Importance of Mother Nature

More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of saving mother earth. Indeed, the sense of urgency behind the drive to save the environment is stronger than ever before. After all, we only have one planet; if this one becomes totally ruined, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will not have a home. If we all do our part to save mother earth, it is definitely possible. Therefore, people should learn as much as they can about ways that they can help save the environment; by working together, our planet can remain habitable for centuries to come.Save Mother Earth Tip #1: RecyclingThe popularity of recycling has increased a great deal in recent years, as people search for ways of saving mother earth. Recycling can have a dramatic impact on helping to save the environment. Many different things can be recycled and reused, reducing waste and garbage in landfills and around the planet. In terms of helping to save the environment, recycling is an excellent strateg y. It makes sense, in saving mother earth, to reuse her resources as much as possible. Increasing recycling efforts can help us save the environment.Save Mother Earth Tip #2: EducationTeaching our children about the importance of saving mother earth is a great way of instilling lifelong habits that can help save the environment. Schools are increasing the teaching of subjects that pertain to helping to save the environment. Young children are encouraged to help save mother earth by engaging in various habits that promote eco-friendly techniques. Parents can also increase the green-education of their children by demonstrating every day strategies for helping in the fight to save the environment.If everyone does their part, today’s children will be tomorrow’s environmentalists, helping to save our planet from ruin.One major problem of the environment is lack of knowledge. If that little girl knew that she killed trees when she crumples the paper if she draws an oval inst ead of a circle, I think she wouldn’t continue doing that. And if she still did, it will be lesser compared to before. If only she knew. If only we knew. If only we knew earlier.

Cerebral Cortex and Phineas Gage

Cerebral Cortex and Phineas Gage Debbie Mintz PSY 360 July 25, 2011 Phineas Gage Paper Phineas Gage was a man who was a leader at his job and was a very likeable person. His family and friends agree that he would helpful to anyone, he was happy, and easy-going person. Then he received brain damage to his cerebral cortex, which is one’s cognitive functions are within their lobes located in the brain. Humans have four kinds of lobes located within the cerebral cortex that do different functions. Human Brain The human brain is covered with tissue known as the cerebral cortex, which large furrows (fissures) and small furrows (sulci), and there are ridges between the fissures and sulci known as gyri. Under the cerebral cortex tissue are four lobes, each lobe has a role in a humans cognitive functions. Phineas Gage was a man who received brain damage, and one will be able to see how it affected his cognitive functions. Four Lobes for Cognitive Functions Basically the cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes; because during development of our brain the pressure divides the area into four areas and the development of these lobes do different functions within our brain. The four lobes are known as frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe and the occipital lobe (Pinel, 2009). One’s occipital lobe is what gives him or her visual input and helps guide their behavior, the occipital cortex with â€Å"large areas of an adjacent cortex perform this cognitive function† (Pinel, 2009, p. 69). In, the parietal lobe it has two large functional areas, the post central gyrus function, which it analyzes sensations one can feel from his or her body, such as touch. In the posterior section of the parietal lobes has the role of â€Å"perceiving the location of both objects and our own bodies and in directing our attention† (Pinel, 2009, p. 69). The cortex of one’s temporal lobes, which has three functional areas. For one’s language and hearing there is the superior temporal gyrus, the inferior temporal cortex identifies ones complex visual patterns, next is the medial ortian of the temporal cortex its cognitive function is for memory. The last of the four lobes is the frontal lobe, and it has two distinct functioning areas. The first area is the pre-central gyrus along with the adjacent frontal cortex have a motor function, and the â€Å"frontal cortex anterior to motor cortex performs complex cognitive functions† (Pinel, 2009, p. 69), such as assessin g the outcomes of possible patterns of behavior, preparation to reply with sequences, and assessing the signifince of the behavior of others (Pinel, 2009). Summary of what each lobe does †¢Occipital lobe for vision processing †¢Parietal lobe for movement, perception to stimuli, recognition, orientation. †¢Temporal lobe for perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, speech, and memory. †¢Frontal is for reasoning, parts of speech, movement, planning, problem-solving, and emotions (Brain Structures and their Functions, 2005) Phineas Gage (1823-1860) Phineas Gage is a good example to use when explaining what happens to a person who receives brain damage and how the damage can affect ones cognitive functions. At the age of 25 a young man’s life changed completely, Phineas Gage was a hard worker as well as the a supervisor for the crew he worked with, his or her job was to blast huge rocks to make the land ready for the railroad track in 1848. His job consist of using a tampering iron on the boulders that had gun power or dynamite in them to explode, accidents do happen, and Phineas Gage received a tampering iron exploded into his face. It was remarkable that he was alive as well as being able to walk three miles to find medical help. The doctor cleaned him up with amazement that he lived through this damage to his brain. From the doctors report the tampering iron made entry in the cranium and passed through the anterior left lobe, and made its exit in the medial line, along his sinus fracturing his frontal and parietal bones widely, substantial parts of the brain broken up and his left eye globe was protruding out the socket, within a half of a diameter (Mo, 2006). After this terrible accident according to (Mo, 2006), Phineas Gage retained full possession of his reason, but Gages wife, family, and friends began to see dramatic changes happening to him and his personality. Even the company he worked for tried to rehire him, but they could not because his behavior changed, he was mouthy, unpredictable, disrespectful, and grossest profanities. These was not Phineas Gage’s behavior before the tampering iron went through his brain and rearrange his cognitive function from his anterior left lobe (Mo, 2006). Which is located in the frontal lobe, and it is for reasoning, parts of speech, movement, planning, problem-solving, and emotions (Brain Structures and their Functions, 2005). This was not the Phenias Gage they knew; in fact anyone that knew Gage before states there is a drastic change to his mind. As a result of Phineas damage from his frontal cortex there was a complete loss of social inhibitions, and inappropriate behavior (Mo, 2006). To this day â€Å"the role of the frontal cortex is involved in personality changes and social cognition† (Mo, 2006, p. ) Phenias Gage lived a different life as a stable person, at a place where he was not known, presumably somewhere in Chile and live 13 more years. This shows that when one’s brain has damage that they can live through it, but as a different person. Ones cognitive functions can become altered by brain damage within their lobes in their brain. Phineas Gage he seemed to turn from a good natured person to a bad natured per son, does that mean a bad natured person can become altered to a good natured person?

Bisexuality Politicised Essay Example for Free

Bisexuality Politicised Essay This paper asks the question how can bisexuality be or become a danger to the dominant sexual script which I problematise as produced racism, sexism, homophobia, and monosexism. That this brand of heterosexuality occupies 99% of our cultural space in entertainment, education, history and public expression and is considered inevitable and unchallengable for 90% of peoples relationships is, I will argue, the victory of white patriarchal science. I intend to show the nature of this victory and imagine what counter struggle and victories might emerge from the site of my bisexuality. The Historical role of Biphopia- Policing the Treaty. Underpinning this paper is the belief in that many if not all heterosexual identifying people can be bisexual and that the majority are to some extent not privately monosexual. The majority status of bisexuality does not make it normal nor ideal however I mention it because it is important to realise that the invisibility of bisexuality requires extraordinary effort to maintain and it’s repression occurs against all people not just a few â€Å"natural† bisexuals. To understand the historical role that biphobia has played and the historical position of bisexuality it is necessary to recognise homosexuality as a creation of western patriarchal and homophobic medical science. Women have always loved women and men have always loved men but the classification of these experiences as a sexuality with little or no element of choice and a biological or individual psychological basis was given currency in the 19th century by a professional class that feared same sex desire. Their construction of homosexuality shaped and informs Western cultural understanding of sexuality â€Å"not in the first place because of its meaningfulness to those whom it defines but because of its indispensableness to those who define themselves against it. † (Segal, L. p145) for it was and is needed â€Å"not only for the persecutory regulation of a nascent minority of distinctly homosexual men (and women) but also for the regulation of the male (and female) homosocial bonds that structure all culture – at any rate all public or heterosexual culture. † (Eve Sedgewick in Segal, L. pp194-5) Early psychoanalytic texts were quite explicit that the project was to police all male and female relationships warning â€Å"teachers and parents not to take too lightly friendships among girls which become passionate† and society to â€Å"be more concerned with the degree of heterosexuality or homosexuality in an individual than they are with the question of whether he has ever had an experience of either sort†. â€Å"The real danger from homosexuality† was seen to lie â€Å"not in actual sex association but in homosexual attitudes towards life† such as the negative attitudes of â€Å"thousands of women †¦ toward men, marriage and family life† influenced by â€Å"latent homosexuality† for â€Å"neurotic attitudes about love and marriage can prove contagious. † (Caprio, F. pp 6 -11) Generally, prior to this the western world had relied on Christianity to dictate the terms of sexuality. Whether sexual attraction was â€Å"natural† was no defence under a regime which tended to view â€Å"natural† sexual desires as needing control from a religious authority. The medical establishment faced the dilemma of replacing religious authorities without having any utilitarian basis for the repression of same sex desire. The construction of homosexuality as a distinct condition was to define normality as exclusive heterosexuality. In fact heterosexuality was simply the condition of being human. Sexual behaviour became a product of a persons condition; the â€Å"human condition† producing normal heterosexual behaviour. There was now no need for a religious justification for preferencing the heterosexual over the homosexual because behaviour was not a matter of choice but a matter of whether or not you were ill; Well or sane people simply didn’t want to have sex with people of their own gender. This was presented as a more humane response to homosexuality than religious condemnation or incarceration. Psychiatrists often called themselves compassionate as they argued for an adoption of â€Å"scientific† curative responses to homosexuality. (Caprio, F, p. xi) The majority gay and lesbian movement accepted the shifting of sexuality into an area for science and have embraced the notion of a biological basis or early psychological basis for sexuality. Their fight has largely been for homosexuality to be treated as incurable and it follows natural and equally valid alternative to heterosexuality, jettisoning any agenda to argue that is better. Only a minority have argued that homosexuality is a political choice and an option for everyone. With both sides ceasing hostilities1, when homosexuality was delisted as a mental illness in 1973 (Altman,D. ,p5), institutionalised heterosexuality and gays and lesbians overt interests have moved to coincide. Victories to normalise homosexuality also normalise heterosexuality’s dominance by depoliticising sexuality in general. In 1993 when a homosexuality gene was â€Å"discovered† a genetic basis for the majority status of heterosexuality was created though not declared. Anyone who would argue that the commonality of heterosexuality might have something to do with social programming and institutional support can now be said to be messing with nature. The proud bisexual threatens this peaceful coexistence of the heterosexual majority and homosexual minority. Recognition of our bisexuality requires a validation of our sexual relationships with people of our own gender based on choice rather than the agreed legitimate biological basis. Such choice may be personal or circumstantial but also political or moral. Normalising bisexuality with a biological cause won’t defuse it’s threat though it could contain it if it relegates us to a fixed minority status. Society still has to reckon with why we choose to validate relationships with people of our own gender by identifying as bisexual. We reopen old debates that many who have found safety in a biological basis for their monosexual identity want to keep closed. (I will revisit this fear in the last section, Bisexuality and the Future when I discuss Bi supremacy. ) A bisexual identity simply has to be defined as confused or an exception to the rule. Individuals have to be pressured to fit themselves into one or the other category. In a secular society without moral taboos people can’t be allowed to entertain the idea that their partners gender is political. Also, understandably gays and lesbians know those moral taboos still hold significant power so many still see their best option as policing the treaty based on the attribution of their sexuality to a biological or psychological cause. Bisexuality and identification – Withdrawing our support for the status quo. The bisexual identifying person is not predominantly someone who feels attraction equally to both genders or without any reference to gender2 and in terms of actual sexual or emotional experience the majority could be classified as predominantly homosexual or heterosexual. â€Å"Why then, don’t you call yourself gay or straight? † is the inevitable response to this confession. And confession it feels like because to indicate a â€Å"leaning† puts at risk the validity given to a bisexual identity within contemporary discourse. Sexual expression is usually presented as representative of something innate rather than a mediation between a person and their world. Consequently the woman who says she usually finds women easier to make emotional connections with is seen to be describing her â€Å"innate† difficulty emotionally connecting with men rather than her experience of men and their culture. Asserting a bisexual identity in the face of this invalidation is about contextualising sexual responses rather than finding invisible internal reasons for them. A bisexual identity in the above circumstance keeps open the possibility that a preference for emotional relationships with women could change if men and male culture changed. Alternatively a preference for sex with men might be attributable to homophobia. (Weinberg, M. S. , p221) The reasons for choices are not always positive ones but the possibility for counter argument exists. Holding onto a bisexual identification based on potentiality, rejects the conservatism of describing reality by the status quo. However a bisexual identity is also partially an attempt to accurately relate personal history as well and this too has a radical power. Most monosexual identifications represent people only by concealing some bisexuality. By identifying as bisexual a person accepts and celebrates those aspects of their life that are inconsistent with a monosexual identity. The power of metanarratives within modernism, including descriptions of sexuality, relies on such inconsistencies being deemed insignificant. Hence a public bisexual identity is a confrontation of generalist theories with lived experience. If people promote such a solidarity with their experiences and the people who compose them that is greater than any to a proposed theory then expounders of metanarratives (including myself) will lose power. Our authority to dictate â€Å"from above† will be replaced by a decentralised authority based on being â€Å"up close† to our own reality. Bisexuality and other oppressions. Sexuality forms alliances across genders, ethnicities, and classes so any bisexual movement which fails to take gender, race or class issues into account poses a real danger of obscuring differences and concealing oppression. (This is also true for a multiplicity of issues such as disability or mental illness). My discussion of bisexuality and other basis for oppression are not intended to present bisexual identification as the panacea of the worlds ills. Social change must be inspired by a diversity of experience and informed by a range of critiques. Given the above it is presumptious for me as a half-wog male to seek to resolve ongoing debates about a bisexual political agenda among feminist women or debates among black women and men on how to connect bi pride with anti-racism. To do so would be to pretend that I can speak from only my bisexuality and abandon any white, male perspctive. As a long term unemployed person I believe I can speak on class issues from the inside to some extent but also still acknowledge the privelage of my university education. This is not to say that I think that sexism is a womens issue or that the responsibility for opposing racism is solely non-whites. Nor am I comfortable being accountable to lesbian or straight feminists on the issue of bisexual profeminism or placing beyond reproach the homophobia of some black liberationist theorists like Eldrige Cleaver. What to speak on and when in regard to a radical bisexualitys’ impact on patriarchal, white supremist and class oppresion is best defined as problematic. As a simple way out I hope to show how I see a politicised bisexuality contributes to my pro-feminism, anti-racism and support for class struggles. It is my hope that this will have relevance for a wider audience. Radical Bisexuality and Pro-feminism. Judith Butler states that â€Å"the heterosexualisation of desire requires and institutes the production of discrete and assymetrical oppositions between â€Å"feminine† and â€Å"masculine† identities. † (Segal, L. p190) Monique Wittig goes further to argue that a woman’s place in heterosexuality is a class of oppression and that the lesbian escapes her class position. (Wittig, M, p. 47) I agree that â€Å"hetero†-sexuality (literally a sexuality based on opposites) reproduces and supports womens oppression in other spheres by creating a binary gender system. Men need to realise that their love for women is problematic when it is that â€Å"love† of the â€Å"feminine identity† that belongs to this sytem. This is the attraction for the other and requires women’s difference to be exaggerated and emphasised. These exaggerations shape women as not-men while we men shape ourselves and are shaped into embodiments of the ideal. The seeming irony of male heterosexuality where women are objects of love being consistent with misoginy where women are objects of hate makes perfect sense through the operation of oppositional heterosexuality precisely because the love requires women to be less than men. A love that does not require partners to be different than ourselves is not possible within exclusive heterosexuality because it fails to provide the argument to repress same sex desire. It is necessary for heterosexual men to confront their homophobia which demands they repress or invalidate their same sex desire before they can love their female partners as their â€Å"own kind† and not another species. An additional benifit to patriarchy of discrete gender identities that is liable to be lost when men reject oppositional heterosexuality is the regulation of male social interaction. The arguments to exclude gay men from the military reveal the mindset deemed necessary to produce a war machine; â€Å"We are asking men in combat to do an essentially irrational thing – put themselves in a position where they are likely to get killed †¦ One of the few ways to persuade men to do that is to appeal to their masculinity †¦ You cannot have an adrogynous military †¦ The idea that fighting is a masculine trait runs deep. As a cultural trait it predates any written history. It may even be a genitic trait †¦ Just think what it would mean to demasculinize combat. The effect on combat effectiveness might be catastrophic. † – Charles Moskos, Military Socioligist quoted in Colonel R. D. Ray, Military Necessity and Homosexuality (Gays:In or Out, p63) It is regrettable that non-heterosexual men and many women are proving they too can make excellent soldiers. 3 However the above quote exaggerates a fact that male â€Å"buddy† relationships are relied on by the military and that this requires a repression of same sex desire. This is because same sex desire is preferential – it is not a love of all men equally – but of a few and potentially for a time. The same-sex loyalty that is demanded by patriarchy including it’s military needs the stability of exclusive heterosexuality; â€Å".. the recognition of homosexuality is a threat to that peculiar combination of male camaraderie and hierachy on which most organisations depend; sexual desire is too anarchic, too disrespectful of established boundaries to be trusted. † (Altman, D. p63) Unravelling their heterosexuality is not the most important thing men must do to support feminism however it is a legitimate part of this support for â€Å"it is the repressed recognition of this fact (that everyone can be homosexual) that does much to fuel homophobia, but equally acts so as to promote male bonding and certain crucial authority structures. † (Altman D. ,p XI) Radical Bisexuality and Racism. The construction of homosexuality as a â€Å"natural† difference from the heterosexual norm shares and competes for the same conceptual space as constructions of race as biological differences from the white norm. This is particularly true because the hetrosexual ideal is represented as white with the sexuality of non-whites traditionally seen as untamed, violent, promiscuous or otherwise deviant even if heterosexual. Non-whites are considered only ever partly heterosexual while white queers are considered not proper whites. The competition for the limited conceptual space has led to historical difficulites in linking white supremacy with heterosexism (exacerbated by white queer activists own racial interests) and in fact has unwittingly linked Gay Power with white power. â€Å"Homosexuality as a race† has developed into a gay and lesbian ethnicity. For whites under racism where their whiteness is considered the norm and thus unnamed, this ethnicity is their only ethnicity, the lesbian/gay â€Å"language† their only language, and lesbian/gay history their only history, to the point that it is not seen as a difference within whiteness but a difference from whiteness. (Blasingame, p52) While we (white queers) are unconscious of our whiteness queer cultural politics consequently becomes a way of colonising non-white cultures with a new white culture, white leaders and white history in a particularly insidious way. While not as powerful as heterosexual institutions for people wanting to be publicly non-heterosexual we have considerable power; in the framing of beauty along racist lines, in the support of white non-heterosexual bourgeoius or political leaders and in the very conceptualisation of sexuality. As one example Brenda Marie Blasingame in Bisexuality and Feminism speaks of a history of sexuality in U. S. black communities which did not include placing people in particular â€Å"boxes† and accepted the practice of bisexuality. A part of moving into the white gay and lesbian movement for her was the requirement to come out as a specific sexuality and accept the marginalisation of bisexuals. For many people who are not white taking up a gay or lesbian and to a different extent bisexual identity requires an abandonment of their own ethnic politcal identity or view. (Blasingame, pp. 51 – 53) The common conceptual space of non-heterosexual and non-white however can and should however produce queer anti-racism provided white queers realise that this conception of their sexuality is wrong. There is a shared interest in anti-racism and anti-heterosexism in critiqing normalcy and naturalness. As only one example the construction of beauty posits that naturally â€Å"Gentlemen prefer Blondes†. Not only is this sexist for reducing women to a hair colour (and the Blonde is meant to be read as a woman) but it is heterosexist and clearly as racist as â€Å"Gentlemen prefer whites† when Blonde is only a white persons natural hair colour. When we politicise our sexuality we can open up not only the arguments against heterosexual dominance but the arguments against the sexual sterotypes of non-whites including the framing of Asian men as â€Å"young girls† represented in this regrettable quote from the 70’s magazine Gay Power; â€Å"I dig beautiful oriental men. Asking me to shoot at them is the same thing as asking heterosexual soldiers to shoot at beautiful young girls that they would like to fuck. † (Teal, D. p99) Radical Bisexuality and Class. It is worth noting that capitalism which I understand as the continual oppression of the poor that patriarchy is for women is no longer wedded to heterosexuality in Western affluent nations as it has been in the past. This is because Western nations are primarily consumer societies of fairly easily produced goods (easily because their production is either located in the Third World or in the Quattro Monde – the world of the Western underclass or because their production is automated). Western capitalism can therefore relax the â€Å"restraint and repression† which was necessary to both control factory floors and ensure a ready supply of human capital through reproduction. (Altman D, p90) Part of this is also due to unemployment and global capital mobility being sufficient to obtain cheap labour and another contributing factor has been Western women raising their education so they are more useful in employment than at home. Also marriage was the institution by which women were given the role of providing a whole range of services capitalism wouldn’t such as aged care and child raising as well as supporting adult men. Now many of these services are provided by profitable private institutions so traditional marriages are actually in competition with capitalism. Of course the worlds poor can’t afford these services and Thirld World countries remain supportive of compulsory heterosexuality (Altman, D, p90) but in the Western consumer-capitalism there is a an interest to increase consumption through the market of previous services fulfilled by women’s unpaid labour. In order to perpetuate consumption growth capitalism must also locate new disatisfactions like teenage angst, at an alarming rate while also offering at a price their answer. In this context gay, lesbian and even bisexual identities as well as transgenderism, S+M and fetish celebrations are eagerly embraced by many industries as the basis for new markets. Our anxiety for recognition, meaning, ceremony and a positive celebration of our sexuality are easily exploitable. â€Å"†¦ one of the possible negative side-effects of the popularity of ‘lesbian chic’ was that it codes lesbianism as merely a kind of fashion statement, something that requires certain consumer goods to mark the individual as lesbian. † (Newitz & Sandell) Bisexuals have to be mindful that while we seek recognition, capitalism is looking for new markets and while these interests coincide this will only be true for those of us who can afford it and it will be on the backs of the world’s poor involved in the production of our new consumerables and bearing the greatest brunt of the waste from our new consumption. One positive way to resist becoming merely another market is by applying the awareness of the political nature of sexual desire to the desire for consumer goods and services. Both desires are constructed to serve particular interests and not fundamentally our own. Through working to ensure that all of our desire works for liberation we will resist commodification as we achieve recognition. Bisexuality and the Future To outline what I see as the goal of Radical Bisexuality I will illustrate two scenarios depicting false victories and one which I believe genuinely opens up the greatest possibility for liberation. Scenario 1. Recognition of bisexuality as a third alternative way that people unchangably are. To some extent as I have said earlier this can’t overcome the capacity of bisexuals to fit in as straight and thus can’t conceal the choice to embrace the homosexuality within the heterosexual that they represent. However there are arguments that could be presented that bisexuals have to express their same sex desire or become depressed (â€Å"go mad†). These arguments could form the basis of depoliticising and medicalising bisexuality as has been done with homosexuality. This may make bisexual lives easier to defend and add to the options for young people but relegates bisexuals to the same minority status as is currently given to gays and lesbians. Most people who admit to loving their own gender in straight society would face the same oppression bisexuals now face as â€Å"heterosexual experimenters† and recruitment of the majority would be difficult as they would remain â€Å"true† heterosexuals as unable to change as â€Å"true† bisexuals or gays and lesbians. Further it could also trade the oppression that is invisibility for bisexuals with the oppression that is hyper-visibility for straight men and women, and increasingly gays and lesbians. Having recognised sexuality’s repression but not it’s production we will be easily exploitable by capitalism and our liberation may mean as being as marketed to and ritutalised as heterosexuality. Scenario 2. Bisexuality is considered the only natural sexuality which equates it with the only right sexuality. Heterosexuality would be patholigised along with homosexuality as both are considered to have unnatural â€Å"blocks† to loving one or the other gender. This is Bisexual Supremacy which I acknowledge as a justification for gays and lesbians to distrust bisexuals. While it is unlikely to be widely accepted it is possible that it could dominate queer spaces as a pocket of resistance to heterosexual dominance in the same way as celebrations of gay and lesbian purity have. It is certainly more likely to be targetted at lesbians and gays than straights and while this is the fault of heterosexism’s power, not my own, it must be refuted. This is not to say that politicising sexuality will not require some gay men in particular to reassess their rhetoric. Mysoginistic comments which denegrate women’s bodies deserve political criticism and can’t be assured the right to be accepted. However the wider charge of institutionalising the sexual oppression of women and supporting male social bonding can’t be levelled at male homosexuality and certainly not at lesbianism. Indeed at certain points in the struggle against institutionalised oppression different sexual identifications and choices will be appropriate. Because bisexuality is as deliberate a sexuality choice as any other and not a submission to some biological imperative (and even if it were I reject the claim that naturalness equals rightness) we can’t claim an non-contextual ideal status. Its political usefulness is only that of any tactic relative both to the circumstances and to the person, meaning that for some and at some times other sexual choices and identifications are more appropriate. Bisexual supremacy also prioritises the effort to be bisexual over other efforts to unravel heterosexist, patriarchal and racist programming. I have already stressed the need for a variety of critiques of power to inform social change which Bisexual supremacy ignores. In particular men in relationships with women need to realise that doing their share of the housework is far more meaningful than maintaining or developing their capacity to love other men. Scenario 3. The Dream. Realising our sexualities are scripted will hopefully prompt redrafts along feminist, anti-racist and anti-capitalist lines. No-one should be the sole author of this project even with their own sexuality as we all need to listen to the perspectives our privelages rob us off. Certainly a part of this will be a dialogue between political lesbians, bisexuals and straight women which already has a history and whose future I don’t want to conclude. Consequently my dream is vague. What I don’t see in this future is the fetishisation of wealth, whiteness or gendered difference. Women in relationships with men will recieve support and encouragement as full humans. Advertisers will be incapable of capturing our consumption with snake oil as we demand economic production satisfy new needs that we create, for justice and community. Pleasure including sexual pleasure will mean enjoying our values not forgetting them. Bisexuality like other sexualities will have to argue it’s political legitimacy but not it’s existance. Sexual identifications such as â€Å"Confused† may replace bisexual for many if it is recognises more of their personal truth and political terms like Anti-racist may be key elements of sexual identification. Radical bisexuality wont end all struggles but the raw energy of sexuality will be accountable to and in the employ of the great project of improving the world . Bibliography Altman, Dennis, The Homosexualisation of America, The Americanization of the Homosexual, St. Martins Press, New York, 1982 Sedgewick, E. K. , â€Å"How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay†, pp. 69 – 81, Fear of a Queer Planet : Queer Politics and Social Theory, Warner,M. (Editor), University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1993 Segal, Lynne, Straight Sex: Rethinking the Politics of Pleasure, University of California Press, U. S. A. , 1994. Foucalt, Michel, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1:An Introduction, Allen Lane, London, 1978 Newitz, A. and J. Sandell,â€Å"Bisexuality And How To Use It: Toward a Coalitional Identity Politics†, Bad Subjects, Issue # 16, October 1994 Caprio, F. S. M. D. Female Homosexuality:A Psychodynamic study of Lesbianism, The Citadel Press, New York, 1954 Weinberg,M. S. , C. J. Williams, D. W. Pryor, Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality, Oxford University Press, Inc. , New York, 1994 Blasingame, B. M. , â€Å"The Roots of Biphobia: Internalised Racism and Internalised Heterosexism† in Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism, Edited by E. R. Wise, Seal Press, U. S. A. , 1992 Colonel R. D. Ray, Military Necessity and Homosexuality , reprinted in Gays:In or Out: The U. S. Military & Homosexuals – A Source book, Brassey’s, March 1993. Teal D. , The Gay Militants, Stein and Day Publishers, New York, 1971. Wittig, M. , The Straight Mind and Other Essays, Beacon Press. Boston, 1992 Descriptors for Sexual Minorities †¢ Front Page †¢ What is h2g2? †¢ Who’s Online †¢ Write an Entry †¢ Browse †¢ Announcements †¢ Feedback †¢ h2g2 Help †¢ RSS Feeds Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend! Descriptors for Sexual Minorities | Asexuality | Homosexuality Heterosexuality | Bisexuality | Polyamory | The Kinsey Scale | The Gender Pronoun Game | Coming Out Embarrassing Questions About Sexual Orientation | Going Back In – Sexuality U-turns Modern culture has developed a number of terms and symbols to set apart its sexual minorities. Some of these originated within the different communities themselves. Others evolved from scientists, psychologists, legislators, and newspaper reporters trying to describe their gay, bisexual, transsexual, and polyamorous subjects. Many include obscure references to history that go largely unrecognized. Words Lesbian The word lesbian comes from the Greek island Lesbos, where the poet Sappho lived in 600 BC. Sappho wrote numerous poems about her female love, most of which were destroyed by religious fanatics during the Middle Ages. While the first usage of the word lesbian is unknown, it was used in several academic books as early as 1880. The word became more popular during the 20th Century, especially during the feminist era. The term ‘lesbian separatist’ was commonly used to distinguish feminists who wished to avoid the company of men altogether. Fag, Faggot, Fag Hag ‘Fag’ and ‘faggot’ are American insults for gay men. The term ‘faggot’ first started being used in this way in around 1914, but it is not clear where the word came from. A faggot is a bundle of sticks, used for firewood and tied up for carrying around. In the 16th century it was used as an insulting term for a useless old woman as something that weighs you down, in the same way that ‘baggage’ is sometimes used nowadays. But it’s quite a jump from 1592 to 1914 with nothing recorded in between. Gay men in the latter half of the 20th Century began using the term ‘fag hag’ to refer to straight women who frequently gather at gay establishments, partly as an insult and partly because of the rhyme. Dyke Contrary to popular belief, the origin of the insult ‘dyke’1, in reference to lesbians, has nothing to do with waterways or canals. The word first appeared in 1710 in British newspaper stories about presumed homosexuals Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. The two women captained a very successful pirate venture and completed several lucrative raids of the British Empire before agreeing to be interviewed. Reporters often noted their predilection for wearing men’s clothing, and one editorial avoided the unpleasant connotations of cross dressing by using a French word which refers to men’s clothing, dike. Over the years, this term was corrupted to the modern form ‘dyke’. Since then, general misunderstanding about the term’s origins have inspired many stand-up comedy routines and bad puns. Polyamory, Polygamy, Monogamy The prefix ‘poly-‘ means many, while ‘mono’ means one. The suffix ‘gamy’ was originally from the French word for marriage, but has since been misunderstood as referring to sex. These terms refer to the number of consensual romantic partners taken by each adult in a family. Of course, the suffix ‘amory’ refers to love. Polyamory is a relatively new term coined by modern practitioners, and is greatly preferred by them. Polygamy and the now defunct term bigamy were coined as early as 1800, as the practice of multiple marriages was outlawed in most Western nations. The state of Utah in the USA applied for Statehood three times before finally accepting an injunction against the polygamy practised at that time by the Mormon church. Polygamy is commonly understood as referring to heterosexual relationships where the man has multiple partners. However, with modern polyamory any combination of genders and orientations fulfills the definition. It is not necessary for all parties in a polyamorous relationship to be involved each with the other. Gay During the 1800s and early 1900s, ‘gay’ was simply a state of jubilant happiness. However, during the late 1800s gay was sometimes used to describe prostitutes in much the same way that the phrase ‘happy hookers’ is used today. One theory is that gay came into use to describe homosexual men because of the rise in numbers of male prostitutes during the 1900s. Another theory is that ‘gay’ was Bisexuality Politicised. (2016, Aug 04).

The movie 13th Warrior Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The 13th Warrior - Movie Review Example There are also references to the Cain killing Abel â€Å"this unhappy being had long lived in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out as kindred of Cain.   For that killing of Abel the eternal Lord took vengeance.†( Heaney, 165).   Beowulf has taken 12 men to his last fight, just like Jesus had twelve disciples at the table during the Last Supper.   Probably, the author was trying to put Beowulf on the line with Jesus.   Beowulf went to kill the dragon in order to stop killings on innocent, just like Jesus has sacrificed himself to give salvation to the whole human kind.     The same elements of Christianity can be traced in the movie â€Å"13th Warrior†, however, with some differences.   For example, the movie starts with Arab meeting with his people to go on a quest.   This Arab is the narrator of the story, and, therefore, he is Muslim, not Christian.   However, all of those Christianity elements mentioned above (twelve people, referenc e to one God not many) still remain.   Such difference in representing religion is a bit confusing, because it is believed that Muslim religion belongs to the Pagan.   The Vikings (members of the Arab’s bang) showed in the movie were the part of the culture according to which there are numerous Gods and they reside on Mount Olympus.   The similarity between Arab and Beowulf is that both of them believe in one God.   From the other side, mentioning of the trolls, giants fighting ogres and elves which are plenty in the poem, are not part of the Christianity (Beowulf, 164).. Moreover, the mentioning to the idols is also part of the Paganism. These Pagan symbols and creatures are also present in the movie. Therefore, the depiction of Pagan religion in the poem and in the movie is the same. Another theme covered in the poem is the traditional funeral of that time. Both the movie and poem start with the funeral of the king which is described very vividly. As it is written in Beowulf, the warrior and king are set a float with all the possessions and then the raft is set on fire. â€Å"13th Warrior† presents this scene exactly the same. Afterwards the great feast comes to celebrate the death of the old ruler and the life of the new ruler. It is a very interesting historical tradition to make the celebration of the king’s death and life of new king at one day. It seems that joy and sorrow stand at one line. Further, the personality of Beowulf is depicted differently in the poem compared to the movie. For example, Beowulf has led his warriors in the search for glory (not because of his desire to be good) and decided to help the town only because this act will add up fame in his life. In the movie, it is presented differently: the warriors traveled to the village in order to relieve distress and for this reason they have offered their assistance. However, the courage of these warriors is equally appraised in the movie and in the poem: not a single person went to sleep

Bilingual education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Bilingual education - Research Paper Example Two-way bilingual programs (TBP)- extremely beneficial for minority learners at the elementary level- student interactions based on cross-cultural relationships- role of the bilingual teacher- to facilitate meaningful interactions through carefully chosen activities and learning experiences- both native English speakers and minority students benefit from TBP- facilitate interactions among learners from various linguistic and socio-cultural backgrounds. Benefits of BE- language proficiency and academic achievement- promotes trans-cultural and transnational values- promotes multiculturalism, sharing of identities, and a broader enculturation- safeguards against segregation based on racism and stereotyping- fosters better content learning, employment opportunities, creativity, cognitive development-various societal or community benefits. BE contributing factors-unequal treatment of the linguistic minorities-low academic achievement, low self-esteem, and high dropout rates- can never undermine these positive outcomes of BE. BE as a supporting program for children with limited English proficiency-Hispanic population favor BE- demand from the immigrant community for BE-promotes equality, fraternity and mutual respect among children- need for more authentic studies-significance of NCLB. The use of one’s native tongue to teach a foreign language is generally understood as bilingual education and the system has been found to be effective in the case of learners with limited English proficiency. There are many researchers who hold that one’s native tongue plays a pivotal role in the teaching learning process among students who lack higher levels of English proficiency. Rossell and Baker have undertaken some remarkable studies on the educational effectiveness of bilingual education. The authors observe that bilingual education in the United States refer to

H.R.M Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

H.R.M - Essay Example â€Å"Thus, the HRM function positions itself in two ways: as the architect of new organizational structures and work systems, and as coach in management development processes and companion of employees in turnaround processes† (Van Marrewijk & Timmers, 2003, p.174) Organizational systems go through various changes over the years. A lot of factors trigger organizational leaders to come up with innovative strategies to keep their companies afloat especially in a sea of competition with others. Currently, the global financial crisis forces companies to re-think their operational systems as cost-cutting measures are being implemented for businesses to go on. As of yet, millions have been retrenched as unemployment rates continue to stagger. The once dynamic buzz in most offices has been replaced by occasional movement noises, frequent phone rings or for some, deadening silence. However, in some organizations, such is not the case. In an effort to save workers’ jobs, companies have come up with work alternatives that would cut costs while keeping their employees. Mostly it is the HR department that handles the job designs of employees. Instead of fully cutting the ties to employment, some workers have gone to work part time, flexitime, work from home or get into job sharing with some co-workers. These alternatives save the companies a lot of money on compensation and benefit expenses. Aside from that, many companies have adopted the â€Å"Hotdesking† arrangement which also cuts expenses for office space. Hotdesking has emerged as a new term for a work practice that started in the nineties. The term originated from old naval practices of â€Å"Hot bunking† where shifts of sailors share limited bunk space. It is also known as location independent working because workers are not assigned their own permanent work spaces and are just provided one as needed for the day (Gordano Knowledge Base, 2009). Hence, staff share work spaces on

John R. Dilworth Animator Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

John R. Dilworth Animator - Research Paper Example Within the spectrum of animation a number of prominent artists have emerged who have revolutionized the genre or simply create meaningful and unique content. One such animation artist is John R. Wilworth. This essay constitutes a broad ranging investigation of Wilworth’s background and professional development and analyzes some of his prominent films in the context of his oeuvre and the animation tradition. Analysis John R. Dilworth was born February 14, 1963 in New York City, New York. Growing up he had been interested in arts and animation and notes that he spent countless hours watching Disney films and attempting to replicate characters such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse for his high school art projects. He came to recognize that he had both a talent and inclination for this variety of artistic expression and resolved to pursue a career in arts and animation. He attended the School of Visual Art in New York. While he avidly pursued his scholastic pursuit, he also has not ed that, â€Å""You can't rely on a school to teach you what you believe you should know. You need to take the responsibility† (Miller, 1999). ... The position was lucrative for Dilworth, especially after recently graduating from college. Still, he recognized that working as an art director was not his true passion in life and longed for a full-time career in animation. Pursuing a career in animation became Dilworth’s primary driving impulse. Using his salary at Baldi, Bloom and Whelan Advertising Dilworth began funding his own animated projects. Among the most prominent pursuits during this time was he work on what he refers to as his magnum opus The Limited Bird. For two and a half years every night after work Dilworth would go home and work on this film. After completing the film Dilworth was able to shop it to potential employers as a means of beginning his career in animation. In these regards, Dilworth began working for a variety of animations studios as an assistant or cel painter. While he was not creating his own work, the experience was crucial in his development as it allowed Dilworth to further enhance his an imation skills as well as gain an understanding of the structural dimensions of the animation business. During this period Dilworth worked for a number of prominent animation studios, perhaps most prominent Nickelodeon where he worked on the original version of the popular Doug cartoon. As Dilworth’s gained further experience with the animation studios he gradually took on greater responsibility. In these regards, he completed work on When Lilly Laney Moved In (1991), as well as Psyched for Snuppa (1992). While Dilworth’s career responsibilities were gradually increasing he began to further refine his perspective on style and artistic production. He notes that during this period he came to recognize to, â€Å"see

Should Whaling be Banned Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Should Whaling be Banned - Term Paper Example It is believed that these are areas had little capacity to support agriculture and therefore, people had to look for an alternative source of livelihood and whaling turned out to be the most sufficient. During this time, whales were in plenty and though it is still thought to have been cruel, this activity did not pose any significant threat to the whale population as it was only conducted at the subsistence level. Furthermore, there were no sophisticated equipments to facilitate large scale whaling. Instead, fishermen used crude methods and equipment such as canoes, which exposed them to dangers associated with this activity such as drowning as a result of the canoes capsizing while struggling to catch the whales or even suffering attacks from the mammoth oceanic creatures. The whalers used the canoes to surround the target whale in order to force it to change its course and swim to the shore, where it would end up on the beach and helpless thus making it easy to catch (James et al 36). Between the years 1700 and 1900, it is believed that this activity had consumed a significantly high number i.e. more than 50000 whales of the bowhead species leading to their near extinction, not withstanding the fact that this was only in the eastern coast of Greenland. However, the endangerment of these species begun in the early 1900s, when technological advancements facilitated the building of large ships and cannons, whose success rate enhanced large scale whaling and in turn, the growth of industries specializing in whale processing (Healy 38) . According to statistics, in the period between 1910 and 1969, more than 2 million whales of different species were killed and worse still, current studies indicate that the population of blue whales in the whole world is approximately 3500, which is significantly low considering the fact that in the year 1931 alone, approximately 29000 blue whales were caught and slaughtered (Freeman 148). In fact, the remaining population of blu e whales is considered to be less or equals to 1% of their original population. This shows that there is a major and real threat to whales, which must be sorted out before other species are affected in the same manner. Other statistics show that between 1986 and 2001, more than 27000 whales were killed despite the fact that there was a moratorium which was introduced in 1986 to protect the whales from commercial whaling companies. However, it may be notable that this moratorium did not restrict whaling for scientific purposes and this has been used by countries, such as Japan, as an excuse to continue participating in commercial whaling in the pretext of conducting scientific research (Gillespie 67). The magnitude of this threat to the whales may be subject to contradiction meaning that it could even be higher than the figures and data available. This is due to the fact that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) sometimes relies on figures, which have been disputed on some occa sions by independent researchers. For example, the IWC once produced figures, which showed that the original number of Humpback whales was approximately 100000. On the contrary, data produced through DNA sampling in 2003 showed that the original number of Humpback whales was approximately 1.5 million i.e. before commercial whaling was introduced (Gillespie 73). With less than 20000 humpback whales remaining, the level of damage caused may be overestimated or underestimated depending on the data one decides to rely on. Similarly, the original estimates of Minke whales in the Antarctic has never been established since the IWC disowned its estimate of 760000 whales after resurveying and coming up with a new conclusion that they

Critically consider the role of insurance law and practice in the Essay - 1

Critically consider the role of insurance law and practice in the regulation of international business transactions - Essay Example However, this investigation identifies the implication of such other dissimilarities; in which some are genuine, financial and social while others pertain to areas of the law diverse with contract law, especially to commonsensical regulation besides taxation. These dissimilarities comprise of: knowing your customer, language, consideration for the real risk suggested for cover, culture, plus prospects of the native policyholder, the prerequisite to handle local claims, the procedure and occurrence of scams, tax law environment, labor law environment, the lawful, monitoring and managerial environment, and international compensation options. This paper draws its arguments on expert knowledge and know-how by referring to statistical data except where unambiguously stated. Insurance is a universally known model that pronounces the act of protecting against risk that may befall the insured. The individual in quest of an insurance policy is called the insured while the firm that receives the insurance premium from the individual to cover a risk is referred to as the insurer. The price is referred to as an insurance premium which can be used by the insured to cover many risks. Insurance reinforces a healthy and successful society, empowering businesses and people to safeguard themselves against risk1. It is is not only essential for a distinct customer or entrepreneur but also has implications for the general economy, reinstating businesses to better conditions after natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and floods. In addition, insurance products and services are also vital in international business. Insurance undertakings include insurance, reinsurance and coinsurance, in addition to undertakings unswervingly related to insurance. These undertakings of insurance are well-thought-out to include insurance contracts, implementing insurance contract requirements and going through the procedures for prevention and reducing the risks involved

Increasing the hardware Essay Example for Free

Increasing the hardware Essay Abstract As any business grows, they are always looking to expand all aspects of  their business. With this expansion, the cost of increasing the hardware and software needed for the expansion is also increasing. Many companies are looking for ways to keep or even streamline the hardware they currently have yet expand. They want a way to have their customers log into their site and go to a central server but want all the necessary files for the customers to be stored elsewhere which will increase the speed of the server. To be successful in today’s market, many businesses are realizing the necessity of using technology. As more and more companies use more technology, their IT infrastructure cannot handle all the traffic due to the lack of available server/storage space needed to meet the increasing demands of the customers. Whether the business is small or a large corporation, finding the needed available server/storage space is becoming an ever increasing problem. Trying to solve this problem, many businesses have begun to look for an alternative solution to store many of their business files away from their own main computers, this is called cloud storage. Think about how you have an external hard drive that you use to store files away from the hard drive of your computer, the cloud storage works in the same way. The only exception is that you do not own the external storage, you rent the storage space from someone who takes care of all the maintenance and updating of the site. JPCexpress has been operating for many years with their own internal storage capabilities and now are in the market to expand their business. The current server space that the company owns is being bogged down by the amounts of data it needs to use daily so they need a newer solution to their storage problems so that they can continue to offer their production facilities and customers the best possible service. Next day service sets this company apart from other online businesses and I will show what needs to be done to help then continue to accomplish this with a simple server space solution. Company Background JPCexpress is an innovator in the online printing industry. They use advanced technology that allows the customer to place an order and have it printed and delivered the next day. There are many online printing organizations, but JPCexpress was one of the first that offered next day delivery if you place your order by a certain time the day before. The  company was founded in 2001 that offered printing as a service so that the customer has access to all the company printing business solutions allowing them to place their orders right on the company website. The customer does not have to invest any monies into their own printing infrastructure and the staff that would be needed to maintain it. JPCexpress offers its services to many different organizations of all sizes that do not want to hassle with having internal printing capabilities. Due to the customer being able to upload all their information to help us perform the needed services, this takes up a lot of storage space. JPCexpress operates three huge warehouses that are strategically placed across the country. Within each facility, they house all the hardware and software needed to conduct the printing business along with all the hardware and software needed for the IT side of the business. The customers are able to use our site as their own so they know they will get exactly the product they want. Our teams of engineers are always introducing new services and solutions for the customers and they have them integrate the new technologies into our platform monthly. The reason we have the fastest turnaround time for online printing companies is due to the fact that our customers are able to use our site as their own to make and order their printing needs. We have become a leader in the online printing world because of our customer service, ease and speed of our online services and the fact that we guarantee you will have your order the next day if you meet the daily cut off time. Discussion of Business Problem During times of peak use, the amount of data used is overwhelming. JPCexpress is a top of the line printing business but due to our storage capabilities, we do have issues that will slow the service to our customers. This is an issue because the timing of the slowness (can prevent customers from making the cut off time for next day service) which directly relates to customer service and customer satisfaction. The main issue is that when there are many users on the system, it slows down and prevents ease of use. I think that JPCexpress could benefit from emerging technology as cloud computing or could storage. Increasing our storage capacity would prevent the system from slowing down and loss of data. Any IT department within any business always needs new ways to increase the capabilities of their current infrastructure without investing in new hardware, new licensing requirements  or having to spend the time and monies to train and hire new personnel. Due to the increasing amounts of data needed by our existing customers and the addition of new customers, members of our IT department has to manually go into the system and get rid of old files and clear any redundant data. This happens when our system becomes slow which slows the use of our production tools and this all adds up to a loss in the amount of work that can be performed. If the organization was to use cloud computing, the problem of overwhelming the system could be avoided. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends its existing capabilities (Gruman, 2012). Use of the cloud could begin at our centrally located facility for trial purposes until we see if using it would be beneficial to both the customers and to our stockholders. High Level Solution For many businesses, having enough storage space to hold all the information they have acquired from their customers and the working of internal business practices is a real challenge that becoming increasingly harder. Many organizations have turned to deleting huge amounts of data to open up room for the new data they need to stay updated and to continue to provide their customers with excellent customer service. Many businesses have turned to cloud storage to help relieve this problem. Cloud storage acts as a centrally located server whose main purpose is for storage only. Using cloud storage, each of the three facilities can store and retrieve files as they are needed without investing in more infrastructure. When deciding to move to cloud storage, a few concerns will be raised. Some people think that cloud storage is less secure than local data centers and this is not true. . When the cloud host that IT manager work together the cloud host will encrypt the data and the business w ill store the keys to that encryption on it local network (Marsh, 2013). Many cloud providers offer dashboards to the client so they can log and manage the company’s data center. They can add more storage if they need and all this is completed without adding any equipment to increase storage. I have checked two of the major providers of cloud storage for pricing and flexibility. Amazon S3 is 99.9 percent reliable and it is scalable to fit your current business needs and also can be changed to fit your future needs as well (Amazon Web  Services, 2013). All data going into this cloud storage is encrypted for data security and you can decide what region you want to have your data stored in. Another excellent benefit is that once the data is entered into the cloud, it is automatically backed up in case one system fails you will lose your data. All data uploaded is for free but they do charge for each GB of data that is transferred or downloaded from the cloud. This seems pretty reasonable since we will maintain a central server with only our servers logging into the cloud to retrieve the customer information. Google cloud storage offers secure and safe cloud storage. It has configurable security controls and the cloud is flexible so that you can get what you need now and later on if you need more storage you can always add more (Google Cloud Storage, 2013). Looking between the Amazon and Google sites, they both offer the same types of features but I could not find any data that says how reliable the Google cloud is. Also, checking the pricing from the two sites, it appears that Amazon is slightly cheaper than Google is. Moving to cloud storage is a viable option to help solve latency issues and website lag due to the enormous amounts of data being transmitted over our site. Benefits of Solving the Problem Solving this problem using cloud storage will increase the speed of the servers the customers use to conduct their business. The increased speed of the server will also take the customers’ orders quickly and get them to the desired printing facility to ensure they make the cut off time for next day delivery. Implementing the cloud storage solution at only one facility will allow the business time to see if the cloud is a viable option to investing countless monies in upgrading our current facilities. Using the cloud will save us money because of the increased speed at which the customers can use the system, the speed in processing the orders and also save us money because we will not have to hire additional personnel to maintain additional hardware or pay for licensing for additional software. In an article written by Joe McKendrick for Forbes magazine, he talks about the benefits of cloud computing for a business. Cost reduction – using cloud as storage lowers transaction costs, minimizes the investment in hardware and software and also reduces the need for a huge IT staff or for adding additional personnel to manage you IT infrastructure. Cloud as storage is scalable so  you can take as much or as little as you need and then increase as your needs increases. You only pay for what you use; most uploads are free so you pay when you download data from the cloud. Businesses of all sizes will have access to more up to date technology while using the cloud. Letting someone else manage your IT for you reduces the need for expensive licenses or buying software or hardware. Business/Technical Approach Conducting thorough research before deciding which provider of the cloud services we will go with. When a cloud provider has been chosen, our CIO and his team will work with the provider to ensure we get what storage we need and also to ensure the security of the files we will move to the cloud for storage. Only have one facility use the cloud as a test case to see if it will improve the speed of our system and also to see how reliable the cloud services are. Conducting technical inspections using our IT department will ensure that we are keeping control on what goes into the cloud storage and also to help us determine if the cloud is useful. When we move older files from our servers into the cloud, we should see an immediate improvement in the speed of our system and also improvements in order processing and order filling. The IT department must ensure what files are being put in the cloud and that they are being encrypted for increased security. Also inspecting the files in storage routinely to ensure the data is not being corrupted. To ensure we do not lose any of our major customers, we will move only the older files to cloud storage to increase space on our servers. When we have determined (Senior management/CIO approval) that the cloud is a viable option to investing in hardware/software, we will move more files to the cloud in an effort to free up more space which should increase the speed even more. Also, once the one facility has proven more efficient and profitable, we will migrate another facility to cloud storage. There is no set timeframe for this to happen, we just want to ensure the cloud is meeting our needs in the ways we want it to. Using the current IT staff at the first facility to check usage and speed of the system will help us in our decision whether to stay with the cloud or invest in our own infrastructure. Business Process changes Implementing cloud storage will allow the company to store more files  without causing the system to run slow which increase productivity. This is going to be a big move for JPCexpress in the way they do business at each of their facilities. We will use the current IT department at each facility to maintain the data stored in the cloud and to ensure that only the less used files have been migrated to the cloud until its reliability has been proven. There will be one central location for all the internal storage of customer information. When the customer logs onto the site with his credentials, they will log onto our central server who will access the cloud and pull their information off for the customer to use. When the order is placed, the server will then send that order to the printing facility closet to the customer location for fast, reliable completion of the order. When the cloud is implemented for use by all facilities, the IT departments at those facilities will be reduced . Setting up a team to continually monitor the cloud for reliability and security will also be accomplished. Senior management with the CIO will have to make a decision on implementing other facilities and how that will be accomplished. Technology or business practices used to augment the solution After thorough research I have decided that implementing cloud storage is the best solution to help fix the problems at JPCexpress. Moving the files to the cloud will free up valuable space which will increase the processing speed of our current servers. The IT department will maintain our current servers and monitor how effectively the cloud is to the company. The IT department will also routinely perform inspections on our equipment to see how well it is working and also to ensure what files are being moved to the cloud. Having someone compile quarterly reports on how well the cloud implementation has helped the speed of the system and to see if it truly has increased the speed at which orders are shipped. We will not have to hire additional personnel to accomplish any of these tasks; we will use the current staff at each facility. This alone will save the company huge amounts of money. Conclusions and overall recommendations The current system that JPCexpress has, it is not capable of handling the enormous amounts of data that goes through it during peak operating times. JPCexpress will have to upgrade their current hardware/software or find other alternatives. Cloud storage is just that alternative solution.  Moving files to cloud storage will free up much needed space that will allow the system to run faster during peak operating times. Using the cloud offers different ways that it can be beneficial to the company. Using cloud instead of investing in new hardware/software to upgrade our current system will save on ongoing support, maintenance and upgrades and having to hire additional IT staff to work the new system. When switching to the cloud we will replace all the up-front expense of investing in a new system and replace that cost with a manageable monthly subscription cost. David Linthicum discusses why companies should invest in the cloud. All the upgrades and maintenance are handled by the cloud host. The software will always be current without the company having to pay for expensive licensing. The fear of cloud storage’s security being an issue is being proven invalid. Cloud providers have been working hard to prove how secure their storage is. Cloud based companies offer the highest level of customer service because they cannot afford to lose customers because they are unsatisfied with the service and with all the blogs out there, a bad review could mean countless lost customers. Every data storage center or data processing center has some downtime at some point but many cloud providers offer higher than a 99 percent reliability rate. High level implementation plan * Conduct thorough research to ensure the right cloud provider is selected * Work with provider to ensure we get the security we need and also the plan that fits the amounts of storage needed * Schedule when to transition to the cloud storage * Determine what files will initially be moved to cloud storage * Reroute all traffic from one facility to the other two * Shut down one facility and transition to the cloud * Once all files are transferred to the cloud activate the cloud * Bring the shutdown facility back on line * Test the new configuration for speed and user ability * Monitor the cloud for potential problems * Produce monthly reports as to the speed of the facility and improvements in the processing of orders Summary of Project JPCexpress’ system runs slow because each facility has access to all the files that are stored on the server. The storage problem can be handled either by investing countless monies into a new upgraded data system or to use cloud storage to alleviate this problem. Business processes are slow due to the servers being bogged down during peak hours resulting in delays in processing and delivery of orders placed by the customers. When we transition to the cloud storage we can increase the processing speed which will increase the speed of the orders being printed and then shipped to the customer. This will save on time and money because we will not have to pay additional shipping costs when we can’t meet the next day delivery. This is not meant to be a permanent solution but will benefit the company until we can determine if this is the best solution. References Amazon Web Services. (2013, Oct 1). Retrieved from Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): http://aws.amazon.com/s3/ Google Cloud Storage. (2013, Aug 1). Retrieved from Google Cloud Platform: https://cloud.google.com/products/cloud-storage/ Gruman, G. K. (2012, Feb 2). What cloud computing really means. Retrieved from InfoWorld: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means Linthicum, D. (2013, June 25). Cloud adoptions tipping has arrived. Retrieved from InfoWorld Cloud Computing: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/cloud-adoptions-tipping-point-has-arrived-221335 Marsh, J. (2013, Oct 3). The Top 5 Myths about Cloud Storage. Retrieved from Formstack: http://blog.formstack.com/2013/top-5-myths-cloud-storage/ McKendrick, J. (2013, July 21). 5 Benefits of Cloud Computing you arent likely to see in a sales brochure. Retrieved from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2013/07/21/5-benefits-of-cloud-computing-you-arent-likely-to-see-in-a -sales-brochure/

Automated Teller Machine: Innovation in the Banking Industry

Automated Teller Machine: Innovation in the Banking Industry The banking industry occupies a very strategic position in the financial system of any economy, since there will no economic growth unless there is adequate channelling of savings into investment. The banks are responsible for increasing the level of savings and investments, granting of credit and generally influencing the level of supply of money in the economy. They also facilitate economic transactions between nations thereby encouraging and promoting trade, commerce and industry. Banks and banking is a very old profession but the modern-day banking practice as we know it today, started in the medieval days in Italian cities of Florence, Venice and Genoa. In Nigeria, banking officially had a formal legislative backing in 1952 (alford, 2010) and since then, there has been tremendous growth in the industry, which believed to have been fuelled largely by changes in technology and the banks ability to embrace these changes successfully by implementing novel ideas in their bid to control a large share of the market. The development of self service technology and the emerging of a number of new innovations are taking place in the area of retail payments known as electronic money. (Mohamad Al-Laham, 2009). This development is influencing the banking industry due to the increased use of Automated Teller Machines. This led to a new concept in the ATM, known as the Cash/Cheque Deposit Automated Teller Machine (ATM). The objective of this paper is to show that the development of the Cash/Cheque deposit Automated Teller Machine (ATM) should be viewed as an innovation in the banking industry in developing countries. We also aim to find out the approach and implementation procedures adopted by the organisation in managing the innovation, examine its benefits to the bank and finally, identifying the role played by the manager in the innovation. For the purpose of this paper, we use the introduction of Cash/ cheque deposit ATM by Skye Bank PLC., based in Nigeria as a case study. According to (eShekels Limited, 2006), the history of ATMs dated back to the USA in the mid 1960s and gained grounds world over, in the 70s. However, in Nigeria, the ATM was introduced in 1989 by the defunct Societe Generale Bank and has since then, the ATMs appear to have spread everywhere across Nigeria. eShekels limited, further posited that the banking industry no doubt has witnessed advancement in technology just like any other sector; the use of the automated teller machine is one of these as it affects banking operations entirely. With the adoption of Self Service technology by the banks, ATMs have continued to service the populace; they offer convenience to customers and provide banking services well beyond the traditional service period. It therefore encourages a cashless society. Thus, eliminating the risk of loss of cash through theft or fire as witnessed in the past, creating a win-win scenario for parties concerned. Industries and businesses operating in a dynamic and volatile environment always look for ways to make their growth a continuous process. They believe they can do this by finding new and creative ways of maintaining or improving their market share. The process of turning these creative ideas into facts is known as innovation. According to the Wikipedia, Innovation is a change in the method of doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries. It may also refer to major or fundamental changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations. (Sarkar, 2007) in citing Michael Vance simplified innovation as a creation of the new or re-arranging of the old in a new way. He went further by distinguishing innovation from invention by quoting Schumpeter (1934), contributors to the scholarly literature on innovation typically distinguish between invention, an idea made manifest, and innovation, ideas applied successfully in practice. In all ramification of life, be it arts, science, economics or government policy, something new must be significantly different to be seen as an innovation. (Sarkar, 2007), further stated the difference or change must however be able to increase value, be it customer value, or producer value. The objective of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better and ultimately leading to increased productivity which is the fundamental source of increasing wealth in an economy he concluded. There are different types of identified innovations. Some of them are highlighted below: * Business Model innovation involves changing the way business is done in terms of capturing value e.g. Compaq vs. Dell, hub and spoke airlines vs. Southwest, and Hertz/Avis vs. Enterprise. * Marketing innovation is the development of new marketing methods with improvement in product design or packaging, product promotion or pricing. * Organizational innovation involves the creation or alteration of business structures, practices, and models, and may therefore include process, marketing and business model innovation. * Process innovation involves the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method. * Product innovation, involves the introduction of a new good or service that is new or substantially improved. This might include improvements in functional characteristics, technical abilities, ease of use, or any other dimension. * Service innovation is similar to product innovation except that the innovation relates to services rather than to products. Todays United Bank for Africa Plc. (UBA) is the product of the merger of Nigerias third (3rd) and fifth (5th) largest banks, namely the old UBA and the erstwhile Standard Trust Bank Plc. (STB) respectively, and a subsequent acquisition of the erstwhile Continental Trust Bank Limited (CTB). The union emerged as the first successful corporate combination in the history of Nigerian banking. UBAs history dates back to 1948 when the British and French Bank Limited (BFB) commenced business in Nigeria and the erstwhile STB and CTB both in 1990. Following Nigerias independence from Britain, UBA was incorporated in 1961 to take over the business of BFB. Although todays UBA emerged at a time of industry consolidation induced by regulation, the consolidated UBA was borne out of a desire to lead the domestic sector to a new era of global relevance by championing the creation of the Nigerian consumer finance market, leading a private/public sector partnership at supporting the acceleration of Nigerias economic development, and growing the institution from a banking to a one-stop financial services institution, while spreading its footprints across Africa to earn the reputation as the face of banking in the continent. Today, United Bank for Africa Plc. is one of Africas leading financial institutions offering universal banking to more than 7 million customers across 750 branches in 14 African countries. With presence in New York, London and Paris and assets in excess of $19bn, UBA is your partner for banking services for Africans and African related businesses globally http://www.ubagroup.com/group/genericpage/19 Skye Bank PLC is a publicly quoted company in Nigeria with over 300,000 shareholders and is technically one of the oldest banks in Nigeria and West Africa. It provides financial products and services with a solid technological background that supports the service delivery process to customers. After the bank consolidation process in 2006, Skye bank developed into one of the top financial institutions in Nigeria. Presently, it manages more than 250 branches in the country with over 600 operational ATM machines within their business premises and other well placed location across the country. In 2009, the Bank as part of its growth and expansion strategy and its determination to provide world class and cutting edge services to its vast majority of customers, Skye Bank Plc., introduced advancement in its electronic payment solutions, with the launch of new cash-deposit, cheque deposit and foreign exchange Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), a feat unprecedented in the history of Nigerian banking industry. Mr Chuma Ezirim, Deputy General Manager of the bank, during the launching of the product, said Depositing cash on the ATMs is very simple. A customer simply slots in his or her card, after which he or she is presented with options on the screen. To deposit cash all a customer has to do is select the cash deposit option on the screen, after which the ATM will open the cash acceptance slot. A customer can deposit a bundle of up to 200 notes at a time, without sorting them into different denominations, as the ATM accepts 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 notes. The ATM will validate each note to confirm it is genuine, count the notes and hold in escrow. The customer is then notified of the note count and the total and given the option to continue, insert additional notes or cancel the transaction. Our customers can also deposit Cheques in ATMs. Each cheque is inserted into the ATM through the ATM Cheque Processor opening. As the cheque is inserted, it is imaged, both front and rear, the image is displayed on the screen and, subsequently, printed on the receipt to give the customer positive confirmation that the bank has accepted the cheque. When the cheque is inserted into the ATM, it is read by a MICR reader to ensure that a MICR code line is present and that it is a valid cheque. If the ATM cannot verify the cheque, it can be rejected and returned to the customer. The image of the verified cheque, together with the captured code line data, can be passed to the back-office for processing. Cheques are picked up at specified times by designated officers for further processing. Previously, all transactions that involve cheques and foreign currency are always done at the counter, compounded by long queues and delays. Marc Bourreau, Marianne Verdier, Cooperation for innovation in payment system: the case of mobile payment. Feb. 2010. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1575036

The Trial of Socrates Essay -- Papers

The Trial of Socrates The trial of Socrates is an excellent source of events during the period in which Socrates lived and died. Athens was a democratic city with much pride in their freedom. Especially their freedom of speech. Socrates was a political philosopher who did not agree with these freedoms provided by the Athenic democracy. However, it is his trial in which both the democracy of Athens and Socrates himself show their hypocrisy. It is this hypocrisy that makes the trial and death of Socrates quite ironic. Athens, the city in which Socrates resided, was a free democratic city that was governed by all citizens in a fair democracy as seen in apology. It was said to be an association of free men with no single leader or king. The town prided itself on the freedom of its citizens and, especially, its freedom of speech. Most all citizens prided themselves on these views, although they respected the views of other people because of their own freedom of speech. This was the society in which Socrates lived. Socrates was a philosopher who believed that only those who are wise should rule the people. In other words, the people are not capable of government participation because they do not have the knowledge According to this philosophy; democracy is not a capable government. Other than his time spent fighting for Athens, Socrates rarely took part in any democratic actions. He spent most of his life preaching his philosophical views Socrates had many pupils to his preaching, although he denied being a teacher of philosophy. He proved this by showing them as witnesses in the court. He boasted about many topics. He also attacked the opinions of many others. He believed that one should give specific definitions o... ...ny listeners and pupils that agreed with his philosophy. He did not make any actions against the democracy that he despised so greatly. Throughout the events of the trial, both sides were quite hypocritical, although Socrates willingly became hypocritical in order to expose the hypocrisy of the government. Throughout the trial, Socrates did not deny the accusations exactly , because he actually wanted to be convicted. We can also see this in Socrates’ dialogues with his accusers. He made them talk and answer his questions which most of them were not exactly questions. His questions were as if they were answers. These are all the proofs of what he wanted to do in the trial. Finally, as for the question â€Å"Should Socrates have been convicted†, if I were the trial’s judge, I would have decided him to be guilty although he wasn’t. I think I would have awarded him.

History Of Baulhkam Hills :: essays research papers

About Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills, located approximately 29km North West of Sydney, is one of the largest suburbs in area and population within the Hills with a population of 33,661 people (Census 2001). Baulkham Hills as a suburb not including Bella Vista makes up about 24% of the total population (139,404) of the Baulkham Hills Shire. 23,282 people were born in Australia and 25,855 speak English only. 30,179 live in separated houses as opposed to other forms such as flats, units or townhouses. (Census 2001) Baulkham Hills Town Centre includes Stockland Mall, The Bull 'n' Bush Hotel and a number of street shops. Baulkham Hills is the home of Norwest Business Park which is rapidly becoming the main business centre within the Hills. Norwest Business Park includes retail, commercial, industrial and hotel developments. For example Norwest Marketown, Norwest International Hotel and the Hills Christian Life Centre. Baulkham Hills is also the home to Baulkham Hills TAFE College and a number of private and public schools. History of BAULKHAM HILLS There are several versions of how this area between Castle Hill and Parramatta was named. The most likely reason is its resemblance to the county of Roxburgh, between Scotland and England, which shares a similar name, Buckholm Hills, the home of one of the area's early settlers. Andrew McDougall, who arrived in Sydney in 1798 from Roxburgh, was one of several settlers to receive grants in the area in 1799. He called his 150 acre grant Roxburgh Hall. The estate remained in the family until 1876 and Roxburgh Hall was built in 1860. Andrew McDougall was one of the trustees appointed when 3,000 acres were set aside as Baulkham Hills Common in 1804. The name has been officially recognised since 1802. One of the earliest land grants in the area was the 30 acres given to George Best in 1796. He slowly gained more land until he had 185 acres. The oldest farm-house in the area is Joyce Farmhouse in Valerie Crescent, near Seven Hills. It was built in 1804 by William Joyce, destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1806, and used as an inn between 1811 and 1826. Joyce had received his 30 acre grant in about 1794. One of the oldest pioneer families in Parramatta came into this area when George Suttor received a grant of 186 acres in 1802 and advanced on the property, which he called Chelsea Farm, after his birthplace in London. History Of Baulhkam Hills :: essays research papers About Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills, located approximately 29km North West of Sydney, is one of the largest suburbs in area and population within the Hills with a population of 33,661 people (Census 2001). Baulkham Hills as a suburb not including Bella Vista makes up about 24% of the total population (139,404) of the Baulkham Hills Shire. 23,282 people were born in Australia and 25,855 speak English only. 30,179 live in separated houses as opposed to other forms such as flats, units or townhouses. (Census 2001) Baulkham Hills Town Centre includes Stockland Mall, The Bull 'n' Bush Hotel and a number of street shops. Baulkham Hills is the home of Norwest Business Park which is rapidly becoming the main business centre within the Hills. Norwest Business Park includes retail, commercial, industrial and hotel developments. For example Norwest Marketown, Norwest International Hotel and the Hills Christian Life Centre. Baulkham Hills is also the home to Baulkham Hills TAFE College and a number of private and public schools. History of BAULKHAM HILLS There are several versions of how this area between Castle Hill and Parramatta was named. The most likely reason is its resemblance to the county of Roxburgh, between Scotland and England, which shares a similar name, Buckholm Hills, the home of one of the area's early settlers. Andrew McDougall, who arrived in Sydney in 1798 from Roxburgh, was one of several settlers to receive grants in the area in 1799. He called his 150 acre grant Roxburgh Hall. The estate remained in the family until 1876 and Roxburgh Hall was built in 1860. Andrew McDougall was one of the trustees appointed when 3,000 acres were set aside as Baulkham Hills Common in 1804. The name has been officially recognised since 1802. One of the earliest land grants in the area was the 30 acres given to George Best in 1796. He slowly gained more land until he had 185 acres. The oldest farm-house in the area is Joyce Farmhouse in Valerie Crescent, near Seven Hills. It was built in 1804 by William Joyce, destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1806, and used as an inn between 1811 and 1826. Joyce had received his 30 acre grant in about 1794. One of the oldest pioneer families in Parramatta came into this area when George Suttor received a grant of 186 acres in 1802 and advanced on the property, which he called Chelsea Farm, after his birthplace in London.

What Is Calculus :: essays research papers

What is Calculus? A definition found of calculus in a dictionary was this; a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic). The historical perspective of calculus is that people had a problem in finding areas and finding tangent lines. The thing that was discovered to figure these problems out was calculus. Some influential people in the development of calculus were Isaac Newton (1642-1727), and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Isaac Newton is considered on of the most influential men in the development of calculus. Newton at first kept all his discoveries to himself. He feared that people would not accept his work and disagree with them. He wrote one of the most important scientific books of all time, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. It took the work of another man to finally convince him to publish his work on calculus, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Leibniz is another influential man in the history of calculus. He taught himself mathematic s. Leibniz accomplished what Newton did, but was not recognized for his work as much as Newton was.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Calculus is important in my major of Biomedical engineering because there are many machines that are made possible for humans benefit. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is made possible for looking at internal tissues of the human body. Another example would be controlling chaotic behavior in the human heart. I think that calculus will be very helpful in my major, so it is important for me to understand it as best as I can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that the class is going at a fast pace. I have to study a lot to keep up. It seems that lately I understand it, but on the last exam I made stupid mistakes. I need to get more practice done. I like the way you make us read the up coming sections. I get a better feel of what is being covered in class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I find limits to be interesting to me. I sort of understood them, but I still have some problems in grasping the idea.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 42-43

CHAPTER 42 The Depository Bank of Zurich was a twenty-four-hour Geldschrank bank offering the full modern array of anonymous services in the tradition of the Swiss numbered account. Maintaining offices in Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, New York, and Paris, the bank had expanded its services in recent years to offer anonymous computer source code escrow services and faceless digitized backup. The bread and butter of its operation was by far its oldest and simplest offering – the anonyme Lager – blind drop services, otherwise known as anonymous safe-deposit boxes. Clients wishing to store anything from stock certificates to valuable paintings could deposit their belongings anonymously, through a series of high-tech veils of privacy, withdrawing items at any time, also in total anonymity. As Sophie pulled the taxi to a stop in front of their destination, Langdon gazed out at the building's uncompromising architecture and sensed the Depository Bank of Zurich was a firm with little sense of humor. The building was a windowless rectangle that seemed to be forged entirely of dull steel. Resembling an enormous metal brick, the edifice sat back from the road with a fifteen-foot-tall, neon, equilateral cross glowing over its facade. Switzerland's reputation for secrecy in banking had become one of the country's most lucrative exports. Facilities like this had become controversial in the art community because they provided a perfect place for art thieves to hide stolen goods, for years if necessary, until the heat was off. Because deposits were protected from police inspection by privacy laws and were attached to numbered accounts rather than people's names, thieves could rest easily knowing their stolen goods were safe and could never be traced to them. Sophie stopped the taxi at an imposing gate that blocked the bank's driveway – a cement-lined ramp that descended beneath the building. A video camera overhead was aimed directly at them, and Langdon had the feeling that this camera, unlike those at the Louvre, was authentic. Sophie rolled down the window and surveyed the electronic podium on the driver's side. An LCD screen provided directions in seven languages. Topping the list was English. INSERT KEY. Sophie took the gold laser-pocked key from her pocket and turned her attention back to the podium. Below the screen was a triangular hole. â€Å"Something tells me it will fit,† Langdon said. Sophie aligned the key's triangular shaft with the hole and inserted it, sliding it in until the entire shaft had disappeared. This key apparently required no turning. Instantly, the gate began to swing open. Sophie took her foot off the brake and coasted down to a second gate and podium. Behind her, the first gate closed, trapping them like a ship in a lock. Langdon disliked the constricted sensation. Let's hope this second gate works too. This second podium bore familiar directions. INSERT KEY. When Sophie inserted the key, the second gate immediately opened. Moments later they were winding down the ramp into the belly of the structure. The private garage was small and dim, with spaces for about a dozen cars. At the far end, Langdon spied the building's main entrance. A red carpet stretched across the cement floor, welcoming visitors to a huge door that appeared to be forged of solid metal. Talk about mixed messages, Langdon thought. Welcome and keep out. Sophie pulled the taxi into a parking space near the entrance and killed the engine. â€Å"You'd better leave the gun here.† With pleasure, Langdon thought, sliding the pistol under the seat. Sophie and Langdon got out and walked up the red carpet toward the slab of steel. The door had no handle, but on the wall beside it was another triangular keyhole. No directions were posted this time. â€Å"Keeps out the slow learners,† Langdon said. Sophie laughed, looking nervous. â€Å"Here we go.† She stuck the key in the hole, and the door swung inward with a low hum. Exchanging glances, Sophie and Langdon entered. The door shut with a thud behind them. The foyer of the Depository Bank of Zurich employed as imposing a decor as any Langdon had ever seen. Where most banks were content with the usual polished marble and granite, this one had opted for wall-to-wall metal and rivets. Who's their decorator? Langdon wondered. Allied Steel? Sophie looked equally intimidated as her eyes scanned the lobby. The gray metal was everywhere – the floor, walls, counters, doors, even the lobby chairs appeared to be fashioned of molded iron. Nonetheless, the effect was impressive. The message was clear: You are walking into a vault. A large man behind the counter glanced up as they entered. He turned off the small television he was watching and greeted them with a pleasant smile. Despite his enormous muscles and visible sidearm, his diction chimed with the polished courtesy of a Swiss bellhop. â€Å"Bonsoir,†he said. â€Å"How may I help you?† The dual-language greeting was the newest hospitality trick of the European host. It presumed nothing and opened the door for the guest to reply in whichever language was more comfortable. Sophie replied with neither. She simply laid the gold key on the counter in front of the man. The man glanced down and immediately stood straighter. â€Å"Of course. Your elevator is at the end of the hall. I will alert someone that you are on your way.† Sophie nodded and took her key back. â€Å"Which floor?† The man gave her an odd look. â€Å"Your key instructs the elevator which floor.† She smiled. â€Å"Ah, yes.† The guard watched as the two newcomers made their way to the elevators, inserted their key, boarded the lift, and disappeared. As soon as the door had closed, he grabbed the phone. He was not calling to alert anyone of their arrival; there was no need for that. A vault greeter already had been alerted automatically when the client's key was inserted outside in the entry gate. Instead, the guard was calling the bank's night manager. As the line rang, the guard switched the television back on and stared at it. The news story he had been watching was just ending. It didn't matter. He got another look at the two faces on the television. The manager answered. â€Å"Oui?† â€Å"We have a situation down here.† â€Å"What's happening?† the manager demanded. â€Å"The French police are tracking two fugitives tonight.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"Both of them just walked into our bank.† The manager cursed quietly. â€Å"Okay. I'll contact Monsieur Vernet immediately.† The guard then hung up and placed a second call. This one to Interpol. Langdon was surprised to feel the elevator dropping rather than climbing. He had no idea how many floors they had descended beneath the Depository Bank of Zurich before the door finally opened. He didn't care. He was happy to be out of the elevator. Displaying impressive alacrity, a host was already standing there to greet them. He was elderly and pleasant, wearing a neatly pressed flannel suit that made him look oddly out of place – an old-world banker in a high-tech world. â€Å"Bonsoir,†the man said. â€Å"Good evening. Would you be so kind as to follow me, s'il vous plait?† Without waiting for a response, he spun on his heel and strode briskly down a narrow metal corridor. Langdon walked with Sophie down a series of corridors, past several large rooms filled with blinking mainframe computers. â€Å"Voici,†their host said, arriving at a steel door and opening it for them. â€Å"Here you are.† Langdon and Sophie stepped into another world. The small room before them looked like a lavish sitting room at a fine hotel. Gone were the metal and rivets, replaced with oriental carpets, dark oak furniture, and cushioned chairs. On the broad desk in the middle of the room, two crystal glasses at beside an opened bottle of Perrier, its bubbles still fizzing. A pewter pot of coffee steamed beside it. Clockwork, Langdon thought. Leave it to the Swiss. The man gave a perceptive smile. â€Å"I sense this is your first visit to us?† Sophie hesitated and then nodded.† Understood. Keys are often passed on as inheritance, and our first-time users are invariably uncertain of the protocol.† He motioned to the table of drinks. â€Å"This room is yours as long as you care to use it.† â€Å"You say keys are sometimes inherited?† Sophie asked. â€Å"Indeed. Your key is like a Swiss numbered account, which are often willed through generations. On our gold accounts, the shortest safety-deposit box lease is fifty years. Paid in advance. So we see plenty of family turnover.† Langdon stared. â€Å"Did you say fifty years?† â€Å"At a minimum,† their host replied. â€Å"Of course, you can purchase much longer leases, but barring further arrangements, if there is no activity on an account for fifty years, the contents of that safe- deposit box are automatically destroyed. Shall I run through the process of accessing your box?† Sophie nodded. â€Å"Please.† Their host swept an arm across the luxurious salon. â€Å"This is your private viewing room. Once I leave the room, you may spend all the time you need in here to review and modify the contents of your safe-deposit box, which arrives†¦ over here.† He walked them to the far wall where a wide conveyor belt entered the room in a graceful curve, vaguely resembling a baggage claim carousel. â€Å"You insert your key in that slot there†¦ .† The man pointed to a large electronic podium facing the conveyor belt. The podium had a familiar triangular hole. â€Å"Once the computer confirms the markings on your key, you enter your account number, and your safe-deposit box will be retrieved robotically from the vault below for your inspection. When you are finished with your box, you place it back on the conveyor belt, insert your key again, and the process is reversed. Because everything is automated, your privacy is guaranteed, even from the staff of this bank. If you n eed anything at all, simply press the call button on the table in the center of the room.† Sophie was about to ask a question when a telephone rang. The man looked puzzled and embarrassed. â€Å"Excuse me, please.† He walked over to the phone, which was sitting on the table beside the coffee and Perrier. â€Å"Oui?† he answered. His brow furrowed as he listened to the caller. â€Å"Oui†¦oui†¦d'accord.† He hung up, and gave them an uneasy smile. â€Å"I'm sorry, I must leave you now. Make yourselves at home.† He moved quickly toward the door. â€Å"Excuse me,† Sophie called. â€Å"Could you clarify something before you go? You mentioned that we enter an account number?† The man paused at the door, looking pale. â€Å"But of course. Like most Swiss banks, our safe-deposit boxes are attached to a number, not a name. You have a key and a personal account number known only to you. Your key is only half of your identification. Your personal account number is the other half. Otherwise, if you lost your key, anyone could use it.† Sophie hesitated. â€Å"And if my benefactor gave me no account number?† The banker's heart pounded. Then you obviously have no business here! He gave them a calm smile. â€Å"I will ask someone to help you. He will be in shortly.† Leaving, the banker closed the door behind him and twisted a heavy lock, sealing them inside. Across town, Collet was standing in the Gare du Nord train terminal when his phone rang. It was Fache. â€Å"Interpol got a tip,† he said. â€Å"Forget the train. Langdon and Neveu just walked into the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich. I want your men over there right away.† â€Å"Any leads yet on what Sauniere was trying to tell Agent Neveu and Robert Langdon?† Fache's tone was cold. â€Å"If you arrest them, Lieutenant Collet, then I can ask them personally.† Collet took the hint. â€Å"Twenty-four Rue Haxo. Right away, Captain.† He hung up and radioed his men. CHAPTER 43 Andre Vernet – president of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich – lived in a lavish flat above the bank. Despite his plush accommodations, he had always dreamed of owning a riverside apartment on L'lle Saint-Louis, where he could rub shoulders with the true cognoscenti, rather than here, where he simply met the filthy rich. When I retire, Vernet told himself, I will fill my cellar with rare Bordeaux, adorn my salon with a Fragonard and perhaps a Boucher, and spend my days hunting for antique furniture and rare books in the Quartier Latin. Tonight, Vernet had been awake only six and a half minutes. Even so, as he hurried through the bank's underground corridor, he looked as if his personal tailor and hairdresser had polished him to a fine sheen. Impeccably dressed in a silk suit, Vernet sprayed some breath spray in his mouth and tightened his tie as he walked. No stranger to being awoken to attend to his international clients arriving from different time zones, Vernet modeled his sleep habits after the Maasai warriors – the African tribe famous for their ability to rise from the deepest sleep to a state of total battle readiness in a matter of seconds. Battle ready, Vernet thought, fearing the comparison might be uncharacteristically apt tonight. The arrival of a gold key client always required an extra flurry of attention, but the arrival of a gold key client who was wanted by the Judicial Police would be an extremely delicate matter. The bank had enough battles with law enforcement over the privacy rights of their clients without proof that some of them were criminals. Five minutes, Vernet told himself. I need these people out of my bank before the police arrive. If he moved quickly, this impending disaster could be deftly sidestepped. Vernet could tell the police that the fugitives in question had indeed walked into his bank as reported, but because they were not clients and had no account number, they were turned away. He wished the damned watchman had not called Interpol. Discretion was apparently not part of the vocabulary of a 15-euro-per-hour watchman. Stopping at the doorway, he took a deep breath and loosened his muscles. Then, forcing a balmy smile, he unlocked the door and swirled into the room like a warm breeze. â€Å"Good evening,† he said, his eyes finding his clients. â€Å"I am Andre Vernet. How can I be of serv – † The rest of the sentence lodged somewhere beneath his Adam's apple. The woman before him was as unexpected a visitor as Vernet had ever had. â€Å"I'm sorry, do we know each other?† Sophie asked. She did not recognize the banker, but he for a moment looked as if he'd seen a ghost. â€Å"No†¦ ,† the bank president fumbled. â€Å"I don't†¦ believe so. Our services are anonymous.† He exhaled and forced a calm smile. â€Å"My assistant tells me you have a gold key but no account number? Might I ask how you came by this key?† â€Å"My grandfather gave it to me,† Sophie replied, watching the man closely. His uneasiness seemed more evident now. â€Å"Really? Your grandfather gave you the key but failed to give you the account number?† â€Å"I don't think he had time,† Sophie said. â€Å"He was murdered tonight.† Her words sent the man staggering backward. â€Å"Jacques Sauniere is dead?† he demanded, his eyes filling with horror. â€Å"But†¦ how?!† Now it was Sophie who reeled, numb with shock. â€Å"You knew my grandfather?† Banker Andre Vernet looked equally astounded, steadying himself by leaning on an end table. â€Å"Jacques and I were dear friends. When did this happen?† â€Å"Earlier this evening. Inside the Louvre.† Vernet walked to a deep leather chair and sank into it. â€Å"I need to ask you both a very important question.† He glanced up at Langdon and then back to Sophie. â€Å"Did either of you have anything to do with his death?† â€Å"No!† Sophie declared. â€Å"Absolutely not.† Vernet's face was grim, and he paused, pondering. â€Å"Your pictures are being circulated by Interpol. This is how I recognized you. You're wanted for a murder.† Sophie slumped. Fache ran an Interpol broadcast already? It seemed the captain was more motivated than Sophie had anticipated. She quickly told Vernet who Langdon was and what had happened inside the Louvre tonight. Vernet looked amazed. â€Å"And as your grandfather was dying, he left you a message telling you to find Mr. Langdon?† â€Å"Yes. And this key.† Sophie laid the gold key on the coffee table in front of Vernet, placing the Priory seal face down. Vernet glanced at the key but made no move to touch it. â€Å"He left you only this key? Nothing else? No slip of paper?† Sophie knew she had been in a hurry inside the Louvre, but she was certain she had seen nothing else behind Madonna of the Rocks. â€Å"No. Just the key.† Vernet gave a helpless sigh. â€Å"I'm afraid every key is electronically paired with a ten-digit account number that functions as a password. Without that number, your key is worthless.† Ten digits.Sophie reluctantly calculated the cryptographic odds. Over ten billion possible choices. Even if she could bring in DCPJ's most powerful parallel processing computers, she still would need weeks to break the code. â€Å"Certainly, monsieur, considering the circumstances, you can help us.† â€Å"I'm sorry. I truly can do nothing. Clients select their own account numbers via a secure terminal, meaning account numbers are known only to the client and computer. This is one way we ensure anonymity. And the safety of our employees.† Sophie understood. Convenience stores did the same thing. EMPLOYEES DO NOT HAVE KEYS TO THE SAFE. This bank obviously did not want to risk someone stealing a key and then holding an employee hostage for the account number. Sophie sat down beside Langdon, glanced down at the key and then up at Vernet. â€Å"Do you have any idea what my grandfather is storing in your bank?† â€Å"None whatsoever. That is the definition of a Geldschrank bank.† â€Å"Monsieur Vernet,† she pressed,† our time tonight is short. I am going to be very direct if I may.† She reached out to the gold key and flipped it over, watching the man's eyes as she revealed the Priory of Sion seal. â€Å"Does the symbol on this key mean anything to you?† Vernet glanced down at the fleur-de-lis seal and made no reaction. â€Å"No, but many of our clients emboss corporate logos or initials onto their keys.† Sophie sighed, still watching him carefully. â€Å"This seal is the symbol of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion.† Vernet again showed no reaction. â€Å"I know nothing of this. Your grandfather was a friend, but we spoke mostly of business.† The man adjusted his tie, looking nervous now. â€Å"Monsieur Vernet,† Sophie pressed, her tone firm. â€Å"My grandfather called me tonight and told me he and I were in grave danger. He said he had to give me something. He gave me a key to your bank. Now he is dead. Anything you can tell us would be helpful.† Vernet broke a sweat. â€Å"We need to get out of the building. I'm afraid the police will arrive shortly. My watchman felt obliged to call Interpol.† Sophie had feared as much. She took one last shot. â€Å"My grandfather said he needed to tell me the truth about my family. Does that mean anything to you?† â€Å"Mademoiselle, your family died in a car accident when you were young. I'm sorry. I know your grandfather loved you very much. He mentioned to me several times how much it pained him that you two had fallen out of touch.† Sophie was uncertain how to respond. Langdon asked,† Do the contents of this account have anything to do with the Sangreal?† Vernet gave him an odd look. â€Å"I have no idea what that is.† Just then, Vernet's cell phone rang, and he snatched it off his belt. â€Å"Oui?† He listened a moment, his expression one of surprise and growing concern. â€Å"La police? Si rapidement?† He cursed, gave some quick directions in French, and said he would be up to the lobby in a minute. Hanging up the phone, he turned back to Sophie. â€Å"The police have responded far more quickly than usual. They are arriving as we speak.† Sophie had no intention of leaving empty-handed. â€Å"Tell them we came and went already. If they want to search the bank, demand a search warrant. That will take them time.† â€Å"Listen,† Vernet said,† Jacques was a friend, and my bank does not need this kind of press, so for those two reasons, I have no intention of allowing this arrest to be made on my premises. Give me a minute and I will see what I can do to help you leave the bank undetected. Beyond that, I cannot get involved.† He stood up and hurried for the door. â€Å"Stay here. I'll make arrangements and be right back.† â€Å"But the safe-deposit box,† Sophie declared. â€Å"We can't just leave.† â€Å"There's nothing I can do,† Vernet said, hurrying out the door. â€Å"I'm sorry.† Sophie stared after him a moment, wondering if maybe the account number was buried in one of the countless letters and packages her grandfather had sent her over the years and which she had left unopened. Langdon stood suddenly, and Sophie sensed an unexpected glimmer of contentment in his eyes. â€Å"Robert? You're smiling.† â€Å"Your grandfather was a genius.† â€Å"I'm sorry?† â€Å"Ten digits?† Sophie had no idea what he was talking about. â€Å"The account number,† he said, a familiar lopsided grin now craning his face. â€Å"I'm pretty sure he left it for us after all.† â€Å"Where?† Langdon produced the printout of the crime scene photo and spread it out on the coffee table. Sophie needed only to read the first line to know Langdon was correct. 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! P. S. Find Robert Langdon