Thursday, October 31, 2019

Musical Jersey Boys Production analysis paper Assignment

Musical Jersey Boys Production analysis paper - Assignment Example When the group started, their story emerged as four stories. Each story represented one of their career season told by different members of the group. Their earliest beginnings occurred during spring. They harmonized this on a balmy evening under a street lamp. According to the group, the zenith of success is during the season of summer. The beginning of autumn is when their fortunes take a toll because the marriages and lives of the members of the group begin to unravel. According to the group, the winter season comes with a lot of reflection, sorrow, and solitude. There is, however, a wide variation when the recollection of individual members of the group is done with their historys broad outlines. It is from these members conflicting memories, torque and tension that the bounce of their music originates and thus revving their music further and thereby giving the group a momentum that is irresistible. The story of Jersey Boys occurs within a four seasons symbolic year though their stories cover a period of several decades in the life of the group. The group started their career in mid-1950s. It is when the rock and roll phenomenon metamorphosised into a lounge music and propriety staid era. It opened the doors and also vented the rebellion and the life force of a large new generation. The first two members of Jersey Boys Valli and Elvis recorded their first albums in 1953 and after that displayed staying unusual power. The Four Seasons hit the pop charts forty times in the 1960s, something unusual because most bands could have disintegrated. The strength of the four seasons was demonstrated when the group remained together under the onslaught of the added pressures of the Vietnam War, famous Rolling Stones to the American shores and the British invasion that brought the Beatles. It managed to bring the famous groups like the Boomers innocence, but the Four Seasons stayed and regr ouped where Gaudio and Valli partnered and sealed the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Domestic violence as it relates to pregnacy (Option 2) Research Paper - 1

Domestic violence as it relates to pregnacy (Option 2) - Research Paper Example er gives an outline as tohow nurses may offer special treatments to such women.After being attacked, victims are at peak of their physical and mental disturbance and that’s when they need the some serious support. Nurses can be of great help to suchwomen as they usually know how to take care of patients during sensitive situations like these.Such women need not only medical treatment but psychological guidance as well. Many lives are affected by domestic violence. It is one of the main issues of the rapidly growing world. Although many victims do survive, some of them are not strong enough and usually succumb to the fear and trauma of the incident. In most of the cases, it is the silence of the victim that gives the abuser an authority over them. I got my firsthand experience with a rape victim while I was serving as a junior nurse in the hospital nearby. I was treating a regular patient when I heard a sharp painful voice coming from the hospital’s lobby. Wanting to know what’s going on, I rushed to the lobby and saw a teenage girl being moved on a stretcher to the emergency. Just as I reached nearby to ask what had happened to her, she was rushed into the emergency ward for urgent treatment of her wounds. I still remember that day very correctly. She was inside the emergency room for around two hours and throughout she would keep on shouting at the top of her voice. As soon as the doctor came out from the emergency theatre, I inquired from him what had happened. He didn’t give me many details owing to the critical nature of the case but he just said that the girl’s pregnant and got raped in this situation. Being a woman myself, I got shocked like something had happened to my own self. Soon after, I was assigned to take care of that same patient. When I first went in the room I remember she was still trembling in pain and saying something to her own self. When I went close by I heard her saying â€Å"why me, why me?†. I went close to her and told her

Sunday, October 27, 2019

What is churn? An overview

What is churn? An overview Churn is the phenomenon where a customer switches from one service to a competitors service (Tsai Chen, 2009:2). There are two main types of churn, namely voluntary churn and involuntary churn. Voluntary churn is when the customer initiated the service termination. Involuntary churn means the company suspended the customers service and this is usually because of non-payment or service abuse. Companies, in various industries, have recently started to realise that their client set is their most valuable asset. Retaining the existing clients is the best marketing strategy. Numerous studies have confirmed this by showing that it is more profitable to keep your existing clients satisfied than to constantly attract new clients (Van Den Poel Larivià ¨re, 2004:197; Coussement Van Den Poel, 2008:313). According to Van Den Poel and Larivià ¨re (2004:197) successful customer retention has more than just financial benefits: Successful customer retention programs free the organisation to focus on existing customers needs and the building of relationships. It lowers the need to find new customers with uncertain levels of risk. Long term customers tend to buy more and provide positive advertising through word-of-mouth. The company has better knowledge of long term customers and they are less expensive with lower uncertainty and risk. Customers with longer tenures are less likely to be influenced by competitive marketing strategies. Sales may decrease if customers churn, due to lost opportunities. These customers also need to be replaced, which can cost five to six times more than simply retaining the customer. 1.1.Growth in Fixed-line Markets According to Agrawal (2009) the high growth phase in the telecommunications market is over. In the future, wealth in the industry will be split between the companies. Revenues (of telecommunication companies) are declining around the world. Figure 2 shows Telkoms fixed-line customer base and customer growth rate for the previous seven years. The number of lines is used as an estimate for the number of fixed-line customers. Figure 2-Telkoms fixed-line annual customer base (Idea adopted from Ahn, Han Lee (2006:554)) With the lower customer growth worldwide, it is becoming vital to prevent customers from churning. 1.2.Preventing Customer Churn The two basic approaches to churn management are divided into untargeted and targeted approaches. Untargeted approaches rely on superior products and mass advertising to decrease churn (Neslin, Gupta, Kamakura, Lu Mason, 2004:3). Targeted approaches rely on identifying customers who are likely to churn and then customising a service plan or incentive to prevent it from happening. Targeted approaches can be further divided into proactive and reactive approaches. With a proactive approach the company identifies customers who are likely to churn at a future date. These customers are then targeted with incentives or special programs to attempt to retain them. In a reactive targeted approach the company waits until the customer cancels the account and then offers the customer an incentive (Neslin et al., 2004:4). A proactive targeted approach has the advantage of lower incentive costs (because the customer is not â€Å"bribed† at the last minute to stay with the company). It also prevents a culture where customers threaten to churn in order to negotiate a better deal with the company (Neslin et al., 2004:4). The proactive, targeted approach is dependent on a predictive statistical technique to predict churners with a high accuracy. Otherwise the companys funds may be wasted on unnecessary programs that incorrectly identified customers. 1.3.Main Churn Predictors According to Chu, Tsai and Ho (2007:704) the main contributors to churn in the telecommunications industry are; price, coverage, quality and customer service. Their contributions to churn can be seen from Figure 3. Figure 3 indicates that the primary reason for churn is price related (47% of the sample). The customer churns because a cheaper service or product is available, through no fault of the company. This means that a perfect retention strategy, based on customer satisfaction, can only prevent 53% of the churners (Chu et al., 2007:704). 1.4.Churn Management Framework Datta, Masand, Mani and Li (2001:486) proposed a five stage framework for customer churn management (Figure 4). The first stage is to identify suitable data for the modelling process. The quality of this data is extremely important. Poor data quality can cause large losses in money, time and opportunities (Olson, 2003:1). It is also important to determine if all the available historical data, or only the most recent data, is going to be used. The second stage consists of the data semantics problem. It has a direct link with the first stage. In order to complete the first stage successfully, a complete understanding of the data and the variables information are required. Data quality issues are linked to data semantics because it often influences data interpretation directly. It frequently leads to data misinterpretation (Dasu Johnson, 2003:100). Stage three handles feature selection. Cios, Pedrycz, Swiniarski and Kurgan (2007:207) define feature selection as â€Å"a process of finding a subset of features, from the original set of features forming patterns in a given data set†. It is important to select a sufficient number of diverse features for the modelling phase. Section 5.5.3 discusses some of the most important features found in the literature. Stage four is the predictive model development stage. There are many alternative methods available. Figure 5 shows the number of times a statistical technique was mentioned in the papers the author read. These methods are discussed in detail in Section 6. The final stage is the model validation process. The goal of this stage is to ensure that the model delivers accurate predictions. 5.5.1Stage one Identify data Usually a churn indicator flag must be derived in order to define churners. Currently, there exists no standard accepted definition for churn (Attaa, 2009). One of the popular definitions state that a customer is considered churned if the customer had no active products for three consecutive months (Attaa, 2009; Virgin Media, 2009; Orascom Telecom, 2008). Once a target variable is derived, the set of best features (variables) can be determined. 5.5.2Stage two Data semantics Data semantics is the process of understanding the context of the data. Certain variables are difficult to interpret and must be carefully studied. It is also important to use consistent data definitions in the database. Datta, et al. (2001) claims that this phase is extremely important. 5.5.3Stage three Feature selection Feature selection is another important stage. The variables selected here are used in the modelling stage. It consists of two phases. Firstly, an initial feature subset is determined. Secondly, the subset is evaluated based on a certain criterion. Ahn et al. (2006:554) describe four main types of determinants in churn. These determinants should be included in the initial feature subset. Customer dissatisfaction is the first determinant of churn mentioned. It is driven by network and call quality. Service failures have also been identified as â€Å"triggers† that accelerate churn. Customers who are unhappy can have an extended negative influence on a company. They can spread negative word-of-month and also appeal to third-party consumer affair bodies (Ahn et al., 2006:555). Cost of switching is the second main determinant. Customers maintain their relationships with a company based on one of two reasons: they â€Å"have to† stay (constraint) or they â€Å"want to† stay (loyalty). Companies can use loyalty programs or membership cards to encourage their customers to â€Å"want to† stay (Ahn et al., 2006:556). Service usage is the third main determinant. A customers service usage can broadly be described with minutes of use, frequency of use and total number of distinct numbers used. Service usage is one of the most popular predictors in churn models. It is still unclear if the correlation between churn and service usage is positive or negative (Ahn et al., 2006:556). The final main determinant is customer status. According to Ahn et al. (2006:556), customers seldom churn suddenly from a service provider. Customers are usually suspended for a while due to payment issues, or they decide not to use the service for a while, before they churn. Wei and Chiu (2002:105) use length of service and payment method as further possible predictors of churn. Customers with a longer service history are less likely to churn. Customers who authorise direct payment from their bank accounts are also expected to be less likely to churn. Qi, Zhang, Shu, Li and Ge (2004?:2) derived different growth rates and number of abnormal fluctuation variables to model churn. Customers with growing usage are less likely to churn and customers with a high abnormal fluctuation are more likely to churn. 5.5.4Stage four Model development It is clear from Figure 5 that decision tree models are the most frequently used models. The second most popular technique is logistic regression, followed closely by neural networks and survival analysis. The technique that featured in the least number of papers is discriminant analysis. Discriminant analysis is a multivariate technique that classifies observations into existing categories. A mathematical function is derived from a set of continuous variables that best discriminates among the set of categories (Meilgaard, Civille Carr, 1999:323). According to Cohen and Cohen (2002:485) discriminant analysis makes stronger modelling assumptions than logistic regression. These include that the predictor variables must be multivariate normally distributed and the within-group covariance matrix must be homogeneous. These assumptions are rarely met in practice. According to Harrell (2001:217) even if these assumptions are met, the results obtained from logistic regression are still as accurate as those obtained from discrimination analysis. Discriminant analysis will, therefore, not be considered. A neural network is a parallel data processing structure that possesses the ability to learn. The concept is roughly based on the human brain (Hadden, Tiwari, Roy Ruta, 2006:2). Most neural networks are based on the perceptron architecture where a weighted linear combination of inputs is sent through a nonlinear function. According to de Waal and du Toit (2006:1) neural networks have been known to offer accurate predictions with difficult interpretations. Understanding the drivers of churn is one of the main goals of churn modelling and, unfortunately, traditional neural networks provide limited understanding of the model. Yang and Chiu (2007:319) confirm this by stating that neural networks use an internal weight scheme that doesnt provide any insight into why the solution is valid. It is often called a black-box methodology and neural networks are, therefore, also not considered in this study. The statistical methodologies used in this study are decision trees, logistic regression and survival analysis. Decision tree modelling is discussed in Section 6.1, logistic regression in Sections 6.2 and 6.3 and survival analysis is discussed in Section 6.4. 5.5.5Stage five Validation of results Each modelling technique has its own, specific validation method. To compare the models, accuracy will be used. However, a high accuracy on the training and validation data sets does not automatically result in accurate predictions on the population dataset. It is important to take the impact of oversampling into account. Section 5.6 discusses oversampling and the adjustments that need to be made. 1.5.Adjustments for Target Level Imbalances From Telkoms data it is clear that churn is a rare event of great interest and great value (Gupta, Hanssens, Hardie, Kahn, Kumar, Lin Sriram, 2006:152). If the event is rare, using a sample with the same proportion of events and non-events as the population is not ideal. Assume a decision tree is developed from such a sample and the event rate (x%) is very low. A prediction model could obtain a high accuracy (1-x%) by simply assigning all the cases to the majority level (e.g. predict all customers are non-churners) (Wei Chiu, 2002:106). A sample with more balanced levels of the target is required. Basic sampling methods to decrease the level of class imbalances include under-sampling and over-sampling. Under-sampling eliminates some of the majority-class cases by randomly selecting a lower percentage of them for the sample. Over-sampling duplicates minority-class cases by including a randomly selected case more than once (Burez Van Den Poel, 2009:4630). Under-sampling has the drawback that potentially useful information is unused. Over-sampling has the drawback that it might lead to over-fitting because cases are duplicated. Studies have shown that over-sampling is ineffective at improving the recognition of the minority class (Drummond Holte, 2003:8). According to Chen, Liaw Breiman, (2004:2) under-sampling has an edge over over-sampling. However, if the probability of an event (target variable equals one) in the population differs from the probability of an event in the sample, it is necessary to make adjustments for the prior probabilities. Otherwise the probability of the event will be overestimated. This will lead to score graphs and statistics that are inaccurate or misleading (Georges, 2007:456). Therefore, decision-based statistics based on accuracy (or misclassification) misrepresent the model performance on the population. A model developed on this sample will identify more churners than there actually are (high false alarm rate). Without an adjustment for prior probabilities, the estimates for the event will be overestimated. According to Potts (2001:72) the accuracy can be adjusted with equation 1. It takes prior probabilities into account. With: : the population proportion of non-churners : the population proportion of churners : the sample proportion of non-churners : the sample proportion of churners : the number of true negatives (number of correctly predicted non- churners) : the number of true positives (number of correctly predicted churners) : the number of instances in the sample However, accuracy as a model efficiency measure trained on an under-sampled dataset is dependent on the threshold. This threshold is influenced by the class imbalance between the sample and the population (Burez Van Den Poel, 2009:4626).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Comparison of the Book and Movie Version of A Clockwork Orange :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

A Comparison of the Book and Firm Version of A Clockwork Orange    In the story of his teenage years, starting at fifteen.   He begins his tale as the leader of a small gang that spends its evenings pillaging and wreaking havoc on the town until the gang mutinies and "Your Humble Narrator," as Alex refers to himself, is caught by the police.   From there, Alex travels to State Jail 84F to serve 14 years, but receives an offer from "the Government" which entails undergoing experimental treatment in return for early release.   He seizes what seems to him an opportunity, but is horrified by the "cure" he endures.   The new "good" Alex that is released unto the world is depressed, frustrated, and lonely, although no longer violent.   A radical political group then exploits him as an example of the cruelty of "the Government."   This faction tries to force Alex to suicide in order to gain a martyr, but Alex's attempt fails and he is nursed back to health and his natural mental state by the Government, who in the end comes out on top.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alex, whose last name is not mentioned in the book, is a violent, aggressive teenager of fifteen, who is the leader of a four-person gang.   He truly enjoys violence, reveling in the sight of blood or weapons.   Alex's love of hate is not simply a rebellious emotion, but as he explains, it is his very nature, and he could not change it if he wanted to.   Despite his passion for what most see as ugly and disgusting, Alex does have a great appreciation for classical music, especially Beethoven.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alex's main conflicts are both external and internal.   His external conflicts are between him and the members of his gang.   Dim and Georgie, two of the members of Alex's gang, are unwilling to accept Alex's leadership.   They challenge his authority, and Alex reacts rashly by trying to re- establish his dominance through defeating both of his aggressors in fighting.   This confrontation only raises tensions within the gang, and leads to a betrayal which results in Alex's capture on the charge of murder.   Alex's main internal conflict is a physiological one.   The Government's experimental treatment which Alex undergoes involves conditioning to produce a feeling of nausea and

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Principles of Professional Practice Essay

Professional education and registration To become a qualified nurse you must be accepted to study at university for a three or four year degree. This education programme is theory and placement based. There is also another route people can take if they have the experience but not all of the qualifications, this is college for a year for then onto university for two years. Nursing students must be fit for practice and be able to demonstrate the requirements of their education. To register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) you need to be able to carry out competences to state that they meet the required skills to be able to practice professionally and safely. NMC (2008) states that you have to recognise your own limits when working and not to practice anything you are not competent in without supervision. However to become a Social Worker requires studying for three years for an undergraduate degree or a two year postgraduate degree. The Social Workers register is â€Å"function based† rather  than qualif ication based. Social Workers must be performing a role rather than hold a specific qualification to be on the register (SSSC, 2011). Social Workers can also be employed before they finish their training. This is very different from Nursing as the requirements to register with the NMC are for you to have completed 2300 hours of clinical practice and 2300 hours of theory based learning. Background disclosure checks are taken before you are accepted to study for either profession. Principles of care professionals The principles of both codes are almost identical in protecting and promoting the rights, choices and beliefs of the patient and service user. NMC (2008) states that the principles of the care professional must consists of providing a high standard of care, acting with integrity, upholding your professionalism, protecting and promoting the health of those in your care and to be open and honest. SSSC (2009) states that Social Workers need to recognise individual differences, being aware of people’s rights, listening to people, sharing power, respecting privacy and dignity and helping the users make informed choices. Codes of conduct Nurses and Social Workers both look after vulnerable people and are regulated by codes of conduct to ensure the patient and service user are getting the best possible care. The Nursing and Midwifery code of conduct exists to set standards, promote education, provide guidance and to set rules that we must adhere to (NMC, 2008). â€Å"We exist to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public† (NMC, 2008, p1). NMC (2008) states that nurses and midwives must treat every patient as an individual, to be open and kind, respect their dignity and their wishes regarding their care and treatment. The patients and public must be able to trust in nurses to provide a high standard of care, to act lawfully, uphold their professional reputation, be approachable and make the care of the patient their first and primary concern. The SSSC Code of Practice are standards that protect the public and deliver the best possible care to the service users. Vulnerable adults, children and older people rely on the professional skills of the Social Worker who must protect and promote the rights of the service user, respect  each person as an individual, be trustworthy and honest, never to put themselves or others at risk and behave in a way inside and outside of work that would not question their good character (SSSC, 2009). Continuing Professional Development Both these professions expect the same high standards when it comes to education and training. Nursing and Social Work both have requirements for continued professional development and lifelong learning. It is essential that Nurses and Social workers keep a record of their training throughout their careers. To be able to remain working and practicing as a nurse or a midwife you must keep your skills and knowledge up to date through lifelong learning. This requires that nurses complete 450 hours of registered practice along with 35 hours of learning activities every three years along with the annual fee of  £100. Medicines, treatments and equipment are continuously changing so it’s important that nurses keep up to date to ensure that patients are getting the best available care. â€Å"You must take part in appropriate learning and practice activities that maintain and develop you competence and performance† (NMC, 2008 p6). Social Worker’s must undertake â€Å"relevant training to maintain and improve your knowledge and skills and contributing to the learning and development of others† (SSSC, 2009 section 6.8). The requirement of continued learning is fifteen days which can consist of courses, reading and training. Five of these days is focused on working with colleges and other healthcare professionals. Social Workers must register with the SSSC every three years and pay an annual fee of  £30. Framework for clinical governance within the healthcare sector Clinical Governance are codes which sets out best practice and benchmarks of care that everybody must adhere to throughout the UK. NHS and SSSC organisations are accountable to clinical governance for continuously keeping an eye on their employees to ensure that high standards of care is given. Clinical governance does not only focus on patients care but also quality improvements, leadership, information and staff focus. Focusing on these elements insure that high standards is being met and past mistakes are not repeated (RNC 2013). Ethical issues and professional boundaries Nurses and Social Workers face ethical issues everyday throughout their working lives and they are educated to understand these. Professionals must be sure to never judge other peoples morals, values, religious or cultural beliefs and individual choices. Professionals also need to have an understanding of social diversity and oppression with mental health, disability, race and colour. The two schools of ethics which are important for professionals are Deontology and Teleology. Deontology highlights that laws and rules govern behaviour and people should keep them out of duty to society however this duty can be challenged if someone’s personal beliefs are in conflict with duties that’s being asked of them. Teleology discusses that the greater good for the greater number is more important than the action. For example euthanasia would be classed as deonotolgy as euthanasia is regarded as murder or manslaughter and would be punishable under law whereas teleology would see it as ending unbearable suffering for the greater good (NHS choices, 2012). It is essential to keep up to date with current discussions, trends and debates as this enables professionals to make informed decisions based on objectively rather than their emotions. Nurses and Social Workers must keep clear professional boundaries at all times with patients under their care by refusing gifts, favours, to give and receive money, hospitality, and to maintain clear sexual boundaries at all times. Parameters that occur within professional practice Nurses, Midwives and Social Workers are all responsible and professionally accountable to their employer and are also accountable in law for their actions as people rely on them. They are not only accountable for their own actions but also the students under their supervision. If any of these professionals breach any term of their job description then they must be accountable and to be able to explain their actions. â€Å"As a professional, you are personally accountable for actions and omissions in your practice,  and must always be able to justify your decisions† (NMC, 2008 p2). SSSC (2009) states that you must meet the required standards of practice, work in a lawful, safe effective way. Professionals must be responsible for knowing their own limitations and abilities within their practice and must not carry out tasks they are not competent in. They must not practice anything they are not competent in and if it hasn’t been signed off (NMC, 2008). SSSC (2009) states that must seek assistance if Social Worker’s feel they cannot carry out any aspect of your work. Professionals must refer to another member of the multidisciplinary team when it’s in the best interest of their patients and service users. Professionals must recognise and respect the roles of other professionals and work in partnership with them to ensure the best possible care is given. The role of a professional supervisor is to oversee training and to agree that you are competent in that task. New employees go through an induction, training and supervision. Students and newly qualified staff receive a mentor to guide them through their learning. â€Å"You must make sure that everyone you are responsible for is supervised and supported† (NMC, 2008 p5). SSSC (2009) states that Employers have a key role in supporting students and newly qualified Social Workers as this is to meet the requirements with the Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL) and ensure staff feel supported. Conclusion Both professions are similar in the way they look after and support their patients and service users. Therefore are regulated by similar codes of conduct and expect the same high standards of care, education and training. References NHS choices (2012) Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasiaandassistedsuicide/Pages/Introduction.aspx Accessed on 26/11/13 NMC (2008) The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council RNC (2013) Clinical governance. Available at: http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/clinical_governance Accessed on 26/11/13 SSSC (2009) Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers. Dundee: Scottish Social Services Council. SSSC (2011) What is Registration? Available at: http://www.sssc.uk.com/Applying-for-registration/what-is-registration.html Accessed on: 26/10/13

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Crime and Senator Joseph Estrada

The most discussed law these days is Republic Act 7080 otherwise known as the law on plunder. Seen as a deterrent to prevent public officials from stealing money from the government, the plunder law was passed in 1991 with the most significant signatory being one Senator Joseph Estrada. In this edition of the Law Professor, we shall now examine the intricacies of the Plunder Law. What is plunder and how is it committed?According to Section 2 of RA 7080, plunder is committed when a public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) of RA 7080 in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00).In addition, any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of plunder shall likewise be punished. The criminal acts described in Section 1 (d) are as follows: 1. Through misappropriation, conversion, misuse, or malversation of public funds or raids on the public treasury; 2. By receiving, directly or indirectly, any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any/or entity in connection with any government contract or project or by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned; 3.By the illegal or fraudulent conveyance or disposition of assets belonging to the National government or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities or government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries; 4. By obtaining, receiving or accepting directly or indirectly any shares of stock, equity or any other form of interest or participation including the promise of future employment in any business enterprise or undertaking; 5.By establishing agricultural, industrial or commercial monopolies or other combinations and/or implementat ion of decrees and orders intended to benefit particular persons or special interests; or, 6. By taking undue advantage of official position, authority, relationship, connection or influence to unjustly enrich himself or themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines. In the original version of RA 7080, the offender was liable only if the aggregate amount amassed is at least Seventy-five million pesos(P75,000,000. 00) with the corresponding penalty of life imprisonment with perpetual absolute disqualification from holding any public office. However, RA 7659 (The Death Penalty Law) amended Section 2 of RA 7080, and lowered the amount to Fifty million pesos and increased the imposable penalty to death, to wit: Sec. 12. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7080 (An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) is hereby amended to read as follows: â€Å"Sec. 2. Definition of the Crime of Plunder; Penalties.– Any public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) hereof in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00) shall be guilty of the crime of plunder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death.Any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense. In the imposition of penalties, the degree of participation and the attendance of mitigating and extenuating circumstances, as provided by the Revised Penal Code, shall be considered by the court. The court shall declare any and all ill-gotten wealth and their interests and other incomes and assets including the properties and sha res of stocks derived from the deposit or investment thereof forfeited in favor of the State.† Section 4 of RA 7080 also prescribes the method for proving that the crime of plunder was committed. It states that for purposes of establishing the crime of plunder, it shall not be necessary to prove each and every criminal act done by the accused in furtherance of the scheme or conspiracy to amass, accumulate or acquire ill-gotten wealth, it being sufficient to establish beyond reasonable doubt a pattern of overt or criminal acts indicative of the overall unlawful scheme or conspiracy.