In My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In My Life - Essay Example On a personal point of view, the family, workmates, associates and other people with interaction are commonly whom friendships are established. There are different types of friendships on the basis of associations. One of the relationships that I give importance to is the friendship established with family members such as my mother and sister. The said friendship can be classified as deep and emotional (Pangle 37-39). This can be attributed to the fact that the relationship tied by blood is strengthened by the friendship. In addition, in terms of the friendship with my mother it is of higher regard and respect as compared to the friendship with my sister which can be considered as a relaxed interaction with the added understanding of being a sibling. The friendships that had been established with work associates which in my case are that of the members of the military can be considered as another type of relationship of positive influence (Pangle 37-39). Commonly, such friends are the people in the workplace who can be considered with ease of interaction, initially in relation to the job. They can in turn lead to lifetime friendships. Based on personal experience, the friendships from profession can be considered trustworthy on the basis of the events of being in similar danger specifically in the military. The said people commonly share the same passion for a particular field or area of expertise wherein the connection can be attributed. Another set of friendships that I considered of importance are the friends from school. School friendships can be limited to the campus but then the said relationships can also be the longest affiliation since some friendships can survive through adult life. The said group is composed of the people that can be classified as buddies, intellectual friends and even self –actualized friends. Basically, in my life the typical

Vector Graphics Essay Example for Free

Vector Graphics Essay Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics. Vector, in this context, implies more than a straight line. Vector graphics are based on images made up of vectors (also called paths, or strokes) which lead through locations called control points. Each of these points has a definite position on the x and y axes of the work plan. Each point, as well, is a variety of database, including the location of the point in the work space and the direction of the vector (which is what defines the direction of the track). Each track can be assigned a color, a shape, a thickness and also a fill. This does not affect the size of the files in a substantial way because all information resides in the structure; it describes how to draw the vector. Same as object-oriented graphics, refers to software and hardware that use geometrical formulas to represent images. The other method for representing graphical images is through bit maps, in which the image is composed of a pattern of dots. This is sometimes called raster graphics. Programs that enable you to create and manipulate vector graphics are called draw programs, whereas programs that manipulated bit-mapped images are called paint programs. Vector-oriented images are more flexible than bit maps because they can be resized and stretched. In addition, images stored as vectors look better ondevices (monitors and printers) with higher resolution, whereas bit-mapped images always appear the same regardless of a devices resolution. Another advantage of vector graphics is that representations of images often require less memory than bit-mapped images do. Almost all sophisticated graphics systems, including CADD systems andanimation software, use vector graphics. In addition, many printers (PostScriptprinters, for example) use vector graphics. Fonts represented as vectors are called vector fonts, scalable fonts, object-oriented fonts, and outline fonts. Note that most output devices, including dot-matrix printers, laser printers, and display monitors, are raster devices (plotters are the notable exception). This means that all objects, even vector objects, must be translated into bit maps before being output. The difference between vector graphics and raster graphics, therefore, is that vector graphics are not translated into bit maps until the last possible moment, after all sizes and resolutions have been specified. PostScript printers, for example, have a raster image processor (RIP) that performs the translation within the printer. In their vector form, therefore, graphics representations can potentially be output on any device, with any resolution, and at any size. Raster Graphics In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a dot matrix data structure representing a generallyrectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats A bitmap corresponds bit-for-bit with an image displayed on a screen, generally in the same format used for storage in the displays video memory, or maybe as a device-independent bitmap. A bitmap is technically characterized by the width and height of the image in pixels and by the number of bits per pixel (a color depth, which determines the number of colors it can represent). The printing and prepress industries know raster graphics as contones (from continuous tones). The opposite to contones is line work, usually implemented as vector graphics in digital systems. What is the difference between vector and raster graphics? Answer: The difference between vector and raster graphics is that raster graphics are composed of pixels, while vector graphics are composed of paths. A raster graphic, such as a gif or jpeg, is an array of pixels of various colors, which together form an image. A vector graphic, such as an . eps file or Adobe Illustrator? file, is composed of paths, or lines, that are either straight or curved. The data file for a vector image contains the points where the paths start and end, how much the paths curve, and the colors that either border or fill the paths. Because vector graphics are not made of pixels, the images can be scaled to be very large without losing quality. Raster graphics, on the other hand, become blocky, since each pixel increases in size as the image is made larger. This is why logos and other designs are typically created in vector format the quality will look the same on a business card as it will on a billboard. Vector Graphics typically are generated using drawing or illustration programs (e. g. , Adobe Illustrator) and are composed of mathematically-defined geometric shapes—lines, objects and fills. Since vectors entail both magnitude and direction, vector elements thus are comprised of line segments whose length represents magnitude and whose orientation in space represents direction. Vector graphics usually are easily modified within the creating application and generally are not affected detrimentally by scaling (enlarging or reducing their size). Because vector elements are mathematically-defined, scaling simply requires modification of their mathematical locations. However, vector files do not support photographic imagery well and often can be problematic for cross-platform exchange. Vector graphics typically are saved as EPS format. This makes vector graphics ideal for logo design. Creating a vector logo is more difficult but the effort pays for itself when the vector logo file is sent to printers or sign makers etc. The vector logo can be scaled up or down with out losing quality and would enable smooth transition between various media. Raster Graphic Images are produced by digital image capture devices: digital scanners or digital cameras, or by pixel editing programs (e. g. , Adobe Photoshop). Raster images are composed of a matrix (grid) or bitmap of digital picture elements (pixels). Pixels are squares or rectangles described as black, white, gray or color. Raster images typically are saved as TIFF format, but can be saved as EPS as well. Whereas conversion from vector to raster is easily accomplished, raster conversion to vector is much more difficult (and often is not possible). Raster images typically are easily shared across various platforms, but can be more difficult than vector graphics to modify. As well, raster graphics are impacted by scaling. Creating a raster logo design using Adobe Photoshop might be ideal for web only usage but if you are serious about branding, then the resulting raster PSD logo file will be of limited use. When sent to a printer or sign maker and when they try to scale the raster logo, the quality deteriorates and pixellation occurs. Yes, agreed, creating the raster logo design in Photoshop would enable a designer to pile on stunning effects (such as drop shadows, beveling, blurring etc). But the final deliverable will have limited uses.

Critique of Communism in Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay -- Animal

Karl Marx’s perfect society described in his Communist Manifesto is in direct conflict with the implementation of Soviet Communism, which was scathingly criticized by George Orwell’s book Animal Farm. Karl Marx believed that in order to form a just and equal society, the working class, called the proletariat, would have to overthrow those who owned the means of production, who were known as the bourgeoisie. This was to be known as the Proletariat Revolution where the oppressed laborers in capitalist societies, such as England, would unite under a common cause to overthrow the oppressive bourgeoisie, and establish a communist society. This would be a society where all were equal, each performing to his ability, and each receiving according to his needs. A dictatorship would be necessary at first to get the ball rolling, but would eventually voluntarily give up power, as it would no longer be needed. However, this was never destined to be. The rise of the Soviet Union was a testament to this, brilliantly depicted and condemned by George Orwell. Marx ended the Communist Manifesto with the fighting words â€Å"WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!† (Marxism, 44). This was to be the inspiration for the proletariat to band together and realize that they were being oppressed by the bourgeoisie. After they realize this, they would rebel, in which a revolution would take place where the proletariat would be victorious over the bourgeoisie. Old Major, the eldest pig in Animal Farm was the animal recreation of Karl Marx. He professed, â€Å"Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend† (Orwell, 31). In this case, man is the bourgeoisie and the animals are the proletariat. Both Karl Marx and Old Maj... ...re breaking every rule that they themselves had put forth in accordance with Old Major’s revolutionary vision. Animal Farm was a mirror image of communism gone awry in the Soviet Union. It also shows Marx’s naivety of the fact that there will always be the clever that take advantage of the ignorant. By keeping the population ignorant, the clever gain even more power, which is was happened in the Soviet Union and Animal Farm. The ones that took part in the revolutions would never realize that they were holding the short end of the stick, just as they were in their previous state of affairs. They were cold, miserable, and starving. In their brainwashed state they still believed that the dismal state they were in was better than their situation before the revolution. George Orwell finished his book on a somber note, the state in which Joseph Stalin left the Soviet Union.

Admissions Essay - Potential to Contribute :: essays research papers

Risks are the essence of life. In the beginning, they are our instinct. But as we get older and gain a greater consciousness of the world around us, somewhere along the way we are presented with failure, at that point, many people try to eliminate most risks from their life. I come from a family that has had to take major risks in order to bring me to the place I am today. My parents grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, which was once a part of the Soviet Union. As children of Holocaust survivors, they were dedicated to giving their children an opportunity to enjoy freedoms of an open society, the United States. And so my parents came to this country with me, then four year-old son in November of 1990 against the advice of all their friends. They had decided that leaving Soviet Union was their only true hope of preserving our identity and raising a family outside of repressions and fear. They were risk takers and they sought a better, freer life for themselves and for their children. That was their generation. And now I am too at a critical juncture of my life, one that is quite different from my parents, but also full of difficult choices nonetheless. Dedicating the next two or three years of my life to a legal education is a risk. Certainly, paying for law school will be a hardship. However, I must also question whether my study of the law will give me the intellectual fulfillment I seek in my college life. This is an inquiry I?ve made to myself countless times. I now know that, given my varied experiences and the direction I?ve found myself taking, law school is the only true option. My parents and grandparents? experiences have left a mark on my life and I will not feel fulfilled until I am able to help others that have been in similarly trying and difficult situations. In fact, one of the ways I hope to do that is with my talent of being polylingual. Learning languages has always been very important to me and it has given me many advantages and helped in my personal growth. If I didn?t know the four languages of English, Russian, French, and Hebrew as I do today, then I would probably be a very different person. Even though my native language of Russian wasn?t something chosen by me, it is something I?

Forward the Foundation Chapter 18

13 â€Å"Yes,† said Hari Seldon wearily, â€Å"it was a great triumph. I had a wonderful time. I can hardly wait until I'm seventy so I can repeat it. But the fact is, I'm exhausted.† â€Å"So get yourself a good night's sleep, Dad,† said Raych, smiling. â€Å"That's an easy cure.† â€Å"I don't know how well I can relax when I have to see our great leader in a few days.† â€Å"Not alone, you won't see him,† said Dors Venabili grimly. Seldon frowned. â€Å"Don't say that again, Dors. It is important for me to see him alone.† â€Å"It won't be safe with you alone. Do you remember what happened ten years ago when you refused to let me come with you to greet the gardeners?† â€Å"There is no danger of my forgetting when you remind me of it twice a week, Dors. In this case, though, I intend to go alone. What can he want to do to me if I come in as an old man, utterly harmless, to find out what he wants?† â€Å"What do you imagine he wants?† said Raych, biting at his knuckle. â€Å"I suppose he wants what Cleon always wanted. It will turn out that he has found out that psychohistory can, in some way, predict the future and he will want to use it for his own purposes. I told Cleon the science wasn't up to it nearly thirty years ago and I kept telling him that all through my tenure as First Minister-and now I'll have to tell General Tennar the same thing.† â€Å"How do you know he'll believe you?† said Raych. â€Å"I'll think of some way of being convincing.† Dors said, â€Å"I do not wish you to go alone.† â€Å"Your wishing, Dors, makes no difference.† At this point, Tamwile Elar interrupted. He said, â€Å"I'm the only nonfamily person here. I don't know if a comment from me would be welcome.† â€Å"Go ahead,† said Seldon. â€Å"Come one, come all.† â€Å"I would like to suggest a compromise. Why don't a number of us go with the Maestro. Quite a few of us. We can act as his triumphal escort, a kind of finale to the birthday celebration. Now wait, I don't mean that we will all crowd into the General's offices. I don't even mean entering the Imperial Palace grounds. We can just take hotel rooms in the Imperial Sector at the edge of the grounds-the Dome's Edge Hotel would be just right-and we'll give ourselves a day of pleasure.† â€Å"That's just what I need,† snorted Seldon. â€Å"A day of pleasure.† â€Å"Not you, Maestro,† said Elar at once. â€Å"You'll be meeting with General Tennar. The rest of us, though, will give the people of the Imperial Sector a notion of your popularity-and perhaps the General will take note also. And if he knows we're all waiting for your return, it may keep him from being unpleasant.† There was a considerable silence after that. Finally Raych said, â€Å"It sounds too showy to me. It don't fit in with the image the world has of Dad.† But Dors said, â€Å"I'm not interested in Hari's image. I'm interested in Hari's safety. It strikes me that if we cannot invade the General's presence or the Imperial grounds, then allowing ourselves to accumulate, so to speak, as near the General as we can, might do us well. Thank you, Dr. Elar, for a very good suggestion.† â€Å"I don't want it done,† said Seldon. â€Å"But I do,† said Dors, â€Å"and if that's as close as I can get to offering you personal protection, then that much I will insist on.† Manella, who had listened to it all without comment till then, said, â€Å"Visiting the Dome's Edge Hotel could be a lot of fun.† â€Å"It's not fun I'm thinking of,† said Dors, â€Å"but I'll accept your vote in favor.† And so it was. The following day some twenty of the higher echelon of the Psychohistory Project descended on the Dome's Edge Hotel, with rooms overlooking the open spaces of the Imperial Palace grounds. The following evening Hari Seldon was picked up by the General's armed guards and taken off to the meeting. At almost the same time Dors Venabili disappeared, but her absence was not noted for a long time. And when it was noted, no one could guess what had happened to her and the gaily festive mood turned rapidly into apprehension. 14 Dors Venabili had lived on the Imperial Palace grounds for ten years. As wife of the First Minister, she had entry to the grounds and could pass freely from the dome to the open, with her fingerprints as the pass. In the confusion that followed Cleon's assassination, her pass had never been removed and now when, for the first time since that dreadful clay, she wanted to move from the dome into the open spaces of the grounds, she could do so. She had always known that she could do so easily only once, for, upon discovery, the pass would be canceled-but this was the one time to do it. There was a sudden darkening of the sky as she moved into the open and she felt a distinct lowering of the temperature. The world under the dome was always kept a little lighter during the night period than natural night would require and was kept a little dimmer during the day period. And, of course, the temperature beneath the dome was always a bit milder than the outdoors. Most Trantorians were unaware of this, for they spent their entire lives under the dome. To Dors it was expected, but it didn't really matter. She took the central roadway, into which the dome opened at the site of the Dome's Edge Hotel. It was, of course, brightly lit, so that the darkness of the sky didn't matter at all. Dors knew that she would not advance a hundred meters along the roadway without being stopped, less perhaps in the present paranoid lays of the junta. Her alien presence would be detected at once. Nor was she disappointed. A small ground-car skittered up and the guardsman shouted out the window, â€Å"What are you doing here? Where are you going?† Dors ignored the question and continued to walk. The guardsman called out, â€Å"Halt!† Then he slammed on the brakes and stepped out of the car, which was exactly what Dors had wanted him to do. The guardsman was holding a blaster loosely in his hand-not threatening to use it, merely demonstrating its existence. He said, â€Å"Your reference number.† Dors said, â€Å"I want your car.† â€Å"What!† The guardsman sounded outraged. â€Å"Your reference number. Immediately!† And now the blaster came up. Dors said quietly, â€Å"You don't need my reference number,† then she walked toward the guardsman. The guardsman took a backward step. â€Å"If you don't stop and present your reference number, I'll blast you.† â€Å"No! Drop your blaster.† The guardsman's lips tightened. His finger began to edge toward the contact, but before he could reach it, he was lost. He could never describe afterward what happened in any accurate way. All he could say was â€Å"How was I to know it was The Tiger Woman?† (The time came when he would be proud of the encounter.) â€Å"She moved so fast, I didn't see exactly what she did or what happened. One moment I was going to shoot her down-I was sure she was some sort of madwoman-and the next thing I knew, I was completely overwhelmed.† Dors held the guardsman in a firm grip, the hand with the blaster forced high. She said, â€Å"Either drop the blaster at once or I will break your arm.† The guardsman felt a kind of death grip around his chest that all but prevented him from breathing. Realizing he had no choice, he dropped the blaster. Dors Venabili released him, but before the guardsman could make a move to recover, he found himself facing his own blaster in Dors's hand. Dors said, â€Å"I hope you've left your detectors in place. Don't try to report what's happened too quickly. You had better wait and decide what it is you plan to tell your superiors. The fact that an unarmed woman took your blaster and your car may well put an end to your usefulness to the junta.† Dors started the car and began to speed down the central roadway. A ten-year stay on the grounds told her exactly where she was going. The car she was in-an official ground-car-was not an alien intrusion into the grounds and would not be picked up as a matter of course. However, she had to take a chance on speed, for she wanted to reach her destination rapidly. She pushed the car to a speed of two hundred kilometers per hour. The speed, at least, eventually did attract attention. She ignored radioed cries, demanding to know why she was speeding, and before long the car's detectors told her that another ground-car was in hot pursuit. She knew that there would be a warning sent up ahead and that there would be other ground-cars waiting for her to arrive, but there was little any of them could do, short of trying to blast her out of existence-something apparently no one was willing to try, pending further investigation. When she reached the building she had been heading for, two ground-cars were waiting for her. She climbed serenely out of her own car and walked toward the entrance. Two men at once stood in her way, obviously astonished that the driver of the speeding car was not a guardsman but a woman dressed in civilian clothes. â€Å"What are you doing here? What was the rush?† Dors said quietly, â€Å"Important message for Colonel Header Linn.† â€Å"Is that so?† said the guardsman harshly. There were now four men between her and the entrance. â€Å"Reference number, please.† Dors said, â€Å"Don't delay me.† â€Å"Reference number, I said.† â€Å"You're wasting my time.† One of the guardsmen said suddenly, â€Å"You know who she looks like? The old First Minister's wife. Dr. Venabili. The Tiger Woman.† There was an odd backward step on the part of all four, but one of them said, â€Å"You're under arrest.† â€Å"Am I?† said Dors. â€Å"If I'm The Tiger Woman, you must know that I am considerably stronger than any of you and that my reflexes are considerably faster. Let me suggest that all four of you accompany me quietly inside and we'll see what Colonel Linn has to say.† â€Å"You're under arrest† came the repetition and four blasters were aimed at Dors. â€Å"Well,† said Dors. â€Å"If you insist.† She moved rapidly and two of the guardsmen were suddenly on the ground, groaning, while Dors was standing with a blaster in each hand. She said, â€Å"I have tried not to hurt them, but it is quite possible that I have broken their wrists. That leaves two of you and I can shoot faster than you can. If either of you makes the slightest move-the slightest-I will have to break the habit of a lifetime and kill you. It will sicken me to do so and I beg you not to force me into it.† There was absolute silence from the two guardsmen still standing-no motion. â€Å"I would suggest,† said Dors, â€Å"that you two escort me into the colonel's presence and that you then seek medical help for your comrades.† The suggestion was not necessary. Colonel Linn emerged from his office. â€Å"What is going on here? What is-â€Å" Dors turned to him. â€Å"Ah! Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Dors Venabili, the wife of Professor Hari Seldon. I have come to see you on important business. These four tried to stop me and, as a result, two are badly hurt. Send them all about their business and let me talk to you. I mean you no harm.† Linn stared at the four guardsmen, then at Dors. He said calmly, â€Å"You mean me no harm? Though four guardsmen have not succeeded in stopping you, I have four thousand at my instant call.† â€Å"Then call them,† said Dors. â€Å"However quickly they come, it will not be in time to save you, should I decide to kill you. Dismiss your guardsmen and let us talk civilly.† Linn dismissed the guardsmen and said, â€Å"Well, come in and we will talk. Let me warn you, though, Dr. Venabili-I have a long memory.† â€Å"And I,† said Dors. They walked into Linn's quarters together. 15 Linn said with utmost courtesy, â€Å"Tell me exactly why you are here, Dr. Venabili.† Dors smiled without menace-and yet not exactly pleasantly, either. â€Å"To begin with,† she said, â€Å"I have come here to show you that I can come here.† â€Å"Yes. My husband was taken to his interview with the General in an official ground-car under armed guard. I myself left the hotel at a the same time he did, on foot and unarmed-and here I am-and I believe I got here before he did. I had to wade through five guardsmen, including the guardsman whose car I appropriated, in order to reach you. I would have waded through fifty.† Linn nodded his head phlegmatically. â€Å"I understand that you are sometimes called The Tiger Woman.† â€Å"I have been called that. Now, having reached you, my task is to make certain that no harm comes to my husband. He is venturing into the General's lair-if I can be dramatic about it-and I want him to emerge unharmed and unthreatened.† â€Å"As far as I am concerned, I know that no harm will come to your husband as a result of this meeting. But if you are concerned, why do you come to me? Why didn't you go directly to the General?† â€Å"Because, of the two of you, it is you that has the brains.† There was a short pause and Linn said, â€Å"That would be a most dangerous remark-if overheard.† â€Å"More dangerous for you than for me, so make sure it is not overheard. Now, if it occurs to you that I am to be simply soothed and put off and that, if my husband is imprisoned or marked for execution, that there will really be nothing I can do about it, disabuse yourself.† She indicated the two blasters that lay on the table before her. â€Å"I entered the grounds with nothing. I arrived in your immediate vicinity with two blasters. If I had no blasters, I might have had knives, with which I am an expert. And if I had neither blasters nor knives, I would still be a formidable person. This table we're sitting at is metal-obviously-and sturdy.† â€Å"It is.† Dors held up her hands, fingers splayed, as if to show that she held no weapon. Then she dropped them to the table and, palms down, caressed its surface. Abruptly Dors raised her fist and then brought it down on the table with a loud crash, which sounded almost as if metal were striking metal. She smiled and lifted her hand. â€Å"No bruise,† Dors said. â€Å"No pain. But you'll notice that the table is slightly bent where I struck it. If that same blow had come down with the name force on a person's head, the skull would have exploded. I have never done such a thing; in fact, I have never killed anyone, though I have injured several. Nevertheless, if Professor Seldon is harmed-â€Å" â€Å"You are still threatening.† â€Å"I am promising. I will do nothing if Professor Seldon is unharmed. Otherwise, Colonel Linn, I will be forced to maim or kill you and-I promise you again-I will do the same to General Tennar.† Linn said, â€Å"You cannot withstand an entire army, no matter how tigerish a woman you are. What then?† â€Å"Stories spread,† said Dors, â€Å"and are exaggerated. I have not really done much in the way of tigerishness, but many more stories are told of me than are true. Your guardsmen fell back when they recognized me and they themselves will spread the story, with advantage, of how I made my way to you. Even an army might hesitate to attack me, Colonel Linn, but even if they did and even if they destroyed me, beware the indignation of the people. The junta is maintaining order, but it is doing so only barely and you don't want anything to upset matters. Think, then, of how easy the alternative is. Simply do not harm Professor Hari Seldon.† â€Å"We have no intention of harming him.† â€Å"Why the interview, then?† â€Å"What's the mystery? The General is curious about psychohistory. The government records are open to us. The old Emperor Cleon was interested. Demerzel, when he was First Minister, was interested. Why should we not be in our turn? In fact, more so.† â€Å"Why more so?† â€Å"Because time has passed. As I understand it, psychohistory began as a thought in Professor Seldon's mind. He has been working on it, with increasing vigor and with larger and larger groups of people, for nearly thirty years. He has done so almost entirely with government support, so that, in a way, his discoveries and techniques belong to the government. We intend to ask him about psychohistory, which, by now, must be far advanced beyond what existed in the times of Demerzel and Cleon, and we expect him to tell us what we want to know. We want something more practical than the vision of equations curling their way through air. Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† said Dors, frowning. â€Å"And one more thing. Do not suppose that the danger to your husband comes from the government only and that any harm that reaches him will mean that you must attack us at once. I would suggest that Professor Seldon may have purely private enemies. I have no knowledge of such things, but surely it is possible.† â€Å"I shall keep that in mind. Right now, I want to have you arrange that I join my husband during his interview with the General. I want to know, beyond doubt, that he is safe.† â€Å"That will be hard to arrange and will take some time. It would be impossible to interrupt the conversation, but if you wait till it is ended-â€Å" â€Å"Take the time and arrange it. Do not count on double-crossing me and remaining alive.† 16 General Tennar stared at Hari Seldon in a rather pop-eyed manner and his fingers tapped lightly at the desk where he sat. â€Å"Thirty years,† he said. â€Å"Thirty years and you are telling me you still have nothing to show for it?† â€Å"Actually, General, twenty-eight years.† Tennar ignored that. â€Å"And all at government expense. Do you know how many billions of credits have been invested in your Project, Professor?† â€Å"I haven't kept up, General, but we have records that could give me the answer to your question in seconds.† â€Å"And so have we. The government, Professor, is not an endless source of funds. These are not the old times. We don't have Cleon's old free-and-easy attitude toward finances. Raising taxes is hard and we need credits for many things. I have called you here, hoping that you can benefit us in some way with your psychohistory. If you cannot, then I must tell you, quite frankly, that we will have to shut off the faucet. If you can continue your research without government funding, do so, for unless you show me something that would make the expense worth it, you will have to do just that.† â€Å"General, you make a demand I cannot meet, but, if in response, you and government support, you will be throwing away the future. Give me wile** and eventually-â€Å" â€Å"Various governments have heard that ‘eventually' from you for decades. Isn't it true, Professor, that you say your psychohistory predicts that the junta is unstable, that my rule is unstable, that in a short time it will collapse?† Seldon frowned. â€Å"The technique is not yet firm enough for me to say that this is something that psychohistory states.† â€Å"I put it to you that psychohistory does state it and that this is common knowledge within your Project.† â€Å"No,† said Seldon warmly. â€Å"No such thing. It is possible that some among us have interpreted some relationships to indicate that the junta may be an unstable form of government, but there are other relationships that may easily be interpreted to show it is stable. That is the reason why we must continue our work. At the present moment it is all too easy to use incomplete data and imperfect reasoning to reach any conclusion we wish.† â€Å"But if you decide to present the conclusion that the government is unstable and say that psychohistory warrants it-even if it does not actually do so-will it not add to the instability?† â€Å"It may very well do that, General. And if we announced that the government is stable, it may well add to the stability. I have had this very same discussion with Emperor Cleon on a number of occasions. It is possible to use psychohistory as a tool to manipulate the emotions of the people and achieve short-term effects. In the long run, however, the predictions are quite likely to prove incomplete or downright erroneous and psychohistory will lose all its credibility and it will be as though it had never existed.† â€Å"Enough! Tell me straight out! What do you think psychohistory shows about my government?† â€Å"It shows, we think, that there are elements of instability in it, but we are not certain-and cannot be certain-exactly in what way this can be made worse or made better.† â€Å"In other words, psychohistory simply tells you what you would know without psychohistory and it is that in which government has invested uncounted piles of credits.† â€Å"The time will come when psychohistory will tell us what we could not know without it and then the investment will pay itself back many, many times over.† â€Å"And how long will it be before that time comes?† â€Å"Not too long, I hope. We have been making rather gratifying progress in the last few years.† Tennar was tapping his fingernail on his desk again. â€Å"Not enough. Tell me something helpful now. Something useful.† Seldon pondered, then said, â€Å"I can prepare a detailed report for you, but it will take time.† â€Å"Of course it will. Days, months, years-and somehow it will never be written. Do you take me for a fool?† â€Å"No, of course not, General. However, I don't want to be taken for a fool, either. I can tell you something that I will take sole responsibility for. I have seen it in my psychohistorical research, but I may have misinterpreted what I saw. However, since you insist-â€Å" â€Å"I insist.† â€Å"You mentioned taxes a little while ago. You said raising taxes was difficult. Certainly. It is always difficult. Every government must do its work by collecting wealth in one form or another. The only two ways in which such credits can be obtained are, first, by robbing a neighbor, or second, persuading a government's own citizens to grant the credits willingly and peaceably. â€Å"Since we have established a Galactic Empire that has been conducting its business in reasonable fashion for thousands of years, there is no possibility of robbing a neighbor, except as the result of an occasional rebellion and its repression. This does not happen often enough to support a government-and, if it did, the government would be too unstable to last long, in any case.† Seldon drew a deep breath and went on. â€Å"Therefore, credits must be raised by asking the citizens to hand over part of their wealth for government use. Presumably, since the government will then work efficiently, the citizens can better spend their credits in this way than to hoard it-each man to himself-while living in a dangerous and chaotic anarchy. â€Å"However, though the request is reasonable and the citizenry is better off paying taxes as their price for maintaining a stable and efficient government, they are nevertheless reluctant to do so. In order to overcome this reluctance, governments must make it appear that they are not taking too many credits, and that they are considering each citizen's rights and benefits. In other words, they must lower the percentage taken out of low incomes; they must allow deductions of various kinds to be made before the tax is assessed, and so on. â€Å"As time goes on, the tax situation inevitably grows more and more complex as different worlds, different sectors within each world, and different economic divisions all demand and require special treatment. Me result is that the tax-collecting branch of the government grows in size and complexity and tends to become uncontrollable. The average citizen cannot understand why or how much he is being taxed; what he can get away with and what he can't. The government and the tax agency itself are often in the dark as well. â€Å"What's more, an ever-larger fraction of the funds collected must be put into running the overelaborate tax agency-maintaining records, pursuing tax delinquents-so the amount of credits available for good, and useful purposes declines despite anything we can do.** â€Å"In the end, the tax situation becomes overwhelming. It inspires discontent and rebellion. The history books tend to ascribe these things to greedy businessmen, to corrupt politicians, to brutal warriors, to ambitious viceroys-but these are just the individuals who take advantage of the tax overgrowth.† The General said harshly, â€Å"Are you telling me that our tax system is overcomplicated?† Seldon said, â€Å"If it were not, it would be the only one in history that wasn't, as far as I know. If there is one thing that psychohistory tells me is inevitable, it is tax overgrowth.† â€Å"And what do we do about it?† â€Å"That I cannot tell you. It is that for which I would like to prepare a report that-as you say-may take a while to get ready.† â€Å"Never mind the report. The tax system is overcomplicated, isn't it? Isn't that what you are saying?† â€Å"It is possible that it is,† said Seldon cautiously. â€Å"And to correct that, one must make the tax system simpler-as simple as possible, in fact.† â€Å"I would have to study-â€Å" â€Å"Nonsense. The opposite of great complication is great simplicity. I don't need a report to tell me that.† â€Å"As you say, General,† said Seldon. At this point the General looked up suddenly, as though he had been called-as, indeed, he had been. His fists clenched and holovision images of Colonel Linn and Dors Venabili suddenly appeared in the room. Thunderstruck, Seldon exclaimed, â€Å"Dors! What are you doing here?† The General said nothing, but his brow furrowed into a frown.

Respiration

Respiration RespirationRespiration is a physical process in which living organisms take in oxygen from the surrounding medium and emit carbon dioxide. the term respiration is also used to refer to the liberation of energy, within a cell. from fuel molecules such as carbohydrates and fats. Carbon dioxide and water are the products of this process, which is sometimes called cellular respiration to distinguish it from the physical process of breathing.Small organisms of the kingdoms Protista and Prokaryotae have no specialized respiratory mechanisms; instead, they rely on the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide across a cell membrane. The concentration of oxygen in the organism is less than that of the surrounding air or water, and the concentration of carbon dioxide is greater. As a result, oxygen diffuses into the organism, and carbon dioxide diffuses out.In aquatic lower animals that are more complex than sponges, a circulating medium carries the respiratory gases from outer tissues to cells that are distant from the sight of gas exchange.Anatomy of the lungs and heartThese animals have gills, which auxiliary respiratory mechanisms keep a constant current of fresh water flowing. The gases are diffused through the epithelium of the gill, and the extended surface, produced by the branching of the gills, enables large quantities of blood to be oxygenated in a short time.The respiratory and circulatory systems of air breathing animals have become adapted and modified for life in oxygen deficient environments. For example, people living in higher altitudes would have larger lungs than people living at lower altitudes. Humans respire through their lungs, as do most mammals and reptiles. Within the thorax, the lungs are held close to the body wall by atmospheric pressure. When the thorax expands, the lungs fill with air drawn through the upper respiratory passages. Relaxation of the muscles expanding...

Henry Light Horse Harry Lee in the American Revolution

Henry Light Horse Harry Lee in the American Revolution Born at Leesylvania near Dumfries, VA on January 29, 1756, Henry Lee III was the son of Henry Lee II and Lucy Grymes Lee. A member of a prominent Virginia family, Lees father was a second cousin of Richard Henry Lee who later served as President of the Continental Congress.   Receiving his early education in Virginia, Lee then moved north to attend the College of New Jersey (Princeton) where he pursued a degree in classical studies. Graduating in 1773, Lee returned to Virginia and commenced a career in law. This endeavor proved short-lived as Lee quickly took an interest in military matters following the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the American Revolution in April 1775. Traveling to Williamsburg the following year, he sought a place in one of the new Virginia regiments being formed for service with the Continental Army.  Commissioned as a captain on June 18, 1775, Lee led the 5th Troop of Colonel Theodorick Blands light cavalry battalion.   After spending the fall equipping and training, the unit moved north and joined General George Washingtons army in January 1776. Marching with Washington Incorporated into the Continental Army in March, the unit was re-designated the 1st Continental Light Dragoons.   Shortly thereafter, Lee and his troop largely began to operate independently from Blands command and saw service in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania in conjunction with forces led by Major Generals Benjamin Lincoln and Lord Stirling. In this role, Lee and his men largely conducted reconnaissance, foraged for supplies, and attacked British outposts. Impressed with their performance, Washington effectively made the unit independent that fall and began issuing orders directly to Lee. With the beginning of the Philadelphia Campaign in the late summer of 1777, Lees men operated in southeastern Pennsylvania and were present, but not engaged, at the Battle of Brandywine in September. After the defeat, Lees men retreated with the rest of the army. The following month, the troop served as Washingtons bodyguard during the Battle of Germantown.   With the army in winter quarters at Valley Forge, Lees troop earned fame on January 20, 1778, when it thwarted an ambush led by Captain Banastre Tarleton near Spread Eagle Tavern. Growing Responsibility On April 7, Lees men were formally separated from the 1st Continental Light Dragoons and work commenced to expand the unit to three troops. At the same time, Lee was promoted to major at the request of Washington. Much of the rest of the year was spent training and organizing the new unit. To cloth his men, Lee chose a uniform featuring a short green jacket and white or doeskin pants. In an effort to ensure tactical flexibility, Lee had one of the troops dismounted to serve as infantry. On September 30, he took his unit into battle at Edgars Lane near Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. Winning a victory over a force of Hessians, Lee lost no men in the fighting.   On July 13, 1779, a company of infantry was added to Lees command to serve a fourth troop. Three days later, the unit served as a reserve during Brigadier General Anthony Waynes successful attack on Stony Point. Inspired by this operation, Lee was tasked with mounting a similar assault on Paulus Hook in August. Moving forward on the night of the 19th, his command attacked Major William Sutherlands position. Overrunning the British defenses, Lees men inflicted 50 casualties and captured over 150 prisoners in exchange for two killed and three wounded.   In recognition of this achievement, Lee received a gold medal from Congress. Continuing to strike at the enemy, Lee raided Sandy Hook, NJ in January 1780. Lees Legion In February, Lee received authorization from Congress to form a legionary corps consisting of three troops of cavalry and three of infantry. Accepting volunteers from across the army, this saw Lees Legion expand to around 300 men. Though ordered south to reinforce the garrison at Charleston, SC in March, Washington rescinded the order and the legion remained in New Jersey into the summer.   On June 23, Lee and his men stood with Major General Nathanael Greene during the Battle of Springfield. This saw British and Hessian forces led by Baron von Knyphausen advance in northern New Jersey in an attempt to defeat the Americans. Assigned to defend the  Vauxhall Road bridges with the assistance of Colonel Mathias Ogdens 1st New Jersey, Lees men soon were under heavy pressure. Though fighting tenaciously, the legion was nearly driven from the field until being reinforced by Brigadier General John Stark. That November, Lee received orders to march south to aid American forces in the Carolinas which had been severely reduced due to the loss of Charleston and the defeat at Camden. Southern Theater Promoted to lieutenant colonel and having earned the nickname Light Horse Harry for his exploits, Lee joined Greene, who had assumed command in the South, in January 1781. Re-designated the 2nd Partisan Corps, Lees unit joined with Brigadier General Francis Marions men for an attack on Georgetown, SC later that month. In February, the legion won an engagement at Haw River (Pyles Massacre) as well as helped screen Greenes retreat north to the Dan River and evade pursuing British forces under Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis. Reinforced, Greene returned south and met Cornwallis at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15. Fighting commenced when Lees men engaged British dragoons led by Tarleton a few miles from Greenes position. Engaging the British, he was able to hold until the 23rd Regiment of Foot arrived to support Tarleton. Rejoining the army after a sharp fight, Lees Legion assumed a position on the American left and harried the British right flank for the remainder of the battle. In addition to operating with Greenes army, Lees troops worked with other light forces led by individuals such as Marion and Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. Raiding through South Carolina and Georgia, these troops captured several British outposts including Fort Watson, Fort Motte, and Fort Grierson as well as attacked Loyalists in the region.   Rejoining Greene in June after a successful attack on Augusta, GA, Lees men were present for the final days of the failed siege of Ninety-Six. On September 8, the legion supported Greene during the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Riding north, Lee was present for Cornwallis surrender at the Battle of Yorktown the following month.      Ã‚   Later Life In February 1782, Lee left the army claiming fatigue but influenced by a lack of support for his men and a perceived lack of respect for his accomplishments. Returning to Virginia, married his second cousin, Matilda Ludwell Lee, in April. The couple had three children prior to her death in 1790.   Elected to the Congress of the Confederation in 1786, Lee served for two years before advocating for the ratification of the US Constitution. After serving in the Virginia legislature from 1789 to 1791, he was elected Governor of Virginia.   On June 18, 1793, Lee married Anne Hill Carter. Together they had six children including future Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. With the beginning of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, Lee accompanied President Washington west to deal with the situation and was placed in command of military operations. In the wake of this incident, Lee was made a major general in the US Army in 1798 and elected to Congress a year later. Serving one term, he famously eulogized Washington at the presidents funeral on December 26, 1799. The next several years proved difficult for Lee as land speculation and business difficulties eroded his fortune. Forced to serve a year in debtors prison, he wrote his memoirs of the war.   On July 27, 1812, Lee was severely injured when he attempted to defend a newspaper friend, Alexander C. Hanson, from a mob in Baltimore. Set upon because of Hansons opposition to the War of 1812, Lee sustained multiple internal injuries and wounds.    Plagued by issues relating to the attack, Lee spent his final years traveling in warmer climates in an attempt to relieve his suffering. After spending time in the West Indies, he died at Dungeness, GA on March 25, 1818. Buried with full military honors, Lees remains were later relocated to the Lee Family Chapel at Washington Lee University (Lexington, VA) in 1913.

Free Online Learning Options for Missouri K-12 Students

Free Online Learning Options for Missouri K-12 Students Many states offer free online public school options to in-state resident students. In Missouri, unfortunately, there are currently no year-round free online public schools. However, no-cost options are available through government-funded charter schools and for students in special situations. Below is a list of no-cost options available to Missouri students from kindergarten to high school. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, schools  must offer services to state residents, and the schools must be funded by the government. These virtual education options include charter schools,  statewide  public programs, and private programs that receive government funding. Missouri Virtual Instruction Program The Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MoVIP) was established in 2007 and offers online courses to Missouri K-12 students. MoVIP is a tuition program offering courses to public, private, and homeschooled students. Students enroll in MoVIP for a variety of reasons: MoVIP offers advanced courses, including foreign language courses, that are not available in most local school districts.Taking MoVIP courses allows students to solve scheduling problems and even graduate early.MoVIP allows students who cannot attend their local schools for medical or other reasons to take courses and earn education credits. Online education offers students flexibility.  MoVIP courses are self-paced so that students can move through them at a faster or slower pace, depending on their  individual learning needs. MoVIP offers about 250 different courses, including foreign language and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Each semester’s tuition costs $3,600. Parents are responsible for paying tuition unless the accredited local school district opts to cover the cost. If your local school district is unaccredited, it is required to cover the cost of tuition. There are currently six unaccredited school districts in Missouri. In cases where students are unable to attend their local school due to a long-term (six weeks or longer) medical condition, the state will cover the MoVIP tuition. Missouri Online Summer Institute The Missouri Online Summer Institute is a fully accredited program run by  the Grandview R-II School District that provides a full range of virtual courses to engage students and promote academic success through multimedia features, virtual labs, embedded educational games, and other dynamic content. The program offers: More than 100 core and elective coursesBoth original credit and recovery credit courses1.0 credit year-long courses and 0.5 credit semester-based coursesMissouri-certified teachers for all coursesNew career readiness (CTE) coursesAP courses The Missouri Online Summer Institute is open to all  Missouri resident students  in grades 7-12. Students are responsible for providing their own computers and internet access. Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states, including Missouri, offer tuition-free online education for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools  that receive government funding and are run by private organizations. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly to make sure that they meet state standards. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats is usually limited and students are asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. Choosing a Missouri Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny.

A Look at Juvenile Deliquency Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A Look at Juvenile Deliquency - Research Paper Example Juvenile delinquency, its causes, best strategies and interventions designed to stop juvenile delinquency and other such issues will be discussed in this paper. Around late 1800’s, the juvenile justice system was formed to amend the policies about the youth crimes. That time was crucial since the law has to protect the youth rights as well as provide a certain system of justice. By the time when the most of the world reformed socially, the juvenile justice system was also reformed (Brown, 1998). Before the progressive era, there was no law that separated a child from an adult. A child with an age of more than seven and an adult were imprisoned in a same cell. Nevertheless, as the society progressed, the social and political views towards the youth and child offenders changed. The contribution of psychologists and their researches during 1800 and 1900 helped the society to change their view regarding juvenile delinquents. Some reformers who disliked punishing the children tried to rehabilitate the children. New York house of refuge was build for the purpose of rehabilitation in 1824. In 1899, the policies about the youth imprisonment also reformed and some states started youth rehabilitation programs. Youth and adult offenders are not considered the same and different laws were there for youth offenders (Eadie & Morley, 2003). In 1960’s, a separate juvenile court listens all the matters related to the persons which have an age of more than eighteen years (Mulvey, Arthur & Reppucci, 1997). During the same period, the Supreme Court stressed upon the legal rights of youth and stressed upon the right to obtain charges notice, to receive legal advice, to obtain copy of the reports, records and trials, to legally appeal to review the decision of the lower court and to argue (Brown, 1998). The juvenile justice system emphasized on not to punish a child and young people but to correct the situation. To prevent children and young offenders from being involv ed in any crime, an act was passed in 1968. From 1968 to 1974, United States moved towards a more modern society that had a system to prevent juvenile delinquency. The act to prevent the youth offenders had a â€Å"National institute to juvenile justice and crime prevention† and â€Å"Runaway Youth Program† (Ryan & Lane, 1997). During 1980’s and 1990’s, there was an increase in the juvenile crime. The juvenile justice system was amended and for some cruel crimes, juveniles were treated as adults. Since then, there is a distinct decrease in the juvenile crime. In late 1990’s, the number of violent juvenile crimes increased but juvenile crimes is under control today (Regoli & Hewitt, 2006). The policies and laws are still concerned. Juvenile delinquency effect a number of people attached with juveniles. These people are close relations, the affecters of crime and society as a whole. Therefore, it can be said that juvenile delinquency is a threat for the whole society and everyone present in a society is a stakeholder. The most affected people are the close relations of the juveniles involved in any kind of crime (Regoli & Hewitt, 2006). There are many causes of juvenile delinquency and can be found at all social levels. One of the causes of juveniles to become criminal is their economic

Evaluate change management in Telecommunications sector omantel in Essay

Evaluate change management in Telecommunications sector omantel in Sultanate of Oman - Essay Example For example, a country with many international companies and businesses could be perceived as an economically progressing organization that employs highly technical and skilled employees. This indicates that the country is highly advanced and privatizations of government owned corporations indicate a liberalization of government economic and trade policies. However, not all organizations keep up with the social, economic and political changes in the country, there are those who remain in touch with methods and resist change. But if an organization wants to achieve progress and growth, it must remember that change is inevitable. Change in the organizational structure, management and use of technology indicates that the organization is moving towards better measures of effectiveness and paving its way towards progress and prosperity. â€Å"Change will not disappear nor dissipate; technology, civilizations and creative thoughts will maintain their ever-accelerating dive onwards† (Paton & McCalman 2008, p. 5). As with any process involving transition and transformation, change in the structure and strategies of an organization is often met with negativity and apprehension. Even if the change is for the greater good of the company, there will always be those who will remain anxious about its consequences. Organizational change is brought about by a number of factors; this could be from mergers and acquisitions, a government take-over or the privatization of the organization. The anxiety provoking aspect in any organizational change is not actually the transformation of the organization or the change in management but the fact that the employees have to leave their old ways of doing things; it is the learning of new tasks, new protocols and new operating procedures that threaten employees. By definition, change means discarding the old and embracing the new, and the new may not always be accepted and appreciated by the employees. â€Å"Traditionally, analysis of organizational change has been built around the organism metaphor in which organizations are analyzed as if they were living organisms operating in an environment to which they need to adapt to ensure survival† (Lesson 37: Organizational Change n.d., p. 1). Anxiety and apprehension to some extent is the natural reaction to change, as our body responds to external stimuli both physically and psychologically. This response or reaction to change is welcomed by the agents of change as an opportunity to make the employees aware of the undertakings taking place in the organization. It is the time when questions could be answered, when professional thirsts could be quenched, when fears and doubts could be placated and when employees are engaged as advocates of the process of change as they now possess the knowledge and information that they can share with other employees who face the same challenges. Change Management in an organization is all about the actions necessary for an o rganization to recognize, organize, execute and take

Management Information System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Information System - Essay Example competes with a host of other financial institutions such as banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies among others hence there is stiff competition. As a way of attempting to position itself better in the market, the company sought to outsource its IT infrastructure to IBM, a computing giant as a result of different reasons. First and foremost, this is an attempt to add value to their company among employees, clients and shareholders by improving efficiency as well as reducing costs while at the same time improving quality. Given that IBM is a renowned computing giant, JP Morgan thought it would be a wise decision to incorporate this company as a way of trying to portray its image in a better position. In this case outsourcing would add value in that IBM is a well established computing giant often treated with great esteem by various stakeholders such that its incorporation by JP Morgan would attract a positive response from different stakeholders. By virtue of running several business entities, JP Morgan thought that by scaling its IT expenditures, it would reduce its actual needs of paying full costs that would be based on projections made earlier. Therefore, it can be noted that JP Morgan sought to reduce costs on its part by centralizing the IT business to one big, reputable company which is IBM computers. In actual fact, JP Morgan simply wants to take a precautionary measure in the face of competition against other major financial giants such that it thought outsourcing would help spruce its image as well as help reducing expenditure by centralizing its IT issues to one computing giant. The main problem raised here is that of the overuse of traditional means of processing information during the contemporary time of digital age where new information and technology is reigning supreme. The result of the use of old means of processing information is failure to access information readily when it is needed to combat an otherwise imminent disaster. FBI in this

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 - Assignment Example Why would you produce an expensive device when there’s a cheaper one which can do the job with more efficiency? B. Using small touch screen devices is easier than lager devices due to their portability. It’s easier to move them from place to place rather than larger devices that you have to move to where the device is to use it. Large devices also provide a larger and bigger display surface hence its more accurate to operate on individual spots on the screen while touching. A. Functionality- As the price of devices reduce due to increasing technology level, most people consider the functionality of a device very useful. Some basic and important functionalities include internet provision(fast internet from 3G and beyond), Wi-Fi support, Camera, Music, Video playing etc. These are very common uses among people and anyone who needs them will highly consider the device they purchase. Ease of use-Touch screen devices have proved to be efficient especially when scrolling on screens. Unlike button based devices where one has to scroll through several icons to get to the target, touch screens allows direct selection so long as the icon is appearing on the display area. B. Using the bottom stove is easier than using the top stove. The problem with the top stove is that it is difficult to tell which control goes with which burner.  The solution is to arrange the controls in the same configuration as the burners. It is quite easy to tell which burner goes with which control. A. The three interfaces provide a form of interaction involving manipulating of objects presented as icons on the display. The interface of the 1987 Mac is too plain and offers very little aesthetic value to the user. Compared to the 2005 Mac Os X and the 2010 Ipad, the two offer better interface as the user can easily tell the meaning of an icon without even reading its label. For example on the ipad interface, the user can easily identify a calendar icon and a music player

Promoting Healthy Eating for Dementia in Residential Homes Essay

Promoting Healthy Eating for Dementia in Residential Homes - Essay Example In fact, individuals who are obese are also considered as malnourished. According to the World Health Organization (2000), malnutrition related to hunger is a life-threatening situtaion. Therefore, it can lead to a significant increase in morbidity and mortality rate. Considering the adverse health effects of malnutrition on patients with dementia, nurses who are assigned to take care of this group of patients should pay more attention to the importance of proper nutrition. The number of people with dementia is expected to increase throughout the United Kingdom (Knapp and Prince, 2007:22-23). For this reason, nurses should search for new ways on how they can improve the physical health of these patients. One of the best and most simple ways to improve the physical health of patients with dementia is to focus on how nurses can effectively promote healthy eating. By promoting healthy eating among patients with dementia, the nurses can protect the patients from becoming sicklier or more vulnerable to other types of illnesses. There are certain types of food that can help prevent the incidence of dementia. For example, vitamin B12 and Folate deficiencies are also associated with developing dementia and cognitive impairment (Bruce Fife, 2011). Fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel and herring is rich in Omega 3 fats. Based on a recent study, doctors suggest that eating fish at least once a week reduces the risk of developing dementia by 60% (McFadden, 2011), Since dementia is hereditary, continuous promotion of healthy eating can help public awareness against dementia. Thus, improving the healthcare practices throughout the United Kingdom. Nurses are the front-liners within a healthcare setting. This explains why most of the patients with dementia are being cared for by the nurses. One of the role and responsibilities of the nurses is to deliver a holistic care to their patients. Therefore, nurses who are currently working in a residential nursing home should continuousl y improve their knowledge and skills on how they can effectively promote a healthy eating lifestyle. 5.0 Literature Review General Facts about Dementia in UK Dementia is â€Å"a global impairment of cognitive function that usually is progressive and may be permanent; interferes with normal social and occupational activities† (Kozier et al., 2004:1449). In most cases, patients with dementia suffers from â€Å"a collection of symptoms, including a decline in memory, reasoning and communication skills, and a gradual loss of skills needed to carry out daily activities† (Knapp and Prince, 2007:2). Patients with dementia are prone to suffer from the rising levels of severe illness coupled with reduced sensory function of taste, smell, and teeth which negatively impacts on the nutritional needs of the patient (Linda, 2005: 221-245). This explains why most of the elderly patients who were diagnosed with dementia are less likely to eat properly as compared to patients with deme ntia who are still young or in the adulthood stage. Furthermore, several studies mentioned that a significant decrease in the metabolic process of elderly patients can also lead to other health complications that are

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 - Assignment Example Why would you produce an expensive device when there’s a cheaper one which can do the job with more efficiency? B. Using small touch screen devices is easier than lager devices due to their portability. It’s easier to move them from place to place rather than larger devices that you have to move to where the device is to use it. Large devices also provide a larger and bigger display surface hence its more accurate to operate on individual spots on the screen while touching. A. Functionality- As the price of devices reduce due to increasing technology level, most people consider the functionality of a device very useful. Some basic and important functionalities include internet provision(fast internet from 3G and beyond), Wi-Fi support, Camera, Music, Video playing etc. These are very common uses among people and anyone who needs them will highly consider the device they purchase. Ease of use-Touch screen devices have proved to be efficient especially when scrolling on screens. Unlike button based devices where one has to scroll through several icons to get to the target, touch screens allows direct selection so long as the icon is appearing on the display area. B. Using the bottom stove is easier than using the top stove. The problem with the top stove is that it is difficult to tell which control goes with which burner.  The solution is to arrange the controls in the same configuration as the burners. It is quite easy to tell which burner goes with which control. A. The three interfaces provide a form of interaction involving manipulating of objects presented as icons on the display. The interface of the 1987 Mac is too plain and offers very little aesthetic value to the user. Compared to the 2005 Mac Os X and the 2010 Ipad, the two offer better interface as the user can easily tell the meaning of an icon without even reading its label. For example on the ipad interface, the user can easily identify a calendar icon and a music player

Narrative about a fictional town named McMinden Essay

Narrative about a fictional town named McMinden - Essay Example The following passage clearly shows that migration is prevalent in the town of McMinden; McMinden is a small city in the farm belt, with a population of 20,000, along the Gilligan river. German immigrants began populating the Gilligan river valley beginning in the 1880’s, along with other white settlers moving west from Kentucky and Indiana, as well as a few black settlers from the South. The concept of sociological perspective is being followed generally in the town as it is followed everywhere in the world. In our general life it is seen that if an Asian migrates to United States then he tends to adopt the same perspective as being practiced in United States. The division of social classes was not broad enough in the previous times as it has become now. The prestige of individuals was not judged upon by their level of wealth but it was rather inherited or attained by their reputation of righteousness. Power existed in the olden times too but it generally was categorized for limited individuals. Nowadays it is seen that power is abruptly managed by a lot of individuals. All these individuals are key players in the decision making of the society. Social classes can also be witnessed in the town of McMinden as shown by the following passage; The richest part of the town is a subdivision built around Lake Elmo.

ICT Sample Work Welcome Centre Requirements Essay Example for Free

ICT Sample Work Welcome Centre Requirements Essay CLM (Christian Life Ministries) is a church based in Coventry City Centre. Being a registered charity, they wanted to look at ways in which they could raise money to help finance its various activities, many of which benefit the local and international community. In 2000, The Welcome Centre was launched, in which a team of people started using the building venue to provide a catering and hospitality service to paying customers, who were looking for somewhere where they could hold conferences and events, hire equipment and to have food served. The customers who pay to use the services of the Welcome Centre are either commercial customers, such as Coventry City Council, local schools or colleges, or other charity-based organisations. Charities would be able to use the facilities at a discounted rate compared to commercial customers. Customers hire the services of The Welcome Centre for many different types of events, from large conferences to training days and small meetings. The Welcome Centre has up to 4 rooms that can be hired (Grace Room, Grace Room 1, The Elegance Suite, The Serenity Suite), and each room has a capacity between 20 and 250 people. As well as hiring a room, customers have the option of hiring additional equipment, such as a data projector, video projector, OHP, PA equipment and Flip Charts. The price for hiring equipment is on a 1/2 day basis. An event may want a variety of catering options too. The Welcome Centre can provide beverages (e.g. tea, coffee, cold drinks), as well as various food options (Finger Buffet, Finger Buffet with Dessert, Hot Buffet with Dessert). Since opening, the success of the organisation has grown rapidly. This is due to the friendliness of the staff, as well as the level of service offered. As a result, the team has grown from 2 to 7 people. They are looking to expand, and with a future building project underway too, they hope to be able to offer even larger facilities for up to 650 people, as well as to grow their existing customer base. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION As the business is growing, the staff are getting increasingly busier. One of the key problems is that a manual booking system is used. A customer will call or email with a request for a conference. The staff will write down some basic details about the event such as the contacts name, event name and date and time of the conference. They will also ask the customer for the number of delegates, and therefore determine the number and size of rooms required. Catering requirements for food and beverages, as well as the hire of equipment will also be recorded. This information will all be recorded in a central paper-based diary, which can often become messy as customers sometimes phone to cancel or amend their booking, meaning that the handwriting can become unreadable. This could then lead to mistakes being made such as double-bookings, or not getting everyones requirements correct for a conference. Chris Ruck, one of the team, will sometimes word process the quotation onto a basic blank template produced in Word Processing software (MS Word). After creating the quotation, he will then save it onto his computer. He will sometimes do the same for invoices. The problem with this is that the same information is being entered up to three times; once in the diary, secondly on the quotation, and thirdly onto an invoice. Duplicating the information sometimes leads to small typing mistakes appearing on the documents. Also, it wastes Chris valuable time that could be used for other tasks, such as preparing rooms for conferences. Invoicing is a very important task for The Welcome Centre, as it is the way it requests payment from a customer once a conference has taken place. Tony will often to have to create 20 to 30 invoices at a time. Unfortunately, Tony Williams has very limited experience with computers. If Chris is not available and invoices have to be sent out, Tony will have to write out an invoice by hand into a blank template. This is very time consuming for him, and as the General Manager, he has many more important jobs that he could be doing. Also, handwritten invoices do not look very professional, and so these really should be created and printed from a computer to give a better corporate image. Tony sometimes has to handwrite quotations too for the same reasons. Scope The scope for this task is to find a way of entering booking details for conferences, and to create a quotation for that conference. Creating invoices will not be included in this task. Also, to simplify the task, we will focus on commercial customers only and not charity customers, as the prices are all different. DETAILS OF CLIENT, USER(S) AND AUDIENCE (IF APPLICABLE) IDENTIFICATION OF THE CLIENT The client for this project is Tony Williams, who is the General Manager of the Welcome Centre. Tonys role includes creating the rota of when his team are working, taking booking details from customers for future conferences and negotiating prices if applicable. Tony is also involved in creating quotations for a conference booking to inform the customer how much it will cost. He may also create invoices for a conference that has taken place to request payment. He will also need to keep track of payments for conferences by customers, and chase any outstanding payments. He is also very hands-on in his role, and he will support his staff with serving and room set-up when required. The solution for this task will need to meet Tonys requirements. IDENTIFICATION OF THE USER(S) The users of this solution will be the Tony Williams (the client), as well as Anita Fox and Chris Ruck. Anita and Chris are also responsible for entering details of customer bookings into the diary, and producing quotations and invoices for them. Therefore, they will actively use the solution by changing the customer and booking inputs and sending the quotation that is produced (output) to the customer. Anita also takes care of the accounts and organises the monthly payroll for the employees. IDENTIFICATION OF ANY AUDIENCE The Audience is anyone who may look at the outputs, but not change the content of the solution. The majority of this solution will be used by The Welcome Centre staff, and therefore these people will be users and not an audience. However, Quotations will be viewed by Customers as these are the target audience of this document. ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS OF USER(S) Tony will use the solution, but has very limited ICT skills. He is a complete novice at using computers. He will need introductory training that includes: * Logging in to the network * File Management (files and folders creating, renaming, moving, copying) * Word Processing (Use of word documents, file management opening/ saving, formatting) * Spreadsheets (Use of spreadsheets, file management opening/ saving, formatting, working with multiple worksheets) * Using the solution that is created Anita will also use the solution and is an intermediate user. She can login, organise files and folders, word process, use basic features of spreadsheet software, use a web browser to surf the internet, and can also use her accounts package. She will need training that includes: * Spreadsheets (Advanced course including the recording, use and management of macros, using formulae and functions) * Using the solution that is created Chris is more of an advanced user, and can do all of the above to a more complex level, as well as use graphics and multi-media packages for design work. He will need training that includes: * Spreadsheets (Advanced course including the recording, use and management of macros, using formulae and functions) * Using the solution that is created CLIENT INTERVIEW An initial interview was held with Tony Williams, and the following is a summary of what he said: 1. What is The Welcome Centre and can you give me some background information to the organisation? The Welcome Centre was launched in 2000, as a conference centre for commercial and charitable customers, offering them a hospitality service. The service includes room hire, equipment hire as well a catering options. Customers use the services provided by the Welcome Centre for various reasons from large conferences, to small meetings and training days. 2. Who are the staff at the Welcome Centre and what do they do? Tony Williams is the General Manager, whose role includes creating the rota of when his team are working, taking booking details from customers for future conferences and negotiating prices if applicable. Tony is also involved in creating quotations and invoices by hand. He also keeps track of payments for conferences by customers, and chases any outstanding payments. He is also very hands-on in his role, and he will support his staff with serving and room set-up when required. There are several other employees. Chris Ruck is the Assistant Manager of the complex, who takes bookings, sets up for conferences, and also types up quotations and invoices. He looks after the technical requirements of a conference such as IT needs and P.A. equipment. Anita Fax is the Administrator, who has responsibility for accounts and organising the monthly payroll for the employees. There are also 4 other part time staff, including a cleaner as well as conference assistants. 3. What are the problems that ICT could help to solve? One of the key problems is that a manual booking system is used, whereby booking information is recorded in a paper-based diary. The information is therefore not easily sharable and handwriting will become messy as bookings are amended or cancelled. Also, quotations and invoices are either typed into a blank template document or hand-written. This leads to a duplication of the booking information resulting in mistakes, as well as being time consuming. Hand written documents are not very professional. 4. What do you want the ICT solution to do? Tony would like the new solution to provide easy to use data entry forms for entering details about each conference. He would like a quotation to be produced immediately based upon the booking information that is entered. He would also like the quotation and booking information to be stored for future use, so that someone can view the information easily. 5. Who will use the solution and what ICT skills do they have? Tony will use the solution, but has very limited ICT skills. He is a complete novice at using computers. Anita will also use the solution and is an intermediate user. She can login, organise files and folders, word process, use basic features of spreadsheet software, use a web browser to surf the internet, and can also use her accounts package. Chris is more of an advanced user, and can do all of the above to a more complex level, as well as use graphics and multi-media packages for design work. 6. What hardware and software do you have at The Welcome Centre? In terms of hardware, The Welcome Centre has only just installed a network. Chris and Anita have their own PCs with access to the Network for file sharing. Laptops used for conferences are wireless enabled so that they can access the internet from any room if required. Each computer has Windows XP installed as the operating system, as have the Microsoft Office software suite package, that includes word-processing, spreadsheet, database, web browser, presentation and other software. 7. What data needs to be input into the solution? How? Customer Information: (Company name and address, contact details for event organiser) Event Details: (Event name, date, start finishing time, no. of delegates, room requirements, equipment to be hired, and catering requirements for beverages and food.) General Info.: (Catering items and prices, Equipment items for hire and 1/2 day charges, Room info. capacity, Full Day and 1/2 Day charges, and a VAT rate, in case legislation changes) 8. What processing (e.g. calculations, searches etc) need to be done? * Generate a unique 5 digit quotation no. * Calculate todays date automatically during the booking for the Quotation date * On different forms automatically look-up and display details previously entered, without having to re-enter * Calculate the Event Type (Full Day or 1/2 Day), based on the times entered. Used for pricing purposes. * For each room selected as part of the booking, search for and display the Capacity and the Unit Room Cost. The Unit Room Cost will be based on the Event Type for that room. * Calculate and display Total Room Costs for all rooms booked * For each item of equipment required for the booking, search for and display the Unit Equipment Cost. If the event type is a full day, then double the price. Calculate and display the Total Equipment Costs by multiplying the Unit Equipment Cost by the Quantity required. * Calculate and display the Total Cost of all Equipment * If beverages are required for the booking, search for and display the Price per Delegate for Beverages. Calculate Beverage Costs per Delegate by multiplying this price by the No. of Servings. Calculate the Total Beverage Costs as Beverage Costs per Delegate multiplied by No. of Delegates. * If food is required, search for and display the Price per Delegate for the food option. Calculate and display the Total Food Costs by multiplying the Food Costs per Delegate by the No. of Delegates. * Calculate the Net Quotation amount (the total amount of all the items booked, excluding VAT) * Look up the current VAT rate and calculate the VAT Amount for the quotation. * Calculate the Gross Quotation Amount * Save and store the event and quotation details 9. What output(s) is needed from the solution. The main output of the solution will be a quotation which is initially displayed on the screen, with an option to print a hard copy available. 10. What data needs to be stored? Customer Information: (Company name and address, contact details for event organiser) Event Details: (Event name, date, start finishing time, no. of delegates, total room costs, total equipment costs, total beverage costs, total food costs, Net Amount, VAT Amount, Gross Amount) Store in a table that can be easily viewed. CLIENT REQUIREMENTS After interviewing Tony, and focussing on the problems that he currently faces with creating quotations, we agreed upon the requirements that the new solution must meet. The new solution must: * Provide data entry forms for entering details about bookings. These forms must allow entry of Customer details and the Event details * Provide an additional data entry form to enter general information, including catering items and prices, equipment items for hire and 1/2 day charges, and room charges for full and 1/2 day. Allow the VAT rate to be changeable, in case legislation changes. * Ensure each data entry form is easy to use, complete with data validation and a graphical user interface to minimise data entry mistakes and reduce typing. * All data entry screens must show the Welcome Centre logo, and follow the house style of the organisation in terms of using a red and white colour scheme. * Search for and display information entered automatically, so that the user does not have to keep flicking between different screens to remind themselves of prices or what they have previously entered. * Automatically calculate certain fields to save time and to reduce data input. These fields are: o Generate a unique 5 digit quotation no. o Quotation date o Event Type (Full Day or 1/2 Day), based on the times entered. Used for pricing purposes. o For each room selected as part of the booking, search for and display the Capacity and the Unit Room Cost. The Unit Room Cost will be based on the Event Type for that room. o Total Room Costs for all rooms booked o For each item of equipment required for the booking, search for and display the Unit Equipment Cost. If the event type is a full day, then double the price. Calculate and display the Total Equipment Costs by multiplying the Unit Equipment Cost by the Quantity required. o The Total Cost of all Equipment required forth booking. o Beverage Costs Per Delegate o Total Beverage Costs o Food Costs per Delegate o Total Food Costs o The Net Amount, VAT Amount and Gross Amount on the Quotation. * On different data entry forms, automatically look-up and display details previously entered, without having to re-enter * Ensure all booking information should only be entered once, and the quotation must be produced immediately based upon the booking information being entered, * Produce a Quotation that is professionally formatted, and looks very similar to the quotations he uses today. It must be displayed on the screen with an option to print a hard-copy. * Store the quotation and booking information for future use, in a table format that is easy to read. * Be easy to back-up, and must also be secure, so only authorised users can access the solution. WHAT THE SOLUTION HAS TO PRODUCE The solution must produce a quotation based upon the customer and booking information that is entered. The quotation must be professionally formatted, and look very similar to the quotations he uses today. It must be displayed on the screen with an option to print a hard-copy. The solution must also store a copy of the quotation and booking information, in a table format that is easy to read. HOW THE SOLUTION IS TO WORK From these requirements, I can see that spreadsheet software would be an appropriate design tool to use to implement the solution. The worksheets can be formatted to give the appearance of data entry screens, and you can use validation techniques and a limited graphical user interface to reduce keying and ultimately mistakes. Also, a worksheet can be formatted to look like a Quotation, and a table could be set up to store details for future use. Macros can also be used to automate features of the solution such as navigation and copying data to the storage table. INPUT, PROCESSING AND OUTPUT REQUIREMENTS INPUT REQUIREMENTS CUSTOMER DETAILS Fields to be input: Title, First Name, Surname, Email Address, Telephone No., Company Name, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Town, County, Postcode * Source of Data: From customers, either face-to-face, email, or telephone * Input Method: Typed using keyboard * Type/ Format of Data: All Text fields EVENT DETAILS Fields to be input: Event Name, Event Date, Start Time, End Time, No. of Delegates, Grace Room Required?, Grace Room 1 Required?, Elegance Suite Required?, Serenity Suite Required? Video Projector Screen Qty, Data Projector Screen Qty, Flip Chart Qty, OHP Qty, PA Equipment Qty, Beverage Required?, No. of Servings, Food Option * Source of Data: From customers, either face-to-face, email, or telephone * Input Method: Typed using keyboard * Type/ Format of Data: Dates will be short dates, Room requirements will be tick boxes, No. of Delegates, No. of Servings and Qty fields will be numbers, food option will be a drop down box GENERAL INFORMATION Catering Table. Fields to be input: Food Price per Delegate Equipment Table Fields to be input: Equipment Price per 1/2 Day Room Table Fields to be input: Max. Capacity, Full Day Commercial Rate, 1/2 Day Commercial Rate VAT Table Fields to be input: VAT Rate % * Source of Data: The Welcome Centre, Government (for VAT Rates) * Input Method: Typed using keyboard * Type/ Format of Data: All rates and prices will be currency fields, Max. Capacity will be numerical and VAT Rate % will be a percentage field. PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS Process Details Calculate unique 5 digit Quotation No. Quotation No. = (Look up highest quotation no. in quotation table) + 1 Calculate Quotation Date Quotation Date = Todays date On different forms, automatically look-up and display details previously entered, without having to re-enter Lookup the following customer fields and redisplay on New Event data entry form: Quotation Id, Title, First Name, Surname, Company Name Event Type If (End Time Start Time) 3 hours Then Event Type = Half Day Else Event type = Full Day Look-up and display Capacity and Unit Room Cost for each room required for the booking Show Capacity: Lookup and show the Max. Capacity from the Rooms Table Show Unit Room Cost: Lookup and show the Commercial Rate for the room from the Rooms Table, depending on the Event Type (1/2 Day or Full Day price) Calculate Total Room Costs Total Room Costs = Add up the Unit Room Cost for each room selected for the booking Calculate Unit Equipment Cost for each item of equipment required for the booking Unit Equipment Cost = Lookup and show the Price per 1/2 Day for item, from the Equipment Table. If the Event Type is Full Day, then double the figure shown. Calculate Total Equipment Costs for each item of equipment required for the booking Total Equipment Costs = Unit Equipment Cost *Qty Calculate Total Cost of all Equipment Total Cost of all Equipment = Add up the Total Equipment Costs for each item of equipment selected for the booking. Calculate Beverage Costs per Delegate Beverage Costs per Delegate = (Price per Delegate for Beverages from the Catering Table) * No. of Servings Calculate Total Beverage Costs Total Beverage Costs = Beverage Costs per Delegate * No. of Delegates Calculate Food Costs per Delegate Food Costs per Delegate = Price per Delegate for Food selected, from the Catering Table Calculate Total Food Costs Total Food Costs = Food Costs per Delegate * No. of Delegates VAT Rate VAT Rate = Search for current VAT Rate from VAT table Net Total Net Total = Total Venue Cost + Total Equipment Cost + Total Beverages Cost + Total Food Cost VAT Amount VAT Amount = VAT Rate * Net Total Gross Total Gross Total = Net Total + VAT Amount Save and store the event and quotation details Copy Customer fields to Quotation Table: (Quotation Id, Quotation Date, Title, First Name, Surname, Email Address, Telephone No., Company Name, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Town, County, Postcode) Copy Event fields to Quotation Table: (Event Name, Event Date, Start Time, End Time, No. of Delegates, Total Room Costs, Total Equipment Costs, Total Beverage Costs, Total Food Costs, Net Amount, VAT Amount, Gross Amount) OUTPUT REQUIREMENTS QUOTATION The main output of the solution will be a quotation which is initially displayed on the screen, with an option to print a hard copy available. The quotation will be used by both the Welcome Centre and Customers. The Welcome Centre staff will use it to know what they will charge Customers for a particular booking, and it will therefore serve as the basis of the invoice. Customers will use it to know how much they are likely to pay for an event if nothing changes on the day. Details: The quotation must print on A4 paper, landscaped, and display the Welcome Centre logo, company registration no., registered office and contact details, VAT registration no., and VAT rate. Towards the bottom, it must clearly state: Please make cheques payable to C.L.M. Enterprises Ltd. The following fields must be shown on the Quotation: ADDRESS BLOCK: Title, First Name, Surname, Company Name, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Town, County, Postcode EVENT DETAILS: Quotation No., Quotation Date, Event Name, Event Date, Start Time, End Time, No. of Delegates BOOKING DETAILS: Room names, Qty Required, Unit Cost, Subtotal Equipment, Qty Required, Unit Cost, Subtotal Beverages, No. of Delegates, Price per Delegate, Subtotal Food Option, No. of Delegates, Price per Delegate, Subtotal TOTALS: Net Total, VAT Amount, Gross Total STORAGE REQUIREMENTS The following Data needs to be stored in a single table: CUSTOMER DETAILS: Quotation No., Quotation Date, Title, First Name, Surname, Email Address, Telephone No., Company Name, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Town, County, Postcode EVENT DETAILS: Event Name, Event Date, Start Time, End Time, No. of Delegates, Total Room Costs, Total Equipment Costs, Total Beverage Costs, Total Food Costs, Net Amount, VAT Amount, Gross Amount The data can be kept for up to 2 years before being archived. HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE USER HARDWARE The Welcome Centre has a variety of different hardware available to be used. They have only just installed a network, which has been set-up complete with user accounts and passwords, shared folders, as well as private folders for individual users. The Welcome Centre should save the solution onto the network, as this will certainly meet the requirement of being able to keep the solution secure. The network is also backed up on a daily basis, onto a removable hard disk drive. This is removed from the premises every night, in case of fire. This will meet the requirement of being able to back-up the solution. Tony currently does not have a PC, but has access to a laptop if needed. Chris and Anita have their own PCs with access to the Network for file sharing and saving work. Laptops used for conferences are wireless enabled so that they can access the internet from any room if required. Each PC and laptop has its own DVD re-writer, which can read both CD and DVD media. They also have plenty of USB ports, and so can also use portable devices such as pen drives. In terms of printers, Anita has a dedicated multi-function printer attached locally to her PC. The printer is both an A4 Flatbed scanner (input device), as well as a colour Ink Jet printer (output device). Anita uses this machine for most of her small printing needs. However, all PCs and laptops have access to a networked, colour photocopier (output device). The photocopier serves both as a printer and a photocopier, and can print in both back and white and full colour. All PCs have keyboard and mice as their main input devices. SOFTWARE In terms of software available to be used, each computer has Windows XP installed as the operating system, and has have the Microsoft Office software suite that includes word-processing, spreadsheet, database, web browser, presentation and other software. This applications software is generic software, and is used by the Welcome Centre staff for a variety of business uses. Anita does have some specific software, which is an accounting package called Sage. This is used to manage all accounts as well as to process the employees payroll. HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPER HARDWARE It makes sense for the solution to be developed on a standard PC, so that it imitates the environment in which the solution will be used. The processing power required to run the solution would be minimal, and so either a stand-alone PC/ laptop could be used to develop the solution or a networked PC. The PC must, however, have a monitor, mouse and keyboard. SOFTWARE The solution will be created in spreadsheet software called MS Excel. This software is generic software and can be used to effectively solve this problem. The users also have a good amount of experience in using the software, and so wont need a lot of additional training. Also, Excel is already installed on the end-users computers, and so there would be no further cost of buying more software. This spreadsheet software would be an appropriate design tool to use to implement the solution. The worksheets can be formatted to give the appearance of data entry screens, and you can use validation techniques and a limited graphical user interface to reduce keying and ultimately mistakes. Also, a worksheet can be formatted to look like a Quotation, and a table could be set up to store details for future use. Macros can also be used to automate features of the solution such as navigation and copying data to the storage table. This approach of using a software suite is more expensive than buying an integrated package. A software suite provides more functionality than an integrated package, such as being able to record macros and other more advanced features that may be needed to create the solution. Looking for a specific package isnt relevant in this case, as the requirements are too simple, but also very specialised. Therefore buying a specific package off the shelf would be an additional expense that the company doesnt really need.