Asset management, broadly defined, refers to any system whereby things that are of value to an entity or group are monitored and maintained. It may apply to both tangible assets and to intangible concepts such as intellectual property and goodwill. Asset management is a systematic process of operating , maintaining, and upgrading assets cost-effectively, (American Associate of State Highway and Transportation Officials). Alternative views of asset management in the engineering environment are: The practice of managing assets so that the greatest return is achieved (this concept is particularly useful for productive assets such as plant and equipment); and the process by which built systems of facilities are monitored and maintained, with the objective of providing the best possible service to users (appropriate for public infrastructure assets). Most active money managers produce worse returns than an index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500.

Civilization has always relied on its technological assets to support key functions like transport, public health, business and commerce. There is a clear link between the provision and sophistication of technological assets and our modern lifestyle. Persians built a strong empire through their construction of roads, aqueducts and other assets. Similar stories are found when examining Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Andrew John Economos (born June 24, 1982 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American football long snapper for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was originally signed as and undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005.

Economos graduated from Atlanta's Marist High School and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In basketball, he led his team to the 2000 Georgia State Championship as a senior.

Economos was a long snapper at Georgia Tech and named to the 2003-2004 ACC Academic Honor Roll.

On April 24, 2005 signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars after he wasn't drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was released in 2006 after spending time on the practice squad.

On June 13, 2008, Economos signed a 5-year, $4 million contract to remain with the Buccaneers, who he has been a long snapper for since 2006. He snapped for Tampa Bay all of 2007.

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Francis Fox, PC, QC (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and thus was a senior aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin. He also worked as a lobbyist in the 1980s.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Fox is a lawyer by training. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1972 election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Argenteuil—Deux-Montagnes, Quebec. He was re-elected in the 1974 election from the same constituency. In the 1979 and 1980 elections, he was returned as MP for Blainville—Deux-Montagnes before being defeated in that riding in the 1984 election.

Fox was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1976 when he became Solicitor General of Canada. Bilingual, Fox was seen as an up-and-comer in the Liberal cabinet, and even a potential party leader. However, he was forced to resign on January 27, 1978, when it became known that he had forged the signature of his then girlfriend's husband on a form granting permission for her to have an abortion. Although he was married at the time of the scandal, he subsequently divorced his wife, Joan Pennefather. He later married a subsequent girlfriend Vivian Case. He is currently married to Vivian Case, who is an artist, and has three children, John Fox (with his first wife) and Daniel and Julianna Fox (with Vivian). Daniel is currently studying to become a chartered accountant and Julianna is a lawyer.