Enterprise Systems Essay Example for Free

Enterprise Systems Essay Enterprise systems, according to the text, are: a set of integrated software modules and a central database that enables data to be shared by many different business processes and functional areas throughout the enterprise. (Laudon Laudon, 2011)Let’s say, for example, the financial department of an organization needs to audit all of the orders fulfilled by the Sales and Marketing department. With an integrated enterprise system, there is no need to request the information and wait for it to be sent to the financial department from the distribution center. Both departments are linked by a central database that they can both access at any given time. This reduces the time between requesting the data and utilizing it for the department’s needs. If the Sales and Marketing department does not keep the Distribution department aware of what is being sold, then prompt delivery of the product cannot be guaranteed. These enterprise systems also increase the security of the database. Having separate databases for each department will increase the chance for lost data. The needs of each department can be considered separate, but when looking at it from an organizational perspective, each department is a part of a larger entity. This entity cannot survive without the cooperation of each of its departments working together. †¢How does effectively implementing and using enterprise systems contribute to achieving operational excellence? As stated in the above answer, a properly implemented enterprise system creates a more accessible, secure, and usable database. An organization that allows each department to access the information needed to run smoothly and effectively can save time and productivity. If compared to a system of separate departments and databases, we can see the benefits of the enterprise system. Any department, with the proper access, can get the information they need to do the work that they need to do. Without this, we would see an information system with the possibility of lost data due to poor communication between departments. This relates to the question of security. It is easier for a database specialist to keep one large database secure and safe than it would be to work with several separate databases. The question of who can access what data from what department is easily controlled within the database itself, which allows for easier backup of data as well. A unified database can also benefit each separate department by easily allowing them to access only the information they need, this boosts the security of not only the database, but all information in that database. All of these contribute to the ease of use of the database and a smoother running operation. †¢What challenges are posed by enterprise applications? There are many different challenges that arise when implementing an enterprise system. Accessibility is one of the biggest. What department can access what data? How can this data be used by the departments that have access to the data? The information used by the enterprise applications are the core of the database. Without it, there would be no need for the database to exist. Each department must have the proper applications that can communicate the data between the other departments. I have seen many instances where improper implementation was due to each department not complying with the software or hardware requirements of the enterprise system. This results in not only loss of productivity, but money wasted on applications not compatible with the base system. This also lowers the security of the enterprise system, which can result in the loss of data. Having a secure database, as I have said before, can also benefit the ease of use and better productivity not only for the IT department who keeps the database and systems running properly, but for the end user in the offices of each separate department. Only by working in concert and by having the appropriate applications for each separate department can an enterprise system work for the betterment of not only the organizations, but their customers or clients.

The Qr Code Technology Computer Science Essay

The Qr Code Technology Computer Science Essay QR code, also called QR barcode.QR code is a information processing technology ,develop by base on grahic techonlege and computer techolage. It is to use a particular geometric figure according to rule in the two-dimension plane which is distribution of black and white graphic to record data . In the coding of clever, use 0, 1 bit stream concept which is constitute the basis of computer internal logic. The use of several and binary corresponding geometric shapes to represent text numerical information, through the image input device or photoelectric scanning equipment automatic to read in order to realize information automatic processing. Using a dedicated reading code or smartphone can be scanned to identify for which contained information. QR code can be expressed in information in two directions at the same time horizontal and vertical, so to express a lot of information in a very small area. QR code is not specially designed for mobile phones by itself, but with the development of mobile communication technology, mobile phones creates the QR code. Mobile phones QR code will be as QR code recognizer and carrier and hosted by QR code information navigation and information. Advantages of QR code The Advantages of QR code ¼Ã… ¡ QR code have high density informations and big capacity. Can record 1850 capital letters or 2710 digital or 1108 bytes. Lengthways and horizontal can record and store information. It can store much information and do not need information for connect internet. the scope of QR coding is very big. This QR code can coding sound pictures words number to be a shown digital information. never afraid local damage ¼Ã…’even the damaged area is 50%, can still get to read correctly. This features of QR code is a important effect for people daily life. The black QR code become colourful and have some fun idea picture inside. Let person want use QR code and seed up the communication for information. The decoding particularly accurate. Error rate is less than one over ten million. Use the QR code do not afraid can not find the source which QR code have. Can be encrypted. Security and confidentiality. Never afraid the inportant imformation will be steal. The trade secret will be saved,and company never lost anything. Easy to make,use for long time,cost less. Symbol shape and size ratio can be changed. can read by CCD reader and the laser. The Last Ocean (documentary) Applications of QR code QR codes as a kind of brand-new information storage, transmission and identification technology rapidly into the people daily life with the development of science and technology. Use mobile phone surf the internet,it is difficult to need enter long website. Use QR code will reduce this trouble,as long as you use phone to scan QR code on the book or adertising. It is not inconveninet to carry paper business cards. If the business card use QR code,it will convenient storages of business cards.Use mobile phone can scan the QR code can copy the name ,phone number,email.and company informations to your mobile phone from the business cards. It is easy to help you contact him and know his company. Use mobile phone to scan QR code can reduce the waste of paper and pollution of the environment. QR code attendance system is a certificate type of mobile data service of new products, belongs to the mobile phone QR code to be read application, it is modern mobile communications technology and QR code coding technology unifies in together, the content of the traditional certificate holders and information encoding become a QR code graphics, and through the SMS, MMS, etc to send to the users mobile phone, when using, through the special read code equipment on the opponent display QR code graphics for student can be verified. Its biggest characteristic is only sex and safety, not only to save the cost, more important is to save time improve efficiency convenient use, also very environmental protection and fashion. Before the exhibition, the organizer only through the system to give participants hair to contain QR code electronic invitation letter (MMS, SMS), the two-dimension code contains meeting message, as exhibition sign in documents. In the exhibition, the participants need to carry mobile phones easily finish attendance, bring the brand-new the experience. At the same time also to avoid the organizers field check information helter skelter embarrassment, and are very safe, effective identity verification, put an end to those false burst. The participants information in the validation, through the wireless communication system transmission to the system database, so that the exhibition participation situation be clear at a glance, and convenient to participate in the exhibition of the statistical work. The whole process adopted all electronic, the use of mobile phones as a certificate, realize the meeting attendance information. Difference between QR CODE and BAR CODE Code can split into one dimensional code and two dimensional code. one dimensional code is Bar code. It make up by a rule arrange strip space and number . this kind data coding can supply machine cognition and read,is very easy to translate binary system and decimal system. Bar code distinguish fast and high veracity  ¼Ã…’great fiexiblityà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡But, because of the Bar code only in one direction (horizontal) commonly show information. So the data capacity is small. Bar code often need to connect to the database in order to get more data from the network by limited information capacity. But Bar code will loses the role in under the condition of not forget or database. The QR code use Bar codes information stored way extension in the two-dimensional space, do not need to connect a database, it can store large data by itself, it is high density large capacity. QR code also have wide coding, high recognition rate, difficult to abrasion .low cost etc.It can be printed in newspapers and magazines and periodicals,let people use mobile phone to reader it. Risk It also have some problem with QR code. Some QR code is malicious. If you are a QR code lover, please kill virus when you scan the doubtable QR code, Or you need pay attention to instill the program which is after scan QR code.Beacuse some malicious QR code will steal your money and break your daily life. Most malicious QR code is seducing people installe program to commit fraud. People should be sure to read the phone installation prompts are given. The other malicious QR code is include virus. After you scan the QR code, it will install the mobile phone virus secretly. On top of, QR code security problem even live in code scanning software, some malicious QR code software will install virus or malicious ads in advance, if you instill it ,you mobile phone will get the malicious ads and high costs. These actions could occur in the background while the user is only seeing the reader opening a seemingly harmless web page. For example: In Russia, a malicious QR Code caused phones that s canned it to send premium texts at a fee of US$6 each. Colorful with QR code We usually see most software generated QR code is black when few years ago. Now we see most advertisement have colorful and personality QR code. This kind QR code s generation technique is not difficult.and this is young man love. Base on QR code never afraid local damage ,the QR codes part be overwritten or lost, scanning machine still be able to identify its record of complete information. Some website already provide free colorful QR code service to people. There are many personality QR code production tools in the internet ,if you like it ,you can do it by yourself. When you scan this QR code. You will get love you foreverby chinese. Conclusion I suggest our company use the QR code technology. QR code as things networking age a recognition terminal, will change peoples future life, also can make the future life more low carbon. The technology is cheap,it can not cost company much money. Never mind it will broken or lost . It is easy to carry that is in your mobile phone. And personality QR code will make staff have fun. The QR code let the staff work easily and environmentaly. So I suggest our company use the QR code technology.

Whistle Blowing

Whistle Blowing We live in a complicated society. Every decision that we make is based upon our health, safety, economic and human rights. At times the decisions made are by the corrupt, incompetent and lazy, which leads to the compromise of the ethical standards of our society. Accidents happen or corruption flourishes because of employees who know about the wrong doings but are afraid of losing their jobs. In the modern society, the importance of whistle blowing is increasingly being recognized as a measure to reduce corruption and avoid dangerous situations by encouraging the disclosure of unethical, illegal or prohibited activities performed by private institutions or the government. It also helps to improve the inter-organizational culture and helps improve internal management and efficiency. Definition Whistle blowing is a process by which a person claims an occurrence of wrongdoing in or by an organization. Usually the person belongs to the organization and is at a personal risk himself. The allegations made may be internal (to people within the organization e.g. colleagues, subordinates etc.) or external (to people outside the organization e.g. law enforcement agencies, media, regulators etc.). U.S academics Marcia P.Miceli and Janet P.Near set the academic standard for whistleblowing in 1982 as Disclosure of organizations members (former or current) disclosure of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employees to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action. They have defined whistle blowing as a four step process: A triggering event occurs involving questionable, unethical or illegal activities, and this leads to an employee to consider blowing the whistle. The employee engages in decision making, assessing the activity and whether it involves wrong doing, gathering additional information, and discussing situation with others. The employee exercises voice by blowing the whistle; alternatively the employee could leave the organization, or remain silent out of loyalty or neglect. The organizational members react to, and possibly retaliate against the whistleblower. Common Reactions Around the globe, whistle blowers have been hailed as heroes or selfless martyrs for revealing fraud and corruption in organizations and preventing potential disasters. They may relate to the cover up harmful diseases like SARS in China to the revealing of theft of millions of dollars of public money in Kenya. However, in many cases whistleblowers face severe ramifications for their actions. They end up losing their jobs and being ostracized for their activities. Some may be charged with violation of employee contracts and the dangers might be physical at extreme. It is therefore probable that a lot of people refrain from blowing the whistle due to the fear of retaliation or damaging relationships at work or private life. Utility of Whistle blowing Information revealed by whistleblowers is usually highly critical for the society. In China, Dr Jiang Yanyong possibly saved a million lives by revealing the extent to which the SARS virus had spread even though he was ordered by the authorities not to. In the corporate world, Sherron Watkins of Enron blew the whistle over the financial problems of the company internally which eventually led to the exposure of the scam and the arrest of the top officials. Whistle blowing is also important for improving the internal efficiency of the organization since the employees are the first to know about the problems and early disclosure can lead to remedy of the problem sooner. A 2002 study by KPMG found that around 25 percent of problems reported in an company in Australia was by whistleblowers while the same statistic was 44 percent in Africa. The essence of whistleblowing lies in the fact that staff are able to by-pass the line of their superiors since at times that might be the area where the problem arises and hence they are able to go outside in case they believe that the whole organization is in an improper course. Effective whistleblowing is therefore a necessity for a healthy organizational culture, good governance. Successful whistle blowing is when concerns inside the organization could be raised with confidence, properly investigated and addressed when necessary. Barriers to whistle blowing 1. Fear of retaliation One of the largest barriers in todays organizations against whistle blowing is retaliation against the disclosure. Retaliation can vary from minor harassment in certain cases to the extremity of costing ones life. In a typical case, the employee who blows the whistle would be put under pressure to rescind his words and refrain from further disclosures. Some of the common practices of retaliation are : Marginalise the employee by taking away the job duties. Blacklist the employee so that he cant gain further employment. Conduct retaliatory investigations in order to divert attention from the matter and abuse the whistleblower. Question whistle blowers professional competence, honesty and mental health. Reassign the employee so that he/she is unable to do the job At times, retaliation becomes extreme as Satyendra Dubey was murdered after he revealed corruption on a road project. 2. Legal liability There are significant legal barriers to whistle blowing in several countries. At times there are no significant laws or acts for whistle blowing(e.g. India). These include the traditional laws to respect the employer, act in his best interests etc. There may also be secret laws in institutions to punish whistle blowers and deter further whistle blowing. a. Duty of loyalty and confidentiality Many countries in Asia have is the duty of loyalty and fidelity to the employer. This usually deters an employee from expressing personal opinion or revealing internal information. The Indian Law Reform Commission has recently recognized that while a public servant might be subject to the duty of confidentiality, it doesnt extend to remain silent regarding the corrupt activities of other public servants. The public interest is better served if maladministration and corruption are exposed. b. Secret Acts In most common wealth countries the state has criminal laws prohibiting the release of military and state laws by officials and outsiders. e.g. Pakistan Officials Secret Acts, 1923 makes illegal the disclosure of any information that has been entrusted to him by confidence by any person holding office or to which he has access due the position he holds. These laws thus generate a significant barrier to anti corruption efforts and genrally prohibit disclosure of information without permisiion. In Malaysia, the opposition leader Mohd Ezan Mohd Noor was prosecuted in 2000 under the OSA for releasing police reports of corruption by high level government officials. In London, a whistle blower who revealed that the London police force had released incorrect statements regarding the shooting of an innocent man was also arrested. These laws are also used in political cases. c. Libel In many countries, defamation and libel laws are used to deter the whistle blowers. Power figures and senior officials use their power to threaten the whistle blowers as they can use the court systems to their advantage. In Singapore, National Kidney Foundation suppressed the whistle blowers from revealing wastage of money on first class tickets, excessive salaries etc by using defamation laws and forced apologies. Finally when a major media company refused to bow down, the story was fully disclosed. d. Other Laws There also exists a possibility of criminal or civil charges under laws such as trade secrets or theft. In some countries companies also require that workers sign confidentiality clauses. In Australia, an American who doubted the safety of the new Airbus 380 is facing criminal and civil charges by his ex employer after going public with the potential design flaws. 3. Cultural Barriers There are at times significant cultural barriers to whistle blowers which see whistle blowers as dobbers, sneaks or narks. Some of this comes from the abuses to informants historically. In Nazi occupied regimes, the Soviet Union, Aparthied- era South Africa, informants and anonymous denunciations were often used for maintain power. The organization culture is also equally important. The disclosure of information to outsiders can feel like a betrayal and hence whistle blowers often feel social sanctions for their disclosures. At times, even though formal laws are absent, being shunned or being side lined in the organization can place certain amount of pressure on individuals. Whistleblowers Laws and Protection Initiatives All the countries do not have a legal protection act for the whistleblowers. Legal protection for whistleblowers mostly differs on the basis of the country, state in which malpractice occurred and also the subject matter of whistleblowing. The first law that protected whistle blowers was the US Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912. It guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to Congress. According to the Act, the causes that encourage the efficiency in the service are defined as the just causes. It goes on to say that the right of employees to furnish information to either House of Congress, or to a committee or Member thereof, may not be interfered with or denied. The U.S. Whistleblowers Protect Act of 1989 (amended in 1994) was established to protect public interest disclosures which were made by federal employees. For aiding whistleblowers in the investigation and to prevent retaliatory action against them, an Office of Special Counsel (OSC) was created. But it was not very successful because of a series of hostile judicial rulings which undercut the protection that was afforded by the Act. A similar or even stronger legislation has been passed by more than 40 states in respect of State employees. The U.S. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the aftermath of the debacle of Enron and WorldCom which provided for granting sweeping legal protection for whistleblowers in publicly traded companies. Any retaliation against a corporate whistleblower can now lead to imprisonment for up to 10 years. The Department of Labour (DoL) must complete its adjudication of cases relating to whistleblowers within 180 days. If not then whistleblower has following options he may opt to remain with DoL or ask for ade novotrial in court. Following are the remedies reinstatement, damages for compensation, pay back with interest, fees for attorney, special damages and costs. The U.K.s Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 is a one of its kind piece of legislation in the sense that it provides protection to employees in the public, private and non-profit sectors, which includes those working outside the U.K. It provides a framework of legal protection for individuals who disclose information so as to expose malpractice and matters of similar concern. It protects whistleblowers from persecution and dismissal. Under the law, employment tribunals have power to `freeze a dismissal and make unlimited compensation awards. The U.K. example has been followed by South Africa to provide protection to employees of all organisations through its Protected Disclosures Act of 2000. Other countries like Australia, South Korea, Canada, Argentina, Slovakia, Russia, Mexico and Nigeria have enacted or are in the process to enact whistleblowers protection legislation (but only to government employees). United Nations Convention against Corruption (2005) The most significant international instrument on whistleblowing is the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Work on the Convention began in December 2000 and the final version was approved by the General Assembly in October 2003. It was adopted in December 2005 after it was ratified by 30 countries. As of now, it has been signed by 140 countries and ratified by 47. Article 32 on the Protection of witness, experts and victims provides for protections of witnesses and experts and their relatives from retaliation including limits on disclosure of their identities. More fundamentally, Article 33 on Protection of reporting persons envisions countries adopting protections for reporting of corruption by any person. The UN Office on Drugs and Crimes Anti-Corruption Toolkit notes that Article 3 is advancement on previous agreements such as the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime which only protects witnesses and experts. The Toolkit extensively covers whistleblowing and recommends legal and administrative measures for reporting and protection including compensation, creation of ombudsman institutions to receive complaints, the creation of hotlines, and limits on libel and confidentiality agreements. To date, only a few of the countries that have ratified the treaty have adopted comprehensive whistleblower laws and another dozen have adopted limited provisions. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression The Un Special Rapporteur has also recognized that whistleblowing is an important aspect of freedom of expression. In 2000, Abid Hussain criticized the use of state security and other laws against individuals disclosing information in the public interest. In December 2004, UN Rapporteus Ambeyi Ligabo joined with the Special Representatives on freedom of expression and the media from the OAS and OSCE in a statement on free expression calling for national governments to adopt better protections Whistleblowers releasing information on violations of the law, on wrongdoing by public bodies, on a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, or on a breach of human rights or humanitarian law should be protected against legal, administrative or employed-related sanctions if they act in good faith. Protecting Whistleblowers in India There are no legislations in India to protect whistleblowers here. There have increasingly been the cases of corporate or political scams and which have cost taxpayers heavily including the banks and investors to the amount of thousands of crores of rupees. A Whistleblowers Protection Act is more important for India than it was for the U.S. and the U.K. It can be a strong tool for ensuring good governance in the country if worked in congruence with the Freedom of Information Act. At this moment we are in dire need of public interest groups like the ones on the lines of Government Accountability Project and the National Whistleblower Centre in the U.S., and the Public Concern At Work in the U.K. These will help in safeguarding the rights of whistleblowers rights and defend the employees against any retaliation. In the act of protecting whistleblowers, we are maybe unknowingly also protecting ourselves. In the case of legal protection also many employees might feel hesitant to, but the very existence of whistleblowers will discourage government and corporate wrongdoings to a considerable event. Based on the experiences of other countries the following set of general principles could usefully be the guidelines for the effective Indian legislation regarding the subject: With the consent of the State governments, Parliament should try and enact a single Act for all employees who work in any tier of government. This shall also include employees working in any organisation be it the private or voluntary sector. It shall also include employees of contractors, sub-contractors and agents of an organisation; former employees and overseas employees; applicants for employment, auditors and attorneys should also be covered. The Official Secrets Act should be outlawed. This will provide for a public interest defence. Also the `gagging clauses in severance or employment contracts should be nullified for public interest disclosures. It makes no sense to ask if the Acts protection should include members of such organizations as the armed forces, the police and the secret services. But it must be made sure of that the disclosures shall not harm operations or endanger the lives of the concerned personnel. Unless the Contempt of Courts Act is first amended to provide for a public interest defence, the judiciary shall remain outside its purview. The whistleblowers information about a malpractice must be substantially true, and consequently the whistleblower must act in the good faith and true spirit. In the case of the calls that are not legitimate or are anonymous the whistleblower should not be provided protection with. The period given to file a complaint must be such long so as to provide him sufficient time (say, 1 year). There should be a clear definition of what constitutes public interest disclosures. Following can be the disclosures to which protection can be provided illegal or criminal act(s), breach of regulatory law, miscarriage of justice, danger to public health or safety or property and any damage to environment, including attempts which are intended to cover up these malpractices. The Act must be constituted in such a way so as to encourage employees to first raise the matter within the organization and mandate organisations to establish proper mechanisms for this purpose. When it is not reasonable to raise the matter within the organization, or where attempts to solve the matter from within have been unsuccessful, employees who make an external disclosure in a specified way should also be protected. It remain a matter of debate that what should be the specified way. By general wisdom, apart from certain designated offices which may include SEBI, Pollution Control Boards, etc., public interest disclosures to such personalities as MPs and MLAs; employee unions; and reputed public interest groups must be protected. Disclosures made to the media may also be protected in some cases but in such a case the whistleblower must carry the burden of proof. The protection should include any and all forms of retaliation and the possible solutions could be on the same lines as in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including criminal liability for retaliation. To carry out timely adjudication of cases there should be a fast track mechanism similar to that of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Decisions have to be made on the points that whether the existing Administrative and other tribunals should be strengthened to do the job or new agencies should be created. Some Famous Cases of Whistleblowing Sherron Watkins, an accountant in Enron blew the whistle for the company. She raised suspicions of accounting improprieties to Enron Chairman, Kenneth Lay. She also warned about Jeffrey Skilling (Chief Executive Oficeer), Fastow (Chief Financial Officer) and other executives who were duping the company. The Chairman just asked an outside law firm, to investigate about it. Before Enron finally declared bankruptcy, Watkins once again informed the chairman that the financial partnerships set up by the huge Houston energy company would prove disastrous and potentially destroy Enron. Coleen Rowley, a special agent with FBI, initially served in the Omaha, Nebraska and Jackson, Mississippi Divisions. After the 2001 attacks, Rowley wrote a paper to FBI Director, Robert Mueller, explaining that the FBI HQ personnel in Washington DC had ignored the warnings given by Minneapolis, Minnesota Field Office. In May of 2002, Rowley brought some of the pre 9-11 lapses to light and testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee about some of the endemic problems faced by FBI and the intelligence community. As a result, the FBI cleared a new Office of Intelligence and expanded the FBI personnel. Frank Serpico is yet another whistleblower. He joined the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a Probationary Officer in the year 1959. In 1967, Frank made his first formal report about the widespread, systematic police corruption, but the police department failed to do anything about it. He gave a complaint to the police Commissioner and the Mayor, but they ignored him. Frustrated, Serpico exposed the NYPD wrongdoings in The New York Times in 1971. Later, he was shot in the face during a raid. None of his colleagues came to help him. Later, Frank was promoted to the rank of detective and was given a gold shield. In May 1972, Frank was awarded the NYPDs Medal of Honor for his honesty and bravery in fighting corruption. Serpico quit NYPD in 1972. Jeffrey Wignand, Vice-President for tobacco research and development at Brown Williamson became the whistleblower on Bg Tobacco, telling how the industry minimized tobaccos health and safety issues. In a 1995 CBS news interview, 60 minutes, he went on speaking about the companys knowledge of nicotines addictive properties, its reckless use of harmless additives, its quashing of research on safe cigarettes, and a variety of other abuses. He was the center witness in the US governments lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which eventually led to the $246bn federal tobacco settlement. Later, Wignand formed a non-profit organization to educate children about health issues and reduce the usage of tobacco among teenagers. Examples of Whistle blowing from India Satyendra Dubey Talk of whistle blowing in the Indian context and one of the first cases that comes to the mind is that of NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey. Satyendra Dubey, was one of those rare young men who was completely and uncomplicatedly honest. An engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and working for National Highway Authority of India, Satyendra Dubey was supervising construction of the Prime Ministers dream project in the Koderma division in Jharkhand as a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project. In August 2003 he was transferred to Gaya. At Gaya, he exposed large-scale flouting of NHAI rules regarding sub-contracting and quality control. Meanwhile, faced with the possibility of high-level corruption within the NHAI, Dubey wrote directly to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project. Despite a direct request that his identity be kept secret and despite the letters sensitive content, accusing some of Dubeys su periors, the letter along with bio-data was forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Dubey faced several threats following this. On November 27, 2003, Dubey was found shot dead in the suburb of A.P. Colony in Gaya while he was returning from a wedding from Varanasi. Satyendra Dubeys death sparked off widespread public protest and highlighted the need and urgency of a whistleblowing act. It exposed the high levels of unethical practices being practiced in the uppermost echelons of the ministries and the unholy nexus with the mafia. Shanmugam Manjunath Another glaring example of the apathy faced by the whistle blowers in India is that of the Indian Oil engineer Shanmugam Manjunath. Manjunath was a marketing manager for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) who was murdered for blewing the whistle on a scheme to sell impure gasoline. An MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, Manjunath worked for IOC in Lucknow. While there, he had ordered two petrol pumps at Lakhimpur Kheri to be sealed for selling adulterated fuel for three months. On November 19, 2005, Manjunath was found dead in the backseat of his own car, his body riddled with at least six bullets. M N Vijaykumar M N Vijaykumar is an IAS officer in the southern state of Karnataka. He has a penchant for disciplining colleagues who supplement their modest salaries with bribes, kickbacks and garden-variety pilferage. He exposed serious corrupt practices at high levels. His wife, J N Jayashree, set up a website detailing her husbands efforts to fight corruption, and to safeguard her husbands life. Other Examples of Whistle blowing from Asia Yoichi Mizutani blew the whistle on a scam by Snow Brand Food Co. in 2002 while working as the president of a Japanese storage company named Nishinomiya Reizo. Snow had been mislabelling Australian beef as domestic beef so that it could benefit from the beef buy-back program of the government which was issued after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Japan. Mizutanis reward was an order from the Construction Transport Ministry company to suspend operations a suspension that lasted 16 months during investigation of the scam. Nishinomiya was eventually cleared of participation in Snows scheme. Myron A. Mehlman was the former director of toxicology and manager of Mobil Oils Environmental Health and Science Laboratories. He claimed that Mobil incorrectly reported results of his toxicological testing of Mobil products to company officials and outside agencies. Mehlman held his position from 1978 until he was fired in 1989. He supervised about 100 employees in conducting tests and safety evaluations of Mobils petrochemical products, including gasoline. Mehlman had warned that the true benzene levels in gasoline and other Mobil products posed a serious hazard to the public health and environment and that they should be reduced and that Mobil products should be modified. After his firing, Mehlman successfully sued Mobil charging that the company systematically covered up environmental and human health problems. Sibel Deniz Edmonds is a Turkish-American. She had worked as a FBI translator and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). In March, 2002, she had accused a colleague of covering up illicit activity involving foreign nationals and also alleged that there were serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups, and intentional blocking of intelligence which according to her were a danger to the United States security. Following this she was fired from her position as a specialist of language at the FBIs Washington Field Office. Since that time, court proceedings on her whistleblower claims have been blocked by the assertion of State Secrets Privilege. On March 29, 2006, she was awarded the PEN/Newmans Own First Amendment Award in recognition of her defense of free speech as it applies to the written word. Marlene Garcia-Esperat (August 29, 1959 March 24, 2005 in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines) was a Filipina whistleblower and investigative journalist who wrote a weekly anti-graft column for local newspapers. As a result of her anti-corruption work, she was murdered in her own home. Her case is significant, as it is the first in the 56 murders of Filipino journalists since 1986 for which the people ultimately responsible were identified, in addition to the people directly involved. Esperat, as former employee of the Department of Agriculture in Central Mindanao (DA-12) and Midland Review, Tacurong City columnist, exposed the alleged Jocelyn Jocjoc Bolante fertilizer funds scam, in which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was implicated. Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani (9 June 1983 10 November 2009) was an Iranian physician who examined prisoners who were wounded or killed during the 2009 Iranian elections protests. He had reported on the state use of tortureon political prisoners. He died under suspicious circumstances on November 10, 2009, at the age of 26. Tehrans public prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said Ramin Pourandarjani died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew. Pourandarjani had worked as a physician at the Kahrizak detention center. Iranian authorities earlier had claimed at various points that Pourandarjani had been injured in a car accident, committed suicide, or died of a heart attack in his sleep at the health center at the police headquarters in Tehran where he worked. The Future of Whistleblowing The following are some of the principles for whistleblowing legislation based on international best practice that should be considered when developing new legislation. The work of the OAS Working Group is also a valuable resource including the Model Law on whistleblowing developed a few years ago: Broad Coverage The law should have a broad coverage. It should apply to public and private sector employees and also those who may face retribution outside the employer-employee relationship such as consultants, former employees, temporary workers, students, benefit seekers, family members and others. It should also apply to national security cases. Protection against retribution The law should have a broad definition of retribution that covers all types of job sanctions, harassment, loss of status or benefits, and other detriments. Employees should be also to seek interim relief to return to the job while the case is pending or be allowed to seek transfers to other equivalent jobs within the organization if return to the existing one is not advisable due to possible retribution. Protection of free speech The law should recognize that there is a significant importance in free speech whistleblowing. Public interest and harm tests should be applied to each release of any information that could have been released under FOI cannot be sanctioned. Confidentiality The law should allow for whistleblowers to request that their identity should remain confidential as far as possible. However, the body should make the person aware of the problems with confidentiality and also make clear that the protection is not absolute. Waiver of liability Any act of public disclosure should be made immune for liability under other acts such as Official Secrets and libel/slander laws. An even more significant move would be to eliminate archaic Official Secrets Acts such as already has been done in New Zealand. Compensation Compensation should be broadly defined to cover all losses and place the person back at their previous situation. This should include any loss of earnings and further earnings. This loss should not be capped. There should also be provisions to pay for pain and suffering incurred because of the release and any retaliation. Rewards In some cases, whistleblowers should be rewarded for making disclosures that result in important recovery of funds or discoveries of wrongdoing. Qui Tam cases, such as have been used in the US, may be an appropriate mechanism for recoveries. Disclosure Procedures The law should set up reasonable procedures to encourage and facilitate internal procedures to disclosure wrongdoing. However, the procedures should be straightforward and easily allow for disclose outside organizations to higher bodies, legislators and the media in cases where it is likely that the internal procedure would be ineffective. There should be easy access to legal advice to facilitate disclosures and reduce misunderstandings. No sanctions for misguided or false reporting The law should not allow for criminal sanctions against whistle blowers who make false disclosures. The disclosure might have been made in good faith. In case of delibarate falsehood, normal sanctions such as a loss of job should be sufficient. Extensive training and publication The

Jane Eyre :: essays papers

Jane Eyre When Jane Eyre is introduced to Reverend St. John Rivers, she has already had a lifetime of experiences, but she still does not have a good sense of self. By the time that Jane leaves St. John, she is a newly self-assured woman who knows what she wants in life, and is determined to achieve her goals. When St. John is first introduced in the book, he finds Jane completely destitute with nowhere to go and no one to rely on for help. Despite her refusal to reveal her true identity, St. John takes Jane in to live with him and his two sisters, Diana and Mary. Once she has been nursed to health, St. John gives Jane a job as a school teacher at a girls school as well as a small cottage in which to live (339). At this point in the novel, word reaches the Rivers family of their Uncle's death. Unfortunately, another relative was favored for the large inheritance over them. While living in Moore House, Jane begins to feel like she is part of the Rivers family. She regards their home as her home (360), and its inhabitants as her brothers and sisters. Soon, Jane is informed that St. John has been told to whom their Uncle's estate was left- one Jane Eyre. It seems that St. John was christened St. John Eyre Rivers (366). St. John, Diana, and Mary are actually Jane's cousins. This gives Jane the family that she has always wanted, she finally has people to love her. One day, St. John announces to Jane that he will be going to East India to be a missionary, and that he wants Jane to go with him as his wife (383). Jane is reluctant to appease him, and he tries to convince her to come by telling her that it is God's Will that she do this (391). Many times Jane has done things that she did not want because it was God's Will. She was sent out of her Aunts house, suffered punishments at Lowood Institution, and did not marry Mr. Rochester, all for God's Will. But this time she realized that this was not God's Will. The next day while trying to reconcile with St. John, Jane hears a voice on the wind calling her name much like the story of Damascus in the bible that she had studied for so long.

Shoppers Beware Essay -- Internet Shopping E-commerce Web Papers

Shoppers Beware Today the Internet provides a vast number of services to people all around the world, and is a way to make life easier. People can purchase everything from groceries to drugs (legal and illegal), skateboards to automobiles, land and houses, not to mention all the items that people auction off at places like ebay.com and ubid.com. There was even a high school girl, freshly turned 18, who decided to auction off her virginity. But that creates an entirely different discussion topic. Right now people all over the world use online shopping instead of actually traveling to the store. Shopping online is a way of conveniently purchasing things from the comfort of your own home. People no longer have to get dressed, comb their hair, or put on makeup. Despite all the conveniences of shopping online, the growing dependency on the Internet as a medium of communication will slowly begin to adversely affect society as we know it. As I was browsing through the L.A. Times, I came across an interesting article, written by Christine Frey, entitled You Can Rest in Peace After Choosing Your Burial Option. The article informs readers of the growing trend in Internet funeral services. It appears that the Internet houses dozens of shops ready to sell you the latest in burial options, from pet caskets to mausoleums (1). Possibly one of the largest Internet funeral services, Webcaskets, offers a huge selection of caskets. With prices ranging from as little as $50 for a cardboard cremation casket to as much as $11,000 for a solid walnut casket with velvet interior and a range of burial options. Webcaskets also carries special art caskets as well as a variety of urns, which start at under $100. In addition to a huge selection, Webca... ...ym to the word lazy. Be warned, Forster agrees that the Internet can be a dangerous tool when abused by society. Who is to say that 50 or 100 years from now things wont be exactly as Forster foretold? Living as a swaddled lump of flesh (Forster 187) in a small room, something resembling a bee cell (Forster 187), with only a chair and a reading desk is not the way to live. Unless we realize the dangers of the Internet and machine dependency Forsters future, could become ours. Works Cited Frey, Christine. You Can Rest in Peace After Choosing Your Burial Option. January 31, 2002. L. A. Times. 28 February 2002. Forster, E. M. The Air-Ship. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill, 1998, 187-195. Holeton, Richard. Composing Cyberspace. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

On the Grasshopper and Cricket Essay

In the first half of the poem ‘On the Grasshopper and Cricket’ Keats talks about the opulence of the summer season and deals with summer imagery and the grasshopper, similarly the second half is about the dullness of the winter season and deals with the cricket. â€Å" How does Keats explore Romantic Ideals in his poem On the Grasshopper and Cricket†? The poem is structurally similar to a sonnet because it has 14 lines, it can be divided into an octet and sestet and it is written in iambic pentameter. The poem has a definite rhyme scheme of abbabba cdecde. This use of form brings out the cyclic, eternal and perpetual life of nature. The use of imagery is unmistakably showing us the reverence for the natural world. Imagery is shown in the Octet summer afternoon as the hot sun, cooling trees, hedge and New-mown mead meaning meadow. In the Sestet winter evening its shown as lone winter evening, frost, stove and silence. This creates contrast from the pleasant and active mood, and lively environment created by the words ‘delights’ and ‘fun’ to the dismal and melancholy mood, and slow and peaceful environment created by ‘silence’ and ‘drowsiness’. ‘The poetry of earth is never dead’, this is the opening line of the poem. Reflecting the poet’s belief that the beauty of nature never ends and that the beauty of nature is an art form and it will never cease to exist. The Grasshopper portrays the enjoyment of summer that everyone partakes during this season. This is shown in line 7. ‘He has never done with his delights’. The assonance of the extended vowel sounds in ‘the new-mown mead’ reflects the environment of summer; this is contrasted with the harsh vowel sounds of ‘wrought a silence’ in winter, which shows how harsh winter is. Even though there is contrast between the summer and winter seasons, they are two separate beauties-summer being gentle and relaxing beauty, whereas winter is harsh and cold, yet still enchanting. Keats has explored Romantic Ideals in his poem through reverence for the natural world. The delineation was created through the use of contrast, assonance, imagery and rhyme. Using two characters such as the Grasshopper and the Cricket to visually impact the audience with thec impact nature has on us. The earth is beautiful and always will be.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Most people believe that life ends after death, but what people don’t know is that death is a new beginning. The novel â€Å"The five people you meet in heaven† by Mitch Albom proves that. Eddie lived a peaceful life after the war. But Eddie still felt his life had no purpose after marguerite passed away. Eddie was also the second generation of family to work at the pier. When Eddie passed away, saving a little girl, on his eighty-third birthday, he discovers a second life. On his way through heaven Eddie will learn three of the most valuable lessons in life. â€Å"Lost love is still love†, â€Å"no sacrifice is too small†, and â€Å"all lives are connected†.â€Å"Lost love is still love† is one of the valuable lessons learned by Eddie. Eddie learned this from his fourth stop in heaven and meets marguerite, his wife for many years. Marguerite passed away to cancer at the age of forty. Eddie always loved the way marguerite threw parties for hi s birthday with the kids from the pier. Eddie never lost his love for Marguerite. Eddie spent his time loving and cuddling marguerite. The way I connect to this is in grade two my great grandpa passed away. I still miss him and wish I could hear some his stories now that I could understand what he was talking about.â€Å"No sacrifice is too small† is a lesson learned by Eddie at his second stop in heaven with the captain. Eddie lost all contact with the people from the war. Eddie was captured by Philippine’s and kept in a cell and forced to mine coal to help the Philippine’s win the war. The captain uses his example of going to scout ahead around a corner when he steps on a land mine. The way I relate to this is very unpractical but still had a use to my situation. I was playing air soft and sacrifice myself by going and scouting ahead and I ended up setting off a claymore and interrupted the ambush and my team was able to eliminate the other team and win. "All lives are connected† is a lesson learned by Eddie when he meets the blue man. Eddie is playing baseball with his friends when the ball crosses the road and Eddie runs to get it and cuts off a vehicle, who has to swerve and crashes, to grab the baseball. The blue man was blue from overdosing silver nitrate which turned him blue. When Eddie went to heaven he was confused and didn’t know who the blue man was. The way I connect to this is when I was playing baseball and I hit the ball over my fence and ran to get it and cut a car off and it slammed on the breaks and just about rolled.Overall the novel â€Å"the five people you meet in heaven† teaches many great lessons to its readers. The three most important lessons are â€Å"Lost love is still love†, â€Å"No sacrifice is too small†, and â€Å"All lives are connected†. The part about the story that I liked the most was when Eddie went to the captain in heaven and brought back the memories about the war. In the end, the novel taught me that heaven isn’t all what you think it is.