Tag: <span>Variable level system</span>

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This article helps you to specify a CCTV system; the intended audience for this guide being either an installing company or an end user. You should be aware there are many types of CCTV systems available on the market; these range from cheap cctv systems for basic monitoring, best value security camera systems for some form of identification and to high resolution security systems that lead to identification and prosecution.

A good security camera system will offer best value for money without compromise on the quality. There are many products available on the market which makes it very difficult to identify what products are suitable for your requirement. Sometimes, it is equally difficult to identify areas that are vulnerable and a suitable cctv camera to target that area. Most people forget that a cctv camera system is a long term investment and they should discuss their requirements with a technical sales person before they make the purchase.

Understanding cctv terminology can also be daunting, see our FAQ section for more details.

Understanding your Security requirements

Main reasons for your requirement of cctv security cameras will reflect the type of system you need. Some of the reasons for needing a security system could be:

– Shop theft

– Shop or home break-ins

– Vandalism

– Industrial espionage

– Danger to individuals from attack.

– Health and safety of individuals on the premises or site.

– To replace or reduce manned guarding.

– To supplement manned guarding, making them more efficient.

– To monitor persons entering and leaving the premises.

– To provide visual confirmation of intruders activating an alarm.

– To monitor a remote, unattended site.

Reasons for a system could be endless, but for a particular site, there will finite reasons for considering CCTV. If they cannot be listed, you probably don-t need it.

What is the possible solution-

Once a problem is understood, the next step is to find how a solution can be achieved. The solution could be in many forms – it could be an intruder alarm system, some form of deterrent (lighting, fencing and gates), a cctv system or manned guarding. Your need will depend on the circumstances and requirements on any particular site, but it is important to at least make a list and consider all the possibilities. Some options maybe impracticable and others maybe too expensive but you should finish up with a short list of possibilities. Quite often, the solution will point to a cctv system as this will be cheaper and more affordable.

Decided that you need CCTV Systems-

Before selecting the type of cctv system that will fulfill your requirements, you should consider; the type of cctv cameras you need, how you will monitor the system, will you require network access (remote internet access) and cabling.

Type of cctv cameras you need:-

Colour cameras generally require a higher level of lighting than their Black & White counterparts do. Colour cameras give the advantage of being able to easily distinguish and detect objects simply by their colours where Black & White cameras offer better resolution in low light conditions.

– Covert cameras. These cameras are so small they cannot be easily seen or are disguised as a different device (such as smoke detector, PIR etc).

– Day/Night cameras. These cameras switch from colour to black and white depending on lighting levels. They are ideal for variable lighting conditions.

– Night Vision cameras. These cameras have their own light source in a light spectrum that can’t be seen by the naked eye.

– Outdoor cameras. These cameras have hardened, waterproof outer bodies.

– Speed Dome cameras (Pan, Tilt, Zoom). These cameras allow for remote control of what the camera is pointed at and what it is focused on.

– Vandal Proof cameras. These cameras come in hardened cases that can resist physical abuse.

How you will monitor the cctv system-

– Main Output- Most CCTV DVRs have composite video output which can be viewed on standard TV Monitors (like AV input or SCART input)

– Spot out / Call output- This output is also composite Video which can be used to monitor cctv cameras in full screen mode in sequence.

– VGA output- this output is standard output used on PCs. Any VGA TFT LCD monitor can be used.

Network Access / Remote Access- CCTV DVR Access over the internet (broadband)

– Internet Access- Most CCTV DVRs now days have remote access via the internet

– Simplex- DVR can only perform either record or play back but cannot perform both simultaneously.

– Duplex- DVR can only perform two things simultaneously (record, play back or remote viwing but not all three simultaneously).

– Triplex- DVR will perform all three things simultaneously (record, play back and remote playback)

– Pentaplex – cctv DVR can carry record, playback, remote access, remote playback.

What type of cctv cables are there-

– Pre-made leads- these are pre-fabricated leads with BNC and power connectors already terminated on the cable. Very simple to install, no real skill required. These leads are design to carry low voltage (12V DC) upto a distance of around 35m. Distance greater than 35m will cause picture corruption with the camera.

– Local AC power – where the distance is greater than 35m, if cameras are powered locally, you can cover much greater distances. For distances upto 100m, RG59 coaxial cable could be used.

– Combined Coaxial cable with power- RG59 coaxial cable but 2 core power cable attached (like a Shotgun).

– CAT5E- Longer distances can be covered CAT5E in-conjunction with passive transceivers.

Selecting the most suitable cctv system is a compromise between the quality, area you want to cover and the overall budget. It is advisable that you have in-depth discussion with the technical sales person before you select the security cameras or the diy cctv system you need. A good technical person will try to understand your need, explain the difference between the various cctv cameras before any recommendation.

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Source by Alan Hayden

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The Rimage Producer III 8100 we tested had (4) CD / DVD burners, PrismPlus thermal printer, Rimage software version 8.1, and the DiscWatch light for viewable system status.

Rimage 8100 and 8100n systems come in a couple different configurations of CD, DVD and/or Blu-ray disc burners. In addition, there are two different thermal printer options – the PrismPlus and the Everest 600 (you can read a review of this printer by searching “Everest 600” on Google). Advanced features include remote job submission, job streaming, variable merge fields, label serialization, Windows API, rapid API and SDK, DVD video protection plug-in, DiscWatch light and multiple warranty service options.

We tested the Rimage 8100 for 3 months running multiple print and copy, print only, network submitted and DVD video protection jobs.

Price – Price for the Rimage unit we tested is $40,950. The 8100 is the most expensive CD / DVD publisher that we have ever used or tested. The expensive price tag may be justified depending on your requirements and needs. 1 star.

Speed – The Rimage 8100 produced 105 half full CDs and 47 half full DVDs in one hour. The throughput falls to 70/hour and 33/hour for completely full CDs and DVDs. This is the highest output of any integrated duplicator and printer on the market today, even for systems with more than four disc burners. The high output is attributed to the speed of the robotics as well as the true asynchronous burn and print capabilities of the Rimage software as well as the computer configuration. You can get 1000 CDs printed and copied in a 10-hour day. 5 Stars.

Bin Capacity – 300-disc capacity. Like most other Rimage systems, the 8100 and 8100n utilize a 4-bin carousal that gives the user the ability to load a maximum of 300 CDs and/or DVDs at a time. There are some CD / DVD duplicators on the market with 500 and 1000-disc capacities. 3.5 Stars.

Reliability – The Rimage 8100/8100n was extremely reliable in our 3 months of testing. The robust robotics and the PrismPlus printer performed at a very high level for the entire duration of our testing. Assuming you use good quality CD or DVD media that does not stick together, you will get all of your CDs and DVDs completed without error. 5 Stars.

Cost per Print – Using the PrismPlus printer and the black ribbon will net you a $0.03/disc or less cost depending on print coverage. If you use the red or blue ribbon, the cost per print is $0.04/disc. The CMY ribbon has a cost per print of $0.25/disc. The PrismPlus single color printing is the lowest in the industry. The Everest 600 printer option has a cost of about $0.32 per color print. 5 Stars.

Print Quality – The Rimage 8100 has two thermal printer options, the PrismPlus and the Everest 600. We tested a system with the PrismPlus thermal printer. The PrismPlus is ideal for monochrome solid logos, simple graphics, text and barcode printing. The other printer option is the Everest 600, which boasts photo-realistic 600x600dpi printing. The Everest 600 is ideal for full color, high-resolution disc printing. 5 Stars.

Print Durability – Both the PrismPlus and the Everest 600 printer are thermal transfer printers that are completely indelible and waterproof. In the case of the Everest 600, the color will not fade or lose their brilliance over time because the thermal re-transfer process protects the discs from external forces like moisture and UV rays. 5 Stars.

Easy of Use – The Rimage 8100 we tested connected to the provided PC server through one USB 2.0 cable and four Firewire cables. The proven Quic Disc and CD Designer software came pre-installed on the PC and are very easy to learn and use. Rimage does offer onsite installation and training for $1800, but in most cases your Rimage vendor can help you out over the phone or with an onsite visit if needed. 4.5 Stars.

Maintenance – All Rimage publishers and printers work best in a dust-free environment, so the warehouse is not the recommended place to set up this type of equipment. The PrismPlus and Everest printers require bi-monthly cleaning of the print head and air filters to archive the best printing results. In addition, keeping the drives and the input/output bins free from dust is recommended. 4 Stars.

Technical Support – Rimage has above average phone technical support for the CD / DVD equipment industry. To maximize uptime and customer satisfaction, Rimage offers a variety of one-site, rapid exchange and post-warranty options. After warranty repairs can be expensive, as they are with other manufactures in this niche. That being said, we recommend purchasing a Rimage 8100 from a reputable dealer that has the experience to answer your technical support issues on the first call, and that can help with your operational requirements and repairs. 4 Stars.

Advanced Features – Rimage Producer III systems have many advanced features that no other equipment manufacturers in this niche offer. The features that we found useful were the DiscWatch light which gives a visual indication of operational status, and the DVD Video protect plug-in which makes it impossible to copy or pirate your intellectual property. Rimage also provides a powerful API for custom integration. 5 Stars.

Conclusion – Rimage 8100 / 8100N (part# 530621-240 or 530641-240) is our top pick for high volume disc publishing and printing requirements of 10,000 or more standard 120mm CD-r, DVD-r, or Blu-Ray discs per month. Strengths include speed, reliability, low cost per print, and a host of advanced features like DVD Video Protect, custom API and a software developers kit.

Check out the links in the below resource box for more information and an unbeatable offer on the Rimage 8100 Producer III systems.

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Source by Kevin Gabrik

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Web programming is an aspect of web site development and the role of web programmer is very significant just as web designer’s role in web design aspect of web site development. Programming languages have developed from machine language to low-level language and then to high-level language. The high-level language which is a language close to natural language (the language we speak) is written using certain approaches. Notable are the monolithic and structural programming approaches. With the monolithic style, you write a whole program in one single block. In structured programming approach, a program is divided into blocks of codes called modules with each module performing a specific task. BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL, C, and DBASE that ran on MS-DOS platform could be written using both approaches.

Following the revolution of windows operating system, it became possible to write programs using a more advanced structured programming approach than the type used on MS-DOS platform. This is the Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) approach where a program is divided into classes and each class is subdivided into functions or methods with each function providing a specific service. C++ and Java are typical examples of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) languages which were originally developed for non-web solutions. As the preference for web applications grew more and more according to the historical development of the internet and the historical development of web, the need to improve on scripting languages continued to arise and one of the ways they embarked on it was by making scripts Object-Oriented. Java applet and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) are examples of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) languages for web solutions. PHP was originally non Object-Oriented but it has been fully upgraded to an Object-Oriented Programming language (OOP) demonstrating the 3 pillars of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) – Encapsulation, Inheritance, and Polymorphism. Thus, it is possible to write server-side scripts in an Object-Oriented fashion.

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) structures program into classes and functions or methods. To use a class and access the services rendered by each function, you must create an instance of the class. When an instance is created, an object is produced which is held by an object variable. It is this object that will now be used to access each function and make use of its service. The syntax of class instantiation statement for object creation varies from language to language. In PHP, you use the new keyword. For instance, if you have a class with name customer and you want to instantiate it and use the object to access function select_records() in the class, you go about it this way-

$cust = new customer();

$cust->select_records();

The first line created an instance of class customer and an object held by object variable $cust. The second line accesses the service provided by function select_records() with the object variable $cust. Java too uses the new keyword for object creation but the application of the keyword in C++ is different where it is used by a pointer variable during dynamic memory allocation. I mentioned earlier the three pillars of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)-Encapsulation, Inheritance, and Polymorphism. They are the integral features of PHP. Encapsulation is the process of hiding all the details of an object that do not contribute to its essential characteristics. This is achieved by making all instance variables of a class private so that only the member functions of the class can access its private instance variables. Inheritance is a situation in which a class derives a set of attributes and related behavior from a parent class. The parent class is called super class or base class and the inheriting class is called sub class. The member variables of the super class become member variables of the sub class (derived class). In PHP, you use the keyword extends to implement inheritance just like Java, for example

class customer extends products

Polymorphism is an extension of inheritance. It is a situation when a sub class overrides a function in the super class. When a function or method is overridden, the name and the signature of the function in the super class are retained by the overriding function in the sub class but there is a change in the function code.

Another important feature of Object-oriented Programming (OOP) language is constructor. A constructor is a function or method bearing the same name as its class name and it is used for initialization of member variables and invoked as soon as the class is instantiated unlike other member functions that are invoked only with the use of the object variable. At this point, let us use submission of data with, for instance, fixed asset register form for further illustration. Your PHP script needs to retrieve data posted from the form, connect to database, print custom error messages and insert data into the database table. Using the Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) approach, you need 4 functions in the class-

1. The constructor- to retrieve the posted data from the form.
2. A function to connect to MySQL database.
3. A function to insert record to the database using the INSERT SQL statement.
4. A function to print custom error messages.

Because your program is in an organized form, it is easier to understand and debug. This will be highly appreciated when dealing with long and complex scripts like those incorporating basic stock broking principles. Within the limit of the structured programming capabilities of the non Object-Oriented Programming languages of BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL etc, you could organize program too by dividing it into smaller manageable modules. However, they lack the encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism capabilities of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) which demonstrates a great advantage of the Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) approach.

Copyrights reserved.

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Source by Olumide Bola

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This is a tutorial on how to set up and read your minidump files when you receive a BSOD (blue screen of death) in the attempts to gain further insight as to the cause of the problem. First thing is first. Download the latest debugging tools from the Microsoft site.

Then go to Start/Start Search. Type i

the command cmd.

Then change directories to:

C:Program FilesDebugging Tools for Windows (x86)

by using the command:

cd c:program filesdebugging tools for windows (x86)

It’s case insensitive when using the cd command.

Then type in:

windbg.exe z c:windowsminidumpmini06190901.dmp c “!analyze v”

Your minidump file is located at C:WindowsMinidumpMini06200901.dmp. It’ll be in the form “MiniMMDDYY01.dmp”.

KERNEL SYMBOLS ARE WRONG. PLEASE FIX SYMBOLS TO DO ANALYSIS

If somewhere in the output of the Bugcheck Analysis you see an error like:

Kernel symbols are WRONG. Please fix symbols to do analysis.

Then it’s most likely that you are using previous and incompatible symbols or corrupt files or you don’t have the proper symbols at the specified location when the Windbg program was trying to analyze the minidump file. So what I did was open up the Windbg program located at C:Program FilesDebugging Tools for Windows (x86) (in Vista and I believe it’s the same location for XP).

SETTING THE SYMBOL FILE PATH VIA WINDBG COMMAND LINE:

This is an important step so ensure that your symbol path file is set correctly lest you get the kernel symbols are WRONG error or other types of errors. Now set the Symbol File Path (File/Symbol File Path) to:

SRVe:symbols[path to microsoft symbols path]

However, for some reason I found that in order to set the Symbol File Path in the “File/Symbol File Path” field you cannot change it directly with the field of “File/Symbol File Path”. So what I found that you need to change it through the Windbg command window by going to:

“View/Command”

In the bottom of the command window beside the “kd>” prompt type this in:

.sympath SRVe:symbols[path to microsoft symbols path].

The part between the two asterisks () is where the symbols from Microsoft’s servers will be downloaded to. It’s fairly large (approximately 22MB) so make sure that you have sufficient disk space.

SETTING SYMBOL FILE PATH IN THE ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE:

Alternatively, you can set it in your environment variable either in your system or user environment variable. To do this, click the WINDOWS KEY+e. The WINDOWS KEY is the key to the right of the LEFT CTRL key of the keyboard. This will open up Windows Explorer.

Then click on the “Advanced system settings” at the top left of the window. This step applies to Vista only. For XP users, simply click on the Advanced tab.

Then click on the button “Environment variable” at the bottom of the window.

Then click on the “New” button under System Variables. Again you can create the environment as a user environment variable instead.

In the “Variable Name” type:

_NT_SYMBOL_PATH

In the “Variable Value” type:

symsrvsymsrv.dlle:symbols[path to microsoft symbols path]

If you set the symbol file path as a system environment variable I believe you may have to reboot your computer in order for it to take effect.

OUTPUT OF WINDBG COMMAND

So the following is the output for my crash:

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.11.0001.404 X86

Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Loading Dump File [c:windowsminidumpmini06260901.dmp]

Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: SRVe:symbols[path to microsoft symbols]

Executable search path is:

Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista Kernel Version 6001 (Service Pack 1) MP (2 procs) Free x86 compatible

Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal

Built by: 6001.18226.x86fre.vistasp1_gdr.0903021506

Machine Name:

Kernel base = 0x8201d000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x82134c70

Debug session time: Fri Jun 26 16:25:11.288 2009 (GMT7)

System Uptime: 0 days 21:39:36.148

Loading Kernel Symbols

………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………..

Loading User Symbols

Loading unloaded module list

……………………….

Bugcheck Analysis

Use !analyze v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck A, {8cb5bcc0, 1b, 1, 820d0c1f}

Unable to load image SystemRootsystem32DRIVERSSymIMv.sys, Win32 error 0n2

WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for SymIMv.sys

ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for SymIMv.sys

Unable to load image SystemRootsystem32DRIVERSNETw3v32.sys, Win32 error 0n2

WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for NETw3v32.sys

ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for NETw3v32.sys

Processing initial command ‘!analyze v’

Probably caused by : tdx.sys ( tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+94 )

Followup: MachineOwner

0: kd> !analyze v

Bugcheck Analysis

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)

An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an

interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is usually

caused by drivers using improper addresses.

If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.

Arguments:

Arg1: 8cb5bcc0, memory referenced

Arg2: 0000001b, IRQL

Arg3: 00000001, bitfield :

bit 0 : value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation

bit 3 : value 0 = not an execute operation, 1 = execute operation (only on chips which support this level of status)

Arg4: 820d0c1f, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:

WRITE_ADDRESS: GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from 82154868

Unable to read MiSystemVaType memory at 82134420

8cb5bcc0

CURRENT_IRQL: 1b

FAULTING_IP:

nt!KiUnwaitThread+19

820d0c1f 890a mov dword ptr [edx],ecx

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA

PROCESS_NAME: System

TRAP_FRAME: 4526c4 (.trap 0xffffffff4526c4)

ErrCode = 00000002

eax=85c5d4d8 ebx=00000000 ecx=8cb5bcc0 edx=8cb5bcc0 esi=85c5d420 edi=ed9c7048

eip=820d0c1f esp=452738 ebp=45274c iopl=0 nv up ei pl nz na pe nc

cs=0008 ss=0010 ds=0023 es=0023 fs=0030 gs=0000 efl=00010206

nt!KiUnwaitThread+0x19:

820d0c1f 890a mov dword ptr [edx],ecx ds:0023:8cb5bcc0=????????

Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 820d0c1f to 82077d24

STACK_TEXT:

4526c4 820d0c1f badb0d00 8cb5bcc0 87952ed0 nt!KiTrap0E+0x2ac

45274c 8205f486 00000002 85c5d420 ed9c7048 nt!KiUnwaitThread+0x19

452770 8205f52a ed9c7048 ed9c7008 00000000 nt!KiInsertQueueApc+0x2a0

452790 8205742b ed9c7048 00000000 00000000 nt!KeInsertQueueApc+0x4b

4527c8 8f989cd0 e79e1e88 e79e1f70 00000000 nt!IopfCompleteRequest+0x438

4527e0 8a869ce7 00000007 00000000 00000007 tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+0x94

452804 8a869d33 e79e1f70 e79e1e88 00000000 tcpip!UdpEndSendMessages+0xfa

45281c 8a560c7f e79e1e88 00000001 00000000 tcpip!UdpSendMessagesDatagramsComplete+0x22

…

STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:

tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+94

8f989cd0 6804010000 push 104h

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 5

SYMBOL_NAME: tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+94

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: tdx

IMAGE_NAME: tdx.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 479190ee

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0xA_tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+94

BUCKET_ID: 0xA_tdx!TdxMessageTlRequestComplete+94

Followup: MachineOwner

It looks like a bunch of hieroglyphic mumbo jumbo. However, if you look closely you can gain some further insight into the possible problem or cause of it. The PROCESS_NAME is System suggesting a system process. The MODULE_NAME is tdx.

OUTPUT KD COMMAND: LMVM TDX

The tdx was clickable for me which executes the command:

kd> lmvm tdx

as a kd command. The ‘lm’ in “lmvm” is Loaded Module. The ‘v’ is Verbose. The ‘m’ is a pattern match. From the debugger chm manual it states it as:

m Pattern

Specifies a pattern that the module name must match. Pattern can contain a variety of wildcard characters and specifiers. For more information about the syntax of this information, see String Wildcard Syntax.

You can find a lot of information from the chm manual when you download the windbg from Microsoft. It will located here:

C:Program FilesDebugging Tools for Windows (x86)debugger.chm

The output from the above command is:

0: kd> lmvm tdx

start end module name

8f97f000 8f995000 tdx (pdb symbols) c:Program FilesDebugging Tools for Windows (x86)symtdx.pdbCFB0726BF9864FDDA4B793D5E641E5531tdx.pdb

Loaded symbol image file: tdx.sys

Mapped memory image file: c:Program FilesDebugging Tools for Windows (x86)symtdx.sys479190EE16000tdx.sys

Image path: SystemRootsystem32DRIVERStdx.sys

Image name: tdx.sys

Timestamp: Fri Jan 18 21:55:58 2008 (479190EE)

CheckSum: 0001391F

ImageSize: 00016000

File version: 6.0.6001.18000

Product version: 6.0.6001.18000

File flags: 0 (Mask 3F)

File OS: 40004 NT Win32

File type: 3.6 Driver

File date: 00000000.00000000

Translations: 0409.04b0

CompanyName: Microsoft Corporation

ProductName: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System

InternalName: tdx.sys

OriginalFilename: tdx.sys

ProductVersion: 6.0.6001.18000

FileVersion: 6.0.6001.18000 (longhorn_rtm.0801181840)

FileDescription: TDI Translation Driver

LegalCopyright: © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

So we glean some more insight. Who makes the module and the possible cause of the problem.

I look at the STACK_TEXT and there are references to tcpip and NETIO which seems to allude to a network problem. So I googled others with a BSOD and tdx.sys problem and there is a hotfix for this problem. However, a BIG word of caution please do not download the hotfix if this particular problem does not apply to you. Microsoft suggests to use the Microsoft Update procedures which will include all hotfixes.

To obtain the link to the hotfix for the network problem Google “Hotfix 934611 microsoft”.

I did not download this hotfix but rather opted to updated my service pack. Currently, Vista is at Service Pack 2. I only had Service Pack 1. So I’ll see if this fixes the problem.

To check what Service Pack you have installed and what bit version (32bit or 64bit) go to:

“Start/Computer”. Rightclick “Computer” and then click “Properties”. You’ll see the Service Pack information under the heading “Windows Edition”. Under the heading “System” (around midway through the page) you’ll see “System type:” which will display whether you have 32bit or 64bit versions installed.

To obtain the Service Pack 2 for Vista Google “sp2 Vista Microsoft”.

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Source by Victor Kimura

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Voltage controlled oscillators are commonly abbreviated as VCO. The VCO’s are electrical circuits that yield an oscillatory output voltage. A VCO is an oscillator whose output frequency is proportional to the applied input voltage. The parts of a VCO circuit has a LC tank circuit with an inductor(L) and a capacitor(C) along with one or two transistors accompanied by a buffer amplifier. A VCO gives a periodic output signal where the output signal parameter is directly related to level of input control voltage. The center frequency of a VCO is the frequency of the periodic output signal formed by the VCO when the input control voltage is set to a nominal level. The voltage-controlled oscillator has a characteristic gain, which often is expressed as a ratio of the VCO output frequency to the VCO input voltage.

VCO’s often utilize a variable control voltage input to produce a frequency output. The control voltage input typically may be tuned so that the VCO produces a desired, operational frequency output. The input control voltage is then adjusted up or down to control the frequency of the periodic output signal. A voltage controlled oscillator is capable of changing an oscillating frequency in response to a change in control voltages. A VCO typically employs one or more variable capacitors commonly called as varactors to allow for adjustment of the frequency of oscillation for the VCO. The tuning range of the VCO refers to the range of oscillation frequencies attained by varying the varactors.

Two important parameters in VCO design are sweep range and linearity. Linearity correlates the change in frequency or the VCO output to the change in the control voltage. The sweep range is the range of possible frequencies produced by VCO control voltage. Various types of VCO’s have been discovered so far. VCO’s comprised of bipolar junction transistors have been used to generate output ranging from 5 to 10MHz.

Voltage controlled oscillators are basic building blocks of many electronic systems especially phase-locked loops(PLL) and may be found in computer disk drives, wireless electronic equipment such as cellular telephones, and other systems in which oscillation frequency is controlled by an applied tuning voltage. The voltage oscillator components are almost an inevitable part of all digital communication equipments. VCO’s are used for producing local oscillator signals (LO) which are in turn received by the transmitter and the receiver systems for the frequency up conversion and the down conversion respectively. Wireless subscriber communication units such as the GSM use voltage oscillator circuits for generating radio frequency signals. The VCO’s are also employed in many synthesizer and tuner circuits and one best example for that is Television. A high frequency VCO is used in applications like processor clock distribution and generation, system synchronization and frequency synthesis.

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Source by Wayne S Holt

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In clean room design in which we establishing & maintaining an environment with a low level of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles & chemical vapors. Designing the such sensitive environment like the clean room is not easy thing but below 10 steps definitely helps you and define the easy way to design it.

Most of the clean room manufacturer processes required the extremely stringent conditions provided by the clean room. Clean room design in each proper orderly way is very important, since cleanrooms have complex mechanical frameworks and high development, working, and vitality costs. Below steps present evaluating methods and cleanroom designing, people/material flow in factories, classification of space cleanliness, space pressurization, space supply airflow, space air exfiltration, space air balance, variables to be evaluated, selection of mechanical system, calculations of heating/cooling load, and requirements of support space.

1. People/Material Flow Evaluation Layout:

It is essential to assess the material and people stream inside the cleanroom suite. All critical processes should be isolated from personnel access doors and pathways, this help cleanroom labourers because they are a cleanroom’s biggest sullying source.

There should be strategy for critcal spaces that is the as compare to less critical spaces the most critical spaces should have a single access to prevent the space from being a pathway to other. Some pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical processes are susceptible to cross-contamination from other pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical processes. For material process isolation, raw material inflow routes and containment, and finished product outflow routes and containment the process cross-contamination needs to be carefully evaluated.

2. Indentify classification for Space Cleanliness:

It is very important to know the primary cleanroom classification standard and what the particulate performance requirements are for each cleanliness classification at the time of selection. It is very important to know the primary cleanroom classification standard and what the particulate performance requirements are for each cleanliness classification at the time of selection. There are different cleanliness classifications (1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000, and 100000) and the allowable number of particles at different particle sizes which provided by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (IEST) Standard 14644-1.

3. Indentify Pressurization for Space:

Keeping up a positive air space pressure, in connection to abutting dirtier tidiness order spaces, is basic in keeping contaminants from invading into a cleanroom. It is extremely hard to reliably keep up a space’s neatness order when it has unbiased or negative space pressurization. What should the space weight differential be between spaces? Different examinations assessed contaminant penetration into a cleanroom versus space weight differential between the cleanroom and connecting uncontrolled condition. These examinations found a weight differential of 0.03 to 0.05 in w.g. to be viable in diminishing contaminant invasion. Space weight differentials over 0.05 in. w.g. try not to give considerably better contaminant penetration control then 0.05 in. w.g.

4. Indentify Supply Airflow of Space:

The space cleanliness classification is the primary variable in determining a cleanroom’s supply airflow. Looking at table 3, each clean classification has an air change rate. For example, a Class 100,000 cleanroom has a 15 to 30 ach range. The cleanroom’s air change rate should take the anticipated activity within the cleanroom into account. A Class 100,000 (ISO 8) cleanroom having a low occupancy rate, low particle generating process, and positive space pressurization in relation to adjacent dirtier cleanliness spaces might use 15 ach, while the same cleanroom having high occupancy, frequent in/out traffic, high particle generating process, or neutral space pressurization will probably need 30 ach.

5. Indentify Air Exfiltration Flow of Space:

The larger part of cleanrooms are under positive weight, bringing about arranged air exfiltrating into connecting spaces having lower static weight and impromptu air exfiltration through electrical outlets, light apparatuses, window outlines, entryway outlines, divider/floor interface, divider/roof interface, and access entryways. It is critical to comprehend rooms are not hermetically fixed and do have spillage. An all around fixed cleanroom will have a 1% to 2% volume spillage rate. Is this spillage terrible? Not really.

6. Indentify Air Balance of Space:

The larger part of cleanrooms are under positive weight, bringing about arranged air exfiltrating into connecting spaces having lower static weight and impromptu air exfiltration through electrical outlets, light apparatuses, window outlines, entryway outlines, divider/floor interface, divider/roof interface, and access entryways. It is critical to comprehend rooms are not hermetically fixed and do have spillage. An each fixed cleanroom will have a 1% to 2% volume spillage rate. Is this spillage terrible? Not really.

7. Assess Remaining Variables:

Different factors waiting to be assessed include:

Temperature: Cleanroom specialists wear frocks or full bunny suits over their normal garments to lessen particulate age and potential tainting. As a result of their additional garments, it is critical to keep up a lower space temperature for specialist comfort. A space temperature extend somewhere in the range of 66°F and 70° will give agreeable conditions.

Humidity: Due to a cleanroom’s high wind stream, a vast electrostatic charge is created. At the point when the roof and dividers have a high electrostatic charge and space has a low relative dampness, airborne particulate will join itself to the surface. At the point when the space relative dampness expands, the electrostatic charge is released and all the caught particulate is discharged in a brief timeframe period, causing the cleanroom to leave detail. Having high electrostatic charge can likewise harm electrostatic release delicate materials. It is vital to keep the space relative moistness sufficiently high to lessen the electrostatic energize construct. A RH or 45% +5% is viewed as the ideal stickiness level.

Laminarity: Very basic procedures may require laminar stream to lessen the shot of pollutes getting into the air stream between the HEPA channel and the procedure. IEST Standard #IEST-WG-CC006 gives wind current laminarity necessities.

Electrostatic Discharge: Beyond the space humidification, a few procedures are exceptionally touchy to electrostatic release harm and it is important to introduce grounded conductive deck.

Vibration and Noice Levels: Some exactness forms are exceptionally delicate to clamor and vibration.

8.Mechanical System Layout Indentification:

Various factors influence a cleanroom’s mechanical framework design: space accessibility, accessible subsidizing, process necessities, neatness arrangement, required unwavering quality, vitality cost, construction standards, and neighborhood atmosphere. Not at all like typical A/C frameworks, cleanroom A/C frameworks have considerably more supply air than expected to meet cooling and warming burdens.

Class 100,000 (ISO 8) and lower ach Class 10,000 (ISO 7) cleanrooms can have all the air experience the AHU. Taking a gander at Figure 3, the arrival air and outside air are blended, separated, cooled, warmed, and humidified before being provided to terminal HEPA channels in the roof. To forestall contaminant distribution in the cleanroom, the arrival air is gotten by low divider returns. For higher class 10,000 (ISO 7) and cleaner cleanrooms, the wind currents are too high for all the air to experience the AHU. Taking a gander at Figure 4, a little part of the arrival air is sent back to the AHU for molding. The rest of the air is come back to the course fan.

9. Perform Cooling/Heating Calculations:

When playing out the cleanroom warming/cooling computations, think about the accompanying:

Utilize the most moderate atmosphere conditions (99.6% warming plan, 0.4% drybulb/middle wetbulb cooling stoop, and 0.4% wetbulb/middle drybulb cooling outline information).

• Incorporate filtration into figurings.
• Incorporate humidifier complex warmth into figurings.
• Incorporate process stack into figurings.
• Incorporate distribution fan warm into estimations.

10. Mechanical Room Space Fight

Cleanrooms are mechanically and electrically concentrated. As the cleanroom’s tidiness arrangement moves toward becoming cleaner, more mechanical framework space is expected to give satisfactory help to the cleanroom. Utilizing a 1,000-sq-ft cleanroom for instance, a Class 100,000 (ISO 8) cleanroom will require 250 to 400 sq ft of help space, a Class 10,000 (ISO 7) cleanroom will require 250 to 750 sq ft of help space, a Class 1,000 (ISO 6) cleanroom will require 500 to 1,000 sq ft of help space, and a Class 100 (ISO 5) cleanroom will require 750 to 1,500 sq ft of help space.

For Clean Room Design under expertise read also https://www.operonstrategist.com/clean-room-design-consultant/

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Source by Neha Mate

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“The first on-line, real-time, interactive, data base system was double-entry bookkeeping which was developed by the merchants of Venice in 1200 A.D.”

– Bryce’s Law

Systems work is not as hard as you might think. However, we have a tendency in this business to complicate things by changing the vocabulary of systems work and introducing convoluted concepts and techniques, all of which makes it difficult to produce systems in a consistent manner. Consequently, there is a tendency to reinvent the wheel with each systems development project. I believe I owe it to my predecessors and the industry overall to describe basic systems theory, so that people can find the common ground needed to communicate and work. Fortunately, there are only four easy, yet important, concepts to grasp which I will try to define as succinctly as possible.

1. THERE ARE THREE INHERENT PROPERTIES TO ANY SYSTEM

Regardless of the type of system, be it an irrigation system, a communications relay system, an information system, or whatever, all systems have three basic properties:

A. A system has a purpose – such as to distribute water to plant life, bouncing a communications signal around the country to consumers, or producing information for people to use in conducting business.

B. A system is a grouping of two or more components which are held together through some common and cohesive bond. The bond may be water as in the irrigation system, a microwave signal as used in communications, or, as we will see, data in an information system.

C. A system operates routinely and, as such, it is predictable in terms of how it works and what it will produce.

All systems embrace these simple properties. Without any one of them, it is, by definition, not a system.

For our purposes, the remainder of this paper will focus on “information systems” as this is what we are normally trying to produce for business. In other words, the development of an orderly arrangement or grouping of components dedicated to producing information to support the actions and decisions of a particular business. Information Systems are used to pay employees, manage finances, manufacture products, monitor and control production, forecast trends, process customer orders, etc.

If the intent of the system is to produce information, we should have a good understanding of what it is…

2. INFORMATION = DATA + PROCESSING

Information is not synonymous with data. Data is the raw material needed to produce information. Data by itself is meaningless. It is simply a single element used to identify, describe or quantify an object used in a business, such as a product, an order, an employee, a purchase, a shipment, etc. A data element can also be generated based on a formula as used in a calculation; for example:

Net-Pay = Gross-Pay – FICA – Insurance – City-Tax – Union-Dues – (etc.)

Only when data is presented in a specific arrangement for use by the human being does it become information. If the human being cannot act on it or base a decision from it, it is nothing more than raw data. This implies data is stored, and information is produced. It is also dependent on the wants and needs of the human being (the consumer of information). Information, therefore, can be defined as “the intelligence or insight gained from the processing and/or analysis of data.”

The other variable in our formula is “processing” which specifies how data is to be collected, as well as its retrieval in order to produce information. This is ultimately driven by when the human being needs to make certain actions and decisions. Information is not always needed “upon request” (aka “on demand”); sometimes it is needed once daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. These timing nuances will ultimately dictate how data is collected, stored, and retrieved. To illustrate, assume we collect data once a week. No matter how many times during the week we make a query of the data base, the data will only be valid as of the last weekly update. In other words, we will see the same results every day for one week. However, if we were to collect the data more frequently, such as periodically throughout the day, our query will produce different results throughout the week.

Our formula of “I = D + P” makes an important point: if the data is changed, yet the processing remains the same, the information will change. Conversely, if the data remains the same, yet the processing changes, the information will also change. This leads to a compelling argument to manage data and processing as separate by equal resources which can be manipulated and reused to produce information as needed.

3. SYSTEMS ARE LOGICAL IN NATURE AND CAN BE PHYSICALLY IMPLEMENTED MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

An information system is a collection of processes (aka, “sub-systems”) to either collect and store data, to retrieve data and produce information, or a combination of both. The cohesive bond between these components is the data which should be shared and reused throughout the system (as well as other systems). You will observe we have not yet discussed the most suitable way to physically implement the processes, such as through the use of manual processes, computer programs, or other office technology. In other words, at this stage, the sub-systems of the system simply define logically WHAT data must be processed, WHEN it must be processed, and who will consume the information (aka “end-users”), but it most definitely does not specify HOW the sub-system is to be implemented.

Following this, developers determine a suitable approach for physically implementing each sub-system. This decision should ultimately be based on practicality and cost effectiveness. Sub-systems can be implemented using manual procedures, computer procedures (software), office automation procedures, or combinations of all three. Depending on the complexity of the sub-system, several procedures may be involved. Regardless of the procedures selected, developers must establish the precedent relationships in the execution of the procedures, either sequentially, iteratively, of choice (thereby allowing divergent paths). By defining the procedures in this manner, from start to end, the developers are defining the “work flow” of the sub-system, which specifies HOW the data will be physically processed (including how it is to be created, updated, or referenced).

Defining information systems logically is beneficial for two reasons:

* It provides for the consideration of alternative physical implementations. How one developer designs it may very well be different than the next developer. It also provides the means to effectively determine how a purchased software package may satisfy the needs. Again, the decision to select a specific implementation should be based on practicality and cost justification.

* It provides independence from physical equipment, thereby simplifying the migration to a new computer platform. It also opens the door for system portability, for example; our consulting firm helped a large Fortune 500 conglomerate design a single logical payroll system which was implemented on at least three different computer platforms as used by their various operating units; although they physically worked differently, it was all the same basic system producing the same information.

These logical and physical considerations leads to our final concept…

4. A SYSTEM IS A PRODUCT THAT CAN BE ENGINEERED AND MANUFACTURED LIKE ANY OTHER PRODUCT.

An information system can be depicted as a four level hierarchy (aka, “standard system structure”):

LEVEL 1 – System

LEVEL 2 – Sub-systems (aka “business processes”) – 2 or more

LEVEL 3 – Procedures (manual, computer, office automation) – 1 or more for each sub-system

LEVEL 4 – Programs (for computer procedures), and Steps (for all others) – 1 or more for each procedure

Each level represents a different level of abstraction of the system, from general to specific (aka, “Stepwise Refinement” as found in blueprinting). This means design is a top-down effort. As designers move down the hierarchy, they finalize design decisions. So much so, by the time they finish designing Level 4 for a computer procedure, they should be ready to write program source code based on thorough specifications, thereby taking the guesswork out of programming.

The hierarchical structure of an information system is essentially no different than any other common product; to illustrate:

LEVEL 1 – Product

LEVEL 2 – Assembly – 2 or more

LEVEL 3 – Sub-assembly – 1 or more for each assembly

LEVEL 4 – Operation – 1 or more for each sub-assembly

Again, the product is designed top-down and assembled bottom-up (as found in assembly lines). This process is commonly referred to as design by “explosion” (top-down), and implementation by “implosion” (bottom-up). An information system is no different in that it is designed top-down, and tested and installed bottom-up. In engineering terms, this concept of a system/product is commonly referred to as a “four level bill of materials” where the various components of the system/product are defined and related to each other in various levels of abstraction (from general to specific).

This approach also suggests parallel development. After the system has been designed into sub-systems, separate teams of developers can independently design the sub-systems into procedures, programs, and steps. This is made possible by the fact that all of the data requirements were identified as the system was logically subdivided into sub-systems. Data is the cohesive bond that holds the system together. From an engineering/manufacturing perspective it is the “parts” used in the “product.” As such, management of the data should be relegated to a separate group of people to control in the same manner as a “materials management” function (inventory) in a manufacturing company. This is commonly referred to as “data resource management.”

This process allows parallel development, which is a more effective use of human resources on project work as opposed to the bottleneck of a sequential development process. Whole sections of the system (sub-systems) can be tested and delivered before others, and, because data is being managed separately, we have the assurance it will all fit together cohesively in the end.

The standard system structure is also useful from a Project Management perspective. First, it is used to determine the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for a project complete with precedent relationships. The project network is then used to estimate and schedule the project in part and in full. For example, each sub-system can be separately priced and scheduled, thereby giving the project sponsors the ability to pick and chose which parts of the system they want early in the project.

The standard system structure also simplifies implementing modification/improvements to the system. Instead of redesigning and reconstructing whole systems, sections of the system hierarchy can be identified and redesigned, thereby saving considerable time and money.

This analogy between a system and a product is highly credible and truly remarkable. Here we can take a time-proven concept derived from engineering and manufacturing and apply it to the design and development of something much less tangible, namely, information systems.

CONCLUSION

Well, that’s it, the four cardinal concepts of Information Systems theory. I have deliberately tried to keep this dissertation concise and to the point. I have also avoided the introduction of any cryptic vocabulary, thereby demonstrating that systems theory can be easily explained and taught so that anyone can understand and implement it.

Systems theory need not be any more complicated than it truly is.

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Source by Tim Bryce

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Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) test systems otherwise called “ESD Guns” play a significant role in product development stages. Their appropriate use is viewed as vital for any Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing facility. There are several kinds of test systems to look over, such as the ones that test the components as per the charged device model (CDM), human body model (HBM), or machine model (MM), and system-level tests as elaborated in standards, for example, IEC 61000-4-2. In this article, we are going to get a deeper insight into en61000-4-2 ESD simulator. Read on.

Aside from allowing test engineers and specialist technicians to test an item as per IEC 61000-4-2, the ESD simulator permits EMC experts and product developers to rapidly acquire and access important data about the robustness of the Equipment under test (EUT).

ESD test systems produce an extremely high voltage, high current, high-frequency content pulse. At the point when this pulse is applied to the EUT, test deficiencies appear as programmed resets, and program crashes. Other forms of product activities, or by-product may not meet the required specs.

An investigation of the root causes often shows the emergence of failure mechanisms of these EUT failure modes, such as significant circuit loops, deficient power decoupling, and inferior grounding within the PCB.

Other forms of design deficiencies that fail the ESD test include deficient insufficient EMI suppression incorporated into I/O ports, missing or inaccurately connected shields, insufficient holding of panels and internal shields, just to name a few.

The entirety of this important information concerning the EUT’s lack of robustness to EMI transients is acquired effectively and rapidly with a single basic apparatus – the ESD Simulator.

Main Functioning Principle

The contact discharge test method involves maintaining contact between the ESD simulator and the equipment under test (EUT) while the discharges are applied. Since this type of testing eliminates numerous environmental variables that can frequently have a major influence on test results, EN/IEC 61000-4-2 says that contact discharge is the preferable test technique.

The other primary technique of testing for ESD immunity that is often required is air discharge testing. It requires bringing the ESD generator (energy excess) towards the equipment under test (EUT) until the potential gets sufficient to overcome the gap and discharge happens.

Why should you use an ESD Gun?

There is no need to spend a significant amount of time setting up the EUT in an EMC chamber, monitoring over a wide frequency range, and simply waiting for long periods while carefully examining the EUT until a valid failure is detected.

And all of this happens when conducting a typical radiated or conducted radio frequency (RF) immunity test. Using ESD simulators, design work may be done on the spot, utilizing a basic test setup and ground reference plane.

The bonus is that the same EUT design modifications made to pass ESD testing frequently help pass other types of EMC tests to which the EUT would likely be exposed.

The Takeaway

In short, those who are familiar with the functionality of an ESD test system can easily acknowledge the effectiveness of the ESD simulator and how that can be efficiently used by product designers and developers.

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Source by Shalini M

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Public education was created in part to be one of the mediating institutions that would mold the American character one citizen at a time. It is critical to the creation of responsible citizens capable of making informed decisions in order to produce and maintain a system of government that works. For at least a generation now, public education has abandoned the noble purpose of helping our young people understand who we are, where we came from, what we stand for and how to pass that on to our successors. Instead, it has embraced the goal of making sure that young men and women are competent at whatever they choose to do in life. Competence is important, but it does little to prepare the next generation for the job of deciding what this nation’s future will be.

If citizens are to remain citizens, and not merely consumers; if individual happiness is to be the product of more than the mere satisfaction of individual wants and desires; then the discussion of education in America must move to a higher level. It must touch upon the greater purposes that animate the nation. The advent of dot-com democracy brings with it a heightened sense of both the importance and the urgency of that discussion. We live in a time when it is possible to be all places all the time; to communicate immediately anywhere in the world; to make decisions on anything from holiday gifts to competing candidates with the click of a mouse; to create mass democracy unlike ever in the history of the world. Ironically, as we possess the technology to communicate with one another more efficiently than ever before, we run the risk of becoming a nation of strangers – each alone in front of a computer screen, talking in chat rooms, on e-mail, through the Web.

We possess the tools to transform the nature of democratic government, to make sure that democratic government responds to the wishes of the people, expressed directly by the people. The question then becomes: Do we possess the wisdom as a people to step back and ask if that is really such a good idea?

In an age of instant access, instant information and instant gratification, do we possess the wisdom to distinguish between the desire to satisfy the momentary impulse to serve popular opinion and the discipline, foresight and discernment needed to seek the long-term interests of a nation?

These are the most fundamental questions that have always confronted the American republic. For generations, educated citizens of that republic have found answers to these questions – at times through deliberation, at times through dumb luck. But the global context in which these questions are raised today is unlike ever in the world’s history, making our ability to come up with the right answers all the more important. And that means that the quality and character of the education provided the current and future generations of young minds in a democracy will be all the more critical to ensuring the future of that democracy.

While accountability for results has been an education reform slogan for some time, it is increasingly becoming a reality for schools around the nation. When states and districts create accountability systems, the first issue policymakers face is how to tell which schools and classrooms are succeeding, which are failing – and which are somewhere in between, perhaps succeeding at some things and lagging in others. This turns out to be genuinely complicated. Picking the schools with overall high or low average test scores is an obvious way to proceed, but the strong correlation between test scores and student socioeconomic background makes this problematic. Such an approach will tend to reward schools with prosperous students and punish those with disadvantaged pupils.

Most states are interested in rewarding the schools where teachers are most effective at producing student learning – that is, the schools that add the greatest value to their students, no matter where those students start or what advantages and disadvantages accompany them to school. In its simplest form, value-added assessment means judging schools and sometimes individual teachers based on the gains in student learning they produce rather than the absolute level of achievement their students reach. It turns out, however, that just as students start at different levels of achievement, they gain at different rates at well, sometimes for reasons unrelated to the quality of instruction they receive. For example, middle-class-children may be more likely to have parents help them with their homework. To identify how much value a school is adding to a student, the effect of the school on student achievement must be isolated from the effects of a host of other factors, such as poverty, race, and pupil mobility. A number of states and school districts are turning to sophisticated statistical models that seek to do just that. These “value-added” models come in two basic flavors: those that include variables representing student socioeconomic characteristics as well as a student’s test scores from previous years, and those that use only a student’s prior test scores as a way of controlling for confounding factors.

Whether to incorporate measures of student background into the model is a charged and complicated question. Those who use the first type of analytic model (including measures of student poverty, race, etc., in addition to prior test scores) do so because they find that socioeconomic characteristics affect not only where students begin but also how much progress they make from year to year. Given the same quality of instruction, low-income and minority students will make less progress over time, their research shows. If the background variables are not included, the model may underestimate how much value is being added to the students by these schools. Student background is not strongly correlated with the gains a student will make, once the student’s test scores in previous years are taken into account. If socioeconomic status indeed influences the gains made by students, as much research suggests, this raises thorny policy questions for value-added assessment. Omitting such variables from the model is apt to be unfair to schools (or teachers) with a high percentage of disadvantaged pupils.

Public education is undergoing a reformation. The future for education means transforming our static industrial age educational model into a system that can capture the diversity and opportunity of the Information Age. That means public education must reconnect with the public – the children it was intended to serve.

Effective education is not about programs and process; it’s about what’s best for your child. Some districts may deal with this dilemma by using both the level of achievement and the results of value-added analysis to identify effective schools. Another response is to assign rewards and sanctions based on value-added analysis as an interim measure until all students are in a position in which it is reasonable to expect them to meet high standards. No doubt other variations and hybrids wait to be developed and tried.

The debate over including student background characteristics in the model is important. More research is needed on how the various models perform. Today, for example, we don’t even know whether different analytic models will identify the same schools as succeeding and failing. Nevertheless, either approach gives us a more accurate measure of the contribution of a school to student learning than we would have if we looked simply at average test scores or at simpler measures of gain.

It is less clear that the models can confidently be used to identify effective and ineffective teachers. Researchers have found that teacher effectiveness (as measured by either type of model) can change a great deal from year to year. This means either that teachers often make major changes in their effectiveness or that the statistics for teacher effectiveness are not accurate. (It could be that the model does not adequately adjust for the presence of disruptive students in a class, for instance.)

Because value-added assessment for individual teachers is imperfect, many believe that it is best used as a diagnostic tool, to identify the teachers that need the most help, rather than as the “high-stakes” basis for rewards and punishments. Others contend that complicated analytical methods that leave so much to statisticians should be abandoned both for schools and for teachers in favor of simpler calculations that can be more readily understood by policymakers, educators, and citizens. Still others are content to let the marketplace decide which schools are effective. Whether these various audiences will prefer a form of analysis that is fairer or one that is more transparent remains to be seen. As the statistical techniques improve and we learn more about the accuracy of different models, though, value-added analysis is sure to become more appealing to states and districts. They can prepare to take advantage of these advances by beginning to gather the data required to make the models work, including regular test scores for all students in core subjects, and creating longitudinal databases that link student test scores over time.

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Source by Jeff C. Palmer

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Compared to a common thermostat a programmed thermostat used in temperature control systems is far more efficient and cheaper as a result of reduced energy costs. A common thermostat is manual you have to manually turn an air conditioner on and off and also the heater. For a programmed thermostat it has memory chips and is computerized and it automatically maintains the temperature of a room. It can be programmed to have different set point temperatures for different times i.e. different temperature for morning, afternoon and weekends and it adjusts automatically. A temperature control system is wired to a heating and cooling system and uses linear, logic, on and off among other control systems.

On and off control systems are the cheapest and easiest to apply. They have a programmed thermostat and when temperature goes above the set point the air conditioner is automatically switched on. When temperature subsequently falls below the set point the air conditioner is switched off and the heater on. They are less costly to operate but have costs of wear and tear of temperature control valves. In linear control systems the set point is regulated by a control loop made up of control algorithms (PID variables.), sensors and actuators. The set point is regulated by manipulation of the Measuring variable (M.V.) to reduce the error and generate negative feedback. The control loop of the PID system makes use of feedback loops. These loops can be embedded by micro controllers in a computer system. Open loop systems do not make use of feedback. Logic control systems are constructed with micro controllers or programmable logic devices. They are easily designed but can handle complex systems. They are used to sequence mechanical operations in elevators, washing machines and other systems.

Watlow Company is involved in developing temperature control systems especially for plastic manufacturers. For industries whose operation requires highly engineered resins and tight tolerances, Watlow’s MI band heaters provide exceptional heat transfer, high watt densities and prolonged heater life. This band saves $ 0.04 per Kilowatt hour. Watlow also provides high watt density; high temperatures barrel heaters, cable heaters, power controllers, hot runner nozzle heaters and cartridge heaters. Watlow temperature controller systems also include temperature sensors. These thermocouple temperature sensors deliver precise and accurate temperature measurements. They are type J thermocouple sensors and are in high demand in the plastic industry. The MI strip heaters of Watlow have a high level of performance and durability. They are made by implanting a nickel chromium element wire in Watlow’s exclusive mineral insulation.

In a Vehicle there is a heating and air conditioning control system. It has a compressor clutch cycle for controlling the temperatures inside the car it also has automated temperature controls (ATC). When the temperatures are below ambient the ATC sensor produces a control signal which shuts off the compressor and places the system in heating mode. Finally Ray Stucker, Director of Tricools temperature control products once said that selecting the right temperature control systems can boast productivity and save energy and money. Take time to ensure you select the best systems.

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Source by Gavin Cruise