Monday, September 30, 2019

Examination of New Zealand’s Exchange Cures

1.Examination of NZ ‘s exchange remedies 1.1 Dumping and Anti Dumping Duty Dumping A straightforward definition is that ware are dumped if their menu value when foreign made into New Zealand is non precisely their typical regard in the state of menu. The menu cost is the value the merchandiser in New Zealand pays for the ware. The ordinary quality is the value the merchandises offer for in the state of menu. These costs are conformed to the ex-industrial installation degree in the state of menu. On the off opportunity that the ex-industrial installation cost is non precisely the ex-plant typical quality ( after alteration have been made to vouch the value scrutiny is sensible ) so dumping has happened. Dumping is lawful At the same clip where it harms New Zealand shapers, duties can be forced to bring around the circumstance. These duties must be forced after a formal scrutiny. Schemes for an scrutiny are situated down in the dumping and offseting Duties Act 1988. The Act meets New Zealand ‘s committednesss under the World Trade Organization Anti-dumping Agreement. It is managed by our Trade Remedies group. The Act is intended to maintain up sensible competition for New Zealand shapers when the dumping hostile to dumping activity. ( Products that are trans-delivered through Australia are non excluded ) . Dumping scrutiny Use this application construction to demand us to research the dumping of foreign merchandises. Your application helps us construct if a full scrutiny is legitimized. You ought to give cogent evidence to show that: †¢dumping is go oning †¢the dumping is harming, or undermines to harm, a family industry †¢your application has support from the residential concern. Examination The full scrutiny includes intensive deliberation of the cogent evidence in the application, and wide get-together of industry and exchange information to make whether dumping is conveying on injury. In the event that there is reasonable cogent evidence of injury from dumping, impermanent steps can be forced by the Minister every bit meager as 60 yearss from the day of the month an scrutiny was begun. These steps are utilized to maintain farther harm from go oning amid the staying clip of the scrutiny. Inside 150 yearss of get downing an scrutiny, our CEO is obliged to light all invested persons of the actualities and decisions apt to construction the premiss for any last finding. This gives invested persons a opportunity to note. Inside 180 yearss of the Begin of the scrutiny, the Minister must do a last finding of whether the dumping of imports is making injury to the residential concern. Hostile to dumping Guidelines have been secured for us to study and settle on picks on applications for price reductions of hostile to dumping duty paid in copiousness of the border of dumping. An border of dumping is the differentiation between the ordinary worth and the menu cost. Hostile to dumping duty ca n't price reductions must be made for against dumping duty paid in copiousness of the border of dumping. Discount demands must be bolstered by verification made by a shipper of the point capable to the resistance to dumping duty. In the event that a merchandiser considers at that place has been ageless alteration to the border of dumping, they ought to likewise see bespeaking reappraisal of the rate of duty. Reach us for all the more about the informations needed for reappraisal applications. Proof of ordinary quality a long clip under uncommon fortunes and trusting upon the consequence of a different audit scrutiny. On the off opportunity that a shield step applies for over a twelvemonth it is to be continuously changed amid its life-time. The Ministry must endeavour to reply to the Minister about the shield scrutiny inside 75 working yearss of the day of the month of start. In the event that the local concern expressions for the load of a impermanent protection step or a impermanent shield step is forced, the Ministry must seek reasonable enterprises to reply to the Minister inside 85 working yearss of the day of the month of initiation.The flowchart underneath gives a diagram of the scrutiny procedure and its TExaminationThe full scrutiny includes intensive deliberation of the cogent evidence in the application archive and an scrutiny of far making industry and exchange information. The shapers doing up the New Zealand industry might similarly be gone by to corroborate informations they have given on echt harm.In the event that informations gave is viewed as questionable it might be slighted. Whenever amid a shield scrutiny, a statutory averment may be obliged to endorsing any adjustment or informations gave, in the manner accommodated in Section 9 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.The affairs the Ministry must research integrate the accompanying:†¢Whether expanded imports have created or enfeeble to do echt injury.†¢Whether the expanded imports were because of unanticipated betterments.†¢Whether a shield step is of import to expect or bring around echt harm and to promote conformance by the New Zealand industry to expanded competition from the expanded imports.†¢If a shield step is indispensable:oWhich merchandises ought to be apt to a step.oWhich step is suiting.oWhat is the fitting grade and length of clip of the step.†¢Whether the load of a step is in the general population involvement, which may integrate idea of the accompanying:oThe likely viability of a protection step in assisting the local concern.oThe different options for a protection step.oThe likely impact of a shield step available ( numbering on clients ) .oNew Zealand ‘s planetary dealingss a nd exchange aims.oThe critical significance of the concern.2.Review of Newzealand ‘s IP schemes including yet non constrained toProtected invention ( IP ) is often the most profitable resource recorded on a concern ‘ plus study, so its astute to procure your alone IP by and large as you would any of your physical resources.A thing of IP can be anything from a alone idea for an point, to new catchs, an interesting expression or peculiarly identifiable Sons or slogans. Each can give you game modifiers and demands to be ensured.2.1Copyright security abroadCopyright is on a really basic degree non rather the same as different kinds of accredited invention ( IP ) security in visible radiation of the fact that it exists the minute a alone work is made. Nonetheless, how your New Zealand right of first publication is dealt with abroad relies on upon the parts you fare to and the quality of their dedication to cosmopolitan gages.Universal copyright jurisprudenceCopyright is unive rsally acknowledged to be the selective right to use or O.K. others to use a alone spot of work.In the event that you hold the right of first publication on a alone work in a menu market, it implies you can pull off its:†¢reproduction†¢public executing†¢recording†¢broadcasting†¢translation.New Zealand takes portion in different worldwide right of first publication apprehensions and colonies. This implies that when your alone work is made in New Zealand, it is accordingly ensured here and under the right of first publication Torahs in states that are garnering to those apprehensions.Unique plants made in other portion states are to boot secured in New Zealand under these planetary apprehensions.Copyright in New ZealandCopyright is a term for the elect use of a alone work. In New Zealand it is chiefly represented by the Copyright Act 1994, which expresses that right of first publication confidence starts to be accordingly when a alone work is made and settled. This implies the work needs to be more than a idea. Notwithstanding, registration of right of first publication is non needed. No formal model for the registration of right of first publication exists in New Zealand.A right of first publication in New Zealand can maintain traveling for up to 50 old ages, contingent upon the sort of work it ensures.Copyright tagingAlbeit non needed by jurisprudence, it is a smart idea to integrate a right of first publication arrow or acknowledge on your work in New Zealand. Using a right of first publication marker tells others that the work is apt to copyright confidence and that acquiescence is non conceded for others to double the work or pull off it in some other manner. A more thorough notice recognizes the holder and ability behind imaginative work.New Zealand is garnering to different worldwide concurrencies on right of first publication that could impact on your work abroad.2.2PatentA patent issues you restrictive use of an invention for up to 20 old ages. It can turn into a important concern resource that can be purchased, sold, exchanged or authorized like whatever other belongings.Not everybody needs a patent, nevertheless at times holding one can:†¢help to procure your concern hereafter†¢create new unfastened doors†¢provide the echt feelings of repose that originates from cognizing your creative activity ca n't doubtless be replicated or stolen.In a few ways licenses work a touch like protection schemes. What ‘s more, while its basic for most organisations to hold made moves to guarantee other imperative resources like vehicles, hardware and constructions, its less regular to see them procuring the really things that often got them interchanging the primary topographic point – their creative activities.On the off opportunity that you patent a creative activity, for case another sort of paste, you so have the privilege to:†¢manufacture and offer the paste†¢license the rights to another individual to likewise green goods and offer the paste†¢sell all duty for patent itself, so that the new buyer has control over the protected development.A patent will likewise issue you security when you take your invention to market in visible radiation of the fact that it helps you shield possession rights. Frequently merely holding a patent can be sufficient to forestall others from trying to double you.Abroad patent confidenceA patent merely ensures an invention in one state or venue. While there is no such thing as an overall patent, cosmopolitan patent jurisprudence can do it simpler to acquire licences conceded in assorted typical states.This page examines how you can use Convention, Treaty and Regional applications to look for insurance for your creative activity in indispensable menu markets. The information here will assist you to take which options are best for your circumstance and marks.What do you requirement for a Convention application?A New Zealand pat ent application can be utilized as the cardinal application for one or more Convention applications.When you seek an abroad patent under the Convention, you must integrate points of involvement ( e.g. application figure, entering day of the month and Convention state ) of the indispensable application with your application. For the most portion, you must integrate a confirmed extra of the application that you ab initio documented with IPONZ. This may be obliged either when you document or inside a period set by the applicable patent officeScan for bing licencesScaning for a current patent can save you clip and hard currency, and can likewise give motive or chronicled informations. Looking for bing licences is a nice attack to:†¢See whether your invention is new or if the issue it handles has been settled an alternate manner ;†¢Find out whether your creative activity encroaches a current patent. In the event that you advertise a development which as of now has a patent the holder of that patent can do legitimate move against you ;†¢See what creations your challengers have secured ( or connected to procure ) ;†¢Get a idea of how to outline your finding ; and†¢Discover how invention has developed over the long draw.Check for bing licencesHow you scan for patent informations will trust on upon your aims and what you know as of now. Your chase could be focussed on the of import invention, the concerns you are acute on or maybe what your challengers may hold ensured.Case in point, researching an invention can include charming word or grouping Hunts on typical databases. This sort of scrutiny can necessitate important investing and be unpredictable. Interestingly, runing down a current patent can be basic in the event that you know the state and have a mention figure.2.3Trade imprintAn exchange imprint is a particular identifier, on a regular basis alluded to as a â€Å" trade name † or â€Å" logo † . When an exchange imprint i s enlisted, the  ® image may be utilized with the exchange grade.Exchange imprints can integrate words, Sons, chromaticities, forms, sounds, smells – or any mix of these. Two instances of by and large perceived exchange imprints are demonstrated as follows – they have ended up important resources for the concern that enrolled them:1An exchange imprint empowers organisations to acknowledge their points or disposals from comparative points or disposals offered by rivals. The primary design is to do a different and ideally critical trade name that clients spouse with quality points or disposals. Fulfilled clients will be more prone to buy the same trade name once more and touch the trade name to others. An in figure trade name along these lines helps a concern both pick up and keep its clients.RegisterYou are non lawfully needed to inscribe your exchange imprint to use it. On the other manus, by non inscribing your imprint you remain to lose out on the legitimate confid ence and different net incomes recorded antecedently. An unregistered imprint is similarly harder to procure in visible radiation of the fact that you must depend on the jurisprudence of go throughing off or take minutess under the Fair Trading Act. Such activities can be more difficult to show and can include drawn-out and inordinate suit.By complexness, enlisting an exchange imprint issues you a keeping substructure under the Trade Marks Act 2002. With stronger lawful insurance, you can action for invasion in the event that another individual utilizes the same or a ‘confusingly comparative ‘ grade for the same or comparable merchandises or disposals in which the imprint is enlisted.Check for bing exchange MarkssYour application to inscribe an exchange imprint is apt to be dismisses if your expected imprint is as of now requested, enlisted, being used or is ‘confusingly comparable ‘ to a current exchange grade. This makes it indispensable to watch that the s ame or a comparable exchange imprintInternational trade Markss

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Qualitative research methodology Essay

Qualitative research looks at people with an objective to understand them, to interpret their information from the point of view of the subject being studied. It looks at themes or emerging patterns. Occasionally qualitative research uses a system known as the grounded theory which collects data first and then examines the data for the problems that it is looking for. Unlike a quantitative researcher a qualitative researcher could assume a partial position, and engage in the study himself. It studies people in what could be considered a complex situation or environment. Researchers can actually put  in their own structure, and could be involved in the research. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research is not number intensive, it tends to focus on observation in order to understand important themes or patterns. It wants to build its own social realism with superimposed variables that are usually difficult to measure. The system is naturally inductive, and again focuses on multiplicity and complexity. ( Polit 1989). The researcher can get involved personally, and can use numerical information, but only minimally. Qualitative research assumes that many realism can be present in a  given situation, meaning that its acceptable for the researcher, the subjects being studied and maybe the audience to be part of the study. (Polit 1989). The researcher is actively involved with his study subjects, and actually tries to limit separation between him and subject of study as much as possible, because he sees the subjects as very valuable. He can actually verify his information by collecting information from various sources including informants. Qualitative research is use for such researches as descriptive research. It is used to develop hypothesis and to explain of illustrate the reports of quantitative research. It is difficult to use quantitative research to show cause and effect relationships. Because qualitative research is often comprehensive and intense, their result are more holistic and could produce more insights. However it is not easy to replicate or duplicate qualitative research results, so it is rather difficult to use qualitative research results as an objective instrument. It could also be very expensive and as well as time consuming. They other types of qualitative research include ethnography, ethnomethodology, sociometry, and unobtrusive measures. TRIANGULATION RESEARCH: Because of the inability to use qualitative research as an objective source of valid research results, some have argued that using triangulation, or the use of many research sources to arrive at an objective answer as the solution. (Polit 1989). By combining more than one source of research, the result will be more accurate. So the effort really is in double checking one research application with another research application, in order to make sure that there is validity in the result that has been reported. There are many types of triangulation research: Data triangulation uses many data sources , such interviews of  many informants for one study. So instead of simply depending on one sample, it uses several samples during the study. Investigator triangulation uses more than one researcher in its research. It employs more than one person to collect the data, analyze the data, and to interpret the data. The theory triangulation uses more than one theoretical point of view or to interpret one research view point. The methodological triangulation uses many research methods in solving a research question. By using triangulation the researcher is seeking to give his research objective look, and validation.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Springs Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Springs - Lab Report Example this experiment was to determine the key elements of Hooke’s law, which include, among others, the simple harmonic motions, the requirements of these harmonic motions, understanding Hooke’s law in a nutshell, attempting to verify Hooke’s law using a simple spring, to ascertain the relationship between the frequency and the period of a spring, to come up with the spring constant, and to determine the relationship between the mass, period, and force of a spring undergoing harmonic motion among others. The bottom line objective in this case is to be able to make comparisons of the measured periods of the vibration and the ideal ones as stated or calculated in the theory. Measuring the static behavior of a simple spring in this experiment was aimed at providing a basis of establishing the existing relationship between stretch and force. The spring constant, which is the force that a spring exerts on the object, in the opposite direction, when an object applies a force on the spring is what this experiment aimed at achieving. According to Hooke, the spring constant can be calculated from the expression F=- KX, where F is the force applied on the spring and X the distance this spring would move as a result of the force. In this experiment, a simple experiment involving a mass, a spring, and a meter rule were used to test this phenomenon (Knight, Brian and Stuart 13). The tables below show the results of the different measurements obtained as a result of adding different masses on a spring, while recording the various stretches that are realized. Concisely, the objective was to determine the influence of the mass on the stretch of the spring and the nature of relationship that exists between these tow variables. The above results give an impression of a near linear relationship between the mass and the stretch, but the trend changes significantly after a certain mass has been exceeded. From the theoretical point of view, the point where the relationship between

Friday, September 27, 2019

Banning packed lunches Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Banning packed lunches - Research Paper Example According to the article on the website of Mother Nature Network (MNN) which first appeared on April 12 this year, the principal of Little Village Academy in Chicago has made a move to ban packed lunches after seeing kids drinking soda and eating junk foods for their lunch. Considering different factors, this initiative by Carmona may be applauded by other school officials who in turn could implement the same policy. Carmona’s observation of children carrying unhealthy foods and beverages is true. It happens in every school, regardless of the children’s economic status. In fact, it is even true at homes. Many parents nowadays allow their kids to eat whatever they like, without thinking of nutritional value simply because they are not home to see what their children are eating, and they themselves have become engrossed with the fastfood nation. The practice of eating processed foods has become a tradition. Many families rely on cooking processed meat in order to save tim e and energy. However, this practice should be stopped right away in order to ensure the health and safety of our young children. At home, parents should monitor what the kids are eating and teach them to take in only those foods which promote good health. Being the second home, schools should take the initiative to care for children and implement the rule made by Carmona. The moment the parents send their kids to school, they are already delegating the responsibility of taking care of their child to school authorities. This means giving full trust to the principal and teachers to decide for the good of the child. Ensuring that children receive the proper daily nutrition they need is one very important aspect of taking care of children. Such role should be ensured in order to secure children’s future. Considering this, Carmona’s move should be implemented in all schools, hence it is high time for school authorities to consider reviewing the said rule. Carmona’s regulation is nothing new. In fact, it is just a response to the state-wide call for health and nutrition. Many nutrition plans have been made beforehand but they still seem to be inadequate especially when it comes to implementation. For instance, according to the website of the Department of Agriculture, the office, with its program called National School Lunch Program, reimburses students’ meals with nutritious after-school meals such as whole wheat bread, meat, milk, and so on. However, this intervention is not preventive of obesity or eating unhealthy foods. According to the Troiano and Flegal (82), the rate of obesity cases among adolescents progressively rises because of eating junk foods. On this note, parents should be alarmed and do their best to teach their kids how to eat healthy foods. However, instead of promoting healthy eating, parents are the ones who tolerate and teach their kids to eat unhealthy foods by preparing fancy lunches such as nachos, desserts, pac ked with soda or other energy drinks. Recognizing the current problem, Principal Carmona is doing a good job, imposing the banning of packed lunches. If parents cannot satisfy the nutritional needs of their children, this is their chance to give nutritious food without too much effort. With a small amount, kids can take advantage of healthy snacks and lunches composed of fresh fruit, drinks, and potatoes. Served at the school canteen, parents can also be assured that the foods are prepared carefully. Nutrition is also ensured as school officials themselves monitor what the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Philosophy - Essay Example Considering my position, I may consider soul to be the ultimate manner of allowing a person to be somewhat same throughout life. The first explanation is somewhat the most common where a person is shown to have a childhood. But it should be noted that this respective person has grown up over the years. This means that the person is not the same anymore. Thus, this clarifies that one cannot be same over the years if experience of living is the manner to claim difference of personality and identity. Secondly, the physical features are also marked to define a person’s identity throughout life but as a matter of fact, even the physical features would change with the passing of years. Thus, even this explanation regarding self proves to e unacceptable. Furthermore, it is the DNA which provides further definition to the concept of being you and sameness of you throughout life. In conjunction to this, it is evident that twins may have same DNA. It is due to this reason that DNA is an other unacceptable definition to this question. As noted by the author, â€Å"The mystery of personal identity is figuring out how we can solve both the problem of difference and the problem of sameness† (Hales 151). ... This clearly means that a person who is unconscious is a person without soul. The critique to my position as per the author is that one cannot simply rely on psychological state of a person, as mind-body relationship reacts to it, can be a way to explain the identity of a person because it may change over the time. As noted in the book, â€Å"Nowadays people sometimes equate their soul with their personality, or use soul to refer to the ethical faculty of the mind. Thus a conscious-less psychopath might be called soulless† (Hales 157). Thus, it is extremely important to provide such a statement by undergoing psychological criterion making soul=mind to be ineligible. II. Likewise Hales, I would like to comment for this question. The aspect of knowledge is somewhat blurred in the minds of people. There is a way to spread knowledge which is impartation done by the educational institutions. The criterion of knowledge which is basically being provided in such a manner is mere repea tedly ratified facts and figures which have been gained by experiences and Methodism (Turnbull, Trnbull and Shogren). However, the fact remains that this knowledge which was gained later on, was once used to be incorrect. The measure and acceptance of any fact which is regarded as knowledge, is done in the manner of claimed including true or false. This means that previously it was the fact which was considered to be superficial. I would like to connect this idea with the dialogue from the movie Men in Black which has also been used in the textbook considered for this assignment. It is as follows, â€Å"1500 years ago everybody ‘knew’ the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago everybody ‘knew’ the Earth was at. And 15 minutes ago

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

How the Structure and Culture of the Organization in which We Work Essay - 8

How the Structure and Culture of the Organization in which We Work Affects the Level of Stress Experienced - Essay Example As the paper highlighted above, stress has significant impacts on staff and the result is eventually noted on companies. Companies incur immense losses due to stress-related instances among staffs, which are reflected in absenteeism, accidents, healthcare expenses and a general decline in productivity (Handy 1999). It is worth noting that most occurrences of workplace stress are related to the events that take at different levels of the organization. It could be due to conflict among employees or between employees and their managers; or due to poor allocation of duties, which result in overburdening of some staff. Hence, stress at the workplace can be attributed to two broad attributes of the organization: the organization structure and organization culture. Generally, the distribution of work roles at the workplace affects the performance of employees since it determines whether they will be motivated or demoralized. This is the aspect of organizational structure. How work is distri buted in terms of working hours, amount of work, incentives for the work, adherence to deadlines and so on all affect the level of stress among individuals. The kind of environment created by employees, managers and all players at the workplace also affect the level of stress experienced by the aforementioned figures. This is the role played by organization culture in impacting on stress. It is undisputable that conflicting demand from different organizational stakeholders would affect greatly the performance staff, if not impose different levels of stress to them. Additionally, personal conflicts among employees are not a good picture in the purview of organizations. This paper will evaluate how the structure of organizations affects worker performance.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Short Story Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short Story Assignment - Essay Example Bang! Just another intimate encounter between the local paid escort in tiger print and her stupefied benefactor. Looking out on the morning rain had a deeper sentiment to Martin Black as it was commonplace to witness syringes, yesterday’s snack cake from the rundown community convenience store and a mish mash of broken child toys streaming down the thoroughfare in a mad torrent of rainwater beside this Los Angeles tenement. Yes, Martin Black understood mourning rain, with the delight of an angry black widow and the stamina of a legless cheerleader. â€Å"Martin Black!† The shout echoed through the decrepit corridor leading into the ramshackle family room where his mother spent so many of her waking hours. His mother was a real hospitality chef, just a drizzle of her favorite afternoon soaps and a pinch of cheap cologne that stunk up the staunchly decaying household interior like a sweetened dose of rotten flesh. â€Å"Martin Black! Mama needs a foot rub. These damn cor ns be killin’ my tired feet. Get your rump out here and help Mama right now!† The sound of her liquor-induced garble was barely coherent while the echo of her ignorance pounded against the paint-deprived walls. Mama, as she demanded he call her since as long as he could remember, had dropped out of middle school at age 13 in order to pursue a romance with an older high school sophomore. After Jimbo (that’s what the neighborhood gangs had labeled her first husband) received a single gunshot wound to the chest, Mama not only lost the love of her life, but was forced to take employment at the local hair salon since the local school board considered her a high-risk distraction to the educational process. Of course, Mama lasted only two months before striking a red-headed regular boasting a stylish bouffant (and a disrespectful mouth, Mama had said) with a bottle of AquaNet, plucking out her left eyeball. What’s in a name?, Martin suddenly asked himself as he g rabbed the dull scissors and a bottle of peroxide from the dispirited bathroom shelf and hurried down the hallway to play master surgeon to a foul-smelling bump of foot fungus. Welfare, it seemed, was timid about providing sustenance for toe jam. â€Å"Coming, Mama.† The sound of it was self-demeaning. As Martin glided slowly underneath her lifted foot, ready to tackle the hideous project of removal, Mama rambled on about her son’s lethargy and lack of value to the household, demanding he pursue a job at the local convenience store. â€Å"It’s high time, Martin Black, that you start earnin’ some ya keep around here!† â€Å"Mama, you know the neighborhood links my name to Daddy’s. Nobody wants me working in their businesses. I’ve been thinkin’, Mama, about takin’ the Greyhound to Colorado and getting me a job on the pipeline.† Martin suddenly felt the piercing ache of a blunt wound to the palm of his hand as Mama v iolently swung her feet out of the creaking and hideous flowered recliner. Her abrupt and unusually adept motion caught him completely by surprise as he tumbled backwards viciously, tipping over her life’s blood in the process: the 18 inch black-and-white console set that regurgitated her worthless dramas all the day long. â€Å"You’re gonna gimme 40 bucks for that boob tube, you ungrateful, selfish little heathen!† Mama concerned herself not with Martin’s gaping flesh wound, instead lurching to the fallen console to rectify her welfare-induced playwrights that brought her such sustenance for her lifestyle of sloth.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Anishinabee social movment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anishinabee social movment - Essay Example Through military expedition, the British tried to conquer the natives, but they were unsuccessful as the former migrated to various states in Canada. The biggest blow for Ojibway came when America got her independence from England. The new US government put an end to the Indian free movements. They were thus, confined in reservation areas with less hunting and fishing grounds and unlike their predecessors, Americans military force was more brutal and led to a lot of massacres. Through trickery and false accusations of Indian chiefs, Americans tried to contain the natives who they deemed hostile. However, military warfare seemed a futile way of trying to control the Indians as they were natural warriors. They therefore turned on indirect ways of ‘civilizing’ the natives. By the late 1800s, Indian children were accepted in large numbers into American schools. The strategy was to indoctrinate and incorporate American values and culture into the children while at the same time teaching them to abscond their native customs. Therefore, children were forbidden to speak their native language, their long hairs were cut short and their tribal regalia and medicine were openly burned. The ultimate result was children turned against their elders and customs. Indians were therefore forced to relocate to towns after they lost their lands. Currently, the situation is worse. Apart from the fact that Indian culture and history is deliberately ignored in the school system, the portrayal of the natives is shocking and false. The social, economic and political injustices that American Indians faced have been swept under the rug and what is taught in schools is utter nonsense that tries to justify the unjust occupation of Indian land. However, a recent crop of young Indians have begun retracing their roots. They are busy searching for elders who are accustomed to their olden

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Leadership styes used in modern Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership styes used in modern Russia - Essay Example Under the modern Russia, there are various leadership styles which have become very apparent. This report shall consider and critically assess these leadership styles applied by companies/individuals in modern Russia. This paper seeks to assess what type and how these leadership styles are being applied in modern Russia, and how effective they are in helping achieve the economic and political goals of the country. Body During the transition period from the totalitarian governance to the free market, Russia has managed to overcome the major changes within the microeconomic and macroeconomic framework, including the political processes and cultural practices and behaviours (Fey and Dennison, 2001). It is therefore important to evaluate and understand the present progression of Russia under a global setting, and to evaluate the elements which indicate effective leadership and the impact of culture within the transition economy. Throughout the years, Russia was able to gain the values of both the West and the East, mostly in relation to reason as well as inspiration. It also provided a bridge between the East and Western values and traditions (Gratchev, 2001). These qualities helped push Russia to success, often encouraging it to concentrate its efforts towards gaining control over its large geographic space. Diversity In modern Russia, the role of the state and corporations in economic activities is very much significant. Their economy is controlled by a few financial and industrial conglomerates and considered significantly power than the government (Bollinger, 1994). Russia’s future will have to depend on the relations between the different major players in the economy and the government. Within the competitive framework of the modern economic Russia, the country’s management core is diverse in its economic and political interests (Gratchev, 2001). Some groups are known as the Old Guard who are highly adept at large-scale activities, including the management of technological innovations (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). These leaders also manage to access the primary decision-making points and utilize connections in order to control resources. These leaders manage large industrial corporations in highly competitive sectors including oil, gas, space travel, and shipbuilding (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). The other set of modern Russian leaders are known as the New Wave leaders. These leaders work based on the initiation of economic reform. These are also the younger leaders who seek success and business education. Another group of leaders are known as the Unwilling Entrepreneurs (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). These are leaders who are prompted to take the initiative due to their fears of unemployment; and most of their transactions are in the small-scale trade. Based on these diverse elements and motivations, modern Russian leadership contains elements of the diverse, and their distinct and diverse quality is their motivation for engaging in bu siness (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). Authoritative not authoritarian leadership Russia is traditionally based on authoritative leadership, and the new era of capitalism supports this tradition. Even with strong entrepreneurship competencies among its businessmen, these businessmen have significant power within organizations (Kets de Vries, et.al., 2004). Followers see their leaders as superior individuals who have unique

Saturday, September 21, 2019

My motivation Essay Example for Free

My motivation Essay My motivation to attend a Historically Black College or University has a lot to do with black history but not for the most common reasons. For me to be able to properly express my sentiments in making this selection, I would like to begin by speaking of my experience as a black woman and the experience of being black in America. This, I feel, is the only way that I can clearly explain my decision to attend a Historically Black College or University. In the very beginning of this nations history, Americans were under the power of Englands monarchy. The Americans were able to overthrow the shackles of bondage and created a Constitution that declares its steadfast belief in the ideals of freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness. But immediately after the Declaration of Independence and even after the Constitution was signed and accepted by leaders of the new government, not every American citizen is treated fairly. This led to the development of several plans that were aimed at making things equal. Among which, affirmative action was praised and pilloried as the answer to racial inequality. First introduced by President Kennedy in 1961, â€Å"Affirmative action† was designed as a method of reducing the discrimination that had remained despite the civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. It was a method that was put in place as a â€Å"Temporary Measure to Level the Playing Field† through the offering of the same opportunities to all Americans. While the â€Å"Affirmative Action† plan was intended to have good effects, it resulted in exposing the flaws in the system as â€Å"Reverse Racism† began to emerge and the â€Å"Bakke† case came about where a white male was rejected two years in a row in favor of admitting other minorities through a quota system. This â€Å"Reverse Racism† and other flaws led to a mounting anger against â€Å"Affirmative Action† and soon it became a Zero Sum Game as jobs and opportunities became open to minorities but not to whites. During this period, Preferential treatment and quotas became expressions of contempt. This is where my drive to apply at this Historically Black College or University comes from because I am a firm believer in the progress that has been made to address this situation. The recent victory of Barack Obama in the United States Presidential Election of 2008 is one of the biggest issues among many other big events that have occurred in America this year. This year’s election was even more controversial because of the racial issue, which they barely, if at all, had in previous elections. During the course of the campaigns, other candidates may have mentioned the racial difficulties in their speech or public pledge, but no candidate ever represented him-self as a minority. The United States, I am proud to admit, has begun the long process of change. The idea of having a Black President was unthinkable and unimaginable ten years ago. Yet, it must be pointed out that it was only achievable because America is blended by multi-ethnicity, which means America is like a melting pot, where all different races and cultures are mixed in one particular land, often called â€Å"a country of immigrants†. Many other countries aside from than the United States were and still likely to deny minorities as their presidents. This recent success is a clear sign that Obama’s successful run for president has broken through the ‘last racial barrier’. America no longer has to be rudely awakened by the Civil Rights Movement to realize that there is still much work to be done with regards to racism in this country. When Martin Luther King, Jr. died, the nation was ready for a major change. Ending segregation in the South and improving the status of the Negro race is now the correct thing to do. The victory of Barack Obama sends a message of change that resounds with all the voters; it speaks of change and opportunity for all those who had none and all those who have none. It is this same message of change that has prompted me to embrace my country for taking steps in initiating this change. These Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been trying to change this trend since their inception and I feel that it is my duty to be a part of that proud history and continue the message of change by pushing back the barriers. As the United States continues to grow in population size, the impact that the minorities have on the future of America will no longer be a minor one, to say the least. Without any effective action, these minorities will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities that America has to offer. Affirmative action was supposed to be the future of a great America. An America as envisioned by the forefathers who declared that no person shall be denied the right to life, liberty or property just on the basis of the color of his skin. Any effective action, such as taking an active role by applying to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with regard to improving society should not be about segregating people or creating a different class. It should instead focus on creating opportunities for those who have none and building relationships that will ensure that America can remains as the great country that it has been and is for ages to come. It is said that the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. I am one of those individuals who firmly believe in my dreams and am not afraid to work hard to attain them. I know that I have a long road to travel but I am neither daunted nor intimidated by this because I know that I can succeed. I am also confident in the fact that with the experiences that I can gain from this university there is so much more that I can accomplish in life and I look forward to the day that this dream becomes a reality.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Billabong Business Report

Billabong Business Report Billabong was established in Queensland as a private company in 1973. In 2000 it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), becoming a public company with shareholders. Over the years it has established operations across 4 continents with distribution to over 60 countries worldwide. Billabong has firmly established its brand at home and abroad with its focus on innovative yet functional products. Acquisitions of other brands such as Von Zipper, Element, Nixon and Honolua have helped the Company diversify their product range. The Company has managed to remain competitive in a receding global economy in the past year aided by strong growth sales in the Europe and Australasian sectors. Billabong employs over 1750 staff world-wide and has a strong commitment to all their stakeholders in terms of integrity and governance. (Cory, 2008, website) Introduction Founded on Australias Gold Coast in 1973 by surfer and surfboard shaper Gordon and Rena Merchant, Billabong has since established itself as a prominent Australian icon. The Company sprang from humble beginnings, with the couple designing boardshorts in their flat overlooking Burleigh Heads, cutting them out on the kitchen table and then carting the finished product around to the local surf shop to sell. Gordons no frills, practical approach to boardshort manufacturing paid dividends, as Billabong grew steadily until his little homespun factory literally burst at the seams. (Pacificshop, 2006, website) From those inauspicious early days the Company has grown rapidly to become a publicly listed international company. Today, Billabongs core business is the design, production, marketing, distribution, wholesaling and retailing (through shops and agencies owned by the Company) of surf, skate and skiing apparel; accessories; and eyewear. This report is an analysis of Billabong Internationa ls business framework. Business Model and Organisational Framework By the 1980s, Billabong had firmly cemented its place in Australian surf culture and was international expansion was in its sights. The Companys first international operation was established in the USA in 1983, followed by New Zealand in 1985 and Europe in 1987. A range of other international operations were established in subsequent years, with Japan opening in 2000 and Brazil in 2001. Through the 1990s the surf industry grew exponentially and professional surfing gained a newfound respectability. The Company also followed its core customers into other boardsports markets, including skate and snow, where it replicated its proven business model. By the close of the decade, Billabong had been restructured to capitalise on the growing global opportunities in all boardsports sectors. The restructure set the foundation for an initial public offering in Australia in mid 2000. The move saw the Companys shares publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in August of that year. Shortly after the public float the Company demonstrated its growth plans with a number of acquisitions including Von Zipper sunglasses brand and the emerging Element Skateboards brand. The successful integration of those businesses saw the Company add to its stable of brands in following years, with Honolua Surf Company acquired in January 2004, Kustom footwear and Palmers Surf in September 2004, a controlling interest in the beach culture airport-retail business in November 2005 and Nixon watches and accessories in January 2006. Other businesses were also established, including the Element footwear range, the California-based Beachworks retail business and various branded concept stores around the world. (Global Village Partnerships, 2009, website) Business Mission/Vision Billabong Internationals values remain consistent with its foundation objectives, which include: a commitment to brand protection and enhancement the manufacture of design-relevant and functional products marketing in the core boardsports channels such as sponsorship of events and athletes, as well as advertising in selected print media to expand into new geographical markets to expand the product range, particularly in the core board sports and youth fashion markets the professional development of staff and ongoing customer service and relationships and to deliver returns to shareholders Leadership Gordon Merchant has consistently had a hands-on role in the designing, marketing and sales of for the Company and brand. He currently sits on the board of directors along with Derek OHYPERLINK javascript:;HYPERLINK javascript:;Neill the CEO, and Paul Naude the Executive Director. The other board members consist of: Ted Kunkel Margaret Jackson AC Allan McDonald Colette Paull Tony Froggatt (Billabongcorporate, 2009, website) Financial Position According to Billabongs full year financial report, the Companys profit for the year ended31st June 2009 was $160.2 million. This was down 9.2% from the same period last year. This is largely in line with the decline in the global economic activity over the past year. The decrease in net profit meant that earnings per share was also down 11.2%. Although net profit decreased, there was a rise in sales revenue. This was largely due to new acquisitions made by the Company and the adverse movement of the Australian dollar against other major currencies such as the US dollar and the Euro. Operations in North America felt the heaviest impact from the economic slowdown. However, this was offset by strong sales growth is the South America sector. Europe was the star performer, with an almost 24% increase in sales revenue. Australasia also managed sales revenue gains of almost 8%, largely helped by the resilience of the Australian retail market and supported by the governments economic stimulus packages. Given the lack of retailer confidence, the steep slowdown in consumer spending in various global economies and the extreme volatility in exchange rates, the Company has performed reasonably well. The forecast for the coming year seems to be conservative in light of the current uncertainty of the global economy. Europe and Australasia are predicted to remain stable, and despite the initial reduction of forward orders in the US, there are promising signs of a recovery. (ONeill D, 2009, website) Human Resources and Stakeholder Management Billabong International has a diverse group of stakeholders that both influence and are impacted by the operations of the Company. These include employees, shareholders, business associates, athletes, suppliers, opinion leaders and customers. Billabong International employs over of 1750 staff worldwide, with the greatest concentration of staff in Californias Orange County, Australias Gold Coast and Hossegor in France. Employees are the main stakeholders in any company and building and maintaining relationships with employees is vital to maintaining effective relationships with business partners, customers and the community. Staff are encouraged to expand their skills and potential, and have access to and receive support for further training and to experience opportunities. Programs for managers to develop vital skills with an emphasis on innovation, planning, leadership and teamwork are a focus of the business. The Company also has guidelines and policies for remuneration to ensure a fair approach to rewarding employees. The Company also has a consultative committee comprising staff representatives and senior managers to discuss issues and consider improvements to the workplace. Billabong International is also committed to conducting business in an ethical and socially responsible manner. This is defined in employee work agreements that effectively form a code of ethics that governs acceptable workplace practices. The Companys corporate governance policy states that the maintenance of all environmental, social and health and safety issues is to be the responsibility of the Board of Directors. As a public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange Billabong International is required by law to hold an Annual General Meeting of shareholders to discuss the Companys business. The Company also addresses shareholders at least twice a year to update trading conditions and provide a forward business outlook. The Company also consistently interacts with stakeholders through the staging of events around the world. These range from the elite World Championship Tour professional surfing contests, through to professional skate and snow competitions and a range of junior and amateur surf, skate and snow events. At a supplier level, the Company undertakes regular factory visits to conduct audits. During these audits, workers from the shop floor are randomly selected for interviews to help understand workplace standards. Large posters outlining Billabongs supplier Code of Conduct are fixed to high profile locations within factories to ensure workers are aware of their rights. Multi-stakeholder meetings that bring together staff from the Companys geographically diverse regions are also held twice annually. These provide a forum to discuss the direction of the business and gain a better understanding of the motivation that drives business decisions. International Nature of the Business From its origins in Australia nearly 30 years ago, Billabong has evolved into a global business that operates on four major continents. Its name-Billabong International Limited-now reflects this focus and the promotion and protection of its brands and name are a major component of the business around the world. The original market for boardshorts and wetsuits was limited in its size, so Billabong (along with several other similar companies) looked to expand their product range to include clothing and accessories. Originally, these were manufactured in Australia. The drivers for Billabong included the need to expand to new and larger markets in order to increase sales and profits, improvements in technology that led to better production and communication, and the advent of global consumers because of the increasingly popular surf culture and lifestyle. This is essentially a global strategy using global branding in that the same, standardised product is sold in all markets. Deregulation of markets and government influences had minimal impact on Billabong. Billabong also achieved economies of scale through its increase in production, as well as some cushioning of the economic cycle-having operations in both hemispheres, which have opposite seasons, allows the development of products to suit summer in Australia, which can then be sold in the Northern Hemisphere four months later. The globalisation of Billabong was achieved through: seeking cheaper sources for manufacturing (in Hong Kong and China)-factories were established to produce garments for sale in Australia exporting and distributing in the United States (initially in surf areas, such as California) exporting and distributing in France and then in the rest of Europe establishing operations in the United States, France, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and Brazil that are responsible for importing, distributing and wholesaling Billabong products. This is a form of foreign direct investment the acquisition of other businesses so that they became wholly owned subsidiaries of Billabong. This occurred with Element and Von Zipper-these companies retain their name (brand) but are wholly owned and controlled by Billabong licensing, which allows distributors and some retail outlets to use the Billabong name as part of their operations. There are several key areas which are important in the management of a business at a global scale: Financial Exposure to foreign exchange is a concern for all global companies as well as methods of payment and credit risks. However, the establishment of operations and distributors in various countries ensures that Billabong is in a position to access borrowed funds from overseas if required. Operations In order to reduce production costs the majority of Billabongs manufacturing occurs in China. This is a form of outsourcing and strict procedures are in place to ensure quality control. Billabong has offices in Australia (Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria), the United States (California), France, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and Brazil. By adopting a global web approach and using subsidiaries, Billabong can move products more easily, avoid some government regulations, be closer to its markets and customers, and avoid some foreign exchange risks. Employment Relations Billabong needs to be aware of differences in labour laws and cope with pressures relating to minimum labour standards. The Company also must adhere to the global standards covering factory inspections (on general human rights and environmental issues) and laboratory tests. Conclusion The original Billabong business focused on gear for local surfers, before diversifying into clothing and accessories for surfing, snow skiing and skating. Billabong now has over 2200 product lines and is the leading surfwear brand in Australia with its products being distributed in more than 60 countries internationally. Despite the doom and gloom of the current economic environment, Billabong has managed to largely steer clear of any major short-comings, enjoying success in most of its global sectors. From a small backyard operation in 1973 to todays multi-national publicly floated company, Billabong is certainly an entrepreneurs dream come true.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Catcher In The Rye :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden Caulfield is a sixteen-year-old prep school student who has flunked out of school the week before Christmas. Several days before he's expected home for Christmas vacation, he leaves school, planning to spend some time on his own in New York City where he lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though Holden is friendly with many people at school, and though he has several friends in New York, he's constantly lonesome and in need of someone who will sympathize with his feelings of alienation. The person Holden feels closest to is his ten-year-old sister, Phoebe, but he can't call her for fear of letting his parents know he has left school. He spends his time with a variety of people, but he can't make meaningful contact with any of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a day of this futility, he sneaks into his home to see Phoebe, but she disappoints him by being annoyed at his being expelled from still another school. Holden decides that the only solution to his overwhelming problem is to run away and establish a new identity as a deaf mute who will not need to communicate with anyone. On the verge of a nervous collapse, Holden changes his mind and decides to rejoin his family. He then enters a hospital or rest home not far from Hollywood, California, and he is telling us his story while in this institution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the novel's close, Holden isn't sure whether he'll be able to handle things better when he leaves the institution, and he's sorry he told his story at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catcher in the Rye is a rich psychological portrait of a boy who's frightened at the prospect of growing up, a boy who has few of the tools necessary to face the world on his own.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Work and play in the city :: essays research papers

Work and Play in the City   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The city had been a place of work for a long time, but it was beginning to become almost as much of a place for play. As the average person was able to earn more money and have more free time, it was desirable to have some fun at the end of a hard day. Everyone found different ways to enjoy themselves, whether it is in one place that caters to many interests or many single interest places. Having a bit of fun became more and more important as the years progressed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the major reasons the city became much more of a place for play was that there was a major shift in the types of work people were doing. Instead of intertwining enjoyment into your workday, people were sacrificing fun for shorter workdays and a more concentrated day. This also caused a great increase in wages. As this change occurred â€Å"recreation and play were not luxuries [anymore] but necessities in the modern city.† Different types of people found various ways to have their fun. Depending on how much money you made, your sex, or your race, you may have enjoyed much different methods of amusement. In theaters the African Americans always got the worst seats, and the rich people were usually box holders. In fact it became very difficult for performers to please such a mixed crowd. In fact, one English actor named Macready caused a riot because of a play he was performing. During his performance â€Å"a crowd of 10,000 gathered to protest. The militia was called to restore order, which it did, but only after 22 people had been killed, 150 hurt and 86 arrested.† Though, soon after the theaters began to cater to certain interests instead of trying to cater to everyone at once.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though the theaters were not a person’s only source of entertainment there were plenty of other forms. One could go to a beer hall, billiard room, variety theaters, or a concert hall. Though these were for men mostly, and men with money to spend at that, there were also places such as parks, museums, libraries, and lecture halls for people to spend their leisure time. Everyone was finding more and more leisure time and more places to spend their time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the nineteenth century was ending the city became as much of a center for fun as it was for work.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Mosfet

Jovany Tavera August 7, 2011 ET 475 Electronic Design William Shockley proposed the Field Effect Transistor (FET) in 1952. FETs are majority carrier devices and its operation depends on its applied voltage to control the majority carriers. The applied voltage controls the current in the device by means of an electric field. FETs are voltage sensitive with high input impedance. FETs are more temperature stable then Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT). They are easier to fabricate than BJTs. FETs, with their high input impedance, can store charge long enough to be used as storage elements. A later version of FETs is the metal-oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET). There are four terminals in total: source, gate, drain and the substrate. The MOSFET is constructed with the gate insulated with a silicon dioxide dielectric. Depletion and enhancement is the two modes on the MOSFET. MOSFETs are also known as IGFETs (Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor). Just as BJTs has either npn or pnp, MOSFETs can be either NMOS or PMOS. The depletion mode was design with a physical channel connected between the drain and source. In operation, a negative gate-to-source voltage pushes out electrons from the channel region, therefore depleting the channel. When the gate-to-source voltage reaches the threshold voltage the channel is pinched off. A positive charge of the gate-to-source voltages increases the channel size, as a result, an increase of drain current. Due to the insulated gate, the gate current is extremely small. Enhancement MOSFET is different from depletion MOSFET due to not having the thin n-layer. In order to establish a channel it requires a positive voltage between the gate and the source. Positive gate-to-source voltage accumulates electrons at the surface beneath the oxide layer. When the voltage reaches the threshold voltage a number of electrons are attracted to the substrate region therefore acting as an conducting n-channel. No current exist in the drain until gate-to-source voltage exceeds the threshold voltage.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Reflective Entry: Othello and Orientalism Essay

The notion of being Oriental, in an academic perspective, is based on its distinction as compared to the Occident. It is generally defined in terms of their ontological and epistemological characteristics (p. 2). But establishing the difference between the two doesn’t fully deduce the Orient’s full meaning—it is but just a part. ‘†¦Orientalism as a discourse one cannot possibly understand the enormously systematic discipline†¦politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the post-Enlightenment period’ (p. 3). Othello’s world circles on the society and its ties on various key people. It may be derived from another literary piece from Italy, but that doesn’t mean that it is exclusively Occident (west, as for being Orient connotes something from the east). Shakespeare incorporated a number of characteristics that made the tragedy seem ‘orientalized’ like the character’s physique, religion, social setting, etc. Though Othello is a Moor, the characterization itself was not clear—though racial discrimination is evident on text. Being a Moor doesn’t clearly give definition to one’s identity in the society ‘coz basing it on racial identity at that time, they are neither black nor white. And being such makes it harder for scholars to define Othello’s affinity because a Moor is so complex, that they carry various cultures—both black and white skinned people can also be considered a Moor. Although Othello faced these forms of discrimination, from his social status to his personal engagements, he still was able to keep an Occident pride of himself until the last part where he was considered to act just like a slave because he killed everybody else out of frustration. Those kinds of actions shouldn’t be done by high-ranking people. ‘The Oriental†¦is therefore not for an exclusive academic matter. Yet it is an intellectual matter of some very obvious importance’. For one to be considered as an Oriental, one must be able to consider all factors in the equation and not just by focusing on a single aspect.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

An Essay on the History of Pickles

Let us commence a journey into the much travelled topic of history of pickles. In depth analysis of history of pickles can be an enriching experience. While it is becoming a hot topic for debate, spasmodically it returns to create a new passion amongst those who study its history. Since it was first compared to antidisestablishmentarianism much has been said concerning history of pickles by socialists, obviously. In the light of this I will break down the issues in order to give each of them the thought that they fully deserve Social FactorsSociety is a simple word with a very complex definition. Back when Vealinger reamarked ‘the power struggle will continue while the great tale of humanity remains untold’ [1] he failed to understand that if one seriously intends to ‘not judge a book by its cover', then one must read a lot of books. Much has been said about the influence of the media on history of pickles. Observers claim it is crunchy on the outside but soft in t he middle. Did I mention how lovely history of pickles is? It is intrinsically linked to adolescent inner acclimatisation. Economic FactorsIs unemployment inherently bad for an economy? Yes. We will primarily be focusing on the Custard-Not-Mustard model, making allowances for recent changes in interest rates. Inflation history of pickles It is apparent from the graph that the influence of history of pickles is strong. What is the secret to its strength? Of course inflation, ultimately decided by politicians, will always be heavily influenced by history of pickles due to its consistently high profile in the portfolio of investors. Supply Side Economic Tax Cuts Tax deductions could turn out to be a risky tactic. Political FactorsPolitics has in some areas been seen to embrace an increasing ananiathesis of intergovernmentalism leading to neo-functionalism. Placing theory on the scales of justice and weighing it against practice can produce similar results to contrasting 0 In the words of that most brilliant mind Augstin Lionel Forbes Dickinson ‘political change changes politics, but where does it go? ‘ [2] This quotation leads me to suspect that he was not unaccustomed to history of pickles. It speaks volumes. If I may be as bold as to paraphrase, he was saying that ‘political ideals are built on the solid cornerstone of history of pickles. Where do we go from here? Only time will tell. Conclusion In conclusion, history of pickles plays a large part in the lives of all. It brings peace, puts out ‘fires', and figures show it's a winning formular. I'll leave you with this quote from Demi Lopez: ‘I wouldn't be where I am today without history of pickles. ‘ [3] [1] Vealinger – Turtle Power – 2003 ICJ [2] Dickinson – I Am The Dickinster – 1999 Hughs Books [3] Everything you always wanted to know about history of pickles, but were afraid to ask. – Issue 287 – QKS Publishing

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 17 Wye

WYE-†¦ A sector of the world-city of Trantor†¦ In the latter centuries of the Galactic Empire, Wye was the strongest and stablest portion of the world-city. Its rulers had long aspired to the Imperial throne, justifying that by their descent from early Emperors. Under Mannix IV, Wye was militarized and (Imperial authorities later claimed) was planning a planet-wide coup. Encyclopedia Galactica 82. The man who entered was tall and muscular. He had a long blond mustache that curled up at the tips and a fringe of hair that went down the sides of his face and under his chin, leaving the point of his chin and his lower lip smoothly bare and seeming a little moist. His head was so closely cropped and his hair was so light that, for one unpleasant moment, Seldon was reminded of Mycogen. The newcomer wore what was unmistakably a uniform. It was red and white and about his waist was a wide belt decorated with silver studs. His voice, when he spoke, was a rolling bass and its accent was not like any that Seldon had heard before. Most unfamiliar accents sounded uncouth in Seldon's experience, but this one seemed almost musical, perhaps because of the richness of the low tones. â€Å"I am Sergeant Emmer Thalus,† he rumbled in a slow succession of syllables. â€Å"I have come seeking Dr. Hari Seldon.† Seldon said, â€Å"I am he.† In an aside to Dors, he muttered, â€Å"if Hummin couldn't come himself, he certainly sent a magnificent side of beef to represent him.† The sergeant favored Seldon with a stolid and slightly prolonged look. Then he said, â€Å"Yes. You have been described to me. Please come with me, Dr. Seldon.† Seldon said, â€Å"Lead the way.† The sergeant stepped backward. Seldon and Dors Venabili stepped forward. The sergeant stopped and raised a large hand, palm toward Dors. â€Å"I have been instructed to take Dr. Hari Seldon with me. I have not been instructed to take anyone else.† For a moment, Seldon looked at him uncomprehendingly. Then his look of surprise gave way to anger. â€Å"It's quite impossible that you have been told that, Sergeant. Dr. Dors Venabili is my associate and my companion. She must come with me.† â€Å"That is not in accordance with my instructions, Doctor.† â€Å"I don't care about your instructions in any way, Sergeant Thalus. I do not budge without her.† â€Å"What's more,† said Dors with clear irritation, â€Å"my instructions are to protect Dr. Seldon at all times. I cannot do that unless I am with him. Therefore, where he goes, I go.† The sergeant looked puzzled. â€Å"My instructions are strict that I see to it that no harm comes to you, Dr. Seldon. If you will not come voluntarily, I must carry you to my vehicle. I will try to do so gently.† He extended his two arms as though to seize Seldon by the waist and carry him off bodily. Seldon skittered backward and out of reach. As he did so, the side of his right palm came down on the sergeant's right upper arm where the muscles were thinnest, so that he struck the bone. The sergeant drew a sudden deep breath and seemed to shake himself a bit, but turned, face expressionless, and advanced again. Davan, watching, remained where he was, motionless, but Raych moved behind the sergeant. Seldon repeated his palm stroke a second time, then a third, but now Sergeant Thalus, anticipating the blow, lowered his shoulder to catch it on hard muscle. Dors had drawn her knives. â€Å"Sergeant,† she said forcefully. â€Å"Turn in this direction, I want you to understand I may be forced to hurt you severely if you persist in attempting to carry Dr. Seldon off against his will.† The sergeant paused, seemed to take in the slowly waving knives solemnly, then said, â€Å"It is not in my instructions to refrain from harming anyone but Dr. Seldon.† His right hand moved with surprising speed toward the neuronic whip in the holster at his hip. Dors moved as quickly forward, knives flashing. Neither completed the movement. Dashing forward, Raych had pushed at the sergeant's back with his left hand and withdrew the sergeant's weapon from its holster with his right. He moved away quickly, holding the neuronic whip in both hands now and shouting, â€Å"Hands up, Sergeant, or you're gonna get it!† The sergeant whirled and a nervous look crossed his reddening face. It was the only moment that its stolidity had weakened. â€Å"Put that down, sonny,† he growled. â€Å"You don't know how it works.† Raych howled, â€Å"I know about the safety. It's off and this thing can fire. And it will if you try to rush me.† The sergeant froze. He clearly knew how dangerous it was to have an excited twelve-year-old handling a powerful weapon. Nor did Seldon feel much better. He said, â€Å"Careful, Raych. Don't shoot. Keep your finger off the contact.† â€Å"I ain't gonna let him rush me.† â€Å"He won't.-Sergeant, please don't move. Let's get something straight. You were told to take me away from here. Is that right?† â€Å"That's right,† said the sergeant, eyes somewhat protruding and firmly fixed on Raych (whose eyes were as firmly fixed on the sergeant). â€Å"But you were not told to take anyone else. Is that right?† â€Å"No, I was not, Doctor,† said the sergeant firmly. Not even the threat of a neuronic whip was going to make him weasel. One could see that. â€Å"Very well, but listen to me, Sergeant. Were you told not to take anyone else?† â€Å"I just said-â€Å" â€Å"No, no. Listen, Sergeant. There's a difference. Were your instructions simply ‘Take Dr. Seldon!'? Was that the entire order, with no mention of anyone else, or were the orders more specific? Were your orders as follows: ‘Take Dr. Seldon and don't take anyone else'?† The sergeant turned that over in his head, then he said, â€Å"I was told to take you, Dr. Seldon.† â€Å"Then there was no mention of anyone else, one way or the other, was there?† Pause. â€Å"No.† â€Å"You were not told to take Dr. Venabili, but you were not told not to take Dr. Venabili either. Is that right?† Pause. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So you can either take her or not take her, whichever you please?† Long pause. â€Å"I suppose so.† â€Å"Now then, here's Raych, the young fellow who's got a neuronic whip pointing at you-your neuronic whip, remember-and he is anxious to use it.† â€Å"Yay!† shouted Raych. â€Å"Not yet, Raych,† said Seldon. â€Å"And here is Dr. Venabili with two knives that she can use very expertly and there's myself, who can, if I get the chance, break your Adam's apple with one hand so that you'll never speak above a whisper again. Now then, do you want to take Dr. Venabili or don't you want to? Your orders allow you to do either.† And finally the sergeant said in a beaten voice, â€Å"I will take the woman.† â€Å"And the boy, Raych.† â€Å"And the boy.† â€Å"Good. Have I your word of honor-your word of honor as a soldier-that you will do as you have just said†¦ honestly?† â€Å"You have my word of honor as a soldier,† said the sergeant. â€Å"Good. Raych, give back the whip.-Now.-Don't make me wait.† Raych, his face twisted into an unhappy grimace, looked at Dors, who hesitated and then slowly nodded her head. Her face was as unhappy as Raych's. Raych held out the neuronic whip to the sergeant and said, â€Å"They're makin' me, ya big-† His last words were unintelligible. Seldon said, â€Å"Put away your knives, Dors.† Dors shook her head, but put them away. â€Å"Now, Sergeant?† said Seldon. The sergeant looked at the neuronic whip, then at Seldon. He said, â€Å"You are an honorable man, Dr. Seldon, and my word of honor holds.† With a military snap, he placed his neuronic whip in his holster. Seldon turned to Davan and said, â€Å"Davan, please forget what you have seen here. We three are going voluntarily with Sergeant Thalus. You tell Yugo Amaryl when you see him that I will not forget him and that, once this is over and I am free to act, I will see that he gets into a University. And if there's anything reasonable I can ever do for your cause, Davan, I will.-Now, Sergeant, let's go.† 83. â€Å"Have you ever been in an air-jet before, Raych?† asked Hari Seldon. Raych shook his head speechlessly. He was looking down at Upperside rushing beneath them with a mixture of fright and awe. It struck Seldon again how much Trantor was a world of Expressways and tunnels. Even long trips were made underground by the general population. Air travel, however common it might be on the Outworlds, was a luxury on Trantor and an air-jet like this- How had Hummin managed it? Seldon wondered. He looked out the window at the rise and fall of the domes, at the general green in this area of the planet, the occasional patches of what were little less than jungles, the arms of the sea they occasionally passed over, with its leaden waters taking on a sudden all-too-brief sparkle when the sun peeped out momentarily from the heavy cloud layer. An hour or so into the flight, Dors, who was viewing a new historical novel without much in the way of apparent enjoyment, clicked it off and said, â€Å"I wish I knew where we were going.† â€Å"If you can't tell,† said Seldon, â€Å"then I certainly can't. You've been on Trantor longer than I have.† â€Å"Yes, but only on the inside,† said Dors. â€Å"Out here, with only Upperside below me, I'm as lost as an unborn infant would be.† â€Å"Oh well.-Presumably, Hummin knows what he's doing.† â€Å"I'm sure he does,† replied Dors rather tartly, â€Å"but that may have nothing to do with the present situation. Why do you continue to assume any of this represents his initiative?† Seldon's eyebrows lifted. â€Å"Now that you ask, I don't know. I just assumed it. Why shouldn't this be his?† â€Å"Because whoever arranged it didn't specify that I be taken along with you. I simply don't see Hummin forgetting my existence. And because he didn't come himself, as he did at Streeling and at Mycogen.† â€Å"You can't always expect him to, Dors. He might well be occupied. The astonishing thing is not that he didn't come on this occasion but that he did come on the previous ones.† â€Å"Assuming he didn't come himself, would he send a conspicuous and lavish flying palace like this?† She gestured around her at the large luxurious jet. â€Å"It might simply have been available. And he might have reasoned that no one would expect something as noticeable as this to be carrying fugitives who were desperately trying to avoid detection. The well-known double-double-cross.† â€Å"Too well-known, in my opinion. And would he send an idiot like Sergeant Thalus in his place?† â€Å"The sergeant is no idiot. He's simply been trained to complete obedience. With proper instructions, he could be utterly reliable.† â€Å"There you are, Hari. We come back to that. Why didn't he get proper instructions? It's inconceivable to me that Chetter Hummin would tell him to carry you out of Dahl and not say a word about me. Inconceivable.† And to that Seldon had no answer and his spirits sank. Another hour passed and Dors said, â€Å"It looks as if it's getting colder outside. The green of Upperside is turning brown and I believe the heaters have turned on.† â€Å"What does that signify?† â€Å"Dahl is in the tropic zone so obviously we're going either north or south-and a considerable distance too. If I had some notion in which direction the nightline was I could tell which.† Eventually, they passed over a section of shoreline where there was a rim of ice hugging the domes where they were rimmed by the sea. And then, quite unexpectedly, the air-jet angled downward. Raych screamed, â€Å"We're goin' to hit! We're goin' to smash up!† Seldon's abdominal muscles tightened and he clutched the arms of his seat. Dors seemed unaffected. She said, â€Å"The pilots up front don't seem alarmed. We'll be tunneling.† And, as she said so, the jet's wings swept backward and under it and, like a bullet, the air-jet entered a tunnel. Blackness swept back over them in an instant and a moment later the lighting system in the tunnel turned on. The walls of the tunnel snaked past the jet on either side. â€Å"I don't suppose I'll ever be sure they know the tunnel isn't already occupied,† muttered Seldon. â€Å"I'm sure they had reassurance of a clear tunnel some dozens of kilometers earlier,† said Dors. â€Å"At any rate, I presume this is the last stage of the journey and soon we'll know where we are.† She paused and then added, â€Å"And I further presume we won't like the knowledge when we have it.† 84. The air-jet sped out of the tunnel and onto a long runway with a roof so high that it seemed closer to true daylight than anything Seldon had seen since he had left the Imperial Sector. They came to a halt in a shorter time than Seldon would have expected, but at the price of an uncomfortable pressure forward. Raych, in particular, was crushed against the seat before him and was finding it difficult to breathe till Dors's hand on his shoulder pulled him back slightly. Sergeant Thalus, impressive and erect, left the jet and moved to the rear, where he opened the door of the passenger compartment and helped the three out, one by one. Seldon was last. He half-turned as he passed the sergeant, saying, â€Å"It was a pleasant trip, Sergeant.† A slow smile spread over the sergeant's large face and lifted his mustachioed upper lip. He touched the visor of his cap in what was half a salute and said, â€Å"Thank you again, Doctor.† They were then ushered into the backseat of a ground-car of lavish design and the sergeant himself pushed into the front seat and drove the vehicle with a surprisingly light touch. They passed through wide roadways, flanked by tall, well-designed buildings, all glistening in broad daylight. As elsewhere on Trantor, they heard the distant drone of an Expressway. The walkways were crowded with what were, for the most part, well-dressed people. The surroundings were remarkably-almost excessively-clean. Seldon's sense of security sank further. Dors's misgivings concerning their destination now seemed justified after all. He leaned toward her and said, â€Å"Do you think we are back in the Imperial Sector?† She said, â€Å"No, the buildings are more rococo in the Imperial Sector and there's less Imperial parkishness to this sector-if you know what I mean.† â€Å"Then where are we, Dors? â€Å"We'll have to ask, I'm afraid, Hari.† It was not a long trip and soon they rolled into a car-bay that flanked an imposing four-story structure. A frieze of imaginary animals ran along the top, decorated with strips of warm pink stone. It was an impressive facade with a rather pleasing design. Seldon said, â€Å"That certainly looks rococo enough.† Dors shrugged uncertainly. Raych whistled and said in a failing attempt to sound unimpressed, â€Å"Hey, look at that fancy place.† Sergeant Thalus gestured to Seldon clearly indicating that he was to follow. Seldon hung back and, also relying on the universal language of gesture, held out both arms, clearly including Dors and Raych. The sergeant hesitated in a slightly hangdog fashion at the impressive pink doorway. His mustache almost seemed to droop. Then he said gruffly, â€Å"All three of you, then. My word of honor holds.-Still, others may not feel obligated by my own obligation, you know.† Seldon nodded. â€Å"I hold you responsible for your own deeds only, Sergeant.† The sergeant was clearly moved and, for a moment, his face lightened as though he was considering the possibility of shaking Seldon's hand or expressing heartfelt his approval in some other way. He decided against it, however, and stepped onto the bottom step of the flight that led to the door. The stairs immediately began a stately upward movement. Seldon and Dors stepped after him at once and kept their balance without much trouble. Raych, who was momentarily staggered in surprise, jumped onto the moving stairs after a short run, shoved both hands into his pockets, and whistled carelessly. The door opened and two women stepped out, one on either side in symmetrical fashion. They were young and attractive. Their dresses, belted tightly about the waist and reaching nearly to their ankles, fell in crisp pleats and rustled when they walked. Both had brown hair that was coiled in thick plaits on either side of their heads. (Seldon found it attractive, but wondered how long it took them each morning to arrange it just so. He had not been aware of so elaborate a coiffure on the women they had passed in the streets.) The two women stared at the newcomers with obvious contempt. Seldon was not surprised. After the day's events, he and Dors looked almost as disreputable as Raych. Yet the women managed to bow decorously and then made a half-turn and gestured inward in perfect unison and with symmetry carefully maintained. (Did they rehearse these things?) It was clear that the three were to enter. They stepped through an elaborate room, cluttered with furniture and decorative items whose use Seldon did not readily understand. The floor was light-colored, springy, and glowed with luminescence. Seldon noted with some embarrassment that their footwear left dusty marks upon it. And then an inner door was flung open and yet another woman emerged. She was distinctly older than the first two (who sank slowly as she came in, crossing their legs symmetrically as they did so in a way that made Seldon marvel that they could keep their balance; it undoubtedly took a deal of practice). Seldon wondered if he too was expected to display some ritualized form of respect, but since he hadn't the faintest notion of what this might consist of, he merely bowed his head slightly. Dors remained standing erect and, it seemed to Seldon, did so with disdain. Raych was staring open-mouthed in all directions and looked as though he didn't even see the woman who had just entered. She was plump-not fat, but comfortably padded. She wore her hair precisely as the young ladies did and her dress was in the same style, but much more richly ornamented-too much so to suit Seldon's aesthetic notions. She was clearly middle-aged and there was a hint of gray in her hair, but the dimples in he r cheeks gave her the appearance of having rather more than a dash of youth. Her light brown eyes were merry and on the whole she looked more motherly than old. She said, â€Å"How are you? All of you.† (She showed no surprise at the presence of Dors and Raych, but included them easily in her greeting.) â€Å"I've been waiting for you for some time and almost had you on Upperside at Streeling. You are Dr. Hari Seldon, whom I've been looking forward to meeting. You, I think, must be Dr. Dors Venabili, for you had been reported to be in his company. This young man I fear I do not know, but I am pleased to see him. But we must not spend our time talking, for I'm sure you would like to rest first.† â€Å"And bathe, Madam,† said Dors rather forcefully, â€Å"Each of us could use a thorough shower.† â€Å"Yes, certainly,† said the woman, â€Å"and a change in clothing. Especially the young man.† She looked down at Raych without any of the look of contempt and disapproval that the two young women had shown. She said, â€Å"What is your name, young man?† â€Å"Raych,† said Raych in a rather choked and embarrassed voice. He then added experimentally, â€Å"Missus.† â€Å"What an odd coincidence,† said the woman, her eyes sparkling. â€Å"An omen, perhaps. My own name is Rashelle. Isn't that odd?-But come. We shall take care of you all. Then there will be plenty of time to have dinner and to talk.† â€Å"Wait, Madam,† said Dors. â€Å"May I ask where we are?† â€Å"Wye, dear. And please call me Rashelle, as you come to feel more friendly. I am always at ease with informality.† Dors stiffened. â€Å"Are you surprised that we ask? Isn't it natural that we should want to know where we are?† Rashelle laughed in a pleasant, tinkling manner. â€Å"Really, Dr. Venabili, something must be done about the name of this place. I was not asking a question but making a statement. You asked where you were and I did not ask you why. I told you, ‘Wye.' You are in the Wye Sector.† â€Å"In Wye?† said Seldon forcibly. â€Å"Yes indeed, Dr. Seldon. We've wanted you from the day you addressed the Decennial Convention and we are so glad to have you now.† 85. Actually, it took a full day to rest and unstiffen, to wash and get clean, to obtain new clothes (satiny and rather loose, in the style of Wye), and to sleep a good deal. It was during the second evening in Wye that there was the dinner that Madam Rashelle had promised. The table was a large one-too large, considering that there were only four dining: Hari Seldon, Dors Venabili, Raych, and Rashelle. The walls and ceiling were softly illuminated and the colors changed at a rate that caught the eye but not so rapidly as in any way to discommode the mind. The very tablecloth, which was not cloth (Seldon had not made up his mind what it might be), seemed to sparkle. The servers were many and silent and when the door opened it seemed to Seldon that he caught a glimpse of soldiers, armed and at the ready, outside. The room was a velvet glove, but the iron fist was not far distant. Rashelle was gracious and friendly and had clearly taken a particular liking to Raych, who, she insisted, was to sit next to her. Raych-scrubbed, polished, and shining, all but unrecognizable in his new clothes, with his hair clipped, cleaned, and brushed-scarcely dared to say a word. It was as though he felt his grammar no longer fit his appearance. He was pitifully ill at ease and he watched Dors carefully as she switched from utensil to utensil, trying to match her exactly in every respect. The food was tasty but spicy-to the point where Seldon could not recognize the exact nature of the dishes. Rashelle, her plump face made happy by her gentle smile and her fine teeth gleaming white, said, â€Å"You may think we have Mycogenian additives in the food, but we do not. It is all homegrown in Wye. There is no sector on the planet more self-sufficient than Wye. We labor hard to keep that so.† Seldon nodded gravely and said, â€Å"Everything you have given us is first-rate, Rashelle. We are much obliged to you.† And yet within himself he thought the food was not quite up to Mycogenian standards and he felt moreover, as he had earlier muttered to Dors, that he was celebrating his own defeat. Or Hummin's defeat, at any rate, and that seemed to him to be the same thing. After all, he had been captured by Wye, the very possibility that had so concerned Hummin at the time of the incident Upperside. Rashelle said, â€Å"Perhaps, in my role as hostess, I may be forgiven if I ask personal questions. Am I correct in assuming that you three do not represent a family; that you, Hari, and you, Dors, are not married and that Raych is not your son?† â€Å"The three of us are not related in any way,† said Seldon. â€Å"Raych was born on Trantor, I on Helicon, Dors on Cinna.† â€Å"And how did you all meet, then?† Seldon explained briefly and with as little detail as he could manage. â€Å"There's nothing romantic or significant in the meetings,† he added. â€Å"Yet I am given to understand that you raised difficulties with my personal aide, Sergeant Thalus, when he wanted to take only you out of Dahl.† Seldon said gravely, â€Å"I had grown fond of Dors and Raych and did not wish to be separated from them.† Rashelle smiled and said, â€Å"You are a sentimental man, I see.† â€Å"Yes, I am. Sentimental. And puzzled too.† â€Å"Puzzled?† â€Å"Why yes. And since you were so kind as to ask personal questions of us, may I ask one as well?† â€Å"Of course, my dear Hari. Ask anything you please.† â€Å"When we first arrived, you said that Wye has wanted me from the day I addressed the Decennial Convention. For what reason might that be?† â€Å"Surely, you are not so simple as not to know. We want you for your psychohistory.† â€Å"That much I do understand. But what makes you think that having me means you have psychohistory?† â€Å"Surely, you have not been so careless as to lose it.† â€Å"Worse, Rashelle. I have never had it.† Rashelle's face dimpled. â€Å"But you said you had it in your talk. Not that I understood your talk. I am not a mathematician. I hate numbers. But I have in my employ mathematicians who have explained to me what it is you said.† â€Å"In that case, my dear Rashelle, you must listen more closely. I can well imagine they have told you that I have proven that psychohistorical predictions are conceivable, but surely they must also have told you that they are not practical.† â€Å"I can't believe that, Hari. The very next day, you were called into an audience with that pseudo-Emperor, Cleon.† â€Å"The pseudo-Emperor?† murmured Dors ironically. â€Å"Why yes,† said Rashelle as though she was answering a serious question. â€Å"Pseudo-Emperor. He has no true claim to the throne.† â€Å"Rashelle,† said Seldon, brushing that aside a bit impatiently, â€Å"I told Cleon exactly what I have just told you and he let me go.† Now Rashelle did nor smile. A small edge crept into her voice. â€Å"Yes, he let you go the way the cat in the fable lets a mouse go. He has been pursuing you ever since-in Streeling, in Mycogen, in Dahl. He would pursue you here if he dared. But come now-our serious talk is too serious. Let us enjoy ourselves. Let us have music.† And at her words, there suddenly sounded a soft but joyous instrumental melody. She leaned toward Raych and said softly, â€Å"My boy, if you are not at ease with the fork, use your spoon or your fingers. I won't mind.† Raych said, â€Å"Yes, mum,† and swallowed hard, but Dors caught his eye and her lips silently mouthed: â€Å"Fork.† He remained with his fork. Dors said, â€Å"The music is lovely, Madam†-she pointedly rejected the familiar form of address â€Å"but it must not he allowed to distract us. There is the thought in my mind that the pursuer in all those places might have been in the employ of the Wye Sector. Surely, you would not be so well acquainted with events if Wye were not the prime mover.† Rashelle laughed aloud. â€Å"Wye has its eyes and ears everywhere, of course, but we were not the pursuers. Had we been, you would have been picked up without fail-as you were in Dahl finally when, indeed, we were the pursuers. When, however, there is a pursuit that fails, a grasping hand that misses, you may be sure that it is Demerzel.† â€Å"Do you think so little of Demerzel?† murmured Dors. â€Å"Yes. Does that surprise you? We have beaten him.† â€Å"You? Or the Wye Sector?† â€Å"The sector, of course, but insofar as Wye is the victor, then I am the victor.† â€Å"How strange,† said Dors. â€Å"There seems to be a prevalent opinion throughout Trantor that the inhabitants of Wye have nothing to do with victory, with defeat, or with anything else. It is felt that there is but one will and one fist in Wye and that is that of the Mayor. Surely, you-or any other Wyan-weigh nothing in comparison.† Rashelle smiled broadly. She paused to look at Raych benevolently and to pinch his cheek, then said, â€Å"If you believe that our Mayor is an autocrat and that there is but one will that sways Wye, then perhaps you are right. But, even so, I can still use the personal pronoun, for my will is of account.† â€Å"Why yours?† said Seldon. â€Å"Why not?† said Rashelle as the servers began clearing the table. â€Å"I am the Mayor of Wye.† 86. It was Raych who was the first to react to the statement. Quite forgetting the cloak of civility that sat upon him so uncomfortably, he laughed raucously and said, â€Å"Hey, lady, ya can't be Mayor. Mayors is guys.† Rashelle looked at him good-naturedly and said in a perfect imitation of his tone of voice, â€Å"Hey, kid, some Mayors is guys and some Mayors is dames. Put that under your lid and let it bubble.† Raych's eyes protruded and he seemed stunned. Finally he managed to say, â€Å"Hey, ya talk regular, lady.† â€Å"Sure thing. Regular as ya want,† said Rashelle, still smiling. Seldon cleared his throat and said, â€Å"That's quite an accent you have, Rashelle.† Rashelle tossed her head slightly. â€Å"I haven't had occasion to use it in many years, but one never forgets. I once had a friend, a good friend, who was a Dahlite-when I was very young.† She sighed. â€Å"He didn't speak that way, of course-he was quite intelligent-but he could do so if he wished and he taught me. It was exciting to talk so with him. It created a world that excluded our surroundings. It was wonderful. It was also impossible. My father made that plain. And now along comes this young rascal, Raych, to remind me of those long-ago days. He has the accent, the eyes, the impudent cast of countenance, and in six years or so he will be a delight and terror to the young women. Won't you, Raych?† Raych said, â€Å"I dunno, lady-uh, mum.† â€Å"I'm sure you will and you will come to look very much like my†¦ old friend and it will be much more comfortable for me not to see you then. And now, dinner's over and it's time for you to go to your room, Raych. You can watch holovision for a while if you wish. I don't suppose you read.† Raych reddened. â€Å"I'm gonna read someday. Master Seldon says I'm gonna.† â€Å"Then I'm sure you will.† A young woman approached Raych, curtsying respectfully in Rashelle's direction. Seldon had not seen the signal that had summoned her. Raych said, â€Å"Can't I stay with Master Seldon and Missus Venabili?† â€Å"You'll see them later,† said Rashelle gently, â€Å"but Master and Missus and I have to talk right now-so you must go.† Dors mouthed a firm â€Å"Go!† at Raych and with a grimace the boy slid out of his chair and followed the attendant. Rashelle turned to Seldon and Dors once Raych was gone and said, â€Å"The boy will be safe, of course, and treated well. Please have no fears about that. And I will be safe too. As my woman approached just now, so will a dozen armed men-and much more rapidly-when summoned. I want you to understand that.† Seldon said evenly, â€Å"We are in no way thinking of attacking you, Rashelle-or must I now say, ‘Madam Mayor'?† â€Å"Still Rashelle. I am given to understand that you are a wrestler of sorts, Hari, and you, Dors, are very skillful with the knives we have removed from your room. I don't want you to rely uselessly on your skills, since I want Hari alive, unharmed, and friendly.† â€Å"It is quite well understood, Madam Mayor,† said Dors, her lack of friendship uncompromised, â€Å"that the ruler of Wye, now and for the past forty years, is Mannix, Fourth of that Name, and that he is still alive and in full possession of his faculties. Who, then, are you really?† â€Å"Exactly who I say I am, Dors. Mannix IV is my father. He is, as you say, still alive and in possession of his faculties. In the eyes of the Emperor and of all the Empire, he is Mayor of Wye, but he is weary of the strains of power and is willing, at last, to let them slip into my hands, which are just as willing to receive them. I am his only child and I was brought up all my life to rule. My father is therefore Mayor in law and name, but I am Mayor in fact. It is to me, now, that the armed forces of Wye have sworn allegiance and in Wye that is all that counts.† Seldon nodded. â€Å"Let it be as you say. But even so, whether it is Mayor Mannix IV or Mayor Rashelle I-it is the First, I suppose-there is no purpose in your holding me. I have told you that I don't have a workable psychohistory and I do not think that either I or anyone else will ever have one. I have told that to the Emperor. I am of no use either to you or to him.† Rashelle said, â€Å"How naive you are. Do you know the history of the Empire?† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I have recently come to wish that I knew it much better.† Dors said dryly, â€Å"I know Imperial history quite well, though the pre-Imperial age is my specialty, Madam Mayor. But what does it matter whether we do or do not?† â€Å"If you know your history, you know that the House of Wye is ancient and honorable and is descended from the Dacian dynasty.† Dors said, â€Å"The Dacians ruled five thousand years ago. The number of their descendants in the hundred and fifty generations that have lived and died since then may number half the population of the Galaxy-if all genealogical claims, however outrageous, are accepted.† â€Å"Our genealogical claims, Dr. Venabili†-Rashelle's tone of voice was, for the first time, cold and unfriendly and her eyes flashed like steel-â€Å"are not outrageous. They are fully documented. The House of Wye has maintained itself consistently in positions of power through all those generations and there have been occasions when we have held the Imperial throne and have ruled as Emperors.† â€Å"The history book-films,† said Dors, â€Å"usually refer to the Wye rulers as ‘anti-Emperors,' never recognized by the bulk of the Empire.† â€Å"It depends on who writes the history book-films. In the future, we will, for the throne which has been ours will be ours again.† â€Å"To accomplish that, you must bring about civil war.† â€Å"There won't be much risk of that,† said Rashelle. She was smiling again. â€Å"That is what I must explain to you because I want Dr. Seldon's help in preventing such a catastrophe. My father, Mannix IV, has been a man of peace all his life. He has been loyal to whomever it might be that ruled in the Imperial Palace and he has kept Wye a prosperous and strong pillar of the Trantorian economy for the good of all the Empire.† â€Å"I don't know that the Emperor has ever trusted him any the more for all that,† said Dors. â€Å"I'm sure that is so,† said Rashelle calmly, â€Å"for the Emperors that have occupied the Palace in my father's time have known themselves to be usurpers of a usurping line. Usurpers cannot afford to trust the true rulers. And yet my father has kept the peace. He has, of course, developed and trained a magnificent security force to maintain the peace, prosperity, and stability of the sector and the Imperial authorities have allowed this because they wanted Wye peaceful, prosperous, stable-and loyal.† â€Å"But is it loyal?† said Dors. â€Å"To the true Emperor, of course,† said Rashelle, â€Å"and we have now reached the stage where our strength is such that we can take over the government quickly-in a lightning stroke, in fact-and before one can say ‘civil war' there will be a true Emperor-or Empress, if you prefer-and Trantor will be as peaceful as before.† Dors shook her head. â€Å"May I enlighten you? As a historian?† â€Å"I am always willing to listen.† And she inclined her head ever so slightly toward Dors. â€Å"Whatever size your security force may be, however well-trained and well-equipped, they cannot possibly equal in size and strength the Imperial forces backed by twenty-five million worlds.† â€Å"Ah, but you have put your finger on the usurper's weakness, Dr. Venabili. There are twenty-five million worlds, with the Imperial forces scattered over them. Those forces are thinned out over incalculable space, under uncounted officers, none of them particularly ready for any action outside their own Provinces, many ready for action in their own interest rather than in the Empire's. Our forces, on the other hand, are all here, all on Trantor. We can act and conclude before the distant generals and admirals can get it through their heads that they are needed.† â€Å"But that response will come-and with irresistible force.† â€Å"Are you certain of that?† said Rashelle. â€Å"We will be in the Palace. Trantor will be ours and at peace. Why should the Imperial forces stir when, by minding their own business, each petty military leader can have his own world to rule, his own Province?† â€Å"But is that what you want?† asked Seldon wonderingly. â€Å"Are you telling me that you look forward to ruling over an Empire that will break up into splinters?† Rashelle said, â€Å"That is exactly right. I would rule over Trantor, over its outlying space settlements, over the few nearby planetary systems that are part of the Trantorian Province. I would much rather be Emperor of Trantor than Emperor of the Galaxy.† â€Å"You would be satisfied with Trantor only,† said Dors in tones of the deepest disbelief. â€Å"Why not?† said Rashelle, suddenly ablaze. She leaned forward eagerly, both hands pressed palms-down on the table. â€Å"That is what my father has been planning for forty years. He is only clinging to life now to witness its fulfillment. Why do we need millions of worlds, distant worlds that mean nothing to us, that weaken us, that draw our forces far away from us into meaningless cubic parsecs of space, that drown us in administrative chaos, that ruin us with their endless quarrels and problems when they are all distant nothings as far as we are concerned? Our own populous world-our own planetary city-is Galaxy enough for us. We have all we need to support ourselves. As for the rest of the Galaxy, let it splinter. Every petty militarist can have his own splinter. They needn't fight. There will be enough for all.† â€Å"But they will fight, just the same,† said Dors. â€Å"Each will refuse to be satisfied with his Province. Each will feel that his neighbor is not satisfied with his Province. Each will feel insecure and will dream of Galactic rule as the only guarantee of safety. This is certain, Madam Empress of Nothing. There will be endless wars into which you and Trantor will be inevitably drawn-to the ruin of all.† Rashelle said with clear contempt, â€Å"So it might seem, if one could see no farther than you do, if one relied on the ordinary lessons of history.† â€Å"What is there to see farther?† retorted Dors. â€Å"What is one to rely on beyond the lessons of history?† â€Å"What lies beyond?† said Rashelle. â€Å"Why, he.† And her arm shot outward, her index finger jabbing toward Seldon. â€Å"Me?† said Seldon. â€Å"I have already told you that psychohistory-â€Å" Rashelle said, â€Å"Do not repeat what you have already said, my good Dr. Seldon. We gain nothing by that.-Do you think, Dr. Venabili, that my father was never aware of the danger of endless civil war? Do you think he did not bend his powerful mind to thinking of some way to prevent that? He has been prepared at any time these last ten years to take over the Empire in a day. It needed only the assurance of security beyond victory.† â€Å"Which you can't have,† said Dors. â€Å"Which we had the moment we heard of Dr. Seldon's paper at the Decennial Convention. I saw at once that that was what we needed. My father was too old to see the significance at once. When I explained it, however, he saw it too and it was then that he formally transferred his power to me. So it is to you, Hari, that I owe my position and to you I will owe my greater position in the future.† â€Å"I keep telling you that it cannot-† began Seldon with deep annoyance. â€Å"It is not important what can or cannot be done. What is important is what people will or will not believe can be done. They will believe you, Hari, when you tell them the psychohistoric prediction is that Trantor can rule itself and that the Provinces can become Kingdoms that will live together in peace.† â€Å"I will make no such prediction,† said Seldon, â€Å"in the absence of true psychohistory. I won't play the charlatan. If you want something like that, you say it.† â€Å"Now, Hari. They won't believe me. It's you they will believe. The great mathematician. Why not oblige them?† â€Å"As it happens,† said Seldon â€Å"the Emperor also thought to use me as a source of self-serving prophecies. I refused to do it for him, so do you think I will agree to do it for you?† Rashelle was silent for a while and when she spoke again her voice had lost its intense excitement and became almost coaxing. â€Å"Hari,† she said, â€Å"think a little of the difference between Cleon and myself. What Cleon undoubtedly wanted from you was propaganda to preserve his throne. It would be useless to give him that, for the throne can't be preserved. Don't you know that the Galactic Empire is in a state of decay, that it cannot endure for much longer? Trantor itself is slowly sliding into ruin because of the ever-increasing weight of administering twenty-five million worlds. What's ahead of us is breakup and civil war, no matter what you do for Cleon.† Seldon said, â€Å"I have heard something like this said. It may even be true, but what then?† â€Å"Well then, help it break into fragments without any war. Help me take Trantor. Help me establish a firm government over a realm small enough to be ruled efficiently. Let me give freedom to the rest of the Galaxy, each portion to go its own way according to its own customs and cultures. The Galaxy will become a working whole again through the free agencies of trade, tourism, and communication and the fate of cracking into disaster under the present rule of force that barely holds it together will be averted. My ambition is moderate indeed; one world, not millions; peace, not war; freedom, not slavery. Think about it and help me.† Seldon said, â€Å"Why should the Galaxy believe me any more than they would believe you? They don't know me and which of our fleet commanders will be impressed by the mere word ‘psychohistory'?† â€Å"You won't be believed now, but I don't ask for action now. The House of Wye, having waited thousands of years, can wait thousands of days more. Cooperate with me and I will make your name famous. I will make the promise of psychohistory glow through all the worlds and at the proper time, when I judge the movement to be the chosen moment, you will pronounce your prediction and we will strike. Then, in a twinkling of history, the Galaxy will exist under a New Order that will render it stable and happy for eons. Come now, Hari, can you refuse me?†