FBI - White collar crimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FBI - White collar crimes - Essay Example The main role of the FBI is investigation of criminal activities that are assigned to it. This incorporates intelligence and law enforcement initiatives from the agency. Another role of the FBI is collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in investigative measures in which it helps with evidence examinations, and in empowering members of the other agencies through trainings. In facilitating its investigative role and collaborative role with other agencies, the FBI collects intelligence information, analyses the data and shares it with relevant authorities (The Federal Bureau of Investigations 1). As a special agency, however, the role of the FBI under domestic jurisdiction is limited to â€Å"white-collar crimes, kidnapping, extortion, interstate transportation of stolen property, and bank robbery† among others (Gaines and Miller 156). White-collar crimes are crimes that professionals commit in their course of duty with intent of obtaining material benefits of concealing some information with the aim of avoiding a consequence. Elements such as â€Å"deceit, concealment,† breach of trust characterize it (Ferguson 16). White-collar crimes are also free from use of violence or threat of violence and often aim at receipt of money of commodities of avoiding material liabilities (Ferguson 16). The FBI investigates these crimes to ensure evidence towards justice and its special intelligence is essential to the type of crimes that intellectuals commit through well-crafted schemes that sometimes incorporate intelligence and use of technology to cover up the criminal activities. The Enron case is an example of white-collar crimes that the FBI has investigated. The case involved a series of fraudulent misrepresentation by the firm on its financial position and collaboration with the organization’s accounting fi rm for concealment of the misrepresentations and for further misrepresentations. This led to losses among investors as officials of the company

Finite Element Analysis of structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Finite Element Analysis of structures - Essay Example Each element contains nodes which are points were the elements are mathematically connected to one another. The idea of dividing a domain up into subdomains is the basic principle of how FEA works' FEA consists of a computer model of a material or design that is stressed and analyzed for specific results. It is used in new product design, and existing product refinement. A company is able to verify a proposed design will be able to perform to the client's specifications prior to manufacturing or construction. Modifying an existing product or structure is utilized to qualify the product or structure for a new service condition. In case of structural failure, FEA may be used to help determine the design modifications to meet the new condition. There are generally two types of analysis that are used in industry: 2-D modeling, and 3-D modeling. While 2-D modeling conserves simplicity and allows the analysis to be run on a relatively normal computer, it tends to yield less accurate results. 3-D modeling, however, produces more accurate results while sacrificing the ability to run on all but the fastest computers effectively. Within each of these modeling schemes, the programmer can insert numerous algorithms (functions) which may make the system behave linearly or non-linearly. Linear systems are far less complex and generally do not take into account plastic deformation. Non-linear systems do account for plastic deformation, and many also are capable of testing a material all the way to fracture. How Does Finite Element Analysis Work' FEA uses a complex system of points called nodes which make a grid called a mesh . This mesh is programmed to contain the material and structural properties which define how the structure will react to certain loading conditions. Nodes are assigned at a certain density throughout the material depending on the anticipated stress levels of a particular area. Regions which will receive large amounts of stress usually have a higher node density than those which experience little or no stress. Points of interest may consist of: fracture point of previously tested material, fillets, corners, complex detail, and high stress areas. The mesh acts like a spider web in that from each node, there extends a mesh element to each of the adjacent nodes. This web of vectors is what carries the material properties to the object, creating many elements. A wide range of objective functions (variables within the system) are available for minimization or maximization: Mass, volume, temperature Strain energy, stress strain Force, displacement, velocity, acceleration Synthetic (User defined) There are multiple loading conditions which may be applied to a system. Next to Figure 3, some examples are shown: Point, pressure (Figure 3), thermal, gravity, and centrifugal static loads Thermal loads from solution of heat transfer analysis Enforced displacements Heat flux and convection Point, pressure and gravity dynamic loads Each FEA program may come with an element library, or one is constructed over time. Some sample elements are: Rod elements Beam elements Plate/Shell/Composite elements Shear panel Solid elements Spring elements Mass elements Rigid elements Viscous damping elements Many FEA programs also are equipped with the capability to use multiple materials within the structure such as: Isotropic, identical throughout Orthotropic, identical at 90 degrees General anisotropic, different throughout Types of

Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Conclusion - Essay Example Based on the expected value, manufacturing of pipes is more favorable despite not taking into account positive side influences producing additional tubes, which is reaped from the present manufactured pipes. The decision to manufacture pipes is mainly based on the NPV of the projects under specific conditions. In the scenarios, NPV of undertaking the project reduces equating it to the corresponding NPV of purchasing the pipes. Moreover, this results in the decrease of incremental cash flow for the project to zero thus making the strategy unfeasible (Dayananda, pp.124-178). Lowering the price by the supplier changes the NPV to change by $ 100,000. Therefore, it is profitable for Great Lakes Pipe and Tube to purchase the pipe from the underlying supplier at the expense of manufacturing 10 inches and corresponding 12-inch pipes. Nevertheless, the percentage development of the GLPT in production of the 3, 6 and 8-inch pipes will result in lowering the cost of purchasing the 10 and 12-inch

Relational Calculus Essay Example for Free

Relational Calculus Essay Introduction Procedural Query language query specification involves giving a step by step process of obtaining the query result e.g., relational algebra usage calls for detailed knowledge of the operators involved difficult for the use of non-experts Declarative Query language query specification involves giving the logical conditions the results are required to satisfy easy for the use of non-experts Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 1 TRC – a declarative query language Tuple variable – associated with a relation ( called the range relation ) †¢ takes tuples from the range relation as its values †¢ t: tuple variable over relation r with scheme R(A,B,C ) t. A stands for value of column A etc TRC Query – basic form: { t1.Ai1, t2.Ai2,†¦tm.Aim | ÃŽ ¸ } predicate calculus expression involving tuple variables t1, t2,†¦, tm, tm+1,†¦,ts specifies the condition to be satisfied Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 2 An example TRC query student (rollNo, name, degree, year, sex, deptNo, advisor ) department (deptId, name, hod, phone ) Obtain the rollNo, name of all girl students in the Maths Dept (deptId = 2) {s.rollNo,s.name| student(s)^ s.sex=‘F’^ s.deptNo=2} attributes required in the result This predicate is true whenever value of s is a tuple from the student relation, false otherwise In general, if t is a tuple variable with range relation r, r( t ) is taken as a predicate which is true if and only if the value of t is a tuple in r Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 3 General form of the condition in TRC queries Atomic expressions are the following: 1. r ( t ) -true if t is a tuple in the relation instance r 2. t1. Ai t2 .Aj compOp is one of {, ≠¥, =, ≠  } 3. t.Ai c c is a constant of appropriate type Composite expressions: 1. Any atomic expression 2. F1 ∠§ F2 ,, F1 ∠¨ F2 ,  ¬ F1 where F1 and F2 are expressions 3. (∀t) (F), (âˆÆ't) (F) where F is an expression and t is a tuple variable Free Variables Bound Variables – quantified variables Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 4 Interpretation of the query in TRC All possible tuple assignments to the free variables in the query are considered. For any specific assignment, if the expression to the right of the vertical bar evaluates to true, that combination of tuple values would be used to produce a tuple in the result relation. While producing the result tuple, the values of the attributes for the corresponding tuple variables as specified on the left side of the vertical bar would be used. Note: The only free variables are the ones that appear to the left of the vertical bar Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 5 Example TRC queries Obtain the rollNo, name of all girl students in the Maths Dept {s.rollNo,s.name | student(s) ^ s.sex=‘F’ ^ (âˆÆ' d)(department(d) ^ d.name=‘Maths’ ^ d.deptId = s.deptNo)} s: free tuple variable d: existentially bound tuple variable Existentially or universally quantified tuple variables can be used on the RHS of the vertical bar to specify query conditions Attributes of free (or unbound ) tuple variables can be used on LHS of vertical bar to specify attributes required in the results Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 6 Example Relational Scheme student (rollNo, name, degree, year, sex, deptNo, advisor) department (deptId, name, hod, phone) professor (empId, name, sex, startYear, deptNo, phone) course (courseId, cname, credits, deptNo) enrollment (rollNo, courseId, sem, year, grade) teaching (empId, courseId, sem, year, classRoom) preRequisite (preReqCourse, courseID) Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 7 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Example queries in TRC (1/5) 1)Determine the departments that do not have any girl students student (rollNo, name, degree, year, sex, deptNo, advisor) department (deptId, name, hod, phone) {d.name|department(d) ^  ¬(âˆÆ' s)(student(s) ^ s.sex =‘F’ ^ s.deptNo = d.deptId) Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 8 Examples queries in TRC (2/5) Schema 2)Obtain the names of courses enrolled by student named Mahesh {c.name | course(c) ^ (âˆÆ's) (âˆÆ'e) ( student(s) ^ enrollment(e) ^ s.name = â€Å"Mahesh† ^ s.rollNo = e.rollNo ^ c.courseId = e.courseId } Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 9 Examples queries in TRC (3/5) Schema 3)Get the names of students who have scored ‘S’ in all subjects they have enrolled. Assume that every student is enrolled in at least one course. {s.name | student(s) ^ (∀e)(( enrollment(e) ^ e.rollNo = s.rollNo) → e.grade =‘S’)} person P with all S grades: for enrollment tuples not having her roll number, LHS is false for enrollment tuples having her roll number, LHS is true, RHS also true so the implication is true for all e tuples person Q with some non-S grades: for enrollment tuples not having her roll number, LHS is false for enrollment tuples having her roll number, LHS is true, but RHS is false for at least one tuple. So the implication is not true for at least one tuple. Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 10 Examples queries in TRC (4/5) Schema 4) Get the names of students who have taken at least one course taught by their advisor {s.name | student(s) ^ (âˆÆ'e)(âˆÆ't)(enrollment(e) ^ teaching(t) ^ e.courseId = t.courseId ^ e.rollNo = s.rollNo ^ t.empId = s.advisor} 5) Display the departments whose HODs are teaching at least one course in the current semester {d.name | department(d) ^(âˆÆ't)(teaching(t) ^ t.empid = d.hod ^ t.sem = ‘odd’ ^ t.year = ‘2008’)} Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 11 Examples queries in TRC (5/5) Schema 6)Determine the students who are enrolled for every course taught by Prof Ramanujam. Assume that Prof Ramanujam teaches at least one course. 1. {s.rollNo | student (s) ^ 2. (∀c)(course (c) ^ 3. ((âˆÆ't),(âˆÆ'p)( teaching(t) ^ professor(p) ^ 4. t.courseId = c.courseId ^ 5. p.name = â€Å"Ramanujam† ^ 6. p.empId = t.empId )) → 7. (âˆÆ'e) (enrollment(e) ^ 8. e.courseId = c.courseId ^ 9. e.rollNo = s.rollNo) 10. ) 11. } Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 12 Problem with unrestricted use of Negation What is the result of the query: {s.rollNo |  ¬ student(s)} ? Infinite answers !! Unsafe TRC expression : Any expression whose result uses â€Å"constants / values† that do not appear in the instances of any of the database relations. Unsafe expressions are to be avoided while specifying TRC queries. Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM. 13 Expressive power of TRC and Relational Algebra It can be shown that both Tuple Relational Calculus and Relational Algebra have the same expressive power A query can be formulated in (safe) TRC if and only if it can be formulated in RA Both can not be used to formulate queries involving transitive closure find all direct or indirect pre-requisites of a course find all subordinates of a specific employee etc. Prof P Sreenivasa Kumar, Department of CSE, IITM.

Mozart :: essays research papers

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791 Probably the greatest genius in Western musical history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27, 1756, the son of Leopold Mozart and his wife, Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court, whose archbishop, Sigismund von Schrattenbach, encouraged the activities of Leopold and his remarkable children. Wolfgang began composing minuets at the age of 5 and symphonies at 9. When he was 6, he and his older sister, Maria Anna, embarked on a series of concert tours to Europe's courts and major cities. Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso as well. In 1762 the Mozart children played at court in Vienna; the Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, received them cordially. Later the Mozart children displayed (1763-66) their talents to audiences in Germany, in Paris, at court in Versailles, and in London (where Wolfgang wrote his first symphonies and was befriended by Johann Christian Bach, whose musical influence on Wolfgang was profound). In Paris the young Mozart published his first works, four sonatas for clavier with accompanying violin (1764). In 1768 he composed his first opera, La Finta Semplice, for Vienna, but intrigues prevented its performance, and it was first presented a year later at Salzburg. In 1769-70, Leopold and Wolfgang undertook a tour through Italy. This first Italian trip culminated in a new opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto, composed for Milan. In two further Italian journeys he wrote two more operas for Milan, Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). In 1772, Archbishop von Schrattenbach died, to be succeeded by Hieronymus von Colloredo. The latter, at first sympathetic to the Mozarts, later became irritated by Wolfgang's prolonged absences and stubborn ways. In 1772, von Colloredo retained Wolfgang as concertmaster at a token salary. In this capacity Mozart composed a large number of sacred and secular works. Wishing to secure a better position outside Salzburg, he obtained permission to undertake another journey in 1777. With his mother he traveled to France, where he composed the Paris Symphony (1778); he could find no permanent position, however. His mother died in Paris. When he returned to Salzburg he was given the position of court organist (1779) and produced a splendid series of church works, including the famous Coronation Mass. He was commissioned to compose a new opera for Munich, Idomeneo (1781), which proved that he was a consummate master of opera seria.

Tragedy Archetype- the Stranger

The Tragedy Archetype: The Rebirth Within Prim Lerthirunvibul Y10D (Blue) The seven archetypes is a theory in which there are seven ways of story-telling namely Quest, Voyage and Return, Rebirth, Comedy, Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches and Tragedy. The Tragedy archetype is one of the seven archetypes used in story-telling mentioned by Christopher Booker in The Seven Basic Plots. This archetype is known to expect a specific reaction from the readers often using grief, destruction and death.As the archetype manifests itself through time, there are many ways authors have interpreted the archetype through their stories. An element in the archetype that can be carefully observed is the notion of Rebirth where the main character eventually comprehends their misinterpretation of the world and their blunders which had caused their destruction, typically hubris. This suggests that there is a part of the Rebirth archetype in the Tragedy archetype. The question is, is tragedy a type of t he rebirth archetype?The absurdist novel entitled The Stranger (The Outsider), also known as L’Etranger by Albert Camus clearly portrays the rebirth in the story but is still engulfed by the tragedy concepts seen in many literature examples. â€Å"Once you’re up against it, the precise manner of your death has obviously small importance† (Camus, 71). The Stranger, written by Albert Camus is a tragedy book based on the story plot of a man named Meursault who is a psychologically and socially detached individual. He is also known to be amoral, not caring or knowing what is right or wrong and sees feelings in a physical sense.In one scene of the book, his mother had passed away and instead of grieving, he impassively looks at his mother’s grave and refuses the re-opening of the casket, which surprises many. He is also not responsive to human emotions such as desires and love. When the prospect of marriage was mentioned by his recent lover, Marie Cardona, he responds with â€Å"If she was keen on it, we’d get married. † (28, Camus. ) The Stranger can go under the tragedy archetype where it is classified by Booker as ‘the hero as a monster’ since Meursault himself is the cause of his own death.This happened since he stopped a friend, Raymond Sintes from shooting an Arab who was his â€Å"mistress’s† brother. And for no apparent reason, he came back and killed the Arab with a gun. A factor that may have affected his actions was probably because of the condition of the beach that was â€Å"pulsing with heat† (38, Camus). Although hubris is a common cause in the tragedy archetype, Meursault did not think of himself highly or more superior than others, but rather as an observer where reality is harsh for those who have no poignancy.He does not express himself much but with the reader as an observer as well, this creates the feeling of sadness for the main character even though he doesn’t experience much of it. As the titles of the book says, he is merely a victim tortured by the difference in perspectives, this small difference makes him unique, or even a threat to others. Not only did Meursault set up his own death, but the society in which he lived in contributed as well. The core of the consequences can be traced by Hamartia ( ), a Greek term meaning the fatal flaw of the hero which causes their death in the tragedy archetype story.In The Stranger, Meursault’s flaw can be seen as his lack of emotions and his frankness. Even though being emotionless does not affect his daily life or well-being, the environment of the situation created was greatly affected. An example is of how the people in court see him and how they also judge his beliefs, not for what he is, but what he says. When Meursault met a magistrate who tried to convert him, he called Meursault â€Å"Mr. Antichrist† (45, Camus) for being open and truthful about his beliefs, this then advoc ated his execution.Meursault sees things that other do not, which is one of the main causes of the resulting consequence. Humans often act on impulse, not by logic and the miscommunication between the other characters and Meursault creates conflict and sadly, the majority regularly wins in the tragedy archetype. The tragedy archetype is known to end with death, which is the norm for many stories, including The Stranger as well. Booker had also stated that the archetype sometimes involves the rebirth of the main character which usually comes before the tragic end of the main character.In comparison to Looking for Alaska, a modern novel written by John Green, The Stranger is more eye-opening since the concept of rebirth is directly experienced by the main character whilst the rebirth element in Looking for Alaska is not quite clear because the main character, Miles, continues on with his life as nearly the same person even though his friend, Alaska’s, death had a tremendous eff ect on other characters. With the longer lingering rebirth in The Stranger, Meursault finds comfort in the end where he becomes a ‘new person’ within himself, which proposes the idea of self-discovery.In his last moments, Meursault thoughts were â€Å"To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that I’d been happy, and that I was happy still. † â€Å"For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration† (76, Booker). Even though the happiness was short, there was still a change in him as seen before the end of the book. In Booker’s analysis of the rebirth archetype, there are two types of rebirth which is physical and mental rebirth.An example of a physical rebirth could be found in the folktale of The Sleeping Beauty as she literally wakes up from her curse. A mental rebirth example could be found in Crash (2004), where a Farhad, a character realizes that his rage had clouded his judgment and he becomes calm and content, different from how he was from the start. The Stranger goes under the mental rebirth category since Meursault’s own conclusions resulted in the enrichment of his own mind as he begins to accept things in life.However, this does not necessarily mean that The Stranger can be directly ‘put under’ the Rebirth archetype. When referring to Booker’s analysis, it is stated that â€Å"we have only seen this return of light partially, ultimately insufficient to prevail against the forces of darkness which have been unleashed, and which eventually sweep the hero or heroine away† (Booker, 192). This means that in the tragedy archetype, ‘the light’ which is the rebirth of the character, can be seen only for a moment before it dissipates with the main character’s demise.This could b e compared to a candlelight where it flickers in the dark but does not last forever since it cannot maintain the flame and eventually, will be engulfed by darkness, which is, the sins or the consequences that slowly yet surely, catch up to the main character. All in all, even though The Stranger contains the Rebirth of a character who wakes up from an inner sleep or obliviousness, the tragedy archetype had proved itself to be more complicated and deeper with many fundamentals and forms that had manifested overtime.This then revealed the inner workings of the archetype including the profound meanings in the book. It is difficult to justify realistic and life-like story into separate categories as there are many factors, emotions and feelings brought in different events. But as they say, the end justifies the means in this particular book where Meursault dies a miserable and solitude death within the clutches of society. Again, regardless of the light’ in the story, The Strange r is a tragedy story weaved with the rebirth archetype’s features which implies that the tragedy archetype could also contain mixes but still maintain its structure throughout history whether it is in an old-world or modern literature. In short, the tragedy archetype is one of the most interesting and riveting of the seven archetypes that seem basic; but with careful observation and research can prove to be a very useful way of story-telling that can be remembered by readers despite of the era or time in which the archetype had laid itself upon.Bibliography (Citations) Innovateus. â€Å"What Is Hamartia in Greek Tragedy? †Ã‚  What Is Hamartia in Greek Tragedy? Innovateus, 2011. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. Booker, Christopher. â€Å"Chapter 9: Tragedy. †Ã‚  The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London: Continuum, 2004. N. pag. Print. Booker, Christopher. â€Å"Chapter 11: Rebirth. †Ã‚  The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London: Continuum, 2004. N. pa g. Print. â€Å"The Stranger. †Ã‚  SparkNotes. SparkNotes, 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.

Acquiring a jewelry company

Nowadays, the trend in companies establishing strategic alliances has become more apparent as compared to the trend in 1980s and 1990s.Companies have viewed that diversity in the global market has been increasing rapidly and such formation of alliances may help them achieve a fast and a long-term profitable growth for their businesses.   The establishment of strategic alliances is a technique of expansion and diversification, accomplished through the strategic implementation of merger and of acquisition.Merger and acquisition are two different terms that are often interchanged because the purposes in determining these two strategic implementations are often very similar.   These two methods start with the acquisition strategy where a company attempts to find an appropriate company to merge with.Accordingly, a merger occurs as two companies agree to stand as a new single company where the original identity is maintained.   On the other hand, acquisition occurs as a company purch ases and takes over another company to venture into a new separate business.Most companies who decide to merge with or acquire another company have the goal of ensuring stability and growth of their businesses in the future.   However, every company also has distinctive goals that relate to their business.A company may decide to merge or acquire to save its collapsing business, to operate with reduced competition, or to diversify its services or products.   In the process of merging and acquiring, these goals of the companies are coupled with advantages and potential disadvantages as well.This paper aims to discuss the potential benefits that Zale Corporation will obtain as it pursues its plan of merging with or acquiring Blue Nile, Inc.   In addition, this paper aims to analyze each of the company by providing a company backgrounder and a comparative financial statement analysis, which includes liquidity analysis, activity analysis, profitability analysis, and capital structu re analysis.Furthermore, this paper aims to provide a company valuation of Blue Nile, Inc. as well as information on mergers and acquisitions that Zale Corporation need to consider prior to pursuing its plans.COMPANY BACKGROUNDERA. Zale CorporationZale Corporation is one of the largest specialty retailers of fine jewelry.   Morris Zale, Ben Lipshy, and William Zale founded the company in 1924.   It is now operating 2,203 retail locations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.   More so, Zale Corporation has established several different business units.   These include:Zales JewelersZales Jewelers, also known as the â€Å"Diamond Store,† is recognized nationally as an authority in fine jewels.   It has grown into an international jewelry corporation relying on its commitment to excellence as well as its strong traditions.   The focus of Zales Jewelers is to provide a range of choices for the majority of jewelry customers.   Apart from fine jewelry , it also offers brand-name watches, which provides customers a variety of merchandise at a scope of price points. Zales OutletThe stores of Zales Outlet are tied-up with the national marketing programs of Zales Jewelers.   Thus, it has gained recognition with customers.   It competes with well-known retailers; however, it tops the fine jewelers of the outlet market.   Zales Outlet offers a diversified range of merchandise including certified diamond engagement rings, colored gemstones, platinum jewelries, and Swiss watches from famous makers.   It has established a loyal customer base that specifically seeks for tremendous value of discontinued styles. Gordon’s JewelersThe target market of Gordon’s Jewelers is the upper moderate customers who seek a complete selection of diamonds and fine jewelry.   Gordon’s Jewelers has created an expert sales team that offers a rare combination of value, service, and quality to its customers.   Its marketing strategy includes direct mail and newspaper inserts and regional television features.   The stores of Gordon’s Jewelers are designed in an appealing environment with friendly sales staff. Peoples JewelersPeoples Jewelers is the largest national jewelry retailer in Canada.   Its focus is to provide a varied selection of fine jewelry and brand-name watches at affordable prices.   Peoples Jewelers has developed its exclusive 100-facet Peoples Canadian Diamond Collection, which is mined, cut, and polished in the Northwest Territories.   It ensures its customers that the hottest trends in jewelries including titanium, stainless steel, gemstones in all colors, gold fashions, circle pendants, and cultured pearls are offered in its stores.Mappins JewelersMappins Jewelers also caters to customers in Canada who seek classic fine jewelry and watches.   Mappins offers a varied range of merchandise from engagement rings to modern and contemporary jewelry.   The marketing programs of Mappins establish strong commitment to excellence as well as strong traditions.   Its television campaigns aim to carry out gift-giving programs while its direct mail campaigns aim to provi de special values and strong communication with customers.Piercing PagodaPiercing Pagoda started from a single retail location to chains of kiosks.   It is the largest specialty kiosk retailer of extensive selection of gold charms, rings, body jewelry, bracelets, earrings, chains.   It also offers stainless and silver jewelry.Piercing Pagoda was acquired by Zale Corporation in 2000 to broader the range of customers specifically in the younger customer category.Zale Corporation believes that this market appreciates quality jewelry at level price points.   In return, the acquisition of Piercing Pagoda has opened the opportunity to capitalize on the resources of Zale Corporation and modernize the look of Piercing Pagoda in order to provide its customers with more desirable products.ZLC DirectZLC Direct is the online base of the brands of Zale Corporation, which provides e-commerce web stores for both Zales and Gordon’s Jewelers.   It provides direct access to customers w ho prefer to purchase quality merchandise on the Internet.   The quality and service found in the stores of Zale Corporation is also exhibited in the sites of ZLC Direct as it also offers value, excitement, and convenience for online shoppers of today.Zale Corporation has established its mission of being the best fine jewelry retailer in North America.   Its goal is to innovate and market unique jewelry assortments as well as to offer superior customer experience.   Zale Corporation is committed to establishing strong and lasting relationships with its customers and at the same time build value for its shareholders.   It assures its talented workforce of continues success through trainings and rewards as well as permanency of jobs.