Peak Book Essay

In the novel â€Å"Peak† written by Roland Smith are conveyed the important of themes adventure, friends and family and betrayal. The novel â€Å"Peak† is a story about a young boy who began climbing and tagging, but this all changes when he is caught and is sent to juvenile detention. But when he gets to choose his sentence to either go to Thailand with this real father or stay in jail, his life changes. Firstly one of the important themes in the novel is friends and family. Friendship and family plays a very important part in the story. Peak finds and makes many friends while traveling to Thailand and also climbing the mountains with his real dad Josh, The family back home in America also played a important theme in the text and peak soon finds out that his mum, step dad and two sisters really do care about him, This is shown in the book from ‘Rolf’s letter’ when Peak finally realized that Rolf cared about him and his family. This is shown through â€Å"you don’t get to pick your name or your parents† changed peaks thoughts on family because he knew that they care about him and love him forever and always. The Friendship and family theme plays a major part in the book by allowing the characters to feel accepted loved and form friendships forever. The novel Peak focuses on the theme of betrayal throughout the book. When Peak finally realised that his real dad was using him for his climbing business to promote it because peak was over the news and popular in the climbing world. Through this experience of betrayal Peak realised whom he really loved. Again â€Å"you don’t get to pick your name or your parents† relates to this moment in the story. Betrayal is a major theme in the novel through Peaks dad josh not loving him and using him to promote his climbing business â€Å"Peak experience†. Finally peak plays a big part of one of the themes adventure all through out the book. The theme adventure is focused on a lot through the novel. The theme adventure is shown when Peak started to climb the skyscraper and began tagging buildings. Peak’s adventure had a disadvantage when he is caught tagging a skyscraper. The theme of adventure is shown when peak travels and goes on adventures to climb the ice mountains. Adventure is an important aspect of this book and is shown is the text in many different ways but mainly touring and climbing. Overall the book â€Å"Peak† is a story with major themes involved that are important in the novel â€Å"Peak† because it brings the readers interest, understanding and many  thoughts going thoughts there head. In audition friends and family relate to being an important theme because it creates a good feeling all the way throughout the book but also allows sadness through the story line. Betrayal is also a very important theme because it addresses conflict and disagreement. Adventure in the novel is also shown all the way through the book; this shows courage, bravery and a very creative and fun Character.

Ban the School Uniform!

School Uniform. Who actually likes school uniform? Nobody. Nobody in their right mind wants to wear exactly the same clothes that hundreds of people are wearing at the same time, in the same place. Why do people wear school uniform? Because they have to. There is no law saying people have to wear school uniform, so who says you have to? Governors, head-teachers, your parents? They all say â€Å"wear your school uniform† And why? Because they were told to wear uniforms when they were at school. It's not because they like school uniform, or that they think it makes you look smart like they always tell you- it's because they want revenge. That's all. They just want to get their own back on their governors, their head-teachers, their parents. They just can't get over the way they were treated at school, the fact that they were made to wear school uniform. On average 90% of Britain's school children are FORCED to wear a school uniform. 90%. And this number is always increasing. Think how many people that is. Hundreds, thousands, millions of kids walking about dressed exactly the same, like identical robots. Also think how much time is wasted on the uniform. Going out and buying it. Time wasted by you getting dressed into the uniform with a thousand layers-the kind of layers that keeps you roasting in summer and does bugger all in the winter-, time wasted by parents washing the uniform and ironing it continuously. Don't forget the uniform has to be worn 5 days a week, so it's not just a case of wash it Saturday, iron it for Monday†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it's more like wash it Tuesday, iron it Tuesday, wash it again Thursday, iron it Thursday and then wash it for Monday again on Saturday. It's a never ending cycle. Not only that, teacher's time is being wasted by having to CHECK that you wearing the goddamn thing. â€Å"Why haven't you got your tie on?† – The tie you can't even see â€Å"Why have you got your trainers on?† – What difference does it make what shoes you wear? Expensive time is being wasted on this pointless matter: time which could cost your child those marks to get a better exam level. Uniform are restrictive, and in a recent survey 99% of people feel uncomfortable in their uniform. This causes them to fidget and lose their concentration. Concentration which is already at a low level. Nothing bad can come out of banning school uniform. Nothing. People will argue that too much pressure will be put on parents to buy designer clothes for their children, but I disagree. Clothes that people own now would be worn and there was no pressure on buying these so there should be no pressure to buy new clothes. Pressure is already on parents to buy the school uniform so this is a pointless point. We have to ban the school uniform for people's individuality. If we don't people will dress exactly the same all their lives, until we become one world of uniform wearing, identical robots. It's been said that somewhere in the world there is someone who looks EXACTLY like you. Imagine if there were a billion people look exactly like you? So people, join me in saying â€Å"Ban the uniform, ban it now before it is too late!† In my speech I used: * Clusters of 3 * Repetition * Use of statistics * Addressing the reader * Repetition of powerful phrases * Point of the disadvantages of not agreeing * Rhetorical questions * Alliteration * Short, sharp sentences * Ending with the main slogan

Different Generations Speak Different Languages Essay

Different generations in the same country speak different â€Å"languages†? Sounds impossible, but it is indeed the case. Consider situations in which your mother does not understand what you say to your classmates, situations in which you cannot figure out what your mother refers by a simple abbreviation and situations in which your father cannot reflect your undertone of some words. Different generations speak different â€Å"languages†, causing conflicts and misunderstandings. According to the passage â€Å"What can words do and cannot do†, words have denotative meanings and connotation meanings. Denotative meanings are meanings defined by the dictionary, which cause little misunderstandings. On the other hand, connotative meanings are associated with personal experiences and are likely to cause conflicts. But in the context of communication between different generations, there are both likely to evoke misunderstandings. Some connotative meanings of words are so widely recognized by a certain generation or group of people, that they consider these meanings as denotative meanings. But these meanings are unknown to other groups and are not included in the dictionary. The word, â€Å"net†, for example, may mean â€Å"a trap made of netting to catch fish or birds or insects† in your grandfather’s dictionary but means â€Å"a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange† when you talk to your friends meet on the â€Å"net†. From this aspect, language of different generations do differ in the conception of words. Different generations may be confused by denotative meanings, not to mention by connotative meanings. â€Å"The connotative meaning of a word is the associations and overtones people bring to it. †¦When we hear a word, the thoughts and feelings we have about that word and about the person using it determine what that word ultimately means to us. † (â€Å"What can words do and cannot do†,Weaver, Understanding Interpersonal Communication, pp. 230-333 ) Consider the word â€Å"news† perceived by different generations. Your grandfather may reflect news as titles in printed newspaper or radio messages while your father form in his head the television correspondent and you, a teenager thinks of web-sites. These difference in language is brought by the development of social and technology. Words and phrases have their life cycle, there are times when certain words and expressions thrive and time when they die. It is not uncommon that older generations tend to use words, phrases and expressions that are seldom used by younger generation. Moreover, young people have the tendency to make expressions short. For example, instead of saying â€Å"good morning†, they say â€Å"morning†, instead of â€Å"lots of laughs†, they type â€Å"LOL† and so on. So next time when talking to your grandmother, use less abbreviations. Difference languages spoken by different generations giving rise to unavoidable misunderstanding, so bearing in mind that different person has varied perception of words and may not understand what you mean. Don’t be bothered to interpret in detail what you mean to be fully understood by other generations.

Problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Problem question - Essay Example Donoghue became ill after consuming a drink which contained a decomposed snail. The House of Lords found that she did have a valid claim against the manufacturer of the drink. A three-step criterion later emerged, which was solidified in the case of Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman.5 A duty between defendant and claimant exists in the presence of a reasonable forseeability of harm, a relationship of proximity between defendant and claimant, and it being just, fair and reasonable to impose liability on the defendant for his careless actions.6 In the present matter, the police were at the festival in order to provide security and crowd control. Based on the number of people in the park, a reasonable forseeability of harm did exist. The facts state that the amount of people in the park threatened to become a safety hazard. A relationship of proximity existed between the police and everybody at the festival, since their job was to provide security at the festival. ... each of duty occurred.7 The test asks whether the actions of the defendant were below the threshold of a â€Å"reasonable man†.8 Defendant must perform his job as a reasonably skilled and competent person.9 On the night of the festival, in an effort to control the crowd, the police erected barriers and cordoned off the area of the park where the band was playing. By doing so, they had not lessened the number of people, but had virtually trapped the people that were there. A â€Å"reasonable man† would not trap a crowd of people when there was already a concern about the number of people in the area. Instead, perhaps dispersing the crowd or refusing entrance to additional people would seem better alternatives. Simple causation is established if â€Å"but for† the actions of the defendant the harm would have occurred.10 The case of McGhee v National Coal Board is usually followed when determining causation.11 With regard to the Jigger matter, since the police had t rapped the people around the stage area, they had no means of escape when the crowd panicked. The surging crowd was also trying to escape, crushing anybody in their path, causing Mike Jigger and Uncle Lewis’ injuries. Finally, the fourth element of negligence is the injury cannot be very remote from the breach that occurred. In the present matter, the claimants’ injuries occurred almost immediately after the breach. Therefore, this element of negligence is satisfied. Based on a review of the facts, it appears that Mike Jigger and Uncle Lewis can establish a claim against the police for negligence. None of the three main defenses to negligence liability appear to be available to the police in this matter. Volenti non fit injuria is a Latin phrase meaning â€Å"to the willing, no injury is done.† This defense

Thomas Stonewall Jackson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thomas Stonewall Jackson - Essay Example While he did not excel, he worked hard to complete his training and successfully graduated in 1846. His final grade placed him 17th among his class of 59 students, (Cooke, 1866) an indication of the potential that he was later to unlock. Following his graduation, Jackson transferred to Mexico where he received military training and served for five years. Within this time the Mexican war broke out, and he earned two brevets for his role in the war. In February 1852, he resigned from his designation in Army and accepted professorship at Virginia Military Institute. Soon he was recognized as a professor of artillery tactics and natural philosophy at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. He had a significant role in the Civil War, commanding the confederation army, and fought in a number of important battles such as the battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson lost an arm as a consequence of this battle, and while he survived the amputation, complications brought on by pneumonia meant tha t he died eight days later. Thomas Jackson married twice in his life, first to Elinor Junkin and later to Mary Anna Morrison. He married Elinor Junkin in 1853 but she didn’t survive after giving a stillbirth and died due to postpartum hemorrhage on October 22, 1854, after just one year of marriage. Thomas Jackson married again in 1857 with Mary Anna and had two daughters, of these one survived, she was named Julia Laura. MILITARY CAREER Jackson is considered by many Military Historians to be the ‘most blessed’ tactical commander. He started his military career as a Second Lieutenant in United States Army in the artillery regiment. Due to his excellent commanding personality and strong decisive powers, he was sent on Mexican War for two years where he served at different battles like Chapultepec, Contreras and Mexico City. As a consequence of the battles he fought and his determination he earned two brevets and was promoted as First Lieutenant. During war in Mexic o, he met Robert Lee for the first time, this relationship would prove to be highly influential (Doak, 2005). One of Jackson’s key leadership traits was the ability to show strong decisive power, choosing a course and sticking to it, despite opposition. An example of this was during the battle at Chapultepec, where Jackson refused to obey orders which he considered to be wrong. He later argued that his denial was justified, as he considered the withdrawal of the army would do more harm than good under the circumstances surrounding that battle. However, he learned later in his career to follow instructions of those senior to him even when he knew that the decisions that they made were incorrect. It was this aggressive attitude that earned him his second brevet, and his subsequent promotion to Major. He was the only army officer to receive two promotions during the three year Mexico War. Jackson was complimented with a nickname†Stonewall† during first battle of Bull Run. Jackson resigned from his army service in February 1852 to follow up with his professorship. JACKSON AS A PROFESSOR After retiring from the Army, Jackson accepted a new career as a professor at Virginia Military Institute and taught Experimental Philosophy and was an Instructor of Artillery. The ideas and theories that he presented were unusual and many are still in use today. Many of his concepts are considered to be military

Part (a) Outline the argument that there is increasing uncertainty Essay

Part (a) Outline the argument that there is increasing uncertainty about identity in contemporary society. Part (b) How much control do we have in shaping our o - Essay Example This helps to send signals to others how we want to be seen as. A document like a passport signifies that you belong to a particular nation, even though the physical appearance may have changed over a period of years. Identities are formed depending upon how I see me and how others see me. Identities are the product of the society in which we live and how we relate to others. Conflicting and multiple identities also develop when the same person exhibits different characteristics or attributes as a parent, husband, or an employee at different times, in different situations. There is also a connection between how I want to be and the influences, pressures, and oppurtunities around that affect me. Conflicting identity can also arise when how I see myself differs from how others see me. The organization of society is important in shaping our identity. Louis Althusser emphasizes that interpellation links the individual to the social. Interpellation is a process in which the people recognize themselves in a particular identity, for instance, people identify themselves as ‘that’ when they see a particular advertisement. Social scientists relate work based identities to class. A class is a group of people who share common interest, experiences, and lifestyles. Different economic systems create different social groups, which involves some degree of inequality. The unequal distribution of materials creates different social class. Gender relations are another source of inequality. Men are considered the breadwinner and women’s identity is merely an extension of their role as wives, homemakers, and mothers. Hence, distribution of work between men and women also carries these marks and identities. Young children need to know whether they are boy or girl. Gender identity is constructed not just through the biological body but also through the social and cultural classification system. Social class provides a sense of belonging and

The Development Information Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

The Development Information Security - Essay Example There are many well-known security standards available, for instance, ISO, NIST, and COBAT. However, most of the Security Frameworks stress more on compliance requirements and controls rather than effectiveness. Standards, procedures and practices provided to larger organization easily swamp the SMEs. Due to lack of resources, SMEs often spend minimum amount on security and scarcely utilize their resources to apply hundreds of good practices provided by security standards and frameworks. Furthermore, SMEs do not adapt to all the ISO security standards rather they define their own strategies in order to meet their specific security goals. It indicates the importance of providing SMEs a security framework that facilitates the task of identifying and applying security measures in accordance with their own needs and requirements. Therefore, we need to go back to square one and design a more suitable portfolio of solutions in order to cater a broader set of organizations and circumstances . There is no single industry security standard that provides all the answers. However, a good industry standard does provide a widely accepted and proven framework. It not only defines a particular security program in order to provide a foundation for security system but also satisfies particular needs of the organization. Such framework is derived from the development of a prioritized set of objectives and practices as suggested by literature and standards provided by ISO standards. This security framework provides steps to establish best suited Information Security Management System (ISMS) for SMEs. These ISMS are based on ISO standards which enable SMEs to see the value of security outside of technical constraints and regulatory compliance. Moreover, it helps SMEs to incorporate security  practices, controls and procedures to align business requirements with IT security requirements. Moreover, it provides support for effective use of technology, central management, adaptabilit y, flexibility, performance, interoperability and compliance on the forefront.

An Introduction to STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE ROLES OF THE GENERAL Essay

An Introduction to STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE ROLES OF THE GENERAL MANAGER - Essay Example Strategic management takes account of the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations and prepares itself best in competitive arena by minimizing weaknesses and maximizing strengths. The human resource of the company is structured and inspired to achieve the objectives of the company. The role of the General Manager is that of a leader of human resources who guides and allocates the usage of other resources. Thus the role of the General Manager assumes critical importance in implementing the company’s objectives across various functional departments, and integrating the workforce to achieve the stated goals of the company by reining wayward behaviour and ‘self-direction’ to ‘shared beliefs’. This is achieved through development of communication channels, smooth flow of information across company’s structures, conflict resolution, and provision of creative latitude and development of a sound organizational culture. The General Manager keeps th e Board and the CEO informed about the progress and performance of the company. He/she is the vital link in vertical and horizontal communication amongst company’s stakeholders. Due to its strategic importance, sometimes the job of General Manager becomes extremely stressful. We are dedicated to development of innovative Information Technology solutions. Our products meet the customer expectations and provide quality products that give maximum value for money. We are committed to create ever higher levels of customer satisfaction in order to have a sustained competitive advantage in the market. We achieve this by putting in our best efforts in a creative environment; where our work is a pleasurable activity that gives us a tremendous sense of fulfilment. We are a well-knitted team of exemplary and dignified individuals. Meeting ever higher levels of customer satisfaction: The road to perfection is an unending journey. Our customers seek better and better and products. We focus on innovation and quality to

Find 2 peer reviewed articles that discuss hospital acquired Essay

Find 2 peer reviewed articles that discuss hospital acquired infections as a patient care problem that effects the financial man - Essay Example Such infections can also grow after the patient leaves the hospital, provided the patient spends time in incubation period at the time of discharge. Hygiene plays a crucial role in defeating HAIs and hand washing is the most effective tool in preventing them. According to a study a hospital audit revealed only 27% compliance of correct hand washing guidelines among nurses and 29% among physicians. If this situation can be improved there can be significant success in preventing HAIs. Analysis of the nurse’s role in relationship to this problem The role of nurses is as important as the doctors. Other than providing facilities for better hygiene in nurses educating them is such an important tool that it can hardly be ignored. The study reveals that through staff education and support in a hospital, hand hygiene compliance monitored in nurses increased from 48% to 64%. The same measurement was even more prominent in doctors as it showed an increase from 0% to 30%. The recommendati on given fits perfectly well with the frame of study. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care should in work in conjunction with Local Health Integration Networks and make hand washing and hygiene compliance a part of its public reporting requirements. ... It is also recommended that Ministries educational materials should be developed specifically for nurses by keeping in mind their problems and priorities. Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections By Lorri Downs Audience: Common People Summary Prevention of Hospital Acquired Infections or HAIs still remains one of the most crucial issues in healthcare facilities. It is statistically proven that almost every health care facility is aware of the fact 40% of all HAIs are urinary tract infections. The problem itself has been discussed frequently but its evidence based solutions are rarely discussed. The CMS reimbursement changes did highlight the issue. Health care professionals dealt with the mandate that they either eliminate certain HAIs or lose Medicare reimbursement dollars. Hand hygiene is the most effective method for preventing HAI however, there still isn’t 100% compliance worldwide. On average, the compliance is only around 40%. The biggest constraint that doctors and nurs es reportedly face is time and for this reason, they don’t perform correct antisepsis. The constraint is evident when nurses use soap and water to clean their hands. Time can be considerably reduced by using alcohol based hand washing solutions. A concentration of 80 percent ethyl alcohol or 75% isopropanol highly effective in hygiene and saves a lot of time compared with soap and water. With the hand sanitization solution provided the other contribution in regards with HAI is CAUTI infection. According to the study, in 30% to 50% of the patients that were inserted with a catheter tube, it was found that the catheter infection was not medically indicated. Hence caregivers should ask twice before recommending a catheter and more importantly the time for its

Identify the key characteristics of the health care services external Essay

Identify the key characteristics of the health care services external environment and discuss their implications for for the pro - Essay Example Whereby, external environment may involve analyzing Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats that may affect provision of health care service (SWOT analysis). On the other hand, internal environment of a health care service may involve determining hospital clients, competitors, stakeholders/collaborators as well as climate which an organization is operating in (Muller, Bezuidenhout and Jooste, 2006). External factor may include; a social, religious believes, occupation and education level may affect provision of health care services (Hitchcock, Schubert and Thomas, 2003). In addition, health campaigns via the social media may influence people behaviours towards health services. For example; health mass media may sensitize and encourage people on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This in turn may have a significant impact on provision of health services (Moseley, 2009). Economic factors may further affect provision of health services. For example, the d iscrepancies in people levels of income may determine the accessibility of health services. Whereby, poor people may not be in a position to afford quality health services unlike the affluent. Additionally, laws and regulations may affect provision of health services because organization must observe established health standards. Hospitals and health organizations must protect the environment and ensure that people take medical insurance cover. On the contrary, internal factors may involves people believes and their core values with respect to the provision of health care services. Connectively, internal factors may further involve the level of knowledge among the people. This may significantly impact provision of health services because people with higher level of knowledge are likely to seek health services than the less knowledgeable members of the society (Muller, Bezuidenhout and Jooste, 2006). Key characteristics of the health care services external and Internal Health Care En vironment External Health Care Environment The United Kingdom health care service contains the following characteristic; population size, mandate, accountability, funding and managing performance. Population characteristic entails actions undertaken by various bodies such as strategic health authority which is responsible for a population of 2.6-7.5 million people. In addition, the primary care trust was responsible for a population of more than ninety thousand people. On the other hand, the public care trust collaborated with local authorities in provision of health. In addition the general practice and foundation trust were also involved in health population (The Change Foundation’s, 2009). Mandate involves the duties and responsibilities that system managers, commissioners and General practice should execute. For instance, system managers should not only make health plans but they should also monitor the progress of both National Health Service and Primary Care Trust. On t he contrary, health care commissioners have a duty of developing local health strategies as well as monitoring and integrating social and health services. In addition, general practice (GP) such as nurses, pharmacist therapist, opticians and dentist they have a both clinical and managerial responsibility (The Change Foundation’s, 2009). In above connection, Secretary of state for health and department of health should be accountable in quality of health and ensure close monitoring of both National

Knowledge Management Foundations of IT Systems SLP Research Paper

Knowledge Management Foundations of IT Systems SLP - Research Paper Example SAP stands for Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing and was founded in 1972 and it is the biggest provider of business applications. The applications offered by SAP crystal solutions are used by organizations and businesses in analysing, interpreting and presenting information. The process of creating new information in organizations is made easy by using the applications offered by SAP solutions. Bogorad (2010) states that data are discrete facts about objects and events which are necessary in the business system but have little significance on their own. There is need for the data to be interpreted and analysed and the SAP tools can be used in organizing the data to enable easier analysis and interpretation. After the data is organized with a specific purpose in mind it becomes information and this is used to make decisions. The SAP tools organize data into useful information. The SAP crystal reports software is an application that is used to design reports which a re interactive and connects them to virtually any data type (SAP crystal reports, para.1).This is a useful tool as it can help the employees to recognise patterns and be able to make accurate decisions based on accurate predictions from the reports.

Business Studies Customer Needs Essay Essay Example for Free

Business Studies Customer Needs Essay Essay ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd ’provide floor covering and high quality carpets all over the UK. The services that it provides are: * free estimating, * free carpet removal, * a quality fitting to your standard * a free car park adjacent to the shop. * Competition? ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ has quite a bit of competition. It is placed close to the ‘Spindles Shopping Centre’. Also there is another carpet shop quite close by to ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ called ‘Roll Ends’. But ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ is placed just off a high street and advertises around the country. Also, just about a mile away is another carpet shop, placed in the middle of a retail park. This could offer some competition for ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’. This is an image of the carpet right about a mile away from ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’.’Carpet Right’ is surrounded by other shops and is placed in a retail park. This is a bonus for customers to go to ‘Carpet Right’ because there are other furniture/carpet shops in the retail park and a there is a bigger car park. ‘Carpet Right’ is also placed around a busy motorway, so this means that many people passing will know that there is a carpet shop and probably go there in the future. * Where is it? This map shows ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ symbolised by the ‘A’ marker. This shows the regional area around the shop. As you can see, the shop is near to Manchester and has an excellent motorway link which can enable customers to travel to the shop conveniently. The satellite map above shows ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ via the green circle. It also shows ‘Spindles Shopping Centre’ by the red circle. The blue circle shows ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ competition ‘Roll End Carpets’. The map also shows the surrounding area of the shop and the local businesses of the shop. There are also a number of bus stops around the shop; this allows customers to travel to the business easily. There is also a tram link currently being made on ‘Union Street’ and this will then enable customers to travel to the shop easily and quickly. * The shop The picture above shows the front of the shop. As you can see the name of the business is clearly displayed all the way round it. This picture shows the inside of the shop. As you can see there are many rolls of carpets on display so the customers can experience the carpets before they buy it. This picture shows the rear of the shop. As you can see there is a car park for the customers. * The website This is a screen shot of the Google search I did to see how easy it was to find my business on the internet. As you can see it is the fifth business to come up on the search engine so it is very easy for the customers to find it. Here is a screenshot of the home page of ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’. You can see easily one of the types of carpets that they fit and in the bottom right hand corner their shop (the red circle). At the top of the page it shows the tabs which direct customers easily to the relevant section (the green circle). One way that ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ meets its customer need is by training its staff. They do this so that the staff know how to do their job and deal with any customers. Training them helps the staff to know how to deal with any problems in the business and what to do in different situations. Training the staff also gives them better knowledge of the product itself so that they can advise customers as to what carpet would suit their budget and requirements the best. A second way that ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ meets customer needs is by the quality of their service. They have to do this to eliminate and exceed whatever their competition is doing. A way that they do this is by giving its customers: free estimating, free carpet removal, a quality fitting to your standard and a free car park adjacent to the shop. By doing this ‘Lees Heginbotham’ can add this to and advertisement and this will increase customer satisfaction. A third way that ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ meets customer needs is by dealing with any complaints from customers. If there are any customer complaints ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ will have to deal with it immediately. ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ will have to be polite with the customer even if they are not. If ‘Lees Heginbotham Sons Ltd’ deal with a customer complaint quickly this might increase customer satisfaction.

Effects of Foreign Direct Investment

Effects of Foreign Direct Investment The removal of cross-border restrictions on international capital flows and the trend toward an integrated world economy has been a substantial progress over recent two decades. Hence, it has increased the growth of foreign direct investment(FDI) activity. Madura and Fox (2007) define foreign direct investment (FDI) as the investment in real assets (such as land, buildings, or even existing plants) in foreign countries. They also find that multinational corporations(MNCs) commonly capitalize on foreign business opportunities by engaging in FDI. They engage in joint ventures with foreign firms, acquire foreign firms, and form new foreign subsidiaries. These types of FDI can generate high returns when managed properly. A substantial investment is required, and thus can increase the risk at capital. It may be difficult for multinational corporation to sell the foreign project when the investment does not perform well as expected. In order to maximize the corporations value, it is significant for MNCs to understand the potential return and risk of FDI and analyze the potential benefits and costs before making investment decisions. 2.1.2 Motives for FDI The reason why firms locate production oversea rather than exporting from the home country or licensing production in the hose country, and the reason why firms seek to extend corporate control oversea by forming multinational corporations have been developed by many scholars. Kindleberger(1969) and Hymer(1976), emphasize various market imperfections in product, factor, and capital markets as the key motivating forces to accelerate FDI. Eun and Resnick (2004) explore some key factors that are important for corporations making decisions to invest oversea. These factors include trade barriers, imperfect labor market, intangible assets, vertical integration, product life cycle and shareholder diversification services. Dunning (1993) interpret four different types of motives for foreign direct investment: resource seeking, market seeking, efficiency seeking, and strategic asset (or capability )seeking. The first motive means that MNCs acquire some particular resources which may mainly cnsist of primary products at a lower cost in the host country than at home. The second motive depends on the expectation of new sales opportunities from the opening of markets where MNCs had no access at before. The third one refers to utilizing the specific comparative advantages of a host economy. The last one is related with long-term strategic considerations such as gaining an significant stake in the market in the long run. To be more specific, Madura and Fox (2007) indicate that MNCs engage in foreign direct investment widely because it can improve profitability and enhance shareholder wealth. In most cases, MNCs utilize FDI to boost revenues, reduce costs, or both. Revenue-related motives include attract new source of demand, enter profitable markets, exploit monopolistic advantages, react to trade restrictions and diversify internationally. Cost-related motives involve fully benefit from economies of scale, use foreign factors, use foreign raw materials, use foreign technology and react to exchange rate movements. 2.1.3 Benefits of FDI It seems unwise to conclude that both forms of geographic diversification are likely to be equally profitable or unprofitable. Errunza and Senbet (1981, 1984) find evidence to support a positive relation between excess firm value and the firms extent of international diversity by using multinational firms only. Focusing on international acquisitions, Doukas and Travlos (1988) and Doukas (1995) document that US bidders gain from industrial and international diversification. Similarly, Morck and Yeung (1991, 2001) find a positive relation between international diversification and firm value. However, they show that industrial diversification and international diversification add or destroy value in the presence or absence of intangible assets. Their findings support the view that the synergistic benefits of international diversification stem from the information-based assets of the firm. Christophe and Pfeiffer (1998) and Click and Harrison (2000) find that multinational firms trade at a discount relative to domestic firms. More recently Denis, Denis and Yost (2002), using the Berger and Ofek (1995) excess value measure and aggregate data, show that global diversification reduces shareholder value by 18%, whereas industrial diversification results in 20% shareholder loss. In contrast, Bodnar, Tang and Weintrop (1999), relying on a similar valuation measure, find share-holder value to increase with global diversification. Doukas and Lang (2003) take firms which made foreign new plant announcements during the period 1980 1992 as a sample, regardless of the industrial structure of the firm, they interpret that unrelated foreign direct investments are associated with negative announcement effects and long-term performance decreases in subsequent years, whereas related investments are associated with positive short-term and long-term performance. Although their findings indicate that both specialized and diversified firms benefit from core-business-related rather than non-core-business-related foreign direct investments, the gains are larger for diversified firms. They conclude that geographic expansion of the firms core business itself is beneficial to shareholder value. In contrast, they find that geographic expansion of the firms peripheral (non-core) business harms firm value and performance. Hence the evidence indicates that the internalization theory is more consistent with the international expans ion of the core rather than the non-core business of the firm. That is, the positive synergies from global diversification are rooted in the firms core competencies. Theories of foreign direct investment (FDI) agree on at least one major point: foreign firms mush have inherent advantages that allow them to overcome the higher costs of becoming a multinational (Hymer, 1976) These advantages may be tangible, such as an improved production process or a product innovation. They also may be intangible, such as brand names, better management structures or the technical knowledge of employees. Girma, Greenaway and Wakelin (2001) conclude that foreign firms do have higher productivity than domestic firms and they pay higher wages in the UK after their investigation. They do not find aggregate evidence of intra-industry spillovers. However, firms with low productivity relate to the sector average, in low-skill low foreign competition sectors gain less from foreign firms. FDI brings two main benefits to the host country. First, it introduces new production facilities into the domestic economy directly, or may rescue failing firms in the case of acquisition, raising overall output, employment and exports. Second, domestic governments hope that foreign firms will be unable to internalise their advantages fully, and local firms can benefit through spillover. 2.1.4 Effects of FDI Borensztein, Gregorio and Lee (1998) test the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in a cross-country regression framework by utilizing data on FDI flows from industrial countries to 69 developing countries over the last two decades. The results suggest that FDI is significant for transfer technology, and contribute more to growth than domestic investment. Moreover, they find that the contribution of FDI to economic growth is improved by its interaction with the level of human capital in the host country. However, the empirical results imply that FDI is more productive than domestic investment only when the host country has a minimum threshold stock of human capital. Thus, FDI contributes to economic growth only when a sufficient absorptive capability of the advanced technologies is available in the host economy. Investigating the effect of FDI on domestic investment, they find that the inflow of foreign capital à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"crowds in domestic investment rather than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"crowds out. FDI support the expansion of domestic firms by complementarity in production or by increasing productivity through the spillover of advanced technology. A one-dollar increase in the net inflow of FDI is associated with an increase in total investment in the host economy of more than one dollar, but do not appear to be very robust. Thus, it appears that the main channel through which FDI contributes to economic growth is by stimulating technological progress, rather than by increasing total capital accumulation in the host economy. Markusen and Venables (1999) develops an analytical framework to assess the effects how an FDI project affect local firms in the same industry. There are two forces for the effect of entry of a multinational firm on the domestic industry. One is a competition effect, under which multinationals displace domestic final-goods producers, and the other is a linkage effect back to intermediate-goods producers, creating complementarities which could benefit domestic final-goods producers. They explore the determinants of the relative strengths of these effects. In circumstances of initial equilibrium with no local production, multinational entry can push the economy over to an equilibrium with local production in both the intermediate and final-goods industries, with a resulting welfare improvement. They then pay attention to endogenise the entry decision of multinational firms. It may now also be the case that multinationals provide the initial impetus for industrialisation, but the developed local industry creates sufficiently intense competition to eventually drive the multinationals out of the market. Hobday (1995) finds initial multinational investments in developing East Asia created backward linkage effects to local suppliers in a large number of situations. There are some examples such as computer keyboards, personal computers, sewing machines, athletic shoes, and bicycles in Taiwan. 2.2 Cost of capital and capital structure Many major firms through the world have begun to internationalize their capital structure by raising funds from foreign as well as domestic sources. As a result, these corporations become multinational not only in the scope of their business activities but also in their capital structure. This trend reflects not only a conscious effort on the part of firms to lower the cost of capital by international sourcing of funds but also the ongoing liberalization and deregulation of international financial markets. If international financial markets were completely integrated, it would not matter whether firms raised capital from domestic or foreign sources because the cost of capital would be equalized across countries. On the other hand, some markets are less than fully integrated, firms may be able to create value for their shareholders by issuing securities in foreign as well as domestic markets. Cross-listing of a firms shares on foreign stock exchanges is one way a firm operating in a segmented capital market can lessen the negative effects of segmentation and also internationalize the firms capital structure. For example, IBM, Sony, and British Petroleum are simultaneously listed and traded on the New York, London, and Tokyo stock exchanges. By internationalizing its corporate ownership structure, a firm can generally increase its shares price and lower its cost of capital. 2.2.1 Definition of cost of capital Eun and Resnick define the cost of capital as the minimum rate of return an investment project must generate in order to pay its financing costs. If the return on an investment project is equal to the cost of capital, under taking the project will leave the firms value unaffected. When a firm identifies and undertakes an investment project that generate a return exceeding its cost of capital, the firms value will increase. It is significant for a value-maximizing firm to try to lower its cost of capital. Madura and Fox (2007) explain that a firms weighted average cost of capital (referred to as Kc ) can be measured as: Kc = [D/(D+E )] * Kd * ( 1-t ) + [E / (D+E)] * Ke Where: D = market value of firms debt Kd = the before-tax cost of its debt t = the corporate tax rate E = the firms equity at market value Ke = the cost of financing with equity The ratios reflect the percentage of capital represented by debt and equity, respectively. In total the cost f capital, Kc is the average cost of all providers of finance to the firms. A multinational company finances its operations by using a mixture of fixed interest borrowing and equity financing that can minimize the overall cost of capital (the weighted average of its interest rate and dividend payment). By minimizing the cost of capital used to finance a given size and risk of operations ,financial managers can maximize the value of the company and therefore maximize shareholder wealth. According to the different size of firm, international diversification, exposure to exchange rate risk, access to international capital markets and exposure to country risk, the cost of capital for MNCs may different from that for domestic firms. 2.2.2 Costs of capital across countries Madura and Fox (2007) interpret that the reason why cost of capital is different among countries is relevant for three reasons. First, MNCs based in some countries may have more competitive advantages than others not only for the different technology and resources across countries, but also the cost of capital. MNCs in some countries will have a larger set of feasible projects with positive net present value because of the lower cost of capital, hence these MNCs can increase their world market share more easily. MNCs operating in countries with a higher cost of capital will be forced to decline projects. Second, MNCs may be able to adjust their international operations and sources of funds to capitalize on differences in the cost of capital among countries. Third, the different component as debt and equity in the cost capital can explain why MNCs based in some countries tend to use a more debt-intensive capital structure than others. To estimate an overall cost of capital for an MNCs, it needs to combine the costs of debt and equity, and weight the relative proportions of debt and equity. The cost of debt to a firm is primarily determined by the risk-free interest rate in the currency borrowed and the risk premium required by creditors. Risk-free interest rate is determined by the interaction of the supply and demand for funds. Factors include tax laws, demographics, monetary policies and economic conditions can influence the supply and demand then affect the risk-free rate. The risk premium on debt can vary among countries because of the different economic conditions, relations between corporations and creditors, government intervention, and degree of financial leverage. In addition, a firms cost of equity represents an opportunity cost what shareholders could earn on investments with similar risk if the equity funds were distributed to them. This return on equity can be measured as a risk-free interest rate th at could have been earned by shareholders, plus a premium to reflect the risk of the firm. According to the different economic environments, the risk premium and the cost of equity will vary among countries. 2.2.3 MNCs capital structure decision Madura and Fox.(2007) indicate that an MNCs capital structure decision includes the choice of debt versus equity financing within all of its subsidiaries, hence the overall capital structure is combined of all subsidiaries capital structures. The advantages of using debtor equity vary according to the corporate characteristics specific to each MNC and specific to countries where the MNCs establish subsidiaries. They interpret some specific corporate characteristics which can influence MNCs capital structure. MNCs with more stable cash flows can deal with more debt because their cash flows are constant to cover periodic interest payments. In contrast, MNCs with erratic cash flows might prefer less debt. MNCs with lower credit risk have more access to credit, their choice of using debt or equity can be affected by factors which influence credit risk. MNCs with high profit may be able to finance most of investment with retaining earnings and use an equity-intensive capital structure, while others with small level of retained earnings may prefer on debt financing. The subsidiaries borrowing capacity may be increase and need less equity financing once the parent backs the debt. Agency costs are higher when a subsidiary in foreign country can not be monitored easily be investor from parents country. In addition, they also describe the specific country characteristics unique to each host country can influence MNCs choice of debt versus equity financing and thus influence their capital structure. Firstly, some host countries have stock restrictions which means the governments allow investment only in local stocks. This kind of barrier of cross-border investing, potential adverse exchange rate and tax effects can discourage investment outside home countries. MNCs operated in these countries where investor have fewer stock investment opportunities may be able to raise equity at a relatively low cost, and they would prefer using more equity by issuing stocks. Secondly, according to the government-imposed barriers on capital flows along with potential adverse exchange rate, tax and country risk effects, loanable funds do not always flows th where they are needed most and the price of them can vary across different countries. MNCs may be able to obtain loanable funds at lower cost in s ome countries and they will prefer the debt financing. Thirdly, regard of the potential weakness of the currencies in subsidiaries host countries, an MNC may attempt to finance by borrowing currencies instead of relying on parent funds. Subsidiaries may remit a smaller amount in earning because they can make interest payments on local debt, and thus reduce the exposure to exchange rate. Conversely, subsidiaries may retain and reinvest more of its earnings when the parent believes a subsidiaries local currency will appreciate against its own currency. The parent may provide an cash infusion to finance growth in the subsidiaries, and thus transfer the internal funds from the parent to subsidiary possibly resulting in more external financing by the parent and less debt financing by the subsidiary. Fourthly, possibility of a kind of country risk is that the host country will temporarily block funds to be remitted by subsidiary to the parent. Thus aubsidiraies may prefer to local debt fi nancing. At last, MNCs make interest rate payments on the local debt when they are subject to a withholding tax. Foreign subsidiaries may also use local debt if the host country impose high corporate tax rates on foreign earnings. Bancel and Mittoo (2004) survey on the cross-country comparisons of managerial views on determinants of capital structure in a sample of 16 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and the UK. They show that factors related to debt are influenced more, and those related to equity are influenced less, by the countrys institutional structure, especially the quality of its legal system. They find that financial flexibility and earnings per share dilution are primary concerns of managers in issuing debt and common stock, respectively. Managers also value hedging considerations and use windows of opportunity when raising capital. This evidence strengthens arguments of La Porta et al. (1997, 1998) that the availability of external financing in a country is influenced primarily by its legal environment. Since agency costs of debt are likely to be higher in countries with lower quality of legal systems, this evidence is also consistent with theories of capital structure such as agency theory that assign a central role to debt contracts and bankruptcy law (Harris and Raviv, 1991). They find that although a countrys legal environment is an important determinant of debt policy, but it plays a minimal role in common stock policy. They find that firms financing policies are influenced by both their institutional environment and their international operations. They also show that firms can adopt strategies to mitigate the negative effects of the quality of the legal environment in their home country. For instance, firms in civil-law countries have significantly higher concerns for maintaining target debt-to-equity ratios and matching maturity than do their peers in the common-law countries. Further, they find that firms operating internationally have significantly different views than do their peers in several ways. For example, firms that have issued foreign debt or equity in the sample during the last ten years are more concerned about credit ratings. Firm-specific variables that are commonly used in the capital structure literature to explain leverage also expla in cross-country differences in managerial rankings of several factors. For example, large firms are less concerned about bankruptcy costs, and high growth firms consider common stock as the cheapest source of funds and use windows of opportunity to issue common stock. These results support the arguement by Rajan and Zingales (1995, 2003), that firms capital structures are the result of a complex interaction of several institutional features as well as firm characteristics in the home country. Their results support that most firms determine their optimal capital structure by trading off factors such as tax advantage of debt, bankruptcy costs, agency costs, and accessibility to external financing. They confirm the conclusions of Titman (2002): Corporate treasurers do occasionally think about the kind of trade-offs between tax savings and financial distress costs that we teach in our corporate finance classes. However, since this trade-off does not change much over time, the balancing of the costs and benefits of debt financing that they emphasize much is not MNCs major concern. They spend much more time thinking about changes in market conditions and the implications of these changes on how firms should be financed. Lee and Kwok (1988) examine the impact of international environmental factors on some firm-related capital structure determinants which in turn affect the MNCs overall capital structure. They consider international environmental variables of political risk, international market imperfections, complexity of operations, opportunities for international diversification, foreign exchange risk and local factors of host countries, and test agency costs and bankruptcy costs. They find that MNCs tend to have higher agency costs of debt according to Myers definition than DCs. This finding remained unchanged even when size and industry effects were controlled. Though MNCs appeared to have lower bankruptcy costs than DCs, the difference largely disappeared when the size effect was controlled. Quite contrary to the conventional wisdom, the empirical findings showed that MNCs tended to be less leveraged than DCs. This finding remained even when the size effect was controlled. However, when compani es were separated under different industry groups, the results varied significantly. Burgman (1996) directly estimate the effect of foreign exchange risk and political risk on the capital structure of MNCs. Using the foreign tax ratio to classify firms as either MNCs or DCs and controlling for industry and size effects, Burgman finds that MNCs have lower debt ratios and higher agency costs than DCs. Furthermore, international diversification does not appear to lower earnings volatility. To estimate the sensitivity of a firm to foreign exchange risk, Burgman conducts a regression analysis of the stock returns of each sample firm on the returns of an index of U.S. stocks and on the U.S.$:SDR returns. His political risk measure is based on the following ratio: number of low political risk countries to the total number of countries in which the firm operates. Low political risk countries are the top 20 in the country risk rankings provided by Euromoney in 1989. The results of a regression analysis for his sample of MNCs suggest that the debt ratios of these companies are positively related to both risks. Burgman concludes that this evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that MNCs use debt policy as a tool to hedge foreign exchange risk and political risk. Chen et al. (1997) conducted regression analyses to investigate the effect of international activities (as measured by foreign pre-tax income) on capital structure. They report that even after controlling for firm size, agency costs of debt, bankruptcy costs and profitability, the long-term debt ratios of MNCs are lower than those of DCs. However, within their sample of MNCs, debt ratios increase with the level of international activities. 2.2.4 Segmented capital market A capital market for asset claims is integrated when the opportunity set of investments available to each and every investor is the universe of all possible asset claims. In contrast, a capital market is segmented when certain groups of investors limit their investments to a subset of the universe of all possible asset claims. Such market segmentation can occur because of ignorance about the universe of possible asset claims, or because of transactions costs (brokerage costs, taxes, or information acquisition costs), or because of legal impediments. From an international perspective, market segmentation typically occurs along national borders, a condition wherein investors in each country acquire only domestic asset claims. Grubel, Levy and Sarnat, and Lessard employ a mean-variance portfolio theoretic framework, have stressed the benefits of diversifying investments across national borders, namely the pooling of risks that results from investing in projects that are less than perfectly correlated. Subrahmanyam points out that when segmented capital markets are integrated, in addition to the diversification effect (always positive), there is a wealth effect (possibly negative) which arises out of changes in the macro-parameters of the risk-return relationship. For the special cases of quadratic, exponential, and logarithmic utility functions, it can be shown that international capital market integration is Pareto-optimal, that is, the welfare of individuals in the integrated economies will not decline, and will generally improve. The positive effect of an expansion in the opportunity set offsets any negative wealth effect. The market reformed and liberalized in developed economies in the 1970s and emerging economies during the second half of the 1980s led to the removal of many barriers. The deregulation and the development of local equity markets allowed the possibility of foreign portfolio investments (FPIs). Overall, FPIs would provide a new source of capital and internationalize the domestic capital markets. Subsequent improvements in risk sharing and risk matching would cause the cost of capital to fall. Errunza and Miller (2000 ) use a sample of 126 firms from 32 countries, document a significant decline of 42% in the cost of capital. In addition, they show the decline is driven by the ability of U.S. investors to span the foreign security prior to cross-listing. The findings support the hypothesis that financial market liberalizations have significant economic benefits. 2.2.5 Interaction between subsidiary and parent financing decisions In segmented markets the parent and its subsidiaries will generally have different valuation objectives and investment-acceptance criteria. Under some conditions these depend on the international financing mix. Decentralization can be optimal in the sense of global maximization, provided that the parent is unrealistically free, ex-ante, to optimize its percentage ownership in the subsidiaries at the beginning of each planning period. In the case of a two-country firm, the subsidiaries maximands are independent of the parents. But when the parents ownership position is predetermined at a fixed level, as it is normally, the situation is radically different. Market values cannot then be maximized independently and Pareto optimization is required. Michaels (1974) main result is that, unless agreement can be reached on a compensation principle, the joint ventures cost of capital will be indeterminate. In such circumstances optimal financial planning for the MNC as a whole may be impossibl e. Concluding remarks draw attention to the attendant possibility that the MNC in this case may be unstable and/or inefficient. 2.2.6 The MNCs capital structure decision An MNCs capital structure decision involves the choice of debt versus equity financing within all of its subsidiaries. Thus, its overall capital structure is essentially a combination of all of its subsidiaries capital structures. MNCs recognize the tradeoff between using debt and using equity for financing their operations. The advantages of using debt as opposed to equity vary with corporate characteristics specific to each MNC and specific to the countries where the MNC has established subsidiaries. Madera and Fox (2007) indicate some common firm-specific characteristics that affect the Macs capital structure such as stability of Macs cash flows, Macs credit risk, Macs access to retained earnings, Macs guarantees on debt and Macs agency problems. They also point the unique host country characteristics can influence the MNCs choice of debt versus equity financing and therefore influence the MNCs capital structure. These characteristics include stock restrictions in host countries, interest rates in hose countries, strength of host country currencies, country risk in host countries and tax laws in host countries. 2.3 Risk analysis 2.3.1 Country risks With operations under the jurisdiction of a foreign government the firm is also exposed to political risk, therefore it must estimate the potential costs it will face due to unstable governments, regime change and changes in policies. Political risk may be defined as a particular exposure to risk which depends on the actions of a government, and its assessment or analysis for a MNC is a decision-making tool for investing in foreign countries. An MNC must assess country risk not only in countries where it currently does business but also in those where it expects to export or establish subsidiaries. Many country risk characteristics related to the political environment can influence an MNC. Madura and Fox (2007) indicate that an extreme form of political risk is the possibility that the host country will take over a subsidiary. In some cases of expropriation, some compensation is awarded, and the amount is decided by the hose country government. In other cases, the assets are confiscated and no compensation is provided. Expropriation can take place peacefully or by force. They also explore other common forms of country related risks include attitude of consumers in the host country, actions of host government, blockage of fund transfers, currency inconvertibility, war, bureaucracy and corruption. Over recent decades, there has been a significant increase in political risk for MNCs. This is true not only for an MNCs operations in developing countries, but also for those in developed countries. Governments have felt the need to respond to various pressure groups aimed at curbing the power of MNCs. For example, oil companies may face unfavourable legislation designed to pay for the damage to environment. Developing countries may have to respond to populist sentiments or worsening economic circumstances by seeking to renege on contracts signed by previous regimes. Another risk area which has grown in recent years has been the strength of fundamentalist religious groups in a number of eco

Edge Detection Using Kirsch Algorithms

Edge Detection Using Kirsch Algorithms Image processing is the study of representation and manipulation of pictorial information. In Image Processing, an edge is the boundary between an object and its background. Therefore, if the edges of images objects can be identified with precision, all the objects can be located and their properties such as area, perimeter and shape can be calculated. Edge detection is an essential tool for image processing. Edge detection is the process of locating the edge pixels. Then an edge enhancement will increase the contrast between the edges and the background in such a way that edges become more visible. In the edge function, the Sobel method uses the derivative approximation to find edges. Therefore, it returns edges at those points where the gradient of the considered image is maximum. The Kirsch Edge module detects edges using eight compass filters. All eight filters are applied to the image with the maximum being retained for the final image. The eight filters are a rotation of a basic compass convolution filter (RoboRealm, 2006). The proposal is organized as follows. First, describe the research problems statement, Research Objective, Hypothesis, Delimitations, Assumptions, Terms, significant of the Research Problem, Literature Review session. Lastly the Research Methodology and Conclusion sections respectively. Research Problem Problem Statements As a human being, we could not notice the petite lines of an image. We could only recognize an enormous range of objects from just line images such cartoons. Besides, in Malaysian, it is acknowledge that there is no system to identify the edges of the local cars. They prefer to choose the human faces, geometric shapes or the environment image as their image research. So, by using edge detection techniques, the result of detected edges image could show us the lines or edges from the obvious lines to the tiniest lines of that certain image (Brendan McCane, 2001). For example, Prewit Edge Detector for detection of edges in digital images corrupted with different kinds of noise (Raman Maini, 2005). In the edge function, the Sobel method uses the derivative approximation to find edges where it returns edges at those points where the gradient of the considered image is maximum. The Kirsch Edge module detects edges using eight compass filters. All eight filters are applied to the image with the maximum being retained for the final image. The eight filters are a rotation of a basic compass convolution filter (RoboRealm, 2006). Research Objectives The objectives of this study are: 1) To identify edge detection of image processing system on Malaysian cars. 2) To be able to draw a bitmap result where edges are either in gray scaled or colored for enhancement of edges in an image. 3) To compare the edge detection methods to one another by using the Prewit Edge Detector, Sobel Edge Detector and Kirsch Edge Detector. 2.3 Hypothesis Believe that by implementing different edge detecting algorithms, verified images will be more exact and precise in terms of image accuracy and clarity. 2.4 Delimitations The edge detections will only be analyzing between Sobel, Prewit and Kirsch algoritms. The image processing edge detection does not contain any hierarchical structure but only groups of local cars images. 2.5 Assumptions The participants are familiar the basic knowledge of edge detection to ensure they realize what is happening during the experimental session. They are not trained to identify the difference between the 3 algorithms given to them All participants are at least two year experience in image processing activities to make sure that they could determine what the purpose of this research is. Terms Noise = amount of distortion of a pixel value against the frequency of images Thresholding = separates the pixels in ways that tend to preserve the boundaries Filter = Process by which we can enhance or otherwise modify images. 2.6 Research Significance The image of Malaysian cars will be captured as the input. The each of the images edges will be detected either by using the Prewit Edge Detector, Sobel Edge Detector or Kirsch Edge Detector. If the user chooses to see the output of Prewit Edge Detector, the result of detected edges will be appear on the panel and same goes to if they choose the Sobel Edge Detector or the Kirsch Edge Detector. They could choose all of the three edge detectors for more precise observation. The result also will be compare with the human views to get the similarity of edge detecting against it. Literature Review Introduction to Image Processing Edge Detection In Image Processing, an edge is the boundary between an object and its background. They represent the frontier for single objects. Therefore, if the edges of images objects can be identified with precision, all the objects can be located and their properties such as area, perimeter and shape can be calculated. Edge detection is an essential tool for image processing. Edge detection is the process of locating the edge pixels. Then an edge enhancement will increase the contrast between the edges and the background in such a way that edges become more visible. In addition, edge tracing is the process of following the edges, usually collecting the edge pixels into a list. In the edge function, the Sobel method uses the derivative approximation to find edges. Therefore, it returns edges at those points where the gradient of the considered image is maximum. The horizontal and vertical gradient matrices whose dimensions are 3-3 for the Sobel method has been generally used in the edge detection operations. In this work, a function is developed to find edges using the matrices whose dimensions are 5-5 in matlab (Shigeru A, 2000). Since edge detection is in the forefront of image processing for object detection, it is crucial to have a good understanding of edge detection algorithms. Prewit Edge Detector for detection of edges in digital images corrupted with different kinds of noise. Different kinds of noise are studied in order to evaluate the performance of the Prewitt Edge Detector (Raman Maini, 2005). The Kirsch Edge module detects edges using eight compass filters. All eight filters are applied to the image with the maximum being retained for the final image. The eight filters are a rotation of a basic compass convolution filter (RoboRealm, 2006). 3.2 Comparisons of Edge Detection Techniques a) Sobel Sobel edge detector using convolutions with row and column edge gradient masks (Percy S, 2001). Applies a 3-3 convolution filter row-wise in order to determine the gradient of the surrounding pixels. Pixel is a member of an edge if the intensity of it is greater than that of the members of its surrounding pixels. The Sobel edge detection filter uses the two 3-3 templates to calculate the gradient value. 1 2 1 -1 0 1 -1 -2 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 -1 -1 Figure 1: Sobel Algorithm X Y Original image Sobel Edge Detection Original image Figure 1.1: Sobel Edge Detection Output b) Prewit Prewit Edge Detector for detection of edges in digital images corrupted with different kinds of noise. Different kinds of noise are studied in order to evaluate the performance of the Prewit Edge Detector (Raman Maini, 2005). This is similar to the Sobel detector Operates under the same principle except that it uses a different (simpler) convolution kernel. -1 0 1 -1 0 1 -1 0 1The Prewitt edge detection filter uses the two 3-3 templates to calculate the gradient value. -1 -1 -1 0 0 0 1 1 1 Figure 2: Prewit Algorithm X Y Original image Prewitt Edge Detection Original image Figure 2.1: Prewit Edge Detection Output c) Kirsch The Kirsch Edge module detects edges using eight compass filters. All eight filters are applied to the image with the maximum being retained for the final image. The eight filters are a rotation of a basic compass convolution filter (Mike Heath, 2001).The filters are of the form: 5 5 5 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 5 -3 -3 5 -3 -3 5 -3 -3 Figure 3: Kirsch Algorithm X Y Original image Kirsch Edge Detection Original image Figure 3.1: Kirsch Edge Detection Output 3.3 Thresholding The idea of thresholding is to apply a boundary-finding method (such as edge detection), sample of the histogram that are only near where the boundary probability is high. The benefit of thresholding is to separates the pixels in ways that tend to preserve the boundaries. Besides that, other scattered distributions within the object or the background are irrelevant. But, the problems if the characteristics change along the boundary, it still no guarantee you wont have extraneous pixels or holes (IgorPro, 2006). The advantages of thresholding can be declared that it is simple to implement, fast especially if repeating on similar images and it is good for some kinds of images such as documents, controlled set-ups. The disadvantages of thresholding can be assume that it is usually not very good segmentation, there are no guarantees of object coherency such as they may have holes, extraneous pixels, and so on and there are connected component labeling can then be used to label separate foreground regions. METHODOLOGY This chapter provides methodology that used to develop text search engine prototype. Methodology is a study of methods, a set of procedures and selecting data. All of workflow involved in the implementation of this project is explained from the beginning to the end. Project Formulation Framework Figure 4: Overview of Project Formulation Framework Project Framework Summary Phase Objectives Deliverables Planning 1) To identify and understand potential problems. 2) Ensure goals, scope, budget, schedule, methods and tools are in place. 1) Define the problem statement, objectives, scope and contribution of study. 2) Collecting images of Malaysian cars. Analysis 1) Analyzing the system requirement. 2) Analyze the edge detection algorithms used for the system (Sobel, Prewit and Kirsch). 1) Prototype requirement and requirement model. 2) Identify the comparison of the algorithms chosen. Design 1) Design the prototype interface and the coding (classes and object). 2) Design function and algorithms. 1) System and Detailed design. 2)GUI interface Implementation 1) Translate design into code New application Testing 1)Pre-test and pro-test the application Test the application Data Collection The data collection is the most critical process in this project. As mentioned earlier, this study will only focus on Malaysian cars. Before developed the application tool, all information must be collected first. This stages involved data collection about sample of Malaysian car images and project requirements which are hardware and software requirements. The sample images of the car will be captured by using digital camera. The main hardware system in order to capture an image is the camera to grab the image of the cars. The images are in a bitmapped or digital image format. Besides that, this study also gathered information from internet. It was the greatest finding for this project. From internet, more information can be explored in detail such as about bitmapped image model, journals and articles about previous researches which related to this project the Malaysian cars itself and many more. 4.4 Prototype Development Throughout the development of the application, there were involving some steps. After all the information gathered, the development processes take place. Firstly, as an input the image of the Malaysian cars must be captured. A digital camera was used to acquire the images. There were 10 images of different category of Malaysian cars as samples for this project. In capturing the images, hardware system also involved. The camera will use to grab the image and the computer system will do the image processing and data analysis for the images. The images were scanned to convert them into digital form. Experiment and Procedure In the experimental task, the participants will be given the Malaysian car images. They will run the application by choosing different car images and test all the images to the different edge detection algorithm provided to them. The output which is the result of comparison between those 3 algorithms (Sobel, Prewitt and Kirsch) will be recorded. The user, based on his/her experience will determine the sharp, sharper and sharpest result of edge detected images from system. Here, they might recognize which edge detector is more accurate in image clarity capturing. The summary of the experiment is as follows; Pretest Participants choose Malaysian cars images and tryout them using the algorithms provided. Posttest /Treatment Participants evaluate the result which edge detection algorithm is the sharp, sharper or sharpest. Observation My experiment used one-group pretest and posttest design.7. The group participated in both pre-experiment evaluation and post-experiment evaluation sequentially. The design is represented as follows: Group Time Æ’Â   Group 1 Observation 1 (using Sobel Algorithm with and without thresholding) Observation 2 (using Prewit Algorithm with and without thresholding) Observation 3 (using Kirsch Algoritm with and without thresholding) Figure 5: Experimental design 7 Experimental Design Number 7: pretest and posttest design. Data Analyses After collecting all the data from their query results from the participants, we use the following standard criteria for evaluating retrieval for effectiveness of search are used . The keyword-based search and the ontology-based search have been evaluated using the following formula: Comparison of Edge Detectors Image Sharpness Based on Thresholding Value Bil Type of Malaysian Cars Sobel Prewit Kirsch 1 Perodua Kelisa Sharpest Sharper Sharp 2 Perodua Kenari Sharpest Sharper Sharp 3 Perodua Kembara Sharpest Sharper Sharp 4 Proton Wira Sharpest Sharper Sharp 5 Proton Waja Sharpest Sharp Sharper 6 Proton Satria Neo Sharpest Sharper Sharp 7 Perodua Kancil Sharpest Sharper Sharp 8 Proton Saga Aeroback Sharpest Sharp Sharper 9 Proton Satria Sharper Sharpest Sharp 10 Perodua Myvi Sharpest Sharper Sharp Table 1: Approximate image sharpness of the algorithms based on 10 of Malaysian car images Sharp Result (Percentage) Edge Detectors Sobel Prewit Kirsch 0/10*100 = 0% 2/10*100 = 20% 8/10*100 = 80% Table 2: Percentage for the Malaysian Cars Sharpness for sharp category Sharper Result (Percentage) Edge Detectors Sobel Prewit Kirsch 1/10*100 = 10% 7/10*100 = 70% 2/10*100 = 20% Table 3: Percentage for the Malaysian Cars Sharpness for sharper category Sharpest Result (Percentage) Edge Detectors Sobel Prewit Kirsch 9/10*100 = 90% 1/10*100 = 10% 0/10*100 =0% Table 4: Percentage for the Malaysian Cars Sharpness for sharpest category Figure 6: Histogram for the comparison result for precision According to the Figure 6, based on Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4, the sharp, sharper and sharpest result is based from the thresholding value of 60. In making this research, some important lesson or experience has been learned. After the project successfully developed and tested, the result from the testing is analyzed. The results are between human viewing and prototype viewing. By analysis and compare the results the accuracy of the project is determined. It also use as a measurement to the third objective of the project. If the project result is accurate, the third objective is successfully achieved. 5.3 Recommendation There are also some future expansions that can be done in order to improve this prototype. This prototype developed for computer platform only. This prototype can be developed in the PDA or handheld hand phone. Recommendation for future is the samples of Malaysian cars should be various because from that the result can be more accurate. 5.4 Conclusion There are many ways to perform edge detection. Various edge detection algorithms have been developed in the process of finding the perfect edge detector. Some of the edge detection operators that are discussed in this thesis are Prewitt, Sobel, and Kirsch operators. In this case, there are three criteria for optimal edge detections. First good detection where the optimal detector must minimize the probability of false positives, as well as that of false negatives. Second, good localization where the edges detected must be as close as possible to the true edges and finally, single response constraint where the detector must return one point only for each true edge point; that is, minimize the number of local maxima around the true edge (Trucco, 2006).

Resource Journals :: essays research papers

Entry# 1 Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of just about everything. He is the national saint of Russia and Greece and churches named after him number in the thousands - more than 400 in Great Britain alone. He is the patron saint of judges, murderers, pawnbrokers, thieves, merchants, paupers, scholars, sailors, bakers, travelers, maidens and poor children. Saint Nicholas was born in the Middle East about 350 miles northwest of Bethlehem in the fourth century. Perhaps the most famous story of all tells how he helped three unfortunate young sisters who all had suitors but had no dowries because their father, a poor nobleman, could not raise the money. So they could not marry. Now the bishop Nicholas was a shy man and did not like to give money directly, so he thought of a way to give it anonymously. When the first daughter was ready to marry, the good bishop tossed a bag of gold into the house at night. Later, when the second daughter and third daughter prepared to marry he did the same thing . But when the third daughter prepared to marry, the poor nobleman was determined to find out who had been so generous. So he kept watch and saw the bishop drop another bag of gold into the house. It has been said that Saint Nicholas climbed on the roof and dropped the third bag of gold down the chimney where it landed in a stocking hung to dry, giving us a reason to hang up Christmas stockings today. Nicholas begged him to keep the secret, but, of course, the news got out. From then on, whenever anyone received an unexpected gift, they thanked Nicholas. Six hundred years later, the Russian Emperor Vladimir visited Constantinople and heard all the wonderful stories about Bishop Nicholas and decided to make him the patron saint of Russia. The stories even spread to the Lapland’s - to the people of the reindeer sleds. Statutes and pictures had shown him holding the three bags and when taken as the patron saint of the merchants, the bags became gold balls, representing moneylend ers and today, pawnbrokers in Italy. The anniversary of Nicholas' death, December 6th, either 345 A.D. or 352 A.D., is so close to Christmas that, in many countries, the two merged. I think Saint Nicholas is the helper of all that lives; from criminals to babies. Anyone who needed help he would help.

Essay --

From the first time I watched this show in Vince McMahon claims that as he was about to announce "Welcome to WrestleMania III," he felt the spirit of his father Vincent J. McMahon, who had died three years earlier. After he made that announcement he introduced Aretha Franklin, who opened the show singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful."[24] The first match of the night was The Can-Am Connection versus Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji). This match ended when Rick Martel gave Don Muraco a high cross-body with Zenk on his hands and knees giving Muraco what Gorilla Monsoon called "A little schoolboy trip from behind" allowing Martel to get the win for his team.[1][25] The next match that aired was Hercules (with Bobby Heenan in his corner) against Billy Jack Haynes in the "Full Nelson Challenge." The match ended when Haynes locked Hercules in the full nelson outside the ring and both were counted out.[1][25] After the match, Bobby Heenan assaulted Haynes by kneeing him in the back, and Haynes chased Heenan into the ring, where Hercules then blindsided Haynes with his chain, hitting him a number of times with it before locking him in a full nelson of his own.[26] The Mixed Tag Team Match between King Kong Bundy and his midget team of Lord Littlebrook and Little Tokyo against Hillbilly Jim and his own midget team of The Haiti Kid and Little Beaver was next. King Kong Bundy's team was disqualified when Bundy attacked Little Beaver, because Bundy was not supposed to be in the ring with the midgets.[17] Bundy attacked Little Beaver after Beaver had "attacked" him on occasion during the match and finally got caught. The "Loser Must Bow" match between Junkyard Dog and King Harley Race (with Bobby Heenan and The Fa... ...hed to it, got on the microphone and said that Volkoff was not going to sing because America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.[26] While the match ensued, Duggan stayed at ringside. When The Iron Sheik locked a camel clutch on "Jumping Jim" Brunzell, Duggan, who was chasing Volkoff around the ring and finally into it, stopped and hit an unsuspecting Sheik across the back with his two by four in front of the referee, resulting in The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff winning the bout by disqualification. In what was billed as the "biggest main event in sports entertainment,"[30] the match pitted WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defending the title against Andrà © the Giant (with Bobby Heenan).[1] Howard Finkel introduced the guest ring announcer, "Mr Baseball" Bob Uecker, who in turn introduced the guest time keeper, Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart. The fans

The new look of your magazine

Change in an organized is normally geared towards improving its service delivery. Change in business development requires thorough planning and responsive implementation. Employees of the company need to be consulted, about the changes and they input taken in. Change has to be realistic, attainable and measurable, these factors are important especially when considering business development change.[1] A product can always be enhanced in one way or another. The new look of your magazine This article is in response to your organizational changes that the company has initiated geared towards business development. It is very encouraging that your magazine one of the best in the country has final agreed to have a new look   This will go along way in achieving the company business aims and objective, and of course create new markets as more will be attracted to the new look of the magazine. For long time readers have bean longing for a change in your fortune magazine. In this modern world people are always looking for new ideas, and new products.[2] For the next five it is certain that your company will focus on improving the face of your magazine to reflect the changing moments. As noted society is dynamic and always changing, thus, it is well thought of you to have a five year plan of changing the magazine look as it will reflect the changing society. How you are different Your organization has continued to be outstanding because of its creativity and originality. The magazine produces features and articles with are informative, educative and entertaining. As opposed to other players on the market your articles are always well researched and very relevant to the society. The other unique feature about your organization it is quality; the magazine is produced with high quality that gives the reader a pleasure in reading, clear pictures and quality printing make your magazine to have high clarity and even a person will be able to review a magazine he/she bought two years ago. With the fast changing world of technology I appreciate the effort your company is making to ensure that it is at the cutting edge of technology. This of course proves your company objective of being market leaders in market. Customers’ views Customer satisfaction is very important issue. In the same line many customers fell that your company have done well in this area. The company customer care services are efficient and effective as it responds promptly to customers complaints. Another issue that your company has scored a plus is in being able to feature varying and thrilling articles that customers enjoy to read. The company has continued to be dynamic and has high standards in terms of production sales and marketing, this is according to the customers. The role of the media is reflect what goes around the society, to this end the customers are happy because your articles are able to reflect what happens in the society. Concerning the on going changes, the customers are impressed with the new look of the magazine. They say it more refreshing and well organized. Since the changes are projected to run for a long time, they are prepared for more refreshing looks of the magazine. Their only complaint is that the company should enlarge the magazine at it is too good to be that small. Employees’ views It is good to note that your company has a five year plan of making changes. As Timothy notes change is a continuous process and should be welcomed[3]. Change is a core issue in your organization. Through, change the organization is able to respond to its customer’s requirements. The change that the company has initiated will go along way in general improvement of your company and profitability. As the company’s employees ascertain, the changes that the company has initiated are good and well overdue. The employees are happy to undertake the changes in the organization because their views were incorporated in making the changes. The employees further express satisfaction because the company value’s their contributions. Before any organization implements a successful change it must prepare its employees well, in your company the employees say that, they were well trained before the proposed changes, in order to implement them.[4] According to your employees, the company has a well communication structure that enables free flow of information. This has created efficiency in the company organization. It is important to note that poor communication leads to anxiety and confusion, which affects production negatively. In summary you have a satisfied staff. Organization performance Fortune magazine has continued to perform well in the market. The company sales have improved in the recent years and continue to increase this can be attributed to sound management of the organization coupled by better marketing methods. Though, today the media market is saturated, the company has maintained its market by providing well researched articles and high quality production. In this fast moving business environment it has become increasingly necessary for the organization to embrace change especially in its design of the magazine and marketing strategies, in order to maintain competitive edge. The results are being enjoyed by your company. I remain optimistic that your company will continue making improvement in its magazine. Conclusion Success of a business depends on how it faces new challenges that come due to change technology or new markets demands that arise every day. Business development changes are geared towards capturing or maintaining the market share and should always be accompanied by good planning and a well market research. References Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin Timothy, G. J. (1996): The Human Side of Change. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. [1] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin [2]Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave [3] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin [4] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin      

How Are the Themes of Loneliness and Isolation Explored in “of Mice and Men”? Essay

How are the themes of l mavinliness and closing off explored in Of Mice and custody? Born in 1902, tail Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, set his arrest in the 1930s. The novel revolves around dickens hard-working men dependant on angiotensin converting enzyme an some early(a) during the Great Depression, a season when most were al mavin. Many themes are explored in the novel such as racism, privacy, disability, isolation and friendship. This es sound out will be parley roughly how the themes of loneliness and isolation are explored in Of Mice and Men. Gender is one way in which Steinbeck illustrates loneliness and isolation.The grapheme of Curleys married woman is used to personate this. Throughout the book Curleys married woman is never referred to her propose which is unknown. This suggests that she is a pigheadedness belonging to Curley. By not having her quote mentioned Curleys wife dust un the exchangeable even though she prescribes Lennie her life figment as without a pass water she remains mysterious. Her marriage to Curley causes for her to be rejected by the bed cover workers when she hangks out their attention and friendship. thusly she is not only lonesome exactly likewise degage as on that point are only men on the ranch who turn away from her.Critics whitethorn argue that Steinbeck was too harsh in not giving a name to Curleys wife plainly in my opinion nates Steinbeck was only limning the reality of that particular time period. Steinbeck also uses age to explore the themes of loneliness and isolation. sugarcoat, an sure-enough(a) ranch worker, is used to vaunting these themes. As the oldest man on the ranch sugarcoat is the most insecure of the men as he knows that if he was to be laid-off from his job he would own no some other place to go to, what with having no family or friends. This knowledge isolates him from the others as thithers no one whom he butt joint relate to this about.Critics may t ranslate that crapper Steinbeck is stereotyping old people as useless. other way in which the deuce themes are explored is through racism. For this backside Steinbeck uses Crooks. As a stable buck and a black person, Crooks is uninvolved from the other percentages. He has his own room which may be fortunate but only pass on alienates him from the other workers. Crooks shows that he is unfrequented duration talking to Lennie, he says, I specialize ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick. He talks of how he wakes up in the night and sees something but doesnt know if he was only if day-dreaming, if had a friend he would have asked him.Because of his race Crooks has many disadvantages one of them organism that he is not allowed to enter the bunkhouse. Another being that he is abused by the other workers. Crooks is not given a chance to befriend anyone and is therefore both(prenominal) physically and mentally isolated. Lennie shows how disability wad lead to loneliness and isolation. His child-like mentality distances him from the other workers. Though he talks to and is talked to by other characters he is isolated in his mind because there is hushed a separation. His disability causes the other characters on the ranch to treat him as inferior.Lennie was told both Crooks and Curleys wifes life stage but it doesnt mention in the book whether or not he was really listening when the two confided in him. This makes you doubt whether or not Lennie is actually as he is describe. Critics may say that Lennies character was too unrealistic and overdrawn. Euthanasia is used to explore the themes of loneliness and isolation. Again Lennie is used to display this along with Candys dog. Both of them were in a similar situation where their dying was what was best for them. Throughout the book Lennie is set forth as animalistic which further connects him to Candys dog.Lennie was killed by someone who cared about him, George, while Candy had wished to have been the one who had killed his dog. Without his dog Candy was left as lonely because though he still had the others, his dog was the one who was always by his side. It shows that Lennie was truly lonely because when he died though George was shaken he had Slim as a friend to replace Lennie. bathroom Steinbeck uses dreams to show loneliness and isolation. Georges character is used to show this. Although most of the ranch workers like George, he is mentally isolated. This is because of his dream which distances him from the other characters.His dream acts as a burden because in the end he knows that it will never come true. His cognizance causes for him to be isolated, lonely and unreachable. Financial precondition also displays loneliness and isolation. For this the character of Curley is used. Curley can be viewed as the villain in the novel because of the abusive way he treats the other workers. He uses his small size as an advantage. The main difference though between him and the workers is money. Curley is married and yet because he is the stamps son he doesnt have to work like the others characters do.He uses the fact that he has bureau and dominates the ranch workers. But being the boss son only further alienates him from the other characters and causes him to be lonely. Curleys wife would incessantly flirt with the other ranch-hands. This made him a subject of ridicule and further isolated him. Another way in which John Steinbeck uses to explore the themes of loneliness and isolation is through marriage. Curley and his wife are used to absorb this. Both of them are stuck in a loveless marriage. Curleys wife revealed to Lennie that she didnt like Curley.Ways that you can tell Curley doesnt love his wife is like the fact that he went to a quat house with the other men. In addition, when his wife was killed he set out to retaliate Lennie instead of mourning her this shows that he was more than interested in getting rear end at Lennie for personal re asons instead of losing his wife. Curley and his wife are therefore viewed as lonely. Their deed of conveyance as a married agree also isolates them from others on the ranch as there are expectations of how they should act and who they should talk to. Friendship is used by John Steinbeck to display loneliness and isolation.There are many forms of friendship in Of Mice and Men, the main one being George and Lennies friendship. The two of them are dependent on one another for different reasons. Lennie necessarily George to help him because of his mental disability. While George take Lennie for company. Critics may argue that Steinbeck showed their friendship as abusive and forced. Another friendship brought unitedly by loneliness is Curleys wife and Lennie. This shows that they were all lonely as they colonized for each other purely because they cute companionship and someone to talk to. John Steinbeck also used other features to display loneliness and isolation.The novel began with a lonely atmosphere as he described the setting. This indicated that there was no-one around to describe or mention which gave you the feeling of isolation. Also the name of the city, Soledad, means solitude and loneliness in Spanish. In conclusion, John Steinbeck explored the themes of loneliness and isolation in many ways, using other themes and features. Although Steinbeck doesnt allow you to clearly see his characters so you are unable to signalize whether they are really lonely and isolated or if they are just depicted and viewed as lonely and isolated.