Functional Areas

Functional Area Interrelationships: Kudler Fine Foods Charles Burt, Megan Engelking, Lou Gamache, Rebecca Lanham, and Julie Lee University of Phoenix BUS 475 July 24, 2011 Phyllis Koch Functional Area Interrelationships This paper is based on the Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) virtual organization scenario presented in University of Phoenix Business 475 course (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2009). The following topics will be covered about KFF; the main motivation for the KFF existence from analyzing the vision, mission, values, goals, and the basis for the type of managerial structure employed by KFF.We will identify the key positions that support that organizational structure; explaining all steps of the collaboration process among the serviceable sections that must be employed to accomplish organizational aspirations. An action arrangement is to execute the collaboration process, giving an example of the use of lateral and vertical collaboration within KFF will be given. Another topic will be ide ntifying the key stakeholders and their roles needed to achieve the executive goals, and recommend the collaborative interactions among the significant stakeholders to facilitate the organization's accomplishments.Reason for Existence Analyzing the strategic plan of KFF reveals the primary reasons for the organization’s existence, and that key components are established for the future success of the company. The mission statement is one of those key components. The mission statement states that the organization is committed to customer satisfaction by providing the finest of foods coupled with knowledgeable, experienced, and helpful staff (Kudler Fine Foods – Our Mission, 2003, Para. 3).The purpose for a mission plan is to provide guidance for the actions of an organization and to help direct decision-making. The mission plan will further identify organizational goals along with the responsibilities that exist to the customer and other stake-holders. KFF has establishe d a mission statement that identifies strong commitment to company goals and values. Another key component to strategic planning is the vision. A vision statement provides a final objective or goal for the organization.Furthermore, it identifies the future result when objectives found in the mission statement are met. Although little is mentioned in the virtual organization link for customers to see about a specific future vision for the company, one may gather the future expectations highlighted in the mission plan. Visionary thoughts include the expectation for KFF to be â€Å"the purveyor of choice for customers aspiring to purchase the finest epicurean delights† (Kudler Fine Foods – Mission Plan, 2003, Para. 3).However, strategic plan the vision Is stated for internal use that â€Å"Kudler Fine Foods will be the premiere gourmet grocery store for those savvy shoppers who are searching for the finest meats, produce, cheeses, and wine† (Kudler Fine Foods †“ Strategic Plan, 2003, p. 3). The values and goals of KFF contribute to the strategic plan of the organization and identify further reasons for the existence of the organization. The people at KFF understand the high standards that exist in providing quality food. Furthermore, they understand the responsibility to the community and their employees.By taking extra measures, KFF fulfills this responsibility with its Social Responsibility Statement. In an effort to contribute to the local economy, buyers will seek to purchase from local organic farmers when high standards are met. The bakery takes extra steps to ensure healthier baked goods through the use of unbleached flour and seeing that ingredients have no preservatives. Additionally, and certainly noteworthy, KFF rotates food from the shelves and donates food still in â€Å"good† condition to local homeless shelters and food kitchens (Kudler Fine Foods – Strategic Plan, 2003, p. ). These efforts demonstrate the c ommitment to values and the identified social responsibility. KFF reveals many reasons for the organization’s existence through its use of the company’s mission, vision, values, and goals. Organizational Structure A business’ organizational structure is critical to the business and the employees. An organizational structure is â€Å"the manner in which an organization arranges (or rearranges) itself† (Fontaine, 2007, p. 6). At Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) the organizational structure that they operate under is a functional structure.A functional organizational structure is a structure where the position and function of employees are clearly specified. The business is divided into separate departments with specific tasks (Pearce ; Robinson, 2009). KFF has a hierarchy of authority, which defines who is in charge of which fundamentals and who reports to whom. The decision making, ideas, and plans come from the top hierarchy, in this case Kathy Kudler, the preside nt of KFF. KFF has a vertical dimension with several levels of management. Kudler Fine Foods has a total of three stores that make up the framework of the organizational structure.For instance, the president is at top working with the three store managers. Each store has the same structure hierarchy beginning with the store manager. Under the store manager is the assistant store manager and continues to branch out to the four different department managers – produce and foodstuffs; spirits, cheeses, and wine; meats, and seafood; bakery, and pastries. The key positions that hold the structure together is the administration staff consisting of the president, director of administration and human resources, finance, and accounting, and store operations.Many levels of management exist in the structure. Every employee has a defined role, all of which with the common goal of meeting the needs of the consumer. Kudler Fine Foods operates in a centralized manner allowing KFF to have mor e upper management control. With a functional structure every employee’s role is important to the vision and goal of the business. Collaboration Process â€Å"Today's enterprises are striving to create more specialized features through globalization and  collaboration† (Park, 2003, p. 5). Several steps are in the collaboration process.The first step is for all the people in the process to come to an agreement on the collaboration process. The second step is for all the people involved in the process to understand the need of reaching the same goal. The third step in the process is for all people involved to work together and share the responsibilities in making the decisions. The fourth step is to make sure all people have resources, which they intend to share with the others involved. The fifth process is making sure everyone knows that with the shared responsibility, during the collaboration, each person is also responsible for the outcome.The final step in the col laboration process is establishing trust among everyone involved. Trust is a huge factor into how well a team performs. After working out all the details to the steps in the collaboration process, the members must make sure the schedule and guidelines are discussed and followed. Developing guidelines is a way to make sure all people involved are held accountable for the inactions or actions within the group. Kudler Fine Foods has started the collaboration process and the first KFF needs to do is have the purchasing and inventory manager’s start the process.The largest success of Kudler Fine Foods is the customers continuing to shop at the stores. To keep the customers coming back to Kudler Fine Foods, the collaboration team needs to consider the needs and wants of the customers. The inventory manager will assist by advising the team what products are selling and what products are not. The product manager may determine a better position in the store to make sure the non-sellin g items sell or the two individuals may cut back on that particular product to lessen the overhead.Kudler Fine Foods will need to implement an action plan to keep customers coming back, but also to introduce new products to the customers. Kudler Fine Foods has initiated a frequent shopper program, which enables customers to earn rewards with purchases. Rewards are coupons or a certain dollar amount off the entire shopping order once a certain level of purchases is met. KFF must also increase the marketing of the company and the rewards program to make sure the customers aware of the program.The marketing manager can collaborate with the inventory and purchasing managers to discuss how to best implement a successful marketing plan. Setting these processes in motion will give KFF an advantage above the competition Lateral and Vertical Collaboration Lateral collaboration occurs between the equivalent level of employees within the organization, and vertical collaboration would be betwee n employees with a superior and subordinate relationship. An example of vertical collaboration occurred when Kathy Kudler coordinates the selection of sale merchandise with the store managers during the weekly operations meetings.Kathy has oversight of the entire organization and directs the merchandise and sale processes with her subordinate store managers. Good lateral collaboration is illustrated by cooperation between store managers in facilitating resupply of advertised merchandise between stores, to the stores with a higher demand. Kudler Fine Foods has no consistent purchasing procedure. The three department managers at each store independently place orders with suppliers based on the department manager’s subjective assessment of store requirements.Further, the onus is on the department manager â€Å"to obtain the best pricing, quality, and delivery possible† (Apollo Group, 2009, Supply Chain Overview, para. 1). This purchasing structure lacks both vertical and lateral collaboration and relies on the individual department managers to take additional steps to coordinate purchasing with other department managers. No mechanism for department managers to compare or discuss store needs among counterparts and no consistent pricing structure between store locations. A vertical disconnect is evident in that Kathy Kudler also places orders independent from the store managers.An action plan to improve both vertical and lateral collaboration within Kudler Fine Foods involves improvements to the purchasing process. Department managers would be required to have a department manager weekly review meeting where store merchandise needs, trends, and purchase requirements would be compared, discussed, and coordinated laterally into a purchase order plan. This purchase plan would be submitted vertically to a central purchasing agent at the administrative level who would facilitate the negotiation and purchase from suppliers to ensure the best pricing and qua lity.Key Stakeholders Kathy Kudler is the founder of KFF. She is the primary stakeholder, and because the company is a privately owned entity there are no shareholders in the company. The company does have investors who have a stake in the company. The investors or stakeholders are both internal and external and are monitored by the company. The stakeholders include the employees, consumers, suppliers, banks, and Kathy Kudler, and each can have an affect or be affected by the company. When Kathy first decided to create Kudler fine foods, she obtained financing.This is done generally through banks. Banking institutions will extend credit terms to consumers such as Kathy. Kathy can also go to these banks when she is obtaining funding for new stores or launching new products. Banking institutions can also help with extending the line of credit when peek seasons are low and profits might not be as large. The main point of financing comes from banking institutions. The staff of KFF is cr itical to the daily operations of the company. These employees have direct contact with consumers and serve as a primary point of contact for Kathy and consumers.Employees contribute to labor and the expertise to the company. In daily activities these employees are responsible for the growth of the stores, the appearance stores, maintenance in the stores, training new staff, and picking up the slack when other employees are not available. Because Kathy is not available daily to complete these activities it is important for the staff to complete these activities and ensure the success of the company. Consumers are a large part of the company, it is important for the consumers needs to be met, and this is done typically through purchasing goods.Customers rely on employees and Kathy to provide the goods that they are willing to purchase. Customers’ requests need to be met and Kudler has to decide whether the requests of the customer can be met or are feasible for the company to provide. If the products are not available to the consumer the company needs to look into alternate options to solve the problem and to keep the customer. Suppliers can also play an important role in the company. These suppliers are the backbone of the company and provide all the products necessary for the company to be successful.KFF have suppliers for wine, cheese, fresh produce, organic meats, and all bakery items. These come from both local and national suppliers. The local products ensure the highest quality of products and these suppliers need to remain on good financial terms to continue to build a business relationship. Conclusion Kathy Kudler has achieved success by hiring managers who take social responsibility seriously because he or she already has firm intuitions about what constitutes ethical and unethical conduct (Heath, 2006).The success of the company has many factors that contribute. The way that the stakeholders of the company relate and work together are importan t factors in any companies’ success. KFF has achieved the success the company has because of their ability to interact positively with all the stakeholders in the company. The existence of the company is to serve the customers of the community with the highest quality of gourmet foods. Kathy Kudler’s mission, vision, and values have made the company a success and a reality. References Apollo Group, Inc. 2009) Kudler Fine Foods; 2003 Strategic Plan. Retrieved July 24, 2011 from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/ad/strategicPlan. htm Apollo Group, Inc. (2009) Kudler Fine Foods; Supply Chain Overview. Retrieved July 24, 2011 from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/op/supplyChainOverview. htm Fontaine, C. W. (2007). Organizational Structure: A Critical Factor for Organizational Effectiveness and Employee Satisfaction. Retrieved from professorfontaine. om/files/Organizational_Structure_Whit e_Paper_v7b. pdf Kudler Fine Foods, About Kudler Fine Foods – Our Mission, 2010, Retrieved from: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/internet/about. htm Kudler Fine Foods, Strategic Plan, 2003, Retrieved from: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/ad/StrategicPlan2003. pdf Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Jun Assignment Mpa for 2012-13

IGNOU M. A in Public Administration Solved Assignment Dec 2012 Presented by http://www. IGNOU4Ublog. com TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA) Course Code: MPA-011 Assignment Code: Asst/TMA/2012-2013 Marks: 100 This assignment consists of Sections I & II. There are five questions in each section. You have to answer a total of five questions in about 400 words each. It is necessary to attempt at least two questions from each section. Each question carries 20 marks. Section-1 consists of questions from Units 1 to 10 and Section-II consists of questions from Units 11 to 21. Section – I . Examine the views of F. W Riggs on Society-Administration relationship. Solution: Coming soon†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ———————————————————————————————– 2. ‘State’s role needs to be examined in the context of its Liberal and Marxist perspectives’. Discuss. Solution: The liberal conception of the state is of a limited organization that represents popular will. The state plays a minimal role in the directing of society and economic affairs, but can play a significant supporting role in modern liberal (social liberal) theories.Classical Liberals favor a minimal state that only provides for basic services such as defense, enforcing contracts and protecting property rights. Social liberals accept more roles for the state, primarily in the economic sphere, such as regulation of capitalism in order to protect consumers and workers, welfare programs to help the poor and disadvantaged in society and public services that benefit everyone. To liberals, the state plays a supporting role in society, and is usually left to operate in the political and social spheres.Marxists conceive of the state as an institution of capitalism that can be transformed to benefit the working class, as the state is the only institution that is capable of organizing and managing the economy on a large scale. The state would be radicalized in that the workers and people would control it through direct democracy or council democracy. The state becomes an integral part of the economy in that it owns the means of production in the phase of socialism.Marxists see the state as becoming unnecessary when the productive forces develop and authority on the state level is no longer required, leading to the disappearance of the state and social class. This society is called communism, where the means of production is owned communally but operated and managed by cooperatives. Socialism is an economic system whereby either the state or worker cooperatives own and control the means of production, strategic resources and major industry.The principle of socialism is to organize the economy in a rational manner that avoids the pitfalls of capitalism and the free market through plan ned or state directed economic systems. Socialism can also utilize the market mechanism to distribute goods and services in the form of market socialism, while the state or public retains ownership of major economic institutions. The revenue generated by the state economy would be used to finance government programs, potentially eliminating the need for taxation.A private sector for non-heavy industry can exist in a socialist system, but the state, public or cooperative sector would play the dominant role in the economy. To socialists, the state is a part of the economy and the state plays a dominant role in structuring economic and political affairs. ———————————————————————————————– 3. Explain the Neo-liberal Perspective of State. Solution: Neoliberalism is a co ntemporary political movement advocating economic liberalizations, free trade and open markets. Neoliberalism supports the privatization of nationalized industries, eregulation, and enhancing the role of the private sector in modern society. It is commonly informed by neoclassical or Austrian economics. The term neoliberal today is often used as a general condemnation of economic liberalization policies and advocates. Neoliberalism shares many concepts with mainstream schools of economic thought. The term â€Å"neoliberalism† was coined in 1938 by the German scholar Alexander Rustow at the Colloque Walter Lippmann. The colloquium defined the concept of neoliberalism as â€Å"the priority of the price mechanism, the free enterprise, the system of competition and a strong and impartial state. To be â€Å"neoliberal† meant that â€Å"laissez-faire† liberalism is not enough and that – in the name of liberalism – a modern economic policy is required. A fter the colloquium â€Å"neoliberalism† became a label for several academical approaches such as the Freiburg school, the Austrian School or the Chicago school of economics. During the military rule under Augusto Pinochet in Chile opposition scholars took up the expression again without a specific reference to any theoretical revision of liberalism.Rather, it described a set of political and economic reforms being implemented in Chile and imbued the term with pejorative connotations. In the last two decades, according to the Boas and Gans-Morse study of 148 journal articles, neoliberalism is almost never defined but used in several senses to describe ideology, economic theory, development theory, or economic reform policy. It has largely become a term of condemnation employed by critics of liberalizing economic tendencies. And it now suggests a â€Å"market fundamentalism† closer to the â€Å"paleoliberals† as opposed to the primary meaning.This leaves some con troversy as to the precise meaning of the term and its usefulness as a descriptor in the social sciences, especially as the number of different kinds of market economies have proliferated in recent years ———————————————————————————————– 4. ‘The nature of social participation is ever changing’.Elucidate Solution: Whether we live in the crowded bustle of an inner city or in a quieter, less populated rural area, most of us are part of the community in which we live. Social participation refers to people's social involvement and interaction with others. Activities such as volunteering, making donations, participating in sports, and recreational activities are all forms of social participation. While Canadians may differ in why, how, and how much they ge t involved, most would agree that social participation improves their own and the community's well-being[1].Measures of social participation include participation in political activities and participation in social activities. Measures of factors that influence social participation include social networks, sense of belonging, and level of trust. Highlights 54. 6% of Canadians – 58. 3% of men and 51. 7% of women – reported being involved in at least one political activity in 2002. Involvement in at least one social activity group, such as professional associations, or cultural, educational, and hobby organizations, was reported by 61% of Canadians in 2003. In 2003, the great majority of Canadians (93. %) reported having some close friends or family members. However, 6. 3% of Canadians reported having no close friend or family member. In 2003, the vast majority of Canadians had a â€Å"somewhat or very strong† sense of belonging to Canada (88%), to their province (81%), and to their community (70%). A little more than half of Canadians (56%) in 2003 believed that others could be trusted. The level of trust was highest among individuals aged 45 to 64 years old (59%) compared with other age categories. Footnotes There is no agreement on how to best define ‘community. For example, and the 2003 General Social Survey on Social Engagement (Statistics Canada, cat. no. 89-598-XIE) leaves the definition open. Generally, the term ‘community' refers to the people and institutions that are in proximity to our place of residence. However, it can also include a more global sense of community, where charitable donations to an international charity can benefit people of other countries. ———————————————————————————————– 5. Ans wer the following questions in 200 words each: ) Concept of ‘Hind Swaraj’ Solution:The concept of swaraj, or self-rule, was developed during the Indian freedom struggle. In his book Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhi sought to clarify that the meaning behind swaraj was much more than simply â€Å"wanting [systems of] English rule without the Englishman; the tiger's nature but not the tiger. † The crux of his argument centered on the belief that the socio-spiritual underpinnings of British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military, and educational institutions were inherently unjust, exploitative and alienating.As Pinto explicates, â€Å"The principal theme of Hind Swaraj is the moral inadequacy of western civilization, especially its industrialism, as the model for free India. † Gandhi was particularly critical of the deeply embedded principles of ‘might is right' and ‘survival of the fittest'. On another level, the call for swaraj represents a genuine attempt to regain control of the ‘self' – our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for self-realization – from institutions of dehumanization.As Gandhi states, â€Å"It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. † The real goal of the freedom struggle was not only to secure political azadi (independence) from Britain, but rather to gain true swaraj (liberation and self-rule). Gandhi wanted all those who believed in swaraj: (1) to reject and wholly uproot the British raj (rule) from within themselves and their communities; and, (2) to regenerate new reference points, systems, and structures that enable individual and collective self-development.This regeneration was to grow from the strengths, perspectives, wisdom and experiences of people living in village India, rather than from cities in Britain, America, and even in India for that matter. Understanding the real ‘Self', and its relation to communities and society, is critical to the project of attaining swaraj. How is this relevant for us today? We feel that South Asia (along with the rest of the world) is experiencing a tremendous crisis, one overwhelming in its scale and pace of growth.While it is easy to get caught up in the symptoms of this crisis (the brutal violence, the enormous inequities, the extinction of cultures and languages, the degradation of the environment), it is equally, if not more, important to understand its roots. We must creatively analyze the content and the consequences of our current economic, political, social, and educational systems, without reverting to a romanticized past of so-called untouched or pristine traditions.From these critical reflections, we must generate new spaces, systems, and processes – based on moral and holistic visions of human potential and human progress – which can lead us out of the global self-destruction which engulfs us. Throughout it all, we must consider and negotiate our own role s, while asking ourselves how we are either working for solutions or contributing to making the crisis worse. Thus, today, we recognize Gandhi's concept of swaraj integral to three parallel action-reflection agendas for the 21st century: ———————————————————————————————– ) Citizen’s Charter Solution: Citizen’s Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitment of the Organization towards its Citizens in respects of Standard of Services, Information, Choice and Consultation, Non-discrimination and Accessibility, Grievance Redressal, courtesy and value for money. This also includes expectations of the Organization from the Citizen for fulfilling the commitment of the Organization.The Citizen's Charter was a British p olitical initiative launched by the then Prime Minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership. [1] It aimed to improve public services in the UK by: Making administration accountable and citizen friendly. Ensuring transparency and the right to information. Taking measures to cleanse and motivate civil service. Adopting a stakeholder approach. Saving time of both executant and the clientele One part of the initiative was the granting of â€Å"Charter Marks† to those public bodies meeting defined standards. ———————————————————————————————- Section – II 6. Examine the role of Bureaucracy in policy monitoring and analysis. Solution: Bureaucrats put government policy into practice, and therefore the federal bureaucracy has a large impact on policymaking. In order to get their policies passed, the president and Congress must work with the bureaucracy. Controlling the bureaucracy can be difficult for the following reasons:Size: The president cannot monitor everyone or even every group within the bureaucracy, so much of what bureaucrats do goes unmonitored. Expertise of bureaucrats: The people who administer policy often know much more about those issues than the president or members of Congress. This expertise gives the bureaucrats power. Civil service laws: Firing bureaucrats, even for incompetence, is very difficult. Clientele groups: Many federal agencies provide services to thousands of people, and those people sometimes rally to defend the agency.Policy implementation: When Congress creates a new program, it does not establish all the details on how the policy will be implemented. Instead, Congress passes enabling legislation, which grants power to an agency to work out the specifics. Although the agency must stay within some bounds, it has a great deal of latitude in determining how to carry out the wishes of Congress. Power of Persuasion Presidential scholar Richard Neustadt has argued that the president’s primary power is that of persuasion.The president must lobby or persuade bureaucrats. But trying to convince members of the bureaucracy that their goals fit with the president’s goals is a time-consuming and often frustrating process. For this reason, many presidents have seen the bureaucracy as an obstacle to getting their agendas approved. Rule-making The federal bureaucracy makes rules that affect how programs operate, and these rules must be obeyed, just as if they were laws. The rule-making process for government agencies occurs in stages.After Congress passes new regulatory laws, the agency charged with implementing the law proposes a series of rules, which are published in the Federal Register. Interested parties can comment on the rules, either at public he arings or by submitting documents to the agency. After the agency publishes the final regulations, it must wait sixty days before enforcing those rules. During that time, Congress can review and change the rules if it desires. If Congress makes no changes, the rules go into effect at the end of sixty days. Federal regulations affect many groups of people, who have often challenged those regulations in court.Because litigation is a slow and expensive way to change regulations, Congress passed the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 to limit the need for litigation by opening the rulemaking process to those affected by it. The act encouraged federal agencies to engage in negotiated rule-making. If an agency agrees to the proposed regulations, for example, it publishes the proposals in the Federal Register and then participates in a negotiating committee overseen by a third party. Agreements reached by the committee are then open to the normal public review process.Parties to negotiated rule-making agree not to sue over the rules. ———————————————————————————————– 7. Write a note on the nature and characteristics of good governance. Solution: Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society. Participation Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.Rule of law Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. Transparency Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement.It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media. Responsiveness Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. Consensus oriented There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved.It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community. ——————————————————————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 8. Explain the meaning of Ethics, underlying its ‘foci’ and ‘loci’. Solution: Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.Major areas of study in ethics may be divided into 3 operational areas: Meta-ethics came to the fore with G. E. Moore's Principia Ethica from 1903. In it he first wrote about what he called the naturalistic fallacy. Moore was seen to reject naturalism in ethics, in his Open Question Argument. This made thinkers look again at second order questions about ethics. Earlier, the Scottish philosopher David Hume had put forward a similar view on the difference between facts and values.Studies of how we know in ethics divide into cognitivism and non-cognitivism; this is similar to the contrast between descriptivists and non-descriptivists. Non-cognitivism is the claim that when we judge something as right or wrong, this is neither true nor false. We may for example be only expressing our emotional feelings about these things. [2] Cognitivism can then be seen as the claim that when we talk about right and wrong, we are talking about matters of fact. Normative ethics Traditionally, normative ethics (also known as moral theory) was the study of what makes actions right and wrong.These theories offered an overarching moral principle one could appeal to in resolving difficult moral decisions. At the turn of the 20th century, moral theories became more complex and are no longer concerned solely with rightness and wrongness, but are interested in many different kinds of moral status. During the middle of the century, the study of normative ethics declined as meta-ethics grew in prominence. This focus on meta-ethics was in part caused by an intense linguistic focus in analytic philosophy and by the popularity of logical positivism.Virtue ethics Virtue ethics describes the character of a moral agent as a dr iving force for ethical behavior, and is used to describe the ethics of Socrates, Aristotle, and other early Greek philosophers. Socrates (469 BC – 399 BC) was one of the first Greek philosophers to encourage both scholars and the common citizen to turn their attention from the outside world to the condition of humankind. In this view, knowledge having a bearing on human life was placed highest, all other knowledge being secondary.Self-knowledge was considered necessary for success and inherently an essential good. A self-aware person will act completely within his capabilities to his pinnacle, while an ignorant person will flounder and encounter difficulty. ———————————————————————————————– 9. ‘The solution to governance challenges lies in civil soci ety movements’. Discuss. Solution: Until recently, the study of development process until recently has centered largely on the triangle of states-markets-international institutions.For the last decade, mainstream development discourse has adopted the notion of ‘civil society' as simultaneously the site of ‘citizens' collective action' as well as a set of actors to be incorporated in the planning, implementation and evaluation of development projects. This notion of ‘civil society' has tended to focus exclusively on NGOs. This course provides a more political understanding of ‘civil society' by examining social movements in relation to civil society and to the development project itself. It begins by current theories of ‘civil society' and ‘new social movements'.It then assesses the impact of nationalist and socialist movements on shaping the development agenda of nineteenth-century European and late-colonial states, and how social movements from the 1950s-1980s interacted with national governments in blocking, changing or advancing the development agendas of states (e. g. , Gandhian movements in India, the housing rights movements in urban Latin America, and the movements against minority rule in Southern Africa). The course focuses on contexts (e. g. democratisation, globalisation, etc. ), sectors (e. g. environment, agriculture), spaces (e. g. ural, urban) and agents (e. g. women). Subsequently, the course addresses the issue of ‘global civil society': issues of ‘globalisation' and transnational networks of solidarity created in response to it, for example, the movements against ‘sweatshop labour', the Zapatista movement in Mexico, and movements against transnational companies and institutions of global governance (WTO, World Bank, IMF etc. ). ———————————————————†”———————————– 10. Answer the following questions in 200 words each: a) Concept of New Public ManagementSolution: New public management (NPM) denotes broadly the government policies, since the 1980s, that aimed to modernise and render more effective the public sector. The basic hypothesis holds that market oriented management of the public sector will lead to greater cost-efficiency for governments, without having negative side-effects on other objectives and considerationsSome modern authors define NPM as a combination of splitting large bureaucracies into smaller, more fragmented ones, competition between different public agencies, and between public agencies and private firms and incentivization on more economic lines. 2] Defined in this way, NPM has been a significant driver in public management policy around the world, from the early 1980s to at least the early 2000s. NPM, compared to other pub lic management theories, is oriented towards outcomes and efficiency, through better management of public budget. [3] It is considered to be achieved by applying competition, as it is known in the private sector, to organizations in the public sector, emphasizing economic and leadership principles.New public management addresses beneficiaries of public services much like customers, and conversely citizens as shareholders. In 2007, the European Commission produced a white book on governance issues whose objective was to propose a new kind of â€Å"relationship between the state and the citizens,† reform governance, improve public management and render decision-making â€Å"more flexibleSome authors say NPM has peaked and is now in decline ——————————————————————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ ) Business Process Engineering Solution: Business process re-engineering is a business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. 1] In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering emphasized a holistic focus on business objectives and how processes related to them, encouraging full-scale recreation of pr ocesses rather than iterative optimization of subprocesses.

Statutory Disclosure Analysis of Annual Report

Below Is the analysis of annual report of consumer product (Hub Seen) and instruction company (Sunday) in compliance to the financial reporting standard. FRR 107 statement of cash Flows Sunday is using direct method while Hub Seen is using indirect method in presenting their Cash Flow Statements in the respective Annual Reports. Direct Method is preferable since this method shows the cash payment and receipts which are this Information are useful to the users of the financial statement In predicting future cash flow.Thus Sunday is using method that more relevance to the user while Hub Seen is using method that less relevance for the users. FRR 121 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates Both Sunday and Hub Seen are exposed to the foreign exchange difference. For Sunday, it is arises from operation of its subsidiary that located outside Malaysia. While Hub Seen foreign currency difference Is mostly due to the purchases that denominated In other currencies from Its functional currency.But Hub Seen did not engaged with any formal hedging activities since the transaction is at an acceptable level where as, Sunday is applying natural hedging which is to reduce its risk in foreign currency by borrowing in the country they invested so that they can match he borrowing cost to the revenue earned. Therefore, the foreign exchange risk is reduced. So this information Is useful for the users since the Information Is relevant to predict the future In safeguarding their Investment In the respective companies.FRR 118 Revenue Both companies recognized its revenue according to the approved standard to the extent that it is probable economic benefits flow to the companies. Similar revenues that recognized by both companies are sale of goods, dividend, interest and rental income. The deferent is that, Sunday have more source of income which is sales of repertories under development, land and property Inventories; sale of services, rights and enjoyment; club subscription f ees and time share revenue.It Is useful to the users of financial statement when they want to make decision in which industry to invest in or when they want to diversified their portfolios. FRR 119 Employee Benefits Both companies are compliance to the standard in disclosing the defined contribution plan and short term employee benefits to the users. But Sunday have another employee benefit that Is share based compensation that allows the employees to acquire share of Sunday at net of directly attributable transaction cost.Sunday is volunteering in providing such benefit to the employees. So this kind of benefit may improve the motivation of the employees in discharging their duties exceed expectation. Thus, this motivation will lead Sunday in higher performance which is this relevant information is useful to the users in predicting future performance of the company. FRR 124 Related Party Disclosures Key management personnel are considered related party to the company.Therefore, the companies need to disclose the total compensation paid to them. Hub Seen only provided short term employee benefit and defined contribution plan to their key management personnel while Sunday also providing share based payment in addition to the other two types of compensation. This shows that Sunday are more concern with the compensation paid to their key personnel since the key personnel are involving in decision making of the company which determine the company future performance.Therefore, by providing extra compensation compared to other company like Hub Seen, the key management personnel will be happy and motivated n discharging their duties diligently and with due care. FRR 124 Inventories Both companies stated their inventories at lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. But Sunday is using weighted average method while Hub Seen is using first in first out method (FIFO) in determining their cost.For Hub Seen, using this method will show the highest profit compared to weighted average method (WA) and last in first UT method (LIFO) because of the nature of inflation. Even though higher reported gross profit is seem to be favorable to the investor, still this will resulted in higher tax to be paid by Hub Seen. Maybe one of the reason Hub Seen adopted FIFO instead of other method is that, they are engaging in selling perishable item which is not suitable to use LIFO since the left inventories will be obsolete and thus, invaluable.

Autobiography Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiography Paper - Essay Example The class meetings provided me with an opportunity to reflect upon my beliefs, attitudes and values with regards to sexuality. Specifically, the discussion on love and communication in intimate relationships enabled me differentiate the types of love I have for different people. The difficulty in coming up with a universal definition of love made me appreciate why I always find it difficult when my love partner asks me to define love. As noted, love has numerous varied meanings to different people. To me, I know I am in love with the person that we deem to be in a relationship because my heartbeat rises when we meet in addition to getting elated, excited and a feeling of ecstasy. This is what Crooks and Baur (2012) define as passionate love. However, this passion has been slowly declining but I just realized that I am getting so intimate, perhaps in line with Sternberg’s triangular theory of love. From our interaction as students, it is common to get attracted to someone of the opposite gender, though at times I have witnessed my peers of the same gender being attracted to each other. This is particularly so during leisure, say for instance during sports. I have always believed that sexual arousal comes from what we see. Vision causes one to be attracted to what they consider good-looking, the initial process to sexual arousal. However, it came as a surprise to me when this course offered a scientific meaning to this, further arguing that it takes all the five senses for sexual arousal to occur. It could therefore be vision or any of the other four or even a combination of more than one of these senses. Thus, even touch, smell, hearing and taste could result in sexual arousal (Crooks & Baur, 2012). This understanding has made me appreciate that looking good alone is not enough to attract the person I am attracted to. I would probably have to encompass aspects of saying the ri ghtful things, smelling good and even being tender

Women in abusive relationships Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Women in abusive relationships - Research Paper Example Abuse in relationships is of varied forms like, sexual assault, physical violence as well as emotional torment. However, there have been intense debates as to why abusive relationships still exist and why others find it hard to give up on their abusive partners. In many instances, studies show women find it hard to put off abusive relationships where they find themselves as victims (Bracken, 2008). Therefore, they make hard decisions to persevere and suffer in silence. The latter has adverse effects to women who find themselves as victims as well as people around her. For instance, her concentration at work is lost and at times, her children may suffer from the emotional setbacks due to their mother. However, women usually have diverse ways of reacting to abusive relationships (Evans, 2010). Among them include various factors which they safeguard if they choose to be out of those relationships like children or desperation (Stark, 2007). However, interventions of such organizations an d programs have not been enough to curb the menace because the statistics are still high. The main question that comes from these results is what is the main solution to curb the vice? Thesis: Various factors lead to intimate partner violence in the world where the female gender usually comprise majority of the victims in those relationships despite preferring to stay in them for varied reasons. As various institutions, programs and organizations to fight the menace continue to increase, the number of women in abusive relationships is significantly quite evident. Hence, prompting the unlikely question that pops up concerning why women involve themselves in abusive relationships (Hatcher, 2013). One would ask what attracts women to relationships where they experience assault. In many circumstances, women find themselves at the receiving end of an abusive spouse mainly because they lack proper financial support on their part. In most cases, women think usually thing of good lifestyle, which they will enjoy and how they stand to benefit from the marriage (Hatcher, 2013). Because of the latter idea, they involve themselves into abusive marriages blindly not knowing of potential repercussions of their actions. Additionally, researchers cite that a spouse who have become victims or witnessed abuse in their family origin, in many instances learn from the menace and become violent to their spouses.(Stark, 2007). However, the theory is also not widely supported because it does not explain how victims of child abuse or partner violence amongst parent end up being violent against their spouses in future. Research done in various countries indicate that there is a persistent increased risk of intimate partner violence among women who have been on the receiving end of child abuse or witnessed abusive relationships among their parents. Scientists explain the latter through PTSD symptoms, which encompasses of childhood trauma (Evans, 2010). Childhood trauma often occurs in t he wake of an abusive relationship and often combined with depression, which may make it more difficult to escape from an abusive relationship once it occurs (Bracken, 2008). Scientists also show that PTSD or depression may lead to decrease in the ability for someone to recognize and respond to signals of danger. The mental distortion in most cases puts these women at risk of future victimization thus decreasing their chances of escaping after being with an abusive partner. This implies women who are victims of childhood trauma may not only be targets of partner abuse by spouses but also tend to be more likely to

Invictus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Invictus - Essay Example The feeling that this is a real person overcoming real problems lends â€Å"Invictus† great emotive power. The second theme is that of opposition. The author establishes this in the opening lines of the poem where we read, â€Å"Out of the night that covers me/Black as the Pit from pole to pole,† (1-2). No source of this darkness that covers the author is ever identified. The third theme introduced in the first stanza is that of the â€Å"unconquerable soul† (4). This theme recurs at the end of each four line stanza as a beacon of hope for the reader of the poem, and perhaps it did for the author as well when he wrote it. Each stanza following the first returns to these three important themes. Henley stays firmly in the first-person throughout the poem. But the themes of opposition and triumph over that opposition are nuanced and expounded upon in the final three stanzas. The author alludes to the, â€Å"fell clutch of circumstance† (5) at the beginning of the second stanza. This adds emotional weight to the opposition mentioned at the beginning of the poem by suggesting that the adverse situation the author finds himself in is not of his own doing. Chance has intervened in his life in the most horrible way. By clearing the subject of the poem from wrongdoing or negligence, the reader of the poem is enticed to have greater empathy for the subject. Everyone can relate to having bad things happen in their lives that were beyond their control. This acquittal from fault for the subject of the poem also enhances the achievements the unconquerable soul. Overcoming and defying despair in the face of obstacles you have created for yourself is expected behavior for a mature, well-adjusted member of society. The admirable behavior is recognized when one defies the misfortune life hands to you that are not of your own

Discuss the conflict between human intelligence and artificial Essay

Discuss the conflict between human intelligence and artificial intelligence - Essay Example These utopian societies tend to change what ‘human’ is all about. Technology has affected the way humans have lived to such an extent that normal functions, like sleep, eating or even reproduction, has been replaced by an artificial means† (â€Å"Utopia†, 2006). In this view, the robots are nearly indistinguishable from humans in the way they function and in their ability to respond in much the way humans might, with only slight differences circulating around the ability to feel emotion. Still other viewpoints hold that technology of this caliber would lead to a technological dystopia, in which all these advances lead instead to a decline in the quality of life led by the human citizens. â€Å"A dystopia is usually characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government, or some other kind of oppressive social control† (â€Å"Dystopia†, 2006). This question of whether or to what degree a man-made creation can feel human emotions pl ays a large role in the interpretation of how this society develops as well as the development of the creations themselves. In both cases, utopia or dystopia, the judgment call is made on the quality of life of the humans, with little to no regard for the lifestyle and options available to the robots who have achieved a higher level of existence. Several films have been created to illustrate these varying viewpoints, including Frankenstein, War Games, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Stepford Wives, I Robot and AI: Artificial Intelligence. Technology first allows man to create life out of nothing, without the interference of God, in the tale of Frankenstein, first written in the 1817 by Mary Shelley and made into film in 1931 (Irvine, 1997). In this instance, technology attempts utopia by conquering death but goes awry by bringing to life a creature that can find no acceptance and little understanding in the tiny German village

Canadian Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Canadian Economy - Essay Example Besides the USA, the trade agreements saw an increase in Canadian trade among other countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico and other southern American states.(Beltrame) This had profound benefits for the country and the economy growth has been soaring since. Besides those agreements that took place about a decade ago, the country has entered into a free trade agreement with the European Union which has further offered a boost to the already robust economy. The signing of this agreement took place in 2008. The economy of Canada is supported by several sectors which must be looked at as having a better understanding of the economy and the effects of the economy. These include the service sector, the manufacturing sector, the energy sector and the agriculture sector. This is the largest of the sectors in the Canadian economy, accounting for just about two thirds of the total GDP. The largest of the employers under this sector are the retail sector which employs about 14% of the total Canadian work force. Initially, the retail sector was composed of small retail outlets within the urban centers as well as in the suburbs. However, entry of big outlet stores such as the Future Shop and the Wal-Mart stores originally of the US has forced most of the small retail outlets to migrate to the suburbs where they still employ a considerable number of people. Other employers in the service sector include the business services sector which employs about 12% of the Canadian population. The sectors falling under this are the real estate firms and the banks. The other important sectors falling within the service sector are the education and health sectors. Though these are not part of the private sector, they continue to provide reasonable employment opportunities to the rest of the Canadian economy. The last of the service sector includes the hospitality cum tourism sectors which are equally important for the country. (Viera) Though with the recent recession, there has been a decline in the number of tourists visiting the country mainly due to the strong Canadian dollar. The highest numbers of tourists visiting Canada are from the US though the recent times have seen an increase in Asian tourists especially those from China. Manufacturing sector The manufacturing industry in Canada unlike in most other developed countries is not the core business, though this is not to mean it is unimportant. Most of the industries or manufacturing companies in Canada are affiliates of externally founded companies with an example being the motor industry. Most motor manufacturing industries have a manufacturing plant in Canada but none of them are indigenous. The reason for this has been cited to be the cheaper service charges in Canada e.g. lower health care insurance as compared to the United States. Besides this, Canada has a greater population of educated people making labor considerably lower as compared to the US. Canada presents one of the most interesting economies with a minimal reliance on industries the opposite of other developed countries around the world. Agriculture Canada was initially an agricultural nation especially in the 19th century; that is before the service industry gained considerable dominance in the 20th century. Even in current times, the country is a major exporter of wheat globally though most of it goes to the neighboring US. The Canadian government

Factors that influence the effectiveness of teamwork in clinical Essay

Factors that influence the effectiveness of teamwork in clinical settings - Essay Example Competent leaders communicate clearly to team members, regardless of the instructions they intend to pass across (Leonard, Graham & Bonacum, 2004). Team leaders with effective communication skills also have appreciable proficiency. An effective team leader is ready to listen to information from other team members to ensure informed decision-making. Building commitment begins with the ability to trust other team members and have self-confidence. The quality of team members and leaders to embrace commitment is important in providing a unified set of goals that directs the clinical team members. Alongside giving direction, commitment is a quality that motivates the entire team, and individual members. Moreover, commitment enhances team responsibility and inclusive participation among team members, hence promoting cooperation (Tost, Gino & Larrick 2013, p. 1). Committed team members in a clinical working environment make independent and rational decisions that contribute to team success. Commitment among team members can withstand pressures during stressful conditions of service that may be challenging. In the healthcare sector, commitment mainly occurs when team members share comprehensive patient care goals. The common confidence in a team and its belief that has the best style generates commitment (Reeves, Lewin, Espin & Zwarenstein 2010, p. 1). A flexible individual possesses the ability to maintain an attitude that is open to criticism and accepts any erroneous conducts. Flexible team members can accommodate varied personal values and be receptive to ideas. Team members who possess the trait of flexibility are reflective, self-knowledgeable and honest (Mickan & Sylvia 2009, p. 1). Team members who lack flexibility, however, fail to understand the diversity of personal and professional values. Consequently, they risk making judgment according to their value systems without

Psychological Abnormality Essay Example for Free

Psychological Abnormality Essay There are many ways of defining psychological abnormality; the two I will be discussing is deviation from social norms and failure to function adequately. Deviation form social norms is a person’s thinking or behavior being classified as abnormal if it violates the rules or norms about what is expected or acceptable behavior in a particular social group. An example of this can be anorexia, more common in females where the person sees themselves as overweight even when extremely thin and person is terrified of weight gain. The media create unrealistic, and for most people ideal images, especially of women. Most models are well below normal weight for their age and height Sufferers desperately want to be accepted and valued and tend to feel that they are not. However self-starvation is seen as abnormal in terms of social norms. Strength of deviation from social norms is that this definition takes into consideration the effect that behavior has on others in which deviance is defined in terms of breaking social rules which are usually made in order to help people live together. There are many limitations with the definition of deviation from social norms, beliefs about abnormality and social norms or morally acceptplable behavior changes over time for example homosexuality was included in the American classification system for disorders up to the 1960s. Since then attitudes have changed and homosexuality it no longer seen as a disorder. Another limitation is that context is import as we distinguish between normal and abnormal according to social norms of the time. Much of our behavior is context specific and take out of context may seem bizarre for example if you saw a person suddenly jump up from a park bench and start talking to themselves you might think of them as being very strange on the other hand if you saw a camera crew you would have thought of it being bizarre. Also culture relativity can be a limitation as different cultures have different ideas about acceptable behavior fro example some African societies cut themselves as a sign of inner beauty but in Western societies we se it as self harm. Another definition of abnormality is failure to function adequately this is when abnormal behavior interferes with daily life/functioning i. e. people are unable to live a normal life. An example of this can be when people cannot work and lose the motivation to care for themselves properly and agoraphobia or fear of crowds which is defined as an abnormal behavior where a person may have a fear of open space and can’t go shopping, school and do other everyday things because they have a fear of crowds. Strength of this definition is that it is easy to judge who is failing to function adequately because it is easy to . ist behaviors that show people are not functioning properly in their everyday lives e. g. unable to dress themselves, can’t get up in the morning etc. Limitations of this definition can be the context as starving yourself is irrational, unpredictable and maladaptive. However it is understandable when political prisoners go on hunger strike as a political pro test, so context is important. Also some people may not have psychological disorder but still have failure to function adequately e. g. dues to economic conditions it may not be possible to hold down a job and support family. Another limitation is that some people are able to maintain an adequate or high level of functioning even if they have a psychological disorder for example some people with anxiety or depression can still function. Similarity between both definitions is that they both have a limitation of culture relativity as different societies have different rules and norms of what’s normal and abnormal. A problem with both definitions is that context is important as we distinguish what is normal and abnormal behavior according to what is expected in a given situation according to the social norms at the time.

Governments Role In Conservation Of The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay

Governments Role In Conservation Of The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay Wide spread on climate change and global warming has been immensely forced the nations to the sustainable development. Environmental challenges in various bio diversity in balances has been wide spread more over the world. Improper Land Use Planning and Bio diversity in balances to the Conservation of Micro ecosystems is challenging to whole nations. Sri Lankan challenges however have been land degradation due to Soil Erosion, depletion of Coastal Resources, Waste Disposal, Loss of Biodiversity and Inland water Pollution, from where Sri Lanka is poor on waste disposal as a matter of priority. Some LAs, NGOs, the private sector have initiated waste treatment practices such as composting of waste at household level, recycling of waste materials, incineration and landfills. International conventions protocols treaties on environment has been keeping strength to conservation prevention of the environment. Role of government as the policy maker is crucial in the context of conservation prevention of the environment. In Sri Lanka post conflict era has been the Elysium for the sustainable development. Various naming programs authority bodies urge to impose policies practices on conservation prevention of the environment. While laws policies imposed, Sri Lankan government is boosted on all the blooming programs.. However common conflicts on human nature issues still and prevailing situation in most of the rural areas. Also government should consider on the international bodies come in the face of nature lover whether they have the genuine interest or other motives Most importantly, the government should be very careful whether it would affect the sovereignty of the country. Many more responsibilities to be taken and practices to be monitored by the Sri Lankan government to ensure conservation and protection of the environment. Introduction Environmental conservation is the maintenance of the habitat, or preservation of the environment. Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and (or) humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized and governments began placing restraints on activities that caused environmental degradation Global warming climate change is in a whistle blowing topic in the present world. By decades passed by all the high powering technological movement has vastly blind the human nature and the future resources remain in the world. While men stepping in to the moon by one hand on the other hand vastly destructing the natural environmental balance. Though all the regulation bodies trying to get into the one table to get on unite on the conservation protection of environment, some the main world hasnt been able to pull their genuine effort towards the reality, as an example British petroleum oil leakage is a significant moment where invaluable marine species has been polluted destroyed due to the oil leakage. Increasing human pressure on the environment increases the counteraction the quest for designation of more land and sea areas for protection. The boosting trend of designating more sites of protection has been noticed in the last years in the world. The area that could be designated as protected to balance the economic pressures is becoming scarce. Identified key challenges in this sector have been mainly broad down as follows. Environmental Challenges Today the challenges in this sector have been identified materialize in all ends through out the world. Therefore number of environmental threats challenges is on the air Improper Land Use Planning Inappropriate planning of usage of Land Depreciation of Forest Cover (Deforestation) Reduction of remaining forests Land Deprivation ( Soil Erosion, River Sedimentation; Desertification,) Insufficiency of Drinking Water to the humans Environmental Pollution (Air, Water Soil ) Loss of Biodiversity ( Degradation and loss of Natural Habitats ) Ozone Layer Reduction Green House Gas Emission and Climate Change Natural Disasters and Earth Slides Lack of Responsibility towards Values Accounting of Environment Increasing risk to rare species Unsound Management of Natural Resources Unsustainable Development Activities (Unsuitable Agriculture Expansion and Settlements) Misuse of sea coral reef and inland earth mining. Uncontrolled Mining of Sand and other Minerals Spread of Alien/ insidious Species Introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms Hard, unsafe and Industrial Waste generation Health Hazards Related to Environment Pollution. Wildlife reduction In the context of the above unbeatable challenges human beings have been more more victims of the nature. As an example Tsunami 2004, damaged mostly South Asian countries. Therefore it should be the one and only challenge where all nations fight for. From from the Eighteenth century to the Twentieth globally known practices regulations have been imposed. International conventions, protocols treaties on environments have been powering bodies of this. International Conventions, Protocols Treaties on Environment Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially As Waterfowl Habitat (]971) Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973) Convention on the conservation Of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS 1979) United Nations Convention on The Law Of the Sea Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987) Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989) Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought And / Or Desertification, particularly In Africa (1994) International Plant Protection Convention International Convention for the Preservation of Pollution of the Sea by Oil Convention on the Continental Shelf Convention on the high seas International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil pollution Damage International Convention Relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollutions casualties The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from the ships (MARPOL)- 1973 Bio safety Protocol ( Cartagena) Stockholm convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Key Challenges for Sri Lanka Land Deprivation Due to Soil Erosion Agriculture the major contributor to the Sri Lankan GDP is affected by the degradation of land due to soil. From the total lands usable Land area is about 31% only . Production based on Land to GDP has declined to 18% compared to 26% in 1978, due to expand action of the economy. Many agricultural practices of past and present have reduced the productive capacity of soil and land in the country. Some direct and indirect factors, that add to soil erosion, are : Traditional cultivation Methods ( Chena cultivation) Insecure land occupancy with alteration of cultivation methods also causes ruin of land because land is broken down to number of plots without considering the conservation measures. The increasing rate of clearing forestry cover. Some of the crops cultivation in the hill country such as potatoes, tobacco and vegetables has led to severe erosion. Fast developments on infrastructure. Reduction of Coastal Resources Sri Lankan beaches are blessed by coastal resources where ecological processes of both land and maritime environments become interlinked and are influenced by human activities. Minus impacts on the coastal resources include: Erosion of coastal area (about 1 meter per year) due to river daming, sand mining, collection of coral rubble and removal of coastal vegetation) Reduction of flood buffering capacity of mangroves, in lagoons. Removal f coral reefs as a result of human activities and increased sea temperature. Unplanned fishing practices. Infrastructure construction. Loss of Biodiversity Loss of biodiversity is due to several pressures arising from the following activities: Population increase and conversion to other land uses Removal of materials/species from the wild Competition between foreign species and native species Lack of understanding of scientific management Under-valuation of biodiversity Inequity in ownership, in balance distribution of benefits to community Legal and institutional systems that promote activities detrimental to biodiversity conservation Environmental interlinking system known as Bio diversity is mainly reduced due to ruining of natural eco system, loss of genetic species material. Waste Disposal Number one conflict in Sri Lanka is today the waste management. Especially urban areas are flooded with waste. Lack of management of the authorizing bodies and also the human behavior and attitude towards the waste disposal is very poor in main city limits. This risk has cause major health issues where number of people has been killed by dengue recent months. Although many talks waste disposal is not only a governments duty. Government can implement policies formalize but the governing agencies has to over see the practical situations. Community has a major responsibility towards the solid disposals. Risk arises in the area where hospitals industries located. Governing agencies has major issue on lack of resources to overcome tones of waste mountain management. On the other hand during the rainy days urban areas are flooded within seconds due to poor waste management methods block of drainage system. This also causes pollution of ground water and natural habitats. Major issue is f acilitating insect breeding such as mosquitoes Inland water Pollution Misuse of agro chemical fertilizers has polluted inland water ponds, reservoirs, streams and rivers. Sri Lanka is proud on having man made reservoirs where most international engineers are surprised by the ancient technology we owned. Development in the industrial sites urban areas has caused water pollution in many ways. Recent International Conventions, Protocols Treaties on Environment Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987) Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989) Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought And / Or Desertification, particularly In Africa (1994) International Plant Protection Convention International Convention for the Preservation of Pollution of the Sea by Oil Convention on the Continental Shelf Convention on the high seas International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil pollution Damage International Convention Relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollutions casualties The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from the ships (MARPOL)- 1973 Bio safety Protocol ( Cartagena) Stockholm convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Role of government By reasoning out the convention and protection of environmental issues it is the National governments who has important role in this context. Policy making to the powering agencies educating community many more activities lies on them.Internationaly most of the developing countries has imposed rules on clean environment. National government can impose rules policies while provincial authorities can practically implement the good environmental practices.International monitoring agencies also playing major role by funding environmentally sound projects. This has been the practice and it has been added to the accounting practices where feasibility reports are combine to a sustainability reporting. Environment protection is another important role where governments responsibility is to codify laws regarding pollution, convention and sustainable uses of natural resources. As the funding agent for low enforcement there role is immensely crucial. Though huge technical measures are been world spread on climate change global warming individual countries can contribute on their own to reduce the impact. Alternate energy generation projects are the new industrial practices which add numerous values to the enviromental issues. Now developing countries urge to buy carbon credits from poor countries where new economical intangible market has been created. This has lead to huge cash generation project, where timber plantation forestry cover of one acre would approximately generate US dollars 1000/ per year or so. Therefore ultimate governance lies on global interconnection of the countries. Developing risk management strategies are the other responsibility to a government where major natural disasters can be overcome by minimum damage to the community. Earth slides, floods, volcanoes, hurricanes other natural disasters can be estimated by professional bodies and necessary steps could be undertaken. As an example taking hurricanes : the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earths climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.USA is harshly criticized by the nations on emission of green house gases in the atmosphere. Common example is USA failed to respond to the Katrina Hurricane wrought on New Orleans: poor management plan for the natural disaster also illustrates the risk management strategies are very poor. Considering Sri Lanka though there were many issues facing and transforming after Tsunami disaster is some what appealing to the western world. By proper strategies imposed on natural disaster Sri Lanka too can win this unbeatable challenges within few years. Though we are blessed with the tropical climate our responsibility towards the environment is not linear. As an example compare to other countries we have comprehensive legal system on coastal zone management laws alone, to safe guard coastal resources. But the appreciable improvement has not bought due to lack of political will on taking effective mechanisms required for implementing and monitoring such laws. Sustainable Way Forward On the challenges Sri Lanks is facing through out there have been various community programs social activities going forward. While been a friend to the environment nation can be build in economically viable too. In the context of these ideas following programs has been imposed by the ministry of Environment. Pilisaru Waste Management programme Piyakaru Purawara Green Cities Programme Ran Derana Programme Gaja Mithuro Programme Wana Senasuna Programme Haritha Gammana Eco Village Programme Jeewa Jawaya Programme Dewa Jawaya Programme Haritha Niyamu Programme Hela Thuru Viyana Programme Major Policies Developed by the Ministry While urging towards the programs Sri Lankan government has imposed practical national policies aiming sustainability National Environment Policy 2003 This aims to promote sound management of Sri Lankas environment balancing the needs for social and economic development and environment reliability. It also aims to manage the environment by combining together the activities, interests and perspectives of stakeholders and to assure environmental accountability. National Forestry Policy 1995 This gives the clear direction to protect remaining natural forests of the country in order to conserve biodiversity, soil and water resources. The forests under the law enforcement of the Forest Department is being reclassified and placed under four management systems ranging from strict conservation, non-extractive use, management of multiple use forests for sustainable production of wood and management of forests with community participation. The National Policy on Wild Life Conservation 2000 The policy urge the commitment of the government to conserve wildlife resources through promoting conservation, maintaining ecological processes and life sustaining systems, managing genetic diversity and ensuring sustainable utilization and sharing of equitable benefits arising from biodiversity. It emphasis the need for effective protected area management with the participation of local communities. National Air Quality Management Policy 2000 The purpose of this policy is to maintain good air quality to reduce morbidity due to air pollution and in turn reduce national health expenditures. National Watershed Management Policy 2004 Policy aims to conserve, protect, rehabilitate, sustainably use and man ­age the watersheds while managing their environment characteristics with the involvement of people. Cleaner Production Policy 2004 The objective of this policy is to incorporate the cleaner production concept and practices into all development sectors of the country. To implement the policy sectoral policies were developed for health and tourism in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism. National Biosafety Policy 2005 The policy on biosafety set the overall framework in which adequate safety measures will be developed and put into force to minimize possible risks to human health and the environment while extracting maximum benifits from any potential that modern bio technology may offer. National Air Quality Management Policy 2000 The purpose of this policy is to maintain good air quality to reduce morbidity due to air pollution and in turn reduce national health expenditures. National Policy on Wetlands 2005 This policy seeks to give effect to National Environment Policy and other relevant national policies, while respecting national commitments towards relevant international conventions, protocols, treaties and agreements to which Sri Lanka is a party. National Policy on Sand as a Resource for the Construction Industry 2006 This policy statement reflects Sri Lankas constitutional, international and national obligations, including the Mines and Minerals Act No. 33 of 1992, the National Environmental Act of 1980, the Coast Conservation Act of 1981 and other relevant legislation, regulations and policy statements. This dignifies the effectively manage sand resource on the construction and keeping a better reserve for future generations. National Policy on Elephant Conservation 2006 Widely knowing conflict of elephants enforced the government to implement this policy. This natural creature interconnected with Sri Lankas history, culture, religions, and even politics that it would be difficult to imagine the island without it. Therefore the present policy was developed to ensure the long-term survival of the elephant in the wild in Sri Lanka through the easing of the human-elephant conflict. National Policy on Solid Waste Management To handle the serious issue of solid waste management ministry recognized the need for a national approach to handle this. Therefore National policy on Solid Waste Management has been prepared to ensure economically feasible environmentally sound solid waste management for the country through provincial and local authorities. This policy focuses on areas to ensure environmental accountability and social responsibility of all waste generators, waste managers and service providers, to actively involve individuals and all institutions for sound solid waste management practices, to maximize resource recovery with a view to minimize the amount of waste for disposal and to minimize adverse environmental impacts due to waste disposal to ensure health and well being of the people and on ecosystems. Sri Lankan Implementing Agencies Department of Forest Conservation The Forest Department (FD) was established in 1887. Over the years many initiatives have been taken to minimize the rate of deforestation by effective application of the provisions in the Forest Ordinance. Department of Wildlife Conservation The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) was established in 1949 and entrusted with the overall conservation of fauna and flora of the country and the maintenance of its diversity. Central Environmental Authority The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) was established in August 1981 under the provisions of the National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980, which was later amended in 1988 and 2000. Marine Pollution Prevention Authority Marine Pollution Prevention Authority contribute to protect the marine environment from ship based and shore based maritime related activity, to comply with International and national obligations by promulgation of laws and regulations. Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) was established in 1993. It is mainly involved in promoting the conservation and management of the mineral resources of the country. It seeks to ensure that the mineral potential is realized for the benefit of the country and the minerals are extracted in an efficient, safe and environmentally sound way. State Timber Corporation The State Timber Corporation was incorporated in 1968 under the provisions of State Industrial Corporation Act No. 49 of 1957 for the purpose of extracting timber from the forests, conversion of such timber into sawn timber and finished products, sale of logs, construction of forest roads, operation of timber and firewood sales depots, and manufacture and marketing of any by-products from timber. Sri Lanka Wildlife Trust (WT) The Wildlife Trust of Sri Lanka (WT) is registered as a charitable Trust, in 1991 under the Trust Ordinance No. 1552 and the Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979. Conclusion While laws policies imposed, Sri Lankan government is boosted on all the blooming programs. However common conflicts on human nature issues still and prevailing situation in most of the rural areas. What we can think after all the authorites acts imposed? Some of the other issues created by the Convention Protection of Natural forests in Sri Lanka due to poor fund requirements. Therefore government should please the international bodies agencies to gain aid for the environmentally sound projects. Normally it is a norm that Sri Lankan government will not enforce forest conservation if it didnt come under a condition of a grant. But Non government agencies also impact some of our natural genetic resources by way of many projects developments. Some countries are strict on most of there genetic materials and keep the biodiversity sites under military support. As an example The killing of two Indonesian tribals who tried to enter to COMODO National Park is a popular story to show how they treat the people in biologically valuable sites. But some of the their approach of removing people from the forest and buffer zones are not an applicable option for Sri Lanka. In they recent past it has been noticeable while the laws regulations there people will act on the same manner where there need filled. Governement t therefore can be a practical partner in all ends take part on the conservation protection the environment where immensely keep pressure on the authoriting agencies to inject the attitude to the people. As a country we have to have policies and laws to protect the alienation of forest resources to stop pirating the genetic material, plant serum, plant species or the traditional knowledge. Therefore government should ensure above main objectives before entering into any agreement. Sri Lanka has many more way towards a clean nation. By overcoming spreading challenges on environments Sri Lanka is no sooner be the South Asian Miracle.

Cracks Detection using Digital Image Processing

Cracks Detection using Digital Image Processing Cracks detection using digital image processing   in MATLAB Usually visual investigation methods have been used for inspection and monitoring of concrete infrastructures. Huge and tall structure such as cables bridges, high rising towers, dams and industrial power plant are known to have an inaccessible area and limitations in inspection field due to its geometry structure which is often dangerous , labor -intensive and involves lot of risks. So, with rapid development in technology and its uses, researcher   are trying to overcome these problem. Every now and then some research is going regarding these problem and trying to overcome it. So, I also have come with the idea of using digital Image processing   in mat lab to detect the cracks in such structure. Literature   Review:- As   of todays world, digital Image processing is getting better and better   and used in all areas of science. With   the help of digital image processing tools, various image processing can be applied to detects the cracks in structure. Not only in structures but also for   bridges, towers, power plant and also in structure   like steel ,roads, fatigues and sewer pipes. A number of research studies have been conducted regarding   detection of cracks by using Digital   image processing .(1)The author of Korea Institute   combines UAV technology in the process of recent breakthroughs and digital image analysis techniques   to detect cracks in structure. In this study, the crack detection program with digital image analysis techniques was developed in order to the crack and width of the structure automatically. The developed program attempted to perform the image analysis for crack detection with Morphology method based morphological hydraulics and specially designed Morphological link for crack(Morph link-C)algorithm for S/W development was applied to the program. The digital image was acquired in order to evaluate UAV applicability and performance and field application of the crack detecting program after targeting the bridges in common use. Comparing with the measured values in order to verify reliability of the new structural inspecting system for application in this study, it is verified that the accuracy above a certain level is secured. Also, The below three core technologies shall be considered to develop the technology possible to detect cracks and calculate crack width of large structure through the digital image analysis and to put this technology to practical use. Optimal digital image acquisition and filming equipment configuration Crack analysis technique of a number of mass digital images Combining technique of multiple images that different positions are captured And also the author from china(2)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   proposed   inspection system for measuring cracks in concrete structure and providing objective crack data to be used in safety assessment. The system consists of the mobile robot system and crack detecting system. The mobile robot system is controlled to keep a constant distance from the wall to acquire image data with a CCD camera on scanning along the wall. The crack detecting system extracts crack information from the acquired image using image processing. To improve accuracy of crack recognition, the geometric properties and patterns of cracks in a structure were applied to image processing. Also,   an inspection system using an image process, which can be a solution to the problems of crack detection in concrete structure, slow rate, subjectivity, and the inefficiency in managing data. Also, the system ensures the validity and possibility based on the experiment in the indoor structure, road tunnel, and subway tunnel. However, an erroneous recognition of a crack as non-crack and vice versa prevails. Therefore, the system is semi automated to get rid of wrong recognition of non crack as crack, and to identify crack by a graph search method using the user-based input of the start point and end-point of crack. In order for a crack inspection system to develop into an expert system, there needs to be further study of the characteristics of cracks and the algorithm must move towards complete automation. Similarly,(3) The Komatsu Engineering Company has developed and commercialized an image acquisition system that can acquire the images of road and tunnel lining by using a laser-scanning device .(4) The Railway Technical Research Institute in Japan developed an image acquisition system of railway tunnel lining by using line CCD cameras. (5)Road ware Group Inc., Canada commercialized a system that acquires an image of the road with a CCD camera, an ultrasonic sensor, and a gyro-sensor with a speed of80km/h and a resolution of 3~4cm [7]. Those systems are useful to collect data of cracks, leakage, scale, and spall but only by using the image acquisition, and not through automatic defect detection. The algorithm for crack detection and measurement is required for fully automatic inspection system. It is necessary, therefore, to develop the automatic crack detection and measurement algorithm to obtain both fast inspection and objective crack data. From the author of University of central Florida , paper describes the mechanism of non-destructive bridge inspection methods using HRDI and HDV digital crack detection and IR thermograph   technology and the benefits of the combination thereof. The feasibility of applying these technologies for in-service bridge inspections are demonstrated and evaluated in the State of Florida under  the university-government-industry collaboration research program. The purpose of the joint research effort is to utilize the innovative technology for more efficient bridge inspection programs and bridge management in Florida by developing a new quantitative performance measure for long term bridge monitoring, such as crack ratio and delaminated area, and the use of objective data resulting in more efficient and scientific bridge inspection database and management system. With the quantity of roadway structure assets increasing annually, coupled with concurrent increasing rates of deteriorati on being experienced by many of the existing structures, bridge owners need to find new and creative ways to ensure the structural safety of their bridges while they all too often face problems of reduced budgets and dedicated bridge inspection resources. Currently, the determination of bridge condition ratings in  many countries is generally subjective depending on individual inspectors knowledge and experience, as well as varying field conditions. For the evaluation and documentation of concrete deterioration (cracks, efflorescence, delaminating, spalls, etc.) and changes overtime, the current practice of visual inspections can be lacking in accuracy and completeness, as well as time consuming and costly if road closures and access equipment  are required for the inspection. Using the proposed new non-destructive technologies, bridge engineers can quickly and efficiently obtain objective current bridge condition information that has traditionally been obtained by more time con suming and more subjective close-up visual inspections and sounding tests. The digital output of these NDE inspection techniques improves on-site inspection safety and objectivity and contributes to improved inspector efficiency by significantly reducing the amount of inspection time in the field. However, it must be noted that while most of the NDE or sensor technologies do offer new efficiencies and/or additional objective assessment results to the bridge inspection process, they are not a substitute for inspectors conducting on-site specific follow-up and detailed structure investigations. While improved efficiencies in bridge inspection methods resulting from the application of the above NDE technologies bring significant benefits to the overall bridge inspection process, they are not a substitute for the continued need for sound and experienced engineering judgment. The authors believe that by offering new and improved inspection technologies to experienced bridge engineers and inspectors, bridge inspection programs will be strengthened through enhanced inspection data and will be more objective, consistent, scientific, and efficient. Based on the nature of calculation   and development of technology approach to process image, Image Processing Technique for crack detection can be divided into several categories. Each image consists of pixel which are represented by its integer values from 0 to 255. Based on these pixel values Operation technique conducted is accomplished in the spatial domain. However , desirable outcome cannot be obtained in spatial domain. So in this case ,usually Fourier or wavelet transformation is performed on the image. Again, the outcome image is processed in frequency domain. After wise, to reconstruct the image in spatial domain   an inverse transformation is applied. Another procedure to detect cracks using image is based on the training algorithm to solve a problem. In this process ,some technique directly deal with image without any training while other first construct   a database which is divided into two subsets, the subset with crack image and subset with un-cracked images. For each subset ,a decision line is defined to represent the characteristics index, such as shape factor. With the help of these image , a program is used which is capable of comparing new images with decision line and assign it to the subset where it belongs. Especially Neural network and clustering   method are widely used among the popular training techniques to learn the decision line. Basically, two approaches have been applied to detect cracks from the images.   Using dye solution and the other is without using dye solution to the surface material. Usually ,In this dye based detection process, a particular dye solution such as fluorescent is injected on the surface of concrete or other material. Depending on the solution type   and color special or ordinary cameras are used to scan the surface of the material. These dye based method were used in past for detection of mini or micro cracks in different types of material like concrete ,ceramics tiles etc and also any kind of structure. The other approach for finding crack   is based on the color image without using dye solution. Since these method is less costly and less time consuming it is currently more popular. A number of research studies have been conducted regarding the surface   crack detection technique in different material. One of these attempts can be seen in work of Kittler at al. They proposed an idea of training based algorithm to get samples of the region, which are void of defects in the spatial domain. In this process, the new pictures were analyzed for the presence of any defects and also to find the location of the defects. In this method, clustering technique and morphological operation were performed to analyze the images. The experimental output of this method is shown in the figure below.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Figure . Crack detection on ceramic tiles (Kittler, Marik, et al. 1994) Image processing technique has been used for inspection of cement based materials for micro cracks and other micro defects (Ammouchea at al 2000). In this process, a red dye solution is used with the surface. So the dye solution can penetrate the porous region of the surface while the excessive solution are   removed by polishing the sample surface. Once the dye solution is injected, a color image of 256 x 265 was taken from camera of the surface. The following operation is carried out on the taken image. O(x,y) = max { R(x,y)0 G(x,y) } Where, O(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Intensity of the output gray level image at (x,y) co-ordinates R(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Intensity of the original image at (x,y) co-ordinate in red region. G(x,y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Intensity of the original image at (x,y) co-ordinate in gray region. Afterward, using a thresholding value, the gray level   image is converted to the binary image. Then, using entropy maximization method value of the thresholding is evaluated. This method is based on maximization of the entropy function à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å" of gray level pixel. à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å"(k)=   [  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   ] where, Pà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢ is the probability of a given pixel to have an intensity of i (Pà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢=Nà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢/N)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ni Number of pixel having i intensity   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   N Total no of pixel   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Wà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ W1 Lower and upper bound of the probability to find pixel intensity And also computed as:-   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   k Based on the threshold to obtain binary image, a lower bound thresholding operation is performed. Then , using two morphological operations of eroding and rebuilding the binary image is post processed. This operation is conducted to eliminate noisy and small objects (i.e. Less than 10 pixel) from the image. However, second series of operation are needed to obtain the shape factors which are used to decide whether the pixels in a binary image are associated with cracks or other defects. To do so, a dimensionless packing density index Fc is defined. Fc = (2-4) Where, Aab=Object area Aac= Area of its circumscribed circle The value of Fc is equal to 1 for a circle and tends towards 0 for a very elongated object.Fig below shows results obtained in this method Fig. Also, Abdel-Ghader (_Abdel,Osama and kelly 2003) proposed an idea to find cracks on concrete surface using image processing technique .In this work, they implemented   and compared 4 cracks detection method   which include Fast   Haar Transform( FHT), Fast Fourier Transform( FFT),Sobel edge detector   and canny edge detection. They used 50   concrete image from a bridge deck of which 25 pictures with cracks and 25 pictures without cracks for   their research .From their research ,they concluded that FHT was more efficient and effective method rather than other 3 method. Basically, FHT, a simplified   Wavelet transformation decomposes the image into low and high frequency components, the mother Wavelet à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t) of Haar function and scaling à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã¢â‚¬Å"(t) are defined as: à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t) =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Relationship between Haar wavelet and scaling function and scaling function with itself is shown below   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ª(t)=)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   (t)=) In this process, to detect crack the three quadrants of the first level transformation i.e. 2,34 are passed through a high pass filter to reduce nose and   combined together to get magnitude of images. To decide whether crack exists or not, an empirical thresholding value is used. Fast   Fourier transfer motion (FFT) are used to derive the frequency component of the image intensity. The transformation and   the inverse transformation were carried out using: F(u, v)= F(x, y)= The canny edge detection is a convolution filter to detect filter noise from the image while processing. In addition, thresholding value is defined to see if a pixel belongs to an edge region or not. The   Sobel edge detection is also a convolution filter defined for vertical and horizontal edges in images. This edge detection technique helps to detect the change in the image intensity in neighboring pixels. Filtering was done using convolution operation for each filter separated. Then, two filtered images is combined together at each location and result is a gray level image with enhanced edges. G x =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   G y= Default value of thresholding is defined as  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   where Another attempt to detect cracks in concrete specimen using optical fluorescent microscopy can be found in   this research( Litorowicz   2006). To continue these processes, a fluorescent dye solution   was used. The specimens were then light using Nikon optical microscope at a magnification of 10 times. The images were captured using a Sony DXC 350 P video camera. Then, image pro Plus analysis software was introduced to perform the image processing operation. Then, using segmentation method, the RGB images is connected into a binary image. The threshold level was calculated based on the effect of the dye solution to the surface. To distinguish cracks pattern, several parameters were introduced: Angle between the vertical axis and the major axis of the ellipse covering   the connected component Area of each connected component Dendritic   length, which is the total length of all the one-pixel thick branches.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   4. Area ratio (i.e. of the area of the counted object and the entire area of the active image.)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   5.Radius ratio (i.e. The ratio of maximum radius and minimum radius for each connected component)   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   6. Roundness using perimeter 2/4à Ã¢â€š ¬2 x Area. Intelligent crack detection on the concrete crack image using neural network was proposed in Moon and Kim paper (2011). This research was conducted to develop an automatic detection system that analyze the concrete surface and visualize the crack more effectively and efficiently. Basically this research consists of two parts: Image processing and image classification. First stage include image processing tools like filtering, subtraction and morphological operation in order to extract cracks from the background image (i.e. data such as the number of pixel and the ratio of major axis to minor axis for pixel area. While in second step, existences of cracks are identified using neural network to automate the image classification. In this process, 105 images (cracked and non-cracked) of concrete were used as a trained image including every kind of cracks. Following steps were carried out for image processing : Fig. Image processing steps   to detect cracks First step in image processing is to convert RGB image into gray level intensity image followed by a subtraction transformation as follows: à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- ) = à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¡Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥ {à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¡Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã…“-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- [à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼(à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- ) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼(à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ- )], 0} Where ,I(xi)   and I(xj) are   the intensity pixel of xi and X j respectively.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ri Neighborhood of that pixel xà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢ . When the subtraction is negative number, it is represented as zero. Once improved subtraction method is used, threshold value is defined to detect cracks more effectively. The thresholding operation is given as: à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦) = {2 ÃÆ'- à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦) à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬Å" à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   > à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¡   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¥, à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬Å" à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¡ To further smooth the image, a Gaussian law pass filter was applied. Then, an input gray level image is converted to a binary image where the values are represented as 0 or 1. Using Otsus   method or valley emphasis method, the threshold value was selected. Morphological image processing including closing and   labeling were applied to the image to extract image component such as shape of crack. The optimal parameters and their level associated with above operation are   mentioned below:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Fig. Parameters and their levels Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) crack images were distinguished from non-cracked images. Also images were automatically identified as the crack or non-cracked images using ANN. The output value was represented either cracked (value 1) or non-cracked (value 2). Another example of tracing based image processing technique can be found on Nishikawa research paper (2012). A robust automated image processing method was applied to crack detection on concrete surface. This method consists of two parts: First part consists of automatic construction of a filter for crack detection while the other part consists of noise removal and determination of indistinct cracks using iterative process. Using generic algorithm the part is conducted, where genetic individuals was represented as a tree structure. Using a trained   program, a large number of images were combined and several images filtered were converted into a tree structure. An illustration of tree structure concept is shown below.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Fig. Construction of Tree structure   with multiple filters(Aoki and Nagao 1999) A combination of generic program was computed to train the program and results were compared to the target image (i.e. image generated by visual inspection. The comparison was between the distinct distributions of brightness between the images. To measure the filter performance the following formula was used. E= Where,    N- No of training images in database K-th target image -Output image -weighted image . -   Brightness of the weighted image in crack region )- brightness of k-th target image at position (i,j) To reduce the false negative result, a superimposition operation using low resolution image was implemented. Figure below shows the algorithm used in above algorithm. { algorithm}