Public Drinking and Violence: Not Just an Alcohol Problem Essay

The research article was published in Journal of Drug issue 22 in 1992. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach that uses words as the output and input of the research rather than focusing on numbers (Adlers and Clark, 2008). The writer also agrees with the notion that qualitative data have the ability to produce theories that accurately describe real-world issues and processes than do quantitative (Gary Fine and Kimberly Elsbacht, 2000). The researchers suggest that alcohol drinking is very much a part of the Australian culture, a routine activity for Australians. Research by Cohen and Felson (1975) linking routine daily activities with predatory crimes is made reference to by the researches. From this, the researchers state that assaults and homicides frequently involve alcohol in the offenders, victims or both. It is also noted that the researchers pointed to the issue that Australia was facing a hike in violence and made a statement that it was becoming a more violent and lawless country during that period of time. The question that the article wants to address, though, is not the established presence of alcohol intoxication in violent crime cases, but, rather, the researchers want to look into the environment that created the issue. By conducting observational research into pubs and clubs in Sydney, the study attempted to systematically examine the link between aspects of the environment of public drinking and the occurrence of violence. The research aimed to transcend the narrow debate on the effect of ethanol (the substance), by focusing on the total environment of drinking and its regulation (or lack of it) by management, police and public officials. The researchers established a theoretical framework by presenting several past research reports. In a study of serious assault in New South Wales by Robb (1988), the finding stated that 40% of them were nominated by police officers as involving alcohol. Moreover, assaults that come to police attention and are recorded by them frequently occur after midnight around pub closing times, and at least 20% take place in or around licensed premises. The researchers also mentioned a Sydney hospital survey claiming that in a year, many thousands of people, mostly young men, are injured sometimes quite seriously) as a result of assaults occurring in or around licensed premises (Cuthberth, 1990). The article presented a theory by McGregor suggesting that it is quite possible, for example, that male attitudes which legitimize the physical maltreatment of women, or environmental factors like crowding, discomfort, and aggressive bouncers in pubs and clubs, are the real cause of much alcohol related violence (McGregor, 1990). The researchers argued that the regulatory system was dragged down by the notion of the deserved misfortune of victims of pub violence and that this belief is partly responsible for the historic failure in Australia to recognize violence occurrence in, or around, licensed premises as a major societal problem, which has led to the lackluster of legislation and police regulation. This, in the end, has resulted in helping the entrenchment of negative environmental factors, making some establishments into something they dubbed and many more establishments violent on a less predictable basis. The researchers also cited two studies, one conducted in New Zealand and another in Vancouver as influential to their own work. The first study was conducted by Graves, Graves and Semu and Sam (1981) using records kept by security officers employed in twelve pubs in Auckland to examine the frequency and seriousness of pub violence there. The study found that Polynesian patrons drink more and are involved in more violence than European patrons. This was attributed to the former’s preference for drinking longer in larger groups and their tendency to be engaged in group activities rather than individual ones by the study. Thus, the study highlights the importance of patron mix, group sizes, and time spent drinking as variables. The second study by Graham et al (1980) was cited as especially valuable to the researchers as their research’s guide. The study was conducted in Vancouver and found several variables as being positively connected to the aggression; they include percentage of drunken patrons, percentage of American Indians, poor ventilation, the amount of sexual body contact, lack of cleanliness and hostile environment. The authors of the study stressed their view of the environment as an ecological system and implied that the overall effect of this ecology has more impact than the sum of the effects of individual variables. The researchers used the Vancouver study as their starting point for their own study. They used a qualitative method by relying more on unstructured observations on licensed premises, as these are the places where alcohol related aggression most likely will occur. To a lesser degree, they also used semi-structured interviews with some officials and security industry personnel for their study. The study aims to contrast between premises known to have many violence occurrences with the ones noted for their lack of them. Using this design, they hoped to explore the possible drinking settings that were associated with violence by observing any occurrence of violence, however small. The researchers identified 4 premises known for regular violence occurrences and 2 premises known for the lack of them on the basis of first-hand knowledge, police information and exploratory visits. Two observers visited those premises at least 5 times, each observation visit about 2 to 6 hours in duration. It is to be noted that the researchers sent an observation team to another 16 sites, at least once, making a total of 55 visits to 23 sites at 17 establishments. They stated that the total observation times they completed were 300 hours. In the results report, they observed 32 total assaults involving physical violence, excluding 9 rough ejections which were borderline assaults. The results amount to about 11 occurrences per one hundred hours of observation. This is much more than the 7. 4% showed in the Vancouver study. It is to be noted, though, that the researchers oversampled the violent premises and conducted many of the samplings late at night when violence was more likely to occur. Further result comparisons with the Vancouver study show that while the Vancouver study didn’t report any and serious physical injuries, the Sydney study claimed four and several occurrences were rated as physical by their observers. The results presented very interesting variables as the cause of violence occurrences. Presence of big males groups often spell trouble, while single males, groups of mixed males and females, and couples are less likely to be involved in a fight. The researchers also suggested that the boredom factor is one of the key variables in the cause of physical violence occurrence. Premises with entertainment like TVs, game machines and stage entertainment creates comfort levels that appease the patrons’ boredom level which resulted in less violence occurrence. The researchers also suggest that in live bands quality of music matters very much, and that small crowds of patrons entertained with bad quality music will more likely cause trouble than large crowds entertained by good quality music. It is to be noted that, despite all myths, rough pubs with rowdy crowds are not necessarily violent. The results also stressed high levels of drunkenness as a major issue in pubs, especially those caused by management styles encouraging such behaviour, along with the pubs’ staff behaviour, especially with the bouncers. Summarizing the results, the researchers attributed violence occurrences to interactions of several key variables. Some of them are groups of male strangers, high boredom, low comfort, high drunkenness and aggressive bouncers. The researchers pointed out that the NSW legislation bodies did not pay enough attention to the issue, and that there are major flaws in the NSW Liquor Act. They concluded that better regulation and legislation can help solve the problem. They cited Sherman et al (1989) suggesting that it is easier and more desirable to regulate the routine activities of the premises rather than trying to regulate the routine activities of the patrons. Jumping forward to the present day, the NSW Liquor Act 2007 addresses many points being brought up by this study. This includes the need and the enforcement of RSA certification to work in any premises that serve alcohol, fines to servers serving alcohol to intoxicated patrons, setting up 50 meters perimeter from the premises for ejected patrons, and mandating premises to provide free water and also to serve warm meals to help patrons deal with alcohol intoxication. Examining the Sydney study and its comparison with the Vancouver study, it might help for future studies to set up a standard for what constitute a brawl and serious physical injuries. Different observers will have different standards for these issues which might cause discrepancies, especially when studies are being compared with one another.

The Chemistry of Natural Water Essays - Water, Inorganic Solvents

The Chemistry of Natural Water Essays - Water, Inorganic Solvents The Chemistry of Natural Water INTRODUCTION The purpose of this experiment is to explore the hardness of the water on campus. Hard water has been a problem for hundreds of years. One of the earliest references to the hardness or softness of water is in Hippocrates discourse on water quality in Fifth century B.C. Hard water causes many problems in both in the household and in the industrial world. One of the largest problems with hard water is that it tends to leave a residue when it evaporates. Aside from being aesthetically unpleasing to look at, the build up of hard water residue can result in the clogging of valves, drains and piping. This build up is merely the accumulation of the minerals dissolved in natural water and is commonly called scale. Other than clogging plumbing, the build up of scale poses a large problem in the industrial world. Many things that are heated are often cooled by water running thru piping. The build up of scale in these pipes can greatly reduce the amount of heat the cooling unit can draw away from the source it is trying to heat. This poses a potentially dangerous situation. The build up of excess heat can do a lot of damage; boilers can explode, containers can melt etc. On the flip side of the coin, a build up of scale on an object being heated, a kettle for example, can greatly reduce the heat efficiency of the kettle. Because of this, it takes much more energy to heat the kettle to the necessary temperature. In the industrial world, this could amount to large sums of money being thrown into wasted heat. In addition to clogging plumbing and reducing heating efficiency, the build up of hard water also adversely affects the efficiency of many soaps and cleansers. The reason for this is because hard water contains many divalent or sometimes even polyvalent ions. These ions react with the soap and although they do not form precipitates, they prevent the soap from doing it's job. When the polyvalent ions react with the soap, they form an insoluble soap scum. This is once again quite unpleasing to look at and stains many surfaces. The sole reason for all these problems arising from hard water is because hard water tends to have higher than normal concentrations of these minerals, and hence it leaves a considerable amount more residue than normal water. The concentration of these minerals is what is known as the water's Total Dissolved Solids or TDS for short. This is merely a way of expressing how many particles are dissolved in water. The TDS vary from waters of different sources, however they are present in at least some quantity in all water, unless it has been passed through a special distillation filter. The relative TDS is easily measured by placing two drops of water, one distilled and one experimental on a hotplate and evaporating the two drops. You will notice that the experimental drop will leave a white residue. This can be compared to samples from other sources, and can be used as a crude way of measuring the relative TDS of water from a specific area. The more residue that is left behind, the more dissolved solids were present in that particular sample of water. The residue that is left, is in fact, the solids that were in the water. Another, perhaps more quantitative way of determining hardness of water is by calculating the actual concentrations of divalent ions held in solution. This can be done one of two ways. One is by serially titrating the water with increasing concentrations of indicator for Mg++ and Ca++ (we will be using EDTA). This will tell us the approximate concentration of all divalent ions. This method of serial titrations is accurate to within 10 parts per million (ppm) . Another possible method for determining the hardness of water is by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry or AA for short. AA is a method of determining the concentrations of individual metallic ions dissolved in the water. This is accomplished by sending small amounts of energy thru the water sample. This causes the electrons to assume excited states. When the electrons drop back

Create Your Own Tree Leaf Exhibit or Collection

Create Your Own Tree Leaf Exhibit or Collection The thrill of correctly identifying trees can be enhanced by properly collecting leaves to make a tree leaf collection and then mounting them in an exhibit. Some properly prepared collections have survived for over a century in botanical sections of museums. Obviously, the best time to collect green leaves is early in the leafing season but not so early that immature leaves can confuse the collector. The months of June and July provide the best leaf samples but you can find great leaf samples throughout the summer. To make a fall color collection you have to collect the leaf in autumn. I have seen many beautiful fall color collections. Collecting the Leaves for a Tree Leaf Collection When selecting leaves for your collection, avoid leaves damaged by insects, disease or the environment. Try to select leaves of about the same size and shape as a majority of the leaves on the tree. Make sure that the complete leaf is collected. Remember, simple leaves have only one blade or leaflet. Compound leaves have several to many leaflets. You must know these two leaf characteristics. Please review parts of a tree if you need more help on tree leaf and twig structures. Good leaf collections include the entire leaf attached to a small part of the twig with a lateral or terminal bud. The collected leaves should be handled carefully before being placed in a leaf press (more on this later) for final drying. Leaf specimens can be protected while collecting in the field by placing them between the pages of a magazine. All specimens should be removed from this temporary magazine press as soon as possible and placed in a leaf press. You should have identified and noted each leaf name and these names should follow the specimen until it is exhibited. Pressing Leaves Before leaves are prepared for the collection, they need to undergo a final drying and preserving process which can take up to six weeks. The best way to do this is by using a leaf press. The press not only preserves much of the leafs color and shape, it also reduces moisture to a point where mold and spoilage is minimized. Students given an assignment to make a leaf collection generally dont have weeks to prepare a collection. However, you must dedicate at least three to five days of press time for each leaf depending on its size and moisture content. Leaf exhibits become more attractive as the length of pressing time is extended. Although I recommend you use a real leaf press for best results, there is a low cost method used to press leaves. This method requires no special equipment and is outlined below. The method does demand a lot of space, a flat surface, and a tolerant family. Select a flat area on the floor, desk, or tabletop in a room with good air circulation.Prepare necessary sheets of unfolded newspaper adequate for the number of leaves you have collected. You want several paper thicknesses per layer between each pressing.Place the fresh leaf specimen(s) to be pressed on the first sheet layers. Be careful not to let leaves overlap or wrinkle by overcrowding. Then simply use additional layers of paper between more pressings.Cover the top and final layer of newspaper with stiff cardboard or plywood, which has been cut to the same size as the paper.Place sufficient weight (books, bricks, etc.) on top of the plywood/cardboard to press leaves flat and hold them in position. Exhibiting the Leaves These collected dried leaves are brittle and do not withstand repeated handling or rough treatment. You should keep the leaves in the press until time to mount them on the exhibit board (if that is what you are using). To preserve the beauty of the collection and add strength to the leaves, a clear plastic or acrylic spray finish may be added to them. To do this: Place leaves flat on a piece of newspaper or butcher paper.Apply the spray in a thin coat to the leaf surface.Allow leaves to dry completely between coats and before handling.Turn leaves over and apply a thin coat of acrylic spray to the underside of the leaf.Handle sprayed leaves only after they have dried completely. Either mount your entire collection on an exhibit board or place each leaf on a separate sheet of poster board or art paper (all cut to a size which will hold the largest leaf). Prepare the leaf for mounting by applying several drops of clear-drying glue to the back, place the leaf on the mounting surface and place weight on leaf until dry. Add an attractive label to each leaf and you are done! In the very least you should have included both the common tree name and the scientific name to each specimen (ex: Sweetgum or Liquidambar styraciflua).

An introduction to business and management Assignment

An introduction to business and management - Assignment Example is responsible for how tasks are done in the organization as it facilitates and puts into action all the directives that have come from the management of the organization (Functions of Human Resource Department, n.d). This implies that realization of organizational objectives and goals, which determines the performance of the organization, is in the responsibility of the HR department. To fulfill these goals, the HR department has various functions that are delegated to it. First, it has the responsibility of hiring new talent to fill specific spots in the organization. This is one of the most important roles of the HR department because it helps an organization in acquiring a set of skills that it requires. This comes with other objectives that include retention, which is determined by how the HR department treats the employees. The right set of skills is responsible for raising an organization’s profile and even in acquiring a competitive strategy. Second, the HR department trains and develops the employees. Following recruitment, this department trains the employees to acquire skills for performing in various segments of the organization. Third, HR department also plays the role of compensating the employees according to performance. Rewarding systems are developed according to organizations where some allow employees to suggest the rewards they would li ke while others are dictated. This department also has other roles such as determining salaries, dismissal, and safety of employees (Mayhew & Demand Media, 2015). Being a multinational business, Tesco should use online and social media recruitment as its key external recruitment method and emails as internal recruitment methods. External recruitment methods such as online recruitment have a key advantage of providing a wide pool of qualified individuals to choose from. In addition, this gives the organization a new set of skills and it is affordable because social media is free for most entities (Kleynhans,

Growth and world's cities Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Growth and world's cities - Assignment Example The city was founded in 1565 after the French flee the region. Currently, the city rests over a flat yet narrow plain situated between the foothills which lay between the Atlantic Ocean and the Highlands of Brazil, right over the shore residing on the Guanabara Bay. Though the public policy regarding urban planning in Brazil isn`t quite impressive, yet the city reflects considerable urban development which makes it one of the most anticipated tourist resorts. A few communities in Rio exhibit remarkable projects undertaken by private investors like their own waste collection and sewerage systems, gay care centers, considerably higher literacy rate, support centers for the elders, nutrition, recreational and sports centers, metropolitan hotels and other similar urban hubs. Yet, a few other areas seem to be lagging behind in terms of urban development. Rio de Janeiro grew over time to become what it is now. In the first few decades of the 20th century, Rio saw a drastic increase in its population to around 2 million. In 1927, when Antionio Prado was heading the state, the Agache Plan was incorporated into public policy regarding urban development which boosted the growth of the city in the context (Vojnovik 2013) . Thus, during the late 1920`s, th e city saw its golden age which continued till the 1950`s where high profile hotels like Copacabana Palace and the Hotel Gloria were built. Also, the city was turned into a destination for hollywood celebrities and other high profile people from all around the world. Thus, private investment flew in and urban resorts like the Copabana beach and the Santos Dumont airport was inaugurated, further giving the urban touch to the city. After the 1950`s, transportation infrastructure was the focus of the government along with industrial development, which further paved way for the development of advanced housing communities for the blue

Motivating the Employees Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Motivating the Employees - Case Study Example If Maryann is solely responsible for such behavior, then Burt can set Harriet Simon, who had always maintained the reports properly, as an example. However, Maryann failed to properly record the data, and this created grievances among the employees. Such irresponsible behavior by Maryann can considerably reduce the productivity of the employees. Burt needs to communicate to Maryann that such incident occurring due to her actions might lower the morale of the staff. In order to correct the irresponsible behavior of Maryann, it is quite imperative for Burt to act immediately – to identify the reasons for her actions and take corresponding measures to improve the behavior of Maryann and thus stimulate responsible work. Maryann must be reminded of the policies and the procedures of the company that she is supposed to abide by. The meeting can be conducted with Maryann and other employees to discuss the incidents of irresponsibility. During this meeting, the impacts of such unfavor able scenario on the organizational productivity should be addressed and certain corrective strategies developed. Burt could have prevented the dilemma by making his viewpoints apparent to Maryann at the time when he realized that the attitude of Maryann was quite unfavorable and she was incapable of accomplishing the delegated task. If Burt had corrected Maryann at the time she committed a mistake, he would have conveniently prevented the dilemma from occurring. If the evidence of poor performance had been produced before Maryann, the matter would have been resolved. When the evidence reveals the fact that there is an issue with an individual’s performance in terms of conduct, then it is necessary to refer to an organization’s disciplinary procedure. Training and coaching could have been offered to Maryann in order to improve her skills. Through adequate mentoring, Burt could have developed the knowledge  and the skills of Maryann. It is apparent from the case that Maryann was not serious enough and also did not properly focus on her job responsibilities.  

Examining The Importance Of System Investigation Information Technology Essay

Examining The Importance Of System Investigation Information Technology Essay Fact-finding is an important activity in system investigation. In this stage, the functioning of the system is to be understood by the system analyst to design the proposed system. Various methods are used for this and these are known as fact-finding techniques. The analyst needs to fully understand the current system. The analyst needs data about the requirements and demands of the project undertaken and the techniques employed to gather this data are known as fact-finding techniques. Tools, such as data and process models, document facts, and conclusions are drawn from facts. If facts are not collected, tools can ¿Ã‚ ½t be used effectively and efficiently. After gathering needed information of the system the analyst should record them in a proper way which is known as fact-recoding methods. What are the facts to be collected Any information System can be examined in terms of four building blocks:  ¿Ã‚ ½ Data: The raw material used to create useful info.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Processes: The activities that carry out the mission.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Interfaces: How the system interacts with people.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Geography: Where data is stored, processes interfaces happen. Fact-finding skills must be learned and practiced. Systems analysts need an organized method of collecting facts. They especially need to develop a detective mentality to be able to discern relevant facts. When do perform fact-finding  ¿Ã‚ ½ System Analysis Phase. ? Study Phase. ? Definition Phase. ? Selection Phase.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Design.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Post Implementation Review. Fact-finding techniques Various kinds of techniques are used and the most popular among them are, 1. Interviews. 2. On-Site Observation. 3. Investigation. 4. Questionnaire. 1. Interviews Interview is a very important data gathering technique. Analysts can use interviews to collect information about the current system form the potential users. Here the analysts discover the areas of misunderstanding, unrealistic exception and descriptions of activities and problems along with resistance to the new proposed system. Goal of interview  ¿Ã‚ ½ Find facts, verify facts, and clarify facts.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Generate enthusiasm.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Get end user involved.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Identify requirements. Steps involved  ¿Ã‚ ½ Set the stage for the interview.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Establish rapport; put the interviewee at ease.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Phrase questions clearly and succinctly.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Be a good listener; avoid arguments.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Evaluate the outcome of the interview. The interviews are of two types namely, Structured Interview Structured interviews are those where the interviewee is asked a standard set of questions in a particular order. All interviewees are asked the same set of questions. The questions are further divided in two kinds of formats for conducting this type of interview.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Open-response format e.g. Why are you dissatisfied with the current scheduling method?  ¿Ã‚ ½ Closed-response format e.g.. Are you satisfied with the current scheduling methods? Do you think that the manual scheduling procedure be changed with some automated procedure? Unstructured Interview The unstructured interviews are undertaken in a question-and-answer format. This is of a much more flexible nature than the structured interview and can be very rightly used to gather general information about the system. Here the respondents are free to answer in their own words. In this way their views are not restricted. So the interviewer gets a bigger area to further explore the issues pertaining to a problem. Advantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Can motivate the interviewee to respond freely.  ¿Ã‚ ½ More feedback can be probed.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Can adapt or reword questions for each individual.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Extra information from body movement and facial expressions. Disadvantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Time consuming.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Requires good communication skills.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Requires good interviewing skills.  ¿Ã‚ ½ May be impractical due to location constraints.  ¿Ã‚ ½ The interviewee may not answer/give appointment. 2. On-Site Observation On-site observations are one of the most effective tools with the analyst where the analyst personally goes to the site and discovers the functioning of the system. As an observer, the analyst can gain first hand knowledge of the activities, operations, processes of the system on-site, hence here the role of an analyst is of an information seeker. This information is very meaningful as it is unbiased and has been directly taken by the analyst. This exposure also sheds some light on the actual happenings of the system as compared to what has already been documented, thus the analyst gets closer to the system. This technique is also time-consuming and the analyst should not jump to conclusions or draw inferences from small samples of observation rather the analyst should be more patient in gathering the information. This method is however less effective for learning about peoples perceptions, feelings and motivations. Mainly observation categorized into two, Formal observation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Observation a person by him being noticed. Informal observation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Observing a person without him being noticed. Do ¿Ã‚ ½s  ¿Ã‚ ½ Obtain permission from appropriate supervisors or managers.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Prepare special forms to record data.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Determine who, what, where, why, when and how of the observation.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Takes notes immediately or after the observation.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Review the observation notes with appropriate individuals.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Also observe during low, normal, and peak periods of operations. Don ¿Ã‚ ½ts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Don ¿Ã‚ ½t interrupt the individuals work.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Don ¿Ã‚ ½t focus on trivial activities.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Don ¿Ã‚ ½t make assumptions. Advantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Observation of people at work provides first hand experience of the way that the current system operates.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Data are collected in real time and can have a high level of validity if care is taken in how the technique is used.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Observation can be used to verify information from other sources or to look for exceptions to the standard procedure.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Baseline data about the performance of the existing system and of users can be collected. Disadvantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ The act of observation alters the behavior.  ¿Ã‚ ½ The act of made may not involve the difficulty and volume normally experienced during that time period.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Some task may not always be performed in the manner in which they are observed.  ¿Ã‚ ½ People may not let u see what you want to see. 3. Investigation Third fact finding technique is to thoroughly investigate the application and problems. The analyst has to read computer journals, reference books, internet white papers and case-studies for investigation. The Analyst can visit other companies or departments which have addressed similar problems. Advantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Can save time if solution already exists.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Investigator can see how others have solved similar problems or met similar requirements.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Keeps investigator up to date with current developments. Disadvantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Requires access to appropriate sources of information.  ¿Ã‚ ½ May ultimately not help in solving problem because problem is not documented elsewhere. 4. Questionnaire Questionnaires are another way of information gathering where the potential users of the system are given questionnaires to be filled up and returned to the analyst. Questionnaires are useful when the analyst need to gather information from a large number of people. It is not possible to interview each individual. Also if the time is very short, in that case also questionnaires are useful. If the anonymity of the respondent is guaranteed by the analyst then the respondent answers the questionnaires very honestly and critically. Just like the interviews and on the same lines questionnaires are of two types. Open-Response Based Questionnaires The objective of open-response questionnaire is to gather information and data about the essential and critical design features of the system. The open-ended question requires no response direction or specific response. This form is also used to learn about the feelings, opinions, and experiences of the respondents. This information helps in the making the system effective because the analyst can offer subsequent modifications as per the knowledge gained. e.g. What additional reports would you require from the System? Closed-Response Based Questionnaires The objective of closed-response questionnaire is to collect the factual information of the system. It gives an insight in how the people dealing with the system behave and how comfortable are they with it. In this case the respondents have to choose from a set of given responses. Thus the respondent can express their liking for the most favorable one from the possible alternatives. The closed questions can be of various types and the most common ones are listed below. e.g. 1. Yes/No Question Do you print reports from the existing System? (please circle the appropriate answer) Yes No 2. Multiple Choice Questions How many new surgery appointments do you obtain in a year? (please tick one box only) 3. Scaled Questions How satisfied are you with the response time of the patients ¿Ã‚ ½ records update? (please circle one options) Advantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Can be answered quickly.  ¿Ã‚ ½ An economical way of gathering data from a large number of people.  ¿Ã‚ ½ If the questionnaire is well designed, then the results can be analysed easily, possibly by computer. Disadvantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Good questionnaires are difficult to construct.  ¿Ã‚ ½ There is no automatic mechanism for follow up or probing more deeply, although it is possible to follow up with an interview by telephone or in person if necessary.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Postal questionnaires suffer from low response rates. Conclusion Interview is the most suitable fact-finding technique of gathering information for Victoria Hospital System. Because there are small numbers of people are working, hence result can be produced in a short period of time, easy to evaluate the result, more feedback can be a probed and new ides may arise. Fact-recording methods and standards The fact recording is a reverence for facts and knowing how to look for them. You do not go into data collection with a predetermined opinion of the design of the final procedure. You let the facts tell you what shape the procedure should take. But, you must be able to find facts and know how to record them. This is done by breaking down the procedure into steps and listing them in proper sequence, without leaving things out. The analyst keeps his or her attention on the subject being charted, follows its flow, step by step, and is not distracted by other subjects that could easily lead off onto tangents. The analyst becomes immersed in the data collection, one flow at a time. Record what is actually happening, not what should happen or could happen. When later you have them neatly organized and present them for study the facts will assert their authority as they tell their story. Software Standard A Software Standard is a standard, common format of a document, file, or data transfer accepted and used by one or more software developers while working on one or more than one software programs. Software standards enable interoperability between different programs created by different developers. Software standards consist of certain terms, concepts, data formats, document styles and techniques agreed upon by software creators so that their software can understand the files and data created by a different software program. To be considered a standard, a certain protocol needs to accepted and incorporated by a group of developers who contribute to the definition and maintenance of the standard. Developers prefer using standards for software development because of the efficiencies it provides for code development and wider user acceptance and use of the resulting application. The followings are computer and paper based fact-recording methods and standard documentation techniques, which are being used in software development.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Data flow diagrams  ¿Ã‚ ½ Context diagrams  ¿Ã‚ ½ Flow charts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Decision tables  ¿Ã‚ ½ Grid charts Data flow diagrams  ¿Ã‚ ½ Graphically describe the flow of data within an organisation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Composed of four basic elements represented by standard symbols: Basic data flow diagram Context diagrams  ¿Ã‚ ½ Show major data flows into and out of a system  ¿Ã‚ ½ Describe each subsystem as a process showing interrelationship of those subsystems and their relationship to main system  ¿Ã‚ ½ Depict logical flow of data in summary form  ¿Ã‚ ½ The starting point for studying any system  ¿Ã‚ ½ Depict the system at its highest level  ¿Ã‚ ½ Referred to as level zero data flow diagrams Flow charts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Document physical flows determined after logical data flows have been documented using data flow diagrams Flow chart symbols Advantages and disadvantages of flow charts Advantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Enable any system to be represented in easily understandable manner  ¿Ã‚ ½ Overall picture of system easily seen  ¿Ã‚ ½ Highlight relationship among different parts of the system Disadvantages  ¿Ã‚ ½ Creation can be time-consuming  ¿Ã‚ ½ Numerous symbols can be confusing  ¿Ã‚ ½ Process may not be completely representable using symbols There are three types of flow chart, namely 1. System flow charts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Show the relationship between input, processing and output including data, documents and storage  ¿Ã‚ ½ Represent the relationship between various processes 2. Document flow charts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Emphasise the flow of documents between various people, groups and departments of an organisation. 3. Program flow charts  ¿Ã‚ ½ Show the detailed steps of a computer program  ¿Ã‚ ½ Show the logic and processing steps used to develop a computer program Decision tables  ¿Ã‚ ½ List the decision logic of a program flow chart in tabular form  ¿Ã‚ ½ Constructed with two main columns and two rows: ? First row is further divided into a number of rows of conditions ? Second row is further divided into a number of rows of actions The decision table tells us the following  ¿Ã‚ ½ if stock is not available and floor stock is not being sold, collect 10% advance  ¿Ã‚ ½ if stock is available but delivery is not within three days, collect 10% advance  ¿Ã‚ ½ if stock is available and delivery within three days, collect full value of sale  ¿Ã‚ ½ if stock is not available but floor stock is being sold within three days, collect full value of sale  ¿Ã‚ ½ if stock is not available but floor stock is being sold after three days, collect 10% advance Grid charts A grid chart is a type of chart that shows the interaction of two data points at the grid intersection of their respective axes.