The CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter detector control and monitoring system

The Electromagnetic Calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the LHC is made of 75848 lead tungstate scintillating crystals and photo-detectors. In order to ensure the design stability and precision, the detector's properties must be continuously monitored. The tests to determine the performance of the detector's crystals, photo detectors and readout electronics are presented in detail. In particular, the identification of different hardware problems that were found is discussed as well as on their development in time

Hill Prairies Within the City of Dubuque, Iowa

Strips of prairie several hundred feet wide cover certain uninhabitable hillsides within the city. Three major strips comprise a total length of about two miles. They support a varied flora. Parts of the area are often burned, but grazing has been absent for half a century. Exact locations are given, and brief notes on some of the flowering plants and insects are included

Auditor Involvement With Law Enforcement Agencies: A Specialized Niche

With over 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, opportunities exist for auditors to assist police agencies design and implement effective and efficient procedures for control of cash and other properties. Auditor involvement can improve police performance and help maintain public confidence in the police department’s ability to serve and protect the public interest.  The article discusses how auditors can provide a valuable service to police agencies by improving the agencies’ internal control over assets entrusted to them as evidence in criminal cases or to aid in their fight against crime. It discusses the needed audit procedures for such an engagement.  The article also discusses the special audit procedures for police agencies, which are involved in the Federal Asset Forfeiture Program

Planning For Your Second Accounting Job

For many accounting students the focus of their fourth or fifth years is finding a job to start them on an exciting and financially rewarding career. Colleges provide significant guidance and direction to these students in the form of internship assistance, resume writing workshops, interview practice, networking events and career guidance. At most campuses public accounting firms are the most visible representative’s students encounter and these firms provide many students their internship and first full-time opportunities. Since Colleges strive to meet the needs of their customers much of the Career Planning focus is on public accounting and certification as a CPA. However, most students are faced with careers that span 40 years or more and few new graduates spend an entire career with their first employer. At some point they find themselves in the job market because of a desire to relocate, to pursue better opportunities, to achieve a better work/life balance or because of corporate reorganizations. Being in the job market with the wrong set of credentials will limit an individuals employment opportunities and lengthen the time required to find an appropriate job. To get a sense of the skills that may be in demand in the future it is helpful to know the degrees and certifications employers are looking for today. Using the on-line job search data bases in four major markets (New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles and Denver) we tabulated the credentials and advanced degrees most often referenced in employment advertisements. These four markets are each serviced by a major newspaper that provides job seekers with free on-line access to jobs advertised in their paper. In addition, these cities are located in states that have implemented the 150 hour requirement (New York and Texas) and in states that have not yet implemented the 150 hour requirement (Colorado and California). The search results can serve as a guide for students and educators who want to be aware of the most sought after credentials and certifications in the current job market. This information may be useful in curriculum decisions and career planning guidance. Information on the most sought after certifications including links to the organization that sponsors the certification, requirements of certification and experience and continuing education requirements is also provided

Farmington and Beyond

published or submitted for publicatio

A modified Mahalanobis distance for human detection in out-door environments

This paper proposes a novel method for human detection from static images based on pixel structure of input images. Each image is divided into four parts, and a weight is assigned to each part of the image. In training stage, all sample images including human images and non-human images are used to construct a Mahalanobis distance map through statistically analyzing the difference between the different blocks on each original image. A projection matrix will be created with Linear Discriminant Method (LDM) based on the Mahalanobis distance map. This projection matrix will be used to transform multidimensional feature vectors into one dimensional feature domain according to a pre-calculated threshold to distinguish human figures from non-human figures. In comparison with the method without introducing weights, the proposed method performs much better. Encouraging experimental results have been obtained based on MIT dataset and our own dataset. © 2008 IEEE

Additional Certifications For CPA's: A Quality Control Issue

Over the last twenty years public accounting firms have started to provide additional services other than attest services and tax preparation, such as business valuations and financial planning, which can be very profitable for the firms.  However, the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation that has been used in many cases to market these services provides no assurance that the accountant is adequately trained in these new fields since CPA certification requires neither knowledge nor experience in these areas.  This paper reviews the services being provided by accountants and the additional professional certifications available to help accountants deliver quality services consistent with the public’s expectations of CPAs.  In addition, firms that may be thinking of expanding into new niche areas can make sure that they hire professionals or train existing staff with the appropriate credentials

Additional Certifications For CPA's: A Quality Control Issue

Over the last twenty years public accounting firms have started to provide additional services other than attest services and tax preparation, such as business valuations and financial planning, which can be very profitable for the firms.  However, the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation that has been used in many cases to market these services provides no assurance that the accountant is adequately trained in these new fields since CPA certification requires neither knowledge nor experience in these areas.  This paper reviews the services being provided by accountants and the additional professional certifications available to help accountants deliver quality services consistent with the public’s expectations of CPAs.  In addition, firms that may be thinking of expanding into new niche areas can make sure that they hire professionals or train existing staff with the appropriate credentials

The Role of Certain Arthropods in Reducing Mosquito Populations of Permanent Ponds in Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Zoology and Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus 1