Nisei Daughter Essay

Second Generation Daughter â€Å"Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back. † Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter is a compelling story of the life of a Japanese American growing up and discovering who she is in the World War II era United States. Nisei†, meaning, â€Å"second generation†, is a Japanese term used to specify the children born to Japanese people in a new country (who are called Issei). Monica Sone was born an American Citizen, but her parents –as well as other Issei– were not deemed to be American citizens until post World War II. This essentially important difference between Issei and Nisei seemingly forced an ultimatum to Nisei people; to be Japanese or to be American. Nisei were often criticized by their families for their absent role of Japanese customary behavior, and were criticized by Americans because they weren’t able to assimilate into American lifestyle. Nisei Daughter is a story about a Japanese American girl constructing her own self-identity in an environment where there is much confusion amongst Nesei people who are torn between two cultures. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Monica Sone, Nisei Daughter (Canada: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1953), 124 [ 2 ]. Wikipedia, Nisei (Published from Wikipedia at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nisei ,2013), Article Introduction

Spanish American War: War over Rough Riders Reign

War over Rough Riders Reign With president William McKinney taking charge in order to protect his Americans living in Cuba from the Spanish, he sent over the U. S. S Maine. But on the way over, the barbarous uncivilized Spaniards blew up the ship before it could arrive at its chosen destination. â€Å"Remember the Maine! † was cheered by Americans all over the country. George Dewey valiantly storms his American Navy into Manila Bay. Dewey’s dominance was distinct. Spain lost 384 men in this battle, America lost only 1. Dewey sacrificed 11,000 troops in the Philippines and joined forces with the Filipinos Rebels. This greatly intimidated the Spanish and made the United States very intrepid. The Rough Riders, which are a volunteer cavalry under the command of Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt, and 17,000 American troops, invaded the port city of Santiago in June, 1898. The Rough Riders were definitely the combatants of this battle and caused the Americans to paramount. They were so victorious that the Rough Riders led another battle; The Battle of San Juan Hill was a famous land battle that started on July 1st, 1898. Two days later, the doltish Spanish attempted to escape the American blockage of Santiago Harbor. They were unsuccessful and eventually surrendered on July 17th, 1898. American troops raided Puerto Rico in a conclusion to the last battle. This led to yet another American triumph. The United States is celebrating its victory in this brief war over Spain. As a result of winning the war, our American government has forced Spain to sign the Treaty of Paris. The clauses of this treaty are that Cuba will become independent, Spain will give Puerto Rico and the Pacific Island of Guam to the United States, and the United States will pay 20 million dollars for the annexation of the Philippines Islands. In this short 16 week war, 5,400 Americans lost their lives defending our country against the brutal Spanish. So in the end the United States was once again victorious and protected the weaker countries from certain demise of the debased Spaniards. GO U. S. A.!!!!!!!

Management and Hr Professional Working Essay

Human Resources Profession Map The map was designed to assist HR Professionals in there career progression by describing the highest standards of professional competence that can be achieved. The Map is broken down in to three elements: Professional Areas Made up of 10 segments, these describe the areas within the HR discipline and what is required. The two core areas of the map. Strategies, Insights and Solutions This area defines that the HR person needs to have a deep understanding of the business activities, strategies and plans. The strategies created must focus on the needs of the customers and employees, and add value to the organisation. They must be aware of issues that could affect the strategy and come up with solutions to adapt it. Leading and Managing The Human Resources HR professionals need to be able to leads and manage a fit for purpose HR function, Ensuring that the function has the right capability, capacity, and organisation design, and that HR employees are fully engaged, work collaboratively to support each other, each understanding what their own role is and how it  contributes  to the overall organisation strategy. The organisation design professional ensures that the organisation is appropriately designed to deliver organisation objectives in the short and long-term and that structural change is effectively managed. Organisation Development is about ensuring the organisation has a committed, ‘fit for the future’ workforce needed to deliver its strategic ambition. It plays a vital part in ensuring that the organisation culture, values and environment support and enhance organisation performance and adaptability. Provides insight and leadership on development and execution of any capability, cultural and change activities. Resourcing and Talent Planning – The HR professional working in this area ensures that the organisation is able to identify and attract key people with the capability to create competitive advantage and that it actively manages an appropriate balance of resource to meet changing needs, fulfilling the short and long-term ambitions of the organisation strategy. Learning and Talent Development HR professional working in this area ensures that people at all levels of the organisation possess and develop the skills, knowledge and experiences to fulfill the short and long-term ambitions of the organisation and that they are motivated to learn, grow and perform. Performance and reward HR professional working in this area builds a high-performance culture by delivering programmes that recognise and reward critical skills, capabilities, experience and performance, and ensures that reward systems are market-based, equitable and cost-effective. Employee engagement In the context of organisation objectives, the HR professional working in this area ensures that in all aspects of the employment experience – the emotional connection that all employees have with their work, colleagues and to their organisation (in particular line manager relationship) is positive and understood, and that it delivers greater discretionary effort in their work and the way they relate to their organisation. Employee relation Working in this area of HR ensures that the relationship between an organisation and its staff is managed appropriately within a clear and transparent framework underpinned by organisation practices and policies and ultimately by relevant employment law. Service delivery and information Ensures that the delivery of human resources service and information to leaders, managers and staff within the organisation is accurate, efficient, timely and cost effective and that humane resources data is managed professionally. The Eight Behaviours There are eight behaviours which describe how HR people should carry out their activities. 1 Curious 2 Decisive thinker 3 Skilled influencer 4 Driven to deliver 5 Collaborative 6 Personally credible 7 Courage to challenge 8 Role model

Organizational Charts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Charts - Assignment Example The said goals have to be broken down into activities and tasks for the departments with addition of seven new positions for sales and marketing department and two additional positions in human resources department. With provision of new resources to all department manager at, there is a need for the creation of new positions and opportunities for new employees. The approach will assist in making sure that the organization meets its goal of having the responsibility of hiring new employees under sales, marketing, and human resource department. This requires the attention of the functional area background, which include planning, organization, leadership and control of the new set of additional employees. Under sales and marketing, I will add seven new employees and position them strategically to be productive to help the organization meet its goals. In consideration to all the already available positions under sales and marketing, I concluded opening new positions, which include the regional sales manager. This is slightly different from sales manager position and the position of business and market analysts. These positions will meet the company’s goals of achieving double income. With a new integration of this new department, the organization will be in a position to extend its sales activities from an overall department overseeing all the branches of the organization to multiple sales offices running independently in all the branches from all over they are. All the regional sales managers should then harmonize all the branches under one department, which is the sales department. The new sales and marketing organizational chat will look as follows. Business analysis has emerged as a major business practice. It acts as a link between organization information technology competencies and the business objectives where skilled business analysts contribute to profitability, with employment of business analysts by Artha Corporation will help in seizing

Ancient Chinese Contributions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ancient Chinese Contributions - Essay Example Ancient Chinese contributions to civilization are numerous and continue to influence contemporary European and Asian culture. These contributions span all aspects of life, ranging from science and technology, to government, philosophy and art. As the various dynasties succeeded each other in Chinese history, each dynasty made its own unique contribution to the collective heritage of the world. A comprehensive list of Chinese contributions is amazing in its variety and its penetration into every aspect of our lives. This list includes silk, tea, porcelain, paper, printing, gunpowder, the mariner’s compass, plants (peach, apricot, citrus fruits, chrysanthemums, camellias and gingko), zinc, lacquer, medicines and leisure activities (playing cards, dominoes, kites and shadow play). The ornamental and exotic fish in aquariums and the folding parasol also originated from ancient China. (Bodde, 1942). This list is by no means exhaustive: some other Chinese contributions are the philo sophic doctrines of Confucianism and Taoism, the civil service examination, paper money, matches, the seismograph, stirrups, plowshares and calligraphy. (Caldwell and Fullem, 2006). The Han dynasty (202 B.C. – 220 A.D.) remains one of the most prolific contributors to civilization. The Silk Road, papermaking, iron technology, glazed pottery, the wheelbarrow, the seismograph, the compass, ships’ rudder, horse stirrups, the Chinese examination system, weaving and embroidery are all contributions from this period. (Caldwell and Fullem, 2006). ... These early compasses were south-pointers: south being the primary direction for the Chinese. A magnetized needle (obtained by rubbing an iron needle with a lodestone), was floated in a bowl of water with directional markings, or suspended from a thread, and incorporated the principle of magnetic deviation. The compass went on to become a navigational device at sea and on land, and made China the greatest sea power in the world. It cannot be denied that the Chinese invention of the compass is one of the most important milestones in the discovery of new trade routes and pioneered world navigation. (Bodde, 1942). The Tang dynasty (618 A.D. – 906 A.D) contributed the culture of tea drinking, scroll painting, gunpowder, civil service examinations, the flame thrower, brandy and whiskey, poetry, music and dance, and the doctrines of Confucianism and Taoism. The Chinese invention of gunpowder began with refinement of sulphur and saltpeter by alchemists. (Caldwell and Fullem, 2006). T he initial use of gunpowder in fireworks and religious rituals was followed by its incorporation in warfare in the form of explosives: canons, flamethrowers, bombs and rockets. From simple bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder, the Chinese incorporated rocket fire-arrows in warfare. The Chinese military rockets were large and powerful, and were packed with gunpowder and iron shrapnel. It can also be said that the idea of the internal combustion engine originated in China, as the idea of an explosion in a self-contained cylinder was incorporated in these rockets: the rockets were designed to hold an iron pot which held and directed the thrust of the gunpowder propellant.

Aggregate demand and aggregate supply Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aggregate demand and aggregate supply - Essay Example Aggregate demand represents the demand for final goods and services within a nation at a specified time and price. It shows the purchasing power of goods and services of people within an economy at the given price.Policy makers within the economy must understand the concepts for the better allocation of resources. In many occasions, the government of a nation usually sustains the economy of a country using the fiscal policy. This happens on the demand side. Use of government expenditures in stimulating the economy is one of the significant activities that the government uses in stabilizing the economy. Additionally, the central bank can also stabilize the economy using the monetary policy. All these policies relate to aggregate demand and supply concepts. Thus, studying the topic will help in giving the policy makers with ideas on how to stabilize the economy. This paper will focus on the aggregate demand and aggregate supply. The writer, will analysis the topic basing on articles th at discusses the topic. A conclusion, which assesses the topic basing the judgments on the articles, will follow. In most cases, the concept of aggregate demand and supply is very common within different nations and they employ various components of the concept in stabilizing the economy. The first analysis will focus on R.A Washington’s idea on â€Å"The stimulus question†, published in The Economist on February 2nd 2012. For many years, fiscal policy has formed a major subject within the political arena. People from various fields always question the advancement of the policy makers in their way to stabilize the economy. The questions rise because of the recession that affected the Americans intensely. The questions generally revolve around the significance of aggregate demand and supply in stabilizing the economy. The first inquiry is about the suitable time that the government should act to balance their budget. From the economic point of view, the government will always encounter problems in balancing the budget especially when the economy is in recession. Within this point, the revenues collected from the taxpayers reduce, as the government expenditure increases. There will be an imbalance at this point. Thus, the government will have to consider many things for the budget to balance. Putting in place various activities that will help in increasing the government revenue, the government will have to work harder on their spending, thus giving an automatic stabilization to the economy. Therefore, the balance process should be given time for it to act automatically. The second question revolved around the sustainability of government borrowing as a threat to the economy. True to the statement, too much of the government borrowing may pose a threat to the economy. The explanation behind this notion relies on the unwillingness of the private sector to lend to the government, thus affecting the economy. Contrary to the behavior of the economy, th e private sectors will be affected. Since borrowing will be expensive to the private sector, the recovery process of economy will take long. An immediate stop to lending has an adverse effect to the economy of a country. The third topic inquires if discretionary fiscal policy can cause an increase in aggregate demand. Discussing this question requires many assumptions. Various economists have different ideas concerning the effect of discretionary fiscal policy to aggregate demand. In theoretical terms, the possibility is complicated, but empirically as the writer said, the policy can increase aggregate demand. The fourth question required a response if the policy makers

Explain the principal mistakes of Hitler during World War Two. How Essay

Explain the principal mistakes of Hitler during World War Two. How could Nazi Germany have won the war (c. 1000 words) - Essay Example But what he gave the German people was more death, more destruction. His multiple mistakes in starting and prosecution the Second World War led to a new and this time total defeat for Germany. This essay will examine a number of those mistakes and show just where Hitler went wrong. Hitler made numerous mistakes during his period of leadership, but among the most blatant and serious was attacking the Soviet Union in 1941. Since the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Hitler had been on a role. He had successfully annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, and he had managed what seemed impossible the invasion of Poland and France. His western front was threatened only by Britain which was back on his heels. Therefore his major concern was with the Eastern front. There he had secured peace with Stalin in the Ribbentrop-Molotov compact which had divided Poland. Stalin didnt care what Hitler did to Europe; as far as he was concerned, Hitler could take the whole continent so long as there was peace between the two men. It was therefore a serious error for Hitler to declare war on the Soviet Union. To be fair, he thought that Stalins purges of the army has massively weakened the Soviet Unions defences. Nevertheless, the lesson had been well learnt by Napoleon 150 ye ars earlier, that Russia was never an easy place to invade and that the brutal winters made it very hard to hold ground there. Hitler thought his invasion of the Soviet Union could be complete within a few months, but he overestimated the speed and equipment at the disposal of the Wehrmacht. At Stalingrad, the Soviet army delayed the Germans long enough to effectively freeze them out and encircle the Sixth Army—a devastating blow. Hitler refused to listen to many of his best generals—a crucial error. This is a good illustration of one of Hitlers most significant errors: he never knew when to stop and consolidate his victories. He became

Reality, Poverty and the American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reality, Poverty and the American Dream - Essay Example The first of these readings which will be engaged with is that of Barbara Ehrenreich’s â€Å"Serving in Florida†. This piece is especially useful to understand due to the fact that it racks the actions, mental exhaustion, physical fatigue, frustration, hopelessness, and misery that necessarily follows many that seek to carve a life for themselves with few opportunities or little education. Although it is simple to merely utter that the American Dream is available to each and every citizen that seeks to expend the hard work necessary to realize it, Barbara Ehrenreich proves that the reality of the situation can oftentimes be far different than the ingrained cultural norm. As such, Ehrenreich first notes that the work is demanding, degrading, physically exhausting, and completely incapable of covering all of the bills that she incurs as a function of her long commute. Regardless of the fact that she rents practically the cheapest efficiency apartment money can find, she s truggles to put food on the table and pay the high cost of commuting 30 miles each day. As a function of this very real and present reality, the author determines that she must necessarily take a second job in order to meet the extant needs that her financial situation engenders. This choice requires even more commitment, hard work, longer hours, and fewer and fewer hours of sleep and leisure (Ehrenreich 17). Ultimately, such a choice is not surprisingly exhibited on the health and outlook that Barbara experiences.

General Overview of Organized Crime Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

General Overview of Organized Crime - Term Paper Example Knowing its structure and operation could spell the difference between life and death both for those who are meant to put them down and to those who may be their unfortunate targets or victims. Proactively defending against them, or courageously advocating and fighting against them require a broad understanding of their inner workings. Websters-online-dictionary defines organized crime as "underworld organization". It further defines underworld as "criminal class". These definitions presupposed a definite group of people within but underneath the class structure of society who are formed into organizations engaged in unlawful activities. A more detailed and definite definition of organized crime, however, has become problematic because of their variety and diversity (Lampe). Lampe collected over 100 definitions one among is that by Albanese which attempted to summarize three decades of literature into the following definition: "Organized crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities; its continuing existence is maintained through the use of force, threats, monopoly control, and/or the corruption of public officials." (Lampe, Albanese, 2000: 411). An overview of organized crime and its structure as a worldwide phenomenon can be gleaned from a paper on the Russian organized crime around the world presented by Margaret E. Beare. She cited the three-legged tripod depiction of organized crime by the Canadian police as "being like a three-legged tripod" consisting of "the bureaucracy including politicians and security officials, underground business persons, and the professional criminals". And the merging of these three into one entity makes them a formidable enemy of the law.  Ã‚   The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, however, reports the more flexible and diversified structure of organized crime groups.  

Consumer behaviour and marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer behaviour and marketing - Essay Example The only plausible way to do this is to ensure that the targeted customers are responding positively to the products or services of these companies. Marketing is one of the best ways to make sure that these customers have a connection to the companies’ products or services that is desirable. However, with the increased customer awareness and insight into brands all over the world, the marketing strategies of the companies have had to undergo a tremendous metamorphosis as a way of trying to predict the consumer behaviour and their influence on the businesses. According to Bian & Moutinho (2011, p. 200), customers have a great impact on the way a particular business behaves in the aspect of branding, usage, perception and even quality. The way the customer behaves towards a certain product is influenced by a number of different diverse factors. Some of these factors could be attributed to attitude of the customers towards a certain product of a certain company, fashion, culture among many others (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011, p.12). It is the responsibility of the companies to ensure that they come up with products that are in alignment with these different factors. In so doing, they must first identify which factor affects which type of the targeted customer and in the process come up with products that are considered appealing to this specific group of target customers. In other words, marketing is a strategy that puts the interests of the customer at heart. Companies are bound to fail if they come up with products without taking a survey of the market to identify the different needs of different customers. Different strategies of marketing are applied with respect to different fields. For instance, the kind of strategy that could be applicable to social marketing may not be fully applicable to another field such as manufacturing among others. However, no matter which field the marketing takes place, the main point of focus is on the customer. In every busin ess, the customer is the king. The customer is the main reason why people engage themselves in business activities (Geigenmuller & Outland, 2012, p. 430). This paper will indulge in the discussion of how the different forms of consumer behaviour influences the way companies conduct their marketing. It will illuminate upon the response of these companies in the marketing aspect with respect to changes in consumer behaviour. What happens to the marketing strategies laid down by different companies if the consumer behavior is varied? Since there are many diverse aspects of consumer behavior and attributes to name but a few such as fashion, culture, perceptions, attitudes, motivation and even group influence. Though these attributes sometimes intertwine, for the purposes of a clear investigation into this topic of influence of consumer behavior on marketing, this paper will narrow the attributes down to culture as a consumer attribute. Definition of terms For an in-depth and profound an alysis of this topic, a number of terms that will be applied extensively in this paper will be defined here. These terms are the consumer behavior as well as the culture concept of consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is a term used by different marketers and marketing strategists to describe extensively the way different consumers respond with respect to a number of factors. Consumer behavior

American History Essay Example for Free

American History Essay The mercantilist system will eventually be cited as a reason for the American Revolution. However, this was not always the case. Define the mercantilist system and its effects on the colonies prior to 1760. Also, explain the initial colonial reaction to this system.| | The mercantilist system was basically a system acquired to have political control over the economy, to minimize imports that cost the nation money, and maximize exports that made the nation money. The British and Parliament wanted and created regulations on everything in the new colonies. They regulated everything from wages and agriculture subsides. They were forbidden to established tariff barriers in order to protect themselves from colonial industries. The mercantilist system was a regulatory system put into place to keep control and profits of the new colonies for the mother countries benefit. The mercantilist system on the colonies was to make sure that certain goods could only be transport to England, and to forbid other nations from doing business in the English colonies. This resulted in a list of enumerated commodities that were only allowed to be transported to England. The list consisted of products of the southern slave colonies, the northern Indian trade, and essential products for supplying the shipping industry. The products were: sugar, molasses, rum, tobacco, rice, indigo, furs, pelt, skins, pine masts, tar, pitch, resin, and turpentine. These items were to be transported only by English vessel to England. The English also tried to enforce other limitations, which resulted in a series of enactments-including the Wool Act of 1699, the Hat Act of 1732, and the Iron Act of 1750. The prime minister encouraged lax enforcement of the manufacturing rules in the colonies, in part because they had their own effective systems, and as a result, colonists and British traders enjoyed wealth produced by slave labor, a new prosperity and feeling of goodwill that would last until the 1760s (Faragher, 2009).

A Sense of Sin Essay Example for Free

A Sense of Sin Essay No one doubts the presence of evil in the world. We experience it in a variety of ways: national and international conflict; domestic and street violence; political and corporate corruption; and a host of manifestations of sexism, clericalism, racism, ageism, and other violations of justice. All such forms of brutality, disorder and discrimination, seem from a theological perspective, are rooted in sin. But do we ever recognize the sin and name it as such? 1 Retrieving a Sense of Sin For some reason, sin seems to have lost its hold on us as a way of accounting for and naming so much of the evil we know. Among the many other reasons, the eclipse of the religious world view through the rise of the secular spirit accounts significantly for the loss of the sense of sin. In fact, in his post-synodal exhortation, Reconciliatio et Penitentia (1984), Pope John Paul II credits â€Å"secularism† above all with contributing to a loss of a sense of sin.2 The secular spirit questions the relevance and meaning of all Christian symbols, and even of religion itself. One effect of this secular spirit on the meaning of sin, for example, has been to reduce sin to some form of psychological or social disorder. The therapeutic perspective which pervades the secular spirit looks on behavior as either healthily adaptive-problem-solving behavior, or as unhealthy, nonadaptive, and problem-creating behavior.3 It does not call the latter sin. For a survey at major attempts in the past twenty years to explore the mystery of sin, see James A. O’Donohue, Toward a Theology of Sin: A Look at the Last Twenty Years,† Church 2 (Spring 1986): 48-54. 2 The other factors of a non-ecclesial nature which John Paul II lists as errors made in evaluating certain findings of the human sciences, deriving systems of ethics from historical relativism, and identifying sin with neurotic guilt. Within the thought and life of the Church, certain trends have also contributed to the loss of the sense of sin. Among these he lists the movement from seeing sin everywhere to not recognizing it anywhere; from an emphasis on fear of external punishment to preaching a love of God that excludes punishment; from correcting erroneous consciences to respecting consciences but excluding the duty to tell the truth. Two other ecclesial factors are the plurality of opinions existing in the church on questions of morality and the deficiencies in the practice of penance. To restore a healthy sense of sin, the pope advocates â€Å"a sound catechetics, illuminated by the biblical theology of the covenant, by an attentive listening and trustful openness to the magisterium of the church, which never ceases to enlighten consciences, and by an ever more careful practice of the sacrament of penance.† See Origins 14 (December 20, 1984): 443-444, quotation at p. 444. 3 The research of the team headed by sociologist Robert Bellah which has produced Habits of the Heart (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), a study of the American beliefs and practices which give shape to our character and form our social order, shows that the therapist is the newest character forming American culture. See Chapter Two â€Å"Culture and Character: The Historical Conversation,† pp. 27-51, especially pp. 47-48. 2 Moreover, the secular, therapeutic perspective tends to look on persons more as victims of unconscious or socio-cultural influences than as agents of free actions. Psychiatrists Karl Menninger in Whatever Happened to Sin4 and M. Scott Peck in People of the Lie5 want to make full allowance for those conditions which cause people to do evil. Yet both insist on a strip of responsibility which cannot be negotiated away to these determining influences. While the behavioral sciences provide us with helpful explanations of human behavior, they do not give a full account. Sin is real, and we need a fresh way to get at it and call it what it is. What do we need to grasp in order to retrieve a sense of sin in an adult manner? Contemporary moral theology says a â€Å"sense of responsibility.† Christian theologians find in â€Å"responsibility† the essential theme of Christian faith and the central characteristic of the moral life. A leading Protestant theologian of this century, H. Richard Niebuhr, has done much to give impetus to the â€Å"responsibility† motif in Christian morality. 6 He summarizes the constituents of responsibility by describing the agent’s actions as a response to an action upon him in accordance with his interpretation of the latter action and with his expectation of response to his response; and all of this is in a continuing community of agents. (The Responsible Self, 65) Since God is present to us in and through all that makes up our lives so that we are never not in the presence of God, our responses to all our actions upon us include our response to God. As Niebuhr asserts, â€Å"Responsibility affirms: God is acting in all our actions upon you. So respond to all actions upon you as to respond to his action† (The Responsible Self, 126). If â€Å"being responsible† sums up the quality of character and action marking Christian moral living, sin will mark the failure to be fully responsible. â€Å"Responsibility† as a motif for the moral life has found its way into Catholic moral thinking with the strong support of the biblical renewal in the Catholic Church. Bernard Hà ¤ring, who has been instrumental in renewing Catholic moral thinking, has used this notion of â€Å"responsibility† with great success in reconstructing Catholic moral thought. Along with other Catholic theologians, Hà ¤ring has found in the biblical renewal a fresh theological framework and an orientation for understanding the moral life.7 We turn, then, to the biblical perspective on sin. Menninger, Whatever Happened to Sin? (New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1973). Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Shuster, 1983). 6 See especially Niebuhr, The Responsible Self (New York: Harper Row, 1963), pp. 61-65. 7 Bernard Hà ¤ring’s writings are vast and wide-ranging. His early three-volume work, The Law of Christ (Westminster: Newman Press, 1961, 1963, 1966), was one of the first major works by a Catholic moral theologian to rethink morality in light of the biblical renewal. His most recent three-volume work, Free and Faithful in Christ (New York: Seabury Press, 1978, 1979, 1981), is an expression of Hà ¤ring’s more mature thought. This work is not a revision of The Law of Christ, but a completely new work. Charles E. Curran, a student of Hà ¤ring, has followed his teacher’s lead in making efforts at renewing moral theology in light of the biblical renewal. Some of Curran’s pertinent articles are â€Å"The Relevancy of the Ethical Teaching of Jesus† and â€Å"Conversion: The Central Message of Jesus† in A New Look at Christian Morality (Notre Dame: Fides Publishers, Inc., 1968), pp. 1-23 and 25-71. Sin: The Biblical Perspective From the Bible we see that Christian morality is primarily a â€Å"vocation.† This means that our life is a response to the word of God spoken to us preeminently in Jesus, but also in and through the people and events of our lives. From the perspective of vocation, wherein God calls and we respond, responsibility replaces obligation as the primary characteristic of the moral life. Also, the relationship that we establish with God in and through our responses to all things becomes the focal point of the moral life. From this point of view, practicing the presence of God becomes essential for Christian responsibility, Christian moral growth, and our awareness of sin. A consistent theme of contemporary theology has been that we cannot have a proper understanding of sin unless we have a proper understanding of the nature and implications of the covenant God has established with us. â€Å"Covenant† and â€Å"heart† are the dominant metaphors of biblical faith for understanding the moral life. They provide the biblical horizon against which to recognize sin. Covenant The two frequently used terms for sin in the Old Testament point to violations of relationships. Hattah is the most common term. Its meaning, â€Å"to miss the mark† or â€Å"to offend,† points to a purposeful action oriented toward an existing relationship. The existence of the relationship makes the offence or failure possible. Pesa, meaning â€Å"rebellion,† is a legal term denoting a deliberate action violating a relationship in community. The New Testament term for sin is hamartia. It connotes a deliberate action rooted in the heart and missing the intended mark. 8 These terms acquire theological significance when used in the context of the covenant which expresses the most personal kind of relationship between God and us. The primary aim of the covenant is that God loves us without our having done anything to attract God’s attention or to win that love. God’s covenant is a bond of completely gratuitous love, pure grace. But God’s initiative of love (grace) does not destroy our freedom. Unlike the Godfather, God makes an offer we can refuse. God’s offer of love awaits our acceptance. Once we accept the offer of love we commit ourselves to living as the covenant requires. The covenant context lifts the notion of sin out of a legalistic framework to set it on a level of a personal relationship with God. In worshipping the golden calf (Ex 32), Israel missed the mark of covenant love, or sinned, not so much because Israel broke one of the laws of the covenant, but because Israel broke the personal bond of love of which the law was an external expression. The law was not to be the final object of Israel’s fidelity. God was. Sin in the Bible is not merely breaking a law. Sin is breaking or weakening the God-given bond of love. The law was an aid to Israel’s fidelity and pointed to the responsibilities of being in relationship to God.

Mobile Messaging System Development for Higher Education

Mobile Messaging System Development for Higher Education Overview Mobiles are one of the most versatile electronics in the present scenario. It constantly keeps us connected with our near ones even when we are travelling out of our city or to another country. It reduces our tension and gives us feel as we are in home. The biggest advantage of mobile phones is they keep you connected. The developer tries to use this advantage in educational institution such as a college to bring down the interaction gap between management, teachers and students. 1.1 Topic: Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System 1.2 Purpose of the situation Everyone in this world wants to do the work at their fingertips. Mobile is best suitable solution to the problem. It minimizes our burdens (example reminder helps us from remembering all the birthdays, meeting etc). It also gives easier access to the internet anytime, anywhere. There is no doughty that our mobile has made our life a lot convenient. One can interact with anyone, anytime from anywhere through mobile. However there are limitations to it. What if a student wants to consult with a teacher for clearing dough about any topic when he is out for an interview? Generally teachers do not give their cell number to all students. What if a student wants to reserve a book from his college library when he is in the way to college? There may be a situation when college wants to inform all students about urgent information, but some of the student might not be present in the college. Suppose a student is in railway station and wants to confirm about the examination timetable for reserv ing railway seat to his home in the vacations. How can he confirm that? Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System (SCSMS) is a solution to make our life further one more step simpler and increase the services provided by the mobile to the next level. It is being developed mainly for an educational institute such as colleges. The main aim of the system is to reduce the communication gape between student, faculty and management. The Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a mobile application which can be used from anywhere. Through Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System we can fix consultation, get news and lattà ©s updates, reserve library books, check library lone, download e-book from library etc. The student will be able to do lots of thing which they could not do if they were not in college so the application will increase the freedom of the student. 1.3 Target Reader As the application will be for educational institution like colleges the targeted reader will be:- Students: Students will be the most targeted user as they will be the most frequent user. The system is being designed keeping this thing in mind. Most of the features of the application revolve around the student. Teachers: Teachers will be seconde most frequent user. They will use the system mainly to assist the students. They will also use the system to deliver important information and news to the student. Management: The complete system will be maintained by the management. They will be the system administrator. It will be the job of management to create, delete and manage accounts. Moreover management can also send news to the students. 1.4 Topic Background In today’s scenario the whole world is sifting to the mobile application. It is known third wave in computer evolution series. With over 3 billion mobile users today, mobile devices have become the most ubiquitous communications medium in the hands of the consumers [2]. Mobile application developmentis quite an active arena today, much due to the popularity and increasing demand of mobile phones. Its growing popularity from several years is making the users more and more enthusiastic [3]. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a system which make work easy and more interactive, it is the solution provider and making task simple and easier. 1.5 Problem Context Any information is information if it is timely; else, it is of no use. It really becomes a thing to be concerned about when there is a communication gap in any institution. As we all know, today’s era is of Ubiquitous Computing; anytime anywhere. So the system could be used from anywhere and anytime. The present system which is being used by the college is a web based system. To us the system we need a computer or a laptop. So it restrict us as, it is very tough to find a computer with internet working on it, every time we need to use the system. At that particular moment of time the current system is of no use of we are not able to get an internet connected computer or laptop. Due to this limitation we are not able to remain connected with the institution (college). Even if we open it through the mobile browser it is extremely tough for us to navigate the website which is made for high resolution computer or laptop screen in the limited size display of a mobile. Apart from this we require many more functionality which is not present in the present working system. Suppose a notice comes for any student in his class. But he was not in the class. There is no option it the present system to inform such student automatically. We need to manually call or send SMS to inform him or tell the student’s friend to inform him. As a result many time the information even do not rich the concerned student at time. Hence lot of effort is required, lot of time is wasted and productivity decreases. Loot of work is done manually. So accuracy is also decreased. 1.6 Rationale The system is being made in order to provide solution to lots of problem faced by the college. It will improve the information process of the college. Let us take a real life example of our college. â€Å"The students were at home after completing their even semester. The college was reopening at the end of July. However the last date for depositing semester fee was near about 15th of July. Students were not aware about last date of fee deposition, as a result 90% of the student was fined for late fee submission.† Had the SCSMS been implemented this ambiguity could had been solved just by informing the entire student by sending a message two to three weeks before the last date. There are many tangible and intangible advantages which we can get from the proposed system. Tangible benefits: The first and the foremost advantage of the proposed system is that it reduces the communication gap between students, teachers and management. To fix a consultation we do not need to go to the teacher and roam here and there to searching teacher if teacher is not present in his/her office. This could be done just by pressing few buttons on the mobile. Important information could be delivered to the concerned people at time so that no ambiguity can arise. It will make the work smoother were work could be done just by pressing few buttons. So the system would reduce so much of stress from user head. It will make things lot simpler and reduce human effort. Anyone who wants to use the system can use it easily on his/her mobile, as the system is dedicatedly made for the mobile. As there will not be communication gap so productivity will automatically increase. Intangible benefits: It will provide security to the user. If we log on to the present used system (which is a web based application) through other’s computer or laptop, our account may get hacked as there may be spyware like password catcher installed in it. It will save wastage of money, as student does not need to move to cyber cafe to use the system. SCSMS will reduce the wastage of time in searching cyber cafà ©. It will increase the knowledge of the student. The discussion forum will help to increase the knowledge of the student. It will make the student comfortable in technical round of the placement process. The student can take test of technical round to practice through the proposed system. It will remove the biased process in any polling. As through the proposed system will do it automatically. 1.7 Objectives of System Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is an automated mobile application. The system communicates with the user and provides the complete information as the user in intended to view. It will reduce the communication gap between student and teachers and management. The application is being developed so that the user does not need to move to any new place to do the work. The main objectives of the system are: The proposed system will reduces communication gap between management, teachers and students. The various features such as news alert, messaging system, and m-consultation will reduce the communication gap. The application will provide ‘ease to express to mass of students’ with messaging service. So the information can easily wide spread to a bulk of student keeping them updated about what is going on in the college. Save time: The proposed system will enable student to fix consultation through their mobile. The student can also reserve book from their college library through the proposed system from anywhere around without going to the library there by reduces wastage of time. Increased productivity: As the proposed system will reduce the communication gap among management, teacher, student and keeps them updated so that everyone will be able to perform on the latest scenario, optimizing the productivity. Save wastage of money: As the present system, which is being used by the college is a web based system. So the students have to search a cyber cafà © each time they want to access some information. However the proposed system adds a solution to it, as it is a mobile application it can be accessed from any ware through our mobile. Reduces human effort: The proposed system will reduce human effort in many ways. The student will not have to go to the teacher to fix consultation. The student will not need to go to library to reserve a book. They can do this just by pressing few buttons of their mobile. Ends ambiguity: The proposed system has feature to communicate information to the masses. So the student will be updated with the latest news giving no place to ambiguity to arise. Increase Freedom: According to Bill Gates â€Å"Im a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that theyre interested in†. The proposed system will reduce the restriction from the students and increase their freedom. Improve accuracy: The proposed system is an automatic system hence it will reduce the accuracy removing the silly mistakes made by human. 1.8 Functionality of System The functionality of the system is divided into three different categories: core functionality, enhanced functionality and special functionality. Core functionalities: Automatically fix consultation if the teacher and student both are ready and this time is not allocated to any other student: First of all the student requests for consultation to the specific teacher. The message is automatically send to the teacher with suggested time when teacher is not having any class or other meeting. However the teacher can change the time according to his/her wish. Now this time is set as consultation hour and message is sent to both teacher and student about it. View attendance summary: The student can see the attendance summery from anywhere anytime. View result of exams: As soon as the result is declared a message is forwarded to the student informing him about the result. Now the student can view the result if he/she wishes. Check library lone, fine: Student can check name of the book that he borrowed from library. He can also find if there is any fine on him. Class time table and Exam time table: whenever the class timetable will be changed the new timetable will be forwarded to the entire student. Student can also view exam timetable whenever declared. News alert: the student can get the latest news in their cell. Enhanced functionalities: Get attendance alert:- The student will get attendance alert whenever he will cross the boundary line of attendance such as 3, 6, 9. Reserve a book: the student will be able to reserve the library book right from his home sleeping in his bed. Download books: the student can download the e-book and read anywhere he wants. Quick Polling: It will be used to quick poll and find the eligible candidate for any post such as class representative. Discussion Forum: the students can discus over any topic in the discussion forum. Special functionalities: Student can have e- consultation via chatting: the student can have e-consultation by chatting to work out small problems. Aptitude and technical test: student can take test to maser themselves where they stand. It will contain mainly multiple choice questions. Download the application through Bluetooth: any intended student can download the proposed application by moving to a particular place and download the application to his mobile. Scope and deliverables: Identification of the scope of the project should be done before developing the system. This allows the developer to know the boundary of the system. So that all the issues related to success of the project can be cleared. It is a fact that no system can be perfect or with no limitation. SCSMS also has some boundaries which add a slate limitation to its scope. Detailed scope of the project has been mentioned below: Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is meant to solve large variety of problems faced. It will reduce the communication gap, reduces time wasting, and reduces human effort and increases performance and accuracy. However there is little limitation to it as well. Limitations of the scope: It will need GPRS facility to work. So by any reason the internet do not work the system will not work. It will run only in java supporting mobiles. Although most of the popular like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, Apple iPhone etc. are J2ME enabled but there are some exception like older versions of Blackberry. As the system works on client server architecture, so if the server goes down the entire system will clash. It will be used parallel with a website where functionality which requires lot of things to be displayed can be preformed such as marking system. Chapter 2 Problem Description â€Å"Our problems are man-made; therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings†. John F. Kennedy 2.1 Problem Description Proposed Solution The primary aim of the proposed system is to reduce the communication gap between management, teachers and student and act as a communication channel between them. In the present scenario lot of work is done manually. It requires lot of human effort, time so the end result is not satisfactory. Suppose a student wants to fix a consultation with a teacher. He reaches to the office of the teacher but the teacher was not there. The student stood by the door for 10 min and then went back. After half n hour the student again came but the teacher was not in his office. The student get annoyed went back to his home. So at the end, complete one hour was just a west. There are many more problems faced by the system which is listed below. Most of the problems present in the current system raised because the current system in a website. Many problems are faced as the current system does not have solution to all the features. These problems can be solved through developing a mobile application an d increasing the functionality. Below is a list of problem along with the proposed solution: Problem: To fix a consultation student need to go to the teacher then and get a time and need to come back for consultation on the date and time as fixed by teacher. So lots of time consuming, manual work has to be done. Proposed Solution: Automatic consultation fixer has been proposed in the proposed system. In this module whenever a student will request teacher for consultation through his mobile, the request will be forwarded to the teacher. As soon as the teacher will approve the request a proposed time will be generated by going through the timetable of the student and teacher. The consultation will be fixed when teacher accept it. Problem: As the consultation is fixed manually so the time of consultation may collide with other students’ time. Proposed Solution: The time once allotted a student by Automatic consultation fixer will never be allotted to other student. So there is no chance that time gets collided. Problem: If student or teacher wants to cancel the consultation then there is no way to inform other. Proposed Solution: Automatic consultation fixer will have feature to cancel consultation. As soon as teacher or student cancels consultation, a message will be forwarded to other one. Problem: Some student are of shy and feel uncomfortable in asking problems with teacher, so they will not be able to consult teacher regarding any problem. Proposed Solution: Even the shy students can have consultation through the proposed system. There will be a feature for m-consultation where students can consult with teacher via chatting through mobile without paying any charge for SMS. Problem: If a student in not in college then he cannot reserve a book from a library. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of reserving a book form library from anywhere in this world through our mobile having GPRS connectivity. Problem: The student cannot use library resources when they are not college. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of downloading e-books form library through student’s mobile. Problem: If a student is out of the college then there is no way to remain connected with the college for latest news updates such news of visit of any company for placement. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of news alert where management or teacher can inform the latest news alert directly to the students mobile. Problem: There is no way to view the class or examination timetable right from the students’ home. Proposed Solution: Student can also view the class or examination timetable right from the students’ home through the proposed system. Problem: The present system does not have any criteria to conduct polling for any post. Polling is done manually so the final output can be biased. Proposed Solution: Polling has also been added to the system so the result produced by the pool is not biased and more and more student takes part in the poll. Problem: As now a day the demand of aptitude test is at climax but the present system fails to deliver any such facility. Proposed Solution: Keeping the demand of aptitude test and student’s need a module for aptitude test module has also been added. Chapter 3 Literature Review 3.1 Domain Research 3.1.1 Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System 3.1.2 Major components that should be present in smart consultation scheduler and mobile messaging system 3.2 Research on Similar System 3.3 Architecture of the System 3.1 Domain Research: 3.1.1 Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System In the today’s world scenario everyone wish to perform work and task at their fingertip. And mobile is the device which allows them to fulfill their wish more effectively and efficiently. Mobile is the most usable device now days because of lots of benefits attached to it. Mobile is helpful in various ways, it give all the information, news ,events etc and make people aware of things to do and things to remember. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a system which make work easy and more interactive, it is the solution provider and making task simple and easier. This system is based on the college management automation system. The application developed is an automated application suite of Institute or college administration including student information, employee information, library, fees managing, student information, subject, time table, student attendance, marks, discipline, performance etc. It permits the user to retrieve, manipulate and present student data in a meaningful and user friendly manner, generating reports dynamically. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System totally work like college automation system but it off with latest technology and of wider use. This provides various facilities of college online. The main goal and aim of this system is to reduce communication gap between student, faculties and also management. The Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is an application to which you can use it from anywhere with your mobile. Through Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System we can fix consultation, get news and lattà ©s updates, reserve library books, check library lone, download e-book from library etc. Present systems is web based and this Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is mobile service which is more effective and fast and more beneficial. 3.1.2 Major components that should be present in smart consultation scheduler and mobile messaging system As mobile is the most usable device all over the world now. Everyone wants to access everything on their mobile. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is such an application which can be used anywhere from their mobile. This system include following components: Attendance system for the students The student can see the attendance summery from anywhere anytime. Result of the students- As soon as the result is declared a message is forwarded to the student informing him about the result. Now the student can view the result if he wishes. Online Library Student can check name of the book that he borrowed from library. He can also find if there is any fine on him. Automating Consultation with the teacher (for students), head of the organization and among staff (for staffs)- Automatically fix consultation if the teacher and student both are ready and this time is not allocated to any other student .A student can also take consultation via mean of m chatting. Class time table and Exam time table. Whenever the class timetable will be changed the new timetable will be forwarded to the entire student. Student can also view exam timetable whenever declared. News alert- There will be facility of sending news to all the students and also to the faculties. Online Polling- There is another feature of online polling, where student can poll about any event. Aptitude Test- Student can give aptitude test from their mobile and can improve their problem solving skill. 3.2 Research on Similar System Research is a method or practice which direct toward the increase of knowledge, the major goal of research is to gain vast knowledge with the better understanding of the project under study.Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is also a solution to make our life further one step simpler. It will be mainly for an educational institute such as colleges. The main aim of the system is to reduce the communication gap between student, faculty and management. The similar kind of system in today’s scenario are limiting and lacking in various features. Therefore to make â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† more efficient it is necessary to compare it with existing system. Take an example of Webspace of APIIT SD INDIA. In this Webspace there are many functionalities still it lacking behind the â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System†. In the current Webspace there is no option to take consultation hour with faculty online. And there is not a feature of aptitude test online polling. The present system does not have any criteria to conduct polling for any post and as now a day the demand of aptitude test is at climax but the present system fails to deliver any such facility. Or also not any feature of class and exam time schedule. In this way this similar system is far behind in functionalities as compared to the proposed system. And on the basis of above mentioned research it has been conclude that propose system have much better functionality and features than existing system. Conclusion on the basisof research which has been carried out above it has been clear that â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† is more effective, more functional and efficient as compared to the existing system. This system will make various tasks of college easier and will make them more interactive. It will save time get waste in taking consultation hour through mobile and it will give news about any event or about anything immediately. This system will be helpful and quite handful for the student and faculties. 3.3 Architecture of the System Architecture of the â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† system is 3-Tier Client/Server Architecture. 3-tier application is organized into three major disjunctive tiers on layers. Client Tier (made in J2ME) Application Tier (made in J2EE) Database Tier (MySQL) Benefits of using 3-Tier architecture are mentioned below: Main benefit of 3-Tier architecture is that any other tier can be replaced without affecting the other tiers. For example if the developer finds any bug in calculating fine, only J2EE application page to calculate fine need to be changed without changing J2ME client application. Improved security as it is implemented at multiple levels. If we uses direct communication between the database and the mobile application. Database name, password can be extracted and then the hacker can do anything even can delete the database. Only valid data is allowed to be updated in the database and the risk of a scoundrel client application corrupting data is removed. As the database will be at the server and only authorized person will have the username and password to access it. Improved data integrity. As the database will be at the server so every user will use same database. Hence data integrity will be improved. It has improved scalability because the application servers can be deploying on many machines [5]. Even the number of user will be increased the web application can be deployed on multiple server to support this large chunk of users. Chapter 4 Research Methods â€Å"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought† Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Overview: 4.1 Primary Research 4.2 Secondary Research 4.3 Academic Research 4.4 Technical Research 4.4.1 Programming Environment Research 4.4.2 Database Research 4.5 SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE 4.1 Primary Research Primary research involves gettingoriginal datadirectly from the user about the product or market [4]. It is the initial research that is done during the development of a system. The primary objective of the primary research is to gather preliminary information which could support the designing of the application. So it is fundamental step, in order to continue with development of the application. Along with this, primary research is also used to gather user requirements on the system being developed and to estimate the feasibility of the proposed system. Primary research is done with the direct involvement of the targeted reader. There are many techniques to carry out primary research such as Questionnaires, Interview, Brain Storming, Onsite observation, Pilot study, Focus Group etc. However the developer have used questionnaire to perform primary research. Questionnaires It is a method of gathering information from a group of individuals using identical procedures for each person. Questionnaireis a data collection tool in which written questions are presented that are to be answered by the respondents in written form. The questionnaires are to be distributed to the student of a college who are using similar type of system. These students can suggest the good feature present in the system and the limitation in the present system which they are using. Justification: The target readers are already using simpler type of system having few of the functionality as the proposed system have. So users are aware about it up to some extent and they know what they want and what they do not. The proposed system is made for large group of user. Questionnaire makes the work easy as it can be conducted on a group of individuals using identical procedure. There are three types of questionnaire depending on type of user; Students, Teachers and administrator. Sample Questioner Dear Respondent: The developer is a Final Year Degree student from Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology who is currently doing a Final Year Project which entitled Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System. The main purpose of the system is to reduce the communication gap between management and teacher and student by reaching to their cell phones. The system will help the student and teacher to fix consultation automatically by suggesting a time when both of them are free through checking the timetable of student and teacher. With the help of this mobile application the student can reserve a book from library or check for fine, issued book on his account. Management can send the latest news or information about any meeting directly to the student’s cell. The student can check attendance summery, result, examination and class timetable through this system. Student can go for an aptitude or similar test having multiple options to verify their level. However these featur es can be moderated depending on your response. So your response is highly important for me. As you are part of such institution and familiar with such system so you can help us in defining the structure or functionality of the system. These questionnaires will not take more than 5 minutes of your time. It is having objective type question where you need to check one or more option or write one/few words depending on the question. The questionnaire does not contain any such emotional or personal question. However the information provided by you will not be disclosed to anyone. Even if the developer needs to be share, it will not be done without your permission. Thank you a lot for participating. Please proceed further to the questionnaire section. PERSONAL INFORMATION Name _____________________________________________________ E-Mail _____________________________________________________ Questionnaires (for student) 1. Have you come across Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System (SCSMS) or similar application? [ ] Yes [ ] No If yes plea Mobile Messaging System Development for Higher Education Mobile Messaging System Development for Higher Education Overview Mobiles are one of the most versatile electronics in the present scenario. It constantly keeps us connected with our near ones even when we are travelling out of our city or to another country. It reduces our tension and gives us feel as we are in home. The biggest advantage of mobile phones is they keep you connected. The developer tries to use this advantage in educational institution such as a college to bring down the interaction gap between management, teachers and students. 1.1 Topic: Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System 1.2 Purpose of the situation Everyone in this world wants to do the work at their fingertips. Mobile is best suitable solution to the problem. It minimizes our burdens (example reminder helps us from remembering all the birthdays, meeting etc). It also gives easier access to the internet anytime, anywhere. There is no doughty that our mobile has made our life a lot convenient. One can interact with anyone, anytime from anywhere through mobile. However there are limitations to it. What if a student wants to consult with a teacher for clearing dough about any topic when he is out for an interview? Generally teachers do not give their cell number to all students. What if a student wants to reserve a book from his college library when he is in the way to college? There may be a situation when college wants to inform all students about urgent information, but some of the student might not be present in the college. Suppose a student is in railway station and wants to confirm about the examination timetable for reserv ing railway seat to his home in the vacations. How can he confirm that? Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System (SCSMS) is a solution to make our life further one more step simpler and increase the services provided by the mobile to the next level. It is being developed mainly for an educational institute such as colleges. The main aim of the system is to reduce the communication gape between student, faculty and management. The Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a mobile application which can be used from anywhere. Through Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System we can fix consultation, get news and lattà ©s updates, reserve library books, check library lone, download e-book from library etc. The student will be able to do lots of thing which they could not do if they were not in college so the application will increase the freedom of the student. 1.3 Target Reader As the application will be for educational institution like colleges the targeted reader will be:- Students: Students will be the most targeted user as they will be the most frequent user. The system is being designed keeping this thing in mind. Most of the features of the application revolve around the student. Teachers: Teachers will be seconde most frequent user. They will use the system mainly to assist the students. They will also use the system to deliver important information and news to the student. Management: The complete system will be maintained by the management. They will be the system administrator. It will be the job of management to create, delete and manage accounts. Moreover management can also send news to the students. 1.4 Topic Background In today’s scenario the whole world is sifting to the mobile application. It is known third wave in computer evolution series. With over 3 billion mobile users today, mobile devices have become the most ubiquitous communications medium in the hands of the consumers [2]. Mobile application developmentis quite an active arena today, much due to the popularity and increasing demand of mobile phones. Its growing popularity from several years is making the users more and more enthusiastic [3]. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a system which make work easy and more interactive, it is the solution provider and making task simple and easier. 1.5 Problem Context Any information is information if it is timely; else, it is of no use. It really becomes a thing to be concerned about when there is a communication gap in any institution. As we all know, today’s era is of Ubiquitous Computing; anytime anywhere. So the system could be used from anywhere and anytime. The present system which is being used by the college is a web based system. To us the system we need a computer or a laptop. So it restrict us as, it is very tough to find a computer with internet working on it, every time we need to use the system. At that particular moment of time the current system is of no use of we are not able to get an internet connected computer or laptop. Due to this limitation we are not able to remain connected with the institution (college). Even if we open it through the mobile browser it is extremely tough for us to navigate the website which is made for high resolution computer or laptop screen in the limited size display of a mobile. Apart from this we require many more functionality which is not present in the present working system. Suppose a notice comes for any student in his class. But he was not in the class. There is no option it the present system to inform such student automatically. We need to manually call or send SMS to inform him or tell the student’s friend to inform him. As a result many time the information even do not rich the concerned student at time. Hence lot of effort is required, lot of time is wasted and productivity decreases. Loot of work is done manually. So accuracy is also decreased. 1.6 Rationale The system is being made in order to provide solution to lots of problem faced by the college. It will improve the information process of the college. Let us take a real life example of our college. â€Å"The students were at home after completing their even semester. The college was reopening at the end of July. However the last date for depositing semester fee was near about 15th of July. Students were not aware about last date of fee deposition, as a result 90% of the student was fined for late fee submission.† Had the SCSMS been implemented this ambiguity could had been solved just by informing the entire student by sending a message two to three weeks before the last date. There are many tangible and intangible advantages which we can get from the proposed system. Tangible benefits: The first and the foremost advantage of the proposed system is that it reduces the communication gap between students, teachers and management. To fix a consultation we do not need to go to the teacher and roam here and there to searching teacher if teacher is not present in his/her office. This could be done just by pressing few buttons on the mobile. Important information could be delivered to the concerned people at time so that no ambiguity can arise. It will make the work smoother were work could be done just by pressing few buttons. So the system would reduce so much of stress from user head. It will make things lot simpler and reduce human effort. Anyone who wants to use the system can use it easily on his/her mobile, as the system is dedicatedly made for the mobile. As there will not be communication gap so productivity will automatically increase. Intangible benefits: It will provide security to the user. If we log on to the present used system (which is a web based application) through other’s computer or laptop, our account may get hacked as there may be spyware like password catcher installed in it. It will save wastage of money, as student does not need to move to cyber cafe to use the system. SCSMS will reduce the wastage of time in searching cyber cafà ©. It will increase the knowledge of the student. The discussion forum will help to increase the knowledge of the student. It will make the student comfortable in technical round of the placement process. The student can take test of technical round to practice through the proposed system. It will remove the biased process in any polling. As through the proposed system will do it automatically. 1.7 Objectives of System Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is an automated mobile application. The system communicates with the user and provides the complete information as the user in intended to view. It will reduce the communication gap between student and teachers and management. The application is being developed so that the user does not need to move to any new place to do the work. The main objectives of the system are: The proposed system will reduces communication gap between management, teachers and students. The various features such as news alert, messaging system, and m-consultation will reduce the communication gap. The application will provide ‘ease to express to mass of students’ with messaging service. So the information can easily wide spread to a bulk of student keeping them updated about what is going on in the college. Save time: The proposed system will enable student to fix consultation through their mobile. The student can also reserve book from their college library through the proposed system from anywhere around without going to the library there by reduces wastage of time. Increased productivity: As the proposed system will reduce the communication gap among management, teacher, student and keeps them updated so that everyone will be able to perform on the latest scenario, optimizing the productivity. Save wastage of money: As the present system, which is being used by the college is a web based system. So the students have to search a cyber cafà © each time they want to access some information. However the proposed system adds a solution to it, as it is a mobile application it can be accessed from any ware through our mobile. Reduces human effort: The proposed system will reduce human effort in many ways. The student will not have to go to the teacher to fix consultation. The student will not need to go to library to reserve a book. They can do this just by pressing few buttons of their mobile. Ends ambiguity: The proposed system has feature to communicate information to the masses. So the student will be updated with the latest news giving no place to ambiguity to arise. Increase Freedom: According to Bill Gates â€Å"Im a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that theyre interested in†. The proposed system will reduce the restriction from the students and increase their freedom. Improve accuracy: The proposed system is an automatic system hence it will reduce the accuracy removing the silly mistakes made by human. 1.8 Functionality of System The functionality of the system is divided into three different categories: core functionality, enhanced functionality and special functionality. Core functionalities: Automatically fix consultation if the teacher and student both are ready and this time is not allocated to any other student: First of all the student requests for consultation to the specific teacher. The message is automatically send to the teacher with suggested time when teacher is not having any class or other meeting. However the teacher can change the time according to his/her wish. Now this time is set as consultation hour and message is sent to both teacher and student about it. View attendance summary: The student can see the attendance summery from anywhere anytime. View result of exams: As soon as the result is declared a message is forwarded to the student informing him about the result. Now the student can view the result if he/she wishes. Check library lone, fine: Student can check name of the book that he borrowed from library. He can also find if there is any fine on him. Class time table and Exam time table: whenever the class timetable will be changed the new timetable will be forwarded to the entire student. Student can also view exam timetable whenever declared. News alert: the student can get the latest news in their cell. Enhanced functionalities: Get attendance alert:- The student will get attendance alert whenever he will cross the boundary line of attendance such as 3, 6, 9. Reserve a book: the student will be able to reserve the library book right from his home sleeping in his bed. Download books: the student can download the e-book and read anywhere he wants. Quick Polling: It will be used to quick poll and find the eligible candidate for any post such as class representative. Discussion Forum: the students can discus over any topic in the discussion forum. Special functionalities: Student can have e- consultation via chatting: the student can have e-consultation by chatting to work out small problems. Aptitude and technical test: student can take test to maser themselves where they stand. It will contain mainly multiple choice questions. Download the application through Bluetooth: any intended student can download the proposed application by moving to a particular place and download the application to his mobile. Scope and deliverables: Identification of the scope of the project should be done before developing the system. This allows the developer to know the boundary of the system. So that all the issues related to success of the project can be cleared. It is a fact that no system can be perfect or with no limitation. SCSMS also has some boundaries which add a slate limitation to its scope. Detailed scope of the project has been mentioned below: Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is meant to solve large variety of problems faced. It will reduce the communication gap, reduces time wasting, and reduces human effort and increases performance and accuracy. However there is little limitation to it as well. Limitations of the scope: It will need GPRS facility to work. So by any reason the internet do not work the system will not work. It will run only in java supporting mobiles. Although most of the popular like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, Apple iPhone etc. are J2ME enabled but there are some exception like older versions of Blackberry. As the system works on client server architecture, so if the server goes down the entire system will clash. It will be used parallel with a website where functionality which requires lot of things to be displayed can be preformed such as marking system. Chapter 2 Problem Description â€Å"Our problems are man-made; therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings†. John F. Kennedy 2.1 Problem Description Proposed Solution The primary aim of the proposed system is to reduce the communication gap between management, teachers and student and act as a communication channel between them. In the present scenario lot of work is done manually. It requires lot of human effort, time so the end result is not satisfactory. Suppose a student wants to fix a consultation with a teacher. He reaches to the office of the teacher but the teacher was not there. The student stood by the door for 10 min and then went back. After half n hour the student again came but the teacher was not in his office. The student get annoyed went back to his home. So at the end, complete one hour was just a west. There are many more problems faced by the system which is listed below. Most of the problems present in the current system raised because the current system in a website. Many problems are faced as the current system does not have solution to all the features. These problems can be solved through developing a mobile application an d increasing the functionality. Below is a list of problem along with the proposed solution: Problem: To fix a consultation student need to go to the teacher then and get a time and need to come back for consultation on the date and time as fixed by teacher. So lots of time consuming, manual work has to be done. Proposed Solution: Automatic consultation fixer has been proposed in the proposed system. In this module whenever a student will request teacher for consultation through his mobile, the request will be forwarded to the teacher. As soon as the teacher will approve the request a proposed time will be generated by going through the timetable of the student and teacher. The consultation will be fixed when teacher accept it. Problem: As the consultation is fixed manually so the time of consultation may collide with other students’ time. Proposed Solution: The time once allotted a student by Automatic consultation fixer will never be allotted to other student. So there is no chance that time gets collided. Problem: If student or teacher wants to cancel the consultation then there is no way to inform other. Proposed Solution: Automatic consultation fixer will have feature to cancel consultation. As soon as teacher or student cancels consultation, a message will be forwarded to other one. Problem: Some student are of shy and feel uncomfortable in asking problems with teacher, so they will not be able to consult teacher regarding any problem. Proposed Solution: Even the shy students can have consultation through the proposed system. There will be a feature for m-consultation where students can consult with teacher via chatting through mobile without paying any charge for SMS. Problem: If a student in not in college then he cannot reserve a book from a library. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of reserving a book form library from anywhere in this world through our mobile having GPRS connectivity. Problem: The student cannot use library resources when they are not college. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of downloading e-books form library through student’s mobile. Problem: If a student is out of the college then there is no way to remain connected with the college for latest news updates such news of visit of any company for placement. Proposed Solution: In the proposed system the application will have a feature of news alert where management or teacher can inform the latest news alert directly to the students mobile. Problem: There is no way to view the class or examination timetable right from the students’ home. Proposed Solution: Student can also view the class or examination timetable right from the students’ home through the proposed system. Problem: The present system does not have any criteria to conduct polling for any post. Polling is done manually so the final output can be biased. Proposed Solution: Polling has also been added to the system so the result produced by the pool is not biased and more and more student takes part in the poll. Problem: As now a day the demand of aptitude test is at climax but the present system fails to deliver any such facility. Proposed Solution: Keeping the demand of aptitude test and student’s need a module for aptitude test module has also been added. Chapter 3 Literature Review 3.1 Domain Research 3.1.1 Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System 3.1.2 Major components that should be present in smart consultation scheduler and mobile messaging system 3.2 Research on Similar System 3.3 Architecture of the System 3.1 Domain Research: 3.1.1 Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System In the today’s world scenario everyone wish to perform work and task at their fingertip. And mobile is the device which allows them to fulfill their wish more effectively and efficiently. Mobile is the most usable device now days because of lots of benefits attached to it. Mobile is helpful in various ways, it give all the information, news ,events etc and make people aware of things to do and things to remember. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is a system which make work easy and more interactive, it is the solution provider and making task simple and easier. This system is based on the college management automation system. The application developed is an automated application suite of Institute or college administration including student information, employee information, library, fees managing, student information, subject, time table, student attendance, marks, discipline, performance etc. It permits the user to retrieve, manipulate and present student data in a meaningful and user friendly manner, generating reports dynamically. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System totally work like college automation system but it off with latest technology and of wider use. This provides various facilities of college online. The main goal and aim of this system is to reduce communication gap between student, faculties and also management. The Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is an application to which you can use it from anywhere with your mobile. Through Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System we can fix consultation, get news and lattà ©s updates, reserve library books, check library lone, download e-book from library etc. Present systems is web based and this Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is mobile service which is more effective and fast and more beneficial. 3.1.2 Major components that should be present in smart consultation scheduler and mobile messaging system As mobile is the most usable device all over the world now. Everyone wants to access everything on their mobile. Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is such an application which can be used anywhere from their mobile. This system include following components: Attendance system for the students The student can see the attendance summery from anywhere anytime. Result of the students- As soon as the result is declared a message is forwarded to the student informing him about the result. Now the student can view the result if he wishes. Online Library Student can check name of the book that he borrowed from library. He can also find if there is any fine on him. Automating Consultation with the teacher (for students), head of the organization and among staff (for staffs)- Automatically fix consultation if the teacher and student both are ready and this time is not allocated to any other student .A student can also take consultation via mean of m chatting. Class time table and Exam time table. Whenever the class timetable will be changed the new timetable will be forwarded to the entire student. Student can also view exam timetable whenever declared. News alert- There will be facility of sending news to all the students and also to the faculties. Online Polling- There is another feature of online polling, where student can poll about any event. Aptitude Test- Student can give aptitude test from their mobile and can improve their problem solving skill. 3.2 Research on Similar System Research is a method or practice which direct toward the increase of knowledge, the major goal of research is to gain vast knowledge with the better understanding of the project under study.Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System is also a solution to make our life further one step simpler. It will be mainly for an educational institute such as colleges. The main aim of the system is to reduce the communication gap between student, faculty and management. The similar kind of system in today’s scenario are limiting and lacking in various features. Therefore to make â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† more efficient it is necessary to compare it with existing system. Take an example of Webspace of APIIT SD INDIA. In this Webspace there are many functionalities still it lacking behind the â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System†. In the current Webspace there is no option to take consultation hour with faculty online. And there is not a feature of aptitude test online polling. The present system does not have any criteria to conduct polling for any post and as now a day the demand of aptitude test is at climax but the present system fails to deliver any such facility. Or also not any feature of class and exam time schedule. In this way this similar system is far behind in functionalities as compared to the proposed system. And on the basis of above mentioned research it has been conclude that propose system have much better functionality and features than existing system. Conclusion on the basisof research which has been carried out above it has been clear that â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† is more effective, more functional and efficient as compared to the existing system. This system will make various tasks of college easier and will make them more interactive. It will save time get waste in taking consultation hour through mobile and it will give news about any event or about anything immediately. This system will be helpful and quite handful for the student and faculties. 3.3 Architecture of the System Architecture of the â€Å"Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System† system is 3-Tier Client/Server Architecture. 3-tier application is organized into three major disjunctive tiers on layers. Client Tier (made in J2ME) Application Tier (made in J2EE) Database Tier (MySQL) Benefits of using 3-Tier architecture are mentioned below: Main benefit of 3-Tier architecture is that any other tier can be replaced without affecting the other tiers. For example if the developer finds any bug in calculating fine, only J2EE application page to calculate fine need to be changed without changing J2ME client application. Improved security as it is implemented at multiple levels. If we uses direct communication between the database and the mobile application. Database name, password can be extracted and then the hacker can do anything even can delete the database. Only valid data is allowed to be updated in the database and the risk of a scoundrel client application corrupting data is removed. As the database will be at the server and only authorized person will have the username and password to access it. Improved data integrity. As the database will be at the server so every user will use same database. Hence data integrity will be improved. It has improved scalability because the application servers can be deploying on many machines [5]. Even the number of user will be increased the web application can be deployed on multiple server to support this large chunk of users. Chapter 4 Research Methods â€Å"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought† Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Overview: 4.1 Primary Research 4.2 Secondary Research 4.3 Academic Research 4.4 Technical Research 4.4.1 Programming Environment Research 4.4.2 Database Research 4.5 SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE 4.1 Primary Research Primary research involves gettingoriginal datadirectly from the user about the product or market [4]. It is the initial research that is done during the development of a system. The primary objective of the primary research is to gather preliminary information which could support the designing of the application. So it is fundamental step, in order to continue with development of the application. Along with this, primary research is also used to gather user requirements on the system being developed and to estimate the feasibility of the proposed system. Primary research is done with the direct involvement of the targeted reader. There are many techniques to carry out primary research such as Questionnaires, Interview, Brain Storming, Onsite observation, Pilot study, Focus Group etc. However the developer have used questionnaire to perform primary research. Questionnaires It is a method of gathering information from a group of individuals using identical procedures for each person. Questionnaireis a data collection tool in which written questions are presented that are to be answered by the respondents in written form. The questionnaires are to be distributed to the student of a college who are using similar type of system. These students can suggest the good feature present in the system and the limitation in the present system which they are using. Justification: The target readers are already using simpler type of system having few of the functionality as the proposed system have. So users are aware about it up to some extent and they know what they want and what they do not. The proposed system is made for large group of user. Questionnaire makes the work easy as it can be conducted on a group of individuals using identical procedure. There are three types of questionnaire depending on type of user; Students, Teachers and administrator. Sample Questioner Dear Respondent: The developer is a Final Year Degree student from Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology who is currently doing a Final Year Project which entitled Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System. The main purpose of the system is to reduce the communication gap between management and teacher and student by reaching to their cell phones. The system will help the student and teacher to fix consultation automatically by suggesting a time when both of them are free through checking the timetable of student and teacher. With the help of this mobile application the student can reserve a book from library or check for fine, issued book on his account. Management can send the latest news or information about any meeting directly to the student’s cell. The student can check attendance summery, result, examination and class timetable through this system. Student can go for an aptitude or similar test having multiple options to verify their level. However these featur es can be moderated depending on your response. So your response is highly important for me. As you are part of such institution and familiar with such system so you can help us in defining the structure or functionality of the system. These questionnaires will not take more than 5 minutes of your time. It is having objective type question where you need to check one or more option or write one/few words depending on the question. The questionnaire does not contain any such emotional or personal question. However the information provided by you will not be disclosed to anyone. Even if the developer needs to be share, it will not be done without your permission. Thank you a lot for participating. Please proceed further to the questionnaire section. PERSONAL INFORMATION Name _____________________________________________________ E-Mail _____________________________________________________ Questionnaires (for student) 1. Have you come across Smart Consultation Scheduler and Mobile Messaging System (SCSMS) or similar application? [ ] Yes [ ] No If yes plea