Library Management System Essay Example for Free

Library Management System Essay In today’s modern age where computer has become a way of life, it is evident that a majority of country’s institution still do not adapt high technology. Particularly in some schools, library transactions are still done on paper. We all know that modern school libraries are operating at great pace striving to serve as many students as possible with the best of their abilities. But as the years rolled by, the number of study has grown and the manual method of managing student and book records is no longer practical. A Library Management System is a system that makes use of information technology to perform managerial objects. The main goal of a library management information system is to store, organize, share and retrieve vital information needed to perform daily operational functions of the library. St. Matthew Academy of Cavite does not have one. Since library has a very large number of books and large number of members, it is impossible for librarians to handle day to day activities manually. Therefore, a library management system is used to facilitate the tasks in the library. With growing population and high demand of students, St. Matthew Academy of Cavite is in need of such system. And so this is the reason why the proponents came up with the idea of developing the system. By means of obtaining good performance of such system for the library, the level of production and effectiveness of the library will progress. Therefore, this proposal was conducted to develop a system that will minimize all paper works and manual records keeping, thus allowing the librarians and staff ease in keeping track of student records, reducing waiting time and increasing the number of students served – a system that is well-organized, efficient and user-friendly. Statement of the Problem. We had observed that the St. Matthew Academy of Cavite Library does not have a secured system to protect their records and files. The study aims to answer the problem, â€Å"How will the proposed system assure security for the files and records of the library? † Some library cards and other files are misplaced or lost due to improper storage. The study seeks answer to the problem, â€Å"How will the proposed system keep track and record all the files and information? † According to the librarian, paper works and manual process consume a lot of time which causes the transactions to be slow and inaccurate. †How will the proposed system produce accurate and fast transactions? † Importance of the Study St. Matthew Academy of Cavite is located in Niog 1, Bacoor Cavite that offers elementary and high school courses owned by Mr Efren L. de Guzman(School director). In the School library, the processes are done manually. A borrower should have a library card; this will serve as library pass/identification to avail the privileges to each student of the school. The student may enter the book section and search for a book. After choosing a book, he/she will take it to the librarian. The librarian will get the catalogue at the back of the book and fill the details on it. The student must surrender his/her library card. Today, the kind of process they are using is no longer convenient. With establishments like St. Matthew Academy of Cavite, Library Management System is necessary. We are already in the phase wherein a lot of technological advances are taking place which makes the proposal very suitable. Through the implementation of the said system, better results and improvements will take place and it will mainly contribute to the progress of the establishment. The users are the people for whom the system is being built for. Therefore, the Library management system will help satisfy the requirements of the user. Especially now that we are in the modern age where technology has become part of our lives, the system is very appropriate to fulfill the ever-changing needs of users. The researchers are the one responsible for meeting the user requirements. The study certainly adds knowledge and improves the researchers’ skill in developing a functional system that would satisfy their clients. The study unleashes their ability to investigate and come up with a system that makes them more effective and productive researchers. For the future researchers, the Library management system works for small library establishment only. Thus, if the future researchers will find the system appealing, they can come up with new ideas and enhance the system for a more useful and efficient system which can be used for larger libraries. Objectives of the Study In general, the study aims to provide a better system for the SMAC library that would help the librarians to make their work easier. The system is created to replace the manual lending, returning of books. Specifically it aims: 1. To plan for a system that will lessen all paper works and manual procedures to make transactions fast, accurate and accessible. 2. To analyze the function and performance of the library management system, understand the user’s need for the system. 3. To design a user-friendly system that is secured and protected that will help the users understand the functions and flow of the system. 4. To implement a system that will help librarians to keep all the records and transaction manageable. Time and Place of Study The proposed study was conducted at St. Matthew Academy of Cavite, located at Niog 1, Bacoor, Cavite, in the year 2012. Scope and Limitation In general, the focus of the study is to provide a better system for the SMAC library. The implementation of the Library management system will provide solutions for the existing problems within the library. The Library management system is intended to manage the transactions going throughout the library. It will enable the user to operate all the records that are entered to the system. The system maintains the record of the books in the library, borrowing and returning process of the books in the library. It includes the information of books such as title of the book, name of author, the date it was published. The end user of the system is the librarian or the one in charge of the library, which take care of the transactions inside the library. Developments and effectiveness are to be established in this proposal. However, every study has its own limitation. The limitations of the system are the following: Module of Books The user is capable of adding, editing, and searching of book information. The members can search for book title, author or subject by keywords through the OPAC(Public user interface). The OPAC only displays result of the searched book. The members are not capable of editing any records. The user is not capable of deleting records because this is an inventory. Module of Members The user is capable of adding new members, editing, searching and updating member’s information. The user is not capable of deleting members in the database. Module of Borrowed Books This module includes data of books which are issued or borrowed. The user is capable of adding records about issuance of books. Module of Returned Books This module includes data of books which are returned. The user is capable of adding of records. Module of Unreturned books This module includes the record of all unreturned books. Module of Penalty This module includes data of fine on members for late return of books, damage of books or lost books. It does not include printing of receipt. Module of Transaction This Module includes the transactions of borrowing and returning of books, and maintaining records of the book details, member info, date borrowed, due date, the date returned and penalty, if any. Definition of Terms Visual Basic – a programming language created with the main purpose of teaching programmers and developers how to design and develop GUI. Database- a collection of data (information) on a specific topic stored in an organized manner. Record- all of the information listed for one particular item (person, place or thing) in the database file. Search/Find –an operation to locate a specific record(s) that satisfies a statement or statements of criteria. OPAC (Public Interface of User) or simply Library Catalog is a database of materials held by a library or group of libraries. Users search a library catalogprincipally to locate books and other material physically located at a library. Circulation- or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library. Filipiniana- repository of materials regarding the Philippines either published within or outside the country, authored by a Filipino or foreign writers as long as it is about the Philippines. This section includes books in the different fields of endeavor. Reference – various books that are sources of information about different subjects. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, manual, and other informational books. Most books in the Reference Section may not be taken out so that they are always available to those who need them. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Information System It has been a computer era. The computer revolution is greatly affecting the way human’s life. The task of the storage and retrieval for vest amount of information has been taken over almost entirely by computer system. The computer has made it possible to automate much of the information interchange and processing that constitute the nervous system of the society. The computer system that provides the automation is commonly called information system. It will be responsible for computer technology for long term impact on society especially in science like in the field of health and medicine, chemistry, mineral exploration, millitary tactics, finance, education, media and communications, economics, sports, transportation, photography and other related areas. The information storage and retrieval is an active area of computer to help related work both for hardware device and software system as it was stated, information storage and retrieval involves more than hardware devices and storage media alone. To make the physical equipment readily, usable it is necessary to operation associated with it are to add information and others. While many people are excited about all these uses of computer, many others are concerned about the problems like work displacement, invasion, privacy, and the personalization in business operatation. The advantages of a new technologyb are often obvious but the problemas that may arise are much more difficult to access. (Davis, 2005) Use Case Diagram A use case is a methodology used on system analysis to identify, clarify, and organize system requirements. The use case is made up of a set of possible sequences of interactions between systems and users in a particular environment and related to a particular goal. It consists of a group of elements that can be used together in a way that will have an effect larger than the sum of the separate elements combined should contain all system aactivities that have significance to the users. A use case can be thought of as a collection of possible scenarios related to a particular goal, indeed the use case and goal are sometimes considered to be synonymous. (Antoinette Michaella, 1999) Class Diagram A class diagram is an illustration of the relationships and source code dependencies among classes in the unified modeling language (UML). In this context, a class defines the methods and variables in an object which is a specific entity in a program or the unit of code representing that entity. Class diagrams are useful in all forms of object oriented programming (OOP). The concept is several years old but has been refined as OOP modeling pardigms have evolved. The classes are arranged in groups that share comon characteristics. A class diagram resembles a flowchart in which classes are portrayed in boxes. Each box having three rectangles inside. The top rectangle contains the name of the class; the middle rectangle contains the attributes of the class; the lower rectangle contains the methods, also called operations, of the class lines, which may have arrows at one or both ends, connect the boxes. These lines define the relationship, also called association, between the classes. (Francis Michael, 2001) Related Studies on the Proposed Study Saint Vincent High School Library System The objective of Saint Vincent High School Library System is to impelement a system to facilitate the borrowing of books in the school. The Library contributes to the quality of services offered in the academic community, making it an excellent place for study and research. The Library is responsive units that have adapted and changed substantially over the years. (Pomperada, 2011) El Segundo Unified School District Library System The School Libraries of the El Segundo Unified School District are deeply involved with the El Segundo Public Library. The Public Library shares the Automated Circulation and on-line Public Access Catalog System with the School Libraries. The School Libraries serve as branches of the El Segundo Public Library. This collaboration means the El Segundo Public Library Card is used at the School Libraries. Anyone visiting the Public Library and using the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) can locate and request any book in any of the libraries. Using the Interlibrary loan system, books are shared between the school libraries and the Public Library. Books can also be pooled together to assist a teacher with a research assignment. UCV Library System The University of Cagayan Valley Library System is an important part of UCV instructions. These are the heart and brain centers of the University, and special place to do research and thorough study. The libraries provide each college with intellectual, up to date high tech resources to support its educational programs. (Del Rosario, 2008) Table 1 shows the comparison of local studies features with the features of the proposed system. |FEATURES |SVHS |ESUSD |UCV |SMAC | |Checking of penalties | | | | | |Viewing of records | | | | | |Updating of Records | | | | | |Adding of Members | | | | | |OPAC | | | | | Table 2. Comparison of Local Studies features with the Proposed Study Legend: SVHS- Saint Vincent High School ESUSD – El Segundo Unified School District UCV University of Cagayan Valley METHODOLOGY The Model chosen for the study is Waterfall Model. The following are the verification phases: Figure 1. Waterfall Model The Planning Phase, the researchers determine the nature and scope of the development. In this phase, the researcher gathered all the information about their process. The procedure was conducted by interviewing the librarian to learn the process of borrowing books from the library. The librarian provided sufficient and useful information on how the manual borrowing of books in the library is conducted. The system’s physical interface, data purpose, etc. , was reviewed by the researchers. The Analysis Phase, the researchers analyzed the user’s needs for the system. In this phase, the system shall be defined in more detail with regard to system inputs, processes, outputs and interfaces. The system shall be described in terms of the functions to be performed. The document for system testing was prepared in this phase. The Design Phase, describes how the proposed system will be built. It defines the specifications, plans, parameters, activities, processes. The researchers designed a well-structured GUI to make it appropriate for the users. It must be user-friendly and secured. The Testing Phase, a particular process or method for trying or assessing. The system needs to be evaluated and tested before it will be used in SMAC Library. A sequence of test was held by the proponents to emphasize all possible problems that may occur. The Implementation Phase, the carrying out, execution or practice of a design. It encompasses all the processes involved in getting new software or hardware operating properly in its environment, including installation, configuration and running, testing and making neccesary changes. The Maintenance Phase, the last phase of the system wherein all areas of operations and maintenace are performed. The system is being used and monitored to ensure that it meets the needs initially stated in the planning phase. Design Maintenance Implementation Testing Analysis Planning.

Pros and cons of Marijuana legalization

Pros and cons of Marijuana legalization Who would have thought that one green plant, Cannabis sativa, could create so much controversy throughout the centuries? The debate on medical marijuana has been around since the 17th and 18th century. The debate if marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug, or a helpful medication for pain reliever, preventing vomiting, and treatment of glaucoma (Schwartz, 1994).Science has proven the medical benefits marijuana brings to the field of medicine. Although the American justice system is still undecided about the facts and safety of marijuana, and if marijuana should be legalized, some states have accepted the legalization of marijuana such as California. Many other states are still debating the pros and cons of marijuanas legalization. If marijuana was legalized and regulated it could save lives, help our economy grow in this economic downturn, and let our national security system attend to more alarming issues. Allegar, I. (2000). A factual guide to medical uses of marijuana. Townsend Letter for Doctors Patients Dec2000, (209), 121. This is the only book that presents many of the scientific facts about medical marijuana. Facts such as the origin of where marijuana plants came from, to facts about President Regans term, where the war on drugs began which gave marijuana a bad reputation. My favorite line from this article sums up why marijuana should be legalized. A primary fact is the proven safety of this plant- no one has ever died, overdosed, or even become ill from using marijuana. So how did this green leaf plant get such a bad reputation?(Allegar, 2000, p.209) This quote presents a great argument for the legalization of marijuana. Other drugs cause people to overdose and die, yet those drugs are legalized. So what is the problem with legalization of marijuana? Arias, d. (2007). Health findings. Nations Health, 37(3), 16. This article talks about many public health findings of medical marijuana. The discovery that marijuana relieves pain for patients that suffer from peripheral neuropathy, a nerve condition that is present in those affected with HIV (Arias, 2007). The marijuana relieved pain by 34%.Another amazing statistic is that the patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy reduced their chronic pain by 72% when smoking their first marijuana cigarette (Arias, 2007, 16). The placebo cigarette was not even comparable. This article presents good documentation of public health findings on marijuana. The procedure is organized well and easy to understand the benefits that marijuana presents in the experiment. In the research collected, this article makes the strongest point of how effective marijuana is as a pain reliever. With such high statics how can our government not legalize marijuana? Boire, R, Feeney, K. (2006). Medical marijuana law. Oakland, CA: Ronin Publishing Inc The book covers every question to what marijuana is, to why it is legal in some states. Also the book explains how the state law and federal law are two different things, and the federal law always wins. This book also brings a more in-depth explanation on marijuana history and the medical benefits. The book talked about two different alternatives to smoking marijuana such as Marinol and sativex. The pros and cons are listed for each drug. The book also explained the procedure of seeing a doctor and getting registration for the marijuana, where a safe place is to get the marijuana, and what the regulations are for growing your own marijuana plants. The book explains how to deal with the federal system and possession of marijuana. The book lists the amount of marijuana that is legal for each state. Boire and Fenney gave more information on the marijuana tax act of 1937. This book also makes the clear distinction on the federal law vs. state law. The most useful information I found in the book was the description on the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, which are: AIDS, cancer, cachexia, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and severe nausea (Boire, Fenny, 2006, p.5).Another great part of the book is about the doctors role in prescribing the marijuana. Some states require a copy of the doctors license and signed physician statement (Boire, Feeney, 2006).The different forms of medical marijuana makes a great argument on why it should be legalize. Marinol, which contains synthetic THC, is a better option than smoking marijuana because, smoking is harmful. The down fall with the synthetic THC, is it does not produce the same pain relieving effect (Boire, Feeney, 2006). The book also talks about the patients rights and restrictions about medical mariju ana. This information helped me better understand both sides of the debate. Durand, M. (2007). Considering cannabis. Inside MS Jun/Jul2007, 25(3), 56-57. The article deals with the medical affects that Cannabis (marijuana) has on patients with multiple sclerosis. The marijuana helps prevent vomiting and muscle spasm. Experiments were done on rats to prove the medical benefit of marijuana. Some of the reverse side effects of marijuana are also listed. This article helps back up my thesis with the proof of medical facts to legalize marijuana. The drug is helpful with patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis. With dosage controlled and overseen by a physician I feel there is no reason to have these patients suffer and not be able to have marijuana. Garner-Wizard, M. (2006). FDA denies medicinal value of smoked marijuana. . HerbalGram Sep-Dec2006, 25(72), 22. This article is very interesting; because attention is brought to what party the U.S. government or medical system is lying. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) says that there is no medical proof of medical marijuana. The FDA also argues that no science experiment on animals has been conducted and documented. The medical system talks about the lack of faith they have with the FDA. Medical experts do not believe that it is a communication error between the science departments and government officials, rather than the government does not want to accept the medical facts and legalize marijuana. The government wants to keep a strong stand on drugs. This article is perfect for playing devils advocate on the debate of medical marijuana. Medical experts have the facts and experiments in books and other science journal researched in this paper. So if the public can receive these written documents why is the government unable to? This article also presents the question of what is the true motivatation of not legalizing marijuana. What else is the government keeping from us? Krisberg, k. (2009). Fight for reform of U.S. drug policies slowly Making headway. [cover story]. Nations Health, 39(8), 1-10. Krisberg has presented facts and many view points from different medical experts. The reading is hard to understand what party believes what. The main concept retained from this reading is the president Barack Obama says he has the willingness to put science before policies (Krisberg, 2009, p.7) Meaning he would put opinions and policies aside and make a decision based on facts. While this article was difficlulent to understand and follow, the article is somewhat humorous. The president suggests he will move the legalization of medical marijuana if facts are presented. This entire annotated bibliography is filled of sources with many facts on the benefits of marijuana. So what is the hold up? Why has marijuana only been legalized in some states, and even then the federal law has many regulation and restrictions. What kind of facts are the government looking for. How can the American society observe the medical benefits of medical marijuana, but our public officials cannot? This creates a great viewpoint to think about while researching. Marandino, c. (1998). Fired up. Vegetarian Times, (247), 18. This article is a little old but still presents a great point. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend that marijuana does present some medical benefits for serious illnesses. The American Medical Association also agreed that marijuana had some medical benefits. The public views are also document about the legalization of marijuana. This article prevents proof that medical research has been conducted and presented to the public. This article was written in 1998, and even though medical facts have been presented for medical marijuana many still opposed the idea of legalization. Marijuana has been viewed as a dangerous drug for centuries. No matter how many statics and facts are presented on why marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes, can change the mind of the American justice system. Marijuana. (2007). Marijuana fast facts, 1-2. This article presented some common background information. Because this was the first article researched, on the quest to understand the legalization of medical marijuana it was very helpful. To understanding the scientific name of the drug, to understanding the positive and negative aspects of marijuana, this article was very helpful. After reading this article and gaining some background knowledge, the more in-depth and complicated articles were easier to follow. Some of the information about the problem facing federal and state laws conflicting the legalization of medical marijuana. Also the information about marijuana being a risk and side effects that come with the drug will be helpful in presenting both sides of the debate. Marijuana and future psychosis. (2007). Nutrition Health Review: The Consumers Medical Journal , (98), 17. This article argues against the legalization of medical marijuana. All of the information in the article is about the life long lasting side effects of marijuana. How the use of marijuana can lead to psychosis and severe mood changes. There are two view points to very argument. While there is not sufficient medical evidence shown in this document to oppose the legalization of marijuana, this side still must be presented. The main reason for this view point is because of the side effects of marijuana. Like any other drug, marijuana has side effects. Some side effects are more harmful than those of marijuana, yet they are still legal. Minamide, E. (2007). Medical marijuana. Framington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. Minamide organized his text to show both sides of the legalization of marijuana debate. Some of the key topics are if medical marijuana is effective medical treatment or not. If the legalization of medical marijuana would negatively impact society or not, and finally if the federal government should ban medical marijuana or not. Debra J. Saunders argues that marijuana should be legalized because it can help many serious illnesses. Saunders believes that congress should move marijuana out of the classification of Schedule I drug, a caterogory that includes more serious drugs like heroine, to a Schedule II drug , like cocaine and morphine, which are available for medical use(Minamide,2007,p.12). Medical experts have facts that prove marijuana as a helpful medicine. Experts in medicane also believe the drug should be moved into the Schedule II drug. On the opposing viewpoints the book highlights a key point that harm of medical marijuana may outweigh the medical benefits (Minamide, 2007, p.34). Smoking in itself is harmful to the respiratory system regardless if it relieves pain and prevents nausea. Another great point highlighted in the book is if the legalization would negatively impact society. Mark R.Trouville says that the legalization of marijuana would interfere with the undermine law enforcement efforts to combat drug trafficking and would send a dangerous message that marijuana is a harmless substance (Minamide, 2007, p.38). The book also plays devil advocate and presents arguments for the legalization of marijuana that help my thesis out. Schwartz, H. (1994). Psychiatric practice under fire the influence of government, the media, and special interest on somatic therapies. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric press, Inc. The book gave facts on medical marijuana and the battle it has been facing for years. The book was written in the 1994 so the legal status was not up to date. Although, the history of marijuana and the medical benefits it had was very informational. The book also broke down the main ingredient in marijuana, and describes how they had medical benefits. A lot of case experiments proved medical marijuana helped the patient. The book also talked about the historic time line of marijuana. From the beginning of time when marijuana came from India in the 17th and 18th century, to Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 all the way to 1942 when American framers started to grow hemp for rope in World War II. The helpful information presented in this book had some general background information of marijuana. The author talked about THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main ingredient of marijuana. In 1895 THC was approved by the Food and Drug administration (FDA). The FDA noted that THC was combating nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.(Schwartz, 1994, p.106) The book also noted three main reasons why medical marijuana should be legalized. The first of the three reasons is to treat glaucoma. The next main reason was to relieve nausea, and last but not least is to stimulate appetite. I think that congress should look at all of the medical facts about medical marijuana and how it relieves pain for cancer patients and also prevents vomiting. In todays medical world there are a lot of addictive drugs used as pain relievers. Yet these drugs are legalized. The legalization of medical marijuana could help our economy grow. The last piece of information presented in this book was a great example of why marijuana should be legalized. In August 1992, for example, Valarie Corral, a 40-year-old woman from Santa Cruz, California, who smoked marijuana for 18 years to control epileptic seizures, was arrested for growing five plants in a vegetable garden near her porch (Rogers 1993).Under California Law, she faced up to 3 years for her offense. Valarie did not get sentenced 3 years for her plants; the judge understood her medical purpose for them. Valaries doctor reported her prescription for medical marijuana to help with her spastic muscles when she had seizures. Before her muscles were out of control and she complained of pain. Once she started smoking marijuana when she felt a seizure coming along, her seizures were not as intense or long. This is just one example of how medical marijuana has positively impacted a life. Now Valarie can drive a car and perform day to day tasks thanks to help of marijuana she can live her life.

Technological Considerations in Interface Design

Technological Considerations in Interface Design Technological Considerations in Interface Design Physical characteristics of the device and device internal software affects the screen interface design. Graphics compatibility for Screen design must be ensured with the following system components: System power. Screen size. Screen resolution. Display colors. Other display features. Development and implementation tools being used. System platform being used. Platform style guide being used. Information Retrieval (IR): it concerns with the study of finding required data. i.e., IR helps users to notice data that matches their data desires. Technically, IR studies the organization, acquisition, distribution, storage, and retrieval of data. Information retrieval models An IR model directs how a document and a query are characterized and how the significance of a document to a user query is defined. Following are the main models in IR Boolean model Each document or query in Boolean model,is treated as a â€Å"bag† of words or terms. Mathematically for a given collection of documents D, let V = {t1, t2, ,t|V|} be the set of distinctive words/terms in the collection. V is called the vocabulary. A weight wij> 0 is associated with each term tiof a document dj∈D. For a term that does not appear in document dj, wij= 0. dj= (w1j, w2j, , w|V|j), Query terms are combined together logically using the Boolean operators such as AND, OR and NOT. Example : ((data AND warehousing) AND (NOT text)) Vector space model (VSM) In VSM too, Documents are treated as a â€Å"bag† of words or terms. Each document is represented as a vector. However, the term weights are no longer 0 or 1. Each term weight is computed based on some variations of called Term Frequency TF or TF-IDF scheme. Term Frequency (TF) Scheme: The weight of a term tiin document djis the number of times that tiappears in dj, denoted by fij. Normalization may also be applied. ,, Here, tf: still term frequency idf: inverse document frequency. n: total number of docs dfi: the number of docs that ti appears. 1.5.5 Popular HCI Tools HCI Browser This Browser (HCIB) is designed and implemented by the research team of North Carolina University. It can be downloaded fromhttp://ils.unc.edu/hcibrowser . Following are the features of HCI Browser: Web presenting task can be evaluated using this tool. designed to assist research activities in HCI through internet Can be added as an add-on to the Firefox browser. Presents operations for users working in toolbar area. Presents the following to the users: administer pre- task questionnaires administer post-task questionnaires event data of searching and browsing activities. Saves the following events of browser: Pages loaded Links clicked Window and tab focus changes Open/close windows and tabs Back/forward button clicks Typed URLs Scrolling History/bookmarks menu Closes windows automatically. Generates a new log file for each process Includes the following entries for log file: login time, session id, user id, and Process id Sketch Tools Natural art work designers are in need of many free form software tools to express their sketching designs. Right now, existing software tools support pen and ink input to certain extent only. There is a need for intelligent software that can sketch, recognize and convert the natural sketches automatically. Following are such tools: Inkkit It is a toolkit used to sketch diagrams. It can be applied over a range of domains. This software is able to run on a Tablet PC. InkKit consists of the following: User Interface The user interface is supported by two main views: sketch pages This view supports easy drawing process. portfolios. Here this point displays a set of sketches. These sketches can be linked to enable relationships. Recognition Engine The power of InkKitis its recognition engine To recognize a specific diagram, it creates a diagram domain and provides examples. The sketches on this user interface design will normally be converted into both HTML and Java. It is a research tool designed for non-commercial purpose. Freeform Freeform tools provide a pen based interface. This tool is mainly used to design controls in the forms by hand sketching. Requirements :Visual Basic Features: Designs of user interfaces are quicker and easier than creating them with a form builder. SketchNode Sketchnode is a tool used to draw graphs with edges and nodes easily. This tool runs on Tablet PC. Design in this tool can be either done by pen or using drag and drop interaction. Optimization algorithms are used for transforming of not clear graph into a clearer one. Features: supports both low and high fidelity graph rendering. Easy design process No convolution of images due to optimization. Intelligent Mind Map Humans effectively and effortlessly split between drawing and writing ink. This split is difficult to achieve in digital systems. This tool supports for the informal document on the tablet PC by recognition and ink reflow techniques. TATool This tool is designed to generate task representations in hierarchical manner. This research was carried out in the Patras University. The original task of this TATool is to analysis the task in interactive system design. It is recognized as a common tool to design hierarchical structures and Visualized objects This tool TATool generates output in XML form and an RTF report. This software runs only on Windows OS. It maps user-system interaction’s recorded events to the process model. COGTool It is one of the HCI tools used to predict total execution time for a skilled user for performing a particular sequence of actions on a system. The predictions made by CogTool are based on, a psychological theory of human cognitive and motor capabilities, called the Keystroke-Level Model (KLM). Following are the features: automates the application of KLM to specific problems, providing an alternative to time-consuming and expensive user testing. predicts what KLM can predict, that is, execution time for a skilled user of a system. Drawbacks It cannot predict learning time, problem-solving paths, or user satisfaction with a system. CMTool CMTool aims to achieve the task modelling process. Any major task can be splitted into many sub tasks by divide and conquer strategy and organising the task in hierarchical structure. This tool uses this hierarchical way along with logical operators such as AND , OR , NOT to solve the sub task. Following are its features: supports graphical and character notations for task representation. supports temporal analysis for each task supports relational database, grouping the various systems analyzed, with additional identification information. supports quantitative analysis tools for the task metrics provides various representations of data in the form of tree view , report view , structured view. automates synthesis of task structures already stored 1.6 Architecture of HCI systems Architecture of a HCI system should describe the working procedure of cooperation between inputs and outputs. There are two standard HCI architectures as follows: Unimodal systems Multimodal systems 1.6.1 Unimodal Architecture Modality means an independent single channel. Unimodal systems are designed based on single modality. They are further classified based on the nature as follows: Visual Audio Sensor 1.6.1.1 Visual HCI: Its application areas are facial expression analysis, Body movement tracking, gesture recognition and Gaze detection. Table 1.7 – Visual HCI Research areas 1.6.1.2 Audio HCI This uses various audio signals to acquire information. They are helpful, unique and trustable. It’s application areas are speaker recognition, musical integration, auditory emotion analysis and Human made noise or sign detections. 1.6.1.3 Sensor HCI It uses atleast one sensor between user and computer to enable interaction. Examples of sensors are not limited to pen based interaction, joysticks, mouse-keyboard, haptic sensors, taste or smell sensors, pressure sensors and motion tracking sensors. 1.6.2 Multimodal Architecture It combines multiple modalities. Here modalities refer to communication channels. The channels are sensors for sight ,taste , hear ,smell and touch. Gesture ,speech and gaze are common forms of input models. The examples of multimodal applications are not limited to smart video conferencing, driver monitoring, intelligent games, helping disable people and smart homes. 1.7 Advances in HCI Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence: It is also known as third way of computing that is interaction among many computers and one person. The evolution is as follows: First way of computing main frame era many people one computer. Second way of computing PC era one person many computers. 1.8 Overview The remaining part of this book includes both theoretical material and practical approaches to designing user interfaces. The topics include: Usability engineering principles Experimental and prototype cognitive architectures Design of effective spoken dialogue systems Role of recommender [e1]systems in web technologies Advanced visualization techniques based on ontologies Intelligent and adaptive HCI Ubiquitous computing and Ambient Intelligence. 1.9 HCI Sample Exercises Application of Weber’s Law in the design of Human Interfaces Weber’s Law It states that the size of the observable various is a constant proportion (K times) of the actual stimulus value. Stimulus intensity must be changed with a minimum amount to create a observable difference in sensory experience. Weber’s Law to user interfaces Information in a computer can be displayed in various formats such as text, pictures, drawings, maps, graphs, videos etc. This information may be from small to large in size with respect to the following: Brightness loudness line length visual weight of fonts in typography color matching Weber’s law helps to analyze and design the above effectively. Procedure Changing Shape – Rectangle Experiment Design a form with the following : 6 rectangular blocks -objects with different colour a stop clock timer -to observe the time value Start button -to start the event Text box -to display the time value Reset button-to restart the experiment Press â€Å"START†button. Observe all blocks minutely and identify the one that expands in breadth after some time. Stop timer themoment difference is identified. Record time. Repeat steps 2 to 5 and plot graph between% colour differenceandnumber of attempts. Repeat same experiment by pressing â€Å"RESET† button. Changing Shape Circle Experiment Design a form with the following six circles-object with colour a stop clock timer -to observe the time value Start button -to start the event Text box -to display the value Reset button-to restart the experiment Pressâ€Å"START†button. Observe all circles minutely and identify the one that expands in radius after some time. Stop timer themomentarea difference is identified. Record time and the % noticed difference or the %area difference. Repeat steps 2 to 5 and plot graph between% radial differenceVsnumber of attempts. ChangingColor CircleExperiment Design a form with the following 6 circles-object with colour a stop clock timer -to observe the time value Start button -to start the event Text box -to display the value Reset button-to restart the experiment Pressâ€Å"START†button. Observe all circles minutely and identify the one that changes colour after some time. Stop timer the moment colour difference is identified. Record time and the % noticed difference or the %area difference. Repeat steps 2 to 5 and plot graph between% colour differenceVsnumber of attempts. Discussion Good user interface design can be made by avoiding uneven size or mismatching colour controls. GOMS(Goals,Operators,Methods, andSelection rules) Objective To build a GOMSmodelforcomparing the actualtimetaken for a task by two interfaces and predict the best one. Experimental Procedure Design twodifferent user interfaces with the following controls: Label-to display users with questions Text box-to receive information about the user Button-to perform action Timer-to inform time to the user List box / option button-to display answers to the questions Make Interface-1to have list-boxestoinput user responses. Make Interface-2to haveradio-buttons toinput user responses. Use this interfaces to rate understanding of few core subjects. Pressâ€Å"Start†button tostartrecordtime beforeshowing responses to interface-1 Giveresponses for each subject using interface-1. Pressâ€Å"Stop†buttonto stop recording of time after finishing all responses. Repeatsameprocedurefromsteps 5to7forinterface-2. Observation: There might be a difference in the task completion time, because of Difference in interaction elementschosen andtheir layout a cognitive / perceptual factor is contributing to task completion time An interaction task is always guided by the user goals, interface operators andalternative methods available on interface for achieving those goals. Colour Design for a User Form Objective To apply colour theoryand features required for colour textand background legibility in creating attractiveuser form. Basics Primary Colours: colours that cannot be created by mixing others. e.g. Red, yellow and blue. Secondary Colours:colours achieved by a mixture of two primaries e.g. Green, orange and purple Tertiary Colours:colours achieved by a mixture of primary and secondary hues. e.g. Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green yellow-green Complementary Colours: colours located opposite each other on a colour wheel. Analogous Colours:colours located close together on a colour wheel. Procedure Design a form thatconsistsoftwosections Contentwindow Colour- settingwindow Design a Content Window with broad blackoutline. Split broad outline as three or more sections based on the usage withthin blackborders. Selectanyofthesesectionsbyclickingwithintheboundary. Change selection section border colour into red. Use coloursettingwindow tochange colours of the selectedsection. Design a Colour settingwindow(Textcoloursetting) Place three text boxes and slider to receive RGB colour values. Design a button to apply the computed RGB colorvalue. Design a Colour-settingwindow(Bakgroundcolour setting) Place three text boxes and slider to receive RGB colour values. Design a button to apply the computed RGB colourvalue. Apply colour brightness difference and colour difference formulae to see if they really work in practiceimproving legibility of the colour text. Observations: Allows user to apply various colours to text as well as its background andcreate differentcolourcontrasts. Review Questions How do you justify HCI as an interdisciplinary research domain? Why is HCI so important? Describe the framework of the three level model of HCI. Summarize the factors in HCI. Describe the framework of broad HCI issues and concerns. Discuss on the design principles of HCI Summarize advanced I/O devices [e1]Recommender or recommended

One Era To Another: The Telephone Essay -- Inventions, Alexander Graha

The modern version of the telephone has proven a significant change over the years from what it was at one point. What allows us to communicate with the world at any hour; minute and second of the day only exhibits how significant the invention has been for individuals. It is one of the most used pieces of electronics in the world today. Over time research has not only led to different versions of the phone, but to the developments of different tones, caller id’s, dialing, call tracing and allowing a person to listen to music while on hold. Alexander Graham Bell was born in March of 1847 in Edinburgh to a family whose life revolved around sound, speech and communication (Stern and Gwathmey 1). It was at the beginning of the second decade of the rule of Queen Victoria and Britain was entering an age of industrial expansion, with science on the rise. Bell at a young age proved to be quite the gentlemen, his training in etiquette and public speaking only proved to serve him well throughout life. It was during a visit to the London workshop of Sir Charles Wheatstone, he discovered the scientist’s invention of the speaking machine that fascinated him (Stern and Gwathmey 2). Curious and ambitious he set out and took a position as a professor of music and elocution, the study and art of speaking clear at a boarding school. Shortly thereafter tragedy struck in the Bell family and fearing further loss the family relocated to Brantford, Ontario in 1870. Bell spent a short time in Canada and quickly found his love of lif e in Boston. Bell began teaching deaf children and it was here he met Thomas Sanders and Gardiner Greene Hubbard. Little did Bell know these two men would play a prominent role in the patent of the telephone and directio... ...phone service. Here we sit in the 21st century and look at the one instrument that once brought people together, and has now spawned an industry that keeps them apart. Ultimately the telephone led in a new era, in which it has changed the way we talk to people and access information. Having a telephone allows families to stay in contact, business’s to advertise and one of the largest contributions is how it has brought on the ability to call during emergencies. Bell once wrote in 1878: "I believe in the future wires will unite the head offices of telephone companies in different cities, and a man in one part of the country may communicate by word of mouth with another in a distant place." (Marples, thehistoryof) From the telephone's earliest days and little did one know, it is safe to say Bell understood his invention's vast potential and what it would be today.

Cathers Death Comes for the Archbishop - A Narrative :: Cather Death Comes for the Archbishop

Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop - A Narrative As I was gathering information on the World Wide Web for my discussion for class, I encountered snippets of the debate as to the classification of Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. Having "thumbed through" a few arguments and some reader responses to her books and having read the work, I have come to a safe conclusion: If Cather would like her book remembered as a narrative, then we should respect her wishes and let it lie at that. The reason? It's not a novel. At least not a good one. Cather can write and what she did in DCA proves her talent. Her descriptions are intriguing and she can paint a wonderful landscape with words that any reader can feel completely encompassed in. Her characters are solid; you love them or hate them and you have a number of reasons to defend your position. All the bits and pieces of DCA are sound. No, the problem is not with her technical style so much as her overall composition. There's no plot. What Cather has essentially given us is a collection of anecdotes about a couple of Catholic priests spreading religion in newly acquired plots of American soil. It's true that by the end of the book, the stories ebb themselves together and remarkably even make a strong impression, however, the last quarter of a book is not the strongest locus to begin a plot. The reader would like a reason or even a clue or mild suggestion as to what the book is going to be about by the time he is half way through it. I was pretty sure it had something to do with those mules as they seemed to work themselves back into the story a number of times. (I was quite positive of this when the one time Father Latour decided not to take his pearl-colored mule on an emergency trip and instead opted for the larger army mule, it died in the snowstorm, thus saving noble Angelica.) Alas, it wasn't about the mules. One loose definition of a narrative is simply the telling of a series of events.

My Dreamed Husband

Good afternoon everyone present. Today, I would like to talk about â€Å"My Dreamed Husband†. We all have very high expectations or ideals about our future husbands. It is quite natural to have preconceived ideas about our future husbands. It will indeed, be rare to find a husband with all the virtues and qualities that we exalt. Perhaps that is the reason why some relationships that have strong initial potential tend to become sour. It is not wrong to have dreams and fantasies about our future husbands but they should remain just that – dreams and fantasies. In reality we have to adapt ourselves and accommodate our spouses’ faults and shortcomings to make marriages successful alliances. I also have my dreams and fantasies of how my dreamed husband should be. In the first place, he should be a gem of character with a heart of gold. Good character and personality traits top my list of priorities. I would not want a man with Mel Gibson’s physique or Robert Redford’s charm because, then, he would be sought after by every other woman and if he happens to have a roving eye, then he may be unfaithful. No, I would prefer a man with average looks but who has a good reputation and without any major flaws in his character. My dreamed husband should also share some of my interests. I am an extrovert and I enjoy socializing and meeting people. Similarly, I would also expect my dreamed husband to be outgoing and friendly. I also enjoy shopping and travelling. I have expensive hobbies and therefore tend to be extravagant. It is, therefore, quite natural for me to expect my husband to be thrifty and who would, at the same time, try to curb my spending habits. Although I would like my dreamed husband with a financially secure job, I would not like him to be over-ambitious and put his career above his family. If his focus is solely on enhancing his career prospects, he might neglect his family. He might also insist that I stay home and take care of the children. As I hope to be a career woman, I will not be satisfied to be a mere housewife. I would love to be financially independent. Like most girls, I hope that I can find a perfect man in my future. He does not have to be a gorgeous-looking man but he must be a loving and responsible man. Not only should he be a good conversationalist but he should also have a good sense of humor. That, in a nutshell, are some the things I look for in my dreamed husband.

Antanas Kaztauskis Essay

Antanas Kaztauskis made a right choice when I chose to come to U. S. for better life, better opportunity for his life. I think he should suggest people to come to the U. S. Because as he came to U. S. even he had to face to lot of problem, but every success required hard time to pass. In his old country, people didn’t have to face of hard problem like that in life, but they didn’t have fully rights of human should had. They couldn’t write or read in their own language. There weren’t school for them to learn their own language, only Russian school available. Russian school charged lot of money, most of them can afford it and they had to stay uneducated just because they had to pay high tax and didn’t have enough money to go to school. They didn’t have to vote and no election or meeting happen in their country. Government controlled everything and didn’t give their people any chance to controlled their own policy. They couldn’t have right to have their religion. They would be caught and put in jail because it was illegal to follow any religion. It was just liked they were in jail but lived with their family. Everything was controlled by Government. The shoe maker man could understand and saw through what happen with people in there so he suggest Antanas Kaztauskis to come to U. S. It was the best choice for Antanas Kaztauskis. First he had to come to many place to arrive U. S. The award was very nice. He got a job. He could made money and lived in a freedom country which he could do whatever he want but it had to be legal and not exceed the limit. He had right to learn English, read newspapers, worked and fed himself. He didn’t have to pay high tax and give everything he earn to Government as he usually did in his own country. He could join election to vote for who would be the leader to help the people of U. S. He got lot of freedom more than he did in his old country. The first Amendments of U. S. said that people have freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press as well as the right to assemble and petition. All the rights was protected by government. People of the U. S. ould have natural rights with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Antanas Kaztauskis should write a letter and told his people in his old country about what he experienced and suggest all the young people to come here, to the U. S for better life, so they could help their family from the oppression life. They could open his mind, learn Americanization and receive the best things they could have for the entire of their life. At first they would be upset and disappointed but they wouldn’t be regret after. The U. S would be their best choice.