SOP for MS in Computer Science Essay Example for Free

SOP for MS in Computer Science Essay Ive always been fascinated by research, especially work that benefits common people or the environment. The idea that my efforts may better someones life or help create a greener planet motivates me. So after a successful career in IT, I intend to pursue my MS in Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania in order to build my research skills and work towards my interests in Computer Visualization, Data Mining, and Software Engineering. After completing my bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, I was interested in joining the Information Technology industry. So I pursued my dream by enrolling in a six-month Post Graduate Diploma course in Advanced Computing. At the end of the course I got a job in Software Automation Testing with Verismo Networks. After working in Perl for 1 year at Verismo, I joined Siemens Information Systems Limited. There I worked in Automation Testing using Microsoft .Net Technologies. Working with Siemens was both challenging and rewarding, as we did not use any commercially available tool for testing but rather created, designed and developed our own automation scripts, frameworks, APIs to communicate with the hardware, and developed various automated test tools to check system performance, integrity, stability, etc. After 4 years in Siemens, I joined Schneider Electric where I was given the leadership of introducing automation testing into our project. I worked with several teams to understand the project requirements and built automation testing framework using MSUIA and developed testing tools using MS SilverLight and .Net C#. This strong professional experience has given me a better understanding of the immense potential of technology to materialize innovative ideas ideas which not only help solve our toughest problems but also enrich our everyday lives by objective research and even humble developments. To create innovative technologies and bring research ideas to life, I will need appropriate problem solving approach and a competitive environment that will help sharpen my acumen in research. A Masters degree with thesis will help me acquire these skills. In my 6 years working in the IT industry, I have developed specific interests in the fields of Computer Visualization, Data Mining and Software Engineering. University of Pennsylvania is one of the renowned universities in USA and houses research teams that work on the  areas of my interest. Given a chance, I would like to continue this journey in your department. Developing automation tools for 2D and 3D Imaging Applications of Siemens ultrasound machine, I gained a fair idea of the domain of Ultrasound in Healthcare. I substantiated my knowledge by studying more about specialized areas like Visualization and how it transforms complex data into graphics representations that enhance the perception and meaning of data. 3D Visualization, one of the latest advances in the field of medical science, plays a vital role in diagnosis and has the potential to greatly reduce invasive interventions into the body, increasing physician performance in arresting or curing a disease. However in many countries, like in India/Bangladesh, these advanced facilities are still unavailable to most physicians. Also, in many cases, the visualization of the 3D anatomy is not very easy even with state-of-the-art techniques. Broadening our research areas in the field of medical science might enable us to build more affordable medical equipment. For instance MIT developed an inexpensive smart phone device Catra that can detect cataract. In a country like India where public healthcare services are dismal and even basic level healthcare is beyond the reach of most citizens, we have to devise innovative ways in similar lines to make better healthcare reachable to all. This is an area where emerging research can have a significant positive effect on people’s lives. I want to specialize in the field of Computer Graphics and Visualization to exploit the significant potential of 3D visualization. Not only will this open more options for minimally invasive or non-invasive surgeries, it may also vastly simplify post-operative care and expenses. At University of Pennsylvania, I am especially excited by work being carried out in the Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and User Interfaces research area. I want to develop my skills and knowledge in this field by working in the project group Visualization Research Group under Prof. Sebastian Bauer and use this knowledge to further my chances of a career in a research institute like Siemens Corporate Technology, a research division of Siemens. By  working with this research group, I will learn how vast quantities of complex data can be represented in a visual and legible format to respective users. I may also get a chance to learn about the latest technology 4D Visualization and invent ways to use it in medical domain in a cost effective manner. In my undergraduate project, I worked on Forecasting Power Consumption and Energy Needs for the State Electricity Board based on historical energy usage using Neural Networks. I analyzed huge piles of records to understand the usage behavior based on season, time of the day, location, etc. Although the project was very rudimentary, I quickly realized how helpful, economical and efficient energy usage would be, if this was implemented. Luckily again in Schneider Electric, I worked on energy monitoring application which had similar approach. There I could see the practical benefits. This experience triggered my interest in Data Mining. This is a field that helps develop intuitive systems that forecast future problems and channel solutions based on current data. Rapidly developing economies like the BRIC countries are among the largest markets for automobiles which is leading to heavy traffic issues, fossil fuel wastage and alarming pollution levels. All these can be mitigated if we encourage Data Mining as a research area in the companies working with public service departments. If we look through various databases available to analyze association between population increase/emigration and rate of increase in the number of vehicles, rush hour syndrome, current and upcoming major business areas, etc. we can find a connection among all these which will enable us find solutions to our traffic woes like building intelligent traffic control systems or innovative routes that can ease traffic congestion, reduce fuel usage and cut down emission. Corporate initiatives like IBMs Smarter Cities are using data mining principles to help give authorities the tools to analyze current problems or anticipate future ones from available data and find solutions pro-actively. *I want to study Data Mining to work with such research companies and address some of the challenges most developing countries are facing today. University of Pennsylvania’s ‘MADAI : Models and Data Analysis Initiative research group  is conducting cutting-edge studies in data mining and would give me exceptional opportunities to develop my skills. I am especially interested in the fact that MADAI emphasizes areas that are sometimes in domains outside of computer science. Similarly, I want to use my Data Mining knowledge in solving some real-time problems that cross disciplinary boundaries. I would be excited to work under Prof. Edward Griffin, because my objective of tackling real world problems is in accordance to his research interests. Not every emerging technology is a breakthrough but some truly do have the potential to change our social landscape, and to build such effective technologies we need effective testing tools that will help create a dependable product. This drives me towards Software Engineering. Testing a subdivision of Software Engineering, especially Automation Testing, is one of the most underrated parts of the Software Development Life Cycle. A major area of the IT industry is unable to identify the importance of strong testing skills, resulting in a low skilled team where testing is executed within a limited boundary of a few pass/fail scenarios. In my years working in IT, I realized automation testing requires far more expertise; its just like any development project requiring proper planning, design and commensurate skills. *I also realized how important it is to embrace the latest technologies in automation scripts as the latest software developed are far more enhanced to be truly tested with age old testing methodologies.*Since Ive worked in this domain for so long, I know if I specialize in the field of Software Engineering, I can introduce Software Testing and Methodologies as a research area in corporate level and help promote Automation Testing as a crucial part of software development. Working with Dr. Lars Anderson in ‘Analysis of Computer Systems Group under Software Engineering research area at University of Pennsylvania would help me understand latest software engineering practices and how it can be implemented to expedite software testing and overall product development. While my primary areas of interests are Computer Visualization, Data Mining and Software Engineering, I look forward to gaining a broad foundation in Computer Science during my MS, and I am eager to learn about other research  opportunities. My brother who is pursuing PhD in IISc, Bangalore also strongly recommended your university on the basis of faculty interests and the research work currently in progress. I am confident that earning my MS (with thesis) at University of Pennsylvania will help me hone my research skills and prepare me to contribute as a researcher who helps bring innovative ideas to reality.

US Government Misinterprets Ugandan HIV/AIDS Success Story :: Essays Papers

US Government Misinterprets Ugandan HIV/AIDS Success Story The United States Government should embrace a comprehensive HIV prevention policy that emphasizes condom use, rather than the current policy which is largely based on misinterpretations of the Ugandan HIV success story. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—which manages most of President Bush’s â€Å"Emergency Plan for AIDS†Ã¢â‚¬â€in 1991, 15 percent of Ugandans were infected with HIV. By 2001, the rate was 5 percent, a drop unmatched anywhere in the world. How this was done and what this means for the shape of Washington’s programs to fight AIDS overseas has been tragically misinterpreted by the US Government. According to Dr. Justin Parkhurst, who wrote his dissertation on Ugandan HIV prevention policy at the University of Oxford, Uganda was successful for reasons different than the US Government officials would have you believe. A frequent mistake, he said, is the notion that declined prevalence was due to a few specific interventions by the Ugandan government. He emphasized that the government was but one player—among numerous NGOs, church groups, community activists—in the fight against the virus. He also emphasizes that condom use, rather than abstinence and being faithful, was the most important behavior change that influenced declined HIV prevalence. â€Å"Unfounded claims of Ugandan success have persisted in international policy discourse,† he noted. Although the Ugandan experience could provide invaluable information to other nations in their prevention efforts, he said, â€Å"inappropriate recommendations based on poor interpretations of evidence must not be used as the basis for policy.† Such misguided policy pervades the US Government’s HIV prevention activities. While the Director of UNAIDS-Uganda, Dr. Ruben de Robiene, commented, â€Å"I don’t know what the Uganda Model is, no one knows,† the religious right within the US Government is convinced that it knows Uganda's secret: abstinence and being faithful. According to a USAID report, â€Å"Condom social marketing did not play a major role† in Uganda’s relative success. Dr. Anne Peterson, a physician and the USAID director of global health who is responsible for overseeing US anti-HIV programs, says, â€Å"Kids are willing and able to abstain from sex. The core of Uganda's success story is big A, big B and little C.† Dr. Peterson said the US’s HIV prevention policy is not an ideological balm for religious conservatives or any other group beholden to the Bush administration.

Analysis of the Poem: Sa Babaye Nga Naghubo Didto Sa Baybayon Sa Obong Essay

In the poem â€Å" Sa Babaye Nga Naghubo Didto Sa Baybayon Sa Obong† , Renee Amper takes us to a scene on a beach through his eyes. It tells the emotional experience of the persona while looking at the girl naked. The writer uses rich imagery, symbolism and figures of speech to communicate the speaker’s emotional state, a metaphor he develops in a variety of ways to describe exactly how the persona in the poem is affected by the scene he is seeing. The poem centers on a memorable visual image. It asks the readers to focus on and take in a striking sight, as of the persona in the poem ,â€Å" nahitimbakuwas akong panan-aw† , which suggests the scene demands abrupt and continuous attention although the girl in the poem doesn’t want anyone to see her â€Å"†¦ nagpanglingi ka kung wa bay naka-ambit sa imung pagpabaya†. If you let it, the central image will etched itself in the memory starting association activating thought and feeling. On the first part of the poem, the readers are given the implication that the persona is in the act of voyeurism but on the later part he reveals a deep concern to his object of observation which is the girl ,â€Å" kaayong ikinto sa balikhaw, kaayong isinggit paghinay!, kaayong ikapakapa sa hilom†.These lines also suggests that the persona is in a deep struggle or he is in a brawl of his own self to do or not to, but clearly he didn’t. Then the lines †nagbingkil ang mga dahon, gitukmod sa lunhaw ang laya aron mutipon sa yuta; nasaag ang huyohoy† evokes dynamism and constant action making the scene alive in the readers mind. The sudden gush of the wind destroys the tranquil observation of the persona impelling him to move as suggested by the lines â€Å" miong-ong akong mga mata, ilawm sa gamot sa kahoy† , which also tells the readers that he clearly doesn’t want the girl to know his whereabouts. The lines â€Å" madailos pagsamot ang imong patadyong , napasapasa ang imong kanindot†, suggest a constant action and that the scene of the girl removing her garments continues to unfold in the eyes of the persona. â€Å" gisapnay ka sa mga balud† implies the girl is now swimming in the sea. However, the poem does not stop there. The lines â€Å" gihulad kang walay kaindig, sa mga tinguha sa daman ug damgo†¦ gipasangil ko sa langit ang akong himaya† , describes the persona’s way of expressing his ineffable ecstasy of watching the enchanting  unadulterated beauty of the girl . Moreover, â€Å" taga â€Å" on the last line of the poem act as a symbolic image for the deep emotion or feelings of the persona for the girl. The hook there is the emotional attachment that has developed in the persona towards the girl. As a reader, i was just mystefied with the nonchalant attitude of the girl. In the province, people most go to the baybayon most of the times even at dawn. And in contrast with other sensuous interpretation, why can’t the persona be viewed as someone who appreciates the beauty of the girl and nothing else?And he was enchanted because of the beauty of the girl thus he developed an attraction to her . Nonetheless, the poem’s value and significance resonates in the readers frame of mind. How we interpret it, how it touches the core of our reason and values, how it activates thought and feelings. I commend the writer and as the girl etched in his memory, this poem has made quite an impression on me. The experience of reading the poem ends as follows

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