Saturday, February 14, 2009

XML or Integrating the Americas

XML: Ecommerce Solutions for Business and IT Managers

Author: Solomon H Simon

"Big Picture" insights into one of the hottest,most promising eCommerce technologies If your company uses massive amounts of data from different sources,XML could be the Holy Grail. Using today's conventional programs and processes,data may have to be translated and reformatted more than five times during data exchange and eCommerce. XML has the potential to speed up ebusiness applications and integration efforts,enabling the definition,transmission,validation,and interpretation of data. In XML: eCommerce Solutions for Business & IT Managers,author Solomon Simon helps you:
* Learn what XML is and where it came from
* Explore the advantages of using XML to solve business integration issues
* Apply proven strategic planning models to determining when,and how best to implement XML
*Understand the risks as well as the benefits associated with XML as a business enterprise solution,as well as common organizational obstacles to XML implementation

Master the very latest e-commerce solutions

XML is one of the most promising emerging technologies to hit the marketplace. XML­­Extensible Mark-Up Language­­has the potential to speed up the development of e-business integration and application efforts. Indeed,the language is so exciting that corporate support for XML is unprecedented and includes such heavyweights as IBM,Microsoft,Adobe,and Sun Microsystems. These major corporations are rapidly developing applications to leverage XML capabilities for data interoperability.

In this volume of the Emerging Business Technology Series,Solomon H. Simon presents a practical business overview of XML. This excellent "no-code" guide to XML explainsclearly what XML is,where it came from,and how it can revolutionize the e-business world. Here,in accessible,reader-friendly language,Simon discusses the advantages and challenges of using XML to solve your own business integration issues.

"Hank Simon carefully explains the technical subtleties of XML in a clear business context,providing a valuable resource for IT specialists and business managers alike. Read on; I'm confident you'll get the synthesis of technical and business viewpoints that is so important for all of us to have these days. "
­­From the foreword by Justin Kestelyn,Editor-in-Chief,Intelligent Enterprise

"Dr. Simon presents a bold,imperative business case for the potential of eXtensible Markup Language (XML).   He presents a compelling case for the modern business manager to use XML in e-business to save and earn billions of dollars for their companies. "
­­Jack D. Davidson,MBA,Information Technology Architect

"Don't read this book and expect to learn 'How' to code with XML,but read it to find out  'Why' your corporation should already be using XML. . . ' A great read which demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the next logical step in the evolution of Web technology. "
­­R. Anne Hendrick,Specialist,Information Technology

"Solomon H. Simon has created a nontechnical introduction to the advantages of XML for managers and executives. Dr. Simon explains how executives can use this knowledge to make intelligent decisions about applying XML to effectively leverage the benefits of this new technology in their business. "
­­Max Tunnicliff,Senior Specialist,Lockheed Martin

"Finally,a book that answers the question,'What's XML good for?' Simon's book tells businesses why they need XML and provides a solid foundation for successful deployment. "
­­Mark Beckwith,President,Intrig (intrig.com)

Booknews

This guide explains XML (extensible mark up language) to non-computer experts and promotes its applications in business, aiming particularly for an audience working in the upper echelons of business. Simon (an IT manager and author) describes XML and its parameters, schemas and DTDs, XML documents, XML style sheets and transformations, XML linking language, XML applications, XML for databases and EDI, B2B exchange, XML strategic plan, popular reception and misconceptions about the language, a summary of several industry projects that use XML, and future possibilities. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Books about: Guerilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel or The Art of Computer Programming

Integrating the Americas: FTAA and Beyond

Author: Antoni Estevadeordal

Where Latin American government leaders once looked at free trade agreements as solely about trade and trading policies, they are increasingly viewing them as the next beacon of hope in the long and arduous road of economic reform. Integrating the Americas: FTAA and Beyond discusses how these governments have become embroiled in a larger set of issues affecting both institutions. This work, based on a conference sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, examines how this free trade process is surging ahead, while at the same time taking on a broader set of issues including institutional reform, transparency, the environment, labor, and social cohesion. The payoffs to the strategy of liberalization, privatization, and openness have been meager and disappointing to date. Will the FTAA be able to reverse this and allow Latin America to reap the benefits of globalization?



Table of Contents:
List of tables
List of figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the contributors
List of abbreviations
1Introduction3
2The roots of Latin American protectionism : looking before the Great Depression37
3Economic integration in the Americas : European perspectives75
4The proliferation of sovereigns : are there lessons for integration?105
5The old and new regionalism : benefits, costs, and implications for the FTAA143
6The monetary consequences of a free trade area of the Americas189
7Macroeconomic coordination and monetary unions in an n-country world : do all roads lead to Rome?227
8Prospects and challenges for the liberalization of agricultural trade in the Western Hemisphere259
9Regionalism and trade in services in the Western Hemisphere : a policy agenda297
10Tackling international anticompetitive practices in the Americas : implications for the free trade area of the Americas345
11The United States and a free trade area of the Americas : a political-economic analysis397
12The political economy of economic integration in the Americas : Latin American interests417
13Do preferential trade agreements matter for trade? The FTAA and the pattern of trade449
14A virtuous circle? : regional tariff liberalization and scale economies in transport485
15What has happened to wages in Mexico since NAFTA? : implications for hemispheric free trade505
16Can an FTAA suspend the law of gravity and give the Americas higher growth and better income distributions?539
17Regional integration and productivity : the experiences of Brazil and Mexico573
18The FTAA and the location of foreign direct investment611
19Labor standards and the FTAA641
20The environmental dimension of economic integration : the FTAA and beyond673
21Social protection and inclusive trade : strengthening the sources of convergence within FTAA695
22Asymmetries and cooperation in the FTAA723
23The FTAA's impact on democratic governance755
Index791

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