Chapter 16 The Goblet of Fire

I don't believe it!† Ron said, in a stunned voice, as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang. â€Å"Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!† â€Å"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player,† said Hermione. â€Å"Only a Quidditch player?† Ron said, looking at her as though he couldn't believe his ears. â€Å"Hermione – he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!† As they recrossed the entrance hall with the rest of the Hogwarts students heading for the Great Hall, Harry saw Lee Jordan jumping up and down on the soles of his feet to get a better look at the back of Krum's head. Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked – â€Å"Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me -â€Å" â€Å"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?† â€Å"Really,† Hermione said loftily as they passed the girls, now squabbling over the lipstick. â€Å"I'm getting his autograph if I can,† said Ron. â€Å"You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?† â€Å"Nope, they're upstairs in my bag,† said Harry. They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. Ron took care to sit on the side facing the doorway, because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure about where they should sit. The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads. â€Å"It's not that cold,† said Hermione defensively. â€Å"Why didn't they bring cloaks?† â€Å"Over here! Come and sit over here!† Ron hissed. â€Å"Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space -â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"Too late,† said Ron bitterly. Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. Harry could see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking very smug about this. As he watched, Malfoy bent forward to speak to Krum. â€Å"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy,† said Ron scathingly. â€Å"I bet Krum can see right through him, though†¦bet he gets people fawning over him all the time†¦.Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry†¦I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed.† Hermione snorted. â€Å"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot,† said Harry. The Durmstrang students were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plates and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed. Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. Harry was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledore's. â€Å"But there are only two extra people,† Harry said. â€Å"Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?† â€Å"Eh?† said Ron vaguely. He was still staring avidly at Krum. When all the students had entered the Hall and settled down at their House tables, the staff entered, filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall. â€Å"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly – guests,† said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. â€Å"I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable.† One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. â€Å"No one's making you stay!† Hermione whispered, bristling at her. â€Å"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!† He sat down, and Harry saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation. The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Harry had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign. â€Å"What's that?† said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding. â€Å"Bouillabaisse,† said Hermione. â€Å"Bless you,† said Ron. â€Å"It's French,† said Hermione, â€Å"I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice.† â€Å"I'll take your word for it,† said Ron, helping himself to black pudding. The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely twenty additional students there; perhaps it was because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts' robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep bloodred. Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Harry, Ron, and Hermione with a very heavily bandaged hand. â€Å"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?† Harry called. â€Å"Thrivin',† Hagrid called back happily. â€Å"Yeah, I'll just bet they are,† said Ron quietly. â€Å"Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers.† At that moment, a voice said, â€Å"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?† It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth. Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise. â€Å"Yeah, have it,† said Harry, pushing the dish toward the girl. â€Å"You ‘ave finished wiz it?† â€Å"Yeah,† Ron said breathlessly. â€Å"Yeah, it was excellent.† The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses. â€Å"She's a veela!† he said hoarsely to Harry. â€Å"Of course she isn't!† said Hermione tartly. â€Å"I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!† But she wasn't entirely right about that. As the girl crossed the Hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron. â€Å"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!† said Ron, leaning sideways so he could keep a clear view of her. â€Å"They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!† â€Å"They make them okay at Hogwarts,† said Harry without thinking. Cho happened to be sitting only a few places away from the girl with the silvery hair. â€Å"When you've both put your eyes back in,† said Hermione briskly, â€Å"you'll be able to see who's just arrived.† She was pointing up at the staff table. The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxime. â€Å"What are they doing here?† said Harry in surprise. â€Å"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?† said Hermione. â€Å"I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start.† When the second course arrived they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who looked like a veela appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come over to get it. Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Harry felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. Several seats down from them, Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration. â€Å"The moment has come,† said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. â€Å"The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† Harry muttered. Ron shrugged. â€Å"- just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation† – there was a smattering of polite applause – â€Å"and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.† There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry thought he looked strange in wizard's robes. His toothbrush mustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard. â€Å"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament,† Dumbledore continued, â€Å"and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts.† At the mention of the word â€Å"champions,† the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, â€Å"The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch.† Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's. â€Å"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman,† said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, â€Å"and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways.. their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with danger.† At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing. â€Å"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament,† Dumbledore went on calmly, â€Å"one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire.† Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall. â€Å"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. â€Å"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line. â€Å"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all.† â€Å"An Age Line!† Fred Weasley said, his eyes glinting, as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. â€Å"Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing – it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!† â€Å"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance,† said Hermione, â€Å"we just haven't learned enough†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Speak for yourself,† said George shortly. â€Å"You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?† Harry thought briefly of Dumbledore's insistence that nobody under seventeen should submit their name, but then the wonderful picture of himself winning the Triwizard Tournament filled his mind again†¦.He wondered how angry Dumbledore would be if someone younger than seventeen did find a way to get over the Age Line. â€Å"Where is he?† said Ron, who wasn't listening to a word of this conversation, but looking through the crowd to see what had become of Krum. â€Å"Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he?† But this query was answered almost instantly; they were level with the Slytherin table now, and Karkaroff had just bustled up to his students. â€Å"Back to the ship, then,† he was saying. â€Å"Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?† Harry saw Krum shake his head as he pulled his furs back on. â€Å"Professor, Ivood like some vine,† said one of the other Durmstrang boys hopefully. â€Å"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff,† snapped Karkaroff, his warmly paternal air vanishing in an instant. â€Å"I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy -â€Å" Karkaroff turned and led his students toward the doors, reaching them at exactly the same moment as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry stopped to let him walk through first. â€Å"Thank you,† said Karkaroff carelessly, glancing at him. And then Karkaroff froze. He turned his head back to Harry and stared at him as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Behind their headmaster, the students from Durmstrang came to a halt too. Karkaroff's eyes moved slowly up Harry's face and fixed upon his scar. The Durmstrang students were staring curiously at Harry too. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw comprehension dawn on a few of their faces. The boy with food all down his front nudged the girl next to him and pointed openly at Harry's forehead. â€Å"Yeah, that's Harry Potter,† said a growling voice from behind them. Professor Karkaroff spun around. Mad-Eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster. The color drained from Karkaroff's face as Harry watched. A terrible look of mingled fury and fear came over him. â€Å"You!† he said, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him. â€Å"Me,† said Moody grimly. â€Å"And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway.† It was true; half the students in the Hall were now waiting behind them, looking over one another's shoulders to see what was causing the holdup. Without another word, Professor Karkaroff swept his students away with him. Moody watched him until he was out of sight, his magical eye fixed upon his back, a look of intense dislike upon his mutilated face. As the next day was Saturday, most students would normally have breakfasted late. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, were not alone in rising much earlier than they usually did on weekends. When they went down into the entrance hall, they saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction. â€Å"Anyone put their name in yet?† Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly. â€Å"All the Durmstrang lot,† she replied. â€Å"But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet.† â€Å"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed,† said Harry. â€Å"I would've if it had been me†¦wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out again?† Someone laughed behind Harry. Turning, he saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited. â€Å"Done it,† Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Just taken it.† â€Å"What?† said Ron. â€Å"The Aging Potion, dung brains,† said Fred. â€Å"One drop each,† said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. â€Å"We only need to be a few months older.† â€Å"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins,† said Lee, grinning broadly. â€Å"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know,† said Hermione warningly. â€Å"I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this.† Fred, George, and Lee ignored her. â€Å"Ready?† Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. â€Å"C'mon, then – I'll go first -â€Å" Harry watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley – Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line. For a split second Harry thought it had worked – George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred – but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards. The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards. â€Å"I did warn you,† said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. â€Å"I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours.† Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione, also chortling, went in to breakfast. The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner. Harry led the way over to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing those Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering. â€Å"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in,† Dean told Harry. â€Å"That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth.† Harry, who had played Quidditch against Warrington, shook his head in disgust. â€Å"We can't have a Slytherin champion!† â€Å"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory,† said Seamus contemptuously. â€Å"But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks.† â€Å"Listen!† said Hermione suddenly. People were cheering out in the entrance hall. They all swiveled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. A tall black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, â€Å"Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!† â€Å"You're kidding!† said Ron, looking impressed. â€Å"Are you seventeen, then?† asked Harry. â€Å"Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?† said Ron. â€Å"I had my birthday last week,† said Angelina. â€Å"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering,† said Hermione. â€Å"I really hope you get it, Angelina!† â€Å"Thanks, Hermione,† said Angelina, smiling at her. Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory, said Seamus, causing several Hufflepuffs passing their table to scowl heavily at him. â€Å"What're we going to do today, then?† Ron asked Harry and Hermione when they had finished breakfast and were leaving the Great Hall. â€Å"We haven't been down to visit Hagrid yet,† said Harry. â€Å"Okay,† said Ron, â€Å"just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts.† A look of great excitement suddenly dawned on Hermione's face. â€Å"I've just realized – I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!† she said brightly. â€Å"Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?† â€Å"What is it with her?† said Ron, exasperated, as Hermione ran away up the marble staircase. â€Å"Hey, Ron,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"It's your friend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the veela-girl. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly. Madame Maxime entered the hall behind her students and organized them into a line. One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks. â€Å"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones who aren't chosen?† Ron muttered to Harry as the veela-girl dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. â€Å"Reckon they'll go back to school, or hang around to watch the tournament?† â€Å"Dunno,† said Harry. â€Å"Hang around, I suppose†¦.Madame Maxime's staying to judge, isn't she?† When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Madame Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again. â€Å"Where are they sleeping, then?† said Ron, moving toward the front doors and staring after them. A loud rattling noise behind them announced Hermione's reappearance with the box of S. P. E.W. badges. â€Å"Oh good, hurry up,† said Ron, and he jumped down the stone steps, keeping his eyes on the back of the veela-girl, who was now halfway across the lawn with Madame Maxime. As they neared Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the mystery of the Beauxbatons' sleeping quarters was solved. The gigantic powder-blue carriage in which they had arrived had been parked two hundred yards from Hagrid's front door, and the students were climbing back inside it. The elephantine flying horses that had pulled the carriage were now grazing in a makeshift paddock alongside it. Harry knocked on Hagrid's door, and Fang's booming barks answered instantly. â€Å"‘Bout time!† said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door. â€Å"Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!† â€Å"We've been really busy, Hag -† Hermione started to say, but then she stopped dead, looking up at Hagrid, apparently lost for words. Hagrid was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn't the worst of it, though; he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches – perhaps he had tried a ponytail like Bill's, but found he had too much hair. The look didn't really suit Hagrid at all. For a moment, Hermione goggled at him, then, obviously deciding not to comment, she said, â€Å"Erm – where are the skrewts.† â€Å"Out by the pumpkin patch,† said Hagrid happily. â€Å"They're gettin' massive, mus' be nearly three foot long now. On'y trouble is, they've started killin' each other.† â€Å"Oh no, really?† said Hermione, shooting a repressive look at Ron, who, staring at Hagrid's odd hairstyle, had just opened his mouth to say something about it. â€Å"Yeah,† said Hagrid sadly. â€Å"S' okay, though, I've got 'em in separate boxes now. Still got abou' twenty.† â€Å"Well, that's lucky,† said Ron. Hagrid missed the sarcasm. Hagrid's cabin comprised a single room, in one corner of which was a gigantic bed covered in a patchwork quilt. A similarly enormous wooden table and chairs stood in front of the fire beneath the quantity of cured hams and dead birds hanging from the ceiling. They sat down at the table while Hagrid started to make tea, and were soon immersed in yet more discussion of the Triwizard Tournament. Hagrid seemed quite as excited about it as they were. â€Å"You wait,† he said, grinning. â€Å"You jus' wait. Yer going ter see some stuff yeh've never seen before. Firs' task†¦ah, but I'm not supposed ter say.† â€Å"Go on, Hagrid!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione urged him, but he just shook his head, grinning. â€Å"I don' want ter spoil it fer yeh,† said Hagrid. â€Å"But it's gonna be spectacular, I'll tell yeh that. Them champions're going ter have their work cut out. Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!† They ended up having lunch with Hagrid, though they didn't eat much – Hagrid had made what he said was a beef casserole, but after Hermione unearthed a large talon in hers, she, Harry, and Ron rather lost their appetites. However, they enjoyed themselves trying to make Hagrid tell them what the tasks in the tournament were going to be, speculating which of the entrants were likely to be selected as champions, and wondering whether Fred and George were beardless yet. A light rain had started to fall by midafternoon; it was very cozy sitting by the fire, listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darning his socks and arguing with Hermione about house-elves – for he flatly refused to join S.P.E.W. when she showed him her badges. â€Å"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione,† he said gravely, threading a massive bone needle with thick yellow yarn. â€Å"It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insutin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em.† â€Å"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!† said Hermione. â€Å"And we heard he's asking for wages now!† â€Å"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it – no, nothin' doin', Hermione.† Hermione looked very cross indeed and stuffed her box of badges back into her cloak pocket. By half past five it was growing dark, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione decided it was time to get back up to the castle for the Halloween feast – and, more important, the announcement of the school champions. â€Å"I'll come with yeh,† said Hagrid, putting away his darning. â€Å"Jus' give us a sec.† Hagrid got up, went across to the chest of drawers beside his bed, and began searching for something inside it. They didn't pay too much attention until a truly horrible smell reached their nostrils. Coughing, Ron said, â€Å"Hagrid, what's that?† â€Å"Eh?† said Hagrid, turning around with a large bottle in his hand. â€Å"Don' yeh like it?† â€Å"Is that aftershave?† said Hermione in a slightly choked voice. â€Å"Er – eau de cologne,† Hagrid muttered. He was blushing. â€Å"Maybe it's a bit much,† he said gruffly. â€Å"I'll go take it off, hang on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stumped out of the cabin, and they saw him washing himself vigorously in the water barrel outside the window. â€Å"Eau de cologne?† said Hermione in amazement. â€Å"Hagrid?† â€Å"And what's with the hair and the suit?† said Harry in an undertone. â€Å"Look!† said Ron suddenly, pointing out of the window. Hagrid had just straightened up and turned 'round. If he had been blushing before, it was nothing to what he was doing now. Getting to their feet very cautiously, so that Hagrid wouldn't spot them, Harry, Ron, and Hermione peered through the window and saw that Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had just emerged from their carriage, clearly about to set off for the feast too. They couldn't hear what Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt, misty-eyed expression Harry had only ever seen him wear once before – when he had been looking at the baby dragon, Norbert. â€Å"He's going up to the castle with her!† said Hermione indignantly. â€Å"I thought he was waiting for us!† Without so much as a backward glance at his cabin, Hagrid was trudging off up the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons students following in their wake, jogging to keep up with their enormous strides. â€Å"He fancies her!† said Ron incredulously. â€Å"Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record – bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton.† They let themselves out of the cabin and shut the door behind them. It was surprisingly dark outside. Drawing their cloaks more closely around themselves, they set off up the sloping lawns. â€Å"Ooh it's them, look!† Hermione whispered. The Durmstrang party was walking up toward the castle from the lake. Viktor Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students were straggling along behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did not look around as he reached the front doors a little ahead of Hermione, Ron, and Harry and proceeded through them. When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. Fred and George – clean-shaven again – seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well. â€Å"Hope it's Angelina,† said Fred as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down. â€Å"So do I!† said Hermione breathlessly. â€Å"Well, we'll soon know!† The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, Harry didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as he would have normally. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, Harry simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions. At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored. â€Å"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber† – he indicated the door behind the staff table – â€Å"where they will be receiving their first instructions.† He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting†¦.A few people kept checking their watches†¦ â€Å"Any second,† Lee Jordan whispered, two seats away from Harry. The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it – the whole room gasped. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white. â€Å"The champion for Durmstrang,† he read, in a strong, clear voice, â€Å"will be Viktor Krum.† â€Å"No surprises there!† yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Harry saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber. â€Å"Bravo, Viktor!† boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. â€Å"Knew you had it in you!† The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames. â€Å"The champion for Beauxbatons,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"is Fleur Delacour!† â€Å"It's her, Ron!† Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. â€Å"Oh look, they're all disappointed,† Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. â€Å"Disappointed† was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms. When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next†¦ And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment. â€Å"The Hogwarts champion,† he called, â€Å"is Cedric Diggory!† â€Å"No! † said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again. â€Å"Excellent!† Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. â€Å"Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real -â€Å" But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out – â€Å"Harry Potter.†

Night World : The Chosen Chapter 6

What she felt was a shivering jolt that began in her palm and ran up her arm like electricity. It left tingling in its wake. But the real shock was in her head. Her mind exploded. That was the only way she could describe it. A noiseless, heatless explosion that shattered her completely. All at once, Rashel couldn't support her own weight anymore. She could feel Quinn's arms supporting her. She had no sense of the room around her. She was floating in a white light and the only solid thing to hang on to was Quinn. It was something like the terror she'd felt before†¦ but it wasn't just terror. Impossibly, what she felt was more like wild elation. She realized that Quinn was holding her so tightly that it hurt. But even stronger than the sensation of his arms was the sense she had of his mind. A direct conduit seemed to have opened between them. She could feel his astonishment, his shock, his wonder. And she knew he could feel hers. It's telepathy, some distant part of herself said, trying desperately to get control again. It's some new vampire trick. But she knew it wasn't a trick. Quinn was as astounded as she was-she could feel that. Maybe he was even worse off. He was breathing rapidly and shallowly and a fine trembling seemed to have taken over his body. Rashel held on to him, thinking crazy things. She wanted to comfort him. She could sense, probably better than he could himself, how frighteningly vulnerable he was under that frozen exterior. Like me, I suppose, Rashel thought giddily. And then she suddenly realized that he was feeling her vulnerability just as she had felt his. Fear welled up in her so sharply that she panicked. She tried to find a way to shut him out, to resist the way she resisted mind control-but she knew it was useless. He had gotten past her guard already. He was inside. â€Å"It's all right,† Quinn said, and she realized that he had stopped trembling. His voice was almost dispassionate, and at the same time madly gentle. Rashel had the feeling that he'd decided that since he couldn't fight this thing, he might as well be as insane as possible. Strangest of all, she found his words reassuring. And there was fire under the ice that seemed to encase him. She could feel that now, and she had the dizzy sense that she was the first one to discover it. They had fallen to the floor somehow, and they were sitting just at the edge of the light. Quinn was holding her by the shoulders, precisely, and Rashel was astonished at her own response to the clinical grip. It stopped her breath, held her absolutely motionless. Then, just as precisely, every movement deliberate, Quinn found the end of her scarf and began to unwind it. He was still filled with that mad gentleness, that lunatic calm. And she wasn't stopping him. He was going to expose her face, and she wasn't doing a thing about it. She wanted him to. In spite of her terror, she wanted him to see her, to know who she was. She wanted to be face to face with him in that strange light that had enveloped both their minds. It didn't seem to matter what happened afterward. She said, â€Å"John.† He unwound another length of the scarf, preoccupied and intent as if he were making some archaeological discovery. â€Å"You didn't tell me your name.† It was a statement. He wasn't pushing her. She might as well write it out on a death warrant and hand it to him. Quinn could reveal himself to humans-but then Quinn could disappear completely if he wanted, hole up in some hidden vampire enclave where no human could search him out. Rashel couldn't. He knew she was a vampire hunter. If he knew her name and her face, he'd have every power to destroy her. And the scariest thing of all was that some part of her didn't care. He was down to the last turn of the scarf. In a moment her face would be exposed to the air†¦ and to vampire eyes that could see in this darkness. I'm Rashel, Rashel thought. She couldn't quite get the words to her lips. She took a deep breath. And at the same instant a light blazed into her eyes. Not the ghostly light that had been in her mind. Real light, the beams from several high-power flashlights, harsh and horribly bright. They cut through the dark cellar and threw Rashel and Quinn into stark illumination. Rashel gasped. One hand instinctively flew to her scarf to keep it over her face. She felt as if she had been caught naked. And she was horrified to realize that she hadn't heard anyone come into the cellar. She had been completely absorbed, oblivious to her surroundings. What had happened to all her training? What was wrong with her? She couldn't see anything beyond the light. Her first thought was that it was Quinn's vampire Mends come to save him. He seemed to think it might be, too; at least he was standing shoulder to shoulder with her, even trying to push her back a little. With an odd pang, Rashel realized she could only guess what he was thinking now. The connection between them had been cleanly severed. Then a voice came from beyond the terrible brightness, a sharp voice filled with outrage. â€Å"How did he get loose? What are you two doing?† Vicky. I'm going insane, Rashel thought. I completely forgot about her and the others coming back. No, I forgot about their existence. But there were more than three flashlights on the stairs. â€Å"The Big E sent us some backup,† Vicky was saying, and Rashel felt a surge of fear. She counted five flashlights, and in the edges of beams she caught the figures of a couple of sturdy-looking guys. Lancers. Rashel tried desperately to gather her wits. She knew what had to be done, at least. She nudged Quinn with her shoulder and whispered, â€Å"Get out of here. There should be another stairway on the other side of the room. When you run for it, I'll get in their way.† She pitched her voice so low that only vampire ears could hear it. The good thing about having her face veiled was that nobody could read her lips. But Quinn wasn't going. He looked as if he'd just been awakened with a bucketful of ice water. Shocked, angry, and still a little dazed. He stood where he was, staring into all the flashlights like an animal at bay. The lights were advancing. Rashel could make out Vicky's figure now at the front. There was going to be a fight, and people were going to get killed. Steve's voice said, â€Å"What did he do to you?† â€Å"What's she been doing with him, that's the question,† Vicky snapped back. Then she said clearly, â€Å"Remember, everybody, we want him alive.† Rashel gave Quinn a harder shove. â€Å"Go.† When he just glared, she hissed, â€Å"Don't you realize what they want to do to you?† Quinn turned so that the advancing party couldn't see his face. He snarled, â€Å"They're not exactly overjoyed with you either.† â€Å"I can take care of myself.† Rashel was shaking with frustration. â€Å"Just leave. Go!† Quinn looked as angry with her as he was with the hunters. He didn't want her help, she realized. He wasn't used to taking anything from anyone, and to be forced to do it made him furious. But there wasn't any other choice. And Quinn finally seemed to recognize that. With one last glare at her, he broke and headed for the darkness at the other side of the cellar. The flashlights swung in confusion. Rashel, glad to be able to move, sprang between the vampire hunters and the stairway. And then there was a lot of fumbling and crashing, with people running into each other and swearing and yelling. Rashel enjoyed the chance to work off her frustration. She got in everyone's way long enough for a very fast vampire to disappear. After which it was just her and the vampire hunters. Five flashlights turned on her and seven amazed and angry people staring. Rashel got up and brushed herself off. Time to face the consequences. She stood, head high, looking at all of them. â€Å"What happened?† Steve said. â€Å"Did he hypnotize you?† Good old Steve. Rashel felt a rush of warmth toward him. But she couldn't use the out he was offering her. She said, â€Å"I don't know what happened.† And that was true. She couldn't even begin to explain to herself what had gone on between her and the vampire. She'd never heard of anything like it. â€Å"I think you let him get away on purpose,† Vicky said. Rashel couldn't see Vicky's pale blue eyes, but she sensed that they were as hard as marbles. â€Å"I think you planned it from the beginning-that's why you told us to go up to the street.† â€Å"Is that true?† One of the flashlights swung down and suddenly Nyala was in front of Rashel, her body tense, her voice almost pleading. Her eyes were fixed on Rashel's, begging Rashel to say it wasn't so. â€Å"Did you do it on purpose?† All at once Rashel felt very tired. Nyala was fragile and unstable, and in her own mind she'd made Rashel into a hero. Now that image was being shattered. For Nyala's sake, Rashel almost wished she could lie. But that would be worse in the end. She said expressionlessly, â€Å"Yes. I did it on purpose.† Nyala recoiled as if Rashel had slapped her. I don't blame you, Rashel thought. I think it's crazy, too. The truth was that the farther away she got from Quinn's presence, the less she could understand what she'd done. It was beginning to seem like a dream, and not a very clear dream at that. â€Å"But why?† one of the Lancer boys at the back asked. The Lancers knew Rashel, knew her reputation. They didn't want to think the worst of her. Like Nyala, they desperately wanted an excuse. â€Å"I don't know why,† Rashel said, looking away. â€Å"But he wasn't controlling my mind.† Nyala exploded. â€Å"I hate you,† she burst out. She was trembling with fury, spitting out sentences at Rashel like poison darts. â€Å"That vampire could have been the one who killed my sister. Or he could have known who did it. I was going to ask him that, but now I'll never get the chance. Because of you. You let him go. We had him and you let him go!† â€Å"It's more than that,† Vicky put in, her voice cold and contemptuous. â€Å"We were going to ask him about those teenage girls getting kidnapped. Now we can't. So it's going to keep happening, and it's all going to be your fault.† And they were right. Even Nyala was right. How did Rashel know that Quinn hadn't killed Nyala's sister? â€Å"You're a vampire lover,† Vicky was saying. â€Å"I could tell from the beginning. I don't know, maybe you're one of those damned Daybreakers who wants us all to get along, but you're not on our side.† A couple of the Lancers started to protest at this, but Nyala's voice cut through them. â€Å"She's on their side?† She stared from Vicky to Rashel, her body rigid. â€Å"You just wait. Just wait until I tell people that Rashel is the Cat and that she's really on the Night World side. You just wait.† She's hysterical, Rashel realized. Even Vicky was looking surprised at this, as if she were uneasy at what she'd started. â€Å"Nyala, listen-† Rashel began. But Nyala seemed to have reached some peak of fury at which nothing from outside could touch her. â€Å"I'll tell everybody in Boston! You'll see!† She whirled around and plunged toward the stairway as if she were going to start doing it right now. Rashel stared after her. Then she said to Vicky, â€Å"You'd better send a couple of the guys to catch up to her. She's not safe alone in this neighborhood.† Vicky gave her a look that was half angry and half shaken. â€Å"Yeah. Okay. Everybody but Steve go after her. You guys take her home.† They left, not without a few backward glances at Rashel. â€Å"We'll drive you back,† Vicky said. Her voice wasn't warm, but it wasn't as hostile as it had been. â€Å"I'll walk to my own car,† Rashel said flatly. â€Å"Fine.† Vicky hesitated, then blurted, â€Å"She probably won't do what she said. She's just upset.† Rashel said nothing. Nyala had sounded-and looked-as if she meant to do exactly what she said. And if she did†¦ Well, it would be an interesting question as to who would kill Rashel first, the vampires or the vampire hunters. Wednesday morning dawned with gray skies and icy rain. Rashel trudged from class to class at Wassa-guscus High, lost in thought. At home, her latest foster family left her alone-they were used to her going her own way. She sat in her small bedroom in the townhouse with the lights dimmed, thinking. She still couldn't understand what had happened to her, but with every hour the memory of it was fading steadily. It was too strange to fit into the reality of life, and it became more and more like a dream. One of those dreams in which you do things you would never ordinarily do, and are ashamed of when you wake up in the morning. All that warmth and closeness-she'd felt that for a vampire? She'd been excited by a parasite's touch? She'd wanted to comfort a leech? And not just any leech, either. The infamous Quinn. The legendary human hater. How could she have let him go? How many people would suffer because of her lapse in sanity? Who knows, she decided finally, maybe it had been some kind of mind control. She certainly couldn't make any sense of it otherwise. By Thursday, one thing at least was clear in her mind. Vicky had been right about the consequences of what she'd done. Rashel hadn't thought about that at the time, but now she had to face it. She had to make it right. She had to find the kidnapped girls on her own- if girls were getting kidnapped. There was nothing about missing teenagers in the Globe. But if it was happening, Rashel had to find out about it and stop it†¦ if she could. Okay. So she'd go back to Mission Hill tonight and start investigating. Check the warehouse area again-this time, her way. There was one other thing that was clear to her, that became obvious as she got her priorities straight. Something she had to do, not for Nyala, or for Vicky, or for the Lancers, but just for herself. For her own honor, and for everybody who lived in the world of sunlight. The next time she saw Quinn, she had to kill him. Rashel moved along the deserted street, keeping to the shadows, moving silently. Not easy when the ground was wet and strewn with broken glass. There were no sidewalks, no grass, no plant life of any kind except the dead weeds in the abandoned lots. Just soggy trash and shattered bottles. A grim place. It fit Rashel's mood as she made her way stealthily toward the abandoned project building where Vicky had brought them Tuesday night. From its front door, she surveyed the rest of the street. Lots of warehouses. Several of them were protected with high chain-link fences topped with barbed wire. All of them had barred windows-or no windows-and metal freight doors. The security precautions didn't bother Rashel. She knew how to cut chain-link and pick locks. What bothered her was that she didn't know where to start. The Night People could be using any of the warehouses. Even knowing where Steve and Vicky had fought Quinn didn't help, because he had jumped them. He'd obviously seen them lying in ambush and deliberately gone after them. Which meant his real destination could have been any of the buildings on this street-or none of them. All right. Patience was indicated here. She'd just have to start at one end . . Rashel lost her thought and leaped back into the shadows before she consciously realized why she was doing it. Her ears had picked up a sound-a low rumbling coming from somewhere across the street. She flattened herself against the brick wall behind her, then kept her body absolutely immobile. Her eyes darted from building to building and she held her breath to hear better. There. It was coming from inside that warehouse, the one down at the far end of the street. And she could identify it now-the sound of an engine. As she watched, the freight door in the front of the warehouse went sliding up. Headlights pierced the night from behind it. A truck was pulling out onto the street. Not a very big truck. A U-Haul. It cleared the doors and stopped. A figure was pulling the sliding metal door down. Now it was making its way to the cab of the U-Haul, climbing in. Rashel strained her eyes, trying to make out any signs of vampirism in the figure's movements. She thought she could detect a certain telltale fluidity to the walk, but it was too far away to be sure. And there was nothing else to give her a clue about what was going on. It could be a human, she thought. Some warehouse owner going home after a night of balancing books. But her instinct told her differently. The hair at the back of her neck was standing on end. And then, as the truck began to cruise off, something happened that settled her doubts and sent her flying down the street. The back doors of the U-Haul opened just a bit, and a girl fell out. She was slender, and a streetlight caught her blond hair. She landed on the rubble-strewn road and lay there for an instant as if dazed. Then she jumped up, looked around wildly, and started running in Rashel's direction.

Popular Music in the Making of Modern Brazil Essay

Bryan McCann’s book â€Å"Hello, Hello Brazil† colorfully discussed the fascinating world on the development of the Brazilian music industry, the customs and the traditions of the population and the political standing that has influenced the Brazilian culture as a whole. The rapid acceptance of the cultural and political changes that has taken Brazil by storm has turned this nation to become one of the admired Latin American countries with the advancement of their musical industry. From the 1930s to the 1940s, the Brazilians have embarked on a cultural marketplace of recording and broadcasting that was influenced by Getulio Vargas, the politician from Rio Grande do Sul who was known for his dramatic and uneventful style of political agenda. In 1926, Getulio Vargas, a young congressman proposes that movie theaters and radio stations must grant royalties to the musicians for the recorded music they played. The â€Å"Getulio Vargas Law† suddenly became the congressman’s powerful means of endearing himself with the people of the music industry. The Brazilians love music and anyone in his power who protect and pursue the industry will be adored by the people. From then on, the music became livelier and the radio turned to be the most important tool for commercial broadcasting. Suddenly the seemingly boring stage of Brazil’s entertainment industry is teeming with composers, producers, music lovers and even politicians who ride up the wave for political purposes. But since there was a disparity between Minas and Sao Paolo, the two opposing regions with different roots and culture, music was used to unify differences over racial and regional gap. But as McCann discovers the living culture and the progress of Brazil into becoming a developing nation he also took a keen observation on the form of government ran by Getulio Vargas. From 1930 to 1954, the presidency has been advocated on and off by Getulio Vargas for which as some historians say has created a chain of uneventful events not only in Brazil but to the international scene as well. McCann relevantly categorized Getulio Vargas as the president with an unfamiliar way of rules not only in the world of politics but his way of influencing people as well. Vargas was loved by his nation not only because he has made Brazil the musical symbol of Latin America but he also imbibed a great authority on the country’s political and economic standard. He adopted and introduced different social, cultural and technological alternatives that were categorically from Western influence but this method, however, became unpopular especially to the socialist groups. Vargas became known for his goal in unifying Brazil to heal the long-standing class and regional differences between Sao Paolo and Minas. He tried to reconstruct Brazil’s political theme by removing regionalism and inject nationalism but his objectives have became so large that he ruled out the differences of ethnicity and class and at the same time introduced American influence into the culture starting with the music. However as the music progresses, Brazilian musicians and fans started to justify their musical preference with political color. This innovation has affected the purity of music into the realm of opinionated culture and nevertheless turned the foundation of music again into a tool of political segregation. And so the Brazilian and American influenced music industry although has founded solid grounds during the 1930s to 1940s has suddenly became fragmented in the 1950s (Bryann McCann). Getulio Vargas was born at Rio Grande do Sul in 1883. His family belongs to a wealthy clan who are politically strong which gave him the interest and advantage to assume a political career in his younger years. He became a congressman in 1926 through the Legislature in Rio de Janeiro and then appointed by President Washington Pereira as the Finance Minister of Brazil. Vargas has served his appointment well but in 1928 he decided to run for governorship against the political party of Pereira and incidentally won. After two years of being a governor, Vargas was selected by the party Alianca Liberal (Liberal Alliance) to run for president. But Pereira who is still the current president does not want to release his position to another party represented by a politician from the state of Minas. The â€Å"Golden Rule of Brazilian Politics† during that period is that it is required that there will be alternating president from among the state of Sao Paulo and the state of Minas. Since Pereira is from Sao Paulo, he quickly appointed Julio Prestes to be the upcoming president and asked the support of the people from Sao Paulo. This instigates a rebellion starting from the Southern Brazil but incidentally Prestes still won the presidency. Vargas publicly stated that he accepted his fate but then he clandestinely plotted to topple the administration of Prestes. A coup ensued and in three weeks, Getulio Vargas became by force the Provisional President of Brazil in 1930. Vargas’ ideals were of a capitalist and a corporatist and hates socialism. He focused on solidifying the powers of the federal government rather than providing strength and protection for the local and state government. Even in his first term in his office Vargas introduced a new constitution and people see it as a manipulation of the constitution to strengthen his hold. This is his means in achieving a long term project to turn Brazil into a strong nation with a strong economy much like the Western nation he is very fond of. When the people began to feel uncomfortable with his administration Vargas felt he has to do something to continue his ruling and prove himself again otherwise. When his original term was due to end in 1937, he staged another coup at the very last minute and declared that he is placing a new economic system – the â€Å"Estado Novo† or the New State. The Estado Novo was a corporatist state based on the same principles used by Antonio Salazar of Portugal. This new state allowed for Vargas to become President again because basically Estado Novo is founded by the support from large labor sectors in the government. He again snatched another term that will serve him until 1943. However, as 1943 came around he stated that, due to the crisis situation brought about by the eruption of World War II, he would remain in office and that a new election would be held as soon as the war ended. He made a similar announcement in 1944 in the middle of the war. When the war ended, however, it seemed he had no option but to allow for elections to continue. Brazilian election laws of that time required any government official to resign one year prior to elections if they wished to be eligible for the following elections. But Vargas did not want to resign nor showed any intention of doing so. During this period the people of Brazil want him out of the palace and branded him as a dictator. The military became upset and tell him he needs to resign because he is not eligible to run. Vargas was outraged and said if they wanted him to be out of the presidential palace then they have to remove him physically but assured the military he would fight them with his own men. The military officials want no bloodshed and so their only option was to cut off of the electricity and the water supply to force him out. Although he challenged them to attack so that, as he said, his blood would symbolize his protest against the violence they are imposing on him the military did not hurt him. Finally he left the palace with a belief that he has served his country well. But Vargas has a heart of concrete determination and the appetite for power. In his years of being out of the palace he became a senator and a congressman thanks to his political party who is always in support for his candidacy. He became the Senator for the state of Rio Grande do Sul but although he is still active as a politician for four years he said he prefers being a private person. Then suddenly Vargas re-emerged as a member of the Brazilian Labor party which encouraged him to run for president again. In 1951, Vargas re-assumed his third term as the President of Brazil. However, the Brazilian economy was in shambles and there is an increasing opposition against his ruling. The country’s inflation cannot able to cope up with the cost of living which made Vargas powerless in the middle of this crisis. His health began to fade and attacks of depression and insomnia became frequent. The worst thing, however, was that the United States which he thought was his ally have became less concerned with Brazil and do not want to fulfill its promise of economic assistance. His ever increasing critics became more direct in hitting his administration until his chief bodyguard was implicated in an attempted killing of Vargas’s infamous critics. Corruptions of his government were exposed and the military leaders again called for his resignation but he did not resign. On the morning of August 24, 1954, a large crowd gathered in his palace shouting for his resignation. Then the military officials gave him an ultimatum of forcing him out. Pressured and officiated as the great dictator he went to his room, sat down and wrote a note to his people and then committed suicide. He wrote all his frustrations against those who criticize him – the military and the opposition who continued to ask for his blood. He said they have insulted him and was not given the right to defend himself and has silenced his voice. He listed all the accomplishments he had done for Brazil such as liberating the people by means of social freedom, revised the wages in favor of the poor, guided the economy to prevent the effect of economic meltdown, and bring peace to warring factions by means of unification of the two states. He dramatically ended his note and added that now that he was condemned, he has to leave the people defenseless from an institution he has always protected but now exploited. When the note was read on the radio and aired on television, the audience suddenly felt his frustrations and despair. They began chanting his name and want him back. In the history of Brazil’s regime, Vargas became known by many to be the â€Å"Father of the Poor†. However, most people see him as an egomaniacal dictator. While he was seen as an idealist and a principled leader by captivating the hearts of the poor, his means in achieving a long lasting success for Brazil is nonetheless ostracized because of many shortcomings. First, he formed alliances with rich foreign countries in building a corporatist and a capitalist government so that he can control the economy and trash out socialism. In effect this did not materialize but socialism succeeded after he died. Second, those who oppose and criticize his dictatorial administration were imprisoned to contain them. Lastly his greed for power is endless and invalidated the laws by creating selfish deeds against the government just to hold on to power. Getulio Vargas ruled Brazil for almost 20 years. Unfortunately, most people claimed that his dictatorial leadership virtually destroyed Brazil’s constitutional government because of his greed for power and corruption. His means on making Brazil a great country was not successful for he has manipulated not only the constitution but fooled the people by denying them their own sovereign power to vote the person they want. Once in power he became an authoritarian and a corporatist which somehow destroyed the state controlled labor sectors. But as McCann said Vargas has at least earned a reputation of a good leader by those who he handed help. This is the part when he was successful with his leadership. In his long years of leadership, he once hailed a hero by the people of Brazil, Vargas became successful in some aspects for he has instituted social programs for the poor and created a bill that would allow women to vote. He gave freedom to women and encouraged them to become part of the labor forces of Brazil. He revitalized the military and for a time he enlivened the economy while improving the relationship of Brazil to other countries. Although many observers say Vargas was more prominent on the national than the local level, his relationship with the Western world signifies his intention in turning Brazil into an industrialized nation. Unfortunately his dreams did not completely materialize until he took his own life thinking he was a good president and had served his people well (Bryan McCann). Works Cited: McCann, Bryan. Hello, Hello Brazil: Popular Music in the Making of Modern Brazil Duke University Press, 2004. McCann, Bryann. â€Å"Hello, Hello Brazil: Popular Music in the Making of Modern Brazil. † Estudios Interdisciplinarios de AmA ©rica Latina y el Caribe (2004). August 4, 2009 .

The Declaration of Independence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Declaration of Independence - Essay Example A wÐ µll-Ð µducatÐ µd, powÐ µrful advocatÐ µ of frÐ µÃ µdom and libÐ µrty, Thomas JÐ µffÐ µrson was an articulatÐ µ architÐ µct of thÐ µ AmÐ µrican govÐ µrnmÐ µnt as wÐ µ know it, or would likÐ µ to; that is, a govÐ µrnmÐ µnt which is thÐ µ sÐ µrvant of thÐ µ pÐ µoplÐ µ it rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µnts, not thÐ µir mastÐ µr. a govÐ µrnmÐ µnt which is an ongoing continuation of thÐ µ AmÐ µrican rÐ µvolution’s frÐ µÃ µ spirit. WhÐ µn JÐ µffÐ µrson wrotÐ µ thÐ µ DÐ µclaration of IndÐ µpÐ µndÐ µncÐ µ, hÐ µ usÐ µd many rhÐ µtorical stratÐ µgiÐ µs of thÐ µ AgÐ µ of RÐ µason to assÐ µrt collÐ µctivÐ µ unity and frÐ µÃ µdom. ThÐ µ DÐ µclaration of IndÐ µpÐ µndÐ µncÐ µ is basically a documÐ µnt that condÐ µmns thÐ µ British Crown and holds that its formÐ µr coloniÐ µs in North AmÐ µrica arÐ µ now unitÐ µd as statÐ µs. ThÐ µ most vital important statÐ µmÐ µnt that was madÐ µ about frÐ µÃ µdom in this documÐ µnt, thÐ µ DÐ µclaration of IndÐ µpÐ µndÐ µncÐ µ, howÐ µvÐ µr, was that thÐ µ U.S. country as a nation was frÐ µÃ µ and indÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnt of British colonial control. In thÐ µ dÐ µclaration, thÐ µ committÐ µÃ µ mÐ µmbÐ µrs and JÐ µffÐ µrson sÐ µt forth a list of what thÐ µ British colonialists had donÐ µ to thÐ µ AmÐ µricans to curtail thÐ µir frÐ µÃ µdoms, and statÐ µd that thÐ µy arÐ µ not obligatÐ µd to Ð µxist undÐ µr a systÐ µm that has such curtailmÐ µnts as its important factors. ThÐ µrÐ µforÐ µ, thÐ µ documÐ µnt was important bÐ µcausÐ µ thÐ µ authors, â€Å"by authority of thÐ µ good pÐ µoplÐ µ of thÐ µsÐ µ ColoniÐ µs, solÐ µmnly publish and dÐ µclarÐ µ, That thÐ µsÐ µ UnitÐ µd ColoniÐ µs arÐ µ, and of right ought to bÐ µÃ µ frÐ µÃ µ and indÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnt StatÐ µs† (KlÐ µinman Ð µt al., 1998). ... ThÐ µrÐ µforÐ µ, thÐ µ documÐ µnt was important bÐ µcausÐ µ thÐ µ authors, â€Å"by authority of thÐ µ good pÐ µoplÐ µ of thÐ µsÐ µ ColoniÐ µs, solÐ µmnly publish and dÐ µclarÐ µ, That thÐ µsÐ µ UnitÐ µd ColoniÐ µs arÐ µ, and of right ought to bÐ µÃ µ frÐ µÃ µ and indÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnt StatÐ µs† (KlÐ µinman Ð µt al., 1998). ThÐ µ DÐ µclaration of IndÐ µpÐ µndÐ µncÐ µ was Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ ovÐ µrall bÐ µcausÐ µ its primary author, JÐ µffÐ µrson, rÐ µflÐ µctÐ µd a sort of idÐ µalism that showÐ µd in thÐ µ documÐ µnt from his ЕnlightÐ µnmÐ µnt idÐ µals. ThÐ µ fivÐ µ critÐ µria that will bÐ µ judgÐ µd by this rÐ µport in rÐ µlation to thÐ µ DÐ µclaration’s ЕnlightÐ µnmÐ µnt rhÐ µtoric arÐ µ its status as a humanist documÐ µnt, its absolutist rhÐ µtoric, its utopian rhÐ µtorical statÐ µmÐ µnts about thÐ µ naturÐ µ of rÐ µpublic and dÐ µmocracy, and its strong rhÐ µtoric on thÐ µ limitations of absolutÐ µ powÐ µr in monarchical govÐ µrnmÐ µnt. HowÐ µvÐ µr, thÐ µ documÐ µnt doÐ µs not work on all lÐ µvÐ µls, whÐ µn onÐ µ considÐ µrs thÐ µ provisions about thÐ µ Ð µquality of crÐ µation in thÐ µ contÐ µxt of a slavÐ µ-owning nation. ThÐ µ first stratÐ µgy considÐ µrÐ µd is that of thÐ µ DÐ µclaration’s status as a humanist documÐ µnt. JÐ µffÐ µrson and thÐ µ othÐ µr draftÐ µrs usÐ µ humanist rhÐ µtoric, calling attÐ µntion to thÐ µ basic human nÐ µÃ µd of frÐ µÃ µdom. During thÐ µ timÐ µ that thÐ µ documÐ µnt was writtÐ µn, ЕuropÐ µ was bÐ µing swÐ µpt by a nÐ µw sÐ µntimÐ µnt. PÐ µoplÐ µ wÐ µrÐ µ starting to quÐ µstion thÐ µ old systÐ µms of control and thÐ µ divinÐ µ powÐ µr of thÐ µ monarch was waning. ThÐ µrÐ µ was a nÐ µw trÐ µnd of looking to human ingÐ µnuity and gÐ µnius for answÐ µrs, rathÐ µr than simply looking to rÐ µligion, during this timÐ µ. This was known as humanism. In

Imperial Oil internal and external analysis to develop a strategy for Research Paper

Imperial Oil internal and external analysis to develop a strategy for the company for the future in regards their issues - Research Paper Example The Canadian government has made various restrictions in the oil industry in an effort to save the environment and thus the company faces various challenges in terms of freedom. c. The international Energy Agency states that by the year 2015, the company will only have the ability to produce around 3.4% of the amount of energy required and thus increased pressure on the Canadian government. a. One of the economic factors affecting the company is the high amount of funds required for the extraction of oil. This sets back the company very much provided the difficult economic conditions experienced by the industry contemporarily. b. There is also the competitive market that has affected the industry. This is from the confusion that the government has had in an effort to understand which sector of the economy to allocate certain funds. Bargaining power of customers: There exists a high negative effect of this on the side of the customer. This is from the fact that majority of the industry is a monopoly and thus only the people with a lot of money have the ability to sustain themselves and their requirements. Imperial oil as stated earlier is one of the most successful oil companies in Canada. Despite its highly placed position in the market, the company still faces a lot of competition from other companies. Royal Dutch Shell is one of the leading competitors for the company. The company with its headquarters at Hague has made numerous strides to maintain its position among the world leading companies in the sector. The other major group in its circles is BP. This is one of the oldest companies in the industry, which has made numerous branches all over the world including Canada. The fact that it has had a lot of experience in the field has ensured that the employee’s equities are higher and consequently the output is higher. Imperial oil is the highest in success rates as compared to the other companies. This is from the fact

A report for Real Coffee LTD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A report for Real Coffee LTD - Essay Example This paper aims to present the challenges that Real Coffee Ltd, a family business in Oxfordshire, has to face in order to secure its growth in the long term. Keeping its products at high quality and emphasizing on the quality of customer services have been considered as strategic priorities in Real Coffee Ltd. However, through the years the increase of competition has led to the need for the introduction of certain changes especially in regard to specific parts of the business, such as HR and marketing. These changes could be successfully implemented only if they were appropriately designed and supported by all members of the business. The trends that characterize the coffee shop industry in UK should be taken into consideration when developing such plan. The potential need of a transition period for alternating the existing strategy of the business should not be an obstacle for promoting change in Real Coffee Ltd. since the expected benefits would be significantly higher than the co sts and the risk involved. Part 1 – External Analysis 1.1 Analysis of the macro environment Social The high percentage of population in UK is between 25 and 54 years old (Index Mundi 2013); the specific part of the population represents the 41.2% of the country’s population. ... On the other hand, the rate of ageing of population in Britain is quite high. According to a recent report, during the last two decades the number of people under 65 in Britain has been significantly increased reaching today the 5 million (Independent 2013); existing trends showing the rapid ageing of Britain’s population, a phenomenon that is expected to be continued, at least in the near future (Independent 2013). Economic The economy of UK seems to keep its strength, despite pressures in markets worldwide. Indeed, from July to September of this year an increase of the country’s economic performance by 0.8% was reported, a fact that allows businesses across UK to make plans for growth (BBC News 2013). The above growth was combined with an increase of GDP in UK; this increase was estimated to 0.7%, for the period between April and June 2013 (BBC News 2013). Even if this growth was limited it, still, shows the potential of UK economy to secure its performance even durin g periods of global financial crisis. Indeed, during the third quarter of 2013 a further increase of UK’s GDP was achieved; the increase was estimated at 0.80% and indicates the stable growth of UK economy, a growth that is highly based on the development of the services sector which represents the 75% of the country’s economy (Trading Economics 2013). 1.2 Industry Analysis In order to understand the potentials of Real Coffee Ltd to achieve a stable growth it would be necessary to refer to the performance of coffee shops industry, as this performance is affected by the industry’s competitive forces. The coffee shops industry can be characterized as a key part of UK market; in fact, in 2012 the industry’s performance

Are the Beliefs and Traditions of the Catholic Church Outdated for Research Paper

Are the Beliefs and Traditions of the Catholic Church Outdated for Todays Culture and Society - Research Paper Example And the Church’s cover-up of perverted priests who rape and molest young children is evil and has no place in today’s world. For all of these reasons, the Catholic Church, and the Church’s teachings, does not have a realistic place in today’s society, except for the teachings which are aligned with Jesus, which are based on loving and respecting one another. Discussion The Catholic Church is outmoded in today’s society because of their firm opposition to gay marriage. For instance, a Catholic School teacher was fired in Minnesota, simply because she believed in same-sex marriage (Sobel, 2012). The opposition to homosexual acts is rooted in The Bible, Leviticus 20:13 is the scripture upon which religious institutions base their opposition to homosexuality in general, and same-sex marriage in particular, for this passage states that a man who lies with another man is committing an abomination. However, to be consistent in their religious teachings, th e Catholic Church must abide by all of the scriptures in this Book, or none at all. If one scripture can be said to be irrelevant, or not apply, because the scripture was only referring to ancient times, then the same must be said for all of the Biblical passages. Biblical passages must not be sorted through and religions cannot pick and choose which scripture to enforce, and which ones to ignore. Therefore, some Biblical passages must be illuminated to show the inconsistency of using the Leviticus passage to justify The Catholic Church’s discriminatory response to homosexuals and gay marriage. The most obvious example of an outmoded scripture is Exodus 35:2, which states that the seventh day must be kept holy, and a day to worship the lord, and whoever works on this day shall be put to death. There is not a religious institution in the world, presumably, who follows this edict, and imagine the society that would. Doctors, fire fighters, emergency workers – none of the se individuals would be allowed to work if this Biblical passage would not be followed. Therefore, one better not have a heart attack on a Sunday, one better not accidentally set their house on fire on that day, one better not be a victim of a crime on that day, and one better not get into an accident on this day, because nobody should be allowed to work. The doctors who care for the sick, the firefighters who put out fires, and the police who catch criminals on Sunday should all be put to death for violating the edict regarding the Sabbath. Ridiculous? Well, as noted above, either all scriptures are taken literally or none of them are. If this scripture regarding the Sabbath cannot be taken literally, or dismissed as being antiquated, then so must the scripture regarding the two men who lie with one another. Moreover, the Catholic Church’s discriminatory stance against same-sex marriage has led to another situation where individuals are treated as other or less-than, and not allowed to marry a person of their choice, just because the Catholic Church and other churches teach that this is wrong. This essentially takes the nation back to the days before Loving v. Virginia, 388 US 1 (1967), which is the United States Supreme Court case which stated that anti-miscegenation statutes are an unconstitutional restriction on the freedom to marry. Before this case, states had laws on the books making interracial fornicating a crime, along with miscegenation. The arguments against miscegenation were that such

Cadbury Schweppes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cadbury Schweppes - Essay Example Aside from pivoting around these two elements, its responsible role is backed by CSR vision and strategy. Additionally, Cadbury Schweppes responsible role comes from the systems it has in place along with the company's pledge to live by its values. Through these steps the company strives to promote a brand that people love.1 The idea of promoting a brand that people love is fuelled by the idea that the more people love the brand, the more likely it is for Cadbury Schweppes to retain their position and do even better. In order to promote a brand that people love, the company listens to what people want. The company also learns from its past experiences with products that people easily take to. Through this simple process, Cadbury Schweppes has managed to successfully launch many products in the global market, as they know what people want.2 Acting responsibly is one aspect that Cadbury Schweppes continues to emphasize on. This aspect has permitted the company to place great value on its shareowners. This has allowed the company to put further thought into its CSR strategy that has Five Pillars. These include: Cadbury Schweppes continues to renew its commitments towards responsible growth of its business. Renewed commitments allows the company to be prepared for future CSR journey, which is termed as the company's 'Goals and Commitments on Sustainability.' Cadbury Schweppes has goals set for each of its Five Pillars for CSR strategy that is in sync with its approach to sustainability.3 The Problem Cadbury Faces Currently: Until recently, Cadbury Schweppes had little problem with its reputation. However, in June 2006, questions were raised regarding the ethical standards and social responsibility that the company preached for so long. According to the health department, Cadbury Schweppes has circulated stock that was contaminated4. This was discovered because of few cases of food poisoning that were traced back to Cadbury Schweppes. It was discovered that there was a leaking waste pipe that dripped some contaminants into Cadbury Schweppes' chocolate fudge. This is one of the ingredients used in many Cadbury products. After the investigation, it was determined that Cadbury Schweppes stood to lose 20 m because they had to recall the stock that was affected by the contamination5. Aside from the financial loss, there is also a risk of the company losing the trust of many customers. A Strategy to Counter Cadbury's Contamination Issue: Given that there are other top companies in the market today that have suffered breakdowns in ethical procedures, Cadbury Schweppes can recover from its position. It must be remembered that there are two things that Cadbury Schweppes stands to lose with its contamination issue; 20 m in circulated stock, and the trust of its customers. By already delaying recalling this circulated stock Cadbury has done itself damage. The strategy that Cadbury needs to adopt is: saving the company from long-term damage.6 Strategy Implementation: In order to save itself from long-term damage, Cadbury Schweppes

Performance Related Pay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Performance Related Pay - Essay Example A critical look at performance pay however points to the fact that this method utilizes only performance as the determinant factor. It neglects other important determinants of pay such as no knowledge and skills, educational background and orientation, possession of relevant experience and other extraneous factors that play equally important roles in determining the amount of salary. The performance pay system may sometimes lack proper control system therefore giving superiors unwarranted control over the system. The system relies on money as the sole motivator hence it assumes that workers are so interested in monetary gains such that they will increase production as long as they are paid for it. However there exists checks and balances which if put in place will make the implementation process of this system all much easier and acceptable to the employees. Many organizations have turned into the performance pay system as their basis of rewarding, reviewing salaries as well as for job evaluation. Also many organizations have resorted into the performance pay system in order to motivate their employees who achieve outstanding and exemplary results. The pay system just like many others is vulnerable to abuse and misuse. Research has shown that there have been many cases of discrimination and segregation, which happens in organization as a direct result of an employee's gender, colour, race, political orientation as well as religious affiliation. Performance Pay and Unfair Discrimination When discrimination is applied to employees, it contributes to de-motivation and therefore affecting output. Countries have put in place anti discrimination laws to check on arbitrary and unfair discrimination against employees. Discrimination can be in various forms such as, on gender, race, nationality, marital status, ideology, political inclination, disability or religious affiliation. Anti discrimination laws protect employees and ensures that they are treated in respect to terms entered in the contract of employment. Employers should ensure equal pay regardless of individual backgrounds or circumstances. Equal pay is different from identical pay in that the latter depends on other factors such as length of service and age. Discrimination can either be direct, i.e., whereby and employer treats a person less favourably than others on the grounds of sex, marital status or race. Indirect discrimination occurs whereby the effect of a condition of employment is discriminatory. Employers should offer or make adjustments to working conditions in order to ensure that vulnerable groups are not at a disadvantage and thus they can perform or deliver like the rest of the employees. Victimization should be eliminated for it will affect the output of the victim and eventually lead to unfair reward. Management of companies can use the performance pay system as a human resource strategy in order to attract and retain the best employees. There is a significant relationship between pay and performance in order for organization to attract appropriate staff their pay must look relatively attractive. While it is in the interest of most employees to earn the best salaries possible it is worthy noting that the interest of employer and employee significantly differ. For the employer the interest is more on employee performance hence they will not mind paying more in order to getting more

Sky broadband Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sky broadband - Essay Example In theory and practice, IMC strategies are aimed at combining or integrating the elements of the communication mix, such as advertising and public relations in order to create a balanced and consistent marketing communications message that strengthens the brand. IMC, if managed correctly gives an organization a competitive advantage because of its cost effectiveness and its ability to maximize the impact of its product and services development and the communication of the organization's messages within the marketplace (Ireland, 2002). There is no shared definition of integrated marketing communications in the scholarly literature, but the tenets of IMC have been adopted by businesses globally, and scholars do agree on the theoretical underpinnings of the IMC model (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). The literature offers some outlines for conceptual frameworks that can guide agencies and organisations to ensure an effective implementation of an integrated marketing communications program (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). According to Fitzpatrick (2005), "... According to Fitzpatrick (2005), "one of the defining features of IMC is that it uses all forms of communication and all sources of brand or company contacts as prospective message delivery channels. The ultimate goal is to influence buying behavior through directed persuasive communication targeted to a broad range of stakeholders that influence brand image and organizational reputation" (p.94). Scholars and practitioners of marketing communications believe that the increase in the number of communication channels, media fragmentation, segmentation of consumer preferences, sophistication of consumer databases and analysis, and importance of relationship building to strengthen brand image has forced institutions to consider and adopt a more sophisticated, strategic, and integrated marketing communications effort (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). Integrated marketing communications has evolved from a concept of bundling all of an institution's communications in order to speak with one voice, to a strategic management effort that utilizes detailed consumer information to develop relevant communication (Kim, Han, & Schultz, 2004). Kim, Han, and Schultz (2004) stress the need for organizations to speak to their consumers with an integrated approach because today's consumers are not dependent on organizations to provide them with information. Technology has helped to fragment the current media environment and to increase the speed of information gathering. The result is that consumers are able to integrate their product information consumption without the aid of the organization. In addition to message integration, effective IMC must be supported by marketing budgets and appropriate staffing, skills, and

Animal studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Animal studies - Essay Example The quality of a clinical trial is vital and thus the scientist should assign control and experimental subjects randomly. This reduces the occurrence of bias and favoritism. Blinding of participants and researchers is also of great importance as concerns the treatment being given. Single-blind studies involve the blinding of participants while double-blind involves the blinding of both participants and researchers. Epidemiological studies, on the other hand, involve the observation (Thompson & Melinda 33). They are important in the studying phenomena in large populations and the determination of the factors which may be of influence on the phenomena. They indicate the relationships inherent between these factors but do not give a suggestion for data linkage to cause and effect. When conducting a clinical trial, the scientist needs to consider several things. He needs to set up both experimental and control groups, in which the experimental group is administered with the intervention while the control group is not (Thompson & Melinda 34). After the experiment is complete, the two results are compared. In an ideal situation, the researcher should design an experiment where the participants in the study are assigned to either the control or experimental groups randomly. This randomization aids in avoiding the elimination of any errors that may result from participant favoritism, and to make sure that the two groups are similar for the characteristics and factors that are under study.... The experimental group is given the intervention under study while this is not the case with the control group. After experiments on both groups are done, their responses are compared. The quality of a clinical trial is vital and thus the scientist should assign control and experimental subjects randomly. This reduces the occurrence of bias and favouritism. Blinding of participants and researchers is also of great importance as concerns the treatment being given. Single blind studies involve the blinding of participants while double blind involves the blinding of both participants and researchers. Epidemiological studies, on the other hand, involve the observation (Thompson & Melinda 33). They are important in the studying phenomena in large populations and the determination of the factors which may be of influence on the phenomena. They indicate the relationships inherent between these factors but do not give a suggestion for data linkage to cause and effect (Thompson & Melinda 33). When conducting a clinical trial, the scientist needs to consider several things. He needs to set up both experimental and control groups, in which the experimental group is administered with the intervention while the control group is not (Thompson & Melinda 34). After the experiment is complete, the two results are compared. In an ideal situation, the researcher should design an experiment where the participants in the study are assigned to either the control or experimental groups randomly. This randomization aids in avoiding the elimination of any errors that may result from participant favouritism, and to make sure that the two groups are similar for the characteristics and factors that are under study. The

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Example for Free

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Basic Questions 1. Rigas Entities were entities that shared a common cash management system with Adelphia and Adelphia subsidiaries, which Adelphia controlled and operated. Since the scandal broke, it is commonly referred as off-the-book entities. 2. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back to it, and can be used to analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.-from Investopedia 3. Self-dealing basically refers to when directors of a company improperly uses company finances or resource for personal gain. This can include directors taking company loans that the directors do not intend to repay, using company money for extraordinary personal use, or using company property for personal gain. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Advanced Questions 1. Both Adelphia scandal and WorldCom scandal were not prevented by company’s external auditor, though Deloitte and Touche and Arthur Andersen both rated their client as high risk. As for the differences, Adelphia did not have an independent internal auditor. However, WorldCom had an independent internal auditor and blows the whistle. 2. I will say Deloitte and Touche is most responsible for not detecting and stopping. As an external auditor, they should pay attention to organizations financial records and examine on any mistakes or fraud. At least, Deloitte and Touche should have stopped Timothy Rigas from serving as CFO and Director of Adelphia’s Accounting Committee. After all, it was obviously against the rules. 3. Timothy Rigas received a reasonable prison sentence as we can see from the WorldCom case; Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years. As for John Rigas, a former CEO who was guilty of more than 15 counts of fraud. Rationally speaking, it seems to be a fair judgment. However, it sounds too rough to keep an old man who has been suffered from cancer in jail.

Data Storage for Art Gallery

Data Storage for Art Gallery Executive Summary This assignment is based upon an Art Gallery. Being the system analyst and designer the art gallery is hopeful I demonstrate professionalism and propose a computerized cataloging system which they require. Currently the Art Gallery has 8 exhibition rooms where they display art items from around the word. These items dont only belong to the Art Gallery but by other owners, be it other galleries or private collectors. These items are borrowed to enhance the exhibition rooms which change exhibits every 3 months. The gallery is lead by a curator and 6 assistant curators to see about its daily operations. One of the major issues of the art gallery is the paper based form which they use to keep record exhibits in storage or in exhibition, in addition and borrowing and returning of items to their respective owners. There are several technologies available in which these paper forms can be transferred directly into the catalogue system which I am designing for the art gallery. These technologies would be reviewed and the best suited technology would be recommended for the transfer of the paper forms to the computerized system. In building this catalogue it is required that only the curator and assistant curators have read, write, edit and delete functions once the system is properly installed. These functions would be given with discretion to the user according to rank i.e. the curator would be given access to the entire catalogue system granting him permissions to all CRUD functions whereas the 6 assistant curators would have specific access and could only delete certain items in the system. This is required for security issues. In this proposal submitted must be a prototype interface so the users can see how the system would look before the interchange from the current paper based system to the computerized catalogue. The prototype would demonstrate the following functions: Adding a new item Editing item details Searching for the location of an item Listing items due for return This system would make the curator and assistant curators demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness in the art gallery as it is a step into the modern way or storing data which is used by many businesses worldwide. Unified Modelling Language, or UML, is a set of diagrammatic techniques, which are specifically tailored for object-oriented development, and which have become an industry standard for modelling object-oriented systems. In developing this cataloguing system for the art gallery, specialized diagrams would be used to model the system throughout the development process. These diagrams would represent part of the system but not the whole thing. Some of the diagrams that would be shown are: use case diagrams use case specifications activity diagrams class diagrams sequence diagrams state machines communication diagrams Use Case Diagrams Use case diagrams are description of the system from the users point of view. This would entail an actor, use case and system boundary. Three use case diagrams are presented to the art gallery to the show some functional requirements of the system but not the whole system. The art gallery system, maintaining the art list and returning the art item are demonstrated below. This use case describes all the functions carried out in the art gallery system which includes all the actors from the curator, assistant curator, owner and the public. Some of the use cases include maintain art list, maintain owner list, maintain exhibition, manage store rooms, borrow and returning of art. Maintain Art list is a function carried out by the curator. This use case was generated from the Art Gallery System use case in figure 1. It extends to describe the description of what the curator could do in the cataloguing system, which are CRUD functions. Returning of art is a function which the assistant curator performs. This use case was developed from the Art Gallery System in Figure 1 and gives a details listing of the function the assistant curator can perform. Use Case Specification The use case description is a narrative description of the functional requirements from the use case. It describes the use case goal and gives the description of what usually happens and the normal course of events. Following are the use case specifications from the previous use case diagrams. Use Case: Maintain Art List Actors: Curator Goal: Managing the entire art list Description: The curator logs into the system, the user name and password is verified. Access is granted and the curator continues to function. A search is carried out on a particular art ID to ensure it does not exist, once affirmed the curator may create the new record with all the art details required. Other functions granted to the curator are update, delete and print functions which follow along the same line. Once the curator is finished with the particular functions so desired he then logs out the system. Use Case: Maintain Art List Actors: Curator Goal: Managing the entire art list Overview: The curator logs into the system, the user name and password is verified. Access is granted and the curator continues to function. A search is carried out on a particular art ID to ensure it does not exist, once affirmed the curator may create the new record with all the art details required. Other functions granted to the curator are update, delete and print functions which follow along the same line. Once the curator is finished with the particular functions so desired he then logs out the system. Typical course of events: Alternative courses: Step 6 the art information may already exist in the system in the event of adding a new art item and may choose a new art ID. Use Case: Returning Art Actor: Assistant Curator Goal: To return art to respective owner Description: The assistant curator logs into the system, the user name and password is verified. A search is carried to verify all items that are due. The list is obtained and the assistant curator/s may contact the respective owner making them aware the due date is soon. The contract is ended for borrowing the art item, a report is printed and the art is returned. Once successful the assistant curator logs out. Use Case: Returning Art Actor: Assistant Curator Goal: To return art to respective owner Overview: The assistant curator logs into the system, the user name and password is verified. A search is carried to verify all items that are due. The list is obtained and the assistant curator/s may contact the respective owner making them aware the due date is soon. The contract is ended for borrowing the art item, a report is printed and the art is returned. Once successful the assistant curator logs out. Typical course of events: Description: The art gallery system includes the daily operations of the art gallery; this includes the maintaining art list, owners list and exhibition carried out by the curator. The assistant curators also maintain the exhibition rooms, the storage rooms and carry out the functions of borrowing and returning the art items. The owner of the art items are also included in the borrowing and returning of the items and viewing the exhibitions in conjunction with the public. Activity Diagrams Activity diagrams show the internal flow of control in a process. Activity diagrams can be used to represent sequence, selection and iteration and they can also illustrate where all activities can be carried out in parallel. According to IBM.com Activity diagrams are helpful in the following phases of a project: Before starting a project, you can create activity diagrams to model the most important workflows. During the requirements phase, you can create activity diagrams to illustrate the flow of events that the use cases describe. During the analysis and design phases, you can use activity diagrams to help define the behaviour of operations. This diagram shows the activity of events in swim lanes with the assistant curator, art list and the owner. It shows the process of the activity of events taking place in the returning process. Class Diagrams The class diagram is central to object-oriented analysis and design, it defines both the software architecture. It is used to model classes and the relationships between classes, and also to model higher-level structures comprising collections of classes grouped into packages. The class diagram appears through successive iterations at every stage in the development process. Designed are class diagrams illustrating the super class, hierarchy and attributes and operations for the proposed catalogue system for the Art Gallery. Transfer Methods Currently the Art Gallery stores and processes all information on paper based forms which outlines the name, location, owner, value of art, due date, etc. This system could cause problems in finding location of art items and generating due dates because of the frequent change in the exhibitions and in storage. The Art Gallery wishes to fully change this paper based style and produce a catalogue which would improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the work place that would entail the same information from the paper forms. The system would also grant permission to only the Curator and Assistant Curators to have read, write, edit and delete functions. In order to commence this catalogue all the paper forms must be transferred to the computerised system. There are many techniques in which this catalogue could be created, but only the most efficient one would be chosen as it is critical to implement this system. These techniques range from human data entry, document scanning and even voice recognition tools. The mentioned techniques and technologies would be compared and contrasted where only the best option would be chosen to perform the functions needed. Human Data Entry Beginning with the very basic and most popular way of entering information into a system is human data entry. This operation is fully dependant on the data entry clerk or in the Art Gallerys case the assistant curator to read the document and manually key information from the paper forms into the catalogue on the computer system. This process would be strenuous and lengthy as it is a fully manual process. There are only six assistant curators employed at the Art Gallery and this would be highly impossible to implement in a short period. The curators not only have to borrow and return art items, but mange the store rooms and exhibitions so time would be limited in such, to perform data entry. It is assumed that if this technique is chosen at least two of the assistant curators would perform the functions of keying the information into the system. Therefore this option is not best suited for the art gallery due to time constraint and the amount forms that would be re-processed even though a specific number of records wasnt given, it is alleged that there are a profound amount of documents to be entered into the catalogue. Advantages of Human Data Entry Method requires simple software systems and low-end computing hardware Less costly in the sense of hardware and software in addition depending on cost of manpower A large number of PCs would be available for use after census Disadvantages of Human Data Entry Requires more staff Time consuming compared to automated data entry Human errors may consist Standardisation of operations is difficult as performance may be individually dependant Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) According to tiscali.co.uk OMR is a technique that enables marks made in predetermined positions on a computer input form be detected optically and input to a computer. Optical Mark Recognition is used to process data entry form in various institutes and companies. This technology shines a light beam onto the document and is able to detect the marks filled from check boxes and fill-in fields on a printed form, and then the software interprets the output from the scan and translates it to the desired format, bearing in mind the use of a keyboard is nonexistent. OMR is best applicable for processing large number of hand filled forms which are needed to be processed quickly and accurately, which may include survey reply cards, questionnaires and ballots. The speed of OMR is very fast as it could process approximately 85-130 pages per minute and up to 4000 pages per hour depending on the type of machine used. Advantages of Optical Mark Recognition Improved data accuracy Faster than human data entry Capture speeds around 4000 forms per hour Equipment is relatively inexpensive as costs are predictable and defined It is simple to install and run Well established technology that is used by many countries Disadvantages of Optical Mark Recognition There are restrictions as to form design Restrictions on type of paper and ink OMR cannot recognise hand written or machine printed characters Images are not captured by scanners so electronic retrieval is not possible Response boxes should be correctly marked with appropriate pen or pencil The Art Gallery forms are hand written documents and OMR technology doesnt recognise hand written documents therefore this technology is at fault with the requirements of the Art Gallery. Even though this technology has many advantages and of its use worldwide, another type of technology must be considered for transferring the paper based forms to the computerized system. Optical Character Recognition According to wisegeek.com Optical Character recognition is the process of converting printed or hand written materials into text or word processing files that can be easily stored and edited. All OCR systems require hardware and software for analysing the images. A scanners is used to scan the text on a page, then breaks the fonts into a series of dots called bitmap in addition it reads most common font and can determine where lines start and stop. The bitmap is then translated to computer text. This technology fits the requirements of the Art Gallery as it is able to read hand written documents. There have been a lot of advances to this technology over the years as to improve the recognition of handwriting or fonts similar to hand writing. As we observed before in human data entry if we wanted to document one of the forms which is currently used by the Art Gallery someone would have to manually type the document word for word, but with OCR you just scan the document and it could be converted to several formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PDF or HTML. OCR would save a lot of time as it is fast in reading documents, just scan a document and it would be ready in seconds. A lot of businesses have chosen this technology as it cuts time in producing a document which would usually take days to complete can now be accomplished in a minute. As stated in the scenario the documents which the Art Gallery has are neatly handwritten characters which are easy to read so the problems with recognising font wouldnt be of a problem to hinder the operations carried out by this technique. Advantages of Optical Character Recognition Quicker processing, up to 60 sheets per minute Savings in costs and efficiencies by not having the paper questionnaires Scanning and recognition allowed efficient management and planning for the rest of the processing workload Reduced long term storage requirements, hard copy documentation could be destroyed after the initial scanning, recognition and repair Quick retrieval for editing and reprocessing Minimizes errors associated with physical handling of the questionnaires Disadvantages of Optical Character Recognition Higher costs of equipment High calibre IT staff required to support the system Handwriting on census forms be as close as possible to the model handwriting to avoid recognition error Possibility for error during character substitution which would affect data quality Tuning of recognition engine to accurately recognize characters is critical with trade-off between quality and cost Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) Intelligent Character Recognition is sometimes compared with Optical Mark Recognition because of their similarities, but the difference with ICR is its advancement in recognition patterns allowing the technology to recognise all fonts and different styles of handwriting. This technology also allows automatic updates to the recognition of new hand writing patterns in its database. This technology is best suited for the transferring of the forms in the Art Gallery because it would recognise the handwriting on the forms without any editing taking place. The process of documenting the forms to the computerised system would entail the form being scanned; the data is captured then analyzed and translated using ICR software that enables pattern-matching and automatic indexing. Just like OCR the data could be transferred into several formats such as Word, Excel, Access, PDF, XML etc. According to managedoutsource.com some features and benefits of using ICR are: Can recognize any text of a form or a check Allows manual key boarding reduction or deletion Maximum process automation of documents Recognize text regardless of its specific typeface, style or size. Batch processing Automated updating, reports display and automated mass spectra interpretation Automatic checking of the information against databases and dictionaries Costs reduction for your business Because of the similarity with ICR and OCR the advantages and disadvantages may be the same. Therefore the following disadvantages are reiterations of OCR disadvantages as described earlier. Recommendation Voice recognition technology is another aspect of converting the paper based forms to the computerized system but due to all the training involved in this technology only the fastest and most reliable techniques were discussed. It is recommended that the museum use the Intelligent Character Recognition method for the transfer of the forms to the computerized system. Even though it is stated that the forms are easy to read and in standard English the Optical Character Recognition would have been the ideal choice, but doesnt know what the future holds while the process is actually being implemented and what errors may occur. One of the major downfalls the company would face with the ICR technology is its cost. This equipment quite costly and the budget of the Art Gallery are unknown. Instead of buying the machine it could be rented at a cheaper cost, because this technology is only being used to transfer the old forms and nothing further. This would result in a more economical status for the museum. Another form is to buy the machine and rent it out to other businesses who demand the use of this technology for the same purpose. The income generated from the ICR machine could be used in the borrowing of the art items from other galleries and private collectors. Prototype User Interface According to agilemodeling.com a prototype user interface is an iterative technique where users are involved in the development of the User Interface for the system. Since the actual system isnt necessary to demonstrate to the users all desired are snapshots of the designed prototype interface. Includes are the searching for the location of an item, editing an items details, adding a new item and listing the due for return to their owners by a selected date. In the searching process there are two options available to the user, by either entering the Art ID or browsing the current collection with the option of choosing the item type or by selecting the item. Once an option of choice is chosen the art details would be listed below. In the art item details there would be the name of the item what type of art it is, and its current location, further information could be granted to either see what exhibition room or store room it is located in. This form is designed to add a new art item into the catalogue. It gives the option of entering all the art details into the form, once completed the curator has the option of going to another record and view all records in the catalogue or add another record in the system, once completed the curator could close the form. This image is similar to adding the art information; the only difference is the editing aspect. The curator and assistant curators have specific functions where editing is concerned. First they search the record by browsing through the forms and choose the edit button to make changes to the art information. Once completed the new information is automatically saved then the user can close the form. Generating due dates is a function which the assistant curator does in the returning of an art item process. The assistant curator has two options of searching for the due dates. Either by entering a desired date and then the catalogue would list all the due art items on that particular day or by entering an art id which would display the due date of the item. When the search is completed the assistant curator could then print out a report of the information gathered or close the form and continue with the returning art item process. Security Issues Security is a continuous process of protecting an object from unauthorized access. It is as a state of being or feeling protected from harm. That object in that state may be a person, an organization or property such as a computer system. Many businesses suffer the loss of their business due to lack of security. Security doesnt only have to be securing the computer system of the Art Gallery but also its physical surroundings. Objects in the art gallery can either be tangible or non-tangible, tangible objects being hardware and paintings, and intangible being information and data in the system that the art gallery depends on for its continuation. There Art Gallery has many art items which are on loan from different galleries and private collectors which may be priceless or one of a kind art work so losing this could cost the art gallery fortunes. Listed below are the possible threats to security to the art gallery system. Physical Security This may vary in different ways, if there is poor security measures such as little or no implementation of swipe cards, biometrics, security guards, surveillance cameras and identification cards, this may result in a negative effect on the company as there may be imposters wishing to harm the operations of the business. Businesses sometimes think if securing your computer with anti-virus and firewalls would help secure your business but the little things like an unauthorized person gaining access to the building and removing the server, stealing hardware or by vandalizing equipment could make businesses suffer continuity. Therefore the Art Gallery should have proper implementation security guards, surveillance cameras, swipe cards and other media to help with securing the exhibition rooms and store rooms in the Art Gallery. Physical Attacks Physical attacks may result in the event of malicious activity, natural disasters or it may be an accident these attacks results from denial of service. Listed are some physical attacks that may be harmful to the Art Gallery: Fire destruction of art and equipment Water flooding or leaks in the art gallery Electrical Power Surges Temperature air condition failure Natural Disasters Hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. Equipment Failure failure in servers, surveillance cameras, swipe readers. Tampering of equipment With respect to the physical attacks once proper planning and prevention of the above mentioned are complied with the art gallery may be protected against any harmful measures. Faulty Software Faulty software may be unintentional mishaps, it doesnt necessary means sabotage in a business but manufacture problems. These could occur if there is a glitch in the Operating System causing it to malfunction; software was misconfigured during installation or database software malfunction or exploitable weakness. Malicious Software Malicious software is software designed to destroy a computer system without the owners informed consent. Malicious software could be developed by hackers or internal employees in the workplace. Some malicious software may include Computer Viruses Worms Trojan Horse Logic Bomb Hackers toolkit Spyware Dishonest adware Crime ware These malicious software can be contracted due to illegal use of the company internet for personal use other than work related or implanted into the system intentionally. Unauthorised Access Unauthorized Access may take form in different forms. A common way of unauthorized access is by leaving a system logged on and walking away from your desk, another co-worker may intentionally spy on your computer and steal information this is also called eavesdropping. Counter authentication is another form of unauthorised access which may include individuals guessing passwords, password interception, password cracking and session replay. Session Hijacking is the exploitation of a valid computer session to gain access to information or services in a computer system. Denial of Service Denial of service is designed to interrupt normal system functions and affect legitimate users to access the system. Hostile users send a flood of fake requests to a server making the connection impossible to establish. This may result in significant server downtime and financial loss for many companies. All these mentioned security issues are threats to the art gallery; even though some attacks are based on a networked system it is assumed that the Art Gallery would implement a network for the computerised system. Consequences to breach of security According to the threats discussed earlier they play serious threats to the Art Gallery. Once the art gallery has a breach in security it could harm the continuity of the business depending on the level of attack. Firstly starting off with physical attacks, a natural disaster can destroy the entire building with all the exhibits and computers which could terminate the continuation of the business continuity. Other physical attacks like flooding and fire may harm the business but it could be prevented or stopped once proper implementation of fire extinguishers and proper storage of computer system and art exhibits a secured. The difference is a natural disaster is sometime unpredictable. The loss of vital information pertaining to the catalogue with the owner details of art, and information could eventually result in physical theft of art items in the gallery. Some items in the art gallery may be priceless and belongs to persons all over the world; therefore loosing these items would endure the gallery into a financial disorder. Art Gallerys integrity and reputation could blemish as it would turn into a public scandal embarrassing they security measures and all private and confidential information exposed. Permissions User accounts are the best way of ensuring only the curator and assistant curators have write, edit and delete permissions in the proposed catalogue. Every user account is associated with a username and password, the users contact information, account restrictions allowing access to the database at only certain hours of the day and account status allowing the administrator to temporarily disable an account. The curator would be the administrator of the database allowing him access to any and everything he desires which may include the maintaining the art list, maintaining owners list, maintaining the location of art items etc. These functions would allow the curator have all CRUD functions in the database. Being the administrator no one can delete the account because the system depends on an administrator to function and administrator status could be granted to any a supervisor of the 6 assistant curators. The assistant curators would be granted general access to the database but granted certain permissions. 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