Monday, December 23, 2019

Marketing and Health Care Systems Essay - 1168 Words

Dwana Kelley Strayer University Professor Kevin Williams HSA305 April 29, 2012 Marketing and Health care Systems The central concept of marketing is the exchange of something of value between the provider and the purchaser. Determining what the consumer need, want and desire and delivering it better than the competitors is the goal of marketing (Longest, Rakich and Darr, 2000). Healthcare is becoming more business oriented and using marketing tactics to increase consumer use of the services and products the health care system offers. Ensuring marketing of the right products and services is successful the organization’s mission and marketing need to be in alignment. This alignment begins with the strategic planning process, which†¦show more content†¦The Department of Public Relations and Marketing Both internal and external communications for Jackson Health System is provided by the Department of Public Relations and Marketing (Jackson Health System, 2012). This department is responsible for media relations, publications, marketing, and special events (Jackson Health System, 2012). Media relations work with local, national and international media, both broadcast and print, to showcase JHS physicians, staff, and services. Much of what is done is patient care centered, with the exception of marketing, and special events (Jackson Health System, 2012). Marketing is responsible for advertising campaigns, which markets JHS as an integrated health network (Jackson Health System, 2012). Marketing and Mission The concept of health services marketing is centered on â€Å"the analysis, planning, implementation, and control of carefully formulated programs designed to promote voluntary exchanges of values with target markets with the purpose of achieving organizational objectives (Longest et al. 2000, p 358). The marketing department of any health care organization requires knowledge of the current and future needs and desires of the target market, which will allow strategic planners to determine services and products that can be offered. An assessment of the target marketsShow MoreRelatedEssay On Marketing In Health Care1094 Words   |  5 PagesMarketing Concepts in Health Care and other Industries Proper marketing in healthcare is necessary in the sense that it helps healthcare organization to market their services, promote their products and services and improve the overall health of the community (Codourey, 2013). It is also a critical factor in improving delivery and quality of service provided by a healthcare organization, thus enhancing effectiveness and patient satisfaction in general. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019

Ethics and Research in Professional Contexts Free Essays

string(109) " in dignity and rights’ \(Williams, 1981\) that establishes human rights as inherent to every human being\." Introduction Ethics play a pivotal role in a variety of contexts, such as decisions in personal contexts (e.g. family, friends) and professional contexts (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics and Research in Professional Contexts or any similar topic only for you Order Now g. workplace). This essay considers the role of ethics in the case study of a woman’s decision to have an abortion. Drawing on and synthesising work from philosophy, law and current medical practice, the essay will discuss ethical issues on abortion from three different viewpoints. These viewpoints will be reviewed and discussed in order to reach a conclusion. Case study Mrs K is a 37-year-old woman and has four children. She consults her doctor for irregular periods. She had been using a diaphragm as contraception after having stopped taking birth control pills because of their negative side effects. Her doctor informs her that she is pregnant. She does not want another child. She breaks down and says she already has as many children that she can cope with. Mrs K also suffers from depression. Her doctor considers her circumstances that fall within the Abortion Act 1967 and refers her to a clinic. However, her husband (Mr K) disagrees with the abortion. This essay will investigate ethical issues central to this case study. Ethical issues arise from situations in which there is no satisfactory solution that can be applied to an ethical dilemma. Opposing courses of action may seem equally desirable or all possible solutions may seem undesirable. In the aforementioned case study, the ethical dilemma addresses two opposing views on abortion and discusses whether it is the right decision given the circumstances. This essay will explore this ethical dilemma by outlining three different viewpoints and discussing whether each viewpoint is justified. Discussion There are three key individuals involved in this case study: Mrs. K, Mr. K and the doctor. Mrs K. is at the centre of the dilemma as she wishes to have the abortion, Mr K. is Mrs K’s husband and disagrees with the idea of abortion, and the doctor assesses and guides Mrs K’s decisions. Mrs K Prior to assessing Mrs K’s viewpoint, it is important to outline her circumstances. Mrs K had been on contraception because she was very clear that would not be able to cope with the responsibility of having one more child. However, her contraception failed and the doctor notified Mrs K that she was indeed pregnant, prompting her to take a decision on having an abortion. Firstly, under the philosophical principles of Utilitarianism, it may be argued that Mrs K is justified in taking the decision to have an abortion for a number of reasons. Utilitarianism was first conceived by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), and was later developed by John Stuart Mill (1806-73) in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Mill established the â€Å"greatest happiness principle† which posits that actions are right when they promote happiness, and wrong when they produce the opposite (Tschudin, 1994). According to Mill’s principle, with regard to people’s own lives and bodies, pe ople can do whatever we want, so long as others are not harmed (Feiser, 2009). In other words, each individual has the ability to choose what they feel is moral or immoral. In fact, virtue ethics does not hand out specific rules of behaviour that need to be adhered to but instead develops characteristics that help individuals decide on moral decisions, e.g. whether or not to have an abortion. Virtue ethics does not see abortion as right or wrong as it depends fundamentally on a person’s character. In accordance with this theorising, Mrs K’s decision to have an abortion is justified as it is an action that that involves her own life and her own body and therefore, rests on her decision. Secondly, in Utilitarianism, â€Å"Act Utility† states that the greatest good is that which brings most happiness and least pain (Feiser, 2009). Using a â€Å"Hedonic Calculus†, individuals can calculate which decision produces the greatest balance of good over evil and the refore, apply this reasoning to individual dilemmas (Bentham, 1789). With this Act Utilitarianism in mind, Mrs. K’s decision to have an abortion can be seen as the right decision as having a child would cause her unhappiness and pain in the future, as well as be a huge risk in exacerbating her existing depression and anxiety. Additionally, bringing a baby into a home of four children would take away time and attention from her other children which could be potentially traumatic for them and impede their development. Therefore, if Mrs K were to use a hedonic calculus, an abortion would certainly amount to the right decision as it maximises the quality of her well-being and that of her children.A third argument in favour of Mrs K’s decision is the fact that as an autonomous human being, Mrs K has to right to make decisions about her own life and body without coercion by others (Beauchamp Childress, 2001). Although researchers have suggested that autonomy is not a Ã¢â‚¬Ë œunivocal concept’ (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001), in the context of respect for reproductive choice, it does have a specific meaning. At a minimum, autonomy affords respect to an individual when making certain choices and taking actions based upon their personal values and beliefs. If a pregnant woman is forced, against her will, to endure nine months of physical, psychological and emotional turmoil, it is difficult to describe her as an autonomous individual. This argument also draws on philosophical principles on free will. That is, free will considers humans as agents who have the ability to make their own choices freely (Caruso, 2012). Therefore, in the case of Mrs K, it can be argued that as a free agent, she should have the final say in her actions and decisions that includes her pregnancy. If she chooses to end her unwanted pregnancy for her own reasons, then she has the right (and the free will) to do so. This reasoning is in fact, reflected in the Universal Declara tion of Human Rights Act (1948) article 1, ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ (Williams, 1981) that establishes human rights as inherent to every human being. You read "Ethics and Research in Professional Contexts" in category "Essay examples" However, it must be noted that this article may also be used as an argument against an abortion if a foetus is considered to be a human being, and therefore having its own individual right to life. Many anti-abortion supporters (i.e. pro-life) do indeed support this argument and highlight that an unborn child is an innocent human being and abortion is therefore wrong. However, pro-choice supporters have retorted this position by upholding the concept of â€Å"personhood†. In other words, supporters argue that a foetus does not meet the criteria of personhood and therefore does not have a right to life. This position is echoed in philosophy by Mary Ann Warren who outlines a set of criteria for personhood that include: 1) consciousness of objects and events external and internal, 2) reasoning, 3) self-motivated activity, 4) a capacity to communicate, 5) the presence of a self-concept (Warren, 1996). By these criteria, it is clear that foetuses, although they have the ability to eventually meet these criteria, would not have a right to life until they are born. Similarly, Peter Singer posits that only a moral agent is capable of having their rights violated, and as the foetus is not a moral agent, it cannot have its rights violated (Singer, 1995). In other words, as a foetus cannot make moral judgements of what is right or wrong, it does not have the same rights as human beings. Although both Warren and Singer propose controversial ideas, the arguments of personhood and moral agency adds further justification to Mrs K’s decision to have an abortion. Mr K In the case study, whilst Mrs K has decided to have an abortion, her husband is against it. From his perspective, he has always wanted a large family and therefore, feels very strongly against an abortion. Given his views, Mrs K’s decision to have an abortion could lead to considerable anger and resentment in her husband which could manifest in marital discord and eventually divorce, all of which would be extremely harmful for their children. Returning to the hedonic calculus, it is therefore important to take into account these potential consequences as they may outweigh the reasons for having an abortion in terms of the happiness of Mrs K and her children. However, at the same time, if Mrs K chose not to have an abortion because of her husband’s views, this could lead to considerable anger and resentment in her and increase her depression and anxiety, which could all negatively impact her children’s welfare. The decision is therefore not clear-cut.A second reas on that Mr K does not agree with the abortion is because of his own religious views. He believes that human pregnancy happens for a divine reason and that man and woman both create a baby and therefore should have an equal say in what happens to that baby. From the Roman Catholic view, the wrongness of abortion is rooted in the Natural Law view that innocent life (i.e. from conception) must be preserved (Hunanae Vitae, 1965). However, it must be noted that in 1993, the Church of England produced â€Å"Abortion and the Church†. In this document, abortion is described as a great moral evil but can be allowed in circumstances in which the foetus endangers the life of the mother or if there is severe foetal disability. Whilst having a baby does not physically endanger Mrs K’s life, it can be argued that it endangers her mental life given her depression and anxiety, thereby, justifying an abortion. Moreover, it is important to note that legally, Mr K has no right to demand or refuse a termination under the Abortion Act (1967) Human Rights Act (1998) that place the entire responsibility to the woman. Doctor Health care professionals have a number of responsibilities such as a duty of care to provide women with all the information they need in order to make an informed choice about how to cope with their unplanned pregnancy. The doctor in this case study had the responsibility of making an assessment. Specifically, the doctor must assess the potential impact of pregnancy and birth on Mrs K’s physical and mental health. In fact, the Abortion Act 1967, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (House of Commons, 2006), clearly says that a registered medical practitioner has the power to lawfully terminate a pregnancy. However, it is difficult to apply blanket rules when dealing with considerably sensitive and difficult decisions, which require a deeper understanding of a woman’s individual needs and desires. Given the difficulties shrouding a pregnancy termination, doctors play an important role in ensuring that a patient always feels supported. Doctors ar e also responsible for giving appropriate information and counselling about all the options available to patients (BMA, accessed 10/01/13).In this case study, Mrs K strongly felt that having an abortion would be the best decision and her doctor should therefore be able to respect her decision. Her doctor should act as a guide and act in the best interest of Mrs K (Pfeffer, 2002). The 1967 Abortion Act also refers to a doctor’s â€Å"rights to follow the dictates of their own conscience† (Pfeffer, 2002). The Doctor therefore, obviously considered Mrs K’s depression and mental capacity and found it suitable to refer her to a clinic. The doctor also was able to see that Mrs K was mentally fit to understand the procedure and its alternatives (BMA, accessed 10/01/13). Conclusion There is no doubt that abortion is a controversial and hotly debated topic in a variety of academic and professional spheres, and different viewpoints are infused with biological, moral and societal complexity. It is clear that there are numerous positions that people can adopt such as a Utilitarian point of view, a religious perspective, or a personal view when seeing an action as moral or immoral. In this particular case study, given Mrs K’s depression, her current family situation and her strong wishes to have an abortion, I believe that her decision is the right one. As a woman, Mrs K has a right to make her own choices and lead her own life in equality with, not under the control of her husband. Moreover, the fact that Mrs K has become pregnant as a result of a contraceptive failure strengthens her decision, as her pregnancy did not come about from carelessness, but from forces outside of Mrs K’s control. References Bentham, J. (1789). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. London. Beachamp, T. L., Childress, J. F. (2001). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (5th Edition). Oxford University Press. British Medical Association, The law and ethics of abortion. Accessed 10/01/13 from: www.bma.org.uk/-/media/Files/PDFs/†¦/Ethics/lawethicsabortionnov07.pdf Caruso, G. D. (2012). Free Will and Consciousness: A Determinist Account of the Illusion of Free Will. Lexington Books. Fieser, J. (2009). Ethics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed 10/01/13 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee. Scientific Developments Relating to the Abortion Act 1967. (Volume 1). Accessed 10/01/13 from: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmsctech/1045/1045i.pdf Humanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, on the regulation of Births (1965). Pfeffer, N. (2002) ‘Fertility counts: from equity to outcome’ in S. Sturdy (ed.), Medicine, Health and the public sphere in Britain, 1600-2000 (pp. 260-278). Routledge. Singer, P. (1995). Animal Liberation (2nd Edition). Pimlico. Tschudin, V. (1994). Deciding Ethically: A Practical Approach to Nursing Challenges. London: Bailliere Tindall. Warren, M. A. â€Å"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion† in T.A. Mappes and D. DeGrazia, (Eds.), Biomedical Ethics (1996), New York, McGraw-Hill, Inc, pp. 434-440. Williams, P. (1981). United Nations. General Assembly. The International bill of human rights. Entwhistle Books. How to cite Ethics and Research in Professional Contexts, Essays

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Music Publishing Assesment free essay sample

Hacked was young, she always dreamed of having her own independent music publishing company. With such successful companies like MI and Sony, she realized that she wouldnt be content being just another employee, she want be the employer. With her growing knowledge on music publishing, she believes that she is ready to launch my own independent music publishing company called Goldenrod Music along with the help of her business partner, Allan Breach.Below is the step-by-step on how they plan to make Goldenrod Music a successful music publishing company by touching on subjects such as the business Truckee, financing and funding, personnel,roles and departments, 1 . Business Structure: Goldenrod Music will be run as a partnership between Rachel Hacked and Allan Breach. The location of the Goldenrod Music office will be in New York City in the Financial district on Ceded Street. Within this office they will have four main departments and have approximately thirty to forty employees. In order to start Goldenrod Music, Rachel Hacked and Allan Breach must file Goldenrod Music to their local government offices to obtain a business permit (in this case NYC City Hall) (McCoy). Goldenrod Music then will apply to a performance rights organization of their choice, which will most likely be ASAP (since the company is located in the United States), by submitting an application and fee of about $35. The application can be found at http://www. ASAP. Com/Jolt/. D 2. Financing and Funding: Goldenrod Music plans on being funded without loans or grants, since interest fees are on the rise.Rachel Hacked and Allan Breach plan on using the money from their trust funds to pay for the business start up costs. The cost for renting the office space Is $1 ,250 a month. Other start-up expenses not Included In the rent are furnishing, supplies, paying staff, taxes, applying for a performance rights organization(ASAP in this case), legal fees, demo costs, promotion, etc. ;elf Goldenrod Music does not generate enough income for Hacked and Breach to breakable, then they will look into adding a backer that will receive half or what Hacked and Breach will make. . Personnel,Roles and Departments: Goldenrod Music plans on having four different departments. The first key department is the AR/ Creative/ Promotion department. The Job description includes this worker to find new songwriting talent by listening to demos, going to shows, word of mouth from other key players in the industry that they trust ,etc. This company. In order to keep a fresh and current catalog with potentially big money making hits, Goldenrod Music will need to have the best up and coming songwriters at all times.Other Jobs within the department include matching up songwriters or composers with lyricists if needed and to get the songs used in as many different dentures as possible through record companies, performers and broadcasters. Printer)goldenrod Music will generally work with bands where one or more members is the songwriter to the band, however, in the case we sign a songwriter to Goldenrod Music, this department with try to get that songwriters work to be used by m ajor artists. This department can also set up songwriters and lyricists together, preferably ones both signed to Goldenrod Music so the split up of royalties will be easier. 0 Another department that would be part of Goldenrod Music is accounts and royalties department. This department is essential for Goldenrod Music to have because it handles the income as well as distribution of money. Accounts and royalties will take care of number crunching, keeping track of song usage to collect royalties and handle all monies owed.If songwriters want their work to be expanded to other forms of media, then this department would be in contact with the accounts departments of record labels, TV, film and advertising companies. Lastly, accounts and royalties will be in charge of dealing with PROS and AMPS. O Another essential department that Goldenrod Music plans on having is the copyright/ legal department. This department will be in charge of writing agreements between the publisher and Miters. For an explanation on Goldenrods publisher-songwriter contract please go to the Legal section.This department will also handle licensing and synchronization, registering new works to PROS and AMPS, dealing with copyright infringement by taking legal action, and anything else relating to legal or copyright issues. 0 Another department that would be part of Goldenrod Music is a social media department. This will only have a few employees, however, is an important part of the company. With many consumers using the Internet as ways to find and download new music, Goldenrod Music finds it would be important to showcase online recorded Narks from its catalog.More on this topic can be found in the Technology section. Goldenrod Music would also hire several song plungers to get unrecorded songs on Goldenrod Musics catalog recorded. Other staff personnel will include assistants, receptionists and interns. 0 4. Strategy and Services- including details on opportunities, threats and trading partners: Publishers at Goldenrod Music will be a threat to other current publishers. Chosen for having a well rounded resume and a university education, publishers are Goldenrod will have top notch experience for this new company. Publishers atGoldenrod Music will specialize in AR to help bring a full catalog of new up and coming songwriters. They will also strive to find new media outlets to connect the songwriters music with as many people as possible. Publishers will be push their Goldenrod Music will offer three main services for our clients. One service they offer is Creative Services. Goldenrod Musics creative service will help bring together different songwriters on the growing catalog to help expand the songwriters abilities to their fullest potentials. Another service they offer is administration services whichNail handle the different areas of revenue possibly available for the songwriters work. Along with recording Peps and Lips, Goldenrod Music will produce demos for up and coming songwriters without record deals. Goldenrod Music believes that demos are essential for songwriters looking to be signed. For these songwriters, Goldenrod suggests that typically the demo will run about three to four songs. These demos will be protected with copyrights and will not be for sale. Income for Goldenrods songwriters will be collected through mechanical royalties, synchronization royalties, print royalties, performance royalties.Mechanical royalties allows a record company or any other party the right to record or reproduce one of the songwriters works. Songwriters are paid for every record the record company manufactures and distributes that is sold. In the U. K, the AMPS sets the price for how much the songwriter will make per song, but in the U. S the rate is based on a fixed rate either at the full statutory rate or as a reduced percentage of the statutory rate. Composition clauses are now currently 75% of the fixed rate. The AMPS normally Issues mechanical licenses for publishers.Income from mechanical royalties will be plait 50/50 between the publisher and the songwriter. Performance royalties or public performance rights are paid to the songwriter and publisher when others seek to play the song on the radio, in venues, on television, at live concerts,etc. ASAP(the US version of PROS ), since given the right to license performing rights to all of Goldenrod Musics songwriters, will make deals with Never wants to use the songs in their media outlet ,collect the fees owed, then divide up the pay between the songwriter and publisher.Anyone who wants to use songs from Goldenrod Musics songwriters will have to pay a blanket license, which oversee all works from Goldenrod Musics catalog as well as any other publishing companies under ASAP. The Broadcast Data Service will be used to keep track of songwriters work on the radio. ASAP will pay the songwriters directly( peg 251 ,Pajamas), Synchronization royalties allow the usage of works in visual media outlets like commercials, television, movies, computer games, etc. Income from these types of royalties range depending on where the work of the songwriter is being used.With major motion pictures, the income generated depends on where in the movie the song is being used. Songs used in the main title normally range between$50,OHO to $250,000, in ending credits between $35,000 to $100,000, and out of context usage of the songwriters song( using the song differently then used in films) generate anywhere between $25,000 to $250,000. Instrumental cues in movies will get around Income, however in the US it is completely different. Income from television in the US runs typically depending on if the work is unknown or super popular.Songs in commercials can range anywhere between $50,000 to $200,000 for one-year national usage in the United States( peg 262 All You Ne ed to Know About The Music Business. ) For video/computer games, songwriters get paid a flat fee for the song usage which is generally from$8,OHO to $10,000. The only video games that pay royalties are in music-based games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Print music royalties are paid from the sheet musics manufacturer to the songwriter for each unit sold.In the I-J, royalty for single-song sheet music ranges between 10%-15% while in the US the standard rate is 20% for single sheet music and 10% to 12. 5% for folios (songbooks). As an up and coming music publishing company, Goldenrod Music would have he fresh start opportunity. We have are not in debt, not being sued and not currently trying to be bought out by a larger company. Being a new partnership allows Goldenrod Music to build from the ground up a modern catalog, and will hopefully become a threat to current giants in music publishing.Along with having a clean slate comes the opportunity to network without having a bad record against the company. There is opportunity to learn about the changing music industry and adapt with it. Goldenrod Music, being located in New York City, also has many opportunities to meet with many songwriters from New York City and elsewhere. New fork City is home to many different record labels, word renowned recording studios, and fresh talent. One threat that Goldenrod Music will have to overcome is other established publishing companies.Songwriters who are looking to put their trust into someone to get their songs published, recorded and eventually make them money, seek out publishers with experience. Although Goldenrod Music has a lot to offer, songwriters may look to music publishing companies with a good track record. In order to get over this phase, Goldenrod Music will have to break the ice with signing a successful engineer to show other songwriters we are a trustworthy company. Goldenrod Musics main customers are songwriters who are also established artists.Goldenrod Music doesnt focus primarily on mainstream artists, but at the same time strives to get songs on the catalog into as many different media outlets as possible. Goldenrod Music looks to sign songwriter/musicians who are willing to collaborate with other artists and lore put their works in other forms of media than lust purely music. Songwriters/ artists on Goldenrod Musics current catalog include Sonny Moore/ Shriller, EH! 3, Andy Samsung, This Love, Nick Mina] and Kina Grannies. Goldenrods account department will collect revenue from all outlets the song is used. All songwriters will be paid their royalties at different times depending on what 7. Legal When it comes to contracts, Goldenrod Music will try to construct a contract that is both suitable for the songwriter/composer as well as the publisher. Goldenrod Music Nail offer two different contracts. To new songwriters not looking to go mainstream Ninth their music, they will be issued the co-publishing agreement. This is where the songwriter receives 50% of income listed and the publisher receives the other 50%. Goldenrod would also offer an exclusive writer deal to songwriters with a history of making hits.This is where they would control the entire output of works of the songwriter under the Term, promising exclusivity to Goldenrod Music. Songwriters Math Goldenrod will not share monies collected from performance royalties. In this contract, Goldenrod Music will seek the exclusive rights to all original musical compositions and copyrights (which includes the copyright registration and protection) from the songwriter. The transfer of these copyrights allow Goldenrod Music to reproduce the work, distribute copies of work, have work performed publicly, and make a derivative of work.Performances of the songwriters work are allowed in all forms of media, whether for a profit or nonprofit(Exclusive Songwriter Agreement). Goldenrod Music will be allowed to make master recordings of all works of the publisher. In return, Goldenrod Music will protect all works from any copyright infringement from another songwriter/composer/publisher by getting all works a copyright notice. If there is an issue with copyright infringement, Goldenrod Music will get an injunction and try to either get the fair market value, recover the infringe r profits, or cover statutory damages. The fair market value is if the song is worth a certain amount and is stolen from the songwriter, then the songwriter will receive that exact amount of money that the song is worth. If Goldenrod Music seeks to recover the infringer profit then Goldenrod can recover all the infringer profits. If Goldenrod chooses to recover statutory damages then if won, the court will reward Goldenrod Ninth money for damages. 3. IT/ Digital: The developments in the digital world may seem like a struggle to some companies, however Goldenrod Music plans to use it to their advantage. GoldenrodMusic set up a youth account where they would allow Ad-World to have ads on their videos, which will generate income overtime the video for that songwriter is played. Also, Youths Content ID system allows the songs copyright holders to receive profit from any infringement use of their songs(Van Buskins) Goldenrod Music will use social media outlets to its advantage. Social media sites include but are not limited to Twitter, Backbone, Namespace, Prologue and more to department, their employees will find ways to get Goldenrods songwriters work exposed through music blobs, both known and unknown.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Much A Do About Nothing Essays - Shakespearean Comedies,

Much a do about nothing Katharina and Beatrice are both similar characters. They each are plagued with unrequited love, and depressed by their own inability to woo the suitor of their choosing. Each of them are unable to accept the female role of passivity. Although both women seem to accept their roles of wives at the conclusion of the plays. Upon further examination, one will find that Beatrice is a much more complex character. One would have to agree with the critic who said, "Katharina is a character sketched in bold, rapid stokes, with none of Beatrice's sophistication, verbal brilliance, or emotional depth." In Taming of the Shrew, the first introduction to Katharina, by Gremio and Hortensio, tells that she is a shrew, (1.I .54-60) and that she will never find a groom. When she first speaks we see her responding to these insults, but she was provoked so her words seem appropriate. Yet as the play continues we see Katharina tying up Bianca, (2.I.29) and hitting her. This can be rejected as sibling rivalry, but later Katharina slaps Petruchio when he is trying to woo her (2.I.214). Katharina seems to have a physically violent side that isn't present in Beatrice. She also does not seem to have as strong as a character as Beatrice, especially when one considers that Petruchio was able to tame her in a very short time. In the opening scene of Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice says some harsh things about Benedick (1.I.37-43). She seems to be unprovoked but very rigid in her opinion of him. In Leonato's house, the discussion of Beatrice and marriage leads her uncle to conclude that, "Thou will never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue."(2.I.18-19) Beatrice will participate in a verbal game of wit by exchanging words with Benedick but she is more sophisticated than to just slap him for no apparent reason. Beatrice is also very sociable with other people and seems to be a shrew just when talking about Benedick and other males. Not unlike Katharina, who was told she would marry Petruchio (2.I.260-268), Beatrice does not consent to marry Benedick directly. Beatrice has to be entrapped with the love sonnets that Hero stole from her pocket (5.IV.88-90). Even at the conclusion of the play, it seems as though Beatrice will not change her attitudes, just her status as an unma! rried woman. Both Beatrice and Katharina participate in stichomythia, a kind of verbal Ping-Pong match, with their suitors. Katharina seems to go for the vulgar and obscene insults like, "No cock of mine. You crow too like a craven." (2.I.222) Most of Katharina's lines are short, two or three lines at a time, and she does not use very many complicated analogies. Beatrice is not obscene in her exchange of words with Benedick, but she seems to have more to say and does more than just respond to insults. Katharina does not seem to be the type of person to write love sonnets about Petruchio, yet Beatrice did write them about Benedick (5.IV.88-90). Beatrice seems to reflect strong verbal feelings of disgust with Benedick and his going off to be a soldier, "I pray you, how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars? But how many hath he killed? For indeed, I promised to eat all of his killing." (1.I.36-43) Katharina reflects bitter feelings because her sister has more suitors than ! she, but her statements are neither strong nor memorable. Both women have an emotional side, yet Katharina seems more shallow, and the audience seems to understand why she does what she does. Beatrice, on the other hand, is harder to figure out. She spits insults at Benedick one minute and the next writes love sonnets about him. She seems to switch moods rapidly and without apparent reason. An example that show the emotional depth of each women is the idea that neither of them are being wooed by suitors. Katharina, "cursed Kate", openly shows her jealousy of her younger sister, while she is being passed and even avoided by suitors because of her tendency to speak her mind. She reveals this attitude by stating about Bianca, "She is your treasure, she must

Monday, November 25, 2019

What Creates the Tides and Determines Their Timing

What Creates the Tides and Determines Their Timing The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun creates tides on the earth. While tides are most commonly associated with oceans and large bodies of water, gravity creates tides in the atmosphere and even the lithosphere (the surface of the earth). The atmospheric tidal bulge extends far into space but the tidal bulge of the lithosphere is limited to approximately 12 inches (30 cm) twice a day. The moon, which is approximately 240,000 miles (386,240 km) from the earth, exerts a greater influence on the tides than does the sun, which sits 93 million miles (150 million km) from the earth. The strength of the suns gravity is 179 times that of the moons but the moon is responsible for 56% of the earths tidal energy while the sun claims responsibility for a mere 44% (due to the moons proximity but the suns much larger size). Due to the cyclic rotation of the earth and moon, the tidal cycle is 24 hours and 52 minutes long. During this time, any point on the earths surface experiences two high tides and two low tides. The tidal bulge that occurs during high tide in the world ocean follows the revolution of the moon, and the earth rotates eastward through the bulge once every 24 hours and 50 minutes. The water of the entire world ocean is pulled by the moons gravity. On the opposite side of the earth simultaneously there is a high tide due to the inertia of the ocean water and because the earth is being pulled toward the moon by its gravitational field yet the ocean water remains left behind. This creates a high tide on the side of the earth opposite the high tide caused by the direct pull of the moon. Points on the sides of the earth between the two tidal bulges experience low tide. The tidal cycle can begin with high tide. For 6 hours and 13 minutes after high tide, the tide recedes in what is known as ebb tide. 6 hours and 13 minutes following high tide is low tide. After low tide, the flood tide begins as the tide rises for the next 6 hours and 13 minutes until high tide occurs and the cycle begins again. Tides are most pronounced along the coastline of the oceans and in bays where tidal range (the difference in height between low tide and high tide) is increased due to the topography and other factors. The Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada experiences the worlds greatest tidal range of 50 feet (15.25 meters). This incredible range occurs two times ever 24 hours 52 minutes so every 12 hours and 26 minutes theres a single high tide and a low tide. Northwestern Australia is also home to very high tidal ranges of 35 feet (10.7 meters). Typical coastal tide range is 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters). Large lakes also experience tides but the tidal range is often less than 2 inches (5 cm)! The Bay of Fundy tides are one of 30 locations worldwide where the power of tides can be harnessed to turn turbines to produce electricity. This requires tides greater than 16 feet (5 meters). In areas of higher than usual tides a tidal bore can often can be found. A tidal bore is a wall or wave of water that moves upstream (especially in a river) at the onset of high tide. When the sun, moon, and the earth are lined up, the sun and moon are exerting their strongest force together and tidal ranges are at their maximum. This is known as spring tide (spring tides are not named from the season but from spring forward) This occurs twice each month when the moon is full and new. In the first quarter and third quarter moon, the sun and moon are at a 45Â ° angle to each other and their gravitational energy is diminished. The lower than the normal tidal range that takes place at these times are called neap tides. Additionally, when the sun and moon are at perigee and are as close to the earth as they get, they exert a greater gravitational influence and produce greater tidal ranges. Alternatively, when the sun and moon as far as they get from the earth, known as apogee, tidal ranges are smaller. The knowledge of the height of tides, both low and high, is vital for many functions, including navigation, fishing, and the construction of coastal facilities.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Brief

In an upscale neighborhood, then perhaps it could argue that Its failure to provide security patrols Is reasonable. If the business Is located In a crime-ridden area, When briefing a case, your goal is to reduce the information from the case Into a format that will provide you with a helpful reference in class and for review. Most Importantly, by briefing a case, you will grasp the problem the court faced (the issuel the relevant law the court used to olve it (the rule) how the court applied the rule to the facts (the application or analysisb and the outcome (the conclusion). You will then be ready to not only discuss the case, but to compare and contrast it to other cases involving a similar issue. Before attempting to brief a case, read the case at least once, Follow the IRAC method in briefing cases: Facts* Write a brief summary of the facts as the court found them to be. Eliminate facts that are not relevant to the courts analysis. For example, a businesss street address is probably not relevant to the courts decision ot the issue ot whether the business that old a detective product Is able for the resulting Injuries to the plaintiff. However, suppose a customer who was assaulted as she left Its store Is suing the business. The customer claims that her Injuries were the reasonably foreseeable result of the businesss failure to provide security patrols. If the business Is then perhaps the customer Is right. Instead of Including the street address In the case brief, you may want to simply describe the type of neighborhood in which it Is located. Note: the time of day would be another relevant factor in this case, among others). Procedural History* What court authored the opinion: The united States Supreme Court? The California Court of Appeal? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals? (Hint: Check under the title of the case: The Court and year of the decision will be given). If a trial court issued the decision, is it based on a trial, or motion for summary judgment, etc.? If an appellate court issued the decision, how did the lower courts decide the case? Issue What is the question presented to the court? Usually, only one issue will be discussed, but sometimes there will be more. What are the parties fighting about, nd what are they asking the court to decide? For example, in the case of the assaulted customer, the issue for a trial court to decide might be whether the business had a duty to the customer to provide security patrols. The answer to the question will help to ultimately determine * This applies to case briefs only, and not exams. use the IRAC method In answering exams: Issue,Rule/Andlysls/Concluslon. hether the business Is liable for negligently failing to provide security patrols: whether the defendant owed plaintiff a duty of care, and what that duty of care Is, re key Issues in negligence claims. Rule(s): Determine what the relevant rules of law are that the court uses to make its decision. These rules will be identified and discussed by the court. For example, in the case of the assaulted customer, the relevant rule of law is that a property owners duty to prevent ha rm to invitees is determined by balancing the foreseeability of the harm against the burden of preventive measures. There may be more than one relevant rule of law to a case: for example, in a negligence case in which the defendant argues hat the plaintiff assumed the risk of harm, the relevant rules of law could be the elements of negligence, and the definition of assumption of risk as a defense. Dont just simply list the cause of action, such as negligence as a rule of law: What rule must the court apply to the facts to determine the outcome? Application/Analysis: This may be the most important portion of the brief. The court will have examined the facts in light of the rule, and probably considered all sides and arguments presented to it. How courts apply the rule to the facts and analyze the case must be nderstood in order to properly predict outcomes in future cases involving the same issue. What does the court consider to be a relevant fact given the rule of law? How does the court interpret the rule: for example, does the court consider monetary costs of providing security patrols in weighing the burden of preventive measures? Does the court imply that if a business is in a dangerous area, then it should be willing to bear a higher cost for security? Resist the temptation to merely repeat what the court said in analyzing the facts: what does it mean to you? Summarize the ourts rationale in your own words. If you encounter a word that you do not know, use a dictionary to find its meaning. Conclusion What was the final outcome of the case? In one or two sentences, state the courts ultimate finding. For example, the business did not owe the assaulted customer a duty to provide security patrols. Note: Case briefing is a skill that you will develop throughout the semester. Practice will help you develop this skill. Periodically, case briefs will be collected for purposes of feedback. At any time, you may submit your case brief(s) for feedback.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Restore or Demolish Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Restore or Demolish - Research Paper Example page 6 Money matters †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 6 Restoration is not worth the cost, time and effort †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ page 8 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ page 9 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ page 10 Abstract There is much clamor between those who restore and preserve old homes and those who would rather reconstruct the home from scratch. Pro-restoration groups claim that historical homes are irreplaceable. The other side argues that restoration is painstaking and costly. The financial help from private and non-private organizations can alleviate expenses but the assistance may sometimes come with conditions that interfere with the homeowner’s plans. Historical houses can also be a vital part of the community that restoration may not only affect the property’s owner but also the entire neighborhood. As with all restoration projects money will be an issue. However, with careful planning and decision-making, refurbishing an old home can bring the owner a lot of advantages. First, old homes are built with wood, glass and other materials that have lasted through the years. Secondly, in the event that the restored home is sold, it will be worth more than its original market value. Lastly, the historical home is a unique property that not everyone can have. Introduction A dictionary defines a house as a â€Å"(n) a building that serves as living quarters for one or a few families.† (house, n. d.) A house is more than a mass of wood, concrete and glass. From conceptualizing to putting in that last door or brick, a lot of thought is put into creating this type of personal space. Houses are made to stand the test of time and weather. Architects, construction engineers and carpenters select only the best materials for each and every home they build. Aside from the aesthetic feature, these professionals also design homes to be sturdy. At times, the house is so resilient that it even lasts longer than the family it was built for. A person’s house will always be a part of the person’s family. The structure is witness to almost every event, if not all, that has happened inside its walls. Generation after generation passes through its doors. When the time comes to leave one’s home, there is an obvious hesitation and forlornness because of the many memories the building holds. This dilemma is one of several why people decide to repair old homes. Rather than de stroy it, families opt to salvage whatever they can of the antique structure in an effort to maintain the house’s character. The appreciation for old homes does not end with just the families. States and organizations have also been supportive of this venture. Local governments have introduced measures in order to encourage the refurbishing of old homes especially those they consider historic. Private corporations have also come up with financing for the homeowners and recognition for architects who help create and remodel these structures. There are magazines and websites devoted to giving pointers and resources to people who would rather restore than demolish and build. Sometimes, the restoration of old homes is not only a choice by the owner but also of the community. Background According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory (Koontz and Weihrich, 2008) shelter is one of

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Experiences of Schizophrenia Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experiences of Schizophrenia Counseling - Essay Example One of the greatest rewards in working with those who have schizophrenia is mentoring those who are feeling like they have hit rock bottom then climbed the ladder to emotional stability and happiness. That is when they know that have achieved success by regularly attending group therapy sessions, practiced exercises they have been taught and made progress day by day. Some challenges I face are that some of the patients are inconsolable and have thoughts of suicide. This is where I believe that family therapy is also helpful because they need as much support as they can receive. This of course is supplemental to the drug therapy which is the backbone of treatment. The behavioral and family therapies are a means of supplementing drug therapy to help re-integrate schizophrenic individuals into society through the development of social skills. By re- integrating the individuals back into society, the probability that the patients adhere to their drug therapies increases. I believe this i s crucial for them to live a normal life.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The English sports Essay Example for Free

The English sports Essay The English sports council calculates that there are 70,000 pitches in England alone. Half of the total pitches are used for recreational football matches and practices. Another 1/4 for cricket. The remaining usage being for sports such as hockey and rugby. There are also 300 artificial grass pitches in addition. I have chosen a sports club called Esporta. It provides many of activities for its customers, such as: Crche, holistic activities, Pilates spinning, step, toning etc all through the week. For popular national sports such as football, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, golf, motor racing, and horse racing, spectating plays a large part.   Old Trafford home of Manchester United footballs club is not only a stadia / a venue for footie matches but has also hosted rugby league matches and even pop concerts. Its becoming more popular to have multi-purposes stadia, it saves space and money and maintenance costs. It has been developed by increasing its capacity, improving parking facilities and making it an all seater facility. They are privately provided by companies aiming to make a profit.  In 1998 consumers spent an estimated à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,500 million on sportswear and equipment and manufacture such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, have all become household names. Spots division and JJB sports have 449 outlets between them throughout the UK. They are all private. Heritage sites and\attractions  There were 396 million people who visited visitor attractions in 1998.It is estimated that UK heritage attractions attracted over 50 million visitors in the same year.  There is a varied range of attractions such as historic buildings, e.g. Windsor Castle to local traditions e.g. Morris Dancing. Both these attractions are completely different but linked in that they are both heritage attractions. Some heritage attractions are sightseeing places and some are historic and some are cultural. Also know as outdoor pursuits, there are over a thousand in the UK that specialise in providing this type of holiday. Skern Lodge, Devon is an outdoor activities centre. It provides visitors with a range of services, including accommodation, meals, transport and instruction in a wide range of outdoor activities such as canoeing, sailing, raft building, climbing, archery, and plenty more. It also has swimming pools, games field, bar and recreation lounge. Home-Based Leisure  There is likely to be an increase in consumer spending in areas such as audio equipment and television by over 30% between 1998 and 2003. The decline lies on reading books and newspapers are with the recent development of DVDs and videos.  The private sector dominates the market for home-based leisure. The volume of UK spending on home-based leisure is around 40 billion.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Greek Theater in 5th Century BCE Essay -- essays research papers

Greek Theatre in 5th Century BCE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ancient Greeks, probably one of the most fascinating civilizations to study contributed several discoveries and technological advancements. One can not discuss the Greeks without discussing Greek Theatre though. Greek Theater paved the way for literature and art in later history in many ways. If it wasn’t for Greek Theatre famous play writers like Shakespeare would have never done what they are so very well known for. When studying Greek Theatre it is virtually impossible not to hear about it in the 5th Century BCE, and that is because the 5th Century BCE was rather exciting when it came to Greek Theatre.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The origin of Greek Theatre in 5th Century BCE is not known. Dozens of hypotheses exist, but there is not really any conclusive hard evidence. What is known on the other hand is that tragedies were first performed in Athens in 6th Century BCE, and that they were very simple. They only had one actor and one chorus. In the 5th Century BCE this changed though. A second and third actor were added to plays, but there were no more then three speaking actors on stage at once. Throughout 5th Century BCE the average size of the chorus was twelve through fifteen members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theatrical performances were part of the worship of the god Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine. Out of the four festivals of worship for Dionysus, two them included theatrical perfo...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Economics story

The Indian Economy Since Independence India Wins Freedom On 14 August 1947, Nehru had declared: â€Å"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of oopportunity, to the great triumph and achievments that await us. † He reminded the country that the tasks ahead iincluded â€Å"the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of oopportunity†. These were the basic foundations on which India embarked upon its path of development since gaining independence in 1947.The purpose of this talk is to analyze how much has India really achieved in the last 55 years in fulfilling the aspirations on which it was founded. Indian Planning process The objective of India’s development strategy has been to establish a socialistic pattern of society through economic growth with self-reliance, social justice and alleviation of poverty. These objectives were to be achieved within a democratic political framework using the mechanism of a mixed economy where both public and private sectors co-exist. India initiated planning for national economic development with the establishment of the Planning Commission.The aim of the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) was to raise domestic savings for growth and to help the economy resurrect itself from colonial rule. The real break with the past in planning came with the Second Five Year Plan (Nehru-Mahalanobis Plan). The industrialization strategy articulated by Professor Mahalanobis placed emphasis on the development of heavy industries and envisaged a dominant role for the public sector in the economy. The entrepreneurial role of the state was evoked to develop the industrial sector. Commanding heights of the economy were entrusted to the public sector.The objectives of industrial ppolicy were: a high growth rate, national self-reliance, reduction of foreign dominance, building up of indigenous c apacity, encouraging small scale industry, bringing about balanced regional development, prevention of concentration of economic power, reduction of income inequalities and control of economy by the State. The planners 1 and ppolicy makers suggested the need for using a wide vvariety of instruments like state allocation of investment, licensing and other regulatory controls to steer Indian industrial development on a closed economy basis.The strategy underlying the first three plans assumed that once the growth process gets established, the institutional changes would ensure that benefits of growth trickle down to the poor. But doubts were raised in the early seventies about the effectiveness of the ‘trickle down’ approach and its ability to banish poverty. Further, the growth itself generated by the planned approach remained too weak to create adequate surpluses- a prerequisite for the ‘trickle down’ mechanism to work. Public sector did not live upto the e xpectations of generating surpluses to accelerate the pace of capital accumulation and help reduce inequality.Agricultural growth remained constrained by perverse institutional conditions. There was unchecked population growth in this period. Though the growth achieved in the first three Five Year Plans was not insignificant, yet it was not sufficient to meet the aims and objectives of development. These brought into view the weakness of economic strategy. We discuss the failure of the planning process in more detail in the next section. A shift in ppolicy was called for. The Fifth Plan (1974-79) corrected its course by initiating a program emphasizing growth with redistribution.To accelerate the process of production and to align it with contemporary realities, a mild version of economic liberalization was started in the mid 1980s. Three important committees were set up in the early 1980s. Narsimhan Committee on the shift from physical controls to fiscal controls, Sengupta Committe e on the public sector and the Hussain Committee on trade ppolicy. The result of such thinking was to reorient our economic policies. As a result there was some progress in the process of deregulation during the 1980s. Two kinds of delicencing aactivity took place.First, thirty two groups of industries were delicensed without any investment limit. Second, in 1988, all industries were exempted from licensing except for a specified negative list of twenty six industries. Entry into the industrial sector was made easier but exit still remained closed and sealed. Hence, the roots of the liberalization program were started in the late 80’s when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India, but the reach and force of the reform 2 program was rather limited. There were political reasons as to why this program could not be enhanced which we talk about later.The Failure of the Planning Process While the reasons for adopting a centrally directed strategy of development were understanda ble against the background of colonial rule, it, however soon became clear that the actual results of this strategy were far below expectations. Instead of showing high growth, high public savings and a high degree of self-reliance, India was actually showing one of the lowest rates of growth in the developing world with a rising public deficit and a periodic balance of payment crises.Between 1950 and 1990, India’s growth rate averaged less than 4 per cent per annum and this was at a time when the developing world, including Sub-Saharan Africa and other least developed countries, showed a growth rate of 5. 2 % per annum. An important assumption in the choice of post-independence development strategy was the generation of public savings, which could be used for higher and higher levels of investment. However, this did not happen, and the public sector-instead of being a generator of savings for the community’s good- became, over time, a consumer of community’s sa vings.This reversal of roles had become evident by the early seventies, and the process reached its culmination by the early eighties. By then, the government began to borrow not only to meet its own revenue expenditure but also to finance public sector deficits and investments. During 1960-1975, total public sector borrowings averaged 4. 4 % of GDP. These increased to 6 % of GDP by 1980-81, and further to 9 % by 1989-90. Thus, the public sector, which was supposed to generate resources for the growth of the rest of the economy, gradually became a net drain on the society as a whole.I will now try to give some reasons for the deterioration of the public sector in India. 1) The legal system in India is such that it provides full protection to the private interests of the so called ‘public servant’, often at the expense of the public that he or she is supposed to serve. In addition to complete job security, any group of public servants in any public sector organization ca n go on strike in search of higher wages, promotions and bonuses for themselves, irrespective of the costs and 3 nconvenience to the public. Problems have become worse over time and there is little or no accountability of the public servant to perform the public duty. 2) The ‘authority’ of governments, at both center and states, to enforce their decisions has eroded over time. Government can pass orders, for example, for relocation of unauthorized industrial units or other structures, but implementation can be delayed if they run counter to private interests of some (at the expense of the general public interest). ) The process and procedures for conducting business in government and public service organizations, over time, have become non-functional. There are multiplicity of departments involved in the simplest of decisions, and administrative rules generally concentrate on the process rather than results. There is very little decentralization of decision-making power s, particularly financial powers. Thus, while local authorities have been given significant authority in some states for implementing national programmes, their financial authority is limited.Hence during early 90’s it was imperative for India to correct its clearly faulty developmental process. There have been several reasons put forward for the failure of the developmental path which necessitated the reforms of Manmohan Singh in 1991. The way I would approach the analysis is through the approach of comparing and contrasting the viewpoints of two of the most prominent Indian economists of our times. The Bhagwati-Sen debate Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen, probably the two most influential voices amongst Indian economists, represent the two divergent ways of thinking about the development path.Though formally no such debates exists, apart from occasional jibes against Sen in the writings of Bhagwati, I believe by scrutinizing their positions a lot of introspection can be don e. As Bhagwati says â€Å"my view as to what went wrong with Indian planning is completely at odds with that of Prof Sen†. My objective in this section is bring 4 out the intellectual divergence amongst these two great minds and possibly to learn something from that. Let us start with the points on which they agree.I think the fact that India needs an egalitarian development path is quite well acknowledged by both of them. The Nehruvian dream of an egalitarian growth process was what both of them would endorse. As Bhagwati says â€Å"I have often reminded the critics of Indian strategy, who attack it from the perspective of poverty which is juxtaposed against growth, that it is incorrect to think that the Indian planners got it wrong by going for growth rather than attacking poverty: they confuse mearns with ends.In fact, the phrase â€Å"minimum income† and the aim of providing it to India’s poor were very much part of the lexicon and at the heart of our think ing and analysis when I worked at the Indian Planning Commission in the early 1960’s†. The key strategy that defined the resulting developmental effort was the decision to target efforts at accelerating the growth rate. Given the immensity of the poverty, the potential of simple redistribution was considered to be both negligible in its immediate impact and of little sustained value. Accelerated growth was thus regarded as an instrumental variable; a ppolicy outcome that would in turn reduce poverty.He goes on to argue â€Å"Those intimately associated in India’s plans fully understood, contrary to many recent assertions, the need for land reforms, for attention to the possibility of undue concentration of economic power and growth in inequality. These ‘social tasks’, which of course also can redound to economic advantage, were attended to and endlessly debated in the ensuing years, with reports commissioned (such as the Mahalanobis Committee report on income distribution in 1962) and policies continually revised and devised to achieve these social outcomes†.If we follow the writings of Sen on the other hand, in his recent book â€Å"Development As Freedom†, Sen argues that â€Å"the usefulness of wealth lies in the things that it allows us to do- the substantive freedoms it helps us to achieve†¦. an adequate conception of development must go much beyond the accumulation of wealth and the growth of gross national product and other income-related variables. Without ignoring the importance of economic growth, we must look well beyond it†. I don’t think that there is any divergence of view on this front with that of what Bhagwati says.It is worth mentioning at this juncture that this has been a common misconception amongst economists about the divergence of two different developmental paths. It is often misunderstood that Bhagwati’s 5 view stresses just on economic growth while Sen argues ag ainst economic growth and the importance of markets. The above paragraphs reveal that this is certainly not the case. Both of them is sufficiently concerned with economic growth as well as the basic issues of poverty, health and social issues. The points of divergence I believe the real disparity concerns the mearns of achieving these common goals.Bhagwati’s arguments can be summarized as follows. The development process consists of two steps. As a first step, a growth accelerated strategy would generate enhanced investments and whose objective was to jolt the economy up into a higher investment mode that would generate a much higher growth rate. The planning framework rested on two legs. First, it sought to make the escalated growth credible to private iinvestors so that they would proceed to invest on an enhanced basis in a self-fulfilling prophecy.Second, it aimed at generating the added savings to finance the investments so induced. His argument crucially rested on the fo llowing logical theory. For the higher growth rate to achieve it is very important for the economy concerned to be open. If the effective exchange rate for exports over the effective exchange rate for imports (signifying the relative profitability of the foreign over the home market), ensured that the world markets were profitable to aim for, guaranteeing in turn that the inducement to invest was no longer constrained by the growth of the domestic market.It is worthwhile to recount India’s performance as far as the public sector savings is concerned, which was considered a major hindrance towards the success of the Indian plans. Continuing with the argument, the generation of substantial export earnings enabled the growing investment to be implemented by imports of equipment embodying technical change. If the Social Marginal Product of this equipment exceeded the cost of its importation, there would be a ‘surplus’ that would accrue as an income gain to the econom y and boost the growth rate.The role of literacy and education comes at the next stage. The pproduactivity of the imported equipment would be greater with a workforce that was literate and would be further enhanced if many had even secondary education. Now his argument is based on the fact that the enhanced growth would demand and lead to a more educated workforce. Thus 6 he considers that primary education and literacy plays an enhancing, rather than initiating role in the developmental process. Sen on the other hand considers a larger view of development.He believes that questions such as whether certain political or social freedoms, such as the liberty of political participation and dissent, or opportunities to receive basic education, are or not â€Å"conducive to development† misses the important understanding that these substantive freedoms are among the constituent components of development. Their relevance for development does not have to be freshly established throug h their indirect contribution to the growth of GNP or to the promotion of industrialization.While the causal relation, that these freedoms and rights are also very effective in contributing to economic progress, the vindication of freedoms and rights provided by this causal linkage is over and above the directly constitutive role of these freedoms in development. I think that it is precisely at this point where some of Sen’s writings on economics and philosophy should be considered. According to Sen, economics as a discipline has tended to move away from focusing on the value of freedoms to that of utilities, incomes and wealth. This narrowing of focus leads to an underappreciation of the full role of the market mechanism.For example, take the example of the most important finding on the theory of the markets- the Arrow-Debreu equilibrium. That theorem shows that a competitive economic system can achieve a certain type of efficiency (Pareto efficiency to be precise) which a c entralized system cannot achieve, and this is due to reasons of incentives and information problems. But if we suppose that no such imperfections do exist and the same competitive equilibrium can be brought about by a dictator who announces the production and allocation decision, then are these two outcomes the same?In a much celebrated paper, Sen brings out the distinction between â€Å"culmination outcomes† (that is, the only final outcomes without taking any note of the process of getting there) and â€Å"comprehensive outcomes† (taking note of the process through which the culmination outcomes come about). Along these lines we can argue that Sen would disagree with Bhagwati’s point of view in that it does not consider the â€Å"comprehensive outcomes†.Though the outcomes may be the same if we bring about a simultaneous increase in investments in education, health and other social activities, with that of growth, as against a 7 framework where growth b rings about a derived demand for those activities (a la Bhagwati), these are not the same thing. So as we can see, the primary difference in the approach is that Bhagwati argues that poverty and social dimensions can be taken care of in the second step of the development process while Sen argues that social oopportunity is a constitutive element in the developmental process.In this respect it is helpful to scrutinize the East Asian case, where countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (so called Asian Tigers) achieved phenomenal rates of growth in the 80’s and much of the early 90’s. The interesting fact about these countries is that they achieved this with a significant high record on the social dimensions. Both Bhagwati and Sen has commented directly on the achievement of these countries. As Bhagwati states â€Å"The East Asian investment rate began its take-off to phenomenal levels because East Asia turned to the Export promotion (EP) strategy.The elimination of th e ‘bias against exports’, and indeed a net excess of the effective exchange rate for exports over the effective exchange rate for imports (signifying the relative profitability of the foreign over the domestic market), ensured that the world markets were profitable to aim for, guaranteeing in turn that the inducement to invest was no longer constrained by the growth of the domestic market as in the IS strategy†. I personally think that there is nothing disputable in this analysis but it does not strengthen his argument that the social achievements in these countries followed their phase of growth.In fact the pioneering example of enhancing economic growth through social oopportunity, especially in basic education, is Japan. Japan had a higher rate of literacy than Europe even at the time of the Meiji restoration in the mid nineteenth century, when industrialization had not yet occurred there but had gone on for many decades in Europe. The East Asian experience was also based on ssimilar connections. The contrasts between India and China are also important in this aspect. The governments of both China and India has been making efforts for sometime now to move toward a more open, internationally active, market-oriented economy.While Indian efforts have slowly met with some access, the kind of massive results that China has seen has failed to occur in India. An important factor in this contrast lies in the fact that from a social preparedness standpoint, China is a great deal ahead of India in being able to make use of the market economy. While prereform China was deeply skeptical of markets, it was not skeptical of basic education and 8 widely shared health care. When China turned to marketization in 1979, it already had a highly literate people, especially the young, with good schooling facilities across the bulk of the country.In this respect, China was not very far from the basic educational situation in South Korea or Taiwan, where too an educated population had played a major role in seizing the economic opportunities offered by a supported market system. Indeed it is often argued that it is a mistake to worry about the discord between income achievements and survival chances-in general- the statistical connection between them is observed to be quite close. It is interesting, in this context, to refer to some statistical analyses that have recently been presented by Sudhir Anand and Martin Ravallion.On the basis of intercountry comparisons, they find that life expectancy does indeed have a significantly positive correlation with GNP per head, but that this relationship works primarily through the impact of GNP on (I) the incomes specifically of the poor and (2) public expenditure particularly in health care. In fact, once these two variables are iincluded on their own in the statistical exercise, little extra explanation can be obtained from including GNP per head as an additional causal influence. The basic point i s that the impact of economic growth depends much on how the fruits of economic growth are used.Sen argues that a focus on issues on basic education, basic health care and land reforms made widespread economic participation easier in many of the East Asian and Southeast Asian economies in a way it has not been possible in, say, Brazil or India, where the creation of social opportunities has been much slower and that slowness has acted as a barrier to economic development. I believe that one has to take note of the examples of say, Sri Lanka, the Indian State of Kerala or pre-reform China where on the contrary, impressive high life expectancy, low fertility, high literacy and so on, have failed to translate into high economic growth.I would like to see a theory which explains this. But to elucidate Sen’s view, he would rather prefer a situation of that of Kerala or Sri Lanka than that of Brazil or India. I would suggest that what one needs is such critical studies which would illuminate the failure of Brazil on one hand as against Sri Lanka on the other, to illustrate the fact that why an egalitarian growth process was not successfully implemented in these cases. We will have useful lessons to learn in that case for the future of development. The debate 9 between Bhagwati and Sen (or rather the created debate in this paper) gives rise to such an agenda.The Reforms of Manmohan Singh At the beginning of 90’s the reform process was started by the then Finance Minsiter of India, Manmohan Singh. The way I will organize this section is the following: First, I will give a short summary of the reform process , in the sense what were its general goals and ideas. Then I will mention some aspects of the reforms which I think are very encouraging. After that I will scrutinize the reforms more stringently in order to assess whether there is real cause for such jubilation that we tend to observe regarding India. (i)The Background: India’s economic reform s began in 1991 under the Narsimha Rao Government. By that time the surge in oil prices triggered by the Gulf War in 1990 imposed a severe strain on a balance of payments already made fragile by several years of large fiscal deficits and increasing external debt as was discussed before. Coming at a time of internal political instability, the balanceof-payments crises quickly ballooned into a crisis of confidence which intensified in 1991 even though oil prices quickly normalized. Foreign exchange reserves dropped to $1. billion in 1991, barely sufficient for two weeks of imports and a default on external payments appeared inevitable. The shortage of foreign exchange forced tightening of import restrictions, which in turn led to a fall in industrial output. A digression: The politics of reforms In a very engaging article on the politics of reforms Ashutosh Varshney has raised an extremely important question as to why was India’s minority government in 1991 successful in introd ucing economic reforms, whereas a much sthronger government, with a three-fourth majority in parliament, was unable to do so in 1985 (under the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi)?His argument draws a distinction between mass politics and elite politics. He believes that â€Å"this distinction has not been adequately appreciated 10 in the voluminous literature on the politics of economic reforms. Scholars of economic reforms have generally assumed that reforms are, or tend to become, central to politics. Depending on what else is making demands on the energies of the electorate and politicians- ethnic and religious strife, political order and stability, corruption and crimes of the incumbents- the assumption of reforms centrality may not be right†.In the largest ever survey of mass political attitudes in India conducted between April-July 1996, only 19 ppercent of the electorate reported any knowledge of economic reforms, even though reforms had been in existence since July 1 991. Of the rural electorate, only about 14 per cent had heard of reforms, whereas the comparable proportion in the cities was 32 per cent. Further nearly 66 ppercent of the graduates were aware of the dramatic changes in economic ppolicy, compared to only 7 per cent of the poor, who are mostly illiterate.In contrast, close to three-fourths of the electorate – both literates and illiterates, poor and rich, urban and rural- were aware of the 1992 mosque demolition in Ayodhya; 80 per cent expressed clear opinions about whether the country should have a uniform civil code or religiously prescribed and separate laws for mmarriage, divorce, and property inheritance; and 87 per cent took a stand on caste-based affirmative action. Thus according to Varshney, elite politics is typically expressed in debates and struggles within the institutionalized settings of a bureaucracy, of a parliament or a cabinet.Mass politics takes place primarily on the streets. In democracies, especially p oor democracies, mass politics can redefine elite politics, for an accumulated expression of popular sentiments and opinions inevitably exercises a great deal of pressure on elected politicians. The economic reform’s during 1991 kept progressing because the political context had made Hindu-Muslim relations and caste animosities the prime determinant of political coalitions. The reforms were crowded out of mass politics by issues that aroused greater passion, and anxiety about the nation.And hence the reforms could go as far as they did. (ii) The Reforms in a Nutshell: The reforms had two broad objectives. One was the reorientation of the economy from a statist, centrally directed and highly controlled economy to what is referred to in the current jargon as a ‘marketfriendly economy’. A reduction direct controls and physical planning was expected to improve the efficiency of the economy. It was to be made more 11 ‘open’ to trade and external flows thr ough a reduction in trade barriers and liberalization of foreign investment policies.A second objective of the reform measures was macro-economic stabilization. This was to be achieved by substantially reducing fiscal deficits and the government’s draft on society’s savings. (iii) Results: Compared with the historical trend, the impact of these policies has been positive and significant. The growth rate of the economy during 1992-93 to 1999-2000 was close to 6. 5 per cent per annum. The balance of payments position has also substantially improved.Despite several external developments, including the imposition of sanctions in 1998 and sharp rise in oil prices in 2000-01, foreign exchange reserves are at a record level. Current account deficits have been moderate, and India’s external debt (as a ppercentage of GDP) and the debt servicing burden have actually come down since the early nineties. There is also evidence of considerable restructuring in the corporate s ector with attention being given to cost-competitiveness and financial viability.The rate of inflation has also come down sharply. (iv) A Closer Scrutiny: When we talk about GDP growth we talk about the aggregate figures. Let us closely look at the sectoral composition. If we look at the growth rates with respect to different sectors we find that the growth rates of agricultural and industrial production have not increased at all in the nineties, compared with the eighties. The increase in overall growth in the 1990’s is overwhelmingly driven by accelerated growth of the ‘service’ sector.The service sector includes some very dynamic fields, such as uses of information technology and electronic servicing, in both of which India has made remarkable progress. This was largely a result of the liberalization policies initiated by Manmohan Singh. Ssimilar comments apply to the phenomenal expansion of software-related export services. Now the relevant question is, what is wrong in the fact that the services sector is driving the growth process in India?What is a bit disturbing is the fact that it is not clear as to the extent to which the rapid growth of the service sector as a whole contributes to the generation of widely-shared employment, the elimination of poverty, and the 12 enhancement of the quality of life. And also employment in the service sector is often inaccessible to those who lack the required skills or education. The current restructuring to the Indian economy towards this skill and education-intensive sector reinforces the resources to a certain ection of the society. How has the Reforms been successful in creating a widely shared developmental process? The issue as to whether the reforms have been successful in eliminating poverty to a greater extent than say in the 80’s is a contentious issue. Experience prior to the 1990s suggests that economic growth in India has typically reduced poverty. Using data from 1958 to 1991, Ravallion and Datt (1996) find that the elasticity of the incidence of poverty with respect to net domestic product per capita was –0. 5 and that with respect to private consumption per capita it was –0. 9. However, the 1990s are more contentious. Some observers have argued that poverty has fallen far more rapidly in the 1990s than previously (for example, Bhalla, 2000). Others have argued that poverty reduction has stalled and that the poverty rate may even have risen (for example, Sen, 2001). The basic question of measuring India’s poverty rate has turned out to be harder to answer than it needed to be because of difficulties with coverage and comparability of the survey data.Correcting for all those, Datt and Ravallion in a recent study find that India has probably maintained its 1980s rate of poverty reduction in the 1990s, though they do not find any convincing evidence of an acceleration in the decline of poverty. It is probably apt to remark here that oft entimes the public rhetoric fails to take the incomparability problems in the surveys from which the poverty estimates are calculated and try to interpret the estimates to reinforce their particular arguments.Even the Finance Minister’s ‘budget speech’ of Feb 2001 coincluded firmly that ‘poverty has fallen from 36 ppercent in 1993-4 to 26 ppercent or less now’. It is worth noting that even if one were to endorse the official 1999-2000 headcount ratio of 26 per cent, which is known to be biased downwards, one would find that poverty reduction in the 90s has proceeded at a ssimilar rates as in the earlier decades, in spite of a significant acceleration in the economic growth rate. As things stand, this is the most optimistic reading of the available evidence.All of the estimates were made with respect to head-count indexes. I think it is necessary to move away from this narrow index and to consider a broader range of social 13 indicators. Much of the d ebate in this area has focused on what has happened to expenditure on social sector development in the post reform period. Dev and Mooji (2002) find that central

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Angels Demons Chapter 118-120

118 Eleven-forty-two P.M. The frenzied convoy that plunged back into the basilica to retrieve the camerlegno was not one Langdon had ever imagined he would be part of†¦ much less leading. But he had been closest to the door and had acted on instinct. He'll die in here, Langdon thought, sprinting over the threshold into the darkened void. â€Å"Camerlegno! Stop!† The wall of blackness that hit Langdon was absolute. His pupils were contracted from the glare outside, and his field of vision now extended no farther than a few feet before his face. He skidded to a stop. Somewhere in the blackness ahead, he heard the camerlegno's cassock rustle as the priest ran blindly into the abyss. Vittoria and the guards arrived immediately. Flashlights came on, but the lights were almost dead now and did not even begin to probe the depths of the basilica before them. The beams swept back and forth, revealing only columns and bare floor. The camerlegno was nowhere to be seen. â€Å"Camerlegno!† Chartrand yelled, fear in his voice. â€Å"Wait! Signore!† A commotion in the doorway behind them caused everyone to turn. Chinita Macri's large frame lurched through the entry. Her camera was shouldered, and the glowing red light on top revealed that it was still transmitting. Glick was running behind her, microphone in hand, yelling for her to slow down. Langdon could not believe these two. This is not the time! â€Å"Out!† Chartrand snapped. â€Å"This is not for your eyes!† But Macri and Glick kept coming. â€Å"Chinita!† Glick sounded fearful now. â€Å"This is suicide! I'm not coming!† Macri ignored him. She threw a switch on her camera. The spotlight on top glared to life, blinding everyone. Langdon shielded his face and turned away in pain. Damn it! When he looked up, though, the church around them was illuminated for thirty yards. At that moment the camerlegno's voice echoed somewhere in the distance. â€Å"Upon this rock I will build my church!† Macri wheeled her camera toward the sound. Far off, in the grayness at the end of the spotlight's reach, black fabric billowed, revealing a familiar form running down the main aisle of the basilica. There was a fleeting instant of hesitation as everyone's eyes took in the bizarre image. Then the dam broke. Chartrand pushed past Langdon and sprinted after the camerlegno. Langdon took off next. Then the guards and Vittoria. Macri brought up the rear, lighting everyone's way and transmitting the sepulchral chase to the world. An unwilling Glick cursed aloud as he tagged along, fumbling through a terrified blow-by-blow commentary. The main aisle of St. Peter's Basilica, Lieutenant Chartrand had once figured out, was longer than an Olympic soccer field. Tonight, however, it felt like twice that. As the guard sprinted after the camerlegno, he wondered where the man was headed. The camerlegno was clearly in shock, delirious no doubt from his physical trauma and bearing witness to the horrific massacre in the Pope's office. Somewhere up ahead, beyond the reach of the BBC spotlight, the camerlegno's voice rang out joyously. â€Å"Upon this rock I will build my church!† Chartrand knew the man was shouting Scripture – Matthew 16:18, if Chartrand recalled correctly. Upon this rock I will build my church. It was an almost cruelly inapt inspiration – the church was about to be destroyed. Surely the camerlegno had gone mad. Or had he? For a fleeting instant, Chartrand's soul fluttered. Holy visions and divine messages had always seemed like wishful delusions to him – the product of overzealous minds hearing what they wanted to hear – God did not interact directly! A moment later, though, as if the Holy Spirit Himself had descended to persuade Chartrand of His power, Chartrand had a vision. Fifty yards ahead, in the center of the church, a ghost appeared†¦ a diaphanous, glowing outline. The pale shape was that of the half-naked camerlegno. The specter seemed transparent, radiating light. Chartrand staggered to a stop, feeling a knot tighten in his chest. The camerlegno is glowing! The body seemed to shine brighter now. Then, it began to sink†¦ deeper and deeper, until it disappeared as if by magic into the blackness of the floor. Langdon had seen the phantom also. For a moment, he too thought he had witnessed a magical vision. But as he passed the stunned Chartrand and ran toward the spot where the camerlegno had disappeared, he realized what had just happened. The camerlegno had arrived at the Niche of the Palliums – the sunken chamber lit by ninety-nine oil lamps. The lamps in the niche shone up from beneath, illuminating him like a ghost. Then, as the camerlegno descended the stairs into the light, he had seemed to disappear beneath the floor. Langdon arrived breathless at the rim overlooking the sunken room. He peered down the stairs. At the bottom, lit by the golden glow of oil lamps, the camerlegno dashed across the marble chamber toward the set of glass doors that led to the room holding the famous golden box. What is he doing? Langdon wondered. Certainly he can't think the golden box – The camerlegno yanked open the doors and ran inside. Oddly though, he totally ignored the golden box, rushing right past it. Five feet beyond the box, he dropped to his knees and began struggling to lift an iron grate embedded in the floor. Langdon watched in horror, now realizing where the camerlegno was headed. Good God, no! He dashed down the stairs after him. â€Å"Father! Don't!† As Langdon opened the glass doors and ran toward the camerlegno, he saw the camerlegno heave on the grate. The hinged, iron bulkhead fell open with a deafening crash, revealing a narrow shaft and a steep stairway that dropped into nothingness. As the camerlegno moved toward the hole, Langdon grabbed his bare shoulders and pulled him back. The man's skin was slippery with sweat, but Langdon held on. The camerlegno wheeled, obviously startled. â€Å"What are you doing!† Langdon was surprised when their eyes met. The camerlegno no longer had the glazed look of a man in a trance. His eyes were keen, glistening with a lucid determination. The brand on his chest looked excruciating. â€Å"Father,† Langdon urged, as calmly as possible, â€Å"you can't go down there. We need to evacuate.† â€Å"My son,† the camerlegno said, his voice eerily sane. â€Å"I have just had a message. I know – â€Å" â€Å"Camerlegno!† It was Chartrand and the others. They came dashing down the stairs into the room, lit by Macri's camera. When Chartrand saw the open grate in the floor, his eyes filled with dread. He crossed himself and shot Langdon a thankful look for having stopped the camerlegno. Langdon understood; had read enough about Vatican architecture to know what lay beneath that grate. It was the most sacred place in all of Christendom. Terra Santa. Holy Ground. Some called it the Necropolis. Some called it the Catacombs. According to accounts from the select few clergy who had descended over the years, the Necropolis was a dark maze of subterranean crypts that could swallow a visitor whole if he lost his way. It was not the kind of place through which they wanted to be chasing the camerlegno. â€Å"Signore,† Chartrand pleaded. â€Å"You're in shock. We need to leave this place. You cannot go down there. It's suicide.† The camerlegno seemed suddenly stoic. He reached out and put a quiet hand on Chartrand's shoulder. â€Å"Thank you for your concern and service. I cannot tell you how. I cannot tell you I understand. But I have had a revelation. I know where the antimatter is.† Everyone stared. The camerlegno turned to the group. â€Å"Upon this rock I will build my church. That was the message. The meaning is clear.† Langdon was still unable to comprehend the camerlegno's conviction that he had spoken to God, much less that he had deciphered the message. Upon this rock I will build my church? They were the words spoken by Jesus when he chose Peter as his first apostle. What did they have to do with anything? Macri moved in for a closer shot. Glick was mute, as if shell-shocked. The camerlegno spoke quickly now. â€Å"The Illuminati have placed their tool of destruction on the very cornerstone of this church. At the foundation.† He motioned down the stairs. â€Å"On the very rock upon which this church was built. And I know where that rock is.† Langdon was certain the time had come to overpower the camerlegno and carry him off. As lucid as he seemed, the priest was talking nonsense. A rock? The cornerstone in the foundation? The stairway before them didn't lead to the foundation, it led to the necropolis! â€Å"The quote is a metaphor, Father! There is no actual rock!† The camerlegno looked strangely sad. â€Å"There is a rock, my son.† He pointed into the hole. â€Å"Pietro e la pietra.† Langdon froze. In an instant it all came clear. The austere simplicity of it gave him chills. As Langdon stood there with the others, staring down the long staircase, he realized that there was indeed a rock buried in the darkness beneath this church. Pietro e la pietra. Peter is the rock. Peter's faith in God was so steadfast that Jesus called Peter â€Å"the rock† – the unwavering disciple on whose shoulders Jesus would build his church. On this very location, Langdon realized – Vatican Hill – Peter had been crucified and buried. The early Christians built a small shrine over his tomb. As Christianity spread, the shrine got bigger, layer upon layer, culminating in this colossal basilica. The entire Catholic faith had been built, quite literally, upon St. Peter. The rock. â€Å"The antimatter is on St. Peter's tomb,† the camerlegno said, his voice crystalline. Despite the seemingly supernatural origin of the information, Langdon sensed a stark logic in it. Placing the antimatter on St. Peter's tomb seemed painfully obvious now. The Illuminati, in an act of symbolic defiance, had located the antimatter at the core of Christendom, both literally and figuratively. The ultimate infiltration. â€Å"And if you all need worldly proof,† the camerlegno said, sounding impatient now, â€Å"I just found that grate unlocked.† He pointed to the open bulkhead in the floor. â€Å"It is never unlocked. Someone has been down there†¦ recently.† Everyone stared into the hole. An instant later, with deceptive agility, the camerlegno spun, grabbed an oil lamp, and headed for the opening. 119 The stone steps declined steeply into the earth. I'm going to die down here, Vittoria thought, gripping the heavy rope banister as she bounded down the cramped passageway behind the others. Although Langdon had made a move to stop the camerlegno from entering the shaft, Chartrand had intervened, grabbing Langdon and holding on. Apparently, the young guard was now convinced the camerlegno knew what he was doing. After a brief scuffle, Langdon had freed himself and pursued the camerlegno with Chartrand close on his heels. Instinctively, Vittoria had dashed after them. Now she was racing headlong down a precipitous grade where any misplaced step could mean a deadly fall. Far below, she could see the golden glow of the camerlegno's oil lamp. Behind her, Vittoria could hear the BBC reporters hurrying to keep up. The camera spotlight threw gnarled shadows beyond her down the shaft, illuminating Chartrand and Langdon. Vittoria could scarcely believe the world was bearing witness to this insanity. Turn off the damn camera! Then again, she knew the light was the only reason any of them could see where they were going. As the bizarre chase continued, Vittoria's thoughts whipped like a tempest. What could the camerlegno possibly do down here? Even if he found the antimatter? There was no time! Vittoria was surprised to find her intuition now telling her the camerlegno was probably right. Placing the antimatter three stories beneath the earth seemed an almost noble and merciful choice. Deep underground – much as in Z-lab – an antimatter annihilation would be partially contained. There would be no heat blast, no flying shrapnel to injure onlookers, just a biblical opening of the earth and a towering basilica crumbling into a crater. Was this Kohler's one act of decency? Sparing lives? Vittoria still could not fathom the director's involvement. She could accept his hatred of religion†¦ but this awesome conspiracy seemed beyond him. Was Kohler's loathing really this profound? Destruction of the Vatican? Hiring an assassin? The murders of her father, the Pope, and four cardinals? It seemed unthinkable. And how had Kohler managed all this treachery within the Vatican walls? Rocher was Kohler's inside man, Vittoria told herself. Rocher was an Illuminatus. No doubt Captain Rocher had keys to everything – the Pope's chambers, Il Passetto, the Necropolis, St. Peter's tomb, all of it. He could have placed the antimatter on St. Peter's tomb – a highly restricted locale – and then commanded his guards not to waste time searching the Vatican's restricted areas. Rocher knew nobody would ever find the canister. But Rocher never counted on the camerlegno's message from above. The message. This was the leap of faith Vittoria was still struggling to accept. Had God actually communicated with the camerlegno? Vittoria's gut said no, and yet hers was the science of entanglement physics – the study of interconnectedness. She witnessed miraculous communications every day – twin sea-turtle eggs separated and placed in labs thousands of miles apart hatching at the same instant†¦ acres of jellyfish pulsating in perfect rhythm as if of a single mind. There are invisible lines of communication everywhere, she thought. But between God and man? Vittoria wished her father were there to give her faith. He had once explained divine communication to her in scientific terms, and he had made her believe. She still remembered the day she had seen him praying and asked him, â€Å"Father, why do you bother to pray? God cannot answer you.† Leonardo Vetra had looked up from his meditations with a paternal smile. â€Å"My daughter the skeptic. So you don't believe God speaks to man? Let me put it in your language.† He took a model of the human brain down from a shelf and set it in front of her. â€Å"As you probably know, Vittoria, human beings normally use a very small percentage of their brain power. However, if you put them in emotionally charged situations – like physical trauma, extreme joy or fear, deep meditation – all of a sudden their neurons start firing like crazy, resulting in massively enhanced mental clarity.† â€Å"So what?† Vittoria said. â€Å"Just because you think clearly doesn't mean you talk to God.† â€Å"Aha!† Vetra exclaimed. â€Å"And yet remarkable solutions to seemingly impossible problems often occur in these moments of clarity. It's what gurus call higher consciousness. Biologists call it altered states. Psychologists call it super-sentience.† He paused. â€Å"And Christians call it answered prayer.† Smiling broadly, he added, â€Å"Sometimes, divine revelation simply means adjusting your brain to hear what your heart already knows.† Now, as she dashed down, headlong into the dark, Vittoria sensed perhaps her father was right. Was it so hard to believe that the camerlegno's trauma had put his mind in a state where he had simply â€Å"realized† the antimatter's location? Each of us is a God, Buddha had said. Each of us knows all. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom. It was in that moment of clarity, as Vittoria plunged deeper into the earth, that she felt her own mind open†¦ her own wisdom surface. She sensed now without a doubt what the camerlegno's intentions were. Her awareness brought with it a fear like nothing she had ever known. â€Å"Camerlegno, no!† she shouted down the passage. â€Å"You don't understand!† Vittoria pictured the multitudes of people surrounding Vatican City, and her blood ran cold. â€Å"If you bring the antimatter up†¦ everyone will die!† Langdon was leaping three steps at a time now, gaining ground. The passage was cramped, but he felt no claustrophobia. His once debilitating fear was overshadowed by a far deeper dread. â€Å"Camerlegno!† Langdon felt himself closing the gap on the lantern's glow. â€Å"You must leave the antimatter where it is! There's no other choice!† Even as Langdon spoke the words, he could not believe them. Not only had he accepted the camerlegno's divine revelation of the antimatter's location, but he was lobbying for the destruction of St. Peter's Basilica – one of the greatest architectural feats on earth†¦ as well as all of the art inside. But the people outside†¦ it's the only way. It seemed a cruel irony that the only way to save the people now was to destroy the church. Langdon figured the Illuminati were amused by the symbolism. The air coming up from the bottom of the tunnel was cool and dank. Somewhere down here was the sacred necropolis†¦ burial place of St. Peter and countless other early Christians. Langdon felt a chill, hoping this was not a suicide mission. Suddenly, the camerlegno's lantern seemed to halt. Langdon closed on him fast. The end of the stairs loomed abruptly from out of the shadows. A wrought-iron gate with three embossed skulls blocked the bottom of the stairs. The camerlegno was there, pulling the gate open. Langdon leapt, pushing the gate shut, blocking the camerlegno's way. The others came thundering down the stairs, everyone ghostly white in the BBC spotlight†¦ especially Glick, who was looking more pasty with every step. Chartrand grabbed Langdon. â€Å"Let the camerlegno pass!† â€Å"No!† Vittoria said from above, breathless. â€Å"We must evacuate right now! You cannot take the antimatter out of here! If you bring it up, everyone outside will die!† The camerlegno's voice was remarkably calm. â€Å"All of you†¦ we must trust. We have little time.† â€Å"You don't understand,† Vittoria said. â€Å"An explosion at ground level will be much worse than one down here!† The camerlegno looked at her, his green eyes resplendently sane. â€Å"Who said anything about an explosion at ground level?† Vittoria stared. â€Å"You're leaving it down here?† The camerlegno's certitude was hypnotic. â€Å"There will be no more death tonight.† â€Å"Father, but – â€Å" â€Å"Please†¦ some faith.† The camerlegno's voice plunged to a compelling hush. â€Å"I am not asking anyone to join me. You are all free to go. All I am asking is that you not interfere with His bidding. Let me do what I have been called to do.† The camerlegno's stare intensified. â€Å"I am to save this church. And I can. I swear on my life.† The silence that followed might as well have been thunder. 120 Eleven-fifty-one P.M. Necropolis literally means City of the Dead. Nothing Robert Langdon had ever read about this place prepared him for the sight of it. The colossal subterranean hollow was filled with crumbling mausoleums, like small houses on the floor of a cave. The air smelled lifeless. An awkward grid of narrow walkways wound between the decaying memorials, most of which were fractured brick with marble platings. Like columns of dust, countless pillars of unexcavated earth rose up, supporting a dirt sky, which hung low over the penumbral hamlet. City of the dead, Langdon thought, feeling trapped between academic wonder and raw fear. He and the others dashed deeper down the winding passages. Did I make the wrong choice? Chartrand had been the first to fall under the camerlegno's spell, yanking open the gate and declaring his faith in the camerlegno. Glick and Macri, at the camerlegno's suggestion, had nobly agreed to provide light to the quest, although considering what accolades awaited them if they got out of here alive, their motivations were certainly suspect. Vittoria had been the least eager of all, and Langdon had seen in her eyes a wariness that looked, unsettlingly, a lot like female intuition. It's too late now, he thought, he and Vittoria dashing after the others. We're committed. Vittoria was silent, but Langdon knew they were thinking the same thing. Nine minutes is not enough time to get the hell out of Vatican City if the camerlegno is wrong. As they ran on through the mausoleums, Langdon felt his legs tiring, noting to his surprise that the group was ascending a steady incline. The explanation, when it dawned on him, sent shivers to his core. The topography beneath his feet was that of Christ's time. He was running up the original Vatican Hill! Langdon had heard Vatican scholars claim that St. Peter's tomb was near the top of Vatican Hill, and he had always wondered how they knew. Now he understood. The damn hill is still here! Langdon felt like he was running through the pages of history. Somewhere ahead was St. Peter's tomb – the Christian relic. It was hard to imagine that the original grave had been marked only with a modest shrine. Not any more. As Peter's eminence spread, new shrines were built on top of the old, and now, the homage stretched 440 feet overhead to the top of Michelangelo's dome, the apex positioned directly over the original tomb within a fraction of an inch. They continued ascending the sinuous passages. Langdon checked his watch. Eight minutes. He was beginning to wonder if he and Vittoria would be joining the deceased here permanently. â€Å"Look out!† Glick yelled from behind them. â€Å"Snake holes!† Langdon saw it in time. A series of small holes riddled the path before them. He leapt, just clearing them. Vittoria jumped too, barely avoiding the narrow hollows. She looked uneasy as they ran on. â€Å"Snake holes?† â€Å"Snack holes, actually,† Langdon corrected. â€Å"Trust me, you don't want to know.† The holes, he had just realized, were libation tubes. The early Christians had believed in the resurrection of the flesh, and they'd used the holes to literally â€Å"feed the dead† by pouring milk and honey into crypts beneath the floor. The camerlegno felt weak. He dashed onward, his legs finding strength in his duty to God and man. Almost there. He was in incredible pain. The mind can bring so much more pain than the body. Still he felt tired. He knew he had precious little time. â€Å"I will save your church, Father. I swear it.† Despite the BBC lights behind him, for which he was grateful, the camerlegno carried his oil lamp high. I am a beacon in the darkness. I am the light. The lamp sloshed as he ran, and for an instant he feared the flammable oil might spill and burn him. He had experienced enough burned flesh for one evening. As he approached the top of the hill, he was drenched in sweat, barely able to breathe. But when he emerged over the crest, he felt reborn. He staggered onto the flat piece of earth where he had stood many times. Here the path ended. The necropolis came to an abrupt halt at a wall of earth. A tiny marker read: Mausoleum S. La tomba di San Pietro. Before him, at waist level, was an opening in the wall. There was no gilded plaque here. No fanfare. Just a simple hole in the wall, beyond which lay a small grotto and a meager, crumbling sarcophagus. The camerlegno gazed into the hole and smiled in exhaustion. He could hear the others coming up the hill behind him. He set down his oil lamp and knelt to pray. Thank you, God. It is almost over. Outside in the square, surrounded by astounded cardinals, Cardinal Mortati stared up at the media screen and watched the drama unfold in the crypt below. He no longer knew what to believe. Had the entire world just witnessed what he had seen? Had God truly spoken to the camerlegno? Was the antimatter really going to appear on St. Peter's – â€Å"Look!† A gasp went up from the throngs. â€Å"There!† Everyone was suddenly pointing at the screen. â€Å"It's a miracle!† Mortati looked up. The camera angle was unsteady, but it was clear enough. The image was unforgettable. Filmed from behind, the camerlegno was kneeling in prayer on the earthen floor. In front of him was a rough-hewn hole in the wall. Inside the hollow, among the rubble of ancient stone, was a terra cotta casket. Although Mortati had seen the coffin only once in his life, he knew beyond a doubt what it contained. San Pietro. Mortati was not naive enough to think that the shouts of joy and amazement now thundering through the crowd were exaltations from bearing witness to one of Christianity's most sacred relics. St. Peter's tomb was not what had people falling to their knees in spontaneous prayer and thanksgiving. It was the object on top of his tomb. The antimatter canister. It was there†¦ where it had been all day†¦ hiding in the darkness of the Necropolis. Sleek. Relentless. Deadly. The camerlegno's revelation was correct. Mortati stared in wonder at the transparent cylinder. The globule of liquid still hovered at its core. The grotto around the canister blinked red as the LED counted down into its final five minutes of life. Also sitting on the tomb, inches away from the canister, was the wireless Swiss Guard security camera that had been pointed at the canister and transmitting all along. Mortati crossed himself, certain this was the most frightful image he had seen in his entire life. He realized, a moment later, however, that it was about to get worse. The camerlegno stood suddenly. He grabbed the antimatter in his hands and wheeled toward the others. His face showing total focus. He pushed past the others and began descending the Necropolis the way he had come, running down the hill. The camera caught Vittoria Vetra, frozen in terror. â€Å"Where are you going! Camerlegno! I thought you said – â€Å" â€Å"Have faith!† he exclaimed as he ran off. Vittoria spun toward Langdon. â€Å"What do we do?† Robert Langdon tried to stop the camerlegno, but Chartrand was running interference now, apparently trusting the camerlegno's conviction. The picture coming from the BBC camera was like a roller coaster ride now, winding, twisting. Fleeting freeze-frames of confusion and terror as the chaotic cortege stumbled through the shadows back toward the Necropolis entrance. Out in the square, Mortati let out a fearful gasp. â€Å"Is he bringing that up here?† On televisions all over the world, larger than life, the camerlegno raced upward out of the Necropolis with the antimatter before him. â€Å"There will be no more death tonight!† But the camerlegno was wrong.