Used Book Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Used Book Business - Essay Example Location – Used book stores are best suited to be located in high traffic region. A store in the vicinity of a university or college will have added advantage. Shopping malls and popular hangouts are also preferred location for used book store. Proximity to new book store is also ideal. Manpower – A good number of people should be involved in the business to source, refer and negotiate the purchase of books from the initial owner to the prospective buyer. Over the counter sales has to be assigned only to book lovers who have an outgoing attitude, business aptitude and are personable. Training employees at various level of operation will enable them to handle the store in the absence of the owner. Promotion – It may be noted that used book buyer is usually not an in depth reader. Hence adequate marketing and promotional activities should be carried to bring in people to the store to browse through the used books. Design of the store – The used book store should have a clear show window with the arrangement of books in uncluttered style. Prospective buyers should be able to view the book and this is vital to attract passers by. Used book business can be started by selling the owner’s collection of books which forms the inventory on launch. The initial stocks can also include the books donated by relatives, friends and neighbors (How to Make It Big with a Used-Book Store). The short term objective of the store should be service oriented rather than aim to make huge profits. This earns reputation and future prospects for sale. The business should make sure to obtain positive feedbacks from customers and make courtesy communication to understand the pulse of the customers (Weber & Weber 2005 p.57). The next step is to search for prospective book sellers from whom books can be purchased at a low cost. Low cost books can also be gathered from goodwill stores, garage sales, church

Deontologists vs. Consequentialists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deontologists vs. Consequentialists - Essay Example If someone were to do his moral duty and perform an action consistent with ethical principles, then it would not matter if it had negative consequences. Such is the view that deontologists hold -- decisions are made and actions done on the merit of the rightness or wrongness of an action and not on the rightness or wrongness of its outcomes. Simply put: certain actions or rules are regarded as appropriate, regardless of the consequence they have. Euthanasia, or mercy-killing, may be cited as an example of such principle put into action. Putting an end to one’s agony by cutting off a patient’s life support is a fundamental reasoning to such an action. Consequentialists, on the other hand, believe the ends always justify the means. Its assumption of morality is derived from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved. Though it may seem rational to end another person’s misery who, at the moment, is not capable of doing anything about the situation, still the consequence of such action is unjustifiable. What if that person who is in agony or lies in a comatose state is still fighting for his life, though this is impossible to perceive because of his current state? What if the patient’s will is stronger than his fate? What if for a matter of day his life will be sustained had the respirator not been removed from him? To the consequentialists, these outcomes should be examined first to determine moral responsibility. As the previous example points out, both the deontologist's and consequentialist's points of view are based on ethical norms. The only difference is the issue on what norm is considered. While deontologists focus on the action, the consequentialists consider the effect of the action. But what makes an action or its consequence morally right Is there an absolutist' view of what is morally right If there is why is there conflicting views on it If not, how should the issue on morality be addressed These questions are what we will try to answer using the arguments of advocates of these two views. Peter Singer's "All Animals Are Equal" and Mark Vuletic's "Deontological Objections To Consequentialism" will be explained in detail. Later in the analysis, I will propose a different view on the construct of morality and its implication on humans as well as animals. First, let us establish some fundamentals that may guide us in evaluating the ethics of a particular decision (in this case, determining whether an action or a consequence is morally right). Perhaps it is important to note the term used "right" may still be unclear. Consider the following questions. Is the acceptance of a specific thought purely based on the perception of its readers or receivers Or is it based on a more logical, more concrete perception governed by specific laws adjudging such as "right" Is it based on a general acceptance or on a universal General may not mean universal in the sense that the former has a may still be perceived a bit exclusive that the latter. I believe it is a recognized fact that an individual has the right to self-govern in certain areas. Relative to this is that individuals are free to decide what, how, when and in what manner he should act. Having a free will does not mean an individual's decision to act is not restricted whatsoever. If that would be the case, no society might have been formed. Hence, the decision to act is guided by perceived and accepted norms and rules, which are aimed at creating harmony within the person and the society. Needless to say for both to exist in a harmonious relationship, the decision to act should be directed at the promotion of the well being or the benefit of everybody. In effect no decision should be regarded as anything that will inflict other individual. This kind of reasoning puts every person on equal footing; no one is above them, of course the Law, which, as earlier pointed out becomes the universal basis for in considering what is right and what is wrong. Now that we have established the fact that human beings on

End of the novel Essay Example for Free

End of the novel Essay This is similar to Victors pursuit for glory, as both men (Victor and Walton) are putting the life of themselves and other men in danger by continuing to try and achieve their ambition. From Victors above words we can see that he is still motivated to seek revenge on the monster, despite the danger to his life. He also attempts to put the life of others in danger, as he asks Walton to murder the monster if he gets a chance:  If I do (die), swear to me, Walton, that (the monster) shall not escape; that you seek him, and satisfy my vengeance in his death.   (Volume 3, Chapter 7, p212) When Victor enters the novel, he is portrayed as a noble and kind person who is capable of both love and friendship. He has strong ambition and eager to learn. However, one gets the impression that when he starts to create life, he is trying to take the role of God, and becomes obsessed with gaining glory and power so much, that he forgets the importance of love and family. Victor also fails to care for the monster, which in my opinion is highly monstrous as it just like abandoning a new born baby. Furthermore, Victor acts selfishly in many occasions throughout the play. He decides to create a female companion for the monster, to stop the monster chasing him. But he goes against his promise when he thinks about what the world will think of him, if a race of monsters attacks the world. Everything Victor does is centred on himself and he only thinks about what benefit it would be to himself, when he considers an action. Now that I have considered Victor as a character, I will now examine the monster. The monster starts off his life as an innocent creature; however his abnormal figure and demented shape caused people to be scared of him and reject him. When the monster walked into an old mans home to obtain food and shelter, the old man:  -turned on hearing a noise; and, perceiving (the monster), shrieked loudly, and, quitting the hut, ran across the fields.  (Volume 2, Chapter 3, p108) All the man had to see was monsters figure to make him run away without any enquiry. This suggests that the creatures look posed a threat to everyone who saw him, and led to him being alienated from society.  However the monster is quite kind to start off with. While he was observing the De Lacy family, he demonstrates his kind gestures by gathering a great pile of wood for the De Lacy family to use as firewood. He also put their well being before his starvation, as he stopped stealing a part of their store for (his) own consumption when he found out that it inflicted pain on the cottagers. During the beginning period the monster spends with the De Lacy family, he perceives that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. He too wanted to be able to interact in this way and ardently desired to become acquainted with speech. This shows that the monster is eager to learn and wants to become just like other humans. Once the monster has mastered the use of speech, his desire to be like humans motivated him to enter the house of the De Lacy family, and speak to the blind old man when he was left alone at the cottage. This shows that the monster has some wit and cleverness as he selects a person who cant judge him by his figure, but his personality and speech. However, whilst he is talking to the blind old man, the rest of the De Lacy family return home and were shocked by the appearance of the monster to such an extent that Felix, a male member of the De Lacy family, beat the monster violently with a stick using supernatural force. It is this mistreatment of the monster that sparks a deadly hatred within himself for his creator. The monster had received abuse from the De Lacy family after he had helped them, all because of the way that Victor had made him look, and the fact that he had failed to protect him. It is this anger that makes the monster monstrous by personality and drives him to kill William (Victors younger brother):  Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemyto him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.  (Volume 2, Chapter 8, p144) The monster also seems to be jealous of Victor, as he knows that he can never have love and relationship like him and other humans because of the way he looks. We know this because the monster frames Justine for murder of William, as he knew he could never possess anything as beautiful as her. And it is this feeling that brings the monster to demand Victor to make a creature of another sex, but as hideous as himself. From this, we can see all that the monster wants is a bit of love and companionship, to make him lead a life which is similar to humans. However Victor cheats the monster by first agreeing to create the female monster, but then tearing (her) to pieces in front the monster at the final stages of her production. This upsets the monster as Victor has effectively destroyed the monsters only chance of love in front of his eyes. This antagonism caused the monster to become monstrous once again, as he murders both Henry Clerval and Elizabeth (now Victors wife): -what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and cherished. The murderous mark of the fiends grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from her lips. (Volume 3, Chapter 6, p199)  Despite this, the monster does illustrate some humane characteristics towards the end of the novel. He presents great grievance for the death of Victor, and heartfelt remorse for his malicious actions:  Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst.

The History Of Characteristics Of Monopolistic Competition Economics Essay

The History Of Characteristics Of Monopolistic Competition Economics Essay 1.0Introduction According to the Dominick Salvatore (2009 p.3) microeconomic theory is perhaps the most important course in all economics and business programs. With it we can answer or understand such question as why the price of gold rose sharply in few years; why the price of petrol rose dramatically in 2008s-2010s and declined in 2011s; why the price of sugar rose in few years; why the cereal rose in few years and others. By contrast, microeconomics is the study of individual house household or firms (business units). It focuses on particular parts of the economy. Microeconomics theory provides the tools for understanding how the other economies operate. 2.0 Introduction to Monopoly According to the Cambridge dictionary (second edition) monopoly in microeconomics mean is when a company or organization is the only one in an area of business or activity and has complete control of it. In market structure under the monopoly there is a single seller and large of buyers and selling products. It have no a high entry and the existence of barrier and have no close substitution to other vendors to enter into the market. Examples of products in monopoly market in our country are water, electricity and local telephone services. Our home telephone services are Telekom Malaysia (TM Berhad). Obviously, Telekom Malaysia is a monopoly in market. Through this it can let us know the meaning and reason causing monopoly. Besides that, it also know characteristic of monopoly and how affect or effect in market structure. 3.0 Characteristics of Monopoly 3.1.1 Single Firm Under the monopoly single seller is that the monopoly seller is the market. The market demand for a good is the demand for the output produced by the monopoly. 3.1.2 Barriers to Entry Barriers to entry is anything are designed which artificially to block or prevent the entry of firms entering a market profitably. There are some of the key barriers to entry are patents and copyrights, limit pricing, advertising, international trade restrictions and development expenditure. 3.1.3 Price Maker Single firm produces goods and have a monopoly in an entire market that means it holds a large majority of a stock. With having a large majority of a stock and a single firm makes a decision affect the price of an item in market. As a result, seller has full control over the market price. 3.1.4 Unique Product Single firm produces unique the product and no close substitutes for the product with each other. For example, there is presently no close substitute for Berita Harian, the only Malay language newspaper in Singapore. 4.0 Hypothetical Demand, Total Revenue, and Marginal Revenue Faced by a Monopolist Table 4.1 Hypothetical Demand, Total Revenue, and Marginal Revenue Faced by a Monopolist Figure 4.1 Hypothetical Demand and Marginal Revenue Curves of a Monopolist Since D is a negatively sloped, MR is lower than P. The MR values are plotted at the midpoint of each quantity interval. The MR curve starts at the same point as the D curve and at every point bisect the distance between D and the vertical axis. MR is positive when D is elastic. MR=0 when D is unitary elastic and TR is a maximum. MR is negative when D is inelastic. Table 4.2 Short-Run Total Cost, Marginal Cost, and Average Total Cost FIGURE 4.2 Short-Run Equilibrium of the Monopolist: Marginal Approach The best or optimum level of output of the monopolist is three units. This is given by point G, where MR=MC (and the MC curve intersects the MR curve from below). At Q=3, P=$6 (point A on the demand curve), ATC=$4.50 (point B on the ATC curve), and the monopolist earns $1.50 (AB) per unit of output sold and $4.50in total (shaded area ABCF). At Q MC and total profits rise by increasing Q. At Q>3, MC>MR and total profits rise by reducing Q. 5.0 Summary Characteristics of Monopoly are single firm, Barriers to entry high, unique product, power of firm over price and advertising. Single firm earns more profits in this type of market structure because no close substitute product to replace it. Barrier to entry is high because want to protect the single firm in market. A firm produces the unique products to avoid others firms to produce it. Monopolist has power to control prices of the product. Last, it consists of advertising in this type of market structure. 6.0 Introduction There are many types of market structures characteristics in which will affect the price and nature competition. For example, number of buyers and sellers, product differentiation, and the ease of entry into and exit from the market. Market structures refer to the competitive environment within which a firm operates. Market structures divided into four basic types which is perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. 7.0 Perfect Competition Perfect competition is a type of market in which there are large number of buyers and sellers. The sellers sell identical or homogeneous products. There is also free entry and exists of the firms. Both the sellers and buyers have perfect knowledge of the market. 7.1 Characteristics of Perfect Competition 7.1.1 There are many buyers and sellers of a commodity Reynolds, R. L., (2005, p.2) points out that the idealized perfect competitive insures that no buyers and sellers has any power or ability to influence the price. The perfect competitive market is price takers. Each buyer buys the commodity at the price determined by the market condition. 7.1.2 Homogeneous product The product of an industry in which the outputs of different firms are indistinguishable compare with another product. The homogeneous products are the product where the buyers could not differentiate the products of one seller to another seller. 7.1.3 Perfect knowledge In perfect competition firms, consumers and resource owners have perfect knowledge of all relevant prices and costs in market. No buyers to pay more a price of the product higher than the prevailing price. Similarly, sellers will not set or charge a price higher or lower than the prevailing price. Advertisement has no scope in this type of market. 7.1.4 Resources are perfect mobility This means that inputs or resources are free to move in market. Firms can enter or leave the industry in the long run without much difficultly. That is, there are no artificial barriers like copy rights and trademark or natural barriers such as huge capital requirements to entry into and exit from the industry. 7.2 Monopolistic Competition In monopolistic competitions there are contains many sellers but the products are differentiated. Many sellers produce products are similar but not identical. There are following features of monopolistic competition. 7.3 Characteristics of Monopolistic competition 7.3.1 Differentiated products Differentiated products are products that are similar but not identical and the products are close substitutes products with each other. Sellers cannot set their prices of the products very different from each other. In physical differentiation is through differences in design, material, color and others. Further differentiation of a particular product may be based entirely on some seller location of his shop, kind of service they provide and fair dealing. 7.3.2 Large number of firms Under monopolistic competition there is contains a big number of firms satisfying the market demand of the product. These firms do not produce perfect substitutes but the products which are relatively close substitute for each other. For instance, in soft drink industry, the prices for a can of 330 ml soft drink range among several brands on market today such as Pepsi, Sarsi and Cola-cola 7.3.3 No barriers to entry and exit Firms can also and leave a monopolistically competitive industry. The monopolistic element arises from product differentiation. For example, if à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"MASà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wants to become a company top 10 in international airline system, this firm must find some difference in term of quality of service or facility equipment are provided by the firm. 7.4 Oligopoly According to the Dominick Salvatore 5-edition Principles of Microeconomics (2009, p.330) oligopoly is the form of market organization in which there are few firms of a homogeneous or differentiated product. 3.5 Characteristics of Oligopoly 3.5.1 Few numbers of large firms The firms are few but the size of firms is large. Few firms control overall the market to ensure few number of large firms have a fair amount of market. For example of the oligopoly is Proton and Perodua. 3.5.2 Interdependence Each firm under the oligopoly is can affect the market, making each firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s choices dependent on the choices of the other firms. So, they are interdependence. 3.5.3 Barriers to entry Oligopoly is meaning only few firms in the industry with barriers to the entry of new firms. Firms recognize their mutual dependence. 3.5.4 Advertising and selling costs The firms want to increase a greater share in the market and to maximize sale. So, this firm will expend more money on advertisement and other sale promotion. Advertising and selling cost are playing an important role in this type of market structure. 3.5.1 Homogeneous and differentiate products 3.5.2 Homogeneous Product Oligopoly . In market, industries produce intermediate products and sent to other different industries for manufacturing their products. For examples of the homogeneous products are steel and aluminum industries. 3.6.2 Differentiate Product Oligopoly Products manufactured in these markets are for personal consumption. For example of the differentiate product oligopoly is beer, breakfast cereals, detergents, soaps, computers and others. 3.7 Monopoly Monopoly is a single seller and sell the product is unique. Thus, in market structure there are many buyers and selling the product and there are no close substitutes with each other. For example that gave by Dominick Salvatore (2009, p.287) The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) is a classic example of how a monopoly was created and maintained for almost 50 years. The monopoly was created in the late nineteenth century when Alcoa acquired a patent on the method to remove oxygen from bauxite to obtain aluminum. 3.8 Characteristics of Monopoly 3.8.1 Singer seller in the market There are no close substitutes of the product in the market and no more other competitors in the market. Monopolist can control or affect price is evidence of its monopoly power. 3.8.2 Lack of competition Under the monopoly in market structure there are lacks of competition because there are no close substitute products in market. 4.0 Summary The characteristic of market which is classified as one of four market models are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. Perfect competition consists of many sellers and buyers of a commodity, homogeneous products, perfect knowledge, and resources are perfect mobility and no ability to control over the price of a product. Monopolistic competition is involved a large number of firms, differentiated products, no barriers to entry and exit and using advertising to shift demand. Oligopoly which is consist a few number of large firms, interdependence, barriers to entry, advertising and selling costs and homogeneous and differentiate products. Last, monopoly includes of singer seller, lack of competition, unique product and imperfect knowledge. In question 2 the various characteristics between the four types of market structures which are Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly have been discussed. These four types of market structure are different characteristics and it will affect the nature or artificial of competition and the price of the product. The figure 6 is shows about the differentiation of the characteristics of the following market structure. Market structure Perfect competition Monopolistic competition Oligopoly Monopoly Number of producers Many Many Few One Type of product Standardized Differentiated Standardized or differentiated Unique product Power of firm over price None Some Some Considerable Barriers to entry Low Low High Very high Non-price competition None Advertising and product differentiation Advertising and product differentiation Advertising Examples Parts of agriculture are reasonable close Pepsi Computer, oil Telekom

Object Oriented Development Technology

Object Oriented Development Technology In view of Johnson (2014) information as the word suggests is a collection of data which has different meaning in different contexts. When information is said to be good is when it adheres to certain qualities and it is relevant. There are certain characteristics associated to information which makes it good. Some of the important ones being that the information has to be complete, relevant, understandable and timely provided in detail. In the context of Holipets Pet Care Service the main characteristics of good information would be that the information has to be Accurate, Complete and Timely. According to Watsell (2014) the information provided should be accurate to both the context and to the subject. In context of Holipets Pet Care service which is a small pet care service for cats and dogs, the information collected from the customers and also information provided to them should be accurate. It should not have any kind of errors regarding the pet details, customer details, pet medication details etc. The service firm also offers different kinds of services like boarding of pets, medication, home visits, collect pets from home and on time delivery requests. Information based on these services also should be accurate and clear (Blair, 2003). Lets try to explain how accurate information would benefit the business in view of the different services Holipets pet care provides Accurate information about the medicines and care that need to be administered for a pet. It should be clear and free from bias. Clear information regarding the background checks for the staff would ens ure that they could be trusted with the customers and their pets. Keeping accurate records regarding the availability of kennels and cattery would ensure that they should not take commitments that cannot be fulfilled. This also would help them in making sure that they are not under booked or over booked. When the information provided to the customers is not accurate, it would lose the confidence of customers about the organization and thus negatively affect the business. According to Brooks (2008) complete and detailed information ensures that the customer queries are well explained. Information is considered to be complete if it is based on a complete data. The facts and figures of information should not be concealed. Detailed information about the pet feeding time, prescribed medicines etc would ensure that pets are taken care without any issues. A detailed log about the staff availability, booking details, cancellation etc would help us in providing better service to our customers. When providing information to the customers the service center employee should be able to explain in detail so that the customer understands and they process the data themselves which might end up in taking assumptions. This would adversely affect the business. According to Checkland Hotwell (2005) Information that is from a correct period is known as timely information. It is vital to effective decision making for customers. In context of Holipets pet care service, they record all the details manually in a diary. Daily or weekly status reports have to send to customers explaining feeding time, medication and other activities. If there is any delay occurred in any customized report requested by the customer, it will create a bad impression about the firm. The service also have to maintain all the activities like pet information, day to day activities, banking details, list of unpaid customers, booking details everything in a timely manner. Because there is a chance to occur the change in date of booking, cancellation of booking, customer needs more than one kennel or cattery, change in home visit etc. All the information should be recorded well and ready to produce data on time so that it is as up to date as required, provided when require d and provided as often required. According to Sanders (2010) Object Oriented Development Technology offers a better way for developing software systems. Compared to other non-OO programming languages analysis and design methods like Procedural Programming or functional programming, Object oriented development easily develop a software using self contained modules. According to Welie, (2009) in object oriented development we identify objects as things, properties of things and actions they perform. We build models based on this abstraction and these models are used to represent the real world objects. The Real World aspect of OO is often over-stated and over-simplified. OO programmers build software using these abstract objects. It help them to design their software from more complete OO specifications and the object thinking enables these system specifications to be expressed in terms of objects. Traditional approaches for developing software are more difficult in many cases, so to support these needs we use object oriented (OO) approaches. The underlying concepts of object orientation give it a distinct advantage in managing complexity, promoting reuse, and reducing the effort required for maintenance. In the case of Holipet pet care service, object oriented approach make the system more reliable, relevant and accurate. Object oriented approach supports abstraction at the object level. Since objects encapsulate both data (attributes) functions (methods), they work at a higher level of abstraction. This makes designing, coding, testing maintaining the system much simpler. According to Henninger (2000) Object oriented systems development is a way to develop software by building self contained modules or objects that can be easily replaced, modified and reused. In Holipets pet care service, the cat and dog are considered as objects. Their name, breed, height etc. are the attributes and the actions like feeding, medication, activities are the functions. If we approach in this way, the designing of the software system will be simpler and more robust. In an object-oriented environment, software is a collection of discrete objects (dogs, cats, staff, and customer) that encapsulate their data as well as the functionality of model real world events. In object oriented development, a class is collection of objects which has attributes and functions. It defines what a class can do and how it does. Here cat and dog object comes under the class pet which is having some common attributes like name, breed, height and weight which is common to both of the objects. T he functions of class include feeding, medication, activities etc. Some of the advantages given for the use of object oriented development are: Re-use of existing designs and code, Faster development and More Robustness Holipets pet care service currently doing all the works manually like booking, accounting, staff management etc. As per object technology if we automate the firm, we consider everything as objects. So the development of the system software will be faster and easier. We can reuse the same code for future development. The system will be faster and robust. Chance of getting error is very less compared to manual system. Maintenance of the system also will be easy. According to Veerman (2009) OO analysis must decide how the objects might relate to each other and what role each object play. The objects role defines it responsibilities what it must do and what it must know in order to achieve its responsibilities. In object-oriented analysis, we must decide: What each kind of object must do, What each kind of object must know and How each kind of object relates to other kinds of objects. Object-oriented design takes the analysis models and looks more closely at how the objects and their relationships might be re-shaped and extended to make them better suited to implementation. In Holipet pet care service, the designer will also try to make objects as reusable as possible on future developments. While designing the software maximum reusability of the modules also considered for example designing a common class pet that we can use for both dog and cat. Same way the class cage can use for both kennel and cattery. According to Harrison et al., (2007) OO uses the models emerging from analysis as the basis for creating the detailed system design. Before designing a system, a detailed analysis of all the requirements can be done. The analysis models provide the ideal, logical view of the system, taking account of the constraints imposed by the technology. In Holipet pet care service, a detailed analysis is needed to identify the work flow of the current system. This close relationship between analysis and design brings several benefits, the maintenance will be easier and there will be a close relationship between design architecture and domain requirements. Objects and Classes are the basic building blocks of object oriented design. Objects are instance of a class. Objects can be any kind of things during system development. It may be physical or tangible thing found in real world domain. Objects share common features. In Holipets system object can be dog, cat, customer, staff etc. Collection of objects is known as class with similar properties (attributes) and common behavior (function). Class pet in Holipets pet care service contains dog and cat as objects. They share some common properties like name, breed, height, weight and common operations like feeding, activities, medications etc. According to Wright (2001) Iterative development is a method of breaking down the software development of a large application into smaller parts. In iterative development feature code is designed, developed and tested in repeated cycles. As iterations are completed the team can review the product with different stakeholders like the customers and the management to get early feedbacks. This would help the team to test their product for customer acceptance very early in the development cycle. This will also ensure that the developed product is what the customer actually needs. Figure Iterative Model Source: (Granard, 2011) Â   Â   According to Johnson (2016) Iterative development is best defined in terms of its processes that allows for dynamic development rather than any single defined method or approach. Some of the commonly used iterative methodologies are Agile, Dynamic system development method (DSDM), Extreme programming (eXtreme) and scrum. Common features of these iterative methods are: Development is done incrementally over multiple iterations, Iterations include some component of planning, requirement analysis, design, development, testing, documentation and implementation, Software that works is the primary measure of the progress and success and Iterations build upon lessons learned in prior iterations. Among the different iterative development approaches, the one that would be a best fit for Holipets Pet Care Service would be the SCRUM. According to Shoan (2009) Scrum is a framework for iterative product development where the main focus is on teamwork and accountability. The scrum team would work together to achieve a well defined goal. As the scrum teams would be smaller in size and also would be cross functional and preferably in the same office location helps the team to perform better. The team takes wiser decisions on software features as it is a cross functional team. The duration of iterations in scrum is called as the sprint. The ideal sprint duration is of 2 weeks. The team can resolve impediments early on in the process with the help of daily scrum meetings and sprint retrospective meetings. In the context of Holipets pet care service, SCRUM would be the ideal way to implement iterative development. In SCRUM a small set of requirements would be developed by the scrum team in each iteration. Towards the end of sprint, the shippable product is released and the product is also reviewed with different stakeholders which involve the actual end users of the software. The feedbacks obtained from such review meeting would be provide vital information about what the customers, end users feel about the product and also what extra features do they require. These feedbacks are then converted into tasks for the next iterations depending on their priorities. In addition to Scrum process the team would also implement continuous integration builds, unit tests and automated tests which would ensure that the current sprint output integrates well with the past releases thus reducing the time taken for releasing the product to the customer. Source: (Robinson, 2015)Â   According to Robinson (2015) Agile development methodology is a conceptual framework for undertaking any software engineering projects. In general agile methods attempt to minimize risk and maximize productivity by developing software in short iterations and deemphasizing work on interim work artifacts and it is people oriented. There are a number of agile software development methods but the most popular agile methods are Extreme Programming (XP) and Scrum. Scrum process is distinguished from other agile process by specific concepts and practices, divided in to three categories of Roles, Artifacts and Time boxes. Scrum is most often used to manage complex software and product development. Scrum significantly increases productivity and reduces time to benefit relative to classic waterfall models. Scrum prices enable organizations to adjust smoothly to rapid changing requirements and produce a product that meets evolving business goals. An agile scrum process benefits the organization by helping it to Increase the quality of the deliverables, Provide better estimate while spending less time creating them and Be more control of the project schedule and state (Sikander, 2013) In the context of Holipets Pet Care System, SCRUM would be an effective methodology for developing the software. As per scrum only tasks of the highest priority is considered for development. These tasks should also qualify the INVEST criterias. i.e. they should be Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable , Small and Testable. The tasks are developed, tested and integrated in the sprint cycle itself. For the first sprint of Holipets Pet Care System, they should consider tasks which could be developed and tested with 2 weeks of time. These tasks should also be ready for implementation by the end of the 2 week sprint. The tasks should also provide value for their customers and for them. In my opinion such a initial task for Holipets would be to implement a SMS service for booking. Once this is implemented the scrum team can then take input from customers as well as in house staff to identify the next high priority item that would add value to them. The team should also take time to setup continuous integration builds, unit testing and automation testing and should not rely too much on traditional black box testing. This would ensure that the time taken to integrate in production would be less and thus getting early feedbacks from users. The quality of software design might be improved by designers adopting and maintaining a professional attitude to their work. We will explore what characterizes a professional and a community of professionals and whether systems design can fit this model. As per UMKC (2015) if we are to consider software designers as professionals we need to know what characterizes more commonly accepted professionals and their communities. Common characteristics of a professional community are: self-regulatory, shared goals, specific methods for achieving goals, and work to accepted standards. Systems development does not display the same characteristics as these long-established professionals like doctors, lawyers etc. Although it has voluntary codes of conduct and practice managed by its various professional organizations (e.g. British Computing Society) the IT industry is not self regulatory, nor is it extensively regulated by government or statute. Designers face significant challenges in pursuit of professionalism (Greenwood, 2001). Their industry is constantly undergoing growth and change, which is not conducive to close reflection on the ways in which designers carry out their work and to the creation of common standards and a broadly accepted community of practice. For example in Holipets pet care service there are many security concerns in online payment or maintenance of the system as per customer request. However, although the IT industry may not resemble the better understood professions, it has, in its various disciplines and practice areas, begun to define and agree on common methods of working and appropriate standards to achieve and maintain. In this scenario we are using UML. UML is a standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of software systems. It is a pictorial language used to make software blue prints (UMK, 2015). According to ESRD (2011) a good software design seeks to provide the best fit of the domain model into clients physical context. The best fit requires finding a balance between the demands of the specified functional requirements of the software, the constraints imposed by the non functional requirements and the overall cost. The outcome from the process is a design specification which allows efficient and cost effective deployment of the software. The key responsibilities of a professional software designer are Produce a design model from the domain model, Consider non functional requirements, Consider physical aspects of the design and Provide design specification for the programmers. In context of Holipets pet care service, the designer produces a specification model from the given requirements. A detailed requirement analysis is needed before making the design model like what services the customer wants from the firm. The firm also needs to consider the non functional requirements. Non functional requirements are comes under quality attributes like quality of service or quality constraints. The designer has to provide all the specification to programmers to develop the software in an effective manner. One of the most critical aspects of this role is working closely with the user community which directly and indirectly affected by the software under development to ensure the software will be usable in a safe, effective manner. The system has to be user-friendly and easy to operate because a surprising number of software applications are not, or only partially, used because users find them impossible or difficult to operate. If we applied the features and characte ristics of widely understood professional communities to software development, we would expect the professional designer, in seeking to achieve a good design, to behave as follows: Take responsibility for the design process, Act with integrity with users and with colleagues in the development team, Be truthful and act with appropriate gratitude to others and Develop professional relationships and use professional codes. Established and emerging professions will have embedded these working standards in what are known as professional codes of practice or conduct. These codes will formally express the expectations and requirements professional organizations make of their members, including clear definitions of what is (and is not) acceptable professional behavior. References Anderson R (2014) Professional behavior accessed from https://www.uvic.ca/engineering/assets/docs/professional-behaviour.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 APhA-ASP/AACP-COD Task Force on Professionalism, White paper on pharmacy student professionalism, J. Am. Pharm. Assoc., 40, 96- 102(2000). Blair, D. (2003). Information retrieval and the philosophy of language. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 37, 3-50 Brooks, B.C (2008). The foundation of information science. Part I. philosophical aspects. Journal of Information Science, 2(3-4), 125-133. Checkland, P. Hotwell, S. (2005). Information, Systems and Information Systems, Chichester: Jhon Wiley. ESRD (2011) Professionalism at networks accessed from www.esrdnetworks.org/networks/net5/Education/Staff/scmks/net5/Education/Staff/scm _pres/professionalism professionalism.pdf. accessed on 08th March, 2017 Granard B (2011) Iterative Model accessed from http://www.testingexcellence.com/iterative-model/ accessed on 08th March, 2017 Greenwood, E., (2001) Attributes of a profession, Soc. Work, 2(July), 44-55(1957) Harrison, N., Avgeriou, P., Zdun, U. (2007) Architecture Patterns as Mechanisms for Capturing Architectural Decisions. IEEE Software ( September/October 2007). Henninger, S., (2000) A Methodology and Tools for Applying Context-Specific Usability Guidelines to Interface Design. Interacting with Computers,. 12(3):p. 225-243. Johnson B (2014) Characteristics of Good Information accessed from https://btec-itp-resources/view/Characteristics_of_Good_Information.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Johnson R (2016) Iterative model accessed from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/pdf/sdlc_iterative_model.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Lindblom, C. E. (2009): The Science of Muddling Through. In A. Faludi (ed.) 1973: A reader in Planning Theory, Oxford Robinson J (2015) Scrum accessed from http://scrumreferencecard.com/scrum-reference-card/ accessed on 08th March, 2017 Sanders R (2010) Usability accessed from http://is.ls.fi.upm.es/xavier/papers/usability_b.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Shoan R (2009) Metafile accessed from http://www.metla.fi/eu/cost/e19/barstad.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Sikander C (2013) accessed from http://www.cs.ccsu.edu/~stan/classes/cs530/slides/se-17.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 UMKC (2015) Workplace professional behavior accessed from http://www.umkc.edu/starr/Workplace_Professionalism.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Veerman A (2009) Systems Development SRM University accessed from http://www.srmuniv.ac.in/sites/default/files/files/system_development.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Watsell D. (2014) Managing by design Systems thinking, accessed from http://www.managingbydesign.net/my_library/systems_thinking.pdf accessed on 08th March, 2017 Welie, M.v. (2009) Breaking Down usability. In IFIP TC.13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Edinburgh, UK: IOS Press Wright J (2001): How Iterative Planning Works: A Flowchart Example. Downloaded from the Internet; http://jwco.com/how_iterative_planning_works.htm

Computer Storage: Are memory sticks and disks likely to be obsolete by

In the first quarter of 2012, a German business software firm (SAP) recorded a 10 per cent increase in profits from the previous year of  £478 million from cloud, a method of computer storage (SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise, 2012). It is clear that methods of storing data on computers have developed rapidly in the past 60 years, from the earliest type of data storage on cylinders to data storage in cloud. The purpose of this essay is to describe this development and show that individual physical memory such as memory sticks and disks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. By way of background, before the invention of computers, various methods had been used to store and retrieve data. For example, 1725 saw the invention of the ‘punch card’ widely used in looms and in primitive calculating machines. Although this was a significant development in storage, these cards were not made â€Å"general purpose† until 1928. The need to store and retrieve data as one continuous stream and not individual cards brought about the invention of the punch tape in 1846. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented a device known as the ‘Phonograph’. This device recorded sound vibrations on a metal cylinder with a recording needle and played the recordings back when needed. These storage developments served as a background for the development of computer storage. Professor Federick C. Williams and colleague Tom Kilburn developed the first random access computer memory in 1948 known as the ‘Williams-Kilburn tube’. This device allowed for storage of 1024 bits but was later upgraded to 2048 bits. In 1951 the ‘Delay line memory’ was invented. This form of memory consisted of a column of mercury with piezo crystal to aid in the transfer of data. W... ...owstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-storage.htm on 8 May 2012. - Paul Lilly. (3 February 2009). Computer Data Storage Through the Ages – From Punch Cards to Blu-Ray. Retrieved from http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/computer_data_storage_through_ages on 8 May 2012. - Pingdom. (8 April 2008). Retrieved from http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/08/the-history-of-computer-data-storage-in-pictures/ on 8 May 2012. - Retrieved from http://cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at/index.php?id=187 on 8 May 2012. - Ryan Nichols (31 August 2010). Cloud computing by the numbers: What do all the statistics mean? Retrieved from http://blogs.computerworld.com/16863/cloud_computing_by_the_numbers_what_do_all_the_statistics_mean on 24 May 2012. - SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise. (25 April 2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17836653 on 8 May 2012. Computer Storage: Are memory sticks and disks likely to be obsolete by In the first quarter of 2012, a German business software firm (SAP) recorded a 10 per cent increase in profits from the previous year of  £478 million from cloud, a method of computer storage (SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise, 2012). It is clear that methods of storing data on computers have developed rapidly in the past 60 years, from the earliest type of data storage on cylinders to data storage in cloud. The purpose of this essay is to describe this development and show that individual physical memory such as memory sticks and disks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. By way of background, before the invention of computers, various methods had been used to store and retrieve data. For example, 1725 saw the invention of the ‘punch card’ widely used in looms and in primitive calculating machines. Although this was a significant development in storage, these cards were not made â€Å"general purpose† until 1928. The need to store and retrieve data as one continuous stream and not individual cards brought about the invention of the punch tape in 1846. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented a device known as the ‘Phonograph’. This device recorded sound vibrations on a metal cylinder with a recording needle and played the recordings back when needed. These storage developments served as a background for the development of computer storage. Professor Federick C. Williams and colleague Tom Kilburn developed the first random access computer memory in 1948 known as the ‘Williams-Kilburn tube’. This device allowed for storage of 1024 bits but was later upgraded to 2048 bits. In 1951 the ‘Delay line memory’ was invented. This form of memory consisted of a column of mercury with piezo crystal to aid in the transfer of data. W... ...owstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-storage.htm on 8 May 2012. - Paul Lilly. (3 February 2009). Computer Data Storage Through the Ages – From Punch Cards to Blu-Ray. Retrieved from http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/computer_data_storage_through_ages on 8 May 2012. - Pingdom. (8 April 2008). Retrieved from http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/08/the-history-of-computer-data-storage-in-pictures/ on 8 May 2012. - Retrieved from http://cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at/index.php?id=187 on 8 May 2012. - Ryan Nichols (31 August 2010). Cloud computing by the numbers: What do all the statistics mean? Retrieved from http://blogs.computerworld.com/16863/cloud_computing_by_the_numbers_what_do_all_the_statistics_mean on 24 May 2012. - SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise. (25 April 2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17836653 on 8 May 2012.

Familial DNA Searching Essay -- Genetics

Nowadays, DNA is a crucial component of a crime scene investigation, used to both to identify perpetrators from crime scenes and to determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence (Butler, 2005). The method of constructing a distinctive â€Å"fingerprint† from an individual’s DNA was first described by Alec Jeffreys in 1985. He discovered regions of repetitions of nucleotides inherent in DNA strands that differed from person to person (now known as variable number of tandem repeats, or VNTRs), and developed a technique to adjust the length variation into a definitive identity marker (Butler, 2005). Since then, DNA fingerprinting has been refined to be an indispensible source of evidence, expanded into multiple methods befitting different types of DNA samples. One of the more controversial practices of DNA forensics is familial DNA searching, which takes partial, rather than exact, matches between crime scene DNA and DNA stored in a public database as possible leads for further examination and information about the suspect. Using familial DNA searching for investigative purposes is a reliable and advantageous method to convict criminals. Familial DNA searching works by using the combined DNA index system (CODIS) to compare DNA samples taken from crime scenes to DNA profiles already recorded in the local, state, or national criminal DNA database. There are many indexes in the database; two of the largest are the offender index, a catalogue of DNA profiles from previously convicted felons, and the forensic index, a catalogue of DNA from crime-scenes. A DNA sample is run through the database by CODIS’ matching algorithm that searches the indexes against one another to generate matches according to how often base pairs, or â€Å"markers,† repeat in th... ...of Justice, 1 Sept. 2011. Keiper L. More states use familial DNA as powerful forensic search tool. Reuters [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 16 2012]; N. page. Available from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-crime-dna-familial-idUSTRE72T2QS20110330. Riley S. How familial DNA can help crime victims. The Grio [Internet]. 2010 [cited 16 May 2012]; N. page. Available from: http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/how-familial-dna-can-help-crime-victims.php. Singer N. In Fighting Crime, How Wide Should a Genetic Net Reach? The New York Times [Internet]. 2010 [cited 21 May 2012]; N. page. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/business/25stream.html?_r=1. Steinhauer J. â€Å"Grim Sleeper† Arrest Fans Debate on DNA Use. The New York Times [Internet]. 2010 [cited 21 May 2012]; N page. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/us/09sleeper.html?pagewanted=all.