![[Valid RSS]](images/valid-rss-rogers.png "Valid RSS")
This is a valid RSS feed.
This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>dwaetms.info</title> <atom:link href="http://dwaetms.info/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://dwaetms.info</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Sun, 24 Dec 2023 00:45:29 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3</generator> <item> <title>There is an excessive amount of traffic coming from your Region.</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region-2,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region-2,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 20 Apr 2023 19:20:15 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[diy furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[diy furniture flip]]></category> <category><![CDATA[foureyes furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture flip]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture flipping]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture flipping tips]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture makeover]]></category> <category><![CDATA[furniture painting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[how to paint furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[new furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[painted furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[secret furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[small space furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[smart furniture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[space saving furniture]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=73</guid> <description><![CDATA[Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken a look at depending on the age of the student. After first taking a look at the many different categories of science projects, you will be able to locate a suitable choice of topic to take to the next level.There is a wide variety of categories that fall under the types of science projects that can be chosen for a school science fair. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, environmental, mathematics, engineering, and earth science. While you may not have yet learned very much in any of these categories, don’t be afraid to see what each one entails. Taking a good look at your interests will allow you to focus on the right direction to take.Many resources are also available for those who are unsure as to the topic they are wanting to use to create their science projects. If you take a look at the topics that fall under the biology category, you will likely notice that there are topics that deal with plants, animals, and humans. For those who are in 2nd grade or 3rd grade, an interesting topic may be to determine if ants are picky over what type of food they eat. While this topic might not be of interest to an 8th grader, it is certainly something in the biology category that an elementary school student would enjoy.Along with the biology category, a high school student may want to take a look at diffusion and osmosis in animal cells as this would be a more appropriate topic for the grade level. A student in 6th grade would be more advanced than an elementary school student, but not as advanced as a high school student. At this middle school grade level, a topic of how pH levels effect the lifespan of a tadpole may be of interest.Whichever resource is used to locate a topic for science projects, it is always a good idea to consider the grade level of the student prior to making a selection. It is always assumed to be best to have a project at an appropriate level in order to keep the attention of the student and provide a fun and enjoyable learning experience. </p><div class="mads-block"></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region-2,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Get it Right the First Time – A Small Business Guide to Software Selection</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/get-it-right-the-first-time-a-small-business-guide-to-software-selection,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/get-it-right-the-first-time-a-small-business-guide-to-software-selection,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 15:25:31 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Software]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=71</guid> <description><![CDATA[IntroductionWhat to Buy – That is the QuestionBuying decisions are the essence of life in the commerce-driven 21st century. From everyday decisions like selecting lunch from a restaurant menu, to getting a new car, to major company acquisitions, much of our time is spent “buying”.And these choices are anything but simple. Each marketer professes to [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> IntroductionWhat to Buy – That is the QuestionBuying decisions are the essence of life in the commerce-driven 21st century. From everyday decisions like selecting lunch from a restaurant menu, to getting a new car, to major company acquisitions, much of our time is spent “buying”.And these choices are anything but simple. Each marketer professes to be the sole champion of our consumer rights and pummels us with enticing advertising messages, about how their wares are “the best”. Seductive as these messages are, no product or service is quite the same. The difference may be glaring – that of “better vs. worse”, or a subtle tradeoff between price, quality, feature set, customer service, or durability.It is therefore important to keep our wits about & develop a systematic approach to the buying decision. Our view should be broad & farsighted, rather than buying based only on what immediately meets the eye. Hasty decisions leave us with flashy features never used, or hefty repair bills of products that came cheap.A good example of a systematic approach is when you buy a car. A myriad of factors are considered & weighed, which impact the owner for the next decade. This includes brand, performance vs. style, price, safety, terms of finance, mileage, maintenance, resale value & so many other factors.Selecting SoftwareIn our new “wired” modern reality, software is no less important than products & services in our everyday lives. Whether it’s a personal email program, chat software for instant connection, collaboration software to organize scattered employees, or an ERP implementation to manage company processes – there’s no surviving without them!But we’re somewhat more used to buying products & services than software, which is a relatively recent phenomenon. In many ways, selecting software is no different from selecting a product or service. Although intangible, software, also address a very real need, on which personal & professional success often depends. Naturally, some of the same purchase factors apply – brand, service, & maintenance costs.In spite of the patronizing obviousness of the above, software selection is a grey zone; an underdeveloped arena. This accounts for the high incidence of “shelfware” – software that are bought with grand intentions, but end up on dusty shelves. This is because unlike products & services, it is not so intuitively evident that software have “life cycles” & need to be “maintained”, “updated”, & “repaired”.Therefore, purchases are made based on what immediately meets the eye – technical features. This mistake is understandable, because technical features are well documented & advertised, & easy for the buyer to use as decision criteria. But with this approach, factors that are just as pertinent, but not so immediately obvious, get left out. Some research & serious thinking is needed to gauge these “hidden” factors.Key Factors To Consider1) Company History & ExperienceThe vendor needs to be sized up before we even go on to consider the software itself. Company background is essential because, unlike traditional companies, software companies are often small, & often beyond national boundaries. Since these companies would likely be handling our sensitive data, we need to do a background check. Some related questions are:How Long Have They Been Around?As in most cases, we can reasonably assume that past record is a good indicator of future performance. Important questions are – How long have they been around? How long have they been in the field? If they’re offering business collaboration software, have they been in this industry long enough? Even if the software is new, do they have experience developing related software?What is Their Niche?Does the company know your niche well enough to know your needs? If you are a small/mid sized business, a company mainly serving the Fortune 500 is not for you. If you work from home, it is unlikely a solution serving large offices will meet your needs.The Ultimate Testament – The CustomerThe ultimate judge of software is its users. To get a true picture, it is important to look at how customers are using the software & what their comments are. Does their site include a client’s list or page? Check out what customers say under testimonials, or you could even get in touch with the customers yourself for comments.DangersThere are certain things about the software industry that a buyer should be wary of. Software startups have shorter life spans than traditional companies & ride high on a success wave, but go “pop” when the industry bubble bursts. This was exemplified by the “dot com burst” of 2000. Whether the current spate of “Web 2.0″ companies constitutes another expanding bubble which will inevitably burst is debatable, but it makes sense to be wary & bet your money on dependable companies with proven track records.2) CostThere’s no denying the importance of cost effectiveness in buying decisions across the board. Yet costs should be seen in a broad perspective, because low entry costs may well result in higher total costs along the product’s life.Features vs. PriceA cost-benefit analysis makes sense, & costs need to be compared with the software’s range of features & functionalities. A document management system may not be the cheapest, but it may allow you to also set up a virtual office. Going for loads of features also constitutes a trap, because users never get around to using half of them.Needs vs. PriceAnother question is whether there is an overlap between features & needs at all. Many features may not relate to needs sought to be addressed. You should clearly define your needs, & classify features as “needed features” & “features not needed”. Another possible scheme of classifying features could be “must have”, “nice to have”, & “future requirements”.3) Ease of Use/AdoptionAn adoption & learning curve is involved with every new software purchase. It needs to be integrated with current systems & software, & the end users have to be brought up to speed using it. If the software is chunky & too complex, adoption resistance can occur.Ease of UseThe software should have an intuitive interface, & use of features should be pretty much self evident. The shorter the learning curve training a new user, the better. The software should also have the ability to easily fit into the existing systems with which it will have to communicate. For example, a collaboration software might allow you to use some features from your Outlook itself or even share Outlook data.AdoptionTo get a measure of “shelfware”, i.e., software that is purchased but never used, some studies peg the number of shelved content management solutions at 20-25%. At a million dollars per implementation, that’s pretty expensive shelfware! According to another study in the US, 22% of purchased enterprise portal (ERP) licenses are never used.No doubt, “Shelfware” is a result of ill thought out purchase decisions. These studies clearly underline the importance of making an educated purchase. One possible way to protect against shelfware is the new concept of software as a service (SAAS) hosted software. The software is hosted by its developer, & buyers have to pay a monthly subscription, which they can opt out of anytime.SupportNo matter how good a software is, there are bound to be times when one can’t find out how to work a particular feature or a glitch crops up. Some software solutions may require you to hire dedicated support staff of your own, while others may be easy to use, and no specialized staff may be needed, and still others may offer free support. The cost of hiring support staff needs to be factored into the buying decision.Provider support may be in the form of live human support, or automated help engines. In case of human help, the quality of solutions, availability & conduct of support executives matter. Support can also be in the form of an extensively documented help engine, or extensive help information on the company site. This form of support is often more prompt & efficient than human help.TrainingTraining is another form of support which deserves special mention. Free training seminars or their new avatar – webinars (online seminars) – greatly help in getting up to speed with the software at no extra cost. In some cases the company might offer paid training, which may be essential, & hence this cost needs to be factored into the purchase decision.MaintenanceMaintenance costs & efforts have a major impact on the performance & adoptability of software, & hence form important criteria of the buying decision. In case the software is hosted at the company’s end, it is of utmost importance that the software be available online at all times, or the “uptime”. Uptimes are covered under the “service level agreement” & range from 98% to 99.99%. A minimum uptime of 99% is what one must look for.The company’s upkeep is also important. Efforts to constantly improve upon the software underline a commitment to providing quality service. Are bugs fixed promptly & on an ongoing basis? Are they just releasing software & not updating it? One should develop a habit of keeping up with the company newsletter, release notes or the “what’s new” section on their site. Periodic newsletters & a “what’s new” section are indicative of a dynamic company.4) FamiliarityThe “feel” of the software is another important criterion. The software should keep with the basic layout & navigation schemes we are used to. This makes for quicker transition.One good way is to compare with the OS in which we would use the software. Does it have the same basic schema as the OS environment? A software with Mac schema on Windows wouldn’t sit that well. Or we could compare it with other software which we are used to. If you are switching to a low priced solution from an expensive one, choosing software with a similar “feel” would make sense. Does it retain most of the main features you are used to?5) SecuritySecurity is a top consideration because he software company will likely be handling information critical to us – business, financial or personal. We need to be well assured of our data’s security & there are no risks of it being compromised. This needs research, & the extensiveness of which depends on the sensitivity of our data.What safety features does the provider have?Encryption, or coding of information, is used by most companies to protect the integrity of their clients’ information. There are different types of encryption, each of which is associated with a different level of security. DAS is one, once popular but now known to have loopholes. SSL 128-bit encryption is associated with top notch security. Password protection is another important facet. Is the software equipped to withstand manual & automated attempts to hack your password? The ability of the system to detect a hacking attempt & lock up in time is important.Data BackupIn extreme cases of system breakdown caused by a facility fire, natural disaster or technical glitch etc, it is important that your data is frequently & adequately backed up. Data backup should be frequent & adequate.Certain factors are to be considered in backup practices. The first is the frequency of backups. If there is a long gap, there is a possibility of data being lost in intermittent periods. Secondly, what are the security arrangements at the facilities where your data resides? Is it manned & guarded by security personnel? What other safeguards are in place? Is there a good firewall? What is the protection against virus attacks? What procedures are in place for disaster management?Track RecordAs with company background, a little research on the security track record makes sense. Has the company ever been vulnerable to attacks before? What were the losses? How did the company react? How many years has the company had a good record? New companies will have a clean record, but that isn’t necessarily indicative of good security.The Server SystemThe server system where the sensitive data actually lies is very important. Is it state-of-the-art? The server infrastructure could be owned by the software provider themselves or outsourced to a dedicated company providing hosting solutions. Outsourced hosting is a good thing because hosting companies have extensive expertise & infrastructure for security, & this frees up the software provider to concentrate on the software itself. The company might not have an elaborate setup at all, running the software & processing data through computers set up in the garage somewhere acting as servers. This should get your alarm bells ringing!Conclusion – A Systematic Selection ApproachNow that we have discussed all the relevant factors in detail & have a better perspective of the subject, it is important to develop a systematic approach to analyzing these factors.What factors are important to me?Although all of the above factors are relevant, their relative importance may differ from customer to customer. For a company with deep pockets, price comes lower in the list. For a company using collaboration software to process business information, security is high priority. Again if a solution forms an important part of a company’s business, it is important that it integrates well with existing systems. For dynamic industries like real estate, short training times are important.Know Thy SoftwareBy this step you would have selected software. But that is still not the end. For all our theorizing & researching, the software still has to pass its toughest test. Most software allows you a free trial period. It would be a good idea to seriously use this period to analyze the software.It is important to stay focused during this testing period because the impact is going to be long lasting. Follow systematic planning. Identify objectives & needs, develop a testing plan, lay out the timelines and designate people from different departments to try out different features. Set responsibilities & goals so that testers take their job seriously.THE DECISION!Don’t hesitate to put the burden onto the company to prove itself. Let the company prove to you the features that seem important to you. For example, if security is of prime importance, ask the company to display how their solution scores high on security. Don’t hesitate to call them if you have questions.Test their service levels to see if it lives up to their promises. If you submit a ticket, is it promptly responded to? Is a good solution provided? If the problem requires live help, do you get it fast enough? When you call in with a problem, is it a live person or an automated message you converse with?This is as extensively as you can analyze software. You’re educated enough to make a choice which will most likely not fail you. You shall surely not be disappointed in your decision. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/get-it-right-the-first-time-a-small-business-guide-to-software-selection,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Effective Home Improvement Ideas and Tricks</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/effective-home-improvement-ideas-and-tricks,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/effective-home-improvement-ideas-and-tricks,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 20:10:18 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Home Improvement]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=69</guid> <description><![CDATA[Why the need for tricks? Well, some jobs are known to be intimidating, and downright scary. One perfect example is redoing or improving the home. The costs alone are enough to turn over to the other side of the bed, cover our heads with our pillows, and go to sleep. Then we may also have [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Why the need for tricks? Well, some jobs are known to be intimidating, and downright scary. One perfect example is redoing or improving the home. The costs alone are enough to turn over to the other side of the bed, cover our heads with our pillows, and go to sleep. Then we may also have to contemplate a “not-so-great” job with it, the neighbors starting to sense something awkward, and we will be left alone to live with it. The good news is we can always do something about it. All we need are simple tricks and home improvement ideas so we can get around these concerns.Remodeling can become an inexpensive activity that is capable of changing or improving the living conditions inside your home. Aside from that, it can also increase the livable spaces within, thereby giving you more options on what you may want to add in it. All these are possible with simple home improvement ideas. Focusing your attention on your house’s exterior is a good start. The exterior can give neighbors that impression that things are much better inside. Simple activities like putting fresh paint can do just that.Modern times call for so many home improvement ideas. But it would be much better if you can introduce the element of affordability in it. Low-cost improvements will not only improve our homes, but it also saves you money in the long run. And this is what really matters these days, given the hardships we are in. Here are some of these great ideas.• Introducing “Green” technology – Because everyone is now realizing the importance of taking care of our environment and this great big home that we are living in, having green technology inside your home is a trick that sets the tone for your home improvement ideas. You can put together solar panels, environment-friendly cleaners, efficient cooling and heating systems, and of course, the very dependable energy-saving light bulbs. Some of these may seem too heavy for your budget right now, but it sure will carry you in the long run. Generating your own electricity is very efficient and cost-effective; however you may want to look at it.• Redecorating and painting your home’s living spaces – These are very simple tricks that can do so much to beautify your home. And it really works! Introducing fresh new paints to the rooms using cool and soothing colors plus the accents helps in creating a more relaxed atmosphere, making you and the rest of your family want to stay home more often.• All effective ideas to improve your home must come in complete packages. And your home improvement activities will never be successful if you are unable to address more serious concerns, like maintenance issues, or re-insulating all corners of your home. A well-insulated home will help you save money on electric bills. You won’t need to worry about cool air leaking out during summers, or warm air during winters.There are many more home improvement ideas and simple tricks to help you in your cause. Costs should not hinder you from improving the comfort and living space inside your home. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/effective-home-improvement-ideas-and-tricks,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>The Palette of Living: The Intrinsic Value of Home Interior Design</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/the-palette-of-living-the-intrinsic-value-of-home-interior-design,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/the-palette-of-living-the-intrinsic-value-of-home-interior-design,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 06 Apr 2023 15:17:10 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[home]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Building]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Buying]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Commercial]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Commercial Property]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Construction]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Home]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Home Staging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Homes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Investing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Property Management]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Real Estate]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=67</guid> <description><![CDATA[Although not necessarily all, but some people think that the sophistication, or at least, the intricate attention that others pay to home interior designs are nothing but mere whims of vanity in an attempt to impress others and show how much style and glamour they have in their life. Such claims are foolish based on [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Although not necessarily all, but some people think that the sophistication, or at least, the intricate attention that others pay to home interior designs are nothing but mere whims of vanity in an attempt to impress others and show how much style and glamour they have in their life. Such claims are foolish based on the grounds that the judgment of a person who has never practiced such an art is baseless.Life is an art. Life can be pretty. Life can be miserably ugly. Life is what you make it. Life is an art. Just like an artist trying to paint a picture, not all of the details he makes is perfect. But even if this is the case, he still tries to make the most out of whatever is within his control. Since the life of each of us is an art, like an unfinished painting where we are the artists, then we could also make the most beauty out of whatever is within our control. We might have the most terrible job in the world, or the worst life story one could ever imagine, still, our lives are never fully out of control. While it is possibly true – or maybe not – that many things are beyond the scope of our ability to control, there are still many things that we can do to uplift our spirit despite all the stress brought about by the chaos of life. One of this many things that we could control is our ability to adjust our home interior design.In life, just like in art (as it has always been emphasized in this article), we make one work of art at every one moment that passes by, all of which will become a part of one huge art work that becomes completed at the conclusion of our life. In order for this huge art work to become worth seeing both for the artist and for the audience, a palette of paint must be designed based on the concept of the artist’s vision of the art work. This palette is the home interior design. It is inside our house that we bring our sorrows, our hopes, and our plans of how we want our life to be. Thus, we must design the interiors of our home to suit the vision that we have for our life. So, if we vision our life as one with a serene flow of events, then we should design our homes with things that reflect this ideal. These things could be a small water fountain that flows peaceful and the walls, furniture and fixtures should have the color theme which is dominated by white. If one has the ideal of life as accepting and active, then colors such as beige or light orange could dominate the walls. If one wants to live with the ideals of the orient life, then he may of course choose to fill his home with things that reflect these things such as wooden floors and pavements with touches of Japanese, Korean, or Chinese design. Now, if one’s home becomes designed to serve the very purpose he intended for his life, then, whatever it is that went against his way, he may always come home, take a rest, and be reminded of the vision of his life and move on to the next day. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/the-palette-of-living-the-intrinsic-value-of-home-interior-design,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Exercise, Health and Fitness: The Way To Beat Alzheimer’s</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/exercise-health-and-fitness-the-way-to-beat-alzheimers,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/exercise-health-and-fitness-the-way-to-beat-alzheimers,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 06 Apr 2023 14:08:10 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acne]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Anti Aging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beauty]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cosmetic Surgery]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Drug Abuse]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health and Fitness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Massage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[meditation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Personal Training]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Popular Diets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Skin Care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spa and Wellness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Speech Pathology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Weight Loss]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yoga]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=65</guid> <description><![CDATA[Picture this:Imagine that you have a tank full of vital water… the only source of your drinking water for several miles. The tank is in abundance and has been created so that it can last you your entire lifetime. That should bring you comfort, no? But what if there was a leak in the tank? [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Picture this:Imagine that you have a tank full of vital water… the only source of your drinking water for several miles. The tank is in abundance and has been created so that it can last you your entire lifetime. That should bring you comfort, no? But what if there was a leak in the tank? Drip by drip, pint by pint, gallon by gallon the water – your precious life source – was leaking out, spilling and escaping beyond your grasp. What, if anything, would you do about it? The natural reaction would be to fix it. Some of us might have even had the foresight to ensure that this essential resource was protected with a sturdier vessel.Well, this description is analogous with your brain. Suppose that your brain had a leak. Bit by bit, memories, experiences, and basic capabilities trickle and stream out of our minds and bodies leaving us helpless and lost. This is what people with Alzheimer’s disease are faced with – a feeling that life not only passes them by, but is being ripped away from them. But how can they fix it?There have been promises of prescription drugs and other treatments on the not-so-near horizon, but there seems to be little that we can do to heal those who suffer with this disease. There is one glimmer of hope that experts say is still the best way to subdue the symptoms and development of Alzheimer’s: exercise. Having a health and fitness plan that includes exercise has wondrous benefits, the least of which is fighting against Alzheimer’s.In 2008, the Mayo Clinic released a report on a study done by researchers at the University of Chicago, which stated that based on a study done on mice bred to develop the specific substance known to cause Alzheimer’s disease, physically active mice not only had less of the amyloid plaque, they also created considerably more Alzheimer’s preventing enzymes. In it’s simplest explanation persons with a lot of amyloid plaque deposits in the brain are inclined to having more memory loss than those with less.Researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis went a step further to investigate the APOE gene – a gene involved in cholesterol metabolism. Although everyone has the gene, those with a specific variation of the APOE gene called e4 are 15 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who do not bear the variant. Of the 201 people in the study, most of those who carried the APOE e4 gene had larger amyloid plaque build up than those without the variation. And what was extremely significant was that those who did not put health and fitness as a priority, that is, the inactive subjects seemed to have a progressive accumulation of the Alzheimer’s inducing amyloid plaque.This is in stark contrast to those who had the gene and at the very least walked, or jogged for 30 minutes 5 times per week. These volunteers had a plaque accumulation comparable to those who did not carry the variation of the APOE gene.Dr. Ronald Petersen, Director of the Mayo Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said in a research a few years back that physical exercise, done on a regular basis is “probably the best means we have of preventing Alzheimer’s disease today, better than medications, better than intellectual activity, better than supplements and diet.”So by my count, it’s EXERCISE BENEFITS 1,000 – SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE 0. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/exercise-health-and-fitness-the-way-to-beat-alzheimers,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Ticket to Success and Sales – Online Marketing</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/ticket-to-success-and-sales-online-marketing,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/ticket-to-success-and-sales-online-marketing,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 06 Apr 2023 13:12:57 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[internet marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online digital marketing]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=63</guid> <description><![CDATA[“Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” – AnonymousNothing sums up the brilliance of online marketing in today’s scenario quite like this quote. Online marketing is all about being at the right place at the right time. With the virtual space invading every nook and corner of our lives, this [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> “Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” – AnonymousNothing sums up the brilliance of online marketing in today’s scenario quite like this quote. Online marketing is all about being at the right place at the right time. With the virtual space invading every nook and corner of our lives, this is where you’ll find your audience.Online is the place to beFrom social media to e-commerce portals, our present generations wake up to their handset screens, emote only through in beeps and blocks. No one physically meets or greets anymore, instead we only ‘like’ and ‘comment’. So, like any good marketing strategy that starts with going where the customer goes, the time now is to go digital. Online marketing has become the latest fad, a definite marketing must-do all the multi- national companies. Online marketing companies and services are the most sought after by major corporations. The benefits of online marketing when compared to its counterparts – the traditional/offline marketing, is so shiny and bright, that it has become impossible to turn a blind eye. Let’s review the prime benefits:</p><p>‘The World is your Stage’: With online marketing services, your reach is truly magnanimous. It expands in terms of demographic as well as relevance. Deep pockets and hefty bank account are no longer the requisites to get noticed and sell products. For example, A local farmer from one side of the world, can now take his produce and showcase it online to reach a potential customer living on the other side. All he’ll need to do is to use the internet to market this product, alongside some smart SEO strategies to place it amidst the right crowd.</p><p>‘Laugh all the way to the bank’- It’s no surprise rappers worldwide dish out such catch-phrases, ever so often. After all, how can anyone run from the fact that every business and corporation is the world works towards – ‘profit’ aka revenue, return, moolah? So, when the outcomes are so luring, who wouldn’t jump? With the chance to reach the target audience directly and personally, the sales are bound to go up, by default.</p><p>‘Straight from the horse’s mouth’ – With digital marketing you can document every move of your consumer. In the virtual space, everything becomes transparent – the good, bad and the ugly is out in the open for every to judge. No beating around the bush, you will get immediate feedback and instant report of your product’s performance. You can directly reach out to your customer and build a personal bond. Services can be customized. Also, since everyone is online all the time, being in this place will make you more visible.</p><p>‘Marking your territory’ – Digital marketing promises to cut marketing costs drastically. Over and above all other benefits, the Passover from traditional or offline marketing to online is bound to be tremendously economical. Your online marketing agency will help you pick your audience and invest in reaching out only to them. It will also reduce your cost per unique user. For example: while a 5000 AED investment on a hoarding or event sponsorship reach about 5000 prospective customers, an online campaign through a viral video on social media will keep 10 times fold more.</p><p>‘Something for everyone’ – Online marketing space isn’t reserved for the who’s who of the business world. Even a small business or a start- up can reap benefits in all the entirety. That’s the beauty of this medium. Such opportunity presents a fair chance to businesses to prove their mettle purely based on the quality of services/product. For the first time, a small enterprise can give the market’s big fish a run for its money. Making it an all-inclusive environment to run business in.</p><p>‘Survival of the fittest’ – The business world is booming, everyone wants a piece of it. So, in order to survive this mad rush, you have to a step ahead, always. Being in the digital gives you direct insights in your markets and demography. It gives you the opportunity to gauge your competitors move and plan a rebuttal. Online marketing companies help in giving your brand the edge and new-age glow. Hence, assuring the consumer’s that the product/services that you offer are state-of-the-art and cutting edge in all its entirety.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/ticket-to-success-and-sales-online-marketing,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Wildlife Art – Its History and Development</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/wildlife-art-its-history-and-development,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/wildlife-art-its-history-and-development,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 07:10:46 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Animation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arts and Entertainment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Body Piercings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Casino Gambling]]></category> <category><![CDATA[FictionTattoos]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Film Editing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Movies TV]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music Industry]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music Instruction]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Painting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Performing Arts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Visual Graphic Arts]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=61</guid> <description><![CDATA[SummarySome of the earliest of all known art (pre-historic cave and rock art) features wildlife. However, it might be more properly regarded as art about food, rather than art about wildlife as such.Then for a lot of the rest of the history of art in the western world, art depicting wildlife was mostly absent, due [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> SummarySome of the earliest of all known art (pre-historic cave and rock art) features wildlife. However, it might be more properly regarded as art about food, rather than art about wildlife as such.Then for a lot of the rest of the history of art in the western world, art depicting wildlife was mostly absent, due to the fact that art during this period was mostly dominated by narrow perspectives on reality, such as religions. It is only more recently, as society, and the art it produces, frees itself from such narrow world-views, that wildlife art flourishes.Wildlife is also a difficult subject for the artist, as it is difficult to find and even more difficult to find keeping still in a pose, long enough to even sketch, let alone paint. Recent advances such as photography have made this far easier, as well as being artforms in their own right. Wildlife art is thus now far easier to accomplish both accurately and aesthetically.In art from outside the western world, wild animals and birds have been portrayed much more frequently throughout history.Art about wild animals began as a depiction of vital food-sources, in pre-history. At the beginnings of history the western world seems to have shut itself off from the natural world for long periods, and this is reflected in the lack of wildlife art throughout most of art history. More recently, societies, and the art it produces, have become much more broad-minded. Wildlife has become something to marvel at as new areas of the world were explored for the first time, something to hunt for pleasure, to admire aesthetically, and to conserve. These interests are reflected in the wildlife art produced.The History and development of Wildlife Art…Wildlife art in Pre-history.Animal and bird art appears in some of the earliest known examples of artistic creation, such as cave paintings and rock artThe earliest known cave paintings were made around 40,000 years ago, the Upper Paleolithic period. These art works might be more than decoration of living areas as they are often in caves which are difficult to access and don’t show any signs of human habitation. Wildlife was a significant part of the daily life of humans at this time, particularly in terms of hunting for food, and this is reflected in their art. Religious interpretation of the natural world is also assumed to be a significant factor in the depiction of animals and birds at this time.Probably the most famous of all cave painting, in Lascaux (France), includes the image of a wild horse, which is one of the earliest known examples of wildlife art. Another example of wildlife cave painting is that of reindeer in the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas, probably painted at around the time of the last ice-age. The oldest known cave paintings (maybe around 32,000 years old) are also found in France, at the Grotte Chauvet, and depict horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth and humans, often hunting.Wildlife painting is one of the commonest forms of cave art. Subjects are often of large wild animals, including bison, horses, aurochs, lions, bears and deer. The people of this time were probably relating to the natural world mostly in terms of their own survival, rather than separating themselves from it.Cave paintings found in Africa often include animals. Cave paintings from America include animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat and sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican, and is noted for its high quality and remarkable color. Rock paintings made by Australian Aborigines include so-called “X-ray” paintings which show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Paintings on caves/rocks in Australia include local species of animals, fish and turtles.Animal carvings were also made during the Upper Paleolithic period… which constitute the earliest examples of wildlife sculpture.In Africa, bushman rock paintings, at around 8000 BC, clearly depict antelope and other animals.The advent of the Bronze age in Europe, from the 3rd Millennium BC, led to a dedicated artisan class, due to the beginnings of specialization resulting from the surpluses available in these advancing societies. During the Iron age, mythical and natural animals were a common subject of artworks, often involving decoration of objects such as plates, knives and cups. Celtic influences affected the art and architecture of local Roman colonies, and outlasted them, surviving into the historic period.Wildlife Art in the Ancient world (Classical art).History is considered to begin at the time writing is invented. The earliest examples of ancient art originate from Egypt and Mesopotamia.The great art traditions have their origins in the art of one of the six great ancient “classical” civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India, or China. Each of these great civilizations developed their own unique style of art.Animals were commonly depicted in Chinese art, including some examples from the 4th Century which depict stylized mythological creatures and thus are rather a departure from pure wildlife art. Ming dynasty Chinese art features pure wildlife art, including ducks, swans, sparrows, tigers, and other animals and birds, with increasing realism and detail.In the 7th Century, Elephants, monkeys and other animals were depicted in stone carvings in Ellora, India. These carvings were religious in nature, yet depicted real animals rather than more mythological creatures.Ancient Egyptian art includes many animals, used within the symbolic and highly religious nature of Egyptian art at the time, yet showing considerable anatomical knowledge and attention to detail. Animal symbols are used within the famous Egyptian hieroglyphic symbolic language.Early South American art often depicts representations of a divine jaguar.The Minoans, the greatest civilization of the Bronze Age, created naturalistic designs including fish, squid and birds in their middle period. By the late Minoan period, wildlife was still the most characteristic subject of their art, with increasing variety of species.The art of the nomadic people of the Mongolian steppes is primarily animal art, such as gold stags, and is typically small in size as befits their traveling lifestyle.Aristotle (384-322 BC) suggested the concept of photography, but this wasn’t put into practice until 1826.The Medieval period, AD 200 to 1430This period includes early Christian and Byzantine art, as well as Romanesque and Gothic art (1200 to 1430). Most of the art which survives from this period is religious, rather than realistic, in nature. Animals in art at this time were used as symbols rather than representations of anything in the real world. So very little wildlife art as such could be said to exist at all during this period.Renaissance wildlife art, 1300 to 1602.This arts movement began from ideas which initially emerged in Florence. After centuries of religious domination of the arts, Renaissance artists began to move more towards ancient mystical themes and depicting the world around them, away from purely Christian subject matter. New techniques, such as oil painting and portable paintings, as well as new ways of looking such as use of perspective and realistic depiction of textures and lighting, led to great changes in artistic expression.The two major schools of Renaissance art were the Italian school who were heavily influenced by the art of ancient Greece and Rome, and the northern Europeans… Flemish, Dutch and Germans, who were generally more realistic and less idealized in their work. The art of the Renaissance reflects the revolutions in ideas and science which occurred in this Reformation period.The early Renaissance features artists such as Botticelli, and Donatello. Animals are still being used symbolically and in mythological context at this time, for example “Pegasus” by Jacopo de’Barbari.The best-known artist of the high Renaissance is Leonardo-Da-Vinci. Although most of his artworks depict people and technology, he occasionally incorporates wildlife into his images, such as the swan in “Leda and the swan”, and the animals portrayed in his “lady with an ermine”, and “studies of cat movements and positions”.Durer is regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern European Renaissance. Albrecht Durer was particularly well-known for his wildlife art, including pictures of hare, rhinoceros, bullfinch, little owl, squirrels, the wing of a blue roller, monkey, and blue crow.Baroque wildlife art, 1600 to 1730.This important artistic age, encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church and the aristocracy of the time, features such well-known great artists as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez, Poussin, and Vermeer. Paintings of this period often use lighting effects to increase the dramatic effect.Wildlife art of this period includes a lion, and “goldfinch” by Carel Fabrituis.Melchior de Hondecoeter was a specialist animal and bird artist in the baroque period with paintings including “revolt in the poultry coup”, “cocks fighting” and “palace of Amsterdam with exotic birds”.The Rococo art period was a later (1720 to 1780) decadent sub-genre of the Baroque period, and includes such famous painters as Canaletto, Gainsborough and Goya. Wildlife art of the time includes “Dromedary study” by Jean Antoine Watteau, and “folly of beasts” by Goya.Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a Rococo wildlife specialist, who often painted commissions for royalty.Some of the earliest scientific wildlife illustration was also created at around this time, for example from artist William Lewin who published a book illustrating British birds, painted entirely by hand.Wildlife art in the 18th to 19th C.In 1743, Mark Catesby published his documentation of the flora and fauna of the explored areas of the New World, which helped encourage both business investment and interest in the natural history of the continent.In response to the decadence of the Rococo period, neo-classicism arose in the late 18th Century (1750-1830 ). This genre is more ascetic, and contains much sensuality, but none of the spontaneity which characterizes the later Romantic period. This movement focused on the supremacy of natural order over man’s will, a concept which culminated in the romantic art depiction of disasters and madness.Francois Le Vaillant (1769-1832) was a bird illustrator (and ornithologist) around this time.Georges Cuvier, (1769-1832), painted accurate images of more than 5000 fish, relating to his studies of comparative organismal biology.Edward Hicks is an example of an American wildlife painter of this period, who’s art was dominated by his religious context.Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was also painting wildlife at this time, in a style strongly influenced by dramatic emotional judgments of the animals involved.This focus towards nature led the painters of the Romantic era (1790 – 1880) to transform landscape painting, which had previously been a minor art form, into an art-form of major importance. The romantics rejected the ascetic ideals of Neo-Classicalism.The practical use of photography began in around 1826, although it was a while before wildlife became a common subject for its use. The first color photograph was taken in 1861, but easy-to-use color plates only became available in 1907.In 1853 Bisson and Mante created some of the first known wildlife photography.In France, Gaspar-Felix Tournacho, “Nadar” (1820-1910) applied the same aesthetic principles used in painting, to photography, thus beginning the artistic discipline of fine art photography. Fine Art photography Prints were also reproduced in Limited Editions, making them more valuable.Jaques-Laurent Agasse was one of the foremost painters of animals in Europe around the end of the 18th C and the beginning of the 19th. His animal art was unusually realistic for the time, and he painted some wild animals including giraffe and leopards.Romantic wildlife art includes “zebra”, “cheetah, stag and two Indians”, at least two monkey paintings, a leopard and “portrait of a royal tiger” by George Stubbs who also did many paintings of horses.One of the great wildlife sculptors of the Romantic period was Antoine-Louis Barye. Barye was also a wildlife painter, who demonstrated the typical dramatic concepts and lighting of the romantic movement.Delacroix painted a tiger attacking a horse, which as is common with Romantic paintings, paints subject matter on the border between human (a domesticated horse) and the natural world (a wild tiger).In America, the landscape painting movement of the Romantic era was known as the Hudson River School (1850s – c. 1880). These landscapes occasionally include wildlife, such as the deer in “Dogwood” and “valley of the Yosemite” by Albert Bierstadt, and more obviously in his “buffalo trail”, but the focus is on the landscape rather than the wildlife in it.Wildlife artist Ivan Ivanovitch Shishkin demonstrates beautiful use of light in his landscape-oriented wildlife art.Although Romantic painting focused on nature, it rarely portrayed wild animals, tending much more towards the borders between man and nature, such as domesticated animals and people in landscapes rather than the landscapes themselves. Romantic art seems in a way to be about nature, but usually only shows nature from a human perspective.Audubon was perhaps the most famous painter of wild birds at around this time, with a distinctive American style, yet painting the birds realistically and in context, although in somewhat over-dramatic poses. As well as birds, he also painted the mammals of America, although these works of his are somewhat less well known. At around the same time In Europe, Rosa Bonheur was finding fame as a wildlife artist.Amongst Realist art, “the raven” by Manet and “stags at rest” by Rosa Bonheur are genuine wildlife art. However in this artistic movement animals are much more usually depicted obviously as part of a human context.The wildlife art of the impressionist movement includes “angler’s prize” by Theodore Clement Steele, and the artist Joseph Crawhall was a specialist wildlife artist strongly influenced by impressionism.At this time, accurate scientific wildlife illustration was also being created. One name known for this kind of work in Europe is John Gould although his wife Elizabeth was the one who actually did most of the illustrations for his books on birds.Post-impressionism (1886 – 1905, France) includes a water-bird in Rousseau’s “snake charmer”, and Rousseau’s paintings, which include wildlife, are sometimes considered Post-impressionist (as well as Fauvist, see below).Fauvism (1904 – 1909, France) often considered the first “modern” art movement, re-thought use of color in art. The most famous fauvist is Matisse, who depicts birds and fish in is “polynesie la Mer” and birds in his “Renaissance”. Other wildlife art in this movement includes a tiger in “Surprised! Storm in the Forest” by Rousseau, a lion in his “sleeping Gypsy” and a jungle animal in his “exotic landscape”. Georges Braque depicts a bird in many of his artworks, including “L’Oiseaux Bleu et Gris”, and his “Astre et l’Oiseau”.Ukiyo-e-printmaking (Japanese wood-block prints, originating from 17th C) was becoming known in the West, during the 19th C, and had a great influence on Western painters, particularly in France.Wildlife art in this genre includes several untitled prints (owl, bird, eagle) by Ando Hiroshige, and “crane”, “cat and butterfly”, “wagtail and wisteria” by Hokusai Katsushika.Wildlife art in the 20th Century, Contemporary art, postmodern art, etc.Changing from the relatively stable views of a mechanical universe held in the 19th-century, the 20th-century shatters these views with such advances as Einstein’s Relativity and Freuds sub-conscious psychological influence.The greater degree of contact with the rest of the world had a significant influence on Western arts, such as the influence of African and Japanese art on Pablo Picasso, for example.American Wildlife artist Carl Runguis spans the end of the 19th and the beginnings of the 20th Century. His style evolved from tightly rendered scientific-influenced style, through impressionist influence, to a more painterly approach.The golden age of illustration includes mythical wildlife “The firebird” by Edmund Dulac, and “tile design of Heron and Fish” by Walter Crane.George Braque’s birds can be defined as Analytical Cubist (this genre was jointly developed by Braque and Picasso from 1908 to 1912), (as well as Fauvist). Fernand Leger also depicts birds in his “Les Oiseaux”.There was also accurate scientific wildlife illustration being done at around this time, such as those done by America illustrator Louis Agassiz Fuertes who painted birds in America as well as other countries.Expressionism (1905 – 1930, Germany). “Fox”, “monkey Frieze, “red deer”, and “tiger”, etc by Franz Marc qualify as wildlife art, although to contemporary viewers seem more about the style than the wildlife.Postmodernism as an art genre, which has developed since the 1960′s, looks to the whole range of art history for its inspiration, as contrasted with Modernism which focuses on its own limited context. A different yet related view of these genres is that Modernism attempts to search for an idealized truth, where as post-modernism accepts the impossibility of such an ideal. This is reflected, for example, in the rise of abstract art, which is an art of the indefinable, after about a thousand years of art mostly depicting definable objects.Magic realism (1960′s Germany) often included animals and birds, but usually as a minor feature among human elements, for example, swans and occasionally other animals in many paintings by Michael Parkes.In 1963, Ray Harm is a significant bird artist.Robert Rauschenberg’s “American eagle”, a Pop Art (mid 1950′s onwards) piece, uses the image of an eagle as a symbol rather than as something in its own right, and thus is not really wildlife art. The same applies to Any Warhol’s “Butterflys”.Salvador Dali, the best known of Surrealist (1920′s France, onwards) artists, uses wild animals in some of his paintings, for example “Landscape with Butterflys”, but within the context of surrealism, depictions of wildlife become conceptually something other than what they might appear to be visually, so they might not really be wildlife at all. Other examples of wildlife in Surrealist art are Rene Magritte’s “La Promesse” and “L’entre ed Scene”.Op art (1964 onwards) such as M. C. Escher’s “Sky and Water” shows ducks and fish, and “mosaic II” shows many animals and birds, but they are used as image design elements rather than the art being about the animals.Roger Tory Peterson created fine wildlife art, which although being clear illustrations for use in his book which was the first real field guide to birds, are also aesthetically worthy bird paintings.Young British Artists (1988 onwards). Damien Hirst uses a shark in a tank as one of his artworks. It is debatable whether this piece could be considered as wildlife art, because even though the shark is the focus of the piece, the piece is not really about the shark itself, but probably more about the shark’s effect on the people viewing it. It could be said to be more a use of wildlife in/as art, than a work of wildlife art.Wildlife art continues to be popular today, with such artists as Robert Bateman being very highly regarded, although in his case somewhat controversial for his release of Limited-Edition prints which certain fine-art critics deplore. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/wildlife-art-its-history-and-development,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Rebuilding the Tower of Babel – A CEO’s Perspective on Health Information Exchanges</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/rebuilding-the-tower-of-babel-a-ceos-perspective-on-health-information-exchanges,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/rebuilding-the-tower-of-babel-a-ceos-perspective-on-health-information-exchanges,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 20:56:19 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acne]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Anti Aging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beauty]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cosmetic Surgery]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Drug Abuse]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health and Fitness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Massage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[meditation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Personal Training]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Popular Diets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Skin Care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spa and Wellness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Speech Pathology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Weight Loss]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yoga]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=59</guid> <description><![CDATA[Defining a Health Information ExchangeThe United States is facing the largest shortage of healthcare practitioners in our country’s history which is compounded by an ever increasing geriatric population. In 2005 there existed one geriatrician for every 5,000 US residents over 65 and only nine of the 145 medical schools trained geriatricians. By 2020 the industry [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Defining a Health Information ExchangeThe United States is facing the largest shortage of healthcare practitioners in our country’s history which is compounded by an ever increasing geriatric population. In 2005 there existed one geriatrician for every 5,000 US residents over 65 and only nine of the 145 medical schools trained geriatricians. By 2020 the industry is estimated to be short 200,000 physicians and over a million nurses. Never, in the history of US healthcare, has so much been demanded with so few personnel. Because of this shortage combined with the geriatric population increase, the medical community has to find a way to provide timely, accurate information to those who need it in a uniform fashion. Imagine if flight controllers spoke the native language of their country instead of the current international flight language, English. This example captures the urgency and critical nature of our need for standardized communication in healthcare. A healthy information exchange can help improve safety, reduce length of hospital stays, cut down on medication errors, reduce redundancies in lab testing or procedures and make the health system faster, leaner and more productive. The aging US population along with those impacted by chronic disease like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma will need to see more specialists who will have to find a way to communicate with primary care providers effectively and efficiently.This efficiency can only be attained by standardizing the manner in which the communication takes place. Healthbridge, a Cincinnati based HIE and one of the largest community based networks, was able to reduce their potential disease outbreaks from 5 to 8 days down to 48 hours with a regional health information exchange. Regarding standardization, one author noted, “Interoperability without standards is like language without grammar. In both cases communication can be achieved but the process is cumbersome and often ineffective.”United States retailers transitioned over twenty years ago in order to automate inventory, sales, accounting controls which all improve efficiency and effectiveness. While uncomfortable to think of patients as inventory, perhaps this has been part of the reason for the lack of transition in the primary care setting to automation of patient records and data. Imagine a Mom & Pop hardware store on any square in mid America packed with inventory on shelves, ordering duplicate widgets based on lack of information regarding current inventory. Visualize any Home Depot or Lowes and you get a glimpse of how automation has changed the retail sector in terms of scalability and efficiency. Perhaps the “art of medicine” is a barrier to more productive, efficient and smarter medicine. Standards in information exchange have existed since 1989, but recent interfaces have evolved more rapidly thanks to increases in standardization of regional and state health information exchanges.History of Health Information ExchangesMajor urban centers in Canada and Australia were the first to successfully implement HIE’s. The success of these early networks was linked to an integration with primary care EHR systems already in place. Health Level 7 (HL7) represents the first health language standardization system in the United States, beginning with a meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. HL7 has been successful in replacing antiquated interactions like faxing, mail and direct provider communication, which often represent duplication and inefficiency. Process interoperability increases human understanding across networks health systems to integrate and communicate. Standardization will ultimately impact how effective that communication functions in the same way that grammar standards foster better communication. The United States National Health Information Network (NHIN) sets the standards that foster this delivery of communication between health networks. HL7 is now on it’s third version which was published in 2004. The goals of HL7 are to increase interoperability, develop coherent standards, educate the industry on standardization and collaborate with other sanctioning bodies like ANSI and ISO who are also concerned with process improvement.In the United States one of the earliest HIE’s started in Portland Maine. HealthInfoNet is a public-private partnership and is believed to be the largest statewide HIE. The goals of the network are to improve patient safety, enhance the quality of clinical care, increase efficiency, reduce service duplication, identify public threats more quickly and expand patient record access. The four founding groups the Maine Health Access Foundation, Maine CDC, The Maine Quality Forum and Maine Health Information Center (Onpoint Health Data) began their efforts in 2004.In Tennessee Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO’s) initiated in Memphis and the Tri Cities region. Carespark, a 501(3)c, in the Tri Cities region was considered a direct project where clinicians interact directly with each other using Carespark’s HL7 compliant system as an intermediary to translate the data bi-directionally. Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics also played a crucial role in the early stages of building this network. In the delta the midsouth eHealth Alliance is a RHIO connecting Memphis hospitals like Baptist Memorial (5 sites), Methodist Systems, Lebonheur Healthcare, Memphis Children’s Clinic, St. Francis Health System, St Jude, The Regional Medical Center and UT Medical. These regional networks allow practitioners to share medical records, lab values medicines and other reports in a more efficient manner.Seventeen US communities have been designated as Beacon Communities across the United States based on their development of HIE’s. These communities’ health focus varies based on the patient population and prevalence of chronic disease states i.e. cvd, diabetes, asthma. The communities focus on specific and measurable improvements in quality, safety and efficiency due to health information exchange improvements. The closest geographical Beacon community to Tennessee, in Byhalia, Mississippi, just south of Memphis, was granted a $100,000 grant by the department of Health and Human Services in September 2011.A healthcare model for Nashville to emulate is located in Indianapolis, IN based on geographic proximity, city size and population demographics. Four Beacon awards have been granted to communities in and around Indianapolis, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana Health Centers Inc, Raphael Health Center and Shalom Health Care Center Inc. In addition, Indiana Health Information Technology Inc has received over 23 million dollars in grants through the State HIE Cooperative Agreement and 2011 HIE Challenge Grant Supplement programs through the federal government. These awards were based on the following criteria:1) Achieving health goals through health information exchange 2) Improving long term and post acute care transitions 3) Consumer mediated information exchange 4) Enabling enhanced query for patient care 5) Fostering distributed population-level analytics.Regulatory Aspects of Health Information Exchanges and Healthcare ReformThe department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the regulatory agency that oversees health concerns for all Americans. The HHS is divided into ten regions and Tennessee is part of Region IV headquartered out of Atlanta. The Regional Director, Anton J. Gunn is the first African American elected to serve as regional director and brings a wealth of experience to his role based on his public service specifically regarding underserved healthcare patients and health information exchanges. This experience will serve him well as he encounters societal and demographic challenges for underserved and chronically ill patients throughout the southeast area.The National Health Information Network (NHIN) is a division of HHS that guides the standards of exchange and governs regulatory aspects of health reform. The NHIN collaboration includes departments like the Center for Disease Control (CDC), social security administration, Beacon communities and state HIE’s (ONC).11 The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Exchange (ONC) has awarded $16 million in additional grants to encourage innovation at the state level. Innovation at the state level will ultimately lead to better patient care through reductions in replicated tests, bridges to care programs for chronic patients leading to continuity and finally timely public health alerts through agencies like the CDC based on this information.12 The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is funded by dollars from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. HITECH’s goals are to invest dollars in community, regional and state health information exchanges to build effective networks which are connected nationally. Beacon communities and the Statewide Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement were initiated through HITECH and ARRA. To date 56 states have received grant awards through these programs totaling 548 million dollars.History of Health Information Partnership TN (HIPTN)In Tennessee the Health Information Exchange has been slower to progress than places like Maine and Indiana based in part on the diversity of our state. The delta has a vastly different patient population and health network than that of middle Tennessee, which differs from eastern Tennessee’s Appalachian region. In August of 2009 the first steps were taken to build a statewide HIE consisting of a non-profit named HIP TN. A board was established at this time with an operations council formed in December. HIP TN’s first initiatives involved connecting the work through Carespark in northeast Tennessee’s s tri-cities region to the Midsouth ehealth Alliance in Memphis. State officials estimated a cost of over 200 million dollars from 2010-2015. The venture involves stakeholders from medical, technical, legal and business backgrounds. The governor in 2010, Phil Bredesen, provided 15 million to match federal funds in addition to issuing an Executive Order establishing the office of eHealth initiatives with oversight by the Office of Administration and Finance and sixteen board members. By March 2010 four workgroups were established to focus on areas like technology, clinical, privacy and security and sustainability.By May of 2010 data sharing agreements were in place and a production pilot for the statewide HIE was initiated in June 2011 along with a Request for Proposal (RFP) which was sent out to over forty vendors. In July 2010 a fifth workgroup,the consumer advisory group, was added and in September 2010 Tennessee was notified that they were one of the first states to have their plans approved after a release of Program Information Notice (PIN). Over fifty stakeholders came together to evaluate the vendor demonstrations and a contract was signed with the chosen vendor Axolotl on September 30th, 2010. At that time a production goal of July 15th, 2011 was agreed upon and in January 2011 Keith Cox was hired as HIP TN’s CEO. Keith brings twenty six years of tenure in healthcare IT to the collaborative. His previous endeavors include Microsoft, Bellsouth and several entrepreneurial efforts. HIP TN’s mission is to improve access to health information through a statewide collaborative process and provide the infrastructure for security in that exchange. The vision for HIP TN is to be recognized as a state and national leader who support measurable improvements in clinical quality and efficiency to patients, providers and payors with secure HIE. Robert S. Gordon, the board chair for HIPTN states the vision well, “We share the view that while technology is a critical tool, the primary focus is not technology itself, but improving health”. HIP TN is a non profit, 501(c)3, that is solely reliant on state government funding. It is a combination of centralized and decentralized architecture. The key vendors are Axolotl, which acts as the umbrella network, ICA for Memphis and Nashville, with CGI as the vendor in northeast Tennessee.15 Future HIP TN goals include a gateway to the National Health Institute planned for late 2011 and a clinician index in early 2012. Carespark, one of the original regional health exchange networks voted to cease operations on July 11, 2011 based on lack of financial support for it’s new infrastructure. The data sharing agreements included 38 health organizations, nine communities and 250 volunteers.16 Carespark’s closure clarifies the need to build a network that is not solely reliant on public grants to fund it’s efforts, which we will discuss in the final section of this paper.Current Status of Healthcare Information Exchange and HIPTNTen grants were awarded in 2011 by the HIE challenge grant supplement. These included initiatives in eight states and serve as communities we can look to for guidance as HIP TN evolves. As previously mentioned one of the most awarded communities lies less than five hours away in Indianapolis, IN. Based on the similarities in our health communities, patient populations and demographics, Indianapolis would provide an excellent mentor for Nashville and the hospital systems who serve patients in TN. The Indiana Health Information Exchange has been recognized nationally for it’s Docs for Docs program and the manner in which collaboration has taken place since it’s conception in 2004. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of HHS commented, “The Central Indiana Beacon Community has a level of collaboration and the ability to organize quality efforts in an effective manner from its history of building long standing relationships. We are thrilled to be working with a community that is far ahead in the use of health information to bring positive change to patient care.” Beacon communities that could act as guides for our community include the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County and the Indiana Health Centers based on their recent awards of $100,000 each by HHS.A local model of excellence in practice EMR conversion is Old Harding Pediatric Associates (OHPA) which has two clinics and fourteen physicians who handle a patient population of 23,000 and over 72,000 patient encounters per year. OHPA’s conversion to electronic records in early 2000 occurred as a result of the pursuit of excellence in patient care and the desire to use technology in a way that benefitted their patient population. OHPA established a cross functional work team to improve their practices in the areas of facilities, personnel, communication, technology and external influences. Noteworthy was chosen as the EMR vendor based on user friendliness and the similarity to a standard patient chart with tabs for files. The software was customized to the pediatric environment complete with patient growth charts. Windows was used as the operating system based on provider familiarity. Within four days OHPA had 100% compliance and use of their EMR system.The Future of HIP TN and HIE in TennesseeTennessee has received close to twelve million dollars in grant money from The State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program.20 Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO) need to be full scalable to allow hospitals to grow their systems without compromising integrity as they grow.21and the systems located in Nashville will play an integral role in this nationwide scaling with companies like HCA, CHS, Iasis, Lifepoint and Vanguard. The HIE will act as a data repository for all patients information that can be accessed from anywhere and contains a full history of the patients medical record, lab tests, physician network and medicine list. To entice providers to enroll in the statewide HIE tangible value to their practice has to be shown with better safer care. In a 2011 HIMSS editor’s report Richard Lang states that instead of a top down approach “A more practical idea may be for states to support local community HIE development first. Once established, these local networks can feed regional HIE’s and then connect to a central HIE/data repository backbone. States should use a portion of the stimulus funds to support local HIE development.”22 Mr. Lang also believes the primary care physician has to be the foundation for the entire system since they are the main point of contact for the patient.One piece of the puzzle often overlooked is the patient investment in a functional EHR. In order to bring together all the pieces of the HIE puzzle patients will need to play a more active role in their healthcare. Many patients do not know what medicines they take every day or whether they have a living will. Several versions of patient EHR’s like Memitech’s 911medical id card exist, but very few patients know or carry them.23 One way to combat this lack of awareness is to use the hospital as a catch-all and discharge each patient with a fully loaded USB card via case managers. This strategy also might lead to better compliance with post in patient therapies to reduce readmissions.The implementation of connecting qualified organizations began earlier this year. To fully support organizations to move toward qualification the Office of National Coordinator for HIE (ONC) has designated regional education centers (TN rec) who assist providers with educational initiatives in areas like HIT, ICD9 to ICD10 training and EMR transition. Qsource, a non-profit health consulting firm, has been chosen to oversee TNrec. To ensure sustainability it is critical that Tennessee build a network of private funding so that what happened with Carespark won’t happen to HIP TN. The eHealth Initiatives 2011Survey Report states that of the 196 HIE initiatives, 115 act independently of federal funding and of those independent HIE’s, break even through operational revenue. Some of these exchanges were in existence well before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. Startup funding from grants is only meant to get the car going so to speak, the sustainable fuel, as observed in the case of Carespark, has to come from value that can be monetized. KLAS research reports that 54% of public HIE’s were concerned about future sustainability while only 35% of private HIE’s shared this concern.Hospital Implications of HIP TN (A Call to Action)From a Financial perspective, taking our hospital into the future with EMR and an integrated statewide network has profound implications. In the short term the cost to find a vendor, establish EMR in and outpatient will be an expensive proposition. The transition will not be easy or finite and will involve constant evolution as HIP TN integrates with other state HIE’s. To get a realistic idea of the benefits and costs associated with health information integration. we can look to HealthInfoNet in Portland, ME, a statewide HIE that expects to save 37 million dollars in avoided services and 15 million in productivity reduction. Specific areas of savings include paper or fax costs $5 versus $0.25 electronically, virtual health record savings of $50 per referral, $26 saved per ED visit and $17.41 per patient/year due to redundant lab tests which amounts to $52 million for a population of 3 million patients. In Grand Junction Colorado Quality Health Network lowered their per capita Medicare spending to 24% below the national average, gaining recognition by President Obama in 2009. The Santa Cruz Health Information Exchange (SCHIE) with 600 doctors and two hospitals achieved sustainability in the first year of operation and uses a subscription fee for all the organizations who interact with them. In terms of government dollars available, meaningful use incentives exist to encourage hospitals to meet twenty of twenty five objectives in the first phase (2011-2012) and adopting and implement an approved EHR vendor. ARRA specified three ways for EHR to be utilized to obtain Medicare reimbursement. These include e-prescribing, health information exchange and submission of clinical quality measures. The objectives for phase two in 2013 will expand on this baseline. Implementation of EHR and Hospital HIE costs are usually charged by bed or by the number of physicians. Fees can range from $1500 for a smaller hospital up to $12,000 per month for a larger hospital.Perhaps the most compelling argument to building a functional Health Information Exchange is patient and community safety. The Healthbridge reduction in disease outbreak detection of 3-5 days is a perfect example of this safety benefit. Imagine the implications in the case of a rampant virus like avian or swine flu. The goal is to avoid a repeat of the 1918 influenza outbreak and ultimately save the lives of our most at risk. Rick Krohn of Healthsense makes the case for a socially responsible HIE that serves those who are chronically ill, uninsured and homeless. As the taxpayers ultimately bear the societal burden for our country’s healthcare coverage, the need to reduce redundancies, increase efficiency and provide healthcare worthy of the United States is imperative. Right now our healthcare is in the Critical Care Unit it’s time to stabilize it through operational excellence starting with our hospital. Let’s rebuild the Tower of Babel and enhance communication to provide our patients the healthcare they deserve! </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/rebuilding-the-tower-of-babel-a-ceos-perspective-on-health-information-exchanges,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>15 Strategic Choices for Designing Your Global Supply Chain</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/15-strategic-choices-for-designing-your-global-supply-chain,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/15-strategic-choices-for-designing-your-global-supply-chain,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 18:16:06 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[businesses]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business Travel]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Careers Employment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Consulting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Furnishings and Supplies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Industrial Mechanical]]></category> <category><![CDATA[International Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Management]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sales Management]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sales Training]]></category> <category><![CDATA[security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=57</guid> <description><![CDATA[In the 1990′s, and with the rise of the concept of Supply Chain Management, supply chains have gone global. This has largely been enabled through information technology (the subject of a separate article). Globalization has included suppliers in many different countries, setting up warehouses to serve global customers, creating transportation systems to move goods around [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> In the 1990′s, and with the rise of the concept of Supply Chain Management, supply chains have gone global. This has largely been enabled through information technology (the subject of a separate article). Globalization has included suppliers in many different countries, setting up warehouses to serve global customers, creating transportation systems to move goods around the world and moving production facilities to best-cost countries. Examples of best cost countries are Germany and Japan for machinery, the USA for sophisticated hardware and software design, China for high labor content products and large heavy industry, Korea for ship building and large heavy industry, India for lower-value software design, France and Italy for fashion luxury goods, and others.Supply Chain researchers have documented 15 choices you make when designing a global supply chain; whether you do it explicitly or by default. This article will briefly explain these 15 choices to help you optimize your global supply chain (minimize cost and maximize customer service). The 15 choices are:<br />Consolidation<br />Postponement<br />Responsiveness<br />Lean-ness<br />Agility<br />Adaptability<br />Flexibility<br />Speed<br />Value Contribution<br />Core Competency<br />Differentiation<br />Collaboration<br />Hedging<br />Redundancy<br />Diversification<br />Consolidation is the combining of assets to take advantage of economies of scale. You can consolidate production facilities into larger facilities, warehouses into larger warehouses, shipments by using larger vehicles or ships, suppliers and even software systems by replacing multiple systems with one ERP package. Consolidation has negative aspects as well. Typically consolidation creates greater inventory, increases distance to customers and can reduce the ability to be responsive to customers’ needs.Postponement is a form of consolidation. HP made postponement famous by producing printers in a single facility worldwide, shipping to regional distribution centers and letting the DCs customize each printer by putting in the appropriate power supply and packaging. By postponing the final form of the product, a company can produce fewer stock keeping units (SKUs), and therefore take advantage of economies of scale in production. Shipping costs can be lower because products can be bulk packaged, getting more in a container. Postponement also reduces SKUs, reducing inventory investment. The reduction in inventory investment occurs, not because there are fewer SKUs to stock, because demand is still the final demand, but because the postponed SKU is essentially aggregating variation of the final customized product, which reduces the safety stock built into most inventory reorder point systems. Postponement is a great strategy if your product can be designed for this type of modular production. In other words, there is no downside to using the postponement strategy in your product development planning.Responsiveness, Lean-ness, Agility, Adaptability, Flexibility and Speed are all related, with subtle differences. Responsiveness is the ability to react to customer demands. This can be reacting to customer orders, changes in customer taste, or customizing products and services to meet specific customers’ needs. A responsive organization places a great value on customer service.Lean-ness is the strategy of reducing waste in all processes. Developed by Toyota, a Lean system designs processes that minimize inventory, wasted movement and waiting by customers.Agility is the ability to reconfigure your supply chain, changing suppliers, designs and production facilities as needed to meet customers changing requirements and demands.Adaptability is a cultural aspect of an organization and supply chain. Adaption allows a company to overcome challenges, such as disruption in the supply chain. A great example is the technology industry. Because of margin pressure, many basic components have consolidated down to one or two suppliers in the world; and these companies have consolidated production into one facility world-wide. Certain chipsets, hard drives, screens, capacitors, etcetera, have been consolidated to single facilities. When a cell phone chip fab in Mexico caught fire, some companies built in redundant back-up systems and were able to adapt. When there was flooding in Thailand and multiple hard drive plants were under water, some companies adapted by using different technologies (solid-state hard drives) in their products.Flexibility is closely related to Agility, but is often associated with volume changes. A flexible supply chain can increase or decrease output as needed because flexibility is designed into the process.Speed is self-explanatory. However, in global supply chain management it has overtaken economies of scale as a key differentiator. Michael Porter, in his seminal book, Competitive Strategy, considered economies of scale as a barrier that is hard for new entrants to overcome. But in today’s technology driven economy, fast companies can overcome economies of scale. As an example, Facebook changes its product (code) every day. New features are added, and those that are not working removed every day of the year (including weekends). Speed in supply chains values the ability to react fast and serve customers quickly over cost minimization.Value Contribution, Core Competency, Differentiation and Collaboration are related strategies. Value Contribution is the unique value that a firm adds to the supply chain. It is the reason that the firm is part of its supply chain. Value contribution often comes from the other strategic decisions. “Value” can be low cost production, flexible service or a core competency in design and engineering. As mentioned above, in a global supply chain there are many more choices of supply chain partners. These choices allow a firm to choose suppliers that add the most value.However, it also allows them to choose customers where the firm can add the greatest value. This may seem absurd… that a company can choose customers, but how many companies made a big bet on being part of Dell’s supply chain, not Apple’s? How many companies gave up on U.S. based car manufacturers in favor of Toyota/Honda/Nissan, only to see Ford and GM increase market share after the 2009 recession?Core competency is often considered the trade secrets of a company. This is what a company would not share with supply chain partners. From a global perspective, core competencies are often kept in the home country to prevent intellectual property theft.Differentiation is how you “differ” your firm from competitors and secure your place in the supply chain. Price, quality, service, design and technology are all potential differentiators.Collaboration is the degree to which you work with supply chain partners. Companies can collaborate by sharing production capacity to eliminate the need to build additional facilities. Supply chain partners often collaborate on new product development. Third party logistics providers (3PLs) use economies of scale in purchasing and handling logistics to reduce costs for their customers, who collaborate on logistical requirements and capabilities. Collaborative planning and forecasting is a process of different echelons of a supply chain setting a single forecast and all producing or purchasing to this forecast. Collaboration also requires trust. Companies that collaborate turn over sensitive data, such as demand forecasts, new product plans and internal process details.Hedging, Redundancy and Diversification are all ways to manage risk. Risk is the probability that an action will have a negative outcome.Hedging is often done with insurance and financial products. Companies can purchase insurance to hedge against a disaster or work-stoppage. They can also purchase financial products to offset a movement in commodity prices or currency values. By definition a hedge will always have a minimal cost, as most companies are offsetting the higher cost of the risk, with the price of the hedging instrument.Redundancy is building back-up capability in the supply chain. Redundancy can be in back-up power generation, which is necessary in many developing nations due to unreliable supply. A firm can have two suppliers, a primary and secondary, with the secondary being a back-up in case of a supply disruption with the primary supplier. Redundancy can be thought of as the opposite of consolidation.Diversification is a form of redundancy. However, it goes beyond redundant supply. Companies can diversify product offerings, to make sure that if a technology kills off one business, it supports another. A company can diversify the supply chains it belongs to, in case one focal-firm competitor becomes dominant. For many years suppliers to Toyota and Honda benefited versus suppliers to Ford and GM. However, now, suppliers to Hyundai are benefiting at the expense of Toyota and Honda. Companies that diversified customers and supply chains hedged against their focal firm losing business. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/15-strategic-choices-for-designing-your-global-supply-chain,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Supply Chain Strategy Alignment: What the C-Suite Needs to Know</title> <link>https://dwaetms.info/supply-chain-strategy-alignment-what-the-c-suite-needs-to-know,html</link> <comments>https://dwaetms.info/supply-chain-strategy-alignment-what-the-c-suite-needs-to-know,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 17:42:24 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[supply chain]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://dwaetms.info/?p=54</guid> <description><![CDATA[Effective management of supply chains is indeed a daunting and challenging task. Arguably, the main goal of supply chain management lies at the core of making overall chain profitability a common goal for all partners across the chain. Executing this task involves a great deal of boundary-spanning interdependent and coordinated efforts.The scope of such efforts [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Effective management of supply chains is indeed a daunting and challenging task. Arguably, the main goal of supply chain management lies at the core of making overall chain profitability a common goal for all partners across the chain. Executing this task involves a great deal of boundary-spanning interdependent and coordinated efforts.The scope of such efforts includes inter-functional as well as inter-firm cooperation. From an internal function standpoint, organizations can attain cooperation through coordinated efforts and commitment among the staff from all functional areas. However, In order to achieve such coordination, organizations must first learn how to overcome numerous obstacles that get in the way and that may or may not be within their direct control.Where should network constituents start their coordinating efforts? What approaches should be used? A good starting point is identifying and approaching individual internal organizational obstacles. Initiatives should be implemented to align organizational goals and strategies with those of the supply chain partners. To that end, traditional organizational behaviors, activities, and roles should be given a new orientation.Let’s start with sales staff. The sales function is a typical example of an organizational role that needs reorientation. But what exactly does it mean to give the sales function a new orientation? It simply means to evolve from a traditional to a contemporary approach.In the traditional sales function role, salespeople are trained to focus on pre-purchase activities such as obtaining orders and contracts and selling products. They are trained to manage transactions. Under this modus operandi, performance objectives and compensation packages influence salespeople to focus on short-term financial results. For the “supply-chain-untrained” executive, that’s the way sales people should be trained and incentivized, right? However, this traditional approach is completely counterproductive to supply chain management objectives and goals as I will discuss.Consider the case of sales representatives who receives a performance evaluation and quarterly bonus. Near the end of every evaluation period sales representatives will do their best to push sales to customers in order to increase period sales volume. This generalized practice increases inventory levels in the supply chain during the largest part of the following period. And, consequently increases total chain inventory costs and decreases overall supply chain profitability. This cycle will repeat period after period throughout the year thus contributing to the dreaded bullwhip effect. This is the most common example of the type of disconnect between supply chain goals and those of the sales force. In other words, under the traditional sales function view, salespeople get rewarded for doing the wrong thing.Unlike the traditional approach to sales, in the contemporary approach to the sales function, the contemporary sales person is viewed as a relationship manager. Under this framework, the most critical priority of the sales function is to build and maintain strong customer relationships. In their roles as relationship managers the scope of the sales person includes: coordinating andfacilitating the smooth flows of products, services and information, learning about customer requirements and creating solutions that generate value for supply chain partners. Under this approach, sales staff is knowledgeable about basic principles of inventory management and its associated costs and drivers.Under the traditional approach, the sales staff is focused exclusively on generating orders and securing contracts. The sales staff is more concerned with selling products rather than leveraging their companies as a strategic partner with customers. This approach is considered transactional-based or tactical. The contemporary approach on the contrary is more strategic in nature.The goal is to adopt a strategic approach by aligning the sales function with overall corporate supply chain strategy. Under the strategic approach sales executives implement initiatives to help the sales function create value for the supply chain and its partners. Sales managers drive the new approach by assuming new roles and becoming change agents. In this new approach, sales executives see the sales function from a relationship management perspective. The sales force is by all means well positioned to assume new roles such as implementing, coordinating, and facilitating supply chain management activities. In order to be successful in these new activities, salespeople need to develop expertise in logistics and supply chain management practices. Sales managers must of course re-engineer existing sales training programs to focus on the development of competencies that help salespeople understand supply chain partners logistics operations, systems and capabilities.Under this new orientation a redesign of performance objectives and compensation packages for both sales managers and sales force should also be implemented in order to achieve alignment with overall network strategies. Lack of alignment among performance measurement, compensation packages, and supply chain management goals could jeopardize the achievement of chain profitability.A similar disconnect occurs with the logistics function. Under the traditional approach, a logistics manager’s performance and compensation is directly linked to the reductions obtained in transportation costs. To enhance his performance, the transportation manager will strive to exploit economies of scales that result from pushing larger orders. As a result, the organization increases its inventory levels, which in turn compromises chain profitability. It is evident one more time that in order to achieve overall supply chain profitability or chain surplus, it is imperative to align performance and compensation measures with overall corporate supply chain strategy.Undeniably the roadway of change to evolve from a traditional to a contemporary approach is plagued with many bumps. Interestingly enough, in many instances those obstacles are found in the most valuable asset of any organization, its’ people. Change-resistant employees make it hard for the change agents to assume their new roles and responsibilities.For instance, personal perceptions create a psychological dynamic called a competing commitment. A competing commitment is an unacknowledged, internalized commitment that conflicts with expected performance standards and functional roles of change-resistant employees. Effective managers should learn how to help employees identify the conflicting assumptions that create the competing commitments hindering change and productivity. Doing so can create significant employee contributions to the organization.In the current era of supply chain management, organizations are more and more realizing the strategic value of overall coordination as the main value creation driver. In order to achieve coordination, organizational leaders across the board should be cognizant of the implications of disjointed functional strategies. Overcoming the internal and external impediments that get in the way of supply chain coordination requires change agents with clear understanding of organizational alignment and its impact in the bottom line. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://dwaetms.info/supply-chain-strategy-alignment-what-the-c-suite-needs-to-know,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):
If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:
http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//dwaetms.info/feed
