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Database Modeling and Normalization

Assignment 4: Database Modeling and Normalization
Due Week 4 and worth 120 points
Imagine that you work for a consulting firm that offers information technology and database services. Part of its core services is to optimize and offer streamline solutions for efficiency. In this scenario, your firm has been awarded a contract to implement a new personnel system for a government agency. This government agency has requested an optimized data repository for its system which will enable the management staff to perform essential human resources (HR) duties along with the capability to produce ad hoc reporting features for various departments. They look forward to holding data that will allow them to perform HR core functions such as hiring, promotions, policy enforcement, benefits management, and training.
Using this scenario, write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you:

  1. Determine the steps in the development of an effective Entity Relationship Model (ERM) Diagram and determine the possible iterative steps / factors that one must consider in this process with consideration of the HR core functions and responsibilities of the client.
  2. Analyze the risks that can occur if any of the developmental or iterative steps of creating an ERM Diagram are not performed.
  3. Select and rank at least five (5) entities that would be required for the development of the data repositories.
  4. Specify the components that would be required to hold time-variant data for policy enforcement and training management.
  5. Diagram a possible 1:M solution that will hold salary history data, job history, and training history for each employee through the use of graphical tools. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
  6. Plan each step of the normalization process to ensure the 3NF level of normalization using the selected five (5) entities of the personnel database solution. Document each step of the process and justify your assumptions in the process.
  7. Diagram at least five (5) possible entities that will be required to sustain a personnel solution. The diagram should include the following:
    1. Dependency diagrams
    2. Multivalued dependencies

Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
  • Include charts or diagrams created in a drawing tool with which you are familiar. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.
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Denormalization Functionality

Denormalization Functionality” Please respond to the following:

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 Optimizing Database Design

Optimizing Database Design” Please respond to the following:

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current US issue that is being reported by at least two other countries

Go to www.WorldPress.org and read about a current US issue that is being reported by at least two other countries (could also go to Japan NHK or Toronto Star for comparisons) Provide links and references to these news reports. Compare how the news reports are presented. Discuss how your views of this issue is influenced by American or by others’ views.
Criteria:

  • News story is related to event from the current year and was covered by US and at least two other countries.
  • Links were provided to the news reports used for this assignment.
  • Student has summarized the issue and identifies similarities/differences in the presentation by other countries.
  • Student provides personal assessment of how their views are influenced when reading multiple versions of the same story.
  • Formatting follows APA guidelines; paper is 3-5 pages in length, in addition to title page and reference list.
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RTHE SCIENTIFIC METHOD APPLIED TO DIGITAL FORENSICS 1–R Communications Case Study

RR Communications Case Study

Running Head: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD APPLIED TO DIGITAL FORENSICS 1
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD APPLIED TO DIGITAL FORENSICS 7
The Scientific Method Applied To Digital Forensics
 
Abstract
Computer forensics is the process of digital investigation combining technology, the science of discovery and the methodical application of legal procedures. Judges and jurors often do not understand the inner workings of computers and rely on digital forensics experts to seek evidence and provide reliable, irrefutable testimony based on their findings. The scientific method is the process of diligent, disciplined discovery where a hypothesis is formed without bias, and analysis and testing is performed with the goal of effectively proving or disproving a sound hypothesis. When investigative teams do not follow standard investigative procedures it can lead to inappropriate and inaccurate evidentiary presentations that are extremely difficult for non-technical participants to refute. The practitioners of digital forensics can make strides to measure and improve the accuracy of their findings using the scientific method. This paper includes a summary of the scientific method as applied to the emerging and growing field of digital forensics and presents details of a specific case where both the prosecution and defense would have benefitted greatly from the use of this proven method of discovery and analysis. Findings can only be deemed reasonably conclusive when the scientific process is correctly applied to an investigation, findings are repeatable and verifiable, and where both the evidence collected and the tools used are subject to the utmost scrutiny.
The Scientific Method Applied To Digital Forensics
The forensic analyst and investigator must use a unique combination of technical, investigative, and scientific skills when approaching a forensic case. Most adults remember the Scientific Method from their middle school science class as a set of six steps beginning with stating a problem, gathering information, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, analyzing the data and drawing conclusions that either support or do not support the hypothesis. Peisert, Bishop, & Marzullo (2008) note that the term computer forensics has evolved to mean “scientific tests of techniques used with the detection of crime” yet note that many academic computer scientists also use the term to refer to the “process of logging, collecting, auditing or analyzing data in a post hoc investigation”. The necessity to maintain chain of custody requires methodical and detailed procedures, as does the formulation of a legitimate and unbiased hypothesis and conclusion using the scientific method. Since many judges and jurors assume that computer forensic evidence is as “reliable and conclusive” as it is depicted on television, the legal system is unaware of the volatile nature of computer forensics investigations and the significance of a scientific approach to evidence gathering and analysis (Peisert et al., 2008).
The Scientific Process as Applied to Computer Forensics
Peisert et al. (2008) discuss in detail the need for the use of the scientific method in forensic investigations, not only for the process of discovery and analysis of evidence, but for measuring the accuracy of the forensic tools used in an investigation. Casey (2010) agrees, and cautions that evidence must be compared to known samples so that investigators better understand the scope and context of the evidence that is discovered or presented and to better understand the output of forensic tools. Casey (2010) further elaborates that the scientific method is a powerful tool for forensic investigators who must be neutral fact finders rather than advocates for one side of a case or the other.
The process of creating a hypothesis and completing experiments to prove or disprove them allows an investigator to gain a concrete understanding of the digital evidence or mere traces of evidence under analysis. Casey (2010) also notes that while there is no ethical requirement to do so and may be impractical, a thorough investigative practice would consider investigation of alternate scenarios presented by defense.
Forensic examination tools can contain bugs, or behave differently with various types of data and forensic images. Casey (2010) recommends that investigators examine evidence at both the physical and logical layers since both methods can provide unique perspectives, and the physical layer may not yield deleted, corrupted or hidden data. Suspects with limited technical experience can rename image files with different extensions not used for images, and those with more technical knowledge can use advanced steganography techniques to embed data within other data in an attempt to defy detection.
The 2004 case of State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero in Norwich, Connecticut is one where the scientific method was clearly missing from both the defense and prosecution. Eckelberry, Dardick, Folkerts, Shipp, Sites, Stewart, & Stuart (2007) completed a comprehensive post-trial analysis of the evidence as provided to the defense and discovered very different evidentiary results using a structured scientific approach to their investigation. Amero was a substitute elementary teacher accused of displaying pornographic images that appeared on pop-up’s to her students from what ultimately was proven to be a spyware-infected school computer. The credibility of the legal system was compromised and the prosecution made a numerous incorrect assumptions based on results provided from inadequate forensic tools and poor investigative techniques (Eckelberry et al., 2007).
The computer that Amero was using in her classroom was a Windows 98 machine running Internet Explorer 6.0.2800 and a trial version of Cheyenne AntiVirus that had not received an update in several years. The content filtering at the school had expired several months prior to the incident. The prosecution presented non-factual statements that may easily have been misconstrued by a non-technical jury and that likely caused a guilty verdict. The false testimony made by the school IT specialist indicated that the virus protection was updated weekly when in fact they were not since computer logs and the signatures clearly showed that virus updates were no longer supported by the vendor. The updates may have been performed but against files that had no new updates for many months. The IT Manager who testified also incorrectly claimed that adware was not able to generate pornography and especially not “endless loop pornography”. This information was received as a fact by the non-technical jury and incredibly not refuted by the defense. The detective for the prosecution also stated that his testimony was based completely on the product ComputerCop which the vendor admits is incapable of determining if a website was visited purposefully or unintentionally. The forensic detective astoundingly admitted that he did not examine the computer for the presence of adware (Eckelberry et al., 2007, p. 7-10).
The case against Amero was largely based on testimony stating that she deliberately visited the offensive pornographic websites and that the sites visited subsequently showed the links in red. The post-trial investigative team quickly verified that the ‘sites visited’ color setting in Internet Explorer on the suspect machine was set to “96,100,32” which is a greenish-gray color. One of the web pages that the defendant allegedly visited had an HTML override to highlight one of the links presented in red and was not colored based on a deliberate visit to the site. According to Eckelberry et al. (2007) the page in question was not discovered in “any of the caches or Internet history files or the Internet History DAT files. The post-trial investigative team through meticulous investigation and use of the scientific method were able to present facts that were “exculpatory evidence showing that the link was never clicked on by the defendant” or any other person, and disproved most of the statements made by the forensics examiner and the witnesses for the prosecution (Eckelberry et al., 2007, p. 12-14).
The prosecution testimony stated that there was no evidence of uncontrollable pop ups found on the suspect machine, however, the post-trial investigative team discovered irrefutable evidence that the page in question was loaded twenty-one times in one second using a computer forensics tool called X-Ways Trace. Eckleberry et al. (2007) detail many other instances where testimony was haphazard and discovered that a Halloween screen saver was the source of the adware that presented the continuous stream of pornographic sites. The chain of custody was also compromised in that the disk image was from a Dell PC but the defense witness saw a Gateway PC stored at the police station. The officer reportedly seized a computer but the police report contradicts this and states that only a drive was taken (Eckelberry et al., 2007, p. 14-17).
The case described and investigated by Eckelberry et al. (2007) resembles a staged blunder designed as a humorous sample case for beginning forensic students to discuss. The case was however very real and even though the defendant was eventually acquitted she suffered lasting harm from the notoriety based on the initial conviction of contributing to the delinquency of minors. If the prosecution or defense had investigated the evidence using the scientific method and maintained a credible chain of custody, or at least used clear critical thinking while performing a thorough forensic investigation this case may never have gone to trial. It wasted the time and resources of judge, jury, and countless other participants in the trial and permanently damaged an innocent victim (Eckelberry et al., 2007).
Conclusion
The scientific method is a process that allows confidence in a hypothesis when it can be subjected to repeated identical tests. The use of the scientific method not only provides a methodical structure to a forensic investigation, it lends credibility to a case in the very nature of the steps used to document and diligently test any given hypothesis. The case independently investigated post-trial by Eckelberry et al. (2007) was performed by a team of trained experts who were well aware of the necessity of the methodical requirements and necessity of the scientific method of discovery. Their findings proved that the suspect was in fact a victim of poorly maintained computers by a local Connecticut school system, that the forensic expert and witnesses who testified in the case were untrained and uninformed and used inadequate tools for the investigation. Cases such as State of Connecticut v. Julie Ameroillustrate the importance of using the scientific method, and the necessity of proper training in the art and science of digital forensics.
References
Carrier, B. (2002, October). Open Source Digital Forensics Tools: The Legal Argument. In @ Stake Inc. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.19.7899&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Casey, E. (Ed.). (2010). Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation (Kindle ed.). Burlington, MA: Elsevier, Inc.
Eckelberry, A., Dardick, G., Folkerts, J., Shipp, A., Sites, E., Stewart, J., & Stuart, R. (2007, March 21). Technical Review of the Trial Testimony of State of Connecticut vs. Julie Amero. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from http://www.sunbelt-software.com/ihs/alex/julieamerosummary.pdf
Nelson, B., Phillips, A., & Steuart, C. (2010). Guide to Computer Forensics and Investigations (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
Peisert, S., Bishop, M., & Marzullo, K. (2008, April). Computer Forensics in Forensis. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.140.3949&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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IT Support for Virtual Teams

CIS 336 Week 6 Assignment 3

Assignment 3: IT Support for Virtual Teams
Global organizations have branches that are located in multiple countries. Some of these organizations develop software and take advantage of the global talent pool of software developers while others have global technical support teams, customer service, and so on. Virtual teams are created when two or more people work together from different locations, organizations, times zone, and / or time shifts. Global organizations use virtual teams in order to provide global support, reduce travel costs, reduce training costs, and take advantage of local cultural knowledge that may impact the organization’s operations.
Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
1. Examine five (5) issues that the IT department is likely to face when it comes to supporting virtual teams.
2. Create an architectural diagram that shows how the virtual teams would collaborate and access common repositories for documents, software, development, and testing facilities. Use Visio or an equivalent such as Dia. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
3. Describe five (5) advantages and five (5) disadvantages of using virtual teams for the organizations described in the scenario.
4. Describe challenges imposed by:
a.
a. IT / IS national standards and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
b. Protocols and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
c. Procedures on virtual teams and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
5. Compare and contrast virtual teams and traditional teams with respect to communications, technology use, and team diversity.
6. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
· Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or an equivalent such as Dia. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
· Describe the process of administering enterprise systems, including the use of virtualization and monitoring, power and cooling issues.
· Use technology and information resources to research issues in enterprise architecture.
· Write clearly and concisely about enterprise architecture topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.
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Netscape's Work Culture

HRM Assignment

Z:\TSD\Assessments and Samples Docs\UWTSD Logo International.jpg

UNDERGRADUATE

ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATION
Programme: BABS Module Level (3,4,5 or 6): 5
Module: Human Resource Management Module code: SBLC5000

Contribution to Overall

Module Assessment (%):

 Assignment 1- 50%
Assignment 2- 50%		 Assignment No(s): Assignment 1: Case study analysis
Assignment 2: Individual Report
Assignment Title(s): Netscape’s Work Culture
Lecturer: Apsara Hewage Internal Verifier: Anand Walser
Hand Out Date: 04/12/2017 Submission deadline:
Feedback deadline:		 19/02/2018
Referencing: In the main body of your submission you must give credit to authors on whose research your work is based. Append to your submission a reference list that indicates the books, articles, etc. that you have read or quoted in order to complete this assignment (e.g. for books: surname of author and initials, year of publication, title of book, edition, publisher: place of publication).
Disclosure: Please include the following statement on the title page of the submitted assignment, followed by your name:
I declare that this assignment is all my own work and that I have acknowledged all materials used from the published or unpublished works of other people. All references have been duly cited.
Turnitin: All assignments must be submitted to Turnitin unless otherwise instructed by the Lecturer.
Note: the Turnitin version is the primary submission and acts as a receipt for the student. Late submission of the electronic version of the assignment will result in a late penalty mark. Penalties for late submission: Up to one week late, maximum mark of 50%. Over one week late, Refer. Only the UWTSD Extenuating Circumstances Panel may grant an extension.		 YES X
NO
Learning Outcomes tested
(from module syllabus)		 Assessment Criteria to achieve each outcome a student must demonstrate the ability to:
1. Appreciate the distinction between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management by analysing personnel and HRM models. · An individual piece of coursework which will test the student’s ability to distinguish Personnel Management and Human Resource Management practices.
2. Understand the impact of personnel, structural and cultural strategies on organisational performance.
 		 · Case will test the ability of the student in evaluating the impacts of the corporate culture, HRM practices and HR issues on organisational performance.
3. Draw on knowledge from cognate modules to develop understanding of the practical aspects of human resources issues confronting managers. · Case which will test the student in the knowledge of concepts relating to the impacts of a merger with another company to the work culture and challenges to the employees and the management.
4. Explore the relationship between corporate strategy and human resource strategies · An individual piece of coursework which will test the student in the knowledge of concepts relating to corporate strategic decisions such as a merger and human resource strategies.
TASK DESCRIPTION – ASSIGNMENT 1 – (50% Individual Case Study)- 2,500 words
BACKGROUND / INTRODUCTION

Appendix 1 contains a Case Study of the company NETSCAPE. Analyse this case study and identify the Human resource Management problems faced by Netscape after its merger with AOL

TASKS& GUIDELINES

Based on the given case study you need to carry out the following tasks:
1) How would you describe Netscape’s Work Culture prior to the merger with AOL and how did it change?
2) After merging with AOL, what specific challenges and problems impacted upon Netscape’s employees and managers?
3) What solutions would you recommend to resolve these issues?
Guidelines:
In the given Case study analysis:
· Relate the theories to a practical situation; for example, apply the ideas and knowledge discussed in the coursework to the practical situation at hand in the case study.
· Identify the problems and select the major problems in the case
· Recommend the best solutions to these major problems
· Detail how this solution should be implemented
· Assignment should be presented in the form of a report and not an essay.
· Assignments will be graded on the basis of:
i. Research done
ii. Analysis of the facts collated
iii. Position taken and
iv. The justification of the position
· All research must be referenced. A Reference List and a Bibliography MUST be attached. Harvard system of referencing MUST be followed.
Please see marking criteria given in page number8.

LENGTH REQUIRED

2500 words +/- 10%. Any deviation from this will be penalised.

TASKS
A short summary of the case study scenario 200 words
Explain the Case study background, the statement of the problem, research questions and aims and objectives. 300 words
Description of the situation (Case Brief) 300 words
Analysis of the case (should be backed by theoretical perspectives seen from the module) 500 words
Findings from the analysis (should be backed by theoretical perspectives seen from the module) 600 words
Solutions to the problem and issues. Recommendations (should be backed by theoretical perspectives seen from the module) 600 words
TOTAL 2500 words
FORMATTING AND LAYOUT

Please note the following when completing your written assignment:
1. Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style
1. Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment.
1. Length: 2500 words +/- 10%. Any deviation from this will be penalised.
1. Formatting: Typed on A4 paper in Times New Roman or Arial font 12 with at least 2.5 centimetre space at each edge, double spaced and pages numbered.
1. Document format: Report
1. Ensure a clear title, course, and name or ID number is on a cover sheet and a references list and bibliography using Harvard referencing throughout is also provided.
1. Research: Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.
The use of a range of information sources is expected – academic books, peer reviewed journal articles, professional articles, press releases and newspaper articles, reliable statistics, company annual reports and other company information. All referencing should be in Harvard style.

TASK DESCRIPTION – ASSIGNMENT 2–(50% Individual Report)- 2,500 words
TASK

You are required to produce a report, stating the Human Resource Management strategies that can be undertaken to resolve the issues which you identified in the Assignment 1.In particular, you should consider and evaluate:
· employee recruitment and retention,
· training and development,
· changing work practices and conditions,
· benefits and rewards.

LENGTH REQUIRED

2500 words +/- 10%. Any deviation from this will be penalised.
Your report should typically include:

TASKS
Executive Summary 200 words
Introduction: Background, scope and the purpose of the report. 600 words
Analysis:
Identify and analyse different types of human resource strategies which are ideal to these scenario under discussion. You must also critically evaluate possible solutions to solve the identified problems. (should be backed by theoretical perspectives seen from the module)		 1400 words
Conclusion: the main conclusions/recommendations, drawn from the analysis provided. 300 words
References: Listing of all sources according to the Harvard standard.
TOTAL 2500 words
GUIDELINES

1. Assignment two should be presented in the form of a report, NOT an essay.
2. Assignments will be graded on the basis of:
I. Research done
II. Analysis of the facts collated
III. Position taken and
IV. The justification of the position
3. All research must be referenced. A Reference List and a Bibliography MUST be attached. Harvard system of referencing MUST be followed.
Please see marking criteria given in page number9.

FORMATTING AND LAYOUT

Please note the following when completing your written assignment:
1. Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style
2. Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment
3. Length: 2500 words +/- 10%. Any deviation from this will be penalised.
4. Formatting: Typed on A4 paper in Times New Roman or Arial font 12 with at least 2.5 centimetre space at each edge, double spaced and pages numbered.
5. Document format: Report
6. Ensure a clear title, course, and name or ID number is on a cover sheet and a bibliography using Harvard referencing throughout is also provided.
7. Research: Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.
The use of a range of information sources is expected – academic books, peer reviewed journal articles, professional articles, press releases and newspaper articles, reliable statistics, company annual reports and other company information. All referencing should be in Harvard style.

marking criteria and Student FEEDBACK – Individual Case Study 50%

This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown. Lecturers use a similar format to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit from development/improvement.

Common Assessment Criteria Applied Marks available Marks
Awarded
1. Research-informed Literature
Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions.
Use of relevant and credible sources of evidence and literature. 20
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.
Ability to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. 20
3. Analysis
Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation of ideas and evidence
Breadth and depth of critical analysis of the scenario, issues and impacts. 20
4. Practical Application and Deployment
Deployment of methods, materials, tools and techniques; application of concepts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.
Ability to apply relevant theories, models and concepts to the scenario under discussion. 20
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Attributes in professional practice: individual and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media; presentation and organisation.
Appropriate use relevant methodologies and high level of professionalism showcased throughout the coursework. 20
TOTAL 100
Assignment Mark (Assessment marks are subject to ratification at the Exam Board. These comments and marks are to give feedback on module work and are for guidance only until they are confirmed. ) Late Submission Penalties (tick if appropriate) %
marking criteria and Student FEEDBACK – Individual Report 50%

This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown. Lecturers will use the space provided to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit from development/improvement.

Common Assessment Criteria Applied Marks available Marks
awarded
1. Research-informed Literature
Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions.
Use of relevant and credible sources of evidence and literature.
20
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.
Ability to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area.
20
3. Analysis
Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation of ideas and evidence
Breadth and depth of critical analysis of the scenario, issues and impacts. 25
4. Practical Application and Deployment
Deployment of methods, materials, tools and techniques; application of concepts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.
Ability to apply relevant theories, models and concepts to the scenario under discussion.
20
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Attributes in professional practice: individual and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media; presentation and organisation.
Appropriate use relevant methodologies and high level of professionalism showcased throughout the coursework. 15
Assignment Mark (Assessment marks are subject to ratification at the Exam Board. These comments and marks are to give feedback on module work and are for guidance only until they are confirmed. ) Late Submission Penalties (tick if appropriate) %
Up to one-week late
Over one week late
GUIDANCE FOR Students IN THE COMPLETION OF TASKS

NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five common assessment criteria above.
1. Research-informed Literature
Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set. You should provide evidence that you have accessed a wide range of sources, which may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles, textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly. Any sources you use should be current and up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list that is alphabetical at the end of your work. Please use the Harvard referencing system.
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Your work must demonstrate the growing extent of your knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain the theories, concepts, etc. meaningfully to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding; ideally each should be complete and detailed, with comprehensive coverage.
3. Analysis
Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking, evaluation and synthesis. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing whatbut also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At all times, you must provide justification for your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments using data and concepts. Sound, valid conclusions are necessary and must be derived from the content of your work. There should be no new information presented within your conclusion. Where relevant alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed.
4. Practical Application and Deployment
You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations or a particular context. How do they work in practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, some of which may be innovative and creative. This is likely to involve, for instance, the use of real world examples and cases, the application of a model within an organisation and/or benchmarking one organisation against others based on stated criteria. You should show awareness of the limitations of concepts and theories when applied in particular contexts.
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Your work must provide evidence of the attributes expected in professional practice. This includes demonstrating your individual initiative and/or collaborative working. You must communicate effectively in a suitable format, which may be written and/or oral, for example, essay, management report, presentation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.

 
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Assignment 1: Who uses databases?

WHO USES DATABASES? .

MIS 3376, Spring 2018 (Grimes)
Assignment 1

Assignment 1: Who uses databases?

In this assignment, you will identify three companies and think critically about how they use databases to enable their business. After completing this assignment, you should be able to identify the types of data a company might be interested in storing, and how it is related to other data. You should also begin to see complexities in identifying how data is stored.
1. Choose three of the categories below and identify one specific company, organization, or service from each.

Banking/Finance Retail Education Entertainment
Examples Banks
Investment firms
Insurance		 Physical stores
Online stores
Convenience stores		 Grade schools
Colleges
Training seminars
Online learning		 TV, music, and movies Streaming services
Television networks
Gaming
Food Services Healthcare Service Transportation
Examples Restaurants
Groceries
Farming
Food production		 Doctors, dentists, etc.
Hospitals/urgent care
Pharmacies		 Government svcs.
Postal service
Construction
Lawn care		 Auto manufacturing
Taxi services
Airlines
Shipping

2. For each company, identify two entity types they need to keep track of.
3. For each type of data, identify five attributes for each entity type you identified in #2
4. Create a data dictionary showing the column names, table names, data type, and length for the entities in #2. See page 15 in your book for an example.
5. Draw an ERD showing the relationship between the two entities. Include the cardinality and participation constraints. You do not need to show the attributes in the ERD. It is easiest to make these drawings in software such as PowerPoint or Visio.
6. For each entity, provide 3-7 instances using fictional data. Create and populate a table for each entity that includes sample values that demonstrate the participation and cardinality.
7. Write out the business rules that are presented in your ERD. The business rules should describe the entities, their attributes, domain constraints (optional, but should be included if needed), cardinality, and participation constraints. You may either write this in long form or use bullet points.
Name your file Lastname_Firstname_A1.docx (i.e., Grimes_Mark_A1.docx) and upload to Blackboard by 10:00 PM CST on Monday, February 5

Notes

1. Do not pick multiple companies from one category, and do not use the same company for multiple categories.
2. Do not use the same (or very similar) entities for every company. For example, do not just create a relationship of “Customers purchase products” for every company. Not cool and won’t count.
3. Use attributes that companies would realistically have access to. For example, most retailers would not know (or need to know) a customer’s weight.
4. Some companies fit in to multiple categories – i.e., Walgreens could be considered both “retail” and “healthcare”. Choose the category that matches the aspect you are describing.
5. You may choose a “service” rather than a company – for example, Amazon Prime Video is a service owned by Amazon, but would be an acceptable service.
6. I anticipate each company will take approximately 1.5-2 pages – so your final deliverable should be around 5-6 pages.
7. If you have read ahead or have database experience and want to demonstrate your advanced knowledge that is fine – however, artificial keys and foreign keys do not count as attributes for this exercise.
8. Please put some thought into the companies you select and do not just go with obvious/easy choices. For example, “Amazon” is likely the first e-commerce company you thought of – and I don’t want everyone to pick Amazon. This is both very boring to grade and does not encourage you to think critically. You don’t need to pick a company that is super obscure, but try to pick something interesting. There are plenty of well-known companies to go around.
Assignment 1 Example
1. Company #1: Mark’s Horse Hostel (Service)
2. Entity types: Horses, Customers
3. Attributes: Horses (Name, Weight, Gender, Color, Owner Name) Customers (Name, Phone, Address, Email, Balance)
4. Data Dictionary

Column Table Data Type Length
Name Horses Text 30
Weight Horses Number 16
Gender Horses Text 1
Color Horses Text 10
Owner Name Horses Text 30
Name Customers Text 30
Phone Customers Text 12
Address Customers Text 50
Email Customers Text 50
Balance Customers Number 16

5. ERD

6. Tables

Horses
Name Weight Gender Color Owner Name
Amy 700 F Brown Norman Johnson
Dave 1200 M Brown Mark Grimes
Ed 1000 M Black Richard Scamell
Sarah 1500 F Red Mark Grimes
Tom 1100 M Black Richard Scamell
Customers
Name Phone Address Email Balance
Mark Grimes 281-777-6666 40 Wallaby Way gmgrimes@uh.edu 2000
Norman Johnson 281-666-7777 41 Wallaby Way 3000
Richard Scamell 281-555-9999 42 Wallaby Way rscamell@uh.edu 2000

7. Business rules
Mark’s Horse Hostel is a business that cares for horses owned by customers. All customers must own at least one horse, but some customers have many horses. All horses kept at Mark’s Horse Hostel are owned by exactly one customer. Due to size limitations of the stables, all horses must weigh less than 2,000 pounds. A horse’s color may be specified as Black, White, Dark Brown, Light Brown, Red, Yellow, or Other. Customers are not required to provide their email address.
Or you can use bullets:
· All customers have at least one horse
· A customer may have multiple horses
· A horse is owned by exactly one customer
· All horses must weigh less than 2,000 pounds
· Horse color is classified as Black, White, Dark Brown, Light Brown, Red, Yellow, or Other
· Customer’s email address is optional
Notes about the assignment:
You may noticed that I have not included attributes such as “CustomerID” or “HorseID” that would make for good (artificial) primary keys. If you want to include something like that it is fine, but do not count that as one of your five attributes – list things that are meaningful to describing the entity instances. The point of this assignment is to critically think about what types of data companies need to store to do their job. We will deal with key values and their relationships more in future assignments.
For the length of text attributes, put what you think a reasonable number of characters would be. For example, for gender we can just store “M” or “F”. For Number values, the length is the number of bits – so 16 means 2^16 = 65,536 (any number between 0 and 65,535 will fit). You can just use 16 for the length of numbers, unless you want to be more precise in your answer.
I provided some domain constraints in the business rules – I would encourage you to do the same where it is appropriate (You don’t need a constraint for every attribute, but if there are places a domain constraint would be beneficial you should mention it).
You can make the ERD directly in word (using the shapes on the “Insert” tab), or make it in PowerPoint, Visio, etc. using the drawing tools. There are several ways to save your drawings as an image you can insert into the word document, one easy way is to take a screenshot (Google or ask a friend if you need help with this).

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Planning for Successful Advocacy Campaigns

Health Science

Planning for Successful Advocacy Campaigns
Groups who advocate for change have the greatest impact if they have a plan. Whether basic or elaborate, effective plans must be accomplishable. In successful advocacy campaigns, plans help establish the goals and objectives along with other essential elements of planning such as the campaign’s message, purpose, and media strategies. While goals and objectives may differ among various public health advocacy groups, similar strategies and tools are often used. For instance, many campaign plans include similar media strategies and communication techniques for reaching the target audience, but the goal of the campaign might range in focus from childhood obesity to fracking or elderly care.
To prepare for this Discussion:
· Review the Freeman et al. article and the advocacy campaign examples “Indiana Campaign for Smoke Free Air” and “One International.” Reflect on each campaign’s plan, including elements such as goals, objectives, message, purpose, and media strategies.
· Research and select a public health advocacy campaign that is different than the provided examples. Consider your selected campaign’s plan, including elements such as goals, objectives, message, purpose, and media strategies.
· Reflect on the impact of your selected campaign on the development of health policy. Think about how the campaign’s plan contributes to the success of the advocacy campaign.
· Consider the role of advocates and public health organizations in your selected advocacy campaign.
With these thoughts in mind:
. Avery, B., & Bashir, S. (2003). The road to advocacy—Searching for the rainbow. American Journal of.Public Health, 93(8), 1207–1210.
Note: Retrieved from the
Freeman, B., Chapman, S., & Storey, P. (2008). Banning smoking in cars carrying children: An analytical history of a public health advocacy campaign. Australian and New Zealand Journal Of Public Health, 32(1), 60–65.
Galer-Unti, R. A., Tappe, M. K., & Lachenmayr, S. (2004). Advocacy 101: Getting started in health education advocacy. Health Promotion Practice, 5(3), 280–288.
The Community Tool Box. (2012). Writing letters to the editor. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action/letters-to-editor/checklist
The Community Tool Box. (2012). Writing letters to elected officials. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action/letters-to-elected-officials/main
Dorfman, L., Sorenson, S., & Wallack, L. (2009). Working upstream: Skills for social change. Retrieved from http://bmsg.org/sites/default/files/bmsg_handbook_working_upstream.pdf
Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.smokefreein.com/
One International. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.one.org/international/