Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice Essay

The United States Criminal Justice System is a fundmental part to society that focuses on protecting citizens in the United States Constiution as well as ensuring each individual is law adbiding law and not commiting serious acts of crimes. Each law was put in state and federal statues to ensure it continues and as time has changed some of the laws have not changed. In present day, the criminal justice system faces comptemporary issues as well as trends that not only affect today but in the future and how important each member of society hold a significant value to the criminal justice system. For many decades the criminal justice system has endured many issues and problems that are currently questioning exactly how fair United States Criminal Justice system is to citizens and criminals that participate in both misdeameanor and violent offenses. The Corrections Department is one specific department that faces many controversies involving the validilty of one’s constitutional right of the Eighth Amendment. The Founding Fathers created one of the famous amendments that prohibits the law from enforcing cruel and unusual punishment in capital punishment. At one time, capital punishment consisted of electrocution, firing squad, and the gas chamber. Unfortunately, many individuals believe that this form of punishments were cruel and unusual and many states eliminated these methods in their executions. In present day, lethal injection is the new method used in state executions that have not banned the death penalty as a form of punishment. The death penalty is used in only 32 states as of 2014 however the re-creation of lethal drug cocktail makes the world ponder if the lethal injection method is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. The issue of the new combination of lethal injections drugs have many opposers speculating should the death row inmate have the legal right to know exactly what is behind the newly developed death penalty drugs as well as if it against the Eighth Amendment. Two death row inmates in the State of Oklahoma pleaded with the higher courts to disclose any information pertaining to the ingredients of the drugs however the Oklahoma Supreme Court specifically stated, â€Å"This court holds that the secrecy provision †¦ does not violate the inmates’ constitutional right of access to the courts. The Oklahoma Supreme Court said the only remaining issue, then, is whether the state’s failure to disclose its source for the drugs prevents the prisoners from challenging their executions using the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on  cruel and unusual punishment. The court decided it did not†(CNN,2014). Following the ruling, the stay of executions of Charles Warner and Clayton Lockett were uplifted and were scheduled to a double execution on April 29, 2014 that would forever change the proper protocols of execution guidelines and the Cruel and Unusual Punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. Clayton Lockett received the first injection around 6:23 pm and ten minutes following his injection he was unconscious. After the doctor noticed he was unconscious he administered the last two drugs that would execute Clayton Lockett. Between 6:44 and 6:56 pm the doctor that was administering the medical procedures of the execution addressed that the inmates vein had collapased that led for the drugs to either absorb in his tissue or leaked out(The Guardian ,2014). Immediately the inmate passed away of a massive heart attack. Following the execution, the other inmate that was supposed to be execute right after Lockett did not face the punishment and currently he is on a 180 day stay until the state government can conduct a full investigation into the botched execution. Supporters of the death penalty believe the execution was conducted appropriately however opposers believe he faced a slow painful death. The question remains will the death penalty in the State of Oklahoma be abolished or test the drugs before they are administered on death row inmates. As much as someone may commited such a heinous crime such as Lockett and Warner these offenders are given rights off all the amendments of the United States Constitution and it is their right to address violations to higher courts so they can determine if it did occur. The death penalty has many advantages and disadvantages and the criminal justice system is constantly fighting the battle to keep it alive and well. Prison overcrowding is another contemporary issue that is currently affecting the criminal justice throughout the United States. Society is aware of the consequences involving committing a crime, however for offenses that are considered non-violent and the offender who has not been in trouble with the law in the past faces severe punishment such as a violent offender. Drug offenses is one crime that caused correctional facilities population to skyrocket and instead of finding the best alternative for punishment prisons face an unkinown number of crimes within the facilities. In the State of Oklahoma, approximately 26, 539 offenders are incarcerated in priosn whereas probation has a population of  21,085(American Legislative Exchange Council,2014). Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition(n.d.) states,† Prior to the current prohibition era the U.S. Prison population was a quarter of what it is today. But 30 years ago the â€Å"War on Drugs† was launched. Before that the prison population had been level for over 5 decades. 70 to 75% of people in prison are drug war prisoners. Drug use, arrest and incarceration rates along with data on sentence length show that people of color unfairly bear the brunt of the drug war†(para.4). The war on drugs is the primary reason for the increasingly amount of prisoners in facilities throughout the United States and if state legislation ever comes to the decision to stop the battle more likely overcrowding will not be a substanstive issue. Additional reasons why the American Corrections system is overcrowded are mandatory minimum sentencing, denial of parole, unaffordable bail, poverty, and Post Incarceration Syndrome. The final contemporary issue that is facing the criminal justice today is the increasing amount of complaints involving police officers that are involving in police bruatility and excessive use of force. As society has learned in the past of cases of Rodney King, it happened then and it is still happening. However, just because one cop does it does not mean all of them do it. The most current case involving police brutality and excessive use of force involves the Albuquerque Police Department. Recently, certain police officers went against their oath and maliciously killed members of society. The circumstances are unknown and the Justice Department has conducted a through investigation stating that the police department â€Å"the officers kicked, punched and violently restrained nonthreatening people, and seldom were the officers reprimanded. Many of the victims suffered from mental illnesses, and some were disabled, elderly or drunk, the 16-month investigation concluded. The changes called for by the Justice Department — 44 remedies in all — included extensive revisions to the department’s use-of-force policies. The term â€Å"force† would be more clearly defined, and officers would have to report to superiors when they used various tactics: chokeholds, kicks, leg sweeps and tackles. Under the recommendations, officers would be trained to rely more on verbal warnings and less on stun guns, and new recruits would be required to undergo psychological, medical  and polygraph examinations to assess their fitness for the job†(New York Times,2014). As much as the recommendations should be followed, more cases of police brutatlity and excessive force in Albuqueruqe happen however it seems officers refuse to listen to the recommendations and choose what is best for them. Some may feel threatened when they encounter someone but there are other methods instead of physically harming someone or murdering the subject. One of the most recent trends that is currently affecting the criminal justices that will more likely affect it in the future is the increasing amount of crimes involving youths. In the past, youths were not subjected to violence and since the internet evolved and other environmental factors so much is at stake. One particular area where society is seeing violence are in areas that at one time that they thought was safe such as schools and movies. The Aurora Thetre Shooting and various school shootings continue to happen and for innocent individuals fear is in their minds on a daily basis. The reasons the youth commits serious acts like these vary however most cases involved the lack of mental healthcare and as well as bullying. The perpertrators feel that the victims hurt them in some manner that led them to harm an entire school. In addition, technology is a severe problem for the criminal justice system today and will continue as long as the internet is available. Identity Theft is the newest trend in computer crimes and all it takes is a click of a button and the criminal soughting out the information can have access to someone’s life in a matter of seconds(Muraskin & Roberts,2009). Prevention is the only recommendation in both youth violence and cybercrimes that will eventually decrease the current trends occurring in the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system hold a significant value in today’s changing society by ensuring each citizen of the United States is lawfully protected by their consititutional rights as well as ensuring that local, state, and federal governments following proper protocol, procedures, and polices on keeping society away from harm that he or she could possibly face. The only problem that society has with the criminal justice system is the lack of mistrust invididuals have based on past incidents and discrepanices that makes person’s make the assumption that all professionals do not care of their well being or are not going above and beyond to protect them. Current trends and comtemproary issues within the criminal justice system will  remain in society for many years to come. Capital punishment, prison overcrowding, and police brutality affect the justice system in a variety of ways but to society each problem can be fixed by following proper procedures. As for trends, technology and youth violence is uncertain but the best method is to find resources and methods to eliminate trends in the cirminla justice system in the future. As much as society places the criminal justice system as good or bad it is something needed to protect everyone from constitutional violations as well as from heinous acts of crime. Reference American Legislative Exchange Council . (2014). Prison Overcrowding: Oklahoma. Retrieved from http://www.alec.org/initiatives/prison-overcrowding/prison-overcrowding-oklahoma/ CNN. (2014). Oklahoma executions back on, as court rules to keep lethal-drug sources secret. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/justice/oklahoma-court-execution-drugs/ Muraskin, R., & Roberts, A. R. (2009). Visions For Change: Crime and Justice in the 21st Century (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. New York Times. (2014). Justice Dept. Accuses Albuquerque Police of Excessive Force. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/us/albuquerque-police-report-justice-department.html?_r=1 Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition (SHaRC). (n.d.). What Causes Overcrowding in Jails and Prisons?. Retrieved from http://www.massdecarcerate.org/download/overcrowding.pdf The Guardian. (2014). Oklahoma execution of Clayton Lockett – timeline of the botched procedure. Retrieved from http://www.the guardian.com/world/interactive/2014/may/01/oklahoma-execution-clayton-lockett-timeline-document

History Context of China’s Modern History

History is vital in the development of a country. China is one of the countries with a rich account of historical events. These include the Chinese Civil War, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Great Famine. I am fascinated by China’s Great Famine––largest ever recorded famine in human history––that transpired between 1959 and 1961. The famine had caused the death of about 30 million Chinese citizens due to extreme starvation. Encyclopedia of Population describes the famine as â€Å"massive institutional and policy changes which accompanied the Great Leap Forward were the key factors in the famine. † Mao Zedong, a distinguished Chinese leader, had this wild dream to make China’s economy soar quickly. He planned to surpass Britain’s achievement on iron and steel production. So he ordered millions of peasants to join the iron and steel production workforce instead of working in their fields. My grandfather, who had experienced that period said, â€Å"I was ordered to mine local deposits of iron ore and limestone while my brother was ordered to smelt metal instead of farming. † My grandfather said that people then were eating tree peels and roots. Those efforts toward industrialization resulted to decreased agricultural activities that eventually triggered the spread of famine.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Essay

There are different research methods that have been guided by different philosophy of science that were developed by philosopher, researcher and sociologist at their time of era. The well-known research methods are quantitative research methods. Quantitative are numerical methods associated with deductive approaches. Quantitative research methods are usually guided by the principles of positivism as it takes on objective reality and accepts single reality. Quantitative methods are usually used to measure size, observe numerical change over time, audience segmentation, testing hypothesis, and, quantifying attitudes, behaviors and opinions. The main importance of quantitative research is on deductive reasoning which tends to move from the general to the specific. The validity of conclusions is shown to be dependent on one or more premises being valid. For example, All students who study MBA in Kathmandu University works in a bank. Seema studies in MBA in Kathmandu University. Based on the premises, we can say that Seema works in a bank. Premises used in deductive reasoning are important because faulty premises can lead to wrong conclusions. Another popular method is qualitative method, which are usually associated with inductive approaches. Qualitative research methods are used on subjective matter, as in-depth study to explore subject matter. Qualitative research methods are guided by philosophies as post-positivism, critical theory, and constructivism. Qualitative research methods offer different kinds of ways to investigate on research problems as interview methods, focused group discussions,case studies and many others to understand the certain circumstances or culture in the society. The approach adopted by qualitative researchers tends to be inductive which means that they develop a theory or look for a pattern of meaning on the basis of the data that they have collected. This involves a move from the specific to the general and is sometimes called a bottom-up approach. However, most research projects also involve a certain degree of deductive reasoning (Trochim, 2005). Quantitative Research is more about collecting numerical data to study about certain phenomena. For example, what percentage of Nepalese student who go to US for foreign degree complete graduate course in United States? Other examples may be what percentage of Nepalese students who are studying in TU have negative attitude towards TU administrations. One usually has to use quantitative research when one wants answer in numbers. However, one has to study about complex situations and go with in-depth studies then qualitative methods should be used. For example, researcher wants to know how people view politics in Nepal? Similarly, a researcher wants to do ethnographic study of the culture of Tharus of Nepal and lives with Tharu for some years, immerse himself/herself in that environment to discover the meanings, convention of behavior, and ways of thinking important in tharu cultures. Similarly, even though the selection of research methods are based upon the problem selected, resource available, the skills of researcher and audience of the research, both the methodologies are also used together in a research which is known as mixed methods. â€Å"Mixed methods often combine nomothetic and idiographic approaches in an attempt to serve the dual purposes of generalization and in-depth understanding—to gain an overview of social regularities from a larger sample while understanding the other through detailed study of a smaller sample. Full integration of these approaches is difficult, hence the predominance of component studies†(Pat Bazeley, 2004) References (Bazeley, 2004) Social Research Methods. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2012, from www.socialresearchmethods. net: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/positivism (2005). In W. M. Trochium, Research Methods (2nd ed.).

Budgeting is a key component in management short and long term Essay

Budgeting is a key component in management short and long term planning - Essay Example Budgeting helps in figuring out the issues that are faced by the organization and the stakeholders of the organization (RICH, 2012, p.970). This done by finding the difference between the actual outcomes and the budgeted outcomes, if the actual outcomes are not consistent with the budgeted outcomes, the organization is said to have been experiencing issues that need to be resolved. Budgeting is a means through which alternatives are identified and analyze this is done to find the best alternative which will end up in providing fruitful results to the organization. Budgeting is an essential element in the planning role played by the management of an organization. It plays a key role in creating plans that are short and long term in nature. Both the short and long term goals of the organization are of great importance. The achievement of the long term goals is entirely dependent on the successful achievement of the short term goals of the organization. Short Term Planning A manager is involved in the process of making both short and long term planning. The plans that are created for a shorter period of time are created while keeping a deadline of one year or as long as two years in mind (SPEARMAN, 2007, p.194). The plans are created while analyzing expectations of earnings, cash inflow and outflow and expenditures conducted to obtain resources. The plans may be created for as long as one single month or even for as low as one single week. Short term plans created within the organization are heavily dependant on information obtained within the organization and these plans consists of detailed information of tactical objectives that an organization aims at achieving. The short term plans are well structured and hardly experience change with changes in environment, the outcomes of these plans are easily determinable and the outcomes can be analyzed quite frequently (NIEUWENHUIZEN, 2007, p.61). The plans of revenue earning and profit making that are short term in nat ure are devised in accordance to the current products offered by the organization and the current market in which the organization is operating. Short term profitability programs should be developed in accordance to different responsibilities and areas. Plans that are short term in nature are dependent on departments and all departments create their own short term plans. Once short term plans for each department is created, all the short term plans are viewed and reviewed together as all functions/departments are dependent on each other for their success. For the creation of short term plans, involvement of lower level managers is quite significant. Line manager is one of the lower level managers who play the most important role in defining the short term objectives and short term plans should be finally devised with the ultimate aim of achieving long term targets of the organization. Long Term Planning The nature of the long-term planning is quite strategic and it covers a broad ra nge of purposes. This kind of plan is scheduled to be completed within five to ten years of operations and it is formed in accordance to the future operations of the organization. These plans are not only based on the conditions of the internal environment of the organization, they are created while giving importance to the external environment which includes the

Formal Letter to the legislative representative Essay

Formal Letter to the legislative representative - Essay Example An earlier proposed bill in California also supported this bill and had a similar agenda to this bill. Following the rising reports published by the American Psychological Association, which determined that minors were accessing conversion therapies in the State of California, Senator Ted W. Lieu drafted a bill that sought to ban the therapies owing to their severe side effects on minors. Several facilities in the country offer such to adults who willingly seek the services. The service providers thus explain the potential ramifications of changing one’s sexuality. Studies proved that the sexual orientation efforts often had negative effects on children. Such effects included confusion, depression and substance abuse at some levels. Therefore owing to the adverse effects that are associated with the sexual conversion therapies that are currently targeting the minors, we proposed the bill that seeks to have proper guidance in the policies ascribed to in the practices. As indica ted in our proposed bill, the main aims of the bill is to have sanity restored in the medical and legal system concerning protection of the rights of the minors while upholding ethical practices within the society. Children have always been the major target of sexual abuses over ages with children being assaulted owing to their vulnerability. Despite the great psychological as well as physical suffering that children suffer, undergo through due to sexual exploitation, the orientation therapies have increased to this suffering in targeting the minors more. The practices are not only exploitative but also unethical and hence needs to be opposed with all seriousness possible. It was in the position that the bill was drafted in order to have a voice against such vices in the society. Among other recommendations of the bill were the serious disciplinary and corrective measures to be enforced towards such perpetrators who are guilty of breaking the law when the bill is enacted.

Is rape a product of sexual desire or the exercise of power Essay

Is rape a product of sexual desire or the exercise of power - Essay Example Other theorists take a different perspective, iterating that rape is actually a product of repressed or overt sexual desire occurring in one with the inability to control their impulsive desires. Some researchers even attempt to place motivation on drug and alcohol consumption; however, there is not enough evidence that alcohol and drug dependency maintains predictive characteristics that will influence decisions to perform rapes. Research evidence on the subject tends to point toward rape as being a blend of exertion of power and dominance whilst also being influenced by cultural dynamics and the rule of law. There is not enough distinct knowledge literature on the subject that can concretely justify that rape is only a construct of desire, as there have been ample research studies conducted using diversified samples that illustrate rape is a multi-faceted activity that represents both inherent motivations for exerting power and satisfying cultural models of acceptable masculinity, with much less emphasis on rape as a product of satisfying intrinsic sexual desires. This paper describes the many intricacies of the act of rape in order to determine whether power or sexual ambition should be considered the primary motivation for sexual aggression against others. ... There are some cultural misconceptions pre-existing in Western societies where men in masculine social circles believe that men have the absolute right to demand sex when providing females with gifts or social recreation (Henslin, 2005). In cultures with very robust disparities between what is considered acceptable masculine behaviour versus feminine behaviour, it is more likely that acts of rape will be defended by male reference groups. Long-standing, acceptable cultural models that illustrate different standards for males versus females serve as the foundation for what motivates some acts of rape against others. Though there are multitudes of legalities established by democratic governance systems to define rape and its consequences for perpetrating sexual violence, the micro-level connotations of social reference groups determine the acceptability of performing sexual aggression. In this case, it is neither the exertion of power against others nor the fulfilment of whimsical sexu al desires; instead, it is the consequences of cultural judgment that serves as motivation to carry out rape. Psychologists and sociologists alike tend to agree that the power of peer assessment and criticism are powerful predictors of future behaviour for many in society (Weiten and Lloyd, 2005). Individuals who gain positive development of self-esteem and self-respect by adhering to reference group opinion would most likely justify performing violent rapes by citing social consensus. In some countries such as Nigeria, in which women are considered to be lesser entities compared to the patriarchical cultural model in place, rape is a common occurrence

Subscription Television Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Subscription Television - Research Paper Example Other technological devices, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, TV and modern tablets are also becoming key direct competitors (Nikolinakos 67). The second level of competitors includes product category competitors which prove to be more specific. These include basic cable, on demand internet television, satellite television, which comprises of either a dish or a direct TV and finally, video on demand such as VUDU (Cohen 78). The third category of the key competitors comprises of generic competitors such as movies, theatres, online gaming, online plays, videos and concerts. The direct competitors offer clients subscriptions to a desirable number of television channels and unlimited content such as movies. This is the case with streaming video subscriptions. Theses streaming subscriptions have proven to be primary competitors to subscription television considering they offer their clients a diverse range of content which is not limited to television shows. This is likely to make them a preference over subscription television. This has been the case in the recent past as streaming video subscriptions have registered a remarkable percentage of sales. Evidently, the likes of Netflix and Hulu have proved to be primary competitors to subscription television because of the package they offer to clients. In the case of specific competitors, the potential of basic cable television and satellite television, which do not pose subscriptions to the users, offer a measurable level of competition (Grimme 64). These are highly accessible through antennae and may prove to be a preferable choice for some users depending on their television needs. With the increasing access to the internet, a remarkable percentage of the population prefers to watch their favourable television channels online as long as they have an internet connection. With the cheap packages of internet connection, these

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 33

Personal Statement Example It will be interesting to be among the first people to introduce the services of pshychobiologist in my home country. I intend to work in a government institution as a researcher since there will be facilities and resources to further the knowledge on this field. I also wish to go around the world disseminating the research knowledge through seminars and practice in helping in treating patients with behaviour disorders that can be linked to their biological characteristics. I believe by the time I am through with the course there will be numerous areas requiring further research and will be more than willing to engage in uncovering the hidden clues on how biology is linked to human behaviour and mental phenomena. I will ensure I work very hard as a biology student so that I can sharpen my knowledge before starting Psychobiology. It will be my life-long goal to serve the people of Macau in changing their mentality towards those suffering from mental illnesses and especially those that have biological basis. I look forward to being a productive member of the society after studying this very interesting and relatively new

Public Intellectual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Intellectual - Essay Example His immense contribution in religious, economic, social and political matters was outstanding. Nelson Mandela like many other intellectuals was a statesman whose credibility can never be left out when writing the history of South Africa and Africa as a whole. His leadership, humility and perseverance, dedication and courage, love for humanity and fair-mindedness are exemplary traits that gives him credit as one of the world’s greatest public intellects. Mandela’s leadership traits rank him among the world greatest. His political wit and economic vision equate him with Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill. Mandela was a leader dedicated to his countrymen and prioritized their freedom and welfare than his own life (Maanga, 97). In the struggle for South Africa’s independence, he led the ANC as a young man to liberate his country from the hands of the colonial powers. Even after independence and his five year term as the president of South Africa, he still showed the characteristics that made him standout as a leader and father of the nation. According to some famous leaders in South Africa such as Oliver Tambo, Mandela was an inspiration leader who would sacrifice his life for his people. He was a symbol of unity among the Africans in the fight for freedom and against apartheid (Maanga, 98). Mandela possessed the humility and perseverance traits necessary for a leader. Like Martin Luther King in the fight against racism in America, Mandela’s humility in fight against apartheid is appreciated. He endured difficult situations including twenty-seven years imprisonment seeking the freedom of his South African brothers and sisters (Maanga, 97). The imprisonment played an important role of strengthening his call for the eradication of apartheid and freedom of the black people. It is such characters of humility and commitment to his course

Service process of McDonalds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Service process of McDonalds - Essay Example non-stop customers’ flow and subsequent success in the business. It is important to note that McDonald’s Company serves both as a service and product company. McDonald’s deals in fast food sphere of services and their interest and priority to serve customers at the highest level possible has enabled them to dominate the world market with overwhelming customer base for a long time. Their compactors cannot march them in terms of brand loyalty given the input they have always put in servicing the customers. The company also appears in the fortune 500 list as one of the most prominent and effective companies in the world in terms of fast food provision (Fitzsimmons, 2005: 34). It is indicated that McDonald’s has the most efficient way in dealing with the customer and they take the minimal time to attend to the customer. The waiting time in the restaurant is much reduced and no customer can take longer than necessary McDonald’s has greatly invested in th e customer service in the most appropriate way possible and this they believe will give them a competitive advantage. They also have employed the use of technological advancement in satisfying their customers. In this sense, automated machines for beverages are used to enable quick services to the customer. This will avoid customers staying in queues for a long time being conscious that customers have little time to spend in the restaurant. The efficiency of the customer service in the company is one of their major strengths in cutting and edge over their competitors (Clark and Baker, 2004: 77). The management of the services in a way that it attracts and retains customers in one of the most important focuses in business particularly those that are food-based. Main Body Service to the customer is one way of retaining and attracting customers in a business, this is particularly more pronounced in a business situated in a competitive landscape like what is McDonald’s is experie ncing. In response, the business must design unique services to the customer that will make them occupy a niche that no other among its competitors has. McDonald’s has realized the essence satisfactory customer service and has reciprocated by offering a myriad of services to the customer and this can be construed to accounts for their huge customer base in the 118 countries in the world. In McDonald’s, it is recognized that every customer is unique in a way and must be treated exactly the same as the other without assumption, in this relation, the following services from different quarters are offered at McDonald’s. Products Quality Besides provision of high quality products, the company has also insisted on having the customers get their value for money. They have noted the need for high standards in the delicate business of fast food and have ensured that it is always observed such that it becomes very palpable for any customer to do a comparative analysis whe n they shop elsewhere. In pursuit of this, McDonald’

Nursing practice and health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Nursing practice and health care - Essay Example Hospitals stays are becoming shorter with the average patient staying 6.1 days in the late 1990s for acute admittance, as compared to 11.3 days in the early 1970s (Department of Health, 2003a). The practices for the most ideal outcomes which enhance independent living are constantly evaluated as to their appropriateness to modern day living. The issue of discharge and its effects on patients is critical to discuss as most patients want to return to life as it was previous to their admission. Also, it is the post-modern aim of the NHS that service delivery focus on acute care which is unable to be provided efficiently by other health care service organizations. This paper will review the positive and negative impacts of hospital discharge on patients, their relatives, carers and health professionals. Secondly, local practices as experienced at placement at the Lewisham Hospital will be detailed. And the alignment of local practices with National Strategies will be identified. Finally, a conclusion shall synthesise the main points of the paper and demonstrate that decreasing in-hospital stays can have a positive effect on patients. The adult patient has many developmental tasks to meet, whatever their lifespan stage; young adult, middle adult or older adult. The health of the adult client occurs along a health-illness continuum. Many factors will affect adult health; genetic makeup, cognitive abilities and education level; ethnicity and cultural background; age, gender and developmental stage; lifestyle and environment; socio-economic background; geographic area; and their health promotion and maintenance (Brooker & Nichols, 2003; Hinchcliff, 2003). Obvious benefits to patients of shorter hospital stays include their savings as consumers of health care treatments and care, and that shorter stays are much preferred by patients in general. Clearly public and private savings on health care costs will occur due to shorter stays. Social costs for conditions such as Alzheimer's can be 4 times as expensive in nursing homes as compared to home care service provision (Henderson, 2002). With informal care, as experience d with family or carers, the monthly costs per patient in 1996 were almost $1, 549. In contrast, the more formal or professional setting of a nursing home incurred costs of approximately $3, 130. Also the formal costs in community settings averaged $ 683 as most of community costs are informal, being met by relatives and caregivers. So that 98% of formal costs were actually billed and payable. Figures were established by multiplying the hours of care by the hourly wage rate for home health aids and personal care attendants.A Swedish study, as reported in Henderson (2002), made comparisons between costs per patient per day for elderly patients according to 1995 values and exchange rates, across different health delivery settings (hospital, nursing home and in-home care). The costs ranged from 627 for hospitalization to 164 in nursing homes, to 0 within their own home with a carer or relative. The results of the Swedish study are echoed by the National Services Framework (DH, 2001a). It is important that the patient's need are met, that they be provided support to maximize their independence, and

Future Indian Sports Manager Essay Example for Free

Future Indian Sports Manager Essay India is in the forefront in very sporting activities despite having such a huge raw pool of talent which if groomed correctly can catapult the country in the international arena as one of the top sporting nations. Sports has been my first and foremost passion from as far as I can remember. An active participant of every single sporting activity in school and my local clubs my entire life revolved around sports from my childhood. he adrenaline rush that comes with playing  sports  is something that I cant put into words Due to financial pressure I could not initially take up sports as a career option but after 6 years of working in the corporate world I have now realised that my life still revolves around sports and granted the opportunity I would want to live my life in the sports world. Observing the growing importance of managing sports teams and activities professionally, and seeing the emergence of specialised courses, I would like to work towards changing and growing sports from the grass roots level in my country, India. The prevalence of politics, red tapism and lack of promotion of talented athletes has more or less depleted and killed the motivation of such athletes in our country. Having been a part of the entire system myself and despite having being selected in the training camp for the state basketball team and having being told by my coach that I had tremendous potential but there was no motivation to pursue this as a career option as it offered absolutely no stability. Every year I see extremely talented athletes leaving their passions behind and moving onto make their career in other fields. Throughout the country a wide variety of sports are played. India is home to several traditional sports which originated in the country and continue to remain fairly popular. These include kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and archery. The British rule brought many popular sports in India including football, rugby union, cricket, golf, tennis, squash, hockey, boxing, nooker and billiards. The country which has produced the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, P. T. Usha among thousands of other great athletes has not even scratched the surface. The talent is there for all to see but to a dysfunctional and corrupted system it fails to promote the same to excel in the international arena. To put in perspective these problems are not only faced in India but in many more countries. Some of the major issues which are considered to be the biggest problems facing a country can be discussed under the following points Management: The problems in management are the single most destructive force which ensures that the facilities being provided for promoting raw talents never reach. In most developing countries especially in India the key posts in management are coveted posts and are held by politicians or their close associated. The result of this is that the leaders of the sports management in these countries are mostly people who are a) without any experience whatsoever in sports, b) are required to work only till such time that their elected political party is in power so they build no plans which can be executed over a five year plan, c) are mostly politicians who are more interested in gaining political mileage out of the entire deal and most importantly d) Are mostly the biggest perpetrators when it comes to corruption ensuring funds actually meant for the athletes are diverted to their own pockets by using different channels. For instance the Commonwealth Games 2010 which was hosted by Delhi, India came under a lot of scrutiny for the corrupt means used by the organizers  who pocketed funds that had been generated for the athletes. It was a disgrace for the entire nation that an event of such magnitude was no more than a mere money making scheme for a few individuals. In fact, the Head of the Commonwealth games in India Suresh Kalmadi has also been arrested for the same. The prevalence of such a system ensure there is no long term plan for developing the system from a grass root level and ensuring the plan is constantly evolving and growing in a positive direction rather than being changed at the whims and fancies of a politician. Involvement of trained sports managers can change the entire ball game and ensure a much more planned and structural growth for athletes from the grass root level. Most other problems derive their origin from that of management but are long standing problems with ramifications of their own. Some of the more significant problems which have strong ramifications of their own are: Grass Roots:  The biggest drawback for a lot of sporting activities is a lack of a planned and sustainable program to develop athletes at the grassroots’ level. There is an urgent need to involve professional sports managers who understand the need for the same and are put in charge of the systems which govern the same. Promoting and training promising athletes will lead to emergence of new stars that would have previously gone undiscovered. Developmental:   With sports emerging as a frontrunner in drawing spectators across the world the need today in every country is to promote a variety of sports by professional methods, by packaging and presenting the USP of each sport to draw in a larger fan base. Although hockey is the national sport of the country, despite the country having such a vast raw pool of talent in different sporting genres, mainly cricket holds the limelight across the world. The IPL (Indian Premiere League) overshadows most of the other sporting events due to its glamour quotient as well as the huge sum of money involved. The lack of attention given to other sports in India besides cricket is very disheartening for young sportsmen . Packaged and managed to ensure maximum response will ensure many more varieties of sports draw in the same amount of attention and revive athletes’ interests in following the same as a career option. Disciplinary:   Due to a weak management system coaches and managers use banned substances to train their wards. Young athletes not supervised correctly are most vulnerable to the same. Discipline during growth is an extremely important aspect of a super athlete and forms the backbone during his growing stages and becomes even more important once the athlete achieves milestones. Economics of scale has become a focal point of discussion in sports today. Inequality in finances’ due to sponsorships and also government preferences has proved detrimental to non cash rich sports in all countries. Quality training and excellent facilities in some sports has led them to create a huge imbalance in most countries. Not only restricted to a single country but due to the emergence of imbalance among different leagues across various countries has led to a decline in the fan base where finances are not adequate and may eventually lead to a demise of the sport in that particular In conclusion it may be said that a strong management system ensures strong development of policies which enable a positive and sustainable growth system. Sports are an important segment of our country and also it is a prestige issue. In today’s world cricket assumes primary importance in the minds of the audience and the government has also by no means played a small part in ensuring the same. As a result other sports have suffered tremendously in the country My experience of sports in the state and national arena was restricted to Basketball wherein I had played for the university team and was selected for the state selection camp. Observing the rampant politics and prevalence of corruption I was highly demotivated. Moving on to a high paying job seemed to be the only motivation for me to leave sports and I followed that for 6 years, but my passion for sports never died. I have been strongly associated with basketball as a coach for my higher secondary school, as a player for my club and have also promoted basketball in my company wherein I have formed a team of my peers and have participated and won a number of tournaments. My main motivation for applying for the sports management course is a) to develop a strong understanding of managing sports organisations and athletes b) Understand and work with professional international organisations c) To learn modern technology and its applications in sports today ) To apply all my acquired knowledge in sports today in India e) Develop by working closely with the athletes a system of generating a higher number of quality athletes in a variety of fields Initially I would wish to work with national Women’s sporting teams wherein there would be a requirement for me while at the same time help my state Woman’s basketball association with whom I have been closely associated for the last 15 years dev elop a program to develop young athletes and initially work towards promoting the sport in the national stage and eventually the international stage. My eventual goal would be to bring women’s sports as close to par to men’s sports to guarantee young athletes a promising career in sports and ensure no raw talent gets dissuaded from following sports as a career as I did along with my entire team members. In terms of finance I would have sufficient amount to support myself in terms of accommodation and other living costs but would require financial support from the college by means of a scholarship or assistantship for the education fees. As in India the salaries are not very high in terms of international standards what I have saved would cover as said before the living costs but for the program fees I would need some sort of help in the form of a scholarship. I have spent all my life involved in sports in some way or the other and despite having a natural talent and passion for the same have not been able to follow it as a career option in my life. Today the face of sports especially in India is changing and I am right now in a stage in my career where with all the experience gained in the corporate world coupled with my passion for sports I can contribute in this field. For this I need to be further exposed to the knowledge and experience which your institute offers. I dream to make a change in the industry in my country and this is the main motive behind me applying for the degree which has already enabled many individuals to achieve their goals.

Development of College Announcement Notification System

Development of College Announcement Notification System Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction This project proposal is created to propose an IT solution to the student of Sunway University. The main point that the author want to highlight is regarding the efficiencies for student in Sunway University. An example, inefficiencies that occur in posting the announcement that is post on the website or in the notice board, it is hard to inform to the student and also the staff may also forget to post the announcement that will inconvenient for the student itself. In order to solve those problems, the author proposed to create a website as a third party for the staff to post the announcement. The author feel that only a website is very simple and common nowadays, so to improve the effectiveness and give more efficiency, a SMS (Short Messaging Service) feature is added to the system. Every announcement is posted by the SCT Staffs in the website, a SMS notification will be sent to the student that already registered to the website. The content of the SMS just a brief notification abou t the title of the event, venue and time, for more brief detail the students can refer to the website. Other way to notify the students is used Email as an instant notifier, but consider using email as an instant notifier is not really effective because students didnt open their email every day but using the SMS as the instant notifier to notify the students are more effective because most of the student is own and bring their own cell phone, therefore the MS as an instant notifier is more appropriate. Since the advancement of the technology nowadays, using this system will help in reduce the paper usage. Project Objective To give efficiencies for staff of Sunway University who want to post announcement. To use SMS as an instant notifier, for example every announcement post on the website the student will receive a SMS about the annoncement. In long term of view, this system will help in notify student about things that happen in college. Project Scope To become the most useful media for announcement notification. When the system is run it involves the Sunway University students and staffs that want to use the service. The user of the system should be students of Sunway University and staffs. All users that want to use the system have to become member. Methodology Methodology is a formalized approach to implement the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle). There are many different systems development methodologies, and each one is unique based on the order and focus it places on each SDLC phase. Some methodologies are formal standards used y government agencies, while others have been developed by consulting firms to sell to client. Many organizations have internal methodologies that have been honed over the years, and they explain exactly how each phase of the SDLC is to be performed in that company. There are many ways to categorize methodologies. One way is looking at whether they focus on business process or the data that support the business. There are three types of system development methodologies, it is called Structured Design, RAD (Rapid Application Development), and Agile Development. Types of Software Development Methodologies Structured Design This is the first type of system development, it is introduced in 1980s. This methodology adopts the formal step by step approach to the SDLC, it moves logically from one phase to another phase. Waterfall Model This is the original structured design of methodology, with this methodology, the analyst and users proceed in sequence from one phase to the next phase. The key deliverables for each phase are typically very long and are presented to the project sponsor for approval as the project moves from phase to phase. This methodology is referred to as waterfall development because it moves forward from phase to phase in the same manner as a waterfall. Advantages of using waterfall model: It identifies system requirements long before programming begins It minimizes changes to the requirements as the project proceeds. Disadvantages of using waterfall model: The design must be completely specified before programming begins This model required significant rework, if there is a changes in the business environment, in order to going back to the initial phase need to go through each of the subsequent phase in return. Parallel Development This model of methodology attempts to address the problem of long delay between analysis phase and the delivery of the system. Instead of doing design and implementation in sequence, it performs a general design for the whole system and then divides the project into a series of distinct subprojects that can be designed and implemented in parallel. Once all subprojects are complete, there is a final integration of the separate pieces, and the system is delivered. Advantage of using parallel model: It can reduce the schedule time to deliver a system There is less chance of changes in the business environment causing rework Disadvantage of using parallel model: The approach still suffers from problem caused by paper documents It adds new problem, sometimes subprojects arent completely independent; design decisions made in one subproject may affect another subprojects Phased Development In this model, the overall system is divided into a series of version that are developed sequentially. The analysis phase identifies the overall system concept, and the project team, users and system sponsors then categorize the requirement into a series of version. Advantage of using phased model: Quickly getting a useful system into the hands of the users While the system does not perform all the functions the users need at first, it does begin to provide business value sooner than if the system were delivered after completion, as is the case with waterfall or parallel methodology. Disadvantage of using phased model: The users begin to work with the systems that are intentionally incomplete, it is critical to identify the most important and useful feature and include them in the first version, while managing users expectation along the way. Prototyping In this model, it performs the analysis, design and implementation phases concurrently, and all the three phases are performed repeatedly in a cycle until the system is completed. In this methodology, the basics of analysis and design are performed, and work immediately begins on a system prototype, a â€Å"quick and dirty† program that provides a minimal amount of features. Advantage of using prototyping model: It is very quickly provides a system for the users to interact with, even it is not ready for widespread organizational use at first. Reassure the users that the project team is working on the system Helps to more quickly refine real requirements rather than attempting to understand a system specification on paper, the user can interact with the prototype to better understand what it can do and cannot do. Disadvantage of using prototyping model: Its fast paced system releases challenge attempts to conduct careful, methodical analysis. This can cause problems in the development of complex systems because fundamental issues and problems are not recognized until well into the development process. Software Development Methodology Comparison After do research about the types of methodology that is appropriate to be used into the project. The author compared the 4 types of methodology that is compatible with the current development. The following table is the result of using the described methodology to the project. System Characteristic Waterfall Parallel Phased Prototyping Unclear User Requirement Poor Poor Good Excellent Unfamiliar Technology Poor Poor Good Poor Complexity of the System Good Good Good Poor Reliability of the System Good Good Good Poor Short Time Schedule Poor Good Excellent Excellent Schedule Visibility Poor Poor Excellent Excellent Table 1 Methodology Comparison Selecting the appropriate Methodology According to the project objective that the author proposed, author analyze each methodology that is already been researched. The author decides to use the Phased Methodology. The main reason on why the author uses this methodology is because the author would develop this system all by himself and the project will be easier to be built phase by phase. Other considerations in choosing this model are: User Requirement: the requirement of the system is clear, which is to address the problem of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of conventional way in notify the student for announcement. Familiarity with Technology: for designing the website, PHP, VB.Net language technology is going to be used, since it is still in area of the author expertise. System Complexity: the complexity of this project is at medium level, since the author familiar with the technology used in the project so it is not really difficult. However the author still need to do research on certain area of technology, for this case the knowledge of SMS gateway, and how to integrate the web based system with the SMS gateway. Duration: the duration of developing the project is approximately 4 months in order to fully complete the project. Development Method: it is a web based application that is built using the PHP, and VB.NET as the programming language. Area of Research Certain areas that we research for this project are: How to create easy and manageable database system? What is SMS (Short Message Service) portal and SMS (Short Message Service) gateway? How to integrate web based system with SMS portal? How to create easy and manageable database system? This part is one of the crucial parts in order to make a good web based application system. Therefore, creating an easy and manageable database system is really important. The database system that the author used to manage the College Announcement System web based application is MySQL. Several reasons become the consideration of choosing the MySQL software are, first reason is because the main programming language system that the author built is using the PHP technology, and PHP language has an integrated connector that able to connect it to SQL. Second reason, MySQL is open source software so it is free for download, it is will help in determining the project cost development. There is other software which is better than MySQL but looked back at the scope of the project; this is just an undergraduate project, then the author decides that using MySQL software is a wiser choice. The third reason, the author already took the MySQL subject during the study in Sunway University College, which is still in the author expertise. However, if this system wants to be implemented into the real organization, further study to create easy and manageable design is needed. When the project is already on the run, this would be very beneficial in doing maintenance of the application system. How to integrate the Web based System with SMS portal? As most people known that SMS is the most famous service that a mobile phone give. It is a service where the users able to send short text message from a mobile phone to another mobile phone. Basically the SMS would not work with just the mobile phone itself, it I because the Mobile Phone Network Operator that give the service so the SMS can be delivered to the recipient by the help of the mobile phone device as the medium to type the message. The SMS can travel all the way from the sender device to the recipient device must go through a pathway through a network called SMSC (Short Message Service Centre). SMSC works as a hardware that stores the SMS that is sent from a mobile phone then forward it again to the recipient. From the early of 1990s, the era when the first SMS is sent through the network using the mobile phone device. Nowadays with the advancement of the technology, SMS not only can be done through using mobile phone but can be integrated in other application such as web based application system, using the SMS gateway technology. However, the SMS that is sent still have to go through SMSC, which is still needed to use the SIM Card that is given by the mobile network operator. SMS gateway act as a bridge the platform that cannot use the mobile phone SIM Card to use the mobile service by using the GSM modem, in this case the mobile service is to send the SMS. The mobile SIM Card will be inserted into the GSM modem. GSM modem will act as the third party to connect to the SMSC. The web based application store the message that will be sent into the database, and the GSM will retrieve the data from the database and ready to send the SMS to the destination number. The basic function of SMS and e mail is the same, for email the sender need to enter the destination email and for SMS the sender need to enter the destination phone number. The difference is why SMS is more popular than email is because it is mobile and user can send and receive SMS wherever they are. The mobile advantage of using SMS is the reason that makes the author choose the SMS application system to be added into the College Announcement Notification system instead of using email. Another reason the author choose to use SMS is because most of the students in Sunway didnt have mobile phone that can handles in receiving and sending email, but most of the students have mobile phone that enable them to send and receive SMS. Therefore, using the SMS as additional software into College Announcement Notification system is the best choice, and the author also learn to use the GSM modem and the implementation of it into the system. Software / Hardware Requirements In order to make this project successful there are some hardware and software which is required to use in order to complete the project are: Software and Hardware requirement to develop the system. Software: SQL YOG: is the database software that the author chose to be implemented inside the College Announcement Notification system. SQL Yog had the user friendly interface and it is open source software. XAMPP: this software is applied as the localhost to compile the web based application. Adobe Dreamweaver: is the software that makes it easier to edit the coding for PHP, JAVA. Hardware: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD Software and Hardware Requirement to run the system. User Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD User Side Software Requirement: Web browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc Server Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD GSM Modem Server Side Software Requirement: Adobe Dreamweaver SQL Yog Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc XAMPP Server side software requirement is needed to do the regular maintenance on the system. The development software might be needed to fix error that might be occurred when the system on the run. Chapter 2: Literature Review Literature Review Literature Review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that is currently undergo. The author currently did a project; College Announcement Notification System is the project. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application system, which is proposed as a solution to Sunway University College regarding the poor information flow in Sunway University College especially School of Computer Technology. The author chose to propose the solution only to School of Computer Technology because of the course that currently taken is under it. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application, it is hoped the system would work perfectly and increasing the information flow within School of Computer Technology (SCT). The users of the system able to access the College Announcement Notification System via laptop or PC, as long there is an internet connection. The author think if it just a normal website, there is no uniqueness that makes my project different than the others. After doing research, the author decided to add the SMS feature as the instant notification system. Integrate the system with SMS feature; means need to deal with SMS gateway. The author aware that using the SMS feature is almost the same like adding the Email as the instant notification where the system is able to send automatically the posted announcement that is already posted in the website. Email is an electronic mail that worked same like a normal mail, where the users need to write the content of the letter, after that the address of the recipient is a must for the users to add. Email enables users to send and receive electronically over the internet. SMS and Email basically is the same, it contains text and to send it need to know the exact recipient email address for email and phone number for SMS. There are many email server company that is give services for the users to send and receive email such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Go ogle Mail, etc. There is also an application that handles email such as Microsoft Outlook. Some advantages that email could give are emails is free for users to use like send and receive mail, it can contains richer message contents than the conventional mail did. However from the advantages that an email, there are also a few disadvantages of emails. With the advancement of the technology nowadays, the previous email only can sent the words but nowadays, users can sent not only words but can attach richer media such as picture, video, file, etc. This advantages of email were misused by some people, it enable them to send virus, malicious software, spam that can harm the recipients PC or laptop. In order to overcome this security issue, the email provider companies try many ways to increase the security but the spammer can overcome the security and still sent the spam email that may contain virus and malicious software. Using the email as an instant notification to the College Announcement Notification System is a good choice but users may not open their own email daily, usually users open their email whenever the feel like to open it. Therefore, the author proposed to use the SMS system as the instant notification. There are few reasons that become the considerations of choosing SMS to be implemented. First reason, the project is a notification system so SMS is the best choice because after the sender sent it then the recipients received it in instant. Second reason, if using email the recipients of the email need to open their own laptop or PC, and then open the email service web page, it will takes time and not instant. Most of the students nowadays had their own mobile phone and they carry their mobile phone everywhere they go, so it is one of the reason why the author choose to use SMS as an instant notification. Mobile phone user aware that open a SMS is faster than open an Email. Nowadays, ma ny mobile phone producers now produced a new mobile phone that can handles in send or receive an email. However mobile phone that can handles send and receive email is still too expensive for the most of the mobile phone users only a few that can afford that. But if the SMS only, most of the mobile phone users able to send and receive that because it is the basic function that the mobile phone offer. SMS (Short Messaging Service) As most people known, SMS is a protocol used in communication that gives way to exchange of short message from one mobile phone to another mobile phone (tech-faq.com, 2009). Nowadays mobile phone takes an important part because it provides connections to the others that in the past impossible to do. The main usage of the mobile phone is to enable users to make a phone call wherever and whenever they are, beside used to call others; other main function of mobile phone that is growing rapidly is the usage of SMS service. SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a technology that enables the sending and receiving of messages between mobile phones. SMS first appeared in Europe in 1992. It was included in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standards right at the beginning. Later it was ported to wireless technologies like CDMA and TDMA. The GSM and SMS standards were originally developed by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is responsible for the development and maintenance of the GSM and SMS standards. As suggested by the name Short Message Service, the data that can be held by an SMS message is very limited. One SMS message can contain at most 140 bytes (1120 bits) of data, so one SMS message can contain up to: 160 characters if 7-bit character encoding is used. (7-bit character encoding is suitable for encoding Latin characters like English alphabets.) 70 characters if 16-bit Unicode UCS2 character encoding is used. (SMS text messages containing non-Latin characters like Chinese characters should use 16-bit character encoding.) SMS text messaging supports languages internationally. It works fine with all languages supported by Unicode, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Besides text, SMS messages can also carry binary data. It is possible to send ringtones, pictures, operator logos, wallpapers, animations, business cards (e.g. VCards) and WAP configurations to a mobile phone with SMS messages. One major advantage of SMS is that it is supported by 100% GSM mobile phones. Almost all subscription plans provided by wireless carriers include inexpensive SMS messaging service. Unlike SMS, mobile technologies such as WAP and mobile Java are not supported on many old mobile phone models. (developershome.com, 2008) Usage of SMS As the mobile voice communication market approaches saturation, carriers are focusing on messaging as crucial value -added service to garner more mobile subscribers and generate greater market revenue. Specifically, SMS (Short Messaging Service) is emerging as one of the most important asynchronous communication that carriers provide. It is projected that in 2009 U.S subscribers will send over 126 billion messages via their mobile phone device, generating $8.6 billion revenues (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). Nowadays, people are presented with a wide variety of communication media such as email, instant messaging (IM), etc. To date, most researchers have focused on the use of SMS by teenager and young adult. Recently as SMS become the needs in our daily lives, older people also recognized the convenience of using SMS. It has been reported that over 74% of the mobile phone users worldwide is using SMS text messaging (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). How does the SMS works? Even if you are not talking on your cell phone, your phone is constantly sending and receiving information. It is talking to its cell phone tower over a pathway called acontrol channel. The reason for this chatter is so that the cell phone system knows which cell your phone is in, and so that your phone can change cells as you move around. Every so often, your phone and the tower will exchange a packetof data that lets both of them know that everything is OK. Your phone also uses the control channel for call setup. When someone tries to call you, the tower sends your phone a message over the control channel that tells your phone to play itsringtone. The tower also gives your phone a pair of voice channel frequencies to use for the call. The control channel also provides the pathway for SMS messages. When a friend sends you an SMS message, the message flows through the SMSC, then to the tower, and the tower sends the message to your phone as a little packet of data on the control channel. In the same way, when you send a message, your phone sends it to the tower on the control channel and it goes from the tower to the SMSC and from there to its destination. (howstuffworks.com, 2005) The SME (Short Message Entity), which is typically a mobile phone or a GSM modem, can be located in the fixed network or a mobile station, receives and sends short messages. The SME was sent to the SMSC.TheSMSC (Short Message Service Center)is the entity which does the job of store and forward of messages to and from the mobile station. After receiving the SME, then SMSC sent the SME to the SMS GMSC. TheSMS GMSC(SMS gateway MSC (Mobile Switching Center)) is a gateway so that MSC that can also receive short messages. The gateway MSC is a mobile networks point of contact with other networks. On receiving the short message from the short message center, GMSC uses the SS7 network to interrogate the current position of the mobile station form the HLR, the home location register. HLRis the main database in a mobile network. It holds information of the subscription profile of the mobile and also about the routing information for the subscriber, i.e. the area (covered by a MSC) where the mobile is currently situated. The GMSC is thus able to pass on the message to the correct MSC. MSC(Mobile Switching Center) is the entity in a GSM network which does the job of switching connections between mobile stations or between mobile stations and the fixed network. AVLR(Visitor Location Register) corresponds to each MSC and contains temporary information about the mobile, information like mobile identification and the cell (or a group of cells) where the mobile is currently situated. Using information from the VLR the MSC is able to switch the information (short message) to the corresponding BSS (Base Station System, BSC + BTSs), which transmits the short message to the mobile. The BSS consists of transceivers, which send and receive information over the air interface, to and from the mobile station. This information is passed over the signaling channels so the mobile can receive messages even if a voice or data call is going on. (logixmobile.com) How to send SMS using a computer? After done some research about how the SMS works, there are several ways in sending SMS using computer, they are (developershome.com, 2008): Connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer / PC. Then use the computer / PC and VB commands to instruct the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS message. Connect the computer / PC to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier or SMS service provider. Then send SMS messages using a protocol / interface supported by the SMSC or SMS gateway. Connection between mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to computer using VB command for sent SMS A GSM/GPRS modem is a wireless modem that works with GSM/GPRS wireless networks. A wireless modem is similar to a dial-up modem. The main difference is that a wireless modem transmits data through a wireless network whereas a dial-up modem transmits data through a copper telephone line. To send SMS messages, first place a valid SIM card from a wireless carrier into a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem, which is then connected to a computer. There are several ways to connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer. For example, they can be connected through a serial cable, a USB cable, a Bluetooth link or an infrared link. The actual way to use depends on the capability of the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem. After connecting a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer, you can control the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem by sending instructions to it. The instructions used for controlling the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem are called by using VB commands. The above figure showed the process of sending SMS using the VB application. In this case, the system that the author developed is using PHP that act as the third party to store the announcement data inside the database. After finish with the stored announcement, VB application is used to instruct the GSM modem to send SMS. As shown in the figure above, VB application will retrieve the stored data that will be sent as SMS. Then after retrieving the data, it will be sent to through SMS gateway until it arrived in the hand of the recipient. One of the benefits from using the VB application to send SMS is users will have a very reliable notification system, because before sending SMS intended recipient can be configured so it is received at the intended recipient. Using a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS messages has a major drawback, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. Only 6-10 SMS messages can be sent per minute (when the SMS over GSM mode is used). The performance is not affected by the connection between the computer and the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is connected to the computer through a serial cable, USB cable, Bluetooth link or infrared link) and does not depend on whether a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is used (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter a mobile phone or a GSM/GPRS modem is used). The determining factor for the SMS sending rate is the wireless network. (developershome.com, 2008) Send SMS from Computer through SMS Gateway The way for sending SMS messages from a computer through a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem has a major limitation, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. If you need a high SMS sending rate, obtaining a direct connection to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier is necessary. It can be difficult for small businesses or individual application developers to obtain a direct connection to the SMSC or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier since a wireless carrier may only provide such service to those who have huge SMS traffic. Buying SMS messages in bulk means the total fee will be very high (although the fee per SMS message will be low). (deve Development of College Announcement Notification System Development of College Announcement Notification System Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction This project proposal is created to propose an IT solution to the student of Sunway University. The main point that the author want to highlight is regarding the efficiencies for student in Sunway University. An example, inefficiencies that occur in posting the announcement that is post on the website or in the notice board, it is hard to inform to the student and also the staff may also forget to post the announcement that will inconvenient for the student itself. In order to solve those problems, the author proposed to create a website as a third party for the staff to post the announcement. The author feel that only a website is very simple and common nowadays, so to improve the effectiveness and give more efficiency, a SMS (Short Messaging Service) feature is added to the system. Every announcement is posted by the SCT Staffs in the website, a SMS notification will be sent to the student that already registered to the website. The content of the SMS just a brief notification abou t the title of the event, venue and time, for more brief detail the students can refer to the website. Other way to notify the students is used Email as an instant notifier, but consider using email as an instant notifier is not really effective because students didnt open their email every day but using the SMS as the instant notifier to notify the students are more effective because most of the student is own and bring their own cell phone, therefore the MS as an instant notifier is more appropriate. Since the advancement of the technology nowadays, using this system will help in reduce the paper usage. Project Objective To give efficiencies for staff of Sunway University who want to post announcement. To use SMS as an instant notifier, for example every announcement post on the website the student will receive a SMS about the annoncement. In long term of view, this system will help in notify student about things that happen in college. Project Scope To become the most useful media for announcement notification. When the system is run it involves the Sunway University students and staffs that want to use the service. The user of the system should be students of Sunway University and staffs. All users that want to use the system have to become member. Methodology Methodology is a formalized approach to implement the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle). There are many different systems development methodologies, and each one is unique based on the order and focus it places on each SDLC phase. Some methodologies are formal standards used y government agencies, while others have been developed by consulting firms to sell to client. Many organizations have internal methodologies that have been honed over the years, and they explain exactly how each phase of the SDLC is to be performed in that company. There are many ways to categorize methodologies. One way is looking at whether they focus on business process or the data that support the business. There are three types of system development methodologies, it is called Structured Design, RAD (Rapid Application Development), and Agile Development. Types of Software Development Methodologies Structured Design This is the first type of system development, it is introduced in 1980s. This methodology adopts the formal step by step approach to the SDLC, it moves logically from one phase to another phase. Waterfall Model This is the original structured design of methodology, with this methodology, the analyst and users proceed in sequence from one phase to the next phase. The key deliverables for each phase are typically very long and are presented to the project sponsor for approval as the project moves from phase to phase. This methodology is referred to as waterfall development because it moves forward from phase to phase in the same manner as a waterfall. Advantages of using waterfall model: It identifies system requirements long before programming begins It minimizes changes to the requirements as the project proceeds. Disadvantages of using waterfall model: The design must be completely specified before programming begins This model required significant rework, if there is a changes in the business environment, in order to going back to the initial phase need to go through each of the subsequent phase in return. Parallel Development This model of methodology attempts to address the problem of long delay between analysis phase and the delivery of the system. Instead of doing design and implementation in sequence, it performs a general design for the whole system and then divides the project into a series of distinct subprojects that can be designed and implemented in parallel. Once all subprojects are complete, there is a final integration of the separate pieces, and the system is delivered. Advantage of using parallel model: It can reduce the schedule time to deliver a system There is less chance of changes in the business environment causing rework Disadvantage of using parallel model: The approach still suffers from problem caused by paper documents It adds new problem, sometimes subprojects arent completely independent; design decisions made in one subproject may affect another subprojects Phased Development In this model, the overall system is divided into a series of version that are developed sequentially. The analysis phase identifies the overall system concept, and the project team, users and system sponsors then categorize the requirement into a series of version. Advantage of using phased model: Quickly getting a useful system into the hands of the users While the system does not perform all the functions the users need at first, it does begin to provide business value sooner than if the system were delivered after completion, as is the case with waterfall or parallel methodology. Disadvantage of using phased model: The users begin to work with the systems that are intentionally incomplete, it is critical to identify the most important and useful feature and include them in the first version, while managing users expectation along the way. Prototyping In this model, it performs the analysis, design and implementation phases concurrently, and all the three phases are performed repeatedly in a cycle until the system is completed. In this methodology, the basics of analysis and design are performed, and work immediately begins on a system prototype, a â€Å"quick and dirty† program that provides a minimal amount of features. Advantage of using prototyping model: It is very quickly provides a system for the users to interact with, even it is not ready for widespread organizational use at first. Reassure the users that the project team is working on the system Helps to more quickly refine real requirements rather than attempting to understand a system specification on paper, the user can interact with the prototype to better understand what it can do and cannot do. Disadvantage of using prototyping model: Its fast paced system releases challenge attempts to conduct careful, methodical analysis. This can cause problems in the development of complex systems because fundamental issues and problems are not recognized until well into the development process. Software Development Methodology Comparison After do research about the types of methodology that is appropriate to be used into the project. The author compared the 4 types of methodology that is compatible with the current development. The following table is the result of using the described methodology to the project. System Characteristic Waterfall Parallel Phased Prototyping Unclear User Requirement Poor Poor Good Excellent Unfamiliar Technology Poor Poor Good Poor Complexity of the System Good Good Good Poor Reliability of the System Good Good Good Poor Short Time Schedule Poor Good Excellent Excellent Schedule Visibility Poor Poor Excellent Excellent Table 1 Methodology Comparison Selecting the appropriate Methodology According to the project objective that the author proposed, author analyze each methodology that is already been researched. The author decides to use the Phased Methodology. The main reason on why the author uses this methodology is because the author would develop this system all by himself and the project will be easier to be built phase by phase. Other considerations in choosing this model are: User Requirement: the requirement of the system is clear, which is to address the problem of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of conventional way in notify the student for announcement. Familiarity with Technology: for designing the website, PHP, VB.Net language technology is going to be used, since it is still in area of the author expertise. System Complexity: the complexity of this project is at medium level, since the author familiar with the technology used in the project so it is not really difficult. However the author still need to do research on certain area of technology, for this case the knowledge of SMS gateway, and how to integrate the web based system with the SMS gateway. Duration: the duration of developing the project is approximately 4 months in order to fully complete the project. Development Method: it is a web based application that is built using the PHP, and VB.NET as the programming language. Area of Research Certain areas that we research for this project are: How to create easy and manageable database system? What is SMS (Short Message Service) portal and SMS (Short Message Service) gateway? How to integrate web based system with SMS portal? How to create easy and manageable database system? This part is one of the crucial parts in order to make a good web based application system. Therefore, creating an easy and manageable database system is really important. The database system that the author used to manage the College Announcement System web based application is MySQL. Several reasons become the consideration of choosing the MySQL software are, first reason is because the main programming language system that the author built is using the PHP technology, and PHP language has an integrated connector that able to connect it to SQL. Second reason, MySQL is open source software so it is free for download, it is will help in determining the project cost development. There is other software which is better than MySQL but looked back at the scope of the project; this is just an undergraduate project, then the author decides that using MySQL software is a wiser choice. The third reason, the author already took the MySQL subject during the study in Sunway University College, which is still in the author expertise. However, if this system wants to be implemented into the real organization, further study to create easy and manageable design is needed. When the project is already on the run, this would be very beneficial in doing maintenance of the application system. How to integrate the Web based System with SMS portal? As most people known that SMS is the most famous service that a mobile phone give. It is a service where the users able to send short text message from a mobile phone to another mobile phone. Basically the SMS would not work with just the mobile phone itself, it I because the Mobile Phone Network Operator that give the service so the SMS can be delivered to the recipient by the help of the mobile phone device as the medium to type the message. The SMS can travel all the way from the sender device to the recipient device must go through a pathway through a network called SMSC (Short Message Service Centre). SMSC works as a hardware that stores the SMS that is sent from a mobile phone then forward it again to the recipient. From the early of 1990s, the era when the first SMS is sent through the network using the mobile phone device. Nowadays with the advancement of the technology, SMS not only can be done through using mobile phone but can be integrated in other application such as web based application system, using the SMS gateway technology. However, the SMS that is sent still have to go through SMSC, which is still needed to use the SIM Card that is given by the mobile network operator. SMS gateway act as a bridge the platform that cannot use the mobile phone SIM Card to use the mobile service by using the GSM modem, in this case the mobile service is to send the SMS. The mobile SIM Card will be inserted into the GSM modem. GSM modem will act as the third party to connect to the SMSC. The web based application store the message that will be sent into the database, and the GSM will retrieve the data from the database and ready to send the SMS to the destination number. The basic function of SMS and e mail is the same, for email the sender need to enter the destination email and for SMS the sender need to enter the destination phone number. The difference is why SMS is more popular than email is because it is mobile and user can send and receive SMS wherever they are. The mobile advantage of using SMS is the reason that makes the author choose the SMS application system to be added into the College Announcement Notification system instead of using email. Another reason the author choose to use SMS is because most of the students in Sunway didnt have mobile phone that can handles in receiving and sending email, but most of the students have mobile phone that enable them to send and receive SMS. Therefore, using the SMS as additional software into College Announcement Notification system is the best choice, and the author also learn to use the GSM modem and the implementation of it into the system. Software / Hardware Requirements In order to make this project successful there are some hardware and software which is required to use in order to complete the project are: Software and Hardware requirement to develop the system. Software: SQL YOG: is the database software that the author chose to be implemented inside the College Announcement Notification system. SQL Yog had the user friendly interface and it is open source software. XAMPP: this software is applied as the localhost to compile the web based application. Adobe Dreamweaver: is the software that makes it easier to edit the coding for PHP, JAVA. Hardware: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD Software and Hardware Requirement to run the system. User Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD User Side Software Requirement: Web browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc Server Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD GSM Modem Server Side Software Requirement: Adobe Dreamweaver SQL Yog Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc XAMPP Server side software requirement is needed to do the regular maintenance on the system. The development software might be needed to fix error that might be occurred when the system on the run. Chapter 2: Literature Review Literature Review Literature Review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that is currently undergo. The author currently did a project; College Announcement Notification System is the project. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application system, which is proposed as a solution to Sunway University College regarding the poor information flow in Sunway University College especially School of Computer Technology. The author chose to propose the solution only to School of Computer Technology because of the course that currently taken is under it. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application, it is hoped the system would work perfectly and increasing the information flow within School of Computer Technology (SCT). The users of the system able to access the College Announcement Notification System via laptop or PC, as long there is an internet connection. The author think if it just a normal website, there is no uniqueness that makes my project different than the others. After doing research, the author decided to add the SMS feature as the instant notification system. Integrate the system with SMS feature; means need to deal with SMS gateway. The author aware that using the SMS feature is almost the same like adding the Email as the instant notification where the system is able to send automatically the posted announcement that is already posted in the website. Email is an electronic mail that worked same like a normal mail, where the users need to write the content of the letter, after that the address of the recipient is a must for the users to add. Email enables users to send and receive electronically over the internet. SMS and Email basically is the same, it contains text and to send it need to know the exact recipient email address for email and phone number for SMS. There are many email server company that is give services for the users to send and receive email such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Go ogle Mail, etc. There is also an application that handles email such as Microsoft Outlook. Some advantages that email could give are emails is free for users to use like send and receive mail, it can contains richer message contents than the conventional mail did. However from the advantages that an email, there are also a few disadvantages of emails. With the advancement of the technology nowadays, the previous email only can sent the words but nowadays, users can sent not only words but can attach richer media such as picture, video, file, etc. This advantages of email were misused by some people, it enable them to send virus, malicious software, spam that can harm the recipients PC or laptop. In order to overcome this security issue, the email provider companies try many ways to increase the security but the spammer can overcome the security and still sent the spam email that may contain virus and malicious software. Using the email as an instant notification to the College Announcement Notification System is a good choice but users may not open their own email daily, usually users open their email whenever the feel like to open it. Therefore, the author proposed to use the SMS system as the instant notification. There are few reasons that become the considerations of choosing SMS to be implemented. First reason, the project is a notification system so SMS is the best choice because after the sender sent it then the recipients received it in instant. Second reason, if using email the recipients of the email need to open their own laptop or PC, and then open the email service web page, it will takes time and not instant. Most of the students nowadays had their own mobile phone and they carry their mobile phone everywhere they go, so it is one of the reason why the author choose to use SMS as an instant notification. Mobile phone user aware that open a SMS is faster than open an Email. Nowadays, ma ny mobile phone producers now produced a new mobile phone that can handles in send or receive an email. However mobile phone that can handles send and receive email is still too expensive for the most of the mobile phone users only a few that can afford that. But if the SMS only, most of the mobile phone users able to send and receive that because it is the basic function that the mobile phone offer. SMS (Short Messaging Service) As most people known, SMS is a protocol used in communication that gives way to exchange of short message from one mobile phone to another mobile phone (tech-faq.com, 2009). Nowadays mobile phone takes an important part because it provides connections to the others that in the past impossible to do. The main usage of the mobile phone is to enable users to make a phone call wherever and whenever they are, beside used to call others; other main function of mobile phone that is growing rapidly is the usage of SMS service. SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a technology that enables the sending and receiving of messages between mobile phones. SMS first appeared in Europe in 1992. It was included in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standards right at the beginning. Later it was ported to wireless technologies like CDMA and TDMA. The GSM and SMS standards were originally developed by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is responsible for the development and maintenance of the GSM and SMS standards. As suggested by the name Short Message Service, the data that can be held by an SMS message is very limited. One SMS message can contain at most 140 bytes (1120 bits) of data, so one SMS message can contain up to: 160 characters if 7-bit character encoding is used. (7-bit character encoding is suitable for encoding Latin characters like English alphabets.) 70 characters if 16-bit Unicode UCS2 character encoding is used. (SMS text messages containing non-Latin characters like Chinese characters should use 16-bit character encoding.) SMS text messaging supports languages internationally. It works fine with all languages supported by Unicode, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Besides text, SMS messages can also carry binary data. It is possible to send ringtones, pictures, operator logos, wallpapers, animations, business cards (e.g. VCards) and WAP configurations to a mobile phone with SMS messages. One major advantage of SMS is that it is supported by 100% GSM mobile phones. Almost all subscription plans provided by wireless carriers include inexpensive SMS messaging service. Unlike SMS, mobile technologies such as WAP and mobile Java are not supported on many old mobile phone models. (developershome.com, 2008) Usage of SMS As the mobile voice communication market approaches saturation, carriers are focusing on messaging as crucial value -added service to garner more mobile subscribers and generate greater market revenue. Specifically, SMS (Short Messaging Service) is emerging as one of the most important asynchronous communication that carriers provide. It is projected that in 2009 U.S subscribers will send over 126 billion messages via their mobile phone device, generating $8.6 billion revenues (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). Nowadays, people are presented with a wide variety of communication media such as email, instant messaging (IM), etc. To date, most researchers have focused on the use of SMS by teenager and young adult. Recently as SMS become the needs in our daily lives, older people also recognized the convenience of using SMS. It has been reported that over 74% of the mobile phone users worldwide is using SMS text messaging (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). How does the SMS works? Even if you are not talking on your cell phone, your phone is constantly sending and receiving information. It is talking to its cell phone tower over a pathway called acontrol channel. The reason for this chatter is so that the cell phone system knows which cell your phone is in, and so that your phone can change cells as you move around. Every so often, your phone and the tower will exchange a packetof data that lets both of them know that everything is OK. Your phone also uses the control channel for call setup. When someone tries to call you, the tower sends your phone a message over the control channel that tells your phone to play itsringtone. The tower also gives your phone a pair of voice channel frequencies to use for the call. The control channel also provides the pathway for SMS messages. When a friend sends you an SMS message, the message flows through the SMSC, then to the tower, and the tower sends the message to your phone as a little packet of data on the control channel. In the same way, when you send a message, your phone sends it to the tower on the control channel and it goes from the tower to the SMSC and from there to its destination. (howstuffworks.com, 2005) The SME (Short Message Entity), which is typically a mobile phone or a GSM modem, can be located in the fixed network or a mobile station, receives and sends short messages. The SME was sent to the SMSC.TheSMSC (Short Message Service Center)is the entity which does the job of store and forward of messages to and from the mobile station. After receiving the SME, then SMSC sent the SME to the SMS GMSC. TheSMS GMSC(SMS gateway MSC (Mobile Switching Center)) is a gateway so that MSC that can also receive short messages. The gateway MSC is a mobile networks point of contact with other networks. On receiving the short message from the short message center, GMSC uses the SS7 network to interrogate the current position of the mobile station form the HLR, the home location register. HLRis the main database in a mobile network. It holds information of the subscription profile of the mobile and also about the routing information for the subscriber, i.e. the area (covered by a MSC) where the mobile is currently situated. The GMSC is thus able to pass on the message to the correct MSC. MSC(Mobile Switching Center) is the entity in a GSM network which does the job of switching connections between mobile stations or between mobile stations and the fixed network. AVLR(Visitor Location Register) corresponds to each MSC and contains temporary information about the mobile, information like mobile identification and the cell (or a group of cells) where the mobile is currently situated. Using information from the VLR the MSC is able to switch the information (short message) to the corresponding BSS (Base Station System, BSC + BTSs), which transmits the short message to the mobile. The BSS consists of transceivers, which send and receive information over the air interface, to and from the mobile station. This information is passed over the signaling channels so the mobile can receive messages even if a voice or data call is going on. (logixmobile.com) How to send SMS using a computer? After done some research about how the SMS works, there are several ways in sending SMS using computer, they are (developershome.com, 2008): Connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer / PC. Then use the computer / PC and VB commands to instruct the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS message. Connect the computer / PC to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier or SMS service provider. Then send SMS messages using a protocol / interface supported by the SMSC or SMS gateway. Connection between mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to computer using VB command for sent SMS A GSM/GPRS modem is a wireless modem that works with GSM/GPRS wireless networks. A wireless modem is similar to a dial-up modem. The main difference is that a wireless modem transmits data through a wireless network whereas a dial-up modem transmits data through a copper telephone line. To send SMS messages, first place a valid SIM card from a wireless carrier into a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem, which is then connected to a computer. There are several ways to connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer. For example, they can be connected through a serial cable, a USB cable, a Bluetooth link or an infrared link. The actual way to use depends on the capability of the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem. After connecting a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer, you can control the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem by sending instructions to it. The instructions used for controlling the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem are called by using VB commands. The above figure showed the process of sending SMS using the VB application. In this case, the system that the author developed is using PHP that act as the third party to store the announcement data inside the database. After finish with the stored announcement, VB application is used to instruct the GSM modem to send SMS. As shown in the figure above, VB application will retrieve the stored data that will be sent as SMS. Then after retrieving the data, it will be sent to through SMS gateway until it arrived in the hand of the recipient. One of the benefits from using the VB application to send SMS is users will have a very reliable notification system, because before sending SMS intended recipient can be configured so it is received at the intended recipient. Using a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS messages has a major drawback, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. Only 6-10 SMS messages can be sent per minute (when the SMS over GSM mode is used). The performance is not affected by the connection between the computer and the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is connected to the computer through a serial cable, USB cable, Bluetooth link or infrared link) and does not depend on whether a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is used (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter a mobile phone or a GSM/GPRS modem is used). The determining factor for the SMS sending rate is the wireless network. (developershome.com, 2008) Send SMS from Computer through SMS Gateway The way for sending SMS messages from a computer through a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem has a major limitation, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. If you need a high SMS sending rate, obtaining a direct connection to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier is necessary. It can be difficult for small businesses or individual application developers to obtain a direct connection to the SMSC or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier since a wireless carrier may only provide such service to those who have huge SMS traffic. Buying SMS messages in bulk means the total fee will be very high (although the fee per SMS message will be low). (deve