Saturday, August 31, 2019

Exposure †creative personal writing Essay

A quick, stealthy character moves across the office, photocopying top secret files. The information was very damaging stuff. He leaves as quickly as he enters. Who is this person? Why does he want this information? Will the press get hold of it? The Rayman walked down an alley, on the way to his hide-out. He was a short man, who had brown hair with flecks of grey. In places he was going bald, he had shaven his hair very short. He had a well shaven beard. His face was an average face with brown eyes. He wore brown trousers, with black shoes. On the top he wore a brown, well-ironed polo shirt. Over it he wore a leather jacket. When he was around people he walked with a limp. This hid his true identity. He got to his house, flicked on the televison to the news. He now heard about a break in at 10 Downing Street. Also he heard about the top secret documents that have been stolen. The next day he decided he wants these secret documents. He needed a team of mastermind criminals to work with. He got one of his closest colleagues, Rumbo. His plan was to get arrested with all these other mastermind criminals. He and his colleagues have been informed about a truck transporting guns around for the army. The Rayman and Rumbo were on the trail of the truck. The truck took a left down a empty road. The Rayman put his foot on the accelerator and zoomed past the truck then did a handbrake turn straight in front of the truck. The two of them jumped out of the car with their balaclavas on. They were both holding automatic shotguns, with the barrels sawn off. The Rayman opened the door on the drivers side and blew the drivers head off. Rumbo did the same to the passenger. The Rayman put the bodies in the back and started the truck up while Rumbo drove the other car off. The two of them met up again on the edge of the of the river. Here they moved all the guns from the truck into the car. Quickly they set light to the truck and pushed it into the river. Next, they drove back to the Rayman’s warehouse and offloaded the guns and hid them under the floor boards. Now they blew their car up. There was now no hard evidence on them. One of the biggest police investigations took place to find the murders. The police arrested the Rayman, along with Peat, The Accountant and Amen. The four were put in a cell together. It was here the Rayman put the proposal to them of getting the document. Peat and The Accountant thought it was a great idea. The problem was that Amen was going straight. Over the next two hours they tried to explain that it was good idea to get the documents. Amen’s girlfriend was a very good lawyer and got the four of them out quicker than the Rayman expected. Once out the Rayman cornered down Amen. At first Amen was reluctant to join the group. After a few slaps and a good two hours Amen was persuaded to join the group. Amen went home told his girlfriend that he was going to London to get these files. She decided to leave him. This filled Amen with rage against the Rayman. The next day the four of them went on a road trip to London. In London the four of them met up with some of their contacts. They met up at Ventura Hill at 8pm. Jack and Jill had followed them here from Liverpool and were watching them. The contacts told them of this up and coming gangster, the Shadow. He was one of the best thieves in England. The group were informed by Rumbo about a drug shipment, to a rival gang leader Jack the Hat. They contacted the Shadow and ask him to help them steal the drugs. The shadow was extremely keen to work with the hardcore gangsters. Jack and Jill found out about their plans and had the police lined up to arrest everyone, at the ship. Meanwhile Rumbo had come down to help and supply the guns. They were ready to attack the ship and infiltrated the ship through the cargo hole. The Rayman told Amen to stay out of the action and hide in the boxes. The Shadow shot the first person. Soon after that the gunfight opened up and it was a dangerous place. The Rayman followed the Shadow. When they where alone he attacked the shadow and got him to tell him where the secret documents were. â€Å"Tell me where the documents are before I blast you to the pearly gates† says the Rayman. â€Å"They’re in a sailing boat† says the Shadow. â€Å"WHICH ONE?† says the Rayman. â€Å"Enterprise K40421, at the mariner† says the Shadow. Bang! the Rayman shoots the Shadow in the head. Then the police turn up and arrest everyone who is alive. The only person left is the Rayman, who got out and hide near the ship. When the Rayman was arrested he used his real name David Edwards. The good thing was that David Edwards had no criminal record to give the police a harder time. The only witness left was a dying captain and all he could say was â€Å"Rayman, Rayman†. The police’s first question was, â€Å"What happened†. The story David Edwards told goes something like this. â€Å"Have you heard of the Shadow? Well he was the one who stole the secret documents. The Rayman had the idea of getting them off him. He told us the idea when we all were arrested.† says David Edwards. â€Å"So who was the Rayman?† says Jack. â€Å"Amen, he said he was going straight so it would be less likely it was him. Anyway, I went along because I had no choice in the matter. The plan was to attack this ship bringing in drugs. While doing this the Rayman will get the secret documents and a lot of drugs. While doing this I hid behind some boxes so as not to get involved† says David Edwards † So you just got mixed up with the group because we arrested you? Well, I only have one choice, to let you go,† says Jack. David Edwards walks out the police station. Then straight away stops walking with a limp. He gets into a cab and goes to the mariner. Here he finds Enterprise K40421. Under the front he finds a brief case. There is no code to put in. He presses the two buttons, â€Å"Click, Click†. On the top of the brief case in big writing is a sign, which says ‘Have a nice day’. Kaboom.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 1-3

CHAPTER 1 Robert Langdon awoke slowly. A telephone was ringing in the darkness – a tinny, unfamiliar ring. He fumbled for the bedside lamp and turned it on. Squinting at his surroundings he saw a plush Renaissance bedroom with Louis XVI furniture, hand-frescoed walls, and a colossal mahogany four-poster bed. Where the hell am I? The jacquard bathrobe hanging on his bedpost bore the monogram: HOTEL RITZ PARIS. Slowly, the fog began to lift. Langdon picked up the receiver. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Monsieur Langdon?† a man's voice said. â€Å"I hope I have not awoken you?† Dazed, Langdon looked at the bedside clock. It was 12:32 A. M. He had been asleep only an hour, but he felt like the dead. â€Å"This is the concierge, monsieur. I apologize for this intrusion, but you have a visitor. He insists it is urgent.† Langdon still felt fuzzy. A visitor? His eyes focused now on a crumpled flyer on his bedside table. THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS proudly presents AN EVENING WITH ROBERT LANGDON PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Langdon groaned. Tonight's lecture – a slide show about pagan symbolism hidden in the stones of Chartres Cathedral – had probably ruffled some conservative feathers in the audience. Most likely, some religious scholar had trailed him home to pick a fight. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Langdon said, â€Å"but I'm very tired and – † â€Å"Mais, monsieur,†the concierge pressed, lowering his voice to an urgent whisper. â€Å"Your guest is an important man.† Langdon had little doubt. His books on religious paintings and cult symbology had made him a reluctant celebrity in the art world, and last year Langdon's visibility had increased a hundred fold after his involvement in a widely publicized incident at the Vatican. Since then, the stream of self- important historians and art buffs arriving at his door had seemed never-ending. â€Å"If you would be so kind,† Langdon said, doing his best to remain polite,† could you take the man's name and number, and tell him I'll try to call him before I leave Paris on Tuesday? Thank you.† He hung up before the concierge could protest. Sitting up now, Langdon frowned at his bedside Guest Relations Handbook, whose cover boasted: SLEEP LIKE A BABY IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS. SLUMBER AT THE PARIS RITZ. He turned and gazed tiredly into the full-length mirror across the room. The man staring back at him was a stranger – tousled and weary. You need a vacation, Robert. The past year had taken a heavy toll on him, but he didn't appreciate seeing proof in the mirror. His usually sharp blue eyes looked hazy and drawn tonight. A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. Around his temples, the gray highlights were advancing, making their way deeper into his thicket of coarse black hair. Although his female colleagues insisted the gray only accentuated his bookish appeal, Langdon knew better. If Boston Magazine could see me now. Last month, much to Langdon's embarrassment, Boston Magazine had listed him as one of that city's top ten most intriguing people – a dubious honor that made him the brunt of endless ribbing by his Harvard colleagues. Tonight, three thousand miles from home, the accolade had resurfaced to haunt him at the lecture he had given. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the hostess had announced to a full house at the American University of Paris's Pavilion Dauphine,† Our guest tonight needs no introduction. He is the author of numerous books: The Symbology of Secret Sects, The An of the Illuminati, The Lost Language of Ideograms, and when I say he wrote the book on Religious Iconology, I mean that quite literally. Many of you use his textbooks in class.† The students in the crowd nodded enthusiastically. â€Å"I had planned to introduce him tonight by sharing his impressive curriculum vitae. However†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She glanced playfully at Langdon, who was seated onstage. â€Å"An audience member has just handed me a far more, shall we say†¦ intriguing introduction.† She held up a copy of Boston Magazine. Langdon cringed. Where the hell did she get that? The hostess began reading choice excerpts from the inane article, and Langdon felt himself sinking lower and lower in his chair. Thirty seconds later, the crowd was grinning, and the woman showed no signs of letting up. â€Å"And Mr. Langdon's refusal to speak publicly about his unusual role in last year's Vatican conclave certainly wins him points on our intrigue-o-meter.† The hostess goaded the crowd. â€Å"Would you like to hear more?† The crowd applauded. Somebody stop her, Langdon pleaded as she dove into the article again. â€Å"Although Professor Langdon might not be considered hunk-handsome like some of our younger awardees, this forty-something academic has more than his share of scholarly allure. His captivating presence is punctuated by an unusually low, baritone speaking voice, which his female students describe as ‘chocolate for the ears.' The hall erupted in laughter. Langdon forced an awkward smile. He knew what came next – some ridiculous line about† Harrison Ford in Harris tweed† – and because this evening he had figured it was finally safe again to wear his Harris tweed and Burberry turtleneck, he decided to take action. â€Å"Thank you, Monique,† Langdon said, standing prematurely and edging her away from the podium. â€Å"Boston Magazine clearly has a gift for fiction.† He turned to the audience with an embarrassed sigh. â€Å"And if I find which one of you provided that article, I'll have the consulate deport you.† The crowd laughed. â€Å"Well, folks, as you all know, I'm here tonight to talk about the power of symbols †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ringing of Langdon's hotel phone once again broke the silence. Groaning in disbelief, he picked up. â€Å"Yes?† As expected, it was the concierge. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, again my apologies. I am calling to inform you that your guest is now en route to your room. I thought I should alert you.† Langdon was wide awake now. â€Å"You sent someone to my room?† â€Å"I apologize, monsieur, but a man like this†¦ I cannot presume the authority to stop him.† â€Å"Who exactly is he?† But the concierge was gone. Almost immediately, a heavy fist pounded on Langdon's door. Uncertain, Langdon slid off the bed, feeling his toes sink deep into the savonniere carpet. He donned the hotel bathrobe and moved toward the door. â€Å"Who is it?† â€Å"Mr. Langdon? I need to speak with you.† The man's English was accented – a sharp, authoritative bark. â€Å"My name is Lieutenant Jerome Collet. Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire.† Langdon paused. The Judicial Police? The DCPJ was the rough equivalent of the U. S. FBI. Leaving the security chain in place, Langdon opened the door a few inches. The face staring back at him was thin and washed out. The man was exceptionally lean, dressed in an official-looking blue uniform. â€Å"May I come in?† the agent asked. Langdon hesitated, feeling uncertain as the stranger's sallow eyes studied him. â€Å"What is this all about?† â€Å"My capitaine requires your expertise in a private matter.† â€Å"Now?† Langdon managed. â€Å"It's after midnight.† â€Å"Am I correct that you were scheduled to meet with the curator of the Louvre this evening?† Langdon felt a sudden surge of uneasiness. He and the revered curator Jacques Sauniere had been slated to meet for drinks after Langdon's lecture tonight, but Sauniere had never shown up. â€Å"Yes. How did you know that?† â€Å"We found your name in his daily planner.† â€Å"I trust nothing is wrong?† The agent gave a dire sigh and slid a Polaroid snapshot through the narrow opening in the door. When Langdon saw the photo, his entire body went rigid.† This photo was taken less than an hour ago. Inside the Louvre.† As Langdon stared at the bizarre image, his initial revulsion and shock gave way to a sudden upwelling of anger. â€Å"Who would do this!† â€Å"We had hoped that you might help us answer that very question, considering your knowledge in symbology and your plans to meet with him.† Langdon stared at the picture, his horror now laced with fear. The image was gruesome and profoundly strange, bringing with it an unsettling sense of deja vu. A little over a year ago, Langdon had received a photograph of a corpse and a similar request for help. Twenty-four hours later, he had almost lost his life inside Vatican City. This photo was entirely different, and yet something about the scenario felt disquietingly familiar. The agent checked his watch. â€Å"My capitaine is waiting, sir.† Langdon barely heard him. His eyes were still riveted on the picture. â€Å"This symbol here, and the way his body is so oddly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Positioned?† the agent offered. Langdon nodded, feeling a chill as he looked up. â€Å"I can't imagine who would do this to someone.† The agent looked grim. â€Å"You don't understand, Mr. Langdon. What you see in this photograph†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused. â€Å"Monsieur Sauniere did that to himself.† CHAPTER 2 One mile away, the hulking albino named Silas limped through the front gate of the luxurious brownstone residence on Rue La Bruyere. The spiked cilice belt that he wore around his thigh cut into his flesh, and yet his soul sang with satisfaction of service to the Lord. Pain is good. His red eyes scanned the lobby as he entered the residence. Empty. He climbed the stairs quietly, not wanting to awaken any of his fellow numeraries. His bedroom door was open; locks were forbidden here. He entered, closing the door behind him. The room was spartan – hardwood floors, a pine dresser, a canvas mat in the corner that served as his bed. He was a visitor here this week, and yet for many years he had been blessed with a similar sanctuary in New York City. The Lord has provided me shelter and purpose in my life. Tonight, at last, Silas felt he had begun to repay his debt. Hurrying to the dresser, he found the cell phone hidden in his bottom drawer and placed a call. â€Å"Yes?† a male voice answered. â€Å"Teacher, I have returned.† â€Å"Speak,† the voice commanded, sounding pleased to hear from him. â€Å"All four are gone. The three senechaux†¦and the Grand Master himself.† There was a momentary pause, as if for prayer. â€Å"Then I assume you have the information?† â€Å"All four concurred. Independently.† â€Å"And you believed them?† â€Å"Their agreement was too great for coincidence.† An excited breath. â€Å"Excellent. I had feared the brotherhood's reputation for secrecy might prevail.† â€Å"The prospect of death is strong motivation.† â€Å"So, my pupil, tell me what I must know.† Silas knew the information he had gleaned from his victims would come as a shock. â€Å"Teacher, all four confirmed the existence of the clef de voute†¦the legendary keystone.† He heard a quick intake of breath over the phone and could feel the Teacher's excitement. â€Å"The keystone.Exactly as we suspected.† According to lore, the brotherhood had created a map of stone – a clef de voute†¦or keystone – an engraved tablet that revealed the final resting place of the brotherhood's greatest secret†¦ information so powerful that its protection was the reason for the brotherhood's very existence. â€Å"When we possess the keystone,† the Teacher said,† we will be only one step away.† â€Å"We are closer than you think. The keystone is here in Paris.† â€Å"Paris? Incredible. It is almost too easy.† Silas relayed the earlier events of the evening†¦ how all four of his victims, moments before death, had desperately tried to buy back their godless lives by telling their secret. Each had told Silas the exact same thing – that the keystone was ingeniously hidden at a precise location inside one of Paris's ancient churches – the Eglise de Saint-Sulpice. â€Å"Inside a house of the Lord,† the Teacher exclaimed. â€Å"How they mock us!† â€Å"As they have for centuries.† The Teacher fell silent, as if letting the triumph of this moment settle over him. Finally, he spoke. â€Å"You have done a great service to God. We have waited centuries for this. You must retrieve the stone for me. Immediately. Tonight. You understand the stakes.† Silas knew the stakes were incalculable, and yet what the Teacher was now commanding seemed impossible. â€Å"But the church, it is a fortress. Especially at night. How will I enter?† With the confident tone of a man of enormous influence, the Teacher explained what was to be done. When Silas hung up the phone, his skin tingled with anticipation. One hour, he told himself, grateful that the Teacher had given him time to carry out the necessary penance before entering a house of God. I must purge my soul of today's sins.The sins committed today had been holy in purpose. Acts of war against the enemies of God had been committed for centuries. Forgiveness was assured. Even so, Silas knew, absolution required sacrifice. Pulling his shades, he stripped naked and knelt in the center of his room. Looking down, he examined the spiked cilice belt clamped around his thigh. All true followers of The Way wore this device – a leather strap, studded with sharp metal barbs that cut into the flesh as a perpetual reminder of Christ's suffering. The pain caused by the device also helped counteract the desires of the flesh. Although Silas already had worn his cilice today longer than the requisite two hours, he knew today was no ordinary day. Grasping the buckle, he cinched it one notch tighter, wincing as the barbs dug deeper into his flesh. Exhaling slowly, he savored the cleansing ritual of his pain. Pain is good, Silas whispered, repeating the sacred mantra of Father Josemaria Escriva – the Teacher of all Teachers. Although Escriva had died in 1975, his wisdom lived on, his words still whispered by thousands of faithful servants around the globe as they knelt on the floor and performed the sacred practice known as† corporal mortification.† Silas turned his attention now to a heavy knotted rope coiled neatly on the floor beside him. TheDiscipline. The knots were caked with dried blood. Eager for the purifying effects of his own agony, Silas said a quick prayer. Then, gripping one end of the rope, he closed his eyes and swung it hard over his shoulder, feeling the knots slap against his back. He whipped it over his shoulder again, slashing at his flesh. Again and again, he lashed. Castigo corpus meum. Finally, he felt the blood begin to flow. CHAPTER 3 The crisp April air whipped through the open window of the Citroen ZX as it skimmed south past the Opera House and crossed Place Vend;me. In the passenger seat, Robert Langdon felt the city tear past him as he tried to clear his thoughts. His quick shower and shave had left him looking reasonably presentable but had done little to ease his anxiety. The frightening image of the curator's body remained locked in his mind. Jacques Sauniere is dead. Langdon could not help but feel a deep sense of loss at the curator's death. Despite Sauniere's reputation for being reclusive, his recognition for dedication to the arts made him an easy man to revere. His books on the secret codes hidden in the paintings of Poussin and Teniers were some of Langdon's favorite classroom texts. Tonight's meeting had been one Langdon was very much looking forward to, and he was disappointed when the curator had not shown. Again the image of the curator's body flashed in his mind. Jacques Sauniere did that to himself?Langdon turned and looked out the window, forcing the picture from his mind. Outside, the city was just now winding down – street vendors wheeling carts of candied amandes, waiters carrying bags of garbage to the curb, a pair of late night lovers cuddling to stay warm in a breeze scented with jasmine blossom. The Citroen navigated the chaos with authority, its dissonant two-tone siren parting the traffic like a knife. â€Å"Le capitaine was pleased to discover you were still in Paris tonight,† the agent said, speaking for the first time since they'd left the hotel. â€Å"A fortunate coincidence.† Langdon was feeling anything but fortunate, and coincidence was a concept he did not entirely trust. As someone who had spent his life exploring the hidden interconnectivity of disparate emblems and ideologies, Langdon viewed the world as a web of profoundly intertwined histories and events. The connections may be invisible, he often preached to his symbology classes at Harvard, but they are always there, buried just beneath the surface. â€Å"I assume,† Langdon said,† that the American University of Paris told you where I was staying?† The driver shook his head. â€Å"Interpol.† Interpol, Langdon thought. Of course.He had forgotten that the seemingly innocuous request of all European hotels to see a passport at check-in was more than a quaint formality – it was the law. On any given night, all across Europe, Interpol officials could pinpoint exactly who was sleeping where. Finding Langdon at the Ritz had probably taken all of five seconds. As the Citroen accelerated southward across the city, the illuminated profile of the Eiffel Tower appeared, shooting skyward in the distance to the right. Seeing it, Langdon thought of Vittoria, recalling their playful promise a year ago that every six months they would meet again at a different romantic spot on the globe. The Eiffel Tower, Langdon suspected, would have made their list. Sadly, he last kissed Vittoria in a noisy airport in Rome more than a year ago. â€Å"Did you mount her?† the agent asked, looking over. Langdon glanced up, certain he had misunderstood. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† â€Å"She is lovely, no?† The agent motioned through the windshield toward the Eiffel Tower. â€Å"Have you mounted her?† Langdon rolled his eyes. â€Å"No, I haven't climbed the tower.† â€Å"She is the symbol of France. I think she is perfect.† Langdon nodded absently. Symbologists often remarked that France – a country renowned for machismo, womanizing, and diminutive insecure leaders like Napoleon and Pepin the Short – could not have chosen a more apt national emblem than a thousand-foot phallus. When they reached the intersection at Rue de Rivoli, the traffic light was red, but the Citroen didn't slow. The agent gunned the sedan across the junction and sped onto a wooded section of Rue Castiglione, which served as the northern entrance to the famed Tuileries Gardens – Paris's own version of Central Park. Most tourists mistranslated Jardins des Tuileries as relating to the thousands of tulips that bloomed here, but Tuileries was actually a literal reference to something far less romantic. This park had once been an enormous, polluted excavation pit from which Parisian contractors mined clay to manufacture the city's famous red roofing tiles – or tuiles. As they entered the deserted park, the agent reached under the dash and turned off the blaring siren. Langdon exhaled, savoring the sudden quiet. Outside the car, the pale wash of halogen headlights skimmed over the crushed gravel parkway, the rugged whir of the tires intoning a hypnotic rhythm. Langdon had always considered the Tuileries to be sacred ground. These were the gardens in which Claude Monet had experimented with form and color, and literally inspired the birth of the Impressionist movement. Tonight, however, this place held a strange aura of foreboding. The Citroen swerved left now, angling west down the park's central boulevard. Curling around a circular pond, the driver cut across a desolate avenue out into a wide quadrangle beyond. Langdon could now see the end of the Tuileries Gardens, marked by a giant stone archway. Arc du Carrousel. Despite the orgiastic rituals once held at the Arc du Carrousel, art aficionados revered this place for another reason entirely. From the esplanade at the end of the Tuileries, four of the finest art museums in the world could be seen†¦ one at each point of the compass. Out the right-hand window, south across the Seine and Quai Voltaire, Langdon could see the dramatically lit facade of the old train station – now the esteemed Musee d'Orsay. Glancing left, he could make out the top of the ultramodern Pompidou Center, which housed the Museum of Modern Art. Behind him to the west, Langdon knew the ancient obelisk of Ramses rose above the trees, marking the Musee du Jeu de Paume. But it was straight ahead, to the east, through the archway, that Langdon could now see the monolithic Renaissance palace that had become the most famous art museum in the world. Musee du Louvre. Langdon felt a familiar tinge of wonder as his eyes made a futile attempt to absorb the entire mass of the edifice. Across a staggeringly expansive plaza, the imposing facade of the Louvre rose like a citadel against the Paris sky. Shaped like an enormous horseshoe, the Louvre was the longest building in Europe, stretching farther than three Eiffel Towers laid end to end. Not even the million square feet of open plaza between the museum wings could challenge the majesty of the facade's breadth. Langdon had once walked the Louvre's entire perimeter, an astonishing three-mile journey. Despite the estimated five days it would take a visitor to properly appreciate the 65, 300 pieces of art in this building, most tourists chose an abbreviated experience Langdon referred to as â€Å"Louvre Lite† – a full sprint through the museum to see the three most famous objects: the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory.Art Buchwald had once boasted he'd seen all three masterpieces in five minutes and fifty-six seconds. The driver pulled out a handheld walkie-talkie and spoke in rapid-fire French. â€Å"Monsieur Langdonest arrive.Deux minutes.† An indecipherable confirmation came crackling back. The agent stowed the device, turning now to Langdon. â€Å"You will meet the capitaine at the main entrance.† The driver ignored the signs prohibiting auto traffic on the plaza, revved the engine, and gunned the Citroen up over the curb. The Louvre's main entrance was visible now, rising boldly in the distance, encircled by seven triangular pools from which spouted illuminated fountains. La Pyramide. The new entrance to the Paris Louvre had become almost as famous as the museum itself. The controversial, neomodern glass pyramid designed by Chinese-born American architect I. M. Peistill evoked scorn from traditionalists who felt it destroyed the dignity of the Renaissance courtyard. Goethe had described architecture as frozen music, and Pei's critics described this pyramid as fingernails on a chalkboard. Progressive admirers, though, hailed Pei's seventy-one-foot-tall transparent pyramid as a dazzling synergy of ancient structure and modern method – a symbolic link between the old and new – helping usher the Louvre into the next millennium. â€Å"Do you like our pyramid?† the agent asked. Langdon frowned. The French, it seemed, loved to ask Americans this. It was a loaded question, of course. Admitting you liked the pyramid made you a tasteless American, and expressing dislike was an insult to the French. â€Å"Mitterrand was a bold man,† Langdon replied, splitting the difference. The late French president who had commissioned the pyramid was said to have suffered from a† Pharaoh complex.† Singlehandedly responsible for filling Paris with Egyptian obelisks, art, and artifacts. Franà §ois Mitterrand had an affinity for Egyptian culture that was so all-consuming that the French still referred to him as the Sphinx. â€Å"What is the captain's name?† Langdon asked, changing topics. â€Å"Bezu Fache,† the driver said, approaching the pyramid's main entrance. â€Å"We call him le Taureau.† Langdon glanced over at him, wondering if every Frenchman had a mysterious animal epithet. â€Å"You call your captain the Bull?† The man arched his eyebrows. â€Å"Your French is better than you admit, Monsieur Langdon.† My French stinks, Langdon thought, but my zodiac iconography is pretty good.Taurus was always the bull. Astrology was a symbolic constant all over the world. The agent pulled the car to a stop and pointed between two fountains to a large door in the side of the pyramid. â€Å"There is the entrance. Good luck, monsieur.† â€Å"You're not coming?† â€Å"My orders are to leave you here. I have other business to attend to.† Langdon heaved a sigh and climbed out. It's your circus. The agent revved his engine and sped off. As Langdon stood alone and watched the departing taillights, he realized he could easily reconsider, exit the courtyard, grab a taxi, and head home to bed. Something told him it was probably a lousy idea. As he moved toward the mist of the fountains, Langdon had the uneasy sense he was crossing an imaginary threshold into another world. The dreamlike quality of the evening was settling around him again. Twenty minutes ago he had been asleep in his hotel room. Now he was standing in front of a transparent pyramid built by the Sphinx, waiting for a policeman they called the Bull. I'm trapped in a Salvador Dali painting, he thought. Langdon strode to the main entrance – an enormous revolving door. The foyer beyond was dimly lit and deserted. Do I knock? Langdon wondered if any of Harvard's revered Egyptologists had ever knocked on the front door of a pyramid and expected an answer. He raised his hand to bang on the glass, but out of the darkness below, a figure appeared, striding up the curving staircase. The man was stocky and dark, almost Neanderthal, dressed in a dark double-breasted suit that strained to cover his wide shoulders. He advanced with unmistakable authority on squat, powerful legs. He was speaking on his cell phone but finished the call as he arrived. He motioned for Langdon to enter. â€Å"I am Bezu Fache,† he announced as Langdon pushed through the revolving door. â€Å"Captain of the Central Directorate Judicial Police.† His tone was fitting – a guttural rumble†¦ like a gathering storm. Langdon held out his hand to shake. â€Å"Robert Langdon.† Fache's enormous palm wrapped around Langdon's with crushing force. â€Å"I saw the photo,† Langdon said. â€Å"Your agent said Jacques Sauniere himself did – â€Å" â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† Fache's ebony eyes locked on. â€Å"What you see in the photo is only the beginning of what Sauniere did.†

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Areas That Need Improvement Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Areas That Need Improvement - Literature review Example In addition, I would improve my presentation skills in order to come up with an exceptional paper. I would polish on my referencing and fluency of the content. I would also work on the structure of the content and ensure that the ideas flow throughout the paper. In order to achieve good grades at this level, there are certain skills that in need to hone. Perfecting my skills in searching online journals, referencing and planning and managing an academic dissertation can really help to boost my grades. Having proficient skills in searching online journals will enable me to effectively carry out extensive literature searches. Research at Masters Level requires students to use specialized information sources and the ability to easily search for them is of paramount importance (Kim 2008). Online journals are some of the sources that are used at this level and therefore, students must have the necessary search skills in order to be able to access these materials and use them in writing their research papers. Skills in referencing and avoiding plagiarism are very important at this level since students are expected to conduct research and write properly referenced papers. These papers should be free of plagiarism and acknowledge the author. Good referencing and avoiding plagiarism earns students good grades. It is important to polish my skills in paraphrasing and quoting in order to avoid plagiarism in my papers. Plagiarizing is regarded as cheating and it automatically leads to failure. At Masters Level, writing dissertations is mandatory. Therefore, skills in planning and managing an academic dissertation are very important. A proper dissertation will require skills in choosing a good topic, developing research questions, conducting an organized and methodical research and proper reporting of the research (Kim 2008).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Computer Forensics 2015 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Computer Forensics 2015 - Research Paper Example The user data can be extracted from personal storage devices like computer hard disk, flash drive, memory cards etc (Computer forensics – a critical need in computer, n.d ) Whenever a person online on internet he/she leaves behind the logs on performed activities. This provides the digital traceability of the person’s activities which he/she has performed on internet by using these logs of visited websites. Flash templates and videos buffered can also be gathered from temporary file of the computer which the person was using. This accessibility to trace the logs, cookies, files and templates can help in analyzing the crime committed computers and may help in providing the strong evidence against the cyber-criminal or hacker. Many users think that after deleing data from hard drive it cannot be traced but there are many techniques and methods by which the deleted data can be recovered. The computer system does not usually thrash the data completely even if it is removed from recycle bin. These files remain alive until it is replaced or overwritten by new data. These methods of tracing can facilitate in forensic investigation to trace down the cri minal by investigating the computer system used by the criminal. For instance, during the execution of search warrant of serial killer John Robinson at the residence, law enforcement agencies seize five computers along with badly decomposed two dead bodies (Computer forensics, n.d ). After investigating the computer used by the serial killer John Robinson, it was discovered that he used the internet to find them and then schedule the meeting, after sexual assault they were killed. These facts cannot be gathered with physical evidence techniques and evidence and without computer forensic technique (Computer forensics, n.d ). There are many computer forensic techniques which can be used to trace the criminal but they are usually categorized

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Socrates and Glaucon on Differences of Human Nature Essay

Socrates and Glaucon on Differences of Human Nature - Essay Example It is, however, possible to give historical examples when women have acted successfully in the fields that are not typical of them, and the same state of affairs is true about men. This tendency develops today as well. It is also possible to suggest that, upon the lack of the necessary quantity of persons of either sex, there is a chance to evaluate this theoretical finding on practice. From this point of view, the qualitative balance of the society would not be broken, for all the vacant positions would be occupied, but the question of the quality remains open. This is also the matter of which the philosophers, that is, the state governors, as per Plato’s theory of the state governing, must think hard. On one hand, the argument that men and women are different by nature scores against the suggestion that the same things may and shall be done by the representatives of different sexes. On the other hand, the contradiction to which as a result of the dialogue the philosophers co me, that is, the statement that different nature determines everyone’s occupation does not permit shifting between, for example, the roles of a child rearing mother and a warrior fighting on the frontline. The state in such situation is at a risk of losses if the shift is permitted, for if the mother dies her skills cannot be applied anymore, and the father is not available to substitute her because of his being busy with breadwinning. On the contrary, the warrior is likely to lose his combat skills and knowledge.

Monday, August 26, 2019

To what extent can we as humans be objective in our understanding of Essay

To what extent can we as humans be objective in our understanding of human behaviour - Essay Example al’s psychic sphere, etc., there has always been a question: to what extend can a human being remain objective while explaining the reasons for another human’s behaviour? After all, being humans, not only we are prone to mistakes, but we also have our own subjective experience, and which is more personality peculiarities, which may – and actually do – influence the way we perceive things and interpret the motives for another people’s actions and other people’s thoughts. People do not perceive the world as it is; their own mind creates a certain picture of the world that differs from the reality, and every person has the picture of his or her own. This was discovered long ago by a Polish engineer Alfred Korzibsky at the beginning of the 20th century. A most interesting saying belongs to him that says ‘The map is not the territory’ (Korzibsky 1933, np); under ‘the map’ our perception of the world is meant, and ‘the territory’ is the objective world itself. Fairly the same concept is reflected in the works of the sophists in the Ancient Greece who were constantly trying to find an answer to the question if it is possible to comprehend the truth, and if anything exists in the human mind apart from opinions? They were the adherents of Phenomenalism: the theory that stated that we only can perceive those ideas that find themselves in our minds, not the real objects of the world as they are all outside of our minds, and therefore it is incorrect and even useless to even try evaluating anybody or anything that is outside our minds. Conceptual biases: the way we as a group collectively organize our mental views, beliefs and perceptions about life and the universe, which influences what we notice, what we seek to learn, and how we interpret phenomena. Personal biases: the individual experiences and personality that form our personal interests, likes and dislikes, characteristics, etc., which influence what and how each of us seeks to learn and

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What is Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is Language - Essay Example This essay will look into Smith and Wilson’s theory of what a language is, and their arguments on the idea that language is rule-governed. What is a Language? There have been a number of definitions on what a language is and in each definition, there is an aspect that points out language is rule-governed. This is where Neil Smith and Deidre Wilson come in to justify the claim that language is governed by rules. Language uses the concept of grammar. Grammar is a set of rules whose main tasks are to separate grammatically from ungrammatical sentences and to provide a description of grammatical sentences. Individuals who are fluent in a particular language often correct themselves when they make mistakes in grammar while talking even when no one has corrected them (Smith and Deirdre 327). A language speaker will also feel and know when someone from a different language makes a mistake in grammar when trying to speak his language. For example, an American will feel and know the mi stake when a German pronounces the word ‘what’ as ‘vat’. When two speakers of different dialects of the same language meet and talk, each will feel the other one is making grammatical mistakes in their sentences and would want to correct them but out of politeness will keep away from correcting the other. A speaker of British English will for example see a fault in a sentence like ‘I done gone to school’. He will feel like the sentence is supposed to be ‘I had gone to school’. The speaker of the other English dialect will similarly feel that the British English speaker’s sentence needs some correcting. This not only shows that languages have a set of rules that they follow but it also shows that these rules do differ (Smith and Deirdre 327). Rules can be created and operated by a single individual easily. There are two such instances in language. One of them is when children are learning how to speak and the case of grownups with idiosyncratic speech patterns. Kids learning their first language often make their own rules on how they pronounce the words and how their sentence structure should be. These rules are more often than not wrong according to the adults but to them they cannot be more right. An instance of such a grammar rule is when a child asks: mummy what that was? Instead of: mummy what was that? Adults on the other hand could have a difference in their linguistic rules (Smith and Deirdre 329). A sentence like ‘’what did you want to do before going out’’ might seem wrong to another individual. People who have also suffered a brain damage and consequently suffered aphasia or speech loss also fall in this category of creating their own rules. This results in the construction of sentences that are ungrammatical pronounce words in the wrong way (Smith and Deirdre 330). Rules’ patterns cannot be reversed and still have the same meaning. Sometimes they become mean ingless when reversed. The same applies to language. A pattern of a sentence construction loses its meaning or becomes meaningless when changed. A sentence like ‘’we ate the food ourselves’’ when changed to ‘’ourselves ate the food we’’ it becomes meaningless though the words are still the same. Therefore, like rules, language pattern loses its meaning when changed (Smith and Deirdre 332). Like rules, language has a feature of being universal (Smith and Deirdre 337). There is a striking similarity in the language that cuts across all language patterns of the globe. The pattern of a sentence structure of different languages pointing out to the same thing will have almost of not exactly the same pattern when all of them are translated into one language. A sentence like â€Å"

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Freehold covenants are too easy to impose upon land and too difficult Essay

Freehold covenants are too easy to impose upon land and too difficult to remove - Essay Example The law pertaining covenants entered between freeholders which is known as freehold covenants symbolises the manner in which one landowner may impact or control the use of adjoining or neighbouring land. A freehold covenant has both an advantage and an onus in respect of two estates in land owned by different individuals. Thus, covenants symbolise another form of proprietary duty, despite one that obliges its origin to the curative authority of courts of equity. (Dixon 2011:313). A freehold covenant may be explained as promises made through a deed (covenants) between freeholders where one contracting party guarantees to carry out or not to do some actions on the land owned by them for the advantage of adjoining land. For instance, owner of property A promises to the owner of property B not to do some kind of business or trade on his (A’s) land or where the owner of a property X promises to owner of property Y not to construct a wall over above a certain height or without getting approval from the owner of the property Y. The landowner who makes a promise on behalf of his land is known as covenantor (where the onus lies) and the property owner to whom such promise is made is known as covenantee and his land is where the benefit lies. In most of the cases, covenants between freeholders are negative or restrictive in nature, which prevents the owner of the land to do certain things in his own land. (Dixon 2011:313). The land with an advantage under a freehold covenant is known as dominant land where the land with the disadvantage is identified as the servient land. (Holmes 2005:157). Analysis Privity of Contract In a land deal, there will be a contract between the original parties (buyer & seller) and these original parties to the contract under the common law principle of privity of contract, the party with a benefit can be able to implement the promise or covenant against the party with the burden. In case of a land contract deal, the subject matter is not rest with the original parties to the contract whereas in the majority of the other contract deals, the subject matter rests with the original contracting parties. In land contracts, there is every possibility of passing the property to their legal heirs or successors either by gift or by inheritance or by sale. (Morris 1999:6). Under the privity of contract principle, the burden associated with a land cannot be passed on whereas a benefit a ttached to it can be passed on to the successor. Hence, the successor to the owner of a land with a burden cannot be compelled to enforce the covenant by the successor to the owner of the land with the benefit covenants attached to it. (Morris 1999:6). In conveyancing a freehold land or property which has a positive covenant which demands the buyer to maintain the land or premises by carrying out repair as and when necessary, which can be only implemented by â€Å"privity of contract between the original buyer and the seller.† Once the property is disposed off, the vendor who insisted with a covenant may not be interested in such property’s covenants. There will be no virtual advantage or incentive to implement the covenant just to help those still residing in the adjoining areas. Even if the seller remains there and if the buyer disposes the land to a third party, then† no privity of contract will be existing between the new buyer and the original vendor.† Further, under the principle of privity of estate, as pertinent to promises or covenants included in transfer of freehold land or property, the burden will not pass on to the buyer, and it would not be probable to enforce the promise against the new purchaser directly.

Health Administarion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Health Administarion - Essay Example Medical errors can be grouped in to diagnostic errors that include poor medical tests, treatment errors that include inappropriate care, medications and process errors that include poor communication, wrong patient identification, documentation and equipment failures. Medical error is associated with poor training, urgent care, new procedures and complex care. Complicated medical technologies, poor communication and fragmented systems can also lead to medical error. Some human factors that lead to medical errors include burnout, depression, and fatigue and time pressures (Kalra, 2011). The initial step in responding to medical error is to address the current medical needs of the patient. The physician should immediately address the adverse unanticipated medical outcome by assessing extends of harm and the required medical procedures to reduce the harm (Kalra, 2011). The second step entails communication of the adverse outcome with the patient or any representatives of the patient like the close relatives. These entail providing information on the causes of the medical error and extend of harm to the patient (Kalra, 2011). The third step is reporting to the appropriate parties and authorities in the health facility and regulatory agencies. Each health facility should have guidelines on internal reporting of the medical error and steps in reducing further adverse medical outcomes (Kalra, 2011). The fourth step is checking the medical records of the patient. Such medical documentation should be accurate and complete. This includes the patient medical condition prior to the medical error, the interventions undertaken to reduce the harm and patient response. The physician should also note the information communicated to the patient after the medical error (Kalra, 2011). The fifth step entails follow ups and monitoring the changes in

Friday, August 23, 2019

Job Hunt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job Hunt - Assignment Example The accounting functions will include assessing the compliance of the financial statements with the relevant accounting standards. The main responsibilities of the professional being appointed as the internal financial auditor of the Financial Company will encompass auditing the financial reports of the company in accordance with the relevant accounting standards. The professional will also be liable to convey or report the standard and reliability of the financial statements produced by the company over a certain period of time. The Financial Company operates nationwide in the USA as one of the largest and most successful financial consultant firms, with its headquarter located in the City of Oak Brook, Illinois. The company can also be considered as one of the most respected and recognized brands across the nation with the intensive and constant efforts of more than 3000 employees. According to the present day context, it can be identified that the organization serves around 68 thousand business and individual customers through financial consulting in terms of tax planning, portfolio designing and business planning. With due regards for your kind considerations, I would like to thank you for providing a great opportunity to me with the offer of candidature in your interview session for the job vacancy of an internal financial auditor. I certainly appreciate for taking your time out of your busy schedule and talking to me concerning the post of Internal Financial Auditor in your organization. I would like to state in this regard that it was a pleasure to talk to you and obtain unambiguous learning of the expectations which the company has from me as a professional. After thinking about your offer and my job requirements, I believe that the respective position will provide me an incredible opportunity to apply my academic

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Henry Walker and the Three of Hearts Essay Example for Free

Henry Walker and the Three of Hearts Essay Henry Walker, the self-made Negro magician or rather the â€Å"self-made freak† can simply present his life through the analysis of his signature card trick – the use of the Three of Hearts. Each of these hearts represents one of the women who played significant roles in his life. These women were his mother, his sister Hannah, and his assistant and lover, Marianne la Fleur. Henry’s mother The mother of Henry Walker best represents the primary source of tragedy in the story. It can be noted that the setting of the story best emphasizes its tragic theme only when the plot reaches a recollection of Henry’s youth, where the young boy loses his mother. In one way or another, Henry’s mother symbolized familial care and love which should be nurturing, supportive, and developmental – something which the â€Å"magician† was deprived of at a very young age. Technically, the lack of a mother equated to the lack of family, the conflict which Henry tries so hard to resolve all throughout the story. To a certain sense, the mother – or rather the lack of having a mother best depicts Henry Walker as a â€Å"lost soul in perpetual mourning over his departed family†. She is the first of Henry’s losses and probably the most dreadful of all. However, unlike other losses, the loss of Henry’s mother is probably the only real event in the story which is not masked by any illusion or schizophrenic dilemma. It was clear that his mother died from a disease before his ninth birthday and from there, his life has gone towards the worst as he is left in the arms of his lying father. To a certain sense, much of Henry’s doomed destiny can be blamed on the fact that he had lost his mother. With a mother, perhaps Henry might have had a more â€Å"real† life and he might have not lived under pretentious and perplexing situations fostered by his imagination and his father’s false encouragements. The role of the mother was to create a â€Å"real† reality, upholding a family that is essential for the foundation and formation of emotionally, socially, and psychologically healthy individuals. The lack of fulfillment for this motherly role in Henry Walker’s life shows why almost everything went wrong. It can also be noted that whenever the lack of motherly care is tackled in the story, Henry is almost always merely seen as a little young boy – helpless and innocent, not an egomaniac who is forging stories and lies for his own benefit. With his mother, Henry becomes a victim of life’s cruelty, a once pure soul who has been corrupted because of the lack of love. As such, apart from setting what was supposed to be real and right in the magician’s life, the mother was supposed to maintain Henry’s chasteness. Through his mother, Henry is blameless and naive: â€Å"You have to know whats true to lie and Henry didnt. He didnt know the difference. What’s more is that the early loss of a mother therefore established a series of losses for Henry. As noted in the book, for Henry, life is One losing battle after another†¦ Winning doesnt even exist, really, not as something you can hold on to; its just something that happens between losses. Henry’s sister, Hanna If Henry’s mother – or rather the lack of her – was the ultimate source of tragedy in the magician’s life, his sister Hannah was the reverse. Although the boy also lost her sister when he was nearing eleven, the loss of her sister gave his life meaning – although an illusionary one. As shown in the story, because Henry Walker believed that his sister was stolen by the Devil – Mr. Sebastian, he had devoted his life into looking for her. That search gave her a source of life and a direction which he cannot simply find. In this sense, Hannah symbolized a crusade for both vengeance and righteousness for the magician. Hannah’s loss shows the different side of the magician – one who is no longer lured by innocence and youthfulness. Instead, through the vanishing of his sister, Henry becomes a miracle worker, someone that has power and will to defeat the devil. This determination and motivation originating from the loss of his loved one and from his guilt showed a singular Henry, a surprising persona that cannot be expected from a feeble man that the â€Å"Negro† magician posed himself to be. As claimed by Adam Sobsey, â€Å"When late in the book he (Henry Walker) declares that hes spent his entire life looking for his lost sister and her kidnapper, its almost a surprise: Hes scarcely shown that kind of will or anima. He is, in the words of one character, ‘like a puddle in the sun: every day he became smaller and smaller. ’† Hannah symbolized the fight against evil for Henry. As noted by the Daniel Wallace, the author, in one of his interviews: â€Å"The stories that Henry has embraced, generated by his father, that only the Devil could have engineered the taking away of Henry’s sister. So, Henry had to believe in that evil in order to set himself up as a force of good in the world. † This was symbolically emphasized in the story as Hannah was often referred to have angelic qualities. As such, the loss of Hannah – which Henry though was his fault – made Henry’s life a struggle between good and evil and that somehow presented a sense of order into the complexities of the real scenarios that the magician was involved in. However, Hannah was also a source of Henry’s tortuous frustrations for he never can really rescue her from the â€Å"Devil† and Henry will never win against evil. This was emphasized by Henry in the novel: â€Å"Evil always wins†¦ Eventually evil wins. We fight it because it’s the right thing to do, but in the end we’ll always lose. Always. Because to be good- truly good- there are rules, we have rules inside of us, rules we have to follow to be that way, to stay good. And evil can do anything it wants to. It’s not a fair fight. † Wallace, the author, also notes that Henry will always fail at his goal to defeat the Devil because â€Å"The fact is that evil doesn’t exist. There isn’t this Manichean struggle between the two. † Marianne La Fleur, the unattainable Marianne La Fleur, the stage assistant, was the centerpiece in Henry Walker baffling life. In the novel, Henry brings her back to life in one of his shows. This stunt proves to be a success in Henry’s career. This somehow symbolizes Henry’s one good shot back at life; however, the trick fails to receive much awe as its eeriness does not impress the popular audience. In his attempt to love and to be loved, Henry also fails to no avail. Yet, Marianne serves a very defining role in Henry’s life. In a sense, she was the magician’s hope to life and love which remains unattainable, despite their similarities in â€Å"freakishness†. If Henry was presented as a man who had a devastatingly depressing life, his assistant – whom he loved – mirrored the same degree of oddity that he posed: Marianne La Fleur was not ugly, though; she was something worse. She was scary. Or no haunted. She was a haunted woman about whom, when you looked at her, you would wonder, What happened to her? . . . She was odd, and everything she did was odd. . . . Ask her a question, and there was always an uncomfortable pause before she replied. Even the simplest question, ‘How are you? ’ One, one thousand, two, one thousand, three. Fine, she said. One, one thousand. ‘How are you? ’ As described in the novel, Marianne was someone whose characteristics dwell between the living and dead. She was as troubled as the magician and that was probably why he became attracted to her. Through Marianne, Henry defines his fondness of the odd and the haunted. By being attracted to his weird stage assistant who is described as â€Å"a creature ever fluttering on the border between Life and Death†, the magician embraces the divergence from normalcy and tries to embrace the life of a â€Å"freak†. This tendency to be fond of what’s strange and unnatural gave him what he was always looking for: the love of a family. The freakishness was what defined the people who were in the circus – the people whom, as based on their narratives and recollections of Henry – loved and cared for the magician in the way that his family failed to do so. In the narratives of Rudy the Strongman, Jenny the Ossified Girl and JJ the Barker, the life of Henry was delivered not only to deliberately emphasize the horrors of the magician’s life. Rather, through their narrations, Henry was given more than pity. The circus denizens sympathized with their friend and even honored him by saying that â€Å"In the end, Henry was a man with two stories: one story was about revenge, and the other was about love. † In Henry’s life, Marianne was both his mother’s and his sister’s substitute. Through her, the author was able to emphasize an important theme that he tried to present in the story: â€Å"It’s about getting (a) family, losing (a) family. All of the stories presented are about family. Henry loses one family, but in the end he gets another since the circus becomes a family in itself, where the freaks are able to live a normal life with each other and love each other as real people, where their similarities are more important than their differences. † Marianne was the supposed fulfillment to Henry’s final vision which is to gain â€Å"that final ideal of community and family and being a part of the world. † References: Sobsey, Adam (2007). Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician: The new novel from Chapel Hills Daniel Wallace. Published 25 Jul 2007 (Retrieved April 6, 2009 from http://www. indyweek. com/gyrobase/Content? oid=oid%3A157570) Turner, Daniel Cross (2009). The Magical Work of Fiction: An Interview with Daniel Wallace. Published March 2009 (Retrieved April 6, 2009 from http://www. storysouth. com/2009/03/interview-with-daniel-wallace. html) ____________ (2007). Bigger Fish Swim in Wallaces Latest. Published 19 August 2007 in the Mobile Register (Retrieved April 6, 2009 from http://www. weirdplots. com/2007/08/that-old-multicolored-magic. html) Wallace, Daniel (2007). Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician. Doubleday. 257 pp.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Causes of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya

Causes of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya The Mau Mau rebellion in 1952 was undeniably caused by the growing tensions between the Kikuyu and the white European settlers in Kenya. However, despite growing unrest, the precise causes of the rebellion remain unclear. This essay will discuss a number of possible reasons for the revolt, examining the economic, social and political tensions caused by the colonial administration in an attempt to discover the real reasons for the Mau Mau rebellion and why the Kikuyu were so unhappy with their colonial administrators. Arguably one of the most important reasons for the Mau Mau rebellion was the economic deprivation of the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu had long been unhappy with white settlers in Kenya taking their land, and their economic deprivation lead to vast discontent throughout the Kikuyu.[1] Despite attempts to address this issue, the Kikuyus were ignored. Michael Coray has argued that by failing to create a system through which Africa grievances against white settlers could be settled fairly, the Kikuyu grew more dissatisfied with the colonial administrations failures,[2] thus playing a significant part in the development of the Mau Mau rebellion. Economic deprivation continued throughout colonial rule; by 1948, 1.25 million Kikuyu were restricted to 2000 square miles whilst 30,000 white settlers occupied 12,000 square miles,[3] demonstrating the extent to which the Kikuyu were disadvantaged by the white settlers, causing them anger and resentment. As a result to these poor living conditions, there w as a huge increase in the number of Kikuyu migrating to the cities; leading to poverty, unemployment and overpopulation.[4] Despite these factors, it has been argued that economic deprivation was not of particular importance in relation to why the Mau Mau rebellion broke out. Claude Welch has claimed that grievances were expressed primarily on a tribal basis as opposed to a class basis, which he uses as evidence to suggest that economic deprivation is not as significant a factor as one might believe.[5] However, regardless of whether or not it contributed greatly to the break out of the Mau Mau rebellion, there is little doubt that the unrest caused by economic deprivation had an impact on the Kikuyu, and trough this contributed to the Mau Mau rebellion. As well as economic deprivation, the Kikuyu were arguably angered by their loss of economic independence during the colonial period. As Eric Brown has stated, the loss of land to white settlers meant not only that the Kikuyu were bereft of their land, but also that they had to then find work in order to make a living; usually working for the white settlers.[6] Brown has paralleled this with Serfdom, and argues that Kikuyu reliance on white settlers caused an increase in social tensions amongst the Kikuyu.[7] Though already at a disadvantage, the Kikuyu would also earn on average only a fifth of the payment which white workers would earn for the same amount of work,[8] which only furthered the Kikuyu resentment of the settlers. Despite migrating to the cities, which one might consider puts the Kikuyu at an economic advantage, the Kikuyu were in fact disadvantaged when considering their prosperous position prior to colonial administration; coffee growing in particular was a rewarding i ndustry due to the fertile land held by the Kikuyu, and so the prohibition of coffee growing imposed by the colonial government crippled the Kikuyu.[9] In this light, a rebellion against the British settlers might be seen as inevitable. The Kikuyu were the most populous ethnic group in Kenya, with what Brown calls a flourishing society;[10] therefore, when the Mau Mau offered them an opportunity to revolt against British colonialism, the group grew rapidly.[11] One could then argue that a main reason why the Mau Mau rebellion broke out was so that the Kikuyu could regain the economic independence that they longed for, and were used to prior to colonial disruption. However, the social conditions of the Kikuyu cannot be ignored when attempting to address the main reasons for the break out of the Mau Mau rebellion. Harsh restrictions were placed upon the Kikuyu; they were taxed heavily (which when one considers that they were earning only a fifth of the wages white settlers were earning, seems particularly severe),[12] and racial tensions increased. White settlers saw the Kikuyu as agricultural competition, thus explaining why such heavy restrictions were placed upon them.[13] Disciplinary measures were introduced by white settlers on the Kikuyu who worked on their land; workers were often tortured or abused by the white settlers.[14] This horrific treatment of the Kikuyu only angered them further and caused greater discontent between black and white. Alongside their economic deprivation, the Kikuyu and other people of Africa were made to feel like outsiders within their homeland, and became alienated from society. Many Kikuyu had no choice but t o become squatters on white land, which to them seemed degrading considering the land was rightfully theirs.[15] There were also increasing tensions between the Kikuyu people themselves. Kikuyu land owners and those forced to work on white land began to despise each other; Furedi argues that this led to the land owners and their white allies releasing a wave of repression onto those with no land, thus increasing social tensions throughout Kenya.[16] This meant that poorer Kikuyu workers were not only angered by the white settlers but also by their own people, thus strengthening the argument that the Mau Mau rebellion was a peasant revolt against the wealthy and the white.[17] The vast growth of the Kikuyu Central Association also accounts for the break out of the Mau Mau rebellion in 1952. The KCA made its aims clear to reclaim the land taken from them and ran a campaign of civil disobedience in order to protest against the white settlers taking their land,[18] which demonstrates the unrest amongst the Kikuyu prior to the rebellion. The KCA also made radical demands, for example the return of their land, in hope of returning to their economic position prior to colonial rule.[19] The growth in membership of the KCA can be accounted for in the popular demands it made; for example, higher wages and the right to grow coffee again.[20] It has already been established that the Kikuyu were greatly unhappy with their social and economic position within Kenya, and so the KCA offered them an opportunity to voice their discontent and attempt to make a change through convincing the government that if their demands were not met, they would create more trouble.[21] De spite these protests, the KCA was largely ignored by the colonial government, thus furthering tensions between the two.[22] The KCAs grievances originated in the 1920s and 1930s, and so by the time the Mau Mau rebellion broke out in 1952, decades had passed with little change to benefit the Kikuyu, and therefore the rebellion had arguably been a long time coming. Consequently, the growth of the KCA reflects the growing tensions amongst the Kikuyu which led to the Mau Mau rebellion of 1952. Another key reason for the break out of the Mau Mau rebellion in 1952 was the internal divisions within the Kikuyu. It has been argued that there never was a single Mau Mau.[23] One possible reason for this argument is that the Mau Mau never made their goals clear; many have attempted to discover their goals through Mau Mau actions, and yet there is no solid evidence to suggest what the Mau Maus goals might be. Clough has argued that Mau Mau goals were political, and that they wanted to drive out the white settlers and isolate African enemies.[24] There is certainly some validity to this argument; as Clough notes, memoirs from Mau Mau meetings show that a great effort was made planning what the Mau Mau relationship should be with detained leaders, and how they would communicate with the British to get their message across,[25] demonstrating the importance of political motivations. Others have argued that their goals were economical, and that as previously stated the Kikuyu people str ived to regain their economic independence that was lost through colonialism.[26] The Mau Mau was a rapidly expanding group, and therefore the lack of a well-known, common goal meant that internal divisions were inevitable. Therefore the rebellion in 1952 was arguably caused by Mau Mau intentions to achieve something in order to avoid being seen as a radical group without a goal. However, as Lonsdale has pointed out, despite internal divisions, the Mau Mau were bound to each other by hopes of citizenship and bureaucracy,[27] and therefore perhaps the broadness of such a goal benefitted the Mau Mau rather than causing a failed uprising. It can therefore be concluded that there were a number of reasons for the break out of the Mau Mau rebellion in 1952. Arguably the most important cause of the rebellion was the economic discontent of caused by white settlers claiming Kikuyu land and its consequences. The restrictions placed upon the Kikuyu, both economically and socially, also played a significant role in the break out of the rebellion, as the Kikuyu were made to feel alienated from their own society and repressed by white settlers. However, the most likely cause of the Mau Mau rebellion was a combination of all the above factors, which led to a growth in discontent amongst the Kikuyu and left them with no other alternative than to revolt. In this sense, it can be concluded that there was not just one cause of the Mau Mau rebellion, but a vast amount of varying causes encompassing economic, social and political tensions. Bibliography Grinker, R., Perspectives on Africa: A reader in culture, history and representation (Wiley-Blackwell 1997) Shaw, C., Colonial Inscriptions: Race, Sex and Class in Kenya (University of Minnesota Press, 1995) Welch, C., Anatomy of Rebellion (SUNY Press, 1980) Mwakikagile, G., Africa and the West (Nova Publishers, 2000) Harcourt, W., Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable Development (Zed Books, 1994) Furedi, F., The Mau Mau War in Perspective (James Currey Publisers, 1989) Berman, B., and Lonsdale, J., Unhappy Valley: Conflict in Kenya and Africa (James Currey Publishers, 1992) Lonsdale, J., Foreword in Kershaw, G., Mau Mau from Below (Ohio University Press, 1997) Clough, M., Mau Mau Memoirs: History, Memory and Politics (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998) Odhiambo, E., and Lonsdale, J., Mau Mau and Nationhood: Arms, Authority and Narration (Ohio University Press, 2003) Kenya Information Sheet (Accessed 21st November) Eric W. Brown The Early Days of the Mau Mau Insurrection Jens Finke, Kikuyu Colonial History (Accessed December 2nd 2009) Coray, M., The Kenya Land Commission and the Kikuyu of Kiambu Agricultural History 52 (Jan 1978) [1]Grinker, R., Perspectives on Africa: A reader in culture, history and representation (Wiley-Blackwell 1997) pg. 654 [2]Coray, M., The Kenya Land Commission and the Kikuyu of Kiambu Agricultural History 52 (Jan 1978) pg. 179-93 [3] Kenya Information Sheet (Accessed 21st November) [4] Shaw, C., Colonial Inscriptions: Race, Sex and Class in Kenya (University of Minnesota Press, 1995) pg. 43 [5] Welch, C., Anatomy of Rebellion (SUNY Press, 1980) pg. 65-66 [6]Eric W. Brown The Early Days of the Mau Mau Insurrection [7] Ibid. [8] Ibid [9] Ibid. [10] Ibid. [11] Ibid. [12] Mwakikagile, G., Africa and the West (Nova Publishers, 2000) pp. 95 [13] Ibid. [14] Ibid. [15] Harcourt, W., Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable Development (Zed Books, 1994) pp. 133 [16] Furedi, F., The Mau Mau War in Perspective (James Currey Publisers, 1989) pp. 7 [17] Ibid. [18] Berman, B., and Lonsdale, J., Unhappy Valley: Conflict in Kenya and Africa (James Currey Publishers, 1992) pp. 446 [19] Jens Finke, Kikuyu Colonial History (Accessed December 2nd 2009) [20] Ibid. [21] Ibid. [22] Ibid. [23] Lonsdale, J., Foreword in Kershaw, G., Mau Mau from Below (Ohio University Press, 1997) [24] Clough, M., Mau Mau Memoirs: History, Memory and Politics (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998) pp. 167 [25] Ibid. [26] Brown, The Early Days of the Mau Mau Insurrection [27] Odhiambo, E., and Lonsdale, J., Mau Mau and Nationhood: Arms, Authority and Narration (Ohio University Press, 2003) pp. 77

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Are Nursing Homes Beneficial?

Are Nursing Homes Beneficial? Cameron Bond   Specific goal: To persuade families why nursing homes are beneficial Introduction: Question: Why do you think nursing homes beneficial?[PC2] Today what I will be talking about is: What are nursing homes? What are the benefits of nursing homes? How can families pay for their loved ones nursing home stay?[PC3] Thesis Statement: [PC4]Nursing homes put more emphasis on rehabilitating residents and getting them back into the community. Nevertheless, there is a growing tendency to make some Nursing Home more homelike. Body: What are nursing homes? According to Medline Plus, a nursing home is a place for people who dont need to be in a hospital but cant be cared for at home. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day.[PC5] Some nursing homes are set up like a hospital. The staff provides medical care, as well as physical, speech and occupational therapy. There might be a nurses station on each floor. Other nursing homes try to be more like home. They try to have a neighborhood feel. Often, they dont have a fixed day-to-day schedule, and kitchens [PC6]might be open to residents. Staff members are encouraged to develop relationships with residents. Some nursing homes have special care units for people with serious memory problems such as Alzheimers disease. Some will let couples live together. Nursing homes are not only for the elderly, but for anyone who requires 24-hour care. What are the benefits of nursing homes? Assistance with daily task Nursing homes help residents with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, drinking, using the restroom, and administering medicine.[PC7] Typical daily task can become increasingly difficult with old age.[PC8] Social environment Residing in a nursing home facility provides seniors with a built-in social network of peers.[PC9] a) Senior residents can enjoy the company of others who are living in the same facility and share their experiences. Many facilities offer organized social events open for participation for all residents. Many senior citizens suffer from depression due to feeling of isolation from living alone and not having access to social outlets. House keeping The nursing home staff will take care of laundry and general cleaning in their rooms. Food service Nursing facilities provide all meals and snacks Many facilities offer various meal plans to cater to different taste and dietary requirements Safety The elderly are frequently targets of physical, emotional and financial abuse. Living in a nursing home facility offers seniors a protected environment to help insulate them from possible abuse and danger Nursing homes offer greater levels of security and protection than seniors who are living alone or un-supervised Access to resources While living in a nursing home, residents can enjoy easy access to whatever resources they might need a) The nursing home staff will help residents find the information they need quickly and efficiently. Specialized health care Skilled nursing facilities are staffed by registered nurses and they have the ability to provide proper care to seniors with serious health conditions. How can families pay for their loved ones Nursing homes stay?[PC10] It is said on the national institute on aging website that, Its important to check with Medicare, Medicaid, and any private insurance provider you must find out their current rules about covering the costs of long-term care. You can pay for nursing home care in several ways. Medicare is for someone who needs special care, Medicare, a Federal program, will cover part of the cost in a skilled nursing home approved by Medicare. Check with Medicare for details. Medicaidis a State/Federal program that provides health benefits to some people with low incomes. Contact your county family services department to see if you qualify. Private pay is when some people pay for long-term care with their own savings for as long as possible. When that is no longer possible, they may apply for help from Medicaid. If you think you may need to apply for Medicaid at some point, make sure the nursing home youre interested in accepts Medicaid payments. Not all do. Long-term care insurance is when some people buy private long-term care insurance. It can pay part of the costs for a nursing home or other long-term care for the length of time stated in your policy. This type of insurance is sold by many different companies and benefits vary widely. Look carefully at several policies before making a choice. Conclusion[PC11]: Nursing homes are an amazing way to make sure that your loved ones are being cared for and getting the service they deserve. As I stated before, nursing homes put more emphasis on rehabilitating residents and getting them back into the community and your loved ones can feel at home. Today I talked to you about what is a nursing home, what are the benefits of a nursing home, and how could you pay for your love ones stay at the nursing home. As an employee at a nursing home your family members will  Ã‚   be very well taken care of and live a normal life as if they were in their own home.[PC12] You need at least four outside sources mentioned in the body of your speech (not just web addresses) Work Cited https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/nursing-homes http://www.disable-world.com/medical/rehabilitaion/advantages.php https://medlineplus.gov/nursinghomes.html

Monday, August 19, 2019

Shirley Temple Essay examples -- Biography

America's little darling, everyone knows her but where did she come from? George Francis Temple was her father (Shirley Temple). He was born in 1888 and eventually became a banker (Shirley Temple). Her mother's name was Gertrude Amelia Krieger, she was born in 1893(Shirley Temple). They had two sons whose names were: Jack Temple and George Jr. Temple (Shirley Temple). While expecting their first daughter Gertrude played the phonograph and attended dance recitals (Shirley Temple). Finally on April 23, 1929 a beautiful baby girl was born (Shirley Temple). Shirley was a baby who would bring smiles to everyone’s face during the great depression (Hall). They named her Shirley Jane Temple. Shirley was born at 9:00 p.m. She once said " Too late for dinner, and so i started life one meal behind. Ever since then I have tried to make up for that loss"(The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley began dancing extremely early (Shirley Temple). Even as early as eight months old, as she swayed back and forth in her baby crib (Shirley Temple). Her love for dancing continued. As Shirley got older she took dance lessons at Ethel Meglin Dance Studio, which was only ten miles from Hollywood (Bankston 6-7). It was the day before Thanksgiving and the family had travel plans arranged, so Shirley took dance class early that week (Bankston 7). While in a hurry her mother did not have time to curl her hair and Shirley had on very casual clothes, not knowing that this would be the day her fame would begin (Bankston 7). This is the day in 1931 that producers Jack Hays and Charles Lamont discovered Shirley (The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley's family became very protective of their little girl (Shirley Temple). She attende... ...he received many awards even after her acting career had ended. In September of 2005 the Screen Actors Gold proclaimed that Shirley," who captivated the world as no other child star has done before or since, then served her country as an eminent diplomat over more than three decades"(U-S-history). She received a Life Achievement Award for her many accomplishments (U-S-history). Also, in 2005 Premiere Magazine put her at number thirty-three on the Greatest Movie Stars of all-time list (Shirley Temple). She was voted the thirty-eighth greatest movie star of all time by Entertainment Weekly (Shirley Temple). At one point, Shirley's fan club in England had 650,000 members (Lindeman). Located at 1500 Vine Street is her Hollywood Walk of Fame star (Shirley Temple). All in all, Shirley Jane Temple had a very full life and accomplished so much.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay --

Juliette Gordon Low is the founder of girl scouts and she led a long and prosperous journey for strengthening and empowering young women; Even though she became deaf she was not deterred and she continued on with her job as the founder of girl scouts. Juliette Low was a leader all throughout her life as a child and an adult. Along her journey of girl scouting she achieved many of her goals and had many different hobbies and interests. After she passed away she was remembered for all the impacts she made on the world. The cause for Juliette’s deafness isn’t the most obvious to be sure, But it is pretty ironic how it happened. When she was young she had many ear infections which made her lose most of her hearing in one ear. But in the other ear was a more Bizarre happening. On her Wedding day, Many people showed up for the event. After the wedding was done and Juliette and her fiance’ were walking down the church steps to start their life together. All of this happened while being showered upon by rice being thrown by well-wishers. But what they didn’t know is that one piece of rice became lodged in her ear causing an ear infection in that ear. Later on, it caused deafness in both ears. Juliette Gordon Low was born in Savannah Georgia in October 31, 1860 to William Washington Gordon and Eleanor Lytle. Her maiden name is Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon. Shortly after she was born; she was given the nickname â€Å"daisy†. This later changes to â€Å"Crazy Daisy† due to personality change, positive energy, and openness. She was born into a split opinion Family with her Dad’s side of the family for succession and her Mother’s side of the family for abolition. Many neighbors were irritated that the Low family had differi... ...eginning stage of development, Low wanted them to be inclusive and independent. They started out by working on merit badges like: first aid, cooking, map reading, and knot tying. They were also known to spend a majority of their time in the outdoors participating in activities such as: swimming, camping, basketball, ect. They Introduced the idea of selling cookies as a fundraiser in 1917; This idea flew high and is still a major source of revenue for today’s girl scouts. Low decided it was enough and resigned presidency in 1920. and by 1925, the number of girl scouts grew to 90,000 girls in girl scouts. Low lead a legacy that will be remembered for a long time to come. With her outgoing personality she changed many girls lives as she met her goals and achieved many things. Becoming deaf had little effect on her, for she remained in girl scouting until the very end.

Politics in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Politics in Heart Of Darkness Anyone can read Heart Of Darkness and easily sense the attitude of Conrad toward English politics. Many times throughout Heart Of Darkness Conrad points out the pointlessness and savagery of English colonization. Conrad also comments a bit on society as a whole. With these two ideas added to the book, there is no wonder of why Heart of Darkness is such a touching novel. Through several examples, Conrad often shows the pointlessness and savagery of the English colonization in Africa. Probably the first instance of this is when Marlow comes up to the French-man who is "shelling the bush". In this scene, the French see something move and so they start shelling it for that reason. The shelling really does no good; if fact, it probably does not even kill what is out there. This represents what the English are doing in a way -- they are trying to conquer a land by shelling it to death and by trying to kill all the people who live there. The next example that Conrad gives is when he sees the black guard, who is leading the black slaves in a chain gang, straighten up when he sees a white man. What this shows is how everyone tries to look better than they are when they are in front of a supposed superior person. Also it shows that if a person can suck up enough -- and sometimes betray their own people -- they can move up in the world. Probably the biggest example of the pointless of colonization is when Marlow is walking around and he sees big holes just around, a train and tools rusting to pieces, and when he hears blasts that seem to do nothing. What this shows is that the English presence in Africa does no good but create a empty hole in it (the big hole), that the English are just was wasting their time and money on a needless project (the rusting objects), and that the English seem to do nothing in Africa (the pointless blasting). One the final examples that he gives is the manager. This manager is all dressed up in "proper" clothes, must have everything in a perfect order, and complains about the sick man in the corner of the room. This symbolizes how uncaring the English are in their pursuit for ivory.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Family Life Course Development

Family Life Course Development Focus & Scope Assumptions These are the assumptions that provide the foundation for Family Life Course Development Theory. 1. Developmental processes are inevitable and important in understanding families. – Individual family members, Interaction between family members, Structure of family, and The norms composing expectations about family roles all change over time. These changing roles and expectations for different stages of family are viewed as essential to an understanding of the family. . The family group is affected by all the levels of analysis. Social system (Institutional norms and conventions about the family) e. g. legal expectations like child abuse laws Aggregate Clusters (Families and norms structured by class and ethnicity) Social group – Family Sub-group – Relationships (e. g. Husband -Wife, Siblings, etc. ) Individual These general social norms represent the level of analysis of the family as a social institution. This institutional level of analysis is generally the one we refer to when we talk about â€Å"The Family† and is the level on which we often conduct cross-cultural comparisons (the U. S. family compared with the Japanese family). 3. Time is Multi-Dimensional Periodicity – An equal interval of time between each event on the clock. (e. g. jewel movements of a wrist watch‘s gears) However, our experience of time is perhaps not as regimented as periodicity would lead us to believe. Social Process Time- Family and personal experiences are used as a separate way to divide up time. (e. g. â€Å"When we first married† or â€Å"Before your sister was born†) Social norms are tied more closely to this social process dimension of time than to calendar or wristwatch time. Subsequently, for Family Life Course Development Theory, the family process dimension of time is critical to understanding and explaining family change because it provides the marker events for analyses. (E. g. births, weddings, deaths, etc. )

Friday, August 16, 2019

Factors That Impact on and Influence the Organisation

The business environment is often an uncertain one, where managers are faced with many factors that impact on and influence the organisation. The micro-environment includes suppliers, customers and stakeholders, all of which influence the organisation directly. The macro-environment, however, includes factors that influence the organisation but are out of its direct control. The micro-environment is often determined by the industry the organisation operates within. Competition becomes a critical influencing factor. Johnson et al (2002) states that managers should understand the competitive forces that exist between organisations in the same industry because this will determine its attractiveness. De Swaan Arons, et al (1999) refer to Porter’s Five Forces framework as a tool to assess profit potential within an organisation. These forces include; supplier and buyer power; threat of substitutes; and barriers to entry. At the centre of the five forces is competitive rivalry between organisations in the same industry/sector. The level of competitive aggressiveness will be determined by factors such as the number of competitors, industry growth, high fixed costs, and amount of differentiation (De Swaan Arons, et al, 1999, pp 3). According to Harrison (2003), success in the hotel industry is often provided by being located near existing hotel properties. This may be as a result of a tested market-place and assurance that if hotels can profit in that area, then it becomes an attractive market to enter. Supplier and buyer power are closely linked due to the resulting relationship they have in influencing the organisation. Porter’s Five Forces Framework states that supplier power is high when there is a concentration of suppliers within the same industry. However; following the comments of Harrison (2003), several hotel properties within the same geographic area will be competing for customers, often basing their strategy on price; hence the customer has the power to influence the supplier, otherwise known as buyer power. A high concentration of suppliers in one geographic area often results in a saturated market. The Life-Cycle Model highlights the importance between growth and maturity stages. Johnson et al (2002) illustrate that in market growth situations, an organisation is likely to achieve growth through the resulting growth of the marketplace. However, when markets are mature, organisational growth can only be achieved by taking market share from competitors. Research conducted within the Swiss Hotel Industry, (Sund, 2004), showed that it had been experiencing a period of stagnation and even decline. Sund (2004) suggests this is due to the concentration of hotel properties in the area as a result of increased international travel post-World War II and the increase in hotel chains and franchises. In research carried out by Audretsch et al (1996), where the innovative activity takes place is a key contributor to the phase of the industry life cycle. Substitution reduces demand for a particular type of product or service. For example, the presence of all-inclusive hotel resorts is a threat to small independent Bed & Bedfast establishments. Barriers to entry consist of a number of factors, for example; economies of scale, capital requirement, access to distribution channels, experience expected, retaliation, legislation/government action, and differentiation (Johnson et al, 2002, pp 115). For the hotel industry, the threat of entry is likely to be high in places where there is a high concentration of hotel accommodation. However; some may argue that high concentration may be a reason not to enter the market because competition is fierce. According to Harrison (2003), Porter’s Five Forces model has limitations in terms of its practical application. Although the five forces aims to provide organisations with a definition of competitive factors, it does not include an evaluation of other stakeholders equally as important. This may include unions, financial institutions, the media and local communities. Harrison (2003) also identifies the importance of political factors. Where micro analysis of the organisation consists of direct factors such as customers, stakeholders and competition, the macro environment considers elements of the environment on a wider scale. The PESTEL model is a useful tool for use in strategic decision making. It consists of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal issues affecting drivers of change within an organisation. Political factors refer to governments, society or regulators that can take action to influence an organisation’s performance. Political decisions can also affect a company’s success and future planning as shown in many war zone scenarios. A country’s decision to go to war curbs travel and thus, hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions suffer. Harrison (2003) quotes the example of the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf. Hotels were left empty until the war ended and travellers felt confident to venture into that geographic region again. Economic factors include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. These factors can be critical to the success of companies operating within the hospitality industry. A hotel company may have to review its pricing strategy dependant on consumer demand. This relates to Porter’s forces where buyer and supplier power are linked as a result of where most of the concentration is. Social factors relate to social trends such as the demand for a company's products and services. Awareness of societal factors is also important in reputation management where a company aims to promote itself as interested in the values of its customers. Marriott Hotels (cited in Harrison, 2003), considered societal trends in its development of housing for people who may require a form of assisted living. This development was due to Marriott’s recognition of the ageing baby-boom era. Technological factors are important to consider when new markets are being established. New technologies create new products and new processes. Technological developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products. In the hotel industry, technology advancement should be centred on customer service and the experience one should expect. According to Connolly et al (2000), the hospitality industry should be preparing for the future by readying itself for technological advancements. This way, hotel companies will be well positioned to meet the needs of their customers. One of the most popular advances in technology for the hotel industry would be computer advances and the wide use of Internet. Hotels are now expected to have online booking facilities, which are easy to use, install confidence and assurances for the online customer that their booking has been received and processed accordingly. Websites are commonly an organisation’s first point of contact with potential customers. Therefore, branding and corporate image is important. Customer relationship management is possible with the advancement of computer technology. Marketing strategies centre around the potential to follow-up on previous customer’s hotel stays by offering return offers and discounts for loyalty. The Ritz-Carlton, for example, uses their contact database to maintain customer profiles that details individual tastes and preferences (Harrison, 2003). They also use this technology to speed up check-in procedures for regular guests. Differentiation within the hotel industry is also possible through the use of technology. Harrison (2003) uses the example of Wingate Inns who attracted business customers by offering free to use, high-speed Internet in every room. Environmental factors such as climate change have the potential to impact on every industry and should be considered as a driver for change. Becoming ‘greener’ has been a significant change in the running of many hotel chains throughout the world. Advertising the use of environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting customer demand. This produces more business opportunities and creates greater supplier power. Legal factors are related to the legal environment in which companies operate. Health and Safety legislation is a major driver of change in all industries, especially service-based industries such as hospitality. Not only does this affect the company’s workforce, it also affects the customer and his/her experience. Hotel owners are duty holders in providing a safe environment for their employees and customers. In the event of an accident or a breach of legislation, a hotel company can incur substantial penalties, which will ultimately affect future profits and corporate reputation. Analysis of the external environment, using tools such as PESTEL, allows organisations to make important decisions and strategic changes to create competitive advantage. In evaluating growth strategies, an analysis involving suitability, acceptability and feasibility is vital. Although these models of analysis help organisations to understand the factors that may impact and influence their business strategies, it is also important to understand in more detail what will result in success and failure. One of the many approaches is to perform a SWOT analysis. Another is to identify opportunities and threats via strategic gaps. Johnson et al (2002) refer to this as identifying ‘new market space’. Strategic gaps are found by looking across the industry for potential substitutes, new product/service offerings and new market segments. According to Pryce (2001), many hotel operators are lagging behind other industries with regards to corporate sustainability. Research has suggested that there is a significant gap between attitudes and action (Pryce, 2001), which provides hotel owners with promotional opportunities and drivers for change to capitalise on environmental management.