Glaucoma Image Processing Technique

Glaucoma Image Processing Technique Team 19 Members 40102434 Andrew Collins 40134357 Connor Cox 40056301 William Craig 40133157 Aaron Devine We have been tasked to develop a system that through image processing techniques would be able to detect glaucoma. This required us to enhance our knowledge in how to apply pre-processing, segmentation, feature extraction and post-processing on a set of given images to be able to produce a classification. Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve, which is the connector from your brain to your eye becomes damaged.   This can lead to a complete loss of vision if it is not detected and treated early on.   This is caused by when fluid in the eye cannot be drained effectively which builds pressure and then applies excessive pressure on the optic nerve. Detecting glaucoma normally is a very time consuming and expensive process because it requires a trained professional to carry out the research.   The advantages of automating this process is that it frees up that professionals time to carry out other duties. The system is going to be tested methodologically during the creation of the assignment, to help us decide what would be the best parameters to use to help increase the detection rate of glaucoma. System The way we tackled this assignment is we made a system that takes image sets and converts them into data sets which trains and tests them through our classification process.   The system assigns the data set to either being healthy or having glaucoma detected.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Training goes through the following stages in this order: Pre-processing. Segmentation Post-Processing. Feature Extraction Classification. Methodology For us to decide what would be the best choice of techniques for each stage of the system we are going to be using the a set methodology to standardize our selection process.   The aim is to maximise the system to try and get it to yield the maximum correctness it can achieve at each stage so when it reaches the classification stage it would provide the most accurate result. The best way we are going to measure the correctness of the system is running a testing/training cycle for each parameter being changed and put into a table and comparing them to select the best result. Brightness Enhancement In our system, I have implemented Automated Brightness Enhancement (ABE). ABE is used to normalise an image so the images mean gray value is equal to 127 or (255/2). The image below illustrates what the results look like. As you can see in the table above, the accuracy or our system significantly decreases when ABE is enabled. Therefore, for the good of the systems accuracy, we will disable ABE in the system. As for why ABE damages the accuracy, it likely destroys some data within the images that have a more dynamic range than the one shown above. This would result in some gray levels being 0 or 255. Accuracy significantly falls here. The reason for this is that ABE is causing the classifier to return positive for glaucoma for more images than it should, in turn, improving accuracy due to class ratio imbalance. Contrast Enhancement Our system implements three types of contrast enhancement, histogram equalisation, Automated Linear Stretch (ALS) and the Power Law. These three topics are covered extensively in the lecture slides, so in the interest of keeping the report concise, I wont discuss them in depth here. Ultimately, only one of these techniques will be picked. Automated Linear Stretch Histogram Equalisation Power Law This example shows an error. The system doesnt contain an automated way to find the value for (gamma) in each image. So well test every value of gamma from 0.0-2.0 in increments of 0.1 to see if any of our results provide a higher accuracy than when it isnt enabled at all. 0.6, highlighted in green, shows that the accuracy is 88%,the image below shows power law being applied when there is an error. In the image above, the original image is the one on the left, and the processed image is on the right, and their corresponding histograms are underneath each, respectively. It would appear that the power law has actually made the dynamic range of our image worse. Examining the segmented binary image below could explain why the accuracy has risen to 88%. From this image, we can see that reducing contrast at the higher end, which seems to be what the error is doing, is allowing the segmenter, which is set at its default of edge extraction with a = 1 and no post processing, to detect the veins and optic nerve ring within the eye within the image with a higher level of success. But why is this the case? it is due to the images background becoming more uniformed because of the reduction in contrast in the white end while not altering the veins much at all as they are darker/greyer. The reason values of y Summary From my tests, I have come to the conclusion that the best technique of the three is the Power Law. It was the only technique that improved our systems accuracy. My tests also suggest that high levels of accuracy are dependent on the successful extraction of data about the veins, which, as I discussed above, the Power Law is highly effective at. This theory makes even more sense when you consider that the other two methods, which significantly increased the dynamic range, did very poorly in comparison. Our system will benefit from using the Power Law, so from this point on it will be enabled. Noise Reduction Our system incorporates two kinds of noise reduction, those two being, Low Pass Filter and Median Filter. From examining our images, one would conclude that salt pepper and CCD noise is not present. To demonstrate this however, well need to see if the system gains accuracy when each technique is enabled. Low Pass Filter (LPF) As we can see in the table above, accuracy has significantly decreased. To illustrate this, here is what the original and processed histograms look like when the contrast enhancement is applied without the low pass filter. From the histograms, it would appear that low pass filter is actually removing some of the contrast enhancement. Low contrast seems to be mistaken for actual background noise, and when that happens, more distinct light and dark patches are created which in turn increases the dynamic range. Median Filter Similar to the low pass filter, the median filter is also removing some of the improvements made by contrast enhancement. Although it does appear that median pass filter is doing this to a lesser degree, as the accuracy is slightly higher here. Summary From our tests, we can conclude that both low pass filter and median pass filter only damage the accuracy of our system. LPF more so than MPF. It appears that the two actually undo some of the work done in contrast enhancement. As well as that, there isnt actually enough noise in the image used here to warrant the use of a noise reduction filter at all. After performing these tests, I decided to test my hypothesis, I tried applying the noise reduction filters before contrast enhancement to examine the results. The results were actually identical to the results from the earlier test. So what could that mean? Well, it would seem that noise reduction is actually removing some information/data from the images, which then limits the effectiveness of the segmenter. From this point on, noise reduction filters will not be used. Segmentation This is used to separate the image into a foreground and a background with key areas in the foreground being turned white and the rest black.   Our segmentation process involved using edge extraction and then automatic thresholding.   The first thing we do is apply the Sobel mask to the pre-processed image Its very important to use edge extraction because it helps show the boundaries of the eye and make the veins much more defined.   Right after that we apply automatic thresholding on the gradient magnitude image to get a binary segmented image. The class that we use to test which value to use is called SegmenterTest which will test the value of n within a range of -2.0 to 2.0 and increases the increments by 0.1 to see if the improved value increases the compared to a default value of n = 1.   From this we got the following values: The default system where the value of n=1 it produces a good accuracy of 88% so this is the value that we pass into our segmenter. This will allow more generic segmentation than what is possible with setting a manual threshold.   The thresholds that are going to be   in use are derived from the mean brightness of the pixels in the image raster and then adjusted by a standard deviation providing the best optional threshold for each image. To check if Sobels Mask is the best for using to do edge extraction we will now compare the results from using Prewitt mask edge extraction. What we found that using the prewitt mask edge extraction as part of our segmentation process is that it is more effective using the default value on the Sobel Mask n = 1.   The best accuracy that we got using the prewitt mask happens when we have n = 1 just like when we were using the sobel mask.   This allows us to reduce that the sobel mask is the best option for us to use the edge extraction during the segmentation process. Post-processing Through this image processing technique, the image is enhanced and is filtered by a mask. The process uses erosion and dilation to remove isolated noise pixels, fills holes and smooth boundaries. Using brightness based segmentation, post processing is used to clean up the thresholded binary image. However, this can make objects appear smaller or larger than the original size. We added the post processing techniques of closing and opening for our methods of erosion and dilation.   To test which value that we are going to use we tried a variety of combinations and got the following results. From what we gathered is that the best accuracy drops heavily when using any of the other post processing techniques were used. The image above has closing only enabled which produced the best accuracy from the post processing techniques however as you can tell by the image below which has post processing disabled it has much more detail.   It is for this reason we will have post processing disabled because we are then able to receive better accuracy from the images.   Post-processing did not have a positive result in the classification accuracy.   It does make it visually easier to see how the application was processing the images. Feature Extraction The purpose of feature extraction is to gather useful features and details out of segmented images by extracting the feature vectors using a technique called moments. Implementing the use of moments correctly is the foundation for the essential calculations performed during the analysis of an object. In our feature extraction class within our program we have decided that the following features of an object will be taken into consideration- Compactness, Perimeter, Position of Centroid and finally the Area of the object. Before we perform the calculations for these features of said Object we first had to implement the moments formula in Java. Once we have created the moment method in our class we will then be able to use this to calculate the feature vectors needed. Compactness The reason we want to get the area and the perimeter is so that we can use the values to calculate what is needed, that being Compactness, as it is a more uself shape description for our vision system to use.. Compactness can be calculated by squaring the perimeter and then dividing it by the area. private double compactness(BufferedImage image)   {   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   return Math.pow(getPerimeter(image), 2) / getArea(image);   } Above I have included the method that is called to calculate the compactness of the object, as you can see the calculation that was mentioned above is performed within this method. Perimeter We can get the object in questions perimeter is first calculated by first eroding the object and then we perform a calculation to receive the new objects area after erosion, after this we go onto calculating the difference between the new objects area and the initial objects area like so Perimeter = Original Area Eroded Area After this calculation is performed we are left with the perimeter of our object. private double getPerimeter(BufferedImage image)   { return getArea(image) -  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   getArea(PostProcessor.erode(image));   } I have placed the method used to get the perimeter of the object above, as you can see the method is performing the calculation required for the perimeter, Original Area Eroded Area resulting in our perimeter. Centroid Position We can get the X Y coordinates of the centroid in the object by performing the calculation of M01 M10 private double [] position(BufferedImage image)   {   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   //calculate Centroid at M01   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   double i = Math.round((moment(image, 0, 1))/ moment(image, 0, 0));   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   //calculate Centroid at M10   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   double j = Math.round((moment(image, 1, 0))/ moment(image, 0, 0));   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   double [] Cij = {i, j};   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   return Cij;   } Above is the method we have developed to find the position of the centroid for our Object. As you can see in the code above this method is using the moment method to perform the calculations needed to find the centroid position of the object.   Area We must also find the area vector, to do this we must calculate M00, this can be performed using the moment method which was developed earlier. private double getArea(BufferedImage image)   {   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   return Math.round(moment(image, 0, 0));   } Above is a screenshot of the getArea method, this method calls upon the moment method and Math.round function to find the Area of our object. Classification Within our system which we have developed, we included the Nearest Neighbour function that is used to identify and recognise the training images we have supplied our system with. When we implement this feature in our system we get a variation of results depending on the value we set K to, we have included the results outputted by this function below for analysis Nearest Neighbour Function:  ·Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   K = 1: o  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Accuracy: 62.50%  ·Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   K = 3: o  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Accuracy: 87.50%  ·Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   K =5: o  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Accuracy: 56.25% As you can see in the above results from testing this function, the Nearest Neighbour Function provides us with the highest accuracy rate when using the value 3 for the K variable. This is due to the fact it can recognise the training images features. A disadvantage to this approach is that when changing the value of the K variable then this can alter the accuracy of the output as we can see when changing the value of K from 1 to 3, the accuracy increases greatly but once we change the value from 3 to 5 then the accuracy suffers and drops 30 points of accuracy. Summary: For this current group of images, the Nearest Neighbour function with the value K set to 3 is the best method used for classifying the object, this is because it returns the highest possible accuracy rate compared with other values of K such as 1 or 5, the accuracy rates for these values can be seen above.

Price Wars

Pricing is one of the most necessary factor a company must take Into consideration upon venturing into a selected Industry. This Is affected by different factors such as the manufacturing costs, marketing costs, legal mandates of the state, the competition, the condition of the industry and the quality of the product. Through this a company is capable of determining their profitability which then may determine how they can generating appropriate amount of income that will support their operation.This may, as well, serve as great strategic tool as this may help the many cope up with their competition through certain adjustments and employing different strategies. There are certain phenomena that may occur upon utilizing such in an Industry and one of those Is the price war. Price war is a market situation characterized by the cutting of prices of companies below their competitors prices. This may mainly occur on conditions wherein there is a very heavy competition present. In such sit uation, companies will do every strategy in order for them to overthrow competitors and have themselves obtain greater market share In the Industry.This, as well, Is done due to the stronger bargaining power of buyers due to the presence of substitute products. Companies may prefer to lower their prices in order for consumers to choose their products over their competitors'. I think, the environmental condition which will most likely trigger price war is when there Is recession in a country. I think, this Is the condition In which companies will be most likely be forced to adjust prices In order to keep up with the reduced purchasing power of their consumers.Another condition that I think would most likely trigger such phenomena is when a many is engaged in a new market or when a good is newly turned into a commodity. As an example is the smart phone Industry. During the first years of the industry, most smart phones are priced highly as It Is considered that time as a luxury to hav e such but as many companies discover ways on how to venture Into the industry and have gathered enough resources to support such venture, the supply for the said product becomes greater which then had the prices go down into how is it today.Aside from that, this, as well, have made such products a commodity which rather increased the demand for the said product. And speaking of technology, another triggering event may be the introduction of new technology that may allow a company to produce at a lower cost. This will allow the company to have their prices lower than their direct competitors but this will not result into an absolute advantage as such technology will eventually be revealed to other companies which will allow them to lower prices accordingly.This may, as well, result into a price war. Playing around with pricing may be one useful strategy for companies to operate ore efficiently but It must also be taken Into consideration that doing such against which pricing will be low enough that smaller companies can no longer cope up with and may have them go out of business as this will allow the bigger company to grab the market share left by the said business.An effective way to cope up with such is through determining if there really is a price war, as some only lower their prices for promotional purposes, and if there really is be sure to have sufficient resources to suffice such strategy and know when to stop and employ different strategy such as product differentiation.

Geographical Importance of Fata

GEOGRAPHICAL IMPORTANCE OF FATA 1. INTRODUCTION The spectacular land in which the Pathans live has had a major effect on their history and their way of life. — J. W. Spain Geography has a significant  position  in making of a nation’s fortune; either in the shape of geo-politics or geo-economics. It can shower blessings or bring curse to the residents of the locality as one can’t change the geography.It is well said that a state’s political system, economic  structure, judicial organization, demographic size and relations with other states can change according to the needs and aspirations of the people but one thing remains constant, and that is â€Å"geography†. If one cannot change the geography of a region but at least can mould its contours. It means that the method of handling is important to invite the blessings or curse of a region’s geographical  location. To testify the above, FATA presents an excellent example. FATA is situa ted on the North-Western side of Pakistan bordering with  Afghanistan.Since the ancient times, FATA has been a testing-ground of the empires’ ambitions to fulfill. Alexander the Great, Chengiz Khan, Taimur the lame, the Mughals, the Turks and the British Empire have touched the Pakistan’s Tribal Lands to pursue their adventures. All of these  political campaigns  have left long-lasting impacts on the fate of tribal people. The land has seen Great Game between the Russian and British Empires in the last two centuries and also a race between the two super powers (US & USSR) in the Cold War era.Now FATA is experiencing another ill-fated adventure of â€Å"War on Terrorism†. The status of FATA and its proximity to Pakistan Afghan border are a serious challenge for Pakistan on a number of levels. Historically, along Afghanistan it has been an arena for imperial competition, a battle ground and a definite invasion route. The area had been a launch pad for the ex ercise of influence in Kashmir, Sub-Continent and Afghanistan. Recently it has been emerged as source of terrorist and criminal activity that threatens Pakistan’s national security.The region due to its geographical location has a geo political and economic significance as it is a potential trade route for economic development of the Central Asian states and for peace and prosperity in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Geo-Political Setting The North West Frontier is not only the frontier of India. It is an international frontier of the first importance from military point of view for the whole empire. Simon Commission The region which includes, â€Å"Afghanistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has perhaps seen more invasions in the course of history than any other country in the world.    During all this period the plains had been dominated by great powers, the hill tract and tribes continued to value and protect their independence. For centuries, tribal society has persisted in the F ATA, and remained open for numerous invaders out of those the most important are Alexander the Great (356 BC-310/309 BC), the Great Genghis Khan ( 1162 to1227), and Timur Lung (1336 to1405). The people of this region always defended their homeland against all sorts of external aggressions. Over the period of time, this response has made them passionately autonomous.With the exception of Aurangzeb Alamgir, other rulers followed a policy of conciliation desisting from all direct and indirect interference in the internal affairs of the area. In this paper the focus on FATA history will be from the era of British supremacy in the Sub-Continent till todate. 2. THE FATA REGION THROUGH AGES British Supremacy During early 19th century, the British had established their supremacy over the subcontinent except Balochistan, Sindh and the northwest tribal belt. It was the period when Russia was advancing southwards in Central Asia.The British Government in England was perturbed and thought it an â€Å"imminent threat to the security and tranquility† of the Indian Empire and asked the Government of India to checkmate them. Thus began British involvement with NWFP, its tribal belt and Afghanistan. First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42) It was understood both in London and Calcutta, which was then the headquarters of the East India Company,  that the Amir of Afghanistan was entering into secret negotiations with Russia. Accordingly, in 1838, the Government of India declared war against Afghanistan.Since Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Punjab would not give passage to the English army through his territory, Auckland, the British Governor-General of India, decided to dispatch his forces through Sindh. In 1839, the British-led Indian Army passed through Sindh and Balochistan and conquered Kandhar and Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. During the winter of 1841-42, there was a mass uprising against foreign forces and the Indian army comprising twelve thousand soldiers left the city of Kabul along with their followers and marched eastward in the direction of Jalalabad for safety.The tribesmen gradually destroyed the entire Indian forces while on retreat. By January 1842, only one Dr. Brydon was able to reach Jalalabad to narrate the tragic story of the massacre of their comrades. â€Å"A large British-led army had not been wiped out so completely in living memory. † Owing to their terrible defeat in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42) the British had realized that the task of ruling over the tribal territory in NWFP and Afghanistan was beyond their resources in India.Thus they followed the policy of â€Å"close door policy† and their interest in the affairs of the tribal area in NWFP and Afghanistan remained minimal. Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-79) There was a change in British policy after 1876. The encouragement due to increase of British resources owing to the conquest of Sindh (1843) and the Punjab (1849) as well as the concern am ong British strategists in England due to the advance of the Russian armies in Turkestan close to the borders of Afghanistan made them to review their policy. The policy of Disraeli who became the Prime Minister in U.K. in 1874 was to build a strategic line of defense against Russian advance in Central Asia. It was felt that sooner or later the British and the Russian forces would confront each other in Central Asia. This thinking led the British to increase their sphere of influence in Afghanistan. In 1878, when Amir Sher Ali of Afghanistan refused to allow an English envoy at Kabul, Lord Lytton declared war on 20th November 1878 and British troops invaded Afghanistan and Sher Ali ran away and later died. His son Yakub concluded the Treaty of Gandamak on 26 May 1879 agreeing to British terms.The war had encouraged the British to formally occupy most of the tribal belt. It included a permanent advance and control of the famous Khyber Pass but Kurram valley was occupied some years la ter. Withdrawal of British Forces from Durand Line In June 1897, the Waziristan tribes revolted against the British forces. This was followed by an attack by tribes of Malakand against the garrisons in the pass and in Chakdara. By August, Mohmands attacked at Shabqadr, and later Afridi and Orakzai attacked at Tirah and the Khybar post was lost by the British.The Samana forts were attacked and â€Å"the garrison in one case wiped out to a man. † Later Khyber was reoccupied and Khyber Rifles were re-established and new roads and more forts were built. To meet the situation Lord Curzon adopted a policy of â€Å"withdrawal and concentration†Ã¢â‚¬â€œwithdrawal from the advanced posts, employment of the tribal forces for the defense of  the tribal country, concentrations of British forces in British territory as the second line of defense and the improvement of the means of transport and communication.This policy continued up to 1919. Partition of Sub Continent In conjunct ion with the independence of Pakistan and India in 1947, the tribesmen as a whole expressed their popular will to join Pakistan. The tribes were assured a continuation of agreements between tribes and the British Government by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Since then no fundamental change in the administrative, judicial and political policies for the FATA has taken place. Soviet Invasion After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the FATA came into the limelight.The influx of Afghan refugees, spread of militant culture, continuing civil war in Afghanistan and religious extremism leading to the rise of the Taliban did much to aggravate the situation. By and large it all contributed to an altered ethnic balance, weapons proliferation, inflow of narcotics, hindrance in developmental efforts, deteriorating law and order and de-sanctification of the international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. United States’ InvasionFollowing the United States (US) led invasio n in the Afghanistan in 2002, the tribal areas again came into focus when a large number of foreign militants were found taking refuge in these areas. Since then military operations carried out in the area have bought the lingering problem of the FATA and its integration issues with the national mainstream of Pakistan to the forefront. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE, POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL, EDUCATIONAL, JUDICIAL, AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE TRIBAL AREAS The Constitution of Pakistan introduced in 1973 is the main foundation on which the existing system of governance of the FATA, revolves.This law states that the Federal Government of Pakistan will be the only one to extend authority in the FATA, while the Province will extend their authority to ‘Provincially Administered Tribal Areas, making the FATA to be controlled by the central government. The President therefore is the only one who is in position to give directions to the Governor of a Province where that specific Tribal area is located, who shall under this article will follow the directions of the President. The FATA is divided into two administrative categories.First, the ‘protected areas’ which come directly under control of central government through political appointees/agents. They are vested with judicial powers as well. Second, the ‘non-protected’ areas those are governed through the local tribes indirectly. The troika of Jirga, Political Agent (PA) and FCR of 1901, blends making the administrative and judicial systems in tribal areas. The Governor in a province is the representative of the President of Pakistan, who acts on behalf of the Federal Government and administers the Tribal Areas through the FATA Secretariat.Agriculture forms a sizeable economic activity in the FATA, while the adoptions of age old agriculture systems have left the productivity of this important commodity for the local below subsistence level. Besides agriculture, the holding and growing of the livestock i s also an importance economical activity in the FATA. However due to the adoption of non-scientific methods of animal husbandry, desired output is not achieved. A few areas in the FATA have timber and other forests.Deforestation, use of valuable timber as fuel, its smuggling to the Afghanistan and degradation of grazing lands due to continuous droughts has resulted in the loss of these income-earning opportunities. The tribal areas, thanks to their terrain configuration, are sought to possess vast deposits of numerous minerals. Because of inadequate geological surveys, the security environments in the FATA and tribal disputes over these perceived ‘minerals rich tracts of land,’ they have yet been explored.This situation has significantly affected the attention of private sector to draw their investment in these areas. The less number of schools, health care facilities, communication infrastructure and allied services do not support any major economic venture, keeping th e area economically underdeveloped. 4. AVAILABILITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN FATA Due to its geography, FATA should not be allowed to be used as a spring-board and launching-pad for the satisfaction of international politics’ stake-holders.Our leadership has to consider a parallel approach of geo-economics with geo-politics. This is a viable solution to improve the living standard in the Tribal belt. Although geo-economics approach is an evolutionary process and takes time, but it has capability to change the fate of the tribal people in the long run. Basic thing for this strategy to be useful in future is the restoration of peace in the region. Then an atmosphere can be created to develop infrastructure and finally to exploit the natural resources of FATA in a right direction.Oil and Gas Reserves Huge reservoirs of oil and gas have been explored in Khyber, North and South Waziristan Agencies. The Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) should start drilling in FATA, whileà ‚  numbers  of multinational companies have shown keen interest in this region for oil, gas and other minerals exploration. The foreign oil company, Tullow, has obtained a license for the exploration of the reservoirs of oil and gas in the North Waziristan Agency while the oil company of Ireland, MOL, has shown interest in the Khyber agency.Now a suitable environment, consistent effort, due attention and keen interest is needed to speed-up the process of development. In 1996, a British Petroleum Company indicated after a seismic survey that the oil and gas reserves of NWA have the success possibility of 1:3 while these possibilities in Middle East are 1:10. Lime Stone and Coal The geological surveys of 85 per cent of the tribal belt have revealed immense prospects of mineral exploration. Some of them have been already utilized but much yet to be extracted.This not only can engage the local youth with constructive and profit-making activities but can also attract the foreign invest ors which can ultimately be exported. Bajaur Agency has 130 million tons of lime stone reserves while Khyber Agency has 454 million tons of it. Orakzai Agency, Kurram Agency and North Waziristan Agency have 178 million tons reserves of high-level coal. Some work is underway there but is deeply hindered by the elements of militancy and military operations on one hand and lack of scientific know-how and use of modern technology on the other hand. Marble and GraniteThe mines of Marble and Granite are likely to have good potential for growth. And with huge reserves of eminently valued marble including white marble, are in abundance in Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and NWA alone with a total of 570519 ton reserves. If this industry is given proper government attention and the project designed are properly implemented, they can provide job opportunities to several thousands of individual living here. Gem Stones Like Baluchistan which is hub for natural resources, FATA has also been kept aloof r egarding development for various known unknown reasons.Geologists have indicated that this region is also enriched in availability of venerated and semi venerated gem stones. Emerald and tourmaline are found in the north while garnet and quartz are found in South Waziristan and Bajaur. But due to lack of exploration their reserves have not been properly identified. Gold, Copper and Chromate FATA Development Authority (FDA) is of the view that huge deposits of various minerals like gold, copper, chromate and lot of others are available on 4707 square kilometer area of NWA.After digging 7000 meter deep the surface, the FDA experts reach to conclusion that 36,000 million tons of copper is available in just 16 kilometer area of NWA Boya Shinkai spot. FDA has tested 37,000 samples of natural resources in laboratories. Current price of one ton copper is seven thousand dollars in international market and mountains of NWA have deposits of billions dollars hidden in just 16 kilometer area wh ich if explored can change the fate of most deprived inhabitants of this war ravaged area as well as bring economic stability in country.Natural Forests The natural forests and fruits is a wealth in this regard. Forest area is decreasing day by day by ruthless cutting where there is not an effective law to prevent the practice. Fruit production is also affected because of insurgency, military operations and lack of a permanent water supply. The local people are digging out these minerals by using dangerous means like blasting, on one hand destroy large part of these reserves while on the other this activity inflict irreparable damage to eco-system of the area.No proper, planned and modern system is being used to explore these mineral resources as the Government is still showing no interest in exploration because no industries were set up in the area for raw material as the situation is not favorable for it. The availability of such huge reserves can contribute a lot in economic matu ration of the country. Proper government assistance will not only help the locals regain jobs but would also help in restoring peace and stability.But, extremism and militancy have brought already poor economic and trade activities of the Agency to a standstill, while many traders and businessmen have migrated to other parts of the country because of the fear of being kidnapped for ransom or killed by unknown armed groups. 5. GEOGRAPHICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE TRIBAL AREAS AND GREAT GAME Besides being the one of the most important areas of Pakistan because of its strategic location in proximity with Afghanistan, tribal areas are also one of the most sensitive areas of the World.The War on Terror has further enhanced the importance of the tribal areas significantly. The Tribal Areas have the strategic importance, as these areas can play a significant role of a buffer zone between the turbulent Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of late this importance has been further highlighted in global geopol itics because tribal areas lie between the warm waters of Arabian Sea and the Central Asian countries i. e. Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan etc, which have a very large oil and gas potential.The Central Asian states being land locked, the energy wealth has to be exported by pipelines passing through these areas to Arabian Sea Ports for onward distribution to the world. As the energy control is a key to the global supremacy, the 21sl century power game is destined to be played by the major powers around the potential producers and pipeline routes. Thus the tribal areas located on the rim of Afghanistan border with Pakistan, cannot remain immune to the spill over effects of any socioeconomic or political storms occurring in this strategic triangle. ———————————————— —————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- The New Great Game ————————————————- Whereas the Old Great Game emerged out of strengthening of the Russian empire; the New Great Game arose with its demise. The severe reduction of the stern control Russia had maintained in the region, through the Soviet Union, lead to a power vacuum in the region. Since the independence of the Central Asian states, all the players of the New Great Game are competing to garner individual control and fill this emptiness.The countries that together comprise of Central Asia today include Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The region as a whole has historically suffered foreign domination, initially under the Ottoman Empire, and most recently being part of the Soviet Regime with Russia pulling the strings. ——————†”—————————- Furthermore, to confirm this conception of a New Great Game, one only needs to look at the reasons that have contributed to the world turning its attention to this region of the globe.The Central Asian Republics derive their importance through two major factors. The region on the whole has continued to have geostrategic value, not only due to its location at the center of the Eurasian landmass, but also due to the political significance of the countries that border Central Asia. Secondly, and possibly a lot more significantly, the region now also has massive economic implications for the whole world. ————————————————- ————————————————- Economic Worth of Central Asian Countries —â €”——————————————-Central Asia, comprising of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and the energy-rich lake called the Caspian Sea, owes its significance to its vast economic potential and its geo-strategic location and is fast becoming an economic center of the world. The region has a strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, and the Far East; surrounded by some of the fastest growing economies in the world including China, Russia and India who are not only investing in the region but are competing for the leading role.From 2000 to 2009, foreign direct investment flows into Central Asia increased nine folds; while the region’s gross domestic product grew on average by 8. 2% annually. ———————————————â⠂¬â€- The most well endowed state in the Caspian region is Kazakhstan; ranked 6th  in the world in terms of natural resource reserves. Out of 110 elements of the periodic table, 99 were discovered in the bowels of Kazakhstan including oil, gas, uranium, zinc, tungsten, bohrium, silver, lead, chromites, copper, fluorides, molybdenum and gold.Moreover, it has proven oil reserves of 30 billion barrels, highest in the region followed by Azerbaijan which has 7 billion barrels. Turkmenistan has the world’s 4th largest gas reserves at 7. 5 trillion cubic meters while Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan follow close with 2. 41 trillion and 1. 84 trillion cubic meters respectively. Thus, collectively the Caspian region contains about 46 per cent of the world gas resources. ————————————————- ———————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Pakistan as Player in the New Great Game ————————————————-Central Asian region is so important for world politics, the various players involved in this New Great Game are trying to gain a stronger foothold in the area. The six players broadly involved in the game, include the United States, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, India, and of course Pakistan. The immense interest of Pakistan in the Central Asia Republics stemmed from the economic, geo-strategic, and political benefits these countries could provide to this struggling nation. Trade relations with these landlocked countries had the potential to be the sole solution for Pakistan’s economic problems.With the CARS having an annual potential market of $80 billion, Pakistan could exploit this untapped market to its advantage and improve its balance of payments. Along with cheaper imports, Pakistan could also benefit from transit income, by providing access through the Karakoram Highway, to its neighboring industrial giants: India and China. Similarly, keeping in mind the historical importance of this resource rich region, Pakistan could foresee the centre stage it could acquire in the energy war of the New Great Game by providing the shortest route for the Central Asian counties via Gwadar to the Arabian Sea.This would help Pakistan fulfill its long term energy needs, through projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) oil and gas pipeline. The 1735 km pipeline faces security challenges because it must cross Afghanistan and FATA. It is estimated to carry one trillion cubic m of gas over a 30 years period, or 33 billion cubic m a year. Furthermore, Pakistan’s electricity needs that are huge burden on its economic life could easily be lifted by access to abundant Kyrgyz hydroelectric power.Thus, favorable trade relations with th e region could result in a significant uplift of Pakistan’s strained economy. ————————————————- ————————————————- 6. CONCLUSION ————————————————- The 21st  Century is yet to see the unfolding of The New Great Game. With every country in this surge for power taking its own route, it shall be interesting to see the unfolding of the events.Russia continues to exert its importance in the region in political and economic domains while planning to maintain its stronghold in its backyard. Iran is making waves through its trade routes and with Iran; Central Asia can see many lucrative trading and pipeline options available through them. On the other ha nd, it may difficult for Central Asia to tilt towards Iran without displeasing the world hegemony, US that maintains its military presence in the region. Furthermore, both Turkey and India are also vying for influence in the region. ———————————————— Though Pakistan may face a number of constraints and obstacles in fulfilling its dreams of being a prominent player in the New Great Game, it can devise a policy that may ensure better results for Pakistan, if not the best. And peace and prosperity of FATA due to its geographical location will be the dominant tier of that policy. Kashmir is life line of Pakistan on eastern borders and on western border geostrategic and geopolitical importance of FATA dictates the economic future of Pakistan.

John Jay College Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a  public university  with an acceptance rate of 41%. One of the 11 senior colleges of the  City University of New York colleges (CUNY), John Jay College prepares students for careers in criminal justice and law enforcement. John Jay is also one of the few schools in the country to offer an undergraduate program in forensics. Considering applying to John Jay College? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, John Jay College had an acceptance rate of 41%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 41 students were admitted, making John Jays admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 16,502 Percent Admitted 41% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 28% SAT and ACT Scores and Requirements John Jay College requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. Most students submit SAT scores, and John Jay College does not provide statistics for applicants ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 86% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 490 570 Math 490 570 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of John Jay Colleges admitted students fall within the  bottom 29% nationally  on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to John Jay College scored between 490 and 570, while 25% scored below 490 and 25% scored above 570. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 490 and 570, while 25% scored below 490 and 25% scored above 570. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1140 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at John Jay College. Requirements John Jay College does not require the SAT writing section. Note that John Jay requires applicants to submit all SAT scores, but will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. GPA In 2018, the mean high school GPA of John Jay Colleges incoming freshmen class was 2.95, and 43% of incoming students had average GPAs of 3.0 and above. This information suggests that most successful applicants to John Jay College have primarily B grades. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph John Jay College Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances John Jay College, which accepts fewer than half of applicants, has a competitive admissions pool. If your SAT/ACT scores and GPA fall within the schools average ranges, you have a strong chance of being accepted. However, John Jay College has a  holistic admissions  process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. John Jay College wants to admit students who are academically prepared by completing a rigorous high school curriculum. Note that applicants to John Jay must apply using the CUNY application. In the scattergram above, the blue and green dots represent students accepted to John Jay College. You can see that most admitted students had a GPA of 2.5 or higher, an ACT composite score of 18 or better, and a combined SAT score (ERWM) of roughly 950 or higher. If You Like John Jay College, You May Also Like These Schools Stony Brook UniversityCUNY Hunter CollegeNew York UniversityUniversity at AlbanyFordham UniversityHofstra UniversityBinghamton UniversityUniversity of New HavenBaruch College All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and John Jay College of Criminal Justice Undergraduate Admissions Office. John Jay College Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a  public university  with an acceptance rate of 41%. One of the 11 senior colleges of the  City University of New York colleges (CUNY), John Jay College prepares students for careers in criminal justice and law enforcement. John Jay is also one of the few schools in the country to offer an undergraduate program in forensics. Considering applying to John Jay College? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, John Jay College had an acceptance rate of 41%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 41 students were admitted, making John Jays admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 16,502 Percent Admitted 41% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 28% SAT and ACT Scores and Requirements John Jay College requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. Most students submit SAT scores, and John Jay College does not provide statistics for applicants ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 86% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 490 570 Math 490 570 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of John Jay Colleges admitted students fall within the  bottom 29% nationally  on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to John Jay College scored between 490 and 570, while 25% scored below 490 and 25% scored above 570. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 490 and 570, while 25% scored below 490 and 25% scored above 570. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1140 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at John Jay College. Requirements John Jay College does not require the SAT writing section. Note that John Jay requires applicants to submit all SAT scores, but will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. GPA In 2018, the mean high school GPA of John Jay Colleges incoming freshmen class was 2.95, and 43% of incoming students had average GPAs of 3.0 and above. This information suggests that most successful applicants to John Jay College have primarily B grades. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph John Jay College Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances John Jay College, which accepts fewer than half of applicants, has a competitive admissions pool. If your SAT/ACT scores and GPA fall within the schools average ranges, you have a strong chance of being accepted. However, John Jay College has a  holistic admissions  process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. John Jay College wants to admit students who are academically prepared by completing a rigorous high school curriculum. Note that applicants to John Jay must apply using the CUNY application. In the scattergram above, the blue and green dots represent students accepted to John Jay College. You can see that most admitted students had a GPA of 2.5 or higher, an ACT composite score of 18 or better, and a combined SAT score (ERWM) of roughly 950 or higher. If You Like John Jay College, You May Also Like These Schools Stony Brook UniversityCUNY Hunter CollegeNew York UniversityUniversity at AlbanyFordham UniversityHofstra UniversityBinghamton UniversityUniversity of New HavenBaruch College All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and John Jay College of Criminal Justice Undergraduate Admissions Office.