Determining Operating Systems Essay Example for Free

Determining Operating Systems Essay This paper will describe how Barnes Noble (BN) uses an operating system and software applications to help the company reach its objectives (see appendix A). This paper will also describe the functions of computer hardware components used in the organization and how they aid BN in achieving its goals. Barnes Noble’s objective is to be the â€Å"World’s Largest Bookstore,† and it is. BN’s operating systems and software applications have also helped Barnes Noble â€Å"offer the largest in-stock selection of in-print book titles with access to approximately one million titles for immediate delivery† (Barnes Noble, Inc. , 2012). In addition, Barnes Noble has the world’s largest eBookstore which has partnered with Microsoft to offer a wide selection of college textbooks. Almost every organization or business benefits from a reliable database. â€Å"Databases are a comprehensive collection of related data organized for convenient access generally in a computer† (Dictionary.com, 2014). Until 2004, Barnes Noble used an Oracle operating system. The Oracle System database was able to hold all of the inventory statistics BN needed, but the information was difficult to input and extract. In order to access sales data and inventory, the stores had to suspend all business operations and shut down once a week for four hours. Information Technology professionals or programmers were required to produce reports, which created additional and unnecessary personnel costs. Barnes Noble needed a new database system to store and keep track of essential data; and, a new database management system to make the data useful. In 2005, Barnes Noble participated in a joint project with Microsoft to create a new data warehouse. They used the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system to run the  Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Barnes Noble’s databases include customer information, such as book genre likes/dislikes, purchase history, and personal information, such as methods of payment and contact information. Another function of BN’s database is to maintain inventory statistics, a record of best-selling books, prices, and order information. A third aspect of BN’s database is to record employee and payroll data like, salary per hour, hours worked, sick days/vacation, and overtime. Databases are imperative for the success of Barnes Noble, but the raw data in the databases is not very useful on its own. Therefore, BN uses a database management system (DBMS). â€Å"A DBMS is a program used to create, process, and administer a database† (Kroenke, 2013, p. 113). Barnes Noble needed a DBMS that could easily create reports, so executives had fast access to sales st atistics, inventory, and membership information. They could then use this readily available information to target customer demographics or promote seasonal sales events. Due to its participation with Microsoft, Barnes Noble uses a DBMS called, â€Å"Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services† (Microsoft, 2005). â€Å"Structured Query Language (SQL) is an international standard language for processing a database† (Kroenke, 2013, p. 114) that all of the most common DBMS’s use. Microsoft’s SQL Server enables BN to manage critical information and run applications that may be too complex for other programs. SQL Server also provides tools, features, and functionality to construct classic and innovative extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) applications that are used to relay millions of rows of data. This DBMS includes database administration that can be used to set up a security system involving user accounts, passwords, permissions, and limits for processing the database. Online Analytical Processing Cubes (OLAP) is one of the database applications that Barnes Noble can use. The program is simple enough for most people to learn, and it is a relatively easy means of creating reports and viewing data based on varying criteria without having to hire programmers for help. Another database application is ‘Litespeed’ by Quest Software. Barnes Noble uses Litespeed for the backup and recovery of data, which is something every database needs. Although Microsoft’s SQL Server is costly and can have limited compatibility, almost anyone in the company can learn how to use it. There are also security enhancements, embedded reporting and data analysis tools that allow BN to gain greater  insight from its business information and achieve faster results for a competitive advantage. In conjunction with its need of databases, Barnes Noble extensively uses hardware components for data input, output, and storage. Input hardware is any device used to supply information into a computer such as a keyboard, mouse, barcode scanner, or display. â€Å"Barnes Noble, Inc. is a bookselling company. The company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform† (Barnes Noble, Inc., 2012). Barnes Noble operates more than 1,350 bookstores across the entire United States, and close to 700 bookstores on college campuses. Input devices at each location allow employees to enter customer information into an individual terminal that is then sent to a central server for storage. â€Å"Hardware for the project was a 64-bit HP Integrity Superdome Server equipped with 20 1.6-gigahertz Intel Itanium 2 processors and 84 gigabytes of RAM† (Microsoft, 2005). â€Å"Output hardware is an electronic or electromechanical equipment connected to a computer and used to transfer data out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds, or other media† (Dictionary.com, 2014). One example of output hardware used at Barnes Noble is a printer for producing r eports. Executives at the company often need â€Å"Current sales data as well as historical information, which could be used to understand trends, such as in seasonal or regional sales. That kind of information could be used to shape promotions and marketing campaigns† (Microsoft, 2005). Another important output device from Barnes Noble is an eReader, named ‘Nook,’ that allows customers to purchase and download publications from BN’s library via WiFi. BN’s eCommerce division offers The Nook in several models and with varying features, but was primarily designed to give customers an alternative to traditional forms of written media. Customers can choose from millions of digital books, periodicals, movies, and music. The Nook is also environmentally friendly because it saves space and reduces paper waste. In addition, Barnes Noble’s eReader offers a backlit display that claims to have â€Å"resolved the number-one problem couples have in bed – having their sleep interrupted, or being prevented from falling asleep, when their partner reads with the light on† (Barnes Noble, Inc., 2012). In conclusion, this paper described how Barnes Noble uses the Microsoft  Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system to run the Microsoft SQL Server 2000. The HP Integrity Superdome Server is a more effective and efficient mode of storage, and information from databases is easier to access. Now, â€Å"Because of the rapid extraction and loading of sales and inventory data, company employees and managers no longer have to wait to get information that can help them make business decisions† (Microsoft, 2005). The database administration security system also effectively uses account controls to allow customers access to the database of digital publications, which has greatly increased Barnes Noble’s eCommerce division. References Barnes Noble, Inc. (2012). Barnes Noble Booksellers. Retrieved on June 16, 2014 from the World Wide Web. www.barnesandnobleinc.com Dictionary.com, LLC (2014). Dictionary. Retrieved on June 16, 2014 from the World Wide Web. www.dictionary.reference.com Kroenke, D. (2013). MIS Essentials 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Microsoft Case Studies (November 11, 2005). Bookseller gains business insights across sales channels with new data warehouse. Retrieved on June 16, 2014 from the World Wide Web. www.microsoft.com/casestudies Microsoft Corporation. (2005, October). Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Customer Solution Case Study. Retrieved from http://download.microsoft.com//barnes_noble.pdf.

the false consensus effect :: essays research papers

Research Demonstration: The False Consensus Effect In science, we emphasize systematic, careful observation as a key to overcoming the limits of other methods of acquiring knowledge. That is, we trust systematic observation more than we trust our own intuition. We can actually investigate this issue. The following description provides you with the details necessary to conduct a simple study to investigate the accuracy of human intuitions. We often believe that others are more like ourselves than they really are. Thus, our predictions about others' beliefs or behaviors, based on casual observation, are very likely to err in the direction of our own beliefs or behavior. For example, college students who preferred brown bread estimated that over 50% of all other college students preferred brown bread, while white-bread eaters estimated more accurately that 37% showed brown bread preference (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977). This is known as the false consensus effect (Ross et al., 1977; Mullen, Atkins, Champion, Edwards, Hardy, Story, & Vanderlok, 1985). The false consensus effect provides the basis for the following demonstration, which emphasizes the need for systematic rather than casual observation. You can use the set of six questions, below, to investigate this. Before describing the false consensus effect, have friends, roommates or classmates (other classes, not PSY250) answer the questions listed below. Next, have students predict the UB undergraduate mean for each question. Keep a record of the responses for each person who participates. According to the false consensus effect, students' predictions about the UB mean should be influenced by their own positions. Consequently, a student whose position is below the UB mean is likely to make a prediction that will be below the UB mean as well. There are ethical constraints on the use of human participants that you must follow if you wish to try this with people. 1. Do not collect any identifying information on your participants. The answers to these questions should be anonymous. Even though you may know the person, do NOT record any identifying information. 2. When you ask someone to participate, explain the basic nature of the study. You want to ask people how often they do certain things, like laundry, and how often they think other UB undergrads do these same things. You are doing this as part of a class on learning the scientific method. If they participate, they will be asked to answer six questions about themselves and other UB undergraduates. They can choose not to answer any question. Tell your prospective participant that all answers are anonymous and no information identifying them is being recorded. 3.

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Essay

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple takes place in the 1920’s-1930’s during the times of segregation and women’s suffrage. In this passage Celie’s step-son confides in her one night sitting on her front porch steps. Read the following passage from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Then, in a well-organized essay analyze how the author’s style exposes the tone towards the unequal treatment of women by the use of literary elements such as appeal to emotion, syntax, and irony. Harpo sitting out on the steps, crying like his heart gon break. Oh, boo-hoo, and boo-hoo. He got his head in his hands, tears and snot running down his chin. I give him a hansker. He blow his nose, look up at me out of two eyes close like fists. What happen to your eyes? I ast. He clam round in his mind for a story to tell, then fall back on the truth. Sofia, he say. You still bothering Sofia? I ast. She my wife, he say. That don’t mean you got to keep on bothering her, I say. Sofia love you, she a good wife. Good to the children and good looking. Hardworking. Godfearing and clean. I don’t know what more you want. Harpo sniffle. I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa. Oh, Lord, I say. When Pa tell you to do something, you do it, he say. When he say not to, you don’t. You don’t do what he say, he beat you. Sometime beat me anyhow, I say, whether I do what he say or not. That’s right, say Harpo. But not Sofia. She do what she want, don’t pay me no mind at all. I try to beat her, she black my eyes. Oh, boo-hoo, he cry. Boo-hoo-hoo. I start to take back my hansker. Maybe push him and his black eyes off the step. I think bout Sofia. She tickle me. I used to hunt game with a bow and arrow, she say. Some womens can’t be beat, I say. Sofia one of them. Besides, Sofia love you. She probably be happy to do most of what you say if you ast her right. She not mean, she not spiteful. She don’t hold a grudge. He sit there hanging his head, looking retard. Harpo, I say, giving him a shake, Sofia love you. You love Sofia. He look up at me best he can out his fat little eyes. Yes ma’am? he say. Mr.___ marry me to take care of his children. I marry him cause my daddy made me. I don’t love Mr.___ and he don’t love me. In this passage from The Color Purple, the author’s opinion of the way  men treat women is clearly displayed through the tone of the text and style of her writing. Alice Walker exposes her strong disapproval of the mistreatment of women through literary elements such as syntax, appeal to emotion and irony. Walker uses specific syntax in order to emphasize the importance of the points that Harpo’s companion makes. The word â€Å"Hardworking.† is treated as a sentence in itself, and the neighboring phrases such as â€Å"Good to the children and good looking.†, â€Å"Godfearing and clean.†, and â€Å"Sofia love you, she a good wife.† are short and punctuated like sentences in the same way. The author does this to point out that amongst all the dialogue written, these phrases are the most significant text in the scene because they demonstrate her opinion that men, including Harpo, should not mistreat women, and especially women who take care of themselves, behave according to religious teachings, and are good to their families and husbands. She also uses this same sentence structure to emphasize the ways Sofia doesn’t act; for example, â€Å"She not mean, she not spiteful.† and â€Å"She don’t hold a grudge†. This shows that So fia’s behavior does not deserve punishment, and therefore she and other women of similar character should not be harmed. The passage contains emotional appeal which serves the purpose of pointing out the author’s opinion of the mistreatment of women. Sofia’s redeeming qualities are plainly stated: characteristics such as hardworking, loving, religious, and loyal to family. When the reader learns that Sofia’s husband tries to beat her despite her mannerisms, sympathy is evoked. The appeal to emotion continues when a briefing on the lady companion’s past is supplied. The reader learns of the woman’s misfortunes including beatings that take place regardless of her actions, and a forced marriage that leads to her upbringing of another woman’s children. Imbedded deeper in the text, is situational irony. Walker uses imagery like â€Å"He got his head in his hands, tears and snot running down his chin.† and onomatopoeic words such as â€Å"sniffle† and â€Å"boo-hoo† to point out Harpo’s exaggerated reaction. Harpo feels that his inability to beat his wife puts him in an unfair situation. These examples are used to point out the reality  of the situation; women such as his companion [Celie] are the unlucky ones because they are forced into unjust relationships in which they are beaten and mistreated. The imagery and onomatopoeia making fun of Harpo’s actions, serve the purpose of pointing out his hypocritical ridiculous behavior. Throughout the passage provided, Walker uses stylistic techniques such as syntax, emotional appeal, and situational irony to illuminate her critical opinion of the mistreatment of women. Her particular methods provoke reflection and contemplation in the reader once the passage has been comprehended. As a result, this increases the value of her work as a whole.

Jane Austen s Pride And Prejudice - 1533 Words

In today s society, marriage is a significant bond that must be on the basis of love and understanding. Marriage is a relationship described as more for love and emotion rather than convenience or money. Through the experience of Lydia and Wickham, Charlotte and Collins, and Elizabeth and Darcy, Austen criticizes marriages based on infatuation, convenience and money, and emphasizes that marriage can only be successful if they are founded on mutual love. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Austen conveys her opinion about marriage. Through Lydia Bennet and George Wickham, Austen clearly shows how a relationship on the basis of infatuation contributes to an unsuccessful marriage. Lydia is an immature, foolish young woman who presents a relationship based on physical gratification. Wickham too, is similar - he is self-indulgent, manipulative and would never deny any pleasure. Just like Wickham, Lydia has an aspiration to â€Å"attach herself to anybody,† as she experiences a passio n for men in uniform. As a result of Lydia s immaturity, she demonstrates that her love towards Wickham is only for enjoyment and imprudent motives; he being part of the regiment is the only reason her affections fluctuate for him. Despite the absence of admiration in their marriage, Lydia and Wickham suffer the consequences of their marriage with indifference for one another. They live a short period of happiness as their marriage is based on convenience, attraction and passion rather than love andShow MoreRelatedJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1231 Words   |  5 Pagesfinancial stability. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen states that the desire for better social connections interferes with the workings of love through the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth to criticize the social class structure of the 19th century. Anxieties about social connections or the desire for better social connections, interfere with the workings of love. Darcy and Elizabeth s realization of a mutual and tender love seems to imply that Jane Austen views love as something independentRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1294 Words   |  6 PagesJane Austen s exceptional novel Pride and Prejudice has been depicted as a classic that is as much a social study on class, marriage and gender as it is a romantic tale. It is an amusing representation of the social atmosphere of the late eighteenth and mid nineteenth century England, and it is primarily required with courtship rituals of the English high class. The novel is more than a romantic tale, however through Austen s subtle, and ironic style, it addresses gender, class, and marriageRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice992 Words   |  4 Pages It is unfortunate that many people tend to dismiss Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, as simply a roman tic love story, even labeling it a â€Å"chick flick.† Upon a shallow reading, it may appear to be such, but a closer look at the novel reveals so much more embedded in the story. In addition to describing the entertaining relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, the novel serves to forward Austen s personal values and ideas. Furthermore, there is one issue of her era that she particularlyRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1138 Words   |  5 PagesPride and Prejudice is a novel about the superficiality of marriage during the late 19th and early 20th century, which largely influenced the decisions made by individuals, based on connections and social rankings. The novel takes its characters through various changes influenced by their decision to or rather not to marry certain individuals. It begins not by a man desiring to marry for love, but by a mother who desires nothing more than to marry her daughters well. As the novel develops, Jane AustenRead MoreJane A usten s Pride And Prejudice1211 Words   |  5 PagesJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was greatly influenced by the time period in which it was written, This novel follows the story of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters as they are faced with marriage proposals. The marriage and roles of women in this time period are shown throughout this story. During the time Austen was writing this novel, a woman’s role for her family changed. Daughters started to become a way for their family to achieve more money. Because their family depended on this financialRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1675 Words   |  7 PagesIn Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, she has specific criteria that her characters follow when choosing their mates. In today’s society, most couples still follow these criteria and more when choosing their ideal mate. What are these important criteria that Austen’s characters consider when choosing a mate? For Austen, the important cr iteria that she has for choosing a mate are that couples are personally compatible, they are in love with each other, and they must have a good moral character. Read MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1678 Words   |  7 PagesAfter reading Jane Austen’s most popular piece of work, the effects of the high societal expectations can be acknowledged through viewing the lives of the Bennet family and friends and noting such effects. Through the examination of the characters in Pride and Prejudice it is easily deciphered between marriages based upon true love and marriage based upon the expectations of society. Society’s main goal for woman in the Victorian era was marriage. As seen many in Pride and Prejudice, marriage wasRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1434 Words   |  6 PagesJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was considered a radical novel back in 1813 when she wrote and published the piece. It is a social commentary on the treatment and societal standards of women, as well marriage expectations at the turn of the 19th century. Austen criticizes the patriarchal society, materialism, double standards of men and women by centering the book around Elizabeth Bennett, a young woman of decent means who does not understand the reason for the pressure to find a suitable husbandRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1468 Words   |  6 Pagesestablished over time. In Jane Austen s novel, Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet is the main character who is a lady in the Regency Era. Elizabeth lives in Longbourn with her parents, Mr and Mrs Bennet and her four sisters. In the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth s prejudice mindset and strong opinion blinds her from realizations happening around her. Soon, Elizabeth s prejudice disappears allowing her to open up and fall in love. Throughout Jane Austen s novel, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth growsRead MoreJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice1649 Words   |  7 PagesIn her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen is pre-occupied with the theme of marriage. Marriage is a central issue of a woman’s life but it was even more crucial for the women of her society where women were largely dependent on the men in their lives. As a result, women pursued socio-economic stability through marriage. However, it is clear through the novel that Austen did not agree with this part of her society. In Pride and Prejudice, she gives preference to a marriage which is based on love