U.S - European Ties with Obama as President Essay

U.S - European Ties with Obama as President - Essay Example â€Å"The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States opened a new chapter in transatlantic relations, transforming European assessment of the American president, U.S. standing in Europe, attitudes toward U.S. global leadership, and perceptions on both sides of the Atlantic of the U.S.-EU relationship† (Transatlantic Trends Key Findings, p.6). It is a fact that Obama enjoys heavy support from the European countries compared to his predecessor. Obama’s handling of international affairs has already attracted many Europeans. The handling of Afghan crisis, economic crisis and climate change has helped Obama to acquire support even from the traditional anti- American publics in Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe. On the other hand, Western Europe is almost unique in supporting Obama’s policies. In fact Obama enjoys more support from the European publics than from the Americans at present. In America at least the Republicans are strongly oppo sing Obama’s economic and foreign policies whereas in Europe, irrespective of the political difference, Obama enjoys strong support at present. The recently concluded G20 summit and the winning of Nobel Prize for peace have helped Obama to polish his face among the Europeans. â€Å"People in the European Union and Turkey have fallen under the Obama spell..In 2008, their assessment of Bush was 18 percentage points lower than Bush’s approval in the United States. In 2009, the situation was reversed. Their positive judgment of Obama (77%) was 20 percentage points higher than in the United States (57%)† (Transatlantic Trends Key Findings, p.6). The leadership of America in global matters is more acceptable to the Europeans at present compared to the Bush regime. But it is a fact that the former socialist countries like Bulgaria, Slovaks, etc are still keeping reservations about the American leadership in global matters. Europeans are more

Upgrade Library System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Upgrade Library System - Essay Example First, the institution’s brand name will improve attracting more students and other interested team of researchers. Second, student’s performance will greatly improve both their psychological attitudes and Morales being improved. This will directly and indirectly enhance their academic performance. The conflicts between students and staff that result of poor quality products and services shall be reduced. The quality of service delivered to students shall increase. For example, by automating all its operations, it will be able to better respond to the needs of students in a faster and more accurate manner. The upgraded library will save time thereby allowing more time for studying. It will also lead to higher productivity and improved attitudes towards learning and studying in the college. The project has numerous benefits both tangible and intangible not only to the sponsors but also to the society at large. I therefore, strongly recommend that the project be undertaken to realize its potential fruits of growth and development in the arena of education and research. The proposal involves the upgrading the library to suit and respond to the ever-increasing needs of students and other interested stakes. Through a brief historical background of Miami-Dade College, the project has highlighted the need for upgrading the library system to address the increasing number of their students and their ever-changing needs. The project aims at improving the service delivery by reducing the workload of librarians, saving time, automation of all the library operations. It will also increase the efficiency and the general outputs of the staff. The project will consist of three members, who have vast expertise and knowledge in the field of technology and administration o key a keen eye of the progress of the project to ensure its success. The research will take a maximum of two weeks considering the urgency and role it is awaiting to play in the institution that is marred with inefficiency and high staff turnover due to using the traditional manual system in its operations. The project aims to

Scm And Erp Implementation At Nike Commerce Essay

Scm And Erp Implementation At Nike Commerce Essay Nike, Inc. is an incorporated company which designs, progresses and markets worldwide athletic, footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. This company is a large publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier which is based in United States. And it is the worlds leading supplier that supplies athletic shoes and apparel and it is a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue over $18.6 billion in year 2008. In that year Nike employed more than 30 000 people worldwide. [1] In 1964 the company started Blue Ribbon Sport which was founded by athlete Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman. PRODUCTS Nike produces a wide range of products, such as shoes and apparel for sport activities like football, tennis, running, basketball, golf, combat sports, and American football for men, women and children. The first product of Nike was track running shoes which ware released by Nike in 1987. Some of the companys shoes reduce weight because they contain Fly wire and Linarite Foam. In 2010 Nike collection were worn by university teams like Miami, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, West Virginia, Pittsburgh etc. NIKES SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Supply Chain Management or (SCM) is the management of the entire value-added chain, from the supplier to manufacturer right through to the retailer and the final customer. Three primary goals of SCM are: Reducing inventory, increasing the transaction speed by exchanging data in real-time and increasing sales by implementing customer requirements more efficiently. [3] Shortly, SCM is a business network converting from buying, making, moving, and warehousing to selling. The aim of Nike was to do their products different or unique from other shoe producers thats why the supply chain management of Nike focused on that by maintaining its relationship with its suppliers in order to be able to do its production process better. Nikes supply chain includes all the activities, such as goods and services from the raw material stage, assembly, manufacturers, warehouse, parts suppliers, and distribution to the end-user whose primary goal is to maximize the value and shareholder wealth of the company. Supply chain management brought certain benefits to the company. Costs from outsourcing allowed Nike to focus on its core competencies such as product design, marketing, and Air Sole technology. Relationship of company with its suppliers made it contingent for them to have better quality product with low costs through reduced administrative and payroll costs. Nikes variety of 860 suppliers let them flexibility, also allowed them faster service in cases of emergencies and quality standard. The technologies of Nike like transferring data, orders, communication via internet and databases let them perform and meet the demands of customers in a timely manner and at the same time allowed them to have a good inventory and monitoring control. Nikes supply chain was confronted with many obstacles. One of the reasons was an expensive implementation of technical components; another reason was having too many suppliers which can lead them losing control of inventory and operations management. A fault of some shoe parts suppliers can result delay in its supply chain process; non implementation of suppliers of Nikes can once again dispose of the public perception of the company and also trend forecasts and unstable economy may affect consumers need. I2 SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION In 1999, Nike Inc. decided to implement the first part of the supply chain strategy. So they decided for demand and supply chain planning application software from i2 technology. [4] The cost of this strategy was $40 million. The strategy of Nike using i2 software was to help the company to enable them resolve and detect any problems effectively, to perform effective business planning, and help them to match the supply with demand by mapping out the manufacturing of specific products. REASONS FOR I2S SOFTWARE FAILURE The failure was heart  when the company announced that they had profits of $97.4 million and this sum was 48 million below from their earlier forecast for the third quarter ended February 28, 2001.They also mentioned that this revenue short fall was caused from the supply chain software that was  installed form i2s Technologies. By the way this failure affected companys reputation as an innovative user of technology. Some problems that were caused from the i2 software were as follows: Integration: it couldnt integrate with SAP ERP, the integration was required to be with ERP, SCM and CRM but this didnt happen in i2 SCM that was working so isolated. Customization: there was a high customization demand forecast which caused system operations to be very slow. Deployment using legacy system: the complexity for entering input information by the lack of integration in several languages and also subsystems results in crashes, bugs, enormous delays. There was no realistic time of goals: because there was an extreme pressure In timelines , this result in low level of testing before going alive and may be pushing the probability of errors. And the following problems were that the software was giving inadequate information, the market condition begins to change and NCS project complication and as a result of all this review of meetings. After all this problems the Nike and the company that produced software were pointing finger at each other. Software Company said that they had some specific templates and methodology for use and we always recommend to our customers to follow them but Nike instead chose not to do that. Also she added that Nikes problem is isolated incident and the other 1000 companies are not in risk. IMPLEMENTING SAP AFS This time Nike decided to implement  specifically  developed software for  apparel and for footwear industry the software called AFS which was a variant of the SAP R/3. With the single  Instance Strategy, Nike begin using SAP AFS application across all the geographies where Nike is sold and ,on the other hand they also decided to chose to implement the other SAP applications which include  Supply Chain management (SCM) and Business Information warehouse which was considered a pilot test of SAP Net Weaver platform for the near future. The company thinks that the single Instance Strategy would result in better integration  and also  provide  a competitive edge by enabling holistic view of its business. BENEFITS Nike spent six years and $500 million on the project. In 2004 the 80% of the project was completed, and the company gained several benefits from the project. The benefits were dividing: better financial management improved their  Ã‚  revenue of  Ã‚  forecasting decreased the inventory level quick manufacturer and design process Direct Benefits: Better integration between departments Improved level of decision making Better visibility into costumer order transactions Non-quantifilable benefits CONCLUSION As  a conclusion we can say that every company leers by their mistakes even though this mistakes cost a lot.  As we discussed below one of the biggest mistake of the Nike was choosing a poor quality company that had never designed such big software and tried first time on Nike and when the problem occurred they werent able to accept their faults. By the way also we learned the importance of pilot test because of the pressure they couldnt test the software and they faced a problem such that  the lose was felt 9 months in the company. There was a vision gap in the company, where the role of forecasting wasnt clearly defined and it had a hard influence on supply chain management. And finally if there existed any  experienced external consultant, both previous problems would  have been managed.

Creationism vs. Evolution Essay -- Science vs Creationism

â€Å"Life has no meaning. Jesus gives our life meaning, we must accept him to give meaning to our life. It futile to ask about the meaning of life when you are the answer.† ― Rob Geis Creationism and the study of evolution has been a controversial debate for decades now, leaving many people on one side or the other. Creationism argues that faith should take precedent over science, basing its beliefs on one book for guidance, the Bible. God created the earth and everything on it, taking six days. Evolutionists believe that the earth is much older than the Bible describes, and that plants, animals, and humans are a result of a natural progression called evolution. There were no common ancestors (Adam and Eve) from whom we came; it was a natural selection process, stemming from inorganic compounds and nature. For many people in the scientific world, it is hard to take a final stance on this issue since there is evidence of evolution, but that is where faith in God and what God has done comes into effect. According to a great medieval philosopher, Moses Maimonides, â€Å"conflicts between science and the Bible arise from either a lack of scientific knowledge or a defective understanding of the Bible†(Schroeder, 3). This paper will reveal some topics that these two groups debate about, along with their viewpoints. The Beginning The beginning of the earth, along with the birth of humans is one of the biggest and most contentious issues among creationists and evolutionists. Scientific theory holds the opinion that the universe is eternal, while the Bible states that there is a beginning. It has been proven that there was an official beginning; the question that arises is when that exact beginning took place, a time... ...Rapids, MI. 2013. Print. Kitcher, Philip. Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. 1982. Miller, Kenneth R. Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. Cliff Street Books: New York. 1999. Montagu, Ashley (Ed). Science and Creationism. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 1984. Pitman, Michael. Adam and Evolution. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI. 1984. Ruse, Michael. Can a Darwinian be a Christian? Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. 2001. Schroeder, Gerald L. The Science of God. The Free Press: New York. 1997. Toumey, Christopher P. God’s Own Scientists: Creationists in a Secular World. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ. 1994. Zetterburg, J. Peter. Evolution versus Creationism: The Public Controversy. Oryx Press: Phoenix, AZ. 1983.

Novel: 19 Minutes Essay

As kids grow up, they go through several stages to find out who they truly are. Some kids are very social and have many friends, when others are shy and not considered the coolest kids around. Jodi Picoult demonstrates isolation impeccably in her novel Nineteen Minutes by delving beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in today’s society. She shows how one can lose a friend, how people make someone feel bad; in order to feel good about themselves, and how isolation can lead to death related situations. Teenagers and kids in general, as they grow up they tend to change their friends multiple times. In the novel, Peter Houghton and Josie Cormier are very close friends since their childhood. Josie, unlike Peter, stands up for herself and even Peter sometimes, since he is mostly picked on. One day, when Josie and Peter are young, he decides to show her his father’s shotgun, which he uses to hunt with. Alex, Josie’s mothers, catche s them, and was furious saying â€Å"My daughter has been coming over to your house for how long, and you’ve got guns lying around† (Picoult 81)? The mothers from this day on stop being friends, which leads the kids to stop going to each other’s houses, although they still manage to play at school. Josie did not want to isolate Peter, because they are really good friends. Another thing that occurs in the novel, is that when a new girl joined Peter and Josie’s class, she is not very noticed. One day Peter â€Å"notice[s] that [she is] sitting in the middle of an ink stain† (Picoult 158). After Peter realizes that this is not an ink stain and the girl has actually got her period, he screams out: â€Å"Dolores has her period† (Picoult 158)! And then the whole class joins and starts laughing, including Josie. Peter, for a while, enjoys not being the one made fun of for once, but once they kids start teasing her, Peter decides to put a â€Å"sto p†(Picoult 159) to it. After this incident, Josie along with the popular kids continue†¦

Short History of Myanmar

Derived from BAMAR * ‘Burma’ – spoken form * ‘Myanmar’ – literary form 2. BASIC FACTS * Official Name – Republic of the Union of Myanmar * Capital – Naypyidaw * Form of Government – Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic * President – Thein Sein * Vice-President – Nyan Thun (Navy Chief) * 2nd Vice-President – Sai Mauk Kham World Organizations – UN (1948), ASEAN (June 23, 1997) * Ethnic Group – Burmans 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, Others 5% * Language – Burmese (Sino-Tibetan) * Currency – Kyat (K) * Religion – Theravada Buddhism 89%, Christianity 4%, Islam 4%, Others 2%, Hinduism 1% * Foreign Rulers – Chinese, Muslims, Indians, BRITISH, Japanese * Date of Independence – (from British) January 4, 1948 *Geography – largest country in the mainland SEA Bordered on the NW by India and Bangladesh, NE by Tibet an d China, SE by Laos and Thailand, S by the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea * Highest point is Hkakabo Razi in Kachin / highest mountain in SEA, along the borders of Myanmar, India and China / along the foothills of the Himalayas * Lowest point is Andaman Sea/Burma Sea, southeast of Bay of Bengal * Major rivers are Irrawaddy, Thanlwin, Sittang * Climate – Hot season is from March to May, rainy season is from June to October and cold season is from November to February 3. EARLY HISTORY Pyu (1st century BC) – entered the Irrawaddy Valley / established city states * Mon (6th century BC) – southern part of Myanmar / had cultural and economic links with India > Buddhism * Mranma/Bamar/Burmans (9th century BC) – settled in the Irrawaddy basin / dominant ethnic group / started the Pagan empire 4. 1044-1077 *Founded by King Anawrahta * Flourished in the upper Irrawaddy Valley * Laid the foundation of the Burmese language and culture, the spread of Burman ethnicit y, and the growth of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and in the mainland * Fall: attacks of the Mongol empire . WARRING STATES PERIOD * Ava Kingdom (1364-1555) – Led by  Burmanized Shan kings who claimed descent from Pagan kings – Founded by  Thadominbya * Hanthawaddy Kingdom/Hanthawaddy Pegu – Dominant kingdom in southern Burma – Founded by King  Wareru 6. FORTY YEARS WAR * Military conflict between Ava and Pegu * 1st half – Ava invaded Pegu and was defeated; Ava signed a truce * 2nd half – Pegu attacked Ava to stop its expansion; Ava signed another truce and broke it * After the war, Hanthawaddy Pegu reached its golden age through profits and commercializing . TOUNGOO DYNASTY * King  Mingyinyo founded the  First Taungoo Dynasty * Tabinshwehti unified most of Burma and was crowned king of all Burma in 1544 *Burma became an important trading center with the coming of European traders * Bayinnaung succeeded the throne in 1551 and reigne d for 30 years, launching a campaign of conquest invading several states 8. KONBAUNG DYNASTY * Last dynasty in Burma * Founded by a village-chief  Alaungpaya Reunited all of Burma, extinguished the Hanthawaddy dynasty and drove out the European powers who provided arms to Hanthawaddy * 1760-1855 – series of wars with Siam until the two countries exchanged Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Siam) 9. FIRST ANGLO-BURMESE WAR * King Bodawpaya – expanded westward which happened to include areas near the borders of the British India * British won – full control over Assam, Manipur, Cachar, Arakan, Jaintia, and Tenasserim * Burmese – forced to pay 1M pound sterling and sign a commercial treaty * Longest and most expensive war in British Indian history 10.SECOND ANGLO-BURMESE WAR * Commodore George Lambert – sent to Burma to resolve some minor issues regarding the Treaty of Yandabo * George Lambert blocked the port of Rangoon, seizing the King’s royal ship * Britain also wanted the teak forests in the southern parts of Burma and the port between Calcutta and Singapore * The British succeeded – annexed Pegu and renaming it Lower Burma 11. THIRD ANGLO-BURMESE WAR King Mindon tried to modernize the Burmese state and economy to resist British encroachments * The British claimed that Mindon’s son, Thibaw Min, was a tyrant intending to side with the French * The British won for the last time, making Burma a province of the British Raj 12. BRITISH RULE * Capital at Rangoon *Traditional Burmese society was changed by the end of monarchy * Demand for Burmese rice grew and lands were opened for cultivation * Farmers were forced to borrow money from Indian moneylenders called ‘chettiars’ * Burmese economy grew but all the power and wealth remained in the British firms 3. NATIONALIST MOVEMENT * Dominated by Ethnic Burmese * Strongly anti-Chinese and anti-Indians * Domination of Myanmar economy by foreign cap ital stimulated the dev’t of socialist ideology * The stress on Buddhism as being the core of cultural, religious and personal identity alienated the non-Burmese 14. JAPANESE RULE * Nominally declared Burma independent as the ‘State of Burma’ on August 1, 1943 * Asia for the Asians Co-Prosperity Sphere (self-sufficient bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers) * 1944: Aung San established the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League *1945: British troops had regained control 15. INDEPENDENCE * Britain – move Myanmar towards full self-governance (under the British Commonwealth) * January 1947: Aung San led the AFPFL to London – election for a constitution * Won the elections, but Aung San was assassinated U Nu led Myanmar to independence from the British on January 4, 1948 * Union of Burma – federal state composed of large Burmese are and four upland states * General Ne Win – led a military coup to overthr ow U Nu’s elected government * Many people supported the coup = end to the corruption, instability, inflation and social unrest * Military-based political party: Burma Socialist Program Party *1974: new Constitution – Socialist Republic of the Union Of Burma * 1987: UN – Myanmar as the least developed nation, one of the world’s 10 poorest countries * Two economies: the legal state-controlled economy & the black market economy * State Law and Order Restoration Council – General Saw Maung * Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, won the elections but was placed under house arrest * March 27, 2006 – the capital was officially named  Naypyidaw Myodaw (Royal City of the Seat of Kings) * 2005 – capital from  Yangon to  Naypyidaw * May 10, 2008 – from the  Union of Myanmar  to the  Republic of the Union of Myanmar