Life After A Collage

Life After A Collage Hello from the other side! Like the wizened, immortal Jess Kim, I am finally An Old Person, relatively speaking. Work As mentioned in my graduation entry, I work at Bluefin Labs, a startup of roughly 20 engineers and data scientists (although we are ~50 people in total) based in Kendall Square, just a few blocks from MIT. I’m the youngest employee and the only new grad they’ve ever hired, so when I found out they were going to have interns for the summer, I was all like, “yay! I will not be the least experienced person there!” all of the interns were Ph.D students. “Rachel, are you even old enough to go to a bar?” (“Of course! barely.”) My first month-and-a-bit was spent building a custom charting package to analyze social media commentary relevant to brands and topics. Only two weeks in, we released the first iteration of the software as a tool to compare stats on some of the most popular Olympics topics (who the heck is this Ryan Lochte guy and why are his fans overwhelmingly female?). A few weeks after that, at a company-wide all hands meeting, founder Deb Roy pulled up the app I made*, went to some detergent brand’s page, and demonstrated how a layman could target and optimize ad campaigns to save millions of dollars using our next-day data analysis, all in about two minutes. My lower jaw promptly unhinged itself from my skull and clattered to the floor in a heap of mandibular disarray. #obliviouscodemonkey *I cant give you guys access to a live demo because its proprietarysorry :( I first touched web development less than a year ago, and that project was the first time I’ve ever exercised it in an industry setting. MIT, thanks for beating me senseless with unintuitive C optimization hacks and unrealistically hard algorithmic brainteasers until learning common industry paradigms became utterly trivial. Life As a vehicle-less resident of the same hall in East Campus for all four years, including preorientation, and two summers of my undergraduatehood, I unintentionally limited my opportunities for landing in chummy situations with a wide variety of living groups. A lot of pset groups like to meet up in East Campus, because when it’s getting close to the 9am deadline and the pset drop boxes are two buildings over, you might as well work nearby to minimize the risk of passing out before ferrying the pset to the rendezvous point. People almost always came to me when it was time to work. So, it’s a good idea to occasionally change up your living situation, even if you just do it for a summer, and meeting your new housemates’ friends. No regrets about staying on the same hall during the academic portions of the last four years, though. I love EC enough that I creepily/cruftily went back to help with rush, take tons of i3 footage, and make 5W’s rush posters. What now that Im no longer living in EC? Geographically, my new apartment is at the time-weighted average of every location I frequent in Cambridge! This might not actually be the most convenient location, had I not LEARNED HOW TO RIDE A BIKE THIS SUMMER. It took forty minutes. I should have done it the instant I set foot on campus four years ago. Live and learn (and wear a helmet). Oh, and my housemates have kittens. So many kittens. They are as fearless as they are photogenic, which is heaven for my lens. Cant forget this familiar face. Play A few things I made this summer now that Im no longer scrabbling for graduation requirements: Music videos!   argh there might be some weird desyncing nonsense going on also dont ask why I thought it would be a good idea to shoot handheld with a manual focus portrait-length lens amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Murals! Bread! Three-bite baguettes are even more delicious than regular ones. A personal website!  Its Google pagerank is nonexistent because I quickly threw it together yesterday morning, but I bet you can find it yourself if you are sufficiently creepy. Im one of those weirdos who actually misses the interesting pset problems and mind-shattering all-nighters of MIT, but I have to admit that working only nine hours a day and having the other fifteen hours completely free for fun and (gasp) sleep is a refreshing change of pace. You’ll hear this a lot from alums, particularly grad students. (Don’t worry, most of us make it.)

Olfactory System - Sense of Smell

The olfactory system is responsible for our sense of smell. This sense, also known as olfaction, is one of our five main senses and involves the detection and identification of molecules in the air. Once detected by sensory organs, nerve signals are sent to the brain where the signals are processed. Our sense of smell is closely linked our sense of taste as both rely on the perception of molecules. It is our sense of smell that allows us to detect the flavors in the foods we eat. Olfaction is one of our most powerful senses. Our sense of smell can ignite memories as well as influence our mood and behavior. Olfactory System Structures   Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator / Creative Commons / Wikimedia Commons Our sense of smell is a complex process that depends on sensory organs, nerves, and the brain. Structures of the olfactory system include: Nose: opening containing nasal passages that allows outside air to flow into the nasal cavity. Also a component of the respiratory system, it humidifies, filters, and warms the air inside the nose.Nasal cavity: cavity divided by the nasal septum into left and right passages. It is lined with mucosa.Olfactory epithelium: specialized type of epithelial tissue in nasal cavities that contains olfactory nerve cells and receptor nerve cells. These cells send impulses to the olfactory bulb.Cribriform plate: a porous extension of the ethmoid bone, which separates the nasal cavity from the brain. Olfactory nerve fibers extend through the holes in the cribriform to reach the olfactory bulbs.Olfactory nerve: nerve (first cranial nerve) involved in olfaction. Olfactory nerve fibers extend from the mucous membrane, through the cribriform plate, to the olfactory bulbs.Olfactory bulbs: bulb-shaped structures in the forebrain where olfactory nerves end and the olfactory tract begins.Olfactory tract: band of nerve fibers that extend from each olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex of the brain.Olfactory cortex: area of the cerebral cortex that processes information about odors and receives nerve signals from the olfactory bulbs. Our Sense of Smell Our sense of smell works by the detection of odors. Olfactory epithelium located in the nose contains millions of chemical receptors that detect odors. When we sniff, chemicals in the air are dissolved in mucus. Odor receptor neurons in olfactory epithelium detect these odors and send the signals on to the olfactory bulbs. These signals are then sent along olfactory tracts to the olfactory cortex of the brain through sensory transduction. The olfactory cortex is vital for the processing and perception of odor. It is located in the temporal lobe of the brain, which is involved in organizing sensory input. The olfactory cortex is also a component of the limbic system. This system is involved in the processing of our emotions, survival instincts, and memory formation. The olfactory cortex has connections with other limbic system structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. The amygdala is involved in forming emotional responses (particularly fear responses) and memories, the hippocampus indexes and stores memories, and the hypothalamus regulates emotional responses. It is the limbic system that connects senses, such as odors, to our memories and emotions. Sense of Smell and Emotions The connection between our sense of smell and emotions is unlike that of the other senses because olfactory system nerves connect directly to brain structures of the limbic system. Odors can trigger both positive and negative emotions as aromas are associated with specific memories. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that the emotional expressions of others can influence our olfactory sense. This is due to activity of an area of the brain known as the piriform cortex which is activated prior to odor sensation. The piriform cortex processes visual information and creates an expectation that a particular fragrance will smell pleasant or unpleasant. Therefore, when we see a person with a disgusted facial expression before sensing an odor, there is an expectation that the odor is unpleasant. This expectation influences how we perceive the odor. Odor Pathways Odors are detected through two pathways. The first is the orthonasal pathway which involves odors that are sniffed in through the nose. The second is the retronasal pathway which is a pathway that connects the top of the throat to the nasal cavity. In the orthonasal pathway, odors that enter the nasal passages and are detected by chemical receptors in the nose. The retronasal pathway involves aromas that are contained within the foods we eat. As we chew food, odors are released that travel through the retronasal pathway connecting the throat to the nasal cavity. Once in the nasal cavity, these chemicals are detected by olfactory receptor cells in the nose. Should the retronasal pathway become blocked, the aromas in foods we eat cannot reach odor detecting cells in the nose. As such, the flavors in the food cannot be detected. This often happens when a person has a cold or sinus infection. Smell Disorders Individuals with smell disorders have difficulty detecting or perceiving odors. These difficulties may result from factors such as smoking, aging, upper respiratory infection, head injury, and exposure to chemicals or radiation. Anosmia is a condition defined by the inability to detect odors. Other types of smell defects include parosmia (a distorted perception of odors) and phantosmia (odors are hallucinated.) Hyposmia, the diminished sense of smell, is also linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease. Sources Neuroscience News. â€Å"How the Emotions of Others Influence Our Olfactory Sense.†Ã‚  Neuroscience News, 24 Aug. 2017.Sarafoleanu, C, et al. â€Å"The Importance of the Olfactory Sense in the Human Behavior and Evolution.†Ã‚  Journal of Medicine and Life, Carol Davila University Press, 2009.â€Å"Smell Disorders.†Ã‚  National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 16 Jan. 2018.

Teacher Is The Best Teacher - 1747 Words

Teachers are innately known as being influential in the lives of their students. Throughout their school experience, everyone has their favorite teacher or teachers. I certainly had my share of favorites. Even those that I didn t love still made an impact on me and we re incredibly memorable. To this day, both the good and bad (as I saw it) teachers from my past 12 years of learning have been inspirations that have shaped my desire to become a teacher. As a kindergartner, Mrs. Bryant was the best teacher a child could ask for. Though I can t remember much specific details about that first year of school, I knew I loved going to class. Mrs. Bryant always greeted me and gave me hugs in the morning. I felt as if she knew me so well; and that, despite the 25 year age gap, she was my not just my teacher but my friend. When all the kids had nap time after recess, Mrs. Bryant would let me read books quietly instead of napping since she knew I could never get myself to nap (or even just sit there pretending to for 30 minutes). I felt especially loved every day as I sat and quietly read. I have since then never completely lost the desire to be a teacher, to be as amazing as Mrs. Bryant. However, when I moved up to the big leagues of first grade, things took a complete 180. Again, my memory is fuzzy, but I still can not recall a single positive moment from that year. And every terrible instance seemed to be at the fault of Mrs. Ball. On the first day of class I used a brand newShow MoreRelatedEssay Best Teacher, Worst Teacher974 Words   |  4 PagesBest Teacher, Worst Teacher Although I have had many different types of teachers, there are two that stick out more than any others. The first was my third and sixth grade teacher. She was the best teacher I ever had. The second was my seventh grade teacher. She was the worst I think a student could have had. Both, these teachers had very different teaching styles and very different out looks on teaching. To be an effective teacher the teacher must respect the student andRead MoreI Am The Best Teachers771 Words   |  4 PagesWorking with others to perfect our investment plan was very beneficial. As we work to be the best teachers for our students it is important that we take the time to explain to students what we are working toward and why. Goal setting allows students to understand the purpose of all tasks and to also be investing in the content. As the readings were very valuable and presented many data collection and analysis tools, I believe I pushed my teammates to incorporated stude nt voice more often. As AshleeRead MoreThe Best Teachers Engage Class767 Words   |  4 Pages The best teachers engage the class in active learning. Give and take exchanges with the teacher invoke higher level critical thinking. My responsibility is to meet each lesson objective and make sure the students learn the material. My overall responsibility is to meet the course standard so students pass an end of class assessment or standardized test. My classes draw in the student to learn and question. More than memorizing elements on a periodic chart, chemistry teaches how chemicals combineRead MoreParents are the Best Teachers to their Children515 Words   |  2 Pagesparents are the best teachers? Parents are those who give live to wonderful babies in the world. Nowadays parents in our life are more precious because young people do not realized how their parents sacrificed everything for them. We are in this life because of our parents, and they play an important role in our life every day. They still close to us in any circumstances and believe in us no matter what we are doing in our life .They also play the role as a mother, friend, sister, teacher, advisors, boyfriendRead MoreWho Is The Best Impossible Teacher?1188 Words   |  5 PagesLooking back on too many years of education, I can identify one truly impossible teacher. She cared about me, and my intellectual life, even when I didn’t. Her expectations were high — impossibly so. She was an English teacher. She was also my mother. When good students turn in an essay, they dream of their instructor returning it to them in exactly the same condition, save for a single word added in the margin of the final page: â€Å"Flawless.† This dream came true for me one afternoon in the ninthRead MoreExperience Best Teacher Essay1752 Words   |  8 Pagestook up the implications of the term experience: Experience the Experience. 3wes rgg setaa [edit] See also Experience Is The Best Teacher I firmly stand behind the belief that â€Å"experience is the best teacher†. All aspects of life can be taught, but to fully understand a situation I feel you need to experience it. Examples where experience is the best teacher are: shooting a gun, sky diving, playing a musical instrument, driving a car, and becoming a parent. While someone can explainRead MoreI Am My Best Teacher774 Words   |  4 Pages Over the past school year, I’ve started developing my own idea of what it means to be a teacher, and how I can be the best teacher to the students who walk into my classroom at the beginning of each semester. As a new teacher, who isn’t much older than some of her students, being able to relate to them on a personal level becomes an important part of my pedagogy. Throughout my academic career the professors I connected with the most were those that didn’t take themselves so seriously. They wereRead MoreBest Practice Methods Of Preparing Teachers For The Classroom961 Words   |  4 PagesBest practice methods of preparing teachers for the classroom were addressed in an article by Cochran-Smith, et al. (2011). This study reviewed research on how to best prepare teachers for the classroom. 6 different genres were reviewed. Qualitative studies were conducted to help understand policy and practice for the best ways to train teachers. The genres that were tested were teacher certification, educational background, entry pathways, teacher preparation, age of beginning teaching, and lifeRead MoreImproving Teachers Teaching The Way Students Learn Best879 Words   |  4 PagesIn two high schools, a research was done to see how to promote teachers teaching the way students learn best. This research was done over a five-year span as a class elective with hand picked students to participate with consent from parents. The two high schools were named Woodson and Northside. Each of these schools has unique aspects that the other school doesn’t have. Even though the differences were presented, the results were almost the same. The main problem of this research study was toRead More My father, my best teacher Essay example650 Words   |  3 Pagesin high school, sometimes I thought that school teaches me what to think instead of how to think. The teachers always came up with the rules, what you can do and what you can’t do at school. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Somehow I had many fabulous teachers that helped opening my mind to the outside world. But the person whom I listen and look up to has always been my father as the best teacher for all my life. As my role model, my father is a man of few words who spends his most of the time with

Sarnath Free Essays

The Buddha went from Bodhgaya to Sarnath about 5 weeks after his enlightenment. Before Gautama (the Buddha-to-be) attained enlightenment, he gave up his austere penances and his friends, the Pancavaggiya monks, left him and went to Isipatana. [4] After attaining Enlightenment the Buddha, leaving Uruvela, travelled to the Isipatana to Join and teach them. We will write a custom essay sample on Sarnath or any similar topic only for you Order Now He went to them because, using his spiritual powers, he had seen that his five former companions would be able to understand Dharma quickly. While travelling to Sarnath, Gautama Buddha had to cross the Ganges. Having no money with which to pay the ferryman, he crossed the Ganges through the air. When King Bimbis ¤ra heard of this, he abolished the toll for ascetics. When Gautama Buddha found his five former companions, he taught them, they understood and as a result they also became enlightened. At that time the Sangha, the community of the enlightened ones, was founded. The sermon Buddha gave to the five monks was his irst sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It was given on the full-moon day of Asalha PuJa. [5] Buddha subsequently also spent his first rainy season at Sarnath[6] at the Mulagandhakuti. The Sangha had grown to 60 in number (after Yasa and his friends had become monks), and Buddha sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma. All 60 monks were Arahants. Several other incidents connected with the Buddha, besides the preaching of the first sermon, are entioned as having taken place in Isipatana. Here it was that one day at dawn Yasa came to the Buddha and became an Arahant. [7] It was at Isipatana, too, that the rule was passed prohibiting the use of sandals made of talipot leaves. [8] On another occasion when the Buddha was staying at Isipatana, having gone there from R ¤Jagaha, he instituted rules forbidding the use of certain kinds of flesh, including human flesh. [9] Twice, while the Buddha was at Isipatana, M ¤ra visited him but had to go away discomfited. [10] How to cite Sarnath, Papers

The Rise of Technology in India Essay free essay sample

INTRODUCTION The rise of technology in India has brought into force many types of equipment that aim at more customer satisfaction. ATM is one such machine which made money transactions easy for customers to bank. The other side of this improvement is the enhancement of the culprit’s probability to get his ‘unauthentic’ share. Traditionally, security is handled by requiring the combination of a physical access card and a PIN or other password in order to access a customer’s account. This model invites fraudulent attempts through stolen cards, badly-chosen or automatically assigned PINs, cards with little or no encryption schemes, employees with access to non-encrypted customer account information and other points of failure. Our paper proposes an automatic teller machine security model that would combine a physical access card, a PIN, and electronic facial recognition. By forcing the ATM to match a live image of a customer’s face with an image stored in a bank database that is associated with the account number, the damage to be caused by stolen cards and PINs is effectively neutralized. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise of Technology in India Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Only when the PIN matches the account and the live image and stored image match would a user be considered fully verified. The main issues faced in developing such a model are keeping the time elapsed in the verification process to a negligible amount, allowing for an appropriate level of variation in a customer’s face when compared to the database image, and that credit cards which can be used at ATMs to withdraw funds are generally issued by institutions that do not have in-person contact with the customer, and hence no opportunity to acquire a photo. Because the system would only attempt to match two (and later, a few) discrete images, searching through a large database of possible matching candidates would be unnecessary. The process would effectively become an exercise in pattern matching, which would not require a great deal of time. With appropriate lighting and robust learning software, slight variations could be accounted for in most cases. Further, a positive visual match would cause the live image to be stored in the database so that future transactions would have a broader base from which to compare if the original ccount image fails to provide a match – thereby decreasing false negatives. When a match is made with the PIN but not the images, the bank could limit transactions in a manner agreed upon by the customer when the account was opened, and could store the image of the user for later examination by bank officials. In regards to bank employees gaining access to customer PINs for use in fraudulent transaction s, this system would likewise reduce that threat to exposure to the low limit imposed by the bank and agreed to by the customer on visually unverifiable transactions. In the case of credit card use at ATMs, such a verification system would not currently be feasible without creating an overhaul for the entire credit card issuing industry, but it is possible that positive results (read: significant fraud reduction) achieved by this system might motivate such an overhaul. The last consideration is that consumers may be wary of the privacy concerns raised by maintaining images of customers in a bank database, encrypted or otherwise, due to possible hacking attempts or employee misuse. However, one could argue that having the image compromised by a third party would have far less dire consequences than the account information itself. Furthermore, since nearly all ATMs videotape customers engaging in transactions, it is no broad leap to realize that banks already build an archive of their customer images, even if they are not necessarily grouped with account information. LITERATURE REVIEW For most of the past ten years, the majority of ATMs used worldwide ran under IBM’s now-defunct OS/2. However, IBM hasn’t issued a major update to the operating system in over six years. Movement in the banking world is now going in two directions: Windows and Linux. NCR, a leading world-wide ATM manufacturer, recently announced an agreement to use Windows XP Embedded in its next generation of personalized ATMs (crmdaily. com. ) Windows XP Embedded allows OEMs to pick and choose from the thousands of components that make up Windows XP Professional, including integrated multimedia, networking and database management functionality. This makes the use of off-the-shelf facial recognition code more desirable because it could easily be compiled for the Windows XP environment and the networking and database tools will already be in place. For less powerful ATMs, KAL, a software development company based in Scotland, provides Kalignite CE, which is a modification of the Windows CE platform. This allows developers that target older machines to more easily develop complex user-interaction systems . Many financial institutions are relying on a third choice, Windows NT, because of its stability and maturity as a platform. On an alternative front, the largest bank in the south of Brazil, Banrisul, has installed a custom version of Linux in its set of two thousand ATMs, replacing legacy MS-DOS systems. The ATMs send database requests to bank servers which do the bulk of transaction processing (linux. org. ) This model would also work well for the proposed system if the ATMs processors were not powerful enough to quickly perform the facial recognition algorithms. In terms of the improvement of security standards, MasterCard is spearheading an effort to heighten the encryption used at ATMs. For the past few decades, many machines have used the Data Encryption Standard developed by IBM in the mid 1970s that uses a 56-bit key. DES has been shown to be rather easily cracked, however, given proper computing hardware. In recent years, a â€Å"Triple DES† scheme has been put forth that uses three such keys, for an effective 168-bit key length. MasterCard now requires new or relocated ATMs to use the Triple DES scheme, and by April, 2005, both Visa and MasterCard will require that any ATM that supports their cards must use Triple DES. ATM manufacturers are now developing newer models that support Triple DES natively; such redesigns may make them more amenable to also including snapshot cameras and facial recognition software, more so than they would be in regards to retrofitting pre-existing machines . There are hundreds of proposed and actual implementations of facial recognition technology from all manner of vendors for all manner of uses. However, for the model proposed in this paper, we are interested only in the process of facial verification – matching a live image to a predefined image to verify a claim of identity – not in the process of facial evaluation – matching a live image to any image in a database. Further, the environmental conditions under which the verification takes place – the lighting, the imaging system, the image profile, and the processing environment – would all be controlled within certain narrow limits, making hugely robust software unnecessary . One leading facial recognition algorithm class is called image template based. This method attempts to capture global features of facial images into facial templates. Neural networks, among other methods, are often used to construct these templates for later matching use. An alternative method, called geometry-based, is to explicitly examine the individual features of a face and the geometrical relationship between those features (Gross. ) What must be taken into account, though, are certain key factors that may change across live images: illumination, expression, and pose (profile. A study was recently conducted of leading recognition algorithms, notably one developed by two researchers at MIT, Baback Moghaddam and Alex Pentland, and one a commercial product from Identix called FaceIt. The MIT program is based on Principal Feature Analysis, an adaptation of template based recognition. FaceIt’s approach uses geometry-based local feature analysis. Both algorithms have to be ini tialized by providing the locations of the eyes in the database image, from which they can create an internal representation of the normalized face. It is this representation to which future live images will be compared . In the study, it was found that both programs handled changes in illumination well. This is important because ATM use occurs day and night, with or without artificial illumination. Likewise, the programs allowed general expression changes while maintaining matching success. However, extreme expressions, such as a scream profile, or squinted eyes, dropped the recognition rates significantly. Lastly, matching profile changes worked reasonably well when the initial training image(s) were frontal, which allowed 70-80% success rates for up to 45 degrees of profile change†¦ however, 70-80% success isn’t amenable to keeping ATM users content with the system. The natural conclusion to draw, then, is to take a frontal image for the bank database, and to provide a prompt to the user, verbal or otherwise, to face the camera directly when the ATM verification process is to begin, so as to avoid the need to account for profile changes. With this and other accommodations, recognition rates for verification can rise above 90%. Also worth noting is that FaceIt’s local feature analysis method handled variations in the test cases slightly better than the PGA system used by the MIT researchers . Another paper shows more advantages in using local feature analysis systems. For internal representations of faces, LFA stores them topographically; that is, it maintains feature relationships explicitly. Template based systems, such as PGA, do not. The advantages of LFA are that analysis can be done on varying levels of object grouping, and that analysis methods can be independent of the topography. In other words, a system can examine just the eyes, or the eyes nose and mouth, or ears, nose, mouth and eyebrows, and so on, and that as better analysis algorithms are developed, they can fit within the data framework provided by LFA The conclusion to be drawn for this project, then, is that facial verification software is currently up to the task of providing high match rates for use in ATM transactions. What remains is to find an appropriate open-source local feature analysis facial verification program that can be used on a variety of platforms, including embedded processors, and to determine behavior protocols for the match / non-match cases. OUR METHODOLOGY The first and most important step of this project will be to locate a powerful open-source facial recognition program that uses local feature analysis and that is targeted at facial verification. This program should be compilable on multiple systems, including Linux and Windows variants, and should be customizable to the extent of allowing for variations in processing power of the machines onto which it would be deployed. We will then need to familiarize ourselves with the internal workings of the program so that we can learn its strengths and limitations. Simple testing of this program will also need to occur so that we could evaluate its effectiveness. Several sample images will be taken of several individuals to be used as test cases – one each for â€Å"account† images, and several each for â€Å"live† images, each of which would vary pose, lighting conditions, and expressions. Once a final program is chosen, we will develop a simple ATM black box program. This program will server as the theoretical ATM with which the facial recognition software will interact. It will take in a name and password, and then look in a folder for an image that is associated with that name. It will then take in an image from a separate folder of â€Å"live† images and use the facial recognition program to generate a match level between the two. Finally it will use the match level to decide whether or not to allow â€Å"access†, at which point it will terminate. All of this will be necessary, of course, because we will not have access to an actual ATM or its software. Both pieces of software will be compiled and run on a Windows XP and a Linux system. Once they are both functioning properly, they will be tweaked as much as possible to increase performance (decreasing the time spent matching) and to decrease memory footprint. Following that, the black boxes will be broken into two components – a server and a client – to be used in a two-machine network. The client code will act as a user interface, passing all input data to the server code, which will handle the calls to the facial recognition software, further reducing the memory footprint and processor load required on the client end. In this sense, the thin client architecture of many ATMs will be emulated. We will then investigate the process of using the black box program to control a USB camera attached to the computer to avoid the use of the folder of â€Å"live† images. Lastly, it may be possible to add some sort of DES encryption to the client end to encrypt the input data and decrypt the output data from the server – knowing that this will increase the processor load, but better allowing us to gauge the time it takes to process. CONCLUSION We thus develop an ATM model that is more reliable in providing security by using facial recognition software. By keeping the time elapsed in the verification process to a negligible amount we even try to maintain the efficiency of this ATM system to a greater degree.

buy custom Higher Education Fees in the UK essay

buy custom Higher Education Fees in the UK essay Student fees in the United Kingdom have increased tremendously over the years. The gradual increase in fees has made UK higher education more expensive. Increased student fees arose from continued government proposals, to raise the figures further. This has led to the emergence of diverse views both in support and against the high student fees. Proponents assert that increased fees would facilitate learning opportunities for the poor. It would promote investments in education institutions, and it would ease taxpayers expenditure on funding education. On the other hand, opponents claim that increased fees would compromise the quality of education. In addition, they claim that it would negatively affect students from the middle class families. All these cases have led to increased debate over the escalating higher education fees in the UK. This paper explicates the cases for and against increasing higher education fees in the UK and the effect on the economy. Increased fees would help students from poor backgrounds access higher education. Students from rich backgrounds would be in a better position, to raise the fees compared to poor students. Hayto Paczuska (2002, P 100) reports that poor students would be covered with fees paid by richer students. The extra amounts arising out of the total fees collected by educational institutions would be forwarded to fund poor students both in the provision of basic need and tuition fees. The contribution by richer students is vital in ensuring that every student with a promising future accesses education. In addition, problems related to wasted brains would be eliminated as the poor access education. Institutions providing higher education would be more balanced in matters relating to class, as education is accessed individuals from diverse backgrounds. This will facilitate an increase in the number of literate individuals because everyones welfare is catered for. Thus, the UK government would be in a better position, to ensure that all students access education and none is left behind because of the failure to meet the required fees. The provision of education to poor students would see them liberate their families from poverty to better living standards as they get to the job market. According to Johnes Johnes (2004, P 112) education for all would promote equality among all the youth regardless of their family backgrounds. Increasing higher education fees is the only way to raise the prospects of poor students advancing their education and reaching their desired goals. It is the only way to increase investments in the education sector by the higher education institutions. Increasing fees would raise more revenue to educational institutions. Educational institutions rely on the fees paid by students, to develop infrastructure and enhance educational research. The increased fees would provide a larger financial base for the institutions and would make it easier for them to invest in the provision of better education. Institutions would be able to advance technologically. According to Accounts (2008, P 110) higher education would only be meaningful if students learn in an environment where they access what they need. The tremendous rise in fees would be the only way toensure educational institutions do not suffer from financial difficulties but make significant improvements as they deem. It would mean that students all over the UK have better and modern learning facilities. Higher education institutions would not have to rely on loans, which attract h igh interests on repayment. They would develop using the funds that are raised by students hence no need to pay interest. It is the only way of securing educational institutions in their efforts to provide education with modern facilities. They would be in a better position, to change and keep up with the continuous changes in the educational sector. In addition, they would be able to compete with other internationally recognized institutions. This will lead to more applications from international students. Everyone would be attracted to join the highly competitive institutions in the UK. Fees need to be increased to raise the levels of investments in the educational sector by institutions. Citizens would be taxed lesser amounts in relation to education funding. Increasing the amount of fees would mean that taxpayers are relieved of the high amounts they have to contribute towards funding higher education. Students would provide the funds required by their institutions hence no need to overtax individuals. Taxpayers would be in a better position, to increase their savings because of the reduced tax burden. Committee (2007, P 133) observes that they would be contributing lesser amounts towards the loans incurred by students in the course of pursuing higher education. This means that those who earn less would be better positioned as they can easily save and make personal investments. Individual students would bear the fees without straining taxpayers. According to Accounts (2008, P 122) educational institutions would rely on funds that they are sure about their inflows instead of depending on taxpayers funds, which could not be reliable in the long run. The ease on taxpay ers would be vital in reducing the level of resistance to higher education in the UK. Opponents claim that fee increments would negatively affect students from the middleclass families. The increased fees would hurt families that are perceived to be at the middleclass level in the UK. This is because the rich students would find it easier to pay the amounts assisted by their wealthy parents. In addition, poor students would be shielded by the funds provides by the rich students. McNay (2006, P 100) intimates that students from middleclass families with average incomes would find it difficult t raise the required fees because of the lack of shielding effects. This could lead to some of them dropping out of school because of the inability to raise the fees required in the institutions. They would not be in a position, to access better living standards because of the high amounts of fees required to keep them in schools. This will see families in the middleclass being pushed into poverty. There would be increased imbalance in the access to quality education as most middl eclass students opt to drop out and seek education at institutions that charge lesser fees. Increased fees would mean suffering among the middleclass hence not desirable. It leads to increased levels of poverty in the UK. The increased fees would compromise quuality standards in education. The quality of the education offered by higher institutions would likely go down because of the increased focus on the fees. They would be keener on raising high amounts of money from students instead of providing education. According to Brown (2004, P 120) students would only be allowed to attend classes after payment of the required amounts. This means that students who fail to comply with the fees requirements would always be sent out of class until they complete the amounts outstanding. Educational institutions would gradually transform into financial institutions aimed at generating income instead of encouraging educational promotion. Increased fees would also lead to rise of class in educational institutions, as students who are unable to raise the required fees are intimidated making them unable to concentrate. This means that they would not be able to deliver their best in academics. They would be forced to deal with intimidating elements instead of concentrating on schoolwork. In addition, educational institutions would accommodate individuals according to their financial abilities and not academic abilities. This would compromise the standards of education as the brighter students without the ability to fund their education are segregated. Increased fees are thus undesirable because it would lead to a decline in UKs educational standards. The fee increment would have various effects on the economy. For instance, it would lead to a rise in the level of poverty. With the increased fees, middleclass parents would have to spend more on educating their children hence running out of resources. Johnes Johnes (2004, P 200) assert that the economy would be retarded by their reduced contribution in its growth. The overall effect of the decline in middleclass individuals would be poor living conditions in the economy. On the positive side, the economy would be boosted as the poor students access education courtesy of richer students. It is likely to lead to a better economy as illiteracy is eliminated. This means more individuals would be able to contribute to economic growth after being employed. In conclusion, an increase in higher education fees came into place after the government passed a proposal on amending higher education fees. The increment led to the emergence of views both in support and against the move to increase higher education fees. Those in support for the increase claim that it would help poor students access education because richer students cover them. In addition, they hold that it would lead to a reduction in taxes because taxpayers would be charged a lesser amount to contribute towards education. They assert that the increment would lead to increased investments by the institutions. This will ensure that UK institutions rank among the worlds best. Those against the increment assert that middleclass parents would be negatively affected, as they would be required to spend more. There is nobody to cover them. This would lead to increased levels of poverty. Increments would compromise the education standards in the UK as the focus shifts towards money inst ead of education. The overall effects of this are that there could be increased poverty in the economy as middleclass parents grapple to provide for their children. Buy custom Higher Education Fees in the UK essay

How to Write Your Graduate School Admissions Essay

How to Write Your Graduate School Admissions Essay The admissions essay is often the least well-understood part of the graduate school application yet it is critical to your admissions success. The graduate admissions essay or personal statement is your chance to distinguish yourself  from other applicants and let the admissions committee know you apart from your GPA and GRE scores. Your admissions essay can be the deciding factor in whether you are accepted or rejected by a graduate school. Therefore, it is necessary that you write an essay that is honest, interesting, and well organized. How well you structure and organize your application essay can determine your fate. A well-written essay tells the admissions committee that you have the capacity to write coherently, think logically, and do well in grad school. Format your essay to include an introduction, a body, and a concluding paragraph. Essays are often written in response to prompts posed by the grad school. Regardless, organization is key to your success. Introduction: The introduction is the most important part of the essay, especially the first sentence. The first sentence introduces your essay and a bad introduction, in person or in writing, is detrimental to your admissions chances.The first sentence should be unique and compelling, possibly thought provoking or attention-grabbing.First sentences may explain your desire to study the subject of interest or discuss the motivation that influenced your desire to study the subject of interest. State it in a creative manner.The sentences following the first sentence should provide a brief explanation that supports the claim stated in the first sentence.Your goal for the introduction is to entice the reader to continue beyond the first paragraph. The Body: The body includes several paragraphs that provide detailed evidence to support the statements made in the introductory paragraph.Each paragraph should have a transition, which starts each paragraph with a topic statement that will be the theme of that paragraph. This gives the reader a heads up of whats to come. Transitions connect paragraphs to preceding paragraphs, enabling the essay to flow smoothly.Each paragraph should have a resolution, which ends each paragraph with a meaningful sentence that provides a transition to the next paragraph.Experiences, accomplishments or any other evidence that can support your claims should be included in the body. Future goals should also be mentioned in the body.A short summary of your educational background can be discussed in the 1st paragraph of the body.Personal experiences and the reasons for wanting to attend the school can be discussed in the 2nd paragraph.Do not simply repeat what was stated in the application.The last paragraph can exp lain why you are a good match for the program. Conclusion: The conclusion is the last paragraph of the essay.State the key points mentioned in the body, such as your experiences or accomplishments, that explain your interest in the subject. State it in a conclusive and brief manner.Convey your fit to the specific graduate program and field. Your essay should include detail, be personal, and specific. The purpose of the graduate admissions essay is to show the admission committee what makes you unique and different from other applicants. Your job is to display your distinct personality and provide evidence that confirms your passion, desire, and, especially, fit for the subject and the program.