Death Penalty Essay

Capital punishment or also known as stopping point penalization is the killing of an individual by a terra firma which serves as punishment for committing unlawful actions and retri yetion on behalf of the dupes. Several countries such(prenominal) as China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the United States have retained this emergence of executing criminal. Different views regarding this issue have arisen moreover most tribe especially those governed by religious sectors have went up against the idea of remainder penalty.Death penalty has already gained its popularity worldwide. In fact, it was often the theme in any debate or even the usual conversation, thence wizard to the emergence of several arguments which atomic number 18 in favor and against stopping point penalty. murder of cobblers last penalty has several advantages. Death penalty provides closure to the victims families. It was very hard for family members of the victim to forget the traumatic aim and recover form the loss of a loved one. In fact there are cases that the relatives of the victim do not recover at all. This sort of closure is a great help for the recovery of the relatives. behavior in prison is not enough punishment compare to death sentence which gives finality to the horrifying experience felt by the members of the family. In death penalty, justice is better served. The primary principle of justice is that a crime deserves an equivalent punishment. Hence, when someone brutally murders another soulfulness, he deserves to be put into death. Just like what the code of Hammurabi have stated, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. execution of instrument of death penalty prevents the crime from happening again. If criminals are not put into death, we are not assured that this kind of person would not do such crimes again.On the other hand, death penalty commode execute all criminals but there are cases that performance of death penalty may include execution of an innocent m an. Do you mind an innocent individual will suffer from death? Implementation of death penalty is a sizable way of obtaining justice but can we call it justicekilling an innocent.Another argument against death penalty is that it is arbitrary and capricious. Implementation of death penalty often favours cheery individuals or people who have money. How about the poor ones? Only the bounteous are able to afford a highly competent lawyer, thus makes the process unfair. Those accused people who are struggling from poverty cannot turn over good attorneys thus making their chances of being acquitted very little. foresee how unfair it was? Even appealing to court was not possible. There are even cases that convicted wealthy persons pay the judge with a very tumid amount of money in order to become free of death penalty.Death penalty is geographically contingent which that it depends on state to sate. maybe for this place, death penalty is not implemented but on others it is stringen tly performed.Death penalty also is racist and classist in nature. Race unfeignedly makes a big difference when it comes to the implementation of death execution. For an instance, a contraband murdered a white victim. The black will executed 4 times than any other races. Still racial discrimination is dominant. That becomes a big problem of implementation of death penalty. One cannot avoid facial expression at races. Everyone is created equally by a supreme being perfection hence one must receive equal rights and equal opportunities. many will surely say that implementation of death penalty can reduce crimes because of the fear of death. That belief is not true. It is not true callable to the fact that some people commit crimes when they are not on the good state of mind. How can they weigh of fear of death if they cannot think rationally? We have presented both the pros and cons of death penalty. Death penalty is good in some ways but also awful in some other manner. Every hu man has different perspective regarding this sociable issue. Death penalty may be good for some but some would surely disagree with it. What is important is we respect everybodys opinion. contrive CitedGregory, David L. 2000.Legal Arguments Against the Death Penalty. 2 April 2008 http//www.vincenter.org/95/gregory.html.Messerli, Joe. November 11, 2007. Should the death penalty be illegalise as a form of punishment?. 2 April 2008 http//www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm.

Is fundamental analysis redundant Essay

IntroductionShortly subsequently the bank line securities industry crash in 1929, as the first survey of fiscal experts in the Great Wall, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd firstly mentioned the pattern in a defend called security summary Based on public info that intelligent investors are able to analyse securities and congeal whether the current correspond of transports and bonds is over or below their intrinsic value. The comminuted thinking and strong logic declare this theory become the inverteb compute foot of to the highest degree all investments theories in Wall Street. Warren Buffett, John Neff, whoreson Lynch and other famous investors become thebest practitioners in natural analysis. This experiment will firstly introduce the related theories of fundamental analysis. Secondly, the essay will explain assuage exchange period object slighton to equity valuation and the qualitative and quantitative factors of fundamental analysis. Thirdly, choosing a p articular confederacy analyses the alliances in the midst of the leading pecuniary balances and its simple eye legal injury. Finally, indicating why financial symmetrys and free cash flow model bottomnot explain Berkshire Hathaway coope dimensionns product line turn uplayy changed during international financial crisis.Theory Aasuumption & MetholodyTheoryFundamental analysis which is ground on analyzing the intrinsic value of securities, focuses on factors affecting the melodic line footing and its trend and lets investors determine what type of securities they choose to buy and when to buy. (Lee and Swaminathan 1999, 8 )The introductory assumption of fundamental analysis is that value investors believe that the grocery impairment is determined by its intrinsic value and the derivation damage can reflect its intrinsic value in the prospicient term.Cash flow modelFundamental analysts use cash flow model, dividend model to almost label a companionships intr insic value. They assume that the stock set of the intrinsic value is its bear witness value of the stream of evaluate cash flows and the selected reference determine are establish on generating the cash flow selective information. For example, using free cash flow model to poster intrinsic value, investors firstly assume the spy participation can attach at constant respect and then choose the reference value based on a constant growth rate (g)to estimate free cash flow the next 10 years. Secondly, they lead the present value of the 10-year cash flow based on the constantly discounted rate (k). Secondly, they estimate the terminal value P10=free cash flow*(1+g)/(k-g) and calculate its present value. Thirdly, they get the present value of the troupe and calculate pre- portion out value equity value/numbers of shares. Rational investors can yield well-informed investment decisions according to the relationship amidst commercialise impairment and intrinsic value.Qualita tive factorsOn the attach to level, fundamental analysis cerebrate on two factors qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative and quantitative analyses beget a dialectical relationship. Both analyses should join together to analysis and inspect on a particular go with. Although qualitative analysis is harbour for physical areas, with the example to tackle non-financial information, it can be widely useful in business concern and finance fields.(kesh and Raja 2005, 167) The qualitative analysis of the companionship level is pertain with products and work, competitive advantage, way cogency, corporate culture.Advanced products can get emergence cash inflows and improve company value (Carter and Demissew 2008, 63) because booming demand for products and services can lead to a high reinvestment rate of the company, this creates additional wealth.( madden 2007, 125) Competitive advantage can includes producing capacity and the efficiency of a companys design and cost control ling better than the industrys competitors. Generating a competitive advantage for a company will creates stake fuddleer value. (Vilanova, Lozano and Arenas 2009, 63) The cash advance of management efficiency can lower operating costs and company culture can enhance corporate image, leading to improvement of company value.Quantitative factorsThe quantitative factors in fundamental analysis are based on a deep understanding of financial reports which is the process of identifying opportunities and threats from the company, so investors must be concerned with the balance sheet, cash flow program line and income statement analysis. mo give the axeary statements consist of all distinguished historical information about the companys operation management during a precise time period (quarterly, yearbookly). all(prenominal) these information provide an overview of a companys business activities and can help managers assess the companys wellbeing. (Dayanandan 2010, 116)Financial stat ementDifferent users are interested in diametric areas of the financial statements. For example, investors and equity holders are concerned with anticipate earnings and dividends of the observed companies. Companys executives usually focus on the companys capacity. Therefore, based on historical reports, different users can get outlay(predicate) information about what they concentrate on. Financial statement analysis includes selected data from financial statements to predict the companys financial health.( Hagos and Pal 2010, 441) Applying these data from financial reports, much(prenominal) as profitability ratio, liquid ratio, management efficiency ratio, debt ratio, market performance ratio analyses year by year to determine whether to buy or sell observed companies.Based on analyzing financial statements, financial analysts are able to use profitability ratio, including gross margin, roe to indicate how efficiently revenue is generated. The liquidity ratio such as current ratio, net working capital can be used to prove the theaters ability to generate sufficient liquidity when needed and to meet misfortunate term obligations. For example, current ratio is an indicant as a rate of current assets to current liabilities. It measures the liquidity lieu of a company. With a higher current ratio over time, this company will be able to meet its current obligations and experience little(prenominal) financial take chances.( Zaki, Bah and Rao 2011, 315) Table1 Sourced by BerkshireYear roeTotal asset overturnDebt/equityP/EP/Bclosed outlay20030.1050.5881.3212.71.34$8428020040.0850.3941.2018.81.6$8790020050.0930.4121.1615.51.45$8862020060.1020.3971.2712.51.27$109990Table 1 above shows the some figures provided by Berkshire corporations annual report from 2003 to 2006. During this period, the stock toll has a real increase from $67600 in Jan 2rd, 2003 to $109990 in Dec 1st, 2006. And from 2003 to 2006, Berkshire Hathaway Incs net worth is $13.6billion, $ 8.3billion, $5.6billion and 16.9billion respectively.Graph1 Berkshire Hathaway(BRK) Incs stock price among 2003 and 2006Sourced by chawbacon financeThe increase of Net worth can indicate the stock prices change during this period. The accumulate in net worth during 2003 was $13.6billion, which increase the per-share book value of its stock by 21% from $41727 to $50498. Becauseof good quarterly reports and an annual report, the stock price reflected the companys performance, advance from $67600 to $89490. However, between 2004 and 2005, the turn a profit in net worth increase $8.3billion and $5.6billion. Although in 2004 Berkshires book-value gain of 10.5% fierce short of the indexs 10.9% return, the net worth fell from $13.6billion to $8.3billion, leading to fluctuation of the stock price during 2004. In 2005, the net worth fell to $5.6 billion because hurricane caused loss worth of $34billion. And in the stock market, the price fluctuated and even slightly increase. However, the price reflected the companys performance.As a multi-business company, its main business-insurance company called GEICO improved its management efficiency at nearly 32% and warranty numbers increased by 26%. On the other hand, insurance float of BRKs insurance company increased from 46 billion to 49 billion. Due to the capital cost rate of mostly 0% and improving competitiveness, its stock price rose sharply.Financial ratios (price to book ratio and earnings per share ratio) measure share price compared to earnings, book value per share and indicate whether the market overvalues, undervalues and appropriately values the firm shares. Managers use to assess investors perceptions of future prospects. more or less investors invest in stock market based on analyzing financial statements.Table2Table2 shows mainly the relationship between the book value and stock price. Financial analysts are volition to use book value to measure the stock price. From the table 2 above, the book value of the Berkshire Hathaway increases from $14426 in 1995to $70281 in 2006 and the companys stock movements, rising from $31900 in 1995 to $110050 in 2006. In addition to particular years, these two charts reflect clearly whether a short term or a long term, the trend of the book value and stock price is nigh the same. In the long term, the growth rate of the net worth is a useful indicator to justify intrinsic value. From 1995 to 2006, the net worth of Berkshire Hathawaysnet worth increased from $5.3billion to $16.9billion, to a greater extent than 3.18 times growth during the period. song price had increased 3.44 times with book value 4.87 times. Although 1n 1999, the net worth fell to 0.358billion, in the long term, this company still had a significant increase in its stock market performance.Analysts also can apply activity ratios such as total asset derangement ratio and average payment ratio period to measure management forte in managing its assets and to determine whether the investment in particular asset categories is in addition high or too low and also find out the efficiency or speed in converting accounts to sales or cash. (Dayanandan 2010, 114)Debt ratios such as debt to equity ratio and debt ratio can indicate financial leverage and the apparent financial risk assumed by the firms equity holders.ApplicationDow JonesGraph2 Dow Jones industrial indexSourced by yahoo financeGraph2 shows the change of Dow Jones industrial index before, during and after global financial crisis. The global financial crisis started in 2007 because the burst of housing bubble caused credence crisis especially in the debt markets.( McCarthy, Solomonand Mihalekl 2012, 1277 ) the stock market highly violated between 2007 and 2009. For example, in United States, the stock market increased to the peak in October 2007 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average about 14,000. After that duration, the Dow Jones dropped sharply from 12,000 in swaggering 2008 to 6,600 in March 20 09. After 2009, there is significant increase until now, rising to 14,929.Company- Berkshire HatchawaysBerkshires core business for insurance business includes the property hap reinsurance and special class insurance company. For the past 25 years, this company has more and more strong capital and little debt, for shareholders to create the value of more than 25% growth on average everyyear. Table 3 shows analysis ratios and stock price from 2006 to 2012. Table3YearROETotal asset turnoverDebt/equityP/EP/Bclosed expense20060.1020.401.2712.51.27$10999020070.1090.431.2413.81.51$14160020080.0460.401.4138.161.71$9660020090.0590.381.1918.11.11$9920020100.080.371.2914.91.24$12045020110.060.371.32191.18$11475520120.0770.381.23141.1$133000Sourced by BerkshireGraph3 Berkshires stock price between 2006 and 2012Sourced by yahoo financeThe gain in net worth during 2006 was $13.6billion, which increased the per-share book value of its stock by 18.4% to $109990. In 2007, the net worth is 12.3bil lion, which increased the per-share book value of its stock by 11% to $141600. However, in 2008, the stock price fell to $96600, and then there is an increase trend from 2009 to 2012.Total assets turnover ratioTotal assets turnover ratio measures the management efficiency of the firm in managing its total assets to generate sales. A high ratio suggests greater efficiency. Figures shown in table3, the total assets turnover ratio during global crisis had slight change between 0.37 and 0.40. However, the stock price changed sharply, so the stock price can not reflect the stability of this ratio. ROE indicates the rate of return realized by a firms shareholders on their investments and uses as an indicator for the companys operation.Return on equity (ROE)Return on equity (ROE) is the best indicator to key how much money a company is making for its investors and measurement of the companys operations. (Dayanandan 2010, 117) However, ROE is also sensitive to leverage. Assuming that proce eds from debt support can be invested at a return greater than the get rate, ROE will increase with greater amounts of leverage. From 2007 to 2008, the debt to equity ratio increased by 13.7%, from 1.24 to 1.41. However, ROE rate fell sharply from 10.9% to 4.6%. Although ROE react to debt change, Berkshires fundamental did not change in 2008. Most of Berkshires business is affected by the economic significant downward in 2009. However, its manufacturing services and retail generated a lot of cash flow and move to consolidate their market competitive advantage. Berkshires two most important businesses business insurance and utilities also had a good growth rate. These businesses produced a large amount of business profits in 2008.P/E ratioP/E ratio is a common come used by security analysts. In practice, investors usually use expected P/E ratio for the following year and analyse whether the stock price is overvalued or undervalued on the basis. P/E ratio indicates that a stock o f its P/E rate over 30 is more likely to be overpriced. The P/E ratio in 2007 and 2008 is 13.8 and 38 respectively and the stock price during the period time of 2007 and 2008 is $141600 and $96600. The change of stock price is overreact to the pre-share earnings.P/B ratioP/B ratio gives some idea of whether an investor is paying too much for what would be left if the company went bankrupt immediately. From 2006 to 2009, P/B ratio increased or decreased had no direct correspondence with the stock price. However, to most companies, the book value is always lower than the stock price. Because most companies have intangible assets such as brand name, specialized skillsproduct set power. These factors can not reflect in the balance sheet, but the long term trend of the market value is similar with book value. It seems that when P/B ratio increases, the gap between book value and stock price increases. On the other hand, the gap shows investors are willing to hold the stock due to its in tangible assets.Cash flow modelAll these financial ratios cannot explain what happened in 2008 and using cash flow model to estimate the stock price also cannot explain this situation. Because investors assume the company can increase at constant rate. Although they use long-term gross domestic product growth rate to reduce the risk of assessing value, this growth rate cannot explain and predict what happened during the investing period. They also use CAPM to measure discounted rate granted by the risk-free interest rate plus a risk premium. The formula is ki=Rf+(Rm-Rf)i. However, sometimes cannot estimate risk between the market and stock. For example, a companys market value increases from 10billion t0 20billion is less than market value of the company from 10billion to 3billion. If the company still operate well, from the market side, the risk of buying a company of the market value of 20billion is less than buying the same company of its market value of 3billion.ConclusionThere fore, during global financial crisis, fundamental analysis was useless. It is clear that during some periods the stock price is overvalued or undervalued significantly from its intrinsic value, leading to highly volatility of market price. Any market volatility is considered as irrational performances, so these market valuations caused by behavioral finance which do not have impacts on the companys assets valuations andoperations. (Adams, Armitage and FitzGerald 2012, 157).In the long term, the trend of the stock price is similar to the trend of its intrinsic value. On the other hand, in the short term, market price is influenced and fluctuated by political, economic, psychological factors, so market price is always undervalued or overvalued, but it is fluctuating around the intrinsic value. Some research show that sometimes earnings information cannot react to the stock market simultaneously and all the public financial information define a gradual influence on the stock market fo r a while. During global financial crisis, the stock price sharply fluctuated because of financial behavior. Debt crisis caused by housing loan had a significant impact on muckles confidence. Traders low confidence let them make decisions irrationally.Reference list1. Lee, C.M.C. and Swaminathan, B. 1999. Valuing the Dow A bottom-up approach. Financial Analysts Journal 55 (5) 4-23.2. Kesh, Someswar. and Raja, M. K. 2005. Development of a qualitative reasoning model for financial forecasting. schooling care & Computer Security 13 (2) 167-179.3. Carter, T. and Demissew, D.E. 2008. Value innovation management and discounted cash flow. Management Decision 46(1) 58-76.4. Madden, B.J. 2007. Guidepost to Wealth Creation Value-Relevant baseball swing Records. Journal of Applied Finance 17 (2) 119-130.5. Vilanova, M., Lozano, J.M. and Arenas, D. 2009. Exploring the Nature of the Relationship amidst CSR and Competitiveness.Journal of Business Ethics 87 57-69.6. Dayanandan, R. 2010. Worki ng Capital Management for Sustainable Cooperatives. Global Business and Management inquiry 2(1) 102-124.7. Hagos, T.M. and Pal, G. 2010. The means of analysis and evaluation for corporate performances. Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica 12 (1) 438-449.8. Zaki, E., Bah, R. and Rao, A. 2011. Assessing probabilities of financial distress of banks in UAE. International Journal of Managerial Finance 7 (3) 304-320.9. McCarthy, Mary., Solomon, P., and Mihalek, Paul. 2012. Financial Crisis During 2007 And 2008 cost-efficient Markets Or Human Behavior? Journal of Applied Business Research 28 (6) 1275-1281.10. Adams, A., Armitage, S. and FitzGerald, A. 2012. An analysis of stock market volatility. Annals of Actuarial perception 61153-170.

Ankle Sprain

An Ankle Sprain of a Female Colligate Basketball Player nonsubjective To introduce a case study about a mild ankle joint joint distort. range The most common way to sprain an ankle in hoops is to step on someone elses foot, or to plant and to gimmick the wrong way. Differential Diagnosis Could be an injury to the deltoid ligament, CF, or the ATF ligament. interference Ice, High volt, Theraband, Towel scrunches, Towel stretches, Whirlpool finish Rehab pull up stakes helper her get her strength back in her ankle as long she continues to work hard. Keywords Ankle sprain, High volt, Medial and Lateral MalleolusObjective The ankle joint is the most commonly injured part of the spurn leg. It happens from an unusual twisting action when the foot is planted awkwardly or when running on uneven ground. An unbearable amount of force is displace on the joint itself. Such injuries occur all the time in athletics or just by running. The ankle is made up of crams, tendons, and ligamen ts. The major bone of the lower leg is the tibia it holds most of the carcasss weight. It is made up part of the medial malleolus, which consist of the wrong up hump of the ankle.The fibula is the next largest of the ankle bone in the lower leg. It constitutes the lower leg end form the lateral malleolus, the outer(prenominal) hump of the ankle. The smallest ankle bone is the scree which completely makes up the bone on the top of the foot. The tendons connect the muscle to the bones. in that location be several(prenominal) muscles that help control motion at the ankle. The tendon connects one or more of the bones to the foot. Tendons can be stretch to torn when a great amount of tension is placed upon it. They can withal be pulling away from the bone, such as the Achilles tendon rupture.Ligaments provide connections mingled with the bones. Ligaments are mostly sprained. The ankle has many bones that comes together to form the joint. The most commonly injured ligament is the anterior talofibular ligament that connects the front of the fibula to the talus bone on the front outer rim of the ankle joint. Ligaments are sprained when a great than normal force is placed on it. This is make when the foot is inverted most of the time. This happens when the foot is awkwardly planted or is stepped upon during activities.Stepping in a surface that is irregular, such as in an athletic event when one worker steps on another player foot a sprain can result. Background A 21 year old female, basketball player experienced an ankle sprain by accidentally stepping on another players foot. The player was going up to make a shot landed on the opponents foot when she came back down, which made her ankle invert. The head athletic trainer evaluated her then taped her ankle to provide support and keep the extrusion to a minimum at that time, so the player could consequence to play. direct after the game, the players ankle was iced down to control the bulge and was recei ving NSAIDs to help with the pain or discomfort she was feeling. The player was referred to the team physician for x-rays and MRI to help rule out fractures. Treatment was started to help relieving the swelling and pain. Treatment In the first couple of years of rehab, she received high volt, and ice to help with the swelling she also did ankle pumps that also help with moving out the inflammation. As each twenty- tetrad hours went by, towel scrunches, towel stretches were performed as three set each.Compression pumps were administered for 15 proceeding several times a week, rhythmic stabilization, and aquatic remedial exercises were added as she got closer to the sub acute phase. The sub acute phases are about six days to until six weeks. In this stage she was allowed to correct straight ahead, trying wide figure-eight at first. Eventually the player was each on the bike or the stair stepper for 10 minutes a day. After the bike she was moved to the shuttle press with intrave nous feeding cords, and three sets of ten, after the shuttle she did calf raises. The farther she progressed, the whirlpool was introduced, and both(prenominal) hot and cold water.Two set of tens, in all four directions using Therband was the next step of treatment ultrasound was done to help break up scar tissue that had started to form. As her ROM ameliorate along with other tests, she was moving closer to the return to play phase. The return to play phase this is when functional test and sport specific operation can be started. Functional testing is important along with continue with other exercises and modalities. She moved to three set of fifteen with a Therband in all direction, hot pack assisted with high volt was added. side by side(p) the Therband the shuttle with the dynadisc, doing three set of fifteen along with four cords, she also did towel scrunches five times wobble board, marbles and exercise. ROM exercise was done to increase plantar flexion and dorsiflexion. D ifferential Diagnosis There are many kinds of ankle injuries that can be present in variety of ways. The calcaneocuboid joint injury is a kind of inversion ankle sprain that involves the ligament overlying that joint. Which cause immediate swelling, pain and tenderness to the touch modality? The pain is localized to that region of the joint.The deltoid ligament resists abduction and lateral rotation of the ankle. even sudden forceful motion of the ankle may tear the ligament or stress it. The ligament may avulse that is attacked to the malleolus a vast majority of case, thither will be a tear through the ligament. The tear could be associated with compression of the talar joint. There could be an injury also to the ATFL and the CF ligament. Conclusion The player went through all the appropriate phases to get back in to the return to play phase. She will continue to do rehab so that her ankle with improve and get stronger.

A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management

A Survey of discipline Tech nary(pre nary(pre noinal)inal)eprenominal)ogies in Logistics circumspection indigo plant Gurung University of Texas at Arlington Department of instruction Systems and Operations centering, College of line of reasoning Administration single-valued liaison Room 630 stage moving in Building Box 19437 701 S West St. Arlington, Texas 76019-0437 join 817. 272. 3528 Email emailprotected edu ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the impact of schooling technologies (IT) on logistics by conducting a prospect of literatures on academician logistics journals and practiti peerlessr journals.The literature plenty and practice find that tierce party logistic providers assume bust opportunity to leverage IT since they need to develop interoperable IT carcasss with their customers. The line of work doctrine of Just-In-Time (JIT) has excessively contri furthered to the impact of IT in logistics. Further, randomness technologies argon identified that has be nefited the logistics. emerging directions of logistics argon discussed. INTRODUCTION The proliferation of selective discipline technologies (IT) and the internet technologies have provided impetus and challenges to the logistics.New technologies rescue new-fashioned means to manage the advert of info. IT as a productiveness tool preserve be utilized to some(prenominal) increase the capableness and decrease the cost at the same time (Closs et al. , 1997). It has been widely recognised that firms peck achieve warring advan gradee by cost decrease or differentiation with the proper implementation of IT (Porter & Millar, 1985). Enabled by IT the logistics has be experience a source of competitive emolument for many firms. Two streams of research ar identified that soaringlights the role of IT in logistics.First stream relates to just-in-time logistics information remains (Anderson & Quinn, 1986 Bookbinder & Dilts, 1989 coney & Handfield, 1997 Gomes & Mentzer, 1988 P erry, 1988 Schwarz & Weng, 2000 Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1994 Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1996 Takahashi & Nakamura, 2000 Titone, 1996 Wafa & Yasin, 1996). The former(a) stream is the third party logistics (Lewis & Talalayevsky, 2000 Peters et al. , 1998 Sauvage, 2003 Sink & Langley, 1997 Vaidyanathan, 2005). Importance of IT in logistics has grown to some extent by affair philosophy of Just-InTime (JIT) by firms.With the emphasis of firms on JIT, the impact of logistics has grown as it is increasingly recognized as a source of consistent, low lead time, damage needy deliveries (Bardi et al. , 1994). In pursuit of competitive advantages, firms verbotensource their functions which ar noncore competencies so that they rat focus on their core competencies. A recent be free-base that 83 pct of the surveyed Fortune 500 companies reported having at to the lowest degree one contract with a third-party logistics provider (Lieb & Bentz, 2004).Over the years, the subroutine of third-party logistics has been increasing. Similar survey of Fortune 500 companies taken in 1991 had only 38 percent of the respondents reporting the use of third-party logistics provider (Lieb, 1992). The 618 third party logistic operators tone-beginning to harness the electrical capacity of information technology to provide superior function to their customers. The objective of this paper is to study how IT has impacted logistics. To this end, literature round of both leading academic and practitioner logistic journals is conducted.The side by side(p) section volition report the framework of logistics. The bonding section pass on analyze the IT enablers in logistics. Then, the implications of ecommerce ar discussed followed by a section on in store(predicate) directions for logistics. polish OF THE LITERATURE A classification scheme logistics functions provides a meaningful look to study how IT has impacted the various functions of logistics. Previous research in logistics have ca tegorized the use of information g overnances in logistics in different ways.A system of logistics functions can be change integrity into following five broad areas (Bowersox, 1974) installment location, transportation, inventory, communication and material movement. Based on the problem areas that action addresses, seven-spot areas of logistics has been identified as facility location, inventory control, order entry, vehicle plan, warehouse layout cookery, freight rate retrieval, and product and shipment tracing (Ballou, 1976). Another survey identified five categories as facility location, inventory control, transportation, production scheduling, and union physical distribution (House, 1978).These categories treated each category as private entities rather than a whole system. Noting this short advent, Stenger (1986) proposed another classification consisting of transaction systems, short-term scheduling and inventory replenishment systems, flow planning systems, and netw ork planning and design systems. Expanding on the framework developed by Bowersox, Novack et al (1992) divided logistics function into two categories. The first category refers to physical activities that are needful various utilities of customer need.These testament include inventory, transportation and customer work operations. The second category refers to flow of information or transaction activities that follow or initiate the physical activities. The physical and information flows in logistics function is well-depicted in construe 1 that shows the categorization of logistics functions as described by Vaidyanathan (2005). As shown in the figure, information flows in the midst of logistics function are managed, integrated and supported by various logistics technologies. 619Inventory and Logistics oversight lading Consolidation Freight scattering Shipment Planning Traffic Management Inventory Management Carrier Selection Order Entry/ Management Information bleed C ustomer Service Freight Payments Auditing Order Management Fulfillment religious service Desk Carrier Selection Rate Negotiation Information Flow repositing Packaging Product Making Labeling Warehousing Material Flow dose Fleet Management Cross Docking Product Return Figure 1 Categorization of Logistics Functions (adapted from Vaidyanathan 2005)IT enablers in Logistics The literature in logistics is full of instances where information technology has been touted as a means to enhance logistics competitiveness (Bowersox, 1974 Closs et al. , 1997 Rabinovich et al. , 1999 Stenger, 1986). still there has been few empirical studies that relates logistics information capabilities to logistics competence (Closs et al. , 1997). A popular framework in information systems discipline put forward by Gorry & Morton (1989) place logistics decisions as structured and varying from operational to strategicalal.The role of logistics information systems as operational and strategic enablers in different areas of the firms show arrange has been stated in the literature (Langley et al. , 1988). at that place has been a shift of IT from being an enabler of operational and material handling functions to being an enabler of decision-making and activityplanning functions inwardly the add up chain (La Londe & Auker, 1973). Logistics Information System Logistics Information System (LIS) is the application component of logistics information technology. An effective LIS facilitates the proper information flow between inventory, 20 Information Flow warehousing and transportation to realize the high level of customer service. The ability to optimize the logistics cost and service levels is bear upon by the LIS of the firm and its partners. Firms that provide better logistics services at a lower cost can have competitive advantage over its competitors (Bardi et al. , 1994). Two classes of LIS has been recognized in the literature (Closs et al. , 1997). Logistics op erating systems (LOS) refer to transactional applications much(prenominal) as order entry, order processing, warehousing, and transportation.Logistics planning systems (LPS) refer to coordinating applications such(prenominal)(prenominal) as forecasting, inventory management, and distribution requirements planning. EDI Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has successfully enhanced the communication between firms which is essential for logistics. This technology requires firms to have car park information formatting and transmission standards or protocols. Such technologies have been sedulous by companies to coordinate their value chain activities including logistics. Early applications of EDI has been on transfer vehicle location information by railways to their customers.Other types of logistics information carried by EDI are purchase orders/releases and changes, advanced shipping notices, bills of lading, and invoices. Timely and accurate information is master(prenominal) in d ecision making about complex logistics problems. Japan Airlines (JAL) take EDI to manage their complex value chain logistics required for their operations, including procurement and just-in-time rake of aircraft fuel, repair and maintenance aircraft parts, food catering and other customer requirements (Chatfield & Bjorn-Andersen, 1997).The competitive advantage gained by companies employing EDI is cited in the literature. Firms utilizing EDI were better able to fulfill great number of services to their customers (Rogers et al. , 1992). Bar coding Bar coding is one of the most IT enablers to date and has made fundamental impact in the practice. kickoff in 1960s some of the earliest implementation of barroom codes were in rail road cars. Nowadays it is rampant in anything that needs to be identified and tracked. The different type of bar codes are available, known as symbologies, for different purposes.In practice, most firms prefer to use industry standards rather than patente d standards for most of their bar codes on their products. By following industry standards, bar codes reduce the complications inherent in the use of multiple standards and thus provides a strong foundation for integrating the corporate logistics and the supply chain (Closs & Kefeng, 2000). real time communications capability The logistics IT capability of real time communications is essential for maintaining the flow of information.As noted by Dudley & Lasserre (1989), one of the important roles of logistics IT is to substitute information for inventory. To nettle real-time tracking of goods, logistic information systems of barter partners should have real-time communications capability. The wrinkle partners require an integrated messaging architecture which exchanges business data while customizing business flows and format transformation. Real-time communications also allows for schedule plans to change in dynamic routing and scheduling system when the vehicles are 621 alread y out on the road.Any last minute changes in routing and scheduling system or constant tracking has been possible only with real-time communications ability of the respective systems. RFID RFID helps to identify, track and locate items automatically. The use of radio receiver Frequency Identification (RFID) is expected to increase rapidly in coming years. Often referred to as the next step in the evolution of bar-coding, RFID is growing rapidly in the automatic data capture and identification food grocery store (Srivastava, 2004). RFID is not a new technology, in fact, its use dates back to 1940s but only now it is starting to make a significant impact inside the supply chain.The growth in use of RFID leave alone be enhanced to some extent by mandates from large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, and the US Department of Defense, who require their suppliers to adopt this technology within the next few years (Asif & Mandviwalla, 2005). Among the companies that are piloting RF ID in their supply chain management prominent ones are WalMart, Procter & Gamble, Coca-cola and Gillette. Although the biggest driver in the popularity of RFID has been supply chain, companies are experimenting in other applications as well.Other applications are theft detection, addition tracking, mobile payments, in-process inventory tracking and luggage tracking. Dell, Seagate, Boeing and Ford are among other companies that are using RFID to track their in-process inventory in manufacturing. An RFID system includes transponders or tags that can identify items antennas that allows tags to be interrogated and to respond and software that controls the RFID equipment, manages the data and interfaces with initiative applications. RFID has lots of potential to improve the efficiency in the supply chain and reduce waste.For example, efficiency would result from automatic update of inventory system when products with RFID tags are unloaded from trucks into stores. The advantages of RFI D over bar coding are as follows RFID tags can provide longer read distances store more data require no direct line of sight between tag and reader and can collect data from multiple sources simultaneously (Asif & Mandviwalla, 2005). There are some technical and business challenges to overcome before RFID can be ubiquitous. technical foul issues include problems of interference, security and accuracy while business issues relate to costs and lack of standards.Another significant business challenge in adopting RFID faced by managers is to work out a business elusion for the executive board. Early adopters of these technologies are marred by problems such as possible adverse consumer outbursts to perceived invasion of privacy, reliability of the RFID system, and issues related to health, caoutchouc and IT integration. IMPLICATION OF ECOMMERCE ON LOGISTICS The growth of ecommerce pose opportunities and challenges for logistics. As internet sell increases the companies are accepting orders from their clientele crosswise the borders.In many instances the location of clients are not covered by any existing distribution system of the companies. On such occasions the companies have no resort but to turn towards third party logistics operators for physical flow of goods. As for the information flow, the companies need to have capabilities for ecommerce applications. The group of technologies and processes for coordinating logistics information flow has been named e-logistics. An important web 622 technology that facilitates the exchange of business data among logistics business partners across different platforms is extra markup language (XML).For example, UPS is exploiting the power of the web services to streamline its information flows for logistics activities such as RFQ, shipping and tracking. Changing Trends in Logistics Consultants are beginning to take an active part in helping out the shippers select third party logistics operators. Shippers hire consultant s to help them align business processes with supply chain strategies. The newly coined term 4PL for consultants stands for dominant role that consultants will be pickings in managing the resources, the technology and the processes in the supply chain.It is insofar to be seen whether the shippers will let the consultants manage all the logistics processes. Instead of handing over the authority to manage the logistics processes to the consulting firms, shippers may learn to develop alliance with the third party logistics operators and maintain the supply chain themselves. The key thing that will allow coordination between shipper firms and the third party logistics will be information technology and management skills to run the supply chain effectively. This implies that firms should also have proper logistic technologies in place to enjoy the full benefits of use of third party logistics.FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The research directions that are available for researchers in logist ics are numerous. Before companies implement new logistic information technologies such as RFID it is important to assess the viability of adopting the technology. What would be the expected benefits? What is the ROI? Researchers can come up with various econometric models to predict the outcomes of adopting logistics technologies. Modeling techniques can be used to assess the scenarios that would be beneficial for adopting new technologies.As companies are unveiling into ecommerce, better coordinating techniques are required to streamline logistics activities for transactions taking place on the internet. Collaborative technologies for supporting e-logistics would greatly enhance the future logistics. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide an interesting avenue of research that is applicable for supporting logistics technologies on the internet. Intelligent software agents can be used to assess the bids offered by multiple third-party logistics operators. To support globose ecommerce the companies need to have different options for world(prenominal) logistics.The best way to traverse the geographical distribution is through technology. What are the communication channels and technologies that would benefit the company in terms of monitor and coordination logistics functions? More empirical evidence will be preferred to build the direct link between organizational mathematical process and logistics information systems. Researchers can seek to examine the complex alliances between logistics technologies and performance from different paradigms and theories. The office of organizational learning can be used to evaluate the performance gained by employing logistics information systems. 23 CONCLUSION The objective of this paper was to encounter the impact of information technology on the logistics functions. A literature review of the academic and practitioners journals was conducted. The information technologies that have been used to support logistics functio ns were discussed. It is evident that academic researchers are aware of new technologies in practice such as RFID. Development in technologies offer sources of competitive advantage for companies. Adoption of new technologies provide challenge and opportunities for the companies.Proper business case and calculation of ROI needs to be done to assess the expected benefits from new technologies. Changing trends in business in terms of ecommerce open new markets for firms for all sizes to expand their market share. Strategic use of information resource would bear results of competitive advantage and thus leading to success stories. The best practices in logistic information technologies need to be adopted by firms in alignment of their strategic goals. Future trends in logistics may prompt companies to rethink their logistics strategies.Firms may choose to use third party logistics in order to focus on their core competencies. However, firms need to have logistics information systems in place that is matched with the third party operators in order to fully benefit from their services. REFERENCES Anderson, D. L. & Quinn, R. J. 1986, The affair of Transportation in Long Supply Line Just-InTime Logistics Channels , ledger of Business Logistics, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 68-88. Asif, Z. & Mandviwalla, M. 2005, Integrating the Supply Chain with RFID a Technical and Business Analysis, Communications of the AIS, vol. 15, pp. 393-427. Ballou, R. H. 976, electronic computer Methods in Transportation-statistical distribution, Transportation Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 72-85. Bardi, E. J. , Raghunathan, T. S. & Bagchi, P. K. 1994, Logistics information systems The strategic role of top management, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 7185. Bookbinder, J. H. & Dilts, D. M. 1989, Logistics Information Systems in a Just-In-Time Environment , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 50-67. Bowersox, D. J. 1974, Logistics Management A Systems Integration of Physical Distribution Management and Materials Management, Macmillan Publishing, New York, NY.Chatfield, A. T. & Bjorn-Andersen, N. 1997, The impact of IOS-enabled business process change on business outcomes Transformation of the Value Chain of Japan Airlines, Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 13-40. Closs, D. J. & Kefeng, X. 2000, Logistics information technology practice in manufacturing and merchandising firms An internationalistic benchmarking study versus world class logistics firms, internationalist Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 869-86. 624 Closs, D. J. , Goldsby, T.J. & Clinton, S. R. 1997, Information technology influences on world class logistics capability, world-wide Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 4-17. Das, A. & Handfield, R. B. 1997, Just-in-time and logistics in global sourcing An empirical study, world-wide Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 27, no. 3/4, pp. 244-59. Dudley, L. & Lasserre, P. 1989, Information as a Substitute for Inventories , European sparing Review, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 67-88. Gomes, R. & Mentzer, J. T. 988, A Systems Approach to the Investigation of Just-In-Time , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 71-88. Gorry, G. A. & Morton, M. S. S. 1989, A Framework for Management Information Systems, Sloan Management Review, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 49-61. House, R. G. 1978, Computer Models in Distribution Management, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 129-52. La Londe, B. J. & Auker, K. 1973, A Survey of Computer Applications and Practices in Transportation and Distribution, external Journal of Physical Distribution, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 92-301. Langley, C. J. , Carlisle, D. P. , Probst, S. B. , Biggs, D. F. & Cail, R. E. 1988, Microcomputers as a Logistics Information outline, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Materials Management, vol. 18, no . 6, pp. 11-7. Lewis, I. & Talalayevsky, A. 2000, Third-Party Logistics Leveraging Information Technology , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 173-85. Lieb, R. C. 1992, The use of third-party logistics services by large American manufacturers, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 29-42. Lieb, R. C. & Bentz, B. A. 004, The Use of Third-Party Logistics function by Large American Manufacturers The 2003 Survey, Transportation Journal, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 24-33. Novack, R. A. , Rinehart, L. M. & Wells, M. V. 1992, Rethinking purpose foundations in logistics management, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 233-67. Perry, J. H. 1988, Firm doings and Operating Performance in Just-In-Time Logistics Channels , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 19-33. Peters, M. J. , Lieb, R. C. & Randall, H. L. 1998, The use of third-party logistics services by European industry, Transport Logistics, vol. , no. 3, pp. 167-79. Porter, M. E. & Milla r, V. E. 1985, How information gives you competitive advantage, Harvard Business Review, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 149-60. Rabinovich, E. , Windle, R. , Dresner, M. & Corsi, T. 1999, Outsourcing of integrated logistics functions, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 353-73. Rogers, D. S. , Daugherty, P. J. & Stank, T. P. 1992, Enhancing service responsiveness the strategic potential of EDI, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 15-20.Sauvage, T. 2003, The relationship between technology and logistics third-party providers, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 236-53. Schwarz, L. B. & Weng, Z. K. 2000, The Design of a JIT Supply Chain The Effect of Leadtime Uncertainty on Safety Stock , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 231-52. 625 Sink, H. L. & Langley, J. C. J. 1997, A managerial framework for the acquisition of third-party logistics services, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 18, p. 163. Spencer, M. S. , Dale, S. R. & Patricia, J.D. 1994, JIT Systems and External Logistics Suppliers, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 6074. Spencer, M. S. , Daugherty, P. J. & Rogers, D. S. 1996, Logistics support for JIF implementation, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 701-14. Srivastava, B. 2004, Radio frequency ID technology The next revolution in SCM, Business Horizons, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 60-8. Stenger, A. J. 1986, Information Systems in Logistics Management Past, Present, and Future, Transportation Journal, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 5-82. Takahashi, K. & Nakamura, N. 2000, Reactive logistics in a JIT purlieu, Production Planning & Control, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 20-31. Titone, R. 1996, Moving Beyond JIT to Logistics Planning, IIE Solutions, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 22-4. Vaidyanathan, G. 2005, A Framework for Evaluating Third-Party Lo gistics, Communications of the ACM, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 89-94. Wafa, M. A. & Yasin, M. M. 1996, The impact of supplier propinquity on JIT success an informational perspective, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 23-34. 626

Lumpkin Plumbing Essay

Lumpkin experienced a steady annex in gross gross sales since it began 1990 and has recently expanded inventories to accommodate a relatively larger sales emergence. Richard Lumpkin borrowed $150,000 to expand the warehouse to hold more inventories and include a flummox to attract retail sales. The expansion will benefit the company as long as inventories are managed well and the increase in labor does non harm profit margins. Lumpkin Plumbing projected figures for the balance sheet, income statement, and notes flows for 2000.Lumpkin anticipated harvest-festival for the 2000 year but underestimated the increase in native assets and liabilities by 47. 37%. Lumpkin also projected a 20% increase in sales and realized an actual increase of 63. 15%. though the company underestimated the sales increase, it was able to manage costs and increase authorise income 63. 42%. If Lumpkin can maintain its profit margin and take benefit of increased demand then the expansion would be ben eficial to the health of the company.Lumpkin is managing the expansion and should be able to make its lend reelectments of $50,000 per year. Lumpkin also underestimated the maturation of its inventories and accounts collectible. Inventories at Lumpkin increased 89. 39% though the increase was projected at 10. 48%. Lumpkin had $628,800 in inventories at the end of 2000 which raises concern for the liquidity of the company. Accounts payable projections were also off, with a projected decrease of $2,000 and an actual increase of $216,400.The increase in accounts payable is partly due to the extension of A/P days from 10. 40 to 45. 10 from 1999 to 2000. The extreme A/P could be from inventory costs and also account for the large increase in inventory holdings. Lumpkin could be planning for an increase in sales growth and hold inventories to meet the demand. Even if the discrepancies between the projected and actual figures for the inventories and A/P are explained by increases in s ales, these should have been accounted for in the projections and should not have been so dramatically different.Lumpkin Plumbing effectively used the loan to grow the company and is in fair financial health to repay the loans. Though the company has met the increased demand and managed operating costs, the difference in some projections raises reasons for concern. If Lumpkin is not able to forecast financial conditions accurately, the financial hereafter of the company is uncertain, increasing its default risk. I recommend Lumpkin Plumbing be considered for future loans after financial statements are analyzed repayment of the flowing loan is complete.

Influence of Role Models on Children

A voice amaze is someone looked up to and held in high esteem. They are often emulated and referred to for guidance. Children being very prestigious ass be heavily tincted by their social function models. A enjoyment model for a claw is someone seen as well-favoured and great in their eyes. Whoever the occasion model may be, children will tweak up actions, words and mannerisms from them. It affects them in every way, how they deal with people, their practise, and vocabulary and how they get to be.Role models can rent positive or contradict effect on children depending upon the social occasion model and others definition of what is good and what isnt. * Where do children get their social occasion models from? Depending upon the environment, personality of and upbringing of the child, their image models can differ greatly. Some childrens office staff models are pop singers and actors, they are often ones that are popular in media culture and invariably the childrens friends would have had an additional effect in affirming the role models.Some role models are noble, in that they are healthy to be role models for the child uch noble role models include parents, family members, people who do a lot of charity work or work with animals and people who serve communities. These role models are formed from knowledge about them, from the childs environment or from hearing stories about them from others. Children learn from their environment and are well-known to be like sponges that soak up all what they see and hear. How role models affect children Vocabulary Some negative role models that often swear or use derogatory words can affect the children who take them as role models by influencing them to start swearing and use ad row or curse words. Alternatively positive role models can servicing in teaching children to be polite in speech. Dress Children can seek to copy the fashion of their role models this is usually the case for role models obtained from the media, cartoons, TV presenters, movies or pop singers.These role models are also substantiate by other children at school, often making it fashionable and coolheaded to be like a certain singer. This can cause children to dress inappropriately for their age and cause temper tantrums. Again it does depend who he role model is, therefore it could be a positive convince or modest way of dress which does not seek to trauma the child in anyway.Behaviour Popular role models popularized by the media instantly such(prenominal) as variant pop singers do not always have the best of ethics or values that parents wish their children to have. A child can start to emulate the behaviour and attitude of the role model influencing what the child does and if they get into trouble or not. On the other hand, if the role model is one which parents consider positive, this can have positive effectuate on raising he child with good mannerisms and encouraging them to do well.Role models can greatly affect children from their dress, way of thinking, speech and behavior. A role model can have a positive or negative effect upon the child. Popular role models taken by many children today are often those publicized by the media such as various pop singers, sports stars or actors. Children can be deeply influenced by role models, so it is important that parents try to otter positive role models which will take in their children in all ways possible.

Deception Point Page 97

Rachel inserted the entire stack into the hydrolabs telefax machine. Knowing only a few fax numbers by heart, she had limited cho scratchs, but she had al induce made up her mind who would be receiving these pages and her note. Holding her breath, she carefully typed in the persons fax number.She pressed send, praying she had chosen the receiving system wisely.The fax machine beeped.ERROR NO DIAL TONERachel had expect this. The Goyas communications were still being jammed. She stood waiting and watching the machine, hoping it functi stard standardized hers at home.Come onAfter five seconds, the machine beeped again.REDIALINGYes Rachel watched the machine go into an endless loop.ERROR NO DIAL TONEREDIALINGERROR NO DIAL TONEREDIALINGLeaving the fax machine in assay of a dial tone, Rachel dashed let on of the hydrolab just as cleaver blades thundered overhead.119One hundred and sixty miles away from the Goya, Gabrielle Ashe was staring at Senator sextons calculating machine sc reen in mute astonishment. Her suspicions had been right. barely she had never imagined how right.She was looking at digital scans of dozens of bank checks written to Sexton from private space companies and deposited in numbered accounts in the Cayman Islands. The sm tout ensembleest check Gabrielle saw was for fifteen 1000 dollars. Several were upward of half a million dollars.Small potatoes, Sexton had told her. All the donations are under the two-thousand-dollar cap.Obviously Sexton had been lying all along. Gabrielle was looking at illegal campaign financing on an capacious scale. The pangs of betrayal and disillusionment settled hard now in her heart. He lied.She felt stupid. She felt dirty. But most of all she felt mad.Gabrielle sit alone in the darkness, realizing she had no idea what to do next.120 higher up the Goya, as the Kiowa banked over the stern pad, Delta-One gazed down, his eyes fixating on an utterly unpredicted vision.Michael Tolland was standing on deck besi de a small submersible. Dangling in the subs robotic arms, as if in the clutches of a giant insect, hung Delta-Two, struggling in vain to free himself from two enormous claws.What in the name of beau ideal?Equally as shocking an image, Rachel Sexton had just arrived on deck, pickings up a position over a bound and release man at the foot of the submersible. The man could only be Delta-Three. Rachel held one of the Delta Forces machine guns on him and stared up at the chopper as if boldness them to attack.Delta-One felt momentarily disoriented, unable to fathom how this possibly could have happened. The Delta Forces errors on the ice shelf earlier had been a rare but explicable occurrence. This, however, was unimaginable.Delta-Ones humiliation would have been excruciating enough under normal circumstances. But tonight his shame was magnified by the presence of another singular riding with him inside the chopper, a person whose presence here was passing unconventional.The compt roller.Following the Deltas kill at the FDR Memorial, the controller had ordered Delta-One to fly to a deserted public park not far from the White House. On the controllers command, Delta-One had set down on a grassy knoll among about trees just as the controller, having parked nearby, strode out of the darkness and boarded the Kiowa. They were all en route again in a matter of seconds.Although a controllers comport involvement in mission operations was rare, Delta-One could hardly complain. The controller, distressed by the way the Delta Force had handled the kills on the Milne Ice Shelf and fearing increasing suspicions and examen from a number of parties, had informed Delta-One that the final phase of the operation would be overseen in person.Now the controller was riding shotgun, witnessing in person a failure the uniforms of which Delta-One had never endured.This must end. Now.The controller gazed down from the Kiowa at the deck of the Goya and wondered how this could possi bly have happened. Nothing had gone properly-the suspicions about the meteorite, the failed Delta kills on the ice shelf, the necessity of the high-profile kill at the FDR.Controller, Delta-One stammered, his tone one of stunned outrage as he looked at the situation on the deck of the Goya. I cannot imagine Nor can I, the controller thought. Their quarry had obviously been grossly underestimated.The controller looked down at Rachel Sexton, who stared up blankly at the choppers reflective windscreen and raised a CrypTalk device to her mouth. When her synthesized portion crackled inside the Kiowa, the controller evaluate her to demand that the chopper back off or extinguish the jam system so Tolland could call for help. But the words Rachel Sexton speak were far more chilling.Youre too late, she said. Were not the only ones who know.The words echoed for a moment inside the chopper. Although the claim seemed far-fetched, the faintest possibility of truth gave the controller pause. The triumph of the entire project required the elimination of all those who knew the truth, and as fucking(a) as the containment had turned out to be, the controller had to be certain this was the conclusion. psyche else knowsConsidering Rachel Sextons reputation for following strict protocol of classified data, the controller take down out it very hard to believe that she would have decided to share this with an immaterial source.Rachel was on the CrypTalk again. Back off and well spare your men. Come any scalelike and they die. Either way, the truth comes out. Cut your bolshyes. Back off.Youre bluffing, the controller said, knowing the voice Rachel Sexton was hearing was an androgynous robotic tone. You have told no one.Are you ready to take that chance? Rachel fired back. I couldnt get through to William Pickering earlier, so I got spooked and took out some insurance.The controller frowned. It was plausible.Theyre not buying it, Rachel said, glancing at Tolland.The soldie r in the claws gave a pained smirk. Your gun is empty, and the choppers going to err you to hell. Youre both going to die. Your only hope is to let us go. uniform hell, Rachel thought, trying to assess their next move. She looked at the bound and gagged man who lay at her feet directly in front of the sub. He looked delirious from loss of blood. She crouched beside him, looking into the mans hard eyes. Im going to take off your gag and take charge the CrypTalk youre going to convince the helicopter to back off. Is that clear?The man nodded earnestly.Rachel pulled out the mans gag. The soldier spat a wad of bloody saliva up into Rachels face.Bitch, he hissed, coughing. Im going to watch you die. Theyre going to kill you like a pig, and Im going to enjoy every minute.Rachel wiped the hot saliva from her face as she felt Tollands hands lifting her away, pulling her back, steadying her as he took her machine gun. She could feel in his trembling touch that something inside him had just snapped. Tolland walked to a control panel a few yards away, put his hand on a lever, and locked eyes with the man lying on the deck.Strike two, Tolland said. And on my ship, thats all you get.With a resolute rage, Tolland yanked down on the lever. A grand trapdoor in the deck beneath the Triton fell open like the floor of a gallows. The bound soldier gave a short howling of fear and then disappeared, plummeting through the hole. He fell thirty feet to the oceanic below. The splash was crimson. The sharks were on him instantly.The controller shook with rage, looking down from the Kiowa at what was left of Delta-Threes body drifting out from under the boat on the strong current. The illuminated water was pink. Several fish fought over something that looked like an arm.