Saturday, August 31, 2019

Database: Entity-relationship Model

Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Il-Yeol Song and Kristin Froehlich College of Information Science and Technology Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 19104 Abstract The Entity-Relationship (ER) model and its accompanying ER diagrams are widely used for database design and Systems Analysis. Many books and articles just provide a definition of each modeling component and give examples of pre-built ER diagrams.Beginners in data modeling have a great deal of difficulty learning how to approach a given problem, what questions to ask in order to build a model, what rules to use while constructing an ER diagram, and why one diagram is better than another. In this paper, therefore, we present step-by-step guidelines, a set of decision rules proven to be useful in building ER diagrams, and a case study problem with a preferred answer as well as a set of incorrect diagrams for the problem.Database Management System a nd DataThe guidelines and decision rules have been successfully used in our beginning Database Management Systems course for the last eight years. The case study will provide readers with a detailed approach to the modeling process and a deeper understanding of data modeling. Introduction Entity relationship diagrams (ERD) are widely used in database design and systems analysis to represent systems or problem domains. The ERD was introduced by Chen (1976) in early 1976. Teorey, Yang, and Fry (1986) present an extended ER model for relational database design.The ERD models a given problem in terms of its essential elements and the interactions between those elements in a problem domain. The ERD can serve as the basis for databases, which store data about the problem domain, and which use, manipulate, and constrain that data. Experts in systems analysis and database design are adept at identifying user requirements and then translating them into corresponding components of the model. Many books and articles just provide a definition of each modeling component and give examples of pre-built ER diagrams. Beginners in data modeling have a great eal of difficulty learning how to approach a given problem, what questions to ask in order to build a model, what rules to use while constructing an ER diagram, and why one diagram is better than another. 213 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Ahrens and Song (1991) present a set of requirements elicitation template sentences, structured English template sentences, and some decision rules for database modeling. This paper presents a set of heuristic rules which improve upon those presented by Ahrens and Song (1991), together with a detailed case study analysis.We include step-by-step guidelines, a set of decision rules proven to be useful in building ER diagrams, and a case study problem with a preferred answer as well as a set of incorrect diagrams for the problem. These guidelines and decision ru les have been successfully used in our beginning Database Management Systems course for the last eight years. The case study will provide readers with a detailed approach to the modeling process and a deeper understanding of data modeling. The Entity-Relationship Diagram The entity relationship diagram is a graphical representation of a conceptual structure of a problem domain being modeled.The ERD assists the database designer in identifying the data and the rules that will be represented and used in a database. The ERD is an implementation-independent representation of a problem domain and it facilitates communication between the end-user and the analyst. ERDs can be easily converted into a logical database structure that can be readily implemented in a particular commercial database management system. The basic components of the ERD are entities, properties of entities called attributes, and relationships between entities. Entities Entities are PRIMARY THINGS of a problem domain about which users need to record data.Ross (1988) provides a list of candidate entity types which could be included in the model. (1) People: humans who carry out some function Employees, Students, Customers (2) Places: sites or locations Cities, Offices, Routes (3) Things: tangible physical objects Equipment, Products, Buildings (4) Organizations Teams, Suppliers, Departments (5) Events: things that happen to some other entity at a given date and time or as in an ordered sequence Employee promotions, Project phases, Account payments (6) Concepts: intangible ideas used to keep track of business or other activities Projects, Accounts, Complaints 214 stepsAppendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling These candidate entity types need to be evaluated against a particular domain being modeled. Some decision rules are discussed in a later section of this paper. Attributes Attributes are properties of entities or relationships. Entities have two types of properties: identi fying attributes and descriptive attributes. Identifying attributes uniquely determine each instance of an entity type. They are called entity identifiers or keys. For example, the attribute social security number would uniquely identify each member or instance of the entity type student.Descriptive attributes of student might include year, advisor, and grade point average. Each instance of an entity has a value for each attribute. Values for grade point average might include 2. 5, 3. 45, and 4. 0. Values for year might include 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. Only attributes that are meaningful in terms of modeling the problem under consideration are included in the ERD. For example, we would not include eye color in a student database. Relationships Relationships are another basic component of the ERD. A relationship is an association between or among things or entities.A relationship describes a meaningful interaction that needs to be remembered by the system. The degree of a relation ship indicates how many entities are participating in the relationship. A unary relationship describes an association of an entity with itself. A binary relationship, the most common instance, describes an association between two entities. A ternary (or n-ary ) relationship is an association between three or more entities. The ER methods that allow only unary and binary relationships are called binary models, while ER methods that allow any type of relationship are called n-ary models.For more thorough treatment of ternary relationships, see Jones and Song (1995, 1996) and Song and Jones (1995). Cardinality and Participation Constraints Cardinality is a constraint on the relationship between two entities. Specifically, the cardinality constraint expresses the maximum number of entities that can be associated with another entity via a relationship. For example, in a binary relationship (a relationship with two participating entities), we can have three possible cardinalities: oneto-o ne (1:1), one-to-many (1:N), or many-to-many (M:N).One-to-one cardinality says that, for entities customer and account, one customer can have at most one account and one account cannot be owned by more than one customer. One-to-many cardinality says that one customer can have many accounts, but one account cannot be owned by more than one customer. Many-to-many cardinality says that one customer can have many accounts and one account may be owned by many customers. 215 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Participation is also a relationship constraint.Participation expresses the minimum number of entities that can be associated with another entity via a relationship. There are two values for participation: total or mandatory participation and partial or optional participation. If every instance of an entity must participate in a given relationship then that entity has total participation in the relationship. But if every instance need not participate in a g iven relationship then the participation of that entity in the relationship is partial. Given the relationship employee works for epartment, an employee has partial participation in that relationship if he or she need not work for a department. An employee has total participation in the relationship if he or she must work for at least one department. Similarly, a department has partial participation in the relationship if it can exist without having any employees. A department has total participation in the relationship if it must have at least one employee. Cardinality and participation constraints are business rules in the problem domain being modeled. These constraints represent the way one entity type is associated with another entity type.These constraints are also integrity constraints because they help to ensure the accuracy of the database. These constraints limit the ways in which data from different parts of the database can be associated. For example, let's say the cardin ality of the relationship between Customer and Account is one-to-one, as in Figure 1(a) below. If customer C1 is associated with account A3, then C1 cannot be associated with any other accounts and A3 cannot be associated with any other customers. 216 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling (a) One – to – One (1:1):One customer can have at most one account. One account cannot be owned by more than one customer. Customer 1 CA 1 Account ER Diagram C1 C2 C3 A1 A2 A3 Occurrence Diagram (b) One – to – Many (1:n): One customer can have many accounts. One account cannot be owned by more than one customer. Customer 1 C1 C2 C3 CA n A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Account ER Diagram Occurrence Diagram (c) Many – to – Many (n:m): One customer can have many accounts. One account may be owned by many customers. Customer n C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 CA m A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Account ER Diagram Occurrence Diagram Figure 1.CARDINALITY: The expression of the maximum numb er of entities that can be associated to another entity via a relationship. Occurrence Diagrams show the relationships between occurrences or instances of each entity. 217 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Taxonomy in ER Modeling In an ER model, an entity is represented as a rectangle containing the name of the entity. The names of attributes are enclosed in an oval connected to the rectangle of the entity they describe. Attributes may be omitted from the diagram to avoid cluttering it and also in the early stages of development.Relationships are represented by diamonds between entities. The notation of the ERD, however, varies according to the modeling approach used. Binary models do not use the diamond to indicate a relationship, do not represent attributes of relationships, and do not allow ternary relationships, that is, relationships between three or more entities. Martin (1989), Bachman (1992), ERWin and IDEF1X (Bruce, 1992) use the binary modeling approach. Most text books use n-ary modeling, including Elmasri and Navathe (1994), Hawryszkiewycz (1991), Teorey (1994), Batini, Ceri and Navathe (1992), and McFadden and Hoffa (1994).A few notations are illustrated below. n Employee 1 Department a) Chen Employee Department b) Teorey n Employee 1 Department c) Elmasri ; Navathe Employee (0,1) works_for is_worked_for Employee works_for Employee p ——————–works_for Employee c has (1,n) Department d) MERISE Employee Department e) IE Department f) Bachman Department g) IDEF1X Department h) Shlaer & Mellor Figure 2. Various notations for ER Diagram representing â€Å"one employee works for zero or one department and one department has one or more employees†. 218 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship ModelingEach diagram in Figure 2 contains two entities: employee and department. In diagrams a, b, c, and d, the diamond indicates the relationship between the entities. T hese diagrams use n-ary modeling. Diagrams e through h are examples of binary modeling. They do not represent the relationship with the diamond shape. Instead, diagrams e, f, and h label the line between the entities with the relationship name. Attributes were not represented in the diagrams for simplicity. The various circles, lines, arrows, and letters on the diagram indicate cardinality and participation constraints.For a more complete treatment of various ER modeling methods, see Song, Evans, and Park (1995). ER Modeling How does one begin creating an entity relationship diagram? In this paper, we present step-by-step guidelines to build an ERD using n-ary modeling using Elmasri and Navathe's notation (see 2. c). In Table 1, we summarize a sequence of steps of database design using an ER model. Note that these steps are iterative. 1. Understand the problem domain. Analyze database requirements. †¢Write a summary specification in English, if not created yet. †¢What do w e need to store into the database? What queries and reports do we need to generate? †¢ What are important people, places, physical things, organizations, events and abstract concepts in the organization? 2. Design a conceptual schema by creating an ER diagram. (a) Identify entity types. Assign a singular noun to each entity type. (b) Identify relationships between (among) entities. Use a meaningful verb for a relationship name. (c) Draw an ERD without attributes. (d) Identify relationship cardinalities. †¢Mapping constraint (1:1, 1:N, N:M) †¢Participation constraint (Total, Partial) (e) Assign attributes to entity types and relationship types.Usually attributes come from nouns, adjectives or adverbs. (f) Select identifiers (primary keys) for entity types. †¢Weak entity: composite primary key. †¢Regular entity: choose/create a single attribute primary key. (g) Select the PKs of relationships. †¢If 1:1, then the PK of either side entity type may be select ed. †¢If 1:N, then the PK of N-side entity type must be selected. †¢ If M:N, then a composite PK consisting of PKs of two entity types must be used. †¢ If ternary, then a composite PK consisting of the PKs of at least two entity types.The actual PKs selected will vary depending on the cardinality. 3. Design a logical schema. (a) Translate the ERD into a relational schema 219 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling †¢If a relationship cardinality is likely to be changed; use stable method. †¢If a relationship cardinality is not likely to be changed; use mapped method. †¢ If a relationship cardinality is not likely to be changed and null values of foreign keys are significant; use mapped with total/partial method. (b) Check normalization (at least 3NF). (c) Create data dictionaries. A schema table †¢One table for each relation created in step (a) – Assign a domain type for each attribute. – Explain the meaning of a ttributes, if not intuitive. – Note other values such as range, null, PK, FK, indexed, source, owner (d) Do database prototyping & modify the design if necessary. (e) Summarize the design assertion (integrity, security). 4. Verify the design with users. Iterate the steps, if necessary. Table 1. Steps to DB Design Using ER Modeling First, it is important to study the problem domain at hand. Analyze database requirements.Write a summary paragraph for the problem domain, considering what data need to be stored and what queries and reports need to be processed. All the information necessary for the identified queries and reports must be included in the summary paragraph. Revise the summary paragraph considering database requirements. Second, from the summary paragraph, find nouns. They are candidates for entity types. To determine whether a noun should be designated as an entity, the following decision rules may be applied. Rule 1 Every entity type should be important in its own right within the problem domain.Rule 2 IF an object type (noun) has only one property to store THEN it is an attribute of another entity type ELSE it is an entity type. Rule 3 IF an object type has only one data instance THEN do not model as an entity type. Rule 4 IF a relationship needs to have a unique identifier 220 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling THEN model it as an entity type. The first three rules are used to evaluate object types or nouns, and the fourth rule is used to evaluate relationships or verbs. Example 1 Address is usually a property of another object type, like customer, vendor, or company.Its existence is less important and not meaningful in its own right within the problem domain. Address should be modeled as an attribute. Example 2 Suppose we are modeling the customers of a company and we want to include the city where each customer resides. If the name of the city is its only attribute, then, following Rule 2, model city as an attri bute not an entity. Similarly, consider the case of modeling employees and their departments. If the only important property of the department is its name, then Rule 2 tells us to model it as an attribute.However, if we need to store additional properties of each department such as projects or total sales, then we should consider modeling it as an entity. Example 3 Consider modeling the activities of a trucking company. Since there is only one instance of the trucking company, then, according to Rule 3, it is not necessary to represent it in our model as an entity. We note that it is not wrong to model this single instance noun as an entity type. We simply do not model it as an entity type at the conceptual level because it does not add any modeling power.We need the fourth rule because one fact can be stated in many different ways in English. In the fourth rule, distinguishing between entities and relationships depends on the function the component plays in the problem domain and h ow data will be stored about it. Example 4 Consider the three statements customer orders products, customer pays bills, and reviewer reviews papers. Even though orders and pays appear to represent relationships, we model them as entities since each instance would need a unique number for identification in real-world situations.Information would be stored in the database for each order and payment. Each review is not likely to need a unique identification number. Instead, we identify each review activity by a combination of Paper# and Reviewer#. Thus, by Rule 4, we model reviews as a relationship type. Once entities have been assigned, we proceed to identify relationship types between those entities. Verbs are useful candidates for relationships. The following question is useful for identifying relationships: â€Å"What sentences can be constructed of the form Entity Verb Entity? † For example, 221Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling †¢Employee ha s children (Existence relationship) †¢Professor teaches students (Functional relationship) †¢Customer places order (Event relationship) Note that a relationship is not an action of a flow of data as in data flow diagrams. They are important interactions, between two or more entities, that need to be remembered by the system. In the above examples, we want to remember the facts that who is a child of which employee, which professor teaches which students, and which customer places which order. Also keep in mind that all relationships are bi-directional.We should be able to state the relationship in both directions. Expressing the relationships above in the opposite direction yields the following statements: †¢ Children belong to employee †¢ Students are taught by professor †¢ Order is placed by customer After an ERD has been built, the following rule can aid in validating the diagram. Rule 5 IF any verb refers to nouns which are not selected as entity types T HEN do not model it as a relationship type. If any verb in the ERD fails to follow Rule 5, then consider it again carefully before including it in the diagram.When entities and relationships have been identified, then the cardinality and participation constraints of the relationships can be analyzed. The following rules can help determine the cardinality and participation constraints for a given binary relationship. A B Rule 6 For each A, what is the maximum number of Bs that may be related to it? Rule 7 IF A can exist without being associated with a B THEN A has partial (optional) participation ELSE A has total (mandatory) participation. 222 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Example 5 Consider the relationship Supplier Supplies Account.For each Supplier, what is the maximum number of Accounts that may be related to it? Let's say that in our problem domain, each Supplier may have many Accounts but each Account may have only one Supplier. By Rule 6, the ca rdinality constraint for Supplier:Account is 1:N or one to many. Figure 1 illustrates the cardinality constraints. Example 6 In determining the participation constraint of Supplier Supplies Account, we follow Rule 7: If Supplier can exist without being associated with Account, THEN Supplier has partial participation, ELSE Supplier has total participation.In our problem domain, Supplier may exist without being associated with Account. Therefore, Supplier has partial participation in the Supply relationship. However, since Account cannot exist without a Supplier; Account has total participation in the Supply relationship. Some basic naming conventions have been established to maintain accuracy and consistency in the database and to avoid redundancy. All entity names should be unique. Use singular nouns in the diagram for both entity and attribute names. Use verbs in the present tense for relationship names. Verbs should be meaningful.For example, avoid verbs like is, has, and do whene ver possible. Additionally, well-defined ERDs should satisfy the following basic rules: †¢ All entities and relationships should be connected. †¢ All entity names should be unique. †¢ Each entity must have at least one relationship. †¢ A relationship cannot be directly connected to another relationship. †¢ Every entity must have at least one unique attribute, which serves to identify each instance of that entity. Case Study The following example will illustrate our guidelines for modeling requirements of the problem domain with entity-relationship diagrams.Using the summary paragraph of the problem description below, we will progress through the steps described above. The nouns in the problem description appear in boldface and the verbs are italicized to aid in the following analysis. Summary Paragraph of Problem Description A database specialist wants to design a part of the database for a small drug store owner as follows: The owner wants to keep track of all the suppliers who supply anything to the store. For each supplier, the owner assigns a unique supplier number, and wants to keep the 223Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling company name, address (number, street, city, state, zip), contact person's name, phone number, fax number, and a comment for each supplier. For each supply activity, an account is established to keep track of the date incurred, the total cost of the activity, due date for payment, outstanding balance after some payments, and any special comments related to the account. For each account, the owner may pay at several different times and in different ways (e. g. , cash, check, credit card).For each payment activity, the owner wants to keep the date of payment, amount of payment, method of payment (check: check number; credit card: credit card name, type, and number). Note that one supplier can supply many times and one payment can pay for several accounts of the same supplier. Entity Ana lysis After reading and understanding the problem statement, our first step is to identify entities for the ERD. To do that we examine the nouns in the problem statement. Nouns appear in boldface. We test each noun against our four criteria to determine whether or not it should be included as an entity type.Our first noun is owner. Recall that an entity type has more than one instance and more than one property. Since there is only one instance of owner, we do not model it as an entity type. Similarly, there is only one store, so we need not represent store as an entity type. The next noun, supplier, can be classified as an entity type. Several properties of supplier are listed in the problem statement. The statement also refers to more than one supplier. Therefore, according to Rules 1, 2, and 3, we model supplier as an entity.For each supplier, the owner wants to store the following properties in the database: supplier number, company name, contact person, address, phone number, f ax number, and comment. Each of these attributes except address has only one property to store so we model them as attributes. Address has its component properties number, city, state, and zip so one might be tempted to model it as an entity type. However, the role of address as a property of supplier supersedes the fact that address has properties of its own. In other words, address itself without supplier is not important in its own right.Therefore, by Rule 1, we model address as an attribute. Account is the next noun. Account has several properties to be stored in the database: date incurred, total cost, due date, account balance, and comments; and we will store information about numerous accounts. Therefore, we designate account as an entity. Its properties are modeled as attributes of account. Payment is clearly an entity, with multiple instances and various properties. The properties of payment: date of payment, amount of payment, and method of payment, are modeled as its attr ibutes.Cash, check, and credit card appear to be attributes of payment, but actually, they are not attributes themselves, but simply different values for the attribute method of payment. This distinction becomes clearer if we think about 224 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling storing data in the database. For each payment, one of the values cash, check, or credit card will be stored in the location containing data about the method of payment. Check number and credit card name, type and number may be modeled as attributes of Payment. Supplier Account Payment Figure 3. Entities to be included in the ERD.Relationship Analysis Our analysis of nouns in the problem statement has produced three entities: Supplier, Account, and Payment (Figure 3). Keep these entities in mind as we identify relationships between them. Let's examine the verbs in the problem statement as candidates for relationships in the diagram. Verbs appear in italics. Of the verbs in the problem statement: keep track, assigns, supply, established, and pay, only supply and pay are possible candidates for relationships between the entities account, supplier, and payment. Keep track and keep appear several times in the problem statement.These terms refer, not to a relationship between entities, but generally to storing data in the database. In other words, they are used to describe the problem domain, not an interaction that needs to be remembered by the system. Therefore, we do not model them as relationships. Established, in the statement an account is established, is an activity performed by the owner or the system itself. Similarly, owner assigns a unique supplier number reflects an activity by the owner. These two verbs do not represent relationships between any of our three entities. Thus, we are left with the verbs supply and pay.A supplier performs a supply activity. The result of a supply activity is an account. Therefore, a good candidate for the relationship betwee n supplier and account is supply. Stated in both directions, the relationship is Supplier supplies account and account is supplied by supplier. Rule 4 states that if a relationship needs to have a unique identifier, then model it as an entity. Each supply activity is unique, so we may be tempted to model supply as an entity. However, the data for each activity is stored using the entity account, so it is not necessary to create another entity which stores the same information.Each payment credits an account so pay is the relationship between payment and account. Expressing the relationship pay in both directions, we can say account is paid by payment and payment pays account. 225 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Now we can draw the basic ERD (Figure 4). We include the entities Supplier, Account, and Payment, and the relationships Supply and Pay. Attributes may be added to the diagram at this point or omitted to avoid clutter. Supplier Supply Account Pay Payment Figure 4. ERD without attributes and constraintsAnalysis of Cardinality and Participation Constraints In order to identify the cardinality and participation constraints of each relationship in the ERD, we follow Rules 6 and 7 looking at the relationship first from the point of view of one entity and then from the other entity. In our ERD above, to determine the cardinality constraint of the relationship Supply, we begin by asking, â€Å"For each Supplier, what is the maximum number of Accounts that may be created? † From the problem statement, we know that one supplier can supply many times and an account is established for each supply activity.Viewing the relationship in the other direction, we ask, â€Å"What is the maximum number of Suppliers for which each Account may contain information? † From the problem statement we can assume that each account carries information for a single supplier, since accounts are established for individual supply activities. Th us, for each supplier, there may be many accounts and each account may have only one supplier. The relationship Supplier Supplies Account is a one-to-many relationship. The diagram is marked with a 1 on the side of the relationship Supply nearer to Supplier, and an N (for many) on the side nearer to Account (see Figure 5).To identify the cardinality of the relationship Payment Pays Account, we look at the relationship from both directions. We ask, â€Å"What is the maximum number of Payments we can accept for each Account? † The answer is clearly stated in the problem statement: For each account, the owner may pay at several different times and in different ways. From the opposite direction, â€Å"For each Payment, what is the maximum number of Accounts for which it may pay? † Again, we find the answer in the problem statement: One payment can pay for several accounts of the same supplier. In sum, each account 226Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Mod eling may receive many payments and each payment may pay for many accounts. Therefore, the relationship Payment Pays Account is many-to-many. This time, we mark our diagram with an M on one side of the relationship Pay and an N on the other side. (Note that the use of M or N is completely arbitrary. ) We go through a similar process to determine the participation constraint of each relationship, looking at the relationship from each direction. For the Supply relationship we ask, â€Å"Can a Supplier exist without generating Accounts? In the other direction, â€Å"Can an Account exist without having Suppliers supply merchandise? † The answers to these questions are not explicit in the problem statement. In a real world situation, the database designers would clarify questions like these with the owner. In this case, we will make assumptions from what we understand about the problem domain. Suppliers are generally fairly stable entities. A company maintains relationships with several regular suppliers regardless of whether they have outstanding accounts. On the other hand, an account is only created when a supplier supplies merchandise.Since suppliers can exist without having current accounts, Supplier has partial participation in the Supply relationship. Accounts, however, depend on suppliers for their existence. Thus, Account has total participation in the Supply relationship. To determine the participation of the entities Payment and Account in the Pay relationship, we ask, â€Å"Can a Payment exist without paying for an Account ? † and â€Å"Can an Account exist without receiving Payments against it? † A payment which pays for nothing is absurd. It cannot exist without an account. An account, however, may exist without receiving payments against it.Therefore, Payment has total participation and Account has partial participation in the relationship Pay. In representing the cardinality and participation constraints described above in our ERD, we will employ Elmasri and Navathe's (1994) notation. If an entity has partial participation in the relationship, then a single line is drawn on the line between that entity and the relationship. A double line indicates total participation. The cardinality constraint is represented by Look Across convention, while participation constraint is represented by Look Here convention.Figure 5 illustrates the final ERD with cardinality and participation constraints. 227 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling 1 Supplier Supply N Account M Pay N Payment Figure 5. ERD with cardinality and participation constraints. Errors in Modeling A common error that novice designers make is failing to recognize the boundaries of a problem domain. They fail to make a distinction between elements that comprise the content of the database and elements that are outside the scope of the database. For example, in the problem statement bove, a novice might want to model the verbs keep track or assigns or established as relationships (see Figure 6(a)). These verbs refer to implementing the database and not to its content. Keep track refers to storing data in the database, established refers to adding an instance of an entity to the database, and assigns refers to giving a value to an attribute of an entity. In deciding which elements to model, it is valuable to keep in mind the real world situation. Novice designers also frequently confuse entities with their attributes or properties, as in Figure 6(b).Occasionally, if properties are complex and play a significant role in the problem domain, then they may be modeled as entities. More often, however, properties of an entity should be modeled as attributes. In our problem statement, a novice user may decide to model address, a property of the entity supplier, as an entity. Modeling Address follows Rules 2 and 3 about identifying entities: it has more than one property and it has more than one occurrence. However, ad dress does not follow Rule1 in that it is not important in its own right.The role of address in the database is more accurate as an attribute of supplier, than as an entity with its own relationships. Other errors are modeling indirect or redundant relationships and inappropriately modeling object types as relationships rather than as entities. Given our problem statement, one may be tempted to model the relationship Payment Pays Supplier as in Figure 6(c) or Supplier Pays Account as in Figure 6(d) rather than Payment Pays Account. Figure 6(c) represents the association between payment and account indirectly. This indirect relationship can only exist after we have all the direct 228Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling relationships as in Figure 5. In this case, the indirect relationship simply becomes redundant. Without the direct relationships, the indirect relationship cannot be added, because it cannot explain how a particular payment is distributed to mu ltiple accounts. Figure 6(d) represents the relationship Pay rather than the entity Payment. In either of these two cases, it is difficult to explicitly represent the fact that one payment can pay for several accounts of the same supplier. We can only tell implicitly by reading the check number for the various payments.If the payment is made in cash, there is no way to identify that it paid for more than one account. If the representation used in Figure 6(d) is used, then the attributes related to payments: date of payment, amount of payment, and method of payment, are now attributes of the relationship Pay. This representation can add unnecessary complexity to the model. Ordinarily, a relationship is uniquely represented by the identifiers of one or more of the entities which participate in it. If the relationship includes a time-dependent attribute like date of payment, then that attribute must also be included in the primary key for that relationship.Additionally, instances of da te of payment and amount of payment will require redundant representation because they will have to be included for each account covered by a payment. Finally, in business practice, each payment activity usually requires a unique identifier. Therefore, following Rule 4, it is more appropriate to model payment as an entity than as a relationship. As an entity, the representation is more straightforward and less likely to include redundant or inaccurate information. 229 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling a) Selection of wrong verb as relationship Owner (b) Attribute as entity Supplier Located_at Address Keeps_track Payment (c) Indirect relationship Payment Pays Supplier Establishes Account (d) Payment as relationship instead of entity Establishes Supplier Pays Account Figure 6. Errors in ERD Modeling. Limitations of Guidelines and Rules Two limitations of our guidelines are that they don't account for incomplete requirements analysis or for ambiguity in the problem description. If the problem description is incomplete, then the resulting analysis based on this approach will also be incomplete.We assume that the analysis is complete. If the problem specification is modified, the analysis and resulting ERD should be modified as well. In English, one concept can be represented in many different ways. For example, we can say that customer orders products or customer places an order to buy products. Order is used 230 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling as a verb in the first sentence and as a noun in the second. We minimize this problem by adopting Rule 4, which states that if a verb needs to have a unique identifier, we model it as an entity type rather than a relationship type.Conclusion We have discussed a set of decision rules which are useful in building ERDs and have illustrated the application of these rules using a single example. ERD constructs discussed here include Entities, Relationships, Attributes, Ca rdinality constraints and Participation constraints. To simplify our discussion, we didn't include other constructs such as Weak Entity, Ternary Relationship, and Generalization/ Specialization. Our rules are heuristics which we have found useful for most cases to build ERDs in the early stages of analysis.However, these rules may need some refinement in some problem domains and the rules should be adapted to the problem domain under consideration. References Ahrens, J. and Song, I. Y. (1991). â€Å"EER Data Modeling Aids for Novice Database Designers†. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conferences of the Information Resources Management, Memphis, TN, May 19-22, 1991, pp. 99-114. Bachman (1992). Bachman Analyst, Bachman Information Systems Incorporated. Batini, C. , Ceri, S. , and Navathe, S. (1992). Conceptual Database Design: An EntityRelationship Approach, Redwood City, CA: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.Bruce, T. (1992). Designing Quality Databases with IDEF 1X Information Models. New York, New York: Dorset House Publishing. Chen, P. P. (1976). â€Å"The Entity Relationship Model – Toward a Unified View of Data†. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, 1 :1, pp. 9-36. Elmasri, R. and Navathe, S. (1994). Fundamentals of Database Systems, 2nd ed. , Redwood City, CA: Benjamin/ Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. Hawryszkiewycz, I. T. (1991). Database Analysis and Design, 2nd ed. , MacMillan Publishing Company. Jones, T. H. and Song, I. -Y. , (1995). Binary Representation of Ternary Relationships in ER Conceptual Modeling,† in 14th Int'l Conf. on Object-Oriented and EntityRelationship Approach, December 12-15, 1995, Australia, pp. 216-225. (Object- 231 Appendix A: A Practical Guide to Entity-Relationship Modeling Oriented and Entity-Relationship Approach, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer-Verlag, Vol. 1021). Jones, T. H. and Song, I. -Y. , (1996). â€Å"Analysis of Binary/ternary Cardinality Combinations in Entity -Relationship Modeling,† Data & Knowledge Engineering Vol 19, No. 1, pp. 39-64. Martin, J. (1989).Information Engineering: Book II: Planning and Analysis, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. McFadden, F. , and Hoffa, J. (1994). Modern Database Management, 4th Ed. , Redwood City, CA: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. Ross, R. G. (1988). Entity Modeling: Techniques and Application, Database Research Group, Inc. Shaler, S. and Mellor, S. J. (1988). Object-Oriented Systems Analysis: Modeling the World in Data, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Yourdon Press. Song, I-Y. , Evans, M. , and Park, E. K. (1995). â€Å"A Comparative Analysis of EntityRelationship Diagrams,† Journal of Computer and Software Engineering, Vol. , No. 4 (1995), pp. 427-459. Song, I. Y. and Jones, T. H. (1995). â€Å"Ternary Relationship Decomposition Strategies Based on Binary Imposition Rules,† in 11th Int'l Conf. on Data Engineering, March 610, 1995, Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 485-492. Teorey, T. J. (1 994). Database Modeling ; Design: The Fundamental Principles, 2nd. ed. , Morgan Kauffman Publishers, Inc. Teorey, T. J. , Yang, D. , and Fry, J. P. , (1986). â€Å"A Logical Design Methodology for Relational Databases Using the Extended Entity-Relationship Model†. Computing Surveys, 18:12, June, pp. 197-222. 232

Friday, August 30, 2019

Devotion to God

Devotion (bhakti) to God animates many selections from Hindu scriptures in our anthology (Fisher and Bailey, pp. 61-88). Devotion or bhakti is an enlightened and powerful path that would help an individual to mount the self realization and realization of God. Devotion and love is the route to the complete realization of non-dual reality of the infinite existence of God. Bhakti marga means the route of devotion in Sanskrit. The union of the devotee with God by means of extreme devotion is termed as bhakti yoga in Sanskrit.Yet the style of devotion and the nature of the devotee’s relationship to God may vary a great deal, depending on the manifestation of the divine being (god or goddess) that is being invoked. Hymn to Agni is a Sruti. Sruti is the poem that is heard by rishis. Smrti explain the hidden meanings of Sruti. All these constitute Vedas that were written during the commencement of Kali yuga (during 3102 BCE) by Ved Vyasa. Vedas were written in Sanskrit. The chapter of Hinduism in the An Anthology of Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher and Lee W.Bailey includes various passages like Hymn to Agni, Hymn on Creation (from the text of Rig Veda).The book has also included rich passages from Upanishads; What is the World but Spirit (Mundaka Upanishad) and You Are That (Chhandogya Upanishad). The passage ‘Hymn to Agni’ expresses the words of a devotee and also reveals the kind of relationship the devotee maintains with the ‘Agni God’. Devotee adores Agni the god of the sacrifice and the richest source of treasure. The passage says about the popularity of Agni among old poets and new poets. Agni was the diety of their rites and the major source of power.Ancient sages worshipped Agni and considered him as the provider of prosperity, nourishment and happiness. These devotes deemed Agni as the source of their progress and mentioned him as the most glorious and heroic God. According to the devotees Agni brought Devas to earth and hi s presence filled all sides, which goes to Devas. The hymn praises Agni as wise sage, invoker and the one with splendor and marvel. The hymn also says â€Å"Whatever blessing, o Agni, thou givest to the worshipper, that, refulgent One, is thy truth. To thee, Agni, dispeller of night, we come with prayer day by day, offering thee our obeisance.Thee who rulest our holy rite, Protector of Eternal Law, bright, waxing in thy own abode. Like father to son, thou Agni, be easy of access to us, be with us for a life of bliss. † Agni was considered as the chief of the Vedic gods. Agni is the god of fire, the common acceptor of all divine sacrifices (transferring the sacrifice to other Devas). Agni was otherwise deemed as the messenger of the Devas. According to the traditional Hindu worship based on these Vedas, Agni was present in the heart of every individual, and is the vital spark of life. A part of him was believed to be present in all living things.Agni was also considered as the fire or power which consumes food in the stomach of living beings. Agni also consumed the sacrifices that were offered to other gods. Agni was though to be the fire of the sun. It was also considered as the power behind the lightening bolt as well as the smoke column that hold the heavens in their place. Devotees considered Agni was the source of the illumination of stars. Agni was a crucial element in ancient Hindu worship traditions. About two hundred songs in Rig Veda are addressed to none by Agni. Out of the ten books of Rig Veda, eight of them start with the praises (worship) for Agni.Part IIAccording to the passage ‘Hymn to Agni’ devotee has a strong relationship with his God Agni. Devotee recognizes Agni as the source of all power and praises him for the happiness that he gives to him. Here the God is not found to be rewarding the devotee for his sincere worship and praises. The Agni God does not appear to be counting the devotion, reverence and worship of the d evotee. The devotee however is voluntarily praising the Agni God because of his majesty, power and splendor. The devotee is praising Agni God for a natural cause and not because he blessed the devotee personally.Here the Agni God does not seem to recognize and bless this individual devotee. The God is just being admired and worshipped for a common cause. The devotee is also just manifesting the power of Agni, the God and is praising him for his common goodness and not because of his personal love for him. The relationship that the devotee maintains with the Agni God is not personal. Devotee is impressed by the power and splendor of the God and is just acknowledging and praising it. No salvation, redemption or liberation happens here. The God no longer gives any special privilege to the devotee. Agni God just exists in his majesty and does not offer anything special like salvation.Part IIIThe religious outlook mentioned in this devotion hymn is that of an adoration or worship. I do h ave a religious outlook that is based on ‘Faith’ or ‘Trust’ rather than adoration. My religious outlook is somewhat related to this devotion methods as my devotion also includes praising, adoration and worship. However my devotion outlook is least similar to the above explained ‘Agni worsip’ as my devotion is characterized by faith and the salvation and redemption offered by my God.Agni worship is missing faith, salvation and redemption. It just involves blind or baseless adoration that seldom makes the devotee close to the God. The teachings of Hinduism do not exemplify my definition of religion as it lacks the most crucial aspect, faith, which I deem as the backbone of any religion or worship. Moreover, devotees need to have a personal fellowship with God. The relationship of devotee to his God should not be just an adoration, it should instead be a strong personal relation based on faith. References Mary Pat Fisher and Lee W. Bailey (1999) A n Anthology of Living Religions, Prentice Hall.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Capitalism and Regressive Imperialism

Western undertaking that employs expansionist, mercantilist policies. 1] Lewis Samuel Feuer identifies two major subtypes of imperialism; the first is regressive imperialism identified with pure conquest, unequivocal exploitation, extermination or reductions of undesired peoples, and settlement of desired peoples into those territories, an example being Nazi Germany. 2] The second type identified by Feurer is progressive imperialism that is founded upon a cosmopolitan view of humanity, that promotes the spread of civilization to allegedly backward societies to elevate living standards and culture in conquered territories, and allowance of a conquered people to assimilate into the imperial society, examples being the Roman Empire and British Empire. [2] Imperialism always involves the massive export of capital to foreign countries for the purpose of exploiting and dominating both their labor forces and their markets. Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism, represents the stage at which a countrys consumers cannot buy all the products that have been produced, and additional markets must be sought after. The dominant feature of imperialism is the repatriation of invested capital. Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. Founded the De Beers Mining Company and owned the British South Africa Company, which established Rhodesia for itself. He liked to paint the map British red, and declared: all of these stars hese vast worlds that remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets. [3] The term as such primarily has been applied to Western political and economic dominance in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some writers, such as Edward Said, use the term more broadly to describe any system of domination and subordination organized with an imperial center and a periphery. According to the Marxist historian, Walter Rodney, imperialism meant capitalist expansion. It meant that European (and North American and Japanese) capitalists were forced by the internal logic of their competitive system to seek abroad in less developed countries opportunities to control raw material, to find markets, and to find profitable fields of investment. Its generally accepted that modern day colonialism is an expression of imperialism and cannot exist without the latter. The extent to which informal imperialism with no formal colonies is properly described as such remains a controversial topic among historians. [4]

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Does the United States Government invest too much money in national Research Paper

Does the United States Government invest too much money in national security - Research Paper Example The US was also said to have provided the Transitional Federal Government with small arms and munitions and paid for some of their training in 2009, although US forces have not been involved directly in training troops. US assistance has been coursed through the Department of State and about US$40,000 has been allocated for Somalia in 2010 through the International Military Education Training (IMET) program. Others were enumerated as funds for Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programmes - Humanitarian Demining with $1.4 million in 2001, $1.2 million in 2002 and $450,000 in 2003 (Jane's Information Group). In 2008, about $754,000 has been allocated and $2 million was requested for 2010. The budget and concern for Somalia emerged from the star of the civil war in Somalia when lack of strong leadership led for many Somali to join pirates. The lack of formal Somali defense also provided threat to Somali territories making them susceptible to trawlers. The funding provided by the US and other Western countries to Somalia and other African nations are used to maintain state stability, sustain and improve international relations, battle organized crimes, proliferation and procurement of security devices and to counter terrorism and insurgency in the region and the locality The aids provided for Somalia include infrastructure to address a 24/7 aerial relocation and medical evacuation capability within Somalia and improve security in order to sustain the United Nations operation and security of the environment

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

MPH599 - Culminating Project Mod 3 Case Assignment Essay

MPH599 - Culminating Project Mod 3 Case Assignment - Essay Example Children watch television or play video games for greater than four hours a day have a greater risk for obesity. It has been shown that a reboot reduction in the television or video game time can not only improve but be a treatment for obesity. Further, other behaviors that have changed in this age group, more children are eating high calorie foods than they have in the past. Television ads increase the desire for fast food which is high in calories and high in fat (Epstein and Keller, 2003). Those children who are raised by obese parents also have a greater risk for obesity. There has been discussion as to whether there is a genetic or environmental factor that may predispose children to obesity. However they been unable to prove that (Golan and Wiseman, 2001). Another great risk factor for childhood obesity is low socioeconomic status. Food insecurity and not having access to healthy food are the reasons for this problem. Children from low-income families often do not have safe facilities for physical exercise. This increases the number of television hours that these children have. Many of them are awaiting their parents arrival home from a job, as these parents cannot afford child sitters. Is also at issue that this group of children are not able to visit the position as often as other children do. They may very well not have a yearly checkup like so many other children due to the lack of insurance or money to cover visits. This alone contributes to childhood obesity. It is not picked up early in the event, therefore instead of catching these children at the stage of being overweight, we do not see them until they are at the stage of obese. By this time, they may very well have some of the side effects of obesity including hypertension and type II diabetes. Young people throughout the world are becoming increasingly inactive, as are their parents. 30% of boys and 41% of girls aged 2 to 15 do not meet

Monday, August 26, 2019

Analyze how realistic this rags-to-riches story is in today's America Essay

Analyze how realistic this rags-to-riches story is in today's America - Essay Example In actuality, poor people from various ethnic backgrounds have more chance of realizing financial independence in different European nations than in the United States. The myth of American opportunity has probably persisted due to the chances that existed for motivated immigrants in past centuries. In the 19th century, America was obviously a better option for slum dwellers in England and Continental Europe. The chances that individuals from these nations found in America were so different from those they were exposed to in their motherlands that they began to view America as a land akin to paradise. Horatio Alger’s book, ‘Ragged Dick’ mirrors this enthusiasm about the chances given by America to the disenfranchised. In ‘Ragged Dick’, the hero lives in New York City and starts out in a deprived and pitiable state, but, due to hard work and dedication, ends up being educated and respected by society. The latter part of the 19th century was a time of ch ange and great progress in American History. Moreover, it was also a time of falsehood. The reality is that corruptive practices, at this time, were more accepted in today’s America. ... Gangs randomly attacked successful business men and forced them to pay ‘protection fees’ in order to keep operating. Politicians were corrupt and did not have the current organizations that check excesses to curtail their crooked activities. In Horatio Alger’s book, Dick is a dedicated and punctilious person who takes advantage of the opportunities that come his way (Alger 247). Alger shows how his main character gains an opportunity to improve his chances of overcoming poverty when he is rewarded for being of assistance to the child of a rich man. This, in itself, presents a contradiction in what Alger believed about the American society’s fairness. For instance, if Dick had been of African American ancestry, it is unlikely that he would have been given the chance to improve his life even if he had saved fifty sons of rich men. Dick was privileged in this particular circumstance, even though he was poor, because he was from the accepted race. In today†™s world, people from all ethnic backgrounds do not have equal opportunity to improve their lives in spite of what is constantly asserted by the media. The fact that America has become more technologically advanced and is also experiencing a recession merely makes things harder for people or migrants who have little in the way of material goods to raise themselves economically. Not all Americans are well-educated. This means that there will be a lot of competition for the existing blue-collar jobs. In such cases, it is likely that ethnic minorities will be disadvantaged as those that are able to bribe for the jobs or belong to the predominant race are given the existing opportunities. Where white-collar jobs are concerned, sex, race, education and good resumes are

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and Customer Satisfaction Research Paper

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and Customer Satisfaction strategy - Research Paper Example The linkage of both the concepts is very important and will be depicted in the essay. Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications and Customer Satisfaction Strategies One of the main concepts related to the success of the advertisements or operations of any company is its integrated marketing communication strategy. IMC is a marketing terminology used in reference to the combination and collaboration of almost all the existing tools of market communication and all its activities, and aspects in the company into forming a flawless program (Terry, 1997). This helps the organization maximize the influence of its strategies and operations on its customers and other stakeholders of the business at lowest possible cost. Thus, the IMC strategy is a process of integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-functional processes that create and no urish profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialog with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order to maximize the impact the end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all firms’ business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally directed communication (Bob, 1998). Tesco Plc is one of the leading food retailers based in UK which operates with more than 3000 stores all around the world. The branches of the food retailers are function in most of the parts of Europe and Asia. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Tesco Plc., offers to its customers a wide range of all the financial, personal and other services. The company has been leading the other big organizations in the field of retailing and st ands successful throughout. 1. Discuss the company’s advertising strategy and how it aligns with its marketing goals. The major reason for the success of Tesco as a product and service-provider is its successful advertising and customer relationship strategy. Found in 1924, the company was the pioneer of some small ‘revolutions’ which led to the rise in the revenues of the company and was responsible for its sustenance. The expansion strategies applied by the company give it success as the profit margins have shifted higher making the company a strong base for the retailing (Remley, 1996). The marketing strategy of Tesco is the subset of its customer loyalty, lower prices and the successful ploughing back of profits in order to assist its marketing strategies. Making the mass advertising its backbone, Tesco Plc., introduced new adverts for every product item launched and the lower prices were the main element that kept customers glued to its product. Moreover, it s adverts have always been convincing, good conveyor of the message content and able to keep the emotional touch which creates the customer’s interest in its products and forced them to make the purchases. 3. Discuss the promotional strategies that may be used in addition to advertising. The main element of Tesco’s promotional strategies was the low- prices but the finest brand offered to the customers with superior value.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Beethoven Interpretations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Beethoven Interpretations - Essay Example Originally a dedication to Napoleon Bonaparte Eroica was changed once Napoleon declared himself Emperor. I chose Eroica for the symbolism, beliefs and ideas that are represented with the symphony. Eroica has become one of the most analyzed musical pieces in history, filled with concepts such as heroism, death, apotheosis and revolution (Beethoven’s†¦). Because the Eroica was longer than most pieces it was generally performed towards the start of most concerts and was also known as Symphony No. 3 in E Flat. The Eroica consists of four movements with the first movement being the ‘Allegro con brio,’ the key is E Flat major in Sonata form (The Symphony†¦). Though Eroica has been performed by many composers and symphony’s Anton Rubinstein recorded and released his performance or Eroica of June in 1994. He included four movements as well, and in listening to the first movement it is easily evident that Rubinstein employed a slower tempo. It is easy to distinguish among the instruments in the orchestra and when the tempo begins to build there is a feeling of expectation and excitement as the listener waits to find out what other musical delight will be provided. Rubinstein’s Eroica is almost whimsical and would fit well in a children’s dramatic scene as soundtrack accompaniment (Featured†¦). I almost prefer the tempo used in the Rubinstein piece as it produces a much more calming and tranquil effect. The instrument that most stand out is the strings and of course the piano, though it is blended well with the other instruments in the arrangement. It is also possible in one of the calm periods to hear what may be a flute or some other delicate instrument that would otherwise be overpowered during the rest of the arrangement. The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra also recorded the Eroica in June of 2007. Budapest Orchestra recorded each movement of Eroica in E Flat major. Movement one, Allegro Con Brio, sounds quite a bit

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Compare and contrast between the structure of Thailand's Government Research Paper

Compare and contrast between the structure of Thailand's Government and US's - Research Paper Example â€Å"Thailand is governed by a system of centralization†, (Royal Thai Consulate, 2002) and they hold their Constitution as the highest law of the land. The Thai Government is broken down into three main components, which are legislative, Judicial and Executive powers. The Legislative power is devoted to the Parliament, and it works through a divided National Assembly that consists of their House of Representatives and the Senate. The people of Thailand elect the National Assembly. The Parliament has to approve all of the legislation that the House of Representatives and the Senate wants to pass. If they get Parliamentary approval, then the Parliament takes it to the King who has to sign it before it can become law (Chaninat & Leeds, 2011). Thailand’s Judicial Power works through the Court of Law with three different levels, which are: the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. The Court of First Instance deals with juvenile and family issu es, but they have the authority to try criminal cases as well which are in the general courts, which are: Civil, Criminal, Provincial and Kwaeng Courts. Civil Courts are for property issues; Criminal Courts are for people that have been arrested for a crime they may have committed; Provincial Courts are for all general civil and criminal problems that happen in their own province, and; Kwaeng Courts are for special criminal cases. The Court of Appeal handles all of the appeals cases that come before them against a judgment that has already been made in the Civil and Criminal Courts. The Supreme Court is the last court of appeal for all of the law cases in the entire Kingdom (The Judiciary of Thailand, 2011). Finally, Thailand’s Executive power works through the Cabinet, which the Prime Minister controls. The Prime Minister has a Council of Ministers, which control 15 different ministries. Those ministries are: Office of the Prime Minister Ministry of Finance Ministry of Forei gn Affairs Ministry of Defense Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives Ministry of Education Ministry of Transport and Communications Ministry of Commerce Ministry of Public Health Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Ministry of University Affairs Ministry of Justice Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare Ministry of Industry Ministry of the Interior This entire system is kept in the middle of Thailand, but it is divided into different regional and provincial governments. Bangkok has its own administrative people and elects its own governor. The other provinces of Thailand have their governors appointed for them (The Judiciary of Thailand, 2011). The United States of America is a democratic type of government, currently headed by President Barack Obama, who has the highest political power of the people of the United States. They have one Constitution, and The President has a second in command to him, which is the Vice President of the United States. There are three branc hes of the U.S. government, which carry out their own functions and have their own powers. The three branches are Legislative, Judicial and Executive. The Legislative branch of the U.S. government is the part of the law that makes up the Senate, the House of Representatives and other people that support the Congress. If the Senate and the Congress want a bill passed, they have to have it signed by the President once they have approved

Friday, August 23, 2019

Personal Philosophy Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Philosophy - Research Paper Example Finally, I share my view in my personal philosophy’s implications for contemporary and future nursing roles. Keywords: personal philosophy, nursing, patient care, health, Jean Watson Having been exposed to the nursing profession has empowered me to adopt a deeper life perspective in terms of this chosen career of mine. Like most people, I used to box nursing into a job for people who are knowledgeable about health care and applying such knowledge to patients. I also expected nurses to treat their patients kindly, short of patronizing their whims in order for them to recuperate soon. Tasks of nurses were limited to administering medication as ordered by the physician, monitoring patients’ vital signs, making sure that patients are comfortable and ensuring that their environments are clean and sanitary. Upon entering the field, I realized I was right, but what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. Nursing is so much more than that! It involves a deeper meaning of care a nd understanding of the person being cared for. My philosophy about nursing broadened as time went by. For me, a nurse has multiple roles. More than a caregiver, she is an educator, an advocate, a counsellor, a manager and a researcher. She is a lifelong learner who tirelessly researches about the latest developments in health care and promotes health practices to her patients. She makes sure they understand what they are going through because in doing so, it gives them power over their illness. Providing them with all the support they need, the nurse involves with the patients’ families and even the community. Focusing on the patients entails the nurse being compassionate to their condition, loving, dependable, empathetic and comforting. The patients are made to feel special, like a beloved family member of the nurse, and not just a generic patient in need of treatment. Quality care is ensured resulting in overall positive outcomes for the patient. The patient is seen as a p erson with rights to excellent health care. This is not limited to medical care, but to other aspects that affect his health and well-being: physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural. Nurses should take all these in consideration when caring for the person. The patient should be accorded with utmost respect and not be made to feel like a burden because of his illness. His pain and suffering from the illness is not shared by anyone else so he is the expert in terms of how he feels and this should always be considered in his treatment. The environment where the patient is cared for, whether it is a hospital or clinic, is conducive to healing because it considers all the factors affecting the person’s health and well-being (physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural). It is the role of the nurse that the needs of the patient in all these areas are met. Health is the outcome of the interaction of a person with the environment and constantly changes over time. This impl ies that efficient nursing care achieves the health goals for the person being cared for adopting the most current and most effective interventions for his illness and customizing it to the person’s personal, family and cultural background. My nursing philosophy has been heavily influenced by Jean Watson, a nursing theorist who proposed the Theory of Human Caring. This

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Open and closed loop control system Essay Example for Free

Open and closed loop control system Essay In this assignment I shall be looking at the differences between open loop control systems, closes loop control systems and also looking at and identifying the input, output and feedback gained. Open Loop Control System The open loop control system is the cheapest form of control system you can have, this is due to its simplicity. The open loop control system has absolutely no artificial intelligence or any form of sensor what so ever. This then means there is nothing controlling the inputs going in to the system, this then means that accuracy may be deficient and the system will not be working to its true efficiency. An example of this kind of system would be that for a microwave. When we turn a microwave on we select the power we want and the time limit we want and away it goes. The thing is, when it is powering itself up, how does it no if its hitting the true temperature we wanted successfully? The answer to this is that is doesnt. Open-loop control is useful for well-defined systems where the relationship between input and the resultant state can be modeled by a mathematical formula. For example determining the voltage to be fed to an electric motor that drives a constant load, in order to achieve a desired speed would be a good application of open-loop control. If the load were not predictable, on the other hand, the motors speed might vary as a function of the load as well as of the voltage, and an open-loop controller would therefore not be sufficient to ensure repeatable control of the velocity. Closed Loop Control System The closed loop control system is rather more expensive to implement than that of its counterpart. This is down to the complexity of the functions that it can complete. The closed loop does have some form of monitoring capabilities and can in fact use sensors ad artificial intelligence well. An example of a closed loop control system would be that of the sprinkler system, where the user sets the desired time for the sprinkler to come on, but instead of juts doing this when set it could read the grass moisture in the first place and then make a split decision in whether it needed to be implemented or not. Control Loop Operations Normally an open loop control system comprises of the following three things, 1. Sensor This is used to measure a value before being passed in to the process 2. Decision Decisions usually follow information from the sensor being collected and analysed. This allows the system to remain up to date and make any appropriate changes accordingly 3. Action This is the action of the computer or comparator altering settings There are two differing types of systems that can be used for control and they are Analogue or digital. The two shall be explained in greater detail below. Digital and Analogue Control Systems. The digital control system is used in the form of a micro controller to control a computer system. A digital controller is usually cascaded with the plant in a feedback system. The rest of the system can either be digital or analog. Some examples of analog systems with a digital feedback controller are:   Aircraft   HVAC   Electric motors   PID controllers   Radar   Robotics   Typically, a digital controller requires: For mixed control types such as digital and analogue systems we need a process of conversion, for example digital to analogue converters (these are called DACS). The opposite can take place, by using an analogue to digital conversion process called ADC. All of these analogue control systems are embedded with micro controllers. These micro controllers have the power to run the systems and comprise of fairly common hardware properties. The typical hardware properties that can be found in the control systems micro controller can be seen below;   CPU This is the central processing unit EPROM Non volatile memory source that doesnt loose its data when the power is switched off   RAM This is the random access memory. I/O These are the input output devises A micro processor will control the control system and process the information in order for it to function correctly. For example, if we have a sprinkler system in the garden as previously described, the inputs and outputs would need to be managed by the micro controller. If the ground was wet, it could check its EPROM (erasable program read only memory) to see what the water density was, and then the process could make a decision and process it appropriately. Below is a list of the inputs that could be put in to this system.   Time for eater to be sprinkled   Required water density in the ground Temperature of the ground   Duration timer Transducers (analogue systems) Usually the forms of input found in the analogue systems are called transducers. There is a specific purpose to doing this and its main reason is down to conversion. If for example we have an electrical input and we want to display it as a picture on the page we must use a television. The transducer in this will be the Cathode ray tube (CRT) which is electromagnetic. When using sensors or transducers the signal must be converted in to an electrical measurement (volts). Below is a list of the possible input devises we can have within a system or a circuit.   Geophone Converts earth tremors in to electrical voltage   Geiger-Muller tube used for measuring radioactivity   Cathode ray tube (CRT) converts electrical signals into visual form When the electrical charge is received it then needs to be converted in to the correct signal type using one of the transducers above, however for these signals to be used correctly we need to obtain the appropriate components. Lamp The input for a lamp is electricity and this is then output as a light source after being converted. This type of power source is used for many things Speaker Gathers electricity from the data source and then is output as a volume so people can hear it. This also has a large application/usage basis   Heat The input again is electricity, this is then converted and output as heat. This is normally found on things like electric fires and car cigarette lighters Motor This is input of electricity and then is output as movement energy. This type of system is used within moving doors.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Summary of Chua Essay Example for Free

Summary of Chua Essay To change the emphasis of mainstream accounting research from hypothetico-deductivism and technical control assumptions to alternative views and obtain a fundamentally different and potentially rich research insights. Aim 1. To enable accounting researchers to self-reflect on the dominant assumptions that they share and, more importantly, the consequence of adopting this position. a. Limited the types of problems studied b. The use of research methods c. The possible research insights that could be obtained Author believes that such limitations can only become clear when they are exposed to the challenge of alternative world-views 2. To introduce such alternative set of assumptions, illustrate how they change both problem definition and solution, and offer research which is fundamentally different from that currently prevailing. 3. To argue that, not only are these alternative world-views different, they can potentially enrich and extend our understanding of accounting. Authors intended audience Positivist researchers, Public, Professionals, academics, All researchers Arguments presented to support main point Recent classifications of accounting perspectives Cooper (19830 ad Hopper ad Powel (1985) rely on the sociological work of Burrell and Morgan (1979) * Classification of accounting literature: 1. social sciences – includes assumptions about: * ontology of the social world (realism v. nominalism) * epistemology (positivism v. anti-positivism) * human nature (determinism v. voluntarism) * methodology (nomothetic v. ideographic) 2. society – characterizes it as orderly or subject to fundamental conflict Burell and Morgan (1979) Four paradigms used to classify accounting theories * Functionalist * Interpretive * Radical humanist Radical structuralist Problems persisted so accounting perspectives are differentiated with reference to underlying assumptions about knowledge, the empirical phenomena under study, and the relationship between theory and the practical world of human affairs. A classification of assumptions â€Å"knowledge is produced by people, for people, and is about people and their social and physical environm ent† Beliefs about knowledge Epistemological assumptions * Decide what to count about acceptable truth by specifying the criteria and process of assessing truth claims * E. . an epistemological assumption might state that a theory is considered true if it is repeatedly not falsifiable by empirical events Methodological assumptions * Indicate that research methods deemed appropriate for the gathering of valid evidence. * E. g. large-scale sample surveys or laboratory experiments that are â€Å"statistically sound† may be considered acceptable research methods. Both sets of assumptions are closely related. What is a â€Å"correct† research method will depend on how truth is defined. Belief about physical and social reality Ontology Object of Study * People may be viewed as identical to physical objects and be studied in the same manner * Criticism: people cannot be treated as natural scientific objects because they are self-interpretive beings who create the structures around them (Habermas, (1978) and winch (1958)) How people relate to one another and society as a whole * Every social theory makes assumptions about the nature of human society-is it, for example full of conflict or essentially stable and orderly Relationship between theory and practice Questions Purpose of knowledge in the world of practice, How may it be employed to better people’s welfare * Theory may be related to practice in several ways, each representing a particular value position on the part of the scientist (Fay (1975)). Unlike Burell and Morgan, this set of assumptions is used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative perspectives in accounting. This is not an attempt to describe world-views in a value-free, non-evaluatory language

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Does Alternative Medicine Really Work?

Does Alternative Medicine Really Work? Eduardo Gomez Mr. Thomas Corbet Alternative medicine range from herbal remedies to acupuncture and were typically used by people who are unable to use conventional medicine. However, today many people use alternative medicine because they fear big pharmaceutical drugs or cannot afford the rising cost of healthcare. People claim that alternative medicines work and heal them of illnesses but do alternative medicines really work when compared to conventional medicine? In a recent study, it was found that about 40 percent of United States adults use some of the following forms of alternative, medicine mind-body interventions, biologically based therapies, body-based methods, or energy methods. These methods of medicine became appealing to adults during the early or mid 19th century as they were markets as safe and natural methods. During this time alternative medicine actually competed with conventional medicine. However towards the end of the 19th century, alternative medicines were denounced as medical breakthroughs helped doctors understand the human body better. In todays society, alternative medicines have again gained popularity for two reasons, one is when they are marketed as safe because of the fear of vaccinations or super bugs that have developed because of some conventional practices(Ventola). Another reason is the gap between physicians and people today. In the United States, the cost of health care is incredibly high so many Americans resort to alternatives that are cheaper. Americans also have access to the internet, which allows people to spread false information about conventional medicine. For example, many people believe that vaccinations and antibiotics have links to cancer and therefore use alternative medicine instead of conventional methods. Alternative medicines range from an array of practices. Mind-body interventions include therapies such as hypnosis, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, and tai chi. According to a 2002 survey, 62% of adults in the United States use mind-body interventions. However, this practice is often only used on people with low physical and emotional risk whose condition is implemented by stress (Wahbeh). Therefore for physical conditions rather than emotional conditions, mind-body interventions loses to conventional medicine. Biologically based therapies include the consumption of herbs, foods, dietary supplements, and natural products (Ventola). The ideas behind the practice is to consume products that are rich in vitamins and minerals to help your body. Although over the years, many trials have been done on these therapies but only few have proven to be 100% effective. Some products such as herbal teas or cartilage of sharks are helpful by providing the body vitamins or minerals that you might be lacking. Thus, this type of alternative medicine could prove to beneficial over time. However for more immediate care to a health issue, conventional medicine would be more useful. Body-based methods which include massages, chiropractic, and osteopathic manipulation are proven to be as affected as conventional medicine. This practice focuses on allowing the body to heal itself by using force and massage therapies on bones, joints, and tissues. Patients of chiropractors and massage therapist have been completely satisfied when they are dealing with back pain or other issues. The problems with this practice is that many schools do not teach manual therapies for specific conditions and there lacks state of the art equipment for specific treatment (Rosenheck). Body-based therapies are very useful to patients around the world and sometimes are better than conventional medicines. Energy methods is most likely the alternative medicine that people find most skeptical.   The method in cludes Reiki, therapeutic touch and electromagnetic field exposure. Each of the therapies deals with a person either touching you or waving their hands over you body. The science behind the specific method of trying to heal someone body is questionable, however the therapies causes you to relax. Therefore the therapies may prove to be effective since relaxation can fix many health issues such as health disease. These practices of alternative methods are sometimes questionable but do prove to cause relaxation which is extremely beneficial to health issues. The effectiveness of alternative medicine is debatable. Many of its methods lack the science behind it when compared to conventional medicine. Therefore some people find it easier to use and believe in conventional medicine. The main reason behind the success of alternative medicine is the ability for a person to relax. Each method is easy to take part in and often involves the person being stationary. For example, some conventional methods are time consuming and difficult as alternative methods are usually easy and quick. Alternative medicine allows the person to relax which is extremely beneficial to the human body. However, in order to compare the effectiveness of alternative and conventional medicine in a person, we must look at that persons state of mind and their condition. If a person believes they can be cured using therapeutic touch then they will most likely be cured but if a person believes in doctors than any medication they are prescribed will most likely heal them. Hosp ital settings may also interfere with a persons ability to heal properly and therefore alternative medicines that can be done at home are often times better for the person. The patients desire to be healed and their beliefs play a crucial role when determining the effectiveness of each practice. The condition of the patient also plays a role because some conditions may require immediate attention which can only really be proved by conventional medicine. Serious conditions are better handled when using conventional practices when compared to alternative practices. The decisions ultimately comes down to the patient and how they want to be treated. Personally, I use and believe in both conventional and alternative medicines. I seek alternative medicines when they are appropriate because of the fear of superbugs or the side effects of conventional medicine. However, conventional medicine is also extremely useful and better suited for serious health issues. Therefore, people should take into account the situation, chose alternative or conventional medicine for what is better suited for them and be the own judge of the medicines effectiveness. References Ventola, C. Lee. Current Issues Regarding Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States. Pharmacy and Therapeutics. MediMedia USA, Inc., 8 Aug. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2016. Wahbeh, Helanà ©, Siegward-M. Elsas, and Barry S. Oken. Mind-body Interventions: Applications in Neurology. Neurology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 10 June 2008. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. Rosenheck, Druss. Manipulative and Body-Based Practices: An Overview. Manipulative and Body-Based Practices: An Overview. WETA, 2009. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. Engel, Meredith. Does Energy Healing Really Work? NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 18 July 2014. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

Monday, August 19, 2019

War In The Falklands :: essays research papers

War in the Falklands Fact: April 2, 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands At 4:30 A.M., helicopters had started to land on Mullet Creek; they were the first of the many invaders from Argentina. At 6:08 A.M., an attack was at full fledge. The Argentina government had claimed that they told their men it was to be a bloodless fight, but that was not the case. Argentineans busted down barrack doors and began to throw powerful grenades into the barracks and killing many unsuspecting men. Fact: February 26, 1982, The war could have been prevented On February 1982, there was supposed to be a meeting where the British government would hold a meeting with the Argentinean government to talk about preventing the war. This was a two-day event in New York, the first day the Argentineans were to host the meeting, but there was a glitch in planning, and the dates were to be changed. The leaders were under so much pressure, that some said they were going to breakdown. What basically happened at the meeting, was that both sides could not come to agreement. This resulted in a war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nobody really knew who owned the Falkland Islands. Some thought Spain, Argentina thought they owned it, and Britain thought they owned it. No agreements could be made. Fact: The war of the Falklands was a perfect opportunity to unleash state of the art weapons on the opponents. Later, after the first invasions, some messages went out over the radios. The first ones told people of a small invasion, then they began broadcasting from live sights, complete with gun fire in the background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were a lot of battles that went on between the British and the Argentineans. The British won some, and the Argentineans won others. They were all fighting for the Falklands. These were a group of small islands that were all bunched up. You could not use the islands for much, seeing as that they were craggy mountains. That would not make for very productive farm land, but there were a lot of mountain lions and goats.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the many battles, many deaths and many tests on weapons, the British had won the War in the Falklands. This war was won both in military action, and in speech. Most say to end violence in verbal communication, but verbal communication was a giant factor in the beginning of this war. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book had a couple aspects of history, it had facts, told the reader how the British government thought, and even had some of the British speech in it. I learned how the Falklands were fought over, in the sense of military

School Reforms Speech on Island of Wight :: Education

School Reforms Ladies and gentlemen of the council, As a parent of an island child, I think that we are missing out on a higher level of education. The mainland children get a good education and we are getting a second class education, which we do not deserve. We should fight to improve the quality of our schools, 89% of parents agree that we should go ahead with option three, but with one adjustment, we should let medina high school keep its sixth form, and international baccalaureate. The ages of children moving schools is going to alter from 9 and 13, to just 11, this will decrease the amount of stress that school children go under changing schools. Option three will also mean that pupils who are 14 and over will be able to study a wider range of subjects, both academic and vocational in line with changing national requirements. Also if children only have to cope with one change instead of two they will be able to concentrate on school work rather than trying to make new friends, and trying to learn what you can and can’t do in their new school. The school changes were at ages 9 and 13, this would disrupt the learning of students because of the reasons I have just stated, and as they are in the middle of a critical test time i.e. the year nine SAT’s at 14 years old. Also at 9 years old the brain is geared up for learning and grasping new things not sudden changes and disruptions like moving schools. Mainland students change schools at 11 which is just before students start key stage three, this is the build up time for the year nine SAT’s and the only prime time to change schools. We are disrupting the students twice in their school life they are achieving lower results, and there for going to get worse jobs than those mainland students, who have more GCSE’s. Do you want your children to grow up and get one maybe two GCSE’s? My guess is no. I certainly don’t want my children growing up and having fewer opportunities than that of a mainland child. I want my child to have a great job that the y enjoy, not one they have to be satisfied with because they do not have enough qualifications. I ask you ladies and gentlemen of the council do you want your child to grow up like that?

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Awakening to Freedom Essay -- essays papers

Awakening to Freedom Awakening or to awake means â€Å"to wake up; to be or make alert or watchful† (Webster 23). This is what Edna Pontellier experienced in The Awakening. There has been some discussion over the appropriateness of the ending to this story. Was it appropriate for Edna to commit suicide? Yes, this story of Edna Pontellier, including the ending, is appropriate to what a woman probably would have felt like if she were in that time feeling what Edna was feeling. Edna committed suicide because there was no other way out. She did not fit into society. Her thoughts and emotions were not the same as the thoughts and emotions of the other women of this time. Edna committed suicide so that she could be reborn in a time that she would be excepted as she was. Edna was ahead of her time. She wanted a life for herself. She didn’t want her husband or her children to establish it for her. â€Å"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself† (Chopin 573). This is not something that a w...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Underage Driving

TEEN TRAFFIC Attention! Attention! Attention! If you are a teenager or a parent of one then – it is a MUST for you to read on. It is very important for you to know that driving and especially underage driving is a potentially â€Å"risky activity†. Nowadays, in the times of modernization and the exposure, the teenagers are getting, they find it difficult to resist the temptation of driving before the right age. Due to peer pressure and to look cool, most teenagers start driving at an early age.It gives them a feeling of invincibility, freedom and independence. But is this rosy world of teens as beautiful as they think it is? Well, let’s see. It is true that anyone driving on the roads is quite in danger of meeting with an accident and teens between the ages of 16 yrs to 19 yrs are more vulnerable to it. The reason being that they are the most inexperienced when it comes to matters of the road. It has been found that the most number of people jumping a red light, taking illegal turns or driving with too many pillion riders are teens.Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the SummerThey are even found wanting in the use of seat belts. Teens are the ones who usually meet with more number of accidents due to their immaturity as they often underestimate the seriousness or danger involved in a situation. They are wild by nature and high in spirits and also quite carefree. The fact that they are breaking rules and still not getting caught gives them a feeling of boldness. They often wear an attitude that says – ‘I can get away with anything and everything†.But ask the families who have lost one of their dear ones due to road accidents and are suffering now but also repenting at the same time due to their only mistake of allowing their young child to drive prematurely. Well, the fact remains that parents who allow their kids to drive on the roads whether, only for making their lives easy as the teens have to ru sh from their schools to tuition classes, don’t even think twice about its consequences. Statistics say that 1400 adolescents died due to underage driving in India in the year 1999 and the numbers keep increasing drastically every year.I feel that the leniency of the traffic police and negligence of the parents is the main cause of this problem. I don’t understand why is it so difficult for the traffic police to keep a check on underage driving as anyone in a school uniform driving a vehicle is underage. Traffic rules should be carefully explained and strictly enforced in all places. The police should be strict and should levy heavy fines on the offenders. Parents should also guide their wards in obeying traffic rules.The teenagers should be made to realize that driving is full of responsibilities and is a very serious issue. It involves the safety of not only their lives but also the other traffickers. The most important thing is that if the parents set an example by obeying traffic laws then their children will respect the law too. The schools can also contribute by making the students aware of the dangers involved in driving and the responsibility that comes with it. I feel that a combined effort of the police, parents and the schools will certainly help to reduce this problem to a great extent. Underage Driving TEEN TRAFFIC Attention! Attention! Attention! If you are a teenager or a parent of one then – it is a MUST for you to read on. It is very important for you to know that driving and especially underage driving is a potentially â€Å"risky activity†. Nowadays, in the times of modernization and the exposure, the teenagers are getting, they find it difficult to resist the temptation of driving before the right age. Due to peer pressure and to look cool, most teenagers start driving at an early age.It gives them a feeling of invincibility, freedom and independence. But is this rosy world of teens as beautiful as they think it is? Well, let’s see. It is true that anyone driving on the roads is quite in danger of meeting with an accident and teens between the ages of 16 yrs to 19 yrs are more vulnerable to it. The reason being that they are the most inexperienced when it comes to matters of the road. It has been found that the most number of people jumping a red light, taking illegal turns or driving with too many pillion riders are teens.Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the SummerThey are even found wanting in the use of seat belts. Teens are the ones who usually meet with more number of accidents due to their immaturity as they often underestimate the seriousness or danger involved in a situation. They are wild by nature and high in spirits and also quite carefree. The fact that they are breaking rules and still not getting caught gives them a feeling of boldness. They often wear an attitude that says – ‘I can get away with anything and everything†.But ask the families who have lost one of their dear ones due to road accidents and are suffering now but also repenting at the same time due to their only mistake of allowing their young child to drive prematurely. Well, the fact remains that parents who allow their kids to drive on the roads whether, only for making their lives easy as the teens have to ru sh from their schools to tuition classes, don’t even think twice about its consequences. Statistics say that 1400 adolescents died due to underage driving in India in the year 1999 and the numbers keep increasing drastically every year.I feel that the leniency of the traffic police and negligence of the parents is the main cause of this problem. I don’t understand why is it so difficult for the traffic police to keep a check on underage driving as anyone in a school uniform driving a vehicle is underage. Traffic rules should be carefully explained and strictly enforced in all places. The police should be strict and should levy heavy fines on the offenders. Parents should also guide their wards in obeying traffic rules.The teenagers should be made to realize that driving is full of responsibilities and is a very serious issue. It involves the safety of not only their lives but also the other traffickers. The most important thing is that if the parents set an example by obeying traffic laws then their children will respect the law too. The schools can also contribute by making the students aware of the dangers involved in driving and the responsibility that comes with it. I feel that a combined effort of the police, parents and the schools will certainly help to reduce this problem to a great extent.