Strauss

Last Saturday, May 7, 2011, a Sofitel chambermaid entered a $3000 per night suite because she was instructed to clean it. But when she was inside she was confronted with a man without clothes and immediately this person started attacking her.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strauss-Khan Arrested for Attempted Rape specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More She was dragged to a nearby bedroom and when the man tried to remove her underwear she was able to fight back and escape. It was later found out that the man was no ordinary pervert for he is Dominique Strauss-Khan, the 62 year old head of the International Monetary Fund or the IMF (CNN Wire Staff, 2011, p.1). This study attempts to examine the report by CNN.com and analyze how data was used and how it can shape the opinion of the readers. Quality of Information The first thing that comes to mind is the source of the information. This news article did not come from a tab loid or any gossip column. This news article comes from CNN, through its official website CNN.com (CNN Wire Staff, 2011, p.1). It immediately creates a sense of assurance within the reader that information coming from this source is reliable and not based on baseless accusation or a product of a writer’s imagination. CNN has an organization has a well earned reputation of being an objective source of information that those who visit their website are assured that they have reporters who are trained to get raw information and then process it to produce news that can be relied upon for its accuracy. The same thing can be said about the report on Strauss-Khan and his alleged criminal offense. The high quality of information provides an objective view of the case. The reporter did not try to arouse the emotions of the reader. As much as possible the reporter focused only on the facts of the case. Later on it will be pointed out why the reporter chose to interview this person as o pposed to interviewing someone with merely an opinion or a casual observation of what happened.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Methodology The reporter who wrote the news article did not simply rely on the work of others. Secondary information is not the core foundation of the article. A reporter went after people that have first-hand knowledge about the incident. Thus, the reporter had a direct line of communication with the alleged perpetrator’s lawyers Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor. By doing so the reporter was able to discover a crucial piece of news, Strauss-Khan will plead not guilty. The reporter also used investigative techniques to interview Deputy New York Commissioner Paul Browne in order to get relevant and accurate data about the case. In other words the reporter is expected to receive nothing less than official statements regarding the role of the police in the apprehension of Strauss-Khan. This also serves as a way to verify the process used to determine if there is a strong case against the IMF head. It is important to establish an airtight case against Strauss-Khan because he is considered a minor celebrity and therefore there are many people who will benefit from his legal problems. Strauss-Khan is the leader of powerful and influential organization and therefore there are many ways that his lawyers can create a defense that can weaken the allegations made against their clients. Although the news is something that can easily be sensationalized it is difficult not to feel skepticism considering that Strauss-Khan is a high-profile target of many unscrupulous people. It is therefore imperative for the CNN reporter not only to report about the superficial aspects of the case but to help inform the readers if there is a basis for such accusations. The reporter did not disappoint because in the course of the investigation he was able to determine that there was a police line-up made immediately after the arrest and the maid was able to identify Khan from the line-up assembled by the police and strengthening the case that indeed the maid knew the perpetrator and that she did not simply made it up.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strauss-Khan Arrested for Attempted Rape specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The reporter also reached out to IMF headquarters. This is a clear sign of objective reporting and goes to show that the news agency delivering the news did not show any bias towards a person or group. But more than that the result of the interview provided a picture of how the IMF responded to the issue. The IMF seems to treat the case as a personal problem between Strauss-Khan and his accuser. It also seems as if the IMF tried to distance itself from Straus-Khan. Intended Audience The intended audience is the general public and everyone who a re considered as consumers of news content. It is for people who have access to the Internet and educated enough to understand the terms and languages used in the report. Although it can be said that the report is made accessible to everyone using non-technical language and easy to understand terms it is also correct to say that the intended audience are those who understand global politics and finance. Although experts are not the only people who can appreciate the said news article only those who have an idea about what the IMF does and what its role is in terms of nation building can truly appreciate the importance of this news article. On the other hand those who are interested in reading about powerful officials embroiled in a sex scandal can also enjoy this piece. Assumptions The reporter used investigative techniques and proceeded to write an objective new article because this is based on the assumption that any person charge of a crime should be considered as innocent until proven guilty. With regards to this case there are a lot of incriminating evidence. For instance Strauss-Khan left his phone when he tried to take a plane to France.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The IMF headquarters also confirmed that Strauss-Kahn was not in New York for official business. It is also suspect as to the timing of his sudden departure that coincided with the reporting of the maid to the front desk as to the alleged crime. The minor injuries suffered by the chambermaid are also circumstantial evidence that makes it appear that Strauss-Khan is indeed guilty. But the reporter did not construct an article that highlighted these findings because it will appear as if he is giving his opinion regarding the case. It is therefore important to point out that the writer tried to find out more in order to present a more balanced view of the case. As a result he included the information regarding the police line-up. Analysis The analysis is reliable and valid. The reporter did not gather secondary information and wrote based on hearsay. The reporter went to the place where it happened and interviewed the personalities that have a direct bearing on the outcome of the case. The reporter did not simply interview chambermaids in the Sofitel hotel, the place of the alleged scene of the crime. The reporter did not interview passersby but went straight to those who can provide official statements from their capacity as lawyers, police commissioners, and employer. The conclusion is valid and appropriate because the reporter did not take shortcuts in order to create a reliable and accurate news article regarding the incident. Both sides of the story was sought and therefore a more balanced view was given. It was implied that Strauss-Khan is considered not guilty under due process has taken its course and has found guilty of the crime. Nevertheless, the reporter supplied the information that helps explain why police officers were able to stop a plane from taking off and went aboard to apprehend Strauss-Khan. It can be seen that there is enough evidence for a judge to see that there is indeed a case against Strauss-Khan. Conflict of Interest There is no confli ct of interest and there is no ethical issue that can cloud the veracity and validity of the new article. CNN will not benefit from the downfall of Strauss-Kahn. CNN is not organization that directly received funding from the four major sources of information, namely the IMF, New York Police Department, Sofitel, and the lawyers of Strauss-Kahn. Thus, CNN and the reporter who wrote the news article can provide an unbiased view of the incident. There is no conflict of interest and there is no ethical issue that will arise as to the motivation of the CNN reporter to know more about the case and wrote a news article about it. CNN is new agency and it is the responsibility of the writers and producers of the said organization to go after newsworthy stories and inform the general public about it. Conclusion The report was handled by a reputable organization known all over the world for its high standards. The readers are assured that every time a new article from CNN has been published th en they can rely on it for its objectivity and accuracy. Thus, when the new broke out that Strauss-Khan a high profile figure in the world of international finance was embroiled in a sex scandal, readers knew immediately that this should be taken seriously. The same reaction is not expected if the news came from tabloid and other organizations that has not yet proven their capability to deliver top quality news article. Nevertheless, the reader has still to examine the information contained therein to be sure that the CNN reporter did his job to provide a balanced and accurate news article. After reviewing the news article one can make the conclusion that an investigative type of reporting was used and that the reporter relied on first-hand information collected from official sources. The people interviewed did not merely provide opinion and what they feel about the case. They provided information that was very beneficial to those who are interested to know if indeed there was a cas e against Strauss-Khan or if this was just a scheme to discredit him and tarnish his reputation. Reference CNN Wire Staff. (2011). IMF head to plead not guilty in alleged attempted rape.  CNN.com Web. Available from:  http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/15/new.york.imf.questioning/index.html?hpt=T1 . This essay on Strauss-Khan Arrested for Attempted Rape was written and submitted by user M.O.D.A.M. 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.

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Amateur and professional historians tremendously shaped the United State’s history; historians made America what it is today. Historians came to us in many different fashions. From heroes that founded our nation, intelligent inventors, even to the people who just simply wrote down our history so Americans could know what our ancestors went through. Historians from America write about a large variety of issues and conflicts that the United States history witnessed: the agriculture, illnesses, leisure, banking, and even the sewer systems of elder times. Historians have helped us to link the past more to the present. An Italian philosopher, Benedetto Croce, observed that â€Å"every true history is contemporary history†. Croce was trying to cast that history was a science and could recover objective truths if properly practiced; he insisted that the past is unknowable. This does not mean that one cannot find out anything solid about the past, it means that no account of the past is free of perspectives, prejudices, and the priorities of the author. There were few major groups of historians that dramatically shaped the mold of American history: the Nationalists, Progressives, Consensus, Old Marxists, and the New Left. Each division of American historians includes several people who symbolize what each group stood for. The Nationalists were the dominant historical school during the 1870-1920 time period. They believed that America was a great country and believed it as a legally constitutional place. The Nationalists were predominantly pro-business and were considered the â€Å"captains of the industry†. Andrew Carnegie, Walt Whitmen, and Allan Nevins were a few of the Nationalists prized historians. Andrew Carnegie and Walt Whitmen were both considered as amateur historians, and Nevins was a professional historian. All of these men thought highly of America and its constitutional foundations. Andrew Carnegie, Triumphant Democracy, ... Free Essays on Amateur And Professional Historians Of The United States Free Essays on Amateur And Professional Historians Of The United States Amateur and professional historians tremendously shaped the United State’s history; historians made America what it is today. Historians came to us in many different fashions. From heroes that founded our nation, intelligent inventors, even to the people who just simply wrote down our history so Americans could know what our ancestors went through. Historians from America write about a large variety of issues and conflicts that the United States history witnessed: the agriculture, illnesses, leisure, banking, and even the sewer systems of elder times. Historians have helped us to link the past more to the present. An Italian philosopher, Benedetto Croce, observed that â€Å"every true history is contemporary history†. Croce was trying to cast that history was a science and could recover objective truths if properly practiced; he insisted that the past is unknowable. This does not mean that one cannot find out anything solid about the past, it means that no account of the past is free of perspectives, prejudices, and the priorities of the author. There were few major groups of historians that dramatically shaped the mold of American history: the Nationalists, Progressives, Consensus, Old Marxists, and the New Left. Each division of American historians includes several people who symbolize what each group stood for. The Nationalists were the dominant historical school during the 1870-1920 time period. They believed that America was a great country and believed it as a legally constitutional place. The Nationalists were predominantly pro-business and were considered the â€Å"captains of the industry†. Andrew Carnegie, Walt Whitmen, and Allan Nevins were a few of the Nationalists prized historians. Andrew Carnegie and Walt Whitmen were both considered as amateur historians, and Nevins was a professional historian. All of these men thought highly of America and its constitutional foundations. Andrew Carnegie, Triumphant Democracy, ...

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Psychology Of The Fraudster Profile Of Fraudsters Criminology Essay It is important to understand the profile of a typical fraudster, by type of fraud he/she has committed, in order to control and detect a fraud. In case of an asset fraud, the person is generally someone who was not suspected, oftentimes least suspected. The profile of white-collar criminals is very different from blue-collar criminals, or street criminals. This statement makes fraud even more difficult to inhibit or identify. Who Commits Fraud? According to the principles mentioned above, one might conclude that fraud is caused mainly by factors external to the individual that include financial, economic, social, and political factors, and poor controls. But, what about the individuals? Are some people more inclined to to commit fraud than others? And if so, is that a more serious cause of fraud than the external and internal environmental aspects as discussed earlier? 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People who have a sense of right and wrong (fear of anxiety and punishment; that is, awareness of disclosure) are more resistant to commit a crime. Intelligent people are more likely to be honest than uneducated people. Middle and elite-class people tend to be more honest than lower-class people. The easier it is to fraud and cheat, the more people will do so. Individuals have different needs and levels at which they will be adequately driven to lie, cheat, or steal. Lying, cheating, and theft increase when people are under stress to attain important objectives. The struggle to survive leads to deceit. Individuals lie, steal and cheat on the job in a variety of individual and administrative situations. The ways that are followed are: Personal variables Skills/abilities Attitudes/favourites Personal requirements/needs Morals/principles Organizational variables Type/scope of the job (meaningful work) Preparation/training provided Credit/acknowledgment system Significance of administration and management Clarity of duties Clarity of job-related objectives Interactive trust Motivational and moral environment (ethics and values of superiors and co-workers) External variables Amount of competition in the industry General financial conditions Social values (ethics of challengers and of social and political role models) The question rises; Why Do Workers Lie, Steal and Cheat on the Work? There are 25 reasons behind employee crimes that are looked by authorities in white-collar crime (criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, auditors, risk managers, police, and security experts): The employee believes he can escape from it. The employee thinks he/she badly needs or desires the money or articles that are stolen. The employee feels unsatisfied or disappointed about some part of the job. The employee feels upset or unhappy about some aspect of his personal life that is not related to job. The employee feels mistreated by the employer and wants to get even. The employee fails to think through the penalties of being caught. The employee thinks: everybody else cheats, so why not me? The employee thinks: theyre so big, stealing a little bit wont damage them. The employee doesnt know how to manage his/her own income so is always penniless and ready to steal. The employee feels that defeating the organization is a contest and experiment and not a matter of financial advantage alone. The employee was economically, socially, or traditionally deprived during childhood. The employee is compensating for an emptiness felt in his personal life and needs love, care, and friendship. The employee has no willpower and steals out of an impulse. The employee believes a friend at work has been subjected to embarrassment or misuse or has been treated unethically. The employee is just simply lethargic and will not work hard to earn enough to buy what he/she desires or needs. The organizations internal controls are so relaxed that everyone is attracted to steal. No one has ever been put on trial for stealing from the organization. Most employee thieves are caught by coincidence rather than by audit or design. Therefore, fright of being caught is not a warning to theft. Employees are not encouraged to discuss personal or financial problems at work or to seek managements advice and guidance on such matters. Employee stealing is a situational phenomenon. Each theft has its own former situations, and each thief has his/her own purposes. Employees steal for any reason the human mind and thoughts can call up. Employees never go to jail or get strict prison punishments for stealing, deceiving, or cheating from their employers. Human beings are weak and susceptible to to sin. Employees nowadays are morally, ethically, and mentally ruined and bankrupt. Employees tend to follow their superiors. If their superiors steal or cheat, then they are most likely to do the same. Laws must be sensible, fair in application and applied quickly and efficiently to be respected and obeyed. Company strategies that relate to employee honesty, like criminal laws in general must be sensible, reasonable, and projected to serve the companys best economic interests. The test of reasonableness for any company fraud policy is whether its terms are understandable, whether its punishments or preventions are appropriate to a real and serious matter, and whether its application is possible in a well-organized and legally effective way. But what particular employee actions are serious enough to be banned and/or punished? Any act that could or does result in significant loss, damage, or destruction of company assets should be forbidden. What is acceptable or considered significant will vary by organization, but wherever the limitations are defined, they must be well conversed, demonstrated by upper management, and applied as essential. The greatest warning to criminal conduct is a guaranteed and impartial justice; that means immediate detection and uneasiness, a quick and fair trial, and punishment according to the crime: loss of civil rights, honours, property, individual freedom, or societal approval. Having said all that, why is it that, regardless of the terrible consequences of criminal conduct, it still happens? Obviously, it is because the rewards obtained frequently go beyond the risk of uneasiness and punishment; that is, the troubles caused by punishment are not as severe as the pleasures of criminal conduct. The latter seems to be mainly true in cases of financial or white-collar crimes. Many times, when a fraud is noticed, the extent of punishment and penalty of the crime is sometimes without even paying back the fraud damages. So while prospective white collar criminals may believe they might get trapped, but still the consequences are below the satisfaction which they get by committing the crime. High-Level and Low-Level Thieves At high levels of administrative life, it is easy to steal because controls can be avoided or bypassed. The amounts that high-level managers steal, therefore, is likely to be greater than the amounts low-level employees steal. For example, according to the 2008 ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) RTTN, executives average about  £834,000 per fraud, managers about  £150,000, and employees about  £70,000. The number of events of theft, however, is greater at low levels of administrations because of the large number of employees found there. The ACFE RTTN has gathered a profile of fraudsters based on the information collected from CFEs (Certified Fraud Examiner) in its assessments. The more expensive frauds, in terms of cost or losses, are committed by fraudsters who (a) have been working with the company for a long time, (b) receive a high earnings, (c) are males, (d) are above 60 years of age, (e) are well educated (the higher the educational degree completed, the higher the damages), (f) work in groups rather than alone, and (g) have never been accused with anything criminal. The most common frauds, however, are done by fraudsters with a different profile. These fraudsters (a) have been a worker for about the same amount of time as the high-level thieves, (b) earn much less, (c) could be either male or female (sex doesnt matter), (d) are between the ages of 41 and 50, (e) have completed high school, (f) work alone, (g) and have generally not been charged with any criminal conduct. Hall and Singleton provide a similar profile for a usual fraudster in general. These criminals are (a) in an important position in the company, (b) are usually male, (c) are over 50 years old, (d) are married, and (e) are well educated. This profile is similar to the one from the ACFE RTTN, and leads us to this general conclusion: A white-collar criminal does not look like a criminal! Who Is Victimised By Fraud Most Often? Measures to protect against fraud by either organization insiders or outside dealers, suppliers, and contractors must be sufficient; that is, they must achieve the goal of control-cost-feasible protection of assets against damage, loss, or destruction. Cost-feasible protection means minimal expenses for full protection. Generating an organizational police state would be too much control. A sensible viewpoint on controls and countermeasures is the best, and may require involving staffs in creating control policies, plans, and procedures. A well-adjusted viewpoint considers the costs and benefits of the proposed new controls while developing a trusting culture that includes loyalty and honesty. A distrusting culture is often associated with frauds. However, complete trust with no answerability is the main cause of fraud. Fraud is therefore most widespread in organizations that have no controls, no trust, no ethical values, no profits, and no prospect. Similarly, the more these situations exist, the higher the risk of fraud. Observed evidence shows that the most common factor in all frauds committed is the lack of setting apart of duties with no compensating control- a situation commonly presents in small business units. Small businesses and establishments (e.g., charities) have a higher risk of fraud than any other size business, because they are more likely to have one accountant, no isolation of duties, and no compensating control, and those factors are the most common in fraud. Start with the amusing hypothesis that most people are honest. Its a nice way to look at the world, and it recalls childhood memories about learning that honesty is the best policy and George Washington telling his father, I cannot tell a lie. Unhappy to say, human past and human nature tell a different story, and so do the statistics that study them. While most societies clearly dislike violent crime and physical harm, many societies hold financial fraud, whatever its scale, as a less disgraceful offense. Charles Ponzi, creator of the Ponzi scheme, was famous in some regions as a folk hero and praised by many of the people he helped. Investors and executives, whose frauds can upset thousands or tens of thousands of lives, have historically been punished with comparatively light punishments or serve their time at a low-security federal tennis camp. Some scholars have called this attitude toward white-collar crime a falsification of our general societal admiration for intelligence. During much of the past century, psychologists and sociologists worked hard to understand the inner workings of people who commit white-collar crime. Edwin Sutherlands White Collar Crime, the most significant work in the field argued in 1939 that an individuals personality has no relevance to a tendency to commit such crimes. Somewhat, he said, economic crimes create from the situations and social bonds within an organization, not from the biological and psychological features of the individual. Sutherland also made the useful and obvious, observation that criminality is not limited to the lower classes and to social misfits but spreads out, particularly where financial fraud is concerned, to upper-class, socially well-adjusted people. Over the many decades since White Collar Crime was published, convincing studies have concluded that two aspects should be kept in mind while analysing the psychology and personality of the fraudster: The natural abilities of an individual, which differ widely and influence behaviour, including social behaviour The social abilities that are derived from people and in turn shape how the individual deals with other people From these studies of psychology, two common forms of financial fraudster have been noted: Calculating criminals who want to compete and to affirm themselves Situation-dependent criminals who are anxious to protect themselves, their families, or their businesses from a disaster Since these studies were published, a third form of criminal has appeared out of disastrous business failures and humiliations. We will call them power brokers. Calculating Criminals Calculating criminals are hunters. They tend to be repeat criminal acts, they have higher-than-average intellect, and theyre relatively well educated. They typically start their careers in crime later in life than other criminals. These hunters are generally motivated to risk taking-no surprise there-and they lack feelings of anxiety and sympathy. A correlated view, somewhat different in its prominence, was offered in a 1993 study of Wall Streets insider-trading scandals by a team of psychologists who proposed that individuals eager to commit such crimes had an external locus of control-that is, they do not have inner direction, self-confidence, and self-respect and were driven by their desire to fit in and be accepted. Additionally, the study found that they describe success by others standards. Situation-Dependent Criminals But the main bulk of corporate criminals are not hunters at all. They are situation-dependent offenders: apparently ordinary people who commit crimes without the intending to harm others. This is significant in understanding white-collar crime, because nearly all news reporting and much of the scholarly literature in the area focuses on shocking, highly publicized, and largely a typical cases and ignores the more common and ordinary criminals and offenses that account for most white-collar crimes. Typical White-Collar Criminal Older (30+ years) 55% male, 45% female Appeared to be from a stable family Above-average (postgraduate) education Less likely to have criminal record Good mental health Position of trust Comprehensive and full knowledge of accounting systems and their weaknesses Previous accounting experience Source: ACFE At the start of an investigation, the forensic accounting investigator often sits down with the client and examines the organizational chart. The forensic accounting investigator and the client talk about each employee one by one, about each employees work, and about what is known of the lifestyle of each. What about Amanda? the forensic accounting investigator might say, pointing to an employee on the chart. No, it could not be Amanda. She has been with us for 20 years, the client responds. She is always helping others with their duties. She is nice and rarely takes time off. My wife and I have been to her home. Our sons are on the same football team. The client may believe that what he knows, or thinks he knows, about Amandas character and removes her from the list of suspects of fraud. In fact, an experienced forensic accounting investigator will understand that Amanda fits the profile of a white-collar criminal. This is not to propose that all nice people are criminals but, rathe r, that most white-collar criminals give the appearance of being nice people, thereby fitting the exact profile of Amanda. Power Brokers Many of todays highly placed corporate criminals show features of each of the previous two categories, but they are different enough in their methods and motives to possess a category all their own: power brokers. Like many of us, you have read about their excesses and asked yourself how respected business leaders could have been so fooled as to believe that they could grab the financial and human resources of their companies to line their own pockets and deceive a wide range of investors, including their own employees. Are the U.S. corporate leaders now facing criminal charges, which began their careers with the intention of creating a company that would enrich themselves while finally destroying the dreams and plans of thousands of innocent victims- are employees and investors alike? Were all of them hunters? Probably not. But a combination of hunter characteristics and the circumstances of their positions led them to commit financial crimes. Fraudsters Do Not Intend To Harm Generally speaking, situation-dependent criminals carry out their frauds with no purpose to harm any one. A high-ranking executive of Westinghouse Electric Co. who was accused of price-fixing in 1961 was asked whether he thought his behaviour was illegal. He responded: Illegal? Yes, but not criminal. Criminal action means hurting someone and we did not do that. It is critical to an understanding of the psychology of such people to accept this key point: most of them carry out their frauds with no intention of doing harm, and they believe-they are able to convince themselves-that what theyre doing is not wrong. These people may even convince themselves that what theyre doing is for the good of the company and everyone associated with it, including employees, investors, creditors, and other constituencies. Or they may believe that they deserve the spoils they seize because they rationalize their crimes as immaterial, innocent, or deserved-but not wrong. In most cases, they start small, but with time as the fraud grows in size, usually encompassing more than one scheme. Kinds of Rationalization In many admission-seeking interviews, suspects confess to their crimes, but rarely do they say, I stole the money. Instead, they bring up their rationalization for the crime. Such rationalizations can be of many kinds: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It was a loan, and I had every intention of paying it back. See (pulling out a spreadsheet), I kept track of all my loans so that I could pay it all back one day. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ That accounting rule is confusing and subjective. Accounting for the transactions in the manner I chose is entirely acceptable. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ My boss has been cheating on his taxes for years. Im just getting my share. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Everyone in this industry takes kickbacks. Im sure my employer is aware of it, and thats why they dont pay me very much. They expect me to supplement my income with gifts from our suppliers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Im the hardest-working employee here, and I know my boss would give me a substantial raise if he could do it without other people knowing. Instead, I take a little bit, but Im actually saving the company money because only I get the raise.' à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What do you expect me to do? You give me no health insurance coverage, and I need to provide for my children and my parents. They depend on me, and I cant let them down. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There are a lot of good people here. If I didnt make up a few entries to give the appearance to corporate that we were making budgeted income, they would close our division and put 50 people out of work. I did it to save their jobs. In sum, rationalization enables a person to take that final step toward crime. Motivations for Fraud à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..In a 2001 article, The Psychology of Fraud, the authors noted that fraud, like other crime, can best be explained by three factors: a supply of motivated offenders, the availability of suitable targets and the absence of capable guardians-control systems or someone to mind the store. Financial motivators obviously have a big impact on the cause of financial crime. These can range from an employee with an inability to pay her domestic bills to a senior executive under financial strain because he knows that market factors have adversely affected the business and analysts will be watching the latest results with eagerness. In this case, the strain may go beyond pure financial impact, but also to stature and reputation. Take the recent case of Computer Associates and its former CEO, Sanjay Kumar, and two other company executives. The governments indictment noted, Computer Associates prematurely recognized $2.2 b illion in revenue in FY 2000 and FY 2001 and more than $1.1 billion in premature revenue in prior quarters. The government also noted that the SEC alleges that from 1998 to 2000, Computer Associates routinely kept its books open to record revenue from contracts executed after the quarter ended in order to meet Wall Street quarterly earnings estimates. Computer Associates agreed to settlements with the SEC and the Justice Department to the tune of $225 million and agreed to reform its financial accounting controls. Some theorists have taken a big-picture approach and argued that white collar crime is the inevitable outcome of the competitive ethic of capitalism. According to this theory, competition is the field on which egotism and recklessness can have full play. We are constantly bombarded by images of the wealth and success that can be achieved through winning in the great experiment in social Darwinism in which we live. The inevitable result of such competition is the recognition of the economic inequality of winners and losers, which can be internalized as the constant fear of failing. This discontent may be sufficient to make a person see white-collar crime as the great equalizing act. The drive for money and the trappings of success are, therefore, the motivators of the act. The situation in which the potential white-collar offender finds him- or herself plays a most significant role in determining whether a crime will be committed. The corporate culture lived daily at the workplace can often create enormous pressures to commit criminal acts. Examples are common in the famous cases of price-fixing, bribery, and manufacture of dangerous products that occurred throughout the last century. A corrupt corporate culture can lead to the inversion of all values. Loyalty can easily slip into complicity. Criminal behaviour becomes normal. Team-playing becomes conspiracy. Fear of dismissal, ostracism, or losing the favour of superiors can be compelling forces in the world of a department or small company. In such an atmosphere, one learns criminal behaviour in association with those who define such behaviour favourably, as Sutherland contended. These acts cannot be explained by a personal history of instability and deviance since stability and conformity are the principal characteristics of these criminals lives. Even while committing the crimes, white-collar offenders are able to lead their conventional lives, which are, indeed, their camouflage. Their conventionality and stability are the foundation of the trustworthiness that gives them the opportunity to commit the crime in the first place. It is this life of conventionality that gives the criminal act the character of an aberration. It is, however, the white-collar criminals power of rationalization that is one of the most amazing aspects of their behaviour. They are able to behave normally and aberrantly at the same time without feeling conflict. This behaviour is possible through the use of techniques of neutralization. These are acts of mental deftness that allow persons to violate behavioural norms without simultaneously seeing themselves as deviant or criminal. Such self exculpating explanations can occur both before and after the commission of a criminal act. The most common rationalization noted several times already in this unit is that financial crimes do not hurt other people. Embezzlers commonly tell themselves they are merely borrowing the money and intend to return it later without anyone else being affected. Many embezzlers justify it because they had to do it to pay mounting family bills. Everybodys doing it is frequently heard as an argument for systematic wrongful company behaviour. Corporate offenders often consider laws as an unjust or unnecessary form of government interference disrupting free market forces. They may even argue that breaking the law was necessary for the survival of the company. Employees frequently offer a moral justification for their thefts with the argument that their employer owed them the money. Fraud simply expressed their grievance. For example, they feel exploited and underpaid or hurt after receiving a smaller-than-expected bonus. Many feel justified after being passed over for promotion; others feel they can do the job just as well as, if not better than, the person with the higher education. Personal antipathies, anger after a reprimand from the boss, and the like can all be self-serving explanations for fraud. In rare cases, mental illness can drive a person to commit fraud through a wish to damage the company. Others can be motivated by pure egotism; they commit fraud just to show how smart they are. Yet others are driven by anti capitalist ideologies and think they are destroying the system from within. Auditors Need to Understand the Mind of the Fraudster In the introduction to Why Smart People Do Dumb Things, Mortimer Feinberg and John J. Tarrant begin: If you are of above average intelligence-and if you have mastered the use of high intelligence to solve problems and achieve goals-it is the premise of this book that you are at risk [of perpetrating a fraud] because of the strength of your cognitive equipment. The book recounts tale after tale of successful professionals and politicians who did something dumb and ruined their lives. It is also a book that can help auditors understand the mind of the white-collar criminal. Because auditors, within the time at their disposal, cannot verify every transaction, they must make assumptions based on audit evidence gathered until the point of the decision. The more auditors understand about why criminals do what they do, the better prepared they may be to determine the nature, timing, and extent of audit procedures relative to the risks identified during the planning stage and modified, as may be warranted, on the basis of the audit evidence found. Professional skepticism is the attitude that must drive the financial statement audit. If we lived in a perfect world in which no one made mistakes, or lied, or cheated, or stole, audits would be unnecessary. But we dont, and so audits are required. Even with effective auditing, at the end of every audit and forensic accounting investigation, uncertainty will remain. As auditors continue to focus on the fact that smart people do dumb things and on the conditions under which white-collar criminals may act, auditors may be able to better select transactions worthy of expanded testing and know also how to evaluate the results of those tests. The so-called fraud triangle, offers three conditions that tend to be present when frauds occur: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Incentive or pressure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Opportunity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rationalization and attitude Conclusion As auditors focus on the number of people they encounter in the course of an audit, they would probably agree that a great many of those people would no doubt have opportunities to commit fraud. How many others also have the undisclosed incentive and ability to rationalize that are demonstrably part of the fraud triangle? There is no easy way to judge this. In the design of controls to prevent financial crime and in the performance of audit procedures, it is important to keep in mind the expression, Locks on doors keep out honest people. Predators, as noted earlier, have a good chance of circumventing most of the controls a company puts in place. Fraud deterrence and detection controls are designed, theoretically, to stop everyone else, but they wont, because it is unrealistic to expect controls that can be designed to stop everyone. Collusion, for example, may well defeat a well-designed control and may not be detected in a timely manner by individuals performing daily control activities. The best fraud deterrence mechanism is simple: create the expectation in your organization that wrongdoers will be caught and that punishment will be swift and commensurate with the offense. The emphasis on expectation is important. It can be brought about in a number of ways. Effective training and education on the importance of ethical conduct, background checks on all employees, regular fraud audits by forensic accounting investigators, and a strong internal control system are among the means. To create that perception, employees must also be well aware that their activities are being monitored, and all employees with access to financial assets and transactions must have a healthy respect for the robustness of the control system. If employees believe they will be caught and punished for wrongdoing, that belief may be enough to keep them from adding rationalization to incentive and opportunity.

Guns and Violence Essay -- Social Issues, Crimes

Guns and violence have some long lasting effects on not only the crime rate, but the rights that people have to own guns themselves. Even though the violence is a factor in why many believe that guns should be banned, guns should be allowed and not banned because they should be allowed because of the laws and the rights of citizens allow them there rights. The ethics and laws that occur with the current and enduring debates are another meaningful point. As Supreme Court Cases rage on about how a cities ban on handguns could break amendments, this is how the topic has gained from it (Hoxie 474). As crime statistics begin to rise there are many reasons that they need to work on the juvenile justice system (Collier 478). The other topic of the age could become a factor is another point that many think needs to be changed, as a 13 year old child could commit murder, they would not be sentenced as severely as an adult (Cohen 481). The ethic and laws play a huge effect on guns and violence because of the effects it has on crime, and the citizens themselves play a huge role on the society that they live in. Violence has been connected with guns in today’s society. For this reason a lot of cases have ended up in courts to try to decide what the truth about the second amendment is. As the U.S. Constitution guarantees people the right to bear arms. Not only is this but there debates about this amendment, that look to strike down the law in effect. There have been laws banning the ownership of handguns, which has been an attempt to stop the violence in districts. Many are searching for the correct way to regulate dangerous or potentially dangerous weapons, by doing this they would make the ownership of them illegal (Hoxie 474). But is the... ... that have guns. Even when violence is the factor it is why many believe that guns should be banned, guns should be allowed and not banned because of the rights that citizens have. The ethics and laws can occur with the current debates that get to meaningful points. The Supreme Court Cases continue to bring up how city bans on handguns break amendments, and this is how the topic has picked up from it (Hoxie 474). Crime statistics have risen for many reasons and they will need to work on the idea of a juvenile justice system (Collier 478). The idea of age can become another thing that might need changes, because a 13 year old child could commit murder and they would not be sentenced as severely as an adult (Cohen 481). The laws and ethics play huge effects on how guns and violence affect crime and the citizens themselves, in which hold a key role in the society.

Better Education for the Smaller Family

In recent years, a trend around the world has been toward a smaller family. Most families in the world have one or two children. In Vietnam, the average number of children per family has decreased in the last 20 years. A typical Vietnamese family has only one or two children. In the past, a family with more than ten children was not strange. The better education and the improvement of living condition have caused smaller family size. First, the average number of children per family has decreased because of better education. After the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese government has emphasized on education. Every kid could go to school to study. Therefore, more knowledge and more job opportunities have provided to Vietnamese people. High-educated people concentrate on their work and their income. They do not want to marry soon. The more late married couples there are, the fewer children are born. Consequently, the family size has decreased. Moreover, Vietnamese people used to think that a big family with many children is a happy family. The educated people have a different point of view. They cannot provide their children a good education and a satisfactory support if they had many children. They have realized the benefit from a smaller family. For instance, the parent can afford $1000 to their children a month. If they had four children, each would receive only $250. However, the kid in a single child family would receive the whole supply. A small family would provide the child a good condition to grow up. Besides, a problem has occurred from smaller families. The child becomes mischievous and naughty. The kid does whatever he or she wants because they know that their parent do not have many children. Second, the improvement of living condition has caused smaller family size. During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese people liked to have many children because they were afraid that they would lose their kids for the war. They wanted more and more of their kids to become more and more Vietnamese soldiers. After the war, they did not need more children. As a result, the family size started to decrease. Furthermore, Vietnam is a country base on farm product. Eighty percent of Vietnamese people are farmers. The farm work is very difficult and requires a lot of labor. They needed many family members to help their work. Therefore, they had many children. Nowadays, farmers have used machine and new technology in their work. The apparatus has replaced the labor. The farmers do not need many people to help them. Accordingly, they have had fewer children. In addition, more public services and information have been provided to Vietnamese people. The couples have planed to have healthy marriages. A small family is a good choice for them. This smaller, healthier family contributes to overall development and slower population growth. Nevertheless, the trend toward smaller family needs to be controlled in order to have a best result. Providing jobs and food is hard, but lacking work force is also a problem. Nowadays, people have fewer children then they had before. The more kids they have, the more money and time they spend. In order to have a happy family, they have to support a good environment to their children. Separating the parents† afford and love for three or four children is not a good idea. Consequently, a smaller family is the best choice.

The Most Beautiful University Libraries In The USA

The Most Beautiful University Libraries In The USA If you are looking for a fantastic library to study in, youre in the right place. There is no need to look further because we explored and evaluated hundreds of libraries around the US and after a careful study have come up with our list of top 7 Amazing College Libraries. These libraries offer great on-campus experiences, house remarkable and unique book collections, as well as please the eye with monumental architecture. 1. Cook Legal Research Library (University of Michigan) The Cook Legal Research Library is impressive and grandiose, having spires, stained glass windows, and metal works. Being the best of his time, Samuel Yellin did the metalwork. This magnificent library was originally built in 1931 to hold around 350,000 books and then in the 1950s there were 4 floors. You can also find the Reading Room and Study Group Rooms here, which can place hundreds of students. This awesome library not only has the worlds best collections of research materials but also houses the Cooks Library from his Manhattan townhouse. 2. William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library (The Ohio State University) This library is the central one at the Ohio State University, built in 1912. A significant long-term renovation started in July 2006 and the library reopened in August 2009. The buildings architectural style is Neo-Classical. This impressive building provides a variety of study and research places, a large collection of various book editions. The friendly and professional staff is always ready to help you. In William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library you can find books on social sciences and humanities including university archives, special collections, rare books, manuscripts, journals, general interest periodicals. Besides, there are sections related to literature, linguistics, regional foreign language, theater, philosophy, religion, history, anthropology, sociology, and political science. 3. Linderman Library (Lehigh University) The Victorian rotunda of 1878 and the grand reading room of 1929 were held in all their beauty. Linderman Library offers 4 seminar rooms, 5 group studies, computer classrooms, a quiet study space, a cafà ©, and wireless network throughout. The Library possesses volumes and journals in the humanities and Lehighs remarkable collection (over 40,000 books) of rare and limited editions. It has Darwins Origin of Species and 4 volume edition of Birds of America by James John Audubon. This awesome library can boast of a collection of over 15,000 photo images. 4. Nicholas Murray Butler Library (Columbia University) The construction of the building was finished in 1934 but the library opened its doors in 1935. Architect James Gamble Rogers built this library in Neoclassic style. Previously the library was called the South Hall and then renamed into Nicholas Murray Butler Library in order to commemorate the memory of the prior president of the institution in 1946. The main peculiarity of the library is an arcade of columns where names of great philosophers, writers, and thinkers are inscribed. 5. Doheny Library (University of Southern California) Doheny Library is a historic building opened in 1932. This first freestanding library was built in honor of Edward L. Doheny Jr. – the University of Southern California Trustee and Alumnus. Its still one of the university’s most famous and oldest academic buildings on campus. It incorporates numerous collections, including the Asian Library (there are materials in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages), Music Library, and Cinematic Arts Library. 6. William R. Perkins Library (Duke University) Opened in 1839, William R. Perkins Library is one of the 9 buildings that belong to the Library System of Duke University. This library can boast of a vast amount of Confederate Imprints (more than 200,000 photos) that include information on urban communities, rural conditions of the Civil War. The library contains documents and books from other libraries like the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library. This collection of documents is often proclaimed as the most unique part of the on-campus list. 7. Thompson Memorial Library (Vassar College) This Library was opened in 1865 and represents the main building of 7 libraries on the premises of the Vassar College. The architecture of this marvelous library catches the eye of observers. Not every library can boast of the Perpendicular Gothic style, which is very special for on-campus libraries. It has a valuable collection of historical videos, newspapers and periodicals. The Rare Books Collection shows the influence on the womens history. The oldest historic books can be also found here.

Ralph S. Mouse essays

Ralph S. Mouse essays First off, I have to say that this book is very appropriate for the grade level that we chose it for. The plot is primarily about the adventures of Ralph, the mouse, and I think the way that he reacts to situations is an accurate representation of where third and fourth graders stand cognitively and emotionally. He is rather self-involved, taking things personally that arent really meant to hurt him and often reacting selfishly. At the same time, he is capable of understanding how others feel and the consequences of hurting them. It is his empathy for his relatives and for the custodian at the Inn that urges him to leave and go to the school. At the same time, he was not able to see why his buddy needed him to run the maze, so he did what he wanted instead. The only reason he even tried the maze was to gain back his motorcycle. This story reinforces how children feel at that age level; they are centered on keeping themselves happy, but they strive to understand others as well. They a re capable of making sacrifices to help others, so long as they grasp the reason behind the need. The plot itself is entertaining. A mouse, which is as intelligent as its human friends and can speak to special people, can ride a motorcycle, and which runs away to live at an elementary school. His little trials are at times humorous, but still, they help children to identify with him and to understand that his problems are as big to him as theirs are to themselves. One of the things I like the most about this book is that Ralph still has mouse characteristics and habits, even beyond his appearance. These actions and thoughts are shown entirely from first person, so that again, the children can sympathize with the main character. Unlike the mouse in Stuart Little, the only two things that Ralph does that are human is talk and ride a motorcycle. He still eats like a mouse, lives like ...

Existence precedes essence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Existence precedes essence - Essay Example Throughout Sartre’s philosophical writings, from Being and Nothingness to Nausea, Sartre develops and argues in favor of this concept. This essay considers my personal belief in existence precedes essence, implementing one of Sartre’s seminal texts, Existentalism is a Humanism as reference. In considering my personal concept of whether existence precedes essence, I realize the truth is a complex issue. Through Existentialism is a Humanism, Sartre in large part argues from an atheistic perspective. For instance, he writes that the, â€Å"atheist existentialism is rather more coherent. It declares that God does not exist, yet there is still a being in whom existence precedes essence, a being which exists before being defined by any concept, and this being is man or, as Heidegger puts it, human reality† (Sartre, web). In my personal formulation of the concept, I tend to side with Sartre in denying a creationist concept of reality that has an intended purpose for liv ing beings. However, I also recognize that simply because Sartre denies the existence of an objective God, this does not also prove that existence precedes essence.

Business Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Intelligence - Essay Example to make maximum utilization of the information in hand to produce at the utmost capacity. Furthermore, with continuous advancements in the business environment, managers are facing increased stress to develop their credibility (Khan & Quadri, 2012). With this regard, the essay intends to develop the specifications that are associated with the needs of developing business intelligence. In correspondence to the above stated facts, the essay also focuses on developing an in depth understanding towards the challenges that may crop up in the course of implementation and helps in maintaining dashboards. The essay intends to develop a better understanding towards maintaining dashboards and includes the management of diverse challenges that could surface during the management of different needs. Managing business intelligence has been of complex and dynamic nature that imposes a challenge for enhancing the scenarios that are prevalent within the social domain. In this respect, the overall management of the business has been imposing enormous level of complexity that could initiate diverse needs of the system and enhance effectiveness of the managers to meet with the needs of the business. Dashboards help in developing a better insight towards the issues and enhance the ability to meet with the complexes that are associated with the business operations. Dashboards enable a business to monitor the needs of managing business intelligence and increase the effectiveness through successful development of the business operations (Bara & et. al., 2009). With the increasing amount of complexities, there has been a huge shift within the management of the diverse business strategies. This could be identifiable that management of information system has been a complicated job for the pe ople who are managing the diverse approaches within the system for enhancing the effectiveness of the business (Khan & Quadri, 2012). The