English for Information Technology

English for Information Technology

Dr.

Ahmad Faraahi
2008

Table of Contents
UNIT 1- Information Technology Security Standards----------------------------------1
UNIT 2- An Introduction to Project Management---------------------------------------26
UNIT 3- Project Management --------------------------------------------------------------37
UNIT 4- The Evolution of Project Management ----------------------------------------64
UNIT 5- What is E-Learning? --------------------------------------------------------------82
UNIT 6- E-Banking---------------------------------------------------------------------------96
UNIT 7- E-Government----------------------------------------------------------------------83
UNIT 8- Countywide Information Technology Strategic Plan---------------------- 143
UNIT 9- Analyzing & Designing a System -------------------------------------------- 176
UNIT 10- HOW TCP/IP LINKS DISSIMILAR MACHINES---------------------- 197
UNIT 11- Test ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 222
APPENDIX I- TEXTS -------------------------------------------------------------------- 266

UNIT 1
Information Technology
Security Standards

Introduction
To implement the Information Technology (IT) Security Policy, to protect IT
resources, and to enable security audits of those resources, it is required that agencies
adhere to common IT security standards. Common standards will help ensure that all
agencies have an effective and secure environment for IT processing.
The protection of computer systems and related data in the State of Washington
requires an approach that results in implementation of a balanced, cost-effective
application of security disciplines and techniques required by these standards.
Security standards define the processes, procedures, and practices necessary for
implementing an agency-specific IT security program. These standards apply to all IT
activities, whether they are operated by or for an agency. They include specific steps
that shall be taken to ensure that a secure IT environment is maintained and all agency
systems provide for privacy and security of confidential information.
At the core of these standards is the concept of a shared, trusted environment for
interaction between agencies as well as agency to customer transactions. This shared,
trusted environment is defined as the Washington State Digital Government
Framework. This framework includes the State Government Network (SGN).
These standards are based on a set of key principles intended to protect this trusted
environment, which include:
Sound risk assessment that results in an adequate level of security.
Security levels that are commensurate with the shared risk to the state enterprise.
Implementation of security with a customer-centric focus.
Security programs that support industry standards where applicable.
Focus on a least-privilege approach to access control.
Agencies that operate some or all of their information systems outside of this
environment shall still adhere to the security principles contained in these standards
by creating equivalent environments.
This document contains the following IT security standards:

I. Standards for Agency IT Security Program Development and Maintenance
II. Standards for Security Program Components
III. Standards for Digital Government (Internet) Applications

Interim Addendum
The requirements contained in the Information Technology Security Standards
Interim Addendum, located at the end of this document, also apply to all IT activities.
The addendum contains interim standards adopted in conjunction with the revision of
Policy No. 400-P1 Securing Information Technology Assets effective January 10,
2008. These items, which had previously been included in the policy revision dated
April 2002, will be reviewed in full and incorporated as appropriate into the body of
these standards during the next revision.

Statutory Authority
The provisions of RCW 43.105.041 detail the powers and duties of the Information
Services Board (ISB), including the authority to develop statewide or interagency
information services and technical policies, standards, and procedures.

Scope
These standards apply to all executive and judicial branch agencies and educational
institutions, as provided by law, that operate, manage, or use IT services or equipment
to support critical state business functions.

Exemptions
These standards apply to Institutions of Higher Education, except, pursuant to RCW
43.105.200, when they develop security standards in lieu of the standards below that
are: a) appropriate to their respective environments, and b) consistent with the intent
of the ISB. Such higher education security standards shall address:
Appropriate levels of security and integrity for data exchange and business
transactions;
Effective authentication processes, security architecture(s), and trust fabric(s);
and
Compliance, testing, and audit provisions.

Standards
Standards for Agency IT Security Program Development and Maintenance
These standards provide instructions to facilitate the development and
maintenance of an agency IT security program needed to protect the integrity,
availability, and confidentiality of agency data and safeguard agency IT resources.

Agency IT Security Program Framework
The purpose and focus of developing an IT security program is to mitigate the
risks associated with operating in a shared, enterprise environment. This shall be
accomplished by defining the level of protection that will be accorded agency

information assets based on the results of a risk analysis process. In addressing
their IT security programs, agencies shall document the processes that the
organization has developed and adopted to protect its data and IT assets.
The amount of detail included in an agency program should be commensurate
with the size, complexity, and potential business exposure based on the agency's
Business Impact and Vulnerability, Threat and Risk Analysis (Section I.B). Most
importantly, it shall recognize the importance of an enterprise approach to IT
security.

Agencies shall document the general security approach of the agency, at a
minimum addressing how the agency has complied with the following:
Agency IT Security Policies and Procedures.
All agency IT security policies and procedures shall be documented, communicated,
and updated on a regular basis. They shall be specific enough to reduce ambiguity but
flexible enough to address all agency environments.
Agency Authorization and Authentication Strategy.
Agencies shall have a strategic approach to authentication and authorization that is
consistent with the concept of shared risk, specifically when operating on the SGN.
Agency Incident Response.
Agencies shall have a basic incident response plan as part of their security program.
The incident response plan shall include an exercise approach to ensure the
effectiveness of the plan.
An agency’s security program shall address all applicable standards outlined in
this document. If it is determined by a thorough risk assessment that a component
of this standard does not apply to an agency’s environment, the security program
shall clearly document the reasons these elements are not applicable.
An Agency IT security program shall contain enough information to:
Enable agency management to assure the agency's ability to protect the integrity,
availability, and confidentiality of agency information.
Protect its IT assets from unauthorized use or modification and from accidental or
intentional damage or destruction.
Ensure the protection of the SGN.
When an agency contracts for IT resources or services with an entity not subject
to the ISB Standards, the contracting agency shall ensure the entity's security
practices are in compliance with these standards.

Organizations in compliance with the ISB Standards are considered trusted.
Contracts between trusted organizations do not need to document compliance with
the contracting agency's standards. If the contracting agency determines the need
for higher security assertions, then a service level agreement or similar contract
shall be established detailing the security requirements.
Agencies shall assign responsibility for IT security to an individual or group with
the appropriate training and background to administer those functions. Agencies
shall ensure that the individual or group has proper authority to install, monitor,
and enforce security standards and procedures.
Agencies shall have a plan to maintain their IT security program that addresses
the following:
The IT security program shall be reviewed, evaluated, and updated annually or
whenever significant changes occur to an agency’s IT environment.
Documentation of the following maintenance components:
Procedures used for making changes to security processes, procedures, and practices.
Procedures for distributing initial and updated IT security policies, standards, and
guidelines.
Agency management has the following responsibilities regarding the IT Security
Program in accordance with the ISB Information Technology Security Policy:
Pursuant to RCW 43.105.017(3), agency heads are responsible for the oversight of
their respective agency's IT security and shall confirm in writing that the agency is in
compliance with these standards. The annual security verification letter shall be
included in the agency IT portfolio and submitted to the ISB. The verification
indicates review and acceptance of agency security processes, procedures, and
practices as well as updates to them since the last approval. The head of each agency
shall provide annual certification to the ISB by August 31 of each year that an IT
Security Program has been developed and implemented.

Agencies shall have an audit performed once every three years for compliance with IT
Security Policy and Standards. This audit shall be performed by parties independent
of the agency's IT organization. Each agency will be required to maintain
documentation showing the results of its audit and plans for correcting material
deficiencies that the audit identifies.
All IT security program documentation shall be written in a clear, compelling, nontechnical manner.
Some IT security program documentation may contain sensitive information
about the agency's business, communications, and computing operations or
employees. Such information is to be shared only with personnel who have a need
to know.
Security program documentation, as prescribed in RCW
42.17.310(1)(ww) and (ddd), should be clearly labeled as “Computer Security
Information”.

Business Impact and Vulnerability, Threat and Risk Analysis
A risk analysis is a systematic examination of assets, threats, and vulnerabilities
that provides the foundation for the development of an appropriate IT Security
Program. Adequate risk analysis is the key to determining the level of protection
required for all computing assets such as networks, applications, systems, facilities
and other enterprise assets. A risk analysis will:
Identify dependence on existing IT assets.
Identify vulnerabilities of existing IT assets.
Assess the probabilities of threats occurring to existing IT assets.
Determine the impact of losses if they do occur.
Identify the value of safeguards or countermeasures designed to reduce the
threats and vulnerabilities to an acceptable level.
The goal of the risk analysis process is to determine an acceptable level of risk
that considers agency security, the security of shared resources (especially related
to operation on the SGN), agency business strategy and the overall cost of
countermeasures. Conducting an adequate risk analysis will aid agency efforts to
better apply available resources to their security program.
Agencies shall conduct a risk analysis when introducing significant new systems
or when major changes are made to an agency’s existing computing environment.
To conduct a risk analysis, agencies shall complete the following steps:

Information Asset Review
An information asset review shall be performed to identify, at a minimum, those
information assets that are critical to ongoing operations or which contain confidential
or critical data. The criteria for this inventory assessment shall be documented.

Business Impact Analysis
A business impact analysis shall be performed for all information assets identified in
the Information Asset Review. The purpose of the business impact analysis is to
document the potential impact of loss of the assets. Consideration shall be given to
operational, financial, and legal impacts.

Vulnerability Analysis
A vulnerability analysis is used to identify vulnerabilities associated with information
assets. The vulnerability analysis shall identify specific vulnerabilities related to
information assets identified in the information asset review, as well as where those
vulnerabilities exist.

Threat Analysis
A threat analysis shall be conducted to identify threats that could result in the
intentional or accidental destruction, modification or release of data, computer, or
telecommunication resources.

Risk Analysis
A risk analysis is a collective review of the vulnerabilities and threats to all identified
assets to determine the likelihood and impact. This analysis forms the foundation for
security program planning.
While no specific format is required for the risk analysis, instructions and suggested
formats, as well as links to risk analysis resources, can be found in the Information
Technology Security Guidelines. Organizations may also consider leveraging disaster
recovery reviews, specifically relating to critical assets and business impact, when
completing IT security risk assessments.
i. Standards for Agency IT Security Program Components
Agency security programs shall document policies and procedures for the
functional areas outlined below.

Personnel Security Standards
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
the selection, orientation, and supervision of employees and contractors who have
access to agency IT resources. The objective is to ensure that a high level of
integrity and satisfactory staff conduct is achieved and maintained, and to promote
an awareness of security matters. The following are to be included:
Reference checks and background investigations where appropriate.
Security awareness training, at hire and annually.
IT Security support staff technical training.
Sanctions for security violations.
Processes for employees or contractors when separating from service.
Appropriate language in all vendor contracts regarding security requirements.

Physical Security Standards
Agencies are responsible for assuring that adequate physical security protections
are implemented to maintain the availability, confidentiality and integrity of the
agency's computer systems.
Investments in physical security shall be
commensurate with the risks, threats, and vulnerabilities unique to each individual
site and location.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
the following:
Location and layout of the facility.
Physical security attributes for computer or telecommunications rooms (if
applicable).
Facility access control.
Physical data storage and telecommunications controls.
Off-site media storage.

Physical security controls for mobile/remote computing.
Laptops and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
Portable data storage devices (e.g., tape drives, zip drives, removable hard
drives, USB data storage devices).

Data Security Standards
The purpose of the data security component of the IT security program is to
reduce the risk associated with the unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction
of agency-controlled data. Content shall include data classification standards and
rules for the access, storage, and dissemination of data.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for:
Classification of data based on the agency's risk analysis. At a minimum classify
data as sensitive/confidential versus public information.
Application development processes:
i.

Ensure version control and currency.

Ensure system security requirements assessment and testing during the development
life cycle.
When sharing data with an external entity (whether data sharing is covered as
part of a larger contract, a service level agreement (SLA), or as a dedicated data
sharing agreement), the following shall be addressed:
The data that is to be shared.
The classification of the data (reference ISB IT Security Guidelines).
How the data will be accessed or shared.
Who will have access to the data.
How the data will be protected.
What will be done with the data when it is no longer needed for the contract.

Data and program back up.
Agencies shall address data archival and rotational requirements for backup
media based on the results of their risk analysis. This shall include media used in
the backup of host and workstation data.
Agencies shall establish procedures for periodic tests to restore agency data from
backup media.
Agencies shall establish methods to secure their backup media.
Secure management of information and data encryption standards.
An agency's risk assessment shall identify which data is confidential and when
that data needs to be encrypted (secured).
If encryption is required, the agency security program shall include methodology
to ensure the elements in the following areas related to secure file transfer, secure
e-mail, and secure data storage are met.
i.

Secure File Transfer

Secure exchange of information from one application or user to another requires that:
All manipulations of data during the exchange are secure.
If intercepted during transmission, data cannot be understood.
The intended recipient is the only one who can understand the transmitted
information.
Confirmation is received that the intended recipient received the data.
Confidential information subject to exposure shall be encrypted.
It is assumed that the exchange of information occurs only between secure endpoints.

Secure E-mail
Secure delivery of a message from a sender to a receiver requires that:
E-mail, and any attachments, containing confidential information shall be encrypted
from the sending device to the receiving device.
Chain-of-custody shall be preserved from sending device to receiving device.
Ability to un-encrypt sender's message through authorized process; sending
organization must be able to un-encrypt and retrieve originating version of sent
message.
All manipulations of data during the transfer from sending device to receiving device
are secure.
If intercepted between sending device and receiving device, data cannot be
understood.
Only the selected receiver can view the data in its original, unencrypted state.
If technically feasible, confirmation shall be issued to indicate that the intended
receiver received the data.
The sending organization shall determine what information requires the need for
secure e-mail and ensure that the encrypted e-mail message is retrievable within a predefined archival period.

Secure Data Storage
Secure data storage is defined as the protection of data content and changes in data
state from its original storage on electronic media by using encryption processes.
Secure data storage requires that:

An organization has the ability to un-encrypt stored data through an authorized
process.
An organization has the ability to un-encrypt stored data through a pre-defined
recovery period identified by the organization.
An organization protects the encryption and decryption method (key and algorithm).
If the data is accessed by unauthorized entity, it cannot be understood.
An organization has the ability to detect alteration of intended content.

Web Server Data Security
If a Web server is used for access to confidential or sensitive data, agencies shall
ensure that the appropriate security and server and database configuration is put in
place and documented to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the data.

Network Security Standards
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures to
ensure secure operation of their applications, secure network sessions within the
Washington State Digital Government Framework, and appropriate layered
protection to address shared risk. These policies and procedures shall include:
Infrastructure management processes.
Change management processes.
Appropriate network breach detection and incident response processes that
leverage statewide incident response capabilities such as the Washington computer
Incident Response Center (WACIRC) and the Department of Information Services
Computer Security Incident Response Team (DIS CSIRT).
Agencies shall develop document, and implement policies and procedures to
effectively secure wireless devices that extend their Local Area Networks (LANs).
Agencies shall:
Develop, document, and implement wireless access security practices within the
agency.
Firewall all wireless access point connections from the agency network and the
SGN. Equivalent solutions shall be approved by the agency's Washington State
Department of Information Services (DIS) Senior Technology Management
Consultant and documented in the agency security program.
Use industry standard authentication and encryption methods.
Perform a self-audit on a regular basis to locate any unauthorized wireless
devices.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
Patch Management.
All computers systems shall have all critical updates and security updates
applied in a timely manner.

Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures that
require any remotely attached device, either employee owned, or agency owned, to
have current patches. Agencies may choose to disable or block access for any
device that is not in compliance with this requirement.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures that
require devices attached to agency networks (either on agency local area networks,
or wireless networks) to have current patches.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
Anti-Virus Protection.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures that
address virus prevention, detection and removal processes, including signature
currency. Agencies shall ensure that all file transfers, e-mail of all types, and web
browser based traffic are examined for known viruses. File transfer, e-mail or
web browser-based traffic that cannot be examined for viruses should be
disallowed.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement virus incident response
procedures that are integrated with the WACIRC incident reporting processes.
Agencies with devices connected to the SGN shall ensure:
The devices are not connected to external networks either directly or through an
extranet/VPN connection. External networks are defined as any networks not part
of the SGN and not protected by the DIS-managed security layer, OR;
The devices are connected to external networks only through a DIS-managed or
approved security layer. The DIS-managed security layer is defined as firewalls,
proxy servers and security gateways, OR;
The agency network is only connected to the SGN through a DIS managed or
approved security layer.

Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
Web Browser and E-mail Client security.
All software used to access or transmit through the Internet shall be approved by
an authorized agency authority and shall incorporate all provided security patches
that are appropriate to the environment in which it is operating in accordance with
the patch management standards.
Agencies shall ensure that all files received from the Internet are checked for
viruses in accordance with the virus prevention standards.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement clear acceptable use policies
for the use of web browsers and e-mail.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
Web server security.
Information placed on a Web site is subject to the same privacy restrictions as
non-electronic information. Accordingly, before information is placed on the
Internet, it shall be reviewed and approved for release in the same manner as other
official memos, reports, or other official non-electronic information. Agencies
shall conform to the ISB Public Records Privacy Protection Policy that implements
Executive Order 00-03, Public Records Privacy Protections, for its Web site
information.
Web server software shall not be downloaded, installed, or run without prior
approval by an agency-authorized system administrator.
Remote control of Web servers (i.e. administrator operations, including
supervisor-level logon) shall be done from the console or via properly secured
sessions.
The authentication processes and mechanisms used shall be
commensurate with the level of risk associated with the nature of the remote
environment (i.e. within the SGN or externally over the Internet).
Patches for Web server software and underlying operating system software shall
be installed in accordance with the patch management standards found in section
II. D. 3 of this document.

Access Security Standards
General Access Security
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures that
address access security controls for mainframe, client/server, wireless LANs, and
stand-alone workstation-based systems that are consistent with the agency's
classification of the data processed.
Hardened passwords shall be used and enforced whenever technically and
operationally feasible.
For those systems for which it would be technically
infeasible or which would require modification to meet this requirement as defined
below, agencies shall document what other measures are to be taken to secure user
access.
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures that
address appropriate user training on the use, construction of, and maintenance of
hardened passwords.
Hardened Passwords shall meet the following criteria:
i. Passwords shall be a minimum of eight characters long
and contain at least one special character and two of the
following three character classes: upper case letters, lower
case letters, and numerals.
Shall not contain the user’s name or any part of their full name.
Passwords shall be changed a minimum of every 120 days.
After a maximum of five incorrect login attempts, accounts will be locked for a
specified period of time, or until administrator reset.
Password administration rules shall be systematically enforced. Any exception shall
be documented in the agency’s security program.

Remote Access
Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for
remote access that mitigate the threat or risk posed by all users or devices
authorized to connect remotely to or through the SGN. Mitigation must not be
susceptible to end user modification. Technologies include, but are not limited to,
dial-up, wireless, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
Agencies shall control the use of dial-up lines.
i. Dial-in ports may be used only if there is no other way to
satisfy a business need.
If dial-in is used, all security features (dial back, etc.) appropriate to the
operating environment shall be used.
Agencies shall maintain and review a log of remote connections.
Agencies shall monitor remote access by vendors.
Agencies that use VPN services shall develop, document, and implement
policies and procedures and that, at a minimum, address the following:
i.

VPN solutions shall use industry standard protocols.

An agency that operates a VPN solution through a firewall configuration other
than the SGN perimeter gateways (e.g. routers, VPN, etc.) or DIS-managed
security gateways (e.g. Secure Access Washington, Transact Washington, etc.),
shall use an equivalent solution and shall include documentation of the
configuration in the agency IT security program.
An agency that operates a VPN solution that involves token-based technology
such as smart cards shall use the mechanisms supported by the Washington State
Digital Government Framework or an equivalent solution approved by the agency's
DIS Senior Technology Management Consultant. Equivalent solutions shall be
documented in the agency security program.

Internet Access
The use of the Internet as an access alternative to applications and data imposes
new risks regarding the verification of an end user's identity. The standards set
forth in this section respond to the issues that shall be addressed by agencies
concerned with authentication and access of Internet-based systems.
Internet-based applications shall involve the use of authentication processes and
mechanisms that provide a level of identity confidence (level of confidence) that is
commensurate with the risk associated with unintended access and/or disclosure of
data. “Level of Confidence" can be determined by assessing the processes,
controls, mechanisms and technologies used in the authentication process to
provide the following:
Identification and Authentication: To initially establish and confirm the identity
of an individual or entity and ensure that an authentication mechanism (e.g. digital
certificate, password, etc.) used to authenticate an individual or entity has been
securely issued.
Authentication Integrity: To ensure that the authentication mechanism used to
authenticate an individual or entity is responsibly managed and properly protected
to prevent unintended use or compromise.
Authentication Validation: To confirm and validate the identity of an individual
or entity upon presentment of the authentication mechanism to an Internet-based
system.
Application Security: To ensure that an Internet-based application is properly
insulated from direct access from the Internet, and that only individuals or entities
whose identities have been positively validated are eligible to access the
application.
ii. Standards for Digital Government (Internet) Application
Submittal

General Requirements
This section describes the IT security related content that shall be included in the
submittals for Internet-based application design packets. The agency's DIS Senior
Technology Management Consultant will use available internal and external
resources to review design features relating to Internet security. The Consultant
will provide developers pro-active access to the security infrastructure and provide
development teams (particularly those agencies with no Internet-based application
security personnel) with suggestions or advice on how to best utilize the security
infrastructure and existing capabilities of the Washington State Digital
Government Framework.
Internet-based applications that are designed to provide anonymous access to
public information (no specific application level security requirements) are not
subject to this submittal requirement.
If a new application or data source is to be integrated into a previously submitted
and approved environment, no subsequent submittal is required.
Internet Application Design Packet Submittal Contents

The agency's security program shall address how the agency will ensure all new
Internet-based applications will be reviewed with the agency's DIS Senior
Technology Management Consultant.
The security program shall address how submitted information will include, at a
minimum, the following IT security related information:
Application description.
Provide a general description of the purpose of the application and the nature of
the information involved.
Application services.
Describe the nature of the services to be provided to the user of the application
(static data, interactive queries, data entry, electronic payments).
Authentication requirements (high, medium, low level of confidence).
Describe the level of confidence required for user authentication and provide a
summary of the analysis completed to determine this level.
Certificate Authority integration (if required).
If the proposed authentication mechanism involves the use of digital certificates,
describe any known application integration issues.
Application access control mechanisms.
i. If the project involves providing access to an existing
application, describe the nature of the application's access
control mechanisms (user ID, password, etc.).
If it is the intent of the agency to re-authenticate a user at the application level
after the users have been authenticated by a centralized mechanism and processes
(such as SGN perimeter gateways (e.g. routers, VPN, etc.) or DIS-managed
security gateways (e.g. Secure Access Washington, Transact Washington, etc.),
describe the justification for not accepting the initial authentication.
Encryption requirements.
Describe any specific encryption requirements for data transmission and/or
storage.
Proposed development tools.
If known, describe the proposed development tools to be used in the creation or
modification of the application for use via the Internet.
Proposed Web server platform.
If known, provide information regarding the hardware, operating system, and
services provided by the Web server platform.

Maintenance
Technological advances and changes in the business requirements of agencies will
necessitate periodic revisions to policies, standards, and guidelines. The Department
of Information Services is responsible for routine maintenance of these to keep them
current. Major policy changes will require the approval of the ISB.

Appendix: Cross-reference of IT Security Policy and Standards
Table 1 provides a cross-reference of the IT Security Policy to the relevant sections in
the IT Security Standards.

Table 1
Policy
1. Each agency must operate in a manner consistent
with the maintenance of a shared, trusted
environment.
2. Each agency must establish its networks and secure
applications within the Washington State Digital
Government Framework. This requires that all parties
interact with agencies through a common security
architecture and authentication process.

3. Each agency that operates its applications and
networks within the Washington State Digital
Government Framework must subscribe to the
principles of shared security

Relevant Standard Section
Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)
Network Security Standards (Section II, D.)

Network Security Standards (Section II, D)
Access Security Standards (Section II, E.)

Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)
Network Security Standards (Section II, D)
Access Security Standards (Section II, E.)

4. Each agency must address the effect of using the
Internet to conduct transactions for state business
with other public entities, citizens, and businesses

Network Security Standards (Section II, D)
Access Security Standards (Section II, E.)

5. Each agency must ensure staff is appropriately
trained in IT security procedures

Personnel Security Standards (Section II,
A.)

6. Each agency must review its IT security processes,
procedures, and practices at least annually and make
appropriate updates after any significant change to its
business,
computing,
or
telecommunications
environment

Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)

7. Each agency must conduct an IT Security Policy and
Standards Compliance Audit once every three years.
It must be performed by parties independent of the
agency’s IT organization

Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)

8. Pursuant to RCW 43.105.017(3), agency heads will
confirm in writing that the agency is in compliance
with this policy

Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)

9. The State Auditor may audit agency IT security
processes, procedures, and practices

Standards for IT Security Program
Development and Maintenance (Section I)

Information
Security Standards
Interim Addendum

Technology

Adopted by the Information Services Board (ISB) on January 10, 2008
Policy No: 401-S3
Effective Date: January 10, 2008
This addendum contains interim standards adopted in conjunction with the revision of
Policy No. 400-P1 Securing Information Technology Assets effective January 10,
2008. These items, which had previously been included in the policy revision dated
April 2002, will be reviewed in full and incorporated as appropriate into the body of
the standards during the next revision.

Additional Interim Standards

1.

Previous location in policy: Purpose
The purpose of the Information Technology (IT) Security Policy is to create
an environment within State of Washington agencies that maintains system
security, data integrity and privacy by preventing unauthorized access to data
and by preventing misuse of, damage to, or loss of data. The state’s transition
from multiple proprietary network connections over dedicated leased
networks to the Internet for conducting vital public business has highlighted
the following security concerns:
•
•
•
•
•

•

•

Information Integrity - Unauthorized deletion, modification or disclosure of
information;
Misuse - The use of information assets for other than authorized purposes by
either internal or external users;
Information Browsing - Unauthorized viewing of sensitive information by
intruders or legitimate users;
Penetration - Attacks by unauthorized persons or systems that may result in
denial of service or significant increases in incident handling costs;
Computer Viruses – Attacks using viral code that reproduces itself by
modifying other programs, spreading across multiple programs, data files or
devices on a system or through multiple systems in a network, that may result
in the destruction of data or the erosion of system performance;
Fraud - Attempts to masquerade as a legitimate user to steal services or
information, or to initiate transactions that result in financial loss or
embarrassment to the organization; and
Component Failure - Failure due to design flaws or hardware/software faults
can lead to denial of service or security compromises through the malfunction
of a system component.

Because information technology security planning is primarily a risk
management issue, the policy, these standards and the associated guidelines focus
on the creation of a shared and trusted environment, with particular attention to:

•
•
•
•

Common approaches to end-user authentication;
Consistent and adequate network, server, and data management;
Appropriate uses of secure network connections; and
Closing unauthorized pathways into the network and into the data pursuant
to RCW 43.105.017(2).

Such an environment is made possible through an enterprise approach to security
in state government that:
Promotes an enterprise view among separate agencies;
Requires adherence to a common security architecture and its related procedures;
Recognizes an interdependent relationship among agencies, such that
strengthening security for one strengthens all and, conversely, weakening one
weakens all; and
• Assumes mutual distrust until proven friendly, including relationships within
government, with trading partners, and with anonymous users.

•
•
•

In response to these threats and to assist state agencies in mitigating associated
risks, the Information Services Board (ISB) requires that agencies take steps
necessary to initiate an enterprise-wide approach to:
•
•

•
•
•

Ensure secure interactions between and among governmental agencies take place
within a shared and trusted environment;
Ensure secure interactions between and among business partners, external parties
and state agencies utilize a common authentication process, security architecture,
and point of entry;
Prevent misuse of, damage to, or loss of IT hardware and software facilities;
Ensure employee accountability for protection of IT assets; and
Prevent unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted material by public
entities.
Accordingly, the ISB directs state agencies to:
Operate in a manner consistent with the Information Technology (IT) Security
Policy of the State of Washington;
Develop, implement, maintain, and test security processes, procedures, and
practices to protect and safeguard voice, video, and computer data computing and
telecommunications facilities—including telephones, hardware, software, and
personnel—against security breaches;
Train staff to follow security procedures and standards;
Apply appropriate security measures when developing transactional Internetbased applications, including but not limited to electronic commerce (ecommerce); and
• Ensure and oversee compliance with the policy and standards.
•

•

•
•

2.

Previous location in policy: Statement 1.
Agencies may establish certain autonomous applications, including those hosted
by an Applications Service Provider or other third party, outside of the shared,

trusted environment, PROVIDED the establishment and operation of such
applications does not jeopardize the enterprise security environment, specifically:
The security protocols (including means of authentication and authorization)
relied upon by others; and,
• The integrity, reliability, and predictability of the state backbone network.
•

3.

Previous location in policy: Statement 3.
Furthermore, each agency that operates its applications and networks within the
Washington State Digital Government framework must subscribe to the following
principles of shared security:

•

•
•
•

4.

Agencies shall follow security standards established for selecting appropriate
assurance levels for specific application or data access and implement the
protections and controls specified by the appropriate assurance levels;
Agencies shall recognize and support the state’s standard means of authenticating
external parties needing access to sensitive information and applications;
Agencies shall follow security standards established for securing servers and data
associated with the secure application; and
Agencies shall follow security standards established for creating secure sessions
for application access.

Previous location in policy: Statement 4.
Each agency must address the effect of using the Internet to conduct transactions
for state business with other public entities, citizens, and businesses. Plans for
Internet-based transactional applications, including but not limited to e-commerce,
must be prepared and incorporated into the agency's portfolio and submitted for
security validation.

5.

Previous location in policy: Statement 5.
Agencies are encouraged to participate in appropriate security alert response
organizations at the state and regional levels.
All Internet applications should be included and managed within
the agency portfolio. As required by the IT Security Standards, a
detailed security design packet for transactional, non-anonymous
applications (including but not limited to those using a security
mechanism for access control) is submitted for review by DIS but
the security related information need not be included in the
portfolio.
Examples of security mechanism for access control include, but are not limited
to, Public Key Infrastructure, User ID and passwords, or biometrics.
•

6.

Previous location in policy: Statement 6.
Examples of changes that require review and appropriate updates to the agency
security program include modifications to physical facility, computer hardware or
software, telecommunications hardware or software, telecommunications

networks, application systems, organization, or budget. Practices will include
appropriate mechanisms for receiving, documenting, and responding to security
issues identified by third parties.

7.

Previous location in policy: Statement 7
Each agency must maintain documentation showing the results of its review or
audit and the plan for correcting material deficiencies revealed by the review or
audit.

UNIT 2
An Introduction to Project Management

Project management in the modern sense began in the early 1960s, although it has its
roots much further back in the latter years of the 19th century. The need for project
management was driven by businesses that realized the benefits of organizing work
around projects and the critical need to communicate and co-ordinate work across
departments and professions. One of the first major uses of project management as we
know it today was to manage the United States space programmed. The government,
military and corporate world have now adopted this practice. Here is the main
definition of what project management is:
1. Project management is no small task.
2. Project management has a definite beginning and end. It is not a continuous
process.
3. Project management uses various tools to measure accomplishments and track
project tasks. These include Work Breakdown Structures, Gantt charts and
PERT charts.
4. Projects frequently need resources on an ad-hoc basis as opposed to
organizations that have only dedicated full-time positions.
5. Project management reduces risk and increases the chance of success.
Project management is often summarized in a triangle. The three most important
factors are time, cost and scope, commonly called the triple constraint. These form the
vertices with quality as a central theme.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Projects must be delivered on time.
Projects must be within cost.
Projects must be within scope.
Projects must meet customer quality requirements.

More recently, this has given way to a project management diamond, with time, cost,
scope and quality the four vertices and customer expectations as a central theme. No
two customers' expectations are the same so you must ask what their expectations are.

A project goes through six phases during its life:
1. Project Definition: Defining the goals, objectives and critical success factors
for the project.
2. Project Initiation: Everything that is needed to set-up the project before work
can start.
3. Project Planning: Detailed plans of how the work will be carried out including
time, cost and resource estimates.
4. Project Execution: Doing the work to deliver the product, service or desired
outcome.
5. Project Control: Ensuring that a project stays on track and taking corrective
action to ensure it does.
6. Project Closure: Formal acceptance of the deliverables and disbanding of all
the elements that were required to run the project.
The role of the project manager is one of great responsibility. It is the project
manager's job to direct, supervise and control the project from beginning to end.
Project managers should not carryout project work, managing the project is enough.
Here are some of the activities that must be undertaken:
1. The project manager must define the project, reduce it to a set of manageable
tasks, obtain appropriate resources and build a team to perform the work.
2. The project manager must set the final goal for the project and motivate
his/her team to complete the project on time.
3. The project manager must inform all stakeholders of progress on a regular
basis.
4. The project manager must assess and monitor risks to the project and mitigate
them.
5. No project ever goes exactly as planned, so project managers must learn to
adapt to and manage change.
A project manager must have a range of skills including:
•
•
•
•
•

Leadership
People management (customers, suppliers, functional managers and project
team)
Effective Communication (verbal and written)
Influencing
Negotiation

• Conflict Management
• Planning
• Contract management
• Estimating
• Problem solving
• Creative thinking
• Time Management
"Project managers bear ultimate responsibility for making things happen.
Traditionally, they have carried out this role as mere implementers. To do their jobs
they needed to have basic administrative and technical competencies. Today they play
a far broader role. In addition to the traditional skills, they need to have business
skills, customer relations skills, and political skills. Psychologically, they must be
results-oriented self-starters with a high tolerance for ambiguity, because little is
clear-cut in today's tumultuous business environment. Shortcomings in any of these
areas can lead to project failure." - J. Davidson Frame
Many things can go wrong in project management. These things are often called
barriers. Here are some possible barriers:
1. Poor communication
2. Disagreement
3. Misunderstandings
4. Bad weather
5. Union strikes
6. Personality conflicts
7. Poor management
8. Poorly defined goals and objectives
A good project management discipline will not eliminate all risks, issues and
surprises, but will provide standard processes and procedures to deal with them and
help prevent the following:
1. Projects finishing late, exceeding budget or not meeting customer
expectations.
2. Inconsistency between the processes and procedures used by projects
managers, leading to some being favored more than others.
3. Successful projects, despite a lack of planning, achieved through high stress
levels, goodwill and significant amounts of overtime.
4. Project management seen as not adding value and as a waste of time and
money.
5. Unforeseen internal and/or external events impacting the project.
Project management is about creating an environment and conditions in which a
defined goal or objective can be achieved in a controlled manner by a team of people.
Structure 1
A. Contextual reference
Transitional markers are words used to link ideas together so that the text is smoother
to read. When pronouns such as it, they, them, I, he, she, which, who, whose, that,
such, one and demonstrative adjectives such as this, that, these and those, are used as
transitional markers. They refer to a word, or words, mentioned earlier in the sentence
or paragraph. Their function is to take your thoughts back to something that has
already been mentioned. Thus they serve as synonyms or substitutes. Other words

which are often used to refer backwards are the former, the latter, the first, second,
etc. and the last.
Sample paragraph
A computer(1) like any other machine, is used because, it(1) does certain jobs better
and more efficiently than humans. It(1) can receive more information(2) and process
it(2) faster than any human. The speed at which a computer works can replace weeks
or even months of pencil-and-paper work. Therefore, computers(3) are used when the
time saved offsets their(3) cost which is one of the many reasons they(3) are used so
much in business, industry and research.

Exercise 1
Using the sample paragraph as a model, draw a rectangle around the word/ words and
a circle around the word/words that the circled words refer to. Then join the
and
the  with arrows:
Computers are electronic machine that process information. They are capable of
communicating with the user, of doing different kinds of arithmetic operations and of
making three kinds of decisions. However, they are incapable of thinking. They
accept data and instructions as input and after processing it, they output the results.
B. Making Comparisons
1. Formation
There are several ways of showing that similarities or differences exist between or
amongst things. The regular comparative and superlative of descriptive words,
whether these are adjectives or adverbs is formed as follows:
1. By adding the ending -er and -est to words of one syllable examples:
ABSOLUTE
Adjectives

Adverbs

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

new

newer

newest

old

older

oldest

big

bigger

biggest

soon

sooner

soonest

late

later

latest

2. By placing the words more and most in front of words with three or more
syllables:

Adjectives

Adverbs

ABSOLUTE

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

interesting

more interesting

most interesting

convenient

more convenient

most convenient

beautiful

more beautiful

most beautiful

easily

more easily

most easily

carefully

more carefully

most carefully

3. Words with two syllables may be like 1 or 2 above in that they will add the ending
-er and -est if they end in -y or -ly, -ow, -le and -er. Most of the remaining words
take more and most in front of them:

ABSOLUTE
-y
-ly
-ow
-le
-er

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

happy

happier

happiest

funny

funnier

funniest

early

earlier

earliest

friendly

friendlier

friendliest

shallow

shallower

shallowest

narrow

narrower

narrowest

able

abler

ablest

gentle

gentler

gentlest

clever

cleverer

cleverest

N. B. Two-syllable adverbs ending in -ly take more or most example

quickly

more quickly

most quickly

slowly

more slowly

most slowly

badly

more badly

most badly

Remaining
descriptive
two-syllable
words

ABSOLUTE

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

careful

more careful

most careful

careless

more careless

most careless

boring

more boring

most boring

awful

more awful

most awful

complex

more complex

most complex

4. Some common two-syllable adjectives can have either type of formation:
ABSOLUTE
common

handsome

polite

quiet

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

commoner

commonest

more common

most common

handsomer

handsomest

more handsome

most handsome

politer

politest

more polite

most polite

quieter

quietest

more quiet

most quiet

5. There are a small number of adjectives and adverbs that form The comparative and
superlative using a different stem. These irregular comparisons are as follows:
ABSOLUTE

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

Adjectives

Adverbs

bad

worse

worst

far

further/farther

furthest/farthest

good

better

best

many

more

most

badly

worse

worst

far

further/farther

furthest/farthest

little

less

least

much

more

most

well

better

best

2. Use in sentences
There are many reasons for using comparisons in discourse, they may be used to
show: a. equivalence; b. non-equivalence; c. one item compared with others; and d.
parallel increase.

Equivalence
The following words or constructions are used to show equivalence (i.e. the same).
as ... as

are similar

each

as many … as

equal to

either

as much … as

is like

all

the same … as

similar/ly

both

similar to

equal/ly

alike

the same

compare to/with

Examples
1. Third-generation computers can do a thousand times as many calculations as firstgeneration computers.
2. Microcomputers are as efficient as minicomputers.
3. The term processor is the same as central processing unit.
4. The digital computer is like a huge cash register.
5. An analog computer and a car speedometer are similar in that they continuously
work out calculations.
6. A microcomputer can sometimes cost as much as a minicomputer.
7. Both minicomputers and microcomputers can have a memory of 32K bytes.
8. A digital computer can be compared to a large cash register.
9. All computers have the same basic characteristics.
10.
The time it takes a computer to solve a problem can equal months of work for
man.
Non-equivalence
The following words and/or constructions are used to show non-equivalence (i.e. not
the same).

not as … as

greater than

unequal (ly)

word + er than

not as many … as

unlike

more … than

neither … nor … as

not the same as

fewer … than

not as much … as

not all

less … than

not equal to

Examples
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Learning a computer language is not as difficult as it seems.
A mainframe is bigger and more expensive than a microcomputer.
For less than $10,000, you could have a very good microcomputer.
Ten years ago, there were fewer computers in use than today.
Neither minicomputers nor microcomputers could be as complex as large
mainframes.
6. Unlike minicomputers, microcomputers are not very flexible.
7. An analog computer is not the same as a digital computer.
8. Not all businesses have computerized their accounting departments.
The superlative
The following words and/or constructions are used to show one item compared with
others (i.e. the superlative).
the word + est …
the most …
the least …
Examples
1. Computer technology is the fastest growing technology in the world today.
2. Digital computer programming is the one most commonly used in data processing
for business.
3. BASIC is probably the least difficult computer language to learn.
Parallel increase
The following words and/or constructions are used to show parallel increase (i.e. two
comparatives).
the (word + er) the … the more ...
the (word + er) the … the less …

Examples
1. The bigger the computer, the more complex the operations it can do.
2. The smaller the problem, the less challenging it is to the computer programmer.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.

In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
arbitrary

adj. an action or decision made with little thought,

n. arbitrariness

order or reason
syn. haphazard

Her choice of clothing seemed arbitrary.
The teacher arbitrarily decided to give the class a test.
astounding

adj. very surprising

v. astound

syn. astonishing

The scientists made an astounding discovery.
The fans were astounded by their team’s success.
astute

adj. very intelligent, smart, clever

n. astuteness

syn. perceptive

He was an astute worker, finishing in half the time it took the others to
finish.
They astutely have determined that there could be no chance to finish on
time.
petition

v. to make a request

n. petition

syn. appeal

Canada petitioned the United Nations to consider its case.
The student’s petition was denied.
relinquish

v. to give up control

n. relinquishment

syn. abdicate

The troubled executive relinquished his control of the company.
The relinquishment of his claim to the building will allow the building to be
sold.
resilient

adj. strong enough to recover from difficulty or disease

n. resilience

syn. tenacious

She has a resilient personality and will soon feel better.
The doctor was surprised by his patient’s resilience.
tempt

v. to make it attractive to do something wrong

adj. tempting

syn. entice

n. temptation
The idea of getting rich quickly tempted him to invest his life savings.
Desserts are more tempting when one is on a diet.
baffle

v. to confuse to a point at which no progress can be

adj. baffling

made

n. bafflement

syn. puzzle

The causes of many harmful diseases have baffled doctors for centuries.
That was a baffling question.
3270 terminal – also called a "dumb" terminal. A 3270 terminal consists of a monitor and a

keyboard, is attached to a mainframe, and must be connected to a system network
architecture
(SNA) in order to function.
32-bit operating system – an operating system that can process 32 bits at one time
3GL (third-generation language) – programming languages such as BASIC,
COBOL, FORTRAN, and C, which are one notch above Assembly languages
4GL (fourth-generation language) – programming languages such as Natural,
Progress, PowerScript, and Passport, which are easier to use than 3GLs and use
English-like commands
access control list – a table that tells a computer operating system what access rights
each user has to a particular system object, such as a file directory or individual file.
Each object has a security attribute that identifies its access control list. The list has
an entry for each system user with access privileges. The most common privileges
include the ability to read file (or all the files in a directory), to write to the file or
files, and to execute the file (if it is an executable file, or program).
access privileges – what you need to log on to most computer networks. Having
access privileges means you have an account and a password that let you use a
network.
broker – application communication middleware that simplifies communications
external to an application by providing common application program interfaces that
can be used by any application to access shared services. The shared services can be
deployed on multiple platforms and be written in different programming languages.
browser – (1) A software application that allows a user to view files available either
locally or across the Internet. Two popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and
Microsoft Internet Explorer. (2) Software that accesses and displays documents
located on the Internet or an intranet
BTS (Business Technology Services) – the section within the Office of Information
Technology Services that oversees, for its clients, software applications development,
Web development, marketing services, and technical services convenience contracts
bus topology – a network LAN infrastructure in which all devices are connected in a
line to a single cable. A bus network has two distinct ends: all devices on a bus
network have equal access to it and can see all of the messages on the network.
business event – an occurrence that triggers a business rule. One example would be a
motorist driving erratically triggers the business rule for "Traffic Stop."

relational database – (1) A database in which the data are organized and accessed
according to relations (2) A collection of data that is organized into related tables.
Relationships are established between and among data in the tables. Data can be
queried and retrieved from a relational database through the use of SQL (Structured
Query Language).
replication service – a service that propagates data and transactions that occur in a
central source database to each participating remote database. Replication uses a
database that has been identified as a central source and reproduces the data to
distributed target databases.
repository – contains metadata, or information about data or components (e.g.,
federated data definitions, data aliases, where OLTP and OLAP data can be found,
information about reusable and shareable components, etc.). The repository serves as
a primary data warehouse administration tool and helps promote data and component
reusability, reliability, and sharing across the enterprise. In information technology, a
repository is a central place in which an aggregation of data is kept and maintained in
an organized way, usually in computer storage.
Depending on how the term is used, a repository may be directly accessible to users or
may be a place from which specific databases, files, or documents are obtained for
further relocation or distribution in a network. A repository may be just the
aggregation of data itself into some accessible place of storage or it may also imply
some ability to selectively extract data. Related terms are data warehouse and data
mining.
reusable component – an executable service that incorporates the logic for a single
business rule or function. A component can be reused and shared between application
systems.
reuse administration – a service that provides technical support for the inventory and
the catalog of federated data, ensuring that the contents are sound, the systems run
smoothly, necessary maintenance is performed when needed, and desirable
enhancements are planned and implemented
W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium) – The W3C is an industry consortium
that seeks to promote standards for the evolution of the Web and interoperability
between WWW products by producing specifications and reference software.
Although W3C is funded by industrial members, it is vendor-neutral and its products
are freely available to all. The Consortium is international; jointly hosted by the MIT
Laboratory for Computer Science in the United States and in Europe by INRIA, who
provide both local support and performing core development. The W3C was initially
established in collaboration with CERN, where the Web originated, and with support
from DARPA and the European Commission.
WAN (wide area network) – a network that provides communication services to a
geographic area larger than that served by a local area network or a metropolitan area
network and that may use or provide public communication facilities. A WAN
typically consists of multiple LANs that are linked together.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) – The WAP is a specification for a set of
communication protocols to standardize the way that wireless devices, such as cellular
telephones and radio transceivers, can be used for Internet access, including e-mail,
the World Wide Web,

newsgroups, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
While Internet access has been possible in the past, different manufacturers have used
Different technologies. In the future, devices and service systems that use WAP will
be able to interoperate. The WAP layers are Wireless Application Environment
(WAE), Wireless Session
Layer (WSL), Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS), and Wireless Transport
Layer (WTP).
WBEM (Web-based Enterprise Management) – an initiative focused on
developing a set of enterprise systems management standards based on Internet
technology. The Web-based approach enables enterprises to manage any component
of their infrastructure in a distributed computing environment, as well as value-added
applications built by any third party from a central location via Internet
communications and web browsers.
Web accessibility – the ability of users to access information from a Web site,
regardless of any limitation they may have. W3C has issued guidelines for designing
Web-accessible Web sites.

UNIT 3
Project Management
With the excitement and sense of urgency and momentum of a new project, the
natural tendency is to dive right in. Your enthusiasm and imagination will be essential
to meeting project objectives, but they are not enough alone. Successful projects
require effective management.
In the application process for OLT funding, you have already done much of the
groundwork for sound project management and your hard work will pay dividends
now. With a relatively small amount of additional planning before you begin your
pilot project, you can help ensure a successful outcome.
The purpose of this learning module is to introduce you to the rudiments of project
management. The module is divided into subsections which introduce some basic

terminology of project management, describe the characteristics of successful projects
and provide practical advice on creating a simple yet useable project management
plan for your community learning pilot project. We hope you will find it useful.
What is a Project?
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project is any work that
happens only once, has a clear beginning and end, and is intended to create a unique
product or knowledge. It may involve only one person, or thousands. It may last
several days, or many years. It may be undertaken by a single organization, or by an
alliance of several stakeholders. A project may be as simple as organizing a one-day
event or as complex as constructing a dam on a river.
What is Project Management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to
project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations of a
project. The project manager, sometimes referred to as the project co-ordinator or
leader, manages the details of the project on a day-to-day basis. This is an ongoing
challenge that requires an understanding of the broader contextual environment of the
project and the ability to balance conflicting demands between:

• Available resources and expectations;
• Differing stakeholder priorities;
• Identified needs and project scope;
• Quality and quantity.
Fortunately, a wide variety of project management tools and techniques have been
developed for this purpose. The following pages outline a few techniques that together with your creativity and hard work - will provide the foundation for a
successful learning initiative.
Characteristics of Successful Projects
In the funding application process, you clearly defined the objectives of
your project, sought partnerships with organizations with similar objectives
and developed a detailed action plan for your project. In doing so, you laid
the foundations for success. Consider the following traits that
characterizes successful projects:
1. Clear objectives - The most successful projects have clearly defined objectives
from the outset.
2. A good project plan - A carefully thought-out plan serves two purposes. First,
it allows everyone involved to understand and perform their part in the project.
It shows who is responsible for what and estimates how much money, people,
equipment and time will be required to complete the project. Second, it serves
as a monitoring tool, allowing you to take early action if things go wrong.
3. Communication, communication, communication - Your project is a
collaborative effort between all of the individuals and organizations involved.
You all need to work together to maintain effective and continual
communication between the parties.

4. A controlled scope - Numerous issues will come up throughout your project,
and not all of them will contribute to your overall objectives. It is important to
stay focused on your priorities, with little wasted time or attention.
5. Stakeholder support - Projects typically involve several stakeholders, who
invest time and resources in the project. It is important to maintain stakeholder
support throughout the project, so the project team can meet its objectives.
How many of these characteristics does your project have? How can you improve it?
The tools and techniques provided throughout this module are all designed to help
you meet these five characteristics.
Planning Your Project
Every project has a life cycle, composed of the phases it goes through from beginning
to completion. The broad phases of an Office of Learning Technologies funded
project are:

1. Formulating the concept, goals and objectives of a project that uses technology
to enhance learning and skills development;
2. Applying for OLT funding;
3. Conducting the initial phase (developing partnerships, conducting a needs
assessment, community learning asset mapping);
4. Conducting the pilot project;
5. Writing a final report and disseminating your results to others.
The techniques in this module will help you with the fourth phase, conducting your
community learning pilot project. In formulating your project and applying for
funding, you have already done substantial project planning: identifying partners and
project team members, assigning responsibility for tasks, developing an action plan,
budgeting resources and preparing a marketing strategy and evaluation plan. These
elements form the basis of a project plan.
A project plan sets the ground rules and states them in a clear fashion. This is
especially important since OLT projects typically include multiple partners and
stakeholders with differing interests and perspectives.
Many problems experienced on projects could have been avoided or lessened by
developing a detailed project plan at the outset.

Why Plan?
First, it is vital that everyone understands and agrees to the "ground rules" that will
govern the project from here on in. You need to ensure that the objectives are clearly
stated so that there is no disagreement later on.
Second, the project plan helps you to control and measure your progress. Now that
your team members and financing are finalized, you should revisit your action plan
and add the specific details that will allow you to manage successfully.
Third, the project plan will help you deal with any changes that may occur (and they
inevitably do occur!). For example, what if a stakeholder wants to add a new objective

to the project? A clear project plan will help you deal with this situation in keeping
with the overall project objectives.
Finally, the project plan will help to cement stakeholder support over the coming
months and years of the project. This is important because you will need the support
of people from different organizations, and you will not have direct authority over
them.
Allow sufficient time to get agreement on the plan - especially given
different stakeholders. Remember that others have timetables that
may not correspond to yours. Don't underestimate the amount of time
this will take.

What is in a Project Plan?
No two projects are the same; hence no two project plans are the same. To provide the
maximum benefits, your project plan should be relevant, understandable and
complete, and reflect the size and complexity of your unique project.
Your project plan should include the following elements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

A project charter
A calendar of activities
A time schedule
A responsibility matrix
A project plan budget
Major milestones with target dates
A risk management strategy

The project manager, sponsor, every partner, and all key project staff should have a
copy of the project plan. It is a valuable tool that can help to avoid confusion about
the project’s scope and misunderstandings about responsibilities, timeframes or
resource management.
The amount of detail in your project plan will depend on your needs. It
may be quite brief or very detailed. It is up to you to develop an
appropriate project plan based on the nature of your project.

ii. 1 The Project Charter
The Project Charter is a document that demonstrates management support for the
project, authorizes the project manager to lead the project and allocate resources as
required. It is very easy to create a project charter. It simply states the name and
purpose of the project, the project manager’s name and a statement of support by
management. It is signed by senior management of the responsible organization and
the partner organizations.

The project charter should be distributed widely - to anyone with an interest in the
project. This will help build momentum, reinforce the project manager's authority,
and possibly draw other interested and valuable team members into the project.
The charter can be e-mailed to broaden its distribution easily and
quickly.

iii. 2 The Calendar of Activities
A Calendar of Activities is one of the most important tools in a project manager's
toolkit. By dividing a project into the individual tasks required to complete it, the
Calendar of Activities:
•
•
•
•
•

Provides a detailed view of the project’s scope;
Allows you to monitor what has been completed and what remains to be done;
Allows you to track labour, time and costs for each task;
Allows you assign responsibility for specific tasks to team members;
Allows team members to understand how they fit into the “big picture”.

Designing a Calendar of Activities requires some effort, and you may think that your
project is too small to warrant the effort. However, with the action plan you developed
when applying for funding, you already have the information you need to get started.

Creating a Calendar of Activities
The action plan you developed when applying for OLT funding breaks down your
project into its component activities. For the initial phase, you described them on a
month-by-month basis, for the pilot phase on a quarterly basis. The activities in your
action plan may be considered summary tasks. Some of these tasks are small enough
to manage as is, but others will need to be broken down further into their logical parts.
These smaller units of work, tasks, will be assigned to individuals and should be
specific enough to track and manage performance, but not so small that you spend too
much time chasing details. As a guideline, it doesn’t make sense to define tasks that
take less than half a day to perform over the lifecycle of the project.
The following example illustrates the work breakdown structure of the summary task
“Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content”:

Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Create interview guide (1/2 day)
Interview learners (2 ½ days)
Collate responses (1/2 day)
Write report (1 day)
Discuss report at weekly meeting (1/2 day)
Revise learning material content (4 days)
Approve evaluation (1/2 day)

The bulleted items are the units of work that will be assigned to one or more
individuals. Each task should begin with a verb that specifies the work to be done. Be
sure to estimate the time required for each task, since tasks left open-ended are an
invitation to procrastination.
The last task within each category should always be to approve the work of that
phase, a good management practice. When all the work units are done, you will mark
the Calendar of Activities to show the summary task as being complete. In the
meantime, you will know exactly what steps remain to be done. Organize your
Calendar of Activities on a quarterly basis. This will help you to prepare the quarterly
progress reports you will be submitting to OLT.
When you've finished your Calendar of Activities, look at it
objectively. Does it capture everything you need to do? Is it logical
and easy to read? If not, rework it so that it becomes a meaningful
tool. Getting the Calendar of Activities designed properly will save you hours of
effort later on.

iv. 3 The Time Schedule
In your action plan you laid out the activities of your project in their logical sequence.
You have now expanded on the action plan to create a Calendar of Activities with a
detailed work breakdown structure. Having identified the tasks to be completed and
determined the sequence for doing them, you are ready to prepare the Time Schedule.
The Time Schedule identifies logical relationships between project activities, ensures
personnel is available for tasks when needed and helps you to manage time effectively
and complete your project when planned.
When setting the Time Schedule, review all the tasks and the sequence for doing
them. Some tasks are “dependent” on others and can only be started when others are
finished. Other tasks can be done concurrently, if you have sufficient human
resources. External factors may also influence your Schedule. You may already have
a list of eager learners and the learning materials ready for your project’s launch date,
but repairs at the local community centre mean that the classroom facilities are
unavailable until next month.
Project management software permits you to use Gantt charts for schedules. Gantt
charts are popular because they graphically display the relationships between tasks. If
you do not have project management software, spreadsheet software can also be used
for schedules, as in this example showing one summary task:

Time Schedule
Task

Hours per week

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content

Week 4

Total

Create interview guide
Interview learners

-

4
20

4
-

16

4

Collate responses
Write report
Discuss report at weekly
meeting
Revise learning material
content
Approve evaluation
Subtotal

-

-

4
8

-

4
8

-

-

4

-

4

-

-

8

24

32

4

16

28

4
28

4
76

Managing the Time Schedule
Despite your best efforts at scheduling, there is often a rush to meet project deadlines.
There seem to be three major reasons for this:
•
•

•

No project manager is assigned. Most project resources are focused on completing
the project deliverables, with little attention paid to actually managing the project.
A perception that project management is "administration" or overhead. In fact, as
we try to emphasize throughout this toolkit, project management is an essential
foundation for ensuring quality and timeliness.
Lack of awareness of project management techniques.

The following hints may help to keep your project on schedule:
•

•
•
•

When creating the Time Schedule, involve key personnel who are familiar with
individual tasks, can estimate the time they will require and know the problems
you may face.
Discuss the responsibilities and priorities that partners have within their own
organizations that may impact the time they can devote to your project.
Allot time in the schedule for project management activities - 10% of total project
time is a general rule of thumb.
Hold regular project status meetings with the entire team to discourage
procrastination and identify difficulties early.

The duration of a task depends on the number of people you assign to it and their
productivity. For simple, labour-intensive tasks, you can shorten the duration by
recruiting additional resources (perhaps from a local community group). For more
complex tasks, such as advanced research, adding more resources may not help
because only highly skilled people can be productive on these tasks. Adding more
resources may simply increase your cost, with no improvement in quality or time
requirement.
As the project progresses, there may be tasks that were not foreseeable in the original
plan, or you may wish to undertake additional tasks to enhance the overall project
outcome. If so, you will need to consider the impact on both the Time Schedule and
resources. If your organization and your partners decide that changes to the Schedule
are warranted and feasible, the project manager should get a written agreement for the
revised plan from all the key stakeholders in the project.

v. 4 The Responsibility Matrix
Your project will be a collaborative effort by a number of individuals and
organizations working together toward a common goal. Managing a diverse team,
often spread over several locations, can present some special challenges.
A Responsibility Matrix is a valuable project management tool to help you meet these
challenges. A Responsibility Matrix ensures that someone accepts responsibility for
each major project activity and that nothing falls through the cracks. It need not be
complex and is easily created by using your project Schedule.
To create a Responsibility Matrix, refer to your Time Schedule. The left hand column
enumerates all the required tasks for your project. Across the top of the chart, list all
the team members (e.g. project manager, evaluation consultant, office administrator,
technical support etc.) for your project. Enter a code in each cell that represents that
team member’s involvement in the task in that row. For example:

Responsibility Matrix
Project Team Members
Task

Project
manager

Evaluator

Teacher

Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content
Create
S
A
I
interview guide
Interview
A
learners
Collate
A
responses
Write report
S
A
Discuss report
at
weekly P
P
P
meeting
Revise learning
material
S
I
P
content
Approve
S
evaluation

Tech
nical
supp
ort

Instructional
designer

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

P

P

A

I

-

-

vi. 5 The Project Plan Budget
As part of the application process, you prepared a budget for your project that meets
OLT guidelines. This “best estimate” of costs will be an important tool for managing
resources while delivering a quality result.
It is important to have the most detailed and accurate estimates possible for major
project costs (usually wages, materials and supplies and overhead) at the start of the
project. With this information, the actual process of producing the Project Plan
Budget is simple. Simply add up the labor and equipment costs of each task in the
Time Schedule you produced. These costs should fit within the financial budget
approved by OLT.
Keep the Project Plan Budget as simple as possible while maintaining accuracy. If
you have experience in project accounting, enter the costs estimates from the budget
for each of the tasks in your Schedule. This way, as actual expenses come in they will
automatically be posted to the project, making the Financial Detail sheets and
Cashflow Forecast forms required in your quarterly reports to OLT easier to fill out.
If you are not familiar with project costing, you can use spreadsheet software to
monitor your budget. List all the Time Schedule tasks at the left of the spreadsheet,
the resources to be used, cost estimates from your budget, actual costs and the
difference, if any, in columns to the right:

Project Budget
Task

Resources to Budgeted
be Used
Costs

Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content
Create interview guide
Wages
of
project
manager,
teacher;
Evaluator’s
fees.
$600
Interview learners
Wages
of
teacher; rental
of
meeting
room; laptop
computer.
$375
Collate responses
Evaluator’s
fees.
$200
Write report
Evaluator’s
fees.
$400

Actual Costs

Budget
Actual Costs

Discuss
meeting

report

at

weekly Wages
of
project
manager,
teacher,
technical
support;
Evaluator’s,
instructional
designer’s fees.
Revise
learning
material Wages
of
content
teacher,
technical
support;
Evaluator’s,
instructional
designer’s
fees; 10 CDROMs.
Approve evaluation
Wages
of
project
manager
Subtotal for learner evaluation of skills
development content

$800

$1200

$200
$3775

vii. 6 Major Milestones and Target Dates
Milestones are significant events in a project, usually the completion of a major
deliverable. You defined project milestones and set target dates in your project action
plan as part of the application for funding process. List these milestones and target
dates in the Project Plan to ensure that everybody involved in the project is aware of
them. While all those involved doubtless recognize that meeting them is important to
achieving the objectives of your project, there are also additional, less obvious,
benefits. Meeting milestones on schedule prevents wasting resources, maintains the
momentum of the project and builds credibility among potential future partners.
Managing a project requires a constant balancing of resources and priorities. These
constraints, coupled with unexpected effects of circumstances outside your control
can make it difficult to meet milestones and target dates, but the Calendar of
Activities, Time Schedule and Responsibility Matrix are powerful tools to ensure you
do.
The following are a few hints to help with the process:
• Ensure the partners and key personnel have signed off on the project plan, explicitly
committing themselves to milestones and target dates.
• Review the Time Schedule and Responsibility Matrix at weekly or bi-weekly project
team meetings to address problems before they result in major slippage.

• Make sure each individual has the recognized authority and access to resources
needed to complete tasks they are accountable for in the Responsibility Matrix.
• Allow sufficient time for training for all team members to perform effectively.
• Meet with team members individually to discuss the expected outcomes of the
project and the tasks they are assigned, as well as to point out any difficulties they
may face and answer any questions they may have.
• Recognise your project team’s success when they meet milestones and target dates.
viii. 7 What is Risk?
Risk is inherent in all projects. In project management terms, “risk” refers to an
uncertain event or condition that has a cause and, that if it occurs, has a positive or
negative effect on a project’s objectives, and a consequence on project cost, schedule
or quality. For example: the cause of a risk may be requiring a classroom with
networked computers for the learners in your skills development project. The risk
event is that Internet connection is delayed and the classroom is not available for the
anticipated start date. This affects your objective, offering computer literacy training
to underemployed adults, with the consequence that you must rent another facility or
delay project activities.
Naturally, you would prefer to maximize the probability and consequences of positive
events and minimize the probability and consequences of events adverse to your
project objectives. A risk response plan can help you. It identifies the risks that might
affect your project, determines their effect on the project and includes agreed-upon
responses for each risk.
The Risk Management Strategy
Identifying Risks
The first step in creating a risk response plan is to identify risks which might affect
your project. The project manager, key staff and project partners should “brainstorm”
referring to the project charter, calendar of activities schedule and budget to identify
potential risks. Those involved in the project can often identify risks on the basis of
experience. Published information resources are also available that identify risks for
many application areas.
Common sources of risk in community learning initiatives include:
• Technical risks – such as unproven technology
• Project management risks – such as a poor allocation of time or resources
• Organizational risks – such as resource conflicts with other activities
• External risks – such as changing priorities in partner organizations
Developing Risk Response Strategies
You cannot prepare for or mitigate all possible risks, but risks with high probability
and high impact are likely to merit immediate action. The effectiveness of your
planning determines whether risk increases or decreases for your project’s objectives.
Several risk response strategies are available:

• Avoidance – changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or protect the objectives
from its impact. An example of avoidance is using a familiar technology instead of an
innovative one.
• Transference – shifting the management and consequence of the risk to a third party.
Risk transfer almost always involves payment of a premium to the party taking on the
risk. An example of transference is using a fixed-price contract for a consultant’s
services.
• Mitigation – reducing the probability and/or consequences of an adverse risk event
to an acceptable threshold. Taking early action is more effective than trying to repair
the consequences after it has occurred. An example of mitigation is seeking additional
project partners to increase the financial resources of the project.
• Acceptance – deciding not to change the project plan to deal with a risk. Passive
acceptance requires no action. Active acceptance may include developing contingency
plans for action should the risk occur. An example of active acceptance is creating a
list of eligible instructors that can be called upon if last minute replacements are
needed for your project.
Since not all risks will be evident at the outset of the project, periodic risk reviews
should be scheduled at project team meetings. Risks that do occur should be
documented, along with their responses. Your lessons learned may be useful to others
or on future projects.

Project Manager's Role
The Role of Project Managers
From a textbook perspective, the role of a project manager is quite easy to describe. A
project manager is one, who looks into the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to describe, organize, oversee and control the various project processes.
Having said that, the roles and responsibilities of a project manager differ from
company to company. It is important to understand what role a particular project
manager will play in a certain company or organization.
Role of the Project Manager
A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful
planning and execution of a project. He/she must possess a combination of skills
including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and
resolve interpersonal conflicts as well as more systematic management skills.
Leadership for Programmers and Project Managers
Effective management is not just about being able to apply budgetary constraints or
running projects to time. In fact, 70% of businesses fail to achieve their desired goals

and the causes for failure are usually lack of strong leadership, lack of team skills, and
lack of stakeholder engagement. These more subtle skills can have a huge effect on
successful outcomes.
The Hardest Word in the Project Management Vocabulary
For project managers "no" is often the toughest word in the English language to
deploy. We often prefer the classic PM strategy of "Yes, but..." as the softer, kinder,
gentler alternative. "No" sounds harsh. Uncooperative. It sounds reticent and
recalcitrant. It sounds negative. And yet, for many of us, the time has come as
professionals to set "yes, but..." aside and venture into the world of "no."
Successful Projects Are Led Not Managed
More and more in today's environment Project Managers are being judged on how
well they operate within, and adhere, to standard practices and disciplines. This is all
very well, but let us stand back and think for a moment. If I were to challenge any one
of you to think of someone you respect, who consistently delivers projects on time,
who always gets called on when things get tough. I am sure that you could name that
person without knowing how well they work within the practices and disciplines of
your company.
The Top Five Project Management Traits to Master "the How"
In project management, we tend to focus on the method. And there is no shortage of
methods (Six Sigma, Scrum, Waterfall). The method is the what of project
management and is often at the core of an effectively run project. But the method can
only take your project so far.
If The Lord of the Rings Was a Project
Let's assume for a moment that the great quest in The Lord of the Rings was a project.
Now that's not as odd as it might sound. Just think of the criteria. They had a clear
goal and purpose. They had a team of people with defined (if unspoken) roles. All of
the team needed to work together to achieve the goal. There was a definite time
constraint in terms of when the goal needed to be achieved.
The Next Generation Project Manager
Are you tired being an average project manager, working on average projects, being
passed over for promotion, and getting an average performance review? You need to
understand something right now. There are new challenges and expectations today
that require every project manager to evolve to the next level. If you do not take
action now, you will be left behind.
How to Become a Project Manager
If you are new to project management don't be bamboozled by all the jargon.
Managing a project is just another branch of business management. There are well
understood methodologies, tools, guidelines, and procedures to help you on your way
to developing the important life-skill of project management. This article sets out the
key skills needed to become a competent project manager.
Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively
We are all project managers. Some of us manage projects like vacations or reunions,
while others run implementations of new software systems, consolidation divisions of

companies, launch new products, or build buildings. While the scale changes for
different kinds of projects, and complexity changes as more people are affected and
involved; at the core there are questions you can answer to help get any project off to
a better start.
Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy?
Must project managers be technically savvy? This topic always seems to cause quite a
stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification,
others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development
project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product.
Good Project Managers are Hard to Find!
This week, I have had a number of clients ask me if I have project managers available
to manage urgent projects. Companies want to expand and move forward but the lack
of project managers (PM's) is holding them back.
Five Ways to Turn Small Projects into Professional Success
Yes, there have always been projects. But never before has it been so important for
every person to be able to lead, manage or participate in projects of all sizes. Here are
five things you can do today to excel with small team or personal projects.
Legitimising the Project Manager Role
This article is dedicated to a better understanding of what a project manager is and
what a project manager does. Just as important, we will also be talking about what a
project manager isn't.
Project Managers, Trackers and Hybrids
Scott Berkun has some very interesting insights about the distinction between project
managers, in the traditional sense and definition of the term, and project trackers, who
may have the title of project manager, but essentially only gather actuals and create
reports for sponsors and management without actually leading project teams during
execution. Scott also provides a handy set of questions that can help one determine
exactly what role a project manager is playing on projects.
The Difference Between Really Effective Project Managers and Those Who Muddle
Through

Project management is what project managers do, not what project management
software or a methodology does. No software exists that will deliver a project on time
and on budget all by itself. No matter how "good" the software or methodology, it is
only as good as the people using it.
How To Get Your Project Approved
What do you do when you have a great idea? You know how to save your company a
ton of money or you've thought of a way to really improve a product. The problem is
that you know that you have a great idea, but no-one else does. And you can't convert
this idea into reality by yourself. You need resources. You need money. You feel that
you need permission. What do you do?
Establishing Your Project Management Authority

It's been a tough climb to your project management position. How do you establish
your authority and inspire respect? What must be done to influence project results and
growth and make your stay long and productive?
7 Habits of Brilliant Project Managers
Project management is a tough role. You often find yourself being pulled between
keeping users, subordinates, team members and senior people happy. Given these
demands, what do the best project managers do that makes them stand out from the
crowd?
Five Goals of Every Project
Project goals keep the focus on what is most important. However, on some teams
these primary goals are lost in their meeting's activities. Make sure each meeting is
structured so as to move the project forward. Even if the progress is only inches rather
than by huge leaps, the team must be pushing the project forward as quickly, safely,
and reasonably as possible.
Project Leader or Project Manager, Which One Are You?
With the increased attention given to "leadership" in today's business community, one
could argue for the simple substitution of the expression project management with
project leadership. Rightly so, since in some literature, the role of leader or manager is
used interchangeably. Yukl (2006) uses the terms leader, manager and boss
interchangeably to indicate people who are in positions in which they are expected to
perform the role of leadership. Leadership in this context is used loosely to cover
management as well. In order to answer this question adequately, we look at some
definitions of leadership and management.
6 Key Tips For Running Effective Project Meetings
As a manager or leader, chances are that you will be given responsibility for a project
at some time in your career. It could be a new computer system implementation,
building a new facility, introducing a new piece of equipment or a new product or
service. How can you excel in this area?
Ten New Rules for Project Managers
These ten ideas will help improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You
decide. But don't take too long. Share these rules with your team. Your team members
are sure to help you carry them out.
Project Management Confidence
If you have been doing project management for a while, your confidence has probably
gotten an occasional shaking. And the resulting lack of confidence hurts you, but it
also hurts your team members who need you to be confident and not self-conscious.
You're their leader after all, and they want you to have a strong plan, vision, selfesteem and the confidence to lead.
Project Management Excellence
Project management excellence goes beyond producing project
schedules and colourful status reports. Today's project managers
skills necessary to combat a myriad of modern challenges.
downsizing, merger mania, restricted finances, an accelerated

charters, detailed
must acquire the
Factors such as
business pace, a

multidisciplinary world, rising competition and seemingly ceaseless change, acting
singly and in concert, demand much more.
Eight Easy Steps to Managing Your Website Development
Managing your website development need not cause you sleepless nights providing
you learn the secrets of successful project management. Perform the best practices in
project management and give your project the best chance of success.
Be a Smart Project Manager
The key to being a smart project manager is to remember how you are going to
manage your project, to know what to do if it does not work, and to win and keep the
support of all of the project stakeholders.
Manage Your Project On Time Every Time
An introduction to some of the most important best practices which will enable you to
plan and manage your projects on time and within budget.
Managing Small Projects
Project management best practices can easily be applied on small projects to enable
you to plan and manage your project successfully. This article looks at how to apply
these practices without creating too much paperwork or overhead.
Project Management Success with the Top 7 Best Practices
Whether planning your wedding, developing a new website or building your dream
house by the sea you need to employ project management techniques to help you
succeed. This article summarises 7 key project management best practices to help you
achieve project success.
Intelligent Disobedience: The Difference Between Good and Great Project
Managers

Intelligent disobedience requires taking risks, creativity, flexibility and perseverance.
Following this approach can have significant benefits in project management terms
and can make the difference between good and great project managers.
Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager
What qualities are most important for a project leader to be effective? Over the past
few years, the people at ESI International, world leaders in Project Management
Training, have looked in to what makes an effective project leader. With the unique
opportunity to ask some of the most talented project leaders in the world on their
Project Leadership courses ESI have managed to collect a running tally on their
responses.
Better Behavior For More Effective IT Development Projects
How well equipped do you feel to carryout an IT development project. Do you always
get the best from your team, engage your stakeholders and retain their interest to
arrive at a successful conclusion? This article looks at some of the behaviors
managers need to exhibit to run successful IT development projects.
Using Feedback as a Tool

As a project manager it is important to be able to give and receive feedback
effectively. Feedback is best given on a one to one basis soon after the event that
triggers its need. Here are some tips that can help.
Tips and Reminders for Project Managers
Here are some essential tips and reminders we have compiled for those new to project
management or in case you need to refresh your memory.

Structure ۱
Word formation - Suffixes
When you are reading, you will come across unfamiliar words. It is often possible to
guess the meanings of these words if you understand the way words in English are
generally formed.

AFFIXES
PREFIXES

+

(STEM)

+

SUFFIXES

An English word can be divided into three parts: a prefix, a stem and a suffix. Premeans ‘before’; a prefix, therefore, is what comes before the stem. Consider as an example,
the prefix de- (meaning ‘reduce’ or ‘reverse’) in a word like demagnetize (meaning ‘to
deprive of magnetism’). A suffix is what is attached to the end of the stem. Consider as an
example the suffix

-er (meaning ‘someone who’) in programmer (‘the person who

programs’). Both prefixes and suffixes are referred to as affixes.

Prefixes usually change the meaning of the word; for example, un-changes a word
to the negative. Unmagnetizable means ‘not capable of being magnetized’. Suffixes,
on the other hand, change the word from one part of speech to another. For example, ly added to the adjective quick gives the adverb quickly. Let us now consider some
suffixes and their usual meanings.

SUFFIXES
NOUNS

-ance
-ence
-or
-er
-ist
-ness

VERBS

-ize
-ate
-ify
-en
-ify

ADJECTIVES

-able
-ible
-less
-ic
-ical
-ish
-ive

ADVERBS

-ly

Exercise 1
Study the following tables and try to find additional examples. Use your dictionary if
necessary.
Noun-forming suffixes
SUFFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

-ance

state

performance

-ence

quality of

independence

-er, -or

a person who,

programmer, operator,

a thing which

compiler, accumulator

-ation, -tion

the act of

execution

-ist, -yst

a person who

analyst, typist

-ness

condition of

cleanliness

-ion

action/state

conversion

-ing

activity

multiplexing

-ment

state, action

measurement

-ity

state, quality

electricity

-ian

pertaining to

electrician

-ism

condition/state

magnetism

-dom

domain/condition

freedom

-ship

condition/state

relationship, partnership,
friendship
binary

-ary
Verb-forming suffixes
SUFFIX

MEANING

computerize

-ize
-ate
-ify

EXAMPLES

to make

automate, activate, calculate
simplify
harden, widen, lengthen

-en
Adverb-forming suffix
SUFFIX

MEANING

-ly

in the manner of

EXAMPLES
electronically, logically,
comparably, helpfully

Adjective-forming suffixes
SUFFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

-al, -ar,

have the quality

computational, logical, circular
magnetic,

-ic, -ical

automatic,

-able, -ible

capable of being

comparable, divisible

-ous, -ious

like, full of

dangerous, religious

-ful

characterized by

helpful

-less

without

careless

-ish

like

yellowish

-ed

having

computed, punched

-ive

quality of

interactive

-ing

to make or do

programming, coding,

electrical,

processing, multiplexing

Exercise 2
Read the following sentences and underline all the suffixes. Then try to find out what
parts of speech the words are.
1. The systems analyst provides the programmer with the details of the data
processing problems.
2. CRT terminals are very useful interactive devices for use in offices because of their
speed and quietness.
3. The new microcomputer we purchased does not have a Fortran compiler. It is
programmable Basic only.
4. A computer is a machine with an intricate network of electronic circuits that
operate switches or tiny metal cores.
5. In very large and modern installations, the computer operator sits in front of a
screen that shows an up-to-date summary of the computer jobs as they are being
processed.
6. The introduction of terminals and screens has partly replaced the use of punched
cards.
7. Binary arithmetic is based on two digits: 0 and 1.
8. Multiplexing is when many electrical signals are combined and carried on only one
optical link.
9. Computers are machines designed to process electronically specially prepared
pieces of information.
10.The computed results were printed in tables.

Exercise 3
Word forms: First choose the appropriate form of the words to complete the
sentences. Then check the differences of meaning in your dictionary.
1. operation, operate, operator, operational, operationally, operating a. A computer
can perform mathematical ……………. very quickly.

b. One of the first persons to note that the computer is malfunctioning is the
computer …………..
c. The job of a computer operator is to ………….. the various machines in a
computer installation.
d. The new machines in the computer installation are not yet …………. .
2. acceptance, accept, accepted, acceptable, acceptably
a. A computer is a device which …………….. processes and gives out
information.
b. The students are still waiting for their ………….. into the computer Science
program.
c. It is ……………. to work without a template if the flowcharts are not kept on
file.
3. solution, solve, solvable, solver
a. It may take a lot of time to find a ……………….. to a complex problem in
programming.
b. A computer can …………….. a problem faster than any human being.
c. A computer has often been referred to as a problem ……………… .
4. remark, remarkable remarkably, remarked
a. Today’s computers are ……………. faster than their predecessors.
b. Systems analysts will often make ………………. about existing programs so as
to help make the operations more efficient.
c. There have been ……………….. developments in the field of computer
science in the last decade.
5. communication, communicate, communicable, communicative, communicably a. A
computer must be able to ………………… with the user. b. Fiber optics is a new
development in the field of …………………. .
c. Some people working in computer installations aren’t very …………… because
they are shy.
6. calculation, calculate, calculating, calculated, calculator, calculable. calculus
a. A computer can do many kinds of …………………… quickly and accurately
b. ….………… is a branch of mathematics for making…………… without the use
of a …………………machine.
c. A computer can ………..…. numbers much faster than a manual .……...
d. Some problems aren’t …………….. without logarithm tables.
7. mechanic, mechanism, mechanize, mechanical, mechanically, mechanistic,
mechanics, mechanization, mechanized
a. Today’s computers are less ……………… than they used to be.
b. The …………………devices in a computer system operate more slowly than
the electromagnetic devices.
c. The
………… of the brain is very complicated hut unlike a computer it
isn’t.
8. necessity, necessitate, necessary, necessarily, necessities, need, needed
a. Because it is expensive to set up a computer department it is …………
budget well for the basic ………………. of the installations.
b. A good programmer isn’t …………. going to be a good systems analyst.

to

c. Students’ lack of understanding of the basic concepts in computer science may
……………… the instructor to restructure the course.
9. dependence, depend on, dependable, dependably, dependent, dependency,
depending
a. The length of time a programmer takes to make a program will vary
………..…… on the complexity of the problem and his ability and experience.
b. One can always ……..………. a computer to obtain accurate answers because
it’s probably the most …..………… machine in the world today.
10.
technology, technological, technologically, technologist
a. Computer ………………… is a fast growing discipline.
b. The ………………… improvements of computers are reducing man’s
workload.
11.
imagination, imagine, imaginable, imaginative, imaginary
a. A computer is limited in its ability by the ……………... of man.
b. Some people are good at inventing ……………….… stories.
c. It is practically impossible to …………………... the speed at which a computer
calculates numbers.
12.
addition, add, added, additional, additionally, additive
a. Many terminals can be ……..…….. to a basic system if the need arises.
b. ………..……. and subtraction are two basic mathematical operations.
c. When buying a system there is often no ......................... charge for the
programs.
13.
complication, complicate, complicated, complicating, complicatedly
a. There can be many …………….... involved in setting up a computer in an old
building.
b. It is sometimes a very …………….... process getting into a computer
installation for security reasons.
c. It is sometimes very ……………...... to explain computer concepts.
14.
difference, differ, different, differently, differential, differentiate
a. There isn’t a very big ..................... in flowcharting for a program to be written
in Cobol or Fortran.
b. There are many …………………computer manufacturers today and a buyer
must be able to ……….…….. between the advantages and disadvantages of
each.
c. The opinions of programmers as to the best way of solving a problem often
………….... greatly.
15.
reliably, rely on, reliable, reliability
a. Computers are…………..….. machines.
b. If you don’t know the meaning of a computer term, you cannot always
……………..an all-purpose dictionary for the answer.
c. Computers can do mathematical operations quickly and ………….

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
appealing

adj. attractive or interesting, able to move feelings

v. appeal

syn. alluring

n. appeal
Working abroad is appealing to many people.
Through his speeches, the candidate appealed to the voters.

celebrated

adj. acclaimed, well-known and popular
syn. renowned

The celebrated pianist will give a concert this weekend.
San Francisco is celebrated for its multicultural makeup.

contemporary

adj. modern, up-to-date; also a person living at the

n. contemporary

same time as another person
syn. current

Contemporary architecture makes very good use of space.
Cervantes was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
frail

adj. weak in health or in body

n. frailty

syn. fragile

The frail wings of the newborn bird could not lift it off the ground.
One of the frailties of human beings is laziness.
alter

v. to change or make different

n. alteration

syn. modify

adj. alterable
adj. altered
adv. Alterably

Will the storm alter its course and miss the coast?
Gloria hasn’t made any alterations to her plans.

anticipate

v. to think about or prepare for something ahead of

adj. anticipatory

time

adj. anticipated

syn. predict

n. anticipation
No one can anticipate the results of the games.
They planned their vacation with anticipation.

conform

v. to follow established rules or patterns of behavior

n. conformity

syn. adapt

n. conformist
You must conform to the rules or leave the club.
She has always been a conformist.
vital

adj. of great importance; full of life

n. vitality

syn. indispensable

Money is vital to the success of the program.
His intense vitality was easily observable.

access protocol – transfers e-mail from the message transfer agent (MTA) to the mail
user
agent (MUA)
ACD (automatic call distribution) – the routing of an incoming call to the next
available operator
ad hoc queries – a method used by end users and applications to access a database in
an
interactive mode. Ad hoc queries usually require the end user to have knowledge of
Structured Query Language (SQL).
adaptive system – a computer application system that can easily be modified to
support unforeseen changes in the business process that the application supports.
ADSL (Asymmetrical Data Subscriber Line) – ADSL is a technology for
transmitting digital information at high bandwidths on existing phone lines to homes
and businesses. Unlike regular dialup phone service, ADSL provides a continuously
available ("always on") connection. ADSL is asymmetric in that it uses most of the
channel to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part to receive
information from the user. ADSL simultaneously accommodates analog (voice)
information on the same line. ADSL is generally offered at downstream data rates
from 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps. A form of ADSL, known as Universal ADSL or
G.Lite, has been initially approved as a standard by the ITU.
agents – intelligent programs, essentially macros, that facilitate movement across
applications to execute user-defined tasks.

AMS (Applications Management Services) – a branch within ITS’ Business
Technology Services. Formerly known as ADS, this branch develops and maintains
software applications for state agencies.
carrier services – the various networking technologies offered by telephone
companies as a service for wired and wireless communication.
CD-ROM (compact disk-read-only memory ) – high-capacity, read-only memory
in the form of an optically read compact disk.
cell relay – network technology based on the use of small, fixed-size packets, or cells.
Cell relay is the basis for many high-speed network protocols.
centralized computing – a range of computing services offered from the same
geographic location.
Centrex (central office exchange service) – a service from local telephone
companies in the United States in which up-to-date phone facilities at the phone
company's central (local) office are offered to business users so that they don't need to
purchase their own facilities. The Centrex service effectively partitions part of its own
centralized capabilities among its business customers.
The customer is spared the expense of having to keep up with fast-moving technology
changes (for example, having to continually update their private branch exchange
infrastructure) and the phone company has a new set of services to sell.
CGI (common gateway interface) – an application that enables an HTML document
to call an executable program, pass information to it, and display the output in a
dynamically created document. CGI scripts are used to count Web site hits, handle
database queries, etc.
change management – process of planning, controlling, and managing enterprise
system changes
DTD (Document Type Definition) – SGML file containing document format
definitions; needed to decipher format commands
e-auction – an online service where surplus inventory is sold
EAI (enterprise application integration) – EAI is a business computing term for
plans, methods, and tools aimed at modernizing, consolidating, and coordinating the
computer applications in an enterprise. Typically, an enterprise has existing legacy
applications and databases and wants to
continue to use them while adding or migrating to a new set of applications. These
applications can help the enterprise exploit the Internet, e-commerce, extranets, and
other new technologies.
EAI may involve developing a new total view of an enterprise's business and its
applications, seeing how existing applications fit into the new view, and then devising
ways to efficiently reuse what already exists while adding new applications and data.
EAI encompasses methodologies such as object-oriented programming; distributed,
cross-platform program communication using message brokers with CORBA and
COM+; and the modification of enterprise resource planning (ERP) to fit new
objectives, enterprise-wide content, and data distribution using common databases
and data standards implemented with the Extensible Markup Language (XML),
middleware, message queuing, and other approaches.

e-business (electronic business) – the conducting of business on the Internet, not
only buying and selling, but also servicing customers and collaborating with business
partners.
EBT (electronic benefits transfer) – a method of providing government benefits,
such as cash assistance or food stamps, electronically instead of by paper.
Beneficiaries are issued a card that can be used at certain automated teller machines
(ATMs) to receive cash and point-of-sales (POS) terminals to purchase goods. EBT
substantially cuts down on fraud and abuse in government benefit programs and
provides safety and convenience to recipients who use the cards.
messaging – the process where a message is the delivery vehicle for service requests
and replies
metadata – information about data, including the format of the data element, which
application system owns it, where it is located, how it should be used. Metadata is the
global information about what data exists across the enterprise and the standards that
apply to that data.
microcash – small denomination digital tokens
micromerchants – those who offer their wares on the Internet in exchange for e-cash
or digital cash
middleware – (1) Software and application program interfaces that serve as
intermediaries among application programs and services, for example, gateway
software between LAN-based database servers and mainframe databases (2) A layer
of software that enables application, component, and data access communication.
Middleware insulates programmers from the complexities of the communication
architecture, such as network protocols.
midrange machine – a large computer (smaller than a mainframe) that supports
hundreds of simultaneous users.
Telnet – the network terminal protocol allowing a user to log in on any other
computer on a TCP/IP network
terabyte – a measure of computer storage capacity that is 2 to the 40th power or, in
decimal, approximately a thousand billion bytes (that is, a thousand gigabytes)
terminal – (1) A point in a system or communication network at which data can
either enter or leave (2) A device, usually equipped with a keyboard and display
device, capable of sending and receiving information. Note: The terms terminal and
workstation are often used interchangeably.
However, a terminal may not have a human operator, whereas a workstation is at least
a terminal (often a PC) where a human operator performs an application.
thin client – a two-tier client/server model for application design in which most of the
computer code is executed on a server and the client process is limited to the software
that provides the user presentation only. It provides simplified system management
because there is little or no business application code distributed across multiple
workstations.
third-party – an adjective describing an item or service that is available from an
outside vendor
third party – a noun describing a person, group, or business outside of your
organizational structure

thread – internal system structure that describes an application’s connection existence
and specifies its accessibility to resources and services. Operating systems, relational
databases, and transaction monitors all employ the concept of threads.
three-tier – a client/server application in which the code that implements the business
rules is monolithic but is separate and distinct from the code that implements the user
interface and the code that implements data access
tier – an executable software component comprising one partition of an application.
A tier typically performs a complete business function. Note: The number of tiers in
an application does not necessarily refer to the number of platforms on which an
application is deployed.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) – a file format for storing images on a computer
token ring – A local area network (LAN) in which all computers are connected in a
ring or star topology and a bit- or token-passing scheme is used to prevent the
collision of data between two computers that want to send messages at the same time.
The token ring protocol is the second most widely used protocol on local area
networks after Ethernet. The IBM Token Ring protocol led to a standard version,
specified as IEEE 802.5. Both protocols are used and are very similar.
The IEEE 802.5 token ring technology provides for data transfer rates of either 4 or
16 megabits per second.
top-level domain – the portion of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Internet
address that identifies the general type of Internet domain, such as "com" for
"commercial," "edu" for "educational," “gov” for “government”, and so forth.
TP (transaction processing) monitor – application communication middleware that
manages distributed transactions
tps (transactions per second) – metric used in evaluating OLTP system
performance, typically measured under conditions of a specified response time

UNIT 4
The Evolution of Project Management

The importance of Project Management is an important topic because all
organizations, be they small or large, at one time or other, are involved in
implementing new undertakings. These undertakings may be diverse, such as, the
development of a new product or service; the establishment of a new production line
in a manufacturing enterprise; a public relations promotion campaign; or a major
building programmed. Whilst the 1980's were about quality and the 1990's were all
about globalization, the 2000's are about velocity. That is, to keep ahead of their
competitors, organizations are continually faced with the development of complex
products, services and processes with very short time-to-market windows combined
with the need for cross-functional expertise. In this scenario, project management
becomes a very important and powerful tool in the hands of organizations that
understand its use and have the competencies to apply it.
The development of project management capabilities in organizations, simultaneously
with the application of information management systems, allow enterprise teams to
work in partnership in defining plans and managing take-to-market projects by
synchronizing team-oriented tasks, schedules, and resource allocations. This allows
cross-functional teams to create and share project information. However, this is not
sufficient, information management systems have the potential to allow project
management practices to take place in a real-time environment. As a consequence of
this potential project management proficiency, locally, nationally or globally
dispersed users are able to concurrently view and interact with the same updated
project information immediately, including project schedules, threaded discussions,
and other relevant documentation. In this scenario the term dispersed user takes on a
wider meaning. It not only includes the cross-functional management teams but also
experts drawn from the organization's supply chain, and business partners.
On a macro level organizations are motivated to implement project management
techniques to ensure that their undertakings (small or major) are delivered on time,
within the cost budget and to the stipulated quality. On a micro level, project
management combined with an appropriate information management system has the
objectives of: (a) reducing project overhead costs; (b) customizing the project
workplace to fit the operational style of the project teams and respective team
members; (c) proactively informing the executive management strata of the strategic
projects on a real-time basis; (d) ensuring that project team members share accurate,
meaningful and timely project documents; and (e) ensuring that critical task deadlines

are met. Whilst the motivation and objectives to apply project management in
organizations is commendable, they do not assure project success.
However, before discussing the meaning and achievement of project success it is
appropriate at this stage to provide a brief history of project management.

Brief History of Project Management
Project management has been practiced for thousands of years dating back to the
Egyptian epoch, but it was in the mid-1950's that organizations commenced applying
formal project management tools and techniques to complex projects. Modern project
management methods had their origins in two parallel but different problems of
planning and control in projects in the United States. The first case involved the U.S
Navy, which at that time was concerned with the control of contracts for its Polaris
Missile project. These contracts consisted of research, development work and
manufacturing of parts that were unique and had never been previously undertaken.
This particular project was characterised by high uncertainty, since neither cost nor
time could be accurately estimated. Hence, completion times were based on
probabilities. Time estimates were based on optimistic, pessimistic and most likely.
These three time scenarios were mathematically assessed to determine the probable
completion date. This procedure was called program evaluation review technique
(PERT). Initially, the PERT technique did not take into consideration cost. However,
the cost feature was later included using the same estimating approach as with time.
Due to the three estimation scenarios, PERT was found (and still is) to be best suited
for projects with a high degree of uncertainty reflecting their level of uniqueness. The
second case, involved the private sector, namely, E.I du Pont de Nemours Company,
which had undertaken to construct major chemical plants in U.S. Unlike the Navy
Polaris project, these construction undertakings required accurate time and cost
estimates. The methodology developed by this company was originally referred to as
project planning and scheduling (PPS). PPS required realistic estimates of cost and
time, and is thus a more definitive approach than PERT. The PPS technique was later
developed into the critical path method (CPM) that became very popular with the
construction industry.
During the 1960s and 1970s, both PERT and CPM increased their popularity within
the private and public sectors. Defense Departments of various countries, NASA, and
large engineering and construction companies world wide applied project
management principles and tools to manage large budget, schedule-driven projects.
The popularity in the use of these project management tools during this period
coincided with the development of computers and the associated packages that
specialised in project management. However, initially these computer packages were
very costly and were executed only on mainframe or mini computers. The use of
project management techniques in the 1980s was facilitated with the advent of the
personal computer and associated low cost project management software. Hence,
during this period, the manufacturing and software development sectors commenced
to adopt and implement sophisticated project management practices as well. By the
1990s, project management theories, tools and techniques were widely received by
different industries and organizations.
Four periods in the development of modern project management.
[1] Prior to 1958: Craft system to human relations. During this time, the evolution of
technology, such as, automobiles and telecommunications shortened the project

schedule. For instance, automobiles allowed effective resource allocation and
mobility, whilst the telecommunication system increased the speed of communication.
Furthermore, the job specification which later became the basis of developing the
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was widely used and Henry Gantt invented the
Gantt chart. Examples of projects undertaken during this period as supported by
documented evidence include: (a) Building the Pacific Railroad in 1850's; (b)
Construction of the Hoover Dam in 1931-1936, that employed approximately 5,200
workers and is still one of the highest gravity dams in the U.S. generating about four
billion kilowatt hours a year; and (c) The Manhattan Project in 1942-1945 that was
the pioneer research and development project for producing the atomic bomb,
involving 125,000 workers and costing nearly $2 billion.
[2] 1958-1979: Application of Management Science. Significant technology
advancement took place between 1958 and 1979, such as, the first automatic plainpaper copier by Xerox in 1959. Between 1956 and 1958 several core project
management tools including CPM and PERT were introduced. However, this period
was characterized by the rapid development of computer technology. The progression
from the mainframe to the mini-computer in the 1970's made computers affordable to
medium size companies. In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft.
Furthermore, the evolution of computer technology facilitated the emergence of
several project management software companies, including, Artemis (1977), Oracle
(1977), and Scitor Corporation (1979). In the 1970's other project management tools
such as Material Requirements Planning (MRP) were also introduced.
Examples of projects undertaken during this period and which influenced the
development of modem project management as we know it today include: (a) Polaris
missile project initiated in 1956 that had the objective of delivering nuclear missiles
carried by submarines, known as Fleet Ballistic Missile for the U.S Navy. The project
successfully launched its first Polaris missile in 1961; (b) Apollo project initiated in
1960 with the objective of sending man to the moon; and (c) E.I du Pont de Nemours
chemical plant project commencing in 1958, that had the objective of building major
chemical production plants across the U.S.
[3] 1980-1994: Production Centre Human Resources. The 1980s and 1990's are
characterized by the revolutionary development in the information management sector
with the introduction of the personal computer (PC) and associated computer
communications networking facilities. This development resulted in having low cost
multitasking PCs that had high efficiency in managing and controlling complex
project schedules. During this period low cost project management software for PCs
became widely available that made project management techniques more easily
accessible.
Examples of major projects undertaken during this period that illustrate the
application of high technology, and project management tools and practices include:
(a) England France Channel project, 1989 to 1991. This project was an international
project that involved two governments, several financial institutions, engineering
construction companies, and other various organizations from the two countries. The
language, use of standard metrics, and other communication differences needed to be
closely coordinated; (b) Space Shuttle Challenger project, 1983 to 1986. The disaster
of the Challenger space shuttle focused attention on risk management, group
dynamics, and quality management; and (c) xv Calgary Winter Olympic of 1988,
which successfully applied project management practices to event management.

[4] 1995-Present: Creating a New Environment. This period is dominated by the
developments related to the Internet that changed dramatically business practices in
the mid 1990's. The Internet has provided fast, interactive, and customized new
medium that allows people to browse, purchase, and track products and services
online instantly. This has resulted in making firms more productive, more efficient,
and more client oriented. Furthermore, many of today's project management software
have an Internet connectivity feature. This allows automatic uploading of data so that
anyone around the globe with a standard browser can: (a) input the most recent status
of their assigned tasks; (b) find out how the overall project is doing; (c) be informed
of any delays or advances in the schedule; and (d) stay "in the loop" for their project
role, while working independently at a remote site.
An example of a major project undertaken during this period is the Year 2000 (Y2K)
project. The Y2K Project, known as the millennium bug referred to the problem that
computers may not function correctly on January lst, 2000 at 12 AM. This was a
global phenomenon and was highly problematic because resolving the problem at
one's organization did not guarantee immunity, since a breakdown in the
organization's supply chain could affect the organization's operating capability. Many
organizations set up a project office to control and comply with their stakeholders
regarding the Y2K issue. Furthermore, use of the Internet was common practice that
led to the establishment of the virtual project office. The goal of this virtual project
office was: (a) to deliver uninterrupted turn-of-the-century; (b) monitor Y2K project
efforts; (c) provide coordination; (d) develop a risk management plan; and (e)
communicate Y2K compliance efforts with various stakeholders. Thus, the virtual
project office was a focal point for all the project works, and it increased the
awareness and importance of risk management practices to numerous organizations.

Why Project Management?
There is no doubt that organizations today face more aggressive competition than in
the past and the business environment they operate in is a highly turbulent one. This
scenario has increased the need for organizational accountability for the private and
public sectors, leading to a greater focus and demand for operational effectiveness and
efficiency.
Effectiveness and efficiency may be facilitated through the introduction of best
practices that are able to optimize the management of organizational resources. It has
been shown that operations and projects are dissimilar with each requiring different
management techniques. Hence, in a project environment, project management can:
(a) support the achievement of project and organizational goals; and (b) provide a
greater assurance to stakeholders that resources are being managed effectively.
Research by Roberts and Fur longer in a study of information systems projects show
that using a reasonably detailed project management methodology, as compared to a
loose methodology, improves productivity by 20 to 30 percent. Furthermore, the use
of a formalized project management structure to projects can facilitate: (a) the
clarification of project scope; (b) agreement of objectives and goals; (c) identifying
resources needed; (d) ensuring accountability for results and performance; (e) and
encouraging the project team to focus on the final benefits to be achieved. Moreover,
the research indicates that 85-90% of projects fail to deliver on time, on budget and to
the quality of performance expected. The major causes identified for this situation
include:

1. Lack of a valid business case justifying the project;
2. Objectives not properly defined and agreed;
3. Lack of communication and stakeholder management;
4. Outcomes and/or benefits not properly defined in measurable terms;
5. Lack of quality control;
6. Poor estimation of duration and cost;
7. Inadequate definition and acceptance of roles (governance);
8. Insufficient planning and coordination of resources.
It should be emphasized that the causes for the failure to deliver on time, on budget
and to the quality of performance expected could be addressed by the application of
project management practices. Furthermore, the failure to deliver on time, on budget
and to the quality of performance expected does not necessarily mean that the project
was itself a failure. At this stage what is being discussed is the effectiveness and
efficiency of project execution and not whether a project is a success or failure.

Conclusion
Project management should be viewed as a tool that helps organizations to execute
designated projects effectively and efficiently. The use of this tool does not
automatically guarantee project success. (project success will be discussed in a
subsequent issue). However, in preparation for the next issue, I would like you to
think about the distinction between project success and project management success.
This distinction will provide further insight to the questions: Why are some projects
perceived as failures when they have met all the traditional standards of success,
namely, completed on time, completed within budget, and meeting all the technical
specifications? Why are some projects perceived to be successful when they have
failed to meet two important criteria that are traditionally associated with success,
namely, not completed on time and not completed within budget?

Exercises
Word forms
First choose the appropriate form of the words to complete the sentences. Then check
the differences of meaning in your dictionary.
1. integration integrate, integrated, integrating
a. Some computer manufacturers have …………… both input and output
devices into one terminal.
b. The success of any computer system depends on the………….…all its parts
to form a useful whole
c. …………… input and output devices into one peripheral has reduced the
area needed for a computer installation.
2. coordination, coordinate, coordinated, coordinating, coordinator
a. The control unit of a processor …………..… the flow of information
between the arithmetic unit and the memory.
b. ………..…... the many activities in a computer department is the job of the
department head.
c. The …………….. of a language institute has assistants to help him and may
have access to a computer to help him with the …………… of the many
programs, timetables, space and student results.

3. diagram, diagrammatic, diagrammatically, diagrammed
a. Very often manufacturers provide ………..……representations of the
internal workings of a computer.
b. A ………….. is a drawing that shows how something is arranged rather than
what it actually looks like.
c. A few ideas have been ……………. for you in this book.
4. interchange, interchangeable, interchangeably interchanged.
a. The words ‘arithmetic-logic’ and ‘arithmetic-logical’ can be used
……………..
b. There is often an . ………….. of ideas among computer scientists.
c. There is a big difference between an input and an output. These can not
be………………
5. division, divide, divisible
a. It is often difficult for computer science students to …….………their time
up proportionally between studying and programming.
b. Are all numbers ……….…….by three?
c. There is always a ………….. of labor within a computer company.

Structure1
Word formation - Prefixes
We have already seen how suffixes change the part of speech of a word. Let us now
consider some prefixes, their usual meanings and how the change the meanings of
English words.

PREFIXES

NEGATIVE
AND
POSITIVE

SIZE

semiminimicro-

unnonindisre-

LOCATION

intersupertransexextramid-

TIME AND
ORDER

preanteforepost-

NUMBER

monobihexoctmulti-

Exercise 1
Study these tables and try to find additional examples. Use your dictionary if necessary.
Negative and positive prefixes
PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

un-, in-,

not,

unmagnetized, unpunched,

im-, il-,

not good enough

incomplete, impossible,

ir-

not connected with

illegal, irregular, irrelevant

non-

bad, wrong

non-programmable,
non-impact

misdis-

opposite feeling,

mispronounce, mislead, mislay,

opposite action

misunderstand,

against

disagree, disconnect
antisocial

Positive

Negative

antide-

reduce, reverse

demagnetize, decode

under-

too little

underestimate

re-

do again

reorganize

over-

too much

overheat

Prefixes of size
PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

semi-

half, partly

semiconductor

equi-

equal

equidistant

maxi-

big

maxicomputer

micro-

small

microcomputer

mini-

little

minicomputer

macro-

large

macroeconomics

mega-

large

megabyte

Prefixes of location
PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

ante-, pre-

before

antecedent, prefix

prime-

first

primary, primitive

post-

after

postdated

retro-

backward

retroactive

Prefixes of time and order
PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

semi-

half

semicircle

mono-

one

monochromatic

bi-

two

binary

tri-

three

triangle

quad-

four

quadruple

penta-

five

pentagon

hex-

six

hexadecimal

ceptefli-

seven

September

oct-

eight

octal

dec-

ten

decimal

multi-

many

multiprogramming, multiplexer

Other prefixes
PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLES

pro-

for

program

auto-

self

automatic

co-

together

coordinate

neo-

new

neoclassical

pan-

all

Pan-American

Exercises 2
Fill in the blanks with the correct prefix from the following list. Use the glossary at the end of
the book to help you.
multi-

deci-

sub-

inter-

semi-

mono-

mega-

auto

mini-

de-

inter-

prim-

1. …………byte means one million bytes.
2. …..……plexing is when many electrical signals are combined and carried on only one
optical link.
3. Blocks are separated from each other by marks called ……….block gaps.
4. The number system we use in everyday life is the …………mal system which has a base
of 10.
5. CRT terminals are very useful ………...active devices for use in airline reservations.
6. Some screens are ………chromatic whereas others produce multicolor pictorial graphics.
7. The complete description of the logical structure of data is called the schema and the
description of the parts, the ..……… schema.
8. The main storage locations of a computer are called its ………ary storage.

9. The small ferrite rings called cores have two states: they can be either magnetized or
………magnetized.
10. The introduction of chips or ……….conductor memories made it possible to reduce the
size of the computer.

Exercises 3
For each prefixes in structure 3 find out at least 4 words with it in the dictionary.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
acclaim

n. enthusiastic approval, applause

adj. acclaimed

syn. praise

n. acclamation
Issac Stern has won acclaim abroad.
Acclaimed authors often win Pulitzer Prizes.
adverse

adj. displeasing, objectionable, or bad

n. adversary

syn. unfavorable

n. adversity
Adverse weather conditions made it difficult to play the game.
His indecision adversely affected his job performance.
autonomous

adj. by itself, with no association

n. autonomy

syn. independent

Mexico became an autonomous state in 1817.
Although working closely with the government, all businesses function
autonomously.’
disruptive

adj. causing confusion and interruption

v. disrupt

syn. disturbing

n. disruption
Frequent questions during lectures can be disruptive.
The storm caused a disruption in bus service.
haphazardly

adv. having no order or pattern, by chance

adj. haphazard

syn. arbitrarily, carelessly

n. haphazardness
It was obvious that the house was built haphazardly.
Susan completed the assignment in a haphazard way.

advent

n. the coming or arrival of something
syn. appearance

With the advent of computers, many tasks have been made easier.
The newspapers announced the advent of the concert season.
agile

adj. able to move in a quick and easy way

n. agility

syn. nimble

n. agileness
Deer are very agile animals.
She moved agilely across the stage.
albeit

conj. in spite of the facts, regardless of the fact
syn. although

His trip was successful, albeit tiring.
Albeit difficult at times, speaking another language is rewarding.

ANCHOR-NET – a North Carolina Information Highway On-Ramp Network
application. (1) The use to which an information processing system is put, for
example, a payroll application, an accounting application, a network application. (2)
A collection of software components used to perform specific types of user-oriented
work on a computer. (3) Computer software that performs a business function (i.e.,
Microsoft Word is an application).
anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – a way to transfer files between
computers on the Internet without needing a password. Universities, government
agencies, and companies around the world have made files available to the public. To
transfer files using anonymous FTP, you sign in on the other computer as "guest" or
"anonymous" instead of using your real name. If someone tells you to use anonymous
FTP and gives you the server name, just remember to use the word "anonymous" for
your user ID. Usually, you can enter anything as a password.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) – a voluntary non-profit
organization that is the primary organization for fostering the development of
technology standards in the United States.
ANSI works with industry groups and is the U.S. member of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC). Long-established computer standards from ANSI include the
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) and the Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI).
anti-virus software – a class of program that searches your hard drive and floppy
disks for any known or potential viruses. The market for this kind of program has
expanded because of Internet growth and the increasing use of the Internet by
businesses concerned about protecting their computer assets.

client/server – (1) In TCP/IP, the model of interaction in distributed data processing
in which a program at one site sends a request to a program at another site and awaits
a response. The requesting program is called a client and the answering program is
called a server. (2) A computing model where functionality is divided between
software clients and software servers. Clients depend on the services provided by
servers, such as another application, component, or database, to complete the intended
function.
client/server network – the most efficient way to connect 10 or more computers in a
network to share information. Two popular client/server systems are Novell’s
NetWare and Microsoft’s Windows NT. The server is the central computer that stores
everyone’s files. A client is any computer that can access the information stored on
the server.
cluster systems – groups of interconnected, homogeneous processor computers and
input/output systems acting as a single system. Cluster systems can be used to provide
fault tolerant operation. Other machines in the cluster continue processing if a single
processor fails.
CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol) – a network management
protocol that was designed to improve on SNMP's weaknesses. It utilizes the Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol, which is more complete than the TCP/IP
protocol used by SNMP. The use of the CMIP protocol can increase network resource
requirements; for this reason, it has not been widely accepted or implemented.
CMM (Capability Maturity Model) – created by the Software Engineering Institute
(SEI) to assist organizations in maturing their people, process, and technology assets
to improve long-term business performance
Ethernet – a local-area network (LAN) protocol that uses a bus topology and is one
of the most widely implemented LAN standards to exchange information between
computers on a network. Ethernet allows individuals to share files as well as
peripherals such as a printer.
exabyte – a large unit of computer data storage, two to the sixtieth power bytes. The
prefix exa means one billion billion, or one quintillion, which is a decimal term. Two
to the sixtieth power is actually 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes in decimal, or
somewhat over a quintillion (or ten to the eighteenth power) bytes. It is common to
say that an exabyte (EB) is approximately one quintillion bytes. In decimal terms, an
exabyte is a billion gigabytes.
executable program – software that is compiled and ready to execute on a computer
platform
extensible – the ability to easily integrate new technology and functionality
extranet – a private network that uses the Internet protocols and the public
telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or
operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An
extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users
outside the company. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in which the
Internet is perceived as a way to do business with other companies as well as to sell
products to customers.
The same benefits that HTML, HTTP, SMTP, and other Internet technologies have
brought to the Internet and to corporate intranets now seem designed to accelerate

business between businesses. An extranet requires security and privacy. These
require firewall server management, the issuance and use of digital certificates or
similar means of user authentication, encryption of messages, and the use of virtual
private networks (VPNs) that tunnel through the public network.
MUA (mail user agent) – the portion of the e-mail system that directly interacts with
the end user; it may exist on one machine or may be divided across multiple
machines. Although the MUA configuration may change, each individual MUA
consists of an e-mail front end, an e-mail server, and the sub-components of each.
multi-dimensional database – a database that stores data that is closely related,
viewed, and analyzed from multiple perspectives (i.e., dimensions)
multi-homed – a computer host that has multiple IP addresses to connected networks.
A multihomed host is physically connected to multiple data links that can be on the
same or different networks.
multimedia – the combined use of several media, including audio and video
multi-platform computing – computing accomplished through the use of multiple
hardware and software types or operating system types
multiplexor – (1) A device that takes several input signals and combines them into a
single output signal in such a manner that each of the input signals can be recovered
(2) A device capable of interleaving the events of two or more activities or capable of
distributing the events of an interleaved sequence to the respective activities
multi-tasking – the capability to process multiple tasks concurrently
multi-threaded – a computer hardware technology that allows a computer to process
multiple simultaneous requests
multi-tier – Parts of a program can be distributed among several tiers, each located in
a different computer in a network. Such a program is said to be tiered or multitiered.
The 3-tier application model is probably the most common way of organizing a
program in a network.
NCGOV.COM Initiative – Governor Hunt’s e-government initiative, which includes
PKI, credit card transactions, IT procurement, and IT enterprise management
WML (Wireless Markup Language) – WML, formerly called HDML (Handheld
Devices Markup Language), is a language that allows the text portions of Web pages
to be presented on cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) via wireless
access. WML is part of the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) that is being
proposed by several vendors to standards bodies. The Wireless Application Protocol
works on top of standard data link protocols, such as GSM, CDMA, and TDMA, and
provides a complete set of network communication programs comparable to and
supportive of the Internet set of protocols.
WML is an open language offered royalty-free. Specifications are available at
Phone.com's Web site. According to Phone.com, any programmer with working
knowledge of HTML, CGI scripts, and SQL queries should be able to write a
presentation layer using WML. A filter program can be written or may be available
from a vendor that will translate HTML pages into WML pages.
wrapper – In information technology, a wrapper is data that precedes or frames the
main data or a program that sets up another program so that it can run successfully.
On the Internet, http:// and "ftp://" are sometimes described as wrappers for the
Internet addresses or URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that follow. Bracketing
symbols (such as < >) are sometimes referred to as wrappers.

In programming, a wrapper is a program or script that sets the stage and makes
possible the running of another, more important program. In data transmission, a
wrapper is the data that is put in front of or around a transmission that provides
information about it and may also encapsulate it from view to anyone other than the
intended recipient. A wrapper often consists of a header that precedes the
encapsulated data and the trailer that follows it. In database technology, a wrapper can
be used to determine who has access to look at or change the data that is wrapped.
WWW (World Wide Web) – the integrated worldwide network of computers based
on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), commonly used to bring information to computer
users via a client browser program
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) – refers to a screen image that presents
exactly that which will appear when the system is run or when the document or screen
is printed.
X.25 – The CCITT protocol standard for connecting to packet-switched networks,
typically used to connect wide area networks (WANs), packet switching breaks
network data into smaller packets and sends the packets from point to point through
interconnected switches. The X.25 protocol, adopted as a standard by the Consultative
Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT), is a commonly used
network protocol. The X.25 protocol allows computers on different public networks
(such as CompuServe, Tymnet, or a TCP/IP network) to communicate through an
intermediary computer at the network layer level. X.25's protocols correspond closely
to the data-link and physical-layer protocols defined in the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) communication model.
X.400 – The ISO/CCITT mail transfer protocol standard. X.400 is the messaging
(notably e-mail) standard specified by the ITU-TS (International Telecommunications
Union – Telecommunication Standard Sector). It's an alternative to the more prevalent
e-mail protocol, SMTP. X.400 is common in Europe and Canada. It's actually a set of
standards, each in the 400-number range. Because X.400 stipulates a number of
possible address characteristics that SMTP does not, an X.400 address can be long
and cumbersome. On the other hand, X.400 adherents note that it is an official
standard whereas SMTP is a "de facto" standard. Thus, products with X.400
implementations can be tested more rigorously than products with SMTP
implementations can. X.400 offers more capabilities than SMTP does. However,
many of these capabilities are seldom used.

UNIT 5
What is E-Learning?

About Online Learning
The information you'll here find will be helpful as you:
•
•
•
•

research online learning
decide upon a course of study
choose a learning provider
or are just curious about e-Learning!

What is e-Learning?
e-Learning is an umbrella term that describes learning done at a computer, usually
connected to a network, giving us the opportunity to learn almost anytime, anywhere.
e-Learning is not unlike any other form of education - and it is widely accepted that eLearning can be as rich and as valuable as the classroom experience or even more so.
With its unique features e-Learning is an experience that leads to comprehension and
mastery of new skills and knowledge, just like its traditional counterpart.
Instructional Design for e-Learning has been perfected and refined over many years
using established teaching principles, with many benefits to students. As a result
colleges, universities, businesses, and organizations worldwide now offer their
students fully accredited online degree, vocational, and continuing education
programs in abundance.
Some other terms frequently interchanged with e-Learning include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

online learning
online education
distance education
distance learning
technology-based training
web-based training
computer-based training (generally thought of as learning from a CD-ROM)

Online Education Delivery Methods
Types of e-Learning
e-Learning is comes in many variations and often a combination of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Purely online - no face-to-face meetings
Blended Learning - combination of online and face-to-face
Synchronous
Asynchronous
Instructor-led group
Self-study

•
•
•
•

Self-study with subject matter expert
Web-based
Computer-based (CD-ROM)
Video/audio tape

Delivery Methods
e-Learning is done over the WORLD WIDE WEB or by CD-ROM, and some
variations (distance learning) incorporate traditional media. Here are common
delivery methods used in e-Learning:
Print

•
•
•

e-text
textbooks
e-zines

Video

•
•
•
•

streaming video
video tape
satellite transmission
cable

Audio

•
•

streaming audio
audio tape

Review and Exams

•
•
•

electronic
interactive
paper

Communication

Asynchronous
•
•
•
•

email
listservs
threaded discussion, web logs
forums

Synchronous
•
•
•

chat
videoconferencing
teleconferencing

How to Maximize Your Online Learning
Learning Styles
Knowing a little bit about learning styles can help you determine if online learning is
for you. The interaction and delivery methods used in online classes are dramatically
different from traditional classes, so understanding how you learn is a good part of the
decision-making process. The knowledge can help you improve your study habits and
be successful in any educational setting, regardless of what type of learner you are.
The three predominant learning styles are visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic.
Broken down further, people learn by:
• Reading (visual)
• Listening (auditory)
• Seeing (visual)
• Speaking (auditory)
• Doing (Tactile/Kinesthetic)
The first three on the list are passive types of learning, while the last two are active
types of learning. How much we tend to remember is a function of the type of
learning we prefer and our level of involvement in the learning. People often learn
through a combination of the ways described above. To a lesser degree, environment
is a factor too.
The
Active
Learning
Modes
Given a good learning environment (be it online or traditional), most people tend to
remember best that which they do - practicing the real thing. Next, a combination of
doing and speaking about what we learn produces a high retention rate, followed by
speaking alone. These levels of involvement are all active learning modes.
The
Passive
Learning
Modes
The passive learning modes - seeing and reading - fall just below the active learning
modes on the retention ladder. After speaking, the combination of listening and seeing
produces the next best retention results, then listening, then seeing, and then reading.
How
it
all
relates
to
Online
Learning
In an online class there is a lot of passive learning done through reading text, listening
to audio clips, and seeing graphics, but the active "speaking" mode is done very much
through writing, email, and chatting. Online learners are often self-directed and/or
working in their chosen fields, so a lot of doing happens in the way of applying their
newfound knowledge to the workplace, hobby, or home. For this reason many online
learners say they learn more in online classes than traditional settings, and have better
retention, too.
As you consider online learning, recognize that everyone learns differently and
attempt to zero in on the particular style you use best. Maximize your online learning
by choosing the courses suited to your learning styles - and be sure to talk about and
apply what you learn.
The Illinois Online Network says one of the best things you can do as an online
learning student is become a true advocate of its merits through discussion. If you ". .
.truly believe in its potential to provide quality education which is equal to, if not
better than the traditional face-to-face environment", you'll strengthen the habits you
need to succeed.

New Dimensions in Education
Benefits of E-Learning
"Good teaching is good teaching, no matter how it's done."
The old adage still rings true, and e-Learning brings with it new dimensions in
education. Some of the unique features of e-Learning are listed below.

Features of E-Learning
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Learning is self-paced and gives students a chance to speed up or slow down as
necessary
Learning is self-directed, allowing students to choose content and tools
appropriate to their differing interests, needs, and skill levels
Accommodates multiple learning styles using a variety of delivery methods
geared to different learners; more effective for certain learners
Designed around the learner
Geographical barriers are eliminated, opening up broader education options
24/7 accessibility makes scheduling easy and allows a greater number of
people to attend classes
On-demand access means learning can happen precisely when needed
Travel time and associated costs (parking, fuel, vehicle maintenance) are
reduced or eliminated
Overall student costs are frequently less (tuition, residence, food, child care)
Potentially lower costs for companies needing training, and for the providers
Fosters greater student interaction and collaboration
Fosters greater student/instructor contact
Enhances computer and Internet skills
Draws upon hundreds of years of established pedagogical principles
Has the attention of every major university in the world, most with their own
online degrees, certificates, and individual courses

Benefits of e-Learning
There are many significant advantages for the student who learns online. Here are just
a few to consider:

Convenience and Portability
•
•
•
•
•
•

Courses are accessible on your schedule
Online learning does not require physical attendance
Learning is self-paced (not too slow, not too fast)
You're unbound by time - courses are available 24/7
You're unbound by place - study at home, work, or on the road
Read materials online or download them for reading later

Cost and Selection
•
•
•
•

Choose from a wide range of courses to meet your needs
Degree, Vocational, and Certificate programs
Continuing Education
Individual courses

•
•
•

Wide range of prices to fit your budget
Go back to school to get a degree, learn a new skill, learn a new craft, or just
have fun!
From art to zoology you can do it all online in a price range to fit your budget.

Flexibility
•
•
•
•

Online learning accommodates your preferences and needs - it's studentcentered
Choose instructor-led or self-study courses
Skip over material you already know and focus on topics you'd like to learn
Use the tools best suited to your learning styles

Higher Retention
•

Online learning will draw you to topics you like and enjoy. Studies show that
because of this and the variety of delivery methods used to reach different
types of learners, retention is frequently better than in a traditional classroom.

Greater Collaboration
•

Technology tools make collaboration among students much easier. Since many
projects involve collaborative learning, the online environment is far easier
(and often more comfortable) to work in since learners don't have to be face-toface.

Global Opportunities
•

The global learning community is at your fingertips with online learning. The
technologies used give online instructional designers the ability to build in
tools that take you to resources you may never see in a traditional classroom.

How to Choose an Online Course
E-Learning Evaluation
Online courses come in many flavors. Selecting the right online course for you - one
that matches your education needs and your learning style - can be a daunting task,
but here are a few simple questions to guide you. Use them to accelerate your search
and make comparisons.
How does your learning style match up to the course delivery?
Using the table below, you can get an idea of what types of course activities match
your learning style. Remember that we generally learn in a variety of different ways
and most courses combine delivery modalities to reach a large audience. Be sure to
ask if you have a preference or need for a particular type of learning.
If you learn best by:

Look for a course with:

Reading

e-books, textbooks, and other required reading (written
lessons are a primary method of delivering curriculum
online)

Listening

audio lectures or sound bytes to explain concepts

Seeing how things are done

graphical demonstrations that illustrate new ideas

Doing

Assignments, quizzes, exams, or practical application
examples

Speaking/Communicating

email, chat, or threaded discussion groups for sharing
and feedback

Are you looking for short, personal enrichment classes or longer, more
comprehensive courses for professional development or study toward a degree?
You can narrow your options by deciding in advance how in-depth you want to go
and how much time you want to spend. Courses associated with degrees are generally
more complete in their treatment of a topic, although personal enrichment and
professional development courses can be quite thorough too. Online education covers
the spectrum from short tutorials to semester-length academic classes and the time
you'll spend is directly proportionate to the type of course you select.
Do
you
want
a
self-directed
or
instructor-led
course?
Some of us need structure and deadlines. Others prefer to study at our convenience.
Self-directed courses generally allow more time for completion and the flexibility to
jump around the curriculum at your own pace (although they may still have final
deadlines). Instructor-led courses are more structured and deliver the material in a
progressive or suggested sequence, guiding the learner to the finish. Also, selfdirected courses normally don't have a human point of contact for help or feedback,
but some may offer subject matter experts.
Open Enrollment vs. Traditional scheduling (following the timing of the school)
With open enrollment, you can learn on your time, starting whenever you want to.
Other scheduling takes away that control, especially if it follows a quarter or semester
schedule in conjunction with a traditional school.
Are
credits
or
CEU's
important
to
you?
Academic credit or CEU's (continuing education units) may be a requirement in your
selection process. If so, read about the school or program's accreditation status and
check with them regarding CEU's or credits for the particular course you're looking at.
If credits or CEU's don't matter to you, your options are wide open.
What
type
of
support
is
available?
Some online classes come with other student services like tutoring, reference links,
library access, mentoring, writing/math labs, technical assistance, and other resources
to help the learning process, while others are void of this.
How much do you want to spend?
The more in-depth the course, the more you can expect to pay. There are a wide range
of choices to fit your budget. Personal/professional development courses cost $10$300 or more, and comprehensive courses linked to degrees a few hundred to a
thousand dollars or more. Short tutorials may be free or low cost. Cost is last on the
list of questions for good reason: the other factors to consider in choosing an online
course are equally, if not more important.
Once you've used these questions to narrow your field of choices, you'll find that
many course providers offer a free demo that can help you decide and compare
content and presentation.

Common Terms Used in Online Learning
E-Learning Glossary
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|K|L|M|N|O|P|R|S|T|U|V|W|Z

A
Accreditation
the recognition or certification of an institution that has been reviewed and meets specific
measures of quality.
Analog
a fluctuating electronic signal used for storing and transferring data. The continuous nature of
analog signals makes it relatively difficult to store, manipulate, and transfer data. Analog
signals are transmitted slower than digital signals.
Applet
a small program or application that runs on a browser and enables additional features like
animation.
Application
a software program that allows a user to perform specific tasks like word processing, email,
accounting, database management.

Asynchronous Learning
learning where people are not online at the same time and interaction does not occur without
a time delay, allowing people to participate on their schedules. Examples are email,
discussion groups, and self-paced courses delivered via Internet or CD-ROM.
Audio Conferencing
voice-only connection between three or more locations.

B
Bandwidth
the capacity of a communication channel to carry information. The greater the bandwidth, the
faster the data transfer. The amount of data sent or received over any given time is limited by
bandwidth.
BBS (bulletin board system)
a system maintained by a host computer for posting information, carrying on discussions,
uploading and downloading files, chatting, and other online services. BBSs are generally
created for a specific group of users and are usually topic-specific.
Blended Learning
an increasing popular combination of online and in-person learning activities.
Blog (Weblog)
a public web site where users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments, and
philosophies, updated frequently and normally reflecting the views of the blog's creator.

Broadband
a transmission channel able to simultaneously carry multiple signals.
Browser
software for interacting with , accessing, and viewing information on the Internet or created in
HTML. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are the two most widely used browsers.
Byte
one character that can be a letter, number, or symbol.

C
Cable Modem
a device that uses coaxial cables to transmit data faster than telephone line modems and
roughly equivalent to modems using DSL telephone service.
CBT (Computer-Based Training)
training conducted using a computer, often used when referring to education or training
presented while a computer is not connected to a network.
CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory)
an electronic data storage medium that uses optical technology for storing and playing back
audio, video, text, and other information in digital form.
Certification
a valued credential awarded in several fields that proves competency upon satisfactory
demonstration of particular knowledge and skills.
Chat
An online, real-time interactive communication method using text to send and receive instant
messages.
Cookie
a small text file placed on your hard by a web site to record information about you. When you
return, your computer serves up the "cookie" to the web site and previously recorded
information such as your name, site login/password, preferences, shopping cart info, and
more are passed along. The web page is then customized based on that information.
Courseware
educational software that delivers course material and instruction via computer.

D
Delivery
the method of getting information to the user via Internet, CD-ROM, books, instructors, and
other mediums.
Dial-up
an Internet connection achieved through telephone lines using a modem.
Digital
A discrete electronic signal used for storing and transferring data. The non-continuous nature
of digital signals makes it relatively easy to store, manipulate, and transfer data. Digital
signals are transmitted faster than analog signals.

Discussion Forums
a place where people can exchange messages of common interest.
Distance Education
education designed for delivery where students and instructors not in the same location.
Distance Learning
often used synonymously with Distance Education; distinct as an outcome of Distance
Education.
Distributed Learning
often used synonymously with Distance Learning; distinct in that it is the outcome of
education that combines a blend of online and traditional delivery methods.
Download
a file transfer from one computer to yours.
DSL (digital subscriber line)
an Internet access method for high-speed data transfer over telephone lines.
DVD (digital versatile disk)
an electronic data storage medium that uses optical technology for storing and playing back
audio, video, text, and other information in digital form, but with far greater capacity than CDs.
Back to Top

E
E-Learning
learning that is accomplished over the Internet, a computer network, via CD-ROM, interactive
TV, or satellite broadcast.
Email
short for electronic mail; primarily text messages sent between two computers.
End User
the person or persons who will be using a particular technology and for whom it is designed.

F
Facilitator
an instructor who assists, directs, and stimulates the learning during an online course.
FAQ (frequently asked questions)
highly useful, a list of common questions about a particular topic, product, or service directed
primarily at new users.
File Server
a computer that stores and manages files and software on a computer network, giving users
the capability of sharing information and other resources.
Firewall
specialized hardware or software designed to secure a computer or network from
unauthorized access.

FTP (file transfer protocol)
an Internet protocol for transferring files between two computers. Most browsers incorporate
FTP software to download and upload files.

G
GB (gigabyte)
a gigabyte is 1000 megabytes, or 1,073,741,824 characters and is roughly equivalent to a
thousand novels.
GUI (graphical user interface)
a computer interface that presents information in a user-friendly way using pictures and icons.

H
Home page
the opening page or main document that appears when you visit a web site, usually contains
links to other web pages.
Host
a computer system on a network that distributes and receives information from other
computers.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
computer code used to structure text and images for viewing with a browser.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
an Internet application protocol used for exchanging information over the world wide web.
Hypertext
highlighted text in a web page that links the user to additional related information.

I
ILT (Instructor-led Training)
delivery of a course in a traditional classroom setting wherein an instructor guides a group of
learners.
Instructional Designer
the person who develops the methodology and delivery systems for presenting course
content.
Interactive multimedia
allows two-way interaction with multimedia course material, another computer, or another
user with direct response to the input, as opposed to one-way communication from TV, video,
and other non-responsive media. Interactive attributes commonly include data or text entry,
mouse input, touch screens, voice commands, video capture, and real-time interaction.
Internet
the global network of regional and local computer networks.
Intranet
an internal computer network owned by a company or organization and accessible only to
designated staff.

ISDN (integrated service digital network)
a telecommunications line that is able to carry data, voice, and video simultaneously.

K
KB (kilobyte)
a kilobyte is 1042 characters (bytes), roughly equivalent to one page of double-spaced text.
Knowledge Management
the collection, organization, analysis, and sharing of information held by workers and groups
within an organization.

L
LAN (local area network)
a group of networked computers in relative proximity to one another that allows users to
communicate and share information and other devices such as file servers, printers, and
modems.
Link
hypertext that is usually underlined to indicate a pointer to additional related information.
Listserv
an automatic email service that users subscribe to in order to receive future mailings. Users
must be a member of the list to receive mail, and can choose to unsubscribe at any time.
Log in/on
the act of providing a user name and password to gain access to another computer,
application, web site, or file.
Log off/out
the act of disconnecting from another computer, application, web site, or file.

M
MB (megabyte)
one megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes and is roughly equivalent to one novel. A floppy disk stores
1.44MB, CDs over 600MB, and DVDs are capable of holding up to 17GBs (or 17,000MBs) of
information!
Metatag
an HTML code line that identifies the contents of the web page to search engine indexes.
Modem
MOdulator/DEModulator, a device that converts digital signals to analog for transmission, and
analog signals back to digital upon reception.
Multicasting
an audio, video, email, or application broadcast over the web, from one computer to many.

Multimedia
the combination of text, graphics, audio, colors to create used to present information in an
engaging and dynamic way.

N
Netiquette
etiquette on the Internet, best used when sending email, chatting, posting messages, and
using limited resources.
Network
a group of computers and peripheral devices (like printers and modems) connected to allow
users to communicate and share information and resources.
Newsgroup
an information exchange forum where notes about a particular topic are posted and shared.

O
Onground
a traditional classroom instructional setting.
Online
connected to the Internet or another computer.
Online learning
an umbrella term used to describe any education or training that occurs online.

P
Plug-in
software programs that enhance your browser and allow it to perform additional tasks such as
playing audio, displaying video, and viewing documents as an integrated function of the
browser.
Portal
web site that is a major starting point or gateway to additional information on the Internet,
sometimes general (like Yahoo!) and sometimes specific (like World Wide Learn).
Post
used as a noun for messages "posted" to BBSs, newsgroups, blogs, etc.

R
Real-time communication
communication with little or no delay; synchronous interaction.
Rich content
high quality course or web page material, often presented using advanced or sophisticated
design techniques employed to emphasize the message or learning.

S

Self-paced learning
learning that is done asynchronously, such as from CD-ROM or over the Internet without an
instructor, where the user controls the flow of course material.
Server
a computer with large storage capacity that serves out files, applications, and other
resources.
Simulations
interactive multimedia presentations designed to model real scenarios and which allow the
user to participate and experience without risk.
SME (subject matter expert)
one who has demonstrated competency and mastery in a particular subject or topic.
Software
computer programming code that provides a computer with instructions to perform specific
tasks; a program or application.
Spam
unsolicited email.
Streaming
a technique where media (audio, video, or both) are downloaded to the user's computer in a
continuous stream and played upon arrival.
Synchronous learning
Learning where people are online at the same time and interaction occurs without a time
delay (real-time) and which requires them to attend at specific times.

T
Teleconferencing
video or audio conferences conducted over telecommunications channels such as telephone
lines, local area networks, and the Internet.
24/7
24 hours per day, seven days a week. Refers to availability of a service, product, person, or
information.

U
Upload
a file transfer from your computer to another.
URL (uniform resource locator)
the address used to identify a page or file on the Internet.
User interface
the components of a computer system that the operator uses to interact with the computer the screen display, keyboard, mouse, touch controls, etc.

V
Video Conferencing
live video and audio communication between three or more locations.

Virtual
not physical.
Virtual classroom
the area where students and instructors interact online.
Virtual community
a community on the Internet where people share common interests; an online community.

W
W3C
the World Wide Web consortium, whose mission it is to create standards and specifications
for the World Wide Web.
WBT (web-based training)
education or training delivered over the Internet and accessible using a browser. May
incorporate the use of an instructor or facilitator.
Web page
an HTML file or document; part of a web site.
Web site
a group of related web pages that includes a home page.
WWW (World Wide Web)
as defined by the World Wide Web consortium, "The World Wide Web is the universe of
network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge." Alternatively, the web
is the collection of users and resources on the Internet that use HTTP (Hypertext Transfer
Protocol).
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
computer text and graphics that will print exactly as they appear on the screen.

Z
Zip file
a file that has been reduced in size to allow faster transferring between computers, or to save
storage space. Originated with PKWARE, the technique is widely used and the term is used
frequently to describe any compressed file. Some compressed files have the .EXE extension,
indicating the file is self-extracting.

UNIT 6
E-Banking
This booklet, one of several comprising the FFIEC Information Technology
Examination Handbook (IT Handbook), provides guidance to examiners and financial
institutions on identifying and controlling the risks associated with electronic banking
(e-banking) activities. The booklet primarily discusses e-banking risks from the
perspective of the services or products provided to customers. This approach differs
from other booklets that discuss risks from the perspective of the technology and
systems that support automated information processing. To avoid duplication of
material, this booklet refers the reader to other IT Handbook booklets for detailed
explanations
of
technology-specific
issues
or
controls.
Examiners may use the examination procedures and request letter items included in
this booklet in appendix A to review risks in the electronic delivery of financial
products and services. These procedures address services and products of varied
complexity. Examiners should adjust the procedures, as appropriate, for the scope of
the examination and the risk profile of the institution. The procedures may be used
independently or in combination with procedures from other IT Handbook booklets or
from agency handbooks covering non-IT areas.

DEFINITION OF E-BANKING
For this booklet, e-banking is defined as the automated delivery of new and traditional
banking products and services directly to customers through electronic, interactive
communication channels. E-banking includes the systems that enable financial
institution customers, individuals or businesses, to access accounts, transact business,
or obtain information on financial products and services through a public or private
network, including the Internet. Customers access e-banking services using an
intelligent electronic device, such as a personal computer (PC), personal digital
assistant (PDA), automated teller machine (ATM), kiosk, or Touch Tone telephone.
While the risks and controls are similar for the various e-banking access channels, this
booklet focuses specifically on Internet-based services due to the Internet’s widely
accessible public network. Accordingly, this booklet begins with a discussion of the
two primary types of Internet websites: informational and transactional.

INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES
Informational websites provide customers access to general information about the
financial institution and its products or services. Risk issues examiners should
consider when reviewing informational websites include:
Potential liability and consumer violations for inaccurate or incomplete information about
products, services, and pricing presented on the website;
Potential access to confidential financial institution or customer information if the website is
not properly isolated from the financial institution’s internal network;
Potential liability for spreading viruses and other malicious code to computers
communicating with the institution’s website; and
Negative public perception if the institution’s on-line services are disrupted or if its website
is defaced or otherwise presents inappropriate or offensive material.

TRANSACTIONAL WEBSITES
Transactional websites provide customers with the ability to conduct transactions
through the financial institution’s website by initiating banking transactions or buying
products and services. Banking transactions can range from something as basic as a
retail account balance inquiry to a large business-to-business funds transfer. Ebanking services, like those delivered through other delivery channels, are typically
classified based on the type of customer they support. The following table lists some
of the common retail and wholesale e-banking services offered by financial
institutions.

Table 1: Common E-Banking Services
Retail Services

Wholesale Services

Account management

Account management

Bill
payment
presentment

and

New account opening
Consumer wire transfers
Investment/Brokerage
services
Loan
application
approval

Cash management
Small business loan applications,
approvals, or advances
Commercial wire transfers

and

Account aggregation

Business-to-business payments
Employee
administration

benefits/pension

Since transactional websites typically enable the electronic exchange of confidential
customer information and the transfer of funds, services provided through these
websites expose a financial institution to higher risk than basic informational
websites. Wholesale e-banking systems typically expose financial institutions to the
highest risk per transaction, since commercial transactions usually involve larger
dollar amounts. In addition to the risk issues associated with informational websites,
examiners reviewing transactional e-banking services should consider the following
issues:
Security controls for safeguarding customer information;
Authentication processes necessary to initially verify the identity of new customers and
authenticate existing customers who access e-banking services;
Liability for unauthorized transactions;
Losses from fraud if the institution fails to verify the identity of individuals or businesses
applying for new accounts or credit on-line;
Possible violations of laws or regulations pertaining to consumer privacy, anti-money
laundering, anti-terrorism, or the content, timing, or delivery of required consumer
disclosures; and
Negative public perception, customer dissatisfaction, and potential liability resulting from
failure to process third-party payments as directed or within specified time frames, lack of
availability of on-line services, or unauthorized access to confidential customer information
during transmission or storage.
E-BANKING

COMPONENTS

E-banking systems can vary significantly in their configuration depending on a
number of factors. Financial institutions should choose their e-banking system
configuration, including outsourcing relationships, based on four factors:
Strategic objectives for e-banking;
Scope, scale, and complexity of equipment, systems, and activities;
Technology expertise; and
Security and internal control requirements.

Financial institutions may choose to support their e-banking services internally.
Alternatively, financial institutions can outsource any aspect of their e-banking
systems to third parties. The following entities could provide or host (i.e., allow
applications to reside on their servers) e-banking-related services for financial
institutions:
Another financial institution,
Internet service provider,
Internet banking software vendor or processor,
Core banking vendor or processor,
Managed security service provider,
Bill payment provider,
Credit bureau, and
Credit scoring company.

E-banking systems rely on a number of common components or processes. The
following list includes many of the potential components and processes seen in a
typical institution:
Website design and hosting,
Firewall configuration and management,
Intrusion detection system or IDS (network and host-based),
Network administration,
Security management,
Internet banking server,
E-commerce applications (e.g., bill payment, lending, brokerage),
Internal network servers,
Core processing system,
Programming support, and
Automated decision support systems.

These components work together to deliver e-banking services. Each component
represents a control point to consider.

Through a combination of internal and outsourced solutions, management has many
alternatives when determining the overall system configuration for the various
components of an e-banking system. However, for the sake of simplicity, this booklet
presents only two basic variations. First, one or more technology service providers
can host the e-banking application and numerous network components as illustrated in
the following diagram. In this configuration, the institution’s service provider hosts
the institution’s website, Internet banking server, firewall, and intrusion detection
system. While the institution does not have to manage the daily administration of
these component systems, its management and board remain responsible for the
content, performance, and security of the e-banking system.

Figure 1: Third-Party Provider Hosted E-Banking Diagram

This diagram illustrates the transaction flow for one possible configuration where the
bank relies on a technology service provider to host its Internet banking application.
Internet banking customer sends an e-banking transaction through their Internet
Service Provider (ISP) via a phone, wireless, or broadband connection.
The customer’s ISP routes the transaction through the Internet and sends it to the ebanking service provider's ISP, which routes it to the provider.
The transaction enters the provider's network through a router, which directs the ebanking transaction through a firewall to the application running on the Internet
banking server.
The website server and Internet banking server may have host-based intrusion
detection system (IDS) software monitoring the server and its files to provide alerts of
potential unauthorized modifications.

Network IDS software may reside at different points within the network to analyze
the message for potential attack characteristics that suggest an intrusion attempt.
The Internet banking application processes the transaction against account balance
data through a real time connection to the core banking system or a database of
account balance data, which is updated periodically from the core banking system.
The Internet banking server has a firewall filtering Internet traffic from its internal
network.
Second, the institution can host all or a large portion of its e-banking systems
internally. A typical configuration for in-house hosted, e-banking services is
illustrated below. In this case, a provider is not between the Internet access and the
financial institution’s core processing system. Thus, the institution has day-to-day
responsibility for system administration.

Figure 2: In-House E-Banking Diagram
This diagram illustrates the transaction flow for one possible configuration in which
the bank hosts the Internet banking application.
Internet banking customer sends an e-banking transaction through their Internet
Service Provider (ISP) via a phone, wireless, or broadband connection.
The customer’s ISP routes the transaction through the Internet and sends it to the ebanking service bank's ISP, which routes it the provider.
The transaction enters the bank's network through a router, which directs the Internetbanking transaction through a firewall to the application running on the Internet
banking server.

The bank typically has several Internet application servers that could include a
website server, e-mail server, proxy server, and domain name server (DNS) in
addition to the Internet banking application server.
The router will typically send the transaction around the other application servers
directly to the Internet banking server unless it is a non-banking transaction.
The website server and Internet banking server may have host-based intrusion
detection system (IDS) software monitoring the server and its files to provide alerts of
potential unauthorized modifications.
Network IDS software may reside at different points within the network to analyze
the message for potential attack characteristics that suggest an unauthorized intrusion
attempt.
The Internet banking application processes the transaction against account balance
data through a real time connection to the core banking system or a database of
account balance data, which is updated periodically from the core banking system.
The Internet banking server has a firewall filtering Internet traffic from the bank's
internal network
E-BANKING SUPPORT SERVICES
In addition to traditional banking products and services, financial institutions can
provide a variety of services that have been designed or adapted to support ecommerce. Management should understand these services and the risks they pose to
the institution. This section discusses some of the most common support services:
weblinking, account aggregation, electronic authentication, website hosting, payments
for e-commerce, and wireless banking activities.

WEBLINKING
A large number of financial institutions maintain sites on the World Wide Web. Some
websites are strictly informational, while others also offer customers the ability to
perform financial transactions, such as paying bills or transferring funds between
accounts.

Virtually every website contains “weblinks.” A weblink is a word, phrase, or image
on a webpage that contains coding that will transport the viewer to a different part of
the website or a completely different website by just clicking the mouse. While
weblinks are a convenient and accepted tool in website design, their use can present
certain risks. Generally, the primary risk posed by weblinking is that viewers can
become confused about whose website they are viewing and who is responsible for
the information, products, and services available through that website. There are a
variety of risk management techniques institutions should consider using to mitigate
these risks. These risk management techniques are for those institutions that develop
and maintain their own websites, as well as institutions that use third-party service
providers for this function. The agencies have issued guidance on weblinking that
provides details on risks and risk management techniques financial institutions should
consider.

ACCOUNT AGGREGATION
Account aggregation is a service that gathers information from many websites,
presents that information to the customer in a consolidated format, and, in some cases,
may allow the customer to initiate activity on the aggregated accounts. The
information gathered or aggregated can range from publicly available information to
personal account information (e.g., credit card, brokerage, and banking data).
Aggregation services can improve customer convenience by avoiding multiple log-ins
and providing access to tools that help customers analyze and manage their various
account portfolios. Some aggregators use the customer-provided user IDs and
passwords to sign in as the customer. Once the customer’s account is accessed, the
aggregator copies the personal account information from the website for
representation on the aggregator’s site (i.e., “screen scraping”). Other aggregators use
direct data-feed arrangements with website operators or other firms to obtain the
customer’s information. Generally, direct data feeds are thought to provide greater
legal protection to the aggregator than does screen scraping.
Financial institutions are involved in account aggregation both as aggregators and as
aggregation targets. Risk management issues examiners should consider when
reviewing aggregation services include:
Protection of customer passwords and user IDs – both those used to access the
institution’s aggregation services and those the aggregator uses to retrieve customer
information from aggregated third parties – to assure the confidentiality of customer
information and to prevent unauthorized activity,
Disclosure of potential customer liability if customers share their authentication information
(i.e., IDs and passwords) with third parties, and
Assurance of the accuracy and completeness of information retrieved from the aggregated
parties’ sites, including required disclosures

Additional information regarding management of risks in aggregation services can be
found in appendix D.

ELECTRONIC AUTHENTICATION
Verifying the identities of customers and authorizing e-banking activities are integral
parts of e-banking financial services. Since traditional paper-based and in-person
identity authentication methods reduce the speed and efficiency of electronic

transactions, financial institutions have adopted alternative authentication methods,
including:

Passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs),
Digital certificates using a public key infrastructure (PKI),
Microchip-based devices such as smart cards or other types of tokens,
Database comparisons (e.g., fraud-screening applications), and
Biometric identifiers.

The authentication methods listed above vary in the level of security and reliability
they provide and in the cost and complexity of their underlying infrastructures. As
such, the choice of which technique(s) to use should be commensurate with the risks
in the products and services for which they control access. Additional information on
customer authentication techniques can be found in this booklet under the heading
“Authenticating E-Banking Customers.”
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-Sign) Act establishes
some uniform federal rules concerning the legal status of electronic signatures and
records in commercial and consumer transactions so as to provide more legal certainty
and promote the growth of electronic commerce. The development of secure digital
signatures continues to evolve with some financial institutions either acting as the
certification authority for digital signatures or providing repository services for digital
certificates.

WEBSITE HOSTING
Some financial institutions host websites for both themselves as well as for other
businesses. Financial institutions that host a business customer’s website usually
store, or arrange for the storage of, the electronic files that make up the website. These
files are stored on one or more servers that may be located on the hosting financial
institution’s premises. Website hosting services require strong skills in networking,
security, and programming. The technology and software change rapidly. Institutions
developing websites should monitor the need to adopt new interoperability standards
and protocols such as Extensible Mark-Up Language (XML) to facilitate data
exchange among the diverse population of Internet users.
Risk issues examiners should consider when reviewing website hosting services
include damage to reputation, loss of customers, or potential liability resulting from:
Downtime (i.e., times when website is not available) or inability to meet service levels
specified in the contract,
Inaccurate website content (e.g., products, pricing) resulting from actions of the institution’s
staff or unauthorized changes by third parties (e.g., hackers),
Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information stemming from security breaches, and
Damage to computer systems of website visitors due to malicious code (e.g., virus, worm,
active content) spread through institution-hosted sites.

PAYMENTS FOR E-COMMERCE
Many businesses accept various forms of electronic payments for their products and
services. Financial institutions play an important role in electronic payment systems
by creating and distributing a variety of electronic payment instruments, accepting a
similar variety of instruments, processing those payments, and participating in
clearing and settlement systems. However, increasingly, financial institutions are
competing with third parties to provide support services for e-commerce payment
systems. Among the electronic payments mechanisms that financial institutions
provide for e-commerce are automated clearing house (ACH) debits and credits
through the Internet, electronic bill payment and presentment, electronic checks, email money, and electronic credit card payments. Additional information on payments
systems can be found in other sections of the IT Handbook.
Most financial institutions permit intrabank transfers between a customer’s accounts
as part of their basic transactional e-banking services. However, third-party transfers –
with their heightened risk for fraud – often require additional security safeguards in
the form of additional authentication and payment confirmation.

Bill Payment and Presentment
Bill payment services permit customers to electronically instruct their financial
institution to transfer funds to a business’s account at some future specified date.
Customers can make payments on a one-time or recurring basis, with fees typically
assessed as a “per item” or monthly charge. In response to the customer’s electronic
payment instructions, the financial institution (or its bill payment provider) generates
an electronic transaction – usually an automated clearinghouse (ACH) credit – or
mails a paper check to the business on the customer’s behalf. To allow for the
possibility of a paper-based transfer, financial institutions typically advise customers
to make payments effective 3–7 days before the bill’s due date.
Internet-based cash management is the commercial version of retail bill payment.
Business customers use the system to initiate third-party payments or to transfer
money between company accounts. Cash management services also include minimum
balance maintenance, recurring transfers between accounts and on-line account
reconciliation. Businesses typically require stronger controls, including the ability to
administer security and transaction controls among several users within the business.
This booklet discusses the front-end controls related to the initiation, storage, and
transmission of bill payment transactions prior to their entry into the industry’s retail
payment systems (e.g., ACH, check processing, etc.). The IT Handbook’s “Retail
Payments Systems Booklet” provides additional information regarding the various
electronic transactions that comprise the back end for bill payment processing. The
extent of front-end operating controls directly under the financial institution’s control
varies with the system configuration. Some examples of typical configurations are
listed below in order of increasing complexity, along with potential control
considerations.
Financial institutions that do not provide bill payment services, but may direct customers to
select from several unaffiliated bill payment providers.

Caution customers regarding security and privacy issues through the use of on-line
disclosures or, more conservatively, e-banking agreements.
Financial institutions that rely on a third-party bill payment provider including Internet
banking providers that subcontract to third parties.
Set dollar and volume thresholds and review bill payment transactions for suspicious
activity.
Gain independent audit assurance over the bill payment provider’s processing controls.
Restrict employees’ administrative access to ensure that the internal controls limiting
their capabilities to originate, modify, or delete bill payment transactions are at least as
strong as those applicable to the underlying retail payment system ultimately transmitting
the transaction.
Restrict by vendor contract and identify the use of any subcontractors associated with
the bill payment application to ensure adequate oversight of underlying bill payment
system performance and availability.
Evaluate the adequacy of authentication methods given the higher risk associated with
funds transfer capabilities rather than with basic account access.
Consider the additional guidance contained in the IT Handbook’s “Information Security,”
“Retail Payment Systems,” and “Outsourcing Technology Services” booklets.
Financial institutions that use third-party software to host a bill payment application
internally.
Determine the extent of any independent assessments or certification of the security of
application source code.
Ensure software is adequately tested prior to installation on the live system.
Ensure vendor access for software maintenance is controlled and monitored.
Financial institutions that develop, maintain, and host their own bill payment system.
Consider additional guidance in the IT Handbook’s “Development and Acquisition
Booklet.”

Financial institutions can offer bill payment as a stand-alone service or in combination
with bill presentment. Bill presentment arrangements permit a business to submit a
customer’s bill in electronic form to the customer’s financial institution. Customers
can view their bills by clicking on links on their account’s e-banking screen or menu.
After viewing a bill, the customer can initiate bill payment instructions or elect to pay
the bill through a different payment channel.
In addition, some businesses have begun offering electronic bill presentment directly
from their own websites rather than through links on the e-banking screens of a
financial institution. Under such arrangements, customers can log on to the business’s
website to view their periodic bills. Then, if so desired, they can electronically
authorize the business to “take” the payment from their account. The payment then
occurs as an ACH debit originated by the business’s financial institution as compared
to the ACH credit originated by the customer’s financial institution in the bill
payment scenario described above. Institutions should ensure proper approval of
businesses allowed to use ACH payment technology to initiate payments from
customer accounts.

Cash management applications would include the same control considerations
described above, but the institution should consider additional controls because of the
higher risk associated with commercial transactions. The adequacy of authentication
methods becomes a higher priority and requires greater assurance due to the larger
average dollar size of transactions. Institutions should also establish additional
controls to ensure binding agreements – consistent with any existing ACH or wire
transfer agreements – exist with commercial customers. Additionally, cash
management systems should provide adequate security administration capabilities to
enable the business owners to restrict access rights and dollar limits associated with
multiple-user access to their accounts.
ix. Person-to-Person Payments
Electronic person-to-person payments, also known as e-mail money, permit
consumers to send “money” to any person or business with an e-mail address. Under
this scenario, a consumer electronically instructs the person-to-person payment
service to transfer funds to another individual. The payment service then sends an email notifying the individual that the funds are available and informs him or her of the
methods available to access the funds including requesting a check, transferring the
funds to an account at an insured financial institution, or retransmitting the funds to
someone else. Person-to-person payments are typically funded by credit card charges
or by an ACH transfer from the consumer’s account at a financial institution. Since
neither the payee nor the payer in the transaction has to have an account with the
payment service, such services may be offered by an insured financial institution, but
are frequently offered by other businesses as well.
Some of the risk issues examiners should consider when reviewing bill payment,
presentment, and e-mail money services include:
Potential liability for late payments due to service disruptions,
Liability for bill payment instructions originating from someone other than the deposit
account holder,
Losses from person-to-person payments funded by transfers from credit cards or deposit
accounts over which the payee does not have signature authority,
Losses from employee misappropriation of funds held pending access instructions from the
payer, and
Potential liability directing payment availability information to the wrong e-mail or for
releasing funds in response to e-mail from someone other than the intended payee.

WIRELESS E-BANKING
Wireless banking is a delivery channel that can extend the reach and enhance the
convenience of Internet banking products and services. Wireless banking occurs when
customers access a financial institution's network(s) using cellular phones, pagers, and
personal digital assistants (or similar devices) through telecommunication companies’
wireless networks. Wireless banking services in the United States typically
supplement a financial institution's e-banking products and services.

Wireless devices have limitations that increase the security risks of wireless-based
transactions and that may adversely affect customer acceptance rates. Device
limitations include reduced processing speeds, limited battery life, smaller screen
sizes, different data entry formats, and limited capabilities to transfer stored records.
These limitations combine to make the most recognized Internet language, Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML), ineffective for delivering content to wireless devices.
Wireless Markup Language (WML) has emerged as one of a few common language
standards for developing wireless device content. Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) has emerged as a data transmission standard to deliver WML content.
Manufacturers of wireless devices are working to improve device usability and to take
advantage of enhanced “third-generation” (3G) services. Device improvements are
anticipated to include bigger screens, color displays, voice recognition applications,
location identification technology (e.g., Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Enhanced 911), and increased battery capacity. These improvements are geared
towards increasing customer acceptance and usage. Increased communication speeds
and improvements in devices during the next few years should lead to continued
increases in wireless subscriptions.

Structure
Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is a verb + preposition combination. For example, look up, take down and turn
over. Phrasal verbs are common in informal, spoken English. Sometimes they have a more
formal one word equivalent, for example, work out = determine.
Often phrasal verbs have two meanings.
One we can work out from the meaning of the two words separately:
She looked up at the roof.
A special meaning which does not easily relate to the separate meanings of the words:
She looked up a word in the dictionary.

Exercises
1. Study these phrasal verbs:
break into

keep at

get into

throw away

hack into

shut down

go about

log on

set about

log out

keep ahead

find out

grow up

track down

phone up

hand over

run up

Now complete each blank with the appropriate phrasal verb in the correct form. In
some cases, more than one answer is possible.
1. Hackers try to …….…….... passwords so they can penetrate a system.
2. Don’t ……………… your password to anyone who asks for it.
3. The police ……..…. Ralph ……..….by talking to his friends and acquaintances.
4. Some hackers………….…. systems to get commercially valuable information.
5. When you ……….….…. to a network, you have to provide an ID.
6. How do you …….…….…. hacking into a system?
7. Hackers may ………….….., pretending to be from your company and ask for your
password.
8. Never ……..……. your credit card receipts where someone can find them.
9. Ralph was a hacker as a teenager but he’s ……………. now and become more
responsible.
10. ……….…… a system is strictly illegal nowadays.
11. It’s a constant race to ……….…….. of the hackers.

2. Replace the verb in italics with a phrasal verb of similar meaning.
1. I don’t discard your credit card receipts; they could help fraudsters.
2. Trying to penetrate computer systems is against the law.
3. The typical hacker is a young person who has not matured yet.
4. The best way to begin hacking into a system is to try to get hold of a password.
5. If someone telephones you and asks for your password, don’t provide it.
6. Hackers closed Hotmail for five hours.
7. Hackers accumulated a telephone bill of $1m for Scotland Yard.
8. The difficult thing was to determine how the website would rook.
9. So you won’t forget, record the ID number the support technician gives you.
10. Examine the manufacturers’ websites before you phone for help.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
sacrifice

n. the act of giving up something of value for the

adj. sacrificial

common good

v. sacrifice

syn. concession

He sacrificed his day off to help clean up the neighborhood.

She made sacrifices in order to be able to attend the university.
triumph

n. a victory; a success

adj. triumphant

syn. achievement

adj. triumphal
v. triumph
His career was characterized by one triumph after another.
He triumphed over all of his difficulties.
contaminated

adj. to make something impure by adding something

v. contaminate

dirty or poisonous

n. contamination

syn. polluted

This contaminated water supply must be closed to the public.
Bacteria and insects are frequent agents of food contamination.
flourishing

adj. active and growing; healthy

v. flourish

syn. thriving

Small flourishing companies would be harmed by an increase in the
minimum wage.
A young mind will flourish with the proper guidance.
negligible

adj. hardly noticeable; scarcely detectable, to ignore;

adj. neglected

to give little attention

adj. neglectful

syn. insignificant

adj. negligent
n. neglect
n. negligence
The presence of the first person singular in the poem was almost negligible.
His negligence caused him to lose all of the work he had done on the
computer.
application portfolio – the collection of integrated information systems (applications and

components, purchased or custom-developed) required to satisfy business needs
APE (application package for the enterprise) – a group of applications designed to
function across the enterprise
API (application program interface) – the specific method prescribed by a
computer operating system or by another application program by which a programmer
writing an application program can make requests of the operating system or another
application. An API can be contrasted with a graphical user interface (GUI) or a
command interface (both of which are direct user interfaces) as interfaces to an
operating system or a program.

APM (advanced power management) – the ability of a portable computer to
monitor and control its power consumption. APM puts your PC’s screen or hard drive
into "snooze" mode when you don’t need them.
applet – generally, a small application written in Java
application architecture – a model that identifies criteria and techniques associated
with the design of applications that can be easily modified to respond quickly to
changing business needs
application communication middleware – middleware used to communicate
between applications, software services, and software components
application development – the process of identifying the business need, designing an
application system, and developing it with a computer programming language
application integration – the process of bringing data or a function from one
application program together with that of another application program. Objectoriented programming technology makes application integration easier to achieve.
With traditional procedural programming, "bridge" programs had to be written so that
one program could work with data or the output from functions in another program.
The introduction of program "objects" such as Windows Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE) custom controls and ActiveX controls provides standard interfaces
so that objects designed for use in one application can be reused in other applications.
application program – a component of computer software that automates a business
function. A SETUP.EXE file is an application program.
application server – hardware and software platforms dedicated to a specific type of
application processing, groupware systems, custom business applications, or mail
services. An application server is a server program in a computer in a distributed
network that provides the business logic for an application program.
The application server is frequently viewed as part of a three-tier application,
consisting of a graphical user interface (GUI) server, an application (business logic)
server, and a database and transaction server. More descriptively, it can be viewed as
dividing an application into a first-tier, front-end, Web browser-based GUI, usually at
a personal computer or workstation; a middle-tier business logic application or set of
applications, possibly on a LAN or intranet server; and a third tier, back-end, database
and transaction server, sometimes on a mainframe or large server. Older, legacy
databases and transaction management applications are part of the back end or third
tier. The application server is the middleman between browser-based front-ends and
backend databases and legacy systems.
CTI (computer telephony integration) – using a computer connected to a telephone
switch to issue call-routing commands; often used in call centers
CTO (Chief Technology Officer) – the executive who directs an organization in
matters pertaining to technology
customer-oriented – an adjective describing software or services that are adapted to
the customer. Typically, customer-oriented means "easy to use."
cyberspace – a word coined by science-fiction author William Gibson to mean the
electronic space created when many computers are connected together. In the future,
cyberspace could become a multi-dimensional experience, where you hear sound and
speech and view and interact with 3-D objects.
cybertrust – belief that the information you provide online will remain confidential

daemon – an agent program, usually initiated at startup that operates in the
background on a UNIX server, ready to perform an operation when required
DAP (Directory Access Protocol) – a set of X.500 protocols for accessing
information directories and transferring the information— such as e-mail addresses—
from the directory service to the mail user agent (MUA), message transfer agent
(MTA), or another directory service
DASD (Direct Access Storage Device) – a device in which access time is effectively
independent of the location of the data
data – factual information organized and used for transactions, analysis, and decision
support
data access – the process of storing, searching, and retrieving data by computer
applications and end users
data access middleware – communication middleware used for accessing a relational
database in an n-tier application environment
data cleansing – used to clean up existing data stored in a database, including
breaking data down into basic elements and transforming it based on standards
data communication – (1) Transfer of data among functional units by means of data
transmission according to a protocol (2) The transmission, reception, and validation of
data
data dictionary – defines the characteristics (i.e., formats and values) of each field in
a database, enabling data to be used in a consistent manner. It is usually presented in a
list format.
data hygiene – the process of cleansing data stored in a database. Data hygiene
ensures that data meets the standards that have been set. Data hygiene is needed at
multiple levels, including the data entry level and the data extraction and
transformation level.
data integrity – accuracy, validity, and consistency of data, maintained according to
a set of rules for modifying a database
data mart – a subset of a data warehouse. Where data warehouses are designed to
support many requirements for multiple business needs, data marts are designed to
support specific requirements for specific decision support applications (i.e.,
particular business needs). Data marts are typically considered a solution for
distributed users who want exclusive control of the information required for their
business need.
data mining – software that scans large amounts of data stored in data warehouses to
reveal patterns or correlations. Demographic or behavioral information about people
is often revealed through data mining. Data mining is the analysis of data for
relationships that have not previously been discovered.
infranet – a term used to refer to the infrastructure of a network, especially the
Internet. For the Internet, the infranet is that portion of the public telephone network
on which data packets are exchanged using Internet protocols. It can also be said to
include private network infrastructures that use the Internet set of protocols, TCP/IP,
whether or not these interconnect with the public Internet.
The term was used to describe the major switching hardware and technologies, such
as frame relay and ATM, in an April 1999 article, "The Next Net," in Wired
magazine. John Chambers, head of Cisco Systems, is credited with coining the term.
Infranet® is also the trade mark ofPortal Software Inc., which uses the brand for

their Internet (IP and VoIP) customer management and billing software and other
tools.
infrastructure – refers to the entire spectrum of information processing technologies
and services. This includes data processing, telecommunications, office automation
equipment and related goods and services, technical and user personnel, computer
operating systems, and licensed programs. Information infrastructure includes, but is
not limited to: computer hardware, firmware, and peripherals software management,
support, and applications; telecommunications networks (wired and wireless) and
their management systems; facilities (static, mobile, and portable) and supporting
environmental utilities infrastructure (electricity, air conditioning, and more);
personnel and user issues.
integration – the process of integrating new client/server, adaptive, and distributed
systems with existing systems while still optimizing performance, minimizing
maintenance and utilizing existing platforms
LEC (local exchange carrier) – a local telephone company, such as Southern Bell,
GTE, and Carolina Sprint. There are a number of independent LECs. LEC companies
are also sometimes referred to as "telcos." A "local exchange" is the local "central
office" of an LEC. Lines from homes and businesses terminate at a local exchange.
Local exchanges connect to other local exchanges within a local access and transport
area (LATA) or to interexchange carriers (IXCs), such as long-distance carriers
AT&T, MCI, and Sprint.
legacy application – In information technology, legacy applications and data are
those that have been inherited from languages, platforms, and techniques earlier than
current technology. Most enterprises that use computers have legacy applications and
databases that serve critical business needs. Typically, the challenge is to keep the
legacy application running while converting it to newer, more efficient code that
makes use of new technology and programmer skills. In the past, much programming
has been written for specific manufacturers' operating systems. Currently, many
companies are migrating their legacy applications to new programming languages and
operating systems that follow open or standard programming interfaces.
Theoretically, this will make it easier in the future to update applications without
having to rewrite them entirely and will allow a company to use its applications on
any manufacturer's operating system.
In addition to moving to new languages, enterprises are redistributing the locations of
Application and data. In general, legacy applications have to continue to run on the
platforms they were developed for. Typically, new development environments
account for the need to continue to support legacy applications and data.
legacy system – in-place system that uses older, often outdated, technology
Level 1 Support – a help desk function tier. Level 1 client support should have end
to-end
responsibility for each client request. The help desk analyst should be empowered to
resolve as many requests as possible. Level 1 support provides the client contact point
or call ownership, which is the single point of contact for the end user to request a
service. Organizations should retain control of tier 1 help desk to ensure the quality of
the customer relationship.

RMS (repository management system) – software that manages a repository and
provides the tools to actively maintain metadata (i.e., changes to metadata occur in the
repository before the changes occur in the data warehouse)
ROI (return on investment) – For a given use of money in an enterprise, the ROI is
how much "return," usually profit or cost saving, results. An ROI calculation is
sometimes used along with other approaches to develop a business case for a given
proposal. The overall ROI for an enterprise is sometimes used as a way to grade how
well a company is managed. If an enterprise has immediate objectives of getting
market revenue share, building infrastructure, positioning itself for sale, or other
objectives, a return on investment might be measured in terms of meeting one or more
of these objectives rather than in immediate profit or cost saving.
rollout – a staged series of activities that often accumulate meaning as they occur.
Computer product makers and marketers use the term to describe a series of related
product announcements that are staged over time. Public relations campaigns use the
term to describe the revelation of a major company theme, event, or other message
over a period of time calculated to lead to ideal results. When a company installs new
equipment, the installation staging is sometimes called a rollout.
router – (1) An attaching device that connects two LAN segments, which use similar
or different architectures, at the reference model network layer (2) The combination
of hardware and software that links LANs and WANs together
SAN (storage area network) – a networking architecture comprising separate storage
networks to offload storage and backup/recovery traffic from general-purpose
application networks, thereby increasing performance and manageability
SAP – SAP, started in 1972 by five former IBM employees in Mannheim, Germany,
states that it is world's largest inter-enterprise software company and the world's
fourth-largest independent software supplier, overall. The original SAP idea was to
provide customers the ability to interact with a common corporate database for a
comprehensive range of applications. Gradually, the applications have been
assembled and today many corporations, including IBM and Microsoft, are using SAP
products to run their own businesses.
SAP applications, built around their latest R/3 system, provide the capability to
manage financial, asset, and cost accounting, production operations and materials,
personnel, plants, and archived documents. The R/3 system runs on a number of
platforms including Windows NT and uses the client/server model. The latest version
of R/3 includes a comprehensive Internet-enabled package. SAP has recently recast its
product offerings under a comprehensive Web interface, called mySAP.com, and
added new e-business applications, including customer relationship management
(CRM) and supply chain management.

UNIT 7
E-Government
Rapid and revolutionary changes in technology have created an increasingly
information-centric
global economy, where knowledge has become a key factor in competitiveness. The
challenge for
many governments today is to provide opportunities for citizens and businesses to
actively
participate in the global knowledge-based economy. E-Government is believed to
play a fundamental role towards this end.
Although the demand for e-government arose through the need to achieve greater
operational
efficiency and respond better to citizen demands for improved public services,
increasingly, e-Government has as much to do with economic reform as with
administrative reform

E-Government refers to the use of information and communications technologies
(ICT) to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of
government.
E-Government can be seen simply as moving citizen services online, but in its
broadest sense it refers to the technology-enabled transformation of government governments’ best hope to reduce costs, whilst promoting economic development,
increasing transparency in government, improving service delivery and public
administration, and facilitating the advancement of an information society.
• Reducing Costs: Putting services on-line substantially decreases the processing
costs of many activities compared with the manual way of handling operations.
Efficiency is also attained by streamlining internal processes and by enabling faster
and more informed decision making.
• Promoting Economic development - Technology enables governments to create
positive business climates by simplifying relationships with businesses and reducing
the administrative steps needed to comply with regulatory obligations. There is a
direct impact on the economy, as in the case of e-procurement, which creates wider
competition and more participants in the public sector marketplace.
• Enhancing Transparency and Accountability: E-Government helps to increase the

transparency of decision-making processes by making information accessible –
publishing government debates and minutes, budgets and expenditure statements,
outcomes and rationales for key decisions, and in some cases, allowing the on-line
tracking of applications on the web by the public and press.
• Improving Service Delivery: government service delivery, in the traditional
process, is time consuming, lacks transparency, and leads to citizen and business
dissatisfaction. By putting government services online, e-government reduces
bureaucracy and enhances the quality of services in terms of time, content and
accessibility.
• Improving Public Administration- e-government administrative components, such
as a computerized treasury, integrated financial management information systems,
and human resource management systems, lead to greater efficiency in public
administration. features include the integration of expenditure and receipt data,
control of expenditure, human resources management, intelligent audit through data
analysis and the publishing of financial data.
• Facilitating an e-Society: One of the main benefits of an e-government initiative
consists of the promotion of ICT use in other sectors. The technological and
management capacities required for e-government administration encourage, in turn,
the development of new training courses and modules in schools and universities
trying to supply the required skills and capabilities to the market E-Government
usually describes relationships across 3 modalities:
1. Government to Citizen: deals with the relationship between government and
citizens. G2C allows
citizens to access government information and services instantly, conveniently,
from everywhere, by
use of multiple channels.
2. Government to Business: consists of e-interactions between government and the
private sector. The opportunity to conduct online transactions with government
reduces red tape and simplifies regulatory processes, therefore helping businesses
to become more competitive.
3. Government to Government: Governments depend on other levels of government
within the state to effectively deliver services and allocate responsibilities. In
promoting citizen-centric service, a single access point to government is the
ultimate goal, for which cooperation among different governmental departments
and agencies is necessary. G2G facilitates the sharing of databases, resources and
capabilities, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of processes.
Many World Bank client countries are in the process of designing and
implementing e government strategies, programs and projects, for which assistance
in this area, both in terms of knowledge and financial support, is increasingly
demanded. Many countries have already requested Bank support and several
projects are under preparation or implementation.
Although it is early to judge the macro impact of e-Government on overall
development and
towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing
countries, there are several examples of nation/state wide applications that have

delivered significant benefits, with moderate investments. Evaluations of some eGovernment projects conducted by independent agencies indicate that costs of
accessing services by citizens have been reduced, corruption has lessened and
Government tax revenues have grown. Since the potential impact on reform goals that
the World Bank pursues in many developing countries has been demonstrated, task
managers and government clients should consider e- Government investments to
create new opportunities for building institutional capacity and efficient, citizencentric service delivery. Early experience shows that e-Government can be developed
in stages, with projects suitable for different levels of technology preparedness in a
country.
e-Government is, above all, a process of change in the way government shares
information and delivers services to achieve greater transparency and convenience in
transacting with citizens and businesses.
e-Government uses ICT to diversify delivery channels and make back-office work
more efficient. The Internet is the most powerful and popular means of delivering
e-Government. However, services may also be delivered through:
• Conventional telephone - call centers, automated voice responses, FAX on
demand of forms and information;
• Personal Computers and the Internet - from simple display of information to highly
sophisticated interactive services with credit card payment;
• In an assisted mode through integrated service delivery centers in convenient
locations, rural Internet kiosks and cyber cafes.
• Mobile digital telephony and messaging technology
• By any combination of ICT and manual procedures, for example providing
information on the web, ordering and paying by mobile telephone, and delivery at a
community center. Diversifying delivery channels extends the services to as many
citizens as possible and creates competition between channels, improving the quality
of delivery. Access can also be expanded creatively; for example, where individual
personal computer ownership is low, access to computers may be made available
through a post office, or cyber cafes. Use of existing telephone and FAX technology
can be combined with access to Internet through an intermediary for a small fee.

Yes. Countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Chile, Romania and South Korea are
only a few best practice examples.
Two illustrative case studies follow:
Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the State Government policy to use information
technologies to foster “Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent
Government”.
The following state-wide applications deliver a host of on-line services to citizens,
businesses and internal employees.

Computer Aided Registration of Deeds (CARD): A simplified and decentralized
digital property registration system through 200 Sub-Registrars’ offices across the
state. The system simplifies and expedites the registration process, provides
certificates for non encumbrance and assists in market valuation of properties. Nearly
5.7 million documents have been registered; 3.6 million encumbrance certificates
have been issued in four years.
E-Seva: On-line processing of payments, issuance of licenses and certificates from
different agencies
at central, state and municipal levels under one roof at conveniently located centers in
more than 200 cities and towns. Three million transactions were processed per month
in 2004.
FAST: Online renewal of driver’s license and motor vehicle registration
SMARTGov: Work flow based paperless central secretariat.
Mexico. e-Government is firmly a part of Mexico's future:
The Mexican Government has registered over 500 government domain names.

These sites provide information on government services, with data
and references
to other sources of information.
The Government provides information on competitive procurement opportunities of
the 33 local
governments through its Compranet service and is additionally able to offer several
on-line services for contractors and suppliers, enabling them to search for
information on their contracts and payments.
Citizens can access public registry records; e.g. obtain copies of birth and property
certificates and accept credit card payments
The sites also contain information that saves time and paperwork when dealing with
government procedures

Benefits include:
• Aligning ICT-investments with international technical and business standards
• Simplifying and integrating government services;
• Drastically reducing the time the citizens and businesses spend obtaining/submitting
information from/to the government;
• Increasing government transparency and anti-corruption;
• Improving government finances through enhanced revenue collection and cost
reduction
• Improving the business environment in the country for private sector development
and to attract foreign direct investment.
• Upgrading of government staff skills
• Facilitating ICT awareness and skills-training within the larger populace.
.................and potential risks?
Just like any other ICT project in the private or public sector, e-Government projects
also carry a risk of implementation failure. Overly ambitious project scale and scope,

lack of political will to transform Government functioning, and inadequate capacity to
design and implement solutions, are some of the main reasons for failure. If processes
are simply automated without appropriate reforms and safeguards, applications will
fail to deliver the intended benefits, and can provide opportunities for electronic fraud.
It is therefore important to assess the ICT infrastructure, human capacity,
administrative maturity and motivation for reform in a country in order to define the
scope of e- Government projects/programs.

The costs of implementing e-Government can vary greatly with the scope of the
project/program.
The cost components are: networking infrastructure; IT hardware and software;
application design, development and implementation; training; and maintenance of
equipment. E-Government necessitates the re-engineering of business processes in
order to realize efficiency goals – the management of change is, therefore, an
important element requiring effort and expenditure. While online service delivery can
be more efficient and less costly than other channels , cost savings and service
improvements are not automatic . Most e-Government activities will need to be made
available offline as well as online. While there can be savings even in this mode (for
instance in implementing a front-office/back-office approach, streamlining business
processes within government, etc.) the necessity for parallel offline and online
operations in the initial phase will mean some additional-costs.
Social costs must also be considered as e-Government may affect jobs, work
relationships and the relationships the government has with its citizens. While taking
advantage of technology, care must be taken not to deteriorate access for special
groups.
e-Government must ensure that information systems are appropriately protected and
individual rights are respected. Almost every successful e-government project is a
case example in building trust, involving two issues of special concern to any online
service:
• Privacy—Privacy is one of the most important issues facing the use of online
services, and Governments must be responsible custodians of the enormous amounts
of personal information they hold. Privacy must be addressed in the planning and
design of e-government systems since it is much harder to interject privacy
protections after a system is built.
• Security—protecting e-government sites from attack and misuse is costly, but must
be addressed in the design phase, as security breaches can shatter public trust in egovernment.

In some countries e-Government applications have been built bottom up through the
initiatives of political leadership or civil servants. Centrally coordinated programs are
then set up to scale up such applications and work towards interoperability and
integration of electronic service delivery.
Other countries have had a more planned and coordinated approach to the
development of e- Government, starting with a vision, strategy and an implementation

plan. e-Government initiatives can be implemented at the federal/central or local
government level. In
general, coordination will be required to help in the identification of crosscutting
issues and the creation of appropriate strategies to address them. Such strategies
should include details of departmental and sector programs to transform their
businesses in accordance with an overall e-Government strategy, including:
• Examination of user needs and requirements
• Plans to converge with standards and frameworks;
• Plans to make services accessible for citizens and businesses;
• Plans to deliver internal processes electronically, e.g., via Internet for “joined up”
services;
• Analysis of business requirements and benefits of applying ICT;
• Examination of existing information flows and transactions between departments,
citizens,
businesses, and other public sector and community bodies.
• A system of incentives and policy frameworks to balance central direction with
Departmental ownership
• Process reform to gain efficiency and establish transparency.
• Strategies to involve the private sector.
The World Bank can help client countries initiate, design, and implement eGovernment projects.
Its role can include:
• Financing e-Government projects and components;
• Supporting e-Government approaches through policy advice, strategy formulation,
and operational support;
• Establishing a forum for knowledge sharing on e-Government including via
videoconferencing;
• Helping clients to create the necessary infrastructure for e-Government;
• Providing technical assistance;
• Promoting the use of information technology in public sector reforms.
e-Government planning can start at any level of development, but it is important to
align ICT investments with e-Government best practices and standards, thereby
avoiding future complications that may arise due to incompatible technologies.

Exercises

APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS
If your hard disk is packed to bursting point, the IT department is far too busy to fix
your email problems and your business can’t afford to buy the tools that you’d like to
develop the company website, then its time to think about using an application service
provider (ASP). Rather than installing software on each machine or server within your

organization, you rent applications from the ASP, which provides remote access to the
software and manages the hardware required to run the applications.
There are a lot of advantages to this approach. The havoc caused by viruses
makes the idea of outsourcing your email and office suite services an attractive
option. It also gives you more flexibility - you pay for applications as and when you
need them, rather than investing in a lot of costly software which you’re then tied to
for years. Not having to worry about upgrading to the latest version of your office
suite or about battling with the complexities of managing an email system, leaves
businesses with mere time. Time to focus on what they do best.
However, there are some potential pitfalls. To use applications remotely requires
a lot of bandwidth, which is only really available from a broadband connection or a
leased line to the ASP itself. It is also important to ensure that the ASP will be able to
provide a secure, reliable service which will be available whenever you need it.
Providing applications and storage space for vast numbers of users requires
some powerful technology on the port of the ASP, This includes security controls and
data storage as well as providing the physical links to customers. For the most part,
ASPs don’t own the data centers that store the information. Instead, they lease space
from data storage specialists. In this way, they can be confident of meeting customers’
increasing storage requirements by buying more space as it’s needed.
There’s a wide variety of applications available for use via ASPs. Office suite
applications and email services are two of the most generic applications available
through ASPs. Large, complex business applications such as enterprise resource
planning tools like SAP are another popular candidate for delivery through an ASP.
Other business services, such as payroll and accounting systems are also available.
This is particularly beneficial to small businesses which are likely to grow quickly
and don’t want to deal with the problems caused by outgrowing their existing system
and having to move to a high-end package. ASPs also offer a means of using
specialist tools that would otherwise prove prohibitively expensive. Small businesses
have the opportunity to use such tools for short periods of time as and when they need
them, rather than having to buy the software as a permanent investment.
One of the major barriers for small businesses which want to make a start in ecommerce is ensuring that they have sufficient resources to cope with sudden large
increases in customers. This means not only having adequate storage for all your
customers’ details, but ensuring that you have the technology in place to handle stock
levels, efficient delivery and large volumes of traffic. It’s very rare for an e-commerce
business to handle all of these elements by itself, making this one of the best-established

areas of ASP use. Being able to respond rapidly to changes in the size of your customer
base and the type of product that they want to order from your business, demands more
flexibility than traditional software can provide.

1. Using information from the text, mark the following as True or False:
a. Software from an ASP must be installed locally on a user’s computer.
b. You need a high bandwidth connection to use an ASP service.
c. ASPs usually use their own storage space for customers.
d. Using an ASP gives you more flexibility.
e. An e-commerce business usually provides all of the required technology itself.

2. Find the answers to these questions in the following text.
1. How do you pay for the applications provided by an ASP?
a. no charge
b. charged according to use
c. single payment
2. What two main services does an ASP provide?
3. How does an ASP ensure that they have enough storage space for the changing needs of
customers?
4. What types of applications are available from ASPs?
5. Why is it useful for a small business to be able to rent specialist tools from an ASP?
6. What is one of the best established areas of ASP use?

3. Match the items in Table A with the statements in Table B:
Table A
a. Website
b. ASP
c. Virus
d. Office suite
e. Bandwidth
f. Broadband
g. Data centre
h. SAP
Table B
i. Set of standard programs used in an office
ii. Facility for storing large amounts of information
iii. Capacity of a network connection
iv. High capacity Internet connection
v. Self-replicating program
vi. Common enterprise resource planning tool
vii. Application service provider

viii. Collection of related WebPages

4. Read the next page text (Understanding MP3) to find the answers to these
questions.
1. What does MP3 stand for?
2. What is the difference between MP3 and WAV files?
3. What kind of sound does MP3 strip out?
4. What kind of information is included in the tag?

Understanding MP3
The name comes from MPEG (pronounced EM-peg), which stands for the Motion Picture
Experts Group. MPEG develops standards for audio and video compression. MP3 is actually
MPEG Audio Layer 3.
MP3 competes with another audio file format called WAV. The key difference is that
MP3 files are much smaller than WAV files. An MP3 file can store a minute of sound per
megabyte, while a WAV file needs 11 or 12 megabytes to hold the same amount. How does
MP3 achieve this compression? CDs and audio files don’t reproduce every sound of a
performance. Instead, they sample the performance and store a discrete code for each sampled
note. A CD or WAV file may sample a song 44,000 times a second, creating a huge mass of
information.
By stripping out sounds most people can’t hear, MP3 significantly reduces the
information stored. For instance, most people can’t hear notes above a frequency of 16kHz, so
it eliminates them from the mix. Similarly, it eliminates quiet sounds masked by noise at the
same frequency. The result is a file that sounds very similar to a CD, but which is much
smaller. An MP3 file can contain spoken word performances, such as radio shows or audio
books, as well as music. It can provide information about itself in a coded block called a tag.
The tag may include the performer’s name, a graphic such as an album cover, the song’s
lyrics, the musical genre and a URL for more details.

5. Read the rest of next page text (Play MP3 Files) to find the answers to these
questions:
1. How do you play MP3 files?
2. What does the Windows Media Player file do with an MP3 file?
3. What is a standalone player?
4. What special features can players offer?
5. What information can you obtain by clicking on the track info button?
6. What does a skin enable you to do?
7. How do you play music from a CD-ROM on an MP3 player?
8. What hardware and software do you need to make your own audio CDs?

Play MP3 Files
Most machines today have enough processing power and memory to play MP3s immediately
Simply download an MP3 file like any other and click on it in Windows Explorer. The
Windows Media Player will decode the file and route the signals to your soundcard and then
to your speakers.
Other MP3 features include:

1. Players.
Most standalone players have many features beyond Windows’ default Media Player. To
control what music you play, players let you group songs into play lists and randomize the
selections. To control how the music sounds, they offer spectrum analyzers, graphic
equalizers and frequency displays.
2. Track info.
A track info button gives you the information on the MP3 file’s tag. Other buttons may take
you to a music library where you can organize your MP3 files by performer or genre.
3. Skins or themes.
These programs are designed to change the appearance of the most popular players. They’re
akin to the wallpaper that alters the look of the Windows desktop. With a skin, a player can
become a jukebox, a car dashboard, or a Star Trek tricorder. Think of them as easily
interchangeable faceplates.
4. Rippers and encoders.
A ripper is a program that rips songs from a CD in your CD-ROM drive and turns them into
WAV files. An encoder converts WAV files into MP3 files or vice versa. Many MP3 players
incorporate rippers and encoders and can do both steps in one.
5. Recorders.
With a writeable CD-ROM drive, a recorder program lets you create your own audio CDs.

Structure
A. Study this sentence.
1. Using MIDI, computers can communicate with synthesizers.
It contains two clauses. An-ing clause:
using MIDI
and a main clause:
computers can communicate with synthesizers
We can use an -ing clause, as in example 1, to explain how something happens. The-ing
clause explanation can be placed before or after the main clause as in example 2.
2. DVD drives read DVD disks (by) using blue laser light
We can also use -ing clauses to link a cause and effect.
3. A WAV file may sample a song 44,000 times a second, [cause] creating a huge mass
of information. [effect]

Exercise
1. Match each cause and effect. Then link them with an -ing clause.
Cause
1. Computers with MIDI interface boards can be connected to MIDI instruments.
2. Each side of a DVD can have two layers.
3. MP3 removes sounds we can’t hear.
4. You can download single tracks.
5. Each MP3 file has a tag.
6. MP3 players contain several devices.
7. You can download a skin program.
8. You can legally download some music.
Effect
a. This permits extra information to be stored on the performer and other track details.
b. You can create your own compilation.
c. This allows you to sample a new group before buying their CD.
d. This gives an enormous storage capacity.
e. This allows the music being played to be stored by the computer and displayed on the
monitor.
f. This enables you to change the appearance of your player.
g. These allow you to control the way the music sounds.
h. This produces much smaller files.
B. Relative clauses with a participle
Relative clauses with a participle are often used in technical descriptions. They allow you to
provide a lot of information about a noun using as few words as possible.
Study these examples from the Task 3 text.
1. The technology needed to set up a home network
2. PCs equipped with Ethernet adapters
3. Network modem allowing clients to access the Internet simultaneously
4. Data line linking client to server
We can use the passive participle as in examples 1 and 2.
1. The technology needed to set up a home network.
= technology which is needed
2. PCs equipped with Ethernet adapters
= PCs which are equipped
We can use an active participle as in examples 3 and 4.
3. Network modem allowing clients to access the Internet simultaneously

= modem which allows clients to access the Internet simultaneously
4.

Data line linking client to server

= data line which links client to server

Exercises
1. Complete these definitions with the correct participle of the verb given in
brackets.
1. A gateway is an interface …………………(enable) dissimilar networks to
communicate.
2. A bridge is a hardware and software combination……………… (use) to connect the
same type of networks.
3. A backbone is a network transmission path………………. (handle) major data traffic.
4. A router is a special computer ………………….(direct) messages when several
networks are linked.
5. A network is a number of computers and peripherals……………. (link) together.
6. A LAN is a network………………… (connect) computers over a small distance such as
within a company.
7. A

server

is

a

powerful

computer

………………(store)

many

programs

……………..(share) by all the clients in the network.
8. A client is a network computer ………….....(use) for accessing a service on a server.
9. A thin client is a simple computer………………………… (comprise) a processor and
memory, display, keyboard, mouse and hard drives only.
10. A hub is an electronic device ………………….(connect) all the data cabling in a
network.

2. Link these statements using a relative clause with a participle.
1. a. The technology is here today.
b. It is needed to set up a home network.
2. a. You only need one network printer.
b. It is connected to the server.
3. a. Her house has a network.
b. It allows basic file-sharing and multi-player gaming.
4. a. There is a line receiver in the living room.
b . It delivers home entertainment audio to speakers.
5. a. Eve has designed a site.
b. It is dedicated to dance.
6. a. She has built in links.
b. They connect her site to other dance sites.
7. a. She created the site using a program called Netscape Composer.
b. It is contained in Netscape Communicator.
8. a. At the centre of France Telecom’s home of tomorrow is a network.

b. It is accessed through a Palm Pilot-style control pad.
9. a. The network can simulate the owner’s presence.
b. This makes sure vital tasks are carried out in her absence.
10. a. The house has an electronic door-keeper.
b. It is programmed to recognize you.
c. This gives access to family only.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
dramatic

adj. something that captures the imagination; exciting

v. dramatize

syn. emotional

n. drama
The dramatic finish to the game left us speechless.
The hurricane dramatically changed the coastline.
elaborate

adj. something with a large number of parts; fill of

v. elaborate

details

n. elaboration

syn. complex

An elaborate headdress indicated rank within the Aztec community.
His elaboration of the issue was quite thorough.
hazardous

adj. very risky, unsafe

n. hazard

syn. dangerous

Handling flammable liquids is hazardous.
There are many hazards involved with starting a business.
adj. of little consequence; very small
minuscule
adj. minute
syn. tiny
n. minutia
The sale of the building had a minuscule effect on the profits of the
corporation.
Some leaves are covered with minute hairs.

v. to make ready; first in importance, time, or quality
prime
adj. primed
syn. prepare
adj. prime
n. prime
The directors primed the actors before the performance.
Mozart passed away in the prime of his life.
adj. simple; not complex
rudimentary
n. rudiments
syn. basic
He has a rudimentary knowledge of computers.
The rudiments of grammar are taught in all English classes.
adj. powerful, full of action
vigorous
n. vigor
syn. strong
His vigorous defense of the issues impressed everyone.
He approached his work with vigor.
n. something that makes life easier or more enjoyable
syn. convenience
She had all the amenities of life when she went camping.
One expects many amenities at a five-star hotel.
amenity

application services – a classification for the business rule components of a serviceoriented
architecture
application software – a classification for software that performs a complete
business function,
for example, a word processor or a payroll system
application system – a set of application programs that completes an entire business
process,
for example, an accounts payable system
application-based – an adjective describing solutions that are addressed within an
application
Archie – Archie is a program that allows you to search the files of all Internet FTP
servers that
offer anonymous FTP access for a particular search string. Archie is actually an
indexing spider
that visits each anonymous FTP site, reads the entire directory and file names, and
then indexes

them in one large index. A user can then query Archie, which checks the query
against its index.
architecture – In information technology, architecture is a term applied to the process
and the outcome of planning and specifying the overall structure, logical components,
and logical interrelationships of a computer, its operating system, a network, or other
conception. An architecture can be a reference model, such as the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) reference model, intended as a model for specific product
architectures, or it can be a specific product architecture, such as that for an Intel
Pentium microprocessor or for IBM's OS/390 operating system.
Computer architecture can be divided into five fundamental components:
input/output, storage, communication, control, and processing. In practice, each of
these components (also called subsystems) is sometimes said to have an architecture.
archive – to move seldom-used files from your hard drive to tape cartridges or floppy
disks. Archiving old files frees up space on your hard drive. If you ever need a file
you stored, you can retrieve it from the tape cartridge or floppy disk.
ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) – a protocol within TCP/IP that is used for
routing data packets in a distributed network
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) – used for exchanging routing information
between gateway hosts (each with its own router) in a network of autonomous
systems. It is often the protocol used between gateway hosts on the Internet.
BI (business intelligence) – a broad category of application programs and
technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data to help
enterprise users make better business decisions. BI applications include the activities
of decision support, query and reporting, online analytical processing (OLAP),
statistical analysis, forecasting, and data mining. Business Intelligence applications
can be mission-critical and integral to an enterprise's operations or occasional to meet
a special requirement; enterprise-wide or local to one division, department, or project;
or centrally initiated or driven by user demand.
Binary Executable Format – a computer readable format of an executable program.
An executable program is compiled into machine-readable code.

BISDN (Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network) – a network
technology that
integrates interactive voice, data, and video by using cable TV's broadband channels
and uses asynchronous transfer mode
booting – the process of loading a computer memory with instructions needed for the
computer to operate. Remote booting refers to loading software over the network.
BPR (business process re-engineering) – an organizational process that helps to
identify fundamental business objectives, formulate a detailed strategy to achieve
those objectives, determine measures for success, redesign business processes, and
implement new policies and procedures
bps (bits per second) In data communications, bps is a common measure of data
speed for computer modems and transmission carriers. As the term implies, the speed
in bps is equal to the number of bits transmitted or received each second.
bridge – a network device that connects two separate networks. When a bridge is
implemented,

the interconnected networks resemble a single network.
cooperative processing – a distributed computing method that requires two or more
distinct processes to complete a single business transaction. Typically, cooperative
processing programs interact and execute concurrently on different processors.
CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) – an architecture and
specification for creating, distributing, and managing distributed program objects in a
network. It allows programs at different locations and developed by different vendors
to communicate in a network through an "interface broker." CORBA was developed
by a consortium of vendors through the Object Management Group (OMG), which
currently includes over 500 member companies. Both ISO and X/Open have
sanctioned CORBA as the standard architecture for distributed objects (which are also
known as components).
core services – a classification for the basic application infrastructure components of
a service– oriented architecture, such as security, naming, and directory services
COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software – describes ready-made products that
can easily be obtained. The term is sometimes used in military procurement
specifications.
CPI (continuous process improvement) – a methodology that incorporates
management of business practices, workflow, skills, project/time and resources,
metrics, software configuration, and reporting
CRM (customer relationship management) – CRM is an information industry term
for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise
manage customer relationships in an organized way. For example, an enterprise might
build a database pertaining to its customers that described relationships in sufficient
detail so that management, salespeople, people providing services, and perhaps the
customer could access information. This information could match customer needs
with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, and
know what other products a customer had purchased.
cross-platform – a program available for more than one type of computer. For
example, Microsoft produces the Word program for the PC platform and for the
Macintosh platform. Using a cross-platform program makes it easier to exchange a
document from one platform (computer) to another.
CS (Computing Services) – a section within ITS that maintains state-of-the-art
equipment and operates the Customer Support Center for ITS and provides mainframe
computer services, remote LAN management (MAPS Servers), ITS LAN
management, and LAN technology assessment
e-government (electronic government) – government services available online to
citizens, employees, and businesses
elementizing – a data cleansing process that breaks a data record into elements (e.g.,
the address 123 Main Street may be broken down into Street Number: 123, Street
Name: Main, Street Type: Street).
e-mail – electronic mail messages in the form of text, documents, images, and other
electronic files
e-mail application programming interface – an interface that enables programs to
access various components of the e-mail system

e-mail front end – the interface for composing and reading e-mail messages; it can
appear in three different formats: e-mail viewer front-end, e-mail enabled front-end,
and non-user interface
e-mail gateways – a software service that is responsible for transferring messages
between incompatible e-mail systems
e-mail server – a server that provides a set of services to one or multiple clients in an
e-mail environment. The services may include: distribute files, temporarily hold new
messages, or store messages that have already been read. It may be located on the
desktop PC or on a combination of servers accessed on a LAN.
e-mail system – software that manages the transmission of e-mail and manages
mailboxes
encapsulation – a technology where data and logic are protected from uncontrolled
external access. Data is considered encapsulated if it can only be accessed via the
software programs that manage it.
encryption – the conversion of data into a form, called a cipher, that cannot be easily
understood by unauthorized people
end user – the final link in the customer service request or computer program usage
chain
enterprise – any agency, department, division, or service provider that is a part of the
North Carolina state government system. In the computer industry, an enterprise is an
organization that uses computers. A word was needed that would encompass
corporations, small businesses, nonprofit institutions, government bodies, and
possibly other kinds of organizations. The term enterprise seemed to do the job. In
practice, the term is applied much more often to larger organizations than smaller
ones.
enterprise application service provider – a third-party entity that manages and
distributes high-end business applications to customers across a wide area network
(WAN) from a central data center.
enterprise management – as defined in North Carolina SB 222, “IT enterprise
management” refers to distributed IT assets. IT enterprise management is an approach
that uses policies, procedures, and technical infrastructure to manage the state’s
tremendous investment in distributed IT assets, such as workstations, servers, routers,
etc., to minimize total life-cycle costs while maximizing benefits for transacting the
state’s business and delivering services to its citizens.
enterprise portal – Portal is a new term, generally synonymous with gateway, for a
World Wide Web site that is or proposes to be a major starting site for users when
they get connected to the Web or that users tend to visit as an anchor site. Typical
services offered by portal sites include a directory of Web sites, a facility to search for
other sites, news, weather information, e-mail, stock quotes, phone and map
information, and sometimes a community forum. The primary goal of an enterprise
portal is to decrease the effort required to move pertinent, contextually relevant
information to those that require it.
IDL (Interface Definition Language) – a method for component developers to
describe a component's API enabling applications to pass parameters and receive
results during component execution
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) – a large, open, international community
of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the

evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. IETF is
generally recognized as the standards organization for the Internet.
IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol) – a protocol developed by the Object
Management Group (OMG) implementing CORBA solutions over the World Wide
Web. IIOP enables browsers and servers to exchange integers, arrays, and other
complex objects.
imaging – the processes and technologies associated with incorporating photographic
renderings into systems
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) – a standard protocol for accessing email from your local server. IMAP (the latest version is IMAP4) is a client/server
protocol in which e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server. You (or
your e-mail client) can view just the heading and the sender of the letter and then
decide whether to download the mail. You can also create and manipulate folders or
mailboxes on the server, delete messages, or search for certain parts or an entire note.
IMAP requires continual access to the server during the time that you are working
with your mail.
index – a method used to catalog particular fields within a database to improve the
performance of queries against the data. Database indexes are comparable to how a
dictionary has tabs for the letters of the alphabet so that it is easier to look up a word,
or a reference book has an index to quickly find information needed.
industry standard – a defined standard for a particular industry (i.e., a particular
solution or product base)
information – a compilation of operational data from across the organization.
Information is used for reporting and analysis to support the decision-making process.
information design – the detailed planning of specific information that is to be
provided to a particular audience to meet specific objectives. The output of an
information design is sometimes expressed in written instructions, plans, sketches,
drawings, or formal specifications. However, on very small projects, information
design is likely to be much less formal.
information model – used by application or data architects to build a data warehouse.
Before a data warehouse can become a reality, a model must be built to assist in the
design. The information model is stored in a repository.
MIPS (millions of instructions per second) – The number of MIPS is a general
measure of computing performance and, by implication, the amount of work a larger
computer can do. For large servers or mainframes, it is also a way to measure the cost
of computing: the more MIPS delivered for the money, the better the value.
mirror site – a Web site or set of files on a computer server that has been copied to
another computer server to reduce network traffic, ensure better availability of the
Web site or files, or make the site or downloaded files arrive more quickly for users
close to the mirror site. A mirror site is an exact replica of the original site and is
usually updated frequently to ensure that it reflects the content of the original site.
Mirror sites are used to make access faster when the original site may be
geographically distant.
MOM (message oriented middleware) – application communication middleware
that sends messages between software components. Some MOM permits timeindependent communication between applications. Communication, in the form of

messages sent and received by applications, occurs between applications in an
asynchronous mode. Applications using MOM can be deployed on multiple platforms
using multiple programming languages.
monolithic application – an application in which the user interface, business rules,
and data access code are combined into a single executable program and deployed on
one platform. A monolithic application operates independently from other
applications, performing every step of the process needed to complete the entire
business function. It does not share any logic or data across system or organizational
boundaries. Databases are designed for access by single application systems within a
single agency, not for access by multiple application systems in multiple agencies
simultaneously.
Moore’s Law – The pace of microchip technology change is such that the amount of
data storage that a microchip can hold doubles every year or at least every 18 months.
In 1965 when preparing a talk, Gordon Moore noticed that up to that time microchip
capacity seemed to double each year. The pace of change having slowed down a bit
over the past few years, the definition has changed (with Gordon Moore's approval) to
reflect that the doubling occurs only every 18 months. In September 1997,
announcements by Intel of 2-bit flash memory and by IBM of chip circuitry of copper
rather than aluminum suggested a return of the original version of Moore's Law.
mouseover – a technique using JavaScript that lets you change a Web page element
(usually a graphic image) when the user rolls the mouse over something on the page
(like a line of text or a graphic image)
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) – a file format for multimedia files (audio
and video) used on the World Wide Web
POP (point-of-presence) – the location of an access point to the Internet. A POP
necessarily has a unique Internet (IP) address. Your independent service provider
(ISP) or online service provider (OSP) has a point-of-presence on the Internet. POPs
are sometimes used as one measure of the size and growth of an ISP or OSP. A POP
may actually reside in rented space owned by a telecommunications carrier such as
Sprint. A POP usually includes routers, digital/analog call aggregators, servers, and
frequently frame relay or ATM switches.
POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) – the most recent version of a standard protocol for
receiving email. POP3 is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is received and held
for you by your Internet server. Periodically, you (or your client e-mail receiver)
check your mailbox on the server and download any mail.
portability – the capability to move software across different platforms
portal – a “doorway” to the Internet. Internet portals provide a window into the
information of the Internet, while enterprise portals provide a similar window into the
information, systems, and processes of an enterprise. Enterprise portals typically refer
to services aimed at employee productivity. The Internet portal— part guide, part
home base— is now seamlessly integrated into everyday Web use, making the
"doorway" concept of a portal extinct. Portals no longer only direct Web traffic but
now provide value-added services from content to communication to commerce as
a one-stop destination.
PostScript – Adobe’s device-independent page description/printer language. It
describes type, graphics, and halftones as well as their placement on the page.

POTS (plain old telephone service) – POTS is a term sometimes used in discussion
of new telephone technologies in which the question of whether and how existing
voice transmission for ordinary phone communication can be accommodated. For
example, ADSL and ISDN provide some part of their channels for "plain old
telephone service" while providing most of their bandwidth for digital data
transmission.
print server – hardware and software that manages shared printers on a network
private key – In cryptography, a private or secret key is an encryption/decryption key
known only to the party or parties that exchange secret messages. In traditional secret
key cryptography, communicators share a key so that each could encrypt and decrypt
messages. The risk in this system is that if either party loses the key or it is stolen, the
system is broken. A more recent alternative is to use a combination of public and
private keys. In this system, a public key is used together with a private key.

UNIT 8

Countywide Information Technology Strategic Plan
PLANNING PROCESS
Whatcom County government increasingly relies on information technology to
deliver service to citizens. In partnership with County departments, the Division of
Information Technology (DoIT) is tasked with the overall management and
advancement of this critical system. Faced with escalating demands on the current
staff and infrastructure, and growing technology needs, the County Administration
called for a new approach to strategic planning in the spring of 2004.
All County Department Heads, Elected Officials and key staff were invited to a series
of workshops to provide their input about technology needs and directions. A
summary of the feedback provided in these workshops can be found in Appendix A
and was incorporated into this plan.

A sub-committee of technologists and organizational leaders was formed to craft a
plan to address the technology needs of the organization. The plan was critically
reviewed by technologists both within and outside of the Division of Information
Technology. The revised plan was then endorsed by the County’s Computer
Technology Advisory Committee (CTAC) and adopted by the Administration in
Executive Order 2005-03. Following adoption, specific work plans will be developed
by technologists to implement the strategic plan.

PURPOSE
Over the last thirty years, information technology use at Whatcom County has
evolved from manual typewriters to fully automated mobile data collection devices.
As we enter the 21st century, the pace of technology growth has become ever more
rapid. It is important for the County to shift to a more proactive approach to its use of
information technology. Whatcom County is committed to being a government leader
in the positive use of information technology to deliver effective services to its staff,
partners and citizens. Especially in these times of constrained resources, the most
important thing we can do is to invest in the tools and processes of automation to
support limited staff across the organization in serving our community.
The purpose of this Countywide Information Technology Strategic Plan is to provide

Guidance for ALL departments and decision makers in making significant
improvements a reality over the next four years.
This Countywide Information Technology Strategic Plan is presented in outline form.
The outline hierarchy is from goal to objective to strategy to activity as follows:

Goals are broad statements to guide information technology over the next four years.
Objectives are general statements of what Whatcom County hopes to achieve.
Strategies are the approaches to be used to meet the objectives. Activities are
suggested tasks with measurable actions to achieve desired outcomes.
The goals, objectives, strategies and activities of the plan were developed with the
following beliefs:
• Technology planning and delivery is best when based on a comprehensive
organization model;
• It is essential to have a strong partnership and positive communications
between departments and the central Division of Information Technology;
• Migrating data and applications from desktop to enterprise (countywide)
systems will be implemented with the aim of increasing ease of work without
impeding local user flexibility;
• Clarity and visibility of technology responsibilities and processes is vital;
• Technology investment funding needs to be built into long-range capital
planning; and
• Governance and security audit findings of 2003 will be addressed.

PLAN OVERVIEW
This Countywide Technology Strategic Plan presents six general goals along with the
objectives, strategies and activities to achieve each goal.

x. Technology Goals

These goals are essential in providing technology services to staff, partners and
citizens. The following diagram depicts how these goals collectively provide
customers with access to electronic information.

PLAN ACCOUNTABILITY AND REVIEW
Accountability and review cycles will be critical to the success of the strategic plan.
Goal 6 (Actively Lead Information Technology) emphasizes the importance of
accountability and review. A few of these activities are listed below:
•

Improve the communications of progress updates;

•
•
•
•
•

Apply and refine the use of performance measures;
Communicate the results of measured performance;
Report progress to multiple audiences (Council, users, technologists);
Monitor and report on the implementation of the strategic plan; and
Review, refine and update the strategic plan at least annually.

GOAL 1:

PROVIDE TIMELY ACCESS TO INFORMATION
xi. Objective 1.1:
xii. Enhance “virtual” front counter on the Web
A.
Use Web as primary vehicle for access to County documents
• Develop public records electronic access and management policies
• Establish cost-recovery policy for hardcopy distribution of documents
(e.g. Bound reports and compact discs)
Integrate Web with document management system (Laserfiche) and other County
business systems
• Deploy a Web-GIS portal for universal access to County information
(e.g. Zoom to parcel on map and retrieve property information)

•

•
•
•
•

•

Establish the Web as a universal tool for distributing countywide information to
employees
Publish countywide services Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Implement robust County Web site search services
Explore implementing a download site for community requests for
public datasets
(e.g. Web or FTP)
Provide login access to appropriate Web services

B.
Expand Web experience to include business processes
• Automate application process for County services
(e.g. Jobs, permits, reservations, and other applications)
• Implement e-commerce technologies to accept on-line payment
• Develop form routing capabilities to automate the approval process
• Provide citizens and partners with transparent access to transactions
(e.g. Permit or contract status)
• Explore electronic tools for facilitating community dialog
(e.g. Forum, listserv, wiki)
C.
Promote updates to Web content
• Encourage departments to actively maintain Web site using content management
software
• Provide countywide event management system
• Keep dynamic Web content current

xiii. Objective 1.2:
xiv.Increase the digital capture of information at its point of
origin
A.
Deploy mobile and front counter digital collection and access devices
• Equip field teams with mobile devices
(e.g. Personal Digital Assistants, Tablet PCs, etc.)
• Provide staff collecting location-based data with Global Positioning
System (GPS) enabled devices
•

Deploy a common “Desktop Kiosk” for self-service access to and update of
countywide information

B.
Deploy electronic forms using Web, desktop and mobile technologies
• Perform a countywide inventory of paper forms
• Replace 50% of paper forms with electronic forms or other equivalents
• Provide ability to “save” forms to disk (PDF, etc.)
C.
Establish digital submission policies
• Introduce County policies to require digital submissions when
supported by a business case
(e.g. Subdivisions, job applications, etc.)
xv. Objective 1.3:
Develop processes to maintain the integrity of digital information
A.
Validate information at point of origin
• Maximize the use of data entry fields with “pick lists” or “drop-down” choices
• Minimize the use of “free form” data entry fields
• Employ data entry error checking and correction techniques
B.
Establish countywide standards for common data formats
• All departments use common format for site addresses
• All departments use common format for parcel number
• Identify other opportunities for data standardization
C.
Develop master datasets for use across all departments
• Maintain and publish common datasets
(e.g. All valid site addresses in County)
•

Assign data steward responsibility for common datasets and communicate
countywide
xvi.Objective 1.4:
xvii.
Expand “virtual” office to remote staff and partners

A. Provide remote access to County business systems
Continue to support and enhance remote computing capabilities
beyond current e-mail access
(e.g. Intranet access, file servers, etc.)
• Deploy secure access to authorized remote staff to County business

•

systems
(e.g. MyWhatcom)
• Increase electronic transactions with partners
(e.g. City of Bellingham access to County property information system)
GOAL 2:

SEEK OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE WORK PROCESSES
xviii.
Objective 2.1:
xix.Increase application development capacity
A.
Increase enterprise application development capacity
• Provide training in enterprise application development
(e.g. Visual Basic, Java, RPG for “front-end” development)
Increase use of business analyst consulting (internal and external)
Augment central Division of Information Technology application development
staff and separate from desktop support operations to focus efforts on
programming
• Reduce reliance on legacy code and increase reliance on
contemporary code
(e.g. Migrate from SYS36 to a modern computer language)
• Apply standard techniques for documenting programming and technical processes
•
•

B.
Increase desktop application customization capacity
• Provide training in department desktop applications customization
(e.g. Customize MS Office applications)
xx. Objective 2.2:
xxi.Work with departments to identify key information
workflows
A.
Develop a standardized approach to documenting workflow
• Identify and adopt techniques for documenting workflows
• Promote countywide use of workflow documentation through education and
training
B.
•
•
•
•

Set up small process improvement workgroups for workflows
Create small process improvement workgroups for key workflows
Identify and document key information workflows
Identify and address security and privacy issues
Analyze information workflows for improvement and automation
xxii.
Objective 2.3:
xxiii.
Automate key workflows

A.
Evaluate and prioritize automation
• Build “business cases” for the introduction of new information technologies to
automate key information workflows
• Select priority workflows for automation

B.
Implement selected desktop solutions
• Customize standard desktop business applications (MS Office) to improve staff
and department information workflows
C.
Implement selected enterprise solutions
• Develop enterprise applications to improve countywide information workflows
D.
Educate users and monitor workflow solutions
• Train users on new work processes
• Periodic review and revision of workflows
GOAL 3:

APPROACH TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DATA INTEGRATION
xxiv.
Objective 3.1:
Support and coordinate countywide data management activities
A.
•
•
•
•

Establish an interdepartmental data management team
Coordinate technical data management activities across departments
Inventory key department and countywide datasets and ownership
Apply countywide standards for data collection, quality, storage and retrieval
Provide a forum or other mechanisms for peer support

B.
Support geographic information systems (GIS)
• Support GIS Policy Committee, departmental and central GIS staff implement a
countywide GIS
• Organize digitally submitted data for efficient search and retrieval by
location
(e.g. Geo-hazard studies, wetland reports)
C.
Lead multi-jurisdictional data integration efforts for region
• Assume leadership role for multi-jurisdictional databases and applications
• Position the County to serve as the digital hub for priority regional data
integration
• Lead development of a secure regional network for seamless data exchange and
system integration with local government partners
xxv.
Objective 3.2:
xxvi.
Encourage desktop to enterprise database
migration
A.
Provide enterprise database infrastructure to consolidate databases
• Provide central database server capacity for tabular and GIS datasets
• Provide consolidation and reporting of countywide datasets using
technologies
(e.g. Data warehousing and Web services)

B.
Partner with departments to populate centralized databases
• Work with department data administrators to inventory business critical desktop
databases
• Upsize business critical desktop databases to central enterprise databases (e.g. MS
Access to MS SQL Server)
• Provide department data custodians with administrative rights to their data on
central database servers
xxvii.
Objective 3.3:
xxviii.
Create data integration opportunities
A.
Design an integration-friendly architecture
• Build an enterprise system architecture to facilitate cross-department and external
data integration
• Identify data standards for types and key fields
• Develop database key structures to enable cross departmental and database
reporting
• Establish location (parcel, address, latitude/longitude) as a common database key
to join information from disparate databases
B.
Implement Web services
• Construct Web service interfaces for all business critical systems
(e.g. iSeries - Parcel Database Information System)
•

Develop a common language that applications can use to
communicate with Web service interfaces
(e.g. Persistent Uniform Resource Locator)

C.
Approach technology projects with an emphasis on data integration
• Encourage and support cross-department and external technology collaboration
• Require new technology solutions to have interfaces to existing and planned
business systems (e.g. Maintenance management to/from financial system
interface)
GOAL 4:

DEPLOY SECURE AND RELIABLE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
xxix.
Objective 4.1:
Establish and monitor system availability and performance targets
A.
Develop Service Level Agreements (SLA)
• Identify departments’ critical business information systems
• Establish measurable performance standards (metrics)
• Enter into Service Level Agreements with responsible parties (partners and
service providers)
B.
Implement monitoring and reporting
• Monitor business critical information systems
• Provide monthly reporting of actual usage and performance

C.
Maintain business continuity
• Develop disaster recovery procedures and safeguards
• Implement periodic testing of disaster recovery procedures and safeguards
• Provide semi-annual reporting of disaster recovery simulations
xxx.
Objective 4.2:
xxxi.
Maintain secure information systems
A.
Implement access policies
• Develop countywide security levels for systems and data
• Seek appropriate counsel
(e.g. legal, audit, current policies)
•
•

Publish data access policies
Implement standardized security levels on business critical systems

B.
Actively monitor and respond to security breaches
• Enhance intrusion detection
• Perform periodic security audits with published results and mitigation plans
• Develop, publish and follow security incident response procedures
C.
Improve perimeter security
• Optimize the County’s perimeter security architecture
(e.g. Connection to Internet and state agencies)
•
•

Shorten evaluation and replacement cycles for security tools
Perform periodic tests of perimeter security

D.
Security education and compliance
• Promote security awareness across all staff
• Conduct regular security training for management and staff
xxxii.
Objective 4.3:
xxxiii.
Maintain reliable information systems
A.
Adhere to “best practices”
• Apply industry-standard technology “best practices”
B.
Isolate and protect production systems
• Adopt formal change management procedures
(e.g. maintenance windows, departmental notification, documentation
of technical changes)
•
•

Maintain logs of changes on all critical business systems
Perform development and staging activities on non-production systems

C.
Implement fault tolerant systems
• Deploy redundant hardware solutions for critical business systems
(e.g. Redundant Array of Independent Drives)
D.

Enhance storage, backup and restoration systems

• Identify countywide and department specific needs
(e.g. Data, schedule, technique, archive, retention, etc.)
• Develop and implement department and countywide backup procedures
• Conduct periodic restoration tests and document results
• Explore new data storage technologies
(e.g. Storage Area Networks and Network Attached Storage)
GOAL 5:

DELIVER SERVICES IN A RESPONSIVE AND
COST-EFFECTIVE FASHION
xxxiv.
xxxv.
system

Objective 5.1:
Implement Information Technology help desk ticket

A.
Select and deploy Help Desk ticket system
• Evaluate the new Computerized Maintenance Management System
(CMMS) along with specialized Help Desk ticket systems for use in the
Division of Information Technology
•

Select and deploy Help Desk ticket system

B.
Improve customer communication
• Provide customers with transparent access to all work tickets to provide selfservice updates on work progress and priorities
C.
Improve services and balance priorities
• Perform regular analysis of service request patterns to improve service delivery
• Publish detailed monthly reports on accomplishments and workload to help align
resources with priorities
xxxvi.
Objective 5.2:
xxxvii.
Improve technology procurement and installation
process
A.
Analyze technology procurement process
• Create a procurement improvement task force
• Document the technology procurement and installation processes
• Explore opportunities for using enterprise systems such as document management
(Laserfiche), e-mail/groupware (GroupWise) or a new help desk ticket system to
automate procurement
B.
Streamline technology procurement
• Prepare and implement an action plan to streamline technology procurement and
installation
• Stage procurement evenly throughout the year
• Establish average time for technology procurement and installation

(e.g. Three weeks for personal computer)
•

Publish current pre-approved lists of standard hardware, software and
“fringe” technology
(e.g. Facsimile machines and copiers)

C.
Improve customer communication
• Publish procurement and installation process
• Provide customers with transparent access to the status of
procurement orders
xxxviii.
xxxix.

Objective 5.3:
Foster technology proficiency in all staff

A.
Support countywide technology staff
• Foster trust and cooperation among all countywide technology staff
• Clearly define department Information Technology Contact roles and
responsibilities in the overall information systems support structure
• Increase department Information Technology Contacts’ ability to handle first-level
technology support
B.
Work to improve countywide technology skills
• Survey departments to identify priority technology education needs
• Provide countywide training tailored to end users
• Deploy and actively maintain a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) technology
support knowledge base on the Intranet which will become the user’s first point of
problem resolution
xl. Objective 5.4:
xli. Place a premium on customer satisfaction
A.
Continue to achieve and improve customer satisfaction
• Develop strategies for maintaining customer satisfaction in a resourceconstrained
environment
• Actively communicate project activities, successes and issues to customers and
management
• Seek frank feedback from customers about services
• Manage customer expectations through improved communications using project
management tools such as timelines and status reports
B.
Clarify technology service roles and responsibilities
• Formalize service area roles and assign direct and backup
responsibilities
•

Publish general service area responsibilities to clarify customer support channels
(e.g. Who do I call?)

C.
Expand technology consulting services
• Identify unmet technology consulting needs

•

•

Build internal and external technology consulting capacity to meet the growing
department needs to improve business processes with technology (e.g.
Technology project management, application development, etc.)
Consider separating consulting from operations to promote both service areas as a
priority
xlii. Objective 5.5:
xliii.
Reduce desktop support costs

A.
Improve the use of desktop standards to lower costs
• Establish a collaborative process involving countywide technologists to
recommend standards
• Regularly review and advance standards
• Support standards through education
B.
Explore managed personal computer concepts
• Develop department or role level standard computer images
• Experiment with thin client software and hardware technologies
C.
Research alternative acquisition strategies
• Explore the leasing of desktops
GOAL 6:

ACTIVELY LEAD INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
xliv.
Objective 6.1:
xlv.Identify plan priorities
implementation

and

refocus

staffing

A.
Prioritize plan elements
• Engage stakeholders in prioritization process
• Seek peer review from external experts
• Publish and communicate plan priorities
B.
Refocus staffing toward priority plan initiatives
• Revise Division of Information Technology work plans and staff assignments
• Revise departmental staff work plans and staff assignments
• Determine and address staffing gaps
(e.g. DoIT., departments, contractors)
•
•
•
•

A.

Consider methods to foster partnership between DoIT and departments
Provide targeted technology training
Establish and document technology training plans
Fund required training
xlvi.
Objective 6.2:
xlvii.
Evolve infrastructure for plan implementation
Follow plan priorities and proactively invest in infrastructure

for

• Incorporate plan into budgeting process
(e.g. Inventory of Services, Additional Services Requests)
•
•
•
•

Create a “large systems” selection process
Develop a “business case” approach to evaluate costs and benefits of new
technology projects and significant technology purchases
Craft project submission and prioritization processes
Establish standards for applications, personal computer hardware and peripherals

B.
Develop a Technology Projects Plan (4-Year)
• Establish and document enterprise architectures
• Update and maintain services, hardware and application inventories
• Conduct annual review of accomplishments with departments and technology
oversight bodies
• Identify large technology projects
• Project capital needs
(e.g. New phone system)
•

Draft detailed Technology Projects Plan(s)

C.
Create a mechanism to fund the Technology Projects Plan
• Include large technology projects in countywide capital planning
• Expand TR&R funding concept to include server-side and networking
infrastructure
• Explore other funding mechanisms to keep our technology current
xlviii.
Objective 6.3:
xlix.
Apply “best practices” in managing technology
projects
A.
•
•
•
•

Identify project management “best practices”
Create a team of organizational project management leaders
Establish core project management expectations
Develop practical set of project management techniques by project scale
Obtain project management certification for at least one senior staff member (e.g.
Project Management Institute)

B.
Apply project management “best practices”
• Incorporate project management techniques into daily operations
• Deploy project management resources, aids, templates on the Intranet
• Use risk management techniques to plan for organizational concerns
(e.g. Security and legal)
•
•
•

Plan for ongoing support and maintenance (services tail)
Publish monthly project status reports on the Intranet
Setup review cycles at the conclusion of large projects

l. Objective 6.4:
li. Govern for effective information technology
A.
Clarify technology governance structure
• Review current leadership configuration
• Develop a comprehensive list of all technology committees and clarify their
respective roles and responsibilities
• Clarify advisory from decision-making authority
• Review other organizations for insights where governance and technology excel
• Revise governance to support implementation of the strategic plan
• Conduct ongoing review of the effectiveness of the governance structure
B.
Enhance methods for monitoring technology progress
• Improve the communications of progress updates
• Apply and refine the use of performance measures
• Communicate the results of measured performance
• Report progress to multiple audiences
(e.g. Council, users, technologists)
C.
Increase effectiveness of policy, standards and guidelines
• Update policies to reflect strategic plan
• Develop and refine policies as identified
(e.g. Technology security)
•

Communicate policies and provide ongoing training to users

D.
Conduct periodic Information Technology Strategic Plan review
• Monitor and report on the implementation of the strategic plan
• Review, refine and update the strategic plan at least annually

TERMS
Best Practice: A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the
improved
performance of an organization, usually recognized as "best" by other peer
organizations.
(Source: American Society for Quality Dictionary)
Business Case: A structured proposal for business improvement providing a decision
package for organizational decision makers. A business case includes an analysis of
business process performance and associated needs or problems, proposed alternative

solutions, assumptions, constraints, and risk-adjusted cost/benefit analysis. (Source:
U.S.
General Accounting Office Business Process Reengineering Assessment Guide)
Client-side: Occurring on a local client computer in a client-server system. For
example,
on the World Wide Web, some programming scripts are considered client-side
because they
are executed by your local computer’s Web browser. In contrast, other programming
scripts

are considered server-side because they run on the Web server. (Source: Modified
Webopedia)

Computer & Technology Advisory Committee (CTAC):

A committee

established by

Whatcom County Executive Order 97-07 “… to perform the duties of reviewing and
developing necessary strategies regarding the County's needs for computer and
technological systems, evaluating and planning for the technological needs of the
County,
and recommending, when necessary, capital improvements to the technological
system of
the County.” (Source: Whatcom County Executive Order 97-07)
Disaster Recovery: Methods for ensuring an organization recovers from natural and
human-caused disasters that affect its computer-based operations. (Source: McGrawHill
Online Learning Center)
E-Business (Electronic Business): Conducting business on-line via the Internet. It not
only includes buying and selling but also serving customers and collaborating with
partners.
(Source: Modified SearchCIO.com)
E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce):

Buying and selling products and

services online
via the Internet. (Source: Modified SearchCIO.com)

E-Government (Electronic Government):

Delivering government service

through

electronic means such as the Internet. The application of e-business technologies and
strategies to government organizations. (Source: Modified Unisys 2000 Annual
Report
Glossary)
Enterprise Architecture: The overall configuration of technology (software, networks,

hardware, data) to most effectively support organization-wide needs.
Geospatial Data: Information to identify the geographic location and characteristics of

natural or
constructed features and boundaries on the earth. This information may be derived
from, among other
things, remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies. (Source: United States
Geological Survey
Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Glossary)
Geographic Information System (GIS): An arrangement of computer hardware,

software, and
geographic data people interact with to integrate, analyze, and visualize the data;
identify relationships,

patterns, and trends; and find solutions to problems. The system is designed to
capture, store, update,
manipulate, analyze, and display the geographic information. A GIS is typically used
to represent maps
as data layers for study and analysis. (Source: Environmental Systems Research
Institute GIS
Dictionary)
Global Positioning System (GPS): A constellation of 24 radio-emitting satellites
deployed by the U.S. Department of Defense and used to determine location on the
earth's
surface. The orbiting satellites transmit signals that allow a GPS receiver anywhere on
earth

to calculate its own location through triangulation. The system is used in navigation,
mapping,
surveying, and other applications in which precise positioning is necessary. (Source:
Environmental Systems Research Institute GIS Dictionary)
Help Desk Ticket System: Software which assists in tracking and prioritizing computer
support requests.
Infrastructure: The computer and communication hardware, software, databases,
people,
and policies supporting the organization’s information management functions.
Information Technology (IT) Contact: A person designated by the Contact's
department head to relay PC/Network problems to DoIT staff. This allows for a single
point of
contact to DoIT. (Source: Whatcom Internal Resource Exchange WIRE)
Listserv: An automatic mailing list server. When e-mail is addressed to a LISTSERV
mailing list, it is automatically broadcast to everyone on the list. (Source: Modified
Webopedia)
Large system: A critical business technology serving one or more departments.
Whatcom
County examples include e-mail (Novell GroupWise), document management
(Laserfiche)
and election system (EIMS).
Portal: A main “point of entry.” In technology terms, a portal typically refers to a
Web site
serving as gateway to a large amount of information and services.
Remote computing: Using computer devices away from an organization’s primary
location(s).
Server-side: Occurring on a central computer server in a client-server system. For
example, on the World Wide Web, some programming scripts are considered serverside
because they run on the Web server. In contrast, other programming scripts are
considered

client-side because they are executed by your local computer’s Web browser.
(Source:
Modified Webopedia)

Service Level Agreement: Abbreviated SLA, a contract between a service provider and

the end user that stipulates and commits the provider to a required level of service. An
SLA
should contain a specified level of service, support options, enforcement or penalty
provisions
for services not provided, a guaranteed level of system performance as relates to
downtime
or uptime, a specified level of customer support and what software or hardware will
be
provided. (Source: Modified Webopedia)
Technology Replacement & Revolving (TR&R) Fund: The Whatcom County fund used to
replace existing hardware, software, fax machines and computer peripherals. (Source:
Whatcom
County Policy AD132101Z)
Technologists: Whatcom County staff with technology responsibilities. This includes
staff
in the Information Services Division as well as staff in other departments with roles
such as
Information Services Contacts, GIS specialists, data administrators and Web contacts.
Thin Client: In client/server applications, a client designed to be especially small so

that
the bulk of the data processing occurs on the server. Although the term thin client
usually
refers to software, it is increasingly used for computers, such as network computers
that are
designed to serve as the clients for client/server architectures. A thin client is a
network
computer without a hard disk drive, whereas a fat client includes a disk drive.
(Source:
Modified Webopedia)
Virtual: Not real. The term virtual is popular among computer scientists and is used in
a
wide variety of situations. In general, it distinguishes something that is merely
conceptual
from something that has physical reality. A virtual front counter is a front counter that
is
simulated using computer technologies such as electronic documents and forms, online
payment, etc. (Source: Modified Webopedia)
Virtual private network (VPN): A network technology allowing a public network such
as
the Internet to establish a secure connection between two remote locations. (Source:
Modified Webopedia)
Web: A computer network with a collection of informational sites with text, graphics,
sound
and animation resources viewable by desktop “Web” browsers. The Web typically
refers to

the World Wide Web on the Internet, but it may also refer to an internal intranet.
Wiki: A collaborative Web site comprised of the perpetual collective work of many

authors.
(Source: Modified Webopedia)

APPENDIX A – SUMMARY OF WORKSHOPS
IS- Strategic Planning Meeting
May 11, 2004

“Weighted” Technology Goals
1. Convert Physical Records – Laserfice (20 green, 12 yellow)
• Searchable
• Less staff time
• Frees up storage space
• Reduces mold
• Centralized
• Easy access
2. Dynamic Web Development (18 green, 8 yellow)
• Online forms (fill out and submit online)
• Cut down on calls/visits
• Provide instant information
• Schedule facilities
• Complaint/results tracking
• Maps and projects list
• Departmental editing of website and intranet content
• May cut costs
• Improves service
• Electronic signature
3. Remote Access to Information that Creates a Virtual Office (14 green, 9 yellow)
• Accessible anywhere 24/7
4. Electronic Filing and Service (12 green, 6 yellow)
5. Level of Support for Systems (11 green, 16 yellow)
• Maintenance
• Response to changing business needs
• Define roles
6. Centralized GIS (9 green, 5 yellow)
• Standards and protocols
• Repository
• Shared Data
• Reduced duplication
• Linking
7. Evaluate and Update/Create Departmental Software Needs (9 green, 3 yellow)
• Victim Witness Notification
• Jury Selection
• Conflict Recognition
• Assets Management

• Digital Holographic Exhibits
• Automate and Merge Data
• Brief Banks
• Stand Alone Capacity
8. Streamline Administrative Workflows (8 green, 16 yellow)
• Cut down on multiple reviews/signoffs
• Council actions (contracts, budget, resolutions)
• Purchasing
• Timesheets and payroll
• PDA recorded project time
• Scheduling common rooms
9. EOC/Command Post – Stand Alone Capacity (8 green, 3 yellow)
10.
Real Time Data Collection and Use – Wireless Applications and Updating (8
green, 2
yellow)
• From the field
• For work planning/response
• Permit planning
11.
Make Maps Accurate (7 green, 5 yellow)
• Legally
• Geographically
• For modeling purposes
• Survey grade monumentation
• Roads and sector corners
12.
Security (7 green, 1 yellow)
• Weapons screening
• Jail/Juvenile Controls
• GPS Monitoring
• Surveillance/recording cameras
13.
Coordinated Credit Card Usage (5 green, 9 yellow)
• Countywide
• Over the county
• Online
14.
Sharing Case Management System (5 green, 6 yellow)
• Access internally
• Manipulate
• Secure external access
15.
Take Data – Make Interactive Links (5 green, 4 yellow)
(GIS, GPS)
•
•
•
16.
17.
18.
•
•

Access by all departments
Minimize number of people to manage
Inventory and searchable
Multi-platform Report Writer (5 green, 4 yellow)
Biometric ID and Monitoring (4 green, 10 yellow)
Expand/Update System Capacities (4 green, 7 yellow)
HVAC System
Prox Lock System

• Training/Event Support
• Distribute Electronically to all employees
• More flexible/versatile HRMS
• Ability to send receive large documents
19.
Track Manpower and Materials – Computerized Maintenance Management
(4 green, 4 yellow)
(Production management extends life of assets.)
20.
Life of Systems (4 green, 3 yellow)
• Vendors – evaluate relationships
• Aging equipment
• Adequate reserves
• Updates/replacements of major infrastructure
21.
Process Speed of AS400 (4 green, 1 yellow)
(Capacity and availability) (DASD)
22.
•
•
23.
24.
•
•
•
•
25.
•
•
•
•
•
26.
•
•
•
•
27.
•
•
•
28.
•
29.
•
•
•
30.
31.
32.

Voice Recognition Software – Voice to Text (3 green, 8 yellow)
Reduce Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Save transcription time
Barcode Capabilities (3 green, 3 yellow)
Videoconferencing (2 green, 18 yellow)
Saves travel costs
Training
Conferences
Interviewing
IS Upgrades (2 green, 3 yellow)
Reroute IGN traffic through firewall
Improved incident tracking
Intrusion detection
Improve backup and restore
Revamp IS department contact system
Telephone System (2 green, 3 yellow)
Assess business needs
Instant Voice Recognition (IVR)
Call center management
Explore Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
Fax from Desktop (2 green, 2 yellow)
Saves phone lines
Reduces long distance
Distribution capability
Improved Communications (2 green, 1 yellow)
Public access kiosks
Electronic Library (1 green, 8 yellow)
Laws
Reports
Convert physical one to computer
Track Service Requests (1 green, 3 yellow)
Juvenile Remote Education Access (1 green, 2 yellow)
Special District Access (1 green, 1 yellow)

33.
Prevent Unauthorized Access to County Records and Work Areas ((1 green, 1
yellow)
34.
Track Workflow (1 green)
• Details from each desk (internal, external)
35.
Video Training (4 yellow)
• Internet
• In-house
• On-demand
36.
Business Continuity Planning (2 yellow)
• Redundancy
• Data protection
• Disaster recovery
37.
Back-up/Duplication (1 yellow)
• Knowledge bases (cross-train, data bases)
• Computer back-ups
38.
Expand Emergency Communication for Public Safety/Health (1 yellow)
• Power outage
• Cell phones
• Land lines
39.
Customized Database
• Storage
• Retrieval
• Email address collection
40.
Individual Departmental Needs
41.
Technologically Prepared and Cross-trained Staff
42.
User Friendly Information for the Public
43.
Single Location/Site for Public to Go (One Stop Web)
44.
Use Technology to Schedule Across Departments
• Vehicles
• Laptops
• Projectors
• Space
• Shared equipment
• Regular maintenance
• Replacement of parts
• Allows accountability and audit trail
• Less staff time
45.
ID of Potential Users of Users
46.
Single Point of Access (Appol, Internet, WIRE)
47.
Groupwise Training
48.
Work Management Tools
49.
Capitalize on Tools departments Can Use Directly
50.
System Integrity Centralized
51.
Departments and Groups of Departments as Data Custodians

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.

In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
accurate
c. accuracy

adj. careful and exact
syn. precise

She was able to make accurate observations with the new telescope.
Experiments must be conducted with accuracy.
dim
v. dim

adj. not bright or clear
syn. faint

n. dimness
The light was too dim for studying.
The stars dimly lit the evening sky.
gigantic

adj. very large
syn. enormous

Reaching the Moon was a gigantic step in space exploration for mankind.
New methods of farming offer gigantic advantages over the old methods.
lasting
v. last

adj. forever, without end
syn. enduring

Kennedy left a lasting impression on the people who heard his inaugural
address.
The introduction of robots will have a lasting effect on industry.
vibrant
n. vibrance

adj. lively, powerful, full of action, bright
syn. brilliant

His vibrant personality made him well liked by everyone.
The vibrance of the city is attractive to many individuals.
dominant
v. dominate

adj. primary or principal; having or exercising control

n. domination

syn. major

over something

The dominant life forms of the Paleozoic era lived in the water. The
skyscraper dominated the skyline.
dormant
n. dormitory
n. dormancy

adj. not growing or producing; asleep
syn. inactive

The volcano had been dormant for hundreds of years before the eruption last
month.
The seniors live in the new dormitory.
drab
n. drabness

adj. lacking color; uninteresting, boring
syn. colorless

Their clothing was quite drab.
The drabness of the desert made driving less interesting.
selective
adj. select

adj. carefully chosen
syn. discriminating

v. select
n. selection
n. selectivity
They were very selective when they chose the members of the academic
team.
He selected Spanish as his language class.

ASC (Accredited Standards Committee) X12 – the ANSI Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) standard

ASC (Accredited Standards Committee) X9 – the ANSI Financial Services
standard ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) – a
standard code for representing English characters as numbers, with each
letter assigned a number from 0 to 127.
For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most computers use ASCII
codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to
another.
ASP (Active Server Page) – an HTML page that includes one or more scripts (small
embedded programs) that are processed on a Microsoft Web server before the page is
sent to the user. An ASP is somewhat similar to a server-side include or a common
gateway interface (CGI) application in that all involve programs that run on the
server, usually tailoring a page for the user.
Typically, the script in the Web page at the server uses input received as the result of
the user's request for the page to access data from a database and then builds or
customizes the page on the fly before sending it to the requestor.
ASP (application service provider) – a third party that manages and distributes
software-based services and solutions to customers across a wide area network
(WAN) from a central data center. ASPs help companies outsource some or almost all
aspects of their information technology needs.
Assembler – a low-level computer programming language similar to a computer's
machine language and specific to each hardware platform. An Assembler program
from one platform will not run on other platforms.

asynchronous processing – a method of communication that allows one program to
send messages or data to another program without requiring an immediate response.
Just as voice mail permits communication without requiring both parties to be
available at the same time,
requests can be placed in a queue and the other application has the flexibility to
process the requests when it is ready (e.g., once a day, once an hour, or as they occur).
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) – (1) A switching architecture that uses cell
relay technology to carry vast quantities of data at extremely high speeds (2) A
switching communications method that provides high-bandwidth capacity
ATM provides a universal transport method for both LANs and WANs and has the
potential to remove the distinctions between them. ATM accommodates high
bandwidth applications such as those used in multimedia, image, and video
conferencing.
atomic-level data – transaction-level data containing much more detail than summary
data. Atomic-level data addresses the business need to recast history.
authentication – the process of determining whether someone or something is, in
fact, who or what it is declared to be. In private and public computer networks
(including the Internet), authentication is commonly done through the use of logon
passwords. Knowledge of the password is assumed to guarantee that the user is
authentic. Each user registers initially (or is registered by someone else) using an
assigned or self-declared password. On each subsequent use, the user must know and
use the previously declared password.
business recovery – reactions to a sudden, unplanned event that enable an
organization to continue critical business functions until normal business operations
resume, such as facilities and local work items
business rules – fundamental units of work required to complete a business process.
An application program can automate business rules.
CA (certificate authority) – an application program technology in PKI-based
security systems that issues and manages security credentials and public keys for
message encryption and decryption. A CA typically creates both public and private
keys, embeds them in certificates, and provides them for storage in a smart card or the
user’s local hard drive (private-key certificate) and in a directory (public-key
certificate).
As part of a public key infrastructure, a CA checks with a registration authority (RA)
to verify information provided by the requestor of a digital certificate. If the RA
verifies the requestor's information, the CA can then issue a certificate. Depending on
the public key infrastructure implementation, the certificate includes the owner's
public key, the expiration date of the certificate, the owner's name, and other
information about the public key owner.
cabling – the physical wire that connects a network
calendaring and scheduling – a technology that provides, by combining with an
organization's overall groupware system(s), a methodology for coordination and
communication of individual and group activities and plans
calendaring and scheduling front end – the application that runs on a user's desktop
that allows the viewing and manipulation of calendaring and scheduling information
call center – a central place where customer and other telephone calls are handled by
an organization, usually with some amount of computer automation. Typically, a call

center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the same time, to
screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to handle them, and to log calls.
Call centers are used by mail-order catalog organizations, telemarketing companies,
computer product help desks, and any large organization that uses the telephone to
sell or service products and services.
CIC (customer interaction center) – The call center is evolving into a “new age”
contact center.
The CIC accommodates multiple channels for customer interaction and critical
functions, including customer service/support, field service dispatch, quality
management, intelligent routing, case-based reasoning, and knowledge repositories.
CICS (Customer Information and Control System) – (1) A general–purpose licensed
program that controls online communication between terminal users and a database
(2) A mainframe multi-user single address space subsystem from IBM that supports
mainframe transaction processing programs
Over the past several decades CICS, together with the COBOL programming
language, has formed the most common set of tools for building customer transaction
applications in the world of large enterprise mainframe computing. A great number of
the legacy applications still in use are COBOL/CICS applications. Using the
programming interfaces provided by CICS, a programmer can write programs that
communicate with online users and read from or write to customer and other records
(orders, inventory figures, customer data, and so forth) in a database (usually referred
to as "data sets") using CICS facilities rather than IBM's access methods directly. Like
other transaction managers, CICS can ensure that transactions are completed and,
if not, undo partly completed transactions so that the integrity of data records is
maintained.
fiber optic cable – a network cabling technology. Fiber optic cable uses light
impulses instead of electrical impulses to transmit data from point A to point B. Due
to the high cost and high capacity of fiber optic cabling, it is typically used as a
backbone solution.
file server – (1) A high-capacity disk storage device or a computer that each
computer on a network can use to access and retrieve files that can be shared among
attached computers.
Note: Access to a file is usually controlled by the file server's software rather than by
the operating system of the computer that accesses the file. (2) Hardware and software
that manage files and shared disk space on a network
filter – a program or section of code that is designed to examine each input or output
request for certain qualifying criteria and then process or forward it accordingly. This
term was used in UNIX systems and is now used in other operating systems. A filter
is "pass-through" code that takes input data, makes some specific decision about it
and possible transformation of it, and passes it on to another program in a kind of
pipeline. Usually, a filter does no input/output operation on its own. Filters are
sometimes used to remove or insert headers or control characters in data.
firewall – (1) One or more computer systems placed between trusted and non-trusted
networks to prevent unauthorized access to networks and systems (2) A combination
of hardware and software that separates a LAN into two or more parts for security
purposes.

A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server that
protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks. (The term
also implies the security policy that is used with the programs.) An enterprise with an
intranet that allows its workers access to the wider Internet installs a firewall to
prevent outsiders from accessing its own private data resources and for controlling
what outside resources its own users have access to.
Basically, a firewall, working closely with a router program, filters all network
packets to determine whether to forward them toward their destination. A firewall
also includes or works with a proxy server that makes network requests on behalf of
workstation users. A firewall is often installed in a specially designated computer
separate from the rest of the network so that no incoming request can get directly at
private network resources.
firmware – an ordered set of instructions and data stored in a way that is functionally
independent of main storage. Note: The term firmware describes microcode in ROM.
At the time they are coded, micro-instructions are software. When they are put into
ROM, they become part of the hardware (microcode) or a combination of hardware
and software (micro-programs).
Usually, microcode is permanent and cannot be modified by the user, but there are
exceptions.
frame relay – a data communications interface that provides high-speed transmission
with minimum delay and efficient use of bandwidth. It does not have error detection
or error control and it assumes that connections are reliable.
front end – the user interface portion of a client/server application
host – a platform on which software executes
HSM (hierarchical storage management) – policy-based management of file
backup and archiving in a way that uses storage devices economically and without the
user needing to be aware of when files are being retrieved from backup storage media.
Although HSM can be implemented on a stand-alone system, it is more frequently
used in the distributed network of an enterprise.
The hierarchy represents different types of storage media, such as RAID systems,
optical storage, or tape, each type representing a different level of cost and speed of
retrieval when access is needed. For example, as a file ages in an archive, it can be
automatically moved to a slower but less expensive form of storage. Using an HSM
product, an administrator can establish and state guidelines for how often different
kinds of files are to be copied to a backup storage device. Once the guideline has been
set up, the HSM software manages everything automatically.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – a language used to create electronic
documents for use on the internet or the intranet. An HTML document can be viewed
by a Web browser.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) – the fundamental protocol used by the World
Wide Web.
HTTP defines message formatting, message transmission, and what action Web
servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
hub – a network hardware component that connects cables from numerous network
devices in a star topology. A hub can be described as intelligent when the hub
monitors and reports upon network activity.

hypertext – the organization of information units into connected associations that a
user can choose to make. An instance of such an association is called a link or
hypertext link. Hypertext was the main concept that led to the invention of the World
Wide Web, which is, after all, nothing more (or less) than an enormous amount of
information content connected by an enormous number of hypertext links. Ted Nelson
first used the tem to describe his Xanadu system.
IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) – an Internet central registry for the
assigned values of the addresses (in the form of numbers) used in TCP/IP network
protocol implementations. IANA is the organization under the Internet Architecture
Board (IAB) of the Internet Society that, under a contract from the U.S. government,
has overseen the allocation of IP addresses to Internet service providers (ISPs).
IANA also has had responsibility for the registry for any "unique parameters and
protocol values" for Internet operation. These include port numbers, character sets,
and MIME media access types. Partly because the Internet is now a global network,
the U.S. government has withdrawn its oversight of the Internet, previously contracted
out to IANA, and lent its support to a newly formed organization with global, nongovernment representation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN).
systems integration – the progressive assembling of system components into a whole
system
system management – the process for managing and supporting the enterprise-wide
technical architecture with primary emphasis on centrally managing distributed
systems at geographically disbursed sites. Resources managed include the systems,
databases, applications, networks, and Internet components necessary to conduct the
automated business functions of the state.
tape storage – a magnetic storage in which data are stored by magnetic recording on
the surface of a tape that moves longitudinally in use
TCO (total cost of ownership) – how much it actually costs to own a PC. The TCO
includes the original cost of the computer and software, hardware and software
upgrades, maintenance, technical support, and training. Most estimates place the TCO
at about three to four times the actual purchase cost of the PC. The TCO has become a
rallying cry for companies supporting network computers. They claim that not only
are network computers less expensive to purchase, but the TCO is also much less
because network computers can be centrally administered and upgraded.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) – a communication protocol responsible for
verifying the correct delivery of data from platform to platform. TCP adds support to
detect errors or lost data and to trigger re-transmission until the data is correctly and
completely received.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) – (1) A set of
communication
protocols that support peer-to-peer connectivity functions for both local and wide area
networks
(2) Low-level network transport protocols developed to allow cooperating computers
to share resources across a network.
technical architecture – a framework for making decisions about information
systems implementation and the supporting infrastructure. It is designed to establish

consistency, promote resource sharing, reduce duplication of effort, and improve the
state's ability to benefit from the economies of scale.
technical architecture standards – the national, international, and industry standards
that support the architecture, in addition to the standards necessary for current
operations
telecommunications – (1) The transmission of control signals and information
between two or more locations, such as by telegraph, radio, or television (2) The
transmission of data between two computer systems over telecommunication lines and
between a computer system and remote devices
traffic filtering – the ability to reduce the amount of data flowing across a network
by identifying common data patterns and programmatically preventing data
containing those patterns from traveling across the network
transaction – a process that performs a single automated function, for example, a
renew vehicle registration transaction
transformation engine – software designed to prepare data from multiple operational
databases for a data warehouse. A transformation engine provides an alternative to
developing, maintaining, and running data extraction and transformation processing
on production application systems. The data preparation occurs asynchronously.
TS (Telecommunications Services) – a section within ITS which provides and
maintains all state telephone products and services and oversees the NC Integration
Network (NCIIN). Specifically, TS provides computer network services (WAN,
SNA), voice services (telephone, cellular, VRU), transport network services (digital
backbone, long distance, credit cards, and video and advanced network services (twoway interactive, high speed data).
TSR (terminate and stay resident) – DOS program that is loaded into memory to
extend the functionality to the operating system

UNIT 9
Analysing & Designing a System
Fact-finding techniques
System Flowcharts
Data Flow Diagrams

Systems Investigation
The first stage in a Systems Life Cycle is the Problem Definition, followed by a
Feasibility Study to
determine whether a proposed solution is feasible, or achievable, given the
organisation’s resources
and constraints.
Once the decision has been made to go ahead, a much more detailed investigation can
take place.
One of the most difficult tasks of the analyst is to define the specific information
requirements that
must be met by the new system. The aim is to gain a complete understanding of the
existing system,
and how it will change in the future. It will cover:

⇒ The data ~ its origin, uses, volumes and characteristics;
⇒ The procedures ~ what is done, where, when and how, and how errors and
exceptions are
handled;
⇒ The future ~ development plans and expected growth rates;
⇒ Management reports ~ requirements for new reports and their contents and
frequency;
⇒ Problems with the existing system.

Methods of Fact-Finding
There are a number of ways of finding out about existing procedures and problems.
These include:
⇒ Observation ~ spending some time in the department concerned, seeing at
first hand the
procedures used, workloads and bottlenecks;
⇒ Reading the documents associated with the system;
⇒ Asking clerical staff to keep special counts during a trial period to establish
where problems
might lie;
⇒ Questionnaires ~ these can be used when a lot of people will be affected
by a new system;
⇒ Interviews ~ the most common and useful way of fact-finding. Interviews
must be well planned
and consideration given to such factors as:
•
•
•
•

whom to interview;
When to interview;
What to ask;
Where to hold the interview;

Reporting Techniques
The analyst may use different diagrammatic ways of reporting on the findings of the
analysis. Data
Flow Diagrams (DFDs) are a useful tool for showing:
⇒ Where the data originates;
⇒ What processing is performed on it and by whom;
⇒ Who uses the data;
⇒ What data is stored and where;
⇒ What output is received and who uses it.

References:
Heathcote, P. M. (2000) ‘A’ Level Computing, 4th Edition

Data Flow Diagrams
The symbols used in DFDs are shown below:
External entity ~ data source or data destination, for example, people
who generate data
such as a customer order, or receive information such as an invoice.

Process ~ an operation performed on the data. The two lines are
optional; the top
section of the box can be used to label the process, the middle to
give a brief explanation, the bottom to say where the process takes
place. Make the first word an active verb - validate data, adjust
stock level.

Data store ~ such as a file held on disk or tape
Data flow ~ the arrow represents movement between entities,
processes or data stores.
The arrow should be labelled to describe what data is involved.

Levelled DFDs
It is often impossible to represent a complete business system in a single diagram, so
two or three
levels of data flow diagrams may be used. Each showing more detail.

Example 1
The payroll system in a certain company may be described as follows:
At the end of each week, time sheets are collected and sent to the computer centre.
There, the pay
roll data is entered via a key-to-disk system, verified and validated, producing a new
file of valid
transactions on disk and an error report. The file is used to update the employee
master file,
payslips are printed and funds are electronically transferred to employees’ bank
accounts.
Complete the Top Level Diagram using the terms found in the answer box:
lii. Data Prep Process Payroll Employees Accounts Cheque

DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS

Data flow diagrams are a network representation of a system. They are the
cornerstone for
structured systems analysis and design. The diagrams use four symbols to represent
any system at
any level of detail. The four entities that must be represented are:
• data flows - movement of data in the system
• data stores - data repositories for data that is not moving
• processes - transforms of incoming data flow's to outgoing data flow's
• external entities - sources or destinations outside the specified system boundary
Data flow diagrams do not show decisions or timing of events. Their function is to
illustrate data
sources, destinations, flows, stores, and transformations. The capabilities of data flow
diagramming
align directly with general definitions of systems. Data flow diagrams are an
implementation of a
method for representing systems concepts including boundaries, input/outputs,
processes/subprocesses, etc.
The data flow diagram is analogous to a road map. It is a network model of all
possibilities with
different detail shown on different hierarchical levels. The process of representing
different detail
levels is called "levelling" or "partitioning" by some data flow diagram advocates.
Data
Flow

Exercises

OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING
One of the principal motivations for using OOP is to handle multimedia applications in which
such diverse data types as sound and video can be packaged together into executable modules.
Another is writing program code that’s more intuitive and reusable; in other words, code that
shortens program-development time.
Perhaps the key feature of OOP is encapsulation - bundling data and program
instructions into modules called ‘objects’. Here’s an example of how objects work. Art icon
on a display screen might be called ‘Triangles’. When the user selects the Triangles icon which is an object composed of the properties of triangles and other data and instructions - a
menu might appear on the screen offering several choices. The choices may be (1) create a

new triangle and (2) fetch a triangle already in storage. The menu, too, is an object, as are the
choices on it. Each time a user selects an object, instructions inside the object are executed
with whatever properties or data the object holds, to get to the next step. Triangle, the
application might execute a set of instructions that displays several types of triangles-right,
equilateral, isosceles and so on.
Many industry observers feel that the encapsulation feature of OUP is the natural tool
for complex applications in which speech and moving images are integrated with text and
graphics. With moving images and voice built into the objects themselves, program
developers avoid the sticky problem of deciding how each separate type of data is to be
integrated and synchronized into a working whole.
A second key feature of OOP is inheritance. This allows OOP developers to define one
class of objects, say ‘Rectangles’ and a specific instance of this class, say ‘Squares’ (a
rectangle with equal sides). Thus, all properties of rectangles - ‘Has 4 sides’ and ‘Contains 4
right angles’ are the two shown here are automatically inherited by Squares. Inheritance is a
useful property in rapidly processing business data. For instance, consider a business that has
a class called ‘Employees at the Dearborn Plant’ and a specific instance of this class,
‘Welders’. If employees at the Dearborn plant are eligible for a specific benefits package,
welders automatically qualify for the package. If a welder named John Smith is later relocated
from Dearborn to Birmingham. Alabama, where a different benefits package is available,
revision is simple. An icon representing John Smith - such as John Smith’s face - can be
selected on the screen and dragged with a mouse to an icon representing the Birmingham
plant. He then automatically ‘inherits’ the Birmingham benefit package.
A third principle behind OOP is polymorphism. This means that different objects can
receive the same instructions but deal with them in different ways. For instance, consider
again the triangles example. If the user right clicks the mouse on ‘Right triangle’, a voice clip
might explain the properties of right triangles. However, if the mouse is right clicked on
‘Equilateral triangle’ the voice instead explains properties of equilateral triangles.
The combination of encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism leads to code
reusability. ‘Reusable code’ means that new programs can easily be copied and pasted
together from old programs. All one has to do is access a library of objects and stitch them
into a working whole. This eliminates the need to write code from scratch and then debug it.
Code reusability makes both program development and program maintenance faster.

1. Find the answers to these questions in the following text.
1. What advantages of using object-oriented programming are mentioned in the text?
2. What are the three key features of OOP?
3. What multimedia data types are referred to in the text?
4. List the different types of triangle mentioned in the text.
5. What feature avoids the problem of deciding how each separate type of data is
integrated and synchronized into a working whole?

6. What specific type of rectangle is named in the text?
7. What common properties of a rectangle are mentioned in the text?
8. What features are made quicker by code reusability?

2. Complete the following text using words from the reading text:
Encapsulation, …………. and polymorphism are key features of

….………….

programming.
Encapsulation allows data and program instructions to be bundled together in ……………
called objects. Inheritance means that specific of a class of objects ………….. the properties
of the class of objects. Polymorphism means that instructions are treated differently by
different ……………. . The combination of these ………… features of OOP means that
program code is reusable. This speeds up …….…….. and ………….. of programs.

3. Match the terms in Table A with the statements in Table B.
Table A
a. OOP
b. Encapsulation
c. Object
d. Menu
e. Square
f. Polymorphism
g. Library
Table B
i. An OOP property that allows data and program instructions to be bundled into an
object
ii. A list of choices
iii. An OOP property that enables different objects to deal with the same instruction
in different ways
iv. A reusable collection of objects
v. A module containing data and program instructions
vi. Object-Oriented Programming
vii. A rectangle with equal sides

4. Read the next page texts: A, B and C then:
Complete this table. You may not find information for each section of your table.
A
1. job title
2. nature of work
3. formal qualifications
4. personal qualities
5. technical skills

B

C

6. how to get started
7. how to make progress

A. How to become a programming expert
The primary requirements for being a good programmer are nothing more than a good
memory, an attention to detail, a logical mind and the ability to work through a problem in a
methodical manner breaking tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces.
However, it’s not enough just to turn up for a job interview with a logical mind as your
sole qualification. An employer will want to see some sort of formal qualification and a
proven track record. But if you can show someone an impressive piece of software with your
name on it, it will count for a lot more than a string of academic qualifications.
So what specific skills are employers looking for? The Windows market is booming and
there’s a demand for good C, C++, Delphi, Java, Visual Basic and .net developers. Avoid
older languages such as FORTRAN and COBOL unless you want to work as a contract
programmer.
For someone starting out, my best advice would be to subscribe to the programming
magazines such as Microsoft Systems Journal. Get one or two of the low-cost ‘student’
editions of C++, Visual Basic and Delphi. Get a decent book on Windows programming. If
you decide programming is really for you, spend more money on a training course.

B. How to become a computer consultant
The first key point to realize is that you can’t know everything. However you mustn’t become
an expert in too narrow a field. The second key point is that you must be interested in your
subject. The third key point is to differentiate between contract work and consultancy good
contractors move from job to job every few months. A consultant is different. A consultant
often works on very small timescales - a few days here, a week there, but often for a care
collection of companies that keep coming back again and again.
There’s a lot of work out there for people who know Visual Basic, C++ and so on. And
there are lots of people who know it too, so you have to be better than them. Qualifications
are important. Microsoft has a raft of exams you can take, as do Novell and Cisco and in my
experience these are very useful pieces of paper. Exams like Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineer (MCSE) are well worth doing. The same goes for NetWare Certification. However,
this won’t guarantee an understanding of the product, its positioning in the market, how it
relates to other products and so on. That’s where the all-important experience comes in.
Here’s the road map. After leaving university you get a technical role in a company and
spend your evenings and weekends learning the tools of your trade - and getting your current
employer to pay for your exams. You don’t stay in one company for more than two years.
After a couple of hops like that, you may be in a good position to move into a junior
consultancy position in one of the larger consultancy companies. By the age of 30, you’ve run

big projects, rolled out major solutions and are well known. Maybe then it’s time to make the
leap and run your own life.

C. How to become an IT manager
IT managers manage projects, technology and people. Any large organization will have at
least one IT manager responsible for ensuring that everyone who actually needs a PC has one
and that it works properly. This means taking responsibility for the maintenance of servers
and the installation of new software and for staffing a help-desk and a support group.
Medium to large companies are also likely to have an IT systems manager. They are
responsible for developing and implementing computer software that supports the operations
of the business. They’re responsible for multiple development projects and oversee the
implementation and support of the systems. Companies will have two or three major systems
that are probably bought off the shelf and then tailored by an in-house development team.
Apart from basic hardware and software expertise, an IT manager will typically have
over five years’ experience in the industry. Most are between 30 and 45. Since it managers
have to take responsibility for budgets and for staff, employers look for both of these factors
in any potential recruit.
Nearly all IT managers have at least a first degree if not a second one as well.
Interestingly, many of them don’t have degrees in computing science. In any case, the best
qualification for becoming a manager is experience. If your personality is such that you’re
unlikely to be asked to take responsibility for a small team or a project, then you can forget
being an IT manager. You need to be bright, communicative and be able to earn the trust of
your teams. Most of this can’t be taught, so if you don’t have these skills then divert your
career elsewhere.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
plentiful

adj. more than sufficient

n. plenty

syn. abundant

Examples of Miro’s art are plentiful.
A balanced diet normally provides plenty of the necessary vitamins.

sheltered

adj. protected from harmful elements; isolated from

n. shelter

reality

v. shelter

syn. protected

She has led a sheltered life since her parents have done everything for her.
Everyone looked for shelter from the blazing sun.
account

n. a report of an event; money kept in a bank; a

adj. accountable

statement of something used or received, usually a

v. account

financial report

n. accounting

syn. story

n. accountant
His account of the incident varied from that of the other witnesses.
We need an accounting of all the money spent.

hue

n. color
syn. color

The hue of the sunset was beautiful.
The hue of the room gave it a warm feeling.

intricate

adj. having many parts; finely detailed

n. intricacy

syn. complex

The intricate design of the vase made it a valuable piece for her collection.
I cannot begin to understand all of the intricacies of modern automobile
motors.

magnitude

n. of great size or importance, to increase

adj. magnificent

syn. dimension

v. magnify
n. magnification
The magnitude of shock waves determines the damage that occurs during an
earthquake.
The invention of the telephone was a magnificent achievement for mankind.

poll

n. questionnaire; a vote of public opinion

n. polling

syn. survey

n. pollster

v. poll
The poll indicated that conservation of the environment was the number one
issue with college students.
The pollster asked the questions in a nonpartisan manner.

authorization – the process of giving someone permission to do or have something.
In multi-user
computer systems, a system administrator defines for the system which users are
allowed access
to the system and what privileges of use (such as access to which file directories,
hours of
access, amount of allocated storage space, and so forth). Assuming that someone has
logged on
to a computer operating system or application program, the system or application may
want to
identify what resources the user can be given during this session.
Authorization is sometimes seen as both the preliminary setting up of permissions and
the actual
checking of the permission values that have been set up when a user is getting access.
Logically,
authorization is preceded by authentication.
AVI (Audio/Video Interleaved) – a popular file format that combines video and
audio. To play
AVI files, you need Video for Windows. Windows' CD-ROMs contain AVI files that
the computer
uses to display video images.
backbone – (1) A set of nodes and their interconnecting links providing the primary
data path
across a network (2) In a LAN multiple-bridge ring configuration, a high-speed link to
which the
rings are connected by means of bridges. A backbone may be configured as a bus or a
ring. (3)
In a WAN, a high-speed link to which nodes or data switching exchanges (DSEs) are
connected
(4) A high-speed computer network designed to interconnect lower-speed networks or
clusters of
dispersed user devices
bandwidth – (1) The speed or capacity of a network connection. The more bandwidth
a particular
medium has, the faster data can be transmitted. (2) The carrying capacity of a circuit,
usually

measured in bits per second (bps) for digital circuits or hertz (Hz) for analog circuits.
The greater
the bandwidth, the greater the information-carrying capacity. Bandwidth is
comparable to the
number of cars per hour a highway can support: a four-lane interstate highway has a
higher
bandwidth than a two-lane road.
best practices – methodologies that provide beneficial results. Some best practices
are general
in nature and can be applied to almost every industry; other best practices are
industry-specific.
broadband – (1) A frequency band broad enough to be divided into several narrower
bands,
each of which can be used for different purposes or be made available to different
users (2) A
high-speed, high-capacity transmission channel. Broadband channels are carried on
coaxial or
fiber-optic cables that have a wider bandwidth than conventional telephone lines,
giving them the
ability to carry video, voice, and data simultaneously. Cable modems and digital
subscriber line
(DSL) technologies are examples of broadband connectivity.
broadcast – the capability to send a single message from one device and be received
by all
other connected devices on a network
CIO (Chief Information Officer) – CIO is a job title commonly given to the person
in an
enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that
support
enterprise goals. As information technology and systems have become more
important, the CIO
has come to be viewed in many organizations as a key contributor in formulating
strategic goals.
In many companies, the CIO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In
some
companies, the CIO sits on the executive board.
In a large enterprise the CIO normally will delegate technical decisions to employees
more
familiar with details. The CIO proposes the information technology an enterprise will
need to
achieve its goals, and then works within a budget to implement as much as possible of
the plan.

Typically, a CIO is involved with analyzing and reworking existing business
processes, with
identifying and developing the capability to use new tools, with reshaping the
enterprise's physical
infrastructure and network access, and with identifying and exploiting the enterprise's
knowledge
resources.
Many CIOs head the enterprise's efforts to integrate the Internet and the World Wide
Web into its
long-term strategy and its immediate business plans. For ITS, the CIO is the head
information
officer for the state of North Carolina.
Class A LAN Support – a local area network (LAN) support arrangement that
provides agencies
with support on an ongoing subscription basis
class libraries – a collection of software object classes, or a set of pre-built and pretested
software components that can be used as building blocks to develop applications.
Class libraries
are often provided by development tool vendors and may also be purchased from
third-party
vendors.
client – (1) A computer program that relies on services provided from another
software module to
complete its intended function. A client, as it relates to an n-tier client/server
programming
environment, is not a computer or a human being. (2) A human user of a computer
application (3) A workstation attached to a server on a network
database – (1) A collection of data with a given structure for accepting, storing, and
providing, on
demand, data for multiple users (2) A collection of interrelated data organized
according to a
database model to serve one or more applications (3) A collection of data fundamental
to a
system (4) A collection of data fundamental to an enterprise (5) Collections of data
arranged so it
is easily retrieved by users and applications
database server – hardware and software platforms dedicated to database access
DB – database
DBMS (database management system) – software and data storage facility that
organizes and

manages data storage, structure, access, and security; can either be relational or nonrelational
DCE (Distributed Computing Environment) – Open Software Foundation’s
standard, offering
distributed file, remote procedure call, security, naming, and X.500 directory services
to
participating computers
DCS (Distributed Computing Services) – a business unit within ITS’ Computing
Services that
provides LAN Assistance, Internet and Web Development Services, Managed
Platform Services
(MaPS), Statewide Computer and Network Security (SCANS), Novell Directory
Services, and
Domain Name Services
decryption – the process of converting encrypted data back into its original form so it
can be
understood
de facto standard – a standard that has emerged due to extensive use of a particular
product or
solution
deployment – the implementation of a software program or component on a
particular platform
desktop publishing – the process of composing copy, including graphics and images,
on an
end-user workstation. Output can be sent directly to high-resolution reproduction
equipment (e.g.,
phototypesetters, laser printers)
DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language) – a collective term for a
combination of new
HTML tags and options, style sheets, and programming that will let you create Web
pages more
animated and more responsive to user interaction than previous versions of HTML.
Much of
dynamic HTML is specified in HTML 4.0. Simple examples of dynamic HTML
pages would
include (1) having the color of a text heading change when a user passes a mouse over
it or (2)
allowing a user to "drag and drop" an image to another place on a Web page.
Dynamic HTML
can allow Web documents to look and act like desktop applications or multimedia
productions.

digital cash – Digital cash is a system of purchasing cash credits in relatively small
amounts,
storing the credits in your computer, and then spending them when making electronic
purchases
over the Internet. Theoretically, digital cash could be spent in very small increments,
such as
tenths of a cent (U.S.) or less. Most merchants accepting digital cash so far, however,
use it as
an alternative to other forms of payment for somewhat higher price purchases. There
are several
commercial approaches to digital cash on the Web. Digital cash can also be stored on
an
electronically sensitive card (smart card).
digital certificate – an electronic document issued by a certificate authority that is
used to
establish a company’s identity by verifying its public key
digital government – electronic government; government services available online to
citizens,
employees, and businesses
digital innovation – the merger of business drivers and emerging technology in the
digital
economy
digital network – a network or line in which the information is encoded as a series of
ones and
zeros rather than as a continuously varying wave— as in traditional analog networks.
Digital
networks have several major pluses over analog ones. First, they're "cleaner." They
have far less
noise, static, etc. Second, they are easier to monitor because you can measure them
more easily.
Third, you can typically pump more digital information down a communications line
than you can
analog information.
digital signature – a digital signature (not to be confused with a digital certificate) is
an electronic
rather than a written signature that can be used by someone to authenticate the identity
of the
sender of a message or the signer of a document. It can also be used to ensure that the
original
content of the message or document that has been conveyed is unchanged. Additional
benefits to
the use of a digital signature are that it is easily transportable, cannot be easily
repudiated,

cannot be imitated by someone else, and can be automatically time-stamped. A digital
signature
can be used with any kind of message, whether it is encrypted or not, simply so that
the receiver
can be sure of the sender's identity and that the message arrived intact. A digital
certificate
contains the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority so that anyone can
verify that the
certificate is real.
intelligent workstation – a computer that can work independently or work as part of
a network.
An intelligent workstation is more commonly referred to as a personal computer, or
PC.
interactive – a process where a request is processed immediately and a response is
received
interactive system – a computer application system that accepts input and
immediately
processes the request
inter-application middleware – communication between the application system and
external
services, such as common shared services and other application systems
interface – (1) Hardware, software, or both that link systems, programs, or devices
(2) A manner
of presentation allowing applications to communicate with people and with other
software
programs
Internet – sometimes called simply "the Net" or “the Web.” The Internet is a
worldwide system of
computer networks, a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if
they have
permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to
users at
other computers). It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA) of the
U.S. Government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANet. The original aim was
to create a
network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to
"talk to"
research computers at other universities. A side benefit of ARPANet's design was
that, because
messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one direction, the network could
continue to

function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other
disaster.
InterNIC (Internet Network Information Center) – a cooperative activity between the
U.S.
Government and Network Solutions, Inc. Until recently, InterNIC was the
organization responsible
for registering and maintaining the com, net, and org top-level domain names on the
World Wide
Web. The actual registration was performed by Network Solutions, Inc.
As a result of a new U. S. Government Statement of Policy (known as "the white
paper") in
October, 1998, competition will be introduced in domain name registration for these
top-level
domains and a new, non-profit global organization, the Internet Corporation of
Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN), has been designated to conduct the registrar accreditation
process.
ICANN has initially designated five new registrar companies— in addition to
Network Solutions—
for a two-month test period. After that period, additional registrars are expected to be
accredited.
interoperability – the capability for software services or components to easily
exchange logic,
data, and information
inter-query parallelism – a parallel processing method where multiple queries from
multiple
concurrent users can be processed at the same time
intra-application middleware – communication within the tiers of an application
system
intranet – information made available to a limited set of users, usually within a
corporation,
government entity, or educational institution that is often coded with HTML and
viewed with a
browser
intra-query parallelism – a parallel processing method where a single query can be
broken
down into multiple processes and all can be processed in parallel
IOTP (Internet Open Trading Protocol) a set of standards that makes all electronic
purchase
transactions consistent for customers, merchants, and other involved parties,
regardless of
payment system. IOTP accommodates a wide range of payment systems such as SET,
DigiCash, e-checks, and debit cards. Payment system data is encapsulated within
IOTP
messages. IOTP is designed to handle a transaction that involves a number of
different parties:

the customer, merchant, credit checker and certifier, bank, and delivery handler. IOTP
uses the
Extensible Markup Language (XML) to define data that encompasses everything that
may be
needed in a transaction.
IP (Internet Protocol) – a communication protocol that routes packets of data from
one node on
the Internet to another. IP routes each packet based on a four-byte destination address
(the IP
number, e.g., 123.456.789.1). Ranges of numbers are assigned to different
organizations. The
organizations then assign groups of their numbers to sections or departments.
IP operates on gateway machines that move data from department to organization to
region and
then around the world. Each computer (known as a host) on the Internet has at least
one address
that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet. When you send or
receive data
(for example, an e-mail note or a Web page), the message gets divided into little
chunks called
packets. Each of these packets contains both the sender's Internet address and the
receiver's
address. Any packet is sent first to a gateway computer that understands a small part
of the
Internet. The gateway computer reads the destination address and forwards the packet
to an
adjacent gateway that in turn reads the destination address and so forth across the
Internet until
one gateway recognizes the packet as belonging to a computer within its immediate
neighborhood or domain. That gateway then forwards the packet directly to the
computer whose
address is specified. Because a message is divided into a number of packets, each
packet can
be sent by a different route across the Internet. Packets can arrive in a different order
than the
order they were sent in. The Internet Protocol just delivers them. It's up to another
protocol, the
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to put them back in the right order.
IP address – This definition is based on Internet Protocol Version 4. Note that the
system of IP
address classes described here, while forming the basis for IP address assignment, is
generally

bypassed today by use of Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) addressing.
In the most widely installed level of the Internet Protocol (IP) today, an IP address is a
32-bit
number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets
across the
Internet. When you request an HTML page or send e-mail, the Internet Protocol part
of TCP/IP
includes your IP address in the message (actually, in each of the packets if more than
one is
required) and sends it to the IP address that is obtained by looking up the domain
name in the
URL you requested or in the e-mail address you're sending a note to.
At the other end, the recipient can see the IP address of the Web page requestor or the
e-mail
sender and can respond by sending another message using the IP address it received.
An IP
address has two parts: the identifier of a particular network on the Internet and an
identifier of the
particular device (which can be a server or a workstation) within that network. On the
Internet
itself, that is, between the routers that move packets from one point to another along
the route,
only the network part of the address is looked at.
IRM (Information Resource Management) – a section within ITS that provides
staff support to
the IRMC and its oversight of statewide information resource management serving
private
citizens, corporate citizens, private business partners, public employees, county and
municipal
governments, and federal agencies. It is responsible for the statewide technical
architecture,
large project monitoring and quality assurance, the Application Portfolio Management
System
(APMS), e-government, federated data, and the state’s adaptive infrastructure.

IRMC (Information Resource Management Commission) – a North Carolina
governmental
organization that provides increased emphasis for strategic information technology
planning and
policy development. The IRMC was created within the NC Department of Commerce
with the

powers and duties assigned by N.C.G.S. 143B-472.41 ratified by the 1997 session of
the General
Assembly.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) – a network technology implemented
through a
digital telephone service providing high-speed integration of voice and data over
special
telephone lines. ISDN uses asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) – an international organization
composed
of national standards bodies from over 75 countries. ISO has defined a number of
important
computer standards, the most significant of which is perhaps the Open Systems
Interconnection
(OSI), a standardized architecture for designing networks.
ISP (Internet service provider) – a company that provides individuals and other
companies
access to the Internet and other related services, such as Web site building and
hosting. An ISP
has the equipment and the telecommunication line access required to provide pointsof-presence
on the Internet for the geographic area served. The larger ISPs have their own highspeed leased
lines so that they are less dependent on the telecommunication providers and can
provide better
service to their customers.
IT (information technology) – the technology surrounding information systems. IT
is a term that
encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use
information in its
various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures,
multimedia
presentations, and other forms, including those not yet conceived). It's a convenient
term for
including both telephony and computer technology in the same word. It is the
technology that is
driving what has often been called "the information revolution."
IT enterprise management – As defined in North Carolina SB 222, “IT enterprise
management”
refers to distributed IT assets. IT enterprise management is an approach that uses
policies,

procedures, and technical infrastructure to manage the state’s tremendous investment
in
distributed IT assets— such as workstations, servers, routers, etc.— to minimize total
life-cycle
costs while maximizing benefits for transacting the state’s business and delivering
services to its
citizens.
IT portfolio-based management – links IT investments with political priorities and
program
strategies and provides tools to monitor and manage using portfolio management
techniques
IT procurement – ensures that the state (NC) buys the best goods and services at the
lowest
total life-cycle costs
ITS (Office of Information Technology Services) ITS provides shared information
technology
services for state agencies and other governmental units in the areas of information
processing,
telecommunications, systems development, and technology training.
IVR (interactive voice response) – a type of computer telephony interface enabling a
caller to
interface with computer applications via a telephone. The IVR software application
prompts users
for input, provides menus of options, and provides output from the application in
humanunderstandable
speech. The user provides input to the IVR application using the telephone
keypad and, occasionally, speech.
X/Open – an organization that creates and promotes standards for vendor-neutral
application
program interfaces. The standard is called common applications environment (CAE)
and contains
specifications for GUIs, data access, and networks.
X/Open API – a standard application programming interface between distributed
transaction
processing monitors and database management systems
X/Open TX – a standard defined by the X/Open Company Ltd. (now known as The
Open Group).
X/Open TX standard defines transactions through a distributed transaction processing
monitor.
X/Open XA – a standard defined by the X/Open Company Ltd. (now known as The
Open Group).
X/Open XA specification defines specifications for two-phase commits that work
with distributed

databases in a distributed transaction processing monitor environment.
X/Open XATMI – a standard defined by the X/Open Company Ltd. (now known as
The Open
Group). X/Open X/ATMI provides a standard transaction management interface.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) – a flexible way to create common
information formats and
share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere.
For
example, computer makers might agree on a standard or common way to describe the
information about a computer product (processor speed, memory size, and so forth)
and then
describe the product information format with XML. Such a standard way of
describing data would
enable a user to send an intelligent agent (a program) to each computer maker's Web
site, gather
data, and then make a valid comparison.
Any individual, group, or group of companies who want to share information in a
consistent way
can use XML. It is "extensible" because, unlike HTML, the markup symbols are
unlimited and
self-defining. XML is actually a simpler and easier-to-use subset of the Standard
Generalized
Markup Language (SGML), the standard for how to create a document structure. It is
expected
that HTML and XML will be used together in many Web applications.

UNIT 10
HOW TCP/IP LINKS DISSIMILAR MACHINES
At the heart of the Internet Protocol (IP) portion of TCP/IP is a concept called the Internet
address. This 32-bit coding system assigns a number to every node on the network. There are
various types of addresses designed for networks of different sizes, but you can write every
address with a series of numbers that identify the major network and the sub-networks to
which a node is attached. Besides identifying a node, the address provides a path that
gateways can use to route information from one machine to another.
Although data-delivery systems like Ethernet or X.25 bring their packets to any
machine electrically attached to the cable, the IP modules must know each other’s Internet
addresses if they are to communicate. A machine acting as a gateway connecting different
TCP/IP networks will have a different Internet address on each network. Internal look-up
tables and software based on another standard-called Resolution Protocol-are used to route
the data through a gateway between networks.
Another piece of software works with the IP-layer programs to move information to the
right application on the receiving system. This software follows a standard called the User
Datagram Protocol (UDP).You can think of the UDP software as creating a data address in
the TCP/IP message that states exactly what application the data block is supposed to contact
at the address the IP software has described. The UDP software provides the final routing for
the data within the receiving system.
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) part of TCP/IP comes into operation once the
packet is delivered to the correct Internet address and application port. Software packages that
follow the TCP standard run on each machine, establish a connection to each other and
manage the communication exchanges. A data-delivery system like Ethernet doesn’t promise
to deliver a packet successfully. Neither IP nor UDP knows anything about recovering
packets that aren’t successfully delivered, but TCP structures and buffers the data flow, looks
for responses and takes action to replace missing data blocks. This concept of data
management is called reliable stream service.
After TCP brings the data packet into a computer, other high-level programs handle it.
Some are enshrined in official US government standards, like the File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). If you use these standard protocols on

different kinds of computers, you will at least have ways of easily transferring files and other
kinds of data.
Conceptually, software that supports the TCP protocol stands alone. It can work with
data received through a serial port, over a packet-switched network, or from a network system
like Ethernet. TCP software doesn’t need to use IP or UDP, it doesn’t even have to know they
exist. But in practice, TCP is an integral part of the TCP/IP picture and it is most frequently
used with those two protocols.

Exercises
1. Mark the following statements as True or False:
a. Internet addresses are an integral part of the IP protocol.
b. Internet addresses can be written as a series of numbers.
c. UDP software provides the final routing for data within the receiving system.
d. UDP recovers packets that aren’t successfully delivered.
e. TCP only works with packet switched networks.
f. TCP only works when it is combined with IP.

2. Find the answers to these questions in the following text.
1. What purpose does the Internet address have apart from identifying a node?
2. What data-delivery systems are mentioned in the text?
3. What do IP modules need to know about each other to communicate?
4. How many Internet addresses does a gateway have?
5. What does UDP software do?
6. When does the TCP part of TCP/IP come into operation?
7. What processes are performed by TCP software to provide reliable stream service?
8. What standard protocols are mentioned which are used to deal with the data after
TCP brings it into the computer?

3. Match the terms in Table A with the statements in Table B.
Table A
a. Internet address
b. Resolution Protocol
c. Look-up table
d. Gateway
e. User Datagram Protocol
f. Transmission Control Protocol
Table B
i. Standard used for software that routes data through a gateway
ii. Standard used by software that moves information to the correct application on the
receiving system of a network

iii. Standard used by software that manages communication exchanges between computers
on the Internet
iv. A 32-bit number identifying a node on an IP network
v. Stored information used to route data through a gateway
vi. A device for connecting dissimilar networks

BECOMING CERTIFIED
Suppose you’re a support engineer. You’re stuck in a job you don’t like and you want to
make a change. One way of making that change is to improve your marketability to potential
employers by upgrading your skill-set. If you’re going to train yourself up however, whose
training should you undertake? If you need certificates, whose certificates should they be?
Even if you get those certificates, how certain can you be that your salary will rise as a result?
One solution is the range of certifications on offer from Microsoft.
Microsoft offers a large array of certification programmers aimed at anyone from the
user of a single program such as Microsoft Word, to someone who wants to become a
certified support engineer. There are a myriad of certificates to study for too, If you’re the
proud holder of any of those qualifications, then you’re entitled to call yourself a Microsoft
Certified Professional (MCP).
Once you’ve decided which track you want to take, you should consider just how
qualified you already are in terms of experience and knowledge. Will you need to go and take
some courses with a training company, or are you the type who can make good use of selfstudy materials? How much time do you genuinely have to devote towards this? Will your
employer pay for your course? Will it grant you leave to go and do the course - assuming you
can find one - on either a full-time or part-time basis?
The key question here is experience. This will not only influence the amount of work
you’ll have to do to get up to speed for the exams, it could also mean the difference between
passing or failing the exam.
While you’re busy learning all you need to know for your certification, the practice
exams are an absolute godsend. They show you the type of questions you’ll encounter and
they familiarize you with the structure of the exam. This is essential if you want to pass: the
exams have time limits and you need to get used to answering the requisite number of
questions within the allotted time. It’s as simple as that.
If you decide a training course will help you out, don’t let the title of a course alone
convince you that it will be suitable or cost effective. Find out exactly what the course offers
and whether there are prerequisites for attendants. You should also find out what the training
company is prepared to do if attendants don’t have the minimum knowledge necessary to be
on the course.

As exams are replaced by ‘updated’ ones, you need to upgrade your certification to stay
current.
Ultimately it’s your responsibility to make sure you stay up to date. If you don’t, you
lose your certification until you take an update.
As a support engineer, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you passed a tough test
and the happy knowledge that your network manager is sweating a bit over the fact that you
could be head-hunted at any time.

Exercises
1. Mark the following statements as True or False:
a. Microsoft offers a large range of certification programmers to study.
b. You must get an advanced certificate before you can call yourself a Microsoft
Certified Professional.
c. All Microsoft training courses involve a period of full-time study.
d. Practice exams allow you to become familiar with the structure of the exams.
e. You can decide on the suitability of a course by its title.
f. It is your responsibility to make sure that your certification is kept up to date.
g. Gaining a certificate is likely to make you more attractive to other employers.

2. Find the answers to these questions in the following text.
1. What advice is given for someone who is stuck in a computing support job?
2. What questions should you ask yourself if you are thinking of getting extra training?
3. What computer program is mentioned in the text?
4. Name two ways of studying that are mentioned in the text.
5. What two factors will be affected by your level of experience?
6. Why is it important to become used to answering exam questions?
7. What factors help you decide whether the course will be suitable or cost effective?
8. What happens if you don’t upgrade your certification?

3. Which qualification would be most useful if you wanted to do each of the
following:
a. be an operating system expert
b. troubleshoot systems
c. teach computing
d. design business solutions

4. How to read each of the following computer devices and what is each one used
to:
1. Intel Pentium IV 1.7 GHz processor
2. Giga Main-board (Motherboard)

3. 512 MB RAM-bus RDRAM
4. 80 GB Hard Disk
5. Embedded Intel 3D Direct AGP video with 64MB SDRAM
6. 64-voice wave-table sound
7. NEC 3D multimedia speakers
8. 48X CD-ROM drive
9. TDK CD-Writer
10. JAZ drive
11. ZIP drive
12. 1.44 MB 3.5” Floppy drive
13. 17” color SVGA monitor
14. Microsoft Intelligent-mouse
15. 105-key keyboard
16. 56 Kb modem
17. Sony USB2 Web-cam
18. Sony Microphone
19. Mini-tower Chassis
20. Microsoft Windows XP
21. Microsoft Office XP & Applications

5. How to write a Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)?
Resumes and application forms are two ways to provide employers with written evidence of
your qualifications and skills. Generally, the same information appears on both a resume and
an application form. The way it is presented differs. Some employers prefer a resume and
others require an application form. You want to apply for a job. Do you need a resume? That
depends on the kind of job you’re applying for.
Resume is required for all jobs; professional, technical, administrative and managerial
jobs.
There are many ways of organizing a good resume. Depending on the job, you should
choose the format that best highlights your skills, training, and experience.
When do you use a resume?
• To respond to a want ad.
• To give an employer more information about you than the job application gives.
• To send to a company you’d like to work for.
• To give to an interviewer so he or she will ask you about the positive things on your
resume you want to talk about.
• To leave with an employer after an interview as a reminder of your skills and abilities.
Tips for good resume:

Self information. Completing a background and experience list will give you the self
information required to prepare your resume.
If you’ve worked before, list your jobs. Next, write down the work duties for the jobs
you’ve listed. Now, think about the skills or talents it took to do each work duty. Write them
down.
List your hobbies, clubs you belong to, sports you’ve been involved in, school activities,
and things that interest you. Look at the first item on your list.
Think about the skills or talents. Resume must be very easy to read so that an employer
can see at a glance, who you are, where you can be reached, what kind of work you can do,
and why you’re qualified for that kind of work. A resume should be short, preferable one
page typewritten. It must be error free. It includes honest, positive information that is related
to your job goal.
A good resume will open the door for an interview. it takes to do that item. Write them
all down. Look at the abilities (talents) identified on your background and experience list.
You have talents that you use everyday.
Resumes are required for some jobs, and are sometimes required for other jobs. An
employer may have you complete an application form instead of submitting a resume. On
some occasions, an employer may ask you to complete an application in addition to your
resume.
When you fill out an application form, make sure you fill it out completely and follow
all instructions. Do not omit any requested information and make sure that the information
you provide is correct.
A good resume is concise and is written in one page or more but at most, three pages is
enough. In the following, you will see a sample resume in one page:

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Name: Ahmad
Family: Ahmadi
Sex: Male
Nationality: IRAN
Birth date: 1974, 12 Apr
Marital Status: Married, 1 son
Tel: 0098-21-33332222
Fax: 0098-21-44442222
Address: No. 311, 3rd St., Valie-asr Sq., Tehran, IRAN
P.O.Box: 5436-876 Tehran-IRAN
e-mail: [email protected]

Educational Background
•

1995-1999 B.Sc. in Computer Engineering in Michigan University, USA,
GPA=16.5
B.Sc. Project: Design and Implementation of MIS system for one hospital

•

1991-1995 High School in Mathematics, GPA=18.25

Career Background
•
•
•
•

2004-present Apple Company in Tehran, .net Programmer
2002-2004 SQL Server Trainer in X13 Company in Tehran and Training
ICDL and Microsoft Office
2001 Network manager of IBM Branch in Tehran
2003 Translating a book about Computer Maintenance System

Skills
•
•
•
•
•

Programming Languages: .net, VB, C# and, C++, Pascal
Databases: Oracle, SQL Sever, Access
Operating Systems: Windows 2000, XP
System Analysis and Design: UML and RUP
Good in English Reading and Writing

Interesting & Hobbies
•
•
•
•
•
•

Programming in .net
Network Programming
Database Design & Programming
Studying Computer Books
Learning English
Swimming

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.
In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
erratic

adj. no regular pattern in thinking or movement;
changeable without reason
Syn. inconsistent

The artist’s paintings have an erratic quality, some being excellent and
others mediocre.
The unstable chemical reacted erratically.

exaggerate

v. to make something more than what it is

adj. exaggerated

syn. embellish

n. exaggeration
The federal government exaggerated the success of its programs.
To say that his business is successful would be an exaggeration.
burgeon

v. grow at a fast pace

adj. burgeoning

syn. thrive

The burgeoning population of major cities is creating a demand for more
services.
His talent as a pianist burgeoned at the age of 14.
conspicuously

adv. attracting attention

adj. conspicuous

syn. noticeably

His name was conspicuously absent from the list of winners.
The attorneys were conspicuous for their aggressive manner in the
courtroom.
dignitary

n. a very important or famous person, usually
associated with a high position in government
syn. notable

Every dignitary in Washington was invited to the wedding.
All of the high-ranking dignitaries attended the economic summit.
elude

v. to escape in a tricky way

adj. elusive

syn. evade

n. elusiveness
The criminal has eluded the police for months.
Success has been elusive for the team.
exhaust

v. to use completely; to expend all energy; very y

adj. exhaustive

thorough

adj. exhausting

syn. deplete

adj. exhausted
n. exhaustion
They exhausted their energy in 10 minutes.
The exhaustive report was acclaimed by everyone.
facet

n. element or component

adj. faceted

syn. aspect

The proposal had many beneficial facets.

It was a multifaceted problem that challenged the entire student body.
ample

adj. more than enough
syn. sufficient

There is ample evidence that the young man was speeding when the accident
occurred.
She was amply paid for the work she completed.
arid

adj. having little rain or water
syn. dry

The area known as the Sahara Desert is one of the most arid places in the
world.
The valley on the leeward side of the mountain was extremely arid.
defy

v. to show little fear or regard for rules or established

adj. defiant

norms; to challenge

adj. defying

syn. resist

n. defiance
I defy you to find that book in the library’s collection.
The circus performer demonstrated her death-defying routine.
enact

v. to pass a law

adj. enacted

syn. legislate

n. enactment
Congress enacted the legislation during its last session.
The enactment of the laws was in the hands of the Senate.
feign

v. to pretend, make believe

adj. feigned

syn. simulate

She feigned illness when it was time to visit the dentist.
Her unhappiness was feigned.
indiscriminate

adj. not chosen carefully; unplanned
syn. arbitrary

The indiscriminate arrangement of the products made the store confusing.
The book’s chapters seem to be organized indiscriminately.

client contact point – instance where a client makes contact with the help desk
organization

when requesting support. This is usually a Level 1 area of a service desk organization.
coaxial cable – a network cabling technology. Coaxial cabling is generally used in
small bus
topology networks because it requires less cabling. Due to its slow speed, coaxial
cable cannot
support any of the high-speed network technologies.
COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) – the second-oldest high-level
computer
programming language; a procedural, structured programming language
COLD (computer output to laser disk) – archival storage of computer-generated
data within an
optical storage system
common business service – a service that incorporates the logic for commonly used
business
rules or functions. A service can be reused and shared between application systems.
component – an executable service that incorporates the logic for a single business
rule or
function. A component can be reused and shared between application systems.
component testing suite – software that contains special programs needed for testing
a
component. It provides services for calling a component, entering sample input, and
capturing
sample output data in order to verify the results.
componentware – software designed to be a component in an N–tier application
conferencing and meeting – a technology that provides a means for geographically
diverse
individuals and groups to participate, in real time, in conferences and meetings
configuration management – the process of maintaining workstation and server
configurations
in a large enterprise
connectivity – the ability to send and receive information between locations, devices,
and
business services
content providers – While content provisioning is also outside the core competencies
of portal
product vendors, many enterprises want content relevant to their industry. Portal
product vendors
have partnered with content providers for this service.
contention – two or more users or programs vying for the same computing resource
at the same
time (e.g., memory, storage, bus)
cookie – a small file of information held on a client device, provided by an Internet
host,
containing information on the client and enabling the host to identify the user directly
on

subsequent visits
CSC (Customer Support Center) – The Customer Support Center Level 1 is
designed to assist
clients with problems and/or questions related to the client's needs for all ITS
services.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – a Web page style sheet derived from multiple
sources with a
defined order of precedence where the definitions of any style element conflict. The
Cascading
Style Sheet, Level 1 (CSS1) recommendation from the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C),
which is implemented in the latest versions of the Netscape and Microsoft Web
browsers,
specifies the possible style sheets or statements that may determine how a given
element is
presented in a Web page. CSS gives more control over the appearance of a Web page
to the
page creator than to the browser designer or the viewer.
CSS (Customer Support System) – an electronic incident and change management
system
used to track and resolve customer calls, internal incidents, and software and
hardware system
changes. The system uses the Vantive Help Desk software package. ITS shares this
system with
other agencies that volunteer to participate and set up their own business definitions
and rules.
data model – specifies the data formats and the relationships of fields and tables in an
application system. It drives basic database design.
data processing – the systematic performance of operations upon data, for example,
arithmetic
or logic operations on data, merging or sorting of data, assembling or compiling of
programs
data repository – a database that contains metadata, or information about data that is
stored in
a database (e.g., federated data definitions, data aliases, where OLTP and OLAP data
can be
found)
data review board – a committee consisting of key business users from across the
enterprise.
The data review board provides and maintains federated data definitions and promotes
the reuse

of data across the enterprise.
data visualization – the method of displaying data resulting from end user queries
and data
mining from a data warehouse in a visual or pictorial manner (i.e., graphs, pie charts,
bar and line
charts). Similar to data mining, data visualization can be helpful in realizing trends or
patterns in
interrelated data.
DSE (data switching exchange) – the equipment installed at a single location to
provide
switching functions, such as circuit switching, message switching, and packet
switching
DSL (digital subscriber line) – a technology for bringing high-bandwidth
information to homes
and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines. xDSL refers to different
variations of
DSL, such as ADSL, HDSL, and RADSL. If your home or small business is close
enough to a
telephone company central office that offers DSL service, you may be able to receive
data at
rates up to 6.1 megabits per second, enabling continuous transmission of motion
video, audio,
and even 3-D effects. More typically, individual connections will provide from 1.544
Mbps to 512
Kbps downstream and about 128 Kbps upstream. A DSL line can carry both data and
voice
signals and the data part of the line is continuously connected.
e-cash (electronic, or digital, cash) – a system of purchasing cash credits in
relatively small
amounts, storing the credits in your computer, and then spending them when making
electronic
purchases over the Internet. Theoretically, e-cash could be spent in very small
increments, such
as tenths of a cent (U.S.) or less. Most merchants accepting digital cash so far,
however, use it as
an alternative to other forms of payment for somewhat higher price purchases. E-cash
can also
be stored on an electronically sensitive card.
e-commerce (electronic commerce) – the process of conducting business (buying
and selling
of goods and services) on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice,
this term and

a new term, "e-business," are often used interchangeably. When talking about
Internet-based
transactions for the state of North Carolina, e-government should be used instead of
ecommerce.
EDI (electronic data interchange) – a data exchange technology that facilitates the
rapid,
accurate exchange of standard commercial transactions by creating, transferring, and
processing
transactions electronically. EDI is the transmission between two trading partners of
the data
comprising common business transactions, in a mutually agreed-upon format.
e-form (electronic form) – a computer program version of a paper form. Aside from
eliminating
the cost of printing, storing, and distributing pre-printed forms, and the wastage of
obsolete forms,
e-forms can be filled out faster because the programming associated with them can
automatically
format, calculate, look up, and validate information for the user. With digital
signatures and
routing via e-mail, approval cycle times can be significantly reduced. With electronic
submission
of completed forms, you can eliminate the cost of rekeying data and the associated
errors.
EFT (electronic funds transfer) – a system of transferring money from one bank
account
directly to another without any paper money changing hands. One of the most widelyused EFT
programs is Direct Deposit, in which payroll is deposited straight into an employee’s
bank
account, although EFT refers to any transfer of funds initiated through an electronic
terminal,
including credit card, ATM, Fedwire and point-of-sale (POS) transactions. It is used
for both credit
transfers, such as payroll payments, and for debit transfers, such as mortgage
payments.

EPMO (Enterprise Program Management Office) – This entity supports
decision making
regarding the prioritization and utilization of IT resources assigned to major projects
as well as
their progress relative to project objectives and milestones. Typically, the EPMO
reports to an IT

steering committee composed of management from all lines of business and the CIO.
e-procurement – the business-to-business purchase and sale of supplies and services
over the
Internet. An important part of many business-to-business sites, e-procurement is also
sometimes
referred to by other terms, such as supplier exchange. Typically, e-procurement Web
sites allow
qualified and registered users to look for buyers or sellers of goods and services.
Depending on
the approach, buyers or sellers may specify prices or invite bids. Transactions can be
initiated
and completed. Ongoing purchases may qualify customers for volume discounts or
special offers.
E-Rate – The Schools and Libraries Program, commonly called the "E-Rate," is
administered by
the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Services Administrative
Company
(USAC). USAC oversees the administration of all universal service support, which
includes the
High Cost Program, the Low-Income Program, the Rural Health Care Program, and
the Schools
and Libraries Program. The Schools and Libraries Universal Service Program was
established as
part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with the express purpose of providing
affordable
access to telecommunications services for all eligible schools and libraries,
particularly those in
rural and inner-city areas. Funded at up to $2.25 billion annually, the Program
provides discounts
of 20% to 90% on telecommunications services, Internet access and internal
connections.
Funding for the universal service discounts comes from the telecommunications
industry, in an
Information Age update to the time-honored concept of universal service. The level of
discounts
schools and libraries are eligible to receive depends on economic need and location,
rural or
urban; once approved, they apply their discounts to telecommunications services,
Internet access
and internal connections, then pay the difference out of their own budgets.

ERP (enterprise resource planning) – an industry term for the broad set of activities
supported
by multi-module application software that help a manufacturer or other business
manage the
important parts of its business, including product planning, parts purchasing,
maintaining
inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking
orders. ERP can
also include application modules for the finance and human resources aspects of a
business.
Typically, an ERP system uses or is integrated with a relational database system. The
deployment of an ERP system can involve considerable business process analysis,
employee
retraining, and new work procedures.
fat client – a two-tier client/server model for application design in which the business
rules are
tightly integrated and deployed with the code that implements the graphical user
interface. A fat
client is usually deployed on a workstation.
JAD (joint application development) – a methodology introduced by IBM to
facilitate end-user
and developer participation in the application development process
Java – a high-level programming language from Sun Microsystems designed for use
on the
World Wide Web
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) – a file format for color images and one
of two
graphics file formats supported on the World Wide Web. (The other format is GIF.)
JPEG files
usually end with a .jpg extension.
Kbps (kilobits per second) – a measure of bandwidth (the amount of data that can
flow in a
given time) on a data transmission medium. Higher bandwidths are more conveniently
expressed
in megabits per second (Mbps, or millions of bits per second) and in gigabits per
second (Gbps,
or billions of bits per second).
Kerberos – a private key encryption-based authentication mechanism for network
security,
developed by MIT’s Project Athena

Kermit – a popular file transfer and management protocol and suite of
communications software
programs with advantages over existing Internet protocols such as FTP and Telnet. It
is freeware,
developed and maintained by members of the Kermit Project at Columbia University.
The Kermit protocol is described as "fast, robust, extensible, tunable, and mediumindependent."
In addition to the protocol support, the Kermit suite includes terminal emulation,
character-set
translation, and scripting. The suite can be installed on almost any operating system,
including
Windows, UNIX, DOS, VMS, OS/2, and a number of mainframe operating systems.
Most
versions support direct and dialed serial connections (with a modem) and network
connections
(Telnet and often others such as Rlogin, LAT, or X.25).
key – a string of digits that produces cipher text when used with a cryptographic
algorithm
kiosk – an extension of the automated teller machine concept, with a free-standing
point of
access disseminating information and services to the public through the use of touch
screens,
audio, video, and teleconferencing
knowledge management – the name of a relatively new concept in which an
enterprise
consciously and comprehensively gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes its
knowledge to
further its aims. In early 1998, it was believed that few enterprises actually had a
comprehensive
knowledge management practice (by any name) in operation. Instead, many
companies are
focusing on existing processes and striving to bring them together.
Some aspects of knowledge management— such as data mining and pushing
information to
users— are new; others, such as data entry and OCR, are very familiar. Some vendors
are now
offering products that address the newer ideas. Since the process is complex,
involving many
stages and addressing many different needs, no vendor provides a comprehensive
suite of
products, according to industry experts. The consensus is that an enterprise's
knowledge
management plan can only be implemented with a meld of different products.

LAN (local area network) – a computer network that links multiple workstations and
other
devices in a limited area, typically with a local geographic area. Typically, this might
be within the
area of a small office building. However, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
extends a local
area network over a much wider area. Usually, the server has applications and data
storage that
are shared in common by multiple workstation users. A local area network may serve
as few as
four or five users or, in the case of FDDI, may serve several thousand. The main LAN
technologies are Ethernet, token ring, ARCNET, and FDDI.
laser printer – a non-impact printer that creates, by means of a laser beam directed
on a
photosensitive surface, a latent image which is then made visible by a toner and
transferred and
fixed on paper

NC @ Your Service – the logo for North Carolina’s e-government portal
NC @ Your Service Project Office – the project office that oversees North
Carolina’s egovernment
portal development

NCIH (North Carolina Information Highway) – The North Carolina
Information Highway
provides state government entities with a broadband network for high-speed data,
voice, and
video. It operates within the Department of Commerce and is managed by the Office
of
Information Technology Services (ITS). The information highway supports the vision
that all
people of North Carolina will have broadband access simultaneously and efficiently
for
teleconferencing, high-speed data, distance learning, and multimedia applications.
The NCIH
project gives the state of North Carolina the advantages of broadband technology and
ways to
reorganize government operations to improve service, implement new services, and
reduce
overall costs.
NCIIN (North Carolina Integrated Information Network) – North Carolina's state-ofthe-art
telecommunications network. Electronic tools associated with Internet access, such as
electronic

mail (e-mail) and the World Wide Web (WWW), help public agencies streamline
information
access and conduct business. These tools are used with the NCIIN to facilitate interagency
communication and information processing. These same tools are used for
communications
between public agencies and entities on the Internet, such as other government
organizations,
educational institutions, private businesses, and citizens.
network – (1) A configuration of data processing devices and software connected for
information
interchange (2) A group of nodes and the links interconnecting them (3) The physical
hardware
and software connections between computers. A network allows information to be
shared and
electronic communication to occur (4) A group of two or more computer systems
linked together
network computing – computing performed on geographically dispersed platforms
connected
via a network; also referred to as distributed computing

NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology) – formerly the
National Bureau of
Standards. NIST promotes and maintains measurement standards. It also has active
programs
for encouraging and assisting industry and science to develop and use these standards.
non-relational database – a database that stores a collection of data in one table.
Examples of
non-relational databases are VSAM databases and flat files.
non-user interface – an interface that provides services to an external application, as
opposed
to a user interface
NOS (network operating system) – software that is used to link files, computers,
and other
devices over a LAN or WAN
n-tier (some number of tiers) – a method of application development where
application logic is
divided into layers and is distributed among three or more separate computers in a
distributed
network. Business rules are implemented in distinct executable modules and are not
tightly
coupled with other business rules, with the code that implements the user interface, or
with the

code that provides data access.
N-tier programming enables ease of maintenance and flexibility in platform
deployment. The most
common form of n-tier is the 3-tier application, in which user interface programming
is in the
user's computer, business logic is in a more centralized computer, and required data is
in a
computer that manages a database. N-tier application structure implies the
client/server program
model. Where there are more than three distribution levels or tiers involved, the
additional tiers in
the application are usually associated with the business logic tier.
Object Management Group – a non-profit organization that promotes the theory and
practice of
object technology for the development of distributed computing systems
ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) driver – the middleware used to connect
database
access tools to relational databases through the use of a generic application program
interface
(API). The ODBC drivers enable access to data and provide insulation between a
program and
the specific RDBMS language used by each database. Database access tools and
programs do
not have to be customized for each database; an ODBC configuration file maintains
the database
connections.
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) – an equipment maker that sells products
to resellers
that may add value to the product, re-label it, or bundle it with their own products
office automation – the process of automating everyday business procedures
OLAP (online analytical processing) – an application system used for analysis,
planning, and
management reporting through interactive access to a wide variety of information. An
OLAP
system usually references summary data in order to process information and
frequently answers
business needs for "what if" scenarios.
OLTP (online transactional processing) – an application system used for online,
interactive
processing that performs business transactions. OLTP systems are typically used by
many users

simultaneously to perform data acquisition, maintenance, or retrieval.
OMG (Object Management Group) – a non-profit organization that promotes the
theory and
practice of object technology for the development of distributed computing systems
one-stop shop – the idea that you can accomplish all of your business needs at one
place. This
is the idea behind an e-government portal: a citizen should be able to access the portal
and
conduct all required transactions without having to visit each agency’s Web site.
online transaction – an business process conducted over the Internet
protocol – (1) A set of semantic and syntactic rules that determine the behavior of
functional
units in achieving communication (2) In System Network Architecture (SNA), the
meanings of and
the sequencing rules for requests and responses used for managing the network,
transferring
data, and synchronizing the states of network components (3) A set of special rules
for
communication that enable independent technology components to communicate with
one
another
In information technology, a protocol is the special set of rules for communicating
that the end
points in a telecommunication connection use when they send signals back and forth.
Protocols
exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection. There are hardware
telephone
protocols. There are protocols between the end points in communicating programs
within the
same computer or at different locations. Both end points must recognize and observe
the
protocol.
Protocols are often described in an industry or international standard. On the Internet,
there are
the TCP/IP protocols, consisting of: TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), IP
(Internet Protocol),
HTTP, FTP, and other protocols, each with defined sets of rules to use with other
Internet points
relative to a defined set of capabilities.
proxy server – In an enterprise that uses the Internet, a proxy server is a server that
acts as an
intermediary between a workstation user and the Internet so that the enterprise can
ensure
security, administrative control, and caching service. A proxy server is associated
with or part of a

gateway server that separates the enterprise network from the outside network and a
firewall
server that protects the enterprise network from outside intrusion.
public access – the method by which the public accesses data. Web-based application
systems
are frequently used to provide information to the public. In this case, an Internet
application with a
Web front end is developed and a search engine is used to query the data. Also, voice
response
units (VRUs) are implemented to support public information provided through a
phone interface
using a touch-tone phone.
Public Directory Service Protocol – a protocol that governs the setup and
organization of
directories
public key – a value provided by some designated authority as a key that, combined
with a
private key derived from the public key, can be used to effectively encrypt and
decrypt messages
and digital signatures. The use of combined public and private keys is known as
asymmetric
cryptography. A system for using public keys is called a public key infrastructure
(PKI).
publish and subscribe – a messaging technique where one application service
publishes
information. Another application that needs the information subscribes to the
published
information (i.e., a "push" model). Messages containing the new information are
placed in a
queue for each subscriber by the publishing application. When a subscriber is ready to
receive
the new information, it checks for new messages in the message queue.
push technology – the practice or technology of having information brought to you
by an
intelligent agent
PVC (permanent virtual circuit) – a channel through an ATM network provisioned
by a carrier
between two end points, used for dedicated long-term information transport between
locations
QA (quality assurance) – procedures taken to ensure that a company delivers
products that
conform to standards
QOS (Quality of Service) – On the Internet and in other networks, Quality of Service
(QoS) is
the idea that transmission rates, error rates, and other characteristics can be measured,

improved, and, to some extent, guaranteed in advance. QoS is of particular concern
for the
continuous transmission of high-bandwidth video and multimedia information.
Transmitting this
kind of content dependably is difficult in public networks using ordinary "best effort"
protocols.
RAD (Rapid Application Development) – a concept that products can be developed
faster and
of higher quality through: gathering requirements using workshops or focus groups;
prototyping
and early, reiterative user testing of designs; the re-use of software components; a
rigidly paced
schedule that defers design improvements to the next product version; and less
formality in
reviews and other team communication.
Some companies offer products that provide some or all of the tools for RAD
software
development. (The concept can be applied to hardware development as well.) These
products
include requirements gathering tools, prototyping tools, CASE tools, language
development
environments such as those for the Java platform, groupware for communication
among
development members, and testing tools. RAD usually embraces object-oriented
programming
methodology, which inherently fosters software re-use. The most popular objectoriented
programming languages, C++ and Java, are offered in visual programming packages
often
described as providing rapid application development.
RDBMS (relational database management system) – a software system and data
storage
facility that organizes and manages a relational database
reuse facilitation – a service that supports users and application developers in
exploiting the
catalog and inventory, follows a methodology of reuse, and markets the reusability
program
throughout the organization
signature file – a short text file you create for use as a standard appendage at the end
of your email
notes or Usenet messages. For example, you might include your full name, occupation
or

position, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and the address of your Web site
if you
have one. Many people also include a favorite quote, company motto, or short
personal
statement.
Most e-mail and Usenet news facilities make it possible for you to either create the
signature file
as part of the application or to specify another file you've created with a word
processor. Then,
you tell the facility (usually in an "Options" menu) the name of your signature file and
it
automatically adds it to the note or message template it provides you.
SLA (service-level agreement) – (1) An agreement among two or more parties that
establishes
measurable levels of service and expectations for that service (2) An agreement
between end
users and the help desk defining the boundaries of acceptable service and details the
associated
fees for help desk services rendered. The SLA defines users’ expectations and serves
as a
guidepost for establishing and measuring performance goals.
smart card – in computer security, a credit card-sized device containing an
embedded
microprocessor that stores information. The smart card can be loaded with data, used
for
telephone calling, electronic cash payments, and other applications, and then
periodically
"recharged" for additional use.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) – the standard transport protocol for
sending messages
from one mail transfer agent (MTA) to another MTA over the Internet. Using MIME
encoding, it
enables the transfer of text, video, multimedia, images, and audio attachments through
e-mail
messages.
SNA (System Network Architecture) – The framework, designed by IBM, which
defines the
structuring of data-communications functions and protocols of the mainframe,
including
networking protocols, administration software, and hardware devices that provide
physical

delivery of those protocols. It enables reliable transfer of data among end users and
provides
protocols for controlling the resources of various network configurations. The SNA
network
consists of network accessible units (NAUs), boundary function, gateway function,
and
intermediate session routing function components; and the transport network.
SNADS (Systems Network Architecture Distribution Services) – the SNADS gateway
is an email
gateway that moves and translates messages between an IBM SNADS environment
and the
state's standard Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail backbone

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) – a set of network
communication
specifications covering all the basics of network management. It is a simple and
expandable
protocol designed to give the capability to remotely manage a computer network by
polling,
setting terminal values, and monitoring network events.
sockets – a name given to the package of subroutines that provide access to TCP/IP
on most
systems
software – all or part of the programs, procedures, rules, and associated
documentation of a
data processing system. Software is an intellectual creation that is independent of the
medium on
which it is recorded.
software distribution – the process of propagating software installation, upgrades,
and
maintenance to each workstation that needs it
SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) – (1) A new and growing body of
standards that define
all aspects of transporting and managing digital traffic over fiber-optic facilities in the
public
network (2) A network communication technology offering fiber optic transmission
system for
high-speed digital traffic
SPOC (single point of contact) – A methodology that allows an end user to make
one attempt
at contacting an organization for service, then having the request channeled by some
automated
means to the group that can best service the user’s need.

SQL (Structured Query Language) – a non-proprietary method for querying and
retrieving data
from a relational database. The industry standard for SQL is ANSI Standard SQL.
Vendors may
add extensions to the SQL language for their proprietary databases. A sample SQL
statement is:
liii. SELECT CUSTOMER, ADDRESS, PHONE_NUMBER
FROM CLIENT_DATAWHERE
LAST_NAME="SMITH" ORDER BY FIRST_NAME.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) – a transport-level technology for authentication and
data
encryption between a Web browser and a Web server
SSO (single sign-on) – single-password access to multiple systems
stand-alone – pertaining to operation that is independent of any other device,
program, or
system
stand-alone workstation – a computer workstation where the computer is not
connected to any
other computer on a network. It can neither send nor receive files or information
electronically
from any other computer without the use of a diskette.
star topology – a network LAN infrastructure in which each node is connected to a
central hub
sticky – the ability to keep a user at a particular Web site

UNIT 11
TEST
Passage 1:
Computer Graphics: Graphics technology has changed vastly in the nearly three
decades since research-educators first started passing their knowledge on to students.
Introductory computer graphics courses are changing their focus and learning
environments. Improvements in hardware and software technology coupled with
changes in preparation, interest and abilities of incoming students are driving the need

for curriculum change. Past courses focused on low and intermediate, level rendering
principles, algorithms and software development tools. many of these algorithms have
migrated into hardware. Though important knowledge for advanced graphics
programmers, most graphics applications programmers have no need to study at this
level, much as application programmers have no need to study hardware systems of
assembly level programming. Courses need to focus on intermediate and 3D graphics
Application Programmer Interface (API) into the instruction. This article presents
experiences teaching this focus with both low and high level graphics programming
API's. The experiences were gained in courses at an undergraduate university,
university in multi-day industrial causes for experienced professional programmers.
1. Which one of the following reasons is not the driving force behind the
necessity for the computer graphics curriculum's change?
1) changes in abilities of incoming students.
2) changes in preparation and interest of incoming student.
3) dramatic changes in the principles of the computer graphics.
4)improvement in computer graphics related hardware and software technologies.
2. What were the focuses of the past computer graphics courses?
1) integration of 3D graphics and API.
2) applications programmer interfaces.
3) high-level principles, algorithms and tools.
4) low and intermediate-level rendering principles, algorithms, methods and tools.
3. According to the author, which group of programmers needs to study
low-level and software development tools?
1) introductory level programmers.
2) advanced graphics programmers.
3) undergraduate university students.
4) graphics application programmers.
4. How long ago researcher-educators started teaching computer graphics
to students? about .....
1) two and a half decades ago.
2) thirty years ago.
3) twenty years ago.
4) three centuries ago.
5. According to this article, what is necessary in the modern graphics curriculum?
1) rendering principles.
2) application programmer interfaces.
3) integration of 3D graphics and API.
4) hardware systems and assembly level programming.
6. Where author of this article received his or her teaching experience?
1) teaching undergraduate university students.
2) professional programmers at an undergraduate university.

3) taking multi-day industrial courses as an experienced professional
programmer.
4) teaching both undergraduate university students and industrial programmers.

Passage 2:
E-Banking and Internet: Westerners are increasingly skipping lines at teller
windows to take care of their banking needs over the internet, according to figures
released Wednesday, November 27, 2002. The nonprofit pew internet and American
life project found online banking is rapidly catching on in the west, as an estimated
thirty seven million Americans now pay bills and transfer funds on the web, more
than twice the number that did so two years ago. on any given day, Internet user are
nearly as likely to check their balance as use instant-messaging software, the survey
found. Thirty-two percent of those surveyed said they did their banking online,
compared with seventeen percent in 2000. while other activities like booking travel
reservations and making purchases remained more popular, the Pew project found
them growing at slower rate. Those surveyed were most likely to cite convenience and
time saved as reasons they banked online.
7. What was the number of Americans who pay bills and transfer funds on
the web two years before the composition of this article?
1) the estimated number could not be determined at all.
2) more than thirty seven millions.
3) less than half of thirty seven millions.
4) about twenty millions.
8. Who conducted the study that is reported in this article?
1) pew internet.
2) American life project.
3) American life project and pew internet.
4) Reuters news agency and pew internet.
9. Daily check of balance are done by:
1) instant-messaging software users.
2) online users and teller windows users alike.
3) online travelers who reserve their travel booking online.
4) online users as nearly as likely as they use instant-messaging software.
10. According to this article, which one of the following is not correct?
1) online banking grows fast on the west.
2) pew internet is a nonprofit organization.
3) 32% of those surveyed said they did their banking on the web.
4) more people are using teller windows to take care of their banking needs.
11. According to those who were surveyed, what are the most important
reasons for doing online banking?
1) it is convenient and save their time.
2) internet is available at their workplace.
3) it is less expensive to do their banking on the web.

4) it is hard to find teller windows in their neighborhood.

Passage 3:
China's shift from technological nationalism to a more pragmatic strategy of
developing national capabilities in conjunction with multinational corporations has
transformed its economy. consistent with this transformation, China has revamped its
industrial and technology policies, moving from an isolationist approach aimed at
achieving technological independence to become a major producer of computer
hardware and a major market for information technology products.
In 1990, China had only 500,000 PCs in a country of more than 1.2 billion people.
By 2000, mainland Chinese purchased more than seven million PCs in a year. During
the same time, China's production of computer hardware grew from less than US$ 1
billion to US$ 23 billion.
China's policies clearly drew on the developmental approach of other Asian Pacific
economies such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Each of these became
Leaders in different segments of the global computer industry through the strong
support of government industrial and technology policies.
11. In what way has China undergone a transformation of it's economy? It
........................
1) has transformed it's corporations.
2) has transformed it's market by globalization.
3) has transformed it's purchase capabilities.
4) moved to more pragmatic strategy of developing it's national capabilities.
12. By reading the above passage, what could you say about china's
technological development in the past decade'? It ………........
1) isn't dependent to change of its policies.
2) has had a rapid growth.
3) has a technological nationalism.
4) has had an isolationist approach.
13. If you were to choose a title for the above passage, which of the following
would best fit with the context of the passage? China's ................
1) computer technology

2) transformation

3) corporations

4) development

Passage 4:
IBM is beginning a large scale autonomic-computing initiative designed to develop
computer systems that run with little or no human involvement. IBM is already
working on several autonomic computing projects, some involving artificial
intelligence; adaptive algorithms; and self-healing technology, which lets systems
keep running even if certain components fail.

Far too much, computer systems work has involved making things faster, larger, et
cetera, without considering reliability, maintainability, availability etcetera.
Autonomic computing would eventually reduce system support costs and would be
most useful in remote areas where human oversight isn't practical, such as in space. In
fact, autonomic systems are years away, although in the nearer term, autonomic
functionality will appear in servers and software.
14. What is meant by autonomic-computing systems? Systems that ...............
1) are revolutionary
2) have and oversight
3) run faster and on a larger scale.
4) have the capability to run with little or no human involvement
15. At present, what is the principal approach of computer technology in
running the systems according to the above passage? to....................
1) make them self-healing
2) make them autonomous
3) make them faster and larger
4) use them in remote places
16. What is meant by the last sentence of the passage where it says ‘In fact,
autonomic systems are’.
1) for the future
2) nearer in functionality
3) in reach of servers and software
4) operating in the computer technology

Passage 5:
Although Linux has yet to achieve wide popularity in the computer game world, it is
making rapid progress toward becoming the dominant operating system in the other
major entertainment arena: motion pictures. The Linux operating system initially
found a niche for use in computer generated image rendering for film. With the
success of films such as Toy Story and Titanic, most major motion picture studios
now employ CGI and strive to reduce the costs of using this expensive technology.
Given the many systems that run it and the numerous applications that support it,
filmmakers can now use Linux for an animated features entire production process,
including modeling, animation and rendering. Thus, when we see the entire film
industry adopting Linux to remain cost and performance competitive, how can we
help but wonder what new realms Linux may conquer next?
17. According to the passage, which of the following statements can best
describe the role of Linux in today's motion pictures industry? Linux
..............in this arena.
1) must achieve cost and performance competitiveness
2) has become the dominant operating system
3) should strive to reduce the costs
4) has yet to achieve popularity

18. What is meant by CGI?
1) computer graphics industry
2) computer generated image
3) computer generated industry
4) computer graphics implementation
19. According to the following statements would best be the conclusion of
this passage? Linux....................
1) has still new realms to conquer in the future.
2) has had great achievements in the motion pictures industry.
3) is used for an animated feature's entire production process.
4) is the only operating system used in the motion pictures industry.

Passage 6:
Go-To surveys the history of modern software, from the creation of the first
successful high level language, FORTRAN and its compiler in the 1950s, through to
the open source movement of today. The development of Unix and C, the rise of the
graphical user interface and the creation of the spreadsheet are included among the
events that shaped modern computing. Although some will argue with choices of
topics covered for example, an entire chapter is devoted to Java, while no mention is
made of the development of the internet protocol Go-To is full of fascinating details
about an intangible creation that has had a very tangible impact on the modern world.
20. By reading the above passage, what do you think Go-To is ?
1) a book

2) a survey

3) a journal

4) an article

21. What topic is missing in Go-To?
1) Java

2) fascinating details

3) development of internet protocol

4) development of modern computing

Passage 7:
For intelligent systems research in e-business to have real impact, we need to cross
the existing borders computer science and economic and management sciences. Truly
interdisciplinary progress in science appears difficult to achieve because of the
traditional decomposition into disciplines, which can turn different academic fields
into almost separate cultures. Nevertheless, the contributors to this special issue on
intelligent e-business hope to show how interdisciplinary thinking has helped to
advance e-business. E-business implies that information technology must prove itself
in an interactive and distributed context of economic value creation. Technology push
and market pull both play their role in driving e-business forward.
22. The first paragraph can best summarized as:
1) despite the fact interdisciplinary progress in science seems difficult to
achieve-business scholar try to prove it helpful in this respect.

2) the traditional decomposition of science into disciplines has brought about
crucial difficulties for researchers developing e-business.
3) the impression of e-business on economic and management sciences has
caused scholars to consider interdisciplinary concept helpful in the advance of ebusiness.
4) although intelligent systems research in e-business may seriously affect other
field of science, some students hope to follow it up through interdisciplinary
approach.
23. How does the second paragraph logically relate to the first? It
1) disagrees with the idea that sciences are to follow the traditional classification.
2) presents information technology as the fundamental element in e-business
advancement.
3) supports the idea that there exists a close interrelation between the science of
computer and economy.
4) suggests the ways to be studied by the students of computer in relation to
economy, management and computer science.

Passage 8:
Traditional methods of teaching no longer suffice in this technological world.
Currently there are more than 1,000,000 computers in schoolrooms in the United
States. Students, mediocre and bright alike, from the first grade through high school,
not only are not intimidated by computers, but have become avid participants in the
computer epoch.
Kids operating computers implement their curriculum with great versatility. A
music student can program musical notes so that the computer will play Beethoven or
the Beatles. For a biology class, the computer can produce a picture of the intricate
biology in a profound way. A nuclear reactor is no longer an enigma to students who
can see its workings in minute detail on a computer. In Wisconsin, the Chippewa
Indians are studying their ancient and almost forgotten language with the aid of a
computer. More commonly, the computer is used for drilling math and language
concepts so that youngsters may learn at their own speed without trying the patience
of their human teachers. The simplest computers aid the handicapped, who learn more
rapidly from the computer than from humans. Once irksome, remedial drills and
exercises now on computer are conducive to learning because the machine responds
to correct answers with praise and to incorrect answers with frowns and even an
occasional tear.
Adolescents have become so exhilarated by computers that they have developed
their own jargon, easily understood by their peers but leaving their disconcerted
parents in the dark. They have shown so much fervor for computers that they have
formed computer clubs, beguile their leisure hours in computer stores and even attend
computer camps. A Boy Scout can get a computer merit badge. One ingenious young
student devised a computer game for Atari that will earn him $100,000 in royalties.
This definitely the computer age. It is expected that in 2-3 years there will be
between 3,000,000 and 6,500,000 computers in American schools. Manufactures of
computers are presently getting tax write-offs for donating equipment to colleges and

universities and are pushing for legislation to obtain further deductions for
contributions to elementary and high schools. Furthermore, the price of computers has
steadily fallen to the point where a small computer for home or office is being sold for
less than $100. At that price every class in the country will soon have computer kids.
24. The expression traditional methods of teaching in the first sentence
refers to ...............
1) technological methods of teaching
2) teachers, textbooks and class drills
3) teachers who punish students for not learning
4) teaching the students with the aid of computers
25. In order to operate a computer, a student does not have to be ............
1) musical

2) versatile

3) in grade school

4) especially bright

26. A computer is a robot teacher because it ……….
1) is human
2) teaches machines
3) shows human emotions
4) enables students to learn through mechanical means
27. According to the passage, one exceedingly clever student has ...............
1) overcome a handicap

2) invented a video game

3) learned an Indian language

4) played music on a computer

28. Computer manufactures donate equipment to schools .....................
1) in 2000
2) to get tax deductions
3) to increase their sales
4) to teach students how to operate computers
29. The author of this article implies that ....................
1) traditional methods of teaching are obsolete today.
2) computers are difficult to operate
3) students today have to be smarter than their parents
4) Computers make learning today easier than it was in the past
30. In next 2-3 years it is estimated that the number of computers in schools
will ......................
1) triple at least
2) continue as it is today
3) be at least twice that of today
4) be considerably lower than the number today
31. The price of a computer is now .............

1) rising
2) too high for most schools
3) affordable for most school
4) preventing schools from buying computers
Determine the meaning of the underlined word from the context of above passage
(8) from 32 to 35.
32. He devised a computer game and sold it to Atari.
1) bought

2) played

3) invented

4) divided

33. Manufacturers are donating computers to schools.
1) going

2) deducting

3) giving

4) dedicating

34. I am not ingenious enough to invent a video game.
1) Studious

2) clever

3) glorious

4) indigenous

35. Even a mediocre student can learn to operate a computer.
1) average

2) brilliant

3) attentive

4) thoughtful

Passage 9:
Human memory formerly believed to be rather inefficient, is really more sophisticated
than that of a computer. Researchers approaching the problem from a variety of points
of view have all concluded that there is a great deal more stored in our minds than has
been generally supposed. Dr. Wilder Penfield. A Canadian neurosurgeon, proved that
by stimulating their brains electrically, he could elicit the events supposedly forgotten
for many years suddenly emerged in detail.
The memory trace is the term for whatever is the internal representation of the
specific information about the event stored in the memory. Assumed to have been
made by structural changes in the brain, the memory trace is not subject to direct
observation but is rather a theoretical construct that we use to speculate about how
information presented at a particular time can cause performance at a later time. Most
theories include the strength of the memory trace as a variable in the degree of
learning, retention and retrieval possible for a memory. One theory is that the fantastic
capacity for storage in the brain is the result of an almost unlimited combination of
interconnections between brain cells, stimulated by patterns of activity. Repeated
references to the same information supports recall. Or, to say that another way,
improved performance is the result of strengthening the chemical bonds in the
memory.

36. With what topic is the passage mainly concerned?
1) Neurosurgery

2) Human memory

3) Wilder Penfield

4) Chemical reactions

37. Compared with a computer, human memory is:
1) less durable

2) more limited

3) more complex

4) less dependable

38. According to the passage, researchers have concluded that .............
1) human memory is inefficient
2) different points of view are valuable
3) the physical basis for memory is clear
4) the mind has a much greater capacity for memory than was previously believed.
39. How did Penfield stimulate dreams and other minor events from the
past?
1) By surgery

2) By repetition

3) By electric stimulation

4) By chemical stimulation

40. According to the passage, the capacity for storage in the brain ................
1) is not influenced by repetition
2) is stimulated by patterns of activity
3) has a limited combination of relationships
4) can be understood by examining the physiology
41. All of the following are true of a memory trace EXCEPT that .................
1) it is able to be observed
2) it is a theoretical construct
3) it is related to the degree of recall
4) it is probably made by structural changes in the brain

Passage 10:
Electronic technology has produced significant changes in the way that humans
interact. Before telephones, computers and digital pagers, people communicated
primarily by writing. We had to sit down, compose our thoughts and then spend some
time writing them down on paper. There was also a delay between the expression of
our ideas and their reception on the other end, but folks were patient enough to wait.
With technology, however, communication happens in "real time". We don't take time
before had to consider what we want to say and how to say it best. We express
ourselves directly and bluntly. Now we are irritated when no one answers the phone,
or get overly anxious if we don’t receive an immediate response to anew mail or page.
We want all of our communication to happen instantaneously.
42. According to the passage, which of the following changes in human's
interactions is not a product of electronic Technology?

1) People are more restless than before
2) Folks are more annoyed to wait
3) People communicate more promptly
4) People express things in sophisticated way
43. Which of the following words is the antonym for the expression "real
time" in the above passage?
1) delay

2) actual time

3) instantaneous

4) virtual time

44. The author of this passage probably believes that the effects of
technology on human communication are:
1) mostly negative

2) almost negligible

3) not very important

4) not well understood

Passage 11:
While film used in cinema contains pigments that create an infinitely large number of
color variations, TV sets combine discrete amounts of red, green and blue light to
create a much more limited color range. To produce more colors, TV sets would have
to combine purer, or more saturated, red, green and blue by using narrowband light
filters that select colors more precisely but diminish brightness at the same time.
Genoa Color Technologies Ltd. has developed the software and hardware necessary
to close this gap and make TV images more cinema-like without the unwanted
dimming side effect. The trick is to extra primaries, the basic colors that, combined,
form all others. By adding Yellow and Cyan (a light blue) to standard red, green and
blue, a display that could normally generate about 16.7 million colors would now be
able to show more than one trillion.
Genoa developed a color conversion algorithm that runs in a special microchip to
be added to a television's imaging circuit. The algorithm gets a color value -from a
DVD, for example, that the television would originally exhibit as a combination of
three primaries -and finds how to best represent it as a combination of five primaries.
45. According to the passage, the Genoa Technologies Ltd. is a company ...........
1) producing more colors for its TV sets.
2) manufacturing TV sets with better resolution.
3) that has developed a combination of five primaries.
4) that has tried to bring close the quality of a TV image to that of the cinema.
46. By adding the two extra colors, the ratio of the colors that can he
generated to those of the old standard is .................
1) 10 to 1.

2) 40 to 1.

3) 60 to 1.

4) 90 to 1.

47. What is meat by the primaries as stated in the passage?
1) The basic colors.

2) Yellow and Cyan colors.
3) The trick to generate more colors.
4) The standard red, green and blue colors.
48. Genoa Color Technologies Ltd. has .................
1) created a special microchip.
2) developed the necessary software.
3) developed a color conversion algorithm.
4) developed a combination of fib’s primaries.
49. According to the passage, Genoa Color Technologies Ltd. has managed
to .................of the images.
1) close the gap between the TV image and the film image.
2) increase the gap between the TV image and the film image.
3) increase the brightness and the unwanted dimming side effect.
4) diminish the brightness and the unwanted dimming side effect.

Passage 12:
The MP3 audio-compression format is a technical standard-turned-fashion fold MP3:
players have become ubiquitous on city streets in many parts of the world. It's
probably no surprise that, as television followed radio, the next standard-turned-fad
will likely be a video-compressible format: MPEG-4.
MPEG-4 became an internationally recognized standard in 2000. The visual
equivalent to MP3, it was developed by the same organization, the Moving Picture
Experts Group, an international working group operating under the auspices of the
International. Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotecnical
Commission. Like MP3, MPEG-4 offers very compact file compression at selectable
data r:1tes. This allows losers to make 11 tradeoff between quality and required
storage space. MPEG-4 can produce images superior to those produced \with MPEG2 (the DVD recording format), with only one-third to three-eighths the data.
With the new availability of high-quality digital video in manageable file sizes,
pocket widco players and camcorders \with no moving parts are starting to appear, as
well as hard drive-based video jukeboxes holily dozens offuil-length movies. Soon,
people will carry their movies, along with their music, in their shirt pockets.
Some of these new players and camcorders store wideo files in flash memory, such
as the Secure Digital (SD) memory cards used in digital cameras and PDAs.
50. According to the above passage, what is/are the ever present technical
standard(s) in a number of places in the world at present?
1) MP3

2) MPEG-2

3) MPEG-4

4) MPEG-4 and MP3

51. What organization developed the MPEG-4?
1) The International Working Group.
2) The Moving Picture Experts Group.
3) The International Electrorechnical Commission.
4) The International Organization Standardization.

52. If you were asked to identify the most conspicuous quality for MP3 and
MPEG-4 standards, which of the following would you choose?
1) Secure Digital memory.

2) High quality digital video.

3) Compact file compression.

4) Video-compression format.

Passage 13:
XML, the extensible mark-up language, structure as well as good looks to a
document. While HTML can format things like things like headlines and tables and is
considered as the current language, XML can define things like dates. invoice
numbers and prices and is assumed to able to replace the HTML in a few years.
This means you can build data, files, Web pages, or documents that can he probed
with simple questions by relying on semantics and logic instead of key words that this
in turn speeds up any search you need to make.
To make this kind of smart searching possible, one further concept comes into play:
the resource description format (RDF), a way of specifying the relationship between
entities. It defines how pieces of data are represented in a series of documents, acting
like a dictionary of definitions. For example: is "spectrum" a scientific term defining a
range of electromagnetic frequencies, a slice of opinions of viewpoints is sociology or
politics, or a well-known magazine? The builder of the database gets to decide, or .
adopt a definition suggested in some other already defined RDF. This allows you to
define an ontology, or the relationships among RGF statements, linking various data
elements in documents and allowing logical inferences to be made. An ontology is a
"family tree" or a cluster of related concepts; for example, to medical database, all
words ending in -oma are types of cancer.
53. According to the passage, what is the principal feature of the XML'?
1) Building data files.

2) Formatting the text.

3) Relying on semantics.

4) Having the ability to infer.

54. What does the passage reveal to the reader about the two languages?
1) XML is the customary language that has replaced the HTML.
2) HTML and XML are both used but each for different purposes.
3) XML is more popular than HTML as it is capable to serve more purposes.
4) That HTML is the customary language for the present that may be shortly replaced
by XML.
55. What is meant by an RDF (the Resource Description Format) statement?
1) A dictionary.
2) A smart search.
3) A list of data represented in a series of documents.
4) A linking of different data elements in documents that allows logical inferences to
be made

Passage 14:
It turns out that your kids are right once again. According to a recent report in Nature,
playing video games of the kill-or-killed variety is good for their brain-power.
Not only that: if they are playing these games on the Sony Play station 2 toy got
them last Christmas and get bored with Tony Hawk's ProSkater 4, your kid and his or
her closest 99 buddies can bundle their PS2s together and do their quantum chromo
dynamics homework.
This second bit of news-using Sony Play stations to build a specialized
supercomputer was announced by researchers at the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications and the computer science department at the University
of Illinois in Urbana. These tinkerers paid about $50,000 and got computing power
that would otherwise cost at least five times as much. They wanted to learn if the
sophisticated graphics processor used in the Sony Play station to run slick games
could also be used to solve big problems in particle physics.
While hardly a threat to supercomputing giants like IBN, the achievement illustrates
the point that consumer electronics has now become a leading edge of the computer
industry. Advances are no longer trickling down to these devices from grand
government projects but surging up from this innovation hot spot. Although some
manufacturers have gone to great lengths to prevent unusual uses of their consumer
equipment, it is hoped that most would adopt Sony's tinkerer-friendly attitude,
allowing this hot spot to percolate Upward as fast as possible.
56. According to the passage, what is the first bit of news about Sony play
stations?
1) Kide like to play the kill-or-be-killed video games.
2) Kide get bored soon from games played on the Sony Play station.
3) Kide like to play kill-or-be-killed games on the Sony Play station 2.
4) Unlike the popular opinion, the kill-or-be-killed video games can be good for
children's brain power.
57. What have the researchers at the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications and the computer science department at the University of Illinois
at Urbana accomplished with the help of Sony Play stations?
1) To become Sony's tinkerers hot spot.
2) To build a specialized supercomputer.
3) To become a leading edge of computer industry.
4) To pay one fifth of the actual cost for the computer science.
58. By reading the passage, which of the following can best reveal who a
tinkerer may be ?
1) Children playing with Play stations.
2) Researchers working at scientific centers.
3) Manufacturers producing consumer electronics.
4) People who try to repair or improve something in a casual way

Passage 15:
Within the next several years, we'll be awash in powerful, cheap sensor radiofrequency ID (RFID) tags that track objects (and the people who to be wear riding, or

chatting into them); biometric sensors that will identify us by our unit irises,
fingerprints, voices, walking patterns, or other physical quirks; Glo Positioning
System receivers, embedded into all manner of things, able to track u: within a meter;
and tiny, high-resolution digital still and video cameras, also built everything from
cell phones to wallpaper.
The resulting torrent of data will cascade into government and corporate systems,
the Internet. Facts and information that are largely incoherent overwhelming in
volume and detail will accumulate in databases too scattered numerous-and valuable
-to be shut off completely from the rest of cyberspace.
59. What is meant by cyberspace as given on the last line of the passage?
1) Databases.

2) The Internet.

3) The information world.

4) The cascading torrent of data.

60. If you were asked to choose the best title for the above passage which oj
followings would it be?
1) The Cheap Sensors.

2) The Tracking Sensors.

3) The Ubiquitous Sensors.

4) The Omnipotent Sensors.

61. The principal feature of a biometric sensor is to identify .....................
1) A human trait.

2) A physical quirk.

3) An individual's position.

4) All of the above.

Exercises
Read the next page texts: A, B and C then: complete table.
A

B

C

1. Area of IT
2. Predictions
3. Comments

Text A.
Telecoms applications will soon be bundled together in much the same way as office
application suites are today. A major example is the electronic marketplace, which will bring
customers and suppliers together in smart databases and virtual environments, with ID
verification, encryption and translation. It will then implement the billing, taxation and
electronic funds transfer, while automatically producing accounts and auditing. The whole
suite of services will be based on voice processing, allowing a natural voice interface to talk
to the computer, all the AI to carry out the request and voice synthesis and visualization
technology to get the answer out.
Electronic money will be very secure but much more versatile than physical
alternatives. E-cash can be completely global and could be used as a de facto standard. It does

not have to be linked to any national currency, so can be independent of local currency
fluctuations. Its growing use on the Net will lead to its acceptance on the street and we may
hold a large proportion of our total funds in this global electronic cash. People will
increasingly buy direct from customized manufacturers. Shops will be places where people
try on clothes, not buy them. Their exact measurements can be sent instantly to the
manufacturer as soon as they have chosen an outfit. The shops may be paid by the
manufacturer instead.

Text B.
Employment patterns will change, as many jobs are automated and new jobs come into
existence to serve new technologies. Some organizations will follow the virtual company
model, where a small core of key employees is supported by contractors on a project by
project basis, bringing together the right people regardless of where they live. The desks they
will use will have multiple flat screens, voice interfaces, computer programs with human-like
faces and personalities, full-screen videoconferencing and 3D sound positioning. All this will
be without any communication cables since the whole system uses high capacity infrared
links. The many short-term contractors may not have enough space in their homes for an
office and may go instead to a new breed of local telework centre.
Of course, workers can be fully mobile and we could see some people abandon offices
completely, roaming the world and staying in touch via satellite systems. Even in trains and
planes there may be infrared distribution to each seat to guarantee high bandwidth
communication. One tool they may have in a few years is effectively a communicator badge.
This will give them a voice link to computers across the network, perhaps on their office
desk. Using this voice link, they can access their files and email and carry out most computerbased work. Their earphones will allow voice synthesizers to read out their mail and glasses
with a projection system built into the arms and reflectors on the lenses will allow a head-up
display of visual information. Perhaps by 2010, these glasses could be replaced by an active
contact lens that writes pictures directly onto the retina using tiny lasers.

Text C.
Finally to the very long term, by around 2030, we may have the technology to directly link
our brain to the ultra-smart computers that will be around then, giving us so much extra
brainpower that we deserve a new name, Homo Cybernetics. In much the same time frame,
geneticists may have created the first biologically optimized humans, Homo Optimus. It
would make sense to combine this expertise with information technology wizardry to make
something like the Borg, Homo Hybridus, with the body of an Olympic athlete and a brain
literally the size of the planet, the whole global superhighway and every machine connected
to it. Over time, this new form may converge with the machine world, as more and more of
his thoughts occur in cyberspace. With a complete backup on the network, Homo Hybridus
would be completely immortal. Ordinary biological humans would eventually accept the

transition and plain old Homo Sapiens could become voluntarily extinct, perhaps as early as
2200.
5. Complete the gaps in this text on operating systems using these linking words and
phrases:
although

in addition

because

such as

but

therefore

The user is aware of the effects of different applications programs ……….……
operating systems are invisible to most users. They lie between applications programs,
………………. word-processing and the hardware. The supervisor program is the most
important. It remains in memory, ……………… it is referred to as resident. Others are called
non-resident ………. they are loaded into memory only when needed. Operating systems
manage

the

computer’s

resources,

……….……..

the

central

processing

unit,

………………….. they establish a user interface and execute and provide services for
applications software, ………..…….. input and output operations are invoked by applications
programs, they are carried out by the operating system.
6. Some verbs beginning or ending with -en- have a causative meaning. Replace the
words in italics in these sentences with the appropriate form of -en- verb from this
list.
enable

encrypt

ensure

encode

enhance

enlarge

heighten

widen

brighten

encourage
fasten

1. A MIDI message makes sound into code as 8-bit bytes of digital information.
2. The teacher is using a new program to give courage to children to write stories.
3. The new version of SimCity has been made better in many ways.
4. A gateway makes it possible for dissimilar networks to communicate.
5. You can convert data to secret code to make it secure.
6. Make sure the machine is disconnected before you remove the case.
7. Designers can offer good ideas for making your website brighter.
8. Electronic readers allow you to make the print size larger.
9. Programmers write software which makes the computer able to carry particular tasks.
10. You can make the picture on your monitor wider.

7. Read the following passage (A) and then explain how some drivers solve this
problem for themselves.
Passage A:
In the last ten years, police have installed speed trap units on many busy roads. These contain
a radar set, a microprocessor and a camera equipped with a flash. The radar sends out a beam
of radio waves at a frequency of 24 gigahertz. This is equivalent to a wavelength of 1.25 cms.
If a car is moving towards the radar, the reflected signal will bounce back with a slightly
smaller wavelength. If away from the radar, the waves will reflect with a slightly longer
wavelength. The microprocessor within the unit measures the difference in wavelength
between outgoing and returning signals and calculates the speed of each vehicle. If it is above
the speed pre-set by the police, the camera takes a picture of the vehicle. The information is
stored on a smart card for transfer to the police computer. The owner of the vehicle can then
be traced using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Center database.

Now compare your answer with the following passage (B):
Passage B:
Some drivers have now got used to these traps. They slow down when they approach one to
ensure that the camera is not triggered. They speed up again as soon as they have passed. This
is known as ‘surfing’. One way of outwitting such motorists is a new computerized system.
This consists of two units equipped with digital cameras positioned at a measured distance
apart. The first unit records the time each vehicle passes it and identifies each vehicle by its
number plates using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. This information is
relayed to the second unit which repeats the exercise. The microprocessor within the second
unit then calculates the time taken by each vehicle to travel between the units. The
registration numbers of those vehicles exceeding the speed limit are relayed to police
headquarters where a computer matches each vehicle with the DVLC database. Using mailmerge a standard letter is then printed off addressed to the vehicle owner.

Structure

A. -ing form as a noun; after prepositions
We can use the -ing form of the verb as a noun. It can be the subject, object, or complement
of a sentence. For example:
1. Managing the computer’s resources is an important function of the operating system.
2. The operating system starts running the user interface as soon as the PC is switched
on.
3. Another function of the operating system is executing and providing services for
applications software.
The -ing form is also used after prepositions. This includes to when it is a preposition and not
part of the infinitive. For example:
4. Without the user being aware of the details, the operating system manages the
computer’s resources.
5. We begin by focusing on the interaction between a user and a PC operating system.
6. We look forward to having cheaper and faster computers.

Exercises
1. Rewrite each of these sentences like this:
An important function of the operating system is to manage the computer’s resources.
Managing the computer’s resources is an important function of the operating system.
1. One task of the supervisor program is to load into memory non resident programs as
required.
2. The role of the operating system is to communicate directly with the hardware.
3. One of the key functions of the operating system is to establish a user interface.
4. An additional role is to provide services for applications software.
5. Part of the work of mainframe operating systems is to support multiple programs
and users.
6. The task in most cases is to facilitate interaction between a single user and a PC.
7. One of the most important functions of a computer is to process large amounts of
data quickly.
8. The main reason for installing more memory is to allow the computer to process
data faster.

2. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the verb:
infinitive or -ing form.
1. Don’t switch off without (close down) your PC.
2. I want to (upgrade) my computer.
3. He can’t get used to (log on) with a password.
4. You can find information on the Internet by (use) a search engine.

5. He objected to (pay) expensive telephone calls for Internet access.
6. He tried to (hack into) the system without (know) the password.
7. You needn’t learn how to (program) in HTML before (design) WebPages.
8. I look forward to (input) data by voice instead of (use) a keyboard.
B. verbs + object + infinitive
C. verbs + object + to-infinitive
New developments in computing are often designed to make something easier.
These verbs are often used to describe such developments:
allow, let, enable, permit, help

Study these examples:
1. A GUI lets you point to icons and click a mouse button to execute a task.
2. A GUI allows you to use a computer without knowing any operating system
commands.
3. The X-Window System enables Unix-based computers to have a graphical look and
feel.
4. Voice recognition software helps disabled users (to) access computers.
allow, enable and permit are used with this structure:
verb + object + to-infinitive
let is used with this structure:
verb + object + infinitive
help can be used with either structure.
3. Complete the gap in each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
1. The Help facility enables users…………… (get) advice on most problems.
2. Adding more memory lets your computer …........ (work) faster.
3. Windows allows you …………. (display) two different folders at the same time.
4. The Shift key allows you ……….. (type) in upper case.
5. The MouseKeys feature enables you ……………. (use) the numeric keypad to move
the mouse pointer.
6. ALT + TAB allows you …………… (switch) between programs.
7. The Sticky Keys feature helps disabled people ………… (operate) two keys
simultaneously.
8. ALT + PRINT SCREEN lets you …………….. (copy) an image of an active
window to the Clipboard.

Vocabulary section
This part contains entries for some keywords like flash-cards. In order to study vocabulary
efficiently, you must have a study plan and follow it carefully.

In these flash-cards, direct under the word, you will find other forms of the same word.
These words have the same general meaning; they represent the different parts of speech of
the word. For each of the forms, the part of speech is given. Also you can observe two
examples of using the keywords and other parts.
The keyword is then, defined in clear, easy to understand English.
aggravating

adj. making worse; annoying

n. aggravation

syn. irritating

v. aggravate
The aggravating delay was caused by road repairs.
The shortage of work aggravated the crisis in the small town.
convert

v. to change from one form or state to another

adj. convertible

syn. alter

n. conversion
When boiled, liquids convert to gases.
The conversion from Fahrenheit to centigrade can be easily made.
curative

adj. being able to restore to good condition

n. cure

syn. healing

The curative properties of certain plants have been well documented.
There is no simple cure for the ills of society.
debilitating

adj. weakening

v. debilitate

syn. weakening

n. debility
The lack of investment savings has a debilitating effect on the economy.
The patient’s debility restricted him to the room.
deplete

v. to use up; to reduce greatly

adj. depleted

syn. consume

n. depletion
She depleted all of her savings to buy the word processor.
The depletion of the Earth’s oil reserves poses a threat to our current style of
life.
toxic
n. toxicity

adj. harmful; capable of being fatal
syn. poisonous

Disposal of toxic wastes is an ongoing problem.
This product has the highest toxicity of any known to science.

acknowledge
n. acknowledgment

v. to know, remember and accept the existence of

adj. acknowledged

syn. concede

something

The foreman acknowledged the fact that there had been a mistake in the
design of the house.
The promotion he received was an acknowledgment of his excellent work.
tranquility
adj. tranquil

n. calm; quietness
syn. peacefulness

v. tranquilize
The tranquility of the lake at sunrise inspired a profound sense of well-being.
His tranquil manner of expressing made us all feel more secure.

data warehouse – a data warehouse is a collection of data designed to support
decision making
and analytical processing. Data warehouses contain a wide variety of data, usually
from multiple
data sources, presenting a comprehensive view of a particular business environment.
Due to the
nature of the data stored in a data warehouse, the size of the data warehouse is usually
very
large, so it requires special design and planning.
directory service – one or more databases that store and manage distribution lists
containing
information like user identifiers, e-mail addresses, and network component addresses.
Directory
services are used by many different applications.
disaster recovery – (1) Reactions to a sudden, unplanned event that enable an
organization to
continue critical business functions until normal business operations resume, such as
data center
and other critical applications (2) Recovery plans and technology that ensure the
continued
operation of critical business functions when productivity is threatened by unforeseen
circumstances
disk array – two or more hard disks interconnected to increase security, performance,
or
reliability
distributed computing – computing performed on geographically dispersed
platforms connected
via a network; also referred to as network computing.

distributed device management – a management approach enabling heterogeneous
devices
from different vendors to provide event, fault, and performance data using a common
graphical
user interface (GUI), a common set of application program interfaces (APIs),
common console
support, and reporting and data aggregation capabilities. Distributed device
management
provides a single view of devices included in a heterogeneous distributed computing
environment.
distributed infrastructure – a foundation consisting of multiple applications
exchanging data
and information across a complex, heterogeneous environment
distributed systems management – the process of remote monitoring and
management of
servers, networks, databases, and applications. This process includes performance
management, scheduling, access control, help desk support, user account
maintenance, and
change management.
distributed transaction – a computer transaction that requires the successful
completion of
multiple events on multiple systems before it can be completed. For example, when
transferring
money from a savings account to a checking account, the transaction involves both a
debit and a
credit. It is imperative that both parts of the transfer occur: (1) the withdrawing of
funds from the
savings account, and (2) the deposit into the checking account. All steps in the process
must
succeed; otherwise, no steps are allowed to succeed. A distributed transaction
processing
monitor ensures completeness of a complex distributed transaction.
DLL (Dynamic Link Library) – a library of shared executable functions that can be
dynamically
linked into a Windows application during program execution. The application code
contained in a
Dynamic Link Library is not coded and compiled into each application system that
uses it.
DNS (domain name system) – the way that Internet domain names are located and
translated
into IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-toremember
"handle" for an Internet address. Maintaining a central list of domain name/IP address

correspondences would be impractical; therefore, the lists of domain names and IP
addresses
are distributed throughout the Internet in a hierarchy of authority. There is probably a
DNS server
within close geographic proximity to your access provider that maps the domain
names in your
Internet requests or forwards them to other servers in the Internet.
document management – a technology that provides more control and better
management of
computer-generated files. This technology adds enhanced file security, revision
control, file
descriptions, extended file names, and user access privileges to the basic file directory
management features of the computer operating system.
domain name system server – software that provides the capability for a long or
complicated
TCP/IP network location to be accessed by a generic, short alphabetic name. It is
basically a
lookup service. It maps the generic alphabetic DNS name to its complicated TCP/IP
location. (For
example, a client can access a database by using the generic name "Summary." The
DNS server
accepts
"Summary"
and
translates
"\\UX00001\SRV1\DBASE\DATAWAR.FIL".

the

address

into

The client then is able to access the database). If the database location changes, the
DNS
configuration is changed, and no changes are needed to each client configuration.
dot-com – any Web site intended for business use and, in some usages, it's a term for
any kind
of Web site. The term is based on the .com that forms the last part of the address for
most
commercial Web sites. The term is popular in news stories about how the business
world is
transforming itself to meet the opportunities and competitive challenges posed by the
Internet and
the World Wide Web.
driver – (1) A program (and possibly data files) that contains information needed to
run a
particular unit, such as a plotter, printer, port, or mouse (2) A system or device that
enables a
functional unit to operate (3) A circuit that increases the signal current for sending
data over long

cables or to many other circuits (4) A circuit that sends small electronic signals to a
device (5)
Software that interacts with the operating system to control communications
equipment and
facilitate the transfer of information to and from the network. Examples include
software needed
to support printers, a pointer device, and other hardware.
fat server – a two-tier client/server model for application design in which the
business rules are
tightly integrated and deployed with the code that performs data access. A fat server is
usually
deployed on a server.
FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) – a WAN technology for wiring and
access control.
FDDI offers operating speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and is a good
choice for a
backbone network solution. FDDI is a standard for data transmission on fiber optic
lines in a local
area network that can extend in range up to 200 km (124 miles). The FDDI protocol is
based on
the token ring protocol.
In addition to being large geographically, an FDDI local area network can support
thousands of
users. An FDDI network contains two token rings, one for possible backup in case the
primary
ring fails. The primary ring offers up to 100 Mbps capacity. If the secondary ring is
not needed for
backup, it can also carry data, extending capacity to 200 Mbps. The single ring can
extend the
maximum distance; a dual ring can extend 100 km (62 miles).
federated data – common data elements that are defined consistently across the
enterprise,
even if located in multiple places. It is stored and maintained once whenever possible,
accessed
by each system that needs it, and collection, verification, storage, and maintenance are
typically
all in one place.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – in TCP/IP, an application protocol used for
transferring files to
and from host computers. FTP, a standard Internet protocol, is the simplest way to
exchange files
between computers on the Internet. Like the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP),
which transfers

displayable Web pages and related files, and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP), which
transfers e-mail, FTP is an application protocol that uses the Internet's TCP/IP
protocols.
FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page files from their creator to the computer
that acts as
their server for everyone on the Internet. It's also commonly used to download
programs and
other files to your computer from other servers. As a user, you can use FTP with a
simple
command line interface (for example, from the Windows MS-DOS Prompt window)
or with a
commercial program that offers a graphical user interface (GUI). Your Web browser
can also
make FTP requests to download programs you select from a Web page.
gateway – (1) A functional unit that interconnects two computer networks with
different network
architectures. A bridge interconnects networks or systems with the same or similar
architectures.
(2) In TCP/IP, a device used to connect two systems that use either the same or
different
communications protocols (3) The combination of machines and programs that
provide address
translation, name translation, and systems services control point rerouting between
independent
SNA networks to allow those networks to communicate (4) Hardware or software that
handles
communication between two dissimilar protocols. In the network for an enterprise, a
computer
server acting as a gateway node is often also acting as a proxy server and a firewall
server.
Gateways also involve the use of routers and switches.
Gbps – billions of bits per second; a measure of bandwidth on a digital data
transmission medium
such as optical fiber. With slower media and protocols, bandwidth may be in the
Mbps (millions of
bits or megabits per second) or the Kbps (thousands of bits or kilobits per second)
range.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) – a file format for images. GIF is commonly
used on the
World Wide Web.

gigabyte – a measure of computer data storage capacity and is "roughly" a billion
bytes. A
gigabyte is two to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 in decimal notation.
glass house – an informal term used to describe mainframe data centers. The glass
house term
evolved because of the windows surrounding a data center. People could see inside
but needed
special authorization to enter.
gov – "gov" is one of the top-level domain names that can be used when choosing a
domain
name. It generally describes the entity owning the domain name as a branch or an
agency of the
U.S. Federal government. (Other U.S. government levels are encouraged to use the
geographic
top-level domain name of "us.")
Along with the second-level domain name (for example: "whitehouse" in
whitehouse.gov), the
top-level domain name is required in Web and e-mail addresses. The Internet
Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) has overall responsibility for domain names (as well as for IP
addresses and
many other Internet parameters). Day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the Internet
Registry
(IR) and regional registries. In North America, the domain name registry is InterNIC.
Specific
criteria are set forth for the use of the top-level domain name in RFC 1591 - Domain
Name
System Structure and Delegation and in InterNIC's Registration Template.
granularity – the relative size, scale, level of detail, or depth of penetration that
characterizes an
object or activity. It may help to think of it as: which type of "granule" are we looking
at? This term
is used in astronomy, photography, physics, linguistics, and fairly often in information
technology.
It can refer to the level of a hierarchy of objects or actions, to the fineness of detail in
a
photograph, or to the amount of information that is supplied in describing a person's
age.
groupware – software that provides the infrastructure for staff to work
collaboratively and share
information electronically, regardless of where they are geographically located

GUI (graphical user interface) – an end-user interface to an application that makes
use of
windows, icons, menus, pointers, and scroll bars. A GUI accepts input from a
keyboard and a
pointing device, such as a mouse. It takes advantage of the graphical computer
environments
and is typically easy to use and understand.
hand-held computer – a computer that can conveniently be stored in a pocket (of
sufficient size)
and used while you're holding it. Today's hand-held computers, which are also called
personal
digital assistants (PDAs), can be divided into those that accept handwriting as input
and those
with small keyboards. Windows CE and EPOC are two of the most widely used
operating
systems in hand-held computers.
hard-coded – an informal term that describes a programming technique where logic,
data, and
procedures are specifically written into a software program
hardware – (1) All or part of the physical components of an information processing
system, such
as computers or peripheral devices (2) Physical devices that are capable of performing
automated computing functions
hard-wired – a direct physical connection between computing devices
harvesting – the examination of legacy applications to identify functions that can be
isolated into
stand-alone program modules or components. These modules and components can be
shared by
many applications.
help desk – an integrated support services structure forming the hub for effectively
using and
deploying technology. It is the central collection point for client contact and control of
the problem,
change, and service management process.
heterogeneous systems – information systems that contain components and software
from
different manufacturers

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) – legislation
helping to set a
national standard for protecting the security and integrity of medical records when
they are kept in

electronic form
home page – the set of files containing related information coded in Hypertext
Markup Language
(HTML) and placed on a computer linked to the Internet and available to users on the
Internet via
a Universal Resource Locator (URL) address.
(1) For a Web user, the home page is the first Web page that is displayed after starting
a Web
browser like Netscape's Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The browser is
usually
preset so that the home page is the first page of the browser manufacturer. However,
you
can set it to open to any Web site.
(2) For a Web site developer, a home page is the first page presented when a user
selects a site
or presence on the World Wide Web. The usual address for a Web site is the home
page
address, although you can enter the address (URL) of any page and have that page
sent to
you.

ICANN (The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) –
ICANN has been
designated to conduct the registrar accreditation process of domain name registration
for toplevel
domains (gov, net, com, org). ICANN's responsibility ultimately is derived from the
Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which inherited responsibility for Internet root
naming and
address assignment from the originator of the Internet, DARPA.
intelligent agent – a program that gathers information or performs some other service
without
your immediate presence and on some regular schedule. Typically, an agent program,
using
parameters you have provided, searches all or some part of the Internet, gathers
information
you're interested in, and presents it to you on a daily or other periodic basis.
An agent is sometimes called a bot (short for robot). Other agents have been
developed that
personalize information on a Web site based on registration information and usage
analysis.
Other types of agents include specific site watchers that tell you when the site has
been updated

or look for other events and analyst agents that not only gather but also organize and
interpret
information for you. The practice or technology of having information brought to you
by an agent
is sometimes referred to as push technology.
last-mile technology – any telecommunications technology, such as wireless radio,
that carries
signals from the broad telecommunication infrastructure along the relatively short
distance
(hence, the "last mile") to and from the home or business. Or to put it another way:
the
infrastructure at the neighborhood level. In many communities, last-mile technology
represents a
major remaining challenge to high-bandwidth applications such as on-demand
television, fast
Internet access, and Web pages full of multimedia effects. Today, in addition to "plain
old
telephone (dial-up) service," last-mile technologies that deliver voice, data, and TV
can include:
ISDN, DSL over existing telephone twisted-pair lines, cable and the cable modem for
data (using
the same installed coaxial cable that already is used for television), and wireless,
including
services such as DirecTV.
LATA (local access transport area) – a term in the U.S. for a geographic area
covered by one
or more local telephone companies, which are legally referred to as local exchange
carriers
(LECs). A connection between two local exchanges within the LATA is referred to as
intraLATA.
A connection between a carrier in one LATA to a carrier in another LATA is referred
to as
interLATA. InterLATA is long-distance service. The current rules for permitting a
company to
provide intraLATA or interLATA service (or both) are based
Telecommunications Act of

on

the

1996.
Level 2 Support – a help desk function tier. Level 2 client support provides advanced
technical
expertise to the Level 1 client contact points. Their responsibility is to analyze the
requests routed

to them and resolve the problems. Resources at this level can be composed of staff
specialists
and/or third-party providers/vendors.
Level 3 Support – a help desk function tier. Level 3 client support is composed of
highly
specialized technical experts. Calls that cannot be solved at Levels 1 and 2 are routed
to this
level. Resources at this level can be composed of staff specialists and/or third-party
providers/vendors.
leveraged management of IT – the practice of constructing and coordinating
operational and
business functions across organizational and geographic boundaries to provide service
and
support for the comprehensive IT environment
list server – a program that handles subscription requests for a mailing list and
distributes new
messages, newsletters, or other postings from the list's members to the entire list of
subscribers
as they occur or are scheduled. (A list server should not be confused with a mail
server, which
handles incoming and outgoing e-mail for Internet users.) Two commonly used list
servers are
listserv and Majordomo. Lyris is a list server that is free for users maintaining very
small mailing
lists and scales up in price for those managing thousands of mailing list subscribers.
LOB (line of business) – an individual business unit within a larger organization
logical application boundary – a boundary that exists between related application
systems
look and feel – the appearance and behavior of a graphical user interface (GUI) to the
end user,
determined by the tools and style guide provided by the vendor
loosely coupled – the method of n-tier application development where services and
components
are implemented as separate tiers. If a tier changes, it is easy to deploy the change
since it does
not affect other tiers.
LPAR (logical partition) – (1) Physical partition that is divided into a greater
number of partitions
using software. The number of logical partitions within a logical volume is variable.
(2) In the IBM
mainframe operating environment, this is the concept where one physical computer
system can
be divided up into multiple mainframe operating environments utilizing software
partitioning. This

allows ITS to partition a single physical computer into several different "virtual"
computers, which
can be started and stopped separately while sharing the same hardware resources.
machine language – the language that a computer uses to process commands.
Machine
languages are built from numbers only and are specific to each computer platform.
mailbox – an electronic storage area that manages e-mail for a particular end user
mainframe – (1) A computer, usually in a computer center, with extensive
capabilities and
resources to which other computers may be connected so that they can share facilities
Note: the
term usually refers to the hardware only: main storage, execution circuitry, and
peripheral units.
(2) A large and powerful computer that is capable of supporting thousands of
simultaneous users

MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface) – a system built into
Microsoft
Windows that enables e-mail-style messaging by a variety of Windows applications.
It allows
different applications to distribute messages to each other.
marketspace – a new term for the market where electronic commerce is conducted. It
encompasses the transition from physically defined markets to markets based on and
controlled
by information.
Mbps (millions of bits per second) – a measure of bandwidth (the total information
flow over a
given time) on a data transmission medium such as twisted-pair copper cable, coaxial
cable, or
optical fiber. Depending on the medium and the transmission method, bandwidth may
also be in
the Kbps (thousands of bits or kilobits per second) range or the Gbps (billions of bits
or gigabits
per second) range.
megabyte – (1) As a measure of computer processor storage and real and virtual
memory, a
megabyte (abbreviated MB) is 2 to the 20th power bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes in
decimal notation.
(2) According to the IBM Dictionary of Computing, when used to describe disk
storage capacity
and transmission rates, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes in decimal notation. (3)
According to the
Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary, a megabyte means either 1,000,000 bytes or
1,048,576

bytes. (4) According to Eric S. Raymond in The New Hacker's Dictionary, a
megabyte is always
1,048,576 bytes on the argument that bytes should naturally be computed in powers of
two.
message store – a database used to file and manipulate e-mail messages, allowing
messages
to be opened, read, deleted, browsed, and searched
migration – the process of moving files from one storage medium to another. An
administrator
can set high and low thresholds for hard disk capacity that hierarchical storage
management
(HSM) software will use to decide when to migrate older or less-frequently used files
to another
medium. Certain file types, such as executable files (programs), can be excluded from
those to
be migrated.
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) – an SMTP message structure that is
the
standard specification for the attachment of audio, video, image, and application
programs to
plain ASCII text messages
minicomputer – an intermediate-size computer that can perform the same kinds of
applications
as a mainframe but has less storage capacity, processing power, and speed than a
mainframe
MTA (message transfer agent) – an e-mail delivery program that accepts a message
from either
a MUA or another MTA. The message is stored locally while the MTA determines
the message's
destination and delivery method.
Open Group, The – an international consortium of computer and software
manufacturers and
users dedicated to advancing multi-vendor technologies. The Open Group was formed
from two
previously independent groups— the Open Software Foundation (OSF) and X/Open
Company
Ltd. The Open Group maintains standards for the Distributed Computing
Environment.
open system – a system whose characteristics comply with standards made available
throughout the industry and therefore can be connected to other systems complying
with the
same standards

operations – coordination of system and network resources throughout an enterprise
in order to
support business processes
operations management – the coordination of system and network resources
throughout the
enterprise. Its goal is to provide reliable availability for mission critical systems. It
includes job
scheduling to coordinate jobs and processes in the distributed environment,
fault/event
management, configuration management, backup and recovery and automated
software
distribution.
optical storage – system storage that uses a laser optic mechanism for reading
and writing data
organizational boundary – the boundary between two agencies or other state
and federal
organizations
OS (operating system) – software that performs basic functions on a
platform, such as
accepting input from the keyboard, sending output to a screen, managing files
and directories on
disks, and controlling other devices such as printers
OSI (Open System Interconnection) – an ISO standard for worldwide
communications defining
a framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed
from one layer to the
next, starting at the application layer in one station, proceeding to the bottom
layer, over the
channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy.
OTS (off-the-shelf) – ready-made products that can easily be obtained. The
term is sometimes
used in military procurement specifications.
outsourcing – an arrangement in which one company provides services for
another company
that could also be or usually have been provided in-house. Outsourcing is a
trend that is
becoming more common in information technology and other industries for
services that have
usually been regarded as intrinsic to managing a business. In some cases, the
entire information
management of a company is outsourced, including planning and business
analysis as well as
the installation, management, and servicing of the network and workstations.
PABX (private automatic branch exchange) – an automatic telephone
switching system within
a private enterprise. Originally, such systems, called private branch exchanges
(PBXs), required
the use of a live operator. Since almost all private branch exchanges today are
automatic, the

abbreviation "PBX" usually implies a "PABX." Some manufacturers of PABX
(PBX) systems
distinguish their products from others by creating new kinds of private branch
exchanges.
PAC (privilege access certificate) – a mechanism by which an authenticated
client establishes
a session with a server, subsystem, or application it wants to access and is
permitted or denied
privileges to perform activities that it might attempt
packet – a collection of data that is transmitted as a bundle across a network
connection
packet switching – the process of routing and transferring data by means of
addressed packets
so that a channel is occupied only during transmission of a packet. On
completion of the
transmission, the channel is made available for transfer of other packets.
parallel processing – (1) The concurrent or simultaneous execution of two or
more processes in
a single unit (2) Capability to support the additional processing power needed
for queries against
very large relational databases
partitioning – to electronically segment or separate the hard drive of a
computer or a database
into different sections or components. Partitioning typically is done for
performance reasons.
PDA (personal digital assistant) – any small mobile hand-held device that
provides computing
and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use,
often for keeping
schedule calendars and address book information handy. The term handheld
computer is a
synonym.
PDF (Portable Document Format) – a file format, developed by Adobe
Systems, that captures
formatting information from a variety of desktop applications, making it
possible to electronically
send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient's monitor or
printer in the
original format.
petabyte – a measure of memory or storage capacity and is 2 to the 50th power
bytes or, in
decimal, approximately a thousand terabytes
physical partitioning – an application deployment method where software
components of an
application are physically deployed on various platforms. Physical partitioning
is independent of
the logical partitioning of an application.
pilot project – a project designed to test a preliminary version of an
information processing

system under actual but limited operating conditions and which will then be
used to test the
definitive version of the system
PIO (Public Information Officer) – The person in this position handles press
releases as well as
any external communication that staff of the agency creates. The PIO is also
responsible for
internal communications.
PIM (personal information manager) – software application akin to an
appointment book that
enables the user to organize personal information
PKI (public key infrastructure) – enables users of a basically unsecure
public network— such as
the Internet— to securely and privately exchange data and money through the
use of a public and
a private cryptographic key pair that is obtained and shared through a trusted
authority. The
public key infrastructure provides for digital certificates that can identify
individuals or
organizations and directory services that can store and, when necessary,
revoke them.
A public key infrastructure consists of: a certificate authority (CA) that issues
and verifies digital
certificates; a registration authority (RA) that acts as the verifier for the
certificate authority before
a digital certificate is issued to a requestor; one or more directories where the
certificates (with
their public keys) are held (usually in an ITU X.500 standard directory); and a
certificate
management system.
platform – a combination of computer hardware and operating system
software
platform-independent languages – high-level computer programming
languages that can
compile and execute programs that can be deployed on multiple platforms
PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) – a protocol (set of
communication rules) that allows
corporations to extend their own corporate network through private "tunnels"
over the public
Internet. Effectively, a corporation uses a wide-area network (WAN) as a
single large local area
network. A company no longer needs to lease its own lines for wide-area
communication but can
securely use the public networks. This kind of interconnection is known as a
virtual private
network (VPN).
point-to-point – pertaining to data transmission between two locations
without the use of any
intermediate display station or computer

policy-based networking – the management of a network so that various
kinds of traffic— data,
voice, and video— get the priority of availability and bandwidth needed to
serve the network's
users effectively. Using policy statements, network administrators can specify
which kinds of
service to give priority at what times of day on what parts of their Internet
Protocol (IP)-based
network. This kind of management is often known as Quality of Service (QoS)
and is controlled
using policy-based network software.
process – (1) A standardized method of performing work that is broken down
into specific or
detailed tasks (2) An instance of a software program during execution
process-oriented – an adjective describing software or services that are
adapted to the
processes needed to complete a business function
project management – the formalized process of managing a large project,
typically
accomplished with the assistance of project management application software.
IRM and the
Enterprise Project Management Office are examples of groups that practice
project management.
proprietary – an adjective that applies to a design or technique owned by a
company which has
not divulged specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the
product or to allow
other software programs to interface with it
reuse methodology – a consistent method for using componentware in a serviceoriented
architecture. The reuse methodology includes establishing an inventory, catalog,
design
standards, principles, quality assurance, and performance incentives.

RFI (request for information) – less formal version of RFP
RFP (request for proposal) – request to a vendor soliciting a proposal for services,
hardware,
software, or systems integration
ring topology – a network LAN infrastructure in which all network-connected
devices are
connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop. Each device is connected
directly to two
other devices, one on each side.
scalability – (1) The capability for a software application to provide support to more
users or a

higher volume of transactions or data than the application was originally deployed to
support (2)
The ability to quickly meet demands for increased performance: processing power,
network
connectivity, or data storage. In information technology, scalability seems to have two
uses.
(A) It is the ability of a computer application or product (hardware or software) to
continue to
function well as it (or its context) is changed in size or volume in order to meet a user
need.
Typically, the rescaling is to a larger size or volume. The rescaling can be of the
product itself
(for example, a line of computer systems of different sizes in terms of storage, RAM,
and so
forth) or in the scalable object's movement to a new context (for example, a new
operating
system).
(B) It is the ability not only to function well in the rescaled situation, but also to
actually take full
advantage of it. For example, an application program would be scalable if it could be
moved
from a smaller to a larger operating system and take full advantage of the larger
operating
system in terms of performance (user response time and so forth) and the larger
number of
users that could be handled. It is usually easier to have scalability upward rather than
downward since developers often must make full use of a system's resources (for
example,
the amount of disk storage available) when an application is initially coded. Scaling a
product
downward may mean having to achieve the same results in a more constrained
environment.
scheduling and calendaring – a technology that provides, by combining with an
organization's
overall groupware system(s), a methodology for coordination and communications of
individual
and group activities and plans
security – protection of the physical, intellectual, and electronic assets of an
enterprise, including
its security policies,
administration, and
workstation security

network

access

controls,

virus

protection,

network

security services – risk assessment and protection of the physical, intellectual, and
electronic
assets of an enterprise, including security policies, network access, virus protection,
firewalls,
NOS administration and workstation security
SEI (Software Engineering Institute) – founded by the U.S. Department of Defense
to advance
the practice of software engineering
server – (1) A functional unit that provides shared services to workstations over a
network, for
example, a file server, a print server, a mail server (2) In TCP/IP, a system in a
network that
handles the requests of a system at another site, called a client/server (3) Software that
provides
functionality that can be requested by other software (4) A platform on which
software executes.
Server hardware is often referred to by the type of software that executes on it, such
as
"application server" or "database server," or by the operating system that it executes,
such as
"HP server" or "Novell Server."
service – (1) Functionality that can be requested by a software component (2) A
software
component that provides functionality that can be requested by other software
service broker – a generic middleware interface for application communication.
Common
middleware services are combined together and a single API is provided to meet
inter-application
communication needs.
service-oriented – an adjective describing software or services that are adapted to
provide a
service
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) – international standard way of
identifying
the basic structural elements of a text document. SGML addresses only the structure
of a
document, not its format or presentation.
storage management – a set of policies and operational procedures required to
maintain disk,
tape, and optical storage media
store and forward – a messaging technique where messages are stored in a message
queue
and forwarded to a software service as needed. Store and forward messaging is similar
to doing

business through voice mail. The voice mailbox is the queue. Incoming calls are
retrieved when it
is convenient, they are prioritized, and calls are returned at a convenient time.
stovepiped – generally refers to components that have poor integration capabilities
summary data – high-level data representing a summary of detailed data, such as
totals, yeartodate information, etc.
support services – a classification for the operating system components of a serviceoriented
architecture, such as printing, faxing, and imaging
synchronous processing – a method of communication that requires an immediate
response
before the requester can continue processing
tunneling – Relative to the Internet, tunneling is using the Internet as part of a private
secure
network. The "tunnel" is the particular path that a given message or file might travel
through the
Internet. A protocol or set of communication rules called Point-to-Point Tunneling
Protocol (PPTP)
has been proposed that would make it possible to create a virtual private network
(VPN) through
"tunnels" over the Internet. This would mean that companies would no longer need
their own
leased lines for wide-area communication but could securely use the public networks.
two-tier – a client/server application in which the code that implements the business
rules is
monolithic and is tightly coupled to either the code that implements the user interface
or to the
code that implements data access
UI (user interface) – a manner of presentation allowing applications to communicate
with people.
User interfaces include graphical user interfaces (GUIs), terminal or character-based
interfaces,
VRUs, and credit card readers.
UPS (uninterruptible power supply) – a device that allows your computer to keep
running for at
least a short time when the primary power source is lost. It also provides protection
from power
surges. A UPS contains a battery that "kicks in" when the device senses a loss of
power from the
primary source. If you are using the computer when the UPS notifies you of the power
loss, you

have time to save any data you are working on and exit gracefully before the
secondary power
source (the battery) runs out. When all power runs out, any data in your computer's
random
access memory (RAM) is erased. When power surges occur, a UPS intercepts the
surge so that
it doesn't damage your computer. Software is available that automatically backs up
(saves) any
data that is being worked on when nthe UPS becomes activated.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – a URL is the address of a file (resource)
accessible on the
Internet. The type of resource depends on the Internet application protocol. Using the
World Wide
Web's protocol, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the resource can be an
HTML page, an
image file, a program such as a CGI application or Java applet, or any other file
supported by
HTTP. The URL contains the name of the protocol required to access the resource, a
domain
name that identifies a specific computer on the Internet, and a hierarchical description
of a file
location on the computer. An example of an URL is: http://www.its.state.nc.us.
user – an active participant, person, or thing using a computer, computer program, or
services of
an enterprise
user authentication – application security code that requires both a user name and
password to
ensure that a user requesting access to a secured system or application is an authorized
user
user authorization – a security feature that identifies specific end users, by user ID,
as having
the authority to use or access an application or system
user interface – a manner of presentation allowing applications to communicate with
people.
User interfaces include graphical user interfaces (GUIs), terminal or character-based
interfaces,
voice recognition units (VRUs), and credit card readers
VAN (virtual area network) – a network on which users are enabled to share a more
visual
sense of community through high bandwidth connections. As conceived by PennWell
Media

Online, a virtual area network is something like a metropolitan area network (MAN)
or extended
local area network (LAN) in which all users can meet over high-bandwidth
connections, enabling
"face-to-face" online "coffeehouses,"
consultation, and online

remote

medical

diagnosis

and

legal

corporate or extra-corporate workgroups, focus groups, and conferences.
A VAN requires multi-megabyte data flow and can be implemented through the use
of ADSL but
more likely through the installation of cable modems. Since the high-bandwidth
connections imply
a common infrastructure, the first VANs are likely to be local or regional. However, a
VAN can
also be national or international in geographic scope, assuming all users share similar
capabilities.
Vantive – the customer support system software used by ITS
vCalendar – an industry standard format for exchanging scheduling and activityrecording
information electronically. If someone sends you their week's schedule in a vCalendar
attachment
to an e-mail note, you can drag-and drop it (or otherwise move it) to a personal
information
manager (PIM) type of application program and integrate with or relate it to your own
schedule.
vCalendar was developed along with the vCard electronic business card specification.
vCard – an electronic business (or personal) card and also the name of an industry
specification
for the kind of communication exchange that is done on business or personal cards.
You may
have seen a vCard attached to an e-mail note someone has sent you. Because vCard is
a
published industry specification, software application developers can create programs
that
process vCards by letting you view them, or drag-and-drop them to an address book
or some
other application. vCards can include images and sound as well as text.
VDC (virtual data center) – a concept encouraging the development of standard
network
configurations that are deployed locally but managed centrally. A VDC allows central
management of multiple instances of network configurations at remote sites and
behaves as if

they were on the same data center floor.
version control – the process of controlling, maintaining, and documenting
maintenance and
updates to computer software programs
vertical market – a particular industry or group of enterprises in which similar
products or
services are developed and marketed using similar methods (and to whom goods and
services
can be sold). Broad examples of vertical markets are insurance, real estate, banking,
heavy
manufacturing, retail, transportation, hospitals, and government.
vertical market software – software aimed at a particular vertical market. It can be
contrasted
with horizontal market software (such as word processors and spreadsheet programs)
that can
be used in a cross-section of industries.
video conferencing – a meeting that has active participants who are at geographically
dispersed
locations. Communication occurs through online audio and video technology.
VIM (vendor independent messaging) – an application program interface (API)
developed by
Lotus Development Corporation that provides cross-platform support for e-mail
applications
VLDB (very large database) – a database that contains 50 million rows or more. A
VLDB
requires special handling in order to maintain an acceptable level of performance.
voice mail – the use of computers to alert recipients that recorded telephone messages
are
waiting
VPN (virtual private network) – a private data network that makes use of the public
telecommunication infrastructure, maintaining privacy through the use of a tunneling
protocol and
security procedures. A virtual private network can be contrasted with a system of
owned or
leased lines that can only be used by one company. The idea of the VPN is to give the
company
the same capabilities at much lower cost by using the shared public infrastructure
rather than a
private one. Phone companies have provided secure shared resources for voice
messages. A
virtual private network makes it possible to have the same secure sharing of public
resources for
data. Companies today are looking at using a private virtual network for both
extranets and widearea

intranets.
VRU (voice response units) – an interface that allows users to communicate with an
application
via a telephone
Web browser – a software application used to locate and display Web pages from
Web sites on
the Internet
Web hosting – also known as Web site hosting; the business of housing, serving, and
maintaining files for one or more Web sites
Web page – an electronic document stored in HTML format that is accessible
through a Web site
Web site – an electronic collection of Web pages accessible through an intranet in an
organization or through the Internet on the World Wide Web. The initial connection
to a Web site
is through a home page. The Web site may contain links to other Web pages or sites.
white paper – an article that states an organization's position or philosophy about a
social,
political, or other subject, or a not-too-detailed technical explanation of an
architecture,
framework, or product technology. Typically, a white paper explains the results,
conclusions, or
construction resulting from some organized committee or research collaboration or
design and
development effort.
In information technology, a white paper is often a paper written by a lead product
designer to
explain the philosophy and operation of a product in a marketplace or technology
context. Many,
if not most, Web sites for software products include a white paper in addition to a
frequently
asked questions (FAQ) page and more detailed product specifications.
In government, a white paper is often a policy or position paper. The U.S.
Government's June
1998 policy statement on the Management of Internet Names and Addresses (known
generally
as "The White Paper") is an example of great interest to many Internet users.
wireless – Wireless refers to a communications, monitoring, or control system in
which
electromagnetic or acoustic waves carry a signal through atmospheric space rather
than along a
wire. In most wireless systems, radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) waves are used.
Some

monitoring devices, such as intrusion alarms, employ acoustic waves at frequencies
above the
range of human hearing.
wireless LAN – New high-bandwidth allocation for wireless LANs will make
possible a relatively
low-cost wiring of classrooms in the United States. A similar frequency allocation has
been made
in Europe. With a wireless LAN, a mobile user can connect to a local area network
(LAN) through
a radio connection.
X.500 Directory Service – the ISO/CCITT directory service protocol standard. X.500
Directory
Service is a standard way to develop an electronic directory of people in an
organization so that it
can be part of a global directory available to anyone in the world with Internet access.
Such a
directory is sometimes called a global White Pages directory. The idea is to be able to
look up
people in a user-friendly way by name, department, or organization. Many enterprises
and
institutions have created an X.500 directory. Because these directories are organized
as part of a
single global directory, you can search for hundreds of thousands of people from a
single place
on the World Wide Web.
The X.500 directory is organized under a common "root" directory in a "tree"
hierarchy of:
country, organization, organizational unit, and person. An entry at each of these levels
must have
certain attributes; some can have optional ones established locally. Each organization
can
implement a directory in its own way as long as it adheres to the basic schema or plan.
The
distributed global directory works through a registration process and one or more
central places
that manage many directories. Providing an X.500 directory allows an organization to
make it and
selected members known on the Internet.
XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) – a reformulation of HTML 4 as
an
application of the Extensible Markup Language (XML). For readers unacquainted
with either term,

HTML is the set of codes (that's the "markup language") that a writer puts into a
document to
make it displayable on the World Wide Web. HTML 4 is the current version of it.
XML is a structured set of rules for how one might define any kind of data to be
shared on the
Web. It's called an "extensible" markup language because anyone can invent a
particular set of
markup for a particular purpose. As long as everyone uses it (the writer and an
application
program at the receiver's end), it can be adapted and used for many purposes—
including
describing the appearance of a Web page. That being the case, it seemed desirable to
reframe
HTML in terms of XML. The result is XHTML, a particular application of XML for
"expressing"
Web pages.

APPENDIX I
TEXTS
liv. Text 1:
The difference between the Linux philosophy to server setup and administration vs.
the Windows philosophy to setup and administration is, as stated earlier, perhaps the
most critical differentiating factor between the two operating systems.
Windows encourages you to use the familiar interface, which means administering
Windows Server 2003 at the server itself. Linux does not rely on or encourage local
use of a graphical interface, in part because it is an unnecessary waste of resources to
run a graphical desktop at the server, and in part because it increases security risks at
the server. For example, any server that encourages you to use the graphical interface
at the server machine also invites you to perform similar operations, such as use the
browser at the server. This exposes that server to any browser security holes. Any
server that encourages you to administer it remotely removes this risk.
If you administer a Linux server remotely from a desktop user account, a browser
flaw exposes only the remote desktop user account to security holes, not the server.
This is why a browser security hole in Windows Server 2003 is potentially more
serious than a browser security hole in Red Hat Enterprise Server AS.
lv. Text 2:
Many of economists, experts & futurists believe that an evolution similar to industrial
evolution has been occurred recently which has entered the world to the information
age and has exposed or has come over many aspects of economic, social & cultural of
man's life to profound changes. One of dimensions of this change is the profound
changes that have been occurred in the economic relationship between people,
companies & government.
Commercial exchanges between people with each other, companies with each other
and people with companies and government have been exited rapidly from their
conventional forms which are mainly on the base of paper documents and are moving
to exchanges through enjoyment from systems on the base of electronic information.
Electronic learning contains all learning which is accomplished through Internet or
computer and are related to the use of computer & technologies related to network
with the aim of presentation management & support of learning which usually are
performed independent of particular time and place.
E-learning apply to presentation of complete lessons which in that all aspects of
learning from student participation to teacher activities are accomplished online.
Universities which presented hosted learning services in fact present a particular
system for electronic learning.

Some companies which are doing on the base of electronic learning are reckoned as
new type of institution which hopes to create a learning atmosphere based on present
e-commerce.
lvi. Text 3:
In modern world is base in life to use high-speed resources and cheep education has
been very involvements of human being from many years ago so cooperation in this
case has caused advancement in different sciences. In that days publication of books
and distribution of it was very difficult and slow movement and it caused to slow
development of sciences after simplification of this term growing of science got very
high tend in last two/tree decades human's life made fast way to exchange information
and if was background to development science and knowledge.
With globalizing this information via internet nowadays, every person can get every
kind of info by paying low money. With this background and infrastructure in modern
world, education has been simple affair, and by considering that info resources has
very effective role in this way, matter of digital library has got special importance. In
this article has been discussed about main and sub-base need to create a digital
library.
lvii. Text 4:
Technologist Bill Joy recommended that we think not of one worldwide web, but of
six different webs, developing at different rates and offering distinct capabilities. To
gauge the potential impact of the digital nervous system of computers,
communications and sensors, let’s consider how it influences each of these six webs.
The Near Web, according to Joy, is the traditional web we experience when sitting in
front of a computer monitor and taping on the keyboard. The Here Web is the mobile
web that we carry with us wherever we go in the form of mobile phones, pagers or
Personal Digital Assistants. The wealth of sensory data flowing in from the digital
nervous system will be available in real-time to users of the Near and Here Webs.
This will have profound impacts not only for scientific and industrial research but also
for consumer applications.
The Far Web is the entertainment web that we access from afar using the remote
control from the comfort of the couch. At the moment, the lack of infrastructure for
broadband transmission to the home limits the Far Web to various kinds of
audio/video entertainment and information. Joy, however, believes that the Far Web
will expand to include virtual worlds with a high degree of interactivity and user
participation enabled by new sensory and actuarial devices. In other words, users will
soon be plugging themselves into some aspect of the digital nervous system in order
to enjoy new forms of entertainment and simulated adventure.
The Voice Web is the realm of speech recognition and voice activation. It consists
of all those devices that we can control with verbal commands or that can
communicate with us via the spoken word. As devices become more and more
capable of sensing and interacting with the environment via built-in digital nervous
systems, the voice commands we can give them and the messages they send us will
become more diverse and sophisticated.
lviii.
Text 5:
Like a human being a company needs an internal communication system, a “nervous
system” to organize its actions. All businesses concentrate on a few basic things,
customers, products and services, costs, competitors, delivery and employees. A

company has to carry out the business processes in each area and make sure that they
are working together, especially activities that cross departments.
An organization nervous system has parallels with our human nervous system.
Every business has some processes that must continue for the company to survive,
just as human heart must keep beating. A digital nervous system serves two primary
purposes in developing business understandings. It extends the individual’s capacity
for analysis the way machines extend physical capacities, and it combines the abilities
of individuals to create an company intelligence and act as one. To put it all together:
a digital nervous system seeks to create company excellence out of individual
excellence to serve the customer.
A digital nervous system gives is users an understanding and an ability to learn
things that they would not otherwise have. To begin creating a digital nervous system,
you should fist develop an ideal picture of the information you need to run your
business and to understand your markets and your competitors. Think hard about the
facts you need to know. Develop a list of the most important questions for your
business. Then demand that your information systems provide the answers. If your
current system won’t do this, you need to develop one that will. If you don’t, one or
more of your competitors will.

Text 6:
Like a living creature, an organization will have the most output if it has a nervous
system which can send the information very quickly to the parts that need. A digital
nervous system can create a unity among the systems and processes of an
organization by making flowers of information and letting the trading and business
parts promote quickly in being more efficient and profitable. The information flow is
the most vital part of your company, for enables you to get the most output of your
employees and learn your customers something.
A digital nervous system provides the opportunity for ideas and innovations to
move quickly come to the surface. Businesses should perform another sort of
activities informative activities. This sort of activity was first proposed by Michael
Erotizes. What we call information usually is a letter, picture or an economic report
which is fixed and does not change. But Erotizes believes another kind of information
is active. Informative activity actually is information processing by human brain or
computer programs. We should put aside with idea that gaining and transferring
information is difficult and expensive.
You should make your companies’ information available for those who can use.
Providing accurate, precise and useful information for the company directors is one of
the characteristics of a good digital nervous system. They need accurate and useful
data for those are the ones who are in charge to lead the company and they should not
wait for higher authorities to receive information. Up to these days there was no direct
path for McDonald Company to receive the selling data. Nowadays McDonald use an
information system which can immediately process selling information in all its’
restaurant. The restaurant manager is aware of whatever is sold, so he faces facts to
investigate his selling’s not supposed information.
Another characteristic of a good digital nervous system is the number of the useful
ideas and suggestions which are offered by it’s mid directors and counselors. When
people analyze accurate and real data, they can suggest ideas in detail of how to do
the works better and this makes them excited.

Text 7:
Today's universities are faced with a main transformation: From one side, budget
deficiency and increasing number of students causes the university a fundamental
change, to adopt themselves to the newly conditions. From the other side, there is a
possibility that the advanced technology be replaced with the job of some of the
teachers and change the universities to institutes which have the virtual nature.
Universities are the organizations which show the most resistance against changes.
These changes which usually occur unwanted result in formation of new facts.
Computer communication technology has the ability of providing the possibility of
learning without time limitation proportional to the student's time, abilities, and needs.
This method, compare to the current usual teaching method which ignores the
student’s needs and places a group in a specific time and place, is a fundamental way.
From the other side, there is a possibility that computer communication technology
affects the social structure in educational organizations and minimizes physical
attendance.

Text 8:
This technology connects many users at the same time and requires further research
and adaptations. Issues such as: advancing internet and using World Wide Web in all
aspects of every day life, is the most important success in these years. One of its uses
is to transfer information and educate from a distance and introducing virtual
university. Possible examinations and evaluations of students is one of the essential
elements in the education system. In recent years, there are different possible ways to
examine through internet. These ways include from post electronic to auto evaluating
exams and grading.
More about these kinds of evaluation through internet will be explored by Y
University's project. In this project, student can connect to World Wide Web in his or
her free time and after entering the student ID and password, take his or her exam. In
this project, cumulative questions can be written by the professors. Also, there is time
limit for exams and professors can set the maximum allowed time to answer
questions. This project is written in visual basic environment and used CGI
programming. To store student's information and question banks, SQL is being used.

Text 9:
XML builders are companies like IBM and Microsoft that designed it to build
business software. For example the Gartner group, that product XML software, could
give %70 of online business and dealing in 2001. XML with wireless application
protocol (WAP) could represent advance ways to wireless tools expansion and usage
in e-commerce connection in world.
Most of companies that with this way seal business information, write this data with
XSI that wireless tools can use them. Most of companies try to use voice to work with
this data form different ways. Motorola is one of big company in voice diagnosis
language technology.
This technology is called VoXML and let user to search in web site with usage of
voice processor in network and can receive information via saying or saying-writing.
The saying-writing technology is access via Bevocal and Quack. com and lets to
business site use limited from this way to represent their product. Usage of voice

technology makes e-commerce user encourage using saying search as a sample is
dealing goods in Internet conference that this make network crowed. For example this
way can help an employee to give complete information about seal’s goods to
customers. One of these methods is Customer Relationship Management (CRM). This
relationship is possible by phone connection in network. Big companies have been
using originality ways to expansion user data access via labor and wireless tools like
mobile in connection CRM, like Sieble system.
WAP in trade representation of e-commerce, via y do security services in Internet,
first is credit management (AH) that check information trusty and credit and second is
Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) or security via protection with capsule that can
protect credit and secret information both.

Text 10:
HTML success is become of simplicity, easily usage and height capacity for ignore
errors. In this language upper and lower cases are same. Usage of end tags is not
important and briefly, simplicity of this language makes it universality, but simplicity
of HTML limits its powers. Because HTML’s tags are formatted, they don’t present
so much information about web page’s contain. For this reason renewed usage from
information in other case is difficult Because HTML is not severe about lower and
upper cases and dotting. To represent data, Browsers must been worked double.
Whereas HTML limits to dynamic and formatting concepts, affixes and suffixes are
use to increasing its efficient. But, unfortunately, some Browsers don’t support this
suffixes and therefore pages that use this suffixes can be only observed by some user
that have special Browsers.
XML is convenience reply to easy, but limited HTML. In the first look, XML is
similar to HTML with the same tags and specialty and values.
But XML isn’t only for web pages design, it is more over than it, it is a language to
create others. You can use XML to create your special Markup Language and for
forming and formatting your documents. A special Markup Language that in term
called an application XML program, contain tags that explain its data. Now look at
the XML power, if a tag defines a data, other works would possible to use that.
Software with XML can design such only work with its information.
Instead of have been astringe in a HTML web page, the label information can be
used times in necessary, but for every point, must be paid cost. XML is not as easy as
HTML. And to work easy we need to XML compiler (program that read and translate
independent or in a Browser) for a complete notice to upper and lower cases, (“”), end
tags and other details that HTML user easily ignore them. However, this severely and
pernickety characteristic maybe make to be imagined that it prevent XML be general
to design personal web pages. But the special power of it lets web page designer
managed data in large scale.

Text 11:
One of the primary missions of the MIT Center for e-Business is to conduct research
on all aspects of e-Business. The unique core of our program is the custom matching
of sponsor companies with MIT faculty to form research teams that address issues
that are relevant to both industry and academia. This approach to applying rigorous
research methodologies to solve some of industry's most relevant questions creates

generalizable knowledge that is valuable not only to the specific company involved,
but to all our understandings of how to use digital technologies most effectively.
The result is a dedicated project mutually agreed to between a particular Founding
or Research Sponsor and one or more members of the MIT Faculty. These projects
involve active participation from the Sponsor. For example, British Telecom's senior
management is working directly with MIT Faculty to select the best strategy for their
e-Business organizational transformation. Other projects are addressing key issues at
companies such as UPS, General Motors, Amazon and Intel Corporation.
The knowledge created through this research process is then disseminated through a
variety of means, including daylong workshops; a 2-day annual sponsors conference,
bi-weekly lunch seminars, site visits, and working papers, research briefs, newsletters
and other publications.

Text 12:
The Communications Futures Program (CFP) is a partnership between university and
industry at the forefront of defining the roadmap for communications and its impact
on adjacent industries. CFP’s mission is to help our industry partners recognize the
opportunities and threats from these changes by understanding the drivers and pace of
change, building technologies that create discontinuous innovation and building the
enablers for such innovation to be meaningful to our partners.
The Communications industry is witnessing emerging and destabilizing events
where an industry structure built around centralized intelligence and control is being
challenged with intelligence and control in many instances shifting to end users and
vice versa. Just as the Internet, the PC wave and Digitization of Multi-media were
transforming events, this trend in communications is likely to have an even greater
impact on industry. An example of this trend is VoIP, where control over a centralized
switching application is moving to the edge of the network. In what ways will shifting
control between the edge of the network and vice versa, play out?
CFP believes that while the role of technology in industry transformation is
important, equally important business drivers in the communications industry can
accelerate or slow this process. Drivers include widespread availability of broadband
infrastructure, role of regulation, role for enabling capabilities such as privacy and
security, and effective business models and rights management for companies to
profit from. Other drivers include alignment across the communications value chain
for speedy rollout of new services.

Text 13:
Businesses have become increasingly global and interdependent - the traditional
enterprise has become the "extended enterprise." Disruptions anywhere in this
"extended enterprise" can have dramatic and often unexpected impacts upon all the
organizations involved. In recent years, acts of terrorism have introduced new and
dangerous disruptions to business and society. Although we often think of national
security from a governmental and military perspective, businesses play an extremely
important role since much of a nation's infrastructure is run by the private sector.
This SIG will perform research, develop courseware (including case study
materials), and facilitate discussions amongst academia, governments, and business
on these important topics. Several current sponsors have provided seed funds for this

new area of research, and we seek relationships with other organizations to further
develop both thought leadership and practical strategies around security of the
extended enterprise.

Text 14:
While the term e-commerce refers to all online transactions, B2C stands for
"business-to-consumer" and applies to any business or organization that sells its
products or services to consumers over the Internet for its own use. When most people
think of B2C e-commerce, they think of Amazon.com, the online bookseller that
launched its site in 1995 and quickly took on the nation's major retailers. In addition
to online retailers, B2C has grown to include services such as online banking, travel
services, online auctions, health information and real estate sites. Peer-to-peer sites
such as Craig list also fall under the B2C category.
B2C e-commerce went through some tough times, particularly after the technologyheavy NASDAQ crumbled in 2000. In the ensuing dotcom carnage, hundreds of ecommerce sites shut their virtual doors and some experts predicted years of struggle
for online retail ventures. Since then, however, shoppers have continued to flock to
the web in increasing numbers.
In fact, North American consumers love e-commerce so much that despite growing
fears about identity theft, they spent $172 billion shopping online in 2005, up from
$38.8 billion in 2000. And the future looks rosy for
e-commerce. By 2010,
consumers are expected to spend $329 billion each year online, according to Forrester
Research. What’s more, the percentage of U.S. households shopping online is
expected to grow from 39 percent this year to 48 percent in 2010.
For a long time, however, companies have had a hard time making their websites
dynamic and engaging enough for consumers to want to spend time on the site and
actually spend their money there. That’s getting easier as more and more Americans
are connecting to the Internet via broadband. With more customers using broadband,
companies can take greater advantage of newer, flashier technologies that were not
possible with dialup connections.
In short, although online commerce still represents less than six percent of all retail
sales, its growth and future prospects show that it has finally become as established
and mainstream as a trip to the local mall.

Text 15:
Mainly because the stock prices of some of the early pure plays went through the roof.
In the late 90s, dotcoms like Amazon.com and eBay - which were quickly gaining in
size and market capitalization - posed a threat to traditional brick and mortar
businesses. In many ways, these dotcoms seemed to be rewriting the rules of business
- they had the customers without the expenses of maintaining physical stores, little
inventory, unlimited access to capital and little concern about actual earnings. The
idea was to get big fast and worry about profits later. By late 1999, Amazon had a
market capitalization of close to $25 billion, eclipsing some of the largest and most
established companies in America.
Retail giants such as Kmart and Wal-Mart - hoping to cash in on the dotcom frenzy
- spun off separate companies to run their e-commerce operations. But many never
made it to the initial public offering after the Nasdaq started to tumble in the spring of

2000. Almost as quickly as the dotcom phenomenon took over, the hype over B2C ecommerce dissipated along with the crumbling Nasdaq. Funding for Internet ventures
started to dry up and major companies started to reel in their spinoffs, bringing
e-commerce initiatives back under the corporate fold.
Companies that spun off their e-commerce operations as separate businesses were
at a disadvantage when “multi-channel” commerce became popular in 2002. Those
that kept their web operations in house, such as Sears, Office Depot and Circuit City,
had a much easier time integrating their web sites with the rest of their brick and
mortar operations and systems.
These companies were able, for example, to check local-store inventory via the web
and could allow their customers to buy online and pick up and return at a store. Multichannel commerce continues to be an important initiative today.
Amazon and eBay still dominate online retailing. But the fastest growing sites are
now traditional merchants that have become more serious about their Internet
operations. According to the research firm ComScore networks, traditional retailers
had a surprisingly strong showing over the 2005 holiday season. In fact, Wal-Mart
was the third most popular site, trailing Amazon and eBay, COM Score said. Target,
Best Buy and Circuit City were close behind.

Text 16:
The world's leading expert on the global software industry and coauthor of the
bestseller Microsoft Secrets reveals the inner workings of software giants like IBM,
Microsoft, and Netscape and shows what it takes to create, develop, and manage a
successful company - in good times and bad—in the most fiercely competitive
business in the world.
In the $600 billion software industry it is the business, not the technology, that
determines success or failure. This fact - one that thousands of once glamorous startups have unhappily discovered for themselves - is the well-documented conclusion of
this enormously readable and revealing new book by Michael Cushman, based on
nearly twenty years of research and consulting with software producers around the
world.
Cushman builds on dozens of personal experiences and case studies to show how
issues of strategy and organization are irrevocably linked with those of managing the
technology and demonstrates that a thorough understanding of these issues is vital to
success. At the heart of the book Cushman poses seven questions that underpin a
three-pronged management framework. He argues that companies must adopt one of
three basic business models: become a products company at one end of the strategic
spectrum, a services company at the other end, or a hybrid solutions company in
between.
The author describes the characteristics of the different models, evaluates their
strengths and weaknesses, and shows how each is more or less appropriate for
different stages in the evolution of a business as well as in good versus bad economic
times. Readers will also find invaluable Cushman’s treatment of software
development issues ranging from architecture and teams to project management and
testing, as well as two chapters devoted to what it takes to create a successful software
start-up. Highlights include eight fundamental guidelines for evaluating potential

software winners and Cusumano's probing analysis, based on firsthand knowledge, of
ten start-ups that have met with varying degrees of success.

Text 17:
Public exchanges are owned by industry consortia or independent investors and have
their own boards of directors. Though each exchange sets its own rules, they are
generally open, for a fee, to any company that wants to use them. Private exchanges
are run by a single company for doing business exclusively with established suppliers
and customers (although the systems that support it may be outsourced).
Which one your company uses depends on what you want to do. If you are buying
and selling commodity products, public exchanges can be a good venue in which to
find low prices or identify new customers. They're also becoming a popular way for a
company to unload excess inventory. In some industries, however, suppliers have
been reluctant to use public exchanges because they fear buyers will aggregate their
purchases and force prices too low, squeezing their profit margins. Common types of
transactions on public exchanges include purchasing through requests for quotations,
buying through catalogs and auctions.
Companies that use private exchanges prefer them for the closer online
relationships they can have with preferred customers and suppliers. They also think
private exchanges are more secure, because data about their trades are at less risk of
being exposed to competitors if there's a security breach. Companies use private
exchanges to trade proprietary information like supplier performance metrics and
sales forecasts in addition to orders and invoices. Companies also use private
exchanges to establish central control over purchasing through contracts with
established suppliers.

Text 18:
Start with buying so-called indirect supplies like pencils, chairs and copy paper. Most
companies start here because it's easier to set up an online catalog of approved office
supplies than it is to automate procurement of specially engineered parts and
materials. Plus, you're not affecting day-to-day operations while you get your feet
wet. While the payoff won't be as big as for more mission-critical purchases (socalled direct materials used to produce the goods or services you sell), it can be
significant. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad company lopped an estimated
3 percent to 28 percent off its indirect purchases and saved money internally by
automating a manual process for approving purchase orders.
On the sales side, take your cues from your customers. Start with a project that
makes it easier for them to do business with you or one that reduces your cost of sales
and service. Greensboro, N.C.-based clothing manufacturer Vanity Fair and Delray
Beach, Fla.-based office supply vendor Office Depot each built their online
purchasing sites because customers asked for them.

Text 19:
It's marketing speak for integrating your supply chain, and it's a vision of e-commerce
nirvana. You're not just sharing blueprints or your latest sales forecasts; you and your
trading partners are giving each other real-time access to your ERP, product design,
inventory and other systems. Companies that are doing it say it helps them get new

products to market faster, reduce manufacturing time, keep inventory low and adjust
more quickly to changes in customer demand.
To collaborate successfully, you and your partners each need up-to-date,
functioning systems to serve up whatever data you plan to share, and a way to deliver
that information electronically. That can be a big hurdle when many companies still
do a lot of business by phone and fax. The Goldman Industrial Group, a Boston-based
manufacturer of machine tools for the automobile industry, has found it tough to
convince its partners to invest in system upgrades needed for collaboration. There's
cultural resistance as well.
Not every company sees the value of sharing what has been confidential
information or trusts its partners with it. Some also fear online collaboration might
result in layoffs.

Text 20:
Definitely the units that do purchasing, B2B e-commerce can drastically change how
buyers do their jobs, especially if your company is one that still places orders the old
fashioned way. Sales and customer service departments will need to be involved with
projects that affect how you receive and process orders from customers. And don't
forget the folks who manage your inventory. You may need to get other departments
involved, too, depending on the functionality you're building.
Also involve your suppliers, distributors and customers, and make sure there's
something in the project for them. B2B e-commerce doesn't only change how you do
business internally, your partners have to change too. And unless you're the 900pound gorilla in your industry-and sometimes even if you are-you can't force
everyone to do things your way.

Text 21:
Exactly what you need depends on whether you're a buyer or seller, whether you're
dealing in indirect or direct materials and the extent to which you're integrating your
supply chain. Elements of a B2B system may include software for generating
purchase orders or requests for quotations (RFQs), processing invoices, building and
managing catalogs, responding to RFQs and processing orders. Depending on what
you're trading and how, you'll want to look for specific features that support your
needs. Some of these are online negotiation capabilities, dynamic pricing software,
support for international transactions and the ability to generate and process bills of
materials. To get the full benefits of B2B e-commerce, you'll need integration tools to
connect these systems with forecasting and planning systems, inventory management,
CRM, ERP, logistics and other applications you use for supply chain management and
customer service.
Cost is also relative. In general, the more elements of your business you want to
integrate with trading partners, the more you have to spend. Office Depot, with $11.6
billion in sales in 2000, put its catalog on the Web for $500,000, and pays $5 million a
year to maintain the system. A March 2001 Forrester Research report pegged the cost
for buyers to join an online marketplace at between $5.6 million and $22.9 million,
including operating costs.

Text 22:
For many people, strategic technology planning is just another name for long-term
financial planning. While this is a somewhat parochial view, it nonetheless
underscores the central role of funding issues in technology planning. Traditionally,
strategic funding requests and allocations involve many layers of authority and a
substantial amount of justificatory detail, regardless of whether an institution is large
or small, public or private. The amount of time it takes to analyze funding needs, gain
approvals, and locate or create resources, is often out of sync with the windows of
opportunity for technological innovation. Anecdotal evidence of this is plentiful. By
the time an institution has dotted the last "i" and crossed the last "t" on capital funding
for a campuswide network, the envisioned technology may have changed sufficiently
to render the plan obsolete.
One way to address this problem is to earmark a significant amount of fungible
capital resources for technology and allow it to be allocated as required. While it may
not be possible to justify future technology needs in detail, good planning should
permit an institution to estimate the level of financial resources that it can and should
devote to technology for a period of several years. A further refinement of this
approach is to create a "rapid reaction fund" as part of the annual technology
operating budget. By allowing unused funds to carry forward across fiscal years, an
institution can establish the type of budgetary flexibility that will allow it to maintain
technical stability despite the peaks and valleys in user demand, infrastructure
modification, and technology innovations.
Fungibility can also be increased with respect to staffing. Typically, institutions
struggle with the choice of either outsourcing or providing internal support for
technical operations. The problem of recruiting and retaining qualified staff—along
with rapid changes in required skill-sets—impels many colleges and universities
toward selective outsourcing despite their apprehensions about having staff members
whose primary loyalties lie outside of the institution. There is a third alternative:
closed-end contracts. Recognizing that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep
high-quality technical employees for more than three years, some institutions are
designating certain positions as multi-year contract positions. While the turnover rate
remains high, it occurs with greater predictability, hence with less disruption. More
importantly, it enables the institution to modify position requirements as changes
occur in technology and the needs of users. It is, in some sense, a way of introducing
fungibility into staffing, a concept that is largely alien to the traditions of higher
education and that makes sense only in the context of a job market as competitive as
that of high technology.

Text 23:
Every year around this time, Americans lament our low voter turnout rate-44.9
percent in 1998, putting us 138th in a list of 170 voting nations. This explains the
growing interest in Internet voting, which promises to do for democracy what
Amazon.com did for books. Aside from making voting vastly more convenient, say
its supporters, click 'n' pick elections could theoretically eliminate fraud, allow instant
recounts, and save pots of money.
Buoyed by these hopes, election boards across the country have begun to take
tentative steps toward wired elections (many private organizations-most notably
universities and unions—already conduct internal elections online).

State officials in California, Florida, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota, and New
Mexico are all examining online voting. In California, the Campaign for Digital
Democracy is collecting digital petitions for a ballot initiative that would legalize
Internet voting-though virtual signatures aren't legally valid, at least not yet. Software
companies eager to showcase their e-voting wares have held mock online elections
in Iowa, Washington, and Virginia. And today, under a pilot project run by the
Department of Defense's Federal Voting Assistance Program, 350 military personnel
posted overseas will vote online. If the test goes well, the FVAP will consider
eventually making online voting available for all Americans living abroad.
E-voting isn't nearly as radical as it sounds, for two reasons. First of all, a
large and growing proportion of Americans-about 50 percent of Washington state's
electorate and a quarter of Californians-already mail in their votes via absentee ballot.
Oregon, the most aggressive remote-vote state, has abolished polling places entirely
and now conducts elections exclusively by mail. Local jurisdictions in 15 other states
have conducted all-mail elections too. While online elections would use fancier
technology, they're based on the same premise-that you can send polling authorities a
document that will serve as your proxy.

Text 24:
Organizational performance is largely dependent upon the decision making processes
that a particular organization uses. In every organization, decisions have to be made
on a daily basis. These decisions range from small to large-scale in scope both in
terms of the resources involved in making them and the impact that the decisions can
have. For instance, a small-scale decision would be determining the type of copy
machine to purchase for a company department. This decision involves resources (i.e.,
in the form of time and energy) of the users of this machine to clarify their needs as
well as the purchasing representatives who research and acquire the copier. The
ability of this copier to meet employees' needs decides the impact of this decision.
An example of a large-scale decision would be determining what product or service
a company's customers need. This decision involves the time and energy of the
individuals who research the consumer market, as well as the individuals who try to
successfully develop and launch the product or service. This decision has the potential
to make or break a company depending on the size of the organization.
As the preceding examples illustrate, the decisions and the processes involved in
making them are not limited to the individual level. Moreover, the decision-making
process is also performed at the group level, and it will be done so with increasing
frequency given the need for high performance organizations in a competitive, global
market. Group decision making is defined as the process of arriving at a judgment
based upon the input of multiple individuals. This paper focuses on the group level of
decision making.
Since the resources involved in the group decision-making process as well as the
impact of these decisions affect organizational performance, it is crucial to make the
group decision-making process as efficient and effective as possible. Utilizing a
decision-making model is a systematic way of establishing group decision making
proficiency. This statement is not intended to mean that the use of a group decisionmaking model is a panacea for group and organizational processes. This statement is

merely intended to mean that a group decision-making model when used
appropriately can aid in the functioning of the group and the organization.

Text 25:
The first model is the rational model. This model is based upon an economic view of
decision making. It is grounded on goals/objectives, alternatives, consequences and
optimality. The model assumes that complete information regarding the decision to be
made is available and one correct conception of a problem, or decision to be made can
be determined. The model further assumes that the decision-makers consistently
assess the advantages and disadvantages of any alternatives with goals and objectives
in mind. They then evaluate the consequences of selecting or not selecting each
alternative.
The alternative that provides the maximum utility (i.e., the optimal choice) will be
selected. The rational model is the baseline against which other models are compared
(Allison, 1971; Cheshire & Feroz, 1989; Lyles & Thomas, 1988).
An example of a scenario using a rational model is an executive group of a
company trying to determine which consulting firm to hire in order to implement a
business process reengineering (BPR) effort. The executive group's goal or objective
is to become a leader in its industry, and it determines that the best way to accomplish
this objective is through re-engineering. Numerous management consulting firms
offer BPR services. Each firm's BPR approach has advantages and disadvantages. The
executive group must evaluate each firm's approach by considering how the firm will
enable the company to meet its objective. Based upon this evaluation, the group
selects the consulting firm that provides the best means for the company to become a
leader in its industry.
The most salient advantage of the rational model is that it utilizes a logical,
sequential approach. Decisions are made deductively by determining the goals or
objectives to be obtained, evaluating the potential alternatives based on the
information at hand and choosing the optimal alternative. In other words, the model is
simple and intuitive in nature.
The rational model does possess a salient disadvantage. The model assumes that
there are no intrinsic biases to the decision-making process (Lyles & Thomas, 1988).
This optimism may not be totally realistic, since individuals involved in the process
bring their own perceptions and mental models into such a situation. Therefore, it
seems that intrinsic biases are inevitable and something that should be addressed.

Text 26:
The second basic decision-making model considers the preconceived notions that
decision-makers bring to the table in the decision process. This model is the political
model. In contrast to the preceding model, the individuals involved do not accomplish
the decision task through rational choice in regard to objectives. The decision makers
are motivated by and act on their own needs and perceptions. This process involves a
cycle of bargaining among the decision makers in order for each one to try to get his
or her perspective to be the one of choice. More specifically, this process involves
each decision-maker trying to sway powerful people within the situation to adopt his
or her viewpoint and influence the remaining decision-makers (Allison, 1971;
Cheshire & Feroz, 1989; Lyles & Thomas, 1988; Schneider, Shawver & Martin,
1993).

Furthermore, the political model does not involve making full information available
or a focus on the optimal viewpoint like that of the rational model (Lyles & Thomas,
1988). Full information is highly unlikely, since the political model operates based
upon negotiation that is often influenced by power and favors. In fact, information is
often withheld in order to better maneuver a given perspective. Since information is
often withheld and subsequently incomplete, the optimal viewpoint is not a key aspect
of this model.
An illustration of the political model in action is a decision to hire a new manager
for the Purchasing Department of a company. A group composed of the Human
Resources (HR) Manager, staff members of the Purchasing Department, and the
Director of Operations (i.e., whose division oversees the Purchasing Department)
must make the decision among three candidates for the position. Each member has his
or her own needs and reasons for endorsing certain job candidates.
The HR Manager is trying to fit the best person to the job, but would not mind if
this individual has an innate liking for and understanding of human resources. This
appreciation of HR would help decrease the cycle time of placing and receiving
orders for necessities. The HR Manager would like to hire the first candidate. The
Purchasing staff is also trying to find the best person for the position, but would prefer
someone who does not micro-manage like their previous boss. The Purchasing staff
would like to hire the second candidate. The Director of Operations also desires to
find the best person for the job, but the Director would prefer an individual who
unlike the previous Purchasing Manager is not overbearing and skeptical of the
Director's decisions. The Director would like to hire the third candidate.
Since the group members have different agendas, they need to negotiate with each
other and present their cases to the Director of Operations who has the final say in the
decision. In the end, the Director understands the argument of the Purchasing staff
and decides that the second candidate's hands-off approach would meet his needs as
well. Therefore, the second candidate is hired.
The advantages of the political model remains that it provides a representation of
the subjective manner in which the real world often operates, and it can minimize
conflict. Individuals will always have their personal biases and agendas that influence
their behavior. By identifying or acknowledging this fact in the decision-making
process, potential problems and conflict can be foreseen and minimized. Conflict is
also minimized by the swaying of powerful people to support a particular viewpoint.
Once the powerful people support this perspective, other group members usually fall
in line behind them.
While the political model has the advantage of emulating the way the real world
operates (i.e., a cycle of bargaining related to personal agendas), this fact is also a
disadvantage, because the best solution or decision may not be selected. Furthermore,
the nature of bargaining and maneuvering (e.g., withholding information and social
pressure) can produce effects that are long-lasting and detrimental. Once they
discover it, the individuals involved in the decision may not appreciate the duplicity
inherent in the process.

Text 27:
In contrast to the political model, the third basic model of decision making is more
structured. This model is the process model. With the process model, decisions are
made based upon standard operating procedures, or pre-established guidelines within

the organization. Actions and behaviors occur in accordance with these procedures or
guidelines (Cheshire & Feroz, 1989; Allison, 1971).
Additionally, the organization of past, present, and future events, as well as
conformity, are integral parts to this model (Cheshire & Feroz, 1989; Allison, 1971).
The organization of the past, present and future events are important, because they
can be used as a consistent foundation for decision making. Considering these time
events provides further refinement of the guidelines that help to determine outcomes.
Conformity is an integral part of the process model since it is the means by which
doubt, or incertitude is dealt with during the decision task. If decision makers are
uncertain as to the potential effectiveness or the results of a decision, they conform to
the pre-established standard. This conformity should not be construed to mean that the
decision will not have a solid foundation. In this case, conformity merely relates to the
fact that the reasoning for the decision is based upon pre-determined guidelines
(Cheshire & Feroz, 1989).
An example of a scenario involving the process model of decision making is
promoting a Marketing Representative of a company to a higher level. A group
comprised of the Marketing Manager, HR Manager, and Compensation and Benefits
Manager meet to discuss the promotion. Since the Marketing Manager has seen
exemplary work from the representative, the Marketing Manager adamantly wants to
promote the individual from a Marketing Representative I to a Marketing
Representative III. In their negotiation, the HR Manager and Compensation and
Benefits Manager point out to the Marketing Manager that company policy mandates
that an employee can only be promoted one level at a time. Additionally, no precedent
has been set to justify deviation from this policy. Therefore, the Marketing
Representative is promoted to Marketing Representative II.

Text 28:
The fourth model of decision making is the garbage can model. This model is most
appropriate for judgment tasks in organizations where the technologies are not clear,
the involvement of participants fluctuates in the amount of time and effort given, and
choices are inconsistent and not well defined (Cohen, March & Olsen, 1972; Lovata,
1987; Schmid, Dodd & Tropman, 1987).
In such an organization, an opportunity to make a decision is described as a garbage
can into which many types of problems and solutions are dropped independently of
each other by decision-makers as these problems and solutions are generated. The
problems, solutions and decision makers are not necessarily related to each other.
They move from one decision opportunity to another in such a manner that the
solutions, the time needed and the problems seem to rely on a chance alignment of
components to complete the decision. These components are the combination of
options available at a given time, the combination of problems, the combination of
solutions needing problems, and the external demands on the decision makers (Cohen,
March & Olsen, 1972; Lovata, 1987; Schmid, Dodd & Tropman, 1987).
An example of the garbage can model is a company department trying to deplete its
budget before the end of the fiscal year. This department, consisting of five
employees, has additional money in its budget to use up by the end of the fiscal year.
The employees do not want to lose the money. So, they create a bogus allocation in
order to protect it, but really have no use for it. Two weeks after the end of the fiscal
year, the department's computer system goes down. Fortunately, the solution (the

money from the budget to replace the computer system), the problem (inoperable
computer system) and the individuals involved ( the employees) are in alignment. In
other words, the timing is perfect for the combination of components to solve this
problem: The employees protected budget money which could be used at a later time,
the computer system went down, and the protected money could be used to buy a new
computer system.
The notable advantage of the garbage can model is that it provides a real-world
representation of the non-rational manner in which decisions are often made within an
organization. Not all decisions are made in a logical, political, or even standard
fashion. Occasionally, decisions are made on an ad hoc basis or by "flying by the seat
of the pants" when the solutions, problems and individuals involved in the task
happen to align.
Despite its representation of the non-rational, real-world manner in which decisions
are often made, the garbage can model does have an important disadvantage. It is not
the most efficient means of making a decision. Decision making is considered a
procedure for finding solutions to problems. Unfortunately, this often does not happen
if the garbage can model represents the manner in which decisions are made within an
organization. Problems are worked on in given situations, but choices are made only
when the combination of problems, solutions and individuals allow the decision to
happen (i.e., are in alignment). Consequently, the alignment of the problems,
solutions, and individuals often occurs after the opportunity to make a decision
regarding a problem has passed or occurs even before the problem has been
discovered (Cohen, March & Olsen, 1972).
In discussing the four general models, the issue is not necessarily which model is
the best one, because they all have advantages and disadvantages which may work or
be appropriate for certain groups and situations. The purpose of using models to
assess group decision making is to provide a base for comparison. A model is a
starting point for evaluating a process, and group decision making is a process.
One way of evaluating this process is to determine which model, if any, a group is
using to make decisions. Once the model is determined, the decision procedure can be
analyzed in order to facilitate the improvement of the procedure. The procedure can
be improved by anticipating potential problems and acting accordingly.
For instance, time wasted due to a lack of direction and organization can be
eliminated. Knowing that a group makes decisions by following a rational model
enables the decision makers to expedite the decision process. These individuals can
expedite the process by preparing themselves for group meetings by becoming
familiar with any goals or objectives, possible alternatives and consequences of these
alternatives as well as potential optimal choices as they relate to a decision.
The knowledge that a group follows a political model in making decisions is also
helpful. This knowledge can assist group members in preparing the supporting
information for their perspective. This preparation can assist the individuals in
presenting their viewpoint more persuasively. Consequently, their viewpoint has a
better chance of being adopted as the one of choice.
Knowing that a group utilizes a process model for making decisions can also
increase the effectiveness of the decision procedure. Being aware that judgments are
made relative to standard operating procedures enables individuals to anticipate
potential obstacles to a decision. Consequently, these individuals can research the pre-

established guidelines that may pose these problems and adjust their argument or
point of view accordingly.
If group members are aware that decisions are made by using a garbage can model,
they at least have the comfort of knowing that these decisions follow some sort of
method. Granted the method is somewhat random and chaotic, but it is a method
nonetheless.
Moreover, identifying the model when the decision process does not function
effectively is of value, because the decision makers then know the method to avoid.
They should avoid the current model that produced the ineffective results. This
avoidance can be accomplished by agreeing as a group to try to adopt a different
approach (i.e., a new model).
It should be pointed out that even if the group decision-making procedure does not
fit one of the aforementioned general models, the process of analyzing the decision
task in and of itself in order to identify a model is beneficial. This analysis provides
valuable insight into the dynamics of how decisions are made within the group
whether or not one of the four models is actually discovered. The cognitive flow of
the group is important to note, because it enables an understanding of the other group
members' rationale for judgment. Furthermore, this cognitive flow may spawn the
creation of a novel group decision-making model.
In conclusion, models of group decision making can be helpful. They are not curealls for faulty decision procedures. They are merely a starting point for potential
improvement. Models aid in assessing the interaction of group members regarding a
judgment procedure. Group decision making models provide form to an intangible
and abstract concept. Models promote the discovery and resolution of problems that
can occur during the decision-making process.

Text 29:
In a sense, dialogue is not complicated. It is just good conversation, over the back
fences of our lives. It is continued, thoughtful exchange about the things that most
matter. It is a time to sit. In a sense, dialogue is not complicated. It is just good
conversation, over the back fences of our homes, a time to get together and talk, as the
ideas and thoughts come to us, without agenda, without time pressures. It is the kind
of conversation that we have forgotten in the pace of western, modern life, a kind of
easy exchange. It is learning what we have forgotten. Or, in the language of Maya
Angelou and Paula Underwood Spencer, from cultures that practiced dialogue, it is
reminding us of "that which we have forgotten to remember."
In his seminal book on systems thinking, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge talks
about the important difference between "dialogue," which comes from the Greek
dialogos, which means "to draw meaning through," and "discussion," which has the
same root meaning as percussion and concussion and which suggests the banging
together of ideas and points of view, and, I would add, heads. Senge notes that the
dominant mode of communication in the contemporary organization is that of the
crashing together of ideas and observations and different understandings, rather than
drawing those ideas and observations and different understandings through a process
which clarifies and deepens our personal and collective understanding.
But such a deepening of understanding is not automatic. We generally seem to
prefer our more familiar model of sparring with ideas. Perhaps it is the nature of our

extroverted culture that in any gathering we spend most of our time waiting to race
out of the starting gate with our own thinking. A friend of mine often describes
extroverts as those who see communication as having only two stages: talking, and
waiting to talk. She has not only defined the extrovert, but our extroverted culture as
well. In such a competitively extroverted culture, real listening, that is listening to
understand or listening as an ally, is indeed counter-cultural.
For most of us, the pattern of dialogue requires new ways of thinking about and
evaluating communication. Understood in light of our dominant patterns of debate,
disagreement, discussion and decision, dialogue seems like pointless meandering, and
is most marked by the deficiency of not "arriving" at any conclusions, of not
producing identifiable closure. Dialogue seems to have no structure, no point, and no
direction. Even talking about it generates a mild sense of panic, particularly among
those who haven't had a chance to settle into it.
If we see the goal of communication as to decide something or do something, we
are unable to discern the way in which dialogue, without a seeming focus on decision
or action, somehow enables individuals to focus their personal energies almost
unconsciously so that once the dialogue has ended people go forth and act in a
remarkable level of concert, without the need for action plans or coordination or
checking. Such patterns have been noted in the modes of communicating of Asian and
Native American cultures.
Dialogue should contribute to the development and deepening of a genuine interest
in, curiosity about and concern for the thinking and observations of other people
around the table. It is a collective process in which wisdom emerges not from our
finding the appropriate path of thinking like the wise one at the head of the table, but
where through a dialogue, we come to a deeper understanding than any one of us had
to begin with.
We should note that dialogue is a different and often unfamiliar way of being together
in communication, and we should acknowledge that and be prepared for it. If we
overlook the unfamiliarity of this mode of communicating, we will also make it
unlikely that others can evaluate accurately its value-added in our organizational lives.
Instead we will mistakenly evaluate it in traditional modes (of decisions taken by
meetings' end and measure of closure) and judge it within the time bounds of the
meeting, rather than in the longer and more important time frames of future action and
alignment.
I am reminded of the many stories of North Americans negotiating with Asians and
considering the process of talking and silence without any seeming progress, as
pointless and unproductive. The same North Americans have found the level of
accord and speed of implementation quite astonishing, in comparison with the level of
struggle over implementation in Western cultures. And seldom do they realize the
relationship between the slowness of speaking and the ease of acting.

Text 30:
Finding a scholarship that suits your requirements and for which you are eligible can
be a time-consuming and difficult process. Unfortunately, many students spend hours
and hours finding a scholarship yet fail to put an equal amount of effort into their
application. The application is by far the most important part of your scholarship
search, make sure you spend as much time on it as is necessary to get it right.

Following are a list of simple tips to help you ensure you submit the best
application possible and thereby maximize your chances of being awarded the
scholarship.
1) Make sure you get as much information about the scholarship as possible.
Write, call or e-mail the provider of the scholarship to ensure you have full details
of application procedures and what will be expected of the successful applicant. If
the scholarship entails a particular project, find out the full objectives and intended
methodology of the project. If the scholarship is being funded by a private
enterprise, gather as much information as you can about the company, its
philosophy and its goals. You can never have too much information.
2) Check thoroughly to ensure that you are actually eligible for the scholarship
before you embark on the application process. It is pointless to submit an
application, no matter how perfect it may be, for a scholarship for which you are
ineligible. Check for any gender, age, nationality, indigenous or other special
group restrictions on applications and only apply if you definitely match the
eligibility criteria.
3) Once you have confirmed your eligibility for a particular scholarship and received
full application guidelines from the provider, make sure you follow the
guidelines to the letter. Common complaints from scholarship providers are:• both sides of application forms are not filled in or the form is not filled in
properly;
• all of the requested documents are not attached;
4) Application presentation is very important. If a list of documents is requested,
supply the documents in the order in which they are requested. Use the same style
of writing and pen throughout the application. Use neat, legible handwriting and
type your application if this is not possible.
5) Ensure that your referees are the appropriate people to provide the kind of
information about you that the selection committee will need to know. For
example, if they need to know about your research capabilities, ensure the referee
you provide has supervised your research work before or has some other
knowledge of your capacities.
Always make sure that your referees know of each and every scholarship you have
applied for in which they are listed as a referee. If they are aware of the particular
requirements of each scholarship, they will be more able to provide the appropriate
information to each scholarship selection committee.
6) Apply for each scholarship separately. Do not use the same application to apply
for two separate scholarships. Each scholarship will have its own particular
requirements and if you use a previous application you will almost certainly miss
addressing vital and particular criteria of the new scholarship. Each scholarship
application should be approached as a separate undertaking in order to ensure you
submit a valid application for each.
7) Make a checklist for each scholarship application and check and double check
it before you submit the completed application. Ensure that you have completed
all the necessary forms, supplied all the requested supporting documents in the
form required, submitted all statements, names of referees and any and all other
information requested by the provider.
Don’t lose out on a scholarship because your application is incorrect or messy!
Work hard on it and ensure yourself the best possible chance of winning a
scholarship in today’s competitive environment.

8) Make sure you or a nominated

Text 31:
How can you narrow the list of possibilities before contracting for services? How can
you ensure that your organization’s business needs will be met? One solution is to
write and distribute a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the marketplace.
An RFP is a written document that outlines specific information about your
organization, the services and products you need, and the specific requirements
suppliers must meet in order to win your business.
A written RFP increases market awareness of your organization’s needs, thereby
increasing the competition to serve those needs and increasing the formality of the
relationship between you and the supplier. In short, an RFP places you - the buyer - in
control of the desired service levels and related requirements and lets potential
vendors know up front that your most important concern is the level of customer
service
you
will
receive.
Reasons to Write a Formal Request for Proposal:
To increase competition for your organization’s money, which will increase the
options and potentially could drive down the cost;
To ensure a fair and equal opportunity for providing services;
To identify and select qualified organizations capable of supporting high levels of
service in the most cost-effective and administratively efficient manner possible;
• To select stable, organized and efficient organizations interested in developing
long-term relationships;
• To award opportunities to the most capable and qualified organization — whose
capabilities and experience can support demands and can grow as needs evolve;
• To outline the terms of a formal working agreement that holds both the buyer and
the supplier liable to certain terms and conditions — the legalities of the
opportunity.
RFPs are a lot of work, but they’re worth it. If you were planning on purchasing a
learning management system that you hoped to use for five years, it obviously makes
sense to find the vendor whose product matches your needs as closely as possible.
•
•

It’s certainly easy to take shortcuts. Industry gossip, anecdotal stories and
conversations over lunch might provide you with a few tips, but let’s face it,
thousands or even millions of dollars might be changing hands. It’s much different
than using Consumer Reports to choose a lawnmower. You need to be educated, and
there should be no guessing involved.

Text 32:
An RFP is a written document that represents an enormous amount of time, resources,
and money in order to communicate an understanding of the business needs of a
company to a group of suppliers. The resulting proposals represent an interpretation
of those needs and involve the expenditure of a commensurate amount of time and
resources on the supplier's part. Properly developed and written, RFPs are powerful
tools for selecting the most appropriate solution and developing straightforward
relationships with suppliers.

This is a nuts and bolts guide to writing an RFP. The purpose of this guide is to
provide you with practical information about writing and organizing RFPs by
focusing on their underlying mechanical aspects and processes. Whether you are a
novice or senior RFP writer, you will find tips and techniques that will be beneficial
to you.

Text 33:
The next generation of distributed computing has arrived. Over the past few years,
XML has enabled heterogeneous computing environments to share information over
the World-Wide Web. It now offers a simplified means by which to share process as
well. From a technical perspective, the advent of web services is not a revolution in
distributed computing. It is instead a natural evolution of XML application from
structured representation of information to structured representation of interapplication messaging. The revolution is in the opportunities this evolution affords.
Businesses have been offering products and services on the World-Wide Web for
the past few years. Have they not then been offering web services? In what way are
web services actually new? In an article entitled The Web Services ®evolution Applying Web Services to Applications" Graham Glass, the CEO and Chief Architect
of The Mind Electric defines a web service as:
A collection of functions that are packaged as a single entity and published to the
network for use by other programs. Web services are building blocks for creating
open distributed systems, and allow companies and individuals to quickly and cheaply
make their digital assets available worldwide."
Prior to the advent of web services, enterprise application integration was very
difficult due to differences in programming languages and middleware used within
organizations. The chances of any two business systems using the same programming
language and the same middleware was slim to none, since there has not been a defacto winner. These 'component wars' spelled headaches for integration efforts, and
resulted in a plethora of custom adapters, one-off integrations, and integration
'middlemen'. In short, interoperability was cumbersome and painful.
With web services, any application can be integrated so long as it is Internetenabled. The foundation of web services is XML messaging over standard web
protocols such as HTTP. This is a very lightweight communication mechanism that
any programming language, middleware, or platform can participate in, easing
interoperability greatly. These industry standards enjoy widespread industry
acceptance, making them very low-risk technologies for corporations to adopt. With
web services, you can integrate two businesses, departments, or applications quickly
and cost-effectively.
The vision for web services predicts that services will register themselves in public or
private business registries. Those web services will fully describe themselves,
including interface structure, business requirements, business processes, and terms
and conditions for use. Consumers of those services read these descriptions to
understand the abilities of those web services. Web services will be smart, in that once
a service has been invoked, it will spontaneously invoke other services to accomplish
the task and to give users a completely personal, customized experience. In order for
these services to dynamically interact, they need to share information about the user's
identity, or context information. That context information should only need to be

typed in once, and then made available at the user's discretion to selected web
services.

Text 34:
A key difference between J2EE and .NET is that J2EE is platform-agnostic, running
on a variety of hardware and operating systems, such as Win32, UNIX, and
Mainframe systems. This portability is an absolute reality today because the Java
Runtime Environment (JRE), on which J2EE is based, is available on any platform.
There is a second, more debatable aspect of portability as well. J2EE is a standard,
and so it supports a variety of implementations, such as BEA, IBM, and Sun. The
danger in an open standard such as J2EE is that if vendors are not held strictly to the
standard, application portability is sacrificed. CORBA, for example, did not have any
way to enforce that CORBA middleware did indeed comply with the standard, and
thus there were numerous problems with portability. In the early days of J2EE there
were the same problems.
To help with the situation, Sun has built a J2EE compatibility test suite, which ensures
that J2EE platforms comply with the standards. This test suite is critical because it
ensures portability of applications. At the time of this writing, there were 18
application server vendors certified as J2EE-compatible. There are a myriad of other
vendors as well that are not certified10.
Our opinion is that in reality, J2EE portability will never be completely free. It is
ridiculous to think that complex enterprise applications can be deployed from one
environment to the next without any effort, because in practice, organizations must
occasionally take advantage of vendor-specific features to achieve real-world systems.
However—and this is important—portability is exponentially cheaper and easier with
J2EE and the compatibility test suite than with proprietary solutions, and that is a fact
we stand behind through years of consulting with customers using a variety of J2EE
solutions. Over time, as the J2EE compatibility test suite becomes more and more
robust, portability will become even easier.
By way of comparison, .NET only runs on Windows, its supported hardware, and
the .NET environment. There is no portability at all. It should be noted that there have
been hints that additional implementations of .NET will be available for other
platforms. However, a question remains - how much of the complete .NET framework
will be (or even can be) supplied on other platforms? History has taught us to be
skeptical of Microsoft's claims of multiple platform support. Microsoft ported COM
to other platforms, but never ported the additional services associated with COM that
were necessary to make COM useful. We find it hard to believe that .NET portability
will ever become a reality given Microsoft's historically monopolistic stance.

Text 35:
A software development process defines a set of activities necessary to deliver a
software system. All activities culminate in an artifact (or refinement of an existing
artifact). The artifacts represent the result of working on the activities. The goal of a
software development process is to facilitate people in their quest to effectively
produce a software system.

Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming has been the pioneer in the modern movement toward
lightweight processes. XP emphasizes a single major artifact, the code itself. This
process uses 3” x 5” cards to capture requirements in user stories and design via CRC
(class, responsibilities, and collaboration) cards, the minor artifacts of the process. XP
is much more than user stories, CRC cards, and coding, however. Testing frameworks
and innovative practices such as pair programming (working in groups of two people)
make XP an interesting addition to the field of software development processes.

Crystal
Crystal is a lightweight process that contains 20 artifacts. This might sound like a
heavier process than XP but most of the artifacts are informal and can take the form of
“chalk talks” (working problems out on a chalk board), conversations, and e-mails. Of
these 20 artifacts, only the final system, the test cases, and the documentation are
formal. Crystal divides its artifacts into levels of precision (20,000-foot view, 5,000foot view, 10-foot view) to allow developers to focus on their objectives.

Feature-Driven Development
Feature-Driven Development is an incremental approach that uses as few as four
artifacts (feature list, class diagram, sequence charts, and code). The FDD process
focuses development using two-week iterations to show quick tangible results.
Among the contributions this process provides is a semantic-based class diagram
template—called the domain neutral component, which differentiates types of classes
by color—to aid class designers in developing a domain model.

Rational Unified Process
The Rational Unified Process collects many of the best practices of OO analysis and
design to form a process framework with 38 different artifacts. RUP is not generally
considered lightweight, although a lightweight configuration called dx (“xp” turned
upside down) exists. Of course, not all 38 artifacts are required in either RUP or dx. In
fact, the process framework is configurable to as few as two (use cases and code)
artifacts. However, the general RUP-based process uses quite a few requirements,
analysis, and design artifacts because its developers based this process on the
activities of the OOA/D movement.

Text 36:
An open distance learning information system (ODLIS) can be used in order to
provide virtual lectures, virtual conferences and collaborative work on projects which
are shared among institutions, exchange of useful material, experiences among
teachers, research results and conclusions as well as versatile and more attractive
presentations of the subjects taught. In addition, such a system should manage the
educational material and its users as well as the information that is useful for the
educational procedure. The above requirements create two problems for the system:
The first problem is the management of data in web-based applications, which have
different characteristics and complexity. The management of information has many
limitations of the file-oriented hypertext protocol. The second problem is the
integration of different technologies and tools that support educational activities.

In our approach, all application's sensitive information is stored in a relational
database management system that provides the mechanisms for the efficient indexing
and ensures their consistency. More static data are stored directly on the file system,
while the database maintains annotation about them and pointers to their location.
In this article, we present some tele-training tools as well as the architecture and the
components of an ODLIS and particularly the data access components and the
business logic regarding the manipulation of information. In addition, we catalogue
the functional characteristics based on the user requirements, describe the network
that supports the transport of information. Furthermore, we explain the types of data
in our system, relationships between data, the issues of consistency, manageability,
scalability, security, partitioning, transparency and we describe the characteristics of
the mechanisms that are used for the reliable storing. Finally, we present the services
provided by the system and our case study.

Text 37:
The user and lesson database issues had also an important role and needed special
attention especially as far as the educational part is concerned. The database system
had to take into consideration all the educational aspects that were imposed by the
academic view of the project. The bureaucratic process had to pass into an electronic
system of invitations, submission forms and responds that the database system had to
keep track of. The elements of user registration requests had to be handled with an
open-minded way because they involved comparisons and logging of two language
words and phrases. Transformations had to be made in a formalized way so that
everybody has an ASCII-based login name for the web access better compatibility.
User database had to keep wait state status when registering a student for the crosscertification with the secretariat of the department involved.
Moreover, the database had to be ready for annual rebuilding – reutilization
prepared for the next academic year. That means exhaustive packing and disengaging
of all data of the past year from the main database.
At that time all outdated data had to be moved to the back up database keeping in
mind all issues that may be needed in the following year for better indexing and
quicker access and retrieval. In the new academic year, everything has to be ready to
accept all the new data recording without, though, losing the capabilities to search and
link to older elements especially records of grades, statistics and answers to sets of
tests and exercises. The system had to be designed to keep alive the most
educationally significant parts of data - the academic partners of the project insisted
on that - so that would be easy to access them in the following years for several
reasons. It is important that the database system provided easy and consistent access
to every annual database because it is consisted of both scientific and other
educationally vital information for the better designing and organizing of the
academic year to come.

Text 38:
Learners are busy. They are working at their primary task and have little time for
learning even if the need is urgent. For this reason, make the lesson as easily
accessible as possible. If you simply send an e-mail message telling the learners to go
the internal Sales website and check out the lesson that was just released, you will

have a low hit rate. To make it as easy as possible for the learner to access the elearning lesson, use these approaches:
•
•
•
•

Provide a link in the body of the e-mail invitation.
Describe why taking this course immediately is important to both the learner
and the corporation.
Provide a complete-by date. Many people are motivated when confronted with
a date rather than a vague time period like “complete within two weeks.”
Develop a system for identifying lessons that need to be taken immediately
versus lessons that can be taken when convenient. This could be a key word in
the subject line of the e-mail message or a color-coding system.

Text 39:
Problem of network connectivity in the systems that use process migration as solution
to problems such as load sharing has existed from the early advent of process
migration. Solutions typically consist of modifications to operating systems or
applications. Because of complexity of adding transparent migration to systems
originally designed to run stand-alone, since designing new systems with migration in
mind from the beginning is not a realistic option anymore at one hand and need to
developing new applications because of impossibility of use of existing applications,
has made process migration an unpopular approach.
Because of the increasing costs of operating system development and the lack of
standard solutions for distributed systems and heterogeneity, middleware level
solutions have be-come of more interest.
Our approach is to create a process called twin for each remote process. The twin is
responsible for redirecting communications of the remote process. Every remote
process has logically its own twin. But in practice there is not a one to one mapping
between remote processes and twins. A twin can be responsible for more than one
remote process. This approach works with existing operating systems and
applications.

Text 40:
We are concerned with the study of autonomy as an essential prerequisite for the
design and implementation of artificial intelligent systems. Collectivities of
autonomous mobile robots are the focus of the present research. An autonomous
mobile robot denotes for us a mechanism which is able to know its environment,
navigate, avoid obstacles and recharge its battery. That is to say, an artifact capable to
ensure its survival by itself, with the minimal human intervention.
This study deals with location (position and orientation) identification of mobile
robots equipped with ultrasonic (sonar) sensors. Due to slippage, uneven floors, etc.,
location calculated from odometer readings deviate from the actual location of the
robot. The situation becomes more severe especially when the robot makes many
turns or the length of the path traveled increases. The task of identifying the location
of a mobile vehicle using information from external sensors with respect to a global
reference frame is referred to as sensor based localization. The objective of this study
is to use solely sonar based information to identify the location of a mobile robot in a
given nontrivial environment.

Localization can be performed by constructing a local composite map of the
immediate surrounding and matching this with the global map of the environment.
This is also referred to as perception-based localization where the perceptual clues
that naturally occur in the environment are identified and matched against a map of
the environment. Our approach presented here identifies linear-features in the
environment from imprecise sonar data and performs localization by matching these
clues to the given global map.