RAND Report Details 9-11 Victims Compensation

RAND Report Details 9-11 Victims Compensation Dateline: January, 2005 A study released by the RAND Corporation shows that victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - both individuals killed or seriously injured and individuals and businesses impacted by the strikes - have received at least $38.1 billion in compensation, with insurance companies and the federal government providing more than 90 percent of the payments. New York businesses have received 62 percent of the total compensation, reflecting the broad-ranging economic impacts of the attack in and near the World Trade Center. Among individuals killed or seriously injured, emergency responders and their families have received more than civilians and their families who suffered similar economic losses. On average, first responders have received about $1.1 million more per person than civilians with similar economic loss. The 9-11 terrorist attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,551 civilians and serious injury to another 215. The attacks also killed or seriously injured 460 emergency responders. â€Å"The compensation paid to the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania was unprecedented both in its scope and in the mix of programs used to make payments,† said Lloyd Dixon, a RAND senior economist and lead author of the report. â€Å"The system has raised many questions about equity and fairness that have no obvious answers. Addressing these issues now will help the nation be better prepared for future terrorism. Dixon and co-author Rachel Kaganoff Stern interviewed and gathered evidence from many sources to estimate the amount of compensation paid out by insurance companies, government agencies and charities following the attacks. Their findings include: Insurance companies expect to make at least $19.6 billion in payments, comprising 51 percent of the money paid in compensation.Government payments total nearly $15.8 billion (42 percent of the total). This includes payments from local, state and federal governments, plus payments from the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 that was established by the federal government to compensate those killed or physically injured in the attacks. The total does not include payments to clean up the World Trade Center site or rebuild public infrastructure in New York City.Payments by charitable groups comprise just 7 percent of the total, despite the fact that charities distributed an unprecedented $2.7 billion to victims of the attacks.Because of concerns that liability claims would clog the courts and create further economic harm, the federal government limited the liability of airlines, airports and certain government bodies. The government established the Victim Compensation Fund to m ake payments to families for the deaths and injuries of victims. In addition, the government funded a major economic revitalization program for New York City.RAND researchers found that businesses hurt by the attacks have received most of the compensation that the study was able to quantify. The families of civilians killed and the civilians who were injured received the second-highest payments. The study found that: Businesses in New York City, particularly in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center, have received $23.3 billion in compensation for property damage, disrupted operations, and economic incentives. About 75 percent of that came from insurance companies. More than $4.9 billion went to revitalize the economy of Lower Manhattan.Civilians killed or seriously injured received a total of $8.7 billion, averaging about $3.1 million per recipient. Most of this came from the Victim Compensation Fund, but payments also came from insurance companies, employers and charities.About $3.5 billion was paid to displaced residents, workers who lost their jobs, or others who suffered emotional trauma or were exposed to environmental hazards.Emergency responders killed or injured received a total of $1.9 billion, with most of that coming from the government. Payments averaged about $1.1 million more per person than for civilians with similar economic losses, with most of the higher amount due to paym ents from charities.​ Certain features of the Victim Compensation Fund tended to increase compensation relative to economic loss. Other features tended to decrease compensation relative to economic loss. Researchers say more detailed individual data are needed to determine the net effect. For example, the Victim Compensation Fund decided to limit the amount of lost future earnings it would consider when calculating awards for survivors. Administrators capped income the fund would consider at $231,000 per year in projecting future lifetime earnings, even though many people killed earned more than that amount. The special master of the Victim Compensation Fund had substantial discretion to set final awards for higher income earners, but data are not available on how he exercised that discretion.

Behavior Incentives and Classroom Rewards

Behavior Incentives and Classroom Rewards Classroom incentives, prizes, and punishments are part of a controversial topic for teachers. Many teachers see extrinsic material rewards as an appropriate and effective way to manage behavior in the elementary classroom. Other teachers dont want to bribe the kids to do work that they should be intrinsically motivated to do on their own. Should You Offer Classroom Incentives Early in the School Year? The idea of classroom rewards is an important concept to consider at the beginning of the school year. If you start off the year showering students with rewards, they are going to expect it and will most likely only work for the rewards. However, if you limit prizes from day one, you may find that you can get away from the material aspect a little bit and save yourself a significant amount of money in the long run.  Here is an example of what worked for me and thoughts about the concept of rewards. Rewards in First Classroom? In setting up my first classroom (third grade), I wanted to avoid rewards. I dreamed of my students working for knowledges sake. However, after trial and error, I found that kids respond to rewards well and sometimes you just have to use what works. The teachers before us most likely showered our current students with rewards, so they probably expect it by now. Also, teachers (and all employees) work for a reward - money. How many of us would work and try hard if we werent getting a salary? Money and rewards, in general, make the world go round, whether its a pretty picture or not. Timing When Incentives are Needed At the beginning of the year, I didnt do anything with rewards or behavior management because my kids started out the year quiet and hard working. But, around Thanksgiving, I was at the end of my rope and started introducing rewards. Teachers might want to try going as long as they can without rewards because the prizes start losing their effectiveness after awhile because the kids expect them or get used to receiving the rewards. It also works to change the rewards as the year progresses, just to add a little excitement and a boost to their effectiveness. Avoiding Material Rewards I dont use any material rewards in my classroom. I dont give out anything that costs money for me to buy. Im not willing to spend a lot of my own time and money to keep a store or prize box stocked for daily rewards. Good Work Tickets In the end, positive reinforcement of good behavior worked best for my students and me. I used Good Work Tickets which are just leftover scraps of construction paper (that would have been thrown away otherwise) cut up into little 1 inch by 1-inch squares. I have the kids cut them up for me after school or whenever they want. They love to do it. I dont even have to do that part. Involving Students in Giving Rewards When kids are working quietly and doing what they are supposed to be doing, I give them a good work ticket. They put their student # on the back and turn it into the raffle box. Also, if a child finished his or her work or has been working well, I let them pass out the good work tickets, which they love doing. This is a great thing to do with problem children; kids who are usually in trouble will love monitoring their classmates behavior. The students are usually more strict than I am with handing them out. Since they are free, it doesnt matter how many you give out.   Awarding Incentives On Fridays, I do a little drawing. The rewards are things like: Sit at the teachers desk for the day15 minutes playing an educational computer gameBe the caller for multiplication bingoMake up a math problem for the other children to solveGo to lunch 5 minutes early with a friendStay out for a longer recess with a friendChoose your seat for the dayRead out loud to the class You can tailor these rewards to what the cool things in your classroom are. I usually pick two  or three winners and then, just for fun, I pick one more, and that person is the Cool Person of the Day. The kids and I just thought that was a funny thing to do and a nice way to wrap up the drawing. Also, I keep a bag of candy in my cupboard for a quick reward (if someone catches a mistake I make, goes above and beyond the call of duty, etc.). Its a pretty cheap thing to have around just in case. Just throw candy to the kid and keep on teaching. Dont Overemphasize Rewards I didnt place a large emphasis on rewards. I tried to make learning fun, and my kids genuinely did get excited about learning new things. I had them begging me to teach them harder math concepts because they knew they could handle it. Ultimately, how you use rewards in your classroom is a personal decision. There are no right or wrong answers. Like everything in teaching, what works for one teacher may not work for another. But, it does help to discuss your ideas with other educators and see what others are doing in their classroom. Good luck!

Film journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Film journal - Essay Example After a period Miranda begins to feel a degree of unfairness in her life; as a response she begins to act in distorted ways. She drinks whiskey and instigates a major argument with Jessica. Finally, Miranda receives a call about being hired for a job. Still, she can’t restore her broken relationship with Jessica. Working as a director of photography: My role in this film was as director of photography (DOP). Going into the project I was aware that the director of photography, or the cinematographer, is largely responsible for the artistic photography within the film. Meaning ‘writing with motion’, â€Å"...cinematography is more than the mere act of photography. It is the process of taking ideas, actions, emotional subtext, tone and all other forms of non-verbal communication and rendering them in visual terms† (Brown, 2002, p. ix). Within this context of understanding, much can be learned from the theories and practices employed by seminal directors of pho tography. One such consideration is the techniques used by cinematographers in the black and white era. Studio lighting from this era has oftentimes been implemented to create an authentic or naturalistic effect in contemporary cinematic production. In my own research I thoroughly explored texts on lighting, as well as participated in observational examination of the work of specific cinematographers. In interrogating cinematography in this specific work I analyzed mood, and the characters and subtext that the director wanted to create. The director indicated that he wanted to create a naturalistic atmosphere. Ultimately, we decided to use lighting as a means of storytelling and explicating internal character emotional states. After an extensive conversation with the director, we established that the primary function of the lighting should be as a means of indicating the main character’s dramatic changes. As Miranda struggles to find a job and her relationship with her daught er deteriorates the film lighting progressively grows darker. The narrative occurs over a period of four days; we recognized that the days should demonstrate differences in lighting, with the second and third progressively darker, but the bright forth day of hope. This style of lighting was established in the first scene and foreshadowed later narrative developments. The first scene consists of three shots. In the first show, Miranda is shown by the window; in the second shot she is a degree farther away from the window; in the third shot she is even father away. The intention was to make her face bright in the first shot as she is close to the window, so the light on her face was over-exposed. In the second shot, as she moves away from window, which was a source of light, the light on her face get darker. Finally, in the third shot, as she is sitting alone behind the table and her face is a bit dark, I made the light on her face under-exposed. Another prominent consideration was da ytime lighting. The director and I agreed to use soft light for the daytime, as it can be used as overcast weather. Notably, the director didn’t want to use any practical lighting during the day. I also decided to use soft and strong ambient lighting for the whole room. As a means of implementing this approach I divided the natural lighting coming from the window, as well as the artificial light that was pretending to come from the window. In

Personal Training Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Training - Research Paper Example People lack time to prepare meals and therefore consume junk food. The food is associated with health problems when consumed over time. Any individual who aims to correct the bad behavior has to train his or her mind to accept the changes in meals and have the determination (Baechle, 2004). Based on personal understanding a personal trainer is helpful in the achievement of future goals. The initial step in the training program is the creation of a future that one intends to achieve. It involves setting future goals by the trainee, and the trainer can understand what the trainee wants to achieve. The key issue in goal setting is having the right kind of goals â€Å"fitness encompasses more than achieving the perfect body† (McClaran, 2003). It is about having a body that is fit and healthy. Trainers play an important role in assisting trainees to set good goals such as being healthy rather than being thin (Earle et al, 2004) Research indicates that the second step is the formulation of a compelling future; it is considered as a requirement towards winning the â€Å"inner game† in the training. The creation of a compelling future includes the visualization of the goals desired and the beneficial outcomes of the training. The images obtained help the trainee to get inspired and moved towards the realization of the dreams. Visualization of the desired goals also helps the trainee develop an inner source of motivation. The diet of the trainee is also another issue considered by the trainer (McClaran, 2003). On personal understanding the trainer helps the student to understand that there is a difference between food and their body. The purpose of the food needs to be understood by the trainee and also how they are programmed towards food consumption. For example, some people live to eat instead of eating to live therefore they take food so as to enjoy themselves. From the sources, upon identifying

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay: In Depth Analysis

In Depth Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The five-line interlude ending on "the floors of silent seas" forms an encapsulated version of the remainder of the poem, in which the frustrated effort to establish purposive discourse leads once again to withdrawal downward and inward to a silent world of instinctual being. A return to images of distension and distracting sensuality provokes a final impulse toward violent imposition of the will--"to force the moment to its crisis"--which ends, like previous thoughts of disturbing the universe, in ruthless self-mockery. The image of decapitation parodies the theme of disconnected being and provides for at least a negative definition of the self: "I am no prophet." By this point the tense has quietly shifted from present to past, and the speaker offers a series of prolonged interrogatives on the consequences of action not taken. While its grammatical context ("And would it have been worth it") reduces it to the contemplation of "what might have been"; the language and imagery of this passage enact with renewed intensity the recurring drama of mental conflict: Would it have been worth while, To have bitten off the matter with a smile, To have squeezed the universe into a ball To roll it towards some overwhelming question, To say: "I am Lazarus, come from the dead, Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all." The infinitives in this passage--to have bitten, to have squeezed, to roll--conform to the poem's widespread use of transitive verbs of direct action in expressing the speaker's violent impulse to combat the forces of disorder: to murder and create, to disturb the universe, to spit out all the butt-ends, to force the moment. The poem's ling... ...hich the author has elected to work, may itself evoke other psychic material; and then, lines of poetry may come into being, not from the original impulse, but from a secondary stimulation of the unconscious mind." The mental forces at work in Eliot's description of the poetic process serve as an analogy to the conflicts besetting the speaker in Prufrock. The speaker is a failed poet in terms of his inability to "murder" existing structures in order to "create" anew; be finds it impossible to say what be wants to say. In the "secondary stimulation of the unconscious mind" that occurs at this point, he partly abandons and partly resolves the struggle of form and matter; the integration of the psyche remains at best incomplete. Â   Works Cited Conflicts in Consciousness: T.S. Eliot’s Poetry and Criticism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1984. Â   Â  

Newell Company Essay

1. Does Newell have a successful corporate-level strategy? Does the company add value to the businesses within its portfolio? * Newell’s corporate-level strategy focuses on the growth through acquisitions of companies that manufactured low technology, nonseasonal, noncyclical, and nonfashionable products that volume retailers would always keep on their shelf. These companies usually manufacture brand-name staple products that ranked #1 or #2 but may not be efficiently managed. * Newell’s goal is to increase its sales and profitability by offering a comprehensive range of products and reliable service to the mass retail channel. Newell has chosen to develop its product line through key acquisitions, rather than internal organic growth. The strategy succeeds based on their two pronged approach of following an established acquisition process (Newellization) and ensuring corporate continuity across the division to support its performance in the market. This strategy helps Newell successfully diversify their portfolio of products for mass retailers. 2. What are Newell’s distinctive resources? * Pricing model that that covers across all product categories: Newell used different pricing point, â€Å"good,† â€Å"better,† and â€Å"best† to meet all customers needs achieving the critical mess 3. What challenges faced the company in the late 1990s? * One of the main challenges in the late 1990s was the increase in customer buying power. By 1997, three mass retailer chains controlled 80% of the discount retailer market. This allowed retailers to obtain significant leverage over price and scheduling. * Another challenge in the 1990s was the acquisitions of Calphalon and Rubbermaid. These were both major stepping stones for Newell in that both companies will bring greater brand recognition to the Newell brand. It was a challenge because of the speed in which the companies were acquired and the short amount of time between the two acquisitions. At the time, Calphalon was in a different market, and Newell wanted to enter the department and specialty store competition. This required changes within the Newell Company because of a different view of products and competition. Rubbermaid was a difficult acquisition because of the vastness of the company in general. Some  industry observers worried that this target would be too large to be â€Å"Newellized.†

The Federal Government Should Fund the Police Forces

Millions of free citizens around the world have reported misconduct by law enforcement officers. In the United States alone, 8,800 officers have been reported as using excessive force when performing their job (Packman). One of the major causes of excessive use of force by the police is anxiety and rage brought on by low compensation. The police is a force that is meant to protect the people against threats, not to be a threat. Police are not compensated enough for the dangerous job they dedicate themselves to perform each day. The Federal Government should provide a safe environment to properly maintain a lawful country. When police do not perform their job correctly, the environment is not safe. Therefore, the Federal Government needs to†¦show more content†¦Some of the ways that police abuse the law is by creating unneeded tickets, wrongfully taking others possessions and using excessive force, usually referred to as â€Å"police brutality.† In some cases, allegati ons of police brutality are false; however, some officers use unnecessary force and innocent people suffer. In America, there are numerous cases of law enforcers that harass innocent citizens physically, mentally or verbally. Police men and women are supposed to prevent crime, not create it. â€Å"One of the main reasons that police brutality occurs is due to the mental, as well as physical, health of the officer. One of the underlying causes of these syndromes or states of being is the lack of wages, which is brought on by less funding to the police† (Cao). Dashboard cameras are one attempt to help stop police abuse but they are easily able to be removed and turned off and are under the control of the officer. If the officer did abuse somebody he could erase the footage on the camera before he even got back to the department. A new, better, solution is mounting Point of View (P.O.V.) cameras on the officers with a live feed leading to one central computer in charge of monito ring these cameras. Daniel B Wood, a professor at the University of Texas AM, stated in the article â€Å"Why The Police Are Hard To Police,† â€Å"Mounting cameras on a police officer through federal funding will lower the amount of criminals that were not convicted because of a lack ofShow MoreRelatedCivil Asset Forfeiture : A Powerful Weapon Against Crime1037 Words   |  5 Pagesof assistance during colonial times, civil asset forfeiture allows the United States government to confiscate assets associated with criminal activity, without charging a suspect with a crime. Civil asset forfeiture has made possible the success seen by law enforcement agencies in the war on drugs (Reid). 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