21th Bled eConference eCollaboration Essay Example for Free

21th Bled eConference eCollaboration Essay 1 Introduction This is not a research paper. Rather, it is a teaching report in which I describe the use of the so called beer distribution game (or beergame) – a logistics and supply chain simulation game – in teaching business-to-business eCommerce. The aim of the paper is twofold: First, I want to demonstrate how the beergame can be used to provide students with a more profound understanding of the reasons why eCommerce technologies are used in contemporary supply chains to exchange information and to facilitate collaboration. Second, I want to share both my experiences and my materials for using the beergame in eCommerce courses with the IS community, i.e. those scholars that teach (business-to-business) eCommerce or supply chain management courses. The beergame is a role-play simulation game in which students enact a four stage supply chain. The task of this supply chain is to produce and deliver units of beer: the factory produces and the other three stages deliver the beer units until it reaches the customer at the downstream end of the chain. In doing so, the aim of the players is rather simple: each of the four groups has to fulfil the incoming orders of beer by placing orders with the next upstream party. Since communication and collaboration is not allowed between supply chain stages, the players invaria588 bly create the so called bullwhip effect. With ‘bullwhip’ we refer to the effect that the amount of periodical orders amplifies upstream in the supply chain towards the production end, thus causing a range of operational problems. The bullwhip effect is a well-known phenomenon and a prominent symptom of coordination problems in supply chains. In using the beergame to create the bullwhip effect students experience first hand, not only the problems of lack of information sharing and collaboration in supply chains, but also the main causes for the creation of the bullwhip effect. Henceforth, in introducing eCommerce measures in the later sessions of the course, students can relate to these topics through their own experiences. The paper ties in with a recent discussion on the ISWorld eMail list on â€Å"how to make relevant IS teaching for students with little or no practical experience†. In teaching information systems (IS) and specifically B2B eCommerce we frequent ly experience problems of making relevant those topics for students. The challenge is to get them to appreciate the relevance of IS and also to provide them, not only with a superficial knowledge of the topics, but with a more profound understanding of the reasons why eCommerce technologies are used in practice. Against this backdrop I want to show how the beergame can help demonstrating the role and need of eCommerce technologies in a topic area in which the students not only lack practical knowledge (i.e. with regards to supply chains), but typically also do not have their own frame of reference to be able to relate to the topics we teach. To this end, I will introduce the beergame, demonstrate its use in a classroom setting, present typical results created by playing the game and show how I embed the game in a typical B2B eCommerce syllabus. I begin with introducing the game and the bullwhip effect (in section 2). In section 3, I then describe the application of the beergame in a classroom setting; I give an overview of a beergame session and present typical results. Section 4 demonstrates how typical supply chain problems (and the causes of the bullwhip effect) can be deduced from the beergame experience in order to motivate the introduction of eCommerce measures for improving supply chain coordination. The section is concluded by a synopsis of typical eCommerce topics that can follow the beergame in a typical B2B syllabus (section 4.3). 2 The Beergame In the following I will first give a brief introduction to the bullwhip effect before I introduce the beergame itself, i.e. its history, structural setup and the rules of the game. 2.1 Bullwhip effect as symptom of typical supply chain problems The bullwhip effect is a well-known symptom of typical coordination problems in (traditional) supply chains. It refers to the effect that the amount of periodical orders amplifies as one moves upstream in the supply chain towards the production end (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a). Even in the face of stable customer demand small variations in demand at the retail end tend to dramatically amplify upstream the supply chain with the effect that order amounts are very erratic, and can be very high in one week and almost zero in the next week. This phenomenon was discovered and first described by Forrester (1961) who did research into the relationship between ordering and stock keeping patterns using simulation models (Warburton 2004). The term itself was first coined around 1990 when ProcterGamble perceived erratic and amplified order patters in its supply chain for 589 baby diapers. The effect is also known by the names whiplash or whipsaw effect (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a), which refers metaphorically to the visualisation of order patterns moving upstream the supply chain (see figure 3). As a consequence of the bullwhip effect a range of inefficiencies occur throughout the supply chain, e.g. high (safety) stock levels, poor customer service levels, poor capacity utilisation, aggravated problems with demand forecasting, and ultimately high cost and low levels of inter-firm trust (Chopra Meindl 2001; Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a). While the effect is not new and a lot of research has been conducted and supply chain projects have been initiated since its discovery, it is still a timely and pressing problem in contemporary supply chains. Various research studies have quantified the effect and estimate that profitability in most supply chains might improve by up to 30% by eliminating the bullwhip effect (Metters 1997; McCullen Towill 2002). 2.2 Beergame setup and rules Having introduced the bullwhip effect and its implications for the supply chain and its players I will now introduce the beergame, its setup and rules. I begin by providing a brief history of the game before I present the general structure and the rules of the game. 2.2.1 History of the beergame The beergame (or beer distribution game) was originally invented in the 1960s by Jay Forrester at MIT as a result of his work on system dynamics (see Forrester 1957). While the original goal of the simulation game was to research the effect of systems structures on the behaviour of people (â€Å"structure creates behaviour†), the game can also be used to demonstrate the benefits of information sharing, supply chain management, and eCollaboration in the supply chain (Li Simchi-Levi 2002). A range of different versions of the beergame have emerged over the years. The original beergame was realised as a board game (Sterman 1989). Meanwhile a table version (Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002 ) and also computerised simulations (Hieber Hartel 2003) have been developed. In this paper I predominantly draw on a table version, which I adapted from the so called Klagenfurt design (cp. Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002); the structural setup of the table version is shown in figures 1 and 2. I will briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different game versions in chapter 3.1 where I discuss the administration of the beergame in a classroom setting. 2.2.2 General structure of the game The beergame simulates a supply chain that consists of four stages (retailer, wholesaler, distributer and factory), each of which is played by one or better two or three players (Goodwin Franklin Sr. 1994). Hence, a supply chain is typically played by 8 to 12 people, while more than one supply chain can be administered in one class at the same time. The task of each supply chain is to produce and deliver units of beer: the factory produces and the other three stages deliver the beer un its until it reaches the external customer at the downstream end of the supply chain. In doing so, the aim of the players is rather simple: each sub group has to fulfil the incoming orders of beer. The retailer receives an externally predetermined customer demand and places orders with the wholesaler; the wholesaler sends orders to the distributor, who orders from the factory; the factory finally 590 produces the beer. Hence, orders flow in the upstream direction, while deliveries flow in the downstream direction of the supply chain. An important structural aspect of the game is delay (i.e. time lag) in order to account for logistics and production time. Each delivery (and production order) requires two rounds until they are finally delivered to the next stage. In the structural setup of the game this is represented by two shipping delay fields located in between the supply chain stages as well as at the production end (figure 1). Order flow Delay Delay Delay Delay Factory Factory Distributor Distributor Wholesaler Wholesaler Retailer Retailer Product flow Figure 1: Supply chain setup in the beergame table version Student Outgoing order Play sheet Incoming order Wholesaler Delay Distributor Distributor Outgoing delivery Delay Factory Incoming delivery Student Student Figure 2: Detailed table layout 2.2.3 Rules of the game The game is played in rounds, which simulates weeks. In each round the following steps have to be carried out by the players: 1) receive incoming orders, 2) receive incoming deliveries, 3) update play sheets (outstanding deliveries and inventory), 4) send out deliveries, and finally 5) decide on the amount to be ordered. In doing so, deciding on each round’s order amount is effectively the only decision that players are able to make throughout the game; everything else follows a set of fixed rules. The first rule is that every order has to be fulfilled, either directly (should the players’ inventory be large enough) or later in subsequent rounds. In the latter case, players have to keep track of their backlog (backorder) (Coakley et al. 1998). Secondly, inventory and backlog incur cost – each item in stock costs EUR 0.50 per week, while each item on backlog costs EUR 1.00. Consequently, the primary aim of ea ch subgroup is to keep their costs low. Hence, the optimal strategy for the players is to run their business with as little stock as possible without being forced to â€Å"move into backorder†. Thirdly, players are not allowed to communicate. The only information they are allowed to exchange is the order amount; there is no transparency as to what stock levels or actual customer demand is; only the retailer knows the external demand (Rafaeli et al. 2003). Moreover, the game is based on the simplification of unlimited capacity (in stock keep591 ing, production and transportation) and unlimited access to raw materials at the production end (Hieber Hartel 2003). 2.2.4 The external demand In playing the game the external demand is predetermined and usually does not vary greatly. In the beginning, the supply chain is pre-initialised with inventory levels (e.g. 15 units), orders (e.g. 5 units) and beer units in the shipping delay fields (e.g. 5 units). In order to induce the bullwhip effect to the supply chain the external demand remains stable for a few rounds (e.g. 5 units for 5 rounds) before it suddenly shows one steep increase (jumps to 9 units) before it remains stable again at this higher level for the remainder of the game (usually 40 to 50 rounds in total). However, the one increase in external demand is enough to induce variance into the supply chain, which will inevitably lead to the creation of the bullwhip effect and to a destabilisation of ordering patterns throughout the supply chain. 3 Using the beergame in class Having described the idea, the structural setup, and the rules of the beergame, I will now discuss the administration of the game in a classroom setting. This is followed by the presentation of typical results generated by beergame applications in eCommerces courses. These results are very useful for deriving the causes of the bullwhip effect in discussions with students in a so-called debriefing session (see section 4). For a session outline of a B2B course that uses the beergame please refer to appendix 2; the experiences shared in the following sections are more or less based on this session outline. 3.1 Administering the beergame 3.1.1 Choosing a beergame version As mentioned above, different versions of the beergame exist for use in classroom settings. The traditional version is a board game in which tokens are physically moved on the board to represent orders and stock. The upside of the board version is that people relate well to moving actual objects. However, there are two downsides: firstly, the board game is too slow, cumbersome and complex to administer; secondly and more importantly, because physical objects are used to represent inventory on the board, people enjoy an unwanted transparency of inventory levels of other supply chain stages and can thus strategically act upon their knowledge of incoming stock. The table version of the beergame was originally developed by a team at the University of Klagenfurt (Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002). It shows several improvements to the original design such as a leaner and more pragmatic approach to moving orders and stock in the supply chain. Essentially this is done by using paper slips on which numbers are written by the players. However, it still shows some administrative overhead such as a bookkeeping pe rson that takes stock of all things happening within the supply chain using a computer. While this functions as a built-in safety net in case something goes wrong, it is still a hurdle to the application in a classroom setting and it also slows down the game, which results in long sessions and the students being bored throughout the game. Henceforth, I have adapted the table version and essentially eliminated the bookkeeper in order to achieve a more straightforward progression of the game. The 592 risk however is that students make mistakes in calculating order amounts or stock levels using the paper play sheet. While it helps to start slowly and to doublecheck the play sheet calculations during the first few rounds, in a few of my first beergame applications some people indeed miscalculated stock levels, which led to problems with interpreting the data later on. For this reason, today I use MS Excel and a laptop computer on each table for people to fill in their play sheets; this effectively eliminates the risk and ensures a quick progression of the game (see appendix 1 for a play sheet example). 3.1.2 Schedule of a beergame session The first step in administering the beergame is the preparations of the tables. As is illustrated in figure 2, four fields have to be marked on each table, which is done by fixing to the table 4 sheets of paper using sticky tape. The same is done with the delay fields. Furthermore, cardboard boxes (or plastic cups) and envelopes have to be filled with small paper slips to pre-initialise the supply chain with orders and deliveries. Then, every table has to be prepared with a stack of order and delivery slips that will be used by the players during the game. Finally, paper slips with the external demand progression (see above) have to be prepared that are handed to the retailer groups during the game. Also, for administering more than one supply chain, (student) assistants are needed to help with moving boxes and envelopes during the game. The second step is briefing the students; in doing so I provide a short introduction to the idea of the game, its history, structure, and rules (see above). When playing in more than one supply chain I stress the fact that groups of each stage are competing with one another (e.g. retailer vs. retailer), in order to get the students to take playing seriously. The third step is to start playing some initial trial rounds with the pre-initialised supply chain and to make sure that everyone gets used to filling in play sheets and order/delivery slips. Then, in the fourth step, the speed of playing the game is increased and the game is played for a number of 40 to 50 rounds. The game is then stopped abruptly so that the students do not have time to react strategically to the coming end of the game. The fifth and final part of the session is a short discussion directly after the game, where I ask students how they felt throughout the game and what they think the average customer demand was. The next session after the beergame session is the debriefing session, for which the data that the groups produced throughout the game has to be consolidated, plotted and analysed. Typical beergame results and their creation are presented in the next section; the debriefing session is described in section 4. 3.2 Typical progression and results of a beergame session Every beergame session follows roughly the same scheme, so that the progression of the game shows a recurring pattern. I usually start playing the game at a slow pace for people to get used to moving objects, taking stock and filling in the play sheets. What typically happens during these first few rounds is that people try to get rid of some of the inventory (e.g. 15 units) in order to manage their costs; hence they often only place small orders in the beginning (for an example see weeks 1-7 in figure 3). Consequently, when the customer demand jumps to the higher level in round 6 the supply chain has adjusted to a low demand scenario. After the steep increase many retailer groups tend to wait one or two rounds in order to see if the increase is permanent (as in figure 3). When they then place the first large order they invariably initiate a bullwhip effect that perpetuates through593 out the chain. Typically, the order amount increases with every stage in the supply chain (as in figure 3). What happens then is that the groups move deeply into backorder (see figure 4), because due to the delivery delays it takes quite some time for the beer to move through the supply chain to the retail end. Getting increasingly desperate players often try to send signals and place more large orders; in the end they typically lose track of what they have ordered and order way too much. The consequence is that the supply chain is flooded with beer and the inventories overflow (see weeks 2035 in figure 4). The effect is that people cease ordering entirely; e.g. a lot of very small orders are placed. This is especially true for the higher stages of the supply chain (see table 1). In the end, while the retailer groups often manage to stabilise their business, the higher stages have no idea of the actual customer demand and are left frustrated. Bullwhip Effect 70 60 50 Customer Orders 40 30 20 10 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 Week Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory Figure 3: Plot of order distribution, visualising the bullwhip effect Figure 3 shows the order distribution over 40 weeks and a typical bullwhip effect. Figure 4 shows the inventory fluctuation, with negative inventory representing back order. Table 1 finally shows the decrease in customer demand information upstream visualised by the average order amount by the four stages of the supply chain in this example. More importantly, the increase in order fluctuation upstream the supply chain is illustrated by the largest amount having been ordered in each stage and the number of small orders that were placed. This translates into an increase in inventory fluctuation as well. All this information is being used in the following debriefing session to discuss the bullwhip effect, its implications and the reasons for its existence. 594 Out of stock = Serious lack of service level! 200 150 100 Inventory 50 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 -50 -100 -150 Week Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory Figure 4: Example of inventory fluctuation (negative inventory = backorder) Key figures Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory ∅ order amount (units of beer) 8.33 8.68 8.75 9.95 Largest order amount 25 40 50 60 No of small orders (0-2 units) 4 11 14 18 Inventory fluctuation range 84 81 170 165 Table 1: Example of key figures derived from the beergame 4 Learning from the beergame results Having presented the way in which the beergame is administered and a typical progression of the game and its results, I will now first show how a debriefing session can be used to illustrate supply chain coordination problems and to derive typical causes for the creation of the bullwhip effect. Based on these causes one can then quite easily motivate eCommerce measures and ICT-based supply chain reform initiatives that aim at reducing the bullwhip effect and improving supply chain coordination. 4.1 The debriefing session The debriefing session follows the beergame session (see appendix 2). I usually begin the session with a brief discussion of students’ experiences throughout the game. Typically, the following questions are being discussed: Did you feel yourself controlled by forces in the system from time to time? Or did you feel in control? Did you find yourself blaming the groups next to you for your problems? Did you feel desperation at any time? This discussion typically shows that people indeed were blaming their neighbouring supply chain partners for not doing their jobs right (either not ordering in a 595 sensible way or not being able to deliver); desperation and frustration are common feelings during the last rounds of the game. A first learning from this discussion is that it is the structure of the game (i.e. the supply chain) that causes the behaviour. This is precisely what its inventor (Forrester) intended to achieve and what is referred to as the effects of systems dynamics. A second set of questions can then be discussed in order to reflect upon the beergame itself and its degree of simulating real world conditions: What, if anything, is unrealistic about this game? Why are there order delays? Why are there production delays? Shipping delays? Why have both distributor and wholesalers; why not ship beer directly from the factory to the retailer? Must the brewer be concerned with the management of the raw materials suppliers? Using these questions and by stressing the fact that real-life supply chains are much more complex (a huge variety of products and supply chain partners e xist, as well as complex criss-crossing networks of relationships) the students can quickly be convinced that real-life conditions favour the emergence of the bullwhip to a much greater extent and that the beergame is indeed a good vehicle to simulate the creation of the effect. Having established this necessary bit of legitimisation, the session can then proceed with presenting the beergame results and with identifying the underlying causes. Hence, the next step essentially is to present, for all supply chain groups, the data (table 1) and figures (3 and 4) presented above. In doing so, I typically have a very interactive and lively discussion. I ask what people thought while playing the game and what led them to, for example, place a huge order at a particular point in the game. In discussing the extreme examples, the class usually shares a laugh, which, as a nice by-product, leads to a more casual atmosphere and contributes to setting an open tone for the remainder of the course. I also honour the winning supply chain teams at this point in time. This is also the time where I introduce the concept of ‘cumulated supply chain cost’, e.g. by pointing ou t that the product at the customer end has to earn all (cumulated) costs of all supply chain parties; this insight serves as a first step in establishing the idea of global thinking and chainwide optimization, which essentially requires eCollaboration technologies. At this point in the session one can then either go straight to identifying the causes and effects of the bullwhip effect (see below), or take a little (useful) detour in discussing a teaching case to corroborate the results and to give the results of the beergame some more credibility. In doing so, I use the case of Italian pasta manufacturer Barilla, one of the first documented cases in which a company launched a project to identify the causes of the bullwhip effect and to introduce some countermeasures (see Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003, p. 91). 4.2 Identifying the causes of the bullwhip effect The bullwhip effect, as simulated in the beergame, is mainly caused by three underlying problems: 1) a lack of information, 2) the structure of the supply chain and 3) a lack of collaboration and global optimisation. These three causes can be identified in an interactive session with the students by discussing the beergame experiences and then be corroborated with insights from practice and the literature. 596 4.2.1 Lack of information In the beergame no information except for the order amount is perpetuated up the supply chain. Henceforth, most information about customer demand is quickly lost upstream in the supply chain. Moreover, no other information is being shared. With these characteristics the beergame simulates supply chains with low levels of trust, where only little information is being shared between the parties. Without actual customer demand data, all forecasting has to rely solely on the incoming orders at each supply chain stage. In reality, in such a situation traditional forecasting methods and stock keeping strategies contribute to creating the bullwhip effect (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a; Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky SimchiLevi 2003). Unexpected increases in orders from downstream partners translate into even higher order increases upstream, because when players regard the increase to be permanent and want to avoid running out of stock, they need to update their safety stock levels; hence they place an even larger order. Later, when it turns ou t that an increase was only temporary, safety stock levels are lowered and players might order nothing for a while, hence contributing to the bullwhip effect. 4.2.2 Supply chain structure The supply chain structure, with its design as separate stages and the long lead times, contributes to the bullwhip effect. The longer the lead time, i.e. the longer it takes for an order to travel upstream and the subsequent delivery to travel downstream, the more aggravated the bullwhip effect is likely to be. With traditional ordering, the point in time where an order is typically placed (the order point) is usually calculated by multiplying the forecasted demand with the lead time plus the safety stock amount, so that an order is placed so far in advance as to ensure service level during the time until the delivery is expected to arrive (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003). Hence, the longer the lead time is, the more pronounced an order will be as an reaction to an increase in forecasted demand (especially in conjunction with updating the safety stock levels, see above), which again contributes to the bullwhip effect. 4.2.3 Local optimisation Local optimisation, in terms of local forecasting and individual cost optimisation, and a lack of cooperation are at the heart of the bullwhip problem. A good example for local optimisation is the batch order phenomenon. In practice, ordering entails fix cost, e.g. ordering in full truck loads is cheaper then ordering smaller amounts. Furthermore, many suppliers offer volume discounts when ordering larger amounts. Hence, there is a certain incentive for individual players to hold back orders and only place aggregate orders. This behaviour however aggravates the problem of demand forecasting, because very little information about actual demand is transported in such batch orders. And batch ordering, of course, contributes directly to the bullwhip effect by unnecessarily inflating the orders. This might lead to lower local cost in the short term, but translates into higher overall cost at the chain level. 4.3 eCommerce measures to tackle the bullwhip effect Having identified and discussed the three problem areas with regard to both the beergame and their real-world counterparts, I then present three areas of improvement that directly correspond to the three problem areas: 1) information sharing in terms of electronic data interchange, 2) ICT-enabled supply chain re597 design, and 3) supply chain collaboration for global optimisation (see figure 5). In terms of teaching, these three bundles of eCommerce measures and initiatives can then be briefly introduced in one session (see appendix 3) or in more (technical and organisational) detail in three separate sessions (see appendix 2). In the following sections I give a brief overview of what can be part of those sessions. 1 Information loss upstream the supply chain Without direct communication, forecasting is based on aggregated, inaccurate information. This causes large stock, high cost, poor service levels. Improvement Efficient communication and information sharing 2 Supply chain structure Long lead times lead to increasing variability upstream making planning nearly impossible: large safety stock is required, variability increased. Slow downstream product flow causes poor service levels. Improvement Supply chain redesign: processes, tasks roles 3 Local optimization Independent planning and local optimization lead to inefficiencies, such as local forecasting, batch ordering, inflated orders, etc. Improvement Cooperation to achieve global optimization Figure 5: Summary of bullwhip causes and areas of improvement 4.3.1 Efficient communication One of the most basic learnings from the beergame is to improve information sharing along the supply chain (e.g. of point-of-sale customer demand data); information sharing is the first step towards more advanced supply chain coordination (Muckstadt et al. 2001). Henceforth, the first step in teaching eCommerce measures is to present the principles and technologies of electronic data interchange. In doing so, I first of all discuss with the students the â€Å"principles of digitally mediated replenishment of goods† by Johnston (1999), essentially a collection of principles for effective inter-organisational electronic data interchange, such as the â€Å"once-only data entry principle† or the â€Å"synchronicity principle†. Based on these fundamental principles I discuss the ways in which traditional document-based ordering can be reformed using electronic data interchange. While these topics might seem to be outdated from a modern information systems perspective, it lays the foundation for a step-by-step increase of complexity that aims at providing the students with a more substantial knowledge of the problems and ideas behind ICT-enabled supply chain reform than can be achieved by a simple presentation of the latest communication technologies. The next step in this endeavour is to introduce technologies that are needed to enable effective inter-firm data interchange and electronic ordering, such as product numbering schemes and automatic product identification technologies. In most supply chains physical products have to be handled; hence ways are needed to attach information to these objects. Consequently, I introduce the following technologies: †¢ Standardised product numbering schemes: Here, the history, proliferation, functioning and impact of numbering schemes such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the European Article Numbering (EAN) code and more special598 ised codes like for example container codes (SSCC) are introduced. Most of these codes today are administered by the standardisation organisation GS1 (2005). †¢ Automated product identification technologies: The technology with the greatest diffusion in the market is the barcode; while specialised barcodes exist in some industries, the most common one is the UCC/EAN-128 (Coyle, Bardi Langley 1996). The second, much newer technology to be discussed here is Radio Frequency based Identification (RFID). †¢ Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): EDI is the basis for electronic ordering. Here, traditional EDI standards, such as the UN/EDIFACT, which was jointly developed by ISO and the UN (Coyle, Bardi Langley 1996), can be discussed, as well as newer techniques such as Internet-based WebEDI and XML-enabled order exchange. In discussions with the students these enabling communication and data exchange technologies can then be related back to the beergame experience in that they 1) speed up the order process, thus reducing lead time and 2) enable more sophisticated information sharing of POS data. Moreover, they are the basis for the next step, the ICT-enabled redesign of supply chain structures. 4.3.2 ICT-enabled supply chain reform initiatives The second building block in dealing with the bullwhip effect comprises a range of different supply chain reform initiatives that can be subsumed under the concept of efficient replenishment. As such, two distinct types of measures can be distinguished: 1) inventory management concepts that aim at changing the ways in which actors in the supply chain carry out their roles of stock keeping and ordering and 2) logistics concepts that aim at improving actual material and information flow. Efficient inventory management is based on the idea that suppliers have timely access to POS data and can thus eliminate traditional forecasting and change the way ordering and inventory management is carried out (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997b). Three concepts with increasing degrees of complexity can be distinguished: †¢ Quick Response: The idea behind this concept is for the supplier to become more responsive to changes in customer demand through the sharing of POS data. Retailers still prepare individual orders, but suppliers are better prepared. †¢ Continuous Replenishment: Suppliers continually receive POS data from retailers to prepare shipments at agreed-upon levels. †¢ Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI): Under this initiative the suppliers manage all inventory aspects for their own products at the retailer end. Suppliers decide on shipment levels without any orders from the retail end to be placed. In fact, the retailer has very little to do with the operational aspects in VMI (Waller, Johnson Davis 1999). The second type of efficient replenishment measures is efficient logistics (see Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003). Here, two main building blocks can be discussed: †¢ Warehousing and delivery concepts: Depending on the kinds of goods that are moved along the supply chain, different kinds of warehousing and delivery can be applied in order to achieve an optimal flow of goods. Cross docking is a concept i n which warehouses function as inventory coordination points rather than actual inventory storage points; hence, goods are only re-shuffled 599 between trucks coming in from suppliers and trucks leaving for stores. This instrument can be used for fast selling products. For bulk products central warehousing can be used; while fresh products benefit from direct delivery. †¢ Full-blown just-in-time delivery (JIT): Most commonly found in the automotive industry, ‘just-in-time’ describes a concept, whereby supplier and manufacturer align their logistics and production processes to a degree that no (or very little) inventory is needed. Goods can be directly delivered from the production at the supplier to arrive just in time to be used in production at the manufacturer end (e.g. Johnson Wood 1996). Changing the way in which inventory is managed means to effectively change the supply chain structure. For example, by implementing VMI the supply chain partners eliminate one stage of ordering, thus eradicating one step in the typical bullwhip chain of events. Moreover, by speeding up product flows using the logistic s concepts lead time is being reduced, which in turn softens the bullwhip effect. Consequently, all measures discussed in this section can be directly motivated by the beergame. In presenting this block to the students I also point out, for every singly concept, the role of information systems and eBusiness technologies. 4.3.3 eCollaboration: joint planning and global optimisation The third block of eBusiness measures for tackling the bullwhip effect is the most sophisticated one and builds on the first two blocks. Global optimisation of supply chain processes can only be achieved through the collaboration of supply chain partners under a joint initiative. I present the Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) initiative as an example from the Grocery industry (VICS 2001) and also discuss (sometimes only briefly) joint product development initiatives in the automotive industry. CPFR as a concept builds on and extends concepts such as VMI by aiming at establishing a long-term planning of joint promotion activities. CPFR is based on the observation that a combination of inventory management and logistics concepts (see section 4.3.2 above) can reduce the bullwhip effect for day-to-day deliveries, but that these concepts still can not cope with demand variations induced by promotion activities. Hence, CPFR aims a t jointly planning promotions and to create transparency as to the expected demand increases induced by these promotions. The concept is based on the use of shared eMarketplace infrastructures, which I also discuss in some detail in this section. Again, the application of eCommerce technologies can be nicely illustrated using the beergame. 4.3.4 Summary The discussion of the three building blocks of eCommerce measures culminates in the development and presentation of an integrated model of eCommerce-based supply chain management informed by the key learnings from the beergame. The model is presented in figure 6. Following the line of argument in the last sections, it becomes obvious that the beergame can be used to motivate and substantiate large parts of a typical eCommerce masters course (as in appendix 2). In the next section I draw some final conclusions and briefly reflect upon the use of the beergame in a classroom setting. 600 Supply Chain Reform Initiatives Supply Chain Reform Initiatives Tactics Operations Infrastructure Improvements Improvements Suppy Chain Suppy Chain problems problems trade-offs trade-offs Information loss Joint Planning CPFR (promotions, product introduction), Category Mgmt, Production scheduling Collaboration Strategic alliances for global optimization Efficient Replenishment Inventory Management: Quick Response, CRP, VMI, SBT Redesign ICT-enabled supply Chain re-structuring S.C. structure Materials information flow: Direct delivery, Warehousing, X-docking Local optimization Communication Information sharing, Electronic ordering Efficient Communications Infrastructure, EDI, AutoID, Product numbering, Process simplifications Figure 6: A comprehensive eCommerce and supply chain model 5 Conclusion and outlook I have introduced the beergame and demonstrated its usefulness in teaching B2B eCommerce and supply chain management. To the present day, I have used the beergame mainly in eCommerce masters courses at different Universities in different national contexts. The experiences and also the teaching evaluations have always been positive and very encouraging. While I believe that the beergame, and the way it is embedded in my B2B eCommerce syllabus, works well in providing students with both a profound understanding of the underlying wisdoms of eCommerce, as well as with a good overview of eCommerce measures, there is more to it than that. Playing the beergame is great fun, for the teacher and for the students, and it is always a good experience in itself. As such, the beergame is also very helpful for the general course atmosphere and the creation of positive team dynamics in the group. For the future, we are working on a software version of the beergame, which can be used in a classroom setting in the same interactive role-play style, but avoid some of the still remaining problems of the table version. While software versions today only provide a simulation (instead of role-play) mode and are not built for classroom use, a client-server software version of the game might replace the cumbersome logistics aspects (the moving of boxes) and help in gathering data that can be used for debriefing straight away. Moreover, it would be great to be able to play the beergame with different setups, e.g. with implementing effective sharing of (customer demand and inventory) data in order to demonstrate, in a second round of play, the usefulness of information sharing in reducing the bullwhip effect. To this end, our software will be flexible enough to incorporate such exploration of different supply chain modalities.1 1 For further information please see: http://www.beergame.org. 601 Appendix 1: Beergame play sheet The following table shows the play sheet of a retailer group that was filled in during a beergame session. The ‘incoming order’ column shows the external customer demand with its increase in round 6. During the game the students only have to fill in the white columns – the ‘incoming delivery’ and the ‘incoming order’ are taken from the incoming paper slips, while in the ‘your order’ column the students have to fill in their order decision for the respective weeks. Having done that, the play sheet shows exactly what has to be written on the outgoing order and delivery slips (in the dark columns). All orange columns are calculated automatically, so that students can easily keep track of their inventory and cost progression. After the beergame this data is then put together and consolidated with the data that was collected in the play sheets of the other groups of the same supply chain. It is then plotted to create figures 3 and 4 and table 1 (see above). Week Incoming Delivery Available Incoming Order Your Delivery Backorder Inventory Cost 7,5 15 22,5 30 35 37 40 45 49 52 64 78 86 100 118 137 159 180 201 223 244 265 283 295 303 316 317,5 321 324,5 328 331,5 335 338,5 342 345,5 348,5 351 353 355 357 Your Order Please fill out play slips: Delivery Order 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 5 5 5 5 0 3 2 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 25 13 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 20 20 20 20 15 13 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 25 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 13 13 13 5 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 5 5 5 9 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 22 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 4 3 12 14 8 14 18 19 22 21 21 22 21 21 18 12 8 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 15 15 15 15 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 5 4 4 4 0 3 2 7 7 12 5 10 10 6 5 7 15 25 15 5 5 6 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 5 5 5 9 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 22 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 3 2 7 7 12 5 10 10 6 5 7 15 25 15 5 5 6 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 602 Appendix 2: Syllabus for a beergame-based B2B course The following table gives an overview of how the beergame can be incorporated in a typical (B2B) eCommerce (masters) course (e.g. 12 weeks with 3 hour sessions). The beergame and the subsequent modules can cover up to 6 sessions. After presenting the three blocks with eCommerce improvements, an additional session can be used to discuss management challenges of inter-firm collaboration, covering issues such as trust, managing interfaces, ICT standards etc. Throughout the course, cases from the grocery and the automotive industries might be used for illustration purposes and to facilitate discussions. Depending on the setting, background readings might also be handed out to the students. Sessions (3 hours) Topics / session contents 1. Beergame session a. Introduction to supply chains (why have supply chains?) b. Beergame introduction (setup, structure, rules of the game) c. Playing the game (40-50 rounds) d. Brief discussion afterwards 2. Debriefing a. Discussion of experiences and game setup b. Presentation and discussion of beergame data (results) c. Teaching case Barilla: bullwhip causes [optional] d. Identification of the three main causes of the bullwhip effect e. Short presentation of three areas of improvement and the schedule for the next three sessions 3. Information sharing a. Short discussion: why is information sharing important? b. Principles of electronic data sharing c. Attaching information to physical goods: standardised product numbering, Automated product identification technologies: barcodes, RFID d. Electronic Data Interchange: EDI, WebEDI, XML-based ordering 4. Supply chain reform a. Overview: efficient replenishment initiatives b. Efficient inventory management: Quick Response, Continuous Replenishment, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) c. Efficient Logistics: Warehousing, Direct Delivery, CrossDocking d. Just-in-Time Delivery in the automotive industry [Kanban] 5. eCollaboration a. eCollaboration in the supply chain: idea and philosophy b. Collaborative Planning Forecasting Replenishment (CPFR) c. Joint product development in the automotive industry 6. Management of inter-firm collaboration a. Complexities of supply chain reform initiatives b. The role of trust and social capital in inter-firm relationships c. Interoperability of ICT d. Managing inter-firm interfaces 603 Appendix 3: Session outline for a beergame-based workshop The following table shows a short workshop format based on the beergame. Such a workshop can be incorporated in other (general IS) courses or be a stand-alone event, for example as an executive teaching offering. The workshop is essentially made up of two sessions – the actual beergame session and a combined debriefing and learnings session. As an example industry the Grocery industry can be used to illustrate the application of the eCommerce initiatives and technologies. Sessions (~3 hours) Topics / session contents 1. Beergame session a. Introduction to supply chains (why have supply chains?) b. Beergame introduction (setup, structure, rules of the game) c. Playing the game (40 rounds) d. Discussion of experiences and game setup 2. Debriefing eCommerce initiatives a. Presentation and discussion of beergame data (results) b. Identification of the three main causes of the bullwhip effect c. Discussion of three areas of improvement: a. Information sharing: Product numbering, AutoID, EDI b. Supply chain reform: Inventory management logistics concepts c. eCollaboration: CPFR d. Complexities of supply chain reform initiatives 604 References Chopra, S., Meindl, P. (2001): Supply-Chain Management, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Coakley, J. R., Drexler Jr., J. A., Larson, E. W., Kircher, A. E. (1998): Using a computer-based version of the beer game: Lessons learned, Journal of Management Education, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 416-424. Coyle, J. J., Bardi, E. J., Langley, C. J. (1996): The Management of Business Logistics (6th Ed.), St. Paul. Forrester, J. W. (1957): Industrial Dynamics. A major breakthrough for decision makers, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 37-66. Forrester, J. W. (1961): Industrial Dynamics, Cambride, MA. Goodwin, J. S., Franklin Sr., S. E. (1994): The Beer Distribution Game: Using Simulation to Teach Systems Thinking, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 13, No. 8, pp. 7-15. GS1 (2005): About the EAN/UCC System, Available: [http://www.ean-ucc.org] (2007-12-13). Hieber, R., Hartel, I. (2003): Impacts of SCM order strategies evaluated by simulation-based ‘Beer-Game’ approach: the model, concept and initial experiences, Production, Planning Control, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 122-134. Johnson, J. C., Wood, D. F. (1996): Contemporary Logistics (6th Ed), Upper Saddle River. Johnston, R. B. (1999): Principles of Digitally Mediated Replenishment of Goods. Electronic Commerce and Supply-Chain Reform, in Electronic Commerce: Opportunities and Challenges, S. M. Rahman M. Raisinghani, (eds.), Idea Group Publishing, Hershey, pp. 41-64. Lee, H., Padmanabhan, V., Whang, S. (1997a): The Bullwhip Effect in SupplyChains, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 93-102. Lee, H., Padmanabhan, V., Whang, S. (1997b): Information Distortion in a Supply-Chain: The Bullwhip Effect, Management Science, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 546-558. Li, M., Simchi-Levi, D. (2002): The Web Based Beer Game Demonstrating the Value of Integrated Supply-Chain Management, Available: [http://beergame.mit.edu/guide.htm] (2007-08-25). McCullen, P., Towill, D. (2002): Diagnosing and reduction of bullwhip in supply chains, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 164-179. Metters, R. (1997): Quantifying the bullwhip effect in supply chains, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 89-100. Muckstadt, J., Murray, D., Rappold, J., Collins, D. (2001): Guidelines for Collaborative Supply-Chain System Design and Operation, in Technical Report of the Cornell University School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Nr. 1286, Ithaca, NY. Ossimitz, G., Kreisler, B., Zoltan, M. (2002): Simulation von Supply-ChainManagement Systemen, Available: [http://www.uniklu.ac.at/~gossimit/pap/bg_endbericht.pdf] (2007-02-11). Rafaeli, S., Raban, D. R., Ravid, G., Noy, A. (2003): Online Simulations in Management Education about Information and Its Uses, in Educating Manag- 605 ers with Tomorrows Technologies, C. Wankel R. DeFillippi, (eds.), Greenwich, pp. 53-80. Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., Simchi-Levi, E. (2003): Designing Managing the Supply-Chain (2nd ed), Boston, MA. Sterman, J. D. (1989): Modeling Managerial Behaviour: Misperceptions of Feedback in a Dynamic Decision Making Experiment, Management Science, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 321-339. VICS (2001): Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), Version 2, Available: [http://www.vics.org/committees/cpfr/voluntary_v2/CPFR_Tabs_061802. pdf] (2008-01-07). Waller, M., Johnson, M. E., Davis, T. (1999): Vendor Managed Inventory in the Retail Supply-Chain, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 183-203. Warburton, R. (2004): An Analytical Investigation of the Bullwhip Effect, Production and Operations Management, Vol. 13, No. 2, p. 150–160.

Development of Low Cost Microcontroller Based Spirometer

Development of Low Cost Microcontroller Based Spirometer Spirometer is an instrument which is used to measure the volume and capacity of lung. It collects the air expired by the patient to measure the lung volume or capacity. The spirometer has a device attached to it which will measure the movement of gas in and out of chest and this device is called as Spirograph. And in some spirometers spirographs are replaced by printer called Spirogram. In most of the computerized system the spirographs or the spirogram will display the predicted value next to the observed value. Using spirometer various tests are carried out to determine whether the patient is having any respiratory disorder or not.Some of the tests carried out are- Tidal Volume (TV)-The amount of air that is breathed in and out by an individual during normal respiration. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)-The amount of air that is maximally forced out of the lung after maximum inspiration. Forced Expiratory Volume In 1sec (FEV1)- The amount of air that can be maximally forced out of the lung in the first second of forced expiratory manuever. 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT To design a low cost microcontroller based spirometer and carry out the various lung functioning tests. To develop a program for the microcontroller to measure the lung volume and display the result digitally on a LCD interfaced with it. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY AUTHORS:  Agarwal.V ,Ramachandran N.C.S,2008,[1] TECHNIQUES USED:  The patient exhales through the mouthpiece where the gas exchange is being acquired as the voltage signal by the transducer(sensor). This signal from the sensor is amplified by an instrumentation amplifier(INA 114). Then the amplified signal is filtered using a low-pass-filter which is then given to a ADC(ADS7812) for digitisation. After digitisation it is given to the microcontroller(Intel) from which the data is displayed on the LCD screen. For further interface for communication on internet ETHERNET device is used. RESULTS:  The output voltage from the amplifier is digitised using ADC which corresponds to the pressure difference across mouthpiece is computed by the microcontroller and displayed on the LCD screen. LIMITATIONS/FUTURE VISION:  In future the system is expected to be inexpensive  medical care for thousands of patient. AUTHORS:  Nagaraja K.A,Nanda.S, 2007,[2] TECHNIQUES USED:  The patient exhales the air through the mouthpiece which consists of a flow sensor, differential pressure sensor, instrumentation amplifier,low pass filter and ADC. The flow sensor relates the velocity and the pressure of air blown if there is no air flow through the sensor the velocity is converted to pressure and this pressure difference is sensed by the difference flow sensor which inturn provide the electrical quantity of the air flow. Inorder to remove noise and amplify the signal an instrumentation amplifier is used. Which is then fed to the band pass filter of the range 0.05Hz to 1.3Hz,where the spirometer lies in the range of 0.1Hz to 12Hz. The filtered signal is digitised using ADC and this data is read by a microcontroller which is then interfaced to a computer. RESULTS:  Various tests are performed and FVC,FEV1 and their ratio are calculated and monitored.Depending on these values we determine whether its normal (or) restrictive (or) obstructive. LIMITATIONS/FUTURE VISION:  Not portable AUTHORS:  Dr.David Van Sickle et.al ,2009,[3] TECHNIQUES USED:  Initially the patient is allowed to expire through the spirometer. The spirometer consists of a pressure sensor(HW 24) which gives a DC voltage as output. This DC voltage is propotional to the pressure drop between the leads which is recorded by the spirometer. This analog data is then converted to digital using ZMD 31014 iLite chip. Microcontroller(PIC18f13k50) is used to convert the digital data to USB. Using mathematical algorithm implemented in the computer it calculates the volume and displays on the screen. RESULTS:  Graphical display of flow vs volume is evaluated and monitored from which the following values can be calculated :PEF,FVC, FEV(t) and FEV1/FVC ratio. LIMITATIONS/FUTURE VISION:  Highly expensive. AUTHORS:  Ovlyaguli et.al,2001[4] TECHNIQUES USED:  The test is performed using wedge bellow type spirometer the FVC and FEV1 data collected are investigated where the test is performed on different patient and are grouped accordingly. Then a mathematical modeling process is carried out based on fuzzy values obtained from the flow graphs. These values for the subject with COPD is compared with healthy subject belonging to same age,sex and height. Then normalized for fuzzy labels Very low,low,Normal,High,Very Highwhich is the generated on rule base and simulated. RESULTS:  Provide the interrelationship between characteristic constants obtained from the curves and degree of disease and FEV1 values are measured. LIMITATIONS/FUTURE VISION:  In future it eliminates the error factors and helps in accurate diagnosis. CHAPTER 3 RESPIRATORY DISORDER: SYMPTOMS CAUSES 3.1 RESPIRATORY DISORDER Respiratory disorder  deals with the  diseases  of the  respiratory system which include diseases of the  lung,  pleural cavity and bronchial  tube. Respiratory diseases range from mild to life-threatening such as  bacterial pneumonia  or  pulmonary embolism which may lead to illness and death. The study of respiratory disease is known as  pulmonology. A doctor who specializes in respiratory disease is known as a pulmonologist. Some of the common respiratory diseases are: Inflammatory lung disease. Obstructive lung disease. Restrictive lung disease. Pleural cavity diseases. 3.2 OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE Obstructive lung diseases  are diseases of the lung in which the  bronchial  tubes become narrowed. COPD Two examples for obstructive lung disease are: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease in which the airways become damaged and hence making them narrow. Asthma causes obstruction to the airflow out of the lungs.And the obstruction is reversible.   3.2.1 SYMPTOMS Persistent cough. Sputum  or mucus production. Wheezing. Chest tightness. Tiredness. 3.2.2 CAUSES Smoking. Occupational exposures. Air pollution. Genetics. Autoimmune disease. 3.3 RESITRICTIVE LUNG DISEASE Restrictive lung disease  is also known as  restrictive ventilatory which restricts the lung expansion and there by decreases the lung volume and increases work  of breathing. SYMPTOMS Shortness of breath, cough 3.3.2 CAUSES Asbestos is caused by long-term exposure to asbestos dust. Radiation fibrosis(radiation used for cancer treatment). Rheumatoid arthritis. 3.4 DIAGNOSIS OF ABNORMALITY OF RESPIRATORY SYSTEM USING FEV1/FVC RATIO In restrictive lung disease, both  FEV1  and  FVC  are reduced so the  FEV1/FVC ratio  is normal. In obstructive lung disease  FEV1  is reduced while the  FVC  is normal thus the  FEV/FVC ratio is lower CHAPTER 4: PRINCIPLE OF WORKING The spirometer consists of a turbine flow sensor containing LED(source) on one side and a photo-diode(detector) on the opposite side.Inbetween the LED and the detector there is a rotor.The rotor is a fan like structure with 3 fins.The above arrangement is present inside a cylindrical case which is opened on both the sides.The LED and the photo-diode are molded with a light weight plastic design inside the case.A mouth piece is fitted on one side and the opposite side is kept open.When the patient blows air inside the mouth piece a pressure difference is created due to the atmospheric air(atmospheric pressure) that enters from the opposite side.A power supply circuit is designed to provide power supply to the spirometer.When the patient exhales through the mouth piece the rotor rotates.Whenever the rotor is in-between the source and the detector the light from the source is not detected by the detector and when the rotor is not in-between them then the light from the source is detecte d by the detector.Each pulse will be detected only if 7ml of gas has been exhaled by the patient.These pulses are then given to the comparator which will give binary output only if the patient is exhaling.And when the patient is not exhaling there is no output from the comparator.This ouput is then given to a microcontroller which is programmed in such a way that it will count the number of pulses from the comparator and these pulses are converted into total number of rotations by dividing them(no of pulses) by 3(since the rotor has 3 fins).These rotations are then used to measure the lung volume.The lung volume is then displayed on a LCD which is interfaced with the microcontroller as digital output. CHAPTER 5:  SYSTEM DESCRIPTION 5.1 ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT 5.1.1 POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT A 12V and a 5V power supply circuit was implemented. 5.1.1.1 IC 7812 IC 7805 The two ICs are used to provide 12V and 5V supply respectively. 12V from IC7812 is given to the turbine flow sensor. 5V from IC7805 is given to LM324 Microcontroller. 5.1.1.2 STEP-DOWN TRANSFORMER Transformer being used is a 230V-step down transformer. It converts AC to AC without any change in frequency. BRIDGE RECTIFIER The diode used is IN4007 which acts as bridge rectifier and converts the given AC current to DC. 5.1.2 SENSOR The sensor used here is FT-330 Turbine flow sensor.The input to the sensor is the air blown by the patient. 5.1.2.1 FEATURES Can withstand temperature upto 80 degree celcius. Molded with electronics and a light weight plastic design. 5.1.2.2 ADVANTAGES Highly accurate. Very compact. Reliable. 5.1.2.3 POTENTIAL DIVIDER AND ZENER DIODE The output of the turbine flow sensor is given to the potential divider. The potential divider will reduce 12V from the turbine flow sensor and allows a reduced voltage to zener diode. The zener diode is used to fix a threshold i.e it allows only voltage within 5V to the comparator. 5.1.2.4 COMPARATOR LM324 acts as a comparator which gives a voltage within 5V(square wave) when the patient exhales through the sensor. And when the patient does not exhale, the comparator output gets reduced to 0V.The output of the comparator is given to the microcontroller. 5.1.2.4.1 FEATURES Internally frequency compensated for unity gain. Large DC voltage gain of 100 dB. Wide bandwidth (unity gain) 1 MHZ. Wide power supply range: Single supply 3V to 32Vor dual supplies  ±1.5V to  ±16V. 5.1.2.4.2 ADVANTAGES Eliminates need for dual supplies. Four internally compensated op amps in a single package. Power drain suitable for battery operation. 5.1.3 MICROCONTROLLER The microcontroller used here is 16F877A. The microcontroller receives input from LM324. The microcontroller is programmed in such a way that it will count the number of pulses from the comparator and these pulses are converted into total number of rotations by dividing them(no of pulses) by 3(since the rotor has 3 fins).These rotations are then used to measure the lung volume(TV,FVC,FEV1). 5.1.3.1 FEATURES RAM=368 bytes EEPROM=256bytes PROGRAM MEMORY=8Kilo bytes I/O PINS=33 5.1.3.2 ADVANTAGES This IC can be reprogrammed and erased up to 10,000 times. It is very cheap. It can also be very easily assembled. Additional components needed to make this IC work is a 5V power supply , 20MHz crystal oscillator and two 22pF capacitors. 5.1.3.3 LCD DISPLAY The output(TV,FVC,FEV1)from the microcontroller is displayed on the LCD according to the program. 5.2 MECHNICAL DESIGN( MATERIALS USED): 5.2.1.TURBINE FLOW SENSOR 5.2.1.1 MODEL FT-330 Turbine flow sensor 5.2.1.2 ADVANTAGE Highly accurate, compact and reliable. 5.2.1.3 FEATURES Can withstand temperature upto 80 degree celcius. Molded with electronics and a light weight plastic design. 5.2.2. MOUTH PIECE Made up of plastic with a diameter of 2cm. CHAPTER 6:  CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION 6.1 OVERVIEW OF CIRCUIT WORKING Initially the patient is allowed to blow through the sensor and the output voltage from the sensor is given as input to the potential divider circuit which limits the current to zener diode and which inturn reduces 12V supply from the potential divider o/p and allows only 5V to be given to the inverting terminal of LM324(comparator). Reference voltage is given to pin 3 which gets the feedback from LM324 output. Hence when the patient doesnt blow, a high voltage is received by pin 2(inverting terminal) which is compared with the reference voltage and in this case the i/p voltage >reference voltage and hence we get a low voltage(0V) at the output and no pulse is seen and when the patient blows, i/p voltage CHAPTER 7:  EXPERIMENTAL STUDY 7.1 ALGORITHM Initialize the count to 0. When the patient exhales, the number of pulses from LM324 will be counted i.e.; the count gets incremented. This count is converted into rotations since the rotor has 3 fins, if we get 3 pulse, it is considered as 1 rotation. So by dividing the count by 3 we will get the total number of rotations. The LM324 will give 1 pulse only if 7 ml of gas is exhaled . So the total number of rotations is multiplied by 7 to obtain the lung volume. Initially the flag will be 0.When the patient exhales TV will be displayed. When the reset is done the flag will be 1.Now when the patient exhales FVC will be displayed. When the reset is done again the flag will be 2.Now when the patient exhales FEV1 will be displayed .Again when the reset is done and the patient exhales then TV will be displayed. 7.2 INFERENCE Thus the tests results obtained from the designed spirometer matches with the tests results obtained from the laboratory spirometer. Minor differences in the value is due to effect of surrounding environment and moving air. CHAPTER 8:  CONCLUSION The objective of the project was to design a low cost spirometer for the rural health care centers,private clinicians and primary function laboratories.In order to substantiate the objective of our work, we compared the market price of currently available spirometer(MIR SpiroDoc Spirometer),the starting price of which is around $1974.50. Thus the tests results of four subjects obtained from the designed spirometer was compared with the tests results obtained from HELIOS Pulmonary Function test.The values had some minor differences due to effect of surrounding environment and moving air.But they were of acceptable accuracy.Future work involves interfacing the device with PC and implementation of the product in Telemedicine application for distance monitoring of respiratory parameter. APPENDIX 1 1.1 PIN CONFIGURATION OF LM324(COMPARATOR) Fig 1.1 Ref:www.voltage current.info 1.2 PIN CONFIGURATION OF PIC16F877A Fig 1.2 Ref:http://www.best-microcontroller-projects.com/schematic.drawing-program.html 1.3 OVERVIEW OF PIC 16F877A Fig 1.3 Ref:http://www.best-microcontroller-projects.com/schematic.drawing-program.html

Brief Description Of The Economy Of Finland Economics Essay

Brief Description Of The Economy Of Finland Economics Essay Finland is highly developed industrialized country with a mixed economy with per capita of 50000$ which is nearly the same as Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Finland was not one of the developed countries until 1990s as they have lack of resources. They had Central Planned Economy as the other socialist countries. In 1950s half of the population had been working for the primary productions and Finland was relatively poor country compared to their neighbors, but in the 1970s, there was an industrial boom led by government in Finland and strengthened its competitiveness. In 1980s, Finnish government deregulated financial market and opened it to the foreign capital; therefore lots of foreign capital flowed to the firms and households. As a result, investment and consumption increased rapidly and the prices of assets got expensive. At the beginning of 1990s, Finland had suffered a serious economic risk as the collapse of Soviet Union and the economic recession in Western E urope and America. Finnish financial authorities tried to fix the exchange rate and therefore the exports decreased dramatically. Finland faced financial crisis caused by debts, and reduction of exports until 1993 and started to recover in 1994. In the course of recession, the government has proceeded restructuring its economic system. The Finnish government focused on export promotion in ICT industries by investing more in Research Development and education. Finland made dramatic changes in social and economical sectors and became one of the most competitive developed countries in the world. In the short period of time Finland has been transformed to the knowledge based economy with very high performance in the high-tech industries. Finland is a country of forest and lake. 86% of the countrys area is covered with forest and so in the past the forestry played a major role in the Finnish economy. Because of climate, the agricultural development is limited and it takes only 1/12 of the GDP. Now Finland has developed a modern, competitive economy. Export has a big impact on Finnish economy. Main exports are timber, pulp, glass ware, ceramics, stainless steel, engineering products and telecom equipments. Finland has a strong competitiveness in manufacturing the wood, metal, engineering, telecommunication, and electronics. Finland is famous for its high-tech exports such as mobile phones. The Finnish company Nokia which has 40% of market shares of mobile phone is well known all over the world. As Finland has lack of natural resources the biggest sector of the economy is services at 66%, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31%. With respect to foreign trade, the key sector is manufacturing. Industries like electronics (22%), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1%), forestry (13%) and chemicals (11%) takes the major parts in the economy. Finland has wood and several mineral and freshwater resources. Forestry, paper factories, and agricultural sectors are very important for rural population because they provide most of the jobs for rural residents. The Finnish government is paying attentions on these sectors because they are very important for controlling unemployment rates. Finland is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade takes a third of countrys GDP. The European Union makes 60% of the total trade. The major flows of trade are with Germany, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands and China. As Finland has been among the free trade supporters, The European Union manages the trade policy. Finland has joined European Union in 1995 and in 2002 it became the only Nordic country to adopt Euro as its national currency instead of Finnish Mark. Employment rate in Finland was 68% and unemployment rate was 6.8% in early 2008. 18% of residents are outside job market at the age of 50 and less a third working at the age of 61. Impact of Fiscal policy and Monetary Policy on the economy There are some underlying economic factors that affect the major market trend. Factors like GDP growth rates, tax, interest rate, unemployment or threat of inflation, economic trends are the major determinants of what happens to the companies and their stock prices. Fiscal policy and monetary policy have widespread effects on the decisions and behavior of businesses and individual. Fiscal policy How the government gets the revenue, how to spend for the expenditure, how to deal with the national or public debt and how to budget are determined by the fiscal policy of the government. Fiscal policy consists of taxation, fees and fines, borrowings, government expenses on the expenditure and budgeting which affects directly to the national economy. Taxation plays major role in fiscal policy because most of the governments in the world get their revenue from taxes. Tax is a sum of money that individuals and organizations have to pay to the government at a specified rate which is imposed by government. There are two types of taxes which are direct tax and indirect tax. A direct tax is a tax that are imposed and collected on a specific group of people or organizations. For example, income tax would be a direct tax which is collected from the people who actually earn their income. On the other hand, indirect taxes are collected by intermediaries such as retailers from the consumers who actually take the economic burden. Sales tax is an indirect tax and merchants collect it from the customers and merchants actually dont take any burden. The rising in direct tax reduces the post-tax income of general public. This could motivate individuals to work more hours to maintain their target income that can lead more productivity. But on the other hand, individuals could be de-motivated since their income has reduced. The government has to introduce a low level of direct taxes like income taxes for lower income earners in order to motivate people to work extra hours and keep more what theyve earned. Changes to tax system can reduce the risk of unemployment and therefore increase the total GDP growth rate. For example, when the income tax is high, the households with low income are not trying to work extra hours as their net income is very low after the tax. If the income tax rate got lower, they can be motivated to work which increase the labor supply. The changes to indirect taxes have a strong impact on the demand of general public for goods and services. Rising tariffs on foreign cars can reduce the demand for foreign cars and helps to protect and develop the national car manufacturing industry. In Finland theyve imposed relatively high tariffs on some foods from abroad, in order to maintain stability of their agriculture. In contrast, government financial assistance (subsidy) has impact on reducing their costs of production, lowering the market price and helping to increase the demands. Tax changes can have a role on motivation of work forces and their overall efficiency and productivity. Reducing the rates of cooperation taxes and other business taxes can encourage the capital investments in the businesses. If the investment increases, the national capital stock can rise and the capital stock for the individuals can also rise. The government can also use some tax allowances to encourage more start-up businesses and increase and developments in RD. With the low rate of cooperation taxes and other business taxes can lead more inflows of foreign investment which might benefit both public demand and supply. Fiscal policy has been used as a tool of demand management for a long time by many governments in the world. The decisions of changing the fiscal policy must be made deliberately as it has a great impact on the general economy. The fiscal stance is a term that is used to describe whether fiscal policy is being used to actively expand demand and output in the economy or otherwise to take demand out of the circular flow. A  neutral fiscal stance  might be shown if the government runs with a balanced budget where government spending is equal to tax revenues. Adjusting for where the economy is in the economic cycle, a neutral fiscal stance means that policy has no impact on the level of economic activity. A  reflationary fiscal stance  happens when the government is running a large deficit budget. Loosening the fiscal stance means the government borrows money to inject funds into the economy so as to increase the level of aggregate demand and economic activity. A  deflationary fiscal stance  happens when the government runs a budget surplus. The government is injecting fewer funds into the economy than it is withdrawing through taxes. The level of aggregate demand and economic activity falls. The level of government borrowing is an important part of  fiscal policy  and management of aggregate demand in any economy.  When the government is running a  budget deficit, it means that in a given year, total government expenditure exceeds total tax revenue. As a result, the government has to borrow through the issue of debt such as Treasury Bills and long-term government Bonds.  The issue of debt is done by the central bank and involves selling debt to the bond and bill markets. Continuous running of large budget deficit can be a problem for government and the economy. The budget deficit can be financed by issuing of new government debt to investors from home and abroad. But if the budget deficit rises to a high level, the government might have to offer higher interest rates to attract buyers of the debt which will affect the general economy negatively. In the long term, government borrowings become a heavy burden as the government has to spend more each year in interest payment for the debts to the holders of government bonds and other securities. Therefore the government has to introduce a high rate of taxes which can hinder or decrease the growth rate of GDP, consumption and investment spending. This has happened in Finland in the 1990s which was the financial crisis caused by massive national debt. Fiscal policy should not be isolated from monetary policy. Monetary policy is made and developed by central bank of the nation to control supply of money within the economy. Monetary policy affects all the sectors of the economy but in different ways and with a variable impact on it. Monetary policy plays a very important role in controlling inflation, interest rate, exchange rate and money supply which has great impact on overall economy. Lower interest rates will lead to an increase in both consumer and business capital spending which increases equilibrium national income and also the growth rate of GDP. In the contrast, high interest rates will decrease the capital spending of both consumer and business which will definitely reduce the productivity and buying power. But raising interest rate can be used effectively used to control the inflation when it is caused by the bank credit. When the economy is in a recession, fiscal policy may be more effective in increasing spending and income by stimulating demands. But when there is inflation problem, it can be easier to control it by introducing monetary policies such as controlling interest rate, cash reserve ratio and open market operations. http://www.jftc.go.jp/eacpf/04/singapore_p.pdf http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6056.pdf http://www.cuts-international.org/pdf/CCIER-2-2008.pdf http://www.isnie.org/ISNIE06/Papers06/09.3/voigt.pdf q1 http://economydetail.blogspot.com/2010/01/allocation-of-resources-in-economics.html     http://www2.gsu.edu/~ecomaa/Lecture2.pdf http://economicsworlds.blogspot.com/2010/02/resources-allocation.htm

The Cause And Effects Of Acid Mine Drainage Essay -- essays research p

The Cause and Effects of Acid Mine Drainage INTRODUCTION Imagine going fishing on a cool Autumn day, the trees are all different shades of orange, brown and red and the birds are singing their beautiful songs, but their is a serious problem because when you arrive at the river all plant and animal life are gone. This is by no means a recent phenomenon. This is due to the effects of acid rock drainage (ARD). This is a problem that has been occurring since ancient times, but it was not until the 1800's when fast growing industrialization and heavy mining that it caught alot of attention. Acid rock drainage is the term used to describe leachate, seepage, or drainage that has been affected by the natural oxidation of sulfur minerals contained in rock which is exposed to air and water. The major components of ARD formation are reactive sulfide minerals, oxygen, and water. Biological activity and reactions is what is responsible for the production of ARD. These reactions make low pH water that has the ability to mobilize heavy metals contained in geological materials with which it comes in contact. "ARD causes a devastating impact on the quality of the ground or surface water it discharges to. (Ellison & Hutchison)" ACID MINE DRAINAGE Within the mining process there are several sources that cause ARD. No matter what activities occur, ARD usually occurs when certain conditions are met. These conditions are the factors that limit or accelerate the release of ARD. The initial release of ARD can occur anywhere from a few months to many decades after the sulfide containing material is disturbed or deposited. ARD has been associated with mines since mining began. When ARD occurs due to the effects of mining it is called acid mine drainage, or AMD. The coal mining industry here in the eastern United States has been associated with a major source of AMD for decades. When water comes in contact with pyrite in coal and the rock surrounding it, chemical reactions take place which cause the water to gain acidity and to pick up iron, manganese and aluminum. Water that comes into contact with coal has a orange-red yellow and sometimes white color. The metals stay in the solution beneath the earth due to the lack of oxygen. When the water comes out of the mine or the bor... ...ansform organic material and nutrients.(Bastian 1993) Natural and constructed wetland have been used to treat wastewater. The first one that was ever constructed was in 1982. There are over 200 systems in Appalachia alone.(Bastian 1993) Even though this is safer for the ecosystem it is found that at most sites, chemical treatment is still necessary to meet efficient standards, but the costs of chemical treatment is greatly reduced with the initial biological treatment. Most operators find that the costs of the construction of the wetlands are made up within one year due to the money saved on chemicals. CONCLUSION In conclusion, acid rock drainage is a big problem all throughout the world due to alot of industrialization and mining. This is not only a serious problem around the world, it touches home here, especially here in Appalachia, but it seems to be under or getting under control with all the new regulations and standards the EPA is setting. Low pH and a high acidity level is harmful to us our wildlife and our plants. With the help of more education and more research it will not have to be a problem for our future.

The Borderlands: 1880 - 1940 :: American America History

The Borderlands: 1880 - 1940 The time of change in the region called the "borderlands" occurred during the period between 1880 and 1940. The region became urbanized and ended its years of isolation from the rest of the world. In the past the region's economy was based on ranching and farming. As the region became more urbanized the economy changed. The economy did not change equally between the United States and Mexico, the United States' side of the border boomed while Mexico's side did not. The cities that did prosper in region were based on the actions of the United States. Actions that affected the cities in Mexico were Prohibition and the Great depression. Events in the United States were not the only economic factor to effect the region. The Mexican Revolution had great social and economic influence to the region. On November 10 1910, the Mexican Revolution began and did not end until President Diaz was overthrown. The United States and its border towns were heavily involved in the conflict. The fighting was mainly in the north and they need supplies. The majority of the weapons and supplies for the Revolution was brought in the United States. The border cities in the United States became the chief suppliers of guns to the Revolution. This form trade was illegal and mainly done on the Black Market. The legal trade that existed before the Revolution disappeared with the outbreak of war. Mexico had closed the border during the conflict to prevent the supply of arms. The United States had also tried to stop the flow of arms but not successful. Eventually the United States had sent troops to the region when the fighting spilled over the border. The troops stayed in the region after the Mexican Revolution and were an economic boom to the region. The United States at the turn of the century was under going a major social movement. The United States was trying to change its society to a more moral country. The groups involved in the movement consisted of many groups from around the United States. Some of the most notable groups involved in the social reform movement were the churches in the country. They targeted many aspects of life of the normal Americans. The social reforms targeted social ills such as adultery, crime, and lastly, drinking. These groups had large number of followers, and had considerable height in government.

The Seven Phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle

COMPUTERIZED PAYROLL SYSTEM FOR TURNSHOP (A SUPERMARKET) PURPOSE AND PROBLEM(Initiation): Firstly the purpose of this system is to help Turnshop to solve it problem in the running of it accounting department which the whole company relies on it, so that they can have accurate, reliable and fast processing of their payroll system in the company.For now the payroll system of the company is process manually and since there are 2000 employees and more actives of the company it make it very hard and tedious to accomplish this task in the company, it also cause a high room for errors, overtime, resources and money and it will help the company a lot if they have a computerized payroll system (CPS). PlANNING The cost of the computerized payroll system (CPS) is about 50,000 Ghana cedis. since we will install a two new severs for them to handle most of most of their data, one of the sever will act as a recovery and the other works as the main.And also the cost will include a free demonstration and practical tutorial for the accounting staff in TURNSHOP as well with three (3) months training using the computerized payroll system (CPS). we will help during the period of transition. It will be a user friendly and easy to install and use. 1. Since the company already has some hardware requirements already this can be use for the computerized payroll system(CPS) ,so we only need to install the software on the computers and laptops in the company and link them to the sever.SAP solutions will be installed to provide the company-wide accessibility so that they can accelerate an accurate financial closing cycle at any level. This will provide the business management solutions through the financial record of the employees and the management of finance in the company such The Detailed Employee List contains all the pay, deduction, benefit, state, And local tax codes, and monthly, quarterly, and yearly totals for each Employee. The report also provides wage and withholding informati on.Print the Detailed Employee List to review all the employee records That is set up in Payroll. It will eliminate the manual payroll and transaction system in the company which is time consuming and also there is a bigger chance of having errors. FLOWCHART FOR THE EMPLOYEE PAYROLL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTANLAYSIS Beginning the payroll process for the company starts with obtaining the proper documentation from employees. The human-resources department and the accountant department will need to forward an internal form or a copy of the accepted-offer letter complete with the appropriate paperwork to us.Once this process is verified as finished, recording of employee information can begin and designing and deploying for the payroll period can start. Question will be also ask and it will be both open and close questions, to help us get the full understanding of how the payroll works in the company. For example What is salary package in the organization? How the salaried will be paid? How do they calculate the local tax codes, and monthly, quarterly, and yearly totals? And many more DESIGN STAGE OF THE SYSTEMIn the design the organization system will be targeting a hierarchy as follows: Company -> Cluster -> Business Unit (BU) -> Department -> Employee, The salary for an employee is made up of various salary components. Each salary component has 3 rules associated with it, a Calculation Rule (Calculate component as percentage of another component, or percentage of a fixed number or a fixed number), an Eligibility Rule (whether an Employee/Dept is eligible for a component) and a Constraint Rule which limits the maximum and minimum of a component. These rules are editable and can be edited by a user end user.Also these rules are inherited top-down, but if defined at a lower level, the lower level rule takes precedence. The database will contain Attendance, Leaves, Bonuses tables and these rules are also supposed to interact with each of the tables. The client will be gen erating payroll for multiple clients each hosting a Separate Database instance. They may each have a different interpretation of each component and may have different components. We are only looking to support SQL Server, and payroll generation will be an offline activity and also an online activity in some instant.It will work upon where to put the logic which uses these rules to generate the individual tax components (which will include Tax Deductions, Tax Write-offs, Allowances, etc). The system will take an employee Id and generate a payroll for that month. The order of our priorities is: 1. The ability to adapt changes to new clients quickly 2. Long term maintainability 3. Performance 1 and 2 outweigh 3 here by a large factor as this will be an offline activity. Maintainability and Quick Customizability are very important; we will be deploying the application for different clients.Client A may have a Salary Component Rule as ((0. 3 * Basic) + 800) and Client B as (0. 2 * Basic) + (0. 1 * Attendance Bonus) Also report on the payroll will be created in this stage. DEVELOPMENT STAGE After the System Design it leads to Development where the information system is built and programmed. Here we develop all the necessary ideas we got through the requirement stage and the design stage and send them a prototype so that they can try and gives us the feedback, also this phase where the bugs are worked out of the system. A contingency plan is also developed at this point.A contingency plan is an emergency management document. If the power goes out – what happens to the system? What is the back up? How fast can it be brought back up to speed? INTEGRATION AND TESTING STAGE This is the formal integration and testing of the system. Testing has been done on the development phase, but in the Integration and Testing Phase it is a formal, documented testing procedure, not only to assure that the system performs as designed, but testing the roll-out of the system. If th ere is already another system in place with data, how fast can that data be migrated into the new system and useable to the company?Usually, the system is rolled-out over a weekend so that if anything goes wrong, the old system is still active and available. Integration and Testing is vital for the decision to go with the new system, trusted to the system. Also In this stage the functionality of the individual sub systems in the payroll are tested to ensure proper operation. After successful testing of each subsystem the entire system of the payroll is tested to ensure all subsystems work together properly and so that an employees can check every information on his or her payroll.

How Does Robespierre Justify the Use of Terror?

What began as a march to Versailles to acquire King Louis XVI’s attention to end the grievances of the general population in 1789, soon spiraled into what became known as The French Revolution. With the execution of Louis XVI in 1973, this new â€Å"regime† still had many problems to overcome including the continuing war that constantly needed men and money. The National Convention (which was created in 1792 as part of a campaign to convert France into a constitutional monarchy) amid high pressures, decided to set in place a centralized government which provided everyone with food, support and direct the war effort, and punish counterrevolutionaries (611). Headed by Maxmilien Robespierre, this new government was based on the principles of virtue, in which the government sought to educate and/or force the citizens to become virtuous. Inspired by enlightenment thinkers Montesquieu and Rousseau, he believed in the importance of a government by terror. Robespierre justified his beliefs by saying stuff like: â€Å"To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is barbarity. † So began what is now known as the Reign of terror. Robespierre strictly believed that â€Å"terror† would set the citizens in place; with this terror, the public along with the upper class could be controlled. This so called terror was blanketed with the idea of nationalist pride- pride in their nation, backed by songs, posters, books, engravings, paintings, sculptures, and slogans (615). Robespierre justified his regime by constantly exclaiming that virtue was born from terror. Robespierre said, â€Å"The government in a revolution is the despotism of liberty against tyranny. â€Å" Although this quote seems confusing at first, further studied despotism is another word for tyranny or dictatorship, which basically means that a government in revolution is the tyranny of liberty against tyranny- the tyranny of freedom over tyranny. Before his reign, the guillotine was used for only nobles condemned to death and commoners were usually hanged, but when in power it was Robespierre’s instrument of choice when it came to dealing with the people that disagreed with him or was a threat to the government. Also created was a Committee of Public Safety, which sent deputies on missions to purge unreliable officials and organize the war effort (612). Of course, with every regime, there is always a resistance. In this case, many were unhappy and showed their unhappiness. Soon it all turned into a civil war with the appearance of many counterrevolutionary armies and uprisings. â€Å"Across the country, the official Terror cost the lives of at least 40,000 French people, and as many as 300,000 (1/5 of the French people) went to prison as suspects between March 1793 and August 1794 (619). Robespierre was overthrown on July 27 of 1794 and was executed the next day on the guillotine. Some 150 years later, we saw more leaders who possessed the same ideologies: Stalin, who himself launched what was known as The Great Purge to get rid of people accused of treachery and treason in the Communist Party and Hitler, who rose to power by initially winning the hearts of people by starting a new movement totally different from the movement. Today, we see the same agenda on the minds of terrorists. Since a great deal of the human population have a greater understanding of democracy and many are democratic nations, it isn’t common to see a leader who will take complete charge, become a dictator and issue a reign of terror. There are, of course, many militant groups that form and commit acts of terrorism with the thought that â€Å"fear will instill virtue. † These days, people are more resistant to being forced to do something, even if it is violent. There will be a great resistance and the people who attempt to use fear to instill virtue will be put on most wanted and threat lists by many nations.