Obasan Internment Camps Transfer of Values

How the Japanese Internment Camps Disrupted the Transfer of Values One of the darkest periods in Canadian history strongly revolves around the Second World War and the internment of Canadian-Japanese citizens. â€Å"Obasan,† a novel by Joy Kogawa, explores the internment of Canadian citizens of Japanese descent through Naomi Nakane, a thirty-six year old schoolteacher, and her family. The novel chronicles the life of Naomi, providing many perspectives from different parts of her life, beginning with her life as a youth and her first-hand experience with the Japanese internment camps.The Japanese internment camps disrupted the transfer of values between the three generations, the Issei, Nisei, and Sansei, by separating families. This separation occurs specifically in â€Å"Obasan,† through Naomi and Stephen, their father and uncle, as well as Naomi, her mother and Obasan. The three generations discussed in â€Å"Obasan† are the Issei, Nisei, and Sansei. The Issei are Canadian residents born or raised in Japan. Aya Obasan is most representative of the Issei in the novel. The children of Issei, born and raised in Canada, are called Nisei. The Nisei explored in this novel include Naomi’s mother, father, and Naomi’s aunt, Emily.Finally, the Sansei, children of Nisei who are born and raised in Canada, consist of Naomi and Stephen, her brother. All three of these generations have different experiences, traditions, and values, passed down from generation to generation. These values and traditions were disrupted in Canada during and after WWII because of Japanese internment camps. The separation of the Sansei generation, Stephen and Naomi, and the Nisei, because of the Japanese internment camps, had a great affect on the disruption of transference of values. The father of Stephen and Naomi, Mark, was separated from them for a large portion of their childhood.This separation, due to the internment camps, lead to the Sansei generation mi ssing out on such values as leadership, or strength. Instead, Mark focused on trying to keep regularity, a common value, in the Sansei generation’s lives, demonstrated through the following quotation: â€Å"We’ve heard from Mark . . . All he thinks about are Stephen’s music lessons† (Kogawa 113). This excerpt from the text displays that Mark is trying to, despite the separation of the two by the internment camps, keep regularity in Stephen’s life by encouraging his musical studies.Naomi also is deprived of natural values normally passed down through generations, because of the Japanese internment camps. A value a child might inherit from their parents is hard work. This hard work would be instilled upon the different generations through family routines around the house. These family routines were constantly interrupted by Naomi’s families’ constant uprooting as well as the unnatural living they experienced in the brutal internment cam ps. One attempt at instilling hard work in the Sansei around the house, though short-lived, occurs in Slocan.This hard work is displayed in the following excerpt: â€Å"[Stephen] and Uncle work together and . . . A vegetable garden, flowers, a lawn, and a chicken coop with several chickens appear. † (Kogawa 149). Hard work was also a value passed down from generation to generation through education and school. Schooling was absent in the lives of the Sansei for over two years because of the Japanese internment camps: â€Å"Until May 1943, when we first attend school, Stephen and I have no formal studies† (Kogawa 149).The Nakane’s, despite the hardships they faced in the Japanese internment camps, made a valiant, and effective, effort to transfer the values from different generations to Naomi and Stephen. A value very important in Japanese culture is wisdom. Although the internment camps have separated the families, specifically Naomi and Stephen from their paren ts, values are still transferred from other family members. On page 150, Uncle is seen teaching the children which wild foods are safe and which are not, shown through this quotation: â€Å"He shows us which ones we are to pick . . . Under the canopy, Uncle says, if the mushrooms are white, they are not good. † (Kogawa 150). This quotation displays the transfer of wisdom from Issei to Sansei, a transfer of values that, without the Japanese internment camps, would have been transferred by the Nisei generation, specifically Naomi and Stephen’s mother and father. In September 1941, Naomi’s mother travels back to Japan to take care of Obaa-chan, her ailing grandmother, with promises to Naomi to return to Canada soon (Kogawa 72). Shortly after, the bombing of Pearl Harbor takes place, leaving the whole continent of North America in fear and shock.With restrictions put in place on the movement of the Japanese-Canadians, Naomi’s mother is unable to return. With the absence of her mother, Naomi misses out on the values her mother would have passed on to her. Naomi instead relies on Obasan to learn her values in the internment camps. Because Obasan is Issie, there is a gap between her generation and Naomi. This gap includes Naomi adopting Japanese values and traditions, rather than the Japanese-Canadian values she would learn from her mother. For example, on page 138, Naomi is taught to not be â€Å"wagamama,† or selfish and inconsiderate, by Obasan (Kogawa).This teaching demonstrates the disruption the internment camps had on transfer of values, forcing Naomi to rely on Obasan to learn core values as opposed to her mother or father. Obasan teaches Naomi other important values, like kindness and generosity. Obasan and Naomi are travelling on a train when Obasan notices a woman, who recently gave birth to a baby, which has no belongings. Obasan displays kindness and generosity, sacrificing some of her food for the woman and baby, stron gly influencing Naomi and teaching her important values: â€Å"Obasan hands me an orange from a wicker basket and gestures . . â€Å"For the baby,† Obasan says urging me† (Kogawa 121). This transfer of values from Obasan to Naomi, though gapping generations, produces an immediate effect. On the same train ride, Naomi mimics her aunt: â€Å"In a fit of generosity I take my ball and give it to Stephen. â€Å"You can keep it,†Ã¢â‚¬  (Kogawa 124). Throughout â€Å"Obasan,† Aya overtakes the role of mother, and clearly transfers values from her generation to the Sansei’s in the best way she can. In the final analysis, â€Å"Obasan† provides an in-depth look at the Japanese internment camps and the effects these camps had on the Japanese-Canadian people.By separating families, the Japanese internment camps disrupted the transfer of values between the three generations, the Issei, Nisei, and Sansei. This separation, in â€Å"Obasan,† speci fically involves the mother, father, uncle, and Obasan of Stephen and Naomi. It’s truly remarkable, and a testament to the caring Nakane’s, that Stephen and Naomi matured to be such successful individuals. Works Cited Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd. , 1981. Print.

Evaluation of the play Blood Brothers Essay

Thomas Hardy suggests that in the mid-ninteenth century women were limited in their choice of jobs. Factory work was available in some areas but this meant working long, tiresome hours. They could also work for the rich, but for very little money. The term used for a woman who makes dresses is a seamstress. They spent their lives sewing for the rich ladies who wore smart dresses. In Far From the Madding Crowd the main character ‘Bathsheba’ is the proud owner of her inherited farm. She has maids, farm workers and shepherds working for her. She spends long hours of the day working in fields. She is a fortunate woman, very popular among the men but who clearly is unsure about life /love. Her character is affluent and enjoys a privileged lifestyle. In Wessex where the book was set it is very traditional, old fashioned (even some parts are today). The rural setting makes it relate to what the scenery was like, and enhances the atmosphere. At the time this book was written, health standards were very poor and there was no birth control. Illness was common, and people often had to cope for themselves. A woman was considered lucky if she was rich enough to employ a maid to care for her. There were no injections to prevent people against tetanus, common among farm workers. (It occurs when dirt is passed through a wound with a risk of getting paralysed) Nowadays we have modern medicine and equipment and highly trained doctors. Unlike men, woman had many limitations. If a party/ festival was being held all the women were obliged to leave the room, while the men drank. But Hardy shows a different stereotype to the one most women were accustomed to at that time- Bathsheba, instead of leaving the room quietly and without protestation, she leaves ‘indignantly’, having complained to her husband about the amount of alcohol that was offered- ‘don’t give it to them’. This shows she was more independent than other women of her day. Women were expected to cook mostly and were frequently bossed around by their husbands (male domination) this has held a topic of ‘sexism’ to woman today. In the Victorian times, women were expected to dress respectively. Evan if a woman showed a small amount of her ankle it was though of as blasphemous and unpleasant! Woman wore long dresses, bonnets and covered their arms up. Obviously a rich person would have a more fancy-detailed dress than a poor person. People though that woman were not equal to men because men were stronger and protector. Women were quoted as ‘feeble’ and ‘timid’. Woman could vote very little and there was very little education for them. One thing I picked up on was that in the book when Troy was performing in the circus among the other men, there were no woman performing. This was against the rules and the circus would have needed strong performers, which were not, in their eyes woman. The workhouse was a place in which many poor/old people ended their days. But the workhouse was also for young people too. Fanny was one who died in the workhouse after giving birth. People would work and pray throughout the day. They had a regime but they were also allowed to relax and have free time to do what they wanted. It was thought that religion would help the poor to overcome their â€Å"laziness, fecklessness and drunkenness†. Even school lessons for children revolved around the Bible. There were foundation orphanages for children where they were treated with great care. This option was for woman who could not look after their children or were ill/having problems etc. This option would have done Fanny help, if she hadn’t had died. From reading the book, and observing the film I have seen in depth that life then, is extremely different from today and what woman could and couldn’t do. Men could do far more and seemed to get more out of life than woman. Troy was often seen doing much more than Bathsehba?

Game Changer

Game-changer essay EDD8102–Foundations of Leadership and Management II Introduction Establishing a disciplined, repeatable, and scalable innovation process, creating organizational and funding mechanisms that support innovation, and demonstrating the kind of leadership necessary for profitable top-line growth as well as cost reduction is essential for sustainability. Whether in the business arena or the world of education, life as an organization depends on the people that are served by the organization.Teachers need to be providing each individual student with opportunities for relevant and rigorous academic growth based on their abilities–this is why the student is boss. A students needs, abilities, and prior knowledge will dictate to a dedicated teacher how and what they need to teach. Administrators are there to ensure teachers have the resources they need, but also to pacify unsatisfied or belligerent parents. The P & G principle of â€Å"Customer is Boss† G one are the days of selling by yelling and distraction over attraction. The challenge of today’s organization is to be connecting and be connected with emotion.It’s not enough to embrace or touch – that’s a one way street. An organization has to cross the center line now and go deep. One will have to live with consumers. At P&G, â€Å"Making the consumer the boss is a promise to identify with her, to respect and serve her, and to take her needs and wants seriously. † (Charan, R. , & Lafley, A. G. 2008) At P&G they are not just conducting â€Å"bubble in the circle that best reflects how you feel† surveys. The folks at Proctor and Gamble are stepping outside of their lives and comfort zone to experience the reality of their consumer.Often times, this means going to a different part town or of the world and going into a lower socioeconomic class to discover the consumers wants and needs. Advertising is a small part of schematic—making t he product appealing to the consumer is important, but P&G is moving beyond that to create new products especially for the needs of the consumer. This concept of molding to the needs of the consumer, is what effective teaching with differentiating strategies is all about. â€Å"Customer is Boss† in an educational settingTeachers have a professional responsibility to identify their learners' needs and develop appropriate pedagogical responses. Pedagogical responsibilities require teachers to have the necessary professional knowledge and skills, and teachers are also accountable to their students. That accountability is inherent in the teacher/student relationship. Some teachers are, no doubt, unskilled and uninformed. Some may abuse their power; however, that is not because they have students and not clients. Calling students â€Å"clients† will not change in any way the relationship they have with their teachers.Teachers have power. How they wield it has nothing to do with the label attached to all those faces in front of them. Teachers must insist on learner-centeredness. The educational organization must insist on qualified and effective instructors using current methods and materials. Regular monitoring of learner progress and regular feedback to learners on their progress is essential to growth and serving the student. The public school as an organization takes learners the community, and does not make decisions on the basis of their ability to pay. Nor can they â€Å"cream† and select only the best students.Challenges and risks If the â€Å"Consumer is the Boss† is really an organization’s mantra, how can they be challenged to think ahead? Breakthrough innovation would not happen. Customers, and students, are thinking about â€Å"now†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthe problems they are experiencing on a day to day basis. Indeed that is important for companies and teachers to think about, however the â€Å"Change the World† opport unity of breakthrough innovation stems from idealizing customers and envisioning problems and better solutions. Place the customer center stage, but stretch your imagination about making them stars.The â€Å"school grade† method of accountability has led to increasing commercialization of the educational undertaking which is also reflected in the culture at large. Allowing parents to remove a student from their designated school because of a low school grade and enroll them into another was supposed to be a way to motivate teachers and administrators into doing a â€Å"better† job. Instead, this competitive component has added a level of paperwork, stress, and mandatory extracurricular for instructors handed down by stressed out administrators that do know how to solve the problem.In most contexts, the learners lack power, because of age or socioeconomic status. In state or private educational institutions, parents pay the state (through taxation) or the private school , which then pays the teachers – making it difficult to connect learners with the pay check. The state system in particular creates the illusion of free education – which takes even the parents out of the financial-transaction picture. Because of this, teachers may feel that they are answerable only to the school or the educational system, and in some cases they may even feel free to pursue their own personal version of ‘education'.In the same contexts, teachers have the power to award grades, write reports and pass/fail students. The view of learners as clients radically re-adjusts the balance of power. For those who have had freelance experience and have taught professionals, either one-to-one or in-company, this view is self-evident. For those with school-type experience, the shift in balance may come as a shock. The potential risk arises, just as some teachers have abused their power, so will some learner-clients.But this doesn't change the fact that teachers provide a paid service, which makes the recipients of this service, and their ‘sponsors', clients. The way to go about it is for some sort of contract to be drawn, so that both sides can assume their responsibilities and exercise their rights. Opportunities and rewards At P&G, employees take the opportunity to live with the consumer. From an educational point of view, knowing your customer intimately is essential to classroom success and can assist a teacher with creating an appropriate, holistic academic plan for each student.Effective teachers scaffold students reading and writing (Tompkins, 2010) comes from the idea there are different support levels that teachers offer to students. This support is based on the individual student’s zone of proximal development. In interactive writing, the teacher helps groups of students compose and write text together. With guidance from the teacher, individual students take turns writing, as classmates offer ideas and suggestions. Students practice writing strategies and skills modeled by the teacher, including letter formation, phonemic awareness and phonics, and concepts about print.One reward of creating a differentiated academic plan based on student need is watching their growth and success rates accelerate as they can handle more challenging content without getting frustrated. Another reward of having intimate knowledge of a student’s life is knowing how to help them. Is there violence at home? Is the student responsible for taking care of younger siblings? Is English the primary language spoken at home? Does the student have access to homework/study help?Also, there is a difference in the teacher that is a parent who has lived through homework on the same night at the kids’ ballet or baseball practice than the teacher who is single and wondering why Wednesday night’s homework was not done and the student is sleepy at school on Thursday. Letting the student’s abilities and p rior knowledge guide how and what you teach them, will reduce a lot of frustration for both the student and teacher. Giving a student work that is too challenging or beyond them will create tension and feelings incompetency. Keeping a student appropriately engaged and challenged will allow them the most success.Conclusion Self-Assessment I am the first teacher that students meet when they are ushered into the public school system. I personally feel that it is my job to catch the lower students and close the achievement gap before it becomes an overwhelming problem in later years. Purpose and Rationale As a new teacher, I would like to take this opportunity to research different teaching methods and techniques and the impact on my students. This is a great time to conduct such research because I will have a fresh batch of students waiting for me to excite and inspire them.I will collect data such as a beginning assessment and monitor progress, keeping a log of how students respond to different interventions. Part of the process will be to research what interventions are available to me. References Charan, R. , & Lafley, A. G. (2008). The customer is boss. Tn The Game-changer: How you can drive revenue and profit growth with innovation (pp. 33-68). New York, NY: Crown Books. ISBN: 9780307381736. Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Oral Language Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Oral Language Development - Essay Example As projected by psychologists oral language development effectively takes place from the child’s early years, where in a child is capable of learning two or more languages easily as compared with adult learners. It is vital for a child to learn to communicate from a very early age, in order to become a fully literate and educated person. Since so much is developed and learned by a child early on, the education and proper training should be the most important component of the child’s life and into adolescent’s. Early literacy is defined as the stages undergone by a child in developing their language skills which includes reading and writing. Oral language performs essential functions in the development and enhancement of the child’s thinking skills. Through the development of oral language the critical thinking ability of a child undergoes the same pace. Familiarizing themselves with the vocabulary and the language basically makes them think of the proper a nd appropriate words on how to present and express their thoughts with other people. The aforementioned things provide a strong link between the child’s oral language development and early literacy. The more a child can interpret and deeply understand oral language, the greater the possibility that a child has the capacity to interpret, analyze, and understand written texts. Research findings have revealed that a child at his/her young age possessing an exemplary oral language development is more likely to reach a commendable literacy level; while in the reverse, a child with poor oral language development has a greater probability of having low level of literacy skills. Oral language, despite of its being one of the foundations of literacy, is often neglected or given lesser importance in emphasizing the enhancement of literacy skills. Oral language performs various essential roles in academic success as studies with monolingual English speakers illustrated. The skills used in deciphering knowledge and information cultivated by having oral language proficiency is the threshold toward the development of reading comprehension among these young learners. This shows the interrelationships among the four macro skills in language learning such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The vocabulary words that a child learned from his or her environment through listening and used in speaking are essential in developing his or her reading comprehension. IMPORTANCE OF READING SKILLS According to the article entitled â€Å"Reading, Literacy, and Your Child†, research has distinguished five basic reading skills which are all important in improving the literacy level of every child such as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, distinguish, and play with isolated sounds known as â€Å"phonemes† in oral language; Phonics is the capability of connecting with the lette rs of the written language with the inclusion of the phonemes of the spoken language; Vocabulary which is considered as the words that a child needs to recognize in order to communicate proficiently; reading comprehension is the ability to deeply understand and derive meaning from

What do childrens experiences of race tell us about the social Essay

What do childrens experiences of race tell us about the social psychology of racism Discuss with reference to empirical research on race and multiculture - Essay Example Through the process of identifying certain biological human characteristics, the population of the world started being classified into separate groups. Miles refers to this process as racialisation and defines it as one which characterizes meanings â€Å"to particular biological features of human beings, as a result of which individuals may be assigned to or categorized into a general collectivity of persons reproducing itself biologically† (Miles, 1989). Research on children’s racialised thinking conventionally used numerous theoretical and interpretive paradigms that intended to explain the development of racial attitudes. Some of these models connected children’s racist beliefs to personality troubles and gave details of the appearance of prejudiced attitudes in relation to rigid cognition credited to strict parenting style (Adorno, 1950). Some recent researches put forward that children play a dynamic role in their own learning and expand knowledge through social interaction. Furthermore, children also have a certain amount of ability that permits them to understand process and express their needs and knowledge (Connolly, 1996). Thus children are not merely seen as submissive receivers of racist beliefs, but as vigorous agents who struggle to deal with conflicting information they obtain in relation to the racial ‘other’ so as to make sense of the social world around them. Because of this, they do not just imitate racist viewpoints to which they are exposed, but actively strive with their contingent and often opposing nature, while trying to make sense of their social world (Connolly, 1998b). Children establish their racialised notions of diversity and social relations within the specific framework of their daily experiences and that these experiences are socially planned, determined by social events that expand

Strategic marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic marketing assignment - Essay Example 1 Skype is the market leader in the international voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone market. The software used by Skype allows the customers to use the internet in order to make free calls to other Skype users globally. In the process of doing business along with the internal factors, the external factors, the external environment also have the potential to enhance or subdue the performance of the business. The extent to which the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal factors affected the business of Skype has increased generate public awareness and acquisition by eBay. 2 Political Factors Skype defined as VoIP has an international outlook as it’s used by numerous people all over the world. So the political conditions are essential for the success of the Skype. Skype allows people to make free calls over the internet which has a direct advantage to the small business. But Skype has been suffering from many political issues over the ye ars. The governments of some emerging countries have tried to block Skype mainly because the telecom industry started to lose money due to lucrative international calls. China telecom has planned to block the access to Skype as Skype has been accused of security issues. Apart from the countries blocking Skype, based on its technology, assuming that no disruptive technology enter and challenges Skype, variations from different country tends to become less significant. With liberal regulations Skype has the opportunity to extend to developed countries and its presence along with eBay has a great potential for earning revenues and increase profits. In the emerging countries Skype has been facing difficulties but the company has the ability to capitalize in a positive manner along with eBay. Countries such as China where the political factors are often co related with the social and cultural issues, the possibility of Skype is less optimistic. The Middle Eastern Countries have also deni ed the use of Skype in their communication process and it can be said that the implication of the company are not favorable.3 Economical Factors The internet along with the digital civilization has brought about dramatic changes in the economic system as well s in the social structure caused mainly due to communications technologies. The economic condition which governs Skype reveals that a very minimal amount of risk is associated with Skype in the efficient running of its business. The business model of Skype peer to peer model is combined with the ability to leverage the resources of eBay in a cost effective manner in order to ensure competitiveness in pricing strategies.4 Skype is cost effective as it offers free online calls over the internet to people across the globe. Its low cost strategy has led to an increase in the perceived value since the savings associated to individuals are high and significant in the long run. According to sources, Skype has been regarded as one of t he fastest business which has fueled the growth rate for eBay. Skype has currently added about 150000 users per day for its 54million members in about 225 countries. Skype has generated revenue of about $7million in 2004 and achieved $200million in 2006. With Skype’s international existence, and popularity it would eventually help eBay with its international presence

Compare the United States and another country of their choice on the Research Paper

Compare the United States and another country of their choice on the basis of cultural differences and Geert Hofstedes Five Cultural Dimensions - Research Paper Example Such environments also create a problem between the employees and even the managers who come from the different cultural backgrounds and are well versed in different managerial approaches (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions provide an avenue through which the cultural dimensions of different countries can be analyzed to allow the business create the necessary adjustments towards succeeding in such markets. The United States and China are increasingly growing markets for both local and international business. However, the historical, political, social, and economic pasts of these countries have formed a framework for cultural developments, which shape the current business approaches and interactions. As such, this paper is going to employ Hofstede’s dimensions in analyzing the cultural differences between the US and China, and how the cultural constructs influence the business interactions in the two countries. Currently, China forms the most appealing and in Asia, with increased international collaboration with a variety of partners from other countries and regions. The country not only received direct foreign investments from other countries within the Asia region, but also receives large investments from Europe and North America(Guirdham, 2009). On the other hand, the US forms the largest economy in the world, with a growing number of business lines involving the highly diversified population that has generated a mainstream culture towards conducting business. The line that differentiates the US and Chinese cultures is thick enough and evident within the business practices. The four cultural dimensions by Hofstede coupled by the fifth dimension by Bond provide a clear framework for the analysis of the cultural differences between the US and China. Hofstede was one of the cultural researchers who first adopted the problem-solving pragmatic approach in relating culture and management

Acquiring Business Communication Skills Necessary for Business Essay - 3

Acquiring Business Communication Skills Necessary for Business Graduates - Essay Example Since the beginning of time, human beings have interacted by using various methods of communication such as verbal and nonverbal cues, in an effort to understand each other and cooperate through different tasks. Communication can be described as the process of imparting, participating and conveying information from one individual to another using an appropriate channel. Communication involves four elements, which include the sender, the message, the channel and the recipient. In the business world, managers and employees need to communicate effectively in order to work towards achieving the organisation’s goals and objectives (Cheesebro, Linda and Francisco 4). General communication skills refer to the basic communication competences that people use in the society or family settings. General communication skills are necessary for effective interaction with others in an informal context. They help individuals to understand people and situations, resolve conflicts, show affection, build trust and establish serene environments that promote healthy interaction. General communication skills include nonverbal communication skills and verbal communication skills (Worth 6). Verbal communication skills consist of speaking and listening skills. In various contexts, normal communication process mainly involves conversations where words are used to exchange of ideas, views and information. For the individuals involved to understand each other during a conversation, intelligible speech has to be made and the recipients need to listen in order to comprehend the message. Speaking skills involve articulating one’s words to be brief, clear and concise (Robinson, Jeanne and Robert). This helps the recipients to understand each word and process it to form meaning. One also needs to use the right tone and volume when speaking in order to show

Implementation Controls and Executive Summary of Massives Marketing Essay

Implementation Controls and Executive Summary of Massives Marketing Plan - Essay Example Political stability, positive economic growth, technological capability, strategic geographical location and business friendly conditions would be the criteria that will govern what country to choose. Japan, which suffices all the criteria, would be the most likely candidate. An alternative would be India due to its booming Information Technology industry and its strategic geographical location in the Asian region. This move would also help in attaining or even surpass the targeted number of partnerships. The company is currently charging a minimum of $30,000 for its software licenses. The company also charges 20% of the license fee for annual software maintenance and $25,000 for its web auditing services. The decrease would result to $1,500 cut for licensing, 10% cut on maintenance and $2,500 for auditing services (Massive Network, 2006). Reducing prices, all the while assuring product and service quality, provides a competitive edge the company can bank on. Although this translates to losses in revenue in the short run, it provides an attractive choice for future clients and assures continued patronage. This reduction will apply to future as well as present transactions. The acquisition of Massive by Microsoft has provided the means to acquire the necessary funds to conduct research and development to widen product and services range ( Wash, Microsoft Acquire Massive

Network Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Network Design - Essay Example The result is a decrease in production and could lead to data getting lost. The strained technical team may be forced to cut out some features in the firewall to ensure that the throughput is optimum. The latter puts the organization at a risk of attack by malicious persons. Specification of individuals involved in implementing the security of the network. How well trained are the administrators trained regarding security? The manner in which the managers and users will become partisan to the objective is critical (Seigneur & Slagell, 2010). It also involves how the procedures followed to ensure that they are trained regarding security policies and what to follow. A security plan, therefore, requires the support of the entire team working in an organization. How to get the management team, the technical group and end users is a significant challenge for an organization to achieve its aims regarding security. There is also a tradeoff in ensuring that the security is. The following is vital with the changing risks now and again. Thus, an organization requires coming up with alerts, carry out frequent testing, offering training to the administrators and improving on their policy plan. Administrators may be through this process of constant testing, monitoring, changing of plans and making the security system better. They may need compensation that the organization may not consider as vital thus compromising the entire

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Management accounting - Essay Example This paper focuses on management via accounting and applies the same for Ryanair. Importance of Management via accounting The main theme of The Visible Hand is that modern business enterprises utilise the market mechanism for allocating resources and coordinating the activities of the economy. According to Chandler, the traditional American business enterprises were single-unit operations and small in size, which used to produce single product within a small geographical area. The activities of the traditional enterprises were monitored and coordinated by the price mechanism and the market. Eventually, the modern business firm evolved which were larger in size and conducted multi-unit operations, which monitored the production of different products from different locations. The activities of those enterprises were not coordinated and monitored by market mechanism, but by the salaried employees. In simple words, the modern enterprises had suspended the market because the administrativ e coordination provided higher profit, better productivity and lower cost, compared to the coordination by market mechanism. He emphasised on the fact that management via accounting has created advantages that gained precedence over all other previous forms. The main advantages that it draws are: Lowering internal transaction costs by ‘routinizing the transactions between units’: The organizations with high value supply chain ends up increasing the transaction cost. This requires paying immediate attention by framing policies for reducing the cost. Properly organizing the information or goods between the units involved in the production of goods and services will lead to decrease in the transaction cost (Spulber, 2009; Swinnen, 2007; Pollitte, 2008). Reducing costs for information on markets and supply sources by ‘linking the administration of producing units with buying and distributing units’: Market failures may result from asymmetric and inadequate info rmation. The appropriate and full information is not always perfect since goods information is also expensive. In a market that deals with good and services, inadequate information can lead to various social costs like, market power, low innovation or inefficient allocation of resources resulting from customer deception. Thus, the cost of information available to the market and supply sources linking between the various units like, administration, production and distribution, should be reduced (Kouvelis et al., 2011; Sunstein, 2002). Faster and cheaper flow of goods or services and of information from one unit to another: Goods and services are seen to travel through manufacturers, warehouses, retailers, wholesalers, distributors and customers. The organization should link the sellers and the buyers together via an ongoing communication that can enable the business to effect the decisions taken by each of the business units. Therefore, the organization should emphasize on the fast a nd cheaper flow of goods, services and information through both down and up the supply chain. By making this flow cheaper and faster, the organization will be able to save lots of cost incurred that can be utilized in other forms (Finch, 2008). Management via accounting provides the organization with lots of value added benefits. They provide information for decision making and

Existentialism and the Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

Existentialism and the Meaning of Life Essay This paper will discuss the existentialist position and how different societal factors contribute to the creation of different meaning in a person’s life. It will study how value systems are formed and will borrow heavily from Jean Paul Sarte’s concept of â€Å"existence precedes essence.† It is important to note that the author will present the arguments and correlate it with the two films that were used in writing this paper. First, I will explain the meaning of life and how it is created. Next, there will be a brief discussion on how state apparatuses like religion and the government keeps aims to keep the meaning of people’s lives in certain restrictive areas. Then I will outline the different arguments of existentialist philosophers particularly that of Sarte and Albert Camus. â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself† (Miller Jensen, 2006). People are all born out of the wonders of biological functions but as people leave the protective womb of their mothers, they will be exposed to different stimulants in the environments. And this will prompt them to learn things different from how other people learn it. Therefore, a man is a sponge who absorbs information in very unique ways. And the things that were absorbed create a man who has an equally unique reason for the meaning of his existence. The very question of life is what paved the way for the existential branch of philosophical studies. It is by way of nature that beings search for the meaning of life. But humans as we are, there will be different interpretations of the meaning of life. Each person is blessed with the unique ability to identify different reasons for his existence. And there are also different perspectives used to uncover the meaning of life. Thus, for this paper we will use Jean Paul Sarte’s theory of â€Å"essence precedes existence†. Backgrounder The ultimate goal in finding the meaning of one’s life is to â€Å"make a rational sense out of life† (Stewart Blocker, 1987). Self actualization is one of the things specified in the hierarchy of needs. And in order to know the personality of one’s self, it is fundamental to make sense of life in itself. Unlike the perspective of the absurdists—people who focus on the â€Å"meaninglessness of life and the vacuity of human existence† (Stewart Blocker, 1987)—existentialists seek meaning in the rather meaningless world in order to affirm the significance of their existence.

The Democratic Peace Theory

The Democratic Peace Theory The primary claim of democratic peace proponents is that democratic states do not wage war against each other[1]. This theory is based on the findings of Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century. In his findings Kant argues that the natural evolution of world politics and economics would drive mankind inexorably toward peace by means of a widening of the pacific union of liberal republican states.[2] According to Kants theory liberal republics insure that the state interests are transferred from single monarch to the society thus making wars less probable. This assumption can be explained by a notion that in democratic societies the decision of waging wars is transferred from a monarch to the average citizen who bears the costs of war. Furthermore, the interdependence between national interests and citizens self-interests establishes a tendency of placing ultimate authority in the hands of the average voter[3] thus reducing the chance for well-institutionalized democracies to fight war s against each other. Michael Doyle in his publication Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs adds another principle of pacification to Kants list of three definitive articles of liberal constitutions. According to Doyle: The regular rotation of office in liberal democratic polities is a nontrivial device that helps ensure that personal animosities among heads of government provide no lasting, escalating source of tension[4]. The inner state check and balance system does not exclude the probability of war between states, but instead it explains that liberal wars are only fought for popular, liberal purposes[5]. Accordingly, most common argument of democratic peace theory is the constitutional and legal restraints on executive action. In other words placing constraints on the ability of leaders to fight other democracies are the foundations of peace in democratic states. The democratic peace theory also suggests that Democracy tends to foster economic interdependence, which reduces the likelihood of war. Firstly, it is more likely for countries who share the same values, to have close economic ties with each other. The economic interdependence significantly reduces the probability of confrontation between states. The preponderance of systematic evidence for at least the post-World War II era, however, suggests that mutual economic interdependence, measured as the share of dyadic trade to GNP in the country where that trade is proportionately smaller, is strongly associated with peaceful relations in subsequent years.[6] In other words, economic interdependence helps create transnational ties that promote peace rather than conflict. Furthermore, states have a mutual benefit from the economic relations and conflict with each other is going to harm their economy. Thus, the potential loss of trade and its negative impact on countries critical imports or exports decreases the willingness of both sides to fight. Based on historical evidence, despite the liberal claim that democracies have never gone to war with each other, there have been more conflicts than instances of cooperation situation which provides a fertile ground for realism to flourish. Up until the end of the Cold War realism was the dominant theory of international relations as it explained most of the political events. However, after the end of the Cold War started crisis of realism due to the circumstances that it failed to predict or predicted wrongly several events, especially the unification of Germany (October 1990), dissolution of Warsaw Pact (July 1991) and the end of Cold War (dissolution of USSR December 1991). None of this events resolved in a hegemonic war as many realist predicted. It seems as if other theory such as democratic peace theory is better at explaining the events after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The democratic peace theory gives a logical explanation of the events which lead to peaceful disso lution of Soviet Union and end of the Cold War. Any understanding of the change in the Soviet Unions international behavior, before its political fragmentation, and in time reciprocated by the West, demands attention to the three legs on which the liberal vision of Immanuel Kants Perpetual Peace Stands. This stands are: 1. Development of Liberalization and democratization process in Soviet Union; 2. Desire to enter western markets rise of economical interdependence; and 3. influence of the International organizations. As Emmanuel Kant has predicted in his findings the natural evolution of world politics and economics would drive mankind inexorably toward peace by means of a widening of the pacific union of liberal republican states.[7] Democracy, economic interdependence and international organizations constitute the basis of the 21st century international relations. [1] Edward D.Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Danger of War, P8 [2] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2, p349 [3] Edward D.Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Danger of War, P21 [4] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, p.230 [5] Ibid. [6] Bruce Russet, a neo-Kantian perspective: democracy, interdependence, and international organizations in building security communities, Security Communities, Cambridge University Press, P.374 [7] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2, p349

Collection of Film Review Examples

Collection of Film Review Examples Shane Meadows is known to make movies about his own experiences. This is England is no exception. The idea for the movie came from the director s childhood, and it is the most personal film Shane Meadows has made so far, as he said himself. In an interview at the British Film Institutes Southbank theatre in April, Meadows talked about his upbringing. Yeah, every moment of joy in my life usually stunk of sadness. Every time I was just about to get somewhere someone stuck a dart up my arse. Thats how I remember growing up in Uttoxeter. When things were at their shittest, people seemed to be at their best and when things were at their best, people seemed to be at their worst The film starts with a sequence of clips, introducing the viewer to England in 1983. When watching the intro, I got the feeling I am about to see some kind of documentary, due to the footage being shown. The mise en scene is outstanding in this piece C to be perfectly honest, I was silly enough to believe it was actually shot in 1983 in the beginning, which makes me extremely embarrassed. The careful casting, costumes, sets and props makes it hard to believe the film was actually shot in 2006, which makes the story much more believable and easier to get into. The piece is put together extremely well and the soundtrack comprises of the hits from the eighties, which sets the mood perfectly. The main character is alone in the beginning C he doesnt really have friends, he is being bullied at school, he gets in a fight with a boy, who makes fun of his dead father. Although the movie talks about some really serious issues like gang culture and racism, lack of jobs and immigration, it still manages to make you smile, like the bit when Shaun comes back home to his mother and complains about his trousers. This way not only are you amused and it takes off the depressing mood in the movie, but it also feels more real, less movie-like. The movie is a typical coming-of-age sort of piece, where the main protagonist changes and matures as the story unfolds. His story basically starts when he crosses paths with skinheads and discovers belonging to a group makes things easier. They go out hunting together, and this comes from a real story of the director s childhood. The group he joins is relatively harmless C compared to what lies ahead. The good days don t last long C soon enough, Combo comes back from prison and steps up as the leader of the group. There is a feeling of tension building and although we see Shaun developing attachment to Combo, who is now like the father figure the boy never had, there is a strong feeling something will go seriously wrong. Soon everything goes from a group of youngsters, fooling around, to Shaun attending a National Front meeting. For me, a person, who isn t too political, this movie is also educating C seeing what life and politics were like in 1983. In the movie we see Shaun becoming a man in a very short period of time. A very important scene in This is England is when Shaun gets his cross tattoo. The director, Shane Meadows, has the exact same tattoo on the same finger. This marks Shaun, as a worthy member of the Skinheads, who agrees to stay in the group for the rest of his life. Although Shaun is now Combos protegee   and receives his undivided attention, we see that his relationship is starting to become dangerous and Combo is a bad influence on the young boy. Silly hunting games that Shaun used to play with the previous skinhead group turn into real acts of violence in Combo s. It must be noted that the performance by Stephen Graham, who plays Combo, is simply astonishing C when the group robs the shop, the intimidation and hatred he created were so real and believable, for one moment there I got into the action so much, I was scared for the shop owner s life, only to realize it s just an actor. In my opinion, Combo is just as important as Shaun, because the complexity of Combo s character is what drives the story. One second he is talking to Milky with respect and treating him like a brother, the other, he bursts out and beats him to death, which shows Shaun the real face of his beloved idol, when the latter unleashes his fury even upon his close friends. The piece ends with a reference to 400 blows , which is another coming-of-age film. The main character Shaun runs to the sea, which is considered to be a symbol of freedom and throws the England flag into the water, freeing himself and making clear that he is not coming back to the group. The last shot, exactly like in 400 blows , is him, looking up at the camera, making a connection with a viewer. After all, this is exactly what Shane Meadows intended to do in the first place. Pierrot Le Fou by Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard always said that he doesn t really plan his movies too carefully, and he does not intentionally leave any secret messages in them. It is all up to the viewer, to make what he or she wants of it. After watching it I think Pierrot Le Fou is one of those films that you either hate or love and it is definitely not for everyone C the plot here can be confusing sometimes and the main characters hard to understand. Also, there are references to Vietnam War, which I didn t even notice and thought it was another random element of the main characters fooling around. The movie is about Ferdinand and Marianne, a complicated couple who decide to run away together. They find each other, two misfits, and realize they want to isolate themselves from the fake reality they live in. This is really well portrayed in the beginning of the movie. We see Ferdinand in a party, which looks a lot like a parody for TV commercials. The guests are talking about different products in such manner you would expect to find in a commercial. The effect of it all being fake and distant to Ferdinand is also strengthened with experimental lighting. I think one of the most brilliant scenes in the movie is at the same party, when Ferdinand meets a movie director and talks about cinema with him. This is obviously self-referential, but it was also brilliant to observe the misconnection between the two of them, because of the language barrier. The funny thing is, when Ferdinand asks the American director what is cinema, although the woman translates the sentence completely wrong, asking about his movie, not cinema in general, his answer, in my opinion, is exactly right. It is a battleground. It is love. Hate. Action. Violence and death. One word C emotions. This conversation, that might not leave a big impression on the others, left me in awe of the script-writing for Pierrot Le Fou . Another thing that I realized is the lighting changing, when he moves on from the TV-ad conversation to the American director. It goes from red, which is usually considered a colour of danger, alarm, awareness to green, which is soothing, nature-like. It is another way of the director showing that Ferdinand is very interested and comfortable talking about the arts. The colour scheme in Pierrot le Fou is very important; I would say that at some points the colours even tell the story better than the action. I noticed two leading colours, which represent the main characters C red and blue. Blue is Ferdinand s colour C he is often shot next to the blue sky, or the sea, he drives a blue car and even paints his face blue, before committing suicide. I think the blue also represents his character, quite calm, relaxed, and even cold sometimes. Red, on the other hand, is the complete opposite and it is the colour of Marianne C she drives a red car, wears red clothes, and is simply a vivid, energetic character. Another important colour in the film is yellow, which is represents jealousy and betrayal. Toward the end of the movie, we see the exchange of the colours C Ferdinand s head, wrapped in a red scarf, when being tortured; symbolizing the fact that it s all happening because of his relationship with Marianne. Also, the couple exchanging cars and Ferdinand starting to wear a bright red shirt. When Ferdinand and Marianne separate, after Marianne taking the briefcase with her, we notice yellow flowers in the background. When Ferdinand approaches the dock, where Marianne is leaving on a boat, with her new lover, on his way there, red and yellow are dominating in the background. Ferdinand reaches the dock, where a single yellow barrel is standing, as he watches the woman he loves running away with another man. The next shot of him is approaching a man sitting the ground, singing. We now see yellow taking over, as it is seen, as Ferdinand walks with his head down. When he is on the boat, in the front there is a big yellow box, as if it was telling us that jealousy is driving him to the island. Ferdinand is walking through a field and singing Do you love me at the same time as he passes yellow flowers. The yellow starts to dominate again, as he approaches and shoots Marianne. The climax of this is Ferdinand s suicide, when he is wearing the red shirt, painting his face blue, and wrapping himself with red and yellow dynamite, which represents Marianne s betrayal. Pierrot Le Fou is definitely now one of my favourite films of all time, and has so many different sides to it, that to decode the whole piece would take me an eternity, but I guess that is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it. Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren Although I am not a big fan of surrealism, Maya Deren s film had much more meaning to me, than Dali s and Bunuel s work. Meshes of the Afternoon , in my opinion, was less random, more carefully set and the symbols carefully picked to convey a message. It s a movie about a woman s state of mind, her dream world and her reality mixing together in the end. This film, just like many surrealism films, is an experience C you cannot watch it like you would watch a drama or a comedy. You could call it brain exercise, if you wish. Throughout the film there are a lot of symbols and the randomness at first might seem pointless, but the production is made really carefully. The film starts with a flower, put in the middle of the road by a long female hand. We instantly realize this is not going to be an ordinary movie C both time and space are distorted C the hand comes from nowhere, and suddenly disappears. The flower, of course, symbolizes beauty, love and femininity. Soon after this we see a woman picking up the flower, which indicates it is a piece about her and her place, as a woman. The fact we do not see the main character s face, creates tension and curiosity about her intentions. As she tries to open the door, she loses the key and it falls all the way down the stairs. To me the key probably symbolizes answers, freedom and solutions. She enters the house and sees things scattered all over the place C newspapers, a knife and a telephone. Once again, I can only interpret it in my own way C a knife is an obvious danger, also a possible symbol of a phallus. A telephone is probably a representation of the main character s connection, in this case C with herself. When she goes upstairs, she sees a window open, which also can be interpreted as a symbol of freedom and escape. She notices a record player working, but not making any noise. I cannot really explain why, but to me the record player symbolizes her own life C it is playing, but there is no music, no purpose, so she turns it off. Maya Deren keeps jumping from one place to another C just like it would be in a dream. As we see the world through her eyes, she turns her head and finds herself in a whole different room. This is all done to disrupt any feeling of order and continuity. When she falls asleep, in her dreams, we see the cloaked figure for the first time. After seeing the whole movie I can only interpret it as the symbol of death, the Grim Reaper. This creature has a mirror for a face and it makes me wonder whether the main character is following it, because she is desperate to look at the mirror and see her true self. The cloaked figure is moving really slowly and the main character is running, but she cannot get even close to catching up with it. This represents her conflicted persona and the difficult state her mind is in. When she comes back to the house once again, the knife is now on the stairway, in her way, indicating that it is unavoidable that she uses it. After this we have a sequence of shots, which adds to the feeling of a dream C slow motion of her footsteps, tilted camera angles as she climbs up the stairs. Once again, the feeling of continuity is disrupted, as she enters the room through the window. The main character discovers the telephone and the knife on the bed, which creates a feeling of unavoidable danger. She goes back to the window and it seems like there is no gravity, a quite common dream that probably most of us have. The main character now looks down and sees herself sleeping in the armchair, with the record player by her side and turns it off again. The circle begins again, as she approaches the window and sees herself running. This creates a feeling of her being trapped in a vicious circle, with no chance to change it. She then opens her mouth and takes out the key, which to me symbolizes coming up with a solution to her suffering. The cloaked figure is now in the house and we get the feeling that death is coming for the main character. When the cloaked figure disappears, the main character finds the knife again, but this time she doesn t look scared at all C she looks like is now at peace with the fact she is about to die. The key appears in her mouth again and transforms into a knife, which clearly symbolizes that death in the answer. The three representations of the main character now gather around a table and play a bizarre surrealistic game, where they find out who will have to be the killer. The chosen one is now wearing strange glasses, which to me feels like a symbol of her, not seeing clearly. I found it quite fascinating, when the killer walks towards the sleeping woman and the surroundings change with each step C it starts out with a beach, then she steps on grass, then sidewalk and then finally C onto the carpet in the house. This, I think, represents the journey you have to make, when deciding to kill yourself. It is probably the hardest thing you could ever do and the steps represent exactly that. As the main character wakes up, the killer in the dream turns into her lover in reality, but we see the symbols from the dream around the room and the two start to mix together. The main character s lover is acting exactly like the cloaked figure and we realize the main character is blaming all her problems on him. As she breaks the mirror that appears to be her lover s face, we see the sea behind it, which is widely interpreted as a symbol of freedom. When her lover enters the house, we see the main character covered in mirror shards, dead. The mirror represents finally breaking free. All about my mother by Pedro Almodovar To Bette Davis, Gena Rowlands, Romy Schneider to all actresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, to all men who act and become women, to all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother. Dedication, All About My Mother, 1999 Pedro Almodovar is one of the most successful and well known Spanish directors of all time. He is famous for his movies, where he tries to explore the nature of being a woman. His movies, although quite complicated, almost always have a big international success and are being shown in cinemas all over the world. You could say this one is a chick-flick for the more intellectual woman. All about my mother is another film about women suffering, with many characters and different stories, intertwining and showing different sides of womanhood. It is also worth mentioning that almost all the cast is female in this piece. This particular film declares that to be a woman you do not have to be born one, so we get characters like Lola and Agrado, who are transvestites. Almodovar always liked complicated stories and although he tries to make it as real as possible, the lives of the characters sometimes seem so dark, it made me question whether there is actually too much drama involved. The film begins with mother and a son, Esteban and Manuela. I got the impression in the beginning that the story will revolve around Esteban, his wish to become a writer and the story he began to write about his mother. This illusion was soon shattered, when Esteban died after being hit by a car. The shot of him, lying on the ground for me was probably the most impressive shot in the film C the camera takes Esteban s POV and spins around, before falling to the ground. We see his mother approaching Esteban is slow motion, her coat red, the colour of blood and taking the camera, Esteban s head, into her palms. As she screams and lets go, the camera slowly moves back to the ground. This way of showing the tragedy that happened adds to the drama so much more than a normal two-shot ever would. Manuela, who works as a transplant coordinator, is the one who has to give the consent to donor her boy s heart this time. Searching for some kind of closure, she secretly follows the recipient after the operation. This crushes her completely and she decides to go to Barcelona, where she used to live with the boy s father, who is a mystery to the viewer so far. The focus from then on turns to the main character s relationships with other women she meets, her road to self-discovery and opening up once again. The different characters is what makes this movie interesting to watch. Although for the most part, it focuses on Manuela, we get a good glimpse at the lives of other women that surround her. This film, although so complicated and melodramatic, resembles real life as well C it makes us cry and laugh with the women who are in it. Manuela, who loses her son, discovers she can deal with her grief helping others C she becomes a personal assistant to actress Huma, who is going through an emotional crisis, rescues Agrado from an enraged client and helps pregnant nun Rosa through her pregnancy. Film references are very important in this piece as well C it begins with the mother and son watching All about Eve , which resembles the film s name and gives Esteban the idea how to call his work. Another significant film that is constantly brought up is A streetcar named desire . The main character, Manuela once played Stella in a drama group, when she was younger and this piece holds a special meaning to her, since she also met Esteban s father there, who played Kowalski. After so many years, due to the original actress not being able to perform, Manuela has to play Stella s part once again. This, for me, is a key point in the story, when the main character lets go and releases her pain. I found it interesting, because by acting, and pretending to be somebody else, she could finally be herself and cry out loud. The colour scheme in the movie is quite controversial and has been criticized numerous times for overshadowing the actual story. Just like in Pierrot Le Fou we see red, blue and yellow dominating, but the two movies are so different, it makes you wonder whether the colour scheme is appropriate in All about my mother . In my opinion, the colours are completely suitable and well thought out, because in a way they represent the colourful life and characters of the women in the film and by losing the colours the film would lose a bit of it s soul as well. Overall, I enjoyed watching All about my mother C Pedro Almodovar is one of the directors who really tries to understand women and what it s like to be one. I found the film really emotional and touching, Almodovar knows how to create a bond between a character and a viewer, so you end up really involved with the story and the destinies that these women have as well as getting to know individuals like Agrado and Lola who to some viewers might be a mystery and really hard to understand. The 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut The 400 Blows is a very important film, which started the French New Wave. It introduced another level of cinematic experience through cinematography, acting and much more naturalistic look and feel to the movie, which, for today s viewer, might be really hard to imagine. The camera in The 400 Blows moves around much more freely and more smoothly, and besides recording, starts to tell the story with it s movement as well. Different angles and camera positions are introduced. Antoine Doinel seems like an ordinary boy, who seems to get in trouble wherever he goes, his teacher constantly punishes him for the slightest mischief, his mother disregards him as simply being a waste of space and the beginning of his teenage years is proving to be a real hassle for young Antoine. He soon finds out his mother is having an affair, but we can see the boy is not bothered at all C he is much more concerned whether he ll get in trouble for skipping school. Later that day when his father comes back home and announces that the mother won t be joining them for dinner, it seems that Antoine is hoping that she will never come back, when he asks the father if she has left for good. This establishes the fact that the relationship between Antoine and his mother is less than perfect. For myself, it was hard to watch how the adults treat Antoine; it seems there is nobody at all, when it comes to adults, who understand him. He sleeps on his tiny bed, lonely, disposable, like the trash he has to take out every night. Although Antoine is disregarded as hopeless and simply ungifted he, as many children of his age, is simply starting to question the system and the fact he does not perform well in class certainly does not mean he is not capable. This film serves parents who find it hard to understand their children, because we get a glimpse of how hard it sometimes is to be a teenager C parents seem to forget it. It is much like a documentary in a sense that we observe Antoine, an ordinary boy and his transformation to a young man, as well as the work of camera being hand-held. For a short time in the movie, seems like the family has come back together and Antoine does not feel isolated anymore, but after failing yet another paper in class, he runs away once again and stays with his friend. I think one of the most important scenes in the film, since it represents French New Wave, is the scene where small children are watching Little Red Riding Hood . Their expressions, reactions to the play are so genuine and lack that over the top acting, that the viewers who sat in the cinema theatre, watching the movie in 1959 should have been fascinated. And they were, since the cinema was never the same again. The main actor s Jean-Pierre Leaud s performance in the scene where Antoine is being questioned by the psychologist once again brings me back to think of this film as a documentary C the acting is extremely believable and it is hard to tell yourself that it is a character, not a real person in front of you. The most famous scene of the film, of course, is the scene where Antoine runs away from the Juvenile Detention Centre. There are two extremely long tracking shots, that break the conventions of cinema and stay with the subject for much longer than usual, but this is exactly what fascinates the viewer. His run symbolizes his long and constant search for freedom, and his desperate wish to be acknowledged. His last look at the camera to me looked like he was thinking And what do I do now..? This last shot has been widely interpreted, but to me it feels like he has reached the sea, but he cannot escape from himself. When watching this film, I thought about how lucky I was to have a childhood, and that many kids grow up all too soon. My mother used to say that you can tell if a person was loved, when they were little. This all applies to Antoine C he grows up too soon, due to the time he lives in, his parents not caring enough, the educating system failing to acknowledge his efforts to study and him wanting to be noticed, even if it s for misbehaving. Even to this day, The 400 Blows is a remarkable film, which has and still is influencing many directors.

The Catcher In The Rye :: essays research papers

Escape from the truth In 1950 J.D. Salenger captures one of society’s tragedies, the breakdown of a teenager, when he wrote The Catcher In The Rye. Holden Caulfield, a fickle â€Å"man† is not even a man at all. His unnecessary urge to lie to avoid confrontation defeats manhood. Holden has not matured and is unable to deal with the responsibility of living on his owe. He childishly uses a hunter’s hat to disguise him self from others. The truth of his life is sad and soon leads to his being institutionalized. He tries to escape the truth with his criticisms. Knowing he will never meet his parents’ expectations, his only true friend is his eight-year-old sister Phoebe, to whom Holden tells that he really wants to be ‘the catcher in the rye†. Holden admits his only truth and shows that Phoebe is his only friend. Another form of escape for Holden is his acting, which he uses to excuse the past. Holden has tried to lie, hide, and blame his way through life; when he find s that it is not the answer he collapses. Holden is a pathological liar. He lies, some times for no reason. Holden says his name is Rudolf Schmidt, who is acutely the janitor, to Mrs. Morrow on the train. He continues to lie throughout the conversation and avoids getting together by saying he has a tumor in his brain. This is the type of lies Holden tells. One reason for this might be that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a â€Å"what are you talking a bout?† expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self. To Holden ever one is a â€Å"phony†, and every one has a problem that he feels he needs to exploit. While Holden is speaking to the psychiatrist, he criticizes each person as he meets them in his story.

Brains before Beauty in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay -- Jane Eyr

Brains before Beauty  in   Jane Erye    Beauty is generally classified into two main categories: physical and mental. In the Charlotte Bronte's Jane Erye, the protagonist rejects by choice and submission, her own physical beauty in favor of her mental intelligence and humility, and her choice becomes her greatest benefit by allowing her to win the hand of the man of her desires, a man who has the values Jane herself believes in. She values her knowledge and thinking before any of her physical appearances because of her desire as a child to read, the lessons she is taught and the reinforcements of the idea appearing in her adulthood. During the course of the novel she lives at five homes. In each of these places, the idea of inner beauty conquering exterior appearance becomes a lesson, and in her last home she gains her reward, a man who loves her solely for her mind. She reads against her cousins wishes as a child at Gateshead, learns to value her intelligence as a child at the Lowood Institution, her mind and humilit y win the heart of Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Manor, she earns St. John's marriage proposal at Marsh's End, and in the end she wins her prize of Mr. Rochester's hand in marriage at Ferndean Manor. Jane Erye spent the beginning of her childhood at her Aunt's house, where she struggles to become more intelligent by reading books. Jane wants to learn, even though her cousin insists: "You have no business to read our books; you are a dependent" (pg. 42). Shortly after being struck for reading, she lays in bed and requests: "Gulliver's Travels from the library. This book I had again and again perused with delight" (pg. 53). Her ambition to read and better herself meets opposition from her cousins, yet she continu... ...f Love in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. David Lodge, Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontà «'s War of Earthly Elements Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes. 1st ed. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crown Publishers, 1988.    Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Library. Bronte, Charlotte. "Charlotte Bronte's Letters". New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1971. Diedrick, James.   Newman on the Gentleman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/vn/victor10.html. Diedrick, James.   Jane Eyre and A Vindication   of the Rights of Woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://spider.albion.edu/fac/engl/diedrick/jeyre1.htm. Dickerson, Vanessa D. Victorian Ghosts in the Noontide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.system.missouri.edu/upress/fall1996/dickerso.htm. Brownell, Eliza. Age Difference in Marriage: The Context for Jane Eyre   

Review of Medicine Literature

Review of Literature How is health promotion defined? Health promotion is a process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health (WHO, 2013). People involved in health promotion should consider the meaning of what do they think health means relating to themselves and to others. This will assist with clarifying outcomes and expectations (Edelman & Mandle, 2010, p. 3). In order for health promotion to have a successful outcome, people must take control over all aspects of their health and life. People must be held accountable for their life decisions. Health promotion is the science of helping people change their lifestyle and behaviors. This paper will discuss the purpose of health promotion, the nursing roles and responsibilities, implementation methods, and a comparison of the three levels of health promotion prevention. Purpose of Health PromotionThe purpose of health promotion is to provide education. The emergence with new computer technology allows for mu ch more access to knowledge. The internet and smart phones have a vast base of information. It provides all forms of information. People can then make an informed decision. The ultimate goal of the health promotion model is to promote a sense of well-being, not just the absence of disease (â€Å"GCU,†2013, p. 1). Health promotion is used on the private level, the public level, and also the community level (Edelman & Mandle, 2010.). These levels are all important for the educational process. Along with improving patient outcomes, health promotion helps to decrease the costs that are always increasing in healthcare.Nursing Roles and ResponsibilitiesNurses are responsible to educate patients in every aspect. They are  the primary care givers in the medical setting. The rapport that is developed leaves a lasting impression. They are able to discuss the positive aspects of prevention and how this can provide a better life for the patient. Nurses are advocates, consultants, care managers, educators, healers, and researchers. They are part of the multidisciplinary team that provides health promotion. Their roles and responsibilities develop gradually with the improvement of health. They educate in life changing activities with a holistic approach. This would include stress management, the introduction to healthy foods, the promotion of increased physical activity, the increased benefits of adequate sleep, the reduction of alcohol, and smoking cessation.ImplementationNurses implement health promotion by providing appropriate care to all patients. Culture and diversity should be taken into consideration. Nurses need to maintain the patients’ identity and privacy. They practice the code of moral principles and values. This is met by treating patients equal regardless of age, seriousness of disease, or different cultural background. Nurses can help implement programs. They can make patients aware of resources to provide a safe environment or a vaccination program for their children.Three Levels of Health PromotionThere are three levels of health promotion. These levels are primary, secondary, and tertiary. Prevention is not only inclusive of health promotion and preventing diseases, but also curing them and limiting the progression of disease. There is no distinctive flow pattern between the three levels, but there is an overlap at times. These three levels will be discussed in relationship to three recent journal articles.PrimaryThe primary level of health promotion is considered to be educational and preventative by nature. This is in process prior to a problem. The primary prevention article discusses motivational interviewing. Women have a lack of risk perception. Through screening, risk factors are brought to light. They should be screened for past medical history, family history, smoking, physical activity, and diet. Research suggests that women should be screened using the Framingham Risk Assessment  of 10-year Global Risk (Schroetter & Peck, 2008, p. 109). This is a risk predictor. It calculates a woman’s chance for experiencing a heart attack. Nurses should also promote awareness by the various government programs such as WISEWOMAN and Go Red for Women. These are two campaigns that increase awareness of heart disease.SecondarySecondary prevention consists of early detection and diagnosis, timely treatment, and limiting disability. This would encompass mass screening surveys and selective examinations used to prevent, spread, and cure the disease process. Through limiting disabilities and providing the adequate treatment, the goal would be to prevent progression of the disease and the complications associated with the disease. Secondary prevention of stroke has focused on medical and surgical interventions.Healthcare professionals should use a multimodal approach, combining optimal medical therapies with interventions designed to support patients to make changes in lifestyle behaviors (Lawrenc e, Fraser, Woods, & McCall, 2011, p. 42). This model consists of combining medical treatment (medications) with comprehensive dietary modifications and exercise. These medications would include aspirin, statins, and antihypertensives. Nurses need to have a good understanding of the risk factors for stroke. They should also know the recommendations for healthy lifestyle choices. Interventions should be tailored to each patient.TertiaryThe tertiary level is the care and education given after the diagnosis of a disease. This level also includes restoration and rehabilitation. It also includes educating the public with selective placement and various work therapies in the hospital setting. There are many vaccines that can be considered a preventative measure for infectious diseases. Any vaccination can be given to an oncology patient if there are no contraindications. The influenza vaccination is an example that will be utilized. It is a recommendation for cancer patients. A first recom mendation was made by a gynecologist.This was for the tertiary prevention with a patient with uterine cancer. Patients that are vaccinated have a significant longer survival period (Wiwanitkit, 2010, p. 339). The influenza vaccination can decrease the infection rate and mortality due to influenza. It has been  thought that oncology patients receive the vaccination. All three levels of health promotion are equal in that they educate. The difference in educating is related to the disease process and the patients’ willingness to learn.

Angels Demons Chapter 70-73

70 Gunther Glick and Chinita Macri sat parked in the BBC van in the shadows at the far end of Piazza del Popolo. They had arrived shortly after the four Alpha Romeos, just in time to witness an inconceivable chain of events. Chinita still had no idea what it all meant, but she'd made sure the camera was rolling. As soon as they'd arrived, Chinita and Glick had seen a veritable army of young men pour out of the Alpha Romeos and surround the church. Some had weapons drawn. One of them, a stiff older man, led a team up the front steps of the church. The soldiers drew guns and blew the locks off the front doors. Macri heard nothing and figured they must have had silencers. Then the soldiers entered. Chinita had recommended they sit tight and film from the shadows. After all, guns were guns, and they had a clear view of the action from the van. Glick had not argued. Now, across the piazza, men moved in and out of the church. They yelled to each other. Chinita adjusted her camera to follow a team as they searched the surrounding area. All of them, though dressed in civilian clothes, seemed to move with military precision. â€Å"Who do you think they are?† she asked. â€Å"Hell if I know.† Glick looked riveted. â€Å"You getting all this?† â€Å"Every frame.† Glick sounded smug. â€Å"Still think we should go back to Pope-Watch?† Chinita wasn't sure what to say. There was obviously something going on here, but she had been in journalism long enough to know that there was often a very dull explanation for interesting events. â€Å"This could be nothing,† she said. â€Å"These guys could have gotten the same tip you got and are just checking it out. Could be a false alarm.† Glick grabbed her arm. â€Å"Over there! Focus.† He pointed back to the church. Chinita swung the camera back to the top of the stairs. â€Å"Hello there,† she said, training on the man now emerging from the church. â€Å"Who's the dapper?† Chinita moved in for a close-up. â€Å"Haven't seen him before.† She tightened in on the man's face and smiled. â€Å"But I wouldn't mind seeing him again.† Robert Langdon dashed down the stairs outside the church and into the middle of the piazza. It was getting dark now, the springtime sun setting late in southern Rome. The sun had dropped below the surrounding buildings, and shadows streaked the square. â€Å"Okay, Bernini,† he said aloud to himself. â€Å"Where the hell is your angel pointing?† He turned and examined the orientation of the church from which he had just come. He pictured the Chigi Chapel inside, and the sculpture of the angel inside that. Without hesitation he turned due west, into the glow of the impending sunset. Time was evaporating. â€Å"Southwest,† he said, scowling at the shops and apartments blocking his view. â€Å"The next marker is out there.† Racking his brain, Langdon pictured page after page of Italian art history. Although very familiar with Bernini's work, Langdon knew the sculptor had been far too prolific for any nonspecialist to know all of it. Still, considering the relative fame of the first marker – Habakkuk and the Angel – Langdon hoped the second marker was a work he might know from memory. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, he thought. Earth they had found – inside the Chapel of the Earth – Habakkuk, the prophet who predicted the earth's annihilation. Air is next. Langdon urged himself to think. A Bernini sculpture that has something to do with Air! He was drawing a total blank. Still he felt energized. I'm on the path of Illumination! It is still intact! Looking southwest, Langdon strained to see a spire or cathedral tower jutting up over the obstacles. He saw nothing. He needed a map. If they could figure out what churches were southwest of here, maybe one of them would spark Langdon's memory. Air, he pressed. Air. Bernini. Sculpture. Air. Think! Langdon turned and headed back up the cathedral stairs. He was met beneath the scaffolding by Vittoria and Olivetti. â€Å"Southwest,† Langdon said, panting. â€Å"The next church is southwest of here.† Olivetti's whisper was cold. â€Å"You sure this time?† Langdon didn't bite. â€Å"We need a map. One that shows all the churches in Rome.† The commander studied him a moment, his expression never changing. Langdon checked his watch. â€Å"We only have half an hour.† Olivetti moved past Langdon down the stairs toward his car, parked directly in front of the cathedral. Langdon hoped he was going for a map. Vittoria looked excited. â€Å"So the angel's pointing southwest? No idea which churches are southwest?† â€Å"I can't see past the damn buildings.† Langdon turned and faced the square again. â€Å"And I don't know Rome's churches well enou – † He stopped. Vittoria looked startled. â€Å"What?† Langdon looked out at the piazza again. Having ascended the church stairs, he was now higher, and his view was better. He still couldn't see anything, but he realized he was moving in the right direction. His eyes climbed the tower of rickety scaffolding above him. It rose six stories, almost to the top of the church's rose window, far higher than the other buildings in the square. He knew in an instant where he was headed. Across the square, Chinita Macri and Gunther Glick sat glued to the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"You getting this?† Gunther asked. Macri tightened her shot on the man now climbing the scaffolding. â€Å"He's a little well dressed to be playing Spiderman if you ask me.† â€Å"And who's Ms. Spidey?† Chinita glanced at the attractive woman beneath the scaffolding. â€Å"Bet you'd like to find out.† â€Å"Think I should call editorial?† â€Å"Not yet. Let's watch. Better to have something in the can before we admit we abandoned conclave.† â€Å"You think somebody really killed one of the old farts in there?† Chinita clucked. â€Å"You're definitely going to hell.† â€Å"And I'll be taking the Pulitzer with me.† 71 The scaffolding seemed less stable the higher Langdon climbed. His view of Rome, however, got better with every step. He continued upward. He was breathing harder than he expected when he reached the upper tier. He pulled himself onto the last platform, brushed off the plaster, and stood up. The height did not bother him at all. In fact, it was invigorating. The view was staggering. Like an ocean on fire, the red-tiled rooftops of Rome spread out before him, glowing in the scarlet sunset. From that spot, for the first time in his life, Langdon saw beyond the pollution and traffic of Rome to its ancient roots – Citt di Dio – The city of God. Squinting into the sunset, Langdon scanned the rooftops for a church steeple or bell tower. But as he looked farther and farther toward the horizon, he saw nothing. There are hundreds of churches in Rome, he thought. There must be one southwest of here! If the church is even visible, he reminded himself. Hell, if the church is even still standing! Forcing his eyes to trace the line slowly, he attempted the search again. He knew, of course, that not all churches would have visible spires, especially smaller, out-of-the-way sanctuaries. Not to mention, Rome had changed dramatically since the 1600s when churches were by law the tallest buildings allowed. Now, as Langdon looked out, he saw apartment buildings, high-rises, TV towers. For the second time, Langdon's eye reached the horizon without seeing anything. Not one single spire. In the distance, on the very edge of Rome, Michelangelo's massive dome blotted the setting sun. St. Peter's Basilica. Vatican City. Langdon found himself wondering how the cardinals were faring, and if the Swiss Guards' search had turned up the antimatter. Something told him it hadn't†¦ and wouldn't. The poem was rattling through his head again. He considered it, carefully, line by line. From Santi's earthly tomb with demon's hole. They had found Santi's tomb. ‘Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold. The mystic elements were Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The path of light is laid, the sacred test. The path of Illumination formed by Bernini's sculptures. Let angels guide you on your lofty quest. The angel was pointing southwest†¦ â€Å"Front stairs!† Glick exclaimed, pointing wildly through the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"Something's going on!† Macri dropped her shot back down to the main entrance. Something was definitely going on. At the bottom of the stairs, the military-looking man had pulled one of the Alpha Romeos close to the stairs and opened the trunk. Now he was scanning the square as if checking for onlookers. For a moment, Macri thought the man had spotted them, but his eyes kept moving. Apparently satisfied, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. Almost instantly, it seemed an army emerged from the church. Like an American football team breaking from a huddle, the soldiers formed a straight line across the top of the stairs. Moving like a human wall, they began to descend. Behind them, almost entirely hidden by the wall, four soldiers seemed to be carrying something. Something heavy. Awkward. Glick leaned forward on the dashboard. â€Å"Are they stealing something from the church?† Chinita tightened her shot even more, using the telephoto to probe the wall of men, looking for an opening. One split second, she willed. A single frame. That's all I need. But the men moved as one. Come on! Macri stayed with them, and it paid off. When the soldiers tried to lift the object into the trunk, Macri found her opening. Ironically, it was the older man who faltered. Only for an instant, but long enough. Macri had her frame. Actually, it was more like ten frames. â€Å"Call editorial,† Chinita said. â€Å"We've got a dead body.† Far away, at CERN, Maximilian Kohler maneuvered his wheelchair into Leonardo Vetra's study. With mechanical efficiency, he began sifting through Vetra's files. Not finding what he was after, Kohler moved to Vetra's bedroom. The top drawer of his bedside table was locked. Kohler pried it open with a knife from the kitchen. Inside Kohler found exactly what he was looking for. 72 Langdon swung off the scaffolding and dropped back to the ground. He brushed the plaster dust from his clothes. Vittoria was there to greet him. â€Å"No luck?† she said. He shook his head. â€Å"They put the cardinal in the trunk.† Langdon looked over to the parked car where Olivetti and a group of soldiers now had a map spread out on the hood. â€Å"Are they looking southwest?† She nodded. â€Å"No churches. From here the first one you hit is St. Peter's.† Langdon grunted. At least they were in agreement. He moved toward Olivetti. The soldiers parted to let him through. Olivetti looked up. â€Å"Nothing. But this doesn't show every last church. Just the big ones. About fifty of them.† â€Å"Where are we?† Langdon asked. Olivetti pointed to Piazza del Popolo and traced a straight line exactly southwest. The line missed, by a substantial margin, the cluster of black squares indicating Rome's major churches. Unfortunately, Rome's major churches were also Rome's older churches†¦ those that would have been around in the 1600s. â€Å"I've got some decisions to make,† Olivetti said. â€Å"Are you certain of the direction?† Langdon pictured the angel's outstretched finger, the urgency rising in him again. â€Å"Yes, sir. Positive.† Olivetti shrugged and traced the straight line again. The path intersected the Margherita Bridge, Via Cola di Riezo, and passed through Piazza del Risorgimento, hitting no churches at all until it dead-ended abruptly at the center of St. Peter's Square. â€Å"What's wrong with St. Peter's?† one of the soldiers said. He had a deep scar under his left eye. â€Å"It's a church.† Langdon shook his head. â€Å"Needs to be a public place. Hardly seems public at the moment.† â€Å"But the line goes through St. Peter's Square,† Vittoria added, looking over Langdon's shoulder. â€Å"The square is public.† Langdon had already considered it. â€Å"No statues, though.† â€Å"Isn't there a monolith in the middle?† She was right. There was an Egyptian monolith in St. Peter's Square. Langdon looked out at the monolith in the piazza in front of them. The lofty pyramid. An odd coincidence, he thought. He shook it off. â€Å"The Vatican's monolith is not by Bernini. It was brought in by Caligula. And it has nothing to do with Air.† There was another problem as well. â€Å"Besides, the poem says the elements are spread across Rome. St. Peter's Square is in Vatican City. Not Rome.† â€Å"Depends who you ask,† a guard interjected. Langdon looked up. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Always a bone of contention. Most maps show St. Peter's Square as part of Vatican City, but because it's outside the walled city, Roman officials for centuries have claimed it as part of Rome.† â€Å"You're kidding,† Langdon said. He had never known that. â€Å"I only mention it,† the guard continued, â€Å"because Commander Olivetti and Ms. Vetra were asking about a sculpture that had to do with Air.† Langdon was wide-eyed. â€Å"And you know of one in St. Peter's Square?† â€Å"Not exactly. It's not really a sculpture. Probably not relevant.† â€Å"Let's hear it,† Olivetti pressed. The guard shrugged. â€Å"The only reason I know about it is because I'm usually on piazza duty. I know every corner of St. Peter's Square.† â€Å"The sculpture,† Langdon urged. â€Å"What does it look like?† Langdon was starting to wonder if the Illuminati could really have been gutsy enough to position their second marker right outside St. Peter's Church. â€Å"I patrol past it every day,† the guard said. â€Å"It's in the center, directly where that line is pointing. That's what made me think of it. As I said, it's not really a sculpture. It's more of a†¦ block.† Olivetti looked mad. â€Å"A block?† â€Å"Yes, sir. A marble block embedded in the square. At the base of the monolith. But the block is not a rectangle. It's an ellipse. And the block is carved with the image of a billowing gust of wind.† He paused. â€Å"Air, I suppose, if you wanted to get scientific about it.† Langdon stared at the young soldier in amazement. â€Å"A relief!† he exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at him. â€Å"Relief,† Langdon said, â€Å"is the other half of sculpture!† Sculpture is the art of shaping figures in the round and also in relief. He had written the definition on chalkboards for years. Reliefs were essentially two-dimensional sculptures, like Abraham Lincoln's profile on the penny. Bernini's Chigi Chapel medallions were another perfect example. â€Å"Bassorelievo?† the guard asked, using the Italian art term. â€Å"Yes! Bas-relief!† Langdon rapped his knuckles on the hood. â€Å"I wasn't thinking in those terms! That tile you're talking about in St. Peter's Square is called the West Ponente – the West Wind. It's also known as Respiro di Dio.† â€Å"Breath of God?† â€Å"Yes! Air! And it was carved and put there by the original architect!† Vittoria looked confused. â€Å"But I thought Michelangelo designed St. Peter's.† â€Å"Yes, the basilica!† Langdon exclaimed, triumph in his voice. â€Å"But St. Peter's Square was designed by Bernini!† As the caravan of Alpha Romeos tore out of Piazza del Popolo, everyone was in too much of a hurry to notice the BBC van pulling out behind them. 73 Gunther Glick floored the BBC van's accelerator and swerved through traffic as he tailed the four speeding Alpha Romeos across the Tiber River on Ponte Margherita. Normally Glick would have made an effort to maintain an inconspicuous distance, but today he could barely keep up. These guys were flying. Macri sat in her work area in the back of the van finishing a phone call with London. She hung up and yelled to Glick over the sound of the traffic. â€Å"You want the good news or bad news?† Glick frowned. Nothing was ever simple when dealing with the home office. â€Å"Bad news.† â€Å"Editorial is burned we abandoned our post.† â€Å"Surprise.† â€Å"They also think your tipster is a fraud.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"And the boss just warned me that you're a few crumpets short of a proper tea.† Glick scowled. â€Å"Great. And the good news?† â€Å"They agreed to look at the footage we just shot.† Glick felt his scowl soften into a grin. I guess we'll see who's short a few crumpets. â€Å"So fire it off.† â€Å"Can't transmit until we stop and get a fixed cell read.† Glick gunned the van onto Via Cola di Rienzo. â€Å"Can't stop now.† He tailed the Alpha Romeos through a hard left swerve around Piazza Risorgimento. Macri held on to her computer gear in back as everything slid. â€Å"Break my transmitter,† she warned, â€Å"and we'll have to walk this footage to London.† â€Å"Sit tight, love. Something tells me we're almost there.† Macri looked up. â€Å"Where?† Glick gazed out at the familiar dome now looming directly in front of them. He smiled. â€Å"Right back where we started.† The four Alpha Romeos slipped deftly into traffic surrounding St. Peter's Square. They split up and spread out along the piazza perimeter, quietly unloading men at select points. The debarking guards moved into the throng of tourists and media vans on the edge of the square and instantly became invisible. Some of the guards entered the forest of pillars encompassing the colonnade. They too seemed to evaporate into the surroundings. As Langdon watched through the windshield, he sensed a noose tightening around St. Peter's. In addition to the men Olivetti had just dispatched, the commander had radioed ahead to the Vatican and sent additional undercover guards to the center where Bernini's West Ponente was located. As Langdon looked out at the wide-open spaces of St. Peter's Square, a familiar question nagged. How does the Illuminati assassin plan to get away with this? How will he get a cardinal through all these people and kill him in plain view? Langdon checked his Mickey Mouse watch. It was 8:54 P.M. Six minutes. In the front seat, Olivetti turned and faced Langdon and Vittoria. â€Å"I want you two right on top of this Bernini brick or block or whatever the hell it is. Same drill. You're tourists. Use the phone if you see anything.† Before Langdon could respond, Vittoria had his hand and was pulling him out of the car. The springtime sun was setting behind St. Peter's Basilica, and a massive shadow spread, engulfing the piazza. Langdon felt an ominous chill as he and Vittoria moved into the cool, black umbra. Snaking through the crowd, Langdon found himself searching every face they passed, wondering if the killer was among them. Vittoria's hand felt warm. As they crossed the open expanse of St. Peter's Square, Langdon sensed Bernini's sprawling piazza having the exact effect the artist had been commissioned to create – that of â€Å"humbling all those who entered.† Langdon certainly felt humbled at the moment. Humbled and hungry, he realized, surprised such a mundane thought could enter his head at a moment like this. â€Å"To the obelisk?† Vittoria asked. Langdon nodded, arching left across the piazza. â€Å"Time?† Vittoria asked, walking briskly, but casually. â€Å"Five of.† Vittoria said nothing, but Langdon felt her grip tighten. He was still carrying the gun. He hoped Vittoria would not decide she needed it. He could not imagine her whipping out a weapon in St. Peter's Square and blowing away the kneecaps of some killer while the global media looked on. Then again, an incident like that would be nothing compared to the branding and murder of a cardinal out here. Air, Langdon thought. The second element of science. He tried to picture the brand. The method of murder. Again he scanned the sprawling expanse of granite beneath his feet – St. Peter's Square – an open desert surrounded by Swiss Guard. If the Hassassin really dared attempt this, Langdon could not imagine how he would escape. In the center of the piazza rose Caligula's 350-ton Egyptian obelisk. It stretched eighty-one feet skyward to the pyramidal apex onto which was affixed a hollow iron cross. Sufficiently high to catch the last of the evening sun, the cross shone as if magic†¦ purportedly containing relics of the cross on which Christ was crucified. Two fountains flanked the obelisk in perfect symmetry. Art historians knew the fountains marked the exact geometric focal points of Bernini's elliptical piazza, but it was an architectural oddity Langdon had never really considered until today. It seemed Rome was suddenly filled with ellipses, pyramids, and startling geometry. As they neared the obelisk, Vittoria slowed. She exhaled heavily, as if coaxing Langdon to relax along with her. Langdon made the effort, lowering his shoulders and loosening his clenched jaw. Somewhere around the obelisk, boldly positioned outside the largest church in the world, was the second altar of science – Bernini's West Ponente – an elliptical block in St. Peter's Square. Gunther Glick watched from the shadows of the pillars surrounding St. Peter's Square. On any other day the man in the tweed jacket and the woman in khaki shorts would not have interested him in the least. They appeared to be nothing but tourists enjoying the square. But today was not any other day. Today had been a day of phone tips, corpses, unmarked cars racing through Rome, and men in tweed jackets climbing scaffolding in search of God only knew what. Glick would stay with them. He looked out across the square and saw Macri. She was exactly where he had told her to go, on the far side of the couple, hovering on their flank. Macri carried her video camera casually, but despite her imitation of a bored member of the press, she stood out more than Glick would have liked. No other reporters were in this far corner of the square, and the acronym â€Å"BBC† stenciled on her camera was drawing some looks from tourists. The tape Macri had shot earlier of the naked body dumped in the trunk was playing at this very moment on the VCR transmitter back in the van. Glick knew the images were sailing over his head right now en route to London. He wondered what editorial would say. He wished he and Macri had reached the body sooner, before the army of plainclothed soldiers had intervened. The same army, he knew, had now fanned out and surrounded this piazza. Something big was about to happen. The media is the right arm of anarchy, the killer had said. Glick wondered if he had missed his chance for a big scoop. He looked out at the other media vans in the distance and watched Macri tailing the mysterious couple across the piazza. Something told Glick he was still in the game†¦