Managing Teams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing Teams - Research Paper Example Apart from all this factors, the leader of the team is an important and powerful determinant of the success of the team. A leader who is openly cynical, ineffectual, apathetic and interpersonally hostile is less likely to maintain a positive, forward-looking team. A team leader belongs to a team and operates within it. He takes the responsibility of providing vision and mission to the team and sometimes also, represents the whole team to the organization. The main responsibility of the team leader is to ensure that the team is functioning well and also, acts as an involved member of the team (Hayes, 2002). This paper mainly focuses on the importance of teamwork in working environment, leadership and ways of building a leading and effective team. Teamwork in a work environment The use of the concepts like, workgroups and team, within the organization has increased rapidly in the Western Industrialized world. The rise of quality circles and dominance of self- managed teams has come to exemplify this movement throughout the work organizations. These concepts have gained importance due to the lack of customized form of work and flexibility, which have reduced the competitive ability. Teamwork has been introduced in the organizations for effective recruitment and better utilization of the employees in order to achieve organizational goals. Team work has also helped the employees in accomplishing their need by controlling the work environment (Doorewaard, van Hootegem & Huys, 2002). It is not unheard that a successful teamwork influences the success of a business. Kets De Vries (1999) has emphasized on the fact that research has proved that effective teamwork is one of the fundamental elements that facilitates a high performing business. The business that continues to perform successfully is largely dependent on teamwork as it is a significant basis for day to day operations. Increased employee morale, effective and efficient communication, flat management structure, client focus, quality enhancement and productivity are the main aspects of team-oriented business. Research scholars have indicated that many of the organizations described themselves as highly team-oriented but in reality, they need to create team-oriented culture within their organization to gain success. Creating an effective teamwork environment depends on flexibility of the organization, leadership styles and management structure. Scarnati (2001) has proposed that employees are less likely to work in a team unless the purpose, condition, arrangement and structure of the firm support their team effort. Once the team gets established, it is not only the responsibility of the management to nurture the effectiveness and efficiency of the working team, but is also the responsibility of the team members to perpetuate the success of the team. The managers are required to select and employ highly skilled individuals who can contribute to the teams’ environment and lead it to su ccess. Teams are a strategic practice of the management to conduct their business in order to provide flexibility to their employees, under a certain work structure. These individuals are expected to make informed decision within the team, take responsibility

Stages of Demographic Transition in Spain Between 1960-2008 Essay Example for Free

Stages of Demographic Transition in Spain Between 1960-2008 Essay This corresponds to the red square stated on the figure showing the demographic transition theory. At the start of the second phase the birth rate and the death rate are still high, but in this phase they will both decline to a lower level. The death rate starts declining earlier and it will decline faster than the birth rate. This will result in a remarkable growth in the population size during the second phase. A important factor for the decline of the death rate is the improvement in the standard of living. Other factors for this decline were improvement in health care and in hygiene. The decline in the birth rate during the second phase of the demographic transition theory is also a result of the improvements in the standard of living and in health care. The increase in prosperity resulted in a decline of the total fertility rate. Children were no longer needed to work in the industrial life to help their parents raise an income, and because of the improvements in health care, children were no longer needed to take care of their parents when they were old.

Hemingways Hills Like White El :: essays research papers

“Hills Like White Elephants,'; by Ernest Hemingway   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,'; the two main characters, Jig and the unnamed American man, are at a train station in Spain trying to decide whether or not they (actually just Jig) should go through with an abortion. The first time I read the story it wasn’t very clear to me what type of an operation it was that they were talking about. Hemingway doesn’t really spell it out for the reader. After reading the questions at the end of the text and reading over the story again I realized that the operation they were talking about was in fact an abortion. Although Hemingway provides very little information about the character’s situation or their pasts, the use of symbolism in the character’s dialogue throughout the story makes it a whole lot easier to understand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The only thing I really noticed the first time I read the story was the tension between the two main characters throughout the story. In the first dialogue, there seems to be some tension between Jig and the American man. They speak to each other in short sentences and Jig starts getting sarcastic with her male companion (Hemingway doesn’t state whether they are married) when he says that he’s never seen white elephants. At first impression, seems like the lady is the antagonist. For most of the beginning of the story all they talk about is drinks. At one point Jig says “That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?';(445) These people must have a pretty meaningless relationship if that’s all they do. Even after they’re done talking about having the operation on page 446, they go back to more drinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The whole dialogue about the operation made me question the American man’s love for Jig. Was he sincere? At first he’s convincing her that the operation is simple and how “it'; is the only thing that has made them unhappy. One can tell that Jig doesn’t really want to go through with the operation by the way she talks. She asks him, “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they used to be and you’ll love me?'; It sounds like she really doesn’t think that he’ll love her if she does have the kid. It also sounds like he isn’t really concerned about her safety either.

Psychological Testing Essay

This paper is all about the uses and varieties of personality and projective tests. It aims to determine which tool is more reliable and valid to use in measuring and predicting the behavior of an individual. Furthermore, this paper discusses the uniformity of two different texts used containing the same stance that personality tests exceed the projective terms in terms of convenience to use, reliability, and validity. Personality and Projective Tests Introduction Personality and projective tests are psychological tests used to measure and evaluate the behavior of individuals in the school, community, and even workplace setting. The tests function to determine the difference of personalities among different individuals (examinees) taking the same test. Upon taking the test, interpretation of examinees’ scores would depend on their respective test results. However, in this paper, researchers of different psychological tests suggest that personality tests are more reliable and valid compared to projective tests. Personality and Projective Tests Albert Hood & Richard Johnson (2008), a member of the American Counseling Association, collaborated to come up with Assessment in Counseling (2008), a book which discusses the different types of personality and projective tests. In the text, samples of personality tests include the following: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory/MMPI2, Jackson’s Personality Research Form (PRF), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R). Further, CPI scale where 16 PF is adapted is recommended to be used for marriage and career counseling, job performance appraisals, and evaluation of management skills in the workplace. On the other hand, the different projective tests include the following: the Rorschach Ink Blot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), House-Tree-Person (HTP), Roter Incomplete Sentences Blank, and Early Recollection. However, the Rorschach Inkblot Test was found to be the most commonly used projective technique to make inference of an individual’s behavior. In addition, Anne Anastasi (Dept. of Psychology in Fodrham University) and Susana Urbina (Dept. of Psychology in University of Florida) (2002), in their book Psychological Testing, suggest that personality tests are far better to use than projective tests since the latter is more complicated to execute and is more prone to erroneous interpretation regardless of the examiner’s years of experience in handling the test. Scope of the Literature Problem and Significance of the Problem The significance of the problem is to answer the question: â€Å"Which is a better tool to predict the behavior of an individual, is it the personality or the projective tests? † Research problem(s) Explored in the Study The two articles reviewed focus on the problem whether personality tests, observation, and inventories are more reliable, predictive tool in measuring the behavior of an individual rather than the projective tests. Hypothesis in the study Hypothesis of this study suggests that using personality inventories or psychological tests are better than using projective tests to assess a person’s behavior. Research Design and Methodology Research design to be used is descriptive correlational. The approach or tool to be used is the Pearson (r) correlation to determine the relationship between the two variables. Conclusion Psychological tests are tools to measure and predict the behavior of an individual. Depending on its purpose, personality tests and projective tests aim to assess personalities in different settings such as school, workplace, and community. In school, the tests serve the college students’ need to be counseled for the career that suits their personality; at work, the tests are used to evaluate which candidate is more fit for the job; and in the community, the tests determine who are mentally healthy and who are not for providing welfare. References Anastasi, A. & Urbina S. (2002). Psychological Testing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Hood, A. B. & Johnson R. (2008). Assessment in Counseling: A Guide to Psychological Assessment Procedures. Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria: American Counseling Association.

Recognizing Organizational Culture in Managing Change Essay

In order to ask lots of questions about the influence of the social system, that is to say, the surrounding conditions of the organization on its ability to soak up like a towel and gain invention of new things, a having to do with figuring out. The quality of things without measuring them with numbers research was carried out to define the measuring tool for the most important things of this particular of surrounding conditions for the recognition and acceptance of e-learning in teachers or professors(Buć & Divjak, 2016). In the development of devices that make music, the examples of the development of devices that make music were used that are designed only for research in information sciences, such as for example, the development of a measuring instrument for evaluating the performance of e-Portfolio. It is generally admitted to that educational change benefits from a supportive surrounding condition. Cultural influences are a key issue when thinking about the invention of new things and change processes. Organizational culture is a key factor that influences instructional inventions of new things that the success of any something big and important that changes people’s thinking or lives effort may well depend on the extent to which organizational culture issues can be talked to(Zhu & Engels, 2014). Previous research has examined the influence of organizational culture on organizational inventions of new things. Studies point to new things is most likely to happen in organizations that have integrative structures draw attention to many different kinds of people or things, and team effort and teamwork. Yet the findings of the previous research are mixed with little believable information that proves something related to the role of specific organizational culture features in adopting instructional invention of new things in college. Students who come to a related to school and learning library meet with a variety of spaces that influence their learning and behavior. The library has two types of spaces which are shared and social. Shared spaces are places where students are involved in single, hardworking with schoolwork, and thoughtful study surrounded by other students. Students work at group and noisy work with other students in social spaces. The idea of library spaces for different types for different student needs and supports the idea which is that students need separate spaces for the types of learning and behavior connected with the ability to create interesting new things and invention of new things (Bieraugel & Neill, 2017). Ideas of library space when designing learning spaces in a library is extremely important to think about what types of behavior the design will bring out. Library design, as seen through the lens of the science of nerves and the brain, is interesting and suggests/says that library space is just like productive research surrounding conditions in helping the ability to create interesting new things and invention of new things. Bennett notes that Google, Twitter, Facebook, and other companies also aim to create productive research surrounding conditions within settings to help grow invention of new things and critical thinking be it in the lobby or a quiet corner. Environmental education can help increase problem-solving skills, very important thinking and action-oriented in relation to central and practical problems that are combined in nature(Fauville, Lantz-Andersson, & Sà ¤ljà ¶, 2014). Co-operative processes of question or investigation into an action on real related to surrounding conditions or the health of the Earth issues where students should be put in the position of active thinkers prepared to act in response to issues in partnership with fellow students. Such learning also involves understanding how to approach, plan and analyze complex issues and where to turn for clearly connected or related knowledge, and not only the reproduction of what is already known although in different difference fields of study. In such settings, student-active and problem-based instructional approaches have been argued as providing a good big picture in which to develop knowledge. So, the science of teaching and way of thinking behind environmental education can be thought of as challenging traditional approaches to schooling, which focus on learning of true knowledge presented in the classroom by the teacher in order to solve problems with an already existing, single and correct solution. Traditional education is also highly broken-up in terms of fields of study and is based on abstract problems, with students put in the rather allowing something to happen without reacting or trying to stop it a position of simply reproducing information and standard procedures.

Run Lola Run The Reasons essays

Run Lola Run The Reasons essays I sometimes think about that one day in April last year. I wonder if I had left one minute earlier. I would have passed the intersection of 140th St. and Pennock St. without incident and arrived at my destination on time and intact. Or if I would have left one minute later.....what would have happened? Would I have avoided that suburban and stayed out of the emergency room that night? Would I have had way too much free time without swimming to think about college and actually considering going to St. Olaf for the first time? Would I have spent a lot of time with that pretty little red head that I started dating at that time and am still dating to this day? Well it appears that I believe that everything happens for a reason. While all I have done to voice this opinion is write this paper, Tom Tykwer wrote the script for the movie Run Lola Run. This movie goes into great detail to prove its point about fate and how every action is dependent on the last. The movie goes throug h three possible scenarios lasting about 20 minutes of real time in the movie. The only difference in her experience is the few second delay of her departure from her apartment complex. In each possible scenario, Lola passes people and interacts with them in different ways. Whether she causes a car accident, saves somebodys life, or starts a relationship, every little move she makes, alters the future of an innocent by standard. After some interactions, snapshots of that persons future are shown and are different in ach scenario each time. Even with a simple bump, Lola has altered these peoples futures and totally changed their lives. In the first scenario, Lola bumps into the woman who is pushing a stroller. The snapshots show her grim future as she has her son taken away from her. If that isnt bad enough, she kidnaps another baby and takes it as her own. The next scenario, Lola gives her a slightly bigger bump an...

Free Essays on 1984 Editorial Cartoon Essay

Editorial Cartoon Essay An innovative look ahead in the future is not as far fetched as it may seem to be. George Orwell’s 1984 deals with the author’s worrisome troubles of what he thinks is to come in the future: no individual freedom and personal privacy. Bill Abbott’s editorial cartoon shows how Orwell’s idea of the future is not too far off. The editorial cartoon shows how a person’s privacy in his workspace or personal space is intruded upon so much that he has no workspace or personal space of his own. Although Orwell’s fear of the future may seem idealistic, nevertheless, a heartless reality of which the truth about people’s privacy and individual freedom is invaded with Abbott’s cartoon. The cartoon is of a man on his phone at his desk. Then he is looking out the window where there is a huge eye looking in at him. When first looking at the cartoon the thought of big brother on the poster; â€Å"On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran† (Orwell 5), appeared in my head. In Winston’s world there are posters plastered everywhere trying to enforce the initiative that the people in his world no longer think for themselves. The people of Oceania think that a bigger, larger force controls their lives and thoughts. Little do they know that their life and actions truly rely on themselves. In Abbott’s cartoon the eye or face in the window is similar to the telescreens that are found in almost every room in Oceania. A person could turn his or her back to the screen or man in the window and one would still be seen and watched. â€Å"You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct-in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinize... Free Essays on 1984 Editorial Cartoon Essay Free Essays on 1984 Editorial Cartoon Essay Editorial Cartoon Essay An innovative look ahead in the future is not as far fetched as it may seem to be. George Orwell’s 1984 deals with the author’s worrisome troubles of what he thinks is to come in the future: no individual freedom and personal privacy. Bill Abbott’s editorial cartoon shows how Orwell’s idea of the future is not too far off. The editorial cartoon shows how a person’s privacy in his workspace or personal space is intruded upon so much that he has no workspace or personal space of his own. Although Orwell’s fear of the future may seem idealistic, nevertheless, a heartless reality of which the truth about people’s privacy and individual freedom is invaded with Abbott’s cartoon. The cartoon is of a man on his phone at his desk. Then he is looking out the window where there is a huge eye looking in at him. When first looking at the cartoon the thought of big brother on the poster; â€Å"On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran† (Orwell 5), appeared in my head. In Winston’s world there are posters plastered everywhere trying to enforce the initiative that the people in his world no longer think for themselves. The people of Oceania think that a bigger, larger force controls their lives and thoughts. Little do they know that their life and actions truly rely on themselves. In Abbott’s cartoon the eye or face in the window is similar to the telescreens that are found in almost every room in Oceania. A person could turn his or her back to the screen or man in the window and one would still be seen and watched. â€Å"You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct-in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinize...

Ozraptor - Facts and Figures

Ozraptor - Facts and Figures Name: Ozraptor (Greek for lizard from Oz): pronounced OZ-rap-tore Habitat: Woodlands of Australia Historical Period: Middle Jurassic (175 million years ago) Size and Weight: About nine feet long and 100 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Moderate size; bipedal posture About Ozraptor Sometimes, a single leg bone can be enough to shed light on a creature that lived 175 million years ago. Thats the case with the Australian Ozraptor, the partial tibia of which was first identified as belonging to a Jurassic turtle, and then reassigned to a new (and relatively early) genus of theropod (meat-eating dinosaur) closely related to the South American Abelisaurus. Until more fossil specimens are identified, though, thats all we may ever know about this distinctively named dinosaurand you should know that many experts are extremely skeptical about the existence of various dinosaur families, such as tyrannosaurs and ornithomimids (bird mimics), in the lands Down Under. One thing you we can definitely say about Ozraptor is that it was not technically a raptor, the family of dinosaurs typified by the North American Deinonychus and the central Asian Velociraptor (somewhat confusingly, paleontologists love to attach the raptor root to non-raptor dinosaurs, such as Gigantoraptor and Megaraptor). Raptors were a distinctive family of theropods that lived during the middle to late Cretaceous period, and were characterized, among other things, by their presumed coats of feathers and single, oversized, curving claws on each of their hind feetthus ruling out the middle Jurassic Ozraptor, whatever type of dinosaur it turns out to be!

Information Technology Architectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Information Technology Architectures - Essay Example CORBA is the standard software that supports distributed objects. It is a complex and a more difficult to learn software than any other communication infrastructure. COBRA offers a lot of functionality such as, programming language independency and the operating system. On the other hand, CORBA possesses the binding power to arrange of standardized programming languages as a communication format (Papadopoulos, 2009). Among the advantages of CORBA process, is its level of maturity, CORBA developed by the Object Management Group and its standard is neither too lax nor too restrictive. CORBA does not endanger the interoperability of some products nor the portability and space for optimization. Therefore, it offers a real international tested and proven power, flexibility and performance. CORBA offers a modularization facility to write objects in different programming languages that provide a service to users that do not require details of implementation of the object(s). CORBA also offers a facility that allows different clients to use the same interface thus working together transparently (Papadopoulos, 2009). CORBA’s disadvantages include its architecture complexity and specification which do not give a clear implementation details. It offers vertical features, which target some users and applications, but not all technology users thus insufficient (Papadopoulos, 2009). Java2 Enterprise Architecture (J2EE) is a mainframe scale computing platform which made for large firms. It simplifies thin client tiered environment application development (Papadopoulos, 2009). It decreases the need for programming, and programmer education by enhancing the tier to perform many programming aspects automatically. The Java 2 Enterprise Architecture (J2EE) consists of a security model which protects data both in web-based application and also locally. It is portable since it consists of a write once and Run anywhere

Identify 5 themes of risk (majors or minor ones) in the book Research Paper

Identify 5 themes of risk (majors or minor ones) in the book - Research Paper Example 1. Risk of Exploring an Unknown Territory- Expedition of Antarctic Continent Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure is filled with a number of risks. While some risks are just meant to accelerate the adrenal, other risks prove to be life saving in the mouth of dangers. The very starting and planning of the adventurous trip to Antarctic Continent is actually one great risk that Sir Ernest Shackleton took with his life. There are similar expeditions taken in other corners of the world, where the thrill seekers met with fatal consequences and many of them even lost their lives. However, the expedition that was undertaken by Shackleton actually 2 showed his true spirit as a leader who was ready to face all odds and give up his dreams of adventure just to save the precious lives of his crew. The unknown always beckons the adventurers to explore it and be the first one to get acquainted with it. There are high risks involved as one does not know what kind of territories would greet them. He nce, one can only assume of the threats involved and prepare themselves accordingly. But, if the peril comes out to be a fantastic one that no one had even dared to think, then only the bravest of spirit could stand up to such challenges and come out a winner. Hence, the undertaking of the Antarctic journey that was known to be one of the coldest and the harshest of all land forms was an unbelievable risk undertaken by Shackleton. On the fateful day of 5th December, 1914, the great adventurer, Sir Ernest Shackleton along with his twenty seven crew members set out for an exhilarating journey into the unknown territories of the Atlantic continent. His goal was to walk on foot the entire continent and get closely acquainted with this secluded and pristine place. The much uninhabited South Pole had just had a couple of visitors first by Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian and later by Falcon Scott of British origin. Unfortunately, Falcon Scott died during the return trip. Thus, it was no use vi siting the South Pole again as it was now a known territory. Hence, the adventurer Sir Ernest Shackleton 3 wanted to prove himself by conquering a new region that had lain virgin till now. And what was more elusive, more dangerous than the extremely cold Antarctic region that no one had dared visited till now. Thus, he took on a risky journey into the unknown world of Atlantic ready to make himself familiarize with this place and bag a name for himself. To embark on this daring journey, Shackleton got himself a small ship that was renamed as Endurance. The ship was built up of Oak and Norwegian fir that was sheathed in enduring and tough greenheart wood. It was designed to function in tough pack ice. Unfortunately, Endurance did not prove as enduring as its name and it was a pack of wreck even before it touched the mainland. This made the journey more tough and formidable as there was no help on sight. Shackleton had been warned by the whalers of the South Georgia Island that the An tarctic had a tricky constitution. Even though it was summer, the ice shelf was found much beyond the continent’s main land area, but Shackleton, filled with a feeling of adventure and confident of his little well made boat took little notice of the well

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Case Study Example Businesses such as Easy car, Easy cafà ©, Easyvalue.com etc. besides the airline business Easy jet are examples of the above mentioned growth strategy. Similarly, the group has also adopted effective pricing strategies to attract its existing customers towards its current products. In addition, the group has also made necessary innovations in its existing products to improve the quality as well as has developed new products to reap higher profits and observe growth in its businesses. Conglomerate refers to a group of companies acquired or owned by a business group, a person or an organization. Easy group is quite truly a genuine conglomerate because it owns several businesses such as Easy internet cafà ©, Easy car, Easy jet, online and hotel ventures and has now plans to add new ones such as Easy cinema in the group’s business portfolio to increase annual revenues of the group. Yes, I would recommend Easy Group to enter in Cinema industry and apply its effective business model. Also, easy group has ability to compete in tough market conditions and has been successful in its past ventures. Thirdly, easy group has a solid business plan with very few weak points for its cinema Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24 Case Study Example The other issue seeks to implore on whether there is life beyond Earth, and lastly, the program seeks to understand the future of life on Earth. Astrobiology is the common denominator in all NASA space science activities. It bridges research in astrophysics, heliophysics and earth science. To further understand the principle interests of astrobiology, this discourse will look at the discipline in line with the three established issues. This is in recognition of the fact that the credibility and relevance of astrobiology lies in its pursuit to answer the fundamental questions of our origin, establishing our identity, and whether man is alone in the cosmos. Scientists seem to still not come up with a clear definition of what life is; they are still not clear on what being alive means. In perhaps the simplest way, life on Earth swaps energy and material with the environment. The common characteristics of life being that life forms grow, excrete, reproduce and are made up of genes stored in DNA and RNA structures and passed on to the next generation. Life also changes. These changes result due to alterations in the environment. However, life also alters the environment. Finally, it is clear that life is based on the chemistry of carbon and needs liquid water. An extremely constrained layer exists near the surface of Earth; this layer contains life in abundance as evidenced by microorganisms, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, this layer represents the only identified area that supports life in the entire Universe. Everyone by now acknowledges that the laws and concepts of chemistry and physics are in action all over the cosmos. This has led to constant enquiries on whether there is anything like general biology. More critically, there have been unending inquiries on life beyond Earth. Advanced science has been able to reveal that there exist other surfaces beyond Earth which are represented by planets orbiting the Sun. In the past 15

An uncomfortable event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An uncomfortable event - Essay Example 12). People ignore them and sadly, I was amongst the persons that would rather have ignored these issues instead of that acknowledging that they were a part of the society I called home and in truth, I was in no way a contributor to the solution. They say that experience goes a long way in educating fools and my dawn came much earlier than I anticipated. I pride myself on being a traveler. My family is well off and I have been lucky to come across various opportunities to visit foreign places. In my ventures, I have seen a lot of the beauty that life has to offer. It is only in recent years that I have indeed acknowledged that in as much as I have seen life’s beauty I have kept away from delving deep into its ugliness. I used to be the kind of person who would rather not use a street that is the shortest way to my destination if I would come across scenes of poverty. This would force me to acknowledge that there are those living on the other side of life where even the most basic of needs are hard to come by. Much as I like to travel, I have not been particularly inclined towards the smell of airports. I have asked a number of my friends if they notice that there is always a heavy smell of paper and machinery in airports. I call it the â€Å"smell of technology; thick, musky and nauseating.† Airports always heighten my anxiety. I find that when I am in one I tend to lose my calm demeanor and my heart starts to beat extremely first even if I am not in a rush. I have often thought that this could be because of the realization of incoming change through transition. Maybe it’s because everyone in the vicinity, always seems in a rush or maybe because of the lengthy protocols and official staff demeanor, whatever the case however, airports are my least favorite place. I remember standing in line at the airport for check in. A little girl behind me squeaked with excitement. I could tell from her anxiety and the way she kept looking around, it was her first time

Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Total Quality Management - Essay Example Various ways of improvements that can lead to its success and development of the company in a more holistic way has also been discussed in this study. Total Quality Management (TQM) at Toyota Japanese organisations were the first to adopt quality management principles during the early 1950s (Ho, 2011, p. 12). The fundamental concepts behind TQM which include methods like Just-in-Time (JIT) and "jidoka" meaning in-station quality were not originally developed by Toyota. However the production followed by Toyota are widely studied and followed by many organisations operating their businesses worldwide. Kaizen or continuous quality forms the basis of Toyota Production System (TPS). Kaizen is found to be enforced at almost every levels of the company. It helps in increasing the commitment levels of the employees of the organization, thereby helping it to reduce its costs and increase in its performance levels. The total quality management system followed by Toyota is commonly known as To yota Production System (TPS). ... The organisation needs to have a top-down approach towards implementing TQM to have any kind of meaningful effects generating out of it. Hence the TQM strategy needs to be initiated by the top management of the organisation and from there it would percolate down to all the management levels of the organisation. 2) The Scope: The scope of TQM within an organisation is not limited to certain people or departments. To implement TQM in the organisational system it is necessary to involve each and every individual working for the company and it also needs to include all the business processes carried on within the organisation. There must be some pre-defined goals or objectives of the organisation and each of the departments of the company would be working together for the fulfilment of the goals of the organisation as a whole. 3) The Scale: Each and every person working for an organisation are meant to have some responsibilities at the personal levels for the improvement and maintenance of quality of the products or services offered by the company and ensuring the satisfaction of its customers. Along with the external customers associated with a business organisation, the internal customers who are mainly the employees of the organisation are also required to be satisfied with the working environment within the company. Proper communication levels and teamwork must be ensured through concerted efforts by all the internal customers of the organisation. 4) The Philosophy: The philosophy behind the concept of TQM is that it does not aim for detection of any kinds of defects or errors but is aimed at the prevention of occurrence of such defects or errors. Hence in

Incorporating Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incorporating Theory - Term Paper Example Under the structure, the theory draws information from the factors that surround the environment in which care is delivered. For the process, the theory looks at the actions healthcare professionals undertake in order to deliver quality care. Finally, the outcomes section looks at the effects on delivery of health care. This theory is most relevant to this study, as it has been successfully used in past studies that were reviewing CLASBI prevention (Dougherty, 2012; Viswanatha, 2011). The theoretical framework developed by Danabedian will ensure all components under infection control are addressed towards preventing CLASBI. The theory has been widely used in assessing the three most important components under infection control. These include the environment in which care is delivered, the actions taken during delivery of care, and the outcomes. The proposed study investigates if the use of alcohol impregnated port protector caps to decreases the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections. This follows the various research findings showing that disinfection caps may be the way to go as far as CLASBI prevention and control is concerned (Wawrzyniak et al., 2014; Wright, et al., 2013). The theory, in this case, will carry out a systematic assessment of each component of this study, which involves the environment, practices involved, and results of care provided to confirm if the proposed solution works. Every component of the theory will be incorporated into the project. This will be achieved by considering the theory’s three major components. Under structure, the theoretical framework will be used to assess the effectiveness of alcohol impregnated port protector caps. For process, the framework will be used to monitor the nurses’ activities during the delivery of care as they utilize the alcohol impregnated port protector caps. Finally, the framework will be used to assess the outcomes of the whole project in

Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Total Quality Management - Essay Example Various ways of improvements that can lead to its success and development of the company in a more holistic way has also been discussed in this study. Total Quality Management (TQM) at Toyota Japanese organisations were the first to adopt quality management principles during the early 1950s (Ho, 2011, p. 12). The fundamental concepts behind TQM which include methods like Just-in-Time (JIT) and "jidoka" meaning in-station quality were not originally developed by Toyota. However the production followed by Toyota are widely studied and followed by many organisations operating their businesses worldwide. Kaizen or continuous quality forms the basis of Toyota Production System (TPS). Kaizen is found to be enforced at almost every levels of the company. It helps in increasing the commitment levels of the employees of the organization, thereby helping it to reduce its costs and increase in its performance levels. The total quality management system followed by Toyota is commonly known as To yota Production System (TPS). ... The organisation needs to have a top-down approach towards implementing TQM to have any kind of meaningful effects generating out of it. Hence the TQM strategy needs to be initiated by the top management of the organisation and from there it would percolate down to all the management levels of the organisation. 2) The Scope: The scope of TQM within an organisation is not limited to certain people or departments. To implement TQM in the organisational system it is necessary to involve each and every individual working for the company and it also needs to include all the business processes carried on within the organisation. There must be some pre-defined goals or objectives of the organisation and each of the departments of the company would be working together for the fulfilment of the goals of the organisation as a whole. 3) The Scale: Each and every person working for an organisation are meant to have some responsibilities at the personal levels for the improvement and maintenance of quality of the products or services offered by the company and ensuring the satisfaction of its customers. Along with the external customers associated with a business organisation, the internal customers who are mainly the employees of the organisation are also required to be satisfied with the working environment within the company. Proper communication levels and teamwork must be ensured through concerted efforts by all the internal customers of the organisation. 4) The Philosophy: The philosophy behind the concept of TQM is that it does not aim for detection of any kinds of defects or errors but is aimed at the prevention of occurrence of such defects or errors. Hence in

Illegal P2P File Sharing on Institutions of Higher Learning Research Paper

Illegal P2P File Sharing on Institutions of Higher Learning - Research Paper Example Facilitating parties such as P2P providers have been held secondarily liable for the infringing activities too. Institutions of higher learning such as colleges and universities have been targeted by the efforts of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to eradicate illegal file sharing rampant among students (Tanaka 22). Even though Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) limits the level of liability of Internet service providers (ISPs) who may provide internet connection to infringing user of P2P file sharing, RIAA argues that there is a special relationship between college networks (ISPs) and their students different from that commercial ISPs have with their customers. This is aimed at increasing the liability which colleges carry from infringing activities of students (Varian 48). There is a possibility of high financial and academic cost of restriction of P2P file sharing in campuses. The following paper explorers the solutions to illegal P2P file sharing activiti es in colleges. 2. Response to Illegal P2P File Sharing by the Music Industry Mora than 50% of college students download music illegally. In the year 2010, 1.6 billion illegal music downloads were associated with students of higher learning. Such statistics are the reason why RIAA decided to concentrate on deterring illegal P2P file sharing in college. ... of the music industry, has also introduced an education bill which ensures that colleges follow certain guidelines aimed at eradicating illegal music downloads. If these institutions fail to comply with such procedures, they risk losing all or part of federal fund assistance. According to Gopal, Sudip and Lawrence (81), â€Å"the procedures in the education bill include; (1) make college policies regarding illegal downloading and distribution of other copyrighted material publicly available for all students and employees, and (2) develop a plan to offer alternatives to illegal downloading as well as offer â€Å"technology-based deterrents† to prevent illegal activity.† 3. Relationship between College and Students The relationship between colleges and their students can be said to be special. This is because colleges have a high tendency and ability to control actions of their students. This is possible through provision of resources such as security, food and sometimes housing (Gallaway & Douglas 37). Even though majority of student are adults in their own capacity, they remain under rules and regulations designed by colleges to control the conduct of students. With this fact, college-student relations are special and can therefore warrant a duty on the college to monitor their internet networks and make efforts toward reduction or minimization of infringing activities such as illegal music downloading (Castells 77). From the argument that colleges have a great impact on the structure of a student’s life by providing them with food, housing, security and controlling their activities through rules and regulations, colleges can be said to have a special relationship with their students. This relationship is justified by comparing it to that of a parent and a child.

William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies Essay William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies addresses many themes such as good vs evil, technological advancement vs a state of primal being, and man’s desire to have power at any cost. Set on a stranded island, perhaps being a parallelism to the Garden of Eden, and loss of innocence which occurs on the island due to corruption and folly. The story is about a group of English boys trapped on an island that seems like all fun and games at first. Then the power starts to get to some of the boys and everything ends up going hostile. Stemming from the evil within man’s heart, serves us the battle ground for this particular fight between the never ending struggles of good vs evil. This fighting when thrown into a mixture of fear and panic, that is ever present on the island, leads to revelations of self, that encompasses all of mankind and forces us to truly think about what our two options are as a species; work together to build a better future or fall victim to the lust for power, that has always been a part of man, and doom all of us to a world of violence, hatred, and possibly extinction. The possibility of extinction is ever present, but is always being fought by good men, while evil men embrace interaction of those who disagree with their ideology or agendas. This has been proven time and time again by the likes of men such as Hitler, Kim-Jong-Un, and now Roger. Roger killing Piggy because of his refusal to cooperate with his demands. Half of the glasses broke when Jack steals them from piggy after he and his hunters let the fire go out for the first time (71). This scene is similar to when Hitler killed scientists who refused to help him build weapons. Roger also threw rocks at the little ones just for the fun of it, also relating back the evil Hitler. Ralph however attempts using reason, logic, and trust to defeat the evil nature of Roger and his followers. Rogers lack of conviction to always maintain high morals, leads to the killing of Simon and through that the destruction of Ralph’s innocence. Simon’s murder, from a religious point of view, symbolizes the loss of innocence, spirituality, and nobility. The boys being in this primal state leads to the deaths of multiple innocent people, and the general diminishing of their quality of life. But why would they do this? It is the easiest choice, one not accountable for action. However this lack of responsibility proves to be devastating to the chances of rescue because the ship misses them when the fire dies, while being left unintended  by the hunters. The technology to be rescued was in their hands via the fire, but their negligent treatment of this technology just furthers the idea that the primal side of men is a negative aspect of humanity. The neglect of the fire, leads to a missed opportunity for survival but why was the fire neglected? There only hope of civilization, rescue, and life. Ralph says â€Å"without the smoke signal well die here.†(139). This just shows how Ralph is afraid of death. Jack wanted to be the ultimate provider and his desire for full power over everyone got to his head. This ultimately leads to loosing perhaps the most vital aspect on the island, being their fire. This is just another example of how Jack desires for power, not only puts himself at a disadvantage but the whole tribe. As a leader it is important think about all aspects, not just what’s best for you. Golding’s story which transitions between good and evil reveals how cruel humanity really is and can be. This just shows how a civilization can be ruined if power is not used correctly. Evil, cruelty, death, and chaos shows through this innate behavior. But is this cruelty and chaos a learned behavior from environ ment or an innate function of man?

Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation

Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation Contents (Jump to) Introduction Literature Review Psychological Test Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory Administration of SRFI Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Validity and Reliability Strengths Limitations Conclusion References Introduction This write up is to analyze the effectiveness of an instrument used as a psychological test to gather information. The chosen instrument is Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory – Version II (SRFI). Parents and family environment or more appropriately family relationship plays a very important role in the well-being of children. (Lambert,M., 2010) In Malaysian context, discipline problem is an increasing phenomenon in primary schools as well as secondary schools. The root cause or the first and foremost reason behind those discipline problems is the family environment and relationship. SRFI is considered to be an instrument that can help the counselors and other helping professionals to identify the family functioning so that further plans can be done in order to help the children. Literature Review Previous literature on family assessment instruments for use in child welfare includes descriptions of instruments (Pinsof, 2009) and guides for developing comprehensive assessment strategies as part of community-based child welfare services reform (Pinsof, 2010). This structured literature review builds on these efforts by identifying the most valid and reliable instruments that address the following four federally-defined domains of family assessment: (1) patterns of social interaction, including the nature of contact and involvement with others, and the presence or absence of social support networks and relationships; (2) parenting practices, including methods of discipline, patterns of supervision, understanding of child development and/or of the emotional needs of children; (3) background and history of the parents or caregivers, including the history of abuse and neglect; and (4) problems in access to basic necessities such as income, employment, adequate housing, child care, t ransportation, and other needed services and supports (US, HHS, 2006). Several additional behaviors and conditions have been associated with child maltreatment, such as domestic violence, mental illness, poor physical health, disabilities, and alcohol and drug use. Ideally, a comprehensive family assessment instrument will address these conditions and indicate whether a need for more specialized assessment exists. An objective of this review was to identify measures that addressed these behaviors and conditions as part of a comprehensive family assessment strategy. However, the review of specialized instruments for these conditions and various disabilities was outside the scope of this review. A structured review on the assessment of children and youth in the child welfare system is the focus of a separate review. These major theoretical and disciplinary influences have given rise to several practical issues when considering the appropriateness of a family assessment measure and met hod. While there are many approaches, family assessment methods typically fall into three categories: client self-report, observation, and interviews. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. A key distinction is the degree to which the method is formalized. Formal methods, such as self-report questionnaires, tend to have procedures that are clearly outlined to facilitate consistently repeated administrations. By contrast, informal methods such as interviews may be less clear in their specification and more variable in terms of administration. Family assessment measures also vary in terms of the perspective obtained. Typically, child welfare practitioners will consider the perspectives of multiple individuals during the family assessment process, including â€Å"insider† reports from family members and children as well as â€Å"outsider† reports from school personnel, extended family members, and others that may be involved with the case. Integration of the assessment of multiple reporters with insider and outsider perspectives is reflected in the â€Å"multisystem-multi method† (MS-MM) approach (Greenberger, 2000) Self-report questionnaires provide a unique insider view of family life as well as reliable methods, simplified administration and scoring, and a measurable link between an individual’s perceptions or attitudes and behaviors. Given these advantages, they are by far the most commonly used method in research as well as in practice. Observation rating scales provide another cost-effective method of generating outsider information regarding family interaction patterns that can also be evaluated for reliability and validity. However, rating scales can also be limited in their usefulness by the competence of the rater and the psychometric quality of the scale. Raters must have a clear understanding of the concepts that are measured and the behaviors that represent the concepts in practice. They must also poss ess adequate knowledge of different populations in order to place observed behavior on a continuum, a concern that adequate training and clinical supervision can begin to address. However, as with self-report measures, evidence of the validity and reliability of an observational rating scale is critical in the instrument selection process, particularly with regard to specific stages of assessment. Psychological test Psychological tests are administered by many different professionals to many different individuals, and the results of these tests are used in ways that significantly affect us and those around us. Psychological test is something that requires us to perform behaviour to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic or to predict an outcome. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are administered and their format. A test can be administered in paper-and-pencil format (individually or in a group setting), on a computer, or verbally. Similarly, a psychological test may consist of multiple-choice items; agree/disagree items, true/false items, open-ended questions, or some mix of these. There are also tests that ask respondents to perform some behaviour such as sorting cards, playing a role, or writing an essay. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are scored and interpreted. Some tests are completed on scan able sheets and are computer scored. Some are hand-scored by the person administering the test. Others are scored by the test takers themselves. In terms of interpretation, some tests generate results that can be interpreted easily by the test taker, and others require a knowledgeable professional to explain the results to the test taker. Psychological tests have various similarities and many differences. All psychological tests require an individual to perform one or more behaviours, and these behaviours are used to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic thought to be important in describing or understanding behaviour or to predict an outcome. However, psychological tests can and do differ in terms of the behaviours they require individuals to perform, the attributes they measure, their content, how they are administered and formatted, how they are scored and interpreted, and their psychometric quality. All good tests have three defining characteristics in common. First, they include a representative sa mple of behaviours. Second, they collect the sample under standardized conditions. Third, they have rules for scoring. When using psychological tests, we must make some assumptions. We must assume that a test measures what it says it measures, that any inferences that are drawn about test takers from their scores on the test are appropriate, that an individual’s behaviour (and therefore test scores) will remain stable over time, that individuals understand test items similarly, that individuals can and will report accurately about their thoughts and feelings, and that the test score an individual receives is equal to his or her true behaviour/ability in the real world plus some error. Testing professionals refer to psychological tests in various ways. Sometimes they refer to them as tests of maximal performance, behaviour observations, or self-report. Sometimes they refer to them as standardized or non-standardized. Other times they refer to them as objective or projective. P rofessionals also refer to tests based on the dimensions they measure. It is important to remember the distinctions among four commonly misunderstood terms: psychological assessment, psychological test, measurement, and survey. First, although both psychological assessments and psychological tests are used to gather information, a psychological test is only one of many tools in the psychological assessment process. Second, a psychological test can be considered to be a measurement when the sampled behaviour can be expressed in a derived score. Third, psychological tests are different from surveys in that psychological tests focus on individual differences and often report one overall derived score (or scaled scores), and surveys focus on group similarities and typically report results at the question or item level. Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory (SRFI) Version II The Self-Report Family Inventory: Version II (SRFI) is a 36-item measure of perceptions of family functioning in five domains: Health/Competence, Conflict, Cohesion, Leadership, and Expressiveness. The instrument is a screening device to assess a family member’s view of overall family competence, based on the Beavers Systems Model of family functioning. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale; for the first 34 items, the scale descriptors are 1 = YES: Fits our family very well, 3 = SOME: Fits our family some, and 5 = NO: Does not fit our family. The last two items have response scales specific to the items. Lower scores represent greater family competence. Administration of SRFI It is a paper pencil method of administration for children aged 12 and above and also for the adults in the family. Interview also can be done for those who are illiterate or have reading and writing problem. Time given is within 5 to 10 minutes. Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Summary scores for each of the five subscales can be obtained as follows: (An â€Å"R† refers to an item score that must be reversed prior to summing). To reverse score, change all numbers where indicated to their opposite. For example, five becomes a one, four becomes a two, three stays the same, two becomes a four, and one becomes a five. Health/Competence: Items 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18R, 19R, 20, 21, 24R, 25R, 27R, 28, 33, 35, and 36 Conflict: Items 5R, 6, 7, 8R, 10R, 14R, 18R, 24R, 25R, 30R, 31R, and 34 Cohesion: Items 2, 15, 19R, 27R, and 36 Expressiveness: Items 1, 9, 13R, 20, and 22 Leadership: Items 8R, 16, and 32 For each numbered item, fill in the score from the SFI. For items , reverse the score and enter the reversed score on the score sheet. Lower scores represent greater competence and higher scores indicate greater problems within the system. Validity and Reliability of SRFI Validity was measured by correlating the SRFI with the observational scales of the Beavers System Model. The results indicate a high degree of convergence of family constructs across the two methods at .62 or above (Beavers Hampson, 2000). The authors claim that this indicates that the SRFI is roughly equivalent to observations (Drumm, M. Carr, 2000). The authors of the instrument report high internal consistencies reliability with Cronbach alphas between .84 and .93 and test-retest reliabilities of .85 or better (Beavers Hampson, 2000). Strengths The great advantage of SRFI is that it gives the respondents’ own views directly. It gives access to phenomenological data, i.e., respondents’ perceptions of themselves and their world, which are unobtainable in any other way. Furthermore, self-report methods can be used to obtain information in situations where observational data are not normally available. Able to study large samples of people fairly easy. Able to examine a large number of variables. Can be carried out relatively cheaply. Limitations The main disadvantage of self-report is that there is a number of potential validity problems associated with it. The data are personal and idiosyncratic and thus may bear little relationship to ‘‘reality,’’ as seen by you or others. More importantly, people are not always truthful. Furthermore, research participants may not be able to provide the level of detail, or use the concepts, that the researcher is interested in. People may not respond truthfully, either because they cannot remember or because they wish to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner. We cannot establish cause and effect relationships from survey data as other variables which could have had an effect may not have been considered in the questionnaire or interview. It may be difficult to obtain a random sample of the population because some people who are selected refuse to answer questions or it may be difficult to obtain a full list of the population from which to select a random sample. Conclusions SRFI is best use for a quick access of information and it is easy to administer. To have a comprehensive assessment of family the same SRFI can be used as a tool for interview for a qualitative research. More information can be gathered if it is used while observing the family with their consent. Teachers, counsellors and discipline masters in school can use SRFI to plan future programs in order to help the children with complicated family background. It will be a very helpful tool in school environment. References Beavers, R., Hampson, R. B. (2000). The Beavers System Model of Family Functioning. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 128-143. Drumm, M., Carr, A., Fitzgerald, M. (2000). The Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex clinical rating scales: A study of their sensitivity, specificity and discriminant validity. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 225-258. Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Beam, M., Whang, S. M., Dong, Q. (2000). The perceived social contexts of adolescent misconduct: A comparative study of youths in three cultures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(3), 365–388. Johnson, L., Ketring, S., Anderson, S. (2010). The Intersession Report: Development of a short questionnaire for couple’s therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 266–276. Kim, S. Y., Ge, X. (2000). Parenting practices and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 420–435. Lambert, M. (2010). Prevention of treatment failure: The use of measuring, monitoring, and feedback in clinical practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Miller, S., Duncan, B., Brown, J., Sorrell, R., Chalk, M. (2006). Using outcome to inform and improved treatment outcomes: Making ongoing, real-time assessment feasible. Journal of Brief Therapy, 5, 5–23. Pinsof, W., Chambers, A. (2010). Empirically informed systemic psychotherapy: Tracking client change and therapist behavior during therapy. In J. Bray M. Stanton (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of family psychology (pp. 431–446). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Pinsof, W., Zinbarg, R., Lebow, J., Knobloch-Fedders, L., Durbin, E., Chambers, A., et al. (2009). Laying the foundation for progress research in family, couple, and individual therapy: The development and psychometric features of the initial systemic therapy inventory of change. Psychotherapy Research, 19, 143–156. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Comprehensive Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families Childrens Bureau. www.ets.org www.pearsonassessments.com www.hoganassessments.com www.ipat.com www3.parinc.com www.psytech.co.uk www.psionline.com www.testagency.com www.upress.umn.edu/tests/default.html Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Abortion is a process of termination of pregnancy. The classic definition of abortion is the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable. This could include spontaneous abortion, which is a miscarriage, or induced abortion such as a doctor, the woman herself, or a layperson causes the abortion. Before modern methods of abortion, this sometimes meant the introduction of foreign objects like catheters into the uterus to disrupt the placenta and embryo (or fetus) so that a miscarriage would result (Family Jrank 2002). Abortion can be carried out by few ways such as taking pills and operation. Statistical information and cases. According to the report prepared by the Better Health Channel, in the year 1990, 23 percent of all pregnancies in Australia were terminated. This makes abortion become one of the most common surgical in the country with around 80,000 women undergoing abortion every year. Our current ratio of one abortion in every four pregnancies is an improvement over the estimated one in three recorded in Australia in the 1930s. Australias abortion rate is reasonably low by international standards compare to the United States of America has a 30 percent abortion rate. The majority of the Australians support the idea of the safe and legal abortion. The typical profile of a woman who is seeking abortion includes the ages in the 20s, single, educated and childless. Thesis statement This study has been carried out to determine whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study investigates the advantages and the disadvantages of the abortion to conclude that whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study draws on information gathered from International articles, World Wide Web sites, books and a survey. Abortion should be encouraged. First, abortion should be encouraged because an unwanted childs future will be affected. The young parent such as the teenager who has the unplanned pregnancy, they are unable to provide a good environment for the child. The teenager which is still studying and they do not have a job which causing them could not give a good environment to the child. Most of the juvenile crime happened is because of the children did not grow up in a good environment. Children who not grow in a good environment will cause them to do illegal things for getting attention from the others (Associated Content 2006). An unwilling parent is unlikely to be a good parent so the unwanted child is far more likely to drop out of school or commit acts of violence than children who are wanted, nurtured and well parent. The young parents are unable to take care of the child because they are immature. Parents play an important role in the childs education but the young parents have an immature mind so they can not give a good example for their child. When the young parents did something that is immature w ould affect the child do to the same mistake too. The young parents can not give accurate information that parents should give because their immature mind can not differentiate the rights and wrongs. If their children had done some mistake, the young parent could not give the right punishment and guide the child to the right pathway. In an addition, abortion should be encouraged because the future of the young parent would be affected if there is an unplanned pregnancy. According to the book, Should abortion rights be restricted? (2003), when a teenager is pregnant she has to face social problems, such as reduced education and employment opportunities. They are forced to stop their education because they have to spend more time on the child. For example, the young parent has to work hard to earn money for feeding the child. And due to the low education of the young parent, jobs with higher salaries may not want to hire them. There are only low salary jobs that would hire the low education teenager, which are typically hard-working employment types. The teenager could not afford to that job which is too heavy work. This will cause them to do illegal things to earn more money for their family such as become a robber, a thief, drug dealer and so on. And they will have to take the risk of getting caught by the police and going to jail. They also may be influenced by criminal associates and addicted to bad habits, such as smoking and gambling. So if they have an abortion, their future might include a  high standard of education, working with a high salary job and live happily. Furthermore, abortion should be encouraged because it can prevent the unwanted child. There are some cases such as rape or the incest pregnancy which is an unwanted pregnancy. The trauma will follow all of her life after the raping case, therefore, abortion is the right way to solve this problem or else an unwanted child would be the nightmare for the mother. We can not force a girl in her early age to become a mother after being raped. Abortion should be done toward the mother whom she does not know who is the father of the child. It will be a very hard life for the mother and the child which without a father. The mother is not ready to enter the parenthood yet. It is not easy to bring up a child by a single mother. The mother has to work hard for the child and have to spend time on taking care of the child at the same time. If a child grew up as a homely and because of it an unloved child, he or she will remember those painful experiences for the rest of your life (Associated Content 2007). Abortion should not be encouraged. On the other hand, abortion should not be encouraged because of the humans right. It is a process that is too cruel to a baby. The most basic human right of the human is the right to life there is no doubt which everyone knows it. The Catholic Bishop of the United States stated that since human life is sacred from conception until natural death, they contend, abortion is immoral. A person who did abortion is a murder because this action is taking away a human persons life. It is so unfair for a child who does not have a chance to enter this world. It is no different between abortion and infanticide. The parent should think about the rights of the child and not just make such selfish decide by their own opinion. We should appreciate the life that the god gives. It is the fate that the parent who get an unplanned pregnancy. God give them a chance to have a baby and guide them to another stage of life. All people, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, or whether they are healthy or handicapped, have been personally knit together by Gods fingers. He has planned out all the days of the unborn childs life before one of them has happened (Leadership U 1992).Some of the people might think that the embryo is just a bunch of cells but it actually a soul is inside the embryo. We have human rights because we are human beings. Therefore, direct abortion is never a morally tolerable option. Moreover, abortion should not be encouraged because a womans health would be affected badly by abortion. Abortion brings both physically and mentally harms to women. A woman who done the process of abortion has to face some physical health problem. Abortion is linked to the breast cancer due to the hormone changed after the abortion and resulting in an increase in a number of new breast cells. Infertility also one of the health problems that have to face by whom had done the process of abortion. As everyone knows that infertility which means being unable to have a child is a high risk of the abortion procedure. This health problem occurs is because, during the process of abortion, it damaged our uterus. Abortion brings mentally disturb to a woman too. At the early emotional effects, many women will experience the feelings of relief and numbness. In the later emotional effects, they have to face the complex feelings. They will have some complex feelings such as depression, tearfulness, guilt, anger, shame and so on. The mother who done the process of abortion may find difficult to face t he others who are pregnant or have babies. Flashbacks to the abortion experience also one of the mentally disturb to those who done abortion procedure. In a study report, 92 percent of women who have had an abortion will also feel guilt on that. As stated in Leadership U(1992), the mother would hear this little voice in her head says she is a terrible, awful person because she had done abortion. Due to the guilty feelings on taking away the childs life, they will feel very regret on it and causing they have an illusion that there is a ghost child following them. Lastly, abortion should not be encouraged because the parents have to take their responsibilities seriously towards the child. The parents behave badly so they have to pay the price. As a parent, they should know the values of a childs life and not just take abortion as an easy way to solve problems. Once they get pregnant, they have to do what a parent should do which they have to put afford on the baby and being a good example for the child. To prevent the same mistake again, they should give birth to the child and take care of the child. Whether or not a baby is unwanted is irrelevant. Just because a human being is not wanted does not mean that the human being has no value or should be killed. In addition, there are huge numbers of families who are willing to adopt those unwanted babies. So, those babies are wanted, not unwanted (CARM 2001). Conclusion Based on the evidence above, I strongly disagree abortion should be encouraged. It can not be a smart choice for the parent to do abortion. Abortion brings many disadvantages to the mother such as health problem as stated above. It brings both physically and mentally side effect. Abortion also is an immoral activity which is killing an innocent baby. Besides, if abortion is encouraged, it might cause the citizen to get involve in sexual activities easily because once they get pregnant and abortion could help them to solve the problem. There are many ways to solve the problems of unplanned pregnancy such as adoption, not just abortion. In the 50 sets of the personal survey, 44% of the public thinks that if one of their friends gets an unplanned pregnancy; continue the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption is the best way for the mother. If the parent does not prepare to have a child yet then they should take action to prevent it before they get pregnant such as a condom. Besides, the government can help to prevent the unplanned pregnancy through education too. For an example, the Minister of Education has to implement sex education in schools to give students a better idea of sexual intercourse. When they get to know more about the sex knowledge, they would know the importance of preventing unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, it helps to prevent it. At the end of the essay, the 50 sets of the personal survey show that 84% of the public do not agree that abortion should be encouraged. The personal survey will be shown in the pie chart below:

Movie Essays - Filming the Epic of Gilgamesh :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Filming the Epic of Gilgamesh In order to undertake a project of this epic magnitude, one must first consider the many differing ways the film could take hold. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an age old story whose main attractions will be it's originality and antiquity. To cash in properly on Gilgamesh we must focus on bringing out the idea of Gilgamesh predating similar stories, casting actors who will capture the characters' mannerisms while still being easy to relate to, and using optimal special effects to combat the preconceived notions an audience may have about movies of this kind (thanks to the likes of Kevin Sorbo and Steve Reeves). Primarily the idea is to keep Gilgamesh pure. Naturally, after seeing my Hamlet, moviegoers will have ideas about what to expect from the introduction of a pre-classical work into main stream theater. Likely viewers and critics alike will be expecting an updating, or out and out displacement of the sequence of events in time. However, while we certainly cannot go line for line with the text, we must keep Gilgamesh loyal to the original tablets, and as close to Sumerian dress, language, and culture as we can simulate. To preserve the storytelling style of the epic's author(s), I plan to employ a narrator to guide the action. A recognizable, intelligent, regal, and yet not overpowering voice should be chosen. This voice should give an air of importance to the narration without being so enthralling that the action is missed. I plan to seek out such Englishmen as Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian Mckellan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and John Geilgud, and to offer them the opportunity of auditioning for this essential role. The selected actor's voice will begin and end the film, while covering breaks in the action and explaining confusing sections of the story. The casting of the actual blocking actors is a bit more problematic. Gilgamesh himself is the most challenging character to play in this work. Gilgamesh should be strong (without evoking images of Kull the Conqueror, or Conan the Barbarian), and youngish, but with a weathered look to imply warriors traits. The actor must present the narcissistic nihilism of the early Gilgamesh and, later on, display the more humbled, post-anagnorosis Gilgamesh. For this range of whimsical egotism, to brooding, driven force, we should rely on the talents of Mel Gibson. Gibson gives a full range of acting abilities while looking weathered, and charming at the same time.

Tencent Crossfire

Tencent, one of the biggest and most influential IT Corporation in China, had launched its signature first person shooting game Crossfire in 2008. Based on reported statistics, it has over a million online users every day1 and always ranked top place in a lot of game websites. Many Other IT companies always pursue profits when forming their price strategy, but Crossfire is free to play, which seems bizarre and risky. Ultimately, there must be other ways for them to generate the cash to operate the system as well as to earn profits. Firstly, Tencent promised Crossfire is totally free to play, but the underlying strategy is smart and shocking. People may not believe it because everybody knows there is no free lunch in the world. Anyhow, when they give a try, most of them feel surprised that Tencent might have kept its promise. It is definitely free to register an account and download the game package. Tencent will not charge you a cent for it even when you literally play the game. However, after few days trail play, the commitment Tencent made has become pale and weak. That is to say, not only you have to pay, you have to pay a lot. Crossfire is a game in which you will have a gun battle with other online users. People try their best to kill their enemies with the ‘weapons’ in their hands. The ‘weapons’ are usually a gun or other ammunitions, but they are virtual goods. When you are new players, it is capable for you to survive with a simple pistol because you are protected from high level players. Yet you will find it is getting harder and harder facing other veteran players with simple, basic weapons in your hands when you finish the rookie training. Thus, in order to survive, to save your dignity, or if you are already addicted to the game, you have to purchase the weapons you need. The higher level the weapon is, the more it costs you. In fact, this strategy is a very clever move in the online game market. By adopting ‘freemium’ strategy, Tencent enjoys 29. 5% share of revenue in China2 and is a nightmare for its competitors. First of all, the revenue is from creating and selling virtual goods at almost zero cost. Moreover, it is a great opportunity to expand their influence in the market. Sometimes, the choices of a teenager can be random. When playing a game, all they want to do is to have fun with their friends. So if many teenagers are attracted by ‘freemium game’ at first place, the guys left out will soon switch to the same game. When more and more people are playing this game, the social influence will emerge and spread out rapidly, and other products from Tencent can easily take advantage of this. What’s more, it threatens or even damages its competitors in the market. By stealing customers from other games, Tencent compresses the room for other companies since the time people spend on online games are stable. That is, they would not double their play time when he plays two games. Therefore, once a customer is attracted by Crossfire, the profit of the other game which offers hourly based payment will be hugely decreased while Tencent is risk-free with its ‘freemium’ strategy. Also, Tencent is a company that is very good at modeling consumers’ behaviour. Tencent knows that people don’t mind to give a try for free stuff because they think they have nothing to lose. This could be true in reality, but not in Tencent’s world. Online games are addictive, especially for teenagers. Instead of blocking teenagers out by expensive payment at first place, Crossfire let them in and enjoys the game. Then, as time goes, the simple challenge cannot satisfy their needs. Finally, they are addicted to the product and willing to spend money on it. Similarly, the proof is not hard to find in the Apple store, in which the freemium games are leading all app revenue models and are now  accounting for more than 65% 2of app revenue. Finally, ‘freemium’ age has come. As a consumer, it is necessary to know the fact behind the ‘fairy tale’ of free. But for a company, the way of earning money is changing all the time. As the saying goes, â€Å"nothing ventured, nothing gained†. Undoubtedly, Tencent is just the perfect explanation for the proverb. Reference: 1. http://en. korea. com/blog/tech/games/crossfire-%E2%80%9Creaches-2-million-users-in-china%E2%80%9D/ 2. http://www. buzzom. com/2011/09/online-gaming-market-in-china-reaches-usd-1-3b-chinese-firms-dominant/ 3. According to Flurry’s analysis http://blog. flurry. com/? Tag=Freemium

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIX EARTH

EARTH Trevize was hot and annoyed. He and Pelorat were sitting in the small dining area, having just completed their midday meal. Pelorat said, â€Å"We've only been in space two days and I find myself quite comfortable, although I miss fresh air, nature, and all that. Strange! Never seemed to notice all that sort of thing when it was all round me. Still between my wafer and that remarkable computer of yours, I have my entire library with me – or all that matters, at any rate. And I don't feel the least bit frightened of being out in space now. Astonishing!† Trevize made a noncommittal sound. His eyes were inwardly focused. Pelorat said gently, â€Å"I don't mean to intrude, Golan, but I don't really think you're listening. Not that I'm a particularly interesting person always been a hit of a bore, you know. Still, you seem preoccupied in another way. – Are we in trouble? Needn't be afraid to tell me, you know. Not much I could do, I suppose, but I won't go into panic, dear fellow.† â€Å"In trouble?† Trevize seemed to come to his senses, frowning slightly. â€Å"I mean the ship. It's a new model, so I suppose there could be something wrong:† Pelorat allowed himself a small, uncertain smile. Trevize shook his head vigorously. â€Å"Stupid of me to leave you in such uncertainty, Janov. There's nothing wrong at all with the ship. It's working perfectly. It's just that I've been looking for a hyper-relay.† â€Å"Ah, I see. – Except that I don't. What is a hyper-relay?† â€Å"Well, let me explain, Janov. I am in communication with Terminus. At least, I can be anytime I wish and Terminus can, in reverse, be in communication with us. They know the ship's location, having observed its trajectory. Even if they had not, they could locate us by scanning near-space for mass, which would warn them of the presence of a ship or, possibly, a meteoroid. But they could further detect an energy pattern, which would not only distinguish a ship from a meteoroid but would identify a particular ship, for no two ships make use of energy in quite the same way. In some way, our pattern remains characteristic, no matter what appliances or instruments we turn on and off. The ship may be unknown, of course, but if it is a ship whose energy pattern is on record in Terminus – as ours is – it can be identified as soon as detected.† Pelorat said, â€Å"It seems to me, Golan, that the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy.† â€Å"You may be right. Sooner or later, however, we must move through hyperspace or we will be condemned to remain within a parsec or two of Terminus for the rest of our lives. We will then be unable to engage in interstellar travel to any but the slightest degree. In passing through hyperspace, on the other hand, we undergo a discontinuity in ordinary space. We pass from here to there – and I mean across a gap of hundreds of parsecs sometimes – in an instant of experienced time. We are suddenly enormously far away in a direction that is very difficult to predict and, in a practical sense, we can no longer be detected.† â€Å"I see that. Yes.† â€Å"Unless, of course, they have planted a hyper-relay on board. A hyperrelay sends out a signal through hyperspace – a signal characteristic of this ship – and the authorities on Terminus would know where we are at all times. That answers your question, you see. There would be nowhere in the Galaxy we could hide and no combination of jumps through hyperspace would make it possible for us to evade their instruments:† â€Å"But, Golan,† bald Pelorat softly, â€Å"don't we want Foundation protection?† â€Å"Yes, Janov, but only when we ask for it. You said the advance of civilization meant the continuing restriction of privacy. – Well. I don't want to be that advanced. I want freedom to move undetected as I wish – unless and until I want protection So I would feel better, a great deal better, if there weren't a hyper-relay on board.† â€Å"Have you found one, Golan?† â€Å"No, I have not. If I had, I might be able to render it inoperative somehow.† â€Å"Would you know one if you saw it?† â€Å"That's one of the difficulties. I might not be able to recognize it. I know what a hyper-relay looks like generally and I know ways of testing a suspicious object – but this is a late-model ship, designed for special tasks. A hyper-relay may have been incorporated into its design in such a way as to show no signs of its presence.† â€Å"On the other hand, maybe there is no hyper-relay present and that's why you haven't found it.† â€Å"I don't dare assume that and I don't like the thought of making a jump until I know.† Pelorat looked enlightened. â€Å"That's why we've just been drifting through space. I've been wondering why we haven't jumped. I've heard about jumps, you know. Been a little nervous about it, actually – been wandering when you'd order me to strap myself in or take a pill or something like that.† Trevize managed a smile. â€Å"No need for apprehension. These aren't ancient times. On a ship like this, you just leave it all to the computer. You give it your instructions and it does the rest. You won't know that anything has happened at all, except that the view of space will suddenly change. If you've ever seen a slide show, you'll know what happens when one slide is suddenly projected in place of another. Well, that's what the jump will seem like.† â€Å"Dear me. One won't feel anything? Odd! I find that somewhat disappointing.† â€Å"I've never felt anything and the ships I've been in haven't been as advanced as this baby of ours. – But it's not because of the hyperrelay that we haven't jumped. We have to get a bit further away from Terminus – and from the sun, too. The farther we are from any massive abject, the easier to control the jump, to make re-emergence into space at exactly desired co-ordinates. In an emergency, you might risk a jump when you're only two hundred kilometers off she surface of a planet and just trust to luck that you'll end up safely. Since there is much mete safe than unsafe volume in the Galaxy, you can reasonably count on safety. Still, there's always the possibility that random factors will cause you to re-emerge within a few million kilometers of a large star or in the Galactic core – and you will find yourself fried before you can blink. The further away you are from mass, the smaller those factors and the less likely it is that anything untoward will happ en.† â€Å"In that case, I commend your caution. We're not in a tearing hurry,† â€Å"Exactly. – Especially since I would dearly love to find the hyperrelay before I make a move. – Or find a way of convincing myself there is no hyper-relay.† Trevize seemed to drift off again into his private concentration and Pelorat said, raising his voice a little to surmount the preoccupation barrier, â€Å"How much longer do we have?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I mean, when would you make the jump if you had no concerns over the hyper-relay, my dear chap?† â€Å"At our present speed and trajectory, I should say on our fourth day out. I'll work out the proper time on the computer.† â€Å"Well, then, you still have two days for your search. May I make a suggestion?† â€Å"Go ahead.† â€Å"I have always found in my own work – quite different from yours, of course, but possibly we may generalize – that zeroing in tightly on a particular problem is self-defeating. Why not relax and talk about something else, and your unconscious mind – not laboring under the weight of concentrated thought – may solve the problem for you.† Trevize looked momentarily annoyed and then laughed. â€Å"Well, why not? – Tell me, Professor, what got you interested in Earth? What brought up this odd notion of a particular planet from which we all started?† â€Å"Ah!† Pelorat nodded his head reminiscently. â€Å"That's going back a while. Over thirty years. I planned to be a biologist when I was going to college. I was particularly interested in the variation of species on different worlds. The variation, as you know – well, maybe you don't know, so you won't mind if I tell you – is very small. All forms of life throughout the Galaxy – at least all that we have yet encountered – share a water-based protein/nucleic acid chemistry.† Trevize said, â€Å"I went to military college, which emphasized nucleonics and gravities, but I'm not exactly a narrow specialist. I know a bit about the chemical basis of life. We were taught that water, proteins, and nucleic acids are the only possible basis for life.† â€Å"That, I think, is an unwarranted conclusion. It is safer to say that no other form of life has yet been found – or, at any rate, been recognized – and let it go at that. What is more surprising is that indigenous species – that is, species found on only a single planet and no other – are few in number. Most of the species that exist, including Homo sapiens in particular, are distributed through all or most of the inhabited worlds of the Galaxy and are closely related biochemically, physiologically, and morphologically. The indigenous species, on the other hand, are widely separated in characteristics from both the widespread forms and from each other.† â€Å"Well, what of that?† â€Å"The conclusion is that one world in the Galaxy – one world – is different from the rest. Tens of millions of worlds in the Galaxy – no one knows exactly how many – have developed life. It was simple life, sparse life, feeble life – not very variegated, not easily maintained, and not easily spread. One world, one world alone, developed life in millions of species – easily millions – some of it very specialized, highly developed, very prone to multiplication and to spreading, and including us. We were intelligent enough to form a civilization, to develop hyperspatial flight, and to colonize the Galaxy – and, in spreading through the Galaxy, we took many other forms of lifeforms related to each other and to ourselves – along with us.† â€Å"If you stop to think of it,† said Trevize rather indifferently, â€Å"I suppose that stands to reason. I mean, here we are in a human Galaxy. If we assume that it all started on some one world, then that one world would have to be different. But why not? The chances of life developing in that riotous fashion must be very slim indeed – perhaps one in a hundred million – so the chances are that it happened in one life-bearing world out of a hundred million. It had to be one.† â€Å"But what is it that made that particular one world so different from the others?† said Pelorat excitedly. â€Å"What were the conditions that made it unique?† â€Å"Merely chance, perhaps. After all, human beings and the lifeforms they brought with them now exist on tens of millions of planets, all of which can support life, so all those worlds must be good enough.† â€Å"No! Once the human species had evolved, once it had developed a technology, once it had toughened itself in the hard struggle for survival, it could then adapt to life on any world that is in the least hospitable – on Terminus, for instance. But can you imagine intelligent life having developed on Terminus? When Terminus was first occupied by human beings in the days of the EncycIopedists, the highest form of plant life it produced was a mosslike growth on rocks; the highest forms of animal life were small coral-like growths in the ocean and insectlike flying organisms on land. We just about wiped them out and stocked sea and land with fish and rabbits and goats and grass and grain and trees and so on. We have nothing left of the indigenous life, except for what exists in zoos and aquaria.† â€Å"Hmm,† said Trevize. Pelorat stared at him for a full minute, then sighed and said, â€Å"You don't really care, do you? Remarkable! I find no one who does, somehow. My fault, I think. I cannot make it interesting, even though it interests me so much.† Trevize said, â€Å"It's interesting. It is. But – but – so what?† â€Å"It doesn't strike you that it might be interesting scientifically to study a world that gave rise to the only really flourishing indigenous ecological balance the Galaxy has ever seen?† â€Å"Maybe, if you're a biologist. – I'm not, you see. You must forgive me.† â€Å"Of course, dear fellow. It's just that I never found any biologists who were interested, either. I told you I was a biology major. I took it up with my professor and he wasn't interested. He told me to turn to some practical problem. That so disgusted me I took up history instead – which had been rather a hobby of mine from my teenage years, in any case – and tackled the ‘Origin Question' from that angle.† Trevize said, â€Å"But at least it has given you a lifework, so you must be pleased that your professor was so unenlightened.† â€Å"Yes, I suppose one might look at it that way. And the lifework is an interesting one, of which I have never tired. – But I do wish it interested you. I hate this feeling of forever talking to myself.† Trevize leaned his bead back and laughed heartily. Pelorat's quiet face took or: a trace of hurt. â€Å"Why are you laughing at me?† â€Å"Not you, Janov,† said Trevize. â€Å"I was laughing at my own stupidity, Where you're concered, I am completely grateful. You were perfectly right, you know,† â€Å"To take up the importance of human origins?† â€Å"No, no. – Well, yes, that too. – But I meant you were right to tell me to stop consciously thinking of my problem and to turn my mind elsewhere. It worked. When you were talking about the manner in which life evolved, it finally occurred to me that I knew how to find that hyperrelay – if it existed.† â€Å"Oh, that!† â€Å"Yes, that! That's my monomania at the moment. I've been looking for that hyper-relay as though I were on my old scow of a training ship, studying every part of the ship by eye, looking for something that stood out from the rest. I had forgotten that this ship is a developed product of thousands of years of technological evolution. Don't you see?† â€Å"No, Golan.† â€Å"We have a computer aboard. How could I have forgotten?† He waved his hand and passed into his own room, urging Pelorat along with him. â€Å"I need only try to communicate,† he said, placing his hands onto the computer contact. It was a matter of trying to reach Terminus, which was now some thousands of kilometers behind. Reach! Speak! It was as though nerve endings sprouted and extended, reaching outward with bewildering speed – the speed of light, of course – to make contact. Trevize felt himself touching – well, not quite touching, but sensing – well, not quite sensing, but – it didn't matter, for there wasn't a word for it. He was aware of Terminus within reach and, although the distance between himself and it was lengthening by some twenty kilometers per second, contact persisted as though planet and ship were motionless and separated by a few meters. He said nothing. He clamped shut. He was merely testing the principle of communication; he was not actively communicating. Out beyond, eight parsecs away, was Anacreon, the nearest large planet in their backyard, by Galactic standards. To send a message by the same light-speed system that had just worked for Terminus – and to receive an answer as well – would take fifty-two years. Reach for Anacreon! Think Anacreon! Think it as clearly as you can. You know its position relative to Terminus and the Galactic core; you've studied its planetography and history; you've solved military problems where it was necessary to recapture Anacreon (in the impossible case – these days – that it was taken by an enemy). Space! You've been on Anacreon. Picture it! Picture it! You will sense being on it via hyper-relay. Nothing! His nerve endings quivered and came to rest nowhere. Trevize pulled loose. â€Å"There's no hyper-relay on board the Far Star, Janov. I'm positive. – And if I hadn't followed your suggestion, I wonder how long it would have taken me to reach this point.† Pelorat, without moving a facial muscle, positively glowed. â€Å"I'm so pleased to have been of help. Does this mean we jump?† â€Å"No, we still wait two more days, to be safe. We have to get away from mass, remember? – Ordinarily, considering that I have a new and untried ship with which I am thoroughly unacquainted, it would probably take me two days to calculate the exact procedure – the proper hyperthrust for the first jump, in particular. I have a feeling, though, the computer will do it all.† â€Å"Dear me! That leaves us facing a rather boring stretch of time, it seems to me.† â€Å"Boring?† Trevize smiled broadly. â€Å"Anything but! You and I, Janov, are going to talk about Earth.† Pelorat said, â€Å"Indeed? You are trying to please an old man? That is kind of you. Really it is.† â€Å"Nonsense! I'm trying to please myself. Janov, you have made a convert. As a result of what you have told me, I realize that Earth is the most important and the most devouringly interesting object in the Universe.† It must surely have struck Trevize at the moment that Pelorat had presented his view of Earth. It was only because his mind was reverberating with the problem of the hyper-relay that he hadn't responded at once. And the instant the problem had gone, he had responded. Perhaps the one statement of Hari Seldon's that was most often repeated was his remark concerning the Second Foundation being â€Å"at the other end of the Galaxy† from Terminus. Seldon had even named the spot. It was to be â€Å"at Star's End.† This had been included in Gaal Dornick's account of the day of the trial before the Imperial court. â€Å"The other end of the Galaxy† – those were the words Seldon had used to Dornick and ever since that day their significance had been debated. What was it that connected one end of the Galaxy with â€Å"the other end†? Was it a straight line, a spiral, a circle, or what? And now, luminously, it was suddenly clear to Trevize that it was no line and no curve that should – or could – be drawn on the map of the Galaxy. It was more subtle than that. It was perfectly clear that the one end of the Galaxy was Terminus. It was at the edge of the Galaxy, yes – our Foundation's edge – which gave the word â€Å"end† a literal meaning. It was, however, also the newest world of the Galaxy at the time Seldon was speaking, a world that was about to be founded, that had not as yet been in existence for a single moment. What would be the other end of the Galaxy, in that light? The other Foundation's edge? Why, the oldest world of the Galaxy? And according to the argument Pelorat had presented – without knowing what he was presenting – that could only be Earth. The Second Foundation might well be on Earth. Yet Seldon had said the other end of the Galaxy was â€Å"at Star's End.† Who could say he was not speaking metaphorically? Trace the history of humanity backward as Pelorat did and the line would stretch back from each planetary system, each star that shone down on an inhabited planet, to some other planetary system, some other star from which the first migrants had come, then back to a star before that – until finally, all the lines stretched back to the planet on which humanity had originated. It was the star that shone upon Earth that was â€Å"Star's End:† Trevize smiled and said almost lovingly, â€Å"Tell me more about Earth, Janov.† Pelorat shook his head. â€Å"I have told you all there is, really. We will find out more on Trantor.† Trevize said, â€Å"No, we won't, Janov. We'll find out nothing there. Why? Because we're not going to Trantor. I control this ship and I assure you we're not.† Pelorat's mouth fell open. He struggled for breath for a moment and then said, woebegone, â€Å"Oh, my dear fellow!† Trevize said, â€Å"Come an, Janov. Don't look like that. We're going to find Earth.† â€Å"But it's only on Trantor that – â€Å" â€Å"No, it's not. Trantor is just someplace you can study brittle films and dusty documents and turn brittle and dusty yourself.† â€Å"For decades, I've dreamed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You've dreamed of finding Earth.† â€Å"But it's only†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Trevize stood up, leaned over, caught the slack of Pelorat's tunic, and said, â€Å"Don't repeat that, Professor. Don't repeat it. When you first told me we were going to look for Earth, before ever we got onto this ship, you said we were sure to find it because, and I quote your own words, ‘I have an excellent possibility in mind' Now I don't ever want to hear you say ‘Trantor' again. I just want you to tell me about this excellent possibility.† â€Å"But it must be confirmed. So far, it's only a thought, a hope, a vague possibility.† â€Å"Good! Tell me about it!† â€Å"You don't understand. You simply don't understand. It is not a field in which anyone but myself has done research. There is nothing historical, nothing firm, nothing real. People talk about Earth as though it's a fact, and also as though it's a myth. There are a million contradictory tales†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well then, what has your research consisted of?† â€Å"I've been forced to collect every tale, every bit of supposed history, every legend, every misty myth. Even fiction. Anything that includes the name of Earth or the idea of a planet of origin. For over thirty years, I've been collecting everything I could find from every planet of the Galaxy. Now if I could only get something more reliable than all of these from the Galactic Library at†¦ – But you don't want me to say the word.† â€Å"That's right. Don't say it. Tell me instead that one of these items has caught your attention, and tell me your reasons for thinking why it, of them all, should be legitimate.† Pelorat shook his head. â€Å"There, Golan, if you will excuse my saying so, you talk like a soldier or a politician. That is not the way history works.† Trevize took a deep breath and kept his temper. â€Å"Tell me how it works, Janov. We've got two days. Educate me.† â€Å"You can't rely on any one myth or even on any one group. I've had to gather them all, analyze them, organize them, set up symbols to represent different aspects of their content – tales of impossible weather, astronomic details of planetary systems at variance with what actually exists, place of origin of culture heroes specifically stated not to be native, quite literally hundreds of other items. No use going through the entire list. Even two days wouldn't be enough. I spent over thirty years, I tell you. â€Å"I then worked up a computer program that searched through all these myths for common components and sought a transformation that would eliminate the true impossibilities. Gradually I worked up a model of what Earth must have been like. After all, if human beings all originated on a single planet, that single planet must represent the one fact that all origin myths, all culture – hero tales, have in common. – Well, do you want me to go into mathematical detail?† Trevize said, â€Å"Not at the moment, thank you, but how do you know you won't be misled by your mathematics? We know for a fact that Terminus was founded only five centuries ago and that the first human beings arrived as a colony from Trantor but had been assembled from dozens – if not hundreds – of other worlds. Yet someone who did not know this could assume that Hari Seldon and Salvor Hardin, neither of whom were born on Terminus, came from Earth and that Trantor was really a name that stood for Earth. Certainly, if the Trantor as described in Seldon's time were searched for – a world with all its land surface coated with metal – it would not be found and it might be considered an impossible myth.† Pelorat looked pleased. â€Å"I withdraw my earlier remark about soldiers and politicians, my dear fellow. You have a remarkable intuitive sense. Of course, I had to set up controls. I invented a hundred falsities based on distortions of actual history and imitating myths of the type I had collected. I then attempted to incorporate my inventions into the model. One of my inventions was even based on Terminus's early history. The computer rejected them all. Every one. To be sure, that might have meant I simply lacked the fictional talents to make up something reasonable, but I did my best† â€Å"I'm sure you did, Janov. And what did your model tell you about Earth?† â€Å"A number of things of varying degrees of likelihood. A kind of profile. For instance, about 90 percent of the inhabited planets in the Galaxy have rotation periods of between twenty-two and twenty-six Galactic Standard Hours. Well – † â€Å" Trevize cut in. â€Å"I hope you didn't pay any attention to that, Janov. There's no mystery there. For a planet to be habitable, you don't want it to rotate so quickly that air circulation patterns produce impossibly stormy conditions or so slowly that temperature variation patterns are extreme. It's a property that's self-selective. Human beings prefer to live on planets with suitable characteristics, and then when all habitable planets resemble each other in these characteristics, some say, ‘What an amazing coincidence,' when it's not amazing at all and not even a coincidence.† â€Å"As a matter of fact,† said Pelorat calmly, â€Å"that's a well-known phenomenon in social science. In physics, too, I believe – but I'm not a physicist and I'm not certain about that. In any case, it is called the ‘anthropic principle': The observer influences the events he observes by the mere act of observing them or by being there to observe them. But the question is: Where is the planet that served as a model? Which planet rotates in precisely one Galactic Standard Day of twenty-four Galactic Standard Hours?† Trevize looked thoughtful and thrust out his lower lip. â€Å"You think that might be Earth? Surely Galactic Standard could have been based on the local characteristics of any world, might it not?† â€Å"Not likely. It's not the human way. Trantor was the capital world of the Galaxy for twelve thousand years – the most populous world for twenty thousand years – yet it did not impose its rotation period of 1.08 Galactic Standard Days on all the Galaxy. And Terminus's rotation period is 0.91 GSD and we don't enforce ours on the planets dominated by us. Every planet makes use of its own private calculations in its own Local Planetary Day system, and for matters of interplanetary importance converts – with the help of computers – back and forth between LPD and GSD. The Galactic Standard Day must come from Earth]† â€Å"Why is it a must?† â€Å"For one thing, Earth was once the only inhabited world, so naturally its day and year would be standard and would very likely remain standard out of social inertia as other worlds were populated. Then, too, the model I produced was that of an Earth that rotated on its axis in just twenty-four Galactic Standard Hours and that revolved about its sun in just one Galactic Standard Year.† â€Å"Might that not be coincidence?† Pelorat laughed. â€Å"Now it is you who are talking coincidence. Would you care to lay a wager on such a thing happening by coincidence?† â€Å"Well well,† muttered Trevize. â€Å"In fact, there's more to it. There's an archaic measure of time that's called the month†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I've heard of it.† â€Å"It, apparently, about fits the period of revolution of Earth's satellite about Earth. However – â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, one rather astonishing factor of the model is that the satellite I just mentioned is huge – over one quarter the diameter of the Earth itself.† â€Å"Never heard of such a thing, Janov. There isn't a populated planet in the Galaxy with a satellite like that.† â€Å"But that's good,† said Pelorat with animation. â€Å"If Earth is a unique world in its production of variegated species and the evolution of intelligence, then we want some physical uniqueness.† â€Å"But what could a large satellite have to do with variegated species, intelligence, and all that?† â€Å"Well now, there you hit a difficulty. I don't really know. But it's worth examination, don't you think?† Trevize rose to his feet and folded his arms across his chest. â€Å"But what's the problem, then? Look up the statistics on inhabited planets and find one that has a period of rotation and of revolution that are exactly one Galactic Standard Day and one Galactic Standard Year in length, respectively. And if it also has a gigantic satellite, you'd have what you want. I presume, from your statement that you ‘have an excellent possibility in mind,' that you've done just this, and that you have your world.† Pelorat looked disconcerted. â€Å"Well, now, that's not exactly what happened. I did look through the statistics, or at least I had it done by the astronomy department and – well, to put it bluntly, there's no such world.† Trevize sat down again abruptly. â€Å"But that means your whole argument falls to the ground.† â€Å"Not quite, it seems to me.† â€Å"What do you mean, not quite? You produce a model with all sorts of detailed descriptions and you can't find anything that fits. Your model is useless, then. You must start from the beginning.† â€Å"No. It just means that the statistics on populated planets are incomplete. After all, there are tens of millions of them and some are very obscure worlds. For instance, there is no good data on the population of nearly half. And concerning six hundred and forty thousand populated worlds there is almost no information other than their names and sometimes the location. Some galactographers have estimated that there may be up to ten thousand inhabited planets that aren't listed at all. The worlds prefer it that way, presumably. During the Imperial Era, it might have helped them avoid taxation.† â€Å"And in the centuries that followed,† said Trevize cynically. â€Å"It might have helped them serve as home bases for pirates, and that might have, on occasion, proved more enriching than ordinary trade.† â€Å"I ‘wouldn't know about that,† said Pelorat doubtfully. Trevize said, â€Å"Just the same, it seems to me that Earth would have to be on the list of inhabited planets, whatever its own desires. It would be the oldest of them all, by definition, and it could not have been overlooked in the early centuries of Galactic civilization. And once on the list, it would stay on. Surely we could count on social inertia there.† Pelorat hesitated and looked anguished. â€Å"Actually, there – there is a planet named Earth on the list of inhabited planets.† Trevize stared. â€Å"I'm under the impression that you told me a while ago that Earth was not on the list?† â€Å"As Earth, it is not. There is, however, a planet named Gaia.† â€Å"What has that got to do with it? Gahyah?† â€Å"It's spelled G-A-I-A. It means ‘Earth.'† â€Å"Why should it mean Earth, Janov, any more than anything else? The name is meaningless to me.† Pelorat's ordinarily expressionless face came close to a grimace. â€Å"I'm not sure you'll believe this. – If I go by my analysis of the myths, there were several different, mutually unintelligible, languages on Earth.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Yes. After all, we have a thousand different ways of speaking across the Galaxy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Across the Galaxy, there are certainly dialectical variations, but these are not mutually unintelligible. And even if understanding some of them is a matter of difficulty, we all share Galactic Standard.† â€Å"Certainly, but there is constant interstellar travel. What if some world was in isolation for a prolonged period?† â€Å"But you're talking of Earth. A single planet. Where's the isolation?† â€Å"Earth is the planet of origin, don't forget, where humanity must at one time have been primitive beyond imagining. Without interstellar travel, without computers, without technology at all, struggling up from nonhuman ancestors.† â€Å"This is so ridiculous.† Pelorat hung his head in embarrassment at that. â€Å"There is perhaps no use discussing this, old chap. I never have managed to make it convincing to anyone. My own fault, I'm sure.† Trevize was at once contrite. â€Å"Janov, I apologize. I spoke without thinking. These are views, after all, to which I am not accustomed. You have been developing your theories for over thirty years, while I've been introduced to them all at once. You must make allowances. – Look, I'll imagine that we have primitive people on Earth who speak two completely different, mutually unintelligible, languages. â€Å"‘ â€Å"Half a dozen, perhaps,† said Pelorat diffidently. â€Å"Earth may have been divided into several large land masses and it may be that there were, at first, no communications among them. The inhabitants of each land mass might have developed an individual language.† Trevize said with careful gravity, â€Å"And on each of these land masses, once they grew cognizant of one another, they might have argued an ‘origin Question' and wondered on which one human beings had first arisen from other animals.† â€Å"They might very well, Golan. It would be a very natural attitude for them to have.† â€Å"And in one of those languages, Gaia means Earth. And the word ‘Earth' itself is derived from another one of those languages.† â€Å"Yes, yes: ‘ â€Å"And while Galactic Standard is the language that descended from the particular language in which ‘Earth' means ‘Earth,' the people of Earth for some reason call their planet ‘Gala' from another of their languages.† â€Å"Exactly! You are indeed quick, Golan.† â€Å"But it seems to me that there's no need to make a mystery of this. If Gaia is really Earth, despite the difference in names, then Gala, by your previous argument, ought to have a period of rotation of just one Galactic Day, a period of revolution of just one Galactic Year, and a giant satellite that revolves about it in just one month.† â€Å"Yes, it would have to be so.† â€Å"Well then, does it or doesn't it fulfill these requirements?† â€Å"Actually I can't say. The information isn't given in the tables.† â€Å"Indeed? Well, then, Janov, shall we go to Gaia and time its periods and stare at its satellite?† â€Å"I would like to, Golan,† Pelorat hesitated. â€Å"The trouble is that the location isn't given exactly, either.† â€Å"You mean, all you have is the name and nothing more, and that is your excellent possibility?† â€Å"But that is just why I want to visit the Galactic Library!† â€Å"Well, wait. You say the table doesn't give the location exactly. Does it give any information at all?† â€Å"It lists it in the Sayshell Sector – and adds a question mark.† â€Å"Well, then – Janov, don't be downcast. We will go to the Sayshell Sector and somehow we will find Gaia!†