Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay On May of 1607, the first English colony in the present-day United States was founded at Jamestown, Virginia (A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States of America, 2007). After many years, a Dutch ship arrived at the port of Jamestown and brought about twenty African slaves to the English colonists. Thus, the so-called African slave trade began. The African slaves came from the savannahs of central and southern Africa. The Dutch often called them â€Å"humanlike† monkeys, barbarians, and uncivilized brutes. Thus, the Dutch preferred locking them in the sub cabins of their caravels (A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States of America, 2007). They were irregularly provided with food. Most of the times, they were held in chains (because the Dutch were afraid that they might cause some trouble in the ship). When they were brought to Jamestown, their condition worsened. They were forced to work in flat farmlands at least 15 hours a day. Large plantations of cotton and other agricultural products were assigned to them by the English colonists without pay. Although they were provided with housing, it was in shambles. The houses were designed in the form of â€Å"barnyard† to accommodate as many slaves as possible (a form of segregation). Added to that, this type of housing was a means for the English colonists to â€Å"distinguish† themselves from these â€Å"lofty and barbaric† human beings. The food provided by the English colonists was never adequate to balance the energy the slaves consumed in farm work. Added to that, the children of African slaves were also forced to work in the plantations. Their work varied, from weaving cotton to harvesting agricultural products. The landlords, insensitive to the contributions of these African slaves to their estates, usually utilized the â€Å"whip† against the African slaves as a form of disciplinary measure. Thus, not only the African slaves provided a cheap and efficient source of agricultural and household labor, they were also the source of prejudice, discrimination (described above), racism, and â€Å"embarrassment† to the English colonists. For example, the English colonists did not regard the African slaves as a separate race. The English colonists regarded them as â€Å"subhuman, but a little higher than primates. Even after the Declaration of Independence, the descendants of these slaves were not better of. Usually, the American landlords regarded them as personal properties. They had no civil or political rights. At times, American colonists in the West used them as soldiers (unpaid) in its wars with Indian tribes. Thus, it can be said that the history of African-Americans was a history of discrimination, oppression, and prejudice. They were the target as well as the source of racial cynicism of white Americans, British, and almost all Americans of European descent. The stigma attached to them by these cultural groups remained until (as one may notice) the present time. The labor market in the United States at the close of the 19th century was comprised of poor white farmers and African slaves-descent laborers (using the term Black is a form of discrimination in this case) (Bohmer, 2007). In 1876, an alliance between African slaves-descent laborers and poor whites was defeated by Southern landlords. The alliance was formed out of the perceived oppression of their class by the ruling Southern landlords. For example, their pay was inadequate to support their families. Nonetheless, their working conditions under these Southern planters were really â€Å"bad† in terms of long-working hours and high rents. Their defeat was magnified y the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that segregation was constitutional. Although their labor produced much of the wealth of the Southern planters, they were never given safety nets (such as social security) in the procurement of their labor in the market. In contradiction to the conception that African-Americans are never interested in environmental issues, here are some African-Americans who contributed much in protecting the environment. George Washington Carver can be regarded as one of America’s finest agricultural researchers. He was able to develop throughout his lifetime over 325 new products from peanuts and over 100 products from sweet potatoes. He often told his students that nature was his best teacher (A Selection of African-American Environmental Heroes, 2007). Vernon Jones is another African-American who led the struggle to preserve government-owned lands in a county in Georgia. In March 2000, he was able to pass a 125 million dollars bond referendum to acquire public lands for the construction of parks (A Selection of African-American Environmental Heroes, 2007). This is an indication that even if African-Americans are still discriminated, they would never be indifferent to issues that can affect the lives of people outside his ethnic group. Affirmative action can be defined as a set of state policies and objectives created to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, and sex. The United States government under the terms of different presidents implemented a series of affirmative actions in order to eliminate forms of discrimination in the United States. For example, President Truman issued an order to the Bureau of Employment Security to implement nondiscriminatory labor policies (Sykes, 1995). Today, the Equal Employment Opportunities Act was passed to put an end to â€Å"discrimination† in the workplace, by giving minority groups opportunities to assert their employment status (Sykes, 1995). These series of affirmative action was the result of struggle of minority groups, especially African-Americans, to assert their rights as citizens of the United States. In the present, however, discrimination in the workplace against minority groups (e. . African-Americans) is never totally eradicated. Redlining, or more particularly service redlining, is the custom of refusing to provide goods and services to people of low-income and minority groups (Fuller, 1998). In the United States, African Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups are experiencing this form of segregation. Some â€Å"white† establishments typically create â€Å"excuses† for the purpose of not allowing minority groups (especially African-Americans) to procure goods and services. This was the most controversial issue in the 1950’s. There were different types of services: one for whites, and one for African-Americans. Although this system was abolished, many â€Å"white† retail stores in the United States still find â€Å"excuses† of not providing goods and services for minority groups. African-Americans today face what sociologists call double jeopardy. Because African-Americans are discriminated, they have difficulty of finding good jobs. It is estimated that a majority of African-Americans in the United States today are in the poverty threshold. They comprised also the majority in service sectors jobs. Their poverty reinforces their minority status. Thus, the so-called â€Å"ladder of discrimination† as what sociologists call is also reinforced. African-Americans have the difficulty of upgrading their status by economic means. Thus, white Americans always associate African-Americans with poverty. The institutionalization of discrimination was the most noted issue in African-American history. Before the handing down of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (which abolished segregation in public schools) in May 1954, all public schools in the United States were segregated. African-Americans were provided separate public schools, usually close to their communities. Added to that, the formulation of educational curriculum of some states was also segregated. This was in line with the â€Å"early† belief of white Americans that higher forms of education were only a matter for white Americans. Segregation could also be noted in the construction of residential areas. Reverse discrimination can be defined as the negative effect of an affirmative action to some members of the dominant ethnic group which is seen as tantamount to another form of discrimination (Pincus, 2002:1). Often some white Americans complained that they were rejected in some jobs because of preferential treatment for African-Americans. They call it â€Å"reverse discrimination. † This is though not really a form of discrimination since it does not â€Å"question† the nature of the ethnic group to which one belongs. In the case of African-Americans, the opening of new opportunities is a means to upgrade their economic status. It cannot be a form of discrimination. Glass ceiling can be defined as the barriers or blocks that confront minority groups in reaching the upper ladder of corporate America (The Glass Ceiling for African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans, 2004). African-Americans today have little difficulty of reaching the upper ladder of society (noted personalities like Oprah, Morgan Freeman, and Janet Jackson serve our examples) although not as easy as that of white Americans. Personally, I identify myself to the cultural group I belong, although I recognize the commonalities between African-American and white cultures (especially those which relate to equality and freedom of the individual).

Decision to drop atomic bomb Essay Example for Free

Decision to drop atomic bomb Essay The decision was made from the president that they were going to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 6, 1945. They chose to drop the bomb because if they didn’t there would have been more casualties than necessary in the continued fighting in the Asian theater of the war . Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the president at that time, Harry S. Truman, made the right choice. The atomic bomb was definitely a political conflict for the United States and Japan. The event which initiated the ultimate bombing began with Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, according to History.com. When the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, instantly â€Å"Little boy† destroyed 90% of the city, even though it exploded at an altitude of 580 meters. Since the city of Hiroshima only had 298 doctors and 270 of them died, this was rough for the citizens in Hiroshima since the people had no medical help. When they were looking for food and clothes and such it was very rare for them to find the materials they need. However in Nagasaki it was easy to get meds from the naval hospitals out there. Well in September in Hiroshima it was very hard for the people to heal faster because it was so cold and rainy outside for them to fully recover. According to Cacpeaceday. Before dropping the bombs, Japan was refusing to surrender, their emperor insisted on fighting on. Everyone thought that japan had lost but they didn’t know that they refused to surrender and kept fighting. So more and more American’s were dying. The US felt like if they don’t defeat japan soon that they will gain more advantage over Asia or even in japan. Japan ended up shortly surrendering after US dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was occupied by allied powers under the American general, MacArthur. Reference According to ibiblio.com pg. 24. http://cacpeaceday.wikispaces.com/3.+The+impact+and+short+term+effects+of+the+dropping+of+the+atomic+bombs U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki June 1946

Development Of A Web Based Payroll System Computer Science Essay

Development Of A Web Based Payroll System Computer Science Essay Saving time considered to be a leading topic in this modern world where people try to get their work done in a least amount of time. Therefore time spent on simple things in day to day life made easier as web-online has conquered that place. With that intension this payroll system has been developed to organizations where small branches involved. Developing such web based payroll system may facilitate the process of attendance to paying wages for employees. Not only those employees will be able to print their payslips online with no hassle but also they will be able to view their attendance details in their payslip which would be an added feature compared to other systems. To develop the above said web application a research took place in finding which tools has to be used, how the system work, how many users should be involved, how it benefits the company and employees and how the taxations work. Therefore for the payroll web application php, mysql and apache has been used correspondingly in programming, database and web server which comes in a package as wamp for windows. In supporting the above chosen wamp server umlet, dreamweaver, css styles, java script used correspond to drawing uml diagrams, php codings, interface designs and codings. Further in calculating taxes, current tax code and percentages of taxes been used according to current rate of HMRC revenue. Hence, the current system of payroll in organizations has also been observed in concluding the whole process of payroll with the taxations. Payroll system is generally available and could be accessed multiply. An iterative and incremental approach applied throughout developing the payroll system where a piece of coding is tested as it went along with the development. This was useful in finding particular errors affected towards the system and not only that it helped to correct them but also it helped to step forward and trying new functions towards the goal. As php codes takes a major role in this payroll system, validations of functionalities based on it has been quite tricky and useful towards improving knowledge of php and the system. Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 4 Chapter 2. Aims Objectives 4 Chapter 3. Prior research 5 Chapter 4. Literature Review 8 Chapter 5. Software Requirements 10 Chapter 6. WAMP server 11 Chapter 7. Design of the payroll system 13 16 Chapter 8. System architecture 17 Chapter 9. Development of Payroll System 19 23 Problem Log 26 List of figures 27 References 28 Appendices 30 Introduction Payroll system is a web application based on client server and electronic payment technology, which is aimed at developing a system that manages the payment of monthly wages of employees in an organization. It is supported by a database consisting of its employees details and their attendance details. According to that end of each month the salary is paid to the corresponding bank account of the employee. It also considers employees income tax regulations and NI contributions. Hence it shall deduct the appropriate amount of deductions at their salary if they earn more than  £647 per month. Further a payslip could be generated taking the above in to account. The following technologies have been used in developing the above said application. WAMP server CSS Macromedia Dreamweaver Umlet Aims Objectives The proposed system would allow the user to do their work in prototype. Hence, it has many gains compared to a manual system. In manual systems a main problem seems to be is maintaining the number of records and finding a particular record. Further calculating the final pay after income tax and other deductions would consume a lot of time. But the proposed system is capable of calculating the deductions automatically. Some of the features of the proposed system are given below: Maintaining the Database for Admin, Employee, attendance etc.. Attendance report. Generate payslips. Prior research Fact gathering techniques were used for the following reasons, To identify the problem in a payroll system. To avoid repetition. To complete these tasks following techniques has been used, 1. Interviews a basic source of quality information. Allows gathering information from an existing system where an administrator or manager could be the user. It facilitates to discover areas of misunderstandings, indication of resistance to the proposed system. An interview could be a structured or an unstructured in this state. In a structured interview questions are standardized and in an unstructured interview questions are worded to suit the respondent that provide the information about the areas overlooked or not thought to be important. Comparison of the structured and unstructured interviewing are detailed as below. Advantages: Structured: Ensures uniform wording of questions to all respondents. Easy to administer and evaluate. Less interview training required. Result in shorter time. Unstructured: Questions can be worded to suit the respondent. May produce the information about the areas overlooked or not thought to be important. Disadvantages: Structured: Cost of preparation is high. Such high level of structure may not always be suitable. Some respondent may resist to such structure. Unstructured: Inefficient use of interviewer and respondent time. Results take a longer time. Extra time required for the collection of essential facts. The success of the interview depends on the skill of the interviewer and his/her preparation for the interview. Analysts must also be aware of the kinds of difficulties at some interview, and must know how to deal with the potential problems. Conducting interviews determines qualitative information such as, Activities involved in process of taking the attendance. Activities involved in the process of Payslip generation. Limitation of existing system. Problems faced by the user in the existing system. 2. Record Inspection Analysing facts from documents, examining information which has recorded about the system and users. Examining forms, files about an existing system. Such records may include, Written policy manuals. Rules and regulations. Standard operating procedures used in the Payroll and Attendance System Forms and documents. A good documentation system provides relationships and interaction between them. Further would give an idea of the structure activities, procedures and flow of data. But it would not show how each task performed or where the decision making power lies. To gather details about the payroll system several kinds of records and reports has been reviewed such as, Standard operating procedure Reports generated by an existing system. Document flow (input/output) of the Payroll and Attendance System. Process of Preparing the Payslip. Process of deducting the salary for tax and NI contributions. Types and format of database registers. 3. Observation could bring missed facts, duplicate work done unintentionally. Its not the quantity of time observed is important but the unusual angles of observation of the work content and methods would be more useful. Observation may focus on, Operational inefficiencies. Alternate routes and procedures. Interruptions in the normal flow of work. The usage of files and documents. Informal communication channels, etc. On site observation provides a close view of the working real system, objects, documents and occurrences of events. Literature Review Considering the research took place towards developing a new payroll system the limits of the current system seems to be affecting in many ways not only the admin staff, manager or company but also to the employees concerning their wages and payslips. Check-in attendance to paying wages the whole process seems to be dragging and time consuming of admin, manager and employees. The attendance check-in system which is currently in operation has to be a double work where firstly the attendance is checked by paper in a prepared sheet for it and then will be entered to the system later with times when the employees started work and ended work. Therefore the each of employee has to look for his/her name in the registry which is in a paper and sign in/out with time ahead his/her name on it and then the admin staff who enters them in the system has also got to find the names on page in the system to clock him/her in/out. This system seems to be a hassle for the admin where it could be done in one go. So the new system would take away that headache from admin where he/she could do it one click per staff. When an employee logs in just a click in front of his name would clock him in and the time of work started will be recorded automatically. Like wise the when the employee finishes work clocked out time will be recorded and the attendance counts towards his pay. In the above case another popular scenario could be when an employee begins work at a late time, admin has to deduct the pay hours or pay corresponding to that. But because the times of clock-in will be entered to the system automatically there wont be any need of altering the timings of employees. Therefore again it facilitates the work of admin staff. Moving on with the attendance to the wages of employees, some of the companies account departments are outsourced simultaneously some others got their own accountants. So in transferring wages to employee bank accounts and for tax deductions account departments are involved and the attendance checked by admin staff will be forwarded to the appropriate account department. Account department uses the national rate of taxes for employee earnings according to HM Revenue Customs and the relevant amount of taxes will be deducted depending on employees earning. Even in this scenario it is another point where human resources could be saved a s software applications could be used which would process the attendance to final pay after calculating taxes. Therefore it is another advantage to be seen in the new payroll system. Not only that, chances of making mistakes in entering the attendances or pay to the system could be avoided in the new payroll system. Hence, the new payroll system shall lead towards paying wages to the employees. After making payments to employees keeping records of paid amounts and record of due amounts also seem to be an additional point when comparing against the previous systems where paid records kept at account departments. Therefore possibilities of misconception have been avoided between employees and management by having these records as proof. Looking at the employee payslips in the previous system it had to be sent by a separate department to the employees by post. But in the new payroll system, payslips made available online to employees where there wont be any need to wait for payslips to arrive. Retail giant Tesco reveals in The one (june) as below, Driven by security and environmental issues, the move to online notification of pay is set to take place this summer, saving postage and paper on up to 4.7million payslips a year. Further rather than just being a payslip provided in the new payroll system it also has the feature of displaying the attendance according to which the salary is paid. And also it is available to print in addition to viewing. Plus an employee will be able to view and print the salary sheets of the previous months too which has been another outstanding step in the new system. Even though it could be a large page of salary sheet due to displaying all the attendances, it is concerned as fact of giving the accurate information stored to the employees and this would build up confidence and trust towards the company. Software Requirements Functional Requirements Admin: In this module admin is provided with many services such as Add new employee, Update employee details, Mark in/out attendance, Update salary Details, view/print salary slips, payment to employees. Employee: In this module employee is provided with the services such as View earnings, View deductions, View and print salary slip. Non-Functional Requirements System can endure even though many number of users requested the desired service. By incorporating a robust and proven database, reliable performance and integrity of data is ensured. There must be a power backup for server system. Ensure sensitive data is protected from unwanted access by users and implementing appropriate technology to strict user- access criteria. WAMP server WAMP is an open source collaborated web development kit which contains all the ingredients such as Apache, PHP and the MySQL database you need to develop and create web applications It also comes with an inbuilt phpMyAdmin page which allows you to easily manage your databases. Further it is a solution kit that will allow you to reproduce your production server. One important aspect of the WAMP server is that once it is installed and is in play, the manager has the freedom to install as many latest releases of Apache, MySql or PHP. Functionalities of the WAMP Functions are very easy and less complicated; they are straightforward and can be viewed by just a click which will enable you to : Manage Apache and MySQL services Switch online/offline (give access to everyone or only localhost) Install and switch Apache, MySQL and PHP releases Manage server settings Access logs Access settings files Create alias Why an open source has been used They are free Totally free and available to the general public. Software developers and programmers can use them in improving their existing software or create new programs. Doesnt require a license or sales fee. They are cross-platform and technology-neutral. Programs are usable virtually by everyone as ensured by the open source community. Open source programs are not dependant on any individual technology or style and they are technology-neutral. It shall meet the criteria as long as it runs on more than one operating system. They must not restrict other software gives software developers the maximum control and flexibility. They embrace diversity open source programs cannot discriminate against any person or group of persons. Looking more into features of the above used, Apache 2.2.6 As its main job it parses files requested by a browser and display results according to the code. It is powerful and could achieve any virtual task that required. Authentication/authorization make simpler certain authentication configurations. Caching considering production quality. Configurations made simpler and modularised. Proxying load balancing provided. Large file support support files larger than 2GB. PHP 5.2.5 Stands for Hypertext Pre-processor and is a server-side scripting language which allows a website to be keep alive. Controls memory consumption between requests. Improved speed of arrays. MySQL 5.0.45 MySQL is a structured query language server which has been designed to process complex queries and for heavy loads. It enables PHP and Apache to work together to access and display data in a browser. For maximum efficiency and speed it allows many tables to join together as a relational database. Cursors server-side cursors supported. Triggers triggers supported. Views updatable, named views supported. Design of the payroll system Payroll system is designed for a small organization/branch/department where there would be less employees compared to a large number of employees payroll system. Admin and employee are the two main users of the system. Considering the system as a whole, the following steps have been taken in process of functionality. Add new employee personal details of the new employee would be added with a pay rate per hour. Edit employee details capacity of updating employee details Delete employee delete an employee when an employee is no more with the organisation Clock in/out marking the attendance according to which an attendance report would be printed and be paid to the employee. Attendance report to view/print attendance report. Salary sheet 1st of every month employees will get paid according to the hours worked and the salary sheet would include worked hours, hourly pay, NI contributions, income tax and net salary. The salary sheet could be printed/viewed. Payment payment is made according to the net salary of the employee. A record would be kept on payment details date, time, employee id and amount. Class diagram below shows the structure of the system with its classes, attributes and the relationships between the classes. CLASS DIAGRAM glass Relate to the design of the system as said above there are two users who get access to the payroll such as admin and employee. Use case diagram below presents a graphical overview of the functionalities of the payroll system in terms of actors, goals and their dependencies between use cases. It shall show what system functions are performed by admin and employee. USE CASE DIAGRAM System architecture Payroll system is a web based application created using three tier architecture and an iterative, incremental approach to design used in the process of development. Figure 1. three blocks which represents the client-server architecture Client block a client side application which runs on an operating systems graphical user interface. Passes the challenges to the middleware block and it handles the non-local services. Client also runs a component of the distributed system management which could be a simple negotiator to an entire front end application on a managed station. Server block a server side application which runs on top of a shrink-wrapped server software package. Server side depends on the operating system to interface with the middleware block which brings the requests. Server also runs a distributed system management which could be a simple negotiator on a managed PC to an entire back end application. Middleware block runs both on the client and the server side of an application. Likewise the above middleware also has a distributed system management component. As Orfali et al(1999)states in contrast to using other form of distributed software client server architecture inherits the following characteristics, Service client is a consumer of service and the server is a provider of service. Therefore, client-server provides a clean division of function based service. Shared resources server could provide service to many clients same time and regulate access to shared resources. Asymmetrical protocols clients always initiate with a request for service and servers wait for requests from clients. Transparency of location Mix and match client/server is independent of hardware or operating system software platforms. Able to mix and match between platforms. Message based exchanges message is the delivery mechanism for service requests and replies. Clients and servers interact through message passing mechanism. Encapsulation of services without affecting the clients server can be upgraded as long as the published interface is not changed. Scalability client/server systems could be scaled horizontally or vertically. In horizontal scaling with a slight performance impact client workstations could be added or removed. In vertical scaling, across multiple servers processing loads are distributed or larger and faster machines are migrated. Integrity server code and server data are centrally managed which outcomes in cheaper maintenance and protecting data integrity. Same time clients stay independent and personal. Development of Payroll System As mentioned above admin and employee are the two users of the payroll system. Many users could be added in the database as admin users. Therefore added all admin users shall be privileged to perform admin tasks in fulfilling their needs. A login process for any user involves few components such as, Form of submitting the login information A validation to confirm the information has been submitted. A database query which compares the submitted information against the stored information. After successful login as an admin staff view of the homepage would look like below, Admin homepage Figure 2. home page of admin staff with quick access icon. As shown above using icons of the homepage or using the tabs on top, corresponding page could be accessed. Further in addition to the tabs an admin could change his/her password using the icon on the homepage which would also update the database according to it. Doing so would give a conformation saying that the update has been successfully completed. Employee page allows admin to add a new employee with employee personal details and also allows updating details of employee. The details of employee would be saved in the database and further an employee attendance details, payments made, payment balance could be viewed. If an employee doesnt exist anymore his/her details will be deleted and this will remove his/her details from the database too.   Figure 3. a page which opens to update details of an employee from employee page. Update employee information An employee who is entered to the system in the database will automatically be inserted in attendance check-in in the attendance page. Therefore when admin staff does the attendance check employee name will be selected from the arrow-down list and it will display below to view which employees has arrived to work. Simultaneously database will be updated in the check-out table with the check-in information of the employee who has been clocked-in. By the time when the corresponding employee finishes his/her work shift, admin would check-out from the drop-down list again. Doing so would remove the check-in information of the employee from the check-out table in database and the attendance information will be entered to the attendance report and the payslip adding to his/her worked hours towards the final pay. Attendance check-in/check-out Figure 4. attendance check-in and out for employees by admin. Therefore admin staffs are able to view an attendance report of an employee in the employee page where it is referred to an employee. Not only that, the details of attendance will also be displayed in the payslips where could printed from the salary sheet page. In the salary page an admin staff can select the employee name which ever she/he wants to print the payslip of. Further after selecting the employees name, again admin is capable of selecting which months payslip she/he wants to print.   Doing so would open a page and enables to print it according to which was selected by admin.   Considering the deductions of taxes which are income tax and NI contributions, when the pay is calculated end of each month automatically the above taxes would be deducted in a rate 15% for income tax and 9% for NI contributions. Therefore the final net pay would be calculated automatically as the salary for each employee. An important factor here involved in deductions is, inclusion of a tax code to the pay.   At a national rate of 647 which reveals that up to a pay of  £647 per month the above said tax would not be deducted and who ever earns above the rate of  £647 will have to pay the above mentioned taxes. Therefore the above said taxes will automatically be deducted when an employee earns above the tax code.   Regarding salary payments to the employees, net pay for each month will be paid end of that month to the employee. In the payments page this could be done and who ever needs to be paid can be selected from the drop down list. When a payment is made to an employee a record will be kept in the database in the payments and also the recent paid payments records will also be displayed below in the payments page. Further if theres a balance due to pay it will record and could be viewed in the employee details. Therefore any remaining payments could be checked straight away and can get rid of under paying, shortages and keeping balance payments to employees. And also because the employee gets payments according to his worked hours there is no fraud involved or alterations cannot be made. In such way this payment could be considered as secure method of paying salaries.   Payslip of an employee Figure 5. Payslip of an employee which records not only the NI contributions and income taxes but also the attendance of an employee. Apart from functions of  payment and attendance an admin also can change his/ her password from the homepage using change password icon for a given admin username.   Finally taking admin privileges as whole, admin takes the responsibility of adding new employee, updating employee details, deleting employee, the attendance system which is checkin-in and out of employees in order to record their attendance towards their wages and the payment system which includes paying wages and keeping records of them.   Payments page where salary paid Figure 6. Paying wages for employees by an admin staff. In the event of employee user functions each and every employee will have their own passwords assigned by the admin when each employee registers with the payroll system. Doing so will create separate users for employees to access their attendance report and in printing their payslips. Passwords for employee login could only be changed by an admin user in edit employee details. Matching login details with the payroll database would allow the user to access his/her profile which contents the attendance report and the salary sheet of employee. Figure 7. Homepage of an employee user. Not only the tabs displayed would allow accessing the corresponding page but also the shortcut icons in the homepage would allow doing so. In the attendance page an employee could view his/her attendance so far and will also be able to print it. Likewise in the salary sheet page by selecting the necessary month of salary sheet allows to view and print the corresponding salary sheet. Figure 8. months of the salary sheets given to choose from. Figure 9. salary sheet for a chosen month of an employee. Problem Log Error Date Explanation Solution 1.fatal error: function name must be a string 03-05-10 appropriate brackets not used Change the brackets style 2.notice undefined index php 03-05-10 Post method not defined properly $fname = $_POST[fname]; 3.parser error: 25-05-10 Retrieving method not defined properly per row while($row = mysql_fetch_array( $result )) 4. Notice: Use of undefined constant id assumed id 27-05-10 Undefined id with brackets Define id with brackets 5. Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end 01-07-10 No ending, missing brackets Include appropriate brackets 6. logging out to a blank page 02-07-10 Should revert to log-in page Include a header 7. Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_constant_encapsed_string 02-07-10 Using invalid symbol Use inverted comas appropriately 8. parser error 03-07-10 Unexpected ending Php headers and appropriate brackets List of figures Figure 1. three blocks which represents the client-server architecture 17 Figure 2. home page of admin staff with quick access icon. 19 Figure 3. a page which opens to update details of an employee from employee page. 20 Figure 4. attendance check-in and out for employees by admin. 21 Figure 5. Payslip of an employee which records not only the NI contributions and income taxes but also the attendance of an employee. 22 Figure 6. Paying wages for employees by an admin staff. 23 Figure 7. Homepage of an employee user. 23 Figure 8. months of the salary sheets given to choose from. 24 Figure 9. salary sheet for a chosen month of an employee. 25 Figure 10. Employee table in the payroll database 29

Viking Impact on Northern Europe :: miscellaneous

Viking Impact on Northern Europe When we hears the term Viking an immediate image of bloodthirsty men with long beards and horned helmets is conjured up in our minds. This is the image the historical sources have given us, and it is partly true. Vikings were merciless when raiding, but they were peaceful when they traded. Their navigational technology was exceptional, and the ones who settled in foreign lands contributed greatly to the lands’ culture. The Vikings are famous for their violent ways when they pillaged and plundered villages of Northern Europe. Their dramatic exploits commenced during 800 – 1050 A.D, The first being the raid on Lindisfarne Monastery in 793, followed by a chain of attacks all over the coast of northern Europe during the next 200 years. As the years went on the frequency of Viking attacks increased as they became bolder. They were opportunists, raiding when the villages were off–guard or weak and trading when they were powerful. The speed and tactical advantage of the Viking longships allowed them to slip quietly ashore, pillage the village and make a fast getaway via water before the village can summon an army. By this time some Viking plunderers would stay over winter in a village. Soon their raiding camps became settlements and Viking control over Europe began to grow, it was not long before Vikings overran most of England. The other skill that Vikings excelled at was the skill of navigation. Their longships were the cutting–edge technology at the time, and their ingenious sun-compass, which worked somewhat like a sundial, allowed them to sail to their destination with precision. The longships were usually made with oak boards stripped from trees with thin ropes soaked in pitch trapped between joints to act as a flexible, waterproof membrane. These ships, combined with their streamlines design, are very fast and seaworthy and would flex out of places when a sturdier ship would shatter. The sun compass is also very useful because it is the only directional tool at the time. It uses a shadow cast by a small pin in the middle of a round plate with bearings to give the direction. This tool allowed them to sail on open seas without landmarks for directions, a great advantage. This tool allowed them to sail on open seas without landmarks for directions, a great advantage. Through raiding, some Vikings settled in foreign lands, where they farmed, raised cattle and in time, contributed to the community like the natives.

Make-up Art Cosmetics :: essays research papers

Make-Up Art Cosmetics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Make-up Art Cosmetics, also known as M.A.C. cosmetics is a highly unique corporation. Its founders and business strategies are rather simple yet extremely effective in contributing to the companies success. The company does not use any fancy business schemes and it is truly concerned with its consumers. In the beginning, the company struggled to get started, but now a multimillion dollar (and still growing) enterprise, M.A.C. probably has some of the most popular and most demanded for cosmetics available in the market. M.A.C. Cosmetics is a dynamic company which produces skin and hair care, beauty products, and cosmetics, created for everyone. Rich and poor, old or young, conservative or trendy and even for males or females. Sales for M.A.C. are growing rapidly. From 1985 ($600 000) to 1989 ($3 million), sales were steady. Then in 1990 the money really started to pour in, hitting $8.5 million then $18 million in1991. Last years sales (1996) were $70 million and now this years' estimations are a substantial $160 million. There are currently 108 locations between Canada, the U.S., and Europe, with extreme success in London, England. Although the company could easily expand to may more locations, the company would prefer not to, at least no so fast. They believe that in order to maintain high levels of quality, staying in control, (which means going slowly) is the key. Frank Toskan, 45, founder and CEO of Make-up Art Cosmetics, was previously a Canadian hairstylist, make-up artist and photographer, who developed his own professional cosmetics because he felt that the existing lines couldn't link with the harsh lighting used in photography, stage , film and video work. Over the last 10 years, 160 shades of lipsticks in 7 different finishes, 150 eye shadows, 60 blushes and hair care have been created for the public. Toskan first started at his kitchen table with the help of his high school chemistry book. With Victor Casale, his chemist brother-in-law, he blended a few new colours. One year later, Toskan formed a partnership with Frank Angelo, a veteran entrepreneur (previous owner of a chain of beauty salons). At first they were turned down by banks, they had to mortgage everything in order to get the company going. M.A.C. was officially launched in 1985, in an old, run-down location in Toronto (Cabbagetown). For years M.A.C. was looked upon as too 'weird.' In1988, Toskan and Angelo had to beg downtown Simpsons -now the Hudson's Bay Company, to take their line of products. They were given a small corner and it soon became the most popular counter in the

The Manipulative Sirens and Their Victims in Margaret Atwoods Siren So

The Manipulative Sirens and Their Victims in Margaret Atwood's Siren Song In Homer's Odyssey, the Sirens are mythical creatures whose enchanting voices lure sailors to their deaths. These women have fascinated people ever since Homer sung the lines of his epic, inspiring artists of many genres from oil paintings to films. In her poem "Siren Song," Margaret Atwood re-envisions the Sirens to draw a comparison between the myths and modern life. Atwood portrays men as victims of "Sirens" (women) by making her readers the victims. Atwood begins her poem with the speaker mysteriously introducing a secret. Speaking to her audience, the Siren--whose role is played in real life by women and paralleled by poets--attracts attention immediately with her luring phrases and vocabulary: "This is the one song everyone / would like to learn: the song / that is irresistible..." (1-3). Even with the word "siren" screaming, "Warning! Danger!" the loud ringing serves only to catch more notice. Readers respond with interest, wanting to hear this song and wondering why it is "irresistible" (3). Atwood uses colons in this first stanza as her tool for pulling readers into her story. Her colons hint at the revelation of this great secret; readers must read on to discover it. Rather than stopping abruptly, Atwood carries her thought to the second stanza by beginning it with a lower case letter. However the speaker does not continue that thought by telling the secret right away as the reader would expect. Instead Atwood gives the speaker a seductive voice through her description of the enigmatic power of the Siren song. The speaker teases readers with evidence of its strength that "forces men / to leap overboard" (4-5), plunging to their deaths. ... ...t works every time" (27). In "Siren Song," Atwood plays off the mythical idea that Sirens seduce their victims in order to demonstrate the same manipulative tendencies in women and poets-women seduce men; poets seduce their readers. She proves her theory by exercising it and capturing her readers in her own poem. Her carefully crafted language forms a trap for her readers, demonstrating poetry's powerfully seductive nature. Readers become entranced in her story, and, after facing death as the Siren's (Atwood's) victims, her readers agree that this is "the song / that is irresistible..." (2-3) and "it works every time" (27). Works Cited Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Mentor, 1990. VanSpanckeren, Kathryn and Jan Garden Castro. Margaret Atwood: Vision and Forms. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1988.

Environmental Resources Worksheet Essay

Using the assigned readings from Week Four, write a 50- to 75-word response to each of the following questions. Your responses will be assessed according to the accuracy of the content. Minerals 1. How do minerals affect society? Minerals have aided in the continuous growth of developing nations and also, â€Å"had abundant mineral deposits that enabled them to industrialize† (Berg, 2013). However, as a consequence of industrialization, â€Å"these countries largely depleted their domestic reserves of minerals so that they must increasingly turn to developing countries† (Berg, 2013). Also, minerals affect the global economy. For example, China â€Å"controls more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth metals, has also reduced its exports to other countries, in a move that could affect market prices† (Berg, 2013). 2. What is the difference between metallic and nonmetallic minerals? Provide two examples from each category and discuss their uses. Minerals are divided into two categories: metals and nonmetallic minerals. Metals are â€Å"malleable, lustrous, and good conductors of heat and electricity†, while nonmetallic metals â€Å"lack these characteristics† (Berg, 2013) . Gold is a metal used for currency and iron is a metal used for steel buildings. Gypsum is a nonmetal that is used for drywall. Silicon is another nonmetal that is used for electronic devices. Mining 1. How are minerals extracted from the Earth and processed? There are two ways to extract minerals from the Earth, either surface mining or subsurface mining. Surface mining is done when minerals are closer to the surface. Subsurface mining is used when the minerals are too deep to be removed by surface mining. Smelting is the â€Å"process in which ore is melted at high temperatures to separate impurities from the molten metal† (Berg, 2013). 2. What are the different ways minerals can be mined? Provide a brief  description of at least three types of mining. What effect does extracting minerals have on the environment? Other than land damage, extracting minerals causes air pollution of the air, soil, and water. Also, it destroys vegetation and causes soil erosion. Possibly most importantly it affects the water supply. Mineral extraction â€Å"exposes large areas of dissolved toxic substances to precipitation, greatly accelerating polluted runoff† (Berg, 2013). Soil 3. What is your definition of soil? What is soil composed of? Why is soil important to the environment? Soil is the uppermost layer of the Earth and supports life on earth. Soil is composed of four parts: mineral particles, organic matter, water, and air. Soil is very important to the environment because various organisms depend on soil for life and â€Å"supports virtually all terrestrial food webs† (Berg, 2013). 4. What types of organisms are found in soil? Determine the relationship between soil and organisms. Ants, moles, snakes, and earthworms are just a small number of the many organisms that are found in soil. Essentially, organisms and soil depend on each other to remain balanced. Organisms that live in soil provide â€Å"ecosystem services, such as maintaining soil fertility, preventing soil erosion, breaking down toxic materials, and cleansing water† (Berg, 2013). 5. What is soil erosion? How can soil become polluted? What effect does soil erosion and pollution have on the environment? Soil erosion is the â€Å"wearing away or removal of soil from the land† (Berg, 2013). Being that soil erosion reduces the amount of soil in an area, vegetation growth can become very limited. As a result, it disrupts the balance of the ecosystem by eliminating food sources. 6. What is the purpose of soil reclamation? Soil reclamation can be executed by â€Å"(1) stabilizing the land to prevent further erosion and (2) restoring the soil to its former fertility. To stabilize the land, the bare ground is seeded with plants that eventually grow to cover the soil, holding it in place† (Berg, 2013). Once the soil is returned back to its original state, the land can be used again. Forestry and Rangeland Resources and Management Strategies 7. Differentiate between government-owned and public lands. Which government agencies are involved with government-owned lands? What is the purpose of government-owned lands? Government owned lands â€Å"provide vital ecosystem services that benefit humans living far from public forests, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands† (Berg, 2013). These places include national parks and provide protection for endangered species and flood and erosion control. Public land is available for recreational purposes such as hiking, swimming and boating. 8. Why is the forest an important ecosystem? What is your definition of forest management? What is its purpose? Describe the concept of sustainable forestry. The forest is an important ecosystem because it â€Å"provides many goods and services to support human society† (Berg, 2013). They also provide employment for millions of people worldwide. Forest management is the managing of timber production. The purpose of forest management is to produce as much timber as possible. 9. What effect does the harvesting of trees and deforestation have on forests and the environment? Is there a preferred method for harvesting trees? Explain. Both the harvesting of trees and deforestation result in â€Å"decreased soil fertility† (Berg, 2013). The vital minerals that are needed by soil are washed away because there are no trees to absorb them. Also, this takes away food sources and shelter for various organisms. This disrupts the delicate balance of ecosystems. Selective cutting, is when a small group of mature tress are individually cut or in small clusters. This means that the rest of the forest is left undisturbed. However, this method is expensive and does not generate timber needed quickly enough. 10. What is a rangeland? Describe rangeland degradation and desertification. What effect does degradation and desertification have on the environment? Is there a preferred method for harvesting trees? Explain. Rangelands are â€Å"grasslands, in both temperate and tropical climates, that serve as important areas of food production for humans by providing fodder for livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats† (Berg, 2013). Degradation is â€Å"both a natural and a human-induced process that decreases the future ability of the land to support crops or livestock† (Berg, 2013). Desertification is progressive degradation that produces desert-like conditions on land that was used previously and was plentiful. 11. What is  overgrazing? What effect does this have on rangelands? What strategies can be employed for managing and conserving forests and rangelands? Overgrazing is a â€Å"situation that occurs when too many grazing animals consume the plants in a particular area, leaving the vegetation destroyed and unable to recover† (Berg, 2013). When rangelands are overgrazed, â€Å"plants die, the ground is left barren, and the exposed soil is susceptible to erosion† (Berg, 2013). The rangelands have to be taken care of by practicing techniques that are environmentally friendly. Agriculture 12. What is the difference between industrialized and subsistence agriculture? What effect do these methods have on the environment? Industrialized agriculture are modern â€Å"agricultural methods that require large capital inputs and less land and labor than traditional methods† (Berg, 2013). Subsistence agriculture supports on the farmer and their family with little reserves. Industrialized agriculture causes pollution and lowers an ecosystem’s biodiversity. Subsistence agriculture relies on more human and animal labor and has a much smaller impact on the environment. 13. What is one agricultural challenge, other than soil erosion, that society faces? Explain your answer. One agricultural challenge that society faces is the lost of agricultural land. Countries are starting to expand and grow rapidly. With so much space being needed for expansion, this takes land that could have been used for agricultural purposes. The loss of rural land means that food will have to travel longer and use more resources to do so. 14. How would you describe sustainable agriculture? How does it affect the environment? In regards to agriculture, what are the advantages and disadvantages involved with genetic engineering? I would describe sustainable agriculture as agriculture that is better for the environment and leaves less of a footprint on the Earth. It also promotes high diversity. It has minimal long term impacts on the environment by using less pesticides and using biological diversity instead (predator-prey relationship). The advantage of genetic engineering is that any organism can be used and it takes less time to engineer another breed. The disadvantage is that there is yet to be seen what long term effects  genetic engineering has on the environment or on humans. Works Cited Berg, L. (2013). Visualizing Environmental Science (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.