAITI: IT’S PAST AND PRESENT Haiti is the second largest Caribbean Island. It occupies a third of the western part of the island it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is also made up of several islands that surround the main territory. The capital is Port-au-Prince. It rains between November and March in the North of the island and between May and October in the South. â€Å"Once covered by forest, the country has been heavily logged for wood and fuel and to clear land for farming, and is

Ilie Haures High School From Triton College Free Essays

In college we must manage our time carefully and responsibly as we reach for what we plan to do. With as we grow older, the responsibilities grow up and always we have the feeling that the day is too short. For that we must be careful in taking our decision. We will write a custom essay sample on Ilie Haures High School From Triton College or any similar topic only for you Order Now The attendance is very important in high school. School attendance is a baseline factor in determining student success. You can’t miss from the class without a good explanation. In college we want to be there every time, not to lose the main idea of the course and learn something new every day and apply to the next chapter. In high school we are some bored kids who hint that all that glitters is gold and nobody can tell us what to do with it. We just don’t have any motivation to remain in the classes and wait to hear the bell so we can meet with our friends from other classes. As children, think that is one of the reason why we go to school. We can still find a lot of differences, but you may just be missing some importance in opinions. Each has different conclusion on the topic. I have to manage my time very carefully because with a full time job and evening classes I need a good rest and sleep enough to be responsible and competent for the next day. For me it’s important participation in school and concentrate on the course so can continue my study at home and know what have to work. I have my own motivation and am not forced by anyone to continue my studies. I prefer to study to enrich my vocabulary words and have a good package of knowledge to be prepared for the future and to have a greater chance of finding a better job. Everyone knows that people in high school and college could not be apart. How to cite Ilie Haures High School From Triton College, Papers

Analysis of the Entrepeneur, Sean Puffy Combs free essay sample

Analysis of the Entrepreneur, Sean Puffy Combs BY Lilting Thomas LET Boot Music Biz Essentials part B What essentials contribute to success? We were given the task to research a music industry professional who has, through entrepreneurship, established a successful business. I chose the multi talented multi millionaire Sean Puffy Combs (a. K. A Puff Daddy/P Daddy). I will show that through a combination of factors, non more essential than Puffs shrewd business mind and sheer determination, Sean Puffy Combs entrepreneurial skills has established one of the most successful business careers of my generation.As mentioned, several factors have contributed to Puffs Multimillion empire. These factors Include his diversity of roles, shrewd exploitation of opportunities, ability to spot talent and gaps in the market, contacts and networking, and raw gut instinct and determination. Diversity One of the factors that sets Sean Pup Combs apart from other Hip Hop entrepreneurs Is his multi tasking abilities. During his career he has taken on the roles of A R executive, record company executive, producer, remixed, rapper, publisher, publicist, promoter, song-writer, composer and actor. In addition to these entertainment-based roles, Sean Puffy Combs is a fashion designer, restaurateur, club owner, merchandiser and fragrance designer. Sean Puffy Combs has worked hard from a very young age to have as many fingers In as many pales as possible. And his success is evident as he sits on top of a Multimillion fortune, and is the highest earning Hip Hop artist in the world to date. While Puffs hands on/do all approach has been one of the biggest contributors to his success, he backed this up with an ability to spot opportunities.Opportunist From a young age Puffy understood that he needed to fled a way into the music industry. In recent years, in an interview with the Rolling Stone magazine, Puffy was quoted saying All blacks got is sports and entertainment. It seems that this mind set, whilst somewhat negative, has been a driving force for Puffy, spurring him on In the entertainment industry. Whilst attending Howard university in 1988, where Puffy displayed his abilities as a Hip Hop promoter, the young opportunist hounded friend and rapper Heavy D until he secured an internship with Heavy Ads label, Uptown Records. T took two years of harassment to secure his placement but, within three months of being on board at the label, Puffy was appointed director of Artists and Repertoire, an amazing feat at 21. Whilst his strong knowledge of Hip Hop allowed him to locate artists that had potential, Puffy began to understand that he needed to be doing more to earn more. So he began to produce and enjoyed early success with Mary J Bilges hit album Whats the 41 1 7 A year later Puffy was vice president of Uptown records, and attracting masses of attention, building a wealth of contacts. So 1 OFF with Arises Distribution for his own label, Bad Boy Entertainment.Talent It was here that Puffy began to exploit his knowledge of Hip Hop signing unknown artists like Craig Mack and Biggie Smalls. Puffs knowledge at this point in time was a massive contributor to his success, as his remix of Macks Flag in yea Ear became a platinum record reaching the top ten of the pop charts in 1994. Biggie Smalls followed suit a year later when his debut album Ready to Die double platinum. Of course Puffy had the sense to be either producer or executive producer on everything, and in many tracks his voice can be heard topping and tailing records. This clearly a shrewd move allowing him to claim performance rights.After this Puffy signed any and every artist with money making potential, and expanded beyond Hip Hop to include Ran artists. He clearly understood that the more music you make, covering more genres, the wider your fan base, thus increasing your profits. In 1998 Puffy even recorded and released a Gospel album, which experienced relative success among elder generations of the black community. Contacts Networking Puffs tenacity and drive meant he could get himself into positions of considerable influence, like at Uptown records. But, that alone isnt the only contributing factor to his success, with regard to that part of his life.Whilst at Uptown, Puffy secured a wealth of valuable contacts. He was the main on the phone talking to the radio stations, publishers, distributors, producers, artists and promoters. And by the time he had reached the position of vice president he had built a reputation as a shrewd businessman. So, when Puffy and Uptown records parted company he had the knowledge and contacts to go it alone. Within his first four years he showed evidence hat he was set to become the biggest name in Hip Hop as Bad Boy Entertainment grossed $million in record sales.This, inevitably, gave Puffy a massive reputation, and he began to attract attention from massive established artists, interested in collaborating with Puffy. Artists included Retreat Franklin, David Bowie, TTL, Maria Carrey, Nas, Ill Kim, Boozy II Men, and Save. Clearly the Midas touch effect that Puffy was having on music was of interest to other big money earners. Work Ethic Big money artists dont Just work with anyone. It was Puffs work ethic that had brought him the attention of so many. His dedication to his business had him working our days for much of his early career. His apartment had been turned into his office and studio.The determination and self-belief that Puffy possessed mean that he is a massively positive person. Ultimately these traits made Puffy a highly professional individual, making him accessible. Fellow industry professionals and share holders of major companies, began to see Puffy as a name they wanted to be connected with. It seems to me that Puffy was always aware of the money making potential of being a positive black male. So many Hip Hop artists remain underground artists simply because of their criminal ties, or in many cases promotion of criminality. Puffy himself has never been that way inclined, always striving to promote positivist.At the source awards in 1995, amidst the feud with Deathward Records that divided the Hip Hop world, Puffs response to Segue Knights on stage threats and taunts was this; Im a positive black man who believes in Hip Hop music, so I would like to congratulate Dry. Drew and Snoop Dog, and all the still maintained his positivist, which inevitably made him more marketable than Deathward and its affiliates. With government officials and the media constantly talking about the Outpace vs. Biggie feud in a negative light, even calling for bans on rap music, Puffy managed to emerge the better man.It is the preservation of this positivist that has seen periods of re-invention for Puffy, always coming at a time when his squeaky clean image has been in question. So, in order to shake any negative connotations and maintain the accessibility that made him marketable he re-invented himself several times. Names have included Puff daddy, P Daddy, Daddy and finally Sean Puffy/ Combs. Puffs positivist, combined with his shrewd business mind and opportunism have seen some very clever business moves for Puffy.Most significant of these was the release of Ill be missing you in 1997 in tribute to the late Biggie Smalls. This recorded filled a gap left by Biggie and captured the mood of heart broken fans. But, in reality what it actually did was launch Puff Daddys solo career, and to date is still his highest earning record. Revenue Streams This opportunism has seen Puffy expand his one-man empire. Within Bad Boy Entertainment he had hands on involvement in production, composition, song writing, publishing, promotion and marketing, AR, remixing and rapping.This meant that he collected royalties from-both PROS, AMPS and PL for all records released on Bad Boy, a very clever move on his behalf. To this day he still owns the rights to all of Biggie Smalls works, released and otherwise, which prompted the posthumous 2005 album The Duets: The Final Chapter. But, Puffy has expanded his business beyond the world of music and has taken on many acting roles, with his most acclaimed role being in the 2001 blockbuster Monsters Ball. He has also taken to the stage on Broadway, and even conceived his own television show Making the Band which he reduced and presented.Outside of the world of entertainment Puffy has opened three fine dining restaurants and a nightclub in Manhattan. In 1997 he launched his own clothing label, Sean John Urban Clothing utilizing his keen sense of fashion. Every year since its conception the company has been nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers award, and he won best male fashion designer in 2003. Once again it seemed Puffy had the Midas touch. In 2007, in a possible move with the current fashion, Puffy launched his own fragrance under the name Sean John called Unforgivable.Puffy has since released a follow up Unforgivable: Black clearly enjoying the success of this venture. Right Place, Right Time It seems that throughout Puffs career he has been at the right place at exactly the right time. His early days in Uptown records kick started the empire that he has built providing him with a wealth of contacts. Here he was in a position of considerable influence providing him with knowledge and experience that has become invaluable. Puffs sense of opportunism has been a major contributor to his success, but there is an element of luck it seems.Could it be possible to always be at the right place at the right time, or did Puffy always position himself exactly where he needed to be to succeed My Opinion In my opinion the simple answer is yes, Puffy always knew where to be and when to be there. His shrewd and calculated sense of business meant he was always prepared to take an opportunity from an idea too successful venture. In 2004 Puffy was declared the highest earning Hip Hop artist worldwide, earning a staggering Multimillion. Undoubtedly, Puffs work ethic and determination are one of his biggest factors for success.The man never gave up or lost confidence whatever happened in the course of his career. Sheer determination and self-belief have helped make him the success that he is. He also had a massive sense of professionalism, and in his recent Daddy-Biggie Blob he recalls how he always told Biggie; We young black entrepreneurs, businessmen! We have to be on time and be prompt! Even his biggest selling artist and close friend, Biggie, was not exempt of keeping up good business etiquette. This highly professional attitude to business, combined with his opportunistic character, made him a huge success.So certainly, is opportunism has to be held as a major factor, as without the vision and combined ability to exploit an idea, he would not have made some of the business moves that lead to such massive success. This opportunistic nature along with his professionalism made Puffy a household name. But, his do it yourself, hands on approach to his business meant that he has been able to earn money in a huge variety of roles. Exploiting every business venture to its full potential. These entrepreneurial traits along with all of the other factors I have discussed are the reasons why, Sean Puffy Combs, is a hugely successful businessman.

King Lear Essays (1598 words) - Stock Characters, King Lear, Jester

King Lear In the play King Lear there are many characters and they all have their own roles. Some roles are more obvious than others. The one that catches my attention the most is the role of the Fool. In the dictionary the definition of a fool is someone who lacks sense or judgement. Does the Fool lack sense or judgement? Or is he the opposite and everyone just perceives him as a fool. These questions come down into one ultimate question, was the Fool a madman or a prophet. Personally I think that he was a prophet. The Fool knew every outcome of the King's decisions. Since the Fool was not taken seriously everyone just disregarded him. This leads me to believe that the Fool was not as foolish as people thought. Besides bringing "foolishness" to the play the Fool also brought irony. He was the smartest person in the play but was treated as the stupidest. How ironic is it that by the middle of the play the king was loosing his mind and the Fool was giving him advice. The ironic theme of the play makes the irony of the Fool more prevalent. His irony made the reader more inclined to understand and realize how far from foolish he really was. I think that the Fool also had the role of being the voice of reality in Lear's life. The King let the Fool say whatever he wanted because he was "crazy". This gave the Fool the opportunity to say what he wanted and no matter how crazy it sounded. The King didn't take his advice but he listened. The Fool gave the king what he needed, clarity and reason. He gave the King a new perspective on things, too bad it was a little late because the damage had been done, the King had lost his power. The Fool came into the play after the King divided up his kingdom. The placement of the Fool in the play is important. The Fool comes in after the King's daughters had already thought up their evil plan. Also the Fool leaves the play when the King is safe with Kent and Cordelia. This leads me to believe that the Fool is like a safety blanket for the King. He is there for him in his times of need but when he is not in trouble the Fool is not there. The Fool looks out for the King's best interest. The Fool thinks very highly of himself, even though no one else does. The comments he makes lead the reader to believe that he knows he is right. Even though I know he is right the characters in the play don't and treat him disrespectfully. In the Fool's first speech he says, "Have more than you should, speak less than you know and lend less than you need". This quote can be taken two ways. The Fool can be speaking about the King saying that he should have more because he doesn't have anything including his daughters and his kingdom. The King also should not be so trusting and not be so giving. If he was less trusting and giving then maybe he wouldn't have gotten taken advantage of. These to me are true about the King. This quote can also be directed toward the Fool. He has more than people think he should be, to them he speaks less than they know and he only gives a little. This is also true about the fool. Although the Fool is probably talking about the King and the mess that he made but he could also be directing the statement toward himself. The Fool has an insight that others don't see. One example of this is he knows that Goneril and Reagan are really evil people. He knows they lie and do not like them because of that. He says, "they'll have me whipped for speaking true". The Fool knows the extent of their meanness and also knows that the King does not see it. The Fool realizes that Goneril and Reagan will take over the whole kingdom and leave nothing left for the King. This makes them corrupt and the Fool lets them know that he does not like them. He tells Goneril to her face that he is better than she is for what she had planned. Of course him telling Goneril this means nothing because he is "Just the Fool." The Fool has many roles in this play. I

Using Para in Spanish With an Infinitive

Using Para in Spanish With an Infinitive See how para is used twice in this selection. First paragraph of a news story: 349 euros. No hay un smartphone similar por ese precio. Para encontrar algo de tal calidad hay que pagar 300 euros ms. Es el nuevo smartphone de Google, que fabrica la surcoreana LG, y que, para ahorrar costes en intermediarios, solo se vende en la tienda de internet Google Play y sin planes de operadoras de por medio. Se llama Nexus 5. Source: Spanish newspaper El Paà ­s, dateline Nov. 1, 2013. Suggested translation: 349 euros. There is not one similar smartphone for that price. To find something of such quality it is necessary to pay 300 euros more. Its the brand-new Google smartphone, manufactured by South Korean LG. To save on middleman costs, it is sold only at the Google Play Internet store and not through phone carriers plans. It is called the Nexus 5. Key Grammatical Issue The preposition para is usually used to indicate purpose. When followed by an infinitive, as it is here both times, para often means in order to. However, in English, in order, when it precedes the to form of the verb, can almost always be omitted without any change in meaning. In this selection, para encontrar could have been translated as in order to find, and para ahorrar could have been translated as in order to save. This translation, in the interests of brevity, left out both cases of in order because it is implied in English. When translating to Spanish, however, the para is not optional. To say I eat to live, for example, you would use Como para vivir. Como vivir simply would make no sense. Here are brief examples of this phenomenon: Tomà ³ una pastilla para dormirse. He took a pill (in order) to fall asleep.Necesito un tenedor para comer. I need a fork (in order) to eat.Para estudiar vamos a la biblioteca. (In order) to study, we are going to the library.Estamos listos para salir. We are ready (in order) to leave. In some contexts, although not here, para infinitive can better be translated as for -ing verb form. For example, Es un libro para leer could be translated as It is a book for reading. Other Notes on Vocabulary and Grammar Smartphone was italicized in the original, indicating that it is viewed as a foreign or unusual word rather than standard Spanish. Such a device is also known as a telà ©fono inteligente, although smartphone (pronounced much as in English) is quite common.Hay is the typical way of saying there is or there are. However, the phrase hay que usually means it is necessary to or it is necessary that. Hay is a form of the verb haber.The preposition por is usually used when saying that something is sold for a certain price.Ese is a demonstrative adjective usually meaning that.Tal followed by a noun is a common way of saying such or this kind of.Que fabrica la surcoreana LG is an example of an inverted word order. Fabrica, a conjugated form of fabricar (to manufacture), is the verb for subject LG. The translation used manufactured by the South Korean LG rather than the literal which the South Korean LG manufactures because the former sounded more natural.The long sentence beginning with Es e l nuevo has been divided into two sentences in the translation because a single sentence in English here would have been cumbersome. Nuevo means new. By placing it before the noun, smartphone, the writer gave nuevo extra emphasis, which brand-new also does.In traditional Spanish, solo would have been spelled with an orthographic accent: sà ³lo. Under modern rules, however, the accent is optional.Se vende is an example of a reflexive verb.Internet can be written correctly in Spanish with or without the initial letter capitalized.Sin is the preposition for without.De por medio is a phrase that usually means in between. The emphasis here, which does not come across as strongly in the translation, is that the phone carriers charges, if the phones were sold by them, would come in between Google and the customer, thus increasing the costs.Although dictionaries dont list operadora as having a different meaning than operador except when it applies to a female operator (that is, a female who operates something), it appears to be fairly common to refer to a telephone company using the feminine noun operadora rather than th e masculine form used for many other types of businesses. The longer-term operador de telefonà ­a is also sometimes used. Llamarse is usually used when telling what something or someone is named.

Branches of the Tree of Knowledge

Branches of the Tree of Knowledge In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley warns that with the advent of science, natural philosophical questioning is not only futile, but dangerous. In attempting to discover the mysteries of life, Frankenstein assumes that he can act as God. He disrupts the natural order, and chaos ensues. Mary Shelley goes to great lengths to emphasize the beauty and order of life when man engages in à ¬naturalà ® pursuits. She idealizes Frankensteins home life: à ¬I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mindà ® (38). His family is orderly and wonderful. Clervals à ¬presence brought back to my thoughts my father, Elizabeth, and all those scenes of home so dear to my recollectionÃâ€"I felt suddenly, and for the first time during many months, calm and serene joyà ® (58). Shelley also stresses that man should feel at one with nature, not at odds with it: à ¬When happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensationsà ® (68). Certain occupations allow man to be at one with nature and his fellow creatures. Shelley feels that science should be useful and beneficial to mankind. Clerval, a clearly pure and benevolent character, studies languages. He loves poetry. These disciplines allow man to help others and glorify nature without questioning it. In childhood, Frankensteins studies contained à ¬bright visions of usefulnessà ® (38): à ¬I betook myself to the mathematics, and the branches of study appertaining to that science, as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of considerationà ® (41). But Frankensteins interests soon turned away from mathematics; he speaks of his change of mind as if an evil spirit had taken control of his brain. He begins to thirst after higher knowledge, hoping to discover the deepest mysteries of nature: à ¬I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repinedà ® (39). Frankenstein delves into these studies, hoping to à ¬unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creationà ® (47). à ¬Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark worldà ® (52) Frankenstein succeeds in discovering the secrets of life and death, and becomes able to bestow à ¬animation upon lifeless matterà ® (51). While Frankenstein is involved in this pursuit, Shelley portrays his life as grotesque and unnatural in comparison to his childhoodà ³he abandons everything that clearly made his life natural and good: à ¬The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupationà ® (53). Frankenstein cuts off contact with his family, and no longer appreciates the glory of nature. He confines himself to a roomà ³his occupation is unnatural: à ¬Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the graveÃâ€"and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frameà ® (53). With these descriptions, Shelley tells the reader that Frankenstein treads on forbidden groundà ³he does not discover secrets, but à ¬disturbsà ® them. When Frankensteins completes his creation, he finally realizes the horror of what he has done. He sees immediately that his aspiration to make à ¬a new species [that] would bless me as its creator and sourceà ® was far from realized. Instead, à ¬the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heartà ® (56). His actions, performed in isolation, did nothing to better human kind, being so far removed from human nature. He realizes the full horror of what he has done in his dream, which foreshadows the chaos and destruction that is to come. He sees how horrid it is to meddle in superhuman affairs and attempt to alter natural processes. In his dream, he sees his beloved Elizabeth, and kisses her. But to his horror, she turns into his dead mother, à ¬a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of flannelà ® (57). With this image, Shelley illustrates the evil of man trying to venture into the domain of God. Frankenstein succeeds in creating life, but this creation results in nothing but death and destruction. He profanes his mothers death, and turns a vibrant life into decaying nothingness. His attempts to change lifes natural boundaries can only lead to chaos. As a mortal, he cannot do what God does. He can create life, but he cannot create order. Man stepping out of his natural place can only cause disorder. Shelley further portrays Frankenstein as a perverted God through references to Adam and Eve. The monster laments having been created by such an imperfect God. He says, à ¬How dare you sport thus with lifeÃâ€" I ought to be thy Adamà ® (97). Frankenstein, however, is no God. The monster eventually realizes this, and reproaches Frankenstein: Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature: but I was wretched, helpless, and alone (126). Frankenstein is no better than his monster, being ruled by the same human passions. He is not a superior being, and cannot support creation of a new species. The humility that Frankenstein should have before his own creator is demonstrated through Shelleys powerful descriptions of nature. Frankenstein feels small against the à ¬dashing of the waterfalls around, [which] spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotenceà ® (91). He can never really penetrate these secretsà ³Ãƒ ¬the pine woods, and ragged bare ravine, the eagle, soaring amidst the cloudsà ³they all gathered round me and bade me be at peaceà ® (93). He also notices the perfection with which his creator formed the humans, and marvels at Clervals qualities, à ¬Has his mind, so replete with ideasÃâ€"whose existence depended on the life of its creatorà ³has this mind perishedÃâ€"No, it is not thus; your form so divinely wroughtÃâ€"has decayed, but your spirit still visits and consoles your unhappy friend.à ® With this statem ent, Frankenstein realizes that life and death are not really the à ¬ideal boundaries.à ® There is so much more to life and death than humans can possibly conceive. Biology is not necessarily the answer to the secrets of life and death. Thus, humans should live within their bounds, and not struggle with forces that are beyond their grasp. Frankenstein regrets his foray into natural philosophy. He wishes for à ¬the light-hearted gaiety of boyhoodà ® (92), when man did not seek to know these secrets. He laments: Alas! Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute; it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire we might be nearly free (94). Shelley equates mans grappling with higher questions with Adam eating from the tree of knowledge. Frankenstein wanted to stop the destruction, à ¬but the apple was already eatenà ® (183). But mans knowledge is never as perfect as Gods knowledge. His presumption to know the secrets of life made him à ¬like the archangel who aspired to omnipotencechained in an eternal hellà ® (204). Frankenstein finally realizes this. He never should have presumed to create life, because the creation of life is more than the physical actà ³the order and harmony of the world can only be produced by a perfect creature. Frankenstein cries: à ¬ManÃâ€"how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you sayà ® (194)! Frankenstein has finally learned his lesson. Or has he? After his excruciating pains and hardship, Frankensteins dying words are: à ¬I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeedà ® (210). Unless Frankenstein is referring to beneficial, pragmatic scientific knowledge, then he has not yet acknowledged that man cannot know the secrets of nature. Shelley means his final words to be a warning to the reader. Mans growing ambition and intellect will render him desperate to discover the deepest mysteries of lifeà ³it is a difficult task to halt this ambition. But this ambition is greater than mans intellect. He can never know all, though he aspires to heaven. Until he realizes his limitations, the spread of science can only lead to chaos and destruction.

The launch of a new ice cream dessert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The launch of a new ice cream dessert - Essay Example Consumers have great amount of information access power. As the demographics has been continuously changing worldwide, needs and preferences has been changing. In any part of the globe it’s the consumers demographics and culture plays an all-important role in shaping any marketing strategy. For the product like Ice cream consumers’ age as well as eating culture always plays a major role to decide preference and needs. In general, today’s youth particularly interested in technology and gathering information in emerging economy, is more aware of its environment and changes that is taking place globally. Young are more technology friendly and connected through Internet, TV and other communication gadgets. They are more information oriented. Today’s youth is more assertive and they have specific preference and needs as well as they are more influential in shaping others buying behaviours to buy almost anything. Children age 2 to 14 indirectly influence as esti mated $300 billion in annual household purchase (Mc Neal, 1998, pp 37-41). Reaching and influencing the young segment is ever more challenging. Consumption patterns are shifting from mass media towards micro media for the masses. Savvy media empowered consumers often under age of 25, are being influence by trends from all over the globe. So children and youth represent an important demographic market because they are potential customers, they influence purchases made by parents and households and they constitute the future adult market (Mc Neal, 1998). Marketers segment target audiences by age to build brand awareness and brand loyalty early in life that will be sustained into adulthood. Child and young consumer role in one of the important aspects to be studied before marketing for the products like Ice cream. Children’s consumers’ socialization and

Torture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Torture - Essay Example On the other side are those who believe that the allowance of torture destroys our national commitment to the inherent rights of all human beings. In the middle of this heated debate are those who believe that psychological torture, non-physical torture, should be permissible. It is not agreed that America should be permitted to use torture as a means of obtaining information from detainees. The United States was established on absolute principles of human rights, and the use of torture, whether physical or non-physical, past or present, violates those principles. for terrorists who suffer, or for those who die mercilessly at the hands of their torturers. Unfortunately that is human emotion at work, not ethics. Torture is a violation of human rights. In his Time to Think About Torture, Jonathan Alter admits that "we can't legalize physical torture; it's contrary to American values."1 The UN convention against torture came into force in 1987, prohibiting the acts that cause severe pain or suffering in order to gain information from prisoners. Alter wonders if using methods just short of physical torture will force four hijacking suspects to talk.2 He also added that he was not advocating the use of "cattle prods" or "rubber hoses", but "psychological torture."3 The act of psychological torture is subjecting a prisoner to mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, putting them in stressful situations, and sensory deprivation, in order to force a confession. Psychological torture, which leaves no visible signs of abuse, is still torture, and is illegal. According to research, prisoners subjected only to psychological torture report as much mental anguish as those who are beaten. The lasting effects psychological torture inflicts are as detrimental as those of physical torture. Novelist and journalist Henry Porter, wrote in his article that "torture is an absolute evil and there can be no allowances, especially in a country which stands for liberty and spends a good deal of time distinguishing itself from the Taliban and al-Qaeda on those grounds."4 If we as a nation disregard the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our Constitution, and the UN convention against torture by using the same tactics as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, then we become no different than the ones we oppose. Terrorism has spread fear among Americans. Our citizens have desperately tried to justify the means of torture. The ticking bomb scenario, which implies that torture should be used to gain useful information that may prevent the possible loss of many lives, is just a scenario. It is a tactic used to persuade fearful Americans that torture is necessary. In discussing the fear of Americans, Porter states, "It is to be hoped that their very understandable fears do not lead to a further deterioration of human rights."5 Common sense and intelligence should be used to fight terrorism, not torture created by fear that opposes human rights. Torture is counterterrorism. Advocating any type of torture defeats the purpose of the Constitution, which guarantees protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Just as slavery and genocide are wrong for America, so is torture. Torture, whether physical, psychological, mild or severe,

Biblical allusion Essay Example for Free

Biblical allusion Essay The Stranger, Shawshank Redemption Existentialism The philosophy of Existentialism described in The Stranger by Albert Camus, and Shawkshank Redemption by Stephen King and Frank Darabont.What is unique about these two stories is the fact that the veiwer can view Existentialism in the lives of two men who are opposite in personality, yet do similar actions. Even though there are many varietes of existentialism can be categorized into six major themes: existence before essence, reason is impotent to deal with the depths of human life, alienation or estrangement, fear and trembling anxiety, the encounter with nothingness, and freedom. Both stories contain much of this existence before essence which in simple terms means we gotta live we cant just is. Like in the beginning of the two stories both characters expressed the same bland and dull emotion. When Andy Dufresne, Shawshank, was at his trial and when he arrived at the prison for being accused of murdering his wife and lover. The emotion that he expressed was as if at the time he was simply ising and not living. Similar to that of Monsieur Meursault or M. from The Stranger, who also showed the exact emotion for when his mother died and his trial later on. These examples are probably the best because it clearly shows that at the time, they didnt really care about anything in life which is what existence before essence is. Other prime examples would be when M. and marie are getting ready to leave for the beach, Marie is all cheerful and excited, while M. doesnt look very thrilled (pg.47). For Andy, it would be when he was getting sexually assualted his first two years in prison. At the time even though he resisted a few times, he still didnt know his purpose in life. Even though they sound similar there was one thing that made them different and that was that when M. was to be executed he was fine with it because he had the mentality of my life is now meaningless. While for Andy, if he didnt do what the warden said, he was going to the hardest of time than anyone else. Andy had much time to think about his next move. One day while speaking with ,Red his best friend, he said to him get busy livin or get busy dyin' Andy managed to escape that same day. During the opening scene of the film, Andy was shown sitting in his car in  front of what was believed to be his wifes lovers house. At this time Andy was destroyed by the fact that his wife had been cheating on him and takes his gun and bullets out of his cars glove compartment. Without any thought we then see Andy get out of his car and smash a bottle of liqour and then see him make his way to the house. After that the scene fades out and leaves us wondering if Andy really did shoot them both out of grief. This leaves us off that Andys emotions got the best of him instead of sitting down and reasoning with what approach he should take for his current situation. Raymond friend of M, had done a similar action. Raymond too committed a crime of passion for when he beats his girlfriend for also believing she was cheating on him. Instead of confronting her about it, he instead beats her like a punching bag and pays the price. In my opinion this probably the greatest example for reason is impotent to deal with the depths of human because it happens so often and its easy to understand. M. the perfect person to think of when talking about one who alienates himself. M. was an interesting fellow because he hated to be around people, but at the same time loved to watch society from hisbalcony with wine and a cigarette in hand. There were countless times when he just perfered to be alone, awkwardly enough that was one of the main reasons he didnt mind being in jail. Even at his own mothers death, instead of sitting next to her friends from the Home, he sat across from them and just hated the idea that they were some sort of jury judging him. Andy too isolated himself from the other inmates when he first arrives to jail. Smart of him to do so. The last thing you want to do is piss someone off while youre in the same place as them 24/7. But once he got the hang of how things worked, Andy was more social and interactive in his new home. Old Salamano, friend and neighbor of M. was so scared for his dog who was missing. Salamano was scared and nevous for his old companion, he had no one else in his life besides his best friend. the thought of the police getting a hold of him made matters even worse, Salamano knew the dog was in terrible condition and if someone were to find him they would just kill him. Thoughts like these are what makes people go mad and end up committing suicide just like Brooks, from Shawshank. Brooks, an elderly man who had spent most of  his lifetime behind bars finally got the news he had been wanting for a very long time, his release date. When Brooks first got news of his release he feared of the outside world. He had been locked up for so long that he ended up depending on the walls themselves. With such fear and anxiety of the thought of him leaving everything he knows and loves, he gets a sharp object and about kills a man just so he can be there longer. Eventually his friends talk him out of it and ends up leaving. Later on we see Brooks depressed and ends up hanging himself in his apartment building. The encounter with nothingness, people who feel that are left with nothing. The reason why M. was ok with his execution. M. had felt as if there was just nothing for him to be in the world and was ok with his death. Throughout the time of the death of his mother M. has this what is left attitude. Even Andy, pondering his thoughts while he was thrown in the hole for two months. Wondering what he would have left if he didnt obey the warden. Throughout movie and part of the book it has that feel of once youre in prison you dont really have anything left, they practically own everything about you. Freedom, the word that has many meanings. Freedom can mean a variety of things but for the movie it meant escaping jail for the most part. As for Brooks, freedom meant finally being at peace with himself. For Andy, it meant escaping that terrible place and following his long dream of going to Zihuantanejo and opening a small hotel. Even if it meant that he had to escape throught a 500 yard long sewer. Red, the man who thought he would never see the outside world again, saw freedom when he walked out the gates of Shawshank and met up with long time friend, Andy. As for M. it meant dying also. M. felt that he was never going to be free until he took full responsibility for his actions and faced death. For this Existentialism can be seen in many ways, fashions, symbols and through innovations in conventional form.

The Word of God Does Not to Turn Evil into Good Essay -- Religious Arg

The Word of God Does Not to Turn Evil into Good Conscience is sometimes spoken of as the voice of God within. To many this seems a rather unsophisticated thing to say. It may seem the sort of thing a non-intellectual theist might casually affirm, perhaps in a well-intentioned effort to encourage conscientiousness in himself and others. But the idea that men have a sort of inner guiding light which is a reflection of the mind of God is far from being simple-minded. True or false, it is a basic concept with wide ramifications. For a theist, it is altogether natural to suppose that in some way the human moral sensitivity derives from God. The Bible starts off with the story of Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of ``the tree of knowledge of good and evil''. Whereupon their ``eyes were opened'' and they became ``as gods'' knowing good from evil (Genesis 3:5,7,22). Paul in Romans (2:14-15) speaks of a natural understanding (``conscience'', ``by nature'', ``written on the heart'') present in all men, which he assumes to be authoritative. Most Christian theologians (Calvinists excepted) have held that human moral awareness reflects in some way and to some degree God's own judgment of good and evil. We are said to be made in the image of God. Sophisticated philosophers such as Whitehead and Peirce have held that men live under the inflowing radiance of God's beauty and goodness, men recognizing these values and being attracted to them. Even Plato and Aristotle have an understanding of these issues remarkabl y compatible with the statement that conscience is the voice of God. Atheists of course cannot accept the phrase in any but the most poetic sense, as Dewey permits use of the word ``God'' in his book, A Common Faith... ...onscience. Under some circumstances I have a duty to stick a needle into my child.) So we see that in the end the only morally compelling reason even to obey God is that, all things considered, we feel a conscientious duty to do so. If God's will were to turn out to be in fundamental conflict with our sense of right and wrong, and we had no reason to suppose that we would ever find his apparent evil to be really good, then for what reason at all could a man justify the violation of his own integrity for the sake of a being with fundamentally different values? Nothing about the word God is magic to turn evil into good. Thus Abraham can only be commended for what he decided to do if we suppose he felt a conscien tious compulsion to do so, a compulsion that was either felt directly or resulted from his belief that God's will would finally be revealed as good.

A Family Supper: A Visit to a Japanese Home

Seeing the high economic growth of Japan, and using the country’s high tech products that are sold all around the globe, all non-Japanese people have an idea about the culture of the nation.   In the international mind, Japan is highly business minded, believes in economic nationalism, and is mainly Buddhist.All Buddhist nations in the world, except for China and Korea, are perfectly peaceful in their foreign relations, which is to say that they practice the theory of nonviolence propounded by the wisest of people.   In order to practice nonviolence, any human being must act quite unfeeling or unemotional, which is actually quite beneficial in Japanese business too.The phrase ‘cold and calculating’ is apt in describing the benefits of being unemotional in business.   It is this unemotional Japanese culture that comes to the fore in Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Family Supper.   The story is an exposition of the Japanese culture in the foreign mind.   Given t hat it does not describe the culture of Japan away from the narrator’s home, it is the story of a Japanese home, which happens to be typically Japanese in the perspective of the non-Japanese reader.The Japanese apparently do not believe in the exhibition of their emotions.   If they are extremely worried, upset, or depressed, they prefer to commit suicide rather than to expose themselves to shame by revealing their emotional problems to others.   Ishiguro’s story deals with two suicides, one of the narrator’s mother, and the other of his father’s friend, Watanabe.The latter was suffering from business problems, and therefore committed suicide because of the emotional strain that he could not express to others.   Business is, of course, all important to the Japanese.   In the case of the narrator’s mother, we are told that she consumed the dreadful fugu fish, which everybody knew to be poisonous or highly risky to consume.The mother used to avoid consuming the fugu fish, â€Å"but on this particular occasion,† writes Ishiguro, â€Å"she made an exception, having been invited by an old school friend whom she was anxious not to offend† (320).   Obviously, the mother wanted to commit suicide.Neither she nor Watanabe were said to use the help of a psychotherapist when they were suffering from emotional problems.   In her case, â€Å"She had many worries.   And some disappointments† (325).   In the case of Watanabe, we are informed by the narrator’s father, â€Å"He didn’t wish to live with the disgrace† of having lost his business (320).   Yet, both the mother and Watanabe feel emotions that are intense enough to call for suicide.It appears strange that a highly business minded society is not positive enough to deal properly with its emotional problems.   In other words, the Japanese society that is described through Ishiguro’s story does not always seem to strug gle for survival, hoping, praying, believing, and expecting better days.   Instead, everything seems to be alright for individuals until they cannot seem to deal with their emotional problems and decide to end their lives.What is more, nobody seems to miss the people who have died with intense emotions.   The narrator of Ishiguro’s story does not even recognize his mother’s face in the picture during the family supper, on which the story is based.   All that the Japanese seem to feel for the deceased is rationalized sympathy.   Both the narrator and his sister, Kikuko, refer to their deceased mother as â€Å"Poor Mother† (323).They believed that their mother was poor or unfortunate because she could not deal with her problems in a positive way.   Neither did Watanabe assume that he could start afresh with a new business.   For him, the end of his business marked the end of his life.   The unemotional nature he must have expressed in business did no t help him out.   Rather, Watanabe felt emotions that he found humiliating to express before his death, just like the mother who also committed suicide.Although the narrator of â€Å"A Family Supper† is visiting Japan two years after his mother’s death, there is no family discussion held about his mother.   Only facts are important to know.   Anything emotional seems to be avoided at all costs.The narrator’s mother did not confide in her children during her depressive phase before the suicide.   And, if she had mentioned her problems to her husband, he is not willing to share them with the children.   By underplaying emotions, the Japanese family is revealing its cultural belief in rationality that defines its economic success.As a matter of fact, Japan is known to be a very successful nation.   If the country had been emotional and violent, it would most likely have been beset by problems known to the entire world.   But we do not hear about the b udget deficit in Japan, neither do news reports complain that Japan has bullied another nation.All emotions seem to be checked, and the mind is held supreme.   Nevertheless, it is human nature to fail as well as succeed.   Perhaps the mother of the narrator as well as Watanabe had had their minds failed.   Both of them had passed the stage of youth.   Still, they did not seem to have revealed their strong emotions unto others.   Even Kikuko, while living with her mother, did not seem to have focused on her mother’s problems.   Both the suicides seem to have been done based on the intellect alone, even if the intellect had pretty much failed.   In other words, Watanabe and the mother must have lost their minds.   Therefore, the reader cannot blame lack of emotions, seeing that Japan remains generally successful without them.Kikuko does not ‘feel’ love toward her boyfriend.   She is not even sure whether the boy whom she likes would be good for he r to spend a lot of time with.   This is another exposition of the unemotional nature of the Japanese, although the reader may assume that Kikuko may eventually start feeling enough for a man whom she would finally marry.   And, she will marry – that is a certainty.All non-Japanese people probably have an idea about the family values of the Asians.   Asian societies are mostly patriarchal.   Kikuko cannot speak openly before her father: â€Å"She answered him with short, formal replies† (321).   Moreover, the girl must obey her father without questioning and without doubts.   There is no friendliness between the father and daughter.   What is more, the girl is probably not allowed to smoke before her father.She mentions to her brother that she had been wanting to smoke for quite a while.   When he asks her why she did not smoke, she simply points at her house, referring to the father inside the house.   She must respect her father unconditionally, and there is no point in questioning why he would not agree to his daughter’s desire to smoke as opposed to his son’s.   It is tradition, it is faith.Japanese girls normally do not smoke before their fathers because smoking is a bad habit that girls in particular should not adopt.   Kikuko is expected to cook in the home, and serve tea.   Besides, she must marry soon after her education is complete.   This is, indeed, a typically Asian perception of gender roles.   And, foreign readers of Ishiguro’s story must be aware of it to begin with, for this kind of knowledge exists in our collective consciousness if nothing else.Ishiguro takes the foreign reader into the Japanese home to remind him or her about the culture of Japan that the reader may already have knowledge about.   In point of fact, Ishiguro’s story confirms our beliefs about the unemotional and patriarchal Japanese culture.   The unemotional nature of Japan has done it good, although when a Japanese person loses his or her rationality, there may be no turning back.   After reading the story, there is no doubt left in the reader’s mind as to whether Japan would show great emotions in the near future, or if the country has become modernized enough to leave the patriarchal culture behind.   In truth, Japan is still holding firm its cultural values.Works CitedIshiguro, Kazuo. â€Å"A Family Supper.†

Business proposal for Papadeaux

Pudenda is a successful upscale casual restaurant concept with a loyal following. But no restaurant is immune to the highly competitive climate of the industry. Recent studies have shown the upscale casual segment losing market share to both fast and traditional casual restaurants. They also show that consumers find value in upscale casual dining by weighing the food quality and the overall experience against the relatively higher price (Techno, Inc. 2013). We analyzed customer reviews to discern what Pederasty's guests are responding to In terms of value. Based on this analysis, customers respond overwhelmingly positively to food quality, and food quality Is the most critical factor In their value calculation. Price Is still an issue, even those delighted by food quality comment on high prices. Customer comments also suggest that portion sizes may be overly large, and that the investment in large portions is out of step with its importance to the guests.Pudenda may benefit from feat uring new menu items with reduced portion and price. Such offerings at other restaurants have led to increased traffic, revenue, and per person average (APP) (Jennings 2008). . Industry background Casual dining has grown over the last thirty years along with tremendous growth in American's restaurant spending. Half of every food dollar In this country is spent in restaurants, which Is double the spending level In the ass's (Pocket Fastback, 2013). The recession has made a competitive Industry even more competitive.A recent Techno survey on casual dining revealed a three tiered system divided Into fast casual, traditional casual, and upscale casual, with consumers trading up and down between these levels based on their needs and perceptions of value. 5% of those surveyed reported visiting a fast casual restaurant in the past month, 80% had visited a traditional casual restaurant, and 40% reported eating at an upscale casual restaurant. 41% of those surveyed reported finding value in upscale casual when weighing food quality and overall experience against the relatively higher price (Techno, Inc. 2013). The issue for operators in upscale casual is getting consumers to trade up, and to trade up more frequently. 3. Pudenda Seafood Kitchen Pappas Restaurants began In 1 966, when brothers Chris and Harris Pappas opened Dot's Coffee Shop In Houston. Today they operate over eighty restaurants across an array of concepts Including BBC, Tex-Meg, and fine dining. All Pappas restaurants are guided by the Standards of Excellence: Providing superior quality food, providing Kitchen, founded in 1986, is an upscale casual dining restaurant featuring gulf coast seafood and Cajun dishes.It has become the company's largest concept, and is set to absorb Pappas Seafood House, the company's first upscale casual seafood concept, growing its size in the Houston area by five stores. 4. Review Analysis 4. 1 . Methodology One of the most influential ways information is transmitted is wor d-of-mouth (Manikin & Goods, 2002). Word-of-month has an effect on not only potential customers, but also the satisfaction level of current guests. One of the most powerful methods to generate word-of-mouth is online customer review (Dollars, 2003). A total of 441 postings from Yelp. Mom made between September 2012 and September 2013 for all Pudenda locations, were reviewed for this analysis. Chin et al. (2004) found that recommendations have a positive relationship with sales, while consumer ratings were shown to be unrelated. Therefore our analysis focused on content rather than ratings. Content was divided into four main categories: food, service, value and environment/atmosphere. Each of these was further divided into subcategories, which were then coded positive or negative based on comment content. 4. 2. Food Food was the most commented on of the major categories.As displayed in Figure 2, the response to food quality was overwhelmingly positive. Comments such as, â€Å"the co cktail shrimp is well seasoned and super fresh,† â€Å"Just about everything on the menu is delicious,† and â€Å"the crayfish fondue is amazing as well as everything on the menu,† indicate that the customers are not only satisfied but also highly delighted. There were more positive comments on food than comments in any of the other categories. 4. 3. Service Restaurants always receive both positive and negative comments and Pudenda is not an exception.A calculation of the number of positive and negative comments on service, however, shows customers are mostly satisfied by the service. Over 75 percent of comments are positive (see Figure 3). Based on the graph and actual comments, we concluded that the gap between expectation and service delivery is mall in Pudenda case. 4. 4. Environment When commenting on environment and atmosphere, guests tended to be less specific when they were positive. Negative comments focused on noise level, crowding complaints, and wait time.The number of these complaints is relatively high compared with the number of positive comments (see Figure 4). This suggests that the atmosphere of Pudenda is more crowded and noisy than guests expect. 4. 5. Value determined by factors such as price and food quality. As seen in Figure 5, roughly half of all comments in this category stated that Pudenda is expensive. Only 37% recent of comments relate that the price is worth the overall experience, however, the percentage of comments stating that the experience is â€Å"not worth it† is much lower.While the latter two categories are mutually exclusive, significant overlap exists between both and the former category. This suggests that while guests' subjective view of value is affected by the service delivery, their objective view of price is left unaltered. 5. SOOT Analysis 5. 1 . Strengths Pederasty's greatest strength is consistently providing high quality food and service. Doing so is a stated goal of the company, and guest reviews confirm that Pudenda succeeds in following through on that goal. This achievement has garnered the concept a strong reputation.Many reviewers mentioned being repeat customers, or called the experience, â€Å"excellent as always. † This again speaks for the consistency many strive for in this industry, but few are able to attain. 5. 2. Weaknesses Pederasty's main competitive weakness is it's comparatively high prices. Providing high quality food requires an investment in quality products and labor. Seafood is often associated with high costs, because freshness is key to its quality. Additionally, he review analysis found complaints about the atmosphere.Its prices are more similar to lower end fine dining restaurants than its casual dining peers. Pudenda' more family friendly atmosphere may be at odds with what some expect from the environment when they look at the menu prices. 5. 3. Opportunities Despite high prices, Pudenda receives higher average ratings than its competitors. Its greatest opportunity lies in leveraging its high quality against competitors. Strategies that focus on attracting new customers to trade up from lower priced competitors so that they can experience the difference in quality may rove successful.Based on the high rating and positive comments from the Albuquerque and Phoenix locations, further expansion in the Southwest may be worthwhile. 5. 4. Threats Pederasty's faces threats from lower priced competitors. High price is a major component leading consumers to dine at upscale casual restaurants less frequently. Large competitors in this group, like Red Lobster, use nationwide promotions offering greater value to increase traffic at their stores. More similarly priced restaurants tend to have a different market focus, and provide a more elegant and less family oriented atmosphere. Guest Perception of Value Figure 6 GAP Analysis A GAP analysis revealed that there was little mismatch between guest expectations and per ceptions. The only area for concern was the atmosphere. As stated, complaints in this category were relatively high in proportion to positive comments, suggested the atmosphere is louder and more crowded than many guests expect. Relation to value based comments than any type of complaint about atmosphere. Further, price is important factor driving consumers to trade down in the casual dining spectrum. As recommendations are related to sales, comments about price would be taken seriously.While reviews indicate that guests are satisfied, these may not be enough. Oh (2000) found that customers' perceived value has a greater effect on their intention to return, and, more importantly has a greater effect on their long term patronage. In order to further analyze guests' perception of value, we returned to online customer reviews. This time, we focused our research on the Houston area locations. Houston was selected because it has more locations than any other area, and, as the place of it s founding, the area has the greatest familiarity with both Pudenda and the Pappas brand.We analyzed reviews from both Yelp. Com and Trip Advisor from the same time period, September 2012 through September 2013, a total of 490. Two methods were employed. First, the same coding method as before was used to compare against the early data in order to check for differences. Second, quotes relating to value were pulled from the reviews in order to better understand the range of guest attitudes and determine possible trends. The data from the content analysis was similar to what we saw previously. Roughly half of all value related comments referenced high prices.No new issues turned up in any of the other disagrees, so we proceeded to review quotes pulled from the article. 6. 1 . General Perceptions Guests tended to have a favorable impression of value while also acknowledging the high price, for example, â€Å"Pudenda is a little pricey but very good,† â€Å"The price is not low but it is worth the price for good food and service,† and â€Å"The prices are high but the food is excellent. † These responses are in line with the results from the Techno survey (2013) discussed earlier.It is important to note that over 70% of these quotes specifically mentioned food quality and linked it with a positive impression of value. 6. 2. Price and Negative Behavioral Intention Guests with a negative impression of value tended to express their view in terms of price. Quotes such as, â€Å"Overpriced but okay I guess†¦ â€Å", â€Å"†¦ Over priced mediocre food†, and â€Å"†¦ A little overpriced for what you get,† were typical of this group. In addition, negative comments about price were frequently linked with a negative behavioral intention to return.Most interesting was a subgroup of almost 30%, who specifically expressed that while satisfied, they would return less frequently due to price. Typical quotes in this range includ ed, â€Å"I'll be back but Rajah Cajun is definitely more affordable and so will be a more frequent stop for me! † and â€Å"The prices have increased steadily and I don't go as often†¦ â€Å". These quotes are representative of consumers who find value in the quality of the experience, and do trade up to upscale casual, but do so less frequently based solely on price. . 3. Food Quality as the Most Critical Factor Whether guests express a positive or negative perception of value they most frequently link value with their perception of food quality. 70% of positive value impression quotes mentioned food quality, as did 44% of the negative value laity (â€Å"WITH happened to good quality food†¦ â€Å") to those underwhelming with the quality based on price (â€Å"Decent seafood but overpriced†, â€Å"Food was fine, but the prices are nuts†), the latter being the most common.Guest comments also suggest that food quality may trump other aspects of the experience in terms of value: â€Å"Great service! Food was okay†¦ Wasn't worth the $30†, and â€Å"The waiter was nice though†¦ But that still doesn't make up for the lack in quality. † Combined with the results from the content analysis, it appears that food quality is the most critical factor for these viewers, and by extension Pederasty's guests. 6. 4. Identifying an Aspect for Improvement As mentioned previously, recommendations matter more than ratings, and recommendations are based on perceptions of value.Positive recommendations tend to be based on positive perception of food quality, however, these recommendations also tend to mention high prices. High prices are why many consumers report visiting upscale casual restaurants less frequently (Techno, Inc. , 2013), and our observations from online reviews confirm price can impact guests' stated behavioral intention. Based on this, it seems reasonable to assume that lowering prices while maintaining food quality, should lead to improved behavioral intentions and more positive recommendations.But before we explore the validity of that idea, we need to determine if there is any factor that can be changed to allow such a strategy to be entertained. Once again, we turned to the customer reviews, this time examining portion size. 6. 5. Portion Size Pappas Restaurants are known for large portions. Like food quality, it is factor into which money is invested in order to â€Å"wow† the guest. As we saw in the customer views, being â€Å"wowed† is often the line between finding value in the experience and feeling that it is overpriced.Portion size logically contributes to price; therefore we pulled quotes and analyzed them as we did with value-based quotes above. We aimed to determine if the investment in portion size was having the desired effect on guests. Not surprisingly, the reviewers found the portion size to be large: â€Å"the portions were generous†¦ â€Å", â €Å"Huge portions†, and â€Å"†¦ The baked potato is HUGE†¦ â€Å". 30% of the quotes expressed delight. These referred to portions as â€Å"ample† and â€Å"filling†, or mentioned aging a to-go box home (â€Å"l was very happy to have leftovers from this meal! ). 22% were factual statements such as, â€Å"The portion sizes are big like most restaurants in the states†¦ â€Å", or â€Å"l forgot how big the portions are†¦ â€Å". 48%, while not explicitly negative, did express that portion sizes may be overly large. Quotes like, â€Å"†¦ It was Just too big for me to finish! † suggest that portions are too large for guests to finish. One guest felt that they had â€Å"made the mistake of ordering a side salad†, because he was too full to finish his entree.In addition, guests may be lining like they are wasting food they wished to enjoy, a feeling that may be exacerbated by price (â€Å"l felt bad leaving half my lobs ter on my plate because I was full and it was a bit pricey'). Most of the quotes that fell in this category, and 39% of the overall portion size quotes, dealt with guest behaviors based on large portion have developed ordering behaviors to limit portion size, for example, â€Å"The portions are large, so I always split†, â€Å"l usually have to order a lunch size†, and â€Å"My son and I split a salad and catfish/shrimp plate. Perhaps the most important quote in this roof comes from a review posted on Yelp. Com on January fifteenth, 2013. The guest begins the review by giving background on their relationship with Pudenda: â€Å"As a Native Historian, I've enjoyed one of my family's great traditions of dining at Pudenda to celebrate most any occasion – birthdays, graduations, or Just- because-it's-the-weekends. Over the years, we've gathered at various locations throughout the greater Houston area, but as of lately, this is my frequent location of this chain. T hey go on to give a glowing paragraph long endorsement of food quality, which concludes with this quote: FYI Just about every dish here has monstrous portions so you wouldn't be the first to share a plate with someone. † The person writing this article is a champion for the Pudenda brand. She feels a connection to the concept and actively recommends visiting the restaurant. This is meaningful, because in online reviews, recommendations relate to sales, and her recommendation is to share.Guests did not link portion size to value as strongly as they did with food quality. Additionally, explicit complaints portion size was rare, including comments about portion size being too small. This suggests guests view portion size as an enhancement rather than a critical factor when calculating value. While it may be possible that large portion size contributes more greatly to guest delight and it is obscured by reviewers' choice of language, the fact that almost half of the quotes point t o portions being oversized, suggests that they are, in actuality, oversized. . Conclusion 7. 1 . Recommendation Based on our analysis of customer reviews, the investment placed into providing large portions exceeds its relative importance to guests. Guests also report that while they have a largely favorable perception of value, they still find prices to be gig. Food quality was identified by guests as the most critical factor effecting impressions of value. Figure 7 shows their relative positions in terms of investment from the company versus relative importance to guests.By decreasing portion size and lowering prices proportionally, both can be set at new, more appropriate levels without changing food quality. Figure 7 Performance vs.. Importance to Customers Similar strategies have been shown to increase traffic, revenue, and APP. In 2007, they termed â€Å"right portion, right price. † Within a year, these new items were contributing up to 15% of sales per month. They als o saw an increase in APP, as more customers were ordering appetizer and deserts.Their success led to the adoption of similar strategies by others, such as Cheesecake Factory and Minim's Cafe © Innings, 2008). Research from outside the industry suggests that Pudenda may benefit more greatly than others by the implementation of such a strategy. Studies have shown that it grocery stores, high quality food brands gain the most running a promotion with lower prices (Sparkman, 1997). Pudenda has a reputation for high food quality, and it is possible that consumers would view lower prices as a reason to read up, similarly to how they have been shown to behave in grocery stores. . 2. Implementation As large portions are a part of the Pappas brand, and some guests continue to express delight, we suggest maintaining the current menu. New menu items featuring reduced portion and price should be developed and offered separately as has been done by other companies. Tests should be conducted at select locations, and sales can determine their success. In addition, tickets with the new items should be analyzed to determine if they are contributing to an increase APP. Customer dieback should also be utilized, and can be used to refine the new menu.

Computed Tomography Essays

Computed Tomography Essays Computed Tomography Essay Computed Tomography Essay 1. Introduction One of the most used techniques in the imagiology field is called Computed Tomography ( CT ) , a method to get pieces of the organic structure based on the fading of X raies. This monograph will seek to roll up the most of import information about CT, viz. its history, physical rules, cardinal instrumentality, informations acquisition and processing techniques, every bit good as its applications. First, a brief circuit through the history of the technique will be taken, while some of the most of import accomplishments will be referred. The get downing point will be the find of the X raies, so go throughing through the creative activity of the first CT scanner and the development of informations analysis and processing algorithms. Then, a concise alteration of the development of the scanners will be done, defining the different coevalss of scanners and the cardinal characteristics of each one. In order to understand how an object can be scanned by this technique, a reappraisal of the physical constructs that constitute the footing of CT will be done. More exactly, we will discourse the fading of radiation while go throughing through objects. A short description of how X-rays interact with affair and the construct of additive fading coefficient will be discussed. The instrumentality needed for CT will shortly be referred, in peculiar the most of import constituents of a CT scanner will be briefly explained. As informations acquired by the scanners are non displayed in the manner they are obtained, we will subsequently explicate the most used methods to treat and analyse the great sum of information acquired by the CT sensors. The procedure of making a graduated table to stand for informations the CT Numberss will later be overviewed, in order to understand how images are created and shown to the physicians. A description of how CT allows to separate different anatomical constructions and how it permits to see merely the constructions we want will besides be done. After that, an numbering of some of the many clinical applications of CT will be done, cognizing at the start that it will be impossible to name all the applications, ground why merely a few will be referred. Besides, it is non the chief end of this monograph, although it is indispensable to understand the important importance of CT in the medicine field. Finally, we will seek to speculate about the hereafter of CT, specifically what it can be improved and what are the existent challenges for this technique and how it can be overcame. This monograph is portion of the Hospital and Medical Instrumentation class and pretends to be an overall position of CT, ground why there is non thorough item in each subdivision ( for more item in the approached subjects, please read the mentions ) . three-dimensional Reconstruction techniques will non be discussed because it is the subject of another group. Acute instrumentality will non be exploited because it non exploited in the class every bit good. 2. Historical Background The history of CT started with the find of X raies in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, which gave him the Physics Nobel Prize in 1901. During 1917, the Austrian mathematician Johann Radon developed a survey in which he demonstrated that doing several projections in different waies of a stuff and animating its associated form, it was possible to obtain a piece where 1 could qualify different densenesss of the stuff. The thought of utilizing these mathematical methods to make images of pieces of the human organic structure in radiographic movies was proposed by the Italian radiotherapist Alessandro Vallebona in 1930. Between 1956 and 1963, the physicist Allan Cormack developed a method to cipher the distribution of captive radiation in the human organic structure based on transmittal measurings, which allowed to observe smaller fluctuations in soaking up. [ 2 ] , [ 3 ] , [ 4 ] In the twelvemonth of 1972, Sir Godfrey Hounsfield ( who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1979, shared with Cormack ) invented the first CT scanner in United Kingdom when he was working at EMI Company, which, at the clip, was really best known for its connexion to the music universe. The original paradigm, called EMI Scanner , recorded 160 points for each projection in 180 different angles ( with stairss of 1 A ; deg ; ) and each piece took 5 proceedingss to be acquired. A 180160 matrix was so constructed with these informations, which took 2 and half hours to be analyzed until the concluding 2D-images could be visualized. The first types of scanners required the patient s caput to be immerged in a water-filled container in order to cut down the difference of X raies fading between the beams that crossed the skull and the 1s that merely crossed the environment, because the sensor had a little scope of strengths that it could mensurate. [ 5 ] , [ 6 ] During the subsequent old ages, CT scanners increased its complexness, and based on that development, we can separate five coevalss of machines that will be discussed in the following subdivision ( Section 3 ) . Subsequently, in 1989, it was developed a new technique in which information acquisition was done continuously the coiling CT scanning utilizing the motion of the platform where the patient was lying. [ 4 ] Presents, CT machines have evidently superior public presentations than the paradigms of the 70 s. In fact, several rows of sensors have been added which now allows enrollment of multiple pieces at the same clip the multislices scanners. These betterments allowed to stand for informations in 10241024 matrixes, which have a 1 megapixel pel declaration. [ 7 ] , [ 8 ] 3. Development of CT Scanners Over the clip, the basicss of informations acquisition and the cardinal features of the machines changed in many ways. This fact, let us to divide the development of the CT scanners in five coevalss. 3.1 First Generation Parallel Beam The first technique implemented in CT commercial machines consisted of the emanation of a parallel X-ray beam that passed through the patient until it reached a sensor located on the opposite side. Both X-ray and sensor were topographic point in the border of a ring with the patient as the centre. The X-ray beginning, every bit good as the sensor, suffered a additive interlingual rendition gesture to get informations from all mater s waies. Then, the X-ray tubing and the sensor, was rotated about 1 A ; deg ; , holding the patient as isocenter, and a new beam was emitted and the motion of interlingual rendition restarted. This procedure was repeated until it reached 180 A ; deg ; and, for each rhythm of emitted beams, 160 projections of the stuff on analysis were recorded. The extremely collimated beam provided first-class rejection of scattered radiation in the patient. At this point, the most used image Reconstruction technique was the backprojection. Subsequently in this work ( S ection 6 ) we will explicate the techniques used in Reconstruction. The clip needed for informations acquisition was highly long ( 5 proceedingss per piece ) , due to technological restrictions. [ 8 ] 3.2 Second Generation Fan beam In the 2nd coevals, the collimated beam was replaced by a fan X-ray beam and the simple sensor was replaced by a additive array of sensors. This progress resulted in a shorter scan clip, although this technique still continued to utilize a conjugate source-detector interlingual rendition gesture. At the same clip, the algorithms used to retrace the piece images became more complicated. Because of the huge sum of clip needed to get informations, both the first and 2nd coevalss of scanners were limited to caput and appendages scans, because those were the parts of the organic structure that could stay immobilized during the long scan clip. [ 9 ] , [ 2 ] , [ 8 ] 3.3 Third coevals Revolving sensors The 3rd coevals of scanners emerged in 1976. In this coevals, the fan beam was big plenty to wholly incorporate the patient, which made the interlingual rendition motion redundant and the scanner commenced to put to death merely the rotational motion. Such as the fan beam, besides the sensors became large plenty to enter all informations of each piece at a clip. The sensor consisted of a line with 100s of independent sensors that, like as in the 2nd coevals, rotated attached to the X-ray beginning, which required up to 5 seconds to get each piece. The power supply was now made by a faux pas ring system placed on the gauntry, which allowed to continually revolve it without the demand to change by reversal the revolving gesture to untwist the power overseas telegrams used earlier, as it was needed after each rotary motion in first and 2nd coevalss. [ 2 ] , [ 8 ] 3.4 Fourth coevals Fixed sensors This coevals was implemented in the late 70 s and its invention was a stationary ring of sensors that surrounded the patient. In this instance, merely the X-ray beam had motion. The ring consisted of a 600 to 4800 independent sensors that consecutive recorded the projections, so detector and beginning were no longer associated. However, sensors were calibrated twice during each rotary motion of the X-ray beginning, supplying a self-calibrating system. Third coevals systems were calibrated merely one time every few hours. In the 4th coevals systems, two sensors geometries were used. The first one consists of a revolving fan beam inside the fixed ring of sensors and the 2nd 1 has the fan beam outside the ring. These technological progresss provided a decrease of the scan times to 5s per image and piece spacing below 1 millimeter. Both 3rd and 4th coevalss are available in market and both have success in medical activities. [ 8 ] , [ 2 ] 3.5 Fifth Generation Scaning negatron beam The invention of the 5th coevals of CT scanners ( early 80 s ) was a new system of X-ray beginning. While the ring of sensors remains stationary, it was added a new semicircular strip of wolfram and one negatron gun which is placed in the patient alliance. By directing this negatron beam to the anode of the tungsten strip, the release of X-ray radiation is induced. This method consequences in a no traveling parts system, i.e. no mechanical gesture is needed to enter information because the sensors wholly surround the patients and the electronic beam is directed electronically. The four mark rings and the two sensor Bankss allow eight pieces to be acquired at the same clip, which cut down the scan clip and, accordingly, the gesture artifacts. This fact led to the decrease of scan clip to between 33 and 100 MS, which is sufficient to capture images of the bosom during its cardiac rhythm, ground why it is the most used in diagnostic of cardiac disease. For that ground, this is besides c alled Ultrafast CT ( UFCT ) or Cardiovascular CT ( CVCT ) Because of the uninterrupted scan, particular accommodations in the algorithm are needed to cut down image artefacts. [ 2 ] , [ 8 ] , [ 9 ] 3.6 Coiling Scanners The thought of making a coiling CT came with the demand for scans of three-dimensional images. This system to get three-dimensional CT images was born in the early 90 s and consists of a continue interlingual rendition motion of the tabular array which supports the patient. This technique is based on the 3rd coevals of machines and allows scan times of the venters to be reduced from 10 proceedingss to 1 minute, which reduces the gesture artifacts. Besides, a three-dimensional theoretical account of the organ under survey can be reconstructed. The most complex invention of this technique consists of the information processing algorithms, because they must see the coiling way of X-ray beam around the patient. Technically, this was possible merely due to the faux pas ring system implemented on the 3rd coevals of scanner. [ 9 ] , [ 8 ] , [ 10 ] 3.7 Cone beam After the development of new techniques, sensors, methods and algorithms, nowadays the inquiry is: How many pieces can we get at same clip? . The reply to this inquiry lies in the arrangement of several rows of sensors and the transmutation of a fan beam X ray to a three-dimensional cone beam. Nowadays, makers have already placed 64 rows of sensors ( multislice systems ) and the image quality reached high degrees. Furthermore, the wholly scan of a construction takes now about 15 seconds or even less. [ 2 ] 4. Physical Principles The basic rule of CT is mensurating the spacial denseness distribution of a human organ or a portion of the organic structure. It is similar to conventional X-ray, in which an X-ray beginning of unvarying strength is directed to the patient and the image is generated by the projection of the X raies against a movie. The X raies are emitted with a certain strength I0 and they emerge on the other side of the patient with a lower strength I. The strength decreases while traversing the patient, because radiation interacts with affair. More exactly, X raies used in CT are of the order of 120kV and, with that energy ( 120 keV ) , they interact with tissues chiefly by photoelectric ( largely at lower energies ) and Compton effects ( at higher energies ) , although they can besides interact by coherent spread, besides called Rayleigh spread ( 5 % to 10 % of the entire interactions ) . Photoelectric consequence consists of the emanation of an negatron ( photoelectron ) from the irradiated affair caused by the soaking up of the X ray s energy by an interior negatron of the medium. In Compton consequence, a X-ray photon interacts with an outer negatron of affair and deviates its flight, reassigning portion of its energy to the negatron, which is so ejected. In consistent spread, the energy of the X ray is absorbed by the tissue doing the negatrons to derive harmonic gesture and is so reradiated in a random way as a secondary X ray. [ 10 ] , [ 11 ] , [ 12 ] , [ 13 ] , [ 14 ] CT X raies are non monoenergetic, but for now, to simplify the apprehension of this construct, we will see them monoenergetic. When an X ray ( every bit good as other radiation ) passes through a stuff, portion of its strength is absorbed in the medium and, as a effect, the concluding strength is lower than the initial 1. More exactly, the Beer s Law states that strength transmitted through the medium depends on the additive fading coefficient of the stuff  µ if we consider that we are in presence of a homogenous medium and the thickness of the stuff ten harmonizing to the undermentioned look: The job with conventional radiogram is that it merely provides an incorporate value for  µ along the way of the X-ray, which means that we have a two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional anatomy. As it can be easy understood, all the constructions and variety meats at the same degree will look overlapped in the image. As a effect, some inside informations can non be perceived and some variety meats may non be wholly seen. For illustration, it is really difficult to see the kidneys in a conventional skiagraphy because the bowels appear in forepart of them. [ 15 ] , [ 16 ] , [ 11 ] Furthermore, as there are many values of ( typically one for each point of the scanned portion of the organic structure ) , it is non possible to cipher their values with one scorch step. However, if steps of the same plane by many different waies are made, all the coefficients may be calculated, and that is what CT does. As Figure 4 shows, a narrow X-ray beam that is produced by the beginning in the way of a sensor, which means that merely a narrow piece of the organic structure is imaged and the value of strength recorded by the sensor depends on all the stuff crossed by the X ray in its manner. That is the ground why it is called imaging it derives from the Greek tomos which means to cut or subdivision. Many informations of X-ray transmittal through a plane of an object ( an organ or a party of the organic structure ) from several waies are recorded and are so used to retrace the object by signal processing techniques. These techniques will be discussed subsequently in this monog raph ( Section 6 ) . The tightly collimated X-ray beam ensures that no important spread is present in order to guarantee a low signal/noise ratio ratio ( SNR ) , a necessary premiss to obtain a faithful image of the scanned object. For that ground, unlike conventional imaging, in CT, patient s constructions located outside the country that is being imaged do non interfere. [ 17 ] , [ 9 ] , [ 12 ] 5. Instrumentality The X-ray system is composed by an X-ray beginning, collimators, sensors and a data-acquisition system ( DAS ) . X-ray beginning is doubtless the most of import portion, because it is what determines the quality of the image. [ 10 ] , [ 8 ] 5.1 The X-ray beginning The footing of the X-ray beginning ( called X-ray tubing ) is to speed up a beam of negatrons between two electrodes against a metal mark and is shown in Figure 5. The cathode is a coiled wolfram fibril, which is crossed by a current which causes the fibril to heat up. At high temperatures ( 2220 A ; deg ; C ) , the wolfram releases negatrons, a procedure called thermionic emanation. A 15 to 150 kilovolts possible difference is applied between the cathode and the anode, which forces the released negatrons to speed up towards the anode. [ 10 ] When the negatrons hit the anode, they produce X raies by two ways. On the one manus, when an negatron base on ballss near the wolfram karyon, it is deflected by an attractive electric force ( because the karyon is positively charged and the negatron has a negative charge ) and loses portion of their energy as X raies. As there are an tremendous figure of possible interactions and each one leads to a partial loss of kinetic energy, the produced X raies have a great scope of energies, as Figure 5 shows. This procedure is called bremsstrahlung ( i.e. braking radiation ) . On the other manus, if an negatron from the cathode hits and penetrates an atom of the anode, it can clash with an interior negatron of it, doing the negatron to be ejected and the atom to hold a hole , which is filled by an outer negatron. The difference of adhering energy of these two negatrons is released as an X ray. This procedure is called characteristic radiation, because its energy depends on the adhering en ergy of the negatrons, which is characteristic of a given stuff. [ 10 ] , [ 9 ] , [ 15 ] The tubing current represents the figure of negatrons that pass from the cathode to the anode per unit of clip. Typical values for CT are from 200 up to 1000 ma. The possible difference between the electrodes is by and large of 120 kilovolts, which produces an energy spectrum runing from 30 to 120 keV. The tubing end product is the merchandise between the tubing current and the electromotive force between the electrodes and it is desired to hold high values because that permits a shorter scan clip, which reduces the artefacts due to motion ( such as for bosom scans ) . [ 10 ] , [ 8 ] Production of X raies in these tubings is an inefficient procedure and most of the power supplied to the tubing is converted in warming of the anode. So, a heat money changer is needed to chill the tubing. This heat money changer is placed on the revolving gauntry. Spiral CT in peculiar requires high chilling rates of the X-ray tubing and high heat storage capacity. [ 8 ] 5.2 Collimators The negatron beam released from the beginning is a spread beam, usually larger than the coveted field-of-view ( FOV ) of the image. Normally, the fan beam breadth is set for 1 to 10 millimeters ( although recent CT scanner allow submilimetric preciseness ) , with determines the breadth of the imaged piece. The collimator is placed between the beginning and the patient and is composed by lead sheets to curtail the beam merely to the needed waies. An X-ray beam larger than the FOV leads to a larger figure of X raies emitted than the 1s needed to the scan and that has two jobs: the radiation dose given to the patient is increased unnecessarily ; and the figure of Compton-scattered radiation additions. [ 10 ] , [ 8 ] 5.3 Antiscatter grids An ideal CT system merely with primary radiation ( x-rays emitted from the beginning ) making the sensor does non be and Compton spread is ever present. As this spread is indiscriminately distributed and has no utile information about the distribution of denseness of the scanned object, it merely contributes to the decrease of image contrast and should be minimized to the upper limit. This, because unlike photoelectric consequence, Compton consequence has a low contrast between tissues. As referred above, collimators are utile to restrict the X-ray beam to the FOV. However, even with a collimator, 50 % to 90 % of the radiation that reaches the sensor is secondary radiation. To cut down the Compton spread, antiscatter grids can be placed between the sensor and the patient. [ 10 ] An antiscatter grid consists of strips of sheets oriented parallel to the primary radiation way combined with a support of aluminium, which drastically reduces the spread radiation that has non the way of the primary one, as illustrated in Figure 6. In order to non take down the image quality because of the grid shadiness, the strips should be narrow. There is, nevertheless, a trade-off between the decrease of spread radiation ( that better the image contrast ) and the dosage that must be given to the patient to hold the same figure of detected X raies. [ 10 ] 5.4 Detectors At the beginning, single-slice CT scanners with merely one beginning and one sensor were used. However, these took much clip to get an image, ground why the development brought us single-source, multiple-detector machinery and multislice systems. The 3rd and 4th coevalss added a broad X-ray fan beam and a larger figure of sensors to the gauntry ( typically from 512 to 768 ) , which permitted to get more information in a smaller clip. The sensors used in CT must be extremely efficient to minimise the dosage given to the patient, have a big dynamic scope and be really stable over the clip and over temperature fluctuations inside the gauntry. Three factors contribute to overall efficiency: geometric efficiency ( fraction of the entire country of sensor that is sensitive to radiation ) , quantum efficiency ( the fraction of incident X raies that is absorbed to lend to signal ) and transition efficiency ( the ability to change over the captive X raies into electrical signal ) . These sensors can be of two types ( shown in Figure 7 ) : solid-state sensors or gas ionisation sensors. Solid-state sensors consist of an array of scintillating crystals and photodiodes, while gas ionisation sensors consist of an array of compressed gas Chamberss to which is applied a high electromotive force to garner ions produced by radiation in inside the chamber. The gas is kept under a high force per unit area, to maximise interactions between X raies and gas molecules, which produce electro-ion braces. [ 10 ] , [ 8 ] 5.5 Data-Acquisition System The familial fraction of the incident X-ray strength ( I/I0 in equation 1 ) can be every bit little as 10-4, ground why DAS must be really accurate over a great scope. The function of DAS is to get these informations and so encode it into digital values and convey these to computing machines for Reconstruction to get down. DAS make usage of many electronic constituents, such as preciseness preamplifiers, current-to-voltage convertors, parallel planimeters, multiplexers and analog-to-digital convertors. The logarithmic measure needed in equation 3 to acquire the values of  µi can be performed with an parallel logarithmic amplifier. Data transportation is a important measure to guarantee velocity to the whole procedure and used to be done by direct connexion between DAS and the computing machine. However, with the visual aspect of revolving scanners in 3rd and 4th coevalss, these transportation rate, which is every bit high as 10 Mbytes/s is now accomplished by optical senders placed on the revolving gauntry that send information to repair optical receiving systems. [ 8 ] 5.6 Computer system The information acquisition of the projections, the Reconstruction of the signal, the show of the reconstructed informations and the use of tomographic images is possible by computing machine systems used to command the hardware. Current systems consist of 12 processors which achieve 200 MFLOPS ( million floating-point operations per second ) and can retrace an image of 10241024 pels in less than 5 seconds. [ 8 ] 6. Signal Processing and Analyzing Techniques As informations are acquired in several waies ( e.g. with increases of 1 A ; deg ; or even less ) and each way is split in several distinguishable points ( e.g. 160 or more ) , at least 28 800 points are stored, which means that there must be efficient mathematical and computational techniques to analyse all this information. A square matrix stand foring a two-dimensional map of the fluctuation of X-ray soaking up with the place is so reconstructed. There are four major techniques to analyse these informations, which we will discourse later. [ 12 ] 6.1 Coincident additive equations As it was referred above ( Section 4 ) , there is a step of for each pel, which means that modern CT scanners deal with 1 048 576 points for each piece ( nowadays the matrixes used are 10241024 ) . As a consequence, to bring forth the image of one individual piece, a system of at least 1 048 576 equations must be solved ( one equation for each unknown variable ) , which means that this technique is wholly unserviceable. In fact, imagine that in 1967, Hounsfield built the first CT scanner, which took 9 yearss to get the information of a individual piece and 21 hours to calculate the equations ( and by the clip, the matrix had merely 28 000 entries ) . Besides, nowadays CT scanners get about 50 % more steps than it would be needed in order to cut down noise and artefacts, which would necessitate even more computational resources. [ 16 ] , [ 11 ] , [ 8 ] 6.2 Iterative These techniques try to cipher the concluding image by little accommodations based on the acquired steps. Three major fluctuations of this method can be found: Algebraic Reconstruction Technique ( ART ) , Coincident Iterative Reconstruction Technique ( SIRT ) and Iterative Least-Squares Technique ( ILST ) . These fluctuations differ merely in the manner corrections are made: ray-by-ray, pixel-by-pixel or the full information at the same time, severally. In ART as an illustration, informations of one angular place are divided into every bit separated elements along each beam. Then, these informations are compared with correspondent informations from another angular place and the differences between X-ray fading are added every bit to the fitting elements. Basically, for each step, the system tries to establish out how each pel value can be modified to hold with the peculiar step that is being analyzed. In order to set steps with pel values, if the amount of the entries along one way is lower than the experimental step for that way, all the pels are increased. Otherwise, if the amount of the entries is higher than the mensural fading, pels are decreased in value. By reiterating this iterative rhythm, we will increasingly diminish the mistake in pels, until we get an accurate image. ART was used in the first commercial scanner in 1972, but it is no longer used because iterative methods are normally slow. Besides, this method implies th at all informations must be acquired before the Reconstruction begins. [ 9 ] , [ 16 ] 6.3 Filtered backprojection Backprojection is a formal mathematical technique that reconstructs the image based merely on the projection of the object onto image planes in different waies. Each way is given the same weight and the overall additive fading coefficient is generated by the amount of fading in each X-ray way that intersects the object from different angular places. In a simpler mode, backprojection can be constructed by smearing each object s position back trough the image plane in the way it was registered. When this processed is finished for all the elements of the anatomic subdivision, one obtains a incorporate image of the additive fading coefficients, which is itself a rough Reconstruction of the scanned object. An illustration of this technique is represented in Figure 8. By its analysis, it is besides clear that the concluding image is blurred, which means that this technique needs a small betterment, which is given by filtered backprojection. [ 12 ] , [ 9 ] , [ 16 ] Filtered backprojection is hence used to rectify the blurring end point from simple backprojection. It consists of using a filter meat to each of the 1-Dimensional projections of the object. That is done by convoluting a deblurring map with the X-ray transmittal informations before they are projected. The filter removes from data the frequences of the X-ray responsible for most of the blurring. As we can see in Figure 8, the filter has two important effects. On the one manus, it degrees the top of the pulsation, doing the signal uniform within it. On the other manus, it negatively spikes the sides of the pulsation, so these negative vicinities will neutralize the blurring consequence. As a consequence, the image produced by this technique is consistent with the scanned object, if an infinite figure of positions and an infinite figure of points per position are acquired. [ 16 ] , [ 9 ] Compared with the two old methods this procedure has besides the advantage that Reconstruction can get down at the same clip that informations are being acquired and that is one of the grounds why it is one of the most popular methods presents. [ 9 ] 6.4 Fourier Reconstruction The last signal processing technique that will be discussed in this monograph is the Fourier Reconstruction which consists of analysing informations in the frequence sphere alternatively of the spacial sphere. For this, one takes each angular orientation of the X-ray fading form and decomposes it on its frequence constituents. In the frequence sphere, the scanned image is seen as a two-dimensional grid, over which we place a dark line for the spectrum of each position, as Figure 9 shows. To retrace the image, one has to take the 1-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform ( FFT ) . Then, harmonizing to the Fourier Slice Theorem, each position s spectrum is indistinguishable to the values of one line ( piece ) through the image spectrum, guaranting that, in the grid, each position has the same angle that was originally acquired. Finally, the reverse FFT of the image spectrum is used to accomplish a Reconstruction of the scanned object. 7. Datas Display As it was said earlier ( Section 6 ) , additive fading coefficients give us a rough image of the object. In fact, they can be expressed in dB/cm, but as they are dependent on the incident radiation energy, CT scanning does non utilize the fading coefficients to stand for the image, but alternatively it uses integer Numberss called CT Numberss. These are on occasion, but on the side, called Hounsfield units and have the undermentioned relation with the additive fading coefficients: where  µ is the additive fading coefficient of each pel and  µw is the additive fading coefficient of H2O. This CT figure depends clearly on the medium. For human applications, we may see that CT figure varies from -1000 for air and 1000 for bone, with CT figure of 0 for H2O, as it is easy seen from equation 5. [ 9 ] , [ 13 ] , [ 4 ] , [ 12 ] The CT Numberss of the scanned object are so presented on the proctor as a gray graduated table. As shown in Figure 10, CT Numberss have a big scope and as human oculus can non separate so many types of greies, it is normally used a window to demo a smaller scope of CT Numberss, depending on what it is desired to see. The Window Width ( WW ) identifies the scope of CT Numberss and accordingly alters the contrast ( as Figures 11 and 12 show ) , whereas Window Level ( W