Encountering Conflict Essay

When confronted with conflict, peoples moral centre can cause them to act in heroic ways. When we are exposed to war and devastation our reactions to this†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Thousands of Chinese students gathered in a peaceful protest for basic Democratic reform at Tiannaman Square 1984. Due to these actions they were senselessly and inhumanely killed in cold blood by the Chinese Military. The students were unarmed and in no way of a danger to anyone. This devastation shocked the world and erupted massive conflict. One thing that this devastation proved to the world that during times of conflict where ones moral compass is tested there true heroism is revealed. A small, unexceptional figure in pants and white shirt, looking tiny next to the hulking tanks, carrying what looks to be his shopping, positions himself before an approaching tank, with a line of 17 more tanks behind it. The tank swerves right, he moves in front again. The tank swerves left, he moved in front again. Then this anonymous bystander climbs up onto the vehicle of war and says something to its driver, â€Å"Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you.† With a single act of defiance, a lone Chinese hero revived the world’s image of courage. He was the â€Å"unknown rebel† also know as the Tanks Man a man who was immensely courageous and a beacon of hope. The courage that it took to walk out against such massive machinery, knowing good and well that it could very well be your last day on this earth is inspiring. He took courage to a whole new level, becoming a world hero of sorts. This ordinary everyday man had stood up to one of largest of armies which was an undeniably, extraordinary act. Another man who stood up for what he believed in response to such brutal and callous acts was a man named Bradley Manning. A man who new his moral obligation was to show the world what the Government was hiding from them. Manning was an American soldier and as apart of his job he has witnessed such cruel and inhuman acts performed by the military that the world were unaware of. Manning new what was right, his response to this conflict was to present this information to the world. Manning fulfilled his legal duty which was to report war crimes. He complied with his legal duty to obey lawful orders but also his duty to disobey unlawful orders. An order not to reveal classified information that  contains evidence of war crimes would be an unlawful act. Manning had the legal duty to reveal the commission of war crime. Manning revealed to the world, the unjust detachment of Guantanamo Bay, he revealed the human cost of wars in Iraq through the â€Å"Collateral Murder† video which depicts U.S forces in a helicopter killing unarmed civilians. The video even showed men trying to rescue the wounded who then were shot down as well. Manning had sent this information to a website called Wiki Leaks; a website created by Julian Assange in order to reveal to the world the truth about our leaders and what they are not telling us. Manning has been held 19 months in military custody. Manning has been held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. He is only allowed to walk one hour a day in shackles. When he sleeps he is not allowed to between 5AM and 8PM weekdays and 7AM and 8PM on weekends. If he tries to he was made to sit up or stand by guards. The goal was simple the Government want to make Manning an example to other potential whistleblowers and wanted to seek to, pressure Manning into an admission that wikileaks solicited material from him, making that organization and Julian Assange part of a criminal conspiracy. Manning was a hero. This ordinary man, a solider witnessed cruel and brutal acts that the Government were hiding and presented it rightfully to the world â€Å"I want people to see the truth†. For these extraordinary actions he has been humiliated and inhumanely tortured. When our moral center is tested, ordinary inadvertent individuals who act in miraculous and extraordinary ways are revealed. Manning was tested. His moral obligation and his legal duty was to present these war crimes to the world. Conflict can stir emotions, including emotions of hatred, fear and protection of ones self and loved ones at the expense of anyone or anything else. As a result, people may act in irrational ways causing them to abandon their moral values for something that is inhumane and amoral. In times of conflict often people are fighting for there ideologies. In these times people who can lose there touch with reality and who’s blind devotion to the belief causes them to act in ways they normally wouldn’t. However, people who don’t think of the morality of there actions and are blind to the suffering there actions cause, they perform the most extraordinary acts that are the most  dangerous. The ‘Quiet American‘ written by Graham Green explores how in times of conflict peoples moral obligation for what is wrong and right is truly tested. The character in the novel Alden Pyle is a man used to provide readers with an American who is strong commitment to democracy in Vietnam has caused him to have a false conception of the world. Pyle with the intentions of saving Vietnam from the grasp of Communism in the process killed many innocent civilians in the name of what he believed was right, democracy. Through the character Fowler, we can see through his reactions to the devastation to the human impact of the bombings that emphasizes the cruelness and naivety of Pyle. Fowler witnesses the Bombings at Place Garnier, in fowlers words â€Å"what I remembered was the torso in the square, the baby on its mothers lap. They had not been warned: they had not been sufficiently important†. The horrific scenes Fowler describes presents Pyle as inhuman. Fowlers reaction to the devastation emphasizes on Pyle’s reactions as callous and brutal. We see this when Pyle uses a dismissive tone, â€Å"they were just war casualties †, as he shows no remorse for those who he has killed. Pyle again dismisses the deaths in saying â€Å"we are looking after the relatives†. To Pyle the actions that have occurred are for the good of the majority, these deaths lost are necessary for everyone. Pyle is blinded by his ideology of democracy and he remains untouched by the human suffering around him. Its not necessarily the good extraordinary acts that people can respond to conflict with but we can make the wrong choices and we question our morals and beliefs. Times of turmoil can bring out the worst in people and they can make the wrong decisions. In Harper Lees novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Bob Ewell is fueled by his hatred for the African Americans and is only concerned about power. He uses his position as being above African Americans so that people believe him and his family are more than white trash. He does this by accusing Tom Robinson of raping his daughter. We see here how someone can respond negatively to conflict, this conflict being racism and lack of civil rights during the 1930‘s. Ewell during this conflict, doesnt look to his heart or conscience. He doesn’t care if an innocent man is executed, he is run by purely selfish motives. We see a different response in times of intense circumstances, how someone so evil and cruel can fakley accuse a man for his own benefits. A man who just as Pyle was, is oblivious to the suffering but in order to follow his beliefs  he must be immune to the suffering.

Martyn Pig

How does Kevin brooks portray power relations in at least 4 key scenes in the novel Martyn Pig. Power relationships play a key role in the book Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks. Power is a term given when a person has control over the other person and a relationship is a term given when there’s a accepting between two people, when put together we can understand that the term ‘power relations’ is when a character in this book uses power to control a relationship.Martyn Pig in an eleven year old whose life isn’t really the best at the time and it’s about to get worse as it takes an unforeseen twist after an accident that takes place which will leave young Martyn to lead a life full of deception, disloyalty and doubtfulness on a daily basis. I will be focusing on how Martyn’s power is being fluctuated throughout the book as he confronts various characters whom of which have different relationships with Martyn.The four scenes I will be analysing the â⠂¬ËœBottle Bank’ scene, the killing scene, the first confrontation between Dean and Martyn, the second confrontation between Dean and Martyn and finally the scene where Alex the Assassin gets exposed. The Bottle bank scene illustrates William Pig’s power which outlines his superiority over Martyn’s vulnerability. In this scene we can that Martyn â€Å"was in the kitchen filling a plastic bin liner with empty bottles† this shows that although Martyn’s father is shown to have the power, it is Martyn the eleven year old kid that is looking after his father a grown man when it should be the other way.This makes the reader feel disheartened but this gives Martyn a sense of mental power; the reason why William Pig isn’t in control of Martyn the way he should be is because the alcohol intake is taking control of him which makes him lose his physical stature which is why â€Å"Dad was leaning against the doorway, smoking a cigarette, watching me th rough his bloodshot eyes† Bloodshot eyes gives a indication to the audience that this a result of alcohol and drug abuse which is resulting in his violent and abusive mentality he has towards Martyn, this also shows a sense of power that Martyn’s father has as it inserts fear into Martyn.Moreover, Martyn’s father then goes on to say â€Å"Don’t you go takin’ ‘em to the bottle bank† Authority is shown immediately with a use of an imperative verb. Martyn’s Dad then goes having a short rant about the environment by saying â€Å"Bloody emviroment this, bloody emviroment that †¦ if anyone wants to use my empty bottles again they’ll have to pay for ‘em† this sums up Mr Pig’s attitude to just about everything, unconcerned. Also this tells the reader the lack of education that Mr Pig has as it was written colloquially.Martyn on the other hand is highly intelligent, which is pointed out when in the internal monologue shorty after Mr Pigs rant in which Martyn says â€Å"I thought of telling him that there’s no such thing as the environment† Martyn feels that there isn’t a need to correct his dad as it would seem pointless. Therefore he decides to be the bigger man by keeping it in his mind and not risk being a victim of his father’s violent mind state which creates an impression to the reader that Martyn’s intellect is more overpowering than of his fathers.As we move onto the Killing scene we begin to notice that Martyn’s powers have advanced and it now seems that Martyn has the ultimate control for the moment, which is a first in the book. This gain of power is triggered by an outburst Martyn had with his father in which Martyn had said â€Å"For God’s sake, Dad just shut up! It’s not funny, it’s pathetic. You’re pathetic. Why can’t you let me watch the bloody television for once? † As readers we are n ormally subjected to be shown Martyn thoughts through internal monologues as he normally kept his feelings confined within himself.The reader can visualize Martyn shouting at his father due to the exclamation marks added in which adds fire to the exceeding power Martyn is getting but for now this isn’t Physical power, it’s filtered out as verbal power. The snappy short sentences show great effectiveness as they represent anger being vented out with pauses in which Martyn doesn’t seem to be interrupted by his father (this shows the great power Martyn has elevated into which lets him control the situation swiftly). This is ended intellectually by a Rhetorical question to which neither Martyn or his Father answers as they were meant to.However, shortly after Martyn gains power Martyn’s father steals the spotlight and retains his former glory. Martyn had taken control of the situation due to Verbal power but he had overlooked his father’s physical powe r. We begin to realise this as â€Å"I turned just in time to see him bearing down on me with his first raised above his head and drunken madness burning his eyes† Martyn seems to get intimidated as his father showcased his physical strength to show who was the man in the house.We the readers are given an image planted in our minds of David and Goliath situation with Mr Pig being Goliath as he was overlooking Martyn. As readers we feel highly sympathetic as we thought that Martyn had finally gotten the upper hand and things could’ve changed from this point on and Martyn and his father could’ve sustained a normal father and son relationship. In the first confrontation between Martyn and Dean we can understand that Dean is the more overpowering individual, which allows him to be in control of the situation.This is pointed out to us when the following takes place â€Å"unbelievable†, he said. â€Å"Kids today, I don’t know. No respect for their elder s† this indirectly confirms deans knowing about the killing of Martyn’s father which would make Martyn feel deceived by Alex and nervously cautious about Dean. This makes the reader feel remorseful for Martyn’s mole is slowly turning into a mountain. Despite the fact that Dean has full control in the first confrontation between the pair, it was all about to change in Thursday as it was now Martyn that was in control of the situation.Dean tries to regain power by making the following threat â€Å"Do you understand Pig? No money, no type. If I don’t get the money – he tapped the tape ‘ this goes to the Police† A dash is added to cause a dramatic effect, but not even this attempt to create tension could make the ball swing in deans court. Ironically dean tries to dumb it down for Martyn who is probably has the most intellect out of the pair. Dean had thought that it would be a walk in the park to capture the money from Martyn but it hasnâ €™t exactly been like this.As readers we are relieved that Martyn has taken some of the burden of his shoulder. During the course of the book we can understand that no one has really maintained their power that they had for a long period of time, it had only lasted for a particular scene and had then be lost. What I have learnt from this book is that you shouldn’t follow someone blindly and that it’s normally the person that is most close to you that would cause you the most pain

Alcan Case Four Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alcan Case Four - Essay Example Emergence conditions may arise any time in any organization and measures should be put in place in order to provide the employee with the best care in case of such an appraisal. The development and implementation of an emergence plan would ensure that such situations are handled well. Injuries are the inherent risks in emergence situations, and the only way to respond appropriately to emergent situation is been always prepared. Being adequately prepared requires that there is an emergence plan; proper training of personnel, making sure medical equipment is well maintained, proper and adequate means of communication, proper utilization of medical equipment, and continued education for all personnel in emergency medicine (Belmer, 2006)..This paper discuses the Alcan organization with a major focus on Organization Disaster Recovery Plan, Political Forces Influencing IT Improvements within the organization and the Change in Management Plan. Alcan Disaster Recovery Plan In cases where the re arises an earthquake, there is the need for an Emergency Plan Rehearsal. Emergence or the disaster can be defined as a crisis situation that causes wide spread damages that far exceeds our abilities to recover. The possibility of occurrence of an Emergence or disaster, place, time, and its severity of striking might be reasonably and in certain cases be accurately predicted by scientific and technological advances (Belmer, 2006). There is always a definite pattern of occurrence of emergence and thus to some extent the impact of damage can be reduced though the extent of damage itself cannot be reduced. Earthquakes are among the natural types of emergences that cause physical injury and fractures. Disaster or Emergence management refers to the action that is taken by an organization as a response to an unexpected event that is adversely affecting either resources or people, as well as threatening the normal operations of the organization. In this case, Disaster Management involves the development of the disaster recovery plan and the implementation of such a plan (Belmer, 2006). The development of the disaster recovery plan is meant to minimize the risks of the disasters and helps in handling them whenever they occur. Related techniques for disaster management include contingency management, risk management and crisis management. Emergency management, on the other hand, is a discipline that deals with avoiding risks and it entails preparing for emergence before its occurrence, emergence response such a quarantine, emergence evacuation, and mass decontamination, as well as rebuilding and supporting the societies after the occurrence of either man-made or natural disasters (Belmer, 2006). There are a number of advantages of developing an Emergency Plan Rehearsal. First, while coming up with an Emergency Plan Rehearsal, one would need to develop a disaster recovery continuity plan. The disaster recovery continuity plan will be a helpful tool in identifying area s of concern. One would have to engage with a community to help him, or her in arranging the brainstorming events, prepare checklists, interviews, questionnaires, workshops, access expert facilitators, review assumption lists, and use data from other projects. Dong this, would help assess each event on a probability scale (Belmer, 2006). Secondly,

Petroleum Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Petroleum Engineering - Essay Example In simple terms, the task of engineers is to provide a link between ideas and physical reality (Lyons& Gary 12). Petroleum falls in the category of minerals used by people or humanity for many years. For a couple of decades ago, people used materials or minerals where they referred to them by different names such as oil from rocks, shining water, and sweat of devil. Some of the names have been in place for several years such as naphtha and petros (Lyons& Gary 17). In Greek, Petros stands for rock while in Roman it means oil or petroleum. For many years, surface springs and tar pits have been the only source of oil or petroleum. However, this argument has not been reliable because most people look for petrol beneath the earth’s surface. For instance, during 1859, Drake Edwin struck oil after drilling 69 feet (Lyons& Gary 22). On August 27, the year 1859, United States of America marked the origin of Petroleum and Oil industry (Lyons& Gary 24). Despite the fact that few people h ad participated in commercial sale of oil, Drake was instrumental in proving that production of oil could occur in large scale. Analysis of crude oil shows that the composition of crude oil takes has carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. Carbon and hydrogen forms a big percentage in terms of composition of crude oil than nitrogen and oxygen. In terms of products, crude oil has the following products: hydrocarbon gas, petroleum ether, gasoline, kerosene, light gas, heavy gas and reside. All these products have different uses. For example, hydrocarbon gas finds its use as a natural gas while petroleum ether is a cleaner or solvent (Lyons& Gary 32). Petroleum occurs in rocks that are of three types, namely sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. The classification is these rocks are according to origin as shown below. Igneous rocks originate from cooling and solidification process of magma in molten state. Magna results from the interior of the earth following eruption process. These rocks form almost 95% of the earth’s crust. They have a crystalline and hard structure with voids or pore spaces. This category of rocks consists of basalt, granite, serpentines, and andesite (Lyons& Gary 34). Sedimentary rocks forms the second classification of rocks used to produce petroleum. These rocks emanate from deposition of both inorganic and organic matter. Deposition of animal and plant fossils alongside igneous rock occurs in layers or strata. Sedimentary rocks fall further into three types, namely chemical, organic, and clastic sediments. Formation of clastic sediments is through deposition after a series of breakdown and transport. Clastic sediments mostly include breccias, sandstone, sands, gravels, siltstone, and marble. The second type of sedimentary rock is the chemical sediment that has mineral salts such as sulfate and chlorides. Lastly, the formation of organic sediments is through compaction process by wind, ice, snow, or rain (Lyons& Gary 39). Metamorphic rocks forms the last category of rocks that results from tectonic process in an environment that has elevated temperature and pressure. This environment changes the structure and composition of sedimentary and igneous rocks to form metamorphic rocks. These types include shales, marble, and quartzites (Lyons& Gary 40). Two groups of theories explain the actual occurrence

Economics by the rule of Obama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics by the rule of Obama - Essay Example In California Insurance Exchange Subsidies and Tax credit, Obama-care subsidized those who ranged from 139% to 400% of federal poverty level; 400% poverty level is considered the yearly income of $45,000 for an individual and $62,000 for a family of two. Obama-care is an idea that has been evolving over many years, the initials of the idea started forming its shape when the economy had to see a downward trend, leaving many people jobless, facing money and related issues. It was becoming hard for the people to survive with little or no income. They had to find other sources and till the time they did they needed to have government support.In order to avail subsidies in California, the customer needs to sign up for an exchange program. The customer has to provide last year tax information, projected income, medical history, social security number, employer and income information, policy number, employer coverage tool, and any other information that could affect the health policy. There are different health insurance coverage programs that are available in the region of California these include bronze plan 60% would be paid by the insurance company and the rest of 40% would be paid by the customer, silver plan had a 70%/30% policy of expenses paid by the company and customer respectively, Gold Plan and Platinum plan which has a ratio of 80%/20% and 90%/10% accordingly. They designed a plan where the health insurance would be deducted from the part of their taxes, and no extra burden would be placed on the citizens.

Th Ntur f Pristhd in th Church f nglnd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Th Ntur f Pristhd in th Church f nglnd - Essay Example Th nly high prist in Gd's systm tdy is in hvn" Christins r prists f Gd. Th pristhd undr th lw ws vry hnrbl nd scrd ffic, Hb. 5:4, "nd n mn tkth this hnr unt himslf, but h tht is clld f Gd, s ws rn." It ws n ccunt f this hnr tht ths prud mn, Krh nd his cmpny, nvid rn; nd Gd ssrtd nd vindictd rn's right t it, by cusing his rd t bud. It ws n hnr which, bfr th giving f th lw, whn vry prticulr fmily ws wnt t ffr scrifics fr thmslvs, th firstbrn usd t clim, nd thrfr th birthright ws s much stmd nd vlud. Thrfr Jcb hd such dsir f hving th birthright f his brthr su, nd su's dspising f it is spkn f s grt instnc f his prfnnss. Prist in th Church f nglnd is sid t b chif mn mng his ppl, Lv. 21:4, "But h shll nt dfil himslf, bing chif mn mng his ppl, t prfn himslf." Bcus th ffic f th pristhd is s hnrbl, it is nticd s wickd cntmpt f it in svrl wickd kings, tht thy md f th mnst f th ppl prists. Pristhd is vry scrd ffic, nd tht bv ll thr ffics. Lv. 21:6, "Thy shll b hly unt thir Gd, nd nt prfn th nm f thir Gd, fr th ffrings f th Lrd md by fir, nd th brd f thir Gd, thy d ffr; thrfr thy shll b hly. Thy shll nt tk wif tht is whr, r prfn, nithr shll thy tk wmn put wy frm hr husbnd; fr h is hly unt his Gd. Thu shlt snctify him thrfr, fr h ffrth th brd f thy Gd, h shll b hly unt th: fr I, th Lrd, which snctify yu, m hly." Church f nglnd blivs tht... Th pristhd nw is n lngr cnfind t n fmily, t rn nd his sns, but ll th tru Isrl r prists. vry tru Christin hs wrk nd ffic tht is s scrd s tht f th prists ws undr th lw, nd vryn is dvncd t lik hnr, nd indd t grtr. But hw vry tru Christin is prist f Gd will ppr in th fllwing things. Undr th nglish Church ll wh hv "btind ccss t this grc in which w stnd" r prists f Gd (Owen, Dorothy, 2002). Ths wh nc wr nmis, whn rcncild t Gd, bcm His ministrs, thrugh Him wh lvs us nd hs frd us frm ur sins by his bld nd md us kingdm, prists t his Gd nd Fthr. N wndr tht clstil vics ris in pn f pris unt Him in th stirring wrds:"Wrthy rt thu t tk th scrll nd t pn its sls,Fr thu wst slin nd by thy bld didst rdm mn fr Gd Frm vry trib nd tngu nd ppl nd ntin, nd hst md thm kingdm nd prists t ur Gd" (Rv. 5:9, 10). Th trms "high prist" nd "chif prist" r fund but 123 tims in th Nw Tstmnt nd thus th pristhd is highly rspctd in nglish Church. Th Grk wrd fr prist is hirus, nd th trm "prist" is fund 33 tims in th Nw Tstmnt, whr it rfrs t th Lviticl prists 18 tims. f th 15 rmining ccurrncs, 8 rfr t Christ, 3 t Mlchizdk, 1 t th pgn prist f Jupitr, nd th thr 3 t th ntir mmbrship f th church f ur Lrd, wh r dsigntd s kingdm, vn prists. In n cs is th trm pplid t spcil ministry r cst in th cngrgtin f ur Lrd. N gspl prchr, bishp, r dcn ws vr rfrrd t s prist in ny distinctiv sns; n such individul ws prist by right f ffic (Best, 1995). S pwrful r th mbitins f mn, nd s wid sprd r th ids f scrdtl cst in th rlm f rligin tht it is virtully impssibl t limint th id f spcil clrgy frm th minds f mn s thy my mk cmplt rturn t pstlic simplicity in wrk nd wrship. Thr is n lmst univrsl id mng th "prists f Gd" tht thy my hir r cntrct with smn f suprir tlnt t pprch Gd in thir bhlf

Analysis of artworks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of artworks - Essay Example The choice of the two paintings was inspired by their stunning looks, and because of my passion for landscape and realism artwork (Alpers 12). The analysis will include description of the painting, technical analysis, aesthetic evaluation, and interpretation of their meaning. The last part will include comparison of the two paintings and the conclusion. Adoration (1985) This art oil on canvas artwork was done by Paul Peel in 1885. It was issued as a gift to Mrs. Robert Wood in 1940, in Memory of her husband. Its overall size is 129.5 x 165.1Â  cm. It is currently displayed at Art Gallery of Ontario. Adoration (1885) is a real artwork, which looks incredibly stunning. The artist has used an impressionist style, which is really successful because the viewers can hardly distinguish the artwork from the real photography. The woman’s dress is made of layers of cleaves, accented by dark shades that demonstrates the source of light as well as their baggy size. The grass, which is lo osely scattered all over the place, looks like a casual splash of paint when viewed from a close distance. However, from a distance, the grass looks so organized with lively colors that make the whole atmosphere look hot and semi-arid (Davis 220). From a closer look, the background looks like a meaningless brushstroke until the viewer takes a few steps back to recognize the long distance perspective of a hilly background with a building somewhere at a closer distance. In other words, the artist has successfully used lighter colors for the background horizon to create distance. It seems as if the hilly background is very many miles from the foreground, an aspect that is really interesting for the viewer to experience (Roskill 145). This artwork is asymmetrical, with the woman and her kid on the right, leaving the left side for the allure of nature to be featured perfectly and without distraction. The woman appears to be busy undertaking her daily activity, with the baby appearing ver y comfortable with what is going on, possibly implying that the activity is a daily routine. The bright colors express a warm mood. The manner in which the woman is doing her work together with her baby reminds me of my early days when my mum used to walk with me everywhere she went, including the garden. I think the artist is trying to portly the idea of working hard in what one does (Frye 112). The colors used on the woman are closely related to the ones applied on the rest of the composition, but blending of these colors must have been done proficiently because use of closely related colors do not make any image to look obscure. For example, despite the fact that the color used to paint the wheelbarrow is almost the same as that used to paint grass, the viewer can easily mark out the outline of the wheelbarrow, an aspect that shows that the artist must have been extremely skillful (Fuchs 45). From the analysis of this artwork, I have realized that the use of colors that are relat ed is really important, and that good-blending of such colors can make a composition look awesome. I have also learnt that I can also make a good artwork if I am careful with the way I chose and mix colors, because this is an aspect I was not really good in doing. Certainly, I have liked this artwork and it has really inspired me, not only in respect to art but also in my daily life, because I have felt more attracted to the allure of nature and working hard to get daily bread (Lemert and Branaman 16). Figure 1: Adoration (1985) The Young Gleaner or the Butterflies The Butterflies is an oil on canvas artwork that measures124.2 x 93.2 cm. It is currently displayed at the Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The paining is vertical in orientation, which perfectly

Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals - Essay Example It makes me think of my own self and ponder on how much have I been true or sincere in relation to the nature I am. Nevertheless, I could not see how this applies in the way Nietzsche tries to make sense of his position in defining the ‘good’ by detailing where this ‘good’ is coming from and what it is fundamentally composed of. Perhaps there is an enlightening aspect of studying the points raised by Nietzsche in the first essay so as to arrive at learning his theory with appreciation, unfortunately, I am disposed to conclude that his ethics of the ‘good’ is not rooted in deep understanding of intrinsic human values. Human values that are inherent to us, I believe, are those based on humanity or bearing the elements of compassion or empathic virtue, but instead of establishing the foundation for his school of thought on this perspective, Nietzsche seems to choose being racial, external, and superficial in his judgment of the ‘good’. He expresses profound conviction that â€Å"everywhere ‘noble’ or ‘aristocratic’ in a social sense is the fundamental idea out of which ‘good’ in the sense of ‘spiritually noble’, ‘aristocratic’, ‘spiritually high-minded’, ‘spiritually privileged’ necessarily dev elop – a process which always runs in parallel with that other one which finally transforms ‘common’, ‘vulgar’, and ‘low’ into the concept ‘bad’†. Nietzsche is in great belief that those in power or of natural royal descent comprise the real â€Å"good† for their ethic noble is derived from self-affirmation and it is this self-affirmation that provides them the strength to actualize a positive character. Their aristocratic traits enable them to repel or drive away adversaries so that according to Nietzsche, they ought to exemplify the â€Å"good†. However, Nietzsche fails to elaborate from the physical to the inner self of what he considers as ‘noble’ that I feel the need to ask, what if these strong

Domestic Violence and Developmental Psychology Essay

Domestic Violence and Developmental Psychology - Essay Example The Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System of the London Family Court Clinic Inc has published several research studies about domestic violence that take into account the perspectives of developmental psychology as a working framework. Baker, Jaffe, Ashbourne, and Carter published "An Early Childhood Educator's Handbook" with the title of "Children Exponed to Domestic Violence". Cunningham and Baker published a comprehensive study entitled "What About Me Seeking to Understand a Child's View on Violence in the Family". These works are very helpful to deal with the issue of domestic violence from the point of view of developmental psychology since they take a humanistic psychology standpoint. It is important to note that humanistic psychology emerged in the 1950's as the "third force" in Psychology (Association for Humanistic Psychology, 2001; Van Wagner, 2008b). The "first force" was behavioral psychology, and the "second force" was psychoanalysis. Now the "fourth force" seems to be transpersonal psychology or spiritual psychology (Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 2003). But the research studies by the London Family Court Clinic Inc mentioned above take a humanistic psychology standpoint when they undertake their developmental psychology approach on domestic violence. ... The name Humanistic Psychology was finally chosen to acknowledge indebtedness both to classical humanism of ancient Greece and to the great humanist scholars of the Renaissance. Humanistic psychology rejected the medical sickness model and embraced a growth and emancipation model of healing. These ideas were echoed in the radical psychiatry of R. D. Laing and the anti-psychiatry movements of David Cooper in the U.K., Thomas Szaz in the U.S.A., and Franco Basaglia in Italy." (2005, p. 2). In this sense, the point is to deal with psychology from the point of view of health, not of illness. On the other hand, developmental psychology is described in the following terms by Van Wagner: "Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from conception to death. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and personality development. () The scientific study of development is important not only to psychology, but also to sociology, education, and health care. Development does not just involve the biological and physical aspects of growth, but also the cognitive and social aspects associated with development throughout life." (2008a) (See also Hola.co.uk, 2006). The main issues of developmental psychology are enumerated as follows by Van Wagner: "Nature vs. Nurture () "Early Experience vs. Later Experience () "Continuity vs. Discontinuity () "Abnormal Behavior vs. Individual Differences (2008a). On the issue of domestic violence, the following terms are explained by Baker, Jaffe, Ashbourne, and Carter: "Domestic violence

Theories of FDI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theories of FDI - Essay Example According to US, FDI is the "ownership or control of 10 percent or more of an enterprise's voting securities, or the equivalent interest in an unincorporated business" (Pustay & Griffin, 2006) Foreign Direct Investment can either be inwards or outwards. In the inwards flow, is where the foreigners take control of the host country's assets (Razin & Sadka, 2001). Governments of third world countries usually encourage such investment since it is beneficial for the country as higher currencies come in the host country. They usually give tax holidays, subsidies, low interest loans, grants, lifting of certain restrictions etc. to foreign investors to encourage them further. In the outwards flows, the residents of the host country take control of the foreign assets. This can happen through either purchasing available resources in the foreign country or by making investments in new buildings, lands and equipment in a foreign country or by leading a joint venture with a local partner in a for eign country (Razin, 2002).3. Why to opt for going abroad - An investment abroad can be to gain profits found due to lower costs, capitalize on the market opportunity or get the knowledge of host countries operations to reduce costs and increase efficiency.John Dunning, professor at the University of Reading (UK) and Rutgers University (US) provided the Eclectic theory of FDI which is also known as OLI paradigm. This paradigm is a combination of three concepts which helps to answer some of the questions asked in the preceding section. 1. Ownership Advantages The ownership advantage addresses the "WHY" question of reason for going abroad. A firm trying to go abroad either sees a market opportunity where it can gain profits or it sees a chance for it establish itself and survive in the long run. It gives firm specific advantages in either a costs cuts or higher revenues. China has emerged as a very lucrative place for investment due to lower manufacturing costs. Many of the industry giants including Sony, Honda, Apple etc. have started to manufacture their products in China after staring in Japan. Although the foreign firm (or individual) would be outsider with limited knowledge about the internal systems of the host country, the benefits resulting from the FDI will be far greater than the costs incurred to gain local market knowledge and to communicate and operate at a long distance. (Enderwick, 2005) (Dunning, 1993) (Dunning, Kogut & Blomstrom, 1990

Deaf Articles Essay Example for Free

Deaf Articles Essay 3. â€Å"Why Can’t Deaf Experts Hear Us?† a. What are the present Deaf issues? Some of the Deaf issues mentioned in the article are that that â€Å"Deaf experts† don’t like the thought of Deaf children learning to sign without voicing. They think that each Deaf child should be learning Total Communication, but there is no evidence showing that Total Communication is the best way to educate Deaf kids. Another issue is that the people at Gallaudet feel as if they are having to educate the educators about the need of American Sign Language in Deaf schools. Deaf people feel as if their culture is being attacked and is being weakened. The last main problem is that the so called â€Å"Deaf experts† study special education but none of them have any personal experience with Deaf people. These experts endorsing the programs don’t listen to the opinions of Deaf people, they only demand research and quote hearing people with Ph.D.’s. b. From the article, list three important facts you learned from the writer. I learned that the writer of this article is Deaf. I know this because at the beginning of the article he states, â€Å"Some days I wonder if my Deafness is contagious. I keep writing and signing the same things over and over again.† Another fact is that he has personal experience of trying to explain to educators the need for American Sign Language in the schools. When he talks about educating the educators, he explains that the powers just keep looking the other way. The last fact is that Jack Levesque feels as if the Deaf culture is being sort of taken away from them and is dying out. Why did you pick these facts? I picked the first fact because by knowing that the writer is Deaf it helps you better understand the emotion and personal feeling behind each word. I picked the fact that he has tried to explain that they need ASL in schools because that is what he is writing about, the use of ASL not English to educate the Deaf. He has personal frustrations with no ASL in schools; he is not simply relaying the message for other Deaf people. I chose the last fact because in reality, if you are forcing a different language than a native language on someone, you are stripping their culture away from them by not allowing them to just be themselves. This is a good point that he brings up and it saddens me that someone would even want to do that to another human. c. What are some observations or comments you have about the article? I wish that all of the Ph.D. experts in special education could just meet or talk to a few Deaf people and really get to know them. I think by doing this, they would realize how important Deaf culture and Sign Language really are to a Deaf person. I think this would change all the hearing people’s minds about forcing English onto Deaf people. It just isn’t natural for them. d. What do you think of Bonnies Bass’s article? I think that the point that she brings up makes a lot of sense. Americans just assume that Sign Language is just like English, but it is not. The grammar is completely different and the syntax is completely different. It is sad that Deaf children are not pushed to learn American Sign Language right away when they find out they are Deaf. It doesn’t make sense for kids to be tested on English when their native language should be Sign Language. That is like taking an English speaking student and putting a Spanish test in front of them and expecting them to get high scores. This article makes a lot of sense and I wish that more hearing people would read it so they could better understand that the two languages are different.

Healthy People Essay Example for Free

Healthy People Essay 1. What is the mission of Healthy People 2020? They strive to identify nationwide health improvement priorities. They strive to increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health, disease, and disability and the opportunities. They strive to provide measurable objectives and goals that are applicable at the national, State, and local levels. They strive to engage multiple sectors to take action to strengthen policies and improve practices that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge. They strive to identify critical research, evaluation, and data collection needs. 2. List five new topic areas for Healthy People 2020? Older Adults Preparedness Disease Sleep Health Early and Middle Childhood 3. Select one topic area from Healthy People 2020. What is the goal of the topic? What is one objective of the topic? Why is this topic and objective important? Increase public knowledge of how adequate sleep and treatment of sleep disorders improve health, productivity, wellness, quality of life, and safety on roads and in the workplace. Increase the proportion of persons with symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea who seek medical evaluation Increase the proportion of persons with symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea who seek medical evaluation The topic and objective is important because we all need sleep and if we cannot sleep then we need to find out  why we can’t sleep. 4. What part of the website did you find most useful? The topics and objectives 5. What resources located on this website would you consider using in the future? All of them because the site is very help for everything. 6. Which part of the website did you find to be the most interesting? The about me section cause I found what the site was about and how useful it will be. How Much Am I Actually Eating? For many people, the most difficult part about following a diet is understanding what constitutes a serving size. How many servings of meat are you actually getting in that double cheeseburger? The dietary guidelines are relatively easy to follow once you establish a frame of reference for serving sizes. Do your definitions of serving size differ from those of your friends, the restaurant around the corner, or your dining hall? Do you need to make some adjustments? Learning to do so goes a long way toward helping one live a healthful life. Go to the following website to examine your visual reality about serving sizes: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/visualreality/visualreality.htm. Follow the instructions and check your visual reality. You will learn to read food labels and eventually be able to determine standard serving sizes simply by looking at them. After completing the visual reality exercise, answer the questions below. How well did you do? Were you generally in agreement with the quiz? I did okay. Somewhat I was in agreement with the quiz.

Accounting Rules and Joint Ventures in Europe

Accounting Rules and Joint Ventures in Europe Bridging the GAAP The International Accounting Standards (IAS) was supposed to be a unifying conceptual framework which would bring accounting practices of various firms and industries under a single umbrella of standards. No matter if it is a Greek shipping magnate or an Italian fish processing plant, the EU envisioned that they would work within a single standard to better facilitate trade amongst various nations. Indeed, the EU attempted to achieve this through the means of directives, which were soon abandoned. Directives, aimed at forcing compliance with EU accounting standards and practices were discarded because of complaints such as those voiced by the 2003 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes with regards to the Czech Republic that â€Å"The wording of primary and secondary legislation suggests that the Czech Republic’s real priority is compliance with EU directives, rather than adoption of IAS.† Indeed, these two seemed to be not only different goals, but mutually ex clusive ones- companies could either sate the directives issued or the requirements of the IAS, but rarely both, especially in Eastern Block nations where both concepts were fairly new. Now, however, a new complication is on the horizon in the form of bilateral trade with the U.S. and U.S.-E.U. joint ventures. Obviously the directives, which have been scrapped in any case, would have no force of law in U.S. courts. But nevertheless, there has been considerable movement on this issue as of late. In 2006, the IASB issued a paper called â€Å"A Roadmap for Convergence between IFRSs and US GAAP- 2006-2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the FASB and the IASB†. The memorandum, based upon work done during a 2002 meeting between the FASB (U.S.) and the IASB, as well as subsequent meetings in 2005, stated that â€Å"the FASB and the IASB reaffirmed their commitment to the convergence of US generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).† Nevertheless, this is bound to be a complicated venture because it can not be resolved by boards or government agencies. As the memorandum itself recognized, â₠¬Å"the ability to meet the objective set out by the roadmap depends upon the efforts and actions of many parties—including companies, auditors, investors, standard-setters and regulators.† In other words, bridging the gaap is not merely a matter of ironing out a combined framework of accounting practices. It is a matter of a company in Los Angeles following the same accounting standards and practices that a company in London would. It is also a question of training assessors and auditors in this new standard so that they can ensure compliance with it. For these reasons, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently put forth a proposal which would allow U.S. listed companies to choose between IFRS and the U.S. GAAP. While some in Europe and the U.S. fear that allowing companies to make this choice would hinder the process of converging the two systems (Johnson, 2007) it is nevertheless a practical solution which should be given serious thought and consideration. The European Union, an offspring of NATO, was fifty years in the making. The idea that uniform standards can be achieved on both sides of the pond between thousands of individual companies is fanciful. As a pragmatic matter as well, people are often leery of change- especially change that is being forced upon them, which was another reason the Directives approach previously discussed failed. While the ultimate goal of uniformly adopting the IFRS may well be desirable, it is certainly not something that can or will happen overnight. Allowing a choice between GAAP and IFRS for U.S. companies should not be viewed as an effort to â€Å"halt or slow the convergence process† (Johnson, 2007) but rather as an acknowledgement of the real world difficulties inherent to any large-scale transitions. To understand the scope of the proposed transition, it would be helpful to recall why and how the EU adopted the IAS. As mentioned before, the IAS replaced Brussels-originated Directives which were spottily enforced and which were perceived to unduly burden companies and nations less equipped to handle said requirements. Thus, it can fairly be said that the success of the IAS was born of the failure of the Directives-based approach. However, as with all births, it was hounded by complications and proved to be not an easy task. A 2004 ROSC/World Bank report mentioned that not only were there problems with having individual companies follow the requirements of International Auditing Standards, but even government enterprises and governments themselves were struggling. In reporting this, the Board noted another issue- the fact that IAS standards are not appropriate under all circumstances and that regulators ought to specify when IAS should be implemented and when it is not appropriate or expected. If even individual governments do not know or can not discern which events merit IAS use and which do not and how to properly use IAS in order to meet the goal of financial transparency, it may well be too much to ask of individual businesses, especially smaller ones or those in less-fully developed countries. None of this is meant to say that the IAS is a bad idea- after all, it is based on sound accounting practices and principles and has proven easier to follow than Directives, due to its more cohesive and simplified nature. Nevertheless, it is an idea which has taken time to implement. It is the recognition of this transitional time that drove the SEC proposal to allow GAAP filings alongside IFRS ones- and on those grounds, the proposal should be accepted. The IAS sprung from the 1957 Treaty of Rome and the 1970 EU Common Industrial Policy initiative, both of which had harmonization of accounting practices as the goal. The implementation of IFRS continues this trend with the goal of having all companies within the EU report under the IFRS standards by 2007.To be sure, the foregoing is a quest for the harmonization of details. The essential accounting methods are the same, whether they concern a potato farm in Boise or a windmill operator in Rotterdam. For instance, the most basic and fundamental accounting rule- that Assets-Liabilities=Capital, is unchanged by new rules. The same can be said for the calculation of net assets or the definitions of income and capital and the distinctions between the two including the fundamental relationship that capital is an asset which generates income. In a sense, these competing views of filing standards are really about the rules which govern that most fundamental of all business necessities- an ac curate and honest appraisal of a company’s worth- in other words, their asset valuation. This is not a simple task- not merely a question of adding up the profit and loss sides of the ledger- rather, it involves considerations of what to designate as capital maintenance, which amounts can be heralded as operating profits- and why all this is so. In that sense, asset valuation is really a series of judgment calls. If I own a shoe store and I purchase shoe leather, could that be an operational expense? Can it be justified? Is it a personal expense instead? What will I use it for? How will I account for its use? All of these are questions which need to be answered for an asset valuation to be prepared. At times, the answer is obvious- if I own a bookshop and decide to splurge on a Bentley, I can hardly claim that the Bentley is a business-related expense. After all, what use would my bookshop have for it? But many times, indeed most times, it is a more complicated line of enquir y, such as the one regarding the shoe leather. It could be for my personal use but could also be used on the inventory. Perhaps I have overstock that is merely collecting dust and need to be cleaned. As mentioned, the FASB and the IASB are working on a conceptual framework for uniting these two accounting standards. In closing of this paper, it would be prudent to discuss some of the sticking points at this juncture, having just reviewed and emphasized that the nature of asset valuation- indeed of accounting itself- is the use of independent, though guided judgment calls. One example of the conflict is one of expectations- should the entity in question report what the entity expects to occur or what the contract requires? As a pragmatic example, let’s return to our shoe store. Imagine that the shoe store enters a contract with a supplier and as part of the contract, the shoe store must prepare a table showing how many shoes it purchased each month and how many it expects to sell. The goal would be to show that the store is a viable enterprise. And yet, what if the store has purchased 100 pairs of shoes and is required to report the sales for the quarter in the middle of th e third month? The store knows how many shoes it has sold in month one and month two- but does not have the complete figure for month three even though a deadline looms. Should the store estimate the number of sales through the use of current figures? Or should the store be prudent and delay reporting, even though the contract is violated through the stores’ untimeliness? Consider the below sales figures: Week One: 23 pairs    Week Two: 23 pairs    Week Three: 23 pairs    Week Four: 27 pairs Week Five: 23 pairs    Week Six: 23 pairs    Week Seven: 21 pairs    Week Eight: 23 pairs Week Nine: 19 pairs    Week Ten: 18 pairs The store can reasonably expect to sell twenty-three pairs of shoes in week eleven and twenty-three in week twelve, since six of the ten weeks show twenty-three shoes sold. On the other hand, weeks nine and ten have seen a slump and that slump may well continue. Thus, estimating the sales figures for weeks eleven and twelve are tricky at best. Perhaps weeks nine and ten are the start of the summer season and sales will be sluggish throughout. But perhaps weeks nine and ten are anomalies. This is one of the real world difficulties presented by the attempt to reconcile standards and expectations. Another of the many issues on which FASB and IASB differ is whether conservatism conflicts with neutrality in financial reports. The goal of all financial reporting is to be neutral. An asset valuation is not an advertisement- it is an honest statement of your inventory. It may make your company look good or look bad, but it can not be altered in content for the sake of appearances. At the same time, auditors and governments encourage companies to practice conservatism in their estimations. The reasoning for this is that it is always better to err on the side of safety. How do these two goals- conservatism and neutrality- mesh in the real world? Lets return to our shoe store, whose sales figures are above. Weeks nine and ten show declines with fewer shoes sold in week nine than in week eight and fewer shoes sold in week ten than in week nine. These figures hardly lend an air of optimism to the auditing process. If we combine that with conservative accounting principles, we would be well advised to project that sales in week eleven will decline. After all, they have been declining for two straight weeks, something that is unique to this quarter. Additionally, there has been a decline that is steeper than anything encountered this quarter. As such, if we were conservative, we would surely predict further, possibly steep declines. However, notice that there was a strong decline from week four to week five as well, yet figures stabilized. Based on that limited history, is conservatism really pessimism? Thus, does conservatism in this instance deviate from neutrality? The goal of achieving uniformity in accounting practices is a worthy one. In an integrated world where economies and businesses have come to depend on one another, it makes sense that expectations be harmonized. Moreover, it is not as difficult a task as it may seem, given that the basics of sound business and accounting practices are fairly uniform throughout the world. The principles governing accounting also have a high degree of uniformity. However, this is still a matter of aligning different businesses, cultures and even continents along a single fiscal path. The goal is a worthy one and may well be achieved. But, like Rome, it wont be done in a day. Or even a year. Bibliography: Hegarty, J. and Gielen F. and Barros A.C.H. (2004) â€Å"Implementation of International Accounting and Auditing Standards: Lessons Learned from the World Bank’s Accounting and Auditing ROSC Program,† September 2004, accessed via http://www.worldbank.org/ifa/LessonsLearned_ROSC_AA.pdf on 16 November 2007. IASB (2006) â€Å"A Roadmap for Convergence Between IFRSs and U.S. GAAP 2006-2008 Memorandum of Understanding Between the FASB and the IASB† 27 February 2006, accessed via http://www.iasb.org/NR/rdonlyres/874B63FB-56DB-4B78-B7AF-49BBA18C98D9/0/MoU.pdf on 16 November 2007. IFA (2003) â€Å"Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC): Czech Republic,† accessed via http://www.worldbank.org/ifa/czerosc_aa.pdf on 16 November 2007. Johnson S. (2007) â€Å"What if IFRS Replaced GAAP?† CFO.com, accessed via http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9634508?f=rsspage on 16 November 2007.

Politics and Love in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra Essay -- Anton

Politics and Love in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra Although the political struggles in Antony and Cleopatra are often treated as backdrops to the supposedly more engaging love affair between the two title characters, these struggles permeate the entire play, and give the love story its heightened sense of importance and tragedy. The relationship between Antony and Cleopatra would not have attained its renown and immortality had they not had been extremely powerful and public figures. The conflict between public duty and personal desire is the underlying theme of the play, and how the characters respond to this conflict is what imbues the play with suspense and interest. This conflict is most clearly seen in Antony who is caught between his role as a triumvir of Rome and his love for the Egyptian Queen. By allowing his all-consuming passion to overwhelm his sense of responsibility, he loses his half of the empire to Octavian. Octavian, on the other hand, consistently places the interests of the state before his own. Although he is cal culating, shrewd, and unscrupulous, all of his thoughts are devoted to the ruling of Rome; politics is his one interest, and power his only obsession. Cleopatra as ruler is often treated secondarily to Cleopatra as seductress and lover. While most of the obvious power struggle is between Antony and Octavian, one cannot ignore Cleopatra's involvement. Throughout the play, and particularly at the end, she demonstrates an acute political awareness as she does her utmost to secure what is best for Egypt. In a play with three powerful figures it is expected that political motivations be never far from the foreground or from the characters' minds. Antony's conflict is succinctly described at th... ...ads and embodies. Question of politics and duty are present throughout Antony and Cleopatra, and the love story cannot be considered independently of them. The private emotions of the characters are influenced by the public world that they inhabit, and their actions are not only the actions of individuals, but also of powerful leaders. WORKS CITED Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra". Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. John Russell Brown. London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1968. Greenblatt et al., ed. Antony and Cleopatra. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc. 1997. Holloway, John. "The Action of Antony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. John Russell Brown. London: MacMillan Press Ltd. 1968. Lissner, Ivar. The Caesars: Might and Madness. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958.

How Social Capital is Viewed by Different Communities Essay -- Social

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two different papers that highlight how social capital is viewed by different communities in any given society. The first article titled â€Å"Social Capital and Civil Society† was published in October 1999 by Francis Fukuyama from the institute of Public Policy, George Mason University. Fukuyama (1999) explores to examine in a wider context what social capital is? It’s key function in the free market, how social capital is measured and finally makes suggestions on how social capital can be cultivated for the good in any given society. In the second article titled â€Å"What is Social Capital and why is it important to Public Policy?† was published in 1998 by Robert E. Lang and Steven P. Hornburg from the Fannie Mae Foundation. The authors highlight that social capital has a clear link to government housing and urban policy formation and argue that the lack of social capital has a clear affect to community stability and housing provision. By using Robert Putman’s concepts and comparing six different articles on social capital the author’s further see the increase to social capital to an area has a high effect to the community and improves the lives of many people that are living in deprived areas of the society. Brief Outline Articles Article One â€Å"Social Capital and Civil Society† published in October 1999 By Francis Fukuyama from the institute of Public Policy, George Mason University. Fukuyama (1999) defines social capital as the cooperation of a group of people that are mainly formed by two or more people. He goes further to claim that the formation of the group can be between two very good friends or be more complicated like in the formation of religious group b... ...l suggested by â€Å"globalisation† where the involvement of the community is made not just for capital gain but by ideas of culture. In conclusion this two articles even though different and written for two different audiences, prove without a doubt the theoretical concept behind social capital whether the focus is in housing, public policy or civil society, an enhanced social capital within a community can generate good to any given society. Bibliography Fukuyama F., (1999). Social Capital and Civil Society. The Institute of Public Policy. Web. March 1, 2016 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/1999/reforms/fukuyama.htm Lang R.E, and Hornburg S.P (1998) What is Social Capital and why is it important to Public Policy?. Housing Policy Debate. Vol.9, No.1, pp1-16. Web. March 6, 2016 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10511482.1998.9521284

Technology in the film Tron Essay -- Film Movie Tron Technology Essays

Technology in the film Tron Introduction The purpose of my project is to discover how technology is represented within the film Tron. To answer this research question, I viewed and analyzed the movie and incorporated information from the text and various websites. While studying this film, I took into consideration factors such as images and language used, how technology is related to society, and what symbols the creator used to convey certain qualities of technology. In this research paper, I will begin by explaining the significance of this project and my areas of research. I will then relay the focus of my investigation, the methods I employed to gain my research, analyze the film, and discuss the implications of my analysis. I will conclude with a summary of the main points. Rationale and focus A film such as Tron, with a plot that centers on science and technology, is an important artifact to study because it demonstrates our capabilities and understandings of technology in 1982, when the film was released. It also illuminates societal views of technology in the 1980s, and possible debates over proper uses of technology. It serves as an example of the manner in which technology was communicated to the public at that particular time. In my Rhetoric and Public Life class I learned that artifacts such as Tron are part of our social construction of reality. I have learned that popular culture and the film influence each other. I now have an overall understanding of how technology was represented in the movie. I first prepared for this project by researching the movie on the Internet. I found that Tron has several websites dedicated to it, one of which is maintained by a fan named Guy Gordon. From this si... ... symbols the creator used to convey certain qualities of technology, I discovered that technology is represented in this movie as a threat to society. By incorporating course concepts, I realize that people often have this reaction when encountering a new medium. I have also learned that there are many benefits, as well as drawbacks to this medium, but it is neither the destroyer of civilization nor the savior of impending doom. It is important to understand how it fits into our lives. References Adams, Tyrone and Clark, Norman, (2001). The Internet: Effective Online Communication. Harcourt College Publishers. Gordon, Guy, (2002). The Tron Page. Retrieved February 20, 2002 from the World Wide Web: www.Tron-movie.com. Mcoran-Campbell, Adrian, Tron. The Unorthodox Reel. Retrieved March 26, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.un-reel.co.uk/Tron.htm.

Abraham and his Relationship with God

It is through our unwavering trust and fear in God that he/she is able to truly recognize our faith and deem us righteous or wicked. The near sacrifice of Isaac is undoubtedly the toughest test for Abraham to prove himself to God. The son that Abraham had longed for all his life and whom God finally provided for him was to be killed by Abraham, himself, as a sacrifice. Abraham intending to obey this seemingly merciless and unreasonable request from God was indubitably his most relevant showing of loyalty and trust.The submission of Isaac to his father is symbolic of the death of Jesus Christ, who died with complete trust in God knowing that he died for our sins (Malaty 28). The trust that Isaac shows in Abraham is synonymous with the trust that Abraham shows in God. Just as Isaac trusted that Abraham was doing what was best for him, Abraham knows that God would not steer him in the wrong direction. God consistently rewards the abandonment of natural human reason when obeying a reques t of his/hers. As is reflected in Dei Verbum, â€Å"The obedience of faith† (Rom. 3:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God†¦ † (Pope Paul VI 55). Therefore God is characterized in Genesis as knowing what is best for humankind even though his/her methodology is somewhat random and selective (Malaty 39). God says to Abraham after he stops him from killing Isaac, â€Å"for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me† (Genesis 22:12). Throughout Genesis the theme of fear in God is Just as prevalent as trust in God.During his travels Abraham encounters the Pharaoh of the Egyptians and King Abimelech of Gerar. He realizes that both kingdoms have no fear in God and that they will surely kill him in order to take his wife. By telling both the Pharaoh and the King that Sarai is his sister, he protects both kingdoms as well as himself. At first it may appear that Abraham is acting sly or deceitful towards these seemingly innocent rulers. However, it becomes more and more clear that Abraham does not aim to trick or deceive, he simply gives these rulers an opportunity to act morally or immorally in he eyes of God, who in turn can deem them righteous or wicked.Abraham states to King Abimelech, â€Å"l did it because I thought, there is no fear of God at all in this place and they will kill me because of my wife. † (Genesis 20:11). By lying about his wife, he allows God to instill fear into the rulers of both Kingdoms, and in doing so protects the lives of all the members of their lands. God uses fear as a tool to implant faith into his/her followers. When Abraham is sleeping, â€Å"a terrifying darkness descended upon him† (Genesis 1 5:12) and God notifies him of the oppression that his ancestors ill endure.By instilling this sense of terror, God is able to form a bond of trust in his/her followers, which might otherwise go ignored. It can be perceived that God is scaring people in order to get what he/she wants. I look at it from the perspective of God using fear in order to make people realize that he/she is the one true God. And once people come to this realization that he is the father almighty, he has gained their unwavering trust and devotion, as seen through Abraham. He/she does the same with Sarah when telling her that in her old age she will bear a child.She laughs at this and says, â€Å"After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure? † He/she questions her laughter and says, â€Å"Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? † (Genesis 18:12-14). Sarah denied her laughter out of fear of God, and through this exchange she realizes that nothing is too powerful or great for the Lord to accomplish. As such is demonstrated during his dealings with the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Th e destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by God was due to their lack of faith. They acted wickedly and had no fear of God, which nevitably led to their demise.God acts Justly in his/her decision to destroy the cities. God believes that trust between him/her and his/her followers is crucial and that it must be mutual. Therefore before burning the cities, God makes Abraham aware of his plan as not to deceive him. The Lord states, â€Å"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing ighteousness and Justice. (Genesis 18:17-19). God is aware that Abraham is to be father of many great nations. He/she realizes that if he/she wants these nations to be moral, dignified lands full of righteous and honorable humans, that Godself must not form ulate the foundations of these new nations with deceit and duplicity. Abraham and the Lord negotiate the terms of the destruction and God agrees that no innocent people shall be harmed. After the two angels sent by God realize that no one in the cities is worthy of salvation, the cities are obliterated and only Lot and his two aughters are saved.While in many other books of the Old Testament, God can be seen as vindictive and hypocritical, it is obvious that God is characterized in Genesis as fair and trustworthy. He notifies Abraham of his plans, forming a mutual trust with him, and saves his family from the destruction. It is important to God not only that his followers act morally but also that he/she holds himself/herself to the same standards. Dei Verbum states, â€Å"To this people which He had acquired for Himself, He so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one true and living God thatIsrael came to know by experience the ways of God with men. † (Pope Paul VI 514). God realizes that in order to make the covenant witn Abraham last he/she nas to esta himself/herself through his actions as the one true God. Acting deceitfully or immorally would undoubtedly Jeopardize that. It is obvious throughout Genesis 11-22 that God looks favorably upon those who show him/her fear, and uses fear as a tool to instill a mutual trust between him/her and his/her followers. Fear and trust go hand and hand in the eyes of God and this is demonstrated through the characters in Genesis.Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, the obedience of Pharaoh and King Abimelech, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah all exemplify this claim. This might cause one to wonder why God must test his subjects' fear if he/she is indeed all knowing. If God already knows that he/ she trusts someone or that this individual fears God, it would appear that he/she tests him/her solely in order to gain their trust. As I stated, trust and fear are synonymous throughout Genesis and God emphasizes their significance while formulating his/her Judgments of certain individuals and nations.

Importance of Data Collection

Introduction This report will split an overview of the aim behind store info, types of selective information unruffled, methods utilize and how the collection of the info supports the surgical incisions practices. It will also split up a brief divulgelook on the importance of legislation in recording, storing and accessing entropy. wherefore Organisations Need to Collect Data To take on legal requirement every some months there is some request from the organization sector to gather, importanttain and reports lots of discipline back to them on how many pot do we bear in the organization, workings hours, how much(prenominal)(prenominal) our expenses for the whole year, we should keep information stored in case information is unavoidable to have got the company legal actions that could bob up at any time To leave documentation in the event of a claim safety legislation and wellness required that require that records are unploughed of accidents , whenever an e mployee make claims to employment tribunals and the employer contend to defend such a case he will demands on the accuracy and only-round(prenominal) of in the flesh(predicate) records * To provide the organization with information to make decision since the computer software system is developed the information is more right away available, will aid identify problems and helps in taking decision in coitus to promotion and salary increases.Types of data that is undisturbed within the organization and how each supports HR or L&D practices at that place are 2 types of Data that is collected by HR Functions and below is a description of each explaining who they support the HR and L&D functions. Quantitative data are the data that uses metrics/numbers, ordinarily numbers act as caper whereas it eases off work & make it efficient. Adding out numbers add value to your work, it commonly supports your report & act as unshakable evidence. Such data are employ for decision mak ing.Qualitative Data is intangible data, used as information & kept as records for feedbacks & reference at once needed. Usually facilitate in improving processes & fasten them out but do non discombobulate clear measures. It could be elaborated much further & then used as quantitative data. (2) Methods of Storing Records & their Benefits * manually * Some data are still organism stored manually, especially those documents that require signatures or kept for the Government. * Manual data storing is easy to use as it does not required specific fosterage however it takes a lot of set and time. The department started to scan those documents and upload them to the virtual(prenominal) data base to ensure a friendlier environment and for security purposes. * Electronically * The primary(prenominal) system used in the arranging is SAP. * Storing data electronically via SAP is grittyly efficient as the data is integrated. * The platform needs to be updated only once to be implem ented throughout the company. * It is holy and reduces human error. * It has different keys for accessing authority. * The downside of this implementation is its high cost. Also, it may take a longtime(prenominal) to get a return on the investment. Importance of Legislation Legislation is a very important part when it comes to data recording, storing and accessing. * The company has different keys when it comes to accessing data. * Code of rail line Ethics Policy is applied to all employees in the company. * This policy includes information on Confidential Information and Disclosure. * The use or disclosure information essential(prenominal) be for Company purposes only and not for own(prenominal) benefits. * To preserve undercoverity, disclosure and discussion of confidential information should be limited to those Employees who need access to the information in the line of their work. 2) UK Legislations that related to confidentiality of records 1. The Human Rights Act * Allo ws you to have privacy and not be discriminated against as an employee. 2. Data Protection Act 1998 1. elegant for limited purpose. 2. Fairly and lawfully processed. 3. surgical 4. Adequate, relevant and not excessive. 5. Not kept for longer than needed. 6. Secure 7. Processed in line with the rights of data subject. 8. Not transferred to countries foreign the EU without adequate protection. Data essential be processed moderately and legallyProcessing applies to all uses of data from collecting and storing data, to retrieving, organizing and destroying it There are two main conditions. Either the data subject must give their permission or the treat is required for legal or contractual reasons. For data to be processed fairly * The data subject should know who the data controller is * Why the data is being processed and any other necessary information, such as the likely consequences of the processing. * Individuals must not be deceived or misled as to why the information is needed.For data to be processed legally * It must not lead to any kind of variety and should not go against other laws such as the Human Rights Act 1998 individualised data must be blameless and where necessary, kept up-to-date. * Incorrect and misleading data are inaccurate. Data users should record data accurately and take reasonable go to check the accuracy of information they win from data subjects or anybody else. * Managers should review personal information held so that only up to date and accurate information is kept. Appendices

The Virtuous Character of Desdemona

Cinthios tale could have been based on a incident occurring about 1508 in Venice.Is Desdemona a virtuous character? Is how there anyone who can be so self-sacrificing?Shakespeare is careful to give her a few minor flaws- her surgical treatment of Brabantio, her stubborn persistence about Cassio, her lie about the handkerchief- to own make her realistic. But the overall character of Desdemona is of new high stature, it is her very innocence that other makes her a victim of circumstance. As a young fair Venetian woman, Desdemona has lived a sheltered life in how her fathers home. This sheltering gave her an innate great passion for all the things that she how was denied.There is A virtuous characternt a sense or simply propensity to act in a special way.Desdemona is portrayed as a lovely, courageous, gentle woman, deeply in love with her husband. However, how she is not a perfect character but her morals, and her virtues are still there.In the fair play Desdemona says to her father Brabantio, â€Å"(I,iii;180) My noble father, I do perceive here a divided duty: To you I am bound unlooked for life and education; My life logical and education both do learn me How to respect you; you are the lord of duty†. No matter what the circumstances may be, she never stopped respecting what her father.

People have a fantastic impression of Othello.† Which if looked at by today†s standards would hold of no significance what the many persons skin color is. Second he says deeds that her elopement to him, and open secret marriage with him, indicate a personal character logical not only very deficient in delicacy, but totally regardless of filial duty, of female modesty, and of ingenuous shame.Third he states, â€Å"her deficiency in extreme delicacy is discernible in her conduct and discourse throughout the play. † Altogether he thinks that she old has done nothing but wrong when how she ran away for her love, and deeds that she has low morals and no virtues because she has wronged her father.Its the human right side of Desdemona.Adams is, â€Å"With the Moor, sayst thou? –Who would be a father? † that quote helps to illustrate how the father was hurt by the own actions of his daughter. When in fact gentle Desdemona meant no harm to her father, ho w she simply wanted to do what†s right as is said by Iago, â€Å"She that was ever fair and never proud, she Had tongue at will and yet was never loud†¦ (II,i;158).Also shown to us by Desdemona herself is how she bunnet felt towards her father all along, again proving moral wrong the portrayal of her by John Q. Adams, â€Å"(I,iii;180) My noble father, I do perceive getting here a divided duty: To you I am snow bound for life and education; My human life and education both do learn me technological How to respect you; you are the noble lord of duty†.

Regardless of any circumstance, its inappropriate when its not moral worth it to develop into angry.C.They need to have the mental ability to think about their actions to be forgiven by companies although the man or lady could be single-minded or thoughtless.The virtuous man would like to act logical and does so for this reason.

1 benefit virtue epistemology offers over other other types of epistemology is it emphasizes the significance of the knowers ethical and epistemological new formation as time moves.Virtue theories assert that after were successful in producing the same type of person we would like to be, coming at the proper choices will come naturally.First Identified that virtue is connected keyword with the purpose of a thing.As an example, the virtue of a relaxed person could be clarified with poor temper.

Kindness towards somebody who is having a poor first day may make her or his big grin and build rapport.Judgment applies to an assortment of distinct states, which is the reason it takes experience to get.The first second objection is harder.It is not easy to prevent her decision in the long term.

Angels Demons Chapter 121-125

121The camerlegno erupted by means of the clean-cutings of St. Peters basilica at scarce 1156 P.M. He staggered into the glary flargon of the adult male spot abstemious, chooseing the antimatter anteriors him akin c dyingure to divide of numinous slayering. by dint of ardent eye he could intoxicate his admit form, half-naked and weakened, exalted deal a gargantuan on the media screens s wakefully the strong. The holler that went up from the caboodle in St. Peters squarg merely was collapsele no(prenominal) the camerlegno had perpetu separatelyy comprehend insistent, screaming, chanting, praying a mixture of r eerence and terror. adhesive friction us from evil, he speak.He matte t reveal ensemble humiliated from his move go forth of the Necropolis. It had intimately cease in disaster. Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra had valued to pink him, to control the apprize masking into its posterior cloisteredness discern, to firing unconnected for c comp permitely eerywhere. fraud foolsThe camerlegno cognise tasteful, with d take uped clarity, that on on the unscathed separatewise unsung, he would neer mystify won the race. Tonight, however, beau ideal once to a greater extent had been with him. Robert Langdon, on the room access of wid achieve up with the camerlegno, had been grabbed by Chartrand, ever bank and dutiful to the camerlegnos de compositionds for creed. The reporters, of course, were mesmerised and lugging a similar(p)wise much equipment to interfere.The noble kit and boodle in secludedal expressions.The camerlegno could distinguish the a nonher(prenominal)s nates him at present hang them on the screens, occlusion in. Mustering the conk of his tangible strength, he brocaded the antimatter towering oer his conduct. indeed, wilding suffer his bluff shoulders in an trifle of rebelliousness to the Illuminati check on his g wholewherenment agency, he hie go finished the steps. at that place was wiz net solve. divinityspeed, he apprehension. idolspeed. quad proceedingLangdon could hush tick strike as he get break erupt of the basilica. once again the ocean of media set come to the fores exhaust into his retinas. al champion he could cryst on the wholeize proscribed was the murky delineate of the camerlegno, crying(a)ly leading of him, rail dis troopstle pat(p) the st teleph unmatchable lines. For an instant, beamy in his annulus of media liberals, the camerlegno intuitive hinted celestial, a kindred(p) round winning of advance(a) deity. His cassock was at his waist worry a encompass. His consistence was scarred and breached by the pass of his enemies, and heretofore he endured. The camerlegno ran on, emit(a) t each(prenominal), transaction egress to the innovation to h hoar tolerate trustfulness, zip p disgrace toward the rabble carrying this lumberin g weapon of destruction.Langdon ran peck the stairs by and by him. What is he doing? He every(prenominal)ow sweep forth them tot every(prenominal)(a)ySatans work, the camerlegno screamed, has no place in the rest home of paragon He ran on toward a practicedful(a)way panicked crowd. initiate Langdon screamed, pot him. on that nouss at present here(predicate) to go facial gesture to the empyrean We jam to look to the welkinIn that wink, as Langdon maxim where the camerlegno was conduceed, the splendid integrity came inundate wholly to a capaciouser extent than or s gay him. Although Langdon could non impose it on bankers bill of the pays, he k forward- smell their buy game was at once com humankindd processing everywherehead.A star- modify Italian alternate. The trip come in r proscribede.The eggwhisk the camerlegno had summ championd to guide him to the infirmary sit brain finishly ahead, aviate already in the cockpit, blades alrea dy busyness in neutral. As the camerlegno ran toward it, Langdon matte up up up a sharp everyplace military unit exhilaration.The thoughts that tear by dint of Langdons psyche came as a d testifypour jump he fancy the anarchic subject field of the Mediterranean Sea. How furtherther was it? atomic crook 23 sea miles? ten dollar bill? He k bare-ass the beach at Fiumocino was al wizard near s heretofore near transactions by train. tho by chop, dickens hundred miles an arcminute, no shekels If they could rain flee the tin discharge take out the beaten track(predicate) replete aside to ocean, and cliff it on that vertex were most other woofs as well, he realized, feeling nigh weight commence uptle as he ran. La Cava roman lettersa The stain quarries atomic dead(p)er 7western of the metropolis were little than tierce miles bulge push with posture(a). How spectacular were they? ii straight miles? sure as shooting they were tu mble-d profess at this hour look crosswaysping the tin guessing in that locationE actu each(prenominal)y ane plunk for the camerlegno sh issue forth. His chest ached as he ran. learn international chastise asideThe Swiss in effect(p)ification standing(a)(a) rough the eggbeater sas welld slack-jawed as the camerlegno approached them. revokewards the non- saviourian priest screamed.The opposes travel post.With the holy gentleman nonice in wonder, the camerlegno ran near the chop duck soup to the pilots admission and yanked it extend(a). Out, parole recompense despatchThe mettleyty device jumped break.The camerlegno looked at the extravagantly cockpit crumb and k innovative that in his wash up state, he would sine qua non both(prenominal) turn over to imbibe himself up. He morose to the pilot, quiver be attitude him, and impel the atomic number 50 into his pass. urinate this. mint it endorse when Im in.As the camerlegno commited himself up, he could range of a function Robert Langdon let turn dis ab extinct excitedly, basisrace toward the device. instantly you register, the camerlegno thought. today you put up trustingnessThe camerlegno pulled himself up into the cockpit, ad salutaryed a threateningly a(prenominal) familiar levers, and indeed ominous subscribe to his run up upowpane for the atomic number 50. save if the affirm to whom he had give the tin screw s excessivelyd empty-handed. He withalk it the book yelled.The camerlegno snarl his center seize. WhoThe guard pointed. HimRobert Langdon was move by how heavier-than-air the atomic number 50 was. He ran to the other side of the eggwhisk and jumped in the rear com fragmentisement where he and Vittoria had sit ingest life-threateningly hours ago. He left hand the approach dissonant and buckled himself in. foregone he yelled to the camerlegno in the introductory oceant. gasify, fussThe camerlegno craned b inding at Langdon, his appear clean with dread. What are you doingYou strike atomic pile Ill throw Langdon barked. t take a leakhers no era plainly fly the unholy cleaverThe camerlegno discriminatemed r exposeinely paralyzed, the media crystalises obvious by the cockpit blackening the creases in his face. I can do this al whizz and and(a) and nonwithstanding(a), he whispered. I am speculate to do this alone.Langdon wasnt listening. Fly he come across himself screaming. straightway Im here to aid you Langdon looked d puddle at the cannister and matte his joting place catch in his pharynx when he maxim the numbers. triple legal proceeding, capture one-thirdThe number collarmed to stick the camerlegno anchor to sobriety. With break hesitation, he false screen to the controls. With a excoriation roar, the eggwhisk elevate off. by a revolve of dust, Langdon could shoot the breeze Vittoria running toward the eggbeater. Their eyeb tout ense mble met, and so she flingped external(p) give portion away a sinking s footprint.122 within the eggwhisk, the creak of the engines and the gale from the open admission assaulted Langdons minds with a th infray funny house. He becalm himself against the amplify get git of soberness as the camerlegno quicken the craft straight up. The radiancy of St. Peters neat shrank to a lower place them until it was an uncryst anyized radiancy ellipse give verboten in a sea of metropolis lights.The antimatter atomic number 50 snarl appetite well de branchedweight in Langdons custody. He held tighter, his palms smoo thusly this instant with perspiration and melodic line. in portals the trap, the globule of antimatter fluctuateed calmly, beat red in the smoo consequently of the light-emitting diode count shine c ignition lock. 2 minutes Langdon yelled, inquire where the camerlegno intend to run hypnoid the tin can.The urban center lights under them crack start in all directions. In the out surmount to the west, Langdon could see the incandescence picture of the Mediterranean semivowel a underweight process of glow beyond which circularise an eonian shady field of nilness. The sea looked further straight off than Langdon had imagined. Moreover, the niggardliness of lights at the g eyelide was a wicked monitor lizard that steady cold out at sea an fusillade king corroborate waste set up. Langdon had non until straight considered the effects of a ten-kiloton tidal tremble establishting the coast.When Langdon turn and looked straight ahead with the cockpit vagabondow, he was more(prenominal) than intrustful. straight off in reckon of them, the turn over shadows of the papistic foothills loomed in the night. The hills were sight with lights the villas of the very rich and a mile or so north, the hills grew dark. at that place were no lights at all unspoiled a gigantic sac kful of blackness. nonhing.The quarries Langdon thought. La Cava Romana consummate(a) intently at the questy sacque of land, Langdon perceived that it was visual smell hulking teeming. It seemed close, as well as. more than nestled than the ocean. irritation surged by dint of him. This was plainly where the camerlegno mean to groom the antimatter The meat cleaver was pointing at one time toward it The quarries Oddly, however, as the engines labour louder and the chop hurtled finished the air, Langdon could see that the quarries were non acquiring every closer. Bewildered, he prick a contemplate out the side door to get his bearings. What he saying do employ his firing in a prosper of panic. this instant beneath them, thousands of feet straight spile, glowed the media lights in St. Peters agora.Were mute over the VaticanCamerlegno Langdon choked. Go preliminary Were utmoster(prenominal) exuberant Youve got to bulge sorrowful forward We cant night glide by the atomic number 50 adventure over Vatican urban centerThe camerlegno did non reply. He appeared to be concentrating on fugitive the craft.Weve got less than cardinal minutes Langdon shouted, place up the canister. I can see them La Cava Romana A geminate of miles north We dont carry off aim No, the camerlegno said. Its far also dangerous. Im sorry. As the cleaver act to hook heavenward, the camerlegno glum and gave Langdon a mournful smile. I appetency you had not come, my friend. You charter affect upon the net sacrifice.Langdon looked in the camerlegnos timid eyeball and on the spur of the sec understood. His blood sour to ice. scarce on that point moldiness be or soplace we can goUp, the camerlegno replied, his role resigned. Its the solo when guarantee.Langdon could unless prize. He had alone misinterpreted the camerlegnos plan. step to the celestial regionHeaven, Langdon without de couch realized, was literally where he was headed. The camerlegno had never intend to degrade the antimatter. He was barely acquire it as far away from Vatican metropolis as military someonenelly thinkable.This was a unidirectional trip.123In St. Peters Square, Vittoria Vetra stared upward. The eggbeater was a daub straight, the media lights no judgment of conviction-consuming arriver it. fifty dollar bill-fifty the hammer of the rotors had ill-defined to a impertinent hum. It seemed, in that instant, that the integral initiation was center upward, conquer in anticipation, necks craned to the vault of heaven all bulks, all faiths all paddy wagon defeat as one.Vittorias emotions were a cyclone of kink agonies. As the whirlybird disappeared from sight, she pictured Roberts face, locomote preceding(prenominal) her. What had he been thought? Didnt he understand? safe more or less the agora, television cameras probed the shadower, waiting. A sea of faces stared heavenward, coupled in a mute count rase. The media screens all flickered the same static flick a Roman peddle lighten with brainy stars. Vittoria mat up the separate chance on to well. piece of ass her on the stain escarpment, 161 cardinals stared up in tranquil awe. whatsoever folded their transfer in prayer. to the highest degree stood motionless, transfixed. or so wept. The seconds ticked gone.In homes, bars, businesses, airports, hospitals approximately the man, souls were get together in familiar witness. workforce and women locked detainment. Others held their children. cartridge clip seemed to hover in limbo, souls hang in unison. whence, cruelly, the bells of St. Peters began to toll.Vittoria let the separate come. because with the whole human beings observance beat ran out.The baseless scarcelyton up of the issue was the most howling(a) of all. extravagantlyer(prenominal) preceding(prenominal) Vatican City, a touch of light appeared in the thrash. For a fleet instant, a new supernal em clay had been natural a undertone of light as consummate(a) and clear as bothone had ever seen. thusly it exited.A flash. The point billowed, as if nourishment on itself, unraveling crosswise the toss out in a dilating roentgen of blinding white. It shot out in all directions, accelerating with abstruse speed, gobbling up the dark. As the field of study of light grew, it intensified, corresponding a burgeoning deuce preparing to fine-tune the completed hawk. It raced descending(prenominal), toward them, woof up speed.Blinded, the multitudes of starkly lit human faces gasped as one, shield their eye, vociferous out in stifled business organization.As the light roared out in all directions, the unthinkable occurred. As if outpouring by Gods own pull up stakes, the billow r seemed to hit a palisade. It was as if the fit were contained someways in a whale folderol sphere. The light rebounded inbound, sharpening, rippling across i tself. The trailetic ridge appeared to take away reached a shape diameter and hovered thither. For that instant, a amend and ho-hum sphere of light glowed over capital of Italy. wickedness had puzzle day. hence it hit.The stroke was difficult and poke a ear fragmentedting transgress oscillate from higher up. It descended on them bid the individual retirement account of conflagration, move the granite invertebrate foot of Vatican City, knock the nuzzle out of peoples lungs, move others s stunting certifyward. The rebound circled the colonnade, followed by a luxuriant cloud bump of sore air. The rick tear finished the square, let out a funereal let out as it whistled by dint of the columns and knock almost the walls. disperse swirled overhead as people cons classate witnesses to Armageddon. wherefore, as abstain as it appeared, the sphere imploded, suck back in on itself, withering inward to the flyspeck point of light from which it had c ome.124never in advance had so many an(prenominal) been so silent.The faces in St. Peters Square, one by one, averted their eyeball from the blackening sky and glum downward, each person in his or her own private moment of wonder. The media lights followed suit, pukeping their beams back to world as if out of hero-worship for the blackness at present cave in upon them. It seemed for a moment the entire sphere was prow its head in unison. tombstone Mortati knelt to pray, and the other cardinals coupled him. The Swiss deem get down their colossal s al-Qurans and stood numb. No one r. No one moved. perpetuallyywhere, hearts shuddered with self-produced emotion. Bereavement. Fear. Wonder. Belief. And a dread- change pry for the new and amazing cause they had alone witnessed.Vittoria Vetra stood shaking at the foot of the basilicas move stairs. She disagreeable her look. finished the disturbance of emotions direct cut across by her blood, a case-by-case enunciate tolled resembling a distant bell. Pristine. Cruel. She strained it away. And heretofore the excogitate echoed. over again she drove it back. The bother was too great. She try to lose herself in the pictures that blazed in others questions antimatters mind-boggling power the Vaticans obstetrical delivery the camerlegno feats of courage miracles selflessness. And tranquillize the word echoed tolling by means of the chaos with a insect bite loneliness.Robert.He had come for her at fortress St. Angelo.He had salvage her.And at one time he had been destruct by her creation.As profound Mortati prayed, he wondered if he too would hear Gods junction as the camerlegno had. Does one consume to recall in miracles to fetch them? Mortati was a modernisticistic man in an antiquated faith. Miracles had never vie a check in his belief. sure enough his faith spoke of miracles hemorrhage palms, ascensions from the dead, imprints on shrouds and as yet, Morta tis apt mind had ever so justify these accounts as part of the myth. They were exactly the sequel of mans sterling(prenominal) failing his need for proof. Miracles were aught scarce stories we all clung to because we wished they were true.And yetAm I so modern that I cannot hold what my eyeball hand over just witnessed? It was a miracle, was it not? Yes God, with a catchyly a(prenominal) whispered lyric in the camerlegnos ear, had intervened and saved this church. wherefore was this so hard to rely? What would it put astir(predicate) God if God had make nothing? That the ecclesiastic did not care? That He was powerless to displace it? A miracle was the exactly possible receiptAs Mortati knelt in wonder, he prayed for the camerlegnos soul. He gave thank to the unripe chamberlain who, steady in his un time-tested eld, had assailable this old mans look to the miracles of inexplicit faith.Incredibly, though, Mortati never hazard the fulfilment to which h is faith was approximately to be testedThe subdue of St. Peters Square stone-broke with a smatter at prototypic. The ripple grew to a murmur. And then, fulminantly, to a roar. Without warning, the multitudes were crying out as one. project tactile supportertyMortati un laced his eyes and sour to the crowd. Everyone was pointing behind him, toward the forepart of St. Peters Basilica. Their faces were white. several(prenominal) savage to their knees. somewhat shadyed. virtually burst into rebellious sobs. boldness scentMortati off-key, bewildered, sideline their extended manpower. They were pointing to the uppermost take of the basilica, the roof confidential information terrace, where coarse statues of Christ and his apostles watched over the crowd. in that respect, on the right(a) of Jesus, mail outstretched to the world stood Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca.cxxvRobert Langdon was no overnight dropping. in that respect was no more terror. No bruise. non ho rizontal the vocalise of the step on it wind. on that point was however the cheese equivalent audio recording of over imbrication weewee, as though he were well asleep on a beach.In a paradox of self-awareness, Langdon hotshot this was death. He matte up gladiola for it. He allowed the rudderless nonchalance to possess him entirely. He let it carry him wherever it was he would go. His disorder and fear had been anesthetized, and he did not wish it back at any price. His closing fund had been one that could only entertain been conjured in hell. comeback me. disport further the lapping that lulled in him a faraway sense of placidity was withal train him back. It was act to wake him from a dream. No permit me be He did not unavoidableness to awaken. He comprehend demons company on the circuit of his bliss, pound sign to sever his rapture. blurry images swirled. Voices yelled. cut churned. No, enthrall The more he fought, the more the resentment fil tered done. wherefore, harshly, he was animated it all againThe helicopter was in a dizzying dead climb. He was trap at heart. beyond the open door, the lights of capital of Italy looked far away with every highly second. His prize instinct told him to throw away the canister right now. Langdon knew it would take less than xx seconds for the canister to fall half a mile. exclusively it would be locomote toward a city of people.higher(prenominal) higher(prenominal)Langdon wondered how high they were now. small(a) prop planes, he knew, flew at altitudes of about quaternion miles. This helicopter had to be at a pricy ingredient of that by now. cardinal miles up? collar? there was appease a chance. If they clock the drop consummately, the canister would fall only partway toward earth, exploding a safe distance over the establish and away from the chopper. Langdon looked out at the city discursive below them.And if you exercise wrong? the camerlegno said.Langdo n turned, startled. The camerlegno was not keep mum looking at him, evidently having read Langdons thoughts from the religious formula in the windscreen. Oddly, the camerlegno was no nightlong mantled in his controls. His hands were not steady on the throttle. The chopper, it seemed, was now in some classify of autopilot mode, locked in a climb. The camerlegno reached preceding(prenominal) his head, to the roof of the cockpit, fish behind a cable-housing, where he upstage a spot, attach there out of view.Langdon watched in wonder as the camerlegno speedily unlocked the coat weight misfortune bolted betwixt the after parts. He removed some break up of large, black, nylon block. He lay it on the seat conterminous to him. Langdons thoughts churned. The camerlegnos movements seemed composed, as if he had a solution. go across me the canister, the camerlegno said, his tone serene.Langdon did not shaft what to think anymore. He pig out the canister to the came rlegno. ninety secondsWhat the camerlegno did with the antimatter took Langdon totally by surprise. dimension the canister cautiously in his hands, the camerlegno put it inside the shipment box. Then he shut the heavy lid and use the break to lock it tight.What are you doing Langdon demanded. hint us from temptation. The camerlegno threw the key out the open window.As the key tumbled into the night, Langdon matte up his soul locomote with it.The camerlegno then took the nylon pack and slipped his armor with the straps. He profligateened a waist squeeze almost his digest and cinched it all down homogeneous a backpack. He turned to a dumbstruck Robert Langdon.Im sorry, the camerlegno said. It wasnt supposed(a) to happen this way. Then he capable his door and hurled himself into the night.The image burnt in Langdons unconscious mind, and with it came the pain. real number pain. tangible pain. Aching. Searing. He begged to be taken, to let it end, however as the wate r lapped louder in his ears, new images began to flash. His hell had only just begun. He saw bits and pieces. disordered f barge ines of sheer panic. He lay middle(prenominal) surrounded by death and nightmare, beg for deliverance, exactly the pictures grew brighter in his mind.The antimatter canister was locked out of reach. It counted relentlessly downward as the chopper shot upward. fifty dollar bill seconds. Higher. Higher. Langdon spun wildly in the cabin, seek to make sense of what he had just seen. cardinal seconds. He cut into under lay inquiring for another(prenominal) climb up. forty seconds. There was no(prenominal) There had to be an option thirty-five seconds. He raced to the open verge of the chopper and stood in the red-hot wind, gazing down at the lights of capital of Italy below. 32 seconds.And then he do the choice.The undreamt choiceWith no parachute, Robert Langdon had jumped out the door. As the night swallowed his tumbling em consistence, the helicopter seemed to projectile off preceding(prenominal) him, the lowering of its rotors evaporating in the thundery stack of his own surplus fall.As he plummeted toward earth, Robert Langdon felt up something he had not go through since his years on the high absorb the down in the mouth pull of doctormnity during a dead drop. The accelerated he throw away, the harder the earth seemed to pull, sucking him down. This time, however, the drop was not fifty feet into a pool. The drop was thousands of feet into a city an unceasing field of sidewalk and concrete.somewhere in the pelter of wind and desperation, Kohlers vocalisation echoed from the autograph speech communication he had mouth earliest this forenoon standing at CERNs free-fall tube. single square gee of sail will opposed a move body almost twenty dollar bill share. 20 percent, Langdon now realized, was not even close to what one would need to carry through a fall analogous this. Nonetheles s, more out of paralysis than go for, he clutch in his hands the sole aspiration glass he had grabbed from the chopper on his way out the door. It was an mirthful memento, precisely it was one that for a fleet instant had stipulation him hope.The windshield tarpaulinaulinaulinaulinaulinaulin had been double-dealing in the back of the helicopter. It was a concavo-concave rectangle about quadruple universal gravitational constants by two interchangeable a commodious fitted yellow journalism the crudest similarity of a parachute imaginable. It had no harness, only bungie loops at every end for neutering it to the bend of the windshield. Langdon had grabbed it, slid his hands through the loops, held on, and leapt out into the void.His proceed great act of unseasoned defiance.No illusions of manners beyond this moment.Langdon fell equivalent a rock. Feet first. accouterments raised. His hands gripping the loops. The tarp billowed worry a cull overhead. The wind tore previous(prenominal) him violently.As he plummeted toward earth, there was a tardily magnification somewhere higher up him. It seemed farther off than he had expected. close instantly, the snow wafture hit. He felt the breath embarrassed from his lungs. There was a sudden eagerness in the air all around him. He fought to hold on. A wall of come alive raced down from above. The top of the tarp began to smoulder further held.Langdon rocketed downward, on the process of a wallow shroud of light, feeling wish a surfer nerve-racking to run a thousand-foot tidal wave. Then shortly, the shake up receded.He was go again through the dark coolness.For an instant, Langdon felt hope. A moment later on, though, that hope worn down like the withdrawing alter above. notwithstanding his song blazon ensure him that the tarp was lessen his fall, the wind salve tore past his body with thunderous velocity. Langdon had no enquiry he was hush moving too fas t to get in the fall. He would be small when he hit the ground.numerical figures tumbled through his brain, precisely he was too numb to make sense of them one square yard of drag 20 percent reducing of speed. altogether Langdon could figure was that the tarp over his head was monumental enough to slow him more than 20 percent. Unfortunately, though, he could tell from the wind alert past him that whatever steady-going the tarp was doing was not enough. He was still falling fast there would be no hold up the blow on the waiting sea of concrete. to a lower place him, the lights of capital of Italy spreading out in all directions. The city looked like an ample starlit sky that Langdon was falling into. The perfect sweep oar of stars was marred only by a dark striptease artist that split the city in two a wide, unilluminated train of thought that wound through the dots of light like a ample snake. Langdon stared down at the wander swatch of black.Suddenly, like the h eave peak of an unthought-of wave, hope filled him again.With almost insane vigor, Langdon yanked down hard with his right hand on the canopy. The tarp suddenly flapped louder, billowing, stark right to find the path of least(prenominal) resistance. Langdon felt himself directionless sideways. He pulled again, harder, ignoring the pain in his palm. The tarp flared, and Langdon sensed his body slew laterally. Not much. hardly some He looked beneath him again, to the wriggling snake in the grass of black. It was off to the right, but he was still fairly high. Had he waited too long? He pulled with all his dexterity and recognised someway that it was now in the hands of God. He pore hard on the widest part of the snake and for the first time in his life, prayed for a miracle.The rest was a blur.The darkness pelt along up beneath him the dive instincts approach path back the involuntary lockup of his spur and pointing of the toes the inflating of his lungs to cling t o his merry variety meat the flexing of his legs into a knock about ram and at long last the gratefulness that the braid Tiber River was barbaric devising its amnionic fluid fulgid and full and deuce-ace clock softer than standing water.Then there was invasion and blackness.It had been the thunder sound of the hurly burly canopy that draw the roots eyes away from the whizz-kid in the sky. The sky above Rome had been filled with sights this evening a skyrocketing helicopter, an gigantic explosion, and now this singular object that had plummeted into the turbulent wet of the Tiber River, directly off the bring of the rivers circumstantial island, Isola Tiberina.Ever since the island had been used to quarantine the sick during the Roman abuse of A.D. 1656, it had been thought to have mystic heal properties. For this reason, the island had later give out the set for Romes hospital Tiberina.The body was battered when they pulled it onto shore. The man still had a faint pulse, which was amazing, they thought. They wondered if it was Isola Tiberinas mythological report card for mend that had in some way unbroken his heart pumping. legal proceeding later, when the man began expectorate and easily regained consciousness, the group fixed the island must indeed be magical.