Music ethnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music ethnography - Essay Example In a special interview of one of the natives who claimed to have attended every Pow Wow Festival since he was five years old, he said the festival often takes a whole week. Whereas this still takes place, the March event was not one of the special occasions that called for a week’s celebration of dances, music and culture of the First Nationals of America. Obtaining historical information about the event that has become popular over the ages was easy given the fortunate friendship I struck with the old man (probably 76 years). He had so much interest in the event that his knowledge of every detail of the event was more refined than obtainable in a cultural encyclopedia. Abukcheech Adahy explained the significance of the event from its origin. From the senior native’s knowledge, the word â€Å"powwow† comes from Naragansett term â€Å"powwaw† that has the meaning of a â€Å"Spiritual Leader†. It is used to describe a gathering of Native Americans of any tribe. Abakcheech is a member of the planning committee for Pow Wow Festival, and he revealed that planning for the occasion begins close to a year before the event. In essence, Pow Wow Committee starts planning for the following years as soon as one festival is over. For this year’s event, the festival was sponsored by assortment of colleges and unive rsities, American Native Communities within California, Tribal Organizations, American Native Club and Native American Studies Program. Performance on the occasion is highly choreographed and organized. The Pow Wow Committee is responsible for securing location of the event, hiring head staff of the event and recruiting vendors to sell merchandise related to the cultural occasion. These include foods and artifacts as well as costumes and traditional attire that the performers use in the event. The head staff of Pow Wow Festival is usually chosen as an honor to a person’s dedication to the

Memory Essay Example for Free

Memory Essay 1. What is primary memory? What are the characteristics of primary memory? It has long been noted that it is possible to hold some information in mind for a brief period of time. In the late 1950s, researchers began to think that such brief memories might be supported by the primary memory. The three characteristics of primary memory are: forgetting (caused by both interference and decay); the format in which the information is coded (in terms of sound, visual appearance, and meaning); and the amount of information that can be held, or capacity (which depends on the type of information). Much (but not all) of the forgetting from primary memory occurs due to interference. Proactive interference occurs when older learning interferes with new learning. In retroactive interference, later learning interferes with earlier learning.   It appears that material can be coded in primary memory in at least three ways: visuospatially, acoustically (in terms of sound), and semantically (in terms of meaning). There is also evidence for a primary memory component that can store tactile memories—that is, how things feel on the skin—but not much research has been directed toward that representation (Harris, Miniussi, Harris, Diamond, 2002; Romo Salinas, 2003). Around the turn of the 20th century, researchers began to use the digit span task to measure the capacity of primary memory. 2. What is the process of memory from perception to retrieval? What happens when the process is compromised? The perception of primary memory occurs in manifold ways. Much of it consists of our knowledge of what words mean, about the ways they are related to one another and the rules of communication and thinking. This kind of memory, which makes use of language possible, is semantic memory; while primary memory can also consist of episodic memory which is organized with respect to when certain events happened in our lives. It is a record of what happened to us and does not lend itself to drawing of inferences. The storing of primary memory occurs in various ways. One of them is organizing and arranging the input so that it fits into existing long-term memory categories, grouping in some logical memory, or arranging in some other way that makes â€Å"sense†. The organizational encoding may be inherent in the input itself or it may be supplied by individuals as they learn and remember new things. Imagery also plays an important role in storing of information into memory. One explanation for the importance of stimulus imagery in learning and storing information to memory, is that a concrete stimulus (one, for which, imagery is readily evoked in mind) provides a conceptual peg on which responses can be hung. During encoding, the to-be-remembered information, especially if it is a complex life event or something you have read, is modified. Certain details are accentuated, the material me be simplified; which is called constructive processes. One important constructive process is encoding only the gist or meaning of complex information such as what we have read in a newspaper, magazine, or book. 3. Is it possible for memory retrieval to be unreliable? Why or why not? What factors may affect the reliability of ones memory? Successful retrieval of a memory depends largely on the cues available at the time of retrieval. But sometimes, when cues will not help; the memory is simply lost. The idea that memories simply fade away with time corresponds to our everyday experience, but it is difficult to prove. It is more certain that new things you learn can interfere with things that you already know, thereby causing forgetting. The idea that memories simply fade away with time corresponds to our everyday experience, but it is difficult to prove. It is more certain that new things you learn can interfere with things that you already know, thereby causing forgetting. Forgetting can occur because (a) you don’t have the right cue for retrieval, (b) the association between the cue and the target memory is compromised in some way, or (c) the target memory itself is lost. There is some evidence supporting each mechanism. We briefly consider the possibility that some memories are never lost.

Physics of Music Essay example -- physics music sound

Fluid Behaviors of Sound Waves Sound is capable of being produced only if a medium is present. By this, I mean that, for there to be sound, there must be air. For a sound wave to be emitted by an instrument and be received by a listener, the instrument must excite the air around it and propagate its energy through the air, in the form of compression/longitudinal waves. When received by the listener, the waves pulse the eardrums with the same varying frequencies as they were emitted. An instrument shakes to produce its tone In instruments, air is excited and set into oscillation by vibrations. Instruments use such mechanisms as strings (violin and guitar), bars or rods (marimba and chimes and reeds), membranes (drum heads), plates or shells (cymbals or gongs), air in tubes (woodwinds and brass), or volumes of air enclosed in vessels (drum and string bodies) to produce vibrations. Sound oscillations are created as the oscillating instrument vibrates a column of air and â€Å"bumps† the air that is within immediate proximity. This bump sends out a compression, also called longitudinal, waves in all directions. The tone of a brass instrument is produced as a player contracts their embouchure and expels a jet of air in order to vibrate their lips, and thereby vibrate the air in the tubing of their horn. The tone of reed instruments (single or double) is produced by holding a reed rigid and forcing air over, or through. When this happens, the reed vibrates, creating an oscillation. The tone of flute instruments is produced when air blown over the mouthpiece hole excites surrounding particles. When the vibrations of these surrounding particles match the natural frequency of the instrument, the column of air inside the ins... ...requency higher and into a higher row of harmonics. How Does Any of this Relate to Music? Okay, so I just spent the last several pages expressing fluid, energy, and math properties of how sound is put through air. But this essay is dedicated to the physics of music! Simply, none of the attributes of sound, as I have described them in the other pages in terms of physics, are not in any way musical. Music and physics really only have one point of connection, that music is made by manipulating the mechanics of air oscillations--how the signals are emitted by the instruments and received by the listeners. Music itself, however, is made by how the listener interprets or experiences those signals. As stated in Levarie and Levy's, Tone, A study in Musical Acoustics, "Music is not 'something that happens in the air.' It is something that happens in the soul."

Dame in Yosemite State Park :: Argumentative Persuasive papers

Dame in Yosemite State Park In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a heated debate ensued over the building of a dam in the Hetchy Hetchy Valley in Yosemite State Park. The debate was between the naturalists of the area and the city engineers. I shall explore not only the debate prior to the building of the dam but also its affects on the population since its completion. Being a nature lover myself, I can easily sympathize with the people who wanted to preserve the natural beauty Yosemite, but in light of the facts, I feel that the dam was not only necessary but an overall benefit to the citizens of the surrounding area. It was after the earthquake of 1906 that the city of San Francisco thought it necessary to build a dam to meet the water and electricity needs of the people. The earthquake was devastating. Firefighters drastically lowered the existing water supply to the area putting out fires the earthquake caused. It was a long drug-out battle that ended in a court of law. The dam was finished in 1923. They later decided to build the dam bigger so that it could produce more water and power to San Francisco. The completion of the final addition to the dam occurred in 1938. (Schaffer). High granite walls form the narrow canyon. The base of the dam is less than 1,000 feet long that creates a reservoir eight miles long and covers 1,861 acres. It measures nearly 370 feet in depth (Boldrick). John Muir was a naturalist and a strong advocate for leaving untouched the natural beauty of Yosemite. He did not want his beloved park tampered with. He believed the dam would close off the area to the public and restrict access for nature lovers like him who used the area for camping, hiking, and staying in touch with nature. (Muir). The Yosemite Valley had already been closed for three and a half months for the purpose of keeping Tuolumne Meadows clean. It had been proposed that the watershed to the dam also be closed for the same reason. Arguments against building the dam included the problem of inaccessibility to the watershed. However, this argument did not seem a valid one, as the watershed would only need to be closed for three and a half months out of the year.

Four Stages of Change

The first act of change is denial. For most people in this stage, change is not easy to accept, and they react to it with a sense of denial or inability to see a problem. People in this stage do not believe that change is happening realistically. To avoid showing denial, people try to focus their attention on other things. In Jamie Oliver's episodes, the citizens of Huntington focused their attention on things, such as, the amount of money it costs to buy healthier food and how much more time it would take to prepare it.The lunch ladies were very close-minded and seemed to always have an argument of denial against what Jamie was trying to preach to them. At one point in an episode, the head lunch lady even stated, â€Å"why fix something that isn’t broken. † But, the reality is, that the food and overweight issues in the small town of Huntington is an issue. They just do not want to come to terms with facing it. Change is often interpreted as foreign and uncertain feeli ngs, so people shift their attention to past customs and what makes them feel secure.Jamie's role in this stage is to help the people of Huntington understand what is happening and how it affects them. The second act of change is resistance. People begin to resist change when they realize that the change is taking place whether they want it to or not. Feelings of anger, doubt, fear, and anxiety begin to develop, which can hinder the process of change. In Jamie Oliver's episodes, the lunch ladies of the elementary school exemplified a great deal of resistance in the change Jamie was trying to put forth.They constantly spoke about how they didn’t think that what Jamie was doing would work, and constantly complained about the new roles and strategies outlined for them. These things happen because people get pushed out of their comfort zone, and arguments and non-cooperation are ways in which team members show their resistance to change. In this stage, Jamie lends an ear to the t eam members concerns surrounding the change, and tries to encourage them that everything will work out.The third stage of change is consideration. Here, team members give up on arguments and begin to become a â€Å"team player. † People start acting and learning the new ways to contribute towards the changing process. They understand the rationality of the change, and how they are an important aspect in making that change happen. Rhonda began to consider the change process when she saw how the young children reacted to the healthier food that Jamie provided for them. She gave Jamie more time to allow his process to take place.Also, the parents started â€Å"jumping on board† when they watched the demonstration that Jamie put on for them about what their kids are really eating, and how much nutrition they are really getting. People in this stage begin to start contributing towards the change to find out what is really in store for them. Jamie does a great job of helping the team members participate actively and providing them with the knowledge and training that will make them more comfortable in their new roles. The final stage of change is acceptance. In this stage, productivity and emotions are completely restored.Members of the change process begin to accept their new roles and begin to settle in, as they gain more control in whats happening. An example of this taking place is when the high school lunch ladies committed to cooking the food from scratch, as they gave their support to Jamie's cause. Jamie rewards and acknowledges the ladies for their dedication and contributions as he continues to motivate them to stay committed. It is going through this final stage of change that allows the process to actually take place within itself.

Gaining Muscle

Gaining Muscle Free Online Research Papers When it comes to being an athlete, weight is a very important factor; especially football. Usually when you hear about weight problems you always hear about people being overweight, you rarely hear about people being underweight. It sounds easy but gaining weight can actually be hard for some people, especially if you’re trying to gain it the right way. One important key factor in gaining weight is your diet. If you want to gain weight you have to eat a lot. Baked foods would be your best bet if you’re trying to gain lean weight. Foods that have a lot of carbs and protein would be the best foods to eat. You should eat as much protein as you weigh. If you weigh 215 pounds then you should aim for 215 grams of protein a day. An example of a healthy dinner with a lot of calories would be baked chicken with rice, green beans, and corn with a glass of water or if you really want to pack on the muscle then a glass of milk would go great with the meal. You can’t eat foods with a lot of sugar or salt because they will cause you to gain fat. Also when it comes to gaining lean weight it is very important that you don’t skip a meal. When you skip a meal and then eat your body stores it as fat because it does not know when youre going to eat again. You should eat 3 big meals a day if you’re trying to gain mass but for more lean mass you should eat 6 smaller meals a day to keep your metabolism going fast. Sometimes eating just isn’t enough. That’s where supplements come in to play. Protein shakes are a huge help in muscle gain. Protein shakes consist of many key vitamins that the body needs and tons of extra protein in case you’re not getting enough in the foods you’re eating. The best time to drink a protein shake is right after a workout because it replenishes your muscles with key nutrients and vitamins that were just lost during the workout. It is also good to drink a protein shake before bed because your body builds muscle while youre sleeping. A few good protein shakes that you can buy are Muscle Milk, CytoGainer, AMP, Muscle Tech, Whey, or NO Xlode. Rest is also an important part of gaining weight. You should at least get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. It is also important not to work out every day. When you workout you are basically tearing your muscles down. Thats what rest is for, your muscles have to rebuild themselves and if you consistently work your muscles they will continue to wear down and you will not get bigger. Your body has to get its rest so the muscles will continue to grow and get bigger. Working out is the final important part of gaining weight. If you are trying to bulk up then you have to do heavy weight and low reps. If you are trying to tone up then you should train with low weight and do high reps. When you workout it is best to work out lower or upper body one day, then the opposite the next day followed by a day of rest. Three of the most important lifts are bench press, squats, and dead lifts. So make sure you incorporate these lifts into your workout regimen. It is also important that you do cardio in order to minimize the amount of fat that you gain. You can go for a 30 to 45 minute walk or light jog every other night but not every night because you don’t want to burn too many calories. Research Papers on Gaining MuscleGenetic EngineeringAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Honest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Hockey GameThe Spring and AutumnNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

a critique of two concerts essays

a critique of two concerts essays Music is one of the most unique performing arts due to the way it has evolved. Styles and melodies considered unfit in one era are displayed prominently in another. The two concerts previewed in this report have two different and distinct techniques. The first performance that I attended was a symphonic concert playing a mix of contemporary and early 20th century works at Carnegie Hall. The second performance was an organ recital highlighted by the by the live performance of Bach's most well known pieces. Hopefully this term paper will objectively and subjectively critique and compare the two performances. An orchestra is a collection of a variety of instruments usually consisting of brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion sections. In the concert at Carnegie Hall, the music was abundant in tone color and a variety of pitches and moods. While the Bach music played by the organist could only demonstrate one type of sound, the multitude of instruments at the conductor's disposal can flood the listener with a variety of sound. The key pieces of music performed were "Music for Violin and Orchestra" by Maazal and "Symphony No. 1 in D major" by Mahler. Maazals piece pits the virtuoso, Maazal, against the entire orchestra. It seems to be a sophisticated concerto with the violinist and the orchestra dueling with each other. Unlike Baroque music, the mood changes constantly, at one moments the violin conveys a tranquil image only to be shattered by the dissonance created by the orchestra. While Toccata and Fugue in D minor is a piece of absolute music, Maazal's music is program music. The ma in theme is sort of a violinist's journey and struggle with the much more powerful monster-like orchestra. Objectively, the odd notes from the percussion coupled with the frequent use of low tone color instruments (e.g. bassoon, bass) created tension. The trills provided by the virtuoso and the strings section displayed a tension reserved onl...

The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder A research framework

The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder A research framework Article Summary The paper presents a sociological theory on the cause of a steady mental disorder. Although the evidences in support of the theory are based on previous formulations, Scheff develops a precise sociological theory that attempts to explain the cause and path of a stable mental disorder.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Using the concepts of the social institution of insanity, residual deviance, the societal responsibility of the individual with mental illness, and the divergence of the societal response such as denial and labeling, Scheff constructs a theory of mental disorder in which the psychiatric signs are thought of as violations of social norms, and stable â€Å"mental illness† to be a social role (Scheff, 1999). Essential to this theory are 9 proposals that require exper imental processes. By restricting the forms of behavior that are to be covered, by basing the paper on previous findings, and by applying an entirely sociological approach (such as the theory of residual deviance), the author proposes a methodology in which the dynamics of mental disorder take place within the system consisting of the person exhibiting deviant behavior and those responding to it. According to the theory designed here, the basis for the initiation, maintenance and end of the deviant conduct referred to as mental disorder are parts of the social system, and cannot be separated, hence, from endopsychic forms of behavior. Fat is a Sociological Issue: Obesity rates in late modern, ‘bodyconscious’  societies This paper surveys the factors involved in the current spiraling of obesity rates in the contemporary society, focusing both upon the causes of the high prevalence rates and its effects. Crossley contends that rates of obesity have risen rapidly in the last two decades, causing some people to talk of an imminent crisis and compelling governments and health institution to react (Crossley, 2004). Many studies in the sociology of the body are centered on the social belief that certain ‘bodies’ are more acceptable than others, for example, slimness, fitness, and good health are socially acceptable practices. Proof of this assertion exists in the steadily rising number of health clubs in the UK and the corresponding number of subscriptions in the last decade.Advertising Looking for report on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another trend that exists next to exercise is that of dieting. Diet books are among bestseller listings, besides, food consumption in response to recommended diets are very significant. A large number of persons ascribe to weight watching clubs and associations, known as ‘body-conscious society’ (Crossley, 20 04). Body fat affects the BMI and a value of 20 -25 BMI value is deemed normal, a value less than 20 is deemed underweight while a value of 25-30 is considered overweight, with a value greater than 30 considered obese. Obesity varies with age, and narrowly with age and social class, with women at a higher risk of becoming obese. Due to the social concern, the author contends that the steadily rising rate of obesity is a social fact. This is evidenced in two ways, first, the statistics relating to obesity are normally given in societal perspectives, for example, obesity varies between individuals, and across societies, that is, it is a social variable. Secondly, the causative agent for the variation of obesity rates is social. Individual differences in levels of obesity, biological or psychosomatic, cannot be used to explicate on the variations in obesity rates. There are two broad causes of obesity: lifestyle and modernity. We do less physical exercise, live a sedentary lifestyle an d use several labor saving appliances at home and at work, consumption of high-calorie foods has increased both in frequency and quantity. It worthy to note that social changes leading to a rise in obesity are related to class and gender variations, this is proven by the fact that obesity is lower among the lower class. The latter sections of the paper attempts to explain the relation between body and society and how fluctuations of the rate of obesity affect the society (illness and early death). This paper targets a general population, especially one that is at a higher risk of becoming obese. This is derived from the fact that it informs of the causative agents of obesity and prevention. It may also be useful to sociologists trying to understand the link between body and the society. Fat Ethics’ – The Obesity Discourse and Body Politics The paper examines how facts about obesity are presented and availed to the public, and the ethical concerns arising from the publi c’s comprehension of obesity. Public understanding of obesity is frequently based on various sources of information that focus of cause and prevention of the disease, however, other health problems such as cancer do not receive similar coverage on the public domain, particularly relating to the ethical and moral elements.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Information availed to the public on the ‘obesity epidemic ’ through various media focuses on the grave effects of being obese, the scientific facts about obesity are restated to give authority and sureness to the allegations of the growing rates of the ‘epidemic’ (Rich Evans, 2005). In their attempts to give a grim picture of obesity, these reporters often err, for example, the link between weight, size, and healt h is not as significant as we are led to believe. It is obvious that obesity is a grave public concern with epidemic proportions, caused by failure to partake in physical exercises, consumption of fast foods, and alterations in our diets. While these are non-debatable scientifically proven facts, they are loaded with philosophies and cultural ideas about how we view ‘fatness’. A key characteristic arising from the obesity presentation is the weight accorded to ‘thinness’ and ‘weight loss’ as unanimously good. This belief arises from the perceived association between weight and health, the association far more complex as compared to the presentations in various media. Another discourse on obesity is on the morality of the body. Numerous reports take a communitarian approach that views the body as in need of protection. A communitarian approach has traditionally related harm to society not on individualistic terms, but by ‘rates of incidenc e’ of some trend, for example, obesity is associated with persons of a particular social class. Such a presentation leads to the notion that our body is in need of protection from thee government, businesses and the broad social forces. There are some discourses, however, that take a more humanistic view to weight, shape and value the range of body sizes, for example, a person may be fat and healthy. This discourse has gained acceptance widely after studies showed that obesity is not linked to excess mortality. However, these alternative views take a lower position. Because of the media discourse in the public arena, people overestimate their vulnerability to certain health condition and this may create a moral panic that stimulates disordered connections with food and body. This paper mainly targets persons who are obese or have obese children, relatives, or friends. Persons who give significant weight to the weight-health connection as it informs the reader that the connect ion is not as simple as thought. The paper enables a deeper understanding of the social nature of obesity and public discourses related to it. Connection between Body and Mind The main article presents a sociological approach to mental disorder (mind) while the two supplementary readings present a sociological approach to obesity (body). The two sets of papers increases an understanding of the connection between body and mind.Advertising Looking for report on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While the sociological theory used on the first paper focuses on mental disorder, the theories adopted in the other two papers explain the phenomenon of obesity, drawing on various sources to explain the social aspect of obesity, that is, how it affects and is perceived by the society. The theory of residual deviance attempts to explain the cause and path of a stable mental disorder, integrating purely sociological elements to present a methodology that explains the perceived link between mental disorder and the society’s response to it. The other two readings also adopt a similar approach to explain the link between society and (social groups) and obesity. The first paper informs us that norms that arise from social systems, or are considered significant by social systems, such as labeling of mental disorder as deviant behavior, are hard to eliminate. Reading the two papers, we observe a similar trend that pits social beliefs, such as weight-health connection, against scient ific evidence that shows the two are not necessarily related. References Crossley, N. (2004). Fat is a Sociological Issue: Obesity rates in late modern, ‘bodyconscious’ societies. Social Theory Health, 3(2):222–253. Rich, E. Evans, J. (2005). Fat Ethics: The obesity discourse and body politics. Social  Theory Health, 3(4): 341-358. Scheff, T.J. (1999) The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework, in Traub, S.H. Little, C.B. (Eds), Theories of Deviance. State University of New York at Cortland, NYC, pp. 397-415.

Learning Diversity and Authentic Assessment Tools Essay

Learning Diversity and Authentic Assessment Tools - Essay Example LESSON CONTENT: LESSON 1 ELECTRICITY POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE electric field and the movement electric potential electric potential difference INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES a. Focusing event: how to demonstrate the electric field and the movement of the charge. b. Teaching procedures: the lesson will involve two practices and theory c. Formative check : use of short assignments and question that can be take away or end of lesson short questions that need prompt answers. d. Student Participation: students’ participations by use of questions and answers and use of simple calculations that must be done on the board. e. Closure: end by asking the lesson if there is any student who has not understood any concept. If not, give a take away assignment that covers the whole lessons EVALUATION PROCEDURES/ASSESSMENT: use of CATs, Assignments and term paper. MATERIALS AND AIDS: use of a chart, nails, wires, batteries, card board and magnet. DAILY LESSON PLAN NAME OF THE TEACHER: DATE: BIOLOGY LESS ON NUMBER: UNIT: CELL MODELS CELL BIOLOGY INSTRUCTIONAL GOAL: The students should be able to demonstrate the distinctive features of the eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE: At the end of this unit the student should be able to know that there are two types of cells for all the living things and their importance in various functions of these living things. RATIONALE: This unit is taught to expose students to the two major categories of cells, their features, the categories of living things that fall under them LESSON CONTENT: LESSON 1 CELL MODELS eukaryote prokaryote INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES f. Focusing event: how to demonstrate the major differences between the cell types g. Teaching procedures: the lesson will involve laboratory practices and theory h. Formative check : use of short assignments and question that can be take away or end of lesson short questions that need prompt answers. i. Student Participation: students’ participations by use of questio ns and answer

Sexual Harassment in the Work Place Research Paper - 1

Sexual Harassment in the Work Place - Research Paper Example sue caused by different factors arising from the socialization, power, and politics among others, making the harassment sometimes to be inevitable in many occupations. Sexual harassment used to be a key concern in government and state related jobs, but due to the rising cases and poor measures to control the issue in both public and private employment areas, the governments had to step in to protect the victims and enforce order. Sometimes co-workers, managers, and employers find themselves in compromising and violating situations, because they overlook the harassment and its impact in the workplace. There are many things, unwanted pressure, looks, feel, touches, verbal, non-verbal, and physical communications and actions that would create sexual harassment, either intentionally or unintentionally that would provide the legal definition of a harassing conduct. Title VII is enforced by the (EEOC) Equal Opportunity Employment Commission that has built up large body of regulations and g uidelines, which avails the legal meaning of harassing behavior and lays out the standard to be followed by courts, and enforcement agencies in handling sexual harassment charges (ICRC factsheet 1). As part of a social context in working environments, employees get to socialize better, which could have either a positive or negative effect in the long run. As a benefit, it improves team work and support in job performance; sometimes the relationships go beyond the work domains and employees could get married and have families of their own, since there are few or no such laws that restrict them. Similarly, the law works to ensure integrity and morality in workplace, such that if the employee is not willing to engage in a sexual relationship with his or her co workers, employers, supervisors,... This paper approves that business sexual harassment training programs and establishment of complaints committees, possibly outside the line of management, with gender equality and expertise in leading and counseling people is required by law in the business level, Businesses consist many rules and regulations that govern the employees and management. However, some of those rules are optional and may not be strictly enforced; instead the federal, state, labor, and international laws require establishment of some policies such as in sexual harassment, which should enforce and comply with the requirements of the law. Businesses regardless of the size have to option but to deploy such policies, because they are part of the necessary policies regulated by the law. This report makes a conclusion that workplace sexual harassment affects individuals psychologically, and their behavior in their social lives and in the workplace. It is a problem that puts indirect pressure on the people to terminate their jobs, due to the hostile working environment and when control measures are lacking. In some cases, it causes trauma to individuals making them unable to perform their roles, due to emotional and physical stress. It also demoralizes the workers involved and may cost them their self esteem. The international, federal, state, and business rules and regulations put measures to define, prohibit, and control sexual harassment among other discriminations, which must be enforced through set procedures and institutions in filing complaints and seeking protection. The employer and their employees also have responsibilities in administering and complying with the laws in solving sexual harassment disputes.

ECE 4332 ELECTR OOPTIC DEVICES AND SYSTEMS Assignment

ECE 4332 ELECTR OOPTIC DEVICES AND SYSTEMS - Assignment Example Accompanying the evolution from copper wire or wireless connection to lightwave networks is the proliferation of new optical devices. Discoveries in optical transmitters, amplifiers, frequency converters, filters and multiplexers enable ways to generate, condition, and detect light. The study of wave interactions with periodic structures has yielded convenient methods of analysis and the results have been extended to gratings in wavelengths such as those in distributed feedback lasers, acousto-optic modulators and filters, and other diffracted waveguide devices. The fiber Bragg gratings is readily analyzed by coupled mode and transfer matrixes analysis. the two modes of the waveguide Bragg grating are the counter propagating waves in the fiber which are coupled through the grating reflection. In the absence of the grating, the spatial dependence of the polarization currents for the forward wave are proportional to. Perturbations by a grating having spatial period Ù ¨ create new sidebands that result in wave coupling i.e. exp( jÃŽ ²z)cos(2Ï€z/Ù ¨) = Â ½{exp[j(ÃŽ ²-2Ï€/Ù ¨)z]+exp[j(ÃŽ ²+2Ï€/Ù ¨)z]} and mode coupling to the backward coupling wave. Exp[-jÃŽ ²z] described by the first term on the right-hand side, occurs when -ÃŽ ²~(ÃŽ ²-2Ï€/Ù ¨). T hen the forward propagating wave is reflected (coupled) into the backward propagating wave. Coupled mode equations are readily derived upon substitution by the grating refractive index function into the wave equation +[]2E(Ù ¤)=0 where Ù ¤=koz is the normalized axial dimension and n(Ù ¤)/no=1+ÏÆ'(Ù ¤)+2h(Ù ¤)cos[2Ù ¤+2Ç ¿(Ù ¤)]. Here, no is the effective index of the propagating waves, and k0=Ù ¤onok is the nominal Bragg wave number, for constant Ç ¿, the Bragg wavelength is ÃŽ »bragg=2Ï€n0/k0. Change in the local average refractive index is defined by ÏÆ', the peak-to-peak index variation is 4h and corresponds to grating

We'll Bring our Location to You Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

We'll Bring our Location to You - Case Study Example Some societies will be friendly while others will be harsh. Turner, a food truck owner, said that operating a mobile restaurant was a remarkable experience. People would stream out, both parents and children, to enjoy delicious meals that they offered. The particular town was very nice for trucks (Rock, 2012). A mobile restaurant is more flexible than a stationary restaurant. In seasons when business is low in a particular area, one only shifts to new locations where business is good. The prices of foods in a mobile restaurant are comparatively lower to that of a stationary restaurant. The cost of starting a mobile restaurant are much more affordable ranging between $20,000 to $160,000 depending on the food truck one would purchase. Fixed restaurants have high operational costs especially in big cities. Thus making net profit is difficult in the case of fixed restaurants (Scarborough 2012). Market penetration is one of the biggest advantages of mobile restaurants. Food trucks can quickly dispatch deliveries to community festivals, weddings and private events. Mobile restaurants overcome the difficulties companies might face in holding business off-sites even though demand exists. In such cases, mobile restaurants deliver quality food and services at places of convenience to the client (Jennings, 2009). The precise location of a mobile restaurant cannot be easily determined. The food truck is at one place at particular moment and the next moment it is far away (Mark Elliot & Sanders, 2013). Thus, mobile restaurants are highly mobile ever exploring and searching for new market and opportunities. Food trucks have the ability to move to locations where there are many customers and park there thus achieving high sales. Mobile restaurants are like arteries they penetrate everywhere and generate approximately $1.4 billion per annum (Marte, 2012).Hence, food trucks in a sense hijack customers by parking in

Managing stress among employees in an outpatient setting Research Paper

Managing stress among employees in an outpatient setting - Research Paper Example At the same time, the effectiveness of the changes being implemented need to be determined at regular intervals. It is identified that the negligence of evaluation phases causes the breakdown of implemented changes. This paper will discuss various strategies and techniques that can be effectively employed in evaluating the impacts of the introduced changes among employees in out-patient settings. There are three evaluation phases that are scientifically designed for program evaluation; formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and impact evaluation. The formative evaluation phase continuously acquires information regarding the introduced program in order to amplify the performance. According to Lytras, Carroll, Damiani, Tennyson, Avison, Vossen, and Pablos (2008), in summative evaluation phase, the outcomes of the project are assessed; and from those results, the project managers analyze the impact of the outcome on its actual beneficiaries; the shareholders (p.672). On the other h and, impact evaluation phase focuses on the larger group of beneficiaries over a long period of time. Here we can use formative evaluation and summative evaluation techniques for the determination of the effectiveness of the introduced organizational change in an out-patient setting. ... Similarly, it is suggestible for the project management team to assess the effectiveness of the change by considering its impacts on those employees who were affected by stress. It can be achieved by comparing the individuals’ level of performance prior to and after the implementation of the program. Their new ways of working behavior both as individuals and as team need to be evaluated for knowing whether the change takes a positive effect on them or not. This process of change management is termed as change curve which can be used for assessing the impacts of the implemented measures (Change management: Making organization change happen effectively, n.d.). It is important to evaluate the extent to which the measures being implemented are accepted by the workers and whether the measures are effective in helping employees to bring out their potential completely toward the work undertaken. It would be better to assess the rate of absenteeism before and after the execution of th e strategies. The record of employees’ medical leave would reflect the effectiveness of stress management measures, because stress- free life offers physical as well as mental stability. At the same time, the finest way is to judge how effectively employees involve in work and how well this is being reflected in their performance. It is better to evaluate the workers’ contribution towards the development of the organization as a whole. An efficient supervisor would assist the management to evaluate the individual performance frequently. The status of the organization also reflects the impacts of organizational change. To illustrate, it is essential to analyze the impact of the program on the economic interests of the shareholders. In addition, the progress of the organization and its stature

We'll Bring our Location to You Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

We'll Bring our Location to You - Case Study Example Some societies will be friendly while others will be harsh. Turner, a food truck owner, said that operating a mobile restaurant was a remarkable experience. People would stream out, both parents and children, to enjoy delicious meals that they offered. The particular town was very nice for trucks (Rock, 2012). A mobile restaurant is more flexible than a stationary restaurant. In seasons when business is low in a particular area, one only shifts to new locations where business is good. The prices of foods in a mobile restaurant are comparatively lower to that of a stationary restaurant. The cost of starting a mobile restaurant are much more affordable ranging between $20,000 to $160,000 depending on the food truck one would purchase. Fixed restaurants have high operational costs especially in big cities. Thus making net profit is difficult in the case of fixed restaurants (Scarborough 2012). Market penetration is one of the biggest advantages of mobile restaurants. Food trucks can quickly dispatch deliveries to community festivals, weddings and private events. Mobile restaurants overcome the difficulties companies might face in holding business off-sites even though demand exists. In such cases, mobile restaurants deliver quality food and services at places of convenience to the client (Jennings, 2009). The precise location of a mobile restaurant cannot be easily determined. The food truck is at one place at particular moment and the next moment it is far away (Mark Elliot & Sanders, 2013). Thus, mobile restaurants are highly mobile ever exploring and searching for new market and opportunities. Food trucks have the ability to move to locations where there are many customers and park there thus achieving high sales. Mobile restaurants are like arteries they penetrate everywhere and generate approximately $1.4 billion per annum (Marte, 2012).Hence, food trucks in a sense hijack customers by parking in

Soc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Soc - Essay Example I once attended a celebration of a Chinese new year which they call Kung Hei Fat Choi which is really a different celebration of New Year from my culture. For one, the celebration was replete with firecrackers and loud noises in their belief to scare away bad omens. They also had a dragon dance which they believe to bring good luck and rounded foods. This type of celebration is considered alien to me because we do not do dragon dance in celebrating New Year nor prepare round foods. To explain my seeming alienation about Chinese New Year, I would like to bring about George Herbert Mead’s social psychological theory of relation among the mind that not all factors in my environment can influence how I think. I belong to _____(your primary group) as my primary group and ____(your formal organization) as my formal organization. I am basically comfortable with my primary group albeit it has no formal structure where other people of the group, including myself are just enjoying each other’s company. The formal group on the other hand is more structured and has an objective why it exists. It reflects the normative organization because there are rules that are expected to follow where its members are expected to conform. In the primary group, my status varies since the structure is informal. Sometimes I am the leader and opinion maker sometimes I am the follower depending on the situation. In the formal organization however, my status is labeled as a member because I am not an officer of that club. At the end of the game, I belonged to the middle class because I had enough property to sustain me in the game. The game basically made me realized that if you make enough investment early in the game, you will end up rich because when other players step into your property, they have to pay rent and this accumulates as the game goes. Having enough resources in the game made me realized that it will enable the player to

Cristiano Ronaldo Essay Example for Free

Cristiano Ronaldo Essay Some young children spend a great amount of their time practicing sports. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. While some students spend much time studying in schools, others use much of their own time practicing various type of sports. If we open a debate on this topic, we will likely discover that, spending much time practicing sports has both advantages and inconveniences. In my opinion, the advantages of some students doing a great amount sports outweigh its inconveniences. My reasons are discussed below. First and foremost, some students practice sports as a profession. For instance, athletics is one of the highest paid occupations in the world today. This has influenced many students who excel in various sports such as: football, handball, basket ball, just to name but a few, to concentrate in their respective disciplines so that they can find themselves in the shoes of some of the well known sport men in the world like; the famous basket baller Jordan, and renown footballers like; Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messy. Furthermore, other students do a lot of sports because of health purposes. Some students attending school have various types of diseases and in some cases; their doctors recommend sports as being vital to their health. Taking this into consideration, they have to spend a great amount of their time doing sports and a relative small amount in school work in order to be healthy. Finally, students who do a lot of sports have small amount of time to concentrate on their course work. Some students put in much of their time in doing too much sport and spend less time in studying, and as a result, they end up performing very poor in their various courses. In addition, there are some students who do sports not because they are very good at doing so, but because they want to imitate others. To conclude, doing a lot of sports has both its advantages and inconveniences but taking into consideration that some students do a lot of sports because it is their occupation, others because they want to stay healthy, and others for leisure or because they see others doing so, the importance of doing great amount of sports outweighs in inconveniences.

Falls in Older Adults With Mental Illness

Falls in Older Adults With Mental Illness Aim The aim of this research paper is to examine the cases of falls in older adults mainly due to the mental illness. The decreasing level of mental health in older adult is a primary reason of fall leading to multiple serious injuries. The research paper will analyze the role of mental illness in causing the falls in older adults. Objective This study establishes the fact that mental illness in older adults is responsible for a fall causing major injuries, which can prove fatal. This study further investigates the various preventive measures which can be adopted to prevent the fall of mentally older adults. Introduction Human body is the complex machine ever made. Like machines, Human body is also prone to wear tear. The phenomenon of ageing in human being is universally known. With increase in age, body’s resistivity decreases, thus many old age problems arises. With the advancements of medical technology, human life expectancy has been increased from 50 years to 65 years. The possibility of leading a healthier life after 50 years is possible which was not possible in earlier days (Rowe kahn 1987 1997). Increased health education, various financial programmes better care of human body has increased the average life of a human to 70 or 80 years. But with increased age, certain chronic diseases are bound to happen. It is true that due to best medical practices human life has increased but human body being a part of nature has its own fate. With increased life expectancy, we can see a lot of older active members in our today’s society. With increase in active older adults, there is a subsequent increase in adults with mental physical problems as well (Zarit, Johansson Malmberg 1995). Mental problems are the result of social dilemma in older adults. Many cases are recently divorced male female, sometimes the loss of near and dear ones plunges one into darkness. Despite all the best of technological advancements and innovative medical treatments, the mental well being of older adult people is declining (Zarit Zarit 2012). The solidarity living, unable to socialize are also seen as few causes of mental illness. Older adults, sometimes divorcee or single suffering from mental disorder become victim of fall, due to losing of consciousness. The fall is a major reason of unintentional injuries (Sattin 1992). A faller is a person who falls, which is usually more than once in case of mentally ill people. The fall, induces by mental illness is increasing day by day. Hospitalization due to fall is increasing in the age group of 55-65 years (Heslop et. Al. 2012). Fall resulted to mental disorder leads to major injuries. Depression due to single living style is a major reas on causing the mental imbalance. The loss of confidence due to multiple falls in patient with high level of mental disorder is seen in patients who fall at least three times in a year. Due to singular living style being popular these days, people are unable to mingling socially, a patient suffering from mental disorder will remain unhealthy until his atmosphere gets changed. Easing out the feeling of depression in people is the first cure of mental illness which doesn’t usually happens these days until you visit a doctor. Literature review The social confinement of living alone is a major cause of increasing mental illness and subsequent fall of patients (Treas 1995). Although, the fall is a resultant of both external factors as well internal. Change in environment, Affect of Drugs or any labour intensive activity performed under harsh condition can also lead to fall (Nyberg 1996). Mental well being is often attributed to heavy drug intake, which leads to dizziness. Intuitional admittance is often regarded as a remedy to prevent any fatal injury but falls are in increasing number by two – third to those people who are under institutional care (Bergland et. al. 1998). Mental well is often regarded something which comes with age, but that is not the usual case. Certain minor or mid aged adults too have shown sign of mental illness, although number of fall accidents in not serious in this age group. Mental illness deteriorates with increasing age resulting in increasing number of fall as age increases, which increa ses the number of hospitalized cases due to fall (Mathers et. al. 1998). Prevention is the best remedy to cure the mental illness as well as to prevent any serious injury due to fall. The mental illness can be caused to various factors including generic inheritance (Sellers et. al. 2012). Although several researches have been done on the cause of mental illness but nothing specific is researched on fall as a result of mental instability. Also fall is not the direct resultant of mental illness, it’s the after affect of various drugs that patient take as a cure of mental illness. A recently concluded report find linkages of mental illness with other age related diseases also (Griffin 2013). Risk assessment should be the specific case while dealing a patient with multiple disorders. Considering the less neighbourhood friendly nature of our modern living, a single person is always prone to mental imbalance. A woman who is a divorcee and now lives single is more prone to mental illness (Schoevers et. al. 2006). The risk of depression is much greater tha n compared to the one living in a joint family. Fall in the case of single living patient is more serious. Delay in hospitalization can lead to death of a patient in case if nobody reports to the hospital which usually can happen if you are living alone. A faller falling at multiple times in a year is more prone to neurological disorder (Nevitt et. al. 2006). Fall is often related to the depression and mental unconsciousness of a person. A subsequent increase in the order of fall can increase the mental depression (Krishnaswamy n.d.). The Australian Commission of Safety Quality in Health care has established that treatment of fall can be useful in treating multiple illnesses. The guidelines issued by them include the risk assessment test to be done for person crossing a threshold level of age. Certain literature focuses on preventive measures with regard to spatial planning, lighting ambiance user friendly approaches of the houses to be designed for older adults. Identifying the gaps Although separate studies and researches have been done on various effect of fall, the specific reason of fall in mental disturbed patient is not been studied. A direct link needs to be established between the mental illness and fall. This further should be analyzed on the increasing rate of mental illness with age groups and duration of fall period. Moreover, the physical assessment of a faller needs to be done as to what is he doing at the time of fall, what’s the mental stress level during his falls at what time of the day is the fall occurring. Any literature which can establish direct link of mental illness on a fall of a person is not been done. A study needs to be focused on establishing preventive measure which can be under taken by the patient at spatial level in order to minimize the injuries. This gap is to be answered by the medium of this research paper, with specific need of establishing time occurrence of fall in mentally ill people. Although separate qualitat ive analysis needs to be done for patients live in the institutional care and those living in individual homes. Formulating research question How mental illness linked to the fall of older adult’s people? Specifying the significance The cases of fall are increasing with the increase of age life expectancy. Increasing level of segregation at neighbourhood level has become a way of living. Reporting of fall in case of mentally ill people living single is more important. This research study is important as it will establish a direct link between mentally ill people to their fall, considering the fact that mentally ill people often don’t relate their fall to the mental illness. Risk assessment is also a main focus of this study, as the fall cases are often increases with the increase of age. The research is important owing to the fact that mental illness goes unnoticed despite subsequent fall, that too for the patients living in the institutional care. Bibliography

Elian Gonzalez :: essays research papers

At this point, it probably doesn't make much difference if or when Elian Gonzalez is finally extricated from the clutches of his Miami relatives. The damage has already been done. In 10 or 15 years, Elian's much-discussed psychic injuries will or will not have manifested themselves in some regrettable way, but we'll just have to wait and see. And when we get the news of his inevitable breakdown, we'll sit around and tsk-tsk, trying to remember specifics of the half-year melodrama that brought Elian so relentlessly into our homes and water-cooler conversations. Chances are we won't be able to remember exactly what the arguments were for keeping Elian here or for sending him home. Instead, we'll remember media-crafted images, because that's what this whole case has been about. There's no legal or emotional logic; there's only the mind-numbing parade of made-for-television snapshots: The self-righteous Miami Cuban-American community, chanting and mugging for the cameras; the indignant lawyers; the self-serving talking heads and the political posturing. If we're really lucky and concentrate hard, we'll remember the bemused expression of the little boy himself. Who do we have to thank for this montage of manipulation? The media, of course (yours truly included). What began as a human catastrophe (refugees drown at sea, motherless boy picked up by kindly fishermen) has been turned into something far less redeeming than a circus. When this fifth-rate soap opera began, there was talk of various positive, if peripheral, consequences. Could this little boy's plight push the U.S. government into a more reasonable relationship with Cuba? Would there be a heartwarming and speedy reunion between Elian and his father? Might the members of the American media be able to act like adults and take this for what it is: an intensely private family tragedy of a little boy lost? In retrospect, we should have known things would be bad. Elian's damp arrival on our shores interrupted a couple of spectacularly slow months in the nation's newsrooms — there was nothing to hold us back, so we stampeded down to Miami with our microphones amped and our camera lights blazing. Six months later, according to the media mavens at Newswatch.org, Elian has become the most covered media object since O. J. Simpson, surpassing JFK Jr. and even Diana in network stories. Various networks and CNN have cut a deal with the Miami relatives allowing cameras into the house, should INS officials or federal marshals finally make a move to retrieve Elian.

AdoLf HitLer :: essays research papers

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria, a small town across the Inn River from Germany. Right after the birth of Adolf, his father, Alois Hitler, moved their family to Linz, Austria. Hitler was a good student at first while attending school in Luniz, but as he went to high school he became a very poor student.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1907, Adolf went to Vienna Austria, in an effort to fulfill one of his dreams, and that dream was to become an artist, his attempt to become an artist ended when he failed the entrance exam to get into the Academy of Fine Arts. When Adolf’s mother died he continued to live in Vienna. Adolf decided to try to take the entrance exam again a year later and he fail it again. At this time Hitler was very troubled disappointed (Keesee 10). Hitler started to live in cheep apartment rooms, and sometimes even on park benches, and often had to get his meals from charity kitchens. During Adolf’s time he spent in Vienna, he learned to hate non-Germans. Hitler was a German-speaking Austrian and considered himself German. Hitler ridiculed the Austrian government for recognizing Bowers 2 eight different languages and believed that no government could last if they treated all ethnic groups the same (20). In 1913 Hitler went to Munich, Germany and when World War I began in 1914, he volunteered to be in the German army. When World War I ended Hitler was hospitalized and recovering from temporary blindness which was probably caused by a poison gas attack (30).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The country was now bankrupted because of the funding of the war, and millions of people were unemployed. In 1920, Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, which were known as the Nazis. The Nazis called for all Germans, even Germans that were in other countries, so they could unite into one nation. They wanted the treaty of Versailles to be cancelled. Hitler moved up to the leader of the Nazi party and built up his membership quickly, mostly because of his powerful speaking ability (Lutzer 8).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hitler organized am army for the Nazi party and called them the Storm Troopers which were also known as â€Å"Brown Shirts†. They were usually called upon to fight groups that were tying to break up the Nazi rallies (25).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bowers 3 On November 9, 1923, Hitler led more than 2,000 Storm Troopers on a march to seize the Bavarian government. AdoLf HitLer :: essays research papers Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria, a small town across the Inn River from Germany. Right after the birth of Adolf, his father, Alois Hitler, moved their family to Linz, Austria. Hitler was a good student at first while attending school in Luniz, but as he went to high school he became a very poor student.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1907, Adolf went to Vienna Austria, in an effort to fulfill one of his dreams, and that dream was to become an artist, his attempt to become an artist ended when he failed the entrance exam to get into the Academy of Fine Arts. When Adolf’s mother died he continued to live in Vienna. Adolf decided to try to take the entrance exam again a year later and he fail it again. At this time Hitler was very troubled disappointed (Keesee 10). Hitler started to live in cheep apartment rooms, and sometimes even on park benches, and often had to get his meals from charity kitchens. During Adolf’s time he spent in Vienna, he learned to hate non-Germans. Hitler was a German-speaking Austrian and considered himself German. Hitler ridiculed the Austrian government for recognizing Bowers 2 eight different languages and believed that no government could last if they treated all ethnic groups the same (20). In 1913 Hitler went to Munich, Germany and when World War I began in 1914, he volunteered to be in the German army. When World War I ended Hitler was hospitalized and recovering from temporary blindness which was probably caused by a poison gas attack (30).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The country was now bankrupted because of the funding of the war, and millions of people were unemployed. In 1920, Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, which were known as the Nazis. The Nazis called for all Germans, even Germans that were in other countries, so they could unite into one nation. They wanted the treaty of Versailles to be cancelled. Hitler moved up to the leader of the Nazi party and built up his membership quickly, mostly because of his powerful speaking ability (Lutzer 8).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hitler organized am army for the Nazi party and called them the Storm Troopers which were also known as â€Å"Brown Shirts†. They were usually called upon to fight groups that were tying to break up the Nazi rallies (25).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bowers 3 On November 9, 1923, Hitler led more than 2,000 Storm Troopers on a march to seize the Bavarian government.

Epistemology and Descartes Essay

In both Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Descartes’ The Fourth Meditation, they discuss truth; what it is, where it comes from and how to differentiate it from falsehood and error. Plato’s paper is more metaphorical and uses imagery to paint a picture of his idea of truth, while Descartes’ is more straight forward, and uses examples. These papers are written very differently but are, at the same time, very similar when it comes to content. Although it’s not word for word, these two papers complement each other very well when it comes to defining truth and explaining its origin. In Allegory of the Cave, Plato’s view is that our senses, such as sight, skew our understanding of true knowledge. We are, for all intense and purposes, chained at the neck and ankles, unable to move. Our world is a cave lit by a fire disguised as the sun. We only see what is before us: our shadows, our falsities and errors. However, on the rare occasion that we break free from our chains, we are able to experience true knowledge. We understand the world around us and realize what we once thought we knew isn’t real. We view things in a new perspective, a new light†¦sunlight. This is what Plato believes truth is. The cave where men are chained is, essentially, a mask, hiding Earth’s true identity. Once that mask is taken off, we know Earth’s true identity, we understand. One may relate being ‘unchained’ to an epiphany, or divine intervention. It’s an experience of something so pure, so insightful; you know it to be true. And once we have experienced this pure truth, we must return to the cave populated by shadows and lit with an artificial sun. We must do to this so we can share our true knowledge with others, so they too, may one day be ‘unchained. ’ In The Fourth Meditation, Descartes rationalizes God’s Will, and all of imperfections, through a series of questions and answers. In this paper, Descartes describes God as the source of goodness, truth and being. He is infinite. The opposite of God, Descartes states, is nothingness. So, since we humans exist, Descartes explains we must be somewhere in between these two extremes. We are neither infinite, nor are we nothingness. We are finite, as God willed us to be. We consist of ‘being’ and ‘non-being. ’ And  any imperfection we may have is not a result of our being, rather our non-being†¦our error, in other words. Descartes says that when we know we know something, we are 100 percent sure about it. We have no feelings against it. It’s a sudden realization, an epiphany perhaps. And in this state, our judgments are certain and true. Descartes also talks about how we can not know anything certainly, without looking at the whole picture. For example, scientists cannot expect to prove or disprove God’s existence by looking at specific, finite things in the universe. Or if people try to disprove God by saying there is evil in the world, they aren’t looking at the big picture. For, in the big picture, Descartes thinks there would be an explanation, a purpose for evil. So even though Plato and Descartes give very different types of explanations about truth, and it’s origin, they come to similar conclusions. They both view truth as something beyond our ordinary senses. They both suggest taking a look at the bigger picture to find truth (being unchained/understanding God’s infinite being). And they both agree that, when the truth is know, it needs to be shared.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 73-77

CHAPTER 73 Bourget Airfield's night shift air traffic controller had been dozing before a blank radar screen when the captain of the Judicial Police practically broke down his door. â€Å"Teabing's jet,† Bezu Fache blared, marching into the small tower,† where did it go?† The controller's initial response was a babbling, lame attempt to protect the privacy of their British client – one of the airfield's most respected customers. It failed miserably. â€Å"Okay,† Fache said,† I am placing you under arrest for permitting a private plane to take off without registering a flight plan.† Fache motioned to another officer, who approached with handcuffs, and the traffic controller felt a surge of terror. He thought of the newspaper articles debating whether the nation's police captain was a hero or a menace. That question had just been answered. â€Å"Wait!† the controller heard himself whimper at the sight of the handcuffs. â€Å"I can tell you this much. Sir Leigh Teabing makes frequent trips to London for medical treatments. He has a hangar at Biggin Hill Executive Airport in Kent. On the outskirts of London.† Fache waved off the man with the cuffs. â€Å"Is Biggin Hill his destination tonight?† â€Å"I don't know,† the controller said honestly. â€Å"The plane left on its usual tack, and his last radar contact suggested the United Kingdom. Biggin Hill is an extremely likely guess.† â€Å"Did he have others onboard?† â€Å"I swear, sir, there is no way for me to know that. Our clients can drive directly to their hangars, and load as they please. Who is onboard is the responsibility of the customs officials at the receiving airport.† Fache checked his watch and gazed out at the scattering of jets parked in front of the terminal. â€Å"If they're going to Biggin Hill, how long until they land?† The controller fumbled through his records. â€Å"It's a short flight. His plane could be on the ground by†¦ around six-thirty. Fifteen minutes from now.† Fache frowned and turned to one of his men. â€Å"Get a transport up here. I'm going to London. And get me the Kent local police. Not British MI5. I want this quiet. Kent local.Tell them I want Teabing's plane to be permitted to land. Then I want it surrounded on the tarmac. Nobody deplanes until I get there.† CHAPTER 74 â€Å"You're quiet,† Langdon said, gazing across the Hawker's cabin at Sophie. â€Å"Just tired,† she replied. â€Å"And the poem. I don't know.† Langdon was feeling the same way. The hum of the engines and the gentle rocking of the plane were hypnotic, and his head still throbbed where he'd been hit by the monk. Teabing was still in the back of the plane, and Langdon decided to take advantage of the moment alone with Sophie to tell her something that had been on his mind. â€Å"I think I know part of the reason why your grandfather conspired to put us together. I think there's something he wanted me to explain to you.† â€Å"The history of the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene isn't enough?† Langdon felt uncertain how to proceed. â€Å"The rift between you. The reason you haven't spoken to him in ten years. I think maybe he was hoping I could somehow make that right by explaining what drove you apart.† Sophie squirmed in her seat. â€Å"I haven't told you what drove us apart.† Langdon eyed her carefully. â€Å"You witnessed a sex rite. Didn't you?† Sophie recoiled. â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"Sophie, you told me you witnessed something that convinced you your grandfather was in a secret society. And whatever you saw upset you enough that you haven't spoken to him since. I know a fair amount about secret societies. It doesn't take the brains of Da Vinci to guess what you saw.† Sophie stared. â€Å"Was it in the spring?† Langdon asked. â€Å"Sometime around the equinox? Mid-March?† Sophie looked out the window. â€Å"I was on spring break from university. I came home a few days early.† â€Å"You want to tell me about it?† â€Å"I'd rather not.† She turned suddenly back to Langdon, her eyes welling with emotion. â€Å"I don't know what I saw.† â€Å"Were both men and women present?† After a beat, she nodded.† Dressed in white and black?† She wiped her eyes and then nodded, seeming to open up a little. â€Å"The women were in white gossamer gowns†¦ with golden shoes. They held golden orbs. The men wore black tunics and black shoes.† Langdon strained to hide his emotion, and yet he could not believe what he was hearing. Sophie Neveu had unwittingly witnessed a two-thousand-year-old sacred ceremony. â€Å"Masks?† he asked, keeping his voice calm. â€Å"Androgynous masks?† â€Å"Yes. Everyone. Identical masks. White on the women. Black on the men.† Langdon had read descriptions of this ceremony and understood its mystic roots. â€Å"It's called Hieros Gamos,† he said softly. â€Å"It dates back more than two thousand years. Egyptian priests and priestesses performed it regularly to celebrate the reproductive power of the female,† He paused, leaning toward her. â€Å"And if you witnessed Hieros Gamos without being properly prepared to understand its meaning, I imagine it would be pretty shocking.† Sophie said nothing. â€Å"Hieros Gamos is Greek,† he continued. â€Å"It means sacred marriage.† â€Å"The ritual I saw was no marriage.† â€Å"Marriage as in union, Sophie.† â€Å"You mean as in sex.† â€Å"No.† â€Å"No?† she said, her olive eyes testing him. Langdon backpedaled. â€Å"Well†¦ yes, in a manner of speaking, but not as we understand it today.† He explained that although what she saw probably looked like a sex ritual, Hieros Gamos had nothing to do with eroticism. It was a spiritual act. Historically, intercourse was the act through which male and female experienced God. The ancients believed that the male was spiritually incomplete until he had carnal knowledge of the sacred feminine. Physical union with the female remained the sole means through which man could become spiritually complete and ultimately achieve gnosis – knowledge of the divine. Since the days of Isis, sex rites had been considered man's only bridge from earth to heaven. â€Å"By communing with woman,† Langdon said,† man could achieve a climactic instant when his mind went totally blank and he could see God.† Sophie looked skeptical. â€Å"Orgasm as prayer?† Langdon gave a noncommittal shrug, although Sophie was essentially correct. Physiologically speaking, the male climax was accompanied by a split second entirely devoid of thought. A brief mental vacuum. A moment of clarity during which God could be glimpsed. Meditation gurus achieved similar states of thoughtlessness without sex and often described Nirvana as a never- ending spiritual orgasm. â€Å"Sophie,† Langdon said quietly,† it's important to remember that the ancients' view of sex was entirely opposite from ours today. Sex begot new life – the ultimate miracle – and miracles could be performed only by a god. The ability of the woman to produce life from her womb made her sacred. A god. Intercourse was the revered union of the two halves of the human spirit – male and female – through which the male could find spiritual wholeness and communion with God. What you saw was not about sex, it was about spirituality. The Hieros Gamos ritual is not a perversion. It's a deeply sacrosanct ceremony.† His words seemed to strike a nerve. Sophie had been remarkably poised all evening, but now, for the first time, Langdon saw the aura of composure beginning to crack. Tears materialized in her eyes again, and she dabbed them away with her sleeve. He gave her a moment. Admittedly, the concept of sex as a pathway to God was mind-boggling at first. Langdon's Jewish students always looked flabbergasted when he first told them that the early Jewish tradition involved ritualistic sex. In the Temple, no less.Early Jews believed that the Holy of Holies in Solomon's Temple housed not only God but also His powerful female equal, Shekinah. Men seeking spiritual wholeness came to the Temple to visit priestesses – or hierodules – with whom they made love and experienced the divine through physical union. The Jewish tetragrammaton YHWH – the sacred name of God – in fact derived from Jehovah, an androgynous physical union between the masculine Jah and the pre-Hebraic name for Eve, Havah. â€Å"For the early Church,† Langdon explained in a soft voice,† mankind's use of sex to commune directly with God posed a serious threat to the Catholic power base. It left the Church out of the loop, undermining their self-proclaimed status as the sole conduit to God. For obvious reasons, they worked hard to demonize sex and recast it as a disgusting and sinful act. Other major religions did the same.† Sophie was silent, but Langdon sensed she was starting to understand her grandfather better. Ironically, Langdon had made this same point in a class lecture earlier this semester. â€Å"Is it surprising we feel conflicted about sex?† he asked his students. â€Å"Our ancient heritage and our very physiologies tell us sex is natural – a cherished route to spiritual fulfillment – and yet modern religion decries it as shameful, teaching us to fear our sexual desire as the hand of the devil.† Langdon decided not to shock his students with the fact that more than a dozen secret societies around the world – many of them quite influential – still practiced sex rites and kept the ancient traditions alive. Tom Cruise's character in the film Eyes Wide Shut discovered this the hard way when he sneaked into a private gathering of ultraelite Manhattanites only to find himself witnessing Hieros Gamos. Sadly, the filmmakers had gotten most of the specifics wrong, but the basic gist was there – a secret society communing to celebrate the magic of sexual union. â€Å"Professor Langdon?† A male student in back raised his hand, sounding hopeful. â€Å"Are you saying that instead of going to chapel, we should have more sex?† Langdon chuckled, not about to take the bait. From what he'd heard about Harvard parties, these kids were having more than enough sex. â€Å"Gentlemen,† he said, knowing he was on tender ground,† might I offer a suggestion for all of you. Without being so bold as to condone premarital sex, and without being so naive as to think you're all chaste angels, I will give you this bit of advice about your sex lives.† All the men in the audience leaned forward, listening intently. â€Å"The next time you find yourself with a woman, look in your heart and see if you cannot approach sex as a mystical, spiritual act. Challenge yourself to find that spark of divinity that man can only achieve through union with the sacred feminine.† The women smiled knowingly, nodding. The men exchanged dubious giggles and off-color jokes. Langdon sighed. College men were still boys. Sophie's forehead felt cold as she pressed it against the plane's window and stared blankly into the void, trying to process what Langdon had just told her. She felt a new regret well within her. Ten years.She pictured the stacks of unopened letters her grandfather had sent her. I will tell Robert everything.Without turning from the window, Sophie began to speak. Quietly. Fearfully. As she began to recount what had happened that night, she felt herself drifting back†¦ alighting in the woods outside her grandfather's Normandy chateau†¦ searching the deserted house in confusion†¦ hearing the voices below her†¦ and then finding the hidden door. She inched down the stone staircase, one step at a time, into that basement grotto. She could taste the earthy air. Cool and light. It was March. In the shadows of her hiding place on the staircase, she watched as the strangers swayed and chanted by flickering orange candles. I'm dreaming, Sophie told herself. This is a dream. What else could this be? The women and men were staggered, black, white, black, white. The women's beautiful gossamer gowns billowed as they raised in their right hands golden orbs and called out in unison,† I was withyou in the beginning, in the dawn of all that is holy, I bore you from the womb before the start of day.† The women lowered their orbs, and everyone rocked back and forth as if in a trance. They were revering something in the center of the circle. What are they looking at? The voices accelerated now. Louder. Faster. â€Å"The woman whom you behold is love!† The women called, raising their orbs again. The men responded,† She has her dwelling in eternity!† The chanting grew steady again. Accelerating. Thundering now. Faster. The participants stepped inward and knelt. In that instant, Sophie could finally see what they were all watching. On a low, ornate altar in the center of the circle lay a man. He was naked, positioned on his back, and wearing a black mask. Sophie instantly recognized his body and the birthmark on his shoulder. She almost cried out. Grand-pere! This image alone would have shocked Sophie beyond belief, and yet there was more. Straddling her grandfather was a naked woman wearing a white mask, her luxuriant silver hair flowing out behind it. Her body was plump, far from perfect, and she was gyrating in rhythm to the chanting – making love to Sophie's grandfather. Sophie wanted to turn and run, but she couldn't. The stone walls of the grotto imprisoned her as the chanting rose to a fever pitch. The circle of participants seemed almost to be singing now, the noise rising in crescendo to a frenzy. With a sudden roar, the entire room seemed to erupt in climax. Sophie could not breathe. She suddenly realized she was quietly sobbing. She turned and staggered silently up the stairs, out of the house, and drove trembling back to Paris. CHAPTER 75 The chartered turboprop was just passing over the twinkling lights of Monaco when Aringarosa hung up on Fache for the second time. He reached for the airsickness bag again but felt too drained even to be sick. Just let it be over! Fache's newest update seemed unfathomable, and yet almost nothing tonight made sense anymore. What is going on? Everything had spiraled wildly out of control. What have I gotten Silas into? What have I gotten myself into! On shaky legs, Aringarosa walked to the cockpit. â€Å"I need to change destinations.† The pilot glanced over his shoulder and laughed. â€Å"You're joking, right?† â€Å"No. I have to get to London immediately.† â€Å"Father, this is a charter flight, not a taxi.† â€Å"I will pay you extra, of course. How much? London is only one hour farther north and requires almost no change of direction, so – â€Å" â€Å"It's not a question of money, Father, there are other issues.† â€Å"Ten thousand euro. Right now.† The pilot turned, his eyes wide with shock. â€Å"How much? What kind of priest carries that kind of cash?† Aringarosa walked back to his black briefcase, opened it, and removed one of the bearer bonds. He handed it to the pilot. â€Å"What is this?† the pilot demanded. â€Å"A ten-thousand-euro bearer bond drawn on the Vatican Bank.† The pilot looked dubious.† It's the same as cash.† â€Å"Only cash is cash,† the pilot said, handing the bond back. Aringarosa felt weak as he steadied himself against the cockpit door. â€Å"This is a matter of life or death. You must help me. I need to get to London.† The pilot eyed the bishop's gold ring. â€Å"Real diamonds?† Aringarosa looked at the ring. â€Å"I could not possibly part with this.† The pilot shrugged, turning and focusing back out the windshield. Aringarosa felt a deepening sadness. He looked at the ring. Everything it represented was about to be lost to the bishop anyway. After a long moment, he slid the ring from his finger and placed it gently on the instrument panel. Aringarosa slunk out of the cockpit and sat back down. Fifteen seconds later, he could feel the pilot banking a few more degrees to the north. Even so, Aringarosa's moment of glory was in shambles. It had all begun as a holy cause. A brilliantly crafted scheme. Now, like a house of cards, it was collapsing in on itself†¦ and the end was nowhere in sight. CHAPTER 76 Langdon could see Sophie was still shaken from recounting her experience of Hieros Gamos. For his part, Langdon was amazed to have heard it. Not only had Sophie witnessed the full-blown ritual, but her own grandfather had been the celebrant†¦ the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. It was heady company. Da Vinci, Botticelli, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Jean Cocteau†¦JacquesSauniere. â€Å"I don't know what else I can tell you,† Langdon said softly. Sophie's eyes were a deep green now, tearful. â€Å"He raised me like his own daughter.† Langdon now recognized the emotion that had been growing in her eyes as they spoke. It was remorse. Distant and deep. Sophie Neveu had shunned her grandfather and was now seeing him in an entirely different light. Outside, the dawn was coming fast, its crimson aura gathering off the starboard. The earth was still black beneath them. â€Å"Victuals, my dears?† Teabing rejoined them with a flourish, presenting several cans of Coke and a box of old crackers. He apologized profusely for the limited fare as he doled out the goods. â€Å"Our friend the monk isn't talking yet,† he chimed, â€Å"but give him time.† He bit into a cracker and eyed the poem. â€Å"So, my lovely, any headway?† He looked at Sophie. â€Å"What is your grandfather trying to tell us here? Where the devil is this headstone? This headstone praised by Templars.† Sophie shook her head and remained silent. While Teabing again dug into the verse, Langdon popped a Coke and turned to the window, his thoughts awash with images of secret rituals and unbroken codes. A headstone praised by Templarsis the key.He took a long sip from the can. A headstone praised by Templars.The cola was warm. The dissolving veil of night seemed to evaporate quickly, and as Langdon watched the transformation, he saw a shimmering ocean stretch out beneath them. The English Channel.It wouldn't be long now. Langdon willed the light of day to bring with it a second kind of illumination, but the lighter it became outside, the further he felt from the truth. He heard the rhythms of iambic pentameter and chanting, Hieros Gamos and sacred rites, resonating with the rumble of the jet. A headstone praised by Templars. The plane was over land again when a flash of enlightenment struck him. Langdon set down his empty can of Coke hard. â€Å"You won't believe this,† he said, turning to the others. â€Å"The Templar headstone – I figured it out.† Teabing's eyes turned to saucers. â€Å"You know where the headstone is?† Langdon smiled. â€Å"Not where it is. What it is.† Sophie leaned in to hear. â€Å"I think the headstone references a literal stone head,†Langdon explained, savoring the familiar excitement of academic breakthrough. â€Å"Not a grave marker.† â€Å"A stone head?† Teabing demanded. Sophie looked equally confused.† Leigh,† Langdon said, turning,† during the Inquisition, the Church accused the Knights Templar of all kinds of heresies, right?† â€Å"Correct. They fabricated all kinds of charges. Sodomy, urination on the cross, devil worship, quite a list.† â€Å"And on that list was the worship of false idols, right? Specifically, the Church accused the Templars of secretly performing rituals in which they prayed to a carved stone head†¦ the pagan god – â€Å" â€Å"Baphomet!† Teabing blurted. â€Å"My heavens, Robert, you're right! A headstone praised by Templars!† Langdon quickly explained to Sophie that Baphomet was a pagan fertility god associated with the creative force of reproduction. Baphomet's head was represented as that of a ram or goat, a common symbol of procreation and fecundity. The Templars honored Baphomet by encircling a stone replica of his head and chanting prayers. â€Å"Baphomet,† Teabing tittered. â€Å"The ceremony honored the creative magic of sexual union, but Pope Clement convinced everyone that Baphomet's head was in fact that of the devil. The Pope used the head of Baphomet as the linchpin in his case against the Templars.† Langdon concurred. The modern belief in a horned devil known as Satan could be traced back to Baphomet and the Church's attempts to recast the horned fertility god as a symbol of evil. The Church had obviously succeeded, although not entirely. Traditional American Thanksgiving tables still bore pagan, horned fertility symbols. The cornucopia or† horn of plenty† was a tribute to Baphomet's fertility and dated back to Zeus being suckled by a goat whose horn broke off and magically filled with fruit. Baphomet also appeared in group photographs when some joker raised two fingers behind a friend's head in the V-symbol of horns; certainly few of the pranksters realized their mocking gesture was in fact advertising their victim's robust sperm count. â€Å"Yes, yes,† Teabing was saying excitedly. â€Å"Baphomet must be what the poem is referring to. A headstone praised by Templars.† â€Å"Okay,† Sophie said, â€Å"but if Baphomet is the headstone praised by Templars, then we have a new dilemma.† She pointed to the dials on the cryptex. â€Å"Baphomet has eight letters. We only have room for five.† Teabing grinned broadly. â€Å"My dear, this is where the Atbash Cipher comes into play† CHAPTER 77 Langdon was impressed. Teabing had just finished writing out the entire twenty-two-letter Hebrew alphabet – alef-beit – from memory. Granted, he'd used Roman equivalents rather than Hebrew characters, but even so, he was now reading through them with flawless pronunciation. A B G D H V Z Ch T Y K L M N S O P Tz Q R Sh Th â€Å"Alef, Beit, Gimel, Dalet, Hei, Vav, Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yud, Kaf, Lamed, Mem, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Pei, Tzadik, Kuf, Reish, Shin, and Tav.† Teabing dramatically mopped his brow and plowed on. â€Å"In formal Hebrew spelling, the vowel sounds are not written. Therefore, when we write the word Baphomet using the Hebrew alphabet, it will lose its three vowels in translation, leaving us – â€Å" â€Å"Five letters,† Sophie blurted. Teabing nodded and began writing again. â€Å"Okay, here is the proper spelling of Baphomet inHebrew letters. I'll sketch in the missing vowels for clarity's sake. B a P V o M e Th â€Å"Remember, of course,† he added,† that Hebrew is normally written in the opposite direction, but we can just as easily use Atbash this way. Next, all we have to do is create our substitution scheme by rewriting the entire alphabet in reverse order opposite the original alphabet.† â€Å"There's an easier way,† Sophie said, taking the pen from Teabing. â€Å"It works for all reflectional substitution ciphers, including the Atbash. A little trick I learned at the Royal Holloway.† Sophie wrote the first half of the alphabet from left to right, and then, beneath it, wrote the second half, right to left. â€Å"Cryptanalysts call it the fold-over. Half as complicated. Twice as clean.† A B G D H V Z Ch T Y K Th Sh R Q Tz P O S N M L Teabing eyed her handiwork and chuckled. â€Å"Right you are. Glad to see those boys at the Holloway are doing their job.† Looking at Sophie's substitution matrix, Langdon felt a rising thrill that he imagined must have rivaled the thrill felt by early scholars when they first used the Atbash Cipher to decrypt the now famous Mystery of Sheshach.For years, religious scholars had been baffled by biblical references to a city called Sheshach.The city did not appear on any map nor in any other documents, and yet it was mentioned repeatedly in the Book of Jeremiah – the king of Sheshach, the city of Sheshach, the people of Sheshach. Finally, a scholar applied the Atbash Cipher to the word, and his results were mind-numbing. The cipher revealed that Sheshach was in fact a code word for another very well-known city. The decryption process was simple. Sheshach, in Hebrew, was spelled: Sh-Sh-K. Sh-Sh-K, when placed in the substitution matrix, became B-B-L. B-B-L, in Hebrew, spelled Babel. The mysterious city of Sheshach was revealed as the city of Babel, and a frenzy of biblical examination ensued. Within weeks, several more Atbash code words were uncovered in the Old Testament, unveiling myriad hidden meanings that scholars had no idea were there. â€Å"We're getting close,† Langdon whispered, unable to control his excitement. â€Å"Inches, Robert,† Teabing said. He glanced over at Sophie and smiled. â€Å"You ready?† She nodded.† Okay, Baphomet in Hebrew without the vowels reads: B-P-V-M-Th.Now we simply apply your Atbash substitution matrix to translate the letters into our five-letter password.† Langdon's heart pounded. B-P-V-M-Th.The sun was pouring through the windows now. He looked at Sophie's substitution matrix and slowly began to make the conversion. B is Sh†¦P is V†¦ Teabing was grinning like a schoolboy at Christmas. â€Å"And the Atbash Cipher reveals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped short. â€Å"Good God!† His face went white. Langdon's head snapped up. â€Å"What's wrong?† Sophie demanded. â€Å"You won't believe this.† Teabing glanced at Sophie. â€Å"Especially you.† â€Å"What do you mean?† she said.† This is†¦ ingenious,† he whispered. â€Å"Utterly ingenious!† Teabing wrote again on the paper. â€Å"Drumroll, please. Here is your password.† He showed them what he had written. Sh-V-P-Y-A Sophie scowled. â€Å"What is it?† Langdon didn't recognize it either. Teabing's voice seemed to tremble with awe. â€Å"This, my friend, is actually an ancient word of wisdom.† Langdon read the letters again. An ancient word of wisdom frees this scroll.An instant later he got it. He had never seen this coming. â€Å"An ancient word of wisdom!† Teabing was laughing. â€Å"Quite literally!† Sophie looked at the word and then at the dial. Immediately she realized Langdon and Teabing had failed to see a serious glitch. â€Å"Hold on! This can't be the password,† she argued. â€Å"The cryptex doesn't have an Sh on the dial. It uses a traditional Roman alphabet.† â€Å"Read the word,† Langdon urged. â€Å"Keep in mind two things. In Hebrew, the symbol for the sound Sh can also be pronounced as S, depending on the accent. Just as the letter P can be pronounced F.† SVFYA? she thought, puzzled. â€Å"Genius!† Teabing added. â€Å"The letter Vav is often a placeholder for the vowel sound O!† Sophie again looked at the letters, attempting to sound them out.† S†¦ o†¦ f†¦ y†¦ a.† She heard the sound of her voice, and could not believe what she had just said. â€Å"Sophia? This spells Sophia?† Langdon was nodding enthusiastically. â€Å"Yes! Sophia literally means wisdom in Greek. The root of your name, Sophie, is literally a ‘word of wisdom.'† Sophie suddenly missed her grandfather immensely. He encrypted the Priory keystone with my name.A knot caught in her throat. It all seemed so perfect. But as she turned her gaze to the five lettered dials on the cryptex, she realized a problem still existed. â€Å"But wait†¦ the word Sophia has six letters.† Teabing's smile never faded. â€Å"Look at the poem again. Your grandfather wrote, ‘An ancient word of wisdom.' â€Å"Yes?† Teabing winked. â€Å"In ancient Greek, wisdom is spelled S-O-F-I-A.†

Plan for Establishing a Career Development Function in an Organization Research Paper

Plan for Establishing a Career Development Function in an Organization - Research Paper Example Specifically, this paper shall be divided into three parts: firstly, a discussion on the essence of organizational and employee management as defined and explained by National Career Development Organization or NCDO; secondly, an in-depth analysis of the contents of career development and its role in attaining business objectives; and lastly, a conclusion that will synthesize all the key learning points gleaned. The National Career Development Organization (2012) claimed that the organizational and employee management had emerged as a discipline that involved â€Å"the overall arrangement of the organization and its functions, including both the long-term and short-tem identification and development of its human resources†. In this regard, all of its plans, processes, and models are in line with providing the necessary skills that its employees need to meet the current and future job demands. Thus, it could be stated that organizational and employee management is similar to strategic talent management, which aims at creating job functions that help the company realize its maximum potential. From a historical point of view, it could be said that the inception of organizational and employee management has been heavily influenced by factors such as â€Å"Increased competition for promotion, constant innovation in technology, pressures for equal employment opportunities, corporate rightsizing and restructuring, globalization of our economy, and employees’ desire to get the most out of their careers† (Powell, 2003). From a workforce perspective, it could be claimed that strategic talent management was also a product of the employer’s desire to harness their employees’ knowledge and skills, and keep those that are most valuable to the company. At this point, National Career Development Organization (2012) also wanted to emphasize the difference between career management and career development.