OOA/D has a history of many branches; knowledge of an object-oriented language does not guarantee you the ability to create object systems. The introduction of OOA/D was a milestone in assisting the programmers who were used to traditional programming methods. This in effect led to rapid development and growth in the software development field. OOA/D was informal through the 1960s to 1970s, and it wasnt until 1982 that OOD emerged as a topic in its own right. The concept of object, classes, and their notation through UML (Unified modeling language) and the use of cases for the requirement is one of the building blocks of object-oriented analysis and design. For us to fully appreciate objected oriented analysis and design we need to define and understand the following terms: object-oriented systems, object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design, objects, classes, attributes, instances, methods, operation, and UML.
Object-oriented Systems
This is a system composed of collaborating objects. This collaboration defines the behavior of the system. The collaboration is brought about by the objects sending messages to each other. The implementation of the message send differs depending on the architecture of the system, the location of the objects, and the function that has received the message.
Object-oriented Analysis
The main task here is examining the problem with the aim of coming up with a conceptual model of all the information existing on the area of the problem being analyzed. Object analysis is undertaken before object design and hence it overlooks the implementation constraints that might prop up e.g. concurrency, distribution, and persistence. A system with multiple domains representing different technological, business, or other areas of concern may have each of the domains being analyzed separately. The end result will be a conceptual model giving a description of system functionality presented as use cases, one or more UML diagrams, interaction diagrams, and some kind of user interface mock-up.
Object-oriented Design
This maps the concept of the analysis model onto implementation classes and interfaces resulting in a detailed description of how the system is to be built. It factors all constraints imposed by the non-functional technological environment and a chosen architecture e.g. response time, run-time platform, development environment, and a chosen programming language.
UML (Unified Modeling Language)
The UML, a notation for object-oriented analysis and design started as an effort by Rumbaugh and Booch in 1994. They both combined their two OMT and the Booch methods to create a common notation. Thus, the first draft of the UML was presented as the Unified Method. Ivar Jacobson the creator of the objective method joined them at Rational Corporation, and as a group, they came to be known as the three amigos. The three then decided to narrow the scope of effort and focused on a common diagramming notation the UML. This was after a lot of convincing by various tool vendors demanding a common standard.
The starting point of UML is object modeling as its central technique. It gives you the ability to focus on class structure, inheritance, etc. As a language-independent notation it allows the specification of classes, their attributes (private) or data and methods (public), inheritance, and other general relationships between classes. The figure below shows a summary of UML object modeling notation.
Figure 1. Summary of UML object modeling notation.
To understand UML notation, let us have a look at a sales inventory system to be developed for a store. In this model, we are going to focus on the subsystem which deals with stock inventory. In the development of this model, we will handle the system architecture design, database design, and implementation, and finally interface design and implementation.,
System Architecture Design
Consideration of alternative software architecture and justification of your choice.
The following object model shows a simple stock inventory subsystem containing classes for Order, supplier, Orderitem, Stockitem, Tilloperator,Tillsession,Transaction, Qty:Number, Till, Return, and Sale.
Examining this object model in more detail, we can see the following information about our class structure:
An Order class (containing OrderDate and OrderStatus fields, otherwise known as attributes). Zero to many orders belongs-to one to many Suppliers. On the other hand one too many orders contain one to many OrderItems. An Order has a method (also known as operations or member functions) additem() defined. This method when invoked will add items to the Order depending on the argument supplied.
Similarly, a Supplier class (which contains CompanyName , Address and Phone attributes) holds zero to many Orders. On the other hand, a Supplier holds one to many StockItem. A Supplier has methods updateAddress() which when invoked it updates the address of the supplier depending on the value of parameters passed and updatePhone() which when invoked updates the Suppliers phone number.
An OrderItem class (contains Quantity attribute). One to many order items is contained-in one order. On the other hand zero to many order items is-held-in one StockItem list.
A StockItem class (contains BarcodeNo , ItemName and CurrentStockLevel , ReorderThreshold , RetailPrice and MeasurementUnit attributes). One to many stock items belongs to a Supplier. StockItem class has methods increment() for increasing the quantity of the stock item, decrement() for reducing the quantity of the stock item, setRetilPrice() for setting the cost of the stock item, and setCurrentStockLevel for adjusting the level of a stock item.
A TillOperator class (contains Name and PIN attributes). A till operator handles one to many till sessions. The methods found in this class are startSession() which when invoked starts a session, endSession() when invoked terminate a session and checkPIN() when invoked checks or verifies the PIN of the till operator.
A TillSession class (contains SessionDate , StartTime , FinishTime and TillBalance attributes). One to many till sessions is handled-by one operator. On the other hand zero to many transactions belongs-to a till session. This class has methods sell() when invoked adds the item amount to a sale, return() when invoked removes item from sale and blalanceTill() when invoked calculates the balance after the sale.
A Transaction class (contains TransDate and TransTime attributes). Zero to many transactions has one to many stock items. On the other hand zero to many transactions is is- held- in a till session. This class has a member addItem() which when invoked adds a stock item to the transaction. For any operation to occur between the Transaction class and the StockItem class quantity and the price of the StockItem must be present.
A Sale class contains PayMethod attribute. The sale class is a member class of the Transaction class. Return class contains SalesRef attribute. Return class is a member class of the Transaction Class. A Till class contains TillNo and Location attributes. A till handles one to many till sessions.
Database Design and Implementation
Figure 2. Database Design and Implementation
Object-oriented analysis and design have made it possible for software engineers to produce robust systems within a short duration. This has been enhanced by it being language an independent technique. We have seen the UML emerge as the de facto and de jure standard diagramming notation for object-oriented modeling. Even if the UML allows the possibility to put in rather clear visual form a whole heap of elements to describe our system, you should be known that it cannot be used to model everything we need. For example, it doesnt describe the user interface or the user interface flowchart, just naming two of them.
References
Dan Pilone.2006.UML 2.0 Pocket Reference (Pocket Reference): pocket reference. OReilly, 2003
Ivar J., Grady B., Rumbagh J. 2005.The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual. University of Michigan, Addison-Wesley
Martin F. 2003. Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language, Third Edition.208. New York. Addison Wesley Professional
This paper explains the application of contextual computing in personal and professional scenarios. It is clear that there are no technical barriers for the growth of contextual computing. But the chief hindrance is the attitude of people. The other minor barriers are environment problem, government regulations&etc. The people and the government should be ready to accept the changes and advancement in the technology, and then only there is a chance for the great development of the pervasive computing. This paper is developed in such a way that, first there is brief description of what is contextual computing followed by its application in professional as well as personal scenarios.
Contextual computing: Now computing became more sophisticated as it developed from the desktop to the mobile phones. The word context refers to that which surrounds, and gives meaning to, something else. (Schmidt 2002, p.21).
Contextual computing (also called as pervasive or ubiquitous computing) refers to the use of computing possibilities everywhere. In other words, it is the improvement of user interface according to the context, user, data and programmes. Contextual computing makes the computing activity more flexible. In most of the cases mobile phones are used as the medium for contextual computing. Some other tools like Electronic tags, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tags), Integrated Circuit Cards&etc also serve as the platform for contextual computing. (ADEBUS Week5 Lecture).
Application of contextual computing in a professional scenario: Here the application of contextual computing by the retailer Food Lion is described. Food Lion is a chain of supermarkets which is one among the largest supermarkets in United States running 1,300 supermarkets in different names. (About Food Lion History. 2009).
The Food Lion implemented contextual computing using m-commerce (mobile commerce). The Food Lions contextual computing practices are described below.
Mobile Check stand: The company uses mobile check stand which is mobile equipment and can be moved to the required places as it is fixed up on wheels. This device is used for processing payment. It is flexible enough to add checkout lines as and when required.
Personal Scanner: This is a device which is operated by the customer. When a product is selected by the customer, he scans the product, with the scanner provided to him by the company, which displays the price of the particular product and it is added to the total. Personal scanners are also used for sending message like new offers to the customers by the company.
Employees handheld devices: It helps the employees in inventory counting, keeping the record of the inventory, order making, shelf-tag printing and also to remotely manage the store.
Cart-mounted table PC: This device helps consumer in finding the price and location of a product while pushing the cart.
Tablet PCs for employees: It is a wireless given to employees which will be having a connection with store system. Food Lion effectively makes use of this device.
Mobile manager: It is a device used as a tool for the communication of employees and the supervision of employees.
Wi-fi access: The Company used wi-fi connection inside the stores. Wi-fi makes it possible the access of networks within a limited area.
The implementation of the contextual computing helped the Food Lion to improve their efficiency and thereby achieve growth in business. (Chapter Nine: Mobile Computing and Commerce and Pervasive Computing).
Application of contextual computing in a personal scenario
The wide possibility of the contextual computing can also be used for personal purposes. The best example of the personalized use of contextual computing is online gaming. Online games are those games which are played using internet. If one player is located in one place and the other player/players is/are located in some other places, then also it is possible to play online games. Driving is another area where contextual computing can be applied. Microsoft together with Ford implemented a technology which enables the driver to drive the car remotely by connecting the car with mobile devices like I-pods, cell phones&etc. Contextual computing is implemented in banking also. Today most of the banks are providing mobile banking services.
Mobile banking is an additional service bolted on top of an existing solution making access to services more immediate and reducing customer reliance on branch infrastructure or access to the Internet. (Saks 2006).
Mobile banking makes the banking transaction easier and faster. In mobile banking, the transactions are conducted with the help of cell phones. Customers can perform functions like checking their account balance, transferring cash&etc. using mobile banking. Another area where contextual computing is applied is in bill payment. Now it is not required to go to the electricity or telephone office for paying bill. The bills can be paid online with the help of internet ATMs. There is no face-to-face interaction between the parties who pay the bill and the parties who accept the bill. For example, if a restaurant patron wanted to pay quickly and leave the restaurant on time to get to an appointment, the bill could be paid directly from the table without waiting for a server to bring the check. The patron would simply connect to the cash register with a wireless device, punch in the table number and bank personal identification number (PIN), and authorize payment. (Mobile Payments: Definition. 2007).
The online ticketing and reservation system, that is common everywhere makes use of the contextual computing. Using online ticketing system is easy to book tickets of flight, train or bus without going to the particular place of sales. People can book tickets from the place of their convenience using internet. It saves time of the customer, thereby ensuring customer satisfaction.
Bibliography
About Food Lion History. (2009). [online]. Food Lion. Web. ADEBUS Week5 Lecture [1].pdf (provided by the student).
Chapter 9-part 1.pdf, Chapter Nine: Mobile Computing and Commerce and Pervasive Computing, FOOD LIONS M-COMMERCE INNOVATIONS. (provided by the student).
Mobile Payments: Definition. (2007). [online]. Bitpipe.com. Web.
SAKS, Craig. (2006). Mobile Banking vs. a Mobile Bank. [online]. Mobilein.com Perspective. Web.
SCHMIDT, Albrecht. (2002). Ubiquitous Computing-Computing in Context: The Notion of Context. [online]. Web.
The contemporary world of rapid development of Information Technology has made each sector of life with ease and efficiency. Information technology has found its place of importance and application in the daily as well as business life of people. The term information system refers to information technology that is used by people to accomplish a specified organizational or individual objective. The specific technologies that collectively comprise information technology are computer technology and data communications technology. (Information Systems Discipline para 2).
The application of specific usage of information technology is named information systems. The advent of such systems made organizational and personal needs of individuals to be met in a systematic mode. The information systems are interactive domains of progressions and expertise applied to meet various needs inside and among group margins. The information system cannot be the technology alone but the method used to access its application as well as the modes in which it helps in achieving the required application in the field. In a broader sense, information technology is always discrete when concerned with the information system, because information technology alone cannot bring about an information system but other components and course of action have to accompany it. An algorithm, program to accomplish it in computer, a system with the computer along with other controlling hardware and the particulars to be processed all together make an information system. Though every information system has the same overview, there are separate systems with different components and modules at each block of the overview. Different examples for information systems include contract processing systems, administrative systems, verdict sustain systems, information administration systems, database management systems, and agency information systems, etc. which are named after their precise purposes.
The position given to the information systems is to handle the areas which are less suitable for humans to keep tedious with chances for erroneous output. Those include simultaneous accomplishment of solving huge computations, doing the administration of different databases of larger sizes, etc. Information systems sections in bigger associations are liable to robust pressure from information skill advancement sectors which amalgamate various employments of the submission of the association that may be commerce or conglomerate. The successive steps in a sequence comprising of various tactics and practices are utilized for the setting up of an information system as well as using it to meet the requirements. Nowadays the innovations of the engineering sectors are seen in the developmental phase of information systems as well which led to the usage of different prolific techniques like System Development Life Cycle (SLDC). The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. (System Development Life cycle para 1). SLDC is the extensively employed method in the different sectors for the modeling of information systems. A well-modeled system can always accomplish the needs much efficiently.
Information Systems in Parks & Recreation
The entertainment sector worldwide recognizes the application of information technology in their sector for effective management and profit in the field of business. The information systems find their position of priority in this field as they eliminate the redundancies produced if the humans are employed for the entire processes that needed much precision.
The development in the entertainment and refreshing sectors has seen the fresh launches of parks and recreation centers worldwide. Each advent analyses the possibilities of novel information system techniques to be installed at their enterprises for best results and profit yields due to maximum customer satisfaction. The usage of various information systems in parks and recreation centers have to lead to a flourish in the field because it becomes easy to handle the huge number of customers, their well being at the places, administration of the databases of the customers and employees as well as the services for the customers along with maintenance work.
The entertainment and refresh sector worldwide has already gained pace with the help of the information systems administrated in their trade. At different places, the organizations for setting up such systems for the parks and recreation requirements have been launched as a successful section of the trade. In 2004 the Parks and Recreation Management Team decided the department needed a more efficient system for managing and disseminating Park information to assist staff with the planning, management, and maintenance of the Parks System. (Jenson and Stonich 1).
Such resolutions have paved the way for the team project development firms. They estimate the requirements and conduct various analysis studies finally concluding on selecting a compact and efficient information system for the required parks or centers.
(Jenson and Stonich 2).
The basic concept for the application of information systems is shown in the figure above which was developed by a program launch for the parks and recreation centers at the City of Boulder. The various blocks are integrated into a single system that handles the entire management sector within the parks and their locations and premises. The information systems at parks should usually meet the handling of the databases of the customers, assisting them inside the park, managing them with the rules and regulations of the park, and providing customer care services taking care of all the customers with proper care and help inside the park.
Customer Databases
The databases at parks and other such firms will be of vast sizes whose manual storage and management will be of great complexity. Also, while large sizes of the database are present, the entire data will become a hindrance to the access and usage of frequently essential and significant commerce data when the manual approach is adopted. So, the information systems come into the picture, which can handle very large databases and access any with ease and speed. Using such systems, it becomes easier to access frequently required data stored, and less required ones will never hinder the smooth handling of the essential databases. But, it is very important to maintain statistics trim downward to get the data that is actually practical and supportive. The extremely higher sizes of databases will result in a quagmire situation of the systems and gyrate time for the system gets elongated leading to erroneous outcomes from the system obviously ensuing to wrong and difficult access of crucial data.
The better designed the database architecture, the more efficiently the related data within the database records and files can be accessed. (Database Management and Information Systems para 3).
It is not just the matter of installing the information systems for the database management; the efficiency of the administered system is actually what matters. Accordingly, the application is met with the output which is the essential criteria.
The information technology as implied for the database management requirements has led to the introduction of separate information systems named Data Base Management Systems. A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of computer programs that controls the creation, maintenance, and the use of the database of an organization and its end users. It allows organizations to place control of organization-wide database development in the hands of database administrators (DBAs) and other specialists. (Database Management System para 1).
The Database Management System is actually a set of software that acts as the manager of the databases and manages those databases by storing them in computers and recovering them from the stored computers at the time of their need. DBMS facilitates the utilization of incorporated compilation of statistics proceedings and documentation identified as database. The usage of DBMS in the parks data management will have different approaches called database representations like network or relational models. Another advantage of the database management systems is the provision of 4G languages. 4G languages are the fourth-generation programming languages which are the fresh bliss to the information systems always identified many efficient ones to the languages introduced before them. Admittance, reliability contemporaneous, and renovation of databases can be achieved with the introduction of information systems in the management of databases of the customers as well as the staff at the parks and recreation centers. Thus, a non-erroneous and alleviated approach of access is attained through information systems in the data administration sector.
Customer Billing
The entertainment business centers including parks and recreation centers recognize that acquiescence has analogous precedence as income. The billing is an important aspect in such firms as the customers are at the number of thousands and the billing has to be done with speed and accuracy. Thus, a system with the inbuilt records on the rate, received, returned and the total amount of transactions are made for the efficient billing procedures; the manual work will never do well in this context.
A high level of transparency can be established if the billing service completes its work in your information system through a remote connection. Agency staff can access the information system at any time to understand charges, billings, and remittances. (Viger, Milford and Plourde para 4).
An excellent billing system recognizes apprehension associated with billing procedures by assiduously supervising policies, blunder information as well as refutations. The efficiency in the execution of billing procedures is always weighted with respect to the point of reference and the information is fed back to the clients for excellence enhancement.
Parks and recreation centers have their customers with no holidays for them; so the staff should be alert in this regard. The number of staff cannot be increased beyond an exceeding limit; here the information systems find their status. But the tiredness can attack humans, not the systems. If properly serviced, the systems will work well without laziness. A number of firms face considerable billing interludes due to the absconding of their employees. Insufficient employment guides to an insufficient meeting of the requirements and dealings including fault inspection, requisite confirmation, and settlements which frequently are ignored. This leads to the generation of authorized responsibility for the organization, which has significant transparency for enrollment, billing practice guidance, and software education. Billing procedures offer employees idleness that the majority of firms like parks and recreation centers cannot entertain at any cost.
The redundancies in the billing services are eliminated by the advent of information systems into that domain. The installation of such systems reduces the number of employees for the billing procedure and the billing can be carried out with ease and pace which meets customer satisfaction to a large extent. The requirements are an electronic billing system, a skilled operator, and customers seeking their bills. The billing services are being modified to a maximum limit in the contemporary world with the applications of the most modern information technological expertise. The parks and recreation centers always opt for the convenience of their customers and the way has been made clear for the information systems into such firms for the billing sector. As the value of the customer has been realized, so has the need to create innovative pricing and billing models. (Pitch 1).
The latest innovations in the billing procedure are accepted by the customers because of the expediency they experience through such systems.
Service Development
The introduction of information systems in the service development sectors has resulted in an extensive increase in profit due to the increased number of customers in the parks and recreation business. The helpful information systems are employed in every sector nowadays owing to the vastness of the advantages backing them. The service portals and e-marketing are all the endowments from the section of information systems to the business areas.
The investigations on developing the services with the help of information systems applications are being administered during the entire age of business expansion. The implications of information technology to the service developmental sector have led to the introduction of service-oriented architectures. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a business-centric IT architectural approach that supports integrating your business as linked, repeatable business tasks, or services. (Service Oriented Architecture- SOA para 1).
The services rendered by the parks and recreation centers can be developed to a considerable extent with the installation of information systems for the purpose. Service direction necessitates liberated coupling of services through information systems and additional expertise to facilitate inspiring applications. The numerous sections inside a firm or between firms should be incorporated through different components of the software in the information systems set even though the different sections may be installed in considerably different systems.
The Service-Oriented Architectures are used in the sectors like parks and recreation centers to differentiate the discrete sections or services rendered by them effectively and to admit data communication over a system that always combines the whole of the units for the convenient usage of services by the customers of those parks and recreation centers. The contact between services rendered is established with the help of efficient synchronized connections between them. Consistent reliability is the motto of the establishment of information systems for the development of services in venues including parks and recreation centers.
The service-oriented architecture is the technique arrived for the quenching of the more efficient system requirement. Prior to its arrival enterprise information systems were used at every enterprise. Most enterprises have made extensive investments in system resources over the course of many years. Such enterprises have an enormous amount of data stored in legacy enterprise information systems (EIS), so its not practical to discard existing systems. (Mahamoud para 1).
The main drawback which paved the way for the newer information systems of service-oriented architecture was the charges in the case of EIS. SOA turned to be more profitable compared to the EIS systems. Anyways, the enterprises were sure about the utility of the information systems for the service development procedures. The outstanding factor of the service development with the information systems is the differentiation of the services and their execution within the system. So, the executions are with ease and the customers remain unaware of the actual complex executions carried out for their requirement of any service within the systems.
Infrastructure Management
The application of information systems in infrastructure management has been recognized as an important aspect of business management in the current modern world. The interconnected communication and transportation setup is very essential for parks and recreation centers of contemporary society. The speed of the culture prevailing should be applied to the different sectors of life of the people for wider acceptance of any launch. Traditional infrastructure, in addition to systems like telecommunications and information infrastructure, is a necessary enabler for community and economic development. (Infrastructure Management Information System Project Report 1).
The market for information systems has recognized their applications in infrastructure management as well. The parks of wider coverage areas usually opt for an information system of infrastructure under the computer systems and various connections associated with those.
The business opting for a greater outcome from customer satisfaction as well as efficient infrastructure depends mainly on the information systems. An on-demand business needs to extend its information management strategytransforming its business processes and changing how the company uses the information to drive insight. (Information Infrastructure 1).
The management of the infrastructure is more important than the setting up of the infrastructure. If the maintenance fails, the entire infrastructure turns out to be a useless expense. Integration offers a wide range of capabilitiesfederation, replication, content integration, enterprise search and event publishingdesigned to meet varied integration requirements. (Information Infrastructure 2).
The incorporation is the prerequisite for the successful approach to the infrastructure management using information systems. The management genius Porter recognizes that aggressive proposals concentrated between the technological dominance always contributes to the service excellence and the complete client service and produces greater percent of prospective with long life success against the rivals. The management field incorporated with the information systems will help the increment of efficiency of the organization.
The implication of the information systems will add to the overall feedback for the parks and recreation centers. Planning and execution of the strategies become easier and effective with the application of the information systems. The infrastructure management is done with the help of different information systems in the parks and recreation centers around the globe just because of their advantages in the field.
The information systems for the infrastructure management purposes is a topic of research being carried out in the contemporary world of efficiency and speed. The most modern information system developed in the infrastructure management requirement is the Remote Infrastructure Management. Remote Infrastructure Management at one level is an alternative to existing sourcing models of Infrastructure Management Services. (Remote Infrastructure Management para 2).
The installation of remote infrastructure management services in parks and recreation sectors facilitates the remote access and control over their infrastructure. Such systems consist of monitoring of the infrastructure in an isolated mode and administering their components along with executing the practical actions. Remote Infrastructure Management services consist of remote (outside the physical premises of a companys facilities) monitoring and managing the infrastructure components and taking proactive steps and curative proceedings athwart the land. Nowadays, the Remote Infrastructure Management Services are gaining its importance in the field of information systems replacing their previous versions.
Advancements using Information Systems
The analysis till here saw the various applications of the information systems within the parks and recreation areas. The advancements using the information systems are evaluated under this head. The utilization of information systems has produced various expansions in the entire business sectors.
Pace is one of the major advantages of the information systems in parks and recreation or any other areas. The speedy transactions and managing becomes possible with application of the information systems. The customers always get satisfied with the speedy procedures rather than lengthy ones. The elimination of manual working in billing, access, management etc is always welcome due to the sped constraint in such cases. Right time renewal of the data is one of the speedy accesses of information with the information systems.
The employment strength can be decreased with the help of the information systems. Only a lesser number of employees are required, if information systems are employed at the parks and recreation centers. A few skilled workers are required instead of many unskilled employees. The decrease in the employment strength contributes to mainly two important advantages. One is lower expense in the name of salary and the second one is efficiency. Idleness and tiredness will affect the human workers but not the information systems. Servicing at intervals is the only requisite of the systems in the course of their job along with power supply. The profit from the account of the salary expense will add to the expansion of the parks and recreation centers. As the number of employees decreases, the efficiency of the management of staff of the firm increases. Bu, the employment opportunities in terms of the unskilled work decreases which is compensated by the increase in the requirements for skilled employees.
The reliability and security of the management of parks is assured by the installation of information systems. The databases and the infrastructures are safe and intact in the case of the information systems; else they entirely depend on the human managers. The ease to reach the databases and the live observations of the infrastructure lead to an efficient management of the parks and recreation. The development of the parks and recreation owing to the live updating of the infrastructure and management becomes possible.
When the term efficiency is taken, there come nonstop applauses for the information systems. The redundancies due to the human errors cannot attack the management of the parks when the information systems are employed. Once the system is set without errors, the future errors are feared with least percent chance of occurrence. Lesser errors and least delays lead to an efficient required outcome. The elimination of manual billing and database management are the causes for the achievement of those advantages without fail.
The analysis of the proper functioning of the parks can be achieved without delay and misinterpretations. Even live observations are possible in the usage domain of information systems. The developmental activities can thus be paced up in this case. Therefore, the overall development in profit is resulted along in all aspects. The customers getting satisfaction are the main profit in the case of the park and recreation. The satisfied customers always add to the expansion of profit for them.
The initial installation charges alone are huge, and later on, profit is present eliminating excess salary expense and increasing the number of satisfied customers. A part of the profit can be utilized for developmental procedures which will again add to the asset and profit of the parks.
The essential thing for attaining the entire advantages is the correct design and installation of the systems. A small error can bring about redundancy in the entire set up leading to erroneous output. Also, the initial charges are huge making it impossible for small parks getting installed expensively. But the fact is revealed as the acceptance of the information systems widely after embedding the disadvantages within the enormous merits of the system.
Real Life Illustrations
The real life utilization of information systems is recognized worldwide. The proof for it is the establishment of numerous firms which develop the information systems according to the requirements of the organizations. The information systems at parks and recreation centers are seen widely in the contemporary world. The best example for this is the project on the Parks & Recreation Information System to develop a custom ArcIMS website application intended for the City of Boulder, Colorado Parks & Recreation Department. (Jenson and Stonich 1).
The illustrated real life example shows the acceptance of the information systems in the management of parks across the world.
In the contemporary world the people from the firms opt for the employees who can deal with the process of, and problems in, developing computer-based information systems in the real world . (Jenkins and Rowley 1).
This shows the intensive influence of the information systems. The student level trainings are arranged because such trained students get more job opportunities than others. That is just due to the installation of information systems at the firms around the globe. Same is the case of the parks where the number of clients is relatively larger; so the relevance of the application becomes stronger. The words spoken over the distant views of opportunities deal with the information systems and the acquirement of skills for developing and handling those systems. Bailey notes that it is important for industry to have an adaptable and flexible workforce, one that is capable of acquiring whatever skills may be relevant to the changing times and environment . (Jenkins and Rowley 3).
The quote explains the hopeful opportunities awaiting a student trained to transact with different information systems, develop, operate and service various information systems. The parks with the administered information systems are competing in the contemporary world to head the line.
The global survey conducted proves that there are many governmental undertakings in various countries carried out to establish information systems in the parks and recreation sector for the convenience of the admin as well as the customers. Already most of the parks are having such facilities with the fact that all the famous parks are compulsorily having it.
Conclusion
The study on the information systems as applicable to the parks and recreation sectors reveals the profits and merits of that action. The world has recognized the importance of information systems and various steps are taken to achieve a cent percent installation in the parks and recreation. The integration of the information system has added ease to the admission and usage of the entire management areas of the organization for effective managing and release of the requirements. The advantages identified are lower maintenance cost with lower salary expense, reduced redundancy due to the least presence of the human errors, increased speed and reliability. The flaws including the higher initial charges and the requirement of accuracy in design of the system are all blurred due to the bright assets of the system. The successful stories of the usage of the information systems have brought about the pace in the spread of the trend of information systems. This has resulted in the expansion of commerce due to launches of new firms for developing, installing and servicing of information systems for various organizations in accordance to their requirements. Also, more job opportunities are made available worldwide with regard to this advent. Job oriented training is being given to the students at the curriculum level with intention of getting opportunity in the market of information systems. To conclude with, it is clear that the introduction of information systems which are the donations of information technology in the management sections can increase the betterment opportunities of the parks and recreation sector.
Mahamoud, Qusay H. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services: The road to Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). Sun Microsystems, Sun Developer Network (SDN). 2005. Web.
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When an object with a kinetic energy charge hits another object, it imposes pressure. Independently of the nature of an object (Whether it is a steel balloon or a molecule), the nature of this pressure stays unchanged. Pressure is measured in pascals. Originally, it is a measure of force per unit area. 1 Pa = 1N / m2
The simplest transducer of such energy transfer is a spring that moves a needle along a scale. The more advanced transducers are piezoelectric. The main principle of these sensors is the measurement of an electric charge between two conductors. The distance between them is changed when the force which creates pressure is applied. (Al-Jazarí, 1973)
Heat Transfer
Heat transfer is the physical process of temperature transfer from a warmer body to a cooler one. The measurement principle is based on comparing the temperature flow of a sample and the tested material. The essence of a measuring process Is based on creating the thermal flow which heats a flat sample of a definite thickness, and which is directed perpendicular to the largest sizes of the sample. The power, which is needed for creating this thermal flow, temperature of the opposite sides of a sample, and the thickness of the sample define the heat transfer. Then, the heat transfer is calculated in accordance with the following formula.
P = power needed
H = thickness of the sample
T = the difference of temperatures
S = square of the sample
The measuring unit is W / (m*K). (Serway, Jewett, 2003)
Aerodynamic
Aerodynamic flow is defined by numerous factors, such as temperature, pressure (density), humidity and clearness of a gas. The speed of the flow may be defined in several ways. The most common is the measurement of the torque of a propeller that is rotated by the aerodynamic flow which moves the blades. Depending on the torque of the propeller, the aerodynamic speed is defined. Additionally, the optical method may be used, when the flow is colored with smoke, and the optical system measures the flow speed and direction of the smoke stream. This method is more complete, as it also helps to consider additional factors. (Stokes, 2002)
Flow-Type
Flow type measurements are performed by pneumatic primary transducers. They are built with the same principle, which is used for manometers and aerodynamic speed transducers. The gas stream velocity is analyzed with the special tube that takes the sample of a gas. Then, the flow type is compared with the test sample, and the flow type is defined. Hence, this type of measurement helps to define the contamination of the flow, speed, density and transparency. (Shkatov, Mironov, 1980)
Momentum Transfer
The measuring unit of momentum transfer measurement is kg * m / s
Hence, the main principle of the measurement gadgetry is to measure the power of the moment of the highest power. In mechanics, this may be achieved by fixing the highest value of the measurement and dividing it by the time of action. (Serway, Jewett, 2003) The measuring principle should inevitably consider the time of effect, otherwise, the value will be measured in Pa, which does not require considering the duration of the power applied. (Burstall, 1965)
Reference List
Al-Jazarí. 1973. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. Springer, 1973.
Burstall, Aubrey F. 1965. A History of Mechanical Engineering. The MIT Press.
Serway, R., Jewett, J. 2003. Physics for Scientists and Engineers (6 ed.). Brooks Cole.
Shkatov, E. F., Mironov, Yu. G. 1980 Flow-type instrument for measuring the dust content of gas streams. Translated from Izmeritelnaya Tekhnika, No. 10, pp. 3233, 1980.
Stokes, G. 2002. On the Theories of the Internal Friction of Fluids in Motion. Transaction of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (8), 287-305.
A product evaluation report is a tool that is used in the analysis of the performance features of a product, for the purposes of providing the customers with detailed information on the safety; quality, and performance standards of the given product. Consumer product reviews are very helpful to the customers in the decision-making and choice of the product they want to buy. These reports are also very important to the producers and suppliers of the products in question; as they get information on the products that are preferred by customers so that they can specialize in the production of these products and not waste resources in the products of those that are less demanded by customers. (Stanton 123-125)
The Allienware M17X best gaming laptop is the best of its kind as the information from reviewers indicates that; the 17-inch notebook has had numerous praises earned by the producers from consumers on the computer shoppers.com site . Customers have written to the producers and sellers saying that the M17X offers the best gaming experience that can be achieved from a laptop. However, the price of this computer is high as compared to the price of other laptops with comparable performance but cheaper in the market. The M17X comes with an inbuilt 8GB Random Access Memory capability; that makes this laptop achieve the best ever performance expected from a laptop. The M17X is manufactured with an Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme quad processor that assures a consumer looking for a laptop with a higher performance ability from the market. (Cross 66-71)
In addition to these features this laptop has the additional features of being able to support slot-loading blue-ray drive; Dual NVIDIA Gefrce GTX graphics that allows for best video graphics downloading capabilities that can not be achieved from any ordinary laptop. The M17X laptop is also fitted with a 1,980 by 1,200 pixel LCD display that allows for the best video performance that is crystal clear and allows for best viewability. According to computer technicians, the M17X is stellar; and multiple reviews gave the information that the Allienware gaming laptop is the fastest they tested this far. However there are a few drawbacks that they associated with the M17X one being that; it may be very expensive as compared to the other laptops in the market; the relatively heavy weight of 11.68 pounds and the short battery life of less than two hours. This makes the utility of being portable not part of the M17X laptop. (Krohn 45-49)
Other distinctive features about the M17X laptop that make this laptop one of its own kind is the high-speed connectivity to the internet it can support; blue tooth connectivity that allows for the sending and receiving of files like documents, music, and pictures from other Bluetooth connectivity enabled laptops; phones and digital cameras that support Bluetooth downloading functions. The M17X is also an excellent machine in supporting high-speed performance WAN connectivity and LAN network connectivity capability that is excellent. (Stanton 123-125)
This paper is a consumer product review of the M17X laptop that is accredited with offering the best visibility and performance levels in gaming as well as in performing other demanding tasks that the M17X may be exposed to like; CD writing; surfing the internet; connecting to Local Area networks; and high speed downloading capability in communicating to other media like Digital cameras in file download and multiple file transfer rates.
WiMAX is the cellular version. Its stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). There has been a great evolution in wireless communications over the last few years. WiMAX is an emerging wireless technology used for deploying broadband wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN). WiMAX is a wireless technology that offers many features with a lot of flexibility. WiMAX has replaced many of the existing telecommunication technologies and provides last-mile connectivity with higher speed at longer distances, from 30 to 50 miles and its transfer rate is up to 70 Mbps. 4G is the 4th generation cellular wireless principle. It uses the technique of packet switching mode of transmission (Wang, Kondi & Luthra, 2009).
This works by first breaking down information to be transmitted into packets. Each packet is uniquely identified by a number and is transmitted differently. At the destination, the packets are re-arrange to get the information received. This really helps in identifying errors in that missing packets can easily be discovered. It offers multi-carrier transmissions. It provides mobile internet access. It is nowadays available in the market.
It provides very fast and reliable internet access. It covers large miles because it is wireless. It provides a high speed and a wide range of bandwidth. It is currently integrated with cellular phones. With the release of 4G iPhones mobile devices, there has been an increased use of the internet. This 4G technology came to replace 3G and 2G standards.
There are two types of WiMAX fixed and mobile WiMAX. FDD requires two spatially segregated channels, one for the uplink and one for the downlink. Many regulators assign spectrum in paired channels and require the utilization of FDD. While the TDD uses one channel for uplink and downlink transmissions. Widely used in license-exempt bands, it is increasingly allowed in licensed bands as well. Vendors and network operators that focus on data services generally prefer TDD, while FDD dominates in cellular communications. The choice between the two is often dictated by regulatory constraints (Dubendorf, 2003).
Fixed WiMAX supports both TDD and FDD to ensure a wide market appeal, although we expect TDD to dominate where there is a choice, as it is best suited to data applications (although it can support voice applications as well). While Mobile WiMAX currently supports only TDD operations, TDD facilitates support for MIMO and beamforming, which gives WiMAX a performance advantage over 3G FDD-based technologies like EV-DO and WCDMA that do not yet support them. It has been seen that fixed WIMAX provides high-speed internet access. 4G has a high quality of service. It assists multimedia applications, high-speed data, and even mobile TV (Shi, 2004).
WiMAX and its Enhancements in Communication
The implications of this technology as a communications platform for 4G range from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), streaming and real-time video, and support for advanced social networking applications that feature real-time chat. The development of WiMAX technologies continues to be accelerated by the rapid adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and with them, the exponential growth of social networking applications as well.
As the bandwidth required to support Web 2.0-based technologies including Extensible Markup Language is limited over wireless devices, the need for WiMAX compression techniques that increase the performance of increasingly complex applications is needed. 4G can be used across multiple networks irrespective of their locations. It makes everything almost possible. This will enable the company to communicate with various suppliers and customers wherever they are.
Nuaymi (2007) indicated that the multimedia support application will make it possible for photographs and different images to be sent over the transmission channels. People are able to have a real picture of what they are purchasing. This is possible because of the use of 3D graphics which has a clear perspective of how everything looks like. Below is a diagram of how WiMAX works:
The 4G technology also provides a platform for chatting online. Several stakeholders of the company can communicate anywhere using the chat application. They can share ideas and make sound decisions according to what they have agreed on. The technological innovations in WiMAX are having a significant impact on the business and societal uses of wireless devices and the applications being produced to enrich their use and adoption.
In conjunction with the rapid development of 4G is the location-independent technology of Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) which has the high-speed capability and rides on a Carrier Detection Multiple Access signal which can manage both voice and data traffic. According to Zhang, Zheng & Ma (2008), the potential of EV-DO in the context of 4G over WiMAX is significant because it alleviates the need for intermediary carriers in a communications network. 4G technology provides very fast connections which do not need any cabling since it is wireless. Institutions using this technology will only pay some subscriptions per month to the service providers. There is no traveling made hence fuel is conserved.
Competition
EV-DO technology and 4G combined with WiMAX would in effect create a strong catalyst of consolidation in the telecommunications industry globally. This would have the net effect of leading to a proliferation of lower-cost devices for accessing the Internet which would, in turn, mean application depth and functionality would have to correspondingly increase rapidly. The need for extensive levels of XML compression to support greater depth of functionality in mobile-based applications would be critical for the hundreds of millions of users globally to be able to use the applications developed (Hung, 2009).
This is a fascinating dynamic in the telecommunications market and would eventually re-order the approach to services bundling that is dominating the sales of notebook computers today. Berndt (2008) 4G applications have been evident to be almost the fastest mobile technology available today. It offers a wide range of interoperability with currently available wireless standards. This makes it possible for residential and suppliers and even customers to communicate faster. This will enhance the pace of doing business. 4G solutions provide all these applications which enable instant communications. This increases the reliability and availability of good communication in the business environment. Most of the businesses nowadays are being done through the web.
The World Wide Web, therefore, provides several applications which enhance businesses. Companies should therefore adopt this 4G over WIMAX technology in order to increase their profitability. Telecommunications providers are currently charging a monthly fee for 3G access to their networks and in exchange for a multi-year commitment, provide a net book at a significantly reduced rate.
Clearly this does not benefit the consumer over the long-term, instead benefiting the service providers with highly profitable services with very little incremental costs per user. 4G not only provide fast communication but it also supports home and mobile benefits. This technology has been seen to slowly outweigh and replace other technologies in the market. Several people are able to surf wherever they are and communicate with their family, friends and even their business partners.
This happens because of the use of 4G technology. This technology connects many homes and work places. Everything can now be done online e.g. booking of flights, hotel rooms and even buses for travelling. This therefore improves the living standards of the people to a digital world where almost anything can be done while at home.
In 4G data is sent through signals using several aligned towers. These towers communicate and transmit information to an intended receiver. This technology has been integrated with the current 4G cellular phones in the market. This makes 4G to be even more accessible and reliable than other forms of wireless technologies. Almost everyone is able to surf using their phones using this technology. They can also be able to make payment for anything they want to purchase using this technology through the same mobile phones. 4G is not as expensive as we might expect. It will even cut down several cost previously incurred in cabling of other networks.
What is needed is just a modem which enable a connection to the internet to be set and then one is able to browse and anything from the internet. Since it reduces the cost of data transmission and the cost of gas used to make various travels in marketing the products. Therefore implementing this 4G technology over WIMAX will greatly reduce cost incurred for several bills in the country (Kyriazakos, Soldatos & Karetsos, 2008). WiMAX will however over time change the market dynamics in favor of the consumer, which will in turn require exceptional levels of performance gains on XML optimization and compression of applications operating over these networks are to deliver sufficient performance. WiMAX is also augmented in performance through the use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)-based programming languages (Zhang, Schiffman et al 2009) that provide for selective updates of only those components that have changed over time.
Technology
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access which is better known as WiMAX has added a new revolution to the world of wireless and communication technologies. With standard published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 committee in the year 2004, the 802.16 working group defined WiMAX in two phases. Through Revision D, definition for fixed application was provided while Revision E added the mobility chapter and was published in 2005. WiMAX technology operates in 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz and 5.8GHz frequency bands under license provided by government authorities of the concerned nation.
As compared to other Wi-Fi technology WIMAX covers a longer range of distance. It covers very many kilometres using spectrum to deliver connections to a particular network. Wi-Fi utilizes unlicensed spectrum unlike the WIMAX. WIMAX is connection oriented while Wi-Fi is both connectionless and connection oriented protocols e.g. CSMA. WIMAX is able to connect several homes and offices all over the world. This makes it to be preferred to Wi-Fi.
WIMAX provides a subscriber unit which can be positioned at a corner of the building to as to get the best connectivity and reception. 4G actually have interesting features than Wi-Fi and 3G technologies. 4G allows video conferencing and other excellent forms of communication. Below is a WiMAX network diagram:
WiMAX has been based on RF technology effective for transferring data through carriers of width more than or equal to 5MHz. The multiplexing technique used in this case is that of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) which contrasts with CDMA based 3G technology requiring a carrier of width less than 5MHz. WiMAX is basically a standard based technology with application in wireless networking that could provide broadband connections over larger distances.
The use of 4G over WIMAX has several advantages to a country using it. The data transfer rate in 4G technology is quiet high and attractive. 4G enables a full time on line mobile connection. It is a fully packet switched digital broadband connection. 4G has far much higher bandwidth than other wireless technologies unlike WIMAX. Jacobsson, Niemegeers & Groot, (2010) indicated that 4G technology is ten times as faster than the 3G networks currently being used. It is normally termed as internet protocol solution. This is merely because of its ability of 4G to combine voice, multimedia message and data and transmits with very high data rates. This quantifies the fact that 4G should be implemented over WIMAX.
WiMAX technology has its several usages of applications such as the last mile . This is for the broadband connections at home and for those who use it for business purposes. Its also hotspots which makes it favorable for the business connections. The technology is capable enough for implementing wireless metropolitan area network or MAN with connectivity speed in the range of 70 Mbps.
The WiMAX base station has a coverage area between 5 and 10 km and the system is developed like cellular system. Base stations in this case dont require high tower based installation or any other elevated structure. The complete installed unit at the customers end is nothing more than a device similar to that of satellite TV setup which connects the customer with the base station. The signal received by the box is routed to the computer through Ethernet cable.
Impacts of WiMAX
According to Berndt (2008) 4G applications have been evident to be almost the fastest mobile technology available today. It offers a wide range of interoperability with currently available wireless standards. This makes it possible for residential and suppliers and even customers to communicate faster. This will enhance the pace of doing business. The suppliers and the vendors are able to communicate through emailing and use of instant messages.
4G WIMAX solutions provide all these application which enables instant communications. This increase reliability and availability of a good communication in the business environment. Most of the businesses nowadays are being done through the web. The World Wide Web therefore provides several applications which enhance businesses. Companies should therefore adopt this 4G WIMAX technology in order to increase their profitability.
Benefits of WiMAX
WiMAX displays a high degree of interoperability. It is a standards-based technology that is actively supported by most vendors. Interoperability is ensured by the certification program managed by the WiMAX Forum which tests whether products from different vendors are capable of operating successfully in the same network. Interoperability brings greater flexibility to operators in the selection of vendors, subscriber equipment form factors and base station configurations.
WiMAX also reduces cost. Wide support for WiMAX from vendors and operators will lead to lower prices overall, as economies of scale kick in and components become mass-produced. This greatly improves the business case for service providers, especially in countries like India where the expected ARPU is low and subscriber equipment needs to be affordablethat is, below $100to achieve profitability in the residential market.
The average speed of 4G witnessed in the market survey is very high. It showed a download speed of up to 6 Mbps. This therefore lowers cost previously incurred in 3G downloads. The upload speed ranged from 0.51 Mbps. It has made faster the delivery of customer services. It provides several consumer applications which are quiet desirable. It enables social networks and You Tube videos to be downloaded at a very high speed and a reduced cost. Users of this technology can also download movies and music as they please (Rao & Radhamani, 2008).
WIMAX has an increased performance. WiMAX is a leading-edge technology that takes advantage of OFDM and OFDMA modulation, wide RF channels, advanced antenna technologies like MIMO and beam forming, and sophisticated QoS functionality. As a result, WiMAX enables operators to use their spectrum holdings efficiently and promises high throughput and capacity, coupled with low latency and great flexibility in traffic management.
It enables unlimited surfing to the internet. Companies using this technology save money previously used to settle the very expensive telephone bills. This technology if integrated in all the processes in the country will boost the economy. This technology will also attract foreign investment since the investors want a reliable internet access to manage and monitor their daily businesses. This will be a great boost to the countrys economy.
There is also reduced complexity. WiMAX, like 4G is an all-IP technology based on a core network that is not tied to the complexity and higher cost of legacy technologies, and that can be easily integrated with other IP networks. Sprint 4G provides a high productivity. It also offers simplicity and quality to a customer. A research was carried out in Baltimore market about the use of 4G technology in business. The research showed that 4G is 10 times faster and efficient as compared to 3G connections under the same conditions. There are several 4G single mode embedded devices e.g. laptops and modems.
The research also showed that people preferred using WIMAX technology because of its renowned benefits. The ability of 4G to carry streaming videos to every part of the world is quiet desirable. Sprint has experience in economic boom with the use of this WIMAX technology. It has fastened shopping abilities of customers. It has also improved communication between Sprint and its suppliers (Ahson & Ilyas, 2007).
Limitations of WiMAX
Although the implementation of WIMAX by several institutions around the world shows much promising results, it cannot fail to have some shortcomings. Berndt (2008) indicated that the major limitation is the coverage area. Although WIMAX is wireless and cover a wide range of distance, there are still many areas which are not yet covered. Places in the rural part of the world are no served by this wireless technology. Metropolitan areas are also left out.
The hype brought by 4G technology gives the public some expectations which are not realistic. Since despite of it availability anywhere anytime, it is not as reliable as wired internet. The technology required in implementing this technology is expensive. The carriers required and the 4G handset are still very expensive in the market. WIMAX uses complex modulation schemes. This increases the data throughput in the PCS spectrum which in turn making the power consumption to rise.
WIMAX Customer Devices
WIMAX is an IEEE specification. It is known as 802.16e. It is normally designed to support very high data transmission speeds. It implements OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). The hardware requirements may include high throughput transmitters and receiver antenna. This is what makes the 4G wireless system architectures. There is also the need for high programmable processors.
These are used to set up 4G base stations. Switches are also required. They link LTE network devices and provide connections to the wireless base stations. In order to enable this applications to function well a complex operating system is needed. Some additional applications like flash player and Bluetooth are also required (Hart & Kalaichelvan, 2007). As WiMAX modems are built to open standards, they can be provided by a number of different suppliers and in a number of different form factors. The following are customer devices needed:
Stand-alone WiMAX Modems:This is used for the activation of stationery.
Internal Interfaces: This has linked the WiMAX and the Wi-Fi abilities. This relates to the Echo Peak which has been established in a dozen of several PC makes. There have been intentions to bring on board the multiband WiMAX so as to be on the same level with the Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi/WiMAX Routers: This is a move to enhance the combinations of the Wi-Fi routers and WiMAX.
References
Ahson, S. & Ilyas, M. (2007). WiMAX: applications. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Berndt, H. (2008). Towards 4G technologies: services with initiative. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Dubendorf, V.A. (2003). Wireless data technologies. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Hart, L. & Kalaichelvan, K. (2007). WiMAX Explained. New York: Cengage Learning.
Hung, P.C.K. (2009). Services and Business Computing Solutions with XML: Applications for Quality Management and Best Processes. Hershey: IGI Global snippet.
Jacobsson, M. Niemegeer, I. & Groot, S.H. (2010). Personal Networks: Wireless Networking for Personal Devices. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Kyriazakos, S. Soldatos, L. & Karetsos, G. (2008). 4g Mobile and Wireless Communications Technologies. London: River Publishers.
Nuaymi, L. (2007). WiMAX: technology for broadband wireless access ITPro collection. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons
Rao, R.K. & Radhamani, G. (2008). WiMAX: a wireless technology revolution. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Shi, N. (2004). Wireless communications and mobile commerce. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI).
Wang, H. Kondi, L. & Luthra, A. (2009). 4G Wireless Video Communications. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Zhang, Y. Zheng, J. & Ma, M. (2008). Handbook of research on wireless security. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI).
With the development of innovations in the sphere of IT, new opportunities have been discovered, opening a path to even more impressive progress. However, apart from the creation of useful tools and programs, the specified change has also entailed the emergence of new malware for corrupting or stealing users data. Learning about common networking attacks will help to increase the level of preparedness in average users, thus securing their personal information and well-being.
A Quick Description
DoS (Reflective, Amplified, Distributed)
A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is a networking attack aimed at opening DNS resolvers so that a criminal could overload a specific server by increasing the amount of loaded information exponentially, thus rendering it irresponsive. A DoS attack is performed by sending a multitude of minor queries to the selected server. The described approach disrupts its infrastructure, causing the server to stop functioning. The Six Banks Attack remains one of the most notorious DoS attacks ever performed due to its scale and effect. Setting the functioning of multiple banks to a halt, the specified attack generated 60 gigabits per second (Sarker, Sarker, Podder, & Alam, 2020).
Social Engineering
Implying that attacks occur during interpersonal interactions online, social engineering attacks have become nearly ubiquitous despite the enhanced level of security established by major social networks. During a social engineering attack, a perpetrator may use a variety of approaches, yet most of them boil down to the analysis of the target victim by using security loopholes and establishing trust-based relationships. Afterward, a perpetrator encourages a victim to share their personal information, causing the latter to disclose details of access to financial and other types of valuable resources. An example of an ostensible bank office worker addressing an individual via social network to elicit personal information has become notorious recently (Conteh & Schmick, 2016).
Insider Threat
As the name suggests, an insider threat represents itself as the security issue coming from within an organization. Traditionally, the insider threat comes from an employee that has access to sensitive information about the organization or its members. By misusing the opportunity o access the said data, an employee in question represents an insider threat as a high probability of security breach. It should be addressed that several types of insider threat are identified, including malicious (a criminal intent is present), careless (security breach caused by negligence), and a mole (an outsider gaining an insider privilege). The case of Facebook, whose employee used sensitive data to stalk women online, is by far the most egregious example of an insider threat attack (Usmani et al., 2017).
Logic Bomb
The use of malware is quite common in networking attacks, of which the logic bomb is an accurate representation. A logic bomb is a subset of malware that is activated once a specific logical condition is met. For instance, once a specific process is completed, a certain software is activated a specific number of times, or a planned event occurs, the malware starts running. The logic bomb activated in South Korea in 2013 was one of the most destructive instances of the specified malware being launched. Blocking the use of ATMs across the state, the malware stirred a minor financial crisis (Dusane & Pavithra, 2020).
Rogue Access Point
The concept of a rogue access point is fairly simple as it means installing a point of access to a network bypassing its administrator. While a rouge access point may not necessarily be installed by a perpetrator, it is typically used to access users personal data. It is particularly disturbing that the rogue access point attack offers a distance access. Although there have been few cases of rogue access point attacks, workplace platforms for networking have been proven particularly vulnerable to it (Alotaibi & Elleithy, 2016).
Evil Twin
The phenomenon of the evil twin attack is frequently conflated with the misuse of a rogue access point, yet there is a distinction between them. Typically used in wireless networks, the evil twin attack implies creating an imposter Wi-Fi network that appears to be a trustworthy point of access. However, after connecting to it, a user will have their information stolen. As a rule, evil twin attacks are used for eavesdropping or stealing financial information, such as the number and PIN of a users credit card (Seo, Cho, & Won, 2020). For example, a hacker may set up a fake LAN network to create an access to Wi-Fi, which will allow the hacker to access private information that users will submit when using the network in question.
War-Driving
Representing the next step in using compromised Wi-Fi networks to elicit users private data, war-driving suggests that hackers modify the specified Wi-Fi sources manually. Specifically, when setting up a crime, perpetrators usually drive around with the tools allowing them to locate loopholes in network security. Currently, scanning for insecure networks is also utilized as one of the main war-driving techniques. As a rule, tools such as a mobile device, a Wi-Fi card and an antenna, or a GPS system are utilized. However, several software tools for war-driving have also been devised lately. IBMs 2019 war-shipping could be considered a modification of a war-driving attack (Górski, Marzantowicz, & Szulc, 2017).
Phishing
Being, perhaps, one of the oldest types of networking attacks, phishing still produces impressive results despite multiple warnings and infamous cases. Phishing traditionally means retrieving sensitive data by masquerading a letter containing malware as an email from a trusted resource. The phishing attack that Sony suffered in 2015 reached global notoriety and could be seen as one of the most accurate representations of phishing (Adebowale, Lwin, Sanchez, & Hossain, 2019).
Ransomware
The phenomenon of ransomware has gained relevance comparatively recently. However, it has already gained quite large notoriety due to its destructive effects. Ransomware is defined as software that masks as rather innocuous one. However, as soon as a user launches it, it encrypts files on the users computer, demanding a specific amount of money for decryption. The specified type of attacks has seen a tremendous rise in recent years, with WannaCry, Better_Call_Saul, Reveton, and CryptoLocker being the most infamous ones (Trautman & Ormerod, 2018).
DNS Poisoning
In its essence, DNS poisoning constitutes the idea of turning the traffic from trustworthy sites to the ones containing malicious software and other threats. In the instance of DNS poisoning, a user is taken from the webpage that they try to access to a substitute one, where potentially harmful content is located. DNS spoofing and DNS cache poisoning are the most common types of DNS poisoning. The former implies redirecting domain traffic by disguising false server destinations as legitimate ones. In turn, the latter suggests that the fraudulent DNS address is placed into the local memory cache. A 2011 DNS poisoning attack in Brazil was one of the most notorious cases of the described networking attack (Assolini, 2011).
Brute Force
The use of the brute force attack implies submitting passwords at a very fast pace in an attempt to locate the correct word, phrase, or combination of symbols. The specified approach is the most basic one, which means that it requires the greatest amount of time and resources. The use of brute force might seem as very blunt, yet it proves to be quite effective. A 2016 brute force attack on Alibaba.com put its users in jeopardy and was regarded as the most notorious instance of online data theft ( Brute-force attacks affects millions of Alibaba accounts, 2016).
Exploits vs. Vulnerabilities
Due to the existence of vulnerabilities in network systems, they are exposed to many threats, including exploits, or attacks that take advantage of the loopholes in question. By creating a code that targets a specific loophole in the network security, a hacker creates an exploit that will help to obtain users personal data. The vulnerabilities discovered in Android applications in 2019 can be considered a typical case of vulnerabilities vs. exploits case (Garg, Singh, & Mohapatra, 2019).
Conclusion
Helping users to recognize typical networking attacks, one will be able to increase the extent of preparedness among them, contributing to a rise in their data security. Therefore, learning about the typology of networking attacks and the key specifics thereof, one will be able to increase awareness. Moreover, the understanding of how networking attacks are administered provide users with a chance to gain better knowledge of the principles of IT security. Finally, studying the existing methods of networking attacks will show the main loopholes in the security system, inciting possible change.
Górski, T., Marzantowicz, K., & Szulc, M. (2017). Cloud-enabled warships position monitoring with blockchain. In Smart innovations in engineering and technology (pp. 53-74). Springer.
Usmani, W. A., Marques, D., Beschastnikh, I., Beznosov, K., Guerreiro, T., & Carriço, L. (2017, May). Characterizing social insider attacks on Facebook. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 3810-3820). Association for Computing Machinery.
This section provides a general description and of the information system. It documents the title, overall function, and the users of an information system and what they wish to do with the information system (or the information system does for them).
General Description
Laboratory information system is a software application that receives, processes, and stores information that various medical laboratories generate (Wolper, 2004, p. 689). Laboratory information system helps in generating results that aid medical practitioners in decision-making (Price, St. John & Hicks, 2004, p. 276). For a laboratory information system to work effectively, it must integrate with the hospital information system of the medical facility. In addition, the laboratory information system must have direct interaction with laboratory testing equipment for ease of production of relevant information (Magjarevic, Suh & Nagel, 2007, p. 449). Availability of a centralised patient record would increase the efficiency of the laboratory information, as the laboratory information system would tap into the centralised system to obtain relevant data (Saetnan, Lomell, Hammer, 2011, p. 179).
Users (or Other Information Systems) and User Functions
Laboratory specialist the medical practitioner who is undertaking laboratory tests on the patient
Patient
Physician the medical practitioner who supervises the patient and orders for the laboratory tests
Hospital information system the information system that stores all the medical records of all patients within the hospital
Instance
The laboratory information system may find great use in a healthcare facilities chain that offers laboratory services.
External description of the information system
This section provides details of the inputs and outputs of the information system, the information processing that the information system performs, the information that the information system stores, and the system boundary. This section does not focus on any information and communication technologies, but the information processing itself.
Inputs
Patients personal details:
Name and contact details
Gender
Medical number
ID number
Brief medical history of the patient
Requested laboratory tests
Outputs
Results of various laboratory tests
Measures of the indicators of quality control, which include precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the tests to determine the reliability of the tests
The trend of the results of a particular test
The outcome of the tests whether positive or negative may prompt the medical practitioner to recommend for further tests to determine the severity of an ailment or get results that are more accurate.
Information processing
The laboratory information system processes the necessary information to determine the medical condition of the patient.
Information Stored
The laboratory information system stores the patients personal details (name, age, sex, ID number and contact details), results of the tests, and recommendation for further tests.
System Boundary
The laboratory information system stores and processes all medical tests related information of the patient. However, the information system sources information on the medical history of the patient externally from the hospital information system of the medical facility. Therefore, determining the system boundary would help in improving the information systems security (Barber, Treacher & Louwerse, 1996, p. 197)
External (outside) Components
The patient
Hospital information system
Internal (inside) Components
Laboratory testing equipment
Laboratory analytical processor
External View of the Information System
Figure 1 external view of the information system
Internal Description of the Information System
This section provides an internal description of the information system including the particular information processors, information stores, and any networks within the information system. It focuses on the information and communication technologies used to implement (or realise) the information processing, storage and communication needed for the information system.
Information Processors
Laboratory testing processor these are laboratory testing equipment that undertake various laboratory tests.
Laboratory analytical processor this individual receives and analyses information from the laboratory information system.
Information Stores
Patients records database contains the patients number and laboratory results for various tests. However, the hospital information system of the healthcare facility stores more detailed information on the patient.
Patients laboratory results filing cabinet contains the laboratory results of all patients.
System Boundary
Storage and processing of all information takes place within the laboratory information system. The laboratory information system obtains only the patients medical history from the hospital information system.
Networks
Internal Networks
There is a direct contact connection between laboratory testing equipment and the laboratory information system (Kottke-Marchant & Davis, 2012, p. 652).
External Networks
There is direct connection between the laboratory information system and the hospital information system. This gives the laboratory information system access to more detailed medical history of the patient (Ball & Collen, 1992, p. 133).
The laboratory information system sends the laboratory tests results to the medical practitioner handling the patient via the healthcare facilitys intranet or via the internet.
Internal View of the Information System
Figure 2 external view of the information system
Further Notes
The laboratory information system cannot work without human intervention. The information system only provides medical practitioner with information that would aid them in making decisions. However, the ultimate decision lies with the medical practitioner and the patients consent to the medical practitioners decision (Coleman & Tsongalis, 2006, p. 546). Centralisation of medical records would greatly help in improving the efficiency of the laboratory information system, as the system would tap into the centralised record to obtain readily available information (Swayne, Duncan, Ginter, 2006, p. 401). However, centralisation of medical records raises the issue of security and privacy of patients medical records (Conrick, 2006, p. 322).
References
Ball, MJ & Collen, MF. 1992. Aspects of the computer-based patient record. London: Springer.
Barber, B, Treacher A & Louwerse, K. 1996. Towards security in medical telematics: legal and technical aspects. Lansdale, PA: IOS Press.
Coleman, WB & Tsongalis, GJ. 2006. Molecular diagnostics: For the clinical laboratorian. London: Springer.
Conrick, M. 2006. Health informatics. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Kottke-Marchant, K & Davis, B. 2012. Laboratory hematology practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Magjarevic, R, Suh, TS & Nagel, JH. 2007. World congress on medical physics and biomedical engineering 2006: August 27 September 1, 2006, COEX Seoul, Korea : Imaging the future medicine , Volume 1. London: Springer.
Price, CP, St. John, A & Hicks, JM. 2004. Point-of-care testing. Washington, DC: American Association for Clinical Chemistry.
Saetnan, AR, Lomell, HM & Hammer, S. 2011. The mutual construction of statistics and society. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.
Swayne, LE, Duncan, WJ & Ginter, PM. 2006. Strategic management of health care organizations. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Wolper, LF. 2004. Health care administration: planning, implementing, and managing organized delivery system. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Currently, laptops, as well as desktop computers, are equipped with a large number of high-speed data transfer ports the most common are USB and FireWire (IEEE1394 or iLink). With the development of these peripheral tires, manufacturers have switched to a consistent architecture. To transmit information in a parallel architecture, where bits are transmitted at a time, lines with 8.16 or more wires are needed. In serial communication, data is sent bit by bit from one computer to another in bi-direction ( Difference between serial and parallel transmission, 2016, para. 4).
An example of serial transmission is the connection of devices that do not need a fast data transfer rate, for instance, a modem or mouse. Then, the most common example of parallel communication is the one between a computer and a printer, which can be characterized by transmitting more than one bit simultaneously.
Then, USB communication may be described by transferring the data in blocks. That is, first, it gets the data in a temporary buffer, for instance, 1024kb, and by the time this buffer is getting filled, the USB transmits the data to its destination and continues working. What is more, USB ports may attach up to 127 various peripheral devices that have one connector kind. It should be stated that USB simplifies the process of connecting these devices to a computer to a great extent.
Parallel and serial data transferring have a number of crucial differences. It should be stated that more data is transmitted through the parallel channel at the same time than through the serial channel, but increasing the throughput of the serial connection is much easier than parallel. Serial transmission is full duplex since the sender can send and receive data at the same time ( Serial & parallel data transmission, n.d., para. 16). In contrast, parallel communication is half-duplex because data may be either sent or received. Then, the latter has a critical disadvantage the phase shift of the signal due to which the length of parallel channels, for example, SCSI, is limited. Finally, parallel communication requires more costs if compare with serial transmission.
