Mechanical testing of metals and polymers Assignment - 1

Mechanical testing of metals and polymers - Assignment Example 2. Procedure: Test Equipment Material Tested Test Speed mm/min Secant Tensile Strength-Metal Universal Tensile Testing machine 0.1% C Steel 0.4%C Steel 0.8%C Steel 1.15%C Steel 50 Tensile Strength-Plastics Universal Tensile Testing machine HDPE,PP-PE, PVC, PC, Acetal (POM), Nylon (PA66), GRN (PA66+glass fibres) 10, 50 & 500 Pendulum Impact Tests Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester PVC, POLYCARBONATE, NYLON 66, HDPE, ACETAL 7.5J Force Vickers hardness Test Vickers Testing Machine 0.1% C Steel 0.2%C Steel 0.4%C Steel 0.85%C Steel 20 Kg load for (2) minutes 3. Results Red 0.1% C Steel Green 0.4%C Steel Blue 0.8%C Steel Orange 1.15%C Steel Fmax Fmax dL at Fmax FBreak dL at break Nr N/mm? N mm N mm 1 414.53 8302.90 6.4 2020 10.7 2 691.64 13853.22 4.9 3930 8.1 3 896.10 17948.63 4.3 6720 5.6 4 1108.75 11098.39 2.7 4030 3.4 dL = Strain Hardness of carbon steels (load 20Kg) 1st measurement 2nd measurement 3rd measurement 0.1% Carbon 146 148 153 0.2% Carbon 166 162 170 0.4% Carbon 209 213 217 0 .85% Carbon 255 259 251 Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester. 1-Jun-15 M/c Model No 5113. Ref No A466690. ... 1.55 20.62 32.98 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 6 15.44 2.97 45.86 0.45 6.03 9.86 Charpy 7.50 Series Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Work contents n = 5 mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J x 15.82 2.978 47.11 0.38 5.05 8.03 7.50 s 0.3013 0.01304 1.074 0.09 1.16 1.80 0.00 ? 1.90 0.44 2.28 22.89 22.89 22.44 0.00 Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester. 1-Jun-15 M/c Model No 5113. Ref No A466690. Force 7.5J Material: POLYCARBONATE Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Type of test, PIT Work contents Legends Nr mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J â€Å" 1 15.82 3.11 49.2 2.29 30.50 46.49 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 2 15.5 3.12 48.36 2.39 31.93 49.52 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 3 16.01 3.11 49.79 2.44 32.55 49.03 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 4 15.99 3.12 49.89 2.23 29.69 44.63 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 5 15.39 3.16 48.63 2.28 30.40 46.88 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 6 15.81 3.09 48.85 2.47 32.96 50.60 Charpy 7.50 Series Specimen width b0 Spec imen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Work contents n = 6 mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J x 15.75 3.118 49.12 2.35 31.34 47.86 7.50 s 0.2552 0.02317 0.622 0.10 1.32 2.23 0.00 ? 1.62 0.74 1.27 4.22 4.22 4.66 0.00 Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester . 1-Jun-15 M/c Model No 5113. Ref No A466690. Force 7.5J Material: NYLON 66 Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Type of test, PIT Work contents Legends Nr mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J â€Å" 1 15.35 3.19 48.97 3.61 48.18 73.80 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 2 16.1 3.19 51.36 4.88 65.02 94.95 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 3 16.05 3.22 51.68 4.64 61.83 89.73 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 4 16.1 3.2 51.52 4.50 60.05 87.42 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 5 16 3.18 50.88 4.66 62.14 91.60 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 6 15.98 3.2 51.14 4.07 54.32 79.67 Charpy 7.50

International Portfolio Diversification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International Portfolio Diversification - Essay Example Investing on the stock market can be a very risky venture. According to Yavas (2007), both the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) indicates that investors should hold a well diversified portfolio in order to reduce risk. Beta is used to measure risk. A stocks beta indicates the sensitivity of the stock’s returns to the market returns (Madura 2006, p. 304). Madura (2006, p. 304) states that investors who have a diversified portfolio use beta to determine how well their portfolio reflects movements in the market. Investors believe that favourable characteristics that are related specifically to a particular firm will offset unfavourable characteristics of other firms. This is also true for industries and so it implies that a wide range of stocks spanning various industries should be held. It is expected that certain factors affecting securities on the stock market are either firm or industry specific and so in order to reduce unsystematic ri sk holding securities from a wide range of industries is recommended. This is also true in relation to national securities. Certain risks are country specific and so in order to reduce risk international portfolio diversification is recommended. This paper examines how International portfolio diversification can result in a reduction in portfolio risk. It looks at various elements of risk that are associated with portfolio. It looks at market returns in five countries and shows how correlation between these markets can impact negatively on portfolio risk reduction. An analysis is also carried out to determine whether of the returns on stock markets in Japan and Canada are integrated based on their trade relationships over the years. The findings from other studies are also explored to determine how they concur with the results from this research. How can international diversification reduce risk? There are differences in the level of economic growth among countries. Some are develop ed while others are developing. Yavak (2007) states that these differences can lead to portfolio risk reduction as the timing of business cycles are usually different. According to Eiteman et al (2007) the case for international portfolio diversification can be broken down into two components. They are the potential risk reduction benefits of holding international securities and the potential foreign exchange risks that comes with it. Portfolio risk reduction The risk associated with a portfolio of securities is measured by the ratio of the variance of the return on the portfolio in relation to the variance of the market return (Eiteman et al 2007). As noted earlier, this is represented by beta. As the number of securities in the portfolio increases the portfolios beta approaches the market beta. A portfolio that is fully diversified would have a beta that is equal to 1. Therefore the risk that is associated with holding a particular stock can be reduced through diversification. How ever, risk cannot be eliminated totally (Eiteman et al 2007). This can be explained by the fact that the total risk of a portfolio comprises a systematic and a non-systematic element. The systematic element is associated with the market and unsystematic element is related to the individual elements in the portfolio. Increasing the number of securities in the portfolio reduces the unsystematic element (Eiteman et al 2007). This same approach can be taken in the form of investing in various stock markets across the globe. When investors hold securities in several countries they are able to cushion their portfolio from shocks in any one market. Therefore, if economic conditions in one country are affected by unfavorable factors, any resultant reduction in stock market returns may be offset somewhat by gains in other stock markets or at least be cushioned by the relative weight of other securities held in other parts of the world. This is however, assuming that the markets are not highl y

Why Boston University is a good fit for you and what specifically has Essay - 1

Why Boston University is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission - Essay Example e understand and create a solution to their problems, I was able to prove to myself that with ample knowledge about the human brain and its effects on human behaviour would allow me to help more people in the future. Taking up a bachelor’s degree with a major in Psychology is exactly what I think suits me best. As of the moment, I have not thought about the area in which I would like to specialize, though I am hoping that the university would guide me through which road I should take eventually. My fascination about the human brain is too profound for me to put it to waste. It would be an honor for me to share that passion with one of the most prestigious universities in the country, Boston University. With the university’s excellent programs, I am confident that they will provide me with exceptional learning experience that would further nourish the desire within me to understand the complexity of the human mind. Being a pioneer in the research programs among the various educational institutions in the country (â€Å"Boston†), its members of the faculty are equipped with adequate wisdom and knowledge of the areas I hope to gain as much learning as possible. I believe I deserve to be educated in this institution because I share the same passion that they have particularly in recognizing the need to interpret people’s behaviour as dictated by their

Information system and types Essay Example for Free

Information system and types Essay For this paper I was asked to define an information system and types of information systems, Provide three examples of information systems used in real life and tell us what type of information systems they are and how are they related to the learning objectives for this module. I have picked three examples of information systems in real life applications, they are: Pandora radio (decision support system), cashier register (transaction processing system) and Facebook (office automation system). Information system are vital to knowledge management, they provide a simple system to ensure the success of not only businesses, but national defense as well. * Define an information system and types of information systems An information system is the interaction between people, processes, data and technology. Information systems are also any combination of information technology and peoples activity that support operations, management and decision making. Let’s now look at the three different types of information systems that I will use for my real life examples. Transaction Processing System: TPS stands for Transaction Processing System, and is the most well-known example. TPS is best recognized by any type of system that utilizes bank card processing. Any time a person pays for goods or services via their bank card, the transaction is sent to the bank. The bank in turn either approves or denies this transaction. The key point to notice in this type of system is that it guarantees that either the transaction completely succeeds or completely fails. This type of system is used in many types of systems though, and not just limited to financial transactions. (Mills, Kevin (June 30, 2011) IT Collaborate: Information Systems used in Modern Business. Retrieved January 7, 2013 from http://www.itcollaborate.com/71/information-systems-used-in-modern-business/) Decision Support System: In its most simple form, the DSS can be found in many types of automatic text completion systems. One of the most popular forms of this system is Google Suggest. Google Suggest is a type of auto complete feature that completes your search phrase based on the majority of searches it has based on what has already been entered by the user. . (Mills, Kevin (June 30, 2011) IT Collaborate: Information Systems used in Modern Business. Retrieved January  7, 2013 from http://www.itcollaborate.com/71/information-systems-used-in-modern-business/) Office Automation System: Office automation systems can take many forms, but their primary function remains the same throughout, and that is to facilitate information exchange between people in an organization. Some of these systems may include word processors, spreadsheets, email clients, file sharing systems, databases, etc. The main benefit behind this type of technology is that the more freely that information flows around an office, the more productive the environment is. With the increase in production, the organization can raise its profits considerably as the efficiency of data exchange increases, allowing a decrease in the time it takes to deliver the product to the customer. (Mills, Kevin (June 30, 2011) IT Collaborate: Information Systems used in Modern Business. Retrieved January 7, 2013 from http://www.itcollaborate.com/71/information-systems-used-in-modern-business/) * Provide three examples of information systems used in real life and tell us what type of information systems they are Pandora radio is a decision support system and I will explain why. The decision support system uses an auto complete feature like we learned earlier, it memorizes what you have previously searched or looked at. Pandora radio has a like button and a do not like button so the user can filter out what he or she likes/dislikes. The application remembers the genre and artists the user has previously liked to create the ultimate playlist. This decision support system has created a more efficient way of listening to music, no more stopping and hitting the next button. The Cash register is the ultimate transaction processing system. It creates a simple bond between consumer and supplier, in turn creating a fast and effective way of purchasing goods. Like the definition above, this transaction processing system guarantees a â€Å"no or go† scenario that is easy to understand. This system creates a simple transaction log that is easy for operators, management and owners to gather information. Facebook is an online database that provides information to every user on a continual basis. Facebook is always updating within seconds of a user posting information and how does this coincide with the office  automation system? The information from Facebook gives the users a constant information flow, thus increasing data that can be dispersed efficiently. * How is this related to the learning objectives of this module? The objectives of this module where to define the key principles of knowledge management define the different types of information systems and be able to differentiate between data, knowledge and information. When you break down the information systems that I have covered, you can see data, information and knowledge. Facebook is a database that disperses information and knowledge, a cash register stockpiles information by creating transaction receipts for future knowledge of store purchases and Pandora uses knowledge to remember what the user has previously â€Å"like† or disliked† to create a positive environment. So with these examples, you have the three main ingredients of knowledge management. Without data, information and knowledge, we can’t continue to create more efficient information systems for years to come. REFRENCES Mills, Kevin (June 30, 2011) IT Collaborate: Information Systems used in Modern Business. Retrieved January 7, 2013 from http://www.itcollaborate.com/71/information-systems-used-in-modern-business/

The Absolute War

The Absolute War In order to understand why absolute war does not occur in reality, the absolute war should be defined in the first place. It should be underlined that absolute war differs from total war. Total war involved the total subordination of politics to the war effort, an idea Clausewitz emphatically rejected, and the assumption that total victory or total defeat were the only options. Total war involved no suspension of the effects of time and space, on the other hand Clausewitzs concept of the absolute did.[1] The word absolute refers to purity and extremes in that sense. Before explaining Clausewitzs conception of absolute war, his military as well as intellectual and historical background should be kept in mind. The context of Clausewitzs ideas which covers the transition from the enlightenment to the German movement that was hostile to it should be recognized. In Berlin Institute for Young Officers, he learnt that the theory had to be concrete and circumstantial, encompass that formed the reality, and be closely linked to historical experience.[2] He was also influenced by the theoretical ideal that has to reflect the relationship between the parts of war and the whole, and be necessarily grounded in the nature of things. The primacy of the major battle, aided by a massive concentration of forces and aggressive conduct, and aiming at the total overthrow of the enemy reflected the impact of the Napoleonic experience.[3] In 1827, while composing On War, Clausewitzs line of thought underwent a radical change of direction. He transformed but did not ab andon his old military outlook, and developed completely new theoretical devices. The origins and nature of Clausewitzs new theoretical framework have remained a mystery, and as a result the exact nature of the transformation in his thought has not been entirely clear. This explains why Clausewitzs ideas could be interpreted so differently by successive generations.[4] Clausewitz wanted to do more than merely writing for next generations, or Prussian army, he wanted to search for the absolute, the very nature, or the regulative idea of things.[5] He put emphasis on the role of the theory that it is its duty to give the place to the absolute form of war and to use that form as a general point of direction, it had to reflect the relationship between the parts of war and the whole, and to be found in the nature of things. He regarded absolute war as ideal in the philosophical sense, as a regulative idea which gives unity and objectivity to diverse phenomena, an idea like that of perfect beauty in art which may never be attained but constantly approximated.[6] According to Clausewitz, the definition of war is: War therefore is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will.[7] After defining, he then deductively argued from this definition to essential features to conclude how one should behave to realize its will. Therefore, from the definition, it can be understood that the violence, or physical force is the means, and the compulsory compliance of the adversary to our will is the ultimate end. To this end, the violence is pushed to its utmost bounds, since one side dictates law to its adversary, there occurs a kind of reciprocal action, leading to an extreme, which is first reciprocal action [8]. To compel the enemy to our will, the enemy must be placed in a situation so that he would sacrifice which is demanded. This situation can be disarming the enemy, threatening him with it, or overthrow of him. As long as the enemy is not defeated, there is always possibility that he may dictate to the other side. Therefore, it is the second reciprocal action leading to second extreme.[9] If one wants to defeat the adversary, he must proportionate his efforts to the others powers of resistance by increasing the means as much as possible, however the adversary would do the same and meet him in a new mutual enhancement, therefore there would occur the third reciprocal action leading to the third extreme.[10] The absolute war can also be understood as a war, in which all available force is concentrated into a single, instantaneous blow.[11] From this logic, it can be argued that there can be no middle ground between the state of peace and the absolute war, the two extremes where force remains wholly unused or wholly and immediately used in order to make the adversary defenceless. However, in reality, the conduct of war engages the incremental use of force.[12] The discrepancy between the absolute and real wars is due to the two basic factors. Firstly, the real war is dictated by the time and space. Actual military means are spatially distributed; therefore they can be employed in some period of time, but not instantaneously. Also, the real war is affected by the friction, which refers to the obstacles to the efficient usage of force that the real world imposes, and it is caused by the chance, and uncertainty, physical exertion and danger.[13] Moreover, for constraining the absoluteness of war, Clausewitz introduced the effect of politics on wars. According to him, all characteristics of war are influenced by politics, and this influence is not part of the nature of war. On the contrary, the influence of politics is an external force which works against the true essence of war, harnesses it to its needs, and modifies the imperatives which it imposes in the process.[14] It is due to the fact that when the political influence on the war is admitted, one may be willing to wage minimal are closely linked to the character and scope of the political objectives. These wars may consist threatening the enemy, with negotiations held in reserve.[15] Therefore, the politics convert the destructive element of war into a mere instrument, in other words, the conception that war is a mere continuation of policy by other means.[16] To introduce the Trinitarian nature of war, Clausewitz, first of all, wrote that warfare was a complex combination of passion, chance and reason. War is partly a matter of great passion, of hatred, danger, exertion. To the extent that war was an extension of politics, it was a rational, purposive activity aimed at altering the behaviour of an opponent. War, according to Clausewitz, was also the realm of chance. This combination makes war a paradoxical trinity. [17] In short, war is composed of three elements: first, primitive violence, hatred, and hostility, which should be regarded as a blind natural force; second, the play of chance and probability within which the creative spirit is free to roam; and third, its subordination, as an instrument of policy, which makes it subject to reason alone.[18] The relations among these elements are fluid and tense. As warfare moves towards its absolute nature, the passion increases and the rational direction of war becomes more problematic. As the violence becomes more complete, untramelled, and absolute -since the pure concept requires, war would drive policy out of office and it would rule by the laws of its own nature. As the goals of war expand and the stakes increase, warfare would tend to move towards to the absolute form. This tendency towards absolute war would increase the tensions between the constitutive elements of the trinity, threatening to displace reason.[19] However, by arguing that the war is the extension of politics, Clausewitz asserted the rational direction of war as a whole. Similarly, as long as war is a political activity, it is fought for a purpose. It is neither the result of unreasoning passion, nor the result of mistakes. Besides, to explain the fact that although politics is artificial element to the nature of war, the real war may still come close to the absolute war. From Clausewitzs writings, it can be understood that state policy determines the main lines along which war is to move. This is the correct order of things, since the policy does not demand anything against the nature of war. If the political tensions carry very powerful character, and if adequate material means are given, the political aim may disappear behind, or rather coincide with, the military aim of disarming the enemy. In such case, real war approaches to absolute war. [20] He argued that this type of warfare would appear again and again in the age of nationalism.[21] On the other hand, this does not necessarily mean Clausewitz argued in favour of the absolute war, but rather he supported limited war. His conception of war became more durable, and more sophisticated after seeing Napoleons defeats at Russia in 1812, at Leipzig i n 1813 and finally at Waterloo in June 1815. This conception became regarded as a political act, and as an act which is and should be limited.[22] To argue in favour of why limited wars happen in reality, Liddell Hart raised Clausewitzs conception of absolute war to the level of an infallible religious dogma.[23] In this critic, it may be argued that Hart did not carefully read Clausewitz, however at this point I would only like to give Harts point of view on war. Harts definition of strategy was designed to reemphasize the subordination of the conduct of war to political objective. He believed that since Napoleon, the definition of strategy had expanded to the point where it was controlled completely by the military, the situation which created the dominance of the false objective.[24] Therefore, he redefined strategy as the distribution and transmission of military means to fulfil the needs of policy making it more clearly dependent upon political decisions while leaving its execution in the hands of the military.[25] Since the objective of war is to change the enemys will, Hart concluded that the strategy should not accept s eeking decision in battle as a guiding principle, the situation in which the enemys power of resistance is likely to be greatest, but it should be attacking to the vulnerable points in the enemys armour where defeat would destroy his moral and physical capacity to resist. In other word, it is a strategy of paralysation thorough dislocation rather than annihilation thorough attrition.[26] Moreover, Hart also criticized Clausewitzs argument that locates overthrow of the enemy as the aim of the war. Hart argued that the complete overthrow of the adversarys forces and the occupation of the opponents territory may be necessary to his success, but it is not compulsory to ones achievement. The object is fulfilled if the enemy can be convinced that he cannot conquer.[27] In order to illustrate this logic, the nuclear age and the deterrence theory based on the assumption that when one state does cost-benefit analysis before engaging to any aggression, and in this case since one state owns nuclear capability, it would deter other states from creating or getting involved to aggression, can be used.[28] The nuclear weapons and limited war are incompatible with each other since an unlimited war with nuclear weapons would mean mutually suicide. Therefore, the states need to establish adequate forces to defend themselves. Hart criticized the common assumption that the world faces a choice between the extremes of total war and total peace, but he urged a more limited approach to war.[29] Therefore, it can be understood that if wars are likely to occur, the limitation of their destructiveness is in every states interest. Similarly, although it is always irrational to fight nuclear war, and it may not be irrational to risk nuclear war, not all wars are nuclear wars, even in the nuclear age.[30] Nor nuclear war is instrument of policy, neither are nuclear weapons. These nuclear weapons are to be used only to prevent wars, not to fight wars. The purpose of the development of the doctrine of limited war in the 1950s was to restore policy control over the use of violence.[31] From these arguments, it can be understood that states may sometimes choose limited war, in order not to start or create possibility of engagement to any nuclear wars, but to keep their power over the use of force. It can be therefore further argued that while engaging to wars, states keep their political aims limited, so that they can keep their weapons conventional and limited. For instance, in 1950, during the Korean War, the US General MacArthur was in favour of nuclear weapons against North Korea. However, American policy makers decided on diplomatic and political utility in nuclear weapons rather than military utility.[32] Therefore, when the US intervened in Korea, it used conventional and limited military means to defend the South Korea. Meanwhile, when the allied powers came at the border of Yalu River, China got involved to the conflict to support North Korea. These two states, namely the US and China fought with limited scope and conventional weapons, therefore this example shows that states sometimes prefer to keep their force limited due to the political influence. Apart from these, the bargaining theory which assumes the wars with bargained settlements developed by Alastair Smith and Allan C. Stam approaches to Clausewitzs limited wars, or wars in reality. Since the bargaining theory is in realm of game theory, I will not speak of it in details. However, since one of the key feature of the theory is much more related to Clausewitzs limited wars, I will use it as an instance as an illustration. One of the features of the model is that as nations fight battles and capture forts from each other, both nations learn common information about the nature of warfare between them. As long as more and more information is revealed, the beliefs of nations converge. Therefore, wars are fought until either one side decisively defeats the other or until beliefs of each side unite sufficiently so that they can agree to a settlement.[33] Bibliography Gat, Azar. 1989. The Origins of Military Thought: From Enlightenment to Clausewitz. New York: Oxford University Press Earle, Edward Mead. 1973. Makers of Modern Strategy. Princeton: Princeton University Press Howard, Michael. 1983. Clausewitz. New York: Oxford University Press Bassford, http://www.clausewitz.com/readings/Bassford/Cworks/Works.htm, 8 July 2008 Gat, 1989, p.167 Gat, p.199 Gat, p.199 Edward Earle, p.94 Edward Earle, p.103 Clausewitz, p.101 Clausewitz, p.103 Clausewitz, p.104 Clausewitz, p.105 Stone, p.31 Stone, p.32 Stone, p.32 Gat, p.221 Howard, p.39 Clausewitz, p.119 Roxborough, p.625 Roxborough, p.625 Roxborough, p.626 Earle, p. 106 Earle, p.106 Cornish, p. 217 Larson, p.70 Larson, p.71 Larson, p.71 Larson, p.71 Larson, p.72 Kibaroglu, p.4 Larson, p.72 Moody, p.419 Moody, p.429 Dingman, p.56 Smith and Stam, p.787

Crime And The Process Of Solving Crimes Criminology Essay

Crime And The Process Of Solving Crimes Criminology Essay Crime analysis is a systematic process that investigators go through to help solve crimes that are similar to one another by location and specific details about the certain crime committed. Crime analysis helps to solve crimes because if the same person is committing the same crime over and over again, it is easier for law enforcement to recognize where the criminal is going to strike next. There are three different approaches to crime analysis and these are tactical crime analysis, strategic, and administrative. In todays Criminal Justice world, there are thousands of criminal that do the same crime over and over again and do the exact same thing every single time. To help solve these crimes there is an up and coming field in Criminal Justice that helps solve these crimes and it is called Crime Analysis. Crime analysis is the examination and studying of crime patterns in certain locations that will aid in the identifying and prosecution of the suspects. There are three ways to determine crime analysis and they are tactical, strategic, and administrative. Crime analysts are always busy in what they do because they have to keep up with the current trends and patterns of crime to determine when the next crime will occur and stop it from happening. This paper will discuss the process of which crime analysts go through, as well as the three different types of crime analysis, how it will help the future of police departments by predicting when the next crime is about to occur, and this paper will also discuss the jobs in this up and coming field of crime analysis. The process of figuring out numerous crime trends and similarities in a given location can be quite difficult at times. Therefore, there is a series of steps that a crime analyst runs through to try and determine the patterns of the same crime happening every night or every weekend in a close diameter of one another. In the first process, that is when the data is all collected from other sources by gathering the crime details, eyewitness reports, and as well as the police operations. With all of the information, it gets entered into numerous databases so other municipal police organizations can recover the information if the same crime is occurring in their neighborhood as well. In the second process, the analyst sits down and actually recovers all of the information and tries to put crimes together through patterns, trends, and the location of where the crime occurred. In this process the analyst will determine the who, what, when, where, and how, of the crimes being committed so they can conclude specific details to the police officers to keep an eye on certain people and/or locations. With the specific details of certain crimes that could be linked to one another, that is when the information is put on bulletins throughout the different departments. Then after this, the administration is contacted and the police will also inform the public as well. By informing the public of a murderer in the community for example, people will be more alert to certain people who look suspicious and the public can also watch out more when the police officers cannot. The next step in crime analysis is most likely the most important step for police departments and their employees. At this step of the process, the crime analyst has a lot of information about specific re-occurrences of a crime in an area. With that information the crime analyst will brainstorm different ideas to help seize the suspect while the suspect is committing the same crime again through the crime analyst studying. They do this by surveillance of the area, decoys or traps that the criminal will get themselves carried into, or if the department is able to, by putting more police officers in that area to stop the crime from happening again. The last step of this process is to study all of the facts and eyewitness reports to stop that specific crime from occurring in that area ever again. There are three different ways that crime analyst can go about to determine crime trends and similarities in a specific situation. The three are tactical, strategic, and administrative. Crime Analysis supports a number of department functions including patrol deployment, special operations, and tactical units, investigations, planning and research, crime prevention, and administrative services (budgeting and program planning)(Gottlieb, 1994, Pg. #1). When the crime analyst comes across an upcoming trend in a community there are numerous factors to affect the crime from taking place. Some of these factors include, but not limited to, is the overall geographical location of where the crimes are being committed, such as the poverty level of the community, the population, and as well as cultural factors such as religious characteristics. Other geographical factors include the climate of the community, for example during the Winter months of New York, the crime rates may decrease in resul t to the colder weather. In contrast to the warmer months of Summer, the crime rates will increase due to more people on the streets. One of the biggest factors to studying crime analysis is the effective strength of the police department and their employees. If the communitys police administration is not as effective and harsh punishments, the criminals will suppose that they can get away with anything they want to do. Another important factor is how the citizens of the community react to the crimes being committed because if they are concerned with the crime problems occurring, then they will not be a part of the Neighborhood Watch when the police officers are not there 24/7 to monitor the streets. Tactical crime analysis is the most concerned type of crime analysis because it deals with the worst of the worst crimes that is an immediate threat to the public, such as murder, rape, robbery, and burglary. The crime analyst will put together the trends by eyewitness accounts, the weapon used, the suspects physical description, and many other similarities to put into account for determining the suspect of the crimes committed. Then during this type of crime analysis the police officers will be more alert to certain people who resemble the suspects description and the administration will have more police officers in that particular area to stop the crime from occurring again. At the tactical level of crime analysis it also includes identifying suspects and linking the crimes together. In this phase is where the information that was processed in the strategic step is now being used to solve the crimes that have been happening over and over again in one particular area. The tactical a nalysis is most useful towards the investigators and patrol officers so they can keep an open eye out for suspicious activity in a certain area with specific problem that has been happening. At the tactical level of analysis they also use information for outside agencies to aid them in finding the suspects. The use of outside information from other agencies is very useful in crime analysis because if the same crime is happening in another county or state, the crime analyst can link the crimes together by similarities of the who, what, when, where, and how of the crimes committed. The Crime Analysis Unit in the city of Tempe, Arizona said that, Tactical information links offender and modus operandi information from a number of offenses in an attempt to provide investigative leads, help solve crime, and clear cases after apprehension and arrests (Wong, 2009, Pg. #1). Without the tactical analysis the crimes that have been re-occurring in an area would not be able to be solved as quick ly if it were not for this very important step in crime analysis. The next type of crime analysis is the strategic analysis. Strategic crime analysis is the study of crime problems and other police-oriented issues to determine long-term patterns of activity as well as to evaluate police responses and organizational procedures (Boba, 2005. Pg. #15). Strategic analysis main concern is to seek solutions to on-going crime problems in a certain location. They do this by gathering all of the information of trends, suspects, and crime and link them together to make a result of the similarities of the crimes committed. The strategic analyst gathers information together to find unusual crime trends and police reports from all different seasons to see if there are any similarities with the suspects physical description and the crimes committed. They also match the demands for police officers in a certain location. If the crime level is very high they will conduct more officers on foot and also in patrol cars to try and eliminate the problems before they turn into more larger and more dangerous crimes. The strategic analyst will also decrease the number of officers in a certain location if the crime statistics show that there is not many crimes being committed there, they will move some of those officers to where the help is really needed. The last type of studying crime analysis is called administrative crime analysis. The administrative crime analysis main goal is to relate the information that has been made in the previous step and relay that information to the police chief and other administrative level officers, and as well as the community because they need to be informed if there is a serious crime issue in their neighborhood. They like to inform the public about crime patterns because the Neighborhood Watch is the polices best way to collect information such as the physical description of the suspect. The administrative analysis will also inform the local schools around the community to have a look-out of suspicious activities happening around the school. They also need to keep the police officers from each shift informed of the new information gathered day by day so if some information has been changed recently they will be fully up to date with the information of the crime patterns and suspects in that partic ular area. A lot of the administrative analysts job is to put all of the information gathered into databases so not only can their jurisdiction have the information, but all of the surrounding jurisdictions and states as well. They will also make reports of their crime statistics in their community to the Uniform Crime Reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigations every month and every year to make statistics about the Part I and Part II offenses in their community and relate them to other agencies in their state and other states as well. With all of the information gathered at this type of crime analysis, the administrative analysis also goes out to the public and performs speeches and presentations on the crime reports to the police administration, including the Chief, Lieutenants, Captains, and others. They can also make speeches to the citizens of the community and other agencies as well. The reasoning for the speeches and presentations is for the economic sense of the crime analysis agency because that is how they receive grants through governmental funding or from the community funding money to the crime analysis agency. After the crime analyst studies and looks over the information of crime trends in their community, it is time to try and solve the crimes committed and also to try and stop other crimes from happening. A very good way to determine crime trends is by using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to be used in crime mapping. The GIS overlaps other databases around the community to get more information for the crime trends by getting useful information from other community information such as the pawnshops for burglaries. Another positive attribute to the GIS is that anyone with the Internet can see where most of the serious crimes are occurring in a particular community. For example, if a family with small children is looking to move and they find out that there is an inclination of sex offenders or rape in that community, they will know beforehand. An excellent website that shows the different crime trends in a community is www.spotcrime.com. The tactical crime analyst is the form of crime analysis that mostly uses the crime mapping for their information that they have collected. By using crime maps they can discover the crime trends that are not as noticeable that are just collected through crime reports. The crime maps examine a specific location and mark where the crimes have been committed and if there is any similarities between all of the crimes committed. The maps also help the police officers formulate strategies to aid in the detainment of the suspects. One very effective way they also solve crimes through crime mapping is call Problem-Oriented Policing or POP. POP is a police strategy that involved the identification and analysis of specific crime trends and problems that puts the community in disarray. POP and crime analysis go hand-in-hand because POP looks at the repeated incidents in the same community with related similarities with the crimes and that the crimes are harmful to both the police and the commun ity as well. Although POP and crime analysis is not completely the same, the big different between the two is that POP is trying to figure out the problems in the community by solving the crimes more quickly and effectiveness. While crime analyst goes in depth with their information and they look at crime trends as a whole and not as one problem in a community. Although many cases might not have a lot of information for the crime analyst to look over and attempt to solve the case, there is another obstacle to overcome and that is the time in which is takes scientist to study the amounts of evidence that is collected at the crime scene. Some other obstacles that they must overcome is because of the CSI Effect. This effect is because of the CSI drama series that every case has substantial amount of evidence and at the end of the show, there is always someone guilty. This is not the case in real life, the crime analyst has to go through every single piece of evidence thoroughly and this may take days, weeks, months, or even years to get all of the facts correct. Although this may seem like a very easy job to acquire, it is not that easy all of the time. When the crime analyst sends out evidence to be tested for suspects, this process could take a very long time due to the enormous amount of other evidence from thousands of other cases that is needed to be tested for numerous reasons. From the Nebraska State Crime Lab, the Forensic scientist stated that, In 2009, the DNA section worked 251 cases with 347 assignments that included 1,800 pieces of evidence, she said. In February of this year, the lab had six casework DNA analysts, two of whom were in training, and one database analyst(Kindschuh). This example just goes to show that with the large amounts of evidence being sent to crime labs all around the country and the lack of personnel and employees; it will be difficult to solve these crime patterns in a timely fashion. Because of this problem, it may take crime analysis many years to figure out the crime patterns for one particular city, if this city is a very large one. For smaller towns and cities, it may be easier to collect and test evidence because there might not be as much evidence that is needed for testing. So, the job performance of a crime analyst can become very difficult at times for waiting on evidence to come back from the lab to solve crimes. But the best part of being a crime analyst is the after effect of solving crimes that have been tormenting a specific area for a long period of time and being able to put the criminal behind bars for their wrongful acts. Since crime analysis is an up-and-coming field in the Criminal Justice system, there is a lot of schooling and training courses that have to be met before becoming a crime analyst. Not all departments hire crime analyst to do their in-depth process on the trends of crimes in their community, due to the size of their department or jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions are too small to coordinate and run such a wealthy and demanding field of criminal justice; so most of the crime analysis jobs are in major metropolitan areas where the population is large and there is large and there is a large amount of crime occurring to determine different trends to go along with the suspects. Although some of the large agencies that have crime analyst, most of them are not sworn in officers, the majority of them now are sworn in civilians that do not need all of the requirements that a sworn in officer would need. Since almost every agency has their own rules and restrictions to whom they hire, there is a general amount of similarities between them with schooling and the minimum requirements. To become a crime analyst they need at least a four-year degree or Bachelors Degree majoring in Criminal Justice, Statistics, Business, Public Administration, or any other field closely related to these. With all of the schooling requirements set, they will also need to have a Department of Justice Crime Analysis Certificate. Another requirement is at least two years minimum of operational experience in any criminal justice setting. After all of the experience in schooling, the training, the courses, and the completion of the certificate and required hours the crime analyst can start searching for an occupation. Indeed.com reports that the average salary for crime analysis is $57,000. Our research found that crime analyst salaries range from $28,000 to well over $66,000 a year depending on experience, education, location, and related factors (Legal-Criminal-Justice-Schools, Pg. #1). The amount of salary someone earns is all determined on how much schooling and experience someone has who wants to become a crime analyst. Obviously the more schooling and more experience someone has to offer, the better chances of getting a job and the more salary pay they will earn in their department. This paper discussed the up-and-coming field in the Criminal Justice system known as crime analysis. Crime analysis is a very useful strategy in a large metropolitan area to determine trends and similarities in crimes that have been occurring every day, or every week. The crimes that have been committed might have committed at the same time of day or night, with the same weapon, or stolen a specific item from parked cars in a mall parking lot. With just that information the crime analyst can conclude that they need to have more patrol officers at the mall at a certain time of day to determine who has been breaking into the cars and stealing those specific items and why. The use of crime maps is a very distinctive and descriptive way of determining crime trends because instead of just looking at crime reports, it is clearly stated on a map of the community. The crime analysis unit is made up of three different sections and they do their own part in cracking down the individual or indi viduals that have been troubling the neighborhood. The three sections are the tactical unit, the strategic unit, and the administrative unit. In the tactical unit their main goal is to gather up as much information as possible to settle on a time, place, and hopefully a suspect of the re-occurring crimes. The strategic unit is using the information from the tactical unit and putting it into perspective and figuring out where the police officers need to be increased or decreased in numbers in a large community. The administrative unit sends out all of the information to their own department as well as the surrounding agencies and also to the Uniform Crime Reports for the FBI. In conclusion, without the crime analysis unit in large jurisdictions, it would be very difficult to determine the crime trends in a community and prosecute the criminals for their wrongful actions. Reference Page: Ainsworth, Peter F. Offender Profiling and Crime Analysis. Devon: Willan, 2001. Print. Boba, Rachel. Crime Analysis and Crime Mapping. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2005. Print. Boba, Rachel. Guidelines to Implement and Evaluate Crime Analysis and Mapping in Law Enforcement Agencies. October 2000. Community Oriented Policing Services: U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/guidelinesimplementevalcrimeam.pdf Bruce, Christopher W. What is Crime Analysis? Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysis. http://www.macrimeanalysts.com/articles/whatiscrimeanalysis.pdf DAddario, Francis James. Loss Prevention through Crime Analysis. Boston: Butterworths, 1989. Print. Dempsey, Caitlin. GIS Lounge and DM Geographies. 2008. California. http://gislounge.com/crime-mapping-and-analysis/ Flowers, R.B. (1989). Demographics and Criminality: The Characteristics of Crime in America. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT. Goldsmith, Victor. Analyzing Crime Patterns: Frontiers of Practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2000. Print. Gottlieb, S., Arenberg, S., and Singh, R. (1994). Crime Analysis: From First Report to Final Arrest. Alpha Publishing: Montclair, CA. Kindschuh, Hilary. Real-life Crime Analysis not like TV, Local Experts Say. Posted April 21, 2010. http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_a71319dc-4cbd-11df-b1bd-001cc4c03286.html Legal Criminal Justice Schools. http://www.legal-criminal-justice-schools.com/ Morris, J. (1986). Crime Analysis Charting. Palmer Enterprises: Orangevale, CA. Peterson, Marilyn B. Applications in Criminal Analysis: a Sourcebook. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1998. Print. Vann, Irvin B., and G. David. Garson. Crime Mapping: New Tools for Law Enforcement. New York: P. Lang, 2003. Print. Wong, Theresa. Crime Analysis Unit. 2009. Tempe, Arizona. http://www.tempe.gov/CAU/about_ca.htm

End-Stage Renal Disease :: Health, Diseases, Hemodialysis Patients

Introduction Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) had higher anemia rate than general population (1). Several studies considered inflammatory markers as predictors of outcome in patients with ESRD and in one of them which was performed on 25000 HD patients, neutrophil count combined with low lymphocyte count were independent predictor of outcome in hemodialysis patients (2). In some of other studies elevated level of C-reactive protein was accounted for higher mortality rate in HD patients (3). In a European study, CRP were presented as one of the uremic syndrome futures and 50% of patients have CRP level >8mg/l and 75% of them had CRP level >3.4mg/l (3). Anemia related increase serum level of pro-inflammatory factors with poor treatment outcomes in HD patients (4). There is relationship between anemia, inflammation and oxidative stress level. Serum level of hemoglobin was increased during 2-3 days after inflammatory response to infection. Inflammation also active macrophages and remove old erythrocytes from the serum of HD patients (5). According to findings of previous studies, ESRD is one of the states that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines and in some of them interleukins (IL) 1, 4 and 6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were 8-10 times higher than general population (6). Statine agents can reduce serum level of CRP in HD patients and decline their need to Epoetin for management of anemia (7). Serum CRP level more than 5-10 mg/l is associated with cardiovascular events and statine agents due to reduce CRP level might decline mortality of HD patients and improve their cardiovascular outcome. Measurement of Serum level of C reactive protein (CRP) in hemodialysis (HD) patients with anemia and their response to lovastatin is aim of our study. Material and methods One hundred fifty hemodialysis patients in Imam Khomeini and Amiralam hospital during 2004 were participated in our randomized clinical trial. Hemodialysis patients had three sessions per week hemodialysis plan with Polysulphone and Hemophane dialysis filters and bicarbonate as dialysis solution. Our study was approved in ethical committee of Tehran medical university and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Our inclusion criteria Our inclusion criterias were more than hemodialysis patients with six months hemodialysis and Hs-CRP higher than 10 mg per liter, without tumors, chronic respiratory disorders, iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, diabetic foot ulcer, total cholesterol more than 200 mg/dl, abnormal liver tests, immunosuppressive, beta blocker and statine usage, and active infection in recent three months.