MBA Management course -'Business in Society' Essay

MBA Management course - 'Business in Society' - Essay Example eading enterprises of the world are currently growing their manageability activities to concentrate on responsibility and limit hazards by expanding standard desires for speculators and guaranteeing their procedures are in accordance with the venture communitys targets. This would show corporate responsibility towards the financial specialists and investors who eventually will bolster the companys adaptable supportability endeavors.1 At IKEA, we have consistently had confidence in coordinating maintainability procedures to help our workplace through materiality and activities based activities. We have been in front of our rivals in manageability activities. A portion of our prominent activities during 2006 had been making home outfitting items ok for natural impacts; support for capable ranger service dependent on set up prerequisites for wood providers; support for practical cotton creation; and satisfactory working conditions. In 2007 we have presented IWAY (IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products) which urge shoppers to assist us with accomplishing manageability objectives. Our present activities incorporate moving in the direction of decrease of kid work, commitment towards atmosphere sway; and going towards sustainable power source by supporting manageable vehicle; and working with networks towards sustainability.2 These perspectives exhibit that however, a profoundly earth cognizant organization, IK EA’s procedures in the past has been centered around material and tasks only. For the future, we have to grow increasingly severe methodologies which Tomorrows Value report shows as, financial specialists points of view of maintainability. At IKEA, we have just had the option to accomplish this through discoursed with associations, providers, organizations and related associations. So far IKEA has had the option to build up a procedure for supportability and systems for checking it.3 We have to tailor our maintainability methodologies to line up with tomorrow’s qualities and manageability to expand advertise openings.

Gap Year Ideas and Tips for Everyone Who Wants to Take a Year Off

Hole Year Ideas and Tips for Everyone Who Wants to Take a Year Off Contemplating may be so debilitating and baffling that it makes you consider having a little break from these books and papers. A hole year is a superb opportunity to become more acquainted with yourself better and choose what you need to do in your life. Would it be advisable for you to Have a Gap Year? Numerous understudies ask â€Å"Is a hole year a decent idea?† obviously, there is no answer that will suit each understudy and each circumstance. Everything depends and may be your approval and your fizzle. On the off chance that you believe that you cannot choose what profession way is only for you, at that point you may have a break to attempt various occupations. You may likewise require a hole year to travel or basically have some rest before plunging into your school schedule. Along these lines, consider this year a chance to develop, challenge yourself to leave your usual range of familiarity and learn new abilities that you may require later on. In the long run, you may very well need some additional cash before proceeding with your training. Hole Year Pros and Cons On the off chance that you ask yourself â€Å"Should I take a hole year?† you unquestionably ought to know about the entanglements and advantages of taking a hole year. Lets investigate the key focuses that we picked depending on the experience of understudies who took their year off after secondary school or school. Advantages: A chance to get more work understanding. A chance to travel and have progressively save time. An opportunity to attempt yourself in various circles before really picking a specialization. A chance to bring in some cash and put something aside for school. A chance to enable your folks to improve their money related circumstance. An opportunity to explain your contemplations and characterize your objectives. Drawbacks: A high possibility of feeling desolate in light of the fact that companions set off for colleges. A high possibility of spending more than acquiring. A point by point plan is required. Significant expenses that you have to oversee yourself. Being a year behind your colleagues. A high possibility of never finishing training due to getting a decent line of work or losing a craving to learn by any means. Obviously, a portion of these focuses may have a progressively critical effect on you and your choice, so consider whats going to be better in a specific circumstance. Fundamentally, despite the fact that numerous individuals may feel disappointed and befuddled through their hole year, most of understudy concedes that taking a hole year was an extraordinary choice that helped them characterize their objectives. Explicit Ideas on How to Spend a Gap Year All in all, what would you be able to do to make this time loaded with feelings and openings? Here, we have a couple of thoughts of what you can do during your hole year. Chipping in Perhaps the most ideal approaches to discover your internal quality and serenity is to go chipping in. By helping the ones in need you can make an incredible commitment to the world and offer your thanks for everything that you have now. Volunteering furnishes you with loads of advantages that may astonish you. You can pick the circle of chipping in that you like the most †good cause, creature covers, environmental change, zero waste crusades, gathering pledges battles, and so forth. Visit your neighborhood networks to find out about how you can help. You can even attempt to set up your own crusade and draw in patrons from your area. Voyaging Voyaging is the thing that most of individuals appreciate and might want to do as opposed to sitting in the workplaces throughout the day. Along these lines, before beginning your life as a grown-up with loads of duties, have a ton of fun time with your companions or on your own going far and wide. Incidentally, voyaging is one the best hole year thoughts after school and secondary school or even through grown-up hole years. We have made a rundown ofâ the best goals for going in the middle of your considering, so you unquestionably should look at it. Some cool travel objectives for you: Feed organic products to an elephant in South East Asia. Take a selfie remaining on the Great Wall of China. Visit beguiling cascades of Costa Rica. Attempt shark-confine making a plunge South Africa. Ride a surrey through the Arabian desert. You can secure some cool remote positions to have the option to pay for your living and food. Probably the best travel occupations you can discover on sites like Expert Vagabond or The Broke Backpacker. We likewise propose you search for some instructive recordings on YouTube with tips and deceives on how you can go on a careful spending plan or being paid for voyaging. For instance, VagaBrothers, Exploring Alternatives, Fun For Louis, and others share their movement experience and offer valuable guidance on how you can set aside some cash while voyaging, living and working in different spots. OK prefer to have a leisure activity like travel vlogging? Look at some other peculiar diversions that can light up your life. Instructing English Regardless of whether your English isn't splendid, you can in any case get a new line of work abroad or online to work with individuals who need to learn English as an unknown dialect. Educating isn't the most straightforward activity ever, obviously, however you can take in substantial income while instructing what you definitely know. Also, you will get magnificent experience and a chance to become more acquainted with different societies and individuals. Here is a rundown of applications that you may discover valuable for improving your English. Showing English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) capability is the thing that generally required by bosses for the situation in the event that you need to show English abroad. TEFL courses will permit you to work in schools and other learning establishments regardless of whether you dont have past educating experience. You can discover TEFL courses and materials on the accompanying stages TEFLcourse MyTEFL InternationalTEFLAcademy TEFL.com A portion of these stages will permit you to in a flash observe which openings for work you will have in the wake of completing the courses so you can design your outing already. Taking Courses Low maintenance courses are extraordinary for you when you are on your hole year. You can pick what and where you need to learn as you can take courses abroad. The assortment of subjects is dazzling †you can adapt nearly everything including dialects, medication, news coverage, expressions, and so on. Look at the hole year programs that are offered by UCAS, Study Abroad and Go Overseas. Travel the world and study remotely with advantageous online courses to get top to bottom information and helpful aptitudes. Working or Taking an Internship On the off chance that you dont comprehend what to do in a hole year at home, think about creation some cash that you can later spend for school. Your area most likely has an assortment of empty places that will happily recruit you during the current year. Working will permit you likewise get helpful abilities and have something to add to your resume. Temporary positions are likewise an extraordinary method to go through your hole year with the advantages for your future profession. Adding entry level position to your scholarly record will improve your odds of showing signs of improvement work in the wake of finishing your training. You can locate an appropriate entry level position program in your area or abroad on stages like GapYear, Uncollege, USA Gap Year Fairs, and so on. Wrapping Up Taking a year off is certainly not an uncommon case among the understudies these days. A few understudies simply need some an opportunity to settle on a choice, others attempt to have however much experience travel understanding as could reasonably be expected. What's more, there are likewise understudies who never complete their training once taking a hole year. On the off chance that you need to realize what different open doors you have if not attending a university, read our article. An understudy who takes a hole year likewise needs to get that: The desires infrequently become a reality Its fundamental to have an arrangement before settling on any choice One will confront high points and low points through the hole year Being dubious and befuddled is absolutely ordinary Being disillusioned in the picked circle is likewise typical. In the end, you will locate the one that you are looking for. Set objectives for yourself and make a point not to burn through your time however going through it with benefits for your self-advancement. Thusly, you may have the best time in your life.

How to Make a Flashlight

How to Make a Flashlight After 8 months, I was finally in. In the Edgerton Center Student Shop training class that is. Never heard of the Edgerton Center Student Shop? Well, its this wonderful machine shop that MIT students can use to make virtually anything their heart desires. Its amazing. In case youre wondering what kind of tools they have, they have mills, lathes, bandsaws, drill presses, and even a 3-D printer! Now that I think about it, I wish I had taken some photos for you guys to see these machines :( But this just means Ill have to swing by the shop to make something awesome so I can take pictures of the machines (: In the meantime, in order to orient youself to some of the machines I mentioned, you should take a look at the pictures here that Laura 09 took of the LMPs machines. Anywho, as wonderful and free as the Edgerton Shop, the only catch is that you have to get shop trained before you can use the shop. Some of you might be thinking that training is probably awful and really boring. BUT this is MIT were talking about. Trainings actually pretty cool! For the Edgerton Shop training, they actually teach you how to make a neat little flash light! I didnt take picture of the whole process, but I can walk you through some of it. First, we started out with a little piece of aluminum that we cut from a longer extruded piece of square aluminum bar. We then stuck this piece of aluminum on the mill. A mill is essentially this fancy machine that you can use to make some precise cuts into a piece by using xyz coordinates. However in order to establish your coordinates, you need to edge-find, or determine where the tip of the tool is relative to the edges of your part. Edge-finding! Woo! Next, we drilled a couple concentric holes for the lightbulb cavity. After we drilled the concentric holes of different diameters, we pocketed (made a square shaped hole) on the top of the part so that our plastic lens cover would be flush with the top surface. After pocketing, we drilled some holes for the lens cover screws and tapped these holes and the hole for the base of the flashlight (although I didnt photograph these parts). Once we finished these parts, we moved over to the lathe. A lathe is a machine which rotates a part and allows you to make a cut around the axis of rotation of the part. Check it out below! Again, I failed and forgot to take photos but essentially on the lathe, we turned (this is the term for what you do on the lathe) down an aluminum rod to a smaller diameter, added threads using a die, drilled the hole for the battery, and added a grip using a knurling tool. I definitely skimmed over the whole process (I was preoccupied with finishing my flashlight :P), butVOILA! There you have it. A MIT flashlight, complete with a CNCd MIT logo on the side!

American History Timeline 1651â€1675

The American Revolution would not commence until 1765, when the Stamp Act Congress, representing the thirteen colonies, disputed the right of the British parliament to tax the colonists without providing them with representation in the House of Commons. The American Revolutionary War would not begin until 1775. During the period from 1651 to 1675, however, attempts by the British government to control commerce in the American colonies gradually created an atmosphere in which rebellion was almost inevitable. 1651 October: England passes the Navigation Act that forbids goods to be imported from the colonies to England in non-English ships or from locations other than where they were produced. This action causes supply shortages hurting colonies and eventually leads to the Anglo-Dutch War which lasts from 1652–1654. 1652 April 4: New Amsterdam is given permission to form its own city government. May 18: Rhode Island passes the first law in America which prohibits slavery, but is never enforced. After the death of Maines founder Ferdinando Gorges (  c. 1565–1647), the Massachusetts Bay Colony revises its borders to the Penobscot Bay, absorbing the growing colony of Maine. July: The first battle of the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1654) breaks out. In defiance of England, Massachusetts Bay declares itself independent and starts minting its own silver coins. 1653 The New England Confederation—a union of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven colonies formed in 1643—plans to help England in the ongoing Anglo-Dutch Wars. The Massachusetts Bay colony flatly refuses to participate.   1654 The first Jewish immigrants arrive from Brazil and settle in New Amsterdam. October: The new governor of Maryland, William Fuller (1625–1695), nullifies the 1649 Toleration Act which gave Catholics the right to practice their religion. The colony also removes Lord Baltimore from authority. 1655 March 25: The Battle of the Severn, considered by some historians the last battle of the English Civil War, is fought in Annapolis, Maryland, between Puritan loyalists and moderate protestant and Catholic forces loyal to Baltimore; the Puritans take the day. Sept. 1: After a last maritime battle between the Dutch colonists led by Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672) and forces from the Swedish government, the Swedish surrender, ending royal rule by Sweden in America. 1656 July 10: Lord Baltimore is returned to power in Maryland and appoints Josias Fendall (1628–1887) as the new governor. The first Quakers, Anne Austin and Mary Fisher, arrive in Massachusetts Bay from their colony in Barbados and are arrested and imprisoned. Later in the year, Connecticut and Massachusetts pass laws to allow for the banishment of Quakers. 1657 Quakers who arrive in New Amsterdam are punished and then banished to Rhode Island by Governor Peter Stuyvesant. 1658 September: Massachusetts colony passes laws that do not allow for religious freedom of Quakers including the holding of their meetings. Quaker Mary Dyer (1611–1660) is arrested in New Haven and convicted for preaching Quakerism and is among those banished to Rhode Island. 1659 Two Quakers are punished by hanging when they return to the Massachusetts Bay Colony after being banished. 1660 Lord Baltimore is removed from power by the Maryland assembly. The Navigation Act of 1660 is passed requiring only English ships with a three-quarters English crew be allowed to be used for trade. Certain goods including sugar and tobacco could only be shipped to England or English colonies. 1661 The English crown, in protest to the rules against Quakers, orders them released and returned to England. They are later forced to stop the harsh penalties against Quakers. 1662 April 23: Connecticut governor John Winthrop Jr. (1606–1676), secures a royal charter for the colony after nearly a year of negotiation in England. The Massachusetts Bay Colonys charter was accepted by England as long as they extended the vote to all landowners and allows for freedom of worship for Anglicans. 1663 The Elliot Bible, the first complete Bible to be printed in America, is published at the Harvard College in Cambridge—in the Algonquin language. The Algonquin New Testament had been published two years earlier. The Carolina colony is created by King Charles II and has eight English noblemen as proprietors. July 8: Rhode Island is given a royal charter by Charles II. July 27: The second Navigation Act is passed, requiring that all imports to the American colonies must come from England on English vessels. 1664 The Hudson River valley Indians surrender part of their territory to the Dutch. The Duke of York is given a charter to control lands that include the Dutch area of New Netherland. By the end of the year, a naval blockade by the English of the area causes Governor Peter Stuyvesant to surrender New Netherland to the English. New Amsterdam is renamed New York. The Duke of York grants land called New Jersey to Sir George Carteret and John, Lord Berkeley. Maryland and later New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia pass laws that do not allow for the freeing of black slaves. 1665 New Haven is annexed by Connecticut. The Kings commissioners arrive in New England to oversee what is occurring in the colonies. They demand that colonies must comply by swearing allegiance to the King and allowing for the freedom of religion. Plymouth, Connecticut, and Rhode Island comply. Massachusetts does not comply and when representatives are called to London to answer to the King, they refuse to go. The territory of Carolina is extended to include Florida. 1666 Maryland prohibits the growing of tobacco for a year due to a glut of tobacco on the market. 1667 July 31: The Peace of Breda officially ends the Anglo-Dutch War and gives England formal control over New Netherland. 1668 Massachusetts annexes Maine. 1669 March 1: The Fundamental Constitutions, written partly by the English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704), are issued in Carolina by its eight proprietors, providing for religious tolerance. 1670 Charles Town (present-day Charleston, South Carolina) is established on the Albemarle  Point by colonists William Sayle (1590–1671) and Joseph West (died 1691); it would be moved and re-established in its present location in 1680. July 8: The Treaty of Madrid (or Godolphin Treaty) is completed between England and Spain. Both parties agree that they will respect each others rights in America. Governor William Berkeley (1605–1677) of Virginia convinces the Virginia General Assembly to change the rules from allowing all freemen to vote to white males who owned enough property to pay local taxes. 1671 Plymouth forces King Philip (known as Metacomet, 1638–1676), chief of the Wampanoag Indians, to surrender his weapons. French explorer Simon Franà §ois d’Aumont (or Daumont, sieur de St. Lusson) claims the interior of North America for King Louis XIV, as an extension of New France. 1672 First copyright law is passed in the colonies by Massachusetts. The Royal Africa Company is given a monopoly for the English slave trade. 1673 Feb. 25: Virginia is granted by the English crown to Lord Arlington (1618–1685) and Thomas Culpeper (1635–1689). May 17: French explorers Father Jacques Marquette (1637–1675) and Louis Joliet (1645–~1700) set off on their expedition down the Mississippi River exploring as far as the Arkansas River. The Dutch launch a naval attack against Manhattan to try and win back New Netherland during the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1674). Manhattan is surrendered. They capture other towns and rename New York to New Orange. 1674 Feb. 19: The Treaty of Westminster is signed, ending the third Anglo-Dutch War with the American Dutch colonies reverting back to England. Dec. 4: Father Jacques Marquette establishes a mission at present-day Chicago. 1675 Quaker William Penn (1644–1718) is granted rights to portions of New Jersey. King Philips War begins with retaliation for the execution of three Wampanoag Indians. Boston and Plymouth unite to fight against the Indians. Nipmuck Indians unite with the Wampanoags to attack settlements in Massachusetts. The New England Confederation then reacts by officially declaring war on King Philip and raising an army. The Wampanoags are able to defeat settlers near Deerfield on September 18th and Deerfield is abandoned. Primary Source Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M., ed. The Almanac of American History. Barnes Nobles Books: Greenwich, CT, 1993.

Thomas Hobbes And The Philosophy Of Political Science

He started out on the philosophy of political science while on his trips and visits to other countries outside of England to listen to other scientists and learn different forms of government. While studying, Thomas Hobbes wondered about why people were allowing themselves to be ruled and what would a great form of government for England. He reasoned that people were naturally wicked and shouldn’t be trusted to govern themselves because they were selfish creatures and would do anything to better their position and social status. These people, when left alone will go back to their evil impulses to get a better advantage over others. So Thomas Hobbes concluded that the best form of government would an absolute monarchy, which is a government which gives all power to the king or queen to provide direction and leadership to make sure the country doesn’t go into turmoil. To support his ideas, Thomas Hobbes asked the question,† If men are naturally in a state of war, why are they carrying arms and have keys to lock their doors.† In other words, even when the country is at peace, the people are still using things which can get them a better advantage over others and keeping their own interests a secret from others. According to Thomas Hobbes, the reason this is the case is because people are selfish and evil and that they protect their interests really well by using certain tactics to make sure other people devastate their needs and wants. Also, without a leader, these people wouldShow MoreRelatedThomas Hobbes s Leviathan 1190 Words   |  5 PagesThe source which will be analysed is the frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes most famous work ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Leviathan’ as a whole. The frontispiece is considered as prominent as the arguments put forth by Thomas Hobbes in the ‘Leviathan’ itself. The frontispi ece depicts a crowned figure grasping a crosier and a sword. This figure, or ‘Leviathan’, represents the all-powerful, comprehensive state. When looked at closely, the torso and arms of the figure are made up of hundreds of individual people, whoRead MoreThe Philosophy of Thomas Hobbs Essay1748 Words   |  7 PagesThomas Hobbss philosophy Hobbes Moral: Thomas Hobbes is known best for his political thought and the English philosopher. The vision of Hobbes for the world is still relevant to modern politics. He always focus the problems of social and political order: that how human beings can keep away the terror of civil and difference to live together in peace and got authorize to decide every social and political matter. 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Leadership Models in Action Free Essays

Introduction Leaders are born while others are made probably sounds clichà © but one undisputable fact is that leadership is critical to steering a business or organization to success. As Jack Welch quotes ‘Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own and relentlessly drive it to completion. (www. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Models in Action or any similar topic only for you Order Now thinkexist.com.) Notably, there are many leaders who have existed in past century but arguably very few great leaders exist. Additionally, the different great leaders apply different leadership approaches as well as possess different leadership traits. Nonetheless, there are various aspects that cut across the many leadership models and traits, for instance, commitment, drive, passion, empowerment, decisiveness and resilience. (Bennis, 2002).   In order to clearly demonstrate leadership in business this paper will focus on AT T Network manager Thomas Reeds who is arguable a role model in the leadership circles. His leadership approach is both influenced and inspiring and later in the paper a few examples will be used to demonstrate why is make this claim. Jack Welch commands attention in corporate leadership circles as his visionary leadership revived the corporations in the US during 1980 and to date; his philosophies continue to transform during ordinary companies to legendary companies Thomas Reeds.   Follows in the footsteps of this great CEO and his leadership approach is always transformational. His ability to inspire and energize followers to a certain direction in achieving the company’s goals is brilliant. Some, how he aligns corporate strategies to daily operations of employees and clarifies issues to the employees that they get a greater picture of what is expected. In this way, he excites and ingrains commitment of employees to future goals. More to that, his emphasis on transactional aspects of leaders i.e. more of the bread and butter is also manifests in his leadership approach. This is seen in the way he encourages a give and take ‘win win’ situation in leadership. Employees are regarded for meeting targets and compliance to aligned expectations. His two years in that post has generated ATT a neat amount of profits which is deemed to continue. Thomas may sound like a larger than life person and possible act as such. However, his ability to combine humility and deep passionate will fro success is almost paradoxical. He’s is truly a level 5 leader. By level 5 leaders it means a leader who has reached the highest hierarchal level of his leadership capabilities and has been able to lead a company from a good to a great company with substantial sustained excellence (Morris, 2006). Admittedly, the improved status of ATT company has not been a function of Thomas Reed’s leadership approach alone, but rather he has used his influence it ensure that other factors necessary to transform AT T are present in the company, the right organization culture and strategic resources among others. He has been at the helm of it all. Leadership is not about showing off what one can but actually doing if so that others can see what ought to be done and how it is done. This is what Thomas Reeds always says. His dressing and happy demeanor can almost make one mistake him for an intern. He mingle with the employees at ATT to know what their views are and get input on what needs to   be improved or changed. This is not to say that Thomas Reeds is one to joke around with. His unpretentious and vicious determination in life also makes him a person to stand up to be counted. Most times, it is possible to find Thomas sharing his early life experiences with other aspiring leaders under his stewardship of how he grew up in the firm, struggled through college and university to where he is now. His experiences are always refreshing and empowering and it is not hard to notice the iron will and passion to nurture talent in his followers. He inspires them to be the best they can be. Adversities will always come your way he says but it is up to you make a firm resolve to stay ahead or hang in there rather than quite. Seemingly, tough times cut out leaders to be perfect and strong. Indisputably, Thomas Reeds leadership approach has been influenced by Welch’s rules of thumb for instance, the important of erasing bureaucracy in the business ranking the customers and shareholders highly and dominating market share. These teachings applied coupled with unique attributes such as streamlining the workforce set out Thomas leadership styles as the reason behind the company’s success. Nevertheless, Thomas feels that change and dynamism in leadership is an indispensable attribute to effective leadership in today’s business environment. He is quick to note that although Welch and Sloan’s philosophies were no less than brilliant; their applicability is now wearing off. He feels that the challenges that the leadership approaches developed by the two masterminds of leadership success were designed to surmount the barriers and problem of the then times and new leadership approached need to be developed to effectively face the new challenges in the modern era. Yet he does not discount the fact that Welch techniques are still usable and can contribute immensely in the success of a company. Leadership inspires people or rather captures the minds and souls of people. According to writers Goffee and Jones (2000) leadership is about results yet at the same time is not only about performance but also meaning. True to this expression, it is impossible to excite people to extraordinary levels without enabling them first see the meaning and worth behind the actions. In this case extemporary leadership doubles performance and perhaps this is what makes companies with great leaders excel differently from the ones that merely have ok leaders. This they do by making performance meaningful. (Goffee Jones, 2000). Given this insight a critical look at ATT Network manger, Thomas Reeds leadership approach, it is evident that he makes his employees or followers find meaning in their endeavors. This is done in such a way that corporate strategies are translated ot actionable plans and particularly daily task of the employees such that the change and improved performance starts from the bottom to the top. After board meetings with corporate committees, Thomas Reeds goes out his own way ot call for separate meetings with different groups of staff to discuss how the corporate strategies affect them and how the staff stand to benefit from implementing the objectives of the company. This has helped ATT workforce to achieve meaning and ultimately commitment to outstanding performance. While others may think of Thomas’ strategy as labored and draining, Thomas feels that it is a necessary price to pay if a leader is ot see any result of his actions. It is also at this time that a leader’s qualities and passion for distinction and excellence is tested. Notable, there are leaders and then there are authentic leaders. This leads to the quest of finding authentic leadership in ATT manager Thomas. Authentic leaders are selfless yet are not afraid to express the self, morally guided rationality and nit merely instrumental reasoning whereby the end justifies the means among others. From my countable contacts with Thomas, it is evident that his selfless nature as well as stoic philosophy of detaching one self fro unethical practices and pitfalls. In disguise clarify his authenticity as a leader. Welch exemplifies the principles of leadership quite well, for instance, he was well versed in the employees tasks and his own duties. In addition, he harnessed the need to be on the look out for new opportunities that could lead GE to new heights and where things went awry; he was not shy to take responsibility for his actions other than seeking a scapegoat. According to Welch, the important thing is to analyze the situation, correct it if possible or find lesson/s from it and then proceeds to the next challenge with courage and better knowledge. In leadership position, decisions are made every time and a leader should be capable of making timely and accurate decisions fast if it is to have any impact. This Welch had mastered. Leadership is all about looking out for the well being of the workforce, keeping them informed as well as leading by example. It is evident that Welch exemplified these traits too. Conclusion It is not uncommon to hear people say that they want to be more effective leaders. Great leaders are made better through practice and years of learning from previous successes and failures. The challenge therefore is for young aspiring leaders to build in the basics lend by the outstanding leaders such as Welch and Sloan and most of all have commitment and passion to charting extemporary leadership which, who knows might be   a legend for future generations. References Bennis, W. (2002). Will the legacy live on? The Harvard Business Review, 80(2), 95-100 Collingwood, H., Couto, D.L. (2002). Jack on jack. The Harvard Business Review, 80(2), 88-94 Collins, J. (2001). Level 5 leadership: the triumph of humility and fierce resolve. Harvard Business Review, 79(1), 67-76 Goffee, R. Jones, G. (2000). Why should anyone be led by you? Harvard Business review, 78(5), 62-70. Morris, B. (2006). Tearing up the Jack Welch playbook. Fortune. http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/10/magazines/fortue/rules.fortune/ Think exist.com Famous Quotes. Retrieved on October 24, 2007 from World Wide Web   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.thinkexist.com/ How to cite Leadership Models in Action, Essay examples

Big cereal companies free essay sample

†¢What are the barriers to entry in the RTE (ready to eat) cereal industry? †¢Market concentration and big players extremely powerful and profitable. †¢Restrained competition by the big three by unwritten agreements to limit in pack premiums; tread dealing (one brand at a time for each company); and vitamin – fortification †¢Economics of scale in production and advertising †¢Slots in the supermarket and negotiation by volume and discounts †¢Three big cereal companies: Kellogg, General Mills and Philip Morris †¢When: 1994 †¢What: for the first time decrease of sales. Before this avoided destructive head to head competition. †¢Used to be a very closed market and even considered monopolistic. †¢Big margins, easy to negotiate and volume for retailers among other things made it difficult for new companies to enter the market. †¢1% of gross sales (80 millions) used for RD. †¢Distribution to centers. Buy space at retailers (could go up to 1 million) when introducing a new brand. We will write a custom essay sample on Big cereal companies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page †¢Expansion from 96 – 2000 20% by entering superstore centers (Walmart with discounts) †¢Advertising and use of coupons†¦ cereals seen as a luxury item with the high prices according to consumers. †¢New products developed (expansion of brands or new creations). Also co-brand deals †¢Kellogg: 35% of market share, leader. It has cereals, waffles (eggo), toaster pastries (pop-tarts) and granola bars. †¢General Mills had 24.3% of market share (food company). Cereal division was its largest division (30% of revenues) followed by restaurants, packaged food goods like frozen see food. †¢Philip Morris: 60 billion consumer packaged goods company (half from food and half from beer). Acquired Nabisco †¢Quaker Oats: leader with 65% of the hot cereal industry. †¢Ralston: pet food, batteries manufacturing (everyday and energizer), soy protein, operator of ski resorts, polymer products, etc. Produced 50% of the private label cereals. Private Label Thread †¢Grew 50% from 91-96 (9.2% of all cereal sales) †¢Low price (40% less than the big 3) †¢Offered better margins for the retailers †¢90’s change, they used to suffer from poor quality and limited production before. Costs where cheaper because they focused on simpler cereals no RD, packages also cheap. †¢Malt-O-Meal’s competition of private label †¢Is the recent decrease in profitability a temporary phenomenon or a permanent change in industry profitability? †¢It is a permanent change thanks to the market penetration and growth the companies are having. Also it is important to mention that people, according to the text, view cereal not as a luxury item but as something basic. They rather pay less than buy for a more elaborated cereal. †¢How should Kellogg compete with the white-label firms? †¢I believe Kellogg should diversify their products and make a premium line and a more basic with lower prices but with Kellogg quality.

Environmental Impact Statement

Introduction In the recent past, the environmental studies have ranked industries as the leading causes of environmental pollution (Syrakov, Batchvarova, Wiman 1998, p. 118). The current challenges of global warming facing major industries across the globe have necessitated the need for coming up with tools that measure environmental risk.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Environmental Impact Statement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A number of studies affirm that industries pose potentially fatal risks to the environment in the events that they emit gasses that are hazardous to the environment (Harrop Nixon 1999, p.78). Additionally, the radiation exposure emanating from these industries have a high probability of increasing the rate of cancer to population living within the surrounding areas. This paper will review a professionally prepared environmental report and critically assess its authenticity, as an environmental impact statement. Site location San Pedro Bay, California, is a place characterised by diverse industries, with ports and incinerator facility dominating the place (The Port of Los Angeles n.d). An incinerator facility has been operational for a couple of years, and plans for setting up another one in the same locality are underway, according to its environmental report. However, this facility emits gases from its day-to-day operations, which include burnings of waste products, use of diesel equipment, ship engines, and harbor crafts, among others. Given the fact that this area has a high population, setting up another facility aimed at burning waste products may not yield substantial results due to the community’s knowledge on the impact of gas emissions on their health, as well as the knowledge of global warming. The community has a right to question the move, given that the federal, state, as well as international regulations governing environment, must be a dhered to. Thus, the move must be approved by the city council before it is put in place. It is my responsibility, as a government environmental regulator, to assess the environmental risk assessment and management tools put in place in this facility in order to provide an environmental impact statement that will be used to establish the authenticity of the facility’s risk assessment and management strategy.Advertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Activity under investigation The effects of gases emitted by diesel engines, spent oil, and smoke from the burning process of waste material forms center stage of investigation of environmental impact assessment of this incinerator facility. This is paramount because it will assess whether there is controlled burning or recycling process, which is normally done thorough destruction of the organic constituents, since lack of prope r burning of waste can lead to environmental hazards resulting from increased concentration of particulate matter in the environment (Rao 2007, p. 374). Assessing the report will necessitate the use of the Effect Screening Level (ESL) for environmental assessment, which will be based on data related to adverse effects of toxic gases on vegetation, water, and oxygen. If an airborne level of a certain chemical emitted from the burning process does not exceed its level of screening, then I will consider the probability of a hazardous environment as minimal. Nevertheless, if the levels of the air contaminated by the facility exceed the screening level, this will not mean that environmental condition is harmful; instead, this will call for an environmental assessment of the report (Mendicino 2001, p. 80). The assessment report will subsequently be used to determine whether the facility will be given an opportunity of setting up another facility within the same locality. Thus, ESL will re present a conservative tool essential in evaluating the probability of adverse environmental condition in the California State. In this regard, the assessment aimed at determining the extent of exposure of gases to the environment will be carried out regularly. These will include risk identification, risk evaluation, selecting risk reduction measures, and developing risk reduction methods. The risk identification step is important as it identifies the risks that pose threat to the firm’s safety. In this case, risk identification entails identifying potential exposure pathways of the diesel’s particulate matter, estimating exposure concentration of the diesel’s particulate matter, and estimating chemical intakes by the individuals on a long-term basis (Calow 2009, p. 503).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Environmental Impact Statement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Calow (2009, p.507) cont ends that risk evaluation step is normally divided into three categories: predictability, probability, and severity. Probability could be termed as a high possibility of an event. Toxic gas exposure within the environment is an example of highly probable event. One can only predict the outcome when he is able to foresee the possibility of an unforeseen risk at before the actual incident occurs, taking into account the outcome of the menace. The other step involves selecting risk reduction measures, which entails risk avoidance, and it can be achieved by eliminating risk-causing factors (Calow 2009, p. 509). In risk acceptance, the risk cannot be effectively eliminated, or it would not be cost-effective to do so. For case in point, a little leaking could be allowed if its outcome would not cause severe effects on the environment that calls for highly costly measures. Calow (2009, p. 512) points out the last step as developing risk reduction methods strategy by taking into considerati on of the time required, the cost of developing the strategy, as well as the material necessary to implement viable the risk elimination plans. The last three steps involve the implementation, evaluation, and reassessment of risk mitigation measures. All the above steps are crucial while putting the environmental impact statement in place. This stems from the fact that they are in a position of helping the government environmental regulator understand the problem at hand and determine relevant and effective solutions. As United States Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.) points out, a governing authority cannot authenticate a firm’s risk management process unless the firm comes up with a viable risk management strategy that is well understood. Thus, the flow diagram below facilitates a deep understanding of how the incinerator facility uses the environmental impact assessmentAdvertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Regulation/ legislation In order to create a positive opinion about a proper risk assessment of the expansion of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach located in the San Pedro Bay, the assessment must be assessed in line with the zonal legislation through the agencies. These agencies have regulations that aim at reducing the risk associated with expansion of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach located in the San Pedro Bay, California. The California Environmental protection Agency (Cal/EPA) serves as one of the agencies that represent the efforts of the basic components of the state from exposure of particulate matter to environmental protection. Specifically, this body is mandated to guarantee a clear judgment about the uncertainties of the environmental exposure using stipulated guidelines. It ensures that the environmental impact assessment is based on scientific and mathematical model (The Port of Los Angeles n.d). As such, the body determines the legality of an environme ntal report of a given firm by assessing statistical data, which quantifies the risks involved through probability ranges and risk exposure. Background As a government environmental regulator, I took the approach of recording environmental condition of the area on a unique dimension, since diesel engine, ship engines, and harbor crafts are not the only source of particulate matter and air pollutants around the port and around the area of California. Thus, I estimated the exposure concentration by measuring and ranking them according to the level of adverse effects on the environment on both short and long-term basis. This was successfully achieved by breaking down every emission in the facility, which includes the emissions from the diesel engine/ ship engines, spent fuel, and smoke, and I subsequently identified the potential exposure pathways of the each one of them. Moreover, it was paramount to consult on activities within the community that have a direct impact on the environme nt in an effort to distinguish between the environmental pollution emanating from the facility and the environmental pollution emanating from activities carried out by the members of the community, including smoking tobacco, diesel engines, and spent fuel. In my investigation I found out that despite the awareness of the negative side effects of smoking in relation to the environment, a considerable number of members of the community engage in smoking behavior, thereby increasing the level of environmental pollution. More so, vehicles that consume large amount of diesel escalate the environmental pollution within the community, as the table below demonstrates: Category Smoke (Risk Exposure) Diesel Engine ( Risk Exposure) Spent Fuel (Risk Exposure) Facility 3.5 1.9 4.5 Community 1.8 0.3 0.4 Assessment protocol This stage hold the ultimate responsibility of ensuring that the risk management and assessment are carried out in a viable manner that takes into account a number of functions. This includes identifying the critical applications prone to environmental risk, quantifying the potential impact of environmental risk, detailing the escalation process of environmental risk and implementing them in time to avert environmental disaster(Harrop Nixon 1999, p. 78). The table below is a clear indication of general aspects of risks that need to be accurately identified at the onset of operations to guide in assessing whether the firm has taken the required risk mitigation strategy. The table gives categorisations that are explained in detail in the section that follows: Possible Risk Probability Impact Risk exposure Impact time frame Mitigation strategy These include toxicity of spent fuel, malfunction in the facility, particulate matter from diesel engines ship engines, crafts Probability ranges are: 0.01-0.1 0.11-0.40 0.41-0.60 0.61-0.90 0.91-0.99 1.0 The impact categories are: 5-Critical4-serious3Moderate2-Minor1-Negligible It is the product of p robability and impact. 1 –Low risk1.0-3.0-Moderate risk3.01-4.99 high risks. Highlights two dates: this entails the earliest and latest dates in which the impact is expected to materialise The mitigation strategy is established and implemented with regard to the nature of the identified problem. Risks This section involves a careful analysis of the problem at hand. It clearly defines what environmental risk entails. It came to my knowledge that the incinerator facility has the potential of causing environmental risk in diverse stages. It is apparent that the smoke emanating from the diesel engine causes environmental pollution as it forms into particulate manner within the atmosphere. High levels of particulate matter within the environment may expose the environment to global warming (Liao 2008. p. 103) More so, the environmental risk may emanate from malfunctioning of the incinerator facility, and this can create a disastrous situation characterised by widespread effects . Checks for malfunction, therefore, necessitate coming up with high levels of expertise from a wide range of knowledge, who would ensure an adequate eradication of the predicament of toxic gasses (Sullivan Wyndham 2001, p. 15). The spent fuel in the incinerator facility can cause environmental pollution if measures are not put in place to control the exposure pathways. Additionally, spent fuel has a link to the environment degradation since fuel assemblies are stored underwater, and they continue to produce emissions, which may have negative impact on the environment (Harrop Nixon 1999, p. 79). Probability This refers to a circumstance that could not happen by chance; the ranges in the matrix are interpreted as follows: Probability Interpretation 0.01-1.0 very unlikely to occur 0.11-0.40 unlikely to occur 0.41-0.60 may occur about half of the time 0.61-0.90 likely to occur 0.91-0.99 very likely to occur 1.00 Will certainly occur The probability rating is determi ned by considering a wide range of factors using scientific methods. Risk Impact Risk impact can best be defined using the table below: Impact definition 5-critcal Has a possibility of causing widespread environmental pollution and into long-term menace. 4- serious Has a possibility of causing less fatal pollution, but in some cases, it can result into long-term menace. 3-moderate Has no any possibility of causing environmental pollution, and the main mitigation measure revolves around cost and, if implemented, It should be based on short- term basis. 2-minor Has no possibility of causing fatal pollution, but if any discrepancy occurs, it only has adverse effects to the facility, not the environment. 1-negligible Has no possibility of resulting to adverse environmental pollution if it occurs Risk exposure In this matrix, the risk exposure is calculated by getting the product of probability and occurrence impact. The definitions of the categories are as follows: Low risk: In this case, the environmental exposure to risk is at minimal, and therefore not alarming to environmental pollution. Moderate risk: In this case, the environmentalist should adopt a strategy of ensuring that the risk does not escalate to higher levels. High risk: this is an indication that there is adverse environmental pollution within the vicinity, which requires immediate attention. This level necessitates high environmental pollution control strategies (Harrop Nixon 1999, p. 80). Impact Time Frame Two dates should be put on notice while assessing the impact time frame: one is the date that the risk effects could be experienced, while the second one is the latest date that the risk effects could be experienced (Harrop Nixon 1999, p. 80). The two dates are of paramount importance in determining when the mitigation efforts should be put in place and the time in which they should be withdrawn, that is, when the expected risk is passed by events. Findings Compliance issues The Resource Conservative and recovery Act (RCRA), section 3005 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish permitting requirements applicable to hazardous waste, treatment, storage as well as disposal facilities. The respondents have a responsibility of submitting the information that has a sole purpose of either first permit application or for a revised permit application. The owners of the incinerator facility are subject to permits for new facilities that are not yet constructed as well as permits for facilities that have newly regulated units and interim status facilities. EPA uses the information contained in the permit to identify the persons who are legally responsible for hazardous waste activities within the community, and they use this to determine the facilities that require permits under more than one program. EPA also assesses whether there is any possibility of polluting the nearby ground and su rface waters, since some chemical are drained under the sea. More so, it determines the specific waste that a firm is legally allowed to handle, and it ensures that risk management program is implemented by the facility (United States Environmental Protection Agency n.d.). With this in mind, I found out that the incinerator facility environmental report complies with the legislature because, despite the fact that it already has a running facility that has a license, it endeavors to assess the environmental impact of establishing another facility within the same locality. More so, compliance with environmental issue is evidenced by the fact that it engages all the stakeholders and its risk management strategy is congruent with the expectations of the community. Assumptions Made The environmental assessment of incinerator facility is aimed at identifying potential exposure pathways of the diesel particulate matter, spent fuel, and smoke from the facility. However, this cannot be achie ved without making an assumption. One of the assumptions is derived from the fact that diesel engines are not the only source of particulate matter and air pollutant around the port and around the area of California. Therefore, it becomes a challenge while measuring the exposure that distinguishes the potential environmental risk caused by facility from other air pollutants emanating from the community members within the environs of California. This has created an avenue for making some assumption with regard to particulate matter emanating from diesel engine, spent fuel and smoke. This stems from the fact that, even though the environmentalists are able to identify the exposure pathways, some of the particulate matters from the facility have a tendency of mixing with other gases within the environment and thus leaving the environmentalists with no option. Effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment Even though the environmental impact assessment is able to give substantial results, the process is compounded with complexities, since it is vulnerable to some errors. For case in point, in the process of measuring the level of toxic gases emanating from the incinerator facility, the particulate matter might occasionally mix with types other gases, yielding to harmless gases within the environment. More so, the meter might be subjected to measuring gases emanating from motor vehicles instead of toxic gases emanating from the incinerator facility, resulting in unsupported inference (Schwartz 2001, p. 4). Nevertheless, errors emanating from such incidences can be contained by using a systematic approach that involves taking environmental measures at different time intervals for a longer period. Such an approach will ensure that the errors are minimised and that the measurements taken give room for a small margin of allowance for statistical error (Uyeda 2009, p. 41). Consistency with industry Best Practice The environmental impact statement of incinerator f acility is consistent with the industry’s best practice because, through the assessment, it addresses environmental issues by helping the workers realise how the industry interacts with the ecosystem. The industry’s mission is to eradicate waste in order to eradicate toxic gases emanating from the waste; therefore, carrying an assessment helps to ensure that it upholds its mission in a credible manner that does not end of escalating environmental pollution. More so, involving the stakeholders and the community in the assessment is a clear indication that the assessment is within the industry’s best practice, as this shows that it is closely associated with the activities of the community. Conclusion The environmental risk assessment presented in this report provides an analysis of how environmental risk is managed at San Pedro Bay, California, and gives recommendation on how risk assessment and management can be handled effectively. This report provides an asses sment of the incinerator facility, with a view of evaluating its authenticity with regard to environmental risk assessment and management. The fact that this report has assessed and established the authenticity of the report makes it stand a chance of setting up another facility within the area. The viability of the report is evidenced by the fact that it provides risks assessment and management strategy through problem identification, as well as the factors that are correlated with it. The tools then proceed to identify workable solutions associated with factors like the probability, impact, exposure level and timeline of the risk. Despite the challenges in the measurements, this environmental impact statement ensures that the environmental risks are effectively managed within the incinerator facility. List of references Calow, P 2009, Handbook of environmental risk assessment and management, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Harrop, D Nixon, J 1999, Environmental assessment in pr actice, Routledge, London. Liao, K-J 2008, Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of impacts of climate change on regional air quality, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga. Mendicino, L 2001, Environmental issues with materials and processes for the electronics and semiconductor industries: Proceedings of the fourth international symposium, Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ. Rao, C 2007, Environmental pollution control engineering, New Age International, New York. Schwartz, S 2001, Quality assurance of exposure models for environmental risk assessment of substances. GRIN Verlag publishers, Mà ¼nchen. Sullivan, R Wyndham, H 2001, Effective environmental management: Principles and case studies, Allen Unwin, St. Leonards, N.S.W. Syrakov, D, Batchvarova, E, Wiman, B 1998, Long-range air pollution: From models to policies: proceedings from the Swedish-Bulgarian Workshop, 19-23 October 1997, Sozopol, Bulgaria, Pensoft, Sofia. The Port of Los Angeles n.d., Draft EIR  œ Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) Project. Web. United States Environmental Protection Agency n.d., Air Polution. Web. Uyeda, C 2009, Australian master environment guide, CCH Australia, North Ryde, N.S.W. This report on Environmental Impact Statement was written and submitted by user Amber F. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Best Boots In The World Text Response Essays

Best Boots In The World Text Response Essays Best Boots In The World Text Response Essay Best Boots In The World Text Response Essay Is It worth knowing about uniqueness? What does Mikes mother teach us about consequences? Is It worth knowing about consequences? Not blame at Mike ? Mike trusts, respects, loves her. (Good) What does the youth teach us about consequences? Is it worth knowing about consequences? It is quite clear that you will write about one of the three characters in each of your central paragraphs. You need to think about what you will say before you write your contention. Once you have some ideas about your answers to the questions above and a clear answer (your decision about whether you agree, agreed or partly agree with the statement) you are ready to write an introduction. In your introduction give the name of the story (Best Boots in the World), (underlined or quotation marks) the writers full name and some Idea of what the story Is about (background). Come to the topic which Is consequences and then write your contention. (Answer It must contain all the key words of the question names of characters, worth knowing, consequences. About people Miming with their consequences us something worth knowing about consequences Do you agree? Exorbitant settable shoes bring the trouble. A short story, The Best Boots in the World was written by Brian Caldwell shows us 14 years old boy who has the same name as his favorite basketball player. His mother, Alice and his father have broken up since he was 10 years old. He likes basketball and wants to buy Nikkei basketball shoes. The youth is a person who encourages his mad by insulting him. Mike, Alice and the youth teach us knowledge values from their consequences. Remember TELL topic sentence, explanation, evidence, linking sentence Each of your central paragraphs would have a topic sentence which states what this paragraph will be about, some explanation of this Idea and evidence to support It and a final sentence that ties the idea back to your contention. 1st central paragraph Key Tanat sometimes consequences can De very serious, so much so Tanat ten memory of them can last a lifetime guilty memory. Mike is showing. It does not manner but that what he think. His boots Live like a scar He learns but consequence is bad because Mike learns something from making the choices which occur to bad consequences. The choices occur to bad consequences which give him experiences. Mike learns something from making the choices which occur to bad consequences. The experience what happened the choices- the consequences the effects of the consequence. Final sentence to explain whether this is worth knowing. Stressful consequences are his guilty memory which stuck with him for life. Mike argues his mother about buying sport shoes because his mother does not want him to spend a lot of money for that. He thinks that money he earns from his work is enough to buy the shoes. His mother gets mad on him therefore he says sorry to his mother. However he still pays lots of money for the shoes. After his bad situation with the youth, he thinks it is not necessary to buy because it does not make his skill better and it also brings bad situation to him. He decides to go home alone by the train without consideration first. This decision brings him to meet the youth. Mike chooses to keep the boots and fights with him instead of giving his boots and not pay attention to him because of extremely expensive cost of the shoes. The consequence is the youth dead. He feels very bad and thinks that it is his responsibility. Mike does learn the consequences of making choices, even they are bad consequences. 2nd central paragraph Mikes mother that the consequences can spread so that they affect others. falling apart effect to Mike badly (no father supports him, he is 14 but he kills someone) The experience what happened the choices the consequences the effects on her and others. She and her husband made If he is alive, he may have a chance Final sentence to explain whether this is worth knowing about consequences. Consequences of Lices determinations affect other people who are close to her. Alice breaks up with her husband when Mike is 10 years old. This decision is upset Mike and herself but it might be only one decision she can make. She allows Mike to watch basketball match after midnight because she knows that his son likes Michael who is his favorite basketball player. Mike loves her and he is very happy to be her son even his mother sprits with his father. After her husband leaves, she works 2 Jobs to keep up with paying the bills. She has enough money to buy the goods and other stuffs for her and her son. Lices consequences, mostly affect to her son and herself. 3rd central paragraph- The youth that the consequences can be fatal so that there is no going back. does not get a crack, chance but Just die. The experience what happened the choices the consequences the lesson for readers. His behavior belongs to his dead Play with violence Final sentence that explains whether this is worth knowing about consequences. The youths behavior belongs to his consequences which no chance resolves it. When he waits for the train, he smokes and stands like a bad person. His gesture ekes toner people scared AT ml. He Is ten one won starts Insulting Mike tout Nils boots. He knows Mike is angry, but he still keeps saying because he also really wants Nikkei basketball shoes. This makes Mike cannot control his mad and fight with him. The youth is dead because he falls down from the train. Actually, he does not deserve to die. He probably can improve himself. His behavior tends to push off other people. A conclusion will be needed to sum up you answer to the question. Do not repeat anything in your introduction. Each character has own consequences which vive us worth knowing. They learn which decisions occur to bad consequences and who is affected by them. They also teach us with their accidents. Therefore, we should not do the same things that they do. We might try to get rid of those situations. Assessment Criteria 5 4 3 2 Argument relevance and strength (how strong are you argument) Structure introduction, central paragraphs (topic sentence, development, final sentence), conclusion (do you understand the story) Knowledge of Text support of opinion with text Writing grammar, sentencing, spelling

Criminal Jusitice. The Criminal Justice System Process Research Paper

Criminal Jusitice. The Criminal Justice System Process - Research Paper Example Authorities mentioned that Phelps Collins got inside through some help from one of his friends and a brother to the owner of the townhouse. However, detectives did not expressly draw a clear connection between the staged break-in and the previous stabbing of Robert Wone. However, homicide detectives were looking into the burglary with the zeal of uncovering various potential leads. Wone was stabbed at the chest as he was visiting friends at the same home on the edge of Dupont Circle along the 1500 block of Swann Street NW. New details relating to the burglary later emerged through a number of interviews conducted much later (Klein &Schwartzman, 2006). Testimonies and court papers from a hearing for Collins the following week at D.C. Superior Court were also sources of information. Collins was later arrested on a burglary charge. Police maintained that Collins confessed to them that that Michael Price, the friend, had provided him with a key to the contended house as it belonged to Jo e Price, his brother. Police also added that Collins said that Michael Price was responsible for turning off the alarm immediately the two men broke into the house where electronics worth $7,700 were stolen. Case presented At the time, Michael Price was not yet charged in the burglary and he was not located to provide any comments. After the staged break-in, the detectives proceeded to the nearby pawnshops where they found two DVD players, an audio system among other stolen goods which led them all the way to Collins. In Calvert Street NW, the police found one of the CD changers as they searched the Collins's home. Collins had sold most of the other stolen items along the street for drugs or money, as the authorities speculated. A lawyer at one of the Washington firms, Joe Price, told police that he was not aware that Collins had done it even though he had heard the same through his brother (Klein &Schwartzman, 2006). This is according to information that was sourced from an affidavit the police filed after getting the search warrant for the residence of Collins. Joe Price also mentioned to the police that the brother was known to engage in drug abuse as well as hanging out with diverse subjects who we re adversely mentioned in drug usage on a frequent basis. Price directed the police to the fact that he did not avail permission to neither his brother nor Collins of entering his house and removing and later selling his property as stated in the affidavit. His public defender did not comment. Up to the point of the break-in, police expressed considerable doubt on the intruder theory. This is because there lacked an express sign of forced entry as the killer used a kitchen knife. Further, the crime scene seemed to be cleaned prior to the arrival of the officers as recounted by the police. Investigators convened a grand jury as well as enlisting the integral help of the respective departments of the FBI within the homicide. They also sought to keep high levels of control for the $1.2 million houses across several weeks after the killing while removing flooring, a chunk of the staircase, pieces of walls, sink traps and the washing machine searching for blood as well as any other evide nce (Klein &Schwartzman, 2006). Collins, who was at the time unemployed, had a criminal history which included four drug convictions between the years of 1998 and 2004 in the Montgomery and District as shown by the records. Authorities mentioned that most of the items taken from the burglary turned up at Pawnbrokers on 14th Street NW at Sam's residence which was only a few blocks away. The manager at the store, Sam Levy, said that Collins had previously pawned

Quantitative Methods and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quantitative Methods and Analysis - Essay Example 190). where, Z is the value of the normal distribution table at given confidence level ? is the standard deviation and E is the desired precision For AIU, Confidence level is 95%. Z (Confidence level=95%) = 1.96 ? = $700 E = $55 Thus, it implies that the institute needs to sample 623 individuals to meet the original requirements of the sample. The sample size that is determined has a significant impact on the budget of the research. An increase in the sample size will mean that the institute will have to spend more amount for carrying out the research. If the budget of AIU is not enough to cover the entire sample of 623, the institute can reduce the sample size or lower down its conditions in confidence level or desired precision. If we see the normal distribution table, we see that the z value deceases with decease in confidence level (Levin & Rubin, 2007). In order to reduce the sample size, one option that AIU is having is to reduce its confidence level. Confidence level is a repr esentation of the surety of the data received. Confidence level can be defined as the likelihood of the true population parameter lying within the range specified by the confidence interval (Stattrek, 2011). Decreasing the confidence level will lead to decrease of the z value, which will reduce the sample size. ... crease the distance from the mean that is permissible for the mean dollars spent by each card holder to $70 at the same confidence level, the sample size becomes: We can see that a slight increase (from 55 to 70) in the marginal error that is acceptable to the researchers lead to a decrease in the required size drastically (from 623 to 385). References Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods in Education, 6th ill. ed. NY: Routledge. Levin, R.I., & Rubin, D.S. (2007). Statistics for Management, 7th ed. New Delhi: Dorling Kinderseley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Stattrek. (2011). Confidence Level. [Online]. Available at: http://stattrek.com/Help/Glossary.aspx?Target=Confidence%20level [Last accessed on 20th June 2011]. Wrenn, B., Stevens, R.E., & Loundon, D.L. (2006). Marketing research: text and cases, 2nd ill. ed. New York: The Haworth Press. Part 2 Surveys are very useful tool to collect information about a population. In a research using surveys a questionnaire is admin istered on a carefully identified sample of respondents (McQuarrie, 2006). Survey questionnaires are typically aimed at identifying particular respondent’s characteristics, attitudes or perception. Surveys find extensive application in areas such as market research, psychological studies, sociology and human resources. One example of a survey can be a survey in the area of market research, where respondents are asked to respond to their opinion about a particular product or service. Such surveys can be administered through questionnaires written on paper. Another type of survey can be the one used by the HR department of organizations to assess the employee satisfaction levels. These surveys can be administered as web-based surveys. Telephonic surveys can be administered to analyze the

Impact of PSD2 on the Banking and Payment Industry

Impact of PSD2 on the Banking and Payment Industry Critically evaluate PSD2[1] and its potential impact upon the payments industry, the Banks and the UK customer. Is PSD2 likely to achieve its aims? PSD2 is the second payment directive that came into force in January 2016, as a fundamental piece of payments legislation within Europe, and the first European Law to affect sterling payments.ÂÂ   It is the artefact of an appraisal of the inventive of Payment Services Directive, which requires PSPs (payment service providers) to make significant number of changes to existing operations. On October 8, 2015, the European Parliament received the changed order on Payment Services (PSD2). It requires Europes banks to offer TTP more prominent access to client information and instalment foundation, and gives banks until 2018 to follow its mandates. Depending on how banks react, the new order can be either an impetus for kicking off the advancement of important new plans of action or a risk that will generate genuine focused difficulties. The Directive entails that all Members states contrivance these guidelines as a state law by the year 2018 on the 13th of January. The European Commission used determination to regularly integrate appraisal targets into the Directives, to ensure that the directions endure to be for the specific aim. With the reception of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2), an irreversible move to open managing an account in Europe has turned out to be unavoidable. Europes banks cant bear to sit tight for the authority PSD2 execution date in 2018 to define a key reaction. The primary charge services Directive (PSD) was carried out in the United Kingdom through the bills services guidelines in 2009. It turned into designed to establish a European wide felony framework for price offerings by using placing the data requirements and the respective rights and obligations of price service customers and vendors. It also introduced a new class of PSP, specifically, charge establishments, example: providers of price offerings unconnected to the taking of deposits or the issuing of digital cash, with the aid of laying down the authorisation necessities. European Directives set a EU wide guidelines on market practice, which all the Member States are required to put into effect a rule modifications by a certain date (the transposition cut-off date). In the United Kingdom, the rules are normally carried out by means of Statutory units and from time to time, through Parliamentary Acts. In 2012, the European Commission revised the Payments Services Directives and found that, the legislation had obligated several benefits. Such benefits included a prime enabling of market entrance and, an upsurge in competition for structured payment institutions. The Payment Services Directives provided the groundwork for the effective execution for the SEPA (the Single Euro Payments Area), which went on to greatly enhance the economies. The point of open banking in Europe has been set, which provides standardised access to customer data and banking set-up. The fences for access to third party providers and financial technology companies, are lowered due to the Payments Services Directive by motivating the growth of innovative corporate models and an extensive variety of novel banking amenities. This allows the Payments Services Directive to be a key substance of the commotion and tactical restitution in the banking economies within Europe. The trades within Europe have underway started to hold the varieties of facilities, as well as the corporations that will likely substitute the Payment Services Directive (PSD2). A PwC Strategy consider on PSD2, directed in the primary quarter of 2016, recommends that 88 percent of buyers utilise TTP for online instalments, which demonstrates that there is an expansive, prepared base of clients for other advanced managing an account administrations. All things considered, the gene ral reaction of Europes financiers to Payment Service Directive is one of instability. Although 68 percent of brokers dread that PSD2 will make them lose control of the customer interface, large portions of them stay uncertain how to react to the new order. Subsequently, they are embracing a cautious, keep a watch out position that is hazard disinclined. Interestingly, there are a couple banks and more TTP, that are grasping the potential outcomes of open managing an account also, seeking after methodologies went for winning a main part in the future. Third Party Providers is viewed as a huge change brought by PSD2. It in a general sense changes our association with the bank. This is the first run through keeps money with their client assent will permit TTP access to accounts. By permitting access to accounts, PSD2 makes two noteworthy parts for TTP to play. The European Parliament embraced PSD2 to make it less demanding, quicker, and less costly for customers to pay for products and enterprises, by advancing advancement improving instalment security, and institutionalising instalment frameworks crosswise over Europe. The Payment Services Directive utilises three instruments to accomplish this. The First is, it extends the administrative domain of the European Union to incorporate new sorts of suppliers, for example, instalment start and record data administrations. The Second is, it forces restrictions on exchange charges and stricter guidelines on discounts to lower exchange costs for shoppers. And lastly, the most troublesome that requires European banks to open their instalment foundation and client information to TTP of money related administrations. Imbursement start administration will give another option to card expenses, by moving cash from payer records to traders specifically. This will surely hit card organisation incomes, at any rate in Europe. Even though the specialised subtle elements of the Payment Services Directive have not been completely indicated yet, banks will undoubtedly need to utilise application programming interfaces, such as the Advance Passenger Information System (APIs). These institutionalised interfaces are intense facilitators and drivers of computerised businesses has passed their utilisation in the trading of information, APIs permit organisations to receive a secluded approach for rapidly and cost-successfully making and scaling new organisations. Therefore, the pace of API advancement and utilise is quickening in various enterprises. An example will be Uber for instance, rapidly developed from a little start up to a worldwide organisation by incorporating accomplice abilities by means of APIs. It utilises the Google Maps API to find clients and track drivers, Googles Cloud Messaging API for texting, and PayPals Braintree API for instalment. Notwithstanding utilising APIs, Uber additionally has built up its own API and gave it to different organisations to augment the span of its administrations. For example, Openable, the online reservation organises joins Ubers API in its application to permit clients to orchestrate go to and from eateries when they reserve a spot. Organisations, for example, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Salesforce, and Twitter additionally have effectively utilised APIs to reinforce their capacities and fabricate their organisations. Presently, European banks must open their information and framework to satisfy administrative necessities. Even though the pronounced concentration of PSD2 is on instalments and access to records, its consequences reach out a long way past that restricted zone. Notwithstanding utilising APIs to accomplish compliance. Europes banks and TTP will have the capacity to utilise them significantly more deliberately. They could add outsider abilities to their centre business offerings through APIs, along these lines making and testing new models and ideas quicker and driving down their cost of development. They could support their cross-offering endeavours and develop their venture into new markets by giving their APIs to TTP. Whats more, they could utilise the shopper conduct and inclination information that collect from these exercises to build up the bits of knowledge expected to make extra new purchaser items and administrations. How much traders can profit by this abnormal state of trust in their instalment administrations will be a vital figure deciding the aggressive danger they posture to banks. On the off chance that they can join high trust levels with exclusive purchaser conduct and inclination information, traders could make a strong establishment for growing past instalments into different administrations, for example, account checking and individual money related administration, that banks have conventionally marketed. The control of the Payment Services Directive has been envisioned as problematic. On one hand, it prepared for new contestant in a range which for quite a long time worked in close fences. Then again it challenges places of existent players by empowering straightforwardness. There were uncommon open doors for new companies, however the greater part of that is going to change as regardless of its disturbance, for those of us in the UK the entire PSD2 brings up new issues about its pertinence after Brexit. For those organisations who stay inside the EU, they will keep on receiving the advantages of instalment information sharing through the mix of PSD2 and SEPA. UK based FinTech organisations outside the European Union might be enticed to migrate into the European Union. An Account Information Service which is also known as AIS, is characterised in Article 4(16) as an online service to provide consolidated information on one or more payment accounts held by the payment service user with either another payment service provider or with more than one payment service provider. PSD2 presents the Account Information Service Providers, AIPs whom are regularly alluded to as TTP, who are permitted to give an accumulated perspective of the client(s) records. The PSD2 content makes it clear that clients have a privilege to utilise PIS and AIS where that beneath PSD2, this information cannot be given out and such information can only be done, with the full consent from the client. That implies faster, more straightforward administrations, access to cash and computerised applications, which gives combined perspectives of accounts and in addition more oversee assets. For instance, if you have accounts in numerous Banks, you regularly have admittance to accounts through every Bank stage, the record data administrations API urge TTP to give a merged perspective of all the accounts. It is discernible that PSD2 wont permit banks to separate diversely to payments started utilising TTP, compared to that of the one started through their own system. It is evident that such access of records and payment start opportunity fuelled development, by permitting innovation new businesses to work into a region which was not accessible before. This implies a level playing field for new participant and occupant cultivates rivalry, development, and controlled situations. These progressions mirror the market development in E-Commerce business exercises and utilisation of web and portable payments and in addition, the ascent of new mechanical improvements and a pattern towards clients having associations with different record suppliers. Advance clarity with regards to the degree, is relied upon to develop amid the transposition stage. Notwithstanding, commonly, a dealer may incorporate a start to benefit given by a PISP into its online checkout procedure, to empower it to offer the choice of online acknowledge exchanges as another option to use another than to pay with Debit or Credit card. PIS could likewise be offered nearby AIS to move cash starting with one paying account then onto the next, considering the data accumulated. AIS permit purchasers and organisations to acquire a merged perspective of their records and to utilise instruments to investigate their exchanges and going through examples with at least one PSPs. Managers are very much aware of security concerns raised because of incorporation of TTP in the region which was beforehand accessible just to bank-particular channels. The Payment Service Directive has considered how important this matter is, and has set down new security necessities for other methods and ways to start payments and ease of convenience. PSD2 brings the idea of SCA, which is a more secure verification instrument that goes past two element validation, with the first validation being that, something a client knows, such as, a password or a memorable answer to a security question. The second validation is that, is prove ownership by stating a memorable passcode number(s). SCA presents a third measurement alluded as inherence recognises that client(s), can have access the option of fingerprints or voice biometrics. The exchange is an expression that rose out of the first PSD, which alludes to the exchanges where payers or beneficiaries are based outside of the European Union. In the first PSD, the exchanges were out of degree. It was the main European Union monetary forms that were initially focused on. PSD2 expanded the extent of the first PSD. Exchanges in any coin where both the payers and beneficiaries pay specialist cooperation that is situated in the European Union go under PSD2 transmit. Exchanges in any money where either the PSP or the beneficiarys PSP is situated in the European Union, regardless of different PSPs situated outside the European Union, go under the PSD2 dispatch. PSD2 presented more positive discount open doors for direct charge. Sitting aside the definitive expected and hopeful result of PSD2, there are absolutely some critical breakthroughs still to be accomplished if the venture is to stay on focus for conveyance in mid 2018. While the banks have regularly commenced consistence extends, and have gained ground to more prominent or lesser degrees, they are sitting tight for some basic additional data from the European Banking Authority, to which the Commission has appointed duty regarding the production of the Regulatory Technical Standards required for PSD2 usage. These specialized guidelines will go some approach to characterizing how banks will be required to give access to record data to outsiders, for instance by means of an API. They will likewise cover how the solid (two element) validation PSD2 presents, to expand the security of electronic payments, should be actualised. The specialised principles wont be accessible in draft shape for conference until the end of 2016, and they wont be finished for y ear and a half after that, which implies that associations need to arrange their systems in view of the data as of now accessible, and arrangements considering set up specialised models ought to give adaptability if any change is required when the specialised rules are settled. Work Cited https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/12833/does-psd2-still-matter-to-uk-after-brexit https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Catalyst-or-threat.pdf http://www.paymentsuk.org.uk/sites/default/files/PSD2%20report%20June%202016.pdf https://www.ingwb.com/media/1609662/preparing-for-psd2_vroegh.pdf [1] DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/2366 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 93-97

CHAPTER 93 London's Opus Dei Centre is a modest brick building at 5 Orme Court, overlooking the North Walk at Kensington Gardens. Silas had never been here, but he felt a rising sense of refuge and asylum as he approached the building on foot. Despite the rain, Remy had dropped him off a short distance away in order to keep the limousine off the main streets. Silas didn't mind the walk. The rain was cleansing. At Remy's suggestion, Silas had wiped down his gun and disposed of it through a sewer grate. He was glad to get rid of it. He felt lighter. His legs still ached from being bound all that time, but Silas had endured far greater pain. He wondered, though, about Teabing, whom Remy had left bound in the back of the limousine. The Briton certainly had to be feeling the pain by now. â€Å"What will you do with him?† Silas had asked Remy as they drove over here. Remy had shrugged. â€Å"That is a decision for the Teacher.† There was an odd finality in his tone. Now, as Silas approached the Opus Dei building, the rain began to fall harder, soaking his heavy robe, stinging the wounds of the day before. He was ready to leave behind the sins of the last twenty-four hours and purge his soul. His work was done. Moving across a small courtyard to the front door, Silas was not surprised to find the door unlocked. He opened it and stepped into the minimalist foyer. A muted electronic chime sounded upstairs as Silas stepped onto the carpet. The bell was a common feature in these halls where the residents spent most of the day in their rooms in prayer. Silas could hear movement above on the creaky wood floors. A man in a cloak came downstairs. â€Å"May I help you?† He had kind eyes that seemed not even to register Silas's startling physical appearance. â€Å"Thank you. My name is Silas. I am an Opus Dei numerary.† â€Å"American?† Silas nodded. â€Å"I am in town only for the day. Might I rest here?† â€Å"You need not even ask. There are two empty rooms on the third floor. Shall I bring you some tea and bread?† â€Å"Thank you.† Silas was famished. Silas went upstairs to a modest room with a window, where he took off his wet robe and knelt down to pray in his undergarments. He heard his host come up and lay a tray outside his door. Silas finished his prayers, ate his food, and lay down to sleep. Three stories below, a phone was ringing. The Opus Dei numerary who had welcomed Silas answered the line. â€Å"This is the London police,† the caller said. â€Å"We are trying to find an albino monk. We've had a tip-off that he might be there. Have you seen him?† The numerary was startled. â€Å"Yes, he is here. Is something wrong?† â€Å"He is there now?† â€Å"Yes, upstairs praying. What is going on?† â€Å"Leave him precisely where he is,† the officer commanded. â€Å"Don't say a word to anyone. I'm sending officers over right away.† CHAPTER 94 St. James's Park is a sea of green in the middle of London, a public park bordering the palaces of Westminster, Buckingham, and St. James's. Once enclosed by King Henry VIII and stocked with deer for the hunt, St. James's Park is now open to the public. On sunny afternoons, Londoners picnic beneath the willows and feed the pond's resident pelicans, whose ancestors were a gift to Charles II from the Russian ambassador. The Teacher saw no pelicans today. The stormy weather had brought instead seagulls from the ocean. The lawns were covered with them – hundreds of white bodies all facing the same direction, patiently riding out the damp wind. Despite the morning fog, the park afforded splendid views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Gazing across the sloping lawns, past the duck pond and the delicate silhouettes of the weeping willows, the Teacher could see the spires of the building that housed the knight's tomb – the real reason he had told Remy to come to this spot. As the Teacher approached the front passenger door of the parked limousine, Remy leaned across and opened the door. The Teacher paused outside, taking a pull from the flask of cognac he was carrying. Then, dabbing his mouth, he slid in beside Remy and closed the door. Remy held up the keystone like a trophy. â€Å"It was almost lost.† â€Å"You have done well,† the Teacher said. â€Å"We have done well,† Remy replied, laying the keystone in the Teacher's eager hands. The Teacher admired it a long moment, smiling. â€Å"And the gun? You wiped it down?† â€Å"Back in the glove box where I found it.† â€Å"Excellent.† The Teacher took another drink of cognac and handed the flask to Remy. â€Å"Let's toast our success. The end is near.† Remy accepted the bottle gratefully. The cognac tasted salty, but Remy didn't care. He and the Teacher were truly partners now. He could feel himself ascending to a higher station in life. I will never be a servant again.As Remy gazed down the embankment at the duck pond below, Chateau Villette seemed miles away. Taking another swig from the flask, Remy could feel the cognac warming his blood. The warmth in Remy's throat, however, mutated quickly to an uncomfortable heat. Loosening his bow tie, Remy tasted an unpleasant grittiness and handed the flask back to the Teacher. â€Å"I've probably had enough,† he managed, weakly. Taking the flask, the Teacher said,† Remy, as you are aware, you are the only one who knows my face. I placed enormous trust in you.† â€Å"Yes,† he said, feeling feverish as he loosened his tie further. â€Å"And your identity shall go with me to the grave.† The Teacher was silent a long moment. â€Å"I believe you.† Pocketing the flask and the keystone, the Teacher reached for the glove box and pulled out the tiny Medusa revolver. For an instant, Remy felt a surge of fear, but the Teacher simply slipped it in his trousers pocket. What is he doing? Remy felt himself sweating suddenly. â€Å"I know I promised you freedom,† the Teacher said, his voice now sounding regretful. â€Å"But considering your circumstances, this is the best I can do.† The swelling in Remy's throat came on like an earthquake, and he lurched against the steering column, grabbing his throat and tasting vomit in his narrowing esophagus. He let out a muted croak of a scream, not even loud enough to be heard outside the car. The saltiness in the cognac now registered. I'm being murdered! Incredulous, Remy turned to see the Teacher sitting calmly beside him, staring straight ahead out the windshield. Remy's eyesight blurred, and he gasped for breath. I made everything possible for him! How could he do this! Whether the Teacher had intended to kill Remy all along or whether it had been Remy's actions in the Temple Church that had made the Teacher lose faith, Remy would never know. Terror and rage coursed through him now. Remy tried to lunge for the Teacher, but his stiffening body could barely move. I trusted you with everything! Remy tried to lift his clenched fists to blow the horn, but instead he slipped sideways, rolling onto the seat, lying on his side beside the Teacher, clutching at his throat. The rain fell harder now. Remy could no longer see, but he could sense his oxygen-deprived brain straining to cling to his last faint shreds of lucidity. As his world slowly went black, Remy Legaludec could have sworn he heard the sounds of the soft Riviera surf. The Teacher stepped from the limousine, pleased to see that nobody was looking in his direction. Ihad no choice, he told himself, surprised how little remorse he felt for what he had just done. Remy sealed his own fate.The Teacher had feared all along that Remy might need to be eliminated when the mission was complete, but by brazenly showing himself in the Temple Church, Remy had accelerated the necessity dramatically. Robert Langdon's unexpected visit to Chateau Villette had brought the Teacher both a fortuitous windfall and an intricate dilemma. Langdon had delivered the keystone directly to the heart of the operation, which was a pleasant surprise, and yet he had brought the police on his tail. Remy's prints were all over Chateau Villette, as well as in the barn's listening post, where Remy had carried out the surveillance. The Teacher was grateful he had taken so much care in preventing any ties between Remy's activities and his own. Nobody could implicate the Teacher unless Rem y talked, and that was no longer a concern. One more loose end to tie up here, the Teacher thought, moving now toward the rear door of the limousine. The police will have no idea what happened†¦and no living witness left to tell them.Glancing around to ensure nobody was watching, he pulled open the door and climbed into the spacious rear compartment. Minutes later, the Teacher was crossing St. James's Park. Only two people now remain.Langdonand Neveu.They were more complicated. But manageable. At the moment, however, the Teacher had the cryptex to attend to. Gazing triumphantly across the park, he could see his destination. In London lies a knight a Pope interred.As soon as the Teacher had heard the poem, he had known the answer. Even so, that the others had not figured it out was not surprising. I have an unfair advantage.Having listened to Sauniere's conversations for months now, the Teacher had heard the Grand Master mention this famous knight on occasion, expressing esteem almost matching that he held for Da Vinci. The poem's reference to the knight was brutally simple once one saw it – a credit to Sauniere's wit – and yet how this tomb would reveal the final password was still a mystery. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb. The Teacher vaguely recalled photos of the famous tomb and, in particular, its most distinguishing feature. A magnificent orb.The huge sphere mounted atop the tomb was almost as large as the tomb itself. The presence of the orb seemed both encouraging and troubling to the Teacher. On one hand, it felt like a signpost, and yet, according to the poem, the missing piece of the puzzle was an orb that ought to be on his tomb†¦ not one that was already there. He was counting on his closer inspection of the tomb to unveil the answer. The rain was getting heavier now, and he tucked the cryptex deep in his right-hand pocket to protect it from the dampness. He kept the tiny Medusa revolver in his left, out of sight. Within minutes, he was stepping into the quiet sanctuary of London's grandest nine-hundred-year-old building. Just as the Teacher was stepping out of the rain, Bishop Aringarosa was stepping into it. On the rainy tarmac at Biggin Hill Executive Airport, Aringarosa emerged from his cramped plane, bundling his cassock against the cold damp. He had hoped to be greeted by Captain Fache. Instead a young British police officer approached with an umbrella. â€Å"Bishop Aringarosa? Captain Fache had to leave. He asked me to look after you. He suggested I take you to Scotland Yard. He thought it would be safest.† Safest? Aringarosa looked down at the heavy briefcase of Vatican bonds clutched in his hand. He had almost forgotten. â€Å"Yes, thank you.† Aringarosa climbed into the police car, wondering where Silas could be. Minutes later, the police scanner crackled with the answer. 5 Orme Court. Aringarosa recognized the address instantly. The Opus Dei Centre in London. He spun to the driver. â€Å"Take me there at once!† CHAPTER 95 Langdon's eyes had not left the computer screen since the search began. Five minutes. Only two hits. Both irrelevant. He was starting to get worried. Pamela Gettum was in the adjoining room, preparing hot drinks. Langdon and Sophie had inquired unwisely if there might be some coffee brewing alongside the tea Gettum had offered, and from the sound of the microwave beeps in the next room, Langdon suspected their request was about to be rewarded with instant Nescafe. Finally, the computer pinged happily. â€Å"Sounds like you got another,† Gettum called from the next room. â€Å"What's the title?† Langdon eyed the screen. Grail Allegory in Medieval Literature: A Treatise on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. â€Å"Allegory of the Green Knight,† he called back. â€Å"No good,† Gettum said. â€Å"Not many mythological green giants buried in London.† Langdon and Sophie sat patiently in front of the screen and waited through two more dubious returns. When the computer pinged again, though, the offering was unexpected. DIE OPERN VON RICHARD WAGNER â€Å"The operas of Wagner?† Sophie asked. Gettum peeked back in the doorway, holding a packet of instant coffee. â€Å"That seems like a strange match. Was Wagner a knight?† â€Å"No,† Langdon said, feeling a sudden intrigue. â€Å"But he was a well-known Freemason.† Along withMozart, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Gershwin, Houdini, and Disney.Volumes had been written about the ties between the Masons and the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, and the Holy Grail. â€Å"I want to look at this one. How do I see the full text?† â€Å"You don't want the full text,† Gettum called. â€Å"Click on the hypertext title. The computer will display your keyword hits along with mono prelogs and triple postlogs for context.† Langdon had no idea what she had just said, but he clicked anyway. A new window popped up. †¦ mythological knight named Parsifal who†¦ †¦ metaphorical Grail quest that arguably†¦ †¦ the LondonPhilharmonic in 1855†¦ Rebecca Pope's opera anthology† Diva's†¦ †¦ Wagner's tomb in Bayreuth, Germany†¦ â€Å"Wrong Pope,† Langdon said, disappointed. Even so, he was amazed by the system's ease of use. The keywords with context were enough to remind him that Wagner's opera Parsifal was a tribute to Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Jesus Christ, told through the story of a young knight on a quest for truth. â€Å"Just be patient,† Gettum urged. â€Å"It's a numbers game. Let the machine run.† Over the next few minutes, the computer returned several more Grail references, including a text about troubadours – France's famous wandering minstrels. Langdon knew it was no coincidence that the word minstrel and minister shared an etymological root. The troubadours were the traveling servants or† ministers† of the Church of Mary Magdalene, using music to disseminate the story of the sacred feminine among the common folk. To this day, the troubadours sang songs extolling the virtues of† our Lady† – a mysterious and beautiful woman to whom they pledged themselves forever. Eagerly, he checked the hypertext but found nothing. The computer pinged again. KNIGHTS, KNAVES, POPES, AND PENTACLES: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL THROUGH TAROT â€Å"Not surprising,† Langdon said to Sophie. â€Å"Some of our keywords have the same names as individual cards.† He reached for the mouse to click on a hyperlink. â€Å"I'm not sure if your grandfather ever mentioned it when you played Tarot with him, Sophie, but this game is a ‘flash- card catechism' into the story of the Lost Bride and her subjugation by the evil Church.† Sophie eyed him, looking incredulous. â€Å"I had no idea.† â€Å"That's the point. By teaching through a metaphorical game, the followers of the Grail disguised their message from the watchful eye of the Church.† Langdon often wondered how many modern card players had any clue that their four suits – spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds – were Grail-related symbols that came directly from Tarot's four suits of swords, cups, scepters, and pentacles. Spades were Swords – The blade. Male. Hearts were Cups – The chalice. Feminine. Clubs were Scepters – The Royal Line. The flowering staff. Diamonds were Pentacles – The goddess. The sacred feminine. Four minutes later, as Langdon began feeling fearful they would not find what they had come for, the computer produced another hit. The Gravity of Genius: Biography of a Modern Knight. â€Å"Gravity of Genius?† Langdon called out to Gettum. â€Å"Bio of a modern knight?† Gettum stuck her head around the corner. â€Å"How modern? Please don't tell me it's your Sir Rudy Giuliani. Personally, I found that one a bit off the mark.† Langdon had his own qualms about the newly knighted Sir Mick Jagger, but this hardly seemed the moment to debate the politics of modern British knighthood. â€Å"Let's have a look.† Langdon summoned up the hypertext keywords. †¦ honorable knight, Sir Isaac Newton†¦ †¦ in Londonin 1727 and†¦ †¦ his tomb in Westminster Abbey†¦ †¦ Alexander Pope, friend and colleague†¦ â€Å"I guess ‘modern' is a relative term,† Sophie called to Gettum. â€Å"It's an old book. About Sir Isaac Newton.† Gettum shook her head in the doorway. â€Å"No good. Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey, the seat of English Protestantism. There's no way a Catholic Pope was present. Cream and sugar?† Sophie nodded. Gettum waited. â€Å"Robert?† Langdon's heart was hammering. He pulled his eyes from the screen and stood up. â€Å"Sir Isaac Newton is our knight.† Sophie remained seated. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Newton is buried in London,† Langdon said. â€Å"His labors produced new sciences that incurred the wrath of the Church. And he was a Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. What more could we want?† â€Å"What more?† Sophie pointed to the poem. â€Å"How about a knight a Pope interred? You heard Ms. Gettum. Newton was not buried by a Catholic Pope.† Langdon reached for the mouse. â€Å"Who said anything about a Catholic Pope?† He clicked on the† Pope† hyperlink, and the complete sentence appeared. Sir Isaac Newton's burial, attended by kings and nobles, was presided over by Alexander Pope, friend and colleague, who gave a stirring eulogy before sprinkling dirt on the tomb. Langdon looked at Sophie. â€Å"We had the correct Pope on our second hit. Alexander.† He paused. â€Å"A. Pope.† In London lies a knight A. Pope interred. Sophie stood up, looking stunned. Jacques Sauniere, the master of double-entendres, had proven once again that he was a frighteningly clever man. CHAPTER 96 Silas awoke with a start. He had no idea what had awoken him or how long he had been asleep. Was I dreaming? Sitting up now on his straw mat, he listened to the quiet breathing of the Opus Dei residence hall, the stillness textured only by the soft murmurs of someone praying aloud in a room below him. These were familiar sounds and should have comforted him. And yet he felt a sudden and unexpected wariness. Standing, wearing only his undergarments, Silas walked to the window. Was I followed? The courtyard below was deserted, exactly as he had seen it when he entered. He listened. Silence. Sowhy am I uneasy? Long ago Silas had learned to trust his intuition. Intuition had kept him alive as a child on the streets of Marseilles long before prison†¦ long before he was born again by the hand of Bishop Aringarosa. Peering out the window, he now saw the faint outline of a car through the hedge. On the car's roof was a police siren. A floorboard creaked in the hallway. A door latch moved. Silas reacted on instinct, surging across the room and sliding to a stop just behind the door as it crashed open. The first police officer stormed through, swinging his gun left then right at what appeared an empty room. Before he realized where Silas was, Silas had thrown his shoulder into the door, crushing a second officer as he came through. As the first officer wheeled to shoot, Silas dove for his legs. The gun went off, the bullet sailing above Silas's head, just as he connected with the officer's shins, driving his legs out from under him, and sending the man down, his head hitting the floor. The second officer staggered to his feet in the doorway, and Silas drove a knee into his groin, then went clambering over the writhing body into the hall. Almost naked, Silas hurled his pale body down the staircase. He knew he had been betrayed, but by whom? When he reached the foyer, more officers were surging through the front door. Silas turned the other way and dashed deeper into the residence hall. The women's entrance.Every Opus Dei building has one.Winding down narrow hallways, Silas snaked through a kitchen, past terrified workers, who left to avoid the naked albino as he knocked over bowls and silverware, bursting into a dark hallway near the boiler room. He now saw the door he sought, an exit light gleaming at the end. Running full speed through the door out into the rain, Silas leapt off the low landing, not seeing the officer coming the other way until it was too late. The two men collided, Silas's broad, naked shoulder grinding into the man's sternum with crushing force. He drove the officer backward onto the pavement, landing hard on top of him. The officer's gun clattered away. Silas could hear men running down the hall shouting. Rolling, he grabbed the loose gun just as the officers emerged. A shot rang out on the stairs, and Silas felt a searing pain below his ribs. Filled with rage, he opened fire at all three officers, their blood spraying. A dark shadow loomed behind, coming out of nowhere. The angry hands that grabbed at his bare shoulders felt as if they were infused with the power of the devil himself. The man roared in his ear. SILAS, NO! Silas spun and fired. Their eyes met. Silas was already screaming in horror as Bishop Aringarosa fell. CHAPTER 97 More than three thousand people are entombed or enshrined within Westminster Abbey. The colossal stone interior burgeons with the remains of kings, statesmen, scientists, poets, and musicians. Their tombs, packed into every last niche and alcove, range in grandeur from the most regal of mausoleums – that of Queen Elizabeth I, whose canopied sarcophagus inhabits its own private, apsidal chapel – down to the most modest etched floor tiles whose inscriptions have worn away with centuries of foot traffic, leaving it to one's imagination whose relics might lie below the tile in the undercroft. Designed in the style of the great cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres, and Canterbury, Westminster Abbey is considered neither cathedral nor parish church. It bears the classification of royal peculiar, subject only to the Sovereign. Since hosting the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day in 1066, the dazzling sanctuary has witnessed an endless procession of royal ceremonies and affairs of state – from the canonization of Edward the Confessor, to the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, to the funerals of Henry V, Queen Elizabeth I, and Lady Diana. Even so, Robert Langdon currently felt no interest in any of the abbey's ancient history, save one event – the funeral of the British knight Sir Isaac Newton. In London lies a knight a Pope interred. Hurrying through the grand portico on the north transept, Langdon and Sophie were met by guards who politely ushered them through the abbey's newest addition – a large walk-through metal detector – now present in most historic buildings in London. They both passed through without setting off the alarm and continued to the abbey entrance. Stepping across the threshold into Westminster Abbey, Langdon felt the outside world evaporate with a sudden hush. No rumble of traffic. No hiss of rain. Just a deafening silence, which seemed to reverberate back and forth as if the building were whispering to itself. Langdon's and Sophie's eyes, like those of almost every visitor, shifted immediately skyward, where the abbey's great abyss seemed to explode overhead. Gray stone columns ascended like redwoods into the shadows, arching gracefully over dizzying expanses, and then shooting back down to the stone floor. Before them, the wide alley of the north transept stretched out like a deep canyon, flanked by sheer cliffs of stained glass. On sunny days, the abbey floor was a prismatic patchwork of light. Today, the rain and darkness gave this massive hollow a wraithlike aura†¦ more like that of the crypt it truly was. â€Å"It's practically empty,† Sophie whispered. Langdon felt disappointed. He had hoped for a lot more people. A more public place.Their earlier experience in the deserted Temple Church was not one Langdon wanted to repeat. He had been anticipating a certain feeling of security in the popular tourist destination, but Langdon's recollections of bustling throngs in a well-lit abbey had been formed during the peak summer tourist season. Today was a rainy April morning. Rather than crowds and shimmering stained glass, all Langdon saw was acres of desolate floor and shadowy, empty alcoves. â€Å"We passed through metal detectors,† Sophie reminded, apparently sensing Langdon's apprehension. â€Å"If anyone is in here, they can't be armed.† Langdon nodded but still felt circumspect. He had wanted to bring the London police with them, but Sophie's fears of who might be involved put a damper on any contact with the authorities. We need to recover the cryptex, Sophie had insisted. It is the key to everything. She was right, of course. The key to getting Leigh back alive. The key to finding the Holy Grail. The key to learning who is behind this. Unfortunately, their only chance to recover the keystone seemed to be here and now†¦ at the tomb of Isaac Newton. Whoever held the cryptex would have to pay a visit to the tomb to decipher the final clue, and if they had not already come and gone, Sophie and Langdon intended to intercept them. Striding toward the left wall to get out of the open, they moved into an obscure side aisle behind a row of pilasters. Langdon couldn't shake the image of Leigh Teabing being held captive, probably tied up in the back of his own limousine. Whoever had ordered the top Priory members killed would not hesitate to eliminate others who stood in the way. It seemed a cruel irony that Teabing – a modern British knight – was a hostage in the search for his own countryman, Sir Isaac Newton. â€Å"Which way is it?† Sophie asked, looking around. The tomb.Langdon had no idea. â€Å"We should find a docent and ask.† Langdon knew better than to wander aimlessly in here. Westminster Abbey was a tangled warren of mausoleums, perimeter chambers, and walk-in burial niches. Like the Louvre's Grand Gallery, it had a lone point of entry – the door through which they had just passed – easy to find your way in, but impossible to find your way out. A literal tourist trap, one of Langdon's befuddled colleagues had called it. Keeping architectural tradition, the abbey was laid out in the shape of a giant crucifix. Unlike most churches, however, it had its entrance on the side, rather than the standard rear of the church via the narthex at the bottom of the nave. Moreover, the abbey had a series of sprawling cloisters attached. One false step through the wrong archway, and a visitor was lost in a labyrinth of outdoor passageways surrounded by high walls. â€Å"Docents wear crimson robes,† Langdon said, approaching the center of the church. Peering obliquely across the towering gilded altar to the far end of the south transept, Langdon saw several people crawling on their hands and knees. This prostrate pilgrimage was a common occurrence in Poets' Corner, although it was far less holy than it appeared. Tourists doing grave rubbings. â€Å"I don't see any docents,† Sophie said. â€Å"Maybe we can find the tomb on our own?† Without a word, Langdon led her another few steps to the center of the abbey and pointed to the right. Sophie drew a startled breath as she looked down the length of the abbey's nave, the full magnitude of the building now visible. â€Å"Aah,† she said. â€Å"Let's find a docent.† At that moment, a hundred yards down the nave, out of sight behind the choir screen, the stately tomb of Sir Isaac Newton had a lone visitor. The Teacher had been scrutinizing the monument for ten minutes now. Newton's tomb consisted of a massive black-marble sarcophagus on which reclined the sculpted form of Sir Isaac Newton, wearing classical costume, and leaning proudly against a stack of his own books – Divinity, Chronology, Opticks, and Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. At Newton's feet stood two winged boys holding a scroll. Behind Newton's recumbent body rosean austere pyramid. Although the pyramid itself seemed an oddity, it was the giant shape mounted halfway up the pyramid that most intrigued the Teacher. An orb. The Teacher pondered Sauniere's beguiling riddle. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb.The massive orb protruding from the face of the pyramid was carved in basso-relievo and depicted allkinds of heavenly bodies – constellations, signs of the zodiac, comets, stars, and planets. Above it, the image of the Goddess of Astronomy beneath a field of stars. Countless orbs. The Teacher had been convinced that once he found the tomb, discerning the missing orb would be easy. Now he was not so sure. He was gazing at a complicated map of the heavens. Was there a missing planet? Had some astronomical orb been omitted from a constellation? He had no idea. Even so, the Teacher could not help but suspect that the solution would be ingeniously clean and simple – â€Å"a knight a pope interred.† What orb am I looking for? Certainly, an advanced knowledge of astrophysics was not a prerequisite for finding the Holy Grail, was it? It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb. The Teacher's concentration was broken by several approaching tourists. He slipped the cryptex back in his pocket and watched warily as the visitors went to a nearby table, left a donation in the cup, and restocked on the complimentary grave-rubbing supplies set out by the abbey. Armed with fresh charcoal pencils and large sheets of heavy paper, they headed off toward the front of the abbey, probably to the popular Poets' Corner to pay their respects to Chaucer, Tennyson, and Dickens by rubbing furiously on their graves. Alone again, he stepped closer to the tomb, scanning it from bottom to top. He began with the clawed feet beneath the sarcophagus, moved upward past Newton, past his books on science, past the two boys with their mathematical scroll, up the face of the pyramid to the giant orb with its constellations, and finally up to the niche's star-filled canopy. What orb ought to be here†¦and yet is missing? He touched the cryptex in his pocket as if he could somehow divine the answer from Sauniere's crafted marble. Only five letters separate me from the Grail. Pacing now near the corner of the choir screen, he took a deep breath and glanced up the long nave toward the main altar in the distance. His gaze dropped from the gilded altar down to the bright crimson robe of an abbey docent who was being waved over by two very familiar individuals. Langdon and Neveu. Calmly, the Teacher moved two steps back behind the choir screen. That was fast.He had anticipated Langdon and Sophie would eventually decipher the poem's meaning and come to Newton's tomb, but this was sooner than he had imagined. Taking a deep breath, the Teacher considered his options. He had grown accustomed to dealing with surprises. I am holding the cryptex. Reaching down to his pocket, he touched the second object that gave him his confidence: the Medusa revolver. As expected, the abbey's metal detectors had blared as the Teacher passed through with the concealed gun. Also as expected, the guards had backed off at once when the Teacher glared indignantly and flashed his identification card. Official rank always commanded the proper respect. Although initially the Teacher had hoped to solve the cryptex alone and avoid any further complications, he now sensed that the arrival of Langdon and Neveu was actually a welcome development. Considering the lack of success he was having with the ‘orb' reference, he might be able to use their expertise. After all, if Langdon had deciphered the poem to find the tomb, there was a reasonable chance he also knew something about the orb. And if Langdon knew the password, then it was just a matter of applying the right pressure. Not here, of course.Somewhere private. The Teacher recalled a small announcement sign he had seen on his way into the abbey. Immediately he knew the perfect place to lure them. The only question now†¦ what to use as bait.