On the same day the Japanese surrender ended World War II, Vietnamese nationalists declared independence from France. Within weeks, France sought to reestablish colonial rule. American merchant seamen arriving in French ports to ship GIs back to the U.S. were dismayed when French troops bound for Vietnam came aboard instead. Many merchant seamen objected to these troopship movements because American veterans awaited transport home, and because they flew in the face of Allied war aims of national self-determination. Later, with the Vietnam War effort dependent on Merchant Marine logistical support, seamen were among the first to protest U.S. involvement. With firsthand recollections, this book tells the story of the Merchant Marine in Vietnam, from deadly encounters with mines, rockets and gunfire to evacuations of refugees to rescues of "boat people" in the South China Sea.

World War II could not have been fought and won without the crucial role played by the U.S. Merchant Marine. Crewed by civilian seamen in peacetime, and carrying much of the nation's ocean-borne commerce, the Merchant Marine is often considered the "fourth arm of defense" in wartime. And, as such, it provided the vital logistical support for beachheads in all theaters of operation around the world during the war. The 20 Merchant Marine veterans of World War II featured in this oral history served in all theaters of war, and most had at least one ship - some two - torpedoed, bombed, shelled or mined out from under them. Some became prisoners of the Japanese for the duration, working on the infamous River Kwai Bridge. Many spend time in lifeboats or on flimsy rafts under extremely harsh conditions after the loss of a ship. And one - Donald Zubrod - endured 42 days in a lifeboat with several others before their eventual rescue very close to death's door. Credited during the war for often paying for their service "with some of their own blood" as they brought bombs, bullets, and butter to others, American merchant mariners actually suffered a loss rate that was a close second to only the Marine Corps during the conflict. Yet, their role still remains little known and understood. The collection of eye-witness accounts will go a long way to helping set the record straight at long last.

Sayuri's whole life changes when she survives the atomic bombing of Nagasaki by the U.S Air Force during World War Two. With her family dead she has to learn to live in a terribly cruel world. However, things take a drastic turn when Sayuri meets another person like her. His name is Akio and the two unlikely teenagers band together to try and make a new life for themselves. Sayuri soon has a dilemma as she has to trudge through a world plagued with fear, wariness, and evil in the form of a group of slave-making people called the Jaakuna. She must harness the power inside her to get through the world she has started to understand. Sayuri must show she has the undeniable spirit to survive what life throws at her.

Diplomarbeit aus dem Jahr 2002 im Fachbereich Informatik - Wirtschaftsinformatik, Note: 1,7, Universitat des Saarlandes (Wirtschaft, Betriebswirtschaft), Veranstaltung: Wirtschaftsinformatik, Prof. Dr. A.-W. Scheer, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Inhaltsangabe: Zusammenfassung: Die Basis der Arbeit bildet eine Definition der Begriffe Ubiquitous Computing und Pervasive Computing. Darauf aufbauend werden Geschichte, Technologien und Produkte sowie Zukunftstrends naher erlautert. Daran schliesst sich eine Erlauterung der Entwicklung bei den ersten Visionen beginnend bis zu den heutigen Ansatzen pervasiver Gerate an. In einem ausfuhrlichen Kapitel uber die eingesetzte Technologie werden Basistechnologien und eine Auswahl verschiedener Auspragungen dieser Technologien vorgestellt. Besondere Beobachtung sollen mobile Ubertragungstechnologien erhalten, da sich die Mobilfunktechnologie momentan rasant weiterentwickelt und eine Vielzahl an unterschiedlichen technischen Standards hervorbringt. Im Anschluss daran, werden grundlegende Eigenschaften ubiquitarer Produkte, so genannter Connected Smart Appliances untersucht. Im nachsten Kapitel sollen Geschaftsprozesse definiert und nach den Einsatzpotenzialen ubiquitarer Technologien klassifiziert werden. Hier werden Moglichkeiten aufgezeigt, wie ubiquitare Technologien in diesem Geschaftsprozessklassifizierungsschema Unternehmensprozesse positiv beeinflussen konnen. Schliesslich werden in einem weiteren Schritt die existierenden Modellierungsmethoden fur Prozesse und Daten an den Beispielen EPK und UML kritisch analysiert, um Verbesserungsvorschlage zur Modellierung ubiquitarer Unternehmensprozesse heraus zu arbeiten. Als Folge aus diesen Uberlegungen wird das Modell der objektorientierten Ereignisgesteuerten Prozesskette vorgestellt. Um die vorangehenden Uberlegungen praktisch zu untermauern, wird ein Forschungsprojekt des Fraunhofer Institutes als Beispiel hinzugezogen, um die Einsatzpotenziale ubiquitarer Technologien in diesem G