Living Life to It’s Fullest

â€Å"Begin at once to live and count each separate day as a separate life. † At times, it’s seemed as though life contains an endless supply of days. When I was younger, I thought this for sure. It didn’t matter how long I held a grudge, or how long I waited to do something I wanted—there would be an unlimited pool of other opportunities. At least that’s what I thought back then. Maybe it’s a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood: the moment when you realize life happens now, and that’s all you’re guaranteed. It doesn’t really hit you when you merely know it intellectually, like you know your ABCs, state capitals, and other concrete facts.It hits you when somehow you feel it. Your health declines. You lose someone you love. A tragedy rocks your world. It isn’t until you realize that all life fades that you consider now a commodity and a scarce one at that. But maybe that’s irrelevant. Maybe living a m eaningful, passionate life has nothing to do with its length and everything to do with its width. So, i have created this list with a few tips to live life to it's fullest!!! 1. Live in the moment. Forget the past and don’t concern yourself with the future. 2. Fully embrace the now, no matter what the situation. 3. Do the things you love. 4.Learn to forgive and embrace unconditional love. 5. Live every day as if it’s your last, embracing each experience as if it’s your first. 6. Believe in â€Å"live and let live. † 7. Use quiet reflection, honesty, and laughter. 8. Be other-centered. 9. Find calm in making art. 10. Focus on today and how you can do your best to live it to the fullest. 11. Participate in life instead of just watching it pass you by. 12. Stay healthy, eat right and most importantly, be kind to all. 13. Pray, forgive yourself, appreciate others, listen to your gut, do things you enjoy, and remind yourself that we are all loved and connected . Sandra Lumb) 14. Don’t sweat the small stuff. 15. Question everything, keep it simple, and help whenever and however you can. 16. Try to enjoy every minute of every day. 17. Appreciate life’s every second. 18. Step through new doors. The majority of the time there’s something fantastic on the other side. 19. Remember that all is a gift, but the most precious of all gifts is life and love. 20. Keep your spirit free, be flexible, let go. 21. â€Å"Do one thing every day that scares you. † 22. Don’t attach to outcomes. 23. Spend as much time with a two year old as possible. 4. Enjoy each and every moment of life. Every day is a new challenge and opportunity to discover something new. 25. Budget travel. It is always an adventure! You get to enjoy what fate has to offer with limited means. 26. Be honestly thankful for every breath you take. 27. Just be. 28. â€Å"Trust yourself. Trust your own strengths. † 29. Pause momentarily before everythin g you do so that you notice everything you should or could notice. (Scott Hutchinson) 30. Follow your hopes and not your fears. What have you done today to live life to the fullest?

Modern Information Technology Impacts Our Everyday Lives Essay

Over the past 20 years, the world as we know has changed drastically. We have moved from a world that was bound by wires and copper cabling to a world that offers any bit of information you want with the touch of a glass screen from a device that fits in your pockets. In this same period of time, shopping used to involve planning a trip to a brick and motor store and hope they had the product you were looking for, and at the price you wanted to pay. If you lived in a small market, you didn’t have the choices to comparison shop other stores. In today’s age, a consumer can shop from the comfort of their home, and find exactly the right product at exactly the right price. With a click of a mouse and a charge of a credit card, the product will be rushed to the consumer’s house with little to no effort for them. Large retailers like Amazon.com can have a product delivered to a consumer by as early as the next day! This type of convenience has changed our daily ways in many ways, both positive and negative. For example, people can communicate with each other miles apart from their computers and smart phones via email and texting. While some may say this is good thing that allowing distant relatives and friends quick and simple communication without worrying about distance, others would say that email and texting simply takes a lot of the personal touch from the conversation. With retailers moving their sales online, some people believe that the personal touch of being able to talk to someone directly about the product may detract from the experience. Positive Impacts of Modern Technology We should begin looking at the positive impacts that this new technology has on our daily lives. Technology is evolving very quickly, and sometimes consumers have a hard time keeping up with the latest trends, but the impacts are made every day to help improve our lives. Whether we are using computers to communicate by video conferencing with friends and family in another country, or ordering the latest Harry Potter book to be instantly delivered to our Kindles, these technologies are enriching our lives. As retailers move to the web, consumers are able to comparison shop many different sellers with the click of a mouse. There are also dedicated websites out there that allow a consumer to instantly search for a product from hundreds of sellers, and then find the one that has the lowest price and best shipping. On top of this, the internet provides a way for consumers to research the products they are buying. We can look up reviews from other buyers to see if the product lives up to manufacturers claims. When a consumer decides what and where they will buy, they can have the product whisked away from the distribution center and be delivered on their doorstep by the end of the next day, all from the computer of their home. With the massive explosion of social media sites, people are able to find and communicate with their long lost friends and family all from a central location. We can share photos, send messages, and chat in real time with our connections. Although the entertainment industry has been slow to adopt the new technologies in fear of losing money to â€Å"pirates†, we have seen a huge growth of online video. Consumers are able to find and watch their favorite shows whenever and wherever they like. Television sets are now shipping with built in internet connectivity to allow purchasers to access the internet to watch videos and share photos with one another. Companies like Netflix and Hulu have embraced online streaming and are offering thousands of hours of online video for a very low monthly subscription. These services are not limited to just televisions either. Computers, smart phones, and tablets are all easily able to access this same content for on-the-go watching. Online gaming has become huge in the past few years as well. People can play against each other in massive online role playing games such as World of Warcraft, and even console makers such as Microsoft and Sony have enabled their gaming consoles for online play. This brings the world together as a playing field and we are no longer constrained by our living room when it comes to finding new opponents. With the help of Google, people are now able to research topics in record time. With a few keystrokes, users are able to find information on any topic under the sun. Online search engines allow us to research the world’s libraries and other research facilities. We are also able to scour the web for information. This makes student homework much simpler and faster, and allows them to learn more information quicker. Data organization has also become a simpler task thanks to modern technology. Companies can store their entire repository of data onto a simple database server. They can query this server for any bit of information they need within a few seconds. Not only beneficial for companies, home users are able to store their personal documents and photos securely on their PC’s as well as in an off-site â€Å"cloud† and not have any fear of losing this information when a natural disaster occurs. Negative Impacts of Modern Technology While there are many positive impacts on today’s society, there are also many negatives that are introduces as well. Many would argue that there are jobs being lost because of this new technology. Automated and robotic systems have taken the place of humans in the work force. With retailers moving their sales operations online, they no longer need the support staff for their brick and motor stores. Many stores are not able to keep up with the low prices from the mega-retailers online, so they are forced to close down. With the influx of social media as our main communication medium, some think that we have lost the personal touch of spending time with our close friends and family in favor of sitting behind our computers online. People that are only using social media as their main form of communication could lose the ability to interact physically with one another. The many distractions of email notifications and incoming text messages have also become a detractor. People no longer consider it rude to stop in the middle of a conversation to respond to a text message that has just come in to their phone. This could lead to low levels of concentration. At the same time, malicious people have found easy ways to target those that are online. With the vast amount of spam email and harmful virus spreading around the world, more and more people are becoming susceptible to attack. Another negative impact is the illegal use of technology for gambling and other addicting habits. Online gambling sites attract millions of people per day and can completely consume those with weak will power, leading to distressed families and financial means. Underground websites also harbor criminalist activities as well. Pornography and child pornography are trafficked daily on the internet, and the sheer magnitude of the web makes it hard for authorities to track down and eliminate. There are even websites such as TheSilkRoad that sell illegal drugs in the same fashion as Amazon sells normal goods! In Summary Although we cannot stop the negative effects from this new technology, we shouldn’t fear it. Learning to recognize the potential positive impacts this new technology can bring to our lives while at the same time recognizing the potential threats we will be better able to adapt to them and take advantages and enrichments they bring to our daily lives.

“he Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window”

What would you do if you were given what you thought was the perfect life and it suddenly seemed to turn upside-down? Would you jump to your death or climb back up? â€Å"The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window† by Joy Harjo is a poem about a women who is lost in this big world we live in and trying to find herself while hanging from a thirteenth floor window. While this woman is hanging there she starts to have flashbacks about her life starting from her childhood up until now.The author goes into detail about why this woman is thinking about killing herself because of all the pressures of trying to be some she is not is catching up to her. This poem represents everyday people and how they first have to overcome themselves and their lives before they can truly move on. This poem is about a woman not trying to commit suicide but women who represent bigger picture.The woman represents anyone and everyone who has ever had problems piled up on them, the author uses eth os, pathos and logos to persuade how our social roles constrains who we are as people and because of this the women is hanging by a short thread trying to find herself and put all the piece to the puzzle of her life back together again. This woman hanging from the thirteenth floor is in Chicago, living in an Indian part of the city. â€Å"She sees Lake Michigan lapping at the shores of herself.It is a dizzy hole of water and the rich live in tall glass houses at the edge of it† (Harjo 311). The quote describes how the woman is so frustrated with her like that she takes something so beautiful like Lake Michigan and she turns it into everything she despises. This is a woman not just hanging from the thirteenth floor window, but also from a thread. She is a woman with many responsibilities, she is a mother to three kids, was a wife to the two husbands she has had and a daughter to her parents.This poem is about a woman who is always being stretched between two different people, she fills the responsibility that her family needs her to fill. As this woman is hanging from this thirteenth floor window she is thinking about her life and how her life is no longer just her life â€Å"She thinks of Carlos, of Margaret, of Jimmy. She thinks of her father and of her mother. She thinks of all the women she has been, of all the men. She thinks of the color of her skin, and of the Chicago streets, and of waterfalls and pines. (Harjo 311). This quote describes this woman with many different faces, with various personalities trying to find her-self. This poem is not telling a story of a woman hanging to her death, but a story about a women hanging by a thread thinking about her life, her past, her present and her future. Trying to figure out if she will be a failure to everyone and fall to her demise or will she be able to take all the pressures of the world and make herself stronger and clime back up that wall and be a success.In the poem â€Å"The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window† Joy Harjo is using rhetoric to try and pull the reader into the poem and get us to read in between the lines. Harjo does a great job of using all three ethos, pathos and logos to create a mood of hopelessness in the reader to attract the reader to the story thought the reader’s life experiences. The author Harjo uses Emotion based appeals to show the readers that they can connect to the characters’.She does this by showing the women and how her childhood wasn’t that good and how her life is falling apart as we read, she has no husband yet she has bin married twice and the only thing keeping her alive is her kids, â€Å"She sees other women hanging from many-floored windows counting their lives in the palms of their hands and in the palms of their children's hands. † (Harjo 311). In this quote the woman represents any and every woman that has ever felt like she cant go on because she feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulder.As the story progresses we start to see how the woman feels and we can start to put ourselves in her shoes. The author uses ethical based appeals to help the reader relate to superstations and being stressed. It is significant that the woman is hanging from that floor of this building in Chicago because many buildings do not designate a thirteenth floor due to the fact that the number thirteen is always associated with bad luck. She tries to convince us as readers that the women will â€Å"fall to her death† by adding superstitions that many people believe in.The author uses the woman to get the readers respect so she can convince the reader to respect her so that she would be someone worth listening to. The author also uses logos in her poem. Harjo uses logical based appeals by persuading the readers by the use of reasoning. The way she uses logos in the poem is by implying that if the women can overcome all the diversity in her community, and let her past s lip away and only live in the present and take the good from her life than the woman will live. If the woman can do that than she will fall off the wall and never be abele to clime back up.The author does a grate job of getting to the readers emotions in this poem because everyone will always have problems in their lives and will always have to deal with the pressure of life. The end of this poem is a paradox and leaves you with you own conclusion depending on how you see people. â€Å"She think she remembers listening to her own life break loose, as she falls from the 13th floor window on the east side of Chicago, or as she climbs back up to claim herself again. † (Harjo P. 312). This quote gives the hope that the woman chose to reset her life and to survive.It leaves the reader thinking about how they should change their life or how there will always be stresses in life but to never let that make you loose yourself This poem shows use how our social roles constrain who we a re as people. The poem teaches use how there is always something or someone to live for and how a story may not always have one specific ending but it is how you interpret the ending that makes the story what you want it to be. You learn that your actions don’t just affect you but they affect the world.In this case the woman hanging from the thirteenth floor chose her kids over herself because they were what she lived for. The hole story really takes place in the mind of ever person who has ever bin stressed and said to themselves is my life really worth it to save or not. So at the end in this poem â€Å"The woman hanging from the thirteenth floor window† by Joy Harjo the woman chose to forget everything and clime back up the wall. Life is all about choices and how those choices can shape a persons life.Works Cited Harjo, Joy. â€Å"The Woman Hanging From the 13th Floor Window†. Pearson Custom, NJ: Needham Heights, 2003. 310-312.

Compare coming of age ceremonies for Christanity, Judaism and Islam Research Paper

Compare coming of age ceremonies for Christanity, Judaism and Islam - Research Paper Example Notably, this practice is valued and honoured by all the three religions given its importance in a religious setup. ‘Coming of Age’ is a very important function in the history of religion as it dates back as old as the religions. This is a fundamental stage in one’s life that is initiated and conducted differently by different religious institutions. Coming of Age represents the transition process to adulthood from childhood in the society. The nature and the age of this transition often vary from one religion and divide to another, but with some aspects being similar. In nearly all the three religions, this transition is commonly associated with the sexual maturity age or early adolescence. However, in other religions like Judaism, ‘Coming of Age’ is only associated with the religious responsibility and age. The attainment of this age marks an important stage of an individual within the religious institution. It is after the ‘Coming of Age’ period that a believer crosses over to adulthood with full responsibility and getting more spiritual recognitio n within the group (Coogan, 2003). Being an adult after undergoing this ritual gives the member the rights, responsibilities, and obligations that had been limited. Christians, Judaism, and Islam conduct ceremonies to mark this important occasion that comes with benefits and other adulthood packages, which are strictly served for adults. As notes the Rite of Passage Institute of Cleveland, â€Å"The final entrance into adulthood has been provided from time immemorial by the ‘coming of age’ ceremony†¦.. It marked a critical expansion moment, the entrance into larger responsibilities, large privileges, larger secrets, larger institutions, and larger understandings.† (Coogan, 2003, pp.67) The Western Christians and the Roman Catholic Church conduct the ‘Coming of Age’ ceremony differently.

Evaluation of HRM and Organisation Behaviour Theories Frameworks Coursework - 1

Evaluation of HRM and Organisation Behaviour Theories Frameworks - Coursework Example The paper tells that the ever-changing business environment, increased opportunities and demand for career orientation requires a strategic approach to human resources management. The HR managers must be aware of the skills gap among their employees and identify the need for the essential skills. The success of the organization depends upon the capability of the staff to tap the talents and the skills of the staff. This demands a holistic approach to recruitment and growth and development of people. The difference between success and failure depends upon the recruitment and retaining the right people with the right skills in the right position. Recruitment methods can be formal and informal or active and passive. While the formal methods of recruitment include job centers and press advertisements, the informal methods include a recommendation from the existing staff as well as a personal network of existing employees and others. Word-of-mouth method of recruitment has its own distinc t advantages as the existing employees that recommend new recruits would also ensure that these new recruits are immediately socialized. This is the preferred method of recruitment as it helps reduce employee turnover. The larger firms are more likely to employ the formal methods of recruitment while the smaller firms employ the informal methods of employment. The formal methods are cost-effective for larger firms as they hire in huge numbers. However, the managers are likely to face some adverse situation because those employed through informal methods are likely to receive higher performance appraisals because of the personal involvement (Tanova & Nadiri, 2005). Besides, the employees that are taken in through referrals obtain accurate information about the organization and the job role and hence they have realistic expectations. Nevertheless, the HR managers would need to evaluate the situation and make decisions based on the business environment as the formal methods have their own advantages.

Business Plan Implementation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Plan Implementation - Personal Statement Example Coral Reef Adventures will dive seven days each week and visit a variety of dive sites each day. With over 25 unique dive sites available off the coast of Palm Beach, divers will experience a truly remarkable diving experience. The Coral Reef will operate from a beautiful 38’ Canaveral Custom Boat or equivalent docked at the Riverian Beach Marina. The boat will be well equipped with a professional captain and crew to serve its guests. There will be a Certified Dive Masters on every trip, oxygen and Nitrox fills on board, complimentary soft drinks and snacks and a fresh water rinse area for all to enjoy. Coral Reef Adventures, Inc. will accommodate up to 25-30 customers at a time. The boat will be equipped with 9 well trained staff and state of the art equipment, to make each trip a safe and enjoyable adventure. The company’s mission will be to deliver a variety of programs and packages that appeal to all skill levels. It provides maximum frequencies and options to guests and demonstrates abilities to showcase best dive charter with the best service and safety conscience crew the Florida â€Å"Gold Coast† has to offer. Finally, it endeavors to provide extra value added amenities, the competition does not offer to all guests. My goal is to engender a business that performs at a consistent profitable level, and as my four Sons finish their educational careers, it is my intention to integrate each one into different functions of the business. I would like the company to have acquired 25 new boats from the current single boat in the next 10 years, and grow by an average of $ 2million per year in revenue. I will need to impart teamwork, good communication, reliability and responsiveness to my team. Besides, I will recruit those who have a passion for diving and have shown credible track record in doing honest and ethical business. I will also motivate my employees by reviewing their monthly paychecks upwards. The new technology and social

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 124

Summary - Essay Example The banker contradicts the peasant’s judgment on the state, he or she judges the government based on a future goal that it works towards realizing. Economics manipulates and dictate the political behavior. Administrations lose supporters in seasons of hard times while a massive gain of the supporters seen in good times. The two models involving both retrospective and prospective of the index of consumer sentiment as contradicting variables between economic conditions and approval, it is found out that the probable component adequately accounts for the presidential approval time series. The next article voting successfully addresses an average voter as one who falls far short of the prescriptions of classic autonomous hypothesis in terms of interest, facts, and participation in politics. The authors suggest a more realistic standard involving the citizens fulfilling their democratic duties by voting correctly. Five decades of behavioral research in political science reveals that only a tiny marginal of the citizens in any democracy live up to the lines and goals of democracy. Interests in politics become generally weak, political discussions limited and political knowledge is diminishing. The result leads to the majority of American citizens not participating actively in politics beyond voting. The determination of voters on their correct vote choices can be predicted reasonably well using the widely available survey data. The authors illustrate how the prediction can help in determining the proportion of the voters voting correctly, which they calculate at about 7 5 percent for the five US presidential elections between 1972 and 1988. The third article is a decisive study of voting in America and talks about the American voter. Michigan model is a theory formulated on voter choice. Based on all-inclusive studies of election study data in America, most voters cast their ballots

Research essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research - Essay Example While every religion has its claims to salvation all of them contradict each other. Hence either all are wrong or one of them is right since they all cannot be true as well as this would violate the law of non-contradiction thereby making religious pluralism invalid. We can however base the truth of Jesus being the only way to salvation with proof of history, documented reliability of the bible and the resurrection of Christ. The world situation today certainly brings us to a point where we are left to contemplate on our ways and create new means of holding on to our sanity through religious means. This brings us to look upon someone who can show us the way and enlighten us with the truth. Who else can fit the role precisely other than Jesus Christ who has been acknowledged through the ages as the savior of the world. People try to follow their accepted religion with fervor and hope, it is when they fail to attain the peace and happiness that they so long for, that they look for guidance. When they realize that with their own ways and means of adhering to rituals and rites cannot gain satisfaction they reach out to other means of salvation. There are many prophets and teachers who have enlightened the human race with their concepts and ways. But this has failed to change the attitude of people who rebel against religion itself. In the name of religion there has been a phenomenal effort put into creating our own gods and god men who have laid down the rules and rituals to encourage their religion with dynamic zeal all through history. While the pluralistic world has great appeal to most people for its wide tolerance and defiance to back any religion, this is another way for person to live his life without restrictions and boundaries. It is difficult to relate to very different religion like atheistic Buddhism to the monolithic Islam or Christianity. Judging the beliefs and aspects of each

In what ways does Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut and the ones who walk Coursework

In what ways does Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut and the ones who walk away from the omelasLeGuin does dystopian works - Coursework Example Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin are two examples of dystopian works. In both these stories, the authors give descriptions of futuristic societies that are majorly characterized by the concepts of perfection and equality. In Harrison Bergeron for instance, the author describes a futuristic society of 2081 in which the government has put controls in place to enhance equality in the society. In this society, no one is supposed to have an advantage over the other. Similarly, in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, the story describes the peace, happiness and abundance enjoyed by the people of the city of Omelas, and the cots the society has to pay to enjoy these fortunes. In both stories, elements of dystopian societies are evident. In the story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, the concept of a dystopian society is well brought out by the author’s description of the child that lives in a room with one door and no window. According to the author, the child has been neglected, and as a result, he may have become an imbecile due to poor nutrition and neglect. The people of Omela know that this child is suffering in the tiny room, and even some of them have come to see the child. However, they know that the child has to be there because all the things they enjoy- happiness, friendships, health of their children, good harvest- all depend on the child’s suffering. This is what is usually told to children whenever they get to the age of understanding. This is a clear illustration of a dystopian society in which propaganda is used to manipulate the people. In dystopian society, propaganda is used to control the citizens, just is the case in Omela. In addition, the author shows that even those who sympa thize with the child are afraid to do anything or leave the city. This is also an illustration of

Voicing difference Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Voicing difference - Essay Example If the differences in gender were to be overcome, the whole process of how people think would have to be changed. If this were possible, then down the years, the word "gender" would no even be in usage! It is now vital here that we try to look at how this misconception was shaped in the minds of people in the first place. The disparity in gender generally starts with this accepted norm of delegating various roles according to sex. Even though it has been stated earlier that sex and gender are different, they are very much co-related. There are a set of rules accorded to women and likewise different ones for men. Women are usually seen as the care-givers while men, as the bread-winners. This process starts as soon as a person is born. Right from childhood a boy is expected to be inclined towards "manly" things that require exertion of strength that is derived from masculinity. On the contrary girls are supposed to be drawn towards activities and interests like cooking and dolls. If this distinction was somehow crossed, the wrong-doer would surely be chastised or at the very least warned like David is in "Go,Carolina", when he is told, "You don't want to be doing that, that's a girl thing."1.Therefore gender represses a person's natural reflexes. It makes one do something not because one wants to but b ecause one has to. Gender

Ambassadors Essay Example for Free

Ambassadors Essay Mavromati Panayiotis Karafotias IREL-480-9 For my paper I decided to write about the ambassadors of Denmark, The United States of America and Uruguay. His Excellency Mr. Tom Norring, the ambassador of Denmark, was one of the ambassador’s to come this semester. He decided to focus his speech not on his country but more on the global financial crisis and how it affected Greek economy. He said that even without the crisis the situation in Greece would have been messy. Despite the fact that Maastricht Treaty allows the GDP deficit in European countries not more than 3% Greece had deficit 6-7%. Ambassador said that in 2006-2007 the government of Kostas Karamanlis managed to restrain the deficit to the acceptable level, but later in 2008 they failed. Karamanlis hoped that he would be reelected and he promised to restrain the deficit, but people lost faith in him. Later George Papandreou revealed the new information about the deficit. The deficit for that time was not 8% but 12%. And thus the rescue program was established by the European Union. So Greece took course to the EU and the IMF. They wanted a hard cash and the EU and IMF tried to help with it. Then the restructuring fund was established. The public expenses had to be cut. As ambassador said â€Å"Greece has one of the biggest public administrations† and the cutting of public sector expenses will help to decrease the deficit. He also pointed out that 25% of Greek economy is black economy. The only one thing which he said about his country was that the Denmark is not the part of Eurozone. One of the reasons I enjoyed the speech of Danish ambassador was because he seemed very honest when talking about the topic. When giving his speech, he gave personal examples and continuously referred to the audience. The second ambassador was the ambassador of Uruguay, his Excellency Mr. Jose Luis Pombo Morales. He decided to focus his speech on his country and its relations with Greece and other European countries. Mr. Jose Luis Pombo Morales, talked about political system in Uruguay, that it is a  representative democratic  republic with a  presidential system. Also, he told us that, the members of government are elected for a five-year terms by a  universal suffrage  system. Uruguay is a  unitary state: justice, education, health, security, foreign policy, defence are all administered nationwide. The Executive Power is exercised by the  president  and a  cabinet  of 13 ministers. Plus to that, Mr. Ambassador talked about Uruguay as one of the biggest wool and meat exporter to the EU countries. Mr. Jose Luis Pombo, told the audience, that Uruguay is one of the most economically developed countries in South America, with a high  GDP  per capita and the 52nd highest  quality of life index  in the world. Uruguay is rated as the 2nd least corrupt country in  Latin America  (behind  Chile), although Uruguay scores considerably better than Chile on domestic polls of corruption perception. Its political and labour conditions are the highest level of freedom on the continent. The third ambassador, I want to talk about, is the ambassador of the United States of America, his Excellency Mr. Daniel Smith. Ambassador focused his speech on Greek- Turkish relations and financial crisis. His speech was very diplomatic, and tried to keep neutrality, when some students asked him questions about problems in Libya and Greek-Turkish conflicts. But, Mr. Smith, gave very clear idea, about the USA and its foreign relations. Also

‘A View from a Bridge’ by Author Miller Essay Example for Free

‘A View from a Bridge’ by Author Miller Essay The play, ‘A View from a Bridge’, by Author Miller has the theme of a Modern Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy is a play where fate runs it’s ‘bloody course’, which will lead to the tragic hero’s downfall. A tragic hero is usually a character of noble stature. Just like all people, tragic heroes aren’t perfect but what separates them from the others is that they have a hamartia, a tragic flaw. This flaw will be the cause of the downfall for the tragic hero. Eddie Carbone is somewhat a tragic hero. He doesn’t fit as a tragic hero because in the play, he is a normal longshoreman, which is fairly ordinary in Red Hook. Just like all men, †he worked on the piers when there was work, he brought home his pay, and he lived.† He doesnt have a high status position. On the other hand, he can still be categorized as a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw and an inevitable downfall. In the start of the play, he is also respected, just like a tragic hero. Eddie’s tragic flaw is how much he loves Catherine. His fate is unavoidable due to the tragic flaw in his personality. His unnatural love for Catherine made him jealous of Rodolpho. This again is a device used in Greek tragedy, and can be described as a weakness of the tragic hero. This is a feature that all tragic heroes have; hence they are called â€Å"tragic† heroes. At the start, the tragic hero will be a good person. In the play’s case, Miller portrayed Eddie in the beginning of the play as a loving and caring man. He loves Catherine a lot. He said, â€Å"I want you to be in a nice office.† This shows that he cares a lot for Catherine and her future. At this stage, the audience should see Eddie as a respectable man. Miller also uses the technique of foreshadowing to imply to the audience that betrayal is going to happen. Miller used the ‘Vinny Bolzano’ example. Vinny â€Å"snitches† on his own uncle. In the play, Eddie said â€Å"†¦. hidin’ in the house and he snitched to the Immigration.† Catherine’s response was fairly surprised. She said â€Å"What, was he crazy?†. Vinny Bolzano was publicly humiliated by his own family and shunned from the community. He was not seen in the area since. . Miller added this to foreshadow the fact that Eddie is going to do something similar in the play. This is also an example of how the community functions. They believed that ‘snitching’ is always bad therefore he got punished for it, although the actual law will find it as a righteous act. Eddie tells Catherine that â€Å"you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away†, and with this advice, Eddie gains the audience’s respect. It is also ironic because later on in the play, Eddie â€Å"snitches† on Marco and Roldopho. This loses all sympathy and respect towards Eddie. In the play, Alfieri’s role in the Greek Tragedy is a chorus. Alfieri refers to fate’s â€Å"bloody course†, which immediately brings us to the thought of destiny or fate. This is an ominous statement as it gives the sense that unavoidable tragedy will happen, and he is won’t be able to change the outcome. Alfieri said â€Å"heard the same complaint and sat there, as powerless as I†. This proves that he is merely a bystander looking at something way out of control. He also said â€Å"I could see every step coming, step after step, like a dark figure walking down a hall to a certain door†, which reinforces Eddie’s fate that awaits him. Eddie’s tragic flaw is soon exposed, as he will not accept the love between Catherine and Rodolpho. As Eddie realizes that their relationship is becoming more serious, he degrades Rodolpho by questioning his sexuality. While Eddie was talking to Beatrice, he says that Rodolpho is â€Å"like a chorus girl or sump’m†. Eddie infers that Rodolpho is less of a man. Since it didn’t work, Eddie took matters up to Alfieri. Eddie told Alfieri that Rodolpho â€Å"ain’t right†. He is trying to get the law on his side. Once Eddie is frustrated, he says, he’s stealing from me!†. This shows that deep down, Eddie believes that Catherine belongs to him. Eddie starts to show his jealous side by telling Catherine that Rodolpho wants Catherine only in order to become an American citizen. He told Catherine that Rodolpho is â€Å"only bowin’ to his passport†. Eddie still wants Catherine therefore he challenges Rodolpho directly by teaching him how to box. Miller demonstrates the tension between them through the stage directions. For example, Eddie hits Rodolpho, which â€Å"mildly staggers him†. It seems that Eddie needs to prove himself to be manlier than Rodolpho. This is also the beginning of his downfall. Marco then challenged Eddie by picking up the chair. This grows the tension between them, foreshadowing that something bad will happen. In the final scene, in which Eddie died in, it is also very similar to Greek tragedy. The tragic hero will die reconciled with others and will end regretfully to his actions. Miller conveys Eddie’s remorse and had him reconcile with Beatrice as he cries â€Å"My B.! My B.†, and dies in her arms. Eddie also dies in his own hands. He brings the knife into the duel, therefore it would seem, like most tragic heroes, Eddie is the cause of his own destruction. This gives the play a more complete ending. All problems have been solved. Then again, it can be argued that Eddie is different from a tragic hero because at times he appears to have more control over his actions than a tragic hero does. For example, Eddie was driven to call the Immigration Bureau because of his love for Catherine. Alfieri presents him with another option, to â€Å"let her go. And bless her.† It seems like Eddie has selected his route, which lead to his downfall, whereas traditional tragic heroes usually dont have an alternative option. This is unsympathetic because he had another option, but it was his choice not to take it. Not only did he betray Rodolpho and Marco, he also betrayed his community. He lost all his respect and reputation. In conclusion, Eddie is very similar to a traditional tragic hero from Greek tragedy. His tragic flaw drives him to desperate actions, and in this case he cannot let Catherine go. Fate â€Å"runs its bloody course† as the inevitable death of Eddie is shown. Eddie is stubborn and refuses to â€Å"settle for half†, constantly wanting something he can’t have. His tragic flaw leads the fateful path to his death.

Internal Auditing Concepts for Small and Medium Enterprises

Internal Auditing Concepts for Small and Medium Enterprises INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background Internal auditing is an independent appraisal function established within an organization to examine and evaluate its activities as a service to the organization. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes (IIA, 2007). It delivers greater value to an organization by championing good governance, supporting enterprise risk management rollout, consolidating compliance processes, and potentially coordinating various other corporate monitoring functions (Rick Todd, 2008). Corporate governance is a set of processes, controls, and structures generally performed within the organization by, or on behalf of, stakeholders (including the board or other body directly appointed by stakeholders, to ensure that their interests are protected and their goals are achieved (Norman, 2007). Over the past years, there has been a loud call for â€Å"good governance† of organizations (Zeleke, 2007). In the wake of corporate scandals, widespread unethical behavior, and illegal activity in some of the most respected organizations, corporate governance has become important in both public and private organizations (Tumuheki, 2007). These accounting scandals and legislation highlight the critical role the internal audit function plays in corporate governance (Deborah et al, 2008). It is therefore not surprising that the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) puts a lot of effort in guiding its members to become corporate governance specialists, capable to assist both management and the board (Jan, 2005). Uganda, like other transition economies, now increasingly recognizes that corporate governance is an essential tool for prosperity and economic growth. (Tumuheki, 2007). For Small and Medium Enterprises, especially those with a serious desire to grow and perhaps someday get stock exchange listings of their own, they should consider adopting key elements of corporate governance as this will help them gain access to information and resources for growth. The presence of proper accounting and bookkeeping practices increases confidence in SMEs and makes them less risky to invest or finance. According to Wee Teck (2003), there has been a recent growing call for the application of corporate governance to SMEs. They argue that, corporate governance has similar benefits to SMEs as to listed companies and therefore similar guidelines that apply to listed companies should also be applicable to SMEs. 2.0 Statement of the Problem Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are critical for Uganda because of their role in economic growth and poverty reduction. A dynamic and vibrant SME sector will provide sustainable growth, generate jobs and therefore reduce poverty levels .As companies globally face issues relating to transparency, accountability and timely disclosure of material information, the concept of corporate governance and business ethics in SMEs has gained significant importance (Shahnawaz, 2003). In Uganda, SMEs which form 90% of the private sector, lack organised in-house procedures to manage and supervise internal controls, risk management, business performance and cash flows. This has caused a high collapse rate, with 40 % failing within one year and 80 % within five years (Kasule, 2008) despite the high formation rate. This has prompted me to look at the relationship between internal audit proficiency and corporate governance in the small and medium scale enterprises in Uganda. 3.0 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study seeks to evaluate the relationships between internal audit proficiency and internal controls; internal controls and corporate governance; internal audit proficiency and risk management; internal controls and risk management; and risk management and corporate governance in Ugandas SMEs. 4.0 Objectives of the Study The specific objectives of the study are stated below: i To establish the relationship between internal audit proficiency and internal controls in SMEs ii To establish the relationship between internal control systems and corporate governance in SMEs iii To establish the relationship between internal audit proficiency and risk management in SMEs iv To establish the relationship between internal controls and risk management in SMEs v To establish the relationship between risk management and corporate governance in SMEs. 5.0 Research Questions i) What are the causes of lack of internal audit proficiency in Ugandas SMEs? ii) What role can internal audit proficiency play to promote good corporate governance in Ugandas SMEs? 6.0 Scope of the Study The study will focus on internal audit proficiency, internal controls, risk management and corporate governance practices in Ugandas SMEs. It will be conducted within Kampala District since Kampala area has the largest number of SMEs in Uganda. The SMEs will be studied under the following categories; trade and commerce, service and manufacturing. 7.0 Significance of the Study The study will benefit the SME sector since it will highlight areas of emphasis that they should take advantage of. Scholars and academicians may be inspired to carry out further studies based on these findings. The study is expected to boost the literature gap on internal audit and corporate governance in the SME sector. Policy makers and other stakeholders will benefit from the findings of this research since they will be able to draw conclusions based on the findings. 8.0 Conceptual Framework The conceptual frame work draws upon the works of Faudziah et al, (2005), Laura Michael, (2002) and Tushabomwe (2006) with adjustments made to fit SMEs in Uganda. It explores the relationship between two variables; internal audit proficiency and corporate governance in Ugandas SMEs. According to Gerrit Ignace (2006), internal controls more specifically and risk management have been considered fundamental elements of organizational governance and that, it is the job of internal auditors to help organisations accomplish their objectives by bringing systematic and disciplined approaches to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Internal auditors have an important role in the corporate governance process (Jan, 2007) and therefore need to be out in front, leading organisations with regards to the internal control systems and also focusing on strategic business objectives. They also need to establish themselves as vital cogs in their organizations, rather than as observers who watch from the periphery and wait for events to impact them (Sawyer Vinten, 1996). Therefore their experience and skill in carrying out audit work is of great importance since constructive advice to the Board and management adds value to organizations. The following conceptual frame work will be used to guide the study.

to build a fire Essay -- essays research papers

Interpretation â€Å"To Build a Fire† In the story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, a man is travelling through the klondike in Alaska to find his friends, "the boys". Because the man is only quick and alert to the things of life and not the significance, he finds himself in some very bad circumstances. The man experiences several instances of bad luck such as getting wet up to his knees, the spruce tree dumping snow on his fire, and matches falling through his numb fingers and going out in the snow. I think that the central idea of "To Build a Fire" is to listen to your instincts and the â€Å"significances of life,† because they will help you when you find yourself in troublesome circumstances. The man in this story is so focussed on reaching "the boys" that he overlooks numerous consequences because he is focussed on the individual actions. The man did not respect mother nature's power, in his arrogance he didn't listen to the "significances of life" nor h is instincts so he ended up paying for it with his life. The man "was without imagination" and only understood the facts. He was a newcomer without much experience and thought that he could conquer mother nature. In fact, he thought that any real man could overcome the odds. To him everything was just facts. For example, the temperature was seventy five below zero, which didn't mean anything to him except a number. He did not think of his "frailty as a creature of temperature." He laughed at the "old-timer at Sulphur Creek" when he warned him not to travel alone when it was so cold. The old man was experienced in life he was very wise, but the newcomer just called him "womanish". Even at the end of the story when the man knew he was going to die, he still was thinking that "freezing was not so bad as people thought" and "when he got back to the states he could tell folks what real cold was." This shows that the man wasn't taking his situation very seriously. He wanted to die with dignity instead of thinking of family or people who cared about him, he foolishly thought about how stupid he looked "running like a chicken with it's head off." He was stupid and responsible for his own death because he did not l... ...an the man in many ways. When the man wants to kill him and bury his hands in his carcass to warm them the dog knows. Without thinking, the dog knows the cold is dangerous and that the spring is risky. He also knows that "to permit the ice to remain would mean sore feet." The dog doesn’t know why, but it just obeys "the mysterious prompting that arose from the deep crypts of its being." While the dog may not have the intellectual capacity to create fire or food for itself, it instinctively knows where to go to find "the other food providers and fire providers". The dog shows extreme loyalty to the man and only when he "caught the scent of death" did he leave the man. Because the man does not pay attention to the "significances of life" and doesn't respect the power of the cold and mother nature he does not survive. The dog was able to survive because he listened and followed its instincts. Since the man didn't listen to the advice of experienced people, he was ignorant and never expected to be defeated by the cold. If the man had prepared himself for the worst, his death would not have been inevitable.

Rumors Essay -- essays research papers

Rumor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rumors can be passed easily and are spread on an everyday basis. A rumor is like gossip; some of it true or untrue, and it is passed around by word of mouth. Most rumors start off being true, then when it is being passed from one person to the other, it starts becoming untrue because some people forget details, add new information in, or just change the whole story around. In the rumor experiment conducted in class, a story was told to one person out of four. The first person had to repeat the same story to the next person who of course was waiting outside of the classroom, until it got to the fourth person. The story that the fourth person ended up with was extremely dissimilar from what was initially told to the first person. This is a prime example of how rumors change while they are being said from one person to the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were two rumors in the experiment conducted for the rumor assignment. Both rumors were very different in context but both proved the same thing in the end. Rumor number one was first told to the first individual who was standing outside of the classroom with three other students. Person one listened as the professor said the rumor, and then they had to remember it, and tell the next person (person two) outside the classroom this rumor. The central theme of rumor one was there were two men on the subway who started arguing while many people watched near by.   Ã‚  Ã‚   ...

Free Essays: Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantors Dilemma :: Cantors Dilemma Essays

Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantor's Dilemma Competition is often useful as a means of motivation. However, in the scientific world, competition has the potential to cause many scientists to forget their main purpose in research. The main goal of scientific research is to develop knowledge that will better society. When scientists work together to help each other reach a common goal, science is working as it should. However, with so much competition to be the best scientist, make the most money, and possibly win the Nobel Prize, it is difficult for scientists to share ideas. Many scientists are very secretive. Carl Djerassi, a world famous scientist, describes this competition in his fictional novel, Cantor's Dilemma. In his novel, he demonstrates the secrecy that competition encourages when two scientists, Cantor and Stafford, complete an important experiment. Cantor does not want to publish the full experimental details right away. He explains, "No, I'd like to string this out a bit. Just a preliminary communication first, without the experimental details, so that nobody can jump on the bandwagon right away." Scientists are very concerned with the idea that another scientist may get hold of their work and claim it as his or her own. In Cantor's Dilemma, Cantor decides to which journal he will send his manuscript based on his prior knowledge of referees. Referees review the experiment and pass it along to other scientists for verification of the results. He did not want an American referee to leak the news. Therefore, he sent the manuscript to London where an American referee would not have the opportunity to see the article. Many scientists adopt other people's ideas as their own. Surprisingly, this often happens unintentionally. Djerassi describes grant requests in Cantor's Dilemma. When a grant request is sent in, most of the people on the review board are the scientist's competition. Since they are dealing with ideas and not completed work, the review board has the opportunity to steal ideas. Cantor describes that, "[Members of the review board] can't help but remember what [they] read, and after a while, say a few months or even weeks later, [they] forget where [they] first saw it and gradually [they] think it's their own idea." For this reason, most scientists do not give many details when they are applying for a grant. Competition also can influence a scientist into producing fraudulent results.

Reliabilty and Validity

Test Reliability and Validity: Evaluation of the GRADE A+ Standardized Reading Assessment Assessment is the key to instruction and intervention, but according to Salvia, Ysseldyke and Bolt (2007), â€Å"reliability is a major consideration in evaluating an assessment procedure† (p. 119). Reliability refers to the stability of a tests’ results over time and test reliability refers to the consistency of scores students would receive on alternate forms of the same test, for example Test form A and Test form B. If a test is reliable then one would expect a student to achieve the same score regardless of when the student completes the assessment, but if it’s not reliable then a students’ score may vary based on factors that are not related to the purpose of the assessment. An assessment is considered reliable when the same results occur regardless of when the assessment occurs or who does the scoring, but a good assessment is not only reliable but minimizes as many factors as possible that could lead to the misinterpretation of the tests’ results. It is important to be concerned with a tests’ reliability for two reasons: First, reliability provides a measure of the extent to which a students’ score reflects random measurement error. If there is relatively little error, the ratio of true-score variance to obtained score variance approaches a reliability index of 1. 00 (perfect reliability); if there is a relatively large amount of error, the ratio of true-score variance to obtained score variances approaches. 0 (total unreliability) (Salvia et al. , 2007, p. 121) Therefore, it is warranted to use tests with good measures of reliability to ensure that the test scores reflect more than just random error. Second, reliability is a precursor to validity, which I will go more into detail about later. Validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports the fact that the test interpretations are correct and that the manner in which these interpretations are used is appropriate and meaningful. However, a formal assessment of the validity of a specific use of a test can be a very lengthy process and that is why test reliability is often viewed as the first step in the test validation process. If a test is deemed unreliable, then one need not spend time examining whether it is valid because it will not be, but if the test deems adequately reliable, then a validation study would be worthwhile. The Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE) is a normative diagnostic reading assessment that determines developmentally what skills students have mastered and where they need instruction. Chapter Four of the GRADE Technical Manual focuses on three sections: reliability, validation and validity; but I will only be evaluating the first and last sections which are reliability and validity. The first section presents reliability data for the standardization sample by test at 11 levels (P, K, 1-6, M, H and A) and 14 grade enrollment groups (Preschool- 12th) to describe the consistency and stability of GRADE scores (Williams, 2001, p. 77). In this section, Williams addresses Internal Reliability- which addresses consistency of the items in a test, Alternate Form Reliability- which are derived from the administration of two different but parallel test forms, Test-Retest Reliabilities- which tells how much a students score will change if a period of time has lapsed between test and Standard Error of Measurement- which represents a band of error around the true score. The GRADE Technical Manual reported 132 reliabilities in table 4. that presents the alpha and split half total test reliabilities for the Fall and Spring. Of these, 99 were in the range of . 95 to . 99; which indicates a high degree of homogeneity among the items for each form, level and grade enrollment group (Williams, 2001, p. 78). In the GRADE alternate form reliability study, Table 4. 14, 696 students were tested. The forms were given at different times and ranged anywhere from eight to thirty two days. The coefficients in the table ranged from . 81 to . 94 with half being higher than . 9 indicating that Forms A and B are quite parallel (Williams, 2001, p. 85). In the GRADE test- retest reliability study, Table 4. 15, 816 students were tested. All students were tested twice, the test took place during the Fall and ranged anywhere from three and a half to forty two days. Form A of the various GRADE levels appeared similar in stability over time to performance on Form B. However since most of the sampling was done with Form A, further investigation of the stability of scores with Form B may be warranted (Williams, 2001, p. 7). The standard errors of measurement listed in Table 4. 16 of the GRADE was computed from Table 4. 1, but due to the variances in total test reliability, the SEMs ranged from low to high and due to the fact the measure of error is observable, there will always be some doubt about one’s true score. Overall it will be acceptable to assume that the reliability aspect of all levels of the GRADE Technical Manu al provides a significant amount of established evidence between test forms A and B. As noted earlier, validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports the fact that the test interpretations are correct and that the manner in which these interpretations are used is appropriate and meaningful. For a test to be fair, its contents and performance expectations should reflect knowledge and experiences that are common to all students. Therefore, according to Salvia et al. (2007), â€Å"validity is the most fundamental consideration in developing and evaluating test† (p. 143). A valid assessment should reflect actual knowledge or performance, not just test taking skills or memorized equations and facts, it should not require knowledge or skills that are irrelevant to what is actually being assessed and more so, it should be as free as possible of cultural, ethnic and gender bias. The validity of an assessment is the extent to which the assessment measures what it intended or was designed to measure. The extent of a test’s validity determines (1) what inferences or decisions can be made based on test results and (2) the assurance one can have in those decisions (Williams, 2001, p. 2). Validation is the process of accumulating evidence that supports the appropriateness of student responses for the specified assessment and because tests are used for various purposes, there is no single type of evidentiary validity that is apt for all purposes. Test validation can take many forms, both qualitative and quantitative, and in an assessment case such as the GRADE, can be a continuing process (Williams, 2001, p. 92). As stated previously, I will be evaluating two sections from Chapter Four. Section one is complete so it brings me to the last section, which deals with validity. In this section, Williams addresses Content Validity- which addresses the question of whether the test items adequately represent the area that the test is supposed to measure, Criterion- Related Validity- which addresses the relationship between the scores on the test being validated and some form of criterion such as rating scale, classification, or other test score and Construct Validity- which addresses the question of whether the test actually measures the construct, or trait, it purports to measure. The content validity section of the GRADE Technical Manual addressed 16 subtests in various skill areas of pre-reading and reading and documents that adequate content validity was built into the reading test as it was developed. Therefore, if the appropriate decisions can be made, then the results are deemed valid and the test measures what it is suppose to measure. For the GRADE criterion-related studies, scores from other reading tests were used as the criteria and included both concurrent and predictive validity. For the concurrent validity study, the section compares the GRADE Total Test scores to three group administered test and an individual administered test. They were administered in concurrence with the Fall or Spring administering of the GRADE, with data being collected by numerous teachers throughout the U. S. and all correlations being corrected using Guilford’s formula. The three group administered test given in concurrence with the GRADE Total Test suggested they all measured what they were suppose to but the individual administered test showed evidence of discriminative and divergent validity. For the predictive validity study, the section compared how well the GRADE Total Test from the Fall predicted performance on the reading subtest of a group administered achievement test given in the Spring. Three groups totaling 260 students were given the GRADE in the Fall and the TerraNova in the Spring of the same school year, but the final samples were a little small because some of the students that tested in the Fall had moved so the scores were correlated and corrected for both assessments using Guilford’s formula. Instead of 260 there were now 232 and Table 4. 2 list the corrected correlations between the GRADE and TerraNova which indicates that the GRADE scores in the Fall are predictive of the TerraNova reading scores in the Spring. The construct validity of the GRADE focuses on two aspects which are convergent validity shown by higher correlations and divergent validity shown by lower correlations. In the GRADE/PIAT-R study, shown in Table 4. 21, convergent validity is demonstrated by the high correlation coefficients of the GRADE and PIAT-R reading scores and divergent validity is demonstrated by the lower correlation between the GRADE and PIAT-R general information subtest (Williams, 2001, p. 7). Performances on reading tasks is represented by the first set of correlations and for the second set of correlations the GRADE represents performance on reading and the PIAT-R represents world knowledge. Convergent/divergent information was also provided for the GRADE/ITBS study shown in Table 4. 23. Evidence of higher correlations for the GRADE convergent validity was provided with the ITBS reading subtest, but evidence of extensively lower correlations for the GRADE divergent validity was provided with the ITBS math subtest, which would be expected for divergent validity because reading was minimal. Overall the validity data provided a considerable amount of evidence to show that in fact the GRADE Technical Manual measures what it purports and apt conclusions from test can be correctly made. So according to my judgment in evaluating the GRADE Technical Manual in the areas of reliability (internal, alternate form, test-retest and SEM) and validity (content, criterion-related and construct), the content provided by the authors in the manual and cross referenced with the content provided in the text book denotes the manual is consistent, has acceptable correlation coefficients and measures what it is suppose to measure. References Salvia, J. , Ysseldyke, J. E. , & Bolt, S. (2007). Assessment In Special and Inclusive Education (10th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Williams, K. T. (2001). Technical Manual: Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation. Circle Pine: American Guidance Service, Inc.

Notes on “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

â€Å"Though the novel is entitled The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the story is told by Huck, the key character in the novel is Jim† The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has two key characters, one is the slave Jim, the other; the protagonist Huck. Jim and Huck could each be considered the key characters for different reasons, Jim as he is the main representative of the typical slave (slavery being the most important theme of this novel) and Huck for he is the main storyteller. Jim is an important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and without him the novel would be ineffectual. However The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about the adventures of the protagonist Huck, and it is more likely that the key character of this novel is Huck because we see everything from his view. In a novel which is written as a satiric social comment upon the southern states of America Jim’s role as the manifestation of slavery must be a key one. Incidents in which Jim interacts with other characters and their reactions to him are meant to symbolise the wider society’s opinions on slaves and the practice of slavery. Jim, is a heroic figure in a book whose main characters consist of liars, cheats and scoundrels. Jim always does the right thing if he can, he always feels empathy for others even if those people show no such emotions for him. The incident at the end of the novel when he saves Tom and risks what he believes to be his own freedom is a case in point. We empathise with Jim because even though other characters suggest that his feelings are least important, whose life is lesser, whose existence is trivial, he manages to stay cheerful, and even kind to those who treat him in this manner. This quality makes him even more heroic, for he is a figure who turns the other cheek, and is kind to others no matter what. Jim doesn’t lie or cheat, or steal or gamble and looks down on these activities. Jim is never bitter, he never complains, and never expects Huck to return or even notice what he does for him. However this is no to say that Huck is not heroic himself, his support for Jim, a black man, who Huck has been taught is inferior and as important as a pack horse is astounding, and displays that Huck is strong enough and heroic enough to make the harder choice and choose his heart over his conscience. An example of Huck choosing his heart occurs just after Jim has been sold by the King and the Duke for forty dollars, Huck believes he has been forced to make a choice between Jim and heaven. He chooses Jim with the words † All right then, I’ll go to hell†. It is Jim’s escape and the subsequent threat of his re-capture that provides the reason for himself and Huck to leave the island and travel down the river where most of their adventures occur. Without Jim Twain would lack a reason for Huck to travel down the river and experience what he experiences, without Jim this would be little more than a story about a boy who fakes his own death, and then lives on an island. Add to this the fact that Jim is the leader during the travel down the river. He is the one who knows all the signs of weather, either good or bad, it is he who makes their journey its success and ensures their lives. Jim is the maturest out of himself and Huck. Huck’s immaturity is shown when he puts the rattlesnake in Jim’s sleeping bag, or when he plays a trick on Jim during the fog. Jim’s maturity is displayed by his reaction to the incident when Huck plays a trick on him during the fog. Without Jim the novel would be innefectual because Huck’s development would be stunted without him. One prime example of Jim’s importance occurs when Huck comes closer to fully realising that Jim is a real person too and the colour of his skin does not diminish his humanity. Huck has realised that Jim is a human and that he should not play tricks on him or regard him as stupid, around the end of the novel Huck says â€Å"I knowed he was white inside†, Huck is expresing his realisation that Jim is a human in the only way he knows through making Jim white. Huck’s realisation is well brought across to us just after he has hidden in the fog, and returned to Jim, Jim works out that Huck is trying to trick him and reacts very badly to Huck’s prank. Huck then says. â€Å"it was fifteen minutes before I could work myself to humble to a nigger- but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d knowed it would make him feel that way’. Huck and Jim have a symbiotic relationship, they need each other Huck needs Jim to remain dynamic and keep our attention, and Jim needs Huck to justify his presence in the novel. Jim’s effect on Huck is huge it is through Jim that Huck begins to learn about how the colour of skin does not alter the person inside. An example of this occurs when Huck says † and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n â€Å". Huck justifies Jim’s existence as a character of substance in this novel, for through helping Huck and caring for him, Jim is makes an impact on the reader, and hence makes his position in the novel as one of it’s main characters more tenable. However while it is obviously true that Jim teaches Huck he is not Huck’s only teacher, several other characters such as Pap and Tom also teach Huck valuable lessons. One example of Huck being taught by someone other than Jim occurs when Huck says â€Å"If I never learnt nothin else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way. † It is through Huck and his reactions to various events that Twain passes on his opinions to the reader. Huck is a character through which the author, in Twain puts across his point of view, for example Huck’s realisation that Jim is also a human and also important. Twain is trying to get this message across to the public. Huck is a representation of the common person at the beginning of the novel. He is white, uneducated, simple, and not willing to think about what he is told just willing to accept it. Huck’s realisations about right and wrong, and importantly his own ability to determine this for himself are drawn out and argued logically inside a story which will hold the readers attention. Through Huck Twain frames all the key issues of freedom, racism and slavery, personal integrity and social rebellion against social attitudes of the period. This occurs when Huck interacts with key characters who are representative of a theme or an idea being presented by Twain. For example his interaction with Tom who represents conventional social attitudes, as the novel progresses Huck is less inclined to accept what Tom says or does as correct. One example of this occurs when Huck quits Tom Sawyers band of thieves, he no longer agrees with Tom, and many of Tom’s imagined incidents such as that of rading the summer school picnic no longer hold any credence with Huck. This moving away from Tom and what he represents, is an indication of Twain’s rejection of conventional social values. Jim is the symbolic representation of only one of these points of discussion, slavery. Jim is only a part of that whole because he represents only one of the themes that Twain is discussing in this novel. Unlike Huck, Jim is not the one who reveals the author’s opinions through his actions and reactions he is merely representative of one of these ideas. Without Huck’s presence the novel lacks a unifying element. Jim is unable to fill the void in this regard as he is a relatively static character who does not change. This is unlike the dynamic Huck who changes some of his opinions and learns about many things ranging from serious issues such as slavery to simpler things such as to how to discern what the weather will be. The most important factor that leads me to argue that Huck is the protagonist comes from the fact that the whole novel is told in first person. It is Huck’s views not Jim’s that we get, it is his outlook that colours our opinion, and most importantly his vernacular we read. In fact Jim himself is seen through Huck’s eyes, with Huck’s opinion colouring our own. Huck is omnipresent, this is not so with Jim he continuously disappears when it does not serve Twain to have him in the episode. Debates inside Huck’s mind, the incident when Huck plays a trick on Jim during the fog, and even the whole Shepardson, Grangerford incident are lacking the presence of Jim. When Huck meets the Shepardsons and the Grangerfords, for example Jim magically disappears into the bushes to repair the raft. Huck is in every moment of the novel, and other characters are merely there because they interact with Huck, Jim is no exception. Jim is an extremely important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim represents slavery the major theme of the novel, is forgiving, and kind, however this makes him a heroic character, not the key character. Huck on the other hand is the key character by virtue of his predominance throughout the book, he is on every page, and every line and unlike Jim he is the character who reveals and in effect discusses issues through his reactions, action and interaction with other characters. Hence it is fair and logical to conclude that although important Jim is not the key character of the novel, that honour must go to Huck.

Reduction in Force

More Beer Reduction in Workforce Exercise More Beer, Inc. is a 25 million dollar a year micro brewing company heavily involved in the direct marketing of its various micro brew products. In order to cash in on the internet selling boom, More Beer, Inc. opened two new marketing and direct distributions channels (www. morebeer. com & www. iamthirstyformorebeernow. com). Soon after these websites went live, technology problems, together with sluggish sales killed the company’s profits. As a result, the company has decided to abandon its new direct marketing plan and to reduce its workforce.You are the Vice President (VP) of HR for More Beer, Inc. The President of the company has asked you to terminate the employment for a number of employees. He has given you a list of people to consider and has charged you with writing a memo describing which employees to terminate, the reasons for each termination, what, if any severance is to be offered and what risks might be inherent with ea ch particular employee in terms of post termination litigation. Your job as VP of HR: Â   You must fire 3 of these employees.Two may be folded into existing openings in the rest of the company. The company could make room for all 5 employees but doesn’t have a true need for them. Assume that the company could justify keeping all or none with current needs. Your job as VP of HR: Â   You must fire 3 of these employees. Two may be folded into existing openings in the rest of the company. The company could make room for all 5 employees but doesn’t have a true need for them. Assume that the company could justify keeping all or none with current needs.

Frostbite Chapter 13

Thirteen PEOPLE STOOD UP AND SHOUTED, everyone wanting their opinion to be heard. As it was, most of them held the same view: Tasha was wrong. They told her she was crazy. They told her that in sending out Moroi and dhampirs to fight the Strigoi, she'd be expediting the extinction of both races. They even had the nerve to suggest that that was Tasha's plan all along- that she was somehow collaborating with the Strigoi in all of this. Dimitri stood up, disgust all over his features as he surveyed the chaos. â€Å"You might as well leave. Nothing useful's going to happen now.† Mason and I rose, but he shook his head when I started to follow Dimitri out. â€Å"You go on,† said Mason. â€Å"I want to check something out.† I glanced at the standing, arguing people. I shrugged. â€Å"Good luck.† I couldn't believe it had only been a few days since I'd spoken to Dimitri. Stepping out into the hall with him, I felt like it'd been years. Being with Mason these last couple of days had been fantastic, but seeing Dimitri again, all of my old feelings for him came rushing back. Suddenly, Mason seemed like a child. My distress over the Tasha situation also came back, and stupid words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them. â€Å"Shouldn't you be in there protecting Tasha?† I asked. â€Å"Before the mob gets her? She's going to get in big trouble for using magic like that.† He raised an eyebrow. â€Å"She can take care of herself.† â€Å"Yeah, yeah, because she's a badass karate magic user. I get all that. I just figured since you're going to be her guardian and all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Where did you hear that?† â€Å"I have my sources.† Somehow, saying I'd heard it from my mom sounded less cool. â€Å"You've decided to, right? I mean, it sounds like a good deal, seeing as she's going to give you fringe benefits†¦.† He gave me a level look. â€Å"What happens between her and me is none of your business,† he replied crisply. The words between her and me stung. It sounded like he and Tasha were a done deal. And, as often happened when I was hurt, my temper and attitude took over. â€Å"Well, I'm sure you guys'll be happy together. She's just your type, too- I know how much you like women who aren't your own age. I mean, she's what, six years older than you? Seven? And I'm seven years younger than you.† â€Å"Yes,† he said after several moments of silence. â€Å"You are. And every second this conversation goes on, you only prove how young you really are.† Whoa. My jaw almost hit the floor. Not even my mother punching me had hurt as badly as that. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw regret in his eyes, like he too realized just how harsh his words had been. But the moment passed, and his expression was hard once more. â€Å"Little dhampir,† a voice suddenly said nearby. Slowly, still stunned, I turned toward Adrian Ivashkov. He grinned at me and gave a brief nod of acknowledgment to Dimitri. I suspected my face was bright red. How much had Adrian heard? He held up his hands in a casual gesture. â€Å"I don't want to interrupt or anything. Just wanted to talk to you when you have time.† I wanted to tell Adrian I didn't have time to play whatever game he was into now, but Dimitri's words still smarted. He was looking at Adrian now in a very disapproving way. I suspected he, like everyone else, had heard about Adrian's bad reputation. Good, I thought. I suddenly wanted him to be jealous. I wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt me lately. Swallowing my pain, I unearthed my man-eating smile, one I hadn't used to full effect in sometime. I walked over to Adrian and put a hand on his arm. â€Å"I've got time now.† I gave a nod of my own to Dimitri and steered Adrian away, walking close to him. â€Å"See you later, Guardian Belikov.† Dimitri's dark eyes followed us stonily. Then I turned away and didn't look back. â€Å"Not into older guys, huh?† asked Adrian once we were alone. â€Å"You're imagining things,† I said. â€Å"Clearly, my stunning beauty has clouded your mind.† He laughed that nice laugh of his. â€Å"That's entirely possible.† I started to step back, but he tossed an arm around me. â€Å"No, no, you wanted to play chummy with me- now you've got to see it through.† I rolled my eyes at him and let the arm stay. I could smell alcohol on him as well as the perpetual smell of cloves. I wondered if he was drunk now. I had the feeling that there was probably little difference between his attitudes drunk or sober. â€Å"What do you want?† I asked. He studied me for a moment. â€Å"I want you to grab Vasilisa and come with me. We're going to have some fun. You'll probably want a swimsuit too.† He seemed disappointed by the admission of this. â€Å"Unless you want to go naked.† â€Å"What? A bunch of Moroi and dhampirs just got slaughtered, and you want to go swimming and ‘have fun'?† â€Å"It's not just swimming,† he said patiently. â€Å"Besides, that slaughter is exactly why you should go do this.† Before I could argue that, I saw my friends round the corner: Lissa, Mason, and Christian. Eddie Castile was with the group, which shouldn't have surprised me, but Mia was as well- which certainly did surprise me. They were deep in conversation, though they all stopped talking when they saw me. â€Å"There you are,† said Lissa, a puzzled look on her face. I remembered Adrian's arm was still around me. I stepped out of it. â€Å"Hey, guys,† I said. A moment of awkwardness hung around us, and I was pretty sure I heard a low chuckle from Adrian. I beamed at him and then my friends. â€Å"Adrian invited us to go swimming.† They stared at me in surprise, and I could almost see the wheels of speculation turning in their heads. Mason's face darkened a little, but like the others, he said nothing. I stifled a groan. Adrian took me inviting the others to his secret interlude pretty well. With his easygoing attitude, I hadn't really expected anything else. Once we had swimsuits, we followed his directions to a doorway in one of the far wings of the lodge. It held a staircase that led down- and down and down. I nearly got dizzy as we wound around and around. Electric lights hung in the walls, but as we went farther, the painted walls changed to carved stone. When we reached our destination, we discovered Adrian had been right- it wasn't just swimming. We were in a special spa area of the resort, one used only for the most elite Moroi. In this case, it was reserved for a bunch of royals I assumed were Adrian's friends. There were about thirty others, all his age or older, who bore the marks of wealth and elitism. The spa consisted of a series of hot mineral pools. Maybe once they'd been in a cave or something, but the lodge builders had long since gotten rid of any sort of rustic surroundings. The black stone walls and ceiling were as polished and beautiful as anything else in the resort. It was like being in a cave- a really nice, designer cave. Racks of towels lined the walls, as did tables full of exotic food. The baths matched the rest of the room's hewn-out d? ¦cor: stone-lined pools containing hot water that was heated from some underground source. Steam filled the room, and a faint, metallic smell hung in the air. Sounds of partygoers laughing and splashing echoed around us. â€Å"Why is Mia with you?† I asked Lissa softly. We were winding our way through the room, looking for a pool that wasn't occupied. â€Å"She was talking to Mason when we were getting ready to leave,† she returned. She kept her voice just as quiet. â€Å"It seemed mean to just†¦ I don't know †¦ leave her †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Even I agreed with that. Obvious signs of grief were written all over her face, but Mia seemed at least momentarily distracted by whatever Mason was telling her. â€Å"I thought you didn't know Adrian,† Lissa added. Disapproval hung in her voice and in the bond. We finally found a large pool, a little out of the way. A guy and a girl were on the opposite side, all over each other, but there was plenty of room for the rest of us. They were easy to ignore. I put a foot into the water and pulled it back immediately. â€Å"I don't,† I told her. Cautiously, I inched the foot back in, slowly followed by the rest of my body. When I got to my stomach, I grimaced. I had on a maroon bikini, and the scalding water caught my stomach by surprise. â€Å"You must know him a little. He invited you to a party.† â€Å"Yeah, but do you see him with us now?† She followed my gaze. Adrian stood on the far side of the room with a group of girls in bikinis much smaller than mine. One was a Betsey Johnson suit I'd seen in a magazine and coveted. I sighed and looked away. We'd all slipped into the water by then. It was so hot I felt like I was in a soup kettle. Now that Lissa seemed convinced of my innocence with Adrian, I tuned into the others' discussion. â€Å"What are you talking about?† I interrupted. It was easier than listening and figuring it out myself. â€Å"The meeting,† said Mason excitedly. Apparently, he'd gotten over seeing me and Adrian together. Christian had settled onto a small shelf in the pool. Lissa curled up beside him. Putting a proprietary arm around her, he tipped his back so it rested on the edge. â€Å"Your boyfriend wants to lead an army against the Strigoi,† he told me. I could tell he was saying it to provoke me. I looked at Mason questioningly. It wasn't worth the effort to challenge the â€Å"boyfriend† comment. â€Å"Hey, it was your aunt who suggested it,† Mason reminded Christian. â€Å"She only said we should find the Strigoi before they find us again,† countered Christian. â€Å"She wasn't pushing for novices fighting. That was Monica Szelsky.† A waitress came by then with a tray of pink drinks. These were in elegant, long-stemmed crystal glasses with sugared rims. I had a strong suspicion the drinks were alcoholic, but I doubted anyone who made it into this party was going to get carded. I had no idea what they were. Most of my experiences with alcohol had involved cheap beer. I took a glass and turned back to Mason. â€Å"You think that's a good idea?† I asked him. I sipped the drink, cautiously. As a guardian in training, I felt like I should always be on alert, but tonight I once again felt like being rebellious. The drink tasted like punch. Grapefruit juice. Something sweet, like strawberries. I was still pretty sure there was alcohol in it, but it didn't appear strong enough for me to lose sleep over. Another waitress soon appeared with a tray of food. I eyed it and recognized almost nothing. There was something that looked vaguely like mushrooms stuffed with cheese, as well as something else that looked little round patties of meat or sausage. As a good carnivore, I reached for one, thinking it couldn't be that bad. â€Å"It's foie gras,† said Christian. There was a smile on his face I didn't like. I eyed him warily. â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"You don't know?† His tone was cocky, and for once in his life, he sounded like a true royal touting his elite knowledge over us underlings. He shrugged. â€Å"Take a chance. Find out.† Lissa sighed in exasperation. â€Å"It's goose liver.† I jerked my hand back. The waitress moved on, and Christian laughed. I glared at him. Meanwhile, Mason was still hung up on my question about whether novices going to battle before graduation was a good idea. â€Å"What else are we doing?† he asked indignantly. â€Å"What are you doing? You run laps with Belikov every morning. What's that doing for you? For the Moroi?† What was that doing for me? Making my heart race and my mind have indecent thoughts. â€Å"We aren't ready,† I said instead. â€Å"We've only got six more months,† piped in Eddie. Mason nodded his agreement. â€Å"Yeah. How much more can we learn?† â€Å"Plenty,† I said, thinking of how much I'd picked up from my tutoring sessions with Dimitri. I finished my drink. â€Å"Besides, where does it stop? Let's say they end school six months early, then send us off. What next? They decide to push back further and cut our senior year? Our junior year?† He shrugged. â€Å"I'm not afraid to fight. I could have taken on Strigoi when I was a sophomore.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"Just like you did skiing on that slope.† Mason's face, already flushed from the heat, turned redder still. I immediately regretted my words, particularly when Christian started laughing. â€Å"Never thought I'd live to see the day when I agreed with you, Rose. But sadly, I do.† The cocktail waitress came by again, and both Christian and I took new drinks. â€Å"The Moroi have got to start helping us defend themselves.† â€Å"With magic?† asked Mia suddenly. It was the first time she'd spoken since we'd got here. Silence met her. I think Mason and Eddie didn't respond because they knew nothing about fighting with magic. Lissa, Christian, and I did- and were trying very hard to act like we didn't. There was a funny sort of hope in Mia's eyes, though, and I could only imagine what she'd gone through today. She'd woken up to learn her mother was dead and then been subjected to hours and hours of political bantering and battle strategies. The fact that she was sitting here at all seeming semi-composed was a miracle. I assumed people who actually liked their mothers would barely be able to function in that situation. When no one else looked like they were going to answer her, I finally said, â€Å"I suppose. But†¦ I don't know much about that.† I finished the rest of my drink and averted my eyes, hoping someone else would take up the conversation. They didn't. Mia looked disappointed but said no more when Mason switched back to the Strigoi debate. I took a third drink and sank into the water as far as I reasonably could and still hold the glass. This drink was different. It looked chocolatey and had whipped cream on top. I took a taste and definitely detected the bite of alcohol. Still, I figured the chocolate probably diluted it. When I was ready for a fourth drink, the waitress was nowhere in sight. Mason seemed really, really cute to me all of a sudden. I would have liked a little romantic attention from him, but he was still going on about Strigoi and the logistics of leading a strike in the middle of the day. Mia and Eddie were nodding along with him eagerly, and I got the feeling that if he decided to hunt Strigoi right now, they'd follow. Christian was actually joining the talk, but it was more to play devil's advocate. Typical. He thought a sort of preemptive strike would require guardians and Moroi, much as Tasha had said. Mason, Mia, and Eddie argued that if the Moroi weren't up to it, the guardians should take matters into their own hands. I confess, their enthusiasm was kind of contagious. I rather liked the idea of getting the drop on Strigoi. But in the Badica and Drozdov attacks, all of the guardians had been killed. Admittedly the Strigoi had organized into huge groups and had help, but all that told me was that our side needed to be extra careful. His cuteness aside, I didn't want to listen to Mason talk about his battle skills anymore. I wanted another drink. I stood up and climbed over the edge of the pool. To my astonishment, the world started spinning. I'd had that happen before when I got out of baths or hot tubs too quickly, but when things didn't right themselves, I realized those drinks might have been stronger than I thought. I also decided a fourth wasn't such a good idea, but I didn't want to get back in and let everyone know I was drunk. I headed off toward a side room I'd seen the waitress disappear into. I hoped maybe there was a secret stash of desserts somewhere, chocolate mousse instead of goose liver. As I walked, I paid special attention to the slippery floor, thinking that falling into one of the pools and cracking my skull would definitely cost me coolness points. I was paying so much attention to my feet and trying not to stagger that I walked into someone. To my credit, it'd been his fault; he'd backed into me. â€Å"Hey, watch it,† I said, steadying myself. But he wasn't paying attention to me. His eyes were on another guy, a guy with a bloody nose. I'd walked right into the middle of a fight.

Angels Demons Chapter 7073

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†¦ Angels Demons Chapter 7073 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†¦