INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRs) AND AWARENESS ON DIGITAL Research Paper

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRs) AND AWARENESS ON DIGITAL PROTECTION IN DIGITAL LEARNING - Research Paper Example 25). Under the 1976 U.S. copyright law, the owner of copyrighted materials were given the legal right to control the reproduction of their own works and creation, the display of their digital materials, and the distribution of their professional works and masterpieces (Ulius, 2003, p. 62). Demand for digital learning is increasing. By personally seeking permission from the copyright owner(s) before using their published works and ideas, educators and students should respect the existing law behind digital protection. This study will focus on examining the significance of intellectual property rights (IPR) and public awareness of digital protection on digital learning at Botswana College of Open and Distance Learning (BOCODOL). By incorporating the three approaches including the qualitative (interpretive / subjective), quantitative (objective / realism) and critical (analytical / critical / normative) in the research design, whether or not the students at BOCODOL are prone on violating the intellectual property rights of the writers and digital publishers will be The main purpose of this paper is to examine how the combination of qualitative, quantitative and critical approaches in research methods could strengthen the reliability and accuracy of the research study results. To satisfy the use of the quantitative research approach, the research design for this study will make use of research survey approach. For the qualitative and critical approaches, the significance of research interview and the use of a combine quantitative and qualitative research will be tackled in details respectively. Aside from discussing the statement of the problem and research questions for each of the three major research approaches, the conceptual framework of qualitative, quantitative and critical research methods will be thoroughly examined by going through the in-depth analysis and

Irish Government's e-Government Initiative Essay

Irish Government's e-Government Initiative - Essay Example The evolution in communication and information technology has been effective in changing the way we communicate. There has been increasing call for democratic regime which is more open and accountable to the people. This has led to the change of view of governance as a leadership by the people and for the people in which the ruled have more say. With the need to be more open to the public and to be more accountable in deliver of service, many government in the world have been taking drastic measures which are aimed at making their service deliver structure better to the people. There has also bee a call for more accountability in governance. In this case the governments have been working to have a system through which the citizens can learn about what is happening in the government and also systematically seek their opinion on various issues that relates to governance. In this case e-government has become one of the most important tools that are being used by various governments in order to enhance accountability and ensure deliver of quality services. E-government in its simple definition can be termed as the use of information can communication technologies in order to improve the activities of the public sector organizations. This means that it is the application of the modern ICT tools in order to enhance governance and delivery of services to the public. It is the systematic arrangement of the public sector such that it is using the modern technology to deliver services to the people and to communication with the people. E-government is portrayed in there main domains. First there has to be improvement of the governance process. This mans that the process of e-administration has to be more efficient and has to be different as compared to the other methods of governance. Second there has to be connectivity of the citizens. This means that eCit izens and eService have to be integrated in the structure. Third there has to be a systematic building of external interactions. In this case there has to be inclusion of eSociety. These three domains mainly addresses the problem that the government may be too costly, too inefficient and ineffective and too self-serving and inconvenient for citizens and too insular in failure to include the larger societies. (Ntiro, 2000) e- Government in Ireland Irish government has been one of the governments in the world which have adapted polices of e-government in order to ensure that there is superior delivery of services. The government has been taking measures which are aimed at ensuring that the public service bodies come up with good e-government policies which are aimed at addressing the various needs of the publics. The Irish government has been awarding the public sector according to the way in which they have been able to implement e-government approaches in their departments. The government has been arming its department with ICT tools that are aimed at ensuring that there is efficient delivery of services to the people. The government agencies have been striving to ensure that they deliver quality services to the people. This has been in line with the revolution in the use of ICT tools by the population which has been considered as one of the simplest way to access to the government

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Review - Essay Example Allen& Jensen (1995) Pg 5-8, claim that freedom of speech is not supreme in any country and is subject to restrictions such as slander, libel, incitement or obscenity. In this regard, this paper aims to review a book that deals with the First Amendment and some aspects of freedom of expression, the overarching themes and key points made in the chapter, as well response grounded on what I have learned this far about free expression. In addition, I will also explain some of concerns and questions raised by the material. In chapter 3 of Allen & Jensen (1995), pg 11-16 it talks about the first amendment of the United States in terms of the prohibiting the federal, municipal or state to establish religion or have a preference for one religion over another. Subsequently, this law has been interpreted differently in the American history, for example, some say that it separates church and state, in addition to preventing the government from establishing a church. Additionally, it explains th at as long the freedom of religion law does not target a particular religion, then it does not violate the Clause Free Exercise. The congress is also said to have passed an Act called the Religious Freedom Restoration, in which it aimed to restore the standard of religion interest, also known as â€Å"Compelling Interest†. ... He argues that the Act is based on the first amendment unconstitutionally. However, the freedom of speech is recognized in article 19 under Human Rights Universal Declaration as well as in human rights international law in the Covenant on political and civil rights international. Chapter 3 of Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg 21-22, acknowledges that, the Article states that everyone has the right to hold opinions without any interferences, as well as the right to freedom of expression. Therefore, this right includes the freedom to receive, impart, and seek ideas and information of all kinds, either in oral, writing or print. The article also explains that the exercise of such rights also carries unique responsibilities and duties and can therefore be subject to restrictions if necessary. Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg. 22-30 also notes out that under the article 19, the concepts of freedom of press adopted Article 11, freedom of expression stating that free communication of opinions and ideas is t he most important right of every human being. Therefore, every citizen may print, speak, and write accordingly, but should be responsible for any abuse of freedom as law defines. The freedom of expression and speech is recognized in regional and international law of rights, in which the right is confined in Article 19 of international political and civil rights. Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg30- 35 argue that freedom of expression is understood as multi-functional rights which include not only the right to disseminate, or express ideas and information but other aspects like the right to impart, seek and receive information and ideas. Nevertheless, regional, national, and international

The Goal Book Report Essay Example for Free

The Goal Book Report Essay Actually Alex’s plant has not been profitable for some time and because of that Bill gives an ultimatum to Alex to turn the plant around in 3 months or else the plant will be closed unless there are visible improvements. Due to the limited amount of time given, Alex almost gives up on the plant until Alex remembers his conversation with Jonah, his college physics professor. They happened to come across each other in the airport during Alex’s business trip. During that time, Jonah asked him several question to analyze his company situation. This conversation then leads Jonah asking Alex, â€Å"What is the goal of your manufacturing company? † Although Jonah didn’t give the answer to Alex but eventually Alex get the answer after rethinking their conversation. Alex realizes that the goal of his company or in fact any business is to make money. After finding out the answer, Alex then decide to contact Jonah one more time to consult further about his company. After contacting Jonah, Alex gets three measurements that can determine the success of a business. The three measurements are throughput, or â€Å"the rate at which the system generates money through sales,† inventory, or â€Å"all the money that system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell,† and operational expense, or â€Å"all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput†. Using these measurements, Alex has a basis to determine if his decisions are helping the plant move towards the goal. The goal of the  plant is to make money, which is characterized by increasing throughput and decreasing inventory and operational expense. Alex decided to meet with Jonah in New York in order to fix their plant problem. But once again, Jonah leaves Alex with another question, what does the combination of dependent events and statistical fluctuations have to do with your plant? During the weekend, Alex went to a hiking trip with his son and got stuck as a ‘troop master’. During the hiking, Alex discovers Alex discovers the importance of dependent events in relation to statistical fluctuations. With this discovery, he also found out that the bottleneck’s speed of production is what determines the speed of the other dependents. Hence, inventory moves very slowly because of statistical fluctuations. Back to the plant, Alex with his team begins their search for their plant’s bottlenecks. Then they found one the machine (NCX-10) and the heat treatment as the source plant’s bottlenecks. Alex invites Jonah to visit his plant in order to solve their bottlenecks problem. Jonah define bottleneck as any resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the demand placed upon it and a non-bottleneck is any resource whose capacity is greater than the demand placed on it. With Jonah’s help, Alex and his team able to solve their bottlenecks problem such as perform the quality control testing before going into the bottleneck, do not produce parts for inventory produce only what is in demand, produce smaller batches to increase productivity for the whole process, etc. One thing that they also learn from Jonah is that an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour lost to the whole system. So, it is important to keep the bottleneck to keep moving all the times. With these changes in Alex’s plant, they are able to increase their production during the second and third month. With the increase of production in their plant, Alex able to save his plant and he also promoted to Bill peach’s position. Regarding his personal life, Alex described as a dedicated and workaholic employee. His dedication to his work posed some family problems: losing time for his wife aside from her not being used to living at his hometown where there is a big difference from the city life his wife is used to. At one point, Julie, Alex’s wife leaves him because she’s tired of arguing and her attempt to save their marriage. However, while Alex tries to save his plant, Alex also does the same thing with his marriage. II. Things I liked about the book What I liked about the book is that the book very informative and it is really easy to read. I think this book will be one of effective way to learn about management. Because it is the most efficient way to understand the challenges involved in the manufacturing processes. Unlike many books that take complicated ideas and oversimplify them so the ideas lose their meaning, this book simplifies ideas in ways that enhance their meaning by making the ideas easier to see and employ. Another thing that I really like from this author is that he able to turn a relatively boring subject for some people to an exciting read. One more thing that I like is the way the author describe the characters in the story. I think many readers can relate to the characters in the book since what happen in the story is also happening in the real world. And the last one is I liked how the author include Alex personal life problem in the story. I think what the author trying to do is to inform his reader that there must be balance between personal life and work life. You have to balance your personal life and work life, because eventually they will flow in and out of each environment. III. Critique of the book I don’t think I have any critique for the book since the book really helps me in understanding how management really works. One thing that I might complain might be some typo errors in the book. IV. Real life example From the book, we can see that the concept that Jonah gave can be apply not only for business problem but also problems that we deal within our daily life. I think we can definitely see it from the book during the hiking trip. I think what we can do is asking ourselves with the question of â€Å"what is my goal in life, work, study and other things that we do? † As a student, I think I can apply some of the concept in my studying. When I took a subject, the first thing that I want to know is what is my goal in taking this subject? After knowing that, if ever I encounter some problem like a probability of failing the subjects, I have to identify the source of my problem. Knowing the source of my problem will make it easier for me to decide how or what can I do in order to fix my problem.

Advances in Composite Laminate Theories

Advances in Composite Laminate Theories This paper reviews the Composite Laminate Theories that have already been proposed and developed in the recent years. These theories mainly focus on the macro mechanical analysis of the composite laminates which provides the elastic relations of the lamina. Stress-induced failure can occur in multiple ways in composite materials. Hence to understand and predict transverse shear and normal stress accurately, various composite laminate theories have been developed. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed in detail. In this study, the Composite Laminate Theories are divided into two parts: (1) Single Layer Theory, where the entire plate is considered as one layer and (2) Layer Wise Theory, where each layer is treated separately for the analysis. It starts with displacement-based theories from very basic models such as Classical laminate theory to more complex higher-order shear deformation theory. [6] INTRODUCTION The requirement of composite materials has grown rapidly. These materials are ideal for applications that require low density and high strength. Composite materials provide great amount of flexibility in design through the variation of the fiber orientation or stacking sequence of fiber and matrix materials. The mechanical behavior of laminates strongly depends on the thickness of lamina and the orientation of fibers. Hence, the lamina must be designed to satisfy the specific requirements of each particular application and to obtain maximum advantage from the directional properties of its constituent materials. The normal stresses and through-thickness distributions of transverse shear for composite materials are very important because in laminate composite plates, stress-induced failures occur through three mechanisms. For instance, when the in-plane stress gets too large, then the fiber breakage occurs. However, normally before the in-plane stresses exceed the fiber breakage point, inter laminar shear stress failure occurs when one layer slips tangentially relative to another. Alternatively, transverse normal stress may increase enough to cause failure by which two layers pull apart from each other. Therefore, it is imperative to understand and calculate transverse shear and normal stress through the thickness of the plate accurately. In general, two different approaches have been used to study laminated composite structures, which are: (1) single layer theories and (2) discrete layer theories. In the single layer theory approach, layers in laminated composites are assumed to be one equivalent single layer (ESL) whereas in the discrete theory approach, each layer is considered separately in the analysis. Also, plate deformation theories can be categorized into two types: (1) displacement and (2) stress -based theories. A brief description of displacement-based theories is given below: displacement-based theories can be divided into two categories: classical l aminate theory (CLT) and shear deformation plate theories. Normally, composite laminate plate theories are described in the CLT, the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the global higher-order theory, and the global-local higher shear deformation theory (SDT). DESCRIPTION: In the studies carried out in last few decades, many different theories were presented to overcome various issues and explain the behaviors of composite materials more accurately. In this paper, these theories are reviewed, categorized, and their advantages, weaknesses and limitations are discussed in detail. LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES Classical Laminate Theory (CLT) The simplest ESL laminate plate theory is the CLT, which is based on displacement based theories. In the nineteenth century Kirchhoff initiated the two-dimensional classical theory of plates and later on it was continued by Love and Timoshenko. The principal assumption in CLT is that normal lines to the mid-plane before deformation remain straight and normal to the plane after deformation. The other assumptions made in this theory are (1) the in-plane strains are small when compared to unity (2) the plates are perfectly bonded (3) the displacement are small compared to the thickness. Although these assumptions lead to simple constitutive equations, it is also the main limitation of the theory. These assumptions of neglecting the shear stresses lead to a reduction or removal of the three natural boundary conditions that should be satisfied along the free edges. These natural boundary conditions are the bending moment, normal force and twisting couple. Despite its limitations, CLT is s till a common approach used to get quick and simple predictions especially for the behavior of thin plated laminated structures. The main simplification in this model is that 3D structural plates ( with thickness ) or shells are treated as 2D plate or shells located through mid-thickness which results in a significant decrement of the total number of equations and variable, consequently saving a lot of computational time and effort. Since they are present in closed-form solutions, they provide better practical interpretation and their governing equations are easier to solve [6]. This approach remains popular because it has become the foundation for further composite plate analysis theories and methods. This method works relatively well for structures that are made out-of a balanced and symmetric laminate, experiencing either pure tension or only pure bending. The error which is introduced by neglecting the effect of transverse shear stresses becomes trivial on or near the edges and corners of thick-sectioned laminate configurations. It is observed that the induced error increases for thick plates made of composite layers. This is mainly due to the fact that the ratio of longitudinal to transverse shear elastic moduli is relatively large compared to isotropic materials [2]. It neglects transverse shear strains, under predicts deflections and overestimates natural frequencies and buckling loads [3]. Composite plates are, subjected to transverse shear and normal stresses due to their discontinuous through-thickness behavior and their global anisotropic nature [3]. In order to achieve better predictions of the response characteristics, such as bending, buckling stresses, torsion, etc., a number of other theories have been developed which are presented in following sections [6]. Figure1. Deformation Hypothesis [Taken from class notes. Advanced Plate Theory.1] Displacement and strain field for CLT are given below: [Taken from class notes. [1]] First-order shear deformation theories (FSDT) Reissner and Mindlin developed the conventional theories for analyzing thicker laminated composite plate which also considered the transfer shear effects. These theories are popularly known as the shear deformation plate theories. Many other theories, which are extension of SDT, have also been proposed to analyze the thicker laminated composite. These theories are primarily built on the assumption that the displacement w is constant through the thickness while the displacements u and v vary linearly through the thickness of each layer. In general, these theories are known as FSDT. The primary outcome of this theory is that the transverse straight lines will be straight both before and after the deformation but they will not be normal to the mid-plane after deformation. As this theory postulates constant transverse shear stress, it needs a shear correction factor to satisfy the plate boundary conditions on both the lower and upper surface. The shear correction factor is introduced to adjust the transverse shear stiffness values and thereby, the accuracy of results of the FSDT will depend notably on the shear correction factor. Further research has been undertaken to overcome the limitations of FSDT without involving higher-order theories to avoid increasing the complexity of the equations and computations [2, 7]. Authors like Bhaskar and Varadan [23] used the combination of Naviers approach and a Laplace transform technique to solve the equations of equilibrium. Onsy et al. [4] presented a finite strip solution for laminated plates. They used the FSDT and assumed that the displacements u and v vary linearly through the thickness of each layer and are continuous at the interfaces between adjacent layers. They also postulated that the displacement w does not vary through the thickness. These assumptions provide a more realistic situation (when compared with CLPT) where in the shear strains are not continuous across the interfaces between adjacent lamina. The other limitations are (1) assumption of constant shear stress is not correct as stresses must be zero at free surfaces. (2) FDST produces accurate results only for very thin plates. In order to calculate transverse shear more accurately, to satisfy all boundary conditions and to analyze the behavior of more complicated thick composite structures under different loading condition and to overcome the limitations the use of higher-order shear deformation theories are imperative[1]. Figure2. Reissner Mindline Plate [picture taken from MAE 557 class notes. 1] Higher Order Shear Deformation Theory: The limitations of the CLT and the FSDT have persuaded the researchers to develop a number of global HOSDT. The higher-order models are based on an assumption of nonlinear stress variation through the thickness [1]. These theories are developed for thick plates but are predominantly 2D in nature. These theories are capable of representing the section warping in the deformed configuration. At the layer interfaces, some of these models do not satisfy the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses. Although the discrete layer theories do not have this concern, they are computationally slow when solving these problems because of the fact that the order of their governing equations purely depends on the number of layers [24]. Whitney attempted to examine the problem with inter laminar normal stress [25]. Several authors were involved in developing this theory , for instance the calculation of inter laminar normal stress was studied by Pagano [26], a boundary layer theory by Tang [ 6], the perturbation method by Hsu and Herakovich , and an approximate elasticity solutions by Pipes and Pagano. In most of these models, the laminate is assumed to be reasonably long. The stress singularities were considered in a model presented by Wang and Choi. In order to determine the stress singularities at the laminate free edges, Wang and Choi used the Lekhnitskiis [27] stress potential and the theory of anisotropic elasticity. The Eigen function technique developed by them uses a collocation system at every ply interface to satisfy continuity. The major limitation of this theory is that it can be applied to only relatively thin laminates [17]. In order to explain plate deformation for composite laminate plates with thickness, Ambartsumian proposed a higher-order transverse shear stress function. Various different functions were proposed by Reddy [2], Touratier , Karama and Soldatos. The results of some of these methods were compared by Aydogdu [23]. For example, a 2D higher -order theory is developed by Matsunaga to investigate buckling in isotropic plates for in-plane loads where the effects of transverse shear and normal deformations are predicted in his study. Higher-order theories, which consider the complete effects of transverse shear, normal deformations and rotary inertia, have been studied for the vibration and stability problems of specific laminates. In general, researchers who have wanted to simulate plates have used the third-order shear deformation theories (TSDTs) which was first published by Schmidt and later developed by Jemielita. This theory is also known as parabolic shear deformation plate theory (PSDPT). Researchers like Phan and Reddy [30] applied this theory for the free vibration, the bending and the buckling of composite plates [23]. The same unknown displacements as those used in FSDT were used. This theory also satisfies transverse shear-free conditions at the outer surfaces. The results obtained show that for the thick lami nates the in-plane stresses are predicted much well than those identified using FSDT, but still these results have errors when compared with 3D models. This theory is not based on the layer-wise type, therefore, unlike most of other ESL theories, it does not satisfy the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses between layers [9]. Vuksanovic proposed another parabolic distribution of shear strains through the laminated plate thickness which has a cubic variation of in-plane displacement. The results confirm that this model can predict the global laminate response better than previous used parabolic methods. The primary limitation is that it is challenging to accurately compute the inter laminar stress distributions [9]. In the third-order shear deformation theories assumes (1) the in-plane displacements are a cubic expression of the thickness coordinate (2) the out-of-plane displacement is a quadratic expression. Carrera presented a third-order shear deformation theory whic h based on the model which was presented by Vlasov for equation of bending plates. By imposing homogeneous stress conditions with correspondence to the plate top-surface the reduced third-order shear deformation model with only three displacement variables was obtained. This was further modified in the same research for the non-homogeneous stress conditions[6]. Figure2. Displacement field and transverse shear stress field for the various composite laminate theories. [* Figure taken from class notes. Advanced_plate_theory.pdf] Trigonometric shear deformation plate theory (TSDPT) Shear deformation plate theories which use trigonometric functions are called TSDPT. In this theory the ability to predict accurate solutions has been enhanced by combing trigonometric terms with the algebraic through the- thickness terms assumed for the displacements. Touratier [48] chose transverse strain distribution as a sine function [23]. Stein developed a 2D theory wherein the displacements are stated by trigonometric series. Stein and Jegley studied the effects of transverse shear stress on the cylindrical bending of the laminated composite plates [31]. The results obtained from these theories show that this theory calculates the stresses more accurately than other theories. Kassapogolou and Lagace used the principle of minimum complimentary energy to introduce a straightforward method to analyze symmetric laminate plates which are subjected to tension/compression [15, 16]. Afterwards Kassapogolou [28] generalized and modified this approach for general unsymmetrical laminate loads i.e. in-plane and out of- plane common moment and shear loads. The shortcomings of this model are that it does not solve the weaknesses of inequality in Poissons ratios. Becker [29] made use of cosine and sine functions for warping deformation of v and w displacement, respectively and developed a closed-form higher-order laminated plate theory. Mortan and Webber presented an analytical method which took into consideration the thermal effects in their model and by using the same approach as Kassapoglou and Becker. Lu and Liu [22] proposed an inter laminar shear stress continuity theory in which the inter laminar shear stress is directly obtained from the constitutive equations. This theory was postulated in order to develop an accurate theory for inter laminar stress analysis by considering both the transverse shear effects and continuity requirements. The drawback in this model is that the deformation in the thickness is neglected and therefore it cannot calculate the inter la minar normal stress directly from the constitutive equations. Later, Lu and Liu [21] developed the interlayer shear slip theory based on a multilayer approach model by investigating the effect of interfacial bonding on the behavior of composite laminates. Finally, Lee and Liu also derived the closed-form solutions for the general analysis of inter laminar stresses for thin and thick composite laminates under sinusoidal distributed loading. Both inter laminar shear stress and inter laminar normal stress at the composite interface were satisfied in this model and also the inter laminar stresses could be calculated directly from the constitutive equations. Touratier [20] proposed a theory based on using certain sinusoidal functions for shear stress. After comparing the results obtained numerically for the bending of sandwich plates it was shown that this theory is more accurate than both FSDT and HOSDT [17]. Hyperbolic shear deformation theory (HSDT): Soldatos proposed the hyperbolic shear deformation theory [6]. Timarci and Soldatos combined the various shear deformation theories to formulate this HSDT. The major advantage of this unified theory is the ability to vary the transverse strain distribution [19]. Authors like Ramalingeswaran and Ganesan [18] have used parabolic and hyperbolic function to uniform external pressure and a simply supported cylindrical shell for cross ply laminated composite by considering an internal sinusoidal pressure [17]. Karama et al. proposed an exponential function for the transverse strain for his study of the bending of composite [6]. Layerwise Theory (LT): (Zigzag effect) In order to present accurate results many new theories like the layerwise theory and individual layer theory have been formulated. Some of the eminent researches involved in developing these theories are Wu, Chen, Plagianakos[13], Saravanos, Fares and Elmarghany[14]. The basic technique employed in these theories is that assuming certain displacement and stress models in each layer of the composite laminates and in order to reduce the unknown variables, equilibrium and compatibility equations are defined at the interface. These theories are often computationally time consuming and very expensive to obtain accurate results due to the fact that they use many different unknowns for multilayered plates. To predict both gross response and the stress distributions accurately a number of layer wise plate models which can represent the zigzag behavior of the in-plane displacement through the thickness have been developed in the recent past. However, in the Layerwise Theories the major drawba ck is that the number of unknown increases significantly with the number of layers and consequently the computational weight becomes considerably heavier and higher. To overcome this problem, various solutions were suggested. Cho and Parmerter presented a model where in the number of the unknowns is independent of the number of layers. They achieved it by superimposing a cubic varying displacement field on a zigzag linearly varying displacement [6]. This method was very efficient as it satisfied the transverse shear stress continuity at the layer interfaces and shear-free surface conditions. The theories that have been developed to justify through-the-thickness piece-wise behavior of stresses and displacement are often subjected to zigzag theories (ZZ). The zigzag effect can be termed as the different tangential elastic compliances of the plies which cause the displacement components to show a quick change of their slopes in the thickness direction at each layer interface. To summar ize, the in-plane stresses can be discontinuous at each layer interface, while the transverse stresses, for equilibrium, must be continuous. In ZZ theory, the compatibility of the displacements and the inter laminar equilibrium of the transverse stresses in the thickness direction are assured by defining a new stiffness matrix [12]. Lekhnitskii was one of the pioneers who tried to define a ZZ theory. The main drawback for this model is the limitation of the approach to only multi-layered composite where each layer is isotropic. Ren later improved this model by using an extension of the theory developed by Reissner to multi-layered plates. This approach used a Lagrange function with five parameters, which represents the DOF of the structure. These are the set of displacement field equations used in zigzag theory. This equation are taken from the class notes, advanced plate theory [1] Mixed Plate Theory: In order to overcome the limitations of each composite laminate theory researchers have started to unify the different laminate theories. Unified equations have been proposed for mixed layer wise and mixed ESL theories. The main aim is to formulate these unified theories in the most general way for users to be able to choose from the approaches like ESL, Layer wise zigzag, etc. and at the same time choose the order of the expansion of displacements and transverse stresses. This class of model has been contemplated over the last few decades. The so-called mixed variation approach based on the variation principles developed by Hellinger was proposed and then improved by Reissner. In this theory the number of variables that must be computed should be at least 2n, where n is the total number of layers. By using the weak form of Hookes Law the number of variables can be significantly reduced, which shows the variables in terms of the three displacements only. Shimpi et al. [11] derived tw o novel formulations with only two variables, which work perfectly for moderately thick isotropic plates. The major limitation is that it requires accurately calculated shear correction factors for transverse shear stresses in multilayered composite plates. Conclusion In this literature review, various composite laminate plate theories have been categorized. The advantages and limitations of each model have been discussed in detail. This paper mainly focused on how efficiently and accurately the various models can predict the transverse shear effects. It is explained that CLT and FSDT are unable to efficiently predict transverse shear stresses of both moderately thick and thick laminated composite plates. Higher order shear deformation theories were developed in order to obtain accurate transverse shear stresses. Also, the zigzag theories satisfying inter laminar continuity of transverse shear stresses at interfaces is unable to accurately compute transverse shear stresses directly from constitutive equations. 3D equilibrium equations have to be adopted to accurately obtain transverse shear stresses which also require heavy computational processing because of the large number of variables which depend on the number of layers, they become impractic al for engineering applications. Some researchers have recently tried to use the transverse shear and warping effect in highly anisotropic composite to passively control the composite structure. Smart passive adaptive structures are a new technological approach for introducing smart and predictable composite materials with wide ranging applications. They can be used to exploit the effects of shear and elastic coupling and link stretching to bending to twisting of the structure. This requires a higher understanding and in-depth knowledge of inter laminar shear. Therefore, predicting transverse shear effect accurately and in practical way for various engineering applications is imperative.

E-Governance in Indian Banks: ICICI Bank

E-Governance in Indian Banks: ICICI Bank Before the start of my second year of PGDBM, I got an opportunity to have a corporate exposure at ICICI regional bank. In addition to this exposure, it also allowed to implement some of our course learning to real business world situations. My internship with ICICI regional bank started on 28th June and extended till 9th august. ICICI Bank is Indias second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 3,634.00 billion (US$ 81 billion) at March 31, 2010. The Bank has a diverse network of 2,016 branches and about 5,219 ATMs in India and presence in 18 countries. They offer a wide range of banking products financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels (www.icicibank.com). At my very first day, I got the opportunity to talk to some of the senior managers at my office, and they suggested me that I should see the working on their different departments and then select my department after one week. During this week, I interacted with almost every department personnel. They told me what their general day is like and what they do and how their part is important for achieving companys strategic goals. In my second week, I chose government banking group of ICICI bank, which comes under corporate banking group. Government Banking Group of ICICI bank offers world-class banking services leveraging on state of art technology platform and to meet complete financial needs of the government and its enterprises.  Their aim is to lever their advanced technology platform and ability to deliver customized solutions to meet the specific needs of each and every client emerge as the preferred banker for all government departments and corporations.(www.icicibank.com) My mentor Mr.H; relationship manager at the same department, gave me an overview about their department and how the functions. In my 2nd week of working as a management trainee to GBG, he assigned me a live summer internship project, where I was required to contact government authorities, which were falling under national E-governance plan and offer them our bank services. Route map of my project E-GOVERANCE: Foundation for better and acceptable institution mechanism Use e-governance to fight corruption- Kalam INRODUCTION E-government is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to promote more efficient and cost-effective government, more convenient government services, greater public access to information, and more government accountability to citizens (www.adb.org). It goes beyond providing provision of online services and also, covers the use of IT for strategic planning and reaching governments development goals. It is a way by which governments use the new technologies to provide people with more convenient and reliable access to government information and services, to improve the quality of the services and also, providing greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions and processes. E-Government provides with some tremendous opportunities to move forward in the 21st century with better quality, cost-effective, government services and a better relationship between citizens and their government. (Aggarwal, mittal et al, 2007) E-Governance is no longer an Option It is a reality and a necessity of Governance- S. Lakshminarayanan E-Governance Its relevance One click is deemed good enough to cut the much-dreaded Indian red-tape to shreds. Another one takes the wind out of all those touts hanging around public offices. Public accountability and responsive services seem suddenly just a blip way. (www.dqindia.ciol.com) Good governance is based on the premise that the laws and procedures are transparent, clearly defined understood by those governed and the implementation is also quick without any hurdles. However, the governance in a developing country like ours is a challenge, as majority of the governed (citizens) are educationally socio-economically challenged. Moreover in developing countries, the governments are formed through democratic means, the challenge of governance is much larger as the governors themselves are at times not very clear about the various rules and procedures. Also, at times, the rules and procedures are explicitly defined in the constitution or statutes, but they themselves creates hindrances in the path of governance due to lack of procedural clarities. In such a state, the answer lies in providing a mechanism that is quick, interactive, transparent and has a clear repository of rules and regulations, which provide support in decision making for both the governors and t he governed and this mechanism is e- governance, providing the benefit of being clear cut, transparent, interactive, easy to implement and aiming to provide solution in the quickest possible time frame. E-Governance, at ground level will provides three basic change potentials for good governance for development: Automation: Replacing (at least, to some extent) current human-executed processes, which involve accepting, storing, processing and transmitting information. Informatisation: Supporting current human-executed information processes. Transformation: Supporting new human-executed information processes. These change potentials, in turn, can bring five main benefits to governance for development: Governance that is cheaper: Producing the same outputs at lower total cost. Governance that does more: Producing more outputs at the same total cost. Governance that is quicker: Producing the same outputs at the same total cost in less time. Governance that works better: Producing the same outputs at the same total cost in the same time, but to a higher quality standard. Governance that is innovative: Producing new outputs. E-Governance origin The Global shifts towards increased deployment of IT (Information technology) by governments emerged in the nineties, with the coming of World Wide Web. The e-governance initiatives have come a long way since then. With the increase use of internet and mobile connections, the people are learning to exploit new mode of access in wide ranging ways. Today generation expect more information and services to be available online from government organizations to further their civic and professional lives, thus creating abundant evidence that the new e-citizenship is taking hold. E-governance originated in India during the seventies with a focus on developing in- house government applications in the area of defence, economic monitoring, planning and the using IT to manage data intensive functions related to elections, census, tax administration etc. The efforts of National Informatics Center (NIC) to connect all the district headquarters during the eighties led to a significant development in this field. During early nineties, IT technologies were supplemented with ICT technologies, for wider sectoral applications .Primarily the emphasis has been on automation and computerization, the state governments have also endeavoured to use ICT tools into connectivity, networking, setting up systems for processing information and delivering services. At a micro level, it ranges from IT automation in individual departments, electronic file handling, and access to entitlements, public grievance systems, service delivery for high volume routine transactions like payment of bills, tax etc. The thrust has varied across initiatives, while some focusing on enabling citizen-state interface for various government services, and others focusing on bettering livelihoods. E -Goverance Intiatives in India The notion of e-governance has its roots in attempts in many countries to modernise government in response to perceived citizen dissatisfaction or disengagement.(Sihna, 2006) India is a developing country with a population of about 1.2 billion spread over 28 geographically uneven states. Interestingly, transparency and citizen-centric government, expected broad outcome of e-Governance, is not new to India. The rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka, 3 Century BC provides an excellent example of this interface unambiguous and  Transparent government information was available at public place for people convenience. In most of the states in the India, people speak different languages and dialects; having varying literacy levels and distinct socio-cultural attitudes that have affected not only economic progress, but also our legislature. However, over and above, these fragmented population, there is an overlying layer of information technology professionals or knowledge workers, who seem to have indirectly pioneered e-Governance initiatives.(Aggarwal, mittal et al, 2007) The Central and State administrations, ports, customs, public tax system and education system of our country has been pioneers in e-Governance India. A number of state governments has already implemented e-Governance initiatives, which are aimed at being cost effective, while offering various facilities to citizens. National E-Governance plan The Government of India (GOI) has formulated a national program the National e-governance Plan, which is an attempt to cover all the important areas relating to e-Governance Policy, Infrastructure, Finances, Project Management, Government Process, Finances, Reengineering, Capacity Building, Training, Assessment etc. across the Central and State Governments. The plan seeks to lay the foundation and provide the impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance. Their plan seeks to create the right governance and institutional mechanisms, setting up the core infrastructure and policies and implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the centre, state and integrated service levels to create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment for governance. The vision of this plan is to make sure that all Government services are accessible to the common man in his/her locality through common service delivery outlets. The implementation strategy envisages clear definition of service goals and metrics for each project and structured stakeholder consultations with all stakeholders including citizens and civil society organizations before the service goals of each project are firmed up.( Das Chandrashekhar, 2007). (Source: Das Chandrashekhar, 2007) The above diagram give E-Governance framework that includes back-end (databases of different government agencies, service providers, state governments etc.), middleware and front-end delivery channels (PCs, mobile phones, kiosks, integrated service centers etc) for citizens and businesses. The middle-ware comprises of communication and security infrastructure, gateways and integrated services, aimed at facilitating integration of inter-departmental services. Challenges of e-Governance in India Sharma (2002) points out that the culture of governance in India has been characterized by secrecy, seniority and corruption. These need to be addressed with a vengeance if the grand vision of e-Governance across India has to become a reality (Agarwal Mittal et al,2003). The initiatives taken are more focused on government department, automaton rather than anything to do with the citizens. They might solve a number of problems of government employees but not even a single solution is totally focused on citizen thathas come up in India. Indian citizens are still forced to move from one department to another,and from one table to another in order to get their work done. In lieu of this, the National Task Force has also made several recommendations. The fundamental strategic challenge faced is e-Readiness for e-Governance It is a multifold challenge posing basic questions like: Is required Data Systems Infrastructure Ready? Is required Legal Infrastructure Ready? Is required Human Infrastructure Ready? Is required Institutional Infrastructure Ready? Is required Technological Infrastructure Ready? Is required Leadership and Strategic Thinking Ready? Role of banking in E-goverance Indian banking sector through its network of over 74,000 branches provides efficient and swift cash management and payment mechanisms ensures timely availbility of the funds to the ultimate beneficiaries.- RP Sihna, Deputy Managing Director (IT), State bank of India E-goverance goes beyond provision of online services and includes,the use of IT for strategic planning and reaching development goals of the government to the citizens. Government prime concern is that the revenue deposited at various branches of banks throughtout the country are collected expeditiously and every rupee spend on the social sector plans schemes reaches the intended beneficiaries quickly and directly. It is therefore, imperative that the indian banking sector which have a wide network af over 74,000 branches provides efficent and swift cash management system and payment mechanisms to ensure timely availability of the funds. Banks apart from taking the technology beyond urban centers to remote areas,that are still unbanked and underserviced,but also serving as a channel for credit delievery and innovative products to the poor and underprivileged sections of society. With an efficent deployment of technology, banks can step in and provide access to banking facilities like opening of accounts, money transfer services,payments of bills etc. Banks provide payment solutions to conduct E-payments with government departments using smart cards/credit cards or making a direct debit from their account (Internet banking) when the due date falls. In short, bank can help in the process of E-Goverance by 3 methods: ICICI government banking group its E-Goverance intitatives The government banking group of ICICI,falls under their corporate banking group and it specifically cater to the government entities and institutions. We ensure compliance of specific regulatory requirements while customizing these products and services for the government. Our constant endeavor is to fulfill the specific objectives of the government at various district, state, and national levels.(www.icicibank.com) Agency Function Their are the accredited Banker to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. All payments and receipts of this Ministry across the country are routed through their network. They are the approved banker to collect direct taxes as well as indirect Taxes for the central Government and states sales taxes/ VAT in the States of Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Approved bank for disbursement of pensions for central government and defense employees. E-Goverance Intiatives Online Collection of fees for Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT) Online collection of fees and Stamp duty under MCA-21 Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) E-ticketing initiative for Indian Railways Online Funds Disbursement and Tracking System for Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) E-goverance intitative undertaken by me as a summer trainee (live) in ICICI bank My mentor gave me a project where I was required to study different government authorities and departments falling under E-Goverance plan of government of India,to select one authority where ICICI bank can fit in and offer them their services and also, explaining how it will be benefical to not only them , but also to the citizen on the receiving end. As I was placed in Delhi corporate office, I thought it will be good idea to start exploring the authorities which wall under Delhi. My mentor, Mr.Hitesh Setya, also considered it as a good idea as it was easy to talk and even meet these authorities. Delhi Government Departments cover health, revenue tax, audit, arts culture, transport, administrative reforms, health and family higher education, IT, Gurdwara elections, administrative reforms agricultural marketing, Fire service economics and statistics,health and family,industries and many others. (A comprehensive lists of the department has been given in the appendix). All the departments of Delhi government works for enhancing the socio-economic viability of the city. Each and every Delhi department is entrusted with a separate set of responsibilities and duties. I studied almost every department falling under delhi government authority and saw the scope of E-goverance in those departments.After working on this for a period of 2 weeks,I came down to the following authorities names: Transport department Delhi Development Authority Delhi tourism Delhi passport authority After contacting these agenices and meeting their respective officals ,I narrowed with DDA (it looks after the orderly-yet-rapid development of Delhi),as they are already in the process of making their database and this department has a bad reputation when it come to red tapism and bureaucratic attitude .Under this department,a number of activities are taken care of ranging from tenders, housing,buildings ,various registrations etc.I needed to select one major activity which will become my reports focal point.I selected DDA procedure for conversion from leasehold to freehold . DDA-SCOPE FOR E-GOVERANCE Delhi Development Authority (DDA), time moves at its own sweet, slow pace. And in order to get your work down, you need an athletes stamina and a monks patience (Roy,hindustan times,2010) The Delhi Development Authoritys (DDA) was established in the year 1957,and nearly after 50 years of existance ,it has come out with a grand vision for 2010: to become a high performance and people friendly organisation. This mission comes not a year too soon for the land development agency.The authority referred itself as the citys ninth builder, touches the life of almost every second Delhiite.Since its initiationin 1957, DDA has worked towards the development ofthe city and has created or facilitated about 1 million dwelling units to date. including allotment of more than 3 lakh flats, plots to Cooperative Groups and residential plots .Apart from the construction of 600 big and small commercial centres and allotment of industrial and institutional plots.DDAs dreary and dusty file-laden headquarter, Vikas Sadan, gets nearly about 700 visitors daily.(Roy,hindustan times,2010) The crowd thronging at the the DDA offices explains that it is not easy to own a DDA flat or plot,which the authority sells at affordable rates.Whats even tougher than this ,is getting the possession letters, conversion from leasehold to freehold or even changing the title deeds. Add from sumwhere else In the labyrinthine corridors of the DDA office, files journey begins from one table and then meanders through at almost all the tables of the office and this journey in the can take anything from a month to years. The DDA babus take ages to move files and the smallest lacunae in your documents can slow the process by months. DDAs citizens charter promises disposal of transactions a specific time frame of between 15 and 90 days. These promises, however, remain cosily embedded in the glossy booklet. This is where the touts come in. For a handsome feeanything between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakhdepending on the `complexity of your case, touts can speed up the process of getting your job done. Thanks to DDAs initiatives to curb the tout menace, these assistants-for-hire can now be found lingering in the parking lots and small photostat shops and eateries outside Vikas Sadan. We can get any job done as we have a `setting with officials inside the building, says a tout, who doesnt wish to be identified. The rates have gone up though as DDA has become stricter about these things now. Unless you have deep pockets, getting your application approved from the DDA is next to impossible, says Umesh Sharma (name changed on request), who has been trying to transfer his flat from his fathers name, who died many years ago, to his own for the past six years. Every official expects to be bribed and you have to grease many palms. The officials say the property we bought for a few thousands decades ago will now sell for lakhs but they dont stand to gain anything from it, he said. If you are transferring a property to your name or converting it from leasehold to freehold to sell it, they want their share, Sharma said. TOMORROW The passport office is a riddle. Theres paperwork, there are meetings and a single error can deboard your plans. COVERAGE E goverance in India has touched various areas like income tax,passport,pensions,company affaris, police,municpalities ,ariculture ,central excise and many more.In my report ,we will be dicussing three main areas namely, Sales/Commercial Tax Department(VAT),MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) NDMC(New Delhi municpal council) , income tax department. B.MCD NDMC The National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) comprises three local bodies, MCD, NDMC and Cantonment Board. The MCD comprises of about 96 per cent of the area and population of the Union Territory (UT)of Delhi. The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 was amended in August, 1994 to bring it in tune with the Constitutional provisions of Part IXA. In respect of New Delhi Municipal Council, which consists of only 3 per cent of the area and 3 per cent of the population of National Capital Territory of Delhi.( http://www.ndmc.gov.in/AboutNDMC/NAboutus.aspx) (ii) NDMC 1. Grants: 2. Public: 2.1 Property tax :The Property department is one of the tax revenue-earning departments of NDMC. Revenue is realized as (i) property tax from about 12,000 private properties and Government properties constructed prior to 26th January, 1950 and (ii) service charges from the government properties constructed after 26-01-1950. Property tax is an obligatory tax levied on all lands and buildings in New Delhi. It is a percentage of the rateable value of lands and buildings. The rates of taxes are determined by the Council from year-to-year basis. Facilities available online: Application Procedures http://www.ndmc.gov.in/services/PropertyTax/Images/img_bullet.gif Download-Forms http://www.ndmc.gov.in/services/PropertyTax/Images/img_bullet.gif Rate List/ Method of Calculation of Property Tax APPENDIX transport department irrigation and flood control department planning department SC/ST/OBC/Minorities welfare department informations and public relations department industries department land and building department police department forest department administrative reforms department directorate of audit economics and statistics department chit fund department art, culture and language department directorate of education directorate of training and technical education environment department development department health and family department excise, entertainment and luxury tax department public works department weights and measures department sales tax department tihar prisons services department directorate of prevention of food adulteration directorate of agricultural marketing labor department social welfare department

Penelope and Odysseus of Homers Odyssey Essay -- Homer Odyssey Essays

Penelope and Odysseus of Homer's Odyssey    Penelope and Odysseus, being kin spirits, soul mates, and a great husband and wife in their own right, are very much alike.   They have many of the same qualities.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both Penelope and Odysseus are very quick thinking and cunning.   Odysseus, for example, devises the plan to get the Cyclops to drink the wine so the crew could stab him in the eye.   Another example of Odysseus' cunning is his elaborate plan to massacre the suitors.   Odysseus orders that all the weapons be taken out of the room where the arrow contest was being held, then that the women of the household to be locked in their rooms, as to not interfere, then for the doors to be locked by his allies, then to...