For this project i will be constructing Essay Example for Free

For this project i will be constructing Essay 1. 1 Statement of the problem 1. 1. 1 Introduction For this project I will be constructing an I. T. solution for Castle Couriers. Castle Couriers is a company, which provides a number of courier services, mainly for car showrooms. Their main service is the transportation of vehicle registrations to the V. R. O. (Vehicle Registration Office) and their return, and also the transportation of tax related forms to the tax office, also from car showrooms. It is currently a company with a small number of employees, approximately 4, and a very local customer base. However they plan to expand in the near future and do not believe their current system will be effective with much more data. The current system, Lotus SmartSuite, is not designed with their company in mind and is therefore complicated to operate and the addition of data is often laborious. I hope to improve their situation by creating an automated database, so that creating documents and modifying data is a very simple task. 1. 1. 2 User Requirements The owners of Castle Couriers have a number of requirements: -Reduce time spent on inputting data -This will aid the expansion process because an increase in data will not lead to a further increase in time spent processing. -Increase ease of finding data -Again a time saving requirement, useful during the complicated period of expansion. -Producing a sufficiently high quality document range -Now that the production of documents is virtually automatic, the end users are keen to see that the quality does not decline. -Must be user friendly due to lack of computer literacy of end user -There must be very few complicated procedures, as having to increase the end users I. T. skills will take time and possibly money. 1. 1. 3 Current system At the present moment Castle Couriers uses a generic program called Lotus Smartsuite. My knowledge of Smartsuite is minimal but the program has not been specifically designed for this company. I have been informed that it is similar to Microsoft office, which I have good experience in. It is very popular with many businesses because of the amount of very professional tools available. However, in the case of Castle Couriers, these tools are not linked together effectively, allowing for a minimal amount of automation. They store data in both spreadsheets and databases, with certain functions allowing a limited level of automation. 1. 1. 4 Data Flow diagram of current system The following diagram illustrates the current processes involved in dealing with an order 1. 1. 5 Problems with the current system Castle Couriers main problem with their current system is its complexity, which is leading to an increase in the amount of time they spend producing documents and organising orders. Adding new customers, as they are planning to do, should they decide to continue with expansion, is very difficult and is adding to the already complicated and overloaded system. Modifying data is also a time consuming problem as it takes time to navigate through the procedures necessary. 1. 1. 6 Objectives of the new system The new system should meet a series of criteria, firstly the time spent inputting data and the ease with which this is done should be improved. Making the system less complex than Lotus Smartsuite should solve both of these objectives. Secondly they would like to be able to search for details of customers and services easily. Very importantly, this program must maintain the high quality of documents such as invoices and memorandums. Finally none of the staff who will be using the system have very much experience in IT, so the system must be easy to operate and difficult to corrupt. 1. 1. 7 Performance indicators The following performance indicators will be used: It should take less than 1 minute to construct and print invoices Data entry should be made simple enough for all queries to be 100% accurate. The system must be able to cater for any number of staff/customers/services to be added without improvements as the company expands It must be impossible to erase any fields or tables The system should be simple enough for users with only a basic I. T. knowledge to operate 1. 1. 8 Volume of data The level of data that will be stored in the database is likely to be quite small at first, but this should increase as Castle Couriers continues expanding. Initially there are likely to be about 40 customers, with a choice of 3 services and 5 members of staff. Details of each customer will need to be stored and will cover name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail, contacts within the firm and their history with Castle Couriers. 1. 1. 9 Hardware and Software The majority of the design will be carried out on my schools computer network with the equivalent to a 1. 6Ghz Pentium processor, 128MB of RAM and an easily sufficient sized hard drive. My home PC and the computers of Castle Couriers are of a similar specification. Therefore there should not be any problems in compatibility. However, at home, where some aspects of the design will be carried out, I have a newer version of Microsoft Office, and therefore a newer version of Access. This should not cause any problems, however should I wish to incorporate functions not available in the schools version, I will have to do this last. All of the designing will be done in Microsoft Access, with some links to Word, for better quality documents, and Excel, for data interpretation. This is available on all three of the concerned systems. 1. 1. 10 End user skill level None of the people who will be using the system have any formal I. T. qualifications. Their only previous I. T. experience is based around the use of Lotus SmartSuite. This will be a problem for me because the system I will be designing for them will be entirely based within three programs, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. It will therefore be necessary to make the project very simple to use with automatic functions. 2 Design 2. 1 Consideration of solutions 2. 1. 1 Manual System This would be based around data being processed, stored and filed in the form of paperwork, with calculations being manual and documents handmade. -Easily the slowest -Higher risk of loss/damage to data -Complicated and tedious -Lower quality documents -High risk of mis-calculations We have therefore judged that this system would not be suitable for Castle Couriers, as it is far too slow and complicated and will not be better than the current system. 2. 1. 2 Spreadsheet System A spreadsheet system would be designed and operated in a program such as Microsoft Excel. -Easy to design -Little chance of damage/loss -Simple functions A spreadsheet system would not allow for the necessary functions and operations to improve on Lotus Smartsuite. 2. 1. 3 A specifically designed courier system A package, which has been specially designed for this type of business, could be obtained from certain software companies -Best program -Expensive -All necessary functions present This is probably the best option as it is designed only for use in this type of company, however due to the expense of this program Castle Couriers have allowed me to attempt a database before deciding. 2. 1. 4 Access database This is the option they have allowed me to attempt and this will be designed and implemented by me -Very cheap and easy to design -Inter-personal interaction during design. -Easier to train users Using this system has the advantage of allowing Castle Couriers to have an influence in the design of the system. 2. 2 Database Design 2. 2. 1 Entity-relationship diagram There are six entities, or tables, within this database. They are basically split into two separate functioning databases, however I will keep them in one for ease of use and because the services/tasks table will be used by both systems. The first system, outlined in red, will concern the receiving and payments of orders, whereas the second, outlined in blue, will allow allocation of tasks for employees. 2. 2. 2 Dataflow diagram of the proposed system 2. 2. 3 Table Design The six tables are defined as follows: tblCustomer Field name Data type Description/Validation Customer ID AutoNumber Key field, automatically incremented for each customer Company name Text Contact first name Text Contact second name Text Billing address Text Town. ServiceID AutoNumber Key field, automatically incremented for each service Service description Text Service price Currency tblorders Field name Data type Description/Validation OrderID AutoNumber Key field, automatically incremented for each order CustomerID Number ServiceID Number Date Time/Date tblpayments Field name Data type Description/Validation CustomerID Number Payment amount Currency Payment date Time/Date tblemployees Field name Data type Description/Validation EmployeeID First name Second name Other names Title National Insurance number e-mail address Address 1. Address 2 City County Post code Home phone Work phone Emergency contact number tblemployeesandtasks Field name Data type Description/Validation EmployeetaskID EmployeeID OrderID 2. 2. 4 Form Design There will be 4 forms for data entry: frmCustomerMain a form with a sub-form, used to input customer details and the services they require in the next week (Source: tblCustomer for the main form, tblOrders for the sub-form) frmservices a form to add and edit the details of each service (Source: tblservices) frmPayment a form to enter customer payments (Source: qryCustomerPayments). 2. 2. 5 Query Summary 2. 2. 6 Document Summary 2. 2. 7 Macro Summary 2. 3 Templates 2. 4 Data entry and Validation 2. 5 Macros 2. 6 Security and Disaster Recovery The computers that will hold the program will be kept at the Hopkins house, so security and procedures for disaster recovery will be necessary due to the alternative uses of the computer by other members of the family, e. g. leisure. The database itself will be password protected with a password chosen by Mr and Mrs Hopkins, therefore restricting access to the system to only staff that are allowed to. Castle Couriers currently operates its own method of disaster recovery; every night all company related files and folders are backed up onto a 100mb Zip Disk and stored in a fire proof safe within the house. So therefore any damage to the computer, such as theft or fire, will only mean a certain level of inconvenience and expense, not a loss of data. 2. 7 IT tasks 1/ Create new workbook 2/ Create tables (i) tblCustomer (ii) tblServices (iii) tblOrders (iv) tblPayments (v) tblEmployees (vi) tblEmployeesAndTasks -Create queries -Create macros -Create reports and link them to tables and queries. -Create attractive user interface 2. 8 Schedule of Activities Activity Schedule for I. T. Task Implementation IT task Time necessary for completion Week Completed at school or home 2. 9 2. 10 Test Strategy The functions and macros in the program will all be tested under varying circumstances so that I can see whether they will perform correctly under the conditions in which they will be used. This will hopefully allow me to iron out any defects within the program before it will be passed onto Mr and Mrs Hopkins to implement. Functional Testing Each menu will be thoroughly tested. Each button and item inside the menu will be tested to make sure that no problems have occurred. Each button must be checked to make sure that the command it is assigned to works. Logical Testing This type of test is used to test every aspect of each form, table, query or report as soon as it has been implemented. Data will be inserted that is valid, invalid and extreme. Sufficient data will be inserted so that each table has at least one row of information. This will test to see if the different masks that have been used are correct or the different data types are correct. Subsequent data will continue throughout the test to make sure that the data is correct. System Testing When the system is complete, the whole range of tests will be repeated. This will ensure that no further problems have arisen. Recovery Testing The computer will be rebooted during procedures to see if data becomes corrupt or lost. If problems are found they can be corrected Acceptance Testing The end-user will be involved at this stage, they must test every aspect of the system to see if it fulfils the requirements that were set in the analysis section. They will be asked to check if each menu is correctly headed, if the system functions correctly and if it is user friendly. Any faults found at this stage can be corrected before the final version is passed on.

Comparing Gilgamesh and Odysseus :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Gilgamesh and Odysseus are two heroes from two different time periods that were both in search of the meaning of life. The epics that the two characters are featured in Gilgamesh, was developed from early Mesopotamia and the Odyssey in early Greece. Gilgamesh was a very popular and it was very valuable to the historian of Mesopotamian culture because it reveals much about the religious world, such as their attitudes toward the gods, how a hero was defined and regarded, views about death and friendship. The Odyssey was also very popular in it’s time. It was set in ancient Greece where in its culture; mythology was the heart of everyday life. The Greek Culture turned to mythology to explain different phenomena for which they had no scientific explanation and this was prominent in the epic the Odyssey. While preparing to write this paper, I thought it would be great just to focus on the heroes of these two great epics many differences. Although during the course of my research I found that they also had just as many similarities. In this paper I will focus on the two characters by expressing their differences, as well as their similarities, and I will also give a bit of history about our two heroes. Gilgamesh, the hero from the epic Gilgamesh, was the historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the river Euphrates in modern Iraq: he lived about 2700B.C. Odysseus, the hero from the epic the Odysseus, was the ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders of the Trojan War. Both of these men were granted certain strengths, Gilgamesh had physical, while Odysseus had mental strengths. Gilgamesh was a very self confident and at times that self confidence led to him to have little compassion for the people of Uruk at he beginning of the story. He was their king, but not their protector; he kills their sons and rapes their daughters. He felt like he was superior to others due to the fact that he was two-thirds god, his mother was a goddess Ninsun and one third human. This fact is the key to all of his actions. This is also what sets him apart from the hero Odysseus. While Gilgamesh was a hero thought to be more beautiful, more courageous, more terrifying than all of the people of Uruk. Even though his desires, attributes, and accomplishments were just as there’s, he was still mortal.

Adolescence and Clothes Essay

Good afternoon, today I will try to express my opinion about this statement „You can tell a great deal about people from the clothes they wearâ€Å". And I will speak about which age group of people care most about their looks, how important is fashion for me and what is advantages and disadvantages of wearing a school unifrom. I agree with this statement , because you can get to know a lot of about people from they clothes. For example if man wear formal clothes I can make and overall opinion about him. He is formal, intelligent elegant and taking care of himself. If I would saw someone at work with dirty and tear clothes of course I would think about him not so good. I think teenager are the group of people who care most about their looks.Teenagers believe their looks are the key to a good relationship and it will help become popular at the scholl. But When they’re older, they’ll realize it doesn’t work like that. Fashion helps to express themselves and also provides teenagers a sense of identity by signaling which â€Å"grouping† they belong to (â€Å"emo† â€Å"punk,† â€Å"goth,† etc.) And in my opinion Celebrities perhaps are the greatest influences on teenagers in the modern world, and they can have a huge impact on a teen’s ideas about fashion and its importance. Fashion isn’t important to me at all. I don’t care about having the newest, the most trendy, or the best label for anything. To me, being trendy is not expressing yourself, it is merely following the crowd and trying to fit in. I just prefer to be myself.And I wear what I like. I study at gymnasium so we wear school unifrom. I think school uniform have advantages and disadvantages. Here are some advantages : 1. People automatically respect you – Whenever we’d go on fieldtrips, people comment on how professional and nice we looked 2. Everyone looks exactly the same – You don’t have to worry about not wearing the right thing. And some disadvantages : 1.It’s annoying wearing the same thing as everyone else 2. You wear it everyday, all day it‘s just become boring . And lack of Variety To sum up everyone should wear clothes which they like and feel good with.These clothes will show the real you. Because other people can tell a great deal about you from the clothes you wear.

Dickens ‘Great Expectations’ Essay

Pip’s account of the events that took place after visiting Miss Havisham My Uncle Pumblechook took me to the home of Miss Havisham. The initial image I had was of a dismal house made from old brick with the windows either bricked up or barred and with a disused brewery at the side of the property. Obviously once a luxurious house it was now beginning to crumble and decay. A very beautiful young girl called Estella met me. Although only my age she seemed to delight in calling me ‘boy’. She told me the Manor house also had the name ‘Satis House’ which in Greek, Latin or Hebrew means ‘Enough house’ and she claimed that whoever had this house would want for nothing, I found this a curious fact. I went in through the side door as the great entrance had two bars across it. I followed Estella who was holding a single candle along dark passages, where all daylight was excluded. Once Estella and I arrived at a door, she left me in pitch black telling me scornfully she didn’t want to go in. I was nervous and apprehensive, however given no other choice I knocked at the door. Once told to enter I found myself in a large dark room in which initially my eyes focused on a draped dressing table festooned with many objects. On further observations I spotted an armchair, sitting in which, I saw the strangest lady I had ever seen before and knew I ever would again. Dressed all in white the bridal dress she wore must have once been worn by a young woman, however now it was seen on an old women whose shrunken body was mere skin and bones. All I could conjure up was the comparison of Miss Havisham to a waxwork skeleton, now in ‘the ashes of a rich dress’. The bridal dresses luxurious ‘fabrics’ of satin, lace and silk were now yellow, faded and paper-thin, and added to this the flowers in her hair and veil gave me the uncomfortable feeling that the women was now dressed in her grave clothes. When Miss Havisham’s dark eyes turned to look at me I felt utter alarm and wanted to shout, but nothing came out. With my eyes still intently taking in the untidy room, with clothes and personal effects scattered around and with one shoe on her foot and the other on the table, I gave Miss Havisham my name and told her I had come to play. As I was told to come nearer I noted that both her watch and room clock had stopped at twenty minutes to nine, I wondered why this would be? Although afraid of her I felt the necessity to lie when she asked if I was afraid of her, the fact she hadn’t seen daylight since before I was born only accentuated my trepidation of her. As she touched her heart it reminded me of the young man and when she told me it was broken I saw her face fill with a weird boastful smile. I had come to play, to entertain Miss Havisham, but I didn’t know what to do, she thought that I was being very sullen and obstinate, however I told her that I was sorry for her and was finding everything new, strange and melancholy. I had to call Estella as Miss Havisham told us to play cards together. As I could only play ‘Beggar my Neighbour’ Estella’s’ contempt of me seemed to grow, I was merely a ‘labouring boy’ and one that called a ‘knave’ a ‘Jack’. Why did she think so little of me and make me feel conscience for the first time of my coarse hands and common boots? Miss Havisham appeared to watch us in a transfixed expression, like that of a corpse, as though her whole body and soul had dropped and mere daylight would turn her to dust. I had to whisper to Miss Havisham what I thought of Estella and realised that although she was very pretty I also found her very proud and insulting, although deep down I realised I would like to see her again. I did hear Miss Havisham earlier telling Estella she could break my heart if she desired, I wonder what she meant by this? I had a great wish to go home, but on Miss Havisham’s request I have agreed to return in six days. Being without natural light, I almost thought it must be dark outside so I was hit by the daylight when re-entering the courtyard. On orders from Miss Havisham, Estella brought me some food, however the look she gave me was one that I felt such humiliation and hurt that tears sprang to my eyes. Realising I was morally sensitive and timid seemed to bring pleasure to Estella and she enjoyed treating me as though I was a disgraced dog. Feeling better from the food I was again aware of the whole oppressive wilderness, a crooked pigeon house, with no pigeons, no animals, just a total emptiness. In the brewery building I saw Estella above in the gallery and hanging a figure of the old women in her faded white apparel, when I turned to look again enormous fear hit me, it had vanished! Desperate to go Estella unlocked the door for me, she appeared so superior to me and seeing me cry seemed to fuel her need to taunt me even more. I just felt my self-esteem was at an all time low, I obviously have despicable habits and I’m more ignorant than I had ever realised.

Merriam-Websters 2015 Word of the Year Isnt Even a Word

Merriam-Websters 2015 Word of the Year Isnt Even a Word Merriam-Webster’s 2015 Word of the Year Isn’t Even a Word Merriam-Webster’s 2015 Word of the Year Isn’t Even a Word By Mark Nichol The selection of -ism as Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year should be invalidated on a technicality- the dictionary publisher might choose, instead, to refer to the Morpheme of the Year- but the choice is an apt one, as multiple concepts whose names include that suffix have dominated recent public discourse. Merriam-Webster selects the Word of the Year and its competitors on the basis of the number of times visitors to its website search for a particular word and according to how strikingly that figure compares to the number of lookups from the previous year. Based on the results for 2015, the American public, apparently, is preoccupied with isms. Topmost among -ism words in the public consciousness, perhaps, is terrorism, a term referring to acts of violence perpetrated to intimidate people for political ends. Though terrorism has seemed to gain ubiquity only in the last couple of decades- in the United States, the terrorist attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center and on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, prompted the nation’s preoccupation with the concept- the word was first used in the late eighteenth century, and of course the strategy is as old as political organization. A tangentially related concept, racism- referring to bigotry on the basis of ethnic origin- was also a popular search item at Merriam-Webster.com last year. (The intersection occurs because radical Muslims have been responsible for some notable recent atrocities in the United States and abroad, and many people conflate followers of Islam with a specific ethnic identity. However, though Islam began in Arabia and many early followers of the religion were Arabs, like Christianity, it is a worldwide phenomenon whose practitioners come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.) The term is also in the news because many people view some of 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump’s views and proposed policies as racist. In addition, because of a rash of incidents across the United States in which white police officers have appeared to use excessive force against black crime suspects, many observers say that racism remains one of the most significant problems in American society. Another ism that Merriam-Webster highlighted is socialism. The term, referring to a political system in which the government controls the means of production and distribution of goods, is newsworthy for two reasons: Since early in the first of President Obama’s two terms, he has championed what are widely perceived as socialistic policies such as nationalized health care, and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist, has received much publicity for discussing policies and programs associated with socialism. That term, thanks to political upheavals and international conflicts throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is fraught with negative connotation, so it’s no surprise that people have sought to investigate its meaning. (I’ll write about socialism and the related term communism in an upcoming post.) In my first paragraph, I suggested that -ism is ineligible for Word of the Year recognition because it’s not a word; it’s a morpheme, a unit of meaning (usually a prefix or a suffix) that is not an independent component of language. But later in the post, I twice wrote ism (once in plural form, and then in singular construction) as if it’s a word. Why? Because it is a word, used to refer collectively to a nebulous set of social concepts. But -ism, by virtue of that hyphen, is a mere morpheme with a different meaning: Unlike ism, it does not stand on its own to refer to a category of concepts; it is a suffix subordinate to the many nouns it serves, altering the noun’s meaning to denote a system of thought related to that noun. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceCapitalization Rules for the Names of GamesDealing With A Character's Internal Thoughts

Research Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Research Method - Essay Example This has a posed a greater challenge especially with the fact that the new markets have different cultures. In order to penetrate these markets, some of which have barriers of entry which have been erected by the dominant firms, the companies are forced to use international media which are highly expensive. The costs are derailing the expansion strategy. However, with the entry of social media, more firms are opting to use these channels to reach the target market. This is because it’s cheap and more reliable. Nevertheless, questions have been raised concerning its effectiveness, especially putting into perspective that the users must have some ideas on how to use modern technology. Currently, the market has become very dynamic with new challenges arising each day. With the increasing levels of globalization resulting from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information, and integration of economies, the level of competition in the local and international markets has increased tremendously. This is as a result of the entry of multinational companies that have a huge financial base to segment the market, attract the loyalty of the customers towards their products, and position their products strategically in the market. This aspect has made it very hard for the small and medium businesses to increase their customer base (Barefoot & Szabo 2010). Therefore, these businesses are using all means possible to minimize the costs of operations. One of the strategies they are using is reducing the costs of advertising which has been taking a huge chunk of the firms’ profits. However, in order to maintain their competitive advantage, the companies are forc ed to look for other alternatives. Social media has become a critical alternative which is cheap, effective, and reliable. With the changes in the technological sector, many people have internet enabled devices

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Foxy Originals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Foxy Originals - Essay Example Foxy Originals is renowned jewelry company which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company was established by Jen Kluger and Suzie Orol in the year 1998 (Foxy Originals, 2013). The company has established its presence in 250 boutiques in Canada. The product portfolio of the company is comprised of high end and stylish necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, belts and other jewelry items. A business must have a competitive advantage in order to sustain in the marketplace (Porter, 1980, 1985 and 1991). Hence sustainability of Foxy Original is dependent its competitive advantage of selling stylish but low-cost jewelry to price-sensitive women in the age group of eighteen years to thirty years. Although the company is growing at an acceptable pace there is a risk for the Canadian jewelry market to get saturated due to the entry of new players in the future course of time. Over saturation and presence of many sellers in comparatively small Canadian jewelry market might decrease the profit margin for Foxy Originals in the near future. Hence, the company is thinking about entering USA jewelry market which is 10 times bigger than Canadian jewelry market by the month of January 2005. To enter USA jewelry market, Foxy Original must formulate a profitable distribution strategy which can give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Â  A brief discussion about the about target customers of Foxy Original will help the essay to develop a thematic background for the case.