Accounting Pool Canvas - 8512 Words

Ac1 of 16 TEST BANK CONTROL PANEL POOL MANAGER POOL CANVAS Pool Canvas Add, modify, and remove questions. Select a question type from the Add Question drop-down list and click Go to add questions. Use Creation Settings to establish which default options, such as feedback and images, are available for question creation. Add Name Description Instructions Modify Creation Settings Chapter 01 - The Changing Business Environment - A Manager s Perspective Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Management accounting is not a subordinate activity to financial accounting. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Management accounting is the process of†¦show more content†¦Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Financial accounting s main emphasis is on full and accurate accounting for and disclosure of a company s operating results. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Similar to financial accounting reports, management accounting reports are standardized in format. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove 3 of 16 Question The four stages of the management process are plan, perform, evaluate, and communicate. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question The keys to successful report writing include identifying the who, what, when, and why of the report. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Management executes a plan by overseeing the daily operations of an organization. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Comparing actual performance with expected performance levels is an evaluation activity. Answer True False Add Question Here True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Management accounting accumulates, maintains, and processes an organization sShow MoreRelatedTaxes Business Strategy Acct 897/297 20132138 Words   |  9 PagesTaxes and Business Strategy: A Planning Approach, Prentice Hall, 4th edition. Canvas: This site includes course information, important announcements, online homework assignments and any lecture slides, course handouts, cases, problem solutions and optional articles. In-class handouts: On rare occasions will supplemental material be distributed in class. If distributed, these materials will also be available on Canvas (barring any copyright issues). 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The Lost Symbol Chapter 76-78 Free Essays

string(79) " on account of the turbulent water, and Andros had broken directly through it\." CHAPTER 76 Freedom Plaza is a map. Located at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Thirteenth Street, the plaza’s vast surface of inlaid stone depicts the streets of Washington as they were originally envisioned by Pierre L’Enfant. The plaza is a popular tourist destination not only because the giant map is fun to walk on, but also because Martin Luther King Jr. We will write a custom essay sample on The Lost Symbol Chapter 76-78 or any similar topic only for you Order Now , for whom Freedom Plaza is named, wrote much of his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech in the nearby Willard Hotel. D.C. cabdriver Omar Amirana brought tourists to Freedom Plaza all the time, but tonight, his two passengers were obviously no ordinary sightseers. The CIA is chasing them? Omar had barely come to a stop at the curb before the man and woman had jumped out. â€Å"Stay right here!† the man in the tweed coat told Omar. â€Å"We’ll be right back!† Omar watched the two people dash out onto the wide-open spaces of the enormous map, pointing and shouting as they scanned the geometry of intersecting streets. Omar grabbed his cell phone off the dashboard. â€Å"Sir, are you still there?† â€Å"Yes, Omar!† a voice shouted, barely audible over a thundering noise on his end of the line. â€Å"Where are they now?† â€Å"Out on the map. It seems like they’re looking for something.† â€Å"Do not let them out of your sight,† the agent shouted. â€Å"I’m almost there!† Omar watched as the two fugitives quickly found the plaza’s famous Great Seal–one of the largest bronze medallions ever cast. They stood over it a moment and quickly began pointing to the southwest. Then the man in tweed came racing back toward the cab. Omar quickly set his phone down on the dashboard as the man arrived, breathless. â€Å"Which direction is Alexandria, Virginia?† he demanded. â€Å"Alexandria?† Omar pointed southwest, the exact same direction the man and woman had just pointed toward. â€Å"I knew it!† the man whispered beneath his breath. He spun and shouted back to the woman. â€Å"You’re right! Alexandria!† The woman now pointed across the plaza to an illuminated â€Å"Metro† sign nearby. â€Å"The Blue Line goes directly there. We want King Street Station!† Omar felt a surge of panic. Oh no. The man turned back to Omar and handed him entirely too many bills for the fare. â€Å"Thanks. We’re all set.† He hoisted his leather bag and ran off. â€Å"Wait! I can drive you! I go there all the time!† But it was too late. The man and woman were already dashing across the plaza. They disappeared down the stairs into the Metro Center subway station. Omar grabbed his cell phone. â€Å"Sir! They ran down into the subway! I couldn’t stop them! They’re taking the Blue Line to Alexandria!† â€Å"Stay right there!† the agent shouted. â€Å"I’ll be there in fifteen seconds!† Omar looked down at the wad of bills the man had given him. The bill on top was apparently the one they had been writing on. It had a Jewish star on top of the Great Seal of the United States. Sure enough, the star’s points fell on letters that spelled MASON. Without warning, Omar felt a deafening vibration all around him, as if a tractor trailer were about to collide with his cab. He looked up, but the street was deserted. The noise increased, and suddenly a sleek black helicopter dropped down out of the night and landed hard in the middle of the plaza map. A group of black-clad men jumped out. Most ran toward the subway station, but one came dashing toward Omar’s cab. He yanked open the passenger door. â€Å"Omar? Is that you?† Omar nodded, speechless. â€Å"Did they say where they were headed?† the agent demanded. â€Å"Alexandria! King Street Station,† Omar blurted. â€Å"I offered to drive, but–â€Å" â€Å"Did they say where in Alexandria they were going?† â€Å"No! They looked at the medallion of the Great Seal on the plaza, then they asked about Alexandria, and they paid me with this.† He handed the agent the dollar bill with the bizarre diagram. As the agent studied the bill, Omar suddenly put it all together. The Masons! Alexandria! One of the most famous Masonic buildings in America was in Alexandria. â€Å"That’s it!† he blurted. â€Å"The George Washington Masonic Memorial! It’s directly across from King Street Station!† â€Å"That it is,† the agent said, apparently having just come to the same realization as the rest of the agents came sprinting back from the station. â€Å"We missed them!† one of the men yelled. â€Å"Blue Line just left! They’re not down there!† Agent Simkins checked his watch and turned back to Omar. â€Å"How long does the subway take to Alexandria?† â€Å"Ten minutes at least. Probably more.† â€Å"Omar, you’ve done an excellent job. Thank you.† â€Å"Sure. What’s this all about?!† But Agent Simkins was already running back to the chopper, shouting as he went. â€Å"King Street Station! We’ll get there before they do!† Bewildered, Omar watched the great black bird lift off. It banked hard to the south across Pennsylvania Avenue, and then thundered off into the night. Underneath the cabbie’s feet, a subway train was picking up speed as it headed away from Freedom Plaza. On board, Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon sat breathless, neither one saying a word as the train whisked them toward their destination. CHAPTER 77 The memory always began the same way. He was falling . . . plummeting backward toward an ice-covered river at the bottom of a deep ravine. Above him, the merciless gray eyes of Peter Solomon stared down over the barrel of Andros’s handgun. As he fell, the world above him receded, everything disappearing as he was enveloped by the cloud of billowing mist from the waterfall upstream. For an instant, everything was white, like heaven. Then he hit the ice. Cold. Black. Pain. He was tumbling . . . being dragged by a powerful force that pounded him relentlessly across rocks in an impossibly cold void. His lungs ached for air, and yet his chest muscles had contracted so violently in the cold that he was unable even to inhale. I’m under the ice. The ice near the waterfall was apparently thin on account of the turbulent water, and Andros had broken directly through it. You read "The Lost Symbol Chapter 76-78" in category "Essay examples" Now he was being washed downstream, trapped beneath a transparent ceiling. He clawed at the underside of the ice, trying to break out, but he had no leverage. The searing pain from the bullet hole in his shoulder was evaporating, as was the sting of the bird shot; both were blotted out now by the crippling throb of his body going numb. The current was accelerating, slingshotting him around a bend in the river. His body screamed for oxygen. Suddenly he was tangled in branches, lodged against a tree that had fallen into the water. Think! He groped wildly at the branch, working his way toward the surface, finding the spot where the branch pierced up through the ice. His fingertips found the tiny space of open water surrounding the branch, and he pulled at the edges, trying to break the hole wider; once, twice, the opening was growing, now several inches across. Propping himself against the branch, he tipped his head back and pressed his mouth against the small opening. The winter air that poured into his lungs felt warm. The sudden burst of oxygen fueled his hope. He planted his feet on the tree trunk and pressed his back and shoulders forcefully upward. The ice around the fallen tree, perforated by branches and debris, was weakened already, and as he drove his powerful legs into the trunk, his head and shoulders broke through the ice, crashing up into the winter night. Air poured into his lungs. Still mostly submerged, he wriggled desperately upward, pushing with his legs, pulling with his arms, until finally he was out of the water, lying breathless on the bare ice. Andros tore off his soaked ski mask and pocketed it, glancing back upstream for Peter Solomon. The bend in the river obscured his view. His chest was burning again. Quietly, he dragged a small branch over the hole in the ice in order to hide it. The hole would be frozen again by morning. As Andros staggered into the woods, it began to snow. He had no idea how far he had run when he stumbled out of the woods onto an embankment beside a small highway. He was delirious and hypothermic. The snow was falling harder now, and a single set of headlights approached in the distance. Andros waved wildly, and the lone pickup truck immediately pulled over. It had Vermont plates. An old man in a red plaid shirt jumped out. Andros staggered toward him, holding his bleeding chest. â€Å"A hunter . . . shot me! I need a . . . hospital!† Without hesitation, the old man helped Andros up into the passenger seat of the truck and turned up the heater. â€Å"Where’s the nearest hospital?!† Andros had no idea, but he pointed south. â€Å"Next exit.† We’re not going to a hospital. The old man from Vermont was reported missing the next day, but nobody had any idea where on his journey from Vermont he might have disappeared in the blinding snowstorm. Nor did anyone link his disappearance to the other news story that dominated the headlines the next day–the shocking murder of Isabel Solomon. When Andros awoke, he was lying in a desolate bedroom of a cheap motel that had been boarded up for the season. He recalled breaking in and binding his wounds with torn bedsheets, and then burrowing into a flimsy bed beneath a pile of musty blankets. He was famished. He limped to the bathroom and saw the pile of bloody bird-shot pellets in the sink. He vaguely recalled prying them out of his chest. Raising his eyes to the dirty mirror, he reluctantly unwrapped his bloody bandages to survey the damage. The hard muscles of his chest and abdomen had stopped the bird shot from penetrating too deep, and yet his body, once perfect, was now ruined with wounds. The single bullet fired by Peter Solomon had apparently gone cleanly through his shoulder, leaving a bloody crater. Making matters worse, Andros had failed to obtain that for which he had traveled all this distance. The pyramid. His stomach growled, and he limped outside to the man’s truck, hoping maybe to find food. The pickup was now covered with heavy snow, and Andros wondered how long he had been sleeping in this old motel. Thank God I woke up. Andros found no food anywhere in the front seat, but he did find some arthritis painkillers in the glove compartment. He took a handful, washing them down with several mouthfuls of snow. I need food. A few hours later, the pickup that pulled out from behind the old motel looked nothing like the truck that had pulled in two days earlier. The cab cap was missing, as were the hubcaps, bumper stickers, and all of the trim. The Vermont plates were gone, replaced by those from an old maintenance truck Andros had found parked by the motel Dumpster, into which he had thrown all the bloody sheets, bird shot, and other evidence that he had ever been at the motel. Andros had not given up on the pyramid, but for the moment it would have to wait. He needed to hide, heal, and above all, eat. He found a roadside diner where he gorged himself on eggs, bacon, hash browns, and three glasses of orange juice. When he was done, he ordered more food to go. Back on the road, Andros listened to the truck’s old radio. He had not seen a television or newspaper since his ordeal, and when he finally heard a local news station, the report stunned him. â€Å"FBI investigators,† a news announcer said, â€Å"continue their search for the armed intruder who murdered Isabel Solomon in her Potomac home two days ago. The murderer is believed to have fallen through the ice and been washed out to sea.† Andros froze. Murdered Isabel Solomon? He drove on in bewildered silence, listening to the full report. It was time to get far, far away from this place. The Upper West Side apartment offered breathtaking views of Central Park. Andros had chosen it because the sea of green outside his window reminded him of his lost view of the Adriatic. Although he knew he should be happy to be alive, he was not. The emptiness had never left him, and he found himself fixated on his failed attempt to steal Peter Solomon’s pyramid. Andros had spent long hours researching the Legend of the Masonic Pyramid, and although nobody seemed to agree on whether or not the pyramid was real, they all concurred on its famous promise of vast wisdom and power. The Masonic Pyramid is real, Andros told himself. My inside information is irrefutable. Fate had placed the pyramid within Andros’s reach, and he knew that ignoring it was like holding a winning lottery ticket and never cashing it in. I am the only non-Mason alive who knows the pyramid is real . . . as well as the identity of the man who guards it. Months had passed, and although his body had healed, Andros was no longer the cocky specimen he had been in Greece. He had stopped working out, and he had stopped admiring himself naked in the mirror. He felt as if his body were beginning to show signs of age. His once-perfect skin was a patchwork of scars, and this only depressed him further. He still relied on the painkillers that had nursed him through his recovery, and he felt himself slipping back to the lifestyle that had put him in Soganlik Prison. He didn’t care. The body craves what the body craves. One night, he was in Greenwich Village buying drugs from a man whose forearm had been tattooed with a long, jagged lightning bolt. Andros asked him about it, and the man told him the tattoo was covering a long scar he had gotten in a car accident. â€Å"Seeing the scar every day reminded me of the accident,† the dealer said, â€Å"and so I tattooed over it with a symbol of personal power. I took back control.† That night, high on his new stash of drugs, Andros staggered into a local tattoo parlor and took off his shirt. â€Å"I want to hide these scars,† he announced. I want to take back control. â€Å"Hide them?† The tattoo artist eyed his chest. â€Å"With what?† â€Å"Tattoos.† â€Å"Yes . . . I mean tattoos of what?† Andros shrugged, wanting nothing more than to hide the ugly reminders of his past. â€Å"I don’t know. You choose.† The artist shook his head and handed Andros a pamphlet on the ancient and sacred tradition of tattooing. â€Å"Come back when you’re ready.† Andros discovered that the New York Public Library had in its collection fifty-three books on tattooing, and within a few weeks, he had read them all. Having rediscovered his passion for reading, he began carrying entire backpacks of books back and forth between the library and his apartment, where he voraciously devoured them while overlooking Central Park. These books on tattoos had opened a door to a strange world Andros had never known existed–a world of symbols, mysticism, mythology, and the magical arts. The more he read, the more he realized how blind he had been. He began keeping notebooks of his ideas, his sketches, and his strange dreams. When he could no longer find what he wanted at the library, he paid rare-book dealers to purchase for him some of the most esoteric texts on earth. De Praestigiis Daemonum . . . Lemegeton . . . Ars Almadel . . . Grimorium Verum . . . Ars Notoria . . . and on and on. He read them all, becoming more and more certain that the world still had many treasures yet to offer him. There are secrets out there that transcend human understanding. Then he discovered the writings of Aleister Crowley–a visionary mystic from the early 1900s– whom the church had deemed â€Å"the most evil man who ever lived.† Great minds are always feared by lesser minds. Andros learned about the power of ritual and incantation. He learned that sacred words, if properly spoken, functioned like keys that opened gateways to other worlds. There is a shadow universe beyond this one . . . a world from which I can draw power. And although Andros longed to harness that power, he knew there were rules and tasks to be completed beforehand. Become something holy, Crowley wrote. Make yourself sacred. The ancient rite of â€Å"sacred making† had once been the law of the land. From the early Hebrews who made burnt offerings at the Temple, to the Mayans who beheaded humans atop the pyramids of Chichen Itza, to Jesus Christ, who offered his body on the cross, the ancients understood God’s requirement for sacrifice. Sacrifice was the original ritual by which humans drew favor from the gods and made themselves holy. Sacra–sacred. Face– make. Even though the rite of sacrifice had been abandoned eons ago, its power remained. There had been a handful of modern mystics, including Aleister Crowley, who practiced the Art, perfecting it over time, and transforming themselves gradually into something more. Andros craved to transform himself as they had. And yet he knew he would have to cross a dangerous bridge to do so. Blood is all that separates the light from the dark. One night, a crow flew through Andros’s open bathroom window and got trapped in his apartment. Andros watched the bird flutter around for a while and then finally stop, apparently accepting its inability to escape. Andros had learned enough to recognize a sign. I am being urged onward. Clutching the bird in one hand, he stood at the makeshift altar in his kitchen and raised a sharp knife, speaking aloud the incantation he had memorized. â€Å"Camiach, Eomiahe, Emial, Macbal, Emoii, Zazean . . . by the most holy names of the angels in the Book of Assamaian, I conjure thee that thou assist me in this operation by the power of the One True God.† Andros now lowered the knife and carefully pierced the large vein on the right wing of the panicked bird. The crow began to bleed. As he watched the stream of red liquid flowing down into the metal cup he had placed as a receptacle, he felt an unexpected chill in the air. Nonetheless, he continued. â€Å"Almighty Adonai, Arathron, Ashai, Elohim, Elohi, Elion, Asher Eheieh, Shaddai . . . be my aid, so that this blood may have power and efficacy in all wherein I shall wish, and in all that I shall demand.† That night, he dreamed of birds . . . of a giant phoenix rising from a billowing fire. The next morning, he awoke with an energy he had not felt since childhood. He went running in the park, faster and farther than he’d imagined possible. When he could run no longer, he stopped to do pushups and sit-ups. Countless repetitions. Still he had energy. That night, again, he dreamed of the phoenix. Autumn had fallen again on Central Park, and the wildlife were scurrying about searching for food for winter. Andros despised the cold, and yet his carefully hidden traps were now overflowing with live rats and squirrels. He took them home in his backpack, performing rituals of increasing complexity. Emanual, Massiach, Yod, He, Vaud . . . please find me worthy. The blood rituals fueled his vitality. Andros felt younger every day. He continued to read day and night–ancient mystical texts, epic medieval poems, the early philosophers–and the more he learned about the true nature of things, the more he realized that all hope for mankind was lost. They are blind . . . wandering aimlessly in a world they will never understand. Andros was still a man, but he sensed he was evolving into something else. Something greater. Something sacred. His massive physique had emerged from dormancy, more powerful now than ever before. He finally understood its true purpose. My body is but a vessel for my most potent treasure . . . my mind. Andros knew his true potential had not yet been realized, and he delved deeper. What is my destiny? All the ancient texts spoke of good and evil . . . and of man’s need to choose between them. I made my choice long ago, he knew, and yet he felt no remorse. What is evil, if not a natural law? Darkness followed light. Chaos followed order. Entropy was fundamental. Everything decayed. The perfectly ordered crystal eventually turned into random particles of dust. There are those who create . . . and those who destroy. It was not until Andros read John Milton’s Paradise Lost that he saw his destiny materialize before him. He read of the great fallen angel . . . the warrior demon who fought against the light . . . the valiant one . . . the angel called Moloch. Moloch walked the earth as a god. The angel’s name, Andros later learned, when translated to the ancient tongue, became Mal’akh. And so shall I. Like all great transformations, this one had to begin with a sacrifice . . . but not of rats, nor birds. No, this transformation required a true sacrifice. There is but one worthy sacrifice. Suddenly he had a sense of clarity unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. His entire destiny had materialized. For three straight days he sketched on an enormous sheet of paper. When he was done, he had created a blueprint of what he would become. He hung the life-size sketch on his wall and gazed into it as if into a mirror. I am a masterpiece. The next day, he took his drawing to the tattoo parlor. He was ready. CHAPTER 78 The George Washington Masonic Memorial stands atop Shuter’s Hill in Alexandria, Virginia. Built in three distinct tiers of increasing architectural complexity from bottom to top–Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian–the structure stands as a physical symbol of man’s intellectual ascent. Inspired by the ancient Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, this soaring tower is capped by an Egyptian pyramid with a flamelike finial. Inside the spectacular marble foyer sits a massive bronze of George Washington in full Masonic regalia, along with the actual trowel he used to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol Building. Above the foyer, nine different levels bear names like the Grotto, the Crypt Room, and the Knights Templar Chapel. Among the treasures housed within these spaces are over twenty thousand volumes of Masonic writings, a dazzling replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and even a scale model of the throne room in King Solomon’s Temple. CIA agent Simkins checked his watch as the modified UH-60 chopper skimmed in low over the Potomac. Six minutes until their train arrives. He exhaled and gazed out the window at the shining Masonic Memorial on the horizon. He had to admit, the brilliantly shining tower was as impressive as any building on the National Mall. Simkins had never been inside the memorial, and tonight would be no different. If all went according to plan, Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon would never make it out of the subway station. â€Å"Over there!† Simkins shouted to the pilot, pointing down at the King Street subway station across from the memorial. The pilot banked the helicopter and set it down on a grassy area at the foot of Shuter’s Hill. Pedestrians looked up in surprise as Simkins and his team piled out, dashed across the street, and ran down into King Street Station. In the stairwell, several departing passengers leaped out of the way, plastering themselves to the walls as the phalanx of armed men in black thundered past them. The King Street Station was larger than Simkins had anticipated, apparently serving several different lines–Blue, Yellow, and Amtrak. He raced over to the Metro map on the wall, found Freedom Plaza and the direct line to this location. â€Å"Blue Line, southbound platform!† Simkins shouted. â€Å"Get down there and clear everyone out!† His team dashed off. Simkins rushed over to the ticket booth, flashed his identification, and shouted to the woman inside. â€Å"The next train from Metro Center–what time is it due?!† The woman inside looked frightened. â€Å"I’m not sure. Blue Line arrives every eleven minutes. There’s no set schedule.† â€Å"How long since the last train?† â€Å"Five . . . six minutes, maybe? No more than that.† Turner did the math. Perfect. The next train had to be Langdon’s. Inside a fast-moving subway car, Katherine Solomon shifted uncomfortably on the hard plastic seat. The bright fluorescent lights overhead hurt her eyes, and she fought the impulse to let her eyelids close, even for a second. Langdon sat beside her in the empty car, staring blankly down at the leather bag at his feet. His eyelids looked heavy, too, as if the rhythmic sway of the moving car were lulling him into a trance. Katherine pictured the strange contents of Langdon’s bag. Why does the CIA want this pyramid? Bellamy had said that Sato might be pursuing the pyramid because she knew its true potential. But even if this pyramid somehow did reveal the hiding place of ancient secrets, Katherine found it hard to believe that its promise of primeval mystical wisdom would interest the CIA. Then again, she reminded herself, the CIA had been caught several times running parapsychological or psi programs that bordered on ancient magic and mysticism. In 1995, the â€Å"Stargate/Scannate† scandal had exposed a classified CIA technology called remote viewing–a kind of telepathic mind travel that enabled a â€Å"viewer† to transport his mind’s eye to any location on earth and spy there, without being physically present. Of course, the technology was nothing new. Mystics called it astral projection, and yogis called it out-of-body experience. Unfortunately, horrified American taxpayers called it absurd, and the program had been scuttled. At least publicly. Ironically, Katherine saw remarkable connections between the CIA’s failed programs and her own breakthroughs in Noetic Science. Katherine felt eager to call the police and find out if they had discovered anything in Kalorama Heights, but she and Langdon were phoneless now, and making contact with the authorities would probably be a mistake anyway; there was no telling how far Sato’s reach extended. Patience, Katherine. Within minutes, they would be in a safe hiding place, guests of a man who had assured them he could provide answers. Katherine hoped his answers, whatever they might be, would help her save her brother. â€Å"Robert?† she whispered, glancing up at the subway map. â€Å"Next stop is ours.† Langdon emerged slowly from his daydream. â€Å"Right, thanks.† As the train rumbled toward the station, he collected his daybag and gave Katherine an uncertain glance. â€Å"Let’s just hope our arrival is uneventful.† By the time Turner Simkins dashed down to join his men, the subway platform had been entirely cleared, and his team was fanning out, taking up positions behind the support pillars that ran the length of the platform. A distant rumble echoed in the tunnel at the other end of the platform, and as it grew louder, Simkins felt the push of stale warm air billowing around him. No escape, Mr. Langdon. Simkins turned to the two agents he had told to join him on the platform. â€Å"Identification and weapons out. These trains are automated, but they all have a conductor who opens the doors. Find him.† The train’s headlamp now appeared down the tunnel, and the sound of squealing brakes pierced the air. As the train burst into the station and began slowing down, Simkins and his two agents leaned out over the track, waving CIA identification badges and straining to make eye contact with the conductor before he could open the doors. The train was closing fast. In the third car, Simkins finally saw the startled face of the conductor, who was apparently trying to figure out why three men in black were all waving identification badges at him. Simkins jogged toward the train, which was now nearing a full stop. â€Å"CIA!† Simkins shouted, holding up his ID. â€Å"Do NOT open the doors!† As the train glided slowly past him, he went toward the conductor’s car, shouting in at him. â€Å"Do not open your doors! Do you understand?! Do NOT open your doors!† The train came to a full stop, its wide-eyed conductor nodding repeatedly. â€Å"What’s wrong?!† the man demanded through his side window. â€Å"Don’t let this train move,† Simkins said. â€Å"And don’t open the doors.† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"Can you let us into the first car?† The conductor nodded. Looking fearful, he stepped out of the train, closing the door behind him. He escorted Simkins and his men to the first car, where he manually opened the door. â€Å"Lock it behind us,† Simkins said, pulling his weapon. Simkins and his men stepped quickly into the stark light of the first car. The conductor locked the door behind them. The first car contained only four passengers–three teenage boys and an old woman–all of whom looked understandably startled to see three armed men entering. Simkins held up his ID. â€Å"Everything’s fine. Just stay seated.† Simkins and his men now began their sweep, pushing toward the back of the sealed train one car at a time–â€Å"squeezing toothpaste,† as it was called during his training at the Farm. Very few passengers were on this train, and halfway to the back, the agents still had seen nobody even remotely resembling the description of Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon. Nonetheless, Simkins remained confident. There was absolutely no place to hide on a subway car. No bathrooms, no storage, and no alternative exits. Even if the targets had seen them board the train and fled to the back, there was no way out. Prying open a door was almost impossible, and Simkins had men watching the platform and both sides of the train anyway. Patience. By the time Simkins reached the second-to-last car, however, he was feeling edgy. This penultimate car had only one passenger–a Chinese man. Simkins and his agents moved through, scanning for any place to hide. There was none. â€Å"Last car,† Simkins said, raising his weapon as the threesome moved toward the threshold of the train’s final section. As they stepped into the last car, all three of them immediately stopped and stared. What the . . . ?! Simkins raced to the rear of the deserted cabin, searching behind all the seats. He spun back to his men, blood boiling. â€Å"Where the hell did they go?!† How to cite The Lost Symbol Chapter 76-78, Essay examples

Black Reconstruction Essay Example For Students

Black Reconstruction Essay The true significance of slavery in the United States to the whole social development of America, lay in the ultimate relation of slaves to democracy. What were to be the limits of democratic control in the United State? If all labor, black as well as white, became free, were given schools and the right to vote, what control could or should be set to the power and action of these laborers? Was the rule of the mass of Americans to be unlimited, and the right to rule extended to all men, regardless of race and color, or if not, what power of dictatorship would rule, and how would property and privilege be protected? (184) This was the dilemma facing the Northern bourgeoisie in the face of the audacious lawlessness of the South. Northern industrialists had their own reasons for pursuing civil war with the South. After living their lives under the institution of slavery, the former slaves were literally left to survive on their own without the proper tools such as opportunities, provisions, or education. This race of people, for whom it was illegal to learn to read or write and even to congregate in groups of three or more, was now released into the same society that had enslaved them, and which was now supposed to open its arms and accept them as equals. Along with this freedom came a sudden change in identity, a clinging to faith, and a supposed new placement within society. The Negro became in the first year contraband of war; that is, property belonging to the enemy and valuable to the invader. And in addition to that, he became, as the South quickly saw, the key to Southern resistance. Either these four million laborers remained quietly at work to raise food for their fighters, or the fighter starved. Simultaneously, when the dream of the North for man-power produced riots, the only additional troops that the North could depend on were 200,000 Negroes, for without them, as Lincoln said, the North could not have won the war. (DuBois, 80) In spite of this, the treatment of African Americans from slavery to freedom could only be thought of as different according to the law because conceptually the two identities, slave and free, closely parallel each other even today. Survival was a key element for the lives of African Americans during slavery. Its guiding principle was the ability to endure the oppression to secure the continuation of the race. Slaves recognized that adaptation to the new environment and culture in the New World would be the main factor for their ability to stay alive. They began this adaptation process, called survival faith, by creating a sub-culture which merged traditional African practices with those the slaves were forced to adopt from their masters. The African slaves brought with them all of their African traditions but were suppressed from utilizing them in their original fashion. Therefore, they merged remnants of African cultures including the great Bantu tribes from Sierra Leone to South Africa; the Sudanese, straight across the center of the continent, from the Atlantic to the Valley of the Nile; the Nilotic Negroes and the black and brown Hamites, allied with Egypt; the tribes of the great lakes; the Pygmies and the Hottentots; and in addition to these, distinct traces of both Berber and Arab (DuBois, 3) with those remnants of European and Native American cultures. This new culture was comprised of dance, rhythmic music, folk traditions and values, religious beliefs, food and its preparation, cultivation of crops, herbal medicines, socialization of children, philosophy of respect for elders, oral traditions, etc. Within each aspect of the new African American culture, survival was somehow intertwined either directly or i ndirectly. Along with the notion of survival faith came the belief that if the slaves were not to be free from oppression in this life, they would certainly be free from oppression in the next life. This religious rationale held a functional value and assisted the slaves in concentrating on the freedom in the next life, but with this belief the slaves were reneging any hope of equality in their lives on this earth. Identify Kulturkampf. Essay This is the mentality behind the slave who compared the abolition of slavery to the coming of Jesus Christ. He created in his mind the idea that the only time he would see freedom was when the heavens opened and the .

Religious Essays - Religion And Politics, Freedom Of Religion

Religious Equality In US America has been named the "melting pot" of the world. It houses many different cultures, nationalities, ideas and religions. There are Christians, Jews, Catholics, Buddhists, Mormons, Hindus, Spiritualists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islamics, plus many more. America is unique in that all these religions are represented in a nation that is only 200 years old. And America has upheld, throughout history, that the freedom and equality of religion is extremely important in order for this nation to function as a free nation. The foundations of America were set as a result of England's persecution; more specifically, England's religious persecution. The colonists wanted to create a nation that allowed people to be free. They desired to speak what they wanted to speak, do what they wanted to do, and practice what they wanted to practice... without the government watching their every move. Thus came religious freedom. The First Amendment to the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," meaning that an American citizen would be able to practice his or her religion without any intervention or persecution from the government, be it Islam, Judism, Mormonism or Catholicism. Yet, with religious freedom, comes important questions concerning its existence. Is religious equality just as important as all the other freedoms... such as the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, the freedom to assemble, and others as well? The answer here is yes. If this nation truly stands for freedom, the American government cannot say that its citizens have the right to speak freely, write freely, or assemble freely, but then maintain an established national religion. That would be contradictory, and would not make America any better off than England, which it had separated from just years beforehand. Certainly, all the freedoms are equal. On the other hand, unlike the other freedoms mentioned, religious freedom addresses a different type of need. It addresses the concept of personal fulfillment, or perhaps, self-realization. Religion attempts to give answers to basic questions: From where did the world come? What is the meaning of human life? Why do people die and what happens afterward? Why is there evil? How should people behave? As a word religion is difficult to define, but as a human experience it seems to be universal. The 20th-century German-born American theologian, Paul Tillich, gave a simple and basic definition of the word: "Religion is ultimate concern." This means that religion includes that to which people are most devoted or that from which they expect to get the most satisfaction in life. Consequently, religion provides adequate answers to the basic afore mentioned questions. Religion is, undoubtedly, a very important part of life. The second question regarding freedom of religion discusses which aspect of religion should be considered equal: the structure or substantive content of religion, or the individual conscience of that religion. Because of the diversity and impact that religion has in the lives of Americans, the individual conscience should be treated as equal, not the structure or substantive content of the various religions. No two religions are alike, just as no two people are alike. The government cannot make all religions equal in regards to their individual structure and/or practices because the individual practices are what make each religion unique; appealing to the individual conscience. If all religions had to be equal in practice, we would have Buddhists saying "Hail Mary's," or Christians bowing to Allah. Perhaps Catholics would wear orange robes and have shaved heads, and Hare Krishna's could sing music out of the Protestant Psalter Hymnal. This would defeat the whole purpose of allowing freedom of religion in the first place. Religion must be able to differ in structure and substantive content. People must be able to practice their own religion in the way they want to... and this cannot happen if all religions in America are made equal in structure and practice. The individual conscience in a certain religion, however, must be treated the same as any other religion. A Christian conscience must be treated the same as that of a Buddhist conscience. A Catholic conscience must be treated the same as that of a Mormon conscience, and so on. One cannot discriminate against a religion if all religions are indeed seen as equal in regards to the individual conscience. It would be like discriminating against someone because they do not like coffee with their breakfast. If one decides that they would rather have orange juice with their bacon and eggs, that is up to them. It is their choice. And

African safari essays

African safari essays Your African safari has been upturned. Your excursion leaves you helpless with nowhere to hide when a herd of aardvarks draws nearer by the second. Without a drink of water for days, you cannot organize your thoughts well enough to even formulate a plan. Your adrenaline rises, and instinct kicks in. You begin to run in the opposite direction in desperation, knowing that it is hopeless. You approach a dead tree, and a light turns on. You snap off a Y-shaped branch, and place around it the rubber band that held together the pages of your safari log. You stand idle with confidence as the herds cloud of dust closes in on you. Upon the opening of your backpack, you remove some ammunition. Unfortunately, the contents consist only of todays food supply: a small quantity of tomatoes. Today you left the carrots at the campsite. Nevertheless, you ready your slingshot with a tomato at the helm. The ground shakes under the weight of the aardvarks, and at this point their thumpings are the clearest you have heard them. Before you get a chance to release the first tomato, you lose your footing on a puddle of water beneath your boots. Had you observed this puddle earlier, you would have quenched your thirst and had the strength to outrun the stampede. However, the moment your body meets the ground, an aardvark steps on your left hand and you lose grip of the slingshot. A second aardvark steps on the slingshot, snapping it in half. You give up all hope and the remaining members of the herd trounce on you to the point of your death. ...

Theres a Time for Tmesis

Theres a Time for Tmesis There’s a Time for Tmesis There’s a Time for Tmesis By Mark Nichol Tmesis is a linguistic device in which a word or phrase interrupts another word or phrase. (The word is a Greek term that refers to cutting.) Depending on the type of tmesis, it is either acceptable in formal usage or relegated to humorous and/or emphatic colloquialisms. Phrasing in which the preposition down is located within the verb phrase â€Å"turn down† in â€Å"Turn down that music,† as opposed to its placement in â€Å"Turn that music down,† is a standard form of tmesis, as are whatsoever and unbeknownst, in which, respectively, so is inserted in whatever and be is placed within an archaic form of unknown. (Interestingly, in some literary usage, a tmetic word is itself cloven, as in the biblical verse â€Å"He shall be punished, what man soever offendeth.†) By contrast, seemingly tmetic words such as notwithstanding and nevertheless do not qualify, because the framing syllables do not constitute words or set phrases. A form of tmesis often heard spoken spontaneously but best reconstructed for writing is a possessive phrase such as â€Å"the girl in the back row’s,† referring to something belonging to a girl sitting in a back row; the modifying phrase â€Å"in the back row† is artificially inserted between girl and the possessive s. â€Å"The book is the girl in the back row’s,† for example, should be recast as â€Å"The book belongs to the girl in the back row.† Informal tmetic usage is ubiquitous but discouraged in formal writing. Examples include â€Å"a whole nother† and â€Å"any old how† as intensifications of another and anyhow. Recently, however, this form of tmesis has been supplanted in popularity by a form formally known as expletive infixation, in which a profane or otherwise emphatic word is inserted into an adjective to fortify its impact, as in abso-frickin’-lutely and la-dee-frickin’-da. Another colloquial construction is the emphatic insertion of so in such statements as â€Å"I am so not going there.† These contemporary conversational habits have their place in transcriptions of casual dialogue and in light-hearted informal prose, but they’re intrusive in formal writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SEnglish Grammar 101: Verb MoodUsing "May" in a Question

Eliminating redundancy at Lion using Business Intelligence Platform Essay

Eliminating redundancy at Lion using Business Intelligence Platform - Essay Example In the report, the researcher has discussed about the Kirini, a Japanese based brewery company which has been brewing beer since its inception in 1888. Lion Nathan Ltd in Australia is wholly owned by subsidiary of Kirin after the merger. According to information obtained from its official website, Lion is a leading beverage and food company with a portfolio that includes many of Australia and New Zealand’s favourite brands. It was formed in 2009 under the name ‘Lion Nathan National Foods,’ but the name later changed to Lion when Kirin Holdings Company Limited completed its purchase of Lion Nathan and merged the business with National Foods in 2009 and it has owned this business since 2007. These companies before and after the merger belonged to the national economies of their host countries. The researcher posits to the effect that Lion employs close to 8,000 people across Australia and New Zealand and it boasts of a portfolio of market-leading, household-name bra nds in beer, spirits, wine, milk, fresh dairy foods, juice, cheese and soy beverages. The company has significantly contributed to the Australian and New Zealand economies. However, the problem emanates from the view that the merger acquisition by Kirin of Lion which is Australian based company may cause redundancy and problems in operation support services. As a result, the redundancy can lead to an increase in the operation costs if the problem is not fixed and this is likely to affect the company. If the problem not fix, explain why it will affect the company. Of notable concern is the factor that there are also competitors in the food and beverage industry where Lion operates and Heineken is the greatest competitor. In order to address the problem raised above, the initiative change is primarily concerned with reviewing the computer system used by the organisations before and after the merger to establish the changes required to turn around the fortunes of the organisation. In t his case, it is proposed that when solving this problem, a business intelligence Platform (real time) can be used to reduce the operational costs after the merger so as to improve the organisation’s productivity in order to gain a competitive advantage over the other rival competitors in the same industry. BIP is a computer based support system used in the decision making process and is based on factual data. According to Gartner (2007), BIP is comprised of mainly three categories namely information delivery (workflow and collaboration) as well as analysis. All information about the operations of the organisation is gathered and computed in detail where it is established if there is any area that may need change to ensure effective operation of the organisation. However, these two organisations have been using different systems where the BIP model was alien to Lion Nathan before the merger. The issues raised above are very important and they are likely to affect the company i f change is not done given that before the major, these two companies used different BI platforms which can pose a challenge to the merged company. In order to analyse the current performance of Lion, it will be imperative to carry out a financial analysis of the company in order to draw a comparison with its previous performance levels. Analysis of the current situation Lion is a company which operates in the food and beverages sector in Australia and it is a public company with various shareholders. The company is listed on the Australian stock exchange and all the data in the financial statements from 2009 to 2010 is quoted in Australian dollars. All the data used in the financial analysis for the company below has been retrieved from the company’s official website (http://www.lionco.com/2011/02/10/lion-nathan-national-foods-fy10-result/, 2010/11). The analysis of the organisation is mainly based on the following three important aspects namely expenses, revenue, net profit as well as return on investment for the three year period under survey. The financial analy

Criminal law coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal law - Coursework Example For instance, the offender may have been stopped by a police officer who arrived before the completion of the criminal act. A complete, but imperfect attempt occurs when the offender carries out all the actions that he had planned out to do, but fails to attain the desired end result. An example here is the attempt to murder a victim, where the offender stabs them with a knife and leaves them to die, but they fail to – after being saved or taken to hospital (Hasnas, 13). The two rationales used in determining or making inferences from an attempt crime include the following: Analyzing the dangerous nature of the acts, and evaluating the dangerousness of the defender. In focusing on the dangerous acts, attention is placed on how close the defendant came, towards the completion of the attempted crime, and this move is aimed at averting the danger that may result from the dangerous ways of the defendant. When the focus is on the dangerous nature of the defendant, attention is plac ed on determining how the defendant has fully developed their criminal intent, and this move is aimed at neutralizing the dangerous conduct. From a legal principle’s perspective, the defendant is considered innocent, until it has been proven that they are guilty of the attempt. The guilty or the innocent status of the defendant is determined by the prosecution team, and not the defendant or the complainant. An example here is the case of a woman who tries to kill the husband with a knife, but the husband escaped the attempt after receiving a cut. In this case, the prosecution must decide whether to charge her for domestic violence or attempted murder, as she cannot be penalized twice for the crime (Fletcher, 149–151). Q 2. Discuss the broken windows theory and provide examples. What has the research shown about the validity of the theory? The broken windows theory is a criminal basis explanation model, which suggests that a society or a part of society which seems lawl ess ends up becoming a breeding ground for lawlessness and crime. The theory builds its arguments on the basis of social cohesion, and has influenced legal practice since the 1980s. The specific claim portrayed by this theory is that – the cases of neighborhoods that look disordered, unfriendly and broken down – tend to nurture the development of crime and delinquent behavior. The theory, further, suggests that a society that lacks a sense of mutual interest and social cohesion will be faced by an increasing level of criminality. The basis of the central theme of the theory is that the prevalence of disharmony and unfriendliness push the members of society into developing thinking habits – of believing that order, fairness and wrong acts do not matter, and that no one cares. The nurture into incivility leads to the development of incivility among the members of the society, causing them to adjust, into fitting into the uncivilized society. As an example, is the case of a stateless society, where conflict resolution models are not present: in such a society, a person who offends another is not punished, therefore the victim is left to decide whether to revenge the offense or not. Another example is the tendency of children brought up in violence filled homes, as they grow up to become violent, because they adjust and develop the tendencies of violent behavior (Gault & Silver, 240-243). Research in verifying the broken windows

Kenneth Burke Essay Example for Free

Kenneth Burke Essay Kenneth Duva Burke (May 5, 1897 – November 19, 1993) was an American literary theorist and philosopher. Burkes primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics. Burke became a highly distinguished writer after getting out of college, and starting off serving as an editor and critic instead, while he developed his relationships with other successful writers. He would later return to the university to lecture and teach. He was born on May 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Peabody High School, where his friend Malcolm Cowley was also a student. Burke attended Ohio State University for only a semester, then studied at Columbia University in 1916-1917 before dropping out to be a writer. In Greenwich Village he kept company with avant-garde writers such as Hart Crane, Malcolm Cowley, Gorham Munson, and later Allen Tate. Raised Roman Catholic, Burke later became an avowed agnostic. In 1919, he married Lily Mary Batterham, with whom he had three daughters: the late feminist, Marxist anthropologist Eleanor Leacock (1922–1987); musician (Jeanne) Elspeth Chapin Hart (b. 1920); and writer and poet France Burke (b. 1925). He would later marry her sister Elizabeth Batterham in 1933 and have two sons, Michael and Anthony. Burke served as the editor of the modernist literary magazine The Dial in 1923, and as its music critic from 1927-1929. Kenneth himself was an avid player of the saxophone and flute. He received the Dial Award in 1928 for distinguished service to American literature. He was the music critic of The Nation from 1934–1936, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1935. His work on criticism was a driving force for placing him back into the university spotlight. As a result, he was able to teach and lecture at various colleges, including Bennington College, while continuing his literary work. Many of Kenneth Burkes personal papers and correspondence are housed at Pennsylvania State Universitys Special Collections Library. In later life, his New Jersey farm was a popular summer retreat for his extended family, as reported by his grandson Harry Chapin, a contemporary popular song artist. He died of heart failure at his home in Andover, New Jersey. Burke, like many twentieth century theorists and critics, was heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Nietzsche. He was a lifelong interpreter of Shakespeare, and was also significantly influenced by Thorstein Veblen. He resisted being pigeonholed as a follower of any philosophical or political school of thought, and had a notable and very public break with the Marxists who dominated the literary criticism set in the 1930s. Burke corresponded with a number of literary critics, thinkers, and writers over the years, including William Carlos Williams, Malcolm Cowley, Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, Ralph Ellison,Katherine Anne Porter, Jean Toomer, Hart Crane, and Marianne Moore. Later thinkers who have acknowledged Burkes influence include Harold Bloom, Stanley Cavell, Susan Sontag (his student at the University of Chicago), Erving Goffman, Geoffrey Hartman, Edward Said, Rene Girard, Fredric Jameson, Michael Calvin McGee, Dell Hymes and Clifford Geertz. Burke was one of the first prominent American critics to appreciate and articulate the importance of Thomas Mann and Andre Gide; Burke produced the first English translation of Death in Venice, which first appeared in The Dial in 1924. It is now considered to be much more faithful and explicit than H. T. Lowe-Porters more famous 1930 translation. Burkes political engagement is evident, for example, A Grammar of Motives takes as its epigraph, ad bellum purificandum — toward the purification of (the human spirit from) war. American literary critic Harold Bloom singled out Burkes Counterstatement and A Rhetoric of Motives for inclusion in his Western Canon. The political and social power of symbols was central to Burkes scholarship throughout his career. He felt that through understanding what is involved when we say what people are doing and why they are doing it, we could gain insight into the cognitive basis for our perception of the world. For Burke, the way in which we decide to narrate gives importance to specific qualities over others. He believed that this could tell us a great deal about how we see the world. Burke called the social and political rhetorical analysis dramatism and believed that such an approach to language analysis and language usage could help us understand the basis of conflict, the virtues and dangers of cooperation, and the opportunities of identification and consubstantiality. Burke defined the rhetorical function of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols. His definition of humanity states that man is the symbol using, making, and mis-using animal, inventor of the negative, separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making, goaded by the spirit of hierarchy, and rotten with perfection. For Burke, some of the most significant problems in human behavior resulted from instances of symbols using human beings rather than human beings using symbols. Burke proposed that when we attribute motives to others, we tend to rely on ratios between five elements: act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. This has become known as the dramatistic pentad. The pentad is grounded in his dramatistic method, which considers human communication as a form of action. Dramatism invites one to consider the matter of motives in a perspective that, being developed from the analysis of drama, treats language and thought primarily as modes of action (Grammar of Motives xxii). Burke pursued literary criticism not as a formalistic enterprise but rather as an enterprise with significant sociological impact; he saw literature as equipment for living, offering folk wisdom and common sense to people and thus guiding the way they lived their lives. Another key concept for Burke is the terministic screen — a set of symbols that becomes a kind of screen or grid of intelligibility through which the world makes sense to us. Here Burke offers rhetorical theorists and critics a way of understanding the relationship between language and ideology. Language, Burke thought, doesnt simply reflect reality; it also helps select reality as well as deflect reality. In Language as Symbolic Action (1966), he writes, Even if any given terminology is a reflection of reality, by its very nature as a terminology it must be a selection of reality; and to this extent must function also as a deflection of reality. In his book Language as Symbolic Action (1966), Burke defined humankind as a symbol using animal (p. 3). This definition of man, he argued, means that reality has actually been built up for us through nothing but our symbol system (p. 5). Without our encyclopedias, atlases, and other assorted reference guides, we would know little about the world that lies beyond our immediate sensory experience. What we call reality, Burke stated, is actually a clutter of symbols about the past combined with whatever things we know mainly through maps, magazines, newspapers, and the like about the present . . . construct of our symbol systems (p. 5). College students wandering from class to class, from English literature to sociology to biology to calculus, encounter a new reality each time they enter a classroom; the courses listed in a universitys catalogue are in effect but so many different terminologies (p. 5). It stands to reason then that people who consider themselves to be Christian, and who internalize that religions symbol system, inhabit a reality that is different from the one of practicin g Buddhists, or Jews, or Muslims.

Victorian Law Reform Commitee :: essays research papers

Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee Functions The functions of the Committee, as defined by Section 12 of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, are: 1) To inquire into, consider and report to the Parliament on any proposal, matter or thing concerned with – a. Legal, constitutional or parliamentary reform; b. The administration of justice; c. Law reform. 2) It is not a function of the Law Reform Committee to inquire into, consider or report to the Parliament on any proposal, matter of thing concerned with a. The joint standing orders of the Parliament; b. The standing orders or rules of practice of the Council or of the Assembly. Inquiry into Administration of Justice Offences Terms of Reference Law Reform Committee of Parliament is required To inquire into, consider and report to Parliament on: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current state of law in Victoria in relation to administration of justice offences (such as perjury, perverting the course of justice, falsifying evidence and threatening witnesses); and 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether these laws should be amended, and in what way, having particular regard to interstate laws and the recommendations of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee Discussion Paper on Administration of Justice Offences (July 1997). PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA LAW REFORM COMMITTEE Inquiry into Administration of Justice Offences The Governor in Council has asked that the Law Reform Committee inquire into, consider and report to Parliament on: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current state of law in Victoria in relation to administration of justice offences (such as perjury, perverting the course of justice, falsifying evidence and threatening witnesses); and 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether these laws should be amended, and in what way, having particular regard to interstate laws and the recommendations of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee Discussion Paper on Administration of Justice Offences (July 1997). A copy of the Committee’s terms of reference and a copy of a Discussion Paper prepared by the Committee can be obtained by telephoning (03) 9651 3644 or from the Committee’s website, http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/ The Committee invites written submissions from individuals and organisations on any aspect of this reference. Submissions should be sent to the address below by 31 October 2003. All submissions are treated as public documents unless confidentiality is requested. Executive Officer Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee Level 8, 35 Spring Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 Mr Rob Hudson, MP Chair Recommendation 1 p. 55 MCCOC Model Code That a new statutory provision be created for perverting the course of justice that incorporates the common law elements of the offence so that the new provision would make it an offence to â€Å"do an act that is capable of and has a tendency to pervert the

What are UPS “Smart Labels?

Use the link below to view the Video, UPS and the Diad IV, then answer the following questions.https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FTwCZ3bqRUNRpFKY9S6s24X3BOEyB30lZ8IWzlhL76c/edit?usp=sharing1. What are UPS â€Å"Smart Labels?† What role do they play in UPS operations?2. Write out the steps a package takes from pick-up by a UPS driver to delivery including the role of DIAD, the UPS Data Center, and the UPS Package Center.3. What role does wireless communication play in the UPS systems?4. How has information technology transformed the package delivery business?5. How does UPS’s investment in IT help it achieve the strategic business objectives described in Chapter 1?ANSWERS:1. Smart labels are bar-coded labels that are computerized to provide shipping information. Smart labels play the role of providingcustomer information for shipping. The smart label is scanned every time a shipment, stop, or delivery has been made so thatcustomers can track their packages from the starting point to the finishing point.2. The package is either picked up from the customer of the customer drops it off and then a smart label is created that contains all itsinformation like shipping information and tracking number. This information then has to be sent to the warehouse. The drive then has ahand help computer called a DIAD that he/she carries around with him/her to show them the routes and stops. They use the DIAD toscan the package which then sends all the information of that package to the customer and the data center. All packages are alwaysprocess through the package center before delivery.3. Wireless communication is important to the UPS systems due to all of the drivers information being held on the DIAD which gets itssignal from a wireless cell phone tower. In order to get information updated efficiently to customers and to the data center thenwireless communication is a huge role, also so that the driver has up to date information and can get any informatio n immediately ifsomething has changed to their route.4. Information technology has transformed the package delivery business due to it allowing a more efficient business because it allowsthe driver to get all information needed as soon as possible so that he knows if their is changes to his rout or pickups, Informationtechnology is also good for the employer to know the where about of their employee at all times. Information technology also savesmoney.

Leonard Bernstein Impact

Michelle Walk Music 174 Impact presentation â€Å"Music can name the unnamable and communicate the unknowable. † Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein was born August 25, 1918. Now usually, one would not look for a birth date, rather death. This is treasured because, what is truly important is not only ones life; but also and especially, our founders of music and arts. His death date was October 14, 1990. This presents us with the ideal window of what he achieved during his life span. But, for all the years that Bernstein was in profession, no span of time could successfully capture just how much he has contributed to music as a society and art.Bernstein was a proud graduate of Harvard in 1939 (with prior knowledge in two other institutes of learning), landing him a job just a short year later. Coincidentally, his first career landed him as assistant conductor in the New York Philharmonic in 1940. He had the opportunity to substitute an ill Bruno Walter at Carnegie Hall; which h e vicariously accepted, producing instant critical praises. Soon after, various musicians worldwide were pleading him to be a guest conductor at their performances. One in his era may also recognize (following his jumpstarted career) his first successful large scale piece as: Symphony No. Jeremiah (in just 1943). Being the New York Philharmonic conductor remains one of his most important contributions to music. One of the most vital periods in his career was 1958-1969 where he produced over 300 out of 400 or more lifetime pieces, in just 11 years. Specifically, the young people’s concerts with the New York philharmonic was a televised show that ran for 11 seasons. He inspired the fledgling generations to procure music in their everyday lives with a passion, and also presented audiences to live music programs.He led this into the Philharmonic’s center stage for works, and focused on a strong educational mission to blend with the music. In addition, he produced and perfo rmed more concerts with the NY Philharmonic than any conductor before himself. Bernstein also had the great opportunity to direct at the premiere of the Philharmonic Hall, which is now Avery Fisher hall in the Lincoln Center in NY! Two very large musical compositions of Bernstein’s were: he directed all the music for the original play â€Å"west side story† and â€Å"Candide†. These 1900-American-Opera creations introduced a new idea to scriptwriters.It combined (what is referred to as) opera and jazz swings to create this new notion. Through the music and its sole style, it revealed character and social consciousness. Both received critical acclaim and many other plays of his were turned to famous films. Many of his concepts were rooted in his (returnings) to his previous places of study. This includes but is not limited to returning to teach classes and lectures. He did this a lot at Tanglewood, MA. Even throughout all his praise and review, he remained a virt uous man through his travels.Bernstein was the first American in Milan to conduct an opera. Not only was he appraised by his co-workers, yet he was friends with many of his musical rivals, and best friends with Aaron Copland. Also, he was one of the leading advocates of American composers, such as lifelong friend Copland. Various opportunities such as these helped him to receive his life title of Laureate Conductor. He also received an international prize in 1990 which he used all the money to fund Bernstein Education through Arts, a school for the passionate young student.Several Philharmonics in the world still hold a Beethoven/Bernstein festival in such conductor’s honors. In 1985, the National Academy of Recreational Arts and Sciences rewarded him for lifetime achievement. Many viewers absolutely adored Bernstein through this aspect, as well the fact that he engaged almost all of his audiences in his performances. Daughter of Bernstein, Jamie Bernstein always had a positi ve comment about her â€Å"Ambitious? †[Yes, she did use the question mark] father. â€Å"In the 1970's, Bernstein [†¦] back into a student again [to prepare Charles Eliot Norton lectures] at Harvard.He immersed himself in Chomskyan linguistics, absorbing an entire new field of knowledge, [†¦] apply the principles of linguistics to music — thereby creating a brand new field of study, and turning himself back into a teacher again in the process. Ambitious? Oh, yes! Was he in over his head? Completely! He was never happier than he was in those 18 months on the Harvard campus, reveling in his dual roles as student and teacher. † What does this mean explicitly? That Bernstein was not only a successful composer and avid musician, but a powerful teacher and enthusiast of the music of his time, and past times as well.In his memory, he can be enthused with 20 Grammy awards on top of his numerous achievements including writing two books, three plays, even appea ring on a postage stamp. But of course what remains important are his 400 or more composed pieces in his days. Sources WORKS CITED: (direct quotation within text and consulted) Bernstein, Jamie. â€Å"Leonard Bernstein: a Born Teacher. † Educator. (2008): n. page. Web. 24 Sep. 2012. ;lt;http://www. leonardbernstein. com/educator. htm;gt;. â€Å"Leonard Bernstein. † BrainyQuote. com. Xplore Inc, 2012. 24 September 2012. http://www. brainyquote. om/quotes/authors/l/leonard_bernstein. html (within title of document) WORKS CONSULTED: Schiff, David. â€Å"Bernstein, Leonard in Oxford Music Online. † Bernstein, Leonard. (2008): n. page. Web. 24 Sep. 2012. ;lt;http://www. oxfordmusiconline. com. ezproxy. uwc. edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/02883? q=leonard bernstein;amp;search=quick;amp;pos=1;amp;_start=1;gt;. Sputnik, Dr. â€Å"Leonard Bernstein. † (2012): n. page. Web. 24 Sep. 2012. ;lt;http://www. nndb. com/people/532/000031439/;gt;. † Leonard Berns tein. † 2012. Biography. com 24 Sep 2012, 10:33 http://www. biography. com/people/leonard-bernstein-9210269

Free Essays on Green Is The Colour

A critic has made the following observation about Fernando’s Green is the Colour: Clearly, the central concern (of the novel) is how people of different races, the heirs of colonial and migrant histories, face the challenges of living side by side.† Does this comment function, for you, as an adequate summation of the novel’s thematic concerns? In Fernando’s Green is the Colour, there is no doubt that the central concern is about how people of different races face the challenges of living side by side. However, besides this, readers should also look beyond this central concern to unearth Fernando’s other concerns regarding the country’s future from various aspects. Although this novel was written in the setting of post 13 May 1969, its thematic concerns are also applicable to the Malaysian society of today. As long as Malaysia has not achieved true success in the formation of a common â€Å"Bangsa Malaysia† identity, the issues grappled by Fernando in this story will remain relevant to the Malaysians. In this novel, Fernando brings out the problems that plague the three main races at that period of time. To Fernando, it is important to address the problems that all races are facing if we want to achieve a Malaysia that is united from every aspect. It is also Fernando’s intention to highlight these issues as he wants his readers of different races to understand the situation and also the plight of their fellow Malaysians who are of different backgrounds. Even for Malaysians of today, it would be good to understand the history of each other’s culture, so that better understanding among each other could be forged to open the way up for Fernando’s dialogic vision for the nation, which according to Mohammad A. Quayum in â€Å"Shaping a New Destiny with Dialogic Vision†, â€Å"accommodates widely different outlooks for the sake of promoting fellowship and peace† (169). Through this novel, Fernando highlights the probl... Free Essays on Green Is The Colour Free Essays on Green Is The Colour A critic has made the following observation about Fernando’s Green is the Colour: Clearly, the central concern (of the novel) is how people of different races, the heirs of colonial and migrant histories, face the challenges of living side by side.† Does this comment function, for you, as an adequate summation of the novel’s thematic concerns? In Fernando’s Green is the Colour, there is no doubt that the central concern is about how people of different races face the challenges of living side by side. However, besides this, readers should also look beyond this central concern to unearth Fernando’s other concerns regarding the country’s future from various aspects. Although this novel was written in the setting of post 13 May 1969, its thematic concerns are also applicable to the Malaysian society of today. As long as Malaysia has not achieved true success in the formation of a common â€Å"Bangsa Malaysia† identity, the issues grappled by Fernando in this story will remain relevant to the Malaysians. In this novel, Fernando brings out the problems that plague the three main races at that period of time. To Fernando, it is important to address the problems that all races are facing if we want to achieve a Malaysia that is united from every aspect. It is also Fernando’s intention to highlight these issues as he wants his readers of different races to understand the situation and also the plight of their fellow Malaysians who are of different backgrounds. Even for Malaysians of today, it would be good to understand the history of each other’s culture, so that better understanding among each other could be forged to open the way up for Fernando’s dialogic vision for the nation, which according to Mohammad A. Quayum in â€Å"Shaping a New Destiny with Dialogic Vision†, â€Å"accommodates widely different outlooks for the sake of promoting fellowship and peace† (169). Through this novel, Fernando highlights the probl...

Understanding the Threats to Animals and Wildlife

Understanding the Threats to Animals and Wildlife Living things face a constant barrage of external stresses or threats that challenge their ability to survive and reproduce. If a species is unable to successfully cope with these threats through adaptation, they may face extinction. A constantly changing physical environment requires organisms to adapt to new temperatures, climates, and atmospheric conditions. Living things must also deal with unexpected events such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, meteor strikes, fires, and hurricanes. As new lifeforms arise and interact, species are further challenged to adapt to one another to deal with competition, predation, parasitism, disease, and other complex biotic processes. In recent evolutionary history, threats facing many animals and other organisms have been driven primarily by the effects of a single species: humans. The extent to which humans have altered this planet has affected countless species and has initiated extinctions on such a vast scale that many scientists believe we are now experiencing a mass extinction (the sixth mass extinction in the history of life on earth). Preventable Threats Since man is indeed part of nature, man-made threats are merely a subset of natural threats. But unlike other natural threats, man-made threats are threats that we can prevent by changing our behavior. As humans, we have a unique ability to understand the consequences of our actions, both present, and past. We are capable of learning more about the effects our actions have on the world around us and how changes in those actions could help to alter future events. By examining how human activities have adversely impacted life on earth, we can take steps to reverse past damages and prevent future damage. The Types of Man-Made Threats Man-made threats can be classified into the following general categories: Habitat Destruction Fragmentation - The destruction or splitting up of once continuous habitat to enable humans to use the land for agriculture, development of towns and cities, construction of dams, or other purposes.Climate Change - Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, have altered the Earths atmosphere and have resulted in global climate changes.Introduction of Exotic Species - Accidental and intentional introduction of non-native species into regions never before occupied by the species have resulted in the extinction of numerous endemic species.Pollution - Pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.Over-Exploitation of Resources - Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example).Hunting, Poaching, Illegal Trade of Endangered Species - Some endangered species are targeted for their value on illegal markets.Accidental Deaths - Car hits, window collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales).

The nature of FDIs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The nature of FDIs - Essay Example The second commonality mentioned is usually taken to be the more important defining feature of the two. FDI denotes a degree of direct ownership whereas indirect investments are those gaining exposure to enterprises without investing directly such as listed securities, investment funds and derivatives. (Blomstrom and Globerman, 2001) Previously, FDIs referred only to physical investments made by a local company to a foreign setting. Building factories, providing machineries and equipment were considered as FDIs while portfolio investments were considered as an indirect investment. However, the rapid globalization of markets served as an impetus to broaden the definition of FDI to include the lasting ownership of shares of companies and enterprises. As such, joint ventures, alliances where a company provides technological support and licensing of intellectual property and direct acquisition of a firm are now considered to be FDIs. (Sullivan and Sheffrin, 2003) The current requirement is that an international business relationship must be formed between the local entity and the foreign affiliate. Foreign Direct Investors can either be a private or a public entity and may involve an incorporated or unincorporated organization or a lone individual. In any case, the foreign entity should provide the local entity a certain level of control in its management. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), control can come in the form of a 10% ownership as a minimum. In cases where this are not present, the investment made is known as portfolio investment. The ownership implies that the investor is afforded control in the management and decision-making of the enterprise. However, the data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development indicate that there are countries where the 10% ownership is treated in a flexible manner to accommodate local legal and business environment circumstances. There are cases where the o wnership is less than 10% but the investor is afforded an effective voice and there are cases where exercise of influence control is not given even if the investor exceeds 10% ownership. FDI Classification According to UNCTAD (2007), FDIs are classified according to certain defined factors. A classification based on the direction of FDI generates two broad types: outward-bound and inward-bound. Outward-bound FDIs are those investments provided by local entities to foreign partners while inward-bound FDIs have local entities as the beneficiary of investments from abroad. FDIs can also be classified according to the nature it is conducted. Vertical Foreign Direct Investments exist when a local entity owns some shares in a foreign enterprise and is using the business arrangement to either generate supplies or be the one supplying. Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment occurs when a local entity, usually a multinational company, establishes a similar business operation in foreign settings. FDIs can also be classified according to its motives. If the FDI was made to explore new opportunities in new markets or strengthen the existing market structure, we have a 'market-seeking FDI'. When the FDI was made because the foreign setting provides resources that are not locally available at the same degree,

Samsung - Organization Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Samsung - Organization Behavior - Essay Example The three dimensions of management are summarized to be technical, conceptual and human.is important for the managers to evolve meaningful solutions and techniques for resolution of complex management problems, by employing innovative technological solutions that provide answers to problems people and organizations are having. For achieving management success, it is important to understand the extent of involvement of human resources needed for the deployment of these resources. COMPANY AND HENRI PRINCIPLES Samsung International has applied the principles of Henri Fayol, the father of management. The Samsung International has split the workforce into certain segments and has achieved better production and quality work input. The practice of division of work has provided the employer with an opportunity of maximizing employee efforts. It is applicable to all work including research and technical applications. There are limitations to specialization which are determined has been determ ined by the application. The company has stressed the importance and role of the authority, and therefore the authority has the rights to give orders and the power to exact obedience. Samsung International has made a clear distinction between a manager's official authority deriving from office and personal authority created through individual personality, intelligence, and experience. The company has introduced certain rules and regulations to ensure that there exist obedience and respect between the firm and its employees.

On-site water Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

On-site water - Assignment Example In context of developing and underdeveloped nations it is often seen that public supply of water is impaired by structural problems emerging within the social fabric. In order to rectify such malfunctioning in water distribution system that the governance of a host of public resources has been transferred to the hands of the private sector. The public resources transferred to private hands also stands for the transfer of water resources. Water Resources though are economic goods also have social values. In the light of changing environment and population growth water resources needs not only to be properly managed but also to be effectively organized for bettering up of life standards. (Ocal & Dogan, n.d.) To understand the problems arising from the mismanagement of water resources the paper tries to focus on water distribution and supply management in context of developing economies like India. The Indian economy has the potential to be an agrarian economy. In the last few decades the development of agriculture has helped to make India self sufficient in terms of food grains. The development of agriculture in the country can mostly be attributed to the development of irrigation activities. Public demand for water is not only restricted to agricultural activities. Rather, it is observed that the demand for water in non-agricultural framework is increasing rapidly. The water-laden regions of India can be categorized into 19 essential drainage basins, according to their per capita water supply. The demand for water also is seen varying by the side of these riverbeds. A statistics reveal that the valley of river Indus and Ganga share 48 percent of the total population of India. The water drawn from these sources is mainly used for agricultural purposes. (Amarasinghe, N.D., p. 6). It is in this light that the paper tends to highlight on points like the trends of water usage, demand for

Power Relations In Diego Velazquezs Las Meninas English Literature Essay

Power Relations In Diego Velazquezs Las Meninas English Literature Essay The author of the painting Las Meninas (1656), Diego Velà ¡zquez (1599-1660) worked at the court of Philip IV, thus at the centre of the centralised power structure of one of the original nation-states of Early Modern Europe. Las Meninas has been argued both in Velà ¡zquez time and in ours to be his masterpiece. My purpose in this essay is to argue for an interpretation of this painting and its shaping by an exploration of power relations rather than by perspectival considerations. My interest in the present essay will be to analyse Las Meninas within the perspective of power relations, in an effort to provide an alternative reading to the literature based purely on the technical aspects of the painting. A lot has been written regarding the great unclearness that the painting Las Meninas seals, but, there is a question that we must acknowledge in presence of the visual intricacy of the painting, what indeed did Velà ¡zquez paint? I am not looking to provide the final answer to this question in this essay. However, I believe that by analysing Las Meninas within the perspective of power relations, I can contribute to the scholarship on Velà ¡zquez and provide an approach that can also contribute to the answer of this question. Las Meninas (fig. 1) (Spanish for The Maids of Honour) is an oil on canvas painting with 318 cm ÃÆ'- 276 cm. The setting is a large room and it has long been unclear whether the interior represented in the painting is real or imaginary. F. J. Sà ¡nchez Cantà ³n identified the room by the paintings in it as the main chamber of an apartment in the Alcà ¡zar of Madrid that had been occupied by Prince Baltazar Carlos before its assignment to Velà ¡zquez.  [2]  However, F. Ià ±iguez Almech was unable, when analysing the seventeenth-century plans of Alcà ¡zar, to identify any room that would correspond to the one in the painting, being possible that Velà ¡zquez did not depict any actual room.  [3]   Fig. 1. Diego Velà ¡zquez, Las Meninas, 1656, Museu Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Available from: Museu Nacional del Prado Galerà ­a On-Line (accessed 29 March 2010). The painting presents a composition distributed in well organised spatial structure that provides to the depicted room a sensation of realism, proximity and depth, being the composition concentric, with the Infanta Margarita Marà ­a de Austria as its focal point.  [4]  The depth of the painting is accentuated by the frames on the wall on the right, by the canvas on the left and by the two empty chandeliers on the ceiling. In addition, the painting combines discreet colours, providing harmony to the painting (white, grey and black of the attires with details in red, beige of the canvas, and again tones of black and grey in the non-illuminated parts of the room).  [5]   On the right of the room, one has an oblique view of the wall with apertures which seem to be windows that let light into the room. On the left, the view of the room is cut by a large canvas seen from the back. The painter himself, Diego Velà ¡zquez, is portrayed in front of this canvas with a paintbrush on his hand, who seems to have just stopped working on the canvas for a moment in order to gaze out his models. Velà ¡zquez was fifty-seven years old when he painted Las Meninas and depicted himself in it, but without wrinkles, white hair, or any other sign that could indicate his actual age. The canvas Velà ¡zquez is working on is not visible to the viewer. More or less to the centre of the canvas stands a little girl identified as the Infanta of Spain, Doà ±a Margarita Marà ­a de Austria, who also gazes out in the manner of a portrait, and around who the other figures gravitate . . . like planets of an intricate, subtly ordered system, and reflect her light.  [6]  She is s urrounded on both sides by two young women attendants (the meninas of the title), being the one on the left (Doà ±a Marà ­a Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor) kneeling at the feet of the Infanta and offering her a bà ºcaro in a tray, while the other on the right (Doà ±a Isabel de Velasco) inclines a bit to the Infanta and turns her glance outwards the canvas. To the right of this group, in the corner of the canvas, stand two dwarves of distorted appearance, also court attendants. The woman named Marà ­a Barbola gazes outwards, while the midget who steps on the dog is Nicolasico Pertusato. On a more distant plan is Doà ±a Marcela de Ulloa, lady of honour, who turns her head to address a man (escort for ladies of the court), who stands beside her and looks outwards. Some distance behind them is the rear wall of the room, which has a door where stands Don Josà © Nieto Velà ¡zquez, Aposentador of the Queen, also gazing outwards. To the left of Josà © Nieto, the King Philip IV and the Queen Marà ­a Ana de Austria are reflected in a mirror. Some of the figures in the painting present little problem of identification, namely Velà ¡zquez and the Infanta; the others are less obvious. This identification of the figures in the painting is based on Velà ¡zquez earliest biographer, Antonio Palomino, who named the figures in Las Meninas on the basis of the known population of the court in Book III of his Museu Pictà ³rico y Escala Óptica, which was first published in 1724.  [7]  Palomino also identifies the two paintings in the upper part of the back wall with the then current royal holdings: Minerva Punishing Arachne and Apollos Victory over Marsyas, both originally by Peter Paul Rubens.  [8]   The Infanta occupies the centre of the visual focus, together with the King and Queens reflection on the mirror and the painter. The superior half of the painting is occupied with lamps and spots of light that enter trough the openings on the right wall; there are shadows covering the back superior part of the wall. The scene is taken from an angle that closes itself in the right with an opening in the wall. In the left, in another diagonal plan, the painting that is being painted by Velà ¡zquez leaves the figures in second plan and cuts obliquely the space. In the back, the mirror and the door make allusion to unknown spaces, which together with the spatial configuration of the portrayed room open the painting to the exterior and pulls the viewer to inside of the composition. As Madlyn Millner Kahr points out, the mirror in the painting contributes its own special brand of magic. In Las Meninas it directs the observers attention to events going on outside the picture (the presence of the royal couple), which in turn brings the observer within the picture area.  [9]   On her article Velà ¡zquez and Las Meninas, Kahr divides the cast of characters with a wide range of ages and physical types into different groups.  [10]  One of these groups is the dog, the midget and the female dwarf. According to Kahr, these three characters form a group apart due to their position in space and their compositional unity.  [11]  The central group, as Kahr argues, stands behind them, being constituted by the Infanta and the two meninas. The painter, Doà ±a Marcela de Ulloa and the guardadamas forms another group; and the last group is composed by the Aposentador of the Queen standing in the stairs and by King Philip IV and Queen Marà ­a Ana reflected on the mirror.  [12]  Thus, Kahr divides the characters in groups of three. This division provides unity, coherence and structure to the painting, and by placing the group of the Infanta and the two meninas as the central one, Kahrs group division concurs with Palominos consideration that the painting is a portrait of the Infanta.  [13]  The light that enters the room by the right side wall apertures mainly illuminates the Infanta, Doà ±a Maria Agustina Sarmiento and partially the other menina, that are highlighted in relation to the darkness behind them, reinforcing the conception that Las Meninas is a portrait of the Infanta of Spain. Carl Justi also described Las Meninas as a portrait of the Infanta Margarita as the centre of a recurrent scene of the palace life.  [14]   Joel Snyder agrees that considering the painting as the portrait of the Infanta Margarita, as Palomino and Carl Justi do, is a movement in the correct direction, but it fails to explain the presence of all the other figures in it that compete for our attention.  [15]  Jonathan Brown states that the subject of the painting is no one in particular, but that the painting is a claim for the nobility of Velà ¡zquezs art.  [16]  However, Snyder points out: To suggest that Las Meninas is a demonstration of the nobility of painting and of its proper place in the liberal arts, as Jonathan Brown does, is to locate the interest of the painting in the conditions of its origination and in the means employed to produce the demonstration. This is surely interesting and, if correct, revealing; but, again, it does not bring us to terms with the subject of the painting with what the painting is tout ensemble.  [17]   Firstly, the tout ensemble of the painting may be explored individually (considering the power relations between each figure in the painting), in order to then identify the subject of the painting. In approaching this issue, one should agree that one can identify the presence of the centralised power in the painting Las Meninas. The power in this painting may be recognized in several aspects. There is in the painting two distinct social groups: the working class and the one that enjoys the labour of those who work. On the one hand, we have the painter, the maids, the lady of honour, the escort for ladies of the court, the Aposentador of the Queen, and the dwarfs represented; while, on the other hand, we have the aristocracy represented in the Infanta that occupies the centre of the painting and King Philip IV and Queen Marà ­a Ana de Austria reflected on the mirror. When one questions why Velà ¡zquez depicted himself together with all the members of the royal household, the answer may be that he wanted to indicate that he also belonged to this illustrious circle. Sira Dambe states that in Golden Age Spain, the art of painting, still relegated to the rank of craft, had not yet been accorded equal status with the higher arts, such as music or poetry.  [18]  Therefore, this painting may be seen as Velà ¡zquezs proclamation of . . . power and status as a creator.  [19]  The ecclesiastic power is also present in the cross of the Santiagos Order in the chest of the painter, which was not originally painted by Velà ¡zquez, being painted after the artists death by the Kings demand.  [20]  When analysing the Fable of Arachne and Las Meninas, Jonathan Brown states, [Velà ¡zquezs] claim for the nobility of his art are firmly embedded in these multi-layered works, and in Las Meninas the gentleman painter, stands confidently at the easel, bas king in the glory of the monarchs person. And on his breast, the vibrant red cross of Santiago marks the artist as a nobleman.  [21]   In addition, one can also identify the presence of the artistical power of the painter over the remaining figures due to the dominium of the artistic language, but at the same time, the artistic needs to obey to a superior power, and in this case, the kingship. This statement finds support on the royal couple pictured in the mirror that accordingly represent the royal power. On her article Picturing Power: Representation and Las Meninas, Amy M. Schmitter affirms: The Kings representation is a force of power, a manifestation of royal power that embodies, displays, and extends it. It is a representation that acts, that represents by presenting, exhibiting, or exposing titles and qualifications, by figuring them in painting, by being a sign, by bringing to observation, and by playing in public. It thereby constitutes its subject, the royal power and the royal office, by representing it.  [22]   One can agree that the depiction of the King Philip IV and the Queen Marà ­a Ana de Austria on the mirror and of the Infanta Margarita as main focus of the painting represents directly in the painting the royal power it represents those that should be looked with reverence and submission. Furthermore, with the glances one receives and returns in the painting, the represented royal power gazes with control and vigilance over everyone else. Regarding the power relations between the remaining figures of the painting, one can argue that the meninas, the guardadamas and the lady of honour, by their own social condition are subordinates of the kingship. The two dwarfs are also condemned to the royal power and have as their function to entertain the royal household. The dog that is being stepped by the dwarf on the right is condemned to an even lower position (a submissive animal). In this perspective of power relations, the presence of Josà © Nieto Velà ¡zquez becomes enigmatic. Despite being the Aposentador of the Queen and therefore ruled by the royal power, he is portrayed in profile on the stairs of the back door, seemingly indicating an indecision of staying under the gaze of the royal power or leaving. From this analysis, one can agree that all the figures of the painting are entangled in the webs of power. Although the delimitations of power are well defined in the painting, representing the historical, political and economic conditions of seventeenth-century Spain, another way of looking at this issue is through the indirect allusions also present in the painting, such as the dwarf, positioned in perfect diagonal alignment with the painter. The two associate by contrast: the painter as the creator and admirer of what is beautiful, and the dwarf as symbol of deformity. In common, there is the fact that both are represented images of social groups placed aside from power. One should, nevertheless, consider this opposition from another angle. From the contrast itself between what the painter and the dwarf represent, one can obtain an exchange of parts by acknowledging that the arts represent both the sublime as well as the grotesque. Therefore, there is in this aesthetical inscription a subversion of the institutionalised values of power. The power of kingship is also central in Michel Foucaults chapter on Diego Velà ¡zquezs Las Meninas, being this the opening chapter of his book The Order of Things.  [23]  According to Foucault the function of the mirror reflection of the King and the Queen is to bring to the painting what is external to it. In the chapter Las Meninas, Foucault attributes the theme of the painting to the external space and gives the Infanta and her maids (internal space) the function of entertaining the King and Queen that are in front of the representation (outside space) as Và ©lazquezs models.  [24]   Foucaults critical analysis derives from the observation angle of the Infanta, the King and Queen in the mirror and how their gazes define the centre of the picture. The mirror in the back leads to the conclusion, as Foucault states, that it is about a question of what looks and what is looked. From these encounters of gazes and perceptions, the author notes that the notion of double arises from this painting. To Foucault the double reveals itself in the painting from inside the painting itself. The painting that Velà ¡zquez is painting in the portrait will be the representation of the reflexion of the King and Queen in the mirror at the back.  [25]   On the chapter dedicated to Las Meninas, Foucault argues that the Classical age, roughly the period from the seventeenth-century to the eighteenth-century, was a period when the intellectual world focused on the representations of the real. Accordingly, Foucault defines the subject of Las Meninas as the representation itself. To quote from Foucault: Perhaps there exists, in this painting by Velà ¡zquez, the representation as it were of Classical representation, and the definition of space it opens up to us . . . But there, in the midst of this dispersion which is simultaneously grouping together and spreading out before us, indicated compellingly from every side, is an essential void: the necessary disappearance of that which is its foundation of the person it resembles and the person whose eyes it is only a resemblance. This very subject which is the same has been elided. And representation, freed finally from the relation that was impeding it, can offer itself as representation in its pure form.  [26]   Therefore, Foucault argues that in Las Meninas representation tries to interpretate itself. In contemporaneous philosophy, it is the language that is going to establish the relation between the similarities with the world, making possible representation. Thus, one can affirm that the turning point from classic epistà ªmà ª to modern epistà ªmà ª is the passage of language as mediator (in representation) to object of knowledge. In the modern epistà ªmà ª, language does not reveal more directly the identity of the world, but it reveals the relations between things and the Man. It is from here that occurs the questioning of Man as centre around whom all the knowledge is created. Thus, Velà ¡zquez painting represents what is to come. The modern epistà ªmà ª is anticipated in Velà ¡zquezs Las Meninas it is the utopic function of art of anticipating the future. Consequently, to Foucault, Las Meninas is represented in an epistemic system the subject of representation should rema in invisible (the empty space of the kingship is the place that in the modern episteme will be occupied by the Man). Foucault points out: At once object since it is what the artist is copying onto his canvas and subject since what the painter had in front of his eyes, as he represented himself in the course of work, was himself, since the gazes portrayed in the picture are all directed toward the fictitious position occupied by the royal personage, which is also the painters real place, since the occupier of that ambiguous place, in which the painter and the sovereign alternate, in never-ending flicker, as it were, is the spectator, whose gaze transforms the painting into object, the pure representation of that essential absence.  [27]   Moreover, Foucault argues that the mirror portrayed in Las Meninas portrays the confrontation between representation and reflexion, being that a painting is different from a mirror and a representation goes beyond a reflexion. Therefore, the painting is a representation for the observer, and in the painting of Velà ¡zquez one has the painting itself, and inside it one has other represented paintings and also a canvas in first plan viewed from the back. In all, this painting is a representation that has as subject a kind of empty place that we can fill with several models. Foucault argues that instead of instituting a simple relation of mimesis as the main theme of the painting, the figures of the royal couple would be indicated as a kind of essential emptiness.  [28]   According to Foucault, the canvas on the left is the place for a dichotomy between visible/invisible. What the painter looks is doubly invisible, because it is not represented in the painting, and because we cannot see ourselves. The mirror in the back is the only visible representation, but despite that fact, no one looks at it. However, what is there represented, has nothing to do with what the painting presents, it reflects something that is exterior to the painting. In the place occupied by the spectator, are the models of the painter. Therefore, the painting allows to see what is doubly invisible. The characters in the mirror are the less noticed, but it is around them that all the representation happens. It is to them that all the other characters look gazing outwards the painting.  [29]  Thus, there are three looks that meet on the outside of the painting: of the model, in the moment he is being painted, of the spectator that contemplates the scene, and of the painter in the moment he paints the painting (the one in front of us, and not the one represented in the painting). Quoting from Foucaults The Order of Things: Of all the figures represented before us, they [the royals] are also the most ignored, since no one is paying the slightest attention to that reflection [in the mirror] which has slipped into the room behind them all, silently occupying its unsuspected space; in so far as they are visible, they are the frailest and the most distant form of all reality. Inversely, in so far as they stand outside the picture and are therefore withdrawn from it in an essential invisibility, they provide the centre around which the entire representation is ordered: it is they who are being faced, it is towards them that everyone is turned . . . from the canvas with its back to us to the Infanta, and from the Infanta to the dwarf playing on the extreme right, there runs a curve . . . that orders the whole arrangement of the picture to their gaze and thus makes apparent the true centre of the composition, to which the Infantas gaze and the image in the mirror are both finally subject.  [30]   One should note here that Foucaults theory emphasises the interior look it constitutes the interior from the exterior as a device built from the outside to the inside of the webs of power. Las Meninas, in Foucaults interpretation help us see this paradigm. By observing the painting, it is noticeable that the modern subject is constituted by surveillance, by the absent look (but at the same time very present), of a power that determines everything, from the characters clothing, gestures, attention, social position, in sum the ways of feeling and seeing are determined by a power that sees all and controls all. In view of these arguments, Foucault points out: In the profound upheaval of such an archaeological mutation, man appears in his ambiguous position as an object of knowledge and as a subject that knows: enslaved sovereign, observed spectator, he appears in the place belonging to the king, which was assigned to him in advance by Las Meninas, but from which his real presence has for long been excluded.  [31]   On his article Velà ¡zquez Las Meninas, Leo Steinberg presents similar arguments to Foucaults, including the viewers of the painting as part of a sphere which the partitioning picture plane cuts in two.  [32]  As Steinberg points out, if the picture were speaking instead of flashing, it would be saying: I see you seeing me I in you see myself seen see yourself being seen and so on beyond the reaches of the grammar.  [33]  What particularly interests me in Foucaults and Steinbergs approaches is the placing of the modern Man (in Foucaults case), and the observer (in Steinbergs case), as pivotal figures in the interpretation of Las Meninas, being that in their approaches the Man/observer holds the power he occupies the place of the royal power. To conclude, when one considers all these different approaches to Las Meninas, one is presented with a complex web of power relations. Firstly, the painting was produced in seventeenth-century Spain, a original nation-state of Early Modern Europe, and in and with the court of Philip IV the centre of a centralised power structure. Secondly, the painting depicts the royal power interiorly with the portrayal of the Infanta and the King and the Queen in the mirror, and at the same time exteriorly trough the implied presence of the royal couple reflected on the mirror. Thirdly, the painting also portrays all those ruled by the monarchic power, such as the maids of honour, the lady of honour, the guardadamas, the dwarfs, the Aposentador of the Queen, and also the painter. Fourthly, it also depicts Velà ¡zquezs proclamation of power by portraying himself in the royal household as a nobleman, and at the same time it celebrates his artistical power. Finally, the painting invisibly portrays the Man/observer that occupies the same place of the royal couple outside the painting, and that this way holds the power both as subject of representation and holder of knowledge. Therefore, one can conclude that what Velà ¡zquez did indeed paint in Las Meninas was power royal power, artistical power, and intellectual power. The setting and the figures of Las Meninas are merely incorporations of power relations, being the painting on his whole a metaphor of power.