Americanization of Canada

Former Canadian Prime Minister, Trudeau once compared living next to America to sleeping with an elephant. He said, â€Å"You can not help but be aware of its every movement. † American culture influences not only Canadian culture but also the culture of every country in the world. Sneakers, blue jeans, burgers, and Hollywood blockbusters are only some of the many ways American culture impacts everybody.One of the most telling signs of Americanization seems to be the spread of American burgers and cola to nearly every country on earth, crowning the United States as the king of pop culture. Since the start of the 21st century, the massive role that the United States plays in every aspect of Canadian life continues to grow more apparent. Canada and America are each others main allies because of their proximity in terms of culture, history and geography. Canada’s floundering identity is slowly diluting and digressing towards a more assertive American way of life.By choosin g to model their society and economy after America's, the threat of Canada failing to create a distinctive heritage for itself becomes much more realistic and apparent. By defining America, their society, and economy one can see the threat of Canada losing its heritage is increasing. The Canadian and American relationship is much like the relationship of Siamese twins. They can not be separated without one of them dying and they can not be apart no matter how hard they try.This makes it even more difficult for Canada to establish their own identity and purpose because America’s cultural influences are so profound and apparent in Canadian culture and way of life. No matter how hard they try, Canada’s culture will always be intertwined with America’s culture. The media is one major way that America has influenced Canada. Canada does not have a true identity and from an outsider of both countries, they will often confuse America and Canada.

Nazi police unit

In Ordinary Men, Christopher Browning uses the example of one particularly brutal Nazi police unit in occupied Poland to explain how a group of seemingly normal individuals could participate in some of World War II’s worst atrocities. By examining the mixed reactions they showed as they carried out their orders, Browning rejects the most common arguments as to why they complied with the Final Solution and asserts that a combination of factors motivated ordinary men to become mass murderers.Reserve Police Battalion 101, a unit of the German Order Police (or â€Å"Orpo†), played a significant role in the Final Solution by serving as an occupation force in eastern Europe, rounding up Jews and political enemies of the Nazis, helping deport them to labor and death camps, and killing over 38,000 Jews between early 1942 and the end of 1943 (191). Its ranks grew from 56,000 in 1933, when the Nazis assumed control and created an extra tier of internal security, to over 300,000 b y 1942, when the Final Solution was implemented (4-7).Browning makes clear that the unit, which formed in Hamburg in early 1942, was not comprised of fanatical Nazis, rabid anti-Semites, or marginal members of society. The officers were mainly middle-class merchants and professionals (with some party members and only two members of the SS among them), while the ranks comprised blue-collar men who were not devout Nazis. Clearly, the men who committed mass murder were not marginal, violent criminals but solid citizens who were somehow transformed. The â€Å"Community† (Battalion 101)The battalion’s early operations reveal its ambivalence about its mission in Poland. The unit’s commander, Major Wilhelm Trapp, initially anguished over the orders to kill rather than simply deport Polish Jews, and its first major atrocity, the Jozefow Massacre of 13 July 1942, was hardly a coldly efficient operation by steely-nerved Nazis. The event, in which a Polish village’s 300 able-bodied Jewish men were deported to a labor camp while its 1,500 Jewish women, children, and elderly were gunned down, handled it inefficiently and with significant emotional division.Beset by drinking and sloppy methods, the unit took much of the day to carry out their orders and was initially ambivalent about the entire premise of their mission. Trapp even gave his troops the choice to refrain from the killing, which twelve did; over the next year, about twenty percent of the unit either never killed Jews or initially did but stopped. Browning remarks that the few who bowed out did so for a variety of reasons.They were so unprepared for the mission that they found it easier to follow orders than to think about their actions; many feared being labeled as â€Å"cowards† or â€Å"weak† by refusing to kill the unarmed; and, though few claimed to be avowed anti-Semites, â€Å"they had at least accepted the assimilation of the Jews into the image of the enemy . . . [that] was killing German women and children by bombing Germany† (73).Trapp adapted to his men’s emotional chaos by sending much smaller groups to kill, avoiding the division and discord and thus making Battalion 101 a more efficient killing operation. Another of its operations, a massacre at Lomazy on 17 August 1942, proved Trapp’s wisdom; the unit’s Second Company, with help from â€Å"Hiwis† (Slavic collaborators with the Nazis), slaughtered 1700 Jews in much less time than the Jozefow killings took.Browning comments, â€Å"Like much else, killing was something one could get used to† (85). Gradually, many of Battalion 101’s members became desensitized and some, like brutal, heavy-drinking Lieutenant Hartwig Gnade, actually came to enjoy their role as murderers. Even the worst were not monolithic Nazi madmen; they were still essentially normal men who struggled with their consciences but ultimately chose to become monsters.Still, despite the unit’s large number of murders and increasing prowess at killing, it was never wholly united and some members, like Lieutenant â€Å"Heinz Buchmann† (a pseudonym, which Browning uses for many of the principal figures), made no secret of their opposition to their actions, but Trapp never disciplined him, even giving Buchmann a transfer and a favorable recommendation later in the war. Also, some of the enlisted men refused to participate, facing some indirect punishments like taunting and unpleasant duties, though none faced serious disciplinary action for their dissent.Browning writes, â€Å"As long as there was no shortage of men willing to do the murderous job at hand, it was much easier to accommodate Buchmann and the men who emulated him than to make trouble over them† (103). In his final chapters, Browning makes clear that the battalion’s members did not consider their actions monstrous; they simply considered it a matter of following orde rs, and a few even thought that the Jews brought their fate on themselves by accepting it so passively.Others believed that murdering unsuspecting victims was humane, because â€Å"a quick death without the agony of anticipation was considered an example of human compassion† (155). When trying to find reasons for why such seemingly average men without violent histories had become such bloodthirsty, ruthless killers, the author weighs the most common of historians’ claims (racism, excessive obedience, the role of propaganda, war’s brutalization, and the bureaucratic division of labor) and argues that none was alone sufficient to cause the unit’s transformation.Instead, he implies that those factors’ combination, along with what author Primo Levi deemed a â€Å"gray zone† of â€Å"ambiguity which radiates out from regimes based on terror and obsequiousness† (187), allowed otherwise normal individuals to be transformed into murderers â⠂¬â€œ and it could possibly happen again to another group of equally â€Å"ordinary† men. REFERENCES Browning, Christopher R. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

Analysis on Mi Abuelo

The narrator’s Mi Abuelo is the grandfather. The beginning connects with the end of the poem. The poem is a depiction of human thoughts during his old age. The grandfather released his angst through the narrator. The conflict of the poem is that the narrator could not understand why the grandfather always told him that his hair is a sieve. He argues with the grandfather saying that his hair is not a sieve but the old man continued to insist the sieve hair. From this context, it was seen that the character is a weak person because he could not show his real emotions towards one situation or thing. He turned his guilt and insanity towards other people to hide the complexities of thinking. The author attacked within the poem in a simple rationalization. As the reader, I saw two different conflicts that emerged in the whole poem but the author resolved only one conflict, which is the narrator’s conflicts towards the issue of having a sieve hair but the grandfather’s conflict within his own self was unresolved. The sieve hair in the poem symbolizes the life of the grandfather. His journey and struggle were sieved in an untangled path of existence. He said that the narrator’s hair is a sieve because by the end of it all, the narrator’s life will be the same as the grandfather. In terms of the poem’s construction, it was not fully understandable because the author’s way of dividing each line and stanzas do not have complete essence. Each line could not stand its own meaning alone because it depends on the next line in a complex manner. The term â€Å"Mi Abuelo† was not thoroughly defined. This term was only compared to the grandfather without justification of its true essence and meaning as a word. Because of this, readers would become confuse with the statement of Mi Abuelo and being the title of the poem. Despite of it all, the poem is a simple thing that is easy to understand and discuss. It shows the life and issues that old people used to obtain whether it is meaningless or senseless, for them these are still important and relevant to life.    Reference(1982). Mi Abuelo.  Ã‚   From Whispering to Fool the Wind. New York: SheepMeadow. Retrieved 23 February 2008.

How can rituals facilitate the Grieving after the funeral Essay

How can rituals facilitate the Grieving after the funeral - Essay Example And so, sooner or later a person dies and the people who love him or her, family, friends and colleagues, are faced with the difficult job of dealing with death and the grief and period of mourning that come with it. Hence, grief brought about by the loss of someone important in one’s life, is an emotion that is felt by almost everyone at least once in their lifetime. It is a universal phenomenon that is unique to man (Jeffreys, 2005b, p. 24). In this context, the grief being experienced is akin to bereavement, â€Å"the loss of a loved one through death† (Archer, 1991, p. 1). Because of this universal nature of grief and bereavement and the intensity that goes with it—with people experiencing it having a tendency to fall into deep depression—grief counseling and therapy have evolved as a useful science that aims to facilitate the completion of the grieving process and help survivors move on as grief is not something that can be handled by most with just one bout of crying or just a shrug indicating â€Å"that’s life.† With the emergence of grief counseling and therapy, grief theories have been reinvented and formulated in order to better understand the grieving process and so that grief therapists and counselors can also be more effective in helping survivors cope and move on. Although much has been written and said about grief, one thing is obvious; and that is, because it deals with human experience, it cannot be completely boxed into just one theory as it varies with each person and situation (Jeffreys, 2005b, p. 24). There are many factors that aid in the successful facilitation of the grieving process and discussing them all will constitute the writing of an entire volume. Hence, it is better to focus on one aspect that has been proven to be effective in easing survivors into the stages of the grieving process. Rituals, whether shared or

Living on a farm to living in the city Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Living on a farm to living in the city - Essay Example Most people think that living on a farm in the countryside costs a lot lesser than the city life. A blogger from Des Moines, Iowa in fact calculated his family’s annual cost of living and compared it to those who live in Boston, Massachusetts. His computation showed that a difference of almost forty percent makes such huge difference for people who are thinking on which side of the country they wish to live in (Trent, 2007). In addition, the cost of a small apartment in the city may already allow one to buy a house with a huge yard in the countryside. Optimizing the space that is readily available in the countryside allows people to save a lot more money at the same time. Either the back or the front yard can be used to grow one’s own vegetables and fruit trees as well. As a result, there is no need for them to buy some of the produce in the market, thus, allowing them to save a few dollars every month. Not only they are able to spare some money out of cultivating their own food, but they are also able to serve fresh and healthy food for the family. On the other hand, as country living offers a cheaper place to live in, it may not provide as many choices to its residents when it comes to entertainment. The city, along with the diverse individuals who have their own ways of keeping up with the busy city life, offers diverse choices in making these people entertained. Small and big events such as gigs and concerts happen almost on a nightly basis. Movie theaters that present classical and modern films are found in almost every corner of the city street. Pubs and restaurants that serve all kinds of beer and liquor from all over the world and serve a variety of good food also showcase local and national artists. They are found close to each other that one can go from any of them to another in just a few steps away. Furthermore, one can simply be entertained for free even when

The physiology of anhydrobiosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The physiology of anhydrobiosis - Essay Example The following critical discussion will detail the process of anhydrobiosis and the means by which organisms affects it within a chemical sense. Further, distinct differentials of this process will be discussed as well as the stages of growth, dormancy, and re-animation that it involves. The process of anhydrobiosis can be briefly defined as a process whereby organisms purge themselves of liquid water and slow respiration to the point of near stasis; as a means of surviving environmentally challenging situations for a very long period of time. As a function of seeking to understand and define this process to a greater degree, the following discussion will represent the ways in which this process takes place within various organisms and describe the chemical changes that facilitate the anhydrobiotic process to begin and to end. One of the most interesting aspects of the evolutionary process has to do with the fact that it is oftentimes currently represented within existing metabolic processes. One of these processes is what is known as â€Å"anhydrobiosis†; or life without water. Whereas the definition that has been given is somewhat flawed, due to the fact that even within organisms that do experience certain degrees of anhydrobiosis – a very small percentage of water is still evident, the process itself allows for a variety of different organisms to adapt and continue to survive environmentally challenging periods of time; periods that are invariably categorized by very low levels of available water (Womersley, 1981). This process in turn allows for the nut, seed, pollen, spore, or nematode to go into a state of dormancy until liquid water returns to its native environment and it can once again begin the process of cell respiration as it had prior to going into anhydrobiosis. As a function of critically analyzing this particular process and discussing some of the compote and molecular

Security of an Organisation and Civil and Criminal Law Essay

Security of an Organisation and Civil and Criminal Law - Essay Example The likelihood of occurrence of the threat posing the risk will determine the need for intervention in the activities within a facility. In other words, Security may be considered assured freedom from poverty or want, precautions taken to ensure against theft, espionage, or a person or thing that secures or guarantees. According to Fischer and Green, (2004, p. 21) "security implies a stable, relatively predictable environment in which an individual or group may pursue its ends without disruption or harm and without fear of such disturbance or injury." These are the primary reasons underlying the widening horizons and increasing scope of the security industry. The security requires manifold diversification of deployment of manpower. Thus, the security industry is a diverse and a specialty industry that has a requirement for both generic and domain-specific skills (Hesse & Smith, 2001; Manunta, 1996) and is a relatively young and emerging discipline, continues to expand (Fischer & Green, 2004). However, this expansion has resulted in limited tertiary education programs and research to determine the knowledge structure of security. Security in a wider sense applied to a polity may be expanded to consider national security and the defense of a nation which is managed and secured through the use of force and control by armed forces. The power to control is exercised through laws to control a state's citizens and aliens. Security necessarily implies policing of a public which includes citizens and aliens with the aid of the armed forces, state police armed with various civil and criminal laws. It is also considered useful in the prevention of crime, risk management or loss prevention. This diversity results in a society that has no clear understanding of what security is, but has the divergence of interests from many stakeholders. A traditional definition of security is the provision of private services in the protection of people, information and assets for individual safety or community wellness (Craighead, 2003). Thus more and more business and commercial establishments are bending towards increased security services in preventing undesirable, unauthorized or detrimental loss of an organizations assets. But security may present very different meaning to different people given time, place and context. It has been suggested that security has to have a shared definition among many disciplines, that this is essential and urgent (Manunta, 1996) This is more so in view of the fact that current international fight against terrorism and related threats has given the security a new meaning and dimension encouraging the scholars to study the subject with diverse perspectives, in national, domestic and international fields. The security to the organization can be studied from two perspectives. Traditionally, the security threat perception of a business organization has been different from the security threat perception of a country.

Marketing online forum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing online forum - Assignment Example Student’s reply: E-marketing will truly affect consumer perceptions of privacy and security. As technology continues to improve over the years, methods of advertising will advance as well. Companies will always match up with other companies, trying to attract as many consumers as they can. All the popular websites feature internet marketing; search engines, online forums and communities such as My Space and Facebook, and company websites. On online communities such as Facebook, ads pop up that match up with ones interests that may be displayed in their profile. This is another advancement companies have made to promote themselves. It is controversial because information in someones account has been made available to online companies in promoting themselves. This happens all over the internet, yet people still continue to use the internet because it is quick and easy, and often times, requires little work. E-marketing has kept up with the consumer. Marketing has gone from paper , to graphic, to electronic, and with the help of the internet, international. Marketers used pop-up ads to get a users attention which the consumers disliked. Now they fill the sides of pages while users surf the internet. Marketers have offered online newsletters to users on many sites. This is one method I believe has worked. Companies ask a user if they would like to join a news letter, and they receive these letters only if they agree. This way, if they are not interested in the company, they will not be bothered. This was one approach marketers used that I felt worked and respected peoples privacy. Response: I agree with the above statement. E-marketing has come to stay and unless a major obstacle or glitch like the Y2K scare interrupts the internet connectivity, which is most unlikely, companies will continue to develop new strategies to sell their products on the internet. However, this will happen only in the tech savvy developed world. Other

Saudi Arabia Cultural Profile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Saudi Arabia Cultural Profile - Research Paper Example Cold war is used to refer to the short-lived association that cropped up between USA and USSR following World War Two from 1945 to 1980 (Gerdes 98). Many people found increasing weapons of mass destruction to be of great concern. Additionally, no side did fight with the other. However, they fought for their beliefs through client states that fought for their beliefs for their sake, for example, South Vietnam was anticommunist and had supply from America during the war whereas North Vietnam was a communist supporter and fought the south inclusive of the Americans using the weapons from communist China or communist Russia (Heinzig 202). Within Afghanistan, rebel Afghans were supplied by Americans after Soviet Union invading in 1979 though they did not involve themselves physically thus evading a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union. Logics can show that because the USSR and USA fought allies in World War Two, their association following the war would be more firm and friendlier. This is something that never came to be, and any impression that the two powers remained friendly at war time sounds more of an illusion (Bjornlund 56). Prior to the war, America did depict the Soviet Union as a devil incarnate and the union had also depicted America in the selfsame manner meaning that the alleged friendship during the war was based on the common enemy Nazi Germany (Slugget 117). Paton in his statement mentioned that he was of the opinion that the Allied army unites with the survivors in Wehrmacht, in 1945, employ the military genius inside it and battle against the then Soviet Red Army. Churchill was personally furious about Eisenhower accepting that the Army would be the first team entering Benin before the Allied Army. Sharing in his anger were certain senior military figures like Montgomery. Therefore, the great level of distrust present at war time was obviously present prior to the end of the war. Joseph Stalian, the

SS310 unit 6 Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SS310 unit 6 Assignment - Research Paper Example the single most potent and important step on the part of the women to win for themselves equal political, social, civil and moral rights (Dunlop, 1998, p. 246). The very fact that this convention was actually held, imbued the hitherto scattered women’s rights groups in the United States with the faith and the confidence that women were not only capable of politically organizing themselves, but were also capable of articulating their rational in an organized and forceful manner (Dunlop, 1998). The reverberations of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention could well be felt in the drafting and ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, representing the fructification of the political and social momentum unleashed by the Seneca Falls Convention. Hence, there is no denying the fact that the first Women’s Rights Convention of 1848 in a way constitutes the chronological and ideological epicenter of the Women’s Rights Movement right from its dawn to the present day. It repres ents a first socially and politically organized and symbolic dissent on the part of the women, against the hitherto existing system that denied to them the very basic civil, political and economic rights. It was the 1848 Convention that initiated a debate on the issue of women’s right and other related issues. This also needs to be mentioned that many of the women activists being actively engaged in the abolition movement, were for the first time able to unequivocally express their disenchantment with a society that extended to them less than equal rights and that too with a grudge. Hence, the First National Women’s Rights convention at Worcester in 1850, tends to be a worthy follower to the 1848 Convention, which intended to be a litmus test on the part of its organizers, to test if Women’s Rights Movement could accrue support from varied sections of the American society and whether the time was right for initiating and organizing this struggle. In that sense, the First Women’s Rights

Interactive Simulation Paper Essay Example for Free

Interactive Simulation Paper Essay Workplace discrimination can be reflected in many ways, gender, age group, race, nationality or disability and can have legal and fiscal consequence for a company (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are some of the laws and regulations that make discrimination unlawful in the conditions and terms of job, for example hiring, evaluation, and promotion. Its important for administrators to identify different types of discrimination and defend against employees in the place of work (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). The measures a company may have the appropriate adjustments for employees with disabilities, or those with a known drug abuse problem, the employees with a known drug abuse problem, the companies must have an arrangement on announcing a pre-employment in addition to a post-employment alcohol and drug test. An employee with a drug abuse issue may be in the company code of breach. The company can offer technique to re-employ the employee in matters of rehabilitation status is complete. Alternatively if the employee has an alcohol abuse the company should inform the employee of internal or external counseling aid or treatment (UOP, 2014). The alternatives for the employee are termination, counseling or therapy, or warning. These solutions can benefit the employee and employer. As for disable persons applying for a job, there is The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) employment agencies, labor unions, and joint labor-management committees (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). Executive agencies of the United States government are exempt from the ADA, but these agencies are covered instead by similar nondiscrimination requirements and additional affirmative employment requirements under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). The challenges may include inaccessible equipment or amenities or perhaps a procedures or regulations should meet the criteria. Good accommodating dismisses these challenges for a disabled employee. This where the ADA brings in companies to establish accommodations for their disabled employees, . Therefore, they appreciate the privileges and benefits of the  employment. Factors according to perso nality, attitude toward work, and future upward mobility should be considered when hiring. A candidates goal-settings, work attitudes, and, are considered elements that justify the process of employment. These characteristics are essential and effective to the companies modern office environments. In addition, applicants may believe a possible discrimination towards themselves regarding the company but it is not the case in the hiring process. The two applicants selected were a female and Judaic. The female employee made accusations of sexual harassment regarding two co-workers in her work group and had assumptions of her manager behavior was unjust when evaluating her work performance concerning the reported accusations. The issue should examine thoroughly, and companies indeed react with the professional manner in this sort of conduct to remain clear of any sexual harassment. The Judaic employee reported of his religious beliefs on the project given to him by a manager regarding the advertisement of a meat product. This was altered for the employee regarding religious af filiation but costly. This cases that have arisen with the two candidates selected had legal advice from the company Legal Counselor for HHP. Her choices include credentials and abilities for the workplace; not sex, impairment of faith, and not race. The company president concerns with a female employee working in the surroundings of a white male environment and Manager, the Executive Director uncertainty of employees support of African-American rights in addition to feminist status. These characteristics should not be an interest of concern in the hiring process (UOP, 2014). Title VII is a federal government law and a work contract, verbal or written and should comply with the laws and regulations of the job. Title VII may bypass the job atmosphere and conditions specified in a written job agreement between a company and worker. The job contract wont bypass Title VII; but, Title VII will bypass the contract. Before Title VII, the company could employ and terminate an employee for any given reason. Title VII forbids discrimination in employing, firing, coaching, promotion, discipline or any other office decisions. (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cover all private employers, state and local governments, and education institutions which use fifteen or over persons (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). A work agreement doesnt permit or  legalize any action of discrimination t hat is covered by Title VII. Title VII overrode the job atmosphere and office conditions (Bennett-Alexander Hartman, 2007). Religious values should be accommodated with a good faith effort by the company (UOP, 2014). Moreover, the Executive Director was worried about the employee having the ability to travel to deal with customers; however he is a protected under the rules of ADA. With the introduction of the latest technology could allow the specific employee to able to teleconferences or net conferences with customers and still meet his job conditions (UOP, 2014). Reference Bennett- Alexander, D. D., Hartman, L. P. (2007). Employment law for business (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. UOP. (2014). Simulations: Preventing Workplace Discrimination [Multimedia]. Retrieved from UOP, MGT/434 website.

Microbial Analysis of Soil Essay Example for Free

Microbial Analysis of Soil Essay Abstract: soil samples were collected fortnightly from area near Dahisar River, A river in suburb of Mumbai. laboratory analysis started from July 2010 to September 2010. Total bacterial and fungal count were estimated by standard spread plate isolation. Isolated bacteria were subject to colony characterization and were estimated by their morphological and biochemical characters. As being a monsoon the occurrence of variation of different species were high. The microorganisms isolated from the soil were of staphylococcus strain and were gram positive, aerobic, coccus shaped bacteria. The fungal species were also identified, of which Aspergillus and Penicillium were dominant, followed by mucur, as sub dominant .This project aims to find out the water and soil quality of River and as it is flowing through an industrial area, to find out if it is getting affected by the Industrial pollutants. Introduction: Soil is the region on the earth’s crust where geology and biology meet, the land surface that provides a home to plant animal and microbial life (Pelczar et al., 1993). Soil teems with microscopic life (bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa and viruses) as well as macroscopic life such as earthworms, nematodes, mites, and insects, and also the root systems of plants. The numbers and kinds of micro- organisms present in soil depend on many environmental factors: amount and type of nutrients available, available moisture, degree of aeration, pH, temperature etc (Prescott et al., 1999). Soil bacteria and fungi play pivotal roles in various biochemical cycles and are responsible for the recycling of organic compounds (Wall and Virginia, 1999). Soil microorganisms also influence above- ground ecosystems by contributing to plant nutrition, plant health, soil structure and soil fertility (O’Donnell et al., 2001). Soil is generally a favorable habitat for the proliferation of microorganisms, with micro colonies, developing around soil particles. Numbers of micro organism . In soil habitats normally are much higher than those in fresh water or marine habitats (Atals and Bartha, 1998). Bacteria make up the most abundant group of micro- organisms in the soil (3.0 x 106 – 5.0 x 108) per gram of soil, followed by the actinomycetes (1.0 x 106 – 2.0 x 107), fungi (5.0 x 103 – 9.0 x 106), yeast (I.0 x 103 – 1.0 x 106), algae and protozoa (1.0 x 103- 5.0 x 105) and nematodes (50 – 200) counts per gram of soil are wide differences in the relative proportions of individual bacteria genera found in particular soils (Atals and Bartha, 1998). Soil fungi may occur as free-living organisms or in mycorrhizal association with plant roots. Fungi are found primarily in the top 10 cm of the soil and are rarely found below 30 cm. They are most abundant in well-aerated and acidic soils (Domsch et al., 1980). Most fungi in soil are opportunistic (zymogenous). They grow and carry out active metabolism when conditions are favorable which implies adequate moisture, adequate aeration and relatively high concentrations of utilizable substrates (Postage, 1994; Miyanoto et al., 2002). In this research we isolate culturable heterotrophic bacteria and fungi from different top soil samples MATERIALS AND METHODS Laboratory analysis Preparation of materials The materials needed for this experiment include; glass wares (conical flasks, bijou bottles, pipettes, petri-dishes) and they were washed with detergents. These glass wares were rinsed thoroughly with clean distilled portable water and left to air dry before sterilizing them in the autoclave at 15ââ€" ¦C for 1 hour. Also, the laboratory cabinets on which the work would be carried out was swabbed with cotton wool soaked in methylated spirit to sterilize it before any microbiological analysis was carried out to avoid the growth and isolation of other organisms not present in the samples. After sterilization, the plates were allowed to cool to about 45 degrees before they were used. Microbiological evaluation Ten (10) grams of the soil sample for microbiological evaluation was weighed into 9ml of sterile water. Preparation of serial dilution goes thus: 1ml of the original stocks solution was poured into 9ml sterile distilled water and mixed thoroughly to give 10-2 of the original sample and this was done for each sample and the bottles labeled according to date of collection Isolation and Enumeration of Micro-organisms. 1gram of the samples was homogenized in 9mls of distilled water to obtain a ratio of 1:9 and the second diluted of each sample was plated using the pour plate technique. Sterile molten nutrient agar (NA), potato dextrose agar (PDA), macconky’s agar,(MA) manitol salt agar (MSA) and deoxycholate astrate agar (DCA) were used{the potato dextrose agar (PDA) was acidified). These agars were then added and left to solidify undisturbed. These plates were incubated 37oC for 24hours (incubation was aerobic) and the procedure was repeated using 10-2 finally the number of colonies per plates were counted and recorded. The acidified PDA was incubated at 25C for 3-7 days for microbial growth. Total Bacterial counts (Cfu/g) The total bacteria count for each sample was determined with the pour plate techniques using nutrient agar. The plates were incubated between 24hours at 370C and all colonies appearing on the end of the incubation period were counted using digital unlimited colony counter and the counts were expressed in colony forming unit per gram {CFU/g} of the sample. Colonies of bacteria developing on the plates were observed, isolated and reisolated on a fresh media until pure culture was obtained. Preparation of Pure Culture It is necessary to isolate organisms in pure culture before studying and identifying them because a pure culture originates from one cell. Characteristics colonies from the original culture on the plates were picked with a sterile wire loop (using surface streaking method) and this loop was used to make streak of the colony on the surface of newly prepared sterile agar plates of NA,MA MSA. These streak will space out the inoculants and discrete colony of a particular specie of organism and then incubated at 35-37oC for 24hours to enhance microbial growth. Distinct colonies were re-inoculated on another fresh agar plates in order to obtain a pure culture. The isolates were picked with sterile loop and streaked into prepared agar slants, labeled and incubated for growth after which they were kept in the refrigerator for future use and identification. Identification of Isolates These isolated bacteria were identified using both morphological culture characteristics (i.e. the color, shape, elevation, capacity, consistency, edge) and biochemical test (i.e. citrate, oxidase, indole, sugar fermentation, test etc.)and the bacteria were identified based on the results obtained from the above mentioned biochemical characterization results and the procedures include. Grams Staining Techniques A drop of distilled water was placed on a clean glass slide. The inoculating wire loop was sterilized by flaming until it was red hot (this is to prevent the invasion of unwanted micro- organisms that might be inhabiting the wire loop) in the blue flame of a Bunsen burner. The loop was allowed to cool and the small portion of each colony of microorganisms to be gram stained was picked and smeared in the drop of water (distilled) on the glass slide and then spread into a thin smear along the slide. The smear was air dried and passed through the blue flame. The smear was stained with 1%crystal violet and left for 1minutes (60secs) and then washed with running distilled water it was then stained again with Lugols iodine for another 60secs and also washed with running distilled water. The slide was decolorized rapidly with 75% alcohol in order to present the organism from having the color of the primary reagent and it was washed immediately with distilled water. The slide finally was flooded with a counter stain safranine (a secondary stain) for 60secons and also washed off with distilled water and allow to air dry. The slide was covered with a cover slide and observed under the microscope using oil immersion x 100 objective lens with immersion oil. The gram reaction of the isolated arrangement and the shape of the cell were observed and recorded. Gram positive (+ve) bacterial were characterized by a purple color (i.e. the primary stain) while the gram negative (-ve) bacteria were characterized by red color (i.e. the secondary stain) .This procedure is actually used to ascertain the component of each organisms cell wall. Motility Motility was determined by hanging drop techniques. Using loop, a little part of the colony of the organisms were grown in peptone water for 18hours and then placed in the grease free slide and covered with a Vaseline bound cover slip and then observed under x100 objective lens. A motile organism is then seen moving in the drop of liquid. Identification Of Mold Isolates Mold isolated was identified using cultural and morphological characteristics and according to (Fawole and Oso, 2001), microscopic observation was carried out using lacto phenol blue stain. Procedure for Mold Staining A drop of lacto phenol blue stain was dropped on a clean grease free sterilized glass slide and after this a sterile inoculating wire loop was used to pick the mycelium unto the glass slide from the mold culture .The mycelium was spread evenly on the slide. Teasing was carried out to separate the mycelium in order to get a homogenous mixture and the mixture was then covered with cover slips gently and then allowed to stay for some seconds before observing under x40 under the microscope. The microscope examination of actively growing mold was on the basis of structures bearing spores, presence or absence of septate. BIOCHEMICAL TESTS Catalase Test Catalase test demonstrates the presence of catalase enzyme by aerobic microorganisms. Catalase is an enzyme that catalysis the release of oxygen from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). To test for catalase, a drop of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution was added to a slide and the organism to be tested for catalase production is brought in contact with the hydrogen peroxide. The production of gas bubbles however indicates a positive reaction and this shows that catalase enzyme is produced.(FawoleOso, 2001) Oxidase test This was carried out by placing a clean filter paper on the working bench or petri dishes and 2-3 drops of freshly prepared oxidase reagent was added to the isolate using a sterile inoculating wire loop. After this, a few quantity of oxidase reagent was added and a purple coloration was observed within 10-15minutes which indicated that the organisms is oxidase positive and according to Olutiola et al, 1991, a positive reaction is dependent on the presence of cytochrome. This test is also useful for the separation of Neisseria in mixed culture and in differentiating Pseudomonas from enteric bacteria. Indole test Olutiola et al, 1991, describes the test as one which is important in the differentiation of colonies and it depends on the production of indole from tryptophan by the organism. An inoculating loop was used to inoculate the organism into a test tube containing decarboxylase medium becomes violet. An uninoculated test tube serves as a control (i.e. remained yellow) Sugar fermentation test The ability of the isolates to utilize certain sugar as energy source was tested. If the organism does ferment a particular sugar, acid will be produced and gas may be produced or not. Acid production is indicated by color change of the medium from red to yellow and acid presence could also be detectable with a ph. indicator in the medium while the production of gas is indicated by a void produced in a Durham tube. The fermentation medium was prepared by 0.1g of sodium chloride and 0.1g of fermentable sugar (glucose) in 10ml of distilled water. An amount of 9ml of the medium was pipette into a test tube containing Durham’s tubes in replicates. 5ml of phenol red indicator was immediately discharged into the test tubes. The test tubes containing medium were sterilized in an autoclave at 121 o for 15minutes.After sterilization, each isolate were incubated in glucose Medium. An uninoculated test tube was also incubated for glucose to serve as a control. The test was also carried out using maltose, lactose, galactose, manitol, sucrose, fructose and mannose.(Olutiolaet al., 1991) Discussion: The abundance of bacteria and fungi in this study were typical of environment with high species richness and functional diversity. Despite the fact that it is possible that a number of bacteria and fungi may be missed in this study, the isolates could be readily assigned dominant (e.g. Bacillus sp, Aspergillus sp) or transient/succession roles in the isolation of organisms form different seasons, which form the basis of this study. In additions to the implications of the determination of the number of microorganisms during soil sampling, one should consider the qualitative aspect of the preservation of important species and groups of microorganisms and of the changes in these biochemical characteristics resulting from the variations in these counts. Although the results of this study would not be considered to be exhaustive, as it was done within the limits of facilities available in the laboratory, an insight into the population dynamics and distribution of culturable aerobic bacteria and fungi diversity has been elucidated. This is without prejudice to the possible influence which a substantial proportion of bacteria and fungi that are not culturable in vitro could have on the overall picture of event. It would require more modern technology (nuclei acid probes) to obtain such detailed overview of microbial diversity. This should be a subject of extension of this investigation in future. Conclusion Through this project, if emphasis is made on public health, the observation and findings show striking predominance of Salmonella typhi. And E.coli. E.coli being an enterobacter cause dysentery and S.typhi poses a great risk of typhoid. Health inspector and municipal authorities should look into this matter for further investigation and if possible improvement Acknowledgement Investigators are grateful to the Principal Management of S.V.K.M’s Mithibai College for constant encouragement support. And head of department of zoology Prof. V.V. Dalvie for providing me opportunities and Prof. Radhika D’souza, under whose guidance the project was successfully completed References 1 .Atals RM, Bartha R (1998). Microbial Ecology: Fundamentals and Applications. 4th Edition. Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company Inc. Addison Wesley Longman Inc. pp. 300 – 350. 2. Miyanoto T, Igaraslic T, Takahashi K (2002). Lignin–degradation ability of litter decomposing basidomycetes from picea forest of Hokkaida Myco.sci. (41): 105 – 110. 3. Domsch KH, Gaws W, Anderson TH (1980). Compendium of soil fungi 4. O’ Donnell AG, Seasman M, Macrae A, Waite I, Davies JT (2001). Plants and Fertilizers as drivers of change in microbial community structure and function in soil. Plant Soil (232): 135 – 145. 5. Pelczar MJ, Chan ECS, krieg NR (1993). Microbiology: Concept and Application International edition McGraw-Hill, USA. Pp 281-324. 6. Wall DH, Virginia RA (1999). Controls on soil biodiversity insights from extreme environments. Appl. Soil Ecol. (13): 137–150. 7. Fawole and Oso, 2001

Carbon Nonmaterial From Non-renewable Oil Resource Synthesis

Carbon Nonmaterial From Non-renewable Oil Resource Synthesis Synthesis and characterization of carbon nonmaterial from non-renewable oil resources by catalytic CVD Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nano materials that obtain amazing properties, which find effectiveness in wide applications such as gas storage, sensor, catalyst, drug delivery system, and solar cell (Chen et al., 2012; Schnorr Swager, 2011). Carbon nanotube has been discovered by Iijima in 1991 (Iijima, 1991). Then Iijima found that Carbon nanotube exist in two structures single-walled (SWNTs) and multi-walled (MWNTs) carbon nanotube (Iijima Ichihashi, 1993). Typically multi-walled carbon nanotube typeset of joined single-walled carbon nanotube. General CNT’s synthesis methods include arc discharge, laser ablation, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). These methods share the same principles: either carbon atoms determined from solid carbon sources (such as graphite rods used in arc discharge and laser ablation methods) or carbon-bearing gases (such as hydrocarbons, CO, and volatile solvents in the CVD method). Among these, CVD is the most convenient method to grow all kinds of CNTs and the best choice to produce large amount of CNTs at relatively low cost and with mild growth conditions(Prasek et al., 2011). In chemical vapor deposition, energy is donated to hydrocarbons to break them into reactive radical objects in the temperature range approximately from 500-800 °C, sometimes more. These reactive species diffuse down to a catalyst surface where they remain bonded. As a result, CNTs are formed. The commonly used energy source is resistive heating(Magrez et al., 2010). It is quite clear a few years ago that the effective catalysts for CNTs synthesis are Fe, Co, Ni and their alloys. These catalysts can Growth CNTs in three steps according to Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism: Firstly, a gas precursor produces carbons which adsorb and dissociate on the surface of the catalyst particles to form elementary carbon atoms. Secondly, the carbon atoms dissolve in the mass of the nanoparticles to form liquid metastable carbide and diffuse within the particles. Lastly, solid carbons precipitate at the outer side of the nanoparticles to form carbon nanotubes. Problem statements Carbon nanotube is one of the most hopeful candidates among all the nanoforms of carbon. However, all the carbon based nanomaterials are synthesized using carbon precursors derived from petroleum sources. It is the required to develop and design techniques that have used waste oils to minimize depletion of petroleum. Few waste oil based precursors have already been successfully used to synthesize multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) via various techniques. Among them CVD seems to be most appropriate. A CVD system with provision for controlling the input parameters through suitable mechanism is employed for this. In other hand, it may be noted that non renewable precursors consist of a mixture of a number of hydrocarbon molecules. This makes the optimization process for synthesis of CNTs from non renewable precursors highly demanding. The optimization process is complemented by characterization of the CNTs synthesized under different conditions. Characterization of CNTs helps in ascert aining identification of their uniqueness and suitability to different applications. It is expected that only a few of them will satisfy the requirements for a particular application. One of the main targets of the project is to demonstrate the applicability of these CNTs synthesized from waste oil precursors for functionalization technique to be suitable for numerous applications. Objective Considering the environmental effects and depletion petroleum product sources, our efforts will direct to receive waste engine oil and use it for synthesis carbon nanotubes. Therefore, as a first step, it is attempted to design easy and suitable laboratory refining process for waste engine oil to receive quantity of fractions. This outlines the first objective of the project. The second objective is that anticipate utilizing CNTs from the selected waste engine oil precursors. The third objective of the project is to optimize the CNTs synthesis parameters such as; temperature, flow rate, precursor type used, and catalysis type. The fourth objective is presenting a thermodynamic study for CNTs. The final objective of the thesis is to demonstrate the ability of MWCNTs synthesized from waste oil precursors for functionalization and study its dispersion in appropriate liquids. Literature review Liquefied petroleum gas, has been employed as carbon source to produce CNT arrays on ceramic spherical surface in the floating catalyst process into two-stage furnace. Good alignment of CNT has been obtained and the purity is as high as 97.5%. Through controlling the growth temperature, CNTs in aligned form with diameter approximately of 13 nm have been gained. As a result, from synthesize industrial fuel as a carbon source and the ceramic substrate, CNT arrays can be easily produced with large scale and at low cost(Zhang et al., 2007). Multi walled carbon nanotubes were utilized by spray pyrolysis of biodiesel oil which prepared from Jatropha curcas over Fe/Co/Mo catalyst which supported on either silica or alumina. Synthesized MWNTs have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectroscopy suggested that the MWNTs were well graphitized. In addition, abundant MWNTs have been utilized by catalyst which supported on silica nanoparticles(Karthikeyan Mahalingam, 2010). Carbon nanotubes were synthesized from heavy petroleum fractions such as Light diesel Oil (L.D.O.) and furnace Oil (F.O.) by modified chemical vapour deposition method and characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. In this search a locally reactor has been designed for the synthesis and collection of soot from the petroleum material. Then, the soot collected is purified by sohxlet extraction apparatus. After that, the purified CNTs are oxidized with diluted nitric acid. The utilized CNTs have been dispersed in different solvents. Then, the dispersed stability has been analyzed at different temperature and results demonstrates that it is highly disperses in distilled water and acetone in compared to ethanol and methanol. Result shows SWCNTs having approximately 70nm in term of F.O and 90nm in term of L.D.O (Jagdeep et al., 2011). Single walled carbon nanotubes were utilized by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using heavy oil residue as carbon source. Different kinds of metals as catalysts including transition metals (Fe, Co and Ni) and nonmagnetic metals (Au and Pt) are used in the growth of SWNTs. The morphology and structure of the synthesized SWNTs products have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that it is possible to synthesize high quality SWNTs by a CVD method with inexpensive heavy oil residue as the starting material. The diameter distribution of as-grown SWNTs strongly depends on the type of catalysts. It is found that SWNTs grown from transition metals (Fe, Co and Ni) have smaller diameter compared to that of SWNTs synthesized from nonmagnetic catalysts (Au, Pt). This result demonstrates the feasibility of controlling the SWNT diameters by selecting the catalysts. Mor eover, it is found that the reaction temperature is the key factor that affects the formation of SWNTs from oil residue. In our case, the growth mechanism of SWNTs is considered to be different from that of SWNTs synthesized from conventional carbon source (Li et al., 2012). Quasi aligned carbon nanotubes have been synthesized for using waste engine oil (WEO) as the carbon source by thermal chemical vapour deposition. The rich carbon content of WEO was supposed to endorse the growth of the quasi aligned CNTs. Synthesis process has been carried out at temperature of 500 and 570  °C for precursor and CNTs synthesis, respectively, a ferrocene catalyst concentration was 17.99 wt%. Synthesized CNTs have been characterized by energy dispersive X-Ray, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and micro Raman spectroscopy. The ability of CNT samples for emitting electrons has been examined by field electron emission (FEE) analysis. Both Electron microscopy and micro Raman analysis exposed a dense mixture of quasi aligned SWNTs and MWNTs with a moderate ID/IG ratio of 0.90(Suriani et al., 2015). Hypothesis In this project, we hypothesize that malty walled carbon nanotubes can be practically formed by using waste engine oil as non-renewable source. Catalytic CVD will be installed since it is currently considered as the most adaptable and affordable method for growing carbon nanotubes especially with high molecular weight hydrocarbons. Waste engine oil can be used directly into CVD, but it will produce carbon nano materials, which means many impurities such as amorphous carbon, nano fiber, and graphite. Thus, we can use re-refine the waste engine oil process at laboratory to receive many hydrocarbon products and use them as a carbon sources. References Chen, T., Qiu, L., Cai, Z., Gong, F., Yang, Z., Wang, Z., Peng, H. (2012). Intertwined aligned carbon nanotube fiber based dye-sensitized solar cells. Nano Lett, 12(5), 2568-2572. doi: 10.1021/nl300799d Iijima, S. (1991). Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon. Nature, 354, 56 58. Iijima, S., Ichihashi, T. (1993). Single-Shell Carbon Nanotubes of 1-nm Diameter. Nature, 363(6430), 603-605. Jagdeep, S., N.C., K., Deepak, P. (2011). Synthesis of Highly Dispersed Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Furnace Oil and Light Diesel Oil by Modified Chemical Vapour Deposition Method. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Science, 3(2), 15-20. Karthikeyan, S., Mahalingam, P. (2010). Synthesis and Characterization of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Biodiesel Oil: Green Nanotechnology Route. International Journal of Green Nanotechnology: Physics and Chemistry, 2(2), 39-46. Li, Y., Wang, H., Wang, G., Gao, J. (2012). Synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes from heavy oil residue. Chemical Engineering Journal, 211-212, 255-259. doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2012.09.031 Magrez, A., Seo, J. W., Smajda, R., MioniĆ¡, M., Forrà ³, L. (2010). Catalytic CVD Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes: Towards High Yield and Low Temperature Growth. Materials, 3(11), 4871-4891. doi: 10.3390/ma3114871 Prasek, J., Drbohlavova, J., Chomoucka, J., Hubalek, J., Jasek, O., Adam, V., Kizek, R. (2011). Methods for carbon nanotubes synthesis—review. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21(40), 15872. doi: 10.1039/c1jm12254a Schnorr, J. M., Swager, T. M. (2011). Emerging Applications of Carbon Nanotubes† . Chemistry of Materials, 23(3), 646-657. doi: 10.1021/cm102406h Suriani, A. B., Alfarisa, S., Mohamed, A., Isa, I. M., Kamari, A., Hashim, N., . . . Rusop, M. (2015). Quasi-aligned carbon nanotubes synthesised from waste engine oil. Materials Letters, 139, 220-223. doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2014.10.046 Zhang, Q., Huang, J., Wei, F., Xu, G., Wang, Y., Qian, W., Wang, D. (2007). Large scale production of carbon nanotube arrays on the sphere surface from liquefied petroleum gas at low cost. Chinese Science Bulletin, 52(21), 2896-2902. doi: 10.1007/s11434-007-0458-8

The Truth about Cosmetic Surgery Essay -- Health Beauty Medicine

The Truth about Cosmetic Surgery Cosmetic surgery has become one of the most popular trends in America today. Whether you are reading a magazine, watching the news, or a television program, you are likely to see something about cosmetic surgery. Within the past year, there have been several television programs dedicated to people â€Å"bettering† themselves through body augmenting surgeries. Millions of people undergo risky surgery every year simply to improve or enhance a feature or body part. While the results may seem foolproof and glamorous, it is actually a very risky procedure. With the airing of shows such as â€Å"Extreme Makeover†, MTV’s â€Å"I Want a Famous Face†, and Fox’s show â€Å"The Swan†, cosmetic surgery has become a normal part of American life. With programs like these contributing to the overwhelming popularity of cosmetic surgery, the number of people having these surgeries has greatly increased. According the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 8.7 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2003 (Procedural Statistics). This is an increase of 32 percent, up from around 6.6 million procedures performed in 2002. These numbers are simply cosmetic surgical procedures, people who have elected to have surgery to improve their features, and do not include reconstructive or necessary plastic surgery. Eighty-two percent of the people who have cosmetic surgery are women. The most popular procedures are nose-jobs, followed by liposuction, then breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, and finall y facelifts. Patients are also becoming younger. While the age group having the most surgeries is 35 to 50, 19 to 34 year olds now make up 26 percent of the group. The most popular surgery amongst this younger group ... ...ember that like everything else in life, it is in no way foolproof. Works Cited â€Å"Procedures at a Glance.† American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/procedures/Cosmetic PlasticSurgery.cfm> â€Å"Gel Bleed- Breast Augmentation Risk and Complication.† Just breast implants.com. 2001. http:// www.justbreastimplants.com/risks/gel_bleed.htm> â€Å"New Study Finds No Link Between Breast Implants and Immune-Related Disorder.† Imaginis.com. 3 April 2001. â€Å"Cosmetic Surgery and Procedures.† WebMD Health. 23 Sept 2004. http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/aa64119.asp?z=4209_00000_8002_to_01 â€Å"Procedural Statistics Press Kit.† American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news_room/Procedural-Statistics-Press-Kit-Index.cfm>

Piaget and Vygotsky: The Psychology of Cognitive Development Essay

This essay concerns the psychology of cognitive development. Cognitive development can be explained in terms of the acquisition, construction and progressive change in thought processes such as memory, problem-solving and decision-making that occurs from childhood to adulthood (in Smith, P.K., Cowie, H & Blades, M. 2003). Major pioneers in this area and whose work has been the foundation of much research in cognitive psychology are among Jean Piaget’s (1926) and Lev Vygotksy’s (1978). A common understanding between the two rest on the idea that cognitive development in children occurs through stages, however, their approach in identifying these stages highly differ (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). Piaget’s account of cognitive development has been one of the many influential theories of time, receiving great recognition and popularity. According to Piaget children possess an innate capacity to learn human language and skills and are born with and acquire schemas (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). Schemas are an internal representation of our surroundings which construct of a framework of cognitive processes that help us organise or interpret situations formal (in Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. 2009). Piaget proposed that cognitive development was restricted if schemas did not reach a threshold level (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). In addition, Piaget further theorised that children actively construct their own world as a means of understanding their environment. The more actively engaged a child is with their environment, the more they will learn (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). Along with this, Piaget contended that children need to be psychologically mature in order to understand the world a... ...ialisation (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). Moreover, Siegler, (1986 in Passer, M. et al., 2009) argued that Piaget’s stages seemed to be incompatible with reality claiming that children are able to perform tasks that are ascribed to a specific stage in a different stage therefore not being consistent with Piaget’s assumptions. In conclusion, it is evident that both Piaget and Vygotsky acknowledge cognitive development in children as a process and view the child as an active learner. However, it is important that we distinguish between their different stages of development. Works Cited Smith, P.K., Cowie, H. & Baldes, M. (2003). Understanding children’s development. (4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell. Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.

The Cranes :: Literary Analysis, Peter Meinke

â€Å"The Cranes† by Peter Meinke appears to be a simple love story about an old couple reminiscing about their life, but with a closer look the story reveals a darker component of love. The story follows an old couple’s stop at the Gulf to watch some birds. While they are watching the birds they spot two whooping cranes. Throughout their conversation and observation of the birds Meinke reveals details that the couples and the cranes share in common. Thus, the pair of whooping cranes viewed by the couple in story symbolizes both their rarity, eternal love, and their last moments together. The couple in the story is a couple that has been together a long time and persevered through life together. When they first see the whooping cranes the husband says â€Å"they are rare, not many left† (196). This is the point in the story where the first connection between the couple and the cranes are made. The rarity of the cranes symbolizes the rarity of the couple’s relationship. Although they have started developing anomalies in their health, with the husband he â€Å"can’t smoke, can’t drink martinis, no coffee, no candy† (197)  ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€they are still able to laugh with each other and appreciate nature’s beauty. Their relationship is a true oddity; filled with lasting love. However this lasting love for whooping cranes has caused some problems for the species. The whooping cranes are â€Å"almost extinct†; this reveals a problem of the couple. The rare love that they have is almost extinct as well. The wife worries about her children because the â€Å"kids never write† (197). This reveals the communication gap between the two generations, as well as the different values between the generations. These different values are a factor into the extinction of true love. Another similarity between the whooping cranes and the couple is true, lasting love. The whooping cranes â€Å"mate for life and live a long time† (197), which is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. The commitment the cranes have with each other mirrors the couples commitment to each other; having remained with each other through all those years. Even with hardships in the relationships, they endured and stayed together while some couples may have given up on the relationship. Although their love has endured through many years, it has come to an end in the story. All throughout the story the couple is reminiscing about their life and while they are there are some odd details that are strewn throughout. The Cranes :: Literary Analysis, Peter Meinke â€Å"The Cranes† by Peter Meinke appears to be a simple love story about an old couple reminiscing about their life, but with a closer look the story reveals a darker component of love. The story follows an old couple’s stop at the Gulf to watch some birds. While they are watching the birds they spot two whooping cranes. Throughout their conversation and observation of the birds Meinke reveals details that the couples and the cranes share in common. Thus, the pair of whooping cranes viewed by the couple in story symbolizes both their rarity, eternal love, and their last moments together. The couple in the story is a couple that has been together a long time and persevered through life together. When they first see the whooping cranes the husband says â€Å"they are rare, not many left† (196). This is the point in the story where the first connection between the couple and the cranes are made. The rarity of the cranes symbolizes the rarity of the couple’s relationship. Although they have started developing anomalies in their health, with the husband he â€Å"can’t smoke, can’t drink martinis, no coffee, no candy† (197)  ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€they are still able to laugh with each other and appreciate nature’s beauty. Their relationship is a true oddity; filled with lasting love. However this lasting love for whooping cranes has caused some problems for the species. The whooping cranes are â€Å"almost extinct†; this reveals a problem of the couple. The rare love that they have is almost extinct as well. The wife worries about her children because the â€Å"kids never write† (197). This reveals the communication gap between the two generations, as well as the different values between the generations. These different values are a factor into the extinction of true love. Another similarity between the whooping cranes and the couple is true, lasting love. The whooping cranes â€Å"mate for life and live a long time† (197), which is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. The commitment the cranes have with each other mirrors the couples commitment to each other; having remained with each other through all those years. Even with hardships in the relationships, they endured and stayed together while some couples may have given up on the relationship. Although their love has endured through many years, it has come to an end in the story. All throughout the story the couple is reminiscing about their life and while they are there are some odd details that are strewn throughout.

Patient Confidentiality in the Emergency Department Essay

Confidentiality and privacy are words used interchangeably in the medical world when they have very different meanings. Confidentiality is in line with protection of patient information from unauthorized users and privacy is in line with protection of the patient’s physical body from unauthorized users. In the emergency department (ED) this is a lofty and constant task that requires vigilance from staff, in all departments, involved with the patient. This student will report on the issues with confidentiality in the ED. Describe the issue and the population it affects most. There are many issues with confidentiality in the ED but this student believes that the overcrowding and â€Å"the growth in the subspecialty of Hallway Medicine† (Freeman, 2003, p. 1) is an enormous problem facing emergency department’s (ED’s). Hallway medicine happens when an ED has full rooms and the hallway gets employed as a waiting or staging area for the overflow patients. Emergency room visits by patients are not just for emergencies anymore. The ED is becoming more like an urgent care setting. As more patients cannot pay for the medical care, they need a higher utilization of the ED is happening because the ED cannot refuse to treat a patient. This is causing an influx of patient volume. Because most ED’s have not had the opportunity to rebuild or redesign the patient rooms to single person rooms the use of curtains separating patient’s is still widely used. Some precautions have been instituted by widening the space between beds and using portable dividers there is still an issue with maintaining patient’s confidentiality. Poor division between patients and overcrowding of ED’s can create a sense of no privacy for the necessary communication between patient and provider to happen. Patients will use the ED for a variety of ailments. If the patient feels that they may be overheard by someone other than his or her provider, he or she most likely will withhold medical history or information that the provider would need to help diagnose and treat the current problem. Supporting facts According to Moskop, Marco, Larkin, Geiderman, and Derse (2005), â€Å"Of the 104 patients in the latter study reported that their expectations for privacy in the ED were met, 4 patients (all in curtained treatment areas) reported withholding part of their medical history, refusing part of their examination, or both because of privacy concerns† (Moskop et al 2005, p. 1). When patients believe that someone who is not providing care directly to them can hear the intimate details of his or her medical issue he or she will most likely not share the entirety of the details. If the patient is a celebrity, he or she will not want to share too much information for fear that the ED visit information will be sold or leaked to the press or paparazzi. Possibly, there is a family member with the patient. This person does not need to know the full extent of the patient’s medical issues. These are valid confidentiality concerns that hamper the ability of the ED physician to treat the patient. Ethical and Legal Issues The ethical issues are never-ending when dealing with patients’ confidentiality while in the ED. The emergency department has some slightly different issues to deal with in emergent or trauma situations the need to maintain the patients’ confidentiality are still prevalent. ED physicians have to be wary of several possibilities that can affect the course of an ED visit. The safety of patients and staff is always a top priority. Depending on mental status, the severity of the injury or illness, placing the patient in a single person room or closer to the nurses’ station may be necessary to maintain safety. Law enforcement officers may need to have access to the patient to get the details of an accident or retrieve evidence. The officers have, in some instances, the ability to access the patients because the transportation to the ED by law enforcement. Protecting the medical record is of high importance. No matter who has access to the patient the medical record must be kept confidential and not laying around for anyone to see. Legal issues around confidentiality can be just as important. Patients can record the actions of the staff in the ED. Smart phones have increased the patient’s or family member’s ability to document what is said and the actions made by the providers. This may help a legal case if the patient has a valid complaint. The facility also has to make the medical record safe and confidential. If the medical record is on paper, then there needs to be restricted access to the area where the records are. If the medical record is electronic, safeguards in the computer programming need to shut down and lock the screen after a short period on inactivity. Managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues In the article, there was no relation to managerial responsibilities. This student believes that education to the staff as regularly as possible is the best way to make sure all staff understand the high level of confidentiality to be maintained in the ED. There should be no compromise when accessing the patients’ medical record. Regular training for the staff will be a big step in the right direction. Reaching out to ancillary departments and outside resource, law enforcement officers, to coordinate the teaching of confidentiality within patient access would also create a unity between the different people who may have access to the patient. Solutions Proposed solutions for maintaining confidentiality in the ED begin with making the patient feel that the space he or she are in during his or her ED visit is an audibly secure. This becomes a challenge for established older ED where curtains are still used to create a privacy barrier. One solution would be to use all individual rooms first, before using the curtained rooms. This removes any confidentiality issues at the beginning of the visit. If only curtained rooms are available space the patients in every other curtained room until it is necessary to start using the rooms in between. Another solution may be to have portable walls that roll into place to give an added layer of sound barrier. â€Å"In an area where multiple patient-staff communications routinely occur, use of cubicles, dividers, shields, curtains, or similar barriers may constitute a reasonable safeguard† (â€Å"Using barriers,† 2002, p. 6). Conclusion In the emergency department, a patient’s visit can be very hectic and have different people discussing the patients care and care needs to be taken to ensure the patient’s confidentiality. The patient needs to feel comfortable to share his or her health history so that the physician can make the best informed decision for the patient’s treatment. The patients’ medical record needs to be kept secure whether in a restricted area or with software that shuts down after not used for a short period. Creating an audibly secure area for the patient will help create a better ED visit for the patient.

X-IT and Kidde Case Study

They depicted an interest in purchasing X-IT; more particularly just intellectual property of their ladder design and X-IT was not closed to the idea. A fear that most companies hold when collaborating with another is of protecting their proprietary technologies. X-IT had this fear as well and applied for a patent. Unfortunately, due to a lack of money and in turn a lack of knowledge power, they were unable to protect their innovation from Kidded. Kidded, with the help of an unethical attorney, worked around X-IT's still processing patent to â€Å"legally' create a similar ladder.Nonetheless, X-IT does hold a fair amount of ammunition against Kidded. Copyright infringement and the breach of confidentiality agreements are the strongest legal claims that X-IT has. Within the confidentiality agreement between these two companies, it clearly states that Kidded would only use the pending patent information to analyze the potential transaction (purchasing X-IT). Additionally, it was agree d upon that the patent information would be kept limited to individuals involved in the transaction and that if X-IT requested the information back, it would have to be returned.Although Kidded had agreed to use X-IT's patent information only to evaluate, they used it for another purpose altogether. With the aid of an outside attorney, they utilized the information to make a change in the ladder's design that could possibly provide Just enough Justification to prove that they were not infringing. In fact, if X-IT had the funds they most likely would have won a case against Kidded. The copyright infringement by Kidded was impossible to miss and, if taken to court, would weigh heavily.At the Hardware Show, Kidded not only displayed but also presented their version of X-IT's ladder to numerous retail representatives (eye-witnesses). The convicting evidence here is that Kidded failed to change the retail box design which evicted Debonairness nephew and sister-in-law. Possibly, this was a way to trick consumers into thinking that it was the same product X-IT was selling. 2. Even though suing Kidded seems like the ethical step to take, there are pros and cons to such action. A pro of suing Kidded is that X-IT has a sufficient amount of documentation and strong testimonies which would likely lead to a win.They could request for eyewitnesses from the Hardware Show to appear in court and testify. This would set a strong basis for and argument that Kidded committed multiple intellectual property infringements against them. In addition, presenting the confidentiality agreement with signatures would lock Kiddies into involvement. Coupling all documentation, witnesses, and claims together would provide enough credence for X-IT to walk away as winners in this case. When their intellectual property was stolen, X-IT was in an unhealthy financial situation.If they had went forth with a case, the influx of funds for the damages caused by Kidded to X-IT could have kept the compa ny better afloat and further away from bankruptcy. Ultimately, if the case opened, X-IT may have the opportunity to win and grow their business further. A win would mean that they do not have to sacrifice the innovation they created. However, the major con is what kept X-IT from suing Kidded originally. Opening a case is very costly and would require for X-IT to pay ridiculous legal fees. According to the article, Kidded had over $2 billion in revenues.They could very easily hire more qualified representatives and pay all other fees. X-IT is cash strapped and could be overrun if they can't acquire the necessary funding. In addition, Kidded would most likely continue its regular business operations as they dealt with their legal matter on the side. On the other hand, X-IT would have to halt production and focus their funds on resolving the case first. In the end, if Kidded wins the case, X-IT would almost definitely go into bankruptcy and lose any sight of their innovation. 3.If I we re Aledo Debarring I would do anything I could to save my business and my innovation. As a first step, I would contact a decent attorney to acquire an analysis of my case. Under full confidentiality, I would share documentation to see if there is any precedence for the problem I am facing. If the attorney seems confident that X-IT has a good chance of winning, I would go forth with my claims. I would take an unorthodox route and ask for help from the general public. On a whole, Americans are not big fans of large corporations.I would go public with X-IT's story on various news channels and asks for donations. X-IT represents the â€Å"American dream† of a small successful business and I think people would flock to support it. The fact that X- IT is in danger of being bulldozed by a larger company and they can't fight back would rally the general American public support. In addition to public support, I would organize a meeting with the investors and board of directors at X-IT . Side's sales would take a blow if the public supported X-IT but the true funds to fight this battle would come from this meeting.I would present all the information and even provide them with the attorneys thoughts to garner support and reach an agreement on the course of action to be taken. A case could be made that the lawsuit, although risky, offered an opportunity of winning. X-IT would be able to punish Kidded for intellectual property infringement. The investors might be willing to support it because of the company's potential. Much like Amazon's stock holders they may iced to invest for long-term future gains. If I were to lose the case but somehow avoid bankruptcy, I would simply move ahead with my business.I would learn from my experience and walk on with a better understanding on how to protect my company's innovations. I would make the investment and hire a person or small team to monitor dealings with other companies. They would be qualified and would have a better und erstanding of when, what, and how to disclose company information. 4. There is not a doubt that both Kidded and Slavonic acted unethically in this matter. Kidded was shady from the start with their actions. From the time they showed interest within X-IT they had bad intentions.At a point in the article, it even stated that Harper, although still desiring to purchase the company, would be Just as happy if Kidded acquired X-IT's ladder innovation in itself. They had recognized it as a dominant design and wanted it any way possible. After having their offer denied, they continued to pursue the design. They even had a Chinese factory recreate the product to the best of their ability, with intentions to override X-IT. Slavonic, much like Kidded had given his word to be a fair middleman and keep all information confidential, which he absolutely did not.When he was approached about the situation after-hand by Vive at a meeting he denied being at fault and claimed that X-IT knew all along t hat he was supporting Kidded. This is obvious proof that Slavonic was a corrupt attorney who was likely paid out by Kidded. This entire case is an unfortunate one. X-IT was a very innovative business with a bright future but couldn't hold their ground due to a lack of money. Kidded was experienced and took advantage of the fact that X-IT did not have a strong team or sense of business practices yet.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 21-23

CHAPTER 21 The Mona Lisa. For an instant, standing in the exit stairwell, Sophie forgot all about trying to leave the Louvre. Her shock over the anagram was matched only by her embarrassment at not having deciphered the message herself. Sophie's expertise in complex cryptanalysis had caused her to overlook simplistic word games, and yet she knew she should have seen it. After all, she was no stranger to anagrams – especially in English. When she was young, often her grandfather would use anagram games to hone her English spelling. Once he had written the English word† planets† and told Sophie that an astonishing sixty-two other English words of varying lengths could be formed using those same letters. Sophie had spent three days with an English dictionary until she found them all. â€Å"I can't imagine,† Langdon said, staring at the printout,† how your grandfather created such an intricate anagram in the minutes before he died.† Sophie knew the explanation, and the realization made her feel even worse. I should have seen this!She now recalled that her grandfather – a wordplay aficionado and art lover – had entertained himself as a young man by creating anagrams of famous works of art. In fact, one of his anagrams had gotten him in trouble once when Sophie was a little girl. While being interviewed by an American art magazine, Sauniere had expressed his distaste for the modernist Cubist movement by noting that Picasso's masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was a perfect anagram of vile meaningless doodles.Picasso fans were not amused. â€Å"My grandfather probably created this Mona Lisa anagram long ago,† Sophie said, glancing up at Langdon. And tonight he was forced to use it as a makeshift code.Her grandfather's voice had called out from beyond with chilling precision. Leonardo Da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!Why his final words to her referenced the famous painting, Sophie had no idea, but she could think of only one possibility. A disturbing one. Those were not his final words†¦ . Was she supposed to visit the Mona Lisa? Had her grandfather left her a message there? The idea seemed perfectly plausible. After all, the famous painting hung in the Salle des Etats – a private viewing chamber accessible only from the Grand Gallery. In fact, Sophie now realized, the doors that opened into the chamber were situated only twenty meters from where her grandfather had been found dead. He easily could have visited the Mona Lisa before he died. Sophie gazed back up the emergency stairwell and felt torn. She knew she should usher Langdon from the museum immediately, and yet instinct urged her to the contrary. As Sophie recalled her first childhood visit to the Denon Wing, she realized that if her grandfather had a secret to tell her, few places on earth made a more apt rendezvous than Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. â€Å"She's just a little bit farther,† her grandfather had whispered, clutching Sophie's tiny hand as he led her through the deserted museum after hours. Sophie was six years old. She felt small and insignificant as she gazed up at the enormous ceilings and down at the dizzying floor. The empty museum frightened her, although she was not about to let her grandfather know that. She set her jaw firmly and let go of his hand. â€Å"Up ahead is the Salle des Etats,† her grandfather said as they approached the Louvre's most famous room. Despite her grandfather's obvious excitement, Sophie wanted to go home. She had seen pictures of the Mona Lisa in books and didn't like it at all. She couldn't understand why everyone made such a fuss. â€Å"C'est ennuyeux,† Sophie grumbled. â€Å"Boring,† he corrected. â€Å"French at school. English at home.† â€Å"Le Louvre, c'est pas chez moi!† she challenged. He gave her a tired laugh. â€Å"Right you are. Then let's speak English just for fun.† Sophie pouted and kept walking. As they entered the Salle des Etats, her eyes scanned the narrow room and settled on the obvious spot of honor – the center of the right-hand wall, where a lone portrait hung behind a protective Plexiglas wall. Her grandfather paused in the doorway and motioned toward the painting. â€Å"Go ahead, Sophie. Not many people get a chance to visit her alone.† Swallowing her apprehension, Sophie moved slowly across the room. After everything she'd heard about the Mona Lisa, she felt as if she were approaching royalty. Arriving in front of the protective Plexiglas, Sophie held her breath and looked up, taking it in all at once. Sophie was not sure what she had expected to feel, but it most certainly was not this. No jolt of amazement. No instant of wonder. The famous face looked as it did in books. She stood in silence for what felt like forever, waiting for something to happen. â€Å"So what do you think?† her grandfather whispered, arriving behind her. â€Å"Beautiful, yes?† â€Å"She's too little.† Sauniere smiled. â€Å"You're little and you're beautiful.† I am not beautiful, she thought. Sophie hated her red hair and freckles, and she was bigger than all the boys in her class. She looked back at the Mona Lisa and shook her head. â€Å"She's even worse than in the books. Her face is†¦ brumeux.† â€Å"Foggy,† her grandfather tutored. â€Å"Foggy,† Sophie repeated, knowing the conversation would not continue until she repeated her new vocabulary word. â€Å"That's called the sfumato style of painting,† he told her,† and it's very hard to do. Leonardo Da Vinci was better at it than anyone.† Sophie still didn't like the painting. â€Å"She looks like she knows something†¦ like when kids at school have a secret.† Her grandfather laughed. â€Å"That's part of why she is so famous. People like to guess why she is smiling.† â€Å"Do you know why she's smiling?† â€Å"Maybe.† Her grandfather winked. â€Å"Someday I'll tell you all about it.† Sophie stamped her foot. â€Å"I told you I don't like secrets!† â€Å"Princess,† he smiled. â€Å"Life is filled with secrets. You can't learn them all at once.† â€Å"I'm going back up,† Sophie declared, her voice hollow in the stairwell. â€Å"To the Mona Lisa?† Langdon recoiled. â€Å"Now?† Sophie considered the risk. â€Å"I'm not a murder suspect. I'll take my chances. I need to understand what my grandfather was trying to tell me.† â€Å"What about the embassy?† Sophie felt guilty turning Langdon into a fugitive only to abandon him, but she saw no other option. She pointed down the stairs to a metal door. â€Å"Go through that door, and follow the illuminated exit signs. My grandfather used to bring me down here. The signs will lead you to a security turnstile. It's monodirectional and opens out.† She handed Langdon her car keys. â€Å"Mine is the red SmartCar in the employee lot. Directly outside this bulkhead. Do you know how to get to the embassy?† Langdon nodded, eyeing the keys in his hand. â€Å"Listen,† Sophie said, her voice softening. â€Å"I think my grandfather may have left me a message at the Mona Lisa – some kind of clue as to who killed him. Or why I'm in danger.† Or what happenedto my family. â€Å"I have to go see.† â€Å"But if he wanted to tell you why you were in danger, why wouldn't he simply write it on the floor where he died? Why this complicated word game?† â€Å"Whatever my grandfather was trying to tell me, I don't think he wanted anyone else to hear it. Not even the police.† Clearly, her grandfather had done everything in his power to send a confidential transmission directly to her.He had written it in code, included her secret initials, and told her to find Robert Langdon – a wise command, considering the American symbologist had deciphered his code. â€Å"As strange as it may sound,† Sophie said,† I think he wants me to get to the Mona Lisabefore anyone else does.† â€Å"I'll come.† â€Å"No! We don't know how long the Grand Gallery will stay empty. You have to go.† Langdon seemed hesitant, as if his own academic curiosity were threatening to override sound judgment and drag him back into Fache's hands. â€Å"Go. Now.† Sophie gave him a grateful smile. â€Å"I'll see you at the embassy, Mr. Langdon.† Langdon looked displeased. â€Å"I'll meet you there on one condition,† he replied, his voice stern. She paused, startled. â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"That you stop calling me Mr.Langdon.† Sophie detected the faint hint of a lopsided grin growing across Langdon's face, and she felt herself smile back. â€Å"Good luck, Robert.† When Langdon reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs, the unmistakable smell of linseed oil and plaster dust assaulted his nostrils. Ahead, an illuminated SORTIE/EXIT displayed an arrow pointing down a long corridor. Langdon stepped into the hallway. To the right gaped a murky restoration studio out of which peered an army of statues in various states of repair. To the left, Langdon saw a suite of studios that resembled Harvard art classrooms – rows of easels, paintings, palettes, framing tools – an art assembly line. As he moved down the hallway, Langdon wondered if at any moment he might awake with a start in his bed in Cambridge. The entire evening had felt like a bizarre dream. I'm about to dash out of the Louvre†¦a fugitive. Sauniere's clever anagrammatic message was still on his mind, and Langdon wondered what Sophie would find at the Mona Lisa†¦if anything. She had seemed certain her grandfather meant for her to visit the famous painting one more time. As plausible an interpretation as this seemed, Langdon felt haunted now by a troubling paradox. P. S. Find Robert Langdon. Sauniere had written Langdon's name on the floor, commanding Sophie to find him. But why? Merely so Langdon could help her break an anagram? It seemed quite unlikely. After all, Sauniere had no reason to think Langdon was especially skilled at anagrams. We've never even met.More important, Sophie had stated flat out that she should have broken the anagram on her own. It had been Sophie who spotted the Fibonacci sequence, and, no doubt, Sophie who, if given a little more time, would have deciphered the message with no help from Langdon. Sophie was supposed to break that anagram on her own.Langdon was suddenly feeling more certain about this, and yet the conclusion left an obvious gaping lapse in the logic of Sauniere's actions. Why me? Langdon wondered, heading down the hall. Why was Sauniere's dying wish that his estranged granddaughter find me? What is it that Sauniere thinks I know? With an unexpected jolt, Langdon stopped short. Eyes wide, he dug in his pocket and yanked out the computer printout. He stared at the last line of Sauniere's message. P. S. Find Robert Langdon. He fixated on two letters. P. S. In that instant, Langdon felt Sauniere's puzzling mix of symbolism fall into stark focus. Like a peal of thunder, a career's worth of symbology and history came crashing down around him. Everything Jacques Sauniere had done tonight suddenly made perfect sense. Langdon's thoughts raced as he tried to assemble the implications of what this all meant. Wheeling, he stared back in the direction from which he had come. Is there time? He knew it didn't matter. Without hesitation, Langdon broke into a sprint back toward the stairs. CHAPTER 22 Kneeling in the first pew, Silas pretended to pray as he scanned the layout of the sanctuary. Saint- Sulpice, like most churches, had been built in the shape of a giant Roman cross. Its long central section – the nave – led directly to the main altar, where it was transversely intersected by a shorter section, known as the transept. The intersection of nave and transept occurred directly beneath the main cupola and was considered the heart of the church†¦ her most sacred and mystical point. Not tonight, Silas thought. Saint-Sulpice hides her secrets elsewhere. Turning his head to the right, he gazed into the south transept, toward the open area of floor beyond the end of the pews, to the object his victims had described. There it is. Embedded in the gray granite floor, a thin polished strip of brass glistened in the stone†¦ a golden line slanting across the church's floor. The line bore graduated markings, like a ruler. It was a gnomon, Silas had been told, a pagan astronomical device like a sundial. Tourists, scientists, historians, and pagans from around the world came to Saint-Sulpice to gaze upon this famous line. The Rose Line. Slowly, Silas let his eyes trace the path of the brass strip as it made its way across the floor from his right to left, slanting in front of him at an awkward angle, entirely at odds with the symmetry of the church. Slicing across the main altar itself, the line looked to Silas like a slash wound across a beautiful face. The strip cleaved the communion rail in two and then crossed the entire width of the church, finally reaching the corner of the north transept, where it arrived at the base of a most unexpected structure. A colossal Egyptian obelisk. Here, the glistening Rose Line took a ninety-degree vertical turn and continued directly up the face of the obelisk itself, ascending thirty-three feet to the very tip of the pyramidical apex, where it finally ceased. The Rose Line, Silas thought. The brotherhood hid the keystone at the Rose Line. Earlier tonight, when Silas told the Teacher that the Priory keystone was hidden inside Saint- Sulpice, the Teacher had sounded doubtful. But when Silas added that the brothers had all given him a precise location, with relation to a brass line running through Saint-Sulpice, the Teacher had gasped with revelation. â€Å"You speak of the Rose Line!† The Teacher quickly told Silas of Saint-Sulpice's famed architectural oddity – a strip of brass that segmented the sanctuary on a perfect north-south axis. It was an ancient sundial of sorts, a vestige of the pagan temple that had once stood on this very spot. The sun's rays, shining through the oculus on the south wall, moved farther down the line every day, indicating the passage of time, from solstice to solstice. The north-south stripe had been known as the Rose Line. For centuries, the symbol of the Rose had been associated with maps and guiding souls in the proper direction. The Compass Rose – drawn on almost every map – indicated North, East, South, and West. Originally known as the Wind Rose, it denoted the directions of the thirty-two winds, blowing from the directions of eight major winds, eight half-winds, and sixteen quarter-winds. When diagrammed inside a circle, these thirty-two points of the compass perfectly resembled a traditional thirty-two petal rose bloom. To this day, the fundamental navigational tool was still known as a Compass Rose, its northernmost direction still marked by an arrowhead†¦ or, more commonly, the symbol of the fleur-de-lis. On a globe, a Rose Line – also called a meridian or longitude – was any imaginary line drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole. There were, of course, an infinite number of Rose Lines because every point on the globe could have a longitude drawn through it connecting north and south poles. The question for early navigators was which of these lines would be called the Rose Line – the zero longitude – the line from which all other longitudes on earth would be measured. Today that line was in Greenwich, England. But it had not always been. Long before the establishment of Greenwich as the prime meridian, the zero longitude of the entire world had passed directly through Paris, and through the Church of Saint-Sulpice. The brass marker in Saint-Sulpice was a memorial to the world's first prime meridian, and although Greenwich had stripped Paris of the honor in 1888, the original Rose Line was still visible today. â€Å"And so the legend is true,† the Teacher had told Silas. â€Å"The Priory keystone has been said to lie' beneath the Sign of the Rose.† Now, still on his knees in a pew, Silas glanced around the church and listened to make sure no one was there. For a moment, he thought he heard a rustling in the choir balcony. He turned and gazed up for several seconds. Nothing. I am alone. Standing now, he faced the altar and genuflected three times. Then he turned left and followed the brass line due north toward the obelisk. At that moment, at Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Rome, the jolt of tires hitting the runway startled Bishop Aringarosa from his slumber. I drifted off, he thought, impressed he was relaxed enough to sleep. â€Å"Benvenuto a Roma,†the intercom announced. Sitting up, Aringarosa straightened his black cassock and allowed himself a rare smile. This was one trip he had been happy to make. I have been on the defensive for too long.Tonight, however, the rules had changed. Only five months ago, Aringarosa had feared for the future of the Faith. Now, as if by the will of God, the solution had presented itself. Divine intervention. If all went as planned tonight in Paris, Aringarosa would soon be in possession of something that would make him the most powerful man in Christendom. CHAPTER 23 Sophie arrived breathless outside the large wooden doors of the Salle des Etats – the room that housed the Mona Lisa.Before entering, she gazed reluctantly farther down the hall, twenty yards or so, to the spot where her grandfather's body still lay under the spotlight. The remorse that gripped her was powerful and sudden, a deep sadness laced with guilt. The man had reached out to her so many times over the past ten years, and yet Sophie had remained immovable – leaving his letters and packages unopened in a bottom drawer and denying his efforts to see her. He lied to me! Kept appalling secrets! What was I supposed to do? And so she had blocked him out. Completely. Now her grandfather was dead, and he was talking to her from the grave. The Mona Lisa. She reached for the huge wooden doors, and pushed. The entryway yawned open. Sophie stood on the threshold a moment, scanning the large rectangular chamber beyond. It too was bathed in a soft red light. The Salle des Etats was one of this museum's rare culs-de-sac – a dead end and the only room off the middle of the Grand Gallery. This door, the chamber's sole point of entry, faced a dominating fifteen-foot Botticelli on the far wall. Beneath it, centered on the parquet floor, an immense octagonal viewing divan served as a welcome respite for thousands of visitors to rest their legs while they admired the Louvre's most valuable asset. Even before Sophie entered, though, she knew she was missing something. A black light.She gazed down the hall at her grandfather under the lights in the distance, surrounded by electronic gear. If he had written anything in here, he almost certainly would have written it with the watermark stylus. Taking a deep breath, Sophie hurried down to the well-lit crime scene. Unable to look at her grandfather, she focused solely on the PTS tools. Finding a small ultraviolet penlight, she slipped it in the pocket of her sweater and hurried back up the hallway toward the open doors of the Salle des Etats. Sophie turned the corner and stepped over the threshold. Her entrance, however, was met by an unexpected sound of muffled footsteps racing toward her from inside the chamber. There'ssomeone in here! A ghostly figure emerged suddenly from out of the reddish haze. Sophie jumped back. â€Å"There you are!† Langdon's hoarse whisper cut the air as his silhouette slid to a stop in front of her. Her relief was only momentary. â€Å"Robert, I told you to get out of here! If Fache – â€Å"Where were you?† â€Å"I had to get the black light,† she whispered, holding it up. â€Å"If my grandfather left me a message – â€Å"Sophie, listen.† Langdon caught his breath as his blue eyes held her firmly. â€Å"The letters P. S†¦ . do they mean anything else to you? Anything at all?† Afraid their voices might echo down the hall, Sophie pulled him into the Salle des Etats and closed the enormous twin doors silently, sealing them inside. â€Å"I told you, the initials mean Princess Sophie.† â€Å"I know, but did you ever see them anywhere else? Did your grandfather ever use P. S. in any other way? As a monogram, or maybe on stationery or a personal item?† The question startled her. How would Robert know that? Sophie had indeed seen the initials P. S. once before, in a kind of monogram. It was the day before her ninth birthday. She was secretly combing the house, searching for hidden birthday presents. Even then, she could not bear secrets kept from her. What did Grand-pere get for me this year? She dug through cupboards and drawers. Did he get me the doll I wanted? Where would he hide it? Finding nothing in the entire house, Sophie mustered the courage to sneak into her grandfather's bedroom. The room was off-limits to her, but her grandfather was downstairs asleep on the couch. I'll just take a fast peek! Tiptoeing across the creaky wood floor to his closet, Sophie peered on the shelves behind his clothing. Nothing. Next she looked under the bed. Still nothing. Moving to his bureau, she opened the drawers and one by one began pawing carefully through them. There must be something for me here! As she reached the bottom drawer, she still had not found any hint of a doll. Dejected, she opened the final drawer and pulled aside some black clothes she had never seen him wear. She was about to close the drawer when her eyes caught a glint of gold in the back of the drawer. It looked like a pocket watch chain, but she knew he didn't wear one. Her heart raced as she realized what it must be. A necklace! Sophie carefully pulled the chain from the drawer. To her surprise, on the end was a brilliant gold key. Heavy and shimmering. Spellbound, she held it up. It looked like no key she had ever seen. Most keys were flat with jagged teeth, but this one had a triangular column with little pockmarks all over it. Its large golden head was in the shape of a cross, but not a normal cross. This was an even-armed one, like a plus sign. Embossed in the middle of the cross was a strange symbol – two letters intertwined with some kind of flowery design. â€Å"P. S. ,† she whispered, scowling as she read the letters. Whatever could this be? â€Å"Sophie?† her grandfather spoke from the doorway. Startled, she spun, dropping the key on the floor with a loud clang. She stared down at the key, afraid to look up at her grandfather's face. â€Å"I†¦ was looking for my birthday present,† she said, hanging her head, knowing she had betrayed his trust. For what seemed like an eternity, her grandfather stood silently in the doorway. Finally, he let out a long troubled breath. â€Å"Pick up the key, Sophie.† Sophie retrieved the key. Her grandfather walked in. â€Å"Sophie, you need to respect other people's privacy.† Gently, he knelt down and took the key from her. â€Å"This key is very special. If you had lost it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her grandfather's quiet voice made Sophie feel even worse. â€Å"I'm sorry, Grand-pere.I really am.† She paused. â€Å"I thought it was a necklace for my birthday.† He gazed at her for several seconds. â€Å"I'll say this once more, Sophie, because it's important. You need to learn to respect other people's privacy.† â€Å"Yes, Grand-pere.† â€Å"We'll talk about this some other time. Right now, the garden needs to be weeded.† Sophie hurried outside to do her chores. The next morning, Sophie received no birthday present from her grandfather. She hadn't expected one, not after what she had done. But he didn't even wish her happy birthday all day. Sadly, she trudged up to bed that night. As she climbed in, though, she found a note card lying on her pillow. On the card was written a simple riddle. Even before she solved the riddle, she was smiling. I know what this is! Her grandfather had done this for her last Christmas morning. A treasure hunt! Eagerly, she pored over the riddle until she solved it. The solution pointed her to another part of the house, where she found another card and another riddle. She solved this one too, racing on to the next card. Running wildly, she darted back and forth across the house, from clue to clue, until at last she found a clue that directed her back to her own bedroom. Sophie dashed up the stairs, rushed into her room, and stopped in her tracks. There in the middle of the room sat a shining red bicycle with a ribbon tied to the handlebars. Sophie shrieked with delight. â€Å"I know you asked for a doll,† her grandfather said, smiling in the corner. â€Å"I thought you might like this even better.† The next day, her grandfather taught her to ride, running beside her down the walkway. When Sophie steered out over the thick lawn and lost her balance, they both went tumbling onto the grass, rolling and laughing. â€Å"Grand-pere,†Sophie said, hugging him. â€Å"I'm really sorry about the key.† â€Å"I know, sweetie. You're forgiven. I can't possibly stay mad at you. Grandfathers and granddaughters always forgive each other.† Sophie knew she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help it. â€Å"What does it open? I never saw a key like that. It was very pretty.† Her grandfather was silent a long moment, and Sophie could see he was uncertain how to answer. Grand-pere never lies. â€Å"It opens a box,† he finally said. â€Å"Where I keep many secrets.† Sophie pouted. â€Å"I hate secrets!† â€Å"I know, but these are important secrets. And someday, you'll learn to appreciate them as much as I do.† â€Å"I saw letters on the key, and a flower.† â€Å"Yes, that's my favorite flower. It's called a fleur-de-lis. We have them in the garden. The white ones. In English we call that kind of flower a lily.† â€Å"I know those! They're my favorite too!† â€Å"Then I'll make a deal with you.† Her grandfather's eyebrows raised the way they always did when he was about to give her a challenge. â€Å"If you can keep my key a secret, and never talk about it ever again, to me or anybody, then someday I will give it to you.† Sophie couldn't believe her ears. â€Å"You will?† â€Å"I promise. When the time comes, the key will be yours. It has your name on it.† Sophie scowled. â€Å"No it doesn't. It said P. S. My name isn't P. S. !† Her grandfather lowered his voice and looked around as if to make sure no one was listening. â€Å"Okay, Sophie, if you must know, P. S. is a code. It's your secret initials.† Her eyes went wide. â€Å"I have secret initials?† â€Å"Of course. Granddaughters always have secret initials that only their grandfathers know.† â€Å"P. S. ?† He tickled her. â€Å"Princesse Sophie.† She giggled. â€Å"I'm not a princess!† He winked. â€Å"You are to me.† From that day on, they never again spoke of the key. And she became his Princess Sophie. Inside the Salle des Etats, Sophie stood in silence and endured the sharp pang of loss. â€Å"The initials,† Langdon whispered, eyeing her strangely. â€Å"Have you seen them?† Sophie sensed her grandfather's voice whispering in the corridors of the museum. Never speak ofthis key, Sophie.To me or to anyone.She knew she had failed him in forgiveness, and she wondered if she could break his trust again. P. S. Find Robert Langdon.Her grandfather wanted Langdon to help. Sophie nodded. â€Å"Yes, I saw the initials P. S. once. When I was very young.† â€Å"Where?† Sophie hesitated. â€Å"On something very important to him.† Langdon locked eyes with her. â€Å"Sophie, this is crucial. Can you tell me if the initials appeared with a symbol? A fleur-de-lis?† Sophie felt herself staggering backward in amazement. â€Å"But†¦ how could you possibly know that!† Langdon exhaled and lowered his voice. â€Å"I'm fairly certain your grandfather was a member of a secret society. A very old covert brotherhood.† Sophie felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She was certain of it too. For ten years she had tried to forget the incident that had confirmed that horrifying fact for her. She had witnessed something unthinkable. Unforgivable. â€Å"The fleur-de-lis,† Langdon said,† combined with the initials P. S. , that is the brotherhood's official device. Their coat of arms. Their logo.† â€Å"How do you know this?† Sophie was praying Langdon was not going to tell her that he himselfwas a member. â€Å"I've written about this group,† he said, his voice tremulous with excitement. â€Å"Researching the symbols of secret societies is a specialty of mine. They call themselves the Prieure de Sion – the Priory of Sion. They're based here in France and attract powerful members from all over Europe. In fact, they are one of the oldest surviving secret societies on earth.† Sophie had never heard of them. Langdon was talking in rapid bursts now. â€Å"The Priory's membership has included some of history's most cultured individuals: men like Botticelli, Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo.† He paused, his voice brimming now with academic zeal. â€Å"And, Leonardo Da Vinci.† Sophie stared. â€Å"Da Vinci was in a secret society?† â€Å"Da Vinci presided over the Priory between 1510 and 1519 as the brotherhood's Grand Master, which might help explain your grandfather's passion for Leonardo's work. The two men share a historical fraternal bond. And it all fits perfectly with their fascination for goddess iconology, paganism, feminine deities, and contempt for the Church. The Priory has a well-documented history of reverence for the sacred feminine.† â€Å"You're telling me this group is a pagan goddess worship cult?† â€Å"More like the pagan goddess worship cult. But more important, they are known as the guardians of an ancient secret. One that made them immeasurably powerful.† Despite the total conviction in Langdon's eyes, Sophie's gut reaction was one of stark disbelief. Asecret pagan cult? Once headed by Leonardo Da Vinci? It all sounded utterly absurd. And yet, even as she dismissed it, she felt her mind reeling back ten years – to the night she had mistakenly surprised her grandfather and witnessed what she still could not accept. Could that explain – ? â€Å"The identities of living Priory members are kept extremely secret,† Langdon said,† but the P. S. and fleur-de-lis that you saw as a child are proof. It could only have been related to the Priory.† Sophie realized now that Langdon knew far more about her grandfather than she had previously imagined. This American obviously had volumes to share with her, but this was not the place. â€Å"I can't afford to let them catch you, Robert. There's a lot we need to discuss. You need to go!† Langdon heard only the faint murmur of her voice. He wasn't going anywhere. He was lost in another place now. A place where ancient secrets rose to the surface. A place where forgotten histories emerged from the shadows. Slowly, as if moving underwater, Langdon turned his head and gazed through the reddish haze toward the Mona Lisa. The fleur-de-lis†¦ the flower of Lisa†¦ the Mona Lisa. It was all intertwined, a silent symphony echoing the deepest secrets of the Priory of Sion and Leonardo Da Vinci. A few miles away, on the riverbank beyond Les Invalides, the bewildered driver of a twin-bed Trailor truck stood at gunpoint and watched as the captain of the Judicial Police let out a guttural roar of rage and heaved a bar of soap out into the turgid waters of the Seine.