History of The Australian Aboriginal People Essay

History of The Australian Aboriginal People - Essay Example However, what appears to be clear is that the first Aboriginal settlers colonized what is now Australia between 30,000 and 80,000 years ago via what is now Papua New Guinea or what is now Indonesia (Australian Aboriginal History, 2002; Siasoco, 2006). In 2001 the population of aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders was 366,429, approximately 1.9% of the Australian population as a whole and slightly more than the estimated aboriginal population of 350,000 at the time of European colonization in the late 18th century. At the time of the European invasion, there were 500-600 distinct groups of aborigines speaking about 200 different languages or dialects [at least 50 of which are now extinct] (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2006). Although culturally diverse, these groups were not political and economic entities and lacked class hierarchies and chiefs. These aboriginal people were hunter-gatherers who lived in small family groups of 15or 30, called bands. Bands were the basic residential and economic unit (Siasoco, 2006; Arrernte Culture, 2006). Despite their variety and differences, the aboriginal people possess several unifying factors. ... People within these social networks frequently co-operated to exploit abundant resources during good seasons or to share scarce resources during drought or flood (Siasoco, 2006). The aboriginal people are a culturally and religiously rich people. Their social structure, family ties and classification system is almost as complex as the people. However, spiritually, unlike other religions, aboriginal belief does not place the human species apart from or on a higher level than nature. Their spirituality involves a close relationship between humans and nature. Aborigines believe some of their Ancestors metamorphosed into nature (as in rock formations or rivers), where they remain spiritually alive. In the oral tradition of storytelling, aborigines refer to the beginning of the world as "Dreaming," or "Dreamtime. In the "Dreaming", or the Alchera of the Aranda, the aborigines believed that their ancestors who rose from below the earth wandered on a featureless world and gave the world its present shape and form; they believe that their ancestors metamorphosed to form different various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water, and the sky (Arrernte Culture, 2006; Australian Aboriginal History, 2002). The aborigines have an intricate classification system that defines kinship relations and regulates marriages. The Kariera, for example, are divided into hordes, or local groups of about 30 people, which are divided into four classes, or sections. Membership in a section determines ritual and territorial claims. In half of the hordes the men are divided among the Karimera and Burung sections; in the other half they are divided among the Palyeri and Banaka sections. These sections are exogamous, and rules of marriage, descent, and residence

Marriage between relatives in the Arab countries Essay

Marriage between relatives in the Arab countries - Essay Example That is followed by the trends in marriage to identify any other factors influencing the consanguinity in the Arab culture. After developing a deep understanding of the Arab culture and trends, the practice of consanguinity is discussed itself. This is followed by the causes of consanguineous marriages in the Arab world. Different factors contribute to the practice of consanguinity such as culture, family, location, etc., are then discussed in the light of previous studies. The misconceptions about the practice are also taken into consideration. The consequences of consanguineous marriage are then discussed with the help of empirical evidence on the topic. The reproductive and genetic disadvantages of consanguineous marriages are discussed in particular. The paper ends with a conclusion on the subject matter. The Arab world basically consists of 23 countries stretching from Morocco to the Persian Gulf, also including the Northern Africa. The term ‘Arab’ is used to refer to people whose first language is Arabic or to people who belong to this culture. The Arab world is vast and occupies all the parts of the Arabic Gulf, Mesopotamia, Middle East, and North Africa, while it also includes some parts of the East and West Africa (Tadmouri, 2010). The total population of the Arab world is more than 315 million (Tadmouri, 2010). The Arab world is relatively diverse as it does not only refer to a single race. The Arab world includes people belonging to different race and culture as some Arabs may have coloured eyes and light skin while others may be dark or somewhere in the middle. Hence Arabs cannot be defined by the colour of their skin, nor do they all belong to a single religion. Though the Arab world is dominated by Muslims, millions of Christian and thousands of Jews are also a part of the Arab world and culture (ADC, 2010). Being an Arab is

Are Clausewitz theory of Friction and Means and Ends relevant to a Research Paper

Are Clausewitz theory of Friction and Means and Ends relevant to a college student today - Research Paper Example It is important to remember that the fog stems from corrupted information and so, the US officers can get better able to see and interpret everything by making advancements in information technologies. This research paper is basically an attempt to scrutinize the extent to which the Clausewitzian concepts on war can be considered relevant today for college students by exploring what the research literature has to say on the subject. Carl Von Clausewitz served in military army and developed many momentous theories about war. Those theories can be found in his epic book â€Å"On War† which was still unfinished when he died. He has gained more reputation till now as a military theorist than a military professional. The fact that Clausewitz’s work is still frenetically researched demonstrates that it is found relevant even today in contemporary times. Also, my opinion is that I appreciate and enjoy Clausewitz’s theoretical approaches to war. I believe that he has con veyed what it takes to really understand the phenomenon of war through his insightful theories which can be useful to anybody even today in the modern times. According to Clausewitz, â€Å"war is served by many activities† (2008, p. ... In his theory about means and end, he favors strategy over tactics. His concept of tactics is a confluence of two streams, means (fighting forces) and ends (victory) suggesting that better trained fighting forces can lead to victory if they are more experienced at seeing and processing information on the battlefield. This is because once the means are properly developed, the purposes of the war get clearer, and the desired objectives can be reached without unnecessary delays due to uncertainty (fog). However, in strategy the means is victory and the end is things which can help to reestablish peace. Just victory is not important, reestablishment of peace should also be a desired end. I find Clausewitz’s theoretical concepts to be both thought-provoking and acutely insightful because he digs with acute intelligence into a variety of meanings associated with friction and means and ends, and the best part is that every meaning holds something captivating to reflect. Clausewitz ho lds the position that the rate of probability is especially high in a situation like war because everything is uncertain. Here, he goes against earlier war theorists who attempted to astutely assess the war performance by using hard and fast rules. For this purpose, the earlier theorists concentrated only on factors which could be calculated like the war supplies, number of participants (soldiers), interior lines etc. They forgot to assess the conduct of war by considering factors which do not have fixed values and cannot be calculated. It is the work of those theorists which cannot be considered relevant today because the times have changed and there is no room for those inflexible concepts on war now. Clausewitz’s work on war in reference to its relevance today

Challenges Faced By Socrates

Challenges Faced By Socrates Socrates developed this philosophy when he himself was facing some challenges as he was facing trial for corrupting young people and undermining the state religion. Socrates once said that the unexamined life is not worth living. In this he was Socrates wanted forward various issues including the independent of mind or autonomy, if an individual does not reflect on their values and life and just living life like they are going through a motion. One behaves like a mere cog in the machinery of that is the human universe. When we have experiences whether good or bad we should think about them and try to find out why they are happening to us. One should always question their personal actions, what drives them, and we should remodel our character into a way we feel it is the most appropriate and not what others or situations think. A life that has not been examined has no author, for the individual did not live his life but mere followed the force of nature or others. Therefore it is very important for an individual to be examined for it helps them to find their place in the society. According to Socrates the human life is supposed to be for one to achieve both personal and spiritual growth. An individual will be able to understand their true nature when they examine and reflect on the life they are living. By having an examination on the life we live we will better understand our pattern of behavior. By deeply contemplation on our life we will better understand our subconscious which is what controls our life. Therefore if we do not make time to understand our subconscious we will unconscious be living a repetitive life with no meaning. Examining our life relates to philosophy as it means we have to take time to study our behavior and find ways of improving this behavior. 2. Plato in the discussion that he made on the myth of the cave, he distinguished on aspects of awareness which are knowledge and opinion. In the myth of the cave he described how one has been deeply chained inside a cave. As they are chained in the cave their cannot see each other and they have restricted vision and what they can only see is the wall in the cave and which shows shadows from statues belonging to animals and various objects emanating from a burning fire. One of the chained individuals escaped from their captivity in the cave to the light of the day. After escaping the person sees real world for the first time and goes back to those still in the cave and informs them that they have only been seeing appearances and shadows and if they fight to free themselves they will see the real world out there. The environment in the cave which has appearances that are shadowy it shows to for Plato is the appearance that is there in the physical world. The escape to the world full of the sun outside of the cave is a symbol of transitioning into a world that is real, where things are full and perfect, and there are real forms, this are the true aspects of knowledge. Plato argued that Forms are arranged according to hierarchy. With the top Form being the form that is good, according to the myth of the cave is the sun. The sun which acts as the form of good helps to explain on how an individual becomes aware of how things they are the way they are or how they came to be. The cave stands for the world which is in our imagination, the in the shadows cave shows of how at passive state that we are at when thinking. Those who decide to learn in the cave are the individuals who have empirical knowledge and are able to make predictions. The knowledge that they have is not useful but a shadow. Educati on is only important if it can be able to free someone from their bondage. Every individual has an ability to think and If does not utilize this it is because he is held by chains. 3. Elizabeth Spelman once claimed that, women have been portrayed as bodily being. By portraying the woman this way she is denied her status that belongs to her as a human being. According to Rene Descartes who is accredited to have developed the theory of Cartesian dualism, he argued of distinction between the mind and the body and they are also separate. Cartesian dualism states that the thoughts of a man are a reflection of his beliefs, values, conditions, experiences, and development. The Cartesian dualism that speaks of the independence and separation of the mind and body perpetuates a sexist beliefs and behaviours. This is because it privileges the cognitive and intellectually is represented. This masculine discourses; Spelman argued that it works in reproducing a disembodied way of thinking which blinds people on how a normal world is. Spelman argued that the viewing of the woman as a property or a sex product undermines who the woman is. Elizabeth Spelman the Cartesian dualism is used to justify why the women are subordination especially in fields such as Politics. The stereotyping of women is a dangerous aspect in the society, judging a woman based on her body is an affront to the women. The theory tends to give certain roles to women, like that they have a certain position in the society and they are field that are specifically for them and others they should not venture into. They are seen as models and not engineers. 4. Aristotle refuted Plato Theory of Ideas arguing that, that the existence of various Ideas that contradict themselves and deny there being a possibility of a negation. He also argued that the portraying of Ideas was an empty metaphors and finally that the theory used various impermanent abstractions that created perception. The theory by Plato was meant to establish that the knowledge of reality was. Aristotle considered the argument to be full of inconsistencies and he believed that reality depended on correlations of other elements. These ideas, Plato believed were self contained absolutes and are permanent and they help in establishing what knowledge is and how it is attained by use of human thought. Plato also viewed Ideas as good standards to which it can be used to judge human endeavor and at the top of hierarchy of ideas leads is that of Good. Also the theory argued that that the states of being are based or dependent on the interaction of number of Forms of existence, also the objectivity of knowledge and therefore more real, it also argued that only the processes that are from nature are valid entities. However, Aristotle attacks this theory on the grounds that Platos arguments are inconclusive either his assertions are not al all cogent. Aristotle says, or his arguments lead to contradictory conclusions. Aristotle claimed that the argument by Plato makes one to conclude that those entities that might be man-made and the negation of great ideas can exist like from non good in when in opposition to good. This works in contradicting the belief by Plato which was that only natural objects can be used by unto themselves, that they are independent of the subjective experiences of human. Aristotle argued that Ideas cannot be abstractions but they are duplicates experiences that are witnessed by individuals everyday in their da ily life. Aristotle meant that Platos idea which stated that Ideas are not tangible to the subjective human experiences is perfect entities, has no grounds, since all standards are set by the perception and ordinary human activity. 5. Behaviorism is a theory of that believes that that all human behaviors are learnt or acquired through the process of conditioning. The process of conditioning happens when an individual interacts with the environment. Behaviorism experts believe that behavior can be effectively studied in an observable and systematic way without the consideration of the internal mental states in the subject of which the behavior is being studied. Behavior theorists believe that learning is just but the acquisition of behavior and this acquisition is conditioned by the environment that the person lives in. there are two methods of conditioning, namely the classical conditioning and the operant conditioning. According to dualism there are number a number of uses of thought. The idea of dualism believes that, for everything, there are two options or categories of principles or things. A dualist will believe that there is Good and Evil. The dualist belief that the two things or principles, are independent equal opposing forces in the world. In the mind philosophy, dualism theory believes that the mind and body is radically different thing. It is a theory that tends to say that everything comes from the mind and the body and that both are very different and distinct. The spirit, mind, or soul is thought to be the conscious and it help to show the self using the brain. The computational theory of mind argues that mind of human beings should be seen as a system for processing information. It also argues that thoughts are a form of computation. I prefer behaviorism as I belief that all behaviors that people exhibit are based on the environment that they live in. I strongly believe that behavior is learned by people. 6. Berkeley argued that the position of idealism can be held without any contradiction. Berkeley tried to portray realism as absurd, since it needed some concepts that cannot be conceptualized in reality. Therefore Berkeley made a conclusion that idealism was necessary, and the only theory we should work to understand. Realism is the ontological position which believes that there exists some things that which are neither in our minds or they are ideas in minds and idealism is the ontological position that believes that everything which exists it exists as either as an idea in a mind or a mind. Anti realist believe that what cannot be observed is not real. They insist that people can only understand anything if they come to understand the circumstances it is the way it is. They deny the objective reality that is of entities. They also deny the verifying of statement that are transcendent on a certain entity whether true or false. Berkeley and anti realist have several things in common which include that he did not believe in realism but believed in idealism which he considered to be essential to people. He argued that for a concept to be concrete it has to be observable. This is the same as what anti realist hold. 7. Jean-Paul Sartre, made the phrase that existence precedes essence. In the past it was assumed that nature or essence was more important eternal than existence. The phrase that existence precedes essence means, that humans and reality, exist before there are any morals or values. An individual is born with nothing in their mind. Also human beings do not have any universal or form of predetermined principles that are common to all. Sartre made an argument of there being two kinds of being, being-in-itself which demonstrated as being complete, fixed, and there being no reason of it there, it just is, it works to describe the external objects. The other being is showed as being dependent on the way it previously existed. It is fixed, absolute and works to describe the state of humanity. There being no preformed essence or a clear what to be human is, an individual is tasked to form their own concept about existence this can be achieved by an individual ensuring that they assert control and show responsibility for their choices and acts. Human beings gain their essence by their choices and actions that they make as individuals. It by living that an individual is able to define who truly they are. By life that we experience every day, we are involved in a process that shapes our identity. Since there is no set moral code that has been set for us to abide with, then there people as individuals have a fundamental freedom to ensure that they create their personal system of belief. 8. The ontological argument is an argument on the existence of God. The argument is based on reason and intuition alone. As per the argument, it states that that one should not look for any physical evidence to show that God exists. But by merely thinking about it we can realize that God exists. In philosophy this argument is referred to as priori argument. According to the ontological argument, human beings are wise enough to know claims false without even by looking into this claims and to find out. The argument claims that the thought that there is no God and does not exist is an absurd thought. According to the ontological argument, human beings can easily be able to decide that it is false or wrong to claim that there is no God; this decision can be made without one spending his time to look at the details of the existence of God. This is compared to one knowing what a triangle is which means it is obvious that it is impossible to have a four-sided triangle. The argument states that by one knowing the meaning of God it would be impossible for one to contemplate of God being non-existence. Descartes argued that it was impossible for people to demonstrating there being or existence of God who he considered to be supreme and a perfect being. Since human beings supposes and conceive the idea that there exists a supreme and perfect being. Therefore because we all have an idea of the supreme and perfect being, it is therefore imperative that we should all make a conclusion that this supreme perfect being does surely exists. 9. There being evil and a lot of suffering in the world poses a big challenge for one to belief in the existence of a God who is perfect. The problem of evil is an argument which argues that a God who is all-knowing, all powerful, and who is perfectly good should not permit any form of suffering or evil to happen. The world today is full of countless aspects of people suffering and there being too much evil.   The facts on the presence of evil and people suffering do conflict with the claim by the orthodox theists that there is a God who is perfectly good. This challenge by this conflict is known as the problem of evil. Some argue that God could have a reason that is morally enough reason for him to allow there being some evils to happen, by doing this he ensures that a big good is seen or comes out of the evil. But those against argue that God should only permit evil or suffering as it should be necessary so as to attain a bigger good. But when people look at the world, there are a lot of prevalent incidences of pointless evils that has no bigger good that comes out as a result. They also argue that the existence of pointless evil provide a strong case that God does not exist. Philosophers and theologians have worked to develop theodicies, which are responses that are meant to explain the argument from evil and help people to still have a belief in a God that is all-knowing, all-powerful and perfect and good. Some state that God allows people to undergo pointless evil for reason that are above human comprehension. 10. Pascal Wager argued that that is safe to believe that there is God since if later you learn that you were wrong you will have lost nothing. Also if one doesnt believe in God and it turns out to be incorrect, they will go to hell. He therefore believed it was not wise to be an atheist. I personally do not believe in this argument as it has several flaws. The argument doe not tell of which religion one should follow. Since there are many religions that are mutually exclusive and contradict each other example is Christianity and Islam. Therefore one might end up avoiding worshiping the wrong God thus avoiding the wrong hell and eventually end up in hell. Example is in both Christianity and Islam they both belief in there being hell yet their practices are very different and they both worship God, which God should one follow? Another flaw is that the argument that the person who the bet losses everything, it might be that he loses nothing. If an individual puts his bet on the wrong god, the True God just may decide to punish the person who bet wrong for his foolish behavior. Also the True God might be an independent God who respects the right of other people believing in what they reason rationally, therefore he does not pick on the bet. I also have a problem with somebody deciding to believe in a god since they think they have made a choice which will offer them a lot of benefits and less danger. This might be a problem as the god you believe in might have a problem in one believing in it so as to benefit by being allowed into heaven or not to be punished in hell. The god might be fair but on the choices that people made, were they selfish choice?

Edwin Hubble :: essays research papers

Edwin Hubble was a man who changed our view of the Universe. In 1929 he showed that galaxies are moving away from us with a speed proportional to their distance. The explanation is simple, but revolutionary: the Universe is expanding. Hubble was born in Missouri in 1889. His family moved to Chicago in 1898, where at High School he was a promising, though not exceptional, pupil. He was more remarkable for his athletic ability, breaking the Illinois State high jump record. At university too he was an accomplished sportsman playing for the University of Chicago basketball team. He won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford where he studied law. It was only some time after he returned to the US that he decided his future lay in astronomy. In the early 1920s Hubble played a key role in establishing just what galaxies are. It was known that some spiral nebulae (fuzzy clouds of light on the night sky) contained individual stars, but there was no consensus as to whether these were relatively small collections of stars within our own galaxy, the 'Milky Way' that stretches right across the sky, or whether these could be separate galaxies, or 'island universes', as big as our own galaxy but much further away. In 1924 Hubble measured the distance to the Andromeda nebula, a faint patch of light with about the same apparent diameter as the moon, and showed it was about a hundred thousand times as far away as the nearest stars. It had to be a separate galaxy, comparable in size our own Milky Way but much further away. Hubble was able to measure the distances to only a handful of other galaxies, but he realised that as a rough guide he could take their apparent brightness as an indication of their distance. The speed with which a galaxy was moving toward or away from us was relatively easy to measure due to the Doppler shift of their light. Just as a sound of a racing car becomes lower as it speeds away from us, so the light from a galaxy becomes redder. Though our ears can hear the change of pitch of the racing car engine our eyes cannot detect the tiny red-shift of the light, but with a sensitive spectrograph Hubble could determine the redshift of light from distant galaxies. The observational data available to Hubble by 1929 was sketchy, but whether guided by inspired instinct or outrageous good fortune, he correctly divined a straight line fit between the data points showing the redshift was proportional to the distance.

College Student Stress Coping

College students facing academic, social, and other stresses such as finances and how to cope with them. The most common stress most college students face is the stress from the work load that is common in a higher education system. This is the major challenge, and you will be facing without the close guidance you may have previously enjoyed from a teacher or parent; Social stress seems to be more prominent with underclassmen leaving home and there support structure from home but can affect any college student.Most students find that the number one cause of stress for them is financially trying to juggle a full load, and work full time to support yourself and for other students pay for school. Academic stress seems to be what cause the biggest problem for most students. There are some things you can do if you would like to lower your stress level and make student life better. First thing you should do is get the right information from the very beginning. How many lectures, seminars o r laboratory sessions are you supposed to be attending?With your assignments make sure you know exactly what you are being asked to do? How many words you’re expected to write and what the deadline is for handing it in. Also try to set up your own space for academic’s to make it easier to focus and concentrate, if you have a noisy roommate try to find a place in the library or even a local coffee shop to frequent. These suggestions will help lower your academics stress which will make life easier for the college student.Social stress for college students is something else that is very common especially in new college students. Most social stress comes from trying to fit it or even trying to create a new social network because in most case’s this is the first time away from home and away from your entire support structure and comfort zone. With social stress one of the most important things to remember is to try and stay involved in different activities at school and get involved with different organizations on campus to meet new people.When getting involved with the organization’s on campus you’ll meet new friends and become more socially outgoing which will help greatly with social stress. Reducing the amount of social stress in college students, will lead to a more enjoyable and positive experience. Financial stress tends to be tohe root of most students problems whether it’s from overspending, lack of proper guidance, peer pressure, inexperience or many other factors. As a result just about everyone is bogged down with large debts increasing day by day.As students many have tried different things to cut down expense but still no luck. There are many ways to help lift the financial stress for college students like taking federal or private loans, grants and scholarships, and working during the summer vacation. By taking federal or private loans you get to choose the best one that is suitable for your need, if you dec ide to go for a private one then do enough research to make sure you’re not at a loss and end up paying more instead of benefitting from it.Grants and scholarships are another great ideas because these will help lift the burden of some financial stress. When applying for grants and scholarships keep in mind these are offered free by federal organizations for the benefit of students. Make sure to take advantage of the situation but you have to prove worthy for these aids. Getting summer jobs will also help lift some of that financial stress because you can do it in your off time and not stress with studying or school work but catch up and save some money!The best ways for college students to cope with the stress of being away from home, social stress, and financial stress. Academic stress seems to be one of the most common among students. Most college students find that the added freedom of being away from the structure at home and the more difficult classes to be extremely st ressful. Just remember try and create your own space for studying with a desk and a quiet place, if you have a noisy roommate find a nice place in the library or a nice local coffee shop to visit.Social stress also seems to be a major problem with college students. Trying to fit in and make new friends after leaving there comfort zone and support structure can be difficult. When starting at college try and get involved in activities to get you out and have a good time. Another great thing to do is get into some organizations to help meet new people and even become more outgoing to make the college experience more fun and less stress. Financial stress seems to be the biggest burden for college students trying to survive on your own and worrying about how you will pay for chool. Remember federal and private loans are a great way to lift stress off you but just do your research and find the one that will work best for your needs. Grants and scholarships are the best thing for most stud ents because they are offered for free from federal organizations but you must prove yourself for these aids Summer jobs are great for students who want to make a little extra cash on the side and lift the stress and worry of college off their mind. B y following some of these tips you are sure to reduce some stress in your everyday college life.

Summary – Automotive Supply Synchronization

Operations Management â€Å"Automotive Supply Chain Synchronization† Summary The article, â€Å"Automotive Supply Chain Synchronization† by Matthias Berlit, Ulrich Dorndorf, and Hans Jurgen Zimmerman, discussed the importance of logistics planning in the management of automotive supply chains, and namely the role the transport management system SynroTESS played in the optimization of supply chains for Audi and Volkswagen (VW) Mexico.The article began by explaining that the unregulated inbound, internal and outbound movements within a given automotive supply chain were not only inefficient, but also led to significant wasted time evidenced by the queuing of vehicles and the congestion that results from waiting. The authors argued that this waste of resources could be overcome by the proper synchronization of movements with the use of a computer program called SyncroTESS. SyncroTESS was developed by a German IT company called INFORM and was described as a system that â₠¬Å"intelligently synchronizes time-critical transport operations. The system is immensely capable of optimizing operations like the allocation of material handling resources within a plant to scheduling the trucks used for internal and inter-factory movements. The authors then went on to provide two case studies in which SyncroTESS was able to successfully optimize the synchronization of auto supply chains for Audi and VW Mexico. The first case study involved the Audi Ingolstadt production facility in Germany. The Ingolstadt factory is Audi’s largest production facility and produces roughly 850 built to order cars from its assembly lines daily.As we learned from the Marshall Fisher Harvard Business Review article â€Å"What is the right supply chain for your product,† these built to order vehicles are considered an innovative product must employ a market responsive supply chain to meet it’s demand properly. In order to optimize this sort of supply chain, the Syn croTESS system manages â€Å"the internal material flow† of at least 3 days worth of stock, â€Å"optimizes the execution of 60,000 internal transport orders per day,† including â€Å"up to 3,000 stock-in and 4,000 stock-out movement per day† and â€Å"the flow and transport of materials from the parts warehouse to the assembly line. As of 2006, the SyncroTESS system has been fully integrated into Audi’s IT system and is still currently in use. In fact, SyncroTESS’s responsibilities have been expanded to include the scheduling of about 500 inbound truck movements a day. The second case study showcased the impact of the SyncroTESS system in the optimization of controlling finished auto inventory in the yards of VW Mexico. The vehicle yards in Mexico distribute about 350,000 vehicles to dealers worldwide yearly.The inventory is specifically tailored to store 2 types of production vehicles; built to order, hence innovative products, for the European market and built to stock, otherwise known as functional products, for the Mexican and North American markets. Although VW Mexico was dealing with essentially two types of products, the fact that these products were already completed and ready for shipment, this case study focused on SyncroTESS’s ability to handle an efficient supply chain for otherwise functional products.VW Mexico successfully implemented the optimization of its supply chain by marrying the SyncroTESS transport management system with VW’s proprietary TOMCADS system. This action allowed VW to rely on a single all encompassing logistical operation system and eliminated the confusion created from the use of the 3rd party logistic providers (3PLs) of the past. SyncroTESS and TOMCADS worked in concert through a process called â€Å"intelligent yard management. VW’s TOMCADS system would inform SyncroTESS of a vehicle’s impending arrival. At that time, the car would be inspected and â€Å"in the event of any defects† the car would be â€Å"returned to production and SyncroTESS (would) re-plan the car’s route allowing for repairs. † Otherwise, the synchronization system would work to optimize the flow of the vehicle inventory from each yard in great detail; from the flow of each vehicle within specific yards, to the order in which vehicle would be loaded as cargo to reduce wasted movement.The successful impact of the synchronization of transport management systems was made evident when Bjorn Beckmann, head of Logistics Planning group at VW Mexico, explained that, â€Å"As a result of the (now) large number of cars leaving and entering our operations, most cars do not remain longer than 1. 5 days in the yards. † This lower lead-time in delivering the finished inventory is beneficial to both responsive and efficient supply chains, satisfying the demand of both types of production vehicles. The authors would then go on to describe how SyncroTESS has evolved to nclude GPS technology to further track the movement of inventory in real time. The full integration of the logistical system has allowed VW Mexico to create a more complete picture of its inventory flow. In fact, In addition to Audi and VW, BMW and Daimler have also adopted synchronization technology to optimize the execution of their supply chain with a typical â€Å"break-even period of two years. † The conclusion drawn from the authors essentially reinforced Fisher’s stance that the implementation of the proper supply chain for a given product, despite the cost, is ultimately more beneficial to a company than focusing on cost alone.