Mean Filters :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop a Program that will implement the non-linear filters Abstract: The purpose of this project is to develop a program that implements non-linear filters. For this project we will research the mean filter and the Median filter. Introduction: The Idea of this project is to generate and image and implement different types of noise, then add them together and run them through a non-linear filter and see how the filter affects the output image. First we must locate and image then add the noise and run the image thru a non-linear filter to successfully remove all sort of noise corruption. We will compare two filters, the mean filter and the median filter, for a few simple cases. The purpose of the filtering operation is assumed to be an effective elimination or attenuation of the noise that is corrupting the desired images. In this report we will consider only the two-dimensional cases (image). The effects are better visualized with images. Background on non-linear filters: Non-linear filtering has been considered even in the fifties, since then, the field has seen a rapid increase of interest indicated. In our case the Multistage medians and median filters have been rather extensively studied from the theoretical point of view in the beginning of the seventies in the Soviet Union. These filters have been independently reinvented and put into wide practical use around 15 years later by western researchers. Non-linear FIR filters cannot be expressed as a linear combination of the input, but as some other (non-linear) function on the inputs. A simple example of a useful non-linear filter is a 5th order median filter. This is the filter represented by: This type of filter is extremely useful for data with non-Gaussian noise, removing outliers very efficiently. A significant amount of research effort has gone into the development of appropriate filters for various purposes. Statistics has taken a different tack to the problem: early approaches were similar to moving average filters. However, rather than using a simple moving average, the early work realized that linear regression could be used around the point we were trying to estimate; in other words, rather than simply averaging the five values around a point, a linear fit of the points, using a least squares estimate, could be used to give a better-looking result. Furthermore, we realized that 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Linear regression could be applied, so could other shapes, in particular splints. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The weights for the instances used in regression could be changed.

Judicial Activism :: essays research papers

Judicial Activism: A Necessary Action   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Judicial activism is rarely needed, but when it is employed, it is only in the most dire of circumstances. It is the broad interpretation of the constitution of the United States by the Supreme Court. Some argue that this should not be done, but if it had not been, slavery would still exist in America. It is obvious that in some cases, it is necessary to expand civil rights beyond what the constitution explicitly states. This was the case in Brown v. Board of Education. 9 black students were allowed into a white school, previously segregated. This was the landmark case in the battle for black civil rights. The judicial activism displayed by the Supreme Court led to an end to segregation, social equality for blacks and allowed them to reach respected positions in the American society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A major effect of the Supreme Courts decision was the desegregation of schools everywhere. Integration became federal law, and schools could no longer bar applicants based on race alone. By enforcing this law, the Court allowed blacks to recieve the same education as whites and effectively removing their status as second-class citizens. They were one step closer to being fully accepted by the white majority. The integration of children's schools was a controversial step, and many southerners opposed it with extreme prejudice. There were riots to oppose this move, but eventually the chaos was subdued and after order was restored, schools were fully integrated. Black children were now on equal footing with white children and could no longer be called less intelligent, as they would recieve the same education. Also, this case led to the 15th amendment, giving blacks the right to vote. This was an important event, effectively making them complete citizens, legally equal to white men in every way. They could now vote for the president, a key part of the representative democracy present in the United States. They became able to directly affect the law, by voting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social equality was a major gain for the blacks. As a result of this case, and others after it, they became increasingly accepted in a previously white-dominated society. With any form of discrimination outlawed and punishable by law, there was no way they could be kept from their rightful position as equals in every respect. Lawsuits against discriminators became increasingly common, and the mindset of the common American was one of tolerance and compassion for

Breaking Metaphoric Shackles in Toni Morrisons Beloved :: Toni Morrison Beloved Essays

Breaking Metaphoric Shackles in Beloved      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Toni Morrison's novels, she uses her main characters to represent herself as an African American artist, and her stories as African American art, and Beloved is no exception. She does this through her underlying symbolic references to the destructiveness of slavery and the connections between the characters themselves. Syntax is also what makes this novel work, using both the powers and limits of language to represent her African American culture with simple words and name choices.    One of her main characters, Baby Suggs, uses her English with some abandon, but only after getting her message across, however simple it may seem. She might choose simplicity over complexity in speech, but her words carry the needed intensity to express herself in the little time she has left on earth (Dahill-Baue, 472-73). Baby Suggs represents the authentic black woman, having been freed from slavery by her son, Halle. "Suspended between the nastiness of life and the meanness of the dead, she couldn't get interested in leaving life or living it" (Morrison, 3).    Slavery has limited Baby Suggs' self-conception by shattering her family and denying her the opportunity to be who she wants to be, which is a good wife and mother. She is seen as wise and spiritual, even in her last days. "You lucky. You got three left. Three pulling at your skirts and just one raising hell from the other side" (Morrison, 5). What makes her so authentic is her ability to have such control over language, dismissing the "binding shackles of social codes" (Dahill-Baue, 473).    Baby Suggs is not the only main character to hint that slavery it/was an experience that could never be known exactly for what it truly was. Morrison, through all of her characters, remains willing to risk losing her main characters to a past that can be neither seen nor controlled. She uses Sethe to symbolize the border between slavery and freedom, and unexpectedly does not allow Sethe to grow in the novel and escape that painful border (Parrish, 84). Through fragmented rememories, we see that Sethe was frequently treated as an animal in her period as a slave. She once walked in on Schoolteacher giving his pupils a lesson on her "animal characteristics.

When people become very angry, they are said to be operating from their `dinosaur brain`

It has been said that the thing that sets human beings apart from all the other creatures in the animal kingdom is the fact that human beings have the ability for discernment and for logical thinking. In times were animals would be ruled by impulse and instinct, human beings are able to control these urges to a certain extent. As beings capable of suppressing baser instincts and impulses, human beings are expected to be above such primal instincts.It is for this reason that people who are very angry or emotional and give in to such baser instincts are said to be operating from their â€Å"dinosaur brains. † It is not to say of course that operating from one’s dinosaur brain means that one is also capacitated with the same intellectual capacity as that of those prehistoric animals. Dinosaurs were creatures that had smaller brains than today’s creatures and as such their thinking had not evolved to the same extent.This means that these animals only followed the bas ic instincts such as eating, mating and sleeping, offshoots of which are aggression in certain cases in order to preserve and protect. Therefore, any person who is operating from their dinosaur brain is simply exercising the functions that dinosaurs used to use in the underdeveloped brains. Feelings such as anger and hunger become the ruling considerations and logic is never part of the equation.

A Reflection Paper of Mumbaki film Essay

The film Mumbaki is about the conflict of modern and folk beliefs being faced by an Igorot named Joseph (played by Reymart Santiago). He was given the opportunity to study Medicine in Manila. The problem here is caused by the different socialization or culture that occurs in the Philippines. There came the time that the lead character has to choose between his dream to work in other country together with his girlfriend, Nancy (played by Rachel Alejandro), or fulfill his duties as a member of his tribe. It is clearly seen in the film, the opposite socialization that occurs in the Philippines. The simplest manifestation of this is the type of clothing worn by characters in the film: the city has grown to wear jeans, polo, t-shirt, etc. while in the mountains, they wear the traditional â€Å"bahag† or barely bold. Also the difference between the alcohol from the city and the once that came from the mountain is shown in the film. Furthermore, the use of modern and indigenous methods of treatment is also shown in the film. The methods of treatment studied in the city are using antibiotics to stop the spread of epidemic illness in the Igorots while the indigenous method is praying to their gods/baki or to their so called ‘mumbaki’. The last is, what is ought to be followed by the main character: the vengeance for his tribe or to use his knowledge in medicine. I agree on the decision that the main character applied to his problem. As one of the member of his tribe, he chose to fulfill his responsibilities to his tribe to take revenge to the opposing tribe yet he made it to sustain his profession by putting up a health center up the mountain to support the medical needs of the tribal people. Joining two different cultures is a big deal and it is hard for them to do that, yet the group still managed to help each other to resolve their problem and create a new different culture out of it†¦.

Gender Discrimination Essay

The video is all about the portrayal of comic manual that was released by the United States military in handling situation of homosexuality among its soldiers. The manual is aimed in explaining the necessary steps and procedures in handling homosexual cases to soldiers. It features a particular case of a low rank soldier that was caught to be engaged in a homosexual acts and how his higher command treat him (professionally) towards his discharge because of his engagement in such acts. As the video had shown, the workplace is not a gender-neutral place. This is amplified in the case of a workplace that is considered to have a military orientation as shown in the video. As concluded by Kristen Schilt in the article, in many workplaces, the masculinity of a male is valued that is why feminine males or homosexuals are being undermined and discriminated. Shown in the video, PFC Williams was discharged in the military because of his engagement in the homosexual acts. As stated by Schilt, being a man or masculinity is an attribute that is celebrated in many professions especially in the military. This is because of the association of such attribute to other important characteristics and concepts like authority, prestige and instrumentality that are perceived to be related to highly regarded position such as leaders and managers. In this respect, any form of diversion from masculinity or being a man most especially in the military is discouraged. This drops the idea of a having a free world wherein each individual are respected whoever he or she is. Scenarios like this remind to us that there is still much work to be done for us to attain as situation wherein every individual get the respect that he or she deserve from the society. References MSNBC (n. d. ) Don’t ask, don’t tell: illustrated. The Rachel Maddow Show. Web. Retrieved from [http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/26315908/vp/38252662#38252662] Accessed 2 August 2010. Schilt, K. (2006) Just one of the guys? How Transmen Make Gender Visible at Work. Gender and Society Vol. 20 No. 4. Sociologists for Women in Society. Print. Accessed 2 August 2010. Williams, C. (1992) The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the Female Professions. University of California Press. Print. Accessed 2 August 2010.

Mary Ainsworth

When reading many introductions on the history of psychology it is noticed there are very few females mentioned. That does not mean women are not attributed to making significant impacts in the development of psychology. â€Å"The contributions of many of psychology's most eminent female thinkers have long been ignored, but that is starting to change as more history texts begin to recognize women such as Karen Horney, Mary Ainsworth, Leta Hollingworth, and Christine Ladd-Franklin in their pages. † These women are just a few who have made tremendous contributions and marks on psychology.The background, theoretical approach, and contributions of Mary Ainsworth are very significant to the field psychology even still today. Time line/Background of Mary Ainsworth Mary Ainsworth was born in December 1913 in Glendale, Ohio. She was the oldest of three girls; in 1918 her family relocated to Toronto Canada, and gained their citizenship. In her household education and studies were noted to be important. â€Å"When she was fifteen, she read William McDougall's book Character and the Conduct of Life, which inspired her lifelong interest in psychology† (O'Connell, 1983).In 1929 Ainsworth attended study at the University of Toronto; she was one of only four students to finish the honors degree program in psychology. At the time her father decided it would be best for her to become a stenographer, but he was still supportive of her pursuit of graduate work in psychology. In 1939Mary Ainsworth was a recent Ph. D. graduate. She wanted to stay at the University of Toronto, and she fascinated the head of the psychology department. However, she was not selected for a position because the University Senate refused to appoint a female.In 1942 Ainsworth joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corp, and after serving as a counselor in the Army for four years, she came back to the University of Toronto and gained the position assistant professor. She got engaged to Leonar d Ainsworth a graduate student, and they married in 1950. It was difficult working as assistant professor on the faculty where her husband was a pupil so both moved to London, England. â€Å"Mary Ainsworth was selected for a research position at the Tavistock Clinic under psychiatrist John Bowlby.Bowlby’s research of the effects of separation of children from their mother’s/caregiver’s served as a precursor of Ainsworth’s earlier work on the security theory†. In 1953 Leonard Ainsworth was interested in going to Africa. Mary Ainsworth could find employment as a research psychologist at the East African Institute of Social Research in Kampala, Uganda. She conducted a short-term naturalistic study of the mother-infant relationship and published the results.Two years later Mary landed a position as a lecturer in Baltimore, Maryland, at John Hopkins. Not only did she lecture, and supervise students, she set up a private practice dedicated to children. I n 1960 because of divorce Ainsworth became very depressed. In 1963, one year after starting the research she is best known for she became a full professor. In1975 Ainsworth left Hopkins for a professor position at the University of Virginia. She taught there until her retirement in 1984. She remained active in her profession until 1992.The American Psychological Foundation awarded her the Gold Medal Award for life achievement in the science of psychology from. In 1999 Mary Ainsworth passed at the age of 86, she never had any children but her major contributions were in study of children. Theoretical Perspective of Mary Ainsworth Bowlby and Ainsworth worked together to develop the attachment theory and research. â€Å"The distinguishing characteristic of the theory of attachment that we have jointly developed is that it is an ethological approach to personality development.Although they had separate approaches to understanding personality development, they worked together each addin g different ideas and perspectives. In Uganda Ainsworth spent time doing research on mother child interactions. At the same time she teaching and lecturing about psychology at John Hopkins, Mary Ainsworth began work to create a test to measure attachments between mother’s and caregiver’s, and their children. Here she developed the â€Å"Strange Situations† assessment. Children ages 12 months-18 months were observed during the assessment.A researcher watched a child’s reaction when he or she was briefly left alone in an unfamiliar room. Important information was revealed during the separation and upon the mother’s/caregiver’s return. â€Å"Based on her observations, Ainsworth concluded that there are three main attachment styles. The three main attachment styles are secure, anxious- avoidant, and anxious resistant†. Because her initial finding, her work has spawned numerous studies into the nature of attachment and the different attach ment styles that exist between children and caregivers.Mary Ainsworth’s contributions to psychology Significant contributions to the science of psychology have been made by Mary Ainsworth with her â€Å"Strange Situations† assessment. After the research she concluded the main attachment styles are secure, anxious-avoidant, and anxious-resistant. She set a platform and many others shortly followed. Her controversial research on attachment played an important role in understanding the development of children.In 1986 researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style: disorganized-insecure. There are numerous studies that support Ainsworth’s research. Additional research has also shown early attachment styles can help predict behaviors later in life. Mary Ainsworth’s research and contributions are still important to the study of psychology today. Conclusion â€Å"Mary Ainsworth knew her work was debatable and could be understood by some in the wom en’s movement as a order to mothers to stay home with their children in their early age†.â€Å"And while I emphasize the importance of a secure attachment between infant and caregiver, and that full-time mothering may be the usual way of ensuring a secure attachment, she did not deny that alternative arrangements were possible. She said, â€Å"Had I myself had the children for whom I vainly longed, I like to believe I could have arrived at some satisfactory combination of mothering and a career, but I do not believe that there is any universal, easy, ready-made solution to the problem† (Ainsworth, 1983. p. 216).With tables turning and the contributions of psychology’s most prominent female theorist being added to text books students will study more about the contributions of Mary Ainsworth. Her background, significant contributions, and theoretical approach are vital still today. Many psychology researchers use the â€Å"Strange Situation† assessme nt as a basis for analysis on child development research. Mary Ainsworth lived 86 years and most of her life was spent researching, lecturing, teaching, and observing in the psychology field.