The narrative section of a companys annual report provides users with Essay

The narrative section of a companys annual report provides users with useful information on the companys performance and prospects - Essay Example Thus, a quality narrative report about a company is extremely essential for sound assessments and evaluation; it creates a platform for the organization to be evaluated when on matters that deal with corporate governance and company performance. Corporate governance is always deemed to improve the organization’s long tern outcomes. Narrative reporting has a number of significances to the firm, shareholders, potential customers, lenders and investors. To start with, a narrative report is deemed as a document for the potential investors and lenders. An accurately prepared narrative report provides the organization with a document that can be presented to the lenders and investors who have expressed their interest in the company’s business or even potential stakeholders that can be approached for funding. Thus, preparing an objective and clear narrative report for the purposes other than evaluation of the firm’s general progress is useful as it can be presented to other parties outside the organization. Secondly, a narrative report is useful since it enables the company to reflect on the direction a business has taken in both previous and present years. A number of questions and comparisons must be drawn so as the report can cover or rather answer many of the questions being asked by the organization or the public. The way this information is presented, it must be easily understood by both the members of the organization and the public in order to communicate its intentions (Yeoh, 2010). In addition, a narrative report that has a snapshot of the organization’s capabilities trend that traces all the transactions or activities in previous years. Thus, this document will provide useful information that can act as proof whether the company has always been operating within the affordable or sustainable margins that earn it reasonable profits (Anderson, 1981). Furthermore, a narration report that includes

How a Cellular Phone System Works Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How a Cellular Phone System Works - Assignment Example The cells can either take a hexagonal or circular shape. One cell can operate multiple radio towers. People can simultaneously use their cell phones due to the widespread frequency reuse within a city. The cells enable cellular phones to have incredible range as they can automatically switch as people move around. A cellular network’s range is not limited as compared to that of a walkie-talkie (1.1 miles) and a CB radio (4.9 miles). Frequencies also shift between cells when an individual is on a call while in motion. As a cellular phone moves away from its cell, change in signal strength is detected by the cell’s base station. The next base station being approached detects the increasing signal strength. The two base stations in the two cells coordinate, through a Mobile-Telephone Switching Office, and the user is ‘handed over’ to the next cell automatically. The shift makes it possible for someone to drive across a city while using a cell phone, and keep up a conversation for the entire period (Wisniewski, 36). A cell phone differs from both CB radios and walkie-talkies, which are both half-duplex devices. It is able to use multiple frequencies, hence a full-duplex device. An individual can use one frequency for listening and a second frequency for talking. The multi-tasking capability of a cellular phone is that, two people on a call can talk simultaneously. The towers in these cells transmit a two-way frequency maximizing the capabilities of cellular phones as full-duplex devices. Nonadjacent cells can use the same frequencies severally since base stations and cell phones employ low-power transmitters, which ensure that transmissions do not go very far from a cell and the cell phones around it. Low-power transmitters have a stake at the shape of cellular phones since they ensure that the power consumption of the phone is relatively low hence a small battery. Similar frequencies must

Most Appropriate Ethics System For The Accounting Profession Philosophy Essay

Most Appropriate Ethics System For The Accounting Profession Philosophy Essay I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do (Brown, 2008, p. 1). The world we live in comes in diverse and multifaceted societies. The United States is considered to have violent societies in the industrialized world. One set of apprehensions has to do with crime and destructive behavior rioting, shooting or mugging. However, concerns for the moral improvement of professionals deal with different issues. Professionals, by virtue of having made it through years of schooling and supervised work, usually have average impulse control, self-discipline, self-regulation abilities, ego strength, and social skills (Rest Narvaez, 1994). The United States has a long tradition of creation of wealth through stakeholders. For more than a decade, however, the public has shown a rising sensitivity to unethical behavior due to the pursuit of power and money. Public trust in the services offered by professional accountants has declined in recent years due to occurrences of unethical behavior in the profession (Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassini, 2004). The unethical behavior of managers is an issue that is likely to stay in the public eye for quite some time. A 1987 popular movie portrayed the dishonest dealings of people involved in securities trading based on nonpublic information. The primary character was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, who, in a dramatic scene says, Greed is good! The connotation is that greed is an acceptable motivation and that people in business will do anything to make money, which includes engagement to unethical behavior. Accountants have significant role in the public eye. In performing their task they are asked to take certain roles. They accept at the same time the resulting obligations and moral responsibilities by accepting certain roles. Accountants can be found performing daily tasks in situations governed by a complex set of rules, principles, and practices (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004). In performing their roles, accountants face formal or legal rules of behavior, but also moral elements created by specific situations. According to Theodore Roosevelt, To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society. The societies are governed with values by which people live. The system of values is referred to as philosophy. The principles and rules people use to decide what is right or wrong are referred to as moral philosophy. Ethics is the study that is concerned with the nature of ultimate value, and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong (Rainbow, 2002). Society has higher expectations ethically of professionals and, as a consequence, the law holds them to a higher standard of due care. One of the characteristics that differentiate a profession from an occupation is the code of ethics that guides the profession. It is true that ethical standards cannot be codified to cover every situation. However, if professionals desire to strive for the higher levels of ethical behavior, there needs to be a more effective understanding and application of clear and uniform standards of right and wrong. Various accounting organizations promote high standards of ethical behavior. One of which is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which is a professional organization that serves certified public accountants who work for public accounting firms or other organizations. The code of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) emphasizes the obligations of the certified public accountants to serve the public interest, and their responsibility to act with integrity, objectivity, independence and in professional care. Specific responsibilities of the accounting profession are expressed in the various codes of ethics promulgated. According to Zucker (1986), the basis upon which the accounting profession was founded and continues to exist is public trust, which is the degree to which the public has confidence in the services provided by the accounting profession. There are various categories of ethical perspectives or models of ethical thinking that are applicable to accounting. Two well-known frameworks of ethical system theories are utilitarian and the deontological. Accountants can best understand these ethical views by comparing and contrasting the fundamental moral principles of each ethical theory, and determining which ethics system is most appropriate for the accounting profession. Utilitarian Ethics Utilitarianism is an ethical system that is most often attributed to philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism is the ethical principle that considers an action to be morally right or wrong based solely on the consequences that result from performing it. The right action is the one that brings the best consequences or the greatest amount of utility. It advocated the rule and goal of the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Maximizing the happiness within the society is believed to be the most ethical thing to do. It is thus frequently considered as consequentialism since it believes that outcomes can be predicted and because it judges actions based on their outcomes. John Stuart Mill says: Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principles, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness is intended to be pleasure, the absence of pain, and the privation of pleasure. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory of conduct where, under any given circumstances, an action is objectively right, if it will generally produce the greatest amount of happiness, taking into account all whose happiness is affected by the conduct. Under this system, the merits of an action are evaluated by considering the total benefits and the total cost created by the action for human society (Darwall, 2003). The rules ensure the greatest good for the most people and speed-up the decision-making process. The rules do not guarantee a positive outcome all the time, but generally following the rules generates positive outcomes. One of the major problems of utilitarianism is the ambiguity of the statement, The greatest good for the greatest number of people. For example, there are ten units of pleasures to be distributed to ten people. The easiest way to give them out is giving each a unit of pleasure. But suppose four people passionately love the units of pleasure and the other six do not care about the units of pleasure. Then would it make sense if two units of pleasure will be given to the four people who passionately love them, and none to the five or six people who do not care? So the problem of fairness is present, as well as the problem of how things should be distributed. Ultimately, when goods are maximize, some people get much and the others get a few or nothing at all. For example, an accountant takes a companys money for a few days and deposits it in his own account before putting it in the account of the company, thereby personally gaining the interest on the businesss money. It might be in his best interest, but in the best interest of the greater number of people. It is an unethical action since it will clearly harm more people more that it will help; the action is unjustified since it can harm others. Another example is the act of bribery, which is generally wrong. Bribery could be considered a general guideline by the utilitarian ethical system. If paying a bribe generated a contract which would keep a firm in business and people gainfully employed, a utilitarian may conclude that bribery is justified. The utilitarianism recognizes this subjection, and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and of law. Ethical systems which attempt to question this way of livi ng, deal in sounds instead of sense, on impulse instead of reason, in darkness instead of light (Alexander, 2007, p. 1). Furthermore, in utilitarianism, the decision of which things should be counted as good is also dilemma. The system assumes that what people prefer is what is good, thus the good can only be judged by demand. Utilitarianism asserts that one should always act so as to produce the greatest ratio of good to evil for everyone (Tsalikis and Fritzsche, 1989). An act will be considered ethical if it produces a greater balance of good over evil in any given situation; the question then lies with whose good is trying to be promoted. Therefore, some will argue that this system supports egoism, because most likely a person will promote the good of the individual. The ultimate goal, though, was not the happiness of the individual, but the happiness of society (Rossouw, 1998). Deontological Ethics Deontological ethics is the ethics of duty and obligations. One of the most significant insinuations of deontology is that a behavior of the person can be wrong even if it results in the best possible outcome, and an act can be considered righteous even if it results in a negative outcome. According to Reindenbach, Robin, and Dawson (1991), deontologists have a duty to satisfy legitimate claims. These claims are determined by applying logic to an ethical principle, bearing in mind that one owes many diverse duties to others. Deontology is referred to as non-consequentialism, ethical formalism, or ethics of respect-for-persons (Ferrell Fraedrich, 1997). The deontology principle states that decisions should be judged on the circumstances in which they are made, rather than by their consequences. It means, specifically, ethics based on duty in spite of consequences. There are many variations of deontology. The most significant attempt to construct a deontological approach to ethics is found in Immanuel Kants Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. He begins this work by observing that only a good will is unconditionally good. For Kant, it is impossible to conceive anything in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except a good will. So what about intellectual qualities such as intelligence or good judgment or qualities of character, such as perseverance or courage? Kants answer has no basis for these good qualifications. Although such qualities are considered good in many situations, they can also be used for evil purposes as well. Deontologists hold that some choices cannot be justified by their effects; no matter how morally good their consequences, some choices are morally prohibited. On deontological accounts of ethics, one cannot make certain wrongful choices, even if by doing so the number of wrongful choices will be minimized-others will be prevented from engaging in similar wrongful choices. Deontologists believe that what makes a choice right is its conformity with a moral norm. Such norms are to be simply obeyed by each moral agent; such norm-keepings are not to be maximized by each agent. In this sense, for deontologists, the right has priority over the good. If an act is not in accord with the right, it may not be undertaken, no matter the good that it might produce-this includes even a good consisting of acts in accordance with the right. Correct decisions include all choices where the voluntary actions of any one person can be harmonized in reality with the voluntary actions of every other person (Kant, 1965, p. 1). Kant explains that this idea is according to the universal law of freedom. The formality of this approach may be considered a weakness, but it is, in fact, strength; it permits for considering all possible conditions. Furthermore, it is transformation into positive law is the core of the art of legislation. Ultimately, deontology promotes a duty of making the best moral decision. Kant gives several formulas to help decide what makes-up this duty. For Kant, all practical judgments are imperatives. The qualified ones are referred to as the hypothetical imperatives and the unqualified oaths are referred to as categorical imperatives. What determines the goodness or badness is whether the decisions accomplish the goal. For example, a person is situated in the fourth floor of the building and desires to go to the cafeteria that is situated in the next building. So what can he do now? One choice is to could jump out of the window. Of course he or she could probably break a leg; such action would be imprudent. So the prudent thing to do is to take an elevator down or walk down the stairs in order to transfer to the next building to the cafeteria. The deontological theory states that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when analyzing an ethical dilemma. This means that a person will follow his obligations to another individual or society because upholding his duty is what is considered ethically correct. For instance, a deontologist will, all the time, keep his promises to a friend, as well as follow the law. A person who follows this theory will produce very sound decisions that are consistent, since they will be based on the individuals set duties (Rainbow, 2002). AICPA Code of Ethics The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct consists of two main parts: Principles and Rules. The Principles provide the framework for the rules. The Rules provide specific guidance in the performance of professional services of AICPA members. The Principles are set out in six Articles and a Preamble. The Preamble articulates the role that the Principles play. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Guide members in the performance of their professional responsibilities and express the basic tenets of ethical and professional conduct. The Principles call for an unswerving commitment to honorable behavior, even at the sacrifice of personal advantage (AICPA, 2008, Preamble). Article I consist of the responsibilities of the AICPA member. It admonishes members as a group to carry out special responsibility of self governance. Article II states that the accounting profession has a duty to serve the publics interest. The public to be served consists of clients, credit grantors, governments, employers, investors, the business and financial community, and others who rely on the objectivity and integrity of certified public accountants to maintain the orderly functioning of commerce. Since the public relies on accountants, the accountant has a reciprocal obligation to be dedicated to professional excellence. Article III calls for an accountant to act with integrity. This requires the accountant to be completely honest and without deception. The honesty exhibited by a person acting with integrity can never compromise that obligation of client confidentiality. However, personal gain can never be put ahead of public interest. Persons acting with integrity will nev er be deceitful. Article II measures integrity in terms of what is right and just. Article IV specifically addresses the two traits of objectivity and independence-the hallmark of an accountant. Objectivity requires a freedom from conflicts of interest, honesty and impartiality. Independence requires freedom that may compromise objectivity. Article V sets out the standards for the services rendered as due care. Each person is expected to evaluate his or her own competence and to obtain the advice of others when necessary. Diligence means that the person will be prompt, thorough, careful and timely. Appropriate planning and supervision will be done by one who is diligent. Finally, Article VI states that each person will consider all the ethical principles when deciding to accept or reject a request for services. Last, the second section of the Code of Professional Conduct consists of a series of rules related to each of the above stated principles. The rules are very specific in thei r application. Rules are thought of as should nots. Conclusion The Code of Professional Conduct sets the standards and rules for professional accountants, regarding their moral and professional obligations toward one another, their clients, and society as a whole. Accountants must obey this code. Having canvassed the two main frameworks of ethical systems, it is not difficult to assess which of the two ethical systems is generally best for the accounting profession. On one hand, the utilitarian perspective about ethics claims that humans are supposed to take those actions that lead to the greatest balance of good consequences versus bad consequences. The utilitarian ethical system is plagued by an indirect and direct paradox. Indirectly, why follow the rules when not doing so produces better consequences? This, however, directly collapses into: do not follow the rules whenever better consequences can thereby be produced. Utilitarians will depart from the rules mistakenly, believing better consequences will result. On the other hand, the deontological perspective is about categorical imperative, moral obligation and duty. It leaves space for agents to give special concern to their friends, families and projects. It places a cap on that dutys demands. Deontological morality, therefore, avoids the overly demanding and alienating aspects of utilitarianism and accords more with conventional notions of our moral duties. The acts for a deontological system are not morally wrong. Furthermore, deontological system can account for strong, cross-cultural moral intuitions better than utilitarian system. With a comprehensive set of rules, the AICPA yearns is for its members to follow them. Almost everyone believes that the law or rules has a very important function morally. Not all accounting decisions will turnout the best results, but working towards a good decision with a good result should be goal of all accountants, as well as all people. Thus, deontological ethics is the best choice for the accounting professions, and matches-up with the AICPAs code of conduct.

Stanhope from Journeys End by RC Sheriff Essay -- Journeys End Hero

Stanhope from Journey's End Stanhope provides the most obvious candidate for the accolade of â€Å"hero† in Journey’s End: R.C.Sherriff has included many themes in Journey’s End; a play portraying the reality of trench warfare. Some of these include Comradeship, The horrors of war, Heroism and Relationships. My essay will be focusing mainly on the theme of heroism. The audience relate the word â€Å"hero† with mainly one character in the play. But the word hero has many positive connotations. A hero could be a person who â€Å"saves the day† or is a hero in somebody else’s eyes or maybe even his personality and how he interacts with other characters could also give him the status of being a hero. There are many aspects of Stanhope which rightfully award him the status of being a hero. The audience is first introduced to the possibility of Stanhope being a hero when we first meet Raleigh. A keen and un-experienced officer, Raleigh forces himself into Stanhope’s battalion. Stanhope was Raleigh’s hero ever since high school, and when he joins the company he expects to some e...

Creating a Student Portal for Bataan Peninsula State University Essay

The project is to create a Student Portal for Bataan Peninsula State University. Its purpose is to raise the availability of certain students’ records like the grades, finances/billing, and curriculum checklist. Along with, is the process of encoding students’ final grades and the forming of the dean’s list. Using the student portal, data can be accessible at any time and location over the Internet. Background of the Study The Bataan Peninsula State University was established by virtue of Republic Act 9403, signed into law on 22nd of March 2007. It is a conglomeration of fine leading higher education institutions in Bataan seeking  to contribute to the national and regional development through providing excellent quality of services in instruction, research, production and extension. Guided by one Vision of becoming a university of excellence acknowledged not only in the country but also in the Asia-Pacific Region, BPSU shall continue to gear toward the realization of its mission of providing quality and relevant education in order to contribute to the national and regional development. Before the conversion, BPSU used to have three campuses; two are located in the City of Balanga while the third is situated in Orani. The passage  of RA 9403 resulted to the expansion of BPSU’s campuses as the said Act duly integrated the Bataan State College in Dinalupihan and its satellite campus in Abucay (formerly Bataan National Agricultural School). The five campuses of the university have very humble beginnings and yet they all emerged with glorious histories to be proud of. More empowerment is expected to be bestowed to each campus as their strengths shall be utilized for the success of the 111 programs and other services of the university. On June 2008, the University made education more accessible to the residents of the towns of  Bagac and Morong by establishing an extension in the Municipality of Bagac. The extension offers some of the most in demand courses in the country like BS Entrepreneurship, BS Hotel and Restaurant Management, first two years of Nursing, and General Engineering courses. Contributing to national development has always been the topmost priority of the university; therefore BPSU relentlessly keeps itself updated on the recent trends to be responsive to the present and future demands of the community. At present university has three programs granted with Level 1 Accreditation from AACCUP. Fifty-six (56) programs are scheduled for accreditation from 2008 to 2012. Moreover, the university continues to equip itself with faculty and employees who have remarkable skills and knowledge in order to uphold academic excellence and maintain its capacity of producing quality graduates. At present, 6 percent of its faculty have Doctorate degrees and 31 percent have master’s degrees. The rest are still working on their post-baccalaureate studies. It is not surprising that the enrollment continues to increase over the years as the university has proven its capability to match and even to surpass  the performance of other reputable universities in the country in various competitions and also in the licensure exams. Other than this, low tuition fee rates, and pollution-free and safe environment further encourage the Bataenos and those from other nearby provinces to patronize BPSU. For BPSU, a life without challenges to conquer would be futile as the university always stretches the limit to adapt to the changes and to turn trials into opportunities. Even cuts in the budget will not impede BPSU from attaining its goals. Aside from relying on its several IGPs to augment the  budget and sustain its programs, the university continues to strengthen and to establish partnerships with local and international agencies that are more than willing to work side by side BPSU as it continues its journey towards a more dignified future. [bpsu. edu. ph] Every educational institution has its sole priority to give the best learning out from their best performances of teachings, processes and resources to their students. And, BPSU which is one of these institutions had already proven that they can absolutely give it. In the University’s actual operation, there are lots of offices and  departments that are responsible on producing, maintaining and keeping every student’s records. Two of these are the Registrar’s department and the Finance’s department. Along the Registrar’s department is where the student’s documents are piled. Student’s documents consisting of personal data and academic information from their previous schools and from BPSU itself which are produced due to the span of years of the student’s admission in the University, for instance, are the grades. Another department mentioned is the Finance’s department; this also conducts one of the main tasks required for tracking the admission of the  student every school year. That task is to keep files with regards to all of their finances, including all of the payments that are made, balances and other financial issues. These certain information of a student can also be found in the enrollment system that was used by the Registrar’s Office, it is how the Registrar has the authority to view the financial status of a student. Students must know every transaction that was made in the University especially when it has to do with their own concerns. They must always be informed of all the latest records that were kept and reported to  the offices responsible for their stay-in within the institution. On the registrar’s part, a student is not allowed to have an update or a look within their record every time they desired. Considering that the registrar is also busy for other major works assigned to him. Seemingly, it will just consume time and effort for finding a particular record in their repositories. A student can only be given the opportunity, which depends on the situation. Naturally, grades were available every end of the semester in a printed form, though, some of the instructors are considerate in informing a student of the grades as often as possible. While on the finance office part, the records kept are confidential. In order for a student to be informed of the balances remaining on their account, the student should ask the finance officer. But it’s not that simple, as the officer is not free to answer every student’s questions or uncertainties at anytime. At some point in a semester, the finance’s department issues the statement of account of each student that still has remaining balances that must be paid in order to be given a permit that is a requirement before taking an examination On pondering on these unwanted situations experienced by the  students, the thought of having a medium that will grant access to student’s account as often as they want sprung up. The medium is what we called a Students’ Portal. A portal or a web portal, also known as a links page, presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search engine feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases and entertainment. Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases, which  otherwise would have been different entities altogether. Some related studies are researched and included on the documentation for further comprehension of the proposed system. †¢Orani Water District Intranet Based Public Information Kiosk This thesis is made by the IPiK Group, BSIT students of Colegio de San Juan de Letran – Bataan that aims to create an integrated public access information system to be used by employees and visitors of Orani Water District that will improve the current process of dissemination of information. Also, the developers target the replacement of old bulletin boards with digital ones. All the information contained and posted on a bulletin board will be encoded and displayed in a public access computer, with a web-based interface to access the information. The public access computer will be implemented in a client-server environment. A domain controller will be used to apply access control and policies to the public access computer. The officer-in-charge only has to encode the information on the system rather than printing it and then posting it on the bulletin board. The system will only be updated by an administrator. The company’s system administrator will handle the updates and backups. The backups will be made using MS SQL Server 2005’s automatic backup service. The backup files will be stored on a backup DVD-ROM. The system will not be available online, only through the intranet. It will be available only from 8 AM to 5 PM. The proposed system named as Letran-Abucay Students’ Portal has the same objective with the IPik Group thesis that is to render information for the users. The main users of the Orani Water District Intranet-based Public Information Kiosk are the customers, while for the Students’ Portal are apparently the students. What will be the difference of the two is that the  Students’ Portal will be a web-based application and is accessible using a web browser which is opposed to the public information kiosk that is a window-based application. †¢Bataan Information System This thesis is made by the STI-Bataan students under the advisory of Ms. Cristina de Leon, who is now a Letran IT Professor. It is about the designing and developing of a Bataan Information System in a multimedia form and to solve the problems encountered by the provincial government in promoting Bataan. The Information System will be easy to access and directed to the end-user and will support an interactive environment with a  user-friendly feature in promoting the province of Bataan. Information system is frequently used to refer to the interaction between people, processes, data and technology. In this sense, the term is used to refer not only to the information and communication technology (ICT) an organization uses, but also to the way in which people interact with this technology in support of business processes (Wikipedia) Giving information is how the two systems, which are the Bataan Information System and the proposed students’ portal, are similar. Both render numbers of information that are accessible by an authorized user in a  computerized process. †¢Campus Portals a Framework for Development Accommodating End-users’ Online Activities (an International Thesis) This thesis is about the development of a campus portal created for the University of Wollongong; thus was prepared by Tharitpong Fuangvut on 2005. A Campus Portal is an exciting recent phenomenon forming part of the new generation of online services for all stakeholders in institutions of higher education. Conceptually the general notion of a Portal should be to be distinguished from that of other Web- based applications and the traditional Intranet of the institution. The major objective of this research is to propose a development methodology specifically suitable for Campus Portal projects. While there are many accepted development methodologies for traditional and Web-based Information Systems, no clear body of knowledge on the development of Campus Portals has yet been recognized. Additionally, as this is a new area, the definitions, terms, concepts and important issues agreed to by academic researchers and practitioners, are still evolving. This research, therefore, needs to clarify and identify some important issues regarding Campus Portals  and their development, prior to composing the development methodology. In the second and third phases of the research, two studies were carried out, a preliminary study and a case study. These generated more understanding of the issues and extended the body of knowledge on Campus Portals, especially concerning their development. The preliminary study explored and investigated the online services and Campus Portals of 40 higher education institutions’ sites in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK and Canada. The findings of the preliminary study show that there are no standard patterns in the function of  personalization and customization in Campus Portals. The case study was conducted in an Australian university among the major stakeholder groups, namely, the development team and the end-users (students and academic staff). Students were the primary focus of the end-user study, from which data was collected using a survey to build up usage patterns of their online activities. Statement of Goals Due to the data gatherings that the researcher had conducted many thoughts lead the proponent to know and study more of the certain dilemmas and inefficiencies that taking place within the process wherein  the people affected perhaps are not aware. Currently, students are given limits on viewing their own records kept by the University due to several uncertainties it will cost, uncertainties that include lack of time and extensive work of the people involved. Furthermore, the proponent had also studied prior concerns which will benefit everyone that are included on the process once implemented on the system: †¢Security of data that will ensure a protected system that traces and prevents unauthorized access; †¢Encoding of the final grades that is one of the tasks of the faculty every end of a semester; †¢Downloadable and printable documents such as the Grades Slip coming from the Registrar’s office and a variety of forms coming from the Dean’s office. †¢Availability of students’ list with final grades which will help the Dean to generate the Dean’s list. The following goals are made and collected by the proponent through the aim of resolving the concerns mentioned. The goals are as follow: General Goal To develop a Student’s Portal for Bataan Peninsula State University that will enable students to access their personal, academic and financial records. Specific Goal To implement an authentication of users through the  use of ID no and password, as to prevent intruders and to assure the safety of all the data transmitted over the network. To incorporate a module for encoding the final grades of students every semester that the faculty uses. To provide downloadable and printable forms those are being retrieved from the Dean’s, Registrar’s and Finance office. To include a module that will enable the Dean to view the academic status of the students that she can use as basis for retrieving the Dean’s list. Significance of the Study For the Students Students are the ones that have a great benefit on the students’  portal because it will provide them quick access of their taken subjects prior to the curriculum they had enrolled with the corresponding final grades for each. Also, the system ensures the confidentiality and the update of records for each semester as long as new grades are issued to help the students be informed of their academic performance in the University. Aside from grades and subjects that can be viewed, a student will also have the privilege to view some his or her financial data that was managed by the finance office. For the Dean’s office Using the students’ portal, the Dean is able to view the academic  status of the students that include detail such as the final grades and to gather the names of those that are included on the Dean’s list. And also, as the portal offers a module for downloadable forms that are coming from the office, the task for issuing these certain forms will be eliminated thus reducing the workload of the Dean. For the Registrar’s Office As the students will be provided of options on determining their academic records, whether to just view it on the portal or to still ask for a printed copy coming from the Registrar’s office, somehow there will be a lessening of task on the Registrar’s part. For the Finance Office The Finance office can gain benefit from the students’ portal since the students can already check over their financial records online reducing the printing of documents such as the statement of accounts if permitted. For the Future Researchers The future researchers can acquire fundamental knowledge from and be able to use this thesis documentation as basis of their own research study if it’s all about developing a students’ portal. For the Developer To the developer, this will also provide better comprehension of her proposed system that will lead her to the further understanding of the entire  study that surely they can use on preparation of a brighter future that awaits her as IT professional. Scope and Limitations This study will focus on creating a students’ portal for Bataan Peninsula State University which is web-based where student records are the prior concern and accessible online. Student records that include: †¢Student’s personal information †¢Curriculum checklist that comprises all the subjects taken and to be taken by the student based on the University’s curriculum and the final grades for each †¢Grades records that consist of all the grades of the student for all his  subjects that he can query through supplying of a school year or semester. †¢Financial information that comprises the tuition fee with miscellaneous fees and discount fee, if there’s any, of a student. †¢Subject offering that pertains to the schedule of each subject that a student had enrolled belongs. The student can use this link to plan for his schedule for the upcoming semester. †¢Class Schedule encloses all the subject schedules of a student. As part of the authentication that was implemented on the portal, the users must provide an authorized username and password. On the system  there will be four types of user’s account: the student the faculty, the dean, the registrar and the administrator. In the Student account, the authorized tasks that users can do are: †¢Viewing of their records in through selecting from the following links: myProfile; myGrades that contains sub links such as Semester Grades, Curriculum Checklist, Collection of Grades; myFinance, mySubjectOffering and mySchedule. †¢Viewing other student’s or faculty staff’s records through selecting mySearch link, sending and receiving of messages through myInbox which is a form of messaging. †¢And, printing and downloading of forms such as Grades slip,  curriculum checklist and forms issued by the Dean and Registrar(eg. Change of Grade Form) Second, in the Faculty account, the authorized tasks that users can do are: †¢Entering student’s final grades for a particular subject, section school year and semester through the use of myClassRecord. †¢Viewing other student’s or faculty staff’s records through mySearch. †¢Uploading of lessons for the students Third, in the Dean account, the authorized tasks that Dean can do are: †¢Viewing of the Dean’s list for the current and the previous school year and semester. †¢Searching students to review their academic performance from the first year of his admission up to the present. †¢Searching class schedules by entering the assigned beginning and ending time of a class, in order for the Dean to be informed of what particular class is was going on for a moment. †¢Viewing faculty subject loads and schedules. Fourth, in the Registrar account, the authorized tasks that Registrar can do are: †¢Viewing of student’s general weighted average. †¢Updating the grades of a student that obtained a INC remarks from the past school year. †¢And, selecting the students that will form the Dean’s List. Lastly, the Administrator account, the authorized tasks that Registrar can do are: †¢Conversion of tables of records from MS Foxpro format to MS SQL. †¢Setting the current school year and semester. †¢Uploading of downloadable forms. †¢And, reset users’ passwords. The following are the limitations of the Students’ Portal: †¢Only the â€Å"Other Information† part and the password are the only records in the student’s page that can be altered. †¢Only the administrator can convert the tables from MS Foxpro format to SQL/simply add records on the database, can set the school year and can upload forms. †¢Only final grades are to be encoded by the faculty. Faculty cannot  edit anymore the grades of the students that belong to the previous school year and semester. †¢Only the faculty user and student users can exchange messages. †¢Only the Registrar can update the INC remarks of students that completed the subject. †¢Lastly, only the registrar can form the dean’s list. Definition of Terms †¢Transaction – a transaction usually means a sequence of information exchange and related work. A transaction is a unit of work that you want to treat as â€Å"a whole†. It has to either happen in full, or not at all. †¢Records – In computer data processing, a record is a collection of data  items arranged for processing by a program. Multiple records are contained in a file or data set. The organization of data in the record is usually prescribed by the programming language that defines the record’s organization and/or by the application that processes it. †¢Portal – a term, generally synonymous with gateway, for a World Wide Web site that is or proposes to be a major starting site for users when they get connected to the Web or that users tend to visit as an anchor site. †¢Web Portal – also known as a links page, presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search  engine feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases and entertainment. †¢Links – Using hypertext, a link is a selectable connection from one word, picture, or information object to another. In a multimedia environment such as the World Wide Web, such objects can include sound and motion video sequences. †¢Search Engine – designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are usually presented in a list of results and are commonly called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. †¢Database – is a collection of information that is organized so that it can easily be accessed, managed, and updated. In one view, databases can be classified according to types of content: bibliographic, full-text, numeric, and images. †¢Client-server – describes the relationship between two computer programs in which one program, the client, makes a service request from another program, the server, which fulfills the request. †¢Web-based – refers to those applications or services that are resident on a server that is accessible using a Web browser and is therefore accessible from anywhere in the world via the Web. †¢Technology – the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, and crafts, or is systems or methods of organization, or is a material product (such as clothing) of these things. The word technology comes from the Greek technologia techne ‘craft’ and -logia, the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include â€Å"construction technology†, â€Å"medical technology†, or â€Å"state-of-the-art technology†. †¢Application – program or group of programs designed for end users. Software can be divided into two general classes: systems software  and applications software †¢ Methodology Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) provides a set of models, principles, and guidelines for designing and developing enterprise solutions in a way that ensures that all elements of a project, such as people, processes and tools, can be successfully managed. MSF also provides proven practices for planning, designing, developing, and deploying successful enterprise solutions. The researcher had intended to use MSF for her methodologies especially because they are in use of Microsoft solution tools such as the Microsoft. NET Framework and the Microsoft SQL Server. MSF has five phases these are the: Envisioning, Planning, Developing, Stabilizing and Deploying. Envisioning Phase – This phase broadly describes the goals and constraints of the study. During this phase, the reseacher gathered necessary information and resources for developing a students’ portal. One of the activities that were conducted is an interview with BPSU’s database administrator to further determine what are the things and transactions necessary to put on the portal to satisfy the needs of the University and the predicted users. Some of the approved transactions are the viewing of student’s profile including the  personal, academic and financial information; encoding of final grades and forming of the Dean’s list. Risk assessment regarding the developing of the system is also accomplished. On the process, the impact of the consequence is learned by determining the likelihood of its occurrence and the severity of the outcome relative to established project objectives. The envisioning phase culminates in the vision approved milestone. This milestone is the first point at which the project team and customer agree on the overall direction for the project, including what the product will and will not include. Planning Phase – This phase determines what to develop and how to develop it. The process of information is modified, gathered and undergoes three design processes namely conceptual, logical and physical perspective. During this phase, the researcher planned how to develop the Bataan Peninsula State University students’ portal on the way its functionality can achieve the requirements of the educational institution. For conceptual design process, the expectations of the users or beneficiary of the study must be achieved like the proposal that students by using the portal can easily view their own records. For the logical design process, this meet the developer’s steps and requirements on how to develop the said system, like in an instance the system software solution will be developed using Microsoft Visual Studio and SQL Server Management studio. This solution is able to interact and communicate with other transaction processes, applications and data source. Lastly for the Physical design process, with the developer’s perspective, the development of the system will be a great help and ease not only for the students but also for the offices of the University that handles student’s information keeping considering the volumes of users  and transactions. There would be a web-based implementation of a portal which will be used as the primary means for dissemination of the student’s profiles and information. The planning phase culminates in the Project plan approved milestone. This milestone is the point at which the project team, the customer, and key project stakeholders agree on the feature set and the design of the application. The Project plan approved milestone is essentially the contract with the customer to proceed with the project. Developing Phase – During this phase, the solution is developed and optimized until it is  deemed ready for production use. On this phase, the student’s portal is developed. The researcher experienced several revisions on the design, the basic functionalities and on the core transaction in order to follow the needs of the identified users. The development phase culminates in the Scope Complete milestone. At this milestone, all features are complete, and the product is ready for external testing and stabilization. This milestone is the opportunity for customers and end users, operations and support personnel, and key project stakeholders to evaluate the product and identify any remaining  issues they need to address before it ships. Stabilizing Phase – This phase conducts testing of the complete solution. During this phase, the researcher focuses on resolving and prioritizing bugs and preparing the solution for release. The stabilization phase culminates with the release of the product. The Release milestone occurs when the team has addressed all outstanding issues and shipped the product or placed it in service. At the Release milestone, responsibility for ongoing management and support of the product officially transfers from the project team to the operations and support organization. Deploying phase – the developer deploys the core technology and site components, stabilizes the deployment, transitions the project to operations and support, and obtains final customer approval of the project. After the deployment, the developer conducts a project review and a customer satisfaction survey. During this phase, the developer tested the usability of the students’ portal and determined whether it has achieved the requirements of the University that are identified during the envisioning stage by letting some selected persons from the proposed users/customers. The deployment complete milestone culminates the deploying phase.

School Counselor Analysis

School Counselor Analysis Siobhan (Sam) Garrett PSY/435 April 17, 2013 Healey Irked Title of Paper In order to do a proper analysis on a school counselor one must know what he or she does on a daily basis. This is to conduct a job analysis for a school counselor and discuss how it will be used within the school system. Next to determine the reliability and validity of the school counselor analysis. Then the performance and appraisal methods that apply to being a counselor will be evaluated. Finally the benefits and vulnerabilities of each performance appraisal method will be explained.This will provide a full job analysis of a school counselor and what their job entails. Job Analysis For this job one would conduct a job oriented analysis. This is the analysis type that provides the nature of the tasks done on the job (Spector, 2012). The school counselor is there to provide the services that the children need. He or she will provide assessment and screenings, group and individual cou nseling with school staff, parents, outside agencies, and design remedial education programs (National Association of School Psychologist,  2012).The counselor is part of the team that decides what the students eligible for appropriate programming, special services, and ad on-going progress. Some of the responsibilities of the school counselor are as follows. Evaluate and screen children and selecting appropriate instruments, writing reports that show the evaluation findings, and administering tests (National Association of School Psychologist,  2012). This helps the funding for the programs. Have a conference or meeting with the staff, parents, or child about the progress he or she is making and say hat kind of material is needed for the betterment of the child’s learning experience. The counselor should always be available to students who really need to speak with her for private matters concerning the welfare of the home and school environment. Provide direct services such as in general education settings, classroom presentations, and adapting materials needed for the student in the classroom (National Association of School Psychologist,  2012). Documents student’s levels of performance and reevaluate as needed to see where the student has gained and where the student still needs work.Supervise the assigned Para-educators (National Association of School Psychologist,  2012). The counselor must deal with constraints and obstacles positively. He or she must learn to use new performance and approaches in his or her duties. This is just a portion of the requirements of the student counselor. Reliability and Validity The reliability of this information is good because not only did it come from a woman who works as a school counselor it was backed up by information found online and cited so that the information could be looked up and referred to if needed.The validity of this is also good because it has been documented on many webpages inclu ding the N. A. S. P. Therefore it is a valid and reliable source and information from the source. The source has been a school counselor for many years although she will not disclose exactly how many. Performance appraisal methods Some of the objective measures that a school counselor can be appraised with are simple measures. These include showing up for work every day on time with no excuses.This will result in less missed days which should be rewarded because the less they are absent the more they are able to be there for the students that need them that day. If they are there for the student then the student may not end up missing any days which is also a plus so it has like a snowball effect. Another way is avoiding accidents. By avoiding accidents the school does not have to turn in accidents to insurance companies and has less bills and debts owed out at the end of the year therefore not just helping the counselor know what he or she is dong but also the school itself would b enefit from this.Finally productivity or the number of people the counselor sees and helps on a daily basis. The more students the counselor sees the more of them can get back to their everyday lives and living happy and everyone will leave them alone. This could even result in less bullying in the halls and after school. The ways that the subjective measures of job performance can evaluate ones job performance is in the graphic rating form which assesses individuals on several dimensions of performance. This is like rating your job performance on a scale of one to ten.The boss may make a performance rating on your job to tell the person how he or she is doing that week. The behavior focused rating scale can be used to focus on ones behavior on the job. If a person has a good attitude then they may get a good behavior score. If he or she has a bad attitude he or she may get a bad rating on the behavior score. This depends on the way the person acts and behaves while doing his or her job. Other members of the staff may also rate ones behavior on the job.This will help the boss determine if they are getting along with you or if he or she is causing trouble or are not well liked among your fellow employees. They may make observations on ones performance as well. If he or she is doing a good job a terrible job or just a good enough jobs then he or she can be rated on that performance. Benefits and Vulnerabilities. The benefits and vulnerabilities of these can be simple or even drastic. These are more beneficial if one is doing his or her job correctly.If he or she is doing the job correctly then he or she will get good ratings and be able to have a good score and then job will continue to strive from that person doing it. On the other hand if he or she is not doing a good job the he or she could get bad marks and the job could even suffer from the lack of effort that person is putting into the job. The children could even suffer in this particular job if the job i s not done correctly. Another way this could be a bad thing is if a person was to get bad marks but was actually doing a good job.The people he or she is working with may just have a problem with him or her and could give bad marks because of that. Conclusion In conclusion, a school counselor’s job duties include making sure all of the children who her help and assistance need get it in every aspect of school. This is a reliable and valid source and information because not only did the information come from the subject it also came from several other sources. This person is judged on her performance from day to day not on showing up, looking nice, and being courteous but also on the actual performance itself.If he or she does her job, looks nice, and keeps the people she works with happy hoe or she should be able to keep the job and make a good living at it. Level three heading. Replace the level three heading with the words for your heading. The heading must be in bold font. References National Association of School Psychologist. (2012). what is a School Psychologist. Retrieved from http://www. nasponline. org/about_sp/whatis. aspx Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (6th Ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.