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Mall Mapp

Mall Mapp

An indoor navigation system for shopping malls using ios devices

An indoor navigation system for shopping malls using ios devices

2016

2016

Contents

Introduction 1

Objectives 2

Literature Review 3

Maps 3

Mapping Information Formats 3

Navigation 5

Indoor Navigation 5

Similar Systems 7

Mally 7

MApp 7

Google Indoors 7

Apple Survey 8

iOS Application Development 9

The iOS Architecture 9

Pillars of iOS development 10

iOS User Interface Design 12

iOS Design Principles 12

The iOS Human Interface Guideline 13

Storing Data in iOS applications 24

Using NSUserDefaults 24

PList Files 24

Core Data and SQLite Files 24

Web Services 24

Legal Social Ethical and Professional Issues 25

The BCS 26

The Mall Mapp Application 27

CoreLocation Framework 27

MapKit Framework 27

UIKit Framework 27

References 28

Introduction

This paper details the development of Mall Mapp, an iOS application that provides navigation and location based services for shopping malls.

When visiting new places such as shopping malls, museums, galleries and so on, a common question is asked “where are we”? In modern days localisation is required everywhere as being aware of our location is an important issue for everyone both indoors and outdoors (Piras et al, 2014). Shopping in malls is the order of the day in many urban centres. The modern mall designs are sophisticated an aspect that may present users with navigation challenges. They are usually big and it may take shoppers time to know their directions. Further knowing where to by which products within the mall can be as well a nightmare. Shoppers need quick navigations and easy reach of goods as well as restaurants for bites during their shopping spree.

With this need identified, smartphones have made it possible for shoppers to use various apps to navigate the malls during their shopping time. The fact that smartphones can really access fast internet, makes it quite useful when navigating the malls with various apps that work in hand with GPS. Moreover, smartphones can as well assist shoppers navigate vehicles around traffic, monitor parking lots, and direct users to the nearest points of interest. This location revolution has been underpinned by the deployment of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) such as GPS (Global Positioning Systems). However, most people spend a larger part of their time indoors where GPS signals are weak. (Harle, 2013).

Indoor positioning systems are becoming a more vital part of our daily lives based on the Indoor Positioning System, a variety of location based services (LBS) such as navigation and orientation in large commercial centres, tracking and monitoring objects, or locating the elderly and children can be developed. With the development of new advanced technologies, the hand-held devices such as smart-phones and tablets have been widely used (Do-Xuan et al, 2014). Most individuals tend to use handheld devices in their day-to-day activities. Often, these handheld devices have been used and continue to be used for mapping purposes. Maps are intended to provide the user with instantaneous information on their location or destination. “Being equipped with mobile maps which have wireless access to internet servers, modern mobile people are better informed of the events from near and far, present and future, can therefore get better prepared for their tasks than those nomadic tribes who have to heavily rely on their sensor motor perception of the ambient environment” (Reichenbacher and Meng, 2005).

Under this paper, a Mall Mapp is designed and developed and is meant to operate on iOS. The Mapp will be used by shoppers to navigate the malls during their shopping sprees.

Objectives

The main objective of this project is to design and develop an IOS application that will help users locate stores by providing indoor navigation functionalities in a shopping mall and Location Based Services that will aid in improving the overall shopping experience, the application is to be developed using the x-Code IDE. The following tasks will be required to achieve this objective

The general objectives of the project are;

Designing and developing an IOS navigation application that will assist shoppers navigate shopping malls with ease.

The project aims to implement a flawless IOS app for the customers that will assist to increase revenues as well as customer loyalty thus improving the marketing of the application.

The application will guide the shoppers to their shop destinations in the malls within a reasonable distance as the app is very simple and can be used by any other person with an iPhone smartphone.

The application should possess an easy-to-use user interface that helps the navigator with navigation hints based on the current state of the user.

Evaluating the usefulness of the mobile application based on the customers and mall managers who will use the app in real-time.

Further, the study will achieve the objectives through;

Conducting research on similar systems

Carrying out research on navigation in mobile applications

Carrying out research on indoor navigation

Evaluating methods of indoor navigation in mobile devices

Researching on development for iOS platforms

Researching on the best practices during iOS development

Evaluating software used for IOS development

Testing the app to ascertain its objectivity

Evaluate the most efficient method to store data in the application

Evaluating software used for IOS developmentInvestigate the legal social ethical and professional issues relevant to the application

Develop the software

Identify the appropriate user groups to evaluate the software

Identify areas for Improvement within the software

Literature Review

Introduction

A research review is needed to define how important and relevant this project is. This chapter contain a research review on technologies, applications, concepts and tools that already exist, due to prevent duplication of previous work. Further it identifies in detail essential technologies required to design and develop an indoor navigation system for shopping malls using IOS devices. To meet these requirements will this literature review be used as a foundation in this project.

Maps

Maps are useful and important tools that provide us with information that is vital to exploring and understanding our environment (NIOS, 2012).

Mapping Information Formats

Currently there are two common methods that can be used to map a building’s information, they are:

2D Mapping Model

3D Mapping Model

2D Mapping Model

2D Map Images are often used to provide navigational aid or show important building information such as fire escape routes. They vary in appearance based on the software used to produce the map or standards that are applicable to the building construction. The type of information generally gathered from 2D map images include primary information such as the floor plan of a building, the scale and coordination of the building are not usually present in the floor plan however they can be found in documents that provide a more in-depth information of the building such as a blue print.

Figure 1: Simple Floor Plan (The house plan guide, 2016)

3D Mapping Model

3-D Map models are mostly available for buildings which were recently constructed and were designed with 35 modelling tools, 3D maps store a myriad of information as opposed to the 2D counterpart, such information includes the Scale, height, and connection to other floors, however 3D models do not provide information with regards to the location and orientation of the building, In addition to this the lack of buildings designed with the use of 3D modelling software often pose limitations (Nagesh Potdar, 2012).

Figure 2: 3-D Modelled apartment

Navigation

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines navigation as the act, activity, or process of finding a way to get to a place when travelling (“Merriam-Webster”)

. The use of technology as in other fields has simplified this process over the years as a user is able to type an address into a mobile phone navigation application and receive step by step directions from the users current location or from a set location to the point navigation, However to get to this point there have been several gradual improvements in navigation techniques which range from the use of objects of the physical world such as the celestial bodies (moon , sun , star), to compasses, to more recent techniques such as Dead Reckoning(Positioning using time, speed and direction) which has given a way to global position using satellites (Garber, 2013).

Indoor Navigation

While navigation systems for outdoor environments are readily available, navigation within buildings still poses a challenge. The major reason for this lies in the difficulty to obtain accurate position information in an easy to set-up way with minimal infrastructure and to create indoor maps (Link et al, 2011).

Indoor Navigation systems have become a recent area of interest due to the lack of strong GPS signals in indoor environments, a vast amount of resources and research has been put in to developing technologies that aid indoor navigation to circumvent the lack of excellence.

Existing solutions for indoor navigation systems are generally grouped as network based navigation systems based on networking technology such as sensor networks and independent navigation systems providing autonomous user positions. Network based navigation systems make use of technologies such as Bluetooth, ultra-wide band (UWB), Wi-Fi or radio frequency identification RFID. Position accuracy vary according to the technology used (Ozdenisci et al, 2011).

Wi-Fi- triangulation:

This processes signal loss or strength from multiple Wi-Fi hotspots to triangulate position. Android makes the Wi-Fi signal API available to developers to build applications. Apple iOS does not; therefore, iPhone developers rely on other sensors and technology.

GPS/Cellular Networks

Mobile networks such as GSM and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems form the basis of modern area wide wireless communication infrastructure. Due to worldwide availability and cell size coverage of 35km GSM networks can obtain an estimation of a devices position which can be applied in several locations based services and emergency assistance (Mautz, 2012).

RFID

An RFID system uses a reader and an antenna to interrogate transceivers that are active it’s zone. Using radio waves data can be transmitted from the RFID tags to the RFID scanner.

Beacons

These are cheap, low power radio beacons placed at known positions within a building. They transmit a unique signal that can be received by a smartphone. It uses the same location triangulation as Wi-Fi but can be more precise due to their specific location and use. According to Blagdon (2013), Apple has its own beacons encapsulated in a profile as iBeacon. It is said to be a support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It is assumed that iBeacon will enable tiny low-power Bluetooth devices to provide micro-location.

In this project, iBeacon and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) are the two major possible platforms to be used for the application. IBeacon base that works under indoor positioning system is applicable in hospitals where the patients use it in finding their wards (Yang et al., 2015). The indoor positioning system has also a platform that works with message-push-service. Moreover, an embedded Linux based shopping assistance system has been developed that assists the customers when shopping (Chakraborty et al., 2013). This system is linked to a centralised database that that is implemented in a location based touch screen modules. An algorithm was developed to detect hotspots of traffic via the use of GPS data (Tripathi, 2010).

IBeacon assisted indoor localization and a tracking system has been implemented by Michael (2004) and uses iBeacons and PDR (Pedestrian Ded Reckoning) technology that is useful in localization and tracking system. Further, a Wi-Fi based application has been implemented and is based on indoor localization. Moreover, the application is also based on algorithms for indoor Wi-Fi localization for the noisy place like the shopping centres.

Similar Systems

Mally

Mally provides indoor navigation functionalities with the use of 3D maps created with the use of computer vision and 3d technologies. The map allows you view a 3D map, a 360-degree view, plan your route, access lists of shops, events, offers and floors as well as share information with friends, However the Mally app is only available for the Weston Favell Shopping Centre in Northampton, UK. It is available for both IOS and android devices (Mally, 2016).

Figure 3: Mally User Interface (PC Advisor, 2016)

MApp

With a data base of over 1000 maps, Mapp provides users with a comprehensive and up to date collection of maps in the UK, Airports, Museums, Zoos and other places of interest through the MApp application. MApp enables users locate their positions and view nearby places that are MAppt (Mappator, 2016).

Google Indoors

Google indoors provides shop owners with an easy way to improve the convenience and experience of visitors at their place of business, by reducing the time spent in search of building directories, providing features that enable users to discover new points of interests and facilitate several gestures that aid in navigation. Google Indoors is only available in a selected location across the world including airports such as Gatwick and Heathrow in London, Munich in Germany, Shopping malls such as; Harrods in the UK and Rouse mall in the USA and other institutions around the world (Google, 2016).

Activating google Indoors for buildings is done by uploading floor plans of buildings in countries where it is available from a computer and aligning it with satellite images, before uploading images it is advised to adhere to the guidelines provided in the Google Floor Maps Guidelines to avoid breaching the law. The uploaded floor plan is then used to develop the internal layout of the building from which users will be able to navigate inside the building. A major drawback to the use of implementing indoor navigation with the use of google floor plans is its limited availability in countries and timing as google does not give an estimate as to when submitted maps will be uploaded or if at all it will be accepted (Google 2016).

Figure 4: Google Indoors (Google, 2016)

Apple Survey

Over the years’ apple has been building up its tools for indoor mapping through the use of iBeacons which was introduced in 2013, iBeacons is a small Bluetooth transmitter that can be used by retailers to transmit information that is location specific in the form of alerts and notifications (Wright, 2016).

In 2015 apple launched an iOS application dedicated to indoor positioning, it allows business owners to map out their venues with the use of their iPhones. This is achieved by dropping points on a map within the survey app to indicate position within the venue doing so allows the application to measure radio frequency signal data and combine it sensor data from the iPhone which is then used for navigation (apple Insider).

iOS Application Development

iOS is the operating system that runs on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices. The iOS Software Development Kit(SDK), contains the tools and interfaces required to create, test, install and run native applications that appear on the home screen of iOS devices. The SKD makes use of system framework (Apple, 2016).

The iOS Architecture

The implementation of iOS technologies is regarded in terms or layers, lower layers include the essential services and technologies while the higher layers are used to for the provision of sophisticated more services and technologies. It is recommended that higher level frame works should be preferred over the lover level frame works when writing code (Apple, 2016). The iOS layers are listed below:

Cocoa Touch

Media

Core Services

Core OS

Cocoa Touch Layer

The cocoa touch layer contains frameworks that are vital for developing iOS applications, the cocoa touch layers provide frameworks that define the appearance of applications.

The Media Layer

The cocoa layer provides the audio and visual technologies required for the implementation of multimedia experiences in applications. This layer reduces the effort required when building applications that sound and look great

Core Services layer

This layer contains the fundamental system services that are essential for apps. Key services included in this layer are the core foundation and foundation frame works which determine the basic types used by every application. The technologies required to support location features, the core location frame work is also included in this layer.

Core OS Layer

Even if technologies in this later aren’t being used directly in applications, they contain the low-level features used by other layers. Also, security and communication with external hardware and accessories are done using the frame works provided by this layer.

Figure 5: ioS architecture (Apple, 2016)

Pillars of iOS development

iOS Applications are supported by 4 pillars which are distinct areas of information and knowledge that need to be learnt in equal proportions to provide adequate support for the applications being developed (Allardice, 2016).

The four pillars are:

Development Tools

Development Language

Design

Rules

Development Tools

These are the first pillar of support, and it includes the tools required to build the application, they include:

IDE

Simulator

Instrument

Integrated Development Environment(IDE)

The IDE is the platform where design, coding and debugging is done. In iOS Xcode serves as the IDE for the development of native iOS applications.

iOS apps are developed using the iOS SDK in conjunction with apples Xcode development environment. Xcode is an integrated development environment(IDE), within which codes are compiled, tested and debugged. The Xcode environment also features an interface used to graphically design the UI of an application using components provided by the UIKit framework (Smyth, 2016).

Simulator

The iOS simulator is an important tool that provides a view of the application through a device mirror to provide an idea of how the application will look and run on an actual device.

Instrument

This is a part of the Xcode tool set that provides tools for performance-analysis and testing. It is designed to help you profile iOS apps, processes and devices to provide a better understanding and optimised their behaviour and performance.

Development Language

This is the second support pillar, it refers to not just the syntax used in the development of the application but also refers to the coding patterns used such as protocols, delegates and the supporting frame works. There are two syntax options available when developing applications for iOS devices, they are, Swift and Objective-C.

Design

This is the third pillar of support that deals with application flow and the user interface. Application flow refers to the functionality and behaviour of the application while the user interface is responsible for the look of the application.

Rules

The fourth and final pillar of development is based on Testing. Apple has some its procedures for testing applications and accepting submissions to the app store. The developer needs to know the appropriate process to follow. Failure to develop an application according to Apple’s formalities can cause them to be rejected and not be inserted on the Apple App Store.

Figure 6: Pillars of Development(Onchapter, 2016)

iOS User Interface Design

User interface design is the creation and synchronisation of elements that affect the experience of a user with the intent of influencing their perceptions (Unger et al, 2009).

Due to the nature of the environment in which iOS applications are run, iOS applications are visually oriented, therefore an important component of any application being developed for IOS devices involves the user interface (Smyth, 2016).

iOS Design Principles

To maximise the impact and increase the reach of an application the following principles should be considered when visualising the identity of an application

Aesthetic Integrity

Consistency

Direct Manipulation

Feedback

Metaphor

User Control

Aesthetic Integrity

Aesthetic integrity refers to how well the appearance and behaviour of an application integrate with its function. For example, applications which require increased concentration from a user should be designed in such a way they are not distracted from the task required through the use of familiar controls and behaviour and conspicuous and discrete graphics, on the other hand applications such as games should be designed using an attractive appearance that promises fun and excitement.

Consistency

An application is said to be consistent when it incorporates features and behaviours in ways that are to be expected by people. A consistent app makes use of interface elements, familiar icons, text styles and uniform technology in its implementation.

Direct Manipulation

The manipulation of onscreen content provides user engagement and simplifies understanding. Direct Manipulation can be experienced whenever a device is rotated or gestures are used to affect the content displayed on the screen, thus receiving an immediate, visible result of the action performed.

Feedback

Built-in iOS applications acknowledge user actions and provides appropriate response to keep people informed by highlighting interactive elements when they are tapped, indicating the progress of operations through indicator and the use of animation and sound to clarify the outcomes of actions

Metaphors

The process of learning is hastened when applications make use of familiar experiences as metaphors for actions and virtual objects.

User Control

Applications should suggest the course of actions or provide warnings during risky activities, however applications should not take over decision-making, it should be left to users. The best applications provide the right equilibrium between enabling users and avoidance of unwanted outcomes.

The iOS Human Interface Guideline

Several Rules need to be adhered to when developing applications for iOS devices, in order to meet the high expectations of quality and performance of iOS 10 which has 3 themes that differentiate it from other platforms.

Clarity

Depth

Deference

Clarity

Throughout the system, text is expected to be legible at every size, scale and dimension, Icons should be detailed and lucid, It should be ensured that decorations should be used only when appropriate and are subtle and that the design is motivated by a thorough focus on functionality.

Depth

Hierarchy is conveyed through separate visual layers and realistic motion, with touch and discovery, delight is enlightened as well as access to extra functionality and additional context without losing the current context.

Deference

A User Interface that allows the users to understand and interact with content. Allowing content to extend to the edges of the screen during development can enhance clarity.

Other design requirements and standards related to the development and design of this application according to the guidelines provided by apple are discussed below.

Interaction

Authentication

Users should be asked for authentication only in exchange of value such as personalizing the experience accessing extra features, purchasing content or synchronizing data.

Login should be delayed for as long as possible as most users frequently abandon applications when they are required to provide sign in details or create accounts before carrying out any useful task with the application. Users should be given the opportunity to experience the application before committing.

The benefits of authentication should be explained through a brief and friendly explanation on the login screen.

Figure 7: Authentication (Apple, 2016)

Data Entry

Present choices whenever possible

Information should be acquired from the system whenever possible

Reasonable default values should be provided

Advancement should only be possible after the required values are collected

Field values should be Dynamically validated and should be required only when necessary

Value lists should be used to ease navigation

Hints that help communicate the purpose of a text field should be provided

Feedback

Status and other types of feedback should be integrated without obstruction into the interface so users can get information without the need to take action or interruption.

Alerts which are deemed unnecessary should be avoided as people will tend to ignore alerts in the future which might contain essential information

File Handling

The option to create local only files should be avoided

An intuitive and graphical file browsing interface should be implemented

Users should be allowed to preview files without having to leave the application

The option to share files with other applications should be provided

First Launch Experience

A launch screen should be provided and should be launched in the appropriate orientation

Splash screens, menus and instructions that increase the length of time required to reach content and use of the app should be avoided, where tutorial videos or introduction sequences are required only essential information required should be displayed and an option to skip through them should be provided.

Asking for setup information up front should be avoided, apps should be designed to work for the majority and the few who would prefer different configurations should have the options to change the settings to meet their needs, as much set up information as possible should be tried to gathered from the settings of the device and defaults.

The display of agreements should be left to the app store to handle, if they must be included in the application they should be integrated in a way that provides balance and does not interrupt the user experience

Gestures

Users interact with iOS by performing gestures on the screen, these gestures include:

Gesture

Action

Tap

Activate a control or select an item

Drag

Move and element or drag it across the screen

Flick

Scroll of pan quickly

Swipe

Returns to the previous screen, reveals the hidden view in a split view controller, reveals the delete button or actions in a peek when performed with a single finger

Double Tap

Zooms in or zooms out of an image

Pinch

Zooms in when done outwards and out when done inwards

Touch and hold

Displays a magnified view for cursors when done in an editable or selectable text and allows items to be re arranged in the collection view

Shake

Initiates undo or redo

Standard gestures should be used

System wide gestures should not be blocked

Nonstandard actions should not be performed using standard gestures and shortcut gestures should be used to supplement interface-based navigation and actions and not replace them.

Loading

As a static screen may lead a user into thinking the app is frozen or broken, when loading content in applications loading screens should be customised and ensured it is clear when loading is occurring

Figure 8: Loading Screen (Apple, 2016)

Modality

Modality ensures that users remain focused on a task until it is completed or abandoned. When making use of modal, the appropriate modal task should be chosen, complexity should be avoided as users may be dissuaded before entering the modal context and a title bar should which shows the function of the modal should be displayed.

Figure 9: Modals (Apple, 2016)

Navigation

Navigation should be implemented in a way that backs the structure and purpose of an application, in iOS applications there are three main styles of Navigation.

Hierarchical Navigation, in hierarchical Navigation a user is required to make a choice in every screen until the aim of navigation is reached, apps such as settings and mail make use of this navigation style.

Figure 10: Hierarchical Navigation (Apple, 2016)

Flat Navigation, used by the Music app and the App store flat navigation this allows users to change between various content categories.

Figure 11: Flat Navigation(Apple, 2016)

Content Driven Navigation giving users the option to explore through content this type of navigation is often found in immersive applications such as books or games.

Figure 12: Content driven Navigation (Apple, 2016)

Requesting Permission

To access personal information an application must be granted permission to do so, the following guidelines should be followed when making use of personal data to provide users with assuredness that they have control over their personal data and it is not being misused.

Personal data should only be requested only when there is a clear need for it and the reason for the use of personal data should be clearly stated.

The system should be checked to see if location services are enabled before it is accessed.

Figure 13: Requesting Permission (Apple, 2016)

Settings

Applications should be designed to work well without requiring user configuration, however when the user experience requires configurations, querying the system for user or device information serves as an alternative to requiring the user to input it, for example asking for permission to make use of the device location to get a zip code or address rather than asking for user input, Thoughtful prioritization of configuration settings and providing shortcuts to iPhone settings are two ways of maximising user experience through configuration.

Features

Multitasking

When interruptions occur the current state of the application should be saved quickly and precisely so users can seamlessly continue where they left off when they return

Notifications should be used sparingly

Activities that require attention or active participation should be paused

Tasks that are initialised by the user should be finished in the background

Notifications

Notifications are used to display well timed and important information at any state of the device. In iOS there are 2 notification styles

Banners

Alerts

To ensure the behaviour of notifications in an application are useful and not interruptive the following should be considered during the design process.

Useful information and informative notifications

Multiple notifications for the same event should not be sent

The app name or icon should not be included

Badges should be kept updated

Visual Design

Animation

Animations help to send status, deliver feedback, help users envision their interactions with the application and improve the sense of manipulation of the applications. Beautiful and subtle animations can be achieved in iOS by following the guidelines below.

Animations and motion effects should be used thoughtfully as excessive animations can lead to people being disconnected or distracted from the purpose of the application

Animations should be consistent and made optional

Branding

Successful branding provides users with context in the application without being distractive. Using branding that is refined and inconspicuous, prioritises content over design delivers a crisp and smart representation of brands. Also, apple trademarks should not be used.

Colour

The use of colour ranges from indicating interactivity to impart vitality, when choosing a colour scheme

Complementary colours should be used all around the application

Colour pallet should be related to the applications logo and be limited

A key colour used to indicate interactivity should be chosen and Interactive elements and non-interactive elements should not have the same colours

Layout

iOS allows interface elements and layouts to be configured automatically whenever the orientation of the device is changes, following the guidelines below provides a smooth transition between orientation modes.

Focus should be maintained on the current content during the change of context

Primary content should be clear at default size

Importance should be denoted through the use of visual weight and balance

Whenever possible both portrait and landscape modes should be supported

Enough spacing should be provided between interactive elements

The application’s response should be customised according to the context.

Figure 14: Layout (Apple, 2016)

Typography

Important information should be emphasised

A single font should be used if possible

Built in text styles should be used if possible

Graphics

Icons

An icon is the first opportunity to communicate the purpose of an application and also appears throughout the system. A beautiful and memorable icon attracts attention in the app store and helps the application stand out on the home screen, the following guides should be followed when using icons.

Simplicity should be embraced as the use of complex icon content and shape can make the details of the icon hard to discern, it is advised to utilise a component that captures the core of the application expressed in a simple and unique shape

Icons should be defined uniquely and possess a single point of focus to capture attention and make the application easily recognisable

The background should be kept simple and transparency should be avoided to avoid other application icons being overwhelmed

Words should only be utilized if they are an essential part of the logo as the application name will appear below the icon

Photographic details are difficult to see at reduced sizes and should be avoided when designing icons

Replicas of apple hardware products should not be used

Alternate text labels should be provided for system icons

Icons should be provided for both the selected state and the unselected state

Task Icons should be kept consistent throughout the application.

Application icons should not be placed throughout the interface and should be tested against several wall papers

Image size and Resolution

iOS utilises a coordinate system which is based on point measurements that are mapped to pixels in the display to on screen content. As high resolution screens possess a higher pixel density it is required to provide images of high quality for artworks in applications, this can be accomplished by multiplying the number of pixels of images be a specific scale factor for 3x and 2x for the iPhone6 and 6s Plus and all other high resolution iOS devices respectively

Launch Screen

In iOS, whenever an application is starts up the launch screen appears and then is instantly replaced by the first screen, this is done to provide the illusion that the application is quick and responsive, to achieve this the following rules should be followed

The launch of the application should be downplayed as users are likely to switch between applications often

The launch screen should be like the first screen on the application and the use of text on the launch screen should be avoided to ensure users do not experience an unpleasant sensation when the screen is changed to the first screen

Advertisements should not be done on the launch screen

UI Bars, Views and Controls

The UIKit framework provides the infrastructures that are needed for the construction and management of iOS application. It provides the windows and view architecture needed to manage an apps User interface, event handling infrastructure that responds to user input. The elements provided by the UIKit include

Bars:

Bars hold contextual information that tells users where they are and controls that help users navigate or initiate events.

Navigation Bars and Tab Bars

Navigation Bars are placed at the top of a screen an app screen just below the status bar and are used for movement through a series of Hierarchical app screens. When utilising navigation the following should be considered.

Displaying the title of the current view in the navigation bar to provide context

Placing a segmented control in a navigation bar at the top level of an app to flatten information Hierarchy

Hiding the navigation bar when in full screen mode to avoid distractions

Placed at the bottom of the screen the tab bar provides is used to organise information at the app level by allowing users switch between sections of an application.

Search Bars

Using search bars to implement search makes discovery in applications easier as the search allows for provision of hint and context as well as buttons for cancelling and clearing.

Status Bars

The status bar is used to provide important information about the current state of the device such as time, cellular carrier, network status and battery level, the information shown in the status bar may vary based on the configuration on the system.

Storing Data in iOS applications

Using NSUserDefaults

The use of NSUserDefaults is a commonly used method to save user preferences and properties in a application. Information stored using NSUserDefaults persists even if the application is restarted. NSUserDefaults is mostly used to save information such as the logged in state of a user or other confidential information such as the access token of a user so whenever the application is launched the token could be used to re authenticate the user. Data saved using NSUserDefaults are not encrypted and can be viewed using the application bundle, it is stored in a PList file with the name as the bundle ID of the application (Gianchandani, 2016).

PList Files

The use of PList Files is another common way of storing data, however PList files should not be used to store information that is deemed confidential as it is unencrypted and can be fetched easily from devices that are not jail broken.

Core Data and SQLite Files

Core Data is a full-featured data-modelling framework for object oriented Cocoa Touch applications, while SQLite is appropriate for low level relational database work. Core Data provides a flexible data model framework for building cocoa applications based on the Model-Vie-Controller patter. Core Data provides a data management solution to handle the data the model needs in any situation. Furthermore, Core Data allows a quick definition of an application’s data model in a graphical way and accesses it easily from the code. It allows common tasks such as save, store, restore, undo and redo to be carried out. Core Data may be an appropriate choice for loading data quickly and easily

Web Services

Alternatively, information can be stored using web services. Web services provide web-based API’s to support communications to between machines using networks. A web service uses a server to process and respond to requests created by a client, the response is usually in form of JSON, XML or CSV (Apple, 2016).

To use web services, a database needs to be created first. Databases are defined as information stores that may be written as files. Databases can be read by various interfaces, hence, giving it an advantage. However, the simpler the database, the more interfaces can read it. A hosting service such as phpMYSQL can be used to create this database. The next step after the database creation is the creation of the web service backend. This makes use of JSON files on the server to make connections to the database. After this, the frontend is created on the iOS storyboard. The data connected will be fetched from this and will be made to run in the program (Valenzuela, 2013).

Legal Social Ethical and Professional Issues

A crucial factor for any successful business is understanding the legal framework within which the business operates, it is important for computing graduates who aim to find a job in the private or public sector to know about the laws that guide the use of computing as these jobs require as much business savvy as technical knowledge. In the UK, the British Computer Society is responsible for creating the standards for the computing profession (Samson, 2009).

Since the Mapp uses GPS to navigate ethical issues are a concern since the user carrying the receiver will have their location transmitted to a second party. In such an aspect, several problems arise when the location of data is transmitted to a second party (Starner, 2003). This fact suggests a significant issue of privacy. When this location data is maliciously accessed, it can be used to track people’s movements. Therefore, the privacy of the Mapp users is disregarded.

Legal issues that arise when using GPS is currently on a global scale whereby some laws are in place to restrict GPS surveillance. In some countries, GPS tracking and surveillance is prohibited while in others its allowed in cases where court exhibits are required.

Its noted that GPS doesn’t work well indoors due to the obstruction of physical objects like walls and buildings resulting to poor signal. However, indoor navigations have resulted to other technologies being adopted to strengthen the signal for easy indoor navigations (Bajaj et al., 2002). With GPS receivers, not able to work for indoor navigation satisfactorily, several technologies are in place to overcome the problem of ground-based positioning systems like Wi-Fi and ultra wide band (UWB) based systems to enable efficient indoor navigation.

Under this aspect, the ground based positioning systems may not provide a continuous positioning information due to multipath and non-line-of-sight radio propagation prevalence indoors. Professional issues rise under this aspect that technical engineers need to come up with innovative ideas and methods that will enable reliable navigation as well as tracking indoor systems in adverse radio propagated environments to overcome the weaknesses of ground based systems (Michael, 2004). Social issues will be concerning the extra costs that people would need to incur while using cellular data to navigate in cases where there are no Wi-Fi connections. There are other existing similar applications like Google maps that are android based and with such social issues on usability will rise as well as user awareness (McNamara, 2004).

Since Mapp is applicable in IOS that can access Wi-Fi and cellular data.

Apple SDK Agreement

Several requirements are imposed on developers using the apple SDK, the most significant include:

Privacy Laws

Copyright

Objectionable Content and Materials

Free and Open Source Software

Privacy Laws:

With regards to the gathering of data, picture or voice capture it is necessary for developers to adhere to all state, federal and international privacy laws. Accordingly, Personal information collected from users should not be shared or distributed without permission from the user; the use of a user’s name or likeness for gain without prior authorisation, is prohibited; and the recording of a user’s voice should not be carried out without a visible message that shows recording is taking place.

Copyrights in Music and Content

Music and all content incorporated into an application must be owned by the developer or licensed to the developer on a fully ‘paid-up’ basis. Items other than music that are being used by virtue of a license should have the royalty terms stated in the license if there are any.

Objectionable Content and Materials:

Developers should not include obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory content, or other content that is deemed offensive by apple. Legal encounters faced when an application is rejected will be difficult as what is deemed offensive is based on Apples reasonable discretion.

Free and Open Source Software:

when including Free and Open Source Software(FOSS) in an application it must meet every applicable FOSS licensing terms. Also, it is required that the use of FOSS should not interfere with the SDK itself (McHale, 2009).

The BCS

Established by the Royal Charter in 1984 with the main purpose of promoting the study and practise of computing, The BCS for the benefit of the public aims to advance knowledge of, and education within IT (Alison, 2016).

The BCS is responsible for providing professionals with criterions that governs the conduct of its members in order enable individuals, organisations and society realise the potential of and maximise the benefits of IT (BCS, 2016).

The BCS provides rules that covers the areas of public interest, professional competence and integrity, duty to relevant authority and duty to the profession.

On public interest the BCS implores members to conduct their practices with due regard for the health privacy, and well-being of the environment without discrimination, while ensuring the benefits of IT are accessed equally.

With regards to the integrity and competence in their professions members are expected to develop their skills, knowledge, competence and be updated on the important standards and technologies relevant to their field. Members are also required to only accept work that is within their professional competence and respect other professionals.

Individuals or Members who are aware of a breach in the code of conduct are obligated to notify the BCS. Any report of a breach is considered under the Disciplinary procedures of the organisation.

The Mall Mapp Application

Mall Mapp is an application that is designed with the intentions to provide indoor navigation facilities that will allow users search for stores and provide direction to the stores. The application will also provide means to allowing shop users and managers include view and include useful information such as opening and closing times, shopping deals.

There are various ways to go about designing an application that will provide users with navigation features and location based services. Many companies such as meridian, aisle114 and wiFarer, visioGlobe and aisle411 provide businesses such as hospitals, retailers, museums, stadiums and airports with a way to include turn by turn directions to interior maps and provide smartphone users with points of interests such as bathrooms, vending machines, shops and kiosks in large buildings and provide them with useful information that will improve their shopping experience (Miles, 2013).

However, for the purpose of this project the application is going to be developed with the use of several frameworks made available by the iOS architecture. These frameworks include the CoreLocation framework and the MapKit framework.

CoreLocation Framework

Through the use of the CoreLocation framework every iOS device is capable of determining its position in the world. To determine location, the CoreLocation framework makes use of cell tower triangulation, Wi-Fi positioning and GPS signals. (Apple, 2016).

MapKit Framework

The MapKit framework allows maps to be embedded directly into views, and provides means of annotating maps and adding overlays. The MapKit and CoreLocation frameworks carry out most of the work involved in the creation and display of maps (Allan, 2016).

UIKit Framework

Using the UIKit frame works makes it easy to assemble a user interface quickly and efficiently. The UIKit framework provides a user interface that provides developers with a visual idea of the application (Apple, 2016).

References

Alison. (2016). British Computer Society. Available: https://alison.com/free-training/British-Computer-Society. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Allan, A., 2012. Geolocation in IOS. ” O’Reilly Media, Inc.”.

Allardice, S. (2016). The four pillars of iOS app development:iOS App Development Essential Training. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/ios-app-development-essential-training/the-four-pillars-of-ios-app-development?autoplay=true. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Apple. (2014). Next About the iOS Technologies. Available: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Miscellaneous/Conceptual/iPhoneOSTechOverview/Introduction/Introduction.html. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Apple. (2016). iOS Human Interface Guidelines. Available: https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/overview/design-principles/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Apple Insider. (2015). Apple pushes Maps Indoor service to venue owners, limited to high-traffic spots. Available: http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/11/02/apple-pushes-maps-indoor-service-to-venue-owners-limited-to-high-traffic-spots. Last accessed 14th Nov 2016.

Bitsch Link, P.S., Viol, N. and Wehrle, K., 2011. Footpath: Accurate map based indoor navigation using smartphones. In International Conference on Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN.

Blagdon, J. (2013). iOS 7’s iBeacons could solve indoor mapping, make shopping better, and kill NFC. Available: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/11/4718082/ios-7-ibeacons-could-solve-indoor-mapping-make-shopping-better. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR BCS MEMBERS. 1st ed. BCS, THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR IT, 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Do-Xuan, T., Tran-Quang, V., Bui-Xuan, T. and Vu-Thanh, V., 2014, October. Smartphone-based pedestrian dead reckoning and orientation as an indoor positioning system. In 2014 International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Communications (ATC 2014) (pp. 303-308). IEEE.

Garber, M. (2013). 8 Tools We Used to Navigate the World Around Us Before GPS and Smartphones. Available: http://www.citylab.com/tech/2013/04/7-examples-how-we-used-navigate-world-around-us/5286/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Gianchandani,P. (2016). IOS Application Security Part 20 – Local Data Storage (NSUserDefaults, CoreData, Sqlite, Plist files). Available: http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/ios-application-security-part-20-local-data-storage-nsuserdefaults-coredata-sqlite-plist-files/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Google. (2016). Indoor Maps: About Indoor Maps. Available: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/about/partners/indoormaps/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Google. (2016). Indoor Maps availability. Available: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1685827. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Google. (2016). Use indoor maps to view floor plans. Available: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/2803784?p=gmm_guidelines&visit_id=1-636160732477566375-1281339375&rd=1. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Harle, Robert. “A survey of indoor inertial positioning systems for pedestrians.” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 15.3 (2013): 1281-1293.

Mappator. (2016). Welcome to MApp. Available: http://mappator.com/about/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Mautz, R., (2012). Indoor positioning technologies.

McHale, R. (2009). A Practical Legal Guide to iPhone Application Development. Available: http://www.rmchale.com/publications/APracticalLegalGuidetoiPhoneApplicationDevelopment.pdf. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Meng, L. and Reichenbacher, T. (2005). Map-based mobile services. In: Meng, L, Zipf, A. and Reichenbacher, T. Map-base mobile services. Germany: Springer. 1-10.

Miles,S. (2013). 5 Tools Retailers Can Use to Create Indoor Maps. Available: http://streetfightmag.com/2013/09/20/5-tools-retailers-can-use-to-create-indoor-maps/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Nagesh Potdar, D. P. S. J. B. H. S. S., 2012. Indoor Navigation Using Smartphones. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 1(5), pp. 16-18.

Ozdenizci, B., Ok, K., Coskun, V. and Aydin, M.N., 2011, April. Development of an indoor navigation system using NFC technology. In 2011 Fourth International Conference on Information and Computing (pp. 11-14). IEEE.

Piras, M., Lingua, A., Dabove, P. and Aicardi, I., 2014, May. Indoor navigation using Smartphone technology: A future challenge or an actual possibility?. In 2014 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium-PLANS 2014 (pp. 1343-1352). IEEE.

Nagesh Potdar, D. P. S. J. B. H. S. S., 2012. Indoor Navigation Using Smartphones. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 1(5), pp. 16-18.

Puikkonen, A., Sarjanoja, A.H., Haveri, M., Huhtala, J. and Häkkilä, J., 2009, November. Towards designing better maps for indoor navigation: experiences from a case study. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (p. 16). ACM.

Sampson, G., 2009. Law for Computing Students. Bookboon.

Smyth, N., 2014. IOS 10 App Development Essentials. eBookFrenzy.

Valenzuela, M. (2013). Create your own web service for an iOS app, part one. Available: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/create-your-own-web-service-for-an-ios-app-part-one/. Last accessed 29 Nov 2016.

Vincent, J. (2015). Apple’s survey app helps venues easily create indoor maps. Available: http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/2/9657304/apple-indoor-mapping-survey-app. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Mautz, R., 2012. Indoor positioning technologies.

Wright, B. (2016). Best apps for navigating inside buildings: satnav without satellites. Available: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/software/best-apps-for-navigating-inside-buildings-3573460/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Google. (2016). Indoor Maps: About Indoor Maps. Available: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/about/partners/indoormaps/. Last accessed 29th Nov 201

Google. (2016). Indoor Maps availability. Available: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1685827. Last accessed 29th Nov 2

Google. (2016). Use indoor maps to view floor plans. Available: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/2803784?p=gmm_guidelines&visit_id=1-636160732477566375-1281339375&rd=1. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Vincent, J. (2015). Apple’s survey app helps venues easily create indoor maps. Available: http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/2/9657304/apple-indoor-mapping-survey-app. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Tripathi J., “ALGORITHM FOR DETECTION OF HOT SPOTS OF TRAFFIC THROUGH ANALYSIS OF GPS DATA”, 2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net./ [Accessed:13- Feb- 2016].Allardice, S. (2016). The four pillars of iOS app development:iOS App Development Essential Training. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/ios-app-development-essential-training/the-four-pillars-of-ios-app-development?autoplay=true. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Sampson, G., 2009. Law for Computing Students. Bookboon.

Puikkonen, A., Sarjanoja, A.H., Haveri, M., Huhtala, J. and Häkkilä, J., 2009, November. Towards designing better maps for indoor navigation: experiences from a case study. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (p. 16). ACM.

Smyth, N., 2014. IOS 10 App Development Essentials. eBookFrenzy.

Alison. (2016). British Computer Society. Available: https://alison.com/free-training/British-Computer-Society. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Ozdenizci, B., Ok, K., Coskun, V. and Aydin, M.N., 2011, April. Development of an indoor navigation system using NFC technology. In 2011 Fourth International Conference on Information and Computing (pp. 11-14). IEEE.

Garber, M. (2013). 8 Tools We Used to Navigate the World Around Us Before GPS and Smartphones. Available: http://www.citylab.com/tech/2013/04/7-examples-how-we-used-navigate-world-around-us/5286/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Gianchandani,P. (2016). IOS Application Security Part 20 – Local Data Storage (NSUserDefaults, CoreData, Sqlite, Plist files). Available: http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/ios-application-security-part-20-local-data-storage-nsuserdefaults-coredata-sqlite-plist-files/. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

McHale, R. (2009). A Practical Legal Guide to iPhone Application Development. Available: http://www.rmchale.com/publications/APracticalLegalGuidetoiPhoneApplicationDevelopment.pdf. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Allan, A., 2012. Geolocation in IOS. ” O’Reilly Media, Inc.”.

Apple Insider. (2015). Apple pushes Maps Indoor service to venue owners, limited to high-traffic spots. Available: http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/11/02/apple-pushes-maps-indoor-service-to-venue-owners-limited-to-high-traffic-spots. Last accessed 14th Nov 201

Bitsch Link, P.S., Viol, N. and Wehrle, K., 2011. Footpath: Accurate mapbased indoor navigation using smartphones. In International Conference on Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN.

Apple. (2014). Next About the iOS Technologies. Available: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Miscellaneous/Conceptual/iPhoneOSTechOverview/Introduction/Introduction.html. Last accessed 29th Nov 2016.

Piras, M., Lingua, A., Dabove, P. and Aicardi, I., 2014, May. Indoor navigation using Smartphone technology: A future challenge or an actual possibility?. In 2014 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium-PLANS 2014 (pp. 1343-1352). IEEE.

Do-Xuan, T., Tran-Quang, V., Bui-Xuan, T. and Vu-Thanh, V., 2014, October. Smartphone-based pedestrian dead reckoning and orientation as an indoor positioning system. In 2014 International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Communications (ATC 2014) (pp. 303-308). IEEE.

Valenzuela, M. (2013). Create your own web service for an iOS app, part one. Available: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/create-your-own-web-service-for-an-ios-app-part-one/. Last accessed 29 Nov 2016.

Meng, L. and Reichenbacher, T. (2005). Map-based mobile services. In: Meng, L, Zipf, A. and Reichenbacher, T. Map-base mobile services. Germany: Springer. 1-10.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR BCS MEMBERS. 1st ed. BCS, THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR IT, 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Yang J., Z. Wang and X. Zhang (2016), “An iBeacon- based Indoor Positioning Systems for Hospitals”, IJSH, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 161-168, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijsh.2015.9.7.16. [Accessed: 13- Feb- 2016].

Chakraborty A., P. Konaje and P. Kasliwal, (2013) “Embedded Linux Based Shopping Assistance System”, International Journal of Reconfigurable and Embedded Systems (IJRES), vol. 2, no. 3, 2013. [Online]. Available:

Starner, D. A. T. (2003). “Using GPS to learn significant locations and predict movement across multiple users.” Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 7(5).

Bajaj, R., Ranaweera, S. L. & Agrawal D. P. (2002). “GPS: Location-Tracking Technology.” Computer 35(4): 92 – 94.

McNamara, J. (2004). GPS for Dummies. Indianapolis, Wiley Publishing. Michael, K. (2004). “Location-Based Services: a vehicle for IT&T convergence.” University of Wollongong, Australia.

Mall Mapp

Folarin Banjo | 13034111

Mall Mapp

Running head: THE MEANING OF LIFE THE MEANING OF LIFE 5 NAME

For this assignment, type your answers in MS Word (.doc or .docx) format and submit them electronically to the Business Assignment Help Running head: THE MEANING OF LIFE

THE MEANING OF LIFE 5

NAME

COURSE:

TUTOR:

DATE:

The human life is indeed intriguing, and more so the desires of the human beings and the purpose of their loves. Very often people tend to evaluate their lives in terms of what they have achieved, how far they have come from, and the extent to which they have achieved their goals, and so on. In economics, there is a term that is commonly used in referring to the wellbeing of people; utility. People seek utility or satisfaction of their needs in whatever they do. In other words, all actions of humankind are intended to satisfy some needs. In that light, then, is it possible to fully satisfy these needs? Philosophers like Schopenhauer will be quick to say no. Human nature is one full of mysteries, pains and suffering, and one of needs that never gets fully met. This perhaps is the observation that was made by this philosopher, Schopenhauer when he described the meaning of life as one full of suffering. A key statement in his works goes as follows:

”Unless suffering is the direct and immediate object of life, our existence must entirely fail of its aim”

In the light of this statement, this essay seeks to offer some explanations as to how the philosopher defends his position. Indeed, he has not failed to offer his defence for the position, and this will be analysed to establish if it is satisfactory or not.

In support of his position, Schopenhauer posits that it is indeed absurd to look upon the great pain that abounds everywhere, and that originates from the needs and necessities that are not separable from the life itself, as not serving any purpose at all are result from mere chance. This is to say that each and every misfortune we face may seem like it is an exception, but in reality it is the general rule of life. In essence, Schopenhauer is of the opinion that the human life and whatever comes and whatever the experiences are not in any way some bad luck of some chance. In the contrary, the human life was meant to be one of pain and suffering and all other misfortunes that we face from day to day.

The philosopher has also indicated that the great pain that abounds everywhere emanates from the human needs and necessities associated with this life or that cannot be separated from this life. In other words, the life of a person is one full of needs and necessities. For example, one needs food, shelter and clothing among other needs. In reality, these are not things that come easily, and one needs to struggle to obtain them. In comparison to the animals, the needs of the humans seem to be vast. An animal will just eat and lie down to relax, and that process repeats itself. For a man, food itself is not as easy to get, same as clothing and adequate shelter. Apart from these basic needs, there other needs that also need to be taken care of. For example, protection, status, luxuries, etc. as such, a person will labor and strive all day and all days to just obtain the things that one needs in life. This is the source of all pain and suffering, according to Schopenhauer. There is so much truth in it because it is verifiable. If we had no needs and necessities, no one would take in pain or suffering in an attempt to accomplish anything.

Schopenhauer also rejects the propositions of other philosophers like Leibnitz who suggest that evil is negative in its character. In essence, people believe that evil is bad and that it also brings pain and suffering to people. Schopenhauer believes evil is what is positive and that it makes its own existence. Evil is the good in its negative form. To strengthen his point, he suggests that the satisfaction and happiness usually imply that some desire has been fulfilled, and that some sate of pain or suffering has been brought to an end. More so, this could be the exact explanation of the fact that people often find pleasure not as pleasant as was expected, and pain often more painful than was expected.

In reality, people tend to blame the misfortunes and the mishaps on evil. Everything bad is associated with evil, including pain and suffering and bad luck. In other words, it is evil that brings pain and suffering. However, Schopenhauer is of the contrary opinion and suggests that evil is just the opposite of good. An interpretation of this could bring about various meanings, one being that we live side by side with evil and that life is just an alternation of good and evil. Also, good and evil are just the same thing but with two sides or faces. As such, when we are not suffering or in pain, then we are happy and satisfied and when we are not happy and satisfied, then we are suffering or in pain. That is what he calls the general rule of life.

This general rule of life is also characterized by, as mentioned above, the fact that pleasure is not as pleasant as it seems. In fact, it would be better put it that pleasure only seems pleasant at first and after some time the same pleasure is no pleasant any more. Pleasure is short-lived and cannot be experienced for a long time. On the other hand, pain is more than expected. Indeed, pain seems to have a longer lifespan and experienced for a longer time. The general implication here is that pain and suffering are more common than the contrary- that is, happiness and satisfaction. According to Schopenhauer, the notion that pleasure outweighs pain or even the notion that there exist a balance between pleasure and pain are a lie. To prove this, he compares two animals whereby one is eating the other. As such, it is not entirely true that pain and happiness have a balance, rather, pain and suffering outweigh happiness and satisfaction. Perhaps, the best consolation in these misfortunes would be to think that other people are in a worse situation.

The life of a person is all about work, labor, worry, and trouble (Schopenhauer). Suppose all the wishes were fulfilled, what would happen? Schopenhauer figures out that men would have a challenge occupying their lives. They would have nothing to do with their time. If the world of the life of humans was full of luxuries whereby one got what he needed without struggle, men would die of boredom or commit suicide (hang themselves). If that is not the case, then there would be wars and anarchy, massacres and murder. In the end, mankind will have inflicted more suffering on itself than does nature.

He goes further to suggest that one may look upon life like it was an unprofitable episode that tends to disturb the blessed calm of non-existence. Even if things seem to be going tolerably well, the longer one lives the more clearly one feels that life on the whole was a disappointment. One may have accomplished a lot, but will that make him happy or satisfied? And for how long will this feeling stay? Surely, it is needless to say that once one thing has been accomplished, something else will rise in its place and more labor, work, worry and trouble will follow. Once more, the economists say that human needs are insatiable, and this would imply that we can try to satisfy these needs, but they will recur again and again. For example, hunger triggers the need for food, and once one gets food, the need becomes satisfied. However, give a few hours, the same need for food will arise again and the process goes on.

Similarly to the recurring human needs (described earlier as the source of all pain and suffering) is that the satisfaction of one need lead to the emergence of another need (Schopenhauer). For example, one may be in need of a car. Once he get the car, a need for a big house will arise. Once that is obtained, one would want a luxurious car, and that goes on and on. In that case, it becomes clear that the proposition of Schopenhauer that the essence if life is suffering and painbecomes justifiable. As long as we have needs, we will suffer and be in pain. If these needs were very easy to satisfy, there would be deaths and murder, and this would mean more pain and suffering. Schopenhauer has really succeeded in arguing his points.

I do find his propositions convincing. Primarily, the contemporary life of a person has more instances of pain and suffering that happiness and suffering. Since one is born, he or she is subjected to things that are not really the choice of that person. For example, one has to go to school rather than doing those things that would make one happy as a child. On completing school, one embarks on building careers and working in order to meet the needs and the needs of the people depending on him or her. One may successfully build a career, but after a good deal of time of striving, laboring and struggling. After that, the problem would be to keep things that way, or to make them better. One may also have a luxurious life, but this does not eliminate pain and suffering. In some instances, people tend to believe that lower classes of people tend to be happier that the very rich people because the rich spend their time worrying and in fear. The poor person will worry only about a plate of food and somewhere to sleep, and has fewer enemies. The rich will always worry about keeping their riches safe. Once successful, often after a long time of laboring, it takes only a few hours of celebration and then one would be back onto some other labor. We labor because we need to fulfil needs. Thus, the needs and necessities are the causes of pain, and because we spend most of the time working or doing other things for our wellbeing, it then holds that the essence of life is suffering and pain. Schopenhauer, as such, is convincing that unless suffering is the direct and immediate object of life, our existence must entirely fail is aim.

Works Cited

Schopenhauer, Arthur. “On the Suffering of the World.” Klemke, E. and Steven Cahn. The Meaning of Life: A Reader. Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2008.

MFDA VERSUS FAUTH 4 Running head: MFDA VERSUS FAUTH The Mutual Funds

MFDA VERSUS FAUTH 4

Running head: MFDA VERSUS FAUTH

The Mutual Funds Dealers Association of Canada against Sharon June Fauth

Name:

Institution:

Date:

In the matter of The MFDA and Fauth, the major cause of the events leading to the disciplinary case is the winding up of Fairwest and the respondent continuing gainful activities as Fairwest among the other companies. From the background of the case, it is very much clear that the respondent had vested interests in four companies – that is, Fairwest, Keylink, Espoir, and 1555986. The respondent recommended two clients – CR and MR to invest in Fairwest which later was wound down because of faulting in debtor financing obligations.

MFDA has rules that regulate the member activities, and these rules include the disclosure of all the gainful activities of the members for the purposes of ease in supervision. However, the respondent was engaged in other gainful businesses that were not disclosed to the MFDA as per rule 1.2.1 (c), 2.4.2 and 2.1.1. The rule 1.2.1 (c) requires the member to be approved for other business they wish to be engaged in. the rationale for the rule 1.2.1 is that the MFDA may not be able to properly supervise its employees without this disclosure, and that the member could be exposed to litigation alleging that the approved person’s activity was within the scope of employment with MFDA. The respondent breached this rule. The conflict of interest was also a major cause, as it is largely the belief that clients take that they have been unduly subjected to loss after the winding or after the fault in repaying the debtor loan obligations.

Other than the conflict of interests and non-disclosure, the interference with investigations was also a cause for these events. The respondent wrote to the clients once the investigations about her conduct commenced. This was a breach to the MFDA policy number 3 that requires all the client complaints and supervisory investigations not to be handled by the individual. In this case, the respondent could be seen as handling the complaints.

The activities that the respondent engaged in were not in line with the code of ethics and standards, specifically the rules mentioned earlier on. While she was supposed to disclose outside business, she never disclosed them meaning she was in breach of the standards and ethics. When a person is involved in more than one businesses, there is always a conflict of interest whereby the person will be seeking to take care of own interests first before those of everybody else, and when it comes to investments, such a person may be biased in making recommendations for clients. It can be argued that when soliciting investments from clients, the respondent was more concerned about maximizing her own benefits rather than focusing on the implications to the clients.

As a member of the MFDA, the respondent was required to disclose the outside business to the MFDA, and this should have been the only way to behave, assuming that only the legal options are acceptable herein. This is because this non-disclosure is the main reason that MFDA is engaged. There may not be a good way to settle things outside the court with the clients, and even if there was a good way, still MFDA would have noticed that a rule was breached, thus the hearings would still take place.

In my opinion, the only person who is a member to the MFDA and who breached the rule was Fauth, and thus she is the only one who should be pursued by the MFDA. More so, she should have refrained from writing to the clients. Her former employers should also be investigated for lack of proper investigation. Before it reaches a point that a person have several businesses under her name, and these businesses are not disclosed, then there is a likeliness that her behaviour started from her previous employments. In this case, the former employers may not have done proper supervision, otherwise she would have been found.

The penalties that were given to the respondent were appropriate, and this is because they were based on the provisions of the MFDA rule number 24. The fine of $20 000 was pursuant to the law 24.1.1 (b) of the MFDA by-law no 1. The suspension was in accordance with the law number 24.1.1 (c) of the MFDA by-law no. 1. Lastly, the costs imposed ($24.2 of MFDA by-lay no. 1. In this case, there was no decision that was made outside the rules, and it can be said the respondent was well aware of the implications of her actions, thus deeming the penalties appropriate.

FINDING JOB AS .NET DEVELOPER 21 Running head: FINDING JOB AS .NET

FINDING JOB AS .NET DEVELOPER 21

Running head: FINDING JOB AS .NET DEVELOPER

Finding Job as .Net Developer

Action Research

Course Code:

Name:

Table of contents

Introduction 4

Methodology 5

Literature review 8

Proposal 14

Iteration 1 17

Iteration 2 21

Iteration 3 24

Iteration 4 28

Iteration 5 31

References 35

List of Figures

Figure 1: .Net Framewoks Architecture 9

Figure 2: Career development 11

Figure 3: Job Searching process 12

Figure 4: Visual representation 16

Introduction

Every person in whatever career and in whatever field would want to know what lies ahead in terms of the prospects of the job and the career as a whole. For the software developers, there seems to be less worry since everyone is adopting technology. Companies are advancing their technological infrastructure meaning they are constantly in need of the software developers to develop new and up-to-date systems that beat all the challenges of previous models. Furthermore, the technology industry is an ever evolving one, and new creations and innovations are released every day. Each release proved to be better than the previous one, and the various users are always on the rush to take in the new ones in a bid to improve competitive edges. With this in mind, it would be predictable that the employment for the software developers is on the rise meaning more and more developers will be employed in the future. It is expected that the employment for the developers will have grown by 30 % by 2020 (with 2010 as the base year), which is indeed a faster rate than any other occupation (Wendy, 2013). As for the application developers, the growth is expected at 28 % while that of system developers at 32 %.

The focus of this action research will the finding job as a dot net developer. The concern about the prospects for the dot net developers arises because it is known that other developers like java and JavaScript are on high demand currently. The question that arises in not only about their prospects, but also the prospects relative to java or JavaScript developers. The companies that are hiring developers are seeking other developers but .Net developers for reasons known to them. These reasons will be explored and a comparison made with java developers. Barrett (2011) outlines the reasons that companies are not hiring .net developers. Among these reasons for this have to do with the features of the .net language which not as preferable as others. There are limitations with the language that makes it less popular among the software and system developers.

Opposing the opinion of Barrett is Pune (Pune, 2015) who believes that .net, as compared to other options, boasts of high growth prospects in the future. It is a fact that there are universities and organization that allow people to undertake the .net studies by offering various courses and certification programs that allow one to enhance the career prospects to a better level. As such, any developer would become confused by these arguments and seek to gain a better understanding of the situation rather than relying on these arguments. For sure, everyone has a valid reason to argue the way they do, but there is a need to assess the foundations of this argument and make a more informed conclusion. As a .net developer, there is a reason to develop doubts because of these arguments, and one would be happy to be clear on these issues. In that case, this action research seeks to clear the air with regard to finding employment as a .net developer. The focus will be on what one needs to do, and also on the process of finding employment.

Methodology

The methodology for this research will be action research, defined in Bryman and Bell (2011) as:

An approach in which the action researcher and a client collaborate in the diagnosis of the problem and in the development of a solution based on the diagnosis” (p. 414).

The action research, as per the definition above, entails making an inquiry into a situation or problem that affects a community, and finding solution or proposing and effecting changes that will change the status of things. The focus of action research is the solutions to problems, which means that the action researcher and other participants need to identify and adequately define the problem, and make inquiries with the aim of gathering information relevant to the problem, and then analyzing the information gathered to find solutions to the problem.

Another feature of the action research as displayed by the above definition is collaboration, where the action researcher engages other participants in the action research process. In other words, action research is never a lone process, and the main reason for this is because the people affected by it are many. Collis and Hussey (Collis & Hussey, 2003)are of the opinion that:

“action study assumes social world to be constantly changing, both, researcher and research being one part of that change.” (p. 67).

In this light, it expected that the action research would seek to change something or to initiate change. In the context of the .net developers, the action research will seek to change the myths about the developer career prospects by giving facts, and also to highlight a path towards getting employed as a java developer. In other words, the action research will be about examining he evidence provided by the various people both about the employability and unemployability of the .net developers. This is found in the words of Riel where she says:

“action research involves a systematic process of examining evidence. The results of this type of research are practical, relevant, and can inform theory.” (para. 12)

From the above statement, it is clear that the primary goal of the action research is to gather insight into a problem and offer practical solutions. Other goals of action research include improving the professional practices by means of continual learning, as well as progressive problem solving. More so, the action research aims at offering deeper understanding of practice and the development of a theory of action. Lastly, action research seeks to improve the public through the collaborative research.

The history of the action research (sometimes called participatory research) is quite unclear, especially in terms of its origin. According to Hadley (2003):

“the term action research first appeared almost 60 years ago when social psychologist Kurt Lewin proposed that it could be used to solve the problems that can surface in groups that rely on successful communication and positive social interaction in order to reach their goals” (p. ii)

As such, this author attributes Kurt Lewin as the founder of action research. Opposing views are given by Bennett (Bennett, 2004) who suggests that the action research (participative research) has its origins from the development projects by the oppressed people in the developing countries. It later entered into the English-language awareness in the 1970s. Bennett also goes by the belief among the various authors that the action research was largely driven by the humanistic urges to help the victims of the oligarchies and their development policies. Here, attributes are given to a Brazilian educator by the name Paula Freire, who was well known for his unwavering support for the liberation struggles by the colonized people from the rural regions of Latin America (Bennett, 2004).

However, most people have attributed Kurt Lewin, even though others claim that he must have come across the concept and its usage in some other place and then later used it himself. One of these people to claim so is McNiff (2002) who suggests that the action research concept emerged elsewhere, but takes Kurt Lewin’s work as the starting point. From this point, the action research became popular in the US for a moment, and then this popularity was drowned by the political and social, and economic changes. It was taken up in Britain in the 1970s through various influences, and one of these influences is the work of Lawrence Stenhouse. The action research was, as a matter of fact, developed by academics in higher education.

Why does action research become the best methodology for this research? As a matter of fact, the research to be undertaken here, as described earlier on in the introduction section, seeks to investigate the various claims about the employability of .net developers, thereby making the research compatible with this methodology. The research also seeks to outline a practical guideline on how to get employed as a .net developer. Action research provides practical solutions, thus it is in line with this research. All in all, the nature of this research makes the actin research methodology the best choice.

Literature Review

We are living in an era where the economies are experiencing a double digit unemployment numbers. This is despite the fact that there are some areas whereby the employers are experiencing difficulties finding qualified personnel who can fulfil their requirements (Kavaliro, 2014). Software development is one area where the employers are continually seeking skilled and experienced personnel who can fill the ever increasing gaps in the various organizations. The software development personnel can boast of an anticipated employment increase in the near future, and this can be attributed to the fact that technology has taken over the world. As per the Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2015), the employment for the software developers is expected to grow with 17 % from the year 2014 to year 2024. .net development is one of these areas of employment that are experiencing this tremendous growth, and anyone taking the .net courses needs to get prepared for an lifetime journey as a developer with so many opportunities to explore.

A .net developer is a programmer who produces software by combining the source code with the ,net framework. A developer is a creative person whose duty is to design, test and develop software to meet the needs of a specified user. A software developer is usually in charge of the entire development of the software, and they often begin by understanding what the customer needs, before undertaking to develop a product that will suit the customer needs. Finding a job as a .net developer will not be expected to be as hard as it is with other careers, and this is because of the career prospects of all the developers. In that case, described here will be the process which will help the .net developer land into a job, and perhaps the beginning of long career growth and development (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2008).

Figure 1: .Net frameworks Architecture (Zappmania, 2013)

There are various models that have been described by people to guide with the search and preparation for a job. These models have various stages that outline what the job searcher needs to do. Among these models is given Gutsche (Gutsche, 2012), whereby the process begins with the establishment of the career goals or objectives. In essence, a job seeker will not accept any job that comes by, but will chose the one that is aligned to his or her long time interests. This is because job seekers often seek to build their careers in the long run, and not the short time benefits that may come with a job. In that case, a .net developer would first consider what the long term goals to be achieved as a .net developer are. Laying down these goals will help the developer to undertake a career exploration to determine which of the various offers will help him or her achieve whatever the objectives are.

A .net developer should be more concerned with career development rather than just finding a job. In literature, career development has been defined as the life long process where one manages own progression in learning and work (Careers England, 2000). The quality of career development dictates the quality of a person’s life, as well as the nature of life that a person will lead. In that case, the quality life of a .net developer solely lies with the quality of the career development, and this begins with setting proper goals and undertaking the course of action towards attaining the goals. Why is carer development important to a java developer? In fact, this is important for everyone. The traditional concept of the term ‘career’ is the progression that one makes up the organization, that is, the ordered hierarchy from the lowest job levels to the top post in an organization (Careers England, 2000). In that case, having a career may not be equivalent to having a job. Even though the focus of this action research is finding a job, the .net developer should also focus on the future and find a job that will allow him or her to develop the career. The career of a .net developer can be constructed by having a job as the initial step.

Figure 2: Career Development (Coffey, 2016)

It follows, therefore, that establishing the career objectives should consider the long term and not the immediate job. After the objectives are set, one then to find out about the job. Finding out about the job is a research process that entails the researcher gathering data pertaining to the job characteristics like how it pays, what companies are hiring, and most importantly, what the future holds for the developer. Researching the employers or hiring companies is essential because each of them will have varied requirements and recruitment processes, and it is up to the job seeker to determine which company offers the best. In other words, researching the job market, employers, occupations, and the industries allows the job seeker to:

Make decision on the direction of the career,

Target or narrow down the job search,

Establish a concrete list of the potential employer(s) to establish contacts with in the job hunt,

Come up with a good and targeted resume, and

To perform smartly during the interview (Service Canada, 2011).

Figure 3: Job searching process (Overview of the Six-Step Job Search Process, n.d.)

Researching the job market, as mentioned earlier on, entails gathering data about the potential employers, and there are very many ways of doing this. Among them includes contacting some knowledgeable people who can offer insight into an employer. A good example is an employee of the given organization. The companies also release annual reports, and this is also another source of data for the job seeker. With these reports, one can easily learn about the business and its activities, and so what to expect in case one obtained the job. Other sources of information pertaining to an employer include company’s websites, trade publications, trade unions, and professional occupational occasions (Service Canada, 2011).

A job search will not be complete without assessing the job requirements, as well as what the employers would be looking for. It is also to compare the .net developers with other developers like java and JavaScript, as well as to establish what one can do in order to increase the employability. An understanding of the .net framework is essential for a .net developer, as well as be knowledgeable of the current trends and versions being used. For instance, the .net framework is currently in its fourth major version. The .net framework is described in Kavaliro (2014) as a windows-based programming platform that is composed of two primary components working in unison. These components are the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the .Net Framework Class Library. The former manages the memory, code execution, thread execution, and code safety verification alongside other functions. The later is an object-oriented collection where the managed code derives functionality (Kavaliro, 2014).

Insights into the current status of the job in terms of marketability or employability is essential. For the .net developer, it is important to understant where the career is and why the job is in high demand. There is a high demand for the .net developers despite the fact that organizations have difficulties obtaining them (Kurvers, 2014). This is an indication that equiping oneself with adequate skills in the field will be tantamount to securing a well paying job, and one that has promising prospects.

Proposal

The proposal for this action research is the job seeking process for a .net developer. The action research intends to outline and discuss the various things that a .net developer would require to do in order to obtain employment, as well as embark on a career development. It has been made apparent in the literature review presented above that the .net developers are experiencing a growth in employment rates. With this as an indication of ease of obtaining a job, it becomes critical that one identifies the things to do before getting to the interview panel. All in all, this action research outlines the job searching process. There will be five iterations in this action research, and these are as mentioned below:

Iteration 1: Required skills. The first iteration will focus on the skills required for one to become a .net developer. In essence, one needs to have learned .net in the classroom and passed the exams, as well as obtain the relevant certifications. However, the classroom may not be adequate enough to equip the learner with the ultimate skills. In that case, other courses and programs would be useful. This iteration will outline these skills.

Iteration 2: Skill set. The second iteration will now focus on the skills that the learner already has. The learner would be expected to have gone to school and to possess a certain set of skills. These skills may or may not match those required by the employer. The need for assessing own skill set is often to compare with those needed, and then undertake to bridge the gap. This is as discussed in iteration 3.

Iteration 3: Gap analysis. The third iteration will entail an analysis of the gap that exists between the skills required by the job and those that the job seeker already possesses. In essence, the organizations that hire do specify a set of skills that the candidates must have, but it is not always that all candidates, having gone through different schools and undertaken different course, will have the same set of skills. An analysis of the gap will allow the job seeker to undertake measures to bridge the gap.

Iteration 4: Bridging the gap. This iteration will outline how the job seeker will eliminate the gap that exists between the two sets of skills. In essence, the only feasible way to do so is to undertake further courses and obtain certifications that will be indicative of the fact that all requirements are met.

Iteration 5: Updating resume. The last iteration will be updating the resume, and this will be to include the newly acquired skills in the resume.

Iteration flow

The diagram below represents the above iterations

Figure 3: Visual Representation

The above visual representation diagram represents the various iterations in their sequence and the four phases in each. As illustrated in the diagram, each of these iterations takes the researcher a step closer to the anticipated research outcome. The completion of each iteration ushers in the next until the final iteration.

There will be four phases in each iteration: plan, act, observe, and reflect. The plan will outline what is to be done in the iteration. The planning phase is where the researcher decides in advance what action to undertake, and the order in which the actions are to be undertaken. More so, the requirements of the iteration are planned for before the action commences. Act is about the actual undertaking of the activities in the iteration. It comes after the planning phase. Act means undertake an activity or action and it is often guided by the plans laid out earlier in the first phase – that planning phase. However, modifications are made in the case where the actual situation differs from the planned situation. Observe is the third phase in each iteration, and this will entail taking note of whatever takes place in the iteration. Observation will be about taking into account all actions and the outcomes related to the various actions. Lastly, the reflect phase will be the last phase in the iterations. This will be about looking back and gaining insight into why things happened how they did. It is about deriving explanations for the various issues surrounding the particular iteration. It will discuss results and also the success/failure and the challenges encountered therein.

Iteration 1: Required skills

Plan. The first phase of this iteration entails an analysis of the skills that one would require to become a .net developer. In essence, every profession has specific skill set, and the action researcher aims at determining what it takes to be .net developer. This is an undertaking that will require proper planning for the activities that will follow this session. A plan will comprise of several activities to be undertaken in order to attain the iteration objectives. Presented below is some of the planning activities undertaken, as well as the people involved in the planning activities. In essence, it was the researchers who did virtually all the planning. The entire phase took 40 hours.

Goal definition. The action researcher defined and set the goals for the iteration. This took a few hours to think about (about 3 hours).

Goal-oriented activities. The researcher determined all those activities that will be undertaken in order to achieve the goals defined previously. Each goal has distinct accompanying activities that follow a particular order or sequence, and this was outlined in the plan.

Resource requirement assessment and allocation. Goal achievement is often made possible by the use of specified resources accompanying the various activities. The researcher assessed the resource requirements for each and every activity. These resources include money, time, tools and equipment among others. After the requirement assessment, the researcher allocated these resources to the various activities.

Monitory plan. A research undertaking would require a continuous monitoring to ensure its effectiveness of the research. A monitory plan will allow the action researcher to assess the activities to determine if they are going on as planned, where deviations arise, the researcher will be able to take corrective action.

Act. The second phase is called the action phase, the phase whereby the action researcher puts the plans into action. As has been mentioned earlier on, the plan consists of the activities to be undertaken alongside other project deliverables. The action phase can be considered as the most practical bit of the iteration, and this is because it entails materializing whatever has been conceived in the planning phase. The action phase in this iteration entails undertaking to define the skills for a .net developer, and the various activities that were undertaken by the researcher are as described below.

The researcher got the information sources ready for the research before undertaking the actual information search.

The action researcher undertook to search for information relating to the .net development career. This task took much of the time (about 20 hours). The research involved the researcher collecting some data pertaining to the .net developer carer from various sources such as the internet and in consultation with various professionals. Among the professionals that were involved in this bit of the research are various programmers, IT practitioners and the course teachers. Books and journals were also searched for the information pertaining to .net developer.

Information analysis. The researcher then undertook to analyse the information obtained from the various sources. The analysis method used herein was the content analysis where the action researcher extracted the specific content from the various sources.

Compiling list. After all the information needed was obtained from the various sources, the researcher then compiled a comprehensive list of the skills required by a .net developer. This list was comprehensive in that it included insight from various sources meaning nothing was left out in this one.

Observe. After a researcher has undertaken the research activities, it follows that the outcomes re noted and recorded because these are what determines the achievement of the iteration goal. This happens in the third phase of the iteration called the observation phase. The observation phase entails those actions intended for deriving lessons from the undertakings of the action research. There were several things to observe in the first iteration pertaining to both the overview of the iteration and the various skills needed for a .net developer, and these are as discussed below:

The entire iteration was completed in time and the desired goals obtained. The planning phase estimated the action phase to take approximately 40 hours, and this was exactly the time that was used.

The iteration was a success. The success in this case was determined by the fact that the researcher achieved the primary goal of the iteration – that is, generating a list of all the skills that a .net developer would have in order to become employable in the market.

The skills required for a .net developer often vary from an employer to an employer. The common thing, however, is that a .net developer need to be equipped with programming skills, language specific skills, various .net concepts, object-oriented principles, enterprise architecture, system technologies, general software development and quality assurance, as well as various other general skills and fundamentals in .net development. Also important is that a .net developer ought to have various other skills like the customer-side web development technologies, and these are the ones that increase the employability of the developer besides those other skills. These often are enhanced by the possession of other client-side web development technologies that include CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.

Reflect. After the lessons obtained from the action research are highlighted, the last thing that an action researcher does is to reflect upon the happenings of the entire action research, and try to offer various insights into the whole experience. This is undertaken in the last phase of the iteration, and this is called the reflection phase. The researcher experiences are outlined and explained, and these may be in the form of challenges encountered, factors for the success, factors for the failure of the research, risks and risk mitigation that had to be done, etc.

The entire iteration was undertaken under various constraints. Among the key constraints include the time. The hours allocated were deemed adequate and the researcher had to use minimum time possible for the various activities in order not to compromise on the deadlines. The researcher could have obtained a better view of the .net development career. Secondly, the data sources were scattered, and this made the researcher’s work very hard to trace all this data and compile a comprehensive list of the skills needed for a .net developer. Data search is perhaps one the processes that could be improved.

However, every other thing in the iteration went on well, and that is how the researcher managed to complete the iteration in time. The objectives were achieved and the required data obtained to adequately define the careers and outline the various skills. The planning phase was key to the success of the iteration, and this is because prior planning of the various aspects of the research minimized time wastage throughout the action phase.

Iteration 2: Skill set

Plan. The planning phase, being the first phase of the second iteration will focus on laying out a plan of action that will be followed throughout this iteration. Described herein will be a planned set of activities that will help in achieving the iteration’s ultimate goals – that is, assessing the skills that I already have pertaining to .net development. Outlined alongside the set of activities will be resources to be allocated for each activity, the goals or outcomes for the various activities, and the people involved in undertaking the activities, as well as time scheduling for each activity.

The main activity for this iteration is assessing the skills that I already have in the field of.net development. This will be a form of self-assessment or self-evaluation. In this activity, I will have to get my records in order – that is, all accomplishments in the field of .net development. This activity does not require much resources other than pen and paper, and perhaps my certificates to evidence my achievements. I would also probably require a programming platform to illustrate the skills I claim to possess. This action was scheduled to take place in 3 days beginning from 1st November 2016 to 3rd November 2016. There were no other people to be involved in this activity as I undertook it by myself. The outcome was some information on what I knew about .net programming.

A minor activity in this iteration entailed interpreting the results – describing what I could do and what I cannot. No resources other that results from previous activity, no other people involved, took three hours of the last day of the previous activity, and outcome simply a description of my capabilities.

Act. The second phase of the second iteration was to undertake the activities outlined in the planning phase. It has been made clear that the iteration was simply an assessment of the skills and capabilities that I currently possess. The actions were undertaken during the time and using the resources as scheduled during the planning phase.

As outlined earlier, the first action was to conduct a self-assessment or self-evaluation. Herein, I needed to look back in my life and see what I have accomplished academically and the skills that I have gained over time. This was in consideration that the employment of any developer or employment in any other career relies on a set of skills. I have done a .net programming course meaning that I have basics in .net programming. I searched my certificates and evaluated the course content including both theoretical and practical to establish precisely what skills I indeed have. I did establish that other than programming skills, I did have some few other skills and these included some communications skills I have learnt both during the ordinary course and also in other life endeavours. I also did practice .net programming to ascertain that indeed I could do it before settling for the notion that I could do it.

The part about interpreting the results was all about give a description of myself based on the assessment I had conducted earlier on. Herein, I just saw myself as a potential employee who had substantial skills and ready to commence work as a .net programmer or developer. I could program pretty well, and this to me was all that it takes to be a .net developer.

Observe. The third phase of the iteration was about my observations of whatever has taken place during the iteration. There was a lot to observe during this iteration especially during the planning phase and action phase where much of the action rested.

The first observation I made was that the iteration was going to be a short one taking less a week to complete. A self-assessment or self-evaluation was focused on both the skills precisely related to .net development and also other skills that would make me employable in an organization. This is because of the understanding that there are several other skills that are needed in an employment contract all comprising of the skill set.

I did observe that my skill set was not as comprehensive as an ideal employee, because my course did emphasize much on the course content – that is, strictly programming. The interpretation of the results, even though indicated that I could work as a developer, indicated that I was not comprehensive in terms of skill endowment. This is because my skill set only allowed me to program using.net and that was it.

Self-assessment, I observed, was an essential activity because it helps one to determine own employability – that is, by comparing what one has and what is needed. This way, it is possible to bridge to make efforts to bridge gaps that exist between the current skills and skills needed. This forms part of the third iteration as will be discussed earlier on. The completion of this iteration was, as such, very helpful and insightful. With a full description of myself and my current situation, this knowledge will guide future action.

Reflect. During this phase of the second iteration, I wish to express my experiences while undertaking the various activities in the iteration, including some insights into some of the things that went on. Firstly, the completion of the second iteration was a success and the results projected were obtained, and within the timeframes allocated. The iteration was helpful in the sense that without it, I would be convincing myself that just because I have taken a programming course in .net programming, I was ready to work as a .net developer. I was thorough enough to establish that I really needed something additional in order that I would become confident in the endeavours of seeking employment as a .net developer.

Even though the iteration was a success, there are quite a number of challenges that I did experience. The first among these is that I did not know exactly what to include in my skillset because I did not know exactly what employers would want an employee to possess in terms of the skills. As such, I simply looked at my education all those years and contemplated what I should have gained all through. The second challenge was that I did not plan for adequate time for the programming illustrations, and therefore ended up doing just a few things to confirm my knowledge and understanding. Among the restraints, therefore, include time to conduct the practical bit of the iteration. The major risk that could have accompanies this iteration was a biased insight into my capabilities. This process is among those that needed to be improved for a better self-assessment and nonbiased outcome.

Iteration 3: Gap analysis

Plan. The essence of the third iteration is to offer a continuation to the first iteration by carrying on with the assessment of the preferable skills that an employer would require. In this case, the focus was to collect adequate information of employers’ preferred skillset and to compare with my earlier-established skill set to determine what I lacked and probably later on undertake to fill the gap. This phase describes the various activities planned or the planned course of action. In this description, the activities to be undertaken and their accompanying resources and timelines, as well as outcomes are presented.

This iteration was to entail two major activities. The first activity as planned was to collect adequate data pertaining to the standard skill set for a .net developer. This activity was expected to take quite some days, and so it was scheduled to take four (4) days beginning from 4th November 2016 to 7th November 2016. There are also various resources required besides pen and paper, and these resources included sources of information that included databases, internet, some career-related journals and magazines etc. In this activity, some other people were to be involved, and these include some people already working as .net developers and some employers. The expected outcome was data related to .net developer skills.

The second activity was analysis of the data, and the major deliverable in this activity was a list of the skill set for an ideal .net developer. More so, the gap was to be assessed in terms of skills needed but I did not have. This was to take one day – 8th November 2016. I performed this activity alone.

Act. After planning was over, it was time to actualize the plan by undertaking the course of action as described previously. The phase entailed actual collection of data as the first activity as planned earlier on. The collection of data did take into consideration that the data was scattered all over and needed different sources to make comparisons and to come up with a single comprehensive list of all the skills that a .net developer ought to have. The main source of this data was the recruitment adverts that stated precisely what skills the employers were looking for. These adverts were placed in magazines, newspapers, televisions, websites and company databases. The content for each of these sources and for various companies hiring .net developers was taken and points or notes taken pertaining to what the employers sought.

The second activity in this iteration was binary in that it sought to prepare a comprehensive list of skills and to compare with my skills and determine the gap. Firstly, the raw data was analysed using a method called content analysis whereby the various skills from various sources was analysed and the skills that were common in all sources listed. Additional skill were also included in the list so as not to leave anything out. I intended a comprehensive and thorough analysis so I can plan on what to do about the situation. Secondly, the skillset I assessed earlier on was compared with the list prepared here, and the skills in both lists crossed. The ones that remained uncrossed were taken to be gap between the skills I possessed and those that I lacked. This information, as mentioned earlier on, was to guide future action.

Observe. As always, the third phase of the iteration is where the observations are recorded and some necessary explanations made pertaining to various issues within the iteration. Herein, there was a lot to observe, especially with the bit I was to determine what I lacked thus what could possibly reduce my employability. It required me to pay keen attention to detail so that nothing was to be left out either intentionally or accidentally. There was so much to observe, and presented herein are the observations I made during the iteration.

The key observation was that there indeed existed a huge gap between my skill set and the ideal skill set. Essentially, as a person just completing the course in .net programming, I could not boast of having much skills other than mere basics. As compared to what the employers sought, I realized that there was a long way to go to become more employable. In essence, the requirement list for most of the employers was a long one entailing the skills directly related to .net programming and more others that were not directly related to .net programming. Among the skills not directly related to .net programming included communication skills and interpersonal skills that were deemed to be important. More so, I realized that there were other accomplishments that the employers sought especially for an entry level job, and they include various certifications alongside the course certificate. I do not possess any for now, and this indicated a huge gap that needed immediate attention and action. Apparently, there was a lot of more learning to do and some practices to learn and perfect as per this gap analysis.

Reflect. The iteration was accomplished successfully, and various experiences were encountered all through. It was quite a shock to learn that the employer seek so much from potential employees or recruits. The knowledge made me feel that it would be a challenging task to convince an employer that I have what it takes to become a .net developer. However, I did realize that the journey was indeed a long one, but I am willing to what it takes to accomplish my goals. The data collection was also a challenging task mainly because I tended to try so many sources even though most of them contained almost similar data in terms of the requirements. However, there were other specific skills applicable to particular organizations depending on the organizations’ core business and operational policies. It was hard to tell what was essential and what was simply added advantage applying for particular organization.

Data collection was not the only challenge, as analysis too was a challenge. This is because of the massive data that was collected. There was time restraint and resource restraint. Time was not enough for a more detailed analysis, and the resources were also not enough to allow for the same. The goal of the iteration was, however, accomplished and the gap was established. Other than the programming skills, I realized there was much more that I needed to become an accomplished .net developer. The risk that I took with this iteration was to consider so much data sources for the sake of comprehensiveness. The process of data collection and data analysis could possibly be modified such that too much similar data from different sources could reduce the bulkiness of the data.

Iteration 4: Bridging the gap

Plan. The fourth iteration entails bridging the gap identified earlier and probably increase my future employability. The iteration seeks to come up with the requirements needed for bridging the gap, as well as come up with a to-do list. The first phase seeks to provide an outline of how this iteration will be achieved – that is, the set of activities and their expected outcomes.

The first activity was to determine the courses I needed to undertake in order to gain the skills and certifications I lacked. This activity relied heavily on the data collected during the previous phase, so not much or resources were needed. This activity was to be conducted by me alone, and was to take two days beginning from 9th November 2016 to 10th November 2016. The expected outcome for this activity was a list of the courses needed for the various skills.

The second activity was more complex and entailed collection of data. This activity was about determining the institutions to attend for the courses identified previously. As such, I was to conduct a survey of the various schools and the courses they offered and assess them for the skills expected to be derived from them and see if they matched the skills desired. This activity was to take about 5 days beginning from 11th November 2016 to 15th 2016. Various resources are required for this activity, and they included internet, computers, stationery etc. for this activity, help was needed, and I therefore made a team of four other people to help me. Various other participants were also present in the survey, and they included representatives from the various schools. The deliverables for this activity was a recommendation of the ideal institution for the ideal course.

Act. Herein, the activities planned for previous were actualized in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the iteration. The first activity was to conduct a further analysis of the data collected in iteration 3 for further insight into my skill set, not in terms of what I lacked, but in terms of what I should do. In that case, the various requirements were analysed to gather insight into the courses I needed to undertake to fill the gaps that were established. For example, since I did not have any professional certification, I determined that I needed to undertake some professional courses in order to obtain the certification. Since different employers preferred different certifications and skill sets, I did analyse the data to determine the most preferable of them and they became the choice for me.

The second activity in the plan was to conduct a survey of the various course offered in various schools to determine which ones were the best for me. The survey was based on the needs previously identified, and the ideal course was the one that offered a wide range of skills and one whose certificate was preferable among most employers. During this activity, around 20 schools were researched. Trips were made and interactions with various representatives and the schools websites and databases also undertaken to search for the necessary data pertaining to the courses. The data collected form the survey was then analysed and the decision made using the most preferable certificates and number of skills to be acquired as the key criterion. The courses were chosen and plans were underway to begin immediately or some other time after completing other things.

Observe. The activities undertaken during the fourth iteration had significant implications on my career as a .net developer. This phase will seek to highlight and discuss these implications as were observed. Other observations relevant would also be described and where necessary explanations given.

The first observation was that there was not a single course that could give me all the skills and certifications that I lacked at the moment. For example, there are several professional courses whose certifications were missing in my skill set, and this meant undertaking each one of them and at different times. As such, it was of paramount importance that I planned carefully the way forward. However, it also turns out that most of them do not take a lot of time as others were to take only 3 months before taking and passing an exam. More so, I also observed that there are seminars, shows and exhibitions that take a day or less than a week to attend, and these also counted in the description of the skillset. In that case, it was wise to attend these currently and plan for the courses in future.

Also observed herein is the fact that since the requirements differed considerably, I had to choose the courses and other endeavours based on those organizations that I would like to work in. this is because there are thousands of companies, but my preferences are not the same for all of them. This was a good criterion to narrow down the gap and perhaps reach to a conclusion faster than when considering hundreds of organizations including those I do not wish to work for.

Reflect. The last phase of this iteration seeks to present an expression of the experiences encountered when undertaking the various activities. Firstly, the iteration was a challenging one owing to the fact that I was faced with unstructured data that I was to analyze for a second time, and there was also another set of data that needed to be collected and analyzed. This indeed took quite some time, but the good thing is that adequate time was allocated. Apparently, what became clear was that the journey to becoming the ideal .net developer was a long on that needed both patience and commitment.

Even though the iteration was challenging, the ultimate goal of the iteration was achieved – that is, the iteration provided an insight into the means of bridging the gaps identified in my skill set. The success relied partly on the experience I have pertaining to data collection and analysis, and partly on the team and cooperation of the various participants I used for the surveys. It turned out that data was available though in raw and unstructured form, but its analysis always gives the desired information.

The challenges encountered during the iteration, as mentioned earlier on, included the large amount of data to be collected and analyzed. In the first case, previous data was to be re-analyzed and in the second case, fresh data was to be both collected and analyzed. Time was also a restraint due to the intensity of the activities involved. Apparently, the process of data collection and analysis needed to be improved and made easier for the results to be obtained. The primary risk herein was poorly informed decisions.

Iteration 5: Updating resume

Plan. Having undertaken to investigate on what I lack in my skill set, it is also important that I include those things I had not included in my resume without knowledge that they mattered, or those that I undertook and needed to be added. On various occasions, there are things I have done that did expose me to things that the employers sought. More so, after defining the gaps, I did undertake to attend some exhibitions, seminars, and conferences etc. that need to be added to my resume. This iteration seeks to identify those things that are not yet included in the resume.

The key activity to be undertaken during this iteration was to re-build the resume by including the information pertaining to other skills that I have gained and also to indicate any ongoing educational endeavor. This action does not require much resources, because it is a simple process that required me to remember of conferences, seminars and exhibitions that I have attended and that mattered to the various employers. During this activity, all information about by accomplishments needed to be included. This activity was scheduled to take place for two days beginning from 16th November 2016 to 17th November 2016. I was to undertake this activity on myself without involving anybody. The deliverables or expected outcomes included a new face of the resume that was more comprehensive in terms of the accomplishments. More so, the master resume with general information was to be customized for various organizations that hired .net developers and those that I wished to work for. This was for the purposes of getting internships and later on employment.

Act. After the plans are laid for this iteration, the activities are to be actualized inn order that the expected outcomes are indeed attained. In this phase of the last iteration, I intend to highlight what actually took place, even though there were no many activities involved. It was, however, essential to mention that it was part of this action research and among the anticipated outcomes of the action research.

As per the plan presenting in the previous phase – that planning phase, there was only one major activity that perhaps entailed some other smaller tasks, but all amounting to one activity. This activity began with as assessment of the various things that I may have not included in the master resume. As mentioned earlier on, there are various things that I did during my schooling life that I did not include. This included the seminars and conferences I attended, contests in which I participated, etc. earlier on during bridging the gap, some information I obtained from my interaction with various representatives included the fact that such endeavors as contests, seminars and conferences did count. Even though not much detailed were needed at the moment, they were essential because in future, a curriculum vitae would probably need to be significantly comprehensive.

After I identified these, I also took into account those I have already gone during my research and the courses I have already enrolled, as well as professional bodies that I have joined. All this information was systematically added to the master resume that contained only general information pertaining to my academic qualifications. This new information was, however, not to contain too much detail, just mentions.

Observe. This phase of the last iteration outlines and discusses the various observations that were made during the iteration. Apparently, the iteration did not involve much, but its importance to the entire action research not to be trivialized. In essence, preparing a resume for an undergraduate with not work experience, as was observed, does not need to take into account most of the accomplishments that the student has made during the several academic years. However, when it comes to real employment, it matters a lot that the student mention the various accomplishments other than the ordinary course that was being undertaken in school. The employability of the undergraduates improves with the number of activities that were undertaken – those relating to acquisition of further knowledge and more skills in the particular field.

I observed that my master resume comprised of the levels of education and their various grades. However, not much of other things that were associated to learning were present in the resume, thus there was a need to update my resume. This was informed, as mentioned earlier on, by the research I did on the various companies’ preferred skill sets for the recruitment processes. This made me realize that there were various things that I did and were worth mentioning because they in one way or another increased my employability currently. More so, after gaining this knowledge, I undertook to immediately join the relevant professional bodies and enroll in the courses for certification. At this level, nothing much was accomplished yet in terms of the certification courses, but they were still worth mentioning. My master resume was, as such, very shallow before the updates were made.

Reflect. This was the last iteration of this action research, and did not entail much. Firstly, the iteration marked the end of the action research having achieved al of the objectives as established earlier on. This concluding iteration seemed like a summary of all that has been accomplished and a pointer of what was still underway. This is because the prime objective of the action research was to determine what it takes to be employed as a .net developer. The iteration went to include the various things in the resume that made the endeavor more real – that is, it illustrated that the knowledge gained was being put to use.

It is worth mentioning that the iteration was accomplished successfully and the resume was accordingly updated. However, there were various challenges that I did encounter during the iteration. The key among these challenges was to decide what to include in the resume and what to include, and the extent of detail for that which I was to include in the resume. This is because the resume normally does not contain much detail unlike the curriculum vitae that does. In this case, I did settle for simple mentions of the event and a statement of achievement accompanying the event. For example, a conference attended was mentioned and the outcome mentioned in a single sentence. Also a challenges was whether to mention the courses that were underway because they were not accomplished yet. I opted to mention them anyway. The risk herein was to produce a resume that contained unnecessary information that could possibly have the effect of jeopardizing my future employability. One restraint I had was time as the entire process had to be accomplished in two days.

Summary and conclusion

The action research focused on finding a job a .net developer, where several actions were undertaken in an iterative manner. It was essential to shed some light onto the matter of what one requires to become successful in the career path of .net developer. In that case, an action research approach was adopted, and this is because its nature allows the action research to make inquiries into a subject matter and offer solutions to the problem. In that case, the problem that was to be inquired about was the skillset for one to gain employment as a .net developer whereby the current skill set was deemed insufficient. As such, actions that were to be undertaken to offer solutions to this issue were to identify the gap and seek means of bridging the gap.

The action research has five iterations, the first one being an assessment of the required skills for a .net developer. Only a small of data that was collected just to give an insight. Further data was to be collected during the third iteration. The second iteration entailed an analysis of the current skills that I possess at the moment. During the third iteration, the data obtainable during the first iteration and the second iteration was used to make comparisons. Further data was collected because there was a need to prepare a comprehensive overview that would adequately guide the future actions. The fourth iteration entailed establishing means of bridging the gap and the last one was about updating the resume. All in all, the objective was achieved in that it was established what it takes to gain employment as a .net developer.

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