The Da Vinci Code Chapter 7-9

CHAPTER 7 The modest dwelling within the Church of Saint-Sulpice was located on the second floor of the church itself, to the left of the choir balcony. A two-room suite with a stone floor and minimal furnishings, it had been home to Sister Sandrine Bieil for over a decade. The nearby convent washer formal residence, if anyone asked, but she preferred the quiet of the church and had made herself quite comfortable upstairs with a bed, phone, and hot plate. As the church's conservatrice d'affaires, Sister Sandrine was responsible for overseeing all nonreligious aspects of church operations – general maintenance, hiring support staff and guides, securing the building after hours, and ordering supplies like communion wine and wafers. Tonight, asleep in her small bed, she awoke to the shrill of her telephone. Tiredly, she lifted the receiver. â€Å"Soeur Sandrine. Eglise Saint-Sulpice.† â€Å"Hello, Sister,† the man said in French. Sister Sandrine sat up. What time is it? Although she recognized her boss's voice, in fifteen years she had never been awoken by him. The abbe was a deeply pious man who went home to bed immediately after mass. â€Å"I apologize if I have awoken you, Sister,† the abbe said, his own voice sounding groggy and on edge. â€Å"I have a favor to ask of you. I just received a call from an influential American bishop. Perhaps you know him? Manuel Aringarosa?† â€Å"The head of Opus Dei?† Of course I know of him.Who in the Church doesn't? Aringarosa's conservative prelature had grown powerful in recent years. Their ascension to grace was jump-started in 1982 when Pope John Paul II unexpectedly elevated them to a† personal prelature of the Pope,† officially sanctioning all of their practices. Suspiciously, Opus Dei's elevation occurred the same year the wealthy sect allegedly had transferred almost one billion dollars into the Vatican's Institute for Religious Works – commonly known as the Vatican Bank – bailing it out of an embarrassing bankruptcy. In a second maneuver that raised eyebrows, the Pope placed the founder of Opus Dei on the† fast track† for sainthood, accelerating an often century-long waiting period for canonization to a mere twenty years. Sister Sandrine could not help but feel that Opus Dei's good standing in Rome was suspect, but one did not argue with the Holy See. â€Å"Bishop Aringarosa called to ask me a favor,† the abbe told her, his voice nervous. â€Å"One of his numeraries is in Paris tonight†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As Sister Sandrine listened to the odd request, she felt a deepening confusion. â€Å"I'm sorry, you say this visiting Opus Dei numerary cannot wait until morning?† â€Å"I'm afraid not. His plane leaves very early. He has always dreamed of seeing Saint-Sulpice.† â€Å"But the church is far more interesting by day. The sun's rays through the oculus, the graduated shadows on the gnomon, this is what makes Saint-Sulpice unique.† â€Å"Sister, I agree, and yet I would consider it a personal favor if you could let him in tonight. He can be there at†¦ say one o'clock? That's in twenty minutes.† Sister Sandrine frowned. â€Å"Of course. It would be my pleasure.† The abbe thanked her and hung up. Puzzled, Sister Sandrine remained a moment in the warmth of her bed, trying to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. Her sixty-year-old body did not awake as fast as it used to, although tonight's phone call had certainly roused her senses. Opus Dei had always made her uneasy. Beyond the prelature's adherence to the arcane ritual of corporal mortification, their views on women were medieval at best. She had been shocked to learn that female numeraries were forced to clean the men's residence halls for no pay while the men were at mass; women slept on hardwood floors, while the men had straw mats; and women were forced to endure additional requirements of corporal mortification†¦ all as added penance for original sin. It seemed Eve's bite from the apple of knowledge was a debt women were doomed to pay for eternity. Sadly, while most of the Catholic Church was gradually moving in the right direction with respect to women's rights, Opus Dei threatened to reverse the progress. Even so, Sister Sandrine had her orders. Swinging her legs off the bed, she stood slowly, chilled by the cold stone on the soles of her bare feet. As the chill rose through her flesh, she felt an unexpected apprehension. Women's intuition? A follower of God, Sister Sandrine had learned to find peace in the calming voices of her own soul. Tonight, however, those voices were as silent as the empty church around her. CHAPTER 8 Langdon couldn't tear his eyes from the glowing purple text scrawled across the parquet floor. Jacques Sauniere's final communication seemed as unlikely a departing message as any Langdon could imagine. The message read: 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! Although Langdon had not the slightest idea what it meant, he did understand Fache's instinct that the pentacle had something to do with devil worship. O, Draconian devil! Sauniere had left a literal reference to the devil. Equally as bizarre was the series of numbers. â€Å"Part of it looks like a numeric cipher.† â€Å"Yes,† Fache said. â€Å"Our cryptographers are already working on it. We believe these numbers maybe the key to who killed him. Maybe a telephone exchange or some kind of social identification. Do the numbers have any symbolic meaning to you?† Langdon looked again at the digits, sensing it would take him hours to extract any symbolic meaning. If Sauniere had even intended any.To Langdon, the numbers looked totally random. He was accustomed to symbolic progressions that made some semblance of sense, but everything here – the pentacle, the text, the numbers – seemed disparate at the most fundamental level. â€Å"You alleged earlier,† Fache said,† that Sauniere's actions here were all in an effort to send some sort of message†¦ goddess worship or something in that vein? How does this message fit in?† Langdon knew the question was rhetorical. This bizarre communique obviously did not fit Langdon's scenario of goddess worship at all. O, Draconian devil? Oh, lame saint? Fache said, â€Å"This text appears to be an accusation of some sort. Wouldn't you agree?† Langdon tried to imagine the curator's final minutes trapped alone in the Grand Gallery, knowing he was about to die. It seemed logical. â€Å"An accusation against his murderer makes sense, I suppose.† â€Å"My job, of course, is to put a name to that person. Let me ask you this, Mr. Langdon. To your eye, beyond the numbers, what about this message is most strange?† Most strange? A dying man had barricaded himself in the gallery, drawn a pentacle on himself, and scrawled a mysterious accusation on the floor. What about the scenario wasn't strange? â€Å"The word ‘Draconian'?† he ventured, offering the first thing that came to mind. Langdon was fairly certain that a reference to Draco – the ruthless seventh-century B. C. politician – was an unlikely dying thought. † ‘Draconian devil' seems an odd choice of vocabulary.† â€Å"Draconian?† Fache's tone came with a tinge of impatience now. â€Å"Sauniere's choice of vocabulary hardly seems the primary issue here.† Langdon wasn't sure what issue Fache had in mind, but he was starting to suspect that Draco and Fache would have gotten along well. â€Å"Sauniere was a Frenchman,† Fache said flatly. â€Å"He lived in Paris. And yet he chose to write this message†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"In English,† Langdon said, now realizing the captain's meaning. Fache nodded. â€Å"Precisement.Any idea why?† Langdon knew Sauniere spoke impeccable English, and yet the reason he had chosen English as the language in which to write his final words escaped Langdon. He shrugged. Fache motioned back to the pentacle on Sauniere's abdomen. â€Å"Nothing to do with devil worship? Are you still certain?† Langdon was certain of nothing anymore. â€Å"The symbology and text don't seem to coincide. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.† â€Å"Perhaps this will clarify.† Fache backed away from the body and raised the black light again, letting the beam spread out in a wider angle. â€Å"And now?† To Langdon's amazement, a rudimentary circle glowed around the curator's body. Sauniere had apparently lay down and swung the pen around himself in several long arcs, essentially inscribing himself inside a circle. In a flash, the meaning became clear. â€Å"The Vitruvian Man,†Langdon gasped. Sauniere had created a life-sized replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous sketch. Considered the most anatomically correct drawing of its day, Da Vinci's The Vitruvian Man had become a modern-day icon of culture, appearing on posters, mouse pads, and T-shirts around the world. The celebrated sketch consisted of a perfect circle in which was inscribed a nude male†¦ his arms and legs outstretched in a naked spread eagle. Da Vinci.Langdon felt a shiver of amazement. The clarity of Sauniere's intentions could not be denied. In his final moments of life, the curator had stripped off his clothing and arranged his body in a clear image of Leonardo Da Vinci's VitruvianMan. The circle had been the missing critical element. A feminine symbol of protection, the circle around the naked man's body completed Da Vinci's intended message – male and female harmony. The question now, though, was why Sauniere would imitate a famous drawing. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† Fache said,† certainly a man like yourself is aware that Leonardo Da Vinci had a tendency toward the darker arts.† Langdon was surprised by Fache's knowledge of Da Vinci, and it certainly went a long way toward explaining the captain's suspicions about devil worship. Da Vinci had always been an awkward subject for historians, especially in the Christian tradition. Despite the visionary's genius, he was a flamboyant homosexual and worshipper of Nature's divine order, both of which placed him in a perpetual state of sin against God. Moreover, the artist's eerie eccentricities projected an admittedly demonic aura: Da Vinci exhumed corpses to study human anatomy; he kept mysterious journals in illegible reverse handwriting; he believed he possessed the alchemic power to turn lead into gold and even cheat God by creating an elixir to postpone death; and his inventions included horrific, never-before-imagined weapons of war and torture. Misunderstanding breeds distrust, Langdon thought. Even Da Vinci's enormous output of breathtaking Christian art only furthered the artist's reputation for spiritual hypocrisy. Accepting hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions, Da Vinci painted Christian themes not as an expression of his own beliefs but rather as a commercial venture – a means of funding a lavish lifestyle. Unfortunately, Da Vinci was a prankster who often amused himself by quietly gnawing at the hand that fed him. He incorporated in many of his Christian paintings hidden symbolism that was anything but Christian – tributes to his own beliefs and a subtle thumbing of his nose at the Church. Langdon had even given a lecture once at the National Gallery in London entitled:† The Secret Life of Leonardo: Pagan Symbolism in Christian Art.† â€Å"I understand your concerns,† Langdon now said, â€Å"but Da Vinci never really practiced any dark arts. He was an exceptionally spiritual man, albeit one in constant conflict with the Church.† As Langdon said this, an odd thought popped into his mind. He glanced down at the message on the floor again. O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! â€Å"Yes?† Fache said. Langdon weighed his words carefully. â€Å"I was just thinking that Sauniere shared a lot of spiritual ideologies with Da Vinci, including a concern over the Church's elimination of the sacred feminine from modern religion. Maybe, by imitating a famous Da Vinci drawing, Sauniere was simply echoing some of their shared frustrations with the modern Church's demonization of the goddess.† Fache's eyes hardened. â€Å"You think Sauniere is calling the Church a lame saint and a Draconian devil?† Langdon had to admit it seemed far-fetched, and yet the pentacle seemed to endorse the idea on some level. â€Å"All I am saying is that Mr. Sauniere dedicated his life to studying the history of the goddess, and nothing has done more to erase that history than the Catholic Church. It seems reasonable that Sauniere might have chosen to express his disappointment in his final good-bye.† â€Å"Disappointment?† Fache demanded, sounding hostile now. â€Å"This message sounds more enragedthan disappointed, wouldn't you say?† Langdon was reaching the end of his patience. â€Å"Captain, you asked for my instincts as to what Sauniere is trying to say here, and that's what I'm giving you.† â€Å"That this is an indictment of the Church?† Fache's jaw tightened as he spoke through clenched teeth. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, I have seen a lot of death in my work, and let me tell you something. When a man is murdered by another man, I do not believe his final thoughts are to write an obscure spiritual statement that no one will understand. I believe he is thinking of one thing only.† Fache's whispery voice sliced the air. â€Å"La vengeance.I believe Sauniere wrote this note to tell us who killed him.† Langdon stared. â€Å"But that makes no sense whatsoever.† â€Å"No?† â€Å"No,† he fired back, tired and frustrated. â€Å"You told me Sauniere was attacked in his office by someone he had apparently invited in.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So it seems reasonable to conclude that the curator knew his attacker.† Fache nodded. â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"So if Sauniere knew the person who killed him, what kind of indictment is this?† He pointed at the floor. â€Å"Numeric codes? Lame saints? Draconian devils? Pentacles on his stomach? It's all too cryptic.† Fache frowned as if the idea had never occurred to him. â€Å"You have a point.† â€Å"Considering the circumstances,† Langdon said,† I would assume that if Sauniere wanted to tell you who killed him, he would have written down somebody's name.† As Langdon spoke those words, a smug smile crossed Fache's lips for the first time all night. â€Å"Precisement,†Fache said. â€Å"Precisement.† I am witnessing the work of a master, mused Lieutenant Collet as he tweaked his audio gear and listened to Fache's voice coming through the headphones. The agent superieur knew it was moments like these that had lifted the captain to the pinnacle of French law enforcement. Fache will do what no one else dares. The delicate art of cajoler was a lost skill in modern law enforcement, one that required exceptional poise under pressure. Few men possessed the necessary sangfroid for this kind of operation, but Fache seemed born for it. His restraint and patience bordered on the robotic. Fache's sole emotion this evening seemed to be one of intense resolve, as if this arrest were somehow personal to him. Fache's briefing of his agents an hour ago had been unusually succinct and assured. I know who murdered Jacques Sauniere, Fache had said. You know what to do.No mistakes tonight. And so far, no mistakes had been made. Collet was not yet privy to the evidence that had cemented Fache's certainty of their suspect's guilt, but he knew better than to question the instincts of the Bull. Fache's intuition seemed almost supernatural at times. God whispers in his ear, one agent had insisted after a particularly impressive display of Fache's sixth sense. Collet had to admit, if there was a God, Bezu Fache would be on His A-list. The captain attended mass and confession with zealous regularity – far more than the requisite holiday attendance fulfilled by other officials in the name of good public relations. When the Pope visited Paris a few years back, Fache had used all his muscle to obtain the honor of an audience. A photo of Fache with the Pope now hung in his office. The Papal Bull, the agents secretly called it. Collet found it ironic that one of Fache's rare popular public stances in recent years had been his outspoken reaction to the Catholic pedophilia scandal. These priests should be hanged twice! Fache had declared. Once for their crimes against children.And once for shaming the good name of theCatholic Church.Collet had the odd sense it was the latter that angered Fache more. Turning now to his laptop computer, Collet attended to the other half of his responsibilities here tonight – the GPS tracking system. The image onscreen revealed a detailed floor plan of the Denon Wing, a structural schematic uploaded from the Louvre Security Office. Letting his eyes trace the maze of galleries and hallways, Collet found what he was looking for. Deep in the heart of the Grand Gallery blinked a tiny red dot. La marque. Fache was keeping his prey on a very tight leash tonight. Wisely so. Robert Langdon had proven himself one cool customer. CHAPTER 9 To ensure his conversation with Mr. Langdon would not be interrupted, Bezu Fache had turned off his cellular phone. Unfortunately, it was an expensive model equipped with a two-way radio feature, which, contrary to his orders, was now being used by one of his agents to page him. â€Å"Capitaine?† The phone crackled like a walkie-talkie. Fache felt his teeth clench in rage. He could imagine nothing important enough that Collet would interrupt this surveillance cachee – especially at this critical juncture. He gave Langdon a calm look of apology. â€Å"One moment please.† He pulled the phone from his belt and pressed the radio transmission button. â€Å"Oui?† â€Å"Capitaine, un agent du Departement de Cryptographie est arrive.† Fache's anger stalled momentarily. A cryptographer? Despite the lousy timing, this was probably good news. Fache, after finding Sauniere's cryptic text on the floor, had uploaded photographs of the entire crime scene to the Cryptography Department in hopes someone there could tell him what the hell Sauniere was trying to say. If a code breaker had now arrived, it most likely meant someone had decrypted Sauniere's message. â€Å"I'm busy at the moment,† Fache radioed back, leaving no doubt in his tone that a line had been crossed. â€Å"Ask the cryptographer to wait at the command post. I'll speak to him when I'm done.† â€Å"Her,†the voice corrected. â€Å"It's Agent Neveu.† Fache was becoming less amused with this call every passing moment. Sophie Neveu was one of DCPJ's biggest mistakes. A young Parisian dechiffreuse who had studied cryptography in England at the Royal Holloway, Sophie Neveu had been foisted on Fache two years ago as part of the ministry's attempt to incorporate more women into the police force. The ministry's ongoing foray into political correctness, Fache argued, was weakening the department. Women not only lacked the physicality necessary for police work, but their mere presence posed a dangerous distraction to the men in the field. As Fache had feared, Sophie Neveu was proving far more distracting than most. At thirty-two years old, she had a dogged determination that bordered on obstinate. Her eager espousal of Britain's new cryptologic methodology continually exasperated the veteran French cryptographers above her. And by far the most troubling to Fache was the inescapable universal truth that in an office of middle-aged men, an attractive young woman always drew eyes away from the work at hand. The man on the radio said,† Agent Neveu insisted on speaking to you immediately, Captain. I tried to stop her, but she's on her way into the gallery.† Fache recoiled in disbelief. â€Å"Unacceptable! I made it very clear – â€Å" For a moment, Robert Langdon thought Bezu Fache was suffering a stroke. The captain was mid- sentence when his jaw stopped moving and his eyes bulged. His blistering gaze seemed fixated on something over Langdon's shoulder. Before Langdon could turn to see what it was, he heard a woman's voice chime out behind him. â€Å"Excusez-moi, messieurs.† Langdon turned to see a young woman approaching. She was moving down the corridor toward them with long, fluid strides†¦ a haunting certainty to her gait. Dressed casually in a knee-length, cream-colored Irish sweater over black leggings, she was attractive and looked to be about thirty. Her thick burgundy hair fell unstyled to her shoulders, framing the warmth of her face. Unlike the waifish, cookie-cutter blondes that adorned Harvard dorm room walls, this woman was healthy with an unembellished beauty and genuineness that radiated a striking personal confidence. To Langdon's surprise, the woman walked directly up to him and extended a polite hand.† Monsieur Langdon, I am Agent Neveu from DCPJ's Cryptology Department.† Her words curved richly around her muted Anglo-Franco accent. â€Å"It is a pleasure to meet you.† Langdon took her soft palm in his and felt himself momentarily fixed in her strong gaze. Her eyes were olive-green – incisive and clear. Fache drew a seething inhalation, clearly preparing to launch into a reprimand. â€Å"Captain,† she said, turning quickly and beating him to the punch, â€Å"please excuse the interruption, but – â€Å" â€Å"Ce n'est pas le moment!† Fache sputtered. â€Å"I tried to phone you.† Sophie continued in English, as if out of courtesy to Langdon. â€Å"But your cell phone was turned off.† â€Å"I turned it off for a reason,† Fache hissed. â€Å"I am speaking to Mr. Langdon.† â€Å"I've deciphered the numeric code,† she said flatly. Langdon felt a pulse of excitement. She broke the code? Fache looked uncertain how to respond. â€Å"Before I explain,† Sophie said,† I have an urgent message for Mr. Langdon.† Fache's expression turned to one of deepening concern. â€Å"For Mr. Langdon?† She nodded, turning back to Langdon. â€Å"You need to contact the U. S. Embassy, Mr. Langdon. They have a message for you from the States.† Langdon reacted with surprise, his excitement over the code giving way to a sudden ripple of concern. A message from the States? He tried to imagine who could be trying to reach him. Only a few of his colleagues knew he was in Paris. Fache's broad jaw had tightened with the news. â€Å"The U. S. Embassy?† he demanded, sounding suspicious. â€Å"How would they know to find Mr. Langdon here?† Sophie shrugged. â€Å"Apparently they called Mr. Langdon's hotel, and the concierge told them Mr. Langdon had been collected by a DCPJ agent.† Fache looked troubled. â€Å"And the embassy contacted DCPJ Cryptography?† â€Å"No, sir,† Sophie said, her voice firm. â€Å"When I called the DCPJ switchboard in an attempt to contact you, they had a message waiting for Mr. Langdon and asked me to pass it along if I got through to you.† Fache's brow furrowed in apparent confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sophie had already turned back to Langdon. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† she declared, pulling a small slip of paper from her pocket,† this is the number for your embassy's messaging service. They asked that you phone in as soon as possible.† She handed him the paper with an intent gaze. â€Å"While I explain the code to Captain Fache, you need to make this call.† Langdon studied the slip. It had a Paris phone number and extension on it. â€Å"Thank you,† he said, feeling worried now. â€Å"Where do I find a phone?† Sophie began to pull a cell phone from her sweater pocket, but Fache waved her off. He now looked like Mount Vesuvius about to erupt. Without taking his eyes off Sophie, he produced his own cell phone and held it out. â€Å"This line is secure, Mr. Langdon. You may use it.† Langdon felt mystified by Fache's anger with the young woman. Feeling uneasy, he accepted the captain's phone. Fache immediately marched Sophie several steps away and began chastising her in hushed tones. Disliking the captain more and more, Langdon turned away from the odd confrontation and switched on the cell phone. Checking the slip of paper Sophie had given him, Langdon dialed the number. The line began to ring. One ring†¦ two rings†¦ three rings†¦ Finally the call connected. Langdon expected to hear an embassy operator, but he found himself instead listening to an answering machine. Oddly, the voice on the tape was familiar. It was that of Sophie Neveu. â€Å"Bonjour, vous etes bien chez Sophie Neveu,† the woman's voice said. â€Å"Je suis absenle pour le moment, mais†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Confused, Langdon turned back toward Sophie. â€Å"I'm sorry, Ms. Neveu? I think you may have given me – â€Å" â€Å"No, that's the right number,† Sophie interjected quickly, as if anticipating Langdon's confusion.† The embassy has an automated message system. You have to dial an access code to pick up your messages.† Langdon stared. â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"It's the three-digit code on the paper I gave you.† Langdon opened his mouth to explain the bizarre error, but Sophie flashed him a silencing glare that lasted only an instant. Her green eyes sent a crystal-clear message. Don't ask questions. Just do it. Bewildered, Langdon punched in the extension on the slip of paper: 454. Sophie's outgoing message immediately cut off, and Langdon heard an electronic voice announce in French: â€Å"You have one new message.† Apparently, 454 was Sophie's remote access code for picking up her messages while away from home. I'm picking up this woman's messages? Langdon could hear the tape rewinding now. Finally, it stopped, and the machine engaged. Langdon listened as the message began to play. Again, the voice on the line was Sophie's. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† the message began in a fearful whisper. â€Å"Do not react to this message. Just listen calmly. You are in danger right now. Follow my directions very closely.†

Play Area Critique Essay

The area of the pre-school room that I have chosen to critically evaluate is the dress up area. Our pre-school consists of 20 children aged 3-4 years old spread over two sessions, and comprises both boys and girls. In our pre-school we have two polish children, one boy and one girl, who speak both English and Polish, one Chinese girl and one Zimbabwean boy. The rest of the children are Irish. Our pre-school room is one large room in a general childcare facility, located at the rear of the building adjacent to the after-school room, and opens out onto the outdoor play area. The development of a learning environment which supports children‘s learning, socialization, interests and needs, is one of the foundation stones to quality early years curriculum and service. According to Aistear, taking time to develop a good indoor and outdoor learning environment will assist in the development of your curriculum and provide a welcoming and supportive learning atmosphere for the children. There are two roles for the adult in preparing this environment: organising it and resourcing it. In a pre-school room the space should be divided into interest areas i. e.  child-sized areas rather than in a single large group space. The supervisor should create well-defined areas of interest that encourage a variety of types of play and helps children see and experience the choices on offer. As you enter our room, the room the sinks and wash up area are to the left, as are the toilets. To the right is the table top area and arts & crafts corner. To the rear of the room, the book and reading corner is on the left hand side adjacent to the construction area, the dress up stand is along the back wall, and the home corner is a separate area on the right hand side. Our building is relatively new and the room is bright and airy, with most of the toys and equipment in a good state of repair. There is no obviously old or shabby area that needs attention. Primary Research In deciding which area of the room needed improvement, I needed to conduct some primary research. The areas of assessment and planning have become increasingly important in childcare. In order to support children’s learning and development, providers must support each individual child by providing appropriate opportunities, experiences, activities, interactions and materials within the daily service. Therefore, I decided to carry out an observation on the children playing, and an informal interview with the children. Observation and assessment processes can be used to identify the effectiveness of the setting, specific areas of the setting, specific activities and the practitioner. Through observing the children and/or the learning environment we can revise plans and, perhaps, changes to the environment, to improve provision. In carrying out my research I: †¢ observed the children when they were playing using a trail record observation sheet to determine the most and least popular areas of interest. †¢ observed how the space and organisation of the environment was supporting or hindering play †¢ interpreted what I saw and heard in the play †¢ used the assessment information gathered in planning for improving the play areas. The children were invited to participate and give their opinions on the room during the informal interview with the group. Indeed consulting with the children in relation to the development of the space and materials can be empowering for the children and give them a sense of ownership. The results of my research indicated to me that the book area and dress up areas were the least utilised areas of the room during free play time. The book area didn’t overly concern me, as we incorporate reading and storytelling into our curriculum during the day, but I was concerned to see the lack of interest in the dress up area. Home Corner/ Dress Up Area The dress up area should be a very active area in the preschool room where children engage in a lot of role play. When children put on dress-up clothes and pretend to be grown up, they are discovering more than how it feels to dress as an adult. â€Å"Pretend play† helps children to understand how other people think and feel. It gives children the opportunity to discover new experiences or new places they can see only in their imagination. This is called symbolic thinking and is indicative of Piagets pre-operational stage of development. Symbolic thinking is an important, complex skill necessary for many tasks in life, including language and communication, social skills, and even algebra and geometry. When we watch children playing in dress-up clothes, we notice they often use problem-solving skills they see adults use. Negotiation and shared responsibility become easier when children are pretending to be adults. They are gaining a sense of adult rules and expectations. Sometimes children may find the dress-up area a place to confront fears and work through stressful situations. By pretending to be a doctor or a monster, a child gains a sense of power over the unknown, or by acting out a traumatic event and talking about it, it becomes less scary to the child. Furthermore, engaging in dress up play can help further develop practical skills, as little fingers are learning to tie, zip, button and snap. Providing dress up supplies and dress up time allows young children to practice these skills without the pressures of time constraints. Preschoolers will be building fine motor skills and improving self-help while using their imaginations, enjoying creative play and having fun. Dress up play also encourages language skills as kids discuss amongst themselves what they are wearing, the colours and textures of the clothes, and the roles they are playing. Proposal of Recommendations From my observations, I saw that the children often bypassed the dress up stand on their way to other areas, or at times even forgot that it was there. When the children did stop and have a look, they usually pulled out one costume, put it on and ran off to play elsewhere. Our dress up area consists of a child sized clothes rail with 4 costumes 1 x fairy, 1 x princess, 1 x bob the builder, 1 x fireman, and two baskets with some doctor/nurse paraphernalia, a few scarves, a straw hat, a couple of  Halloween masks, fairy wings, a crown and a plastic gun. It became obvious to me from my observation and interview with the children that our assortment of dress up clothes was completely inadequate, both in quantity and in variety. Our costumes were limited to a number of fairytale or cartoon characters, with no reference to ordinary everyday practical contexts. I also realized that we were sadly lacking in accessories, to enable the children to adapt and change the outfits on a day to day basis, thus maintaining interest and motivation. Furthermore, the location and display of the dress up clothes needed attention, to attract the children to this very important play area. Rather than the dress up area existing as a separate area, it should be incorporated into another relevant interest area such as the Home Corner, to help extend play between areas. I picked up on this concept from observing the children, when one child dressed up as a fireman and then went to the Home Corner to â€Å"put out a fire† in the kitchen. Of course it comes naturally to children when engaging in symbolic or pretend play to link areas such as dress up and home corner. In conducting some reading and research into how to effectively organize a dress up area, I learned that the area should be attractive and inviting to children, yet well organised in order for children to discover and explore various costumes, accessories and items of clothing. There also needed to be enough space to allow groups of children to play in the area at the same time. Materials and equipment should be kept visible to the children and easily reached. The supervisor should make sure that the shelving is low level and that dress up equipment is within easy reach of the children. Choosing see-through containers allows the children to see what is inside without taking it from the shelf, or using labels on the outside of the boxes would help the children greatly in choosing items and also at tidy up time, which is an important part of the High/Scope philosophy. In addition to these criticisms of our dress up area, I realised that we have not made any effort to bring cultural or ethnic diversity to our selection. In developing the home corner and dress up area, you should take the profile of the children attending your service into account. Our pre-school has 4 children of different ethnic backgrounds attending, and we as room leaders should endeavour to include their ethnic clothes, music, dance, food and customs into the room, as well as those of other ethnic groups also. Implementation of Recommendations I had an informal meeting with my pre-school colleagues and the centre manager to outline my observations, and proposal of recommendations for improving the dress up area. From this meeting we came up with the following plan of action: |Improvement Area |Action Required |Delegated to |Comments | |Location of dress up area|To be moved to, and incorporated into |Myself & |The layout will be changed one afternoon| | |the home corner |colleague |after playschool session | |Display |Additional rail needed |My colleague |My colleague was to purchase items after| | |Two coat racks to be fitted on wall | |funds made available by manager, and | | |Baskets to be swopped for clear storage| |arrange for assembly with caretaker | | |boxes | | | | |Two additional boxes req. | | | | |Full length mirror req. | | | |Variety |Additional costumes req. |My colleague |Funds to be made available by manager | | |Additional everyday clothing items req. |Myself |for purchase of costumes. Other items to| | |Ethnic clothing req. |Myself |be sourced by myself via request for | | |Variety of accessories req. |Myself |parental contributions and charity | | | | |shops/ jumble sales | |Curriculum |Dress up time to be strategically |Myself & |We will do this through drama, music and| | |incorporated into curriculum |colleague |dance activity. | Therefore to follow through on our plan of action, our centre manager made â‚ ¬100 available for the purchase of necessary items and additional costumes. My colleague went to Home base and purchased the coat racks, child clothes hangars, storage boxes and mirror, and then purchased a child sized clothes rail in Smyth’s as well as some new additional dress up items. These items included a policeman’s costume, nurse’s costumes and some additional props. Dress up clothes should ideally comprise a wide variety of clothes which reflect the occupations of family members, local customs and people in the community, and should not be limited to superheroes or stereotyped dress up clothes. We re-arranged the home corner incorporating the dress up area on a Thursday afternoon, and my colleague had the caretaker fit the coat racks on the wall beside the clothes rails and the mirror. I sent home a letter with the children requesting donations for our dress up corner including a variety of accessories, and I also included the request in our pre-school newsletter. I also asked all the staff in the childcare facility for same. I made sure to specify that all donations should be clean, in a good state of repair and non hazardous for children. I included a list of suggested items which would be greatly appreciated. The response was overwhelming and we took in approximately 5 black refuse sacks of items for use in the area. I went through all the items and took out what I felt was appropriate. These items were washed and sanitized, and double checked by my colleague and centre manager for any safety hazards. I took the remainder of the dress up items given to us, and donated them to our nearest Barnardos charity shop on behalf of the pre-school. This list of items I requested was as follows: |Phones |Old Hair Dryers – Cords Removed |Sunglasses | |Small suitcases |Hats |Large fabric pieces | |Purses & Wallets |Aprons |Belts | |Baby items such as bottles, dodies, babygro’s, |Ties |Feather boas | |blankets etc. | | | |Empty toiletries i. e. shampoo bottles, facecream jars|Scarves |Jackets or shirts with buttons, zippers and | |etc. |Capes & Shawls |snaps | |Sponge Curlers |Tool belts |Crowns | |Handbags |Uniform items |Shoes with laces | |Small dresses |Football kit |Wands | |Leg warmers |Gloves | | We managed to procure most of the items requested via donations, and the families of the foreign national children very kindly donated some items of clothing and accessories from their cultures. For example the mother of the Chinese girl very kindly gave us a piece of Chinese silk fabric and a Chinese fan, whilst the Zimbabwean family gave us an ethnically printed tunic and a small turban style printed hat. We carefully displayed all our dress up items so as to make it interesting for the children to try different combinations, and make it easy for them to find things. Dress up clothes were put on hangars on the rails, hats and belts and aprons etc. were hung on the coat racks, whilst scarves and other accessories were stored in clearly labeled storage boxes and baskets at the base of the rails. A special basket was filled with props such as wands, microscopes, toy swords and other such items to bring fantasy to life. One very important new addition to the dress up area was a full length mirror, which was fitted to the wall beside the rails. This is very important in maintaining interest in the dress up area, and helps the children to observe and assess their choices. Furthermore, allowing kids to self-verify the results of their work is very Montessori. The overall result is that we now have a first class area which the children love. The time spent in the dress up area and home corner area in general has increased hugely, and the children have great fun trying different combinations of costumes. [pic] [pic] Bibliography Harding, Jackie Meldon Smith, Liz â€Å"How To Make Observations & Assessments† 2nd Edition Hodder & Stoughton UK Hayes, Noirin â€Å"Early Childhood An Introductory Text† 1999 Gill & MacMillan Dublin Madigan, Imelda â€Å"Defining, Assessing and Supporting Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education: The High/Scope Ireland Model http://www. cecde. ie/english/pdf/Questions%20of%20Quality/Madigan. pdf Miller, Patricia H â€Å"Theories of Developmental Psychology† 2002 Worth Publishers US. Sylva, Kathy Lunt, Ingrid â€Å"Child Development: A First Course† 1982 Blackwell Publishing UK Aistear – National Council for Curriculum and Assessment www. ncca. ie www. education. com http://www. ehow. com/how_10055611_set-up-fancy-preschool-classroom. html#ixzz29Hs4JKT9 http://www. kildarechildcare. ie/wp-content/uploads/Guide-to-Play-The-Learning-Environment. pdf http://education. scholastic. co. uk/resources/144269 http://www. sagepub. com/upm-data/9656_022816Ch5. pdf

BP Commerce Analysis

BP Commerce Analysis â€Å"I believe strongly that we need a work environment where everyone can bring all of themselves to work every day and not feel like they have to be someone else in order to succeed.† -Tony Hayward, BP CEO /BP is one of the largest organizations in oil, gas, and alternative energy industry in the world. It employs more than 100 000 people across the world and provides essential oil, gas, and energy products for nearly 13 million customers every day in more than 100 countries. The company has a wide range of businesses including exploration and production, refining and marketing, gas & power, and alternative energy (BP, 2010). Despite the success in the market or economic downturns, organization always must care about their employees who bring this success through skills, competencies, and hard work. Therefore, company must have a diversity and inclusion policy in place in order to create perfect working environment for these employees, to motivate them, remunerate, and ret ain the best. We might ask ourselves why diversity and inclusion is so important to any large or small company. The answer is that employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, and community partners place a high value on organization for being fair and meritocratic (BP, 2010). Furthermore, we need to recognize the availability of skilled employees is getting smaller in nowadays market and economic situation. Every organization tries to attract new skilled labor and to retain talented employees in the company. In order to achieve that, organizations must have reputation, operational processes and imbedded policies, working climate that not only respects differences, but expose them for competitive advantage. BP is a multinational organization and it is essential to have an up-to-date policies and procedures in place for evaluation and monitoring purposes in order to comply with equality and inclusion policies, avoid any kind of discrimination, and ensure equal opportunities for eve ryone. Different organizations have different policies and practices and in order to compare BP to others, this organizational audit will review BP’s other main competitors such as Exxon and Shell for a comparison on diversity and inclusion issues, provide investigation summary of BP’s equal opportunity and equal pay practices, and provide action plans and cost and benefit analysis in order to enhance equality and diversity practice in the organization. A Summary of Analysis The purpose of this project is to produce diversity and inclusion analysis for BP’s North Africa Strategic Performance Unit (further NA SPU) based on pay review recommendations in 2009 for employee’s to be effective on 1st of April 2010. I will be looking at Level E (senior level leaders) to Level K (administration) concentrating on equal pay issues and gender inequality (gaps) among UK employees only. The reason for this is that NA SPU has fairly big population and it is down to UK e mployees based locally in UK and in the businesses across the world. More to mention, this SPU is a perfect representation sample for other similar strategic performance units across the organization. 270 employees in North Africa Strategic Performance Unit (NA SPU) 139 UK nationals in NA SPU

Zara Case IT for Fast Fashion Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zara IT for Fast Fashion - Case Study Example From this paper it is clear that information technology has enabled Zara to disrupt existing technology applied in the clothing retail industry by other companies such as Inditex. Zara applies point on sale (POS) to serve its client instead of normal tallying of products at the counter. Zara switched DOS operating system to mouse technique in order to speed up its transaction at the counter. This approach made Zara compete other exiting companies such Gap, H&M, and Inditex among other clothing companies. The idea was to penetrate the market using a technology, which was not existing. Largely, Zara was able to serve clients in markets, which had competitors.This study highlights that  Zara was able to acquire more customers in a flooded market. Introduction of unique technology outweigh the preexisting technology thus reducing efficiency of the technology in comparison to the modern technology. For instance, introduction of point on sale operating system influenced the speed of comp leting transactions at the counter. Its application influences the number of clients willing to buy product from the store because many clients would like to spare time. Disruptive companies introduce products, which increase efficiency and effectiveness. Point on sale is effective because it interpret the price of the product at a glance. It redeems time because it can handle many clients at very short time. Uniqueness in product delivery usually influences consumer behavior in the market.... Point on sale is effective because it interpret the price of the product at a glance. It redeems time because it can handle many clients at very short time. Uniqueness in product delivery usually influences consumer behavior in the market. Queuing in a large store such as Zara is hectic because of large volume of clients served. Efficiency of the service provided would influence clients to buy products from the store. Apparel Industry Model Gap spends much money on advertisement because its products do not command large market share or influence. The objective of advertising is to create awareness about the existence of the product in the market and to influence consumers to buy the products (Businessweek. 2007). Gap takes long before introducing new apparel in the market. The month of August dominates the period when Gap introduced its product in the market. Gap primarily manufactures its goods in San Francisco, United States (Engler, 2004). Gap primary sources of risk in manufactur ing include delay in logistics, which influences the time a product arrives in the market. The company risks introducing out of fashion products because of the shipping time. Fashion influences retailing of clothing apparel. Gap makes money by selling its products in various markets. Gap competitive advantage is production of anti-sweat products, which many clients seem to like. Zara customer characteristics Zara’s customer characteristic consists of you people who are quick to respond to fashions in the market (Inditex 2011). Age influence demand and taste for products. Zara directs its product to young people who dwell in cities. City dwellers like responding to change in fashion by buying new products introduced. This consumer behavior has influenced

Company Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Security - Essay Example The needs of users of  the data provided via a network and subsequently develop a security policy and plan that addresses the security issues concerned (Langer, 2001). The ensuing distribution of data in client or server networks leads to increased susceptibility of the system to fraud, damage by malicious software, misuse, as well as physical damage. With business organizations and their stakeholders developing complex networks, security issues become a key factor of consideration. The security systems developed by such organizations must seek to protect all areas of concern across the network to prevent the occurrence of unethical practices in relation to the information flowing through the system. The value of security in a client/server network plays an inevitable role in protecting the data, as well as the ethical concerns of the parties involved thus, requiring the development of a comprehensive network security policy as reviewed in this context and with reference to ZXY Cor poration. In order to enhance secure access control over the network, the company can apply advanced authorization, as well as access control methodologies that would subsequently enhance network security. The interrelated methods of user authentication and authorization that are applicable will depend on the sensitivity of the section of the network and the information that may be accessible. Shared resources in the network are available for all the users except the resource owner. As such, the security system needs to protect such information from unauthorized access and use. In the network’s access control framework, unique security identifiers (SIDs) may embody the users in the system, and they are subsequently assigned permissions and rights that provide information to the operating system concerning what each of the users can do in the system. Each of the resources in the network has a designated owner who grants  permission  to users. In

Evidenced Ba sed Practice and Research in Nursing Essay

Evidenced Ba sed Practice and Research in Nursing - Essay Example Mermel et al. (2009) recommends peripheral IV’s to be changed after every 72 hours at least to minimize the infection rate (p. 1-45). It has been established that thrombophlebitics and bacterial colonization of catheters are at high risk when catheters are in place for more than 72 hours. Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) is used instead of short peripheral catheter, when IV therapy will take more than six days (Mermel et al., 2009). If a bio-patch is present, seven days can pass before they are changed unless catheter-related infection occurs. The use of a central line insertion bundle reduces the risk of infection (Guerin et al., 2010). The Central line dressing should be changed every five to seven days if it has a bio-patch or as instructed or if the dressing becomes wet, loose or dirty; to minimize the probability of infection. Most patients in the ICU suffer from catheter-related bloodstream infections. These infections result in huge hospital bills, and patients stay longer in hospitals for treatment and some of the patients give in to infections and die. I would take advantage of evidenced based practice and research within my graduate role by demonstrating competency for central line dressing changes. Moreover, I would use this information as a guideline to help the patient get well without incurring extra costs on infection treatment that could be prevented by good handling of catheters. I would ensure this by reviewing the evidence and recommendations for central line maintenance. Being an educated graduate, I would educate all necessary staff on the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections. K. (2009). Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of intravascular catheter-related infection: 2009 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical infectious diseases, 49(1),

Not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Not sure - Essay Example Bargaining for love is equivalent to trade. It is difficult to give a clean chit to Hamlet by analyzing the various phases of his relationship and professed love to Ophelia. Funeral oration (the incident at the grave of Ophelia) cannot be the true index of love. Heart is the real domain of love and not the logic and reasoning of the head. The more intense is the reasoning, more doubts it creates about genuinely. A lover is not like the lawyer trying to argue a false case. For example, the content and language of his letter to Ophelia that Polonius reads before the king and queen doesn’t sound creditworthy. Hamlet’s love looks like the flight of imagination, the dew of the morning that will melt facing the truth of sunshine. The warning by her brother Laertes that Hamlet’s love is a passing phase seems correct. If it is true love, should it change often as it happens in the case of Hamlet? True love is not situational. Will an individual feign madness to bitterly hurt his love? That situation could be the necessity of Shakespeare to give intelligent twist to the plot of the drama. But Hamlet doesn’t do justice to the cause of true love. Yet, he gives proof about his love in the above letter by claiming, â€Å" To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia ... Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love." (II, 2) But this looks like the calculated overflow of the feelings. In the later part of the play his love diminishes and the reason given is that the brother and father of Ophelia are studying his moves for his objective to oppose the fructification of love. In such a situation an individual needs to be more firm. The opposition from the side of a girl in the situation like the one in which Ophelia was placed was but normal. When firm display of love was required, Hamlet backtracked. Professing love, when the going is good is not the indication of true love. Adverse circumstances are the testing times. Hamlet’s bitter speech in a harsh tone when he states, â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery!† and then accusing Ophelia, and all women, of the crimes of his mother guilty of, go against his professed love. Can an individual who truly loves, can hurl accusations, insult and berate to the extent which Hamlet does? One, who is against the entire women-folk, cannot love a girl from the bottom of one’s heart. He should have found ways and means to keep the lines of communication with her. Even in the graveyard incident mentioned above, silence on the part of Hamlet on that occasion would have said much about his love than the virulent words defending his love. His contradictory pronouncements of "I did love you once" (III.i.114) and "I loved you not" (III.i.117) do nothing more than further verify Hamlet's lack of control over his own mind, which establishes one of his innate flaws. Hamlet’s misadventures in love are due to his psychological problems. His women characters are like the barometers to indicate how women were treated during the Elizabethan era. Women had no private emotional world of their own, as they were unimportant to men. Take the example of Polonius who was the domineering father who decisively interferes in the emotional world of his daughter and she is not allowed to talk to the man she loves. He argues: â€Å"Marry, well bethought 'Tis told me he hath very oft of late Given private time to you, and you yourself

Mental Process Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mental Process - Research Paper Example It is an operation, which has an effect on the mental contents of an individual. It can also be seen as the thinking process or the cognitive remembrance operation. Overall, it is all the different things that an individual can do with his or her mind including emotion, volition, reasoning, belief, conception, imagination, creativity, memory, introspection, and perception. 1. Compare and Contrast the Four Styles of Creative Intelligence and their Influence on Organizational Decision Making. Intuition is focused on the production of results and is reliant on experiences in the guidance of decisions (Bara, 2010). Most people consider the implications of comprehending the past as most believe that a majority of mistakes can be escaped if one understands its historical significance. Every organization, from a perspective of business, needs to consider patterns and exhibit caution at every turn. Strategic planning lets organizations prepare for possible scenarios via the forecasting of al l outcomes that are possible (Bara, 2010). Some of the biggest successes, as well as failures, can be traced back to reliance on results that are past. Businesses will consider several factors, for example, the market’s current conditions, segmentation, objectives, and experiences that it relates to in the past. The mindset of inspiration is focused on the change in society and the presentation of dedication aimed at changing results (Bara, 2010). People whose working is grounded in this mindset are imbued with positive energy and are able to remain focused, motivated, and logical. Organizations that possess this type of individual are enabled in their ability to visualize situations currently and use that as inspiration to create a positive future outcome. These individuals have the ability to promote change, which could limit the organization in a number of ways (Bara, 2010). They have a tendency to lose focus on everyday functions, as they are highly adept at assessment of the bigger picture. The style of imagination targets artistic individuals, who enjoy writing, and show qualities of strong leadership (Brown, 2006). Individuals with this mindset show the ability to visualize various scenarios. They possess a huge impact in the process of decision making especially in organizations where there are chaotic times since they are able to visualize beyond the current situation, which gives them excellent coping skills for solution for problems. They have an ability that is unique in their ability to remain confident and poised which rubs of on the rest of the organization. They also inspire others allowing them plan for and envision the future. One limitation is that these people are not totally focused on the immediate future, which could be problematic since all aspects should be placed in perspective (Brown, 2006). Individuals using the innovative style tend to stick to the issues before them and on evidence (Brown, 2006). It is the most logical of t he styles since it is clearly focused on evidence that is visible like data. However, this makes it impossible to see the organization’s apparent vision, which it is attempting to achieve. Successful organizations need a balance of different mindsets, which are found suited well to different roles. Precision is needed by all industries and organizations thus innovation is vital. This mindset comes

The Office Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Office - Essay Example The three levels of organizational culture are observable artifacts, espoused values and basic assumption. The observable artifacts culture level comprises of observation of the behaviour of the employees,dress code, technology level and even the office physical layout. The conduct of the manager Michael is, for example, controversial same to the other employees who are not busy with work. The second criteria of determining organizational culture are the espoused values analysis. It consists of how the values influence the employees behaviour. It includes the attitude of employees. The manager, for example, shows a compromising attitude towards the reception since he is rude to her. The final level is the basic assumptions consisting of vital generalised assumptions made that also determine the culture and behaviour of employees (Khan 45). The manager according to the video clip is failing in creating a high-performance culture at the office. It is because the manager seems to be a joke and takes things casually. He fails in creating control and authority in the office and also lacks leadership qualities to propel the office to high performance. The manager should instead ensure efficient implementation of practices geared towards the achievement of high

Two Party System Essay Example for Free

Two Party System Essay It is commonly argued that political parties are becoming weaker and interest groups are becoming more powerful in America.   Keeping these changes in mind, is it possible that the United States will ever move away from the two-party system and have three or more strong parties? In 1992, Texan billionaire Ross Perot won more votes than any `third party` candidate for President ever had before. Coincidence, or will a smaller party ever become a strong enough force to rule the United States, or indeed have an influential presence in Parliament?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Statistics suggest that Americans are in favor of a third major force in their political scenario.    According to a poll conducted by Angus Reid Global Monitor: â€Å"Many adults in the United States believe there should be a viable alternative to Republicans and Democrats, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 53 per cent of respondents believe there should be a third major political party in the country, up three points since June 2004.† (Angus Reid Global Monitor, 2003). And according to VoteBuddy.com, 2006, more than two thirds of Americans want a third party because of the following reasons:   Most people are simply aware that government of, by, and for the Democrats and Republicans has not been working; they have little idea why. Part of the reason is that neither party really stands for what it used to. Instead, both of them have moved to the center in hopes of capturing the many moderate voters out there. A lot of people really miss having a party that represents the principles they believe in. Others have specific concerns that they believe have been abandoned by the one major party that ever showed any interest in them. (VoteBuddy.com, 2006). Indeed the voting trends of the past decade or two have perhaps been indicative of this new trend towards a third, independent party.   In recent years, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, both representatives of independent parties, have gained a fairly large part of the vote over their Democratic and Republican competitors, not enough to cause worry to leaders of the two major parties yet, but certainly more than in previous years. Also worth noting is the low percentage of voter turnout at American polls.   Are those who don’t turn out to vote independent supporters who are just thinking that their vote will be wasted?   Or are they so happy with the system as it is that they don’t feel they need to vote?   Today, American voters give all kinds of reasons for not voting. The cost of being involved in the voting process is among them. On the one hand, many find it difficult to register and stay registered (moving means having to reregister), despite efforts like the federal motor-voter bill, which allows Americans to register while renewing drivers licenses, and popular pushes like MTVs Rock the Vote campaign.   (Hough, 2006) Others get turned off by the enormous time commitment needed to follow the race. This years presidential election, for example, saw candidates jockeying for position nearly two years before the actual election. Unfortunately, instead of giving Americans more time to absorb the issues, according to results from the Vanishing Voter Project, the long campaign has them tuning out.   (Hough, 2006) You can make an argument for a long campaign, acknowledged Patterson, but our data show its a disincentive. During the second week of the projects polling — a full year before the election — only 5 percent of Americans said they were paying a great deal of attention to the campaign. Roughly 60 percent said they were paying little or no attention. By week three, despite heavy news coverage, Americans interest in the campaign actually declined.   (Hough, 2006) Whatever the case is, a true representation of political feeling in America will only be obtained once voter turnout is higher. Another aspect which would make it hard for a third party to gain strength is congressional opposition to third parties.   Traditionally, according to Wikipedia, a two party system works as follows: A two-party system is a form of party system where two major political parties dominate the voting in nearly all elections. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected offices end up being held by candidates endorsed by the two major parties. Coalition governments occur only rarely in two-party systems, though each party may internally look like a coalition. Under a two-party system, one of two major parties typically holds a majority in the legislature (or a legislative house in a bicameral system), and is referred to as the Majority Party. The other major party is referred to as the Minority Party. The leader of the majority party may be referred to as the Majority Leader, assisted by the Majority Whip, and the leader of the major opposition party may be referred to as the Minority Leader, assisted by the Minority Whip. Two-party systems often develop spontaneously when the voting system used for elections discriminates against third or smaller parties, because the number of votes received for a party in a whole country is not directly related to the proportion of seats it receives in the countrys assembly/assemblies. (Wikipedia, 2006). We can see how a system structured in a way like this would make it very difficult for a third party to prosper. In addition, some reports state that Congress itself shows opposition to third parties, which, at least for the current time, would make it very hard for a third party to achieve any sort of effectiveness in Congress. In BC Politics, Kevin Surbaugh (2006), reports that he has read in a Green Party document. He states: â€Å"This article is about the Democrats trying to pass a bill (HR 4694) that effectively seeks to ban any and all third parties, basically making it so only the Republicans and Democrats will have access to power. Its already difficult for an independent or third party candidate to gain ballot access, but this new bill would make it almost impossible. HR 4694 (Let the People Decide Clean Campaign Act) would mean that the official nominees of parties (i.e., Democrats and Republicans) that had averaged 25% of the vote for House races in a given district in the last two elections would get full public funding. All others (i.e., third party and independent candidates) would be required to submit petitions signed by 10% of the number of people who voted in the last election to get partial funding, and 20% petitions to get full funding. The press release gives an example of the 2nd district in Missouri, where 10% of that district would be some 35,000 signatures, just to spend anything at all, including your/his/her own money. This is a bill that people of all parties should be concerned about.: (Surbaugh, 2006). Surbaugh calls for actions from Americans to prevent this bill from occurring. Perhaps the best form of action they can take would be to present themselves at the polls and vote for the people that they want to vote for. Again, statistics show that Americans don’t vote for independents because they are afraid that they will be â€Å"wasting† their vote.   Terry Mitchell commented on this in July 2006 in an article called â€Å"Voters are to Blame for Bad Politics†, as follows: â€Å"One of our biggest problems is our unwillingness to vote for independent or third party candidates. These candidates generally do not have obligations to party bosses or quid pro quo relationships with lobbyists like the major party candidates do. Very often, we will vote for the lesser of two evils, rather than an independent or third party candidate who might be much better. Of course, when you vote for the lesser of two evils, youre still voting for an evil. Many people feel like they would be wasting their vote by voting for any of those other candidates. This is simply not true. A voter only wastes his/her vote when he/she votes for someone he/she does not really like. Instead, we create a voting catch-22 for ourselves, i.e., no one will vote for Mr. Independent because he has no chance; Mr. Independent has no chance because no one will vote for him. If enough people decided to start voting their conscience, we could break that vicious cycle.† (Mitchell, 2006) When Americans go to the poll on 7 November 2006, there will not only be two parties on the ballot paper. Democrats and Republicans will be joined by the likes of the Constitution Party, the Liberation Party, interest groups such as the Green Party, and even the Peace and Freedom Party.   How will the 45% of Americans who want a third party in Government vote?   Indeed, will they vote at all?   Once before we have seen how powerful an effective third party vote can be.   Some have said that Perot cost George Bush the 1992 election. During the spring primaries in the big industrial states like New York and Pennsylvania, when attention might have been paid to Clinton and former California Governor Jerry Brown as they fought each other and debated a domestic agenda for the new administration, all the media covered was the undeclared candidacy of Ross Perot (Ieinsdorf.com, 2006). And did Nader cost Gore the election in 2000? A closer look shows if Nader wasnt a choice, the 2.7% who supported Nader would have split so Gore would have picked up about 2% more support and Bush would have picked up an additional 1%. In a non-Nader race, Gore would have prevailed over Bush 50% to 49%. (Mike Hersh, 2003). This is indicative of exactly how much impact the third party vote can have, and the fact that these two events occurred in close succession are indicative that the public is slowly beginning to vote for who they actually want to.   This suggests that while there is still huge opposition, in the end a third party will prevail. In conclusion, we can see that while it may be that Americans are in favor of a third major political party in their country (the votes for Ralph Nader and Ross Perot in recent years are indicative of this, and not purely mirage), some reform is needed before this can happen. Is this trend to continue?   The results of the upcoming election will be interesting. Americans themselves must actually go to the polls, and once there, they must vote for the candidates they actually believe the most in.   Congressional opposition to new parties also needs to be overcome and traditional two party system beliefs changed. While I believe that a third party will be prevalent in American politics in the future, I do not believe that it will occur very soon.   The three determining factors – Congressional opposition, low voter turnout, and voters not voting for who they really want, need to be overcome first. Works Cited Angus Reid Global Monitor, â€Å"Americans Want Third Major Political Party† (2003), retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItemitemID=11673 Hersh, Mike, (2003) â€Å"Did Nader Help Al Gore in 2000†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.mikehersh.com/Did_Nader_Help_or_Hurt_Al_Gore.shtml Hough, Lory, (2006) â€Å"The American Voter† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ksgpress/bulletin/spring2000/american_vote.html Iensdorf, (2006) â€Å"Perot Did not Cost George Bush the 1992 Election† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.leinsdorf.com/perot.htm Mitchell, Terry, (2006), â€Å"Voters are To Blame for Bad Politics† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=11264 Surbaugh, Kevin, (2006) â€Å"Congress Planning to Shut down Third Parties†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/11/034246.php VoteBuddy.com, â€Å"Our Vote is Held Hostage†,   2006 retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://votebuddy.com/ Wikipedia, (2006), â€Å"Two Party System†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-party_system

The Concept Of Toyota Production System Management Essay

The Concept Of Toyota Production System Management Essay This report briefly discusses the concept of Toyota Production System/ Lean manufacturing that Japanese Methodology introduced by Saichi Toyoda, the concept of value chain established by Professor Michael Porter in 1985 and lower waste and competitive advantages of the Lean Manufacturing. All through this report discus about the Toyota Company. In the first part of this report describe about the Lean Manufacturing of selected company. It is critically evaluate the Lean Production which is seeking a high level of production with minimum cost of the Toyota Company that originally Japanese Methodology. At the second this report is highlighting what the recommendations for managing wastes that associates with value chain of the Toyota Company. It is categorised in two categories that primary activities and supply activities in Value Chain. Thirdly discuss what are the implications of recommendation, which discussed before on organizational resources and justify those recommendations which effect on competitiveness sustainability and social responsibility of the company Finally this report describes the Porters Value Chain as a templates and a frame work which support to the front line managers in danger signals and how to face that Danger Signals and identifying wastes. 1) The critical evaluation of lean production in the Toyota Company. It is very important to overview what is the Lean Manufacturing and seeking higher level of output with minimum possibilities such as low labour cost, law material cost, low time and low inventory space, Lean manufacturing produce at a higher level by reducing wastes from the system and simplifying the methods. Toyota Production System is based on two concepts one is jidoka which can translate to automation with a mans touch. It can stop once avoiding the malfunctioning of products when problems arise in the equipment. Wastes can be occurred from several reasons such as, overproduction, waiting, transportation, inventory, defective units, motion and over-processing. Hence Lean Manufacturing in eliminating wastes. Toyota production system/ Lean Manufacturing is introduced by Toyota cooperation which is event of four gentlemen. Sakichi Toyoda, who is father of Toyota Group, Kiichiro Toyoda, son of Sahichi Toyoda, Eiji Toyoda, who was Managing Director from 1950 to 1981 and Taiichi Ohno the father of the Kanban System and chairman in 1981 to 1994. Toyota Use 7 techniques to attain Lean Manufacturing Reduction of set up times Set up activities are wasteful until they tie up labours and equipment with procedures by charts and training to employees and organizing activities. Toyota manages to avoid the setup times. Miner production The organization has to face higher cost on high capital, new machinery, more inventory, set up expenses, high lead times and defect costs when they manufacturing large quantities of products. But Toyota has turned towards low setup and it leads employees to produce in small quantities. Empowerment and Involvement of employees The Toyota Company organize the employees in the organization in to teams and appoint team leaders those having an authority to handle many specific tasks. The company provides training of minor equipment repair and housekeeping and leaders have to work with their teams in the lines 02. Quality at the source If there is some fault it should be able to identify immediately and need be corrected. Totoya has idoka and stop functioning. Equipment maintenance Toyota workers are more conscious about the failure, because they have been well trained to do basic maintenance. Employees have been trained to relevant to maintenance and enhance the quality of the equipment, so they need specialist fix only for complex problems. Pull production Pull production is always target on minimize cost of stock holding, this was introduced by Kotelnikov in 2001 and this is cause to minimize cost of stock holding and time saving. Next stage of materials demand lead to work performs at each step. kanban organize the movement of small containers of miner material between steps. Supplier involvement Toyota Company trains their suppliers to minimize the setup times, maintain stock and reduce failure. And also they consider their suppliers as their partners in the business. Source: Kotelnikov (2001) 2)Recommendations on the ways how waste is managed in Toyota company. The value chain is providing proper method to indicate the improvement of competive advantage in the business. There are number of stages in value chain process for make to value, these all steps are altogather effeted of company value delivering process. What is the way of basic activities can effect to reduce waste in operation process. Inbound logistics The good which needed for production buy from suppleirs and they are stored until they use for the prduction assembly line. Goods are tranfering all over the orrdanization. The Toyota company collect high quality rawmaterials from the best suppelirs in all over the world and keep countinously that quality. They purchase best quality rawmaterials to minimise the watages in prodution line. To handle rawmatrial, The Toyota company practice with JIT (Just In Time) and they keep close relationship with suppleirs to maximise the availability. Operations At this operational level raw materials used to manufacture and assemble. At every separate part of the assembling, includes producing new cars and modifying new cars engine. The Toyota use different and efficient methods for assembling and modifying the car manufacturing to reduce wastages. Outbound logistics They need to be sent to wholesalers, retailers or customers along the supply chain when production is finished. Toyota has opened their show rooms all over the world and made the products more quantifiable to reduce wastages. Marketing and sales They introduce some offers based on target customers. Toyota is true customer oriented company. The Toyota Company mainly focus on the Marketing and promotion Mix to minimize the wastages. Service Toyota provides training on final checking practices and after sales service to Toyota value customers to eliminate wastes from final delivery. Support activities to reduce wastes Procurement This is accountable for purchasing materials for Toyota. It is very important to make the transaction that is high quality product at the lowest price. The Toyota going with some activities such as, outsourcing and e-purchasing to make the effectiveness and free from wastes Development of Technology Technology is front-runners to competitive advantage, as manufacturer of vehicle Toyota is innovating to increase and sustain competitive advantage. Human resource management The Toyota considers their employees as the asset of company. Toyota practice with, recruitment and selection, Training and development, Maintenance and compensation to maintain their employees with higher satisfaction, 3) Recommendation for long term sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Toyota was number one and most admired car producer (Manufacture) in the world according to the annual rating of fortune published in 2001 included such as General motors and Ford .The umbrella policy of Toyota company is the reason and basic philosophy to success in global market environment and its lead to the make company decision and activities. Toyota has penetrated to USA market and invested there. Now they are well established in USA market it is match with its lean manufacturing system. Toyotas way encourages and motivates their employees and they consider it as capital, their main purpose is ultimately winning the employee motivation. All these empowering of employees are lead to more innovation and increase employee participation for manufacturing process and improve its productivity. Toyota way leads to product development and offer very friendly and loyal manner for their customers and they always target to be market oriented. Toyota use out sourcing and it plays a very i mportant part of their manufacturing process and it cause to reduce more direct cost and reduce market risk. Meanwhile Toyota has understood of the importance of engaging with particular specialized suppliers. Toyotas competitive advantage is mainly attributable to the schedule and the coordinate of activities among the network of 300 components suppliers. Toyotas competitive advantage was gained by a strategic commitment to produce exclusive automobiles. Toyota borrowed technology from established car manufacturers and made the procedures what effectively helped to regain customer demand. Customer demand has been the most important strategic initiate of the company. Behind the success of the Toyota Company there are three main components, A network of suppliers in Japan and in US which can be interpreted as world class. An effective Just in time system to manage inventory, which is dependent upon the activities of supplier network. Robot technology incorporated assembly system, the Japan and North America has both won the platinum plant quality award for this function. The processes and procedures sped up when the waste is eliminated from the companys main stream. Even the quality of the product increases when the waste is eliminated. This means the customer and the manufacturer are equally benefited by the Toyota production method. The company and the customer are in a win- win situation and the profits reflect the improvements. Toyota is famous for its innovations and became the largest manufacturer of cars in 2007 ahead of many leading car manufacturers achieving the competitive advantage by innovations. Toyota production system has given Toyota company competitive advantage on a global scale. This advantage is gained through elimination of waste by earlier recommendations by the combination of their human recourses management policies, their highly effective network of suppliers which provide them with raw materials whenever they need it and machine manufacturers that produce machines which are used in the product lines continuously. The management philosophy is more important for their long term sustainability, Toyota is known for its corporate culture which enhances the employee empowerment. According to Hub pages (2010) In an average year more than 700,000 improvement suggestions were submitted by Toyotas employees. That is an average of over 10 improvement suggestions per employee per year. What is perhaps most impressive is that over 99% of suggestions were implemented. This shows how employee centered the company is. Toyota knows that the employees are the key to continuous im provement, their ability and creativity leads to innovation in-house. When the employees are well looked after the company will earn their trust, their loyalty and they will work with an improved morale. Toyota Company has strived to with subsidiaries, suppliers to contribute towards a sustainable development of society making good quality automobiles. When lean manufacturing is used to eliminate waste and improve quality, as it is doing so it is effective to reduce the environmental impact as well. The ways in which Toyota has reduced environmental impact are Engaging in venture capital partnerships where the Toyota Company examines the innovator to establish a new technique to commercial development and success. Building working teams and groups of employees to research and development in sustainable practices in technology Bonding with community organizations which are environmental friendly and working in sustainable issues in order to support and help the community work. Toyota targets for growth that is in harmony with the environment by minimizing the impact which is causing by operational activities, For example reducing the impact on the climate change and biodiversity by vehicle emissions. Toyota is building a relationship between the environment and economic activities to coexist parallel. They create bonds between the individuals and the organizations that are involved in the environmental preservation. Toyota honors individualism by their philosophy of respect for people and concerns about the culture, customs, history, laws of each country which they are operating in. The evolving needs of sustainable mobility is achieves through continuous use of safe, clean and advanced technology. Illegal means are prohibited by the company to ensure long run sustainability with government and non-government agencies. The enrichment of the society is highly valued by Toyota when they are engaging in business with suppliers and customers. This will strengthen the community of the country which is involved. a) Identify the types wastes in both primary and support processes The processes Associated Wastes Primary Processes Inbound logistics Operations Out bound logistics Marketing and sales Services Support Activities Procurement Technology development Human resource management Motion Processing Transportation Inventory Waiting time Motion Defects Waiting time Transportation Inventory Transportation Inventory Defects Inventory Motion Processing Transportation Inventory Transportation Defects Inventory Processing Waiting time Processing Motion. Over production When demand reduces overproduction creates a huge problem with unsold stocks and wasted by products which include material handling inventory space, interest charges, machinery and equipment, and overhead expenses and costs. Manufacturing should be limited to only the adequate quantity with a quality standard, low cost and correct time Waiting time This is created due to worker idleness or due to employees who spend time not knowing the way to avoid the malfunctioning of the machines. When the work is specified for an assembly line the speed and volume of the work can be monitored. To reduce the waiting time only the machines and people that are needed to do the work itself can be hired. Transportation This occurs due to poor layout of the factory, basically within the assembly floor or storage facilities, which lead to over handling of goods. Long supplier lines will increase the transportation costs, while making higher fuel prices. Processing Using best practices to ensure the machinery and fixtures are undergoing regular maintenance. Inventory Stocks can be an excess charge to the company unless it is organized well. It has to be minimized to achieve higher level of standards in production. The things that should be avoided to removing unintentional inventory are Unavoidable and unreliable supply, forecasting errors, poor accuracy is the things that should be avoided to eliminate unintentional inventory. Motion This is the time spent without adding value to the product or the process. Even though there is a movement it does not indicate that the work is accomplished through it. The carefully planned layout and fixture selection can be used to eliminate this. Defects The company may lose customer satisfaction and demand for products if there is a defect of products it may reason for waiting time, material costs, labour costs in the long run. b) The danger signals of each waste Type of Waste The danger signals Faults or Defects Exceed the target production/Overproduction Stocks/ Inventories Over- Processing Human motion Transportation and Handling Waiting Confusion Unsafe or un-ergonomic Underutilized human potential Errors in Data entry errors at the office level activities Toyota company Errors on ordering and invoicing Error that can be gone to the assembly line that can be identified or corrected Change engineering orders Employee turnover Absenteeism Design flows Processing an order before it is needed. Any processes done base on routine with unpredictable demand. Producing products in advance they are needed. Any procedure of batch processing Generating processes for avoiding errors than depends on inspection Entering data into system several times by mistake Creating extra copies of unnecessary folders and providing un useful reports. Walking around production floor Walking around departments Inventories Movement Unnecessary attachments to the unpackaged to be delivered Distributing unwanted stocks to the people that are not needing them Reducing work speed because of the slow machinery. Waiting for approvals Waiting for customer and supplier information Waiting for confirmation from the management Missed data, any objectives, concepts that may reason the employees uncertainty as to what have to be done. The issues that may reasons the employees with health conditions such as back pain eye fatigue etc. This will reason because of the repetitive work they are involved in. Escaping the employees in taking regular decisions. They restrict the authority responsibility. Paying high amount of salary wages on routine tasks where their expertise is hidden in some other area. Business tools and Employees assigned work are not measured. Employees Not trusting the to perform jidoka which is to stop work to fix a problem. Employees not trusting to be clean and tiding up their work area. Employees not trusting the work for the continuous improvement. c) How Toyota Company respond to the danger signals To escape the danger signals in over production By using a sell one buy one method The Company can change their order replacement of repetitive stock. The Toyota planned Order cut-off times for delivery. When finished this process of order then selected filled and distributed. While improving performance of the delivery, smoothing demand increase significantly demands of the supplier and efficiency. By Eliminating or taking out the created demand the Toyota can cut its inventory and improve productivity. If they have surplus of the production The Toyota store, manage and protect them as inventory. As the key response of the worker have to think next step of the process as his/her own customer and provide the required quantity with excellence of quality at the lowest price and right time. To escape the danger signals in waiting The Toyota synchronize the production and distribution process with the cut-off time therefore distributors can avoid having their delivery of products or raw materials delayed cost and waiting for the next delivery by their logistics subordinate. Complete the volume of work required the capability- both speed and volume of each task can be inspected. This helps to utilise the machinery and people that wanted to minimize the method meeting the manufacturing the demands. To escape the danger signals in Transportation The system in Toyota and logistics of JIT minimized variation of demand significantly. In terms of minimization the waste have to be done in the areas of coordination of progress, layout and other general operations. To escape the danger signals in motion By carefully scheduled layout and the matched selection can eliminate this type of wastes. To escape the danger signals in inventory Inventory can be reduced to monthly supply by establishing small quantity of orders through the supply chain maintain at different order levels. The reacts to the wastes of inventory, Disposal of out-dated materials Produce the number of items required by the succeeding process Purchase the materials of required amount. Can achieve savings by volume discounts but must careful with inventory and storage cost. Produce only required quantity to achieve the most appropriate quantity, set up the measuring and measure set up and exchanges the inventory and carrying costs. To escape the danger signals in Product defects A comprehensive system should be established to reduce defect waste of products, therefore employees can get prior knowledge to recognize the defects and they can take prevention actions immediately. To escape the danger signals in processing The philosophies of design should be taken into consideration and should be employed for manufacturing. Before the production begins the processing should be reduced or removed. . Conclusion At the end this report says that The Toyota Company is succeeding their prospective through Lean Manufacturing. This Achievement is not happen coincidence but it continuing progress throughout the Lean Management and Waste Management. The employees those one of primary resources of the Toyota contribute for organizational Success. Understanding of Toyota Production System and achieving organizational gaols is very difficult to any company though it is possible to follow the Toyota Production System. The Toyota has a desire as the first organization which introduced Lean Manufacturing that eliminates wastes at any level of production process. At present many companies are following Toyota Production System and establishing Lean Manufacturing to their organizational system. They have increased the efficiency of work processes. The understanding and the application of Toyota Production System is essential stage of value chain is important.

The Engineering of Machu Picchu Essay -- Civil Engineering

On July 24, 1911 an antiquity site located in the mountains surrounding Cusco, Peru, was rediscovered by explorer Hiram Bingham almost half a century after it was constructed. Since 1911 Machu Picchu has come into prominence as a tourist site because of its interesting history and its mysterious abandonment. Much of Machu Picchu has been restored since its discovery to give tourists a window into what it would have been like to live there at its prime. Machu Picchu was built by the great Inca civilization in 1450 and it is believed that it was used as an imperial retreat for the Inca Emperor. Historians now believe that the abrupt abandonment of Machu Picchu was a result of the Spanish conquest, but one of the reasons that it is so well preserved is that the Spanish conquistadors never found it. Despite its location, only 43 miles from the Peruvian capital of Cuzco, for almost half a century it remained a mystery to all, but a few. Via advanced construction techniques the Inca were a ble to keep the inherent problems at Machu Picchu checked and by doing this they were able to expand the infrastructure at Machu Picchu to keep the population sustainable. Historians found Machu Picchu so fascinating because of its immaculate preservation, a result of the Inca construction techniques. When Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911 he was taken aback by its beautiful construction. One component of its beauty is its stonework. This stonework prevented damage that other antiquity sites suffered and led to the state that Machu Picchu is in today. This site was preserved relatively to other Inca sites was because while the Spanish Conquistadors sacked other sites they did not find Machu Picchu and it remained undiscovered until Hi... .../worldgeography.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1498440?terms=terraces. â€Å"Terraces at Machu Picchu.† In ABC-CLIO. Accessed February 9, 2014. http://worldgeography.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/790018?terms=machu+picchu. â€Å"Water Supply and Drainage at Machu Picchu.† Water History.org. Accessed February 20, 2014. http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/machu/. Annotation: Machu Picchu: A Civil Engineering Marvel By: Kenneth R. Wright Secondary Source Non-fiction Book Kenneth R. Wright is the Chief engineer at Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is an expert Paleo-Hydrologist at Machu Picchu and Mesa Verde There is no bias An Interview With Kenneth R. Wright on PBS.org Secondary Source Interview Kenneth R. Wright is the Chief engineer at Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is an expert Paleo-Hydrologist at Machu Picchu and Mesa Verde There is no bias

Father And Son :: essays papers

Father And Son As related to Absalom and Achitophel Absalom and Achitophel begins in the world of Old Testament history. The vague biblical past of the opening lines lets the narrative to be set from 2 Samuel in a wide historical frame that hopes to legitimize the king's promiscuity by associating the king as father of the land: In pious times, e'r priestcraft did begin, Before polygamy was made a sin; When one man on many multiplied his kind, Ere one to one was cursedly confined; When nature prompted and no law denied Promiscuous use of concubine and bride; Then Israel's monarch after Heaven's own heart, His vigorous warmth did variously impart To wives and slaves; and, wide as his command, Scattered his Maker's image through the land. (l. 1-10) The association between God and David is made through the clever comparison of divine and human fertility. There is some irony in seeing God's abundant creation reflected in the king's sexual extravagances, but the irony doesn't reduce the status of the king. It serves, at the beginning of the poem, to separate the person of the king from the office of the king. The opening scenes emphasize David as an indulgent father, not as head of the country. David's pleasure in Absalom parallels God's attitude toward Adam in the Garden. All of Absalom's motions are accompanied with grace, And paradise was opened in his face. With secret joy indulgent David viewed His youthful image in his son renewed: To all his wishes nothing he denied; And made the charming Annabel his bride. (l. 29-34) The easy going nature of Absalom, put together with the specific reference to paradise, help establish him as the figure from Eden that will be seen again in the temptation. The characterization of David emphasizes a combination of divine and human paternity. Like God, David takes great joy in his creation; like God, he supplies Absalom with a worthwhile bride. This serious presentation of David in his fatherly joy and indulgence, as compared to the divine model, cannot be taken as criticism of the king. It strengthens the casual relationship between God and David established at the opening of the poem. When attention is called to indulgence or weakness in David's character, it is in a context that shows David's indulgence to be a reflection of his paternal, rather than kingly, capacity: What faults he had (for whom from faults if free?) His father could not, or he would not see. (l. 35-36) The emphasis is on David's paternal indulgence. The initial presentation of David and Absalom closes with a declaration of the calm of David's

The Nine Guardians Essay -- Literary Analysis, The Church, Indigenous

The story of the Nine Guardians takes place during the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas between 1934 and 1940. Lazaro Cardenas instituted the agrarian reform to break up the large ranches owned by the elite class and end the state of peonage in which the Indians on the ranch lived. President Cardenas government opposed the Catholic Church as it was believed to be the vehicle of superstition as well as the ally of the old regime. (Mason 1962, p80) The Churches were closed and many priest lost their lives for saying Mass. (Nicholson 1992 p 9) Women were allowed to clean the relics once per month (p 43)Catholic conservative rebel groups Cristeros were operating in many parts of the State to defend the interest of the Church, which generally coincided with those of the landlords. The Cristeros bands were mainly composed of resident Hacienda workers who were stirred to rebellion by their and maintained in arms by their landlords. Economically dependant on the Hacienda system, the priest we re not only the intellectual instigator of the revolt, but frequently were its military leaders. They taught that land distribution was contrary to the will of God and that the peon owed his landlord implicit obedience. (Huizer, year, p125) â€Å"To wear oneself out fighting against this iniquitous and senseless persecution†, p 234. Since the Church was under persecution from President Cardenas government Mass had to be said in secret. Amalia risks imprisonment by allowing her home to be used as a religious meeting place. The story depicts the injustices experienced by both women of the land owning class and the indigenous people. Lazaro Cardenas instituted agrarian reforms that would benefit the Indian population. The large ranches of land owning el... ... god. Religious meeting were held in secrecy in the homes of members of the church, mainly female members of the church. Amalia risked her freedom by holding a meeting in her home. (p232) Both the Ladinos and the Indians believed that they were being punished by their gods for the sufferings they experienced. The Mayans believed that they were being punished by their gods for the suffering their people were experiencing at the hands of the Europeans. â€Å"They came, who were destined to come; haughty and hard of manner and strong of voice, such were the instruments of our chiding†. (Castellanos, year, p 56) The religious rites and customs practised by the indigenous people were constructed by Europeans as â€Å"lies and deceptions which the devil had invented† (Tignor et al 2002, p97) They were to worship only the Christian God instead of bowing to their many idols.