An Analysis of White-Collar Crime in Fort Bend County, Texas.

In many respects, white-collar crimes are invisible, with offenses characteristically cloaked within organizational routines that often render them undetectable by observers, victims, or law enforcers. The prosecution of such crimes is unique in different states and distinct on a case-by-case basis. Studies have shown that despite the increased number of white-collar crimes fostered by explosive advancements in technology, many white-collar crime cases still go undetected and are not subjected to the criminal justice system. This dissertation will examine the approach of the Office of the District Attorney for Fort Bend County, Texas, in the prosecution of white-collar crimes in the county. A quantitative methodology (questionnaire) consisting of 18 questions/items and a sample population of 200 subjects obtained from the District Attorney’s Office in Fort Bend County, Texas was examined. The 200 subjects were divided into fraud (1) and non-fraud (0). Analyzing empirical studies, court dispositions, and questionnaire responses will help elucidate the nature of the white-collar crimes committed between 2015 and 2020 in the county. Edwin Sutherland\u27s application of the social learning theory (differential association in particular), with the rational choice and routine activity theories, was used to explain and comprehend the nature of white-collar crime in Fort Bend County. A logic regression was conducted, and the findings revealed that demographic factors and criminal history were statistically significant predictors of white-collar crimes. This study also found that African Americans were .59 times less likely to engage in white-collar crime compared to other ethnic groups in the Fort Bend County population that was analyzed. Such findings appear to be comparable with previous empirical studies. This study contributes to the education of the local public on the impact of white-collar crimes, which includes financial crimes, such as tax evasion, embezzlement, and fictitious sale of insurance plans, to name a few; as well as money laundering, debit, and credit card abuse that are financial sector crimes. This study also contributes to the development of appropriate policies for such offenses prosecuted in Fort Bend County, Texas

A Floristic and ecological survey of Assateague Island, Virgina-Maryland

Assateague Island is an offshore bar comprising the south-eastern coast of Maryland and the northeastern coast of Virgina. It is part of the system of discontinuous barrier reefs or bars which occupy most of the Atlantic shoreline from Florida to Massachusetts. These are unstable bars, continuously influenced by storm winds and tides which provide a distinct and rigorous habitat for the vegetation there. General floras of the Delmarva Peninusla do not mention Assateague Island specifically. The objective is to prepare a catalog of the vascular plants of Assateague Island and to describe the communities in which they are found, in the hope it will add to the knowledge of barrier reef vegetation

Theory of dissociative recombination of highly-symmetric polyatomic ions

A general first-principles theory of dissociative recombination is developed for highly-symmetric molecular ions and applied to H$_3$O$^{+}$ and CH$_3^+$, which play an important role in astrophysical, combustion, and laboratory plasma environments. The theoretical cross-sections obtained for the dissociative recombination of the two ions are in good agreement with existing experimental data from storage ring experiments

Addressing Software-Based, Platform Interoperability Risks in Defense Systems by Using Distressed Debt Financial Strategies: A Technical Debt Mitigation Concept

This concept paper explores an innovative approach to detecting and managing software vulnerabilities in cyber-physical defense systems. Software-based vulnerabilities that hinder or preclude the maintainability and evolvability of combat systems are a pernicious form of technical debt that threaten all cyber-physical systems. The risks associated with technical debt across increasingly interdependent DoD cyber-physical systems will accelerate if left unchecked. Without changes in acquisition and maintenance practices, we can foresee cascading, potentially catastrophic cross-system failures. To illustrate the risk and possible solutions, we focus on the software embedded in combat systems that are subject to ongoing modernization efforts that extend their applicability to evolving operations. Our research revealed that software vulnerabilities in critical combat systems can threaten the reliability and readiness of those systems. These vulnerabilities provide an opportunity for the defense acquisition communities to create a new capability within their organizations, an Acquisition Technical Debt Team (ATDT) to help detect, manage, and mitigate technical debt. We explore risk classification by including interoperability into risk evaluation schemas. We then apply common distressed debt management models to suggest when and how the ATDT might help manage and mitigate technical debt to help rehabilitate an ailing system.Prepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943.Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Randomised controlled trial of fish oil supplement to treat cancer cachexia

Patients with advanced cancer often suffer from cachexia, a debilitating and complex extreme weight loss syndrome which is also associated with shorter survival times. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine whether an oral nutritional supplement containing the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was able to improve quality of life and survival times of patients with advanced solid tumour cancer in a mixed tumour cancer type population

Survey Results of the New Health Care Worker Study: Implications of Changing Employment Patterns

This report examines the effects of contemporary employment arrangements on the quality of nursing work life, and the implications of these employment arrangements for individual nurses, the hospitals, and also for the organization. First we look at nurse work status (full-time, part-time or casual job), contract status (permanent or temporary), and employment preference as factors affecting commitment to the hospital and profession, job satisfaction, retention in the organization, and absenteeism from work. Second, we examine stress, burnout, and physical occupational health problems (in particular, musculoskeletal disorders), as affecting nurse and hospital outcomes. This project investigated how the quality of nursing worklife and career choices differ for nurses in full-time, part-time and casual employment, and whether nurses who have the employment arrangements they prefer enjoy a standard of worklife that encourages retention. We collected data for the study from 1,396 nurses employed at three large teaching hospitals in Southern Ontario (Hamilton Health Sciences, Kingston General Hospital, and St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto) using the New Health Care Worker Questionnaire. Results indicate that although a substantial majority of the nurses were employed in the type of job that they preferred, problems of stress, burnout and physical health problems were reported. Further, these problems affected the nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, and propensity to leave the hospitals.health care workers, employment status, nurses, job satisfaction, commitment, stress, burnout, physical health problems, MSD, propensity to leave