The Proponents of the Monument to Forrest Research Paper

The Proponents of the Monument to Forrest - Research Paper Example Courts of law have held that it is up to the judicial system to decide if certain acts carried out in private capacity under the First Amendment are publicly acceptable. Court rulings provide that private acts under the First Amendment are acceptable as long as they do not encroach on the rights of other citizens (Mitchell). For example, a person can decide to shed their clothes in private, but this behaviour cannot take place in public since it leads to obscene behaviour. Under the First Amendment and the right to public expression, a person could theoretically shed their clothes and go public, but under court rulings, this has been exposed as public indecency (Mitchell). In the current situation, the monument to Forrest is being erected on private land, but this private land is publicly exposed to the town centre. The monument to Forrest would be clearly visible from the town centre, and so it would become a public affair. If Nathan Bedford Forrest was recognized as a hero by membe rs of all communities living in Selma, it would be acceptable to erect such a monument to pay homage. However, Forrest is a disputed personality in terms of his historical acceptability to various communities and may provoke outrage in African Americans living in the town. Erecting such a monument in Selma may lead to racial strife between black and anti-black groups, which may trigger violent outcomes. In order to prevent violence and racial friction, it would be pertinent to ensure that the monument to Forrest is not erected near major public centres.

Business Insourcing, Self-Sourcing and Outsourcing Research Paper

Business Insourcing, Self-Sourcing and Outsourcing - Research Paper Example On the other hand, self sourcing has its disadvantages which include: Lack of organizational focus, lack of design alternative analysis and lack of documentation. In commerce, outsourcing is the constricting out of a trade procedure to an intermediary. The word "outsourcing" becomes admired in the US close to the revolution of the 21st century. Outsourcing occasionally entails transferring human resources as well as assets from one company to another, but not at all times. Outsourcing is as well used to explain the performance of handing over management of civic services to for-profit companies. Outsourcing consists of both strange and family contracting; in addition to sometimes take account of offshoring or relocating a business, profession to another nation. Financial investments from lower global labor rates are a big inspiration for outsourcing. In sourcing is enhanced for significant Domain comprehension centric actions; trade innovation driven scheme, to generate competitive i ndividuality for business expansion (Click et al., 2005 p.26). Outsourcing is better if position information requirement for detailed duration, repeatable deal based, releasing in-house resources for extra value supplemented area, and suppleness of Ramp-up plus Ramp-down. The outsourcing drawback may also contain miscommunication: the corporations give unreliable service to "yes, we will hold up increased communication plus increased contact points", but the majority of the time they do not adjust scheme timelines plus they indulgence their offshore equivalent as if they were down the lane. Subsequently, they cannot comprehend why the scheme is behind. The world turns out to be more compound, change is accelerate, the current transfer to in sourcing those roles once again is a dial that parties are appreciating they need better flexibility and suppleness that is a bit more complex to attain when purpose are outsourced. Trade and IT also have extra sourcing options than ever, out sou rcing, in sourcing, near shore, on shore, with all these, how to expertise a superior IT sourcing tactic? Corporations outsource to keep away from assured kinds of costs. They outsource the non foundation actions. Among the motives companies opt for to outsource comprise the escaping of regulations, elevated taxes, high power costs, and costs linked with describe benefits in labor-union contract and duties for regime mandated reimbursement. Alleged or definite gross border in the diminutive operate incentivizes a corporation to outsource (Stephen, 2006, p. 14). With compact short-run expenses, administrative management sees the chance for short-run proceeds while the profits enlargement of the customer base is overwrought (Chris, 2006, p. 23). This prompts corporations to outsource for lesser effort costs. Outsourcing can put forward greater budget suppleness and control. Outsourcing allows organizations disburse for simply the services they require, when they require them. It as we ll reduces the want to hire and guide particular staff, conveys in fresh engineering proficiency, and decreases capital and working expenses. In addition, the label outsourcing has been established to be employed for too numerous different kinds of substitutes in puzzling ways. For instance, worldwide software expansion, which frequently

Marketing youself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing youself - Essay Example From last phase of 2008 onward labour market is in a pathetic condition. Though the data relies by government and non-government agencies reveals that many companies started recruitment phase, but this is mostly at the lower level and for the employees belonging to the age group of 19-24 years. The important grounds for selection of these workers are Communication skill (54%), professional qualification (41%) and work ethics (39%). It has been declared that just 15 percent of the employees will receive a review in their pays in the year 2009. Only 8% of the companies are planning to heir migrant employees and these should be highly skilled (ICPD, 2009). The labour market in UK is composed of 31.23 million people as of 2008. Approximately, 1.3 % of this population is engaged in agriculture, 24.2% in the industry and 74.5 5 in the services industry. The unemployment rate of the country is about 5.6% as of 2008. (CIA World Factbook, 2009). UK has seen major ups and downs with regards to its employment rates. The percentage of the working population has however seen a northward trend since 1993. The report also states that the country spends the lowest amount towards the active based market programs when compared with other countries. UK spends less than 0.4% on its labour market programs as a percentage of the GDP which is much lower than its other counterparts in Europe. The reason for this can be attributed to the astounding success of the economy of the nation which has seen continuous periods of growth for about 57 quarters. Secondly there is very limited regulation and limits on the labour market. (Cort, n.d.). The recent economic downturn has taken its toll on the job market in UK. The unemployment rates have risen sharply. The latest figures released by the government shows that the total number of unemployed people in UK is about 2.26 million as of 2009. Analysts predict that these figures

Domestic Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Domestic Architecture - Essay Example The general plan of the houses, is very similar to the buildings of the Tudor period One of the distinguishing features of this style is that the second story projects out slightly over the first. The corners of the house are decorated with little suspended pendant-like ornaments. Both these features are typical of the medieval fashion, where the second floor would project out, and a little into the street. The website also says that it would appear that buildings so fashioned were considered more 'formal' and 'fancier'. Yet another distinguishing feature of this style is the asymmetry of the house As the article, 'Colonial Architecture' points out the Parson Capen House, was among the more modest dwellings of that time. The front door of the Parson Capen house is not quite in the center of the wall, but slightly to the right, thus asymmetrical. Also like other colonial structures, the second floor projects out. As the article states the house, "is typical of the two-story New England house of overlapping weatherboards. Northern Arizona University tells us that it was in France: that Jefferson learned of Roman architecture and its symbolic association with Greek democracy. With this inspiration, he began reworking the house he had begun in 1769, upon a small mountain, and continued to tear down and re-build it till 1809. The Wikipedia free encyclopedia mentions that Monticello in French means 'little mountain' Jefferson was inspired by the works of Andrea Palladio particularly the Villa Rotunda says the article, 'Classic(al) Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism'. Prof Paradis says that the identifying features of this style include a dentil cornice emphasized with wide band of trim, porches, temple-front entryway, and square or rounded columns, usually Doric. Another interesting feature at Monticello is the dome. This style of architecture competed with the Federal style, which was more prevalent and dominant at the time, and which drew its origins from the 'Adamesque' (Georgian) style of architecture. states the article 'Federal Style.' Another feature of this style and period is that windows have a number of small panes of glass because it was difficult to make large pieces of glass. There might be 12, 8, or 6 panes in both the top and bottom window sashes. These features can all be seen in Monticello. Another website with information on Jefferson titled '1768 to 1782 Thomas Jefferson, architect Near Charlottesville, Virginia, USA' says that, "he combined the great European traditions of Palladio with American domesticity." The difference from Palladio, the article says, lay in aspects he introduced to the Monticello like the "long horizontal wings, underground service rooms, and all sorts of "modern" gadgets. " William Low House, Charlottesville, Virginia. (1887) Frank Lloyd Wright 428 Oak Park, Illinois (1889) Shingle style. "A shingled home does not stand on ceremony. It

Asian political thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Asian political thought - Essay Example Furthermore, the Chinese management has no hesitation fought far-off interferences in the interior matters of independent countries and in particular when controlled by the United States and the West in general; out of an apprehension that such interference is often inspired by a need for government modification, and could institute a model that one day might be used against Beijing. All of these issues have made Beijing to counterattack or at the slightest refrain from struggles by other shapes, and even worldwide bodies, to coercively force or intervene regimentally in political confrontations or cases of interior turbulence happening in other especially emerging nations. Nevertheless, in the past few years, China`s allegedly upright and realistic position on this subject has been underneath force because of the rising worldwide apprehension over a number of occurrences in which dictatorial governments have used ferocity counter to their individual populace. Accordingly, it has als o had a stern position concerning the development of an extensive variety of social, economic, and safety matters that distance and wear down nationwide borders. For some experts, such expansions are backing to the formation of so-called post-Westphalia rules, which highlight â€Å"the right and undeniably the responsibility of the global public to trespass on the self-sufficiency of the country to defend or progress other deliberations. Research shows that the most prominent instance of such an energy in the part of benevolent involvement is redirected in the so-called â€Å"accountability to defend† standard approved at the UN World Summit conference in 2005, and talked in numerous UN determinations and declarations subsequently. In case such standards increase better sustenance, particularly amongst chief emerging nations as well as egalitarianisms like India and Indonesia, Beijing could meet growing pressure to care for more interfering rules. In reality, Beijing current ly acknowledges that benevolent calamity or other native complications happening in so-called zones of unpredictability from the Chinese viewpoint or unsuccessful countries from a Western standpoint can stance grave political, subtle, and economic intimidations to other countries, comprising China. Moreover, the Chinese management approves with various other countries that even though it is imperative to analyze the fundamental, long-standing complications that cause such local unpredictability, this general goal should not avert temporary activities essential to hand evolving and instant benevolent and other pressures. As a result, Beijing has lately revealed marks of accommodating, or at least accepting in, globally recognized involvements in other republics, in some circumstances for motives related with the deterrence of state-inflicted mass ferocity. A latest instance of such altering approaches was delivered by Beijing’s preparedness to allow UN-backed, NATO-led soldier ly intercession in Libya to avert the assassination of blameless citizens by the Qaddafi despotism. In this case, the succeeding development of the

Writing assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writing assessment - Essay Example My supervisor pointed out that the logic was in fact flawed. Moreover, the essay was underdeveloped in minor ways, and there were only one or two clunky introductions from outside sources. When it came to my second assignment, I was happy to notice that the supervisor had acknowledged the fact that most of my sources were appropriate. Instead of referring to online dictionaries and other unimpressive and unreliable sources as I did in the first paper, I cited appropriately the ideas from a research work by Laurie A Couture, and provided correct bibliographic details in the end. However, some of the flaws still persisted in the second paper as well. It was marked ‘poor’ or two counts – for one or more tasks mismanaged and for being distinctly underdeveloped. There were also occasional gaps in logic or clarity, and there were one or two clunky introductions of outside sources. When I read the paper a second time, I too felt that I could have done better with the dev elopment of the paper if I hadn’t confused the notion of injustice by referring to an incident where I was clearly misbehaving and punished as a child, though the immediate cause for punishment could not be strictly attributed to me. I could have chosen a better instance of injustice where one was at the receiving end of ruthlessness or oppression. When compared to the second paper, the first was slightly better in that it did develop the tasks reasonably well, and was underdeveloped only in minor ways. However, I will make sure that the improvement I made with regard to the sources and logical arguments. In the future, I hope to focus more on my areas of weakness in order to make faster improvement and achieve more clarity by better research and organization of thoughts. I haven’t made much progress with regard to the organization of thoughts. In the first paper, I was marked average for mostly coherent paragraphs, and

ICT Notes Case Essay Example for Free

ICT Notes Case Essay Whenever personal details or other private information is stored about people, it is regulated by the data Protection Act and organisations storing such information must register with the data protection bureau. It gives rights to data subjects (i.e. in this case the patients who have specific data about themselves stored on the health centre system). Data is subject to 8 main regulations to protect the rights and privacy of individuals. These are: 1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully. 2. Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes. see more:annual function speech 3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which it is used. 4. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. 5. Personal data shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for the specified purpose. 6. Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the act (patients have the right to view and correct information held, except in cases of crime or certain government agencies). 7. Data holders should have appropriate measures in place to protect the data against loss, theft or corruption. 8. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country outside the EEC unless that country ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights of data subjects. Computer Misuse Act 1990 This law was introduced to cope with the problems of computer hackers and viruses. The Act was introduced to recognise these three offences: 1. Unauthorised access to computer material If a member of the health centre staff uses another staff members password to log onto their user area, this is illegal. Even if they dont change, delete or damage anything, they are still guilty of accessing materials without authorisation and this is illegal. 2. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate a crime The difference between this and the first offence is that the person gaining access to someone elses system is doing so with the sole purpose of doing something illegal e.g. fraud, blackmail etc. This might mean that they had to guess or steal the password in order to get into someones user area or their bank account. 3. Unauthorised modification of computer material This offence relates to the deletion or changes made to files with the intent to cause damage to an individual or to the health centres computer system. This offence also covers planting viruses to other peoples systems. Writing a virus technically isnt a crime; but if you knowingly transmit a virus to others, you are guilty under this section of the Computer Misuse Act. Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1989 This act was passed to make it illegal to copy files, software etc without permission. The law can be broken in three ways: 1. Using software without a proper licence. The health centre must ensure it purchases a site licence which allows everyone at the centre to use the software. 2. Using text or images from the internet and using them without the copyrights owners (the authors) permission or acknowledging where the health centre got them from. 3. A member of staff copying a computer program at the health centre and then running it on their computer at home without permission from the copyright holder. 4. Health and Safety Issues Relating to Computer Use The health centre must ensure under the Health and Safety Regulations 1992 that they provide a safe working environment for anyone using computers. The health centre must :Ensure that the computer equipment is safe. 1. Ensure workstations meet the required standards for health and safety i.e. provide proper computer chairs, foot supports, lighting etc. 2. Plan work so the staff have regular breaks which allow them to do non-computer work. 3. Pay for regular eyesight tests for staff using computers regularly. 4. Provide health and safety training and information to all staff. There are various health problems associated with the regular use of computers. Here are some of the most common problems and what can be done to reduce the risks: Health Problem Cause Solution Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) * Repetitive finger, hand or arm movements. * Poor posture. * Badly designed workstations. * Ensure wrists are straight and elbows are close to your sides when typing. * Ensure posture is correct. * Take regular breaks. Eye strain * Staring at the VDU for long periods. * Poor lighting, glare from the screen, flickering screen. * Use a screen filter to reduce glare and keep your eyes at least 18 inches away from the screen. * Ensure appropriate lighting. * Have regular eyesight tests. * Take regular breaks. Back/Circulation problems * Poor posture. * Sitting all day in front of a computer. * Ensure posture is correct. * Take regular breaks and walk to improve circulation. The use of ICT when Paying Staff WagesStaff at the health centre are paid using a computerised system and their wages are paid straight into their bank account. The benefits to the health centre for having a computerised system: 1. It is quicker and more accurate than calculating wages manually. 2. The added security that wages are paid straight into bank accounts i.e. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) money is transferred from the health centres account to the individual staff members account. Employees at the health centre are paid weekly. Payroll uses a system called batch processing, this is where all data is stored up and then all processed together. In order to calculate how much each employee should be paid the following inputs, processing and outputs must take place. Inputs Processing Outputs Employee payroll number, name, address, DOB, marital status, N I number, hourly rate/annual salary, pension details, holiday entitlement, days off sick etc * Employee record will be read by the system. * Each employee will be paid by the system. * Each employee record will be updated by the system * The payslip * Money is transferred from the health centre bank account to each employees bank account. * Report for the health centre detailing updates, payment etc Methods of Maintaining Data SecurityData is invaluable to the health centre if they lose their data it is very hard to replace. Loss of data would cripple the health centre in the short term and may even jeopardise its existence as a service. Measures must therefore be in place to ensure data security. Security can be viewed in terms of physical security, access security and data security.Physical Security Equipment can be made more secure by: 1. Keeping a record of all serial numbers on each piece of equipment and mark the health centres name and postcode on all equipment so the police can identify stolen property easily. 2. The health centre could have a security alarm system and surveillance system on the building as well as ensuring that windows and doors are locked after surgery hours to prevent access. 3. The closing of blinds on windows and switching off monitors at night will make the computers less visible. 4. The use of fireproof doors and smoke alarms will help reduce the risk of fire in the building. Access Security Vast amounts of data is lost due to carelessness by employees e.g. not saving work, deleting files by accident, not saving files with sensible file names and therefore are difficult to find etc. Limiting each employees access to the system with help to ensure against the loss of data to the health centres system. 1. Password -this is still the major line of defence. Restrictions can be imposed on length of password and restrictions on the times a user can access the system. 2. Firewall this is a piece of software which sits between the health centres network and the rest of the internet. It will monitor the system for any breaches of security and protect the health centres information and computing resources by allowing only messages conforming to certain protocols (agreed set of rules) to be sent/received. 3. Anti-Virus Programs this software is used to detect viruses and to limit the damage by removing them. Data Security To prevent the loss of patients records etc the health centre needs to ensure that regular back-ups are made of the data on the system using suitable backing storage (also known as secondary storage). Types of Backing Storage Name of Device Advantages Disadvantages Hard Disks * Large storage capacity 20 gigabytes or more. * Faster to access * Any problems with the hard drive may mean all data stored on it will be lost Floppy Disks * Small and portable * Data can be transferred easily between different computers. * Disks can be made read-only which will reduce the chances of data being accidentally overwritten. * Small storage capacity 1.44 megabytes. * Accessing data is slow * Being floppy it is easily damaged Optical Disks e.g. CDs DVDs * Direct access to the data. * Faster to access * CD-Rs only allow data to be written onto them only once The above list is not exhaustive and you should explore other alternatives.Website Design and Hosting There are many reasons why businesses or individuals have a website. In the case of the health centre it has a website to provide information and services to patients e.g. providing advice on minor ailments, surgery hours etc. Some other purposes of having a website: Type of Site Reason Personal * Sharing pictures/stories with friends and family Business * Inform customers of their products/services * Company news, events etc * Recruit staff E-Commerce * Advertising their products/services for sale * Offering home shopping facilities Educational * Offer information on training * On-line encyclopaedias News and Entertainment * Latest world news * Sports information A website is made up of one or more web pages. A web page is created by writing code in a language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) which was developed especially to create web pages. There are many web page designs. Most good web pages share some common elements: Web Page Element Its Purpose Banner This is the area at the top of the page and is often the same on all the other pages of the web site. It may contain a company logo, search box etc Menu System This area provides navigation around the site Content Area The main content of the web page is here. It may contain, text, images, sound etc. Footer This area will often contain copyright notices, terms and conditions etc. Navigation (method of moving around the site) is important especially if the site is made up of several web pages. There are 3 main methods to of using navigation: 1. The Hyperlink when you click your mouse on a navigation hyperlink it will take you to another page. This page could be on the same website or a different website (external link). 2. The Menu System the navigation menu gives you a choice of which page you want to view next. A menu is a set of hyperlinks grouped together. There are various menu styles such as a side menu which normally sits on the left hand side of the page. 3. Hotspot this is an area on the web page which when clicked will allow you to jump to another page. It is a way for the designer to make the hyperlink invisible or for them to allow you to click on an image in order to jump somewhere else. When you hover your mouse over a hotspot the cursor changes to a little hand There are a number of ways to create and design a web page: Design Methods Software Advantages Disadvantages Straight from a Microsoft Office application * Word * PowerPoint * Simple, just save as a web page * Can only create a basic page Text Editor * Notepad * Low cost as Notepad is free with windows * You have to know a lot about HTML code * Easy to make a mistake as all the code is written by hand Web Authoring Package * Microsoft Front Page * Macromedias Dreamweaver * It will provide ready made templates * Easy to add/remove pages without breaking the site navigation * Expensive * Takes time to learn In order for other people to see the health centres web site it must be placed on a web server. This is called hosting. A web server is made up of 2 things: * A computer * Running on the computer is a piece of software called web server software. The website is loaded on the servers hard disk, when a request is made to view a web page from the health centres site the server finds it on the hard disk and sends a copy to the computer that has made the request. The WWW is made up of millions of web servers, each connected to the internet. In order to view the health centres website, the requesting computer must be running another piece of software called the web browser. The Use of Systems Flowcharts Flow diagrams are a way to work out the best order to do something. System flowcharts show exactly how the data moves e.g. the health centre could produce a system flowchart to create a new patient record. The main symbols used to develop flowcharts are: Start/End The terminator symbol marks the starting or ending point of the process. It usually contains the word Start or End. Process A box can represent a single step (add two cups of flour), or and entire sub-process (make bread) within a larger process. Decision A decision or branching point. Lines representing different decisions emerge from different points of the diamond. Input/Output Represents material or information entering or leaving the process, such as customer order (input) or a product (output). Flow Line Lines indicate the sequence of steps and the direction of flow. Data storage Indicates a step where data gets stored. For Example Save Orders Delay Indicates a delay in the process. For example Wait 1 day There are benefits and drawbacks to using system flowcharts. Here are some of them: Advantages Disadvantages Flowcharts are good way to communicate the details of a process to all concerned e.g. programmers use them to write commands that will create the computer system. Some processes are so complex that it becomes difficult to represent them clearly in a flowchart. Flowcharts can help people analyse problems, highlight bottlenecks and is a good way to document a process. If an alteration needs to be made to the system, the flowchart usually needs to be redrawn. If it is a complicated flowchart, this can require a lot of work. Flowcharts enable an organisation to have a record of standard business processes. People need to understand what the flowchart means and what the different symbols represent. You cannot give a flowchart to a novice and expect them to understand it. The Use and Analysis of Survey Data The goal in any survey is to collect accurate and complete information. In order for a survey to be effective and provide meaningful data it should be conducted in a uniform manner i.e. all respondents must be asked the same question in the same way. Conducting a face-to-face interview and the completion of a questionnaire are 2 popular ways information is collected. Advantages/Disadvantages of Interviews Advantage Disadvantage Questions are fully completed as respondents can clarify points further with the interviewer. Interviews have to be pre-planned. A time and a place has to be convenient to both individuals. An individual may cancel. Detailed information can be gathered in a variety of formats e.g. written, voice recorded. Interviews can cause a change in behaviour and respondents may feel pressurised into giving an answer they would normally not give. The interviewer can give feedback to the respondent e.g. Thats important to know. This can be used to keep the respondent talking and therefore is likely to give more in-depth answers. Interviews are time consuming, costly and information taken by the interviewer may be too detailed, illegible etc Advantages/Disadvantages of Questionnaires Advantage Disadvantage Can reach a geographically wide spread area. Poor completion and return rate. Many people can be reached in this way quickly and cheaply Points cannot be clarified further and writing may be illegible. Easy to conduct statistical analysis on. If they are simple they have little information. If they are complex they may be difficult to understand. The health centre relies on information being up-to-date and accurate in order to plan or make decisions in the short/long term e.g. depending on the number of patients the health centre has will dictate the number of doctors it has on call. The type of information gathering techniques used will depend on the type of information required: * Quantitative information This is based on numerical facts, figures and statistics e.g. number of patients who are male, sales figures etc. * Qualitative information This provides depth and detailed information. It takes into account views, judgements and opinions etc. The type of questions asked will determine the type of responses given: * Closed ended questions These can usually be answered by a simple yes or no. They are restrictive and can be answered in a few words e.g. does this answer your question? Or can I help you? * Open-ended questions They require a more broad and lengthy answer and are used to gain more information from the respondent e.g. When you say [topic], what do you mean? Or What do you mean by [topic]? Hardware Software that could be used in a Health Centre Hardware Device Function Health Centre Applications Keyboard Input Patient detail input, database, spreadsheets. Mouse Input Most computer users prefer to use this. Scanner Input Scan hand written notes into the system (maybe from previous doctor). Digital camera Input Photo ID held on the system Temperature sensor (thermistor) Input (sensor) Environmental and safety control systems Smoke detector Input (sensor) Environmental and safety control systems Proximity detector Input (sensor) Environmental and safety control systems (doors) VDU Monitor Output Any application requiring Graphic User Interface (GUI) or information display. Receptionist: to up-date appointments Doctor: to view patients history Flat Screen VDU Output As above to save space LCD Display Output As above using laptops or in bright sunlight. Have limited viewing angle. Inkjet printer Output High quality low volume graphic publications and reports. Laser printer Output Volume printing such as welcome letters to new patients, mail shots to advise patients of changes in surgery hours etc. Dot matrix Printer Output Where multi copy output is required e.g. prescriptions. Software Programme Function Theatre Applications Database I/P Process O/P GUI Patient appointment system. Mail shot production. Spreadsheet I/P Process O/P GUI Financial analysis and reporting. Control programme I/P Process O/P GUI Environmental and safety control systems e.g. fire safety system. Word Processor I/P Process O/P GUI General office purposes. Patient letters and mail shots. Control Systems A control system is a system of hardware and software thats used to control the operation of a piece of equipment. Two types of control systems: * Dedicated: these are basic systems that carry out a pre-programmed set of instructions e.g. traffic-light system- lights change at fixed time intervals. * Computer-controlled: these use a computer to control the output device, and this computer can be connected to a sensor e.g. pressure pad sensor for automatic doors. Sensors measure physical qualities in the environment such as heat, light, pressure, sound etc. In order for a computer to control something there must be three things present: 1. A means of getting the information into the computer: An INPUT 2. Instructions for the computer to do something with the input: A PROCESS 3. It then has to be able to alter something in the outside world: An OUTPUT Most computer controlled systems use a feedback loop which is when information from a sensor is used to control the output device. The sensor sends signals back to the computer and the computer decides whether to make any changes based on this information. This happens again and again in the loop system. The flowchart below shows a loop system which represents a system for monitoring light levels outdoors and turning on a lamp when it gets dark (i.e. when the light intensity is less than 50 ona scale). Computer Controlled Systems Advantages Disadvantages Computers can respond instantly to changes. The system is expensive to purchase Systems can be running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Special software is needed. Computers can process data quickly and machines can operate faster than humans. If something unexpected happens, the system may not be able to think for itself. In the health centre the possible control systems are: A security alarm system which may have an infra-red sensor which sends a signal when the beam is broken. A heat sensitive sensor in the corner of a room which may detect the presence of a person. Temperature sensors which could be used to control the heating in the health centre. Analogue and Digital Signals Digital and analogue are two different types of transmission systems: * An analogue signal can be represented as a series of sine waves. The term describes any fluctuating or continually changing process. An example of an analogue signal would be the data sent along a telephone landline. An analogue sensor can take a range of values e.g. a heat sensor. * A digital signal has only two values On and Off. Data transmitted or stored with digital technology is expressed as a string of 0s and 1s. Each of these digits is referred to as a bit (and a string of bits that a computer can address individually as a group is a byte). An example of a digital signal would be the data sent into a television via a digital cable. An analogue sensor can only be On or Off e.g. pressure pad sensor. Computers cannot deal with analogue signals and therefore requires an analogue to digital converter (ADC).This is used to change the analogue data into digital data to allow the computer to process the information The ADC is connected between the sensor and the computers input/output port. Once the computer has processed the data, the output often has to be converted to an analogue signal and so a DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) is used. Database Systems used in a Health Centre A database is an organised collection of data which is organised into fields and records. The main benefit to the health centre for having a database is that it allows them to search quickly for specific patient information. Databases can be: * Flat-File All data is stored in one large table which can be viewed by opening one data file. It can be created using a database system or a spreadsheet. It is ideal for small amounts of data that needs to be human readable or edited by hand. With this type of system there is unnecessary duplicating of data which can mean that mistakes are more likely to happen during data input. * Relational Data is split up into sensible groups and then stored in separate tables. In the case of the health centre they could have a table with customer data, a table with appointment data etc. All the data is linked together by key fields and a database management system (DBMS). This means that data does not have to be duplicated. Relational databases also have built in functions which allow retrieval, editing and sorting of data to be much quicker.