Essay on Multinational Companies Essay

Multinational companies are giant firms with their origin in one country, but their operations extending beyond the boundaries of that nation. For reasons of marketing, financial and technological superiority, these multinationals are generally considered as a sine qua non of the modernisation of an economy. They have been responsible for the rapid economic liberalisation in India in 1991, the question of the entry of multinational corporations (MNCs) has assumed significance. Multinationals corporations, mostly from the United States, Japan and other industrialised nations of the world, have en ­tered our life in a big way. Foreign investment proposals and commercial alliance have been signed on an unprecedented scale, thus giving rise to the controversy whether these multinational corporations are our saviours or saboteurs. This is so because of the vital difference between the economies of developed and developing nations. This requires that the entry of multinational corporations in India be examined from this angle. According to A.K. Cairn cross, â€Å"It is not possible to buy development so cheaply. The provision of foreign capital may yield a more adequate infrastructure, but rarely by itself generates rapid development unless there are already large investment opportunities going a begging That is why the intervention of multinational corporations is imperative in the context of the economic growth and modernisation of developing economies where ample investment avenues lie open and yet due to lack of capital and technical know-how, these potentials remain unexploited. Multinational corporations help in reorganising the economic infrastructure in collaboration with the domestic sector through financial and technical help. If we consider the case of our country immediately after Independence, ours was an agrarian economy with a weak industrial base and low level of savings. â€Å"Though the public sector was supposed to cure these ills, with problems like paucity of funds, lack of technical know-how and other amenities, it seemed an impossible proposition. Hence, the help of multinational corporation was sought in terms of fi ­nance and technology. As a consequence of the public sector multinational corporation nexus, from a miniature one, the Indian industrial economy assumed colossal dimensions and India is considered one of the most industrialised nations of the world today. However, there is another school of thought, which de ­nounces multinationals as an extension of imperialist power and potency source of exploitation of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by the developed economies of the world. According to them, MNCs are an expensive bargain for a developing economy from the foreign exchange point of view. These days when developing countries are struggling with massive foreign debts and their development plans are held up due â€Å"to paucity of funds† .this may be considered a serious drawback. Second, multinationals evade paying taxes in most countries by concealing profits. Government agencies entrusted with the task of collecting the taxes and scrutinising their accounts are often bluffed by them as they do not know enough about the industries they are asked to deal with. Third, multinationals often provide inappropriate technol ­ogy to the developing nations. The technology provided by them is very often too sophisticated to adopt or too absolute by international standards. Further, transfer to technology in accordance with resource endowment of LDCs involves high cost and this may prevent MNCs from transferring appropriate technology to these countries. Fourth, some of the evils of the multinationals emanate out of their  oligopolistic character. Collision is the main determinant of its price policy, which ensures profit at the cost of high level of consumption at a lower price. Even the impact of high productivity brought about by them through the technology-cal advancement is not conducive to the working class because of pre-determined level of profit under oligopolistic criterion. Fifth, concentration of economic power is the main charge against MNCs.This economic power is often used to distort national politics and international relations by multinationals. These enterprises build up a power entity of their own. They never hesitate in exploiting the social and political weakness and economic backwardness of the LDCs to their own benefit. A multinational corporation is neither a saviour as its pro ­tagonists claim, nor a saboteur as its detractors make it out to be. It is a mix of virtues and vices, boons and banes. Charges levelled against multinationals are serious, yet it also remains a fact that, despite all these disastrous consequences of their working, multinationals have emerged as the most dominant institutions of the late twentieth century. As such, third world countries in general, and India, in particular, will have to deal with multinationals despite their ugly designs. The Government must, therefore, have an optimally bal ­anced policy towards MNCs after weighting the various pros and cons of the issue. It would not go for foreign collaboration in areas where adequate Indian skills and capital are available. Whenever the need for foreign collaboration is felt in areas of high priority, emphasis should be on purchasing outright technical know-how, technological skills and machinery. But only if this is not possible, should MNCs be allowed to operate in India? Once these safeguards are taken, multinational corpora ­tions will give an uplift to national economy by bringing in quality goods and services to the country. They will reward enterprise and talent; the inefficient would, of course, have no place in the new scheme of things. Hence, the hue and cry by interested party, who, dub MNCs as saboteurs. Multinational corporations will demand efficiency, punctuality and dedication things which are deadly lacking in national life today. They will demand a certain work culture from the employees as well as the employers besides offering the best of goods and services to their clientele. They should, therefore, be viewed as saviours of national economy rather than saboteurs because we have seen where our previous policies, have landed us right at the bottom of the list of industrialised nations. The economy has steadily picked up since the liberalisation measures were introduced. This must ‘continue if we are to emerge as a global economic power in the next century. And multinational corporations are the only answer.

Pest on Unilever Essay

Political factors influence organisations in many ways. Political factors can create advantages and opportunities for organisations. Conversely they can place obligations and duties on organisations. Political factors include the following types of instrument: – Legislation such as the minimum wage or anti discrimination laws. – Voluntary codes and practices – Market regulations – Trade agreements, tariffs or restrictions – Tax levies and tax breaks – Type of government regime eg communist, democratic, dictatorship Non conformance with legislative obligations can lead to sanctions such as fines, adverse publicity and imprisonment. Ineffective voluntary codes and practices will often lead to governments introducing legislation to regulate the activities covered by the codes and practices. ECONOMICAL The second element of a PEST analysis involves a study of economic factors. All businesses are affected by national and global economic factors. National and global interest rate and fiscal policy will be set around economic conditions. The climate of the economy dictates how consumers, suppliers and other organizational stakeholders such as suppliers and creditors behave within society. An economy undergoing recession will have high unemployment, low spending power and low stakeholder confidence. Conversely a â€Å"booming† or growing economy will have low unemployment, high spending power and high stakeholder confidence. A successful organization will respond to economic conditions and stakeholder behavior. Furthermore organisations will need to review the impact economic conditions are having on their competitors and respond accordingly. In this global business world organisations are affected by economies throughout the world and not just the countries in which they are based or operate from. For example: a global credit crunch originating in the USA contributed towards the credit crunch in the UK in 2007/08. Cheaper labour in developing countries affects the competitiveness of products from developed countries. An increase in interest rates in the USA will affect the share price of UK stocks or adverse weather conditions in India may affect the price of tea bought in an English cafe. A truly global player has to be aware of economic conditions across all borders and needs to ensure that it employs strategies that protect and promote its business through economic conditions throughout the world.

Absolute Thresholds and Differential Thresholds

Absolute thresholds are the minimum level of stimulus intensity needed for a stimulus to be perceived. In other words, the absolute threshold is the amount of intensity needed for a person to detect a difference between something and nothing. Differential thresholds refer to the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before people can perceive that stimuli are different. Thus, the differential threshold is a relative concept. Weber’s law (1834) states the positive relation between the first stimulus and the second stimulus. The greater the initial stimulus, the stronger the additional intensity need for the second stimulus to be perceived as different. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Amount of stimulusOne stimulusTwo stimuli MeasurementDistance between stimulus and nothingDistance between two stimuli Compare between absolute threshold and differential threshold, absolute threshold just include one stimulus while differential threshold include two. In measurement, absolute threshold measures the distance between stimulus and nothing while differential threshold measures the distance between two stimuli. As I am a marketing student, therefore, the first thing which comes to my mind when I am trying to start off with this piece of journal is that, do these differences between the two thresholds matter with marketers’ marketing strategies? And after I do some research on the internet and with my personal experience, I am quite sure that it does matter. The importance of two thresholds can be different to marketers under different situations. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Advertising ElementsExposure, Size, ColorAdvertising quality PeopleInvolvement, motivation, attention, attitude Concerning advertising elements, absolute threshold focuses on exposure, size, color, etc to attract target customers’ attention while differential threshold focuses on the advertising quality appear to customer in order for them to percept the different between those. These two thresholds are based on different people and are closely related to their involvement, motivation, attention, attitude on the particular good or service. So different people will have different threshold when percept the same object. When a firm launches a new product or a new brand emerges in the market, this is when the absolute threshold is more important to marketers. Because absolute threshold measures the minimum intensity that the customers can percept, as the new brand or product probably needs recognitions from them, otherwise poor sales arise. Therefore, the higher the exposures of advertising advance to gain consumers’ attention. On the other hand, the well use of five sensory techniques in the advertising can easier imprint in their mind. When a firm is modifying a product or service (positive improvement or negative change) that either willing or unwilling to let a customer in perceiving the difference, the differential threshold will be considered to be more important. Because differential threshold measure the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before people can perceive, the intensity modify of a product that cause the customer percept or not is what marketers’ concern. For instance, marketers want to know to what degree of a price cut or a bigger meal can be percept by customers, and thus affect their motivation to consume more. On the other hand, marketers want to know to what degree of raise in price or a smaller meal that can’t be precept by customers, or else it will increase the customer’s cost risk and decrease his or her motivation in purchasing. When taking in the consideration in such a negative change, it reminds me with one of my personal experience. As I am a fan of Coca-Cola, I used to drink at least three cans a week and I would save those cans up on my own desk in order to bring those cans for recycling once a week. One day when I was doing the same practice after washing the can and try to put it to the group of cans on my desk, I found out that the can was smaller than those cans that I bought before, and when I took a look on the volume of the Cola, the drink can was cut to 330 ml from 355 ml which indicates a 7 percent reduction in the size of the can. I was kind of shocking that how come a Coca-Cola fan could not recognize such a change in size. After attending the lecture, I know that there is another dimension of sensory discrimination what is known as the â€Å"just noticeable difference† (JND). Weber’s work was applied to marketing by Miller (1962) which states that a 7 percent change in other sizes of similar products is needed before a change is noticed. This implies and explains what I experienced and how the marketers try to apply this theory in their strategic moves.

Communication with My Father Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication with My Father - Essay Example Bound by respect, kindness, and love, our ever-growing communication continuously gives me the motivation to achieve my dreams. My communication with my father has made me understand the value of respect. In our culture, children are expected to love and respect their parents at all times. Children do not answer back whenever being reprimanded, and they obey their parents’ will no matter what. In my case, I have developed respect for my parents not only because of our culture but also because of the way they have treated me with respect. Specifically, my father demonstrated to us, his children, what respect means by listening to us and giving us the freedom to speak up and say what we feel. As a family, we make time to listen to each other by gathering every night to discuss what happened to us during the day. My parents listen to our stories and advise us when we need their advice. By allowing us to express what we feel, my parents show us the importance of listening to peopl e and respecting their feelings. After the family meeting, I spend time with my father whenever I have the time. My father shows me what respect means by listening attentively and looking into my eyes. My communication with my father is also characterized by kindness. I have a feeling that my father favors me over my siblings. Thus, he is often kind and gentle to me than to my brothers and sisters. I feel this is unfair and should be changed so that my siblings will enjoy the same privileges I enjoy. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my father for showing me kindness each day. He has been very supportive of me since I was a child. We spend time doing a lot of things and telling stories. We enjoy each other’s company and often while away time with stories to tell. He is like a best friend to me whom I can count on in times of disappointments. However, unlike a friend who expects something in return, he does not pressure me to comply with his expectations. This is so because I kno w what he wants for me and I usually do what I think would please him. I do not ever want to disappoint him because he is my role model. If I fail to be good, I know that he will be disappointed. Thus, to avoid disappointing him, I study hard and limit the time I spend with my friends. In return, he is very kind to me and supports me in every endeavor. Love is also an important factor in our communication. The love of my father serves as my fountain of gladness. It gives me the motivation to strive hard and succeed in my dream, express hope and compassion towards others, and deal with other people with respect. I can feel the love of my father as he communicates with me. He is always after my benefit. Every time we talked, he inquired about my studies, health, activities, and other personal matters. As a son, I feel secure to have him around asking that way. Other children may find my father’s inquiries limitative of their freedom but I never thought of that. Whenever my fath er inquired about my whereabouts, I tell him everything and keep no secrets. He does the same and shares his problems. This way, we enjoy an open-line communication. However, one problem that I have is how to convince him to quit smoking. It concerns me a lot whenever I see him smoking and coughing at times or struggling for breath. Despite what he is feeling, he never stops smoking and would not like to be reprimanded about it. It hurts me to see him smoking because it could take his life

Small-Business Idea Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Small-Business Idea Paper - Assignment Example Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Different Forms of Business Organizations There are fundamentally four types of business forms currently practiced by entrepreneurs, such as sole proprietorship, partnership, C-Corporation, and S-Corporation. However, with due consideration to their practical implementation, various advantages and disadvantages can be identified which are elaborated in the further discussion. Sole Proprietorship Majority of the businesses observed in the locality are of this kind. The most significant advantages served by this form of business are the minimum obligation of legal implications. To be elaborated, The profits accrued from the business is entirely receivable to the proprietor Unhindered employment of capital in the business The proprietor possesses exclusive control on the business Tax rebates and exclusion from capital gains are served to the proprietor Apart from these advantages, a sole proprietorship concern also require facing disadvantages as fol lows, In this case, the proprietor is liable for any loss or repayment of debt incurred from the business Transfer of proprietorship is subjected to a wide number of legal obligations (Pride, Hughes, & Kapoor, 2011) Partnership Partnership concerns are quite different from the forms of sole proprietorship. It is in this context that this form possesses significant advantages as well as disadvantages in its ultimate implications. These are as follows, Advantages: Partnership firms have no formal requirements for its creation or running the business The partners engaged in the firm are only liable to pay individual taxes and also enjoys distributed liability of any debt and/or loss incurred by the concern Disadvantages: Termination of partnership is subjected to various legal requirement As the concern is not termed as a legal entity, debts and losses incurred by the firms are to be repaid by the partners (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008) C-Corporation Similar to the aforementioned two busine ss forms, this form also possesses significant advantages along with few disadvantages which are as follows, Advantages: Limited liability of the owners as subjected to their investments to the business Gathering a significant amount of capital is uncomplicated in this form Number of owners or shareholders can be unlimited Disadvantages: Operational structure is quite complex Significant influence of legal barriers can be witnessed Rights and power of control in the firm is determined according to the investment considered by the shareholders (Barringer & Ireland, 2009) S-Corporation It has been widely termed that S-Corporations possess missed advantages and disadvantages of partnership firms and other forms of regular businesses. However, the most apparent advantages and disadvantages of S-Corporation are as follows, Advantages: The owners are required to disburse either corporate tax or individual tax only Constructive rules for employment tax with

Staffing Process in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Staffing Process in Organizations - Essay Example Actually, after the recruitment and apportionment are done, the employees will be prepared to start the work as soon as possible. But, sometimes or most times, the recruited employees should need to be given orientation and training to integrate or assimilate with the working environment and importantly fulfill the work needs. That is, the prospective employees may show optimum interest, performance, etc at the time of recruitment, but after selection, while working in the organization they may underperform. That is, after performing well during the recruitment process and getting the job, they may become over-confident and may not put the same effort during their work. Also, if the organization fails to give them an optimal working environment as promised during the recruitment process, employees may not perform well in that scenario also. So, this where an optimal staffing process through coaching and mentoring will come into the picture, equipping the recruited employees and match ing the job needs of the organization. Staffing involves coaching and mentoring the job seekers to make them fit for a particular job (koreone.com) As part of the staffing processes, organizations should coach or mentor the recruited staffs and even the old employees, for it reaches the top echelons. â€Å"Coaching and Mentoring can be used to effectively unlock the potential that already exists within any organization. The organization’s most valuable resource is its people or puts more concretely, the knowledge and passion that resides within the hearts and minds of its people... introducing coaching and mentoring within any organization, will reap the benefits to the organization† (oaktraining.com). That is, when the recruited employees fall short in their performance, mainly due to lack of skill and  knowledge about the process, they can be coached or mentored.

Summary of an article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summary of an article - Essay Example Students use their computer systems to copy music files and download movies and similarly they think that copying and pasting other writers’ work is the same non-serious task. Gabriel mentions a survey which shows that 40% of students admit plagiarizing, and the number of students who consider plagiarism as a serious act is declining with every passing year. Students going to libraries for research work are very few today and since everything is virtual online, thus they do not think that there is any harm in using words that do not belong to them. Students get motivated to use other works through TV shows that copy other shows and music that contains others’ lyrics. They just need a grade to pass the exam and do not mind plagiarizing for this purpose which makes their work unoriginal and unauthentic. Students mix their work with others which keeps them from bringing up new and innovative ideas. However, Gabriel quotes Ms. Wilensky who states that still there are many s cholars who are producing original pieces of work. She asserts that students should be taught to reproduce ideas in their own words right from the start so that they do not plagiarize when they go to

Why did UPS make a deal with Clean Energy Research Paper

Why did UPS make a deal with Clean Energy - Research Paper Example The best supplier the company found was Clean Energy Fuel Corporation. UPS and Clean Energy Fuels sign a seven year contract to supply UPS with all the natural gas it needs for its fleet. One of the advantages of the deal was that Clean Energy Fuels was going to design, build, and operate a natural gas fueling station to be used by the UPS fleet (Oc180news, 2011). UPS was very motivated by the deal due to the fact that the deal enabled the company to comply with its strategic goal of reducing its carbon footprint and dependence on petroleum. Another advantage of this eco-friendly fleet is that it reduces maintenance and operating costs. The strategy can be used by the company to improve its public relations. One of the expectations of the shareholders and other stakeholders of the company is for UPS to become an environmentally friendly company. The emissions released by vehicles that utilized gasoline is one of the major causes for air pollution and global warming. This project can be utilized as a test run to determine if the company should continue to switch its fleet of trucks to more eco-friendly vehicles such as trucks powered by natural gas. Clean Energy Fuels benefited a lot by the deal evidenced by the fact that the price of its common rose by 10.1% after the deal was announced (Casacchia, 2011).

Strategic Initiatives Required of easyJet plc to maintain its Dominant Dissertation

Strategic Initiatives Required of easyJet plc to maintain its Dominant Market Share in the United Kingdom - Dissertation Example The venture failed, being squeezed out by the established airlines, but the concept remained and was revived in the 1980s, when deregulation in the airline industry in the U.S.A. witnessed Southwest airlines using this strategy to gain dominance in the domestic market. Liberalization in the airline market by the European Commission resulted in this concept reviving in the European sector in the 1990s. Consequently, â€Å"no frills airlines† sprung up by the mid-1990s in the United Kingdom and began dominating the European Market. easyJet came into being in 1995 as the brainchild of the Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji Ioannou, having a background steeped in the shipping industry. The early days of easyJet did not witness much success in proving to be a profitable venture. However, between the period 1998 to 2002 easyJet demonstrated the hunger and drive for larger market share and profitability through an impressive record of raising its 77 million pound turnover and 5.9 milli on pound profitability to 582 million pound turnover and 71.6 million pound profitability over this period. Strategic initiatives in the form of mergers and acquisitions of competitors and brand extension resulted in easyJet rising to a dominant market position in the United Kingdom market (Homer & Swarbrooke, 2004). ... Such a study would add to the body of knowledge of strategic management, providing insight into sustaining competitive advantage. 3. Literature Review easyJet has its headquarters in Luton England, providing direct employment to 7,300 people that include 1,900 pilots and 4,300 cabin crew. It has revolutionized the manner in which people in Europe travel for business or for pleasure. It has led the way in utilizing the Internet as means of providing convenience in ticketing and quick dissemination of information. It operates on more than 540 routes in Europe with its 196 aircraft. In 2010 it carried fifty million passengers. It has strong market positions in key markets in Europe. It holds the dominant position at Gatwick, Milan and Geneva and is a strong contender in Paris (easyJet plc, 2011). The business and financial highlights of easyJet for the year 2010 shows a total revenue of 2,973.1 million pounds, profit before tax of 154.0 million pounds, return on equity of 8.6% and retur n on capital of 8.8%. easyJet has demonstrated continuing growth, with passenger numbers up by 7.9% and total revenue per seat up by 5.1% (easyJet plc, 2011). With the passing of each year easyJet’s market position in the European short haul aviation sector has only grown stronger. In the first half of 2010 it increased its market share from 6.5% to 7.6% (easyJet plc, 2010). easyJet has demonstrated how to use the resource based model to attain competitive edge and success in the business world. In its initial days it imitated this business model used by Southwest Airlines of U.S.A. which was characterized by use of one type of aircraft, the Boeing 737; catering to short haul needs; no

Statement of purpose Personal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Of purpose - Personal Statement Example I believe a meaningful life should be all about aiming high and working hard to reach that high. Purdue University is the best university that help one realize the full potential in health and human sciences. One of the unique qualities of Purdue University is that it has accreditation to offer programs in health and human sciences and guarantees a nationally recognized degree to any person undertaking a program in this university. Secondly, the university is committed to excellence though creating, disseminating and applying knowledge in the areas of the programs offered. Thirdly, the university opens its doors to the locals, national and international citizens through providing healthy and safe working and learning conditions to the students, teachers, workers and the community in general. The university has several interdisciplinary programs, which include radiology, occupational health science, environmental health science, environmental and occupational toxicology, and medical laboratory sciences. Purdue University has academic research and training facilities that will assist in pursuing my degree. Such facilities include state of the art programs that help in preparing students to become great leaders. In addition, there are research and development programs that aids in improving the understanding of the particular area of study. The faculty that interests me in Purdue University is the faculty of occupational and environmental toxicology. The program involves the study of the adverse effects of toxic substances on people, animals, and the ecosystem. The research projects in this faculty include the research on the environmental causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and tremors, research on cellular toxicities caused by radiation and research on fetal origin of adult diseases due to early exposure to chemicals such as pesticides. In

The Fundamentals of Statistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Fundamentals of Statistics - Assignment Example Additionally, in order to provide a clearer illustration of the data, use of graphs and pie charts is paramount. There are many things that are not explicitly understandable and usually require uncovering. Therefore, it is important for the interested parties to come up with ways of developing an adequately deep understanding of the target information. In most cases, the information being sought is usually of significant importance. The information could be explanatory or even form basis for evaluation of problems at hand. This is the reason why people embark on research since it enables them to capture data upon which to validate their views or obtain explanations (Goddard & Melville, 2001). A study conducted on a sample of inmates revealed a number of things based on the views of the inmates on the criminal justice system. The study encompassed qualitative and quantitative variables all of which were related to criminal justice. This is an outlook into two of the variables studied namely â€Å"types of offenses† and satisfaction of the inmates with regard to â€Å"incarceration servi ces†. It is undisputable that different offenses have different frequencies of occurrence thus the need to look into the specific offenses for which the inmates were in. Figure 1 is a representation of the findings of the study with regard to the types of offense for which the inmates were jailed. There were 7 inmates jailed for homicide and 9 in each of robbery and burglary categories. The information is illustrated in a pie chart to clearly depict the proportion of inmates assigned to each of the categories of offenses. The use of pie enhances visibility of the relationship existing between the variables under study. The type of offense is a qualitative variable and some of the measures of central tendency and variability cannot be obtained. Qualitative data is categorical and non-numerical thus difficult to obtain measures that

Butterflies Essay Example for Free

Butterflies Essay In the name of Allah the most beneficent the most merciful A beautiful scene of dusk depicts a sweet picture of the universe, when the sun sets, and calm and stillness engulfs the loud voices of the day, I often see the birds returning back to their nests. These tiny creatures, lacking the faculty of reasoning and speech, believe that the best place ever found in the world is home. No matter how far we are from our homes, its necessity never diminishes and Mr. President, respectable teachers worthy parents and dear fellows this is the first reason Why I love Pakistan? Pakistan’s creation was no doubt the finest hour of our history our forefathers who had fought for it envisioned the promise of long cherished freedom, democracy and prosperity. It is the country which was created to work for an ideal democratic state based on social justice as an upholder of human freedom and world peace, in which all citizens were to enjoy equal rights and freedom from fear, want and ignorance. Dear fellows, Pakistan my homeland is in fact the land of blessings. Its creation speaks its dignity. History teaches us that how much cherished the dream of Pakistan was and how seriously our fathers fought for it .believe me or not, the most significant reason of loving Pakistan is independence movement itself. I know very well Mr. President that the shackles of slavery snatch all such all creative facilities and the beautiful world a heaven to breathe in, turns into hell without freedom. By the grace of Allah my country, my love, my homeland offers me to enjoy the open air of independence .Being a student I have surfaced the papers of history to know about the grand sacrifices of my forefathers and as humble token I express my gratitude to them by proudly announcing in public that Pakistan I love u . ,And I have millions of reasons to prove that why I love Pakistan? I was wondering a few days ago what Pakistan has done for me and how we react when something happens down there. I am proud to say that Im Muslim, and after my religion I am most proud of the country to which I belong, Pakistan. Here are some facts: Pakistan is the only country to be founded on the basis of Islam Pakistan posseses the 6th largest army in the world today. Pakistan is the single most powerful Muslim country in the world today. Pakistani Air Force and Army personnel train all other Muslim countries, which include most Arab nations today. Pakistan is the only Muslim country that posseses Nuclear power. Pakistan is the bridge between the Middle East and South Asia. Pakistan is one of the oldest civilizations (5000 year known history), it is a mix of cultures Dear guests, I am a Pakistani student and citizen, I believe on unity and, friendship, I have no fear, I can see the bright future of Pakistan. as Quaid said.† There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan†. In end I would pray all of you to love this country as a blessing of God, stand united, guard its identity and geographical boundaries, work day and night for its better and exalted image,. Live like Ghazis and Shaheens of Iqbal, die like martyrs. I want to salute to all national heroes and my teachers on this great day, when ever listen the best name Pakistan always respond Zindabad. Its high time to hold hands and say it out loud.pakistan zindabad.Salute Pakistan.

An Analysis Of The Extended Mind Philosophy Essay

An Analysis Of The Extended Mind Philosophy Essay à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Minds like ours can (without the need for any radically new techniques, technologies, or interventions) extend into the world (Clark, 2010, p. 81). Evaluate this statement with reference to the literature on extended cognition. This essay aims to study the extended mind, without any need of completely adapting new techniques, technology, or interventions the minds like ours can launch into the world (Clark, 2010). The focus of the essay will be on internal and external representation of the mind and will evaluate the statement made by Clark (2010) with reference to other literature on extended cognition. Cognitive science believes that the mind has mental representations which are similar to computer data structures and computational procedures analogous and computational algorithms. Cognitive researchers have put forward that the mind holds mental representations as rules, images, logical proposition, and concepts (Dawson 1998). According to Norman (1988, 1993) cognition is viewed as terms of knowledge in the head and knowledge in the world. According to Clark (2010) one of the most significant current discussions in legal and moral philosophy is the extended mind, which refers to the concept between the mind and the environment, from the thesis of Clark and Chalmers (1998) active externalism or Hypothesis of Extended Cognition (HEC). The extended mind commences with the inquiry of where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin? in respond to the question Clark and Chalmers (1998) present an alternative view with Hypothesis of Extended cognition (HEC). This is to be distinguished from the more traditional externalism meaning from the writing of (Putnam, 1975 Burge, 1986). Clark is asking for people to visualize that individuals could rotate images of geometrical shapes on a computer screen, by the use of a neural implant in their heads or by using a rotate button in the world. Clark affirmed that the implant perspective is evidently cognitive; therefore the button perspective is as well, in spite of either if they are carried out in the head or in the world (cited in Clark 2008). For this reason, it can be argued that the mind extends into the world which was Clarks belief in technology, physical objects, chips and CD-ROMs, as external memory stores that individuals can consult as needs dictate sort of coupled systems (Clark and Chalmers 1998). According to Dartnall (2007); (Schegloff, 1992, cite Alterman, 2007), Clark and Chalmers (1998) admitted that the processes in the world might be seen as individual, truly mental states-experiences, desires, emotions, beliefs, and so on might be in the mind. Nevertheless when it is performed in the head, it should also add up as cognitive when it is carried out in the world, Dartnall (2005) affirmed that the mind leaks or loops into the world. Clark and Chalmers (1998) argued that cognitive processes extend into the world when an individual uses pen and paper to solve a problem, using language to work or to solve a problem and the use of computers. Zhang and Norman (1994) draw our attention to internal representations as being intrinsic to many cognitive tasks and not just input and stimuli to the internal mind. This means that all these researchers thesis show a supportive argument toward Clark (2010) stating that the human mind can be extended into the world. Clark and Chalmers (1998) made such arguments as cognitive states being Parity argument by the things in the environment, in which they identify a number of possible objections to this argument such as the cognitive and the conscious, portability and reliability. They demonstrate two untrue characters to support their argument that the mind can extend into the world, using the example of Otto and Inga, who were both interested in art. Inga has a normal functioning brain, while Otto suffers from Alzheimers disease. They hear about an exhibition at different times and places and they both decide to go, Otto consults his notebook, which says that the museum is on 53rd street so he went to 53rd street to the museum. Whereas Inga recalls that the museum is on 53rd street and walks to the exhibition, as a result of this case Clark and Chalmers (1998) stated that the notebook plays the same role for Otto that biological memory plays for everyone else. They concluded for this reason that som e external objects execute this duty, and that some of our cognitive processes transcend the boundaries of skin and skull (Clark 2008). The HEC has been thoroughly criticized by Adams and Aizawa (2001) defenders of brainbound or organismbound approach to cognition. Clark and Chalmers, (1998) maintain their argument by pointing out to what extreme the mind extended, if someone hardly ever takes relevant action without consulting their Filofax, for instance, their cognitive system will be like that of the notebook in Ottos. Nevertheless if the individual frequently acted without consulting themselves, for example if the individual sometimes answers important questions with I do not know then the information in it counts less as part of individual belief system. Also if someone is relying on the internet is likely to fail on multiple counts, unless the individual is unusually computer reliant, facile with the technology, and trusting, but information on certain files on the individual computer may qualify (cited in Clark 2008). Dartnall, (2005) who argues for internalism and its epistemological implication that an individual can execute actions mentally that someone could typically carry out in the world. These are naturally achieved on inner analogues of external substance, which means that there is a leakage in both ways such as from world to mind, from mind to world. This parity argument has epistemological inference; if the individual can make an empirical discovery in the world using a procedure, then that procedure will also lead to empirical discovery when carried out in the head. For instance if a person walks into a room and sees a partially completed jigsaw puzzle on the table, looks at the puzzle and leaves the room. The person then mentally rotates one of the pieces and discovers where it fits into the puzzle. They have discovered something new, where the piece fits in the jigsaw puzzle, but how has the person done this? Not by straightforward empirical discovery, they did not have the direct en try to the puzzle when they solved it, or if they might have remember it when they walk into the room, because they did not know where it fitted when they were in the room and Shepard Metzler, (1971) also in support of this work also is consistent with Clark (2010) statement. A number of studies have highlighted that our mind extends into the world in support of Clark and Chalmers (1998); Clark (2010); Kosslyn (2006); Zhang and Patel (2006), (Baddeley, 1986; Smith and Jonides, 1997) (cited in Kosslyn 2006). In addition, Kosslyn argues that you are not restricted to whats in your head, but also includes things around you, including other people. Consequently, the self becomes distributed over other people who function as long term social prosthetic devices, cited in (Kosslyn 2006). Rupert (2004) developed a methodology for the hypothesis of extended cognition (HEC) which he called hypothesis of embedded cognition (HEMC), they are two divergent holds on cognitive scheme and their composition and their position in cognitive processing. HEC could more or less correspond to the viewpoint implemented by Clark (2008) those cognitive processes factually extends into the environment, while the traditional HEMC persists that cognitive organism is bound. According to the HEMC rely on cognitive processes, instead of being constituted by the external mechanism and strategy for cognition to happen without the external element being a factual part of the cognitive process. Rupert (2010) opposes Clark (2010), but does not fully reject the HEC. Thus, the HEMC has further empirical support and descriptive worth than HEC (cited in Dahlback, Stjernberg, Kristansson and Skagerlund, 2010). A recent study by Dahlback et al (2010), reviews the hypothesis of the extended mind and in order for them to support Clark and Chalmers (1998), they conducted an empirical study. They developed a definition of what cognitive processes are and how to examine cognitive systems, for instance how external memory support is actually used in elderly peoples everyday life. The participants were four elderly people with mild memory impairments and were diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, and some with a form of dementia. It was observe that one of the women kept the disposed plastic envelopes for the medicine she used and clipped it on her kitchen table. The woman stated that the envelope is a way of reminding her that a home healthcare practitioner as visited her as she will not remember. Dahlback, et al. (2010), pointed out that the plastic envelop is part of the womans memory system from an active internal process, since an already existing material artefact is put to use to improve her m emory, because they is no need to create a material artefact to improve the womans internal function any more. While Clark and Chalmers state that the mind can extend into the world through active externalism, that if process counts as cognitive when carried out in the head, then it could be also counted as cognitive when someone uses object as external memory via a notebook. Bs note were on the inside of her door, for her not to open the door for strangers, just like Otto, but Otto carries her own every were she goes. C uses a shopping list, because she forgets things all the time, while F has an appointment at podiatrist, which she has written and posted on her fridge, she then rewrites the note and the information has been mixed up. Dahlback, et al. (2010), Clark and Chalmers (1998), the imagination of Otto is not as straightforward as they may think in real life. Hence external memory support in this context is of question on how information finds its way into the external memory with participant Fs memory support functions. Dahlback et al (2010) concluded that extended mind hypothesis of Clark and Chalmers had been argued in isolation, for instance the hypothesis was not looked at in a wider theoretical framework surrounding all variety of cognition. In addition, the empirical debate has been slight be being limited to a few paradigms. Consequently, they supported Clark and Chalmers, but proposed alternative theoretical framework that Activity Theory could be used to illuminate some problems brought up in the debate. Activity Theory cognition is first and foremost organism centered and biologically evident in examples alternative from Clark and Chalmers, (1998). Hutchins (1995) argued that cognition is culturally and socially processed. The Activity Theory which is derived from Vygotskys (1978) cultural historical psychology, that the human mind is essentially associated to the interaction linked to the world and the human being. According to the Activity Theory, culture may not only be external which might have power over the human mind, instead is an underlying producing power that is an element of the extraordinarily manufacture of the mind. This finding is consistent with Clarks (2010) thesis, even though they have a different idea. Vygotsky (1978) is also debated Clark and Chalmers (1998) thesis, stating that the human mind is social in nature; that people are shaped by their language, how they are construed and by their culture as well, also that human beings live in a social and communal w orld. Although they has been critics such as Adams and Aizawa (2001) claiming that there might be a crucial difference between a real extended cognitive process where some external artifact in the world is element of an actual cognitive process and process that permit some process. They ask Clark a question: Why did the pencil think that 2 + 2 =4? And Clark answered because it was coupled with a mathematician. According to Adams and Aizawa (2010) in respond to Clarks answer they stated that, there were problems with Clarks extended mind hypothesis. They stated that Clark had no right explanation of the cognitive and the coupling constitution fallacy, so they made a theory mark of the cognitive, which may well prove that cognitive processes in fact are extended. Adams and Aizawa (2001) illustrated some artifact pencil and paper, in which they explain when using pen and paper and at the same time as carry out arithmetic which is rather difficult, the individual may not be able to work out the problem when using just their head and that the person needs to pass information onto the paper. They state that the paper and pen merely permitted a little cognitive process or else may be unattainable. While Menary (2010) feels that the mark of the cognitive is too limited. Adams and Aizawa (2010) propose an explanatory work, that cognition is constituted through underlying processes that involve non-derived content. They offer this in two ways, chemistry, and physics and by psychological laws. They stated that particular psychophysical laws, like Webers law, and psychological laws central memory formation and recall. Consequently they projected that the weight of empirical evidence supports the view that, since an object is of conditional empirical fact, that there are some processes that are identifiable cognitive, which happened in the brain and cannot cross from the brain into the external world. Clark (2010) argued that Adams and Aizawas (2010) argument is not strong enough, mark of the cognition, that cognition should be noticed not by its causes, but by its effects, which means Clark is arguing for a different cognition science which is the coupling constitution fallacy. Nevertheless Adams and Aizawa (2010) believe that Clark cannot come understand the view they had that cognition is a fundamental processing concerning non-derived content. As a result their work did not provoke Clark to address the problem of the most widespread problems with extracranial and transcranial theories of tool use. According to them, Clark did not offer a response to the coupling constitution fallacy and he gives a hint at what he thinks distinguishes the cognitive from the non cognitive. In conclusion this essay has given an account of and the reasons for the widespread extended mind debate and the statement made by (Clark 2010, p. 18) that minds like ours can (without the need for any radically new techniques, technologies, or interventions) extend into the world. It is possible to state that external representation has shown an option to the classical thesis of Clark (2010) view of all cognition taking place in the head. In addition, how it can be practical to be of assistance in real-world problem solving and arrangement of tasks, hence it provides insight into the association between human internal and external worlds and the nature of the mind itself. Furthermore other researches such as Clark, 2003, Clark and Chalmers, 1998, Dennett, 1996, Donald, 1991, Hutchins 1995 (cited in Dartnall, 2005) state that, cognitive processes extend into the world when individuals use pen and paper to work something out or the use of a computer. These findings suggest that the statement made by Clark with reference to other literature on extended cognition has brought new areas to be looked into like the need of technologies. Finally, a number of important limitations need to be considered, first Adams and Aizawa (2010) (cited in Clark 2008) which were the ones who attempted to argue what was wrong with the extended mind hypothesis and Clark stated that they fall short to successfully undermine the argument for the extended mind, because it seems that everyone agreed with Clark, but also bring alternative explanations. However, Adams and Aizawa (2010) argued that Clark was not able to address their theory of the mark of the cognitive, on the other hand Clark and Chalmers attempt to tackle the pervasive coupling constitution fallacy and set out a reasonable theory of what differentiates the cognitive from the non cognitive. The statement made by Clark and Chalmers (1998) has thrown up many questions in need of further investigation with empirical evidence to support the statement.

Risk Factors of Sleep Disorder After Stroke:

Risk Factors of Sleep Disorder After Stroke: Risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke: A Meta analysis Running title: Risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke Highlights: Diabetes mellitus has a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Alcohol use has a 59% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Habitual snoring has a 1377% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Body-mass index has a 17% decreased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Abstract Objectives: To explore the related risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients by conducting a meta-analysis Methods: PubMed, Medline, Springer, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Google scholar database were searched from inception up to May 2014. Studies investigating risk factors for sleep disorder after stroke were included. Characteristics including author’s name, year of publication, country, sample size, age of participants and gender were extracted independently by two reviewers. Results: A total of 8 studies, involving 1381 patients (578 experimental groups and 803 control groups) were eligible for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that there were significant association between risk of sleep disorder after stoke between diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.84, P OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.12, P OR = 14.77, 95% CI = 5.52 to 39.53, P WMD = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.63 to 1.03, P OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.72 to 2.1, P > 0.05), hypertension (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), dyslipidemia (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.70 to 1.33, P > 0.05), smoking (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.73 to 2.20, P > 0.05), previous stroke (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.74 to 1.49, P > 0.05), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05) when compared with control groups. Furthermore, the results of Egger test showed no statistical publication bias. Conclusions: Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and body-mass index are associated with risk of sleep disorder in patients with stroke. Key words: Sleep disorder; Risk factors; Meta-analysis; Stroke Introduction Stroke is a serious global health problem, and considered as the fourth leading cause of death and the primary cause of adult disability in all around the world [1-3]. Sleep-related breathing disorders (SDB) is a frequent clinical phenomena, and characterized by repetitive apneas and hypopneas during sleep [4, 5]. The relationship of SDB with stroke has been investigated in the recent years. Many researches have reported increased incidence of SDB in stroke patients, which could lead to progression of the stroke [6, 7]. Furthermore, SDB following stroke may result in high mortality and morbidity [4]. Although SDB and stroke have common established risk factors including age, gender, elevated body-mass index (BMI), hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and habitual snoring [8-10], risk factors leading to SDB in stroke patients remains unclear. Thus, it is important to identify contributing risk factors or associated conditions that can impact on outcome of SDB following stroke. Previously existing literature and primary analyses on risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke only involved in research of certain factor, and statistical power was deficient and insufficient in these studies [4, 11]. In this study, to investigate the risk factors for SDB after stroke and obtain a quantitative estimate of the risk, we systematically review the literature that have studied patients with stroke for SDB risk factors, (namely gender, Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, Dyslipidemia, Smoking, alcohol use, Previous stroke history, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Habitual snoring and Body-mass index)by conducting a meta-analysis. Methods Search strategy and study selection We retrieved the relevant studies up to May 2014 in several public databases, mainly including PubMed, Medline, Springer, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Google scholar. The main search words were â€Å"factor† or â€Å"influence†, â€Å"affect† or â€Å"element† or â€Å"determinant† or â€Å"cause† or â€Å"reason† and â€Å"sleep disorder†, â€Å"apnoea† or â€Å"obstacle† or â€Å"impediment† or â€Å"barrier† or â€Å"obstruction† or â€Å"balk† and â€Å"stroke† or â€Å"cerebral apoplexy† or â€Å"acute cerebral accident† and â€Å"research† or â€Å"survey† or â€Å"study† or â€Å"trial†. Meanwhile, references from retrieved papers were checked for more relevant studies not identified in database search. Eligibility of relevant studies For relevant abstracts, full publications were retrieved for evaluation on the basis of criteria that were established a priori. All selected research articles were considered except case reports. We sought to include studies of any design that reported risk factors in sleep disorders, and relationships between sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea or insomnia symptoms and stroke without the limitation of sample size and range of age. Studies were excluded from the systematic reviews and reports that only described sleep disorder after stroke. Studies with no control group were also excluded. Reviews, reduplicated studies and studies published in language other than English were excluded as well. Data extraction Information from each study was extracted independently by two reviewers using a data extraction form. Study general characteristics (e.g., author, year of publication, location of participants, design of studies, ethnicity and number of cases), and characteristics of participants (e.g., age, gender and sample size) were recorded (where available) and doubled-checked. Meanwhile, the effect size of risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with stroke patients without sleep disorder with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted as reported by authors. The effect size of gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol use, previous stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and habitual snoring were measured by, and body-mass index (BMI) by weighted mean difference (WMD). In addition, we contacted authors of incorporated studies to obtain further information for data items that needed clarification. Discrepancies were resolved by discussing within our research team or contracting with the original investigators via e-mail. Statistical analysis The meta-analysis was focused on the risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients versus stroke patients without sleep disorder. The pooled estimates of effect size of risk factors were calculated by averaging OR or WMD based on a fixed or random effects model depending on the overall heterogeneity. Then, heterogeneity of effect size across studies was evaluated by applying Cochran’s Q-statistic and and the I2 statistic [12, 13]. P value I2 value > 50% was considered to heterogenous across the studies. When substantial heterogeneity was detected, we calculated the overall estimate of ORs or WMDs using Mantel–Haenszel method in the fixed effect model [14]. If not, the pooled estimates were presented based on the random effect model by using DerSimonian and Laid method [15]. In addition, the publication bias were evaluated using Egger’s linear regression test [16], which measures funnel plot asymmetry by the natural logarithm scale of the effect size. Meta-analysis was performed using the software of the STATA package v.11.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). P value Results Literature research and study characteristics The details of the literature search were shown in a flow diagram (Figure 1). We obtained 972 citations (131 from Medline, 341 from Pubmed, 164 from Springer, 103 from Elsevier Science Direct, 16 from Cochrane Library and 217 from Google Scholar) with our electronic literature search. We obtain 84 citations after removing duplicates or irrelevant studies. In addition, 47 citations were excluded after screening based on the abstracts. Then 37 remained citations were full-text reviewed for detailed assessment. Finally, 8 citations satisfied the inclusion criteria and were eligible for the meta-analysis. The characteristics and information of the included studies were presented in Table 1. The 8 selected studies contained 1381 patients with average age (ranging from 43.0 to 75.2 years old), including 578 experimental groups (stroke patients with sleep disorder) and 803 control groups(stroke patients without sleep disorder) [17-24]. Overall analysis of gender As shown in Table 2, a total of 7 separate studies [17-20, 22-24], involving 1321 stroke patients (539 experimental groups and 782 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between gender and sleep disorder after stroke was found (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.72 to 2.1, P > 0.05), yet with significant heterogeneity between studies (Q2 = 22.73, I2 = 73.6%, P the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.91) Overall analysis of hypertension As presented in table 2, a total of 8 studies [17-24], including 1381 stroke patients (578 experimental groups and 803 control groups ), were finally eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between hypertension and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 14.13, I2 = 50.5%, P In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.43). Overall analysis of diabetes mellitus As shown in Table 2, a total of 7 studies [17, 19-24], involving 1326 stroke patients (549 experimental groups and 777 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed diabetes mellitus had a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.84, P Q2 = 1.59, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.72) Overall analysis of dyslipidemia As shown in Table 2, a total of 4 studies [17, 19, 22, 24], involving 832 stroke patients (373 experimental groups and 459 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between dyslipidemia and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.70 to 1.33, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 4.78, I2 = 37.3%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.68) Overall analysis of smoking As presented in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 20, 22, 23], containing 1234 stroke patients (495 experimental groups and 739 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between smoking and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 13.82, I2 = 71.0%, P the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.43). Overall analysis of alcohol use As shown in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 20, 22, 23], involving consisting of 1234 stroke patients (495 experimental groups and 739 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed alcohol use had a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.12, P no significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 4.49, I2 = 10.9%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.65). Overall analysis of previous stroke As shown in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 21, 22, 24], involving 892 stroke patients (412 experimental groups and 480 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between previous stroke and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.74 to 1.49, P > 0.05), and with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 =2.31, I2 =0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.24). Overall effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) As shown in Table 2, a total of 2 studies[19, 22], containing 623 stroke patients (280 experimental groups and 343 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between COPD and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05), yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 0.24, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). Overall effects of habitual snoring As shown in Table 2, a total of 2 studies [20, 21], involving 422 stroke patients (138 experimental groups and 284 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed habitual snoring had a 1377% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05), yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 1.29, I2 = 22.6%, P > 0.1). Overall effects of Body-mass index (BMI) As shown in Table 2, a total of 3 studies [20, 21, 23], involving 494 stroke patients (176 experimental groups and 318 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed BMI had a 17% decreased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (WMD = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.63 to 1.03, P Q2 = 0.95, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.998). Discussion In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis for investigating risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients. Based on the data from 8 studies including 1381 patients, the factors (Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and BMI) were associated with risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients when compared with control groups, yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity. The magnitude of this association was greatest for habitual snoring with stroke patients experiencing a 1377% increase in risk of sleep disorder compared with stroke patients without sleep disorder. However, there were no association between risk of sleep disorder after stroke and other factors (gender, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Smoking, Previous stroke history and COPD). In addition, there was no indication of publication bias from the result of Egger’s test. Researchers have shown increased incidence of SDB in stroke patients, which may lead to a poor outcome and recurrence [25, 26]. SDB progresses from habitual snoring to the increased upper airway resistance syndrome to sleep apnea [27], and it is biologically plausible that habitual snoring could increase the risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients. Habitual snoring is significantly associated with daytime sleepiness, restless sleep, and hyperactivity, which could lead to sleep disorder [28, 29]. In our literature search we did not identify results of any randomized clinical trials evaluating the effect of risk factors on sleep disorder after stroke. However, it is reasonable to infer that habitual snoring may contribute to incidence and development of sleep disorder in stroke patients. The previous studies have shown significant gender-related differences in presenting symptoms of patients with SDB [30], and the risk for the development of sleep disorder was significantly lower in women [31]. However, in our study, we found no association between gender and risk of sleep disorder after stroke, yet with the most significant between-study heterogeneities. This might result from unavoidable difference in study sample sizes and distinct adjustments across studies. Thus, we suggest that the present analyses might have underestimated the true effects of gender on risk of sleep disorder after stroke, and further studies are needed to be demonstrated this. The present meta-analysis has a series of limitations, such as lack of uniformity (e.g. sleep disorder diagnostic criteria, the duration of patients with stroke) and exclusion of studies written in languages other than English. Furthermore, another limitation was the narrow coverage of information of the present analysis. After all, the results in this analysis were only obtained data from Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and the majority of the included studies did not state if there were any racial differences among participants. The differences in regions and races among studies might have an influence on pooled risk estimates of sleep disorder after stroke. In summary, the present meta-analysis suggest that the factors (Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and BMI) is associated with risk of metabolic syndrome. The conclusion has a great significance for public health, especially in countries of high incidence of stroke. In addition, further investigations, both epidemiological and mechanistic, are needed to investigate whether regulating these factors can prevent occurrence and development of metabolic syndrome. 3D Technology: Types and Uses 3D Technology: Types and Uses CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This report will focus on how different 3D technologies work, it will include the entire work flow, from recording the action, encoding the footage, playing back the media via a cinema projector or television and finally how the audience views the 3D film or video, whether it be through specially designed glasses or an auto-stereoscopic television. At present the most popular way to view 3D media is with the use of specialised glasses, the most popular being, active shutter glasses, passive polarised glasses and colour separationbased glasses. Wearing glasses to watch a movie is often mentioned as a negative aspect of 3D. There is a technology available that allows you to watch 3D on screens without wearing any additional glasses, it is called autostereoscopy, this will also be looked at. The health impacts that result from watching 3D will also be examined, along with factors that will prevent a person from being able to correctly view 3D images. There will be impacts on the entire industry from studios and cinemas to smaller production companies and independent producers if 3D films become the norm and these will be examined. A good place to start this report is to examine how two of the highest profile media companies around at present are currently viewing 3D technology. Phil McNally stereoscopic supervisor at Disney-3D and Dreamworks was quoted as saying, consider that all technical progress in the cinema industry brought us closer to the ultimate entertainment experience: the dream. We dream in colour, with sound, in an incoherent world with no time reference. The cinema offers us a chance to dream awake for an hour. And because we dream in 3D, we ultimately want the cinema to be a 3D experience not a flat one.'(Mendiburu, 2009) In the BBC Research White Paper: The Challenges of Three-Dimensional Television, 3D technology is referred to as a continuing long-term evolution of television standards towards a means of recording, transmitting and displaying images that are indistinguishable from reality'(Armstrong, Salmon, Jolly, 2009) It is clear from both of these high profile sources that the industry is taking the evolution of 3D very seriously, as a result this is a topic that is not only very interesting but will be at the cutting edge of technological advances for the next couple of years. This report will be covering the following things: What does the term 3D mean with reference to film and video A look at the history of 3D in film How does 3D technology work The implications of 3D on the film business and on cinemas The methods used to create the media and also the ways in which the 3D image is recreated for the viewer The reasons I have chosen to do my project on this topic is that I am very interested in the new media field. 3D video when accompanied with high definition film and video is a field that is growing rapidly. Earlier this year, on 02 April 2009, Sky broadcast the UKs first live event in the 3D TV format, it featured a live music concert by the pop group Keane, it was sent via the companys satellite network using polarisation technology. Traditionally we view films and television in two dimensions, this in essence means we view the media as a flat image. In real life we view everything in three dimensions, this is because we get a slightly different image received in each eye, the brain then combines these and we can work out depth of vision and create a 3D image. (this will be explained further in Chapter 3) There is a high level of industrial relevance with this topic, as 3D technology coupled with high definition digital signal is at the cutting edge of mainstream digital media consumption. Further evidence of this is that the sports company ESPN will be launching their new TV channel, ESPN-3D in North America in time for this years Summer Football World Cup. In January 2009 the BBC produced a Research White Paper entitled The Challenges of Three-Dimensional Television on this subject and over the next couple of years they predict that it will start to be introduced in the same way that HD (High Definition) digital television signal is currently being phased in, with pay-per-view movies and sports being the first take advantage of it. Sky have announced that their existing Sky+HD boxes will be able to broadcast the 3D signals so customers will not even need to update their equipment to be able to receive the 3D Channel that they are starting to broadcast later this year. On Sunday January 31st 2010, Sky broadcast a live Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United for the first time in 3D to selected pubs across the country, Sky equipped the selected pubs with LGs new 47-inch LD920 3D TVs. These televisions use the passive glasses, similar to the ones uses in cinemas as opposed to the more expensive Active glasses which are also an option. (The differences between Active and Passive technologies will be explained in Chapter 8) It is also worth noting that at the 2010 Golden Globe awards, on acceptance of his award for Best Picture for the 3D Box Office Hit Avatar, the Canadian director James Cameron pronounced 3D as the future. At the time of writing this report (27/01/2010) the 3D film Avatar has just taken over from Titanic (also a James Cameron film) to become the highest grossing movie of all time, with worldwide takings of $1.859 billion. This is being accredited to the films outstanding takings in the 3D version of its release, in America 80% of the films box office revenue has been received from the 3D version of its release. In an industry where money talks, these figures will surely lead to an dramatic increase in production of 3D films and as a result Avatar could potentially be one of the most influential films of all time. After completing this dissertation I hope to be able to have a wide knowledge base on the subject and hopefully this will appeal to companies that I approach about employment once I have graduated. In the summer of 2010 when I will be looking for jobs, I believe that a lot of production companies will have some knowledge of 3D technology and be aware of how in the near future it may be something that they will have to consider adopting in the way that many production companies are already or soon will be adopting HD into their workflow. In order to ensure that I complete this project to a high standard it is important that I gain a complete understanding of the topic and study a variety of different sources when compiling my research. 3D media itself is not a new concept so there are a wide range of books and articles on the theory of 3D and stereoscopy along with anaglyphs. However in recent years there has been a resurgence in 3D with relation to film and TV. This is due mainly to digital video and film production making it easier and cheaper to create and manage the two channels needed for three-dimensional video production. It has proved more difficult to study books and papers on this most recent resurgence of 3D because it is still happening and evolving all the time. I have read various research white papers on the subject, which have been cited in the Bibliography, I have also used websites and blogs along with some recently published books, one of the problems with such a fast moving technological field such as 3D though, is that these books quickly become outdated. CHAPTER 2: HUMAN VISION In the real world we see in three dimensions as opposed to the two dimensions that we have become accustomed to when watching TV or at the cinema. Human vision appears in three dimensions because it is normal for people to have two eyes that both focus on the object, in the brain these two images are then fused into one, from this we can work out depth of vision, this process is called stereopsis. All of these calculations happen in the brain without the person ever even noticing, as a result we see the world in three dimensions very naturally. The reason that we see in 3D is because of stereoscopic depth perception. There are various complex calculations going on in our brains, this coupled with real experience allows our brain to work out the depth of vision. If it wasnt for this it would be impossible to tell if something was very small or just very far away. As humans, we have learnt to judge depth even with only one view point. This is why, if a person has one eye they can still manage to do most things that a person with two eyes can do. This is also why when watching a 2-D film you can still get a good judge of depth. The term for depth cues based on only one viewpoint is monoscopic depth cues. One of the most important of these is our own experience, it relates to perspective and relative size of objects. In simple terms, we have become accustomed to object being certain sizes. An example of this is that we expect buildings to be very big, humans are smaller and insects are smaller still. So this means that if we can see all three of these objects next to each other and they appear to be the same size then the insect must be much closer than the person, and both the insect and the person must be much closer that the building (see figure 1). The perspective depth cue (shown in figure1) was backed up when an experiment was carried out by Ittelson in 1951. He got volunteers to look through a peep hole at some playing cards, the only thing they could see were the cards and so there were no other types of depth cue available. There were actually three different-sized playing cards (normal size, half-size, and double size), and they were presented one at a time at a distance of 2.3metres away. The half-sized playing card was judged to be 4.6 metres away from the observer, whereas the double-sized card was thought to be 1.3 metres away. Thus, familiar size had a large effect on distance judgement'(Eysenck, 2002). Another monoscopic depth cue that is very effective is referred to as occlusion or interposition. This is where an object overlaps another object. If a person is standing behind a tree then you will be able to see all of the tree but only part of the person. This tells us that the tree is nearer to us that the person. One of the most important single view depth cues in called motion parallax, it works on the basis that if a person moves their head, and therefore eyes, then objects nearer to them, whilst not physically moving, will appear to move more than the objects in the distance. This is the method that astronomers use to measure distances of stars and planets. It is in extremely important method of judging depth and is used extensively in 3D filmmaking. In filmmaking, lighting is often talked about as being one of the key elements to giving the picture depth, and this is because it is a monoscopic depth cue. In real life the main light source for millennia has been the sun. Humans have worked out how to judge depth based on the shadows that are portrayed from an object. In 2D films shadows are often used to display depth by casting them across actors faces it allows the viewers to see the recesses and expressions trying to be portrayed. So far all of the methods that have been described for determining depth have been monoscopic, these work independently within each eye. If these were the only methods for determining depth there would be no need for 3D films as it would not add anything because all of these methods could be recreated using a single camera lens. This is not the case however, a lot of the more advanced methods used in human vision for judging depth need the use of both eyes, these are called stereoscopic depth cues. A great deal of stereoscopic depth cues are based around the feedback that your brain gets when the muscles in the eye are manipulated to concentrate your vision on a particular point. One of the main stereoscopic depth cues is called convergence, this referrers to the way that the eyes rotate in order to focus on an object (see figure 2). If the focus is on a near object, the eyes rotate around the Y axis and converge on a tighter angle , similarly if the focus is on a distant object the rotation means the eyes have a wider angle of convergence. It is a lot less stressful on the muscles in the eye to have a wide angle of convergence and look at objects far away, in comparison looking at very close object for any amount of time causes the muscles in the eye to ache. This is a very important factor that should be considered when creating 3D films, as it doesnt matter how good the film is, if it is going to hurt the audience it will not go down well. A second stereoscopic depth cue that we use is called accommodation, this is the way that our eyes changes focus when we look at an object at different distances, it is very closely linked with convergence. Usually when we look at an object very close up, our eyes will change rotation and point towards the object (convergence) allowing us to look at the item, our eyes will at the same time change focus (accommodation). Using the ciliarybody muscles in the eye, the lens will change shape to let more or less light in the same way a camera does, thus changing focus. In everyday life convergence and accommodation usually happen in parallel. The fact that we can, if we wish choose to converge our eyes without changing the focus means that 3D films are possible. When you are sat in the cinema all of the action is projected onto the screen in front of you, so this is where your eyes need to focus. With 2D films the screen is also where your eyes need to converge, but with 3D films this is not the case. When watching a 3D film the focus never changes from the screen, else the whole picture would go out of focus, but objects appear to be in front and behind the screen, so your eyes need to change their convergence to look at these objects without altering their focus from the screen. It has been suggested that this independence of accommodation and convergence is the reason for eye strain when watching a 3D picture as your eyes are doing something that they are not in the habit of doing (see chapter 12: Is 3D bad for you). It is also worth noting that our monoscopic depth cues work at almost any range, this is not the case with stereoscopic depth cues. As objects become further away they no longer appear differently in each eye, so there is no way the brain can calculate a difference and work out depth. The limit occurs in the 100 to 200-yard range, as our discernment asymptomatically tends to zero. In a theatre, we will hit the same limitation, and this will define the depth resolution and the depth range of the screen.(Mendiburu, 2009) This means that when producing a 3D film you have to be aware that the range of 3D that you have to use is not infinite and is limited to 100-200 yards. CHAPTER 3: Early Stereoscopic History (1838 1920) Three dimensional films are not a new phenomenon, Charles Wheatstone discovered, in 1838, that the mechanism responsible for human depth perception is the distance separating the retinas of our eyes . (Autodesk, 2008) In a 12,000 word research paper that Wheatstone presented to the Royal Society of Great Britain he described the stereoscope and claimed as a new fact in his theory if vision the observation that two different pictures are projected on the retinas of the eyes when a single object is seen.(Zone, 2007) Included in the paper were a range of line drawings presented as stereoscopic pairs, these were designed to be viewed in 3D using Wheatstones invention, the stereoscope. Wheatstone was not the first person to look at the possibility of receiving separate views in each eye, In the third century B.C, Euclid in his treatise on Optics observed that the left and right eyes see slightly different views of a sphere'(Zone, 2007). However, Wheatstone was the first person to create a device to be able to re-create 3D images. Between 1835 and 1839 photography was starting to be developed thanks to work from William Fox Talbot, Nicephore Niepce and Louise Daguerre. Once Wheatstone became aware of the photographic pictures that were available he requested some stereoscopic photographs to be made for him. Wheatstone observed that it has been found advantageous to employ, simultaneously, two cameras fixed at the proper angular positions'(Zone, 2007). This was the start of stereoscopic photography. Between 1850 and 1860 work was starting to be done by various people to try and combine stereoscopic photography with machines that would display a series of images very quickly and therefore using persistence of vision to create a moving 3D image. These were the first glimpses of 3D motion. In 1891 a French scientist, Louis Ducos du Hauron patented the anaglyph, a method for separating an image into two separate colour channels and then by wearing glassing with the same colours but on opposite eyes thereby cancelling out the image, thus reproducing one image, but in 3D. Another method used at this time to create 3D was proposed by John Anderton, also in 1891. Andertons system was to use polarisation techniques to split the image into two separate light paths and then employ a similar polarisation technique to divert a separate image to each eye on viewing. One of the main advantages of polarisation over anaglyphs is that they do not lose any colour information, this is due to the fact that both images retain the original colour spectrums. They do however loose luminance. It is common for a silver screen to be necessary, it serves two purposes, firstly the specially designed screen maintains the separate polarisation required for each image. It also reflects more light than conventional screens, this compensates for the loss of luminance. During 1896 and 1897 2D motion pictures started to take off, and by 1910 after a lot of initial experimenting the creative formats of film that we recognise today such as cuts and framing had started to become evident. In 1920 Jenkins, an inventor that worked hard to try and create a method for recreating stereoscopic motion picture was quoted as saying Stereoscopic motion pictures have been the subject of considerable thought and have been attained in several waysbut never yet have they been accomplished in a practical way. By practical, I mean, for example without some device to wear over the eyes of the observer.'(Zone, 2007) It is worth noting that this problem of finding a practical method of viewing 3D has still to a large extent not been solved. Chapter 4: Early 3D Feature Films (1922 1950) 4.1 The first 3D feature film The first 3D feature film, The Power of Love was released in 1922, it was exhibited at the Ambassador Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles. Popular Mechanics magazine described how the characters in the film did not appear flat on the screen, but seemed to be moving about in locations which had depth exactly like the real spots where the pictures were taken(Zone, 2007). The Power of Love was exhibited using red/green glasses using a dual strip anaglyph method of 3D projection. (Anaglyphs are explained in chapter 8.3) The film was shot on a custom made camera invented by Harry K.Fairall, he was also the director on the film. The camera incorporated two films in one camera body.(Symmes, 2006) Power of Love was the first film to be viewed using anaglyph glasses, also the first to use dual-strip projection. Also in 1922, William Van Doren Kelley designed his own camera rig, based on the Prizma colour system which he had invented in 1913. The Prizma 3D colour method worked by capturing two different colour channels by placing filters over the lenses. This way he made his own version of the red/blue anaglyphic print. Kelleys Movies of the Future was shown at Rivoli Theatre in New York City. 4.2 The first active-shutter 3D film A year later in 1923 the first alternate-frame 3D projection system was unveiled. It used a technology called Teleview. Which blocked the left and right eyes periodically in sync with the projector, thereby allowing you to see too separate images. Teleview was not an original idea, but up to this point no one had been able to get the theory to actually work in a practical way that would allow for films to be viewed in a cinema. This is where Laurens Hammond comes in. Hammons designed a system where two standard projectors would be hooked up to their own AC generators, running at 60Hz this meant that adjusting the AC frequency would increase or decrease the speed of the projectors. The left film was in the left projector and right film in the right. The projectors were in frame sync, but the shutters were out of phase sync.'(Symmes, 2006) This meant that the left image was shown, then the right image. The viewing device was attached to the seats in the theatre. It was mounted on a flexible neck, similar to some adjustable gooseneck desk lamps. You twisted it around and centred it in front of your face, kind of like a mask floating just in front of your face. (Symmes, 2006) The viewing device consisted of a circular mask with a view piece for each eye plus a small motor that moved a shutter across in front of either the left or right eye piece depending on the cycle of current running through it. All of the viewing devices were powered by the same AC generator as the projectors meaning that they were all exactly in sync. One of the major problems Hammond had to overcome was the fact that at the time film was displayed at 16 frames per second. With this method of viewing you are effectively halving the frame rate. 8 frames per second resulted in a very noticeable flicker. To overcome this Hammond cut each frame up in to three flashes so the new sequence was: 1L-1R-1L-1R-1L-1-R 2L-2R-2L-2R-2L-2R and so on. Three alternate flashes per eye on the screen. (Symmes, 2006) This method of separating and duplicating certain frames effectively resulted in increasing the overall frame rate thereby eradicating the flicker. There was only one film produced using this method, it was called M.A.R.S and displayed at the Selwyn Theatre in New York City in December 1922. The reason the technology didnt catch on was not due to the image, as the actual theory for producing the image has changed very little from the Teleview method to the current active-shutter methods which will be explained later. As with a lot of 3D methods the reason this one did not become mainstream was due the viewing apparatus that was needed. Although existing projectors could be modified by linking them up to separate AC generator, meaning no extra equipment was needed, the headsets that were required did need a lot of investment and time to install. All of the seats in the theatre needed to be fitted with headsets, these were adjusted in front of the audience members. These also had to be linked up to the AC generator so as they were perfectly in sync, this meant that they had to be wired in to the seats. These problems have since been overcome with wireless technologies such as Bluetooth as will be explained later. 4.3 The first polarised 3D film The next and arguably one of the most important advancements in 3D technology came in 1929 when Edwin H. Land worked out a way of using polarised lenses (Polaroid) together with images to create stereo vision. (Find more on polarisation in chapter 8.6) Lands polarizing material was first used for projection of still stereoscopic images at the behest of Clarence Kennedy, an art history instructor at Smith College who wanted to project photo images of sculptures in stereo to his students. (Zone, 2007) In 1936 Beggars Wedding was released in Italy, it was the first stereoscopic feature to include sound, it was exhibited using Polaroid filters. This was filmed using polarised technology. The first American film to use polarising filters was shot in 1939 and entitled In Tune With Tomorrow, it was a 15 minute short film which shows through stop motion, a car being built piece-by-piece in 3D with the added enhancement of music and sound effects. (Internet Movie Database, 2005) Between 1939 and 1952 3D films continued to me made but with the Great Depression and the onset of the Second World War, the cinema industry was restricted with its output because of finances and as 3D films were more expensive to make their output started to be reduced. Chapter 5: Golden Age of 3D (1952 1955) With cinema ticket sales plummeting from 90 million in 1948 to 40 million in 1951 (Sung, 2009) largely being put down to the television becoming coming in peoples front rooms the cinema industry needed to find a way to encourage the viewers back the big screen, 3D was seen as a way to offer something extra to make viewers return. In 1952 the first colour 3D film was released called Bwana Devil,it was the first of many stereoscopic films to follow in the next few years. The process of combining 3D and colour attracted a new audience to 3D films. Between 1950 and 1955 there were far more 3D films produced that at any other time before or since, apart from possibly in the next couple of years from 2009 onwards, as the cinema industry tries to fight back again against falling figures, this time though because of home entertainment systems, video-on-demand, and legal and illegal movie downloads. Towards the end of the Golden Age, around 1955, the fascination with 3D was starting to be lost. There were a number of reasons for this, one of the main factors was that in order for the film to be seen in 3D it had to be shown on two reels at the same time, which meant that the two reels had to be exactly in time else the effect would be lost and it would cause the audience headaches. Chapter 6: Occasional 3D films (1960 2000) Between 1960 and 2000 there were sporadic resurgences in 3D. These were down to new technologies becoming available. In the late 1960s the invention of a single strip 3D format initiated a revival as it meant that the dual projectors would no longer go out of sync and cause eye-strain. The first version of this single strip 3D format to be used was called Space-Vision 3D, it worked on an over and under basis. This meant that the frame was horizontally split into two, during playback it was then separate in two using a prism and polarised glasses. However, there were major drawbacks with Space-Vision 3D. Due to the design of the cameras required to film in this format, the only major lens that was compatible was the Bernier lens. The focal length of the Bernier optic is fixed at 35mm and the interaxial at 65mm. Neither may be varied, but convergence may be altered'(Lipton, 1982).This obviously restricted the creative filmmaking options and as a result was soon superseded by a new format called Stereovision. Stereovision was similar to Space-Vision 3D in that is split the frame in two, unlike Space-Vision though, the frame was split vertically, and they were placed side-by-side. During projection these frames were then put through an anamorphic lens, thereby stretching them back to their original size. These also made use of the polarising method introduced by Land in 1929. A film made using this process was called The Stewardess, released in 1969, it cost only $100,000 to make but at the cinema it grossed $26,000,000 (Lipton, 1982). Understandably the studios were very interested in the profit margin that arose from this film. As a result 3D once again became an interesting prospect for studios. Up until fairly recently films were still shot and edited using old film techniques (i.e. not digitally). This made manipulating 3D films quite difficult, this lack of control over the full process made 3D less appealing to film makers. The digitisation of post-processing and visual effects gave us another surge in the 1990s. But only full digitisation, from glass to glass from the cameras to projector lenses gives 3D the technological biotope it needs to thrive (Mendiburu, 2009). Chapter 7: The Second Golden Age of 3D (2004 present) In 2003 James Cameron released Ghost of the Abyss, it was the first full length 3D feature film that used the Reality Camera System, which was specially designed to use new high definition digital cameras. These digital cameras meant that the old techniques used with 3D film no longer restricted the work-flow, and the whole process can be done digitally, from start to finish. The next groundbreaking film was Robert Semeckis 2004 animated film Polar Express which was also shown in IMAX theatres. It was released at the same time in 2D and 3D, the 3D cinemas took on average 14 times more money that the 2D cinemas. The cinemas once again took note, and since Polar Express was released in 2004, 3D digital films have become more and more prominent. IMAX are no longer the only cinemas capable of displaying digital 3D films. A large proportion of conventional cinemas have made the switch to digital, this switch has enabled 3D films to be exhibited in a large range of cinemas. CHAPTER 8: 3D TECHNOLOGIES 8.1 3D capture and display methods Each different type of stereoscopic display projects the combined left and right images together onto a flat surface, usually a television or cinema screen. The viewer then must have a method of decoding this image and separating the combined image into left and right images and relaying these to the correct eye. The method that is used to split this image is, in the majority of cases, a pair of glasses. There are two brackets of encoding method, passive and active. Passive means that the images are combined into one and then the glasses split this image in to two separate images for left and right eye. In this method the glasses are cheaper to produce and the expense usually comes in the equipment used to project the image. The second method is active display. This method works by sending the alternative images in a very quick succession (L-R-L-R-L-R), the glasses then periodically block the appropriate eye piece, this is done at such a fast rate that it appears to be continuous in both eyes. There are various different types of encoding encapsulated within each of the two methods mentioned above. The encoding can use either colour separation (anaglyph, Dolby 3D), time separation (active glasses) or polarisation (RealD). A separate method, which does not require the use of glasses is done by using a virtual space in front of the screen and is called autosterescopic. In cinemas across the world at the moment there are several formats that are used to display 3D films. Three of the main distributors are Real-D, iMAX and Dolby-3D. Once a 3D film has been finished by the studios, it then needs to be prepared for exhibition in various different formats, this can include amongst other things colour grading and anti ghosting processes. At present there is not a universally agreed format for capturing or playing back 3D films, as a result there are several different versions, these are explained below. A large majority of the latest wave of 3D technology options send the image using one projector, so removing the old problem of out sync left and right images. The methods that do use dual projectors are much more sophisticated that the older versions used in anaglyphic films so have eradicated the old problems of out of sync projectors. 8.2 Gho