Cache Dpp3

P1- There are many legal requirements to an inclusive practice in a pre-school these are:  ·Inclusion-special Educational needs code of practice and SEN DFES 2002  ·Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001  ·The National Care Standards 2001  ·Convention for the Rights of children 1999  ·Human Rights Act 1998  ·Disability Discrimination Act 1995, 2005 section 1 (1)  ·The Beginning of statementing –the Education Act 1981  ·supporting children under5 years, extending parents and publishing codes of practice- education Act 1996  ·children’s Act 1989  ·The criminal Law 1967 (2000)  ·Race Relations Act 1976 Sex discrimination Act 2000  ·The Equality Act 2006  ·Standard 9 of the National Standards  ·The disability Discrimination Act 1995  ·The UN Convention on the rights of the child- to be protected from all forms of discrimination  ·NCPCC  ·Education Act 1996 To protect the children and their families within the setting from discrim ination and their human rights, practitioners will need to organise and plan the setting and activities, for an inclusive practice. Practitioners have a responsibility to help children and their families to resect and value each other within the setting. P2- The importance for a setting to have an inclusive practice is every child and their family is legal entitlement to have access to an inclusive education, what every their gender, age, accomplishment, ethnicity, special educational needs, or ability in spoken English. All Early years settings are required to develop and promote an inclusive policy and encourage children, parents the community and practitioners in sharing values of every individual in the setting and to adapt the setting to include everyone, so they discover and play and be supported by a key worker. P3 – the policies required to provide a healthy pre-school setting are:  · Risk assessment  ·Food and drink  ·Infection control  ·Fire safety  ·Accidents and emergencies  ·Evacuation of medicine  ·Hygiene and health safety  ·First aid  ·EYFS  ·Safeguarding children  ·Behavior management and bullying  ·Sickness  ·Safety of adult  ·Complaints procedures  ·Equipment and resources  ·Intruder  ·Lost child  ·Special Educational needs/ disability  ·Staffing and employment  ·Student placement  ·Parental involvement  ·Curriculum planning  · Emergency closure  ·Confidentiality  ·Nappy and soiled clothes changing No smoking  ·Valuing diversity  ·Record keeping  ·Child protection  ·Accident book  ·Hygiene  ·Windows, doors, floors and security  ·Outdoor area  ·Insurance  ·Safety on outings  · Pets in the sessions  ·Signing in and out the setting  ·Children’s and staff allergies P4- practitioners should have He alth and Safety training and regularly update their knowladge and the understanding. The pre-school should display the necessary health and safety posters prominently in the main room and control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) certificate were needed to make aware to all. There are Five steps to sensible risk assessment:  · Identification of risk or hazards Before pre-school starts a daily risk assessment should be done, checking each room all the equipment that is out of the session making sure there is no hazards. The outside area practitioners need to vigilante to make sure that no animals have got in to the garden and the plants are safe. Using the risk assessment check sheet when you have passed a hazard.  ·Decide who is at risk- Basically anyone that is in the setting, if you share the setting with someone else their need to be informed about the risk. Evaluate the risks decide on precautions: Make a plain of action and implement further action and implement further safety measures. Grade the risk High risk, medium risk, and low risk.  ·Recording the risk- if the setting has more than five members of staff you need to record the risk. Although if the setting has less than five it still makes good practice to record the findings.  ·Monito ring and review- how do you know if what has been decided is working, or is through enough? If it is not working, it will need to be amended. P5- Providing an environment to promote emotional security for babies is important as they need to feel secure, safe and happy so there will be able to grow and develop and can reach their full development potential. A key worker is allocated to each child that starts at the setting, the key people’s role is to ensure that the child and their parent are settled and understand the key person’s role. This is a good way for each child and parent to see a familiar face and the parent can be reassured that their child is going to get temporary security from the key worker when the parent eaves the child at the setting. A variety of experiences should be on offer to help the babies’ emotional security:  ·Mirrors  ·Baby gym  ·Eye contact  ·Smiles  ·Rattles and mobiles  ·Talking  ·Gentle handling  ·Holding the baby whilst feeding  ·Bright color books  ·Encourage laughing Staff needed to be attentive of the signs when a baby’s low self-esteem, k eep praising the child, creating a happy relaxing atmosphere with lots of physical reassurances. P6-

Cultures in Conflict Essay

The pleadings of the Duncc-za and Cree Indians on a fiduciary claim on January 12th 1987, which is known as â€Å"Aspassin versus the Queen†, basically evolved from Robin Riddington’s (1988) case presentation. In this regard, the article, Cultures in Conflict: the Problem of Discourse, laid down the question as to whether the court should resolve the case or just reproduce it. Basically, this paper will examine and analyze the underlying circumstances in the presented case. Review of Literature The Aspassin v. The Queen lawsuit was a legal claim from the Government of Canada by two Indian Chiefs, Joseph Aspassin and Gerry Attachie, who served as representatives of Blueberry River and Doig River bands of the Duncc-za and Cree Indian tribes. The claim historically referred to the Indian Act, Treaty No. 8 of 1899 (Riddington, 1988). The claimant’s counsel pleaded the Court to merit the fiduciary obligation emanating from the September 22nd 1945 meeting proceedings of authenticated documents from British Columbia to corroborate the evidence that suggested that the Department of Indian Affairs deviated from the proper transferring of title to the legal claimants and instead was awarded by the Veterans Land Administration to the soldier’s settlement program. Based on the decision of Justice Dixon of the Supreme Court of Canada, it was concurred that a breach of fiduciary obligation of the Federal Crown has resulted in the failure the granting of the estate to its legal claimants and real heirs. The claim was incorporated with the legal claimant’s and heirs’ uncompromised land use of the estate wherein the Indians’ primitive economic sourcing are fishing, hunting, and trapping only. In effect, a surrendering requirement for the land use must be enjoined and be recognized by the Court. However, on November 4th 1987, the claim became futile by the Court’s dismissal for the reasons that the Indians were grossly handicapped to be able develop the estate for a progressive and sustainable economic base. Testimonial Findings The September 1945 occupancy of the IR-72, Indians’ land, which called as a place where happiness dwells, was purposely for exploration of mineral resources, wherein the band of Indians area were promised by the government to be compensated with a initially payment of $10 each. The governments has then continuously engaged in oil and gas mining and expanded areas of exploration all throughout Fort St. John by encouraging Indian families to sell their landholdings. Moreover, the trial has extensively addressed the pleadings on the problem of discourse as it may affect to the Court’s interpretation of the issue. In addition, the cross-examination of the witnesses, involving elders of the Duncc-za and Cree Indians, have supported and merited the articulation of their counsel. In effect, the Supreme Court has derived its decision together with its recognition on the breach of fiduciary obligation by the Federal Crown, as likewise addressed to the Canadian Government being the liable government entity in the transition of estate’s the transfer to the questioned beneficiaries. Merits of Articulation The merits of articulation of the claimant’s counsels, Leslie Pinder and Arthur Pape, was supplemented in the case proceeding and substantiated the Supreme Court decision, which was acknowledged as a matter of legal inquiry and argument on the fiduciary obligation of the Federal Crown, so that the Canadian Government would recognize the â€Å"surrender requirement† in the Indian Act in order to prevent further mediation and meddling with the claimant. In other words, the Federal Crown has duly surrendered the claim without compromise of conveyance and meddling over the claimant’s disposition for the use of the estate that has been re-claimed. Further implied on the merits of articulation by the claimant’s counsels was their presumption that a problem of discourse was â€Å"central† to the case. It implied that the discourse, as a matter of understanding, traverses with different recognition, interpretation and way of thinking from cultural perspectives. In this connection, the Supreme Court has interpreted and understood the merits of articulation on the land use with inadequate consideration to the cultural life of the Indians. In other words, the Supreme Court’s decisions was solely meant for the Indians to able live their economic lives in what they called â€Å"the place where happiness dwells†, as referred to the estate being an economic base for fishing, hunting, and trapping. Adverse Claim The Supreme Court decision in dismissing the claim favors the government’s occupancy to landholdings of ancestral domain. It may be noted that the estate, upon deviation of land transfer to the soldiers land program by the Veterans Land Administration, has had oil reserve dated back from 1950’s to 1960’s. In which case, the merits of articulation on surrendering the land without prejudice to claimants has an adverse claim on Supreme Courts decision in dismissing the case that was causal to the reason of Indian’s inability to develop the being claimed estate. Obviously, meriting the â€Å"surrendering requirement† could isolate the chances of pre-disposal to government’s exploration of land resources. Furthermore, a conflict of interest may result from the adverse claim of the Supreme Court. The litany of the claimant’s counsels, Pinder and Pape, on the issue of â€Å"discourse† has long been acknowledged by the Supreme Court as a matter of pleading and interpellation of various witnesses and has exposed the conflict of cultures from the social lives of Indians as they were found to be unable defend themselves in legal disputes being illiterates. In short, this exposition may have further given the Court a leeway to recognize the problem of discourse and therefore discovered the incapability of Indians. The adverse claim of the Court may be interpreted in both legal and moral perceptions in social perspective. On the first ground, acknowledging the plea of breach in fiduciary obligation of the Federal Crown, which was a disadvantage of the Canadian Government, has basically merited the claim. On the succeeding legal argument, the plea may have been in accordance to the jurisprudential aspects of claim on the issue of discourse, but upon recognition, it has resulted in the adverse claim. It may be perceived that the Court studied well the merits of articulation—from the day the trial ended on March 27th 1987 until the Court rendered decision on November 4th 1987— which is about 8 months. To give contrast to the adverse claim, as previously presumed above, the moral obligation of the Court may have contested the issue of discourse for the reason that the Indians may be imposed with challenges on their capability to promulgate stewardship of the land, in which the witnesses have found the ability to recall or remember events then may determine how far the ability to acquire skills of making the land more productive is possible. With this pretext, the merits of articulation may have gone far from treatise on issue of discourse. Conclusion The case of ancestral domain reclamation is a continuing issue in most countries where governments insatiably and constantly expand economic occupancy, political jurisdiction, exploration of land resources and nationalizing the overall geopolitical system. These ancestral domains are descendants of communities that have outlived the inhabitants of present societies. The tribal communities and indigenous culture pose the problem of discourse specifically brought about by conflicts of cultural heritage. Throughout the overall discussion on this paper, the problem of discourse is presented in a complex environment of representation as it evolved in a court proceeding. The testimony of characters, as depictive of their roles, has long argued the issue of discourse, and yet the bottom line was the long struggle of the native Indians to have their place of happiness in a land taken away from them in 1945. Being native and indigenous people who have been drenched by the Whiteman’s conquest, the native Indians likewise seek their cultural identity in a land they only borrowed from their children. Because it is the children that will continuously dwell in their place of happiness. What the trial resolve is the merit of articulation on the issue of discourse. It was conclusive that the adverse claim of the Supreme Court has been founded upon the exposition of the articulation, with so much evidence that the Indians were incapable of tilling and giving welfare for their land. The stewardship of the land may oppose the preservation of ecology—in which the Indians’ source of living depended on fishing, hunting and trapping. Thus, it may be perceived from the Court’s decision was its moral authority that may however lie beneath the advantage of the Whiteman. Upon resolving the issue of discourse, the merit of articulation was judged by the historical struggle of the Indians in pursuit of the place where their happiness dwells. References Riddington, R. (1988). Cultures in Conflict: The Problem of Discourse. Page 273-289, International Summer Institute for Structural and Semiotic Studies (ISISSS), University of British Columbia.

Franny by J.D. Salinger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Franny by J.D. Salinger - Essay Example D. Salinger while making reference to appropriate texts. The paper will expound on the subject, the subtitles and the ambiguities within the story (Lutz, p. 73). In the book, the author talks about Franny and the weekend date that she has with her boyfriend from college (Slawenski, p. 48). The name of her boyfriend is Lane Coutell. Franny’s location in the book remains unclear. We only know that she arrives by train from a college that is similar to Smith and she intends to spend her weekend at a college that appears to be Princeton, watching the Yale game (Lutz, p. 99). During her journey, she is seen carrying a book with her that is called ‘The way of a Pilgrim’. The book is a Russian religious text that talks about the importance of spiritual illumination and the idea of praying continuously (Slawenski, p. 119). When Franny meets with her boyfriend Coutell, the pair goes out to lunch. Coutell takes Franny to a very fashionable hotel room and tries to create a l asting impression by telling her of how his has received a proposal to publish his latest paper on Flaubert (Lutz, p. 14). The irony of all this is that Franny appears to be upset by the news rather than be excited and jovial about it. She wonders how college education has been important to Lane and questions the worth of the friends that Lane keeps (Slawenski, p. 12). During their lunch, Franny does not eat anything but spends most of the time smoking continuously. She gets really uncomfortable and this can be seen in the sweating and feelings of faintness that she experiences. This leads her to excuse herself and head to the rest room where she cries for some time until she regains her composure. When she returns to their table, her boyfriend Lane begins to question her about the small book that she had brought with her. She responds by telling her boyfriend the name of the book in full and tells him what the story is all about, praying without ceasing. Franny goes on and on with the story and Lane appears to be bored and less interested about it. He is only concerned with the timetable of the football game and the party they had purposed to attend (Lutz, p. 103). When all this is happening, Franny faints and Lane has to tend to her. This means that the party, the football games and all other activities that had been planned for the weekend are postponed (Slawenski, p. 44). When Franny wakes up from her fainting, her boyfriend Lane goes to get a taxi and leaves Franny alone and she starts to practice the praying without ceasing that she had read about (Lutz, p. 23). The author of the text tries to release his inner emotions and thoughts about Hindu  Advaita  Vedanta and Zen Buddhism through the characters used in the book. He was popularly known for his deep interest in these eastern religious philosophies (Lutz, p.13). In a short section in the second part of the book, the author has quoted certain spiritual texts. These include the Zen koan which he ha s likened to the prayer of Jesus Christ who is the son of God (Slawenski, p. 92). When the second section of the book is being introduced, the narrator of the book, Buddy Glass, brings the debate as to whether the book is a love story or a mystical discussion. Some critics and other authors have been quoted saying that the book, Franny and Zooey, can simply be interpreted to mean a modern Zen tale whose

Mayfly by Kevin Canty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mayfly by Kevin Canty - Essay Example James’ character appears to be a hard driven man in his mid thirties who is not quite sure about the direction which his life is taking and seems to be unsure whether he is satisfied or not. Molly is James’ girlfriend and takes the role of a delicate soul with a penchant for al things living seen by the way she is affected by the butterflies on the highway (Canty). She is a writer who is enthusiastic about taking care of herself seen by her sobriety and vegan diet but she also loves to express herself seen by the type of work that she does (writing) as well as her liking of tattoos. Sam is James’ old friend from college and comes out as a semi-irresponsible father and husband who nonetheless, appears to be doing fine financialy depicted by the description of his house and lifestyle (Canty). He also comes off as having an adulterous aspect about him although this is not confirmed and is taken from a number of clues that come out in the story. Jenny is a mother of three and Sam’s wife. She comes out as a tired figure in need of support from her husband that does not appear to be forthcoming. There is a sense of resentment around her in terms of her marriage to Sam, and it seems that she has resigned herself to the hand that fate has dealt her though she is not pleased with it. The story is told from James’ point of view, and this has an influence on the shaping of the story’s focus. By seeing things from James’ point of view, the reader is able to experience the various moods and emotions that he goes through via the thoughts that run through his head and this help’s focus the view of the rest of the group from an external perspective. The doubts that James has over his relationship with Molly and the activities between his girlfriend and Sam when they go on their trip is derived from the perspective that James has on the status of his relationship. The appearance of Jenny is told from James’ eyes as well including the experiences she has been through. This helps the story to focus on the main character who is James even when the topic is about somebody else. Reading the story from James’ point of view also allows the reader to get inside the main character’s head and depicts the way he thinks and looks at issues from his objective. For example, James lack of guilt after his midnight rendezvous with Jenny may not have been depicted had the story been told from another perspective. (Canty) The significance of the Monarchs in the opening scenes can be said to be used in the provision of the setting for the reader, a means with which to describe the scene as it were. The sheer number of insects and their death on the windscreen of James car provides a somewhat gloomy setting which can also be said to have been used to project the mood of the two characters (James and Molly) in the opening scenes (Canty). The butterflies can also be said to have been used to demonstrat e Molly’s care for living creatures as she insists on stopping when she realizes what is happening to them. The fact that she cares about something as small as a butterfly that she could be moved to tears goes a long way in portraying her character (Canty). The monarchs and butterflies in their travels towards the north can also be used to depict both James (the monarch) and Molly (the butterfly) in their journey together in life with the car’s windshield portraying the potential hazards they might come across while trying to keep their relationship alive. The mayflies can be seen to represent the cycle of life and the inevitable eventuality of our actions that are bound to be repeated when one is placed

Self Esteem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Self Esteem - Essay Example erefore, it plays an important role in motivation, work-related attitudes and behaviors of employees that due to such experience can consider themselves experts in certain area. There is also an organization-based self-esteem, which is related to the extent of employees to be satisfied with one’s job, commitment to the organization and in-role performance. While at workplace self-esteem is associated with the self-efficacy of a specific task, its main principle is that individuals are more likely to do and succeed in those activities for which they have higher self-efficacy than others  (Lunenberg, 2011). People are more successful in accomplishment of those tasks which align with their initial beliefs, thus, self-esteem aims to work as the self-fulfillment. Besides, in such a fast-paced and technologically oriented society, there is a considerable positive impact of self-esteem that enables careerists to compete (Andersen & Vandehey, 2011). As the employee makes a statement that one is the best Java programmer at certain company, that means that an individual possesses specialized expertise that is unknown to that extent to other employees and to the boss. In that case, the self-esteem of all the members of the work culture would perceive the best Java programmer as another unit that has special set of abilities and experiences. Hi gh levels of self-esteem that is needed to all employees create more beneficial economical predispositions for the company, while the defensive reactions of employees of low self-esteem can damage as own careers as negatively impact company’s performance. Underestimating own abilities create professional and personal envy toward others; employees with low self-esteem criticize others as they feel certain threat that come from the new ideas and more contributions of the confident co-worker. On the contrary, those with high self-esteem employees are able to promote honest feedback for workers regarding areas that need improvement and

MBTI Preferences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MBTI Preferences - Essay Example While it was believed that the results would reflect the friendly and interactive nature, they pointed at a preference towards looking within and share significant events with a few close people rather than many acquaintances. The score on this variable is not very strong, and it could be situational factors that affected this factor. There are examples from the workplace as well as from personal experiences that underline the friendly nature and comfort in interacting with even unknown persons. The comfort in being in a position at work that involves interacting with people and keeping negotiations in good humour is itself an indicator of extraverted nature. Thus, it is difficult to accept the test’s result that claim Introversion over personal understanding and experiences that verify Extraversion. The second variable of Sensing – Intuition defines the primary means of conducting an analysis on information available. Both the test results and the hypothesized score fa ll in the same direction – i.e. – Sensing. Individuals high on Sensing will typically rely more on information that is gathered through senses than on inductive reasoning. They also process information deductively. There is a distinct inclination to base decisions and opinions on the basis of verifiable facts and not on assumptions.

Different Kinds of Scientific Fraud Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Different Kinds of Scientific Fraud - Assignment Example One of the serious cases of scientific fraud involves carrying out a research process that does not conform to the expected rigour. For example, if a scientist adopts a quantitative paradigm, he or she faces the compulsion of formulating both a null and alternative hypotheses. The data collected in such a research should help the researcher test the two hypotheses and adopt one of them depending on the statistical correlation identified. However, many researchers adopting the quantitative approach claim to have indulged in a rigorous data collection, analysis and hypothesis testing while in a real sense, they have not. Some of them face the temptation of manipulating data to soot the hypothesis that they think is right. The use of unreliable statistical tools also compromises the quality of data analysis.Scientific fraud may involve the production of a scientific paper aimed at presenting the different steps adopted in the research process. In a real sense, a scientific paper is a th eoretical reconstruction of all the activities undertaken by the researcher. However, many researchers only report aspects of their research that proved successful. They prefer to omit cases of failed experiments because of poor design, erroneous data analysis. This is the reason why many of the research papers published seem to insinuate that the researcher had a carefully arranged proposal and outline and that implementation of the research paradigm adopted was of a very high standard.

Monetary Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Monetary Economics - Essay Example The area of concern in this research paper is to evaluate the transaction demand for money. The transaction demand for money is the money held for purchasing everyday goods from the market. Transaction demand for money for the individuals is initiated by their requirements of paying rent, mortgage payments, monthly bills, and car payments among others (Tata McGraw Hill Companies, 2002). Transaction motive of holding money is initiated also among businesses as the business houses require money in their accounts for meeting their payrolls and paying the bills. Before discussing the reasons as to why it is believed that transaction demand for money is interest elastic, it is essential to discuss the relationship that interest rates have on the demand for money. The demand for money or the quantity of money held decreases with the increase in the interest rates. The substitute or the alternative for holding assets other than the form of money is to hold them as a certain form of paper th at bears interest. Thus, as the interest rate is increased, the attraction towards the assets increases and urges to hold money decreases (Tata McGraw Hill Companies, 2002). After the brief discussion on how the transaction demand for money can possibly become interest elastic, it will be easier to understand the reason behind the belief. 2.0. Transaction Demand for Money According to Keynes, transaction demand for money relates to â€Å"the need of cash for the current transactions of personal and business exchange†. The transaction motive is further divided into income motive and business motive. The motive of income is aimed at bridging the interval between the income receipt and disbursements. In the same manner, business motive is the bridging of interval between the costs incurred in business and the receipts of the proceeds of the sales. In both the cases, if the interval is less, then individuals will strive to hold less cash or the transaction demand for money will b e less and vice-versa. Thus, it is evident that the transaction demand for money has a ‘direct positive relationship’ with the level of income (SVMMBA, 2010). 2.1. Transaction Demand and Interest Rate Keynes did not explain the importance of the interest rates in the analysis of his part of the theory of demand for money. However, in the later years, two of the post Keynesian economists, James Tobin and William J. Baumol have depicted the importance of interest rates as a determinant of the transactions demand for money. These economists have mentioned that there is no linear and proportional relationship between the income and transaction demand for money. According to them, income changes lead to smaller amount of proportional changes in the transaction demand for money (SVMMBA, 2010). Individuals hold transaction balances because income that is received only once in a month is not spent by them in a single day. In fact, this is the common nature of the individuals th at they spread evenly the expenditure over the period of the month. Thus, a part of the money that is meant for the purpose of transaction spending can be invested or spent on short-term securities that yield interests. It is likely to put the funds for the purpose of making them work for a few days, say a week, ten days or even a month. The investment can be on short term interest bearing securities such as short-term money market instruments or commercial papers and

Human cloning is not playing god Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human cloning is not playing god - Essay Example However, this depicts that only God has the power to create and sustain life as opposed the concept of cloning. On the other hand, cloning does not play god as it carries out the role of man as given in the biblical accounts of creation. This is concerning going forth and filling the world, where man attempts to sustain life by extending it. This is done by using cloning for is benefits in overcoming certain health conditions that may lead in fatalities. The entire process involves the manipulation of DNA, as opposed to the biblical accounts, where man is created from dust thus, cloning has no hand in an attempt to take over Gods role (â€Å"Human Cloning†). Therefore, human cloning does not play the role of god in any way following the distinct differences in the creation process. This is as seen in both cases of cloning and creation, where one is the source of life, while the second is only but a means of extending life. â€Å"Human Cloning†. American Medical Association. n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. Candel, Joseph. â€Å"Playing God?: Facts and Thoughts on Human Cloning†. Activated Ministries. 2003. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.

Instant Replay Would Ruin the World’s Most Popular Sport Essay Example for Free

Instant Replay Would Ruin the World’s Most Popular Sport Essay The quarterback gets the snap, lobs it to the corner of the end zone, the wide receiver jumps up†¦.. it’s a catch! But did he get his feet in? Let’s look at the replay. Over 25 years ago on March 11th, 1986, the National Football League (NFL) introduced â€Å"instant replay† into the sports world (Wired, 2009, p.1). This recording technology has slowly worked its way into professional basketball, tennis, baseball many other sports around the world. Soccer, often called Football outside of the United States, is one of the few sports that have resisted the temptation to introduce technology to the officiating of its games. Although the implementation may make the game more precise, this resistance has kept soccer â€Å"pure,† embracing its imperfections and old tradition. To put it in the most basic of terms, instant replay is â€Å"a recording of an action in a sports event that can be shown on television immediately after the original play happens† (Merriam-Webster, 2013, p.1). Instant replay may appear to be nothing but a tool to help officials make the right call, but with benefits comes consequences. One of the consequences of instant replay is an intense slowdown of the time it takes a sporting match to be completed. For example, in the NFL, a 2010 study breaking down a four-game playoff marathon (around 12 hours of broadcast time) resulted in fans watching on average for each of the four games: 67 mins of players standing around, 17 mins of instant replays, 11 mins of actual playing time, and 3 seconds of cheerleaders (The Wall Street Journal, 2010). When replays take up more time then the â€Å"live game,† our priorities, as players, announcers, and fans clearly need to be adjusted. Focusing on these replays often takes the attention away from what is currently going on in the game, which in my opinion takes away from the joy and passion that comes with sport. NFL football, although hugely popular, can’t compete with the fluidity and beauty of Soccer football. The word â€Å"beauty† is often thrown around loosely in describing soccer because of the games continuous ability to surprise. With soccer, the fans have two 45-minute halves sandwiching a 15-minute break. The clock never stops and in many respects, the players and ball never stops. This elegance of 11 players on each side keeping continuous play of one round ball for minutes on end, making passes and runs, and connecting 45-yard balls is where the â€Å"beauty† of the game is established. The simplicity of the game is what makes it so special. This simplicity can’t be compromised by technology, which in turn would cloud the games purity. â€Å"The beauty of sport is its humanity and the sense that it is peopled with people and not automatons.† (The New York Times, 1989, p.2). Berkow in his New York Times editorial puts this idea in the simplest of terms, stating that people play and officiate sports, and to take just a little part of that away is when sport loses its integrity. The technological advances in sport and society in the last 30 years have been unimaginable and the biggest challenge society has had is to know when to use these technologies. The first official rules of soccer were drawn-up by the English Football Association in 1863. Nothing much has changed since then. (Livestrong, 2010, p.3). There is a great source of pride and passion knowing that rules have been roughly the same since this time. The requirement of the players and referees to have the stamina to run for 45 uninterrupted minutes is truly demanding. It requires a dedication not only physical but spiritually, knowing the game has been virtually the same for over a 120 years. The biggest promoters of instant replay technology has been media companies in every sport that instant replays exist. But why? One of the key reasons is the opportunity to stop games and therefore play more commercials, which results in more profits for the networks. The New York Times commented in 2010 that its important to â€Å"never stop the game (of soccer), because that leads to television sticking its grubby commercials where they do not belong.† In fact, purists actually spit up at the thought of â€Å"The Beautiful Game† being interrupted by referees peering at replay video screens (NBC Sports, 2010, p.3). Also from a purely technical approach, there is absolutely no time periods long enough to review any calls. Referees often have 3-5 seconds to make a call. This constant demand to make a call and keep the game flowing is not only what makes soccer beautiful but is how the game needs to be officiated. â€Å"Test cricket, for instance, is made up of 540 separate moments of play balls each day; tennis is a series of points; rugby has regular breakdowns† (Sports Illustrated, 2010, p.1). Other sports have this segmented structured to them, which give them these constant opportunities to review or questions calls. All else aside, soccer can’t have instant replays implemented because that would mean the entire structure and rules would have to change along with them. Many soccer fanatics, particularly in the 2010 World Cup, which there were multiply questionable calls, are fed up with referees missing/making bad calls. Certainly, an argument can be made that instant replay may help change a bad officiating decision. But â€Å"indisputable visual evidence† to overturn a goal or call by a referee on the field could result in a 5 minute pause, which results in the referee returning to announce that there is no conclusive evidence, so the call on the field remains. How satisfying is that to any spectator or competitor? The â€Å"human error† element of game is sometimes an issue but also is a beautiful part of the game. If we had technology run every call, the element of surprise within the game would be lost. There is nothing better than teams fighting back from a few bad calls to come out on top; this ability of athletes to overcome obstacles (bad referees) makes watching soccer all the more worth it. Yet the controversy remains and the fans will continue to be mad at the referees. In the modern age technology is viewed as a solution to almost anything. If you have a hot room, buy an air conditioner to cool it down. But is soccer’s problem that black and white? Can we implement instant replay and we will fix the underlying issue? â€Å"The main difficulty underlying the use of technology to solve social problems is that these problems are fundamentally different from technical problems† (Society and Technological Change, 2014, pg. 31). Now many may argue that officiating mistakes aren’t a social problem, but something like soccer so ingrained into society and culture makes for a different situation. People world-wide have a loyalty and in their mind an obligation to the sport even though many never even step on a field. The implementation of instant replays could cause an absolute outcry world wide because we would be trying to â€Å"fix,† (missed/wrong calls) something that doesn’t need fixing to begin with. In many respects, Soccer is and has become a universal language. Spanning across the globe with over a thousand professional leagues, most ever country has at least one professional league for people to view. Other sports are also played worldwide but not nearly at the magnitude that soccer is at a professional level. Instant replay, if implemented in soccer, would completely change the playing field and spectator’s view of the game. Tarnishing the 100 years of soccer world-wide may cause a loss in the universal language that has been cherished and appreciated for so long. An even playing field for every professional team is just another beautiful part of the game that cannot be tampered with. Finally, I believe soccer allows fans and announcers to get lost in the game. Almost removing themselves from all external forces such as social media, texting, and technology in general and putting focus on the simple game of â€Å"football.† Other sports give you the ability to stay distanced from the game because the most critical points will always be showed over and over again between plays, sets, points. With no stops or ability to look away, real soccer fans stay true to their selves when their team is on because otherwise they may miss something spectacular. The absence of technology in soccer is just another reason why the game is so simple, yet so beautiful. So risking an occasional bad call to retain the fluidity of the sport is something I embrace. â€Å"If one picture is worth a thousand words, moving pictures can speak volumes.† (American Journal Sports Medicine, 2007, pg. 358). The real world has mistakes and the real world doesn’t stop for a 60-second commercial. I vote yes for the real world and all its warts, particularly when it results in allowing myself and the rest of the world to watch and play in the world’s most popular and beautiful game! Bibliography Berkow, Ira. SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Bloodless Instant Replays. The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Nov. 1989. 26 Sept. 2013. . Biderman, David. 11 Minutes of Action. The Wall Street Journal 10 Jan. 2010: Print. FIFA Shows Its Still Leery of Instant Replay. Yahoo Sports. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . FIFA’s Plan To Quash Bad Call Controversy: Censor In-Stadium Replays. SportsGrid RSS. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Instant Replay Controversy in Baseball Rears Its Ugly Head Again. Bob Long Sports. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Instant Replay. Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Length of a Regulation Soccer Game. LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . March 11, 1986: NFL Adopts Instant Replay. Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Off the Bench. Off the Bench. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Soccer Could Use Instant Replay, but Not at Expense of the Sports Flow. Soccer Could Use Instant Replay, but Not at Expense of Flow. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . Soccer Resists Instant Replay Despite Criticism. Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 30 Nov. 2009. 26 Sept. 2013.. World Football. Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. .

Concepts and Determinants of Health

Concepts and Determinants of Health Ronald M. Verano Introduction Health is very important in every human being. In every nation, private and non-private sectors put extensive efforts to maintain the welfare of the community. They have critically planned strategies to address a health issue or problem. Strategies can be health interventions or policies. Policies takes a longer period of time to be formulated and adapted to the society. There are heaps of factors that can make an impact, directly or indirectly, to the policy-making procedures. New Zealand has prioritize health over the past several years. They have been formulating policies to maintain and promote health among New Zealanders and policies to address the health issue the country is still facing. There are several factors that go all together to affect the health of the community. Such factors include, the places where they live, their environment they are used to, it could also be their genetics, income, employment and even their relationship with their families and friends. These factors that affect the individual’s health are called determinants. Demographic Distribution of Population A country consists of urban and rural areas. These areas differ from each other in terms of the community, environment and certain situations about health. In urban areas, most people are modernized than that of the rural. Urban is also considered the cities where lots of buildings and facilities are being established. People in terms of availability of healthcare facilities such as clinics and hospitals are most likely to access and are privileged to obtain medical help. On one hand, rural areas which are known to be in the countryside or provincial areas, where buildings and facilities are less likely to be seen, have poor access to health. Sometimes they even seek medical help if their condition is already worst and fatal. Hospitals are not accessible that could resort people to choose not to seek medical help. There is disparity between the urban and rural when it comes to healthcare access and distribution. Aside from the facilities, there is lack of resources in rural areas, su ch resources include medicines, diagnostics, and even health care providers. Political Values Political values make how people think and react to information. These people are encouraged to see the credibility of the message of such information according to the beliefs and values instilled to them. Some messages can convey a threat to these people that is why they become resistant to the policies and advocacy being presented to them. This can make them not interested with the policy and thus participation is not possible. Health communication messages, such as advocacies and policies, may trigger a person to react positively and negatively to it. Policies that are against one’s belief can lead to resistance of the individual, especially to those people who value their beliefs in a higher state. This can influence the process of policy in the making. Government agencies should also partake in addressing this problem. Government officials are representatives of the people and people chose them to lead them. These officials should be fair and honest, they should focused o n issues affecting the people, health being one of the priorities of the nation. Religious beliefs Similar with political values, religions instill beliefs that make a person’s being. Religious beliefs guide people of what is right and wrong, of what to do and not to do. For instance in some countries, there is an issue of overpopulation. Other problems can occur such as abortion. In order for the government to solve this problem they resort to a policy which highly favors contraception. As some religions are pro-life, they believe the policy will be against to their belief, chances are they would oppose to the policy making it possible to happen. Human Values Human values include compassion, respect for others, commitment, etc. These human values shape the person’s perception towards health. If people are being committed to stay and become healthy, then policies pertaining to health are of their interest. But some people, although they are concern about their health, lacks the discipline to stay healthy. And still believe that health is being free from any illness. Ethnicity and traditions Ethnicity is the person’s identity. It also involves beliefs and traditions that one belongs to. Same way with the religious beliefs and human values of an individual. If an individual has his own set of values to guide them. If a policy is believed to be against their practices and traditions, they will oppose eventually. The concept of public to health Health as perceived by many people is the absence of a disease. Many people think that they are healthy because they don’t feel any pain or discomfort or simply physical symptoms. But health is not just the absence of any pain or discomfort or disease, it is more than that. This is the common misconception of mostly people. Health is the complete condition of physical, emotional, intellectual and mental being of a person. This attitudes could affect the process of policy in the making. In the planning phase, for instance, obtaining information would be very difficult to accomplish if people will not engage or participate. Same thing with the implementation phase, there is a need for people to participate. If their perception of themselves are healthy even though they are not, they won’t be participating in those activities because they think the policies are not for them. The concept of public to illness Illness is viewed in different ways. It is the own feeling perceive by a person. It is the judgement of the person to its body if he feels healthy or unhealthy. Some people think they are healthy being free from a physical illness. For example, a person who is deemed fit, has no illness at all but is suffering from depression. He can deny that he is not ill but the fact that he is suffering mentally or emotionally cannot be taken for granted. People need to understand that illness is not just a symptom of a physical discomfort or pain felt in some parts of the body. Illness is associated with mental, emotional and intellectual being. Importance the public on health It is very important for people to value their health. Health reflects the condition of the nation. It is similar to a family is considered healthy if all of its members are healthy. A country is considered healthy if the larger proportion of its society are healthy. If majority of the society neglects the importance of health to them, then active participation in promoting health and preventing diseases from spreading will not be accomplish. People need to have awareness, creating awareness will help people engage to activities and eventually in the policies. It is important to know that they have an idea of what health and illness is about. That these two will affect their well-being. Public Attitudes towards health and medical professionals Attitudes reflects the way people behave. It would depend on their beliefs being instilled to them. It is similar to children learn how to read in a different way while they were in school. Attitudes make a person who he is. When it comes to health, they view it in a different manner. For example, issues on obesity. Some obese people are aware the complications they might have of being obese, others believe it is beauty because they were used to their customs that being overweight is attractive, without knowing the complications they might acquire due to being obese. On a lighter side, there are people who values their health and has the discipline of maintaining a healthy state. Meanwhile, people have also different views and perception about health and medical professionals. Some may fear them thinking that seeking medical help will only worsen their condition. Some may have the impression that these professionals aren’t competent enough that they would choose not to ask for help. Culture, norms and beliefs has also something to do with their attitudes towards these health care providers. There are many factors that may influence, directly or indirectly, the process of policy-making, particularly in New Zealand context. New Zealand has focused their policies in maintaining the healthy state of its members of the society and has made efforts in acquiring such improvements over the years. But still, there are factors to consider that could influence the policy-making procedures in either positive or negative manner. Such factors are identified as social, economic and personal. What is important is that the government and non-government sectors takes part on recognizing these factors and tries to address and resolve the issue. Most New Zealanders have originated from different cultures. Cultures have distinct beliefs and practices, this make a person belong to a certain culture. A lot of times, policies are intended for most people but not all of them will have the chance to benefit on the policy. There are policies that are not culturally intended which makes other cultures to adapt easily, or others to totally adapt at all. There is also racial discrimination among these cultures therefore fair access to health is not feasible. In addition, people with higher status in life are most likely to access health services and facilities than that of the poorer ones. Thus policies should be customized with every individual regardless of his status in the society. Poverty has also a greater impact on health policy-making. Poverty can be associated with many things such as lack of participation of people, lack of awareness when an epidemic is present in the community. People don’t have the enough resources to afford their needs, not enough money to purchase medicines in case they get sick. For example, a policy involving contraception will not be effective on people living in poorer areas, because they can’t afford to purchase pills that can be a bit expensive or that their health centres don’t have enough supplies to give to these people. Awareness to people is important. It can make the person acquire knowledge on his environment. A clear example of this is when an outbreak strikes, people can help in preventing this if they are aware of the disease that has infected them, its cause and the measures needed to confine and reduce the spread of this disease. In contrast, people who are not keen on the disease may even help to spread the disease. Although efforts have been made, with people who are not knowledgeable enough would worsen the situation. In conclusion, all of these factors are not to be taken for granted. This can influence the effectiveness of the whole process of making such policies in a positive or negative way. The goal here is to acknowledge these factors, find solutions to address them in order for policies to become adaptive to the society. Each country must have a government sector and its society that will work hand in hand to maintain the optimum level of each individual’s well-being. They should both aim for the good of its people. Policies are made to guide the people, to give them a sense of a unified direction. Policies are also made to address an existing problem. Its effectiveness will depend on the belief that is instilled in him. People usually make a reaction message the way he perceives it. It is the values that makes the person to accept or resist the policy that is to be implemented. Bibliography World Health Organization (2014). Determinants of Health. Health Impact Assessment. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ J. Capella et.al. (2014). Political Values Influence People’s Response to Health Disparity Message. Press Releases. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/press-releases/political-values-influence-peoples-response-health-disparities-messages Egton Medical Information System Limited (2014). Ethnic Matters. Professional References. Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/ethnic-matters Oxford University Press (2014). Definition: Attitude. British and World English. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/attitude

Napoleon :: essays research papers

The Napoleonic wars did have a large impact on industrialization in Europe as a result of realizations and actions taken to better their countries after the Napoleonic wars. Although the Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the 1700’s it was boosted in the early 1800’s after the Napoleonic wars because of reform that was needed. Industrialization then started spreading throughout Europe and into North America in the early 1800’s. By the mid-1800’s industrialization was widespread. This was all a result, somewhat indirectly of the Napoleonic wars. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution. The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the late 1700's both in Britain and in other countries. This demand forced businesses to compete with each other for the limited supply of labor and raw materials, which raised production costs. The rising costs began to cut into profits. Further demand could not be satisfied until Britain enlarged its capacity to produce goods inexpensively. British merchants did not want to raise the prices of their goods and discourage demand. So, they sought more economical and efficient ways of using money and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production. The merchants achieved their goal through the development of factories, machines, and technical skills, thus, industrialization. The French Revolution began in 1789, after the start of industrialization. At first, many British approved the revolution as a triumph of liberty for the French people. But they changed their mind after the revolution grew more violent. Britain’s foreign policy was based on keeping the balance of power in Europe so that no country could gain control of another. This led them to form alliances with weak countries when they were in need. Therefore, when the new French government seized Belgium and threatened the Netherlands Britain protested and in 1793 they went to war. Napoleon Bonaparte led the French beginning in 1799. In 1803 he began to plan to invade Britain, but his naval power was crushed in the Battle of Trafalgar. He then tried to defeat them by ordering all of the countries under his command to close their markets off to Britain.

Local Government In Tourism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Local Government has no Role to Play in Tourist Development The local Government is one of the keys to tourism development, a complete contradiction to that of the essay statement, which I believe really has no ground to stand on. In this essay I will illustrate this point by showing the roles with which local government plays within the community, and the importance it has to creating a successfully developed tourism product that maximises the benefits for not only the residences of the community but the tourist himself. Over the past forty years, trends in the tourism industry illustrate there has been evident growth on both a regional and global perspective. Because of this increase and growth of the industry it has ultimately brought large benefits to communities, providing great opportunity, economic development, employment and social benefits. Due to this benefit it is imperative that communities capitalise on these opportunities. One of the major authorities which provides the key roles to this success is that of local governments, who provide the ideal, authority, infrastructure and planning procedures to maximise the benefit for its communities, in a sustainable manner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reasons for Local government playing such an important role is due to its channels of communications with its nations powers, who control the actions and decisions of the country. The government creates local governments and provides the framework and influence of decisions that local government makes for its community. This is initially created by government that sets the framework of legislation for local government to abide by. The government then creates local government to enforce the legislature and provide a nurturing role for the community. Government can not address the problems of the entire country, so it uses local government, to distribute its ideas, and hold influence over its regions and communities. This also illustrates that local government plays a major role in a communities development providing the links between the people and government and implements and addresses its community’s problems, frameworks and ideals, and receives the c orrect guidance for developing its regions product. Local government is ultimately created to nurture, channel and control ideas of the country into its community so as to create benefits and realisa... ...d healthy returns for the communities residence. Local government has no role to play in tourism development is a bold statement in the least. The reason for this is local governments steer its communities in the right direction, through allocation of scarce resources into the correct development procedures. Now than ever before the influence of correct allocation has been apparent, as they are becoming far more limited, and if not used correctly, it is inevitable that in the long term market failures will occur. Local government is the key to tourism development in all communities, with its guiding hand it will ultimately produce the best benefit for all on a sustainable level, which will increase tourist arrival, increase community benefit and create a far more wealthy community and country. Bibliography Collier, Alan Principles of Tourism Fourth Edition Longman 1997 New Zealand Tourism Board Tourism in New Zealand Strategy and Progress New Zealand Tourism Board New Zealand Tourism Board Current Issues in New Zealand Tourism 1997 New Zealand Tourism Board Plimmer, Neil Tourism and Local government 1993 Young, Ernst How and why should local government promote tourism 1995

Mass Communication Comparative Analysis Essay

1. Introduction I believe that the purpose of my media audit was to take our initial idea of what we believed our media usage was and to measure and compare it to our actual quantified results. I believe this was excellent exercise to carry out in order to observe how much Media affects our everyday lives. Our society in America bases a large part of our adolescent learning process on what we acquire from outside sources. Therefore, to analyze, where the basis of many of adolescents’ perspectives derive from, was exceptionally insightful. Adolescents are bombarded daily by youth issues, such as: staying adhered to their morals, developing their character, self-image, self-respect, fitting in, feeling love, and avoiding brutality. Are these dilemmas not enough? The fact that mass media completely plays off human’s insecurities, in order to make a few extra dollars, baffles me. Although, we’re college students and have developed quite a bit since these problems were momentous, I still believe we are constantly facing struggles related to these. Therefore, the purpose of an experiment that monitored our time relating to each category of typically negative influences is immeasurable. People don’t take into account the importance of gaining knowledge for themselves. Considering the little girl at the beginning of My Media Audit who cared enough about the source of the â€Å"sea monster† and bubbling lake. She needed to gain the understanding of this monster came to be, and why her whole life she has heard rumors of death, yet never had any solid examples. This personal knowledge relates to our society’s topic of culturally transmitted knowledge. Strengths of culturally transmitted knowledge include: reserved knowledge, handed down to future generations, can become institutionalized, doesn’t have to be reinvented. However, the weaknesses of culturally transmitted knowledge, involve important points as well. Secondhand knowledge can be wrong; It is difficult to correct once it has been established, and it can be manipulating. Furthermore, mass media uses America’s culturally transmitted knowledge to sell their products. Anything looks appealing when you are only viewing it from its â€Å"good side.† Because people haven’t really bothered to investigate advertisers’ motives, or worse, actually enjoy the hype, mass media continues to flourish effortlessly, using naà ¯ve individuals, as its victims of prey. I believe the positive influence that My Media Audit will continue to have on its students, will make a difference. As students begin to constantly think critically and question, the intention of â€Å"The NEW Ipad!† and its employers, controversy will stir up debate. People will hopefully be more aware of when they’re being manipulated and â€Å"convinced† one way is the only way. Just as the girl who thought critically, instead of believing the town’s established idea, I am striving to inspire students and people to fight against the established idea of mass media influencing our every thought. The town was motivated by her bravery, which in turn. Changed people’s beliefs, and eventually, led a revolution. 2. Empirical Data  Objective: To measure the causes and effects due to the influence of mass media. Can mass media highly influence a persons attitudes or perception, by abundant daily solicited or unsolicited exposure? Procedure: Measuring media exposure, within a week span of 15-minute intervals. With sixteen hours equaling one day, I summarized the total minutes for the week at approximately 6,720 minutes. My total minutes not exposed to media were about 1,407 minutes, and my total exposure to mass media was approximately 5,1313 minutes. Individual categories concluded as follows: Audio estimated at 475 minutes, Film- 100 minutes, Internet- 1,778 min, Television- 0 minutes, Mobile Devices- 2,185 minutes, and Print Media approximated 775 minutes. Subjective observations were also incorporated, to measure external factors, and their influence on the subjects’ reaction in relation to media use. Main Outcome Measures: Risk of altered perception, influenced by, attitudes and b ehaviors idolized in society and the amount of exposure weekly. Also, coinciding with any external factors that proved as significant during this study. Results: Media Usage Total (min) I was thoroughly surprised by the way my media usage was dispersed, as a whole, in this graph. Considering, all of my class work is done online and I’m definitely a supporter of online radio, It doesn’t necessarily shock me that the internet has 34% of my time. However, I was a little taken back by the percentage of my mobile devices consumption. The mobile devices category dominated my time by 37%. I didn’t realize how much I used my Ipod and smartphone. Although, recollecting my thoughts, the old basic flip phones, which used to be â€Å"all the rage,† now compared to a Smartphone, it’s no contest. Having Internet access at your fingertips is an advertiser’s gold mine. Smartphone V.S IPOD Even though, the category â€Å"Mobile Devices† had the highest usage, I found it informative to see how much more my Smartphone was used than my IPOD. Obviously, our culture is driving full speed ahead, towards a â€Å"technology only† civilization. INTERNET USAGE: PANDORA V.S USF.EDU Considering, I have a full load of classes this semester, most of my time, in general, is spent either online researching a project, or actually doing the assignment. Yet, when I’m not online completing a task, I like to fill the time developing my talent, which is art. The catch is, whenever I’m developing an art piece, I have to be listening to music, hence Pandora. The reason why Pandora is so successful in mass media is because people get to listen to their type of music without having to tell the radio WHAT to play. Pandora has a search box, that isn’t case specific, artist, genre, or mood, you name it and it plays it. What person wouldn’t want a radio stationed to just them subjectively? Like we learned in our Radio module, â€Å" The Radio was a life-changing invention, Idealism & Imagination, Greed & Envy, Ambition & Determination, what other instrument was able to create emotions through sound waves?† –Empire of the Air BOOKS GALORE I found this graph about print media being all books, and no magazines, extremely intriguing. Taking into account, from the age of 16 till the end of my 21st year, I was a Cosmopolitan JUNKIE. I literally bought the newest edition monthly, the second it was released. Coinciding with this behavior and influence, I also became extremely self-conscious and began to hate my self-image, this coming from someone, who has never had severe issues about my image. I also judged every person’s appearance effortlessly, gossiped, and my language was atrocious. Only until the middle of my 22nd year, did I realize that I was not content, nor satisfied with my lifestyle. I decided to cut out television, bad influences, and COSMO. I didn’t think I would be able to handle it, however, to my surprise, it taught me how to live life, the way it was intended, with freedom. Releasing myself from the burden of mass media was one of the most liberating decisions I’ve ever made. I decided to return back to my Jewish roots, which I ignored during that rebellious era, and become deeper aquatinted with my faith, additionally instead of useless reality shows, I dove deep into the profound knowledge of books. It is amazing to witness your character development transform when it relies on a stable foundation. â€Å"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.† ― Groucho Marx 3. Observations The first major observation I noticed in relation to my media data was the fact that my two most dominant categories increased on the weekend. This is most likely because my workweek is so hectic, that by the time I’m approaching the weekend, all my energy is geared towards relaxation. These emotions are then replaced with the action of increasing my phone/ casual conversation time. I also tend to research all those topics online, that I might have put off during the week, in order to complete my work on time. Another observation that was extremely consistent included listening to Pandora (Internet radio) whenever I worked on my art. In contrast, I would listen to my IPOD whenever I wanted to get schoolwork accomplished. On Pandora, my typical station I listen to when creating my art pieces, is always geared towards inspirational or spiritual genre. It is the only music I find, to empower me with such motivation, in order to finish my pieces with ease and in a timely manner. I also tend to listen to classical music on my IPOD, when trying to complete a class work assignment. I read an article one time that did a study on the brain and how it affects positive stimulation. The article was extremely informative and I have done it ever since. Another observation I realized, I tried to double task consistently while listening to some form of media and trying to complete concrete tasks. I believe this behavior has done more to hinder my personal effectiveness, rather than help it. It was helpful to be informed of this destructive behavior, after realizing the concrete facts. My double tasking always eventually lead to unfinished tasks, and then when I eventually became overwhelmed, I grabbed my IPOD and pulled out the classical music. It was interesting to become aware of these behaviors; I never knew I was such a creature of habit. Also, reflecting on all the realizations mentioned above, I believe that some of these destructive behaviors could be prevented, with a decrease in use of my media items, which in turn, would increase my focus. 4.Estimates Vs. Actual My Estimates were all underestimated compared to my actual data for my media usage. Like I previously stated, I didn’t realize I used my phone so much, I usually get confronted by my friends for â€Å"forgetting† to text them back, or not answering. Sometimes I feel like life would be much easier without our mobile devices. The only truly useful purpose is to locate and converse with friends that are long distance, however as far as â€Å"Smartphone,† I feel the epidemic needs to be cured. The other estimate that highly underestimated was my Internet use. I believe when I was filling those questions out, I didn’t necessarily take into account that EVERY time I click the APP button, that is using an internet resource. I guess this is a perfect example of how abundantly society has desensitized, since the Windows 98’ debut. I also believe the reason I anticipated my â€Å"No Media use† to be my highest value in how I disperse my time, is due to my deliberation to rebel against any more media influences. I refuse to passively let society manipulate my thoughts, with the slightest opposition. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article about students and time management. This article served as a source of great insight because time management is one of my biggest character flaws. However, this is not due to the fact that I am not eager to do well on an assignment, I love learning, this type of procrastination is detrimental because it is attached to another flaw, perfectionism. Typically I procrastinate because I’m afraid the product of my hard work would not be â€Å"perfect.† I was raised with a very high academic work ethic, therefore, grades used to be where I found my id entity. This continually puts way too much stress on my life, and as I mature not just as a student, but also as a responsible adult, I’m drastically striving to improve this destructive outlook. A novel study done by Trueman & Hartley (1996), focused on time-management skills and their relationship to a student’s age with the older mature students making the greatest use of time-management strategies. I also am striving to improve my organizational skills, this tends to be because, my highly creative brain, has so many ideas floating and bouncing and developing in my mind, that it becomes highly difficult to place all of them in a specific order. I also am trying to maintain control of my sporadic ideas and plan more situations out, instead of flying by the seat of my pants. Their results suggest that student planning is Integral to the prevention of academic procrastination. A student’s ability to plan is but one skillamong several for student self-management, the training of which is studied by Gerhardt (2007). 5. Summary Thomas Ruggiero’s Uses and Gratification Theory focused on this central definition- Media Use among audience members is selective and motivated by rational self-awareness of an individuals own needs and expectation that those needs will be satisfied by particular media types and content. I believe that this is highly accurate. When I had my life centered on a particular type of media, Cosmopolitan, I became dependent on it. Not just as a main source of entertainment, but also for the basis of how I perceived and looked at all subjects. â€Å"If that girl wears that shirt one more time, I’m calling the fashion police!.† – A little juvenile, I know, however that was how my thought process was developing. Now when I look back, I can’t even believe that I cared so much about what people wore? Does it honestly matter how many times a person wears a shirt? Our culture is shoving these ideals down our throat in order to instill the thought that every person has to strive to be â€Å"PERFECT.† Who even said beautiful is perfect? What if I believe imperfection is beautiful? These realizations in this past year of my life have shaped my thoughts to maturity and to become more concerned with what comes from each individuals heart. If you ask me, I believe actions speak louder than words, and gossip, slander, lying, and boasting echo across the nations. I do my best to separate myself from any person or organization that is trying to convince I HAVE to look like a prototype and think like a r obot. All in all, I fell my media audit was extremely insightful, and helped me become aware of how I truly engulf my time. It showed me where I have plenty of room to improve and how far I’ve come since the Cosmo days. The purpose of My Media Audit was to gain sincere and profound insight into the world of media influences. Media has a manipulative way of altering humanity’s view towards the accepted medium. Typically, our normal endeavors are beings striving toward acquiring the â€Å"latest technology,† yet society never stops to consider â€Å"Why do I NEED this so badly?† This is where our mass media influences, come into play. The intent of this audit was simply to gain understanding and to think critically when facing the culture’s constant barrage of â€Å"satisfactions.† Understanding is Power, to gain Wisdom is everything.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 18-20

CHAPTER 18 Fache sprinted down the Grand Gallery as Collet's radio blared over the distant sound of the alarm. â€Å"He jumped!† Collet was yelling. â€Å"I'm showing the signal out on Place du Carrousel! Outside the bathroom window! And it's not moving at all! Jesus, I think Langdon has just committed suicide!† Fache heard the words, but they made no sense. He kept running. The hallway seemed never-ending. As he sprinted past Sauniere's body, he set his sights on the partitions at the far end of the Denon Wing. The alarm was getting louder now. â€Å"Wait!† Collet's voice blared again over the radio. â€Å"He's moving! My God, he's alive. Langdon's moving!† Fache kept running, cursing the length of the hallway with every step. â€Å"Langdon's moving faster!† Collet was still yelling on the radio. â€Å"He's running down Carrousel. Wait†¦ he's picking up speed. He's moving too fast!† Arriving at the partitions, Fache snaked his way through them, saw the rest room door, and ran for it. The walkie-talkie was barely audible now over the alarm. â€Å"He must be in a car! I think he's in a car! I can't – â€Å" Collet's words were swallowed by the alarm as Fache finally burst into the men's room with his gun drawn. Wincing against the piercing shrill, he scanned the area. The stalls were empty. The bathroom deserted. Fache's eyes moved immediately to the shattered window at the far end of the room. He ran to the opening and looked over the edge. Langdon was nowhere to be seen. Fache could not imagine anyone risking a stunt like this. Certainly if he had dropped that far, he would be badly injured. The alarm cut off finally, and Collet's voice became audible again over the walkie-talkie. â€Å"†¦ moving south†¦ faster†¦ crossing the Seine on Pont du Carrousel!† Fache turned to his left. The only vehicle on Pont du Carrousel was an enormous twin-bed Trailor delivery truck moving southward away from the Louvre. The truck's open-air bed was covered with a vinyl tarp, roughly resembling a giant hammock. Fache felt a shiver of apprehension. That truck, only moments ago, had probably been stopped at a red light directly beneath the rest room window. An insane risk, Fache told himself. Langdon had no way of knowing what the truck was carrying beneath that tarp. What if the truck were carrying steel? Or cement? Or even garbage? A forty-foot leap? It was madness. â€Å"The dot is turning!† Collet called. â€Å"He's turning right on Pont des Saints-Peres!† Sure enough, the Trailor truck that had crossed the bridge was slowing down and making a right turn onto Pont des Saints-Peres. So be it, Fache thought. Amazed, he watched the truck disappear around the corner. Collet was already radioing the agents outside, pulling them off the Louvre perimeter and sending them to their patrol cars in pursuit, all the while broadcasting the truck's changing location like some kind of bizarre play-by-play. It's over, Fache knew. His men would have the truck surrounded within minutes. Langdon was not going anywhere. Stowing his weapon, Fache exited the rest room and radioed Collet. â€Å"Bring my car around. I want to be there when we make the arrest.† As Fache jogged back down the length of the Grand Gallery, he wondered if Langdon had even survived the fall. Not that it mattered. Langdon ran. Guilty as charged. Only fifteen yards from the rest room, Langdon and Sophie stood in the darkness of the Grand Gallery, their backs pressed to one of the large partitions that hid the bathrooms from the gallery. They had barely managed to hide themselves before Fache had darted past them, gun drawn, and disappeared into the bathroom. The last sixty seconds had been a blur. Langdon had been standing inside the men's room refusing to run from a crime he didn't commit, when Sophie began eyeing the plate-glass window and examining the alarm mesh running through it. Then she peered downward into the street, as if measuring the drop. â€Å"With a little aim, you can get out of here,† she said. Aim? Uneasy, he peered out the rest room window. Up the street, an enormous twin-bed eighteen-wheeler was headed for the stoplight beneath the window. Stretched across the truck's massive cargo bay was a blue vinyl tarp, loosely covering the truck's load. Langdon hoped Sophie was not thinking what she seemed to be thinking. â€Å"Sophie, there's no way I'm jump – â€Å"Take out the tracking dot.† Bewildered, Langdon fumbled in his pocket until he found the tiny metallic disk. Sophie took it from him and strode immediately to the sink. She grabbed a thick bar of soap, placed the tracking dot on top of it, and used her thumb to push the disk down hard into the bar. As the disk sank into the soft surface, she pinched the hole closed, firmly embedding the device in the bar. Handing the bar to Langdon, Sophie retrieved a heavy, cylindrical trash can from under the sinks. Before Langdon could protest, Sophie ran at the window, holding the can before her like a battering ram. Driving the bottom of the trash can into the center of the window, she shattered the glass. Alarms erupted overhead at earsplitting decibel levels. â€Å"Give me the soap!† Sophie yelled, barely audible over the alarm. Langdon thrust the bar into her hand. Palming the soap, she peered out the shattered window at the eighteen-wheeler idling below. The target was plenty big – an expansive, stationary tarp – and it was less than ten feet from the side of the building. As the traffic lights prepared to change, Sophie took a deep breath and lobbed the bar of soap out into the night. The soap plummeted downward toward the truck, landing on the edge of the tarp, and sliding downward into the cargo bay just as the traffic light turned green. â€Å"Congratulations,† Sophie said, dragging him toward the door. â€Å"You just escaped from the Louvre.† Fleeing the men's room, they moved into the shadows just as Fache rushed past. Now, with the fire alarm silenced, Langdon could hear the sounds of DCPJ sirens tearing away from the Louvre. A police exodus.Fache had hurried off as well, leaving the Grand Gallery deserted. â€Å"There's an emergency stairwell about fifty meters back into the Grand Gallery,† Sophie said. â€Å"Now that the guards are leaving the perimeter, we can get out of here.† Langdon decided not to say another word all evening. Sophie Neveu was clearly a hell of a lot smarter than he was. CHAPTER 19 The Church of Saint-Sulpice, it is said, has the most eccentric history of any building in Paris. Built over the ruins of an ancient temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis, the church possesses an architectural footprint matching that of Notre Dame to within inches. The sanctuary has played host to the baptisms of the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire, as well as the marriage of Victor Hugo. The attached seminary has a well-documented history of unorthodoxy and was once the clandestine meeting hall for numerous secret societies. Tonight, the cavernous nave of Saint-Sulpice was as silent as a tomb, the only hint of life the faint smell of incense from mass earlier that evening. Silas sensed an uneasiness in Sister Sandrine's demeanor as she led him into the sanctuary. He was not surprised by this. Silas was accustomed to people being uncomfortable with his appearance. â€Å"You're an American,† she said. â€Å"French by birth,† Silas responded. â€Å"I had my calling in Spain, and I now study in the United States.† Sister Sandrine nodded. She was a small woman with quiet eyes. â€Å"And you have never seen Saint- Sulpice?† â€Å"I realize this is almost a sin in itself.† â€Å"She is more beautiful by day.† â€Å"I am certain. Nonetheless, I am grateful that you would provide me this opportunity tonight.† â€Å"The abbe requested it. You obviously have powerful friends.† You have no idea, Silas thought. As he followed Sister Sandrine down the main aisle, Silas was surprised by the austerity of the sanctuary. Unlike Notre Dame with its colorful frescoes, gilded altar-work, and warm wood, Saint- Sulpice was stark and cold, conveying an almost barren quality reminiscent of the ascetic cathedrals of Spain. The lack of decor made the interior look even more expansive, and as Silasgazed up into the soaring ribbed vault of the ceiling, he imagined he was standing beneath the hull of an enormous overturned ship. A fitting image, he thought. The brotherhood's ship was about to be capsized forever. Feeling eager to get to work, Silas wished Sister Sandrine would leave him. She was a small woman whom Silas could incapacitate easily, but he had vowed not to use force unless absolutely necessary. She is a woman of the cloth, and it is not her fault the brotherhood chose her church as a hiding place for their keystone.She should not be punished for the sins of others. â€Å"I am embarrassed, Sister, that you were awoken on my behalf.† â€Å"Not at all. You are in Paris a short time. You should not miss Saint-Sulpice. Are your interests in the church more architectural or historical?† â€Å"Actually, Sister, my interests are spiritual.† She gave a pleasant laugh. â€Å"That goes without saying. I simply wondered where to begin your tour.† Silas felt his eyes focus on the altar. â€Å"A tour is unnecessary. You have been more than kind. I can show myself around.† â€Å"It is no trouble,† she said. â€Å"After all, I am awake.† Silas stopped walking. They had reached the front pew now, and the altar was only fifteen yards away. He turned his massive body fully toward the small woman, and he could sense her recoil as she gazed up into his red eyes. â€Å"If it does not seem too rude, Sister, I am not accustomed to simply walking into a house of God and taking a tour. Would you mind if I took some time alone to pray before I look around?† Sister Sandrine hesitated. â€Å"Oh, of course. I shall wait in the rear of the church for you.† Silas put a soft but heavy hand on her shoulder and peered down. â€Å"Sister, I feel guilty already for having awoken you. To ask you to stay awake is too much. Please, you should return to bed. I can enjoy your sanctuary and then let myself out.† She looked uneasy. â€Å"Are you sure you won't feel abandoned?† â€Å"Not at all. Prayer is a solitary joy.† â€Å"As you wish.† Silas took his hand from her shoulder. â€Å"Sleep well, Sister. May the peace of the Lord be with you.† â€Å"And also with you.† Sister Sandrine headed for the stairs. â€Å"Please be sure the door closes tightly on your way out.† â€Å"I will be sure of it.† Silas watched her climb out of sight. Then he turned and knelt in the front pew, feeling the cilice cut into his leg. Dear God, I offer up to you this work I do today†¦ . Crouching in the shadows of the choir balcony high above the altar, Sister Sandrine peered silently through the balustrade at the cloaked monk kneeling alone. The sudden dread in her soul made it hard to stay still. For a fleeting instant, she wondered if this mysterious visitor could be the enemy they had warned her about, and if tonight she would have to carry out the orders she had been holding all these years. She decided to stay there in the darkness and watch his every move. CHAPTER 20 Emerging from the shadows, Langdon and Sophie moved stealthily up the deserted Grand Gallery corridor toward the emergency exit stairwell. As he moved, Langdon felt like he was trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle in the dark. The newest aspect of this mystery was a deeply troubling one: The captain of the Judicial Police is trying to frame me for murder â€Å"Do you think,† he whispered,† that maybe Fache wrote that message on the floor?† Sophie didn't even turn. â€Å"Impossible.† Langdon wasn't so sure. â€Å"He seems pretty intent on making me look guilty. Maybe he thought writing my name on the floor would help his case?† â€Å"The Fibonacci sequence? The P. S. ? All the Da Vinci and goddess symbolism? That had to be my grandfather.† Langdon knew she was right. The symbolism of the clues meshed too perfectly – the pentacle, TheVitruvian Man, Da Vinci, the goddess, and even the Fibonacci sequence. A coherent symbolic set, as iconographers would call it. All inextricably tied. â€Å"And his phone call to me this afternoon,† Sophie added. â€Å"He said he had to tell me something. I'm certain his message at the Louvre was his final effort to tell me something important, something he thought you could help me understand.† Langdon frowned. O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! He wished he could comprehend the message, both for Sophie's well-being and for his own. Things had definitely gotten worse since he first laid eyes on the cryptic words. His fake leap out the bathroom window was not going to help Langdon's popularity with Fache one bit. Somehow he doubted the captain of the French police would see the humor in chasing down and arresting a bar of soap. â€Å"The doorway isn't much farther,† Sophie said.† Do you think there's a possibility that the numbers in your grandfather's message hold the key to understanding the other lines?† Langdon had once worked on a series of Baconian manuscripts that contained epigraphical ciphers in which certain lines of code were clues as to how to decipher the other lines. â€Å"I've been thinking about the numbers all night. Sums, quotients, products. I don't see anything. Mathematically, they're arranged at random. Cryptographic gibberish.† â€Å"And yet they're all part of the Fibonacci sequence. That can't be coincidence.† â€Å"It's not. Using Fibonacci numbers was my grandfather's way of waving another flag at me – like writing the message in English, or arranging himself like my favorite piece of art, or drawing a pentacle on himself. All of it was to catch my attention.† â€Å"The pentacle has meaning to you?† â€Å"Yes. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but the pentacle was a special symbol between my grandfather and me when I was growing up. We used to play Tarot cards for fun, and my indicator card always turned out to be from the suit of pentacles. I'm sure he stacked the deck, but pentacles got to be our little joke.† Langdon felt a chill. They played Tarot? The medieval Italian card game was so replete with hidden heretical symbolism that Langdon had dedicated an entire chapter in his new manuscript to the Tarot. The game's twenty-two cards bore names like The Female Pope, The Empress, and The Star.Originally, Tarot had been devised as a secret means to pass along ideologies banned by the Church. Now, Tarot's mystical qualities were passed on by modern fortune-tellers. The Tarot indicator suit for feminine divinity is pentacles, Langdon thought, realizing that if Sauniere had been stacking his granddaughter's deck for fun, pentacles was an apropos inside joke. They arrived at the emergency stairwell, and Sophie carefully pulled open the door. No alarm sounded. Only the doors to the outside were wired. Sophie led Langdon down a tight set of switchback stairs toward the ground level, picking up speed as they went. â€Å"Your grandfather,† Langdon said, hurrying behind her,† when he told you about the pentacle, did he mention goddess worship or any resentment of the Catholic Church?† Sophie shook her head. â€Å"I was more interested in the mathematics of it – the Divine Proportion, PHI, Fibonacci sequences, that sort of thing.† Langdon was surprised. â€Å"Your grandfather taught you about the number PHI?† â€Å"Of course. The Divine Proportion.† Her expression turned sheepish. â€Å"In fact, he used to joke that I was half divine†¦ you know, because of the letters in my name.† Langdon considered it a moment and then groaned. s-o-PHI-e. Still descending, Langdon refocused on PHI.He was starting to realize that Sauniere's clues were even more consistent than he had first imagined. Da Vinci†¦ Fibonacci numbers†¦ the pentacle. Incredibly, all of these things were connected by a single concept so fundamental to art history that Langdon often spent several class periods on the topic. PHI. He felt himself suddenly reeling back to Harvard, standing in front of his† Symbolism in Art† class, writing his favorite number on the chalkboard. 1. 618 Langdon turned to face his sea of eager students. â€Å"Who can tell me what this number is?† A long-legged math major in back raised his hand. â€Å"That's the number PHI.† He pronounced it fee. â€Å"Nice job, Stettner,† Langdon said. â€Å"Everyone, meet PHI.† â€Å"Not to be confused with PI,† Stettner added, grinning. â€Å"As we mathematicians like to say: PHI is one H of a lot cooler than PI!† Langdon laughed, but nobody else seemed to get the joke. Stettner slumped.† This number PHI,† Langdon continued,† one-point-six-one-eight, is a very important number in art. Who can tell me why?† Stettner tried to redeem himself. â€Å"Because it's so pretty?† Everyone laughed.† Actually,† Langdon said,† Stettner's right again. PHI is generally considered the most beautiful number in the universe.† The laughter abruptly stopped, and Stettner gloated. As Langdon loaded his slide projector, he explained that the number PHI was derived from the Fibonacci sequence – a progression famous not only because the sum of adjacent terms equaled the next term, but because the quotients of adjacent terms possessed the astonishing property of approaching the number 1. 618 – PHI! Despite PHI's seemingly mystical mathematical origins, Langdon explained, the truly mind-boggling aspect of PHI was its role as a fundamental building block in nature. Plants, animals, and even human beings all possessed dimensional properties that adhered with eerie exactitude to the ratio of PHI to 1. â€Å"PHI's ubiquity in nature,† Langdon said, killing the lights,† clearly exceeds coincidence, and so the ancients assumed the number PHI must have been preordained by the Creator of the universe. Early scientists heralded one-point-six-one-eight as the Divine Proportion.† â€Å"Hold on,† said a young woman in the front row. â€Å"I'm a bio major and I've never seen this Divine Proportion in nature.† â€Å"No?† Langdon grinned. â€Å"Ever study the relationship between females and males in a honeybee community?† â€Å"Sure. The female bees always outnumber the male bees.† â€Å"Correct. And did you know that if you divide the number of female bees by the number of male bees in any beehive in the world, you always get the same number?† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Yup. PHI.† The girl gaped. â€Å"NO WAY!† â€Å"Way!† Langdon fired back, smiling as he projected a slide of a spiral seashell. â€Å"Recognize this?† â€Å"It's a nautilus,† the bio major said. â€Å"A cephalopod mollusk that pumps gas into its chambered shell to adjust its buoyancy.† â€Å"Correct. And can you guess what the ratio is of each spiral's diameter to the next?† The girl looked uncertain as she eyed the concentric arcs of the nautilus spiral. Langdon nodded. â€Å"PHI. The Divine Proportion. One-point-six-one-eight to one.† The girl looked amazed. Langdon advanced to the next slide – a close-up of a sunflower's seed head. â€Å"Sunflower seeds grow in opposing spirals. Can you guess the ratio of each rotation's diameter to the next?† â€Å"PHI?† everyone said.† Bingo.† Langdon began racing through slides now – spiraled pinecone petals, leaf arrangement on plant stalks, insect segmentation – all displaying astonishing obedience to the Divine Proportion. â€Å"This is amazing!† someone cried out. â€Å"Yeah,† someone else said,† but what does it have to do with art?† â€Å"Aha!† Langdon said. â€Å"Glad you asked.† He pulled up another slide – a pale yellow parchment displaying Leonardo Da Vinci's famous male nude – The Vitruvian Man – named for Marcus Vitruvius, the brilliant Roman architect who praised the Divine Proportion in his text De Architectura. â€Å"Nobody understood better than Da Vinci the divine structure of the human body. Da Vinci actually exhumed corpses to measure the exact proportions of human bone structure. He was the first to show that the human body is literally made of building blocks whose proportional ratios always equal PHI.† Everyone in class gave him a dubious look. â€Å"Don't believe me?† Langdon challenged. â€Å"Next time you're in the shower, take a tape measure.† A couple of football players snickered. â€Å"Not just you insecure jocks,† Langdon prompted. â€Å"All of you. Guys and girls. Try it. Measure the distance from the tip of your head to the floor. Then divide that by the distance from your bellybutton to the floor. Guess what number you get.† â€Å"Not PHI!† one of the jocks blurted out in disbelief. â€Å"Yes, PHI,† Langdon replied. â€Å"One-point-six-one-eight. Want another example? Measure the distance from your shoulder to your fingertips, and then divide it by the distance from your elbow to your fingertips. PHI again. Another? Hip to floor divided by knee to floor. PHI again. Finger joints. Toes. Spinal divisions. PHI. PHI. PHI. My friends, each of you is a walking tribute to the Divine Proportion.† Even in the darkness, Langdon could see they were all astounded. He felt a familiar warmth inside. This is why he taught. â€Å"My friends, as you can see, the chaos of the world has an underlying order. When the ancients discovered PHI, they were certain they had stumbled across God's building block for the world, and they worshipped Nature because of that. And one can understand why. God's hand is evident in Nature, and even to this day there exist pagan, Mother Earth-revering religions. Many of us celebrate nature the way the pagans did, and don't even know it. May Day is a perfect example, the celebration of spring†¦ the earth coming back to life to produce her bounty. The mysterious magic inherent in the Divine Proportion was written at the beginning of time. Man is simply playing by Nature's rules, and because art is man's attempt to imitate the beauty of the Creator's hand, you can imagine we might be seeing a lot of instances of the Divine Proportion in art this semeste r.† Over the next half hour, Langdon showed them slides of artwork by Michelangelo, Albrecht Durer, Da Vinci, and many others, demonstrating each artist's intentional and rigorous adherence to the Divine Proportion in the layout of his compositions. Langdon unveiled PHI in the architectural dimensions of the Greek Parthenon, the pyramids of Egypt, and even the United Nations Building in New York. PHI appeared in the organizational structures of Mozart's sonatas, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, as well as the works of Bartok, Debussy, and Schubert. The number PHI, Langdon told them, was even used by Stradivarius to calculate the exact placement of the f-holes in the construction of his famous violins. â€Å"In closing,† Langdon said, walking to the chalkboard,† we return to symbols† He drew five intersecting lines that formed a five-pointed star. â€Å"This symbol is one of the most powerful images you will see this term. Formally known as a pentagram – or pentacle, as the ancients called it – this symbol is considered both divine and magical by many cultures. Can anyone tell me why that might be?† Stettner, the math major, raised his hand. â€Å"Because if you draw a pentagram, the lines automatically divide themselves into segments according to the Divine Proportion.† Langdon gave the kid a proud nod. â€Å"Nice job. Yes, the ratios of line segments in a pentacle allequal PHI, making this symbol the ultimate expression of the Divine Proportion. For this reason, the five-pointed star has always been the symbol for beauty and perfection associated with the goddess and the sacred feminine.† The girls in class beamed. â€Å"One note, folks. We've only touched on Da Vinci today, but we'll be seeing a lot more of him this semester. Leonardo was a well-documented devotee of the ancient ways of the goddess. Tomorrow, I'll show you his fresco The Last Supper, which is one of the most astonishing tributes to the sacred feminine you will ever see.† â€Å"You're kidding, right?† somebody said. â€Å"I thought The Last Supper was about Jesus!† Langdon winked. â€Å"There are symbols hidden in places you would never imagine.† â€Å"Come on,† Sophie whispered. â€Å"What's wrong? We're almost there. Hurry!† Langdon glanced up, feeling himself return from faraway thoughts. He realized he was standing at a dead stop on the stairs, paralyzed by sudden revelation. O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! Sophie was looking back at him. It can't be that simple, Langdon thought. But he knew of course that it was. There in the bowels of the Louvre†¦ with images of PHI and Da Vinci swirling through his mind, Robert Langdon suddenly and unexpectedly deciphered Sauniere's code. â€Å"O, Draconian devil!† he said. â€Å"Oh, lame saint! It's the simplest kind of code!† Sophie was stopped on the stairs below him, staring up in confusion. A code? She had been pondering the words all night and had not seen a code. Especially a simple one. â€Å"You said it yourself.† Langdon's voice reverberated with excitement. â€Å"Fibonacci numbers only have meaning in their proper order. Otherwise they're mathematical gibberish.† Sophie had no idea what he was talking about. The Fibonacci numbers? She was certain they had been intended as nothing more than a means to get the Cryptography Department involved tonight. They have another purpose? She plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out the printout, studying her grandfather's message again. 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! What about the numbers? â€Å"The scrambled Fibonacci sequence is a clue,† Langdon said, taking the printout. â€Å"The numbers area hint as to how to decipher the rest of the message. He wrote the sequence out of order to tell us to apply the same concept to the text. O, Draconian devil? Oh, lame saint? Those lines mean nothing. They are simply letters written out of order.† Sophie needed only an instant to process Langdon's implication, and it seemed laughably simple. â€Å"You think this message is†¦ une anagramme?† She stared at him. â€Å"Like a word jumble from a newspaper?† Langdon could see the skepticism on Sophie's face and certainly understood. Few people realized that anagrams, despite being a trite modern amusement, had a rich history of sacred symbolism. The mystical teachings of the Kabbala drew heavily on anagrams – rearranging the letters of Hebrew words to derive new meanings. French kings throughout the Renaissance were so convinced that anagrams held magic power that they appointed royal anagrammatists to help them make better decisions by analyzing words in important documents. The Romans actually referred to the study of anagrams as ars magna – â€Å"the great art.† Langdon looked up at Sophie, locking eyes with her now. â€Å"Your grandfather's meaning was right in front of us all along, and he left us more than enough clues to see it.† Without another word, Langdon pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and rearranged the letters in each line. O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! was a perfect anagram of†¦ Leonardo Da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!