Criminal Justice/Corrections Essay

Imprisonment is one of the many forms of punishment for commission of crimes in the United States. The length of time of imprisonment depends on the seriousness of the crime committed. The most serious crime of murder and homicide is punishable by life imprisonment and the felon will be confined in federal prisons. Those convicted with less serious crimes like misdemeanor offenses will be sentenced to shorter time in local or county jail or with sanctions in community corrections or halfway house. Overcrowding in jails and prisons has been a common sight in most of the correctional institutions in the United States. The nicnic. org. (2001) through a report from the GRACE Project of Volunteers of America revealed that â€Å"while 500,000 persons are admitted and released from state and federal prisons annually, twenty times that amount – over eleven million are admitted and released from jails annually†. This goes to show that at any given time of the year, the United States is maintaining and or feeding 10. 5 million inmates. The organization further revealed that jail populations grew at a lower rate of 275% since 1980 while the federal prison population increased by 427% in the same period. This unprecedented growth in inmate population is not expected and causing big budget deficit from the state level up to the federal level of government. In as much as the inmate population continue rising and only a small number over the years has left federal prisons due to completion of their imprisonment as punishment for their crimes, a big number of aging offenders which require higher spending due to their geriatric- related ailments complicated the problem. This paper aims to document the extent of the aging offenders population across the U. S. the reasons for the increase and the roblems associated with it. Furthermore, this paper will also offer solutions to the problems based from the documented causes and experiences of the different states in dealing with the problems. A number of states in the U. S. expressed alarm over the inescapable fact that in their effort to rid society of undesirable and lawless elements, their jails and prisons became jam-packed. Feeding and housing these inmates especially the aging offenders cost them a lot more, sacrificing their budget for education. The affected states realize the generally accepted fact that education should be more financially supported than prisoners as this is the proven most effective way to raise a new generation of responsible and law abiding citizens. West Virginia reported that prison population in this state exceeded the national average owing to its 9. 3% incarceration which is the highest among the U. S. states. The non-profit organization further reported that between 1994 and 2004, the inmate population in West Virginia increased from 2,392 to 5,032 or 110% increase. Thegrassrootleadership. org (n. d. reported that the state projected that by 2012, the inmate population will increase by 35% over that of 2004 level or a total of 6,774 inmates to feed and maintain. Although the increasing population of aging inmates is not mentioned, common sense will tell that the population is included since most of the aging population is sentenced to anguish in prisons for life. The state government in order to cope up with the unprecedented increase, spent $100 million to build new prisons. The organization further reported that in the last 10 years, the Division of Corrections of West Virginia tripled its expenditure. To this effect, the state has increased spending for inmates five times the amount for higher education and other social services. In absolute figures, according to grassrootleadership. org, the state of West Virginia appropriated $6,435 per full time college student and $19, 377 per person incarcerated by DOC. Inflation adjusted, the amount per college student is 33% higher than in 1994 while the amount per inmate increased 169% or five times the amount per student The grassrootleadership. g reported that West Virginia government consider the very strict policy of the state regarding sentencing and parole as the cause of this urge in inmate population. To minimize this effect, the state consider â€Å"Implementing a cap on the number of people incarcerated [†¦.. ], along with re-examining sentencing and parole policies in the state that can lead to an end of the soaring number of incarcerations. A thorough re- examination of the recent parole policy of the state is in order† (grassrootleadership. rg, n. d. conclusion, 2nd par. ). In addition to this strategy, the Day Report Center alternative which set aside incarceration for misdemeanor crimes in favor of community service, home incarceration nd boards created for reparation is also put in place. A saving of about $ 42-63 million per year can be realized from seven centers based from the Lee Day Report Center cost experience of $14. 00 per day per inmate. The state of Florida recognized the increasing number of aging offenders in their prisons. The Florida Correction Commission (n. d. eported that in 2000, The Florida Legislature instructed and required the Department of Corrections to establish and operate a facility for elderly inmates at the River Junction Correctional Institution in Chattahoochee. The Florida Correction Commission (FCC) further reported that the Florida Legislature required the Correctional Medical Authority (MDA) and the FCC to submit an annual report on the medical health status of aging offenders in the state administered and private institutions together with an examination of geriatric policies being implemented in other states. The FCC revealed that the cost of maintaining an elderly prisoner is three times the cost for a younger inmate. The reason for this is the geriatric problems associated with aging specially in a confined environment where depression always linger. The FCC further revealed that age 50 should be the starting point for elderly inmate definition. The FCC reported further that per their observation, there were three basic groups of older inmates, the first time offenders, the habitual or career criminals and those that has grown old in prison waiting for the end of their sentenced imprisonment. According to FCC, inmates 55 years and older on the average were suffering from three chronic health problems that require specialized and expensive treatment as in the case of about 15 to 25% of heir elderly inmates having mental health problems. For this reason, the aging inmates contributed greatly to their huge medical expenses. In the year 2000, the FCC reported that there were 5,082 aging offenders which represent 54. 9% increase from 1995 level. In June 2000 out of a total of 71,233 inmates, the number of 50 year and above offenders increased to 5,605. It is projected that by 2010, the Florida elderly inmates will swell to 8. % of the total inmates. The FCC further revealed from their survey that 62. 8% of the elderly inmates were prisoned due to violent offenses and therefore require longer imprisonment. The state of Florida recognizes the significance of the third type of aging patients or those who grew old in prison in addition to national and state laws requiring longer prison sentences as the contributing factor to rise of their aging offender population. The FCC reported that at present, no geriatric facility except for River Junction Correctional Institution in Chattahoochee is devoted to the aging offender population. The state government plans to segregate the older population according to geriatric health needs and the security level needed so that the number of ail guards can be adjusted especially in minimum security segregated group for economic reasons. The FCC further reported that the Florida Department of Elder Affairs develop a course on elderly abuse, neglect and exploitation to produce certified individuals to carry out preventive medical intervention so that elderly diseases will not become acute and more costly to cure. Studies were also being undertaken to release elderly inmates who does not pose danger to society anymore due to their frail stature. Lastly, the Florida state is conducting survey as to the ost they will incur and the economic benefits if their preemptive programs will be implemented. The state of Georgia is also not exempt in aging offender problem. The Associated Press (2000) revealed that in 1979, there were about 570 convicts aged 50 and up, increased to 3,050 in June 1999 and 5,000 in 2004. The Georgia prison officials estimated that the elderly inmates could swell to 9,000 by 2010. The Associated Press further reported that like in other states, the cost of maintaining the elderly offenders is becoming more and more costly. The newspaper revealed that healthcare cost for average Georgia prisoner now amounts to $8. 25 a day. For an elderly offender 50 years old and above, the cost is $27. 00 a day or about $10,000 a year. The newspaper continue saying that the elderly offenders in Georgia prisons represents about 6% of the whole inmate population but the expense in maintaining them amounts to 12% of the annual health care budget for inmates. This so because the elderly inmates require costly and more specialized health care practices owing to their special geriatric problems. Georgia prison fficials revealed that longer prison sentences, tighter parole approvals and the inevitable aging of those prisoners waiting for the completion of their terms contributed to the swelling population of aging offenders. In addition, the â€Å"The two Strikes and You’re Out† law (Associated Press, Elderly Inmates Swell, 13th par. enacted by Georgia in 1994 which punishes a felon who commit crime of armed robbery, aggravated child molestation and sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, rape and kidnapping to a mandatory 10 year sentence without parole. The newspaper added that a second violation of any of the six felonies or murder, the felon gets a andatory life sentence without parole. All of these resulted to stacking effect of offenders in jails until the whole population get grayer and larger and more costly to handle. Associated Press further reported that John Kerbs, a researcher on criminal justice from University of Michigan suggested selective decarceration to ease the problem of swelling aging offenders’ population in Georgia prison system. This includes more often officials’ parole review of elderly inmates , electronic monitoring of graying offenders in release programs that is closely supervised and edical paroles for chronic and terminally ill inmates. Based from available studies, the states of Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas share the same problem on aging offenders as the states we have discussed. However, not all states in the U. S. look at aging offenders with compassion and understanding. One such state is California. Times staff writer, Warren, J (2002) reported that the California Department of Corrections is well aware of the aging prison population. The state according to the writer is well aware of the fact that the cost of maintaining aging offender is thrice the cost of that of the younger inmates. Longer sentences and substantial decline in paroles were considered as the cause of the rise in number of aging inmates. The Times staff writer further stated that the state in this times of economic belt tightening faces a $24 billion deficit mainly because of the health care expenses of the graying inmate population. Despite this, the state of California is hesitant to implement cost cutting strategies unlike the other U. S. states. The felons, young and old are mixed in cells. Although the idea of segregation based on age, health status and security needed is being considered, that never got off the ground due to the fact that the Correction and state officials are against it. A typical day in the life of an aging offender is a struggle against extortion, insult, bullying and disrespect from the stronger and younger inmates. The correction officials claim that segregation require additional upfront cost in terms of new buildings and prison facilities and this have no room in a state with huge budget deficit. The prison officials laim that offenders did crimes to society and so they have to suffer the consequences in prison. The staff writer said that nobody in the state legislature is bent to be soft in treating offenders. They even passed a law called â€Å"Three strike and you’re out† law to address the problem of the habitual offenders. This law sentences a felon to life imprisonment with no parole provision on the third crime conviction regardless of the nature of the wrong doing. The writer revealed that the population of inmate in California federal prison as of 2002 is about 4% of the total inmates f 5,800 men and women. According to the writer California reported an expenditure of $676 million on medical care of inmates but decline how much is for the elderly. The author further stated that California prison officials conceded the fact that the elderly require a 24 hour hospice care, high cost cardiac care, costly organ transplants, expensive cancer treatment and closely supervised treatment for dementia. On the national perspective, the U. S. Bureau of Prisons total inmate health care expenditures from 1990 to 1999 amounted to $2. 7 billion (U. S. General Accounting Office, 000). The GAO office also recognizes the fact that aging inmate population contributed greatly to this expenditure. The BOP also consider the changes in sentencing laws like mandatory minimum sentencing and the habitual criminality conviction as contributory to graying of the federal prisons. To economize on health care expenditures with emphasis to aging offenders’ health care, the GAO consider several options. The GAO encourage the states’ prison officials to obtain discounts through bulk purchases of states’ prison system needs and privatizing health care services in some states. This will involve appointing specialized private hospitals as alternative to government run health care services in cases of mounting geriatric health care problems patterned after the â€Å"Medicare- based cap on payments† ( GAO 2000, Summary, 3rd par). This according to GAO will save the government about $6 million annually. The GAO also proposed payment of $2. 00 per request visit over the usual round of doctors. This co-payment scheme is aimed to reduce unnecessary medical visit requests by the inmate disrupting the busy doctors. The co-payment scheme will generate revenue of about $1 million annually. It has been documented that the most compelling problem of aging offenders is the inability of some states to deliver the needed medical care for their ailment. The Bureau of Prisons admitted that a number of states is not ready to tackle the rising population of elderly offenders in their prison system resulting to huge budget deficits. This is due to the fact that it cost three times higher to maintain elderly offender than a younger one and five times higher than the expense of a college student. The geriatric ailments are more expensive to cure. To check the inevitable increase of aging offenders’ number in the prison system, a systematic approach should be done. The sentencing and parole system should be soft in dealing with the elderly inmates. The prison should start with the segregation of the elderly based from the state of their health and their physical ability and capacity to do crimes to society. The terminally ill, frail and weak should be given medical parole and let them join the main stream of society. They have suffered a lot of physical and mental punishment in jail in exchange for the crime they have committed. Those who are still strong but behaving well in prisons should be given parole but will be required to report to Day Report Centers to determine the progress of their assimilation to the mainstream of society. Those having mental problems should be confined to hospice care centers under minimum security. The sickly but still able bodied should be separated from the rest and should pay $2 per requested doctor visit over the normal doctors’ daily round. The able bodied and wild ones should be housed separately and placed under strict security until they mellow down and complete their imprisonment sentence. The â€Å"two and three strikes and you’re out† law will take care of habitual offenders. Other cost control strategies proposed by GAO can be considered seriously by the states now that the aging offender problems were given full attention to further realize cost savings.. The recommendations are based on the philosophy of win- win strategy in decision making. Considering them will rid federal prisons of unnecessary huge expenses, give freedom to deserving aged inmates and let the states use the savings for education of the youth to produce a new generation of able- bodied and law-abiding citizens.

How to Write a Industry Outlook

What is the size of your industry? What sectors does this industry include? Who are the major players in this industry? What are the markets and customers for this industry? What are the industry's estimated sales this year? Last year? The year before? What national/economic trends have affected this industry and how? What national/economic trends might affect it in the future and how? What is the long-term outlook for this industry? Writing a Business Plan: Position in the Industry What products or services will your business be selling? What is your Unique Selling Proposition ? What is it about your business that makes it unique and sets it apart from competitors? ) What are the barriers to entry in your industry? How will you overcome these barriers? Who are your competitors? What is the market share of your competitors? What is your business' competitive advantage (i. e. your market niche or estimated market share)? What is your target market? How are you protecting your product or process (i. e. patents, copyrights, trademarks, franchise rights that you either hold or plan to acquire)? How to Write a Business Plan: The Industry SectionOnce you have all this information, you'll write this section of the business plan in the form of several short paragraphs. (Remember, each of these paragraphs is a summary, not a detailed point-by-point explanation. ) Use appropriate headings for each paragraph. (See the sidebar for a business plan sample of this section of the business plan, from the Royal Bank. ) But where do you find the information that you need for writing the Industry Overview section of your business plan? Page 2 of this article provides some Canadian resources to make your task easier and some tips for conducting business plan research.

To What Extent Should We Trust Our Senses to Give Us the Truth

To what extent should we trust our senses to give us the truth? Most of the things we know are based on a life-long series of observations and experiments through our own senses. Without our senses, social interactions and critical thinking would be impossible, leaving us only with inexplicable emotions, a close state to nothingness. Despite its significance, however, our senses have limitations ranges from our dependency to language to our own biological limitations. Human beings are inherently provided with these inevitable limitations.We therefore, as well-educated individuals, must not completely trust our senses as it can easily be deceived. Our dependence on language distorts what our senses are truly getting. In a simple context of analyzing an art piece, for instance in the process of analyzing the nuance of the work, our interpretations of what we see tend to be bounded with the language that we know. Without the use of language, in this context, the art piece will remain ab stract in our mind. The emotions that we get from viewing the art piece, for example, can be described with adjectives.In a wider sense, language influences the way we think. I have encountered an experience where my short eyesight (I need glasses to see â€Å"normally†) gave a misleading account to an event. I was in an art convention center with my friend; the place was covered with a realistically structured fake plastic trees. It was part of the art works being exhibited. In the end of the expo I said to my friend, â€Å"Nice right! Such great pieces of art shown there! Especially the trees, how on earth can they grow it to form such structure†.My friend, whose vision is â€Å"normal†, told me that it the trees were forgeries. I wasn't using my glasses at the moment, If I was then I would've reacted differently. Biological capabilities limit what we are able to sense and perceive. There are still many factors such as spacial familiarity, past experience; our tendency to see or hear what we expect rather than what really happen; optical illusions or social and cultural conditioning that aren’t being discussed, but also a limitation of our senses.Although with the chance of getting false knowledge, what important is that we develop critical thinking skills to distinguish between good and bad reasoning. Examining our own perspectives, using our own senses perhaps, and comparing them to those of others and to see what we learn from it is what important rather than abstaining from the pursuit of knowledge due to the limitations of our senses.

Fictional hospitality operation -wedding event company- Essay

Fictional hospitality operation -wedding event company- - Essay Example Everything is designed with you, making certain your wedding day is truly individual. Our chefs are talented, unique, flexible and happy to meet the growing and personalized demands of each client. In 5 years, B & G will have a large network of customers in the neighboring regions with high exposure through a number of advertising techniques and through customer referrals. B & G will be a recognised events venue with a large clientele base and more function halls to accommodate for increasing customers. We make full custom packages for any budget - we even offer free wedding advertising through web or through media such as billboards, flyers, television, newspaper ads and radio. Advertising campaigns and websites for B & G have been made to assist the owner in becoming a known and distinguished wedding reception business. We evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in our wedding planning venture. A SWOT analysis can help establish a current position, and helps analyze reasons for the position of the firm. The prime function of the business is providing great service for own clients. Putting a smile on people’s faces is definitely important to our business, as gaining consumer loyalty and trust is very important, which is exactly outlined in the firm mission statement. These include: improve rostering and scheduling processes of arranging staff; use latest technology to help business perform different functions; finance; improve management accounting and reports for simple decision making; strategic goals; etc. The third objective that B & D wishs to complete relates to the staff members and keeping all employees happy and motivated. To keep all employees motivated, loyal to the firm and to keep working to the best of ones ability our company must provide the staff with monetary and non-monetary benefits. This strategy will work by using these benefits to ensure that the workplace is

Company logistic analysis and drawbacks and recomendation Research Proposal - 2

Company logistic analysis and drawbacks and recomendation - Research Proposal Example For the last financial year home depot registered profits of over $4.5 billion. This made the share price to rise from $2.47 to $3.00 per share. In the financial report for the year 2012, it did not include the $145 million tax charge. This was related to the closing of the china store, which affected the share price negatively with a decline of 0.10 earnings per share. The net sale for the year 2012 increased by 62% to $78 billion. This was an increase from the previous year where the earnings were $70 billion. The store sales increased to 4.6% attributed by a 2.9% rise in comparable store average ticket. In addition, the rise in customers in our stores attributed to this increase. The financial year of 2012 had an extra week that increased the net sales by $1.2 billion. This led to an increase of the share earnings by $0.07. The growth in the 2012 financial year is credited to continued focus on the following initiatives. Customer service – continued focus on customer service is driven by philosophies of making an emotive link with the customer. These philosophies are putting the customer first and making the business simple. Home depot has opened new call centers in Utah and Georgia simply to have a more personalized connection with the customers. All these centers have been opened in the last financial year. This has played a major role in increasing the earnings and profit margins for the company. In additions, new wits such as the new arrangement system for secondary and centralized return to seller process has more than 57% of all labor hours dedicated to customer services and by the end of the financial year of 2013 the labor hours will have reached 60%. In addition, other measures will be put in place to ensure complete customer satisfaction. This will lead to increased sales bringing the stock price to a higher price. This will put the stocks in a better position than the

Reading Responses to a Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Reading Responses to a Poem - Essay Example The poem also takes a look at systems and structures of the human institution and how self made rules and principles made by humans are expected to be adhered to without fail. There are specific elements of literature that the writer used to bring out the nature of the poem better and these elements are discussed below. Form The form of a poem is supposed to give a generalized structure about the poem. It is supposed to show the poem is organized and the manner in which a reader is expected to carry out the reading pulses (Gabrielle, 2009). In this very regard, a lot can be said about the poem, â€Å"I’m Nobody! Who are you?† first, it is seen that the poem is written in just two stanzas. The response I had from this was the writer’s ability to lay his intensions and thoughts clear in a very brief manner. As the African proverb goes, if a medicine will save you, you only need a pill of it. The writer therefore conveyed all her message clearly in only two stanzas. Within the two stanzas, there are spreads of loose iambic trimester with a number of fourth stresses. This gives the poem ABCB rhyme scheme. Some kind of fall out from the norm was however noted with the ABCB rhyme scheme. ... In â€Å"I’m Nobody! Who are you?†, the writer chooses the concept of human relationship and talks on the theme of essence in humble social status. The writer tactfully expresses her opinion on the need for a person to live in quite humility rather than open pride. The writer employs the terms â€Å"no body† and â€Å"somebody† to show the differences between two people; one of who are regarded as poor and having nothing. To this people, the writer appreciates their position as an enviable one because it is free from public pressure. She however subjects the high class in society to the need to think carefully about the responsibilities that their status in life brings to them. In essence, the writer is advising all people to live in humility rather than wanting to be the topic of social discussion and yet having a lot of herculean responsibilities that they may eventually find as stressful. The response I had from the theme was very striking and left me t hinking about how important it is for me to appreciate what I have as a person. Language One of the only ways the writer could make her poem meaningful despite the fact that there were only few stanzas was to use thought provoking and highly insightful language and this is exactly what the writer of â€Å"I’m Nobody! Who are you?† did (Gabrielle, 2009). This notwithstanding, the writer was able to make the content of the poem highly understandable. The understanding of the poem was first vested in the title of the poem, which was more or less a summation of the theme of the poem, asking that â€Å"I’m nobody! Who are you?† Subsequent to this title, the writer uses language that further justifies

Discussing animal rights and animal research in the classroom Article

Discussing animal rights and animal research in the classroom - Article Example Even though the research question is not clearly stated in the article, the author makes it clear that the research question is whether it is right or ethical to use animals in behavioral and biomedical research For this purpose, the researcher reviews two major philosophical positions used by animal activists and tries to stimulate a discussion in the classroom on the debate (Herzog, 1990, p. 90). 2. Introduction: The article has a very comprehensive introduction which tells the reader of the significance of the issue and the rational for the present study. The introductory part of the article reviews a large number of literatures to highlight the cruel and unjust practice of using animals for behavioral and biomedical research purposes. The introduction also deals with the efforts made by animal rights groups and movements, depicts animal rights controversy as a social issue, pinpoints the reformers’ versus animal liberators’ debates, and summarizes the two most influ ential perspectives used by animal rights activists to protect animals from such cruelties-the Utilitarian argument and the Rights argument (Herzog, 1990, p. 90-91). Both the groups consider animal research as immoral: while the Utilitarian proponents argue for ‘equal consideration of interests’ to animals, the Rights argument holds that animals’ rights should be preserved (Herzog, 1990, p. 90). 3. Methodology: The methodology used in the paper is quite innovative and interesting. The author divided the students in the class room into groups of five or seven and each group had to engage in role-play participation on an ACUC (Animal Care and Use Committee). Each group was assigned a research proposal on animal research; each group had to evaluate and either approve or reject the research proposal submitted to them based on the information provided in the proposal (Herzog, 1990, p. 91-92). For the purpose of the study, the author provided the class with four animal research cases where each group had to make the final verdict on whether the research is to be permitted or not. The author used this exercise with 150 students in five classes and the conclusions of the study are drawn based on the student responses to the exercises (Herzog, 1990, p.93). 4. Results: The results of the study are dealt with in the paper in terms of student responses after the classroom exercises. Each student who participated in the exercise was asked to make an anonymous evaluation of it (Herzog, 1990, p. 93). The author claims that the responses were extremely positive and out of the 150 students only two had negative responses (Herzog, 1990, p. 93). Most of the participants admitted that the exercise offered them a unique opportunity to develop their thoughts on the cruelties shown to animals in terms of animal researches and that it offered them life time valuable lessons (Herzog, 1990, p. 93). 5. Discussion/Conclusions: The study has got great relevance as it d eals with a very controversial topic in scientific research and it has got great implications in the modern era where a lot of animals are being used for research purposes. The exercise is not just a matter of logic; on the other hand, it needs to take into account such factors as the animal’s similarity to humans, their perceived intelligence, and ethical considerations (Burghardt & Herzog, 1980; Herzog, 1988, as cited in Herzog, 1990, p. 93). While psychologists and animal rights activists argue for ethical treatment of animals there are many others who support the right of researchers and scientists to use animals for scientific research and advancements. Thus, the exercise makes the learners become equipped to grasp animal rights and it is the responsibility of psychologists to convince the students of both the sides of the issue (Herzog, 1990, p.

Wisdom Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wisdom Paper - Essay Example I consider my grandmother wise because she conforms to the definition of wisdom that I believe in and have discussed above. She has spent a whole lifetime during which she has seen a lot of highs and lows. She has been through a lot of enlightening and tough experiences and challenges, all of which have added to her knowledge of the best ways to deal with them, and so she has become more learned and wiser as she has aged. Perhaps it can be said for all elderly people, but some people do not learn from their mistakes, so they cannot be considered wise even if they are old. I am sure my grandmother is not included in that category. While I have had a lot of opportunities to learn from my grandmother, I have not been quite as lucky to learn from Martin Luther King Jr. as he had died several years before I had born. However, having read his biographies, and the books and articles written about him, I have learnt a lot of qualities and philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. that were described in them. Obviously, learning from a living person is a much different and better experience than learning from the second-hand accounts about a person who has passed away. Since my childhood, spending at least half an hour a day solely with my grandmother whenever she is at my home has been my habit. Whenever we are together, I ask her questions about her life, and her experiences, and tend to understand her thoughts, philosophies, and opinions about all kinds of issues. These experiences have been extremely informative, spiritually rejuvenating, and enlightening for me. I think that wisdom and learning are interrelated terms in that wisdom is enhanced by learning, but the two terms cannot be used interchangeably since they differ in their meanings. Wisdom is in-born. It is the sense to distinguish between the right and the wrong. Learning, on the other hand, is knowledge that is

The Progressive View and the Challenges of a Flawed Democracy Research Paper

The Progressive View and the Challenges of a Flawed Democracy - Research Paper Example Democracy as an American idealism for better services and transparency has been wanting in other sectors. The political party competition championed the spirit of democracy and the freedom of the people in the early 20th century. In 1912, the presidential contenders campaigned on a platform of respect for people’s right and democracy. They urged voters to consider electing people who agitated for the democratic right. Winston won the presidency because he had a progressive agenda. He won the election fighting for a progressive democracy given the country was undergoing difficulties brought by the Industrial Revolution (Milkis, 2012). The political party during the early 20th century were grappling with the threat of democracy. According to Tocqueville, the local government was the groundwork for democracy (Milkis, 2012). However, the federal government was flawed by the influence of large corporations. The corporations influence the day to day running of government because their candidates run over the government. It is these flaws that political parties viewed as a threat to democracy. They rallied their supporter on the promise of introducing trust laws that checked on their activities. The industrial revolution came with the emergence of prominent businessmen who were opulence and connected to political leaders. This period referred to as the ‘Gilded Age’ left the industrial workers and subsistence farmers vulnerable to exploitation. The businessmen corrupted the methods of government and neglected the plight of workers. This was a threat to democracy and Democrats leaders as well as Republicans were viewed to be irresponsible and pursuing their own interest (Milkis, 2012). Democracy has been practiced since the ancient Greeks.

Leadership an important but controversial area of Organization Essay

Leadership an important but controversial area of Organization Behaviour - Essay Example For that matter, the paper will discuss more specifically on the role of leadership as it pertains to the development of a company. Individual alongside group behaviour is mostly affected by a wide variety of variables. However, it doesn’t matter what setting the individual in question find themselves in. Irrespective of that, within an organization, it is believed that there are many levels that craft behavioural patterns. One of the levels is said to be culture. On the other hand, management techniques are the other level. The next level is human psychology as well as individual communication. All of this are said to contribute to the development of organizational behaviour. In general, organizational behaviour can be defined as the study of behaviours within a business-oriented organization. The study can also observe individual employee behaviour. In addition, the study could also scrutinize behaviours regarding employees as a whole or even the behaviours of the entire organizational structural team. How different organization guide and also influence behaviour is a multi-layered investigation that could be handled from many angles(DuBrin 2008). Usually, individual behaviours are examined within an organizational environment. On the contrary, the examination can also be conducted between co-workers in a defined group. On other occasions, scientists have examined the overarching behaviours that are attributed to the entire organization. The latter included how the organization functions together with its policies as well as ethics. When scientists observe employees behaviours, they can be able to determine the kind of behaviours in a given company. However, the behaviours of employees within a culture are guided by several factors such as ethics and objectives of the company. In addition, education and beliefs can affect the behaviours of a particular organization. To date,

Do Family Medicine doctors have the same results as Specialists Essay

Do Family Medicine doctors have the same results as Specialists (Endocrinologist) for diabetic Patients - Essay Example This issue has to be controlled. The best way to do that is through ensuring that the areas of its concentration are identified and awareness created to the people. This paper will be able to explain more on the diabetes epidemic. It will be able to tackle on the ways the people with the problem can be able to control it. It will also give ways on how to be able to care for the people who are already affected with the disease (Ede and Jackson 32). Chronic diseases like diabetes present multiple comorbidities and have significant medical and economic implications. The different effects do cause a significant problem to the patients. Diabetes can be able to cause a significant loss to the patients and even make their general health in a big risk (GÃ ¦de, Lund-Andersen and Parving 582). The different medication that is used for the treatment of this disease can have other effects to the patients. These effects can either be positive or negative (Hills and Parizkova 269). It is the responsibility of the patient to be able to ensure the medication is taken in the right way and is combined with a good diet. Some of the effects are as shown below. One of the common effects of the disease is Sulfonylureas. It is whereby the patient face issues like stomach upset, low blood pressure, weight gain and skin rash. This problem may be able to make the person uncomfortable. It might also cause obesity if the person is not careful with the diet (Jacobson 426). Another problem that can be able to attack the patients is Metformin. It will be able to make the patient suffer from kidney complications, upset stomach, tiredness, alcohol sickness, metal taste or dizziness (Keller and Heymsfied 1069). Diabetes medication is also known for causing Meglitinides. The symptoms of this problem include weight gain and low blood pressure. These symptoms may be able to lead other issues

Teacher Leadership Essay Example for Free

Teacher Leadership Essay Collaborative professional development is important and can positively affect student learning. The more time teachers are given to plan, discuss, observe and learn from other teachers the more diverse and active their classrooms can be. Students will see how teachers working together have a cohesive environment in the school and see how team building can really be effective. Collaboration also allows teachers to discuss common discipline rules and procedures so students know there is a common expectation in all of their classes. It also gives teachers time to discuss students’ strengths and weaknesses across content areas to help improve student achievement. The coaching implementation process can also support teacher development. Coaching can be beneficial for all teachers depending on the type of coaching being utilized. New teachers will require more intensive coaching. This can include informing the new teachers of the social aspects of the building on top of curriculum, classroom management, and discipline policies. More experienced teachers may only require coaching when new instructional procedures need to be implemented in the classroom. I will use mentoring, coaching and collaboration to further my professional development. Being a part of the teaching profession is the desire to be a lifelong learner. Mentoring, coaching and collaborating are ways to be supported and support your colleagues. I will use the information that I obtained from this course to help become more active as a teacher leader in my building. The only program that I have experience with is the one in my school district. As a new teacher to the district four years ago, I was entered into when I started. The program offered was very successful in my mind. As a new teacher, you can feel overwhelmed and unsure of yourself. The mentoring/coaching program provides a safety net and a master teacher for discussion and support. As a product of a mentor and coaching program, I still go to my mentor for advise and support. I was lucky enough to have such an amazing experience, which in turn led me to purse a Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership.

Issues And Assumptions Of Hotel Mangement

Issues And Assumptions Of Hotel Mangement The following report is a thorough analysis of the outrigger Hotels and Resorts case that describe the current Information Technology (IT) being used by this firm and the Information System resources that are being employed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. We will first start by giving a brief background history of the company and then analyze the current business structure and the Information System currently being employed. Key Issues and assumptions are identified from the case and thoroughly analyzed. Additional SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis questions are answered and finally, additional recommendation on how Outrigger can improve their current IS and IT infrastructure are provided to improve the future outcome of Outrigger Hotels Resorts. INTRODUCTION: Outrigger Hotels and Resorts is a management company that is owned by its holding corporation, Outrigger Enterprises. It is one of the largest, privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality firm in the Asia Pacific and Oceania. With rapid growth, Outrigger is expanding its presence throughout the Hawaiian Islands and the south pacific. By the dawn of the 21st century, the industry was estimated to have exceeded $295 billion in sales (Outrigger, 2010). With more than 60 years of hospitality experience, Outrigger has a diverse product portfolio that include highly successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger Hotels resorts, OHANA Hotels Resorts and Outrigger Condominium Collection (Outrigger, 2010). It is considered as one of the leading destination and vacation spots in the Hawaiian market with above average performance levels of the global industry (Piccoli, G., 2005, p. 106). KEY ISSUES AND ASSUMPTIONS: Main focus is to gain competitive advantage. Currently in waves 1 and 2 of the Waves of Innovation development of its electronic interfaces with their wholesalers. But not all wholesalers were interested in automating The firms integrated CRS/PMS (Central Reservation System/Property Management System) IT infrastructure Stellex, failed to migrate with a modern platform that was thought to simplify connectivity with the other off-the-shelf computer systems Having a Central Reservation Office (CRO) operating in Denver, Colorado. Reservations were centralized for all properties in Hawaii and beyond Hawaii, reservations was taken at each property. Issues with distance, high telecommunication costs and unacceptable reliability of international network led to a decentralized structure. Competitive pressures raising the importance of integration as larger branded hospitality and resort companies are entering the market. travel agents and wholesalers were finding the condominiums hard to sell advancements in technology and the overall internet boom proving a challenge for outrigger to keep up with and jeopardizing Outriggers future stability Detailed description: The main concern that Outrigger had was to analyze the current outriggers business strategy and to come up with an appropriate IS vision, IS architecture, and a strategic IS plan for outrigger hotels and resorts that not only gives Outrigger competitive advantage but also ensures future stability and success of the firm. When looking at IT and how it is used by industries and enterprises, waves of innovation chart is used (provided in the appendix, figure 4) that identifies the current evolution of IT within a firm (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p. 46). Currently, it is our assumption that Outrigger Hotels and Resorts are in Wave 1 and Wave 2. Their main goals are to reduce costs (Wave 1) and in leveraging investments (Wave 2) that focus on cutting cost through organizational effectiveness while increasing corporate assets and profitability (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p. 47). Outrigger achieved in reducing costs by automating manual processes to wholesalers such as billing and invoicing generating organizational effectiveness. They gained competitive advantage by implementing the electronic interface to be used by wholesalers. As shown in Figure 4, both Wave 1 and Wave 2 are below the line as this identifies that systems were developed mainly for administration, finance, and manufacturing (McNur lin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p. 47). Furthermore, with the outsourcing of their website and web services, they introduced online chat to better help their customers and provide more information to them. Although this can be regarded as Wave 5 under the Waves of Innovation as it shows how IT is used to communicate directly with consumers, thereby leading to new marketing, distribution and service strategies (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p 47). Also what can be considered under Wave 5 is the adoption of a dynamic package that Outrigger serves that appeals to travellers, suppliers, even travel agencies. It provides the option and flexibility to choose air, hotel, car rental and even activities, ticketed independently and then priced out as a bundle to the buyer. This is another example of how Outrigger is reaching consumers and creating opportunities (Wave 5 in Waves of Innovation) by directly communicating with their prospective clients, making use of internet and e-commerce (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p. 47). Outrigger Hotels and Resorts historically maintained a highly centralized organization structure. As the firm grew in size from Hawaii locations and expanded internationally such as Australia, Outrigger remained consolidated and offered centralized services where possible such as in accounting, IT, finance, engineering, purchasing etc. The challenge that was presented with their Australian resorts was of distance and real-time coordination of the reservation system with the central reservation service. Within the IT infrastructure, the firm felt that its current centralized IT infrastructure was the source of competitive advantage. Their software Stellex was an integrated Central Reservation System/Property Management System (CRS/PMS) which was upgraded to Stellex 2.0 in 1992 to provide revenue management functionality and reservation center support. But with the expansion of the firm internationally, they ran into issues such as high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii and the unacceptable reliability of international networks. Therefore, they did not extend their centralized model to their operations in Australia and the Pacific. Outriggers IT professionals did minimal application development wrote customized reports, and configured and interfaced with off-the-shelf applications. Even their website development and web services were outsourced and hosted by a third party in Portland, Oregon. Their main competitive advantage that outrigger had was the development of real-time electronic interfaces with wholesalers as mentioned above. Outrigger felt that with the use of technology, electronic interfaces will generate substantial efficiencies, including automatic billing and invoicing without human handling and thus lowering costs. But not all wholesalers were interested in automating reservation processing. The lack of interest was generated from those doing small operations or those for whom Hawaii and the Pacific represented a small percentage of business. Not only that, but the electronic interfaces proved to be expensive to maintain and replace and didnt provide the expected goals that Outrigger envisioned to gain to get beyond their competitors (Piccoli, G. 2005, P 113). System integration is the trend that allows different departments to have communication and information flow amongst each department and thus making technologies and systems co-exist with one another to work together. This is usually accomplished by implementing and ERP system that provides the accessibility of working from a single computing platform integrating different departments and functions across an organization (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p. 333). With stellex software though, it failed to migrate with the modern platform that integrated other off-the-shelf application prompting outrigger to re-evaluate Stellexs role. Additionally, Stellex also failed to interface with outriggers Point of Sales (POS) system which were old and needed to be upgraded first. Therefore, the whole project was aborted. Outriggers management is also in need of change management. They had this misconception that they did not want to extend their centralized model in operations because of high telecommunications cost and the unacceptable reliability of international networks. They had no central servers, stand alone systems and their use of outsourcing was limited to website development and hosting. Their data management systems consisted of data marts setup to hold detailed information for a maximum of three years, and later they would consolidate this data for aggregate analysis. Overall, Outriggers management felt that their IT function was enabling them complete success and that their IT function would be able to operate more efficiently than its competitors. QUESTIONS: What are Outriggers most important internal business strengths and weaknesses, as well as, the external opportunities and threats to their competitive environment? Strengths: Through Partnerships and management agreements with third party owners, Outrigger added properties on Maui and Kauai and grew to 26 locations in the Hawaiian Islands. Furthermore, through partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, and new developments the firm grew internationally adding properties in Guam, Fiji, Tahiti, Australia, and New Zealand thus becoming geographically dispersed. They also begain to diversify their product portfolio by adding condominium resorts The changing of their name from Outrigger Hotels Hawaii to Outrigger Hotels and Resorts and rebranding their off beach hotels in Waikiki to launch a new hotel brand name OHANA Hotels of Hawaii. OHANA became the largest Hawaii-owned operator in Waikiki catering to budget travelers looking for value on off-beach properties. Even though they were expanding their firm and buying properties (both on-beach properties/condominiums and off-beach budgeted properties) their commitment in their identity remained the same. Providing hospitality and sense of place to their guests visiting and a leisure experience that is rich in culture and the characteristics of their destination. 2004 data showed outrigger as being the stronghold in the Hawaiian market with performance levels above the average of the global industry. By 2005, Outrigger had a portfolio exceeding US $1.4 billion and approximate revenues of US $45 million. It awarded their success of their destination markets and to the well-being of airlines serving its destinations. Being quite isolated from any large population pool, Hawaii is a classic destination market with an exclusive fly-in customer base. Their Stellex software proved to be an anchor from which all operational systems connected, including telephone switches, call accounting, and in-room entertainment. All the Hawaiian islands had access to Outriggers centralized IT system which was served from the Honolulu-based data center, through the firms Wide Area Network. Their management of their multicultural and multilingual employees and guests in a multicultural environment adding to the richness and culture of their organization. Also, engaging in a non-unionized business in a heavy unionized Hawaiian labor market. Operating properties that have good location, strong travel distribution network and employees who provide hospitality from the heart adds value and creates a differentiated product. David Carey Use of outsourcing was limited to website development and hosting. Weaknesses: Even though condominiums represented an increasingly important share of the total portfolio of properties, travel agents and wholesalers found them hard to sell. Not only are condominiums expensive, but they were also complex and proved to be a non-standard product from what Outrigger offered. It appealed to independent travelers and are built to serve as primary or vacation homes for the tenants offering little office or staging space for management companies to operate in. They also lacked typical hotel services and departments such as food and beverage, room service, laundry, and daily maid services. Thus, there was a lack of reasoning involved on Outriggers behalf when they decided to expand their firm into condominium market and acquiring expensive properties. As Outrigger started to diversity their product portfolio, the profile of their customers and competitors also changed. Traditionally targeting to middle class travelers and families with income below $100k a year, they became to target towards leisure travelers. A typical guest staying at their premium brand was often a multigenerational customer with a sense of loyalty to the brand and an income exceeding $75,000. Their guests became exclusive leisure travelers. Outrigger still relied on the traditional system of faxing. Reservations were taken at each location and almost all the reservations were faxed to the property. Although Outrigger was expanding rapidly, they had yet to find an integrated solution for international properties namely for operations in Australia and Pacific. Having centralized stand alone systems or legacy systems. It created high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii, as well as international networks proved to be unreliable. Their Stellex software failed to migrate to a more modern platform that was thought to simplify connectivity with the other off-the-shelf computer systems. Point of Sales (POS) systems were not centralized and couldnt be interfaced with Stellex software as they were old and needed to be upgraded first. This resulted in inefficiency as a manual charge voucher had to be manually written. Data marts were setup to hold detailed customer information for three years, but later this data would be consolidated and it would only provide aggregate analysis. Outsourcing was done to website only. Opportunities: Investments in condominiums provided a way for expansion to expensive properties. It created value to on-beach property location spots Condominiums also appealed to independent travelers and couples who desired privacy. Hawaii is a classic destination market Competitive pressures will raise the importance of integrated system and the benefits that come along with it within Outriggers IT infrastructure. Better integrating of its international properties is a crucial stepping stone to the firms continued success. With the increasing competition in its key markets, outrigger should also look towards strengthening their electronic presence and relationships with their distributers, improve their trademark hospitality and customer service. Threats: More competition from larger brand competitors entering into the market. Hawaii is the classic destination spot and many competitors are entering into the Hawaiian market. More larger branded hospitalities and resorts are entering into the Hawaiian market Not all the wholesalers were interested in automating the service of billing and invoicing for small operations IT infrastructure needs to be upgraded and changed to keep up with modern platforms. Competitive pressures will raise the importance of integration systems within Outriggers IT infrastructure The change in the overall hospitality distribution is also rapidly changing. Historically, travel agents would provide significant amounts of information, counseling, and reassurance to leisure travelers, but more and more consumers are turning to the internet for this information. Thus, Outrigger should challenge populating the new electronic world and create a powerful presence. The emergence of online agencies such as Expedia has created significant opportunities and threats. Explain the strengths and/or weaknesses of Outriggers existing infrastructure i.e. Information Systems Technology, People (users and IS staff), and Data. Include your assessment of its performance today as well as how well equipped it is to support future needs. Outrigger existing infrastructure includes the overall establishment with their Stellex software. It was introduced in 1987 as a COBOL application and guaranteed complete redundancy and 24/7 uptime. Later in 1992, and update to stellex, Stellex 2.0 was introduced by Outrigger which ran on Sun Microsystems UNIX platform and provided revenue management functionality and reservation center support. They also implemented JD Edwards ERP system as a foundation for their back-office operations. This led to Outrigger having a competitive advantage by having centralized IT infrastructure (Piccoli, G., 2005, p. 111). All of the properties in the Hawaiian Islands had access to the Outriggers centralized IT systems and was served through their Wide Area Network based in Honolulu. Stellex provided the anchor to which all other operational systems connected, including telephone switches, call accounting, and in-room entertainment. Due to the high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii and the unreliability on the international networks, Outrigger did not extend this centralized model to its operations in Australia and Pacific. The properties in Australia and New Zealand which were all condominiums, used standalone Property Management Systems (PMS). None of the properties in Hawaii had a server on property and these other regions used standalone PMSs and on-property reservations. Additionally, Outriggers IT professional engaged in interfacing off-the-shelf applications and writing customized reports with minimal application development. The use of outsourcing was limited to the Web site that was developed and hosted by a third party in Portland, Oregon. But to maintain the integration of the direct channels, Stellex served as the booking engine behind Outriggers Web site. The development of electronic interfaces with wholesalers was considered a key initiative and was custom-developed by the firms IT group using XML (Piccoli, G., 2005, p. 113). This provided real-time electronic interfaces for wholesalers allowing them to check availability, to get reservations instantaneously, to provide automate billing and invoices, and ultimately lowering any estimated costs. However, not all wholesalers were interested because of Outriggers small percentage of business. In 2001, business intelligence software, a data mart and analytical tools, were acquired from E.piphany and the application ran on Windows 2000 platform. Their data management system could hold data for up to three years, and then it would get consolidated for aggregate analyses (Piccoli, G., 2005, p. 118). Being able to harness the analytical power of E.piphany to do forecasts and generate business intelligence, outrigger could better use the data for marketing and operational analysis as well as incorporate information into their daily operations with improved efficiency and service to their customers. With regards to their IT staffing and organization as a whole, an organization chart has been provided in the appendix section detailing the distribution of duties and responsibilities among Outriggers IT staff. The overall IT function was organized along user needs one IT professional in charge of Australian properties application needs. The hardware support was contracted out to local vendors. Outriggers senior executives found technology a great asset to enable communication and felt confident that the IT function was enabling the firm to compete effectively and that they were operating more efficiently than their competition (Piccoli, G., 2005, p. 116). As the firm was expanding aggressively, they still had yet to find an integrated solution for their international properties. Some even questioned the viability of reinvesting in Stellex. The IS group felt that their legacy system namely their ERP, integrated PMS/CRS, and electronic interfaces with distribution partners was serving the firm quite well. They were prompted to re-evaluate the role of Stellex after a failed attempt to migrate a more modern platform thought to simplify connectivity with the other off-the-shelf computer systems in the portfolio. Outrigger engaged in limited formal technology training and relied mainly on on-the-job training when it came to software applications. This approach however created difficulties for people who were hired from outside the firm. With the latest advancements in technology, even the guests who arrive to resorts expect to have access to their technological needs. Eg wireless access and thus outrigger should look into future to provide that feasibility to their guests. Additionally, it would be best to strengthen their internet presence and populate the electronic world strengthening their electronic relationships with their distributers, improving their own trademark hospitality and customer service. Although currently their firm is doing well, but for the future, a better integrated system that connects all the international properties is a crucial step in enabling the firms continued success. Developing a right kind of information strategy and developing a clear vision for the role of IS and a solid IS architecture are a crucial step in enabling these goals. Based on your assessment of the case, state your key recommendations and rationale to Outriggers senior management to ensure that it competes successfully. To compete successfully in the future, a key recommendation for Outrigger is to implement a change in their overall current IT and IS systems and strategy and look towards the advantages that are offered by a complete ERP system. An ERP system aims to integrate corporate systems by providing a single set of applications from a single application (McNurlin, Sprague, Bui, 2009, p332). Although Outrigger has already implemented the JD Edwards ERP as their back-office operations, its more advantageous to have the ERP system integrating the whole overall different departments and properties together with one module and have information flows in real time. These days, an ERP system is used extensively in almost every major organization whether it be in manufacturing or distributing services, an integrated ERP system allows a firm to gain competitive advantage. Not only that but competitive pressures have raised the importance of integrating business processes and thus, the underlying info rmation system. Additional motivations for ERP implementations are provided in Figure 4 outlining the advantages of an ERP system implementations. To realize the benefits of ERP, Outrigger must therefore change its organizational structure and culture. APPENDIX CASE 1: OUTRIGGER HOTEL RESORTS Outrigger Organization: Figure : Organization Chart Outriggers Infrastructure: Figure : Timeline of Major Infrastructure Developments at Outrigger Waves of Innovation: Picture2.jpg Figure : Waves of Innovation Motivations for ERP implementations: Figure : Motivations for ERP implementations

Egypts Age Of Reform

Egypts Age Of Reform Muhammad Ali Pasha, or Mehmet Ali PaÃ…Å ¸a, was the ruler of Egypt for 43 years (1805 to 1848). He is regarded in history as the founder of modern Egypt. Muhammad Ali was born to an Albanian family in Kavala which is modern day Greece. He worked first in the tobacco industry as a merchant until he became part of the Ottoman army. He first came to Egypt with the army to rid the country of the French expedition. After successfully liberating Egypt in 1801, Muhammad Ali started to gain interest in ruling Egypt. He made efforts to reach the power in Egypt until he successfully did in 1805 (. Throughout his rule, Mohammed Ali introduced many reforms of all kinds in order to achieve his goal which was to turn Egypt into a modern country. Although he was not a pure Egyptian, Mohammed Ali ruled Egypt with love and determination to make it an independent country. He was a true visionary; his efforts of reform indeed were successful in creating a period of renaissance that benefited Egypt in numerous ways. He was able to strengthen, unify, and most importantly modernize Egypt in a period of 43 years. What encouraged Muhammad Ali to insist on reforming Egypt were two reasons. First he felt that it is a country that had such a rich history and civilization, deserved to be modernized and independent. The second reason was that Egypt had a strategic geographical location that he felt had the potential of making it one of the most advanced countries. Mohammed Alis reforms did not only focus on one area, but rather on numerous fields which included the military, agriculture, industry, and education. All in which took Egypt steps further ahead and transformed it from being an ordinary state run under the rule of the Ottoman Empire into being an independent country and one of the most developed countries outside of Europe. His main goal was to build a strong army. However, the shortage of revenue was a major obstacle that hindered him from achieving his goal. As a result, he extended the governments control onto all of Egypts resources in order to enable him to plan and manage a way to generate more revenue that would enable him to carry on his reform plans. Furthermore, Muhammad Ali realized that if he was to build a strong army, he had not only to focus on Egypts military sector, but also on all the other sectors in order to establish a powerful economy. Military Reforms Muhammad Alis military reforms were very smart and served Egypts interest. He realized that the army was not strong enough. Its main weakness was that its soldiers were a mixture between Turks, Albanians, and Mamluks and therefore, there was no sense of nationalism or unity. He also realized that the European armies were more advanced since they were using modern weaponry and techniques whereas his army was not which posed a threat to Egypts security. As a result, Ali was determined to create a new army. He had made several attempts to build a new army. His first attempt on August 1815 was to appoint Egyptian farmers however, together both Albanians and men of religion opposed him and threatened his life which caused Ali create another plan. His second attempt was to appoint Sudanese men, yet his plan also failed primarily due to the fact that Sudanese soldiers had no feeling of nationalism towards Egypt and therefore, were not driven to join the army and protect Egypt. His third and final attempt in 1820 was to once more appoint Egyptian Muslim farmers. This attempt succeeded yet it was strongly opposed by the Turkish aristocrats who feared that by giving Egyptians power in the army that they would use it against the Ottomans (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ­Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  , 59). It was also opposed by the farmers themselves since they did not find any benefits to them being part of the army (Ø ­ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  , 142). However, according to Mouriez in his book Modern Egypt from 1840 to 1857 he states that the farmers quickly got used to their new lives as part of the army and were proud to be the army men of Muhammad Ali since they found that the title was prestigious (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ­Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  , 59). In a period of 10 years the army reached a total number of 130,000 soldiers which was a relatively large number considering that the population of Egypt as a whole was about 3.5 mi llion (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡,125). In order to train the army, Mohammed Ali used the aid of a French colonel Seve who was later known as Suleiman Pasha after he converted to Islam (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 125). Although he was French, Suleiman Pasha played a huge role into modernizing the army. Mohammed Ali had great hopes in him and trusted that he would be able to make the Egyptian army similar to those armies of Europe. Under the control of Suleiman Pasha, the army moved to Aswan as a location for training. For a period of three years the army was placed under constant training that was aimed at organizing, strengthen, and unifying the soldiers as one (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ­Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  , 62). In addition to training the army Mohammed Ali also sent military missions to Europe. This indicates that as a ruler he was not only planning short term goals for Egypt, but also long-term one that would benefit Egypt for more years to come. What is admirable about Muhammad Alis techniques in reforming the army was that he was not ashamed to admit that he wanted to imitate the army of his enemy. In my opinion it was smart of him to seek help from European experts to train the Egyptian army. Industrial Reforms Although Muhammad Ali used the aid of European states, his plan was to use it only for a short period of time. In other words he was clever in seeking foreign help in order to build Egypt, yet the beauty in his plan was how he managed to transform Egypt from a dependent country to an independent country. One of Mohammed Alis main goals was to limit import substitution in Egypt. He wanted to manufacture his own weapons for the Egyptian army and stop depending on European states for aid. However, Muhammad Ali could not have industrialized Egypt without the helping hand of Europe at first. His plan was to import machinery and experts from Europe. Then he would imitate the machinery by building similar ones in Egypt under the supervision of the European experts who trained the Egyptian labor (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 75). One of the most successful industries was the military industry. The reason to why he decided on establishing a military industry in particular was because he usually faced two problems when importing weapons from Europe. First, Egypt did no always have enough money to buy weaponry and secondly, was because often some European countries refused to export their weaponry to Egypt. As a result, Muhammad Ali was determined to make Egypt rely on its own production (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 75). He established the first arsenal in 1816 to produce cannons and munitions. He also established arsenals in Alexandria, Cairo, Rosetta, and Bulaq to produce arms and naval ships. Not only was Egypt now manufacturing to meet its needs, but also it was manufacturing at very high quality (Owen,71). In addition to the military industry, Muhammad Ali established textile factories starting from the year 1815 to further decrease Egypts import bill and to compete against the finished goods coming from India. He would supply the raw materials from Egypts local production of cotton and whenever the factories faced a shortage of raw materials, Muhammad Ali would order that more land be cultivated to produce more output (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 75). Moreover, Muhammad Ali established factories for the production of silk starting from the year 1816 with the first factory in Khoronfish. In addition, there was the establishment of 3 factories for the production of sugar in 1818, and a factory for leather (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 75). Agricultural Reforms Moving to the agricultural reforms, it is clear that Muhammad Ali relied less on European aid and more on the efforts of the government and the locals. Although the reforms might have seemed harsh, yet Egypt would have never been strong without the implementation of Muhammad Alis policies. In order to transform the agricultural sector into a more modern one and in order to increase Egypts revenue coming from this sector, Mohammed Ali had to go through several steps in order to achieve his ultimate goal. First, he ended the Iltizam system in Egypt since he realized that a large part of Egypts land tax was going to the Multazims instead of the government (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 98). He first abolished the Iltizam system in 1812 in Upper Egypt and then in 1814 abolished it in Lower Egypt. In order to replace the Multazims, Mohammed Ali appointed Coptic clerks as the ones responsible to collect the tax. In addition, he used the village sheikhs to perform surveillance among the tax collection in order for him to ensure that the taxes reach the government (Owen,65). Moreover, Muhammed Ali introduced new crops for cultivation. One of the most important crops that were introduced is long staple cotton in 1821. Farmers cultivated long staple cotton intensively. In fact, the government itself encouraged farmers to cultivate it by giving them animals on credit, and cotton seeds for free. In addition, the government distributed cotton gins and presses in villages and used the help of experts from Syria and Anatolia to aid the farmers in the cultivation of the crops. As a result, there was a large increase in Egypts revenue. Almost 33% of revenue coming to Egypt came from cotton, which allowed the government to fund the expansion of its army (Owen, 66-67). Egypts cotton was highly demanded by French and British textile factories. In addition their output increased tremendously in six years from 944 cantars in 1821 to 34,300 cantars In addition, Muhammad Ali introduced a new system to the agricultural sector which is known as the Monopoly system. Under the Monopoly system, Muhammad Ali considered himself as the owner of all the land of Egypt. He nationalized all land in Egypt and banned the private trade of numerous crops. Under the Monopoly system, Muhammed Ali divided the land among the farmers so that each farmer would get from 3 to 5 feddans to cultivate and gave away 4% of the total area of land in each village to the village sheikhs. As long as each farmer paid the land tax, they had the freedom to choose the crops that they were going to cultivate. After the crops were cultivated, the farmers were responsible to hand in all their output to the government. The government would then buy the crops from the farmers at a price lower than the international price and sell it in the international market at the international price. As a result, the money that Egypt would make out of this monopoly would go to the industrial sector in order to achieve the goals of having an industrial sector that was strong enough to compete on its own both locally and on an international level (Ø ­ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  , 156). As a result Mohammed Ali had complete control of 95% of Egypts exports. Meanwhile, h e only controlled 1/3 of the total imports of Egypt. The reason why he did not have much control over Egypts imports was due to the pressure of European states on the Ottoman government set a law in 1820 that allowed foreign merchants to export goods to the Ottoman Empire was an import rate of 3% only. Therefore, despite the fact that Muhammad Ali wanted to protect Egypts local production, he could not go against the laws that the Ottoman empire had set on the importation of European goods (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡,72). In addition, Mohammed Ali increased the area of cultivated land by 164960 feddans. However, in order to increase this area, he had to carry irrigational projects. He ordered the digging of new canals and the clearing of old ones in order to ensure that there was a constant supply of water reaching the lands. Some of the most famous canals of that time and that are still found today are Mahmudiya Canal, the Delta Barrage, and Al Anater Al Khayreia (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 72). Moreover, the government confiscated all the Waqf land since its owners could not proof that their land was in fact Waqf. As a result of Muhammad Alis efforts to transform the agricultural sector, Egypts revenue increased tremendously. Since more land was being cultivated, there was more production. More production meant an increase in exportation, and finally this led to an increase in revenue. Although many could argue that the monopoly system is not a democratic system and therefore, one should not be praised for applying it, in Egypts case applying the monopoly system was the most ideal solution for increasing revenue. However, only because Muhammad Ali was not driven by greed did this system work. However, if it was someone other than Muhammad Ali then there would have been a chance that the money surplus would have gone to waste. Educational Reforms The educational sector is by far the sector that benefited Egypt the most on the long run. In my opinion, if Muhammad Ali was not a believer in education then no matter how much he tried to reform the military, industrial, or agricultural sectors Egypt would have still remained insignificant. Mohammed Ali, highly believed in the value of education. Although, he was illiterate until he reached his forties, Mohammed Ali encouraged Egyptians to read and educate themselves. In fact, Abdel-Rahman Al-Jabarti, an Egyptian historian, mentioned in his chronicale Ajaib al-athar fil tarajim wal-akhbar, that Mohammed Ali admired and was taken by the intelligence and receptivity of learning that was evident in Egyptians. In fact, he tells a story of a man named Hussein Jalabi Ajwa, an Egyptian who invented a devise for grinding rice. When his invention was shown to Mohammed Ali, Ali was very impressed and concluded that Egyptians were in fact smart and therefore, deserved to have schools for education (El Gemeiy). Before Mohammed Alis efforts for reform in the educational sector, education in Egypt was limited to religious studies and Islamic law. Moreover, before his reign Egypt reached a very low state in education. A primary reason to why it reached this stage was due to the fact that the Ottomans did not possess any sort of valuable knowledge that they could pass on. In fact the Ottomans were weak in Arabic which resulted in Turkish becoming the main language (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ­Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ). However, seeing European states advance using their modern sciences drove Mohammed Ali to transfer knowledge from the West to the East. His admiration of the European method of education made Mohammed Ali more determined to introduce modern education first time to Egypt. Moreover, he felt that Egypt needed employees who were well trained and specialized; in addition he realized that it needed well trained army officers. As a result, Muhammad Ali introduced a new system of education in hopes that it will elevate Egyptians. The main reason to why Muhammad Ali wanted to introduce a better education was because he felt that by having one it would create a strong backbone for the Egyptian army since the army needed to be updated with the modern military methods (El Gemeiy). In addition, it needed doctors, translators, teachers, engineers and specialized experts in many different fields in order for it to be considered a strong army (El Gemeiy). As a result, Muhammed Ali was keen on introducing secular education. Instead of establishing an educational system that started with primary schools, Mohammed Ali first established specialized schools and then moved to the establishment of middle and primary schools. His plan was to establish specialized institutes, bring foreign instructors to teach, send educational missions to Europe, and finally translated European books into Turkish and Arabic (Ø §Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ­Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ). The process of reforming the educational sector was long, yet it benefited Egypt greatly. During the first stage from the year 1811 to 1836, 67 new schools were introduced in Egypt. Although, all schools were run under the control of the department of Military, each school had its own unique system, meaning that each school created its own rules. One of the most important schools that were established during his reign was the school of Medicine. This school was established in 1827 in an area called Abu Zaabal. Its main goal was to graduate doctors who could work for the Egyptian army. The school grew to be very prestigious. Later in 1830 the School of Pharmacology was established followed by the School of Obstetrics which was established a year later together with the school of Veterinary Medicine. The schools proved to be a great success. In fact they graduated 420 doctors and pharmacists that worked for the army afterwards (El Gemeily). In 1837 the school of medicine was relocated in Cairo and was built by Ahmed Al-Aini. It was later known as Qasr Al-Aini. Furthermore, Muhammed Ali established agricultural colleges. Al-Darsakhana al-malakiya (The Royal Academy), established in the year 1830, was the first agricultural college to be introduced. Not only did it teach agricultural sciences, but also taught Arabic and Farsi. Later in 1833, an agricultural college in Shubra Al Kheima was established. Another college that was established in 1836 was in Nabruh in which its instructors were made up of the Egyptian student body who went on missions to Europe (Ø ­ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  , 162). One of the first schools he established was Al Mohandes Khana (School of Engineering) which was created in 1816. The government imported all the machinery and tools needed for the school from England. In addition, he made its education for free and gave the students a monthly salary. Later in 1834 he created another similar engineering school in Bolak (Ø ­ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  , 162). Moreover, a proof that Muhammed Ali was sincere in his goal of translating Western knowledge to the East, was the establishment of Al Alson Academy, an institute that . Several military schools were established during the reign of Muhammad Ali. The Artillery Academy, the Cavalry Academy, was established in 1831. Their aim was to graduate a labor force that would be useful for the Egyptian army. Furthermore, a naval academy was established under Muhammad Ali. This academy proved to be very successful to an extend that its naval fleet equaled that of the Ottoman Empire not only in size, but also in strength and skill (El Gemeiy). During the period between the years 1836-1841, Muhammed Ali realized that more order should be placed in the educational sector. Therefore, he established Diwan al-madaris (the Department of Schools) to take over the educational sector instead of the Department of Military. Was established in order to organize and take control of the educational sector in Egypt. During this stage the establishment of preparatory schools took place. As was mentioned previously, Mohammed Ali was keen on sending educational mission to Europe. He realized that by sending students to Europe would open these students to a more modern way of thinking so that when they come back to Egypt they can implement what they have seen in Europe. The missions involved all educational fields meaning that students were sent to study military sciences, agriculture, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and many other fields of study. The total number of students sent on these missions added up to 319 students. In my opinion, the educational sector was the sector that received the most beneficial reforms. If it was not for Muhammad Ali, then this sector would have probably remained stagnant. It would have been nearly impossible to modernize and evolve Egypt without having an educational sector. To conclude, Mohammed Alis reforms were aimed at elevating Egypt as a whole. Although his main goal was to create a strong army, Muhammad Ali understood that in order to achieve his goal he has to build a strong economy as well. Many might oppose him for using the aid of European countries especially since he played a role in ending the French Expedition in Egypt, however, in my opinion I find that his plan was ideal. The main reason why is because by doing so Muhammad Ali proves that he is a smart ruler who would do anything to bring his country further ahead. Furthermore, even though he was not purely Egyptian, Muhammad Ali ruled with love for Egypt. As a result, not only did he carry out his policies to achieve short-term goals, but also he established long-term goals that would make Egypt a modern country that was not just a state under the Ottoman Empire. As a result of all the reforms Egypt ended up with more local production, more exports, limited imports, better education, an d a stronger army.

Powerful Women of Homers Odyssey Essay -- Homer Odyssey womody

The Powerful Women of Homer's Odyssey Homer's "Odyssey" depicts women as strong subjects-they are real substantive characters. Women in this poem are tough, strong-willed and are treated with the respect and seriousness they deserve. Homer characterizes the women in his poem as the real counterparts of men-they have real feelings, real plans and are able to accomplish them on their own. Some of the more impressive and intriguing women in the book are Nausicaa, Arete, Circe, Calypso, Penelope, Helen and Athena. Nausicaa is a sweet girl, and on the outside she may appear to just be the stereotypical woman, but, in the poem she has much more depth. She is the daughter of a king with dreams of her wedding and other girlish fantasies. She characterizes all that is pure, innocent and righteous in the world. Arete is Nausicaa's mother is very intelligent and is independent in nature. She is abl...

Philip Roth- Master of the Double Identity :: essays research papers fc

Philip Roth - Master of the â€Å"Double Identity† because he suffers from one What influences one's identity? Is it their homes, their parents, their religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and each identity is unique, or is it? In literature, (or life) religion plays a large role in a character's identity. However, sometimes the writer's own religion and personal experiences shapes the character's identity more than his/her imagination does. A person's religion can play a big role in one's identity. Throughout his works, Philip Roth explores the theme of identity doubles. Roth's portrayal of identity formation in his characters is directly inspired by his own identity; his life. One of the most obvious examples of Roth's art imitating life is in two of his books naming the main characters after none other than himself. It was among some of the many startling gestures in his career; in Deception (1990) he referred to the main character as Philip and in Operation Shylock (1993) he made reference to the main character as Philip Roth. In her article titled, â€Å"Philip Roth's Fictions of Self Exposure†, Debra Shostak remarks how odd it is for an author to outwardly make reference to themselves when most authors want avoid any personal association with their work other than writing it, she further points out that Roth intentionally writes this way, making his career out of his reader's inclinations toward â€Å"biographical interpretations†: Few writers dare to name themselves at the center of their inventions, which is why it is so arresting to find a work of fiction that pronounces its author's name within the text. Because readers are frequently tempted, from either prurient interest or more impartial motives, to discern autobiography in a fictional narrative, most writers of fiction seem to labor out of modesty , a sense of privacy, or a display of imaginative capacities to erase the traces of their own lives from their work. Not so Philip Roth. Especially since his invention of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth has encouraged readers to interpret the narrative voice of his fiction as a self-revealing "I," a Roth surrogate who, by the time of Deception and Operation Shylock, is no longer a surrogate but is "Roth" himself†¦ What I argue here is not that Roth is, strictly, writing autobiographically, but rather that he makes capital out of his readers' inclinations toward biographical interpretations of his work.

Frank Sinatra Essay -- Biography

Frank Sinatra was widely known from coast to coast. He was definitely one of the most popular stars of his era. (3) He, not only was a singer/ song writer, but as his career grew he shifted smoothly into acting and dancing. Ole Blue Eyes was an American icon who was capable of charming his way through each decade that rolled by. He had a sound that carried like no other. His soft voice could sweep women off their feet and right into his arms. Ole blue eyes had an extraordinary talent and sure did not waste it. It all started when Italian immigrants, Martin and Natalie Sinatra gave birth to a baby boy on December 12, 1915. On that night Francis Albert Sinatra was born not breathing. His grandmother decided to hold him under water. Thankful, he began to gasp for air. Even since the beginning Frank made his way through unfavorable odds. Martin, Sinatra’s father, was a firefighter for the city of Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank’s mother, Natalie or she was often referred to as Dolly, was an amateur singer; who often played at clubs and social events. (1) As Frank grew so did his love for music. His first real passion for music came when his uncle gave him a ukulele. On hot summer nights Sinatra would sit out on his front porch while playing and singing to family and friends. Frank never had to take singing lessons. His wonderful gift came from the Lord. Were they lived was a rough neighborhood so Frank had to be on his guard almost all the time. To protect himself, he decided to take up boxing. Later on he would become a competetent boxer. (1) Frank Attended Demarest High School. He was a generous, but pugnacious person. These characteristics would follow him throughout his entire life. He competed in all... ...e and alcohol abuse. Frank Sinatra’s career spanned for more than fifty years. He ventured from recordings, film television as well as countless performances in night clubs, concert halls, and sports arenas. (3) He was truly the first modern pop star. The audiences who grew up with him and his music were complemented by adoration from younger generations. They have all made Ole Blue Eyes one of the most outstanding popular singers of the 20th century. His smooth style transcends through all generations and can survive the cold hard fact of time. He was able to withstand the great shifts in the time eras. He was a creative and gifted man who charmed the world with his blue eyes and beautiful smile. No matter how you see him; the starry eyed boy next door, the bruised romantic, or the smooth cosmopolitan man he was and always will be Frank Sinatra.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 56-59

CHAPTER 56Sophie st ard at Teabing a long fleck and then turned to Langdon. The numinous grail is a person? Langdon nodded. A char charr, in fact. From the blank look on Sophies face, Langdon could guarantee they had al admity lost her. He rec altogethe inflameddened having a confusable reaction the fresh troops succession he heard the statement. It was non until he downstairsstood the figureisationogy behind the grail that the wo slicehoodish connection became clear.Teabing appargonntly had a similar thought. Robert, perhaps this is the moment for the symbologist to clarify? He went to a come alongby end table, appoint a nibble of paper, and laid it in front of Langdon.Langdon pulled a pen from his pocket. Sophie, argon you familiar with the little icons for manful and fe staminate person?He drew the common male symbol The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci CodeOf course, she say.These, he make out liquidly, are not the legitimate symbols for male and young-bearin g(prenominal). m either an(prenominal) other(prenominal) people incorrectly assume the male symbol is derived from a shield and spear, era the distaff symbol represents a reverberate reflecting beauty. In fact, the symbols originated as past galactic symbols for the planet-god Mars and planet-goddess Venus. The skipper symbols are remote simpler. Langdon drew another icon on the paper.The Da Vinci CodeThis symbol is the original icon for male,he told her. A rudimentary ph whollyus.Quite to the point, Sophie said. As it were, Teabing added. Langdon went on. This icon is offici anyy k straightwayn as the blade, and it represents aggression and manhood. In fact, this exact phallus symbol is passive used today on modern military uniforms to denote rank.Indeed. Teabing grinned. The more penises you arouse, the higher(prenominal) your rank. Boys will be boys. Langdon winced. Moving on, the female symbol, as you magnate imagine, is the exact opposite. He drew another symb ol on the page. This is called the goblet.The Da Vinci CodeSophie glanced up, looking surp line upd.Langdon could key she had made the connection. The chalice, he said, resembles a loving cup or vessel, and more important, it resembles the shape of a womanhoods womb. This symbol communicates femininity, womanhood, and fertility. Langdon looked directly at her now. Sophie, invention recounts us the devoted grail is a chalice a cup. nevertheless the grails comment as a chaliceis unfeignedly an fiction to value the true nature of the consecrated grail. That is to say, the romance uses the chalice as a metaphor for whatsoeverthing far more important. A woman, Sophie said.Exactly. Langdon smiled. The Grail is literally the past symbol for womanhood, and the holy Grail represents the consecrate womanish and the goddess, which of course has now been lost, roughly eliminated by the church. The power of the female and her ability to create life was once really sac pe rsonnel casualty, al unrivalled it posed a threat to the rise of the predominantly male church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the concept of original sin, whitherby Eve tasted of the apple and caused the killfall of the humane race. Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy.I should add, Teabing chimed, that this concept of woman as life-bringer was the foundation of ancient religion. Childbirth was surreptitious and powerful. Sadly, delivererian philosophy decided to peculate the females creative power by ignoring biologic truth and making man the Creator. generation tells us that Eve was created from Adams rib. Woman became an start of man. And a sinful unmatchable at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess.The Grail, Langdon said, is symbolic of the lost goddess. When the Nazareneianity came along, the old pagan religions did not die easily. Legends of chivalric quests for the lost Grail were in fact stories of forbidden quests to let on the lost sacred feminine. Knights who avered to be inquisitory for the chalice were speaking in codification as a way to protect themselves from a Church that had subjugated women, banished the Goddess, burn nonbelievers, and forbidden the pagan reverence for the sacred feminine.Sophie move her head. Im sorry, when you said the Blessed Grail was a person, I thought you meant it was an actual person.It is, Langdon said.And not dependable any person, Teabing blurted, clambering excitedly to his feet. A woman who carried with her a whodunit so powerful that, if revealed, it threatened to waste the very foundation of delivery boyianitySophie looked overwhelmed. Is this woman swell known in history?Quite. Teabing placid his crutches and moti iodined down the hall. And if we adjourn to the study, my friends, it would be my keep an eye on to show you Da Vincis flick of her. devil rooms off, in the kitchen, man servant Remy Legaludec stood in still forrader a television. The news move was b pathwaycasting photos of a man and woman the selfsame(prenominal) two individuals to whom Remy had that served tea.CHAPTER 57Standing at the roadblock bulge outside(a) the Depository Bank of Zurich, Lieutenant collet wondered what was taking Fache so long to recognize up with the chase warrant. The bankers were obviously concealing roughthing. They claimed Langdon and Neveu had arrived earlier and were turned away from the bank because they did not adjudge proper posting identification.So why wont they let us inside for a look?Finally, Collets cellular echo rang. It was the command post at the Louvre. Do we move over a search warrant notwithstanding? Collet demanded. lead near the bank, Lieutenant, the agent told him. We just got a tip. We have the exact location where Langdon and Neveu are hiding.Collet sat down touchy on the hood of his car. Youre kidding.I have an address in the suburbs. Somewhere near Versailles. Does Captain Fache know? non yet. Hes engaged on an important call.Im on my way. suffer him call as curtly as hes free. Collet took down the address and jumped in his car. As he peeled away from the bank, Collet realized he had disregarded to ask who had tipped DCPJ off to Langdons location. Not that it mattered. Collet had been blessed with a bump to redeem his skepticism and earlier blunders. He was or so to make the most high-profile perplex of his condole wither.Collet radioed the five cars accompanying him. No sirens, men. Langdon cant know were coming.Forty kilometers away, a wispy Audi pulled off a rural road and parked in the shadows on the a just of a field. Silas got out and peered through the rungs of the wrought-iron cope that encircled the vast compound in the lead him. He gazed up the long moony slope to the chateau in the distance.The downstairs lights were all ablaze. Odd for this instant, Silas thought, smiling. The information the instructor had given up him was obviously accurate. I will not leave this house without the keystone, he vowed. I will not fail the bishop and the Teacher.Checking the xiii-round powder magazine in his Heckler Koch, Silas pushed it through the proscribe and let it fall onto the mossy object inside the compound. Then, gripping the top of the fence, he heaved himself up and over, dropping to the ground on the other side. Ignoring the slash of pain from his cilice, Silas retrieved his catalyst and began the long trek up the grass- over-corrected slope.CHAPTER 58Teabings study was similar no study Sophie had ever pay heedn. Six or s til now times larger than even the most luxurious of office spaces, the knights locker de travail resembled an ungainly hybrid of lore laboratory, archival library, and indoor flea market. Lit by three overhead c chip ineliers, the boundless roofing tile floor was dotted with clustered islands of worktables conceal beneath hav e gots, artwork, artifacts, and a surprising bill of electronic gear computers, projectors, microscopes, copy machines, and flatbed scanners.I converted the ballroom, Teabing said, looking sheepish as he shuffled into the room. I have little occasion to dance.Sophie mat up as if the entire night had become some kind of twilight zone where null was as she expected. This is all for your work? assimilators hep the truth has become my lifes love, Teabing said. And the Sangreal is my favorite mistress.The Holy Grail is a woman, Sophie thought, her mind a collage of interrelated ideas that seemed to make no thought. You said you have a persona of this woman who you claim is the Holy Grail.Yes, only it is not I who claim she is the Grail. Christ Himself made that claim. Which one is the painting? Sophie asked, see the walls. Hmmm Teabing made a show of bidly to have forgotten. The Holy Grail. The Sangreal. The Chalice. He revolve suddenly and pointed to the far wall. On it hu ng an eight-foot-long imprint of The finish Supper, the same exact fancy Sophie had just been looking at. on that point she isSophie was certain(a) she had missed something. Thats the same painting you just showed me.He winked. I know, but the blowup is so untold more exciting. Dont you conceptualise? Sophie turned to Langdon for help. Im lost. Langdon smiled. As it turns out, the Holy Grail does then make an egressance in The LastSupper.Leonardo included her prominently.Hold on, Sophie said. You told me the Holy Grail is a woman.The Last Supper is a painting of thirteen men.Is it? Teabing arched his eyebrows. Take a finisher look.Uncertain, Sophie made her way closer to the painting, scanning the thirteen embodiments savior Christ in the middle, six-spot disciples on His left, and six on His castigate. Theyre all men, she confirmed.Oh? Teabing said. How about the one seated in the place of honor, at the right hand of the Lord?Sophie examined the figure to messiah im mediate right, focusing in. As she study the persons face and body, a wave of amazement rose within her. The individual had sleek red hair, delicate folded detainment, and the hint of a bosom. It was, without a doubt female.Thats a woman Sophie exclaimed.Teabing was laughing. Surprise, surprise. Believe me, its no mistake. Leonardo was apt at painting the difference mingled with the fetch upes.Sophie could not take her eye from the woman beside Christ. The Last Supper is supposed to be thirteen men.Who is this woman? Although Sophie had seen this classic image many times, she had not once noticed this unmistakable discrepancy.Everyone misses it, Teabing said. Our preconceived notions of this scene are so powerful that our mind blocks out the incongruousness and overrides our eyes. Its known as skitoma,Langdon added. The brain does it sometimes with powerful symbols. Another reason you might have missed the woman, Teabing said, is that many of the photographs in art books wer e taken in the first place 1954, when the flesh out were still hidden beneath layers of soil and some(prenominal) restorative repaintings done by clumsy hands in the ordinal century. right away, at net, the fresco has been cleaned down to Da Vincis original layer of paint. He motioned to the photograph. Et voilaSophie locomote closer to the image. The woman to deliveryman right was young and pious-looking, with a demure face, beautiful red hair, and hands folded quietly. This is the woman who singlehandedly could crumble the Church?Who is she? Sophie asked.That, my earnest, Teabing replied, is cabley shame Magdalene. Sophie turned. The prostitute? Teabing drew a short breath, as if the word had hurt him personally. Magdalene was no such thing. That unfortunate misconception is the legacy of a smear campaign launched by the early Church. The Church unavoidable to sully gunstocky shame Magdalene in order to cover up her dangerous enigmatical her power as the Holy Gr ail.Her role?As I mentioned, Teabing clarified, the early Church needed to convince the human that the mortal seer savior was a divine being. Therefore, any gospels that described earthly aspects of saviour life had to be omitted from the Bible. Unfortunately for the early editors, one fractureicularly troubling earthly home kept recurring in the gospels. bloody shame Magdalene. He paused. More specifically, her marriage to messiah Christ.I beg your pardon? Sophies eyes moved to Langdon and then covering to Teabing.Its a matter of historical record, Teabing said, and Da Vinci was sure aware of that fact. The Last Supper practically shouts at the entranceer that the Nazarene and Magdalene were a pair. Sophie glanced back to the fresco.Notice that delivery boy and Magdalene are draped as mirror images of one another. Teabing pointed to the two individuals in the decoct of the fresco.Sophie was mesmerized. Sure ample, their attire were inverse colors. deliveryman wore a red robe and blue cloak bloody shame Magdalene wore a blue robe and red cloak. Yin and yang.Venturing into the more bizarre, Teabing said, note that Jesus and His bride appear to be get together at the hip and are leaning away from one another as if to create this clear delineated negative space amidst them.Even before Teabing traced the contour for her, Sophie apothegm it the indisputable V shape at the focal point of the painting. It was the same symbol Langdon had drawn earlier for the Grail, the chalice, and the female womb.Finally, Teabing said, if you view Jesus and Magdalene as compositional elements alternatively than as people, you will see another obvious shape leap out at you. He paused. A earn of the alphabet. Sophie maxim it at once. To say the letter leapt out at her was an understatement. The letter was suddenly all Sophie could see. Glaring in the center of the painting was the unquestionable outline of an enormous, flawlessly formed letter M.A slit too pe rfect for coincidence, wouldnt you say? Teabing asked. Sophie was amazed. wherefore is it there? Teabing shrugged. Conspiracy theorists will tell you it stands for Matrimonio or bloody shame Magdalene. To be honest, nil is certain. The sole(prenominal) certainty is that the hidden M is no mistake. Countless Grail-related works obligate the hidden letter M whether as watermarks, underpaintings, or compositional allusions. The most dazzling M, of course, is emblazoned on the altar at Our chick of Paris in London, which was designed by a former Grand command of the Priory of Sion, Jean Cocteau.Sophie weighed the information. Ill admit, the hidden Ms are intriguing, although I assume nobody is claiming they are make of Jesus marriage to Magdalene.No, no, Teabing said, going to a nearby table of books. As I said earlier, the marriage of Jesus and bloody shame Magdalene is part of the historical record. He began pawing through his book collection. Moreover, Jesus as a get hitche d with man makes infinitely more sense than our standard biblical view of Jesus as a bachelor.why? Sophie asked.Because Jesus was a Jew, Langdon said, taking over while Teabing searched for his book, and the social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish man to be unmarried. According to Jewish custom, celibacy was condemned, and the obligation for a Jewish bring forth was to find a suitable wife for his son. If Jesus were not married, at least(prenominal) one of the Bibles gospels would have mentioned it and offered some explanation for His unnatural state of bachelorhood.Teabing rigid a abundant book and pulled it toward him across the table. The leather-bound edition was poster-sized, like a huge atlas. The cover admit The Gnostic Gospels.Teabing heaved it open, and Langdon and Sophie joined him. Sophie could see it contained photographs of what appeared to be magnified passages of ancient documents tattered papyrus with handwritten text. She did not recognize the ancient language, but the go about pages bore typed translations.These are photocopies of the Nag Hammadi and breathless Sea scrolls, which I mentioned earlier, Teabing said. The earliest Christian records. Troublingly, they do not match up with the gospels in the Bible. Flipping toward the middle of the book, Teabing pointed to a passage. The Gospel of Philip is always a wide place to start. Sophie read the passageAnd the feller of the saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ love her more than all the disciples and used to candy kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offend by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, Why do you love her more than all of us?The words strike Sophie, and yet they hardly seemed conclusive. It says nothing of marriage.Au contraire. Teabing smiled, pointing to the showtime line. As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion, in those days, literally meant spouse.Langdon concurred with a nod.Sophie read the f irst line again. And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene.Teabing flipped through the book and pointed out several other passages that, to Sophies surprise, clearly suggested Magdalene and Jesus had a romantic relationship. As she read the passages, Sophie recalled an aggravated non-Christian priest who had banged on her grandfathers door when she was a schoolgirl.Is this the home of Jacques Sauniere? the priest had demanded, glaring down at young Sophie when she pulled open the door. I want to talk to him about this pillar he wrote. The priest held up a newspaper.Sophie summoned her grandfather, and the two men disappeared into his study and unappealing the door. My grandfather wrote something in the paper? Sophie at a time ran to the kitchen and flipped through that mornings paper. She found her grandfathers prognosticate on an phrase on the flash page. She read it. Sophie didnt realize all of what was said, but it sounded like the french government, under press ure from priests, had agree to ban an American movie called The Last Temptation of Christ, which was about Jesus having sex with a lady called Mary Magdalene. Her grandfathers article said the Church was arrogant and ill-timed to ban it.No wonder the priest is mad, Sophie thought.Its pornography Sacrilege the priest yelled, emerge from the study and storming to the front door. How can you perchance endorse that This American Martin Scorsese is a blasphemer, and the Church will permit him no pulpit in France The priest slammed the door on his way out.When her grandfather came into the kitchen, he saw Sophie with the paper and frowned. Youre quick. Sophie said, You think Jesus Christ had a girlfriend?No, dear, I said the Church should not be allowed to tell us what notions we can and cant entertain.Did Jesus have a girlfriend?Her grandfather was slow for several moments. Would it be so mentally ill if He did? Sophie considered it and then shrugged. I wouldnt mind.Sir Leigh Teabi ng was still talking. I shant bore you with the countless references to Jesus and Magdalenes union. That has been explored ad nauseum by modern historians. I would, however, like to point out the following. He motioned to another passage. This is from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.Sophie had not known a gospel existed in Magdalenes words. She read the textAnd dickhead said, Did the Saviour really speak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he take her to us?And Levi answered, shot, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like an adversary. If the Saviour made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.The woman they are speaking of, Teabing explained, is Mary Magdalene. scratch is jealous of her.Because Jesus preferred Mary?Not only that. The interest were far greater than mere affection. At this point in the gospel s, Jesus suspects He will soon be captured and crucified. So He gives Mary Magdalene instructions on how to carry on His Church later on He is gone. As a result, Peter expresses his discontent over playing second fiddle to a woman. I daresay Peter was something of a sexist.Sophie was trying to keep up. This is perfection Peter. The rock on which Jesus construct His Church.The same, except for one catch. According to these unmoved gospels, it was not Peter to whom Christ gave directions with which to engraft the Christian Church. It was Mary Magdalene.Sophie looked at him. Youre maxim the Christian Church was to be carried on by a woman?That was the plan. Jesus was the original feminist. He intended for the future day of His Church to be in the hands of Mary Magdalene.And Peter had a trouble with that, Langdon said, pointing to The Last Supper. Thats Peter there. You can see that Da Vinci was well aware of how Peter felt about Mary Magdalene.Again, Sophie was speechless. In t he painting, Peter was leaning menacingly toward Mary Magdalene and slicing his blade-like hand across her neck. The same threatening gesture as in Madonna of the RocksAnd here too, Langdon said, pointing now to the meeting of disciples near Peter. A bit ominous, no?Sophie squinted and saw a hand uphill from the crowd of disciples. Is that hand wielding a poser?Yes. Stranger still, if you count the arms, youll see that this hand belongs to no one at all. Its disembodied. Anonymous.Sophie was get-go to feel overwhelmed. Im sorry, I still dont understand how all of this makes Mary Magdalene the Holy Grail.Aha Teabing exclaimed again. therein lies the rub He turned once more to the table and pulled out a large chart, spreading it out for her. It was an fatten out genealogy. Few people realize that Mary Magdalene, in addition to being Christs right hand, was a powerful woman already. Sophie could now see the title of the family tree.THE TRIBE OF gum benjaminMary Magdalene is here, Teabing said, pointing near the top of the genealogy. Sophie was surprised. She was of the shack of Benjamin? Indeed, Teabing said. Mary Magdalene was of lofty descent. scarce I was under the impression Magdalene was poor. Teabing shook his head. Magdalene was recast as a tart in order to erase inference of her powerful family ties.Sophie found herself again glancing at Langdon, who again nodded. She turned back to Teabing. plainly why would the early Church care if Magdalene had royal blood?The Briton smiled. My dear child, it was not Mary Magdalenes royal blood that concerned the Church so much as it was her consorting with Christ, who also had royal blood. As you know, the Book of Matthew tells us that Jesus was of the signboard of David. A descendant of pouf Solomon King of the Jews. By marrying into the powerful House of Benjamin, Jesus fused two royal agate lines, creating a potent political union with the potential of making a legitimate claim to the throne and re storing the line of kings as it was under Solomon. Sophie sensed he was at kick the bucket coming to his point. Teabing looked excited now. The legend of the Holy Grail is a legend about royal blood. When Grail legend speaks of the chalice that held the blood of Christ it speaks, in fact, of Mary Magdalene the female womb that carried Jesus royal bloodline.The words seemed to let out across the ballroom and back before they fully registered in Sophies mind. Mary Magdalene carried the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ? But how could Christ have a bloodline unless ? She paused and looked at Langdon.Langdon smiled softly. Unless they had a child. Sophie stood transfixed. Behold, Teabing proclaimed, the greatest underwrite in human history. Not only was Jesus Christ married, but He was a father. My dear, Mary Magdalene was the Holy Vessel. She was the chalice that bore the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. She was the womb that bore the lineage, and the vine from which the sacred prod uction sprang forthSophie felt the hairs stand up on her arms. But how could a secret that big be kept quiet all of these years?Heavens Teabing said. It has been anything but quiet The royal bloodline of Jesus Christ is the source of the most constant legend of all time the Holy Grail. Magdalenes story has been shouted from the rooftops for centuries in all kinds of metaphors and languages. Her story is everywhere once you open your eyes.And the Sangreal documents? Sophie said. They allegedly contain proof that Jesus had a royal bloodline?They do.So the entire Holy Grail legend is all about royal blood?Quite literally, Teabing said. The word Sangreal derives from San Greal or Holy Grail. But in its most ancient form, the word Sangreal was divided in a different spot. Teabing wrote on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to her. She read what he had written. Sang Real Instantly, Sophie accept the translation. Sang Real literally meant over-embellished Blood.CHAPTER 59The male re ceptionist in the tap of the Opus Dei headquarters on Lexington highroad in recent York City was surprised to hear Bishop Aringarosas congresswoman on the line. intimately evening, sir. Have I had any messages? the bishop demanded, looking unusually anxious. Yes, sir. Im very glad you called in. I couldnt reach you in your apartment. You had an urgent phone message about half an hour ago.Yes? He sounded relieved by the news. Did the society leave a name? No, sir, just a number. The operator relayed the number.Prefix thirty-three? Thats France, am I right?Yes, sir. Paris. The society said it was critical you contact him immediately. give thanks you. I have been waiting for that call. Aringarosa speedily severed the connection.As the receptionist hung up the receiver, he wondered why Aringarosas phone connection sounded so crackly. The bishops daily schedule showed him in New York this weekend, and yet he sounded a world away. The receptionist shrugged it off. Bishop Aringar osa had been acting very strangely the last few months.My cellular phone essential not have been receiving, Aringarosa thought as the Fiat approached the exit for Romes Ciampino Charter Airport. The Teacher was trying to reach me.Despite Aringarosas concern at having missed the call, he felt support that the Teacher felt confident enough to call Opus Dei headquarters directly.Things must have gone well in Paris tonight.As Aringarosa began dialing the number, he felt excited to know he would soon be in Paris. Ill beon the ground before dawn.Aringarosa had a chartered turbo prop awaiting him here for the short flight to France. Commercial carriers were not an option at this hour, especially considering the content of his briefcase.The line began to ring.A female voice answered. Direction Centrale Police Judidaire.Aringarosa felt himself hesitate. This was unexpected. Ah, yes I was asked to call this number?Qui etes-vous? the woman said. Your name?Aringarosa was uncertain if he sho uld reveal it. The French Judicial Police?Your name, monsieur? the woman pressed. Bishop Manuel Aringarosa. Un moment. There was a click on the line. afterward a long wait, another man came on, his tone gruff and concerned. Bishop, I am glad I finally reached you. You and I have much to discuss.