Thursday, July 22, 2010

Bibliography

1. Power.G.K ( 2000). Information processes and technology. Heinemann, Victoria

2. Chivers.B Cheleski,P Peter.W (2001). Information processes and technology HSC Course. Jacaranda, Australia

3. www.grcoatley.mcc.education.nsw.gov.au/ipt.../issues.htm

4. www.law.georgetown.edu/ist/.../relativeabsolute_references.htm

5. www.typesofgraphs.com/

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Purpose of the Form Letter

In this situation, the form letter is being used as a mailing tool. The database is merged with a word document to make a letter that is sent to the customers about upcoming sales. The form letter used merged fields to reduce the chance of redundant data. This merged form letter makes it easier for staff to send out the information to past customers.

Form Letter

The purpose of the report

The purpose and use of the report is to allow the staff to use this page to be able to contact any of the customers if their order has been delayed or lost. This allows the staff to have easy access to the information of the customers. If problems do arise, the staff just have to look at this document and find the customers details and it reduces the chance that the staff will get the number wrong.

The purpose and use of queries

The three queries that I used for the database include:
1. Search by Name: This prompt allows the user to search for a single product by name. The disadvantage of this is that the user has to know the complete name of the item entered into the system.
2. Search by Type: This would be the most used query because it allows the user to view the whole range of products that they are searching for and can find out the price and the availability of the items.
3. Search by Product ID: This query would be used mostly by the stores staff because to remember all the ID’s of the product is very difficult.
The reasons for using all of these queries are to provide the user with a choice to use the query that is most convenient for them.

Entity Relationship Diagram

Privacy

Privacy is a major social and ethical issue when it comes under internet and the area of databases. When people enter information into a database or survey, they need to be certain that their personal information is not used for other purposes. Individuals have a right to control their personal information.

The data collected about customers in my company’s database includes:
• First Name
• Last Name
• Address
• Suburb
• Post Code
• Mobile Number

When customers choose to purchase from my company, all the data collected stays secure within the system, will not be sold to other company’s and wont be used for purposes other than the one used to collect the data.

Social and Ethical Issues

Increased use of technology has had both positive and negative effects on people. Three social and ethical issues that I have chosen are:
1. A negative ethical issue includes forgery of data: as data is so easy to find now there are many negative issues that arise such as this one. With only a few clicks of the keyboard people can steal data from others, without naming them as the source and claim it as their own. This issue is becoming greater, as access to data and information becomes easier and easier.
2. Another negative social and ethical issue is identity theft. People can find information about any individual details. This can be done by filling in false surveys on the internet, buying fake items over the internet, and even just looking up an individual by a social networking site. As identity theft is increasing throughout the world, it is important that users of the internet take caution.
3. A positive effect on people has allowed new technology to expand such as bionic legs. A few years ago a paraplegic never thought he would be able to walk again, because he had no feelings in his limbs below his abdominals. But with new technology he has been able to purchase and test with bionic legs. This man is now walking with bionic legs and can do things that he never thought he would be able to do again. This positive social issue has allowed people to do things that they never thought they would be able to do.

Relative and Absolute Reference

Relative Reference
When you create a formula, references to cells or ranges are usually based on their position relative to the cell that contains the formula. For example, cell B6 contains the formula =A5, Excel finds the value one cell above and one cell to the left of B6. When you copy a formula that uses relative references, Excel automatically adjusts the references in the pasted formula to refer to different cells relative to the position of the formula.



Absolute reference
If your formula multiplies cell A5 with cell C1 (=A5*C1) and you copy the formula to another cell, Excel will adjust both references. You can create an absolute reference to cell C1 by placing a dollar sign ($) before the parts of the reference that do not change. To create an absolute reference to cell C1, for example, add dollar signs to the formula as follows: =A5*$C$1. The $ character indicates to Excel that it should not increment the column and/or row reference as you fill a range with a formula or as you copy a range.

4 Different Types of Graphs

Graphs are used as a great visual aid in any presentation or comparison. Every chart has its own purpose but may have some disadvantages. The four graphs that I have chosen are:

Pie graph: This is one of the most highly used graphs because each of the sectors used are compared to the total. The chart is based on a 100% scale and each of the slices are percentages of the whole thing. The pie chart is best used when representing how the measured statistic is compared to the whole “pie” and generally not used when statistics are compared to each other.



Column Graph: This graph is used when comparing two or more pieces of data, and not necessarily data is more accessible to people. Gives people a sense of range of data.



Bar graph: Bar graphs are horizontal column graphs. Bar graphs are used to plot discrete data. On the left hand side of the graph are the names of the things that the user wants to plot and on the bottom is the values that the user is using to compare the data.



Line Graph: This type of graph displays information as a series of data points connected by straight-line segments. A line graph is best used when wanting to show relative value, compare a few statistics, percentages or show changes over time.

Data Accuracy, Integrity and Bias

Data Accuracy
Data being free from errors relates to data accuracy. These errors can be caused when collecting the data, such as in surveys, through the processing of data and can be caused by simply out-of date data.
An example of data accuracy is someone entering an order form for an item being purchased. The individual enters the data in about his/her personal details and enters the wrong house number. This error can have huge side effects such as this individual not ever getting the item they paid for. Data accuracy can be easily prevented by taking the time to check over your details being filled in, and the website manufacturer can increase data accuracy by making the customer fill in important details such as address, twice.

Data Integrity
Data integrity refers to the reliability and accuracy of the data. This should be ensured by the use of verification and validation checks, and the elimination of redundant data.
An example of data integrity is a buyer of delivered newspaper. If this customer were to move house and not change the address on the subscription, the data has therefore lost its integrity.

Bias
Data bias is a false emphasis or representation of data, leading to inaccurate information. Bias can be introduced when deciding what data to collect, when collecting data or when processing or presenting data.
A great example of bias when presenting data is through comparison of tables. Companies can make their productivity seem higher than other companies through a easy process of changing the Y and X axis to suit there needs.

Schematic Diagram

Normalisation

Normalisation: is a process used in the design of a database, whereby we attempt to minimise data redundancy (duplication) of data by breaking the database up into a number of smaller linked tables. Databases that have been completely normalised do not have any integrity issues because their structures prevent redundant data from being stored.

Data Dictionary