RFID Technology Essay Example for Free

RFID Technology Essay RFID is a general term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity data of an object wirelessly, using radio waves. This is sometimes referred to as contact-less technology and a typical RFID system is made up of three components: tags, readers and the host computer system. Tags An RFID tag is a tiny radio device, it’s also referred as a transponder. The tag comprises of a simple silicon microchip attached to a small flat aerial and mounted on a substrate. The whole device can then be encapsulated in different materials (such as plastic) dependent upon its intended usage. The finished tag can be attached to an object, typically an item, box or pallet and read remotely to ascertain its identity, position or state. Different types of RDIF Tags available are passive and active, used as per the RDIF data read / write requirement. Readers – The reader, sometimes called an interrogator or scanner, sends and receives RF data to and from the tag via antennas. A reader may have multiple antennas that are responsible for sending and receiving radio waves. Host Computer – The data acquired by the readers is then passed to a host computer, which may run specialist RFID software or middleware application to filter the data and route it to the correct IS application as processed useful information. RFID can help hospitals to locate equipment more quickly, logistics providers to improve the management of moveable assets, brings efficiencies in the supply chain by tracking goods from the point of manufacture through to the retail stores, used as EZ card for toll-collections, remote car door access. Use of RFID technology can increase business productivity and reduce associated costs. Because of such potential benefits of RFID, many of the world’s major retailers have adopted RFID tagging for pallets and cases shipped into their distribution centers. To ensure that companies benefit from the advantages RFID provides it is important to understand how to adopt this technology. RDIF technology is been accepted by many retail chains like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Metro etc. For the supply chain and operations it provides increased levels of product and asset visibility. Retailers are looking at using the RFID technology to automatically receive shipments, and have greater visibility into the merchandize in the warehouse and on the store shelves. Few of the current Issues Facing RFID Adoption * Globally interoperable standardization problem: RFID has been implemented in different ways by different manufacturers; global standards are still being worked on. Because no global standards defined for RFID adoption, interoperability between applications or devices are not possible, which can significantly accelerate the adoption of RFID technology. * Environment: Working environment is another issue of RFID Usage. The first one is water and liquids which can absorb the radio energy signals and thereby limit range or prevent tag read/write operations altogether. Metals are another material that generally reflect radio frequency signals and deflect the radio waves, thus altering their path. The temperature of the tagged products also affected the readings. Another issue in cased by dense reader or dense tag environment are collision which cause poor read rates. Dense reader environment consist of several readers places in one closed area resulting same tag been read by multiple readers resulting reader collision. A dense tag environment involves tags placed too closely to each other resulting in tag collision because of overlap in electromagnetic waves generated by the tags interferes when being interrogated by the reader. Right type of tag/reader has to be used depending on the product, tagging level, and operational environment. The right fit is in many cases obtained through tests, which will increase read rates and accuracy. * Data management: Many conversations about RFID inevitably end up by high volume of data and data management issues that are expected to arise from tagging individual products especially in retail store environment. Data management is a key issue for any organization deploying RFID technology, and the robust middleware is required to handle that much amount of data and route it to the right database is most concerned. The right architecture is required to filter and translate RFID into useful information. Also it’s important to identify what useful RFID data should be collected and stored, which will enable easier data management and processing.

Bok-What? Farming Gets a Face-Lift :: Essays Papers

Bok-What? Farming Gets a Face-Lift 1. New Jersey: home of the indelible and intelligent Jersey cow, whose milk is less forthcoming than her sister Holsteins around the country, but richer and creamier, nonetheless. Then there are the fields: acres and acres of Jersey corn stretching up towards the hot summer sun, basking in its glory, waiting patiently for the day when man will enter with his massive harvesting machines, collecting ear upon ear in a dizzying display of mechanized efficiency. And who could forget Farmer Hom, with his tiny plot of bok choy, growing sprightly on his tiny farm alongside small mustard greens and bitter melon (Taipei Times, 17 Nov. 2002)? Wait a minute. That doesn't seem right. What are mustard greens, bitter melon, and bok choy doing in the middle of New Jersey? 2. The answer lies in the current popularity of the vegetable itself: "an attractive vegetable with a mild, meaty heart and tender, darker green leaves . . . bok choy has become the vegetable of the moment" (Fabricant, 22 October 2001). Restaurants combining Asian seasoning to their dishes or employing fusion concepts have created a sudden demand for strange and exotic produce. Regular consumers, too, increasingly interested in more healthful foods, have begun to show interest in this Brassica vegetable's alleged cancer-fighting properties. There are some, like Farmer Hom in New Jersey, who have taken notice. Thus, they are abandoning traditional base commodity crops like corn or soybeans, and focusing, instead, on these newly emerging "niche" markets, growing or creating a specific product for specific people. 3. Niche farming is just one of many trends in agriculture that seeks to add value to a product by catering to the specific needs of the consumer directly -- such as restaurants or individuals, rather than large transnational corporations. It is a concept that is benefiting small farmers directly, those struggling to compete with large, highly capitalized agribusiness because it allows them to produce products the big guys can't: "the most successful farmers have turned away from traditional farming that produces what people need to niche markets based instead on what people want" (Quimby, 17 Nov. 2002). 4. Traditional farming practices follow an industrial model of production -- one based on specialization, mechanization, routinization, and economies of scale or size.

African Kingdoms and Empires

African Kingdoms and Empires During 400 AD, West Africa witnessed the rise and fall of the indigenous medieval empires of ancient Ghana, medieval Mali, and Songhai. Many other states and kingdoms arose during this time but Ghana, Mali and Songhai achieved the status of fully-fledged, functioning and long-living conquest states and expansionist empires. These empires regulated the Trans-Saharan trade by offering protection for trade caravans as well as taxing slaves, gold, firearms, textiles and salt.Ghana reached its height by 1200 AD and was ruled by the Serahule people which eventually broke apart by in the 13th century. The Mali Empire was a Mandinka territory but also took on Ghana’s territory and extended into the 13th century. At the peak of the empire, Mali covered an area over 24,000 sq. km. Songhai succeeded Mali in the 14th century and grew to be the largest land empire in tropical Africa. Throughout the presentation I will cover each Empire in grave detail.Ghana may have existed as early as the 5th century, however, by the 8th century it was known as â€Å"The Land of Gold. † In 1068 Ghana was the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful state in West Africa. The empire was situated in the vast Savannah area between the Senegal and Niger Rivers with its authority extending from the frontiers of Futa Toro to the Western banks of the Niger, and from the Mandinka area in the south to beyond the fringes of the desert in the north. Ghanaweb) The Serahule were the founding people of â€Å"The Land of Gold,† who established their capital at Kumbi Saleh, which at that time was the leading trading centre of the Western Sudan and the focus of all trade with a systematic form of taxation. The Serahule formed themselves into a strong trading state which spread its power over many neighboring people and in the process became an empire. With the introduction of the camel during the Trans-Saharan trade, Ghana derived power and wealth from gold an d increased the quality of goods transported.As stated earlier, the Soninke people also sold slaves, salt and copper in exchange for textiles, beads and finished goods. (Ghanaweb) According to Ghanaweb, â€Å"The wealth of ancient Ghana is mythically explained in the tale of bids, the black snake. This snake demanded an annual sacrifice in return for guaranteeing prosperity in the Kingdom, therefore each year a virgin was offered up for sacrifice, until one year, the fiance’ (Mamadou Sarolle) of the intended victim rescued her. Feeling cheated of his sacrifice, Bida took his revenge on the region, a terrible drought took a hold of Ghana and gold mining began to decline.There is evidence found by archaeologists that confirms elements of the story, showing that until the 12th century, sheep cows and even goats were abundant in the region. † Traders took the route from Maghreb to Ghana starting in Tahert, North Africa through Sjilmasa, Southern Morocco. The trail led sout h running parallel with the coast, then south-east through Awsaghust and ending in Kumbi Saleh. Through their travels the traders brought the Islamic community to Kumbi Saleh but the Islam’s managed to remain a separate community a distance away from the King’s palace. Ghanaweb) McKay wrote, â€Å"The city of Ghana consists of two towns lying on a plain, one of which is inhabited by Muslims and is large, possessing twelve mosques- one of which is congregational mosque for Friday prayer; each has its imam, its muezzin and paid reciters of the Quran. The town possesses a large number of jurisconsults and learned me,† (McKay, pg 279) Ghana was originally known as Wagadou (Ouagadou, Aoukar) by its rulers, but was changed into the general use, â€Å"Ghana† because one of the king’s titles â€Å"Ghana† meant war chief. Each succeeding king kept the title Ghana but went by their own name.The kings were in charge of organizing the trade and keeping good relations with the Saharan traders, as well as acting as senior religious leader and representative on earth of the founding ancestors of the Serahule people. To increase the wealth of Ghana, the kings were able to make lesser kings or chiefs obey their laws and pay them taxes. This in turn gave the kings of Ghana more power and could command the services of many descent lines. They were able to raise big armies and employ larger numbers of messengers and other servants. (Ghanaweb)The International trade was causing the empire continuous growth so the Serahule were inventing new methods of governing themselves by raising money to pay for a government and producing wealth. They decided the central authority would need to be a king that would rule over many lesser authorities or governments. Since Serahule had already occupied the lands to the north of the upper waters of Niger, their towns and trading settlements became the middlemen between the Berber and Arab traders of the no rth and the gold and ivory producers of the south. This position made Ghana strong and prosperous and gave its rulers glory and power. Accessgambia) The empire included many arrears of people who were not Serahule and therefore had different religious loyalties to their Gods other than the king. In order to ensure the continued allegiance of the conquered states, the kings of Ghana insisted on the son of each vassal king being sent to their court. Both provincial governors of Serahule areas and tributary rulers of the conquered peoples had the duties of loyalty to the king, provisions of annual tribute, and the contribution of bands of warriors to the imperial army when they were required for active service.In return for their loyalty, the king provided protection against external enemies. However, by 1240 Ghana was no more. There are many reasons for Ghana’s decline and fall, starting with the royal treasury placing a monopoly on the export of gold. The gold industry was the fame of what Ghana rested on because it was the king’s largest source of income. Secondly, the way the empire was organized. At its peak, Ghana was made up of many states and people and lacked political and cultural unity which the kings failed to achieve.The different ethnic groups such as the Soninke, Susu, Serer, Berber and Tuclor each had its own language and cultures owed allegiance to the king. Conquered states such as Futa Toro, Silla and Diara were only expected to pay annual tribute contingents to the kings in times of war but were left to operate under their own traditional rules. Lastly, during the second half of the Eleventh century, the military became weakened and broke up into component parts. Later, there was an invasion by the Berber Almoravid dynasty that conquered Ghana and forced its rulers and people to convert to Islam.McKay stated that â€Å"while Almoravid and Islamic pressures certainly disrupted the empire, weakening it enough for its incorporation into the rising Mali empire, there was no Almoravid military invasion and subsequent forced conversion to Islam. † (McKay, pg 280) The kingdom of Ghana split into several small kingdoms that feuded among themselves. The Mandinka, from the kingdom of Kangaba had been part of the Ghanaian empire and soon dominated the feuding kingdoms.Building on the Ghanaian foundations, Kangaba formed the core of the new empire of Mali and developed into a better organized state than Ghana. There were two rulers for the Mali Empire, Sundiata and Mansa Musa which combined, had military success and creative personalities. Mali had a large agricultural and commercial base that provided for a large population and enormous wealth. (McKay, pg 280) McKay also noted that dating to the early eleventh century, the Mandinka were extremely successful at agriculture.Consistently large harvests throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries provided a supply of food, which helped steady the population gro wth. The Mandinka also acted as middlemen in the gold and salt traffic that flowed north and south during the Ghanaian hegemony. In the thirteenth century, Mandinka traders formed companies and gradually became a major force in the entire West African trade. Sundiata, the founder of Mali, set up his capital at Niani and transformed the city into an important financial and trading center.McKay stated, â€Å"through a series of military victories, Sundiata and his successors absorbed into Mali’s other territories of the former kingdom of Ghana and established hegemony over the trading cities of Gao, Jenne, and Walata. Into the fourteenth century, these expansionist policies were continued by Sundiata’s descendant Mansa Musa. † (McKay pg 280) In the language of the Mandinke, Mansa means â€Å"emperor. † Musa consolidated the foundations laid down by Sundiata and ruled the empire at its greatest height.Musa’s influence extended northward to several Ber ber cities in the Sahara, eastward to the trading cities of Timbuktu and Gao and westward as far as the Atlantic Ocean. He maintained a strict empire and it grew twice the size of the Ghanaian kingdom and contained roughly eight million people which brought Musa Fabulous wealth. (McKay, pg 281) It was the Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 that put the empire on the map. He travelled with thousands of porters and servants that carried six-pound staffs of gold and one hundred elephants each bearing one hundred pounds of gold. On his ay to Mecca, Musa stayed in Egypt and spent and gave away so much gold that there was a devaluation of the local currency and it sparked an inflationary crisis in Egypt as well as depressing world prices of the commodity. Twelve years later, al-Omari, one of the sultan’s officials, recounted. â€Å"This man Mansa Musa spread upon Cairo the flood of his generosity: there was no person, officer of the court, or holder of any office of the Sul tanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him. The people of Cairo earned incalculable sums from him, whether by buying and selling or by gifts.So much gold was current in Cairo that it ruined the value of money. † (McKay, pg 281) As a result of Musa’s display of wealth, his fame spread as far as Europ,e where the Catalan map by Abraham Cresques of about 1375 shows Musa seated on a gold throne wearing a gold crown while holding a gold nugget, describing him as â€Å"the riches and most noble king in all the land. † Mansa Musa extended his borders of Mali and set up an effective system of government that had a justice administration that was relatively impartial. The field of diplomacy was able to establish friendly relationships with other African states such as Morocco and Egypt.To help the king in his work, he had judges, scribes, and civil servants that helped to strengthen the administrative machinery of the empire. There were fourteen provinces in Mali t hat were ruled by governors who were typically famous generals. The others such as the Berber province were governed by their own Sheikhs. All of the provinces administrators were responsible to the Mansa and they were all said to be well paid. Under Musa, Timbuktu began as a campsite for desert nomads and grew into a thriving trading post or entrepot, attracting merchants and traders from North Africa and all parts of the Mediterranean world.In the fourteenth century, Timbuktu developed into a center for scholarships and learning for Architects, Astronomers, Poets, Lawyers, Mathematicians, and Theologians. The tradition and reputation for African scholarships lasted until the eighteenth century. (McKay, pg 282) The rise of the Mali Empires was swift but its decline was gradual. In the fifteenth century, Mali lost its ability to dominate the affairs of the Western Sudan because it became a tiny principality of kangaba. It wasn’t until the seventeenth century that Mali complet ely lost its political identity as it had broken up into a number of small independent chiefdoms.Between 1337 to 1341 Musa’s son, Maghan I, ruled the Empire. During this period, the Mossi of present day Burkina Faso raided across Manding and devastated Timbuktu. Then the Tuareg of the Sahara conquered the Northern part of the Mali Empire. During the periods of 1360 to 1400 there were as many as six kings and a series of civil wars. During the fifteenth century, the Songhai, under their leader Sunni Ali, conquered Jenne and Timbuktu and replaced Songhai as the most important power in the Western Sudan. Songhai succeeded Mali and became the third great West African empire. (Accessgambia)The Songhai Empire originated in the nineth century as a medieval civilization that was a small principality in West Africa on the banks of the Niger River called Al-kaw kaw. The kingdom had a very fertile area suitable for livestock rearing, agriculture, and fishing. As early as 800 AD, the kin gdom made full use of their resources and divided into two specialized professional groups; the Gabibi who were agriculturists and the Sorko who were fishermen. The Songhai borders extended from the central area of present Nigeria to the Atlantic coast and included parts of what is now Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Mauritania.The areasof the land being rich and fertile allowed the people of Songhai to attract traders to their kingdom and become very astute traders and merchants themselves. As early at the tenth century the leaders of Al-kaw kaw moved their capital from Kukia to Gao. Gao became the last stop for three major trade routes. The routes included the trans-Saharan route from Egypt into Fezzan, Ghat and Agedez, the Tripoli and Tunis from Ghat and the route from Algeria and Morocco.During this time is when the Arab traders brought the Islamic influences which contributed to shaping the direction of the empire. In the thirteenth century Gao was part o f the Mali Empire and in 1275 Gao managed to break away from Mali. It wasn’t until 1464 when the small kingdom of Gao was transformed into the Songhai Empire and signaled the start of a new royal dynasty. Sources McKay, pgs 280-280 http://www. accessgambia. com/information/african-empires. html http://www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/history/

The Threat Of Cyber Warfare - 1631 Words

Terrorists have begun to exploit the availability of information with the malicious intent to sabotage. Conversely, there are those who are not quite sure if cyber warfare is an actual threat. This will also provide an ample answer to questions such as: What is cyber warfare? And will answer the question of, what is the history of cyber warfare? And will answer the question Is there any real way to protect ourselves from a cyber attack? Cyber warfare has been around since the beginning of human creation, when the serpent told Eve to eat from the forbidden tree. Centuries past and the invention of the telegraph and telephone revolutionized cyber warfare. This new technology allowed communication to become faster, enabling the outlaws less time to sabotage, intimidate, and inflict violence on their victims. Today we label outlaws, terrorists. Some might even say the telephone, along with the radio is the first invention used for cyber terrorism. 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