Fair Values in the Preparation of Financial Statements Essay

Fair Values in the Preparation of Financial Statements - Essay Example Relevant Information Information needs to be relevant to the needs of users in order to serve its purpose. However, there are also other fundamental qualities that financial statements need to have. These qualities include comparability, faithful representation, consistency, completeness, understandability, and reliability (BPP 2009a). Information is useless if it is not reliable and in a number of cases, the values described as fair values in the accounts do not provide a reliable estimate of the value of assets and liabilities. According to Bath (n.d.) concerns also focus on this matter. It should also be noted the more reliable the information is the less relevant it will be. Relevant information has predictive value, feedback value, and timeliness. Reliable information is verifiable Comparability of financial statements Financial statements need to be comparable from one year to the next and between one company and another. However, even though fair values may be said to be curre nt and therefore more comparable, the fact that judgment needs to be exercised brings subjectivity into play. In addition to that, those judgments on which investors and other stakeholders depend have their own agenda. In some cases, they may exercise their judgment in such a way as to manipulate the accounts. This, therefore, brings us back to the reliability of the figures in the financial statements. ... Â  the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) requires that the classification of financial instruments be recorded at fair value in a hierarchy consisting of three (3) levels. The first level (level 1) relates to quoted prices that have not been adjusted for identical assets and liabilities in active markets. The second level (level 2) relates to input prices but excludes quoted prices which are included in the first level and which can be observed directly for assets and liabilities, in the form of prices or in the form of derived prices indirectly. The third level relates to both assets and liabilities that are not based on market data that can be observed. IASB concluded that this would result in improvement for comparability purposes as well as assist in the convergence process of the IFRSs to the United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The basis that was given for that conclusion relates to the disclosures required by IFRS 7 and ASC having no differences in terms of their application. Khalik (2008) in his paper entitled ‘The case against fair value accounting’ indicated that its critics have suggested that in times of poor economic conditions fair value (FV) accounting leads to the generation of pessimistic assumptions that further result in significant reductions in asset values as well as major reductions in earnings because of the fact that unrealised losses are taken into account in the income statement.

Library Automation Essay Example for Free

Library Automation Essay An OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) is an online bibliography of a library collection that is available in certain libraries for the use of the public. With the aid of the Internet, most libraries have made the OPAC accessible from a server to users all over the world. The OPAC is an online database of materials used by a library or group of libraries. Users search the library catalog mainly to locate books and other materials physically located at a library. The concept of OPAC has changed the previous system used in most libraries and how the people have gained access for information and materials. OPAC is also the key to finding books and other materials in the library. When you are looking for a book you will find that knowing to use OPAC properly will help you find the materials that you need. There are a lot of advantages of OPAC. To use the OPAC system is very easy. A person does not have to be a skilled computer user to use the system. What the person need is just to know what a computer mouse is, can use it to point and click, is just all the computer skill a person needs. The access points or search capabilities are by using keyword, subject, author or title to find the materials. It is easy to use since the users just need to enter access point in order to locate any materials in the library. So, students can find books and materials needed easily. It will also save their time. By using this system, the materials that we want to find will become instant information. Moreover, by using the OPAC, the students can find more detailed information about the materials that they need. As such, if the students find the books by typing the author’s name in the OPAC system, the information that possibly will appear on the screen are how many volume the books have or how many number of that books the library have. Besides that, the students can learn something new about technology and modern invention.

Communications Theory Essays -- essays papers

Communications Theory Communications is that what binds the world. Even though it is easy to give a simple answer when asked what communications exactly is, it is difficult to explain it so that it is understood clearly. There is a lot you need to consider with it. There are different areas concerning communications and very diverse functions in this area. Through this research report we will have a glimpse in the world of communications and with it more knowledge and understanding about it. Corporate Communication Corporate communication exists of different fields, which together have the purpose to make an image and identity of a company and its product. Corporate communication is a management instrument that combines all forms of direct communication and gears them for one another. Reputation is very important. The first goal of corporate communication is to improve the reputation of a company. A corporate reputation is a cognitive representation of a company’s ability to meet the expectations of its stakeholders. A company benefits from a favourable reputation by becoming the first choice of customers, investors, suppliers and employees. A corporate reputation creates shareholder value, because it contributes in and of itself to the company’s competitive position. A company benefits from its reputation, because:  · It improves cash flows and profitability;  · It acts like a barrier that impedes rivalry;  · It provides a company an enhanced license to operate; and  · It raises a protective shield against downturns and crisis. A company which is specialised in corporate communication is for example: The Corporate Communication Centre. C.C.C. is a joint initiative of the Erasmus University (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and the business community. The centre tries to co-ordinate all the communication activities within a company and gives advice on communication policies and the organisation of communication methods. C.C.C. also offers training in corporate communication, executive courses and in-company courses. Companies as Shell, Unilever, Compaq Computers and Ernst & Young have a good reputation. They are multinational enterprises. They need a good reputation to be the number one in their field. Especially Shell, because its product (fuel, gasoline) is bad for the environment. But by introducing Shell â€Å"Pura†... ...alled Visual Communications Quarterly.It is co-sponsored by the Viscom division (also a visual communication organisation) and the National Press Photographers. Bibliography: Resource list: The Media Institute www.media.org/ The Communication Research Center www.jou.ufl.edu/commres/crc.htm Association for education in journalism and Mass Communications www.facsnet.org.cgi-bin/New/facs/4149 Media History Monographs: quarterly online journal www.scripps.ohiou.edu/mediahistory CED: the Premier Magazine of Broadband Communication www.cedmagazine.com www.ivca.org www.viscom.apanet.org www.artic.edu www.herron.iupui.edu The Blake Agency http://www.blakeagency.com/ Anderson & associates http://www.prexperts.com/public_relations_dir45.htm The McRae Agency http://www.mcraeagency.com/ Who is in charge? Corporate communications or corporate marketing? A European survey amongst the top reputation leading companies Centre for corporate communications, mem institute at the university of St. Gallen, Switzerland working paper, 1999 Markus Will, Malte Probst and Thomas Schmidt The reputational Landscape 1997 vol 1 C. van Riel and C. Fombrun

Unit 19 P3

P3 – Plan marketing for a micro start-up business that is relevant to customer needs a) Marketing definition and opportunity At East Side we understand that we cannot sell to the whole market, but by knowing the size and trends in the market we will be able to assess future opportunities and predict future sales patterns. The people who will buy from us include middle class – professional people, these individuals can be either high earners or those on a budget. b) Proposed target marketing segments Age 20-45 years SexMale/Female OccupationProfessional people/middle class Income? 18,000 and above ) Demand for product The reasons for demand of our products include: The area is just developing due to the construction of the London Luton Airport. It will benefit from the boost in tourist – those self-catering tourist who will require our services and due to our strategic location consumers must shop as there are no other routes to and from the Airport. d) Competitio n There are many rivals offering similar products and services, in an effort to attract customers and be different our consumers will be able to shop in spacious air conditioned comfort. * Leaflets will also be place in the weekly newspaper. Flyers will also be distributed and interested parties can make an order through the contact details on the flyer. * Our sales team covers every village and town. * We are open 24/7 and do home deliveries to our customers * Loyalty cards which offer benefits to loyal customers Also a unique feature of East side is the meat department which is the walk-in refrigerated cooler. It is an experience like no other. Customers can stroll through isles of the largest selections of bulk meats, fresh cut meats and provisions; a customer can always be assured to find their favourite cuts.A customer can select a bulk item and have it custom cut by our experienced butcher at no additional charge. e) How success will be measured To ensure that our marketing ef forts were successful, East Side will check performance in: * Stock turnover – this will enable us to identify which items or services are slow to sell and which are very popular and to review the product mix effectively. * Customer satisfaction – if customers are happy this in turn will generate more sales, we will review all complaints and comments and their views on our prices and other improvements they may want us to make. Sales levels – a monthly analysis will help our business to identify patterns in sales and show when we need to take action to boost sales. * The amount of new customers who visit the business f) Other external influences Government regulations All VAT (Value Added Tax) will be paid over to the Government. This can create cash flow problem for the business, because all VAT is payable on all sales, including credit sales, which means that the business has to pay over VAT before the money is actually collected from the customer.If the busin ess fails to pay the VAT, then eventually the Government will send authorities to insist on payments or face legal actions. Ethical Issues Expiry Dates: All expired products will be removed from the shelves and will be disposed of according to local and international guidelines. Expired goods on the shelves can ruin the reputation of the business and drive away customers. It can also be dangerous to our health. Trends * People eating healthier will affect what you stock. There has been an increase in more healthful products being marketed by the major food companies than ever before. Pricing will be stable and somewhat boring compared to prior year price swings. * Private label will continue to gain market share compared to branded products. P4 – Plan a costed promotional activity for a micro start-up business that is appropriate for customer groups a) Coordinating with the rest of the marketing mix Promotion is a very important part of the marketing mix. In an effort to incl ude the other aspects of the marketing mix to reach our target customers we will do research to identify which products target customers need and will buy.Offering these will increase sales and profits. Offering products no one wants or which have expensive or unnecessary features will do the opposite. We have to decide on a price, this is the amount of money customers must exchange for the product or service. Price is a key element of the marketing mix as it generates income for the organization. All other elements of the mix incur costs. Therefore, the pricing decision is critical to the success of the organization. Finally, we have to decide where and how the products and services should be placed. b) Image to be developedThe image our promotional plan will reflect is that we are an environmentally friendly business providing for but not limited to the needs of middle class people. c) Costs and schedule for the campaign A chap an effective way our business will get noticed is by advertising on our business vehicle. We are a small business therefore we will have to spend the available money wisely. We will also advertise through the local newspaper and the internet, this will be very beneficial as both methods are relatively inexpensive newspapers provide timely information and the internet can be directly involved with promotional activities.Schedule for the campaign: The purpose of the promotional campaign is to make the public aware of the launch of our new business. This campaign will start on Monday 16th April and run for two weeks ending on the 30th April 2012. d) Types of promotional materials Not all promotional materials will attract the same customer group, this is why East Side will use different promotional methods to attract more customer groups. After studying the buying habits of our target customers and where they look for information.It was observed that a poster attracts the attention of the travelling public, leaflets are preferred when pr omoting a local service and a large amount of people will look for information online. e) Nature of the promotional materials The aim of our promotional materials is to attract attention and interest. Effective colour and wording helps to reflect the image of the business, this is why we will hire professional graphic designers to help us devise a style for our business stationery and marketing materials. This will ensure they are easily recognizable and reflect the right image. ) Name of the business The names of the business will be East Side this is because no one else has this name. The name is appropriate as it is not offensive in any way and does not already exist as a recognized brand. It will also be easy for our customers to remember. g) Ideas for branding At East Side we would like to develop a brand, this would be a major asset for us because it will help people to remember our business and if we provide a good service, it wll associate specific qualities such as, reliabi lity, value for money, honesty and professional expertise.It will also save money on marketing in the long run since customers stay loyal to a brand they know and trust. h) Website design and functionality East Side will have some presence on the internet. This will be a quite basic site which simply summarizes what we offer and where we are. The website will be very user friendly; there is a search facility where, if customers know the name or type of product they are looking for it can be easily found. We will promote our website by placing the address on all stationery and the company vehicle. ) Reasons why the promotional materials are appropriate The promotional materials will be appropriate since our target customers group is people aged between 18 and 40, these more mature individuals are more likely to read newspapers and search online for information. j) Measuring the success of promotions The success of East Side’s promotions will be measured by; the number of new e nquires received by phone or email, the number of new customers who visit the business and sales levels. The cost of each promotion will also be taken into account. If the cost is high but the benefit will be small, then an alternative method will be found.

Green Branding Effects on Attitude

Introduction There have been a lot of literature reviews over the years on consumers’ behaviors towards green products as well as green marketing resulting from consumers’ concern on environmental protection. Using Hallin (1995) and McCarty and Shrum (2001), Lorache, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo (2001) and Yam-Tang and Chan (1998), the study was conducted to test among New Zealand consumers’ behavior towards purchasing green products. This study was done on New Zealand’s consumer as the country has always been perceived as a â€Å"clean and green† country and its consumers were assumed with high environmental conscious.Review of the Literature The authors begin with a brief review of literature that supports the ideas that consumers’ indication of positive attitude towards environmental issues do not necessarily lead to actual environmental friendly purchasing behavior (Laroche et al. , 2002). This research provided theoretical and managerial implication. Theoretical implication is to add support to previous research which showed that consumers are concerned about the environment, but not necessarily prepared to seek out or buy green products (Foster, 1989: Wasik 1992).In terms of managerial implication, it provides indication to marketers on targeted consumers that purchase green products. This research also identified factors that discriminate between those who purchase green products and those who don’t. The authors point out the gaps in existing literature. They mentioned that most studies have focused on general environmental behavior. Therefore, the authors suggest studies on more specific consumers’ purchasing behavior are done. The authors conclude that their study provides some important contribution to the green marketing theory for future research agenda.Method of the Study The authors state they used qualitative choice models in analyzing participation in a variety of activities. Data collectio n from mail surveys that were sent to households in New Zealand are described in considerable detail. The authors state that â€Å"reliability test† of each construct was conducted to ensure reliability and validity of data obtained. The gathered information was retained for data analysis. Findings The analysis in this study was tested for green purchasing behavior only.Environmentally conscious behavior also relates to different types of behavior like recycling and energy saving. However, testing and literature on these behaviors was not mentioned in this study. In future, research on New Zealand consumers should also incorporate cultural and psychological factors. In Table 1, pp 97-98, number of tested respondents are 521 i. e. 296 male and 225 female. However, errors were spotted in this table where a total respondent is not consistent for other categories in the same analysis.For example for Age Group and Number of Dependant Children categories, numbers of respondents sud denly become 522. For other categories, total number of respondents reduced: Marital Status (520), Education Background (517), Household Income (498) and Ethnic Group (521). However, the statistical method used in this study is appropriate to determine factors that influence consumers’ purchasing behavior. Conclusion The authors relate their research findings with the overall purpose of the study i. e. to reveal that consumers behavior towards purchasing green products.From the study we learned that even if consumers are profess strong support towards environmental like New Zealanders, they are not necessary purchase green products. From other literatures, we found that similar results would also affecting consumers in other countries. This is because most consumers are more price sensitive, quality sensitive and brand sensitive/loyalty. Other factors affecting consumers’ behavior are socio-economic characteristic, convenience in locating products and transparent infor mation on green products label.In summary, further studies must be done and better procedures must be developed. Larger samples should be used to improve our understanding concerning the factors affecting consumers behavior. Suggestion for future research, analysis on respondents from other developed countries should also be undertaken for comparison purposes and it would further conclude the factors affecting consumers’ behavior globally. Information from the findings would assist marketers to strategies on green marketing.

Economic concerns in the aftermath of terrorism

Economic concerns in the aftermath of terrorism Introduction Terrorism is one of the major challenges threatening the existence of societies in different parts of the world. Acts of terror have been in existence for centuries. Currently, governments are facing terrorism from domestic and transnational sources (Gaibulloev Sandler, 2009). Various scholars have tried to define the term terrorism, thus leading to numerous definitions.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Economic concerns in the aftermath of terrorism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Gaibulloev and Sandler (2009) define terrorism as â€Å"premeditated use or threat to use violence by individuals or sub-national groups in order to obtain a political or social objective through the intimidation of a large audience beyond that of the immediate victims† (p. 362). Gaibulloev and Sandler (2009) further opine that modern terrorism is intended to cause harm to a particular society in order to comp el the targeted government to give in to their demands. Therefore, terrorists try to achieve their goal by circumventing democratic processes. Acts of terror may result in adverse economic and or human losses. For example, the al-Qaeda terror network advocates its supporters to attack critical economic centers. Gaibulloev and Sandler (2009) are of the opinion that such losses expose governments’ incapability to protect their citizens and assets. As a result, the public may lose confidence on their government. In addition to social impacts, terrorism has significant economic impacts on society. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to integrate effective mechanisms to curb this social ill. This paper focuses on the economic dimension of terrorism by describing and critically analyzing the economic concerns due to terrorism. Analysis Direct economic costs According to Johnston and Nedelescu (2005), terrorism has undergone significant changes over the past few years. Te rrorists are targeting civilians and business activities leading to substantial destruction of property and loss of life. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated the direct cost of the 9/11 terrorist attack to be $ 27.2 billion, which represents 25% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are some of the major avenues through which governments stimulate their countries’ economic growth and development. According to Alfaro (2003), both the developed and developing economies are increasingly offering incentives to foreign investors in order to attract them to invest in their countries.Advertising Looking for research paper on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More FDI has positive impacts on the host country’s growth and development efforts (Carkovic Levine, 2004). F irst, FDI results in the transfer of knowledge and technology to the host country, thus jumpstarting its economy. Terrorist attacks diminish the attractiveness of a particular country to investors, which arises from an increment in the degree of uncertainty with regard to foreign direct investments. Terrorism may result in the destruction of essential infrastructure. For example, the attack on London’s financial district in 1992 by the IRA terrorist group resulted in damages worth  £ 800 million. Additionally, the attack conducted on London’s railway network in July 2005 resulted in damages whose cost was estimated to be  £ 1 billion (Gaibulloev Sandler, 2009). Such destructions may lead to increment in the cost of operation. Moreover, investors may be forced to integrate private security measures in order curb terrorism, which may affect the productivity of a company adversely. Terrorism may also increase the cost of doing business, thus hindering a countryâ€⠄¢s economic growth. For example, companies may be forced to pay higher insurance premiums (Gaibulloev Sandler, 2009). The aviation industry is one of the industries that have been greatly affected by insurance premium hikes. However, other sectors such as tourism, transportation, and the energy sector have also been affected (Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, 2002). Secondly, firms may experience a challenge in their efforts to recruit the necessary workforce, which arises from lack of incentives to work in a country that is prone to terrorism. Therefore, the performance and productivity of companies may be affected adversely by terrorism. Considering the fact that investors are risk averse in their investment process, they may decide to redirect their local and foreign direct investments to countries that are not prone to terrorism. For example, the success of the European Union depends on the extent of the developed investor confidence. Disruption of investo r confidence is likely to lead to the member states experiencing low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to change in investment behavior. Moreover, lack of investor confidence may also lead to a decline in asset prices.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Economic concerns in the aftermath of terrorism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Johnston and Nedelescu (2005) further opine, â€Å"Falling investor confidence may trigger a generalized drop in asset prices and a flight to quality that increases the borrowing costs for riskier borrowers† (p.32). This aspect may adversely affect a country’s economic growth. Public spending Government spending is another major macroeconomic element that is influenced by terrorism. Government spending refers to the expenditure that is incurred by a particular government in the process of providing goods and services to the public. According to Gaibulloev and Sandler ( 2009), terrorism increases government spending in a number of ways. Governments are forced to increase their expenditure in an effort to implement various defensive and proactive actions to counter terrorism. Such campaigns may entail an effort to capture the terrorists. Herendeen (2008) asserts that investments on such security measures may crowd investment in some economic sectors such as health, infrastructure [canals, bridges and highways], and education. The 2001 terrorism attack in the US stimulated the US government to invest a substantial amount in research and development on military projects. Similarly, member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) increased their investment on counter-terrorism mechanisms. Therefore, governments shift their focus from economically productive sectors. According to a survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation in 2002, a 1% increment on military security spending, reduces a countries spending by 0.7% within five years. Terrorism in the less developed countries may also limit the amount of grants and donations received from the developed countries. This aspect arises from the fact that donors may develop a perception that their donations will be diverted to finance military projects rather than projects aimed at alleviating poverty (Gaibulloev Sandler, 2009).Advertising Looking for research paper on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In an effort to raise the funds necessary to counter terrorism, the less developed countries may adopt measures that might increase the rate of inflation. For example, governments might produce their domestic currency. According to Bruck (2007), public spending during the conflict period increases significantly. This trend continues during the years preceding acts of terror. As a result, a country’s macroeconomic stability is affected by the high rate of inflation and increase in the budget deficit (Bruck, 2007). Financial market According to Bruck (2007), financial markets play a critical role in a country’s economic growth as it stimulates the flow of investment capital and savings. As a result, production of products and services and continuous restructuring of a country’s economy are enhanced despite the fact that their financial markets are facing a major threat due to terrorism. According to Johnston and Nedelescu (2005), terrorism affects the operations o f financial markets in a number of ways. One of these ways entails disruption of the financial market infrastructure such as the communication systems. For example, J.P Morgan Chase and the Bank of New York are some of the major clearing financial institutions in the US. The two institutions were forced to relocate their operations to their backup sites after the 2001 terror attack. Their relocation was occasioned by the fact that their headquarters were located near to the World Trade Center, which was hit by terrorists. Disruption of operations in the two financial institutions forced the firms to resort to manual processing of securities and other financial transactions. This move led to significant delays in the process of clearing various financial transactions. Consequently, the degree of uncertainty in the financial institutions’ ability to address the customers’ liquidity needs was increased. Mueller and Stewart (2011) assert that terrorism affects the stabilit y of financial markets, and this aspect has adverse effects on stock prices. The 9/11 terrorist attack led to heavy disturbance in the global stock exchange market. For example, stock prices in the European stock market declined with a 9% margin. The decline in stock prices arose for the insurance, tourism, and the airline industries were affected adversely. The European stock market was also adversely affected by the Madrid bombings. The insurance industry is greatly affected by terrorism compared to the stock exchange market and the banking industry. For example, it is estimated that the US insurance industry incurred a loss of $ 30 and $ 50 billion following the 9/11 terrorist attack. Such huge financial losses may result in some companies going into bankruptcy, as the parties affected by terrorism may claim compensation, which the insurer might not be in a position to cover. Impact on supply chains Developing an effective supply chain is imperative in a country’s economic growth and the government should focus on three main facets of supply, which include information, material, and funds (Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, 2002). After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the US, the US government halted the country’s air transport system for four days. The decision to halt the air transport hinged on the need to tighten the country’s security measures. Immediately after the terror attack, the US government closed the border between Canada and the US. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 vehicles cross the border daily. Moreover, the volume of trade conducted through the border between Canada and the US is estimated to be $ 1.4 billion daily. Traders incurred opportunity cost due to the long waits. The automobile companies were the worst affected, which arises from the fact that the just-in-time supply chain was broken down. Moreover, companies that deal with perishable goods experienced huge losses due t o the long wait during security checks. The terrorist attack did not only affect the US firms, but also firms in other countries that conduct bilateral trade with the US. For example, a number of companies in Canada were shut down following the 2001 terrorist attack (Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, 2002). Terrorism disrupts the cost of supply chains by increasing transportation cost. Most air and water transportation companies have increased the cost of transportation. For example, the US government requires all international shipments to be subjected to inspection by the Coast Guards. Additionally, the ships are required to be escorted by tugboats and on the other hand, airfreight companies have incorporated high commercial insurance premiums. Additionally, the cost of airfreights in some terrorist prone regions is also increased by war surcharges. Sandler and Enders (2008) assert that exports are affected adversely by terrorism due to increment in the cost o f transaction. Sandler and Enders (2008) further opine, â€Å"A first terrorist incident reduces bilateral trade by 8%† (p.5). If a country becomes vulnerable to terrorism, the volume of bilateral trade is adversely affected. Conclusion The paper ranks terrorism as one of the major challenge faced by all governments around the world. Currently, terrorism has undergone significant changes and the perpetrator’ targets have also changed. Terrorists are not only targeting major installations, but also civilians. Therefore, it is essential for governments and other stakeholders to address this social ill conclusively. In addition to addressing the social impacts associated with terrorism, it is imperative for governments to take into account the economic aspects highlighted in this paper. The analysis shows that terrorism has adverse effects on a country’s economic growth and development. First, terrorism leads to substantial loss in governments’ effort to cle ar and reconstruct critical infrastructures that are damaged by terrorist acts. Additionally, terrorism diminishes the attractiveness of a country to investors, which arises from the fact that investors lose confidence on the security of their investment. Lack of confidence may force investors to shift their investments to other countries that are less prone to terrorism and have a high degree of certainty. Terrorism also results in an increment in the volume of government spending. Governments spend a lot of money in developing and implementing mechanisms aimed at countering terrorism. As a result, funds are shifted to activities that have a low economic value. Financial markets, which are a critical component in a country’s economic growth, are also affected by terrorism through disruption of communication systems. Terrorism may also force some financial institutions such as insurance companies into bankruptcy. The supply chains are also affected adversely by terrorism. Suc h effects may limit a country’s ability to achieve its macroeconomic goals. Recommendations In order to address the negative economic effects associated with terrorism, it is imperative for governments to integrate effective counter terrorism mechanisms. Some of the issues that governments should focus on are outlined below. Governments should integrate tighten their security mechanisms. For example, governments should conduct a comprehensive background checks on the parties involved in the supply chain. Such measures are important despite the fact that they may increase the cost of doing business. This aspect arises from the fact companies will be forced to shift from just-in-time inventory management model to just-in-case buffers to minimize disruptions in the operation of companies due to lack of raw materials. It is imperative for governments to collaborate with one another in their quest to counter terrorism, as terrorism does not only affect the target country but also the country’s trade partners. Reference List Bruck, T. (2007). The economic analysis of tourism. New York, NY: Routledge. Carkovic, M., Levine, R. (2004). Does foreign direct investment accelerate  economic growth. Retrieved from https://piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/3810/08iie3810.pdf Gaibulloev, K., Sandler, T. (2009). The impact of terrorism and conflicts on growth in Asia. Economics and Politics, 21(3), 359-370. Herendeen, J. (2008). Issues in economics: an introduction. Lanhan, MD: University Press of America. Johnston, R., Nedelescu, O. (2005). The impact of terrorism on financial markets. New York, NY: International Monetary Fund. Mueller, J., Stewart, G. (2011). Terror, security and money: Balancing the risks,  benefits and cost of homeland security. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation. (2002). Economic  consequences of terrorism. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/eco/outlook/1935314.pdf Sa ndler, T., Enders, W. (2008). Economic consequences of terrorism developed  and developing countries: an overview. Retrieved from utdallas.edu/~tms063000/website/Econ_Consequences_ms.pdf

summary exploring prose Essays

summary exploring prose Essays summary exploring prose Essay summary exploring prose Essay Summary of short story Whos Irish Whos Irish by Gish Jen is a short story about a Chinese grandmother living in America. The grandmother lives with her granddaughter Sophie, her daughter Natalie, and her unemployed, Irish son-in-law John. The grandmother always thinks that Sophie is a wild child and she always blames her Irish side and her former baby sitter, Amy. She often said that Sophie is not like the other Chinese girl that she ever saw. She babysits Sophie during the days and believes that she should be spanked, but her daughters Natalie completely disagree about her opinion. She said that in America parents not supposed to spank the child, it gives them low self esteem. Natalie preferred to use words than spanks to changing her daughters misbehavior. Someday the grandmother spanks Sophie because she takes off her clothes again and the spank makes Sophie cried. Sophies changed immediately and obeys the grandmother the next day. But the big problem comes in the playground when Sophies hide in the foxhole and throw a shovel full of sand to her grandmother. The grandmothers get mad and yell at Sophie to come out, but Sophie doesnt want come ut from the hole, she shouted at the grandmother that she hate her, and call her Meanie, the grandmother start to pokes her with a stick. Until its getting dark Sophie still hiding, the grandmother keep poke her until John and Natalie comes and saw what the grandmother have done to their daughter. John wiggles under the structure, into the foxhole to rescue Sophie. As they come to the house, Natalie find out that Sophies skin is full of bruise and her eyes are swollen. Since then, the grandmother is forbidden to see her granddaughter. The grandmother finally moves into her son-in-laws mother, Besss house.

The Crappy Side of Writing

The Crappy Side of Writing I’m staring at a screen, after an extremely frustrating, full day of writing and editing. Mostly editing. Without going into details, I fought with a full manuscript edit for almost eight hours one day this week. I edited an entire novel only for the edits not to save properly. There’s a long story about a corrupted file. Needless to say, I cursed and shed a few sloppy tears on my napkin beside the dinner hub On top of that, I learned my deadline was changing a little bit for Tidewater Murder, which really crimped my style pertaining to a certain speaking engagement. That change sucked the wind right out of my sails for a while. Maybe I shed a couple more tears. Hub So, once I reached a stopping place, and settled down, I made myself write this editorial. Why? Because I’m frustrated and wanted to know how I’d write in that frame of mind . . . and to show those of you who aren’t writing full time that writing for a living can have some seriously catastrophic days that make you want to throw up your hands and simply say â€Å"WHY DO I DO THIS?† I’ve sat at conferences watching the speaker smile, chuckle, and talk about how hard writing is, but then preach/lecture/instruct the audience to just stick it out. (finger snap) Just like that you’re supposed to decide that nothing will stop you. No emotion in the lesson. All tell and no show. I want to wipe that smile off that successful face and ask them to SHOW me. Quit TELLING. I want them to show me through detailed anecdotes. . . 1. How they almost quit one night over a rejection;2. How they wanted to strangle an editor;3. How they behaved when they lost an entire story on the computer;4. How, after ten chapters, they realized the story had no purpose. Or how about answering these questions: 1. How much money did they really make on that self-pubbed book? 2. Did they ever make a fool of themselves with an editor/agent?3. When did they make a bad decision on selling rights?4. After expenses, how much money do they really net after a traditional publisher kept 92% of the print proceeds and 75% of the ebook gross earnings?5. Was there ever a time he was a bad writer?6. How did that one-star review REALLY make him feel? Give me the dirt . . . all of it. Why? Because I need to know what’s coming at me. I need to understand that there will benights like this, where I doubt myself and crave an easier life. We write for the satisfaction. But no one tells us about the nights we feel like our writing sucks, or that the planets are aligned against us. Those are the times that define us in this profession. Coming out on the other side of those bad nights intact, with the shards of our wits swept up off the floor, with lessons painfully learned leaving deep scars behind, makes us decent writers. No pain, no glory. Okay. Big sigh. Excuse me while I return to beat up my keyboard.

Juvenile Delinquecy and Its Best Strategies Essay

Juvenile Delinquecy and Its Best Strategies - Essay Example Youth offense is a major issue and an element of crime which be given huge concentration from the politicians and news media. â€Å"Delinquency is not an inherited trait, like some forms of diseases or alcoholism. It is acquired through parental neglect, poverty, environment, frustration at society, and, perhaps most important of all, peer pressure† (Hass, 2010). In the US, a juvenile criminal is a human being, who has not yet attained the age of eighteen and whose activities have been tagged as juvenile delinquency by any court. The particular requirements are different from state to state. In the US, the federal government enacted legislation to unify the conduct of juvenile delinquents through the Delinquency Act of 1975 and juvenile justice. History of juvenile justice and approaches to its Prevention: The formal method of juvenile justice has been in existence in the US for almost 200 years. â€Å"The early reformers envisioned a regime in which young offenders would rec eive treatment that would cure them of their antisocial ways—a system in which criminal responsibility and punishment had no place. Because of the juvenile court's rehabilitative purpose, procedures were informal and dispositions were indeterminate† (Scott, 2008). ... Before the nineteenth century, the abnormal behavior of teenagers was handled in a casual manner inside the family and not through a formal juvenile justice method. The growth of the society for renovation of juvenile delinquents and other like minded civic organizations to deal with the rising problem of juvenile delinquency, reflected society’s usual concern with instilling straight outlook behaviors in its adolescents. This was chiefly true throughout the 20th century when the term juvenile justice was adopted. The origins of juvenile delinquency are difficult to comprehend as well as are not frequently well implied and consist of psychiatric, family and other such issues or a mixture of all these. It is significant to recognize the interplay of these factors for adolescence, when planning facility delivery, in order to congregate the desires of the youth. The 1990s have brought a propagation of forensic mental health experts who concentrate in psychiatric evaluation of tee nagers involved at various points in the juvenile justice method. These practitioners are trained to concentrate on assessing the legal and mental health issues as well as to give essential information that will help attorneys and judges to decide whether the individual is a convict or not. These evaluations can also be crucial in assisting contributors who are involved in planning a method of care for an adolescent along with his or her family. Then again, professionals are concerned with juvenile justice population in an assortment of settings and can intervene in methods that facilitate more efficient care giving. An exhaustive examination of all stakeholders to juvenile delinquency and a complete description of the issues addressed: The

Analysis of Final Solution File by Stargardt Assignment

Analysis of Final Solution File by Stargardt - Assignment Example The next issue and the most important one is the final solution. These final solutions are the events that marked the end of the battle. It is ironical to call these events a final solution when they were catastrophic to the target. The final solution resulted in the death of about five million Jews including women and children. The historical explanations for why the Holocaust happened are wide and varied. Many different historians have stacked different claims and explanations for the motivation of the Germans to kill the Jews. The events happened during the World War II and the Nazi regime had blamed the Jews for their defeat in the World War I. One of the key factors that led to the extermination was Hitler’s personal anti-Semitism. The hatred brewed in Hitler and he received pseudo-scientific notions of biological racism in prewar and blamed the defeat on the Jews. Prior to the Holocaust, Hitler is recorded as declaring an annihilation of the Jews in Europe if the â€Å"international Jewish financiers should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war† (Stargardt, 2001). The actions of the Nazi regime were also an indication of the virulence of its anti-Semitism. In all these ideologies, Hitler is the central actor who plotted the killing of the Jews from the onset. The second explanation is a contrast to the first one and blames the way the Nazi state worked for the Holocaust. The functioning of the state was characteristic of giving an opportunity for local initiatives and autonomous decisions from the local level. This situation was enhanced by the blurring of institutional demarcations lines and the decentralization in the country. Further, the bureaucratic competition played a hand in aggravating the animosity that was proffered against the Jews.

African American Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

African American Families - Essay Example This proposal will deal on how to address the problem drugs and substance abuse. In a 2012 study conducted by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), discovered that black people accounted for 43.2% of the people who used drugs in that year and makeup for nearly half of the population of the people who used drugs. Among the drugs used include marijuana which accounted for 18%, cocaine 3% stimulants 5%, and alcohol was ranked as the top most abused drug at 64%. While the national average for illicit drug use was 7.9% that of the black youths was 9.5% obviously higher than the national average, Marijuana use increased from 5.9% to 7.5% that is a worrying trend. This proposal will deal on building a rehabilitation center where victims of the drugs and substance abuse can be rehabilitated, taken care of until they are back on their feet. The rehab center will focus on carrying out several programs to help the victims. There will be age appropriate activities and programs for the affected youths and the members of their families who are indirectly affected. Enrichment programs- these programs will be carried out in order to support character development. These programs will focus on prevention measures, problem solving and critical and creative thinking. The prevention measures programs will be channeled towards, strengthening a persons refusal skills, conflict reduction and building on self-esteem. Adult education programs- this program will be open to both the parents of the affected young adults and the general public. It will focus on: lessons will be offered on parenting skills, conflict resolution, and also in how to cope with family members who are users. The general public will be taught on how to deal with the victims without stigmatization. Integrating of services- the rehabilitation center will be responsible for training the staff to identify people who deserve to be enrolled in the

Democratic Deficit in Canada Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Democratic Deficit in Canada - Term Paper Example What and how a country faces democratic deficit is all dependent on the perception of its people towards the government policies, this thinking alone could be as a result of higher expectations of the people from its government or it could very well be because of their objectives. The subjective thinking of the people or the objective thinking is what categorizes a country to be labeled as suffering from democratic deficit or not suffering from Democratic deficit. A system usually falls under the category of Democratic Deficit because as society grows and becomes more complex the needs change and become of different priorities which need to be met by the elected representatives. Failing of which the people see it as not working as a democratic system and hence term the system Democratic Deficit. In a similar manner the democratic institutions have to be in accordance to the changing needs like for example an institution that worked for a few hundred people would not prove successful with the figures of hundreds changing to millions. Hence the Democratic Deficit sets where the government fails to keep up with the growing demand of technology and economic environment. Even the media plays a very important role to the problem of democratic deficit by publicizing one view to the extreme. ... e of the media to project the situation in a manner without thinking up tactics of promoting its own cause only then would the people be able to grasp the deficiencies if any in the government or even the good beneficial effects that the system is affording. The knowledge gain factor is directly associated with the media in the current times and one must ensure that the media plays its vital role fully and duly. What the term democratic deficit implies is that it is the differences of the different people's opinions in the sizing up of their government. We could also put it in this way that basically the people feel that they are being neglected and their needs are not addressed. By Canadian standards the democratic deficit stems from the fact that when a definite gap is seen in the involvement, trust and decision making of its people. The main characterizing point of the system to be in democratic deficit is when there is a low voter turnout; people do not take an active interest in politics and a failure of trust in the democratic institutions. Canada has shown a gradual decline of the voter turnout. This started from the Second World War and was especially marked in the years 1953, 1974 and 1980. If the recent elections were to be accounted for then one would note how the eligible voter's number was by far greater than the number who did vote and the party one. Canada has seen less interest in the Canadian politics and leadership since 1960's. Today Canada suffers from democratic deficit as the people of Canada do not have high opinions about their politicians and they simply don't trust them. They are of the opinion that those who stand to be elected are misfit and will not keep their word and are more after the money than they have any care about the people or

Sociology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociology - Assignment Example Nevertheless, it is perhaps obvious that basic issues generate similarly basic challenges, including criminology. The facts on crime persist to bother existing theories. As stated by Birkbeck & Lafree (1993), this is particularly the scenario for theories that have founded their assumptions on the prevailing lineage of established sociological knowledge. Everyone thinks that poverty is the root of criminal behaviour it appears, and this is because the facts demonstrate it (Ruggiero et al. 1998); despite of the growth in crime rates during stages of economic development, spates of violence in affluent nations such as the United Kingdom, the unstable correlation of deviant behaviour with social class materialist theory remains obviously inadequate (Ruggiero et al. 1998). However, it is not only materialist theory that falls short. Majority of criminological theory is stagnant and hampered by an emphasis on supposedly rigid descriptive categories, thus failing to take account of the mec hanisms and processes resulting in criminal behaviour (Taylor, Walton & Young 1988). The major aspect of crime that we are not aware of, basically, involves its causal social dynamics. For instance, the high crime rates among different social groups, such as African Americans, have been noted (Carrabine et al. 2004). A main issue frequently raised by criminologists, sociologists, and other scholars is the effect of the response of the criminal justice system on the differences in crime rates among different social groups (Cree 2000). A number of sociologists propose that discrimination in the criminal justice system serve only a small function in the high crime rate of social groups (Cree 2000). Others argue that racism and prejudice contributes significantly to the uneven participation of social groups, particularly the lower class, in the criminal justice system (Flowers 1990). The issue of differential law enforcement often begins with the police, normally the forefront of the sy stem of criminal justice social group members come into contact with (Jackson 1989). Consequently, it is at this point that the nature of such participation and its effects is most important to the individual of marginal position. This paper will discuss the definitions of crime and deviance given by different sociological theorists, particularly Durkheim, Merton, Marx, and interactionist and subcultural theorists. Research evidence and sociological theories pertaining to the assumption that differences in crime rates between social groups are the result of the ways in which the criminal justice system operates will be discussed. Sociological Definitions of Crime and Deviance The concepts of crime and deviance are essentially sociological. They are socially constructed. However, even though there is a great deal of agreement, what is considered as crime and deviance differs across people, place, and time (Ruggiero et al. 1998). For Emile Durkheim, crime is a ‘social factâ€⠄¢, or, in other words, ‘normal’ (Carrabine et al. 2004). Basically, according to Durkheim, crime is a universal phenomenon. It took place in all kinds of society, and in all historical periods (Carrabine et al. 2004). There was no indication that it was disintegrating (Flowers 1990). It should hence be recognised as a normal feature of society which could

Democratic Deficit in Canada Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Democratic Deficit in Canada - Term Paper Example What and how a country faces democratic deficit is all dependent on the perception of its people towards the government policies, this thinking alone could be as a result of higher expectations of the people from its government or it could very well be because of their objectives. The subjective thinking of the people or the objective thinking is what categorizes a country to be labeled as suffering from democratic deficit or not suffering from Democratic deficit. A system usually falls under the category of Democratic Deficit because as society grows and becomes more complex the needs change and become of different priorities which need to be met by the elected representatives. Failing of which the people see it as not working as a democratic system and hence term the system Democratic Deficit. In a similar manner the democratic institutions have to be in accordance to the changing needs like for example an institution that worked for a few hundred people would not prove successful with the figures of hundreds changing to millions. Hence the Democratic Deficit sets where the government fails to keep up with the growing demand of technology and economic environment. Even the media plays a very important role to the problem of democratic deficit by publicizing one view to the extreme. ... e of the media to project the situation in a manner without thinking up tactics of promoting its own cause only then would the people be able to grasp the deficiencies if any in the government or even the good beneficial effects that the system is affording. The knowledge gain factor is directly associated with the media in the current times and one must ensure that the media plays its vital role fully and duly. What the term democratic deficit implies is that it is the differences of the different people's opinions in the sizing up of their government. We could also put it in this way that basically the people feel that they are being neglected and their needs are not addressed. By Canadian standards the democratic deficit stems from the fact that when a definite gap is seen in the involvement, trust and decision making of its people. The main characterizing point of the system to be in democratic deficit is when there is a low voter turnout; people do not take an active interest in politics and a failure of trust in the democratic institutions. Canada has shown a gradual decline of the voter turnout. This started from the Second World War and was especially marked in the years 1953, 1974 and 1980. If the recent elections were to be accounted for then one would note how the eligible voter's number was by far greater than the number who did vote and the party one. Canada has seen less interest in the Canadian politics and leadership since 1960's. Today Canada suffers from democratic deficit as the people of Canada do not have high opinions about their politicians and they simply don't trust them. They are of the opinion that those who stand to be elected are misfit and will not keep their word and are more after the money than they have any care about the people or

Criminal Investigation Wk 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Investigation Wk 3 - Essay Example The application of the forensic DNA Technology has revolutionized investigation of all violent crimes due to its ability to exonerate the convicted offender or convict perpetrator (Abichandani, 2004). The homicidal and sexual assault cases, the use of DNA evidences have formed a powerful tool towards fighting these criminal activities. However, for these criminal cases there is a need to reevaluate both the biological and physical evidences for proper identification of the criminal particularly using the newly identified criminal investigation mechanisms. The most common DNA samples are often analyzed from the saliva, hair, skin tissues, blood, and semen that are often recovered from the crime scenes (Abichandani, 2004). They elements often help in investigating violent crimes including sexual assault and cold murders. The analysis of these element or samples is quite reliable  to  use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that has the capacity to magnify exceedingly small quantities of the DNA samples (Ashcroft, Daniels, and Hart, 2002). The significance of DNA results is that they can lead the investigation to the profile of a known suspect or victim that often matches the profile of DNA that were collected from the crime scene. Notably, if the DNA analysis report does not much the profile of the suspect, then the suspect or victim is excluded or exonerated from the case (Hess and Orthmann, 2010). In such cases, both the physical and biological evidences need reevaluation so that the precise information about the victim or the sus pect is extracted from the scene of the crime. The physical evidences often require deep criminalistics that require professional and scientific recognition, identification, collection, individualization, and interpretation of physical, criminal evidences. Application of physical evidences in crime investigation often needs the application of the natural science (Abichandani, 2004). The underlying concept in the evaluation of

Pay Equity- Statistics, Legislations and Why Women Worn in Low - Paid Jobs Essay Example for Free

Pay Equity- Statistics, Legislations and Why Women Worn in Low Paid Jobs Essay Men and Women should not be called the opposite sexes, instead referred to as complimentary sexes. The sexes should be treated equally in every aspect, one of which is in the pay they receive. The sexes should receive equal wages for equal work. It should be more about ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. Statistics show that men are paid more than women for the same work. One may think if women are really paid less, why would anyone hire a man? Put another way, would not a company full of men will soon be put out of job by a company which hired only women. The truth is that the pay gap can be attributed to large scale discrimination against women. Men who earn more most often do so because of their gender. To get higher pay, men are more likely to enter higher-paying fields, perform riskier tasks and take positions with less stability which explains the fact that only 26% of all miners are women. To tackle this problem of unequal pay, various movements have risen in the recent times ensuring pay equity. In Canada, the purpose of the Pay Equity Act is to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities. Though massive strides have been undertaken in the past for pay equity, the true scenario of pay equity has not been achieved as there is wage disparity in various jobs undertaken by women including unequal pay in the field of sports, and why women tend to work at low paid jobs. There is pay inequity almost in any profession undertaken by women. Men earn significantly more than women despite the existence of the Pay Equity Act. During the time when Baby Boomers were joining the workforce, women earned 59 cents to the dollar till the 1980s where the wage gap was narrowed by just 15 cents to just 74 cents to the dollar. Back then, the pay equity legislations never confirmed women equal pay as the men; they just gave the women the hope that women could raise their voice against unjust treatment by their employers. The Pay Equity Act of 1963 supported women who were employed in the public sector and thereby, offering no security to the ones employed in the private sector. In 2002, the median wages of women who worked full-time year-round were 76. 2 percent of men’s (Werschkul 13). In other words, women earned about 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. To reduce the wage disparities, pay equity legislation prohibits wage discrimination where employees are responsible for equal work. The goal of the legislation is to achieve the ideal balance between financial comfort, professional fulfillment and personal happiness for each women employee. Certain factors are a hindrance in the achievement of this dream. One reason why women earn less because women in the workforce are less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men. These differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family. Recent figures convey a better story. Working women today are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar that men are paid, even when accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure. There are more than 80 fields in which women earn more than men, but some are too small to be statistically significant. Of which, there are only 40 fields in which women earn less than 5% more than their male counterparts. These positions include counter attendants in cafeterias, food preparation workers, waitresses and service station attendants to name a few. It has been argued that women earn less because they are not as qualified as their male counterparts. However women in the same positions as the men still earn less. For instance, women lawyers earn just 87% of their male counterparts (Farrell 8). In the medical field, physicians and surgeons earn just 59% of pay compared to male physicians and surgeons. Women and men employed in these fields are equally qualified as they would not be a certified physician without same qualifications. Despite similar qualifications, women still earn less. Pay inequity runs rampant in the sport world too. Professional sport continues to provide unequal pay to women. Paying men more for the same sport gives women in the sport less incentive to push themselves. As a result, it also discourages future female participation in the sport. Women athletes in the sport receive minuscule recognition and fewer rewards compared to their male counterparts. For example, for finishing in third place in the 2003 Women’s World Cup, each U. S. women’s national soccer team member was awarded $25,000. They would have received $58,000 if they had won the Cup. For reaching the quarterfinal of the World Cup in 2002, the U.  S. men’s national soccer team members received $200,000 each. To speak about Tennis, Wimbledon offered greater prize money to the male athletes till 2007. These discrepancies occur because of certain misconceptions. One misconception is that woman’s competitions are not as exciting compared to ‘masculine’ events for instance men perform riskier tricks, hit a tennis ball harder. Women should be compared to other women, not to men. There is a bias that women are not physically strong as the men but women perform to the best of their physical abilities. They would perform the same with a fluctuating pay. Athletes are driven by the passion for the sport, not for the money it offers. Another misapprehension is that women should not receive the same prize money as they are unable to bring the sponsorships and viewership compared to men. Women’s events are not publicized or advertised as much as compared to men’s events. Therefore it will be unfair to say they are unable to draw attention from the public. If the womens events are not included in the telecast, it is misleading to argue that mens events receive higher ratings. Another delusion is that men’s competitions go on for a longer time, include more games and thus men should receive more income. This assumption is flawed as length of the competition should not matter. Star athletes are the ones who draw the crowd. Women have the same capability like the men to draw crowds. The issue of pay inequity goes beyond the issue of money. This issue extends beyond the playing field. When girls grow up seeing celebrated women athletes receiving less than their male counterparts, they are forced to believe it is okay for them to compromise. This acceptable value is not an accepted one. Majority of women tend to be employed in low-paid jobs. In large corporate companies, there is a bias that women are better in the human resource field than in any other field. It is a stereotypical image of women being more cooperative, collaborative and intuitive than men. The CEOs of any company come from the manufacturing, marketing and operations department, not from the human resource department. The talented women are working in the human resources.

Concrete Stitches In Segmental Prestressed Concrete Bridges

Concrete Stitches In Segmental Prestressed Concrete Bridges The in-situ concrete stitches of a segmental prestressed concrete bridge are locations of potential weakness for the entire bridge deck but relatively little work has been carried out in this area. In the current practice, these in-situ stitches are usually designed to be capable of sustaining considerable sagging moment but only minimal hogging moment. Therefore, failure of these joints is possible under exceptional circumstances when the hogging moment is high, which may potentially trigger a progressive collapse. In the light of this, an extensive experimental study on the structural behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitch under different combinations of parameters has been carried out. Two types of specimens are tested in the study, namely the beam specimens and the shear specimens, which both consist of two precast units joined together by in-situ concrete stitch of variable widths. The beam specimens are internally prestressed and subject to different combinations of bending m oment, shear, and prestressing force; while the shear specimens are either internally or externally prestressed and subject to direct shear only. Shear keys are provided to the stitch of several shear specimens to examine the contribution of the keys to the shear strength. The effects of various parameters on the strength of the stitch and ductility of the specimens are investigated. Detailed coverage on the experimental programme and the results of the experimental analyses are presented in this paper. KEYWORDS Experimental study, joints, prestressed concrete, segmental bridges, in-situ stitches. INTRODUCTION Precast segmental concrete bridges have gained popularity over the past 40 years due to their efficiency in coping with difficult site conditions. One of the most commonly used method of constructing this type of bridges is the balanced cantilever method, which essentially involves sequentially extending precast segments outwards from each pier in a balanced manner. A gap of 100 to 200 mm in width is usually provided around the mid-span location between the last two approaching segments to facilitate erection. In-situ concrete is then cast to stitch the segments together, thus making the bridge deck continuous. Under the current practice, the in-situ concrete stitches are usually designed to be capable of sustaining considerable sagging moment but its hogging moment capacity and shear resistance are only nominal. Failure of these joints can only occur under exceptional scenarios when hogging moment is high. However if it really occurs, this could potentially trigger a progressive collapse mechanism because the concrete stitches are locations of potential weakness. Studies on the joints of segmental bridges have been conducted in the past (Buyukozturk et al., 1990; Hewson, 1992; Zhou et al., 2005; Issa and Abdalla, 2007) but the joints studied are either dry or epoxy joints that exists between precast segments and not the in-situ concrete stitching joint that is of interest. As relatively little research work on this area has been conducted, understanding of the actual behaviour of in-situ stitches is limited. In the light of this, an extensive experimental study has been carried out to investigate the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches. The study mainly involves a series of loading test on specimens that are comprised of precast units connected by in-situ concrete stitches. The stitch is subjected to different combinations of internal forces by applying loading at different locations along the specimen. Various parameters of the specimens are varied to examine their effect on the strength of the in-situ stitch and its failure mode. These parameters include the width of the stitch, the grade of concrete, the prestressing force, the provision of shear keys, the type of tendon (bonded or unbonded) and the type of prestressing (external or internal). Although the experimental programme is still ongoing, based on the analysis of the current experimental results, several preliminary conclusions have been drawn and are presented in this paper. The experimental programme is also covered i n detail in this paper. TESTING PROGRAMME The experimental study involves load testing on two types of specimens, namely (i) the beam specimens, and (ii) the shear specimens. The beam specimens are used to study the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches subjected to different combinations of bending moment and shear, while the shear specimens are used to study the behaviour of the stitches under direct shear. Both the beam and shear specimens consist of two precast units joined together by the in-situ concrete stitches. Control beam specimens have also been fabricated where the entire beam is continuously cast without any stitch along the beam. Typically, the stitch is cast one week after the casting of the precast units. Loading test on the specimens is performed using a testing frame after 28 days from the day of casting of the stitch. Linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) are mounted on the specimens at various locations of interest to measure the displacements at these locations. Configuration of the Beam Specimens The length of the beam specimen is 1400 mm with the in-situ concrete stitch at either the mid-span of the beam or offset from the mid-span depending on the internal force that the stitch is subjected to. An actual beam specimen is illustrated in Figure 1. Three cases of internal force at the stitch are examined, namely (i) pure bending moment, (ii) pure shear, and (iii) both moment and shear. The loading test setup to induce the three cases of internal force condition is illustrated in Figure 2. Tendon (a) Case of pure bending moment (b) Case of pure shear (c) Case of moment and shear The section of the beam has an overall depth of 200 mm and a width of 150 mm. A 7-wire steel strand with a nominal area of 100 mm2 is used as the prestressing tendon. The tendon is placed at a depth of 133 mm for Case (i) and Case (ii), and 100 mm for Case (iii). For all beam specimens, Grade 60 concrete is used for both the precast units and the stitch. No shear key is provided to the stitch. Unbonded tendon with an effective prestressing force of 100 kN is applied to all beam specimens. Since the precast units and the in-situ concrete stitch are cast at different time, construction joints exist in the specimen. Prior to casting the in-situ concrete stitch, the laitance at the construction joint area on the surface of the precast unit is removed and the area is roughened by a needle gun until the aggregates are exposed. The construction joint is then wetted for at least 12 hours before casting by laying towels that are completely saturated with water over the joint area. Configuration of the Shear Specimens The shear specimens consist of two L-shaped precast units with the in-situ concrete stitch joining the two units as illustrated in Figure 3. The out-of-plane dimension of the specimen is 200 mm. The specimens are either made of Grade 60 or Grade 45 concrete and both the precast units and the stitch are made of the same grade of concrete. The stitch is subject to a prestress of either 1 MPa or 5 MPa, and stitch widths of 100 mm and 200 mm are examined. The shear specimens are designed in such a way that they are capable of simulating the shear behaviour of box girders of different web configurations. The web of a box girder may or may not be provided with shear keys and some parts of the web may or may not have prestressing tendon running through. Therefore, the specimens are either internally prestressed by bonded tendon or externally prestressed by a clamping device to provide the prestressing force acting on the stitch, while the stitch is either plain or provided with shear keys. For those specimens with shear keys, either one large key with a depth of 50 mm or two smaller keys with a depth of 30 mm are provided. Examples of an externally prestressed specimen with two shear keys and an internally prestressed specimen without shear key are illustrated in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) respectively. For the case where the specimen is internally prestressed, a 7-wire steel strand is used. Prior to casting of the stitch, light roughening is provided at the construction joint area on the precast units to remove the laitance. Similar to the beam specimens, the joint area is wetted for at least 12 hours before casting the stitch. (a) Stitch with shear keys; externally prestressed (b) Stitch without shear key; internally prestressed Figure 4. Examples of setup for shear specimen RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Beam Specimens The load-displacement relationships of the beam specimens tested are plotted in Figures 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) for the case of the in-situ concrete stitch subjected to pure bending moment (Case (i)), pure shear (Case (ii)), and a combination of moment and shear (Case (iii)), respectively. For the specimens of Cases (b) and (c), only the results of the specimens with 50 mm stitch and 100 mm stitch are available to date. Ductile behaviour is observed for the beam specimens of Case (i). Opening of the construction joints occurs at a load of between 70 kN and 80 kN, while the final mode of failure is concrete crushing in the compression zone at mid-span, as illustrated in Figure 6(a). From Figure 5(a), it is evident that the peak strength of the specimens without stitch (i.e. the control specimen) and those with stitch are approximately the same. The difference in the peak strength between the specimen with a 50 mm stitch and that with a 100 mm stitch is marginal. When the stitch is subject to pure shear, the behaviour of the specimen is brittle. As the peak strength is reached, a large diagonal crack suddenly forms across the stitch (Figure 6(b)) and the strength drops abruptly. It can be seen from Figure 5(b) that regardless of the size of the stitch, the peak strengths of the specimens are nearly the same. (a) Case (i) (b) Case (ii) (c) Case (iii) From Figure 5(c), it is evident that the behaviour of the specimens of Case (c) is ductile. Failure of the specimens is localized at the point of loading where there is significant cracking and crushing of concrete; while at the stitch, slight opening of the construction joint is observed and several diagonal cracks are found propagating from the construction joint towards the point of loading. The condition of the beam at failure is illustrated in Figure 6(c). For the specimen with a 50 mm stitch, the peak strength is approximately 100 kN, while that for the specimen with a 100 mm stitch is approximately 110 kN. The peak strengths of the two specimens are relatively close to each other. The results suggest that the width of the stitch has minimal effect on the strength of the stitch within the maximum width of stitch studied. The ductility of the specimens is also not affected by the width of the stitch but rather by how the specimen is loaded. (a) Case (i) (b) Case (ii) (c) Case (iii) Shear Specimens The load-displacement relationships of the five shear specimens tested are plotted in Figure 7. The shear displacement is the relative vertical displacement between the two precast units. All shear specimens are identified as explained below. Using E-K(M)-100-60-2 as an example, the first field represents the type of prestressing used, with E indicating external prestressing; the second field represents whether the stitch is plain or with shear keys, with K(M) indicating stitch with two shear keys, K(S) indicating stitch with single shear keys, and P indicating plain stitch with no shear key; the third field indicates the width of the stitch in mm; the fourth field indicates the grade of concrete in MPa; and the fifth field indicates the prestress applied to the stitch in MPa. Therefore, a specimen identified as E-K(M)-100-60-2 is composed of Grade 60 concrete with external prestress of 2 MPa applied and two shear keys are provided to the stitch that has a width of 100 mm. The specimens with plain stitch are first discussed. From Figure 7, it can be seen that the behaviour is largely the same for both specimens E-P-100-60-1 and E-P-200-60-1. The peak strengths of the two specimens are between 50 to 60 kN, which once again demonstrates that the width of a plain stitch has little effect on its strength. It is evident that as the prestressing level is increased to 5 MPa (E-P-100-60-5), the peak load-carrying capacity is significantly increased to approximately 220 kN. Therefore, the level of prestressing has marked influence on the load-carrying capacity of the stitch. For specimens with plain stitch, the failure mode is characterized by sudden occurrence of sliding along one or more of the construction joints. Upon failure, the strength of the stitch is mainly contributed by friction from sliding between the surfaces of precast unit and in-situ stitch. As observed from the load-displacement curves, a long smooth plateau is evident in the post peak range for specimens E-P-100-60-1 and E-P-200-60-1, which can be modelled as Coulomb friction. For specimen E-P-100-60-5, the post-peak behaviour as shown in Figure 7 is not as smoothed. Since the prestressing force is substantially higher, the resistance against sliding by the aggregates along the construction joint becomes very large. As the applied load is large enough to overcome that resistance, sudden slippage along the construction joint occurs and the load drops. Subsequently the resistance builds up again and sudden slippage occurs again when the resistance is overcome by the applied load. Therefore the post-peak branch of specimen E-P-100-60-5 has a zig-zag shape. This observation also implies that the roughness of the construction joint should have strong effect on the post-peak strength of plain stitches, which will be examined in due course. Since the post-peak strength of the stitch is mainly contributed by frictional forces, ductility can only be maintained if sufficient pre stressing force is provided. Therefore the presence of adequate prestressing force beyond the peak strength of the stitch is crucial in preventing sudden loss of strength in the stitch. Up to this stage, only two shear specimens with shear keys have been tested. However, the results from the test have already given indication that the behaviour of the stitches with shear keys is quite different from the behaviour of those without shear keys. Upon reaching the peak strength, the stitch of specimen E-K(M)-100-60-1 fails suddenly in a brittle manner by cracking diagonally across the stitch as illustrated in Figure 8 and an abrupt drop in load can be seen in Figure 7. This behaviour is much different from that of the specimens with plain stitches in which the post-peak behaviour is characterized by a long plateau in the load-displacement relationship. This type of stitch has little reserve strength upon reaching the peak load-carrying capacity. No brittle failure is observed for the specimen with one large key and a wider stitch, i.e. specimen E-K(S)-200-60-1. In fact, the specimen was not loaded to failure during the experiment but was stopped at a load of approximately 190 kN because at that load, the prestressing force was increased to a level that had almost reached the capacity of the load cell used to measure the prestressing force. However, at a load of 190 kN, continuous crack had already formed along the construction joint and there was sliding between the precast unit and the stitch along the joint but the stitch still remained intact. From Figure 7, it can be seen that the peak load-carrying capacity of specimens E-K(M)-100-60-2 and E-P-100-60-5 are approximately the same. This observation seems to imply same level of load-carrying capacity can be achieved yet less amount of prestressing can be applied by adding shear keys to the stitch. As aforementioned, there is an increase in prestressing force as load is applied to the specimens with shear keys. This behaviour is caused by dilation in the stitch as the shearing load is applied. Dilation is taken as the displacement between the precast units measured along the horizontal centreline of the stitch. The effect of dilation is much more pronounced for specimens with keyed stitches than those with plain stitches. The relationships between shear displacement and dilation of the various specimens are plotted in Figure 9. For the specimens with plain stitch, dilation is relatively insignificant compared to the dilation in the specimens with keyed stitch. The stress in the tendon can be increased due to dilation. The effect of dilation on tendon stress is rather insignificant for a segmental bridge with unbonded tendon because the strain increase due to dilation will be averaged along the entire length of tendon between end anchorages. However, for segmental bridges prestr essed by bonded tendon, dilation may cause substantial increase in strain at the location of the stitch, which can potentially overstress the tendon. Specimens with stitch prestressed by bonded tendon will be tested in the near future and the effect of dilation on tendon stress will be investigated in due course. CONCLUSIONS Extensive experimental studies have been carried out to investigate the behaviour of in-situ concrete stitches subject to a combination of internal forces and subject to direct shear by conducting a series of loading tests on the beam specimens and shear specimens respectively. Detailed coverage on the setup of the specimens and load testing has been included in this paper. Based on the results of the tests conducted so far, several preliminary conclusions can be drawn: The width of plain in-situ concrete stitch does not appear to have significant effect on the peak-load carrying capacity of the stitch regardless of the combination of internal forces that it is subjected to. The strength of the in-situ concrete stitch is strongly influenced by the level of prestressing applied and the strength of the stitch increases as the level of prestressing increases. For plain in-situ concrete stitches, failure occurs along the construction joint. Strength in the stitch is still present beyond the peak strength and it is mainly contributed by the frictional force from the sliding between the surfaces of precast unit and stitch. By providing shear keys to the concrete stitch, the level of prestressing can be reduced to achieve the same strength as those stitches without key. However, this may result in a brittle failure. For keyed concrete stitches, the amount of dilation is significantly higher than that of plain stitches. For segmental bridges prestressed by bonded tendon, this may have marked effect on the stresses of the tendons. With further testing on the specimens being carried out in the near future, it is expected that more definitive conclusions can be drawn on the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The study undertaken is supported by Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (RGC Project No. HKU 710207E).

legal case Essay -- essays research papers

MEMORANDUM INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have asked me to determine whether our client Diana Lewis committed unauthorized practice of law by providing her services. I have done research on statutes and cases. This memorandum will address the issue of this case, California Bar’s claim, and Ms. Lewis’s possible defense. STATEMENT OF FACTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In May 2001, Diana Lewis earned her Associate of Art degree and Paralegal Certificate from City College of San Francisco. In June 2001, Ms. Lewis opened her business to prepare legal paperwork for clients involved in uncontested divorces. She advertises her business in the Daily Journal and the Recorder. She charges no more than $75 for the complete package of paperwork and has assisted 25 clients to date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because Ms. Lewis’s clients are not familiar with the legal terminology and some of them are illiterate, Ms. Lewis is compelled to ask questions and hold conferences with them. The day before the client’s court hearing, Ms. Lewis meets with her client to discuss what he or she can expect during the hearing. Ms. Lewis does not accompany the client to the hearing. Diana Lewis has been charged by the California Bar with unauthorized practice of law. ISSUE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Ms. Lewis practice law when she provided such legal document service? BRIEF ANSWER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No. California Bar could make a case that Ms. Lewis gave legal advice. But when she helped her clients with â€Å"uncontested† divorce document, she did not give specific advice by which the client’s particular legal rights were secured. She simply helped interpret instructions on preparing the general legal forms at her clients’ request. Such sales and services are legitimate. DISCUSSION In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6125, â€Å"[n]o person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.† Diana Lewis dose not have law school education and did not pass California Bar Exams. She is not an active member of the State Bar. So she cannot practice law in California. The issue is whether she practiced law. In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6400, â€Å"[a] legal document assistant may not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses... ... of law. In addition it violates Unfair Competition Law at the same time. Walter Moore is similar to Ms. Lewis in that they are both non-lawyers and provided legal document service. Also, they both advertised locally. Walter Moore listed in the phone book under â€Å"Legal Aid† directory. Here we need more details about Ms. Lewis’s advertisement such as the wordings and under what section it was printed. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  California code prohibits Diana Lewis to practice law. The issue is whether Ms. Lewis actually practiced law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the statute and court opinion, the key point is whether a non-lawyer provides advice or prepares legal instruments that would secure the party’s legal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the fats at hand, I do not see Diana Lewis have provided individual client with specific advice that would affect his or her legal rights. In fact, in the case of â€Å"uncontested† divorce, such practice of legal advice is not usually needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some detail information on Ms. Lewis’s advertisement and her discussion with clients will be needed to help with her defense. legal case Essay -- essays research papers MEMORANDUM INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have asked me to determine whether our client Diana Lewis committed unauthorized practice of law by providing her services. I have done research on statutes and cases. This memorandum will address the issue of this case, California Bar’s claim, and Ms. Lewis’s possible defense. STATEMENT OF FACTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In May 2001, Diana Lewis earned her Associate of Art degree and Paralegal Certificate from City College of San Francisco. In June 2001, Ms. Lewis opened her business to prepare legal paperwork for clients involved in uncontested divorces. She advertises her business in the Daily Journal and the Recorder. She charges no more than $75 for the complete package of paperwork and has assisted 25 clients to date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because Ms. Lewis’s clients are not familiar with the legal terminology and some of them are illiterate, Ms. Lewis is compelled to ask questions and hold conferences with them. The day before the client’s court hearing, Ms. Lewis meets with her client to discuss what he or she can expect during the hearing. Ms. Lewis does not accompany the client to the hearing. Diana Lewis has been charged by the California Bar with unauthorized practice of law. ISSUE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Ms. Lewis practice law when she provided such legal document service? BRIEF ANSWER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No. California Bar could make a case that Ms. Lewis gave legal advice. But when she helped her clients with â€Å"uncontested† divorce document, she did not give specific advice by which the client’s particular legal rights were secured. She simply helped interpret instructions on preparing the general legal forms at her clients’ request. Such sales and services are legitimate. DISCUSSION In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6125, â€Å"[n]o person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.† Diana Lewis dose not have law school education and did not pass California Bar Exams. She is not an active member of the State Bar. So she cannot practice law in California. The issue is whether she practiced law. In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6400, â€Å"[a] legal document assistant may not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses... ... of law. In addition it violates Unfair Competition Law at the same time. Walter Moore is similar to Ms. Lewis in that they are both non-lawyers and provided legal document service. Also, they both advertised locally. Walter Moore listed in the phone book under â€Å"Legal Aid† directory. Here we need more details about Ms. Lewis’s advertisement such as the wordings and under what section it was printed. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  California code prohibits Diana Lewis to practice law. The issue is whether Ms. Lewis actually practiced law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the statute and court opinion, the key point is whether a non-lawyer provides advice or prepares legal instruments that would secure the party’s legal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the fats at hand, I do not see Diana Lewis have provided individual client with specific advice that would affect his or her legal rights. In fact, in the case of â€Å"uncontested† divorce, such practice of legal advice is not usually needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some detail information on Ms. Lewis’s advertisement and her discussion with clients will be needed to help with her defense.

Deception Point Page 99

Pickering sighed. â€Å"NASA, for all its flaws, must remain a government entity.† Certainly she can understand the dangers. Privatization would send NASA's best minds and ideas flooding into the private sector. The brain trust would dissolve. The military would lose access. Private space companies looking to raise capital would start selling NASA patents and ideas to the highest bidders worldwide! Rachel's voice was tremulous. â€Å"You faked the meteorite and killed innocent people†¦ in the name of national security?† â€Å"It was never supposed to happen like this,† Pickering said. â€Å"The plan was to save an important government agency. Killing was not part of it.† The meteorite deception, Pickering knew, like most intelligence proposals, had been the product of fear. Three years ago, in an effort to extend the NRO hydrophones into deeper water where they could not be touched by enemy saboteurs, Pickering spearheaded a program that utilized a newly developed NASA building material to secretly design an astonishingly durable submarine capable of carrying humans to the deepest regions of the ocean-including the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Forged from a revolutionary ceramic, this two-man submarine was designed from blueprints hacked from the computer of a California engineer named Graham Hawkes, a genius sub designer whose life dream was to build an ultra-deepwater submersible he called Deep Flight II. Hawkes was having trouble finding funding to build a prototype. Pickering, on the other hand, had an unlimited budget. Using the classified ceramic submersible, Pickering sent a covert team underwater to affix new hydrophones to the walls of the Mariana Trench, deeper than any enemy could possibly look. In the process of drilling, however, they uncovered geologic structures unlike any that scientists had ever seen. The discoveries included chondrules and fossils of several unknown species. Of course, because the NRO's ability to dive this deep was classified, none of the information could ever be shared. It was not until recently, driven yet again by fear, that Pickering and his quiet team of NRO science advisers had decided to put their knowledge of the Mariana's unique geology to work to help save NASA. Turning a Mariana rock into a meteorite had proven to be a deceptively simple task. Using an ECE slush-hydrogen engine, the NRO team charred the rock with a convincing fusion crust. Then, using a small payload sub, they had descended beneath the Milne Ice Shelf and inserted the charred rock up into the ice from beneath. Once the insertion shaft refroze, the rock looked like it had been there for over three hundred years. Unfortunately, as was often the case in the world of covert operations, the grandest of plans could be undone by the smallest of snags. Yesterday, the entire illusion had been shattered by a few bioluminescent plankton†¦ From the cockpit of the idling Kiowa, Delta-One watched the drama unfold before him. Rachel and Tolland appeared to be in clear control, although Delta-One almost had to laugh at the hollowness of the illusion. The machine gun in Tolland's hands was worthless; even from here Delta-One could see the cocking bar assembly had kicked back, indicating the clip was empty. As Delta-One gazed out at his partner struggling in the Triton's claws, he knew he had to hurry. The focus on deck had turned completely to Pickering, and now Delta-One could make his move. Leaving the rotors idling, he slipped out of the rear of the fuselage and, using the chopper for cover, made his way unseen onto the starboard gangway. With his own machine gun in hand, he headed for the bow. Pickering had given him specific orders before they landed on deck, and Delta-One had no intention of failing at this simple task. In a matter of minutes, he knew, this will all be over. 122 Still wearing his bathrobe, Zach Herney sat at his desk in the Oval Office, his head throbbing. The newest piece of the puzzle had just been revealed. Marjorie Tench is dead. Herney's aides said they had information suggesting Tench had driven to the FDR Memorial for a private meeting with William Pickering. Now that Pickering was missing, the staff feared Pickering too might be dead. The President and Pickering had endured their battles lately. Months ago Herney learned that Pickering had engaged in illegal activity on Herney's behalf in an attempt to save Herney's floundering campaign. Employing NRO assets, Pickering had discreetly obtained enough dirt on Senator Sexton to sink his campaign-scandalous sexual photos of the senator with his aide Gabrielle Ashe, incriminating financial records proving Sexton was taking bribes from private space companies. Pickering anonymously sent all the evidence to Marjorie Tench, assuming the White House would use it wisely. But Herney, upon seeing the data, had forbidden Tench to use it. Sex scandals and bribery were cancers in Washington, and waving another one in front of the public only added to their distrust of government. Cynicism is killing this country. Although Herney knew he could destroy Sexton with scandal, the cost would be besmirching the dignity of the U.S. Senate, something Herney refused to do. No more negatives. Herney would beat Senator Sexton on the issues. Pickering, angered by the White House's refusal to use the evidence he had provided, tried to jump-start the scandal by leaking a rumor that Sexton had slept with Gabrielle Ashe. Unfortunately, Sexton declared his innocence with such convincing indignation that the President ended up having to apologize for the leak personally. In the end William Pickering had done more damage than good. Herney told Pickering that if he ever interfered in the campaign again, he would be indicted. The grand irony, of course, was that Pickering did not even like President Herney. The NRO director's attempts to help Herney's campaign were simply fears over the fate of NASA. Zach Herney was the lesser of two evils. Now has someone killed Pickering? Herney could not imagine. â€Å"Mr. President?† an aide said. â€Å"As you requested, I called Lawrence Ekstrom and told him about Marjorie Tench.† â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"He would like to speak to you, sir.† Herney was still furious with Ekstrom for lying about PODS. â€Å"Tell him I'll talk to him in the morning.† â€Å"Mr. Ekstrom wants to talk to you right away, sir.† The aide looked uneasy. â€Å"He's very upset.† HE'S upset? Herney could feel his temper fraying around the edges. As he stalked off to take Ekstrom's call, the President wondered what the hell else could possibly go wrong tonight. 123 Onboard the Goya, Rachel felt lightheaded. The mystification that had settled around her like a heavy fog was lifting now. The stark reality that came into focus left her feeling naked and disgusted. She looked at the stranger before her and could barely hear his voice. â€Å"We needed to rebuild NASA's image,† Pickering was saying. â€Å"Their declining popularity and funding had become dangerous on so many levels.† Pickering paused, his gray eyes locking on hers. â€Å"Rachel, NASA was desperate for a triumph. Someone had to make it happen.† Something had to be done, Pickering thought. The meteorite had been a final act of desperation. Pickering and others had tried to save NASA by lobbying to incorporate the space agency into the intelligence community where it would enjoy increased funding and better security, but the White House continuously rebuffed the idea as an assault on pure science. Shortsighted idealism. With the rising popularity of Sexton's anti-NASA rhetoric, Pickering and his band of military powerbrokers knew time was running short. They decided that capturing the imagination of taxpayers and Congress was the only remaining way to salvage NASA's image and save it from the auction block. If the space agency was to survive, it would need an infusion of grandeur-something to remind the taxpayers of NASA's Apollo glory days. And if Zach Herney was going to defeat Senator Sexton, he was going to need help.