Lets Talk Java

If you are new to programing, like I am, you might be surfing the web looking for "How to" guides, and other quick references to assist you in learning Java. There are many great resources out there to assist you in learning the basics. If you prefer to read material to get your feet wet, and absorb some great info, Here are a few great links that were provided to me as well.  

Tutorials Point (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/) - For this one, they assume you have the basic understanding of Java, which I did not at first, however I still continued to read and take in as much info as I could.


Oracle. (2015). Lesson: Object-oriented programming concepts (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/concepts/index.html

Before you try to download one of the various application used for editing Java, you need to have Java installed on your PC. I'll save you the trouble, and post a link, to the ones Eclipse (the editor of DLE of my choice) will send you too if you forget to install Java first. 

https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre8-downloads-2133155.html

Once you are at the Oracle site listed above, you'll want to accept the license agreement and choose the right download for your system. I'm on Windows, so I choose Windows X64, and you want to make sure you install both 8u191 and 8u192, if you only have one, you will get an error redirecting you to download Java first. So it's important you have both installed. 

Eclipse (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (http://www.eclipse.org/) 
         - This application is awesome! I highly recommend this, as it not only as a walkthrough on how to create your first code of "Hello World", but it also goes over the basics of how to, why, and assists is helping you see your errors and how to fix them! 

Now that you have Java, and an editor of your choice (like Eclipse) installed on your PC, we can start a new project. I suggest using the "Hello World" tutorial found when you open Eclipse to better understand how to. It's very easy to use the walk through, and you can also venture off while using it, to create you own. I used it in the screenshot below, to show you can vere off for their instruction, and try something different. 

As you can see, I used the tutorial to assist me in an assignment for my class. The first project at the top, I deleted my source, therefor, my Java code did not work. a few other helpful getting started links:

https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/index.html

https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/overview/index.html

https://www.javatpoint.com/java-oops-concepts

Java is a great programming language to start out with, as it is Object Oriented programing, and a lot easier to understand than say Python. With Object Oriented Programing (OOP), you are designing a program using objects and classes. If you tried out the tutorial above, you added a class to write out either "Hello world" or "Hello my name is..." as I did in the screenshot. "Object-Oriented Programming is a methodology or paradigm to design a program using classes and objects. It simplifies the software development and maintenance by providing some concepts:

Object

Class

Inheritance

Polymorphism

Abstraction

Encapsulation"  (https://www.javatpoint.com/java-oops-concepts) 

An object can be anything physical or logical, it can be an animal, pen, bike, table or chair. 

A class is a collection of objects - like household items. It can also be described as a blueprint.

An Inheritance is "When one object acquires all the properties and behaviors of a parent object, it is known as inheritance. It provides code reusability. It is used to achieve runtime polymorphism." (https://www.javatpoint.com/java-oops-concepts)

Polymorphism is when one task is performed in other ways. For example speaking, one person might speak English while 5 other people in the room speak 5 other languages. 

Abstraction is "Hiding internal details and showing functionality is known as abstraction. For example phone call, we don't know the internal processing." (https://www.javatpoint.com/java-oops-concepts)

Encapsulation is forming code together in a single unit, thinking of it as binding together, wrapping it up in one package, or casing like a pill."What is encapsulation? Well, in a nutshell, encapsulation is the

hiding of data implementation by restricting access to accessors and

mutators. First, lets define accessors and mutators:

Accessor

An accessor is a method that is used to ask an object about itself. In

OOP, these are usually in the form of properties, which have, under

normal conditions, a get method, which is an accessor method.

However, accessor methods are not restricted to properties and can be

any public method that gives information about the state of the object." (http://codebetter.com/raymondlewallen/2005/07/19/4-major-principles-of-object-oriented-programming/)  - Code Better is another excellent source to assist in Learning about Java and also understanding OOP. 

Javatpoint has a great list of the three advantages to using OPP, with helpful Diagrams, I suggest checking out their full post, and reading it in it's entirety. Link posted above, but here is their diagram and the three advantages just in case you are like many, and don't like to click around until you finish your first resource. 

Advantage of OOPs over Procedure-oriented programming language

1) OOPs makes development and maintenance easier whereas in a procedure-oriented programming language it is not easy to manage if code grows as project size increases.

2) OOPs provides data hiding whereas in a procedure-oriented programming language a global data can be accessed from anywhere.

Figure: Data Representation in Procedure-Oriented Programming

Figure: Data Representation in Object-Oriented Programming

3) OOPs provides the ability to simulate real-world event much more effectively. We can provide the solution of real word problem if we are using the Object-Oriented Programming language. (https://www.javatpoint.com/java-oops-concepts)

CPT304- W5 - Final Assignment

Mechanisms Necessary to Control Access

For our first interactive assignment we were asked to begin our concept map, and address the following topics about operating system structures and features: “Categorize, describe, and give examples of the major functions of operating systems.” To begin answering question of an operating systems functions, we have to know what an operating system is, our text describes an operating system as “a program that manages a computer’s hardware. It also provides a basis for application programs and acts as an intermediary between the computer user and the computer hardware.” (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2014 CH1.)  The operating system is further described as a management system as well as “resource allocator”, delegating tasks and problem solving for the CPU, other devices, file memory/storage and others to execute them properly, and maintain full functionality of the device hardware. “ An operating system provides the environment within which programs are executed.” (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2014 CH 1.4).

In addition to the explanation of OS structures and features, we were to Illustrate the hierarchy of subsystems, components, or subcomponents of operating systems and explain how they interact with one another. The hierarchy of an operating system includes; user interface, process management, memory management, storage management, and distribution of systems. All working together to maintain a balance. I have further illustrated these key points in my first concept map, which can be found using the following link; Link to my concept Map:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o3-WHoXSMTozFB5SYKznzXRmGMltWO2K/view?usp=sharing

For our second interactive assignment, we were asked to complete a Theory Concept Map which addresses the following three topics on how operating systems enable processes to share and exchange information: “Describe process, process state, and process control block.”

A program currently in execution is also known as a process or a job, it is the current task at hand.. "A process is the unit of work in a modern time-sharing system."(Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2014 CH 3.1). Process state is the changes to a process as it runs or is executed. Process state changes from: 

*New: The process is being created.

*Running: Instructions are being executed.

*Waiting: The process is waiting for some event to occur.

*Ready: The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor.

*Terminated: The process has finished execution.

(Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2014 CH 3.1.2). Process control block or task control block is simply all the information pertaining to the current job or process. Process control block includes: Process state, Program counter, CPU registers, CPU -scheduling information, Memory-management information, Accounting information, and I/O status information. 

Compare single- and multi-threaded motivations and models.

Secondly, we needed to describe Single and multithreaded processes are similar in they will both code, data, files, register and stack, however a single thread can only run one register and stack, where as a multi thread can run several. Our text gives the example of a web search, such as google. When you enter text into google, it will search using multiple threads to bring up results. For instance, google will give you text, video, pictures, news, and even shopping results, all sorted, or you can simply get them all together in their “all” section. 

Lastly, we needed to describe the critical-section problem and explain a software solution that resolves this problem. The critical section problem is portion of code a process gets to when it is in execution. During this time a process can change common variables and write them to the table of the code, updated it. "The important feature of the system is that, when one process is executing in its critical section, no other process is allowed to execute in its critical section." This means there can not be multiple programs executing at the critical-section simultaneously. Peterson’s Solution is a software solution to this problem. "Peterson’s solution is restricted to two processes that alternate execution between their critical sections and remainder sections." (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2014 CH 5.3). These two processes will share two data items, and alternate the critical-section state. Link to my concept map to further show these explanations.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NvaW7Tp14JbrHnpo66ZhU79RR3JtNPbo/view?usp=sharing

As we start week three, we are focusing on Main memory and virtual memory, and their functions within an operating system. We were asked in this interactive assignment to continue building on our OS Theory Concept Map, and address the topics “concerning controlling and coordinating computer memory”. Specifically, we were asked to: “Outline the objectives and functions of memory management in operating systems. “The memory is ultimately responsible for the correct execution of the process or program in a correct and timely manner. Once purchased either digitally or physically, the instructions will be copied and saved, loaded into the computer's memory for later use when called upon. Depending on where/how the address is stored will depend on the type of process instructions. Things like the OS, and other non user programs will be stored with lower addresses being accessed directly and more swiftly by the Kernel. Others, like perhaps Microsoft office, or PC games will be stored with Higher addresses, and accessed by the user, when they click a desktop link for example initiating the process to start running.     

Secondly we were asked to “Compare and contrast the physical address space with the virtual address space as they relate to different memory mapping techniques in operating systems.” A physical address is the address that is logical, (logical address or virtual address.) but now stored in the computer's memory, it is the address that is created by the CPU and stored locally. "An address generated by the CPU is commonly referred to as a logical address, whereas an address seen by the memory unit—that is, the one loaded into the memory-address register of the memory—is commonly referred to as a physical address." (Silberschatz, Galvin  & Gagne, 2014 CH 7.1.3). A virtual address is the logical address, the one created by the CPU, prior to being stored in the register for later use.  Dynamic Loading is a mapping technique used to improve the speed of physical memory. "With dynamic loading, a routine is not loaded until it is called. All routines are kept on disk in a relocatable load format. The main program is loaded into memory and is executed." (Silberschatz, Galvin  & Gagne, 2014 CH 7.1.4). Since only what is needed will be loaded when it is needed, this will speed up the process, saving time and memory space. Link to my Concept Map which can further illustrate this section. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19m8C3kfd5n5uZbVLr0lLJb5paW6trhHF/view?usp=sharing

To start off week four, we explored Mass-Storage Structures, File System Interfaces, and File System implementations, in addition to our concept map and details learned this week, we were also asked to complete a few practice exercises from chapters 9 and 10. To complete week fours interactive assignment, we were asked to continue building the OS Theory Concept Map by addressing the following topics concerning files, mass storage, and I/O: Outline the objectives and functions of file systems management and the supported operations, including their reliability and performance. I cannot better explain the file structure, so I have taken directly from tutorialspoint: “A File Structure should be according to a required format that the operating system can understand.

-A file has a certain defined structure according to its type.

-A text file is a sequence of characters organized into lines.

-A source file is a sequence of procedures and functions.

-An object file is a sequence of bytes organized into blocks that are understandable by the machine.

-When operating system defines different file structures, it also contains the code to support these file structure. Unix, MS-DOS support minimum number of file structure.”

In week four, we learned the importance of Scheduling Models, and how disk drives function. To better understand, we were tasked with a scenario, using a disk drive, to explain how various scheduling models work. The disk drive in this scenario has 300 cylinders, numbered 0 to 299. The drive is currently serving a request at cylinder 51, and the previous request was at cylinder 56. The pending requests are received in the following order: 72, 56, 103, 111, 17, 189, 236, 198, and 88. If we were using the FCFS (First-come first-serve) scheduling model, the order which the requests were received would be the order to which they are handled. from cylinder 51, it would move down the list next to 72, then 56, 103 and so on, ending at 88. Should we choose another algorithm, such as SSFT, the requests would be handled in the shortest arm movements to the next cylinder, "shortest-seek-time-first ( SSTF ) algorithm. The SSTF algorithm selects the request with the least seek time from the current head position. In other words, SSTF chooses the pending request closest to the current head position." (Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne, 2014 CH 9.4.2). Since we started at 51, we would then go to 56, 72, 88, 103 and so on. lastly, for SCAN, if we are starting and 51 head, the arm will continue to move heading the the same direction, servicing the requests that fall within its movement, once it reaches the end, it will reverse and service requests again for which it might have missed. "In the SCAN algorithm, the disk arm starts at one end of the disk and moves toward the other end, servicing requests as it reaches each cylinder, until it gets to the other end of the disk. At the other end, the direction of head movement is reversed, and servicing continues."(Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne, 2014 CH 9.4.3). with SCAN, if we start at 51 and the previous was 56, I will assume our next will be 17, once it reaches the end, of 0 it will go back, picking up the first one now at 56 (again) 88, 103, 111 and so on, until it reaches cylinder 299, and back the opposite direction it will head, picking up any additional requests until it hits 0, and returns back again. 

Comparing the above three algorithms SSTF gives us a cylinder count of 455, FCFS has a cylinder count of 584, and SCAN will bring us a count of 236 (if we assume the disk arm was already on it’s return trip from 299 heading to 0). Looking at the outcomes of these three methods, the best choice is to use SCAN, as it has the fairest for the processes in the que. I feel this is the fairest, as it will serve all of them in the quickest most efficient time, allowing to continue moving to new cylinders, before either of the first two have finished the first stream of requests in this scenario. The only time I could see this method not being the fairest, was if we needed the request at say 103 to run before the other lower requests could be completed, and they needed to run in order using SSTF. FCFS seems to me to be the logical one to choose, being if you are the first in line, and 20 more people come in, I would want to be served first, and not wait based on the amount of my order, or how long it was going to take to cook. FCFS works great for printers, but is not fair or logical when it comes to completing requests in a fair and timely fashion. In addition to these algorithms, it seems like priority based scheduling would also be most efficient. “Priority scheduling is a non-preemptive algorithm and one of the most common scheduling algorithms in batch systems. Each process is assigned a priority. Process with highest priority is to be executed first and so on. Processes with same priority are executed on first come first served basis.Priority can be decided based on memory requirements, time requirements or any other resource requirement.” (tutorialspoint.com ) With assigning priority, this ensures the requests are handled in the most efficient order, combining the three above. Link to my Concept Map for week four can be found here. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jO6PopcZTr7-Fq4PWwMJE-UamnvR3wEk/view?usp=sharing

For our final interactive assignment, we were tasked with addressing the following topics concerning mechanisms necessary to control the access of programs, processes, or users: 

Outline the goals and principles of domain- and language-based protection in a modern computer system, and describe how an access matrix is used to protect specific resources a process can access. An access matrix can be used to protect specific resources a process can access by each entry in the matrix consisting of a set of access rights."The access-matrix scheme provides us with the mechanism for specifying a variety of policies. The mechanism consists of implementing the access matrix and ensuring that the semantic properties we have outlined hold."(Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne 2014 CH 13.4).Language-Based protection allows the high-level description of policies for the allocation and use of resources. "Capability-based protection relies on the fact that the capabilities are never allowed to migrate into any address space directly accessible by a user process (where they could be modified). If all capabilities are secure, the object they protect is also secure against unauthorized access."(Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne 2014 CH 13.5.3).

We were also asked to Describe how security is used to protect programs, systems, and networks from threats. Security features used to protect programs, networks, systems and even users range from software, password protection, as well as the OS itself, which provides. There are four levels of security they should me maintained, the first being Physical. “The site or sites containing the computer systems must be physically secured against armed or surreptitious entry by intruders." (Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne 2014 CH 14.1)the second is Human. "Human. Authorization must be done carefully to assure that only appropriate users have access to the system."(Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne 2014 CH 14.1). Third is the Operating system, and lastly we have the Network. "Security at the first two levels must be maintained if operating-system security is to be ensured. A weakness at a high level of security (physical or human) allows circumvention of strict low-level (operating-system) security measures."(Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne 2014 CH 14.1). Link to my final Concept Map can be found here. In addition, there are screenshots for all concept maps posted at the end of this paper. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CVSiGyCYQm7oDIiYy2fJDZaevE8VJZl4/view?usp=sharing

 

References

Carlos Páscoa and José Tribolet (2015). Procedia Computer Science, Volume 64,, pp. 180-187. Retrieved from https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/science/article/pii/S187705091300567

Disk Scheduling Algorithms. (2018, September 07). Retrieved November 14, 2018, from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/disk-scheduling-algorithms/

Does multithreading always yield better performance than single threading? (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://stackoverflow.com/questions/27319446/does-multithreading-always-yield-better-performance-than-single-threading

Multithreading in Java. (2018, September 05). Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/multithreading-in-java/

Operating system – File system (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_file_system.htm

Operating system – I/O hardware (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_io_hardware.htm

Operating system – I/O softwares (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_io_software.htm

Operating system – Memory management (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_memory_management.htm

Operating system – Processes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_processes.htm

Operating system – Virtual memory (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_virtual_memory.htm

Pinto, R. S., Nobile, P., Mamani, E., Júnior, L. P., Luz, H. J., & Monaco, F. J. (2013). Operating System from the Scratch: A Problem-based Learning Approach for the Emerging Demands on OS Development. Procedia Computer Science, 18(2013 International Conference on Computational Science), 2472-2481. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2013.05.424

Tutorials Point. (n.d.). Operating system - Multi-threading (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_multi_threading.htm

Tutorialspoint.com. (n.d.). Operating System Scheduling algorithms. Retrieved November 13, 2018, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_process_scheduling_algorithms.htm

Silberschatz, A., Galvin, P. B., & Gagne, G. (2014). Operating system concepts essentials (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://www.vitalsource.com

We build this PC

*True story, I have "We build this City" stuck in my head*

My husband has needed me to put in a new hard drive for his desktop for a while. (For so long, I honestly forgot he gave the tower and drive to his brother to install it.) I work a lot, and so does his brother, needless to say, his brother has had the tower for 18 months, it was still not done.

I last upgraded this computer 18 months ago,before the Hard drive got corrupted somehow. Bought a new power supply, and graphics card, no big deal. I set it up on Thursday night, and realized, this this was maybe more outdated than I thought, I should have guessed it was, as the RAM was still DDR2 ( don't judge, it was built like 10 years ago originally, it worked for Diablo 2, and Facebook). Other than needing up graded, when something sits open for like 2 years, it gets dirty Af.

  The Inputs and outputs were also gone, and most of the UBS ports were just dead and out dated, I think only the front two were even 2.0. No 3.0 or 3.1 was even on this old PC. Once I seen the mess, and how out dated it was, I knew we had to get some new parts going.

We headed to Micro Center and picked up a new Mother Board, Case, Fans, Solid State Drive, some LED's for the inside, new Processor, and new RAM. (only 8 gigs that day, as they only had one left :'( ). Got it all home, and then started gutting the old PC while my two toddlers ran around and my 10 year old helped me disassemble and clean when we were keeping. She was also completely disgusted with the inside of the old PC, and decided she no longer wanted this one in her room when I got a new power supply. She wanted to build a whole new one with me as well. 

 

 

 

Wasn't too bad to get out what I wanted, I didn't even notice initially that the new case did not have a place for the DVD/Blue-ray drive, which doesn't matter, as all our stuff is digital down load anyhow, but it has been SO long since I put one together, all i could think of was "WTF am I going to get the OS on here". Father in law to the rescue, USB.... duh...... total blonde moment.

It only took about an hour and a half to get everything put together and ready to go. We had my father in law look over it before we booted up. I think mostly because my Husband did not trust I had built a PC before, and he wanted to make sure "It's doesn't like, you know, blow up". hahaha, which was just funny to me.

 

 

I ran back for three more fans on Friday, and installed them Friday night. I figured since I could fit two more on top I would, and I also forgot the rear fan.  

Over all we had a great time building a new PC, and everything works great!

IT Careers in the age of Technology

             There are many careers that focus on IT in today’s world of technology, one of the larges growing and ever evolving IT careers is Health Care IT. When I used to think of healthcare IT, I would imagine your typical tech guy, making sure the computers are working, replacing the keyboards or switching out an older monitor, todays IT in healthcare is so much more. When it comes to IT in the world of healthcare you have your Electronic medical record, which everyone from Nurses, Doctors, secretaries, and even lab and imaging techs will use to document patient care. You also have those who build, maintain, and oversee the day to day functions of the Electronic medical record. There are also those who train end users, super users and support staff whose only role is to be elbow support for the clinicians who will focus on patient care and use the electronic medical record. Training and support are my main job in Healthcare IT, sometimes I work locally, other times I travel from state to state, assisting with training, support and implementation of the electronic medical record (EMR). Other roles in Healthcare IT include those who work in project management, security including access to the computers, networks, and various locations within the hospital, without the growing need for companies to become more involved with technology, these jobs might never exist. “The success of healthcare depends critically on the utilization of information technology capability and innovative capability to collect, analyze, and exchange knowledge within and across organizational boundaries.” (Hui-chuan & Cates, 2018).

The biggest goal to my job at any location, is to identify those who are strong computer users, and excel with the EMR, after a few weeks of support and encouragement, they will become super users for their location, and they will take over my role when they leave. They become the designated IT help support on the floor, or in the office once all the ancillary support has left to their next implementation of another EMR. “Theoretically, work practices that promote employee involvement, discretion (defined as the extent to which employees are provided with professional autonomy and decision making authority), teamwork, training, and staffing are likely to affect the acquisition and transfer of new knowledge within the organization, thereby influencing IT learning.” (Avgar, Tambe & Hitt, 2018).  By helping current staff to engage in the new system, it creates a new role for them in the work place, which in my experience is very exciting, and they are more receptive to learn the EMR, and help others. They share their take on what they have learned, teach short cuts, and really stream line their workflows in a new way, as it is a project for them to grab hold of, and make their own. This improves patient safety, efficiency, and overall quality of care.

The Electronic medical record is not only beneficial to hospital staff, but it is also there to protect the patient by maintaining their complete health information. This information can be accessed by those who are in direct care of the patient and be electronically sent to those who will care for the patient after they are discharged from the hospital. Care providers can share this health information with one another, to better care for their patient. Anderson,  Campbell, Mahoney, Muther, Nevin, Resnik & Steinberg, T had the right idea when they started their research in Information technology improving long term patient care, they concluded that “Care Link IT functions can be replicated to address the unique longitudinal care needs of any population.” Any healthcare facility can adapt and implement an electronic medical record to enhance patient care, drive more jobs into the area, and better the knowledge of their employees in the world of IT.

Information technology continues to grow across many industries, in Healthcare they are working on new EMR customization's to better assist in patient care. Hospitals regularly upgrade computers and office equipment that interfaces with the EMR, from scanners and faxes, to secure messaging applications which can be used for physicians to text over orders to the RNs. The need for these constant improvements, system upgrades and so forth is also fueling the IT job market on what seems to be a daily basis. As the need increases for hospitals to become more advanced, and further implement technology, IT careers continue to be on the rise especially for those who work in network security. They need to be on high alert for those who want to hack into the hospitals network and gain access to patient information, which is safeguarded by the EMR. Users need system credentials to gain access to the network and the EMR just to view and enter information on patients.

 References

Anderson, S., Campbell, M., Mahoney, D., Muther, A. K., Nevin, J., Resnik, P., & ... Steinberg, T. (2017). Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at the Local Level: Innovative Information Technology–Powered Population Health Care Management Improves Outcomes and Reduces Hospital Re-admissions and Emergency Department Visits. The Joint Commission Journal On Quality And Patient Safety, 43330-337. doi:10.1016/j.jcjq.2017.04.002

Avgar, A., Tambe, P., & Hitt, L. M. (2018). BUILT TO LEARN: HOW WORK PRACTICES AFFECT EMPLOYEE LEARNING DURING HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION. MIS Quarterly, 42(2), 645-659. doi:10.25300/MISQ/2018/13668

Christie Hui-chuan, C., & Cates, T. (2018). The Role of Information Technology Capability and Innovative Capability: An Empirical Analysis of Knowledge Management in Healthcare. International Management Review, 14(1), 5-16.

LaRose, R., Rifon, N. J., & Enbody, R. (2008). PROMOTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for INTERNET SAFETY. Communications Of The ACM, 51(3), 71-76. doi:10.1145/1325555.1325569

National Cyber Security Alliance. Emerging Internet Threat List, 2006; www.staysafeonline.info/basics/Internetthreatlist06.html.

Pickering, C. M. (2018, June 10). My Introduction to Technology. Retrieved June 27, 2018, from https://carolannpickering.blogspot.com/

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/

Post #6 – Network Security

Information and System Security

Everyone should always be aware of their surroundings when they move about on this Earth, as we all leave being foot prints wherever we go. You would leave out a bank statement, your social security card, or other personal information for someone else to pick up and use. Using the internet is much the same, although we are not physically moving about the internet, we are digitally traveling the web, and still leaving behind a digital fingerprint. “A person walking leaves physical footprints. Similarly, a user on the Internet leaves electronic footprints.” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2017). This electronic footprint leaves behind little bit of data, and if you are not careful, this data can be used against you. Scammers are always looking for new ways to gain access to your personal information using cloned sites, phishing e-mails, viruses, or simply stealing your passwords to get the information they want. It’s imperative to safe guard your information, and be safe while using the internet, knowing what that is out there is a threat is helpful. Knowing the possible threats, you may face is helpful in being proactive and choosing safeguards for your home computer, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
Often many people use the web with the mentality of “it will never happen to me”, seemly unaware that it has already, or is right around the corner. “Low amounts of fear diminish safety, because the threat is not seen as important enough to address. However, intense fear can also inhibit safe behavior, perhaps because people suppress their fear rather than cope with the danger.” (LaRose, Rifon & Enbody, 2008). As many people do not have the fear something will happen to them, they often do not have safe practices of internet safety like updating virus protection, malware scans, or even routinely changing their passwords. Updating passwords routinely can help prevent against stolen information, many companies require routine password changes every so many days. At my current job, it is every 120 days, I cannot use the same password with in the last ten changes. My password must contain and uppercase and lower-case letter, a number, and a distinctive character. Adding numbers, special characters and upper/lowercase letters makes for a very strong password, as most passwords are now case sensitive.
Employers urge their employees to also maintain safe internet practices often by blocking downloads onto work PCs, as well as restricting sites which contain click bait, are known for Phishing, or are in general unsafe or inappropriate for the workplace. Since most often we do not have the same strict policies at home, it should become one of our best practices to take note of what we are clicking on, and what sites we are redirected to, as there are no safeguards like in our workplace to stop out personal PC from making a connecting with a malicious site. A malicious site can come from a link on a reputable site, like a news outlet or even Facebook. Facebook is known for their “fun” quizzes that pop up in our newsfeeds like “find out what super hero you are”, “What is your inner color”, “who were you in a past life?”, all seem like innocent fun, but to take the quiz and post on your page, you must allow them specific permissions to your information, such as to post to your page on your behalf, your friends list, pictures, past posts, and if you are using your cell phone, often they might ask for permission to use your contacts, or camera and microphone. Many do not read this, and just click yes and next on each item to take the quiz, which now invites those on the other end of the connection full access to your information via Facebook. We have our own personal responsibility to read and really think about what we are clicking on, to be safe on the internet. “Among all of the factors we have discussed, personal responsibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy were the ones most related to intentions to engage in safe online behavior.” (LaRose, Rifon & Enbody, 2008).
To engage in safe online behaviors is to be aware of your surrounding always while navigating the web. Know what pages you are visiting, when clicking on a link, read if it is asking for permission, and never type in your passwords or personal information unless you know it is a trusted site. Be careful when making online perches as well, as some hackers mirror reputable sites to get you to type your credit card or banking information, for them to then steal and use as they so please. You don’t need to be so scared that you never use the internet again, or refrain from buying online, however it is very important to maintain internet safety and know where you are digitally walking around and leaving behind footprints.


References
LaRose, R., Rifon, N. J., & Enbody, R. (2008). PROMOTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for INTERNET SAFETY. Communications Of The ACM, 51(3), 71-76. doi:10.1145/1325555.1325569
National Cyber Security Alliance. Emerging Internet Threat List, 2006; www.staysafeonline.info/basics/Internetthreatlist06.html.
Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/

Post #5 – Computers in the Workplace

"In Post #5, you will describe the functions of computers in your chosen industry, based on your
current understanding of IT, your experience with that industry, and any additional research as
necessary. Explain why it is important for employees in this type of environment to be computer
literate. Considering the historic trends of computing, forecast how evolutions in computer
hardware, operating systems, and networking will impact your chosen industry over the next ten
years."

I have chosen to use Information Technology in the Health Care field, as this is something I am very familiar with. When it comes to Healthcare IT, it is becoming more and more important for individuals to be computer literate as time goes by.  Gone are the days of learning on the fly, as you tend to patients on the floor, writing down your vitals, events, or tracking of patient care. Providers no longer have the option to call out orders to their nurses or medical assistant or call up the pharmacy for a dropped dose of medication. Everything must be kept track of in the Electronic Medical record, this includes orders, notes, vitals, patient information and other data. If a medication is dropped or wasted, it must be documented as such, right down to if it is a waste that is charged to the patient, or a cost the hospital will cover. Most hospital policies are to “document in real time”, meaning you bring a computer to the bedside, and speak with your patient and chart on the computer, as if it were writing in the paper chart. Often, this is not possible, so times entered will be changed to reflect the time a task was performed, or time data was taken. Even changing the date to reflect this information on the screen, will not change the actual time entered into the system, as all this data is stored on the backend, unable to be seen, or changed by the users. This is helpful in court cases to prove or disprove medical malpractice, and often saves the lives of patients, while protecting hospital staff if they followed proper procedures. It is very important to be computer literate because using the EMR goes beyond simply being able to surf the web or write a document in word. They need to be able to understand the difference between right and left mouse clicks, logging out of the systems versus suspending the application. Many facilities use Single Sign On, which allows them to tap on to the workstation computer, and sign into all of their work applications including their email, payroll, EMR and others. Simply logging off of the EMR does not log them off the workstation, they need to “tap out”, if they do not, they risk all of their personal work applications being tampered with. Spelling also counts in most EMRs, knowing how to use spell check can really help, especially if you are using acronyms.

Post #4 – Traveling Through a Network

"In Post #4, you will describe how packets travel through the network, based on your experience
using the ping and traceroute commands. Compare the ping and traceroute results from the
different websites and explain how the paths to the different destinations differ. Make a
conclusion about the relationship between the roundtrip time and geographical location.
Explain how the ping and traceroute commands can be used to troubleshoot Internet connection
problems. Give at least two possible reasons why a ping request or traceroute command might
time out or return with an error message."

This week we learned about the line of communication a computer has with the internet, and what Ping and Tracer routes are. Per our text, Dodge & Zook state that “A computer communicates via the Internet by sending a packet, containing information like an address for a destination computer, the data size, and the data itself (email message, web page, piece of video, etc.).” When you send out packets of information, it is called “Ping”. “PING stands for “Packet Internet Groper.” Pinging an IP address or website means sending small packets of information out to a specific IP address and requesting a response from the recipient, such as typing in google or Facebook into your address bar to take you to either of those sites. Additionally, you could also use your bookmarks to take you to those web pages, both will have the same result, we would send the request out by pinging that web address and waiting for the response. If the address is bad, or there is an error, we would not be taken to the webpage for example. “Running a traceroute, also called tracert on some operating systems, means sending small packets of information out to a specific IP address and documenting the path that the packets take as they travel there.” I use this when I use my VPN to establish a remote connection to my work computer, as I am requesting to go to a specific IP address and computer to gain access to the things I need for work.

References:

Dodge, M., & Zook, M. (2009). Internet-based measurement. The International Encyclopedia of Human Geography: Elsevier. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4492/0ad7004b93cd485731f56de3abe3e19200a7.pdf

INT100_GuideToPing%20and%20Traceroutes.pdf

Post #3 – Documenting a Day

A day in the life of Carolann

I picked a crappy day to track my daily routine, but as of late this is how a lot of my days end up. I woke up at 5:40am to get ready for work, but laying in bed for 20mins, checking my emails, Facebook and then logging on to PokemonGO while I grabbed my clothes. At 6:15 I was dressed and putting on my make-up and then my husband woke up to see me off to work. I decided it would be nice to leave a bit early and get coffee and breakfast for my husband and the kids. At 6:40am I left my house to stop at McDonalds, which didn’t take long at all, as I was back home and handing off food by 7am, I then left again to drive to work. I got to the highway at 7:08am, and I realized there was no way I was going to make it into work, I didn’t realize when I first started drink my coffee, but my body knew in just less than 15mins I had cream and sugar in there. Some things to note:

·         I used to drink the sugar filled coffee from there and Starbucks all the time, and I have only recently eliminated sugar from my diet.

·         I had gastric bypass in December, and I can no longer process more than 3g of sugar at a time.

·         I’ve lost 130lbs since December 21^st, 2017, and I feel awesome about that, but a lot of my day I spend sleeping because I got sick from food.

·         Once I get dumping syndrome I am pretty much only able to drink water for 72hrs while my body resets.

·          I’m still getting used to this, as I never know if a food or drink is going to make me sick.

Before I turned on the highway, I had already gotten sick, and felt like I was going to die. This was dumping syndrome, joy. I parked my car on a side street until I could chug a bottle of water to flush my system, since I cannot hold more than 4oz of anything at a time, it generally just makes me sick, but I needed to get the coffee out of my system. I pulled back in my drive way at 7:30am, and started writing an email to my boss, to let her know I could not sit in on class today, but I would work remote from home to finish the PowerPoint for the other instructors. I went inside, changed my clothes, cried until my stomach pills and pain pill kicked in, and passed out by 8am. I woke up at 1pm, with a horrible migraine, most likely from throwing up and also taking the pain medication, so I took a migraine pill which unfortunately also makes me sleep, and I slept from 1:30pm until 5pm. I must have woken up a few times here and there, as I drank 3 bottles of water while sleeping, but I don’t remember. At 5pm I started making dinner, which my husband ended up finishing, as just sampling the noodles to see if they were done made me sick. At 6pm I sat down with my family while they ate dinner, we watched the original Jurassic Park, and my two-year-old kept trying to keep the dinosaurs his dinner so they wouldn’t eat him, he also offered his sister Aerith to them as a snack but told them not to eat Zoey because she gives him string cheese, it was adorable. Around 8pm I started and finished my PowerPoint for work and emailed it at 10pm. At 10:15, I started thinking back on the day, and realized, I really picked a dreadful day to write about, however tomorrow and Sunday will be more of the same. Normally I play my PokemonGo game with my husband and kids Saturday and Sunday as we go out with others, walk around hang out at the Zoo or a park or two, but this weekend I will spend it bed, staying hydrated and not passing out like last time.

Post #2 – Web/Mobile App Critique

"In Post #2, you will write a review of a web/mobile app that you are familiar with. Or, if you are
not familiar with any web or mobile app, you may select one from the list provided in your text to
explore and review.
Evaluate the app’s usability, design, and functionality. Use screenshots to show how the app
works. Propose at least three recommendations for improvements."

The mobile app I have chosen to review is Pokémon GO, which is a mobile gaming application. I chose a mobile game, as this is one application I use daily, which doesn’t revolve around me using it for work or school, because let’s face it, I use my phone 24/7. My phone is always doing something for me, even when I am sleeping, by connecting to my fitness tracker and monitoring my sleep, counting my steps while I send emails while walking into work, or playing music through my stereo for me while I drive to/from work. Pokémon GO is the only application I have on my phone which is a game, and not used for fitness, work, school or to organize my life, it’s simply to relax with my kids and go around playing. If you are not familiar with this Application, it is “an augmented reality (AR) game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices” (Pokémon). My first screenshot is that of the game AR, the augmented reality of the game, puts the Pokémon in our world.

The game is very easy to play and understand, much like all other Pokémon games, the objective is to “Catch ‘em all”, all the Pokémon. If you are not familiar with Pokémon, there are a lot, over 800 currently in the on-going show which they have divided into 8 different generation in the mobile app game. So far, in game, there are 3 almost complete generation available, and a few from Generation 8 which they randomly released last week during the announcement of the next Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch. The game itself can be played completely on your own, it is free, however there are the options to perches premium play items, including raid passes which allow you to battle stronger Pokémon in groups, and then the ability to catch them as a reward if you beat them in the raid. The more people you get together in a group to raid, the easier and faster the raid goes. There are 5 levels to raiding, 1 being the easiest and you can generally do it on your own, and 5 being the hardest and most often you need at least 4 to beat the raid, if everyone in your group is max level, which is 40 currently. I have provided screen shots of the Pokémon storage, store where you can buy premium items, and the character in the next 3 screenshots.

Overall, as you can tell I really enjoy this app. It reminds me of my childhood, when I used to watch the show and play the trading card game. Since the show is still airing new episodes, and the cards are still being played, it also allows for me to have something to do with my kids, as they are technology and Pokémon obsessed. Niantic has done a pretty good job of making the Pokémon really come to life in the game. I do have my very decent list of complaints about the app, but I will start with what they have done well. The bugs in the programing which were very frequent the first few months of the games launch have since been fixed, and the development team is quick to fix current issues. I like that we have weekly/monthly events available in the app, which allows for special items to be claimed with out buying them, even though I know my family and I spend a gross amount of money on this game. They also hold real life events once a month, called Community Day. Community day is once a month on a Saturday from 2pm to 5pm, and it has increased spawn (the amount of Pokémon that appear in game) rates, and they choose a new one each month for it, and it will have the option to appear “Shiny”, which in this game, is a pretty big deal, finding a Pokémon that is Shiny almost never happens, it’s super rare, and we check for them all the time. This is one of my complaints about the app, the spawn areas around me a great, so I am not affected when it comes to low spawns, or areas where there are not a lot of players. However, there are many areas where Pokémon just do not spawn, there are no Gyms to raid at, and there are barely any Pokéstops to go to and spin for free Items. More or less; if you live in a small town, you need to go into a bigger city to play. Secondly, there is no way to talk to other players in the game, which when you are trying to do team tasks, like raiding, you need to be able to communicate.

As for optimizations for this App, I won’t get into the typical gamer requests of “We need to be able to trade with one another!!”, I just want to be able to chat in game with my Raid group. I hate that I must use another app to talk to my group to get stuff done, we use Discord or Facebook messenger, which work, but I’d rather stick to one app to play. I also would like to see more levels added to the game, a lot of people have been Maxed out on their level since the first year of the release, we are coming up on the second anniversary, and I think we need to be able to get to at least 50, personally I’d like to see 100, but my raid group thinks that is too high, and unobtainable for most. I haven’t hit 40 yet, but I will be there by the end of summer. They could use more moves and information from the show and card game, often the move sets the Pokémon have are not what they could be or should be, or the damage they do is incorrect according to all other games Nintendo put out. It would also be nice to see other trainers on the map while playing, which would go back to them implementing a chat of some sort in the app. In the Nintendo DS games, you can find other trainers in game and battle them, you can battle with friends, however in Pokémon GO, you can only have co-op in raid battles not one on one battling to prove who is the best, which is what the Trading card game was about, and all other games before this one. I’ll keep playing even without these improvements, as I’d like to see where the game goes, and like I said, it’s an escape and it takes me back to my childhood. I know it looks weird when myself and 15 other grown people pull up to a virtual gym and 530pm in the afternoon and we all get out of our cars, talking and laughing with one another. It’s fun, and generally it seems more adults ages 26 to 40 play this game, that kids and teens, and I love it!

References:

Films On Demand - Embedded Content - Mobile App Research and Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2018, from https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47489&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref

Films On Demand - Embedded Content - Mobile App Development and Deployment. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2018, from https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47490&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref

Pokémon Go. (2018, June 07). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Go

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/

This is A Pokémon I happened to be catching today, after winning a raid battle with part of the raid group I play with. A few people in the group are in the background.

I am actually being laughed at right now for being in my car and not socializing. It’s 3:50pm on a Thursday and I am working remotely from my car, rather than my office, because at 4pm today, this guy goes anyway in the game, until they think of a random reason to release it again. Since another Pokémon is being release at 4pm, and has the new option to be Shiny, myself husband, and raid group will be doing this until raiding ends around 730pm.

You can customize your character and choose who they walk with, since I need the candies for this little guy, I am walking with him, to earn the candies to level him up.

This isn’t the main screen, but the options screen more or less, you can see what Items you have in your bag, look to see what Pokémon you have in your storage, or go to the shop and buy Items to use in game.

You need raid passes to raid, you get one free one a day, by going to a Gym, and spinning the stop there. You can only hold one free pass, but you can hold however many you choose to buy of the Premium passes, I had 68 this morning, but will have a lot less by the end of the day, I spend WAY too much on this game.

You can hold up to your max storage for Pokémon, I spent money to upgrade my storage box to 1,000. Pretty much, if it is not good at raid battles, ultra-rare or Shiny, I do not keep it. Mostly I chase after “perfect” Pokémon, like many other in my group, however if they will help me in a raid, I will keep it if it is a higher level.

They also offer a Journal of what you have been doing. As you can see, I took a break from work to go raiding with the group at 2:30pm today, which means my poor life choice of playing this game rather than working will result in me working later this evening rather than sleeping. (Pokémon GO is life!)

This is a Pokémon Gym, I’ve been holding this one down with my Pokémon and my kids Pokémon pretty much for the last 2 years on and Off. The more you visit a gym, you earn a badge and level that up, I’m gold (max level) on pretty much every single one in my city, which is sad. I leave for work 45min sooner than I need to each morning, just to take these over, and earn coins to spend in the game. (I swear I have a life…. It just sounds like I don’t)