C.S. Lewis and His Theology on Jesus Essay -- believe, church, christian

‘What are we to make of Christ?’ There is no doubt of what we can think about Him, it is altogether an issue of what He expects to think about us. You should acknowledge or dismiss the story,† (Lewis, 8). C.S. Lewis was a man who had confidence in Jesus, the Trinity, and making it known through his activities and his words that changed Christianity and its philosophy in general. In the start of his excursion, C.S. Lewis accepted that God was one major riddle. Jesus was not in the image, and God was only some outside name. In the same way as other of us, we can move toward God as an unopened present covered up in a storage room. On the off chance that we take a look, we will see that it is there. In the event that we don't, we won't realize except if we find out about it. There are times when you consider checking it yet don't. There are additionally times you take a look and forget about it. Be that as it may, some of the time, you check it, open it, and get energized extremely energized, yet we don't know whether we should open it. He battled with Atheism as much as he did Christianity. He decided to stay with what he needed to know a greater amount of Atheism. Lewis had an absence of confidence in the presence of Jesus of God or any of it. At some point, everything changed. Lewis composed in Surprised by Joy, I didn't have the foggiest idea what I was giving myself access for. A youngster who wishes to stay a sound Atheist can't be excessively cautious about his perusing. There are traps everywhere.... God is, in the event that I may state it, very unscrupulous,† (37). Deceitful, which means having or demonstrating no ethical standards; not genuine or reasonable (Webster), his view on God was missing and slanted. He needed to proceed with his young life being an Atheist even amidst realizing God had his hand on his life whether he needed to let it be known or not. Our culturd a similar significance to the encounters, (BBC). By and large, C.S. Lewis’ convictions in God were unbelievably genuine, crude, and fair. He enlivened others to make sense of who God was to them, and who God is to us. He tested the individuals around him. Alluding C.S. Lewis to culture now and in spite of the fact that he has relaxed prior, his accounts live on for adherents and non-devotees. Generally known for his Chronicles of Narnia arrangement, he has opened up eyes of numerous individuals. His religious philosophy and heart crash to keep indicating God’s name and face any place you go. Regardless of whether you accept or not, you know who C.S. Lewis is. A mind boggling life lived, and an unbelievable heritage that lives on. His confidence in God and the Trinity, and his ground-breaking message to the world through the intensity of his words will keep on testing adherents and non-devotees to carry on with a real existence loaded up with extraordinary reason.

My intro free essay sample

As I looked past the harsh glass, my body gave me a motivating force to run outside. What showed up as the most wonderful day of the year, was immediately devoured by my broad move hours and reckless hard working attitudes. The ratty white shaded cover hung intensely around my neck, leaving a sizable rash followed by a feeling of aggravation on my skin. I had been at Uncle Pauls Restaurant for just three hours when Shannon, the move chief, delicately got my arm and said â€Å"Today, were somewhat moderate; why don’t you take the day off.† My body didn't move, yet I grinned vivaciously to tell her my reaction. Soon after my intercession with Shannon, I was outside, completely free and distant from my duties. It was early, be that as it may, I realized my time was incredibly important. As I strolled towards my neighborhood, I was attracted to the immense woods which remained inside a mile from my home. We will compose a custom article test on My introduction or on the other hand any comparative subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Wound deformed trees that appeared to raise from fallen leaves and squandered ivy. The smell of decaying wood overflowed through the air, as I watched the last flicker of light vanish inside the timberland. It was without a doubt a bizarre sight, anyway I was unable to pull away; for what started as a peculiar fascination, before long turned into a thought. My life required a kick of abnormality, and there was no preferable method of beginning once again investing some quality energy profound inside nature.

SQL Injection Vulnerabilities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SQL Injection Vulnerabilities - Research Paper Example Abusing SQL infusion vulnerabilities empowers an assailant to perseveringly foist dynamic and capacity page content age that would remember pernicious code for the assaulted site. The guests to the site may in this manner be diverted to noxious locales. The SQL infusion assault vectors are spoken to by information went to the powerless web application from the client and which is prepared by supporting database. For all intents and purposes, the most widely recognized SQL infusion assault vectors emerge from the information transmitted through HTTP POST and HTTP GET. Other assault vectors are HTTP User-Agent, HTTP treat information, and Referer header esteems. The abuse of some SQL infusion vulnerabilities can be affected through the verification of unprivileged client accounts, all of which relies upon where the application bombs in the purification of the info. This implies the destinations that promptly and effectively permit the clients to make new records hold extra dangers. The programmed recognition of the vulnerabilities of the SQL infusions relies upon the heuristics of the conduct of the objective application in reacting to the uncommonly created questions. The strategies engaged with the recognition heuristics are arranged into three classes. The Boolean-based visually impaired SQL infusion which incorporates the gracefully of various substantial articulations that bears assessment to valid or bogus in the influenced region in line with HTTP. Through the correlation of the reaction page between the two circumstances, the achievement of the infusion can be induced by the apparatus.

Research Critique Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Critique - Article Example At first, the speaker needed to present some issue based coursework in the learning conversation which fused the periods of issue disclosure, result age, arrangement examination, and even the appropriate response execution. The creators employed sixty four instructors to have an impact and complete an appraisal obviously schedules for the given assignments that incorporated a week after week issue pinpointing activity or had some wide-extending semester issue splitting clamor. Besides, it was imperative that base sixty five understudies must be enlisted in each subject to ensure that enough undergrad comments are available for a real information examination. Out of those 64 employed educators, 15 met the previous two standards for examination of the investigation; nonetheless, the third measure utilized for the courses’ determination was fundamentally for the each course guide to flaunt an intellectual methodology perceived as undifferentiated from the two further educators so as to make sense of an extra and versatile instructor gathering. When the subjective styles of the teachers were distinguished, nine educators were picked and gathered by comparable intellectual style. Those understudies that were tried out the nine courses were controlled the KAI and NSSE promptly multi week after the midterms in the spring semester to ensure educators and students had the event to cooperate in some critical thinking activity. Understudies were coordinated the instruments all through the customized class times, however, it was just the instructor’s inclination if the actualizes were to be done eventually with in the class time. The investigation is basically in a manner satisfactory and can be summed up to any instructive organizations or understudies. It proposes that understudy commitment inside the course and the class is extremely basic for the accomplishment of some potential results. Be that as it may, the educator in such manner likewise assumes a significant job. They should present such educational programs and projects in their classes that advance understudy

Oxmyx Industries, Inc. HR Crisis Free Essays

string(48) there additionally are a few issues I see with Mr. I’m right now an administrator in the HR branch of Oxmyx Industries, Inc. which is a medium estimated agrarian handling firm that has practical experience in the creation and circulation of high protein groceries produced using grain quadrotriticale. Oxmyx Industries, or just OI, was established in the 1950’s by Bela Oxmyx, a man who called the country Iotia home. We will compose a custom article test on Oxmyx Industries, Inc.: HR Crisis or on the other hand any comparable point just for you Request Now Bela Oxmyx fled Iotia to go to the United States in the mid 1940’s upon the Soviet’s takeover of his country. Not long after his appearance to the U. S. , Bela opened up a little market for new produce on the lower east side of Manhattan; this little market in the end ventured into a chain of supermarkets all through the tri-state zone, comprising of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. At last, Omyx decided to concentrate on the handling of horticultural items for his organization. Today Bella Oxmyx claims just 51 percent of the extraordinary stock and stays Chief Executive Officer of Oxmyx Industries, Inc. I as of now work at the company’s corporate central command in New York and my obligations incorporate the exchange of the representative support agreement, the reasonable goals of worker complaints, and keeping up the general representative assurance. Starting at recently, a considerable lot of our female representatives have been recording protests around a few of our male workers. These protests are fundamentally focused at three individual representatives, JoJo Krako, Tepo and Zabo. The ladies have featured the three’s unlawful conduct with so much references as calling them infant or â€Å"chicky†, more than once asking them out, and scoffing at them while talking among themselves in their local language. Lamentably in any case, the grumblings don’t stop there: the female directors have likewise griped that these people are delayed to do guidelines and here and there even seem, by all accounts, to be angry about doing as such, just as oftentimes irritable, inconsiderate, offering impolite remarks and taking a gander at them in an awkward way while talking in their own language. Notwithstanding all that, few ladies have additionally guaranteed that these men have pictures of naked and semi-bare ladies put in their storage spaces in the men’s storage space. These protests collected my consideration so I felt free to do a touch of research of my own. I wound up discovering records that uncovered some fascinating and stunning realities about the three inconvenient representatives. I discovered that every one of these men were from Iotia, Oxymyx’s country, had lower work aptitudes and experience than any of different individuals from the staff, and most prominently, hello had less abilities and experience than a few of the candidates who had gone after similar jobs and got dismissed. I saw that on each of these men’s records it read â€Å"Legacy B. O†, so I asked my boss what those letters spoke to and he disclosed to me that it was Mr. Oxymy’s code method of saying to enlist that person. After further research I found that the se three workers were not by any means the only men that have been recruited by the organization whose reports had â€Å"Legacy B. O† on it; I discovered approximately 30 different examples with comparative cases. For each situation, the individual employed was a youthful white male who as of late showed up in the United States from Iotia; likewise a mind-boggling measure of protests had been recorded around a similar timeframe of the recruiting. I turned out to be extremely grieved by these ongoing disclosures and chose to move toward the CEO himself, Mr. Oxymyx. At the point when I clarified my discoveries on the men’s direct towards the female staff to Mr. Oxmyx he said to me, â€Å"That’s simply their way. Iotia is an exceptionally customary male centric culture, you know. Krako and others are not used to seeing ladies in places of power. Be that as it may, give them some time and they will alter like I have. I am Iotian myself you know. † I at that point told Mr. Oxmyx that none of the Iotian workers recruited in the course of recent years were qualified people for the activity. Mr. Oxmyx then continued to reveal to me the narrative of how things were the point at which he previously showed up in America; he went to the U. S with nothing because of the Soviets taking the entirety of his family’s resources. While experiencing the migration he saw a man with a sign that offered assistance to all Iotians; the man was a delegate of the gathering FIG, First Iotian Group, an association whose obligation is to help Iotian outsiders to the U. S. Subsequent to helping him stand up, the association asked him that when he is fruitful to help the up and coming age of Iotian outsiders to the U. S. Oxmyx gave his statement that he would, which clarifies why there have been unexplainable hiring’s of Iotian settlers inside the organization. I came back to my office and after further survey saw that a considerable lot of the more qualified candidates who have been disregarded were either African American or Hispanics from devastated foundations. I comprehend where Mr. Oxymyx is originating from to a limited degree: When he previously showed up to the U. S. he didn't have anything and other Iotian migrants helped him become fruitful and he is currently the dominant part proprietor of a business that he began and didn’t let achievement hinder recalling where he originated from. It bodes well that after the assistance he got from his individual comrades he feels it is his obligation to do likewise for other people. He is Iotian all things considered and the dominant part proprietor of a business, so why not exploit that and make it simpler for Iotians to get recruited by his organization. In fact it is illegal to recruit dependent on race and ethnicity, those are characteristics that a business should disregard; anyway I feel Mr. Oxymyx is attempting to follow his own morals, which is to assist his own kin in their period of scarcity on the grounds that sometime in the distant past he was made a difference. In any case, there likewise are a few issues I see with Mr. You read Oxmyx Industries, Inc.: HR Crisis in classification Papers Oxymyx’s â€Å"policy†. At the point when he originally went to the United States in the mid 1940’s, the circumstance in Iotia was altogether different than it is presently. Iotia in those days was being attacked by the previous Soviet Union, and the Soviets had stripped Oxymyx’s group of every one of their benefits so basically when he showed up to the U. S. he had actually nothing, only expectation that is; he was an edgy man originating from a frantic country with nothing to offer except for difficult work. Presently isn't 1940; we are currently in the 21st century and the Soviet Union doesn't exist any longer. Iotia isn't in a condition of war making individuals escape from indistinguishable unforgiving conditions from Mr. Oxymyx once did. Indeed, the United States is undoubtedly still a place where there is preferred open door over Iotia is, making it engaging for individuals to move from the eastern European country, anyway because of the way that they are not as urgent to come here any longer, Mr. Oxymyx doesn't need to see the new outsiders in a similar light as he saw his migration experience. He has not lived in Iotia for more than 50 years now and unquestionably conditions are altogether different in today’s world, regardless of what nation you’re in. In spite of the fact that he feels that he was extraordinarily aided the change and invited by his individual compatriots when he showed up to the U. S. also, might want to give back in kind and not overlook where he originated from, the youngsters who are making a similar excursion over the lake today are not in a similar pontoon as he, so recruiting them is no longer as pressing as it once seemed to be. Mr. Oxymyx likewise disclosed to me that the motivation behind why the three Iotians Jojo, Thepo and Zabo were so impolite to the female staff individuals is on the grounds that where they originate from, they are not used to seeing ladies in places of power so it is another thing that they haven’t become familiar with yet. In the U. S. we treat all associates with equivalent regard regardless of sexual orientation, age or race. The issue is that Mr. Oxymyx continues contrasting these youngsters with himself as though they are him 60 years back. He neglects to understand that he went to the U. S. at an entirely different time, when the world was a better place. Truly, in those days it is conceivable that in Iotia ladies we re not treated deferentially, and it was normal for them to be explicitly irritated by their male partners; anyway as I’ve referenced previously, Oxymyx came in at an alternate time. Take a gander at the case of African Americans in our way of life: not very far in the past they were treated as peasants in the U. S. Fighting bigotry and supremacist remarks was not a phenomenal thing at that point, yet it is undoubtedly not acknowledged in today’s U. S. Perhaps in his time in Iotia it was conventional to debase ladies, yet it is truly conceivable that things have changed since, particularly allowed the 60 years past, so he ought not really be rationalizing the manner in which these three people carry on. Perhaps they are only that way, and it doesn’t mean they are speaking to the cutting edge Iotian culture in general. At the point when I investigated a greater amount of the company’s work reports and understood that a considerable lot of the up-and-comers that were disregarded for employing positions were not just more qualified than their Iotian partners, most of the ones ignored were minorities of African American or Hispanic plunge; this then again, I have a major issue with. These individuals were from poor and edgy foundations and required the employments the same amount of as the Iotians, so it is out of line that they didn't get an opportunity by any means, causing it to appear as though there was a racial viewpoint to the recruiting procedure too. On the off chance that Mr. Oxymyx is tied in with assisting those that are in by giving them employments, he ought to in any event think about the minorities also. Apparently Mr. Oxymyx may at present have some supremacist ways from an earlier time that he has not le

Mosby, John Singleton

Mosby, John Singleton Mosby, John Singleton môz ´be [key], 1833â€"1916, Confederate partisan leader in the American Civil War, b. Edgemont, Va. He was practicing law in Bristol, Va., when the Civil War broke out. Mosby served brilliantly in the cavalry under J. E. B. Stuart until Jan., 1863, when he began his partisan operations in N Virginiaâ€"soon called Mosby's Confederacy. Moving swiftly and secretly, Mosby's men (who never numbered more than 200) continually routed Union cavalry, destroyed communications, appropriated supplies, and were, in general, a great nuisance to the Army of the Potomac. Perhaps Mosby's most famous exploit was the capture of a Union general, caught asleep in his bed, at Fairfax Courthouse in Mar., 1863. Protected by the people of the region, Mosby's partisan rangers eluded the strong forces sent to capture them and were active until Robert E. Lee surrendered. Mosby secured his parole only through the intercession of Ulysses S. Grant, of whom he became a great admirer. He jo ined the Republican party and later held various minor government positions. He wrote Mosby's War Reminiscences and Stuart's Cavalry Campaigns (1887) and Stuart's Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign (1908). See C. W. Russell, ed., The Memoirs of Colonel John S. Mosby (1917, repr. 1969); biographies by V. C. Jones (1944), J. Daniels (1959), K. Seipel (1983), and J. A. Ramage (1999). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies

Human Resource Business - Free Essay Example

MBA Literature review The Relevance of Innovative Human Resource Programs to Facilitate Global Expansion of Multinational Companies (MNCs) from the UK. 2. Introduction The activities of multinational companies (MNCs) are at the heart of Britains internationally open and global economy. This global economy has emerged as companies all over the world are joining forces through alliances, mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, and the like, thus creating the need for a constant mobile workforce and the HRM strategies to support and develop it. This would therefore imply a fundamental shift in the role of human resources from transaction and administration to strategy and business transformation through innovative programmes which supports the global strategy of the company. This section gives an overview of the literature review and the theoretical basis for the forthcoming chapters. The chapter consists of journals, books and research materials which throw more light into Innovative Human Resource Programs to Facilitate Global Expansion of Multinational Companies (MNCs) from the UK. The following were the primary information sources used for the literature review; ACM Digital Library Pro-Quest Direct EBSCO Publishing Gale Group Info Track OCLC First-Search Java Sun Microsystems Library IEEE Library Emerald Database 2.1 Evolution from Personnel Management to HRM According to Guest (1987), the origins of the traditional concept of personnel management can be traced to the post World War One welfare tradition of concern for the basic needs of employees. The developing and mature phases of personnel management from the 1940s to the 1970s saw an increase in the status and professionalism accorded to the personnel function, particularly in relation to industrial relations (IR) matters (see Sparrow 2004). The concept of HRM, as a new strategic approach to the management of people, evolved in the early 1980s (Ericksen 2005). Its evolution was influenced by a range of factors, including increased competitive pressures caused by deregulation and globalisation, and the influence of notable academics in the US and the UK (Ericksen, 2005). Although it has been suggested that HRM may be no more than old style personnel management with a new name (Gunnigle and Flood, 1990), Storey (1992) identifies four features of HRM which distinguish it from traditional personnel management: it is explicitly linked with corporate strategy; it seeks to obtain the commitment of employees rather than their compliance; employee commitment is obtained through an integrated approach to human resource policies (for example, reward, appraisal, selection, training); and unlike personnel management, which is primarily the domain of specialists, HRM is owned by line managers as a means of fostering integration. 2.1.1 Approaches to Human Resource Management 2.1.1.1 Hard Approach If an organisation focuses on control of resources and achievement of strategy, it may adopt a hard approach to HRM (see Storey, 1989) in which employees are viewed as a resource to be managed like any other factor of production. In this approach, the critical task for management is to align the formal structure and HR systems of the organisation so that they drive the strategic objectives of the organisation. This approach is exemplified in the strategic model of HRM developed by Fombrun et al (1984). It has been argued however that an over-emphasis on hard HRM ignores the potential resistance of workers and trade unions, factors which cannot be ignored if business strategy is to succeed (see Hendry, 1995). 2.1.1.2 Soft Approach In contrast, an organisation may place an emphasis on a soft approach to HRM (Storey, 1992 p. 30), in which employees are viewed as a valuable asset whose commitment will assist in achieving organisational success. The objective for organisations in such an approach is to integrate HR policies with the strategic planning process, to gain the willing commitment of employees, to achieve flexibility through avoidance of rigid bureaucratic structures and to improve quality (see Guest, 1987). The most well known soft model of HRM is known as the Harvard Model of HRM (Beer et al 1984), views business strategy as just one situational factor which influences managements approach to HRM. This model identifies a range of other situational factors which influence HR policy choices, including prevailing management philosophy, laws and societal values. In the context of this study, this model is significant in that it identifies a range of stakeholder interests (including unions, government and m anagement) which influence HR policy choices. It is argued that unless HR policies are influenced by key stakeholders, the enterprise will fail to meet the needs of these stakeholders, and ultimately its own objectives (see Beer et al 1984). 2.1.1.3 Ideal Type Model: Integrated links from Personnel to HRM Storey (1992) outlines a further model which illustrates the process involved in shifting from traditional personnel management to HRM. While this is an ideal type model, it comprises features which are significant for this study. For example, it stresses the need for integrated links between beliefs, assumptions, management issues and key elements of HRM. It also identifies key levers of change in the various elements of HRM, including recruitment and selection, training and development and conditions of employment. A strategic approach to HRM can be developed by creating effective policies in these areas (Storey 1992) 2.1.2 The integrative aspects of HRM A key theme running through many of the models is integration, which according to Guest (1987) lies at the heart of HRM. He identifies integration at three levels: integration of HRM policies with business strategy; integration of a set of complementary HRM policies; integration of HRM into the line management function. 2.1.3 The Role of Management According to Storey (1992), best practice indicates that the extent to which the transition process from traditional personnel functions to strategic HRM functions can be achieved will be influenced significantly by the belief and support of senior management in the added value that HRM can contribute to the organisation. More importantly, this belief must be visibly demonstrated, for example by committing additional resources to the development of HR strategy and the building up of HR skills levels. As a first step, the head of HR should be afforded a genuine role in the formulation of key business decisions. This contribution must be an integral part of the business strategy formulation process, so that HR issues are accorded a key priority as opposed to simply being added on to, or indeed excluded from, the core business of the organisation. On an ongoing basis, heads of HR should also be enabled to have a genuine input into decisions taken at top management level which have impli cations for HR. Clearly, if the head of HR is to be enabled to play a genuine role in ensuring that HRM issues become a top management priority, it is important that the professionalism accorded to HR, for example through the development of expertise in integrating HR and business strategies, begins at this level. 2.2 Definitions: Innovative HR Programmes According to Agarwala (2003), defines innovative human resource programmes of a company can be described as: Any intentional introduction or change of HRM program, policy, practice or system designed to influence or adapt employee the skills, behaviours, and interactions of employees and have the potential to provide both the foundation for strategy formulation and the means of strategy implementation that is perceived to be new and creates current capabilities and competencies (Agarwala, 2003). 2.2.1 Innovative HR Programmes According to James (2002), innovative programmes can be grouped into a set of new initiatives which are associated with the process of developing a strategic approach to HRMenhancing its competitiveness. A few of these include: Reducing costs through shared services centres, self-service, and outsourcing. Develop uniform HR processes recognising local regulatory requirements to help foster a low-cost, administrative delivery model. Create a self-service culture for employees and managers. Establish global employee shared services centres focused on delivering HR administrative support to multiple geographic areas, thereby reducing administrative overhead. Outsource key services that can be more efficiently managed and administered externally. Streamlining technology and information management Improve information access to help companies more efficiently manage their human capital assets, provide employees and managers with enhanced access to information, improve HR reporting, and address growing compliance requirements. Reduce HR technology operating costs by consolidating multiple technologies, technical infrastructure, and IT skills. Managing people globally Help enable the company to respond to the interdependencies of global markets by managing human assets globally rather than nationally or regionally thereby improving competitiveness in the international marketplace. Enabling HR to shift its focus from administration to strategy Remove the administrative component of the work of business HR professionals, enabling them to provide more value-added services and to focus on consultative and analytical interactions with line managers. Facilitate HRs transition to a strategic partnership with the company by upgrading talent and skills within the HR function. 2.3 Background: Human Resource Evolution According to Cooke (2003), first Generation HR Transformation represented a fundamental shift in HRs role, from transactions and administration to strategy and business transformation. First Generation HR Transformation focused on changing the existing relationship between employees, managers, and HR, (Randall 2006). With technology as a key enabler and process re-engineering playing a pivotal role, this First Generation effort sought to help make employees more self-sufficient, whilst asking them to take more responsibility for their own careers (Datta et al 2005). It also sought to help remove HR from the middle of the employee/manager relationship by making managers more responsible for handling their employees HR needs. Over the past ten years, HR Transformation has led to a major restructuring of HR operations and processes transforming the way HR services are delivered Cooke (2003). 2.4 UK MNCs: Achieving Global Expansion MNCs in the United Kingdom have long been well established in manufacturing, but in recent years they have emerged as dominant players in the private service sector and have even become involved in the provision of public services (Edwards 2004). Levels of both inward and outward investment are high: foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK by companies based overseas accounts for almost 9% of the total global stock while UK-based companies investments overseas account for over 14% of the global stock (Edwards 2004). In both instances, the UK is second only to the worlds largest economy, the United States. As a result MNCs are significant employers in Britain; for example, 18% of the workforce in the production sector are employed by overseas-owned companies with many more being employed in the domestic operations of British-owned multinationals (Edwards 2004). For multinational companies in the UK to achieve a successful transition in their drive for global expansion and competitive advantage, multinational companies would require innovative HR programmes which would enable them to anticipate critical workforce trends, shaping and executing business strategy, identifying and addressing people-related risks and regulations, enhancing workforce performance and productivity, and offering new HR services to help a company improve and grow (Edwards et al 2007). 2.5 HR Practices: Effectiveness A number of authors have explored the links between individual HR practices and corporate financial performance. For example, Lam and White (1998) reported that firms HR orientations (measured by the effective recruitment of employees, above average compensation, and extensive training and development) were related to return on assets, growth in sales, and growth in stock values. Using a sample of banks, Richard and Johnson (2001) examined the impact of strategic HRM effectiveness (ratings of how effectively a variety of HR practices were performed) on a number of performance variables. They found that strategic HRM effectiveness was directly related to employee turnover and the relationship between this measure and return on equity was stronger among banks with higher capital intensity (greater investments in branches). In this thesis, HRM would be described in the context of a number of innovative practices which have been proven to enable MNCs manage the transition process in thei r drive for global expansion, thus enabling organizational effectiveness and better performance outcomes. Wright and McMahan (1992) defined innovative human resource programmes as practices and activities employed to enable an organization achieve its goals. These practices are seen as a departure from the traditional HR activities. Delery and Doty (1996) asserts that these practices are key drivers required by MNCs to respond with the right strategy as they expand their operations in different environments (Boselie et al, 2005). 2.6 Empirical Research: Human Resource Factors MNC Global Expansion The drive for global expansion by UK MNCs has necessitated the need for a human resource strategy that would ensure that the company is able to sustain its workforce. This has therefore led to the departure from the traditional HR administrative role to a more robust global HR function which takes cognisance of employee profile, the work and environment demographics, de-skilling, re-skilling and multi-skilling and issues related to outsourcing and synergy of its processes vis--vis work-force reduction Lam and White (1998). The largest survey of employment practice of multinational companies (MNCs) in the UK was carried out by Edwards et al (2007). The key findings from the first large-scale, representative survey of employment practice in MNCs which have operations in the UK. The survey is comprehensive in its coverage of all but the smallest international companies. The findings derive from interviews with senior HR executives in each of 302 multinationals operating in Britain, both overseas- and UK-owned. The findings from the research suggest a connection between human resource practices and the performance of firms, a summary include the following HR programmes stated below. 2.6.1 Innovative HR Practice: Compensation Payment 85% of the firms surveyed were found to have a robust innovative program in terms of compensation and payment. This is achieved through a performance appraisal programme such as upward/peer appraisal and forced distribution. 72% of the MNCs utilized an innovative scheme for managers, through individual output criteria which were supplemented by a range of other criteria including behaviour in relation to desired competencies and to corporate values. 2.6.2 Innovative HR Practice: Training Development Programmes In respect of adoption of high potential innovative training programmes among MNCs, the organisations were asked if both their UK and overseas operations had a management development programme specifically aimed at developing its high potentials or senior management and employee potential. The data show that high potential programmes are adopted by 70% of organisations; 30% of organisations are not using them. Organisations were asked whether they used a global high potential programme that was adopted elsewhere worldwide, or a local, nationally specific programme. Most organisations indicated that their programmes are global in scope. 2.6.3 Innovative HR Practice: Appraisal Activities In comparison of performance appraisal practices and management values, the formal performance appraisal schemes for all three groups are very widespread; over nine out of ten firms have them for key group and managers, and over 80% have them for large occupational groups. Only 3% of firms have no formal appraisals at all. Just over a fifth of firms use forced distributions for the results of appraisal. A clear majority of firms use the results of appraisal as the basis of decisions on redundancy and redeployment. 2.6.4 Innovative HR Practice: Employee Involvement Communication UK-based multinationals most commonly cite setting a broad policy HR programme as being significant or very significant (62% and 66% for training and development and for employee involvement policy respectively). HR advice and consultancy is also relatively prominent for training and development policy (53% significant or very significant), but less so for employee involvement policy (33%). For training and development, and employee involvement, policy, the respective proportions reporting the other means of influence as significant or very significant are: setting detailed HR policies (32% and 31%); monitoring HR policy implementation (39% and 34%); and HR benchmarking and information exchange (42% and 28%). 2.6.5 Innovative HR Practice: Global Knowledge Sharing Diffusion In respect of innovative HR programmes which promote employee knowledge, learning and diffusion, international employee learning mechanisms are used extensively across all MNC both within the UK and across overseas operations. The survey focused on five formal organisational learning mechanisms used by managers that are international in their scope: International projects groups or task forces, which are often used to address specific issues; International formal committees; Secondments involving the placing of MNC employees in external organisations such as suppliers, customers, universities or private RD companies; Expatriate assignments The evidence showed that the most common organisational learning mechanism adopted among the managerial community within MNCs is the informal network (used by 84% of companies). International project groups/task forces also play a prominent role (used by 73% of organisations) and to a lesser degree expatriate assignments (used by 60% of organisations) and international formal committees (53% of organisations). In contrast, secondments are only adopted by around a quarter of the organisations (26%). The majority (82%) of organisations use two or more organisational learning mechanisms, with 53% adopting between three and four of the five organisational learning mechanisms among their managerial community. Around 9% fail to use any of the mechanisms listed. MNCs requiring integration between the UK operations and other sites worldwide are significantly more likely to adopt multiple organisational learning mechanisms (Tregaskis, Glover and Ferner, 2005). However, these national variatio ns show that the form that organisational learning and diffusion take is strongly shaped by the national context of the parent firm. 2.6.6 Innovative HR Practice: UK MNCs Use of Shared Services According to Edwards et al (2007), the findings from the study found that half of the UK MNCs operate shared services centres and have international HR policy formation bodies. They are far less likely, compared to US and other European MNCs, to have a worldwide approach to workforce management. UK firms consistently aim to pay a greater proportion of employees (managers, LOG and key group) in the top or 2nd quartile. Nine in ten UK firm have performance appraisal for their managers while seven in ten have formal appraisals for their LOG (Edwards et al 2007). Use of forced distribution is uncommon as is the use of 360-degree feedback. An overwhelming majority of UK MNCs tend to recognise trade unions for collective bargaining purposes. Formally designed teams and problem-solving groups are commonly found in UK MNCs as are a large number of communication mechanisms with meetings between line managers and employees, newsletters/emails and systematic use of the management chain the most commonly found communication mechanisms. Although the majority of UK MNCs have succession planning and formal management development programmes these tend to be comparatively less than other MNCs. 2.6.7 Use of Expatriates According to Edwards et al 2007, UK MNCs make considerably greater use of parent country expatriates than third country expatriates. This may reflect the short geographical proximity and cultural similarity between the UK and Ireland. UK MNCs tend to have considerable discretion over the various HR policy areas, much more than US firms. 2.6.8 IT Based Networks Services A key development in HR service provision over the past two decades has been the increased use of information technology (IT) (Edwards et al 2007). This is all the more relevant in MNCs, where IT systems may be used to monitor policy implementation and performance, and also to facilitate communications and networking, across borders. It thus provides an insight on the extent to which corporate management has access to HR data on its international operations and can compare performance on HR metrics across sites and countries. Specifically examined was the usage of IT based HR information systems (HRIS) and shared services provision on an international level. In regard to the diffusion of HRIS, respondents were asked whether the worldwide company had an HR Information System (such as PeopleSoft or SAP HR) that holds data relating to the firms international workforce. The responses for both foreign and UK-owned MNCs showed that just over half (54 per cent) of all MNCs in the UK reported the use of HRIS that operates on an international basis. This is a similar to a study by Collings et al (2007), that found in the parallel UK study, where some 52 per cent used such a system (Edwards et al., 2007). However, among MNCs in the UK, a greater proportion of foreign-owned MNCs (56 percent) than UK-owned MNCs (44 per cent) reported the use of HRIS on an international basis (Edwards et al 2007). There were some discernable differences in regard to ownership. As indicated from the study, American firms were the highest users of HRIS (70 per cent), while the rest of the world MNCs is the least likely. This again resonates with the UK findings where US MNCs were among the greatest users of HRIS and Japanese MNCs the lowest (Edwards et al, 2007). The impact of sector on the take-up of HRIS will be fully outlined and placed in the appendix in the forthcoming chapters. Among UK MNCs, the service sector accounted for the greatest number of firms with HRIS. However, among foreign-owned MNCs multi-sector firms were by far the largest users, followed by those in the service. 2.7 Previous Research: Human Resource Factors Previous studies have been utilized in exploring the current human resource innovative programmes that UK MNCs must take into account in their drive for global expansion. One of the main limitations of this review is that it is limited within the context of UK MNCs as there was the lack of evidence to determine the effects of these practices on MNCs operating in the context of both emerging and non-emerging economies. This is in consonance with Ericksen and Dyer (2005) and Wright et als., (2005), both of who also called for further empirical research from different contexts. Gerhart (2005) substantiate the question, to what extent are these innovative HR programmes valid for other context by saying: This is a concern because it seems unlikely that one set of HR practices will work equally well no matter what context. To shed more light on the issue and to further examine the relevance and effects of such programmes, it is important to conduct research in non-US / UK context, (Katou Budhwar, 2007), especially in emerging economies. 2.8 HR Factors for Global Expansion: Effectiveness Previous research has explored the links between individual HR practices and corporate overall performance. For example, Lam and White (1998) reported that firms HR innovative programmes which are largely measured by the effective recruitment of employees, compensation programme, and extensive training and development were related to return on assets, growth in sales, and growth in stock values. Using a sample of manufacturing companies, multinational servicing companies and global financial institutions, Richard and Johnson (2001) examined the impact of strategic HRM effectiveness (ratings of how effectively a variety of HR practices were performed) on a number of performance variables. The findings suggested that implementation of innovative HR programmes had an effect on employee turnover and the overall performance of the company. 2.8.1 Recruitment Selection According to Terpstra and Rozelles (1993), who compared the relationship between recruiting / selection practices among US / UK MNCs and the firms performance, it was found that there was a strong connection in the companys performance between implementation of the new HR practices and the previous traditional practices, this was focused mainly on recruiting, selection and the use of formal selection procedures and firm performance. Cascio (1991) also states that the improved performances recorded after implementation of such new HR practices are generally substantial. 2.8.2 Employment Training Programmes Russel, Terborg and Powers (1985) in a survey of 30 US MNCs establish a link between the adoption of employment training programs and financial performance. The use of performance appraisals (Borman, 1991) and linking such appraisals with compensation has strongly been connected with the performance of a firm. (Gerhart Milkovich, 1990). Koch and McGrath (1996) reported that firms using more sophisticated staffing practices (planning, recruiting, and selection) had higher labour productivity. 2.8.3 Communication Employee Involvement Huselid (1995) reported that HR practices can influence firm performance through provision of organization structures that support involvement among employees and provides flexibility for improvement of job performance. Green et al (2006) states from findings of a survey that organizations that vertically aligned and horizontally integrated core human resource functions and practices performed better and produced more committed and satisfied HR function employees who exhibited improved individual and organizational performance. 2.8.4 Other Models Most of the work on innovative human resource programmes and the companys performance has been undertaken in the context of MNCs who consider the US and the UK as their home country. The question which arises, though, is whether the UK and US-oriented models are appropriate and representative in other contexts (see debate in special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(7), 2001). Other studies analyzed such as Harel and Tzafrir (1999) found that in parts of Asia and the middle-east, innovative HR practices were related to perceived organizational and market performance. Bae and Lawler (2000) did find a significant relationship between HR practices and firm performance in their sample of 140 manufacturing firms in Asia, covering china, Japan and South Korea. Lee and Miller (1999) also found a strong relationship between HR practices and performance among a number of MNCs in Asia, but it is clearly stated that this relationship was most strongly pronounce d among firms using dedicated positioning (marketing differentiation or innovative differentiation) strategies. Bae et al., (2003) in their study of HR strategy in Pacific Rim countries found that the evidence of a strong relationship was however based on strict high-performance work system with a number of variable conditions. Morishima (1998) found support for the contingency perspective in a sample of Japanese companies. Firms with well-integrated high-involvement work practices and firms with well-integrated practices consistent with more traditional Japanese employment strategies both did better than firms with poorly integrated practices. Bae et al (2003) in their investigation of Hong Kong multinational companies found an increase in the firms performance due to certain core innovative HR work practices (training and compensation techniques) with high involvement characteristics. 2.9 Implementation Whilst there are currently limited researches in respect of implementation of innovative HR programs in the context of UK MNCs, however, according to Briscoe and Schuler (2004), Implementation may vary in respect of what and how, thus limiting the value of comparative survey research. Chew and Horowitz (2004) states that the subject of implementation should only be considered in the context of the specific MNC or firm involved, as there are lots of contextual factors and limitations in implementation hence the need to be cautious and dissuade any hasty conclusions when taking on findings from research journals on implementation. Horowitz (2004) states that primary research on implementation would need to focus on contingency approaches and mediating variables affecting the MNC level application. A number of theoretical approaches would also add to the importance of context frameworks such as integration/divergence or universalism versus local particularism, and ethnocentric, geocentr ic, regiocentric and polycentric managerial strategies (Chew et al 2004). The author believes that such an extensive approach would not only examine the relationship between human resource innovative practices and relevance, but would take into account the host environment. 2.9.1 Implementation Expansion: Formation of HR Strategies According to Briscoe et al (2004), very little work has been done on the formation of methods for implementing and controlling the transition from specific administration HR services unto innovative programmes that are directly linked to strategic challenges such as increasing revenue through new market entry or mergers and acquisitions. The formation of the UK MNCs corporate strategy has to take into account the balance between those activities that need to be centralized or standardized and the degree of flexibility required by the affiliate to operate in the host country Brock (2005). The formation of HR strategies is distinguishable by variance in terms of level of abstraction and scope. The level of abstraction refers to the level at which the HR strategy is focused. According to Combs et al. (2006), there are different levels of abstraction in the design of a global HR system. Levels vary from recommendations, policy, to operational-level procedures. With a policy-level of abstraction, affiliates are given the freedom to implement their own HR strategies within the broad parameters of the standardized policies. However, with an operational level of abstraction, affiliates are expected to implement a more detailed HR management practice. Scope refers to the extent of HR management practices dealt with in the HR strategy. For example, the HR strategy may have a narrow scope and focus on two or three key areas, or it may have a wide scope and deal with the more comprehensive list of practices such as those described in the contingency perspective by Tregaskis et a l (2005). 2.9.2 Research Evidence Utilizing the findings from the research of 302 MNCs operating in the UK by (Edwards et al 2007) and the framework for subsidiaries by Cooke (2003), it was found that the determination of the appropriate formation model is largely dependent on four variables which include: The business model The impact of national culture on the business model The role of the MNCs organizational culture in directing and controlling affiliates The degree of convergence 2.9.3 Implementation Expansion: Business Model According to Cooke (2003), the business model largely drives corporate HR strategy and there is a need for congruence and alignment of HR management practices and business strategy. The increased complexity of MNCs is the result of MNCs pursuing value-creating opportunities that become available when firms have a global presence (Guest, 2003), but the increased complexity requires the appropriate organizational architecture, of which HR is a critical component. A most useful way of explaining MNCS business models is the eclectic paradigm (Randall, 2006). In terms of the paradigm, MNCs are advised to invest across national borders because of an interplay between a firms ownership-specific advantages (Firm Specific Advantages), the location attractiveness of countries or regions, and advantages gained from internalizing cross-border operations within the MNCS; the so called OLI approach (Cooke, 2003). The first factor, Ownership, refers to the MNCs specific competencies and an understa nding of how they develop, the second, Location, relates to an appreciation of the transferability of a firms competencies between markets, while the third factor, Internalization, deals with the alternative modes of market entry in a competitive context. The choice of location is influenced by a combination of FSAs (firm specific advantage) and country-specific factors, such as the availability of natural resources, access to markets, or assets that complement the FSA (Ferner et al, 2005). These respective approaches are referred to as Resource Seeking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Market Seeking FDI and Strategic Asset Seeking FDI (Cooke, 2003). 2.9.4 Implementation Expansion: Influences on Destination According to Harris et al, (2001), resource and market seeking activities were the primary drivers of FDI since the 1970s but this trend has reversed as the value of services and intangible assets increase. This has led to MNCs seeking more knowledge-based assets in the form of intellectual capital or low-cost skilled labour, which in turn favours destinations with knowledge intensive assets or learning advantages away from those with purely natural resources. In all four cases, the firms are primarily exporting knowledge intensive FSAs that will either give them access to new markets or support their existing FSAs (Harris et al 2001). By implication, it can be expected that the role of social capital, and consequently HR, plays a more significant role in strategic asset seeking MNCS business models than resource seeking or purely market seeking business models (Chew, 2004).This is consistent with the findings of Agarwala (2003), who found that MNCS business models are evolving into differentiated businesses that are characterized by a global dispersion of operations, interdependence and tight coupling of subunits, and an emphasis on cross-subsidiary learning and structural flexibility. Agarwala (2003), in his study of two giant pharmaceutical firms, found varying evidence of this trend towards a common model and a greater complexity was developing within firms which was characterized by a growing internal differentiation in internal structures of MNCs. This is also discussed by McDonnell (2007) who refer to firms with a high level of internal differentiation as differentiated network MNCs and these firms are characterized by a high level of transfer of knowledge, both location and non-location based, in multiple directions. McDonnell (2007) show that different approaches to managing subsidiaries arise from the varying needs of subsidiaries for access to different bundles of knowledge, these may be location bound (e.g. local market responsiveness) or non-location bound (LB and NLB knowledge bundles). In addition, the movement of the bundles may be unidirectional from parent to affiliate, or multi-directional affiliate to parent or from networks of subsidiaries. 2.9.5 Implementation Expansion: The Effects of Culture The impact of national culture on the operations of an MNCS is experienced most strongly in its HR management practices. National culture impacts on the implementation of corporate HR strategy as personal motivations, the way that information is synthesized, and economic utilities are culture bound (Hofstede, 1991). Yeniyurt et al (2003) show that national culture provides an important role in limiting the depth and acceptance of universal management practices across an MNCS. The significance of national culture on moderating HRM practices was explored by Ferner et al. (2005), who examined the differences between management practices in MNCs and their operations in host countries and found in their study of German MNCs operating in Britain and Spain. They discovered that although there are pressures on MNCs to adopt US-style business practices such as standardized international policies on appraisal, performance management and so on, that the influence of the German business system p ersists. This view was a challenge to a study by Collings et al. (2007), who examined what types of changes, would be introduced to British companies when taken over by foreign companies. In particular, the study tried to identify whether there were nationally distinct approaches to management following the acquisitions. The study found that the process of acquisition was rapidly followed by significant changes in management practice but that some practices were common to all companies while others conformed to accepted characterizations of national management practice. The national conformation was clear in the case of Japanese and US acquirers, but less so for French and German firms. 2.9.6 Implementation Expansion: HR strategy, Managerial Beliefs and culture Countering the role of national culture and local conditions is organizational culture; a strong organizational culture unites employees in their actions which, in turn, influence performance (Schein, 1992). Organizational culture is often seen as an instrument to maintain unity and control between parent and affiliate, and can play a role in moderating the freedom of the affiliate to change and adapt its HR strategy from the corporate HR strategy. (Collings et al, 2007) found that substantial differences in management role expectations exist both across and inside MNCs, which suggests that differences result from more than national cultures and may indicate the role of organizational culture. Schein (1992) explore the relationship between organizational culture, strategy and performance. It was found that there is a positive relationship between culture and performance and that strategy is influenced by culture, which in turn, influences and develops the corporate culture. It then follows that it is in the interest of organizations to establish and build an organizational culture that provides both a competitive advantage and a distinctive identity. Easterby-Smith et al. (2002) distinguish between internal work culture and external culture. Internal work culture is similar to organizational culture and is construed as a pattern of shared managerial beliefs and assumptions that directly influence HR practices. These beliefs and assumptions in turn relate to both the task and employees. Managerial assumptions about the task relate to the nature of the task and how it should be performed, while those assumptions relating to employees relate to the nature and behaviour of emp loyees. 2.9.7 Transfer of Culture: The Role of Expatriates According to Scullion et al (2006), managerial assumptions of task and employees are influenced, in turn, by institutional level culture and societal-level culture. The transfer of organizational culture is often done through the use of expatriates. Expatriates from the MNCs parent country are used in managing the interests of the organization and transferring its competencies, systems and even aspects of its organizational culture to its subsidiaries in foreign locations. This is referred to as an ethnocentric approach, as opposed to a polycentric approach where affiliates are staffed by host country nationals, or a geocentric approach which staffs affiliates and subsidiaries with staff from a third country (Scullion et al, 2006). For MNCs, organizational culture fulfils an additional role in that it determines the method of exercising control or influence over the affiliates and the cross-MNCS implementation of corporate HR strategy. In an organization with an organic culture (Bhattacharya et al, 2005); formal control systems are likely to cause dissonance while the same is true for an organization with a mechanistic culture not utilizing formal processes. 2.9.8 Implementation Expansion: Issues of convergence Convergence, also known as isomorphism, is the process whereby MNCs will gravitate towards a series of universal management practices that provide competitive benefits for themselves (Cullen, 2002). The drivers of convergence at organizational level are efficiency, growth, and the development and utilization of technology. Convergence can be regarded as continuous organizational learning and the development and application of practices that lead to organizational efficiency, but are still flexible enough to be applied generally (Huselid, 2005). It follows that convergence is also occurring in the adoption of international HR practices; with increased complexity facing MNCs, there has been less emphasis on formal structure and a greater focus on HR management policies and practices, which form an integral part of the process-input control systems of modern MNCs. This has led to an upsurge in the search for global best practices or HR strategies that can be applied across all cultures (Briscoe et al, 2004). The contingent view of HR strategy in MNCs emphasizes that there is one best method, even within contingent variables such as stage of internal corporate evolution (Marginson et al, 2004). Typical of the contingent view is that of Tregakis et al (2005) who investigated the standardization of Western practices in Chinese-Western joint ventures. The study showed that overall HRM practices had become similar to those in Western MNCs, especially when compared with data gathered in 1992. This was seen as due to the spread of Western ideals in the Chinese business network, the greater emphasis that Western MNCs were placing on HR management, and the limited liberalization of Chinese employment legislation. It was noted that few Western companies had made the total transfer of HRM policies to China; this was not due to national cultural differences but local conditions. Edwards (2004) came to a similar general view, although in a different context when he compared HRM practices in European firms in six divergent countries. Edwards (2004) found that although there were differences in management practices across these firms, that this was more likely due to the role of legal and political structures in the various countries than cognitive orientation. Most firms wanted to adopt the latest management practices prescribed in American literature and supported by business consulting firms across Europe, but could not because of varying regulative and political conditions. Some evidence is emerging that there exists a hybrid between divergence and convergence (Lei et al, 2005). This is defined as cross-vergence, which refers to cross-cultural diffusion of high performance work practices (HPWPs). The motivation for adopting HPWPs includes the need for efficiency, productivity, and high quality goods and services but these are tempered by contextual factors present in the host country. Cross-vergence provides an integrative alternative to the convergence/divergence debate and accommodates diversity, at both country level and within-country level. Cross-vergence also implies reverse diffusion. 2.9.9 Discussion Additional factors that would influence the expansion and formation of MNCS HR strategies are institutional and cognitive factors. Institutional factors include regulatory factors in the home country that would impact on the translation of corporate HR strategy by an affiliate in a host country, (Wright et al, 2005). Wright et al (2005) points out that a countrys institutional framework and its cognitive sets impede or enhance the application of HR practices such as performance appraisals. Ferner et al, (2005) in a study of 249 US affiliates of foreign-based MNCs found that in general, affiliate HRM practices closely resemble practices of local (US) firms. Where differences do exist, these are influenced by method of founding, dependence on local inputs, the presence of expatriates and the extent of communication with the parent. These findings were further elabourated by Combs et al (2006) who found that the affiliates dependence on host institutions would be reduced when a subsidia ry (or affiliate) is highly dependent on the parent to provide crucial resources and when the parent was likely to exert influence through formal coordination mechanisms. 3. Practices 3.1 Approaches to Domestic Environment According to Collings et al (2007), in the context of HR and global expansion, one influential category of factors that has been highlighted from previous research when is the issue of the domestic environment, often referred to as the host country effect, with attention being paid to the influence of such variables as local culture, and legal, social, economic, and political systems (Perkins et al, 2006). Researchers additionally suggest that the greater the cultural distance between the home and the host country, the harder it will be for the multinational to transfer home country philosophies and practices (Ferner et al, 2005). That is, while the multinationals are pursuing global expansion and integration, they are forced to be responsive to the demands in each area in the countries and regions within which they operate (Guest, 2003). With this in mind, it is therefore imperative for UK MNCs to put in place HRM practices that are consistent with national development plans of their intending host countries, (Tregakis et al, 2005). In several European countries, particularly Germany and Austria, workforce representation in the company, legal rights of consultation and co-management in specific areas are of prime importance. Conversely, in Britain there is no obligation to recognise unions or establish structures of employee representation with the result that MNCs from more regulated economies have the option to set up subsidiaries without any workforce representation. 3.2 Approaches to Employees According to Cooke (2003), the current practices among UK MNCs leans more to a polycentric approach than a regiocentric staffing approach. Whichever approach is eventually chosen, the next issue that would come to mind would be effective recruitment and selection issues. There are three types of employees to be considered which are; employees from the parent company / home country who will be known as expatriates, employees from the host country and other employees who are neither from the home or host countries. According to Ferner (1997), the type of government policies and the nature of legal and labour market conditions in the host countries, plays a key role in influencing the strategies and policies of the MNCs by either encouraging or impeding certain industrial relations practices. For example, in a developing country, a host government may dictate hiring procedures, as in the case of Malaysia in the 1970s when the government made it mandatory for all foreign firms to provide additional employment for the indigenous Malays (Chew et al., 2004) and with the current policies in Saudi Arabia and the Philippines where indigenous employment quotas of 75 and 95 per cent have been imposed respectively. The three types of employees mentioned must be incorporated into the HR strategy of the UK MNC, despite their advantages and disadvantages. Integrating these employees into the companys system and getting them to function across functional lines efficiently can be a challenge and daunting task and according to Ferner (1997), the first stage in the process is to establish the culture within the MNC and how this can be propagated within the global operations. 3.3 Innovative Programmes Edgar et als (2005) meta-analysis of 104 articles found that training and development, contingent pay and reward schemes, performance management (including appraisal) and careful recruitment and selection were the top-four HRM practice-level categories used by different researchers. These are seen to reflect the main objectives of most conceptualisations of a strategic HRM programme (Batt, 2000: 587) namely, to identify and recruit strong performers, provide them with the abilities and confidence to work effectively, monitor their progress towards the required performance targets, and reward them well for meeting or exceeding them 4. Conclusion 4.1 Discussion Following an extensive literature survey and taking into account the proposed definition of innovative HRM practices, this study considered the relevance and effectiveness of a few of those practices which include: expatriate and redeployment policies, recruitment policies, compensation and reward, training and retraining policies, performance management and appraisal. Edgar et als (2005) meta-analysis of 104 articles found that training and retraining, compensation and reward, performance management (including appraisal) and careful recruitment and selection were the top-four HR practice-level categories used by different researchers. These are seen to reflect the main objectives of most theories of innovative strategic HRM programmes (Batt, 2002). The activities would involve: identification and recruitment of employees who are performing and capable of performing, provide them with the abilities and confidence to work effectively, monitor their progress towards the required perfor mance targets, and reward them well for meeting or exceeding them. 4.2 Key Evaluation Factors I have utilized the relevant literature to investigate and discuss the main issues relevant to innovative human resources practices organizations need to consider as they embark on global expansion. The researchers have given a number of factors and dimensions to the topic which I would utilize in my survey. The key relevant factors gathered from the literature reviewed which I would use for the proposed survey include; Innovative HR Practices: Recruitment Policies Innovative HR Practices: Compensation and reward Innovative HR Practices: Training and retraining policies Innovative HR Practices: Performance appraisal Innovative HR Practices: Expatriate and redeployment policies 4.3 Justification for Choice of Factors I have chosen these factors as my framework for further analysis because they have been cited by more than ten authors as the main drivers of human resource management on a global scale. In addition, with these assertions going as far back as seven years and yet still very relevant today that therefore gives an indication of its acceptability. 4.4 Review Although these brief findings may constitute a bit of basis to state the importance and relevance of innovative human resource programmes for UK MNCs, however there is the need for this to be backed up with additional robust and quantitative evidence to support the findings. This is in consonance with Edwards et al, (2007), and Wright et al., (2005) who have called for a wider investigation in different contexts. In light of this, in this thesis, I would hope to substantiate this evidence by carrying out a survey on a UK multinational company as discussed in the next chapter.

Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Australia

Australia is a country of immigrants and their descendants. Beginning with the establishment of New South Wales as a penal colony in 1788, convicts were sent to Australia from the British Isles. Assisted immigrants (immigrants who had most of their passage paid by the government), coming primarily from the British Isles and Germany, first began arriving in New South Wales in 1828, while unassisted immigrants first arrived in Australia as early as 1792. Prior to 1901, each state of Australia was a separate government or colony. Vital records in a particular state typically begin at the time of the colonys formation, with earlier records (except for Western Australia) found in New South Wales (the original jurisdictional body for Australia). New South Wales The New South Wales  Registry has civil records from March 1, 1856. Earlier church and other vital records, dating back to 1788, are also available, including a Pioneer Index 1788-1888. Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages191 Thomas StreetPO Box 30 G.P.O.Sydney, New South Wales 2001Australia(011) (61) (2) 228-8511 Online: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages offers an online, searchable Historical Index of Births, Marriages, and Deaths which covers births (1788-1908), deaths (1788-1978) and marriages (1788-1958). Northern Territory Birth records from August 24, 1870, marriages records from 1871, and death records from 1872 can be ordered from the Office of the Registrar. You can contact them at: Office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and MarriagesDepartment of LawNichols PlaceG.P.O. Box 3021Darwin, Northern Territory 0801Australia(011) (61) (89) 6119 Queensland Records from 1890 to the present can be obtained through the Queensland Office of the Registrar General. Birth records for the past 100 years, marriage records for the past 75 years, and death records for the past 30 years are restricted. Check the Web site for current fees and access restrictions. Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths, and MarriagesOld Treasury BuildingPO Box 188Brisbane, North QuayQueensland 4002Australia(011) (61) (7) 224-6222 Online: A free online Queensland BMD historical index search tool allows you to search Queensland birth indexes from 1829-1914, deaths from 1829-1983, and marriages from 1839-1938. If you find an entry of interest, you can download (for a fee) an image of the original register if it is available. Many of the more recent records are still available only in certificate (non-image) form. You can order printed copies to be sent to you via mail/post. South Australia Records from July 1, 1842, are available from the Registrar of South Australia. Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration OfficeDepartment of Public and Consumer AffairsPO Box 1351Adelaide, South Australia 5001Australia(011) (61) (8) 226-8561 Online: Family History South Australia includes a wealth of databases and articles to assist people researching their South Australian family history, including indexes to Early South Australian Marriages (1836-1855) and Gazetted Deaths (sudden deaths) (1845-1941). Tasmania The Registrars office has church registers from 1803 to 1838, and civil records from 1839 to the present. Access to birth and marriage records is restricted for 75 years, and death records for 25 years. Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages15 Murray StreetG.P.O. Box 198Hobart, Tasmania 7001Australia(011) (61) (2) 30-3793 Online:  The Tasmanian State Archives has several online vital records indexes, including indexes to Tasmanian divorces and convict applications for permission to marry. They also include an online Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Database (an index to records of all births, deaths, and marriages for the period 1803-1899 which were created by the Tasmanian Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages). Victoria Birth certificates (1853-1924), death certificates (1853-1985) and marriage certificates (1853-1942) are available from the Registry, as well as records of church baptisms, marriages, and burials 1836 to 1853. More recent certificates are available with restricted access. Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths MarriagesGPO Box 4332Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia Online: Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages offers, for a fee, an online index and digitized record copies of Victoria Births, Marriages and Deaths for the above mentioned years. Digitized, uncertified images of the original register records can be downloaded immediately to your computer upon payment. Western Australia Compulsory registration of births, deaths, and marriages started in Western Australia in September 1841. Access to more recent records (births 75 years, deaths 25 years, and marriages 60 years) is restricted to the named individual and/or next of kin. Western Australia Registry of Births, Deaths MarriagesPO Box 7720Cloisters SquarePerth, WA 6850 Online: The Western Australia Pioneers Index is accessible online for free searching of consolidated birth, death and marriage indexes for the years between 1841 and 1965. Additional Online Sources for Australian Vital Records The FamilySearch Record Search Web site hosts free searchable indexes of Australian Births and Baptisms (1792-1981), Deaths and Burials (1816-1980) and Marriages (1810-1980). These scattered records do NOT cover the entire country. Only a few localities are included and the time period varies by locality. Search for and locate vital records from across Australia that have been submitted by fellow genealogists at the Australasia Births, Deaths and Marriage Exchange. There are only 36,000 records from Australia and 44,000 from New Zealand, but you might just get lucky! The Ryerson Index includes more than 2.4 million death notices, funeral notices, and obituaries from 169 current Australian newspapers. While the index covers the entire country, the biggest focus is on NSW papers, including more than 1 million notices from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Dialogue In Oliver Twist - 721 Words

The dialogue in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and A portrait of the Artist as a young man by James Joyce reveals aspects of the characters by showing each of the characters thoughts and emotions through dialogue and the characters thoughts. Both passages use dialogue to show the characters emotions, thoughts and how they react to the conflict in the passage to reveal aspects of the characters. In the passage, Oliver twist the author reveals the character aspects of Oliver twist by using dialogue and the characters thoughts. Charles Dickens uses dialogue of Oliver Twist asking for more and his thoughts and previous events to show how the character Oliver twist was forced and obliged to rebelling their lunch system and asking for more†¦show more content†¦James Joyce uses dialogue as well as the characters thoughts to reveal the main characters aspects by showing how Stephen is homesick and longs for his mother yet is bullied by other kids for this. In the text A portrait of the artist, The dialogue says â€Å"Wells said: O, I say, heres a fellow says he doesnt kiss his mother before he goes to bed. They all laughed again. Stephen tried to laugh with them. He felt his whole body hot and confused for a moment. What was the right answer to the question? He had given two and still, Wells laughed at him... But he was not sick there. He thought that he was sick in his h eart†. This reveals Stephens character aspect as very fearful and anxious when being bullied and the author use dialogue and the characters thought to reveal the fearful and home-sick character aspects of Stephen. Another character of which the author James Joyce uses dialogue to reveal aspects is that of Fleming.The author uses dialogue to reveal Flemings aspects as kind and a friend to Stephen. In the text, it said â€Å"Whats up? Have you a pain or whats up with you? dont know, Stephen said.Sick in your breadbasket, Fleming said, because your face looks white. It will go away, Oh, yes, Stephen said†. The dialogue reveals the character aspect of fleming as friendly and kind to Stephen. The author, James Joyce uses dialogue to reveal the character aspects of the stories characters. Using dialogue the authorShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of the Dialogues in Oliver Twist3787 Words   |  16 PagesAnalysis of dialogues in Oliver Twist Book Review Ã¥Å'â€"ä º ¬Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦ å…‰å Å½Ã§ ® ¡Ã§ â€ Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢ 00928015 ç ¿Å¸Ã© â„¢Ã¥ ªâ€º è â€Ã§ ³ »Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¥ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¡134-3987-9195 2010-12-25 Analysis of dialogues in Oliver Twist 00928015 ç ¿Å¸Ã© â„¢Ã¥ ªâ€º Book review: Analysis of the dialogues in Oliver twist Summary: As the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens has his own composing features, one of which is to utilize distinctive language as a salient method to form different characters. He forms very new and striking expressions out of rather specialRead MoreTension, Anticipation, and Suspense in Oliver Twist Essay1508 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens wrote ‘Oliver Twist’ between 1873 and 1839. Oliver Twist is Charles Dickens second novel. Oliver Twist began as a sketch; later on chapter by chapter it came on magazine and became a serial and eventually the whole novel was published. Charles Dickens childhood was terrible; he had to work in a factory for some months. The novel exposes a lot of Victorian attitudes which Dickens experienced as he was in poverty himself. Oliver Twist suffered for nine years in the baby farm treatedRead MoreAnalysis Of Of Mice And Men And Oliver Twist 1189 Words   |  5 Pagesprostitute. Nancy is a girl f rom Great London from the book ‘Oliver Twist’. She is a prostitute and a thief and she is the girlfriend of Bill Sikes. Curley’s wife is a girl from the 20th century from the book ‘Of Mice and Men’, who is married to Curley and lives in California, USA. For this coursework, I am going to be exploring the presentation of these two characters, Nancy and Curley’s wife, from the books ‘Of Men and Men’ and ‘Oliver Twist’. The two characters were introduced by the authors DickensRead MoreNarrative techniques of Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield6299 Words   |  26 Pagesthesis Charles Dickens’s â€Å"Oliver Twist† and â€Å"David Copperfield†: Two novels compared (Narrative techniques) Mentor: Student: Dr. Muhamet Hamiti Arbnesha Kusari Table of Contents 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 2. Biography of Charles Dickens†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....4 3. Oliver Twist†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5Read MoreThe Main Contributions to Charles Dickens Popularity1592 Words   |  6 Pagesstation, where he primarily pasted labels onto pots of blacking, or shoe polish. He earned a measly six shillings a week. During his time at the factory Dickens lost his family home entirely, forcing him to wander the streets alone and helpless (a la Oliver Twist). Naturally, his experience working and living alone caused severe psychological scarring within the mind of young Dickens, but it would later serve to be a source of inspiration for his writings as well as his social critiques and personal philosophiesRead MoreAnalysis Of Before I Fall1099 Words   |  5 Pagesthat is about a teenage girl who lives the same day over and over again. Despite having a compelling lead performance played by Zoe Deutch and a po werful soundtrack full of ballads, Before I Fall still took a turn with a generic plot line, choppy dialogue and clichà ©. Although I loved the performance given by Deutch and how she was able to show the characters development through emotions and her acting, that still doesn’t mean the movie was perfect. The movie was like Mean Girls put through a timeRead MoreSwans : A Fairytale Is Inspired By A Hans Christian Anderson Fable1868 Words   |  8 Pagescaptures the attention of the audience. It shines with great visual storytelling and imagination. Introducing the character of Oliver as a pickpocket is very smart, especially the idea that Oliver gives the wallet back to his victim. It shows he has a heart and he’s conflicted. The first act also tries to establish Oliver’s ordinary life with his father. It’s clear that Oliver feels neglected by his father and he believes his father drove his mother away creating good tension and resentment. HoweverRead MoreAnalysis Of The Sound Designer I Decided Upon1358 Words   |  6 Pagessound designer I decided upon was Wylie Stateman. Wylie Stateman is an experienced talent that has co-founded many post-production companies and designed for many award-winning films. As a supervising sound editor , he is well known for working with Oliver Stone, John Hughes and Quentin Tarantino, prominent directors in the film industry. I will focus on his editing approach and his extensive work with Quentin Tarantino. Which consist of various acclaimed films such as the Kill Bill trilogy, IngloriousRead MoreWriting And Writing Of Beowulf1015 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the years comics have developed into intelligent and challenging picture novels. Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and other Shakespeare works have manga adaptations. Many classic novels such as Beowulf, Moby Dick, and Oliver Twist have been developed into graphic novels with verbatim dialogue (Bickers). In some cases graphic novels have developed into their most simplistic definition of books of pictures. They give kids a better understanding of what is happening in the story. Because graphic novels areRead More Charles Dickens Essay2085 Words   |  9 PagesDickens was the most popular author of the day. During 1836, he also wrote two plays and a pamphlet, he then resigned from his newspaper job, and undertook the editing job of a monthly magazine, Bentleys Miscellany, in which he serialized Oliver Twist (1837-1839). By this time, the first of his nine surviving children had been born, He had married Catherine, eldest daughter of a respected journalist George Hogorth (April 1836). Novels His first major success was with The Pickwick

Digital image enhancement methods for multimedia technology - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 17 Words: 5214 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction In todays communications network s multimedia is a growing field. There are increasing demands on incorporating visual aspect to other modes of communications. It is therefore unable to be avoided to have situations in which the video and transmitted images being corrupted or degraded in their perceptual quality by variety of ways. 1.2Digital Image Processing An image is defined as two- dimensional function, f(x,y), where x,y are plane coordinates and the amplitude of f at any pair of coordinates (x,y) is called the intensity or gray level of the image. When x, y and the intensity values of f are all finite and discrete quantities, we call the image a digital image. To processing the image by means of computer algorithms is called as digital image processing. As compared to analog image processing, digital image processing has many advantages. It can avoid problems such as signal distortion, image degradation and build-up of noise during processing. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Digital image enhancement methods for multimedia technology" essay for you Create order 1.2 Image Restoration and Enhancement Methods: Now days digital images have covered the complete world. Images are acquired by photo electronic or photochemical methods. The sensing devices tend to reduce a quality of the digital images by introducing the noise and blur due to motion or misfocus of camera. One of the first applications of digital images was in the news paper industry, when pictures were sent by submarine cable between New York and London. Introduction of cable picture transmission system in the early 1920s reduced the time required to transport a picture across Atlantic from more than a week to less than three hours. Some of the initial problems in improving the visual quality of these early digital pictures were related to the selection of printing procedures and distribution of intensity levels. Digital image processing techniques began in the late 1960s and early 1970s to be used in medical imaging, remote Earth resources observations and astronomy. Tomography was invented independently by Sir Godfrey N. Hounsfield and Professor Allan M.Cormack who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in medicine for their invention. But, X-rays were discovered in 1985 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Geographers use the similar technique to study the pollution patterns from aerial and satellite imagery. Image enhancement and restoration procedures are used to process the degraded images of unrecoverable objects or experimental results too expensive to duplicate. The use of a gray level transformation which transforms a given empirical distribution function of gray level values in an image into a uniform distribution has been used as an image enhancement as well as for a normalization procedure.( I. Pitas) Image enhancement refers to increase the image quality by sharpening certain image features (edges, boundaries and contrast) and reducing the noise. Digital image enhancement and restoration are two dimensional filters. They are broadly classified into linear digital filters and non linear filters. Linear digital filter can be designed or implemented either spatial domain or Frequency domain. (K.S. Thyagarajan) In Spatial Domain methods refers to the image plane itself .Image processing methods, spatial domain methods are based on direct manipulation of pixels in an image. The intensity transformations and spatial filtering are two principal categories of spatial domain methods. In Frequency domain methods, first image is transformed to frequency domain. It means that, the Fourier transform of the image is computed and performed all processing on the Fourier transform of the image. Finally Inverse Fourier transform is performed to get the resultant image. (Rafael C.Gonzalez and Richard E.Woods) Image Enhancement Techniques are Median filtering Neighborhood averaging Edge Detection Histogram techniques In 1980, recent work on c.c.d. scanners is reviewed and solid-state scanners which include on-chip signal processing functions are described. Future trends are towards `smart scanners; these are scanners with on-chip real-time processing functions, such as analogue-to-digital conversion, thresholding, data compaction, edge enhancement and other real-time image processing functions.( Chamberlain,1980) The image enhancement algorithm first separates an image into its lows (low-pass filtered form) and highs (high-pass filtered form) components. The lows component then controls the amplitude of the highs component to increase the local contrast. The lows component is then subjected to a non-linearity to modify the local luminance mean of the image and is combined with the processed highs component. The performance of this algorithm when applied to enhance typical undegraded images, images with large shaded areas, and also images degraded by cloud cover will be illustrated by way of examples. (Peli, T., 1981) Enhancement algorithms based on local medians and interquartile distances are more effective than those using means and standard deviations for the removal of spike noise, preserve edge sharpness better and introduce fewer artifacts around high contrast edges. They are not as fast as the mean-standard deviation equivalents but are suitable for large data sets treated in small machines in production quantities.( Scollar,I.,1983) Filtering CT images to remove noise, and thereby enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in the images, is a difficult process because CT noise is of a broad-band spatial-frequency character, overlapping frequencies of interest in the signal.A measurement of the noise power spectrum of a CT scanner and some form of spatially variant filtering of CT images can be beneficial if the filtering process is based upon the differences between the frequency characteristics of the noise and the signal. For evaluating the performance, used a percentage standard deviation, an index representing contrast, a frequency spectral pattern, and several CT images processed with the filter. (Okada., 1985) A two-dimensional least-mean-square (TDLMS) adaptive algorithm based on the method of steepest decent is proposed and applied to noise reduction in images. The adaptive property of the TDLMS algorithm enables the filter to have an improved tracking performance in nonstationary images. The results presented show that the TDLMS algorithm can be used successfully to reduce noise in images. The algorithm complexity is 2(NN) multiplications and the same number of additions per image sample, where N is the parameter-matrix dimension. The algorithm can be used in a number of two-dimensional applications such as image enhancement and image data processing.( Hadhoud,M.M.,1988) Image processing techniques are used to determine the range and alignment of a land vehicle. The approach taken is to establish a state vector of quantities derived from an image sequence, and to refine this over the mission. The image processing techniques applied fall into the generic categories of enhancement, detection, segmentation, and classification. Approaches to estimating the alignment and range of a vehicle in computationally efficient ways are presented. The estimates of quantities extracted from single image frames are subject to errors. This approach facilitates the integration of results from multiple images, and from multiple sensor systems.( Atherton, T.J.,1990) The JPEG coder has proven to be extremely useful in coding image data. For low bit-rate image coding (0.75 bit or less per pixel), however, the block effect becomes very annoying. The edges also display `wave-like appearance. An enhancement algorithm is proposed to enhance the subjective quality of the reconstructed images. First, the pixels of the coded image are classified into three broad categories: (a) pixels belonging to quasi-constant regions where the pixel intensity values vary slowly, (b) pixels belonging to dominant-edge (DE) regions which are characterized by few sharp and dominant edges and (c) pixels belonging to textured regions which are characterized by many small edges and thin-line signals. An adaptive mixture of some well-known spatial filters which uses the pixel labeling information for its adaptation is used as the adaptive optimal spatial filter for image enhancement. (Kundu, A.1995) The videotexts are low-resolution and mixed with complex backgrounds; image enhancement is a key to successful recognition of the videotexts. Especially in Hangul characters, several consonants cannot be distinguished without sophisticated image enhancement techniques. In this experiment, after multiple videotext frames containing the same captions are detected and the caption area in each frame is extracted, five different image enhancement techniques are serially applied to the image: multi-frame integration, resolution enhancement, contrast enhancement, advanced binarization, and morphological smoothing operations and tested the proposed techniques with the video caption images containing both Hangul and English characters from various video sources such as cinema, news, sports, etc. The character recognition results are greatly improved by using enhanced images in the experiment. (Sangshin Kwak.,2000). The use of an adaptive image enhancement system that implements the human visual system (HVS) has the properties for contrast enhancement of X-ray images. X-ray images are poor quality and are usually interpreted visually. The HVS properties considered are its adaptive nature, multichannel mechanism and high nonlinearity. This method is adaptive, nonlinear and multichannel, and combines adaptive filters and homomorphic processing. The median filtering method is a simple and efficient way to remove impulse noise from digital images. This novel method has two stages. The first stage is to detect the impulse noise in the image. In this stage, first one identify the noise pixel and second one the pixels are roughly divided into two classes, which are noise-free pixel and noise pixel. Then, the second stage is to eliminate the impulse noise from the image. In this stage, only the noise-pixels are processed. The noise -free pixels are directly copied to the output image. Here, hybrid of adaptive median filter with switching median filter method is used. The adaptive median filter framework in order to enable the flexibility of the filter to change it size accordingly based on the approximation of local noise density. The switching median filter framework in order to speed up the process and also allows local details in the image to be preserved. (Kong, NSP., 2008) One of the advantages of Level-2 Improved tolerance based selective arithmetic mean filtering technique is that this filtering technique is to detect and remove the noisy pixels and restore the noise free information. However the removal of impulse noise is often accomplished at the expense of blurred and distorted features of edges. Therefore it is necessary to preserve the edges and fine details during filtering. (Deivalakshmi,S., 2010) An efficient non-linear cascade filter is used to removal of high density salt and pepper noise in image and video. This method consists of two stages to enhance the filtering. The first stage is the Decision based Median Filter (DMF) which is used to identify pixels likely to be contaminated by salt and pepper noise and replaces them by the median value. The second stage is the Unsymmetrical Trimmed Filter, either Mean Filter (UTMF) or Midpoint Filter (UTMP) which is used to trim the noisy pixels in an unsymmetrical manner and processes with the remaining pixels The basic idea is that, though the level of denoising in the first stage is lesser at high noise densities, the second stage helps to increase the noise suppression. Hence, this method is very suitable for low, medium as well as high noise densities even above 90%. This algorithm shows better image and video quality in terms of visual appearance and quantitative measures. ( Balasubramanian, S.,2009) The enhancement algorithm enhances CR image detail and CR image enhanced has good visual effect, so the method id suit for edge detail enhancement of CR medicine radiation image. (Zhang., 2010). Three dimensional TV is considered as next generation broadcasting service.TOF sensors are a relatively new technology allowing real time capture of both photometric and geometric scene information. In order to generate the natural 3D video, first we develop a practical pipeline including TOF data processing and MPEG-4 based data transmission and reception. Then we acquire colour and depth videos from TOF range sensor. Then Alpha matting and enhancement are performed to handle fuzzy and hairy objects (Ji-Ho Cho Sung-Yeol Kim Lee, 2010). Chapter 2 2.1 Median Filtering Median Filtering is a non -linear signal enhancement technique for the smoothing of signals, the suppression of impulse noise, and preserving of edges. In the one dimensional case it consists of sliding a window of an odd number of elements along the signal, replacing the centre sample by the median of the samples in the window. Noise is any undesirable signal. Noise is everywhere and thus we have to learn to live with it. Noise gets introduced into data via any electrical system used for storage, transmission, and/or processing. In addition, nature will always play a noisy trick or two with data under observation. When encountering an image corrupted with noise you will want to improve its appearance for a specific application. The Techniques applied are application-oriented. Also, different procedures are related to the types of noise introduced to the image. Some important types of noise are: Gaussian or white, Rayleigh, Salt-pepper or impulse noise, periodic, sinusoidal or coherent, uncorrelated, and granular. In statistics, a median is described as the numeric value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the numbers from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one. For example: The observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4]. First, we are arranging in ascending order or lowest value to highest value. [1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8] Then the middle one is picked. Here, number of observations n=9, it is an odd number. The middle value=5. So, the median =5. If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values. For example: observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4,6]. First, we are arranging in ascending order or lowest value to highest value. [1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8] Then the middle one is picked. Here, number of observations n=10, it is an even number. So, averaging the observation 5 and 6 and gets the median value. The observation values are 5 and 6. The averaging value of 5 and 6 gives 5.5. So, the median =5.5. Most scanned images contain noise caused by the scanning method (sensor and its calibration-electrical components, radio frequency spikes) this noise may look like dots of black and white. Median filter helps us by erasing the black dots, called the Pepper, and it also fills in white holes in an image, called salt Impulse Noise. Its like the mean filter but is better in pixels and will not affect the other pixels significantly. This means that mean does that. Preserving sharp edges Median value is much like neighbourhood Median filtering is popular in removing salt and pepper noise and works by replacing the pixel value with the median value in the neighbourhood of that pixel. When applied on: 1. We do brightness -ranking by first placing the brightness values of the pixels from each neighbourhood in ascending order. 2. The median or middle value of this ordered sequence is then selected as the representative brightness value for that neighbourhood. 2.2Median Filter Action The median filter is also sliding -window spatial filter, but it replaces the centre pixel value in the window by the median of all pixel values in the window. As for the mean filter, the kernel is usually square but can be any shape rectangular, circular, etc depends on an image. An example of median filtering of a single 3*3 window of values is shown in figure 2.1. Unfiltered Values 6 2 0 3 97 4 19 3 10 To arrange the pixel value in ascending order: 0,2,3,3,4,6,19,97 The median value=4(Here no of items=9) The centre pixel value 97 is replaced by the median value 4 as shown below. Median filtered Values * * * * 4 * * * * Figure 2.2 This illustrates one of the celebrated features of the median filter: its ability to remove impulse noise. The median filter is also widely claimed to be edge-preserving since it theoretically preserves step edges without blurring. However, in the presence of noise it blurs edges in images slightly. 2.3 Synthetic Image Let us consider 6*6 window size. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Here, we take 3*3 mask size, to find out the median value. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 The order of the pixel value:1,2,3,3,3,4,5,7,8.The median value of this mask size=3. Here, the centre pixel value 3 is replaced by the median value 3. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 A B C D 1 2 E F G H 8 1 I J K L 7 1 M N O P 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Here, we find out the A to P value as shown in figure 2.5. First, we find out the median value for 3*3 mask size and replacing the original centre pixel value by these values. To find A: Order: 1, 2, 3,3,3,4,5,7,8. Median=3. To find B: Order: 1, 3, 3,3,4,4,5,6,8. Median=4. To find C: Order: 2, 3, 3,4,4,5,6,8,9. Median=4. To find D: Order: 1, 2, 2,3,4,5,6,8,9. Median=4. Similar way, we have to calculate F to P. To find P: Order: 2, 4,5,5,5,8,8,9 Median=5. The final output of synthetic image of 6*6 window as shown in figure 2.6. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 4 4 4 1 2 4 4 4 4 8 1 4 4 4 5 7 1 4 4 5 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 By checking the synthetic image output by using Matlab. To Refer the Matlab Coding in Appendix A. Output: 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 4 4 4 1 2 4 4 4 4 8 1 4 4 4 5 7 1 4 4 5 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Both Hand calculation synthetic image output and Matlab synthetic image output are same. 2.4 Median Filter Implementation on Mat lab: In past years, linear filters become the most popular filters in image processing. The reason of their popularity is caused by the existence of robust mathematical models which can be used for their analysis and design. However, there exist many areas in which the nonlinear filters provide significantly better results. The advantage of non linear filters lies in their ability to preserve edges and suppress the noise without loss of details. The success of nonlinear filters is caused by the fact that image signals as well as existing noise types are usually nonlinear. Due to the imperfection of image sensors, images are often corrupted by noise. The impulse noise is the most frequently referred type of noise. The most cases, impulse noise is caused by malfunctioning pixels in camera sensors, faulty memory locations in hardware, or errors in data transmission. We distinguish two common types of impulse noise. They are Salt-and-Pepper noise and the random valued shot noise. For images corrupted by salt-and-pepper noise, the noisy pixels have only maximum or minimum values. In case of random valued shot noise, the noisy pixels have arbitrary value. Traditionally, the impulse noise is removed by a median filter which is the most popular non linear filter .A standard median filter gives poor performance for images corrupted by impulse noise with higher intensity. A simple median filter utilizing 3*3 or 5*5 pixel window is sufficient only when the noise intensity is less than approximately 10-20%. Here, we implement the median filter using Matlab. To refer the Matlab coding in Appendix B. Output: problem The Noisy Image is corrupted by Salt-and-Pepper noise. By using median filter, 3*3 mask size most of noise has been eliminated. If we smooth the noisy image with larger median filter 7*7 mask size, all the noisy pixels disappear as shown above figure. 3.0 Neighbourhood Averaging Filters Neighborhood averaging filters are similar to mean filters. The Neighborhood averaging filter is the simplest low pass filter; here all coefficients are identical. These filters sometimes are called Averaging filters. The characteristics of neighborhood averaging are defined by kernel height, width and shape. When Kernel size increases, the smoothing effect also increases. The idea behind these filters is straight forward. By replacing the every pixel value in an image by the average of the intensity levels in the neighborhood defined by the filter mask, this process results in an image with reduced sharp transitions in intensity levels. The window is usually square, but can be any shape like rectangular, circular, etc. depending on the size of an image. Each point in the smoothed image, is f(x,y)obtained from the average pixel value in a neighbourhood of (x,y) in the input image. For example, if we use a 33 neighbourhood around each pixel we would use the mask 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 1/9 Each pixel value is multiplied by 1/9, summed, and then the result placed in the output image. This mask is successively moved across the image until every pixel has been covered. That is, the image is convolved with this smoothing mask (also known as a spatial filter or kernel). However, one usually expects the value of a pixel to be more closely related to the values of pixels close to it than to those further away. This is because most points in an image are spatially coherent with their neighbours; indeed it is generally only at edge or feature points where this hypothesis is not valid. Accordingly it is usual to weight the pixels near the centre of the mask more strongly than those at the edge. Some common weighting functions include the rectangular weighting function above (which just takes the average over the window), a triangular weighting function, or a Gaussian. In practice one doesnt notice much difference between different weighting functions, although Gaussian smoothing is the most commonly used. Gaussian smoothing has the attribute that the frequency components of the image are modified in a smooth manner. Smoothing reduces or attenuates the higher frequencies in the image. Mask shapes other than the Gaussian can do odd things to the frequency spectrum, but as far as the appearance of the image is concerned we usually dont notice much. The arithmetic mean is the standard average, often simply called the mean. The mean may be confused with the median, mode or range. The mean is the average of a set of values, or distribution; however, for probability distributions, the mean is not necessarily the same as the median, or the mode. For example: The observations are [7,5,6,8,1,3,8,5,4]. First, we find out the total value for these observations. Total=7+5+6+8+1+3+8+5+4=47 Then, finding the average one. Here, number of observations n=9. Average=total/9. =47/9 Average=5.22(Equivalent to 5) So, the average =5. 3.1 Synthetic image Let us consider 6*6 window size. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Figure 3.1 Here, we take 3*3 mask size, to find out the Neighbourhood averaging value. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 The order of the pixel value:1,2,3,3,3,4,5,7,8.The averaging value of this mask size=4. Here , the centre pixel value 3 is replaced by the averaging value 4. By using this method, we have to calculate the median value for whole window size 6*6. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 A B C D 1 2 E F G H 8 1 I J K L 7 1 M N O P 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 We find out the A to P value by using the figure 3.3 as shown above. First find out the median value for 3*3 mask size and replacing the original centre pixel value by these values. To find A: Order:1,2,3,3,3,4,5,7,8. Averaging=(1+2+3+3+3+4+5+7+8)/9=4. To find B: Averaging=(1+3+3+3+4+4+5+6+8)/9. Averaging=5. To find C: Averaging=(2+3+3+4+4+5+6+8+9)/9. Averaging=5. To find D: Averaging=(1+2+2+3+4+5+6+8+9)/9. Averaging=5. Similar way, we have to calculate F to P. To find P: Averaging=(2+4+5+5+5+8+8+9)/9 Averaging=6. The final output of synthetic image of 6*6 window as shown in figure 3.4. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 4 5 5 5 1 2 5 5 5 5 8 1 5 6 5 6 7 1 4 5 6 6 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 By checking the synthetic image ouput by using matlab. To refer the Matlab coding in the Appendix C. ouput: 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 4 5 5 5 1 2 5 5 5 5 8 1 5 6 5 6 7 1 4 5 6 6 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Both Hand calculation synthetic image output and Mat lab synthetic image output are same. 3.3 Neighbourhood Averaging Filter Implementation on Mat lab To refer the Matlab coding in the Appendix D. Output: The Noisy Image is corrupted by Salt-and-Pepper noise. By using neighbourhood averaging filter, 3*3 mask size most of noise has been eliminated. If we smooth the noisy image with larger neighbourhood averaging filter 7*7 mask size, all the noisy pixels disappear as shown above figure. Chapter 4 Histogram Equalization In Histogram Equalization, the goal is to obtain a uniform histogram for the output image. In other words, the goal of histogram equalization is to distribute the gray levels within an image so that every gray level is equally likely to occur. Histogram equalization increase the brightness and contrast of dark and low contrast image making features observable that were not visible in the image. It also used to standardize the brightness and contrast of image. The process of histogram equalization is the mapping function that maps the input histogram function to the uniformly distributed output histogram function. Consider for a moment continuous intensity values and let the variable r denote the intensities of an image to be processed. As usual, where r is in the range [0, L-1], with r=0 representing black and r=L-1 representing White. For r satisfying these conditions, we focus on the transformations of the form. s=T(r) 0T(r) L-1 The output intensity level is s and for every pixel in the image the intensity is r. T(r) is a monotonically increasing function in the interval 0rL-1; and 0 T(r) L-1 for 0 r L-1. T(r) is a strictly monotonically increasing function in the interval 0rL-1. (a) T(r) is monotonically increasing that output intensity values will never be less than corresponding input values. (b) (b)Range of output intensities is same as the input. The mapping from s back to r will be one-to-one, thus preventing ambiguities. Histogram Equalization Action: The probability of occurrence of intensity level rk in a digital image is approximated by Pr (rk) =nk/MN where k=0, 1, 2 , L-1 Where MN is the total number of pixels in the image, nk is the number of pixels that have intensity rk, and L is the number of possible intensity levels in the image. A plot of pr(rk) versus rk is commonly referred to as a histogram. The discrete form of transformation is given by Thus, output image is obtained by mapping each pixel in the input image with intensity rk into a corresponding pixel with level sk in the output image. The T (rk) in this equation is called as Histogram Equalization. Let us consider 3 bit image (L=8) of size 64*64 pixels (MN=4096) has the intensity distribution shown in Table where the intensity levels are integers in the range [0, L-1] = [0, 7]. rk Nk pr(rk)=nk/MN r0=1 790 0.19 r1=2 1023 0.25 r2=3 850 0.21 r3=4 656 0.16 r4=5 329 0.08 r5=6 245 0.06 r6=7 122 0.03 r7=8 81 0.02 By using pr (rk) values, we calculate s values. To find s0: s0=7*0.19=1.33 To find s1: s1=7pr (r0) +7pr (r1) =7*0.19+7*0.25 = 3.08 To find s2: s2=7pr (r0) +7pr (r1) +7pr (r2) =7*0.19+7*0.25+7*0.21 =4.55 To find s3: s3=7pr (r0) +7pr (r1) +7pr (r2) +7pr (r3) =7*(0.19+0.25+0.21+0.16) =5.67 To find s4: s4=7pr (r0) +7pr (r1) +7pr (r2) +7pr (r3) +7pr (r4) =7*(0.19+0.25+0.21+0.16+0.08) =6.23 Similarly, s5=6.65, s6=6.86 and s7=7 At this point, the s values still have fractions because they were generated by summing probability values, so we round them to the nearest integer. s0=1.33-1 s4=6.23-6 s1=3.08-3 s5=6.65-7 s2=4.55-5 s6=6.86-7 s3=5.67-6 s7=7.00-7 These are values of the equalized histogram. Observe that there are only five distinct levels. Synthetic image: Let us consider 6*6 window size. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 First, we calculate rk,nk and pr(rk) The intensity levels are integers in the range [0, L-1] = [0, 9]. Rk Nk pr(rk)=nk/MN r0=0 0 0.0 r1=1 4 0.11 r2=2 6 0.17 r3=3 5 0.14 r4= 2 0.06 r5 4 0.11 r6 3 0.08 r7 3 0.08 r8 5 0.14 r9 4 0.11 Here, MN=6*6=36. By using these values, we can calculate s values. To find s0: s0=9*0.0=0 To find s1: s1=9pr (r0) +9pr (r1) =9*0.0+9*0.11 = 0.99 To find s2: s2=9pr (r0) +9pr (r1) +9pr (r2) =9*0.0+9*0.11+9*0.17 =2.52 To find s3: s3=9pr (r0) +9pr (r1) +9pr (r2) +9pr (r3) =9*(0.00+0.11+0.17+0.14) =3.78 To find s4: s4=9pr (r0) +9pr (r1) +9pr (r2) +9pr (r3) +9pr (r4) =7*(0.00+0.11+0.17+0.14+0.06) =4.32 To find s5: s5=s4+9pr (r5) =4.32+9*0.11=5.31 s6=s5+9pr (r6) =5.31+9*0.08=6.03 s7=s6+9pr (r7) =6.03+9*0.08=6.75 s8=s7+9pr (r8) =6.75+9*0.14=8.01 s9=s8+9pr (r9) =8.01+9*0.11=9 At this point, the s values still have fractions because they were generated by summing the probability values, so we round them to nearest integer. s0=0.0-0 s5=5.31-5 s1=0.99-1 s6=6.03-6 s2=2.52-3 s7=6.75-7 s3=3.78-4 s8=8.01-8 s4=4.32-4 s9=9.00-9 By checking the synthetic image output by using Matlab. To refer the Matlab coding in the Appendix E. Output: Histogram Implementation on Matlab: To Refer the Matlab Coding in the Appendix F. Output Chapter 5: 5.0 Edge detection Edge detection is a problem of fundamental importance in image analysis. In typical images, edges characterize object boundaries and are therefore useful for segmentation, registration, and identification of objects in a scene. In this section, the construction, characteristics, and performance of a number of gradient and zero-crossing edge operators will be presented. An edge is a jump in intensity. The cross section of an edge has the shape of a ramp. An ideal edge is a discontinuity (i.e., a ramp with an infinite slope). The first derivative assumes a local maximum at an edge. For a continuous image , where x and y are the row and column coordinates respectively, we typically consider the two directional derivatives and . Of particular interest in edge detection are two functions that can be expressed in terms of these directional derivatives: the gradient magnitude and the gradient orientation. The gradient magnitude is defined as (5.1) and the gradient orientation is given by -(5.2) When the first derivative achieves a maximum, the second derivative is zero. 5.2 Edge Detection Action An example of median filtering of a single 3*3 window of values is shown in figure. Before edge detected values 6 2 0 3 97 4 19 3 10 Let us consider f(x,y)=97. Then we calculate the Horizontal Edge H(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y) -(5.3) =97-3 =94 Calculate Vertical Edge, V(x,y) V(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x,y+1) (5.4) =97-4 =93 Calculate Positive Diagonal Edge: M(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y+1)(5.5) =97-10 =87 Calculate Negative Diagonal Edge: N(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y-1) -(5.6) =97-19 =78 Here, Threshold value set to 40.Then H(x,y)40 || V(x,y)40 || M(x,y)40 ||N(x,y)40 f(x,y)=0 Otherwise , f(x,y)=97. For this example, f(x,y)=0 Edge Detected * * * * 0 * * * * This illustrates one of the celebrated features of the Edge Detection: its ability to detect the edges of the image. 5.3 Synthetic Image Let us consider 6*6 window size. 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 3 8 4 5 1 2 4 3 3 2 8 1 8 9 6 2 7 1 9 2 6 5 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Figure 5.1 For this synthetic image, we assume threshold value=4. Let us consider the f(x,y)=3 then we calculate H(x,y),V(x,y),M(x,y) and N(x,y) Horizontal Edge(x,y) H(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y)=3-4=-1 Vertical Edge,V(x,y) V(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x,y+1)=3-8=-5 Positive Diagonal Edge: M(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y+1)=3-3=0 Negative Diagonal Edge: M(x,y)=f(x,y)-f(x+1,y-1)=3-2=0 Then H(x,y)Threshold || V(x,y)Threshold || M(x,y)Threshold||N(x,y)Threshold f(x,y)=0 Otherwise, f(x,y)=9. For this, f(x,y)=9 Similarly, we calculate the rest of f(x,y). 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 9 0 9 0 1 2 9 9 9 9 8 1 0 0 0 9 7 1 0 9 0 0 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 Figure 5.2 By checking the Synthetic image output with Matlab. To refer the Matlab coding in the Appendix G. ouput 3 1 5 6 9 2 7 9 0 9 0 1 2 9 9 9 9 8 1 0 0 0 9 7 1 0 9 0 0 8 3 5 7 9 8 2 By checking the synthetic image ouput by using matlab 5.3 Edge Detection Implementation on Mat lab Chapter 6 6.0 Conclusion: This report investigates a new hardware structure of a content based median filter, capable of performing impulse noise removal for gray-scale images. The noise detection procedure takes into account the differences between the central pixel and surrounding pixels of a neighbourhood. From this investigation, it can remove up to 95% of noise from highly corrupted image. The impulse noise (Salt-and -pepper noise) is removed using median filtering technique; the embedded C Code is implemented in order to achieve the clear image. The details inside the image are preserved and the RMSE value is small. At present it is being used in digital cameras to overcome the noise produced during transmission of data and noise produced due to malfunctioning pixels in camera sensor. In future high responsive median filter will be used which will give more reduced Image and enhancement method will be used to implement a 3D Television.