Covering the Police Beat in Journalism

Covering the Police Beat in Journalism The police beat can be one of the most testing and compensating inâ journalism. Police correspondents get the opportunity to cover probably the greatest breaking reports out there, ones that land at the highest point of the first page, websiteâ or broadcast. In any case, it isnt simple. Covering the wrongdoing beat is requesting and regularly upsetting, and as a correspondent, it requires some investment, tolerance and ability to get the cops to believe you enough to give you data. So here are a few stages you can follow for delivering strong police stories. Know The Sunshine Laws Before you visit yourâ local police region looking for a decent story, acquaint yourself with the daylight laws in your state. This will give you a decent feeling of what sort of data the police are required to give. For the most part, whenever a grown-up is captured in the U.S., the desk work related with that capture ought to involve open record, which means you ought to have the option to get to it. (Adolescent records are normally not accessible.) A special case may be a case including national security. Be that as it may, Sunshine Laws change from state to state, which is the reason its great to know the points of interest for your zone. Visit Your Local Precinct House You may see police action out in the city in your town, however as a learner, its likely not a smart thought to attempt to get data from cops at the area of a wrongdoing. What's more, a call may not get you much either. Rather, visit your nearby police headquarters or region house. Youre prone to show signs of improvement results from an up close and personal experience. Be Polite, Respectful - But Persistent Theres a generalization of the hard-driving correspondent youve most likely found in a film some place. He bursts into the town hall, DAs office or corporate meeting room and starts hitting his clench hand against the table, yelling, I need this story and I need it now! Out of my way. That approach may work in certain circumstances (however likely relatively few), yet it unquestionably wont get you far with the police. For a certain something, theyre for the most part greater than we are. What's more, they convey firearms. Youre not prone to threaten them. So when you first visit your neighborhood police region to get a story, be well mannered and affable. Approach the cops with deference and chances are theyll give back in kind. And yet, dont be threatened. On the off chance that you sense a cop is giving you nothing but nonsense rather than genuine data, press your case. On the off chance that that doesnt work, request to address their boss, and check whether theyre increasingly accommodating. Request To See the Arrest Log In the event that you dont have a particular wrongdoing or episode as a primary concern that you need to expound on, request to see the capture log. The capture log is exactly what it seems like - a log of the considerable number of captures police make, typically sorted out in 12-or 24-hour cycles. Output the log and discover something that looks intriguing. Get the Arrest Report Once youve selected something from the capture log, request to see the capture report. Once more, the name says everything - the capture report is the administrative work the cops round out when they make a capture. Getting a duplicate of the capture report will spare both you and the police a ton of time since a significant part of the data you requirement for your story will be on that report. Get Quotes Capture reports are useful, yet live statements can represent the moment of truth a decent wrongdoing story. Meeting a cop or analyst about the wrongdoing youre covering. In the event that conceivable, meet the cops straightforwardly engaged with the case, the individuals who were on the scene when the capture was made. Their statements are probably going to be considerably more fascinating than those from a work area sergeant. Twofold Check Your Facts Exactness is basic in wrongdoing detailing. Getting the realities wrong in a wrongdoing story can have critical outcomes. Twofold check the conditions of the capture; insights concerning the suspect; the idea of the charges he faces; the name and rank of the official you met, etc. Escape the Police Precinct So youve got the essentials of your story from capture reports and meeting with the cops. That is incredible, however at long last, wrongdoing announcing isnt pretty much law requirement, its about how your locale is being influenced by wrongdoing. So consistently be keeping watch for chances to acculturate your police stories by talking the normal people who are influenced. Has a high rise been hit by a flood of robberies? Meeting a few inhabitants there. Has a nearby store been ransacked various occasions? Converse with the proprietor. Are nearby schoolkids being defied by street pharmacists on their approach to class? Converse with guardians, school heads and others. Furthermore, recollect, as the sergeant in TVs Hill Street Blues stated, be cautious out there. As a police columnist, you must expound on wrongdoing, not get trapped in it.

Business proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic plan - Essay Example Class 1 to classification 4 speak to a portion of the various periods that the business may understanding during its tasks and helps with building up an individual cost report since high classification of 4,will mean high times of the business and essential acclimations to the cost report made. In this way, costs involve on the kind of class experienced. During high classes, for example, classification 4, costs diminish since the class expects high consumption influencing reserve funds of the business. Arrangement 1 and 2 shows a portion of the downs and falls of the business. It empowers a person to decide the times of investment funds and uses of the business and subsequently diminishing expenses and augmenting on benefits. Sparing from compensation empowers a person to have plans for future improvement of the business. Some of foreseen issues in building up the strategy incorporate absence of enough money related assets and lacking time for the individual cost of doing business report to produce results. The utilization of SMART (explicit, quantifiable, material, solid and time run viewpoints) investigation helps in taking care of a portion of the serious issues experienced being developed of the strategic plan. The utilization of SMART investigation empowers the issues of improvement in the strategic agreement tackled and empower for the advancement of the proposition. The utilization of SMART investigation empowers one to contrast current family consumption and future improvements of a similar use. Explicit Problems of the business are dealt with effectively and utilizing practical methodologies of SMART investigation, arrangements of things to come are overseen utilizing an individual use report. In this manner, the improvement of a strategic agreement has many differed advantages to the business, which empowers thriving and advancements of the organization in many fluctuated and compelling ways. Time of SMART examination empowers for the presence of a normal yearly compensation of sixty thousand, which empowers business people and

CP 1 Toby Triebel and his founding story of Spotcap

CP 1 Toby Triebel and his founding story of Spotcap INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are here with Toby Triebel from Spotcap of Berlin . Toby, how are you doing?Toby: Very well, thank you, Martin! How are you doing?Martin: I am awesome, thank you! I am very glad that you take time for the interview and let me br iefly tend your personal background. What did you do before you started Spotcap?Toby: Sure. I am German by background but moved to London when I was sixteen and I did my school there, my university. Then I spent ten years in finance, working at an investment bank for the first five years and then for the last five prior to co-founding Spotcap I worked for an emerging credits hedge fund. So I have been in finance for more than ten years and bringing the finance background with me to Spotcap.Martin: And when did the entrepreneurial bug bite you?Toby: I guess it was probably two, three years ago when I started looking into entrepreneurial opportunities in detail. I have always been interested and curious in finding more about ent repreneurial opportunities and startups in general and I have long been investing in startups as sort of an angel investor myself but it was really about two, three years ago when I was, I probably wouldn’t say bored at my previous job. It was more the fact that I was interested in new challenge to put it that way.BUSINESS MODEL OF SPOTCAPMartin: Cool. Then let’s put some light on Spotcap â€" the new challenge of your life. What actually is Spotcap?Toby: So Spotcap is fintech company, Fintech meaning combining finance and technology, using technology to provide financial services. Spotcap in particular and how it fits into the fintech environment is online landing. It is providing loans to small businesses using technology online. That is essentially what we are doing. We are operating in three countries today Spain, the Netherlands and Australia providing loans up to 100  000 Euros to micro, small and medium sized businesses as we call them in the three markets today.Martin: Y es, right. Can you walk us through the credit approval process? So how many applicants do you have? What is the basic process â€" which one is manual and which one is automatic? What are the typical acceptance rates?Toby: Yes. We really thought long and hard about using and building the right technology to facilitate both the application as well as the approval process to a very large extent. The application process is done by business owners or directors of those micro, small and medium sized businesses; it is entirely online and it takes up to ten minutes provided that you have all the documents in place. It is really straightforward, it is a combination of entering information as well as providing financial documents and linking data, making sure that we have all the data we need to do our scoring. We then gather all the data, put it into our scoring algorithm and come up with a credit decision that is more often than not accept and approve credit applications. Sometimes we also will have to reject them because the business is not ripe enough yet, not mature enough.Martin: And do you need a banking license for this and that is the reason why you are currently only in three countries?Toby: The regulatory environment, it is distinctively across not just across Europe but across the world really. We do not need a banking license in the markets that we operate in which is good and bad. We very much welcome regulation and this is also why we applied and also received the STA credit license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Which we would need to operate, to do our business in the UK and we have started to implement the UK STA requirements across the three markets that we operate in. But today our operations in those three markets are entirely unregulated but we approach the regulatory environment proactively.Martin: Ok, and how does it come that it is currently unregulated? For example, imagine that I am a company in Spain so to speak, a market where you are active, and I have got several options of how I could finance my business in terms of debt financing: whether I go to a bank and get a loan or weather I use Spotcap. From my understanding, it is that banks in Spain are regulated and you as an alternative are currently not regulated. Is there a reason why the regulators have chosen for this to be unregulated or is it just that your business model is so new, they never would have expected something like that?Toby: It is a deliverable of both. If you think about it you take one step back, regulation is in place inheritly to protect the consumer in two ways. You can touch the consumer in two ways:you can provide loans to consumers andyou can take deposits from consumers.Regulation is in place to protect those. We do not touch either. We don’t provide loans to consumers, we only provide loans to small businesses and we do not take deposits. Our loans are inherently and exclusively on-balance-sheet funded. So that is why regulation is generally less pronounced in the space that we are in. Having said that, the UK is at the forefront of regulating our space as well and we would expect regulation to be put in place in Spain and other markets as well and that is exactly why we have chosen to be extremely proactive here and voluntarily implemented STA type of regulatory requirements across all our markets already.Martin: One other thing I wanted to talk to you about is you told you are giving basically loans out. Is there a difference in terms of how you finance those yourselves because you said it is on-balance. Is it more that the loans you are financing with venture debt and your headcount and so on with your equity?Toby: To a large extent this is true. We use institutional debt to fund our loan book and equity that we raise, and we raised 13 million in our series A charting last year, we use to fund our operations. We use institutional investors debt to fund the loans.Martin: In terms of revenue model is it ri ght to assume that you are basically like a bank, based on having interest income or is there any other revenue stream that you are thinking of?Toby: Yes, it is interest fee income exclusively, no other income.Martin: Okay, cool. One other thing which is very interesting for people just thinking about starting a company; I mean they can either bootstrap, or start a company and get some venture funding, or third option they can go to rocket internet and collaboratively start a company. This is what you did, Toby. Could you please help us understand how the process works at Rocket Internet? So how is an investment decision made? How is the management found and how are the first 100 days working?Toby: So a lot of questions at once and not exactly one line answers to any of those, I am afraid, because the process at Rocket to some extent is very streamlined but to another extent can differ significantly from company to company, from startup to startup. In some cases, Rocket Internet com es up with the idea, kickstarts the business, then searches for the right management to be put in place, the right co-founders who are then left alone at some point to build the company. However they can benefit to a very large extent from Rocket network in terms of human resources, in terms of expertise and know how in various areas, and in terms of investor relations and fundraising where Rocket can be and has been extremely helpful for many businesses.There are some other examples where co-founders approach Rocket and come up with an idea and need a seed investor. That is an alternative root whereby management approaches Rocket and comes forward with an idea and Rocket then chooses or not to support that business.Martin: And is there difference in terms of equity share? Because from what I have heard is that Rocket is typically having an idea and looking for management you maybe get up to 10 percent of the whole management in the form of equity. Is there difference if the founder is approaching Rocket?Toby: To be honest, I am not sure. I can only speak for myself. So I am sure there are differences across the companies but I am afraid I do not know any further detail on that.Martin: Okay, cool. So how did you experienced your first one hundred days and how is it typically going? I know there is obviously difference in term of which business model you choose. If you have some kind of fintech related stuff maybe regulatory actions will have a big share of time spent in the first weeks or months. If are only having an e-commerce maybe that is not the biggest issue. But is there some kind of basic process which you can walk us through?Toby: I mean Rocket does provide an active support to its young companies right after founding. It is clearly they provide support for putting the investment and the capital into place that is needed to build the business. Often, Rocket is involved themselves as a lead investor but they also have a network of other investors that may or may not chose to participate. So that is the big advantage of having Rocket as a seed investor and incubator.The other advantage, and that is not something to be underestimated is the large extent of expertise within Rocket Internet and within the Rocket Internet family. That is to say in IT, in product, in sales, in marketing, in PR. In many functions Rocket has a tremendous amount of expertise and really great people who has been in their respected functions for a long time, who have a lot of know-how, who can help kick start the business and get it on track faster than you would be able to otherwise. And I think that is the main benefit of Rocket and that is why a lot of Rocket companies have been so successful and have been so successful in a short period of time.Martin: Can you give us an example, Toby, of specific situation where you tapped into the knowledge of somebody at Rocket Internet and what the benefit for Spotcap was?Toby: In the beginning, we did not have Alin e in our head of communications so we went to Rocket and in particular went to Rockets’ PR communications team and sought some help and advice. And what they did, they provided a lot of guidance, help and actual real work in kick starting or PR effors. In particular, when we launched Spotcap in Spain in September last year they did the entire PR work: coming up with a PR strategy with a concept all the way to putting together a launch event, a press kit and so on which was tremendously helpful. We would have not been able to launch Spotcap that quickly and that successfully without the help of the Rocket PR team in that particular kit.Martin: So that’s that basically mean that you just paid for the service and had them on demand basis so to speak for just kick starting and scaling up for specified time then potentially scaling down at some other point in time?Toby: Essentially. Rocket services are not for free. You need to pay it, to pay the services just like you would for exte rnal providers. However, what is really helpful is the speed with which you can get that advice, support and work done at Rocket. And that is what the true benefit comes from. You have got the best talent in the respected areas and functions at Rocket and it is your own choice whether you want to benefit from that or not. And we chose to use a lot of Rockets’ resources in the beginning and subsequently we hired our own team and we are using a lot less Rocket resources now than we did twelve months ago.Martin: How many people are you employing currently?Toby: 65.Martin: Okay. You said that you raised €13 million in your series A. How the capital raising process worked and what was involvement of Rocket Internet in that?Toby: Rocket has been helpful. Rockets’ network of investors is definitely very helpful in allowing a series A of that magnitude to happen.Martin: And what was the specific process? So did Oliver called some kind of investors in Asia or the US and said, “We hav e an awesome project, Spotcap, that would revolutionize SMB loan business in Europe. This is why you need to invest” or was it more like, “Oli, I have got cool business idea and I need get in touch with those two people. Can you just make an intro?” So how did it actually work?Toby: I would like to answer that in more general way and it is probably a combination of both and ultimately you need to prove the business model and the management team to attract the capital that you need to start a business. And Rockets’ network of investors is certainly very helpful.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM TOBY TRIEBELMartin: Cool. Toby, what would be your advice for people who are just interested in starting a company and what are the pros and cons of starting the business by yourself just as bootstrapping or raising venture capital by yourself or on the other hand working directly with Rocket Internet?Toby: Working with Rocket Internet directly definitely is a much quicker approach to build ing a business. We founded Spotcap last summer, we are now 65 people. If I have probably done it completely by myself I would now be 10 people, if I did a very good job in finding investors, raising money, attracting talent.I don’t think there is a right way to do it. It depends on your preferences. What you would like to do. Can you afford to not pay yourself any salary for a year or two? If you can, then you might as well give it a go and try your luck to raise money. How many relationships do you have? There are a lot of questions that come to play that ultimately determine whether going to Rocket is good or whether you might be better off trying it yourself. I chose the Rocket way for the advantages that I outlined in terms of investor relations but also the expertise and knowledge that resides within the Rocket framework that is extremely helpful for starting up companies.FUTURE OF SPOTCAPMartin: Let’s have a look at the future of Spotcap. So currently you are active in thr ee markets and what are your growth options or the growth path that you would like to go for? Is it more of a regional extension or is it a product wise extension or is it first and foremost just increasing the penetration in those three markets?Toby: It is actually a combination of all three that you mentioned. We definitely see enormous potential in the three countries that we are operating in by further penetrating the market. We see growth potential coming from enhancing our product offering in those three markets and of course we see a lot of growth potential by going to further markets outside those three.Martin: What makes you think of having the boundary currently at €100K in terms of loan application because it is for me quite arbitrary, so why not €250K or one million?Toby: It is driven by the way we structured our product. Just to summarize that very briefly our product today is a credit line that has a certain commitment period and if you draw down your credit line y ou draw down so called loans and those loans have a tenor of six months and the loan amortizes monthly and linearly. It means that after each month you need to pay back 1/6 of your loan or the principle of your loan along with the necessary interest rates, interest expenses. So having a larger loan in place might mean that or will mean that you need to generate so much more cash in order to service that debt so that Today it is not the market that we attract. By extending our product offering and extending the duration of our loans we will and we can and we will increase the size of our credit lines and loans to go beyond €100K. That will certainly happen at some point.Martin: And in terms of region expansion how are you assessing which are the markets to enter next?Toby: There are a number of reasons that made us go into the three markets that we are operating in today and those reasons also apply for the attractiveness of other markets.Number one is the opportunity, the market s ize in terms of the number of micro, small and medium sized businesses that are out there.Number two is the availability of capital for those enterprises from traditional lending providers such as banks.Number three is regulatory environment.Number four is competitive environment.And number five I would add is the availability of data in order for us to do our scoring.Martin: Because another factor I would have considered is the profitability. I totally agree with all the other five factors that you mentioned but one other thing is even if I am thinking about Spain and I am giving a credit the default rate is much higher then maybe on average in Germany. So this is also one factor of having the credit spread so to speak build in.Toby: Yes, profitability ultimately is something that is important as well so I agree with you. However, I was a credit investor myself before I built Spotcap so it is all about pricing the risk.Martin: Yes, right. Cool, Toby, thank you very much for your ti me. And I think there is a great message out there for a small and medium sized businesses because now they can get maybe good or at least a fair amount of credit for their business.Toby: Thank you very much, Martin.Martin: Thanks again. Have a nice day.Toby: Thank you, you too. Bye, bye!Martin: Bye!THANKS FOR LISTENING! It’s here! The first episode of The Cleverism Podcast!You can download the podcast to your computer or listen to it here on the blog. Click here to subscribe in iTunes. INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are here with Toby Triebel from Spotcap of Berlin . Toby, how are you doing?Toby: Very well, thank you, Martin! How are you doing?Martin: I am awesome, thank you! I am very glad that you take time for the interview and let me br iefly tend your personal background. What did you do before you started Spotcap?Toby: Sure. I am German by background but moved to London when I was sixteen and I did my school there, my university. Then I spent ten years in finance, working at an investment bank for the first five years and then for the last five prior to co-founding Spotcap I worked for an emerging credits hedge fund. So I have been in finance for more than ten years and bringing the finance background with me to Spotcap.Martin: And when did the entrepreneurial bug bite you?Toby: I guess it was probably two, three years ago when I started looking into entrepreneurial opportunities in detail. I have always been interested and curious in finding more about ent repreneurial opportunities and startups in general and I have long been investing in startups as sort of an angel investor myself but it was really about two, three years ago when I was, I probably wouldn’t say bored at my previous job. It was more the fact that I was interested in new challenge to put it that way.BUSINESS MODEL OF SPOTCAPMartin: Cool. Then let’s put some light on Spotcap â€" the new challenge of your life. What actually is Spotcap?Toby: So Spotcap is fintech company, Fintech meaning combining finance and technology, using technology to provide financial services. Spotcap in particular and how it fits into the fintech environment is online landing. It is providing loans to small businesses using technology online. That is essentially what we are doing. We are operating in three countries today Spain, the Netherlands and Australia providing loans up to 100  000 Euros to micro, small and medium sized businesses as we call them in the three markets today.Martin: Y es, right. Can you walk us through the credit approval process? So how many applicants do you have? What is the basic process â€" which one is manual and which one is automatic? What are the typical acceptance rates?Toby: Yes. We really thought long and hard about using and building the right technology to facilitate both the application as well as the approval process to a very large extent. The application process is done by business owners or directors of those micro, small and medium sized businesses; it is entirely online and it takes up to ten minutes provided that you have all the documents in place. It is really straightforward, it is a combination of entering information as well as providing financial documents and linking data, making sure that we have all the data we need to do our scoring. We then gather all the data, put it into our scoring algorithm and come up with a credit decision that is more often than not accept and approve credit applications. Sometimes we also will have to reject them because the business is not ripe enough yet, not mature enough.Martin: And do you need a banking license for this and that is the reason why you are currently only in three countries?Toby: The regulatory environment, it is distinctively across not just across Europe but across the world really. We do not need a banking license in the markets that we operate in which is good and bad. We very much welcome regulation and this is also why we applied and also received the STA credit license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Which we would need to operate, to do our business in the UK and we have started to implement the UK STA requirements across the three markets that we operate in. But today our operations in those three markets are entirely unregulated but we approach the regulatory environment proactively.Martin: Ok, and how does it come that it is currently unregulated? For example, imagine that I am a company in Spain so to speak, a market where you are active, and I have got several options of how I could finance my business in terms of debt financing: whether I go to a bank and get a loan or weather I use Spotcap. From my understanding, it is that banks in Spain are regulated and you as an alternative are currently not regulated. Is there a reason why the regulators have chosen for this to be unregulated or is it just that your business model is so new, they never would have expected something like that?Toby: It is a deliverable of both. If you think about it you take one step back, regulation is in place inheritly to protect the consumer in two ways. You can touch the consumer in two ways:you can provide loans to consumers andyou can take deposits from consumers.Regulation is in place to protect those. We do not touch either. We don’t provide loans to consumers, we only provide loans to small businesses and we do not take deposits. Our loans are inherently and exclusively on-balance-sheet funded. So that is why regulation is generally less pronounced in the space that we are in. Having said that, the UK is at the forefront of regulating our space as well and we would expect regulation to be put in place in Spain and other markets as well and that is exactly why we have chosen to be extremely proactive here and voluntarily implemented STA type of regulatory requirements across all our markets already.Martin: One other thing I wanted to talk to you about is you told you are giving basically loans out. Is there a difference in terms of how you finance those yourselves because you said it is on-balance. Is it more that the loans you are financing with venture debt and your headcount and so on with your equity?Toby: To a large extent this is true. We use institutional debt to fund our loan book and equity that we raise, and we raised 13 million in our series A charting last year, we use to fund our operations. We use institutional investors debt to fund the loans.Martin: In terms of revenue model is it ri ght to assume that you are basically like a bank, based on having interest income or is there any other revenue stream that you are thinking of?Toby: Yes, it is interest fee income exclusively, no other income.Martin: Okay, cool. One other thing which is very interesting for people just thinking about starting a company; I mean they can either bootstrap, or start a company and get some venture funding, or third option they can go to rocket internet and collaboratively start a company. This is what you did, Toby. Could you please help us understand how the process works at Rocket Internet? So how is an investment decision made? How is the management found and how are the first 100 days working?Toby: So a lot of questions at once and not exactly one line answers to any of those, I am afraid, because the process at Rocket to some extent is very streamlined but to another extent can differ significantly from company to company, from startup to startup. In some cases, Rocket Internet com es up with the idea, kickstarts the business, then searches for the right management to be put in place, the right co-founders who are then left alone at some point to build the company. However they can benefit to a very large extent from Rocket network in terms of human resources, in terms of expertise and know how in various areas, and in terms of investor relations and fundraising where Rocket can be and has been extremely helpful for many businesses.There are some other examples where co-founders approach Rocket and come up with an idea and need a seed investor. That is an alternative root whereby management approaches Rocket and comes forward with an idea and Rocket then chooses or not to support that business.Martin: And is there difference in terms of equity share? Because from what I have heard is that Rocket is typically having an idea and looking for management you maybe get up to 10 percent of the whole management in the form of equity. Is there difference if the founder is approaching Rocket?Toby: To be honest, I am not sure. I can only speak for myself. So I am sure there are differences across the companies but I am afraid I do not know any further detail on that.Martin: Okay, cool. So how did you experienced your first one hundred days and how is it typically going? I know there is obviously difference in term of which business model you choose. If you have some kind of fintech related stuff maybe regulatory actions will have a big share of time spent in the first weeks or months. If are only having an e-commerce maybe that is not the biggest issue. But is there some kind of basic process which you can walk us through?Toby: I mean Rocket does provide an active support to its young companies right after founding. It is clearly they provide support for putting the investment and the capital into place that is needed to build the business. Often, Rocket is involved themselves as a lead investor but they also have a network of other investors that may or may not chose to participate. So that is the big advantage of having Rocket as a seed investor and incubator.The other advantage, and that is not something to be underestimated is the large extent of expertise within Rocket Internet and within the Rocket Internet family. That is to say in IT, in product, in sales, in marketing, in PR. In many functions Rocket has a tremendous amount of expertise and really great people who has been in their respected functions for a long time, who have a lot of know-how, who can help kick start the business and get it on track faster than you would be able to otherwise. And I think that is the main benefit of Rocket and that is why a lot of Rocket companies have been so successful and have been so successful in a short period of time.Martin: Can you give us an example, Toby, of specific situation where you tapped into the knowledge of somebody at Rocket Internet and what the benefit for Spotcap was?Toby: In the beginning, we did not have Alin e in our head of communications so we went to Rocket and in particular went to Rockets’ PR communications team and sought some help and advice. And what they did, they provided a lot of guidance, help and actual real work in kick starting or PR effors. In particular, when we launched Spotcap in Spain in September last year they did the entire PR work: coming up with a PR strategy with a concept all the way to putting together a launch event, a press kit and so on which was tremendously helpful. We would have not been able to launch Spotcap that quickly and that successfully without the help of the Rocket PR team in that particular kit.Martin: So that’s that basically mean that you just paid for the service and had them on demand basis so to speak for just kick starting and scaling up for specified time then potentially scaling down at some other point in time?Toby: Essentially. Rocket services are not for free. You need to pay it, to pay the services just like you would for exte rnal providers. However, what is really helpful is the speed with which you can get that advice, support and work done at Rocket. And that is what the true benefit comes from. You have got the best talent in the respected areas and functions at Rocket and it is your own choice whether you want to benefit from that or not. And we chose to use a lot of Rockets’ resources in the beginning and subsequently we hired our own team and we are using a lot less Rocket resources now than we did twelve months ago.Martin: How many people are you employing currently?Toby: 65.Martin: Okay. You said that you raised €13 million in your series A. How the capital raising process worked and what was involvement of Rocket Internet in that?Toby: Rocket has been helpful. Rockets’ network of investors is definitely very helpful in allowing a series A of that magnitude to happen.Martin: And what was the specific process? So did Oliver called some kind of investors in Asia or the US and said, “We hav e an awesome project, Spotcap, that would revolutionize SMB loan business in Europe. This is why you need to invest” or was it more like, “Oli, I have got cool business idea and I need get in touch with those two people. Can you just make an intro?” So how did it actually work?Toby: I would like to answer that in more general way and it is probably a combination of both and ultimately you need to prove the business model and the management team to attract the capital that you need to start a business. And Rockets’ network of investors is certainly very helpful.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM TOBY TRIEBELMartin: Cool. Toby, what would be your advice for people who are just interested in starting a company and what are the pros and cons of starting the business by yourself just as bootstrapping or raising venture capital by yourself or on the other hand working directly with Rocket Internet?Toby: Working with Rocket Internet directly definitely is a much quicker approach to build ing a business. We founded Spotcap last summer, we are now 65 people. If I have probably done it completely by myself I would now be 10 people, if I did a very good job in finding investors, raising money, attracting talent.I don’t think there is a right way to do it. It depends on your preferences. What you would like to do. Can you afford to not pay yourself any salary for a year or two? If you can, then you might as well give it a go and try your luck to raise money. How many relationships do you have? There are a lot of questions that come to play that ultimately determine whether going to Rocket is good or whether you might be better off trying it yourself. I chose the Rocket way for the advantages that I outlined in terms of investor relations but also the expertise and knowledge that resides within the Rocket framework that is extremely helpful for starting up companies.FUTURE OF SPOTCAPMartin: Let’s have a look at the future of Spotcap. So currently you are active in thr ee markets and what are your growth options or the growth path that you would like to go for? Is it more of a regional extension or is it a product wise extension or is it first and foremost just increasing the penetration in those three markets?Toby: It is actually a combination of all three that you mentioned. We definitely see enormous potential in the three countries that we are operating in by further penetrating the market. We see growth potential coming from enhancing our product offering in those three markets and of course we see a lot of growth potential by going to further markets outside those three.Martin: What makes you think of having the boundary currently at €100K in terms of loan application because it is for me quite arbitrary, so why not €250K or one million?Toby: It is driven by the way we structured our product. Just to summarize that very briefly our product today is a credit line that has a certain commitment period and if you draw down your credit line y ou draw down so called loans and those loans have a tenor of six months and the loan amortizes monthly and linearly. It means that after each month you need to pay back 1/6 of your loan or the principle of your loan along with the necessary interest rates, interest expenses. So having a larger loan in place might mean that or will mean that you need to generate so much more cash in order to service that debt so that Today it is not the market that we attract. By extending our product offering and extending the duration of our loans we will and we can and we will increase the size of our credit lines and loans to go beyond €100K. That will certainly happen at some point.Martin: And in terms of region expansion how are you assessing which are the markets to enter next?Toby: There are a number of reasons that made us go into the three markets that we are operating in today and those reasons also apply for the attractiveness of other markets.Number one is the opportunity, the market s ize in terms of the number of micro, small and medium sized businesses that are out there.Number two is the availability of capital for those enterprises from traditional lending providers such as banks.Number three is regulatory environment.Number four is competitive environment.And number five I would add is the availability of data in order for us to do our scoring.Martin: Because another factor I would have considered is the profitability. I totally agree with all the other five factors that you mentioned but one other thing is even if I am thinking about Spain and I am giving a credit the default rate is much higher then maybe on average in Germany. So this is also one factor of having the credit spread so to speak build in.Toby: Yes, profitability ultimately is something that is important as well so I agree with you. However, I was a credit investor myself before I built Spotcap so it is all about pricing the risk.Martin: Yes, right. Cool, Toby, thank you very much for your ti me. And I think there is a great message out there for a small and medium sized businesses because now they can get maybe good or at least a fair amount of credit for their business.Toby: Thank you very much, Martin.Martin: Thanks again. Have a nice day.Toby: Thank you, you too. Bye, bye!Martin: Bye!THANKS FOR LISTENING!Thanks so much for joining our first podcast episode!Have some feedback you’d like to share?  Leave  a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please  share  it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.Also,  please leave an honest review for The Cleverism Podcast on iTunes or on SoundCloud. Ratings and reviews  are  extremely  helpful  and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.Special thanks  to Toby for joining me this week. Until  next time!

Biography of Gregorio Zara, Inventor of the Videophone

Gregorio Zara (March 8, 1902–October 15, 1978) was a Filipino scientist best known as the inventor of the videophone, the first two-way electronic video communicator, in 1955. All told, he patented 30 devices. His other inventions ranged from an alcohol-powered airplane engine to a solar-powered water heater and stove. Fast Facts: Gregorio Zara Known For: Inventor of the video telephoneBorn: March 8, 1902 in Lipa City, Batangas, PhilippinesDied: October 15, 1978Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Sorbonne UniversityAwards and Honors: National Scientist Award (Philippines)Spouse: Engracia Arcinas LaconicoChildren: Antonio, Pacita, Josefina, Lourdesï » ¿ Early Life Gregorio Zara was born on March 8, 1902, in Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines. He earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a masters in aeronautical engineering (summa cum laude) at the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in physics at Sorbonne University in Paris (summa cum laude with Tres Honorable, the highest graduate student honor). He returned to the Philippines and became involved in both the government and the academic worlds. He worked in several posts with the Department of Public Works and Communications and the Department of National Defense, mostly in the aviation. At the same time, he taught aeronautics at several universities—including the American Far Eastern School of Aviation, the Far Eastern University, and the FEATI University—and published many books and research papers on aeronautics. In 1934 Zara married Engracia Arcinas Laconico, who the year before had been named Miss Philippines. They had four children: Antonio, Pacita, Josefina, and Lourdesï » ¿. Discoveries Begin In 1930, he discovered the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance, known as the Zara Effect, which involves the resistance to the passage of an electric current when contacts are in motion. Later he invented the earth induction compass, which is still used by pilots, and in 1954 his airplane engine powered by alcohol had a successful test flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Then came the videophone. Before video calling became as commonplace as it is in the 21st century, the technology had been developed but started slowly, possibly because it was so far ahead of its time. In the middle of the 1950s, long before the start of the digital age, Zara developed the first videophone or two-way television-telephone. The device left the realm of science fiction and comic books when Zara patented it in 1955 as a â€Å"photo phone signal separator network.† Videophone Catches On That first iteration didnt catch on, largely because it wasn’t intended as a commercial product. But in the 1960s, ATT began working on a model of a videophone, called a â€Å"picturephone,† aimed at the public. The company released the videophone at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, but it was seen as impractical and didnt fare well. It caught fire as the digital age was beginning in the late 1990s. The videophone first caught on as a device that easily enabled distance learning and video conferencing and also proved helpful for the hearing impaired. Then came such derivations as Skype and smartphones, and the videophone became ubiquitous worldwide. Other Scientific Contributions Zaras other inventions and discoveries include: Improving methods of producing and harnessing solar energy, including new designs for a solar-powered water heater, stove, and battery (1960s)Inventing wooden aircraft propellers  and  a corresponding propeller-cutting machine (1952)Designing a microscope with a collapsible stageHelping design the robot Marex X-10, which could walk, talk, and respond to commandsInventing the vapor chamber, used to visualize radioactive elements Zara died of heart failure at the age of 76 in 1978. Legacy In his lifetime, Gregorio Zara amassed 30 patents. In the year of his death he was presented the National Scientist Award, the highest honor  the Philippine government gives to Filipino scientists, by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. He also received: The Presidential Diploma of MeritThe Distinguished Service Medal (1959) for his pioneering works and achievements in solar energy research, aeronautics, and televisionThe Presidential Gold Medal and Diploma of Honor for Science and Research (1966)The Cultural Heritage Award for Science Education and Aero Engineering (1966) Sources Meet Gregorio Zara, the Filipino Engineer Who Created the World’s First Video Phone. Gineersnow.com.Today in Philippine History, March 8, 1902, Gregorio Y. Zara was born in Lipa City, Batangas. The Kahimyang Project.Role Models in Science Engineering Achievement: Gregorio Zara. Scienceblogs.com.Miss Philippines of the Manila Carnival, Engracia Arcinas Laconico. Manila Carnivals 1908-39.

Essay about Criticism of Religion in Voltaire’s Candide

Criticism of Religion in Voltaire’s Candide In his novel Candide, Voltaire often criticized religious beliefs of the times. His criticism of religion surfaces throughout the entire story. The kindness of the Anabaptist that Candide met showed the silliness of religious prejudices. The old womans story of her father, Pope Urban X, and the life of wealth she lived as a child shows the corruption of the Catholic clergy. Finally, the conversation Candide and Cacambo had with the old man in Eldorado shows the benefits of a simple religion, a contrast of the European religions of the time. During the eighteenth century, the Anabaptists were often persecuted and hated because of their radical religious beliefs. Voltaire attacked this†¦show more content†¦James, the Anabaptist, witnessed this horrible action towards Candide and invited him into his own home, served him bread and beer and gave him two florins. Later on, in a journey to Lisbon, a sailor fell into the ocean, and so James quickly helped him back onto the ship, but, in the course of his efforts, he was thrown into the sea in full view of the sailor, who let him perish without deigning even to look at him (28). James kindness resulted in his death. Voltaire included this Anabaptist in his story to display the silliness of religious prejudices. This man was hated by society because of his religious views, but he was kind to others, unlike the Protestants and the sailor that Candide encountered. Voltaire also criticized the corruption found in the clergy of the Catholic Church. An old woman took care of Candide after his flogging in Lisbon and reunited him with his long lost love, Cunegonde. While on a ship, the three exchanged stories of their adventures and the troubles that they had faced. In the beginning of the old womans story she said, I am the daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina (42). She then talked about the magnificent palace that she grew up in and the riches that she enjoyed and how she was betrothed to a prince of Massa-Carrara. This story was mentioned in Candide because it showed the corruption of the Catholic clergy. The pope, a man who was supposed to be celibate and follow the example of Christ, insteadShow MoreRelated Candide by Voltaire Essay example1218 Words   |  5 Pagesthe author of the novella Candide, also known as Optimism. The the novella, Voltaire portrays the idea of Optimism as being illogical and absurd. In Candide, Vol taire satirizes the doctrine of Optimism, an idea that was greatly used during the Enlightenment time period by philosophers. In this narrative, Candide is a young man who goes through a series of undertakings and ventures around the the globe where he experiences evil and adversity. 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What would be the Global Benefit Free Essays

The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ has been growing steadily over time. The statistics are heartrending. Of the world’s adult population, 2% own greater than 50% of the world’s household wealth. We will write a custom essay sample on What would be the Global Benefit? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Additionally, the upper 1% of the world’s adult population, as of the year 2000, owned about 40% of all the worlds’ assets. Further, 10% of the world’s richest people account for 85% of the world’s wealth. Sadly, the bottom 50% of the world’s adult population only manages 1% of the world’s wealth. These statistics can only be described as dismal (Davies, Sandstrom, Shorrocks Wolff, 2006). According to the World Economic and Social Survey carried out in the year 2006, the growth of the world’s developing countries is dependent on domestic policies as well as the regional environment and global economic environment (Reducing International Inequality, 2006). Since it was found that developing countries are growing at a much less rate than their developed counterparts as far as technological advances are concerned, changes need to be made to make growth and development feasible. These developing countries are finding it difficult to come up with new activities that will strengthen the countries economy (Reducing International Inequality, 2006). Some of the changes that need to be made include the following: There is a need for macroeconomic stability with does not just mean low inflation, but includes the avoidance of fluctuations in business cycles as well as financial crises and external imbalances. This will increase investment and encourage growth within the country (Reducing International Inequality, 2006). The developing countries will also need to create new institutional reforms, guarantee property rights and create new markets. Institutional frameworks and regulations that are needful for the flourishing of markets must also be provided. The necessary public resources to ensure a thriving market should be put in place and rules must be fair across the board (Reducing International Inequality, 2006). Globalization has done a great job of opening up governments to the idea of a free-market. This in turn has opened up new opportunities in global trade as well as investment. With new markets comes a new potential for production to meet the demand, hence more income for the individual and the country (What is globalization? ). Globalization may help reduce the economic imbalances by renegotiating barriers that may be there in commerce, thereby establishing favorable agreements that will encourage trade in services, goods and investment. This is great for fostering foreign partnership with different corporations setting up shop in a developing country of choice bringing, employment opportunities and skills transfer to the people of the land which they can use in the future. This then increases their household wealth and raises the standards of the people closing the inequality gap. Technology also has a great role to play. The internet for instance has made it possible for many people in developing countries to engage in e-commerce (What is globalization? ). This has transformed the economic lives of many people, especially computer literate youth. The advantages of information technology are vast and touch the lives of investors, consumers and businesses. People in any nation are able to learn about opportunities in a timely manner, which allows them to pursue the said opportunities faster. Additionally, the analysis of economic trends is faster. Collaboration and communication with partners in far away countries is instant and assets can be transferred at the click of a button. All these are ways that globalization opens up developing countries to opportunities all over the world and if maximized, these opportunities can lead to economic uplifting. (What is globalization? ). One cannot forget those that have no access to the internet though, or cannot afford it. According to the World Development Report 2007, majority of the worlds poor depend on agriculture for their livelihood. 75% of the poor people in the world live in rural areas, of these 86% are dependent on agriculture (Boyne, 2007). Therefore one cannot speak of the development of wealth equality without addressing the issue of agriculture. According to this report, in order to meet the millennium development goal of reducing poverty and hunger by 50% by the year 2015 in these poor developing countries, agricultural development is a must. In order to make agriculture the mainstay of rural development it is important that the local authorities in any country make the environment suitable and supportive. Additionally, fair rules trade both nationally and internationally must be established, mitigating climatic changes as well as adopting to them and benefiting the poor (Boyne, 2007). The US being counted among the developed and richest countries in the world is often called upon to assist or give aid to countries that are less fortunate. The money used for such funding is gained from the American tax payer. If the nations of the world were more stable due to equality in wealth distribution, it goes without saying that many of those countries would require only a fraction of the said funding or none at all. The US could then use the funds to carry out other projects or fund social programs such as welfare for those within the country that need the help. Additionally, social security funds would not be used to fund other programs leading to a deficit and fear as the baby boomers reach retirement age. More funding would go into research, fortifying the military or homeland defense, as well as many other projects that would be beneficial to the country. This would ease political tensions and bickering and allow elected officials to work without distraction. Internationally, it would enable to worlds countries to interact as equals. The dominance asserted by the nations lending aid to poor countries would cease. This would reduce anti American sentiment in many of these poor nations. The opening of global markets is the best way to deal with the issue of unequal wealth distribution. Setting fair international trade regulations will be of great benefit towards this endeavor and agriculture, the main livelihood of the very poor, must be addressed. Benefits of this will be enormous to the US as it will enable the country to retain majority, if not all donor funds which can then be utilized for the benefits of the American people, who earned the money in the first place. References Boyne, I. (2007, October 21). Investment, Inequality Growing Globally. Global Policy Forum. Retrieved March 27, 2009. http://www. globalpolicy. org/socecon/inequal/income/2007/1021invest. htm Davies, J. B. , Sandstrom, S. , Shorrocks, A Wolff,E. N. (2006, December 5). The world distribution of household wealth. World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UN-WIDER). Retrieved March 27, 2009. http://www. globalpolicy. org/socecon/inequal/income/2006/1206unufull. pdf Reducing international inequality – UN report. (2006, July). Global Policy Forum. Retrieved March 27, 2009. http://www. globalpolicy. org/socecon/inequal/income/2006/0715southbulletin. htm What is globalization? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved March 27, 2009. http://www. globalization101. org/What_is_Globalization. html? PHPSESSID=359a52eea34f319e3d9e49a50fe9ae0e How to cite What would be the Global Benefit?, Papers

Nicole and the others steal the show Essay Example For Students

Nicole and the others steal the show Essay Chilling performances by Nicole Kidman and Fionnula Flanagan have propelled this critically acclaimed Oscar winning film straight to the top of the box office. This film is billed as a horror film, but unlike many blockbuster Hollywood films, it isnt repeated frights with a very weak plot linking them; instead the director has worked very closely with the writers to create a very clever film which makes you think, not jump. The film uses lighting and music to build up suspense. The film is set in a typical gothic horror house on the mist-strewn island of Jersey. The writers have presented the director with a gift; the children of the house where the film is set are allergic to light, the means the house curtains have to always be closed and the house for ever shrouded in darkness. The only light is cast by the old lanterns which create eerie shadows and play tricks with the eyes. The director has used this very effectively to make the audiences eyes play tricks on them and make them see things, which arent really there. This has been used very effectively as can be seen in the wardrobe scene, a full technical analysis of this scene can be f ound later in the magazine. This film lets you build your own ideas about ghosts and death instead of thrusting Hollywoods interpretations of them into your face. Before this film was even released one of the main talking points is the certificate of the film, it is a 12. As appose to normal horror film which are of a much higher certificate. The main reason for this is the fact that the film is a completely different genre to any film seen before. It is a clever film which builds up suspense by using music and lighting. The main reason this film isnt as 15 or 18 is that there isnt any gore in the film, you dont see and evil happenings they are all imaged. You can make this film as scary as you like, if you believe in ghosts than this film can be very scary because you get completely engrossed in the film. If you detach yourself from the film and watch it as an outsider then you can find the film very entertain but not scary. The best played parts of this film are the two main characters, Grace Stewart Nicole Kidman and Mrs Mills Fionnula Flanagan; they are both very different characters. Nicole Kidman has been very well cast because Grace, her character is a very straight laced and everything about Nicole fits this role. Everything from her posture to her voice is exactly how the character should be played. Grace is a very restrained person who wears very tight restraining clothes, and talks in a quite high pitched, but quiet voice. As Nicole Kidman is a tall thin she wears long dresses that are tight and very high  necked. These clothes are very restricting and they give you any insight to the personality of whom is wearing them. Everything about Grace is a very controlling, in fact she is somewhat of a control freak, and when the ghosts do invade Graces houses, and she loses control of the house, and what is going on around her then she goes mad because she can on longer control her surroundings. On the other hand there is Mrs Mills who is a completely different character. She is by for more of a mother to the children than Grace is. She is a very maternal women, she always dresses in very Victorian black servant clothes. This is a very clever pointer to the outcome of the film, because at the dÃÆ' ©nouement of the film you realise that the clothes are Victorian and they match the age in which Mrs Mills lived. Unlike Grace, Mrs Mills has a very calming soft voice, whereas Graces voice is a complete contrast, it is a sharp, high pitched monotone voice. Mrs Mills is also much more motherly towards the children, for example when Grace shouts at Anne and sends her to her room she instead runs to Mrs Mills who comforts her. This shows up the stark contrast between the childrens relationship with their mother and their nanny. Mrs Mills has also accepted the fact that she is a ghost, and doesnt have a problem with it, so she is much calmer about all the sounds and strange happeni ngs around the house. .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .postImageUrl , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:hover , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:visited , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:active { border:0!important; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:active , .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1 .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud29592fbae71f45bb7427892407b46a1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Jewel: Pieces Of A Shattered Dream EssayOn the whole this is a quiet complex film with many turns in the plot, it will take a quick whited viewer to keep up, but if you want more than your normal Hollywood horror film then this is a must see. Here is a technical analysis of the wardrobe scene in The Others. Black text is the camera shot. Red text is the sound. The children are running away from the intruders. They go and hide inside a wardrobe. ï‚ · Silence apart from a quick whispered conversation between Anne and Nicholas building tension and fear ï‚ · Big Close Up B.C.U on Anne ï‚ · Cut to B.C.U of Nicholas ï‚ · Two cuts between close ups of Anne and Nicholas ï‚ · Lots of rapidly cuts between Anne and Nicholas following their conversation ï‚ · Silence except from breathing ï‚ · There is the sound of frightened breathing and the audience cant tell if it is inside, or out of the wardrobe ï‚ · Close up of both Anne and Nicholas ï‚ · Audience and children wonder who is breathing, It appears as if it is Nicholas. Audience and children cant decider if it is inside or outside the wardrobe. Voice outside wardrobe saying come with us, it is a very calm quiet voice. Audience think it is one of the intruders ï‚ · The breathing becomes heavier, everyone is listening intently to the breathing ï‚ · Slight tracking shot from Nicholas to Anne ï‚ · Sudden high pitched loud scream from Anne and banging of wardrobe door ï‚ · Cut to low angle, point of view shot from Anne and Nicholas of the old woman that is the medium that has flung open the wardrobe doors. ï‚ · Four zoom shots from point of view of Anne and Nicholas one after the other, this maximises the dramatic effect. ï‚ · Cut to medium close up of old woman ï‚ · Close up of a screaming Anne ï‚ · Tracking shot of Anne ï‚ · Grace gasping in shock reacting to Annes scream ï‚ · Cut to high angle shot of Grace from the top of the stairs

Can This Bookstore Be Saved free essay sample

The internet has brought an end to most brick and mortar locations of book stores and have changed the ways that book publishers market and sell their books. Publishers had to change the way they allocate printed books as well as beginning to release books as apps in order to change the ways that books are sold and open up to a wider audience. Paper books would create a bigger profit but do not sell as well as e-books. Book stores either had to adapt to the change or ultimately meet their end. Book stores had to reach to selling e-books and e-readers in order to maintain their sales. BN as well as book publishers are changing their business model to deal with the internet and e-book technology by increasing the features which they offer to their clientele. They are constantly upgrading the r-readers they provide and increasing the functionality of their e-books. We will write a custom essay sample on Can This Bookstore Be Saved or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Also they are looking to cater to the college student for their text book needs. 3. Yes BN’s new strategy will be successful. I feel that their new strategy will be successful because they are not appealing to more people especially college students that will repeatedly need to purchase or rent textbooks. As with new features they allow people to do more things even though some people may never use them the younger demographic would more than likely be drawn to those new features. 4. I feel that BN and publishers should be giving people more of a preview of the books to stimulate more business. With e-books it is harder to just impulse buy one because you cannot hold the book in your hand and read a few pages to see if you have a true feel for the book. The weaknesses   within Facebooks privacy policies and features are the fact they want you to share as much information as possible but they make your information openly readily available to anyone if you do not know how to go through all of Facebooks settings. They do not automatically protect your account and do not easily give you the information to do so. The factors that contribute to those weaknesses is the lack of information given to consumers, they do not tell you how your information will be used, the difficulty involved with updating how your information is shared and the fact they do not ask your permission for images. The way in which Facebook currently conducts business I do not think they can have a successful business model without invading privacy. I feel like they make the most of their business exploiting people’s privacy and their lack of knowledge with how to change their privacy settings. The only way I feel that they can make it successful would be to educating the people that use facebook to take the proper measures to make sure their information is not shared without their approval.

Cheerful and cheap recipes for students

Cheerful and cheap recipes for students 5 Top Student Recipes Students don`t always have time to cook for themselves, but there are a lot of dishes, which are easy and quickly to cook. Moreover, you don`t have to spend a lot of money on the ingredients. We decided to write the list of the most delicious and cheap student dishes. Quick tomato soup with cheesy garlic dippers 1 tbsp caster sugar Dash each Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce 400g can cherry tomatoes Few torn basil leaves 2 tbsp mascarpone 100 ml vegetable stock 125g ball mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 garlic clove, halved 1 medium ciabatta roll, halved Preparation Put the stock, tomatoes, sugar and sauces into a medium pan. Add some pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes. Keep your pan warm while you make the dippers. Stir in the mascarpone and blend to the smooth soup. Toast the ciabatta on the grill until it is golden. Rub with season and garlic. Then, top with cheese and drill until it is golden and melted. Serve with the tomato soup and sprinkle with the basil. Sausage ragu and spinach pasta bake 1 tbsp oregano, chopped 680 jar passata with garlic and herbs 6 good-quality pork sausages, skinned 1 egg, beaten, to glaze 100g Parmesan, grated 500g pack pasta shapes 2x350 tubs ready-made cheese sauce 400g pack spinach Freshly grated nutmeg Preparation Brown the sausages in a large frying pan, breaking up the meat. Stir in the passata and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the season and add the oregano. Cook the pasta for two minutes, drain and cool under cold water. Pour the boiling water over the spinach in the colander to wilt. Then, squeeze out all the water. Mix the cheese sauce with the pasta. Mix the spinach, the meat sauce, the Parmesan, some nutmeg, the cheesy pasta, the seasoning, then wrap it and freeze. Defrost for about 8 hours. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the dish is golden. Baked mushrooms with ricotta and pesto 2 tbsp green pesto 16 medium chestnut mushroom 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 250g tub ricotta 2 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 rounded tbsp pesto 25g freshly grated Parmesan 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, preferably flat leaf, to serve Preparation Take the mushrooms in one layer and brush them with 1 tbsp of the oil. Then, put them in the dish, rounded cap side down. Mix the garlic, ricotta and pesto and spoon into the mushrooms. Sprinkle over the Parmesan. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/ fan 180C. Bake for about 20 minutes. Blob a little pesto on the top of each mushroom and then, scatter with the parsley. Serve this dish hot. Quick sausage Bolognese 250g pack mushroom, sliced 1 tsp fennel seed 6 good-quality sausage, skins removed Shaved or grated Parmesan, to serve 300g penne 660g jar tomato pasta sauce 150 ml red wine Preparation Crumble the sausage and fennel seed and fry, without adding any oil. Stir well to break up the meat. Add the mushrooms and fry until they begin to soften. Stir it in the wine and then, add the tomato sauce. Heat through until bubbling. Boil the penne, drain it, and tip into the sauce. Finish your dish with a little Parmesan. Very simple Margherita pizza Small bunch basil, half chopped, half left whole 125 ml warm water Side salad, to serve 100g mozzarella, half chopped, half grated 85 ml passata Olive oil 2 tbsp grated Parmesan 7g packet easy-blend dried yeast 200g plain flour 1 tsp sugar Preparation Mix the yeast, the flour, 1/4 tsp salt and the sugar in the bowl. Stir in the water and knead until smooth. Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Oil a 20x24 cm baking try and press the mixture into it.   Spread the seasoned passata over the dough, sprinkle with the Parmesan, the mozzarella, and the chopped basil. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with a side salad. .

Information security management (small mail company) smaller to Aramex Essay

Information security management (small mail company) smaller to Aramex mail company in UAE - Essay Example tively, the company management team has at least 50 years of experience in areas like transportation planning, logistics, operations, routing, as well as the managing mail/postage delivery. They together ensure that clients receive services that creative, professional, and practical. The company’s operations managers ensure that they are always close to the customers. They are also available for any issue requiring immediate attention. Reason for Request for the Proposal is to outline the possible ways of addressing the major security requirements of the best information security program that can meet the company’s security needs. Swift Courier needs to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its data and information. The lack of confidentiality of data/information could result to the stealing of credit card numbers belonging to customers leading to legal implication as well as loss of the company’s good will. This could consequently lead to loss of customers in the future especially international clients given that the company interfaces with other international couriers. Lack of data integrity on the other hand may lead to the planting of virus software like Trojan horse that would allow intruders to access the company’s secrets information, which may in turn lead to loss of data and information and hence deteriorated availability of data and information. The security prog ram would enhance the company IT department’s steps to mitigate information security risks like the loss of data. Swift Courier comprises of various departments as depicted in its organizational chart in section 1.1.2 (Chandler, 1962). This project proposal can however focus on one department, which is the Information Technology (IT) department. In this regard, the proposal is based on the department’s contingency plan, security policies, risk assessment, and security awareness. Swift Courier’s main requirements are in the areas of contingency planning, risk

Accountability of Public Finances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accountability of Public Finances - Essay Example 2006). In case of financial statement, fraud or any the crime involving financial statements in the government organizations then the PAC is expected to carry out an investigation and table its report to the Parliament on debate and provide recommendations for the government (Kang et al. 2008). Members of the committee are expected to obtain information or evidence from public officers and even managers of the public organizations. They are expected to examine the Director of Audits report concerning any organization. The president, however, is not a member of the committee, and the committee is independent of any control by the executive. In China the process of reporting involves preparation of the audit report, then preparation of the tax reconciliation report and finally preparation of foreign exchange reconciliation for foreign companies operating in China. There is also profit Repatriation of the financial statements depending on tax clearance completion. The financial reporting process in China is coded as it was borrowed heavily from Germany. Previously, most of the companies were owned by the government, but after the 80’s they reduced though the government still has some control over their reporting. The source of capital is debt thus the reporting is inclined towards the requirements of their equity providers that is the government and banks. The management is responsible for the financial statements of an entity in China be it government’ public or private organization. Accountability of the financial statements is at the hands of the Chief Financial Officers and the top management who acts a s the agents of the owners. It is expected that all financial reports must be audited before getting published so as to show a true and fair view of the financial position of the firm. The must comply with the reporting standards issued by Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Shah

Prevention Of Abuse To Vunerable Adults

Prevention Of Abuse To Vunerable Adults In 1992 the Department of Health and the then, Social Services Inspectorate, in England, published the findings of a survey of two social services Departments in relation to abuse. This publication found there to be a lack of assessments in large numbers of elder abuse cases and little evidence of inter-agency cooperation. The report recommended guidelines to assist social services in their work with older people (DH/SSI 1992). During the 1990s concerns had been raised throughout the UK regarding the abuse of vulnerable adults. The social services inspectorate published Confronting elder abuse (SSI 1992) and following this, practice guidelines No longer afraid (SSI 1993). No longer afraid provided practice guidelines for responding to, what was acknowledged at that time, as elder abuse. It was aimed at professionals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and emphasised clear expectations that policies should be multi-agency and also include ownership and operational responsibilities (Bennett et al 1997). This guidance was issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 and gives local authority Social Service departments a co-ordinating role in the development and implementation of local vulnerable adult policies and procedures. In 2000, the department of Health published the guidance No Secrets. The purpose of No Secrets was aimed primarily at local authority social services departments, but also gave the local authority the lead in co-ordinating other agencies i.e. police, NHS, housing providers (DOH 2000). The guidance does not have the full force of statute, but should be complied with unless local circumstances indicate exceptional reasons which justify a variation (No Secrets, 2000) The aim of No Secrets was to provide a coherent framework for all responsible organisations to devise a clear policy for the protection of vulnerable adults at risk of abuse and to provide appropriate responses to concerns, anxieties and complaints of abuse /neglect (DOH 2000). Scotland Historical In December 2001, the Scottish Executive published Vulnerable Adults: Consultation Paper (2001 consultation) (Scottish Executive, 2001). This sought views on the extension of the vulnerable adults provisions to groups other than persons with mental disorder and the possible introduction of provisions to exclude persons living with a vulnerable adult, where the adults health is at risk. A joint inquiry was conducted by the Social Work Services Inspectorate and the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. Both of these agencies were linked with the central government of Scotland who had responsibility for the oversight of social work services and care and treatment for persons with mental health problems. In the report by the Scottish Executive (2004), a case of a woman who was admitted to a general hospital with multiple injuries from physical and sexual assault and who had a learning disability became the focus for change for Scotland in terms of adults who have been abused. The police investigation identified a catalogue of abuse and assaults ranging back weeks and possibly longer. In June 2003 the Minister for Education and Young People, Peter Peacock MSP, asked the Social Work Services Inspectorate (SWSI) to carry out an inspection of the social work services provided to people with learning disabilities by Scottish Borders Council. At the same time, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWC) also undertook an inquiry into the involvement of health services, though worked closely with SWSI during its inquiry. The two bodies produced separate reports, but also published a joint statement (MWC and SWSI, 2004), which summarised their findings and stated their recommendations. The findings included: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a failure to investigate appropriately very serious allegations of abuse à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a lack of information-sharing and co-ordination within and between key agencies (social work, health, education, housing, police) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a lack of risk assessment and failure to consider allegations of sexual abuse a lack of understanding of the legislative framework for intervention and its capacity to provide protection à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a failure to consider statutory intervention at appropriate stages The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 (ASPA) is a result of the events that were known as the Scottish Borders Enquiry. Following the various police investigations, it was identified that there were historical links between the client and the offenders who were later prosecuted in terms of statements held by social services department detailing the offenders behaviour towards the woman and that this information was held on file. The Scottish Executive (2004) described the case as extremely disturbing but even more shocking to many that so many concerns about this woman had been made known and not acted on. As a consequence, 42 recommendations from the inquiry were made and there was a specific recommendation which was taken to the Scottish Executive and involved the provision of comprehensive adult protection legislation as a matter of urgency as there had been concerns raised from political groups and high profile enquiries to provide statute for the protection of adults at risk of abuse in Scotland (Mackay 2008). The Scottish framework links with three pieces of legislation. In 2000, the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act [AWISA 2000] was passed and focused on protecting those without capacity with financial and welfare interventions for those unable to make a decisions. Second, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003) [MHSA (2003)] modernised the way in which care and treatment could be delivered both in hospital and the community and improved patients rights. Finally, the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (2007) [ASPSA (2007)] widened the range of community care service user groups who could be subject to assessment, and mainly short-term intervention, if they were deemed to be adults at risk of harm. Mackay (2008) argues that the Scottish arrangements both mirror and differ from those of England and Wales. She maps out the intervention powers for adults at risk of harm into a type of hierarchical structure known as a pyramid of intervention which aims to reflect the framework of the various pieces of Scottish legislation and goes onto say that the principle underlying all of the legislation is minimum intervention to achieve the desired outcome. Critique of definitions. In England, the No Secrets (2000) guidance defines a vulnerable adult as a person aged 18 or over and who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation (DOH 2000 Section 2.3) The groups of adults targeted by No Secrets were those who is or may be eligible for community care services. And within that group, those who were unable to protect themselves from significant harm were referred to as vulnerable adults. Whilst the phrase vulnerable adults names the high prevalence of abuse experienced by the group, there is a recognition that this definition is contentious. ADSS (2005). The definition of a vulnerable adult referred to in the 1997 consultation paper Who Decides issued by the Lord Chancellors Department is a person: who is, or may be in need of Community Care Services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness: and who Is, or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation (Law Commission Report 231, 1995) There are however broader definitions of vulnerability which are used in different guidance and in the more recent Crime and Disorder Act (1998) it refers to vulnerable sections of the community and embraces ethnic minority communities and people rendered vulnerable by social exclusion and poverty rather than service led definitions. There is concern, however, that the current England framework is more restricted than it should be, and that the problem is one of definition. The House of Commons Health Committee, says that No secrets should not be confined to people requiring community care services, and that it should also apply to old people living in their own homes without professional support and anyone who can take care of themselves (House of Commons Health Committee, 2007). Even within the ADASS National Framework (2005) it has been argued that vulnerability seems to locate the cause of abuse with the victim, rather than placing responsibility with the acts or omissions of others (ADASS, 2005) The Law Commission speaks favourably of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, which, it says, understands vulnerability purely through the situation an adult is placed [in] (Law Commission, 2008). It is now becoming questionable whether the term vulnerable be replaced with the term at risk. If we were to look at the current legislation in England surrounding the investigations of abuse to adults, there are none, however there are underpinning pieces of legislation which whilst not in its entirety focus specifically on the adult abuse remit, but can be drawn upon to protect those most vulnerable. There are many duties underpinning investigations of adult abuse, but no specific legislation. The NHS and Community Care Act 1990, section 47 assessments can be implemented in order to consider an adults need for services and can therefore consider any risk factors present at the time of the assessment. From this, assessment and commissioned services can support people who have been abused or can prevent abuse from occurring. The National Assistance Act (1948) deals with the welfare of people with disabilities and states that the: local authority shall make arrangements for promoting the welfare of person whosuffers from a mental disorderwho are substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or other disabilities and gives power to provide services arising out of an investigation out of the NHS Community care Act 1990. (Mantell 2009). The Fair Access to Care Services 2003 (FACS) recognises that community care services will be a vital aspect of adult protection work (Spencer- Lane, 2010). Interestingly the eligibility criteria that superseded Fair Access to Care from April 2010 (Prioritising Need in the context of Putting People First: A whole systems approach to eligibility for Social Care), continues to place adults who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, in Critical and substantial needs criteria banding, as FACS did. Another definition of a vulnerable adult is cited within The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006), (SVG Act 2006), and defines a vulnerable adult as: A person is a vulnerable adult if he has attained the age of 18 and: (a)he is in residential accommodation, (b)he is in sheltered housing, (c)he receives domiciliary care, (d)he receives any form of health care, (e)he is detained in lawful custody, (f)he is by virtue of an order of a court under supervision by a person exercising functions for the purposes of Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (c. 43), (g)he receives a welfare service of a prescribed description, (h)he receives any service or participates in any activity provided specifically for persons who fall within subsection (9), (i)payments are made to him (or to another on his behalf) in pursuance of arrangements under section 57 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (c. 15), or (j)he requires assistance in the conduct of his own affairs. This particular act appears to take an alternative approach to the term vulnerability. It refers to places where a person is placed and is situational. (Law Commission, 2008). Following the consultation of No Secrets, one of the key findings of the consultation was the role that the National Health Service played in relation to Safeguarding Vulnerable adults and their systems. The Department of Health produced a document titled Clinical Governance and Adult Safeguarding- An Integrated Process (DOH 2010). The aim of the guidance is to encourage organisations to develop processes and systems which focused on complaints, healthcare incidents and how these aspects fall within the remit of Safeguarding processes and to empower reporting of such as it identified that clinical governance systems did not formally recognise the need to work in collaboration with Local Authorities when concerns arise during healthcare delivery. The definition of who is vulnerable in this NHS guidance, refers to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006) and states that any adult receiving any form of healthcare is vulnerable and that there is no formal definition of vulnerability within health care but those receiving healthcare may be at greater risk from harm than others (DOH 2010). In the Care Standards Act 2000 it describes a Vulnerable adult as: (a) an adult to whom accommodation and nursing or personal care are provided in a care home; (b) an adult to whom personal care is provided in their own home under arrangements made by a domiciliary care agency; or (c) an adult to whom prescribed services are provided by an independent hospital, independent clinic, independent medical agency or National Health Service body. Similar to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, the Care Standards Act 2000 classifies the term vulnerable adult as situational and circumstantial rather than specific and relevant to a persons individual circumstance. Spencer-Lane (2010) says that these definitions of vulnerability in England have been the subject of increasing criticism. He states that the location of the cause of the abuse rests with the victim rather than the acts of others; that vulnerability is an inherent characteristic of the person and that no recognition is given that it might be contextual, by setting or place that makes the person vulnerable. Interestingly Spencer -Lane (2010) prefers the concept of adults at risk. He goes on to suggest a new definition that adults at risk are based on two approaches as the Law Commission feel that the term vulnerable adults should be replaced by adults at risk to reflect these two concerns: To reflect the persons social care needs rather than the receipt of services or a particular diagnosis What the person is at risk from whether or not the term significant harm should be used but would include ill treatment or the impairment of health or development or unlawful conduct which would include financial abuse Spencer-Lane (2010) also argues that with the two approaches above, concerns remain regarding the term significant harm as he feels the threshold for this type of risk is too high and whether the term in its entirety at risk of harm be used whilst encompassing the following examples: ill treatment; impairment of health or development; unlawful conduct. Unlike in Scotland, there are no specific statutory provisions for adult protection; the legal framework is provided through a combination of the common law, local authority guidance and general statute law (Spencer-Lane 2010). Whereby in England the term vulnerable adult is used, in Scotland the term in the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 uses the term adults at risk. This term was derived by the Scottish Executive following their 2005 consultation were respondents criticised the word vulnerable as they believed it focussed on a person disability rather than their abilities, hence the Scottish executive adopted the term at risk (Payne, 2006). Martin (2007) questions the definition of vulnerability and highlights how the vulnerability focus in England leaves the deficit with the adult, as opposed to their environment. She uses the parallel argument to that idea of disabling environments, rather than the disabled person, within the social model of disability. She goes on to comment that processes within society can create vulnerability. People, referred to as vulnerable adults, may well be in need of community care services to enjoy independence, but what makes people vulnerable is that way in which they are treated by society and those who support them. It could be argues that vulnerability and defining a person as vulnerable could be construed as being oppressive. This act states that an adult at risk is unable to safeguard their own well-being, property, rights or other interests; at risk of harm and more vulnerable because they have a disability, mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity. It also details that the act applies to those over 16 years of age, where in England the term vulnerable adult is defined for those over the age of 18 and for the requirement under the statute is that all of the three elements are met for a person to be deemed at risk. ADASS too supports the use of risk as the basis of adult protection, although its definition differs from the one used in Scotland. It states that an adult at risk is one who is or may be eligible for community care services and whose independence and wellbeing are at risk due to abuse or neglect (ADASS, 2005) The ASPSA (2007) act The Scottish Code of Practice states that no category of harm is excluded simply because it is not explicitly listed. In general terms, behaviours that constitute harm to others can be physical (including neglect), emotional, financial, sexual or a combination of these. Also, what constitutes serious harm will be different for different persons. (Scottish Government, 2008a p13). In defining what constitutes significant harm, No Secrets (2000) uses the definition of significant harm in who decides? No Secrets defines significant harm as:- harm should be taken to include not only ill treatment (including sexual abuse and forms of ill treatment which are not physical), but also the impairment of, or an unavoidable deterioration in, physical or mental health; and the impairment of physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural developments (No Secrets, 2000. The ASPA (2007) act also goes onto detail that any intervention in an individuals affairs should provide benefit to the individual, and should be the least restrictive option of those that are available thus providing a safety net on the principles of the act (ASPA, 2007). The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 says: harm includes all harmful conduct and, in particular, includes: conduct which causes physical harm; conduct which causes psychological harm (e.g. by causing fear, alarm or distress) unlawful conduct which appropriates or adversely affects property, rights or interests (e.g. theft, fraud, embezzlement or extortion) conduct which causes self-harm N.B conduct includes neglect and other failures to act, which includes actions which are not planned or deliberate, but have harmful consequences Interestingly the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (section 44) introduced a new criminal offence of ill treatment and wilful neglect of a person who lacks capacity to make a relevant decision. It does not matter whether the behaviour toward the person was likely to cause or actually caused harm or damage to the victims health. Although the Mental Capacity Act mainly relates to adults 16 and over, Section 44 can apply to all age groups including children (Code of Practice Mental Capacity Act 2005). The Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) published a National Framework of Standards to attempt to reduce variation across the country (ADSS 2005). In this document the ADSS 2005 updated this definition above to :- every adult who is or may be eligible for community care services, facing a risk to their independence (ADSS 2005 para 1.14). England and Scotland differences with policy/legislation Definition of vulnerability Three part definition to definition of at risk of harm Harm might be caused by another person or the person may be causing the harm themselves no category of harm is excluded simply because it is not explicitly listed. In general terms, behaviours that constitute harm to others can be physical (including neglect), emotional, financial, sexual, or a combination of these. Also, what constitutes serious harm will be different for different persons. Code of Practice, Scottish Government (2008) Defining vulnerable: adult safeguarding in England and Wales Greater level of contestation in defining VA in adults than children. Doucuments in wales and England are very similar. In safe hands document is greater but both are issued under the provision of section 7. Whilst they are guidance, there is a statutory footing behind them. No Secrets (DH2000) defines vulnerable in a particular way: Is a person who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation. No Secrets paragraph 2.3 Lord Chancellors Department, Who Decides (1995) The ASP Act introduces new adult protection duties and powers, including: Councils duty to inquire and investigate Duty to co-operate Duty to consider support services such as independent advocacy Other duties and powers visits, interviews, examinations Protection Orders: assessment, removal, banning and temporary banning Warrants for Entry, Powers of Arrest and Offences Duty to establish Adult Protection Committees across Scotland Harm includes all harmful conduct and, in particular, includes: a) conduct which causes physical harm; b) conduct which causes psychological harm (for example: by causing fear, alarm or distress); c) unlawful conduct which appropriates or adversely affects property, rights or interests (for example: theft, fraud; embezzlement or extortion); and d) conduct which causes self-harm. An adult is at risk of harm if: another persons conduct is causing (or is likely to cause) the adult to be harmed, or the adult is engaging (or is likely to engage) in conduct which causes (or is likely to cause) self-harm N.B conduct includes neglect and other failures to act (Section 53)