Terrorism A Controversial Issue Of Morality - 1124 Words

The topic of how to deal with terrorism is often very controversial in terms of morality. In particular, the topic of torturing suspected terrorist often leads our nation in a huge debate. There are some discrepancies on what we define torture as and if it is morally right to use torture on suspects. To see if the U.S. should forbid torture even against terrorist the definition of torture, the U.N decision, act utilitarianism, and the effectiveness of torture must be considered. To see if the US should forbid torture, we must first define torture. Contrary to popular belief, â€Å"some forms of torture were designed solely to kill the victim in as agonizing a way as possible, not to extract information or a confession† (Chapter X: Torture, Ticking Bombs, and Buried Coffins). A broad definition of torture states that â€Å"They all are acts that cause intense physical pain and mental anguish, and they all are acts where the agents intend to cause intense physical pain and mental anguish† (Chapter X: Torture, Ticking Bombs, and Buried Coffins). The U. N. Convention defines the term torture as, â€Å"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of anyShow MoreRelated Fighting the War on Terrorism Essay1247 Words   |  5 Pages It has been said that the easiest way to discredit someone in the political field is to accuse them of possessing Machiavellian morals. Until recently, todays political arena has been consumed by such illusive and controversial topics as human rights and the environment. Thus, it is easy to see why being referred to as a disciple of the austere Machiavellian principle could result in the untimely death of a political career. However, as of September 11th, the times have changed and so shouldRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory Essay1434 Words   |  6 Pages1. Introduction and Thesis This paper argues that Utilitarianism is a better ethical theory than many others proposed like the Divine Command Theory, which is the concept that morality is tied strictly to God and Immanuel Kant’s Duty Defined Morality, which has two distinct moral imperatives, because utilitarianism focusses on the benefit of the many which far outweighs the well-being of a single person. 2. Explanation of Philosophical Views The Divine Command Theory is a theory that morals areRead MoreIt and Ethical Issues Questions2610 Words   |  11 Pages Ethics and Social Issues Final Exam Essay Questions ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. Essay Question: Rule Vs. Act Utilitarianism (Utilitarianism) Suppose that you were wondering whether you, as a doctor, should hug a patient who is in tears. Give an ethical analysis of pros and cons from an act utilitarian point of view. Then give an analysis from a rule utilitarian point of view. 2. Essay Question: (Case Scenario -- Utilitarianism) Suppose that Rosa moves away her children out of town becauseRead MoreIt and Ethical Issues Questions2597 Words   |  11 Pages Ethics and Social Issues Final Exam Essay Questions ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. Essay Question: Rule Vs. Act Utilitarianism (Utilitarianism) Suppose that you were wondering whether you, as a doctor, should hug a patient who is in tears. Give an ethical analysis of pros and cons from an act utilitarian point of view. Then give an analysis from a rule utilitarian point of view. 2. Essay Question: (Case Scenario -- Utilitarianism) Suppose that Rosa moves away her children out of town becauseRead More Comparing Catherine MacKinnons Not A Moral Issue and Sallie Tisdale’s Talk Dirty to Me1715 Words   |  7 PagesComparing Catherine MacKinnons Not A Moral Issue and Sallie Tisdale’s Talk Dirty to Me Professor’s Comment: This powerful essay contrasts the views of two feminist, Catherine MacKinnon and Sallie Tisdale, each of which perceives pornography in widely divergent ways. While MacKinnons Not A Moral Issue explains the adverse impacts of pornography to women and society as a whole, Tisdales Talk Dirty to Me: An Intimate Philosophy of Sex is receptive to pornography despite these adverse impactsRead MoreEssay about The Influence of Religion on Scientific Advancement1737 Words   |  7 Pagessince the beginning of civilization and continues expanding today. This physical organization of personal beliefs has created wars and revolutions; nations and constitutions. In a subject as controversial as that of faith, it is often difficult to discern if it has benefitted humanity. One especially relevant issue today is religion’s influence on science. Throughout history, it is evident that religious movements have occasionally impeded scientific discovery; however, ther e is also evidence that scientificRead MoreEthics And Morality : A Noble Cause Corruption1196 Words   |  5 PagesEthics and morality are broad topics of everyday life. Instinctively, we as humans know the difference between right and wrong but in some cases, our ethics will narrow. Actions and decisions become selfish and for the sole purpose of personal gain. In some cases, unethical ways may even be illegal. Noble cause corruption is a prime example of when a person will utilize unethical means for a result to benefit the greater good. Noble cause corruption differs with traditional corruption. TraditionalRead MoreEssay about The Crucible by Arthur Miller981 Words   |  4 Pagesparanoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out. The play can be seen as a general statement on the effects that fear and fanaticism can have on human beings and how one person can cause such catastrophe. It is a purely a controversial play, so why write a play knowing the danger you were putting yourself inRead MoreCensorship Online1041 Words   |  5 PagesThis essay talks about issues regarding Censorship of the Internet. According to the textbook, censorship is a way used by governments or religious institutions to supervise or regulate the public access to offensive or harmful materials (Quinn 2012, p.496). Internet censorship applies the same discipline which regulates the public access to harmful content on internet. Nowadays, internet is a place with huge potential for growth. Statistics suggest that the total growth of new internet users isRead MoreKant And Kant s Theory1368 Words   |  6 Pagesgood example of the deontological moral theory, which takes that the rightness, as well as wrongness of an action, depends on the fulfillment of our duties and not on their consequences. Kant further believed that there exist a supreme principle of morality which he categorized the categorical imperative. In accordance with Kant, a good person entails an individual who does his/ her duty since it is his / her duty. It is okay if they perform their duty with joy and even if they do not enjoy, they would

Equal Rights for Androids and Humans Free Essays

Equal Rights for Androids and Humans The concept of equality among all people was, unfortunately, not â€Å"self-evident† until the passengers on the Mayflower proclaimed it in 1620. A section of the Mayflower Compact reads, â€Å"†¦and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Commanger, 23) Written in 1776, the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence states, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (US Declaration Ind. We will write a custom essay sample on Equal Rights for Androids and Humans or any similar topic only for you Order Now This phrase echoes the same beliefs as those expressed in the Mayflower Compact. Efforts to achieve equality among all Americans have continued to this day. The concept of equality has not been ignored by Hollywood, either. The concept of equality has been a central theme in various popular films over the years. One such film is Bicentennial Man. The theme of Bicentennial Man challenges the viewer to question where they think the line of equality ought to be drawn. Throughout history, humans have struggled with this concept. Naturally, individuals desire to be the best, and they try to distance themselves from those who are not the same; the homeless, the handicapped, people from different cultures, or those that look different. The film approaches this idea in a different manner because Andrew, the android â€Å"star† of the film, is not a person. It takes Andrew a period of two hundred years (hence the name of the movie, Bicentennial Man) to convince the World Government that he did, in fact, have a soul and should be considered an equal. Columbus, Bicentennial Man) The film’s idea of android equality is not (yet) an issue needing to be addressed in American society. The film’s concept of equality does, however, resemble the real challenges of human equality faced by many Americans throughout history. At the start of the movie, it was established that Andrew only existed to serve and obey his owners, the Martin family. His only purpose was to obey the commands of and attend to the needs of this family. Jeremy Bentham, a political theorist, believes this is an example of the concept of utilitarianism. In simple terms, utilization is using an object (or people) â€Å"as a tool† to achieve a goal. (Nelson, 205). A word that could be used interchangeably with utilitarianism is, of course, slavery. Bicentennial Man evaluation of android equality is a clear reflection of the challenges of equal rights faced by many Americans throughout the history of the nation. In the film, Andrew Martin, the android, fought for 200 years in order to be declared equal to the humans he once served. In the real history of America, however, African-Americans fought for more than 300 years for equal rights as Americans. If only reality was a swift as Hollywood! Works Cited: Bicentennial Man. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Robin Williams and Embeth Davidtz. Radiant Productions, 1999. DVD. Mayflower Compact. November 11, 1620. Documents of American History. Ed. Henry S. Commanger. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1968. Nelson, Brian. Western Political Thought From Socrates to the Age of Ideology. 2nd. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1996. Print. How to cite Equal Rights for Androids and Humans, Essay examples

Bibliography On Emerging Technologies On Wireless Sensor Network

Question: Discuss about the Annotated Bibliography On Emerging Technologies On Wireless Sensor Network. Answer: The evaluation of this article examines on the security of the wireless sensor network which has been an emerging technology and has been an important feature since it is utilized in the critical applications for example surveillance, tracking and controlling along with monitoring (Khan, 2014). There is significance of a secure and a reliable communications especially for the delivering the vital information correctly and in good time through a low powered sensor motes. The main problem associated in this technology is that of security of these networks particularly on the privacy (Khan, 2014). I have learnt the proposed security mechanism through combining of the features of the two security architectures in the WSNs such as the TESLA and Bloom Filters. Based on the interpretation and the evaluation done on this article, the main aspect it highlights is the wireless sensor networks that are the promising emerging solutions (Ramesh, 2014). This technology is offering possibility to the real time monitoring of the geographical areas that are susceptible particularly to the disasters mitigation (Ramesh, 2014). The article in addition has pointed out on the predicted issues confronted in the deployment of the wireless sensor networks and solutions that are intended to overcome them. The advantage related to this system is to delivering real warning to the community particularly during the rain. I have learned that the wireless sensor networks are among the efficient methods to real time monitoring in disaster susceptible places. The overview of research article highlights the wireless Sensor Network as the rising technology which demonstrates the promise for the numerous ultramodern programs both to the public and the military. From the article I have found out that there are advantages related to the technology , this sensing technology coupled with the processing power and the wireless communication tends to make it lucrative to become exploited in the future ( Pathan, Lee Hong , 2006). From what was learned in this post, there are security threats which occur mostly to the utilization of the technology. Nevertheless, the review has presented security mechanisms to the wireless sensor networks along with the holistic view to the security to make sure layered and robust security has been achieved in this technology. The article examines on the increase interest in the technologies which determine the next generation in the communication technology standard. Within this paper it recognizes numerous emerging technologies that could adjust and at the same time define on the future generation particularly to the telecommunication standards (Chin, Fan Haines, 2014). From the article it is learnt that some of these technologies have already make their way into the standards such as the 3GPP LTE and others are in the development stages (Chin, Fan Haines, 2014). These technologies they are provide benefits to the telecommunication technology such as the mobile phone that have revolved in the rapid past decade. On the interpretation and evaluation of this article it looks at how the wireless sensor network has surfaced as the most favorable technologies for the future (Rawat, Singh, Chaouchi Bonnin, 2014). This continues to be allowed by the improvements in the technology in addition to its accessibility and the smart sensors that lead to cost effective and easily deployable Wireless sensor network (Rawat, Singh, Chaouchi Bonnin, 2014). The literature of the article has addressed how the researchers are tackling the various challenges in order to facilitate the widespread deployment of WSN technology particularly in the real world domains. In overview, I have learnt about the wireless sensor networks and their application domains which include the challenges review to the recent technologies along with the testbeds for the WSN. Wireless sensor network technology continues to be an emerging as a feasible solution to most of the programs which are advanced (Ferdoush Li, 2014 ) . In the overview of the article, it explains a wireless sensor network system that has already been designed via utilization of an open-source hardware platform that are Raspberry Pi and Arduino ( Ferdoush Li , 2014 ) . I have learnt that within this system it is low cost and is definitely scalable in relation to the kind of the sensors and variety of the sensor nodes which make it to be suitable for various applications that are associated with the environmental monitoring. In the article it has also presented overall system architecture and model of the hardware together with the software elements. In the overview evaluation and interpretation of this article, it highlights that the wireless sensor networks have grown to be pervasive and they are presently utilized in numerous programs and services. The utilization of the WSN it is task oriented but it domain specific, hence, precluding re-use whenever other of the programs and services happen to be contemplated (Khan, Belqasmi, Glitho, Crespi, Morrow Polakos, 2015). The study has highlighted also to tackle the problem of proliferation of the redundant WSN deployments there usage of virtualization technology could help. The benefits of this technology enable the sharing of the resources or the infrastructure through multiple independent entities. Overview, the research study critically state the art and proposes the architecture for the virtualization of the WSN technology. In the article, I have learnt the proposed architecture and an illustration to the potential usage of the WSN especially in sharing of the multiple applica tions. The interpretation and evaluation of this research article examines the wireless sensor networks. On the findings, the WSNs have spurred new direction when it comes to the research in the agricultural and the farming domain. In the recent times according to the research, WSNs has been used widely in the application of different agricultural appliances (Ojha, Misra Raghuwanshi, 2015). The article reviews the potential for the WSN application as well as the specific issues along with challenges that are associated to deploying WSNs for improved farming. There has been analysis on the specific requirements, devices, along with the communication methods that are associated to the WSNs in agricultural applications (Ojha, Misra Raghuwanshi, 2015). The article has also provided numerous case studies to discover the current solution which are proposed in the literature to various types depending on design and implementation affiliated guidelines. The evaluation of this research article examines on the wireless sensor Networks which is the key components to the emerging technologies such as the internet of things paradigm. WSNs have been utilized in various application domains. The emerging technology in WSN is virtualization which could have the potential of enabling sharing (Khan, Belqasmi, Glitho, Crespi, Morrow Polakos, 2016). The article has examined on the WSN virtualization and it provides a comprehensive review of the state and an in depth discussion of the research issues. The review has presented on the existing work which has been discussed critically through use of requirements that is derived from the scenarios. This research article evaluates on the wireless sensor network that has been able to entice a number of the attention due to pervasive nature and deployment in the internet of things , cyber physical systems along with other of the emerging areas ( Shaikh Zeadally , 2016 ) . The problem concerns related in this research are on the limited energy related to the WSNs technologies ( Shaikh Zeadally , 2016 ) . Nevertheless, in overcoming on this limitation there has been design and development of an effective and high performance harvesting of energy system for the WSN environment. I have learned within this study on the extensive taxonomy of various energy pre-harvesting sources that can be employed for the WSNs. This research article examines on the emerging technologies on Wireless sensor network. The technology which has been developed and has utilized this application is automated irrigation program which is aimed to optimize water for the agricultural crops (Gutierrez, Villa, Nieto Porta, 2014). This system has the distributed wireless network for the soil moisture along with the temperature sensors that are put into the root zone of the plants. These studies have also highlighted how this system was designed and how it is powered. From this article have learnt the implementation of the automated irrigation system and its development has proved to be an asset especially in the use of the water irrigation purposes. This research article examines the wireless sensor networks which are utilized in the various applications and this has proved backbone to the new pervasive internet or the IOT (Shahzad Sheltami, 2015). In this research it has highlighted that the researchers are working to merge other emerging technologies as well as the services such as the cloud computing and the Big data with the designs of the IOT (Shahzad Sheltami, 2015). The research has highlighted the energy consumption is what is associated to the design in the WSN based system. In the paper I have learnt the performance of various MAC schemes for the WSNs. References Chin, W. H., Fan, Z., Haines, R. (2014). Emerging technologies and research challenges for 5G wireless networks. IEEE Wireless Communications, 21(2), 106-112. Ferdoush, S., Li, X. (2014). Wireless sensor network system design using Raspberry Pi and Arduino for environmental monitoring applications. Procedia Computer Science, 34, 103-110. Gutirrez, J., Villa-Medina, J. F., Nieto-Garibay, A., Porta-Gndara, M. . (2014).Automated irrigation system using a wireless sensor network and GPRS module. IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement, 63(1), 166-176. Khan, F. (2014, October). Secure communication and routing architecture in wireless sensor networks. In Consumer Electronics (GCCE), 2014 IEEE 3rd Global Conference on (pp. 647-650). IEEE. Khan, I., Belqasmi, F., Glitho, R., Crespi, N., Morrow, M., Polakos, P. (2016). Wireless sensor network virtualization: A survey. IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials, 18(1), 553-576. Khan, I., Belqasmi, F., Glitho, R., Crespi, N., Morrow, M., Polakos, P. (2015). Wireless sensor network virtualization: early architecture and research perspectives. IEEE Network, 29(3), 104-112. Ojha, T., Misra, S., Raghuwanshi, N. S. (2015). Wireless sensor networks for agriculture: The state-of-the-art in practice and future challenges. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 118, 66-84. Pathan, A. S. K., Lee, H. W., Hong, C. S. (2006, February). Security in wireless sensor networks: issues and challenges. In Advanced Communication Technology, 2006. ICACT 2006. The 8th International Conference (Vol. 2, pp. 6-pp). IEEE. Ramesh, M. V. (2014). Design, development, and deployment of a wireless sensor network for detection of landslides. Ad Hoc Networks, 13, 2-18. Rawat, P., Singh, K. D., Chaouchi, H., Bonnin, J. M. (2014). Wireless sensor networks: a survey on recent developments and potential synergies. The Journal of supercomputing, 68(1), 1-48. Shahzad, F., Sheltami, T. R. (2015, October). An efficient MAC scheme in wireless sensor network with energy harvesting (EHWSN) for cloud based applications. In Local Computer Networks Conference Workshops (LCN Workshops), 2015 IEEE 40th (pp. 783-788). IEEE. Shaikh, F. K., Zeadally, S. (2016). Energy harvesting in wireless sensor networks: A comprehensive review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 55, 1041-1054.

The Logic Of Evaluation Essay Example For Students

The Logic Of Evaluation Essay Along with questions there are answers, most questions must be evaluated before arriving to those answers. Usually when I am asking a question I go through a mental process of evaluating the question at hand before giving what I considered to be the most accurate answer. The purpose of my evaluation of the question is to rule out the other possible answers. Is evaluation the key to giving the, or getting the, correct answer, not always. However with evaluation of the question you can get more accurate account of what is being asked and how you can break it down to come up with the most correct answer. We will write a custom essay on The Logic Of Evaluation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Evaluation is not only a mental process in which you as an individual deals with internal feelings also be obtained through the outside collection of data, observations, and your own or others personal experiences. With all of this working for you in the process of evaluation your answer will be more accurate than if you were to guess without the evaluation of the question. One sunny day on vacation in Denver Colorado I was looking for a laundry mat. I had been driving around for some time with no luck. I pulled into a Circle K and asked the gas boy where one was located. He pointed and said five minutes that way. He had failed to use the evaluation process to answer my question. This evaluated answer that he should have given would include my data on travel as well as his personal experience of getting there himself. Evaluation is the heart of every question because without it your answer may not be as clear, precise or even relevant to the question. Evaluation can be lengthy at times when a simple guess is all that is required to get the ? ob? done. If all you are interested in is getting an answer of any sort why bother asking the question. Without careful evaluation of the questions being asked our need to strive for more would not be met in the sense that we were not taking the question seriously enough to take the time to evaluate for the most accurate answer. Spontaneity is good and fun but not when there is question or doubt. I would rather be a fool for five minutes asking a question than a fool for life not knowing the answer.

Stuart Davis, American Modernist Painter

Stuart Davis, American Modernist Painter Stuart Davis (1892-1964) was a prominent American modernist painter. He began working in the realist Ashcan School style, but exposure to European modernist painters in the Armory Show led to a distinctive personal modernist style that influenced the later development of pop art. Fast Facts: Stuart Davis Occupation: PainterMovement: Abstract art, modernism, cubismBorn: December 7, 1892 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDied: June 24, 1964 in New York, New YorkParents: Helen Stuart Foulke and Edward Wyatt DavisSpouses: Bessie Chosak (died 1932), Roselle SpringerChild: George Earle DavisSelected Works: Lucky Strike (1921), Swing Landscape (1938), Deuce (1954)Notable Quote: I dont want people to copy Matisse or Picasso, although it is entirely proper to admit their influence. I dont make paintings like theirs. I make paintings like mine. Early Life and Education The son of sculptor Helen Stuart Foulke and newspaper art editor Edward Wyatt Davis, Stuart Davis grew up surrounded by visual art. He developed a serious interest in drawing by age sixteen and started illustrating adventure stories for his younger brother, Wyatt. Davis family moved from his childhood home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to New Jersey, where he got to know a group of his fathers artist colleagues known as the Eight. This group included Robert Henri, George Luks, and Everett Shinn. Bar House, Newark (1913). Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Stuart Davis began his formal art training as a student of Robert Henri, who became the leader of the Ashcan School, an American art movement known for focusing on painting scenes of daily life in New York City. They took much of their inspiration from Walt Whitmans poetry in Leaves of Grass. The Armory Show In 1913, Davis was one of the youngest artists featured in the groundbreaking Armory Show, the first extensive exhibition of modern art in the U.S. First showing at New Yorks 69th Regiment Armory, the exhibition then traveled to the Art Institute of Chicago and Copley Society of Art in Boston. The Mellow Pad (1951). Brooklyn Museum / Wikimedia Commons While Stuart Davis exhibited realist paintings in the Ashcan style, he studied the works of European modernist artists included in the exhibition, from Henri Matisse to Pablo Picasso. After the Armory Show, Davis became a dedicated modernist. He took cues from the cubist movement in Europe to move toward a more abstract style of painting. Colorful Abstraction Stuart Davis mature style of painting began to develop in the 1920s. He became friends with other influential American artists including Charles Demuth and Arshile Gorky as well as poet William Carlos Williams. His work began with realistic elements but he then abstracted them with bright colors and geometrical edges. Davis also painted in series, making his work parallel to musical variations on a theme. Swing Landscape (1938). Robert Alexander / Getty Images In the 1930s, Davis painted murals for the Federal Art Project, a program of the Works Progress Administration. One of those, the monumental painting Swing Landscape shows the style of Stuart Davis in full flower. He began with a depiction of the waterfront of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and then added the energy of the jazz and swing music he loved. The result is a highly personal explosion of color and geometrical forms. By the 1950s, Davis work evolved to a focus on lines and a style influenced by drawing. The painting Deuce is an example of the shift. Gone was the cacophony of bright colors. In its place was a lively set of vibrant lines and shapes still echoing lessons learned from the European cubism of the early 20th century. Later Career After he established himself as a vital member of the New York avant-garde painting scene of the mid-20th century, Stuart Davis began teaching. He worked at the Art Students League, the New School for Social Search, and then Yale University. As an instructor, Davis directly influenced a new generation of American artists. Nightlife (1962). Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons 2.0 Although his late-career work continued to incorporate abstract elements, Stuart Davis never moved completely away from referencing real life. He rejected the abstract expressionism that dominated the American art world of the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Davis health quickly declined until he suffered a stroke in 1964 and passed away. His death came just as art critics saw the influence of his work in a new movement, pop art. Legacy Deuce (1954). Andreas Solaro / Getty Images One of Stuart Davis most lasting contributions was his ability to take lessons learned from European movements in painting and create a distinctly American twist on the ideas. His bold, graphical paintings contain echoes of the work of Fauvists like Henri Matisse and the cubist experiments of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. However, the end product finds inspiration in American life and architecture, a factor that makes Davis work unique. Pop artists Andy Warhol and David Hockney celebrated Stuart Davis blending of content from commercial advertisements with the shapes of everyday objects that he first depicted in the 1920s. Today, many art historians consider Davis work to be proto-pop art. Source Haskell, Barbara. Stuart Davis: In Full Swing. Prestel, 2016.

Acknowledgement

The interrogator emits a field of electromagnetic waves from an antenna, which are absorbed by the tag. The absorbed energy is used to power the tag’s microchip and a signal that includes the tag identification number is sent back to the interrogator. The use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio frequency  electromagnetic fields  to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Some tags require no battery and are powered and read at short ranges via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). Backround of the Study Tanauan Institute has already been using the Library System. Since the institution is already using such technology, these will be the first time for the institution to use Radio Frequency Identification. The researchers thought of maximizing its use by creating a system that will track the students who borrowed books, which will be having RFID stickers for monitoring purposes, in the library. Currently, the school’s library is using the â€Å"Library System† in monitoring the books, which has a number of limitations. It is not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed which can help them decide on the number of a particular book they will be purchasing in the future. It is also using Microsoft Visual Basic for the system’s database which can only store very limited information. On the other hand, the system that the library is using in recording the attendance of the users cannot help them in identifying the library users of the month. The librarians need to manually count the number of times each student had logged in the system. Lastly, they have also no means of reminding the library users regarding their borrowed book Statement of the Problem Not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed. No means of reminding the library users regarding about their borrowed books. Manual counting the number of times each student had logged in the system. Objectives of the Study Generally, the researchers aim to design and develop a system that would enhance the use of the current Library System with the help of RFID in the said Institute. Specifically, the study aims to: Design and develop a system that will generate reports to determine the trend in book borrowing Use MySQL for the system’s database Determine the library users of the month in just a click of a button Remind the students and faculty members regarding their borrowed books Test and evaluate the system’s accuracy and reliability Scope and Delimitation There would be some limitations to the project that should be taken into consideration. This study limits its coverage to the students of the Tanauan Institute only. It will be conducted for two semesters which consists of 10 months. Two low frequency ACR122U Smart Card Readers will be used for the system: one for the monitoring of books and the other one for the recording of the attendance. The system will be written in Microsoft Visual Basic 2010. The database that will be incorporated with such is Microsoft My SQL. It will execute only in platforms running Windows Operating System. The applications of the system will only cover the monitoring of books and tracking of the borrowers. Other unavoidable circumstances, such as power interruptions and speed of access, and other more complex areas of RFID Technology, such as securing the data, are no longer part of the study. Conceptual Framework For the researchers to be able to come up with a Radio Frequency Identification Reloading System, they will need very flexible and versatile knowledge in using the VB. NET programming language and in using the MS Server 2008. They will also be needing materials such as ACS Readers, tags which should be compatible with the reader and a desktop running Windows operating system. The related foreign and local studies and literature would also be of big aid to them because of the given information and problems with solutions of these materials. With all the knowledge, the materials to be used and the related resources, the researchers will need to carefully plan the whole study which is going to be the foundation of their research as a whole, gather and analyze data before they design and code the system. After the coding stage, the researchers need to test and evaluate their study. If necessary, modifications should be done to perfect the system. Conceptual Paradigm Below is the figure of the conceptual paradigm of the study: NOTE:::: REVISED PARADIGM MAKE A NEW DIAGRAM.. PLACE IT HERE!!!.. Figure 2. Paradigm of the study Definition of Terms Accuracy – is a characteristic of a reliable system achieved from a number of tests and evaluation. Circulation Management – is a division in the library which is in charge of managing the borrowing and the returning of library materials. Collection Management- is a division in the library which is in charge of maintaining the collection of the library materials through adding or updating records. Database – is an organized collection of data needed for storing, updating, retrieving and viewing information for a particular system. Library Management System – is the system which will be an aid for monitoring the books and tracking and reminding the borrowers in a certain library. Radio Frequency Identification – is one of the newest identification technologies that use electromagnetic fields to transfer and read data that will be integrated by the researchers in this study. Chapter 2 Related Literature and Studies A. Related Literature Foreign Literature Holloway (June 2006), Microsoft EMEA Manufacturing Industry Solutions Architect, wrote a white paper which explained the components of a basic RFID system and how it works. According to him, an RFID system is composed of three important pieces of equipment such as: (1) a small radio device called a tag, or the transponder, which contains the data, (2) the reader, or the interrogator, that transmits and collects data to be downloaded from and uploaded to the tag, and (3) the host computer installed with an RFID software to process the data into valuable information. Daniel (2004) summarizes the operation in a basic RFID system as discussed below: First, the tag will enter the RF field of the Reader then, the RF signal will power the Tag that will transmit the ID with other data which, on the other hand, will be sent to the computer by the Reader. Then, the computer will be the one sending data to the Reader which will be transmitted to the tag. In a paper published by Mitrokotsa and Douligeri (2009), â€Å"Integrated RFID and Sensor Networks: Architectures and Applications†, they discussed and differentiate RFID and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Technologies. They also discussed why these technologies should be implemented to various fields of business and their requirements. Since the proponents will be using RFID, the tips, which are proven effective, given in this study on how to have better RFID-based systems will be of big help in conducting their study. Soldatos (2010) formulated a study entitled Rich Client Application for RFID EPCIS Repository wherein he created software which intended to provide a UML-like graphical representation of the business locations, and read points of an enterprise with a more user friendly RFID-based software system. Dhanalakshmi and Mamatha (n. d. ) wrote a paper wherein they discussed the project that they created entitled â€Å"RFID Based Library Management System† which is very similar to the study being conducted by the proponents. In their study’s conclusion, they have indicated and proven that RFID in the library speeds up its transactions such as book borrowing, returning, searching thus enables staff to do more of its responsibilities. Mutigwe and Aghdasi (n. d. also conducted a study entitled â€Å"Research Trends in RFID Technology† wherein they have given attention at continuing research activities in the field of RFID and talked about the possible major burdens that RFID Technology is facing today such as privacy, high costs, and social and legal concerns. Local Literature Garcia (2009) made a study, â€Å"Student Recognition Using Radio Frequency Identification for Tarlac State University†, which was undertaken to develop a system that would support and i mprove the current way of identifying students at Tarlac State University. The system is capable of importing excel files to update student records. Through the images and the information displayed by the system, security officers find it easy to identify the students entering the school campus. Reports can be generated for administration and filing purposes. The concern of security was also addressed because the system can control users and produce integral records. Similar to the study of the proponents, the system that they will create can also generate reports for monitoring and inventory purposes. Another study which also focused on the record keeping of students who enter and exit the school premises is the â€Å"Design of RFID Interface System: A Prototype† conducted by Engr. Dellosa (2007). He designed a circuitry capable of indicating the arrival and departure of the students in such a way that the students can also be notified. He also developed software capable of capturing and recording the student’s names together with their time of arrival and departure within the school premises. B. Related Studies Foreign Studies A study of Botterman and Oranje (May 2009) entitled â€Å"Study on The Requirements and Options For RFID Application in Healthcare† proved that RFID Technology is versatile and can also bring improvements in the field of healthcare. It also proved that the speed of access and speed of processing of transactions, the inventory of equipment, and the monitoring of the patience and employees can be improved by RFID. Lastly, Zherdev (2011) performed a study, â€Å"Storing and Reading Sensor Data from Battery Assisted Passive RFID†, which dealt with tags of battery assisted passive-type and ISO 18000-6C standard. His study evaluated and improved a system designed to transmit information about the bearings status of railway wagons. It is related to this study being conducted by the proponents since they will also be using the passive type of RFID tags. Shariff of Longitude Consultancy Services made a proposal for schools to implement systems incorporated with RFID Technology for attendance monitoring, library management, and logging in school buses. He reasoned out the needs for such advancement which made the proponents more eager in pursuing this study. Local Studies Studies were not only done in other countries but also in the Philippines as well. Filipinos also hunger for knowledge and improvements in the field of Technology. One of the pioneers in using RFID Technology to make its transactions faster and more efficient is the Mapua Institute of Technology with its Cardinal Plus Model which made many transactions convenient ever since it was introduced to the Institute such as securing student identification upon entering the campus and online grade access of students. This study is somehow related because both implementation targets are in universities. A study conducted by Balbacal (2005) entitled â€Å"Automated Bus Fare System† is related to the system that the researchers is planning to create. In Balbacal’s system, she used reloadable cards which used barcodes in riding a bus and paying for the fare. The amount to be reloaded on a card depends on the user’s capability to pay. However, Aquino et. al’s (October 2009) â€Å"Automation of the Movie Theater Charging Procedures Through the Use of RFID† proved that RFID Technology can also improve the field of entertainment. Their system was able to eliminate queuing problems improve charging operations of the system implied on improvement in the efficiency, reliability accuracy of the operation. Even though the field of implementations of their study and the researchers’ are not the same, the purposes of both are identical. The researchers want to eliminate the redundancy in recording the attendance of the students which the existing system is not capable of. In Villame’s (2010) research entitled â€Å"Carrier Suppression Locked Loop Mechanism for UHF RFID Readers†, he made an improvement on the front-end architecture of UHF RFID readers to address the problem of having the performance of the reader limited as the active components in the receiver become saturated due to having the readers being exposed to strong carrier leakage signals because of the antenna reflections and limited isolation of circulators and directional couplers. This would be of great help but the researchers indicated that other complex aspects of RFID such as isolation of signals will not be covered by this study. Chapter 3 Methodology Research Design In every study, the method of research to be used is very important. The whole study somehow depends on such method because it will determine how the data collected will be handled. The goal is of this method is to acquire accurate and systematic data which are based on facts that can be used in averages, frequencies and similar statistical calculations. It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. The researchers are also taking into consideration the use of developmental research. In a paper published by James D. Klein et. al, (n. d. ) they define it as studies that involve the production of information with the goal to improve the development of instructional design, development, and evaluation. Such research is based on either situation-speci? c problem solving or generalized inquiry actions. Sampling The researching process will take place at the Tanauan Institute, a institute located at J. V. Gonzales St. Pagaspas Tanauan City. The researchers have chosen this institution because it is where they are currently studying and it was the first time the school will use the RFID system. Instruments/Tools The primary tools that will be used in gathering the needed information for this study are researching and browsing from the net. The secondary tools will be the related foreign and local literature and studies that the researchers have gathered. Gathering Data The process of the data we gathered is divided into five phases namely: Identify and Analyze the Requirements. In this phase, the proponents will gather all possible requirements that the end user expects from the system to be developed. These requirements will dictate the functions that will be integrated in the system. Design the System. Upon gathering and analyzing the requirements of the end user, the designing of the system will follow. This phase is important because the system’s design will dictate the overall system architecture. If the proponents have inquiries about the system, they can gather and analyze the requirements again. Code the System. After designing what the system will look like, the proponents will start the actual coding of the system. This design of the system will be the basis of how the system will look like. Test the System. To ensure that the system is efficient and reliable, several tests will be conducted. If the system fails the testing phase, the proponents will go back to the second phase which is designing of the system. 5. Acceptance of the System. After having proven that the system is functioning well, it will be deployed to the end user and they will be trained on how to use it. They will evaluate if their requirements and expectations have been met. If not, the proponents have to go back to the first phase again and start all over. Software Specification |Operating System |Microsoft Windows XP or higher | |Microsoft SQL Sever |2008 or higher | |Microsoft . Net Framework |4. 0 or higher | |Windows Internet Explorer |7 or higher | |ACS CCID Driver | | Hardware Specification |Memory |2 GB or higher | |Processor |2. GHz or faster | |Hard Disk |At least 3GB of available space | |Monitor |1024Ãâ€"768 or higher resolution | |Printer | | |ACR122U NFC Reader | | Gantt Chart ILAGAY DITO†¦ Chapter4 The Proposed System User and Needs of the Study Proposed system is the Tanauan Institute New College Library Management System. Through our software user can add books, update books, search books, update information, edit information, record the attendance of the borrowers, borrow and return books in quick time. Our proposed system has the following advantages. ? User friendly interface ? Fast access to database ? Less error ? More Storage Capacity ? Search facility ? Look and Feel Environment ? Quick transaction All the manual difficulties in managing the Library have been rectified by implementing computerization. Analysis General Features of the System RFID technology has been applied in libraries just over a decade, though the technology is not yet mature but its rapid development allows more and more functions to be achieved. RFID is still in its developing stage in libraries, the technology originally can only simply achieve the self-check-in and check-out function, but till now, the effectively inventory, logistics and sorting the returned books are all able to be achieved. The library can adopt RFID technology aim of improving the self-service. Patrons can borrow and return the items using automatic lending machines, which require a library card and a PIN. Self-service becomes much easier with this new technology as it does not require line of sight and max. 3 items can be borrowed at a time. So far, the frequency of self-service is nearly 100%. Besides, sorting the returned books greatly reduces the library staffs manual work. As RFID label has anti-theft function, there is no need for an extra alarm strip to be attached to the item, which makes the borrowing and tagging tasks a lot easier accordingly. Chapter 5 Implementation Program Testing We the researchers have come up to test the system with different specifications to know the compatibility of it to the system. The researcher make sure that they will not have any problem during implementation and also we asked the end user to see and to test the system, if they had any wanted to changed or add on the system. To ensured that the system is efficient. Documentation Plan The documentation has seven chapters. The first three chapters were made during the first part of the study, these three chapters guide the researcher to create a system what look alike. The last four chapters were made at the second part together with the system proposal. Data Management Plan We the researchers gathered data by acquiring information on some schools, browsing the net, getting some ideas with the old system, library research, asking personal questions and getting information through handouts. Resource Management Plan The development of the software would not be possible without the following components: A. Computer – an electronic device uses to manipulate data. B. USB Flash Drive – is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. C. Hard Disk – wherein the system is stored and the soft copy of the documentation is saved. D. Ballpen Paper – use for writing down the documentation and other important information. E. Internet – the primary tool of the researchers that used to gathered the needed information or data. F. Printed Materials – used for additional reference. G. Printer – used to provide hard copy of the program code and documentation. All the data which were manipulated throughout the process of the study were stored in the computer hard disk drive with back up on several flash drives. Quality Assurance Plan The researchers ensure the most precise and direct method of providing the software with highest regard on procedures thereby providing easy access for end user. Accuracy and efficiency of the software is likewise ensured thereby providing the end users guaranteed reliable software. Security Plan The researchers ensure that all data, documentation, codes and system were provided sets of back up. And though the system, the researchers put a login form on the system to ensure that no one can access or view, only the end user can use it. Training Plan Formal training on how to use the program for end users will be provided by the researcher, if needed. The system is intended to use by an end-user acting as the administrator and could add another administrator that will do the same task to facilitate all their activities. Chapter 6 Maintenance Upon the implementation of the system, that is downloading and debugging the entire system, the researchers assures extension of services for future modifications or updates of information already published responsibilities: 1. Provided with the necessary updates on information, the researchers will plan the necessary layout modification, if needed. 2. According to the layout planned, necessary changes in the codes follows. 3. Appropriate testing of the modified code is to be done to ensure efficiency and accuracy. 4. Updating other details is provided by the system 5. Providing back-up of the modified code 6. Providing updated documentation 7. Entrusting all the used resources to the appropriate authorities. Hardware maintenance is beyond the duty of the researcher. Chapter 7 The Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation Summary Library Management, particularly Circulation and Collection, in Tanauan Institute uses a semi-automated system which has a number of limitations such as incapability of automatically generating reports and statistics, and loss, inconsistency, and in accuracy of data. Since this institution is already using RFID Technology in monitoring the attendance of its students, the researchers attempted to resolve such issues by creating an RFID-Based Library Management System using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with the students and the librarians as the target beneficiaries in mind. Modified waterfall was the research model used by the researchers which helped them in the distribution of the tasks they need to accomplish. Descriptive method of research was also utilized in order to gather data more accurately and systematically with the use of data gathering tools such as surveys with open and close ended questions, interviews, and time motion study represented by graphs and tables to test and evaluate the system’s reliability and the user’s acceptance. Conclusion Through months of conducting this study, starting from the data-gathering-phase up to the deployment-phase, with the aid of the surveys, interviews, and time motion study analyzed, the researchers concluded the following statements about their Tanauan Institute New Library RFID-Based Library Management System: †¢ The system was able to generate statistics and reports by just a click of a button which can help them in forecasting and identifying the library users of the month. They can now finally be assured regarding the accuracy and reliability of the data generated. †¢ The system can cater larger amount of data which is what the library practically needed at this time that they are upgrading the amount of their collection. Data loss will now be finally eliminated. †¢ The system was able to track whom librarian is accountable for the loss of a returned material. †¢ The system was able to help them in reminding the students regarding their unreturned materials. Recommendations For the future researchers to improve, the researchers suggest the following: †¢ Module for printing of a receipt-like for library users as a confirmation of the material that they have returned or borrowed †¢ Module for printing of a book-card-like after adding or updating a particular library material so that librarians can now generate it with just a click of a button †¢ Module to Include visitors who don’t have RFIDs LAGYAN PA NG RECOMMENDATION YUNG NDI NYO NAGAWA.. Acknowledgement The interrogator emits a field of electromagnetic waves from an antenna, which are absorbed by the tag. The absorbed energy is used to power the tag’s microchip and a signal that includes the tag identification number is sent back to the interrogator. The use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio frequency  electromagnetic fields  to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Some tags require no battery and are powered and read at short ranges via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). Backround of the Study Tanauan Institute has already been using the Library System. Since the institution is already using such technology, these will be the first time for the institution to use Radio Frequency Identification. The researchers thought of maximizing its use by creating a system that will track the students who borrowed books, which will be having RFID stickers for monitoring purposes, in the library. Currently, the school’s library is using the â€Å"Library System† in monitoring the books, which has a number of limitations. It is not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed which can help them decide on the number of a particular book they will be purchasing in the future. It is also using Microsoft Visual Basic for the system’s database which can only store very limited information. On the other hand, the system that the library is using in recording the attendance of the users cannot help them in identifying the library users of the month. The librarians need to manually count the number of times each student had logged in the system. Lastly, they have also no means of reminding the library users regarding their borrowed book Statement of the Problem Not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed. No means of reminding the library users regarding about their borrowed books. Manual counting the number of times each student had logged in the system. Objectives of the Study Generally, the researchers aim to design and develop a system that would enhance the use of the current Library System with the help of RFID in the said Institute. Specifically, the study aims to: Design and develop a system that will generate reports to determine the trend in book borrowing Use MySQL for the system’s database Determine the library users of the month in just a click of a button Remind the students and faculty members regarding their borrowed books Test and evaluate the system’s accuracy and reliability Scope and Delimitation There would be some limitations to the project that should be taken into consideration. This study limits its coverage to the students of the Tanauan Institute only. It will be conducted for two semesters which consists of 10 months. Two low frequency ACR122U Smart Card Readers will be used for the system: one for the monitoring of books and the other one for the recording of the attendance. The system will be written in Microsoft Visual Basic 2010. The database that will be incorporated with such is Microsoft My SQL. It will execute only in platforms running Windows Operating System. The applications of the system will only cover the monitoring of books and tracking of the borrowers. Other unavoidable circumstances, such as power interruptions and speed of access, and other more complex areas of RFID Technology, such as securing the data, are no longer part of the study. Conceptual Framework For the researchers to be able to come up with a Radio Frequency Identification Reloading System, they will need very flexible and versatile knowledge in using the VB. NET programming language and in using the MS Server 2008. They will also be needing materials such as ACS Readers, tags which should be compatible with the reader and a desktop running Windows operating system. The related foreign and local studies and literature would also be of big aid to them because of the given information and problems with solutions of these materials. With all the knowledge, the materials to be used and the related resources, the researchers will need to carefully plan the whole study which is going to be the foundation of their research as a whole, gather and analyze data before they design and code the system. After the coding stage, the researchers need to test and evaluate their study. If necessary, modifications should be done to perfect the system. Conceptual Paradigm Below is the figure of the conceptual paradigm of the study: NOTE:::: REVISED PARADIGM MAKE A NEW DIAGRAM.. PLACE IT HERE!!!.. Figure 2. Paradigm of the study Definition of Terms Accuracy – is a characteristic of a reliable system achieved from a number of tests and evaluation. Circulation Management – is a division in the library which is in charge of managing the borrowing and the returning of library materials. Collection Management- is a division in the library which is in charge of maintaining the collection of the library materials through adding or updating records. Database – is an organized collection of data needed for storing, updating, retrieving and viewing information for a particular system. Library Management System – is the system which will be an aid for monitoring the books and tracking and reminding the borrowers in a certain library. Radio Frequency Identification – is one of the newest identification technologies that use electromagnetic fields to transfer and read data that will be integrated by the researchers in this study. Chapter 2 Related Literature and Studies A. Related Literature Foreign Literature Holloway (June 2006), Microsoft EMEA Manufacturing Industry Solutions Architect, wrote a white paper which explained the components of a basic RFID system and how it works. According to him, an RFID system is composed of three important pieces of equipment such as: (1) a small radio device called a tag, or the transponder, which contains the data, (2) the reader, or the interrogator, that transmits and collects data to be downloaded from and uploaded to the tag, and (3) the host computer installed with an RFID software to process the data into valuable information. Daniel (2004) summarizes the operation in a basic RFID system as discussed below: First, the tag will enter the RF field of the Reader then, the RF signal will power the Tag that will transmit the ID with other data which, on the other hand, will be sent to the computer by the Reader. Then, the computer will be the one sending data to the Reader which will be transmitted to the tag. In a paper published by Mitrokotsa and Douligeri (2009), â€Å"Integrated RFID and Sensor Networks: Architectures and Applications†, they discussed and differentiate RFID and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Technologies. They also discussed why these technologies should be implemented to various fields of business and their requirements. Since the proponents will be using RFID, the tips, which are proven effective, given in this study on how to have better RFID-based systems will be of big help in conducting their study. Soldatos (2010) formulated a study entitled Rich Client Application for RFID EPCIS Repository wherein he created software which intended to provide a UML-like graphical representation of the business locations, and read points of an enterprise with a more user friendly RFID-based software system. Dhanalakshmi and Mamatha (n. d. ) wrote a paper wherein they discussed the project that they created entitled â€Å"RFID Based Library Management System† which is very similar to the study being conducted by the proponents. In their study’s conclusion, they have indicated and proven that RFID in the library speeds up its transactions such as book borrowing, returning, searching thus enables staff to do more of its responsibilities. Mutigwe and Aghdasi (n. d. also conducted a study entitled â€Å"Research Trends in RFID Technology† wherein they have given attention at continuing research activities in the field of RFID and talked about the possible major burdens that RFID Technology is facing today such as privacy, high costs, and social and legal concerns. Local Literature Garcia (2009) made a study, â€Å"Student Recognition Using Radio Frequency Identification for Tarlac State University†, which was undertaken to develop a system that would support and i mprove the current way of identifying students at Tarlac State University. The system is capable of importing excel files to update student records. Through the images and the information displayed by the system, security officers find it easy to identify the students entering the school campus. Reports can be generated for administration and filing purposes. The concern of security was also addressed because the system can control users and produce integral records. Similar to the study of the proponents, the system that they will create can also generate reports for monitoring and inventory purposes. Another study which also focused on the record keeping of students who enter and exit the school premises is the â€Å"Design of RFID Interface System: A Prototype† conducted by Engr. Dellosa (2007). He designed a circuitry capable of indicating the arrival and departure of the students in such a way that the students can also be notified. He also developed software capable of capturing and recording the student’s names together with their time of arrival and departure within the school premises. B. Related Studies Foreign Studies A study of Botterman and Oranje (May 2009) entitled â€Å"Study on The Requirements and Options For RFID Application in Healthcare† proved that RFID Technology is versatile and can also bring improvements in the field of healthcare. It also proved that the speed of access and speed of processing of transactions, the inventory of equipment, and the monitoring of the patience and employees can be improved by RFID. Lastly, Zherdev (2011) performed a study, â€Å"Storing and Reading Sensor Data from Battery Assisted Passive RFID†, which dealt with tags of battery assisted passive-type and ISO 18000-6C standard. His study evaluated and improved a system designed to transmit information about the bearings status of railway wagons. It is related to this study being conducted by the proponents since they will also be using the passive type of RFID tags. Shariff of Longitude Consultancy Services made a proposal for schools to implement systems incorporated with RFID Technology for attendance monitoring, library management, and logging in school buses. He reasoned out the needs for such advancement which made the proponents more eager in pursuing this study. Local Studies Studies were not only done in other countries but also in the Philippines as well. Filipinos also hunger for knowledge and improvements in the field of Technology. One of the pioneers in using RFID Technology to make its transactions faster and more efficient is the Mapua Institute of Technology with its Cardinal Plus Model which made many transactions convenient ever since it was introduced to the Institute such as securing student identification upon entering the campus and online grade access of students. This study is somehow related because both implementation targets are in universities. A study conducted by Balbacal (2005) entitled â€Å"Automated Bus Fare System† is related to the system that the researchers is planning to create. In Balbacal’s system, she used reloadable cards which used barcodes in riding a bus and paying for the fare. The amount to be reloaded on a card depends on the user’s capability to pay. However, Aquino et. al’s (October 2009) â€Å"Automation of the Movie Theater Charging Procedures Through the Use of RFID† proved that RFID Technology can also improve the field of entertainment. Their system was able to eliminate queuing problems improve charging operations of the system implied on improvement in the efficiency, reliability accuracy of the operation. Even though the field of implementations of their study and the researchers’ are not the same, the purposes of both are identical. The researchers want to eliminate the redundancy in recording the attendance of the students which the existing system is not capable of. In Villame’s (2010) research entitled â€Å"Carrier Suppression Locked Loop Mechanism for UHF RFID Readers†, he made an improvement on the front-end architecture of UHF RFID readers to address the problem of having the performance of the reader limited as the active components in the receiver become saturated due to having the readers being exposed to strong carrier leakage signals because of the antenna reflections and limited isolation of circulators and directional couplers. This would be of great help but the researchers indicated that other complex aspects of RFID such as isolation of signals will not be covered by this study. Chapter 3 Methodology Research Design In every study, the method of research to be used is very important. The whole study somehow depends on such method because it will determine how the data collected will be handled. The goal is of this method is to acquire accurate and systematic data which are based on facts that can be used in averages, frequencies and similar statistical calculations. It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. The researchers are also taking into consideration the use of developmental research. In a paper published by James D. Klein et. al, (n. d. ) they define it as studies that involve the production of information with the goal to improve the development of instructional design, development, and evaluation. Such research is based on either situation-speci? c problem solving or generalized inquiry actions. Sampling The researching process will take place at the Tanauan Institute, a institute located at J. V. Gonzales St. Pagaspas Tanauan City. The researchers have chosen this institution because it is where they are currently studying and it was the first time the school will use the RFID system. Instruments/Tools The primary tools that will be used in gathering the needed information for this study are researching and browsing from the net. The secondary tools will be the related foreign and local literature and studies that the researchers have gathered. Gathering Data The process of the data we gathered is divided into five phases namely: Identify and Analyze the Requirements. In this phase, the proponents will gather all possible requirements that the end user expects from the system to be developed. These requirements will dictate the functions that will be integrated in the system. Design the System. Upon gathering and analyzing the requirements of the end user, the designing of the system will follow. This phase is important because the system’s design will dictate the overall system architecture. If the proponents have inquiries about the system, they can gather and analyze the requirements again. Code the System. After designing what the system will look like, the proponents will start the actual coding of the system. This design of the system will be the basis of how the system will look like. Test the System. To ensure that the system is efficient and reliable, several tests will be conducted. If the system fails the testing phase, the proponents will go back to the second phase which is designing of the system. 5. Acceptance of the System. After having proven that the system is functioning well, it will be deployed to the end user and they will be trained on how to use it. They will evaluate if their requirements and expectations have been met. If not, the proponents have to go back to the first phase again and start all over. Software Specification |Operating System |Microsoft Windows XP or higher | |Microsoft SQL Sever |2008 or higher | |Microsoft . Net Framework |4. 0 or higher | |Windows Internet Explorer |7 or higher | |ACS CCID Driver | | Hardware Specification |Memory |2 GB or higher | |Processor |2. GHz or faster | |Hard Disk |At least 3GB of available space | |Monitor |1024Ãâ€"768 or higher resolution | |Printer | | |ACR122U NFC Reader | | Gantt Chart ILAGAY DITO†¦ Chapter4 The Proposed System User and Needs of the Study Proposed system is the Tanauan Institute New College Library Management System. Through our software user can add books, update books, search books, update information, edit information, record the attendance of the borrowers, borrow and return books in quick time. Our proposed system has the following advantages. ? User friendly interface ? Fast access to database ? Less error ? More Storage Capacity ? Search facility ? Look and Feel Environment ? Quick transaction All the manual difficulties in managing the Library have been rectified by implementing computerization. Analysis General Features of the System RFID technology has been applied in libraries just over a decade, though the technology is not yet mature but its rapid development allows more and more functions to be achieved. RFID is still in its developing stage in libraries, the technology originally can only simply achieve the self-check-in and check-out function, but till now, the effectively inventory, logistics and sorting the returned books are all able to be achieved. The library can adopt RFID technology aim of improving the self-service. Patrons can borrow and return the items using automatic lending machines, which require a library card and a PIN. Self-service becomes much easier with this new technology as it does not require line of sight and max. 3 items can be borrowed at a time. So far, the frequency of self-service is nearly 100%. Besides, sorting the returned books greatly reduces the library staffs manual work. As RFID label has anti-theft function, there is no need for an extra alarm strip to be attached to the item, which makes the borrowing and tagging tasks a lot easier accordingly. Chapter 5 Implementation Program Testing We the researchers have come up to test the system with different specifications to know the compatibility of it to the system. The researcher make sure that they will not have any problem during implementation and also we asked the end user to see and to test the system, if they had any wanted to changed or add on the system. To ensured that the system is efficient. Documentation Plan The documentation has seven chapters. The first three chapters were made during the first part of the study, these three chapters guide the researcher to create a system what look alike. The last four chapters were made at the second part together with the system proposal. Data Management Plan We the researchers gathered data by acquiring information on some schools, browsing the net, getting some ideas with the old system, library research, asking personal questions and getting information through handouts. Resource Management Plan The development of the software would not be possible without the following components: A. Computer – an electronic device uses to manipulate data. B. USB Flash Drive – is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. C. Hard Disk – wherein the system is stored and the soft copy of the documentation is saved. D. Ballpen Paper – use for writing down the documentation and other important information. E. Internet – the primary tool of the researchers that used to gathered the needed information or data. F. Printed Materials – used for additional reference. G. Printer – used to provide hard copy of the program code and documentation. All the data which were manipulated throughout the process of the study were stored in the computer hard disk drive with back up on several flash drives. Quality Assurance Plan The researchers ensure the most precise and direct method of providing the software with highest regard on procedures thereby providing easy access for end user. Accuracy and efficiency of the software is likewise ensured thereby providing the end users guaranteed reliable software. Security Plan The researchers ensure that all data, documentation, codes and system were provided sets of back up. And though the system, the researchers put a login form on the system to ensure that no one can access or view, only the end user can use it. Training Plan Formal training on how to use the program for end users will be provided by the researcher, if needed. The system is intended to use by an end-user acting as the administrator and could add another administrator that will do the same task to facilitate all their activities. Chapter 6 Maintenance Upon the implementation of the system, that is downloading and debugging the entire system, the researchers assures extension of services for future modifications or updates of information already published responsibilities: 1. Provided with the necessary updates on information, the researchers will plan the necessary layout modification, if needed. 2. According to the layout planned, necessary changes in the codes follows. 3. Appropriate testing of the modified code is to be done to ensure efficiency and accuracy. 4. Updating other details is provided by the system 5. Providing back-up of the modified code 6. Providing updated documentation 7. Entrusting all the used resources to the appropriate authorities. Hardware maintenance is beyond the duty of the researcher. Chapter 7 The Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation Summary Library Management, particularly Circulation and Collection, in Tanauan Institute uses a semi-automated system which has a number of limitations such as incapability of automatically generating reports and statistics, and loss, inconsistency, and in accuracy of data. Since this institution is already using RFID Technology in monitoring the attendance of its students, the researchers attempted to resolve such issues by creating an RFID-Based Library Management System using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with the students and the librarians as the target beneficiaries in mind. Modified waterfall was the research model used by the researchers which helped them in the distribution of the tasks they need to accomplish. Descriptive method of research was also utilized in order to gather data more accurately and systematically with the use of data gathering tools such as surveys with open and close ended questions, interviews, and time motion study represented by graphs and tables to test and evaluate the system’s reliability and the user’s acceptance. Conclusion Through months of conducting this study, starting from the data-gathering-phase up to the deployment-phase, with the aid of the surveys, interviews, and time motion study analyzed, the researchers concluded the following statements about their Tanauan Institute New Library RFID-Based Library Management System: †¢ The system was able to generate statistics and reports by just a click of a button which can help them in forecasting and identifying the library users of the month. They can now finally be assured regarding the accuracy and reliability of the data generated. †¢ The system can cater larger amount of data which is what the library practically needed at this time that they are upgrading the amount of their collection. Data loss will now be finally eliminated. †¢ The system was able to track whom librarian is accountable for the loss of a returned material. †¢ The system was able to help them in reminding the students regarding their unreturned materials. Recommendations For the future researchers to improve, the researchers suggest the following: †¢ Module for printing of a receipt-like for library users as a confirmation of the material that they have returned or borrowed †¢ Module for printing of a book-card-like after adding or updating a particular library material so that librarians can now generate it with just a click of a button †¢ Module to Include visitors who don’t have RFIDs LAGYAN PA NG RECOMMENDATION YUNG NDI NYO NAGAWA..

The Expert Witness Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Expert Witness Controversy - Essay Example One of the initial problems with expert testimony is that it is used by both the prosecution and the defense. The two experts must necessarily be at opposition in an effort to help their side's case and one of them must be wrong. This is further complicated by the vast number of "Expert Testimony Services" that have cropped up in recent years as lawyers and investigators pursue an expert-for-hire strategy. Some of these firms have been criticized for advertising that they will be paid only if they win the case. This is contrary to science and removes the neutrality of the scientific method. This attitude extends itself into the prosecution as government and police labs exaggerate claims or suppress evidence. In the case of Bromgard vs. Montana, Jimmy Ray Bromgard was convicted of raping an 8 year old girl based on a forensics expert who testified that the hair found at the scene had only a 1 in 10000 chance of not being Bromgard's. This expert testimony was fraudulent as there were n o means to statistically match hairs through microscopic inspection. Another problem with expert testimony enters the courtroom by way of new technology that may be unproven and unreliable. Termed "junk science", it is sometimes used by the defense to instill reasonable doubt, and more often by the prosecution to sway a jury in their favor. The 1993 case of Daubert vs. Merrill Dow Pharmaceutical set strict guidelines that lower courts must use to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence. It mandated that expert testimony be proven valid, reliable, peer reviewed, and generally accepted by the scientific community (Junk science, 2005). However, as new technology arises, it finds its way into court cases and is only upheld or overturned after years of appeal. When first introduced, fingerprint enhancement was labeled by defense attorneys as "...junk science, unreliable, and easily manipulated" (DeMarzo, 2003). Though the appeals process eventually upheld this technique, it runs the risk of alienating a jury and may result in a guilty verdict be ing overturned on appeal. The American Medical Association has been proactive in protecting the credibility of its profession by setting standards for medical testimony. In 1998 they adopted a policy that states, "... expert witness testimony is the practice of medicine subject to peer review" (Reardon, 1998). Medical malpractice suits and the questionable ethics of a Doctor receiving a contingency fee upon winning the case should arouse a sense of trouble in all involved. Expert testimony as it pertains to psychiatry is equally as troublesome as was seen in the case of John Hinkly. More recently, the case of Andrea Yates was overturned and ordered a new trial because of inaccurate testimony given by a leading forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution (Hausman, 2005). Further complicating the case was the controversial "Postpartum

Retail Management and Merchandising Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Retail Management and Merchandising - Term Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the growth of online retailing is observed everywhere in the world, the global eCommerce environment is highly diverse as different countries and regions are at various stages of online retail maturity. In the developed countries, the online retail sales account for 5% to 15% of the total retail business. In South Korea, this share is almost as high as 13%. On the other hand, the share of eCommerce in the retail sector in the developing countries is much lower than the developed countries due to low penetration of internet and huge contrast in the income between the high-income classes and the middle and low incomes classes. Though there is a significant difference in the online retailing between the developed and the developing countries, the gap is predicted to be shortened due to huge growth potential observed in the emerging economies. For example, though the U.S. has been projected to lead the world in retail business the till 2017, China will occupy the second place. In the 1970s, the retail distribution system was very much different from where it stands in the recent times. In those days, only the suppliers and the shops existed in the retail market. This indicates that the suppliers directly supply its products to sell in the shops. Later in the 1980s, centralization was introduced in the retail system. A retail distribution center was established in order to facilitate interaction between the producers and the shops. In the 1990s, most of the economies were economically liberalized and international trade was introduced. Goods were imported from another country which first arrived at the retail import center and then reaches the central distribution center and finally gets distributed among the shops. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, eCommerce entered the retail industry and as a result involved the parcel network in the sector.

Employment at Will Essay Example for Free

Employment at Will Essay There are several concerns and issues that had been analyzed by the new COO of the organization. Many aspects need to be carefully considered before making sound decisions of any corrective action or termination in effort to avoid legal actions. According to Connell and Castro, issues need to be carefully investigated by exploring relevant witness such as co-workers (Castro Connell, 2009, p.31). This will ensure that situations with misunderstandings are not the issue. However, the conclusion made by the COO should be practical and within reason, not made on impulse or suddenly, and in line with the Employment-at-will doctrine. Although, employees can be dismissed at any time for whatever reason if there aren’t any statutes that would prohibit the act, careful review of the concerns listed below is needed for the betterment of the company and its strategic plans. John posted a rant on his Facebook page in which he criticized the company’s most important customer. Jim sent an email to other salespeople protesting a change in commission schedules and bonuses and suggesting everyone boycott the next sales meeting. Ellen started a blog to protest the CEO’s bonus, noting that no one below director has gotten a raise in two (2) years and portraying her bosses as â€Å"know-nothings† and â€Å"out-of-touch† Bill has been using his company-issued BlackBerry to run his own business on the side. The secretaries in the accounting department decided to dress in black-and-white stripes to protest a memo announcing that the company has installed keylogger software on all company computers. After being disciplined for criticizing a customer in an email (sent from his personal email account on a company computer), Joe threatens to sue the company for invasion of privacy. One of the department supervisors requests your approval to fire his secretary for insubordination. Since the secretary has always received glowing reviews, you call her into your office and determine that she has refused to prepare false expense reports for her boss. Anna’s boss refused to sign her leave request for jury duty and now wants to fire her for being absent without permission. Summarization of Employment-At- Will Doctrine In any kind of employment relationship, employment is a moment to moment employment contract between the employer and the employee. Therefore, the employment- at – will doctrine allows the employer to do whatsoever it feels to the respect of the employee. Putting it differently, the doctrine permits an employer to terminate a worker for any reason good, bad, or without reason as long as the termination is within the legal parameters (Urhuogo, 2010, p.29). In other words, if nothing else applies to the situation at hand such as a specific law of court case that would support the termination (Anti- Discrimination Law), then the employment – at – will doctrine will succeed. However, exceptions at the federal, state, and city level such as specific statutes or laws and common laws (contract and public policy) allowed for modifications to be implemented to the employment-at-will-doctrine in effort to prevent an employer in terminating a worker under the more precise exemption. At the federal level Title VII (Civil Rights Act), which includes race, sex, national origin, and religion are protected. In addition, workers are protected under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, Americans with Disability Act, and National Labor Relations Act, which protects workers that participate in a union. Most state laws are paralleled to those laws implemented at the federal level. However, some states have expanded their laws to further modify the employment-at-will doctrine for example; some states have included sexual preference as being protected, which is not covered under the federal law. Common law exception, which is applied to all levels is based on precedence and therefore, does not need   o apply. An example would include a judge handing down a verdict in his or her jurisdiction creating an exception to the employment-at-will-doctrine. The decision made by the judge would therefore become a binding on employers, which is independent or separate of the laws or statutes that was created by the legislative body. In conclusion of the employment-at-will doctrine, if the workers termination does not fall within the statutory or common law exception, the employment-at-will doctrine will default. Recommendation and Implementation Firstly, many of the concerns and issues referenced above could have possible been eliminated if a whistleblowing policy had been implemented. Realizing and executing this policy within the workplace, allows for whistleblowers to exhibit a role of importance that could eliminate unethical or illegal behaviors within the workplace before any issues become too difficult to handle. When organizations continue to have employees that display a characteristic of being unethical, they position the organization to be at risk in a negative manner legally, financially, and publically. The fact of the matter is that wrong doing occurs in many organizations, but workers at ALL levels should feel comfortable and confident that their work environment is not one of being hostile. Therefore, including a whistleblowing policy should be safe for the worker in knowing that if or when a matter is reported internally; any corrective action can be quickly executed thereby, causing workers to become more ethical. In addition, ongoing ethics training for workers at ALL levels in effort to enhance a moral environment or climate should be applied so that: Objectives and strategic plans are met and the best way to ensure that they are met Leaders are â€Å"walking the walk and talking the talk† (setting examples for all) Workers will feel as though their communication and responsibility is of value to their place of work. Finally, the assurance of the policy should be an image of the company and therefore, being upheld than just words on a piece of paper. The whistleblower should feel confident and safe that when an investigation is done, it will be conducted in an objective manner and investigated by one that has absolutely no influence on the outcome. This too will give a feeling that confidentiality is of value within the organization to the whistleblower. After careful review of the employee issues and concerns, the following recommendation has been made: Firstly, the real boss in my opinion is the customers and especially the high profitable ones because they are the major source of buying. And if your high profitable consumers decide to take business to your competitors then you basically have fired yourself. Although, John decided to criticize the most important customer, it is best to terminate his position due to the fact that at that moment a competitive disadvantage had been created. Jim and Ellen have some real legitimate grievances that need to be address by the company in effort to determine if other employees have the same concern and if so, developing ways to correct the issue. However, both Jim and Ellen have real concerns in reference to pay and therefore, it should be addressed. I believe that they both need to be coached and maybe even disciplined on the way of handling their concern but, I feel that they are both protected under the retaliation law and public policy. In Bills cases, grounds for termination can be expected assuming he did not get permission first. The use of the company’s cellular in effort to start his business is considered theft. Misusing the company’s resource for personal business causes the business to lose time and money. Im afraid it is perfectly legal for an employer to monitor company computer usage while you are at work, you do not have the right without permission to do your private work on your companys computer. Therefore, the accounting department need to be coached on the expectations of the company but also understand that they are not obligated to continue their employment with the organization if they feel disapprove of the key loggers. I believe that Joe has the right to sue the company due to the fact that it was his personal email that had been reviewed. I believe that if Joe’s criticism had been done on the business email then corrective action must stand. In order for the business to prevent personal email usages, it should be clearly outlined in the employee handbook as well as explaining the extent of computers being monitored. Employers should make sure that workers clearly understand the policy. The information provided by the secretary should be investigated thoroughly. If her claim is true, then she would be protected by the violation of public policy. The secretary cannot be terminated due to the fact that she declined to prepared false expense reports for her boss. However, the boss should and need to be investigated and terminated for his actions to eliminate a hostile work environment. Anna exercised her legal right under public policy law reporting to jury duty. However, Anna’s boss may ask for proof of jury duty and unless the employee handbook state otherwise, the employer does not have to compensate Anna. Termination in this case would be illegal. In Conclusion, understanding the employment-at-will doctrine and carefully executing the parameters of the doctrine can still leave the employer with sense of being uneasy and becoming apprehensive that an employee will attempt to sue. According to Wood and Karau, it is imprtant to respect employees during the process of which the termination is taking place because it will show the employee that their work was appreciated while they were working for the company (Wood Karau, 2008, p. 521). This can help or assist in preventing legal actions when respect is given. According to Urhuogo, Giving employee’s reasons for termination may result in employees to be understanding of the situation (Urhuogo, 2010, p.33). However, in the end, every employers and workers must display a demeanor that is ethical and suitable for the company and themselves.

Characterization in Oedipus the King and Homers Odyssey Essay

Characterization in Oedipus the King and Homer's Odyssey The characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one might form of a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic to the reader having a complete and subjective understanding of a work.   Characteristics are often displayed through a character s actions, in what is said about them, and what they themselves say, which shall be the focus of this essay.   Both Oedipus, in Sophocles'   King Oedipus   and Odysseus, in The Odyssey of Homer, oftenare spoken of by others, but their own words are telling, as certain emotions and traits can be seen.   Traits of a character can often be masked or distorted by favorable or unfavorable descriptions by others, but their own speech, however calculated or controlled, often clearly shows character flaws and attributes that one might not come across otherwise.   Strict narration often polarizes a character, casting them as black or whit e, good or evil.   However, in most writings, and certainly in The Odyssey and King Oedipus, the speech of a characterallows us to see the various shades of grey, thus portraying the character more fairly.   One might see Oedipus and Odysseus as being in some ways quite similar, but their speech and the characteristics revealed therein is what sets them apart. Oedipus and Odysseus were both powerful men, each lording over their own small kingdoms.   It would seem they should share certain characteristics and one would not be incorrect to say they did.   Both showed themselves to be respectful of their duties toward their people.   Oedipus, when faced with the people s petition (specifically, the Priest, act... ...portray them as such, but their speech remains one of the strongest methods of characterization.   Through speech, the characters became multi-dimensional, and the evolution of the character was apparent, as was the case with the desperation and demise of Oedipus.   Certainly, the words of Oedipus and Odysseus shaped the image a reader might construct of either one, even if this image was not what Sophocles or Homer had intended.   Whatever this image may be, the speech of the principal characters of King Oedipus and The Odyssey proved both Oedipus and Odysseus tobe complete, multi-faceted characters, neither good or evil, black or white. Works Cited: Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Books, 1962. Sophocles. â€Å"Oedipus the King.† The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002.

Diversity in instructional methods toward meaningful learning Essay

Abstract There is diversity in instructional methods that teachers can use to bring about meaningful learning. This paper discusses five of them; namely integrated inquiry approach, 5-model of inquiry, the jig-sawing approach, role playing and WebQuest. These instructional methods are learner centered methods that consider prior knowledge, attitude and skills and promote development of new knowledge and relate them to a variety of contexts. All of them also deal with real-life situations that essentially develop interpersonal relationships, problem-solving skills and content-knowledge among others. The teachers’ tasks are to plan and carry out efficiently the instructional designs to have meaningful learning among diverse learners, instructional methods and learning environments. Diversity in Instructional Methods Toward Meaningful Learning Diversity is an essential ingredient of success of all ventures in life including education. There are different kinds of learners as there are teachers, instructional methods and learning environments; but there is only one goal in education and this is for an effective and meaningful learning. Teachers should set environments for students so they could think critically and independently and relate new knowledge learned with a variety of contexts for meaningful learning. It is the task of the teachers to match the learners, the learning environments, the knowledge to be learned and the instructional methods. Learning meaningfully means that learners relate new knowledge to what they already know. Meaningful learning is non-arbitrary, non-verbatim, substantive deliberate effort to link new knowledge with higher order concepts in cognitive structures. It is a learning related to experiences with events or objects and affective commitment to relate new knowledge with prior learning. The diverse instructional designs towards meaningful learning should identify outcomes, guide the development of instruction content and establish its effectiveness. Efforts to consider meaningful learning in the different stages of instructional design are essential. Gagne et al. (1992) identified the different stages of instructional designs as: defining instructional goals; conducting instructional analysis; identifying entry behaviours and learner characteristics; developing performance objectives; selecting an instructional method; assembling instructional materials and planning formative and summative evaluations. He and his colleagues further cited that current educational theory and researches support the use of instructional methods that make students active learners. Among the diverse instructional methods available to teachers to explore and use, the commonly utilized approach towards construction of new knowledge meaningfully are the problem –based learning and inquiry approach, cooperative learning, and technology strategies. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, but when used effectively can maximize learning. Problem-Based and Inquiry Approach Students in the problem-based and learning inquiry approach engage in meaningful learning through being actively involved in their own learning and reconstructing these based on their experiences. They further participate in active investigation, more of integrating knowledge rather than separating them so that deep understanding develop from acquisition of new facts. In this method, students are given relevant problems by teachers which inquiry must be done. The general steps in this inquiry approach are: identifying the problems, gathering of data, organizing the data in attempt to analyse the problems and analyses of the strategies to use to solve the problems. Integrated Inquiry In the Integrated Inquiry planning process, a model of inquiry approach developed by K. Murdoch, sequences of activities and experiences are developed to build on and challenge student perceptions. These sequences begin with students’ prior knowledge and experiences and move through deliberate processes wherein that knowledge is extended, challenged and refined. Students have their own prior experiences that they bring to their classes and teachers should be aware of how to address this situation. Activities and learning experiences in this model are grouped as: tuning on, finding out, sorting out, going further, making conclusions and taking actions (Murdoch, 1999). Furthermore, planning for assessment is a very important element of planning for Integrated Inquiry. Murdoch (1999) highlights the need for the collection and analysis of information about what and the how students have learned. The assessment in the Integrated Inquiry model is to determine how to improve student learning as these new information help teachers modify their plans of work to suit the needs of the learners. Students’ involvement in planning for assessment as in selecting responses to particular learning experiences and designing demonstrations of understanding are highly encouraged. Therefore, teachers are also tasked to identify and design learning experiences that will provide information for assessment purposes. The strengths of this model are focussed on assessment of learning in context and encouraging a variety of demonstrations of understanding based on the learning experiences that students undertake. Learners that may benefit most from this Integrated Inquiry Approach are those capable of setting goals in their own learning and significantly contribute in determining how assessment could be effectively done. 5-E Model In the book â€Å"Activities for Teaching Science as Inquiry† by Carin, Bass & Contant (2005) many laboratory investigations were cited as inquiry approach to learning. They focused on the 5-E Instructional Model with the five main components identified as Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation. Each of these components is learner-centred. This investigatory method maybe time and resource consuming but it allows the learners to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills experientially. The use of this method is not limited to teaching sciences, which are considered to be not very easy subjects. This experiential learning brings more opportunities for learners to bring forth better understanding and longer retention of knowledge learned. Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning is an instructional method that takes place in a small group of learners of different levels of ability and in environments of responsibility not only for their own understanding of the subject but also for his co-learners. It brings more meaning to learning because it provides shared cognitive sets of information between students, motivating them to learn the materials, ensuring that they construct their own knowledge, providing formative feedback, developing social and group skills necessary for success outside the classroom. Cooperative leaning promotes learning and academic achievement, increases retention and satisfaction with their learning experiences among students, helps develop skills in oral communication, social skills, promotes student self-esteem and fosters mutual responsibility. Although this method helps students learn to be more patient, less critical and more compassionate, some students may find difficulty with this method. Students who work alone find difficulty in sharing answers while aggressive students will tend to take over and brighter students to act superior to the rest. Teachers who will employ cooperative should prepare their students how to work in groups for this method to be successful. Jig Sawing Approach The â€Å"Jig Sawing† Approach is a cooperative learning strategy wherein students becomes an â€Å"expert† in a particular area, then shares his or her learning knowledge with other members of the group that eventually all members of the group learn the concepts. In the Modified Jigsaw, the class is divided into equal expert groups, with each of these groups working on isolated portions of the activity. Once each expert group has completed the tasks, they report their findings as group to the class. Group report allows for greater flexibility in student presentation style and prevents the possibility of unintentionally misrepresentation of information (Beaudrie et al. 1998). This method best suits heterogenous learners across disciplines. It provides opportunities for learners to show various competencies. Moreover, students are more comfortable to exchange ideas with their co-learners because of their dynamic open relationship. Role playing Another instructional method of interest is role playing. It also deals with solving problems but through actions. In role playing, problems are identified, explored through actions and discussed. The students input in their role playing their prior knowledge, values and attitudes. A role-playing strategy seems to work best when there are multiple correct approaches to solving problems. It encourages thinking and creativity to develop and practice new behaviours in non-threatening setting. It provides opportunities for students to explore further their feelings; gain more insights about their attitudes and also enhance their problem solving skills. It also promotes effective interpersonal relations. The learning in these role playing activities are meaningful as they are retained longer and hoped to be of use to the real life of the learners. Terms which are used, often interchangeably with role playing are â€Å"simulation,† â€Å"game,† â€Å"role-play,† â€Å"simulation-game,† â€Å"role-play simulation,† and â€Å"role-playing game†. Role playing dynamically promotes effective interpersonal relationships and social transactions among learners. Technology Supported Approach Technology provides a set of tool for addressing the issues on improving student learning. These issues are of providing more of learners’ time on authentic, challenging tasks with rich contexts with emphasis on multi-disciplinarity; changing of role of teachers to facilitators of knowledge that guide students and learn along with them; students working in an environment of more cooperative relationships that encourages communication and access to real-world examples towards the development of learning communities; and with greater emphasis placed on reflective thinking and productivity with the understanding that students will preform their tasks differently and have different task-relevant skills ( Grabe and Grabe, 2004). WebQuest WebQuest, the model developed by Bernie Dodge, is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. WebQuests is most often a group activity in a library or distance education setting. It may be enhanced by wrapping motivational elements around the basic structure by giving the learners a role to play, simulated personae to interact with via e-mail, and a scenario to work within. They can be designed within a single discipline or they can be interdisciplinary (Dodge, 1997). The WebQuest challenges he learner to be creative in problem-solving. In the world of education, there are so many instructional designs that can be utilized to end up with meaningful learning. No instructional method is better than the other but each one in the hands of a committed and learned teacher can merit students across academic levels and disciplines to bring about meaningful learning. References Beaudrie, B. , Slater,T. F. , Stevenson, S. & Cadit, D. (1998). Teaching astronomy by internet jigsawing. Leading and Learning with Technology Journal, 26. , Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http://www. aem. umn. edu. Carin, A. A, Bass, J. E & Contant T.L. (2005). Activities for Teaching Science As Inquiry. NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Dodge, B. (1997). Some thoughts about WebQuests . Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http://webquest. sdsu. edu/about_webquests. html. Gagne, R. M. , Briggs, L. J. , & Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design . TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Grabe, M. & Grabe C. (2004). Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning. NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. Murdoch, K. (1998) Classroom Connections: Strategies for Integrated Learning. Melbourne: Eleanor Curtain Publishing.