Physical Model

During the process of looking over the logical model, I was able to implement a physical model by hard work and determination.  Utilizing each piece of information used within the logical model and how it is organized allowed me to build a physical model easily.  The physical model shows everything from the first name for each family member to their gender and if they are going to drink any alcohol.  During the process of building the physical model I did decide to remove a few unnecessary fields that I original thought would work from the logical to the physical model.

Within the logical model each entity contained attributes, such as family member being the entity and first name an attribute.  This made it decently easy to put together when building the physical model using the logical model as an example.  Each column is a field from within the logical models entities.  Logically speaking of course, when planning and organizing a family reunion there are only a few things to keep in mind when designing a physical model for a database, family, location, and relaxation.  With those key concerns in mind I was able to identify my main three tables to implementing a physical model, family member, reunion, and cabin.  Each containing important information for planning and organizing the family reunion smoothly.

Depending on the characters being used within the attributes helped me determine what each datatype would be.  For example, first name used a datatype of short text as it can hold up to 255 characters; I used the same datatype for the last name also.  When it comes to the phone number column I chose the short text datatype here, even though a majority of people would believe this should be a number datatype.  Each portion of the phone number is separated by dashes and therefore requires the ability to enter something other than a number, which in turn requires a short text datatype.  The address field used the long text data type, even though there are numerical values being used there are also alphabetical characters which this in turn requires a long text datatype. 

For the gender column I chose the short text data type as it would not exceed 255 characters.  When a family member responds stating they are attending the column for attending uses the datatype yes/no, so it is a simple entry when filling out the form.  When the family member decides to bring guests there is a column using the number datatype to enter the number of guests attending?  Following the guests is the total attending datatype which is also using a number.  Then it comes down to the food they choose to eat while attending the reunion, which is a long text datatype.  Afterwards, is a beverage column to choose which beverage they will drink while attending, which is a long text datatype also.  Last but definitely not least is the alcohol column, which is a yes/no datatype in case they plan to drink alcoholic beverages while attending the family reunion.

Overall, after much consideration I have come to a conclusion the below snapshots of my physical model is a great start.  Although I am sure at some point I will make changes to it whether it be drastic or simplistic, this is definitely not the last of the modifications.  I cannot wait to move forward into implementing this database and possibly using it as a template for future family reunions.

References

Fuller, L. U., & Cook, K. (2013). Access 2013 For Dummis. For Dummies.

Harrington, J. L. (2009). Relational Database Design and Implementation, 3rd Edition. Morgan Kaufmann.

Most Wanted

The current generation is given the chance to start college early in life.  Then there are some students who decide not to attend college and obtain a certification instead.  Obtaining a college degree and certifications along the way is the best overall solution to success.  As employers are very selective when hiring any college graduates.  Although, as the years progress the percentage of college graduates hired by employers has increased.  A Forbes leadership web journal article posted in April of 2015 by Susan Adams discusses the change in these statistics and more.

As the reader can clearly see, Susan Adams utilizes surveys from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) to show the percentage rate of employers planning to hire recent college graduates.  Considering this article was written in 2015, the percentages used were from the previous two years 2013 and 2014.  Within a year, the percentage of employers hiring graduates increased by a whopping 1%, but they did not hit their mark of 2.1% as promised.  Although this may seem astonishing, I can understand the issues employers may have had during the hiring process of recent graduates.

There are many groups that can assist recent college graduates with their path towards employment.  Such as the university students attended can provide career services.  These services can help the student with their resume, prepare for interviews, and even help them locate employment opportunities within a given field.  Another place of which recent college graduates can find assistance with job placement is non-profit groups or recruiting agencies.  One specific non-profit group that was linked with NACE matches these placement offices with potential employers.

Between a non-profit location in Bethlehem, PA and NACE, the two companies worked together to combine survey all of their current employer members.  The questionnaire’s main purpose was to find the employers ratings of degrees, that they would target when hiring recent college graduates.  Quite a few members responded and the highest-ranking degree was engineering.  The next in rank was business majors, followed by the computer science degrees, which left all the other degrees at the bottom.

Another portion of the survey rated skills that employers would value the greatest in a college graduate new hire.  Companies stated that these college graduate candidates should be able to think critically and utilize problem solving skills.  Followed in ratings is teamwork, then professionalism while demonstrating a strong work ethic.  Other skills that employers expect within a new hire is, oral and written communication skills, information technology applications, leadership, and career management.  All of the listed skills can be obtained along with a college degree and are extremely important to become a successful employee.

Any recent college graduate that notices they are having trouble finding a job within their field, should ensure they have worked with career services at their university, and start to market themselves.  In order for a recent college graduate to become marketable within their major’s field they should start networking with other students and graduates who already work in the industry.  Depending on the field internships may be available and even extra-curricular activities or volunteer work can be interesting to employers when reviewing candidates. 

Overall, the reason many of the skills discussed in Susan Adams article, are beneficial for any recent college graduate as they would become a well-rounded employee.  An employee without a majority of these skills can become problematic and even cause an entire department to crumble with issues.  The ability to critically think while on the job and problem solve will help them to rectify many obstacles along the way.  Strong work ethic and maintaining a professional demeanor can allow an employee to excel and maintain a reputation.  The expertise gained within a college graduate’s major is important, but life lessons and all of the mentioned skills are extremely useful to succeed in a career.

References

Adams, S. (2015). The college degrees and skills employers most want in 2015. Forbes.