Mckesson Corporation: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment

McKesson Corporation: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment U07a1, DB8004 – Strategic Thinking and Innovation, Section 01 McKesson Corp: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment McKesson Corporation is largest health-care provider in the United States; as of 2011 it ranked as the third largest company in the state of California; where the company is headquartered. On the Fortune 500 list McKesson is ranked 15 (â€Å"Fortune 500,† 2011), McKesson consisted of several Strategic Business Units (SBUs).McKesson’s SBUs are divided into two primary categories: Distribution Solutions and Technology Solutions. The Distribution Solutions service all 50 states and deliver pharmaceuticals to institutional providers such as hospitals and health care systems; and also distributes to retail pharmacies; physician offices, surgery centers, long-term care facilities, and home care businesses. McKesson Canada, which is a part of McKesson, is a leading distributor in Mexico via its equity holding in Nadro. McKesson Distribution Solutions consist of the following SBUs (McKesson, n. . ): †¢McKesson Medical-Surgical †¢McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions †¢McKesson Pharmaceutical †¢McKesson Pharmacy Systems †¢McKesson Specialty Care Solutions †¢Moore Medical †¢Plasma and BioLogics †¢Zee Medical McKesson Technology Solutions consists of software, services and consulting to hospitals, automation, imaging centers, physician offices, home health care agencies, and payors. The Technology-Solutions of McKesson Provide an avenue to improve health care safety, manage revenue streams and resources, and reduce the cost and variability of health care. McKesson Technology Solutions consist of the following SBUs (McKesson, n. d. ): †¢McKesson Automation †¢McKesson Health Solutions †¢McKesson Provider Technologies †¢RelayHealth McKesson is one of the most successful compan ies in its industry in the United States. From a strategic management and planning perspective McKesson believe in unity within its divisions. Although the businesses are separate entities, there are some similarities in reference to management and interface with the parent company.The focus on this paper will be on McKesson Medical-Surgical, which is a SBU of McKesson Distribution Solutions; and the interface with the parent company; McKesson Corporation. McKesson Medical-Surgical Interface with McKesson Company McKesson as a company believe in unity; especially from a management perspective. This company has consistently acquired other companies; and has successfully managed to bring unity within each SBU based on the management goals of the parent company.According to Raynor, (2007), â€Å" McKesson has acquired approximately 75 companies since 1995 that have been aligned with or assimilated into our assorted business units. Our size and breadth of products and services fostered variability in HR practices that diluted our efforts to become a more seamless â€Å"One McKesson. † Accordingly McKesson embarked on a series of initiatives to standardize, improve and automate, where possible, its HR processes. Human Resources and Organization Management Team McKesson created a team of Human Resource and Organizational Effectiveness (OE) professionals in 2004.The focus of this team was to develop best practices and improved quality via a buy-in from all the business units. If a consensus is not met after voting on an issue, an 80 percent majority vote is required to move on (Raynor, 2007). Performance Management Team McKesson has created a weekly meeting for over a year for the Performance Management Design Team, which met virtually via conference call or web meeting. This team was also designed to focus on more unity within the company. The team was responsible for creating roles and responsibilities for performance management; with emphasis on employee i nvolvement.New competency model was developed to redefine the rating scale. ePeformance was implemented; via a PeopleSoft module and customized to support the newly created program and standardized performance practices (Raynor, 2007). McKesson Supply-Chain Management McKesson experience with its acute-care distribution business; which is also the bread and butter in the more recent years for McKesson; effective supply chain management has created success for various SBUs within the company. Supply chain management has been consistent within McKesson Corporation throughout all the SBUs.The consistency is the belief in building strong relationships with customers, offering innovative supply chain management products and services; a creating innovative technology solutions. This consistency has also allowed the company to grow by adding new customers and increasing the business with their existing customers (Smith, 2006). Environmental Trends and Current Business Model McKesson Medica l-Surgical is a spin-off of what used to be a drug wholesaler; Gil Minor III created what is currently considered a powerhouse medical and surgical box; which is where the market was trending (Smith, 2006).The company has taken advantage of creating convenience in the medical industry. Instead of selling from a brick and mortar pharmacy, this company has taken advantage of selling via supply chain directly to its customers as well as on-line sales. From a strategic perspective the company has managed to create success in various ways. McKesson business units’ success is based on consistency, innovation, creativity, from one division to another. The company has taken medical supplies and services to a different a level.They are not the typical CVS or Eckerd Drug store; the company caters more to medical professionals, such as doctors, psychiatrists, but more to medical professions who have connections with hospitals. The company also provides medical supplies and services to m ost major hospitals as well as other medical institutions. The innovation of the supply chain management, medical technologies, and the acquisitions and expansions has been successful for McKesson. A key element is also their ability to place the customer first.From a strategic management and planning perspective, below are some of the strategies used by McKesson to build and sustain success in their businesses. McKesson Strategies Incorporated This Millennium| McKesson Technology and Information Technology & Other Changes| Provide service physician practices that are connected with large hospital systems. | Ongoing investment in technology has helped to differentiate McKesson in the market and has been a key element in its success| Rarely pursue the individual physician market, since distributing to so many mall, individual offices is not our core competency. | Continue to invest in creating innovative technology solutions that help improve the supply chain. | Offer third-party-log istics services to certain manufacturers, which have proven to be fruitful partnerships for both parties. | QSight, an innovative inventory management program allows hospital professionals to manage clinical inventory with an easy-to-use Web-based platform| Offer Integrated Service Center model to customers who might wish a different distribution model from traditional distribution. Acquisition and Expansion | McKesson does not sell pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter pharmacy goods or medical surgical products directly to consumers| Putting the customer first| (Smith, 2006) McKesson business model relate to various environmental trends; such as new and innovative technologies, with cutting edge improvements. Creation of a cutting-edge supply chain management; which is currently an important trend with many companies that are trying to improve their bottom line and stream line their business(es).McKesson also provide supplies and services to home health care, and been very successful with acquisitions and expansions. The environmental trends support the current business models and have created success within the company as well as the various divisions. McKesson Business Model Success According to Acur & Bititci (2003), â€Å"Today’s globally competitive environment is complex, dynamic and unpredictable. To deal with this level of change, uncertainty and complexity companies need to develop and review their strategies almost continuously to stay ahead of the competition.Within this dynamic environment strategy management requires considerable resources and effort in terms of managerial time, with increasing pressures for innovation, knowledge sharing and co-operation. † McKesson has proved that it is on the leading edge of technology in its industry; the company is continuously working toward new innovative ideas to create more efficient; better service; much of the operation has been focus on supporting supplies from a global supply chain manageme nt perspective. McKesson is the longest-operating company currently in the healthcare industries.The Medical-Surgical business unit of McKesson, similar to McKesson as a whole has been efficient with its strategic management and planning as well as successful as a SBU of McKesson. McKesson Annual Report as of Fiscal Year End March 31, 2011 shows the Medical-Surgical Distribution and a service has increase consecutively since 2009. McKesson Business Model Reinventions McKesson has reinvented several models within the last five years which have proven to been successful for the company as a whole and its strategic business units.Value creation and strategies should be identified at each business unit within an organization to create an integrated approach to strategic management. Strategic objectives should be deployed and implemented. To compete from a global environment; which is constantly changing the operational environment of a business strategy planning and management should be a continuous process, which will provide a closed-loop-control system which will facilitate management of the organization performance as a whole as well as individual business units (Acur, et al, 2003).McKesson has reinvented their supply-chain planning and management from business unit to business unit. New and innovative technologies; placing the customer first; expansion and acquisition is what McKesson has done repeatedly and been success as whole as well as with its individual business units. Key Resources and Generic Strategy Deployed Within the Business Model One of McKesson’s key resources within the Medical-Surgical Business Units is the uniqueness of its distribution – supply chain.Unlike some pharmaceutical that companies focus on distribution to Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and other similar store chains; McKesson focus its supply chain on physician who have practices which are connected to large hospitals. McKesson supply-chain increase efficiencies from an operational perspective with its electronic ordering and purchasing system; with the improved system the company can offer faster and better customer service and deliveries. Another area in which McKesson offer uniqueness from a company and business unit perspective is managing their human resources to help impact the bottom line – from a financial point of view.According to Raynor (2007), â€Å"Performance management is increasingly regarded as a business process with real bottom-line impact, versus an HR program. † â€Å"Instead of being viewed as an HR program, performance management was now discussed in terms of business impact. † Summary From management perspective sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present, yet not compromise the ability to meet future needs (Haugh & Talwar, 2010). McKesson Medical-Surgical Business Unit financial in the last few years has reflected financial sustainability.McKesson’s supply chain operation from a global perspective, the ability to continuously improve and create new technologies; as well as new ways of doing business in the pharmaceutical industries has placed McKesson above many other pharmaceutical companies. The focus on human resource development with the creation of the Performance Management Design Team places McKesson and its business units above many companies today. All companies have various resources which play an active role in the performance of a company.However, most companies under-rate the importance of in my opinion their internal customers. Employees play an active part in how a company performs financially. From a psychology perspective a happy person is can think better and perform better than one who is unhappy. Knowing how to manage ones human resource can improve how a company perform; and can increase innovative ideas from employees. All other resources can only be a good as a company’s human resource. References Acur, N. , & Bititci, U. (20 03). Managing strategy through business processes.Production Planning & Control, 14(4), 309. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Fortune 500: 15. McKesson. (2011). Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2219. html Haugh, H. M. , & Talwar, A. (2010). How Do Corporations Embed Sustainability Across the Organization?. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 384-396. doi:10. 5465/AMLE. 2010. 53791822 Leveraging Business Intelligence for Revenue Improvement. (2008). hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 62(8), 1-8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.McKesson. (n. d. ) McKesson About 2BU Our 2BU Company Businesses 2BBusinesses. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from http://www. mckesson. com/en_us/McKesson. com/About%2BUs/Our%2BCompany/Our%2BBusinesses. html Raynor, E. (2007). Developing the Performance Culture at McKesson Medical-Surgical. Organization Development Journal, 25(4), P19-P25. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Smith, C. (2006). Distributor CEO extends reach from hospital bedside to the home. Healthcare Purchasing News, 30(9), 16-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Research Success Assignment Essay

Leon’s furniture is ranked number two hundred and ten on the globe and mail’s report on business top 1000, earning a profit of $56,666. The focus of this report will be on the financial position of Leon’s furniture. For any business, the financial position of the company will be viewed by both internal and external users and stakeholders because it shows how well the business is doing financially. The net income of the company will affect the financial position of the business because based on the profit or loss incurred, it will define if the business is successful or not. Moreover, shareholders will be interested in the financial statements since it determines the earnings per share. The first article is â€Å"Leon’s EPS falls 18.8% in Q2† which reports about the financial situation of Leon’s and briefly explained the causes of the fall. Judging from the title of the article, it is obvious that it will impact Leon’s furniture in a ne gative fashion. Sales are decreased from $11.2 million to $9 million between 2011 and 2012 (Knell). This suggests that net income and earnings per share has dropped significantly. It is reported that the decrease in sales is due to the continuation of waning customer confidence, decrease in housing starts, and continued high customer debt (Knell). Customer confidence plays a great part when customers are debating on whether they should purchase the furniture or not. Since the world is still recovering from the economic crisis years ago, the higher unemployment rates and lower GDPs will create less customer confidence when a decision needs to be made. Hence, they are less likely to purchase the products. The start of a decrease in housing means that less houses are being built compared to before. Moreover, less new home owners will shop at furniture stores like Leon’s furniture. In addition, high consumer debt nowadays is another reason why there’s a reduction in customer spending. â€Å"Also, affecting probability in the second quarter were marketing expenses.† (Knell) Since Leon’s have been opening new stores, the occupancy costs are increased by $1.2 million. These increases and decreases in numbers will ultimately reduce the sales volume and result in a decrease in net income. â€Å"Leon’s earning decline 15% in third quarter† is another article that reports a negative impact relating to their financial position. Similar to the earnings declined in the second quarter, the third quarter of the year is still a tough period for Leon’s. They claim that this is due to the increase in operating costs in a time of flat sales growth (Knell). The newly renovated stores in Sault. Ste. Marie and Sudbury, Ontario are opened in the thir d quarter of 2012 and will further increase the operating cost. Financially, this means that Leon’s is continuing to expand and opening new store and increasing its operating expenses, but the market is only providing them will a flat growth rate of sales. If the sales volume remains unchanged and operating costs continues to grow, the amount of the money earned will logically start to decrease. â€Å"The company said its growth margin fell 1.5 points to 40.9% mainly because a weakening Canadian dollar hiked the cost of imported product† (Knell). This means that more Canadian dollars are needed to buy the foreign products that used less Canadian dollars to buy years ago. This effects the financial position because more assets are used to import foreign products. Lastly, the third article is called â€Å"Leon’s to acquire The Brick†. As the title suggests Leon’s will buyout The Brick and will merge the two companies in one. This can have both positive and negative impacts for Leon’s financially. â€Å"The transaction, valued at about C$700 million, is expected to close in the first quarter.† (Knell) This can be considered a negative impact for the company financially since an enormous amount of money is needed for the buyout. Using large amount of money to buy out The Brick can affect several things. The asset will decrease (if they borough money from banks, it will increase their liabilities and they must pay for the interest) and also effect the asset-liability ratio, making the company owe more than they own. In addition, the executive chairman of The Brick is anticipated to join Leon’s board of directors (Knell). Like any other new coworkers that come to the company, they might encounter arguments or disagreements. However, if both companies work together in a positive manner, they may earn more net income combined. Hence, this will turn the negative into a positive impact for both companies. â€Å"Leon’s corporate and franchise stores had combined sales of C$879.6 million and The Brick had corporate and franchise sales of C1.54 billion† (Knell). This shows that the sales volume of The Brick is actually greater than its new owner, Leon’s. This can impact Leon’s in a positive way because the revenue from The Brick will be added onto their own revenue since they are now a combined company. The most important thing to take into consideration is that buying out The Brick, Leon’s will have one less competitor in the furniture industry. All of the above will lead to increase in total revenue and net income for Leon’s furniture. Since I am currently studying Accounting and Finance at Seneca College, I believe that my future profession in accounting can help Leon’s keep track of their transactions and create accurate and reliable financial statements. These statements will show all the inflow and outflow of capitals going in and out of the company. By looking at the financial statements, I can then analyze on how to make the company more profitable using the accounting skills that I am learning at school.

Business Models And Its Managerial Implications Business Essay

Business Models And Its Managerial Implications Business Essay A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value – economic, social, or other forms. The process of framing the right business model design is an integral part of the company’s business strategy. In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to highlight its basic objectives like its vision, core competencies, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading principles, and operational processes and policies.( Changing Business Models: Surveying the Landscape, J. Linder and S. Cantrell) The essence of a business model is that it defines the ways by which the business enterprise delivers value to customers, entices customers to pay for value, and converts those payments to profit: it thus reflects management’s intention of what customers want, how they want it, and how an enterprise can organize to best meet those needs, get paid for d oing so, and make a profit. After all the future of any company lies in the value that they deliver (David Teece 2010). Business models are used to describe and classify businesses (especially in an entrepreneurial scenario), but they are also used by managers inside companies to explore possibilities for future development, and finally well known business models operate as recipes for creative managers. 2. Role and Importance Nowadays, the business models used depends on the technology levels in the organization. Top level managers have created entirely new models that depend fully on existing or emergent technology. Using technology, businesses can reach a large number of customers with minimal costs. Such is its importance in today’s world that a properly framed business model provides clarity to any business. To identify and create value from an innovation, a start-up needs a well structured business model. Business models transform latest technology into outputs at the e conomic level. For emerging firms in industry, established business models cannot be followed, therefore there is a need to frame a new business model. Not only is the business model important, in some situations, innovation lies not in the product or service offered but in the business model itself. Taking into account the complexities of products, markets, and the environment in which the firm operates, very few individuals fully understand the organization’s tasks and objectives in their entirety. The technical experts and the business experts know each of their domains clearly. 3. The Domains of Business Model The conversion process that a business does is shown in the following diagram: Technical Inputs Business Model Economic Outputs A business model covers a plethora of business subjects, which includes financial, marketing, operational and entrepreneurial strategies. The business model itself is an important determinant of the firm’s revenues to be made from an idea. A well framed business model can outshadow even a weak innovation but a weakly framed business model will hide off a good innovation. 4. Components Following are the six major elements in business models: Value proposition – a clear description of the root cause for customer need, the product that will satisfy the need, and the delivered value of the product from customer’s view.

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The Run-DMC Revolution - Essay Example (Biography, 2008) As for hip-hop, there is no question-Run-DMC, composed of Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniel, and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, was and will always be considered as the king of this genre. With the group's unique vision and attitude, the foundation for rap music that was "on top" was laid, making hip-hop last for more than two decades now. (Chuck D, 2004) After releasing its debut single "It's Like That" in 1983, the flames for a revolution were fanned and it made hip-hop another front liner in mainstream music and caught the attention of television networks. It also brought the music genre to the platinum realm and into our own time's rap and rock frontier. (Biography, 2008) With six albums under their belts, namely Run-D.M.C. (1984), King of Rock (1985), Raising Hell (1986), Tougher than Leather (1988), Down With the King (1993) and Crown Royal (2001) (Biography, 2008), could very well be considered as the Beatles of hip-hop. According to Chuck D of the rap band Public Enemy, Run and DMC can be likened to Lennon and McCartney respectively, while Jam Master Jay was George and Ringo rolled into one. He even went as far as saying that Jay-Z, Black Star, OutKast, the Roots, and everyone else in hip-hop today can be traced back to Run-DMC. (Chuck D, 2004) And many seem to agree. ... which was quoted at the start of this paper, Ice-T also said, "Until Run-DMC I thought that hip-hop was something that was only going to be done in basements and in clubs. I went to a Run-DMC concert and they actually made me believe that hip-hop could be big. Rap was never at that level. We'd never seen it like that." (Chuck D, 2004) Run-DMC, run Run-DMC's roots may be traced to the working class New York community of Hollis, Queens. Run Simmons started honing his "rhyming apparatus" in 1982 in the suburban neighborhood. While barely progressing on the then unfinished hit single "It's Like That," he turned to his childhood friend Darryl McDaniels for help. Together, they were able to compose several songs, showing a promise of a very fruitful collaboration. (Biography, 2008) Russell Simmons, also known as Russell Rush and Run's older brother, signed up the band in 1983 to his own newly founded management company, Rush Productions, after Run-DMC signed a record deal with Profile Records the very same year. (Biography, 2008) Setting new trends by dressing in tight leather jackets and pants, fedora hats, bling-blings, and signature Adidas sneakers, the group inspired the hip-hop street image of the 1980's and most hip-hop artists still dress the same way 20 years later. (Chuck D, 2004) Not only that, the debut single "It's Like That" ruled the airwaves for more than a year, forcing several R&B stations to move the song from night-time rap shows to day-time regular shows, reflective of how much respect hip-hop was commanding then because of the rap act. (Biography, 2008) After the group has sold a quarter of a million copies, Run decided to recruit his old basketball and DJ buddy Jason Mizell. And so the rap act was completed. (Biography, 2008) As fate would

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Economic Outcome Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic Outcome Analysis - Research Paper Example The same concepts and models are going to be applied to Andy's Parties business to determine whether it would be viable for it to be franchised. The first fundamental step is to evaluate the business. This step would be help in determining the sale and the profitability of a business. If the sales of a business are decimal, it would be difficult to franchise such a business since the sales reflect the standing of the business in the market. Less profitable businesses are businesses that are likely to have fewer customers and their products and services are not well known to the targeted customers. Andy's Parties’ annual financial record shows that it does not do well in terms of selling its services to its customers. For the whole year it organized an average 650 parties for the whole year (Spinelli, Rosenberg, and Birley, 2004). This translates to nearly one to a maximum of two parties a day at an average cost of $385 per event. These are low sales for the Andy's Parties to c onsider franchising its services. In other words, Andy's Parties services and may be products are not known vastly among its targeted customers; therefore, it would be difficult or quite a challenge for the franchisees to do well in selling Andy's Parties services. ... In this case, the franchisors are usually expecting 15% ROI where if the initial investment for the franchising business is $200,000, the franchisee is expected to look for a minimum of $30,000 as the annual profits of the business. Moreover, the business needs to pay for royalties. The Andy’s Parties annual operation cost is $470,000, thirty percent of this amount is $141,000. This means that when it franchises the business, the franchisee will be expected to have a return of $141,000 at the end of the third year (Spinelli, Rosenberg, and Birley, 2004). From the Andy's Parties annual report, it can only manage $80,000 before tax. This means that its expectation of its franchisees will be more that what it makes by itself. Notably, the franchisees must also pay loyalties above the amount they are required to return into the Andy's Parties investments (Mhlaba, 2004). With this large figures reality, franchising Andy's Parties services will be a burden to Andy's Parties and fran chisee since the reality of profit making will never come by within the expected period. Additionally, the Andy's Parties has not provided its business structure that would help the franchisee to determine their relationship with the franchisor. It is usually vital to couple ROI which is a single unit with other successful base model to warrant franchising. In most cases, it is usually difficult to replicate the success and effectiveness of a single unit especially where the owner of the business is passionate and quite hand on with the business (Hayes, 2005). In this case, it is vital for the business intending to franchise its services to try its business concepts in at least three locations. Therefore, since Andy's Parties has not tried

The Religion of Ancient Egypt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Religion of Ancient Egypt - Essay Example Ra was one of the main gods in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian people worshiped Ra because the Sun (Ra symbolized the Sun) was concerned as the main source of life in Ancient Egypt; Ra was known as the ancestor of pharaohs, and the worship of Ra and a pharaoh as his son was sacred for ancient Egyptians; Ra was concerned as a founder of life on the Earth, so Egyptians worshiped Ra as one of the main gods among many others. This paper will support these three causes of the Sun God Ra worship. . The Sun (Ra symbolized the Sun) was concerned as the main source of life in Ancient Egypt: â€Å"The daily cycle, as the sun rose, then set only to rise again the next morning, symbolized renewal and so Re was seen as the paramount force of creation and master of life† (Ra). Ra symbolized eternal life cycle for ancient Egyptians; sunrise, zenith and sunset were associated with birth, life and death. Ra always was given birth in the morning (as a scarab beetle), rode on his boat across the sky in the day, and died in the evening: â€Å"At sunset, he is swallowed by the goddess Nut, who gives birth to him each morning again as Khepri. Therefore, the cycle continued with birth, life and death† (Ra).... .Ra was said, in fact, to be the direct ancestor of the kings of Egypt, and in certain hymns was even addressed as a dead king" (Egyptian religion). In honor of pharaohs such giant architectural masterpieces as pyramids were erected, and the worship of pharaohs was directly connected with that of the Sun God Ra. Pharaoh was the earth embodiment of Ra who provided his power over the nature: "While the king ruled earth, Re was the master of the universe so they were of the same nature and were in effect a mirror image of each other" (Ra). Egyptian pharaohs erected pyramids and temples in honor of Ra - they tried to underline their connection with Ra. The cult of Ra was transforming through the Egyptian history, but it was always associated with pharaohs: "Beginning with the Middle Kingdom (2134-1668 BC), Ra worship acquired the status of a state religion, and the god was gradually fused with Amon during the Theban dynasties, becoming the supreme god Amon-Ra" (Ancient Egyptian Religions ). Heliopolis was the main center of Ra worship during the New Kingdom - it was the time of the greatest development of Ancient Egypt and the cult of Ra as the main god of Egypt. So, ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra as the symbol of king power, and the highest development of the state was associated with the power of pharaoh and Ra as his embodiment. Ra was concerned as a founder of life on the Earth, so Egyptians worshiped Ra as one of the main gods among many others. Cosmological views of ancient Egyptians gave Ra one of the leading places in the pantheon of gods "The early Egyptians believed that he created the world, and the rising sun was, for them, the symbol of creation" (Ra). They believed that Ra created the Earth, haven and all creations on the planet. 3. As was

An Analysis of the Animal Rights Debate from an Ethics Perspective Essay

An Analysis of the Animal Rights Debate from an Ethics Perspective - Essay Example Roger Scruton’s â€Å"The Moral Status of Animals† follows a similar line of argument that defends all life forms on the face of the earth and reveals his intense convictions in ideological and environmental thought. Singer’s comprehensive analysis brings to light many aspects of what Richard D. Ryder has termed ‘speciesism’. Drawing comparisons to the liberations movements of the sixties and the debate around the concept of equality among human beings, Singer emphasizes on the need to take animals too into consideration in such debates. He attacks the norm that animals can be excluded from the debate on equal rights because they lack the moral, rational powers than humans possess. Singer points out that there exists an essential difference among human beings based on race, gender and demographical specifics, but the equal rights theorists overcome this by stressing on the basic human qualities. The equal rights theories also highlight the individual differences among human beings on which the concept of personal rights is based. Singer uses a systematic analytical strategy to break down these arguments one by one. Singer alludes to the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s monumental treatise, Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792 and how â€Å"they were satirized in an anonymous publication entitled A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes†, actually written by Thomas Taylor, a Cambridge philosopher. Taylor refuted Wollstonecraft’s by trivializing her demands for the equal treatment of women on moral, philosophical and social realms by proposing that in fact one should go another step further and treat dogs, cats and horses in the similar manner. This argument was an absurd one at that time, and Taylor’s attempt was to prove that Wollstonecraft’s arguments regarding the rights of women were also absurd, as it questioned a specific order in nature. Singer’s overview of Taylor’s argument

Emergency Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Emergency Management - Assignment Example Some of these measures need proper training depending on the field of emergency management (McEntire, 2007). For instance, bomblast response tends to be totally different from football injury response. The magnitude of a problem calls for more time and a lot of aiding facilities to fasten the EM process. A large scale disaster tends to be very intensive in terms of management hence enough aiding facilities needed to accomplish the whole EM process. An intensive training and exercise is needed to catch up with such high magnitude disasters. All the needed aid facilities are supposed to be ready before a disaster to enhance effective control system. In any disaster or emergency management institution, employees must have the skills to operate machinery and basic knowledge to sport, understand, analyze and understand and respond to any kind of disaster within the institution scope. There are many institutions around the world that respond to different kinds of disasters. Specialization and employee training are vital factors in such institutions bearing the magnitude and high rate of daily catastrophes (McEntire, 2007). The training programs and exercises are meant to deepen employee understanding on proper measures to apply in dealing with different levels of disasters. Good strategies must also be employed to accomplish any EM activity successfully. According to the EM response of Luis Tapia and Matt Feryan, EM exercise and planning takes quite a long time depending on the time frame set by institutional managers or instructors (Dhillon etal, 2012). Minor exercise programs can take up to six months while major ones take close to one year. As per my perception, large scale disaster control programs should take more than one year to enhance proper preparation and catastrophe response tactics. Luis Tapia and Matt Feryan’s response to emergency management in the transcript shows that coordination among EM personnel is

Christian Worldview and Culture Essay Example for Free

Christian Worldview and Culture Essay Today’s cultural landscape has been shaped by the likes of MTV (entertainment), Steve Jobs (technology), and Mark Zuckerberg (social networking). Society often prefers accepting the â€Å"worldviews† of these and other influential people, rather than hearing the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ which offers redemption to a â€Å"fallen† world. We cannot ignore the reality that a vast majority of cultural advancements are produced by â€Å"non-Christian culture-makers, who, as they become more self-conscious and consistent with their anti-Christian stance, will express their unbelief in their artifacts with increasing boldness. Christians cannot dismiss the impact and relevance these contributions have made on society. One of the great challenges believers are confronted with is developing an understanding of the importance of expressing and sharing our Christian worldview in the midst of various competing ideologies. One of the hidden ideologies that secular culture promotes is that we can â€Å"take care of ourselves† thus, refuting any notion that we are dependent on Christ to meet every human need, including the need for salvation. Christian disengagement from culture is contrary to Christ’s example of Incarnation. Christ did not consider human culture unworthy of his attention and love. He set aside his divinity and put on human flesh so that he could engage us on a social and cultural level. The great commission is an affirmation of Christ’s desire for his followers to â€Å"go into all the word†, engaging culture and preaching the gospel. What is â€Å"Culture†? Culture can be defined using three different approaches: agricultural, sociological, and anthropological. The agricultural approach to defining culture â€Å"is derived from the Latin cultura†¦ meaning to plow or till. † Culture is understood from a farming or agricultural perspective which entails the â€Å"practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock. † The reference to someone being â€Å"cultured† is drawn from this farming metaphor. Education in this sense is the â€Å"cultivation† of the mind. The sociological approach to defining culture deals with social class distinctions of â€Å"high† (elite) and â€Å"low† (mass) culture. This aesthetic standpoint is mainly concerned with the â€Å"intellectual and artistic achievements of a society. † High culture is associated with the highest ideals of what is (in a subjective sense) â€Å"good†. A cultured person is one who has been acquainted with and educated in the â€Å"finer things† of art, literature, music, etiquette, socialization, as so on. The anthropological perspective regarding culture is concerned with â€Å"the whole way of life of a group or society, not just its better achievements. † Unlike the sociological perspective, this approach does not make distinctions between sophisticated and primitive social groups. It simply acknowledges that all â€Å"activity† which is produced by a social group (texts, art, music, food, artifacts, philosophy, ethics, etc. is that group’s culture. H. Richard Niebuhr states, â€Å"[S]ocial life is always cultural† and culture is the product of â€Å"human achievement†. Humanity Was Created For â€Å"Good Works† Culture, as expressed by the creativity of human activity, is a reflection of God who Himself is a creative being. Human understanding of order and beauty is only possible because of God’s magnificent creation of the heavens and the earth. God validated the beauty of creation when He â€Å"saw all that he had made†¦ was very good† (Genesis 1:31). Man and woman were created in the divine image and likeness (imago dei) of God and were entrusted by God to care for and tend to His creation. Man was given the responsibility of â€Å"cultivating† the Garden of Eden and in doing so bringing glory to the Creator. Here we should take notice between the similarities of the word cultura (plow, till) and cultus which is a â€Å"veneration of the divine†. This should give us a greater insight regarding how â€Å"the human race [was] called to interact deliberately with the earth—[working, tilling, cultivating]—while at the same time lovingly serving his divine Master†¦ and worshiping his Maker. Adam â€Å"performed his culturative activities in response to and as a reflection of God’s creative acts. † Competing Worldviews All of humanity’s artistic and creative works reflect the worldview of those who created them. As a result of the Fall the imago dei has become distorted, causing humanity to shift the focus of their creative and culturative activities away from exclusive worship to God. As a result humanity has developed â€Å"unholy motives†¦ even though superficially [our creative activities] may be of some benefit. Man’s creative outlet is disoriented—seeking to glorify himself through the works of his own hands. Once we understand that all human creative efforts are a reflection of the inner beliefs and values of the mind and spirit, we can assess the intention of human activity properly. The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) was the product of human efforts to succeed, using human ability, independent of God. Today’s â€Å"pop† culture seeks to create a new Babel in which human achievement and technological advancement create the false notion that we can live independent of God, or even worse, have no need of God. Thus, culture always reflects a society’s religious and philosophical values, â€Å"[flowing] out of the heart—as it were—of the society which produces it. † A Christian worldview based on God’s Word will discern the â€Å"the ideological bias of the medium and ideological content of the message of non-Christian (and Christian) artifacts. † This is essential for the Christian because there is no neutrality in the message embedded in the works of man. We are not idle spectators, â€Å"[We] must take sides at all times in everything [we] do. † Christian Approach to Culture (Christ and Culture) There has been much debate as to the extent in which Christians are to engage the culture that we live and worship in. Should Christians adapt a Monastic approach secluding ourselves from society? Or, are we to engage the world in such manner that our Christian distinctiveness is lost? H. Richard Niebuhr, in his book Christ and Culture, suggests several â€Å"Christian answers to the problem of Christ and culture. † Niebuhr offers five approaches Christians have historically taken in an effort to understand their position in Christ and involvement with culture. These are: â€Å"Christ against culture,† â€Å"Christ of culture,† â€Å"Christ above culture,† â€Å"Christ and culture in paradox,† and â€Å"Christ the transformer of culture. † The â€Å"Christ against culture† approach proposes that loyalty to Christ is a â€Å"rejection of cultural society†. He critiques this stance as a â€Å"radically Christian answer to the problem of culture†. Indeed, it is impossible for a Christian, or any person, to totally reject and remove themselves from the influence of and involvement with culture. God has taken the opposite approach. He did not reject the world when Adam sinned, but rather engaged the world and put into motion the plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. Christ stepped into our earthly realm and became subject to the influences and temptations of human culture â€Å"yet was without sin† (Hebrews 4:15). Christ’s relationship to culture was to use the elements of culture to reveal God the Father and the Kingdom of Heaven to fallen humanity. The second model, â€Å"Christ of culture,† is the opposite of the â€Å"against culture† model. It seeks social and cultural engagement with the world. It attempts to make the gospel meaningful to society by extending its reach beyond â€Å"a selected little band of saints† and is able to engage those of â€Å"high† and â€Å"low† social strata. While the effort to make Christ a part of culture may reach those who would remain otherwise unreached, there is a susceptibility to â€Å"distort the figure of the New Testament Jesus† in an effort to accommodate a social-gospel agenda. This is done by relegating Jesus into what we need him to be in an attempt to address our social and cultural problems. Jesus is a great humanitarian if we are fighting for human rights or a great teacher if we are engaged in philosophical debate. Again, this model can be useful in reaching out to the culture, but we cannot compromise the truthfulness of the gospel for a specific social agenda. The third paradigm is â€Å"Christ above culture†. This view proposes that â€Å"the fundamental issue does not lie between Christ and the world†¦ but between God and man. † By placing Christ at the center, and not against culture, this approach avoids separating â€Å"the experience of grace from cultural activity†. There are three distinct groups in this category: â€Å"synthesists,† â€Å"dualists,† and â€Å"conversionists†. Synthesists affirm â€Å"Christ and culture† (both/and) rejecting a â€Å"Christ or culture† (either/or) approach. They maintain that Jesus â€Å"is both God and man, one person with two natures† and that the works of human nature cannot be separated from the grace of God, â€Å"for all those works are possible only by grace. † Essentially, Christ cannot be against culture because God created nature. Likewise Christ’s incarnation allowed him to actively participate nd engage with the culture of his day. One area that could lead to problems in this approach is by synthesizing Christ and culture in such a manner where Christ becomes subservient to culture. If culture assumes the dominant role in this synthesis, the Church will risk becoming more â€Å"cultural† and less Christ-like because it has elevated culture to the same status as Christ through whom all things were made and exist and â€Å"without him nothing was made that has been made† (John1:3). The dualist approach sees â€Å"Christ and culture in paradox†. This view â€Å"makes sharp distinctions between the temporal and the spiritual life, or between what is external and internal, between body and soul, between the reign of Christ and the world of human works and culture. † There is a line drawn between God and â€Å"us†. In the dualist’s view all of human culture is fallen. For dualists the works of Christians within the church and non-Christians outside of the church are equally corrupt. The dualists are in a state of paradox since they cannot reconcile the concept of â€Å"law† and â€Å"grace†. They fail to realize that Christ came to earth to remove the line of separation between man and God. As Christians we must understand that while the world is in a fallen state and under â€Å"law†, at the same time it is under â€Å"grace† and we are to â€Å"go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation† (Mark 16:15). The third group that embraces a â€Å"Christ above culture† paradigm is the conversionists. â€Å"What distinguishes conversionists from dualists is their more positive and hopeful attitude toward culture. Conversionists see Christ as the transformer of culture. They embrace the redemptive work of Christ in the here and now. They are not looking to some eschatological future where one day they all will be restored. The conversionists have a hopeful outlook regarding culture and look forward to its restoration from a corrupt state. â€Å"Christ transforms the fallen culture in that â€Å"he redirects, reinvigorates, and re generates† the life of man from a corrupted state. Once man has been regenerated, he will produce â€Å"good works†. The transformative power of Christ in the life of fallen humanity redeems us: â€Å"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them† (Eph. 2:10). It is not our works which cause us to be redeemed but rather, our works are a testimony to the world that we are no longer bound by the curse of sin and corruption. Conclusion Because we live in a period of world history that offers the greatest tools and opportunities for cultural engagement, we cannot ignore the importance of understanding Christ role, through the Church, in today’s culture. To engage with culture, theology and ecclesiology needs to be both critical and artistic†¦ such engagements require theology to be open to the insights of cultural studies and alert to the ways in which contemporary culture is shaping religion. † Social networking sites, email, iPhones, cable TV, movies, music, art, and literature are the vehicles th at are being used to promote the beliefs and values of our society. Satan has done a great job in using culture to enslave society, tempting us to sin and forfeit our relationship with God our Creator. Our fleshly appetites are satisfied by images of sexuality, greed, power, and self-assertion. The danger of a culturally advanced society is that it seeks to replace God with its achievements. It seeks salvation, joy, peace, and prosperity via its own human efforts and imaginations. Because we have been brought from â€Å"darkness to light† we must shine the light of the gospel of Christ by engaging the culture in which we live, work, play, and worship. For this reason, every Christian must â€Å"seize the opportunity that the contemporary circumstances present to us and boldly set out to transform the earth. †

Lord Raglan’s & Hercules Essay Example for Free

Lord Raglan’s Hercules Essay Lord Raglan’s gave Hercules an outstanding 17 points on his hero scale pattern. This scale classifies the parallel characteristics of most mythical heroes. Overall, the similarities of Hercules to other heroes is the fact that he is the son of a god, there was an intent of killing him during birth, he once wandered in a place away form his family, and won battles with abominable creatures (Raglan, 1998). William Burkert, in years of evaluating mythical heroes, found a pattern on the makings of a fictional icon. Particularly the idea of a hero being a master or mistress of animals has won over the side of hunters which is possibly of a Paleolithic origin. In the story of Hercules this is apparent in most of the Twelve Labors he battled. Hercules’ first task is to kill the Nemean Lion and to bring back its skin. He later found out that arrows are useless in fighting the mighty beast. With his pure strength, he grasped the lion with his own bare hands and choked him to death. His second labor is to slay the Lernaean Hydra, a monstrous snake with nine heads living in the murky waters of Lerna. Every time Hercules got the chance to cut off one head, another one will grow in its place. He them commissioned the help of Iolaus in holding a torch every time Hercules cut off one head. Then after, Hercules finally disposed of the monster for good. Other examples of Hercules as master of animals can be stressed in the third to eighth labor, as follows: †¢ Capture the Ceryneian Hind †¢ Capture the Erymanthian Boar †¢ Slay the Stymphalian Birds †¢ Capture the Cretan Bull †¢ Steal the Mares of Diomedes In Greeks official religion, this may be deemed as somehow similar to folklore. Burkert detected a recurrent pattern in some of the actions and behavior of Greek heroes. This particular pattern includes youth, defloration, threat by a close relative, finding a partner, giving birth and finally, retribution. Another pattern is a relevant scapegoat in most hero storylines. (Burkert, 1979) Hercules (also referred to as Herakles and Alcides) was a Roman-Greek hero popular because of his strength and bravery. He is the half-god, half-mortal son of the powerful Zeus (Jupiter) and the Alceme. This identity of Hercules is similar to Catholic patron God, Jesus, who is also both human and divine. When Hera, Zeus’ goddess wife, heard about the birth of Hercules she was madly jealous about him. She sent two serpents to kill the young Zeus in his crib. Exhibiting valor and incredible strength, even as a child, Hercules killed the serpents all by himself. This display of power can be compared to the Bible hero Samson. Unlike Samson, who gains his vigor with his long hair, Hercules has an inherent strength that is within him ever since his first breathe. During his youth, an important decision during his lifetime is choosing between the life of virtue and the life of pleasure. A hard question posed to him by the goddess Aphrodite and Athena. The young hero decided to lead a life of virtue. This is a unique path to lead. This is in contrast to revered Indian icon, Gautam Buddha, who lived the life royalty and pleasure in his father’s palace when he was a child. Hercules welcomes struggle and hardships of life, with a strong belief that glory and true happiness comes along with it. Hercules then married Megara and the fruit of their love gave them children. Hera, still enraged about the very existence of Hercules, used all her powers to drive Hercules mad. In his insanity, he unknowingly killed his children and wife. Once he regained his insanity, he asked Oracle and Delphi on how he can compensate for what he did. He was instructed to serve the Eurystheus, the King of Tiryns, for twelve years. He is then ordered to carry out Twelve Labors to attain a peaceful soul again. During his quest, he was endowed with the virtue of courage, strength, and wisdom. His journey was quite similar to the long and tedious adventure of Odysseus. Traveling different land and voyaging the waters. He completed his tasks and redeemed his integrity and good soul. With such an exemplar accomplishment, he was then crowned a seat in the place of gods in Olympus. In his ascend to Olympus, he left all his mortal characteristics on earth and was born again with all divinity. Hercules the reconciled with Hera and lived peacefully as a family with this divine father, Zeus (Loewen,1998). Works Cited Burkert, Walter. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. University of California Press, 1979 Loewen, Juvenile. Hercules. Capstone Press, 1998 Raglan, Fitzroy Richard. The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama. Somerset: Courier Dover Publications, 2003

Geometry And Mathematics In The Renaissance

Geometry And Mathematics In The Renaissance Renaissance is one of the historical ages that truly had an impact on the modern civilization in terms of development in education, design and many other fields and also it did not ignore presenting out the most important figures during this age which had the same impact on modern civilization. This period of age started from the 14th century and ended on the 17th century starting in Florence in Italy and ending to the rest of Europe. Filippo Brunelleschi was one of its most important figures, shortly, the Renaissance style started to spread across Italian cities and some other countries like France, Germany, England, Russia and other parts of Europe at different dates and with varying degrees of impact. This paper will be discussing the impact of Renaissance on the development of mathematics and geometry in the modern age, its relation and the important figures that truly had an impact on this period. It will also discuss the important drawings and buildings that got affected by suc h innovations in this period of time. Renaissance is one of the periods that had an impact on mathematic and geometry due to the brilliant figures that have been in this period of time which will be discussed in this paragraph. First of all, Geometry is simply a branch of mathematics that is concerned with shapes, size, position of figure, and properties of a space like for example, a square have a property of the flat equal-distance lines from all sides that gives it, its shape and the same goes for the other shapes like rectangle, hexagon, circle etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Mathematics in general is the study of any types of structure, a space like a house, any designs etc., changes in velocity of an object, in general, anything that has to do with equations and calculations is categorized under mathematics. The most important figures that appeared in this period of age and had a true impact on Geometric and mathematics are Filippo Brunelleschi dating from 1377 1446 he is the inventor of the mathematics of perspective in painti ng. Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli dating from 1397-1482 creating a huge sundial and making astronomical calculations and also giving a higher accuracy in calculating latitude at the sea and luca pacioli who wrote a number of theories and developed the geometrical proportions. (Fletcher, 2000-11) Renaissance buildings heavily relied on the use of geometry and the mathematics in their design which heavily impacted other modern designs till now. Renaissance type of buildings relied on curves, arches, triangle, circles and squares, which are the main elements of geometry, also needs to be defines as buildings like churches, castles and much more relied on those basic elements and developed it into arches, domes, rectangular segments inside and outside the buildings as many floor plans could describe it. Renaissance building construction and how it was affected by such basic elements of geometry. The Renaissance great thinkers took the human being as a model for the universe being the perfect being made by god and used it in geometry and mathematics. This idea was developed by simply drawing this perfect figure which is the Vitruvian man standing in a square figure stretching his arms and legs forming a perfect circle around him. Based on these ideas, Leonardo made his own drawings based on the use of human proportions and the Vitruviuss theory. In the renaissance age, it was their aim to put such ideas developed into practice in real buildings .What was done is that he blended the use of circles and squares much in his general layout of his plan and in the plan itself he divided it further into spaces through the use of columns plus having the advantage of supporting the roof and as for the circular part, he used it to act as a domes which was one of the most important figures in th is period of time which gives the building its texture and unique style. In this drawing, Leonardo made some adjustments to the Vitruvius measurement of the human figure which was inspired by his own studies and observation. Finally after adjustments and his own studies, he created the perfect image of the human figure with the best proportions. Leonardo had the belief that god was the perfect geometer and the one who created the universe based on proportions and numbers, he believed that the human body was one of his perfect creation, based on Leonardos thought, he drawn the Vitruvian man stretching his own legs and arms to form a perfect revolving circle around him and a square. However, in order to make this work, he had to place the circle centered but the center on the square is a bit lower. Through adjustments and researches of his own measurements based on studies of life models, the Vitruvian figure is not recognized as an ideal image and proportion of the human body. Proportion is not only to be found in numbers and measures, but also in sounds, weights, intervals of time, and in every active force in existence. stated by Leonardo da Vinci (University of the Arts). The development of mathematics and calculations in the renaissance period is for sure one of the most important matters in this age. During the Renaissance, mathematicians and artists wrapped their arms around the questions of perspective, infinity, symbolic algebra and quartic equations, producing treatises on these subjects and offering fresh insights into the field of mathematics. The 15th through 17th centuries saw mathematical innovations in European countries like France and Italy, the impact of which extends to this day. These calculations were divided into different categories such as: Analysis vs. synthesis where the Renaissance saw the advancement of symbolic algebra. In his Artem Analyticem Isogoge of 1591, Franà §ois Vià ©te took the ideas of Ancient Greeks Euclid, Diophantus and Pappus and sought to explain and clarify them through systematic algebraic notation. In doing so he could explain the concepts of analysis and synthesis. Analysis, or an assumption of something that is looked for and the arriving at something admitted to be true through its consequences, was to be distinguished from synthesis, which is an assumption of something that is admitted (conceded) and the arriving at something admitted to be true through its consequences. Moreover, he applied rules for calculating species Vià ©te further established rules for species, as opposed to numerical calculations. His first rule stipulates to add a magnitude to a magnitude, or to add only homogeneous magnitudes, such as apples to apples; his third and fourth rules instruct to multiply and divide magnitudes, respectively, which will result in heterogeneous kinds. For example, a side multiplied by a side is a plane, not another side. Expressed through species, operators and units, equations could now be handled more easily. Also, in the development of equations, cubic and quartic was main ingredients Two breakthroughs during the Renaissance in mathematics involved the solving of both cubic and quartic equations, which had beguiled mathematicians before and during the Renaissance. Although the work was not his own, Girolamo Cardano is credited with giving general solutions to both types of equations in the form of radicals. Previously, equations of the second degree were solved in this manner, but not cubic or higher equations. He published these findings in his work, Artis Magnae, in 1545. Finally, the imaginary and complex numbers, another advance for mathematics during the Renaissance period was the acknowledgment of the validity of imaginary or complex numbers. Cardano, in solving cubic equations, came upon the appearance of negative numbers under the radical sign. Predecessors either brushed these aside or were not able to solve such numbers. Cardano, although he incorporated these numbers in his calculations, admitted that he did not fully understand them. Nonetheless, his work with these new numbers brought mathematics to a higher level of abstraction. After knowing the impact of mathematics and geometry in this period of time, renaissance did also impact modern age building design even though this period of age is so old but till nowadays it still impact us not in the design of the faà §ade but in certain designs. We can see how did the Renaissance influenced architecture and its design all around us. The Use of symmetry, columns, and balance of windows in modern architecture, whether at a bank or courthouse, or even in an expensive home, all point to the influences of Renaissance architecture on modern buildings. Hence to effectively study the influence of Renaissance architecture on more modern architecture one should begin by more closely examining the elements and impact of Renaissance architecture and how those elements have been incorporated into architecture today. Renaissance architecture followed the Gothic period of architecture, which gave us the cathedral at Notre Dame, and was succeeded by the Baroque period, which i s marked by highly ornate architectural designs and furnishings, and is often associated with the King Louis of France. The Renaissance period strongly emphasized the following elements: Geometry which relied on having buildings, windows, and doors in square and rectangular shapes. Proportion, balance was critical in the Renaissance, and elements of the structure needed to be designed in proportion to other elements of the building. Symmetry relied on the use of geometric figures came an emphasis on symmetry and clean lines. Regularity which means that there is a little about the Renaissance style that is random or impulsive. A building must have recurring themes and elements. To accomplish these design goals, the Renaissance style employs many recurring elements, including: Columns, Pilasters, Lintels, Arches and arcades, Domes, Symmetrical windows and doors and finally Niches with sculptures. Each of these elements is used in proportion and with much attention given to order and balance. Influence of the renaissance period came strongly in the 18th and early 19th centuries, which still many of these buildings still stand till today. Even later, in the 20th century, architects are reverting back to Renaissance designs when building grand homes much like the palaces found in Renaissance Italy and France. Various aspects of modern architecture find their roots in the Renaissance style. The features can include: Cube-shaped structure, Symmetrical faà §ade, Smooth stone walls, made from finely-cut stone or with smooth stucco, Low-pitched roof, Roof topped with balustrade, Wide eaves with large brackets, Horizontal stone banding between floors, Segmental pediments, Ornately-carved stone window trim varying in design at each story, Smaller square windows on top floor and Quoins (large stone blocks at the corners). (What Influence Has Renaissance Architecture had on More Modern Architecture, 2011) We could also see many of these elements every day, all around you. Nowadays, designers do seek to blend the use of columns and style that dated 600 years old to use it till now . Finally, to sum up, Renaissance time period showed a great improvement in the geometric and its use in the buildings as described in the paper and also the mathematical calculations used and how they were innovated and the name of the scientists who developed it. Moreover, we truly see the impact of geometry and proportions of space applied in their designs and how they made use of the basic elements such as circle, square, line etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦which later on impacted the modern age designs

Essay --

Animal cruelty, also called animal abuse, is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense or survival. To me, animal cruelty is wrong and is a serious issue all around the world and must be stopped. Animal testing is a form of animal cruelty that if gone wrong is considered as animal cruelty. Animal testing can be considered good if the scientists don’t painfully harm the animals. The only animals that should be used for testing are mice, rats, and hamsters, not cats or dogs or other house pets. How can someone have the audacity to harm any animal? Animal testing is used for trialing new medicines, cosmetics, and injections to know they are safe for humans, but what scientists do to the animals in labs is gruesome. There are pros and cons of this debate, but mainly cons because who wants to put acid in a cute bunny’s eyes for no reason. Some pros are that, animal testing has contributes to many life-saving cures and treatments such as experimenters removed the pancreas from dogs which led to the discovery of insulin which sa... Essay -- Animal cruelty, also called animal abuse, is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense or survival. To me, animal cruelty is wrong and is a serious issue all around the world and must be stopped. Animal testing is a form of animal cruelty that if gone wrong is considered as animal cruelty. Animal testing can be considered good if the scientists don’t painfully harm the animals. The only animals that should be used for testing are mice, rats, and hamsters, not cats or dogs or other house pets. How can someone have the audacity to harm any animal? Animal testing is used for trialing new medicines, cosmetics, and injections to know they are safe for humans, but what scientists do to the animals in labs is gruesome. There are pros and cons of this debate, but mainly cons because who wants to put acid in a cute bunny’s eyes for no reason. Some pros are that, animal testing has contributes to many life-saving cures and treatments such as experimenters removed the pancreas from dogs which led to the discovery of insulin which sa...

Tyrannosaurus Rex Was a Slow Runner Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resear

Tyrannosaurus Rex Was a Slow Runner Ever since we were young we have been fascinated by the dinosaurs. We have played with dinosaurs as children, watched documentaries as adults with interest, and watching movies with enjoyment. No dinosaur from the past strikes more fear in the present day to the average person then that of Tyrannosaurus Rex. For decades children have played with dinosaurs and had T-Rex dominating other dinosaurs by chasing them down and destroying them. We have seen it time and time again in movies. In Jurassic Park we saw T-Rex terrorize humans, cars, and other dinosaurs. We have even dreamt about it, but if a recent study is correct we are false in our fears. The article Tyrannosaurus Rex was a Slowpoke by John Roach relieves us of our fears when it states that, â€Å"the Cretaceous landscape was filled with large, lumbering creatures that any human with a fast car or bike or maybe even a quick sprint could outpace† (Roach). He tells us that T-Rex, â€Å"did not have the leg strength to run very fast, if at all, according to a computer model developed by two experts in the mechanical movements of living creatures,† and, â€Å"bring the discipline of biomechanics to the long and at times contentious debate over just how fast the largest of the largest creatures ever to roam Earth could run.† In an article entitled Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner, those experts, John R. Hutchison and Mariano Garcia provide us with a detailed account of a recent study they did. Their study is described in an article entitled Biomechanics: Walking with tyrannosaurs by Andrew A. Biewener. Biewener states that Hutchinson and Garcia, â€Å"introduce a new biomechanical approach,† to the question of dinosaur movement and provide an, â€Å"a... ...n. In conclusion, the recent study published by John R. Hutchinson and Mariano Garcia entitled Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner, if it is true, has shattered what we have come to understand about Tyrannosaurus Rex. T-Rex was not a fast runner as popular movies have suggested, because it didn’t have the amount of extensor muscle needed to support itself for such activities. Maybe, sometime, another study will come along that counteracts this new study, but until then it appears that we have been wrong about T-Rex. Works Cited Biewener, Andrew A. â€Å"Biomechanics: Walking with Tyrannosaurs.† Nature 28 Feb 2002: 971-973 Hutchinson, John R., Garcia, Mariano â€Å"Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner.† Nature 28 Feb 2002: 1018-1021 Roach, John â€Å"Tyrannosaurus Rex was a Slowpoke.† National Geographic News. 27 Feb. 2002.

Overview of VPN Technologies :: essays research papers

Multi-vendor interoperability for virtual private networking is essential in today’s networking environment due to the nature of business acquisitions, the need to extend corporate networks to contractors and partners, and the diverse equipment within company networks. To ensure customers have an open solution, Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based VPN technology is based on industry standards. By supporting IETF industry standards, Microsoft delivers a VPN solution that will work with other standard-compliant devices or software systems, helping to lower the cost and complexity of supporting proprietary solutions. Customers who use standards-based technology are not locked into any given vendor’s proprietary implementations. Microsoft supports the IETF efforts to standardize VPN technology. To date, two major technologies are IETF standards: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)—a combination of PPTP and Cisco’s Layer 2 Forwarding, which evolved through the IETF standards process. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Internet Protocol Security (IPSec)—an architecture, protocol, and related Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol, which are described by IETF RFCs 2401-2409. The combination of these technologies is described in RFC 3193, an IETF Proposed Standard. In addition to IETF standards-track technologies, Microsoft supports PPTP, created by the PPTP Industry Forum (US Robotics [now 3Com], 3Com/Primary Access, Ascend, Microsoft, and ECI Telematics.) PPTP is a published informational RFC (RFC 2637) and has many companies shipping third-party implementations. For advanced security requirements, IPSec has emerged as a key technology. However, IPSec tunnel mode by itself does support legacy authentication methods, tunnel IP address assignment and configuration, and multiple protocols—all critical requirements for remote access VPN connections. To provide a truly interoperable solution, Windows Server 2003 uses L2TP in combination with IPSec to provide an interoperable, secure VPN solution. L2TP has broad vendor support, particularly among the largest network access equipment providers, and has verified interoperability in a series of vendor-sponsored testing events.

Greek Mythology and Poseidon Essay

Poseidon Poseidon or Posidon (Greek: ) is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain is the ocean, and he is called the â€Å"God of the Sea†. Additionally, he is referred to as â€Å"Earth-Shaker† due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the â€Å"tamer of horses†. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology; both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. Linear B tablets show that Poseidon was venerated at Pylos and Thebes in pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece as a chief deity, but he was integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades. There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, although he lost the contest for Athens to Athena. Blasphemy! Injustice! Disrespect! These the disloyal Phaecians have committed against me And the laws of Olympus! Those sailors of my blessing have pampered Odysseus, My sworn enemy! Those fools are proof that ignorant men can’t be trusted. I have taken blows from the greatest foes, But being betrayed by allies is far worse, And it makes my blood boil, my temper flare! To my kingdom of the sea I have brought you gods, To demand consent to unleash my fury on those awful mariners. It is the only option, for if I do not, I will lose my respect, Fall from power, and into the ranks of mortal peasants! My past of conflict has taught me that men yield only to pain, And ignore reasoning! So abandon pity and forgiveness,  Let me attack that Phaecian cutter with might and fury! Or send me to waste away in Hades! I called this meeting of the gods today Because I stand here as the lone soul among us Able to clearly see this†¦ haughty, arrogant, vile king of Ithaca for who he really is. He blinded and mutilated my son! My son! The son of a god lay crippled, his wound still fresh, and blood still wet. And the brute dared mock him! Yet no punishments have been dealt. Even you, Pallas, the supposed goddess of wisdom Help a man so bold as to tease us! The rest of you are worse, refusing to take any side at all! You despicable lot! Cowards! Scum! Won’t you help me seek justice? Why must you betray me now when I need help the most? Your cowardice will not be forgotten, And I will not allow any of you to tip-toe around this situation. Can’t you see? He shows us no respect and never will. No one is above the law, And he must be punished for what he has done, Just as anyone else would be for such a crime. Mark my words, I will get my revenge, And he will pay for his arrogance.

President John Kennedy Was a Great President

â€Å"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been† (Henry). This quote from Henry Kissinger is a representation of the Kennedy term in office. President Kennedy took the world to a whole new level; he succeeded in many tasks in his short time as president. John F. Kennedy was great president because of his involvements in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Peace Corps. On October 22, 1962, President John F.  Kennedy â€Å"informed the world† that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As President, his first move was to talk to Premier Nikita Khrushchev and demand the removal of all missile bases, and â€Å"deadly content† in Cuba. Secondly, President Kennedy had â€Å"U. S. forces around the world†¦placed on alert. More than 100,000 troops deployed to Florida for a possible invasion of Cuba. Additional naval vessels were ordered to the Caribbean. B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons were in the air at all times. † (The World). He ordered a naval quarantine/blockade on Cuba to prevent Russian ships from bringing additional missile and construction materials to the island (Goldman). Because of President John Kennedy’s strong efforts to prevent this huge nuclear war, two main things came out of it. One of which is the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. On August 5, 1963, the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This treaty â€Å"prohibits nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the atmosphere, or in outer space, allows underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test, and pledges signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances. † (Nuclear). Also, because President John Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route to settling this dispute, he prevented a huge nuclear war from happening, maybe even another World War. Premier Nikita Khrushchev described it as, â€Å"The two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on the button. † (Nuclear). If this other World War or massive nuclear war would have occurred, just think of where we would be today. â€Å"The founding of the Peace Corps is one of President John F. Kennedy’s most enduring legacies. † (Founding). As soon as President Kennedy became the President, he vowed to help Americans be â€Å"active citizens. † One of his first moves in office was to create the Peace Corps. The way he came up with this idea of the Peace Corps was when he spoke to students at the University of Michigan during a campaign speech and challenged them to live and work in other countries to dedicate â€Å"themselves to the cause of peace and development. † (Peace). The main purpose for this was so â€Å"Americans can volunteer to work anywhere in the world where assistance is needed. † (John F. Kennedy, the 35th). This answers President Kennedy’s call to â€Å"ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. † (Founding). President John Kennedy was very involved in the Peace Corps. He got to know all of the volunteers very well. Peace Corps volunteers became known as â€Å"Kennedy’s Kids† because if the special bond President Kennedy felt with them. Volunteers in the Peace Corps â€Å"help people of interest countries meet their needs for trained workers†, they help others understand the Americas better, and also to help people of America understand those of other countries. In the 1960s, the Peace Corps was immensely popular because of his campaign speech at the college, which encouraged newly graduated college students to join and help around the world. From that point in time, the Peace Corps continue to grow. Today, more than 195,000 volunteers have served in over â€Å"139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. † (Peace) Today’s world is a lot different compared to the world in the 1960s. The Peace Corps continually change with the times. People still volunteer as much, and even more than they did in the 1960s. Issues in other countries have severed over time, but because of the Peace Corps, people can help lessen this severe issue. The last effect of President Kennedy’s involvement is that because volunteers traveled around the world, we now know more about others’ cultures and traditions. The volunteers of the Peace Corps would live in different host countries, and adapt to their surroundings. They would learn multiple traditions and witness many cultural practices. When volunteers would return home, they would share their many experiences with family and friends, thus causing it to be spread and learned throughout the world. In the late 1950s, the Space Race was initiated when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. From that point on, the Soviet Union and United States faced off to be the first country to land on the moon. President Kennedy feared that if the United States were not the first to land on the moon, that everyone would see them as a weak country that is â€Å"behind communist Russia† (Mills), and he did not want that image for his country. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy submitted the lunar landing program to congress (Mills). In a meeting between President Kennedy, vice president Johnson, and Premier Khrushchev, they all decided that conquering space was a huge ordeal. Both countries wanted to show their military strength and scientific superiority. Premier Khrushchev wanted to show that communist technology was superior. According to President Kennedy, â€Å"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space. And none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish† (Mills). Without President Kennedy’s persistent thrive to enter space, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Before his time, space travel was just a dream. Sadly, on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas for a NASA meeting of some sort. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, however, carried on his â€Å"lunar landing† wish. Finally, in 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, thus ending the space race between Russia and the United States. Landing on the moon was the story of the century. According to a Jefferson City, MO newspaper, â€Å"the walk on the moon, although viewed via television, still seems like a chapter from Jules Verne’s fantasies. If] the moon-walk not been televised, we believe there would be many in the world who still would be doubting† (Mills). The placement of the flag on the moon was an unforgettable sight- one which will be long remembered by man, especially the grateful and proud Americans. In President Kennedy’s campaign for president, he promised â€Å"executive, moral, and legislative leadership to combat racial discrimination† (John F. Kennedy John). One of his first actions was to appoint many African Americans into office. One of which was Thurgood Marshall, a federal judge, and he directed the NAACP. Because of all of this, African Americans felt as if they actually had â€Å"friends† in the justice department. In May of 1961, the Kennedy Administration sent officials to protect Martin Luther King, Jr. from a mob during the â€Å"freedom rides† (John F. Kennedy John). His Civil Rights Address was a turning point for the country, and this also meant that President Kennedy could potentially lose the south and his 1964 election, or it would â€Å"dead lock congress† (John F. Kennedy John). Everything that President Kennedy did for this Civil Rights Movement helped change the course of discrimination in the world. He put a stop to public display of discrimination by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which also attempted to deal with the problem of African Americans being denied the right to vote in the South. Also, his brave Civil rights Address, which could have cost him his election, moved an immense amount of people. It changes their minds on the topic of discrimination, and in today’s world, discrimination is very slim. In all of these events in history, President Kennedy changed the world for a better. From preventing a huge nuclear war from happening, to stopping discrimination; President Kennedy is the definition of a great president.

Angels Demons Chapter 130-133

130 The camerlegno began to feel the fog of wonder and adrenaline dissipating. As the Swiss Guard helped him down the Royal Staircase toward the Sistine Chapel, the camerlegno heard singing in St. Peter's Square and he knew that mountains had been moved. Grazie Dio. He had prayed for strength, and God had given it to him. At moments when he had doubted, God had spoken. Yours is a Holy mission, God had said. I will give you strength. Even with God's strength, the camerlegno had felt fear, questioning the righteousness of his path. If not you, God had challenged, then Who? If not now, then When? If not this way, then How? Jesus, God reminded him, had saved them all†¦ saved them from their own apathy. With two deeds, Jesus had opened their eyes. Horror and Hope. The crucifixion and the resurrection. He had changed the world. But that was millennia ago. Time had eroded the miracle. People had forgotten. They had turned to false idols – techno-deities and miracles of the mind. What about miracles of the heart! The camerlegno had often prayed to God to show him how to make the people believe again. But God had been silent. It was not until the camerlegno's moment of deepest darkness that God had come to him. Oh, the horror of that night! The camerlegno could still remember lying on the floor in tattered nightclothes, clawing at his own flesh, trying to purge his soul of the pain brought on by a vile truth he had just learned. It cannot be! he had screamed. And yet he knew it was. The deception tore at him like the fires of hell. The bishop who had taken him in, the man who had been like a father to him, the clergyman whom the camerlegno had stood beside while he rose to the papacy†¦ was a fraud. A common sinner. Lying to the world about a deed so traitorous at its core that the camerlegno doubted even God could forgive it. â€Å"Your vow!† the camerlegno had screamed at the Pope. â€Å"You broke your vow to God! You, of all men!† The Pope had tried to explain himself, but the camerlegno could not listen. He had run out, staggering blindly through the hallways, vomiting, tearing at his own skin, until he found himself bloody and alone, lying on the cold earthen floor before St. Peter's tomb. Mother Mary, what do I do? It was in that moment of pain and betrayal, as the camerlegno lay devastated in the Necropolis, praying for God to take him from this faithless world, that God had come. The voice in his head resounded like peals of thunder. â€Å"Did you vow to serve your God?† â€Å"Yes!† the camerlegno cried out. â€Å"Would you die for your God?† â€Å"Yes! Take me now!† â€Å"Would you die for your church?† â€Å"Yes! Please deliver me!† â€Å"But would you die for†¦ mankind?† It was in the silence that followed that the camerlegno felt himself falling into the abyss. He tumbled farther, faster, out of control. And yet he knew the answer. He had always known. â€Å"Yes!† he shouted into the madness. â€Å"I would die for man! Like your son, I would die for them!† Hours later, the camerlegno still lay shivering on his floor. He saw his mother's face. God has plans for you, she was saying. The camerlegno plunged deeper into madness. It was then God had spoken again. This time with silence. But the camerlegno understood. Restore their faith. If not me†¦ then who? If not now†¦ then when? As the guards unbolted the door of the Sistine Chapel, Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca felt the power moving in his veins†¦ exactly as it had when he was a boy. God had chosen him. Long ago. His will be done. The camerlegno felt reborn. The Swiss Guard had bandaged his chest, bathed him, and dressed him in a fresh white linen robe. They had also given him an injection of morphine for the burn. The camerlegno wished they had not given him painkillers. Jesus endured his pain for three days on the cross! He could already feel the drug uprooting his senses†¦ a dizzying undertow. As he walked into the chapel, he was not at all surprised to see the cardinals staring at him in wonder. They are in awe of God, he reminded himself. Not of me, but how God works THROUGH me. As he moved up the center aisle, he saw bewilderment in every face. And yet, with each new face he passed, he sensed something else in their eyes. What was it? The camerlegno had tried to imagine how they would receive him tonight. Joyfully? Reverently? He tried to read their eyes and saw neither emotion. It was then the camerlegno looked at the altar and saw Robert Langdon. 131 Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca stood in the aisle of the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals were all standing near the front of the church, turned, staring at him. Robert Langdon was on the altar beside a television that was on endless loop, playing a scene the camerlegno recognized but could not imagine how it had come to be. Vittoria Vetra stood beside him, her face drawn. The camerlegno closed his eyes for a moment, hoping the morphine was making him hallucinate and that when he opened them the scene might be different. But it was not. They knew. Oddly, he felt no fear. Show me the way, Father. Give me the words that I can make them see Your vision. But the camerlegno heard no reply. Father, We have come too far together to fail now. Silence. They do not understand what We have done. The camerlegno did not know whose voice he heard in his own mind, but the message was stark. And the truth shall set you free†¦ And so it was that Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca held his head high as he walked toward the front of the Sistine Chapel. As he moved toward the cardinals, not even the diffused light of the candles could soften the eyes boring into him. Explain yourself, the faces said. Make sense of this madness. Tell us our fears are wrong! Truth, the camerlegno told himself. Only truth. There were too many secrets in these walls†¦ one so dark it had driven him to madness. But from the madness had come the light. â€Å"If you could give your own soul to save millions,† the camerlegno said, as he moved down the aisle, â€Å"would you?† The faces in the chapel simply stared. No one moved. No one spoke. Beyond the walls, the joyous strains of song could be heard in the square. The camerlegno walked toward them. â€Å"Which is the greater sin? Killing one's enemy? Or standing idle while your true love is strangled?† They are singing in St. Peter's Square! The camerlegno stopped for a moment and gazed up at the ceiling of the Sistine. Michelangelo's God was staring down from the darkened vault†¦ and He seemed pleased. â€Å"I could no longer stand by,† the camerlegno said. Still, as he drew nearer, he saw no flicker of understanding in anyone's eyes. Didn't they see the radiant simplicity of his deeds? Didn't they see the utter necessity! It had been so pure. The Illuminati. Science and Satan as one. Resurrect the ancient fear. Then crush it. Horror and Hope. Make them believe again. Tonight, the power of the Illuminati had been unleashed anew†¦ and with glorious consequence. The apathy had evaporated. The fear had shot out across the world like a bolt of lightning, uniting the people. And then God's majesty had vanquished the darkness. I could not stand idly by! The inspiration had been God's own – appearing like a beacon in the camerlegno's night of agony. Oh, this faithless world! Someone must deliver them. You. If not you, who? You have been saved for a reason. Show them the old demons. Remind them of their fear. Apathy is death. Without darkness, there is no light. Without evil, there is no good. Make them choose. Dark or light. Where is the fear? Where are the heroes? If not now, when? The camerlegno walked up the center aisle directly toward the crowd of standing cardinals. He felt like Moses as the sea of red sashes and caps parted before him, allowing him to pass. On the altar, Robert Langdon switched off the television, took Vittoria's hand, and relinquished the altar. The fact that Robert Langdon had survived, the camerlegno knew, could only have been God's will. God had saved Robert Langdon. The camerlegno wondered why. The voice that broke the silence was the voice of the only woman in the Sistine Chapel. â€Å"You killed my father?† she said, stepping forward. When the camerlegno turned to Vittoria Vetra, the look on her face was one he could not quite understand – pain yes, but anger? Certainly she must understand. Her father's genius was deadly. He had to be stopped. For the good of Mankind. â€Å"He was doing God's work,† Vittoria said. â€Å"God's work is not done in a lab. It is done in the heart.† â€Å"My father's heart was pure! And his research proved – â€Å" â€Å"His research proved yet again that man's mind is progressing faster than his soul!† The camerlegno's voice was sharper than he had expected. He lowered his voice. â€Å"If a man as spiritual as your father could create a weapon like the one we saw tonight, imagine what an ordinary man will do with his technology.† â€Å"A man like you?† The camerlegno took a deep breath. Did she not see? Man's morality was not advancing as fast as man's science. Mankind was not spiritually evolved enough for the powers he possessed. We have never created a weapon we have not used! And yet he knew that antimatter was nothing – another weapon in man's already burgeoning arsenal. Man could already destroy. Man learned to kill long ago. And his mother's blood rained down. Leonardo Vetra's genius was dangerous for another reason. â€Å"For centuries,† the camerlegno said, â€Å"the church has stood by while science picked away at religion bit by bit. Debunking miracles. Training the mind to overcome the heart. Condemning religion as the opiate of the masses. They denounce God as a hallucination – a delusional crutch for those too weak to accept that life is meaningless. I could not stand by while science presumed to harness the power of God himself! Proof, you say? Yes, proof of science's ignorance! What is wrong with the admission that something exists beyond our understanding? The day science substantiates God in a lab is the day people stop needing faith!† â€Å"You mean the day they stop needing the church,† Vittoria challenged, moving toward him. â€Å"Doubt is your last shred of control. It is doubt that brings souls to you. Our need to know that life has meaning. Man's insecurity and need for an enlightened soul assuring him everything is part of a master plan. But the church is not the only enlightened soul on the planet! We all seek God in different ways. What are you afraid of? That God will show himself somewhere other than inside these walls? That people will find him in their own lives and leave your antiquated rituals behind? Religions evolve! The mind finds answers, the heart grapples with new truths. My father was on your quest! A parallel path! Why couldn't you see that? God is not some omnipotent authority looking down from above, threatening to throw us into a pit of fire if we disobey. God is the energy that flows through the synapses of our nervous system and the chambers of our hearts! God is in all things!â €  â€Å"Except science,† the camerlegno fired back, his eyes showing only pity. â€Å"Science, by definition, is soulless. Divorced from the heart. Intellectual miracles like antimatter arrive in this world with no ethical instructions attached. This in itself is perilous! But when science heralds its Godless pursuits as the enlightened path? Promising answers to questions whose beauty is that they have no answers?† He shook his head. â€Å"No.† There was a moment of silence. The camerlegno felt suddenly tired as he returned Vittoria's unbending stare. This was not how it was supposed to be. Is this God's final test? It was Mortati who broke the spell. â€Å"The preferiti,† he said in a horrified whisper. â€Å"Baggia and the others. Please tell me you did not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The camerlegno turned to him, surprised by the pain in his voice. Certainly Mortati could understand. Headlines carried science's miracles every day. How long had it been for religion? Centuries? Religion needed a miracle! Something to awaken a sleeping world. Bring them back to the path of righteousness. Restore faith. The preferiti were not leaders anyway, they were transformers – liberals prepared to embrace the new world and abandon the old ways! This was the only way. A new leader. Young. Powerful. Vibrant. Miraculous. The preferiti served the church far more effectively in death than they ever could alive. Horror and Hope. Offer four souls to save millions. The world would remember them forever as martyrs. The church would raise glorious tribute to their names. How many thousands have died for the glory of God? They are only four. â€Å"The preferiti,† Mortati repeated. â€Å"I shared their pain,† the camerlegno defended, motioning to his chest. â€Å"And I too would die for God, but my work is only just begun. They are singing in St. Peter's Square!† The camerlegno saw the horror in Mortati's eyes and again felt confused. Was it the morphine? Mortati was looking at him as if the camerlegno himself had killed these men with his bare hands. I would do even that for God, the camerlegno thought, and yet he had not. The deeds had been carried out by the Hassassin – a heathen soul tricked into thinking he was doing the work of the Illuminati. I am Janus, the camerlegno had told him. I will prove my power. And he had. The Hassassin's hatred had made him God's pawn. â€Å"Listen to the singing,† the camerlegno said, smiling, his own heart rejoicing. â€Å"Nothing unites hearts like the presence of evil. Burn a church and the community rises up, holding hands, singing hymns of defiance as they rebuild. Look how they flock tonight. Fear has brought them home. Forge modern demons for modern man. Apathy is dead. Show them the face of evil – Satanists lurking among us – running our governments, our banks, our schools, threatening to obliterate the very House of God with their misguided science. Depravity runs deep. Man must be vigilant. Seek the goodness. Become the goodness!† In the silence, the camerlegno hoped they now understood. The Illuminati had not resurfaced. The Illuminati were long deceased. Only their myth was alive. The camerlegno had resurrected the Illuminati as a reminder. Those who knew the Illuminati history relived their evil. Those who did not, had learned of it and were amazed how blind they had been. The ancient demons had been resurrected to awaken an indifferent world. â€Å"But†¦ the brands?† Mortati's voice was stiff with outrage. The camerlegno did not answer. Mortati had no way of knowing, but the brands had been confiscated by the Vatican over a century ago. They had been locked away, forgotten and dust covered, in the Papal Vault – the Pope's private reliquary, deep within his Borgia apartments. The Papal Vault contained those items the church deemed too dangerous for anyone's eyes except the Pope's. Why did they hide that which inspired fear? Fear brought people to God! The vault's key was passed down from Pope to Pope. Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca had purloined the key and ventured inside; the myth of what the vault contained was bewitching – the original manuscript for the fourteen unpublished books of the Bible known as the Apocrypha, the third prophecy of Fatima, the first two having come true and the third so terrifying the church would never reveal it. In addition to these, the camerlegno had found the Illuminati Collection – all the secrets the church had uncovered after banishing the group from Rome†¦ their contemptible Path of Illumination†¦ the cunning deceit of the Vatican's head artist, Bernini†¦ Europe's top scientists mocking religion as they secretly assembled in the Vatican's own Castle St. Angelo. The collection included a pentagon box containing iron brands, one of them the mythical Illuminati Diamond. This was a part of Vatican history the ancients thought best forgotten. The camerlegno, however, had dis agreed. â€Å"But the antimatter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vittoria demanded. â€Å"You risked destroying the Vatican!† â€Å"There is no risk when God is at your side,† the camerlegno said. â€Å"This cause was His.† â€Å"You're insane!† she seethed. â€Å"Millions were saved.† â€Å"People were killed!† â€Å"Souls were saved.† â€Å"Tell that to my father and Max Kohler!† â€Å"CERN's arrogance needed to be revealed. A droplet of liquid that can vaporize a half mile? And you call me mad?† The camerlegno felt a rage rising in him. Did they think his was a simple charge? â€Å"Those who believe undergo great tests for God! God asked Abraham to sacrifice his child! God commanded Jesus to endure crucifixion! And so we hang the symbol of the crucifix before our eyes – bloody, painful, agonizing – to remind us of evil's power! To keep our hearts vigilant! The scars on Jesus' body are a living reminder of the powers of darkness! My scars are a living reminder! Evil lives, but the power of God will overcome!† His shouts echoed off the back wall of the Sistine Chapel and then a profound silence fell. Time seemed to stop. Michelangelo's Last Judgment rose ominously behind him†¦ Jesus casting sinners into hell. Tears brimmed in Mortati's eyes. â€Å"What have you done, Carlo?† Mortati asked in a whisper. He closed his eyes, and a tear rolled. â€Å"His Holiness?† A collective sigh of pain went up, as if everyone in the room had forgotten until that very moment. The Pope. Poisoned. â€Å"A vile liar,† the camerlegno said. Mortati looked shattered. â€Å"What do you mean? He was honest! He†¦ loved you.† â€Å"And I him.† Oh, how I loved him! But the deceit! The broken vows to God! The camerlegno knew they did not understand right now, but they would. When he told them, they would see! His Holiness was the most nefarious deceiver the church had ever seen. The camerlegno still remembered that terrible night. He had returned from his trip to CERN with news of Vetra's Genesis and of antimatter's horrific power. The camerlegno was certain the Pope would see the perils, but the Holy Father saw only hope in Vetra's breakthrough. He even suggested the Vatican fund Vetra's work as a gesture of goodwill toward spiritually based scientific research. Madness! The church investing in research that threatened to make the church obsolete? Work that spawned weapons of mass destruction? The bomb that had killed his mother†¦ â€Å"But†¦ you can't!† the camerlegno had exclaimed. â€Å"I owe a deep debt to science,† the Pope had replied. â€Å"Something I have hidden my entire life. Science gave me a gift when I was a young man. A gift I have never forgotten.† â€Å"I don't understand. What does science have to offer a man of God?† â€Å"It is complicated,† the Pope had said. â€Å"I will need time to make you understand. But first, there is a simple fact about me that you must know. I have kept it hidden all these years. I believe it is time I told you.† Then the Pope had told him the astonishing truth. 132 The camerlegno lay curled in a ball on the dirt floor in front of St. Peter's tomb. The Necropolis was cold, but it helped clot the blood flowing from the wounds he had torn at his own flesh. His Holiness would not find him here. Nobody would find him here†¦ â€Å"It is complicated,† the Pope's voice echoed in his mind. â€Å"I will need time to make you understand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But the camerlegno knew no amount of time could make him understand. Liar! I believed in you! GOD believed in you! With a single sentence, the Pope had brought the camerlegno's world crashing down around him. Everything the camerlegno had ever believed about his mentor was shattered before his eyes. The truth drilled into the camerlegno's heart with such force that he staggered backward out of the Pope's office and vomited in the hallway. â€Å"Wait!† the Pope had cried, chasing after him. â€Å"Please let me explain!† But the camerlegno ran off. How could His Holiness expect him to endure any more? Oh, the wretched depravity of it! What if someone else found out? Imagine the desecration to the church! Did the Pope's holy vows mean nothing? The madness came quickly, screaming in his ears, until he awoke before St. Peter's tomb. It was then that God came to him with an awesome fierceness. Yours is a Vengeful God! Together, they made their plans. Together they would protect the church. Together they would restore faith to this faithless world. Evil was everywhere. And yet the world had become immune! Together they would unveil the darkness for the world to see†¦ and God would overcome! Horror and Hope. Then the world would believe! God's first test had been less horrible than the camerlegno imagined. Sneaking into the Papal bed chambers†¦ filling his syringe†¦ covering the deceiver's mouth as his body spasmed into death. In the moonlight, the camerlegno could see in the Pope's wild eyes there was something he wanted to say. But it was too late. The Pope had said enough. 133 â€Å"The Pope fathered a child.† Inside the Sistine Chapel, the camerlegno stood unwavering as he spoke. Five solitary words of astonishing disclosure. The entire assembly seemed to recoil in unison. The cardinals' accusing miens evaporated into aghast stares, as if every soul in the room were praying the camerlegno was wrong. The Pope fathered a child. Langdon felt the shock wave hit him too. Vittoria's hand, tight in his, jolted, while Langdon's mind, already numb with unanswered questions, wrestled to find a center of gravity. The camerlegno's utterance seemed like it would hang forever in the air above them. Even in the camerlegno's frenzied eyes, Langdon could see pure conviction. Langdon wanted to disengage, tell himself he was lost in some grotesque nightmare, soon to wake up in a world that made sense. â€Å"This must be a lie!† one of the cardinals yelled. â€Å"I will not believe it!† another protested. â€Å"His Holiness was as devout a man as ever lived!† It was Mortati who spoke next, his voice thin with devastation. â€Å"My friends. What the camerlegno says is true.† Every cardinal in the chapel spun as though Mortati had just shouted an obscenity. â€Å"The Pope indeed fathered a child.† The cardinals blanched with dread. The camerlegno looked stunned. â€Å"You knew? But†¦ how could you possibly know this?† Mortati sighed. â€Å"When His Holiness was elected†¦ I was the Devil's Advocate.† There was a communal gasp. Langdon understood. This meant the information was probably true. The infamous â€Å"Devil's Advocate† was the authority when it came to scandalous information inside the Vatican. Skeletons in a Pope's closet were dangerous, and prior to elections, secret inquiries into a candidate's background were carried out by a lone cardinal who served as the â€Å"Devil's Advocate† – that individual responsible for unearthing reasons why the eligible cardinals should not become Pope. The Devil's Advocate was appointed in advance by the reigning Pope in preparation for his own death. The Devil's Advocate was never supposed to reveal his identity. Ever. â€Å"I was the Devil's Advocate,† Mortati repeated. â€Å"That is how I found out.† Mouths dropped. Apparently tonight was a night when all the rules were going out the window. The camerlegno felt his heart filling with rage. â€Å"And you†¦ told no one?† â€Å"I confronted His Holiness,† Mortati said. â€Å"And he confessed. He explained the entire story and asked only that I let my heart guide my decision as to whether or not to reveal his secret.† â€Å"And your heart told you to bury the information?† â€Å"He was the runaway favorite for the papacy. People loved him. The scandal would have hurt the church deeply.† â€Å"But he fathered a child! He broke his sacred vow of celibacy!† The camerlegno was screaming now. He could hear his mother's voice. A promise to God is the most important promise of all. Never break a promise to God. â€Å"The Pope broke his vow!† Mortati looked delirious with angst. â€Å"Carlo, his love†¦ was chaste. He had broken no vow. He didn't explain it to you?† â€Å"Explain what?† The camerlegno remembered running out of the Pope's office while the Pope was calling to him. Let me explain! Slowly, sadly, Mortati let the tale unfold. Many years ago, the Pope, when he was still just a priest, had fallen in love with a young nun. Both of them had taken vows of celibacy and never even considered breaking their covenant with God. Still, as they fell deeper in love, although they could resist the temptations of the flesh, they both found themselves longing for something they never expected – to participate in God's ultimate miracle of creation – a child. Their child. The yearning, especially in her, became overwhelming. Still, God came first. A year later, when the frustration had reached almost unbearable proportions, she came to him in a whirl of excitement. She had just read an article about a new miracle of science – a process by which two people, without ever having sexual relations, could have a child. She sensed this was a sign from God. The priest could see the happiness in her eyes and agreed. A year later she had a child through the miracle of artificial insemination†¦ â€Å"This cannot†¦ be true,† the camerlegno said, panicked, hoping it was the morphine washing over his senses. Certainly he was hearing things. Mortati now had tears in his eyes. â€Å"Carlo, this is why His Holiness has always had an affection for the sciences. He felt he owed a debt to science. Science let him experience the joys of fatherhood without breaking his vow of celibacy. His Holiness told me he had no regrets except one – that his advancing stature in the church prohibited him from being with the woman he loved and seeing his infant grow up.† Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca felt the madness setting in again. He wanted to claw at his flesh. How could I have known? â€Å"The Pope committed no sin, Carlo. He was chaste.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The camerlegno searched his anguished mind for any kind of rationale. â€Å"Think of the jeopardy†¦ of his deeds.† His voice felt weak. â€Å"What if this whore of his came forward? Or, heaven forbid, his child? Imagine the shame the church would endure.† Mortati's voice was tremulous. â€Å"The child has already come forward.† Everything stopped. â€Å"Carlo†¦?† Mortati crumbled. â€Å"His Holiness's child†¦ is you.† At that moment, the camerlegno could feel the fire of faith dim in his heart. He stood trembling on the altar, framed by Michelangelo's towering Last Judgment. He knew he had just glimpsed hell itself. He opened his mouth to speak, but his lips wavered, soundless. â€Å"Don't you see?† Mortati choked. â€Å"That is why His Holiness came to you in the hospital in Palermo when you were a boy. That is why he took you in and raised you. The nun he loved was Maria†¦ your mother. She left the nunnery to raise you, but she never abandoned her strict devotion to God. When the Pope heard she had died in an explosion and that you, his son, had miraculously survived†¦ he swore to God he would never leave you alone again. Carlo, your parents were both virgins. They kept their vows to God. And still they found a way to bring you into the world. You were their miraculous child.† The camerlegno covered his ears, trying to block out the words. He stood paralyzed on the altar. Then, with his world yanked from beneath him, he fell violently to his knees and let out a wail of anguish. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Time seemed to have lost all meaning inside the four walls of the chapel. Vittoria felt herself slowly breaking free of the paralysis that seemed to have gripped them all. She let go of Langdon's hand and began moving through the crowd of cardinals. The chapel door seemed miles away, and she felt like she was moving underwater†¦ slow motion. As she maneuvered through the robes, her motion seemed to pull others from their trance. Some of the cardinals began to pray. Others wept. Some turned to watch her go, their blank expressions turning slowly to a foreboding cognition as she moved toward the door. She had almost reached the back of the crowd when a hand caught her arm. The touch was frail but resolute. She turned, face to face with a wizened cardinal. His visage was clouded by fear. â€Å"No,† the man whispered. â€Å"You cannot.† Vittoria stared, incredulous. Another cardinal was at her side now. â€Å"We must think before we act.† And another. â€Å"The pain this could cause†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vittoria was surrounded. She looked at them all, stunned. â€Å"But these deeds here today, tonight†¦ certainly the world should know the truth.† â€Å"My heart agrees,† the wizened cardinal said, still holding her arm, â€Å"and yet it is a path from which there is no return. We must consider the shattered hopes. The cynicism. How could the people ever trust again?† Suddenly, more cardinals seemed to be blocking her way. There was a wall of black robes before her. â€Å"Listen to the people in the square,† one said. â€Å"What will this do to their hearts? We must exercise prudence.† â€Å"We need time to think and pray,† another said. â€Å"We must act with foresight. The repercussions of this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He killed my father!† Vittoria said. â€Å"He killed his own father!† â€Å"I'm certain he will pay for his sins,† the cardinal holding her arm said sadly. Vittoria was certain too, and she intended to ensure he paid. She tried to push toward the door again, but the cardinals huddled closer, their faces frightened. â€Å"What are you going to do?† she exclaimed. â€Å"Kill me?† The old men blanched, and Vittoria immediately regretted her words. She could see these men were gentle souls. They had seen enough violence tonight. They meant no threat. They were simply trapped. Scared. Trying to get their bearings. â€Å"I want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the wizened cardinal said, â€Å"†¦ to do what is right.† â€Å"Then you will let her out,† a deep voice declared behind her. The words were calm but absolute. Robert Langdon arrived at her side, and she felt his hand take hers. â€Å"Ms. Vetra and I are leaving this chapel. Right now.† Faltering, hesitant, the cardinals began to step aside. â€Å"Wait!† It was Mortati. He moved toward them now, down the center aisle, leaving the camerlegno alone and defeated on the altar. Mortati looked older all of a sudden, wearied beyond his years. His motion was burdened with shame. He arrived, putting a hand on Langdon's shoulder and one on Vittoria's as well. Vittoria felt sincerity in his touch. The man's eyes were more tearful now. â€Å"Of course you are free to go,† Mortati said. â€Å"Of course.† The man paused, his grief almost tangible. â€Å"I ask only this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stared down at his feet a long moment then back up at Vittoria and Langdon. â€Å"Let me do it. I will go into the square right now and find a way. I will tell them. I don't know how†¦ but I will find a way. The church's confession should come from within. Our failures should be our own to expose.† Mortati turned sadly back toward the altar. â€Å"Carlo, you have brought this church to a disastrous juncture.† He paused, looking around. The altar was bare. There was a rustle of cloth down the side aisle, and the door clicked shut. The camerlegno was gone.