Free Essays on Tim Obrien

Tim O’Brien Tim O’Brien’s novel If I Die in a Combat Zone (1970) is a personal document of the war in Vietnam, and his own emotions and feeling towards war. O’Brien found his inspiration through everyday activities of a soldier in the Vietnam War. The Things They Carried (1990) was also about the Vietnam War. In this novel O’Brien used fictional stories as well as personal emotions that he felt to help him write. It depicts war’s worst side, the way it could change a person. In the Vietnam War novels If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien focuses on the horrifying experience of this war, and the human frailty, insanity, and fear of being a soldier. If I Die in a Combat Zone is an autobiographical book about a foot soldier that survived the war. The chapters are depicted with great detail of the experiences of a young man who is drafted, trained, and sent to war. O’Brien is a reluctant soldier and morally opposed to the war. He makes plans to ditch the war for Scandinavia, but they fall through due to his morals and indecisive thinking, which makes his writing so believable (Waters). â€Å"It was an intellectual and physical stand-off, and I did not have the energy to see it to the end. I did not want to be a soldier, not even observer of the war. But neither did I want to upset a peculiar balance between the order I knew, the people I knew, and my own private world. It was not just that I valued that order. I also feared inevitable chaos, censure, and embarrassment.† (O’Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone 22) The next thing he knew he was being shipped off to Vietnam where he joined the Alpha Company. The Alpha Company was stationed outside Chu Lai. The territory patrolled by Alpha Company was frightening and forbidding. The terrain was unfamiliar to the solders. The Viet Cong were hard to fight, rarely showing themselves. O’Brien brilliantly and quietly evokes the ... Free Essays on Tim O'brien Free Essays on Tim O'brien Tim O’Brien Tim O’Brien’s novel If I Die in a Combat Zone (1970) is a personal document of the war in Vietnam, and his own emotions and feeling towards war. O’Brien found his inspiration through everyday activities of a soldier in the Vietnam War. The Things They Carried (1990) was also about the Vietnam War. In this novel O’Brien used fictional stories as well as personal emotions that he felt to help him write. It depicts war’s worst side, the way it could change a person. In the Vietnam War novels If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien focuses on the horrifying experience of this war, and the human frailty, insanity, and fear of being a soldier. If I Die in a Combat Zone is an autobiographical book about a foot soldier that survived the war. The chapters are depicted with great detail of the experiences of a young man who is drafted, trained, and sent to war. O’Brien is a reluctant soldier and morally opposed to the war. He makes plans to ditch the war for Scandinavia, but they fall through due to his morals and indecisive thinking, which makes his writing so believable (Waters). â€Å"It was an intellectual and physical stand-off, and I did not have the energy to see it to the end. I did not want to be a soldier, not even observer of the war. But neither did I want to upset a peculiar balance between the order I knew, the people I knew, and my own private world. It was not just that I valued that order. I also feared inevitable chaos, censure, and embarrassment.† (O’Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone 22) The next thing he knew he was being shipped off to Vietnam where he joined the Alpha Company. The Alpha Company was stationed outside Chu Lai. The territory patrolled by Alpha Company was frightening and forbidding. The terrain was unfamiliar to the solders. The Viet Cong were hard to fight, rarely showing themselves. O’Brien brilliantly and quietly evokes the ...

Classical Greek Art, Drama, and Government Influence on Mode essays

Classical Greek Art, Drama, and Government Influence on Mode essays Four thousand years ago the humanities were introduced by the Ancient Greeks. The men began to record their feelings and ideas in the form of architecture, sculpture, plays, and paintings which make up the humanities. These numerous artists, writers, and politicians set the foundation for the whole world to build on. Our current government, buildings, literature, and sculpture all have their roots in the Classical Greeks. Aside from the drama and art, even the first governments that developed in Classical Greek are still in power today only with modifications brought about by the elapsed time periods. Greek drama which signifies things done arose out of festivals that were held in the early spring to honor Dionysus, god of wine. These dramas started out as songs and dance but retold religious stories. They were improved as time went on and developed two specific types still popular today which were comedy and tragedy. Thespis, a Greek dramatist, introduced tragedy to the world, and the first actor which were known as thespians or hupokrites. From the early actors known as hupokrites was where the version of the word we know as hypocrites a person who plays a false role began. Tragedies are stories that arouse the feeling of sadness, awe, fear, or pity, and the character brings about a downfall by a tragic flaw. Although introduced by Thespis, later writers such as Aeschylus, Socrates and Menedor also improved the Greek Tragedy by their plays and input. Menedor whom constructed many excellent plots, also gave us some famous sayings still used today such as whom the gods love di e young which has been translated into our society as being the good die young. The Greek tragedy influenced writers from then on and improved only with time, but also the early tragedies laid the foundations for many of the worlds classic Literature pieces. Some of these include Shakespeares tragedies such...

Two kinds by amy tan summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Two kinds by amy tan summary - Essay Example The underlying benefits of these efforts are unclear but the show still goes on. A piano teacher is hired to train the little girl. A whole new direction is taken as more time is wasted. The girl fakes almost everything to do with the training, probably taking advantage of the deaf piano teacher. She is therefore seen making a fortune out of her mother’s blunder. What she does not know is the extent to which her mother is interested in her piano skills. She is signed up for a talent show that brings together Chinese-American community. This is seen as an opportunity to showcase her developing talent in piano. She is faced by a significant audience, and all that can save her is a miracle since the talent show has trapped her. However, all she was set for is shame, to her and her family. A daughter-mother conflict arises and the mother’s concern for her daughter’s talent fades away. Towards the end of the story, the daughter returns with her piano. The piano is fully serviced. Jing-mei’s mother has passed away and her high hopes for the daughter can only be remembered by keeping the piano. She therefore lets the piano act as a representation of her mother’s hopes for

Alexander the Great--Vision beyond Conquests Essay

Alexander the Great--Vision beyond Conquests - Essay Example During the years of his fearless and ferocious life span, Alexander conquered almost a quarter of the earth’s total land surface area in a very young age. The world knows him only to be the war heroic icon; however, the actions and initiatives he had undertaken for the battles and the strategies he had framed for them reflect the political structure of the then western countries and the subsequent changes in the trends of administrative as well as cultural aspects in the past. This essay will focus on the merits and influence of the Great Alexander’s imperial majesty through an evaluation of events and incidents and their positive effects on the world history of politics and culture consisting of ancient European and West Asian provinces centered by the Roman regime. A comprehensive study of his warfare tactics and military surveillance strategy hopefully gives the best effect of the required material literature. The Making of a Conqueror Alexander, who was born to King Philip II of Macedonia and Princess Olympia in 356BC, was much luckier than a normal prince to see his father’s consecutive victories and continuous strive for administrative excellence. An otherwise wise Alexander was a genius in all the fields he had been trained by Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher. In his early teenage itself, he became a scholar of science, medicine, literature and philosophy, which later helped him in turning to a complete military think-tank. The incredible achievement streak of Alexander’s imperial life had a rather fantastic inception with his successful undertaking of his father’s army against the rebels of Thrace through a swift and successful power demonstration. Alexander’s thirst for supremacy over the entire European provinces then led him through conquering Greece and Illyria before he set his aim on Asia Minor. All through the battles fought against the powers across the southern belt of Asia Minor, Alexander had to face the resistance of the Greek army and entered the invincible Gordium. It is said that, â€Å"Alexander knew the legend that the man who could untie the ancient knot was destined to rule the entire world† (Alexander of Macedonia). Based on this fundamental approach, Alexander captured the power of Persia and began the expedition to the Asian mainland with an invasion through the Issus pass in northwestern Syria. The major credits from his philosophical abilities and the definite levels of leadership skills helped him unite and raise the morale of soldiers of the armies of all the countries he conquered. Marching towards the Persian Empire was not easy for him as expected with Darius’ mammoth number of soldiers blocking his way, but at the end of the Battle of Issus, success turned the Macedonian way. From then, the path became easy for him to Syria and Phoenicia except for a considerable amount of resistance from the city of Tyre, which he eventually defeated and c ontinued the expedition towards Egypt. The Spiritual Line The entry to Egypt was in fact the most specific period of Alexander’s time, as he had a spiritual route to the Egyptian culture. The passionate natives even believed him to be the divine ruler descended as their God’s own son. According to certain findings, â€Å"Alexander no doubt won great popularity with the Egyptians by conducting proper,

College Students Poor Food Choices Due to Stress Essay Example for Free

College Students Poor Food Choices Due to Stress Essay Some examples of uncomfortable feelings might be anxiety, depression, feeling pressured, procrastination, troubled relationships with peers, not doing well in academics, or not being economically successful. Students that live in the dorms may choose fattening foods at the cafeteria or â€Å"treat† themselves to fast food because they are emotionally unstable. Most of these college students also do not think that their new habit is a negative one. The reason why college students eat fattening, high sugar foods could be because of a mental or a biological satisfaction. This research will give an explanation for why many medicate their emotional states with food. Food choices are often made based on one’s unhappiness, angst, or trauma. College students may feel as though pleasing their mouths will please their hearts and ease their state of stress. Many will endorse preferring the taste of highly salted, high sugar content foods, while others will state that this is the food they grew up eating, and some will say this is what is most affordable and accessible. Doing anything excessive because a stressor is acting upon you damages ones psyche; when one over eats and becomes obese, their sense of your self-image is altered negatively. The Cafe with buffets, fast food restaurants, and late night pizza deliveries are just a few of the enticements that college students are facing as they adjust to their new found independence and life on their own for the first time. My freshman roommate was from Sweden; when she came to America she was considered a normal weight. However, as she was experiencing the college and had a lot of American food available she chose fast food and unhealthy foods at the cafe at school to cope with being home sick, and being stressed out about school and soccer. However, she woke up one morning and realized that her belly was much bigger than when she first came to America. She waddled over to a mirror and grabbed her stomach and said, â€Å"how come you’re stomach is not this big? We almost do the same things. † I said, â€Å"I knew it was secretly a dream of yours to be ‘thick’ so the vitamins I gave you the other night were for you to get big overnight. This just relieved the tension and she had gotten her insecurity off of her chest. However, it did not solve her psychological crisis that had triggered negative feelings about her physical appearance. The main reason why she was over eating and eating unhealthy was because she was depressed and missed home – not because she was hungry. Many college students go through the same scenario that my roommate experienced. Some students feel as though abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake will comfort them physically and mentally. This research will be done on the college students who live in the dorms at Holy Names University. The units of analysis that will be observed are poor food choices and the factors of stress. Some major influences that that affect food choice are biological determinants, economic determinants, physical determinants, social determinants, and psychological determinants. A mode of operation that can be observed is the biological purpose that food serves; to put nutrients into our body. Humans need energy and nutrients in order to survive and will respond to the feelings of hunger or satisfaction of appetite. The central nervous system is involved in controlling the balance between hunger, appetite stimulation and food intake. Palatability is proportional to the pleasure someone experiences when eating a particular food. This aspect will most likely play a huge part in the decision making process for the food choices that college students make. Palatability is dependent on the sensory properties of the food such as taste, smell, texture and appearance. Sweet and high-fat foods have an undeniable sensory appeal. It is not surprising then that food is not solely regarded as a source of nourishment but is often consumed for the pleasure value it imparts. Another mode of operation that can be observed is the psychological factors that are in play during the decision making of making proper food choices. Stress and one’s mood can modify behaviors that affect health, such as physical activity, smoking or food choice. The influence of stress on food choice is complex not least because of the various types of stress one can experience. The effect of stress on food intake depends on the individual, the stressor and the circumstances. In general, some people eat more and some eat less than normal when experiencing stress. Studies also suggest that if work stress is prolonged or frequent, then adverse dietary changes could result, increasing the possibility of weight gain and consequently cardiovascular risk. Other than causing likely psychological insecurities, obesity can bring on a plethora of health conditions, including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, knee and joint problems, various types of cancer and death. Bellise 2005) This study will be nomothetic; it will be describing the study of food choices and agents of stress within the cohorts of undergraduates that live in the dorms, particularly on the C-floor level of Durocher, on the Holy Names University campus. This research will be done by using deductive reasoning. Sometimes this is called the â€Å"top-down† approach because the researcher starts at the top with a very broad spectrum, which would narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that can be tested. Stress can cause bad eating habits like impulsive eating, overeating, binge eating, or compensatory behavior. The key variables and concepts involved in this study are stress and poor food choices. One should not use food to cope with stress and other negative emotions, because afterwards he or she will feel even worse. Becoming obese not only causes many physical disadvantages, but also can create psychological insecurities that must be dealt with. I will be using the Student Stress Survey (SSS) that measures the major sources of stress among college students. Also, I will be using a Eating Habit Questionnaire (EHQ) to measure how healthy one’s choices are when they make decisions about food. Some contributing indicators for stress are: anxiety disorders, weight problems, depression, premature aging, heart disease, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, memory loss/brain fog, migraines, PMS, sleep problems, seasonal affective disorders, joint disorders, and sexual dysfunction. The peculiar thing is, that the indicators for having malnutrition are similar. However, when dealing with bad eating habits, one who isn’t getting enough food or nutrition or one that doesn’t have enough food or nutrition, can also have more serious indicators like: cancer, diabetes mellitus, renal disease, advanced aging, hormonal imbalance, and a decrease of hepatic function. The level of measurement that will be utilized during this research is mainly ordinal. This research will focus on two dimensions, food choice and level of stress. This allows the research to demonstrate how stress affects ones all around health. During this research, there will be two different types of surveys that will be combined and put into one leading scale measurement. This research will ask HNU students, qualitative questions that are open-ended, sampling questions or scenarios that make individuals contemplate about their food decisions and how it can be used to medicate depression. This is a collective case study that introduces a typology that is useful when selecting participants in multiple-case studies. This typology centers on a parallel sampling design. A parallel sampling design represents a body of sampling strategies that facilitate credible comparisons of two cases. Unfortunately, there can be a few open ended scenarios where someone could have just been eating badly for that week or some food is more convenient during a time period than another. Another thing to take into account is that perhaps some deal with stress differently than others. Part II This research will take place through the Holy Names University dorm rooms and I will be going door to door, starting with the people that live on my floor, then to the people that live above and below me in Durocher. These students are all undergraduates that are not freshmen. I will be asking as many people as I can later that night because that is when most of my peers are available to sit down and take a survey. The reliability for this experiment should be accurate because this is a replicated study of a survey and a questionnaire that have already been tested and have ways of measuring how sever ones stress is and what food choices one makes. This study has the ability to perform the exact same way every time it is being tested and it will be interpreted under the same conditions. The validity that will be focused on during this experiment is concurrent validity which measures the test against a set benchmark; higher correlated indicators prove that my test has strong criterion validity. Therefore, those who rank higher in stress levels and also rank high in eating unhealthy prove my theory true. The Survey: EHQ: Instructions: * This is not a test. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. * Read or listen to each question carefully and think about it before you choose an answer. * To choose an answer, put an X next to your choice. Choose only one answer for each question unless you are asked to choose more than one. * If you want to change an answer, erase your old answer and mark your new choice. Be sure to erase completely. * Do not skip any questions. What Gender do you fall under? ___Male ___Female Check the food in each line that you think is better for your health. 1. ___cookies OR ___an apple 3. ___chocolate cake OR ___an orange 4. ___ice cream OR __ _fresh fruit cup 5. ___whole milk OR ___low-fat or skim milk 6. ___frozen yogurt OR ___ice cream 7. ___french toast OR ___whole wheat toast . ___grilled chicken sandwich OR ___hamburger 9. ___baked potato OR ___french fries 10. ___fruit juice OR ___soda 11. ___donut OR ___bread 12. ___cold or ready-to-eat cereal OR ___eggs and bacon 13. ___green salad OR ___popcorn 14. ___raisins OR ___candy bar 15. ___pasta OR ___pizza Check the box under YES or NO to answer the following questions if you have experienced this at Holy Names University based off of the availability to the Cafeteria and a grocery store near by: In the last 2 weeks, did you ever. . . | YES| NO| 16. Eaten fruits for bereakfast? | | | 17. SSS: To determine your stress score, add up the number of points corresponding to the events you have experienced in the past 12 months. 1. Death of a close family member (100 points) 2. Death of a close friend (73 points) 3. Divorce between parents (65 points) 4. Jail term (63 points) 5. Major personal injury or illness (63 points) 6. Marriage (58 points) 7. Firing from job (50 points) 8. Failing a class (47 points) 9. Change in health of a family member (45 points) 10. Pregnancy (45 points) 11. Sex problems (44 points) 12. Serious argument with close friend (40 points) 3. Change in financial status (39 points) 14. Change in scholastic major (39 points) 15. Trouble with parents (39 points) 16. New girl-or boyfriend (37 points) 17. Increase in workload at school (37 points) 18. Outstanding personal achievement (36 points) 19. First quarter/semester in college (36 points) 20. Change in living conditions (31 points) 21. Serious argument with an instructor (30 points) 22. Lower grades t han expected (29 points) 23. Change in sleeping habits (29 points) 24. Change in social activities (29 Points) 25. Change in eating habits (28 points) 26. Chronic car trouble (26 points) 27. Change in the, number of family get-togethers (26 points) 28. Too many missed classes (25 point) 29. Change of college (24 points) 30. Dropping of more than one class (23 points) 31. Minor traffic violations (20 points) 32. Roommate problems (15 points) _________Total Points Here’s how to interpret your score. If your score is 500-645, you are at high risk for developing bad eating habits because you are more stressed. If your score is 200-350, you have a 50-50 chance of experiencing a serious effect on your health based on your level of stress. If your score is below 150, you have a less serious chance of your stress level interfering with your food decision making. Bibliography Carol Olander. Eating habit questionnaire. 1999. 3/13/13 lt;http://www. nncc. org/evaluation/nutrition5. htmlgt;. Dr. France Bellisle. The Determinants of Food Choice . 08/03/2013. 3/09/12 lt;http://www. eufic. org/article/en/expid/review-food-choice/gt;. Grilo, C. M. , amp; White, M. A. (2011). A controlled evaluation of the distress criterion for binge eating disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(4), 509-514. doi: 10. 1037/a0024259 Grossbard, J. R. , Atkins, D. C. , Geisner, I. M. , amp; Larimer, M. E. (2012). Does depressed mood moderate the influence of drive for thinness and muscularity on eating disorder symptoms among college men? Psychology of Men amp; Mascularity, doi: 10. 1037/a0028913 Mackinnon, S. P. , Sherry, S. B. , Graham, A. R. , Stewart, S. H. , Sherry, D. L. , Allen, S. L. McGrath, D. S. (2011). Reformulating and undergraduate women: A short term, three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(4) , 630-646. doi: 10. 1037/a0025068 Morehead State University . Stress Survey. 2011. 3/12/13 lt;http://www2. oreheadstate. edu/leo/index. aspx? id=6299gt;. Stice, E. , Rohde, P. , Shaw, H. , amp; Marti, C. N. (2012). Efficacy trail of a selective precention program targeting both eating disorder symptoms and unhealthy weight gain among female college students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(1), 164-170. doi: 10. 1037/a0026484 Tylka, T. L. , amp; Kroon, V. D. (2013). The intuitive eating Scale-2: Item refinement and psychometric evaluation with college women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(1), 137-153. doi: 10. 1037/a0030893;10. 1037/a0030893. supp (Supplemental)

Sibling Rivalry :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every now and then, someone wishes for something without weighing out all of the pros and cons. We don’t usually hear someone say, â€Å" I wish I had to fight for a hot shower, hide brushes, hunt for clothes, and struggle to use the phone.† But, we do hear them say, â€Å" I wish I had some brothers and sisters.† Believe it or not, each of these statements means the exact same thing. I should know. I lived with four females in one house for seventeen years. Needless to say, each and every day was a war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every morning at five a.m., the alarm clock would sound to start the â€Å"Lowry House Derby.â€Å" Each of us would jump from our beds and flee to the bathroom. It was imperative to reach the shower first or at least be second in line because of the limited hot water supply. The other three were doomed to make a decision, an icy cold bath or no bath. Second was the always-dreaded task of finding a brush. We all bought brushes on a regular basis and even branded them with our names, but come morning time they had all grown legs and walked away. If one of us did find a brush the discovery was kept quiet until we finished using it. Then, the brush was given to whoever hadn’t, yet, stepped on our toes that morning. Next, we had the occasional borrowing-of-the-clothes-without-asking. This made getting dressed a time consuming and ill-mannered task. Spots, tears, and even color fading were blamed on the borrower. Finally, as each of us raced out the door, to s chool and work, the â€Å"Lowry House Derby† took a short break.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we arrived back home from our eight-hour obligations, the derby would slowly resume its course. Now, it was time to flee toward the phone. We all had an emergency use for the phone that was, somehow, always more important than the other’s. Next, came time for homework. This was one of the few times we would pull together. We would each help with subjects that baffled the others. After our study time, the race to the bathroom would be on again. Though, this time it was to wash our faces and brush our teeth. This bathroom race took a lot longer than the morning shower pursuit. We all had to wash, exfoliate, mask, and moisturize our faces, not to mention floss, gargle, and brush our teeth.

Goal Line Technology in Soccer

A global audience of 3. 2 billion people – about 46. 4% of the world population – watched the World Cup tournament of 2010, according to FIFA, the world governing body of soccer. The final between Spain and The Netherlands alone had an audience of approximately 530 million. There is little debate about which sport is more played and watched more than any other. It unites and divides cities and countries. It sparks debate and controversy, which is discussed within families, with co-workers, and even between heads of state.At present, the most pressing issue facing the sport is whether to introduce goal line technology, computerized technology to definitely determine the scoring of a goal. This is not a new problem. According to the rules of the game, a goal should be awarded when the whole ball crosses the goal line. However, there have been many high profile cases when the officials have made the wrong decision and awarded a goal – or failed to award a goal. In s uch a low scoring game as soccer, where teams typically score one to two goals per game, it can mean the difference between winning and losing a game.During an important tournament, it can mean winning or losing the biggest prize of them all: the World Cup. For example, in the 1966 World Cup final between a very closely matched England and West Germany sides, the game went into thirty minutes of extra time with the scores level after the normal ninety minute period. Then Alan Ball crossed the ball to England’s main striker, Geoff Hurst, who controlled and ball and shot towards the goal. The ball beat the German goalkeeper and crashed on the underside of the bar, sending it crashing down towards the goal line.Tofik Bakhramov, the watching Russian linesman (actually a common misconception, as he was actually from the then Soviet state of Azerbaijan) indicated to the referee it was a goal, believing that the whole ball had crossed the white line. The goal was given and it change d the match. England went on to win the game and seal the country’s greatest ever sporting triumph. However, based on the TV footage and photographs of the incident, the common unbiased conception is that it bounced on the line and therefore the goal should not have been awarded.For years now the technology to judge whether the whole ball has crossed the goal line has existed. There are two well known systems: Sony’s Hawk-Eye and the German alternative, GoalRef. Hawk-Eye is well known to cricket and tennis fans and has been used to great success in both sports, accurately showing where the ball landed in tennis, and predicting the flight of the ball in cricket. In soccer it could judge whether the ball crossed the goal line with a high level of accuracy. The second option – Goalref – places sensors inside the ball and goalposts, which categorically determine the exact location of the ball when near the goal.So why hasn’t the world’s most pop ulous sport embraced technology? Surely this technology would improve the game and make it fair for everyone? Well, it isn’t as simple as it appears. In fact FIFA have found itself in a quagmire. If they introduce technology now at this late stage in 2012 they will be seen as being slow to react to important problems; resist technology and they will only exacerbate the problem in the future. The game’s hierarchy has, until recently, been largely against the introduction of technology.FIFA spends hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide investing in the game at grass roots level, determined to ensure football keeps its universal appeal by being played by all people on a level playing field. In short, FIFA wants a group of children playing on the beach in Brazil to essentially be playing the same game as Barcelona versus Real Madrid in the Champions League Final. Moreover, the governing body fears the introduction of technology will lead to a ‘slippery slopeâ€⠄¢ whereby technology will be used in many aspects of the game, drastically changing the flow of the game.Michel Platini, head of the very influential European governing body UEFA, is one such example of the resistance of technology. Platini says, â€Å"we will see. As for technology, I don't think it's good for football. Maybe goal line technology, but that would be the first step towards the introduction of technology in all areas of the game. I'm still very much against it and, to be honest, I'm not going to change my mind at the age of 57. † Instead, Platini has implemented a new system whereby five referees are used instead of the standard three officials.This, he argues, has eradicated the problem of ‘ghost goals’ citing Marko Devic’s ‘goal’ for Ukraine in the 2012 European Championships as being ‘the only error’ in the last three years. Like most soccer fans, I love debating the game with family, friends and co-workers. I t hrive on the controversy. When England midfielder Frank Lampard ‘scored’ for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup (the ball was clearly over the line but the spin of it made it bounce back out of the goal and the game played on) I was on my feet shouting at the referee for not giving the clear goal.Equally, when the aforementioned Ukrainian striker Marko Devic’s shot clearly went over the goal line and neither the referee nor linemen saw it, I was smiling to myself thanking our good fortunate. In both cases it would have probably changed the match – and the tournament. After the match endless experts and pundits argued the issue. Essentially the controversy had inadvertently created an even greater spectacle. As much as I love the debates, I think it is now time to move forward. There is too much money involved and the reputation and credibility of the game is at stake.I believe FIFA have an obligation and responsibility to introduce goal line tec hnology – and the sooner the better. It should proceed with caution though. The ball crossing the line is definitive. In essence, the whole ball either completely crossed the white line or it didn’t. It isn’t open to interpretation like, say, whether a player has committed a foul. It is my belief that FIFA, while embracing this technology, should oppose further technological advances in the game, especially when it comes to subjective decisions. Football is a fast-paced game and breaks in the continuity would drastically change the game for the worse.Goal line technology has been proven to work quickly and effectively ensuring it will have minimal negative effect. In conclusion, I acknowledge the problem of whether to introduce goal line technology is a divisive issue. I can see the argument from both sides. However, I do not agree with the current policy of stalling on the issue and delaying technological change or the over-complicated idea of bringing in more assistant referees, as suggested by Michel Platini. Instead, it is my belief that it is time for FIFA to embrace change and bring goal line technology into the â€Å"beautiful game. †

Indian Socks Essay

Trivial though usually looked upon, ‘Socks’ is definitely an important part of a person’s wardrobe. Still, since long the segment is not taken to be vital. Attributing towards negligence from policy makers and business developers for the sector kept unattended or least valued, Mr Rohit Pal, MD- Renfro India speaking exclusively for News team at fibre2fashion describes â€Å"This segment within clothing has never got its due respect for many years, but I think that outlook has to be changed, and to an extent it is changing now.† â€Å"Socks may not be playing major part as economy driver, but still if the segment is taken seriously it can earn good profits for players,† opines Mr Vineet Bhatia, Properitor of V K Knitting Industries. Mr Raj Kumar Jain, MD – Bonjour, bringing out the importance of sector, comments â€Å"Socks is a requirement of common men for everyday needs. It is estimated to be having over 3000 manufacturing units out of which 85% is in and around Delhi and its national capital regions. And out of this, over 95% business is unorganized and fragmented. I estimate it to be around Rs. 3000crs. Business.† According to Mr Pal’s estimates, Indian knitwear market size is more than Rs. 25000crs, and socks in region would be between around Rs. 600 to 700crs at both organized and unorganized retail end excluding wholesale. He accentuates, â€Å"I think that socks would turn as part of what I call accessorization and accessories adds as a vital sector under garmenting. I estimate it’s been of importance in growing at a very rapid pace around 10 to 25% annually. If it has not got its due importance in the past, it has now got a pace today and it is likely to grow.† Analyzing the impediments in the growth of this category, Mr Bhatia draws attention to lack of good technology in India on this front. He highlights, â€Å"I am interacting with many customers internationally. Overall, our line of players lags behind international competitors in technology. Otherwise, we have better opportunity in international market than in India. Export from India is not much as far as socks is concerned. But domestic market is good.† Mr Jain also notes that for the socks industry there is no training college which will help socks industry get groomed in India. Not a single institution is established to give any training on skills honing in this line. Even for operating machines both- hand operated and automated, training is essential in his view. Mr Ajit Lakra, president of Chamber of Knitwear and Textile Associations of Ludhiana, sees a very big scope for domestic consumption and exports of knitwear. He points up, â€Å"I believe knitwear sector has a big role to play and what is required to have is more good institutes for improving the skills at all levels.† 10% excise duty is a detrimental aspect for Socks sector too. Mr Bhatia expresses, â€Å"Socks is a low cost product and bearing 10% excise duty is justsinking our product. Already cotton prices in the entire year have increased too much and above that excise duty that too 10% is just a suicidal kind of a thing† â€Å"It is either you pay 10% on wholesale or you pay 6% on MRP whatever higher,† mentions Mr Pal.

The Good and Bad of the Internet essays

The Good and Bad of the Internet essays The internet has changed our world today in many different ways. Some argue its for the better and some for the worse. Has it made it easier to communicate or has it isolated individuals and disorganized their thoughts. In the essay The Problems with Hypertext the author, David Shenk, feels that the internet has indeed disorganized peoples thought process and isolated them. On the other hand Wendy Lesser tells how she has grown to love the internet and how it has allowed her to communicate with people in her essay The Conversion. Author David Shenk is a firm believer that the internet is not such a good thing. In his essay he supports his stance by stating that there are too many ways to get side tracked when on the internet. Reading gives way to surfing, a meandering peripatetic journey through a maze of threads.(Shenk. Riverside Reader) This is how he feels the internet disorganizes peoples thoughts, one minute they are reading something and the next they are looking ant some pop up add or searching for something else. He also points out that on the internet there is never really an end to things Our stories work best when they have an ending, With hypertext, endings are irrelevant-because no one ever gets to one. (Shenk. Riverside Reader) He also supports his stance by stating that sitting down and reading something can be relaxing , Faster is not always better, (Shenk. Riverside Reader) and Traditional narrative offers the reader a journey with a built-in purpose. (Shenk. Riverside Reader) Shenk takes a more traditional older style of thinking when he points out some of the bad things about the internet. He would rather sit down and relax and slowly read something and not have all the distractions of the internet. In the modern world this is a fleeting view as every second counts and faster is better. ...

Report analysis and design solutions for integration of enterprises information systems The WritePass Journal

Report analysis and design solutions for integration of enterprises information systems Introduction Report analysis and design solutions for integration of enterprises information systems Introduction1: A Description of the Business Case1.1: Background of Business Case1.2: Issues Objectives in Business Case2: Brief Review on Relevant Concepts Approaches, Academic Interests Practical Cases3: Analysis of the Issues in the Case to Identify Suitable Approaches for Extended Enterprise Integration 3.1: Illustration of Key Information Flows in the Extended Enterprise Which Includes the Supply Chain Partners3.2: Critical Analysis of the Suitability of SAP as an ERP Tool 4: Design of Solutions to the Identified Issues with Selected Enterprise Integration Approaches5: Discussion and Conclusion   References Related Introduction This report analyses and design solutions for integration of enterprises information systems based on the business case. In addition, it develops the key functions as a part of the enterprise system for the given business case by SAP. This report through the information of case and relevant concepts and approaches, academic interests and practical cases to analyse the issues and the suitable approaches for extended enterprise integration. Next, it explains the system functionalities and necessary illustration to design of solutions to the identified issues with selected enterprise integration approaches. Finally, there is a discussion and conclusion on implementation issues, achievement and limitations of the solutions. 1: A Description of the Business Case 1.1: Background of Business Case This company is a medium sized manufacturer which supplies car control panels with frames over 2000 different products for five car manufacturers. Based on different models of frames, the company produces various types of car control panels for five contracted car manufacturers. In order to improve the satisfaction of customer and quickly respond to fluctuations in demand for customer, the company aims a relatively lean manufacturer and reduce the delivery lead-time. In product of the company, it assembles these control panels, inside components and the frames as customers’ required. In addition, it also simply purchases all the parts from a part of suppliers including overseas suppliers. There are six bought-in components which include vents, frame, glove box, meter/gauges, steering and heater air conditioning control. Besides, in order to safeguard its supply chain, the company may purchase from more than one supplier. In business model of this company, it through EDI to receive orders from each customer once a week and then it will input the orders into a sales management system automatically.   It needs to check its stock when the sales order confirmed by account manager. If there is enough stock, the order will be produced directly. If not, the company is necessary to place a purchase order for the required components to complete the sales order. Next, the company receives the ordered components on a daily basis. When the components arrived, the components will be scanned into a stock management system by the duty purchasing manager. What’s more, it will update the stock record information of component. During the production processing, the production manager will check customer orders first and create a schedule for the assembly line to produce for the orders. There is a spreadsheet; the schedules are recorded in it and to calculate stock values. The process is the same at the end of a ssembly and then the stock level will be updated accordingly. Finally, it will package and ship the finished products to the customers. In general, the company provides the lead-time for domestic customers is four-week and the lead-time for overseas customers is six-week. 1.2: Issues Objectives in Business Case According to the case, there are three main issues. Firstly, it is a long consuming lead time for order processing, production scheduling, stock controlling and purchasing. Secondly, it is high possibility to make a mistake and low effective of update the current system. Finally, the company system is not efficient.   Due to the current system is only updated on a weekly basis, it is not always accurate. As enterprise information system, the current company system is frequently delaying the processing information which could slow response to changes and increase of stocks and order lead-time. Therefore, the objectives of this company are shown as follows, to reduce the lead-time and stock level, have an assembly planning to improve the effect of production, more effective coordination of components supply and to be an efficient production company. 2: Brief Review on Relevant Concepts Approaches, Academic Interests Practical Cases With development of trade globalises, it increases competition and standardisation; strengthen the relationship of strategic partnering; more outsourcing and rises project complexity. Therefore, business and enterprise trends to become e-business and extended enterprise integration gradually. J Gunn (2004) analysed that extended enterprise integration or enterprise integration using American terminology has long been foreseen as the solution to a wide range of problems, enabling companies to reduce time to market, to improve quality, to increase supply chain efficiency and even to understand customers better.   In extended enterprises, integrated framework enables sharing of information, services and applications beyond organizational boundary with suppliers and customers. In addition, computer network of internet-enabled system infrastructure acting as a networked service environment for supply chain management. In summary, there are three core meaning of extended enterprises; inf ormation integration, organizational relationship linkage and coordination and resource sharing. This part of project report shows a brief review on relevant concepts and approaches, academic interests and practical cases. In e-business and extended enterprise context, the brief review is related to enterprise system selection and implementation issues and integrations approaches. Firstly, it is a brief review on relevant concepts and approaches, academic interests for enterprise system selection and implementation issues. Laudon, K.C. (2000) mentioned that ERP- enterprise resources planning is a business management system. It integrates all facts of the business, including planning, manufacturing, sales and finance. That is the reason why ERP could become more effective coordinated by sharing information. In order to the target of integrating information, it through eliminating complex links between computer systems and different areas of the business by ERP software and business automate processes.   As small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there are six critical selection factors (Reuther, D. Chattopadhyay, G., 2004), including system functionality requirements; business drivers; cost drivers; flexibility; scalability and others. The factor of system functionality requirements is the highest critical selection criteria Bemroider, E. Koch, S. (2000) oberv ed that the system functionality requirements factor supports the findings of specialty and simplicity required for small or medium enterprise. Business drivers focus on the financial benefit to the company of the selected system. The detail of cost drivers is direct cost of the implementation in terms of outlay and resources. Both factors of flexibility and scalability are significant levels of criticality. What’s more, the response to the flexibility is important as the current wisdom is to match the future (Brown, C., Vessey, I., Powell, A., 2000). Furthermore, the factor of others means specific factors critical to the target business. Bingi, P., Sharma, M.K., Godla, J.K. (1999) stated that Implementation issues in general have been long explored. However, the complexity of ERP makes it challenging to implement.   ERP systems have been widely used by companies in developed countries. Organizations in manufacturing, service and energy industries adopt ERP to automate the deployment and management of material, finance and human resources; streamline processes and achieve process improvement and achieve global competitiveness (Koh, C., et al, 2000). In addition, there are some important factors affect the implementation of ERP; including economy and economic growth; infrastructure; IT maturity; computer culture; business size; BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) experience; manufacturing strengths; government regulations; management commitment and regional environment (Huang, Z Palvia, P., 2001). Next, it is a brief review on relevant concepts and approaches, academic interests for integration approaches. Parr, A.N. Shanks, G. A. (2000) indicated that ERP implementation approaches have been categorized as comprehensive, vanilla and middle-road. Comprehensive favoured by multinational companies and involving a total effort to implement all modules of the ERP package with business proves reengineering. Vanilla means an approach favoured by less ambitious companies desiring less business process reengineering and requiring ERP functionalities in only one site. The third approach middle-road is an approach that falls between the other two extremes. In figure 1, it shows the evolution of enterprise integration approaches as follow. Figure 1: Evolution of Integration Approaches According to the figure 1, data transport is the plinth of enterprise integration. Both data transport and data integration are the basal enterprise integration. With higher business value of integration and complexity of integration, the enterprise integrations are application integration, process integration, collaboration and ubiquitous integration one by one. As a type of enterprise integration, process integration is to create new process and services to support the actual business needs; ubiquitous integration is anytime, anywhere and through any standard means. Ubiquitous integration is the top enterprise integration approach, which is the highest business value of integration and complexity of integration in figure 1. Based on the resources of e-business enterprise (2011), there are four enterprise system integration approaches, including network/portal oriented integration, business process oriented integration, application oriented integration and data oriented integration. Firstly, data-oriented integration is a general and basal approach. It targets the purpose of transfer, transform, synchronize, mediate-connect and harmonize. Besides, the handouts of enterprise integration of e-business enterprise (2011) explain that data-oriented integration is a set of technologies that exchange and synchronizing data with transformed format between different applications within and between organizations. Thus the technical components are data connectivity, transformation, communications middleware. Secondly, application oriented integration (API) is an approach which uses a common interface to integrate enterprise systems by information between applications cross an organisation or cross a network. It is difference from data oriented integration. The data oriented integration interface is created by database. Instead of database, the integration interface of application is created by application. In addition, the application oriented integration allows access data and business logics and application methods; it is more than data oriented integration. Next, the third approach is business process-oriented integration (BPI). As workflow systems, it connects and automates business process. What’s more, it provides enterprises with process visibility. Integration of business processes across applications and it controls over distributed workflows via an event driven platform. Compared with data oriented integration and API, BPI through business process level integration and management, not database and application. Furthermore, BPI includes process control technology, which includes process control engine, triggers and software agents for task automation. One purpose of BPI is loose coupled architecture – back office application, which is communicated with front end applications indirectly. Therefore, the loose coupled connection with greater adaptability and scalability for business system. However, the integration type of loose coupling also has some problem on security and inefficiency in communication. Finally, the last approach is portal oriented integration approach. As integrated business portal, it has a consistent web interface for all business information and application in a personalized way and a platform for application integration, component development and workflow coordination. In addition, portal oriented integration approach has four benefits. One is rapidly deploy a complete portal. It also allows for further extension. Next, both applications and data could be created for integration. It could be automated execution of business processes throughout distributed organisations. 3: Analysis of the Issues in the Case to Identify Suitable Approaches for Extended Enterprise Integration According to the business case, the main three issues are long lead-time, high possibility to make a mistake and lower efficient production and effective coordination. The issue of lead-time should be considered for the area of order processing, production scheduling, stock controlling and purchasing. The company receives orders from five contracted car manufacturers over 2000 different products. On the other side, in order to make sure the safeguard of supply chain, the company also needs to purchase vents, frame, glove box, meter/gauges, steering and heater and air conditioning control from domestic suppliers and overseas suppliers. Next, due to the company receives order once a week and the system only update once a week, the speed of update information is very low effective. It is easy to make a mistake on purchase and stock level and slow response to changes. Furthermore, it increases the stocks and order lead-time. Therefore, it leads to the second and third issues in this situ ation. A suitable approach for extended the extended enterprise in this business, it should be able to ameliorate t or solve the issues and more close to the objectives.   This business case mentioned that the company is a medium sized manufacturer, which supplies over 2000 different products for five contracted car manufacturers. It receives orders from each customer once a week through EDI (electronic data interchange) and input automatically into a sales management system. The operation process is a long pull process. A suitable business system of this company should be more quick response and effective coordination to reduce the lead time for order processing, production scheduling, stock controlling and purchasing. According to the part 3 of this report-brief review on relevant concepts and approaches, data oriented integration approaches focus on translating data and business documents from formats used by one company into the formats used by another (Lynne, M. et al, 2002). Integra tion of business processes of data integration approaches across database. However, BPI connects and automates business processes, the interfaces of BPI for data integration, process integration and process communication in process model. Although data integration approaches is an approach of transaction formats and standardize the names of product data, process integration approaches standardize the sequences of transactions and activities that make up a business process. By allowing for the monitoring and management of related transactions, they adapt better to breakdowns and permit higher levels of automation (Lynne, M. et al, 2002). Furthermore, Net R. (2001) observed that process integration requires standardization or modification of source systems or the creation of a supportive IT infrastructure, process integration is costlier to set up than data integration. However, except the factor of cost, process integration provides opportunities for companies to reengineer business processes to achieve additional business benefits more than data integration approach. Besides, portal oriented integration approach is very good approach. The interface of portal integration approach is available across all business information and applications in a personalized way. However, due to the size of company is only a medium manufacturer and the cost of portal integration approach is expensive than others, it is not suitable for the situation currently. Therefore are more risks, challenges and issues if the company adopt portal integration approach. Therefore, business process-oriented integration is the suitable approaches for extended enterprise at present. 3.1: Illustration of Key Information Flows in the Extended Enterprise Which Includes the Supply Chain Partners    Figure 2: Information Flows in the Extended Enterprise In figure 2, the company receives orders from customer by ERP and then finance department send the order information to BIP system when the sales order is confirmed by account manager. Stock management sends the requirement of parts and components information and t9he information of the quantities of finished products to the business system. The spreadsheet created by BPI for the production schedule and also through BPI to update new information. 3.2: Critical Analysis of the Suitability of SAP as an ERP Tool There is a professional web site of SAP (2009) expressed that SAP means systems applications and products, it is a completely integrated, enterprise wide information system that replaces legacy systems with a series of software modules that communicate with each other seamlessly, replacing current business processes with best practices. SAP software also has some demerit. In SAP system, although it could changes the business process dramatically, it is a little customizable. However, SAP is also a very outstanding tool for ERP and E- business. In addition, there are a lot of advantages of SAP, such as online integrated graphics; functionality and integration; flexible structure; real-time information; lean implementation; individual solutions, etc (SAP Expertise, 2011). SAP makes the information of company more meaningful. The company can instantly see any change by type of graphics, if the data had any change. Furthermore, the controlled customizing procedures of system allows to cr eate solution for satisfy individual requirements. In SAP of ERP, all business processes of the company are linked by data and functions and it is a software solution to cover all commercial processes and transactions commonly occurring of the company. The real-time information of SAP is a good visibility of distributed data sources and it can automatic data transfer. Therefore, the company could be more quick response to changes and more effective to avoid the mistake by SAP. Then it should be able to reduce the stock level and more effective coordination of customer and supplier. 4: Design of Solutions to the Identified Issues with Selected Enterprise Integration Approaches Due to the selected suitable enterprise integration approach is BPI, this part explains the system functionalities and design the solutions for the issues. According to the background of the company, the integration design should be considered by application complexity, cost and time; business scale and nature; business relationships; business process dynamics and function distributions; demands on real-time information; technical standards and compatibility, etc. Firstly, the company should add a materical resource planning (MRP) in BPI. Because safeground the supply chain for the company, the company purchases all parts from other domestic and overseas suppliers when the stock was insufficient. It is too long pull process to increase the delay of information. Consequently, MRP is a good tool to slove this problem and also sfaeground the supply chain of the company. What’s more, it could be ameliorate the long lead time in purchasing. Next, the company should choose loose coupling and hub connection spoke intergraiton technology. Types of integration and E-business includes loose coupling and tight coupling. The application of tight coupling are connected with agreed technical details. In contrast, Loose coupling does not need to know details of the ways to deal with interfaces of other applications and processes. Besides, it is an application send or receive to or from other applications. Loose coupling can support non-intrusive (loose) integration, sychronised business transactions; reusing and sharing business data and processes (Papazoglou M. P., 2006). loose coupling is flexibility, scalability and advanced security. It is also nearly real-time agile response to business events. Loose coupling could be avoid the delay of information issue and   improve the lead time in order processing and stock controlling. Therefore, it is more suitable for the manufactory company in the business case. Fingure 3: Features of Common Integration Technologies In fingure 3,   it shows the features of point-point integration, hub connection spoke for SMEs, web form (extranet interfaces) and XMLmail / messages. It is obvious to analyse that both point-point integration and hub connection spoke are better in the four common integration technologies. The integration knowledge requirement of hub connection sopke is lower than point-point integration. Compared to point-point integraion, hub connection spoke have lower set up and maintenance costs. However, the limitations of point-to-point topology consist of costly for maintain; limited reusability; invasive integration approach requiring modifications of source applications, not scalable, etc. On the other side, Lynne, M., et al (2002) mentioned that hub connection spoke approaches to external integration represent an important alternative to one-to-one integration approaches. It also approaches come in two flavours – data integration only and process (plus data) integration. Hub connection spoke intergraiton technology could be reduce the rate of high mistake and lead time in production scheduling. In summary, both loose coupling and hub connection spoke intergraiton technology are effective solutions for these issues. In order to become an effective business intelligence, the requirements of business   integration are real-time or responsive data access; good quality data from all relevant sources and data of relevant business functions. There are some measures such as transform data into valuable information, identify risks and opportunities, monitor and assess business performance and support decision making for enhancement and optimisation. According to the background, the company receives orders from each customer once a week. It is very low efficient production. So the times of received orders should be increase. All in all, these solutions should solve the long lead time for order processing, production scheduling, stock controlling and purchasing and improve the speed of information processing to avoid the situation of low effective of update the system. All of them are more effective coordination of components supply and assembly planning in e-business. 5: Discussion and Conclusion In this part of project, it discusses the implementation issues, achievements, limitation of solutions and conclusion. Based on the background, the company is a medium sized manufacturer and suppliers over 2000 different products for five contracted car manufacturers.   The purchase model of the company is that places purchase order for the required components to complete the sales order, if there is out of stock or insufficient stock. In addition, the business processes of the company are receiving orders; purchasing components (out of stock / insufficient); checking customer orders by production manager; created a schedule for the assembly line to produce for the order ; updating the assembly line; packing and shipping finishes products. There are three main issues which mentioned before, including long consuming lead time for order processing, production scheduling, stock controlling and purchasing; low effective of update the current system and high possibility to make a mistak e; the company system is not efficient. Through analysis of the issues, BPI is the suitable approaches for extended enterprise integration. If the manufacturing company attempts to implement the suitable approaches and solutions, it should need a high costs in equipment investment and it is hard to change the old enterprise system and hard to operate the solutions in actuality. Furthermore, there are two limitations for hub spoke topology when it runs on single serves. One is single points of failure exist in that a failure of one hub propagates throughout the system. The other is limited scalability across the enterprise. Loose coupling also has two disadvantages of security concerns and inefficiency in communication. In summary, the company should be aim to a lean manufacturing with a short lead time and effective communication persistently.   References Bemroider, E. Koch, S., 2000, Differences in Characteristics of the ERP Selection Process Between Small or Medium and Large Organisations, Proceedings AMCIS, PP 1022-1028 Bingi, P., Sharma, M.K., Godla, J.K., 1999, Critical Issues Affecting an ERP Implementation, Information Systems Management, Vol.16 NO.3, Boston MA, PP 7-14 Brown, C., Vessey, I., Powell, A., 2000, the ERP Purchase Decision Influential Business IT Factors, Proceedings AMCIS, PP 1029-1032 Christiaanse, E., Sinnecker, R., Mossinkoff, M., 2001, the Impacts of B2B Exchanges on Brick and Mortar Intermediaries: The Elemica Case, 9th European Conference on Information Systems, Bled, Slovenia Gunn, J., 2004, BT Technology Journal Extended Enterprise Integration, Springer Netherlands, P93 Huang, Z. Palvia, P., 2000, the Impact of ERP on Organizational Performance: Evidence from Case Studies, Proceedings Decision Science Institute Annual Meeting Huang, Z Palvia, P., 2001, ERP Implementation Issues in Advanced Developing Countries, Business Process Management Journal, Vol.7, No. 3, PP 276-284 Koh, C., Soh, C., Markus, M.L., 2000, A Process Theory Approach to Analyzing ERP Implementation Impacts: the Case of Revel Asia, Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications, Vol. 2, No. 1, PP 4-23 Kuhn, H., Bayer, F., Junginger, S.; Karagiannis, D., 2003, Enterprise Model Integration, Prague, Czech Republic, LNCS 2738, PP 379-392 Laudon, K.C., 2000, J. P Laudon Management Information Systems, Prentice Hall International, 6th Edition, PP22-23 Lee, Z. Lee, J., 2000, an ERP Implementation Case Study from a Knowledge Transfer Perspective, J. Information Technology PP 281–288 Lynne, M., Axline, S., Edberg, D., Petrie, D., 2002, the Future of Enterprise Integration: Strategic and Technical Issues in External Systems Integration, Oxford University Press Papazoglou M. P., 2006, International   Journal of Web Engineering Technology, Inderscience Publishers, Vol. 2, No. 4, PP 320-352 Parr, A.N. Shanks, G. A., 2000, Taxonomy of ERP implementation approaches. In Proceedings of the 33d Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences Reuther, D. Chattopadhyay, G., 2004, Critical Factors for Enterprise Resources Planning System Selection Implementation Projects within Small to Medium Enterprises, Micreo Ltd Press, Australia, P851 Resources of E-business Enterprise, 2011, Enterprise-Integration in Enterprise Information Systems, VITAL, University of Liverpool Sherlock, J. Reuvid, J., 2005, Handbook of International Trade: A Guide to the Principles and Practice of Export, PP 353-365 SAP Expertise, 2011, Advantages of SAP R/3, Viewed 7 May 2011, http://sapexpertise.blogspot.com/2009/04/advantages-of-sap-r3-part-2.html SAP Expertise, 2009, What Can SAP Do? Viewed 6 May 2011, http://sapexpertise.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-is-sap-r3.html SAP Techies, 2009, What are the Advantages of SAP? Viewed 4 May 2011, saptechies.com/advantages-for-sap/

Overthrow By Stephen Kinzer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Overthrow By Stephen Kinzer - Essay Example US Regime Change: Changing Tactics, Causes and Results Stay the Same The first thing one must do to understand the series of regime changes represented in Overthrow is to note the ways and reasons the methods of regime change differed throughout history. The first set of regime changes during the Imperial Era, were marked by a unique combination of willingness to use military force and a frankness about the fact that the United States had in fact orchestrated the changes in power. One can see an example of both principles in the regime change orchestrated in Panama in the early 20th century. At the outset of the 20th century, Panama was a colony of Columbia, and the Columbian government was unwilling to allow Americans to build a canal across part of their country, and rejected a treaty that would have given America the right to build one. In response to this America undertook military action in support of a rebellion it started, including sending warships to blockade ports in Panama. This rebellion, with American military support, was eventually succ essful, leading to a pro-American government in Panama. When questioned about this forceful ousting of the Columbian regime, then president Roosevelt simply said that it was Columbia’s own fault for ignoring â€Å"the plainest warnings† that America would take power if Columbia did not capitulate. This shows the way that in this Era, America was more than happy to use military force, and was so bold to even freely admit it would depose regimes who opposed American interests. Following the close of the Second World War and the outbreak of the Cold War, America had to start becoming more discreet about the ways it took power. During this period, the Soviet Union â€Å"limited [American] freedom of action,†4 because America could not risk undertaking activities which could bring on a Soviet reaction, which could possibly escalate to a war between the Soviet Union and America – a â€Å"cataclysmic† nuclear war neither side would truly win.5 These meant American operations were driven underground – covert operations such as financing opposition rebels or political parties (as Nixon did when trying to oust Allende)6 or secret assassinations (such as the â€Å"several times the CIA has tried to kill† Fidel Castro).7 Following World War II America could no longer openly attack foreign leaders, and could no longer admit to their actions publicly. With the winding down of military tensions and the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union, the major restriction on American military might was removed. The United States responded by engaging in an ever more forceful foreign policy, Probably the first instance of this new willingness to engage in full blown military conflict was the American Invasion of Grenada, conducted in 1983.8 One of the major distinguishing features of Warfare during the era of Invasion was that, though militarily America could once again act with impunity, the ideology of both the world and American

WRITE ON OAU ORGANAISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY PROVIDING A SUMMARRY OF Essay

WRITE ON OAU ORGANAISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY PROVIDING A SUMMARRY OF THE MAIN RATIONALE,PURPOSE,AND OBJECTIVES OF THE ORGANAISATION AND INCLUDE A DESCRIPTION O - Essay Example I start this paper with why I define the OAU and the AU as an IO. I continue with a brief overview of the history of the OAU that paved the way for the establishment of the AU. In the paragraph that follows, I give a brief description of how the OAU became the AU. I continue with the vision and objectives of the AU followed by an assessment of the structure of the AU and discuss the six most important bodies of the AU and its three financial institutions. The budget of the AU will then discussed where I identify several reasons why it is hard for the AU to find the necessary funding. I end this paper with a brief summary of this paper and a conclusion about the AU as an IO. Many scholars from the International Relation realm have studied IO. From the widely available literature about the study of IO, one can identify various definitions of IO. Both terms can be analyzed as being intertwined or as two independent terms. In the case of the OAU and the AU, to what extent can one see the OAU and the AU as IO It is clear that its member states are from the African continent as like the European Union (EU) and are all sovereign states. In addition, the OAU and the AU are based on a convention that was designed by the founding members of the OAU and the AU and which all member states have to ratify. ... Therefore, one can not reject the notion of the OAU and the AU not being an IO and by the same token accept the notion of the EU to consider an IO. The History of the Organization of African Unity The OAU was established on 25 May 1963 with the formation of two groups namely the Casablanca group and the Monrovia Group. The objectives of the OAU during the decolonization period were to support African states to gain their independence, to promote the unity and solidarity and to strengthen cooperation among the member states of the OAU. In addition, the OAU also ensured that its member states uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity among member states. On an international level, the OAU promotes international cooperation and to protect the interests of Africa (OAU 1963). The OAU charter that formally established the OAU was signed by 32 governments of African states in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Since the establishment of the OAU in 1963, the OAU made considerable progress in implementing the objectives and one can see the progress as the foundation for the establishment of the AU. However, it is beyond this paper to scrutinize the historical strengths and weaknesses of the OAU since it development. I, on the other hand, will shed light on several facets of the OAU as an institution that eventually led to the establishment of the AU. From OAU to AU From the objective to support African states for their fight for independence, one can conclude that the OAU accelerated the process of decolonization in Africa and by 1994 all 54 African states were independent. Unfortunately, this has been seen as the only objective that the OAU successfully implemented and realized. Within the widely available literature and