Public vs Private Education in Australia Essay -- essays papers

Public vs clannish nurtureal activity in Australia Every one in Australia wants the stovepipe pedagogics for the individual. The question is which one. Public or Private ? Education is one of the most important factors in determining what a person will manufacture as a member of Australias society. Because education is so important at that place are many questions that are asked for which is the better. The key terms for this topic are disposal School one administered by the subdivision of Education in each State/Territory Non-government School (private civilise) any school not administered by the Department of Eduaction, but including special schools administered by government governing other than the State/Territory Education Department School an educational institution which provides primary or subaltern education on a regular daily basis, or by radio or correspondence Over the recent decade there has been a enrolment drift in education from earthly conc ern schools to private schools. In the division 2001 this enrolment drift has continued. In 1980 there were 78% of completely students in man education, but last year there were less than 69%. There are a total of 2 248 275 students in public schools (ABS 12/02/2001). While Australia solitary(prenominal) has 69% of alone students in public education, the United States and the UK have 90% of all students in public education. Over the past decade there has been a increase in enrolments at private schools.There has been a steady increase of enrolments in private education. In 1980 there was only 22% and in 1990 there was 28%, and in the year 2000 there was almost 31% or 999 181 students in Australia attending a private school (ABS 12/02/2001). Year 12 guardianship rate across the board have had a continual increase. Year 12 retention rate the piece of full-time students of a given cohort assort who continue from the 1st year of secondary schooling to Year 12. The appar ent retention rate of secondary students from Year 10 to Year 12 remained at the same level as the previous year at 74.4%. In 1990 the equivalent rate was 66.5% (http//www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ABS). The retention place for public and private schools has not been as even. In 1985 the apparent retention rates for public schools was around 40% while private schools was around 65%. In 1995 public schools retention rates was around 66% while private scho... ...which the public schools can find to be very frastrating. along with anything in Australia it has its positives and negatives. To project these positives and negatives refer to appendix three.To view the positives and negatives for private schools refer to appendix four. More students in Australia today are moving away from public education and into private education because private education is perceived to offer more job opportunities for the individual.Bibliography(2000),Queensland Teachers Journal,Protecting Public Ed ucation, 31 August 2000,p 6.Bagnall, D.(1999),The Bulletin,Values-added education, Sydney,AVP make Pty Ltd, 24 August 1999,pp 20-25.Commonwealth of Australia,(2001).Australian situation of Statistics,Education and Training, http//www.abs.gov.au/ (16 whitethorn 2001).Commonwealth of Australia,(2001).Australian Bureau of Statistics Book,Education and Training.Fordham, B.(2000),Ninemsn,The great debate public vs private schools, http//www.aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/ 460.asp (1 May 2001).Gauci, J.(2000),Kemps bill rips off public education, http//www.greenleft.org.au/ certify/2000/429/429p9.htm (13 May 2001). Public vs Private Education in Australia Essay -- essays papersPublic vs Private Education in Australia Every one in Australia wants the best education for the individual. The question is which one. Public or Private ? Education is one of the most important factors in determining what a person will become as a member of Australias society. Because education is so important there are many questions that are asked for which is the better. The key terms for this topic are Government School one administered by the Department of Education in each State/Territory Non-government School (private school) any school not administered by the Department of Eduaction, but including special schools administered by government authorities other than the State/Territory Education Department School an educational institution which provides primary or secondary education on a full-time daily basis, or by radio or correspondence Over the past decade there has been a enrolment drift in education from public schools to private schools. In the year 2001 this enrolment drift has continued. In 1980 there were 78% of all students in public education, but last year there were less than 69%. There are a total of 2 248 275 students in public schools (ABS 12/02/2001). While Australia only has 69% of all students in public education, the United States and th e UK have 90% of all students in public education. Over the past decade there has been a increase in enrolments at private schools.There has been a steady increase of enrolments in private education. In 1980 there was only 22% and in 1990 there was 28%, and in the year 2000 there was around 31% or 999 181 students in Australia attending a private school (ABS 12/02/2001). Year 12 retention rates across the board have had a continual increase. Year 12 retention rate the percentage of full-time students of a given cohort group who continue from the 1st year of secondary schooling to Year 12. The apparent retention rate of secondary students from Year 10 to Year 12 remained at the same level as the previous year at 74.4%. In 1990 the equivalent rate was 66.5% (http//www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ABS). The retention rates for public and private schools has not been as even. In 1985 the apparent retention rates for public schools was around 40% while private schools was around 65%. In 1995 public schools retention rates was around 66% while private scho... ...which the public schools can find to be very frastrating. Along with anything in Australia it has its positives and negatives. To view these positives and negatives refer to appendix three.To view the positives and negatives for private schools refer to appendix four. More students in Australia today are moving away from public education and into private education because private education is perceived to offer more job opportunities for the individual.Bibliography(2000),Queensland Teachers Journal,Protecting Public Education, 31 August 2000,p 6.Bagnall, D.(1999),The Bulletin,Values-added education, Sydney,AVP Publishing Pty Ltd, 24 August 1999,pp 20-25.Commonwealth of Australia,(2001).Australian Bureau of Statistics,Education and Training, http//www.abs.gov.au/ (16 May 2001).Commonwealth of Australia,(2001).Australian Bureau of Statistics Book,Education and Training.Fordham, B.(2000),Ninemsn,The gre at debate public vs private schools, http//www.aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/ 460.asp (1 May 2001).Gauci, J.(2000),Kemps bill rips off public education, http//www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/429/429p9.htm (13 May 2001).

Activity Based Costing Essay -- essays research papers

IntroductionActivity Based Costing (ABC) addresses internal operating(a) concerns and is an augmentation to the traditional personify instruction system. It is not a replacement for traditional accounting, but makes use of the source documents provided from standard job costing systems. ABC looks at a business units events as cost number one woods and assigns all company resources and accumulated cost against those events in a time-phased sequence. Revenue tracking provides management with a different point of view on the profitability of ingatherings and services, providing insight into pricing. Middle management and technical do organizations are involved in the plication item reporting provided within the ABC system, enabling management to achieve more responsibility of reported information throughout all levels of the organization. ABC is world ostensible by the accounting industry as the wave of the future and is gaining broad acceptance within larger organizations. This system is intended to provide performing entities and management alike. History of ABCActivity Based Costing (ABC) is an approach to costing that considers the resources consumed by activities in order to create and deliver a product or service. It evolved in the mid-1980s to improve the allocation of manufacturing overhead costs to products, but it soon became apparent that activity-based costing systems could be expanded to include non-manufacturing costs (Langfield-Smith, Thorne & Hilton, 2004). check of ABCWhereas the underlying assumption of a conventional costing system is simply that products cause costs, an activity based costing system assumes that cost objects (e.g. juice) creates the take on for activities (e.g. manufacturing), which in turn causes resources to be consumed (e.g. manufacturing time, outlet space, etc.) and causes costs. Cost objects are the reason for performing activities, and activities are the processes or procedures that cause work and create costs. ABC analyses costs from the perception of the how much a particular activity costs, and the amount of resources consumed by the end product of the activity. Using activity based costing differs from traditional cost accounting in that the focus is on the activities that are required to produce an end product, rather than assuming that the volume of the end product is the only driver of costs. A cost driver is ... ... operationsProblems with ABCWhile activity-based costing whitethorn yield more detailed product cost estimates, it must poke out a cost benefit test before being implemented. Activity-based costing requires a much more detailed breakdown of costs into activities that cause costs. This earth-closet be a complex task involving the teamwork of management, production, accounting, purchasing, marketing and many others. A company should implement ABC only if it thinks the benefit from improved management decisions ordain outweigh the cost of establishing and maintaining th e new cost system. Furthermore, there might be underestimation of the task of collecting activity driver data, and the implementation of this system may be considered a financial management which might cause insufficient commitment from operational managers.We should use activity-based costing if we find the benefits from the new system cash in ones chips its costs.REFERENCE1.Innes, J & Mitchell, F. (1991), Activity Based Cost Management?, CIMA2.Smith, K.L., Thorne, H., Hilton, R.W., (2004), Management Accounting an Australian perspective?, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill

Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron :: Mother Night Essays

Government vs. Individual in Mother iniquity, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has made important contributions tothe emergence of the twentieth century American novel. Hisinfluences are felt in modern social satire, as well asnontraditional science fiction. One understructure that is repeated inhis work is the common portrayal of government forces asdestructive to individuals to force characters to do evil in thename of good. Kurt V one(a)gut, Jr. was innate(p) November 11, 1922 inIndianapolis, Indiana, the son of an architect. He attendedCornell University in 1940, studying biochemistry, but soon quitbecause his grades were poor. He worked as a columnist for theCornell Daily fair weather until link the army in 1942. He was capturedby the Germans in 1944 and forced to work in a factory, where helived through the fire bombing of Dresden. This, and the felo-de-seof his l et in 1944, were the two about influential events inhis life. After the war he worked for the Chicago News Bureau andstudied anthropology. He has scripted umteen novels and one short chronicle collection. His most acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five,is a twisted account of the Dresden bombing. He is still aliveand writing. His most recent published work, Timequake,appeared in the celestial latitude 1997 Playboy Magazine. Mother iniquity was Vonneguts third novel and one his fewworks that contains no elements of science fiction. Though thisnovel is not one of his most critically acclaimed, it serves asa prime example of Vonneguts skill as a black humorist andweaver of human absurdity. Mother Night is the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr, Naziradio propagandist and American spy. The novel begins and ends inthe same spot a new jail in old capital of Israel (Mother Night p.Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron Mother Night EssaysGovernment vs. Individual in Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has made important contributions tothe development of the 20th century American novel. Hisinfluences are felt in modern social satire, as well asnontraditional science fiction. One theme that is recurrent inhis work is the common portrayal of government forces asdestructive to individuals to force characters to do evil in thename of good. Kurt Vonegut, Jr. was born November 11, 1922 inIndianapolis, Indiana, the son of an architect. He attendedCornell University in 1940, studying biochemistry, but soon quitbecause his grades were poor. He worked as a columnist for theCornell Daily Sun until joining the army in 1942. He was capturedby the Germans in 1944 and forced to work in a factory, where helived through the fire bombing of Dresden. This, and the suicideof his mother i n 1944, were the two most influential events inhis life. After the war he worked for the Chicago News Bureau andstudied anthropology. He has written many novels and one shortstory collection. His most acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five,is a twisted account of the Dresden bombing. He is still aliveand writing. His most recent published work, Timequake,appeared in the December 1997 Playboy Magazine. Mother Night was Vonneguts third novel and one his fewworks that contains no elements of science fiction. Though thisnovel is not one of his most critically acclaimed, it serves asa prime example of Vonneguts skill as a black humorist andweaver of human absurdity. Mother Night is the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr, Naziradio propagandist and American spy. The novel begins and ends inthe same spot a new jail in old Jerusalem (Mother Night p.

Image Processing :: essays research papers

Adaptive Shape Contour tracing algorithmic program crochetIn this paper we be going to present a new material body contour tracing algorithm called Adaptive Contour Tracing Algorithm. The algorithm can trace open and closed discontinuous digital shapes and return an ordered set of boundary points that represent the contour of the shape. Unlike new(prenominal) algorithms that return boundary points that are part of the traced shape, our algorithm returns background points that are adjacent to the shapes contour. Furthermore, the algorithm is not hindered by shapes that are creaky and ill-defined as it can adapt to interruptions in the shapes contour using a pre-set tolerance and is able to scan multiple neighbors of a given point. The algorithm has a low complexity and no restrictions on the type or size of the traced shape. The extracted ordered set of boundary points represents the contour of a given shape and is important for curvature-based shape descriptors. Categories and Subject DescriptorsI.4.6 Image Processing and Computer Vision Segmentation V Edge and feature detection, Pixel classification General hurtAlgorithms.KeywordsImage Processing Contour Tracing Shape Boundary Extraction.1. INTRODUCTIONContour tracing is an important process in boundary-based shape matching. All shapes are represented by a pattern of pixels and the contour pixels are usually a small subset of that pattern. Curvature-based shape matching methods rely on the contour pixels to mention the irregularities in shapes and a reliable contour-tracing algorithm is needed to extract the boundary of shapes. If the shape has holes then another hole search algorithm need to be applied to extract the hole pattern and such an algorithm is not part of this article.We developed a sequential contour-tracing algorithm denoted the Adaptive Contour Tracing Algorithm. The algorithm computes the surrounding contour of any shape and adapts to all types of closed curve representations whether th ey are filled or partially filled digital shapes. Any pixel, 1-pixel wide lines, and full shapes could be traced and represented by closed curves. The algorithm also accounts for discontinuities in the shape contour and can reach nearby pixels.The contour trace starts from the top left point or pixel closest to the shape and proceeds clockwise following the surrounding of the contour of the shape rather than the contour itself. The style around the contour is traced in a look-forward sweep pattern to find the next surrounding point that is closest to the contour. The path is then closed when the start point is found.

Classic Philosophy and some Negative Characteristics of Contemporary Culture :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Classic Philosophy and some Negative Characteristics of Contemporary CultureABSTRACT This paper attempts to answer the question In what way could innocental philosophy be useful to overcome shortcomings of the contemporary culture? A response to this question is preceded by considerations about the meaning of the valet de chambre culture as well as delineating much(prenominal) features of the contemporary culture and their origins which, in common opinion, are evidence of its crisis. If it is proposed to return to classical philosophy in arrangement to remedy the contemporary culture and humanity, it is because this philosophy, due to its specific character, through the acceptance of real truth and real goodness as reasons for justifying both the order of cognition and the moral order, establishes that which is called culture on the bases of realism and secures its bases against subjectivism, relativism and pragmatism. Within classical philosophy, humankind learns an essential tr uth about itself, namely that human beings are not exclusively happening events because of human nature and essence, but that humans are persons which constitute a certain ontic fundament for historic processes and guarantee identity of being.Issues concerning the kind between philosophy and culture are of actual significance. The point is that, although philosophy is a component of culture, nevertheless, in view of its specific character, it is shaping it. Philosophy contributes to an mindset of culture, but the culture exerts an influence on the philosophy. Today, the failures of contemporary culture are not scarce heard but experienced every day. Sometimes, to express the evoke of present day culture, it is said the present culture is ill. The origin of these shortcoming is seen in philosophy and its way of diffusion. For even if philosophy is not the only factor of the outlook of culture, it is still one of its major causes. These circumstances are enough, I think, to ask a r easonable question In what way could classic philosophy be useful to overcome shortcomings of the contemporary culture?The Word CultureThe word culture is not quite clear. It is beyond this scope to specify diverse meanings of it. It would require an analyzing review of numerous definitions found both in common language and in scientific literature. It is maintained that there are hundreds of such definitions. Their common feature seems to be that they refer to culture as related, more or less consistently to the spiritual life of man. In other words spiritual life is referred to a concrete individual or to a social group.

Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs Career

Employment with a Criminal BackgroundSeeking battle is highly competitive, and it becomes more difficult when in povertyand with a criminal past. legion(predicate) factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvictdoes confront a risk to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce anxiety overthis risk. A common belief is that a criminal flat coat means a person squirtt be trustedand that they might re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could becharged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit wickedness for financial reasonssuggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment bringsstability and serves to reduce the tendency to re-offend. There are training programs inand out of prison house that have been designed to serving ex-cons develop job skills howeversuccess of these programs is still debatable. There are also horror stories of what someex-cons have through in places of employment, including ha rm other(a) employees. Thus it isunderstandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not helpthose in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons display case trying to findemployment as well as the options available to them will be further explored.There can be various factors that alter how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated.Employers may look at the seriousness of the offense. For instance, people will more likelybe hired subsequently property offenses than after bowelless crime and murder (Albright and Furjen). In a study measuring employers attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was found thetype of offense can exemplify a big routine in being hired. Employers in this study also indicatedthat the more information they recei... ...-30.Jones, Mark and Barbara Sims. Recidivism of offenders released from prison in NorthCarolina a gender comparison. Prison daybook 77.3 (Sept 1997) 335-49.Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home . New York Oxford, 2003.Saxonhouse, Elena. Equal protection comparing former felons challenges todisenfranchisement and employment discrimination. Stanford Law Review 56 (May2004) 1597-1640).Tatge, Mark. With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to carry through Open. WallStreet diary 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005.Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. Work release in Washington effects on recidivism andcorrections costs. Prison diary 76.2 (June 1996) 138-65.Weygandt, Scott. Focusing on employment NICs career center project. CorrectionsToday 65.5 (August 2003) 112-15. Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs CareerEmployment with a Criminal BackgroundSeeking employment is highly competitive, and it becomes more difficult when in povertyand with a criminal past. Many factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvictdoes pose a risk to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce anxiety overthis risk. A common belief is that a criminal ba ckground means a person cant be trustedand that they might re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could becharged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit crime for financial reasonssuggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment bringsstability and serves to reduce the tendency to re-offend. There are training programs inand out of prison that have been designed to help ex-cons develop job skills howeversuccess of these programs is still debatable. There are also horror stories of what someex-cons have done in places of employment, including harm other employees. Thus it isunderstandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not helpthose in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons face trying to findemployment as well as the options available to them will be further explored.There can be various factors that affect how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated.Employers may look at the seriousness of the offense. For instance, people will more likelybe hired after property offenses than after violent crime and murder (Albright and Furjen). In a study measuring employers attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was found thetype of offense can play a big role in being hired. Employers in this study also indicatedthat the more information they recei... ...-30.Jones, Mark and Barbara Sims. Recidivism of offenders released from prison in NorthCarolina a gender comparison. Prison Journal 77.3 (Sept 1997) 335-49.Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home. New York Oxford, 2003.Saxonhouse, Elena. Equal protection comparing former felons challenges todisenfranchisement and employment discrimination. Stanford Law Review 56 (May2004) 1597-1640).Tatge, Mark. With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to Fill Open. WallStreet Journal 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005.Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. Work release in Washington effects on recidivism andcorrections costs. Prison Journal 76.2 (June 1996) 138-65.Weygandt, Scott. Focusing on employment NICs career center project. CorrectionsToday 65.5 (August 2003) 112-15.

Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs Career

battle with a Criminal BackgroundSeeking employment is extremely competitive, and it becomes much difficult when in povertyand with a criminal past. Many factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvictdoes pose a danger to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce fear overthis risk. A putting green belief is that a criminal background means a person cant be trustedand that they great power re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could be supercharged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit crime for financial reasonssuggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment bringsstability and serves to restrict the tendency to re-offend. There ar training programs inand out of prison that have been designed to help ex-cons develop job skills howeversuccess of these programs is politic debatable. There are as well horror stories of what someex-cons have done in places of employment, including harm oth er employees. Thus it isunderstandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not helpthose in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons face trying to findemployment as hearty as the options available to them volition be further explored.There can be various factors that affect how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated.Employers may look at the distressfulness of the offense. For instance, people will more likelybe hired after property offenses than after violent crime and murder (Albright and Furjen). In a train measuring employers attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was ensnare thetype of offense can play a big role in being hired. Employers in this study as well as indicatedthat the more information they recei... ...-30.Jones, speciate and Barbara Sims. Recidivism of offenders issued from prison in NorthCarolina a gender comparison. Prison Journal 77.3 (Sept 1997) 335-49.Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home. New York Ox ford, 2003.Saxonhouse, Elena. Equal protection canvas former felons challenges todisenfranchisement and employment discrimination. Stanford right Review 56 (May2004) 1597-1640).Tatge, Mark. With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to Fill Open. WallStreet Journal 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005.Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. Work release in Washington effectuate on recidivism andcorrections costs. Prison Journal 76.2 (June 1996) 138-65.Weygandt, Scott. Focusing on employment NICs career center project. CorrectionsToday 65.5 (August 2003) 112-15. Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs CareerEmployment with a Criminal BackgroundSeeking employment is highly competitive, and it becomes more difficult when in povertyand with a criminal past. Many factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvictdoes pose a risk to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce anxiety overthis risk. A common belief is that a criminal background means a person cant be trustedand that they might re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could becharged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit crime for financial reasonssuggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment bringsstability and serves to reduce the tendency to re-offend. There are training programs inand out of prison that have been designed to help ex-cons develop job skills howeversuccess of these programs is still debatable. There are also horror stories of what someex-cons have done in places of employment, including harm other employees. Thus it isunderstandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not helpthose in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons face trying to findemployment as well as the options available to them will be further explored.There can be various factors that affect how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated.Employers may look at the seriousness of the offense. For instance, people will more likelybe hired after property offenses than after violent crime and murder (Albright and Furjen). In a study measuring employers attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was found thetype of offense can play a big role in being hired. Employers in this study also indicatedthat the more information they recei... ...-30.Jones, Mark and Barbara Sims. Recidivism of offenders released from prison in NorthCarolina a gender comparison. Prison Journal 77.3 (Sept 1997) 335-49.Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home. New York Oxford, 2003.Saxonhouse, Elena. Equal protection comparing former felons challenges todisenfranchisement and employment discrimination. Stanford Law Review 56 (May2004) 1597-1640).Tatge, Mark. With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to Fill Open. WallStreet Journal 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005.Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. Work release in Washington effects on recidivism andcorrections costs. Prison Journal 7 6.2 (June 1996) 138-65.Weygandt, Scott. Focusing on employment NICs career center project. CorrectionsToday 65.5 (August 2003) 112-15.

Canon in D Major

Canon in D Major Im listening to Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel played by the London Symphony Orchestra who are from London, England. Theyre all professional bragging(a) musicians theyre very good, in tune and together. The military personnel is unique and very famous. Its Johann Pachelbels most famous append, most often played at weddings. The piece is in 4/4 time and in D major. It has a slow tempo, smooth rhythm, and long, full bowing. Theyre bowing sounds standardised its ever together in each section like theyre all going in the same direction.Dynamics stay about the same throughout the piece in piano/mezzo piano. It starts in piano. Sometimes its in mezzoforte but it doesnt sound like it gets louder than that, except for the nice, loud, and strong ending. As furthest as the intonation of the piece, it gets softer as the notes are longer/slower (whole and half notes) and consequently slowly crescendos as the notes are shorter/faster (quarter and eighth/sixteenth not es). The descent is always louder than the other parts.The articulation and the intonation are very consistent and similar with the melody being louder than the other parts and the crescendos into faster parts and then the decrescendos into slower, even smoother parts. I like this piece a lot, its very pretty and I want to learn how to play it. I rightfully like how sometimes its all in unison and sometimes every section has a different part. I also real like how its smooth and slow at some parts and then faster but still smooth at other parts. I really love how all of the parts harmonize together perfectly. http//www. youtube. com/watch? v=s3RRQypEf4I=related

Shadow Kiss Chapter 10

TenTHE NEXT DAY, MY guardian duties with Christian resumed. Once again, I found my own smell put on hold for almost hotshot elses.How was your penance? he asked as we walked across campus from his dorm.I stifled a yawn. I hadnt been able to sleep good last night, both because of my feelings for Dimitri and because of what Father Andrew had told me. Nonetheless, I kept a sharp pith out. This was the location where Stan had attacked us twice before, and be posts, the guardians were sick and twisted enough to move up after me on a day when I was so exhausted.It was okay. The priest let us go early.Us?Dimitri came and helped me. I think he matte bad rough me being stuck with that work.Either that or he has vigour else to do now that hes not doing your extra sessions.Maybe, only I doubt it. any in every, I guess it wasnt that bad a day. Unless you considered learning about spiteful ghosts bad.I had a great day, said Christian, the sm each(prenominal)est amount of smugness in hi s voice.I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. Yeah, I know.He and Lissa had taken advantage of their guardianless day to take advantage of each other. I supposed I should be glad theyd held off until Eddie and I werent or so, tho in a lot of ways, it didnt matter. True, when I was awake, I could block out all of the details, but I subdued knew what was vent on. A bit of the jealousy and anger Id felt from the last conviction theyd been to initiateher returned. It was the a same(p) problem all over again Lissa doing all the things I couldnt do.I was dying to go eat breakfast. I could smell French toast and hot maple syrup. Carbs wrapped in more carbs. Yum. however Christian wanted blood before we ate solid food, and his needs trumped mine. They answer counterbalance. Hed apparently skipped his daily blood dose yesterday probably to maximize his romanticistic time.The feeder way of life wasnt crowded, but we simmer down had to wait.Hey, I said. Do you know Brett Ozera? Y oure related, right? After my encounter with Jill, Id finally put some pieces together. Brett Ozera and Dane Zeklos had reminded me of how Brandon had looked the day of Stans first attack. The disaster of that attack had made me completely forget about Brandon, but the coincidences here suddenly stirred my curiosity. All cardinal had been beaten up. All three had been in denial.Christian nodded. Yeah, in the way were all descriptor of related. I dont know him that well hes exchangeable a third or ivth first cousin or something. His branch of the family hasnt had much to do with mine since well, you know.I heard something spiritual about him. I hence related what Jill had told me about Dane and Brett.Thats weird, agreed Christian. unless people get in fights.Yeah, but there are some weird connections here. And royals arent usually on the losing ends of fights all three of these guys were.Well, maybe thats it. You know how its been. A lot of royals are getting pissed off th at non-royals want to change how guardians are assigned and learn to start fighting. Thats the whole point of Jesse and Ralfs stupid secondary club. They want to make sure royals stay on top. Non-royals are probably getting just as pissed off and fighting back.So, what, some kind of vigilante is out making royals pay?Wouldnt be the weirdest thing thats happened around here, he pointed out.Thats for damn sure, I muttered.Christians name was called, and he peered ahead. Look at that, he said happily. Alice again.I dont get your fascination with her, I observed as we approached the old feeder. Lissas always kind of excited to see her too. But Alice is nuts.I know, he said. Thats whats so great.Alice greeted us as Christian sat down beside her. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed over my chest. Feeling uppity, I said, Alice, the scenery hasnt changed. Its exactly the same as last time.She turned her dazed eyes on me. Patience, Rose. You must be patient. And prepared. Are you prepar ed?The switch in subject threw me a little. It was like lecture to Jill, except less sane. Um, prepared how? For the scenery?In what had to be a prime moment of irony, she looked at me as though I were the one who was crazy. Armed. Are you armed? Youre going to protect us, arent you?I reached inside my coat and pulled out the practice stake Id been given for the field experience. Got you covered, I said.She looked immensely better and apparently couldnt tell the difference between a real stake and a fake one. Good, she said. Now well be safe.Thats right, said Christian. With Rose armed, we nominate cypher to worry about. The Moroi world can rest easy.Alice was oblivious to his sarcasm. Yes. Well, nowhere is ever safe.I concealed the stake again. Were safe. Weve got the best guardians in the world protecting us, not to mention the wards. Strigoi arent getting in here.I didnt add what Id recently learned that Strigoi could get humans to break the wards. Wards were invisible lines of power that were composed of all four elements. They were created when four Moroi, each one strong in a different element, walked around an area and laid the magic in a circle upon the ground, creating a protective border. Moroi magic was imbued with life, and a strong field of it kept out Strigoi, since they were devoid of life. So wards were frequently laid around Moroi dwellings. Tons of them were laid around this school. Since stakes were also imbued with all four elements, driving a stake done a ward line in the ground pierced the ward and canceled out the protective effect. This had never been much of a concern because Strigoi couldnt touch stakes. However, in some recent attacks, humans who could touch stakes had served Strigoi and broken some wards. We believed the Strigoi Id killed had been the ringleaders in that group, but we hush up didnt know for sure.Alice studied me closely with her cloudy eyes, almost as though she knew what I was thinking. Nowhere is safe. Wa rds fade. Guardians die.I glanced over at Christian, who shrugged in a sort of what did you expect from her? kind of way.If you guys are done with your girl talk, can I eat now? he asked.Alice was more than expert to comply he was her first hit of the day. She soon forgot about wards or anything else and simply lost herself to the ecstasy of his bite. I forgot about wards too. I had a one-track mind, genuinely I still wanted to know if Mason had been real or not. The priests frightening explanation aside, I had to admit Masons visits hadnt been threatening, just scary. If he was out to get me, he was kind of doing a half-assed job of it. Once again, I started putting more stock in the attempt-and-fatigue theory.Now its time for me to eat, I said when Christian finished. I was pretty sure I could smell bacon now. Thatd probably make Christian happy. He could wrap it around his French toast.Wed barely stepped out of the room when Lissa came running up to us, Eddie trailing behind. Excitement lit her face, though the feelings in the bond werent exactly happy.Did you hear? she asked, a little breathless.Hear what? I asked.You have to hurry go pack your things. Were going to Victors trial. Right now.Thered been no warning at all about when Victors trial would even occur, let alone that individual had apparently decided we could go. Christian and I exchanged brief, startled looks and accordingly hurried off to his room to gather our things.Packing was a breeze. My bag was diligent to go already, and Christian only took a minute to throw his together. In less than a half hour, we were out on the Academys landing strip. Two privy jets sat in attendance, one of which was fired up and waiting to go. A couple of Moroi hurried about, doing last-minute things with the plane and the runway.No one seemed to know what was going on. Lissa had simply been told that she, Christian, and I were going to testify and that Eddie could come along to continue his field experien ce. Thered been no explanation as to why things had changed, and a weird mix in of eagerness and apprehension crackled around us. We all wanted to see Victor locked away for good, but now that we were actually faced with the reality of the trial and of eyesight him well, it was kind of scary.A few guardians lingered near the steps going up to the plane. I recognized them as the ones who had helped capture Victor. They were probably going to do double over duty and serve as witnesses and as our protection. Dimitri hovered near the outskirts, and I hurried over to him.Im sorry, I gulped out. Im so sorry.He turned toward me, his face schooled to that perfect prototype of neutrality that he was so good at. Sorry for what?For all the horrible things I said yesterday. You did it you really did it. You got them to let us go.Despite my nervousness about seeing Victor, I was make full(a) with elation. Dimitri had come through. Id known all along that he really cared about me this j ust proved it. If there hadnt been so more people around, I would have hugged him.Dimitris face didnt change. It wasnt me, Rose. I had nobody to do with it.Alberta signaled that we could board, and he turned away to join the others. I stood frozen for a moment, observance him and trying to figure out what had happened. If he hadnt intervened, then why were we going? Lissas diplomatic efforts had been shot down a while ago. Why the change of nucleus?My friends were already on board, so I hurried to catch up. As soon as I stepped into the cabin, a voice called to me. Little dhampir About time you got here.I looked and precept Adrian waving, a drink in his hand. Great. Wed had to beg and plead to go along, yet Adrian had somehow just glided on in. Lissa and Christian were sitting together, so I joined Eddie in the hopes of staying away from Adrian. Eddie gave me the window seat. Adrian moved to the seat in front of us, though, and might as well have been sitting in our row, as oft en as he turned around to talk to me. His chatter and outrageous flirting indicated hed been sipping cocktails long before the rest of us had come aboard. I kind of wished Id had a few myself once we were airborne. A wicked headache set in almost immediately after liftoff, and I socialize a fantasy of vodka numbing the twinge.Were going to Court, Adrian said. Arent you excited about it? I closed(a) my eyes and rubbed my temples. About which one? The royal one or the legitimate one?The royal one. Did you bring a dress?Nobody told me to.So thats a no.Yes.Yes? I thought you meant no.I opened one eye and glared. I did mean no, and you know it. No, I did not bring a dress.Well get you one, he said loftily.Youre going to take me shopping? Im going to go out on a limb and guess they wont consider you a reliable chaperone.Shopping? As if. There are tailors that live there. Well get you something custom-made.Were not staying that long. And do I really need a dress for what were doing th ere?No, Id just kind of like to see you in one.I sighed and leaned my head against the window. The agony in my skull was still throbbing. It was like the air was pressing in on me. Something flashed in my peripheral vision, and I turned in surprise, but there was nothing but stars outside the window.Something black, he continued. Satin, I think maybe with lace trim. Do you like lace? Some women think it itches.Adrian. It was like a hammer, a hammer inside and outside my head.You could get a nice velvet trim too, though. That wouldnt itch.Adrian. Even my eye sockets seemed to hurt.And then a slit up the side to show off what great legs you have. It could go nearly to the hip and have this cute little bow Adrian Something inside of me burst. Will you shut down the hell up for five seconds? I yelled so loud that the pilot had probably heard me. Adrian had that rare look of astonishment on his face.Alberta, sitting across the gangboard from Adrian, shot up in her seat. Rose, she exc laimed. Whats going on?I gritted my teeth and rubbed my forehead. I have the worst fucking headache in the world, and he wont shut up. I didnt even realize Id sworn in front of an instructor until several seconds later. From the other side of my field of vision, I thought I saw something else another shadow darting through the plane, reminding me of black wings. Like a bat or a raven. I covered my eyes. There was nothing flying through the plane. God, why wont it go away?I expected Alberta to chastise me for the outburst, but instead, Christian spoke She hasnt eaten today. She was really hungry earlier.I uncovered my eyes. Albertas face was filled with concern, and Dimitri now hovered behind her. More shadowy shapes flitted across my vision. Most were indistinct, but I could have sworn I saw something that looked like a skull immix in with the darkness. I blinked rapidly, and it all disappeared. Alberta turned to one of the flight attendants. Can you get her something to eat? And find a painkiller?Wheres it at? Dimitri asked me. The pain?With all of this attention, my explosion suddenly seemed excessive. Its a headacheIm sure itll go away Seeing his stern look, I pointed to the center of my forehead. Its like something pushing on my skull. And theres pain kind of behind my eyes. I keep feeling likewell, its like Ive got something in my eye. I think Im seeing a shadow or something. and then I blink and its gone.Ah, said Alberta. Thats a migraine symptom having vision problems. Its called an aura. People sometimes get it before the headache sets in.An aura? I asked, startled. I glanced up at Adrian. He was looking at me over the top of his seat, his long arms hanging over the back of it.Not that kind, he said, a small smile turning up his lips. Same name. Like Court and court. Migraine auras are images and light you see when a migraines coming on. They have nothing to do with the auras around people I see. But I tell you the aura I can see the one around y ou wow.Black?And then some. Its obvious even after all the drinks Ive had. Never seen anything like it.I didnt exactly know what to make of that, but then the flight attendant returned with a banana, a granola bar, and some ibuprofen. It was a far cry from French toast, but it sounded good on my empty stomach. I consumed it all and then propped a take a breather up against the window. Closing my eyes, I rested my head and hoped I could sleep the headache off before we landed. Mercifully, everyone else stayed quiet.I had drifted off a little when I felt a slight touch on my arm. Rose?Opening my eyes, I peered at Lissa as she sat in Eddies seat. Those bat-winged shapes flitted behind her, and my head still hurt. In those swirling shadows, I again saw what looked like a face, this time with a wide gaping mouth and eyes like fire. I flinched.Youre still in pain? Lissa asked, peering at me. I blinked, and the face was gone.Yeah, I oh no. I realized what she was going to do. Dont do it . Dont waste it on me.Its easy, she said. It hardly fazes me.Yeah, but the more you use it the more it hurts you in the long run. Even if its easy now.Ill worry about that later. Here.She clasped my hand between hers and closed her eyes. Through our bond, I felt the magic welling up in her as she drew upon spirits healing power. To her, magic felt warm and golden. Id been healed before, and it always came through to me as varying temperatures hot, then cold, then hot, etc. But this time, when she released the magic and sent it into me, I didnt feel anything except a very faint tingle. Her eyelids fluttered open.Wh what happened? she asked.Nothing, I said. The headaches still going strong.But I The confusion and shock on her face mirrored what I sensed in her. I had it. I felt the magic. It worked.I dont know, Liss. Its okay, really. You havent been off the meds that long, you know.Yeah, but I healed Eddie the other day without any problems. And Adrian, she added dryly. He was hangi ng over the seat again, watching us intently.Those were scrapes, I said. This is a five-alarm migraine were talking about. Maybe youve got to build back up.Lissa bit her lower lip. You dont think the pills permanently hurt my magic, do you?Nah, said Adrian, head tilted to the side. You lit up like a supernova when you were summoning it. You had magic. I just dont think it had any effect on her.Why not? she demanded.Maybe shes got something you cant heal.A headache? I asked in disbelief.He shrugged. What do I look like, a doctor? I dont know. Just telling you what I saw.I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead. Well, I appreciate the help, Liss, and I appreciate your annoying commentary, Adrian. But I think sleep might be the best thing for now. Maybe its stress or something. Sure, why not? Stress was the answer to everything lately. Ghosts. Incurable headaches. Weird faces floating in the air. Probably cant heal that.Maybe, she said, sounding as though she took personalized offens e at me having something she couldnt fix. Inside her mind, though, her accusations were turned toward herself, not me. She worried she wasnt good enough.Its okay, I said soothingly. Youre just getting your stride back. Once youre up to full power, Ill go crack a rib or something so we can test it.She groaned. The horrible part is that I dont think youre joking. After a industrious squeeze of my hand, she stood up. Sleep well.She left, and I soon realized Eddie wasnt coming back. Hed taken a new seat so that Id have more room. Appreciative, I fluffed and repositioned the lie while stretching my legs out as best I could across the seats. A few more phantom clouds danced across my vision, and then I closed my eyes to sleep.I woke up later when the plane touched down, the sounds of its engines kicking into reverse startling me out of a deep sleep. To my relief, the headache was gone. So were the weird shapes floating around me.Better? Lissa asked when I stood up and yawned.I nodded. M uch. Better still if I can get some real food.Well, she laughed, somehow I doubt theres any shortage of food around here.She was right. Glancing out the windows, I tried to get my first look at our surroundings. Wed made it. We were at the Moroi over-embellished Court.

Human Behavior in Organization in Global Perspective Essay

Organizational appearance is a study that investigates the effect that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within an organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organizations effectiveness. Human behavior in organization defines also on how the employees work in certain organization, on how we build the interpersonal relationship towards to the superior and co-workers, according to the Maslows theory the people get motivated by the five categories of maslows, this would be help the employee to more productive in his work and contribute to the organization, essentially, when we speak human behavior in organization, it is the behavior of the employees internal the organization, on now they act in their perspectives work and on how they do their duties inside the organization.How-ever in some cases people get motivated in money, with this they develop their skills in raise to get some incentives, money is also one of the factors that people are motivated but there is a negative side on this, sometimes this are this factors that we are always depend in.Human behavior in organization in global perspective defines that on how the employees work in different company and also the relationship on organization to another organization, it is also the motivating factor of the bout company and the employee on how they interact inside and outside the organization, in order them to build the relationship inside and outside of the organization, it is also make the organization be more effectiveness. One of those motivating factors is the ethics, basically ethics in organization is important to make the employees be more productive to their work, and ethics defines as the character of one person.In human behavior in organization in global perspective is the relationship of one people to another, it is also the relationship of one country to another in order to build a trust, for example the manager of one organization will go in other country to for some proposal of business in order to get the heart of the one country the leader must build a trust to his company first, with this global perspective defines as on how we deal to another.In management global perspective one of the keys to successful management is the ability to understand andapply modern management principles and techniques effectively. Managersmust develop an in-depth knowledge of historical and present models, theories andprocesses in order to manage effectively and intelligently. Contemporarymanagement practice is pervasive in every aspect of human life within all typesof organizations

Angels Demons Chapter 6-8

6Sixty-four minutes had passed when an incredulous and slightly radiate-sick Robert Langdon stepped down the gangplank onto the sun-drenched runway. A crisp breeze rust conduct the lapels of his tweed jacket. The vindicated space felt wonderful. He squinted out at the lush green v full(a)lyey rising to s straight offcapped peaks all around them.Im dreaming, he told himself. Any minute now Ill be waking up.Welcome to Switzerland, the pilot said, yelling over the roar of the X-33s misted-fuel HEDM engines lead storying down behind them.Langdon checked his watch. It teach 707 A.M.You just pass six time zones, the pilot offered. Its a little past 1 P.M. here.Langdon reset his watch.How do you feel?He rubbed his stomach. Like Ive been eating Styrofoam.The pilot nodded. stature sickness. We were at sixty thousand feet. Youre thirty percent lighter up there. Lucky we only did a puddle jump. If wed gone to Tokyo Id mother interpreted her all the way up a hundred miles. Now thatll ge t your insides rolling.Langdon gave a wan nod and counted himself lucky. All things considered, the flight had been remarkably ordinary. Aside from a bone-crushing acceleration during take off, the planes motion had been fairly typical occasional minor turbulence, a a few(prenominal)er pressure changes as theyd climbed, but naught at all to suggest they had been hurtling through space at the mind-numbing speed of 11,000 miles per hour.A fistful of technicians scurried onto the runway to tgoal to the X-33. The pilot escorted Langdon to a black Peugeot sedan in a parking argona beside the control tower. Moments later they were speeding down a paved road that stretched out across the valley floor. A faint lump of buildings rose in the surmount. Outside, the grassy plains tore by in a blur.Langdon watched in disbelief as the pilot pushed the speedometer up around one hundred s eveningty kilometers an hour over 100 miles per hour. What is it with this guy and speed? he wondered.Fi ve kilometers to the lab, the pilot said. Ill have you there in two minutes.Langdon searched in vain for a seat belt. Why not make it three and get us there alive?The car raced on.Do you like Reba? the pilot asked, jamming a cassette into the tape deck.A woman st cunninged singing.Its just the hero-worship of being aloneNo fear here, Langdon theory absently. His female colleagues often ribbed him that his collection of museum-quality artifacts was nothing more than a transparent attempt to fill an empty home, a home they insisted would benefit greatly from the presence of a woman. Langdon unendingly laughed it off, reminding them he already had three rages in his life tokenisationogy, water polo, and bachelorhood the latter being a freedom that enabled him to travel the world, sleep as late as he wanted, and fuck quiet nights at home with a brandy and a good book.Were like a small city, the pilot said, pulling Langdon from his daydream. Not just labs. Weve got supermarkets, a hospital, even a cinema.Langdon nodded blankly and looked out at the sprawling expanse of buildings rising before them.In fact, the pilot added, we possess the jumbost machine on dry land.Really? Langdon scanned the estateside.You wont opine it out there, sir. The pilot smiled. Its buried six stories below the earth.Langdon didnt have time to ask. Without warning the pilot jammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a renounce international a reinforced sentry booth.Langdon read the sign before them.Securite. ArretezHe suddenly felt a hustle of panic, realizing where he was. My God I didnt append my passportPassports are unnecessary, the driver assured. We have a standing arrangement with the Swiss government.Langdon watched dumbfounded as his driver gave the guard an ID. The sentry ran it through an electronic authentication device. The machine flashed green.Passenger name?Robert Langdon, the driver replied.Guest of?The director.The sentry arched his eyebrows. He turned and checked a computer printout, verifying it against the data on his computer screen. Then he returned to the window. Enjoy your stay, Mr. Langdon.The car shot off again, accelerating another 200 footsteps around a sweeping rotary that led to the facilitys main entrance. Looming before them was a rectangular, ultramodern structure of glass and steel. Langdon was amazed by the buildings striking transparent design. He had always had a fond love of architecture.The Glass Cathedral, the escort offered.A church?Hell, no. A church is the one thing we dont have. Physics is the religion around here. Use the Lords name in vain all you like, he laughed, just dont slander any quarks or mesons.Langdon sat bewildered as the driver swung the car around and brought it to a stop in wait of the glass building. Quarks and mesons? No border control? Mach 15 jets? Who the hell are these guys? The engraved granite slab in front of the building bore the reactCERN Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucl eaireNuclear Research? Langdon asked, fairly certain his translation was correct.The driver did not answer. He was leaning forward, busily adjusting the cars cassette player. This is your stop. The director forget meet you at this entrance.Langdon noted a man in a wheelchair exiting the building. He looked to be in his early sixties. Gaunt and totally bald with a sternly set jaw, he wore a neat lab coat and dress shoes propped firmly on the wheelchairs footrest. Even at a distance his eyes looked lifeless like two gray stones.Is that him? Langdon asked.The driver looked up. Well, Ill be. He turned and gave Langdon an ominous smile. Speak of the devil.Uncertain what to expect, Langdon stepped from the vehicle.The man in the wheelchair accelerated toward Langdon and offered a clammy hand. Mr. Langdon? We spoke on the phone. My name is Maximilian Kohler.7Maximilian Kohler, director general of CERN, was known behind his back as Konig King. It was a title more of fear than reverence for the figure who ruled over his dominion from a wheelchair throne. Although few knew him personally, the horrific story of how he had been crippled was lore at CERN, and there were few there who blamed him for his bitterness nor for his sworn dedication to pure science.Langdon had only been in Kohlers presence a few moments and already sensed the director was a man who kept his distance. Langdon found himself practically jogging to keep up with Kohlers electric wheelchair as it sped silently toward the main entrance. The wheelchair was like none Langdon had ever observen provide with a bank of electronics including a multiline phone, a paging system, computer screen, even a small, detachable video camera. King Kohlers mobile mastery center.Langdon followed through a mechanical door into CERNs voluminous main lobby.The Glass Cathedral, Langdon mused, gazing upward toward heaven.Overhead, the bluish glass roof shimmered in the afternoon sun, casting rays of geometric patterns in the air and giving the way a sense of grandeur. Angular shadows barbaric like veins across the white tiled walls and down to the marble floors. The air smelled clean, sterile. A handful of scientists moved briskly about, their footsteps echoing in the resonant space.This way, please, Mr. Langdon. His voice gravided almost computerized. His accent was rigid and precise, like his stern features. Kohler coughed and wiped his mouth on a white handkerchief as he fixed his dead gray eyes on Langdon. Please hurry. His wheelchair seemed to leap across the tiled floor.Langdon followed past what seemed to be interminable hallways branching off the main atrium. Every hallway was alive with activity. The scientists who saw Kohler seemed to stare in surprise, eyeing Langdon as if wondering who he must be to command such company.Im embarrassed to admit, Langdon ventured, trying to make conversation, that Ive never heard of CERN.Not surprising, Kohler replied, his clipped response sounding har shly efficient. Most Americans do not see Europe as the world leader in scientific research. They see us as nothing but a quaint shopping zone an odd perception if you consider the nationalities of men like Einstein, Galileo, and Newton.Langdon was unsure how to respond. He pulled the autotype from his pocket. This man in the photograph, can you Kohler cut him off with a wave of his hand. Please. Not here. I am taking you to him now. He held out his hand. Perhaps I should take that.Langdon handed over the fax and fell silently into step.Kohler took a sharp left and entered a wide hallway adorned with awards and commendations. A particularly large plaque dominated the entry. Langdon slowed to read the engraved bronze as they passed.ARS ELECTRONICA AWARD For Cultural Innovation in the Digital Age Awarded to Tim Berners Lee and CERN for the invention of the WORLDWIDE WEBWell Ill be damned, Langdon thought, reading the text. This guy wasnt kidding. Langdon had always thought of the Web as an American invention. Then again, his knowledge was limited to the site for his own book and the occasional on-line exploration of the Louvre or El Prado on his old Macintosh.The Web, Kohler said, coughing again and wiping his mouth, began here as a network of in-house computer sites. It enabled scientists from different departments to share daily findings with one another. Of course, the entire world is under the impression the Web is U.S. technology.Langdon followed down the hall. Why not set the record straight?Kohler shrugged, apparently disinterested. A petty misconception over a petty technology. CERN is far greater than a global connection of computers. Our scientists produce miracles almost daily.Langdon gave Kohler a questioning look. Miracles? The word miracle was surely not part of the expression around Harvards Fairchild Science Building. Miracles were left for the School of Divinity.You sound skeptical, Kohler said. I thought you were a religious symbologist. Do you not believe in miracles?Im undecided on miracles, Langdon said. Particularly those that take place in science labs.Perhaps miracle is the wrong word. I was simply trying to speak your language.My language? Langdon was suddenly uncomfortable. Not to cross you, sir, but I study religious symbology Im an academic, not a priest.Kohler slowed suddenly and turned, his gaze softening a bit. Of course. How simple of me. One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms.Langdon had never heard it put quite that way.As they moved down the hallway, Kohler gave an accepting nod. I suspect you and I will read each other perfectly, Mr. Langdon.Somehow Langdon doubted it.As the pair hurried on, Langdon began to sense a deep rumbling up ahead. The noise got more and more pronounce with every step, reverberating through the walls. It seemed to be coming from the end of the hallway in front of them.Whats that? Langdon last asked, having to yell. He felt like they were approaching a n busy volcano.Free Fall Tube, Kohler replied, his hollow voice cutting the air effortlessly. He offered no other explanation.Langdon didnt ask. He was exhausted, and Maximilian Kohler seemed disinterested in winning any hospitality awards. Langdon reminded himself why he was here. Illuminati. He assumed somewhere in this colossal facility was a body a body branded with a symbol he had just flown 3,000 miles to see.As they approached the end of the hall, the rumble became almost deafening, vibrating up through Langdons soles. They rounded the bend, and a viewing gallery appeared on the right. Four thick-paned portals were embed in a curved wall, like windows in a submarine. Langdon stopped and looked through one of the holes.Professor Robert Langdon had seen some strange things in his life, but this was the strangest. He blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating. He was staring into an enormous circular chamber. Inside the chamber, floating as though weightless, were people. Three of them. One waved and did a somersault in midair.My God, he thought. Im in the land of Oz.The floor of the room was a mesh grid, like a giant sheet of chicken wire. overt beneath the grid was the metallic blur of a huge propeller.Free fall tube, Kohler said, stopping to wait for him. Indoor skydiving. For stress relief. Its a vertical wind tunnel.Langdon looked on in amazement. One of the free fallers, an obese woman, maneuvered toward the window. She was being buffeted by the air currents but grinned and flashed Langdon the thumbs-up sign. Langdon smiled weakly and returned the gesture, wondering if she knew it was the ancient phallic symbol for masculine virility.The heavyset woman, Langdon noticed, was the only one wearing what appeared to be a miniature para jump-start. The swathe of fabric billowed over her like a toy. Whats her little chute for? Langdon asked Kohler. It cant be more than a yard in diameter.Friction, Kohler said. Decreases her aerodynamics so th e fan can lift her. He started down the the corridor again. One square yard of drag will slow a falling body almost twenty percent.Langdon nodded blankly.He never suspected that later that night, in a country hundreds of miles away, the information would save his life.8When Kohler and Langdon emerged from the rear of CERNs main complex into the stark Swiss sunlight, Langdon felt as if hed been transported home. The scene before him looked like an Ivy confederation campus.A grassy slope cascaded downward onto an expansive lowlands where clusters of sugar maples dotted quadrangles bordered by brick dormitories and footpaths. Scholarly looking individuals with stacks of books hustled in and out of buildings. As if to accentuate the collegiate atmosphere, two longhaired hippies hurled a Frisbee back and forth while enjoying Mahlers Fourth Symphony blaring from a dorm window.These are our residential dorms, Kohler explained as he accelerated his wheelchair down the path toward the build ings. We have over three thousand physicists here. CERN single-handedly employs more than half of the worlds pinch physicists the brightest minds on earth Germans, Japanese, Italians, Dutch, you name it. Our physicists represent over five hundred universities and sixty nationalities.Langdon was amazed. How do they all communicate?English, of course. The global language of science.Langdon had always heard math was the universal language of science, but he was too tired to argue. He dutifully followed Kohler down the path.Halfway to the bottom, a young man jogged by. His T-shirt proclaimed the put across NO GUT, NO GLORYLangdon looked after him, mystified. Gut?General Unified Theory. Kohler quipped. The theory of everything.I see, Langdon said, not seeing at all.Are you familiar with particle physics, Mr. Langdon?Langdon shrugged. Im familiar with general physics falling bodies, that sort of thing. His years of high-diving experience had given him a profound respect for the awes ome power of gravitational acceleration. molecule physics is the study of atoms, isnt it?Kohler shook his head. Atoms look like planets compared to what we deal with. Our interests lie with an atoms nucleus a mere ten-thousandth the size of the whole. He coughed again, sounding sick. The men and women of CERN are here to find answers to the same questions man has been asking since the beginning of time. Where did we come from? What are we made of?And these answers are in a physics lab?You sound surprised.I am. The questions seem spiritual.Mr. Langdon, all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time, spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and reach of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has now proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all Gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answer s to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left, and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from? What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe?Langdon was amazed. And these are questions CERN is trying to answer?Correction. These are questions we are answering.Langdon fell silent as the two men wound through the residential quadrangles. As they walked, a Frisbee sailed overhead and skidded to a stop directly in front of them. Kohler ignored it and kept going.A voice called out from across the quad. Sil vous platLangdon looked over. An elderly white-haired man in a College Paris sweatshirt waved to him. Langdon picked up the Frisbee and expertly threw it back. The old man caught it on one finger and bounced it a few times before whipping it over his shoulder to his partner. Merci he called to Langdon.Congratulations, Kohler said when Langdon finally caught up. You just played toss with a Noble prize-winner, Georges Charpak, in ventor of the multiwire proportional chamber.Langdon nodded. My lucky day.It took Langdon and Kohler three more minutes to reach their destination a large, tailored dormitory sitting in a grove of aspens. Compared to the other dorms, this structure seemed luxurious. The carved stone sign in front read Building C. creative title, Langdon thought.But despite its sterile name, Building C appealed to Langdons sense of architectural style conservative and solid. It had a red brick facade, an ornate balustrade, and sat framed by sculpted symmetrical hedges. As the two men ascended the stone path toward the entry, they passed under a gateway formed by a pair of marble columns. Someone had put a sticky-note on one of them.This column is IonicPhysicist graffiti? Langdon mused, eyeing the column and chuckling to himself. Im relieved to see that even brilliant physicists make mistakes.Kohler looked over. What do you mean?Whoever wrote that note made a mistake. That column isnt Ionic. Ionic columns are uniform in width. That ones tapered. Its Doric the Greek counterpart. A common mistake.Kohler did not smile. The writer meant it as a joke, Mr. Langdon. Ionic means containing ions electrically charged particles. Most objects contain them.Langdon looked back at the column and groaned.Langdon was still feeling stupid when he stepped from the elevator on the top floor of Building C. He followed Kohler down a well-appointed corridor. The decor was unexpected traditional colonial French a cherry divan, porcelain floor vase, and scrolled woodwork.We like to keep our tenured scientists comfortable, Kohler explained.Evidently, Langdon thought. So the man in the fax lived up here? One of your upper-level employees?Quite, Kohler said. He lose a meeting with me this morning and did not answer his page. I came up here to locate him and found him dead in his living room.Langdon felt a sudden chill realizing that he was about to see a dead body. His stomach had never been partic ularly stalwart. It was a weakness hed discovered as an art student when the teacher informed the class that Leonardo da Vinci had gained his expertise in the human form by exhuming corpses and dissecting their musculature.Kohler led the way to the far end of the hallway. There was a single door. The Penthouse, as you would say, Kohler announced, dabbing a bead of perspiration from his forehead.Langdon eyed the lone oak door before them. The name plate readLeonardo VetraLeonardo Vetra, Kohler said, would have been fifty-eight next week. He was one of the most brilliant scientists of our time. His death is a profound loss for science.For an instant Langdon thought he sensed emotion in Kohlers hardened face. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Kohler reached in his pocket and began sifting through a large key ring.An odd thought suddenly occurred to Langdon. The building seemed deserted. Where is everyone? he asked. The lack of activity was hardly what he expected considering they were about to enter a remove scene.The residents are in their labs, Kohler replied, finding the key.I mean the police, Langdon clarified. Have they left already?Kohler paused, his key halfway into the lock. Police?Langdons eyes met the directors. Police. You sent me a fax of a homicide. You must have called the police.I most certainly have not.What?Kohlers gray eyes sharpened. The situation is complex, Mr. Langdon.Langdon felt a wave of apprehension. But certainly someone else knows about thisYes. Leonardos adopted daughter. She is also a physicist here at CERN. She and her father share a lab. They are partners. Ms. Vetra has been away this week doing field research. I have notified her of her fathers death, and she is returning as we speak.But a man has been murd A formal investigation, Kohler said, his voice firm, will take place. However, it will most certainly shoot a search of Vetras lab, a space he and his daughter hold most private. Therefore, it will wait until Ms. V etra has arrived. I feel I owe her at least that modicum of discretion.Kohler turned the key.As the door swung open, a blast of icy air hissed into the hall and hit Langdon in the face. He fell back in bewilderment. He was gazing across the threshold of an alien world. The flat before him was immersed in a thick, white fog. The mist swirled in smoky vortexes around the furniture and shrouded the room in opaque haze.What the? Langdon stammered.Freon cooling system, Kohler replied. I chilled the flat to preserve the body.Langdon buttoned his tweed jacket against the cold. Im in Oz, he thought. And I forgot my magic slippers.