Private and public school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Private and public school - Essay Example It is much less costly to learn in a public school which is offered free by the government than a private school. Of course, with private schools dependent on tuition, private grants and donations to finance their operations, they would have to be costly. IES gives an estimate of the average tuition fees for US private day schools at $12,000, $13,000 and $15,000 for grades 1 to 3, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12 respectively. In most cases, these figures exclude the cost of books and other school supplies. It therefore makes economic sense to enroll into a public school. Generally, students in public schools receive the most current curricula, thus gain appropriate skills to survive in the modern world. As noted by Strauss, public school teachers would be more likely to have certification and undergo continuous training in their respective areas of studies. This keeps them up-to-date on research-based instructional standards and also on resources supported by relevant professional entities. On the other hand, private school teachers would be rarely impelled to undertake such trainings. Despite much criticism, it would be appreciated that current instructional practices and teacher certification play a critical role in the performance of students in public schools. However, critics of public schools argue that private schools perform better academically than public schools. As noted by Strauss, a majority of private schools are operated in a closed door fashion. This has been noted to boost their performance. Additionally, proprietors of such schools do all within their means to make sure their students pass so as to be competitive in their business. Teachers spend more time with the students than would be the case in public schools. They even develop customized assessment systems for their students to better understand their learning styles and help them succeed academically. Nonetheless, credible studies that statistically adjust these

Rational Choice Theory Essay Example for Free

Rational Choice Theory Essay A Significant theory to me will be the Rational Choice theory. This theory explains how people make decisions by seeking the most cost-effective means to achieve a specific goal without reflecting on the worthiness of that goal; to maximize personal advantage by weighing costs against benefits without moral or ethical values. It is a popular theory as it is an efficient system that explains and predicts a behavior of a person, and to larger extent, a collective group of people. Understanding this theory would allow a person to understand quickly how decisions are made, and the impact of the decisions on a society — how it functions and performs economically. Based on this theory, people’s measured decisions are often calculated based on financial benefits and costs. Singapore, by and large, has functioned on this theory, which has benefited from this tool of measurement and prospered since the days of nation building. However, this theory will work perfectly only if everyone in the society shares the same values, had perfect information, and the ability to make the most rational decisions at any point in time. People living in a society with homogenous values, such as Singapore, have similar behavioural patterns, which enable this theory to work. However, on a global scale, this theory will no longer work as peoples’ values are varied and culturally diverse. The most rational choice for one man might be an irrational choice for another. And when this occurs, there will be unpredictability and the results that follow can be disastrous. The Great Financial Crisis is a good example of the rational choice theory gone awry. Financial institutions’ goal is to maximize profits. To maximize profits, financial institutions have to find ways to create profits. One of these methods was to get creative with offering mortgage to people who wanted to own homes. Credit terms were made easy and the securities in place to safeguard the process were ignored. These consolidated loans were sold to big investment banks which resold them as securities offering high returns. Credit agencies working for these investment banks told investors’ that securities were safe. Selling a financial product based on a large group on loans was supposed to limit the risk if a few loans went bad. However, a large number of loans, later known as toxic, were borro wed by individuals with no financial means. Furthermore, many of these loans were offered in the form of adjustable rate mortgage, which started out with an initial period of low interest rate, and later ballooned up to three times the initial rate. All these borrowers were saddled with a monthly mortgage payment way beyond their monthly income. To make matters worse, the sprint to own a house on such easy terms had created a housing bubble, causing house prices to escalate astronomically. This phenomenon further pushed people to borrow way beyond their means. Consequently, millions of homeowners were unable to repay their mortgage loans. The financial institutions disregarded moral and ethical values to draw up shady credit schemes. Consolidated mortgages were bundled in with the toxic ones and resold for profits. Individuals felt the need to buy a house simply because everyone else was buying a house without the discretion of affordability and the hyper-inflated housing prices. Ea ch acted on imperfect knowledge to maximize personal benefits and disregard moral and ethical values. Rational choice theory can be an efficient method as a decision-making tool to attain goals, but it is definitely too simple an application on a macro context. To make a good decision, one has to balance cost-benefit analysis with moral and cultural factors.

Impacts of the Imaginary Number on Mathematics

Impacts of the Imaginary Number on Mathematics Mathematics was mans first approach to understanding the world around them since the beginning of humanity. The study grew with history in various forms with every human civilization, and as time passed, more discoveries were made that allowed humanity to reach great heights in agriculture, architecture, social structure, and their culture. Great mathematicians continued extensive studies and experiments with various values that existed in their time to further improve the study. However, the concept of the imaginary number i was developed fairly recently. This essay is written from the fascination of abstract mathematical concepts, to develop the impacts of the imaginary number on mathematics. In order to research this topic, I am required to view numerous proposed and established claims of the imaginary numbers history, and find these ideas being used with real numbers to obtain solutions to problems we have today in other subjects such as physics, and astronomy. The purpose of this essay is to further research the significance of the imaginary number, i, and its contributions to modern mathematics, physics, engineering, and other sciences. The expansion of knowledge on this topic will further propel the study of mathematics in the future. Mathematics is the only subject that can explain the universe in a logical, unbiased, and truthful way. Mathematics has been in the roots of the development of advanced civilizations, in any time period. As humanity advanced, mathematics expanded. However, dilemmas were created as a consequence of its advancements. People created concepts within mathematics which a human brain could not fully understand. Concepts such as the imaginary number, i, are impossible to truly comprehend with our limited minds. However, the beauty of mathematics is that even the most impossible seeming, imaginary number, i has a history, and has significant impacts to modern mathematics. In mathematics, a square number is defined as an integer that is the product of some integer with itself. For example, 9 is a square number, as it is the product of 3 3. This can be written in an alternate notation, 32, which is pronounced as 3 squared. The name square comes from the fact that the area of a square is the product of its 2 equal side lengths. A square number is always a positive value, as positive positive = positive, and negative negative = positive also. If squaring exists as an operation, there has to be the counter operation; the square root, or . The square root takes a square number and reduces it to the single factor that was squared to form the square number. For example, = 3. As all square numbers are positive, square roots of negative numbers are illogical, or it was only considered illogical in the pastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ = i, or the imaginary number, has the property of becoming a real number when raised to the power of an even number; i2 = ()2 = 1, or; i4 = ()4 = 1. A real number include all of the rational numbers, as in it is a whole number, or has an ending decimal value, and all of the irrational numbers, which have unending decimal values. The characteristic that all 3 types of numbers have in common is that they can be represented in a number line, in some form. Unlike these real numbers, i has no way to be represented on a line.   Furthermore, i is not the only imaginary number; it is the unit imaginary number, used as a part of a complex number. A complex number is a combination of a real number and an imaginary number, taking the form of x + iy, where x and y are real numbers. For example, 12 5i is a complex number. However, when x = 0, leaving only iy, such as 16i, it is then called a purely imaginary number. In contrast, if y = 0 leaving only x, the complex number is then a real number. In this sense, all real numbers are actually just subsets of complex numbers. In calculations, complex numbers are often paired with conjugates, which is defined as the binomial formed by negating the second term of a binomial, in the form of x  ± yi; in relation to complex numbers, it is the complex number with the imaginary part having the opposite sign. For example, the conjugate of the complex number 12 5i is 12 + 5i. These conjugates functions to eliminate the imaginary numbers from the denominator of a complex fraction, by multiplying the numerator and the denominator by the appropriate conjugate. The conjugate always = 1, so it does not alter the value of any equation. For instance, in an equation such as    it can be simplified by multiplying (which equals 1) to it, resulting in = =   yielding a single complex number, As shown, the imaginary number is not some abstract concept of virtually zero use; it can be applied to real mathematics as simply as such. However, the idea of an imaginary number was not widely accepted until relatively recently in history, in the last 2 centuries or so. Before the concept of imaginary numbers were even conceived of, mathematics in the western world was restricted to geometry, led by the Ancient Greeks. The Algebra that modern mathematics is familiar with was invented by the Hindus, which was later translated and improved by the Arabs, spear-headed by Arab Mathematician Al-Khwarizmi(780-850). At the time, however, the solutions to polynomials were restricted to positive solutions, omitting any negative quantities. Al-Khwarizmis algebra was then translated from Arab to Latin by Gerardus Cremonensis, and Leonardo Bonacci, also known as Fibonacci. (MerinoOrlando) The first recorded use of complex numbers in seen in the works by Gerolamo Cardano. Cardano was an Italian mathematician during the 16th century Renaissance. In fact, he is recognized as one of the most influential mathematicians of the time, being a prominent member for the foundation of probability, binomial coefficients, and binomial theorems. He also contributed to the invention of the combination lock, and the modern gyroscope. He published over 200 works over the course of his lifetime. One of his famous works, the Ars Magna, published in 1545, included the problem To divide 10 in two parts, the product of which is 40, or finding the solution to 10 + 40 = 0. (BogomolnyAlexander, Remarks on the History of Complex Numbers) Cardano usually used geometric algebra in order to avoid any use of negative numbers by considering several different forms of quadratic equations; however, he decided to solve the question he declares impossible. He first divided 10 in half, making each 5. Then according to the methods he discussed in the previous section of his book, he squares 5, and subtracts 40 from it, leaving à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢15. He then square roots -15, which he then adds and subtracts from 5, leaving him with the roots (5 + ) and (5 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ). In mathematical terms, his operation was   Ã‚   52 = 25 25 40 = -15 5  ± (5 + ) (5 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ) = 40. This is confirmed by simply multiplying the binomials: (25 5 + 5 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢15) =(25 + 15) = 40. However, Cardano writes that in conclusion, this solution is useless, as it cannot be performed. (MerinoOrlando) The next significant milestone was achieved by the mathematician Rafael Bombelli in his (1572) work, Algebra. He was the first to recognize the significance of à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1, and notates it pià º di meno, or plus of minus in Italian. Bombelli was far more familiar with the operation of negative numbers than Cardano, and establishes the rules when handling different signed numbers. His works are as follows; the following is directly translated from his work in Italian: Plus times plus makes plus (1 1 = 1) Minus times minus makes plus ( 1 1 = 1 ) Plus times minus makes minus ( 1 1 = 1 ) Minus times plus makes minus. ( 1 1 = 1 ) He then annunciates the behavior of the number plus of minus: Plus of minus times plus of minus makes minus ( = 1 ) Plus of minus times minus of minus makes plus ( = 1 ) Minus of minus times plus of minus makes plus ( = 1 ) Minus of minus times minus of minus makes minus ( = 1 ) (BogomolnyAlexander, Remarks on the History of Complex Numbers) Bobelli took the same approach as other mathematician at the time when encountering negative roots as a solution to cubic and quadratic equations, often omitting them completely, or disregarding them. However, he did attempt once to solve a cubic using imaginary numbers, and succeeded, without realizing its validity. The term imaginary was coined by the philosopher and mathematician Renà © Descartes (1596-1650); he also coined the term real number to distinguish between real and imaginary roots of polynomials. He did not actually contribute to the mathematics aspect of i, but just provided a name for the poorly understood concept. John Wallis (1616 -1703) was first to introduce a geometric interpretation of complex numbers, and believe that negative numbers were larger than infinity, but still less than 0. This thought was shared by the famous mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707 1783), who introduced the symbol i as the symbol for   , and linked the exponential and trigonometric functions in the famous formula eit = cos(t) + i  ·sin(t). The geometric interpretation of complex numbers that modern mathematics agree with was first introduced by Caspar Wessel (1745-1818). Wessel treated complex numbers as vectors (which, he did not use the term vector), and derived most of their properties, including trigonometric form of multiplication (or, algebraic multiplication). The acceptance of complex numbers in mathematical society was further elevated by Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) with the use of complex numbers to Number Theory. Gauss introduced the term complex number, which he defined as the combination of real and imaginary numbers. However, i was still not fully accepted and understood until the mid-19th century, from the works of Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet, (1805-1865). He was responsible for the notation (x,y); he defined ordered pairs of real numbers of real numbers (a.b) to be a couple. This further implemented complex numbers as vectors or points on a plane, vector operators, and matrices. (MerinoOrlando) As one can observe from the historical track of i, complex numbers were abstract concepts of little value to mathematics until the last two centuries; many, such as Cardano and Bombelli, disregarded i as a valid method for finding solutions. However, today, with a better understanding of complex numbers, we can now solve equations they werent able to solve for centuries, with proper explanations to support the answer. With the knowledge of i, we are able to solve through some of the questions that the greatest mathematicians during the last few decades couldnt solve. One of the problems was derived from the cubic formula, invented by the Mathematician Del Ferro (1465 1526). To solve a quadratic equation, or an equation having the form , means finding the values of x for when y =0. In other words, when the equation is graphed on a xy-coordinate graph, the x values of the points where the line crosses the x-axis. Conveniently, an Indian mathematician named Brahmagupta (597-668 AD) invented a quadratic formula in to facilitate the process of finding the solutions: , where terms a, b, and c correspond with the letters in . (KnaustHelmut)While this is not the quadratic formula we are accustomed to today, , it was still a revolutionary way to solve quadratics. Del Ferro aimed to create a formula for cubic equations that have the same level of convenience as the quadratic formula., and he succeeds. The formula looked something like this:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   , for the cubic equation in the form of   Cardano later acquired this secretly guarded formula and modified it to a much simpler form, by using a change of variable x = to eliminate the x2 value to form a simpler cubic equation, . Cardano published this formula in the previously mentioned Ars Magna (KnaustHelmut). However, Cardano faced a major problem; in a slightly different version of the equation, he found that his formula would break under certain circumstances: when ; when plugged into Cardanos extra modified formula, = , The result involves a square root of negative numbers; these negative square roots were enough of a problem to cause Cardano to stop in his progress on this area. At the time, all negative roots as a solution was considered by mathematicians as the problems way of saying there are no solutions, and in most cases, it was true. Bombelli, however, while still not accepting the validity of the imaginary number, finished solving Cardanos problem.   In the instance of a cubic, there has to be at least 1 real solution, because of the nature of the shape of a cubic on the xy- graph. At least 1 point had to cross the x- axis, at all circumstances. This is one of the Fundamental Theorems of Algebra; a polynomial function has to have n number of solutions for the largest nth power. Through testing some integers, Bombelli found that 4 is one of the solution to the equation: 43 = 15(4) + 4 64 = 60 + 4 64 = 64 The solution, as anyone can see, is a real number; for this to be the case, Bombelli realized that the root of i parts of each half of the equation needs to cancel out, or equal to zero when added together, like this: He then used this idea to form complex conjugates, and where and b are constants that we need to obtain, which we equate to each half of the equation: We can then start solving for the constants by cubing both sides of the equation: )33 = )( + =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   = Now we need to separate the real and the imaginary parts:    and Now since we know that When we plug it into one of the derived equation, With these values, we now know that and When we cube these values, we can see that they do indeed equal what we started with:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚     Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   =   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   = And more importantly, when we add the two parts together as the formula tells us to do, we get the solution, 4. = 2 + 2 x = 4 Bombelli definitely solved Cardanos problem, using Interstingly, neither the original problem nor the answer had anything to do with but in the method, we can see that by extending the number system to include as a valid value, it is crucial to finding the answer, as the Mathematician Jacques Hadamard quoted, the shortest path between 2 truths in the real domain passes through the complex domain. However, when Bombelli succeeded in finding this solution, he discarded his discovery and considered as sophistries, or tricks that only exist to solve problems like these. We, as thinkers of modern mathematics, know that this is not true, and there are much more sophisticated aspects to complex numbers. (BogomolnyAlexander, Remarks on the History of Complex Numbers) How, then, are imaginary numbers valid? First of all, we need to understand exactly what limitations real numbers have. We are already familiar with the number line; it is an infinitely long line comprised of all real numbers, positive and negative. It includes all integers, all fractions and decimals, and even irrational numbers, or numbers with infinitely long decimal places, such as or . However, there is no place for on this line, and for centuries, no mathematicians could find a place for it because of one reason; i is 3-dimensional. In other words, because of the fact that i does not fit in a real line, all multiples of i, positive and negative, form another line, perpendicular to the line of real numbers. In the xy- coordinate plane, i forms a third axis perpendicular to both the x-axis and the y-axis. With this comprehension, we can further define complex numbers as functioning points or vectors in the Complex Plane. A vector is defined as a quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another in a plane. This property of i opens up exponentially many possible uses of i in the 3-dimensional physical world. The term imaginary make the perception of i to be some abstract, incomprehensible mathematical fallacy by many people, and it was true, until last 2 centuries. The truth is, i is as real as any other number; many people today argue that the Cartesian name of the value, the imaginary number is misleading, because of all of the real potentials the value actually holds. In physics alone, complex numbers are used to calculate the amount of stress on structures, resonance, for the manipulation of large matrices in modeling various figures, and is especially used extensively when dealing with electrical current, and wavelength. In electrical engineering, values can be divided into scalar quantities and complex quantities; scalar is what real numbers are called in the scientific language. Some examples of scalar quantities include voltage produced by a power source, the resistance of any component in an electric circuit, measured in ohms (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦), and electrical current through a wire, measured in amps. During some circuit manipulation, electrical engineers found that in alternating current circuits, voltage, current and resistance, or in physics terminology, impedance measured in AC, were not outputting scalar quantities like other DC circuits. They instead had alternating direction and amplitude (or magnitude), which as a result, had another dimension of frequency and phase shift. Engineers found that it was impossible to organize and represent all of these non-scalar values with real numbers; therefore, they turned to complex numbers, that were multi-dimensional in nature, and could express the 2 -dimentional quantity of frequency and phase shift in a single complex number. However, in physics and electronics, the letter j is used in the place of i to prevent confusion, as the letter i is used to represent the value of current. Therefore, scientists would write the complex numbers in the form of . (RobertsDonna) In electrical science, engineers are required to calculate missing values based off of given data, using specific equations such as E = I à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Z, where E = voltage, I = current, and Z = impedance. For example, if the voltage in a series circuit is 45 + j10 volts and the impedance is 3 + j4 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦, the scientist is required to be able to calculate the current by simply using the equation and inserting the values: amps (RobertsDonna) In contrast to some of the math problems we solved previously, the answer to these questions remain complex, which is natural, since the value still has to represent a 2-dimensional quantity of phase changes and frequency. These data are applied to anything electronic, from computers to washing machines, from someones smartphones to traffic lights; imaginary numbers are being used in the real world everywhere, which is why there are even arguments about the terminology of imaginary should be edited to an updated, mathematically correct term, such as lateral numbers for its lateral behavior in complex planes. i is truly valid. The concept of i existed for such a short period of time, yet what it allowed us to accomplish within that time is beyond imaginable. Society saw an explosion of technological development, improved machines, and programming; all of which would have been impossible without the understanding of i in the world run by technology and electricity. However, the most crucial achievements of i is that from a number that we considered to not exist in this world, we learned more about fundamental laws of physics, the dimensions we live in, and the world, the real world; we need to learn from it, and appreciate it for existing. References   Ã‚   Bogomolny, Alexander. Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles. 2015. Article. 17 September 2016. Knaust, Helmut. The Cubic Formula. 20 5 1998. sosmath. Article. 24 September 2016. Merino, Orlando. A Short History of Complex Numbers. Kingston, January 2006. Document. Roberts, Donna. Does Anyone Ever Really Use Complex Numbers? 2012. Article. 25 September 2016. Weisstein, Eric W. Complex Number. 4 September 2016. from Wolfram MathWorld. Article. 19 September 2016.

At a Loss for Words :: Biology Essays Research Papers

At a Loss for Words â€Å"I did not feel like A.H. Raskin. I now had a new self, a person who no longer could use words with mastery.† ~A.H. Raskin, editor for the NY Times Language is the principal means whereby we formulate our thoughts and convey them to others. It allows us to disclose our fondest memories of the past and communicate our emotions. Language has been instilled in us ever since we were babies inside our mother’s womb. We often take language for granted since most of us have never had to live a life of silence. It is perhaps because of this that people who have suffered brain damage caused by strokes, gunshot wounds, brain tumors, or other traumatic brain injuries feel a loss of self when they lose their ability to speak (1) . If we can’t talk then we can’t communicate right? Wrong. We often speak of our brains being lateralized. What is brain lateralization exactly? Brain lateralization pertains to the fact that the two halves of our so-called â€Å"symmetrical† brain are not exactly alike. There are functional specializations that are specific to each hemisphere (2). For the most part language areas are concentrated in the left hemisphere. Surprisingly, only about three percent of right-handers and nineteen percent of left-handers have language controlled by the right hemisphere (3). Two major areas of the brain, Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are responsible for language production and language comprehension, respectively. It is fairly difficult to assess exactly what parts of the brain control language, anything really, by any means other than clinical reports of people with brain injuries or diseases. Approximately one million people in the United States currently have aphasia, the language disorder that results from damage to portion s of the brain responsible for language (1). Some people with aphasia have problems primarily with expressive language often termed Broca’s aphasia, whereas others have problems with receptive language often dubbed Wernicke’s aphasia (3). The two get their names from Paul Broca, a French neurosurgeon, and Carl Wernicke, a German neurologist who identified their respective parts in the mid-1800s (2). Broca’s area describes the lower rear portion of the frontal lobe on the left side that is in front of the motor strip (4). Patients with Broca’s aphasia often omit small words such as â€Å"is†, â€Å"and†, and â€Å"the (5).† A person with this type of aphasia may say, â€Å"Walk dog† meaning, â€Å"I will take the dog for a walk.

Hotel Management System Essay

1.1 Introduction The aim of every business is to achieve operational excellence and efficiency. The effectiveness of business processes today has been influenced by technology. However, as computing technology becomes increasingly vital to conducting business and communicating with associates, new and more complex issues must be resolved. Among them is the need to ensure that the benefits derived from using computers are not reduced due to accompanying information management inefficiencies or to the creation of new business risks. A hotel is a building where travelers can pay for lodging, meals and other activities. Hotel Management involves combination of various skills like management, marketing, human resource development, and financial management, inter personal skills, dexterity, etc. Hotels are a major employment generator in tourism industry. Hotel management can be a very lucrative field, both in terms of annual revenues Furthermore, hotels are big attractions to businesses and associations l ooking to hold events. Booking an event means additional revenue for the use of a conference or banquet room, in addition to overnight guests who may use laundry and other concierge services. Work in the area of Hotel Management involves ensuring that all operations, including accommodation, food and drink and other hotel services run smoothly. Hotel management system goes a long way to assist hotels in achieving its aims. Hotel management system as an automated system will enable hotels provide all round services to their various customers or stakeholders through digital or electronic means. The system will assist management in its day-to-day business activities, make decisions. 1.2 Subject and Field of Study The field of study is computer studies and in relation to the subject area being Information Management system and Web Application Development with highlights on Database management, Web and Internet Technology. This project is a web application development project prior to my area of study, the project is designed specifically for hotel businesses that has seen the need of transforming business activities from the manual process to digital process and also businesses that needs safe and proper customer data management in electronic form using the internet. 1.3 Study Objectives The study objectives are categorized into two: 1.3.1 Global Objective: The Global objective of this project is to contribute to the general body of knowledge and research work in the area of developing a hotel management system that will automate the whole management processes of the organization (hotels). 1.3.2 Specific Objectives: The following are the targeted objectives to be accomplished in order to achieve the general objective above. To be able to create mutual communication between customer and business (hotel). To provide a platform for online booking and reservation by customer’s rooms. To provide easy access to customers in viewing and making selection of hotel rooms. To be able to manage fast access to guest(customers) information and easy update of records. To be able to provide security measures to access the hotels information lowering data security threats. To be able to provide better data management facilities To able to enable backups of respective users to be made and accessed when it is needed. 1.4 Problem Statement Intended to explore the impact of the design of Hotel Management System is expected to overcome the general problems in handling issues relating to hotel business activities, managerial activities, difficulties in providing stock control of equipment’s used in the hotel, difficulties on monitoring and tracking customers details and requirements on which the tasks are performed, the time consuming aspects of various customers moving all the way to the preferred hotel to make reservation and bookings as well as viewing at the hotel rooms available. However providing notifications to respective customers about their reservation status is also time wasting. Also management of these hotels finds it difficult manually keeping records of their various employees, clients and other vital hotel related information. Difficulties in making references to old business transactions, data’s and other negotiations and issues concerning security of data and  recovery manners is also considered. It is designed to replace old method of recording information by using pen and paper. 1.5 Research Methodology The proposed research methodology for this project is the â€Å"Waterfall Model†. The waterfall model takes fundamental process activities and it is a sequential design process, often used in software development processes, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of separate process phases such requirement specification, software design implementation, testing and maintenance. To ensure that our project is in par with our client needs, we used the waterfall model approach in developing the systems. The first process of the model is data gathering. Here we gather information about basic hotel management system functionalities. Joint Application Development (JAD) will be used as fact- findings techniques that will be used to gather the requirements analysis if the Hotel Management System should be implemented in any hotel. After the first phase of data gathering we proceeded in interviewing our clients. We asked about what their expectations were in a hotel management system. Some clients already had a hotel management system. In this case we asked them about what improvements they would have wanted to add in the system such as implementing an attribute for passport information. After gathering all of the information from our clients we proceeded with the next step which is analyzing of data and problem solving. In here we began conceptualizing the components our system needed such as inputting name and creating a log in log out system. We also thought about what elements from our initial concept did not require. After conceptualizing all of the elements we need in creating our system we proceed to the next step which is implementing requirements. In here we decide what applications we need in developing the system. Here we decided to use VB.Net and MySQL as our primary programming languages. Now that we have our tools we proceed to the next step which is system and software design. In here we take our concept design and upgrade that design by implementing our tools in the design. This means we have to understand the requirements of the end user and also have an idea of how the end product should look like. System design also helps us specify the hardware and  system requirements to create the overall system architecture. System design is the (stepping stone towards) our next task which is GUI design. GUI design is the process of designing user interface of the entire system. This means that we start creating actual look of the program for our system. After creating the design we proceed to next step which is system coding. This is where the command lines are assigned to a GUI so that they would have their proper functions. An example would be initiating the connection query in order to connect to the database. After adding all of the required components we proceed to the final step which is system testing and debugging. Here both individual components and the integrated whole are methodically verified to ensure that they are error-free and fully meet the requirements. 1.6 Background and Justification of the Study The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which a hotel management system will be used in the organization to manage hotel business processes. A background study shows that the hotel’s daily operation is managed by the Administrative Department. The process starts from customers coming to the hotel to make reservations and enquiries, through the hotel receptionist. The customer booking details will be recorded in a manual form and filed. After making enquiries and finally a reservation is made, the reservation form would be forwarded to the cashier for payment to be made, all involving paper work. Since it involves paper work lots of time is consumed and booking & reservation takes a lot of time. Furthermore, when a customer wants to check out, files will have to be searched and retrieved so that the final operations of checking out a customer will be performed. Some of the service personnel who have studied the issues concerning the manual business operation issued by customers, has contended that the manual operation reduces the operational productivity of the hotel. Because there have been cases records have been mishandled due to human error, some data’s cannot be found etc. HMS helps in managing reservations, bookings, guests and agents. The user can search for the vacant rooms in the hotel and book for it by not necessarily coming to the  physical location of the hotel. An administrator can view the booking details, transactions and coordinate the activity with the agents. He can track the entire site activity. Reservations can also be made through a phone call or an email. 1.7 Expected Outcome of the Project At the end of this project, the following becomes the outcome: There will be a created mutual communication between customer and management. Customers will be enabled make online booking and reservation by searching for rooms. There will be enabled effective storage of customers’ data Administrators will be able to manage fast access to guest files and updates of records will be done effectively and efficiently. Administrators will be provided with better data management facilities. There will be enabled security measures when trying to access the hotels information lowering data security threats. There will be enabled frequent backups of respective user details and access when needed. 1.8 Presentation of Thesis Chapter 1: General introduction is focused on the research which is the Project Proposal. Chapter 2: Literature Review which focuses on history and the outlook of the existing systems. Chapter 3: Methodology. In this chapter, the proposed system is analyzed into details and its importance discussed expansively where context level diagrams, dataflow diagrams, flowcharts will be used to explain the proposed system further. Chapter 4: System Analysis and Design; the study carries on with the design of the system. This chapter will encompass database modeling, class modeling, use case modeling and the relationship diagram of the proposed system. Chapter 5: Testing and Implementation; Implementation of the computer software goes on after the design. The system will be tested and reviewed to reveal errors. In this chapter also the documentation of the completed system. It also lays emphasis on both the users of the system and the system itself. Under the user documentation, the manual for both the user and the expert who will administer the system will be known. Finally conclusion and recommendation will be made as well as observations are identified and the necessary improvement which could be added to the system is made.

The eNotes Blog Chapter One Unveiled for Harper Lees Wildly Anticipated Go Set a Watchman ANovel

Chapter One Unveiled for Harper Lees Wildly Anticipated Go Set a Watchman ANovel Fellow literature lovers, take a small sigh of Scout Finch-deprived relief. Weve all been holding our  breath since Harper Lees announcement of  Go Set a Watchman  early February.  This book comes more than 50 years after everyones favorite English class novel,  To Kill a Mockingbird.  Lees second novel  is scheduled for release July 14, and the first chapter (excerpt below) has been published, alongside beautiful animations, on The Guardian. Since Atlanta, she had looked out the dining-car window with a delight almost physical. Over her breakfast coffee, she watched the last of Georgia’s hills recede and the red earth appear, and with it tin-roofed houses set in the middle of swept yards, and in the yards the inevitable verbena grew, surrounded by whitewashed tires. She grinned when she saw her first TV antenna atop an unpainted Negro house; as they multiplied, her joy rose. Continue reading on The Guardian Pre-order the novel,  $15.95 for hardcover or $13.99 for Kindle, on Amazon.