Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal Essay

This film pictures events and unknown facts about the life of the Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal. When I am watching the film I understand the story clearer than reading it, the scenes played in the film made my mind and vision clearer. They’ve explain the life of Rizal clearly even though some information is not that important but still they are saying it for the student’s or the viewer can understand more the life of Rizal. In watching the films I’ve realize the things that a man can do. The film started from Rizal telling what had been his life as a young boy was. Unlike any boy, Rizal came from a rich family which can be considered as principalia. His parents were considered to be a good example in their own ways. He had a big family with 10 siblings, nine sisters and one brother named Ponciano. Rizal was describe as a young boy whose eagerness to learn was of undeniable. At his young age of nine, he was asked to live in manila to study. He took entrance examinations and finally schooled at prestigious campuses in Manila by that time. He studied first at Ateneo de Manila University then continue it at University of Sto. Thomas. Rizal also continued his studies abroad and he was able to visit many countries. Rizal demonstrated great talent in literature, philosophy and also in arts. He received awards in some contests that he joined and successfully won the major ones at times. As a student, I can say that Rizal was very hard working and dedicated. He was an engineer, sculptor, painter, ophthalmologist and a writer. I can’t believe that a man can be that good, a man can do many things, and a man can defend his own country. He will not achieve all of that without his friends, of course.

The Yellow-Wallpaper Analysis

The Yellow Wall-Paper Literary Analysis Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses her short story â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† to show how women undergo oppression by gender roles. Gilman does so by taking the reader through the terrors of one woman’s changes in mental state. The narrator in this story becomes so oppressed by her husband that she actually goes insane. The act of oppression is very obvious within the story â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† and shows how it changes one’s life forever. The story begins with the narrator’s use of dramatic irony which already tells the reader that something is suspicious about her. John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage† (508 Gilman). The narrator, which is unknown, states her husband, John, laughs at her but she expects it. In a good marriage, one does not expect their spouse to laugh at them. Even from the first paragraphs, it is obvious the narrator allows herself to be inferior to men. S he minimizes herself several more times throughout the story. â€Å"So I take my phosphates or phosphites – whichever it is – and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again† (508 Gilman).The narrator’s husband is a high standing physician and gives her drugs that will supposedly help her get well. The section â€Å"phosphates or phosphites† gets my attention. A first read of these lines might cause the reader to think she is just a normal woman being prescribed drugs. However, the narrator does not know exactly what type of drugs she is taking. John sees his wife as another patient and nothing else. You see, she takes them simply because her husband is a physician and says they will help her. John is clearly in control of her. Also, the narrator states she is forbidden to work until she is well.John is making sure she does not try to do any type of work at all. He has strict orders for her, one of them being to stay in bed. There are signs of oppression on the first page and more will come. The next quote explains to the reader what types of items are located in the room John chose for the narrator. â€Å"It was a nursery first and then a playroom and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls† (509 Gilman). Here, the narrator explains to the reader that there are bars on the windows and chained rings coming from the walls.The narrator’s use of the words â€Å"barred† and â€Å"rings† make it very clear that this room was never made for children; it was made to control and isolate a mentally ill person. Convincingly, John told her the nursery was the most ideal place for her to rest and get well. Being lesser than John, the narrator has no authority over him. She has no choice. He controls what she does no matter how she is feeing. From the first gla nce, the reader can understand that this room was not designed for children. Furthermore into the story, the narrator states she enjoys writing.She feels better when she writes, as if it is healthy for her. She writes, â€Å"There comes John, and I must put this away – he hates to have me write a word† (509 Gilman). The most important part regarding this statement is John has told her to discontinue her writing all together because it is unhealthy for her. John has shattered her self-confidence by controlling her; therefore she does not say a word regarding the relief writing brings her. The reader must recognize the phrase â€Å"he hates me to write a word† to understand the full emphasis of how John feels about his wife writing.She is becoming awfully depressed because of his oppression. More so, John says everything he is doing is helping her get well. She is his main concern. Again, because of John’s utmost control, the narrator does not tell him she is not feeling any better. She cannot share her feelings with him for he will laugh at her. In this quote, John says, â€Å"and really dear, I don’t care to renovate the house just for three months’ rental† (510 Gilman). Here, John states he is not going to change the wallpaper because they will only be in the house for three months. The key words in this line are â€Å"three months†.These words mean the narrator has to stay in the room with the barred windows and hideous, yellow wallpaper for a total of three months. These keywords might be missed if read over too quickly. The quote needs to be read slowly to realize what is happening. The reason they are only there for three months is because the treatment John has given her is going to take three months. The narrator does not realize this. Under his rule, she cannot stop the treatment. With the ending near, the narrator gradually descends into madness. While examining the wallpaper closely at night she narrates, â€Å"The woman behind it shakes it! she writes, â€Å"and she crawls around fast and her crawling shakes it all over. † â€Å"And in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard† (Gilman 516). The woman that the narrator sees is actually herself. It is a projection of her because she cannot escape John’s control just how the woman cannot escape the wallpaper. Her illness has become so great she thinks a woman is shaking the wallpaper around the entire room. The problem here is John’s treatment. It has caused her to believe in ghostly objects that do not exist. The phrase, â€Å"her crawling shakes it all over† shows how John’s treatment has affected her.The narrator crawls and creeps around the room. She goes around in circles over and over again with no hesitation. Another phrase, â€Å"she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard. † This is the narrator shaking the barred windows try ing to escape the room. The narrator knows you cannot escape because â€Å"nobody could climb through that pattern – it strangles so;† (517 Gilman). This compares to John’s control. He â€Å"strangles† her with his treatment. The narrator is trying to express her feelings but she cannot because the wallpaper consumers her every minute. Her feelings cannot escape the room; they are within the yellow wall-paper.Finally, the woman completely loses all sense of stability and becomes mentally deranged. The narrator has had enough. Her feelings are finally able to escape. â€Å"I’ve gotten out at last, in spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back† (Gilman 519)! John’s treatment and oppression have made the narrator completely insane. She has finally â€Å"gotten out† from John’s control. A new name emerges, Jane, which is the narrator. The narrator has pulled the wallp aper off and she cannot be put back up. The narrator believes it is a separate person but in fact, it is her. Jane† escaped the wallpaper just like the narrator escaped the control of John. In the final analysis, John comes home to see what has happened to his wife. The narrator writes; â€Å"Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time† (519 Gilman)! This is by far the creepiest and most mysterious part of the story. John sees what she is doing and faints right into the path of her â€Å"creeping. † The narrator had to â€Å"creep† around the entire room, crawling against the wall over John’s lifeless body. And now, the narrator was in control.John could do absolutely nothing to stop her. She could do as she pleases. If you look closely, the words â€Å"every time† emphasize that John never awoke. He was dead as the psychotic narrator crept over him. He cou ld no longer control her ever again. As a final point, this text leaves the reader with many predictions and questions that cannot be completely answered. Gilman’s short story proves how a man’s control can affect one’s life forever. The oppression and mental abuse show the narrator’s difficulty living within this unequal climate. This story can put a little â€Å"creep† into anyone as it did with myself.

On-the-Job Training Essay

ASSESMENT OF THE PRACTICUM PROGRAM Its proven and well tested! Experience is definitely the best teacher. There are countless things that I’ve learned during my On-the-Job Training at Best Western Premier F1 (Fort 1) Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila. Being in a new and never-been-to environment was a big challenge to me. I exerted great effort to cope up with the means and manner of living of the new environment that I’d indulged into. Associated essay: Problems Encountered by HRM Students A.K. Kraipak CaseI did my best to blend in and went in with the flow of what the real world is offering, the sheer pressure and always on the move, busy and fast-pacing world of the metro cities. With tall and grand infrastructure, busy multi-lane roads, huge crowd of people whom I passed-by now and then, and the hustle and bustle caused by the usual cacophony of the metro cities created not only by great number of vehicles but also by the muttering shouting people; the digging and pounding of the upgrading and growing enormous new structures made of cement and steel.At first, I was so scared and nervous but was very excited at the same time. While configuring and scrutinizing the entire vicinity of the area where I did my OJT, at some point I lost my sense of direction. It was nerve-wracking yet it was a funny experience though. Good thing, later on I managed to find my way through every destination that I supposed to go to. I w as able to meet many distinct individuals and gained many relevant insights about the hotel industry, getting a profound job and a glimpse of how it really looks like.That very moment, it came to my senses that I must never waste the opportunity that I had, I must give my best and with all extend learn everything what I can learn about hospitality industry that will broaden and expand my knowledge and skills in my field of expertise and never confide myself with the hindrances in achieving my ultimate goals in life. For the very first time, I had experienced a real job interview with a real Human Resource executive in a real HR office. Everything seemed so formal with air of professionalism in the atmosphere of the office.Every personnel were so prim and proper wearing their corporate suits and were very polite and amiable. Upon arriving a bit early of the scheduled interview, I waited for my name to be called by the executive secretary. When the interview had started, I tried my be st to hide my nervousness. To my astonishment, the HR executive turned out to be very kind and easy to talk with. He wasn’t stern and strict as what I had expected; in fact he helped me boost up my confidence that made me feel comfortable talking with him all throughout the interview.Everything went well, I was told to wait for an email and a text message for the confirmation and schedule of the orientation before I could start my training in the hotel. I was informed that their hotel requires their On-the-Job Trainees to render not less than 500 hours and preferably at least 720 hours of training as imposed by the management of the hotel and being very benevolent to the welfare of their OJT trainees, they allow students to have their practices on the desired departments they required to be assigned to.During our orientation, we were taught about the essential features and information of the hotel and its services and standards. They taught us how to handle costumer and do se rvices in accordance to the premiere standard of the hotel. I had my orientation together with some students from De la Salle of St. Benil, Pamantasan ng Pasig, and other famous schools in Manila, Pampanga and Batangas. I learned that even if I came from a college in the province, it doesn’t mean I cannot cope up with them, that they are much more equipped and skilled than me.I had proved to them that students from Saint Vincent’s College possesses an edge in customer service and are much more hardworking and we can compete with them in the field of hospitality industry as being taught and embedded to us by our skilled and competent instructors. I am blessed because all the personnel of the hotel were so kind and generous to me during my training at Best Western F1 Hotel. They had taught me well and were very much willing to share all their insights about their job and about the natures of services in hospitality industry.As per assigned by the Human Resource Departmen t, my first assigned pose was as an assistant of the Accounts Payable Manager in the Accounting office of the hotel, where my task involves with screening and handling incoming calls, attend to guest that goes in the office, receiving and logging down received documents, checking and reviewing incoming receipts and invoices and summarizing them down in the excel table.Also attend to basic accounting procedure and processes like checking salary distributions of casual and on-call employees, second review checking for billing statements and payables of the hotel and dissemination of checked and reviewed payable and reimbursement accounts of executive personnel. Making summary of cash disbursement of the hotel, checking purchase order invoices and filling them for preparation of payable checks to clients.Later on I realized that the office that I was assigned to is the Chairman’s office, the owner of the hotel. In the office I learned to be very careful in my every action especi ally in handling payable accounts transaction for it involves huge sum of money. The executive employees were so kind and friendly despite of their high positions in the company. They crank jokes to break the silence in the office and they are generous enough to share some snacks or food that they have even to me though I was just an OJT.I admired the executive bosses because though they have high positions they are humble and down-to-earth, like the hotel’s General Manager, Cost Control Manager, Credit Manager and especially the Resident Manager of the hotel who he, Himself wipes cutleries, fold table napkins and do table set-ups during busy hours in the function rooms. The next department that I was assigned to was in Housekeeping. Here, I learned a lot of things about room services and standards after my first task as a public area attendant.I have encountered many distinctive types of guest and I was taught how to handle them well. Most of our guest staying in the hotel a re foreigners, that’s why I was told to pay attention carefully to each and every request of the guest especially to Korean’s and other Asian guests because most of them don’t know how to converse well in English. I was partnered to the hotel’s Room Attendant who treated and taught me well everything that I wanted to know about being an excellent housekeeper and effective customer service.He showed me some good techniques in bed making and doing duvet in an easy and fast manner. He taught me ample of towel folds and proper way of arranging amenities in a Premiere standard. He guided me in every rooms cleaning procedure and added some techniques how to effectively finish it quickly and splendidly. He also taught me all the amenities and facilities of each room types. He allows me to have my on hand experience throughout all procedure and guides me if I’m having a hard time.Every time we are done with our room clean-up and make-up room requests, we p roceed to the pantry to arrange the stocks and amenities in the trolley and the storage while waiting for new guest request and room services. I also assigned to the linen and laundry section of the housekeeping department where I learned a lot about different laundry services and how to operate facilities and machineries. I was able to do laundry pick-up and delivery procedures, logging and incorporating each services we had rendered and trusted enough to post it in using the Opera system in the computer.The staff treated me like I’m one of them and they even trusted me with big tasks like when they assigned me to take over the duty of the linen attendant who got sick and was absent that day. Since no one can replace her for a while, they assigned me the duty to handle all linen and laundry responsibilities because they were confident that I am skilled enough to handle the task. I was also given a chance to be the housekeeping coordinator who attends to all calls for houseke eping intended for guest requests and room status reports and updates.I experienced turndown services and did rooms cleaning and services on my own without the aid of a Room Attendant during full house accommodation of the hotel and also assigned to mini-bar housekeeping attendant to check and replenish all amenities needed in the mini-bar and pantry areas. Finally, I was assigned to the Food and Beverage department. This time all my skills and patience has been well tested. I experienced a lot of functions and events during banquet services.It was absolutely a tough task because it seems like we never run out of guests to attend with plus we need to serve them food precisely to the scheduled time and extra services upon requested. Mostly of the guests that we had were from huge and renounced companies like Proctor and Gamble, Mead Johnsons, Holcim, Unilever, and many more whom usually they brought with them guests celebrities like, Coco Martin, Tony Gonzaga, Bea Alonzo, John Estrad a, Kathryn Bernardo, Lovie Poe etc during their held events at F1 hotel.That’s why we were instructed well by the supervisors to be extra careful in handling and attending guests especially the VIP’s. I learned to do multi-tasking and was thought how to do different food station and table set-ups which varies depending upon the kind and theme of the event. I’ve learned that you need to handle each and every costumer well with extra care. As we all know, costumer is the lifeblood to every business. It is a must to treat them well and provide their needs, wants and give them a satisfying service because the success of every business relies on them.I’ve learned to adjust to every person or costumer that comes in the workplace, not every individual is alike so you must know how to handle each situation and adjust to their differences. Also, you need to be versatile, well rounded and able to work efficiently under pressure. In case of any problem, you need to act on it promptly. Being shy or sluggish has no room in this industry. You need to have focus, have a presence of mind and give your best on everything you do.Knowing your job and enjoying what you’re doing also helps a lot for an effective performance in providing quality performance in costumer service, you need to smile, have a positive attitude, be patient and create rapport with the every person that you’re dealing with, especially the costumer. I also acquired from my On-the-Job training that for a person to be efficient and successful, you need to work hard, exert great effort, work well even under pressure, be flexible, learn from every mistake and correct them, never complain on task given to you, respect your co-workers, be humble and have your mind set on what you’re doing.I really had a great experience with all the people around me during my practicum, especially the staffs. They taught me a lot and I really learned a lot from them. All of them are friendly and fun to work with. During the practicum they help us learn many thing and allows us to have a first-hand experience with dealing with costumer and if ever we commit mistake they are considerate enough to guide us in correcting them, tells us what to do to refrain from doing it again, teach what we can further do to improve our learning on different aspects in customer service and expound our newly acquired learning.First they let us observe what to do in different task and how they do it then assist us in performing it and finally let us do it in our own. I also experienced meeting different customer that come and go in the workplace; most of them are kind, approachable and easy to deal with and there are also those who are very strict and rude but eventually I’ve learned to handle and deal with them well, you just need to be patient with them, humble and please them with a great and satisfying service.One event that I can’t really forget during my practic um was when I had successfully accomplished my task well, had pleased a bunch of costumer and they complimented on my service. They uttered that they are pleased with my performance and the management complimented me and said that we were very well taught by our school where I came from because of the quality of good service, hard work and dedication that I showed them.It was really a great privilege to have heard such gratifying words from people that you had worked with. It was as if all my hard work and stress had paid off and I were further motivated to do better, show my best in everything that I do and prove that hotel and restaurant management students of Saint Vincent’s College are skilled, knowledgeable and competent enough to compete with other colleges and universities offering the same field of study in terms of hotel and restaurant industry.Indeed, this practicum experience is really a great help to each every student that wishes to be in the Hospitality Industry for it will really allows student to be more skillful in doing different task in hotel, restaurants and other related establishments in providing customer service. For those who will undergo the practicum program soon, they must be disciplined and must do their best in everything they do. They must be patient, must have perseverance, and must have a presence of mind and willing work without being told.They also need to know well what they are doing, focus, establish rapport with the people around them, be well rounded and ensure quality service to costumer. They must learn to adjust to every situation. And must be eager to learn new things that can help them in the near future because this is just a start and a taste of what the real world can be, where you will face real costumers and problems that you need to please and overcome.

September 11th, 2001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

September 11th, 2001 - Essay Example The events of September11th were a series of suicide arracks committed by Muslim fundamentalists. The attackers hijacked four airplanes and directed two of them into the Twins Tours in New York. The third plan was directed into the Pentagon and the forth one was crashed in Pennsylvania. In spite of different conspiracy theories, the undeniable fact is that Al-Qaida and bin Laden officially confirmed their involvement in these attacks (Chomsky 54). Bin Laden states: "we calculated in advance the number of casualties who would be killed" (The Top September 11 Conspiracy Theories 2006). On September 11, TV viewers watched the United Airlines Boeing 767 approach the South Tower of the World Trade Center and ram into it at 9:03 am. Cameras had been set up around the site following the crash of an American Airlines plane into the North Tower some 15 minutes earlier. The main claims promulgated by al-Qaeda against the USA also included: unauthorized use of the Arabian national resources; un lawful intrusion into political affairs of those countries, support of the abusive regimes; military bases in Arabian countries, etc. Before the attacks, the USA stood in opposition to Arabic countries providing aggressive international politics, and these attacks became a response to its international politics and aggressive actions towards global terrorism. In these attacked, 2,974 people were killed. "The completely unexpected action of an airliner being deliberately flown into one of the world's tallest and most symbolic buildings, followed by the massive loss of life, shook journalists' and viewers' cognitive foundations of reality" ("One Nation: America Remembers September 11" 2001). September 11 has decisively transformed the everyday contexts within which many journalists routinely operate. From the perspective of today, of course, it is easier to discern the emergence and embodiment of the responses they crafted and the interests they sought to advance. Far less clear, howe ver, is what their lasting impact will be for journalism in a post-September 11 world. "On September 11 2001, at around eight o'clock in the morning eastern daylight time, four passenger planes took off from various East Coast cities in the United States bound for destinations on the West Coast" (Crockatt.1). The Northern mass media have the tendency to declare manifestations of Muslim belief such as wearing the hijab and performing the communal Muslim prayer as certain signs of "Islamic fundamentalism, " whereas the wearing of Christian religious apparel or attending church in their own countries are not usually considered signs of fanaticism. The generalization and polarization of all Muslims as "fundamentalists" and "moderates, " "traditionalists" and "modernists, " "fanatics" and "secularists" serve to distort communication. They tend to make the Muslims who are interested in constructive dialogue with non-Muslims apologetic about their beliefs or, contrarily, disdainful about any interaction (Chomsky 76). Investigations of trauma typically connect its emergence to large-scale cataclysmic events that shatter a prior sense of what it means, in moral terms, to remain part of a collective All routines-the stability of life-stopped. Sirens were there instead. The sheer genius of the terrorist strike as strike, its

Advances in Wireless Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advances in Wireless Network - Essay Example People have now mobile with most of the functions that were never thought when wireless technologies emerged. The basic functions of voice and text communications are considered as the basic functions that early mobiles phones had, but the most modern mobile phones (also known as smart phones) are equipped with Wifi communication, Bluetooth communication, near field communication (NFC) and data communication systems along with basic systems. 1. 802.11n Wireless connections are always determined by the radio mode the communication system is utilizing. The mode of radio signal described by the 802.11n access point provides support for 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11n receptors. The wireless signal can be sent to a number of users at the same time. The 802.11n is capable of supporting and operating at two different frequencies to support to different clients with different operating frequencies. An Access Point of 5GHz is designed 5GHz and an Access Pint of 2.4 GHz is designed to prov ide communication to the clients, whom are operating at 2.4GHz (Juniper.net, 2009). The channel band width of the 802.11n is 40MHz. The technology is assumed to be much compatible with the device, as the functions promised by the marketing will remain incomplete without the use of 802.11n (Wewetzer, C. et al., 2012). As, the ‘HyperSlim PX’ has to provide with all possible wireless types of communication, the 802.11n will be the best suited communication. From the engineering perspective the communication type requires software to run that can be corrupt by the influence of other types of wireless communications’ software installed in the HyperSlim PX. The most important perspective is to couple the existing software with some auto backup system to avoid loss of important data in case of any software malfunction. The HyperSlim PX should be made in metallic body to provide a sink for the heat generated during the operation of the 802.11n. As, the access point of 80 2.11n utilized in the HyperSlim PX will convert some amount of energy into heat, the HyperSlim PX will consume much amount of energy to provide enough power for the communication system to work in a proper manner. There are less or no problems regarding the security of the data while utilizing the 802.11n. The maximum transmission rate remains as high as 270 Mbps, which is fairly a higher speed for the communication modal. On the other hand the enhancement in the range of the device will keep the user connected while in motion in a building or a factory building. Protection The Specification that are utilized in the set protocols 802.11n ensures that the communication modal do not report interference to any of the device nearby and do not allow the interference of the any other communication to distort the communication of through the 802.11n. It protection strategy also ensures that it is interfere or accept the interference of any other access points or any legacy stations. On the other hand, users have the right to turn on and off the security feature that are defiantly installed in the 802.11n communication modal. By considering these safety and protection features, the 802.11n is much feasible in the HuperSlim-PX. The performance of the device remains the same in the both the condition, with the full fledged protection and with no protection. The protection strategies of the device have low impact on the device capability of the high speed connection and transmission. 2. Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth is a communication type

Laws and Regulation for The Protection of Chicken in the United States Research Paper

Laws and Regulation for The Protection of Chicken in the United States - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that chicken has been a favorite food by man for a long time. Some of its significant uses are for food, egg production, and for research. An estimated nine billion chickens go to the marketplace and to the food table of every American yearly. Yet despite its many favorable uses, chicken welfare seems to be forgotten by the government. This animal is often subjected to wanton abuses and indiscriminate slaughters that is done to profit few companies. If proper care for this animal is not observed, the loss is unimaginable, and the spread of disease might contaminate people, like bird-flu. Animals have rights that should be protected. This is the contention of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( ASPCA), two organizations that argued there is a need to safeguard animals for sustainability purposes and to protect people from contamination of disease caused by these anima ls. PETA believes animals have rights and that they should live free from suffering and exploitation. But because they are animals they cannot represent themselves in reacting against exploitation of humans; and that animals should be given due considerations too, and a change of traditional view that animals exist only for human use. ASPCA ‘s worry is on farm animals that are caged on the modern farming technology. Accordingly, 99% of farm animals are raised in factory farms whose main objective is for profit other than animal welfare.

Brighton Seaside Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brighton Seaside - Essay Example In 1313, Edward II granted Brighthelmston a charter that allowed market operations each Thursday at Brighton seaside. The market operations developed Brighton into a tourist site and visited by many vacationers. In the 21st century, Brighton and Hove have grown into a world tourist attraction. The new sea front has turned into an attractive and trendy magnet for visitors. Additionally, the newly created clubs, bars and restaurants has changed the area into fashionable beachfront in Britain. Today, it is highly regarded by theatregoers and artists as the main center for much famous west ends London productions. According to statistics, Brighton pier now at 1722 ft. in length with grade two-listed building, welcomes over three million visitors annually (Easdown 2009, p.12). Besides, Brighton seaside has been included among the top ten UK destinations for overseas visitors and top five most favorite cities. Brighton seaside is the future attraction site where one can find culture, good shopping, and enough food with the selection of specialty hotels. It is estimated to host over eight million visitors annually incorporating conference delegates and leisure visitors (Benson, 2015, p.1). According to Office for National Statistics (2014), Brighton is the most popular destination in the UK that is preferred by foreign tourists. In 2013, it hosted nearly 400, 000 foreign visitors. Benson, R 2015, Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore by Patrick Barkham, Book Review, The Independent. Retrieved On 30th March, 2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/coastlines-the-story-of-our-shore-by-patrick-barkham-book-review-10120105.html Farmer, B 2015, Pay Less for Parking in the Rain Plan for Seaside Town, The Telegraph, Retrieved On March 30, 2015

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Death Penalty - Essay Example in agreement with people of similar opinion, death penalty cannot be deemed to deter crimes’ occurrences and therefore ought to be abolished, which forms a valid argument as supported below. Some of the criminals under this sentence mostly commit the crimes from a heated passion under influence of alcohol or drugs or under an illness and therefore represents a faction who can rarely make futuristic decisions in fear of consequences for their crimes. A nation’s murder rate and criminal behavior can be trimmed through addressing the social and environmental factors contributing to violent crimes that call for this form of punishment. The socioeconomic wellness of a nation must be watched. The highly blighted parts in the United States produce the highest number of persons on death row, poverty and impoverishing cases with a huge number declared to have mental disorders. Most offenders fool themselves of chances to commit crime and escape preset forms of punishment (Cromie, 2013). Therefore, death sentence should not be considered as an option in punishing even the heinous

Sentencing Within the Criminal Justice System Essay

Sentencing Within the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example Aggravating factors pointing to a larger sentence include relevant previous convictions, whether the offence was committed while on bail, whether excessive violence was used, whether the victim was engaged in public service or was old and vulnerable. Mitigating factors pointing to a shorter sentence include, young age at the time of the offence, the past character of the offender, the degree of provocation, and whether the defendant pleaded guilty. Clearly the sentence in any particular case will depend on the individual circumstances and it is therefore difficult to compare cases without being aware of the background of facts. In Northern Ireland and England, sentences are assisted by guideline cases which help to ensure consistency in decision making. 3Sentencing The criminal Justice Act 2003 made a number of changes to the sentencing framework for England and Wales. These stemmed from recommendations of the Halliday report, Making Punishments Work" in July 2001. Northern Ireland Ministers recognized that there were equivalent issues to be addressed in Northern Ireland. The sentencing framework in Northern Ireland differs somewhat from that in England and Wales, but not substantially. The notable difference is in relation to imprisonment and its aftermath; In England and Wales, with the exception of short term sentences, time spent in prison is linked to a period spent in the community under supervision and with conditions... These stemmed from recommendations of the Halliday report, Making Punishments Work† in July 2001. Northern Ireland Ministers recognized that there were equivalent issues to be addressed in Northern Ireland. The sentencing framework in Northern Ireland differs somewhat from that in England and Wales, but not substantially. The notable difference is in relation to imprisonment and its aftermath; In England and Wales, with the exception of short term sentences, time spent in prison is linked to a period spent in the community under supervision and with conditions attached. In addition, sentences of four or more years are subject to discretionary release on the decision of the Parole Board. However, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in England and Wales changes that position. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 in section 2.1 addresses the issue of custodial sentences of 12 months or more, whereas an adult offender receives a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, but less than 4 years wi ll automatically be released at the half way point and will then be supervised under license until the three-quarter point of the sentence. The problem here is, the last quarter of the sentence has no effect on the offender unless he or she commits another offense. Additionally, there is good news for the authorities and perceived bad news for the public; When the offender leaves custodial confinement, the government will immediately begin to accrue savings on the 86,000 pounds which it cost to house him in the previous year.

Summer Vacations Essay Example for Free

Summer Vacations Essay 1. What I did on my summer vacations. Last summer, we can’t have a lot of relaxing vacations, because I have to move here, but we have a one weekend that my family and I went to Cancun. We had great time together with the joy of swimming, lying on the beach and got a lot of souvenirs. That was my vacation on July. The weather was so hot. My father decided to go to Cancun beach. We bought 5 train-tickets and went on the trip excitedly. That night I couldnt sleep well. I just thought about the interests. We arrived at 9 am. Then my parents rent a house for a hotel. We unlocked our handbag and quickly went to the beach. Dad brought us a kite to fly it. We swam a lot, until 11 am. At lunch time, we ate burgers with bacon. The food was so delicious that my brother wanted to eat more and more. We took a nap for about 3 hours, then got up to meet some friends. Unfortunately, when we arrived at my father friends house, he wasnt at home that time. Some neighbors told us that he had came to the beach to relax. So we decided to go there by taxi. The cost wasnt expensive. When we arrived, my fathers friend was eating a lot. Then we stay there to swime until 6 o clock. At night, we went sight-seeing with some tourist. We saw beautiful natural landscapes and ate ice-cream. We felt pleasant. 2. How my family celebrates Holydays First, my mom and two girls in my family (Mom, grandmother, aunt, cousin etc..) get together to cook an â€Å"epic meal each year we used to go over Xmas eve to 1 of sister-in-laws house for whole family gathering†¦. There are 3 kids in my family, did the Xmas tree present thing and all that. Would say Thank You prayer when all done. Now 2 are grown up oldest has 2 little ones so history repeats itself with my grown kids and grandchildren. All at my house, nice midday meal and enjoyment of each other. At night we used to put the presents in the tree, but there is no little kids in the family, so we haven’t wait untill next morning to open them, always is a nice time with the family and we vow to make everyday like Xmas.

How Do Smartphones Affect Our Lives English Language Essay

How Do Smartphones Affect Our Lives English Language Essay Smartphones are sophisticated devices used for communication while offering many other different functions at the same time. These functions may include video and audio recording, navigation assistance, music and video player and web browsing through wireless networks and apps ranging from games to highly specialized dictionaries. Smartphones come in different designs candy-bar models, clamshell models, slide models and wearable watch models. Common uses of smartphones besides phone calls and messaging may include video-conferencing, web browsing, listening to music, viewing videos, playing games, tool for different educational purposes, navigation assistant. Technically, an operating system platform open to developers is really the only minimum requirement to classify a Smartphone. Smartphones are generally also expected to be smart. For example if a phone that asks you for the sever address, port, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to set up for email access, its not a Smartphone even if the advertising brochure says so. A Smartphone is cleverer than that because it will figure out the server from your email id by itself. While the majority of people may think that smartphones are for geeks it is actually the opposite because they are generally much more refined and intuitive than the non-smart phones. Smartphones can be used by the not so technically inclined as well, to do powerful things with their phones. A smartphone can be easily recognized by its excellent email, calendar, organizer integration and powerful apps presented in a simple and intuitive way. Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile, iOS are the current operating systems that drive a smartphone. It is the same thing as Windows and Mac OS on our PC. These operating systems help us to interact with both the hardware and the applications on the phone. Unlike Java applications that can be installed on any ordinary mobile phone, applications that have been developed on these operating system platforms are normally much better in terms of their functionality. Through the appropriate OS such applications can interact more easily with the phones hardware. At last count, Apple had over 200,000 apps in its store, while Android had over 50,000 apps in its Android Marketplace. Application categories range from Productivity, Entertainment, Communication, Finance, Health, Lifestyle, Multimedia, News, Social to Travel and everything in between. These app stores are accessible from the phone itself for instant downloads of both free and paid applications. There is no end to how much functionality you can add to your phone. When, why and by who was the first Smartphone invented? (300) the very first smartphone to have been created was named Simon. It was designed and created by IBM in the 1992s. It was in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the COMDEX show that this idea of smartphone was first presented to the world. The Simon smartphone included features like world clock where it could show the time in all the countries in the, a note pad used to take notes, email, calculator, a calendar where it was possible to markup events in certain days and to set an alarm for that event, receive and send faxes and it was also possible to install and play different games. One unique feature that Simon smartphone had was its keyboard. It was the first phone to be using a touch screen keyboard. The On-screen keyboard was a built-in keyboard showed on the screen. For using the phones keyboard, people had to touch the screen with their fingers just like as if it were traditional keyboard with physical buttons. With time the technology evolved and the touch screen was no longer used just for the dialing, it was used for writing too. Smartphones with both touch screen keypad and also the standard keypad were invented because some people were unsatisfied due to the fact that it was hard to write text messages from a completely touch screen phone because of its sensitivity. Such phones were named QWERTY phones. The QWERTY Smartphones helped people to write more easily, and because it looks like a minicomputer, they can easily use it to surf the web, use instant messengers and many other features. The smartphones are great for business persons or anyone who wants features that a computer has, but it has the disadvantage of having a much higher price compared to normal phones. The price is expected to drop as time passes by and technology advances. Is the invention of the telephone a curse or a blessing? (400) A recent survey done by of one million users in 34 countries showed that 62% believed that their work productivity was much better due to new technology.   75% considers the opportunity provided by devices such as smartphones and laptops to remain in constant contact with work as a positive development. Converting down time to work time, and being able to stay in touch with whats happening at work at all times.  This kind of commitment used to be associated with Type A executives, but nowadays anyone with a smartphone can do so too. Many people like to find new ways to be effective, and like to feel as if they are getting better at managing time. However, what is actually happening with many  professionals is not amusing at all. Companies  have taken the opportunity given to them by technology to convince employees to spend more down time doing work.    Nowadays, most people with a smartphone have gotten into the habit of continuously trying to convert down time into useful, work time. Ways in which professionals may be converting their down time to get something done: An employee sending a text message to his co-workers while travelling at 120 Km/h in a train and spilling hot coffee into his lap. A teacher in a PTA meeting thats going very slow, logs in her e-mail and replies, missing two tasks given to her among the various others. An accountant at the swimming pool to watch his child swim the 25m freestyle event, closes a deal during the mens 25m freestyle via cellphone and lies to his son about seeing him break the record for that event. A supervisor attending 3 days of fitness training is unable to do her training without touching her smartphone every 15 minutes and later after getting them written results of her training complains that the training program was not effective enough. A teacher talking to the school manager to obtain a place in the school gets a message from her tuition student asking for help on a revision exercise, just before the exams start. She quietly sends her a reply while the manager is still talking. The manager notices the sudden lapse in attention and interprets it as a lack of interest in the proposals he is offering. A lawyer one more time takes his smartphone to the toilet where he can multi-task and by misfortune his boss husband who borrowed his smartphone, like five minutes before, happened to be there and notices him. More importantly the phone falls in the urinal and the owner quickly picks it up and tries his best to continue his conversation with his customer These habits were developed by professionals who were trying to boost their productivity by converting down time into something of value. Human beings are known to easily develop habits that are hard to stop and these habits can also be annoying to others. There are where cases employees are provided with a smartphone for free by their company executives and managers. It is even seen as a form of reward and indicator of status in some companies. What many of them know, however, is that when an employee accepts the device, they are likely to join the group of the always-reachable, and engage in many of the behaviors that their higher-ups are practicing,   such as: sending and receiving messages at 2:30 am using weekends, vacations and holidays to conduct company business implicitly agreeing to respond to all messages within a short time-frame interrupting ANY activity to find out what my boss wants (If the stories told on YouTube and on blogs are true, then   _anything_ can be interrupted nowadays by smartphone use!) To put it in more Machiavellian terms, companies have found a way to take time and attention that employee used to spend on their own, with their families and with their friends, and convert it to company time.   It starts with the gift of a smartphone. While I truly doubt that there is some master plan, dont doubt for a minute that a manager doesnt know the difference between her employees who are always-reachable from those who arent. Companies can make big gains in productivity by simply giving away smartphones to their employees, while ignoring the added stress that gets created. There are some companies that are noticing what is happening, however. Enlightened companies take a page out of the medical profession, which has long realized that its important to maintain some kind of boundaries in their professionals lives.   Companies can put in place policies that clearly delineate time spent at work, on call and away from work.   Ã‚  They recognize that these are three distinct modes that must be enforced if employees are expected to function at their best. Most employees, however, find themselves in un-enlightened companies and must make their own way, starting with 3 steps they must take. Their first step is to identify the unproductive habits in their time management system.   They can do the kind of analysis I describe on my website (www.2time-sys.com) to find the strong and weak spots. The second step is to create an improvement plan that outlines the habits to be changed, along with some target dates. This gives them some realistic goals to hear towards. The third step requires them to create an environment to make the habit changes easier to effect.   Unfortunately, most habits do not change easily or quickly, and the right blend of supports can make all the difference. Employees who have begun this personal journey need to make a plan to enlighten the executive team.   Most smartphone use started with the CEO and her direct reports, and they are the ones who, in all likelihood, introduced, for example, a culture of 24 hour availability to the organization. In an effort like this, employees need allies at all levels to help demonstrate that bad habits developed in the executive suite can wreak havoc when rolled out to an entire company.   (There is a growing body of data available that can be used in this effort.)   In an intervention, executives can be asked to imagine an all-company meeting in which half the attendees spend most of the  meeting on their smartphones, lost in cyber-space.   (Some would   simply argue that they are following the fine example of their CEO!) If the executive team can be convinced that these behaviors are destructive, then the company can move to specify some specific changes. For example, the US Federal Government has banned the use of cell-phones by its employees while they are driving and conducting government business.   In part, thats because of obvious safety reasons. From a productivity stand-point, however, it makes perfect sense. Other policies can be introduced to limit the use of smartphones and laptops during off hours, for starters.   (In some companies, turning off all messaging devices between 12:00 am and 6:00 am would be a major step.) Each company needs to look at its culture, as well as its strategy, and phase in these changes in a way that makes sense. They need to allow for the fact that habit change takes time, and that a new culture could not be born in an instant. The single employee who decides to change their company has a very difficult task on her hands, however, as she realizes that smartphones have done more to change company culture in the past few years than any vision statement or 2 day retreat.   She needs to appreciate that some executives may decide that they like the way things are going, and dont want to change a thing.   Ã‚  Those companies who take this route probably wont see any immediate fallout as employees cling to their jobs for fear of losing them, but theyll pay later.   At some point in the future, productivity will be impacted on a large scale, as employees burn themselves out and the bottom line suffers. Its much better to make the small, enlightened changes now, than to wait until the cost is higher and the effort required seems to be impossible to garner. All it takes to get started is one or two employees who are willing to redefine what productivity means for themselves and their companies, in favor of long-term results that are sustainable. How and for what we make use smart phone nowadays? (400) .. What are the negative impacts it has on us? (400) .. What are the negative impacts it has on our health? (400) .. There has been plenty of debate as to whether or not cell phones have holistically upgraded our lives. True, they have played a pivotal role in many fields. But are they really that helpful to society? Despite the numerous criticisms against these devices, people dont seem to waver their support for mobile phones. In fact, as of 2008, there were about 304.7 million mobile phone units sold in the whole world. And that doesnt even quantify the number of users, which are abundant in all countries. In the United States, 203 million people own and use cell phones. In Australia, the number of mobile phones being utilized even surpasses the entire countrys population. The influence of these inventions is extreme. As proof of this, they have already broken boundaries and transcended culture. Can you imagine what the world would be like if mobile phones were banned for their harmful effects? Alzheimers and Parkinsons are just some of the diseases being attributed to prolonged cell phone use. But above these, the possibility of getting brain cancer is what most health-conscious individuals worry about their fascination with these gadgets. Mobile phone electromagnetic radiation is said to destroy the protein barrier of the brain and make it susceptible to viruses and toxins. Aside from that, it is also said to destroy red blood cells and cause hemoglobin leaking, which consequently harms the heart and kidney. These harms eventually manifest as an elevated blood pressure and a decrease in the bodys immunity. In addition, cell phone radiation is also suspected of causing another form of physical threat, in the form of car accidents. According to a study conducted by the Harvard University, cell phones are predisposing factors to 200 vehicular deaths and millions of deaths per year. Furthermore, it is also insinuated that electromagnetic waves prove detrimental to the environments health and may cause freak fires in gas stations, as it can unwillingly ignite gas fumes. But with all things considered, cell phones are not solely to be blamed for these ill consequences. As such, the human factor cannot be excluded in the equation. Our excesses and lack of control usually bring about negative effects to our cell phone use. So, it might be best that we learn, while still physically fit, about what we can do to prevent bad things from happening. By using the internet, we can gather enough intelligence to help us live a better, healthier mobile phone using life. How can Smartphone be misused and what can be done to prevent it? (400) .. To what extent mobile phones have made us both poorer and better communicators? (400) .. To what extend are we dependent/addicted to smartphones? (300) TOKYO, May 14 (AP) (Kyodo)-Elementary school students are becoming more psychologically dependent on their cellphones, with about a quarter of surveyed students saying they feel very anxious if they do not receive replies to their emails on their cellphones, a report released Wednesday by a Japanese parent-teacher association said. The report was based on a nationwide survey conducted on 2,400 fifth graders and 2,400 students in the second year of junior high schools as well as their parents in November last year, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers Associations of Japan said. Nineteen percent of the elementary school students and 22 percent of the junior high school students answered that they tend to make long calls despite themselves, while 25 percent of the elementary school students and 26 percent of the junior high school students said they feel very anxious when they do not get email replies, according to the report. The figures for the elementary school students were both up 7 points from the previous survey conducted in November 2007. Emails can be the start of cellphone dependence, said Kunihiko Soga, who heads the association, and added, Parents and children should discuss rules on when and how to use cellphones. Sixteen percent of the junior high school students, the largest single group, said they send and receive more than 50 emails through cellphones per day, the report said. More than half of the junior high school students polled send and receive more than 10 emails per day. It was one to five emails for 34 percent of the elementary school students, followed by six to 10 for 14 percent, and 11 to 20 for 6 percent. The survey results also revealed that 20 percent of the fifth graders and 42 percent of the students in their second year in junior high schools owned a cellphone. Among the junior high school students surveyed, 38 percent said they have email friends their parents do not know about, up 3 points from the previous survey. Meanwhile, 57 percent of the parents surveyed said they have introduced filtering services that limit their childrens access to harmful contents online. To what extent do we expect Smartphone to improve and in what ways in the coming years? (400) Thought it was hard enough to pick the right smartphone as is? Courtesy of the new  HTC EVO 4G from Sprint, the decision just got that much tougher. The first Android phone thats compatible with both 3G and 4G (even higher-speed) wireless broadband networks, the handset promises to offer an impressive feature setand, more important, killer download speeds. Shipping this summer, as high-end mobile communications devices go, the hardware itself is nothing to scoff at. Consider the gadgets 4.3-inch touchscreen, which lets you pinch to zoom and ranks among the largest displays available on an Android phone. Well-suited to music, photos and streaming video, multimedia looks to be an upcoming strong suita bonus for entrepreneurs looking to tap into popular news destinations, social networks and online portals. Speaking of socializing, the gizmo also layers in a specialized user interface known as HTC Sense. Using it, you can access features like a Friend Stream that aggregates updates from popular social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr and streamlines them into one easily digestible feed. Theres also a special function known as Leap that lets you pinch to view open programs, making multitasking that much easier. Bonuses further extend to not just one, but a pair of integrated digital cameras. Theres an 8-megapixel model with auto-focus and high-definition video recording capabilities on the back, plus a 1.3-megapixel unit on the front. The former should prove useful for multimedia creation and content sharing, while the latter could come in handy when videoconferencing or snapping your own facial expressions. Either way, theres massive potential there to connect with clients and colleagues, generate content for promotional use on your blog or website and create custom video for distribution through online channels. Live streaming of shareholder meetings and tradeshows seems an immediate possibility via the Qik application. Ditto for the opportunity to upload HD video to online aggregators such as YouTube and Metacafe instead of the pixilated standard-def footage thats currently commonplace. Connect an HDMI cable, and theres also the option to output your clips, e.g., client testimonials, han ds-on product demos, etc., straight to HDTV, while a kickstand enables easier on-device viewing. Intriguingly, the EVO 4G can also function as a mobile wireless hotspot. A maximum of eight Wi-Fi-ready devices from laptops to MP3 players and digital cameras can connect and tap into its internet connection. Albeit only available in 27 cities from Atlanta to Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle (service launches in New York, Boston, San Francisco and other metropolitan areas are planned for later in 2010), Sprint claims its 4G network delivers 10 times faster speeds than what youd get from 3G networks. Bearing this in mind, large files such as high-def videos and sizable software packages should be retrievable in a fraction of the waiting time users have typically come to expect from 3G devices. Heavy Web browsers may benefit as much as multimedia fans as well, given that support for Adobe Flash is also built in, which powers high-quality animated and video content. Tack on support for a range of thousands of downloadable third-party apps via the Android Market (although, granted, nowhere near as many as youd find on the iPhone), and the possibilities multiply. Coupled with the devices greater speeds, new programs could allow working professionals to connect, communicate and collaborate in a range of unexpected and far-reaching ways. Given enough bandwidth, you could video chat with a coworker live in real-time while watching a corporate webcast and sharing supporting links on the topics being discussed. While its too early to tell whether the EVO will ultimately fly, at first glimpse it appears to offer a wealth of compelling features for entrepreneurs and everyday users alike. Admittedly, chances are even if you do buy one, you may find yourself stuck operating at standard 3G speeds on occasion. Then again, in the immediate, it may be a small price to pay for the chance to piggyback on a wider 4G rollout, and get a look at what the future of smartphones could very well hold. Jim McGregor would like future smartphones to zap the person on the other end when they say something stupid. The chief technology strategist for In-Stat Research is onto something. For now, the closest we probably have to that is the mute button. But a chief technologist strategists job incorporates vision, and thats one vision that many might share. We are really just at the beginning of making these devices interface with the real world through advanced sensors and intelligent applications, says McGregor. Future devices will be able to sense temperature, speed, direction, location, action and be able to communicate with you with information you may want, rather than just the information you request. As CTIA, the wireless trade industry association, prepares to meet in Las Vegas March 23-25, smartphones with even more smarts are in the pipeline, aided by improved processing power, screen technology and internal, as well as external, software. Smartphones are starting to overtake the PC in terms of the primacy of getting information and entertainment from the Internet, says Mike Woodward, vice president of the mobile phone portfolio for ATT. Theres a whole generation of people, who, if they wanted to go find out something, they went and sat down at the computer and got it. Theres a generation coming up behind that, if they need to grab some quick information, a movie ticket, a dinner reservation they immediately reach for their smartphone, whether theyre out on the go or not. App store development Future phones may or may not look much different than the black-slab models so widely available today, iterations of the iPhone. Even though from the users point of view its the hardware that drives decision-making, much more of the differentiation and uniqueness in devices is in software, says Charles Golvin, Forrester Research principal analyst. Look at the influence of the app (applications) market. People arent making their decisions about phones based on what apps to buy. But it is becoming something of a consideration. The fact that there are so few apps for the Palm devices is in small part dampening enthusiasm for them. 0HTC HD mini smartphone  uses the Windows operating system, and  has a  single contact view that displays snapshots of your conversations with a person, be it  call, text, status update or e-mail. The mini will first be sold in Europe and Asia in April. Apples App Store, with more than 150,000 apps, or programs, that can be downloaded directly to the iPhone, leads the way. Palm now has more than 2,000 apps now available for phones using its webOS operating system. Googles Android Market has 30,000 apps and Research in Motions BlackBerry App World, 4,700. Smartphones, which run on specialized operating systems, continue to increase in popularity, particularly in the United States, where 25 percent more smartphones were shipped in the fourth quarter last year than the third, according to ABI Research. While fourth-quarter results generally are the strongest because of the holidays, the results were remarkable compared to the rather lackluster preceding nine months, said ABI Research analyst Michael Morgan in a statement. The good performance was driven in part by falling smartphone prices and the introduction of entry-level smartphones generating greater appeal for new buyers. Processing power oomph Samsung, the leading mobile phone provider in the United States with 26 percent of the market, according to Strategy Analytics, recently said it is creating its own operating system, bada, for its smartphones. The first bada phone is the Samsung Wave, which will be sold in Europe and Asia starting in April. The Wave will have a 1 gigahertz processor, which in the years ahead will become more standard fare for smartphones, experts say. Many higher-end smartphones now use processors of 650 megahertz. The relatively new Google Nexus One uses Qualcomms 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. With PCs, you always used to talk about how many megahertz your processor was, then it became how many gigahertz your processor was, how much memory did you have in it its not so different in phones these days, says Justin Denison, vice president of strategy for Samsung Mobile in the United States. Smartphones now and in the future are delivering similar performance to what PCs delivered just a few years ago, he said. Gigahertz-processing technology will become kind of the new benchmark here very shortly. And certainly you can just draw the line, following Moores Law, or whatever analogy you want to use, and predict how quickly well move to 2 GHz processors in phones, much like we have in PCs. Faster video, graphics performance faster video and graphics performance, so that smartphones can more easily become portable video players, are also part of the equation, Denison says. From a 3-D gaming and graphics perspective, if you enable faster 3-D processing, then you get into more realistic games, games that you only would have seen on your Xbox in the past, so now you can now see them on your phone and they perform in a similar manner. You almost never see personal DVD players on airplanes anymore, notes Woodward of ATT. Instead, youre starting to see people sitting there and watching their smartphones. Phone displays screens, too, will continue to improve in resolution and technology. Last year, for example, Samsung introduced some feature phones that use AMOLED active matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode energy-efficient display technology which makes the screen brighter. The company plans a Super AMOLED display for the new Wave, which has a 3.3-inch display. In really simple terms, with super AMOLED, weve integrated that touch-screen layer onto the display itself, so weve kind of combined those two, says Denison. That makes the device thinner, as well as less error-prone (to touch) and more responsive, as opposed to having two (display) layers that have to communicate to each other. Multitasking As part of seeing smartphones continue to behave in a richer fashion, so as to imitate the PC, Woodward says, multitasking is something we would expect to see happening. Multitasking the ability to run more than one program at once, and switch back and forth seamlessly is handled fluidly on some smartphones like the Palm, where, for example, you can be reading your e-mail and listening to music at the same time. Many iPhone users hope that the next-generation, iPhone OS 4.0, will incorporate multitasking, although Apple has not commented on that. Multitasking has been part of Windows Mobiles operating system, although it will not be part of Microsofts newest OS update, Windows Mobile 7. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.) Among the reasons multitasking is discouraged in phones is because of security issues, and because its the kind of activity that can more quickly drain a phones battery. And that may be where the smartphone-as-PC notion loses ground for some. Still, others are excited about the potential use of sensors that can communicate with the phone for a variety of tasks. One company, Synaptics, has a new development platform called Fuse. It is still rather simple, but it at least starts using sensors for gesture and motion control, says McGregor of In-Stat Research. This isnt much, but it allows you to finally have a handset that you can use with one hand, which is a novel concept. Whether its sensors or watches or heart monitors, thats a coming capability, says Golvin. And many of those sensors will use a low-power version of Bluetooth, the short-range wireless technology, which will have very little battery drain. That version should be available by the end of this year. Conclusion Abstract

Discuss the argument that the current pre-dominance of black athletes :: essays research papers fc

Discuss the argument that the current pre-dominance of black athletes in world sprinting is a social and not a ‘racial’ phenomenon. The following essay will discuss the argument that the current pre-dominance of black athletes in the world of sprinting is a social and not a racial phenomenon. Firstly the article will examine the physical differences between black and white athletes. Secondly, this article will discuss stereotypical beliefs in the world of sport. This essay will give an objective examination of the above issues and to challenge beliefs held and conveyed by individuals. The best 200 times for the 100m sprints, which are all under 10 seconds are all currently held by black athletes, and in addition sprinter of West African decent have filled all eight lanes at the last four Olympics. There is much preprandial musing on why it is that so many of the worlds best runners are black. The issue of race in sport is somewhat baffling in that many people would rather not address at all even though sport has been intricately intertwined with racial issues throughout the Twentieth century. Those who would have us omit the topic altogether argue that analyses typically single out the black athlete, and then attempt to explain his/her inordinate success in ways different than we do with other groups. Critics contend that this is racist, since it perpetuates the idea that blacks are different, and often inferior. Edwards (1972) asserts that a typical theme resulting from such analysis is that blacks are physically superior, but intellectually inferior, to whites. Hoberman (1997) has further made the case that physical prowess, especially in such sports as basketball, has become a defining characteristic of the African-American community, and that beliefs about physical superiority are closely related to an anti-intellectualism that permeates black male culture. Essentiall y, Hoberman’s argument is that inordinate attention and idolization of prominent black athletes such as Michael Jordan has focused attention away from more realistic and important role models, and this, in turn has stunted intellectual, and social economic development in black communities. Dramatically different percentages of blacks and whites engaged in various sports are not random events. It appears that blacks concentrate on sports in which future economic incentives exist, and in which exclusive training facilities, equipment, and personalized coaching is not necessary during the developmental years. On the other hand, whites tend to gravitate toward individual sports in which developmental expenses are relatively high; they tend to engage in team sports in which future employment as professionals is minimal.

Essay on Satire, Sarcasm, and Irony in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Satire, Sarcasm, and Irony in Catch-22  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Joseph Heller's narration, dialogue, and characterization in Catch-22 all create a unique perspective of war and our society's bureaucracy. The satire, sarcasm, irony, and general absurdity of the novel provide a view of the irrationality of man's behavior. The horror that is portrayed in Catch-22 is intensified by the humorous way in which it is portrayed. Distortion and exaggeration highlight the characters and scenario while magnifying the confusion. Parallel structure and repetition serve to reinforce the novel's themes.    The most important and prevalent aspects of Heller's style are satire, sarcasm, and irony. Heller pokes fun at the faults of society. At the same time, this humor emphasizes Heller's social commentary much more effectively than he could by simply coming out and stating his opinion.    Satire is particularly important in Catch-22. It is often used to highlight the idiocy of the military hierarchy. It also conveys a sense of humor that opposes and intensifies the dark seriousness of the book.    Language is also satirized when Heller makes fun of the "official" jargon used by military personnel. Sarcasm could be considered a counterpart of satire. The characters portrayed in the novel use sarcasm profusely. The author's view is made clear with the blatant sarcasm used by both Yossarian and the narrator: "...how much reverence can you have for a supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of creation?"( 98)    Irony is another important aspect of the novel. Irony is an integral part of the "Catch-22" philosophy. The irony of the "catch" is that it perpetuates itsel... ... in the novel. For example:    "I'm cold," Snowden said softly. "I'm cold" "You're going to be all right, kid," Yossarian reassured him with a grin. "You're going to be all right." "I'm cold," Snowden said again in a frail, childlike voice. "I'm cold." "There, there," Yossarian said, because he did not know what else to say. "There, there." "I'm cold," Snowden whispered. "I'm cold." "There, there. There, there."    All of these aspects of style come together very well. They play off of each other and are combined easily and appropriately. It is this culmination of styles that makes Catch-22 so effective.    Works Cited and Consulted Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Kennard, Jean E. "Joseph Heller: At War with Absurdity." Contemporary Literary Criticism.(75-87) Ed. Roger Matuz. Detroit:L Gale 1990.

Adaptive Thresholding :: essays research papers

Summary We have to develop an adaptive thresholding system for greyscale image binarisation. The simplest way to use image binarisation is to choose a threshold value, and classify all pixels with values above this threshold value as white and all other pixels as black. Thresholding essentially involves turning a colour or greyscale image into a 1-bit binary image. If, say, the left half of an image had a lower brightness range than the right half, we make use of Adaptive Thresholding. Global thresholding uses a fixed threshold for all pixels in the image and therefore works only if the intensity histogram of the input image contains distinct peaks corresponding to the desired subject and background. Hence, it cannot deal with images containing, for example, a strong illumination gradient. Local adaptive thresholding, on the other hand, selects an individual threshold for each pixel based on the range of intensity values in its local neighbourhood. This allows for thresholding of an image whose global intensity histogram doesn't contain distinctive peaks. The assumption behind method is that smaller image regions are more likely to have approximately uniform illumination, thus being more suitable for thresholding. Firstly, we develop a method based on the local row average to binarise the current line using that threshold. We then extend this technique to a moving window of different sizes. Method For the first part of the assignment, we develop a method based on the local row average to binarise the current line using that threshold. We consider each individual row at a time; calculate the average brightness value for that row based on the brightness values of all the pixels in that row. We then use this average value to binarise that row. We then proceed to the next row and so on. In this way we binarise the whole image. For the second part of the assignment, we make a window of user defined size around the centre pixel under consideration, calculate the average value for all the pixels in this window and then binarise that centre pixel using this average value as the threshold value. We continue this procedure till we binarise the whole image. For the pixels towards the edges of the image, we check for the number of pixels preceding the centre pixel. If this number is less than half the window size, we modify our code accordingly to take care so that we calculate the average value for that centre pixel.

Article Analysis on Mate Selection Essay

The entire article is based on evolutionary psychology and the title of the article is Mate Selection criteria: A trait desirability assessment study of sex differences of Serbia. The entire paper examines the predictions from socio-structural perspective and evolutionary on sex differences in the mate selection in Serbia. There were a total of 127 respondents that were taken from Serbia and the respondents were mainly college students. The method of Likert scale was used and they were questioned about 60 behavioral traits and personality traits. Differences were obtained on the basis of perceived desirably of strengths, self pity, fragility, thinness’s and beauty. The males in this study consider these traits as more desirable and the females valued strength of the male positively. Female respondents are more concerned with the physical appearance of their partners. Similarly, in this study females are also concerned about the socio-economic class of males. A generalized approach cannot be used in this study because Serbian people are distinct in their culture. Similarly, in this study both sexes are attracted with each other on different factors like sexual attractiveness, beauty, socio-economic factors etc. The purpose of the researcher was to evaluate the sex differences in Serbia. However the actual hypothesis of this research paper is based on the functionality of mate selection criteria that is based on the perspective of subordinate position of women. The entire research was carried out by Bojan Todosijevic, Snezana Ljubinkovic, and Aleksandra Arancic (Todosijevic, Ljubinkovic, & Arancic, 2003). The research was headed by the department of psychology which belongs to the University of Novi. As far as the findings of this research is considered quantitative analysis is used in this the entire research to evaluate the findings of this research. Findings of this research depicts that the traits that are assessed are sincerity, tenderness, passion, maturity, intelligence and etc. The desirable traits among both the sexes are courage, thinness, talent for sports, beauty, elegance, aggressiveness and etc. Both the sexes agree on the general ordering of the traits but the research have identifies certain significant differences statistically. Males consider the traits of self-pity, thinness, beauty; fearfulness as more desirable and the probability of these traits are less than 0. 1. Findings suggest that men scored quite higher on the former items and the character traits were considered to be more desirable by the females. Discussion of the topics with respect to the article The topic of selecting a life time companion and the topic of comparison levels can be related with this research paper (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2007). Certain traits are discussed in this research paper and the through different statistical tools the results are evaluated. In both the topics of the text book the traits are discussed and both the topics evaluate that effectiveness of traits. The phenomenon of how to select an appropriate life partner is discussed and what should an individual do when he/she is selecting its soul mate. Similarly, the other topic of comparison levels discusses the comparison levels between the two sexes. In this research paper research is conducted on the traits of males and females and how both of them select their partners based on these traits. The phenomenon of Likert scale is used in the entire research. Conclusion The hypothesis in this research paper was formulated on the basis of evolutionary psychology. The results of this paper depicts that males give more preference to physical attractiveness of their potential mates. On the other hand women consider socio-economic factors like success in job, capability to earn and wealth related factors as important. The traits that are discussed in this research paper are dependent on culture and it varies with culture to culture. All the traits are evaluated in this research and generalized results are attained from the study (Todosijevic, Ljubinkovic, & Arancic, 2003). The hypothesis that was derived with higher socio-economic interpretation that was related to women should be considered as less important as compared to the hypothesis on evolutionary psychology. In the entire research paper different traits were evaluated and results were achieved through Likert scales. Before reading the article one cannot depict that which traits are more important for women and for men and since the entire article talks about traits and their effectiveness that is the reason why it becomes quite easy to filter out which traits are necessary for men and which are important for women. Statistical analyses are used in this article which helps the reader in finding the viability of the results. This article can definitely help an individual in selecting its partner and after reading this article one can check the traits discussed in this article with the traits that are present in his/her partner or the traits which he/she desires for (Todosijevic, Ljubinkovic, & Arancic, 2003). References Anderson, S. , & Sabatelli, R. (2007). Family Interaction: A Multigenerational Developmental Perspective. Allyn & Bacon. Todosijevic, B. , Ljubinkovic, S. , & Arancic, A. (2003). Mate selection criteria: A trait desirability assessment study of sex differences in Serbia. University in Novi.

Angels Demons Chapter 1-5

1 High atop the steps of the Pyramid of Giza a young woman laughed and called down to him. â€Å"Robert, hurry up! I knew I should have married a younger man!† Her smile was magic. He struggled to keep up, but his legs felt like stone. â€Å"Wait,† he begged. â€Å"Please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As he climbed, his vision began to blur. There was a thundering in his ears. I must reach her! But when he looked up again, the woman had disappeared. In her place stood an old man with rotting teeth. The man stared down, curling his lips into a lonely grimace. Then he let out a scream of anguish that resounded across the desert. Robert Langdon awoke with a start from his nightmare. The phone beside his bed was ringing. Dazed, he picked up the receiver. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"I'm looking for Robert Langdon,† a man's voice said. Langdon sat up in his empty bed and tried to clear his mind. â€Å"This†¦ is Robert Langdon.† He squinted at his digital clock. It was 5:18 A.M. â€Å"I must see you immediately.† â€Å"Who is this?† â€Å"My name is Maximilian Kohler. I'm a discrete particle physicist.† â€Å"A what?† Langdon could barely focus. â€Å"Are you sure you've got the right Langdon?† â€Å"You're a professor of religious iconology at Harvard University. You've written three books on symbology and – â€Å" â€Å"Do you know what time it is?† â€Å"I apologize. I have something you need to see. I can't discuss it on the phone.† A knowing groan escaped Langdon's lips. This had happened before. One of the perils of writing books about religious symbology was the calls from religious zealots who wanted him to confirm their latest sign from God. Last month a stripper from Oklahoma had promised Langdon the best sex of his life if he would fly down and verify the authenticity of a cruciform that had magically appeared on her bed sheets. The Shroud of Tulsa, Langdon had called it. â€Å"How did you get my number?† Langdon tried to be polite, despite the hour. â€Å"On the Worldwide Web. The site for your book.† Langdon frowned. He was damn sure his book's site did not include his home phone number. The man was obviously lying. â€Å"I need to see you,† the caller insisted. â€Å"I'll pay you well.† Now Langdon was getting mad. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I really – â€Å" â€Å"If you leave immediately, you can be here by – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not going anywhere! It's five o'clock in the morning!† Langdon hung up and collapsed back in bed. He closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep. It was no use. The dream was emblazoned in his mind. Reluctantly, he put on his robe and went downstairs. Robert Langdon wandered barefoot through his deserted Massachusetts Victorian home and nursed his ritual insomnia remedy – a mug of steaming Nestle's Quik. The April moon filtered through the bay windows and played on the oriental carpets. Langdon's colleagues often joked that his place looked more like an anthropology museum than a home. His shelves were packed with religious artifacts from around the world – an ekuaba from Ghana, a gold cross from Spain, a cycladic idol from the Aegean, and even a rare woven boccus from Borneo, a young warrior's symbol of perpetual youth. As Langdon sat on his brass Maharishi's chest and savored the warmth of the chocolate, the bay window caught his reflection. The image was distorted and pale†¦ like a ghost. An aging ghost, he thought, cruelly reminded that his youthful spirit was living in a mortal shell. Although not overly handsome in a classical sense, the forty-five-year-old Langdon had what his female colleagues referred to as an â€Å"erudite† appeal – wisps of gray in his thick brown hair, probing blue eyes, an arrestingly deep voice, and the strong, carefree smile of a collegiate athlete. A varsity diver in prep school and college, Langdon still had the body of a swimmer, a toned, six-foot physique that he vigilantly maintained with fifty laps a day in the university pool. Langdon's friends had always viewed him as a bit of an enigma – a man caught between centuries. On weekends he could be seen lounging on the quad in blue jeans, discussing computer graphics or religious history with students; other times he could be spotted in his Harris tweed and paisley vest, photographed in the pages of upscale art magazines at museum openings where he had been asked to lecture. Although a tough teacher and strict disciplinarian, Langdon was the first to embrace what he hailed as the â€Å"lost art of good clean fun.† He relished recreation with an infectious fanaticism that had earned him a fraternal acceptance among his students. His campus nickname – â€Å"The Dolphin† – was a reference both to his affable nature and his legendary ability to dive into a pool and outmaneuver the entire opposing squad in a water polo match. As Langdon sat alone, absently gazing into the darkness, the silence of his home was shattered again, this time by the ring of his fax machine. Too exhausted to be annoyed, Langdon forced a tired chuckle. God's people, he thought. Two thousand years of waiting for their Messiah, and they're still persistent as hell. Wearily, he returned his empty mug to the kitchen and walked slowly to his oak-paneled study. The incoming fax lay in the tray. Sighing, he scooped up the paper and looked at it. Instantly, a wave of nausea hit him. The image on the page was that of a human corpse. The body had been stripped naked, and its head had been twisted, facing completely backward. On the victim's chest was a terrible burn. The man had been branded†¦ imprinted with a single word. It was a word Langdon knew well. Very well. He stared at the ornate lettering in disbelief. Angels & Demons â€Å"Illuminati,† he stammered, his heart pounding. It can't be†¦ In slow motion, afraid of what he was about to witness, Langdon rotated the fax 180 degrees. He looked at the word upside down. Instantly, the breath went out of him. It was like he had been hit by a truck. Barely able to believe his eyes, he rotated the fax again, reading the brand right-side up and then upside down. â€Å"Illuminati,† he whispered. Stunned, Langdon collapsed in a chair. He sat a moment in utter bewilderment. Gradually, his eyes were drawn to the blinking red light on his fax machine. Whoever had sent this fax was still on the line†¦ waiting to talk. Langdon gazed at the blinking light a long time. Then, trembling, he picked up the receiver. 2 â€Å"Do I have your attention now?† the man's voice said when Langdon finally answered the line. â€Å"Yes, sir, you damn well do. You want to explain yourself?† â€Å"I tried to tell you before.† The voice was rigid, mechanical. â€Å"I'm a physicist. I run a research facility. We've had a murder. You saw the body.† â€Å"How did you find me?† Langdon could barely focus. His mind was racing from the image on the fax. â€Å"I already told you. The Worldwide Web. The site for your book, The Art of the Illuminati.† Langdon tried to gather his thoughts. His book was virtually unknown in mainstream literary circles, but it had developed quite a following on-line. Nonetheless, the caller's claim still made no sense. â€Å"That page has no contact information,† Langdon challenged. â€Å"I'm certain of it.† â€Å"I have people here at the lab very adept at extracting user information from the Web.† Langdon was skeptical. â€Å"Sounds like your lab knows a lot about the Web.† â€Å"We should,† the man fired back. â€Å"We invented it.† Something in the man's voice told Langdon he was not joking. â€Å"I must see you,† the caller insisted. â€Å"This is not a matter we can discuss on the phone. My lab is only an hour's flight from Boston.† Langdon stood in the dim light of his study and analyzed the fax in his hand. The image was overpowering, possibly representing the epigraphical find of the century, a decade of his research confirmed in a single symbol. â€Å"It's urgent,† the voice pressured. Langdon's eyes were locked on the brand. Illuminati, he read over and over. His work had always been based on the symbolic equivalent of fossils – ancient documents and historical hearsay – but this image before him was today. Present tense. He felt like a paleontologist coming face to face with a living dinosaur. â€Å"I've taken the liberty of sending a plane for you,† the voice said. â€Å"It will be in Boston in twenty minutes.† Langdon felt his mouth go dry. An hour's flight†¦ â€Å"Please forgive my presumption,† the voice said. â€Å"I need you here.† Langdon looked again at the fax – an ancient myth confirmed in black and white. The implications were frightening. He gazed absently through the bay window. The first hint of dawn was sifting through the birch trees in his backyard, but the view looked somehow different this morning. As an odd combination of fear and exhilaration settled over him, Langdon knew he had no choice. â€Å"You win,† he said. â€Å"Tell me where to meet the plane.† 3 Thousands of miles away, two men were meeting. The chamber was dark. Medieval. Stone. â€Å"Benvenuto,† the man in charge said. He was seated in the shadows, out of sight. â€Å"Were you successful?† â€Å"Si,† the dark figure replied. â€Å"Perfectamente.† His words were as hard as the rock walls. â€Å"And there will be no doubt who is responsible?† â€Å"None.† â€Å"Superb. Do you have what I asked for?† The killer's eyes glistened, black like oil. He produced a heavy electronic device and set it on the table. The man in the shadows seemed pleased. â€Å"You have done well.† â€Å"Serving the brotherhood is an honor,† the killer said. â€Å"Phase two begins shortly. Get some rest. Tonight we change the world.† 4 Robert Langdon's Saab 900S tore out of the Callahan Tunnel and emerged on the east side of Boston Harbor near the entrance to Logan Airport. Checking his directions Langdon found Aviation Road and turned left past the old Eastern Airlines Building. Three hundred yards down the access road a hangar loomed in the darkness. A large number 4 was painted on it. He pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car. A round-faced man in a blue flight suit emerged from behind the building. â€Å"Robert Langdon?† he called. The man's voice was friendly. He had an accent Langdon couldn't place. â€Å"That's me,† Langdon said, locking his car. â€Å"Perfect timing,† the man said. â€Å"I've just landed. Follow me, please.† As they circled the building, Langdon felt tense. He was not accustomed to cryptic phone calls and secret rendezvous with strangers. Not knowing what to expect he had donned his usual classroom attire – a pair of chinos, a turtleneck, and a Harris tweed suit jacket. As they walked, he thought about the fax in his jacket pocket, still unable to believe the image it depicted. The pilot seemed to sense Langdon's anxiety. â€Å"Flying's not a problem for you, is it, sir?† â€Å"Not at all,† Langdon replied. Branded corpses are a problem for me. Flying I can handle. The man led Langdon the length of the hangar. They rounded the corner onto the runway. Langdon stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at the aircraft parked on the tarmac. â€Å"We're riding in that?† The man grinned. â€Å"Like it?† Langdon stared a long moment. â€Å"Like it? What the hell is it?† The craft before them was enormous. It was vaguely reminiscent of the space shuttle except that the top had been shaved off, leaving it perfectly flat. Parked there on the runway, it resembled a colossal wedge. Langdon's first impression was that he must be dreaming. The vehicle looked as airworthy as a Buick. The wings were practically nonexistent – just two stubby fins on the rear of the fuselage. A pair of dorsal guiders rose out of the aft section. The rest of the plane was hull – about 200 feet from front to back – no windows, nothing but hull. â€Å"Two hundred fifty thousand kilos fully fueled,† the pilot offered, like a father bragging about his newborn. â€Å"Runs on slush hydrogen. The shell's a titanium matrix with silicon carbide fibers. She packs a 20:1 thrust/weight ratio; most jets run at 7:1. The director must be in one helluva a hurry to see you. He doesn't usually send the big boy.† â€Å"This thing flies?† Langdon said. The pilot smiled. â€Å"Oh yeah.† He led Langdon across the tarmac toward the plane. â€Å"Looks kind of startling, I know, but you better get used to it. In five years, all you'll see are these babies – HSCT's – High Speed Civil Transports. Our lab's one of the first to own one.† Must be one hell of a lab, Langdon thought. â€Å"This one's a prototype of the Boeing X-33,† the pilot continued, â€Å"but there are dozens of others – the National Aero Space Plane, the Russians have Scramjet, the Brits have HOTOL. The future's here, it's just taking some time to get to the public sector. You can kiss conventional jets good-bye.† Langdon looked up warily at the craft. â€Å"I think I'd prefer a conventional jet.† The pilot motioned up the gangplank. â€Å"This way, please, Mr. Langdon. Watch your step.† Minutes later, Langdon was seated inside the empty cabin. The pilot buckled him into the front row and disappeared toward the front of the aircraft. The cabin itself looked surprisingly like a wide-body commercial airliner. The only exception was that it had no windows, which made Langdon uneasy. He had been haunted his whole life by a mild case of claustrophobia – the vestige of a childhood incident he had never quite overcome. Langdon's aversion to closed spaces was by no means debilitating, but it had always frustrated him. It manifested itself in subtle ways. He avoided enclosed sports like racquetball or squash, and he had gladly paid a small fortune for his airy, high-ceilinged Victorian home even though economical faculty housing was readily available. Langdon had often suspected his attraction to the art world as a young boy sprang from his love of museums' wide open spaces. The engines roared to life beneath him, sending a deep shudder through the hull. Langdon swallowed hard and waited. He felt the plane start taxiing. Piped-in country music began playing quietly overhead. A phone on the wall beside him beeped twice. Langdon lifted the receiver. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Comfortable, Mr. Langdon?† â€Å"Not at all.† â€Å"Just relax. We'll be there in an hour.† â€Å"And where exactly is there?† Langdon asked, realizing he had no idea where he was headed. â€Å"Geneva,† the pilot replied, revving the engines. â€Å"The lab's in Geneva.† â€Å"Geneva,† Langdon repeated, feeling a little better. â€Å"Upstate New York. I've actually got family near Seneca Lake. I wasn't aware Geneva had a physics lab.† The pilot laughed. â€Å"Not Geneva, New York, Mr. Langdon. Geneva, Switzerland.† The word took a long moment to register. â€Å"Switzerland?† Langdon felt his pulse surge. â€Å"I thought you said the lab was only an hour away!† â€Å"It is, Mr. Langdon.† The pilot chuckled. â€Å"This plane goes Mach fifteen.† 5 On a busy European street, the killer serpentined through a crowd. He was a powerful man. Dark and potent. Deceptively agile. His muscles still felt hard from the thrill of his meeting. It went well, he told himself. Although his employer had never revealed his face, the killer felt honored to be in his presence. Had it really been only fifteen days since his employer had first made contact? The killer still remembered every word of that call†¦ â€Å"My name is Janus,† the caller had said. â€Å"We are kinsmen of a sort. We share an enemy. I hear your skills are for hire.† â€Å"It depends whom you represent,† the killer replied. The caller told him. â€Å"Is this your idea of a joke?† â€Å"You have heard our name, I see,† the caller replied. â€Å"Of course. The brotherhood is legendary.† â€Å"And yet you find yourself doubting I am genuine.† â€Å"Everyone knows the brothers have faded to dust.† â€Å"A devious ploy. The most dangerous enemy is that which no one fears.† The killer was skeptical. â€Å"The brotherhood endures?† â€Å"Deeper underground than ever before. Our roots infiltrate everything you see†¦ even the sacred fortress of our most sworn enemy.† â€Å"Impossible. They are invulnerable.† â€Å"Our reach is far.† â€Å"No one's reach is that far.† â€Å"Very soon, you will believe. An irrefutable demonstration of the brotherhood's power has already transpired. A single act of treachery and proof.† â€Å"What have you done?† The caller told him. The killer's eyes went wide. â€Å"An impossible task.† The next day, newspapers around the globe carried the same headline. The killer became a believer. Now, fifteen days later, the killer's faith had solidified beyond the shadow of a doubt. The brotherhood endures, he thought. Tonight they will surface to reveal their power. As he made his way through the streets, his black eyes gleamed with foreboding. One of the most covert and feared fraternities ever to walk the earth had called on him for service. They have chosen wisely, he thought. His reputation for secrecy was exceeded only by that of his deadliness. So far, he had served them nobly. He had made his kill and delivered the item to Janus as requested. Now, it was up to Janus to use his power to ensure the item's placement. The placement†¦ The killer wondered how Janus could possibly handle such a staggering task. The man obviously had connections on the inside. The brotherhood's dominion seemed limitless. Janus, the killer thought. A code name, obviously. Was it a reference, he wondered, to the Roman two-faced god†¦ or to the moon of Saturn? Not that it made any difference. Janus wielded unfathomable power. He had proven that beyond a doubt. As the killer walked, he imagined his ancestors smiling down on him. Today he was fighting their battle, he was fighting the same enemy they had fought for ages, as far back as the eleventh century†¦ when the enemy's crusading armies had first pillaged his land, raping and killing his people, declaring them unclean, defiling their temples and gods. His ancestors had formed a small but deadly army to defend themselves. The army became famous across the land as protectors – skilled executioners who wandered the countryside slaughtering any of the enemy they could find. They were renowned not only for their brutal killings, but also for celebrating their slayings by plunging themselves into drug-induced stupors. Their drug of choice was a potent intoxicant they called hashish. As their notoriety spread, these lethal men became known by a single word – Hassassin – literally â€Å"the followers of hashish.† The name Hassassin became synonymous with death in almost every language on earth. The word was still used today, even in modern English†¦ but like the craft of killing, the word had evolved. It was now pronounced assassin.