Kent Brockman. Contractors readying for more cuts to workforce, facilities. McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton, a contracting giant that cut 2 percent from its ranks a year ago, said last week that it is trimming its staff again, and undertaking a review of its head count and labor costs. Ralph Shrader, Booz Allen’s chief executive, chairman and president, said in a call with investors last week that the company thought the head count reductions it made last year would “place us well ahead of the curve.”
“Unfortunately, the curve kept changing faster than we thought,” he said. “What we are coming to grips with as an organization ... is that, when your growth rate slows, it’s time to take a good look at some of the practices that have been put in place over these really good times, and decide whether they are sustainable over uncertain times.” The company has found that its senior management ranks “have perhaps an excess of talent and capability,” Shrader said. “Defense spending is falling by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next several years,” he said.
NYTimes. Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? The Internets. 7 Degrees of Wiki. The world's first photo. One summer day in France in 1826, Joseph Niepce took the world's first photograph. It's a photo of some farm buildings and the sky. It took an exposure time of 8 hours.
Voila! It had to feel pretty incredible, like magic. No one's exactly sure how he did this or what chemicals were used. All that's known for sure is that the photo is on an 8"x 6.5" pewter plate. It's so faint it has to be tilted in order for the light to catch it just right, to see it. The current theory about how the photograph was taken is that Niepce coated the pewter plate with bitumen, a petroleum derivative sensitive to light.
History of photography. The commercial introduction of computer-based electronic digital cameras in the 1990s soon revolutionized photography. During the first decade of the 21st century, traditional film-based photochemical methods were increasingly marginalized as the practical advantages of the new technology became widely appreciated and the image quality of moderately priced digital cameras was continually improved. Etymology[edit] The coining of the word "Photography" has been attributed in 1839 to Sir John Herschel based on the Greek φῶς (phos), (genitive: phōtós) meaning "light", and γραφή (graphê), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light".[2] Technological background[edit] A camera obscura used for drawing images Photography is the result of combining several different technical discoveries. Early History: Development of chemical photography[edit] Monochrome process[edit] Robert Cornelius, self-portrait, Oct. or Nov. 1839, approximate quarter plate daguerreotype.
The First Photograph - Overview. First Ever Photograph of a Human Being. This photograph of Boulevard du Temple in Paris was made in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, the brilliant guy that invented the daguerreotype process of photography. Aside from its distinction of being a super early photograph, it’s also the first photograph to ever include a human being. Because the image required an exposure time of over ten minutes, all the people, carriages, and other moving things disappear from the scene. However, in the bottom left hand corner is a man who just so happened to stay somewhat still during the shot — he was having his shoes shined.
It’s interesting how sheer luck earned the guy a place in the history of photography. Too bad we’ll probably never know his identity. (via NPR) Oldest collection of photographs - Google Search. Raj. Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal (/ˈtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl/ often /ˈtɑːʒ/;,[2] from Persian and Arabic,[3][4] "crown of palaces", pronounced [ˈt̪aːdʒ mɛˈɦɛl]; also "the Taj"[5]) is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".[6] Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.[7][8] In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Origin and inspiration Taj Mahal site plan.
Should guilty seek asylum here, Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin. The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Tomb Northern view, from across the river Yamuna Exterior decoration. Mughal architecture. Mughal architecture is the architectural style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It is an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, and Indian architecture.[1] The Mughal Emperors gave a new direction and impetus to architecture. Examples of this style can be found in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. While Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb commissioned some buildings such as the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, his reign corresponded with the decline of Mughal architecture and the Empire itself. Architectural Panel, Mughal dynasty, late 17th century, India.
This panel either hung in the doorway of a palace or lined a nobleman’s tent. Shah Jahan[edit] Taj Mahal[edit] Aurangzeb and later Mughal architecture[edit] In Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707) squared stone and marble was replaced by brick or rubble with stucco ornament. Mughal gardens[edit] Mughal Bridges[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] India: A History. Picture Collections. Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, is a holding company and formerly one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations.
In 2002, the firm voluntarily surrendered its licenses to practice as Certified Public Accountants in the United States after being found guilty of criminal charges relating to the firm's handling of the auditing of Enron, an energy corporation based in Texas, which had filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and later failed. The other national accounting and consulting firms bought most of the practices of Arthur Andersen. The verdict was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States.
However, the damage to its reputation has prevented it from returning as a viable business, though it still nominally exists. History[edit] Founding[edit] Revenue per year in million US dollars, source : corporate press releases. Enron. Enron scandal. The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the de facto dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history at that time, Enron was attributed as the biggest audit failure.[1] Enron was formed in 1985 by Kenneth Lay after merging Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth.
Several years later, when Jeffrey Skilling was hired, he developed a staff of executives that, by the use of accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting, were able to hide billions of dollars in debt from failed deals and projects. Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow and other executives not only misled Enron's board of directors and audit committee on high-risk accounting practices, but also pressured Andersen to ignore the issues.
Andrew Fastow. Andrew Stuart Fastow (born December 22, 1961) is an American businessman who was the chief financial officer of Enron Corporation, an energy trading company based in Houston, Texas, until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into his and the company's conduct in 2001. Fastow was one of the key figures behind the complex web of off-balance-sheet special purpose entities (limited partnerships which Enron controlled) used to conceal their massive losses.
Fastow served a six-year prison sentence for charges related to these acts. Early life and education[edit] Fastow was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up in New Providence, New Jersey, the middle of three sons in a middle class Jewish family. [1] His parents, Carl and Joan Fastow, worked in merchandising. Fastow graduated from Tufts University in 1983 with B.A.s in economics and Chinese. Early career[edit] While at Continental Illinois, Fastow worked on the newly emerging "asset-backed securities".
Asset-backed security. Often a separate institution, called a special purpose vehicle, is created to handle the securitization of asset backed securities. The special purpose vehicle, which creates and sells the securities, uses the proceeds of the sale to pay back the bank that created, or originated, the underlying assets. The special purpose vehicle is responsible for "bundling" the underlying assets into a specified pool that will fit the risk preferences and other needs of investors who might want to buy the securities, for managing credit risk – often by transferring it to an insurance company after paying a premium – and for distributing payments from the securities.
Thus, one incentive for banks to create securitized assets is to remove risky assets from their balance sheet by having another institution assume the credit risk, so that they (the banks) receive cash in return. This allows banks to invest more of their capital in new loans or other assets and possibly have a lower capital requirement. Floating exchange rate. Conspiracy of Fools. Conspiracy of Fools is a book by Kurt Eichenwald detailing the Enron scandal. Synopsis[edit] Conspiracy of Fools tells the story of the 2001 collapse of Enron. Enron's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Andrew Fastow is depicted as voraciously greedy, using front corporations and partnerships, paying himself "management" and "consultant" fees as if he were an outsider, all while cooking Enron's books to show fictitious profits.
In the 1980s there were questionable activities at the company, but the bulk of the events depicted in the book occur from 1997 onward and led to Enron's collapse. In addition to Fastow, there are stories of the complicity of Enron's auditors (at Arthur Andersen), their lawyers (internal and external), the senior management (Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling), Fastow's partner in many of his deals, Michael Kopper, and Enron's board of directors. See also[edit] Accounting scandals Related Books and Films[edit] Jeffrey Skilling. Jeffrey Keith "Jeff" Skilling (born November 25, 1953) is the former CEO of the Enron Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas. In 2006 he was convicted of multiple federal felony charges relating to Enron's financial collapse, and is currently serving 14 years of a 24-year, four-month prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Englewood in Littleton, Colorado.[1][2] The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in the appeal of the case March 1, 2010.[3][4] On June 24, 2010, the Supreme Court vacated part of Skilling's conviction and transferred the case back to the lower court for resentencing.
Early life and education[edit] Skilling was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was the second of four children. His father was a sales manager for an Illinois valve company.[9] He grew up in New Jersey and Aurora, Illinois. When he was 16 years old, he worked at WLXT (channel 60), a UHF television station in Aurora. Family[edit] Enron[edit] 2008 events[edit]
Certiorari. Certiorari (/ˌsɜrʃ(i)əˈrɛəraɪ/, /-ˈrɛəri/, or /-ˈrɑri/[1][2]), often abbreviated as cert., is a writ seeking judicial review. It is issued by a superior court, directing an inferior court, tribunal, or other public authority to send the record of a proceeding for review. Etymology[edit] Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin verb certioro ("to inform, apprise, show").[3][2] Historical and modern jurisdictions[edit] Historical usage dates back to Roman Law. In modern law, certiorari are recognized in many jurisdictions, including The U.S., Britain, Canada, and The Philippines.[4] Ancient Rome[edit] In Roman law, certiorari was suggested in terms of reviewing a case—much as the term is applied today—although the term was also used in writing to indicate the need or duty to inform other parties of a court's ruling.
Common law and Commonwealth[edit] United States[edit] Federal courts[edit] State courts[edit] Administrative law[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]