Starbucks Case

As a result, Cataracts consistently appears on â€Å"Best Places to Work† lists, and Schultz continues to be recognized for leadership by organizations such as the Deciphers Institute, Fortune, and Glissando (â€Å"Cataracts and Howard,† 2014). Schultz also appears on Fortunes first list Of the Android's 50 Greatest Leaders† as number 29 (Cataracts News). Although critics may believe that Schultz success is a result of mere luck and situational factors, several leadership theories explain why Schultz and Cataracts continue to be successful.The most important of these theories include trait theory and transformational leadership theory, which Schultz illustrates with many of his leadership traits, skills, and beliefs. Situational factors contributed to the initial success of Cataracts, but Schultz leadership abilities, ethics, and passion are what make Cataracts a driving force in the food and beverage industry today. Schultz exemplifies dynamic leadership skills b y his ability to push Cataracts forward without losing integrity.Although Schultz led Cataracts to be the successful company that it is today, he stepped down from his position in 2000. However, the company experienced several problems in 2008 because of an unstable economy and a series of poor management decisions. Schultz then felt compelled to return to the company. When Schultz returned, he found that â€Å"things were worse than [he'd] thought† (Igniting, 2010). The Cataracts leadership team admitted to failing the company's employees and heir families, and Schultz had to make several difficult decisions to restore the company.In addition to the crises in management, the financial crisis of the economy added stress on the Cataracts leadership team. Customers began to rethink spending four dollars on a latte, and eventually competition set in as other businesses saw Cataracts turning a profit from selling coffee. The overwhelming amount of problems challenged Schultz goal of preserving and improving the integrity of the company and its â€Å"values, culture, guiding principles, and the reservoir of trust with Cataracts people† Igniting, 2010).Howard Schultz got Cataracts back on track by using his existing knowledge of the company, an asset other Coos did not have. He tried to do ‘the right thing† by shutting down the stores for three and a half hours for retraining. He said, ‘†We are retraining our people because we have forgotten what we stand for, and that is the pursuit of an unequivocal, absolute commitment to quality† (Igniting, 2010). Schultz motivation and thirst for success allowed Cataracts to regain its strength.In the years 2006 to 201 3, the company underwent several leadership arrangements because Schultz carefully chose certain people for leadership positions that would optimize the growth of the company. In 2011, Cataracts adopted a new corporate structure to accelerate its growth strategy. Schult z said, â€Å"Our company performance over the past two years has positioned Cataracts for significant international opportunities ahead† (â€Å"Cataracts Announces New Leadership,† 2011 He decided to execute a multi-brand, multinational strategy that would optimize the company's speed and focus going forward.Schultz implemented a three-region organization Structure including China and Asia Pacific, the Americas, and MEME (Europe, LLC. K. Middle East, Russia, and Africa). He selected John Culver, Cliff Burrows, and Michelle Gas to serve as president of each region, and the presidents' responsibilities included working with licensed and joint-venture business partners and reporting to Schultz. Cataracts also created a â€Å"multi-brand, multi-channel future by building a portfolio of branded business united beyond the Cataracts retail brand† (â€Å"Cataracts Announces New Leadership,† 201 1).Cattle's Best Coffee and Taco Tea both continued to be important growth opportunities as they generated revenue for the company. Building on the new corporate structure and company success, Schultz decided to strengthen the Cataracts Senior Leadership team in 2014 because he wanted to position the company ‘to leverage its assets and operations, and gain maximum benefit from the retail, consumer, mobile, and digital shifts currently underway in the global marketplace† (â€Å"Cataracts Strengthens Senior Leadership Team†, 2014).Schultz said, â€Å"These organizational moves map our internal talent to the rapidly evolving retail environment and significant strategic and market opportunities ahead of us. With the new leadership structure, Schultz wanted to bring â€Å"greater financial and operational discipline† and to focus on the Cataracts mission and its growth (â€Å"Cataracts Strengthens Senior Leadership Team†, 2014). Senior leadership changes include Troy Lasted to Chief Operating Officer, Scott Maw to Execut ive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Craig Russell to Executive Vice President.With these changes, Schultz intended to focus on â€Å"generation retailing and payments initiatives in the areas of digital, mobile, card, loyalty, and e-commerce† and to prepare for â€Å"its next wave of global growth† â€Å"Cataracts Strengthens Senior Leadership Team†, 2014). The senior leadership changes took effect on February 3, 2014, and Cataracts continues to thrive under the leadership of Howard Schultz. Although Schultz is only one of many leaders who has appeared throughout history, he continues to help redefine what leadership is and how to use one's leadership skills to run a successful company.In general, leadership is defined as the process of providing general direction and influencing individuals or groups to achieve goals, but leaders convey leadership in many different ways (Collar, 201 1). One theory that explains why Schultz is an exceptional lead er is the trait theory of leadership. Atone time, â€Å"it was thought that some people were born with certain traits that made them effective leaders, whereas others were born without leadership traits† (Collar, 201 1).However, research has shown that leaders can learn or develop many of the traits or characteristics that they posses. Still, researchers agree that most successful leaders tend to share common leadership traits, regardless if they learn or inherit them. Some of these important leadership traits include drive, motivation, integrity, self- inference, cognitive ability, knowledge of domain, openness to new experiences, and extroversion, all of which Howard Schultz and other successful leaders exhibit. For example, Schultz displayed both drive and motivation when starting his company.Despite financial stress and emotional struggles with his father's death, Schultz â€Å"channeled his drive to build a company where his father would be proud to work† (George, 2007). Schultz used his past struggles to drive him forward and motivate him to create a working environment that his employees loved and were satisfied with. Rather than displaying a personalized power motive, Schultz displayed a socialized power motive to achieve goals that were in the best interest of the organization and its followers.Schultz also exhibits integrity, since he is honest and maintains consistency between what he says and what he does. As a result, his employees trust him and are happy to work for a company that is ethically sound and fair. The Deciphers Institute named Cataracts as one of the â€Å"World's Most Ethical Companies† for the eighth year in a row because of its honest and trustworthy leaders and employees (â€Å"Cataracts and Howard†, 2014). Furthermore, Schultz also uses his cognitive ability and knowledge of gourmet coffee and customer service to positively influence and teach his employees and partners.Schultz even traveled to Italy t o gain insight on the unique community experience that many Italian espresso bars play in customers' lives so that he could apply many of these concepts that he learned in Italy to his own coffee shops. As a result, Schultz has used traits like his knowledge, drive, motivation, and integrity to make Cataracts into the successful organization that he had always dreamed of as a young child (George, 2007). In addition to trait theory, Schultz leadership skills also support the transformational leadership theory.Transformational leadership theory involves motivating followers to do more than expected, to continuously develop and grow, to increase their level of self-confidence, and to place the interest of the organization before their own. As a result, transformational leaders, like Schultz, are charismatic as well as intellectually stimulating and show individual consideration of followers. Schultz is the perfect example of a transformational leader because he created a company based on his vision f excellence and innovation for the modern coffee shop.His goal was to create a â€Å"third place† for customers in addition to their home and office by focusing on customer service and satisfaction. Therefore, he focused on empowering and instilling pride even in bottom line employees, so that they could be happy at work and create the positive environment that Schultz wanted Cataracts to have. In order to motivate employees, Schultz â€Å"instituted a training program designed to groom knowledgeable employees who would enjoy working behind a counter,† since he believed that friendly, efficient employees would boost sales (â€Å"Howard Schultz,† 2008).By providing high quality products for customers that employees were knowledgeable about, Schultz was able to give employees a job that they could feel proud of and happy to be at. According to John R. Scarsdale, â€Å"Schultz believes the only competitive advantage Cataracts has as a national retai l company is its workforce† (Scarsdale, 2013). Therefore, Schultz values his employees' performance and happiness over everything else that Cataracts offers. As a result, Schultz leadership style â€Å"is based on his compassion for, and commitment to, customers and staff alike† (â€Å"Howard Schultz,† n. D. ).Schultz knows that the key to any company's success begins with its workforce, because the employees interact with the customer everyday and deliver the actual product. Schultz notes, m{U can't expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don't exceed the employees' expectations of management. That's the contract† (â€Å"More Excellent Customer Service Quotes†, n. D. ). Although Schultz leadership traits and transformational leadership style are both crucial reasons for Cataracts huge success over the past 40 years, some situational factors are also responsible for part of Cataracts' success.Some Of these situationa l factors include higher demand for quality, increase in fast food businesses, and convenient store locations. Today more and more individuals are focusing on the quality of the food and beverages that they put into their bodies, which has resulted in a higher demand for quality. Rather than just simply buying the cheapest product, consumers want a product that offers the most value for a reasonable price. For example, today more consumers prefer a cup of coffee that is fresh and made to order rather than a cup of coffee that is pre-made from synthetic ingredients.Therefore, any customers are willing to pay a dollar or two more for a higher quality coffee product rather than a lower quality coffee product. However, customers still expect the price for high quality coffee to be fairly reasonable, since the focus on quality in food products is becoming so important. Therefore, consumers now expect high quality products at a lower price. As a result, Cataracts has been able to capitali ze on this new demand for high quality products at a reasonable price with its wide array of quality coffee and beverages.In addition to demand for quality, fast food businesses seem to be lose by no matter where one goes because the demand for food and beverages to go has skyrocketed over the past few decades. Many individuals these days are always on the move and looking for a food or coffee establishment that can satisfy their needs in a short and efficient amount of time. Although it seems as though fast food and beverage options are never out of reach these days, this was not always the case for many coffee shops.For example, Schultz encountered the original Cataracts Coffee in the 1 sass during a sales call in Seattle, when the company only sold roasted whole bean coffees and did not brew coffee to sell. However, now Cataracts offers a huge variety of beverages, snacks, and much more that take only under a few minutes to make for customers. Additionally, Cataracts' convenient locations are another situational factor that helped add to its fast success, since the locations are typically very accessible and easy to find. In addition, the demand for drive thru windows has also given Cataracts a boost for customers in a hurry.Rather than having to physically go into a Cataracts store to order coffee, customers can order from their car if they are in a hurry. As a result, Cataracts has benefited tremendously from its convenient actions and fast service. Situational factors, such as demand for quality, increase in fast food chains, convenient locations, and many others, are all extremely important contributions to Cataracts' huge success. However, Howard Schultz leadership traits and skills that he instilled within his employees were also critical to keep Cataracts the number one coffee chain in the world.For example, Cataracts could be a completely different type of coffee company without Schultz guidance, and both his employees and Cataracts customers would not be as happy without his focus on employee satisfaction and quality service. Although Cataracts would likely still be somewhat successful without Schultz leadership, the company would likely have trouble differentiating itself from other coffee chains. Furthermore, the company also would not have as many loyal customers without their focus on quality customer service, since the employees would not be required to go through intense training.In addition, employees would not be as happy, since many of the employee benefits such as health care may not exist without Schultz. Consequently, unhappy employees could turn away potential and existing customers and only allow Cataracts to have short-term success. As a result, without Schultz focus on employee and customer satisfaction, the situational factors would not have mattered in the long run. Therefore, Schultz leadership skills were essential in establishing Cataracts as a dominant force in the coffee industry.Although Schultz allegi ance clearly lies with Cataracts, he could apply many of his leadership skills and abilities to another organization if needed. For example, if Howard Schultz was the CEO of Wall-Mart, he could use his knowledge and experience from Cataracts to lead Wall-Mart in a more positive direction by improving the quality of employees' jobs. Currently, several issues exist that may hold the company back from reaching its full potential. Hidden beneath operational problems, diminished sales, and low customer service ratings, employees are complaining about low salaries, erratic scheduling, and understanding (Heal, 2008).Currently, as many as 825,000 of Wall-Mart workers have an annual income of less than $25,000 (â€Å"Five Ways:' 2014). Wall-Mart is one of the most successful companies in the country and can certainly afford to raise these salaries so that hard working employees are able to support a family. Also, Wall-Mart employs a large annuity of employees in part-time positions, allowin g the company to skimp on costs, when most of these employees desire more hours (â€Å"Five Ways,† 2014). Workers are becoming frustrated with executives avoiding this crucial issue.Protests occurred at roughly 1,500 Wall-Mart stores on this past Black Friday alone. The protesters, a mix of workers and supporters, held signs calling for higher pay and better working conditions. To make matters worse, massive cuts of worker hours are taking a toll on consumer ratings of the company. A recent Consumer Reports Survey placed Wall-Mart at the bottom of the list of grocers. Shoppers mentioned the understanding, a clear cause of, â€Å"long lines and an overall poor customer service† (â€Å"Walter Ranks,† 2014).According to Geoffrey Heal (2008), accusations against Wall-Mart include â€Å"gender discrimination, low wages, excessive use of part-time labor, and harsh working conditions. † Based off these accusations, if Schultz were the CEO of Wall-Mart, its posit ion would be much different. Many of these weak areas are exactly where Cataracts has excelled over the past few decades. Schultz recon sized an approach that would build success for a Company with such a large number of employees. First, Cataracts pays its employees wages far above the service branch average and offers low-cost health benefit opportunities.Cataracts realized early on that properly training employees and acting generously towards them would lead to a very low employee turnover rate, which would reward the company in the future (Heal, 2008). Perhaps Wall-Mart's biggest challenge is that, unlike Cataracts, many of the employees are not proud to work there. Schultz prides Cataracts on being an employer that people trust. Workers share genuine hope for the company's future, and they want to be a part of it. Wall-Mart, on the other hand, is facing new lawsuits continuously -? and its own employees file a lot of them.Within the past year, the National Labor Relations Boar d filed a complaint against Wall-Mart for illegally firing and punishing about 60 workers who vocalizes a desire for change (â€Å"Five Ways,† 2014). In comparison, Howard Schultz has always treated his employees with respect and valued their individual opinions. Cataracts often holds open forums and encourages employees to speak their minds, even it they have negative comments. The combination of these criticisms along with praise in table areas has been important in contributing to shape the future of Cataracts and its culture.Schultz realized the value of personal connection when building Cataracts, and this is the major area that Wall-Mart needs improvement in. According to the case study, Schultz notes that remaining a humble and grounded entrepreneur is crucial. Schultz would bring this attitude to the executives at Wall-Mart, who currently do not cherish their employees as assets of the company. The case study reinforces Cataracts as a company that listens to and under stands each employee by noting the many has â€Å"implemented generous employee benefits, training programs, and employee stock ownership programs. For this reason, the transformation of Cataracts serves as a great model for the hypothetical situation of Schultz as CEO of Wall-Mart. Schultz would excel as the CEO of Wall-Mart, providing a fresh perspective to the executives and managers, and instilling values from the immense growth at Cataracts during his time there. No longer would bullying workers be acceptable, and â€Å"changing this culture of intimidation would go a long way to improving labor relations† (â€Å"Five Ways,† 2014). The basic change off higher minimum wage would reduce the number of protests and cause employees to feel a more prideful connection to the company.With Schultz as CEO, Wall-Mart executives would begin to recognize the importance of listening to employees across all levels and this simple act would go a long way to make the company a st ronger unit. Despite Howard Schultz eight-year hiatus in 2000, he has been one of Cataracts' greatest assets by building its fundamental ideals and values and staying involved to communicate his vision. For these reasons, Schultz is known around the world as one of the greatest leaders in the business world cause of his ethical values, passion, and communication skills.

Functions of Management Essay

The following will include the four major functions of management in a health care setting, how these functions apply to managing others, important roles for health care manager and leader in the diversified health care industry and the most significant aspect related to health care management that I would like to gain by taking this class. The four major functions of management in a health care setting are: organizing, planning, controlling and leading. The four functions mentioned all work hand in hand when managing others or while being managed. Each manager is expected to be a leader of their department and make sure that patient’s needs are being met. A leader has to be well organized within the department to accomplish things as checking in patients, calling patients to remind them of upcoming procedures and appointments, referrals, and insurance authorization, paper work needs to be well organized to make sure that everything is done in order and correct. Organizing make it easy for changing of shifts between employees. Planning comes in to play when schedules are mapped out to make sure that enough health care workers are present for each day’s work load. It also help to plan around a physician surgery schedule and so forth. Controlling helps the manager to keep focus on work performance which in turn helps to build relationships with employees and patients due to the active contact. Leading in management is very important and the responsibility is more. A leader is responsible for training, department meetings, work schedule and goals to be accomplished each day without compromising the care for each patient. Planning plays an important role for a health care manager and leader in a diversified health care industry, without planning ahead it puts a health care facility at risk of not being able to perform above and beyond for their patient’s health care needs. According to Harvard business â€Å"In addition to negotiating the day-to-day demands of a busy and complex organization, healthcare executives must also be able to evaluate and understand the impact of alternative care delivery models†.

To what extent the laws on foreign invested enterprises in China have Essay

To what extent the laws on foreign invested enterprises in China have transformed in line with China' WTO membership - Essay Example Moreover, the ‘dual tax system’ has led towards imposition of different tax rates that are applicable to FIEs and Chinese enterprises. FIEs in China possess favourable tax treatment in comparison to domestic Chinese enterprises. The FIEs are also facilitated with special tax rates as well as deduction of taxes along with tax holidays 1(LI 2008). The People’s Republic of China (PRC) Enterprise Income Tax Law, from the beginning of the year 2008 has developed a unified tax system that is applicable for both domestic Chinese enterprise and FIEs. In accordance with the revised PRC law, it has been viewed that an income tax charge of 25 percent is applicable for all business enterprises of China2. In December 2001, China acceded towards significant World Trade Organisation (WTO) that deals with trade regulations between different nations, ultimately changed the scenario of the business law environment of China3. In this regard, WTO had devised significant reforms for d ifferent FIEs in China that emphasised upon minimising tariff rates as well as opening new sectors for foreign investment. Moreover, WTO has also reformed the legal system which includes protection of intellectual property as well as control of foreign exchange4. The discussion intends to emphasize upon examining the historic background, development and features of Chinese law governing the forms of organisation belonging to FIEs. Moreover, the WTO impact upon the transformation of Chinese business law will also be portrayed in the discussion. Main Body Historic Background and Development of FIEs The historic background and the development of Chinese law governing the forms of organisations of FIEs can be segregated into three phases that have been discussed hereunder. The Initial Stage (1979-1986) In the year 1979, a law on Chinese-Foreign Joint Ventures was approved and it was the first law of the State Council of China that is related to foreign investment consumption. The Chines e State Council from the year 1979 to 1980 had provided favourable as well as flexible policies with regard to foreign investments. In order to develop the Chinese economy as compared to Soviet Union, China developed a legal system based on Soviet Union legal framework. In this similar context, it was viewed that Hong Kong as well as Macao was regarded to be the major foreign investors in China and investments were mainly made in manufacturing units as well as hotels which are mainly labour intensive5. Steady Development Stage (1987-1991) In the year 1986, the State Council instigated a law relating to the development of foreign investments for the motive of minimising issues between domestic Chinese enterprises and FIEs. Moreover, the law helped in eliminating the problem of currency exchange for foreign investors and it also facilitated the foreign investors and export businesses to reap significant benefits. During this stage, foreign investments increased in export enterprises a s well as manufacturing industries along with high technology industries and its expansion in many business areas was also been observed 6. Accelerated Development Stage (1992-1999) In the year 1993, it has been observed that the amount of foreign inve

Human resource Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Human resource - Assignment Example n as one of the aims of affirmative action is to attain workforce diversity and by hiring people from the minority groups and those who belong to the protected class, employers attain workforce diversity. This means that work force diversity and affirmative action work hand in hand. 2. A friend of mine was working in a pharmaceutical company as a human resource development senior executive. She was in the same position for 2 consecutive years and it was high time to promote her to the assistant manager’s position. The reason behind this was that her line manager was asking for sexual favors in return of promotion but she never agreed to it. This kind of sexual harassment is regarded as Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment. James another friend of mine was working in the marketing department of a fashion designing organization. He was the only male working in the department and the rest of the employees were females who used call him by illicit names and used to bully him, due to this he was so mentally disturbed that he used be unable to perform his tasks. This kind of sexual harassment is regarded as Hostile environment sexual

Accounting Regulation of Extractive Industries Essay

Accounting Regulation of Extractive Industries - Essay Example ay a critical role in global economic and political relations and include companies in oil, gas and mining industries such as Exxon Mobil, Anglo American and Royal Dutch/Shell Group. The economic power of extractive industries is evidenced by the US $ 211 trillion in profits that was recorded by 20 extractive industries in 2005 compared with United States GDP of US $ 11 trillion in 2005. Efforts to regulate the extractive industry were initiated by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), now the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 1998 in order to address the problem associated with differing accounting practices used by the companies in the sector (Cortese, Irvine and Kaidonis, 2010). The previous accounting standards such as IAS 16 on property, plant, and equipment and IAS 38 on intangible assets did not address the thorny issue of accounting for extractive operations in oil, gas and mining operations. In this case, IFRS 6, exploration for and evaluation of Mineral Resources was released in 2004, but experts in the field claims that the standard codified the existing industry practice and provided the companies with flexibility to continue reporting in their preferred mode (Nobes & Parker 2008). The impact of the reported profits can be substantial and thus IASC sought to address the discrepancies at the international level. Proponents of full cost method stressed the need to retain the two methods and an Ad Hoc Committee on full costing consisting of various industry bodies and players was constituted (Nobes & Parker 2008). Companies in extractive industries have global operations and diversity in their accounting and reporting has evolved in leading mining regions such as South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States (US). Wiecek & Young (2010) explains that the economic importance of extractive industries led IASC to recognise the need for an international accounting standard that would provide

Homework Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework - Research Paper Example Innovation also calls for employment of qualified personnel, who brainstorm to come up with better products and ensuring excellent services to consumers. Companies achieve innovation through creation of new goods or services that disrupt consumers buying patterns or through incremental improvements on the existing products thereby increasing their life. This paper discusses the crucial role balanced scorecard plays in communicating organisation strategies and hence achieving innovation and competitive advantage over other companies. ... et targets and get above it Every two weeks Operations metrics It establish whether operations are flowing as scheduled and avoid last minute surprises on orders Every day Learning and growth (Employees) perspective Employees satisfaction Evaluate employees to establish their level of satisfaction Every month Employees turnover or retention Get a report from HR of recruitments and exits of employees Every six months Level of organisation capability Empowering employees through training and encouraging them to further their education improves an organisations capability Make it a policy for employees to engage in learning activities Nature of organisation culture or climate Enables employees to coexist harmoniously with one another, create a satisfied team, and motivated team Maintain a motivated team Technological innovation Reward employees for invention of new products and introducing new ideas Every time it happens A balanced scorecard is the face value of an organization that con nects strategic objectives to one another. According to balanced scorecard institute website, â€Å"A balanced scorecard identifies the connection between creative capacity, efficient product development processes, improved customer and stakeholder value, and financial outcomes† (â€Å"Balanced scorecard institute,† 2000.) The above score card incorporates the mission and vision statements of a company, which form part of the strategic objectives. A vision statement of a company explains the reason for being. It inspires people to achieve more that they actually thought possible, allows stretching of resources to increase profitability, and unite employees towards a common goal. A vision statement forms the foundation of an organization values and influences its strengths and weaknesses. On

SISCO Marketing Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SISCO Marketing Plan - Case Study Example This being the first year of operation in the financial and mortgage industry, SISCO has developed its own customer base, thus cultivating its own niche market. An aggressive marketing will however lead to a growth of its customer base, thus making its presence widely known in Jeddah. SISCO's core business shall be the supply of financial services to both individuals and business owners, who have interests in the mortgage and property development industry. Following a study of the target market, the information acquired will hence help the company to better serve the needs of the customers. The kingdom is witnessing a change in demographics of home development. Previously, individuals build at least 98 percent of the homes, whereas developers only handled the remaining 2 percent. The trend is however rapidly changing owing to a drastic rise in both the building materials, and a corresponding increase in development cost The sector is bound to witness a rapid growth, and which will continue onto the following year. This saw investment into real estate increasing by more than two folds by the end of 2007. This review, which was provided by the Global Investment House, also reported of an annual growth in the sector of 115.9 percent, and which now stands at SAR 100.4 billion. In almost all the segments in this market, demand almost always surpasses supply. While this trend is expected to hold in coming years, real estate prices, as well as rental will more than likely remain buoyant. 9. Market trends: The real estate market in Saudi Arabia has remained buoyant, thanks to the availability of sustainable demand. As long as there is an economic expansion, there will be a resultant creation of investment opportunities in the region. Demand will thus continue picking up, fuelled by an influx of increased rates. In addition, population growth in the kingdom has been forecasted to continue growing annually at a rate of 2.5 percent, to reach 25.66 million at the end of 2009. At the same time, there shall be a decline in the average house hold size from 5.5 to 5.2 persons for the periods 2005-2009. This will in turn lead to a corresponding increase in housing demand, which has been estimated to be at 1 million units by the end of the same period. This translates into an increase of 200,000 units per year on average. Jeddah is also witnessing a growing trend, in which high rise and luxurious apartment are being designed and developed by real estate developers of repute (Parker 2007). 10. Market needs: There is a dire need to supply over 200,000 housing units per year. In order to achieve this, a total of 280 million square meters of land is needed. Further, SAR 500 billion needs to be invested in the sector to be able to construct the 1 million housing units. In order to quench this thirst for housing units, the availability of sufficient financial mechanisms are needed (Parker 2007). 11. SWOT Analysis: This is a description of the company's strengths, weaknesses, threats and

Hopis Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hopis Anthropology - Essay Example Consequently, the view on the Hopi people’s origin is also a major question that is to be sought. The subject is relevant especially in the contemporary society since an academic study of past events and the origin of humanity are critical in enhancing cohesiveness. Hopi people should understand their past dealings and origin to pragmatically define their future. Anthropology enables individuals to establish the meaning of the archeological sites and cultural practices thus enables them to nurture the practices (Kuwanwisiwma, 161). The key perspectives of the subject appertains to enhancing understanding of the Hopi people on their origin, the significance of the archeological artifacts, ancestral sites and cultural practices. This is to; avoid erosion of their social and cultural heritage that contributes in enhancing mutual coexistence. However, critics oppose the understanding and advancement of past dealings asserting that the practices are part of the old order that does not hold relevance in this century. As noted, Hopi immigrants originated from Sipaapani (place of emergence) and travelled buried and lived in Hopistutskwa-Hopiland with their ancestors. The cultural landscape of the region is identified by landforms that hold great association with deities. The landscape also holds historical events, rivers, springs, shrines and the Itakuku as termed by the Hopi people that mean â€Å"our footprints† (Ferguson & Roger, 99). It is imperative to note that the cultural sites and events were crucial in executing traditional rituals including ceremonies. The footprints that include the pottery, stone tools, the ruins of former settlements and diverse artifacts are significant monuments that present undisputed proof of ancestral migration.

Matlab problem Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Matlab problem - Assignment Example It is to see to it that the resistors used are not unnecessarily too many and that the value of resistance that they form in combination are the closest to the desired value of resistance. Problem statement Resistors are measured in SI units known as ohms. In a bid to ease the process of manufacturing in bulk, the manufacturers of resistors usually do it in some standard set measures. These standard resistors are known as E12 resistors. They are the resistors with the values 10 ?; 12 ?; 15 ?; 18 ?; 22 ?; 27 ?; 33 ?; 39 ?; 47 ?; 56 ?; 68 ?; and 82 ? Designers of electrical components who which incorporate the use of resistors usually design for some arbitrary resistance values which shall best suit the requirements of the component under design. Given that resistors are manufactured in the 12 standard values, this implies that the designer shall have make an appropriate combination of a number of the standard resistors to form a value that is as close to the designed value of resistan ce as is practically possible. The combination should use as few resistors as possible to minimize costs and this calls for proper optimization. In this task, resistors are to be combined in series since resistors combining in series have the total resistance being the sum of the individual resistances of each one of the resistors connected in series. In this problem the designer desires to get optimization modes of combining resistors in series to get the following values of resistances:- 20 ?; 100 ?; 200 ?; 1k ?; 2k ?; 50k ?; 100k ?; 2m ?; 20M ?; 150M ?. Method The method employed in solving this problem takes advantage of the fact that each one of the E12 resistance values form a geometric series, they are all approximately 21% larger than the previous value. The method employed also takes advantage of the fact that for resistors in series, the total resistance is given by summing up the value of each of the individual resistances of the resistors connected in series. i.e, RT = R 1 + R2 + R3 The method employed also targeted at making the program user friendly. It was to engage the user in a human like dialogue and hence be usable even by people who have no knowledge of programming. In this regard, the method employed was to write a program code that would ask for some two information from the user of the program. The first information to be inquired from the user is the desired value of resistance (target value). In this case the user would input one of the following as desired; 20 ?; 100 ?; 200 ?; 1k ?; 2k ?; 50k ?; 100k ?; 2m ?; 20M ?; 150M ?. The second information to be inquired from the user is the maximum number of resistors that can be combined. This was introduced in a bid to cut down on the cost of manufacturing. The method employed also involved the use of shorthand in which case, M, K and R were used instead of M ?; K ? and ? respectively. So as to make it possible for the universally accepted and used shorthand used by electrical engineers be in put in the program by the users. Results and discussion The program so formed is user friendly and able to ask for the two values from the user, i.e. the value of resistance desired and the maximum number of resistors to be combined. The program is also able to accept values of input written in electrical engineers’

The Importance of Business Ethics in the Business Transactions Today Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Business Ethics in the Business Transactions Today Essay For me, ‘business ethics’ has something to do with the moral principles, values, and beliefs that revolve around a group of business people.   It may have something to do with the various strategies used in applying and demonstrating the values standards that the group implements to the public.   It may include the patterns of advertisement, how it links to and with the society, how morals are applied internally and externally, what values and beliefs they execute (e.g., pro-children, pro-technology), or how they give meaning to the environment and the type of business that they have. It is a very important factor in business these days, especially that there is more intense competition in the business society today, people are more diverse than ever, and that there are various business companies that employees may switch to if, in case, they agree that the group is making them more aggravated, especially in terms of ethics. For this, corporate managers nowadays should take business ethics more seriously.   Apart from having a good business plan, implementing good business ethics motivates the employees and the customers alike, since it gives a positive impression on the company itself, and makes the people aware that this company does not just value the cash but the people as well.   A well-organized, motivated business group is more capable of succeeding, and this would all depend on the ethics set by the higher staff.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If I were the chief executive officer or CEO of a corporation, I would communicate my perspective on the importance of ethics to my employees by acting out what I preach, and by implementing integrity, dependability, fairness, and most of all, transparency.   Everything would have to start in transparency by improving the value of honesty and openness within the company.   I should also do the same thing with the customers and the other stakeholder groups.   This builds what Baum and Kling (2004) calls a â€Å"values-based business culture† (p.1).   Business ethics may mean different things to different people, yet it all lands on the same ground—the execution of values, morals, and principles. Reference Baum, H., Kling, T.   (2004).   The transparent leader: how to build a great company through straight talk, openness, and accountability.   New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Inequality Gap between the Global North and South

Inequality Gap between the Global North and South Introduction: The term Global South refers to â€Å"The Third World† which it colloquially replaced to describe the poorest countries in the world, countries particularly in the South Asia, Middle East, Central and South America, Africa and Oceania that were unaligned with either the Communist Soviet bloc or the Capitalist NATO bloc during the Cold War. There is an immense social, economic and political gap between the wealthy Global North and the poorer least developed countries of Global South. The Geographical division of the world differentiating the rich from the poor starting from the Global South includes all of Asia except Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, and the South East Asian ‘dragons of Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand; all of Africa; the Middle East, except the oil-rich UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain; and Central and South America. The North includes Europe; the USA, except Bermuda and the Bahamas; Canada; and the European republics of the former Soviet Union. Newly industrialized countries such as South Korea and Taiwan now have more in common with the industrialized North and fast-developing Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Chile than with other countries in the developing world. (http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0030871.html) The Third World or Global Souths persistent underdevelopment can be explained by analysing both the internal and the external factors that consistently contribute towards halting its progress. When Imperialism started in United States, which was a natural product of economic pressure due to sudden advance of capitalism which needed foreign markets for goods and investments. Europe was going through the same scenario, overproduction in the sense of excessive manufacturing plants and surplus capital which could not find stable investments within the countries, forced Great Britain, Holland, Germany and France to place large portions of their economic resources and capital outside their own political domain and stimulate a foreign policy of expansion to new regions and areas. Germany in the early 1900s was suffering severely from what is called a glut of capital and manufacturing power and had to move to new markets and trade settlements were forced upon Asia Minor, West Africa and other colonies. Improvements in method of production and industrial revolution boosted a machine economy with one nation after another adapting industrial methods, it became difficult for their mer chants, manufacturers and financiers to dispose profitably their economic resources, so they used their Governments in order to secure for their particular use, some distant underdeveloped countries by annexation or protection. These economic conditions of affairs form the taproot of Imperialism.(Hobson, 1954) Hence my point being that the developed world has used the developing world for its own gain and cheaper raw materials and labour. Due to the relationship of interdependence between world economies and world trade there are dominant countries which expand because they are self sufficient and there are dependent countries that can only do this only as a reflection of these dominant countries. The concept of dependence allows us to see the situation of these countries internally as a part of the world economy. In the Marxist tradition, the theory of imperialism has been developed as a study of this process of expansion of these imperial centres and their quest of world domination. Scholars following the Marxist tradition have presented the most extensive analysis of foreign economic policy. Karl Marx himself was primarily concerned with developments within national economies, although he did not ignore international and global problems. The international aspects of capitalism assumed a place of importance for Marxist scholars. Marxist theories can be divided into two basic types: instrumental and structural. (Laski, 2003) Instrumental Marxist theories view governmental behaviour as a product of direct social and societal pressure. In its sophisticated form, Marxist arguments analyze the general ties between the government officials and the capitalist sector. I would like to quote Mr. Harold Laski here who argued that ‘historically we always find that any system of government is dominated by those who at the time wield economic power; and what they mean by ‘good is, for the most part, the preservation of their own interests. (Laski, 2003) Structural Marxist have different arguments. They do not link the behaviour of the state to any capital class and see the state playing an independent role within the whole capitalist system. Analysing this from an economic perspective, we can see that capitalism is not self sustained towards general equilibrium in the long run profit because the labour cannot be exploited in the long run due to technological advancements which decrease the ratio of labour to capital in the long run. This process leads to more goods produced than its members can consume also known as under consumption and this drives the weaker firms out of the market and capital accumulation and greater power in the hands of owners or managers of capital. The relationship between giant multinationals, advanced capital societies and foreign activity has been emphasized by some recent Marxists like Harry Magdoff and James O Conner. Through the behavioural theory of the firm, Magdoff suggests that corporations are systems of power and each firm tries to control and capture its own market. This fact could not be realized at the beginning of capitalism because the level of competition was too high. Businesses seek to maximize control over actual and potential sources of raw material and foreign markets. The foreign investment by these multinational guarantees this control. And these corporations are the foundation of the American capitalist system and their political power is immensely great and for these reasons the United States, the leading capitalist nation in the world maintains an international economic system with minimum constraints on the functioning and operation of these giant multinationals. (Magdoff, 1960) Although another Marxist James OConner maintains that in modern capitalist systems, monopoly sector is the most important source of profits. However the monopoly sector can expand rather quickly than demand and employment and this leads to aggressive foreign policy. Thus overseas activity can create new opportunities of investment, sales and profit. Marxist analysts have also suggested a relationship between capitalist system, military expenditure and imperialism. This military power is important in direct sense because the use of force may be necessary to keep foreign areas open to investment and trade. (Connor, 1973) One of the main focuses of these capitalists was the supply of cheap raw materials and United States was itself dependent on foreign sources for some commodities that were essential for industrial operations and also military equipment. One author argues that all American foreign policy can be explained by the need â€Å"to insure that the flow of raw materials from the Third World is never interrupted.† (Dean, 1966) Marxist theories tend to explain the effect of imperialism and capitalism on underdeveloped countries. A famous quote of Karl Marx, â€Å"Capitalist production, therefore, develops technology, and the combining together of various processes into a social whole, only by sapping the original sources of all wealth the soil and the labourer.† Modernization Theory is another competing theory which tends to explain the underdevelopment of the Global South and also gives an essence of the internal factors involved in its causation. Modernization Theory suggests that the cause of underdevelopment in third world nations is their own policies and socio-economic structures that are based on feudalism, tribal system, family/cultural ties and primitive economic structures. The Third World society is lacking rules, regulations, law rule of jurisprudence and democracy and their underdevelopment is a product of their own slowness and failure to adapt to the modern worlds patterns of efficiency to modernize and develop themselves. While the modernization theory does recognize that the developed world has a role to play in the progress of the third world, the main focus of modernization theory is that the developed countries only have limited responsibility for the underdevelopment of the third world as the third world is largely respo nsible for its own poverty. They have a traditional societal approach and the new generation is expected to imitate their ancestors. In these societies there is hardly any belief of development and improved living conditions or the eagerness to engage in fundamental social changes such as a switch from subsistence economies to market economies. Traditional economies is where groups and individuals in position of immense power cause corruption and halt economic development and redistribute profits into their own hands. In order for underdeveloped countries to develop they have to abandon their traditional approach and their social and cultural models in replacement for the western traditions of free market system, good governance and stable economic planning. For capitalism to take hold and entrepreneurial environment with individual innovation and political freedom is required. (Isbister, 2003) A sound economic environment which will draw investment and prudent spending of public funds by officials for maintaining social infrastructure such as public safety and education is necessary for development. Disciplined monetary and fiscal policies are needed to create an investing environment for both domestic and foreign investors. Rule of law such as tort law and contract law should be enforced for businesses to expand from traditional family/tribal/cultural ties to person who will be trusting non-relative person, who will invest capital.    The benefit that the first world can give to the underdeveloped nations is the transfer of technological knowledge and assistance though enabling transnational corporations to introduce advance technology in their third world branch of plants. (Isbister, 2003) While the modernization theory implies that underdeveloped countries have to follow the same path of the first world , the dependency theory opposes the modernization theory and rather argues that impoverishment of the third world is caused by the economic well being of the first world. While contemporary dependency theory is largely Marxist in origin (Isbister, 2003), the foundation for the concept of dependency theory goes way far back to Adam Smith who acknowledged that the imperialist economic practices of the European nations had denied colonized peoples the benefits of socio-economic progress. The dependency theory argue that unfair economic practices and unequal trade conditions transfer the surplus generated in the dependent countries to dominant countries; financial relations are based on the viewpoint of the dominant countries based on export and loans of capital giving them interest in return and also control over the developing economy. Trade relations are based on monopolistic control of the market and the developing country are exporting their profits and interests out of their country but also bear the loss of control of their domestic resources. From colonial dependence in earlier times where the colonial countries of Europe economically dominated the colonized countries, to the financial-industrial dependence of the nineteenth century, where raw materials where supplied from these developing nations, each of the forms of dependence corresponds directly to the control that the first world had over the dependent world. Third world poverty is, therefore, not the result of tradition or accident but rather the direct result of plunder conducted by the first world for its own development and to sustain its economic position. As a result of first world actions in shaping the world order, in the eyes of dependency theorists, the third world has been impoverished and rendered incapable of balanced development. (Isbister, 2003) These two main theories discussed above (Modernization Theory Dependence Theory) are the primary theories of political science which try to explain the connection of Third World poverty and underdevelopment. The modernization theory adds value to these countries intrinsically and shares the fact that if the LDCs(less developed countries) do not change and move from their traditional socio-economic societal structures to the more modern and western style of governance, capitalism, democracy and rule of law. In my point of view the structure of dependence, by this I mean a situation in which one economy can only expand if another economies expansion in expected i.e. its own growth is dependent on a dominant countrys growth. The possibility of generating new investments depends on the existence of financial resources in foreign currency for the purchase of capital, machinery and raw materials that are not available domestically. The capital-industrial development depends on the amount of foreign currency a nation has to buy the raw materials and inputs for its industrial sector. The balance of trade in these countries is also less favourable and also the trade relations take place in a highly monopolistic international market which tends to lower prices of agricultural products, raw materials exported and raise the price of industrial capital equipment. Belonging to a Third World country myself and living majority of my life there in Pakistan, I personally think that the modernization theory goes beyond the dependency theory to explain the position of these LDCs as far as the internal factors are concerned where the more traditional society of the Third World like Pakistan need stability and change of reforms. Rule of law, democracy, equal distribution of wealth, human rights and openness in the mindset of a nation is very important for progress. However I do agree with the dependency theory in explaining the new world order which is purely market and capitalist. The true influence of external forces and world has been seen on developing nations and their economies. Foreign capital retains control over the most robust and dynamic centres of the economy and sends the profits back to the home country causing a highly unfavourable capital account in the LDCs Balance Of Payments thus ultimately limiting the supply of imported inputs. And the value of their export is usually very low and unfavourable terms of trade compared to the capital and technological export base of the First World. However the dependency theory criticises the modernization theory, both these theories tend to explain the economic gap between rich and poor countries. I tend to see the modernization theory with some bias as well because they suggest that the way of the western world is the only way towards development and progress but with development of nations such as China, whose export-manufacturing growth and totally different way of governance has proved the western philosophy wrong. However, in LDCs such as my country Pakistan, the feudal system has to be abolished. Feudalism halts the advancement of generations of workers and creates slavery and halts all kinds of advancement because of traditional ancestral approach unequal distribution of resources and wasting of what could actually be future human capital. I find parts of both these theories convincing for explaining the economic gap between the developed nations and the countries of Global South. External factors from the dependency theory and the internal factors of the modernization theory, together dissect completely the causes of the economic gap between the whole South/North divide. Bibliography: Connor, O. (1973). Fiscal Crisis. Dean, H. (1966). Scarce Resources. Gold, L. Recent Development in Marxists Theories Of the Capitalist State.(1975) Gold, L. W.(1975) Hobson, J. A. (1954). Imperialism. London: George Allen Unwin . http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0030871.html. (n.d.). Isbister, J. (2003). Promises Not Kept: Poverty and the Betrayal of Third. Laski. (2003). Foundations Of soverignity. Magdoff, H. (1960). Imperialism without Colonies.

The Rural Way of Life in The River Warren :: warren

The Rural Way of Life in The River Warren Anyone who has taken a trip across the midwestern states has seen a different way of life. The River Warren gave the readers a sense of this rural way of life around the Two-Speed semi crash. Corn, wheat, and other agricultural products can be seen for miles and miles in all directions. As you drive through, you can see farmers hard at work, combines, tractors, and bailers all working at full speed, sun up to sun down. It doesn't take long too see how much these farms must work in order to survive. Why must these farmers devote so much of their lives to the profession? The answer to this question can become very complicated. When one sells any product, economics is the dominant factor with regards to price and the quantity of one's particular product. Many external factors play a huge role in the supply and demand of farm products. The focus of this paper is to explore some of the factors that make farming such a hard, volatile business. In the book, the Gruber family is a good example of a small farming family. Leo is the head of the household and, therefore, spends all or most of his time working on the farm. Jeff Gruber, Leo's son, speaks of his father's work in one passage. Leo stated his father's "capacity for work grated on him (76)." This family was always forced to work. At night, the tractor-trailer would come to load cattle. Jeff stated the days were full of "plowing, discing, harrowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and feeding the cattle (76)." Growing up in this setting meant work at a young age for the children. Jeff and his younger brother, Chris, are not exceptions. In the story, Chris is killed in a farming accident. Chris's youth and his inexperience with farm equipment were outweighed by the needs of the farm. Unfortunately, this kind of tragedy happens in real life as well. The book describes this way of life in many sections but never answered why life was like this. Why this muc h work was need was never answered. Now we will explore this question. First thing we need to look at are some of the external factors that apply to the family farm.

Global Warming :: Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

Global Warming The earth’s climate is predicted to change because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the build up of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface. This causes the earth to radiate the energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat similar to the glass panels of a greenhouse. Without this natural â€Å"greenhouse effect,† temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 24 C. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%. Methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. Due to the concentrations increasing the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere is enhanced. Greenhouse gas concentrations are increasing. Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO released by human activities; but these releases have always been in balance with the carbon dioxide absorbed by plant photosynthesis. What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Energy burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses are responsible for about 80% of society's carbon dioxide emissions and about 20% of global nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. Estimating future emissions is difficult, because it depends on economic, technological, and institutional developments. The Hole in the Ozone Layer Discovery of the hole in the ozone layer showed that human activity has a major impact on Earth. The destruction of ozone in the stratosphere high above the planet's surface has been brought about as the result of the widespread use of chemicals, which under normal conditions are chemically inert and harmless. Ozone occurs at all levels in the atmosphere, but most of it is found in the stratosphere, between about 15-50 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Political Economy in Post-1949 China Essay

Social Science Approach to the Study of Political Economy in Post-1949 China In order to understand the political economy of China in post 1949, The Great Leap Forward, this essay will discuss three key points.   It will start with examining the theories and concepts.   Then it will evaluate the literature and online resources from Western and Chinese (translated) sources.   And lastly, it will look at the problems of research methodology. Theories and Concepts Theories and concepts about the political economy of China after the 1949 revolution revolve around who will take control of the Chinese Government and solve the economic problems of the country.   Chinese leaderships, which is consisted by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yun, and Chu Teh, consolidated power quickly moved apparently to gain the confidence of Chinese population.   In order to resolve the economic problems, especially food shortage and high food prices, they need to reestablish the social relationships in the countryside to gain their support and produce larger quantities of agricultural products.   Here enters a new concept – the restructuring of and implementations policies. [1] The Great Leap Forward was a new approach that was believed by the Chinese leaders to concurrently grow modern and traditional sectors – industrialization and agriculture. This new approach did not actually balanced the two sectors rather it only gives both of them the importance. More importance was still given to investment but unlike in Soviet model, the Great Leap Forward did not concentrate on few lines of investment. Making the investment lines for them was pushing the ceiling upward. On the other hand, agriculture was given an added importance. Under the new approach, labor was the idea to substitute capital. Likewise, another idea was to substitute surplus labor to capital formation. These two ideas were conceptually based on labor absorption and employment generating effects of industrialization. Under the Great Leap Forward, the solution imposed by the Chinese leaders was creation of communes. Communes are the state-feudalism form of solution thought by the leaders. According to Gabriel in 1998, the prevalence of the communist fundamental class process is reflected in communes. This happens because of the main reason that institutions are being created in communes. However, communes were not achieved. Collective appropriate and distribution of the surplus product made within the enterprise by the direct producers was .implied in the process. In effect, the workers had no power to control their collective surplus. Another reflection is that unlike in capitalism, workers are paid according to the number of hours and days they give their service. Therefore, capitalist institutions were not communes. Workers from the rural settings worked with obligations. The government was the one made the appointment of the commune management. It was during the later period of the Great Leap Forward when all the management is all from the urban. The government is the institution that controls the surplus from the communes. The feudal relationship reflected in this scenario between the government and the workers was the obligation of the workers to work in communes. The government was reflected as the feudal lord during the approach in the Great Leap Forward. From communism, CPC wanted to transform the country to socialism. Socialism is the social state between communism and capitalism. The exact meaning of Socialism was not understood in China. In fact, its meaning had liberty on different interpretations. For instance, the construction of socialism by the Soviet Union means rapid industrialization and strict centralization. On the other hand, leader Mao Zedong viewed socialism as intellectual foundation of the left-wing of the CPC.   The difference on the vision of Mao Zedong on socialism required the wholesale destruction of pre-revolutionary institutions. According to Mao, feudal lords and social structure had to be removed. For Mao, new political, cultural, and economic order must be created. In addition, Mao’s proposal requires new people’s army.   Accordingly, the proposal also requires the jurisdiction of the people’s court that must at all level. Lastly, the association of peasant must be all the way through the countryside and considering the workers, a well established council in industrial enterprises is also needed. The revolutionary transformation proposed by Mao was followed by their government. Lands from feudal lords were taken possession of, and farmers gained more control on their productive capacity. There was also a better market for economic and social exchange. The communist party officials aimed for every Chinese village to have its cadres. This was part of the agenda of the government to encourage greater cooperation among farmers. The party still feared the intervention of foreign countries. In effect of this approach, the central authorities provided eyes and ears within the countryside. Accordingly, the approach the government gave the rural producers available markets for their products. Those policies of the government were essential in achieving the goal of unifying China under a central authority. The land reform significantly reduced hunger and malnutrition in the countryside of China. This was proved after the implementation of the revolutionary transformation. There were no significant detrimental impacts of feudal lords after the lands were confiscated. Accordingly, rural farmers were able to put better use of their resources and its reproductive potential. Through elimination of feudal lands, the excess/surplus output was allowed to be invested. If they were not invested, they were used to finance the new social institutions and public goods. Consequently, life and work of rural direct producers were made easier. More so, increase in the living standard due to the revolutionary transformation was delivered and reached many rural direct producers and their families.   Incomes of the rural direct producers were improved by the significant improvement of the products they were producing. In general, nourishment, clothing, shelter and health in line with production were achieved by the rural community. In accordance to the revolutionary change, the expansion in the role of women in economic and political life was given importance and improvement. The state recognized both labor coming from males and females. For the state, both labors are valued in the national economy of China. In 1953, Mao proposed the Five-Year Economic Plan or the FYEP via the central plan. Under the plan, production quotas were expected but no quality standards were required. Consequently, the impact on demand was negative. According to Gabriel, â€Å"the motivation system created significant waste of inputs, unhappy consumers, unhappy wage laborers, and unhappy rural direct producers.† [2] In addition, the government bureaucrats were unhappy due to the failure of their plan. During the recognition of the failure of the plan, Mao called for a movement. The liberty in expressing unhappiness of the Chinese public was collectively joined through the â€Å"Hundred Flowers Movement†. The second Five-Year Economic Plan or the SFYEP were then taken advantage of Mao and his fraction. Literature Review Like other literature about China, literature about this theme on political economy of post 1949 China were mostly written by Western people.   Thus, it is more on Western perspective.   And like any historical data, literature about this topic is mostly descriptive. There are few that are analytical in nature and that could be found in the form essays.   And because it is more on descriptions and chronology of the events, it failed to give the deeper overview of the essence of the topic in history. Likewise, there are literatures that are either biased or shortened.   An example is the article about the Chinese Leader Mao Zedong.   Many writers wrote Mao who was accused of â€Å"Famine Death†. One-sided story was delivered and presented in the Chinese public. Only the problems that occurred during 1959 until 1961 were understood by them. The relationship between success and failures were not given. There was improvement in the life of the Chinese public that should be recognized along with socialism. The methodologies of the research conducted in proving Mao’s accusation of famine death were biased and shortened. Deaths due to natural disasters were accountable on what the people and other research claimed to be Mao’s failure on implementation of policy. Policy error during the Mao’s regime was what the common research claimed. According to Ball (2006), â€Å"millions of lives of Chinese people were saved.†[3] More or less 16.5 Million Chinese people were recorded in official Chinese sources. The release was in line with the ideological campaign against the inheriting the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The problem and issue on validity of the figures presented were questionable. There is anonymity on how the data were gathered. In addition, data and its preservation also seek for validity.   The sources and figures which claimed the statistical count for the death during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were released only twenty years after it happened. This figures and sources were obtained from the researches conducted by America, in which, as stated by Joseph Ball in his article, the American researchers increased the figure by 30 million – a combination of Chinese evidence with their own speculations from China’s censuses.’[4] Ball used statistics from China’s census and was able to gather the true figure. He also used other publications like Jung Chang and Jon Halliday’s book. In their book â€Å"Mao: the Unknown Story†, it was reported there that 38 million deaths from the Great Leap Forward was included in the total of 70 million Chinese people who were killed by Mao during his regime. The controversy regarding the origins of Chinese communism has not been completely resolved but nonetheless ended as the government strengthens the revolutionary struggle.   The generation of the specialists who followed and are much more trained as social scientists than historians, faced the challenge of documenting the Chinese communism development which, in many respects, is similar to its Soviet predecessors.[5] Those who are in contemporary Chinese studies field faced another controversy when the event of Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which came along with communism perspective needed to be explained.   There are renewed interests and disagreements as well which aroused over the continuing importance of indigenous political traditions.  Ã‚   This was debated by the scholars who are trained with the growing field of political science, and attached with the modernization principles. [6] There are materials written guided by a singular theoretical framework to critique the Marxian theory that shapes the political and economic strategies of the Communist Party of China or CPC.   One of the most serious flaws of Chinese literature which attempts to explain the post 1049 China is illiteracy on Marxian theory of most Chinese who study the Chinese civilization, literature and language.  Ã‚   There is a failure in the knowledge of the differences between various forms of Marxian theory that have deployed and contested in China.   And there are materials which are used in the attempt to make up with these flaws.   These materials provide a critique of ‘modernist Marxism’ in the CPC style, and its rationale for maintaining monopoly control over China.   [7] Methodology Problems There is indeed a problem in research about this topic.   This is due to limited resources that are really reliable to contain facts.   And since it is written on descriptive and chronological manner, our analyses are limited to our understanding, our culture and environment. Going back to the example we gave about Mao, the flaws on the research conducted by the Western focused only on the excesses of the policy during Mao’s regime. These excesses on the policy were then exaggerated. In addition, the researchers did not grasp a thorough understanding on how some policies were developed and for what purpose. Therefore, the understanding on how Chinese people were benefitted by those policies was not understood and was not accounted in the research the western made. Evidences from the peasants were entirely different from the claim of the researches presented by the western. The statistics of the deaths during Dao’s regime were supported by the Chinese census. Only a pure and unbiased research can obtain the true figures and conclusion. However, there are scholars who are not Chinese, who take time to study China through observations, living with the Chinese people, interviewing them especially the rural people, and visit different cities and towns.   These ways of research and study are useful, although there is also a problem when it comes to language.   We know that language is a soul of the country’s culture.   There are parts of the language that change in meaning when you translate in other language.   In here, the flaw comes on the real meaning of the context. Moreover, there is a continuing effort in many scholars in changing the approach of writing and discussing about the history in general.   Their attempts hope to instill critical analysis and more explorations in different context of China. Bibliography Ball, Joseph, ‘Did Mao Really Kill Millions in the Great Leap Forward?’   A Monthly Review, 23 September 2006, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Cheng, Chu-Yuan, ‘The Economy of Communist China, 1949-1969: With a Bibliography of Selected Materials on Chinese Economic Development’, Questia Media America Inc., 1971, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Gabriel, Satya J, ‘The Structure of a Post-Revolutionary Economic Transformation:The Chinese Economy from the 1949 Revolution to the Great Leap Forward,’ Satya Gabriel’s Online Papers: China Essay Series,  1998, retrieved 5 Novemebr 2007, . Gabriel, Satya J, ‘Chinese Capitalism and the Modernist Vision,’ China Essay Series, 2007, retrieved 13 November 2007, . Harding, Harry, ‘Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976,’ Harry Harding; Stanford University Press, 1981, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Joseph, William, ‘A Tragedy of Good Intentions: Post-Mao Views of the Great Leap Forward,’ Modern China, 12; 419. SAGE Journals Online and HighWire Press platforms, 1986, retrieved   5 November 2007, . Lee, Hong Yung, The Politics of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Berekeley: Univ. of California Press (1978). Li, Shaomin, ‘Transforming China: Economic Reform and Its Political Implications,’ China Economic Condition 1949 1976 (2003) 10, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Richman, Barry M, ‘Industrial Society in Communist China: China–Economic Conditions–1949-1976,’ Random House, 1969, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Schram, S, The Thought of Mao Tse-Tung. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1989). The Columbia Encyclopedia, ‘China,’ Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 52323  pgs, 2004, retrieved 5 November 2007, . Perry, Elizabeth J, ‘Introduction: Chinese Political Culture Revisited,’ Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China, Second Edition, retrieved 13 November 2007, . [1] Gabriel, Satya J, ‘The Structure of a Post-Revolutionary Economic Transformation:The Chinese Economy from the 1949 Revolution to the Great Leap Forward,’ Satya Gabriel’s Online Papers: China Essay Series,  1998, retrieved 5 Novemebr 2007, . [2] Gabriel, The Structure of a Post-Revolutionary Economic Transformation: The Chinese Economy from the 1949 Revolution to the Great Leap Forward [3] Ball, Joseph, ‘Did Mao Really Kill Millions in the Great Leap Forward?’   A Monthly Review, 23 September 2006, retrieved 5 November 2007, . [4] Ball, Joseph, Did Mao Really Kill Millions in the Great Leap Forward? [5] Perry, Elizabeth J, ‘Introduction: Chinese Political Culture Revisited,’ Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China, Second Edition, retrieved 13 November 2007, . [6] Perry, Elizabeth J,   Introduction: Chinese Political Culture Revisited. [7] Gabriel, Satya J, ‘Chinese Capitalism and the Modernist Vision,’ China Essay Series, 2007, retrieved 13 November 2007, .

Full Text Search in Ruby

Full text search is a technique for searching a document or database stored in the computer. A full text search engine examines all the words, in every stored document, to find a match of the keyword searched by the user. Many web sites and application programs provide full-text search capabilities. There are quite a few choices when it comes to adding a full text search in a Ruby on Rails application. A choice can be made on the basis of the language the search engine is written in or the scalability options suited for the application.Acts As Indexed being a pure Ruby implementation makes for a tool that is totally portable, and suitable for almost any application requiring full text search capabilities. Search queries support many standard boolean operators, namely exclusion of a term through the use of ’-’ and the matching of phrases through the use of quotation marks. It is useful in case of a simple site and need to implement a basic search very quickly. Ferret is a full text search engine library written for ruby implemented in a rails application by the Acts As Ferret plugin.It is inspired by the Apache Lucene Java project. The first step to implementing a search is to get an index built and then the index is searched for the documents having the keyword. One of the more useful features especially in a web scenario is highlighting the matched words. This is made trivial by Index’s highlight method. It’s also possible to use Ferret as a more general purpose data store Xapian is written in C++ with bindings to allow use from Perl, Python, PHP, Java, Tcl, C# and Ruby.An important feature of Xapian is the Ranked probabilistic search – important words get more weight than unimportant words so more relevant results appear at the top. It also supports Synonyms as an automatic form of query expansion and can even suggest spelling corrections for user supplied queries. Full range of structured boolean search operators (â€Å"st ock NOT market†, etc). Sphinx, written in C++, is the most logical successor to Ultrasphinx, since both utilize Sphinx as the search server.Sphinx works by reading information out of the database to build the search index. Communication with the Sphinx server occurs by sharing C â€Å"objects† over sockets. A variety of text processing features enable fine-tuning Sphinx for application requirements, and a number of relevance functions ensures you can tweak search quality as well. Sunspot is a Ruby library for expressive, powerful interaction with the Solr search engine. Sunspot uses Solr, a Java search server built on the Lucene search library.It provides robust, flexible full-text search with no boolean queries and no string programming. Solr servers can be clustered and since they manage the index, Sunspot can automatically update the indexes when the model objects change. There’s no need to run a cron job to reindex the data or setup delta indexing like with S phinx. Thus we see that Full text search has come a long way since the early days of Ferret. The incompatibility of Ultrasphinx, once the most preferred, with Rails 3. resulted in the emergence of Sphinx and Sunspot as favourites. Solr is a compelling alternative to Sphinx, since the most scalable Web apps (Facebook, Twitter) use Java behind the UI layer. Xapian can be considered as the best option whenever ranked probabilistic search is required. Acts_As_Indexed, written entirely in Ruby, works out great and is very easy to implement with automatic indexing. (ie No cron jobs needed to keep the index up to date).

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 24

September 25, 1864 They say love can conquer all. But can it conquer Father's belief that Katherine and those like her are demons–devils? I do not exaggerate when I say Katherine is an angel. She saved my life–and Anna's. Father must know the truth. Once he does, he will be unable to deny Katherine's goodness. It is my duty as a Salvatore to stay true to my convictions and to the ones I love. Now is the time for action, not doubt. Confidence courses through my veins. I will make Father understand the truth–that we are all the same. And with that truth will come love. Father will call off the siege. This I swear on my name and my life. For the rest of the day, I sat at my desk in my bedroom, glancing at an empty notebook as I contemplated what to do. If Father knew Katherine was a vampire, he'd call off the hunt. He had to. I'd seen him laugh with Katherine, attempt to impress her with stories of his boyish antics back in Italy, and treat her as he'd have treated a daughter. Katherine gave my father a vigor I'd never seen in him. She gave my father life. But how could I persuade him of this, when he so deeply despised demons? Then again, Father was rational. Logical. Maybe he could learn what Katherine had already taught me: that vampires weren't all evil. They walked among us, they cried human tears; all they wanted was a true home –and to be loved. Finally, I steeled my courage and stood up, closing the notebook with an abrupt clap. This wasn't a schoolboy's assignment, and I didn't need notes to speak from my heart. I was ready to speak to Father man to man. After all, I was nearly eighteen, and he was planning to leave me Veritas. I took a deep breath and walked down the winding staircase, through the quiet living room, and knocked sharply on the door to Father's study. â€Å"Come in!† Father's muffled voice called. Before I had even put my hand on the knob, Father swung the door open himself. He wore a tailored jacket, with a sprig of vervain in the lapel, but I noticed that instead of being clean shaven, he sported salt-and-pepper stubble and his eyes were bloodshot and hooded. â€Å"I didn't see you last night at the ball,† Father said as he ushered me into his study. â€Å"I hope you weren't part of that noisy, careless mob.† â€Å"No.† I shook my head vigorously, feeling a flicker of hope. Did this mean Father was no longer planning an attack? â€Å"Good.† Father sat at his oak desk and slammed his leather-bound book shut. Beneath it, I could see complicated drawings and diagrams of the town, with X's over certain buildings, including the apothecary. And just like that, the flicker of hope was extinguished, and cold, hard fear took up residence in its place. Father followed my gaze. â€Å"As you can see, our plans are much more thought-out than that foolish brigade of drunks and boys. Luckily Sheriff Forbes and his team put a stop to them, and none of them will be welcome at our own siege.† Father sighed and steepled his fingers together. â€Å"We're living in dangerous and uncertain times, and your actions need to reflect that.† His dark eyes softened for a second. â€Å"I just want to make sure your decisions, at least, are prudent.† He didn't add â€Å"unlike Damon's,† but he didn't have to. I knew that was what he was thinking. â€Å"So the siege †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Will happen next week as planned.† â€Å"What about the compass?† I asked, remembering the conversation with Katherine. Father smiled. â€Å"It works. Jonathan's been tinkering with it.† â€Å"Oh.† A wave of horror rushed through me. If it worked, then that meant there was no doubt Father would find Katherine. â€Å"How do you know that it works?† Father smiled and rolled up his papers. â€Å"Because it does,† he said simply. â€Å"Can I talk to you about something?† I asked, hoping my voice betrayed none of my nerves. An image of Katherine's face flashed in my head, giving me the strength to lock eyes with Father. â€Å"Of course. Sit down, Stefan,† Father commanded. I perched in the leather wingback chair near the bookshelves. He stood up and walked over to the decanter of brandy on the corner table. He poured a glass for himself, then one for me. I took the tumbler and held it to my lips, taking a tiny, almost imperceptible sip of the liquid. Then I steeled my courage and stared straight at him. â€Å"I have concerns about your plan for the vampires.† â€Å"Oh? And why is that?† Father leaned back against his chair. I nervously took a large gulp of brandy. â€Å"We're making the assumption that they're as evil as they've been characterized. But what if that's not true?† I asked, willing myself to meet Father's gaze. Father snorted. â€Å"Have you any evidence to the contrary?† I shook my head. â€Å"Of course not. But why take what people say at face value? Y taught us ou differently.† Father sighed and walked to his decanter, pouring more brandy. â€Å"Why? Because these creatures are from the darkest parts of hell. They know how to control your mind, seduce your spirit. They are deadly, and they need to be destroyed.† I glanced down at the amber liquid in my glass. It was as dark and murky as my thoughts. Father tipped his glass to me. â€Å"I shouldn't have to tell you, son, that those who stand with them, those who bring shame to their families, will be destroyed as well.† A chill went up my spine, but I held his gaze. â€Å"Anyone who stands with evil should be destroyed. But I hardly think it's prudent to assume that all vampires are evil just because they happen to be vampires. Y always taught us to see the good in ou people, to think for ourselves. The last thing this town needs, when there have already been so many deaths from the war, is more senseless killing,† I said, remembering Pearl and Anna's terrified expressions in the woods. â€Å"The Founders need to rethink the plan. I'll come to the next meeting with you. I know I haven't been as involved as I could have been, but I'm ready to take on my responsibilities.† Father sank back into his chair, leaning his head against the wooden back. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. For several long moments he remained in that posture. I waited, every muscle in my body coiled to receive the angry flurry of words that was sure to fly from his mouth. I stared dejectedly into my glass. I had failed. I had failed Katherine, Pearl, and Anna. I had failed at securing my own happy future. Finally, Father's eyes snapped open. To my surprise, he nodded. â€Å"I suppose I could give the matter some thought.† Cool relief flooded my body, as if I'd just jumped into the pond on a scorching summer day. He would give the matter some thought! To some, that might not seem to be much, but from my stubborn father, it meant everything. It meant there was a chance. A chance to stop sneaking around in the dark. A chance for Katherine to remain safe. For us to be together, forever. Father lifted his glass to me. â€Å"To family.† â€Å"To family,† I echoed. Then Father drained the rest of his glass, which compelled me to do the same.

The Rise of the Spring by Stravinsky

I attended a symphony orchestra at Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair State University on Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 at 7:30 pm. The program was approximately an hour and a half long, with two parts and a short intermission. The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du printemps- 1913) by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was performed. There was an assortment of musical energy in parts of the first section of the symphony with a quantity of sections constantly changing rhythms. I really enjoyed the piece, it was not too long to become fed up with and distracted. Listening to the piece made me feel adventurous in some points; not knowing what could happen next, almost like to a movie. The Rite of Spring is a piece that tells a story, where in order for spring to rise, a young female must be chosen before the sage and dance to death. This piece is full of paradox, the music is incredibly dynamic, loud and soft, startling and delicate, and dark and it is extravagant. The Rise of the Spring is textured in its irregular time signatures and instrumental diversity (trumpets, flutes, clarinets, bassoons, string arrangements, etc. ). There was a percussive use of strings, halting rhythms, and also irregular meters. The first act began with an opening solo of the Bassoon. Later on, half of the Violas played in B Minor when the other half played B Major, then the trumpets enter, causing a dramatic importance in the piece. The tones bounced off each other, making it sound much alike harmonically. Those strings would play in a strict rhythm together, suddenly following up with French horns. After the horns and trumpet, the music stops, â€Å"the chosen one† of the piece must become the sacrifice. Those famous measures have eleven quarter notes playing that show the glorification of â€Å"the chosen one†. Every glorification of every measure is basically in a different meter, and it is quite challenging to play as I witnessed. The very last quarter of the piece signifies the moment of death, having the double bass play four different pitches at the same time. Whether or not it was intentional on Stravinsky’s part, the notes were in order of D-E-A-D. It sounds quite irregular but also entwined to make the piece sound superior, which is why Igor was very clever in his time to make such a deep piece here. Without hesitation, I would see another symphony similar to Stravinsky’s The Rise of the Spring.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 78-80

CHAPTER 78 Sophie felt a wild excitement as she cradled the cryptex and began dialing in the letters. An ancient word of wisdom frees this scroll.Langdon and Teabing seemed to have stopped breathing as they looked on. S†¦ O†¦ F†¦ â€Å"Carefully,† Teabing urged. â€Å"Ever so carefully.† †¦ I†¦ A. Sophie aligned the final dial. â€Å"Okay,† she whispered, glancing up at the others. â€Å"I'm going to pull it apart.† â€Å"Remember the vinegar,† Langdon whispered with fearful exhilaration. â€Å"Be careful.† Sophie knew that if this cryptex were like those she had opened in her youth, all she would need to do is grip the cylinder at both ends, just beyond the dials, and pull, applying slow, steady pressure in opposite directions. If the dials were properly aligned with the password, then one of the ends would slide off, much like a lens cap, and she could reach inside and remove the rolled papyrus document, which would be wrapped around the vial of vinegar. However, if the password they had entered were incorrect, Sophie's outward force on the ends would be transferred to a hinged lever inside, which would pivot downward into the cavity and apply pressure to the glass vial, eventually shattering it if she pulled too hard. Pull gently, she told herself. Teabing and Langdon both leaned in as Sophie wrapped her palms around the ends of the cylinder. In the excitement of deciphering the code word, Sophie had almost forgotten what they expected to find inside. This is the Priory keystone.According to Teabing, it contained a map to the Holy Grail, unveiling the tomb of Mary Magdalene and the Sangreal treasure†¦ the ultimate treasure trove of secret truth. Now gripping the stone tube, Sophie double-checked that all of the letters were properly aligned with the indicator. Then, slowly, she pulled. Nothing happened. She applied a little more force. Suddenly, the stone slid apart like a well-crafted telescope. The heavy end piece detached in her hand. Langdon and Teabing almost jumped to their feet. Sophie's heart rate climbed as she set the end cap on the table and tipped the cylinder to peer inside. A scroll! Peering down the hollow of the rolled paper, Sophie could see it had been wrapped around a cylindrical object – the vial of vinegar, she assumed. Strangely, though, the paper around the vinegar was not the customary delicate papyrus but rather, vellum. That's odd, she thought, vinegar can't dissolve a lambskin vellum.She looked again down the hollow of the scroll and realized the object in the center was not a vial of vinegar after all. It was something else entirely. â€Å"What's wrong?† Teabing asked. â€Å"Pull out the scroll.† Frowning, Sophie grabbed the rolled vellum and the object around which it was wrapped, pulling them both out of the container. â€Å"That's not papyrus,† Teabing said. â€Å"It's too heavy.† â€Å"I know. It's padding.† â€Å"For what? The vial of vinegar?† â€Å"No.† Sophie unrolled the scroll and revealed what was wrapped inside. â€Å"For this.† When Langdon saw the object inside the sheet of vellum, his heart sank. â€Å"God help us,† Teabing said, slumping. â€Å"Your grandfather was a pitiless architect.† Langdon stared in amazement. I see Sauniere has no intention of making this easy. On the table sat a second cryptex. Smaller. Made of black onyx. It had been nested within the first. Sauniere's passion for dualism. Two cryptexes.Everything in pairs. Double entendres.Male female.Black nested within white.Langdon felt the web of symbolism stretching onward. White gives birthto black. Every man sprang from woman. White – female. Black – male. Reaching over, Langdon lifted the smaller cryptex. It looked identical to the first, except half the size and black. He heard the familiar gurgle. Apparently, the vial of vinegar they had heard earlier was inside this smaller cryptex. â€Å"Well, Robert,† Teabing said, sliding the page of vellum over to him. â€Å"You'll be pleased to hear that at least we're flying in the right direction.† Langdon examined the thick vellum sheet. Written in ornate penmanship was another four-line verse. Again, in iambic pentameter. The verse was cryptic, but Langdon needed to read only as far as the first line to realize that Teabing's plan to come to Britain was going to pay off. IN LONDON LIES A KNIGHT A POPE INTERRED. The remainder of the poem clearly implied that the password for opening the second cryptex could be found by visiting this knight's tomb, somewhere in the city. Langdon turned excitedly to Teabing. â€Å"Do you have any idea what knight this poem is referring to?† Teabing grinned. â€Å"Not the foggiest. But I know in precisely which crypt we should look.† At that moment, fifteen miles ahead of them, six Kent police cars streaked down rain-soaked streets toward Biggin Hill Executive Airport. CHAPTER 79 Lieutenant Collet helped himself to a Perrier from Teabing's refrigerator and strode back out through the drawing room. Rather than accompanying Fache to London where the action was, he was now baby-sitting the PTS team that had spread out through Chateau Villette. So far, the evidence they had uncovered was unhelpful: a single bullet buried in the floor; a paper with several symbols scrawled on it along with the words blade and chalice; and a bloody spiked belt that PTS had told Collet was associated with the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, which had caused a stir recently when a news program exposed their aggressive recruiting practices in Paris. Collet sighed. Good luck making sense of this unlikely melange. Moving down a lavish hallway, Collet entered the vast ballroom study, where the chief PTS examiner was busy dusting for fingerprints. He was a corpulent man in suspenders. â€Å"Anything?† Collet asked, entering. The examiner shook his head. â€Å"Nothing new. Multiple sets matching those in the rest of the house.† â€Å"How about the prints on the cilice belt?† â€Å"Interpol is still working. I uploaded everything we found.† Collet motioned to two sealed evidence bags on the desk. â€Å"And this?† The man shrugged. â€Å"Force of habit. I bag anything peculiar.† Collet walked over. Peculiar? â€Å"This Brit's a strange one,† the examiner said. â€Å"Have a look at this.† He sifted through the evidence bags and selected one, handing it to Collet. The photo showed the main entrance of a Gothic cathedral – the traditional, recessed archway, narrowing through multiple, ribbed layers to a small doorway. Collet studied the photo and turned. â€Å"This is peculiar?† â€Å"Turn it over.† On the back, Collet found notations scrawled in English, describing a cathedral's long hollow nave as a secret pagan tribute to a woman's womb. This was strange. The notation describing the cathedral's doorway, however, was what startled him. â€Å"Hold on! He thinks a cathedral's entrance represents a woman's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The examiner nodded. â€Å"Complete with receding labial ridges and a nice little cinquefoil clitoris above the doorway.† He sighed. â€Å"Kind of makes you want to go back to church.† Collet picked up the second evidence bag. Through the plastic, he could see a large glossy photograph of what appeared to be an old document. The heading at the top read: Les Dossiers Secrets – Number 4o lm1 249 â€Å"What's this?† Collet asked. â€Å"No idea. He's got copies of it all over the place, so I bagged it.† Collet studied the document. PRIEURE DE SIGN – LES NAUTONIERS/GRAND MASTERS JEAN DE GISORS 1188-1220 MARIE DE SAINT-CLAIR 1220-1266 GUILLAUME DE GlSORS 1266-1307 EDOUARD DE BAR 1307-1336 JEANNE DE BAR 1336-1351 JEAN DE SAINT-CLAIR 1351-1366 BLANCE D'EVREUX 1366-1398 NICOLAS FLAMEL 1398-1418 RENE D'ANJOU 1418-1480 IOLANDE DE BAR 1480-1483 SANDRO BOTTICELLI 1483-1510 LEONARDO DA VINCI 1510-1519 CONNETABLE DE BOURBON 1519-1527 FERDINAND DE GONZAQUE 1527-1575 LOUIS DE NEVERS 1575-1595 ROBERT FLUDD 1595-1637 J. VALENTIN ANDREA 1637-1654 ROBERT BOYLE 1654-1691 ISAAC NEWTON 1691-1727 CHARLES RADCLYFFE 1727-1746 CHARLES DE LORRAINE 1746-1780 MAXIMILIAN DE LORRAINE 1780-1801 CHARLES NODIER 1801-1844 VICTOR HUGO 1844-1885 CLAUDE DEBUSSY 1885-1918 JEAN COCTEAU 1918-1963 Prieure de Sion? Collet wondered. â€Å"Lieutenant?† Another agent stuck his head in. â€Å"The switchboard has an urgent call for Captain Fache, but they can't reach him. Will you take it?† Collet returned to the kitchen and took the call. It was Andre Vernet. The banker's refined accent did little to mask the tension in his voice. â€Å"I thought Captain Fache said he would call me, but I have not yet heard from him.† â€Å"The captain is quite busy,† Collet replied. â€Å"May I help you?† â€Å"I was assured I would be kept abreast of your progress tonight.† For a moment, Collet thought he recognized the timbre of the man's voice, but he couldn't quite place it. â€Å"Monsieur Vernet, I am currently in charge of the Paris investigation. My name is Lieutenant Collet.† There was a long pause on the line. â€Å"Lieutenant, I have another call coming in. Please excuse me. I will call you later.† He hung up. For several seconds, Collet held the receiver. Then it dawned on him. I knew I recognized that voice! The revelation made him gasp. The armored car driver.With the fake Rolex. Collet now understood why the banker had hung up so quickly. Vernet had remembered the name Lieutenant Collet – the officer he blatantly lied to earlier tonight. Collet pondered the implications of this bizarre development. Vernet is involved.Instinctively, he knew he should call Fache. Emotionally, he knew this lucky break was going to be his moment to shine. He immediately called Interpol and requested every shred of information they could find on the Depository Bank of Zurich and its president, Andre Vernet. CHAPTER 80 â€Å"Seat belts, please,† Teabing's pilot announced as the Hawker 731 descended into a gloomy morning drizzle. â€Å"We'll be landing in five minutes.† Teabing felt a joyous sense of homecoming when he saw the misty hills of Kent spreading wide beneath the descending plane. England was less than an hour from Paris, and yet a world away. This morning, the damp, spring green of his homeland looked particularly welcoming. My time in France is over.I am returning to England victorious.The keystone has been found.The question remained, of course, as to where the keystone would ultimately lead. Somewhere in the United Kingdom.Where exactly, Teabing had no idea, but he was already tasting the glory. As Langdon and Sophie looked on, Teabing got up and went to the far side of the cabin, then slid aside a wall panel to reveal a discreetly hidden wall safe. He dialed in the combination, opened the safe, and extracted two passports. â€Å"Documentation for Remy and myself.† He then removed a thick stack of fifty-pound notes. â€Å"And documentation for you two.† Sophie looked leery. â€Å"A bribe?† â€Å"Creative diplomacy. Executive airfields make certain allowances. A British customs official will greet us at my hangar and ask to board the plane. Rather than permitting him to come on, I'll tell him I'm traveling with a French celebrity who prefers that nobody knows she is in England – press considerations, you know – and I'll offer the official this generous tip as gratitude for his discretion.† Langdon looked amazed. â€Å"And the official will accept?† â€Å"Not from anyone, they won't, but these people all know me. I'm not an arms dealer, for heaven's sake. I was knighted.† Teabing smiled. â€Å"Membership has its privileges.† Remy approached up the aisle now, the Heckler Koch pistol cradled in his hand. â€Å"Sir, my agenda?† Teabing glanced at his servant. â€Å"I'm going to have you stay onboard with our guest until we return. We can't very well drag him all over London with us.† Sophie looked wary. â€Å"Leigh, I was serious about the French police finding your plane before we return.† Teabing laughed. â€Å"Yes, imagine their surprise if they board and find Remy.† Sophie looked surprised by his cavalier attitude. â€Å"Leigh, you transported a bound hostage across international borders. This is serious.† â€Å"So are my lawyers.† He scowled toward the monk in the rear of the plane. â€Å"That animal broke into my home and almost killed me. That is a fact, and Remy will corroborate.† â€Å"But you tied him up and flew him to London!† Langdon said. Teabing held up his right hand and feigned a courtroom oath. â€Å"Your honor, forgive an eccentric old knight his foolish prejudice for the British court system. I realize I should have called the French authorities, but I'm a snob and do not trust those laissez-faire French to prosecute properly. This man almost murdered me. Yes, I made a rash decision forcing my manservant to help me bring him to England, but I was under great stress. Mea culpa. Mea culpa.† Langdon looked incredulous. â€Å"Coming from you, Leigh, that just might fly.† â€Å"Sir?† the pilot called back. â€Å"The tower just radioed. They've got some kind of maintenance problem out near your hangar, and they're asking me to bring the plane directly to the terminal instead.† Teabing had been flying to Biggin Hill for over a decade, and this was a first. â€Å"Did they mention what the problem is?† â€Å"The controller was vague. Something about a gas leak at the pumping station? They asked me to park in front of the terminal and keep everyone onboard until further notice. Safety precaution. We're not supposed to deplane until we get the all clear from airport authorities.† Teabing was skeptical. Must be one hell of a gas leak.The pumping station was a good half mile from his hangar. Remy also looked concerned. â€Å"Sir, this sounds highly irregular.† Teabing turned to Sophie and Langdon. â€Å"My friends, I have an unpleasant suspicion that we are about to be met by a welcoming committee.† Langdon gave a bleak sigh. â€Å"I guess Fache still thinks I'm his man.† â€Å"Either that,† Sophie said,† or he is too deep into this to admit his error. Teabing was not listening. Regardless of Fache's mind-set, action needed to be taken fast. Don'tlose sight of the ultimate goal.The Grail.We're so dose.Below them, the landing gear descended with a clunk. â€Å"Leigh,† Langdon said, sounding deeply remorseful,† I should turn myself in and sort this out legally. Leave you all out of it.† â€Å"Oh, heavens, Robert!† Teabing waved it off. â€Å"Do you really think they're going to let the rest of us go? I just transported you illegally. Miss Neveu assisted in your escape from the Louvre, and we have a man tied up in the back of the plane. Really now! We're all in this together.† â€Å"Maybe a different airport?† Sophie said. Teabing shook his head. â€Å"If we pull up now, by the time we get clearance anywhere else, our welcoming party will include army tanks.† Sophie slumped. Teabing sensed that if they were to have any chance of postponing confrontation with the British authorities long enough to find the Grail, bold action had to be taken. â€Å"Give me a minute,† he said, hobbling toward the cockpit. â€Å"What are you doing?† Langdon asked. â€Å"Sales meeting,† Teabing said, wondering how much it would cost him to persuade his pilot to perform one highly irregular maneuver.