Population: 485; Culture Essay

Michael Perry introduces several themes throughout Population: 485. Love, pain and acceptance are all touched upon in his memoir, but one that seems to stick out and is brought up again and again is death. As a volunteer firefighter, most of the connections he makes with the people of his community are caused by responding to emergency accident and fire calls- many of which result in death. In our culture, and every culture, death is an inevitable fact of life. We all, at some point in our lives, are going to encounter the death of someone close to us. Whether it will be a family member, friend or ourselves, young or old, it is going to happen and we will have to face it. Death affects everyone differently and the way we cope with loss varies with every person and with every culture. When the majority of us think of death, we see someone old and sick, frail and weak. While mourning the loss of a loved one is never easy, regardless of age or cause of death, losing a young friend or family member is an even more challenging reality to face. It is often the unexpected losses that don’t make sense. We ask ourselves â€Å"Why? † â€Å"Why did this happen? and try to bring meaning to the tragedy. â€Å"Surely we can’t die just because we hit a patch of pebbles on a curve. Surely there is preordination in the pea gravel. We are creatures of myth, hungry for metaphor and allegory, but most of all, hungry for sense. † (p. 132). This is one of the ways our culture copes with death. We refuse to believe that a you ng person could die so quickly and meaninglessly and we are swift to find a reason behind it all. In reality though, there is no answer. Seven years ago a close friend of mine died due to injuries caused by a motorcycle accident. He was twenty years old. It was a painful experience that left me questioning my faith and asking why such a good person was taken away at such a young age. I did try to find reasoning behind it, but never really came up with an answer. I cried for weeks, for hours at a time. I couldn’t stop thinking about how real this was, how I was never going to see his face or hear his voice again. So many things in life he didn’t get a chance to experience. I longed to go back in time to find a way to prevent his final outcome, but I soon realized there was nothing I could do. His death brought many people close together. We had huge gatherings, for a couple months after he passed, with all of his friends and family. We told stories and talked about our greatest memories we had with our friend, laughed and cried together. We supported each other, shared our feelings and listened to one another. It was our way to cope with our loss. We soon realized that the world doesn’t stop for people to grieve, so after a while, the parties died down and we all got back to our normal routines. Life forces you to get it together and to move on and time heals all wounds. I now hold my friend as a memory and know that I will see him again someday. We often see this in our culture. People come together to help each other through hard times. Emotional support and counseling are other ways people in our culture cope with death. This memory has been triggered by the story Michael Perry tells of Tracy Rimes. Tracy was killed in a motor vehicle accident while taking a corner too fast or too wide. She was just a teenager, not even graduated from high school. Parts of her story are brought up again and again by the author throughout the book. I think this incident got to him and he had a hard time coping with this one. Maybe it was because she was so young with a lot of life ahead of her. Maybe it marks a milestone or turning point for him. â€Å"Today we had tragedy, but it was our tragedy, and we dealt with it not only as public citizens, but also as friends and neighbors†¦ To feel at home is a rare, precious thing, and I began to feel at home that day. † (p. 16). It was the day he made his connection and found his place. Maybe he relates aspects of the incident to his own life. In chapter one there is a paragraph where he is talking about the accident and he describes how the girl was â€Å"pinned in silence† after the violent squalling, glass exploding, rubber tearing, steel tumbling and then just stillness. As if peace is the only answer to destruction†¦ The girl is terribly, terribly alone in a beautiful, beautiful world. † (p. 4). He describes the land and nature so much in the book with such life and love, and also comes off as kind of an outsider always looking in, trying to find a place to belong. Does he too feel terribly, terr ibly alone in a beautiful, beautiful world? I think this is another way to cope with death. Find a positive outcome from a tragedy. Death can make a person stronger. It can make someone open there eyes to life and not take it for granted. It can make someone open their doors a little wider to friends and family and let people in. Michael shares a lot of stories throughout his book that involve the unexpected deaths he has encountered. In fact, he has seen a dead person so many times he says, â€Å"I can look at you and know exactly what you would look like dead. † (p. 128). I can relate to this in a way. While I have never imagined what the person sitting next to me will look like when they’re dead, I have also seen many a corpse. It comes as part of the package when you choose a career in healthcare. I have worked as a respiratory therapist for four years now in a hospital. We respond to all the codes and traumas that come in and are basically responsible for a person’s airway. We also manage the ventilators and occasionally have to â€Å"pull the tube† when it has been determined that the ventilator is just prolonging the dying process, if that is what the family wishes. At first, it was hard for me to deal with the situations. I would go home still thinking about that pale, lifeless body. I couldn’t get the voices out of my head of the family screaming the patients name and crying and praying. It all got to me. I cried the first few times, but then I quickly learned that you have to somehow detach yourself from the emotional aspect of the situation, sort of take your mind somewhere else for a minute than get back to reality, like the author seems to do in his writing. Now, after seeing so many, a dead body doesn’t even phase me. It’s no big deal anymore to respond to a code, perform CPR, suction nasty stuff from an endotracheal tube that’s deep in the throat of a patient covered in blood and bowel†¦ and then go eat lunch. Sounds gross, but it’s our job. You just learn to block certain things out. I think Michael uses his ability and love for writing as a way to cope with death. He seems like sort of a loner, maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable talking with someone about what he’s thinking or feeling, so he writes stories and anecdotes about them. The way he starts a story of one his calls, than jumps to a completely different subject, and then later returns to finish the story maybe is a reflection of another way he handles death. It’s like he takes a break for a minute and shifts his thoughts somewhere else, so that he can return to the facts of the story, and not be interrupted by emotions. I think writing or keeping a journal with our own stories, thoughts and emotions is another way our culture copes with death too. I think death is an aspect of our culture that we don’t much like to talk about, or think about. We know that we are all going to someday die, and that everyone we know will too someday pass, but it is much more comfortable to take for granted tomorrow. Death is something that could potentially happen to anyone, at any given moment and I think it is our avoidance of death that creates such grief when the death of a loved one comes unexpectedly. For me, it’s the unknown part of the afterlife that scares me. That and the thought of not being with my children. In the book, Michael Perry shares his own feelings of dying. He brings the reader to the woods, where he feels that sleeping in the presence of the trees and in the dirt joins him with the earth and gives him a sense of what it is to be holy. â€Å"I have come to think of my sleeps in the forest as a rehearsal for burial†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 140). He gives the impression that he is prepared for death and that we should ponder upon the fact that it is coming. Not how or where or why, just the simple truth that we will be gone someday and it may seem less discomforting if we just accept the fact and â€Å"give it a nod now and then. † (p. 140). Death can get to be a very sensitive subject in our world today. It means so many diverse things to different people and cultures and is handled in your own way by each individual. For the most part, I think coping with the loss of a loved one comes down to a person’s individual beliefs, traditions, and culture. It is a personal choice whether or not to prepare for and accept death. Michael Perry brings the subject to your attention several times throughout the book, almost forcing you to think about death. â€Å"Be grateful for death, the one great certainty in an uncertain world. Be thankful for the spirit smoke that lingers for every candle gone out. † (p. 142). We don’t know when or why or how, but death is coming. To you, to me, to everyone someday. It’s a scary thought, but I hope I can build an acceptance to the inevitable fact of life and be at peace with death when it knocks on my door, before it’s too late.

Poetry Essay Essay

Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define. Poetry is sometimes hard to understand but other times it’s as easy as one, two, and three. Sometimes people turn to poetry to vent their feelings, to tell their high school sweetheart they still love them, to get over grief and etc. Poetry can be inspirational and motivating. Poetry can be anything you want it to be. The plot of â€Å"Watch† by Frank Outlaw tells us that we should be careful about what we do and to choose wisely what we act on. One of the poetic devices in this poem is assonance. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowel sounds repeated in this poem are: A, E, I, O and U. Another poetic device found in this poem is imagery. Imagery is words or phrases that appeal to the senses. The poem is titled Watch, so I believe therefore, watch would be considered as imagery. This poem appeals to me because I agree that we should watch what we do, before we do that particular thing. The plot of â€Å"The Greatest Artist† by Udiah tells us that God is one of a kind and can create the most beautiful things in this world. It also tells us that only God can create the beautiful things on this Earth. The sky is God’s canvas to a beautiful masterpiece. It also states that whenever we are sad, he puts a smile across our face to let us know He’s there. One poetic device in this poem is rhyme. Rhyme is the similarity of ending sounds exsisting between two words. Some of the rhyming words are: compare and air, above and glove, fair and there. Another poetic device is metaphor. Metaphor is the comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer meaning to one of them. One of the metaphors in this poem is: God is the greatest artist. This poem appeals to me because I agree that God is the one and only who can create the most unique things and we always know he’s watching us with open eyes. The plot of â€Å"Before You† by William Arthur Ward tells us that we should think before we do. It also tells us that we should learn from different situations. Another thing it teaches is that we should use patience before expressing our thoughts. One of the poetic devices in this poem is repetition. Repetition is the repeating of words or phrases. The repetition in this poem is before you. Another poetic device is assonance. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowel sounds repeated in this poem are: A, E, I, O and U. This poem appeals to me because I agree that we should think before we act. I dedicate this poetry book to my mom. I included certain poems because poetry has such a special meaning for a special person. She is a true genuine person with a great attitude towards life. Who expresses emotions profoundly through words. I included certain poems because of the motivation and inspiration they have. I’m most inspired by Adele, Adele is a famous London singer, who expresses music through her heartfelt experiences.

Practice of medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Practice of medicine - Essay Example Except for the prudent correction of an imminent danger, I will neither treat any patient nor carry out any research on any human being without the valid informed consent of the subject or the appropriate legal protector thereof, understanding that research must have as its purpose the furtherance of the health of that individual. Into whatever patient setting I enter, I will go for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief or corruption and further from the seduction of any patient. – An excerpt from ‘The Hippocratic Oath’. Multiple studies and researches have been conducted on the bodily reactions of patients after surgical procedures that were performed. These researches are done by professional doctors and physicians who are bound by their oath and are adamant in keeping their clients from experiencing pain or discomfort as well as discovering a viable treatment to alleviate any pain. To extrapolate such a remedy, hypothesis testing as well as research must be done. To perform to these quite rigorous procedures, the physicians must adhere to a code of ethics that will display their professionalism and protect the rights of the patients. Other than aforementioned Hippocratic Oath - which was formulated in approximately 400 B.C. - there was a plethora of ethics and guidelines engendered respective to each culture. The cardinal evidence of this comes from the bible. In the bible contains the first illustrations of edicts concerning the ethics of physicians. Among the essentials of the oath, the premier edict is honouring the pedagogues of the medical discipline.

World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

World War II - Essay Example The article, which features a documentary film â€Å"Touching the Tigers,† focuses on the idea that China was an ally of the United States in WWII, and hopefully seeks to instill the notion that it is so until now. In fact, one of those who were responsible for Beneda’s survival was then military commander Li Zongren, who went on to become President of China in 1949 (Friedersdorf, 2012). The truth of this matter is implied to have been confirmed by Beneda’s widow, Elinor Beneda, who was mentioned in another article (â€Å"Documentary,† 2011). In fact, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries have even wanted everyone to know about such friendship that China fostered with the United States, through Beneda’s story (Friedersdorf, 2012). This is perhaps a political strategy to use World War II anecdotal evidence in order to help neutralize the increasing tension between the United States and China. Nowadays, China opposes U.S. sanctions on Iran (Censky, 2012). Moreover, China complains that the United States has not been particularly open to Chinese investors (Censky, 2012). China has also recently challenged the Philippines, an ally of the United States, in the dispute over who has a right to the Scarborough Shoal (Boot & Kirkpatrick, 2012). These misunderstandings plus the fact that China has been rumored to surpass the U.S. in terms of size of economy in 2016 and the fact that Pres. Obama â€Å"will not stand by when [the United States’] competitors don’t play by the rules† (Censky, 2012). However, the article seems to shed a more positive light on these aforementioned matters. Through the article, as well as through the influence of the documentary film it describes, U.S.-China relations will hopefully end up in a more positive light, or as what Henry Kissinger describes as â€Å"†¦a strong, prosperous, and successful China that plays

Narrative Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Narrative Information - Essay Example The Sage organizational set up concentrates on encouraging entrepreneurship, innovation, spirit of working as a team and using local software United Kingdom experts to make state of the art business programs. Present Marketing Strategy. Small and medium scale enterprises have shown strong needs to purchase business (specifically accounting ) software in order hasten and make more accurate current manual accounting business transactions. Such companies have back offices where accounting and bookkeeping (Larson, 1995) services are being processed. The medium and larger companies do need software that can make their tasks easier. When the accounting system is accurate and is updated constantly by the computer, then the customers and suppliers will know, as soon as possible (ASAP), what the daily business problems are so that remedies that will lessen the damage done will be put in place earlier. This is where Sage comes to the rescue. Sage will help, in a big way, the small and medium rate industries with their bookkeeping needs and accounting functions. The software, however, are being purchased by some the small companies. Based on the above, the company has been very successful with the present marketing strategy (Thompson, 1999). The income statement clearly shows that there is its present income has been on the rise. Because the present strategy is on the right track, then we will now be implementing a new strategy will be discussed below. This strategy is called Resource based marketing (Kinnear, 1996) strategy. OUTLOOK. According to Sage Chairman Michael Jackson, Individuals in Sage are being treated very highly and respected as a person. Sage company is constantly invented new products and new processes for its large customers' activities. Revenue has grown for Sage company because Sage manages to offer new products to its biggest resource(Samuelson, 1973) which is the CUSTOMER(Irwin,2000). Sage produces for its four million clients software solutions that takes good care its network. Sage has a network of over 22,000 reselling business partners. Based on the above Chairman Michael Jackson statement, invention is the name of the game. Many companies have put up a research( Dilworth, 1993) and development department in order to find new products to sell. These new discoveries will spell the difference between success and failure. By continually inventing new products where the competitors have no similar goods or services, the Sage company will have the edge in terms of market share.Another type of research and development strategy is to improve the quality or quantity output of something that has no competition because it is new discovery. For example, if the accounting software created by Sage can work harmoniously with adobe pdf files, and word files and excel files, as well as other

World economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World economy - Essay Example And then, it might prove effective for the organization to present varied types of inventive products as per the requirements of the customers thereby amplifying the brand image and productivity of the organization in the market among other rival players. Moreover, in order to enhance the level of reliability and loyalty of the customers over a brand, customer retention is also extremely essential. It might prove effective in enhancing the brand value of the organization thereby amplifying its level of competitiveness to a certain extent in the future age among other players. Globalization is described as the process to move towards a more integrated and inter-reliant economy. This is mainly due to certain key environmental factors such as competitiveness, market trends, technology, political and economic scenario. Competitiveness- it is denoted as another vital environmental driver that offered significant impacts over the profitability of the organizations operating in diverse segments. Therefore, in order to cope up with such challenges, maximum extent of the organizations decided to offer varied types of inventive products to retain its brand image and customer base for longer period of time. Economic downturn- it is also another factor that offered a negative impact over the functions and operations of the organizations. As a result, in order to survive, most of the organization implemented the strategy of presenting value-added products at lowest possible price. So that, it might be used by the individual of varying age groups, religions, living standards and life style. Only then, the level of turnover and profitability of the organization might get enhanced with a significant extent in the future era as well. Thus, from the above paragraph, it might be analyzed that globalization makes nation-states more inter-dependent over one –another, i.e. more integrated into a global economy (World Trade Organization, 2008). Technology- introduction of varied

Professional engineers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Professional engineers - Assignment Example The modern day Engineer has the obligation to conduct their operations in an ethical manner. Several accidents result from negligence on the part of the Engineer or from not following the standards set out for conducting these activities. One such accident was the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in which the vehicle burst into flames shortly after taking off killing all the crew. The president of the United States set up a commission to investigate the cause of the accident that found that the accident was as a result of the failure of the O-ring seals and that the seals had been cited as a potential hazard years before the accident. The commissions report to the president indicated that since managers and engineers had prior knowledge of the O-ring danger, lack of proper communication between management and the engineers and poor management practices were the principle causes of the disaster. This interpretation is however insufficient if the history of how NASA and contracto r’s engineers had detected and dealt with the defects on the O-rings before the launch. According to Andrew Dunar and Stephen Waring in Power To Explore-History of Marshall Space Flight Center 1960-1990, ‘Allowing Marshall engineers and managers to offer their side of their story, based on documents before and after the accident testimony and interviews leads to a more realistic account of the events leading up to the accident than that found in the previous studies.’ It is therefore important that I highlight some of the ethical issues raised in order to understand the obligations of professional engineers as a way of preventing the occurrence of such disasters. While engineering ethics principles are easy to formulate, they are sometimes hard to apply and decisions made by professional engineers must be considered on the context of the technical details of the design. It should be seen that ethical principles are not violated to avoid the probability of acciden ts due to such considerations as of finance. The NASA space Shuttle Challenger burst into flames about 73 minutes after liftoff killing seven people on board. The crew team included: Francis R. Scobee as the commander, Michael John Smith ( who was the pilot), Ellison Onizuka ( the missions 1st Specialist ), Judith Resnik (Mission 2nd Specialist), Ronald McNair (Mission third Specialist ), Christa McAuliffe (Payload 1st Specialist ), and Gregory B. Jarvis (Payload 2 nd Specialist ). The commission realized that on the evening prior to the launch Morton Thiokol, the contractor supplying the seals had recommended during a teleconference that the launch be delayed due to concerns about the performance of the seals. This recommendation was however reversed during the teleconference leading to the disaster. In trying to understand, the probable causes of the accident during investigations care take care not to such as the myth of perfect engineering practice and that of retrospective fall acy. There is no such thing as perfect engineering practice and simply identifying what standard steps were not followed during the design is not enough in assigning the cause of accident. Moreover, looking back in retrospect at what important decisions should/could have been made is sometimes misleading, as investigators will always try to assign blame. In order to underst

Proposed Plan for Future Development for IKEA Coursework - 1

Proposed Plan for Future Development for IKEA - Coursework Example Environmental sensitiveness of the company is well recognized by consumers. The other companies that specialize in Nordic furniture design the in the US, whose prices are comparatively very high are Design Within Reach, Minimalista, Boconcept and Tema. But, the strategy of IKEA is to target middle-class families on a global level with a variety of designs, quality and price. Companies like Sears, JC-Penny, Flanigan and Raymour are competitors to IKEA in the USA. Competitors in Europe include companies like John Lewis, Argos, B&Q and TESCO. Apart from furniture, the extensive range of products of IKEA includes lighting, textiles & rugs, Kitchenware, flooring, storage furniture, beds and mattresses tools and hardware. The IKEA Concept is based on offering a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them as mentioned in the website of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. The IKEA Concept guides the way IKEA products are designed, manufactured, transported, sold and assembled. 2 IKEA's business strategy hinges on sustainability and environmental design. The sustainability programs of IKEA envisage social, environmental and economic issues. Strengths and weaknesses of a company are mostly related to internal aspects. The internal environment of IKEA in terms of competitive advantage, market position and financial resources, is by and large conducive for a sustainable growth. The competitive advantage of a company arises out of several factors and the business plan which is very difficult to duplicate and the absence alternate products available cheaply enable IKEA to exploit the opportunities effectively and overcome the external threats. IKEA has established a name for itself with designs, quality and competitive pricing in the markets world over.  

The international trade theories implemented by KFC Essay

The international trade theories implemented by KFC - Essay Example In relation to the study, the company which has been selected is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is one of the most renowned brands in the segment of fast food chain restaurants in the international market. It was started in the 1930s in Southern USA as a small franchise business by Colonel Harland Sanders. Â  Presently, it has 13,000 restaurants in all over the world. Â  The three most important success factors including service, quality, and relaxing atmosphere make KFC be a market leader. The exchange of goods, services, and capital across an international border and/or territories is widely referred as international trade in the modern business environment. In the similar context, international trade theory emphasizes on understanding the traditional influences over particular businesses in order to appreciate international trade that in turn provides assistance to improve the welfare of countries in terms of economic aspects. It is in this context that the factors which are consi dered to be of utmost significance by KFC in its international trade theories include cultural, political, legal and economic factors. The attitudes, beliefs, and values of a society are considered as cultural aspects of that country. A culture can be treated as one of the strongest influencing factors in terms of conducting international trade between two different countries. For instance, KFC is engaged with many countries including China, Mexico, Latin America, and the US among others in terms of trade.

Counselling and Psychotherapy Essay Example for Free

Counselling and Psychotherapy Essay Carl Ransom Rogers (1902 – 1987) was amongst the most influential figures of humanistic psychology, a school of psychotherapy that rejected medical and psychoanalytic models of treatment, and instead put forth a theory of personality and behaviour that presumed the source of psychological health ultimately resides in the individual person rather than in a programme based on the expert knowledge and authority of a psychiatric professional. Rogers’ specific form of humanistic psychology is broadly based on his view of human personality, which he believed naturally tended to develop in what he considered a healthy manner unless it is adversely influenced by life-experiences. From this theoretical basis, Rogers created a form of therapy that he called ‘client-centred’, (or person-centred) as opposed to forms of treatment that are directed by the expertise of the therapist. In the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy there are many differing theories which are used to help those who seek counselling, including client-centred therapy. In many parts of the world client-centred therapy is seen as a family of therapies, including Experiential Psychotherapy and Focusing. Closely associated with client-centred therapy are existential therapy and various integrative approaches. Since Carl Rogers’ death, there has been much debate regarding what can and cannot rightly claim to be called ‘client-centred therapy.’ Proponents of the differing ‘Tribes’ argue for their schools of thought. (Warner 2006). At the heart of all the differing thoughts and modes of delivery are the six conditions for therapeutic change which Rogers described as being needed before a client could move towards the changes that they wanted to make in their lives. Carl Rogers, along with Abraham Maslow, was the founder of the humanist approach to clinical psychology. Maslow was known as the ‘Third Force in Psychology’ but is mainly known for his thoughts on self- actualization. Prior to Maslow it was thought that human behaviour was just a set of behaviours to satiate the drive for deficits. For example the ‘lack of nutrients feel hungry seek food and eat’ model. Maslow proposed a wide range of human needs in a dynamic and changing system, where needs at higher levels would only be addressed when needs at lower levels had been satisfied (see Fig 1): Rogers person-centred theory emphasised the concept of ‘self-actualization’ which implies that there is an internal, biological force to develop ones capacities and talents to the fullest. The human organism’s central motivation is to learn and to grow. Growth occurs when individuals confront problems, strive to master them and, through experience, endeavour to develop new aspects of their skills, capacities, and views about life, and move forward towards the goal of self-actualization. By way of example, Rogers (1980) often illustrated the concept with reference to organisms in the natural world. He wrote about a potato in the root cellar of his boyhood home: â€Å"The actualizing tendency can, of course, be thwarted or warped, but it cannot be destroyed without destroying the organism. I remember that in my boyhood home, the bin in which we stored our winter’s supply of potatoes was in the basement, several feet below a small window. The conditions were unfavourable, but the potatoes would begin to sprout pale white sprouts, so unlike the healthy green shoots they sent up when planted in the soil in the spring. But these sad, spindly sprouts would grow two or three feet in length as they reached toward the distant light of the window. The sprouts were, in their bizarre, futile growth, a sort of desperate expression of the directional tendency I have been describing. They would never become plants, never mature, never fulfill their real potential. But under the most adverse circumstances, they were striving to become. Life would not give up, even if it could not flourish.† So it can be seen that Rogers was saying that this effective and strong constructive tendency is the underlying basis of the client-centred approach. Rogers groundbreaking understanding was that for a person to be truly helped, the important healing factor is the relationship itself. His view of human behaviour is that it is exquisitely rational Rogers (1961). Furthermore, in his opinion: The core of mans nature is essentially positive Rogers (1961), and he is a trustworthy organism Rogers (1977). Rogers focused on ways in which the therapist could promote certain core conditions between him/herself and the client. Central to his theory was that the actualizing tendency was a natural process, yet in order for each human organism to do so it required the nurturing of a caregiver. Rogers understood that inherently people need people, and that we are fundamentally dependent on others for our being. Many critics of the theory have misunderstood Roger’s concepts and commented that this is outmoded today, and, according to Bohart (2007) the critics were saying that it â€Å"glorifies the individual at the expense of others†. Wilkins (2003) argued that Rogers’ concept of self-actualization is culturally biased, reflecting a Western cultural emphasis on the separate, autonomous individualistic self. However, Bohart states that Rogers’ concept of self as culture-specific is compatible with cultures which view the self in relational rather than individualistic terms, even cultures that have no concept of self. Self-actualization means enhancing or actualizing the self as the self is defined for that person and culture. Rogers did believe that the tendency of actualization of a person in therapy was to always go in a positive pro-social direction, but critics state that it may lead to self-centred, narcissistic behaviour (Bozarth and Brodley, 1991). Rogers recognised that environmental and social factors could inhibit or distort the process of actualization so that a negative rather than positive outcome may occur, but also that the fully functioning person is ‘soundly and realistically social’ (Rogers 1961). Rogers postulated that therapeutic movement will only occur if, and only if, the six conditions for therapeutic change were in place between the therapist and the client. 1. The first condition of client-centred therapy is that therapist and client should be in psychological contact. The first condition specifies that a minimum relationship must exist. Rogers (1957) stated: â€Å"I am hypothesizing that significant positive personality change does not occur except in a relationship†. (Sanders 2006) â€Å"The relationship is not seen as a third object in the room with the counsellor and the client, but is the client and the counsellor. They bring themselves into the room, and in doing so a unique and ever-changing relationship is the result.† Research into contact between animals and people who live in social groups has shown that in order to grow and become confident then it must be in a psychologically interactive way. Those who were deprived of such conditions, like the children in the orphanages of Romania and the monkeys in Harlow’s experiments, grew up with permanent behavioural and emotional problems. (Harlow 1959, Carlson 1999, Bowlby, 1953, Warner 2002). Rogers thought that psychological contact was an all-or-nothing, one-off event, but others like Rose Cameron (2003) and Whelton and Greenberg (2002) see psychological contact as a variable and dynamic quality in relationships, and Margaret Warner (2002:79) says that the â€Å"contact can be viewed as a continuum†. In my opinion, despite the differing views of the various ‘Tribes’, the one over-riding view is that psychological contact is essential if the therapeutic process is going to work. It can simply be the mere recognition of the other person in the room, or a deeply-shared experience between the therapist and the client. 2. Client incongruence, a state of being vulnerable and anxious, is presented as the second of the six conditions which Rogers defined as a ‘discrepancy between the actual experience of the organism and the self-picture of the individual’s experience insofar as it represents that experience’ (Rogers 1957), and which he saw as being necessary for therapy to be successful. Pearson (1974) thought that this condition had created some confusion, since the relationship between incongruence and felt anxiety or vulnerability is complex. All people are incongruent to some degree all of the time (since human beings can never fully symbolize their experience), and some sorts of incongruence may actually lower anxiety. Rogers’ concept of incongruence was simply saying that clients sense that they have underlying issues that have distorted their sense of equilibrium and therefore are motivated to seek counselling. I believe that this second condition affects how clients will respond to counselling because the change that needs to happen has to come from within the client and cannot happen against their will. For example, if someone is referred by a doctor, or school, or made to attend counselling with a spouse or parent, then the client will be in a state of incongruence and the first condition will not take place, without which there is no therapeutic relationship. 3. The third core condition is that the second person, the therapist, is congruent in the relationship. By congruent Rogers understood it to be real, genuine and transparent. As early as 1946 he wrote about the fact that the therapist should have a â€Å"genuine interest in the client†. Rogers makes it very clear in a video on the internet where he is talking about what it means to be congruent when he says: â€Å"Can I be real in the relationship; this has come to have an increasing amount of importance to me over the years. I feel that genuineness is another way of describing the quality I would like to have. I like the term congruence, by which I mean that what I am experiencing inside is present in my awareness and comes out though my communication. In a sense when I have this quality I am all in one piece in the relationship. There is another word that describes it for me; I feel that in the relationship I would like to have transparency. I would be quite willing for my client to see all the way through me and that there would be nothing hidden, and when I’m real in this fashion that I’m trying to describe, I know that my own feelings will often bubble up into awareness and will be expressed, but be expressed in ways that won’t impose themselves on my client.† (You Tube 2010). Despite Rogers’ insistence that being congruent with clients is of paramount importance, a number of studies over the years have shown that no significant relationship exists between levels of congruence and outcomes in the therapeutic relationship (Klein et al 2002, Orlinsky et al 2004, Burckell and Goldried 2006, Feifel and Eells, 1963). In contrast Cooper (2008) has suggested that this may be because it is a ‘high frequency’ event in therapy and therefore the correlation between genuineness and outcome are not truly recognised†. Without an empathetic response from the therapist I believe that the client would not feel valued or understood and the therapeutic relationship would break down. 4. In the development of self-concept Rogers also stated that the fourth condition unconditional positive regard the complete acceptance and support for a person no matter what they say or do is necessary for self-actualization. By showing unconditional positive regard, or prizing, clients are said to feel valued and so accepted and take responsibility for themselves (Rogers 1957:98). Conversely, I believe self-actualization is thwarted by conditional positive regard when acceptance is dependent on the positive or negative evaluation of a persons actions. Those raised in an environment of conditional positive regard, Rogers felt, only feel worthy if they match conditions laid down by others – conditions of worth which, in turn, can lead to shaping themselves determined not by their organismic valuing or actualizing tendency, but by a society that may or may not truly have their best interests at heart. 5. The fifth core concept states that the counsellor should experience an empathic understanding of the client’s internal frame of reference. Each of us perceives and responds to our environments as a unified and organised whole, and each forms their unique frame of reference. Our understanding of the world is shaped through our experiences, and each time these are interpreted on the basis of our personal value system. In order for a therapist to understand a clients behaviour it should be from the internal frame of reference of the client. Empathy is not just listening but trying to feel the experiences and feelings that the other person has at that moment in time. It involves stepping into their shoes and laying aside one’s own perceptions, values, perspectives and meanings as far as possible. If the therapist attempts to understand the client on the basis of his/her own personal experiences, this would be an external frame of reference. When the therapist remains within the clients frame of reference, which is his/her own understanding of the world, it enhances empathy and promotes unconditional positive regard. Holding an external frame of reference might convey to the client that the therapist has their own agenda or is criticising the client. The question is, would the therapeutic process take place if the counsellor did not enter the client’s world so personally? From the large number of studies that have been carried out in an attempt to measure client’s reaction to the therapist’s empathy, the evidence shows it to be a ‘demonstrably effective element of the therapeutic relationship’ (Steering Committee, 2002). 6. The sixth and final condition client perception is as important as all the others, and is complementary to the idea that the first condition psychological contact is continued. Rogers (1959:213) wrote: ‘that the client perceives, at least to a minimal degree, conditions 4 and 5 the unconditional positive regard of the therapist for the client and the empathetic understanding of the therapist’. To some degree client perception has been ignored over the years. Tudor in 2000 referred to it as â€Å"the lost condition†. Sanders (2004) states that â€Å"Carl Rogers made it clear that the client was the centre of the therapeutic process, and furthermore it was the client who had the final say as to whether the ‘therapist-provided conditions’ were actually provided (as opposed to being assumed by the therapist)†. Dagmar Pescitelli (1996) argues that the theory of client-centred therapy may not be effective for severe psychopathologies such as schizophrenia (deemed to have a strong biological component) or other disorders such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or even severe depression (currently effectively treated with drugs and cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT). Pescitelli (1996) cites one meta-analysis of psychotherapy effectiveness that looked at 400 studies, and person-centred therapy was found least effective. In fact, it was no more effective than the placebo condition (Glass 1983; cited in Krebs Blackman, 1988). In contrast, meta-analyses of client-centred therapy as a whole support the theory that it is an efficacious and effective form of therapy, no matter what ‘Tribe’. It is similar to other orientations such as CBT and psychodynamic therapy, with evidence indicating that all schools may be efficacious for clients with depressive, traumatic, schizophrenic and health related problems, but there is less evidence on the impact of anxiety disorders (Elliott, Greenberg et al., 2004).

Strategic Management Public Bank Group

Strategic Management Public Bank Group 1.0 Introduction to Strategy Management Strategy management is defined as the organization is analyze, make decisions and take actions in creating and sustaining competitive advantages in the market. In making a new strategy or maintain old strategy to achieve the missions or goals in order to survive at competitive and globalize world, the organization or the manager need to access and collect micro and macro environments information for analyze it. After analyzed the business environments, the organization or the manager will make decisions or establish new planning or new strategy based on the outcome of analysis then take actions to achieve the missions or goals. Business environment is important to the organization in analyze and access for research purpose in the competition rival firms. Aswathappa (2009, p. 6) indicates competition benefits rival firms will build new capability, new customer satisfaction standards and make the leaders in the organization become proactive in planning and achieving the mission or target. At this time, the assignment’s questions will be covered Public Bank Group’s mission, strategy, structure and its competition with compared other two banks’ competition. The Public Bank Group is founded by Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow at 1996. Over 47 years, now it is become the third largest banking group in Malaysia and listed on the Main Board of the Bursa Malaysia Securities with the market capitalization of RM68.67 billion at the end of 2013. Also, The Public Bank Group is ranked as second among all public listed companies on the Bursa Malaysia Securities. The businesses of The Public Bank Group is focusing on the retail consumer banking business with leading market shares in financing for residential properties, commercial properties and passenger vehicles in term of selling the unit trust funds. (Annual Report Public Bank, 2013, p. 17) In Section 1 is to analyze the linkage between mission and strategy of the Public Bank Group implemented. In Section 2 is to access the organizational structure of The Public Bank Group’s branch at Jalan Yang Kolsam in how effective of the structure to deliver the structure and service to customers. In Section is to access, analyze and classify the competition arise between Public Bank, Maybank and RHB. In Section 4 is present detailed conclusion and recommendations to the Public Bank Group for improvement on their strategy and planning in order to achieve the corporate mission. 2.0 Mission and Strategy of Public Bank Group Entrepreneur in its website states that mission is a sentence or a short written statement to describe the company’s competitive advantage, business goals and philosophies. (2014, pp. 1) A good mission can ensure and help employees to understand the philosophy, goals and objectives of the organization they are worked at and this lead good performance of employees in the present and future. Meanwhile, the strategy that established by the organization will help the employee to enhance their planning in achieving the mission. As stated by D. Flouris and L. Oswald (2006, p. 1), before the strategy is established, it is influenced by outside forces as well as internal values, the company’s culture and also its capabilities. 2.1 Mission of Public Bank Group As stated in Annual Report of The Public Bank Group (2013, p. 5), the mission of Public Bank Group is ‘To sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia’. 2.2 Strategy used by The Public Bank Group The strategy of The Public Bank Group used is growth strategy which is corporate strategy. In Public Bank Homepage stated in page of Corporate Profile (2014, pp. 10) described that The Public Bank Group’s growth strategy is aim to drive business growth and increase its market share in retail banking by delivered consistent service to meet the needs of its customers with well-established customer service infrastructure. Brinkman et al. (2010, p. 48) defined the growth strategy is the aim to increase the amount of business by expanding the market it serves. To meet customer needs, the Public Bank Group has been used internal development as their way of deliver strategy to their staffs by providing training in order to achieve mission of the Public Bank Group. In fact, the bank has been organized the special trainings to over 90% of customer service representatives at the front office. (Public Bank 2007 Annual Report, 2007, p. 11) The non-executive chairman of the Public Bank Group, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. The Hong Piow stated that (cited in Public Bank 2013 Annual Report, 2013, p. 77) the front office staffs are specially trained, the customers are only need to wait the counter responds to them for 2 minutes which the standard set by the Public Bank Group to deliver services. In fact, the Public Bank Group is awarded and certified financial institution under ISO 9001:2008 for the â€Å"Provision of Customer Service in Loan Delivery† and â€Å"Provision of Customer Service at Front Office†. The ISO 9001:2008 which is customer service delivery standards that awarded to the Public Bank Group is demonstrating the ability of the bank itself is serving their customers with consistently and high service quality. Consequently, the Public Bank Group and its entire branches wherever there are located also providing a good assurance to their customer who expecting high consistently of customer experie nce while they are entering the branches to get service. Continuous training and staff development programs provided by the bank will keeps the achievement to be uphold in the competitive edge. 2.3 Summary of the linkage between mission of and strategy of the Public Bank Group As a result, the Public Bank Group has been achieved ISO certification for their high quality of customer service which the strategy established for customer wait for 2 minutes standard for the service from the front office staffs where this is efficient and the high customer satisfactions lead them to achieve another award as Most Profitable Company in the Finance Sector 2013 and 2011 (Public Bank 2013 Annual Report, 2013, p. 47) where this is one of the Public Bank Group’s mission as ‘to sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia’. 3.0 Organizational structure design of The Public Bank Group Creating an organizational structure is an important part on delivering the strategy or communication with effectively. Hull in Forbes websites state that it’s important for entrepreneurs or the businesses to create a defined structure at the early, even if the business is just one man shop. (2013, pp. 3) In fact, organizational structure will helps we all to understand various job descriptions no matter there is only one man shop or many employees in an organization. Also, it helps the decision maker won’t design an organizational structure where the position title or job descriptions clash together. Defined and clearly organizational structure is to ensure all employees can see the picture as a whole and do back their own roles and responsibilities. An effective organizational structure will facilitates intrapreneurship between employees and employers. Also, the effective organizational structure also helps elaborate effective strategy for the departments or units to achieve the mission or goals with expected result. (Varbanova, 2013) The design of organizational structure also affecting the line of authority and communication between administration officers and officers. (Sekhar, 2010, p. 72) Organizational structure design consist of six elements which are specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, degree of centralization and formalization. 3.1 Customer Structure of Public Bank Branch Jalan Yang Kalsom Organizational structure that used by Public Bank branch at Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh, Perak is customer structure chart. According to Brinkman et al. (2010, p. 80), they indicate a customer structure is designed and organized based on the customer. This customer structure also called as market structure, it allows the managers responsive to the needs or requirements of customers and give authority to allow managers make decision in response to customers’ changing needs. (Chapter 10 Managing Organizational Structure and Culture, n.d.) Figure 1: Customer structure of Public Bank Branch at Jalan Yang Kalsom (Own Adaptation, 2014)    As illustrated on above, branch manager is ranked highest position in the Public Bank Branch Jalan Yang Kalsom. The branch manager will in-charge the final decision for the direction and planning for the particular branch. Next, will be the business manager and assistant branch manager. Business Manager is in-charge on the loan and mortgage unit. In the other hand, Assistant Branch Manager is in-charge on the customer service unit, investment unit, operation unit and credit card unit. For an example, a customer will apply loan for his house so the customer will be served by officer at loan and mortgage unit. This will lead the high satisfaction of customer which stimulated firms to search for more creative ways to serve customer better. The advantages of customer structure chart are helps the organization to develop a better understanding of the customers and the types of customer that serving and this enable the organization to have better meeting the needs of customers. In order to meet the needs of customer, the employee of Public Bank is focusing on their own department where will bring more effective and efficient of servicer delivery. Also, the customer structure chart enables the organization to respond the questions or queries from customer with faster speed. With the faster respond to the queries from customer will bring high customer satisfaction with high expectation, so that this also meeting the objectives and mission that practiced by The Public Bank Group. This type of structure, customer structure chart is suitable to be used in branches with various customers where they can only focus on their customers with high speed of responding. This also enables employee empowerment to line staff or front office staff to make decision in responding on the changing of customer needs and preference of customers. 3.2 Summary of Customer Structure Chart of Public Bank As presented by Public Bank Group, they are using customer structure chart in their branch at Jalan Yang Kalsom. One of the advantages of customer structure chart can enables managers or front office staffs to respond the changing needs of customers and this let Public Bank Group achieved its corporate philosophy where Public Bank Group are cares their customer by providing courteous and efficient customer service in every aspects of their businesses. By empowering front office staffs to make decision in responding the needs of customer also brings creative and innovative solutions to solve problems or queries. 4.0 Competition arise between Public Bank Group, Maybank and RHB Bank In this section, I will use Michael Porter’s Five Forces model to access and analyze the competition arise between Public Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank with five elements. Brinkman et al. (2010, p. 185) argues the five elements of Michael Porter’s Five Forces model are rivalry among existing competitors, threats of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and threat of substitute products or services. The explanation of each element is described as follows: Threats of new entrants: New entrants of an industry will bring new capacity and a desire to gain market share which will puts pressure on the current market to put more efforts in investment to reduce the market share being shared by new entrants and bring competition to the market. Bargaining power of suppliers: The powerful supplier able to capture their own values to the company by charging higher prices on the raw materials and shifting costs to the particular industry or company. Powerful supplier also can squeeze profitability out of industry which is unable to increase its own prices freely. The suppliers for banks are credit market or depositors which save their money in the bank saving accounts. Bargaining power of buyers: Powerful customers are opposite of powerful supplier which able to capture more their own values to the company by forcing down the prices of the products or services and able to demand higher quality or services. Buyers are powerful when they have the negotiating leverage which related to the industry because buyers are the one who sensitive with the prices. The buyers for banks are loaner, creditors and public which borrow money from banks and return money to the banks by installment with interest charged. Threats of substitute products or services: A substitute products or services are performing the same or similar function as industry product but with different means. For example, e-mail is a substitute for express mail. WeChat voice message is a substitute for call service provided by telecommunication company. Rivalry among existing competitors: Advertising campaigns, price discounting, service improvement and launching or promotion of new products is familiar forms in rivalry among existing competitors. Slow growth of industry is precipitating the competition for the markt share and the profitability of a company is depending on intensity of compete and the basis of direction or goals to compete. Table 1: Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model for Public Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank (Own Adaptation 2014) Elements/Banks Public Bank Maybank RHB Bank Threats of new entrants I’m assume it is low which government did not set any barrier or policies for any financial institution so any banks are easy to penetrate into the industry. Bargaining power of supplier Low unless there is better service or interest on savings is higher than Public Bank. Low Low Bargaining power of buyers Low Low Low Threats of substitute products or services There are same substitute which same products or services are offered by three banks. Rivalry among existing competitors High with awarded ISO certification of customer satisfaction standard and awarded most profitable bank in Malaysia at 2013. Low Low 4.1 Summary of competition arise between Public Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank As illustrated on Table 1, Public Bank has the core competencies with ISO certification of customer service standard and most profitable bank in Malaysia at 2013. I’m assume the strategy used by Public Bank is better than Maybank and RHB Bank as Public has a lot of awards for its achievement in banking industry by serving customer within their expectation and high customer satisfaction also. 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations for Public Bank Group Galavan, Murray and Markides argues that business environment in which rapid changes in globalization of markets are creating communities of customers. (2008, p. 131) In fact, it is same as The Public Bank Group where the top management will access all the micro and macro environments to analyze in order to establish a new and good strategy for achieve the mission. In Section 1, the growth strategy used by The Public Bank Group is aim to meet their customer needs and satisfaction and there is an achievement to the corporate mission which is ‘To sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia’. The award of most profitable bank in Malaysia at 2013 and ISO 9001:2008 which is customer service standard is the outcome after they have offered special training to over 90% front office staff in responding queries from customer within 2-minute. In Section 2, the customer structure chart brings a lot of advantages to the Public Bank Group where it is empowering their staff to solve and directly to respond to the changing requirement of customer needs with creatively and innovatively. By doing so, the structure also able to deliver their strategy which to meet customer needs with courteous and efficient. In Section 3, there is low competition arise between Public Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank where Public Bank is achieved so many awards by comparing to Maybank and RHB Bank. Lastly, the recommendation for The Public Bank Group is to keep investing on their research and development on their service in order to maintain and sustain the best customer service in achieving the mission.

Of Mice and Men: My Ending :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crooks and Curley’s wife both receive a paramount amount of isolation. Many people are unable to cope with this. Few people are able to cope with this type of loneliness in a healthy way. That is why there are so many problems as it is with Crooks and Curley’s wife. Many times a person does â€Å"weird† things in order to get attention, or to make the feelings of seclusion recede for a while. I plan to open your mind to some of the ideas of why our characters, Crooks and Curley’s wife, act the way they do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crooks is a victim of a different types of loneliness. Crooks, does not ask to be isolated from everyone. It is simply because he is a black man. That is the reason he is isolated and rarely spoken too. Back in those days people of different races did not associate as they do now. After a while, Crooks gets accustomed to the loneliness he receives on the farm but never learns to live with it. To accept loneliness is to give up. I believe that deep down inside Crooks always hopes that someone will come and talk to him, just because they want his camaraderie. He forces himself to believe that eventually someone will come, that helps him get through some of his toughest times. Not because they (that person) want him to do something. I think when Lennie comes to Crooks’ room and talks with him it heals a part of Crooks that has been scarred. Just by Lennie being there it lets Crooks knows there is still hope. When Lennie first comes Crooks says, â€Å"You got no right to come in my room. Nobody got no right but me. I ain’t wanted. Crooks says this to Lennie at first because I think he has to admit to himself that this no longer applies. That eventually he will be able to have a friendship with someone. That someone is Lennie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Curley’s wife starts off with many problems. As Curley’s wife states earlier in the novel, â€Å"Sure I gotta husband.† Spend’s all his time sayin what he’s gonna do to guy’s he don’t like. Think I am going to stay in that 2 x 4 house! I think her husband Curley does not satisfy her needs. As a person I do not think they are compatible. They probably both jumped at the opportunity for to marry a person they thought they were in love with.

The Automatic Paige Typesetter :: essays research papers

The Automatic Paige Typesetter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people believed that the Paige typesetter was printing of the nineteenth century. One person who literally put everything he had into it was Samuel Taylor Clemens better known as Mark Twain. Mark Twain was the principle money investor of the automatic Paige typesetter. Twain thought that his investments in the machine would make him richer, but it turned out that the typesetter did the exact opposite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  James Paige invented the automatic Paige typesetter around 1877. The typesetter was said to have the power of four men’s jobs. It was not only going to be the greatest invention of the nineteenth century, it was going to make publishing companies a fortune by cutting down on time and initial printing costs. In 1877, Dr. George F. Hawley signed a contract with Paige to use his typesetter and the Thompson distributor, another machine that sorted printed papers, to combine them into one machine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The â€Å"Chicago Herald† tested the combined machine, or Paige compositor. The machine was roughly eleven feet long, three and one half feet wide, and six feet high. It weighted nearly 5000 pounds, and the power it needed was transmitted through a round belt to a grooved pulley 14 inches in diameter. The machined used about 1/4 to 1/3 horse-power and it could be started and turned up to speed with one finger at a 7-inch leverage. The compositor was particularly made for newspaper printing work. It did all the work of distributing, setting, justifying, and had mechanisms that were adjustable to any width of column desired for newspaper or bookwork.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although the compositor seemed like a good idea it had many defects and over 18,000 mechanical parts that were not always in working order. James Paige put a great deal of time, effort, and money into his great invention. Mark Twain himself invested and lost 50,000 dollars in the machine. Despite the efforts of everybody involved with the compositor, the Linotype machine hit the market earlier and was more cost effective.

“The Singer Solution to World Poverty”

World poverty has existed for many centuries and still exists today, gradually expanding and intensifying. This is the topic that Pete Singer, a professor of bioethics, calls attention to in his article â€Å"The Singer Solution to World Poverty. † Singer claimed that the solution was simple; â€Å"whatever money you’re spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away. † Considering Singer’s â€Å"solution† a controversial point arises between an idealistic, utopian, and morally just point of view and a realistic, pragmatic, and plausible point of view.Singer’s solution, although righteous and ethical, is not probable and thus would not be effective in curing world poverty. The few pros of Singer’s proposal are, at first glance, important and convincing. The money, prospering individuals are spending on luxuries, can total to a great amount, which can help pay for food and medical aid for the poor. With an increase of food a nd medicine, the rate at which children and adults die due to starvation and lack of medical help, can quickly decrease.Nations will less frequently struggle with high mortality rate among newly born and children as well as among adult people suffering from curable diseases. In addition, the donated money can allow for the improvement of educational opportunities for all individuals, which can result in advanced technological, scientific and humanities-focused research and discoveries. Ultimately, Singer’s utopian idea of a cure for world poverty, promises a developed, healthy, and educated world.Although Singer deals with morality and righteousness, one cannot help but criticize Singer’s idealism and naivety and resort to realism, practicality and plausibility. The first issue that comes to light when attempting to execute or enforce this â€Å"solution† is the unknown borderline between luxury and necessity. In reality, it would be impossible for every prosper ous person to agree upon what is and what is not a necessity, and if it were decided, for example that microwaves were a luxury, would the microwave manufacturers go out of business?A large percentage of companies and factories are dedicated to manufacturing luxurious items, however, if people no longer continued to buy these items and instead donated to the poor, this would be at the cost of the factory workers’ jobs; therefore, creating a cyclical effect and intensifying the issue of world poverty. Accordingly, Singer gives a highly idealistic and utopian theory and when we evaluate both pros and cons, it becomes obvious that the obstacles outweigh the advantages.His approach in curing world poverty is not only too extreme, but brings about cyclical and unsolvable issues. It is important to consider and apply this method to real life and then reflect upon all the possible consequences. Singer’s cure fails to provide a realistic solution and promising outcomes. A diff erent approach, or rather first step, to solving world poverty can be keeping to a minimum expensive worldwide projects. For example, millions of dollars are spent on the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, World Soccer Cups, etc.If instead the total money dedicated to these celebrations were to be saved and donated to the needy every few years, progress would certainly be a result. Moreover, the ceremonies can be replaced with simple, yet entertaining concerts performed by artists willing to volunteer and help fund-raise money for the poor. Ultimately, Singer’s â€Å"simple formula† for world poverty in reality is a naive and idealist theory, and most importantly an ill-considered and unfitting solution to one of the 21st century’s greatest issue: world poverty.

The benefits of sward renewal

Philip Creightonl, Michael O'Donovan2 and Laurence Sha11002 Grassland Science Research Department Animal ; Grassland Research and Innovation Centre Teagasc Athenry and Moorepark2 Introduction Grassland in Ireland including rough grazing accounts for over 90% of agricultural land use. Lolium perenne (Perennial ryegrass) is by far the most widely sown grass species accounting for over 95% of forage grass seed sold each year. It produces a dense sward, highly acceptable to livestock with the ability to produce high dry atter yields, especially in spring and autumn reducing the seasonality of production.Achieving good performance from grass is dependent on having high quality perennial ryegrass/clover swards. This paper will outline the important aspects of reseeding pasture, what's happening at farm level, why and when reseeding should be completed, its benefits and costs. What is happening at farm level? A recent survey of a proportion of co-op suppliers from Kerry, Connaught Gold and Glanbia (Creighton et al. , 2011) found a number of significant findings from a eseeding perspective, these are listed below. i. v'. ‘x.Regular reseeding took place on 50% of participants farms, 25% reseed infrequently, 25% never reseed. Of those reseeding, 50% of participants reseed 2-4ha/year, 20% 8. 0 Soil K Index 2 3 4 Soil K ranges (mg/ 0-50 51-100 101-150 > 150 K application rate (kg/ha) 110 75 50 Slurry is a good option to maintain nutrient status. With the increased cost of compounds (P and K) slurry should be used in reseeding, 1000 gallons of slurry at 7% DM is equivalent to 4kg N, 3kg P and 19. 5kg K. At soil index 3, slurry (3000gals/ac) is sufficient to supply the P and K nutrients.Weed control The best time to control docks and all other weeds is after reseeding. By using a post emergence spray seedling weeds can be destroyed before they properly develop and establish root stocks. Established weeds can seriously reduce the yield potential and economic lifetime of the reseeded sward. From the survey information it is clear that only 50% of farmers are applying a post emergence spray, resulting in over 90% of surveyed farms having problems with dock infestations.To ensure that a post emergence spray can be applied reseeding should be targeted for the spring or early autumn when establishment conditions are much more suitable and the opportunity for weed control is guaranteed. The post emergence spray should be applied approximately 6 weeks after establishment Just before the first grazing takes place. With weed control it pays to be proactive, spraying when grass is at the two leaf stage works well. Grazing management of reseeded swards Care needs to be taken when grazing newly reseeded swards.The sward should be razed as soon as the new grass plants roots are strong enough to withstand grazing (root stays anchored in the ground when pulled). Early grazing is important to allow light to the base of the plant to encourage tillering. Light graz ing by animals such as calves, weanlings or sheep is preferred as ground conditions may still be somewhat fragile depending on establishment method used. Grazing new reseeds with larger animals can create high levels of tiller pulling. The first grazing of a new reseed can be completed at pre grazing yields of 600-1000kg DM/ha. Frequent grazing of the reseeds at light covers (

Research proposal on press freedom

The close proximity to Eugene ensures a steady flow of customers. MGSG is a start-up grower and distributor of exotic salad greens for restaurants and individual consumers. MGSG is located in Blue River, Oregon and serves the southern Willamette Valley.M6SG's objectives are to develop a product-based company whose goal is to exceed customer's expectations, increase roduction efficiency by 10% a year, and lastly, and develop a sustainable farm business, able to survive off their cash flow. Products MGSG will sell a spring mix of salad field greens. These greens will include but are not limited to: red leaf, arugula, radicchio, mustard greens, endive, and chicory. These greens are grown for use in salad mixtures, purchased by the end consumer as well as by restaurants who then serve it to their patrons.The Market MGSG has decided to target two distinct market segments, individual customers and restaurants. The individual customers will purchase greens from MGSG at the Tuesday and Satur day Farmer's Market. This segment is growing at 12% and has 12,000 potential customers. The second segment is local restaurants. This market is smaller at only 28 potential customers, but is more consistent in demand throughout the year. Competitive Edge MGSG has two competitive edges that will help them maintain strong growth rates, ncreasing their market penetration.The first edge is quality. MGSG prides themselves on the high quality of exotic salad greens. Greens that do not meet MGSG high standards of quality are rejected as imperfects and go to a not-for-profit food bank. M6SG's second competitive edge is their flexibility. The entire farm has been set up to allow them to change crops or scale existing crops to meet demand. This is highly unusual as most farms are unable to change crops mid year. Management MGSG is led by Heidi Ponic.Heidi initially got her start in growing while working at a greenhouse. After college, Heidi went to work for a large grass seed company. This ex perience is what solidified Heidi's desire to continue working in an agricultural capacity. Soon after her experience at the Willamette Seed Company she decided to enroll in Oregon State University's Master of Horticulture Program. Heidi's Masters provided her with requisite detail and skills to develop her own farm business research proposal on press freedom By Jkamaleki

Organizational Structure and Culture Essay

Authority structure within organizations is important for the oversight of delegated processes and expected outcomes. Without structure, chaos would impede support, communications, and vision development. Organizational designs vary according to the need of the organization to operate efficiently, to achieve goals, and to support the associates within the organization. The organizational structure style design helps lead the organization in successful endeavors (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). Organizational History The history of an organization contributes to the design of the formal organizational structure.  The medical center has a tumultuous history. A new modern building was constructed in 2000 to replace an older structure. The local physicians had no input into the decision or design of the new facility. The organizational structure during that time was a strict parallel design. The physicians reported to the chief medical officer and the Board of Trustees. The physicians jointly decided not to support the new local hospital; the organization began to collapse. The medical center eventually fell into bankruptcy because of the lack of physician support, poor financial management, and unscrupulous use of organizational monies. The court system retained a reconstruction organization in an attempt to rebuild the local hospital. During the time of bankruptcy the parallel organizational structure remained in place, but with less authority of the medical governance branch. The main focus of the organizational structure was financial survival of the organization. An immediate change was needed for the improvement of the dangerously low morale of the health care associates The once country owned, bankrupted not-for-profit-hospital was bought and sold twice before stabilization began to be a possibility. A corporation purchased the hospital and changed it to a for-profit organization. There was very little resistance to the change because the organization had been surviving in chaos. According to Kurt Lewin’s three stage theory of change, the first phase, the unfreezing phase, is an important phase of change. Change is getting ready to happen during this phase. The health care associates of the medical center had been getting ready for change for a few years. The unfreezing phase requires the development of motivation. Motivation was the chance to prosper in a successful business venture while delivering quality care to the community (â€Å"Kurt Lewin,† 2012). Generational Culture The generational culture of the organization had a positive effect on the change. There was a common goal developed, the success of the organization. The generational similarities outnumber the generational differences. According Anick (2008), â€Å"The top reason for happiness in the workplace is the sense of feeling valued† (Table 2. Elements on which members of each generation are mostly similar). The traditional, baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y became involved in the decision making as the new organization structure formed. They shared ideas and offered suggestions for patient care improvement. Informal leaders began to emerge. During the refreezing phase, the stabilization became the norm. The differences in the generational culture became more apparent. More processes, greater accountability, and new required use of technology caused a feeling of less worth for the older generation of health care providers. The younger nurses seemed to adapt more quickly to new systems and techniques. Older nurses began to believe they were less important to the process. The informal leader roles changed. A new information system was installed and education was initiated. This led to more attention on the differences of the generational cultures. Much of the required education was completed on the computer. E-mail is essential for communication within the organization. Some of the traditional generation began to feel left behind. At the end of the first year, many of the health care providers who had survived the previous chaos succumbed to the new advancements and left the organization. Current Organizational Design The current organizational structure of the medical center is a matrix design. The upper administration consists of a chief nursing officer, chief financial officer, and an assistant administrator. This group reports directly to the chief executive officer. The chief executive officer reports to the Board of Trustees. The medical center consists of two distinct campuses, four on-site clinics, and one clinic located off campus. The upper administration is responsible for the organization. The matrix esign is complex and requires good interpersonal skills for dual managers. Each nursing unit has a nurse manager. The nurse managers report to the chief nursing officer regarding any patient care issues. The nurse managers of the behavioral health campus also report to the behavioral health program director for organizational issues. The physicians are under the organizational umbrella for operational regulations but report to the chief medical officer regarding medical patient care. The resource manager has a dual reporting line to the chief nursing officer and the chief financial officer. The matrix requires frequent communication between the dual authorities. Non-management views the frequent meetings as meetings about meetings (Sullivan & Decker, 2009) Formal lines of reporting are evident within the organization. The nurse managers report to the chief nursing officer. Managers of departments involving financial business of the hospital report to the chief financial officer. Ancillary and support services report to the assistant administrator. The compliance officer, the pharmacy director and the behavioral health program director report directly to the chief executive officer. The formal lines of reporting are used for recognition of associates, disciplinary offenses, and arbitration of challenges between departments. Patient-Centered Care Environment The organization is creating an environment for client-centered care by the development of a nursing leadership council consisting of direct care providers. The council membership includes seven registered nurses from nursing units with day and night shift representation. The nursing council interviews associates and patients, observes processes, and reports findings to the council. Changes in nursing processes are approved through the nursing council with final approval by the chief nursing officer. The council members were selected using predetermined criteria. The informal leaders of individual departments were chosen for their job performances and their proven leadership skills. The shared governance gives ownership of patient care to the frontline caregivers (Hess, 2004). Organizational Communication Various communication methods are used within the organization. Formal, time sensitive communications are delivered face-to-face or by technology. E-mail and web conferencing are the most frequent used methods for upper administration. Both methods allow quick responses between the communicators. Upper-level management processes the information and decides the best delivery method to the next lower-level management, depending on the subject matter and the expected time frames. Middle management associates attend leadership meetings every two weeks. Management communicates organizational status through these meetings. Plans for future projects are discussed during the leadership meetings. Middle management has e-mail accounts and receives electronic communications on changes. Middle management holds departmental meetings at least monthly to distribute information to the direct care providers. Upper-level management holds open meetings for the direct care providers each quarter. The meetings focus on current organizational trends and plans. Direct care providers ask questions and make suggestions for improvement during the open meetings. Communication boards are placed in strategic areas through the work areas. Information is placed on the communication boards and updated weekly. Questions frequently come from the information from the boards. Conclusion The organizational structure can be descriptive of the culture of the organization. A ridged authoritarian organizational structure defines an organization that does not allow the frontline workers to participate in decisions that affect the organization. The matrix organizational design requires open communication between the leaders of the organization. Added shared governance from the frontline creates more awareness is put on the quality and delivery of the product. Organizational structures vary and are representative of the leadership within.

Forward the Foundation Chapter 4

8 Raych looked at Hari Seldon after the two politicians had gone and fingered his mustache. It gave him satisfaction to stroke it. Here in the Streeling Sector, some men wore mustaches, but they were usually thin despicable things of uncertain color-thin despicable things, even if dark. Most men did not wear them at all and suffered with naked upper lips. Seldon didn't, for instance, and that was just as well. With his color of hair, a mustache would have been a travesty. He watched Seldon closely, waiting for him to cease being lost in thought, and then found he could wait no longer. â€Å"Dad?† he said. Seldon looked up and said, â€Å"What?† He sounded a little annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted, Raych decided. Raych said, â€Å"I don't think it was right for you to see those two guys.† â€Å"Oh? Why not?† â€Å"Well, the thin guy, whatever his name is, was the guy you made trouble for at the Field. He can't have liked it.† â€Å"But he apologized.† â€Å"He didn't mean it. But the other guy, Joranum-he can be dangerous. What if they had had weapons?† â€Å"What? Here in the University? In my office? Of course not. This isn't Billibotton. Besides, if they had tried anything, I could have handled both of them together. Easily.† â€Å"I don't know, Dad,† said Raych dubiously. â€Å"You're getting-â€Å" â€Å"Don't say it, you ungrateful monster,† said Seldon, lifting an admonishing finger. â€Å"You'll sound just like your mother and I have enough of that from her. I am not getting old-or, at least, not that old. Besides, you were with me and you're almost as skilled a Twister as I am.† Raych's nose wrinkled. â€Å"Twisting ain't much good.† (It was no use. Raych heard himself speak and knew that, even eight years out of the morass of Dahl, he still slipped into using the Dahlite accent that marked him firmly as a member of the lower class. And he was short, too, to the point where he sometimes felt stunted. But he had his mustache and no one ever patronized him twice.) He said, â€Å"What are you going to do about Joranum?† â€Å"For now, nothing.† â€Å"Well, look, Dad, I saw Joranum on TrantorVision a couple of times. I even made some holotapes of his speeches. Everyone is talking about him, so I thought I would see what he has to say. And, you know, he makes some kind of sense. I don't like him and I don't trust him, but he does make some kind of sense. He wants all sectors to have equal rights and equal opportunities-and there ain't nothing wrong with that, is there?† â€Å"Certainly not. All civilized people feel that way.† â€Å"So why don't we have that sort of stuff? Does the Emperor feel that way? Does Demerzel?† â€Å"The Emperor and the First Minister have an entire Empire to worry about. They can't concentrate all their efforts on Trantor itself. It's easy for Joranum to talk about equality. He has no responsibilities. If he were in the position to rule, he would find that his efforts would be greatly diluted by an Empire of twenty-five million planets. Not only that, but he would find himself stopped at every point by the sectors themselves. Each one wants a great deal of equality for itself-but not much equality for others. Tell me, Raych, are you of the opinion that Joranum ought to have a chance to rule, just to show what he can do?† Raych shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. I wonder. But if he had tried anything on you, I would have been at his throat before he could move two centimeters.† â€Å"Your loyalty to me, then, exceeds your concern for the Empire.† â€Å"Sure. You're my dad.† Seldon looked at Raych fondly, but behind that look he felt a trace of uncertainty. How far could Joranum's nearly hypnotic influence go? 9 Hari Seldon sat back in his chair, the vertical back giving as he did so and allowing him to assume a half-reclining position. His hands were behind his head and his eyes were unfocused. His breathing was very soft, indeed. Dors Venabili was at the other end of the room, with her viewer turned off and the microfilms back in place. She had been through a rather concentrated period of revision of her opinions on the Florina Incident in early Trantorian history and she found it rather restful to withdraw for a few moments and to speculate on what it was that Seldon was considering. It had to be psychohistory. It would probably take him the rest of his life, tracking down the byways of this semichaotic technique, and he would end with it incomplete, leaving the task to others (to Amaryl, if that young man had not also worn himself out on the matter) and breaking his heart at the need to do that. Yet it gave him a reason for living. He would live longer with the problem filling him from end to end-and that pleased her. Someday she would lose him, she knew, and she found that the thought afflicted her. It had not seemed it would at the start, when her task had been the simple one of protecting him for the sake of what he knew. When had it become a matter of personal need? How could there be so personal a need? What was there about the man that caused her to feel uneasy when he was not in her sight, even when she knew he was safe so that the deeply ingrained orders within her were not called into action? His safety was all that she had been ordered to be concerned with. How did the rest intrude itself? She had spoken of it to Demerzel long before, when the feeling had made itself unmistakable. He had regarded her gravely and said, `'You are complex, Dors, and there are no simple answers. In my life there have been several individuals whose presence made it easier for me to think, pleasanter to make my responses. I have tried to judge the ease of my responses in their presence and the unease of my responses in their final absence to see whether I was the net gainer or loser. In the process, one thing became plain. The pleasantness of their company outweighed the regret of their passing. On the whole, then, it is better to experience what you experience now than not to.† She thought: Hari will someday leave a void, and each day that someday is closer, and I must not think of it. It was to rid herself of the thought that she finally interrupted him. â€Å"What are you thinking of, Hari?† â€Å"What?† Seldon focused his eyes with an apparent effort. â€Å"Psychohistory, I assume. I imagine you've traced another blind pathway.† â€Å"Well now. That's not on my mind at all.† He laughed suddenly. â€Å"Do you want to know what I'm thinking of? Hair!† â€Å"Hair? Whose?† â€Å"Right now, yours.† He was looking at her fondly. â€Å"Is there something wrong with it? Should I dye it another color? Or perhaps, after all these years, it should go gray.† â€Å"Come! Who needs or wants gray in your hair. But it's led me to other things. Nishaya, for instance.† â€Å"Nishaya? What's that?† â€Å"It was never part of the pre-Imperial Kingdom of Trantor, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. It's a world, a small one. Isolated. Unimportant. Overlooked. I only know anything at all about it because I've taken the trouble to look it up. Very few worlds out of twenty-five million can really make much of a sustained splash, but I doubt that there's another one as insignificant as Nishaya. Which is very significant, you see.† Dors shoved her reference material to one side and said, â€Å"What is this new penchant you have for paradox, which you always tell me you detest? What is this significance of insignificance?† â€Å"Oh, I don't mind paradoxes when I perpetrate them. You see, Joranum comes from Nishaya.† â€Å"Ah, it's Joranum you're concerned with.† â€Å"Yes. I've been viewing some of his speeches-at Raych's insistence. They don't make very much sense, but the total effect can be almost hypnotic. Raych is very impressed by him.† â€Å"I imagine that anyone of Dahlite origins would be, Hari. Joranum's constant call for sector equality would naturally appeal to the downtrodden heatsinkers. You remember when we were in Dahl?† â€Å"I remember it very well and of course I don't blame the lad. It just bothers me that Joranum comes from Nishaya.† Dors shrugged. â€Å"Well, Joranum has to come from somewhere and, conversely, Nishaya, like any other world, must send its people out at times, even to Trantor.† â€Å"Yes, but, as I've said, I've taken the trouble to investigate Nishaya. I've even managed to make hyperspatial contact with some minor official which cost a considerable quantity of credits that I cannot, in good conscience, charge to the department.† â€Å"And did you find anything that was worth the credits?† â€Å"I rather think so. You know, Joranum is always telling little stories to make his points, stories that are legends on his home planet of Nishaya. That serves a good purpose for him here on Trantor, since it makes him appear to be a man of the people, full of homespun philosophy. Those tales litter his speeches. They make him appear to be from a small world, to have been brought up on an isolated farm surrounded by an untamed ecology. People like it, especially Trantorians, who would rather die than be trapped somewhere in an untamed ecology but who love to dream about one just the same.† â€Å"But what of it all?† â€Å"The odd point is that not one of the stories was familiar to the person I spoke to on Nishaya.† â€Å"That's not significant, Hari. It may be a small world, but it's a world. What is current in Joranum's birth section of the world may not be current in whatever place your official came from.† â€Å"No no. Folktales, in one form or another, are usually worldwide. But aside from that, I had considerable trouble in understanding the fellow. He spoke Galactic Standard with a thick accent. I spoke to a few others on the world, just to check, and they all had the same accent.† â€Å"And what of that?† â€Å"Joranum doesn't have it. He speaks a fairly good Trantorian. It's a lot better than mine, actually. I have the Heliconian stress on the letter `r.' He doesn't. According to the records, he arrived on Trantor when he was nineteen. It is just impossible, in my opinion, to spend the first nineteen years of your life speaking that barbarous Nishayan version of Galactic Standard and then come to Trantor and lose it. However long he's been here, some trace of the accent would have remained-Look at Raych and the way he lapses into his Dahlite way of speaking on occasion.† â€Å"What do you deduce from all this?† â€Å"What I deduce-what I've been sitting here all evening, deducing like a deduction machine-is that Joranum didn't come from Nishaya at all. In fact, I think he picked Nishaya as the place to pretend to come from, simply because it is so backwoodsy, so out-of-the-way, that no one would think of checking it. He must have made a thorough computer search to find the one world least likely to allow him to be caught in a lie.† â€Å"But that's ridiculous, Hari. Why should he want to pretend to be from a world he did not come from? It would mean a great deal of falsification of records.† â€Å"And that's precisely what he has probably done. He probably has enough followers in the civil service to make that possible. Probably no one person has done as much in the way of revision and all of his followers are too fanatical to talk about it.† â€Å"But still-Why?† â€Å"Because I suspect Joranum doesn't want people to know where he really comes from.† â€Å"Why not? All worlds in the Empire are equal, both by laws and by custom.† â€Å"I don't know about that. These high-ideal theories are somehow never borne out in real life.† â€Å"Then where does he come from? Do you have any idea at all?† â€Å"Yes. Which brings us back to this matter of hair.† â€Å"What about hair?† â€Å"I sat there with Joranum, staring at him and feeling uneasy, without knowing why I was feeling uneasy. Then finally I realized that it was his hair that made me uneasy. There was something about it, a life, a gloss†¦ a perfection to it that I've never seen before. And then I knew. His hair is artificial and carefully grown on a scalp that ought to be innocent of such things.† â€Å"Ought to be?† Dors's eyes narrowed. It was clear that she suddenly understood. â€Å"Do you mean-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, I do mean. He's from the past-centered, mythology-ridden Mycogen Sector of Trantor. That's what he's been laboring to hide.† 10 Dors Venabili thought coolly about the matter. It was her only mode of thought-cool. Not for her the hot flashes of emotion. She closed her eyes to concentrate. It had been eight years since she and Hari had visited Mycogen and they hadn't been there long. There had been little to admire there except the food. The pictures arose. The harsh, puritanical, male-centered society; the emphasis on the past; the removal of all body hair, a painful process deliberately self-imposed to make themselves different so that they would â€Å"know who they were†; their legends; their memories (or fancies) of a time when they ruled the Galaxy, when their lives were prolonged, when robots existed. Dors opened her eyes and said, â€Å"Why, Hari?† â€Å"Why what, dear?† â€Å"Why should he pretend not to be from Mycogen?† She didn't think he would remember Mycogen in greater detail than she; in fact, she knew he wouldn't, but his mind was better than hers-different, certainly. Hers was a mind that only remembered and drew the obvious inferences in the fashion of a mathematic line of deduction. He had a mind that leaped unexpectedly. Seldon liked to pretend that intuition was solely the province of his assistant, Yugo Amaryl, but Dors was not fooled by that. Seldon liked to pose as the unworldly mathematician who stared at the world out of perpetually wondering eyes, but she was not fooled by that, either. â€Å"Why should he pretend not to be from Mycogen?† she repeated as he sat there, his eyes lost in an inward look that Dors always associated with his attempt to squeeze one more tiny drop of usefulness and validity out of the concepts of psycho-history. Seldon said finally, â€Å"It's a harsh society, a limiting society. There are always those who chafe over its manner of dictating every action and every thought. There are always those who find they cannot entirely be broken to the harness, who want the greater liberties available in the more secular world outside. It's understandable.† â€Å"So they force the growth of artificial hair?† â€Å"No, not generally. The average Breakaway-that's what the Mycogenians call the deserters and they despise them, of course-wears a wig. It's much simpler but much less effective. Really serious Breakaways grow false hair, I'm told. The process is difficult and expensive but is almost unnoticeable. I've never come across it before, though I've heard of it. I've spent years studying all eight hundred sectors of Trantor, trying to work out the basic rules and mathematics of psychohistory. I have little enough to show for it, unfortunately, but I have learned a few things.† â€Å"But why, then, do the Breakaways have to hide the fact that they're from Mycogen? They're not persecuted that I know of.† â€Å"No, they're not. In fact, there's no general impression that Mycogenians are inferior. It's worse than that. The Mycogenians aren't taken seriously. They're intelligen -everyone admits that-highly educated, dignified, cultured, wizards with food, almost frightening in their capacity to keep their sector prosperous-but no one takes them seriously. Their beliefs strike people outside Mycogen as ridiculous, humorous, unbelievably foolish. And that view clings even to Mycogenians who are Breakaways. A Mycogenian attempt to seize power in the government would be crushed by laughter. Being feared is nothing. Being despised, even, can be lived with. But being laughed at-that's fatal. Joranum wants to be First Minister, so he must have hair, and, to be comfortable, he must represent himself as having been brought up on some obscure world as far from Mycogen as he can possibly manage.† â€Å"Surely there are some people who are naturally bald.† â€Å"Never as completely depilated as Mycogenians force themselves to be. On the Outer Worlds, it wouldn't matter much. But Mycogen is a distant whisper to the Outer Worlds. The Mycogenians keep themselves so much to themselves that it is a rare one, indeed, who has ever left Trantor. Here on Trantor, though, it's different. People might be bald, but they usually have a fringe of hair that advertises them as nonMycogenian-or they grow facial hair. Those very few who are completely hairless-usually a pathological condition-are out of luck. I imagine they have to go around with a doctor's certificate to prove they are not Mycogenians.† Dors, frowning slightly, said, â€Å"Does this help us any?† â€Å"I'm not sure.† â€Å"Couldn't you let it be known that he is a Mycegonian?† â€Å"I'm not sure that could be done easily. He must have covered his tracks well and even if it could be done-â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† Seldon shrugged. â€Å"I don't want to invite an appeal to bigotry. The social situation on Trantor is bad enough without running the risk of loosing passions that neither I nor anyone else could then control. If I do have to resort to the matter of Mycogen, it will only be as a last resort.† â€Å"Then you want minimalism, too.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Then what will you do?† â€Å"I made an appointment with Demerzel. He may know what to do.† Dors looked at him sharply. â€Å"Hari, are you falling into the trap of expecting Demerzel to solve every problem for you?† â€Å"No, but perhaps he'll solve this one.† â€Å"And if he doesn't?† â€Å"Then I'll have to think of something else, won't I?† â€Å"Like what?† A look of pain crossed Seldon's face. â€Å"Dors, I don't know. Don't expect me to solve every problem, either.† 11 Eto Demerzel was not frequently seen, except by the Emperor Cleon. It was his policy to remain in the background for a variety of reasons, one of which was that his appearance changed so little with time. Hari Seldon had not seen him over a period of some years and had not spoken to him truly in private since the days of his early time on Trantor. In light of Seldon's recent unsettling meeting with Laskin Joranum, both Seldon and Demerzel felt it would be best not to advertise their relationship. A visit by Hari Seldon to the First Minister's office at the Imperial Palace would not go unnoticed, and so for reasons of security they had decided to meet in a small yet luxuriously appointed suite at the Dome's Edge Hotel, just outside the Palace grounds. Seeing Demerzel now brought back the old days achingly. The mere fact that Demerzel still looked exactly as he always had made the ache sharper. His face still had its strong regular features. He was still tall and sturdy-looking, with the same dark hair with the hint of blond. He was not handsome, but was gravely distinguished. He looked like someone's ideal picture of what an Imperial First Minister ought to look like, not at all like any such official in history before his time ever had. It was his appearance, Seldon thought, that gave him half his power over the Emperor, and therefore over the Imperial Court, and therefore over the Empire. Demerzel advanced toward him, a gentle smile curving his lips without altering in any way the gravity of his countenance. â€Å"Hari,† he said. â€Å"It is pleasant to see you. I was half-afraid you would change your mind and cancel.† â€Å"I was more than half-afraid you would, First Minister.† â€Å"Eto-if you fear using my real name.† â€Å"I couldn't. It won't come out of me. You know that.† â€Å"It will to me. Say it. I would rather like to hear it.† Seldon hesitated, as though he couldn't believe his lips could frame the words or his vocal cords sound them. â€Å"Daneel,† he said at length. â€Å"R. Daneel Olivaw,† said Demerzel. â€Å"Yes. You will dine with me, Hari. If I dine with you, I won't have to eat, which will be a relief.† â€Å"Gladly, though one-way eating is not my idea of a convivial time. Surely a bite or two-â€Å" â€Å"To please you-â€Å" â€Å"Just the same,† said Seldon, â€Å"I can't help but wonder if it is wise to spend too much time together.† â€Å"It is. Imperial orders. His Imperial Majesty wants me to.† â€Å"Why, Daneel?† â€Å"In two more years the Decennial Convention will be meeting again. You look surprised. Have you forgotten?† â€Å"Not really. I just haven't thought about it.† â€Å"Were you not going to attend? You were a hit at the last one.† â€Å"Yes. With my psychohistory. Some hit.† â€Å"You attracted the attention of the Emperor. No other mathematician did.† â€Å"It was you who were initially attracted, not the Emperor. Then I had to flee and stay out of the Imperial notice until such time as I could assure you that I had made a start on my psychohistorical research, after which you allowed me to remain in safe obscurity.† â€Å"Being the head of a prestigious Mathematics Department is scarcely obscurity.† â€Å"Yes, it is, since it hides my psychohistory.† â€Å"Ah, the food is arriving. For a while, let's talk about other things as befits friends. How is Dors?† â€Å"Wonderful. A true wife. Hounds me to death with her worries over my safety.† â€Å"That is her job.† â€Å"So she reminds me-frequently. Seriously, Daneel, I can never be sufficiently grateful to you for bringing us together.† â€Å"Thank you, Hari, but, to be truthful, I did not foresee married happiness for either of you, especially not Dors-â€Å" â€Å"Thank you for the gift just the same, however short of the actual consequences your expectations were.† â€Å"I'm delighted, but it is a gift, you will find, that may be of dubious further consequence-as is my friendship.† To this, Seldon could make no reply and so, at a gesture from Demerzel, he turned to his meal. After a while, he nodded at the morsel of fish on his fork and said, â€Å"I don't actually recognize the organism, but this is Mycogenian cooking.† â€Å"Yes, it is. I know you are fond of it.† â€Å"It's the Mycogenians' excuse for existence. Their only excuse. But they have special meaning to you. I mustn't forget that.† â€Å"The special meaning has come to an end. Their ancestors, long, long ago, inhabited the planet of Aurora. They lived three hundred years and more and were the lords of the Fifty Worlds of the Galaxy. It was an Auroran who first designed and produced me. I don't forget that; I remember it far more accurately-and with less distortion-than their Mycogenian descendants do. But then, long, long ago, I left them. I made my choice as to what the good of humanity must be and I have followed it, as best I could, all this time.† Seldon said with sudden alarm, â€Å"Can we be overheard?† Demerzel seemed amused. â€Å"If you have only thought of that now, it is far too late. But fear not, I have taken the necessary precautions. Nor have you been seen by too many eyes when you came. Nor will you be seen by too many when you leave. And those who do see you will not be surprised. I am well known to be an amateur mathematician of great pretensions but of little ability. That is a source of amusement to those at the court who are not entirely my friends and it would not surprise anyone here that I should be concerned about laying the groundwork for the forthcoming Decennial Convention. It is about the convention that I wish to consult you.† â€Å"I don't know that I can help. There is only one thing I could possibly talk about at the convention-and I can't talk about it. If I attend at all, it will only be as part of the audience. I do not intend to present any papers.† â€Å"I understand. Still, if you would like to hear something curious, His Imperial Majesty remembers you.† â€Å"Because you have kept me in his mind, I suppose.† â€Å"No. I have not labored to do so. However, His Imperial Majesty occasionally surprises me. He is aware of the forthcoming convention and he apparently remembers your talk at the earlier one. He remains interested in the matter of psychohistory and more may come of it, I must warn you. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that he may ask to see you. The court will surely consider it a great honor-to receive the Imperial call twice in a single lifetime.† â€Å"You're joking. What could be served by my seeing him?† â€Å"In any case, if you are called to an audience, you can scarcely refuse. How are your young protegs, Yugo and Raych?† â€Å"Surely you know. I imagine you keep a close eye on me.† â€Å"Yes, I do. On your safety but not on every aspect of your life. I am afraid my duties fill much of my time and I am not all-seeing.† â€Å"Doesn't Dors report?† â€Å"She would in a crisis. Not otherwise. She is reluctant to play the role of spy in nonessentials.† Again the small smile. Seldon grunted. â€Å"My boys are doing well. Yugo is increasingly difficult to handle. He's more of a psychohistorian than I am and I think he feels I hold him back. As for Raych, he's a lovable rascal-always was. He won me over when he was a dreadful street urchin and what's more surprising is that he won over Dors. I honestly believe, Daneel, that if Dors grew sick of me and wanted to leave me, she would stay on anyway for her love of Raych.† Demerzel nodded and Seldon continued somberly. â€Å"If Rashelle of Wye hadn't found him lovable, I would not be here today. I would have been shot down-† He stirred uneasily. â€Å"I hate to think of that, Daneel. It was such an entirely accidental and unpredictable event. How could psychohistory have helped in any way?† â€Å"Have you not told me that, at best, psychohistory can deal only in probabilities and with vast numbers, not with individuals?† â€Å"But if the individual happens to be crucial-â€Å" â€Å"I suspect you will find that no individual is ever truly crucial. Not even I-or you.† â€Å"Perhaps you're right. I find that, no matter how I work away under these assumptions, I nevertheless think of myself as crucial, in a kind of supernormal egotism that transcends all sense. And you are crucial, too, which is something I have come here to discuss with you-as frankly as possible. I must know.† â€Å"Know what?† The remains of the meal had been cleared away by a porter and the room's lighting dimmed somewhat so that the walls seemed to close in and give a feeling of great privacy. Seldon said, â€Å"Joranum.† He bit off the word, as though feeling the mention of the name alone should be sufficient. â€Å"Ah. Yes.†** â€Å"You know about him?† â€Å"Of course. How could I not know?† â€Å"Well, I want to know about him, too.† â€Å"What do you want to know?† â€Å"Come, Daneel, don't play with me. Is he dangerous?† â€Å"Of course he is dangerous. Do you have any doubt of that?† â€Å"I mean, to you? To your position as First Minister?† â€Å"That is exactly what I mean. That is how he is dangerous.† â€Å"And you allow it?† Demerzel leaned forward, placing his left elbow on the table between them. â€Å"There are things that don't wait for my permission, Hari. Let us be philosophical about it. His Imperial Majesty, Cleon, First of that Name, has now been on the throne for eighteen years and for all that time I have been his Chief of Staff and then his First Minister, having served in scarcely lesser capacities during the last years of the reign of his father. It is a long time and First Ministers rarely remain that long in power.† â€Å"You are not the ordinary First Minister, Daneel, and you know it. You must remain in power while psychohistory is being developed. Don't smile at me. It's true. When we first met, eight years ago, you told me the Empire was in a state of decay and decline. Have you changed your mind about that?† â€Å"No, of course not.† â€Å"In fact, the decline is more marked now, isn't it?† â€Å"Yes, it is, though I labor to prevent that.† â€Å"And without you, what would happen? Joranum is raising the Empire against you.† â€Å"Trantor, Hari. Trantor. The Outer Worlds are solid and reasonably contented with my deeds so far, even in the midst of a declining economy and lessening trade.† â€Å"But Trantor is where it counts. Trantor-the Imperial world we're living on, the capital of the Empire, the core, the administrative center- is what can overthrow you. You cannot keep your post if Trantor says no. â€Å"I agree.† â€Å"And if you go, who will then take care of the Outer Worlds and what will keep the decline from being precipitate and the Empire from degenerating rapidly into anarchy?† â€Å"That is a possibility, certainly.† â€Å"So you must be doing something about it. Yugo is convinced that you are in deadly danger and can't maintain your position. His intuition tells him so. Dors says the same thing and explains it in terms of the Three Laws or Four of-of-â€Å" â€Å"Robotics,† put in Demerzel. â€Å"Young Raych seems attracted to Joranum's doctrines-being of Dahlite origin, you see. And I-I am uncertain, so I come to you for comfort, I suppose. Tell me that you have the situation well in hand.† â€Å"I would do so if I could. However, I have no comfort to offer. I am in danger.† â€Å"Are you doing nothing?† â€Å"No. I'm doing a great deal to contain discontent and blunt Joranum's message. If I had not done so, then perhaps I would be out of office already. But what I'm doing is not enough.† Seldon hesitated. Finally he said, â€Å"I believe that Joranum is actually a Mycogenian.† â€Å"Is that so?† â€Å"It is my opinion. I had thought we might use that against him, but I hesitate to unleash the forces of bigotry.† â€Å"You are wise to hesitate. There are many things that might be done that have side effects we do not want. You see, Hari, I don't fear leaving my post-if some successor could be found who would continue those principles that I have been using to keep the decline as slow as possible. On the other hand, if Joranum himself were to succeed me, then that, in my opinion, would be fatal.† â€Å"Then anything we can do to stop him would be suitable.† â€Å"Not entirely. The Empire can grow anarchic, even if Joranum is destroyed and I stay. I must not, then, do something that will destroy Joranum and allow me to stay-if that very deed promotes the Fall of the Empire. I have not yet been able to think of anything I might do that would surely destroy Joranum and just as surely avoid anarchy.† â€Å"Minimalism,† whispered Seldon. â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Dors explained that you would be bound by minimalism.† â€Å"And so I am.† â€Å"Then my visit with you is a failure, Daneel.† â€Å"You mean that you came for comfort and didn't get it.† â€Å"I'm afraid so.† â€Å"But I saw you because I sought comfort as well.† â€Å"From me?† â€Å"From psychohistory, which should envision the route to safety that I cannot.† Seldon sighed heavily. â€Å"Daneel, psychohistory has not yet been developed to that point.† The First Minister looked at him gravely. â€Å"You've had eight years, Hari.† â€Å"It might be eight or eight hundred and it might not be developed to that point. It is an intractable problem.† Demerzel said, â€Å"I do not expect the technique to have been perfected, but you may have some sketch, some skeleton, some principle that you can use as guidance. Imperfectly, perhaps, but better than mere guesswork.† â€Å"No more than I had eight years ago,† said Seldon mournfully. â€Å"Here's what it amounts to, then. You must remain in power and Joranum must be destroyed in such a way that Imperial stability is maintained as long as possible so that I may have a reasonable chance to work out psychohistory. This cannot be done, however, unless I work out psychohistory first. Is that it?† â€Å"It would seem so, Hari.† â€Å"Then we argue in a useless circle and the Empire is destroyed.† â€Å"Unless something unforeseen happens. Unless you make something unforeseen happen.† â€Å"I? Daneel, how can I do it without psychohistory?† â€Å"I don't know, Hari.† And Seldon rose to go-in despair.