Secure Email Project

I think that using secure email to ensure the safety and privacy of certain information is very important, especially in this day and age of rampant identity theft.  As thieves are finding new ways to steal citizen's identities, we in turn need to find new ways to protect ourselves from this.  Secure email is a great way.  That being said, I think that the government, specifically the IRS, especially needs to make sure that all information sent back and forth to them is encrypted and secure.  I found an IRS website, which talks about how data passed to private collection agencies must be encrypted.  The article states "The new F&PC System will serve as an inventory management system to assign, exchange, monitor, control and update delinquent taxpayer accounts between the IRS Authoritative Data Source (ADS) and the Private Collection Agencies with whom IRS will contract."  In reference to secure email, it says "The new system will assign and deliver delinquent taxpayer account data to PCAs (using secure email for Release 1.1 and Registered User Portal (RUP) for subsequent releases) and provide tax account updates on a daily and weekly basis."  The article also gives a list of the necessary data elements that will be sent to PCAs via secure encrypted email. 

As I said before, I think that the IRS is one "business" that certainly needs to make sure that all information sent is secure.  If there is a break in this system, or if information is sent that is not secure, then the IRS runs the risk of exploiting citizen's personal information for anyone who knows what they're doing to intercept and view.

Website Cited:  http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=140507,00.html

Database Project

After much trial and error, I was finally able to complete the database project.  Since I have never worked with Microsoft Access before, I really had no idea what I was doing.  It took me awhile to figure certain things out, but once I did, I was able to understand them.  I learned a lot about how databases work, and the importance of them.  I also learned how to perform several different key functions within Access, such as creating a query, a form, and a report.  Since I am now familiar with the basic principles of Access, I think I will be able to use it in the future.

I think one thing that was not required in our project but that would enhance the functionality of this database would be to create relationships within the database.  A relationship is an association between common fields in two tables.  This association links information in one table to information in the related table.  You can also separate sensitive information, perhaps for security purposes, from the main table, so that others cannot view it.  In addition, creating a relationship to link all your information together helps to save space, and it is easier to edit and manage.  These are just some of the advantages of having relationships within your database.

Presentation and Web 2.0 Project

Presentation Evaluation Rubric

Name of Presenter: 

Your Name:  

	Missing or lacking	Meets the minimum but could be improved	Excellent
Is there a logical flow and sequence of content? How could it be improved?			Yes
Does the presenter anticipate questions and answer them in the right place? At what points did you have questions that were not answered?			I think I answered all of the questions
Did the presenter grab your attention in the first 30-60 seconds?			Yes
Did the presenter ask questions and spark your curiosity?		I didn't really ask questions but hopefully I sparked some curiosity
Did the presenter set the context with a concise explanation? Is it clear what the presenter is trying to share?			Yes
Did the presenter validate any claims?		Kind of
Did the presenter avoid inconsistencies and errors, typos and unbelievable claims?			Yes
How well did the presenter avoid clutter?			I believe I avoided clutter
What did the presenter do to ensure readability?			I left the text slides up longer so that people had time to read them
Did the presenter say it, and then show it or did he/she read the slides?		I basically just showed it

I reviewed Natasha Betty's presentation, and I was very impressed.  I could tell that a lot of thought and effort went into it.  It also had a personal connection with her, since she had studied abroad herself.  I believed in what she said, and she did a great job illustrating all of her points with graphic images.  All in all, I think her presentation was very effective.

This project taught me many things.  The obvious skill I obtained was the ability to create a presentation all on my own.  I learned that there are so many different tools and resources available to aid in the creation process.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be... once I got started, I began to enjoy it.  This will help me in the future because I am almost positive that at some point in my career, I will be required to present some sort of material to a group of people.  I feel confident that I will be able to create and deliver a presentation with ease.

Presentation link:  http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=c455cfdd199cff83ac8a96&source=category&category_id=all

Excel Project

The Excel project that I just completed was challenging, yet educational at the same time.  It forced me to learn skills that I otherwise probably wouldn't have taken the time to learn.  To sum up the requirements for this project... we were given a collection of data, and were instructed to make some changes to the existing data, as well as add to the data given.  We created formulas, changed numbers to percentages, and formatted the data to print in a specified manner.  We were also instructed to create two separate pivot tables, which were used to provide a summary of all of the information.  With the aid of the lecture videos, the Excel help discussions, and bit of common sense, I was able to complete all the tasks as required. 

I acquired several skills after the completion of this project.  I learned how to add columns and rows, to show specific data.  I also learned how to create different Excel formulas, in order to display information in various ways.  After I completed all of the requirements for the project, I was then able to format all of the information into a printable version which was easy to read and understand.  I think one of the more useful skills that I gained, however, was the creation of pivot tables.  Pivot tables are a great way to condense all of the information into just a few rows and columns, and sums up all of the important data onto one page.  They are very useful when presented with a very large amount of data. 

I now feel much more comfortable with navigating through Microsoft Excel.  This project was a lot of work, but will certainly be beneficial to me in the long run.  I have no doubt that in the future I will revisit what I have learned from this project, and put my newly acquired skills to practical use.