Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Archaeology - Essay Example kler believes that for a creature to grow culture to a point that it can devise its way of life seems to offer freedom, but that freedom is a trap, and that freedom for any existing society is anarchy in a cooperative system of these societies. Anarchy — exceptional in the life history - makes inevitable a power struggle amongst societies. This perpetual competition, together with open-ended cultural innovation possibilities, inevitably drives social evolution towards an unchosen direction, according to the author: ways of life which do not confer adequate power, regardless of how civilized intrinsically, are eradicated, while the power ways are relentlessly spread throughout the system (Schmookler, 93). The author says that he experienced the vision containing his idea 1970, and the book developing the vision got published in 1984. In between those years, he asserts that he had conducted research in the many diverse relevant study areas to check out the main thesis and the various subordinate hypotheses that forms the components of the general theoretical edifice. Schmookler relies on schematically nursed parable to lay down his argument: how one aggressive tribe among an otherwise peaceful group can force the spread of power, civilization and involuntary cultural evolution. The author offers the reader with a model that makes his / her predicament comprehensible, and that is what makes the book important. It supplies pieces missing from a great puzzle (Schmookler, 83). While human well-being could be incidental to one foremost social- evolutionary force, there remains room for human ambition to dictate the other part of the evolution story. I therefore argue that not that Schmookler’s work has been the only force directing civilization evolution but only that it stands out as an extremely important factor. Civilization evolution can be seen as a dialectic between the organized selection for power and human striving for a civilized world, between the

The poor relation Essay Example for Free

The poor relation Essay The stories that I have read both have dreams. Both of the stories have dreams that are virtually impossible to achieve. Although the dreams in the book are set in very different times and are very different to each other, they are suitable for that period of time. Both the authors show that dreams are always present everywhere no matter where they are and when they take place. Both of the authors write from there own past experience, one way or another. George and Lenniei s dream is to liv of the fata the lani. This means that they dream to buy their own land and be there own boss and work there every day. They also want to be fed from there and Lennie wants to tendi his rabbits. As soon as candy finds out that George and Lennie have a dream, Candy buysi in to it by offering all his savings. Lennie and George are outcasts and exiles, the reason for this is for the fact that they are itinerant workers and they always work together and go everywhere with each other. This makes them outcasts because they always go everywhere together where as compare to other people at that moment in time every one went on their own. Michaeli s reality is common and typical. There is nothing fascinating in his life apart from his nephew little Frank. Michael is unemployed and searches for work virtually everyday and he lives on his own. His family sees him as a failure in life. Michael doesni t see himself in that way. In Michaeli s dream he see himself as a rich and a wealthy person whose son like friend little frank is the most important thing to him. Michaeli s dream also comprises a castle in the air, which he possesses and is very proud to have. His dream is about caring for little Frank and being cherished in the society. George and Lenniei s dream farmi is a version of the American dream. All American people dreamt this dream. The dream farmi represents ambition and the possibility of escape from the itinerant workeri s loneliness and poverty. Georgei s vision is an example of the second kind of unhappy vision, when he sees his future as unending, aimless drifting: Ii ll take my fifty bucks ani Ii ll stay all night in some lousy cat house. Or Ii ll set in some pool-room till everi body goes homei i. In the sub-text of The Poor Relationi , Dickens is commenting on the Victorian society. Dickens is trying to say that in Victorian times it was hard to get respected. The most imperative quality at that time was being rich and being a businessman. Dickens is also saying that even if you are respected and are gracious you wont have as much associates as a person who is rich and a businessman. Money was the source to everything at that time, together with friendship. What the America people didni t understand was the fact that the American dream was the American nightmarei. Thati s because only a limited number of Americans could achieve this dream and the rest would just have it as a wish. Everyone could not achieve this dream because all and sundry cannot be there own bossi s as this would lead to an economic collapse. This is why iti s described as the American nightmarei Both authors set their stories in there own times so they can comment upon it. They didni t write stories that were either in the future or the past. They established their stories on reality. Writing in the present increased the number of audiences for the book at that time. The reason for that is because the audience can see themselves fit in to those circumstances. Consequently they would prefer this rather then something that doesni t match their circumstances. The narrative structure used by each writer is very different. Stienbeck has made a play-type of structure. Thati s because at the start of every chapter he describes the setting first and then starts the story. This is completely different to the way that Charles Dickens writes. Charles Dickens uses a frame story containing two inner stories, which are told by Michael. In my opinion this is an arduous way of writing compare to that of Stienbecki s method. The kind of language that the writeri s use is completely different to each other but are both appropriate to the time they wrote in. Stienbeck uses a colloquial style with swear words and slang to add realism to his characters and situation. Like when George says If that crazy bastards foolini around i this style of language was everyday language in that time. The language that Dickens uses is very sophisticated and ornate style; this was appropriate to his literate age. The reason for that is because in that time people tried to gain respect and loyalty so therefore they had to use posh style language. Stienbeck and Dickens both use imagery but Stienbeck uses a lot of imagery compare to Dickens. The only important imagery that Dickens uses is that of the Castle of the Airi imagery, whereas Stienbeck uses a lot of imageries like in the first section of the book he says i On the sand-banks the rabbits sat quietly as little grey, sculptured stonei. Another imagery that he uses is i A big carp rose to the surface of the pool, gulped air, and then sank mysteriously in to the dark water againi i Stienbeck uses a lot of different types of imagery where as Dickens uses a limited amount. Both of the authors are trying to state the fact that dreams doni t always come true. The society denies it one way or another. Michaeli s dream is impossible to achieve simply because a castle in the air is impossible to construct, but the atmosphere that he wishes to have is possible to have which is that he wants people to care and have admiration for him. George and Lenniei s dream is destroyed by the society, people who were in the bunkhouse. Their dream is destroyed by the society because Lenniei s mistake which led to his own death. This was very misfortunate for George and Lenniei s dream. Although the storyline of both of the books are different, the point that they are trying to make is very analogous to each other which is that dreams can be denied be society. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

The New Deal And Reagan :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The New Deal provided motivation for governmental action for fifty years. The material conditions of the nation could be cast into the frame of the New Deal and would motivate public action to address them. The way that they were addressed was framed by the New Deal's notion that the dispossessed of society were dispossessed because of the irresponsible actions of those at the top of the American economy. Government would become their representative in addressing the failures of capitalist leadership to protect the common man and woman. Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the New Deal, which consisted of the Workers Progress Administration, and Social Security among several other programs. At the time, conservative critics charged it was bringing a form of socialism into the capitalistic American system. Conservatives sustained this argument until the 1980's when President Reagan actions brought conservative economic beliefs into fruition. Ronald Reagan was to succee d in defusing the political power of the New Deal motive. In doing so, he managed the public/private line, moving many concerns back to being private concerns that the New Deal form had seen as public matters. Reagan was to accomplish this by substituting another motive that replaced the faith of Roosevelt with the faith of Reagan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the programs, which the New Deal instituted, was the Workers Progress Administration. The stated purpose of the Workers Progress Administration was to provide useful work for millions of victims of the Great Depression and thus to preserve their skills and self-respect. The economy would in turn be stimulated by the increased purchasing power of the newly employed, whose wages under the program ranged from $15 to $90 per month. Although this administration lasted only 8 years it gave the understanding that a middle class American society would have to commence, for the economy to operate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The assistance, which was given to workers during the New Deal, was to be eroded by the Reagan administration. Reagan's economic policies towards middle to lower class workers recognized the economic imbalance of American society as a problem, which could not be solved by so called subordination of the American taxpayer. The implication of this was that the government would not subsidize, using taxpayer money, administrations and programs that were similar to those of the New Deal. One can derive this conclusion by looking at Reagan's policy towards cutting unemployment insurance and his hesitation towards raising the minimum wage.

Bonus Reflection Paper on the Kawakami Paper

Bonus Reflection Paper on the Kawakami Paper and Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study Ella Price In Kerry Kawakami’s paper â€Å"Mispredicting Affective and Behavioural Response to Racism† the paradox of remarking upon how strongly overt prejudice is condemned within modern society and the acts of why blatant racism still frequency occurs were scientifically examined (Kawakami, K. , Dunn, E. , Karmali, F. , & Dovidio, F, D. , 2009).The results of this study were truly astonishing, yet frightening as the differences between predicted responses and actual responses to racist behaviour was investigated. Given either two settings of a private or public environment, groups of non- black participants were used to basically illustrate the average racism theory, which states that individuals today who embrace egalitarian beliefs may continue to harbour nonconscious negative feelings towards outgroups, in this case, blacks (Kawakami et al. , 2009).Groups were given a scenari o to predict or literally physically show how they would feel and behave and how they actually feel and behave upon hearing a racist comment. Participants in the role of the forecaster had time to recognize the social demands dictated by widespread egalitarian norm, and therefore responded in ways they believed were socially acceptable rather than according to their true inclinations (Kawakami et al. , 2009). On the contrary, actual responses were perceived to be based on spontaneous more unconscious attitudes.As a result, Kawakami concluded that despite current egalitarian cultural norms, one reason why reason and discrimination remain so prevalent in society may be that when people are literally within a scenario of overt racist acts, they do not respond in the way they anticipated in terms of egalitarian norms, which promotes prejudice and racism to continue (Kawakami et al. , 2009). This study was very interesting and reflective of bizarre yet sickening modern social drawbacks. This study draws a parallel to Stanley Milgram’s Obedience study to authority figures.It was a series of social psychology experiments which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure of the experimenter who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal egalitarian conscience (Cherry, 2010). These experiments commenced subsequently after World War II, when people had a difficult time trying to understand how a whole country can come together in such an atrocious fashion. Milgram asked himself, â€Å"Was there a mutual sense of morality among those involved? † (Cherry, 2010).Milgram's testing suggested that it could have been that the millions of accomplices were merely following orders, despite violating their deepest moral beliefs (Cherry, 2010). How violent can a person choose to be under the influence of an authority figure or in Kawakawi’s study, despite the social demands of egalitarian cultural norms, w hen and how much will people choose to slack in their response to overt acts of racism, whether it is because of feelings of guilt, embarrassment or genuine racism(Kawakami et al. , 2009).The majority of today’s prejudice studies branched off from after WWII, to explore the human psyche and to understand and prevent racism, prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination from taking such a deep fierce hold on society (Cherry, 2010). Initially, the first minority of studies that forked off from this era, began to point fingering directly at Germans, labelling them as inherently evil people, prone to racism, discrimination and prejudice, but as the field of social psychology and prejudice research progressed we began to better understand an individual’s psych for better and for worst (Cherry, 2010).Psychologist has discovered the dilemma of the human mind and its unstable frightening truth: We are not as nice as we would like to anticipate. In Stanley Milgram’s experim ent on obedience people would act in response to an authority figure, the experimenter, who would ask them to do something which seemed inherently immoral (Cherry, 2010). Despondently, it was discovered that the powers of obedience by an authoritarian often ensnared, restrained and imprisoned common sense and humanity.Similarly the study conducted by Kawakami, tell us that although we would like to believe that when someone did something wrong we would stand up for justice and morality but unfortunately, those who do stand up appear to be the statistical inconsistencies (Kawakami et al. , 2009). References Kawakami, K. , Dunn, E. , Karmali, F. , & Dovidio, F, D. (2009). Mispredicting affective and behavioural responses to racism. Journal of Science, 323, 276-278. Cherry, K. (2010). The Milgram Obedience Experiment: The Perils of Obedience. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from http://psychology. about. com/od/historyofpsychology /a/milgram. htm

Health Promotion Essay

This essay will begin by discussing the different definitions of health that have been put forward, and will also discuss the necessity of health promoters to be able to understand why there are differing definitions of health and the importance of the difference in our understanding of what health means to the individual. There have been many definitions of health, which include phrases such as ‘absence of disease’, and ‘ability to cope’. The World Health Organisation (WHO) (1946) gave its definition of health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. However, it is very difficult to define health due to its complexity and broadness. Health and well-being can be described as the absence of physical illness, disease and mental distress. This is a negative definition of health and well-being, as it is impossible for a person to free from illness or disease. Health and well-being can also be described as the achievement and maintenance of physical fitness and mental stability. This is a positive definition of health and well-being or health and well-being as being a result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors. Stimson and Webb (1975) carried out research which suggested that people have their own private comments on their own ill health, compared to what they chose to tell their doctors. The research indicated that people did not always believe or accept the medical explanation given for their illness. The study suggests people hold their own views and hold their own explanations for ill health. (Doyal. L. at el. (1991) A Theory of Human Need. London. Macmillan) Health promoters have to collect a significant amount of information before they can put out a campaign on a particular disease. They have to look at health models and their approaches and even statistical information from CENSUS reports, death certificates, survey’s, and even General Practitioner (GP) records and so on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health promotion as ‘enabling people to gain control over their lives’ (WHO 1986). There are four approaches to take in to consideration before putting together a health promotion campaign, and they are: The medical approach: this focuses on activity which aims to reduce morbidity and premature morbidity. Activity is targeted towards whole populations of high-risk groups. This kind of health promotion seeks to increase medical interventions which will prevent ill health and premature death. The medical approach is conceptualised around the absence of disease. It does not seek to promote positive health, for example ‘Smoking advertisement’, smoking adverts only advertise damage the body will develop through regular inhalation of tobacco. This kind of promotion can be criticised for ignoring the social and environmental dimensions of health. In addition, the medical approach encourages dependency on medical knowledge and removes health decisions from people concerned. The medical approach also relies on having an infrastructure capable of delivering screening or an immunisation programme. This includes trained personnel, equipment, laboratory facilities, and information systems which determine who is eligible for the procedure and record uptake rates. And in the case of immunisation, a vaccine which is effective and safe. The educational approach: the purpose of this approach is to provide knowledge and information, and to develop the necessary skills so that people can make their own informed choice regarding their health behaviour. The educational approach should be distinguished from a behaviour change approach, and that it does not set out to persuade or motivate change in a particular direction. However, this will be the service user’s voluntary choice, and it may not be the one the health promoter would prefer. The educational approach is based on a set of assumptions about the relationship between knowledge and behaviour: that by increasing knowledge, there will be a change in attitudes which may lead to a change in behaviour towards a healthier lifestyle. To provide educational information to clients regarding health and well-being, provisions would have to be put in place, through the following resources: leaflets, booklets, visual displays or one-to-one advice with their own GP. By providing these sources this may provide opportunities for people to share and explore their own attitudes towards health education. Empowerment: This approach helps people to identify their own concerns and gain the skills and confidence and for the person to act upon them. Social change: this approach recognises the importance of social-economic environment’s in determining health. Its focus is at the policy or environmental level, and the aim is to bring about changes in the physical, social and economic environment which will have the effect of promoting health. This approach will also look at social class, the promoter will take in to consideration people’s gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, working, unemployed and so on. Basically the social approach will look at theories that are linked to social class and determine whether or not, that poverty and low social class are the reasons for high mortality rates linked to a specific disease. This is when the promoter will now go away and put together his/her campaign. The Acheson Report (1998) shows that there is an existence of health inequalities and their association to social class, in this report there is data, even though there is a down fall in mortality, the superior classes take in to account more rapid mortality deterioration. Also The Black Report (1980) shows that there are higher levels of poverty in the lower class and higher death rates due to ill health, the higher social class live in a more advanced area which is much more suitable for living conditions, but in contrast to that, people who live in a higher class seem to live in the centre of a city which is much more prone to pollution. LO2 Whether we come from poverty, working class or a higher class background, there are many health influences all around us, for example the environment we live in can influence our health; for instance, living with a partner who is controlling can impact on the stability of mental health, living in a city centre can influence poor health due to pollution (inhalation of fumes from motor vehicles and fuel plants). Although living in a higher class society can have a positive effect on better healthcare, there are still factors of negative influences on health and well-being. Smoking, eating the wrong types of food, lack of exercise, no socialisation, alcohol, misuse of drugs, all these things can have an enormous negative effect on our health and well-being. However eating the correct foods (5 ADAY) and consuming the correct portion size as well as combining at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day can have a great deal of positive’s upon our lifestyle. For instance exercise is good for the brain as well as the body. According to NHS Choices (2013) ‘by eating five portions of fruit or vegetables and just 30 minutes of activity a day, will increase the secretion of Serotonin within our brains’. Serotonin is a hormone found in the brain, it influences our mood, sexual function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behaviour. So we could say the more Serotonin we produce the healthier the brain becomes, which results in a happier you. LO3 For the third and final part of this essay I am going to talk about the political side of health promotion within the UK and take a look across the globe at other parts of the world. Health Promotion is everywhere we look, especially in the media. We see it every day in the news whether it be on the television or in the newspapers. Health Promoters plan and develop ways to help people to change their eating and exercise habits to improve their way of life. There are lots of Health Promoters today that campaign against unhealthy living. Health Promoters give you guidance to a healthier lifestyle whether it is help with eating habits, smoking, alcohol intake, oral health, physical activity and mental health. Each and every one of us will indulge ourselves in to a habit and put ourselves at risk of chronic diseases at some point in our lives. According to Dr Robert Beaglehole (2011) â€Å"The real tragedy is that more hasn’t been done to avoid this epidemic, as overweight and obesity, and their related chronic diseases, are largely preventable†. Approximately 80% of heart disease, stroke, type 2 Diabetes, and 40% of cancer could be avoided through healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoidance of tobacco use. † This is why Health Promotional campaigns are important, as it gives us a better outlook on life and can also expand our lives too (Huffington Post) 2011. Health promotion is an important element of the government’s health agenda. On forming a new government, the new labour set public health policies in line with its health agenda. Out of this rose a new white paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, which sets ambitious targets for life expectancy to be increased, and inequalities in health to be reduced. The Labour Government plan to achieve this through its public health policy in a â€Å"third way† (Connelly 1999). ‘Labour’s policies are aimed at strengthening communities, and encouraging individuals to seize opportunities and take responsibility for their action’. The Government hopes to improve the health of individuals by reducing health inequalities through health promotion. By doing so the Government will look at a range of different sources of information before they decide the need of a health promotion campaign. The Government have their own facilities to obtain information such as up to date statistical evidence via the website www. direct. gov/statistics . They can also obtain information from Registry Offices, such as marriage certificates, death certificates and birth certificates. By doing so, the Government will acquire accurate results to continue lobbying the new health promotion campaign needed to address the UK to improve quality of life. Before the campaign can be given the go ahead to become a final document, the Government have to look for ethical errors. For instance is the health promotion campaign fair to all people who are involved, meaning, does the campaign aim its information at all service users or is it aimed at a particular generation, gender, culture and so on. For a health care promotion to be respected it has to be aimed at everyone regardless of the persons background. By involving all service users, promoters can eliminate discrimination and visually display that equality and diversity are no longer an issue within our society especially in the health care sector.

History of Poland as an Independent Nation essays

History of Poland as an Independent Nation essays The History Of Poland As An Independent Nation Poland is a land of beautiful countryside and rapidly growing cities. Along with the colorful landscape, Poland also has a very colorful history. The 1795 partition of Poland among Russia, Prussia, and Austria wiped the nation from the map. Poland was controlled by Russia, Austria, and Germany, but after World War I Poland was an independent nation. In 1906 Josef Pilsudski, the founder of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), set up organizations that attacked Tzarist officials and raided offices. In Galicia, the Austrian authorities turned a blind eye to the setting up of sporting clubs. They were followed by a Riflemens Union. In 1912, Pilsudski reorganized these on military lines, and by 1914 there were 12,000 men under arms. When World War I broke out, the Polish people were divided into the armies of Germany, Austria, and Russia. They were forced to fight among themselves in a war that was not theirs. Poles sympathized for France and Austria but did not like fighting with them on the Russians side. They also had little sympathy for the Germans. Pilsudki thought of Russia as the greater enemy and formed Polish Legions to fight independently for Austria. Some Galician Poles went to fight the Italians when they entered the war in 1915, preventing any clash of conscience. The Russians were driven out of most of Poland by 1915. The next year, Germany and Austria established a small Polish kingdom under their protection. Most of the fighting in the East took place in Poland. The Tzarist regime in Russia collapsed in 1917. The Poles main purpose for fighting with The Central Powers (Germany and Austria) disappeared. Germany and Austria promised Poland independence, but they were slow in carrying out their promise. Pilsudskis Legions were required to swear allegiance to Germany but refused to do it. Because of this, Pilsudskis wa...

Spanish-American War Essay Example

Spanish Spanish-American War Paper Spanish-American War Paper The Spanish-American War was a relatively short war, it lasted less than four months. Aggressions took place between April 25 and August 12, 1898. The United States fought Spain in and around the Spanish colonial possessions of Cuba and the Philippines. The United States had deep historical and emotional reasons to support the cause of Cuban Independence. The Spanish-American War marked the beginning of the United States rise as a leading military power. The United States Navy defeated the Spanish in both the Cuban theater and in the Philippines. The Spanish General during this war was Valeriano Butcher Weyler y Nicolau. Weyler aroused great indignation in the United States because of his ruthlessness. Weyler was responsible for the death of thousands of Cuban peasants. The peasants died of starvation and disease in concentration camps after being placed there by General Weyler and his troops. The Cubans fought to gain independence from Spain after suffering under oppressive Spanish rule and failure of the Spanish to grant promised reforms. The Spanish government sent over 100 thousand troops to Cuba in an attempt to put an end to the rebellion. It was at this time that General Butcher Weyler went Cuba and began his concentration camps. Because of General Weylers unpopularity in the United States the Spanish government removed him from Cuba. The Cubans continued to fight for independence. The United States sent a battleship, the USS Maine, to Cuba to protect U.S. citizens and property on the island. The Maine was destroyed in the Havana Harbor by an underwater explosion some believed to be a Spanish torpedo. Two hundred and sixty-six American soldiers were killed in the explosion. The loss of the Maine provoked many Americans to support war against Spain. President McKinley was against a declaration of war, but eventually was persuaded to follow the de!The United States se

3 Problems with In-Line Lists

3 Problems with In-Line Lists 3 Problems with In-Line Lists 3 Problems with In-Line Lists By Mark Nichol An in-line list, one located within a sentence rather than formatted vertically below an explanatory phrase, sentence, or paragraph, may present an obstacle to comprehension in the following ways. Each sentence represents a different type of error, and the discussion that follows each statement explains the problem and a revision resolves it. 1. Organizations must notify affected individuals of a data breach when a reasonable person would conclude that the unauthorized access to, disclosure or loss of the information would be likely to result in serious harm to the individual or individuals.   In this sentence, there should be three distinct phrases consisting of a noun followed by a preposition, but disclosure is bereft of the latter; either allow it to share one, or give it its own: â€Å"Organizations must notify affected individuals of a data breach when a reasonable person would conclude that the unauthorized access to or disclosure or loss of the information would be likely to result in serious harm to the individual or individuals†Ã‚  or â€Å"Organizations must notify affected individuals of a data breach when a reasonable person would conclude that the unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or loss of the information would be likely to result in serious harm to the individual or individuals.†Ã‚   2. Typically, the best companies: are customer-focused; understand their value proposition; develop powerful and distinctive messaging; and listen well and act to improve their processes, products, and customer experience continuously. No colon or other punctuation mark is necessarily to signal that an in-line list follows the subject of the sentence; it is redundant to the verb(s) it precedes: â€Å"Typically, the best companies are customer-focused; understand their value proposition; develop powerful and distinctive messaging; and listen well and act to improve their processes, products, and customer experience continuously.† This is true as well for vertical lists, unless the introductory wording constitutes an independent clause- compare â€Å"Typically, the best companies [vertical list follows]† and â€Å"Typically, the best companies demonstrate the following qualities: [vertical list follows].† Note, too, that with the latter format, the list items would have to be revised to be complete sentences or to not begin with a verb. 3. Its long list of supporters includes Kobe Bryant, swimmer Janet Evans, Venus and Serena Williams and other sports royalty. When the style a publication adheres to calls for omitting the serial comma in simple lists (â€Å"a, b and c†), the serial comma must still be employed on occasion to clarify organization when a compound list item occurs: â€Å"Its long list of supporters includes Kobe Bryant, swimmer Janet Evans, Venus and Serena Williams, and other sports royalty.† (This rule applies for list forms â€Å"a and b, c, and d,† â€Å"a, b and c, and d,† or â€Å"a, b, and c and d,† as well as â€Å"a and b, c and d, and e† and so on.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)16 Misquoted QuotationsKn- Words in English

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy - Essay Example The defense mechanisms have been constructed by the Freudian psychoanalytical approach. They were developed to aid in the explanation of person’s responses to anxiety (Myers, 2001). They have been evolved from their original background to help enlighten being’s coping styles. Individuals are not aware of the operations taking in the mind; therefore they are unconscious. Each individual uses a different set of defense mechanism so they are also individualized. Lastly, every individual makes use of them so they are thought to be normal. But if the use of the defense mechanisms becomes exaggerated than clinical interest arises. The defense mechanism of sublimation is utilized when intentions are either violent or sexual showing the psychoanalytic aspects of thanatos and libido. They are transmitted towards non-instinctual course. For example, aggressive temperament may be transmitted towards a more acceptable structure of games. Regression takes place when an earlier developmental stage reappears for the coping behaviors (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). For example, throwing a tantrum or crying may be used to deal with a tense experience. These behaviors are usually unacceptable for adults. Repression is focal point psychoanalytical approach. It is used when there is a very high anxiety deep in the unconscious and which does not affect the activities in the conscious. Items which are repressed may however, become apparent themselves in slips of the tongue or dreams. They are mostly not present for recall. Instead, it may appear later, unexpectedly (Barlow & Durand, 2002). For example, there was a time when I tried to recall the Independence days I had ten years ago but failed to do so. But, a few weeks later, they suddenly hit me while taking a shower. The thought had been repressed because I had been into a major family dispute. The defense mechanism reaction formation is unconsciously

Composition and Inverse Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Composition and Inverse - Speech or Presentation Example about a store in their place which sells different kinds of pizzas according to the topped components where each pizza contains three different toppings. Besides the cheese and the pepper which is optionally put on crust, the three toppings of one pizza are completely distinct from those of the other, so that every time a customer orders a number of pizzas, the total number of toppings T added may be obtained as 3P where P stands for the number of pizzas bought. The storeowner allows a customer to have two separate toppings of choice for the first pizza in addition to the three originally present. Moreover, functions create a great deal of advantage in business problems which involve making investments where two variables are assigned to refer to separate amounts or two kinds of investment at different rates of interest. Function may be used as well in relating costs to number of units purchased and fixed cost as in C(x) = 5x + 7 in dollars, where 7 is the fixed value and 5 is the rate at which cost changes per unit depending on ‘x’. This way, it would be conducive for one to keep track of sales and profits generated since there exists a cost function that is associated to revenue (Waner, 2006). Mixture and rate problems can be worked out once details are set up as function or system of functions in linear and non-linear forms. It also becomes significant to understand how temperature conversion works such as between Celsius and Fahrenheit through  °F = 1.8 °C + 32 where temperature in  °C appears to be a function of temperature in

Research proposal LBSRE2002 Research Methods for Business Literature review

Research proposal LBSRE2002 Research Methods for Business - Literature review Example This study will venture to assess the qualifications of three candidates for branch manager in a new office being set up in UK Company using the 360-degree feedback. Specifically, the following research questions will be addressed: 1. What is the profile of the three candidates in terms of the variables: gender, age, civil status, educational attainment, and experience as manager? 2. What is the profile of the raters in terms of the variables: gender, age, civil status, educational attainment, position, and years of service with the company? 3. What is the level of qualification of each candidate in each of the following behavioural areas of management: leading change, leading people, results-driven characteristics, business acumen, and building coalitions / communications? 4. Are there significant differences in the assessment of the manager qualifications in each area of the three candidates when the respondents are grouped according to each profile variable? 5. Is there a signific ant difference in the assessment of the manager qualifications among the three candidates? 6. Did the personal rating of each candidate significantly differ with the overall assessment of the raters? 7. What are the greatest strengths and weaknesses of each candidate? 2.0. Justification for Research Topic and Background (300) The primary justification for the research topic are the emerging issues in the UK company where management believes that they do not have sufficient evidence to come up with a sound judgment regarding the choice for the best candidate. To further confound their woes, a meeting among top level management and the middle level managers ended in a deadlock as to which candidate is best qualified to take the helm as manager of the new branch office being set up within a year’s time. A look at each candidate’s profile and track record in the company showed that the candidates’ qualifications are comparable. Top management believes that candidate s 1 or 3 would be an ideal choice, whereas the middle managers thought that candidate 2 will be the best choice. Top level management is, however, honest enough to admit that they based their nod for candidate 1 or 3 on gut feel. Middle managers confessed that they do not really know candidate 2 very well, but have experienced several altercations with both candidates 1 and 3 on separate instances. Hence, their choice for candidate 2 might have been somehow affected by bias against the other two. Being known to be a business student, one top level manager requested this researcher for some suggestions regarding the aforementioned issues. Without hesitation, and driven by the fact that the new branch office entail management development, 360-degree feedback was the first thing that crossed this researcher’s mind. The suggestion was well-taken and this researcher was asked to help in the conduct of the procedure. The researcher obliged to accept the challenge as an opportunity to put to use a concept learned in business school and to assist a friend who is immersed in the industry. This researcher lost no time in gathering preliminary information. It was learned that the three candidates currently hold middle manager positions in three departments with a comparable number of subordinates, but candidate three handles more employees in the supervisory positions. All three candidates usually deal with many of the company’

Amended Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Assignment

Amended Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Assignment Example The New England Journal of Medicine published a survey study conducted by Dr. David Eisenberg, of Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, which showed that 85 million Americans are using alternative methods for their health care needs, most of which is not covered by their insurance, and furthermore, the number of times they used alternative medicine practitioners was considerably more than the number of times they used allopathic doctors (Eisenberg, Kesler, Foster, Norlock, Calkins, & Delbanco, 1993). Why isn’t the new health reform program taking this preference into account? Exploring who the 8% uninsured will be, I am led to understand that Native Americans, people with financial hardship, and those with religious objections make up at least part of this group, and that everyone else will be required to have insurance or they will be fined, and the fines are fairly high (Galwitz, 2010).

The Entertainer by Scott Joplin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Entertainer by Scott Joplin - Essay Example He played with a group of minstrels before he settled down in St.Louis in 1890.He played in the Chicago World Fair in 1893. The railroad crash at Waco in 1893, inspired his composition "The great crash collision" Scott's life was not a bed of roses, he contracted syphilis from which he died in 1917. His long ill health affected his work. His African-American heritage had a great influence on his music.. Early influence on Scott was that of his musical family-Scott's mother payed the banjo and sang, while his father played the violin .His mother bought him a piano from the money she earned by cleaning houses Her influence can be seen in his early composition "Treemonisha" published in 1911. He was given free piano lessons by Julius Weiss, a German music teacher., whose influence on Scott's music was significant. Weiss taught him the intricacies of classical music form. His early training in classical music instilled a love for the classical form in Joplin, which is evidenced in his classic rags .Joplin made use of Afro-American folk music tradition in his rags. Ragtime music gets its name from the 'ragged rhythm' it uses. Having been composed mainly for the piano, "The Entertainer" is primarily in C major. In the "B" section, the melody is played on a higher octave. Its texture is homophonic, with a single melody The music is strongly tonal, with many sections of the music ending on a tonic chord. Although the rhythms and pitches are influenced by the African-American folk music traditions, the music has a definitely European - American form. Tempo is another aspect of Joplin's music. Joplin wrote instructions on his music not to play it at too fast a tempo, which would ruin the music. The Entertainer" is now considered one of the top ten songs of the 20th century.. Art Appreciation- Music and the Performing Arts Performing and Visual Arts - a descriptive essay Performing and Visual Arts . Each form of art like painting, music, dance or theater has evolved in its own way in different countries of the world, and each has its own characteristics. The arts, like painting, theater, dance and music ,have a wide range of techniques of expression. Painting has evolved from our primeval visual heritage Painting helps the painter to express the joy, enchantment and wonder he feels for the visual phenomena of the outside world, by using colors and drawing to express his ideas Paintings can be naturalistic, abstract or symbolic. Among the many techniques of painting, oil painting, pastels and Oil pastel, watercolor and acrylic painting are the most popular. While landscapes and still life painting are usually naturalistic, medieval painting was dominated by religious motifs Although different schools of painting use different ways of expression, there are some elements which are common to all types of painting. The basic elements of painting are shape, line, texture, tone and color. According to Peter Owen, "Most paintings, whatever their style and subject, and however many other aspects they may offer us, can be appreciated as patterns of shapes defined on the picture surface."(Owen . p1) Since the painter can communicate his ideas to the viewer only as a two- dimensional, immobile and

Amended Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Assignment

Amended Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Assignment Example The New England Journal of Medicine published a survey study conducted by Dr. David Eisenberg, of Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, which showed that 85 million Americans are using alternative methods for their health care needs, most of which is not covered by their insurance, and furthermore, the number of times they used alternative medicine practitioners was considerably more than the number of times they used allopathic doctors (Eisenberg, Kesler, Foster, Norlock, Calkins, & Delbanco, 1993). Why isn’t the new health reform program taking this preference into account? Exploring who the 8% uninsured will be, I am led to understand that Native Americans, people with financial hardship, and those with religious objections make up at least part of this group, and that everyone else will be required to have insurance or they will be fined, and the fines are fairly high (Galwitz, 2010).

Discussion Board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Discussion Board - Assignment Example By investigating and considering the diets of a suspect, psychiatrists, who always help establish the mental stability of suspects, readily establish the motives of the suspects thereby influence the entire judicial process. The phrase â€Å"Twinkie defense† portrays the importance of behavior analysis in court cases. In the trial of Dan White, a former police officer in San Francisco in 1979, the psychiatrist observe that the police officer killed the two victims involuntarily an was suffering from depression. Such determinations arose from the fact that White fed on junks a feature that portrayed his emotional and mental instability. The junks were therefore a symptom of the suspect’s psychological stability. The explanation changed the justice system as the judge later fund White guilty of manslaughter but not murder (Weiss, 2010). Briefly, observing diets among other external factors is vital process of psychoanalysis that helps determine the mental stability of people. In judicial processes, such observations are important since they prove the motives of the various actions. Observing such features is therefore vital inclusion in court proceedings that influence the effectiveness of the entire

Coptic Christians Essay Example for Free

Coptic Christians Essay As one of the most dominant sources of primary readership in the world newspapers have a great deal of power over what their recipients read and believe; with this being the case it is no surprise that it is the editorial standpoint of the articles presented in your local newspaper that dictate how you feel about particular subjects, especially those of international appeal, not unlike the varying views of the recent pig culls in Egypt. With tensions in the area high and ready to boil over the Egyptian government has started a controversial pig cull that has left outside nations confused and poverty stricken pig farmers throwing stones. After having learned some very hard lessons with mad cow disease and bird flu fatalities, the Egyptian government began the cull to prevent the infestation of swine flu and it has since been deemed a general health measure of great concern and unending debate. People consider newspaper articles to be almost as valid a source as a first-hand account, often viewing news reports as individuals writing â€Å"live† from the location of the story as if a part of the incident taking place; it is never taken into account the fact that a great deal of newsprint stories are taken down from the Associated Press and reported in the way that the writer and editors of newspaper should see fit. Thus, with the story being reported and relayed differently the perceptions of readers in France, America, the United Kingdom and various other parts of the world are likely to be very different when it comes to stories like this one. Although the story has been reported all over the world, the only way to get the mixings of the real story with all of its elements would be to include the information obtained in every newspaper that has covered the story, or to at least take representative samples from varying parts of the world like what has been done here. Where one country may report predominantly on the religious aspects of the dispute another country may focus more on money and another on class, so in order to get the full story you must put together the pieces that you receive from the sources you review. In presenting information like the fact that the World Health Organization reports that the swine flu outbreak was spread through a person-to-person system of transmission and that in none of the more than 700 cases reported worldwide was there believed to be any animal-to-person transmission, nor were there any fatalities or serious cases reported outside of Mexico it is clear that BBC News is attempting to portray the views and understandings of various international organizations like the United Nations and their World Health Organization. This newspaper is attempting to present how the issue is being perceived by international health officials. BBC News also spent a great deal more time presenting the religious argument than on the monetary aspects and the class issues over the controversy of physical disputes. They reported that most people living in Cairo are Muslim, so it is the belief of the pig farmers, as Coptic Christians, that the pig cull is a personal attack on them as a direct insult against their chosen faith. With Muslims having taken a vow against pork, the pig farming and consumption that takes place in Egypt is enacted by its Coptic Christian minority, which constitutes only about 10% of the Egyptian population. BBC News is trying to make clear here that the Coptic Christians are being unfairly targeted as the lower class minority, an element not very well touched on in some of the other periodicals.

Cable Tvs Impact In Their Academic Performance Media Essay

Cable Tvs Impact In Their Academic Performance Media Essay Abstract World has become global village due to rapid development in media, especially in electronic media. Cable TV plays pivotal role in giving educational facilities and spreading information in our society. It has both positive and negative impact on students performance. The main objective of the present study will be to study the perception of the students regarding impact of cable TV in their extracurricular activities. The universe of the present study will be city D.G Khan. Multistage sampling technique will be used for the selection of 120 respondents. There are five sub campuses of universities working in D G Khan. At the first stage, two out of five will be selected through simple random sampling technique. At the second stage 60 students will be selected randomly from each sub campus. The selected students will be interviewed by the well structured questionnaire and the data will be analyzed through appropriate statistical technique. The obtained results would be utilized for the recommendation that will increase the credibility of students. Television is result of technical development of early twenty century. Today, Cable TV has reached in almost every house. International TV channels are available 24 hours which is affecting the attitude and the life style of majority of the people, especially children. The impact of cable TV on students and children is both negative and positive. It depends on the selection of channel and the time spends for watching Cable TV. Cable TV plays role in giving education, entertainment and awareness, students and children are more concerned with the entertainment. Thats why they think that cable TV is an effective medium of entertainment. It gives cultural awareness, leadership ability, and communication skills, but students are used to spending time on watching entertainment programmes instead of watching educational channel when they want to escape from studies (Henning, 2006). In todays life cable TV has gained lot of importance. It is serving as a main source of entertainment. People not only watching it in spare time instead they save time from their busy life for it. Beside it, Cable TV has an impact in the development of the psychological feature of personalities. The programmes of foreign countries on cable TV depict their own way of life and culture through the transmission of programmes on cable TV. Culture of different societies is being diffused within the societies (Nisar, 2002). Electronic media has power to influence human mind, especially it effects the mind of children because foreign channels depict their own cultures, on the protest of providing entertainment, seek to confuse, subvert and change the social values of the younger generations in foreign lands (Sheher, 2003). Cable TV is working as a source of spreading information, education and entertainment. Our social, political and economically issues are also highlighted and people are motivated to actively participate in solving the social problems effectively (Nisar, 2002). Importance of the Study Dera Ghazi khan is much developing and remote in physical infrastructure but educationally it attained a better position especially its Tehsil Taunsa, has a prominent literacy ratio in the district as well as in the province. Presently attraction for Cable T.V is increasing day by day and many networks are working efficiently to defuse knowledge, skill, culture of different nations and countries in all parts of our country and Dera Ghazi Khan is also include in this walk. It has both positive and negative impact especially on students. Thus the present study has been design to investigate the following objectives. Objectives: To study the perceptions of the students regarding impact of cable TV on their curricular and extracurricular activities. To determine the relationship between study hours of students and time watching cable TV. To lay down appropriate policy measure that will increase the creditability of cable for students. v) Review of Literature: Shariffadin (1995) focused at social, cultural and economic issues faced by developing countries due to the new technology. He found that new communication era should not be perceived as purely technological phenomenon. It brings change in the cultural and social pattern of the society. Kunkel et al (1999) observed that television/ cable plays an essential role about the sexual behavior of the children and adults, and it is necessary to study the sexual practices/ trends which are shown on the television. They showed the sufficient trends of sexual behavior on the television. On the television screen discussions about sex and sexual behavior were continuous/ frequent. Most sexual practices are precursory in their sense like physically touching and kissing, and intercourse is also depicted ambiguously, one of the eight programmes of television. And the studies showed that television do not fulfill its responsibilities regarding social behavior. Fatima (2000) studied the impact of cable t v on peoples thinking. She concluded that our tradition is changing due to different foreign channels on the cable t v. So if we want to save our value and norms positive trends need to be introduced instead of glamorization, portrayal of crime and commercialization. Chaudhary (2001) concluded that cable TV has taken children in its grip. It is a source of bringing change in the childrens thinking. Children dont have ability to evaluate the messages from different cable TV programmes. So, they mostly spend their time on watching programmes like Zee Cinema, Star Plus, Star Movies and other entertainment channels. Parents are worried because of this habit of their children. They worried that their children will become completely obsessed with watching TV instead of playing and spend time in studies. Anjum Zia (2003) conducted a study to know the effect of cable T V programs on students. He found that youth is very vulnerable to change of attitudes through media programmes. From 300 respondents the results showed that young people only acquire entertainment from cable t v and majority of the college and university students had their own access to the cable t v and they spend 3-4 hours daily on watching cable t v. international information, programmes of general information, religious programmes, News and current affairs did not receive enough response rate. Fatima (2003) stated that the craze for cable TV is continuously increasing. She termed the Indian media as a powerful and destructive weapon. And by this India is trying its best to take away Pakistanis from the DAU QUAMI NAZREA (the Ideology of Hindustani and Pakistani) we all still remember the words of Sonia Gandhi. Now Pakistan has become a source of earning for India and India is trying to fulfill its political purposes, using the name of culture. Sheher (2003) stated that youth is a backbone of the country, and media was considered a source to develope their Psyche. So cable TV was a powerful source to contract with youth. The information which was downloaded by Internet was the Socio-Culture Impact of Cable TV on youth generation. Gender was considered as the construction and sex was considered Biological accident. The construction is done by planning, while the accidents happen. A large part of Pakistan youth was consumer of the Television programs. Youth was considered a profitable source for the private sector. It was very challenging then. Hussain (2004) said that children get certain facts of life mysteries contradiction tragedies and violence those were considered suitable for those to know. He continued that TV programmes and films had mostly violence and tragedy scenes, and in almost every home watched and generate social problems for people have no exception to children. In his opinion parents should check their children by watch TV with them on the timing and program watching should be for short time. He stated that and stressed that TV sets should be removed from bedrooms, monitoring on the websites they visits. Set the time period of such act ivies and find alternate activities for their children which would be very beneficial in the reduction of such negativity on the personality of children. He exclaimed that Television should be used as a baby sitter. Ansari (2005) stated that satellite channels are indispensably changing the perception of our productive youth. Apart for socio-political influence the programmes offered at different TV channels are by threat to our cultural survival. Laying the examples he further argued that Indian programmes are rigorously destroying the roots of our culture. There synthetic societies presented on the TV did not allow prevail anywhere. The luxuries and glamorous way of living presented on TV create material thrust among the young boys girls that inspire them to illegal ways of collecting the money. Shejawal and Purayidathil (2006) described that the affect of watching cable TV on academic achievement and mathematical reasoning was observed in a group of higher secondary students continuing 654 students (368 boys, 286 girls) from Maharashtra, India in both sexes, watching Cable TV with academic achievement had negative correlation while watching cable TV mathematical reasoning were only among boys negatively correlated. Poor were heavy viewers in comparison with light viewers in their academic achievement and mathematical reasoning. Significant gender difference was observed in both academic achievement and mathematical reasoning. TV watching explained 13% of variance in the academic achievement of the students. Li et al (2007) calculated the number of urban school aged TV viewing children and to observe their influence with sleep/wake patterns, sleeping time period and sleeplessness. It was concluded that in Chinese school-aged childrens bedroom had 18.5% and 18.3% cable or computer respectively. Presence of media and use of media in the bedroom were positively correlated with later sleeping and awakening times. It was found that watching cable TV is associated with sleep disturbance. Some affected sleep behaviors were bed time and awakening time on the weekends, then will check the sleeping time duration during the week days. And the sleep time disorders of bed time resistance and sleep wordiness/depletion. The presence of media in the childs bed room and media use had negative effect on the children sleep time and the wakens patterns. There is duration of sleep disorders. Johnst (2008) stated that in current situation that society access to different kinds of information is broadening. Television had become a key source to valuable and one of them is for, important information. It was found that the TV had negative impact on the children especially youth. It was concluded that the most of the criminal activities were increasing due to cable TV programmes among the students. vi) Methodology/ Procedure: The main objective of methodology is to explain various tools and techniques apply for data collection, data analysis and interpretation of data related to research problem. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1992) The Scientific methodology is a System of explicit rules and procedures upon which research is based and against which claims for knowledge are evaluated. The universe of the present study will be city D.G Khan. Multistage sampling technique will be used for the selection of 120 respondents. There are five sub campuses of universities working in D. G. Khan. At the first stage, two out of five will be selected through simple random sampling technique. At the second stage 60 students will be selected randomly from each sub campus. The selected students will be interviewed by the well structured questionnaire and the data will be analyzed through appropriate statistical technique. The obtained results would be utilized for the recommendation that will increase the credibilit y of students. vii) Literature Cited: Ansari, S. 2005. Star Plus Injecting poison in Pak Household. The Daily Newspaper The News, September 8, Pakistan Chaudhary, A. W. 2001. Newspaper article. An engine of Social change. The daily Nation: weekly edition: The Review on May 6, 2001 Fatima, N. 2000. Effects of Satellite Channels (ZEE TV) on Middle Class of Lahore. M.A. Thesis, University of Punjab, Lahore. Page 60 Fatima, H. 2003. Indian Films Must be Band. The daily newspaper Nawa-e-Waqt, July 07, Pakistan. Henning, T. 2002. NYC High School Students Get Pull to the Challenge. The Telecommunication Industurys AIDs Action Organization. New York. Hussain, A. 2004. Pakistan: Effects of media on mind discussed. Media News Daily Dawn Johnst, H. D. 2008. The impact of TV on todays youth. OPPAPERS.com. http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Impact-Tv-Todays-Youth/151232 Kunkel, K., M. Cope and E. Biely, 1999. Sexual messages on television: Comparing Findings from tthree stydies. Journal of Sex Research, Volume 36, Issue 3, Pages 230-236. department of Communication, Univ. of California Santa Barbara, United States. Li, S., X. Jin., S. Wu., F. Jiang., C. Yan and Shen, X. 2007. the impact of media use on Sleep, 1:30(3):361-7. Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. Nachmias, C. F. and D. Nachmias. 1992. Research Methods in Social Science Published by Edwards Arnold. A division of Hadder and Stoughton. London. Nisar, A. M. 2002. Cable operators should promote our social value and cultures. The Daily newspaper The News Sep. 16 Shariffadin, T. M. A. 1995. New Communication Era: Economic, Social and Cultural Consequences for Development Nations. Media Asia: An Asian Mass Communication Quarterly, 20.pp 183-197. Sheher, B. 2003. Cable TV Scenario. Daily Newspaper The News Sep. 17 Shejawal, B. R. and J. Purayidathil. 2006. Television viewing of higher secondary students. Psychology and Developing Societies, 18(2): 201-213. Signatures: Student: Seema Munir __________________ Supervisory Committee: Miss Sumaira Bano (Chairperson) __________________ Mr. Muhammad Ali Tarar (Member) __________________ Mr. Muhammad Imran (Member) __________________ Forwarded: __________________ Head of Section Social Sciences and Rural Development College of Agriculture Dera Ghazi Khan Faculty Scrutiny committee: ______________ _______________ a) Dr. Shafqat Nawaz b) Dr. Muhammad Mudassar Maqbool ______________ ______________ c) Mr. Muhammad Shahid Nisar d) Dr. Fida Hussain Forwarded: _________________ Principal College of Agriculture Dera Ghazi Khan Sub-Campus University of Agriculture Faisalabad

Hamlet :: essays research papers

Something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark! The king was dead of a terrible murder, a betrayal from his own brother, and young Hamlet was enraged with a sense of needing to seek revenge, which came with his father’s passing. You might think that this sort of revenge would come in the form of a crime of passion; something that would be quick and bloody. This was not the case in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as the young prince unexpectedly drew out his plans for revenge over a large amount of time due to his own weakness of numbness. Hamlet was full of big ideas and intentions, but he failed to act and to carry out the deed of revenging the death of his father by killing Claudius. Hamlet had his reasons for not acting. I think that partly he wanted it to be unexpected. Hamlet was definitely a smart guy, and throughout the play it seemed as though everything was premeditated. He did nothing on a whim. I think this was another reason for Hamlet prolonging a quick revenge on Claudius. Nearly all of Hamlet’s actions, with the exception of his outburst at Ophelia’s grave, were preplanned. Although Hamlet was never quick to action, he was always thinking aloud and giving those long speeches. He probably thought too much for his own good at times. He wrestled with many ideas, thoughts, and feelings over the course of the play, delaying any real action until the time was right. Hamlet was a perfectionist in revenge. He wanted everything to be perfect, and this caused him to take unusual steps to gain his revenge on Claudius. Hamlet’s play within a play caught the conscience of the king. Hamlet did not only want to kill his father’s murderer; he wanted to send him to an eternal punishment of damnation. This caused Hamlet to move slowly and carefully in his revenge. Hamlet’s delay of vengeance was necessary in order for his ideal revenge to come about. Unfortunately Hamlet’s ideal plans never came to be. Hamlet’s choice to remain idle didn’t cause, but certainly helped bring a downfall to himself. Had Hamlet remained inactive, he certainly would have been able to complete his plans for revenge on Claudius. When Hamlet revealed himself at Ophelia’s tomb, he lost his element of surprise on the king, and causing most of his plans to come apart at the seams.

An offshoot of business process outsourcing Essay

1. (TCO 2) An offshoot of business process outsourcing which requires a greater skill or knowledge of the industry or inner workings of a firm is: 2. (TCO 3) How are the procurement responsibilities divided between the project manager and contract administrator? 3. (TCO 4) What is the difference between the Cost-Plus-Percentage-Fee (CPF) contract structure and the Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract structure? 4. (TCO 5) To assess the impact of a contract on both the buyer and seller, an analysis of exposure can be completed. Categories analyzed in this exposure analysis include all of the following except: 5. (TCO 6) Factors that may affect the BPO agreement structure include all of the following except: 6. (TCO 6) Sometimes a seller is selected based solely on lowest price. However, sometimes this is not always the most efficient or effective way of selecting a seller. What are some of the other evaluation criteria that a buyer may use to help select a seller? 7. (TCO 7) Issuing an RFP to only one vendor may be appropriate when: 8. (TCO 7) Explain the purpose of an RFP. What are some common elements of an RFP? 9. (TCO 8) What is an independent estimate and why should a buyer produce an independent estimate before selecting a seller? 10. (TCO 2) Part 1: Explain the various steps of the project procurement process. Part 2: Using the simple decision of packing and moving your home furnishing from the east coast to the west coast, provide an example of what you would do under each of the six steps of the project procurement process. Part 3: The buyer determines the contract pricing structure during which step of the project procurement process? 11. (TCO 1) Part 1: What are the four contract pricing structures available? Part 2: Describe the appropriate utilization of each and the impact of risk to the buyer and seller. Part 3. What contract pricing structure would you use if you had little to no scope defined? PROJ 410 Midterm Exam 2 1. (TCO 2) A firm should concentrate on its _____ processes while outsourcing its _____ processes. 2. (TCO 3) Explain the difference between a contract  administrator and a project manager in a procurement situation. 3. (TCO 4) What is the difference between the Cost-Plus-Percentage-Fee (CPF) contract structure and the Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract structure? 4. (TCO 5) To assess the impact of a contract on both the buyer and seller, an analysis of exposure can be completed. Categories analyzed in this exposure analysis include all of the following except: ______. 5. (TCO 6) Factors that may affect the BPO agreement structure include all of the following except: ______. 6. (TCO 6) Three commonly used evaluation criteria listed in an RFP are overall cost or financial proposal, reputation, and experience. What can the buyer glean from this information and how can the buyer use it to make a decision on a particular seller? 7. (TCO 7) All of the following are common RFP topics, e xcept: ______. 8. (TCO 7) Explain the purpose of an RFP. What are some common elements of an RFP? 9. (TCO 8) What are the two ways to rank the seller’s proposals before selecting a seller? 10. (TCO 2) Part 1: List and define the six phases of the project procurement management process. Part 2: How could you organize a simple project such as renovating a bathroom into the six steps in the project procurement management process? Part 3: The buyer determines the contract pricing structure during which step of the project procurement process? 11. (TCO 1) Part 1: Discuss the following types of contract pricing: (a) fixed price, (b) cost-plus price, (c) time & materials, and (d) unit price. Part 2: Explain the appropriate utilization of each contract pricing type and the impact of risk to the contracting parties. Part 3: What type of contract pricing structure misaligns the buyer’s motivations with the seller’s? 12. (TCO 3) Identify and describe the benefits that procurement outsourcing will bring to the organization. 13. (TCO 1) Discuss the importance of obtaining support for the process of Business Process Outsourcing. Who would be important to involve and why? PROJ 410 Midterm Exam 3 1. (TCO 2) A firm should concentrate on its _____ processes while outsourcing its _____ processes. 2. (TCO 3) What activities is the contract administrator responsible for in a contract situation? What about the project manager? 3. (TCO 4) What is the difference between the  Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee (CPFF) and the Cost-Plus-Incentive Fee (CPIF) contract structures? 4. (TCO 5) To assess the impact of a contract on both the buyer and seller, an analysis of exposure can be completed. Categories analyzed in this exposure analysis include all of the following except: ______. 5. (TCO 6) The Term, Contracting Party, Integration, Retained Assets, and Performance Standards are all: _______. 6. (TCO 6) List three commonly used evaluation criteria listed in an RFP and explain why a buyer would want this information before selecting a seller. 7. (TCO 8) What is an independent estimate and why should a buyer produce an independent estimate before selecting a seller? 8. (TCO 7) For most customers, requesting multiple bids is the preferred approach because it: _______. 9. (TCO 7) Describe the common sections of the RFP. 10. (TCO 2) Part 1: List and define the six phases of the project procurement management process. Part 2: How could you organize a simple project such as renovating a bathroom into the six steps in the project procurement management process? Part 3: The buyer determines the contract pricing structure during which step of the project procurement process? 11. (TCO 1) Part 1: Discuss the following types of contract pricing: (a) fixed price, (b) cost-plus price, (c) time & materials, and (d) unit price. Part 2: Explain the appropriate utilization of each contract pricing type and the impact of risk to the contracting parties. Part 3: What type of contract pricing structure misaligns the buyer’s motivations with the seller’s? 12. (TCO 3) Evaluate the most common business drivers for outsourcing business processes. Which two drivers would be among the most important? 13. (TCO 1) List and describe the directives to consider the process of outsourcing if you are a senior manager. COPY THIS LINK TO YOUR BROWSER: http://oassignment.com/PROJ-410-Midterm-Exam-03-Sets-1687.htm

Angels Demons Chapter 36-38

36 The Office of the Swiss Guard. Langdon stood in the doorway, surveying the collision of centuries before them. Mixed media. The room was a lushly adorned Renaissance library complete with inlaid bookshelves, oriental carpets, and colorful tapestries†¦ and yet the room bristled with high-tech gear – banks of computers, faxes, electronic maps of the Vatican complex, and televisions tuned to CNN. Men in colorful pantaloons typed feverishly on computers and listened intently in futuristic headphones. â€Å"Wait here,† the guard said. Langdon and Vittoria waited as the guard crossed the room to an exceptionally tall, wiry man in a dark blue military uniform. He was talking on a cellular phone and stood so straight he was almost bent backward. The guard said something to him, and the man shot a glance over at Langdon and Vittoria. He nodded, then turned his back on them and continued his phone call. The guard returned. â€Å"Commander Olivetti will be with you in a moment.† â€Å"Thank you.† The guard left and headed back up the stairs. Langdon studied Commander Olivetti across the room, realizing he was actually the Commander in Chief of the armed forces of an entire country. Vittoria and Langdon waited, observing the action before them. Brightly dressed guards bustled about yelling orders in Italian. â€Å"Continua cercando!† one yelled into a telephone. â€Å"Probasti il museo?† another asked. Langdon did not need fluent Italian to discern that the security center was currently in intense search mode. This was the good news. The bad news was that they obviously had not yet found the antimatter. â€Å"You okay?† Langdon asked Vittoria. She shrugged, offering a tired smile. When the commander finally clicked off his phone and approached across the room, he seemed to grow with each step. Langdon was tall himself and not accustomed to looking up at many people, but Commander Olivetti demanded it. Langdon sensed immediately that the commander was a man who had weathered tempests, his face hale and steeled. His dark hair was cropped in a military buzz cut, and his eyes burned with the kind of hardened determination only attainable through years of intense training. He moved with ramrod exactness, the earpiece hidden discreetly behind one ear making him look more like U.S. Secret Service than Swiss Guard. The commander addressed them in accented English. His voice was startlingly quiet for such a large man, barely a whisper. It bit with a tight, military efficiency. â€Å"Good afternoon,† he said. â€Å"I am Commander Olivetti – Comandante Principale of the Swiss Guard. I'm the one who called your director.† Vittoria gazed upward. â€Å"Thank you for seeing us, sir.† The commander did not respond. He motioned for them to follow and led them through the tangle of electronics to a door in the side wall of the chamber. â€Å"Enter,† he said, holding the door for them. Langdon and Vittoria walked through and found themselves in a darkened control room where a wall of video monitors was cycling lazily through a series of black-and-white images of the complex. A young guard sat watching the images intently. â€Å"Fuori,† Olivetti said. The guard packed up and left. Olivetti walked over to one of the screens and pointed to it. Then he turned toward his guests. â€Å"This image is from a remote camera hidden somewhere inside Vatican City. I'd like an explanation.† Langdon and Vittoria looked at the screen and inhaled in unison. The image was absolute. No doubt. It was CERN's antimatter canister. Inside, a shimmering droplet of metallic liquid hung ominously in the air, lit by the rhythmic blinking of the LED digital clock. Eerily, the area around the canister was almost entirely dark, as if the antimatter were in a closet or darkened room. At the top of the monitor flashed superimposed text: Live Feed – Camera #86. Vittoria looked at the time remaining on the flashing indicator on the canister. â€Å"Under six hours,† she whispered to Langdon, her face tense. Langdon checked his watch. â€Å"So we have until†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped, a knot tightening in his stomach. â€Å"Midnight,† Vittoria said, with a withering look. Midnight, Langdon thought. A flair for the dramatic. Apparently whoever stole the canister last night had timed it perfectly. A stark foreboding set in as he realized he was currently sitting at ground zero. Olivetti's whisper now sounded more like a hiss. â€Å"Does this object belong to your facility?† Vittoria nodded. â€Å"Yes, sir. It was stolen from us. It contains an extremely combustible substance called antimatter.† Olivetti looked unmoved. â€Å"I am quite familiar with incendiaries, Ms. Vetra. I have not heard of antimatter.† â€Å"It's new technology. We need to locate it immediately or evacuate Vatican City.† Olivetti closed his eyes slowly and reopened them, as if refocusing on Vittoria might change what he just heard. â€Å"Evacuate? Are you aware what is going on here this evening?† â€Å"Yes, sir. And the lives of your cardinals are in danger. We have about six hours. Have you made any headway locating the canister?† Olivetti shook his head. â€Å"We haven't started looking.† Vittoria choked. â€Å"What? But we expressly heard your guards talking about searching the – â€Å" â€Å"Searching, yes,† Olivetti said, â€Å"but not for your canister. My men are looking for something else that does not concern you.† Vittoria's voice cracked. â€Å"You haven't even begun looking for this canister?† Olivetti's pupils seemed to recede into his head. He had the passionless look of an insect. â€Å"Ms. Vetra, is it? Let me explain something to you. The director of your facility refused to share any details about this object with me over the phone except to say that I needed to find it immediately. We are exceptionally busy, and I do not have the luxury of dedicating manpower to a situation until I get some facts.† â€Å"There is only one relevant fact at this moment, sir,† Vittoria said, â€Å"that being that in six hours that device is going to vaporize this entire complex.† Olivetti stood motionless. â€Å"Ms. Vetra, there is something you need to know.† His tone hinted at patronizing. â€Å"Despite the archaic appearance of Vatican City, every single entrance, both public and private, is equipped with the most advanced sensing equipment known to man. If someone tried to enter with any sort of incendiary device it would be detected instantly. We have radioactive isotope scanners, olfactory filters designed by the American DEA to detect the faintest chemical signatures of combustibles and toxins. We also use the most advanced metal detectors and X-ray scanners available.† â€Å"Very impressive,† Vittoria said, matching Olivetti's cool. â€Å"Unfortunately, antimatter is nonradioactive, its chemical signature is that of pure hydrogen, and the canister is plastic. None of those devices would have detected it.† â€Å"But the device has an energy source,† Olivetti said, motioning to the blinking LED. â€Å"Even the smallest trace of nickel-cadmium would register as – â€Å" â€Å"The batteries are also plastic.† Olivetti's patience was clearly starting to wane. â€Å"Plastic batteries?† â€Å"Polymer gel electrolyte with Teflon.† Olivetti leaned toward her, as if to accentuate his height advantage. â€Å"Signorina, the Vatican is the target of dozens of bomb threats a month. I personally train every Swiss Guard in modern explosive technology. I am well aware that there is no substance on earth powerful enough to do what you are describing unless you are talking about a nuclear warhead with a fuel core the size of a baseball.† Vittoria framed him with a fervent stare. â€Å"Nature has many mysteries yet to unveil.† Olivetti leaned closer. â€Å"Might I ask exactly who you are? What is your position at CERN?† â€Å"I am a senior member of the research staff and appointed liaison to the Vatican for this crisis.† â€Å"Excuse me for being rude, but if this is indeed a crisis, why am I dealing with you and not your director? And what disrespect do you intend by coming into Vatican City in short pants?† Langdon groaned. He couldn't believe that under the circumstances the man was being a stickler for dress code. Then again, he realized, if stone penises could induce lustful thoughts in Vatican residents, Vittoria Vetra in shorts could certainly be a threat to national security. â€Å"Commander Olivetti,† Langdon intervened, trying to diffuse what looked like a second bomb about to explode. â€Å"My name is Robert Langdon. I'm a professor of religious studies in the U.S. and unaffiliated with CERN. I have seen an antimatter demonstration and will vouch for Ms. Vetra's claim that it is exceptionally dangerous. We have reason to believe it was placed inside your complex by an antireligious cult hoping to disrupt your conclave.† Olivetti turned, peering down at Langdon. â€Å"I have a woman in shorts telling me that a droplet of liquid is going to blow up Vatican City, and I have an American professor telling me we are being targeted by some antireligious cult. What exactly is it you expect me to do?† â€Å"Find the canister,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Right away.† â€Å"Impossible. That device could be anywhere. Vatican City is enormous.† â€Å"Your cameras don't have GPS locators on them?† â€Å"They are not generally stolen. This missing camera will take days to locate.† â€Å"We don't have days,† Vittoria said adamantly. â€Å"We have six hours.† â€Å"Six hours until what, Ms. Vetra?† Olivetti's voice grew louder suddenly. He pointed to the image on the screen. â€Å"Until these numbers count down? Until Vatican City disappears? Believe me, I do not take kindly to people tampering with my security system. Nor do I like mechanical contraptions appearing mysteriously inside my walls. I am concerned. It is my job to be concerned. But what you have told me here is unacceptable.† Langdon spoke before he could stop himself. â€Å"Have you heard of the Illuminati?† The commander's icy exterior cracked. His eyes went white, like a shark about to attack. â€Å"I am warning you. I do not have time for this.† â€Å"So you have heard of the Illuminati?† Olivetti's eyes stabbed like bayonets. â€Å"I am a sworn defendant of the Catholic Church. Of course I have heard of the Illuminati. They have been dead for decades.† Langdon reached in his pocket and pulled out the fax image of Leonardo Vetra's branded body. He handed it to Olivetti. â€Å"I am an Illuminati scholar,† Langdon said as Olivetti studied the picture. â€Å"I am having a difficult time accepting that the Illuminati are still active, and yet the appearance of this brand combined with the fact that the Illuminati have a well-known covenant against Vatican City has changed my mind.† â€Å"A computer-generated hoax.† Olivetti handed the fax back to Langdon. Langdon stared, incredulous. â€Å"Hoax? Look at the symmetry! You of all people should realize the authenticity of – â€Å" â€Å"Authenticity is precisely what you lack. Perhaps Ms. Vetra has not informed you, but CERN scientists have been criticizing Vatican policies for decades. They regularly petition us for retraction of Creationist theory, formal apologies for Galileo and Copernicus, repeal of our criticism against dangerous or immoral research. What scenario seems more likely to you – that a four-hundred-year-old satanic cult has resurfaced with an advanced weapon of mass destruction, or that some prankster at CERN is trying to disrupt a sacred Vatican event with a well-executed fraud?† â€Å"That photo,† Vittoria said, her voice like boiling lava, â€Å"is of my father. Murdered. You think this is my idea of a joke?† â€Å"I don't know, Ms. Vetra. But I do know until I get some answers that make sense, there is no way I will raise any sort of alarm. Vigilance and discretion are my duty†¦ such that spiritual matters can take place here with clarity of mind. Today of all days.† Langdon said, â€Å"At least postpone the event.† â€Å"Postpone?† Olivetti's jaw dropped. â€Å"Such arrogance! A conclave is not some American baseball game you call on account of rain. This is a sacred event with a strict code and process. Never mind that one billion Catholics in the world are waiting for a leader. Never mind that the world media is outside. The protocols for this event are holy – not subject to modification. Since 1179, conclaves have survived earthquakes, famines, and even the plague. Believe me, it is not about to be canceled on account of a murdered scientist and a droplet of God knows what.† â€Å"Take me to the person in charge,† Vittoria demanded. Olivetti glared. â€Å"You've got him.† â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"Someone in the clergy.† The veins on Olivetti's brow began to show. â€Å"The clergy has gone. With the exception of the Swiss Guard, the only ones present in Vatican City at this time are the College of Cardinals. And they are inside the Sistine Chapel.† â€Å"How about the chamberlain?† Langdon stated flatly. â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The late Pope's chamberlain.† Langdon repeated the word self-assuredly, praying his memory served him. He recalled reading once about the curious arrangement of Vatican authority following the death of a Pope. If Langdon was correct, during the interim between Popes, complete autonomous power shifted temporarily to the late Pope's personal assistant – his chamberlain – a secretarial underling who oversaw conclave until the cardinals chose the new Holy Father. â€Å"I believe the chamberlain is the man in charge at the moment.† â€Å"Il camerlegno?† Olivetti scowled. â€Å"The camerlegno is only a priest here. He is not even canonized. He is the late Pope's hand servant.† â€Å"But he is here. And you answer to him.† Olivetti crossed his arms. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, it is true that Vatican rule dictates the camerlegno assume chief executive office during conclave, but it is only because his lack of eligibility for the papacy ensures an unbiased election. It is as if your president died, and one of his aides temporarily sat in the oval office. The camerlegno is young, and his understanding of security, or anything else for that matter, is extremely limited. For all intents and purposes, I am in charge here.† â€Å"Take us to him,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Impossible. Conclave begins in forty minutes. The camerlegno is in the Office of the Pope preparing. I have no intention of disturbing him with matters of security.† Vittoria opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Olivetti opened it. A guard in full regalia stood outside, pointing to his watch. â€Å"ee l'ora, comandante.† Olivetti checked his own watch and nodded. He turned back to Langdon and Vittoria like a judge pondering their fate. â€Å"Follow me.† He led them out of the monitoring room across the security center to a small clear cubicle against the rear wall. â€Å"My office.† Olivetti ushered them inside. The room was unspecial – a cluttered desk, file cabinets, folding chairs, a water cooler. â€Å"I will be back in ten minutes. I suggest you use the time to decide how you would like to proceed.† Vittoria wheeled. â€Å"You can't just leave! That canister is – â€Å" â€Å"I do not have time for this,† Olivetti seethed. â€Å"Perhaps I should detain you until after the conclave when I do have time.† â€Å"Signore,† the guard urged, pointing to his watch again. â€Å"Spazzare di capella.† Olivetti nodded and started to leave. â€Å"Spazzare di capella?† Vittoria demanded. â€Å"You're leaving to sweep the chapel?† Olivetti turned, his eyes boring through her. â€Å"We sweep for electronic bugs, Miss Vetra – a matter of discretion.† He motioned to her legs. â€Å"Not something I would expect you to understand.† With that he slammed the door, rattling the heavy glass. In one fluid motion he produced a key, inserted it, and twisted. A heavy deadbolt slid into place. â€Å"Idita!† Vittoria yelled. â€Å"You can't keep us in here!† Through the glass, Langdon could see Olivetti say something to the guard. The sentinel nodded. As Olivetti strode out of the room, the guard spun and faced them on the other side of the glass, arms crossed, a large sidearm visible on his hip. Perfect, Langdon thought. Just bloody perfect. 37 Vittoria glared at the Swiss Guard standing outside Olivetti's locked door. The sentinel glared back, his colorful costume belying his decidedly ominous air. â€Å"Che fiasco,† Vittoria thought. Held hostage by an armed man in pajamas. Langdon had fallen silent, and Vittoria hoped he was using that Harvard brain of his to think them out of this. She sensed, however, from the look on his face, that he was more in shock than in thought. She regretted getting him so involved. Vittoria's first instinct was to pull out her cell phone and call Kohler, but she knew it was foolish. First, the guard would probably walk in and take her phone. Second, if Kohler's episode ran its usual course, he was probably still incapacitated. Not that it mattered†¦ Olivetti seemed unlikely to take anybody's word on anything at the moment. Remember! she told herself. Remember the solution to this test! Remembrance was a Buddhist philosopher's trick. Rather than asking her mind to search for a solution to a potentially impossible challenge, Vittoria asked her mind simply to remember it. The presupposition that one once knew the answer created the mindset that the answer must exist†¦ thus eliminating the crippling conception of hopelessness. Vittoria often used the process to solve scientific quandaries†¦ those that most people thought had no solution. At the moment, however, her remembrance trick was drawing a major blank. So she measured her options†¦ her needs. She needed to warn someone. Someone at the Vatican needed to take her seriously. But who? The camerlegno? How? She was in a glass box with one exit. Tools, she told herself. There are always tools. Reevaluate your environment. Instinctively she lowered her shoulders, relaxed her eyes, and took three deep breaths into her lungs. She sensed her heart rate slow and her muscles soften. The chaotic panic in her mind dissolved. Okay, she thought, let your mind be free. What makes this situation positive? What are my assets? The analytical mind of Vittoria Vetra, once calmed, was a powerful force. Within seconds she realized their incarceration was actually their key to escape. â€Å"I'm making a phone call,† she said suddenly. Langdon looked up. â€Å"I was about to suggest you call Kohler, but – â€Å" â€Å"Not Kohler. Someone else.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The camerlegno.† Langdon looked totally lost. â€Å"You're calling the chamberlain? How?† â€Å"Olivetti said the camerlegno was in the Pope's office.† â€Å"Okay. You know the Pope's private number?† â€Å"No. But I'm not calling on my phone.† She nodded to a high-tech phone system on Olivetti's desk. It was riddled with speed dial buttons. â€Å"The head of security must have a direct line to the Pope's office.† â€Å"He also has a weight lifter with a gun planted six feet away.† â€Å"And we're locked in.† â€Å"I was actually aware of that.† â€Å"I mean the guard is locked out. This is Olivetti's private office. I doubt anyone else has a key.† Langdon looked out at the guard. â€Å"This is pretty thin glass, and that's a pretty big gun.† â€Å"What's he going to do, shoot me for using the phone?† â€Å"Who the hell knows! This is a pretty strange place, and the way things are going – â€Å" â€Å"Either that,† Vittoria said, â€Å"or we can spend the next five hours and forty-eight minutes in Vatican Prison. At least we'll have a front-row seat when the antimatter goes off.† Langdon paled. â€Å"But the guard will get Olivetti the second you pick up that phone. Besides, there are twenty buttons on there. And I don't see any identification. You going to try them all and hope to get lucky?† â€Å"Nope,† she said, striding to the phone. â€Å"Just one.† Vittoria picked up the phone and pressed the top button. â€Å"Number one. I bet you one of those Illuminati U.S. dollars you have in your pocket that this is the Pope's office. What else would take primary importance for a Swiss Guard commander?† Langdon did not have time to respond. The guard outside the door started rapping on the glass with the butt of his gun. He motioned for her to set down the phone. Vittoria winked at him. The guard seemed to inflate with rage. Langdon moved away from the door and turned back to Vittoria. â€Å"You damn well better be right, 'cause this guy does not look amused!† â€Å"Damn!† she said, listening to the receiver. â€Å"A recording.† â€Å"Recording?† Langdon demanded. â€Å"The Pope has an answering machine?† â€Å"It wasn't the Pope's office,† Vittoria said, hanging up. â€Å"It was the damn weekly menu for the Vatican commissary.† Langdon offered a weak smile to the guard outside who was now glaring angrily though the glass while he hailed Olivetti on his walkie-talkie. 38 The Vatican switchboard is located in the Ufficio di Communicazione behind the Vatican post office. It is a relatively small room containing an eight-line Corelco 141 switchboard. The office handles over 2,000 calls a day, most routed automatically to the recording information system. Tonight, the sole communications operator on duty sat quietly sipping a cup of caffeinated tea. He felt proud to be one of only a handful of employees still allowed inside Vatican City tonight. Of course the honor was tainted somewhat by the presence of the Swiss Guards hovering outside his door. An escort to the bathroom, the operator thought. Ah, the indignities we endure in the name of Holy Conclave. Fortunately, the calls this evening had been light. Or maybe it was not so fortunate, he thought. World interest in Vatican events seemed to have dwindled in the last few years. The number of press calls had thinned, and even the crazies weren't calling as often. The press office had hoped tonight's event would have more of a festive buzz about it. Sadly, though, despite St. Peter's Square being filled with press trucks, the vans looked to be mostly standard Italian and Euro press. Only a handful of global cover-all networks were there†¦ no doubt having sent their giornalisti secundari. The operator gripped his mug and wondered how long tonight would last. Midnight or so, he guessed. Nowadays, most insiders already knew who was favored to become Pope well before conclave convened, so the process was more of a three – or four-hour ritual than an actual election. Of course, last-minute dissension in the ranks could prolong the ceremony through dawn†¦ or beyond. The conclave of 1831 had lasted fifty-four days. Not tonight, he told himself; rumor was this conclave would be a â€Å"smoke-watch.† The operator's thoughts evaporated with the buzz of an inside line on his switchboard. He looked at the blinking red light and scratched his head. That's odd, he thought. The zero-line. Who on the inside would be calling operator information tonight? Who is even inside? â€Å"Citta del Vaticano, prego?† he said, picking up the phone. The voice on the line spoke in rapid Italian. The operator vaguely recognized the accent as that common to Swiss Guards – fluent Italian tainted by the Franco-Swiss influence. This caller, however, was most definitely not Swiss Guard. On hearing the woman's voice, the operator stood suddenly, almost spilling his tea. He shot a look back down at the line. He had not been mistaken. An internal extension. The call was from the inside. There must be some mistake! he thought. A woman inside Vatican City? Tonight? The woman was speaking fast and furiously. The operator had spent enough years on the phones to know when he was dealing with a pazzo. This woman did not sound crazy. She was urgent but rational. Calm and efficient. He listened to her request, bewildered. â€Å"Il camerlegno?† the operator said, still trying to figure out where the hell the call was coming from. â€Å"I cannot possibly connect†¦ yes, I am aware he is in the Pope's office but†¦ who are you again?†¦ and you want to warn him of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He listened, more and more unnerved. Everyone is in danger? How? And where are you calling from? â€Å"Perhaps I should contact the Swiss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The operator stopped short. â€Å"You say you're where? Where?† He listened in shock, then made a decision. â€Å"Hold, please,† he said, putting the woman on hold before she could respond. Then he called Commander Olivetti's direct line. There is no way that woman is really – The line picked up instantly. â€Å"Per l'amore di Dio!† a familiar woman's voice shouted at him. â€Å"Place the damn call!† The door of the Swiss Guards' security center hissed open. The guards parted as Commander Olivetti entered the room like a rocket. Turning the corner to his office, Olivetti confirmed what his guard on the walkie-talkie had just told him; Vittoria Vetra was standing at his desk talking on the commander's private telephone. Che coglioni che ha questa! he thought. The balls on this one! Livid, he strode to the door and rammed the key into the lock. He pulled open the door and demanded, â€Å"What are you doing?† Vittoria ignored him. â€Å"Yes,† she was saying into the phone. â€Å"And I must warn – â€Å" Olivetti ripped the receiver from her hand, and raised it to his ear. â€Å"Who the hell is this?† For the tiniest of an instant, Olivetti's inelastic posture slumped. â€Å"Yes, camerlegno†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he said. â€Å"Correct, signore†¦ but questions of security demand†¦ of course not†¦ I am holding her here for†¦ certainly, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He listened. â€Å"Yes, sir,† he said finally. â€Å"I will bring them up immediately.†