George H. Crosby Manitou Book Report - 750 Words

was scheduled to work day security on my very last day of work and we got a call about a climber that had fallen off of Palisade Head. Now to get a little perspective on how serious this actually was, Palisade head is approximately 300 ft. from the ground at its peak. So, we rushed from the park up to Palisade head and we were met with a rush of frantic people and a scene I necessarily was not prepared for. I was left on the top of Palisade backing people away and clearing the scene while the lead Security Ranger for the day took off full speed down to the bottom to assist with medical. He promptly assisted others with CPR for about 25 minutes until local law enforcement and EMT arrived. The gentleman that fell got lucky only suffering a†¦show more content†¦With This park being largely undeveloped, every time I was scheduled to do anything at the park, I would be bombarded with a plethora of questions. Along the Manitou River Trail, it is roughly a 10  ½ mile round trip f rom site 1 to site 17 and I got first hand experience with just how rugged that trail can be. So, a little back story here on my third day of work another intern and I got the opportunity to walk the Manitou River Trail. We were given two pails, a shovel, map and compass and were told to clean all of the fire rings for the sites 1-17. Now going in, I thought the day would be relatively easy and that this task would not take us all that long, but was I ever wrong. It took us roughly 5 hours to get to site 17 and when we arrived we were surprised at just how long it took us to walk 6-7 miles on such unforgiving rugged terrain. On the hike out, we even got the opportunity to see a black bear cub playing in the river. The moral behind this story is that I got paid to hike around the woods all day and it was honestly amazing. This experience was definitely my favorite day at work this past summer and hands down George H. Crosby Manitou is now my favorite State Park. So, where I spent the majority of my summer was at Temperance River State Park. Although I did get the chance to work at the other two parks, I was the designated intern for Temperance River. The

The Causes And Effects Of Europe - 945 Words

Any analysis of European history will reveal a constant theme of revolutions and counterrevolutions across space and time that have shaped the very foundations of societies across the expanse of the continent. Furthermore, these revolutions occurred in many different spheres of daily life. For instance, some revolutions featured prolonged periods of violent political upheaval while others featured a more subtle revolution, changing the very social fabric of Europe. In addition, some revolutions centered on economic change while still others concentrated on class struggle. In truth, the causes and effects of Europe’s many revolutions throughout time are as varied as the nations that compose the continent itself. However, despite the variety of the causes of these revolutions and the changes that they wrought, one standard holds true for all European revolutions; all European revolutions, whether violent or not, served to irreversibly alter the social, political, and economic pa radigms of the nation where the revolution took place. To put it bluntly, a European nation that experienced any form of a revolution, regardless of time period and location, was forever altered from what it had been prior to the revolutionary event. Case and point, take the case of 18th century revolutionary France. The French Revolution, without question, was a truly violent affair which eventually culminated in the beheading of the French King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette. In thisShow MoreRelatedThe Black Death Pandemic967 Words   |  4 Pagesthrough all of Europe, taking 25,000,000 people along with it. 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Farstad Shipping - Modern Offshore Support Vessels

Introduction About Farstad Shipping Farstad Shipping ASA is a major international supplier of large, modern offshore support vessels. It has a fleet of 57 vessels and currently has one vessel under construction. It is headquartered in Aelesun on the North West coast of Norway. It has offices in all major ports of the world including Aberdeen in Scotland, Melbourne in Australia, Singapore and in Maca in Brazil. Through a joint venture it also has presence in Angola. In 2008 the freight income was earned in the following markets: 16.0% in Norway, 14.0% in the UK, 45.0% in the Far East/ Australia, 19.0% in Brazil, 6.0% in West Africa and Mexico. Farstad Shipping has been listed on Oslo Stock Exchange since 1988 and has over the years given the shareholders a competitive return on their investment. The number of outstanding shares is 39 million out of which approximately 46% is owned by the Farstad family (Fastard Shipping, 2009). Brief History The shipping company Sverre A. Farstad Co was established in 1956 by Consul Sverre A. Farstad and the ship-owners Ole Schrder and Sverre Farstad jr. The first vessel, an ore carrier of 10 500 DWT, was ordered the same year from Haugesund Mek. Verksted. In early 1988 Farstad bought the "empty" company Hemes with the purpose of being quoted on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Soon after the acquisition of Hemes, parts of the Farstad ship owning interests went public through the introduction of Far Shipping A/S to the Oslo Stock Exchange.Far Shipping A/S later changed name to Farstad Shipping ASA. The company became an integrated shipping company in the year 1993 and in 1997 it established a JV with PO, which was followed by a JV with Petroserve in 1999. In subsequent years the company has expanded its operations in the Indian Ocean and set up offices in Signapore and West Africa. Core Values In order to understand the strategy of Farstad shipping it is important to note the values which are imbibed in the employees of the corporation. They are the following Safety Minded: The company believes that all its employees should be trained in basic safety measures and drills. It wants to be a responsible employer where the services rendered to the client are done with compromising the safety of the employees Value Creative: The Company wants to create value for all its stakeholders including employees, shareholders, customers and the society in general. Reliable The Company believes in owning up to the decision it has taken and believes in exercising a high sense of integrity Inclusive The Company wishes to be individual focused taking into account their different needs through sharing knowledge and experience. Visible and Transparent: The Company wishes to stand with its customers and clients in their endeavors. It also wishes to support the local community. MISSION AND OBJECTIVES Farstad Shippings wishes to be a long-term, major supplier of large, modern offshore supply vessels to the oil industry worldwide. It also endeavors to achieve the following Core Focus Anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS) larger than 10000 BHP and platform supply vessels (PSV) larger than 2000 DWT. New Areas Focus on the supply vessel market which is most complex in terms of advance and large amount of tonnage Target subsea and construction activities leveraging the experience gained. This would allow the company to support its clients forays into this area Financial Overview The company achieved in 2008 operating revenues of NOK 3,019.7 million, which is the highest in the company's history. The result after tax amounted to a profit of NOK 1,225.6 million (NOK 89.3 million deficit) after the recognition of NOK 316.3 million in tax income, of which NOK 317.8 million came from the reversal of the environmental portion associated with the new tax regime in 2007. In Q-2 2009 the company had a had an operating income of NOK 839 mn as compared to an income of NOK 662 mn. The profitability as measured by EBIDTA also improved considerably to NOK 451 mn as compared to NOK 346 mn in the previous year. The PAT for the quarter was NOK 366 mn as compared to NOK 225 mn in the same quarter previous year (Fastard Shipping, 2009). Industry Analysis Due to the global economic slowdown the seaborne trade grew at just 3.5% in 2008 as compared to 4.5% in 2009. However the past trends continue where the developing regions offered the maximum loading accounting for 60% of the tonnage and developed countries had 33.6% of the tonnage. The overwhelming dominance of Asia was quite start with it controlling almost 40% of the trade. PEST Analysis Economics GDP Growth The global GDP growth in 2008 has slowed down to just 2.0 percent as compared to 3.7% last year and below the annual average of 3.5% recorded during the period 1994-2008. World output has contracted by 2.7% in 2009, first time ever since 1930. Since the demand for maritime transport is dependent on global growth in production, the maritime industry is also expected to suffer the fall out of this fall in demand. Developed countries are the ones which have suffered the most in terms of GDP growth with a decrease in GDP by 4.1 % in 2009. Developing countries however continued to expand output by 5.3% in 2008 down from 7.3% in 2007.China continued to lead, with its GDP growing by 9.0 per cent. Other major countries such as India and South Africa continued on the growth trajectory although at a slower rate of growth (UNCTAD Report 2009). Impact on Merchandise Trade The decrease in the global output worldwide has had a material impact on the growth in world merchandise trade. Although the volume in 2008 grew by 2% this was 4% points lower than that in 2007. In most of the previous years the growth in global trade outpaces the growth in GDP, however this year the same was not noticed. In 2008, the American export volumes grew by a meager 1.5% while the European Union registered the slowest growth ever. There was a rapid decline in imports as well, with US hitting -2.5% and the EU a negative 1% (UNCTAD Report 2009). Trade Finance Trade finance is a key influencing factor when it comes to the maritime industry. In fact experts believe that this unmet need of trade finance is the key reasons for a rapid decline in maritime activity with the advent of the financial crisis. Banks have become conservative in issuing letters of credit and other instruments which facilitate trade. This has had a considerable impact on the trade particularly amongst developing countries. The unmet need for trade finance is estimated to be USD 100 bn to USD 300 bn annually (UNCTAD Report 2009). Political Efforts by Government to Stimulate Economy A global economic recovery and by extension, a recovery in merchandise trade and demand for maritime transport services will depend on actions by world governments to stimulate investment and consumption and thus promote trade. (Scott and Jeferrey 2007) Governments individually and as part of the G-20 have taken action to revitalize the economy. In the G-20 meet in April 2009, they agreed on a $1.1 trillion support effort with $250 bn out of this attributed only to trade finance. Countries such as India and China have lowered interest rates to stabilize financial sectors and stimulate the economy (Harrigon and Deng 2008). Security at Sea A key challenge facing the maritime industry has also been the safety of the maritime vessels at sea. This has been challenged by a surge in piracy incidents in key strategic transit points such as Gulf of Aden. These incidents of piracy have a considerable impact on ships, crew and cargoes and on the maritime industry. It threats global seaborne trade (over 80% of trade moving through the Gulf of Aden is In addition to the direct impact on ships, crews and cargoes, and on the maritime industry and governments, piracy threatens global seaborne trade (over 80 per cent of seaborne trading moving through Gulf of Aden goes to Europe). This spurt in piracy has led to high insurance costs for the ships passing through the Gulf of Aden with the war insurance premium climbing to USD 20000 per ship from USD 500 bn year ago. (Clark 2007) Climate Change The issue of climate change has been becoming increasingly important. There has been compelling scientific evidence about the seriousness of the threat which has moved the issue to the forefront of the international agenda. The impact has been more significant in the more vulnerable countries. Maritime transport as a major transportation industry also has a role to play given the fact that by volume it carries over 80 per cent of global trade, has a role to play in addressing this formidable challenge. International maritime transport faces a dual challenge. As a transportation sector its a contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions and thus faces ire of environmentalists. It is also directly impacted by the climate change factors such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and rising temperature. The wide ranging impact climate change is likely to have on maritime transport and the implication for trade growth and development need to be addressed by integrating this in the strategy planning process for a maritime transport company (UNCTAD 2009). Technology Dependence on Oil Maritime transport industry relies on oil, in particular on heavy grade fuel oil for propulsion. Although there is a possibility of using alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power for giving additional power to the ship. LNG may be used as an alternative fuel in shipping; however it also faces the challenge of being stored aboard. Emergence of Green Ships Evergreen Line a company which runs shipping operations worldwide has introduced green ships which are much more fuel efficient and technology advanced to meet the challenges posed by climate change. These include following distinct features Alternative Maritime Power: Connects to alternative power from shore to reduce air pollution during loading/unloading Superior Hull Design: This improves speed and reduces fuel consumption to make the ship more efficient. Waste Storage Chambers: Treats garbage to maintain excellent sanitary condition. Low Sulfur Fuel System: Reduces emission of SOx gasses to prevent air pollution Social and Cultural Factors Demographic Change It is to be noted that the consumption driven economies of Europe and North America have shown sign of slowing down. Although the issue in North America is primarily due to the after effects of the financial crisis, the situation in Europe maybe even more complex. This is primarily due to the rapidly ageing population. A rapidly ageing population usually points towards a shift away from a consumption driven economy and a stable or declining population growth rate. This is in contrast to the population composition in China and India which is mainly young, with almost 50% being under the age of 30 years. This demographic shift in population is bound to influence maritime trade which is likely to get a boost in these countries. Analysis of Farstad Shipping Strengths Strong Order Book The company has been awarded a four year contract with Petrobras in Brazil. Startup of the contract was end of January The company has been hired to provide charter services for a period of 12-15 months to support drilling operations in New Zealand and Australia. Shell Australia has also contracted the company to support the operations in western Australia for oil drilling and exploration Shell has awarded a contract to the company for exploration around the Irish shelf. Induction of New Technology Ships The company has started employing platform supply vessel which is designed for transportation of supplies/equipment to and from offshore installations. Transporting individual items mainly in containers on deck, in addition to a variety of different products (dry and wet) in separate tanks. Strong Financial Condition The company is strong in terms of its financial condition. The following financial parameters point out that the company is under leveraged, has fund raising ability and has been steadily cash positive in the last few years Debt/Equity Ratio: The company has a debt equity ratio of ~0.8 i.e. EBIDTA: The cash generation ability of the company as measured by the Earnings Before Interest Depreciation and Taxes is quite strong. The EBIDTA for year 2009 was 1736 NOK mn as compared to 1729 NOK mn in 2008 and much higher than 1376 NOK mn in 2007. Thus in spite of the global financial crisis the cash generating ability of the company has not been impacted. Cash and Cash Equivalents: The cash and cash equivalents of the company were 1544 mn NOK in the year 2009 as compared to 1189 NOK mn in the previous financial year. Thus the companys cash reserves have increased substantially in the last year owing to superior profitability Weakness Cost of Human Capital Since the company is mainly based out of Norway, the strength of its human capital comes from the developed countries. Thus given the wage differential between developed countries and developing countries the company operates at a high cost of human capital. It is likely to face challenge from carriers operating from developing countries such as India and China. Threats Foreign Exchange Risks Due to the companys global operations it carries a foreign exchange risks on its revenues, profits as well as sources of funds. The company has a negative impact of 273 mn NOK due to the unrealized foreign currency loss. Thus it is important for the company to hedge against the foreign currency risks (Fastard Shipping 2009) European Crisis By the end of year 2009, the financial crisis was looking to be over with the fall in jobless claims in the United States. However the impact of a free wheeling monetary policy unleashed in the wake of the financial crisis has started telling on European nations. Countries such as Greece and Italy which were always struggling with the fiscal deficit seem to be struggling with their burgeoning fiscal deficit. If the trend continues and the crisis spreads to the powerhouses of European economy i.e. France and Germany, we might be in for a rough ride out of the recession. This would mean a period of stagnated growth for another year and a half. This combined with an ageing population is likely to result in fall in demand in the European mainland and thus a fall in trade (UNCTAD Report 2009). Climate Change The issue of climate change has been highlighted above and is a growing and gathering threat to the company in the long run. Since the company has been operating its fleet for a long time it has many aged vehicles in the fleet. There is always a fear that given the fact that the climate change has taken international centre stage, a legislation imposing more stringent emission norms on the maritime industry is not far away. Opportunities Asia The economies of China and India even in the worst times of the financial crisis have shown resilience, although havent been completely untouched by it. High Growth Rate The countries continue to grow above a growth rate of 7-7.5%. This is mainly on account of the strong domestic demand supported by a favorable demographic profile. Given the fact that a majority of the population is under the age of 30 yrs, the working population in these countries is very strong Rise in Imports The growing demand in developing countries for white goods, luxury goods and commodities is all set to increase in the coming years given the increasing proportion of the middle class. In India alone the population of the middle class is likely to be 250 mn in another five years, this is roughly equal to the entire population of the United States. Hence the increase in trade to and from these geographies is all set to increase exponentially. Better infrastructure Developing countries such as Brazil, China and India have considerably increased their expenditure on infrastructure projects such as development of ports etc. This is likely to reduce the turnaround time for the ships which use these ports often thus decreasing the overall cost of trip. This would be a positive development for Farstad Shipping. Increase in Oil Prices The oil prices which were on a downward spiral in the year 2009 have stabilized and are all set to rise as the Chinese growth engine gets into the fast gear. An increase in all prices is likely to rejuvenate the oil exploration market and thus provide opportunities for maritime support. A higher oil price means that the oil companies are ready to explore areas where the probability of finding oil may not be very high, since the opportunity cost of not exploring the area is very high. This translates into better and higher amount of business for the maritime industry (Berthelon and Freund 2008). Competitor Analysis The Norwegian shipping industry is composed of almost 85 shipping companies which operate in one or other niche. However there are only four other bigger players which challenge Farstad in its domain of AHTS and PSV. They are as follows: Deep Sea Supply: he Group's principal activities are ship owning and operating of several Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels (AHTS vessels) and Platform Supply Vessel (PSV). The Group operates in two segments AHTS and PSV. The Group operates in the following geographical areas: North Sea, Mediterranean, Africa, Australia/Far East and North South America. It does not have presence in the sub-sea category in which Farstad now operates giving Farstad a definitive edge in the market. DOF ASA: The group operates around 67 vehicles out of which 23 are owned by the group and the rest are leased. These include 23 PSVs, 21 AHTS and around 23 Multi Purpose Vehicles. This group has an extensive presence in the sub sea segment and thus poses a direct challenge to Farstads domination in this arena. The group is the largest Norwegian player, next only to Farstad. Havila Shipping: The company operates 10 supply vessels and another 12 new buildings. These include a total of eight PSVs, 9 AHTSV and three subsea construction vessels. The companys expanding operations in the lucrative sub sea market threatens Farstads revenues from the same Analysis of Farstads Strategy Farstads strategy can be summarized as three pronged. The first two deal with its conventional strengths in supporting the needs of the oil industry and carrying advanced tonnage while the third one is the new area of focus i.e. subsea activities. Oil Focused: Farstads main focus has been to be a long term supplier of large, modern offshore supply vessels to the oil industry worldwide. However this strategy comes with risks as it would make the company dependent on the fortunes of the oil industry. In case of a dip in the oil prices it would put pressure on the companys revenus and margins. Supply Vessel Market: The company also endeavours to fosu on the supply vessel market which demands the most advanced tonnage. Thus it also belives that it can cater to merchandise trade. In this category the company is amongst the top 5 service provides with a global market share of 5%. Subsea Activities: The companys new are of focus is leveraing the experience gainsed from the conventional offshore activities to strengthen its presence in the sub sea acitivites to support client needs. Farstads Fleet AHTS (Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vehicle) Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel They are offshore supply vessels specially designed to provide anchor handling and towage services for semi submersibles, platform jackets, barges and production modules/vessels. Certain AHTS in the fleet are equipped for fire fighting, rescue operations and oil recovery PSV (Platform Supply Vehicles): These vessels are designed for transportation of supplies and equipment to and from offshore installations Subsea: These are customize for operations and construction work on the seabed, and support for subsea operations. CSV (Construction Support Vessel). Vessel especially designed for operations and installations at great ocean depths. MPSV (Multipurpose Supply Vessel) large supply vessels equipped for support, maintenance and installation of equipment on the seabed. Critical Success Factors Critical success factors for the company will be determined by the companys internal strengths as well as the opportunities which exist in the market. The critical success factors for the company based on the above are as follows: Meet the Challenge of Climate Change: Climate change issue as discussed earlier is likely to have a major impact on the maritime transport industry. Hence it is important to tackle this issue through a combination of efficient ships and smarter loads. Thus Farstad shipping needs to achieve this to stay competitive and be a leader in the industry. Exploit Emerging Markets: Emerging markets such as India and China are likely to be key to the success of Farstad. As they are the growth markets for any new company, so further addition to the companys top line would be dependent on its efforts to exploit the trade routes emanating from these countries. Target Oil Operations: Oil is a critical resource and given the recent trends, the price of oil is likely to rise as the world recovers from the financial crisis. Thus given the high margins on oil it is likely that deep sea oil exploration is likely to be a major growth area. Dev eloping Strategic O ptions and Recom mended S rategy The way forward fo r Fastard is dependent on the com panys internal strengths and wea kness which ne ed to be leveraged so a to exploit the opportun ities and counter the strengths. Thus it is important to focus o n strengthening the current area of o perations o the compa ny and expl oiting the opportunities av ailable. Let us try and develop the strategy for the organi zation takin g cue from An soffs matri. Now based on Ansof fs matrix above the org anization n eeds to focus on the following strategies. Assessment of Strategic Options 1. Market Pene ration: It n eds to focus on penetr ting the ex sting marke t, by capturing a l rger market share. Ho wever given the tough ompetition in terms of shipping rates it m ay not be w ise to decre ase rates to attract mor e customers as it would results in l ss in t e long run. Thus this st rategic optio n is not rec ommended. 2. Product Development: Given the changing dynamics of the shipping industry, there is a need to develop new products which are faster and more fuel efficient. This would differentiate the service offering in the market and thus attract more customers. 3. Market Development: In this case the company can leverage its existing strengths in shipping and expand its markets to the two major untapped areas i.e. North America and South Asia. 4. Diversification: The company should continue to focus on its core areas of operations and not venture into unrelated diversification given the volatility of the external environment. To enable this the following should be the key pillars of companys strategy going forward: Market Development 1. Target Emerging Economies: The Company has not as yet exploited the rapid growth in the emerging economies of China and India. It is critical going forward that it is able to capture some of the demand emanating from these countries. The countries are dependent on imported oil and are facing severe resource constraints in finding vessels for the import of such oil. China is entering into long term strategic partnerships with Africa to get oil. Farstad should exploit its presence in Angola to cater to the business which this strategic partnership is likely to generate. Farstad should also establish a presence in the major ports in the region especially Shanghai and Mumbai which are the new financial hubs of the east. The companys business development efforts in these cities can exponentially grow its revenues. 2. Shipping Operations to North America: It is essential that the company takes advantage of the reviving U.S. economy and expands its business to the U.S. and beyond. As the company expands its presence in U.S. and China it can capitalize on the huge amount of trade which happens between these two countries and thus increase revenues as well as profitability Product/Service Development 1. Deep Sea Oil Exploration: Given the highs touched by Crude oil prices it is obvious that once the world economy recovers the oil prices are likely to head north with a demand supply mismatch given the production cuts by OPEC. In an era of high oil prices deep sea oil blocks which were earlier not very profitable to explore are likely to become profitable targets for exploration. Thus if the company is able to take a step forward from its strengths in sub sea construction and provide vessels for Deep sea oil exploration it will be capitalize on a new source of revenue. 2. Ship Procurement and Development: It is important to realize that the challenge of climate change is only going to get bigger with time and there is going to be considerable pressure on the maritime industry to cut down on emissions. Thus this needs to be reflected in the ship building and development effort of the company so that more fuel efficient vehicles can be built. It might be prudent to analyze the development efforts of the Greenline shipping company to understand how these efforts can be made more fruitful.

Witness Statements and their Unreliability-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Witness Statements and their Unreliability. Answer: The major argument contained in this paper is that psychologists have a point when they denote that eye witness statements are not always reliable. Eye witness testimony plays an important role in the criminal justice process. This is because the conviction of a suspect will depend on the reliability and the accuracy of an eye witness, when he provides his testimony to the court of law (Vrij, Hope Fisher, 2014). However, there is a problem regarding eye witness testimonies. The problem lies on whether their statement of facts is accurate and credible. A large number of wrongful convictions have relied on the testimony of eye witnesses, some of which have been proved to be false. Some of the reasons that an eye witness testimony cannot be reliable is if the memory of the witness is low, poor vision and old age. Note that, some people who are over 70 years of age normally have poor memory and vision, and this affects their capability to provide reliable and accurate statements of facts. It is based on these factors that psychologists have come up with the assertion that eye witness testimonies are not always reliable, and extensive reliance on them can lead to a mistrial. A number of studies have been carried out on this concept of human memory, and the capability of an individual to provide an accurate testimony in a court of law (Vrij, Hope Fisher, 2014). One of the psychologists who has carried out extensive research on the human memory, and its propensity to recognize erroneous occurrences and details is a researcher by the name of Elizabeth Loftus. Most of her experiments focused on the capability of third parties to introduce false facts and events in the memory of a witness (Laney Loftus, 2016). These experiments were carried out in the 1970s, and the results were startling and surprising. For instance, in one of the experiments, Elizabeth Loftus showed a stop or a yield sign to the subjects of the study. This is when they were driving a car. When a question was asked on the yield sign that the participants saw, the examiners falsely introduced a stop sign. From this study, the conclusion was that people can produce an answer based on the false images that are depicted to them. Loftus also carried out an experiment of a car accident (Nahari, Vrij Fisher, 2016). Two terms were introduced when asking the participants questions on how fast the cars were travelling before causing an accident. The first term was hit and the second term was smashed. The population, who were questioned by the use of the term smashed, provided an answer of seeing a broken glass (Laney Loftus, 2016). This answer was inaccurate. Basing on these experiments, it is possible to denote that a third party can interfere with the memory of a witness, through the introduction of false cues. This will definitely make the testimony to be inaccurate and false. Submission of false testimonies to a court of law would definitely lead to an injustice, if the judge relies on such a testimony to convict the suspect. Moreover, eye witnesses do not have to rely on third parties for purposes of distorting their memories. They can distort their own memories, without the help of police officers or any third parties (Vrij, Hope Fisher, 2014). This is basically because they have some element of bias towards certain conditions or events. Note that, people normally retell certain events with a purpose on mind (Nahari, Vrij Fisher, 2016). On this note, any act of storytelling is always aimed at a specific listener. Because of this fact, the eye witness always engages in the process of editing the information he wants to provide, so that it may fit the context in which he is narrating the story (Laney Loftus, 2016). For instance, if a witness has a perception of a particular perpetrator in a negative manner, and identifies him as such, he might be unable to provide an accurate testimony, based on his reconstruction of memory that emanates out of the bias that he has towards the perpetrator. Thus, becaus e of the capability of bias to affect the eye witness testimony, chances are high that the information provided might be incorrect. In a study carried out by psychologists from the University of Virginia on the reliability of eye witness testimonies: they found out that extensive reliance on eye witness testimonies can result to a mistrial. On a specific note, if the court is relying on a person who is over 60 years of age. In this study, the population of study was aged people between 60 to 80 years, and college going students (Nahari, Vrij Fisher, 2016). From the results of this study, psychologists found out that the aged people were poor eye witnesses compared to the college going students. This result is not surprising, given the fact that the aged people normally have poor eye sights and vision, and this may result to their inability to accurately witness the criminal activity that occurred and to provide a correct identity of the person who committed the act. Psychologists criticize the reliance of visions for purposes of providing a testimony in the courts of law. For instance, tests suggest that a person with very good eyesight may not have the capability of accurately witnessing an event that occurs 10 feet away from him (Vrij, Hope Fisher, 2014). This is because he may not accurately see the eye lashes of the suspect or maintain an eye contact, and this is crucial in the identification of a suspect. Moreover, research indicates that at 200 feet, the eyes of a suspect may become blurred, irrespective of whether they have a good eye sight or not. It is far much worse when the suspect is at 500 feet, and this is basically because they will not have the capability of distinguishing the facial features of the suspect, limiting their capability to accurately identify them. Despite these weaknesses of eye witness testimonies, Burrows Powell (2014) explains that majority of murder charges are always determined by the testimony of witnesses who were more than 450 feet away from the scene of crime. Another finding from this study by professionals from the University of Virginia that is of interest to psychologists relates to how the aged people behave when giving testimonies in the courts of law (Weisweiler, 2014). This behavior touches on the confidence and adamance of the aged people during the process of giving testimony. This confidence normally makes the judges to be convinced on the credibility and reliability of the statements provided by the aged people, and may ultimately result to a mistrial or a wrong conviction. To avoid such a scenario from happening, it is important for the court to always ensure that there are other ways and methods that can be used to examine the credibility of the eye witness, and the facts that he is providing. This is one of the major reasons that make lawyers to seek and analyze the history of the witness for purposes of ascertaining whether they are people whom the courts can rely upon to give an accurate and correct statement. Some of the facts that lawyers normally seek to find out, about a witness is their criminal history and whether they have issues pertaining to dishonesty of problems with the law (Fisher, Vrij Leins, 2013). Chances are high that the courts may not believe an inconsistent testimony that is provided by a person with a suspicious or criminal past. However, if the testimony is accompanied by a scientific proof, chances are high that the courts will take the testimony serious, and use it to determine the fate of the suspect who is under trial. Another factor that makes eye witness testimonies to be unreliable deals with the issue of stress. Note that, when a person suffers from stress, his mind is under pressure and is prone to errors (Volbert Steller, 2014). Research indicates that stress has the capability of affecting the account of an eye witness. Furthermore, when the eye witness suffers from stress, he may be unable to accurately pick a suspect from a police lineup. Note that, it is unethical for police officers to induce the identification of a suspect. However, when the process is not handled professionally, and the eye witness is suffering from stress or depression, chances are high that the police will help top induce the identification of the suspect, which may result to a wrong identification. Yuan et al (2016) denotes that a photographic lineup can be done through the use of a number of ways. An exampling is by excluding a suspect from the mug shot, and providing the photos to the witness to try and identify if the suspect is there. Yuan et al (2016) calls this type of identification as simultaneous lineup. This process has a number of disadvantages. For instance, Vrij (2015) denotes that one of the disadvantages is that chances of errors are high in this process if the suspect is suffering from stress. This is further compounded by the fact that the eye witness may choose a look alike picture, if the image of the suspect is not found amongst the picture set that is provided by the police. In the view of Howe Knott (2015), photographic lineup policies have been developed for purposes of minimizing the risks of choosing a wrong suspect in the lineup. This is because of the requirement that a police officer should notify a witness that a suspect may not be in the photos provided to him. Police officers can also allow an eye witness to view photos one at a time. This type of suspect identification has the capability of being accurate, since it produces less false identification. Richter (2015) denotes that the development of such policies is an indication that the eye witness account may be unreliable; thus, the need of supporting them with other types of evidence, such as scientific evidence. Note that, people who are used in the police lineups together with suspects are called fillers (Steblay, Wells Douglass, 2014). The use of these people who do not resemble a suspect can easily make an eye witness to identify them, because the suspects stand out. Moreover, psychologists explain that when a person is of the same race, it is easier for the eye witness to identify them. This is as opposed to when the suspect comes from a different race to that of the eye witness. Another important factor that may affect the capability of a suspect to provide an accurate account of the crime or to accurately identify the victim is whether there was the presence of a weapon. The reasons why this may affect the eye witness account is because focus is always on the weapon, as opposed to the identity of the suspect (Hahn, Oaksford Harris, 2013). Moreover, leading questions that are asked by police officers may affect the testimony of a witness, and this is the reason that makes most judges to prevent the police or an attorney from asking certain questions. Finally, eye witness testimonies have a number of weaknesses; thus, the courts of law should not rely on them entirely, while coming up with a decision about the fate of a suspect. One of the weaknesses is the fact that a person may have poor vision, and this may limit his capability to provide an accurate account of what happened. Moreover, factors such as stress, depression, presence of a weapon and poor suspect identification procedures may affect the capability of a witness to provide an accurate account of what actually happened in the scene of a crime. It is based on these factors that psychologists are right, when they assert that reliance on witnesses may lead to a mistrial. References Burrows, K. S., Powell, M. (2014). Prosecutors' recommendations for improving child witness statements about sexual abuse.Policing and Society,24(2), 189-207. Fisher, R. P., Vrij, A., Leins, D. A. (2013). Does testimonial inconsistency indicate memory inaccuracy and deception? Beliefs, empirical research, and theory. InApplied issues in investigative interviewing, eyewitness memory, and credibility assessment(pp. 173-189). Springer New York. Hahn, U., Oaksford, M., Harris, A. J. (2013). Testimony and argument: A Bayesian perspective. InBayesian argumentation(pp. 15-38). Springer Netherlands. Howe, M. L., Knott, L. M. (2015). The fallibility of memory in judicial processes: Lessons from the past and their modern consequences.Memory,23(5), 633-656. Laney, C., Loftus, E. F. (2016). Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Biases.Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. DOI: https://doi. org/nobaproject. com. Nahari, G., Vrij, A., Fisher, R. P. (2014). Exploiting liars' verbal strategies by examining the verifiability of details.Legal and Criminological Psychology,19(2), 227-239. Richter, L. L. (2015). Posnerian Hearsay: Slaying the Discretion Dragon.Fla. L. Rev.,67, 1861. Steblay, N. K., Wells, G. L., Douglass, A. B. (2014). The eyewitness post identification feedback effect 15 years later: Theoretical and policy implications. Yuan, X., Mei, Q., Zhou, S., Ma, X. (2016). Reliable and robust entanglement witness.Physical Review A,93(4), 042317. Volbert, R., Steller, M. (2014). Is This Testimony Truthful, Fabricated, or Based on False Memory?.European Psychologist. Vrij, A. (2015). Verbal Lie Detection tools: Statement validity analysis, reality monitoring and scientific content analysis.Detecting deception: Current challenges and cognitive approaches, 3-35. Vrij, A., Hope, L., Fisher, R. P. (2014). Eliciting reliable information in investigative interviews.Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences,1(1), 129-136. Weisweiler, J. (2014). Unreliable Witness: Failings of the Narrative in Ammianus Marcellinus.Literature and Society in the Fourth Century AD: Performing Paidea, Constructing the Present, Presenting the Self (Leiden: Brill), 103-133.

The Problems of Terrorism in Modern World

Terrorism has no single definition. However, it can be termed as organized acts of terror, mainly unleashed through unlawful activities, and which is intended to create fear and intimidation to a particular individual, organisations or a state.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Problems of Terrorism in Modern World specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Terrorism is carried out with various motives, including political, religious and ideological motives. The acts of terrorism may target governments, non-governmental organizations or even individuals. Terrorism in governments involves attack of the government leaders, or other economic or social institutions. The acts can also involve attack of civilians. Terrorism is inspired by many reasons, which mainly include philosophical, racial, and ideological or religious believes. Other reasons may include desire for social solidarity and desire to seek attention a nd recognition from various institutions and governments. On the other hand, the use of force and intimidation by some governments and authorities to obtain political, social or economic benefits is also perceived as terrorism. There are many things that act to encourage terrorism attacks. One of them is vulnerability. This is a state of being exposed to acts of terrorism, or the likelihood of being a terror victim. One may be vulnerable to terrorism in many dimensions like physical vulnerabilities. Physical vulnerability can either be in terms of geographical location. One is likely to be more vulnerable to terrorists’ acts depending on the region or state where they live as posited in (Hulnick, 2004). Countries that are terrorists’ camp sites have high incidences of terrorists’ attacks. Many groups and organisations of terrorism cause direct and personal threats to many individuals. In many incidences, innocent civilians have lost their properties and lives fr om acts of terrorists. Physical location also determines one’s political, and also the belief system. If such systems are contrary to terrorists’ desires and wishes, then you are more likely to be vulnerable to their attacks. Various regions and states of the continents have different degrees of terrorism vulnerability. Some States and countries that are more powerful and influential either socially, economically or politically, are at times major targets of terrorists (Ginges, 1997). This is because terrorists seem to perceive that such countries and states may use their positions and wealth to fight back the terrorists’ acts and plans they propagate. The location vulnerability of terrorism can be reduced by being selective in terms of where one lives. Terrorists’ acts may also target various cities and streets. Therefore, selecting physical location in terms of operations and resident will reduce the chances and exposure to terrorism.Advertising Lo oking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Physical vulnerability may also involve structural systems. These include buildings and other physical systems. High rise buildings with many floors are more likely to be attacked by terrorists than low rise buildings. Buildings that are used by governments, anti-terrorists organisations or agents are at high risks of attacks from terrorists’. Various governments’ agencies, corporations and ambassadors may be vulnerable to terrorism depending on such governments’ stands and reactions towards terrorism. The knowledge of terrorism will be helpful in reducing chances of attacks. If one understands the relation of a government with terrorists, he/she can make decisions that involve less risk exposure and therefore, this makes one less vulnerable as a target of terrorism. Resources distribution is also another physical cause for vulnerability wi th terrorism. Communities and societies that have less resources might feel segregated, which creates a need for such communities and societies to find means to create more resources and recognition. Lack of fair political or economic mechanism to distribute natural resources may also cause terrorists threats. This means that the class or group that is segregated may use terror to fight for equitable distribution of resources. Therefore, equitable distribution of resources and proper political and economic mechanisms will help in mitigating vulnerability to terrorism. In conclusion, hardening against vulnerability to terrorism has to involve knowledge about geographical location, structural systems and resources allocation and distribution. This knowledge will be vital in adjusting accordingly to terrorism threats, and taking decisions that reduce the risk of attacks from terrorists. References Ginges, J. (1997). Deterring the terrorist: A psychological evaluation of different Strat egies for deterring terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 9, 170-185. Hulnick, A. (2004). Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security. This research paper on The Problems of Terrorism in Modern World was written and submitted by user Violet Hopper to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Using a Sample Aside From the Document You Are Writing

Using a Sample Aside From the Document You Are WritingEven when you are not sure about writing a particular passage, it is always a good idea to read over a sample anecdote and see how well it matches your essay topic. This can help you spot mistakes before they are noticed by the writer, and can also help determine the type of readership you need for your essay. Read on to find out how you can use a sample anecdote to develop and revise your essay.First of all, you must know your essay topic. The best way to develop your essay is to know the subject matter from the very beginning. The topic of your essay is just one of the components that will determine the tone of your essay and the tone and manner in which you write your essay.After you have selected your topic, you should then examine the type of audience you are aiming to reach with your essay. Since a sample anecdote is intended to give you an idea of how your essay should sound, you will want to choose an audience that is simi lar to yourself. Think about how you personally learned the facts about the topic. The sample can give you ideas about the audience you should expect to be involved in your essay.Next, you should look at the writing style of the person who will be reading your essay. If your writer tends to use a simple and direct approach, you should avoid using anecdotes to write your essay. On the other hand, if your writer is an introvert, you may wish to include an anecdote in your essay that focuses on the introvert in your piece.You should also take into consideration the way in which you are planning to summarize the details of your essay. If your summary is straightforward and does not cover too much information, you may want to go with a simpler example. On the other hand, if your summary is long and not too easy to understand, you should consider including an anecdote.Additionally, if you are going to include an anecdote in your essay, you should consider how you plan to discuss your poin ts. An anecdote can be used to support points that relate to the main topic of your essay, or it can be used to point out minor details that do not relate to the main topic of your essay. Because of this, you may wish to use your sample anecdote to review the essay as you are developing it.Finally, once you have considered these things, you can take the sample anecdote and translate it into a number of essays of your own. In order to make sure that your translation of the anecdote remains true to the original, you should make sure to use a vocabulary that is similar to that of the audience in your original essay. Also, since your original sample essay contained a number of different topics, you should translate each of these to your essay.When you use a sample anecdote in an essay, you should always put it into the same context as the audience. This allows you to improve the clarity of your essay, and it also allows you to translate it into the essay you are working on at the moment . This is especially important for long-form essays, because the best way to improve your essay is to always look at samples and compare them to your own essay.

6 Tips for New, First-Year MBA Students

6 Tips for New, First-Year MBA Students Being a new student can be difficultno matter how old you are or how many years of school you already have under your belt. This can be especially true for first-year MBA students. They are thrown into a new environment that is known for being rigorous, challenging, and quite frequently competitive. Most are nervous about the prospect and spend a great deal of time struggling with the transition. If you are in the same spot, the following tips may help. Tour Your School One of the problems with being in a new environment is that you dont always know where youre going. This can make it hard to get to class on time and find the resources you need. Before your class sessions start, be sure to take a thorough tour of the school. Familiarize yourself with the location of all of your classes as well as the facilities you might usethe library, the admissions office, the career center, etc. Knowing where you are going will make the first few days a lot easier to get through. Establish a Schedule Making time for classes and coursework can be a challenge, especially if you are trying to balance a job and family with your education. The first few months can be particularly overwhelming. Establishing a schedule early on can help you stay on top of everything. Buy or download a daily planner and use it to track everything you need to do each day. Making lists and crossing things off as you complete them will keep you organized and help you with your time management. Learn to Work in a Group Many business schools require study groups or team projects. Even if your school does not require this, you may want to consider joining or starting your own study group. Working with other students in your class is a great way to network and get team experience. Although it is not a good idea to try to get other people to do your work for you, there is no harm in helping each other work through difficult material. Depending on others and knowing that others depend on you is also a good way to stay on track academically. Learn to Read Dry Text Quickly Reading is a huge part of business school coursework. In addition to a textbook, you will also have other required reading materials, such as case studies and lecture notes. Learning how to read a lot of dry text quickly will help you in each one of your classes. You shouldnt always speed read, but you should learn how to skim text and assess what is important and what is not. Network Networking is a big part of the business school experience. For new MBA students, finding time to network can be a challenge. However, it is very important that you incorporate networking into your schedule. The contacts you meet in business school can last a lifetime and may just help you get a job after graduation. Dont Worry It is easy advice to give and hard advice to follow. But the truth is that you shouldnt worry. Many of your fellow students share the same concerns. They are nervous too. And like you, they want to do well. The advantage in this is that you are not alone. The nervousness you feel is perfectly normal. The key is to not let it stand in the way of your success. Although you may be uncomfortable at first, your business school will eventually begin to feel like a second home. You will make friends, you will get to know your professors and what is expected of you, and you will keep up with the coursework if you give yourself enough time to complete it and ask for help when you need it. Get more tips on how to manage school stress.