Oppressiveness of Society Exposed in Emily Jane Brontes Wuthering Heights :: Emily Jane Brontes Wuthering Heights

Harshness of Society Exposed in Emily Jane Bronte's Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights, the formation of Emily Jane Bronte, delineates not a dream domain nor the profundities of hellfire. Or maybe, the books centers around two fundamental characters' fight with the limitations of Victorian Society. Cultural weights and prohibitive social limits oust Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff from the world and afterward from each other. The story starts in the forsaken fields of Yorkshire, home of the domain Wuthering Heights. Consistent with its setting, the novel creates Catherine and Heathcliff as naughty kids who meander the detached lowlands, isolating themselves from the exercises of Wuthering Statures. Catherine^s youth oust originates from her absence of consistence with the standards concerning the lead of a Victorian woman. As a kid, her dad was too sick to even consider reprimanding the free lively kid, ^who was excessively underhanded and wayward for a favourite.^(33). In this manner, Catherine grew up among nature and came up short on the advancement of high society. Catherine expelled herself from society and, had ways with her, for example, I never observed a kid take up previously; she put we all past our understanding multiple times and oftener in a day;...we had not a minute^s security that she wouldn^t be in wickedness. Her spirits were consistently at high-water mark, her tongue continually going- - singing, chuckling, and tormenting each and every individual who might not do likewise. A wild, evil slip she was- - (37). Catherine further ignored social measures and remained companions with Heathcliff in spite of his debasement by Hindley, her sibling. ^Miss Cathy and he [Heathcliff] were currently very thick;^(33) also, she discovered her sole pleasure in his friendship. Catherine developed up next to Heathcliff, ^in the fields. The two of them vowed to grow up as discourteous as savages; the youthful ace [Hindley] being totally careless how they behaved,^(40-41). During her early stages Catherine^s direct didn't mirror that of a youngster, ^and one of their boss entertainments [was] to flee to the fields in the first part of the day and remain there all day,^(41). Consequently, Catherine^s conduct created and dismissed the beliefs of an abusive, oppressive society, which thus made a disengagement from the organized world. The two existed on their private island unchecked until Catherine endures a physical issue from the Linton^s bulldog. Compelled to stay at Thrushcross Grange, the Linton^s home, after her physical issue, disengages Catherine from Heathcliff and her previous universe of crazy opportunity. Living among the tastefulness of the Lintons changes Catherine from a coarse youth into a sensitive woman. In any case, sublimation into Victorian culture doesn't accommodate her

The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay Essay Example

The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay Paper Human Cruelty in the Name of Righteousness The Crucible by Arthur Miller Guilt is a troublesome vibe to adapt to. In any case, being accused blameworthy while being guiltless is significantly harder. This circumstance is experienced through the characters in Arthur Millers play, The Crucible . In this play a gathering of young ladies endeavor to rehearse black magic but since they g at got, the young ladies stressed they would get rebuffed. They start to denounce e others and lie so as to redirect the fault from themselves. This started the Sale m Witch Trials. Mill operator depicts human pitilessness for the sake of uprightness through Abigail a ND Thomas Putnam in The Crucible In The Crucible, Abigail (Reverend Paprikas niece) blames Tuba and Elizabeth Proctor for black magic notwithstanding maintaining her blamelessness. Craziness emerges as R veered Hale inquires as to whether she is associated with black magic. Abigail answers l never sold NYSE If! Am a decent young lady! Am a legitimate young lady and that Tuba constrained her to do it. Tuba, in dread of PU enmeshment, blamed other lady for black magic. Moreover, Elizabeth Proctor was likewise reprimand De for acts she didn't submit. We will compose a custom paper test on The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom paper test on The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer Reverend Hale says Abigail referenced her name in the court. Elizabeth says [she] will fear With Abigail allegation against Elizabeth in the preliminaries in addition to the fact that Abigail diverted consideration from her has caused mayhem in the town on the grounds that the Proctors were notable individuals. Giles Corey trusts Thomas Putnam is making bogus incriminations so as to take land, Giles blames Thomas Putnam for icily [prompting] [his] girl to cry witchery upon George Jacobs. (3. 39596. 182) This implied Thomas Putnam dishonestly blamed George Jacobs to exploit for the land. Because of this allegation Giles Corey is captured for Gonzales 2 hatred of request. He stated, can't give you no name,sir. I can't. (3. 419. 183) He would not give a name since he didn't need anybody to be hanged. Giles Corey ref used to admit the individual he got the data for the sake of honorableness. During this timeframe, individuals had an alternate perspective on nobility. Alt Hough it might appear in the cauldron as though avarice, culpability and dread caused the Puritans t o act in a progressively unforgiving, brutal way, in the Salem Welch Trials; we can likewise see that elision assumes a significant job during these occasions. In the book All Things Human by Henry Goodman Potter, pages 5854 reads,Henry Potter and his white peers tended to these e worries with basic presumptions and feelings, established in different parts of Name Rican strict and social idea, about the parenthood of God and fraternity of altruistic This goes out to show that uniformity during these timeframes was hard to arrive at b cause religion changed people groups point of view definitely. All through The Crucible characters have been accused for a demonstration that they didn't exclude.

Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012

Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012 My blogs this year have not focused on grammar, but my daily work naturally entails frequent corrections of people’s use of grammar in their writing. When not officially editing, I tend to gloss over errors within emails and other correspondence. It’s the end of the year, however, and time for my Top Grammatical and Spelling Errors list (see last year’s Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors here). Readers report that this is one of their favorite postings of the year. So here it goes (I kept it to my absolute top 7 this year!): 7.   Alright (vs. All right). Grammar Girl asserts that alright is not a word. Despite the fact that this construction seems to be making its way into the dictionary, I still agree with Grammar Girl. I received an email from an Ivy League graduate that contained the following sentence: “In addition, Im going to pass your information on to another organization that may be interested in your coming in to talk; I hope thats alright.” I’m sticking to the spelling “all right” for at least another year. Check back in with me in 2013. 6. Effect / Affect. The only meaning of the verb “effect” is to cause, e.g., effect change. This error was highlighted in my 2010 list. The following sentence, from a client’s addendum explaining his GPA, uses “effect” incorrectly: “These three grades have effected my gpa significantly…” The grades at issue were in science, not English. But the correct verb would have been “affected.” 5.   Complimentary vs. Complementary. Complimentary has two meanings: 1) expressing positive sentiments about someone or something, and 2) offered free of charge or as a courtesy. Complementary means completing a set, or making up a whole. I have come across the following misuses and correct uses of the words. Which do you think are correct? a. From an announcement marketing the offerings of a local networking event: “Enjoy … a complementary drink from Yahara Bay Distillers, and bid on enticing items in our  Silent Auction.” b. From a client to whom I had offered a project sheet at no cost: “When will the cover letter and the complementary project sheet included in the package be completed?” c. From a cover letter: “The Alternative Research Institute is advocating a wide range of complementary medicine approaches.” d. From an email containing marketing advice: “Look at the Chamber website and start there looking for complementary businesses that you could serve as a resource and also as a referral source.” Answers: a. Incorrect; b. Incorrect; c. Correct; d. Correct 4.   Then vs. Than. A colleague of mine stated to me: “You are a much stronger person then you give yourself credit for being.” Regardless of whether this psychoanalysis is an accurate interpretation, a grammatically correct sentence would have been, “You are a much stronger person than you give yourself credit for being.” For more on this distinction, see Top 10 Grammar and Spelling Errors from 2010. 3.   Quotation marks. I understand that the rules of quotation marks are not logical in the United States (commas and periods always go inside quotation marks). I’ve written an article to that effect: The Quandary of Quotation Marks. What baffles me is when people put full sentences in quotations and still place the punctuation outside the quotation marks. For instance, from an essay from one of my clients: Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.   This quote by Winston Churchill resonates with me for several reasons. Can anyone provide a valid reason for the period to be outside the quotation marks here, when the period is part of the quotation? 2.      Apostrophes. Many people seem to be confused about how to create plurals. I wrote about this issue in last year’s blog, but the main point is that plurals of nouns are created by adding an s or es. No apostrophe is needed. Here’s a recent example of an error in this department: “All I can tell you is that the one’s I’ve attended have been awesome.” What’s an apostrophe doing in the word “one’s”? Proper punctuation would be “ones.” And the number one error, which outpaces all the rest and presents an ongoing struggle for me as an editor… 1. Comma Splice. These buggers are rampant! I’ve written two articles about commas and semicolons so I won’t go into detail now. Here are some examples of comma splices that have crossed my desk in 2012. Replacing the comma with a semicolon corrects the error in each sentence; other options to try are splitting the sentence into two full sentences (inserting a period in place of the comma) or inserting the word “and” after the comma: “I have an appointment at 4pm Central, if it is not too late for you I could talk after that.” “I will need to ask him more about the program to determine the benefit, he didn’t provide that information.” “I still have to get 6 people Christmas presents, tonight was one of the days that I thought that I could use to do it.” If you have other frequently-occurring grammar and punctuation issues you’ve noticed, please let me know and I’ll throw them into the pot for next year. I hope this list was useful to you or will be useful to someone you love. Here’s to great writing in 2013!

Analysis Of The Article The Tragedy Of Common

Why â€Å"Freedom in a Commons† Ruins Everything In the article â€Å"The Tragedy of Common†, Garret Hardin, a professor of human ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, writes that, â€Å"ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, which pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons bring ruin to all† (Garret 33). As we all know, freedom is the right people are born with, so why will it ruin everything? In the beginning, we need to ask ourselves a question, what is freedom, or, what is the accurate meaning of freedom? According to the the dictionary, freedom, in general, means power or the condition of acting without compulsion, in the range of law allowed. But, we need to come to realize that law is not only about to punish, but also about to restrict the right. In the view of Americans, freedom is important because it makes their desires to live in their ways reasonable. For example, famers have their freedom to farm the land, pa rents have their freedom to give birth to children, countries have their freedom to deal with the waste. The law gives people the freedom to enjoy their lives, and they need to use it to do the right things, but in fact, people have done something wrong, such as harming the environment. The â€Å"freedom in a commons is often linked to personal profit, which turns out to affect the environment. For example, Garret Hardin writes in â€Å"The Tragedy of Common† that, al herdsman keepsShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Octavia Butler s Series Of The Parables1508 Words   |  7 Pages Thesis Description The tragedy of the commons shown in the speculative literature of Octavia Butler provides readers with a window of insight into what is necessary for a community to fall apart as well as a guide for what is necessary to build a sustainable community in a broken, imperfect world. This provided guide, in conjunction with the works of scholars such as Garrett Hardin and Eleanor Ostrom, can be used as a mode of processing the tragedy of the commons plaguing worldwide current eventsRead More Analysis of veiwpoints on tragedy Essay864 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of veiwpoints on tragedy The question of what defines tragedy has been an issue addressed by several different literary minds since the day of Aristotle, the first person to define tragedy. When Aristotle first defined tragedy he believed tragedy was something reserved for a person of noble stature. He said this person was eventually brought down by a tragic flaw, hence the term tragedy. Robert Silverberg agrees with Aristotle’s views on tragedy, but other authors don’t acceptRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Macbeth - The Five Tragedies1293 Words   |  6 PagesBernad Article, â€Å"The Five Tragedies in Macbeth†, Bernard describes that Macbeth s ever changing deposition and lust for bloodshed was linked to this downfall. A variety of factors influenced Macbeth to commit the foul murders. The aspect of lacking emotion, being engulfed by fear, displaying over ambition, and suffering from an immense amount of guilt ultimately contributed to the downfall of his reign. Overall, this s hift in Macbeth s personality and his ongoing struggle to retain a common temperamentRead MoreNot Only Did The Effects Of War Negatively Influence Henry’S1282 Words   |  6 PagesNot only did the effects of war negatively influence Henry’s actions, the theme of tragedy and the horrors of war also influence the entire Italian Army. For example, in Moddelmog’s literary analysis, the author refers back to novel to discuss the temptations that are depicted by Hemingway to give an accurate representation of the daily lives of the soldiers and the author hints at a justification for their actions: â€Å"It might sound sordid, but during war who can blame soldiers for seeking pleasurableRead MoreApproaches to and Types of Genre672 Words   |  3 Pagestypography can differ greatly in their linguistic characteristics. Common approach of typography in genre can be clearly seen in the newspaper articles. They can range from extremely narrative and colloquial in linguistic form to extremely informational and elaborated in form (Trosborg, n.d). Somehow, different genre in typography approach can sometimes be quite identical. For example, newspaper articles and popular magazine articles can be nearly alike in form. These distinctive approach serve toRead MoreComparison Of John Finnis And AquinasNatural Law1493 Words   |  6 Pages Finnis’ is renowned for his ‘seven basic goods’, making reference to the question of ‘how is your life going’, an approximation of human flourishing. Furthermore, for a deeper analysis, nine methodological requirements of practical reasonableness, utilised to determine sound decision making, shall conclude the analysis. These two lists combined are said to create unchallengeable and universal principals of natural law. Finnis’ basi c notions in regards to natural law are deemed best evident whenRead MoreTragic Hero in Othello by William Shakespeare1306 Words   |  6 Pages To analysis this play, one should first look into the playwright, William Shakespeare, and see if he has tendencies to certain styles or genres. Shakespeare wrote about thirty-seven plays during his lifetime. Amanda Mabillard explained, â€Å"However, no one can know for certain because of the inexact documentation at the time the plays were first being organized and published† (para. 1). This meant that many of his plays might had been lost or forgotten. Of the thirty-seven plays he wrote ten tragediesRead MoreThe Assassination Of The United States1487 Words   |  6 Pagesa certain national tragedy or a group of national tragedies. For example, that part of Generation Y and some from Millennials would naturally consider the biggest and most devastating national tragedy to be the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, on Sep tember 11, 2001. No other event in United States history has ever sparked such a wild debate resulting in countless amounts of conspiracies about September 11. Although, those attacks are by the books a national tragedy it was not the firstRead MoreViolence of Video Games Essay1204 Words   |  5 PagesThe overconsumption of things that we assume are not harmful to us can result in death or very close to it, such as Vitamin b, codeine, alcohol, and water. What do all of these have in common? All of these can either kill you, or become very harmful to your well being if you consume too much of it. We could certainly compare the â€Å"overconsumption† of video games with violence to the above with added danger. The fact that video games are addictive as can be seen by anyone with experience of playingRead MoreChemical Analysis Of Albian Heavy Synthetic Crude Oil1090 Words   |  5 PagesReport I: Chemical Analysis of Albian Heavy Synthetic Crude Oil Cameron Hay and Adam Maienza 10-201: Chemical Engineering, Material Balance, Design Project – Fall, 2014 Abstract: The objective of this report was to analyze all of the components of the crude oil Albian Heavy Synthetic from the Athabasca Sands near Alberta Canada [2]. Recent articles about â€Å"exploding oil trains† [5] have prompted the reevaluation of transportation of crudes. In order to develop a safe way of transportation, assessment

Questions I Wish People Would Stop Asking Vegans and Vegetarians - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 866 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/06/18 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: Vegetarian Essay Did you like this example? I had my first date 6 months ago, with a guy named Damon. Damon had taken me out for pizza at my favorite pizza place, Little Italia Pizzeria in the Berkshire Mall. We were sitting towards the front of the small shop, sipping on our sodas. Damon had ordered a Barbeque Chicken Pizza slice. I couldnt help but be just a LITTLE disappointed. I thought it would have been perfect if by some miracle, he was vegetarian too. Our pizzas was finally ready. As we began to eat our food, he offered me a piece of the barbeque chicken, I politely declined and kept eating my slice of pizza. To be honest, I was nervous to bring up the fact that I was vegetarian. I had been vegetarian for 4 years and had become well aware of the fact that, most people who arent vegetarians dont like hearing about it. On top of that, I didnt want to make him feel bad about what he was eating! Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Questions I Wish People Would Stop Asking Vegans and Vegetarians" essay for you Create order As the years go by, I notice people usually respond to finding out Im vegetarian one of two ways. 1- they make fun of me for it or 2- they feel like I am silently judging them for eating meat! Which I am definitely not doing! I have no problem with people who eat meat! So what kind of questions do I get as a vegetarian? First one and most common would probably be, What do you eat? People forget how many of our favorite meals are already vegan or vegetarian! We have salads, lots of Chinese food options, and pasta! (My favorite!! And what I usually order at restaurants) I honestly barley think about meat! Growing up I had always wanted to become a vegetarian, mostly because of my love for animals! I also knew that it was the right thing to do! I would always tell my mother that I was officially going vegan but then by dinner time, I would smell the chicken and dig in! I didnt fully commit to being a vegetarian until I was 14 years old. I made this choice because I could no longer support an industry that was hurting millions of animals. Almost everyone in my life did not thing this would last ( I could see why!). They never failed to mention that I was missing so much every time we ate out together. The second most common question I receive is, Will it upset you if I order ____ When I am asked this question, I never know when to be flattered or annoyed. I understand that you are probably asking because you genuinely do not want to offend me, BUT I really couldnt care less if you eat meat!! Okay, maybe thats a little lie! I COULD care less if you ate meat or not. I wish people wouldnt eat so much meat. But I would never ever judge you for it. I ate meat for 13 years of my short 18 year old life before I became vegetarian and then vegan. Where do you get your protein from? How do you survive? This one is always a funny question to me. People assume that the only source of high protein is meats! Which is not the case! There is no shortage of high-protein vegan products! There are chickpeas, black beans, nuts, nut butters, tofu, quinoa, some grains, Hummus and pita, chia, and even broccoli! I know what youre thinking, broccoli? First off, who even likes broccoli, and second how much broccoli would you have to eat to get the right amount of protein? I remember I would always try and argue that broccoli was a good source of protein! If you could eat five pounds in one sitting But instead now I can just explain that we really dont NEED all that much protein. Its easy to get what we did need from simple and common foods. (like those listed above) Are your parents vegan too? This is a big question. Since I turned vegetarian at 14 people would always ask me, is your mom vegan too? Did she force you to do this? (haha) The answer is no. This was a decision I made on my own, and my mom and brother were still both meat eaters. As the years went on, my mom began to start asking me questions about veganism, a few months after that she started researching it on her own. Soon after, my mom made the switch to being a vegetarian. (where she happily stays) I was thrilled she made the switch. She still drinks milk and her coffee and makes salmon burgers, but she is almost entirely vegetarian! Although, I must admit, she still eats a Chick Fil A chicken strip every once in a while. But shes healthier then shes ever been! And she wasnt doing it for me. It was her choice. I must say, occasionally Ill smell some cooking meat and wonder if I should go back to eating meat, and maybe I will one day, but for now I am happy being vegan. Im doing th e best I can at it and the bets I can to educate those who ask questions like this.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 30-32 Free Essays

string(105) " tightness gripped her throat as she realized that her grandfather, even in death, had kept his promise\." CHAPTER 30 Security warden Claude Grouard simmered with rage as he stood over his prostrate captive in front of the Mona Lisa.This bastard killed Jacques Sauniere! Sauniere had been like a well-loved father to Grouard and his security team. Grouard wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger and bury a bullet in Robert Langdon’s back. We will write a custom essay sample on The Da Vinci Code Chapter 30-32 or any similar topic only for you Order Now As senior warden, Grouard was one of the few guards who actually carried a loaded weapon. He reminded himself, however, that killing Langdon would be a generous fate compared to the misery about to be communicated by Bezu Fache and the French prison system. Grouard yanked his walkie-talkie off his belt and attempted to radio for backup. All he heard was static. The additional electronic security in this chamber always wrought havoc with the guards’ communications. I have to move to the doorway.Still aiming his weapon at Langdon, Grouard began backing slowly toward the entrance. On his third step, he spied something that made him stop short. What the hell is that! An inexplicable mirage was materializing near the center of the room. A silhouette. There was someone else in the room? A woman was moving through the darkness, walking briskly toward the far left wall. In front of her, a purplish beam of light swung back and forth across the floor, as if she were searching for something with a colored flashlight. â€Å"Qui est la?† Grouard demanded, feeling his adrenaline spike for a second time in the last thirty seconds. He suddenly didn’t know where to aim his gun or what direction to move. â€Å"PTS,† the woman replied calmly, still scanning the floor with her light. Police Technique et Scientifique.Grouard was sweating now. I thought all the agents were gone!He now recognized the purple light as ultraviolet, consistent with a PTS team, and yet he could not understand why DCPJ would be looking for evidence in here. â€Å"Votre nom!† Grouard yelled, instinct telling him something was amiss. â€Å"Repondez!† â€Å"C’est mot,† the voice responded in calm French. â€Å"Sophie Neveu.† Somewhere in the distant recesses of Grouard’s mind, the name registered. Sophie Neveu? Thatwas the name of Sauniere’s granddaughter, wasn’t it? She used to come in here as a little kid, but that was years ago. This couldn’t possibly be her! And even if it were Sophie Neveu, that was hardly a reason to trust her; Grouard had heard the rumors of the painful falling-out between Sauniere and his granddaughter. â€Å"You know me,† the woman called. â€Å"And Robert Langdon did not kill my grandfather. Believe me.† Warden Grouard was not about to take that on faith. I need backup! Trying his walkie-talkie again, he got only static. The entrance was still a good twenty yards behind him, and Grouard began backing up slowly, choosing to leave his gun trained on the man on the floor. As Grouard inched backward, he could see the woman across the room raising her UV light and scrutinizing a large painting that hung on the far side of the Salle des Etats, directly opposite the Mona Lisa. Grouard gasped, realizing which painting it was. What in the name of God is she doing? Across the room, Sophie Neveu felt a cold sweat breaking across her forehead. Langdon was still spread-eagle on the floor. Hold on, Robert.Almost there.Knowing the guard would never actually shoot either of them, Sophie now turned her attention back to the matter at hand, scanning the entire area around one masterpiece in particular – another Da Vinci. But the UV light revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Not on the floor, on the walls, or even on the canvas itself. There must be something here! Sophie felt totally certain she had deciphered her grandfather’s intentions correctly. What else could he possibly intend? The masterpiece she was examining was a five-foot-tall canvas. The bizarre scene Da Vinci had painted included an awkwardly posed Virgin Mary sitting with Baby Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Angel Uriel on a perilous outcropping of rocks. When Sophie was a little girl, no trip to the Mona Lisa had been complete without her grandfather dragging her across the room to see this second painting. Grand-pere, I’m here! But I don’t see it! Behind her, Sophie could hear the guard trying to radio again for help. Think! She pictured the message scrawled on the protective glass of the Mona Lisa.So dark the con of man.The painting before her had no protective glass on which to write a message, and Sophie knew her grandfather would never have defaced this masterpiece by writing on the painting itself. She paused. At least not on the front.Her eyes shot upward, climbing the long cables that dangled from the ceiling to support the canvas. Could that be it? Grabbing the left side of the carved wood frame, she pulled it toward her. The painting was large and the backing flexed as she swung it away from the wall. Sophie slipped her head and shoulders in behind the painting and raised the black light to inspect the back. It took only seconds to realize her instinct had been wrong. The back of the painting was pale and blank. There was no purple text here, only the mottled brown backside of aging canvas and – Wait. Sophie’s eyes locked on an incongruous glint of lustrous metal lodged near the bottom edge of the frame’s wooden armature. The object was small, partially wedged in the slit where the canvas met the frame. A shimmering gold chain dangled off it. To Sophie’s utter amazement, the chain was affixed to a familiar gold key. The broad, sculpted head was in the shape of a cross and bore an engraved seal she had not seen since she was nine years old. A fleur-de-lis with the initials P. S. In that instant, Sophie felt the ghost of her grandfather whispering in her ear. When the time comes, the key will be yours.A tightness gripped her throat as she realized that her grandfather, even in death, had kept his promise. You read "The Da Vinci Code Chapter 30-32" in category "Essay examples" This key opens a box, his voice was saying, where I keep many secrets. Sophie now realized that the entire purpose of tonight’s word game had been this key. Her grandfather had it with him when he was killed. Not wanting it to fall into the hands of the police, he hid it behind this painting. Then he devised an ingenious treasure hunt to ensure only Sophie would find it. â€Å"Au secours!† the guard’s voice yelled. Sophie snatched the key from behind the painting and slipped it deep in her pocket along with the UV penlight. Peering out from behind the canvas, she could see the guard was still trying desperately to raise someone on the walkie-talkie. He was backing toward the entrance, still aiming the gun firmly at Langdon. â€Å"Au secours!† he shouted again into his radio. Static. He can’t transmit, Sophie realized, recalling that tourists with cell phones often got frustrated in here when they tried to call home to brag about seeing the Mona Lisa.The extra surveillance wiring in the walls made it virtually impossible to get a carrier unless you stepped out into the hall. The guard was backing quickly toward the exit now, and Sophie knew she had to act immediately. Gazing up at the large painting behind which she was partially ensconced, Sophie realized that Leonardo Da Vinci, for the second time tonight, was there to help. Another few meters, Grouard told himself, keeping his gun leveled. â€Å"Arretez! Ou je la detruis!† the woman’s voice echoed across the room. Grouard glanced over and stopped in his tracks. â€Å"Mon dieu, non!† Through the reddish haze, he could see that the woman had actually lifted the large painting off its cables and propped it on the floor in front of her. At five feet tall, the canvas almost entirely hid her body. Grouard’s first thought was to wonder why the painting’s trip wires hadn’t set off alarms, but of course the artwork cable sensors had yet to be reset tonight. What is she doing! When he saw it, his blood went cold. The canvas started to bulge in the middle, the fragile outlines of the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus, and John the Baptist beginning to distort. â€Å"Non!† Grouard screamed, frozen in horror as he watched the priceless Da Vinci stretching. The woman was pushing her knee into the center of the canvas from behind!† NON!† Grouard wheeled and aimed his gun at her but instantly realized it was an empty threat. The canvas was only fabric, but it was utterly impenetrable – a six-million-dollar piece of body armor. I can’t put a bullet through a Da Vinci! â€Å"Set down your gun and radio,† the woman said in calm French,† or I’ll put my knee through this painting. I think you know how my grandfather would feel about that.† Grouard felt dizzy. â€Å"Please†¦ no. That’s Madonna of the Rocks!† He dropped his gun and radio, raising his hands over his head. â€Å"Thank you,† the woman said. â€Å"Now do exactly as I tell you, and everything will work out fine.† Moments later, Langdon’s pulse was still thundering as he ran beside Sophie down the emergency stairwell toward the ground level. Neither of them had said a word since leaving the trembling Louvre guard lying in the Salle des Etats. The guard’s pistol was now clutched tightly in Langdon’s hands, and he couldn’t wait to get rid of it. The weapon felt heavy and dangerously foreign. Taking the stairs two at a time, Langdon wondered if Sophie had any idea how valuable a painting she had almost ruined. Her choice in art seemed eerily pertinent to tonight’s adventure. The Da Vinci she had grabbed, much like the Mona Lisa, was notorious among art historians for its plethora of hidden pagan symbolism. â€Å"You chose a valuable hostage,† he said as they ran. â€Å"Madonna of the Rocks,†she replied. â€Å"But I didn’t choose it, my grandfather did. He left me a little something behind the painting.† Langdon shot her a startled look. â€Å"What!? But how did you know which painting? Why Madonnaof the Rocks?† â€Å"So dark the con of man.† She flashed a triumphant smile. â€Å"I missed the first two anagrams, Robert. I wasn’t about to miss the third.† CHAPTER 31 â€Å"They’re dead!† Sister Sandrine stammered into the telephone in her Saint-Sulpice residence. She was leaving a message on an answering machine. â€Å"Please pick up! They’re all dead!† The first three phone numbers on the list had produced terrifying results – a hysterical widow, a detective working late at a murder scene, and a somber priest consoling a bereaved family. All three contacts were dead. And now, as she called the fourth and final number – the number she was not supposed to call unless the first three could not be reached – she got an answering machine. The outgoing message offered no name but simply asked the caller to leave a message.† The floor panel has been broken!† she pleaded as she left the message. â€Å"The other three are dead!† Sister Sandrine did not know the identities of the four men she protected, but the private phonenumbers stashed beneath her bed were for use on only one condition. If that floor panel is ever broken, the faceless messenger had told her, it means the upper echelon has been breached. One of us has been mortally threatened and been forced to tell a desperate lie. Call the numbers. Warn the others. Do not fail us in this. It was a silent alarm. Foolproof in its simplicity. The plan had amazed her when she first heard it. If the identity of one brother was compromised, he could tell a lie that would start in motion a mechanism to warn the others. Tonight, however, it seemed that more than one had been compromised. â€Å"Please answer,† she whispered in fear. â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"Hang up the phone,† a deep voice said from the doorway. Turning in terror, she saw the massive monk. He was clutching the heavy iron candle stand. Shaking, she set the phone back in the cradle. â€Å"They are dead,† the monk said. â€Å"All four of them. And they have played me for a fool. Tell me where the keystone is.† â€Å"I don’t know!† Sister Sandrine said truthfully. â€Å"That secret is guarded by others.† Others who are dead! The man advanced, his white fists gripping the iron stand. â€Å"You are a sister of the Church, and yet you serve them?† â€Å"Jesus had but one true message,† Sister Sandrine said defiantly. â€Å"I cannot see that message in Opus Dei.† A sudden explosion of rage erupted behind the monk’s eyes. He lunged, lashing out with the candle stand like a club. As Sister Sandrine fell, her last feeling was an overwhelming sense of foreboding. All four are dead. The precious truth is lost forever. CHAPTER 32 The security alarm on the west end of the Denon Wing sent the pigeons in the nearby Tuileries Gardens scattering as Langdon and Sophie dashed out of the bulkhead into the Paris night. As they ran across the plaza to Sophie’s car, Langdon could hear police sirens wailing in the distance. â€Å"That’s it there,† Sophie called, pointing to a red snub-nosed two-seater parked on the plaza. She’s kidding, right? The vehicle was easily the smallest car Langdon had ever seen.† SmartCar,† she said. â€Å"A hundred kilometers to the liter.† Langdon had barely thrown himself into the passenger seat before Sophie gunned the SmartCar up and over a curb onto a gravel divider. He gripped the dash as the car shot out across a sidewalk and bounced back down over into the small rotary at Carrousel du Louvre. For an instant, Sophie seemed to consider taking the shortcut across the rotary by plowing straight ahead, through the median’s perimeter hedge, and bisecting the large circle of grass in the center. â€Å"No!† Langdon shouted, knowing the hedges around Carrousel du Louvre were there to hide the perilous chasm in the center – La Pyramide Inversee – the upside-down pyramid skylight he had seen earlier from inside the museum. It was large enough to swallow their Smart-Car in a single gulp. Fortunately, Sophie decided on the more conventional route, jamming the wheel hard to the right, circling properly until she exited, cut left, and swung into the northbound lane, accelerating toward Rue de Rivoli. The two-tone police sirens blared louder behind them, and Langdon could see the lights now in his side view mirror. The SmartCar engine whined in protest as Sophie urged it faster away from the Louvre. Fifty yards ahead, the traffic light at Rivoli turned red. Sophie cursed under her breath and kept racing toward it. Langdon felt his muscles tighten. â€Å"Sophie?† Slowing only slightly as they reached the intersection, Sophie flicked her headlights and stole a quick glance both ways before flooring the accelerator again and carving a sharp left turn through the empty intersection onto Rivoli. Accelerating west for a quarter of a mile, Sophie banked to the right around a wide rotary. Soon they were shooting out the other side onto the wide avenue of Champs-Elysees. As they straightened out, Langdon turned in his seat, craning his neck to look out the rear window toward the Louvre. The police did not seem to be chasing them. The sea of blue lights was assembling at the museum. His heartbeat finally slowing, Langdon turned back around. â€Å"That was interesting.† Sophie didn’t seem to hear. Her eyes remained fixed ahead down the long thoroughfare of Champs-Elysees, the two-mile stretch of posh storefronts that was often called the Fifth Avenue of Paris. The embassy was only about a mile away, and Langdon settled into his seat. So dark the con of man.Sophie’s quick thinking had been impressive. Madonna of the Rocks. Sophie had said her grandfather left her something behind the painting. A final message? Langdon could not help but marvel over Sauniere’s brilliant hiding place; Madonna of the Rocks was yet another fitting link in the evening’s chain of interconnected symbolism. Sauniere, it seemed, at every turn, was reinforcing his fondness for the dark and mischievous side of Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci’s original commission for Madonna of the Rocks had come from an organization known as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, which needed a painting for the centerpiece of an altar triptych in their church of San Francesco in Milan. The nuns gave Leonardo specific dimensions, and the desired theme for the painting – the Virgin Mary, baby John the Baptist, Uriel, and Baby Jesus sheltering in a cave. Although Da Vinci did as they requested, when he delivered the work, the group reacted with horror. He had filled the painting with explosive and disturbing details. The painting showed a blue-robed Virgin Mary sitting with her arm around an infant child, presumably Baby Jesus. Opposite Mary sat Uriel, also with an infant, presumably baby John the Baptist. Oddly, though, rather than the usual Jesus-blessing-John scenario, it was baby John who was blessing Jesus†¦ and Jesus was submitting to his authority! More troubling still, Mary was holding one hand high above the head of infant John and making a decidedly threatening gesture – her fingers looking like eagle’s talons, gripping an invisible head. Finally, the most obvious and frightening image: Just below Mary’s curled fingers, Uriel was making a cutting gesture with his hand – as if slicing the neck of the invisible head gripped by Mary’s claw-like hand. Langdon’s students were always amused to learn that Da Vinci eventually mollified the confraternity by painting them a second,† watered-down† version of Madonna of the Rocks in which everyone was arranged in a more orthodox manner. The second version now hung in London’s National Gallery under the name Virgin of the Rocks, although Langdon still preferred the Louvre’s more intriguing original. As Sophie gunned the car up Champs-Elysees, Langdon said,† The painting. What was behind it?† Her eyes remained on the road. â€Å"I’ll show you once we’re safely inside the embassy.† â€Å"You’ll show it to me?† Langdon was surprised. â€Å"He left you a physical object?† Sophie gave a curt nod. â€Å"Embossed with a fleur-de-lis and the initials P. S.† Langdon couldn’t believe his ears. We’re going to make it, Sophie thought as she swung the SmartCar’s wheel to the right, cutting sharply past the luxurious Hà ´tel de Crillon into Paris’s tree-lined diplomatic neighborhood. The embassy was less than a mile away now. She was finally feeling like she could breathe normally again. Even as she drove, Sophie’s mind remained locked on the key in her pocket, her memories of seeing it many years ago, the gold head shaped as an equal-armed cross, the triangular shaft, the indentations, the embossed flowery seal, and the letters P. S. Although the key barely had entered Sophie’s thoughts through the years, her work in the intelligence community had taught her plenty about security, and now the key’s peculiar tooling no longer looked so mystifying. A laser-tooled varying matrix.Impossible to duplicate.Rather than teeth that moved tumblers, this key’s complex series of laser-burned pockmarks was examined by an electric eye. If the eye determined that the hexagonal pockmarks were correctly spaced, arranged, and rotated, then the lock would open. Sophie could not begin to imagine what a key like this opened, but she sensed Robert would be able to tell her. After all, he had described the key’s embossed seal without ever seeing it. The cruciform on top implied the key belonged to some kind of Christian organization, and yet Sophie knew of no churches that used laser-tooled varying matrix keys. Besides, my grandfather was no Christian†¦ . Sophie had witnessed proof of that ten years ago. Ironically, it had been another key – a far more normal one – that had revealed his true nature to her. The afternoon had been warm when she landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport and hailed a taxi home. Grand-pere will be so surprised to see me, she thought. Returning from graduate school in Britain for spring break a few days early, Sophie couldn’t wait to see him and tell him all about the encryption methods she was studying. When she arrived at their Paris home, however, her grandfather was not there. Disappointed, she knew he had not been expecting her and was probably working at the Louvre. But it’s Saturday afternoon, she realized. He seldom worked on weekends. On weekends, he usually – Grinning, Sophie ran out to the garage. Sure enough, his car was gone. It was the weekend. Jacques Sauniere despised city driving and owned a car for one destination only – his vacation chateau in Normandy, north of Paris. Sophie, after months in the congestion of London, was eager for the smells of nature and to start her vacation right away. It was still early evening, and she decided to leave immediately and surprise him. Borrowing a friend’s car, Sophie drove north, winding into the deserted moon-swept hills near Creully. She arrived just after ten o’clock, turning down the long private driveway toward her grandfather’s retreat. The access road was over a mile long, and she was halfway down it before she could start to see the house through the trees – a mammoth, old stone chateau nestled in the woods on the side of a hill. Sophie had half expected to find her grandfather asleep at this hour and was excited to see the house twinkling with lights. Her delight turned to surprise, however, when she arrived to find the driveway filled with parked cars – Mercedeses, BMWs, Audis, and a Rolls-Royce. Sophie stared a moment and then burst out laughing. My grand-pere, the famous recluse! Jacques Sauniere, it seemed, was far less reclusive than he liked to pretend. Clearly he was hosting a party while Sophie was away at school, and from the looks of the automobiles, some of Paris’s most influential people were in attendance. Eager to surprise him, she hurried to the front door. When she got there, though, she found it locked. She knocked. Nobody answered. Puzzled, she walked around and tried the back door. It too was locked. No answer. Confused, she stood a moment and listened. The only sound she heard was the cool Normandy air letting out a low moan as it swirled through the valley. No music. No voices. Nothing. In the silence of the woods, Sophie hurried to the side of the house and clambered up on a woodpile, pressing her face to the living room window. What she saw inside made no sense at all. â€Å"Nobody’s here!† The entire first floor looked deserted. Where are all the people? Heart racing, Sophie ran to the woodshed and got the spare key her grandfather kept hidden under the kindling box. She ran to the front door and let herself in. As she stepped into the deserted foyer, the control panel for the security system started blinking red – a warning that the entrant had ten seconds to type the proper code before the security alarms went off. He has the alarm on during a party? Sophie quickly typed the code and deactivated the system. Entering, she found the entire house uninhabited. Upstairs too. As she descended again to the deserted living room, she stood a moment in the silence, wondering what could possibly be happening. It was then that Sophie heard it. Muffled voices. And they seemed to be coming from underneath her. Sophie could not imagine. Crouching, she put her ear to the floor and listened. Yes, the sound was definitely coming from below. The voices seemed to be singing, or†¦ chanting? She was frightened. Almost more eerie than the sound itself was the realization that this house did not even have a basement. At least none I’ve ever seen. Turning now and scanning the living room, Sophie’s eyes fell to the only object in the entire house that seemed out of place – her grandfather’s favorite antique, a sprawling Aubusson tapestry. It usually hung on the east wall beside the fireplace, but tonight it had been pulled aside on its brass rod, exposing the wall behind it. Walking toward the bare wooden wall, Sophie sensed the chanting getting louder. Hesitant, she leaned her ear against the wood. The voices were clearer now. People were definitely chanting†¦ intoning words Sophie could not discern. The space behind this wall is hollow! Feeling around the edge of the panels, Sophie found a recessed finger hold. It was discreetly crafted. A sliding door.Heart pounding, she placed her finger in the slot and pulled it. With noiseless precision, the heavy wall slid sideways. From out of the darkness beyond, the voices echoed up. Sophie slipped through the door and found herself on a rough-hewn stone staircase that spiraled downward. She’d been coming to this house since she was a child and yet had no idea this staircase even existed! As she descended, the air grew cooler. The voices clearer. She heard men and women now. Her line of sight was limited by the spiral of the staircase, but the last step was now rounding into view. Beyond it, she could see a small patch of the basement floor – stone, illuminated by the flickering orange blaze of firelight. Holding her breath, Sophie inched down another few steps and crouched down to look. It took her several seconds to process what she was seeing. The room was a grotto – a coarse chamber that appeared to have been hollowed from the granite of the hillside. The only light came from torches on the walls. In the glow of the flames, thirty or so people stood in a circle in the center of the room. I’m dreaming, Sophie told herself. A dream. What else could this be? Everyone in the room was wearing a mask. The women were dressed in white gossamer gowns and golden shoes. Their masks were white, and in their hands they carried golden orbs. The men wore long black tunics, and their masks were black. They looked like pieces in a giant chess set. Everyone in the circle rocked back and forth and chanted in reverence to something on the floor before them†¦ something Sophie could not see. The chanting grew steady again. Accelerating. Thundering now. Faster. The participants took a step inward and knelt. In that instant, Sophie could finally see what they all were witnessing. Even as she staggered back in horror, she felt the image searing itself into her memory forever. Overtaken by nausea, Sophie spun, clutching at the stone walls as she clambered back up the stairs. Pulling the door closed, she fled the deserted house, and drove in a tearful stupor back to Paris. That night, with her life shattered by disillusionment and betrayal, she packed her belongings and left her home. On the dining room table, she left a note. I WAS THERE. DON’T TRY TO FIND ME. Beside the note, she laid the old spare key from the chateau’s woodshed. â€Å"Sophie! Langdon’s voice intruded. â€Å"Stop! Stop!† Emerging from the memory, Sophie slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt. â€Å"What? What happened?!† Langdon pointed down the long street before them. When she saw it, Sophie’s blood went cold. A hundred yards ahead, the intersection was blocked by a couple of DCPJ police cars, parked askew, their purpose obvious. They’ve sealed off AvenueGabriel! Langdon gave a grim sigh. â€Å"I take it the embassy is off-limits this evening?† Down the street, the two DCPJ officers who stood beside their cars were now staring in their direction, apparently curious about the headlights that had halted so abruptly up the street from them. Okay, Sophie, turn around very slowly. Putting the SmartCar in reverse, she performed a composed three-point turn and reversed her direction. As she drove away, she heard the sound of squealing tires behind them. Sirens blared to life. Cursing, Sophie slammed down the accelerator. How to cite The Da Vinci Code Chapter 30-32, Essay examples

Treating Disease with Stem Cells Essay Example For Students

Treating Disease with Stem Cells Essay This article was written by Dr. Gregory Hale, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, in response to questions posed by Scientific American Magazine regarding the treatment of certain diseases with cord blood stem cells. There is some additional information provided by Viacord, a medical service company that provides private family cord blood banking, processing, and research. Dr. Hale discussed the advantages of cord blood stem cell transplants, the results of several transplants, as well as the research that on-going in the field of stem cell transplantation. The blood that remains in the human umbilical cord blood following birth contains a rich source of hematopoietic progenitor cells known as stem cells. These stem cells are the master cells of the blood. They divide to make new red cells that supply oxygen, white blood cells that fight disease and infection, and platelets that facilitate healing. Doctors now have three sources of stem cells available to them: bone marrow, mobilized bone marrow or peripheral blood, and umbilical cord blood. Bone marrow has traditionally been used as a source of stem cells, but research is proving that cord blood may be an excellent alternative source. Cord blood can be utilized for the treatment of many diseases, including leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and Hodgkins disease. The first successful cord blood transplant took place in 1988 when a newborns cord blood was used in a life saving stem cell transplant for her older brother who had Fanconi anemia. We will write a custom essay on Treating Disease with Stem Cells specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Since then, there has been much research into the advantages of cord blood stem cells. Cord blood is much more readily available and poses no donor risk. The blood is simply collected from the placenta and umbilical cord after the baby is born and stored. The potential of expanding the ethnic diversity of the donor pool is greatly increased, since minorities are considerably under-represented in bone marrow transplant pools. Cord blood stem cells may also pose less risk of graft-versus-host disorder, or GVHD, than stem cells from bone marrow. GVHD occurs when the donors immune cells make antibodies against the hosts tissues, resulting in serious complications. In the last ten years, several studies of cord blood transplants have taken place and their results have been published in science and medical journals. In 1996, the New England Journal of Medicine reported the results of 25 consecutive cord blood transplantations from August 1993 to November 1995 by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg at Duke University. After bone marrow searches were unsuccessful for 17 patients, cord blood was collected from unrelated donors at the New York Blood Center. Nineteen patients had malignant diseases and four had nonmalignant conditions. The patients average age was seven years and the average weight was 19.4 kilograms. Twenty cord blood units were slightly HLA-mismatched and one was HLA-identical. The HLA, or Human Leukocyte Antigen, induces the formation of antibodies because it is recognized by the immune system as a threat. Engraftment was successful in 23 of 25 patients, and only two patients had severe graft-versus-host disease. In contrast, bone marrow transpl ants in children have a 30 percent incidence of graft-versus-host-disease. Seven of the patients with malignant disease and 6 with nonmalignant conditions were alive one year after transplantation. The report concluded that HLA-mismatched cord blood is an alternative source of stem cells for transplantation in children. In another study by Dr. John Wagner at the University of Minnesota Hospital, 13 patients with malignant leukemia diseases and five with nonmalignant conditions received cord blood transplants between July 1994 and December 1995. The average age of these patients was 2.7 years and the average weight was 15.4 kilograms. Seven patients received HLA-matched blood and 11 received varying degrees of HLA-mismatched grafts. Six months after transplantation, 65 percent of the patients were alive and only two developed severe graft-versus-host disease. The authors stated that the benefits of cord blood transplantation included the low rate of graft-versus-host disease, rapid availability of blood, lessened donor risk, and a low risk of transmissible infections such as cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus. Even with these and other successful transplantations, there are still questions to be answered. For example, what is the minimal cell dose? Can an adult recipient be effectively transplant ed?

Recognize the Principles of the Judiciary

Recognize the Principles of the Judiciary Although the principles of judiciary demand the judicial process to follow due legal processes to the letter, legal crises do occur in some instances. Legal conflict arises when inconsistencies emerge between the constitution and the general laws.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Recognize the Principles of the Judiciary specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A classical example is the Marbury v. Madison case of the United States in which a legal conflict arose due to the inconsistency of the United States constitution with the Judiciary Act. According to this case, â€Å"William Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to compel James Madison, Secretary of State to effect his appointment as a commissioner of Justice for Peace in Columbia District but John Marshall, Chief Justice denied the petition as he termed it unconstitutional† (Reisman, 2007, p. 3). This became a landmark ruling since the Supreme Court, for the fir st time in the United States history, declared an Act to be unconstitutional. In this ruling, John Marshal realized that there was legal conflict between the constitution and the Judicial Act, and the only way to conduct constitutional review was through the Supreme Court. The Marbury v. Madison ruling coupled with some clauses in Article III authorizes the Supreme Court to carry out judicial review. The Article III of the United States constitution states that, In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction†¦in all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction (Stone, 2007, p. 35). Therefore, the United States constitution gives the powers to the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review in cases where legal conflict arises.   The prime function of the Supreme Court in judicial review is to protect the constitution and ensure that all statutes are consistent with the constitution. The constitutions of England and Netherland do not give powers to their Supreme Courts to exercise judicial review on the constitutionality of statues and treaties, because legislators have the mandate of ensuring that they only pass constitutional acts. In cases of constitutional dispute concerning â€Å"†¦the right interpretation of a law or a treaty in accordance with the constitution †¦ the judge cannot have supremacy over the legislator, because the question of constitutionality of an act is more political than technical-judicial (Huq, 2008, p. 32). Halsema proposal seeks to have the Supreme Court assume the jurisdiction to check constitutionality of statutes and treaties. The approval of the Halsema proposal means that the parliament and the government will have to share their mandate of constitutional review with the judiciary, hence judicial review.Advertising Looking for essay on political sc iences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most Americans accept judicial review even though it is not explicit in the constitution because it has provided means of checking constitutionality of statutes. Statistics shows that, in the two hundred years of judicial review 175 federal laws and 1006 state laws were declared unconstitutional (1789-2004) (Whittington, 2009, p. 12). This means that if there was no judicial review, the courts could still be grappling with over 1000 legal conflicts, which slows down the wheels of justice. The landmark ruling of the Marbury v. Madison case set precedent on ways of solving legal conflicts that emerge quite often due to the inconsistencies of the statutes with the constitution. Despite the fact that judicial review has helped to speed up the due process of the law, Thomas Jefferson criticized it saying that, to consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy (Reisman, 2007, p. 8). Jefferson argues that judges are common people with same passions and interests that might lead them to make compromised judicial reviews to attain their desired ends. I agree with Jefferson argument that it is quite dangerous to give constitutional review powers to the judiciary since too much power corrupts ultimately. To counter the dangers associated with excessive judicial review powers, the parliament should provide provisions that limit the autonomy of the judicial review process. References Huq, A. (2008). Constitutional Courts and Judicial Review. Center on International Cooperation, 4(12), 31-34. Reisman, D. (2007). The Supreme Court. New York Life Journal, 15(32), 1-12. Stone, G. (2005). Constitutional Law. New York: Aspen Publishers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Recognize the Principles of the Judiciary specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Whittington, K. (2009). The Theories of Judicial Review. Spring Journal, 20(1), 1-18.

The Mysterious Moons of Pluto

The Mysterious Moons of Pluto Planet Pluto continues to tell a fascinating story as scientists pore over the data taken by the New Horizons mission in 2015. Long before the tiny spacecraft passed through the system, the science team knew there were five moons out there, worlds that were distant and mysterious. They were hoping to get a closer look at as many of these places as possible in an effort to understand more about them and how they came to exist. As the spacecraft whizzed past, it captured close-up images of Charon - Plutos largest moon, and glimpses of the smaller ones. These were named Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. The four smaller moons orbit in circular paths, with Pluto and Charon orbiting together like the bulls-eye of a target. Planetary scientists suspect that Plutos moons formed in the aftermath of a titanic collision between at least two objects that occurred in the distant past. Pluto and Charon settled into a locked orbit with each other, while the other moons scattered out to more distant orbits. Charon Plutos largest moon, Charon, was first discovered in 1978, when an observer at the Naval Observatory captured an image of what looked almost like a bump growing out the side of Pluto. Its about half the size of Pluto, and its surface is mostly grayish with mottled areas of reddish material near one pole. That polar material is made up of a substance called tholin, which is made up of methane or ethane molecules, sometimes combined with nitrogen ices, and reddened by constant exposure to solar ultraviolet light. The ices form as gases from Pluto transfer from and get deposited onto Charon (which lies only about 12,000 miles away). Pluto and Charon are locked in an orbit that takes 6.3 days and they keep the same face toward each other all the time. At one time, scientists considered calling these a binary planet, and there is some consensus that Charon itself could be a dwarf planet. Even though Charons surface is frigid and icy, it turns out to more than 50 percent rock in its interior. Pluto itself is more rocky, and covered with an icy shell. Charons icy covering is mostly water ice, with patches of other material from Pluto, or coming from under the surface by cryovolcanoes. New Horizons  got close enough, no one was sure what to expect about Charons surface. So, it was fascinating to see the greyish ice, colored in spots with the tholins. At least one large canyon splits the landscape, and there are more craters in the north than the south. This suggests that something happened to resurface Charon and cover many old craters. The name Charon comes from the Greek legends of the underworld (Hades). He was the boatman sent to ferry the souls of the deceased over the river Styx. In deference to the discoverer of Charon, who referenced his wifes name for the world, its spelled Charon, but pronounced SHARE-on.   The Smaller Moons of Pluto Styx, Nyx, Hydra and Kerberos are tiny worlds that orbit between two and four times the distance that Charon does from Pluto. Theyre oddly shaped, which lends credence to the idea that they formed as part of a collision in Plutos past. Styx was discovered in 2012 as astronomers were using Hubble Space Telescope to search the system for moons and rings around Pluto. It appears to have an elongated shape, and is about 3 by 4.3 miles. Nyx orbits out beyond Styx, and was found in 2006 along with distant Hydra. Its about 33 by 25 by 22 miles across, making it somewhat oddly shaped, and it takes nearly 25 days to make one orbit of Pluto. It may have some of the same tholins as Charon spread across its surface, but New Horizons didnt get close enough to get many details. Hydra is the most distant of Plutos five moons, and New Horizons  was able to get a fairly good image of it as the spacecraft went by. There appear to be a few craters on its lumpy surface. Hydra measures about 34 by 25 miles and takes about 39 days to make one orbit around Pluto. The most mysterious-looking moon is Kerberos, which looks lumpy and misshapen in the New Horizons mission image. It appears to be a double-lobed world about 11 12 x 3 miles across. It takes just over 5 days to make one trip around Pluto. Not much else is known about Kerberos, which was discovered in 2011 by astronomers using Hubble Space Telescope. How Did Plutos Moons Get Their Names? Pluto is named for the god of the underworld in Greek mythology. So, when astronomers wanted to name the moons in orbit with it, they looked to the same classical mythology. Styx is the river that dead souls were supposed to cross to get to Hades, while Nix is the Greek goddess of darkness. Hydra is a many-headed serpent thought to have battled with the Greek hero Heracles. Kerberos is an alternate spelling for Cereberus, the so-called hound of Hades who guarded the gates to the underworld in mythology. Now that New Horizons is well beyond Pluto, its next target is a small dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. It will pass by that one on January 1, 2019. Its first reconnaissance of this distant region taught much about the Pluto system and the next one promises to be equally interesting as it reveals more about the solar system and its distant worlds.

CIS 312 4.5.6 question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS 312 4.5.6 question - Assignment Example Q2. A. Assigning permissions to user groups as opposed to assigning permissions to user accounts is a an important best practice for shared resources in a Windows environment because it simplifies the management of shared resources. It also allows the administrator to add or remove new users without amending or reassigning permissions and assigning restrictive permissions to allow users to perform only the required tasks B. Organizing shared applications in a single shared folder to simplify administrative functions due to the existence of one location for upgrading or installing software and avoiding explicit denial of shared resources Q1. A. The chosen design and function is a stateful operation with uniform namespace and UNIX semantic, which enables clients to use the same access file path and to enable visibility in terms of noting changes to files. This design and function can work with enhancements in non-distributed systems to achieve transparent access to files. B. The chosen design is uniform name space, stateless operation and session semantics, which allows granularity consistency and the client can send server requests described as self-containing. This design may not work in a non-distributed architecture due to because it is based on the simple recovery as a design goal. Q2. A. The two main benefits of cloud computing are reduced IT costs and scalability because cloud eliminates system upgrades and reduces operating costs. One challenge that an organization could face when implementing an existing in-house application into cloud is the problem of user lack of trust in privacy and data security. Concerns arise when mission critical applications and sensitive data moves to a cloud paradigm. B. The two main benefits of cloud computing to organizations are business continuity achieved through enhanced data protection, and collaboration efficiency. An important challenge of moving in-house

How jails differ from prisons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How jails differ from prisons - Research Paper Example delivery, possible need for accountability to the funders identifies differences in funding stakeholders in the facilities’ organizational structures. Internal organizational structure of jails also identify sheriff, an elected officer, at the top of a hierarchy structure and subordinate law enforcement officers while the Bureau of Prisons administers prisons (Whitehead, Jones, and Braswell, 2010) and the structure identifies administrative differences between the two facilities. It also important to note that sheriffs, who manage jails, are elected officials and voter power may influence their administrative decisions while Bureau of Prisons director are appointed and even though politics may influence the appointment, a level of administrative expertise is expected (Clark and MacCreaigh, 2006). Another difference is the facilities’ target hosts as prisons are also organized to host people who have been sentenced for felony offences and those serving long period senten ces. Jails are however organized to host people who are yet to be tried or those who have been tried but are yet to be transferred to their designated facilities such as juveniles and those with mental illnesses (Gaines and Miller, 2006). Jails and prisons are facilities in the criminal justice system for holding arrested and convicted people but their organizational and administrative scopes are different. Organizational structure, objectives, types of expertise, sources of funds, and types of people that each of the facilities holds identifies the

Media Portrayal of Gender Roles in the Household

Media Portrayal of Gender Roles in the Household The Right Man for the Job She suddenly snaps. Her infant accidentally bursts open her bottle and floods the car with milk, she jams on her brakes and parks her car in the middle of the bridge, blocking traffic. The police try to convince her to move her car, to no avail. The news reports An overworked and underappreciated housewife has parked on the bridge, refusing to budge. A crowd has gathered to observe the scene, some extend their sympathies: Sweetheart, whats the matter? and Not getting enough of the good stuff? Finally, her husband arrives and convinces her to get out of the car, and she is promptly arrested by the police. Theres a debate between the Mayor and the police chief on if the city should press charges or not. The Mayor, concerned about the optics of the situation, flatly states I can kiss the chick vote good-bye and if I go down, youre breaking my fall! This is the opening for Homer Alone, an episode of the Simpsons in which Marge, the quintessential housewife suffers a nervous breakdown and takes some time away from the chaos of family life, leaving Homer in the role of caretaker for the house and their infant daughter. In their investigation into the topic of masculinity in the media, Ronald Jackson and Jamie Moshin find that shows like The Simpsons can function as witty satires regarding American myths of normalcy and desirability in the public and private spheres. (184) The medias portrayal of the masculine role in the household has evolved over the decades, much of the time keeping pace with the general social trends. The post war show Father Knows Best, described by TV Guide as a normal, intelligent businessman controlling his family sensibly, even wisely and as a classic example of American Pop Culture at its best an idealized nuclear family with the patriarch providing for his stay at home wife, teaching their children to play catch, but if a situation required emotions, it was go talk to your mother. These tropes in the gave way to more multicultural families such as The Cosby show as the Reagan years approached. In the 90s, we had Roseanne a glance into the lower middle class, blue collar duel income familys struggles. These TV fathers roles became less of the father-knows-best stereotype and more involved roles as caregivers, taking active roles in their childrens lives and being equal partners in the decisions of the household. Despite this progress the media has made in showing men to be at least capable of sharing childcare burdens, men depicted in the media are showing to be essentially domestically-illiterate. The everyday activities, such as cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping for own household, caring for the elderly, the sick, and the disabled are still shown to be primarily womens work. The US Department of Labor, Womens Bureau reports that since 1940, the percent of women participating in the labor force the increased from just 24.3 percent 47 percent of the total U.S. labor force, and are projected to account for 51 percent of the increase in total labor force growth by 2018. Similarly, the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that In 1967, 49 percent of mothers were stay-at-home mothers. That proportion steadily dropped through the decades until 1999, when only 23 percent of moms stayed at home. The fight for Womens equality in political, economic, and social spheres has made great progress, however the division of household labor remains virtually unchanged. Domestic work and childcare are still seen as primary responsibilities of the women. After their shifts at work are completed, women are expected to complete chores and childcare. This double-burden was dubbed the second shift by American sociologist and academic Arlie Russell Hochschi ld in her book The Second Shift, written in 1989. Hochschild found that working women averaged three hours a day on housework while men averaged 15 minutes (259) Though nearly 20 years has passed since the publication, there has been little change in the balance of housework between male and female households. Theodore Greenstines 2005 study found that In general, regardless of income, education, ideology, or extent of paid employment, women tend to do far more domestic labor than their male partners (1039). Medias portrayal of the working mother has rarely been accurate, as Hotchschild describes an advertisement she presented to working mothers during interviews: She is not the same women in each magazine advertisement, but she is the same idea. She has that working mother look as she strides forward, briefcase in one hand, smiling child in the other. Literally and figuratively, she is moving ahead. Her hair, if long, tosses behind her; if it is short, it sweeps back at the sides, suggesting mobility and progress. There is nothing shy or passive about her. She is confident, active, liberated. She wears a dark tailored suit, but with a sick bow or colorful frill that says, Im really feminine underneath. She has made it in a mans world without sacrificing her femininity. And she has done this on her own. (258) Its not only advertisements that sell the idea of a Super-mom, but the stories of Celebrity Moms that dominate tabloid magazines, television, movies, and now social media that not only delegitimize the labor involved in housework, but also reinforce both the gendered stereotypes of who is responsible for the work, and the ease in which the work is completed. Women as consumers is not a new idea. PG productions, producers of the soap opera As the World Turns, spanned for 72 years and over 10,000 episodes, chiefly marketed towards women. PG productions is a subsidiary of Procter Gamble, an American multinational consumer goods company and makers of Swiffer, Tide and Bounce, who spend nearly $10 billion per year advertising budget. Product placement in womens media isnt just a happy coincidence, PQ Media, a media research company found that Product placements were worth $6.01 billion, up 12.8% from the previous year, the fifth straight year of growth. PQ Media projects that product placement revenue will reach $11.44 billion in 2019. Globally, women account for $20 trillion in annual consumer spending. Most of the income growth in the U.S. during the past 15 to 20 years is attributed to women, per the television consumer specialist firm Nielsen. The media doesnt only focus on the perceived stereotypical womens role as housekeeper, but often puts its female characters into traditionally feminine roles. In TV Guides list of best TV shows for the past year, the trend continues. The Walking Dead shows us that even in the zombie post apocalypse, women are the ones performing the childcare, nursing, preparation of food and forming community ties. Additionally, theres Penny in The Big Bang Theory. Penny, a waitress (typical female job) is shown to be living in a one bedroom apartment in LA, near a prestigious college. Most of her role in the series to function as a catalyst for the lead characters lack of social lives. As the show progressed, the other characters girlfriends are seen in having successful, professional careers, but are still expected to fill the emotive role in the relationship. An egregious example of this is Carrie Bradshaw of Sex the City. A struggling journalist is seen living an extravagant life, living in the upper east side of New York City. These women shown living above their means perpetuate what is considered an ideal life, contributing to the feminization of poverty. This phenomenon is described in United Nation reports revealing that there are 1.5 billion people living on 1 dollar a day or less, the majority of which are women. In addition, the gap between women and men caught in the cycle of poverty has continued to widen in the past decade. While women earn on average seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by men, they are disproportionately concentrated in the lowest-paying fields. Furthermore, most the pay gap between men and women actually comes from differences within occupations, not between them and this gap widens in the highest-paying occupations such as business, law, and medicine (S. Pressman, The Shriver Report) One might think that such a significant economic impact would lead to more progressive representations in the media, however this does not seem to be the case. Advertisements, both televised and otherwise, very rarely show housewives or mothers outside of their stereotypical gender roles. The pick them back up add, produced by our friends at PG productions, was heavily broadcast during the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Mya Frazier observes that Men are unmentioned, even if their breadwinner status is implicit: What working mother could devote herself solely to the making of an Olympian without substantial financial support? (Frazier). The question of where is dad? can be answered by considering other media. A meta-analysis shows that the odds of women being depicted at home (vs. at work) are approximately 3.5 times higher than for men (qtd. in JÃ ¶rg et. al). These gender stereotypes are nearly ubiquitous across not only American media, but society in general. Webster dictionary defines our idea of gender as the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender are determined by the prevailing cultural norms. The perceived femininity or masculinity of a task is equally as culturally subjective. The hegemonic frame tends to constitute a good father as the responsible breadwinner/provider and protector gender identity for men has traditionally been associated with the competitive rationality of work rather than the intimate emotionality of family. (J. Gentry and R. Harrison, 77). This hegemony is reinforced by our real-life experiences, mass media exposure, and the ever-present social media feeds. Traditionally feminine tasks such as cooking, laundry, and cleaning are overwhelmingly performed by women; traditionally masculine tasks such as yard work and auto maintenance tend to be done by men (T. Greenstein, 1039). With the Simpsons family, the fault of the self-destructive pragmatic Family First idea that sends Marge over the edge. The husband and forever needy kids who will never appreciate her were hardly subtle ideas, even in a comedic or satirical format. In media, when the gender roles are reversed, how often is it successful? We often see the TV dad portrayed as inept, typically uninvolved or uncaring, unless the situation calls for a sardonic wit, then TV dad is your man. Among the worst offenders, we have Al Bundy of Married with Children, a blue-collar-everyman who either by laziness or ineptitude is completely absent from any domestic labor or parenting duties, unless they call for violence or a punchline. While satirical, the presentation of the masculine role in the family is to provide the paycheck, grumble, and be the butt of the joke. The inability or failure when gender roles are reversed is also a common trope. The Tim Taylors (Home Improvement) and to a lesser extent Phil Dunphy (Modern Family) all reflect the masculine breadwinner who may find themselves in an occasional feminized role, only to learn that they woefully under equipped to deal with the task at hand. While Marge Simpson was relaxing in a resort after her nervous breakdown, Homer struggled with even the most basic of household chores, inevitably getting drunk with his bar-fly best buddy Barnie and losing Maggie in the process. (Homer Alone) Even in the TV homes where there was a closer semblance to equality when it came to social, political or economic issues, we would rarely any flexibility or male housewifization (househusbandization?). Dan Conner (Roseanne) was shown in a more active role in the parenting of his children -but the shows namesake was the primary housekeeper, child raiser, and do-it-all blue-collar mom a much better representation of the second shift idea. Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show) and his wife Clair were equals, but the gender roles were never questioned. Despite the forward progression and increased airtime of a less oafish and more, helpful father, research has consistently indicated that husbands are not doing much more housework than they ever did (although they are on a relative basis, as wives are doing much less; (qtd. Robinson and Godbey, 1997) Typically, its only representations of single fathers like Danny Tanner (Full House) that are not only shown in the house husband role, but are not failing at it. Only by not having a wife or mother in the house to fall back on, would the male take on the traditionally feminine tasks. In James Gentry and Robert Harrisons study of gender portrayals in the media, they found that single fathers needed to redefine their masculinity as they become involved parents. Traditionally (or at least in the 20th century), only one form of masculinity was conceived; this masculinity is non-feminine (or anti-feminine), independent, heterosexual (or anti-homosexual), tough, and takes risks (qtd, 79). The persistence of gendered labor inequality within the home is caused in part by the reluctance of men to participate in the lesser-valued roles that women perform and to avoid being emasculated by performing womens work. For example, in The Second Shift, Hochschild describes the division of household labor between Nancy and Evan, married parents of one child who both worked full-time. Evan refused to share the housework equally with his wife, feeling that this was not his responsibility as a man and that he was entitled to refuse to participate in tasks that he saw as his wifes (261). This suggests that at their core, men are psychologically predisposed to reject housework due to its apparent femininity, an idea that mass media has all but reflected and marketed back to consumers. The difference being that in the media examples, there is rarely a cost to only one parent working the second shift. When it comes to duel income families, Rebecca J. Rosen of The Atlantic writes The statistics on this are a bit of a mess, as moms and dads report different household divisions of labor, both when it comes to chores and parenting. Dads are more likely to see the division as equal, and it can be tricky business to sort out whos right. While its unlikely that there is a shadowy cabal of men and fathers looking to shrug off their housework to their presumably exhausted wives by influencing mass media outlets, the perception of inequality at home is a tricky subject. Greenstein explores this idea: Just as differences in gender ideology (at the individual level) have been found to lead women to different choices of comparative referents and consequently to reach different conclusions about the fairness of the division of household labor, national context provides a comparative referent for married women from which they might form their perceptions of justice relevant to the division of household labor. I propose that women not only compare themselves to other individuals when making determinations of fairness or justice but that they also compare themselves to the more generalized conception of the level of support for gender equity in their nation. That is, women who perceive a high level of support for gender equity in their generalized comparative referent- for example, their perception of the beliefs of the people in their nation or society-are more likely to perceive microlevel inequalities as inequities (1040). If ideals of fairness or inequality are founded in the perception of what is happening in others lives, then what we see in the media must be included in that. If there were more Rosannes and less Peg Bundys, would women feel more shortchanged by the division of household labor. If the they (the media, or shadowy cabal of lazy men) could show men performing reproductive labor without appearing emasculated, would that change things? Its not as if the advertising and entertainment is completely bereft of positive household-male examples. After the Pick Them Back Up ad ran during the Sochi Olympic, they produced a similar ad directed towards males. Unfortunately, it was a social media non-starter. Consider the forgettable 2013 Power of Dads Oral-B spot. It offers a succession of heartwarming clips of dads joyfully engaged with their children, but didnt exactly burn up the viral charts. An ad about a stay-at-home dad doing laundry for Tide? A measly 60,000 views on YouTube. (M. Frazier) We can plainly see that it was ingratitude and an unequal share of work that led to Marge Simpson breaking down on a bridge, going ballistic was a cry for help that could resonate with anybody whos work has been chronically underappreciated, even the police woman taking Marges mug shot gives her the sisterly empathy, Off the record, maam. All the girls on the force knew just how you felt (Homer Alone). If the lesson was to show how we underappreciate the women in our lives, the return to normalcy at the end of sitcoms is the undoing of any lesson or basis for comparative basis. Ronald Jackson and Jamie Moshin quote In these spaces, however, the critiques of dominant norms fall short when the characters return to their traditional roles at the conclusion of the episodes. (qtd. 184). Without the continuity of lessons learned, there is no real impact. In the next episode, Homer and the kids are right back to their scheming, lazy, and unappreciative selves. Marges breakdown, subsequent c atharsis has meant nothing. Its not all hopeless, the gap in the division of household labor is slowly closing. The status quo has protected male privilege, but its not permeant. The ultra-masculine western cowboy is now seen as nothing more than a cultural relic (J. Gentry and R. Harrison, 98). Fathers depicted in Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 80s was killing entire private militias in the movie Commando then in the 90s he was performing literal reproductive labor in Junior. Our views of what emotional value labor holds and if our ideas about masculine and feminine work can change. If Homer Simpson can, even for a short while, perhaps the rest of us can too. Works CitedHochschild, Arlie Russell, and Anne Machung. The Second Shift. New York, Penguin Books, 2003. Web. Frazier, Mya. Honor Your Mother: Dont Watch That Patronizing Viral Ad. New Republic, 8 May 2014, newrepublic.com/article/117693/mothers-advertising-regressive-stereotypes-dominate-pg-and-others. Greenstein, Theodore N. National Context, Family Satisfaction, and Fairness in the Division of Household Labor. Journal of Marriage and Family 71.4 (2009): 1039-051. Web. Lafayette, Jon . Product Placement Revenue Climbing 13.2% This Year. Product Placement Revenue Climbing 13.2% This Year | Broadcasting Cable. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017. Paek, Hye-Jin, Michelle R. Nelson, and Alexandra M. Vilela. Examination of Gender-role Portrayals in Television Advertising across Seven Countries. Sex Roles 64.3-4 (2010): 192-207. Web. 1 Feb. 2017. Pressman, Sonja. Top 18 Issues Challenging Women Today. The Shriver Report. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. Gentry, J., and R. Harrison. Is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change? Marketing Theory 10.1 (2010): 74-96. Web. 2 Feb. 2017. Rosen, Rebecca J. Money-Rich and Time-Poor: Life in Two-Income Households. The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. Matthes, JÃ ¶rg, Michael Prieler, and Karoline Adam. Gender-Role Portrayals in Television Advertising Across the Globe. Sex Roles 75.7-8 (2016): 314-27. Web. 1 Feb. 2017. Jackson, Ronald L., and Jamie E. Moshin. Communicating marginalized masculinities: identity politics in TV, film, and new media. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print. Homer Alone. The Simpsons. Fox, 6 Feb. 1992

Project Management Student

Table of contents Contents page number Executive summary Introduction Problem identification Case analysis Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Conclusion and Recommendations Bibliography EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Polk County is a scarcely populated County in the state. The roads are in a very poor condition and the Transportation Department supervisor, JR has been tasked to manage all the three projects: * The entrance to the Big John’s superstore ELK Mountain road * Bridge on County road 1045 The writer will analyse the case, evaluate the alternatives and propose a solution for the case that would benefit the Polk County Transportation Department to execute their projects effectively. Various models and literature will be used to motivate the assertions. INTRODUCTION Polk County is the largest county in the state it is governed by three-member Board of commissioners: Harold, Richardson and Thomas.The state faces a challenge of delivering critical projects which involve impro vements to the local roads which at the current state have put the local residents as well as tourists at risk because they are dilapidated, worn out and inadequate for purpose generally being unsafe for use. This challenge is due to many projects competing over limited resources. The three projects are: * The entrance to Big John’s Superstore * Elk Mountain road Crockett Creek bridge on the country road 1045 near prison The reasecher will analyse the case evaluate it, systematically prioritise the steps to be taken on the approach to successfully propose a solution which will benefit the Transportation Department, Polk municipality and ultimately the community at large. Various shortfalls are evident in the current Polk county municipality. The researcher will discuss them in depth with reference to various models and literatures as well as assumptions to back up the recommendations, below are the identified shortfalls: * No poor project office Funds are very limited to kick start projects that would add value to the community and improve their safety. * The tax is minimal to sustain the developments * Insuffient or no fundraising initiatives * High rate of crime As depicted on the case, there are three projects at hand and below is the gathered information on each project. Body governing the county The following individuals comprise the Polk County administration team NAME | DESTINATION/ STATUS| Thomas| Commissioner retired| Herald| Commissioner retired|Richardson| commissioner| JR| Supervisor- Transport Department| Joe| Former head of Transport Department| Unnamed | Current Senator| Zachary | Transport Department intern (civil engineering)| PROJECT 1 THE ENTRANCE TO THE BIG JOHN’s SUPERSTORE * It is off a two lane high at the base of the hill * It is difficult for cars travelling in the opposite direction until they come over the crest * This makes it difficult for the cars turning left into the store and those pulling out of the parking lot. * A number of accidents have occurred The number of cars travelling on the road has increased over the last three years since the store opened * Several residents have raised concerns at the commissioners meetings in the past * JR had approached the store manager about helping to pay for road improvements to widen the roads to add a turning lane or install a traffic light. * The manager replied that they are barely making any profit and if they do not make profit corporate headquarters will close it down and a lot of people will lose their jobs therefore they cannot afford to assist * Many people go to the store because there are no other shopping malls in the countyPROJECT 2 WIDENING AND REPAIR OF ELK MOUNTAIN ROAD IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY * The winters have taken their toll on the road and left it with large deep potholes * The increase in unemployment in the county has led to an increase in independent loggers using the road to bring logs from Elk Mountain to severa l saw mills, including Ye Olde Saw mill in the adjacent county. The lack of repair over the years and the heavy trucks are causing the road to deteriorate even faster Both commissioners, Thomas and Richardson have seen the worsening condition of the road: they use it frequently to go hunting and fishing on ELK Mountain. * Each has received an earful of complaints from friends who use the road. * Zachary also knows how bad the road is from personal experience as he was nearly sideswiped by the logging truck and was forced off the resulting in his car’s low hanging tail pipe and muffler ripped off as he hit a large pothole.PROJECT 3 CROCKETT CREEK BRIDGE ON COUNTY ROAD 1045 NEAR THE PRISON * It is the main road to the state correctional Institution in the south western past of the county. * The bridge barely passed the last state inspection four years ago. * Each spring during the winter thaw Crockett Creek threatens to wash the bridge. * If the bridge is washed out or closed, the detour would be nearly 15 miles for people who work at the prison. * The largest employer in the county is the state correctional institution for female offenders located in the south western part of the county.A project is an endeavour to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated tasks and the effective utilisation of resources (Clement and Gido, 2012; 4) It has a clear objective of what is to be accomplished and this is usually defined in the form of deliverable, schedule and budget. A project utilises various resources to carry out interdependent task that need to be accomplished in a certain sequence in order to achieve a project objective within a specific time frame. A project has a sponsor who provides the funds necessary to accomplish the project.A project usually has challenges because it is constrained by many factors including scope, quality budget and risks. 1. SITUATION ANALYSIS 1. 1. NO PROPER PROJECT OFFICE Polk County is the largest cou nty in the state with a shallow structure of Authority. This is evident as the line of command is very short from the top, senator, commissioner to bottom lower management this could be of advantage as there is rapid communication hence close interactions and therefore easy delivery of organisational / municipality goals strategy. JR is the supervisor for the county Transportation Department.The case states that county roads have progressively deteriorated and several critical projects need to be done. He works with his summer intern Zachary and is concerned that if the does not present a good case for the at least one of the project, then the commissioners probably would not fund any of the project. It is evident that JR is struggling as he cannot apply himself explicitly on the tasks at hand as he lack the skills, methodologies that would easily aid to address the projects smoothly, this therefore calls for the introduction of project management office in the municipality 1. 2PROJ ECT MANAGEMENT OFFICEProject management is defined by the PMBOK as†¦. ’the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques in order to meet stakeholder’s needs and expectation from a project. ’ (Burke, 2011; 18) 1. 3GENERIC ROLES OF A PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE 1. 3. 1The project management office’s aim is to link individual project to the organisation’s dynamic strategic intent through a focused discipline of project management. 1. 3. 2The project management office is established to act as support and reporting channel between projects and senior management without removing the accountability or authority of project managers. . 3. 4The project management office provides top management with a consolidated view on all projects within the organisation and thus assists top management in ensuring that all projects are aligned with the strategic direction of the organisation. 1. 3. 5The project management office will provide value-added assis tance to all its identified customers in the organisation. 1. 3. 6The project management office will enable support and facilitate project disciplines with a: * A project life cycle Programme/project management * Project management training * Prioritisation support * Project start-up workshops and project administration ‘With the budget situation JR is worried that none of the projects may get done’, the case reads, this emphasises how the department is financially constrained and several projects are competing over this limited funds. The project management office is equipped with tools and techniques which provide a systematic approach on every project. The PMBOK states ‘†¦.Because projects are unique and involve a certain degree of risk, companies performing projects will generally subdivide their project into several project phases to provide better management control. Collectively these project phases are called the project lifecycle’. (Burke, 201 1; 40) The general project life cycle has four phases: * Concept or initiation phase * Design or planning phase * Implementation or performing phase * Commissioning and handover or closing phase In the initiating phase, projects are identified and selected. They are then authorised using a document referred to as a project charter.The planning phase includes defining the project scope, identifying resources developing a schedule and budget and identifying risks all of which makes up a baseline plan for doing the project work. In the performing phase the plan is executed and work tasks are carried out to produce all the project deliverables and to accomplish the project objective. During this phase the project progress is monitored and controlled to assure the work remains on schedule and within budget, the scope is fully completed according to specifications and all the deliverables meet the acceptance criteria.Also any changes need to be documented, approved and incorporated into a n updated baseline plan if necessary. In the closing phase the project evaluations are conducted lessons learned are identified and documented to help improve performance on future projects and project document are organised and archived. (Clement and Gido, 2012; 9) Phases in a project lifecycle are interrelated which means the previous phase should be successfully completed before progressing to the next phase.In this particular case, JR, the supervisor at a Transportation Department is struggling to make a selection on a project to perform first since there are limited funds. The main focus of this case is based on the initiation phase of the project lifecycle and because of the interrelation of the phases; it has to be successfully completed to move forward to the next phase of project. The initiation phase of the project lifecycle starts with recognising a need, problem or opportunity for which the project or projects are identified to address.Projects are identified in various ways: during an organisation strategic planning, as part of its normal operations, in a response to unexpected events or as a group of individuals deciding to organise a project to address a particular need. It is important to try to quantify the need to help evaluate whether the expected benefits from implementing a project outweigh the costs or consequences of conducting the project. Once the magnitude and the expected benefit or improvement has been estimated the cost for a project to implement the improvement. The transportation epartment of Polk County identified several needs but have limited funds and people available to pursue the projects to address those identified needs. In this case the department must go through a decision making process to prioritise and select the project that will result in the greatest overall benefit. Project selection is making a commitment for the future. The execution of a project will tie up the company resources and as an opportunity cost, the selection of one project may preclude your company from pursuing another (perhaps more profitable) project.We live in a world of finite resources and so cannot carry out all the projects we may want or need. Therefore a process is required to select and rank projects on the basis of their beneficial change to a company. (Burke, 2011: 66). The steps in the project selection process include: * develop a set of criteria against which the project will be evaluated * list assumptions that will be used on the basis of each project * Gather data and information for each project to help ensure an intelligent decision regarding project selection.Methods of gathering this information could include surveys, focus groups, interviews or analysis of available reports * Evaluate each project against criteria. Once all the data and information have been collected analysed and summarised for each potential project it should be given to all the people responsible for performing the evaluation. It is beneficial to the have several individuals in the evaluation and selection process in order to get various viewpoints.Each person on the evaluation and selection committee should have a different background and experience to bring to the decision making process, (Clement and Gido, 2012:35) emphasises that although it may take longer and be more stressful to gain group consensus on projects priorities and selections it will most likely be a better quality decision than if the decision is made by just one individual. The committee may develop a set of evaluation criteria with some type of rating system (such as Low-Medium-High, 1 to 5) against which to rate each potential project against each criterion.Various models can be used in project selection. The main purpose of these models is to aid decision making leading to project selection. The models include: * Numeric models * Non- numeric models A numeric model is usually financially focused and quantifies the project in terms of tim e to repay the investment or return on investment while non-numeric models look at a much wider view of the project considering items such as market share, relocation or environmental issues. Most importantly the models must evaluate projects by how well they meet the company’s strategic goals and corporate mission. 2.NUMERIC MODELS The numeric selection models may be subdivided into financial models and scoring models. The financial models are: * Payback period * Return on investment * Net present value * Internal rate of return Companies tend to prefer financial models and often select solely on profitability. 2. 1SCORING MODELS The numeric models mostly have common limitation, they only look at the financial element of the project. In an attempt to broaden the selection criteria, (Burke, 2011:79) suggest ‘a scoring model called the factor model, which uses multiple criteria to evaluate the project will be introduced’.The factor model simply lists a number of d esirable factors on a project selection pro-forma along with columns to show the rating of each factor. A weighted column can be added to increase the score of important factors while reducing the scoring of the less important. The advantages of using a scoring model are; * It encourages objectivity in decision making * It uses multiple selection criteria to widen the range of evaluation * It uses the simple structure therefore easy to use It uses selection factors structured by senior management, this implies that they reflect the company’s goal and objectives * It makes it easy to change factors. * It uses weighted scoring to reflect the factor’s differential importance * It is not biased towards short run projects favoured by financial models. * It is a weighted model which can also be used as a flag to improve projects by identifying the variance between the factor score and the maximum possible score The disadvantages of using a scoring model are: If the factors a re not weighted they will all equal importance * A simple model may encourage the developments of long lists that could introduce trivia factors and therefore waste management time. Assuming that the county Transportation Department has a budget of hundred million pula (P100  000) to allocate over the three project the researcher has used a scoring model to score some desirable factors on each project. This analysis and evaluation determines which project is critical and assist the project manager to prioritise effectively on which project to perform first followed by others.The figure below shows the factor scoring model for a county Transportation Department. SCORING FACTOR MODEL – PROPOSED SOLUTION| | FACTORS| PROJECT 1| PROJECT 2| PROJECT 3| 1. BENEFITS| 8| 9| 9| alignment to organisation strategy, mission, visions, values|   | 4| 4| 4| impact (organisational Department County)|   | 4| 5| 5|   |   |   |   | 2. COSTS| 4| 6| 8| budget (impact on budget)| 2| 3| 4| expenditure| 2| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 3. TIME| 7| 6| 7| delivery(how long will it take to deliver value to the community| 4| 3| 3| start- up (when can the project start)| 3| 3| 4|   |   |   | 4. RISKS| 5| 7| 9| safety and health (stakeholder and community| 3| 4| 5| environment| 2| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 5 RESOURCES| 7| 7| 8| capacity (at your disposal)| 4| 4| 4| availability| 3| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 6. STAKEHOLDERS| 5| 6| 9| commitment| 2| 3| 4| reputation| 3| 3| 5| TOTAL| 36| 41| 50| PERCENTAGE| 60| 68. 33| 83. 33| Key 5= very good weighting 4= good 0-40% low priority 3=fair 41-60% average priority 2= poor 61- 80% high priority 1= very poor 81- 100%very high priorityA priority list of projects from the model depicts Crockett Creek Bridge on road 1045 will progress under the current budget, if enough funds will be secured. ELK mountain road will follow then lastly the entrance to the Big John’s superstore. Therefore the researcher recommends that the cou nty Transport Department should adopt the project management approach by introducing a project management office. The project management office will be merged into the current county municipality opening structure to undertake all the projects across all departments with expertise.A project will be allocated a project manager and through his knowledge and skills. A methodological approach of project management will be applied. From project initiation phase are identified and selected through planning phase which involves defining the project scope, identifying resources, developing a schedule and budget and identifying resources development risks to the performing phase whereby the plan is execute and finally the closing phase/ project handover where the project lifecycle terminates.This methodological approach would be suitable for Polk County Transportation Department as projects would be executed effectively and effectively. To generate funds for the county, the commissioners can come up with initiatives like introducing road levy, introducing toll gates as well as adjusting tax higher so as to acquire funds for local developments. The crime rate is also igh as the case states that the largest employer is the state correctional institution for female offender, therefore prison as an offenders rehabilitation centre with skills they acquire during their serving period, prisoners can produce goods that can be sold to the local community to generate funds which could assist with the developments. CONCLUSION Polk County faces a problem of under development or road improvement because of limited funds. Multiple projects have been identified to address the current situation, besides the limited funds inadequate skills and lack of proper facilities have been identified.The writer analysed the case, quantified case data, evaluated it and suggests that introduction of project management office in the Polk county municipality would highly benefit the organisation as a proper systematic methodology of project management will be used to tackle and manage all projects effectively and also various fund raising initiatives will be implemented to raise money for the local government for developments. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Burke, R. 2011, Project Management Techniques, ( College Edition), China, Burke Publishing 2. Clements, J. P. and Gido J. 2012 Effective Project Management Fifth Edition, Canada. Joe Sabatino