Political Ecology Has Come Of Age Geography Essay

Political Ecology Has Come Of Age Geography Essay Political ecology is by no means a new concept. As a theory it produces a complex framework of understanding into the relationships between political, economic and social environments and the effect these relations have on environmental development and protection, developing common ground where disciplines can intersection (Greenburg and Park (1994).   The nature of political ecology can be so broadly defined that as a field of research has developed, no one definition has been substantiated in order to fully characterise the assertion towards collective considerations of society and nature. Although the adaptation and expansion of this body of knowledge continues to create a broader sub-context in which geographic and development studies are practiced, creating greater obstacles in its theoretical classification, Robbins (2004) defines political ecology as, ‘empirical, research based explorations to explain linkages in the condition and change of social/environmental systems , with explicit considerations of relations of power.   The emphasis placed on political ecology is to provide a sense of connectedness within a field that traditional sees the sum of its parts divided into different areas of definition and implication. As the study of the importance of political ecology by Stott and Sullivan (2000) has shown that by identifying the political circumstances that forced people into activities which caused environmental degradation, in the absence of alternative possibilities, there is a need to illustrate the political dimensions of environmental narratives and in deconstructing particular narratives, to suggest that accepted ideas of degradation and deterioration may not be simple linear trends to predominate.   This approach to geographic thinking provides the academic field with a further dimension of theoretical application but as to whether its use has truly ‘come of age remains a contested issue within academia and the wider world of representative approaches to environmental conservation and positive action towards sustainability. This essay will concentrate on deconstructing whether this critical approach to human-environmental relations has broken the barriers to understanding political, human and environmental interactions in a wider social context. This will be achieved through the examination of critiques within the approach, taking into account the important questions of whose history and whose knowledge is being represented and elements of contested theory and implication that cause problematic outcomes on the global stage of development. Whilst developing this argument, also being taken into consideration will be the contribution political ecology has had within and towar ds development and development studies, in order to establish what the role and emphasis is of resulting work that the approach of political ecology has in the ever expanding field of critical development, evaluating, as noted by Muldavin (2008), ‘where ‘we have been in the past, where we are today, and where we may be going in the future and whether political ecology can ever manifest itself within a structured and conclusive framework or whether the approach will only suffice to be ‘all things to all people (Blaikie, 2008). The field of political ecology is vast, through which the addition to theoretical impact through the development of effective frameworks creating limitless boundaries toward disciplinary input where the flexible and adaptive form found within political ecology has allow new and diverse currents of thought within a positivist framework. When considering whether political ecology has come of age, although there are continual debates over the theoretical and methodological implications towards the approaches undertaken by the academy, overlooking these momentarily, it becomes clear that in an age where environmental protection, conservation and the development of long term ‘green policy is the most predominant topic on policy makers minds, it would be clear to identify the intermediate coming of age of the discipline, despite its continual critique. Arguably, although the approach itself, suffers from what Muldavin (2008) describes as ‘boundaries of ignorance that allow unru ly practices to be maintained and reproduced, the controversial subjection of theory and practice leads to a continual critical reassessment of the approaches implications to form continually renewed policy, although criticised for its lack of engagement with practical problem solving (Walker, 2006). The issues of multi-discipline connectedness and the increasing need for social and environmental synergy brings the issues undertaken by aspects of political ecology to occupy the central stage (Peet and Watts, 2004) of global environmental politics and civil society debates. In order to overcome institutionalized system of knowledge the issues raised in the expansion of political ecology debate has allowed for the production of space for thought, opening up discussion toward how discourse formation and representativeness in the present and towards the future to shape policy and practice in order to drive political ecology to form positive regulation of global commons. Developments within the field of political ecology have been vast over the last forty years, with particular emphasis being placed, in the last decade, on what Bebbington (2003) terms ‘theorizing up (Walker, 2006). As previous environmental narratives are questioned, the ability to ‘theorize up seek ways to ascertain the significance of such studies in broader development concerns, (Walker, 2006) where the approach to political ecology represents an integration of environmental knowledge and social justice that is not yet fully adopted or understood in all environmental debate (Forsyth, 2008). Through this stand point the ability to create suitable space in which to consider social participation in environment development and conservation through the implementation of local initiatives can be utilized. As argued by Simon (2003) for the need of balanced integrated attention to the biophysical/environmental and social political realms at different scales, in order to approp riately analyse the formulation of discourse. Much work has been undertaken to deconstruct commonly assumed environmental narratives and the diversity within the field through interdisciplinary connection and ‘hybrid knowledge or ‘discourse coalitions (Latour, 1993; Hajer, 1995; Blaikie, 2008) that have allowed the formulation of theory and methodology to remain lucid and adaptable to change.   However, although as argued by Watts (2003) the diversity of political ecology should be celebrated, its position in the world outside the academy of [political ecologist] thought provides a bleak landscape of complex terminology and distant solutions bound in red tape. Many political ecologists argue the concept of ‘non-equilibrium ecology (Forsyth, 2008) as the production of long term policy solutions made due to space-time factors.   With this in mind the assessment of political ecology developments dealing with issues such as access, the effect of institutions on vulnerable societies and the increasing emergence of women in development studies need to be taken into consideration. In the past access and control of resources in environment conservation continues to produce a divide in the politics of knowledge production in the global North and South. Although the work of political ecology seeks to understand and further develop the connections between social networks and the natural environment through its interaction with government and non-government lead organisations, the approach has been problematic from its beginning. Peet and Watts (2004) identify a fundamental flaw through the polarization of the â€Å"haves† and the â€Å"have nots†, where an emphasis on the effects of poverty on environment impact has been inherently linked to the causes of degradation in vulnerable areas in need for conservation, focusing heavily on third world and developing countries, which sees negative impacts on the environment fall into a ‘blaming the victim approach within social scientific concerns (Peet and Watts, 2004).   This approach arguably reinf orces post-colonial/post-structuralideologies of power and control over resources, through the reproduction of authority where knowledge toward global environmental management is encoded through institutionalised forms of knowledge rhetoric. These theoretical stand points allow for the rationalization of certain types of conclusion or outcome, whilst justifying change to traditional interaction with the environment including enclosure, exclusion and displacement of particular groups within a society.   The implication of this ideological, knowledge certification sees the privilege of particular forms of knowledge and power through which policy and practice toward further environmental trajectories are planned and applied. Although the production of knowledge and policy is important on a global scale, within particular western frameworks of progressive development policy, questions that should be consider include to whom does the policy speak? Whose history, whose science is being institutionalised and privileged and why? Although it is clear certain material impact push particular bands of knowledge into the foreground of discussion; the discourse of development and political ecology, the issues of scale and region variability inevitably become blurred within a colonial sense of restriction and a prescribed vision of what nature and environmental ‘wilderness should be, rather than development. Due to the nature of power allocation within development, diverse actors tend not to provide solutions but continue to allocate blame to local land users, with institutional development moving towards alleviating and helping the poor rather than supporting them through long term policy implementation, what Vayda and Walters (1999) argue produces a limitless capacity [for political ecologists] to neither verify their subject of scrutiny nor to have understood the complex and contingent interconnections of factors whereby environmental changes are produced (Forsyth, 2008). Through the consideration of access to resources and institutions, the notion of privileged knowledge assertion and limited access toward political production and resource affirmation, a major development to be considered within conservation management and political ecology is the role of women in development (Jewitt and Kumar, 2004; Robbins, 2004). Women are traditionally depicted to have a close, maternal connection with nature. Though this connection womens closeness to nature aids the development of comprehensive agro-ecological knowledge and environmental management practices (Shiva, 1988) that are restricted due to reduced mobility within society and ecological theory production and more disadvantaged by development programmes (Jewitt and Kumar, 2004) and disproportionately represented among the poor, as a homogenous group. Theory toward the construction of a special relationship between women and the environment has previously been detrimental to the development of consistent policy construction toward scale of social movements in ecological conservation, in this sense, the deconstruction of environment narratives by examining wider inequalities in the division of labour towards ‘discourse sensitivity (Jewitt and Kumar, 2004) to support and collaborate (Rocheleau, 2008). The example of Joint Forestry Management in India by Jewitt and Kumar (2004) of the possible developments political theory could bring to development strategies is positive but also there are empirical problems that are interwoven in this collaboration with political ecology as a whole, including the lack of assessment toward whether theory can be effectively put into practice on the ground and whether their effectiveness through diverse communities can be achieved. Although the implications political ecology brings to the surface are very urgent and relevant, toward the development of necessary development and conservation policy, issues which are at the heart of present political, economic, cultural and social debate, its inherent complexities provide problematic understanding and expansion as to whether although in terms of its importance and theoretical distinction, the approach has become more grounded and come of age within academic discussion. On the wider, more global stage its concepts of development and conservation theory, although poignant, fail to provide a consistence material solution to aid positive outcomes for conservation development. As argued by Robbins (2004) political ecology is too focused on the broadly defined ‘underdeveloped world and posits the environment as a finite source of basic unchanging and essential elements, which set absolute limits for human action. However intuitive, this assumption has proven histo rically false and conceptually flawed. When considering the implications of political ecology as a critical approach to human-environmental relations, although it is important to consider the approach as a construction of meaning and justification for social and cultural implications on a multilayered scaled, the approach consequentially leads to complexities and problematic understanding. These inconsistencies begin with the problem of a definition that can be transformed to fit different meanings, inevitably creating obstacle to development and environmental justice.   The inability to connect with the wider world due to the diversity of complex notions of theory, devalue the benefit of the connectedness to other disciplines as the pool of thought is limited to a few. Although keen to move toward grounded engagement with the production of integrated social and environmental knowledge toward consistent policy (as seen through the work of Blaikie) ‘the dependency on single stories (in local level research analysis ) reduces the likelihood of influencing many bodies (Bebbington, 2003; Walker, 2004). Although the emphasis on cultural value is present in research, scaling up solutions from snap shots of research data can see many issues lost or lessened. Despite trying to diversify land based initiatives e.g. through donor site programmes, changes have seen movement away from policy based initiatives. The reproduction of knowledge as power, the allocation of privileged theory and the reproduction of poverty and inequality still remains challenging, as argued by Robbins (2004) who states the assertion that superior environmental knowledge originates in the global north for transfer to the global south is problematic due to the reproduction of colonial knowledge and discounting of indigenous knowledge and participation of local communities. Also within this framework of ‘knowledge as power is the production of ‘wild landscapes working towards conservation initiatives under the initiative of nature as a commodity, which introduces new levels of ambiguity and problematic methodological within the field of development studies and political ecology practices. As cited by Marx, ‘even society as a whole, a nation, or all existing societies put together, are not owners of the Earth. They are merely its occupants, its users; and like good caretakers, they must hand it dow n improved to subsequent generations (Peet and Watts, 2004).   Although, in many instances the commodification of natural resources e.g. the introduction of private parks has created conservation zones, the ethics and highly problematic issues attached to this type of land acquirement has produced environmental conflict. Commodification of land and nature are arguably an expansion of the colonial state, which see the development of an argument where people are removed by state intervention [inherently linked to political ecology (Peet and Watts, 2004)] leaving land to be managed by external structures and nature to be socially constructed causing problems for indigenous groups. Although political ecology approaches are trying to provide a mode of explanation towards engaging nature and political dimensions between human environment relations, they very rarely accomplish a distinctive and workable solution. In conclusion, although the body of knowledge that political ecology produces is highly relevant in modern perceptions towards the urgency of resource dilemmas, the seclusion of the theoretical approach which is confined to non-material based responses to environmental conservation is highly problematic. Although it is argued political ecology has come of age, in definition, the unity of the approach with wider debate still remains marginal to the broader field of development. Blaikie (2008) argues the importance of stabilising political ecology through a more aggressive institutionalization at college and university level. This could be argued as contradictory considering the need and importance of transition to a more decentralised applications of knowledge, through the further inclusion of indigenous knowledge systems and the compromise of researchers and theorists to accommodate the needs of local individuals in order to not displace the values and priorities of communities on th e ground considering the need to further institutionalise theory as stated by Blaikie to make political ecology ‘work. Therefore, it could then be stated that unlike the rediscovery of geography (Muldavin, 2008), political ecology still has many complexities to consider and overcome in order to promote positive impacts towards future environmental development that would result in greater representativeness of the approach in the global arena.   References: Agrawal, A. (2008) The Role of Local Institutions in Adaptation to climate change. Social Dimensions of Climate Change, Social Development Department, The World Bank, March 5-6 Blaikie, P. (2008) Epilogue: Towards a future for political ecology that works. Geoforum 39, 765-772 Forsyth, T. (2008) Political Ecology and the epistemological of social justice, Geoforum 39, 756-764 Greenburg, J.B. and Park, T.K. (1994) ‘Political ecology, Journal of Political Ecology 1 Hajer, M. (1995) in Forsyth, T. (2008) Political Ecology and the epistemological of social justice, Geoforum 39, 756-764 Jewitt, S. and Kumar, S. (2004) ‘A political ecology of forest management: gender and silvicultural knowledge in the Jharkhand, India in Stott, P., Sullivan, S. (2000) ‘Political Ecology: Science, Myth and Power. Arnold: London Latour, R. (1993) in Forsyth, T. (2008) Political Ecology and the epistemological of social justice, Geoforum 39, 756-764 Marx, Capital, vol.1 in Peet, R., Watts, M. (2004) Liberation Ecologies: Environment, development, social movements. Second Edition, Routledge: Oxon Muldavin, J. (2008) ‘The time and place for political ecology: An introduction to the articles honouring the life work of Piers Blaikie. Geoforum 39, 687-697 Peet, R. and Watts, M. (2004) Liberation Ecologies: Environment, development, social movements. Second Edition, Routledge: Oxon Pepper, D., Webster, F. and Revill, G. (2003) Environmentalism: Critical concepts. Routledge: London Robbins, P.(2004) ‘Political Ecology: A critical introduction. Blackwell Publishing: UK Rocheleau, D.E. (2008) Political ecology in the key of policy: From Chains of explanation to webs of reaction. Geoforum 39, 716 727 Shiva, V. (1988) cited in Jewitt, S., Kumar, S. (2004) ‘A political ecology of forest management: gender and silvicultural knowledge in the Jharkhand, India in Stott, P., Sullivan, S. (2000) ‘Political Ecology: Science, Myth and Power. Arnold: London Simon, D. (2008) ‘Political Ecology and development: Intersections, explorations, and challenges arising from the work of Piers Blaikie. Geoforum 39, 698-707 Stott, P. and Sullivan, S. (2000) ‘Political Ecology: Science, Myth and Power. Arnold: London Vayda, P. and Walters. (1999) Against political ecology. Human ecology, 27 (1) 1-18 in Peet, R., Watts, M. (2004) Liberation Ecologies: Environment, development, social movements. Second Edition, Routledge: Oxon Walker, P. A. (2006) ‘Political ecology: Where is the Policy? Progress in Human Geography 30 (3), 382-395 Watts, M. J. (2003) For political ecology, unpublished manuscript, University of California, Berkeley in Walker, P. A. (2006) ‘Political ecology: Where is the Policy? Progress in Human Geography 30 (3), 382-395 Zimmerer, K.S., Bassett, T.J. (2003) Political Ecology: An integrative approach to geography and environment development studies. The Guildford Press: New York

Fahrenheit 451 Theme and the World of Today Essay

There have been a lot technological developments and advancements in the world. Technological advancements include the Televisions, computers and mobile phones that have become part of human life (Bloom, 76). From the futuristic book Fahrenheit 451, the author notes that the Television has become one of the enemies that people have in the world. The Television is seen as a replacement of the curiosity in human beings, the intellectual aspect as well as a replacement of literature. Furthermore, it is noted in the book that the Television has become a substitute in the family whereby people are glued to what is on the television rather than spend time with families (Bloom, 77). Friendships have been replaced with Television and no meaningful or real conversations can be started without the interruption of the Television. People are busy looking for happiness because people seem to be happy when they do not have to do the â€Å"difficult† work of thinking critically as noted by the author of the story (Bloom, 77). However, the benefits of television cannot be ignored because of the information aspect of that people can gain. Television, in the current world, has helped a lot in the distribution of the information. Marketers of products rely on television to inform consumers of their products. Governments make use of televisions to pass information to the subjects. It is a contrast that the same tool that is said to replace families and friendships and prevent meaningful conversations is the same tool that is used to unite people (Bloom, 78). Television unites people through information in other aspects, political, social and even economic issues, in the society. Therefore, the theme of Television is directly related to the current world and the way people have become glued to technology use across the world. References Bloom, Harold. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, New Edition. New York: Chelsea House, 2008. Internet resource. P.76-78 Source document

Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey Essay - 784 Words

Life is like a game of blackjack where we unknowingly are dealt good or bad cards. This unpredictability makes it difficult to gamble decisions. Unfortunately many factors can lead to the bad card where in both the game and life, people are trying to prevent us from achieving the goal. There are two choices to change the outcome however, we may either give up (fold) or we may take a chance (call). The beauty of taking the risk is that if lucky, life gives you that much-needed card. When dealt that winning card, a person is immediately uplifted. That one good hand drives a person to outweigh the pros from the cons and continue to strive for the winning pot or in this case, the goal in life. Enrique in Sonia Nazario’s†¦show more content†¦With confidence and new-found strength, it led past fears to be temporarily relinquished. Like many who are in a constant push and pull of emotions, he discovered the strength of his being in an unrelenting world. He wanted to feel he was worthy and able to contend with the unforgiving world with her love. A mother’s love provides sanctity in the soul of a child and encourages self growth, allowing a child to become independent and to feel content with their place in the world. A child who grows into a confident adult is capable of coping with obstacles in life. Without this important trait, a child is forced to face the world uncertain of what the future holds and lacking the attachment every child deserves. Enrique’s journey from Honduras to the U.S. unveils the innate loyalty of a loving child to their mother and presents the dangers that a migrant faces on the road with consistent angst; nevertheless, it supports the idea that compassion shown by some strangers can boost the retreating confidence within a person. In Sonia Nazario’s â€Å"Enrique’s Journey,† he seeks the beacon of light that all migrants hope to encounter; â€Å"El Norte.† Like many children before him, it is the answer to the problems of a hard life. While being hunted down â€Å"like animals† leading to â€Å"seven futile attempts,† he is beaten, robbed, â€Å"hungry† and â€Å"helpless.† This proves to be the most soul-crushing thing in his pathetic life. However in the midst of a mental breakdown, he is â€Å"stunned† byShow MoreRelated Rhetoric in the American Immigration Debate Essay1659 Words   |  7 Pagesimmigration debate, US presiden t Obama, journalist Sonia Nazario, and Arizona congressman J.D. Hayworth, we can evaluate the effectiveness of the different rhetorical approaches by whether or not they reach their intended audiences. Nazario fulfills her journalistic raison d’à ªtre by succeeding at objectivity, while Obama and Hayworth as politicians succeed by lying by omission in speeches and in writing in order to pursue policy goals and appease supporters. Sonia Nazario, herself an immigrant, was awareRead MoreEnriques Journey by Sonia Nazario954 Words   |  4 Pages Each year, thousands of Central American immigrants embark on a dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. Many of these migrants include young children searching for their mothers who abandoned them. In Enrique’s Journey, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sonia Nazario, recounts the compelling story of Enrique, a young Honduran boy desperate to reunite with his mother. Thanks to her thorough reporting, Nazario gives readers a vivid and detailed account of the hardships faced by theseRead MoreAn Analysis Of Sonia Nazario, S Enriques Journey1023 Words   |  5 Pageshome, as an idea, is the central concept. Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey chronicles a young boy’s, whose family and stability were ripped out from under him, journey as a now troubled man across countries to reclaim what was rightfully his. L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz narrates the trials and tribulations of a young girl who quite literally had her home ripped away from her. Baum goes on to set down one of the most, if not the most, famous journeys in human history as Dorothy traverses theRead MoreSonia Nazario s Enrique s Journey1698 Words   |  7 Pagesfamilies and countries, but the countries that they go to, to seek help, as well as refuge from. Sonia Nazario’s book Enrique’s Journey illustrates the struggles and issues that surround illegal immigration into the United States, however, I feel that as a nation, we should investigate further the reasons behind this influx in addition to what drives people to make this harrowing and dangerous journey to the United States through South America or from the Caribbean moreover, can this situation beRead MoreEnrique s Journey, My Head1207 Words   |  5 PagesThe entire time I was reading Enrique’s Journey, I kept asking myself, â€Å"What would I do?† If my mother left me to go to another country when I was five, would I try to find her years later? Would the abandonment and neglect by my family members lead me to resort to drugs? Would I make an eighth attempt to cross the border of the United States after my first seven attempts failed? 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Although Latin AmericanRead MoreEssay Immigration: Both Countries Need to Heal 1971 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"Open borders would only grant full and unimpeded access to those who want to do us harm.† (McQuain) In order to solve the immigration debate, we need to understand why they come here, and what they go though on their way. â€Å"Enrique’s Journey,† a book written by Sonia Nazario, tells the odyssey of a young illegal immigrant traveling to the US to reunite with his mother. His mother left Honduras because with the two or three dollars a week, she was having trouble supporting her family. She hoped

Case Analysis The Case And - 915 Words

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT In this Brief, the following are labeled accordingly: Frank E. Polo is referred to as the Father, Mr. Polo or Appellant. Merlin Hernandez is referred to as the Mother, Ms. Hernandez or Appellee and the Mother’s Attorney is referred to as the Opposing Counsel. References to the record will be designated as R. followed by the appropriate page number(s) â€Å":† paragraph â€Å":† line. STATEMENT OF THE CASE/FACTS The Agree Final Judgement of Paternity states in pertinent part: â€Å"The following provisions of the of the parties mediated settlement agreement dated August 14th, 2013 shall remain In full force and effect.† Furthermore, after enumerating the parts of the agreement that the parties wanted to survive, the agreement†¦show more content†¦The Appellant’s Statement of the Case and Statement of Facts are consistent with the evidence on the record, and therefore, not argumentative, speculative and do not contain irrelevant facts, but those contained on the record. This Court should take special attention to Argument IV-VI. The commission of Fraud upon the court is not limited to those acts intended to deceived, or mislead the court to corrupt the impartial functions of the court, but to any act that corrupt the impartial functions of the court. Criminal acts like Interference with Lawful Custody of a Minor Children, undue influence, coercion and fraud, if committed, would actually corrupt the impartial functions of the court. Therefore, if this Court finds those acts were in fact committed, after careful analysis of the law and the legal analysis presented by the Father, then the Mediation Settlement Agreement, the Agreed Final Judgment and, any illegal provision of the Final Judgment of Paternity, giving force an effect to the Mediated Settlement Agreement, should be Void as a matter of. Allegations of the father against members of the Florida Bar and the Mother are about criminal activity of thoseShow MoreRelatedCase Analysis : A Case842 Wo rds   |  4 PagesEthical Case Analysis Case-5 Let’s make a deal. Summary of Case: As a licensed counselor, you are seeing a client that is self-employed electrician. 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LEXIS 770 November 10, 1980 Parties: Brenda Gordon: Plaintiff in the first instance Appellant in the second instance Montgomery Elevator Company (Elevator maintenance company) Defendant in the first instance Appellee in the second instance Westinghouse Electric

Mark Cheney. Prof. Ross. Engl 1301 - 2050. 10 April 2017.

Mark Cheney Prof. Ross ENGL 1301 - 2050 10 April 2017 A White-washed History It is estimated that around 1.5 million German troops died in Allied controlled concentration camps after the war had already ended. In peace, more German soldiers died than that of which were killed during all the battles that were fought in the western front. During the time of the second World War, most of the world’s attention was focused on the atrocities that were being committed by the Nazi party, but little was said about the heinous acts that were perpetrated by the Allied troops and command and not many people were willing to speak out against the Allied party especially after the Allied troops claimed victory over the 3rd Reich in 1945. Even today, to†¦show more content†¦What especially made these bombing so terrifying was the use of white phosphorous, willy pete, which burned at temperatures reaching around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit and was usually used to melt enemy vehicles. Towns that were targeted were filled with civilians sleep ing in their beds when the fight wave of bombers filled the skies with dozens of bombers. After the rumbling stopped and the bombing had ceased, survivors and emergency helpers would scramble to stop the fires and assist the injured. During this time the second wave would make their way over the city and release a volley of willy pete on the town, which was then in turn followed up by another high explosive bombing run to spread the white phosphorus even further. The towns would soon become extremely windy because of the heat from the white phosphorus which would only intensify the blaze even further. When the combination of extreme heat and wind gust reaching speeds above 150 mph mixed, it created vortexes of fire and melted the asphalt on the roads. The bunkers that families thought would protect them turned into ovens. Those that could free themselves from these underground death chambers would flee into the streets only to find themselves melting into the asphalt. The bombings w ere a tactic to induce fear and to break the spirit of the German people. The soviets also had their own ways to strike fear in the heart

Student’s Must Read Books Free Essays

In our generation, gadgets and technologies have increased, and because of that many of us change their likes and the way we enjoy our free time. Because of gadgets and technologies many of us now are spend less time in reading. Good afternoon, I here speaking in front of you to tell what can you get through reading books. We will write a custom essay sample on Student’s Must Read Books or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"A room without books is like a body without a soul† a hero, a martyr, and great writer named Jose Racial in his early time of his life. Reading books is one of his building blocks. If I were knew Racal’s family had their own library on their house. He grab that opportunity to read many books and learn something that some other Filipino doesn’t know. That’s why in his early of age he was enlighten and inspired to help his countrymen. He read books and he made books and he is now the well known great Filipino hero. You see, the key to success is to have some knowledge, knowledge that will help us to be a better person. There are lots of different books that can help us or make us become smarter and better like encyclopedia, where we can get some information that would help us to define or to answer our questions. And dictionaries here we can learn different kinds of languages in order for us to communicate to others like foreigners. â€Å"So many books, so little time† these generation that we live now is the generation where we students are too lazy on reading books. When we have assignments and projects we Just surf on the internet and find the words we needed to; and then ‘WALL EH† we Just copy and paste. We people doesn’t learn on a copy paste technique it’s Just tolerate us to become lazy and ignorant, sorry for the word but it is the reality, we have many information that is already written and the only thing that e should do is to read it. But what? We are Just ignoring the books, and hide it on the shelves and continue playing video games, or to watch some entertainment. We are Just wasting our time focusing on the thing that is not beneficial to us. Reading books helps our vocabulary become broader. It sharpens our mind to think critically wise and it can widen one’s imagination and also it can develop our verbal abilities. You wanted to be smart? Remarkable? Start making some action start on reading books of information and share what you have learned in that order others may inspire too How to cite Student’s Must Read Books, Papers

Strategic Information Systems Strategy and Implementation

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Information Systems Strategy and Implementation. Answer: Introduction Sungate Foods is based in Victoria .It buys from350 farms and packages and sells wild rice both in domestic as well as international market. It is already using Information systems but that information systems is not integrated. In spite of using information systems, there is lot of requirement for re-entering of same data again and again due to limitation of the system (Weygandt, 2007). Entering data again and again not only waste the precious time of the people but also cause human errors making task of reconciliation very difficult. Sungate has defined its budget of 150,000 US dollars and looking for replacing its Information systems with the new accounting software or ERP software that will be a good fit for its requirements and also helps to eliminate the existing problem. The objective of this report is to identify the business processes and business requirements for the Sungate and then study the accounting systems and to recommend a good fit software. Existing business problems Sungate Foods based in Victoria that produces rice and wild use already have existent information systems but facing a lot of issues due to that system. According to a study done by MIT, SAP and PRTM, there is an association between IT strategy of the enterprise, efficient business processes and the performance of the supply chain. Currently, the Sungate is working with very low degree of integration between the business processes. There is lack of clear and consistent supply chain performance measures. Each functional unit is performing their task without anyone worrying about the systems as a whole (Townsend, Wilkinson, 2014). There are independent IT systems having redundant data. The focus is on manual entry of data and since each functional unit is working in Silos, same data needs to be entered manually multiple times by different departments. Purchasing department is entering data to keep record of receiving. Stores and Inventory are entering received items so as to update th e quantity of each items in the store, financial department is entering data so as to match invoices and conciliation during month end. Each functional unit is working in Silos and same data is entered manually by different departments leading to the wastage of time and human errors. Not only this, People work for weeks in order to compile financial and business reports and come up with the insights. In this world of digitalization, Cloud technology and agility, Sungate is still relying on people to compile data for weeks (Parkes, 2012). If Sungate wants to grow, it has to invest in technology if not the advances ones at least it should improve the basic technology at work. Organization is keeping the high inventory so as to ensure complete orders. This has also increased the holding costs of the inventory and led to decrease in cash to cash cycle time, which is thus affecting the financial indicators of the company (Dameri, 2013). Business processes Before making a software selection, it is imperative that Sungate should brainstorm to come up with the detailed list of requirements and should also prioritize them so that if there is conflict in selecting various requirements and respective software, decisions could be made easily (Vanhoof, 2014). Below are the critical business processes for the Sungate and under each business process; any number of transactions takes place: Procure to pay cycle/Expenditure cycle This cycle starts from whenever there is requirement to buy the new items or existing items. Requisition for quotation is requested from multiple suppliers. Once quotes are received, they are analyzed and purchase order is created. After that goods are received into the inventory and invoice is created which is then transferred to journal and post to GL (General Ledger). Sungate buys regularly from 350 farms which mean it has already identified the suppliers and transaction begins from creating the purchase orders and ends with posting to general ledger (Miranda, 2013). Order to cash cycle/Revenue cycle This starts upon receiving the customer orders. If is present in inventory, fulfill from inventory else create production job to produce the desired quantity. After that, order is packed and shipped to the customer. Customers are then invoiced and after receiving the payments, account receivables needs to be updated (Dumas, Rosa, Mendling, Reijeers, 2013). Sungate sells both domestically and to international markets and thus there will be lot of customers orders. If all orders follows the order to cash cycle, this business process is also stream lined. Requirement here is that account receivables should share the data with the quantity sold to customers and hence there is no multiple entry of data. Payroll cycle/Time and Labor cycle This cycle refers to the collecting of the efforts spent by employees by means of time sheet and thus paying to the employees. Sungate employees 100 people during times of normal demand and this number goes to 200 during times of peak times. Instead of using excel sheets and entering data in registers, there should be some mechanism or software module that could handle payroll module (Holt, 2008). Production cycle/make to order This starts when the Production planning department releases job in the system, raw material is issued and thus converted into finished goods by means of labor and processing over different machines. If there are many orders and business has to make decision between which jobs to manufacture first due to delivery promises, scheduling algorithm are used (Weygandt, 2007). These algorithms also schedule the jobs such that maximum utilization of the resources will be there. Financial cycle/cash to cash cycle time This cycle refers to the maintenance of working capital necessary to run the firm. It involves revenue recognitions from the customers, obtaining the payments and deploys it to pay to the people and buying the raw material (Baskerville, 2016). The smaller it is, better it is for the organization. Sungate is maintaining high levels of inventory which has reduced the cash to cash cycle time. It has to maintain optimized this cycle time by maintaining appropriate levels of inventory (Davenport, 2013). Business requirements The key business requirements are categorized into high, medium and low priority and are as follows: Requirement and its Priority Detailed requirements High priority: Integration of Data across Functional units The most important requirement is that all the above cycles should be integrated which means data should be shared among all the functional units. When purchasing department is receiving item, it should be stored in the system, automatically update the quantity of inventory and notify finance guys also for the invoicing. This would save tremendous amount of time for the organization as there is no need to manually enter the data multiple times. This sharing of data also breaks the silos between the functional units. This cycles spans through multiple functional units. Earlier, each functional unit is recording and managing their data for their department. The requirement should be the business processes that will integrate the different functions and share the data. That will result in huge efficiency as there are no mistakes (Johansson, Carlsson, 2013). High priority: Reporting One of the most important business requirements is to get the managerial and financial reports. Currently, it is taking weeks for the staff to prepare financial and managerial reports. Also, some decisions couldnt wait for so long and thus has been taken without availability of appropriate information at hand. There is requirement of systems that could take inputs from the data in the system and process it to provide the output. Also, such requirements can be configured by the manager or users. It means that manager just needs to enter chart of accounts and what information is required, system would do the calculations and provide reports (Spear, Parrish, 2013). There is also the requirement of making the reports more presentable like if they are for the external parties, they should contain the name of the Sungate and other important terms and conditions and should be presentable. Medium Priority: Inventory Optimization Inventory level should be optimized. Thus, there is requirement of having some kind of reorder strategy or calculating economic order quantity. Also, cycles inventory should be supported. All these lead to increase the visibility of the inventory levels. There should also be safety stock but safety stock quantity should be defined after brainstorming. Carrying too less inventory also increases the risk of stock outs and thus there should be the balance (Horenbeel, Bure, Cattrysee, Pontelon, Vansteenwegen, 2013). Medium Priority: Purchasing features Apart from basic purchasing features like receiving and invoicing, additional features like spend management, ability to convert quotes into purchase orders, freight terms and appropriate approval hierarchy for approving of purchase orders are also desirable Medium Priority: Order Management features Besides basic features like entering sales order, the features like credit terms, hold for customers, pricing support are also desirable. Low Priority: Analytics and Dashboard Analytics and Dashboard are good to have but they can wait. Analytics will be required once the organization becomes comfortable with the basic and optimum level of Information systems and are comfortable working in an integrated environment. Various Systems comparison and Alignment There are numerous Accounting software and ERPs systems designs for different types of requirements and hence there is no one size fits all software. Let us have a look on the various software and if it serves the requirements and budget of the Sungate. Oracle systems, SAP and Microsoft Dynamics Systems: These huge ERP packages are very exhaustive and besides covering the requirements of Sungate, they provide the numerous additional features. There are many successful case studies about the organizations that have implemented these packages. All these fully answers the requirements of the Sungate but given the scale of the business of the Sungate and intricacies in the business, It would not make much sense to implement any of these ERPs because these are required for the businesses which are speeded worldwide and scale of the business is much larger. Also, the cost structure of this package is also quite high as compared to the budget of the Sungate. So, the cost aspect of these gigantic packages and their unsuitability for the business size (Jindal, Dhindsa, 2013) put these ERPs out of the game. Xero: It is the most widely used software package in Australia and NewZealand and becomes leader after replacing MYOB who was earlier the leader in Australian markets. There are numerous successful case studies of organizations using this software. It continues to launch additional features frequently and thus product development is strong. Recently, In march 2015, Xero added basic inventory features and thus overcome its major shortcoming. Also, it goes very well with numerous Bolts on systems. In terms of requirements, it has good level of purchasing and sales support sufficient for Sungate. By using this software, organization will have connected unified view of the processes (https://www.xero.com/au) and they no longer need to enter data multiple times. Also, this software is very cheap and even if the organization can have Bolton Systems, which provides advanced purchasing, and inventory features, it will be under budget (Hossack, 2015). Xero has excellent 3rs party connectivity and that is the unique proposition of this product making it a leader in Australia. Some of the Bolton systems like DIY, Unleashed Inventory integrates very well with Xero.It also supports payroll. With Xero, organization can have best of many worlds because 3rd party integration is good and it can have best 3rd party softwares. In future also, when the business expands and organizations wanted to buy advanced modules, it can buy best in the market and integrate it with Xero (Yuthas, 2013). Apart from all these features, the most important and powerful convincing factor is that it has excellent reporting tool whereby users can configure and customize their accounting reports and saves a lot of time. Users no longer need to spend weeks in preparing the reports. This will boost decision-making in the organization leading to better results. It also has multiple currency support feature, which is missing in MYOB, and since Sungate sells internationally, this feature is desirable. Its l icense will come under budget and even any bolt on is purchased and integrated for advanced purchase and inventory capabilities, cost will still be under budget. MYOB: MYOB offers solutions both on cloud as well as classic. MYOB will provide the integrated flow of the processes but not all functional areas ware well supported by it. It is one of the oldest products in Australia market and 2nd largest market leader in Australia. MYOB highly focus on accounting. It has features like tax accounting, GST. Earlier, MYOB has minimal support for Purchasing and order management but latest advanced versions have full support for these modules (Hall, 2012). If the organization decides to go for cloud solution, this solution will be very cheaper as compared to the budget of the Sungate. Not only this, classic version will also be cheaper. Also, since organizations employees 200 people during peak times and 100 during normal times, the cloud solution will help organization to increase or decrease the user restriction accordingly and thus paying for the exact no. of users. All the medium priority requirements and cost restrictions are perfectly fulfilled by this software solution however, this MYOB solution does not have low priority requirement i.e. Dashboard and analytics. But due to lack of 1 important high priority requirement i.e. business reporting makes to rule this software also out of the options. MYOB has basic level of reporting but not advanced reporting where chart of accounts can be configured and inputted by the business users to see the data for a particular business segment or department (Hossack, 2015). MYOB also dont support multiple currencies and Sungate sells in international markets also and thus there will be issue. Also, MYOB does not have cash flow forecasting features (https://www.myob.com/au). SYSPRO: SYSPRO is also very powerful package for the medium scale companies with large number of successful case studies. The most important thing is that organizations that have implemented this package re generally of same scale as of SYSPRO. In terms of the features, it has all the features covered in the requirement list. It has excellent support for purchasing, inventory. It has automatically creation of purchase order using reorder inventory technique and min max inventory technique, which help the Sungate to reduce the inventory (Scholtz, Calitz, Cilliers, 2013). It has excellent reporting tool where users can define their own reports and can save them for future purposes also. This software is also very flexible and can be customized based on business needs. 3rd party integration is also good and the goodwill of the vendor is also established in the market. It also has basic analytics and dashboard features. It cost will come under the budget of Sungate. It is not Accounting package but ERP package like SAP and Oracle suitable for medium scale organizations. Thus, it has lot of features and user training is also minimal (https://www.syspro.com/au/). Support of the vendor is also very good. Thus, this software is also recommended. Conclusion After carefully studying the existing structure and business problems of the Sungate, appropriate requirements are identified and they are matched with the offerings of software packages. 1st recommendation is SYSPRO and if it is expensive, then next accounting software can be considered as Xero with any 3rd party bolt on. Bolton can be added later also thus helping organization to splits its cost and manage it better. Assumptions It was difficult to find the exact cost of software license as no vendor has disclosed total cost of ownership except oracle. However, referring to various sources, approximate price is guessed and based on that recommendations are made. 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