Thursday, August 27, 2020

buy custom Virtual Leadership essay

purchase custom Virtual Leadership paper There are distinctive administration styles that cause serious extent of employment fulfillment in the members of virtual groups. Virtual groups are an approach to acquire, mix and apply information to achieve the need of top notch, minimal effort, quick answer for complex issues through keeping up a supportive system. As of now, it is discovered that the demonstration of making virtual groups at working environment is expanding at the pace of around twenty million in America. A quantitative examination was led. A strategy for relationship was utilized to gauge the practices related with various styles of initiative and the necessities identifying with authority of the virtual adherents. This sort of connection is relied upon to express positive occupation fulfillment among pioneers and colleagues. It was accepted that this affiliation would build work fulfillment. (Hitson, 2008) This review was led from around twenty three nations. The study things were electronic and contained things dependent on Likert scale. The things depended on Leadership practices applied administration practices wanted and work fulfillment. The point of the investigation was to discover connection between's the authority style, administration practices, and supporter wanted Leadership conduct and employment fulfillment. The outcomes demonstrated that a specific measure of connection do exist between pioneers administration practices and the ideal authority conduct of the supporters and occupation fulfillment. a connection was likewise locate that self-administration styles of authority. It was discovered that this sort of connection expands work fulfillment inside the virtual joining conditions. (Hitson, 2008) The significance of this methodology is that it has been utilized in the development of information as well as in clarifies the impression of virtual pioneers under the light of various initiative speculations. It makes individuals mindful of the virtual group of the activity fulfillment of the work power yet in addition of the various strategies for authority. Study recommends, production of a fruitful group it is critical to have solid and suitable authority. This investigation is relied upon to make a positive expansion in the domain of the examinations led in the circles of virtual information. With the mechanical advancement on the planet individuals are experiencing further extent of significant distance correspondence challenges. Correspondence is relied upon to trade data just as contemplations and thoughts in an exact and viable way. This idea of Christine recommends that it is important for the pioneers these days to have certain abilities with the assistance of which they can interface with individuals in an effective way. Pioneers must have abilities to lead with achievement in this generally changing world. It is fundamental for the pioneer to mindful individuals of the virtual specialized techniques present. Along these lines they will have the option to choose the most well suited for themselves and their association. (Christine, 2008) Today with the mechanical strengthening of the world individuals are working for a similar association at various spots. This has made the upkeep of a powerful correspondence truly testing. It is extremely troublesome these days to speak with the association in a successful way. The creator in here is attempting to discover the techniques using with the pioneers of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) Information Management System (IMIS) can use innovation to make correspondence adequately. Techniques that will guarantee their staffs arrangement to such sources and data that is vital for their working aptitudes. (Christine, 2008) Christine led an examination was directed to discover the capacity of the virtual pioneers to turn into a piece of an open situation and by what method will they connect separation correspondence. This examination helped IMIS by giving them techniques with the assistance of which pioneers will choose fitting strategy for correspondence. It was relied upon to advance and promoter the vital course of VCH in the improvement of a fortified association. (Christine, 2008) These days, it is vital for the pioneers to keep up successful strategies for innovative correspondence. The individuals who lead and impart over significant distances experience different difficulties while embracing certain virtual methods of correspondence. It is important to keep up a sound and solid correspondence. This will assist pioneers with developing a feeling of doing and regard in their representatives. It is significant for the pioneers to expand their awareness of conveying essentially and to side by side themselves for choosing the correct technique for correspondence. That will assist them with conveying in a fruitful way. (Christine, 2008) The absolute first VCH action of regionalizing themselves was the creation. IMIS. It is fundamental for the virtual pioneers to keep up great correspondence with their staff as it is actually a test for them to keep up a successful correspondence with in such constrained time of communication. The vehicle of correspondence chose by the pioneer additionally influence the correspondence procedures. Pioneers can utilize video conferencing and email to pass on their messages to the understudies working at significant distances. (Christine, 2008) The ceaseless dependence of VCH upon mechanical techniques for working is making it hard for it to recruit and hold qualified representatives to advocate and continue innovation. An enormous number ofhighly instructed and subjective specialists are expected to keep up a negative acknowledge on the laborers to continue the association. It is essential for the pioneers of the VCH to get side by side with the consistent turns of events and patterns. The vehicle of correspondence chose by the pioneer likewise influence the correspondence methodologies According to a review around one point 5,000,000 residents of Canada convey for all intents and purposes on consistent schedule. VCH is a wellbeing administrations giving organization and it join an enormous staff dissipated in the whole Britain. The finding of this investigation left numerous ramifications of the virtual correspondence. This is on the grounds that this region is persistently in the condition of consistent change and condit ion. (Christine, 2008) These days, the possibility of working from a spot away from the administrative center of the organization/association is being given a great deal of significance. In spite of this high measure of consideration towards working essentially the job of virtual pioneer appear to be ignored. A significantly little measure of work has been done in this field. Stella led exploration to examine the effect of virtual pioneers upon the presentation and fulfillment of their workers. He outperformed and subbed value-based, transformational and no administration with good faith, criticism and atmosphere for prosperity. Subsequent to breaking down various administration hypotheses in the examination it was discovered that the effect of pioneers job was considerable, with the individuals from the value-based conditions and transfusion conditions. In addition, many intriguing results among the administration styles and execution reliability, (Julie, 2003) As per a study virtual administration has expanded to an impressive degree. Assessments show that around twenty 8,000,000 individuals did virtual working in 2001 and about 19.6 million out of 1999. It appears that virtual work has likely advantages for representatives generally, pioneers give expanded adaptability, less drive time, less interruptions and so forth it appears that the authority of virtual have worthwhile ideal world as opposed to destroy no man's land. Transformational initiative is appeared to be equivalent to the value-based administration. It is vital for the virtual pioneers to keep up great correspondence with their staff as it is actually a test for them to keep up a viable correspondence with in such restricted time of association in the examinations led upon virtual administration smart and insidious administration must be reinforced with proper effects. As a rule, the individuals from separation based administration utilize understood authority hypothesis whil e speaking with one another. (Julie, 2003) Separation pioneer are appeared to be more prototypical than close pioneers. This shows the virtual administration is unavoidably ambiguous and general. Neither of the variable appeared and effect upon the activity fulfillment. This was clarified on the possibility that the purpose behind it was the undertaking appointed to the laborers was not a lot of acceptable. Along these lines, one can not be predictable that the errand isn't acceptable or something likes that. It could have been acknowledged that keen administration of transformational pioneers is very powerful. Transformational initiative whenever used to be done control should be overseen appropriately and given fulfillment and kept up a need to make laborers for all intents and purposes. In short it appears that both association of value-based and transformational administration is a lot of significant for the upkeep of execution and production of fulfillment in the virtual specialists. (Julie, 2003) This examination is appeared to be comparable with the possibility the virtual pioneers are seen by staff predictable with known initiative hypothesis. This shows the selection of value-based initiative style is essential for the virtual pioneers and laborers. This will help accumulate ceaseless correspondence and criticism. This was clarified on the possibility that the explanation behind it was the errand doled out to the laborers was not a lot of palatable An extensively little measure of work has been done in this field This examination gave a way to the pioneers that the hierarchical and modern clinician should see and attempt to comprehend the way utilizing which virtual pioneers impact representatives accomplishing their work close to the principle office. There was a lot of variety in the characteristics of individuals working basically (Julie, 2003) Today, the issue of globalization is impacting numerous organizations and has perceptible effect on the work nature. Associations are building up certain trans-national groups to act in a viable way. It will assist with beating certain methods

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Citizenship Birthright Under Fire

Citizenship Birthright Under Fire Summary During one morning in Washington, DC, Senator Mitch McConnell who is the Senate minority pioneer, contended with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina about the fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The fourteenth Amendment awards citizenship to any longer conceived in the United States. Graham stood up saying the Amendment was a slip-up in light of the fact that offspring of unlawful workers could become residents on the off chance that they were conceived in the United States automatically.He expressed just as allowing lawful status to a large number of illicit outsiders, he would likewise revise the fourteenth Amendment so as to invalidate future unapproved movement. Republican and Democratic officials were astonished with Graham’s proposition since he was essentially the main Republican to haggle with Democrats to make a migration redesign bill. This discussion has been fixated on the citizenship provision â€Å"All people conceived or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the locale thereof, are residents of the United States and of the state wherein they live. Individuals against this correction have contended that illicit outsiders are not under U. S. locale and subsequently America-conceived youngsters ought not be naturally become residents. The correction has been polished since the 1860’s and if the law were transformed it would make babies conceived from Mexican moms unlawfully they would become outsiders during childbirth. Rivals against the alteration state that Mexican moms would have the infants here in the U. S. so that ideally the moms would get citizenship. The main thing is by law American resident youngsters must hold up until they are 21 years of age to apply for legitimate residency for their parents.About 4 million resident kids have in any event one parent who is an unlawful settler. Despite the fact that Graham is pushing to reproduce the change it would be imme nse political recommendation. Assessment I woke up today, glad to be an American. I don't for the most part think would on the off chance that I was conceived elsewhere or would if my family members never approached America? Or on the other hand even would if the fourteenth Amendment was never thought of or raised? I simply approach my day of course. On the off chance that I truly investigate it and consider it, if my family members never came to America, I would not be staying here in this agreeable seat, composing this paper for my administration class.As an obvious certainty I, as an individual, would not be here. My grandfather’s roots are from Mexico and my grandmother’s are from Germany. In the event that it was not for the fourteenth Amendment, they would have not met or have had the option to be in this nation. Individuals come to America for a superior life and opportunity. The U. S. is extremely various with various societies, religions, and races but a few p eople whose predecessors came here are contending that it isn't reasonable for others to have a chance to succeed. However I kind of observe why they are grumbling since America gets greater consistently because of individuals coming over

Friday, August 21, 2020

Finding Time to Write

Finding Time to Write Many people complain about not having time to write. Sure, were all busy these days and it can be difficult to find time to do the things that are important to us. But the bottom line is that if something is important to us, its important enough to carve out time to pursue. Yes, that may mean giving up something else, but thats the price to be paid. If you want to pursue one thing, you have to put it ahead of something else. Harsh, but true. This holds true whether you want to write, fly kites, or learn to make origami swans. There are ways to find time to write (or do anything else), though, and while many of them require prioritizing writing above other things, some simply require you to be aware of your time and make better use of it. Here are some suggestions for finding the time to write (or make those origami swans). Give up TV Or whatever else is sucking away big chunks of your time. It could be video games, the internet, or other activities. These are all fine in moderation but you have to cut them down or out if you want to be a productive writer. TV is usually the worst offender. Do you really have to watch the news twice a day? Do you have to keep up with whatever dramas or reality shows your coworkers are watching? Do you have to watch every sporting event in its entirety? Probably not. Inventory your viewing/playing/surfing habits and cut down to the bare minimum required to keep you happy. Give up the idea of writing in large chunks Many people feel that they cant write unless they can sit down for two or three hours and write uninterrupted. How nice that would be. This isnt an option for many of us. Kids, jobs, pets, and other interruptions mean that we often cant write for more than a few minutes at time. This isnt an insurmountable problem. You just have to train your brain to quickly focus, write, and then be able to come back to the project when you have another chance. Practice will make this easier. Say, No, often Stop taking on so many obligations. There are some things you cannot get out of, but a good bit of what takes up our time is optional. Get comfortable saying, No to demands on your time. Get up earlier If you want an extra half hour a day, you may have to simply get up earlier so you can write while the rest of the world is asleep. While this can be difficult at the beginning, forcing your self the first few weeks will quickly turn into a habit. Stay up later If getting up earlier isnt for you, you can try staying up to write after everyone else has gone to bed. Experiment with your body clock to find out if youre more a morning or evening person. Subject everything to the Priority Test Whenever you find yourself with a decision about how to spend your time, subject your choices to the Priority Test. Ask yourself which is more important: Working on your writing, or whatever other thing it is youre about to do. If writing is important to you, it should win out most of the time over things like social media, web surfing, TV watching, cleaning, and talking on the phone. If writing isnt winning these battles, then you either have a serious problem with procrastination or you need to ask yourself if you really want to be a writer. Learn to live with more dirt We spend a lot of time cleaning, even when things dont need to be cleaned (or can be cleaned less often). Free up time in your schedule by getting comfortable with a little more dirt. No, you dont have to become like one of those houses on Hoarders, but see if you can get by with a bit less cleaning. Change the sheets less often. Give the counters a quick wipe down instead of a deep scrubbing every week. Let the vacuuming go for another day. Chances are that even if you clean a bit less, you still wont end up living in complete filth. Get rid of the little Time Wasters While were all guilty of wasting large chunks of time on things like TV and the internet, we all also have smaller time wasters that we might not even notice. Things like constant phone calls or social media updates, errands, solicitors, and inefficient daily chores all eat up our time. There are lots of ways to streamline your daily life, however. Look at your daily routine and figure out how you can make things more efficient. Schedule the time If you work better when everything is scheduled down to the minute, then be sure to schedule your writing time. Make it a recurring event on your calendar. If you see it there everyday as something that has to be done, you may be less likely to blow it off. Depend on it When you depend on the income from your writing to pay the bills, it gets pretty darn easy to find the time to write. While Im not saying that you should quit your day job if you have one (starvation and eviction arent appealing options), at least try to act like you need to get paid from your writing. Set a long term goal like a great vacation or a new car and then try to fund it with only money you make writing. Needing that money will suddenly make writing a priority for you. Use those random hours Lunch hour. Your commute on the bus. The kid is napping. Youre waiting for Juniors basketball practice to end. Waiting at the airport for a friend to arrive. Waiting in the doctors office or for your car to be repaired. We all have chunks of time in our day that are kind of random. With all of the mobile technologies available (and even good old pen and paper), theres no reason these times cant be used to eke out a few words. Get your family on board Talk to your kids, spouse, or partner and explain how important writing is to you. Explain that you need their help to cut down on interruptions and deal with things around the house. You dont have to dump everything on them, but get them to help you with daily chores, let your spouse help with transportation for the kids, and make them understand that writing time can only be interrupted for life threatening emergencies. Set expectations up front and be grateful when they help out. Your family may be more receptive to helping you if they feel like their contribution is valued. Stop multitasking You think youre being productive by writing and doing something else at the same time, but really youre doing neither task well. Studies have shown that your brain cant really do two things at once; it only switches back and forth between activities, reducing your concentration on both activities. Multitasking is another word for half-assing your work. Instead of writing while you watch TV, cook dinner, surf the internet, or help the kids with their homework, do one or the other. If you choose writing, that time, however short it may be, will be more productive than twice the time spent trying to multitask. Write in your head If you find yourself with time where your mind can wander but you cannot physically write, write in your head. If you have a physical job that doesnt require much brain power or youre bored out of your mind at a conference, outline your stories and articles in your head. Then, when you do have time to write, you can make that time super productive because youve already got a draft worked out in your head. Audit your activities List everything that you do. Clubs, volunteer work, social obligations, church, activities at your kids school, your job/second job, recreational activities, etc. Now ask yourself how many of those things are sill fun, meaningful, necessary, or relevant to your life today. Drop anything that no longer holds value or interest for you. Its surprising how many things we do just because weve always done them, not because they are still important or required. It may be painful to let some things go (and you may meet some resistance), but its for the best if theyre no longer worthwhile. Delegate and outsource If you have others in your family who can help with chores, delegate some activities. If there are other members of your group or club who can help organize an activity, get them working. If you have the money, pay other people to do things like lawn maintenance or housecleaning. You dont have to do everything yourself. The time to write is out there, you just have to take the initiative to capture it. We all have chunks of wasted time or silly obligations that we can cut out. We just have to identify them and then do the hard work of prioritizing writing over those other things. (Photo courtesy of Toni Verdu Carbo)

Monday, May 25, 2020

Social Media Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2396 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Critical essay Tags: Social Media Essay Did you like this example? Introduction This essay seeks to critically discuss the statement that given the rise of social media marketing, companies should focus all of their marketing efforts on social media platforms. The rapidly shifting topography of the social media landscape seems to create the impression that its associated platforms are a new concept, but they actually have a relatively long history in terms of the total lifespan of the internet. For example, Friendster was established in 2002 whilst Myspace and LinkedIn followed the year after. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Social Media Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order Two years later, 2005 saw the rise of some of the most famous social media platforms of the present day including a nascent Facebook, YouTube and Reddit, whilst Twitter became popular the following year (Luttrell, 2015). Over this period of time, marketers have become more comfortable with the realisation that these platforms offer new avenues for marketing efforts, with enhanced brand awareness and brand engagement being key metrics for the success of social media campaigns (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). This work will evaluate the extent to which social media should be utilised as a marketing tool. Discussion Concurrent with the aforementioned growth of social media platforms, consumers are now, more than ever before, turning to the internet as a source of information (Aiello, 2014). In a marketing context this trend seems to be driven by a number of factors, with consumers seemingly beginning to question the trustworthiness of traditional forms of advertising, meaning that many are leveraging the power of social media to seek out more reliable information relating to a product or service (Aiello, 2014). Evidence of the rise of social media marketing can be seen in the vast sums of money that are being spent on the platform as a means of disseminating messages. For example, previous estimations suggest that between 2010 and 2013, worldwide spending on social media marketing increased from $3.4 billion to $10 billion (Clark and Melancon, 2013). This trend is set to continue, with expenditure in the United States alone expected to double to $11 billion by 2017, with an imbedded sub-trend that will see mobile-orientated platforms rival and exceed traditional personal computer platforms for the first time (Glass and Calahan, 2014). The case for companies to continue this high level of investment in social media marketing is a sound one. Social media facilitates a strengthening of the relationship between a consumer and a particular brand by enabling people to express their loyalty, even in cases in which they may not necessarily be able to afford a given product or service (Clark and Melancon, 2013). Citing the work of Shaffer and Garnett (2011), Clark and Melancon (2013) state that 51% of Facebook users are likely to buy from companies which they follow whilst 84% of a companys fans on that platform are returning customers. A potential mechanism for this activity is put forward by Laroche, Habibi and Richard (2013), who suggest that a sense of community around a particular brand, which is created through social media, can underpin consumer loyalty to that brand. T he authors observe that people join brand communities in order to satisfy an inherent need to feel part of a particular group or establish a sense of belonging to symbols which they consider important. Brand communities, in turn, provide an individual with the opportunity to get in touch with devoted consumers of a similar mind-set, establishing a common frame of reference within which people can interact and exchange accounts of product experiences. In practice, this is analogous to the supporting of a sports team, with a common cause being central to defining a sense of personal identity and bringing together people who otherwise may have nothing in common (Simons, 2013). This clearly plays into the hands of marketers, with this sense of loyalty leading to a fervour that seemingly creates customer loyalty and results in benefits for all involved parties. With such a powerful force close to hand, marketers can establish Facebook groups and pages, using the medium to interact with t heir consumer base, asking direct questions in an attempt to inspire dialogue and create information flow between individuals. Other innovative tools such as Facebook events, both real and virtual, can be used to sporadically bring people together under a common corporate banner, further reinforcing the aforementioned sense of community that such a facility creates (Zarrella and Zarrella, 2011). Another characteristic that is representative of the rise of social media marketing, and which certainly justifies its use by companies, is word of mouth advertising. Outside of the context of social media, word of mouth has typically been accepted as being a highly powerful force in the marketplace. According to Bansal and Voyer (2000), this is because the sender of such information, being a buying customer, usually has little to gain in terms of telling others about their experience of a particular brand, meaning that receivers can render any recommendations as being trustworthy and tru thful. This contrasts with the attempts of advertisers to promote the benefits of their product or service: what they say about their commercial offering may not be untrue but because they stand to gain monetarily from any purchases made, the fidelity of their claims could be rightly questioned. Social media, it seems, has amplified the effect of word of mouth in that consumption-related online communities materialise in cases in which enough people are speaking about a brand such that social relationships are formed. This has given rise to far-reaching networks to which people will specifically come in order to share information about a product or service (Brown, Broderick and Lee, 2007) and previous to the dawn of the internet, such a proliferation seems unthinkable. The messages that they emit through social media can be positive or negative, but it should usually conform to the aforementioned principle in that it will probably be truthful. Marketers appreciate this powerful forc e and though it is difficult to control, they can use their social media presence to encourage followers to disseminate positive messages and recruit new advocates by offering rewards and competitions to tag photos or share a specific piece of content with others (Clark and Melancon, 2013). However, in a competitive marketplace, efforts need to be somewhat more concentrated and one communications agency, M Booth, increased clothes sales for a client by partnering with a number of well-established online bloggers, leveraging their reach to set up a blog-up shop series which directly enhanced sales by $105,000 (Whitler, 2014). Accordingly, by strategically aligning itself with the right individuals, the company was able to funnel positive word of mouth messages through potent online social media channels in order to boost direct sales. There is further, perhaps more obvious, evidence relating to why a company should concentrate its efforts down social media channels: marketers can enjoy cost and time savings whilst providing a more stimulating experience to their users. What is more, the data that can be derived from this type of marketing can be very powerful with, for example, users tweets being easily trackable to offer an instant barometer of the popularity of a specific campaign or activity (Tella, 2015). Together, these factors offer a compelling case for social media marketing but what remains to be answered is the question as to whether a company should channel all of their marketing efforts into social media platforms. There is ample evidence to suggest otherwise. Mangold and Faulds (2009) state that the marketplace has been enhanced by social media because consumer to consumer communication has been substantially proliferated. This is a good development for companies from the perspective that word of mouth recommendations are more fluid and can reach more people, but the platform is unique in that it wrests some of the control of marketing messag es from the advertiser and empowers the consumer (Mangold and Faulds, 2009), whose experience of a given product or service may not necessarily be positive. If this were to be the case and the marketer has focused solely on social media marketing, it seemingly leaves too much marketing control in the hands of consumers and impedes the potential power of traditional advertising, which can deliver a more focused and controlled, albeit less interactive, message. It also means that marketing executives must work very hard in order to shape the views of consumers in line with the mission and goals of the organisation (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Indeed, Clark and Melancon (2013) report that 21% of consumers have used social media to speak negatively of a brand. If this happens to occur on, say, a companys Twitter page, it could be very damaging to its image and, accordingly, social media marketing has rightly been associated with a relinquishment of control (Barker et al., 2013). Moreover , any efforts on the part of a company to forcefully influence this dynamic can be construed as domineering. At the same time, there exists an interesting advantage of traditional marketing efforts over those of social media. For example, a newspaper advertisement might make grandiose claims about a given product or service. To a great extent, this is expected by consumers who by now are conditioned to the techniques used by traditional marketers. Conversely, Barker et al. (2013) argue that social media marketing campaigns are unable adopt this approach. Because of the two-way communication element of this type of marketing, a consumers level of trust is of the utmost importance, meaning that marketing efforts which are not earnest and honest will be held to task by people who can become irked by exaggerated claims. This is representative of a lack of trust and exemplifies the altered dynamic and additional barriers that are apparent in social media marketing: it is undeniable th at consumers are more accessible through these new online avenues; however, the standard to which they hold the seller of a good or service may be higher and more fraught with danger than it is when traditional marketing forms are utilised. It is also worth noting the reach of a more traditional marketing platform such as television advertising. Extolling the benefits of this type of marketing, Burrow and Fowler (2015) state that this method has the propensity to influence people in an emotional way, using high production values to elicit a strong bond with the viewer. Of course, it must be noted that this can still be achieved on a social media platform such as YouTube, but this still gives consumers the two-way communication mechanism to communicate their like or dislike of a particular advertisement and is somewhat dependent on what that the consumer is actively searching for, as web activity can be very task-driven (Harvest Digital, 2007). Moreover, a television advertisement can deliver a controlled message to a very large audience, as evidenced by a sustained increase in demand for adverting space during the Super Bowl, a fact evidenced by an annual increase in advertising rates of 10.3% since the first iteration of that event, resulting in a cost of $3.75 million for a 30 second advertising segment (Ozanian, 2013). The average audience of the Super Bowl in 2014 exceeded 110 million people (Oh, Sasser and Almahmoud, 2015). Clearly, these observations lend credence to the assertion that traditional platforms still deliver value to marketers and that all resources should not necessarily be channelled into social media marketing mechanisms. Conclusion Based on the cited evidence in this work, it can be concluded that social media marketing efforts can be very rewarding as they offer new and innovative ways in which to engage with consumers and build a harmonious and sustained relationship. However, one must be critical of the contention that a company should focus all of its marketing efforts on social media platforms. Traditional marketing, though less dynamic in nature, still offers many advantages and can be used to reach a large amount of consumers in a short space of time. With consumers being less suspicious of this type of marketing, trust may be less likely to be breached, but the growth of social media channels is difficult to deny. The world is seemingly going online and social media provides a level of interactivity unrivalled by other platforms. Perhaps an optimal approach would be an integration of social media and traditional print media/television platforms, with consumers being encouraged to seek out online inter actions through traditional channels. Such an approach would seem to combine the best of both worlds and appeal to the widest possible audience. References Aiello, L. (2014). Handbook of research on management of cultural products: E-relationship marketing and accessibility perspectives. Hershey: Business Science Reference. Bansal, H. S., and Voyer, P. A. (2000). Word-of-mouth processes within a services purchase decision context. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 166-177. Barker, M. S., Barker, D., Bormann, N. F., and Neher, K. (2013). Social media marketing: A strategic approach. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Brown, J., Broderick, A. J., and Lee, N. (2007). Word of mouth communication within online communities: Conceptualizing the online social network. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 21(3), 2-20. Burrow, J. L., and Fowler, A. R. (2015). Marketing. Boston: Cengage Learning. Clark, M., and Melancon, J. (2013). The influence of social media investment on relational outcomes: A relationship marketing perspective. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 5(4), 132-142. Glass, R., and Callahan, S. (2014). The big data-driven business: How to use big data to win customers, beat competitors, and boost profits. Hoboken: Wiley. Harvest Digital, (2007). The influence of online advertising on search. [online] Available at: https://www.bima.co.uk/assets/members/whitepapers/050908051f120704_1.pdf Hoffman, D. L., and Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing? MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), 41-49. Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., and Richard, M. O. (2013). To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media? International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 76-82. Luttrell, R. (2015). Social media: How to engage, share, and connect. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. Mangold, W. G., and Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 52(4), 357-365. Oh, C., Sasser, S., and Almahmoud, S. (2015). Social media analytics framework: the case of Twitter and Super Bow l ads. Journal of Information Technology Management, 26(1), 1-18. Ozanian, M. (2013). Super Bowl Advertising Rates Top The Stock Market. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/01/18/super-bowl-advertising-rates-top-the-stock-market/ Shaffer, J., and Garnett, M. (2011). Monetizing Social Media. Printing Impressions, 54(1), 22. Simons, E. (2013). The secret lives of sports fans: The science of sports obsession. New York: Overlook Duckworth. Tella, A. (2015). Social media strategies for dynamic library service development. Hershey: Information Science Reference. Whitler, K. (2014). Why Word Of Mouth Marketing Is The Most Important Social Media. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/ Zarrella, D. and Zarrella, A. (2011). The Facebook Marketing Book. Sebastopol: OReilly Media.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Essay about A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift - 1165 Words

Irony is a beautiful technique exercised to convey a message or call a certain group of people to action. This rhetorical skill is artfully used by Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet â€Å"A Modest Proposal.† The main argument for this bitingly ironic essay is to capture the attention of a disconnected and indifferent audience. Swift makes his point by stringing together a dreadfully twisted set of morally untenable positions in order to cast blame and aspersions on his intended audience. Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† employs despicably vivid satire to call for change in a world of abuse and misfortune. The entire proposal stands as a satire in itself; an analogy paralleling the tyrannical attitude of the British toward their Irish†¦show more content†¦But this tribulation cannot be blamed solely on the British. Swift cleverly condemns the British aristocracy for their mistreatment of the Irish people while also criticizing the Irish people for allowing this exploitation. The Irish have done nothing to halt the terrorizing nature of their domineering counterparts. Swift uses this proposal to describe the wretched situation in Ireland. By â€Å"rigorously underplaying the aspect of fantasy in his proposal,† Swift suggests the Irish have arrived at a condition in which such a plan may actually be seriously considered (Lockwood). Ireland is in such a dismal state that â€Å"the advantages by the proposal,† which Swift presents, are of the highest importance† (Swift). Merrily pitching his own ludicrous idea, Swift is mockingly attempting to elucidate the seriousness of the state of Ireland. Every detail of the proposal reveals the terrible conditions of Ireland through the eyes of a normal citizen. Through Swift’s vividly appalling arguments, the audience is â€Å"never allowed to forget that Swift hates the evil conditions more passionately than the speaker who describes them† (Booth). In es sence, the ostensible anger against the English in the proposal is used merely to heighten Swift’s own dismay over the way Ireland has conducted itself (Booth). Swift craftily causes readers to question whether he is being serious or just poking fun at the sad situation. Through the supreme verbal irony of his â€Å"ModestShow MoreRelatedA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift Essay836 Words   |  4 PagesIn Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, we are exposed to the timeless issue of homelessness and the state’s role in their social welfare. Swift was a fervent Irish patriot who was disgusted by the flourishing trend of beggars and hungry children that flooded the streets of his beloved country. This topic is relatable as this is a social issue that plagues many countries in the present age. Swift presents a satirical argument in which he proposes Ireland adopt the horrific practices of eating theirRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1647 Wor ds   |  7 PagesSatire in â€Å"A Modest Proposal† and Different Articles Jonathan Swift, author of â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† tries to present different ideas in order to change the situation of Ireland. Through his proposal, he is able to get people’s attention, and the way he uses satire throughout the article made his argument more successful. He wrote this essay to show how ignored and bad the state of Ireland and its social classes are. In â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, Swift effectively uses rhetorical exaggeration to expressRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift982 Words   |  4 Pages Jonathan Swift, author of â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† tries to present different ideas in order to change the situation of Ireland. Through his proposal, he is able to get his point across. He wrote this essay to show how undeveloped and bad the state of Ireland is and the social classes. In â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, Swift effectively uses insincerity, sarcasm, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his annoyance of politicians, papists, and overall citizens of poverty-stricken Ireland in the late seventeenthRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift813 Words   |  4 PagesJonathan Swift, author of the satirical piece â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† organized an outrageous proposal to the people of Ireland. In this pamphlet, Swift offered his personal views on how to overcome Ireland’s issue of overpopulation and poverty. By raising nationwide attention, Swift plan to shock the readers by emphasizing the idea of cannibalism as a way to deal with Irelandâ€℠¢s problems. Swift’s technique of audience, tone, and pathos help determine the advantages and disadvantages of â€Å"A Model Proposal†Read MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1333 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"A modest proposal† by Jonathan Swift is an essay, which was written to elaborate the poverty of people in Ireland. Where poor viewed as having an absence of worth in the public eye, playing no essential part in more noteworthy else s benefit of the people. Swift uses situational irony in this essay which also represented a work of satire. By definition situational irony happens when the final outcome is opposing to what was expected. Basically his proposal was for poor children roaming around theRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift860 Words   |  4 PagesI was informed to read â€Å"A Modest Proposal† by Jonathan Swift as an assignment for creating annotated bibliographies, I began to develop an interest on how Swift came about the matte r of his request into rebuilding Ireland s economy and way of life. I believed that Swift added cannibalizing children to the subject matter to give his proposal a more profound and eye-opening effect, but my readings further piqued my interests on the topic. As a result, I researched Jonathan Swift’s motives and styleRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1057 Words   |  5 Pages A Modest Proposal â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, written in 1979 by Jonathan Swift, is a fascinating sardonic, overwhelming hyperbole. He explores the miserable fate of poverty-striven Irish whose struggle in vain in an effort to feed their huge emaciated families. In the essay, Swift advocates that the penurious Irish should sell their babies to the rich ladies and gentlemen and obtain monetary power required to ease their economic predicaments. The straight-faced parody that features predominantly in theRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1340 Words   |  6 PagesA Modest Proposal was written in the year 1729 by the famous satirist Jonathan Swift. In his work he outlines the pros of eating unwanted children of Ireland for economical benefits in a time of great poverty. While the reader can obviously discard the idea of eating children, in his proposal, in a roundabout way, Swift speaks to hard pressing issues of the time. The state of Ireland is well described by Swift in this piece. He speaks of woman who â€Å"instead of being able to work for their honestRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1795 Words   |  8 PagesHave you ever thought about eating an infant to ease your economic hardship? You’re not the only one! Jonathan Swift wrote an entire pamphlet about it (satirically, of course). Satire has the ability to point out societal inadequacy and ridicule political policies in a way that is humorous in its absurdity while masking its true intent. In A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, the author’s use of exaggeration and irony to draw attention to the meaningless lives of the Irish people to English ruleRead MoreA Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift1032 Words   |  5 PagesJonathan Swift’s satirical pamphlet, A Modest Proposal, as a way to ironically find a way For the CommonWealth of Ireland to benefit from the starving children. He proposes the idea that an un wanted child should be fattened up then feed to landlords or have their meat sold in the market. In turn curing the nation’s problem of overpopulation and contribute to the economic well-being of the nation. Swift’s satire exploits the fundamental human function of eating. The need to eat is a driving human

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Case Memo Bitter Competition the Holland Sweetener

ad |From: |Wei Li (No.2012960642) | |Date: |Jan 20, 2013 | Case Memo Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Company versus NutraSweet - 1. How should Vermijs expect NutraSweet to respond to the Holland Sweetener Company’s entry into the European and Canadian aspartame markets? (1) Baseline: Product: aspartame was a strong substitute of saccharin with better flavor and low calories, especially for diet soft drink. There was no other competitive product at that time. Market: Aspartame had a great potential†¦show more content†¦-2. Specifically, how should Vermijs assess the relative likelihood of the two scenarios— price war and normal competition—he has in mind? (1) Advantage of NutraSweet from value chain | |NS |HSC | |RD |Hold the patents |Follower | | |Keep innovation and RD |Less innovation power | |Sourcing |Strong facility investment in US |JV in Japan | | |Enter global market | | | |Outsource in Japan and enter Japan market | | | |MA by Monsanto with strong capital and other resources | | | |back up | | |Manufacture |Economy of scale |Less of

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Alcohol and Tobacco Markets In US Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Alcohol and Tobacco Markets In US. Answer: Introduction In United States, there is a growing concern for rising consumption of cigarette and alcoholic beverages. In order to put a restriction on cigarette consumption tax rates on cigarette has increased. The tax policy is successful in reducing cigarette demand. it is found that when cigarette demand reduces then beer and spirit demand also reduces indicating ac complementary relation. With an objective of reducing crime rate Isle of Man currently employs the strategy of banning cigarette for prisoners. Beer, Wine and Cigarette Markets In United States beer market dominates other two most common beverages Wine and Sprit market. Hence, Beer occupies an important place in the category of Alcoholic beverages. American spends nearly $37 billion as recorded from bear retail selling in 2017 (nielsen.com, 2017). There is intensive competition among different brands. Some of the dominating brands in beer industry are Anheuser-Busch In Bev, Miller Coors, Heineken USA, Pabst and Boston Beer Co. USA has the largest Wine market in World. Apart from domestic production United States import a large volume of Wine every year. Australia is one of the large exporters of Wine in USA. The sales in wine industry have an upward trend. In the wine market there are 90991 wineries as recorded in 2017 (wineinstitute.org, 2017). The preference and spending on Wine is increasing day by day encouraging Wine production and Sales. US posses a large cigarette market as like alcoholic beverages. In the phase of anti smoking policies the producers in the market focus on developing newer product. In this regard the E-cigarette market is has become important. Regular cigarette, menthol cigarette, cigars are some of the varieties available in the market. There is an interconnection between the alcohol and tobacco market. Most drinkers prefer to smoke at times of drinking. People consume alcohol in combination with cigarette. When a tax on cigarette increases price of cigarette then there is an obvious decrease in cigarette demand. Associated with this, US economy has a recorded a decline in alcohol consumption (washingtonpost.com, 2017). This shows a complementary relation between cigarette and alcohol demand. However, the decline is not uniform among for all alcoholic products. Beer is more closely related with cigarette than Wine and hence experiences a larger fall in its market demand due to taxation on cigarette. Any change in beer or cigarette market is likely to affect the other one. Impact of health earning on packaging of cigarette Cigarette and bear are complementary goods. When demand for either of the product changed this has an impact on the other (Tauchmann et al., 2013). When cigarette tax reduces demand for cigarette then there is a decline in demand for beer as well. On account of health warning on cigarette packaging the demand for cigarette might reduces because of increasing awareness among people. When cigarette demand declines then beer demand will also decline. This is shown in figure 2. The demand curve will shift to the left and correspondingly price quantity of beer sold will also decline. Impact of yeast shortage Yeast is used as an in ingredient in preparing beer. Shortage in yeast supply lead supply obviously reduces production of beer. Supply of beer then fall short of its demand and causes a price hike in beer market (McKetin et al., 2014). In response to rising price demand for beer will fall. Those who purchase cigarette for consuming cigarette at time of drinking beer will reduce their purchase to some extent. Again demand curve for cigarette will move inward direction from DD to D1D1. With a reduced in cigarette market price will decline from P* to P1 and quantity purchased will fall from Q* to Q1. The figure above shows how to complementary relation between cigarette and beer brings changes when market scenario changes in any of the two markets. Cigarette ban and declining crime rate Smoking is an addictive habit found in people of different age groups. To support their habits people often involve in different criminal activities. Crimes are more common among teenagers who do not have a steady source of income. Therefore, imposing ban on cigarette is expected to reduce crime rate such as stealing, smuggling and other types of crimes (Kulick, Prieger Kleiman, 2016). The strategy taken in Isle of Man is quite different than traditional banning. There, the prisoners once entered the prison have to give up smoking at anyhow. They have no other options but to leave their habit. The threat of giving up smoking works more intensively than punishment of mere imprisonment. This contributes to a significant decline in the crime rate. The accounted crime rate falls to nearly 14% after imposition of banning (dailymail.co.uk, 2017). High community Spirit and low rate of unemployment has already kept crime rate low in Isle of Man. Additionally, banning cigarette in prisons has made crime rate even lower. In the prison building, neither the inmates nor the guards are allowed to smoke. In order to provide assistance in completely giving up the habit nicotine patches are given. Any addiction has a direct impact on mental health (Sweeting Hunt, 2015). Therefore, arrangement for counselling is given to the prisoners. Criminals for all types of conviction are brought under this policy. Therefore, people are doing away with even small crimes like fighting, stealing cars. The idea of cigarette ban thus helps to reduce crime rate largely. Conclusion The paper evaluates alcohol and tobacco market in United States. Market for beer, Wine and cigarette are closely evaluated and inter relationship between cigarette and alcohol product has been found to exits. The relation is more relevant for beer that that for Wine. Health warnings on cigarette affect beer market demand. Similarly yeast shortage in beer market affects cigarette purchase. Final focus of the paper is on the banning of cigarette in Isle of Man and an associated declining crime rate. References Drop in crime on Isle of Man attributed to Europe's only non-smoking prison. (2017).Mail Online. Retrieved 14 September 2017, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239209/Drop-crime-Isle-Man-attributed-Europes-non-smoking-prison.html Kulick, J., Prieger, J., Kleiman, M. A. (2016). Unintended consequences of cigarette prohibition, regulation, and taxation.International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice,46, 69-85. Market, T. (2017).The State of the U.S. Beer Market.Nielsen.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017, from https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2017/the-state-of-the-us-beer-market.html McKetin, R., Chalmers, J., Sunderland, M., Bright, D. A. (2014). Recreational drug use and binge drinking: Stimulant but not cannabis intoxication is associated with excessive alcohol consumption.Drug and alcohol review,33(4), 436-445. Statistics - The Wine Institute. (2017).Wineinstitute.org. Retrieved 14 September 2017, from https://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/statistics Sweeting, H., Hunt, K. (2015). Prison Services Tobacco Strategy Group. Tauchmann, H., Lenz, S., Requate, T., Schmidt, C. M. (2013). Tobacco and alcohol: complements or substitutes?.Empirical Economics, 1-28. Want people to drink less? Make their cigarettes more expensive. (2017).Washington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/27/want-people-to-drink-less-make-their-cigarettes-more-expensive/?utm_term=.6a90eaa33261.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Act 1 Essays - Characters In Hamlet, English-language Films

Act 1 Characters: Ghost ? ghost of hamlet, the former king of Denmark. Claudius ? King of Denmark, the former King's Brother. Gertrude ? Queen of Denmark, the widow of the former King and now the wife of Claudius. Hamlet ? Prince of Denmark, son of the late King and of Gertrude. Polonius ? councillor to the king. Laertes ? his son. Ophelia ? his daughter. Reynaldo ? his servant. Horatio ? Hamlet's friend and fellow student Voltimand Cornelius Rosencrantz Guildenstern Members of the Danish Court Osric A Gentleman A Lord Bernardo Francisco Officers and soldiers on watch Marcellus Fortinbras ? prince of Norway Captain ? in his army Players Messengers First sailor Clowns Priest First Ambassador ? From England Plot: Act 1 Scene 1 The scene is the Castle at Elsinore. Bernardo relieves Francisco, at about midnight. Marcellus who joins Bernardo in the watch along with Horatio who was told of the appearance the previous night. Horatio believes it to be a illusion until it appears. You learn that the ghost has appeared twice in the same armor that the king wore to fight Fortinbras, king of Norway, and the Poles who he defeated. The ghost appears again and again Horatio challenges it to speak. At the crow of the cock it moves and disappears. The three agree that they should tell Hamlet of this appearance. Act 1 Scene 2 The scene is in a stateroom at Elsinore. The Lord Chamberlain Polonius, his son Laertes and other members of the court accompany the king and Queen, Claudius and Gertrude. They speak of the mourning of the death of his brother, King Hamlet. He also says that desecration prohibit excessive grief. Next he speaks of Fortinbras who demands the surrender of the lands lost by his father to King Hamlet. Claudius has sent Cornelius and Voltimand with a letter to the bedridden king of Norway to restrain his nephew. The suit of Laertes asks if he should leave for France after attending Denmark for the coronation ceremonies. And his father and the king give him permission. The king and queens attention is now towards young hamlet. They are wondering why he is still grieving of his father's death. They then realize that it is sweet and commendable for hamlet to show love for is father by immediate grief. The queen asks hamlet to stay at Elsinore and hamlet says that he will obey her and the king commends him. Hamlet is left alone in the room and expresses his innermost thoughts, and admits that he would commit suicide if it were not against god's law. Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo then join hamlet. Hamlet greet them, but when Horatio explains that he has come for the funeral of his father, Hamlet responds that he has only come for the wedding. Hamlet in talking mentions that he has seen his father and Horatio expresses interest because of there own sighting. Alone once more the prince expresses his convection that the ghost appareled like his father, is an omen the "All is not well." Act 1 Scene 3 At Polpnius' house Laertes is saying farewell to his sister, Ophelia. He warns her not to take Hamlet seriously and to protect her virtue. Polonius enters and offers advice to Laertes on how to conduct himself. After Laertes leaves Polonius turns to Ophelia and says that the prince has been attentive to her. He scoffs that the intentions are serious and honorable. Ophelia is to avoid the prince and the daughter replies that she will. Act 1 Scene 4 This scene takes place on the platform near midnight. Horatio and Marcellus are on the platform and as arranged Hamlet has joined them. In the background there is music and dancing and drinking, Hamlet explains that this behavior has earned the Danes a reputation for drunkenness. Then the ghost appears. Hamlet addresses it "Hamlet, King, father." The ghost beckons to the prince. Both Horatio and Marcellus forcibly hold Hamlet back but he can not be restrained. Both are convinced that Hamlet is in a state of desperation, the two follow the ghost and Hamlet, the Prince. Act 1 Scene 5 The ghost tells Hamlet that he is doomed for a time to walk on earth during the night and to endure purgatorial flames during the day for the sins he has committed during life. The ghost then tells Hamlet that it was actually Claudius who

Monday, March 9, 2020

College Life Essays - English-language Education, Free Essays

College Life Essays - English-language Education, Free Essays he ideal college lifestyle dissipates quickly once the reality is reached. Many young adults imagine vivid pictures of what college might be like for them. However, once these young adults mature into independent men and women, and enter into the school of their choice, they soon realize the reality of the college lifestyle. They must learn to adapt to their new surroundings as quickly as possible to accomplish the sought after degrees. Students come to the realization that life is not as easy as they might hope for. Many young adults seem to believe that college life is filled with parties and typically a laid-back lifestyle. These students believe that, much like high school, classes will be taken during the day and filled with all their friends. They imagine a lifestyle with no other worries besides an occasional essay or lab. It is often said that college is the greatest time of ones life; many high school students believe this and look forward to it. Some enjoy the idea of being able to come to class late, leave when they want, and pretty much have say-so of their own lives now that their parents are out of the picture. The majority of college freshmen enter into school picturing an easy, fun-filled ride. These reasons provide support to the unusually low grades of first-year college students. The widespread college ideal lifestyle is seldom the reality. Students quickly learn that many classes stretch into the nighttime hours. Often, students are not in classes with their friends, but with other students who sometimes can be old enough to be their parents. Although the average college age might be near 20 years old, it can range from 18 to 40 years old or older.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

To what extend the online shopping effected the UK economy and what Essay

To what extend the online shopping effected the UK economy and what does it mean for future businesses in the UK - Essay Example Useful statistics will be cited in the presentation to paint a proper picture of the UK online shopping industry. Started 20 years ago, online shopping has vigorously picked up in the UK with the latest research by UK retailer Shop Direct revealing that one in every four people in the UK prefers online shopping as opposed to making physical store visits. The research further revealed that 95% of British people now buy goods through internet retailers. So what are the reasons for this shift in 20 years on? According to Wallop (2013), the following come out as reasons why most Brits prefer online shopping: They have the ability to search and locate the specific good or service they want- From the comfort of their living rooms, buyers can get the specifics of what they want without having to walk into multiple stores. This makes it easier to make a decision and compare among the many available options which good or service suits a consumer. Online shopping is extremely convenient: With retailer websites available all day and night and the efficient delivery systems within the UK, customers enjoy the convenience of being able to shop from any location and at any time of the day or night. This flexibility has significantly contributed to the growth of this mode of buying goods and services. The elimination of crowds and queues: Online shoppers forego the trouble of vesting physical stores that have the disadvantage of being crowded especially during peak shopping seasons. This has made it the most preferred mode of purchase, something that justifies the high statistical findings of UK populace choosing the option. Ability to easily compare prices and see reviews: Before an online shopper settles on a product, they have the advantage of comparing at the click of a button, similar goods from competitor companies and looking at past customer experiences with the goods/service of interest. This helps in properly informing the buyer on the best among the

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Concepts learned in International Relations Essay

Concepts learned in International Relations - Essay Example the ‘national interest’ is captured in the image of a social evolutionary process that predetermines a series of associated connotations and denotations of an otherwise natural phenomenon (Trubovitz, 1998, p.3). The individualistic view of ‘what’s good’ is truly based on the concept of private benefit while social good or benefit is located in a larger context that even encompasses international interests. It’s against this backdrop that American national interest as against international collective benefit ought to be examined. Concepts such as ‘absolute good’ and ‘relative good’ in a politically charged environment of conflict between ideologies are more relevant and highly feasible though definitions of them might vary according to biases and prejudices of individuals who seek to interpret them. Social issues of conflict and ideological differences deserve more attention in a study of international relations than a superficial analysis of consequences thereof. Theoretical underpinnings of social transformation in an international relations context focus attention on the inevitable concept of conflict between private interests and public interests. By extension it’s the same conflict between national interests of the individual nation state and the collective interests of the international community at large. The subsequent developments that unfold as the conflict evolves into a multifaceted phenomenon bear a closer semblance to those social issues such as ideological differences, social biases and prejudices, ethnic and religious interests and societal mores or value systems. At an international level the macrocosmic phenomenon though might assume a diversity and a complexity that has little parallel in conflicts within the boundaries of a nation state. The theoretical rigor with which the polemical issues in interstate relations are treated generates a greater degree of enthusiasm in the conflict and its impact on such relations. While

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Air asia case study Essay Example for Free

Air asia case study Essay Awarding large government contracts to Bumiputra companies. 2. Requiring new listings on the Malaysia stock exchange to have an initial 30 per cent Bumiputra equity ownership. 3. The allocation of at least 30 per cent of government contracts for public and private works to Bumiputra contractors. 4. Requiring all private companies to offer employment opportunities to Bumiputras. 5. Ensuring that a minimum of 60 per cent of government procurements, contract work and other related projects be awarded to Bumiputra entrepreneurs. 6. Making government finance available for the exclusive use of Bumiputra business people. The Malaysian government claimed that the NEP fulfilled its goals since the nation was acknowledged as one of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world from 1970 to 1990, a period that coincided with the NEP’s implementation. This conclusion was in agreement with the research on Malaysian economic development3 conducted by the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur (ISIS Malaysia) (Snodgrass, 1996, p. 1). Despite this and the new policies that superseded the NEP since 1990, the affirmative action programme remains controversial. Indeed, many people believe that the NEP continues to define current government development policies in Malaysia. Critics of the NEP believe that the policy was only partially successful in, for example, reducing socio-economic disparity and encouraging the arrogance of Bumiputras (Anshar, 2008). Research by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affair4 (2005, p. xiii) was also critical about the alleged business restrictions that the NEP encouraged – it criticised that these were counterproductive and may even have thwarted the development of a vibrant and resilient business community. 3 The research looks into the Malaysian economic development from 1970 to 1990. Malaysia: An Economy Transformed (2005). This report on the Malaysian business environment prepared by The Economic Analytical Unit (formerly the East Asia Analytical Unit) is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is responsible for publishing reports analysing major trade and economic issues of relevance to Australia. The Entrepreneurial Tony Fernandes If the NEP was restrictive of non-Malay entrepreneurship, how was it possible that Fernandes, a non Bumiputra could emerge as the most celebrated entrepreneur in Malaysia? My research suggests that the NEP did not stifle entrepreneurship and that Fernandes is not the only successful non Bumiputra business person in Malaysia. This is a complex debate, and my doctoral thesis seeks to address it in greater detail. But in this paper I will outline some of the considerations that need to be taken into account in explaining how and why Fernandes rose to become one of Malaysia’s millionaires. Fernandes was born on 30th April 1964 into a family that had no prior knowledge or experience of business; his father was a physician from Goa (India) and his mother was a music teacher of Malaccan-Portuguese descent. In other words, Fernandes came from an Indian-Malaysian family of professionals; the new middle class that emerged in Malaysia from the 1960s. Like many other middle class families, the Fernandes had sufficient wealth to send Fernandes to study in England. Fernandes, at the age of 12, went to London in 1976 to study at Epsom College and attended the London School of Economics in which he graduated in 1987 with a degree in accounting (BusinessWeek, 2009). In total, he spent some 11 years in London, a painful separation from his parents who could not afford to pay for his flights back to Malaysia. It was this experience, according to Brown5 (2010) that gave him an insight into the benefits of perhaps developing cheap international carriers. However, at this stage his career path did not take him into the airline business. Upon graduation from the London School of Economics Fernandes took the normal route of working in accounting jobs. Fernandes worked briefly at Virgin Communications, a television division of the Virgin Group of companies. What did Fernandes learn from Virgin? 5 Kevin Brown is a journalist for the Financial Times. He was appointed Asia regional correspondent for the Financial Times in September 2009, based in Singapore. Prior to this role, he was Asia news editor. Previously, he was the personal finance editor of the Financial Times. The main benefit was the experience of working in a global company, acquiring insights into the running of an international business, and developing an impressive resume which worked in his favour in being appointed to the position of Senior Financial Analyst at Warner Music International6 in London. At Warner, Fernandes showed strong business acumen. He started in 1989 as Senior Financial Analyst, and by 2001, when he resigned from Warner, he was the Vice President, ASEAN region. Within 12 years at Warner he was promoted four times; that is on average he was promoted every three years. Fernandes’ time at Warner Music was significant because it was during this period that Fernandes matured and transformed himself from being a mere accountant into a strategist with an analytical mind. Commentators such as Ionides7 (2004) believed that Fernandes’ ability to think strategically, and understand his environment from a macro perspective, was the reason why Fernandes felt compelled not to be part of Warner’s ill-fated merger with America Online Inc in 2001. This incident was said to be the catalyst for Fernandes’ decision to switch careers after 12 years with Warner. A word of caution is needed: the early history of Fernandes’ emergence as an entrepreneur is based on the business press and journals. As part of my doctoral work I will be examining these issues in greater detail, and therefore reserve the right to correct the narrative as it currently stands. 6 Warner Music International is part of the Warner Music Group which is the third-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. Warner Music Group also has a music publishing arm called Warner/Chappell Music, which is currently one of the worlds largest music-publishing companies.

Monday, January 20, 2020

A Comparison Between A Public High School and a Private High School Ess

For my field work project, I chose to do an observation of a public high school and a private high school. The schools I decided to observe were County Public High School and The Pickard School, both of which are located in demographically similar neighborhoods. The purpose for choosing two schools with similar characteristics was to have schools with equal social and economical factors encompassing them. This, I felt would make my findings unbiased within the scope of the project. My rationale for choosing this was to comparatively analyze the differences and similarities between both of the schools, and also to see just how true the stereotype is that private schools are better than public schools. My first visit was to the Pickard School, one of the most distinguishable schools I have ever visited. The school, attended by a mere 200 students, ranged from grades 9-12. It was very clean and freshly painted. When I first walked in the front door of the school, I noticed a large, beau tiful mural of the ocean and a lighthouse with what I later learned was the school motto "Create the Vision" worded across it. I then met with the principal, who informed me about the school. I learned that this school consisted primarily of under-achieving students. Most of the parents chose to send their children there because of their sub-par performance at their prior public school. For a school made up of primarily underachievers, oddly enough, 43 of 44 of last year’s graduates went on to pursue their post-secondary studies. Comparatively, that is a much higher percentage than the 60% of County Public High School graduates who went on to college last year. What is it that is making this school more successful academically? I asked the principal, who taught for 20 years in public school, what she thought made her school different and, if anything, better than public school. She said there is only one difference and that is control. She explained that they had a greater am ount of control on many different levels that public schools do not. The private school has the right to control who stays in the school and who is expelled for failure to adhere to its guidelines. This is not the case in public schools. Another area of control was the fact that the principal as well as all of the staff were required to know every student on a personal level. Because the school is so small, i... ... heads for the business decisions and received hands on experience for the procedure of purchasing. They did not need a lab to gain this type of experience. This leads me to believe if you encourage students to put their heart into something, they are more than likely to give it their best effort. Either way they learn something from the experience. Although you can’t make a student enjoy every class and everything they’re required to learn, if you encourage them to create their vision, they will do whatever it takes to get there. Even if it means succeeding in classes that are preliminary to their achieving their goal. Gaining control by knowing each student as an individual is possible to obtain in a public school setting. I believe this is the most important approach to a successful education. I will apply this lesson when I myself will be teaching in a public school. I will make it my every mission to give individual attention to all of my students. Although I w ill have a lot more students, and this task will be difficult, it will not be impossible. It will just take more time and work. I will make every effort to focus on encouraging all of my students to â€Å"create the vision†. A Comparison Between A Public High School and a Private High School Ess For my field work project, I chose to do an observation of a public high school and a private high school. The schools I decided to observe were County Public High School and The Pickard School, both of which are located in demographically similar neighborhoods. The purpose for choosing two schools with similar characteristics was to have schools with equal social and economical factors encompassing them. This, I felt would make my findings unbiased within the scope of the project. My rationale for choosing this was to comparatively analyze the differences and similarities between both of the schools, and also to see just how true the stereotype is that private schools are better than public schools. My first visit was to the Pickard School, one of the most distinguishable schools I have ever visited. The school, attended by a mere 200 students, ranged from grades 9-12. It was very clean and freshly painted. When I first walked in the front door of the school, I noticed a large, beau tiful mural of the ocean and a lighthouse with what I later learned was the school motto "Create the Vision" worded across it. I then met with the principal, who informed me about the school. I learned that this school consisted primarily of under-achieving students. Most of the parents chose to send their children there because of their sub-par performance at their prior public school. For a school made up of primarily underachievers, oddly enough, 43 of 44 of last year’s graduates went on to pursue their post-secondary studies. Comparatively, that is a much higher percentage than the 60% of County Public High School graduates who went on to college last year. What is it that is making this school more successful academically? I asked the principal, who taught for 20 years in public school, what she thought made her school different and, if anything, better than public school. She said there is only one difference and that is control. She explained that they had a greater am ount of control on many different levels that public schools do not. The private school has the right to control who stays in the school and who is expelled for failure to adhere to its guidelines. This is not the case in public schools. Another area of control was the fact that the principal as well as all of the staff were required to know every student on a personal level. Because the school is so small, i... ... heads for the business decisions and received hands on experience for the procedure of purchasing. They did not need a lab to gain this type of experience. This leads me to believe if you encourage students to put their heart into something, they are more than likely to give it their best effort. Either way they learn something from the experience. Although you can’t make a student enjoy every class and everything they’re required to learn, if you encourage them to create their vision, they will do whatever it takes to get there. Even if it means succeeding in classes that are preliminary to their achieving their goal. Gaining control by knowing each student as an individual is possible to obtain in a public school setting. I believe this is the most important approach to a successful education. I will apply this lesson when I myself will be teaching in a public school. I will make it my every mission to give individual attention to all of my students. Although I w ill have a lot more students, and this task will be difficult, it will not be impossible. It will just take more time and work. I will make every effort to focus on encouraging all of my students to â€Å"create the vision†.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Second Foundation 2. Two Men without the Mule

The ship was in near-readiness. Nothing lacked, but the destination. The Mule had suggested a return to Trantor – the world that was the bulk of an incomparable Galactic metropolis of the hugest Empire mankind had ever known – the dead world that had been capital of all the stars. Pritcher disapproved. It was an old path – sucked dry. He found Bail Channis in the ship's navigation room. The young man's curly hair was just sufficiently disheveled to allow a single curl to droop over the forehead – as if it had been carefully placed there – and even teeth showed in a smile that matched it. Vaguely, the stiff officer felt himself harden against the other. Channis' excitement was evident, â€Å"Pritcher, it's too far a coincidence.† The general said coldly: â€Å"I'm not aware of the subject of conversation.† â€Å"Oh- Well, then drag up a chair, old man, and let's get into it. I've been going over your notes. I find them excellent.† â€Å"How†¦ pleasant that you do.† â€Å"But I'm wondering if you've come to the conclusions I have. Have you ever tried analyzing the problem deductively? I mean, it's all very well to comb the stars at random, and to have done all you did in five expeditions is quite a bit of star-hopping. That's obvious. But have you calculated how long it would take to go through every known world at this rate?† â€Å"Yes. Several times,† Pritcher felt no urge to meet the young man halfway, but there was the importance of filching the other's mind – the other's uncontrolled, and hence, unpredictable, mind. â€Å"Well, then, suppose we're analytical about it and try to decide just what we're looking for?† â€Å"The Second Foundation,† said Pritcher, grimly. â€Å"A Foundation of psychologists,† corrected Channis, â€Å"who are as weak in physical science as the First Foundation was weak in psychology. Well, you're from the First Foundation, which I'm not. The implications are probably obvious to you. We must find a world which rules by virtue of mental skills, and yet which is very backwards scientifically.† â€Å"Is that necessarily so?† questioned Pritcher, quietly. â€Å"Our own ‘Union of Worlds' isn't backwards scientifically, even though our ruler owes his strength to his mental powers.† â€Å"Because he has the skills of the First Foundation to draw upon,† came the slightly impatient answer, â€Å"and that is the only such reservoir of knowledge in the Galaxy. The Second Foundation must live among the dry crumbs of the broken Galactic Empire. There are no pickings there.† â€Å"So then you postulate mental power sufficient to establish their rule over a group of worlds and physical helplessness as well?† â€Å"Comparative physical helplessness. Against the decadent neighboring areas, they are competent to defend themselves. Against the resurgent forces of the Mule, with his background of a mature atomic economy, they cannot stand. Else, why is their location so well-hidden, both at the start by the founder, Hari Seldon, and now by themselves. Your own First Foundation made no secret of its existence and did not have it made for them, when they were an undefended single city on a lonely planet three hundred years ago.† The smooth lines of Pritcher's dark face twitched sardonically. ‘And now that you've finished your deep analysis, would you like a list of all the kingdoms, republics, planet states and dictatorships of one sort or another in that political wilderness out there that correspond to your description and to several factors besides?† â€Å"All this has been considered then?† Channis lost none of his brashness. â€Å"You won't find it here, naturally, but we have a completely worked out guide to the political units of the Opposing Periphery. Really, did you suppose the Mule would work entirely hit-and-miss?† â€Å"Well, then† and the young man's voice rose in a burst of energy, â€Å"what of the Oligarchy of Tazenda?† Pritcher touched his ear thoughtfully, â€Å"Tazenda? Oh, I think I know it. They're not in the Periphery, are they? It seems to me they're fully a third of the way towards the center of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Yes. What of that?† â€Å"The records we have place the Second Foundation at the other end of the Galaxy. Space knows it's the only thing we have to go on. Why talk of Tazenda anyway? Its angular deviation from the First Foundation radian is only about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty degrees anyway. Nowhere near one hundred eighty.† â€Å"There's another point in the records. The Second Foundation was established at ‘Star's End.'† â€Å"No such region in the Galaxy has ever been located.† â€Å"Because it was a local name, suppressed later for greater secrecy. Or maybe one invented for the purpose by Seldon and his group. Yet there's some relationship between ‘Star's End' and ‘Tazenda,' don't you think?† â€Å"A vague similarity in sound? Insufficient.† ‘Have you ever been there?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Yet it is mentioned in your records.† â€Å"Where? Oh, yes, but that was merely to take on food and water. There was certainly nothing remarkable about the world.† â€Å"Did you land at the ruling planet? The center of government?† â€Å"I couldn't possibly say.† Channis brooded about it under the other's cold gaze. Then, â€Å"Would you look at the Lens with me for a moment?† â€Å"Certainly.† The Lens was perhaps the newest feature of the interstellar cruisers of the day. Actually, it was a complicated calculating machine which could throw on a screen a reproduction of the night sky as seen from any given point of the Galaxy. Channis adjusted the co-ordinate points and the wall lights of the pilot room were extinguished. In the dim red light at the control board of the Lens, Channis' face glowed ruddily. Pritcher sat in the pilot seat, long legs crossed, face lost in the gloom. Slowly, as the induction period passed, the points of light brightened on the screen. And then they were thick and bright with the generously populated star-groupings of the Galaxy's center. â€Å"This,† explained Channis, â€Å"is the winter night-sky as seen from Trantor. That is the important point that, as far as I know, has been neglected so far in your search. All intelligent orientation must start from Trantor as zero point. Trantor was the capital of the Galactic Empire. Even more so scientifically and culturally, than politically. And, therefore, the significance of any descriptive name should stem, nine times out of ten, from a Trantorian orientation. You'll remember in this connection that, although Seldon was from Helicon, towards the Periphery, his group worked on Trantor itself.† â€Å"What is it you're trying to show me?† Pritcher's level voice plunged icily into the gathering enthusiasm of the other. â€Å"The map will explain it. Do you see the dark nebula?† The shadow of his arm fell upon the screen, which took on the bespanglement of the Galaxy. The pointing finger ended on a tiny patch of black that seemed a hole in the speckled fabric of light. â€Å"The stellagraphical records call it Pelot's Nebula. Watch it. I'm going to expand the image.† Pritcher had watched the phenomenon of Lens Image expansion before but he still caught his breath. It was like being at the visiplate of a spaceship storming through a horribly crowded Galaxy without entering hyperspace. The stars diverged towards them from a common center, flared outwards and tumbled off the edge of the screen. Single points became double, then globular. Hazy patches dissolved into myriad points. And always that illusion of motion. Channis spoke through it all, â€Å"You'll notice that we are moving along the direct line from Trantor to Pelot's Nebula, so that in effect we are still looking at a stellar orientation equivalent to that of Trantor. There is probably a slight error because of the gravitic deviation of light that I haven't the math to calculate for, but I'm sure it can't be significant.† The darkness was spreading over the screen. As the rate of magnification slowed, the stars slipped off the four ends of the screen in a regretful leave-taking. At the rims of the growing nebula, the brilliant universe of stars shone abruptly in token for that light which was merely hidden behind the swirling unradiating atom fragments of sodium and calcium that filled cubic parsecs of space. And Channis pointed again, â€Å"This has been called ‘The Mouth' by the inhabitants of that region of space. And that is significant because it is only from the Trantorian orientation that it looks like a mouth.† What he indicated was a rift in the body of the Nebula, shaped like a ragged, grinning mouth in profile, outlined by the glazing glory of the starlight with which it was filled. â€Å"Follow ‘The Mouth.' † said Channis. â€Å"Follow ‘The Mouth' towards the gullet as it narrows down to a thin, splintering line of light. Again the screen expanded a trifle, until the Nebula stretched away from â€Å"The Mouth† to block off all the screen but that narrow trickle and Channis' finger silently followed it down, to where it straggled to a halt, and then, as his finger continued moving onward, to a spot where one single star sparked lonesomely; and there his finger halted, for beyond that was blackness, unrelieved. â€Å"‘Star's End,'† said the young man, simply. â€Å"The fabric of the Nebula is thin there and the light of that one star finds its way through in just that one direction – to shine on Trantor.† â€Å"You're tying to tell me that-† the voice of the Mule's general died in suspicion. â€Å"I'm not trying. That is Tazenda – Star's End.† The lights went on. The Lens flicked off. Pritcher reached Channis in three long strides, â€Å"What made you think of this?† And Channis leaned back in his chair with a queerly puzzled expression on his face. â€Å"It was accidental. I'd like to take intellectual credit for this, but it was only accidental. In any case, however it happens, it fits. According to our references, Tazenda is an oligarchy. It rules twenty-seven inhabited planets. It is not advanced scientifically. And most of all, it is an obscure world that has adhered to a strict neutrality in the local politics of that stellar region, and is not expansionist. I think we ought to see it.† â€Å"Have you informed the Mule of this?† â€Å"No. Nor shall we. We're in space now, about to make the first hop.† Pritcher, in sudden horror, sprang to the visiplate. Cold space met his eyes when he adjusted it. He gazed fixedly at the view, then turned. Automatically, his hand reached for the hard, comfortable curve of the butt of his blaster. â€Å"By whose order?† â€Å"By my order, general†- it was the first time Channis had ever used the other's title -â€Å"while I was engaging you here. You probably felt no acceleration, because it came at the moment I was expanding the field of the Lens and you undoubtedly imagined it to be an illusion of the apparent star motion.† â€Å"Why? Just what are you doing? What was the point of your nonsense about Tazenda, then?† â€Å"That was no nonsense. I was completely serious. We're going there. We left today because we were scheduled to leave three days from now. General, you don't believe there is a Second Foundation, and I do. You are merely following the Mule's orders without faith; I recognize a serious danger. The Second Foundation has now had five years to prepare. How they've prepared, I don't know, but what if they have agents on Kalgan. If I carry about in my mind the knowledge of the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, they may discover that. My life might be no longer safe, and I have a great affection for my life. Even on a thin and remote possibility such as that, I would rather play safe. So no one knows of Tazenda but you, and you found out only after we were out in space. And even so, there is the question of the crew.† Channis was smiling again, ironically, in obviously complete control of the situation. Pritcher's hand fell away from his blaster, and for a moment a vague discomfort pierced him. What kept him from action? What deadened him? There was a time when he was a rebellious and unpromoted captain of the First Foundation's commercial empire, when it would have been himself rather than Channis who would have taken prompt and daring action such as that. Was the Mule right? Was his controlled mind so concerned with obedience as to lose initiative? He felt a thickening despondency drive him down into a strange lassitude. He said, â€Å"Well done! However, you will consult me in the future before making decisions of this nature.† The flickering signal caught his attention. â€Å"That's the engine room,† said Channis, casually. â€Å"They warmed up on five minutes' notice and I asked them to let me know if there was any trouble. Want to hold the fort?† Pritcher nodded mutely, and cogitated in the sudden loneliness on the evils of approaching fifty. The visiplate was sparsely starred. The main body of the Galaxy misted one end. What if he were free of the Mule's influence- But he recoiled in horror at the thought. *** Chief Engineer Huxlani looked sharply at the young, ununiformed man who carried himself with the assurance of a Fleet officer and seemed to be in a position of authority. Huxlani, as a regular Fleet man from the days his chin had dripped milk, generally confused authority with specific insignia. But the Mule had appointed this man, and the Mule was, of course, the last word. The only word for that matter. Not even subconsciously did he question that. Emotional control went deep. He handed Channis the little oval object without a word. Channis hefted it, and smiled engagingly. â€Å"You're a Foundation man, aren't you, chief?† â€Å"Yes, sir. I served in the Foundation Fleet eighteen years before the First Citizen took over.† â€Å"Foundation training in engineering?† â€Å"Qualified Technician, First Class – Central School on Anacreon.† â€Å"Good enough. And you found this on the communication circuit, where I asked you to look?† â€Å"Yes, Sir.† â€Å"Does it belong there?† â€Å"No, Sir.† â€Å"Then what is it?† â€Å"A hypertracer, sir.† â€Å"That's not enough. I'm not a Foundation man. What is it?† â€Å"It's a device to allow the ship to be traced through hyperspace.† â€Å"In other words we can be followed anywhere.† â€Å"Yes, Sir.† â€Å"All right. It's a recent invention, isn't it? It was developed by one of the Research Institutes set up by the First Citizen, wasn't it?† â€Å"I believe so, Sir.† â€Å"And its workings are a government secret. Right?† â€Å"I, believe so, Sir.† â€Å"Yet here it is. Intriguing.† Channis tossed the hypertracer methodically from hand to hand for a few seconds. Then, sharply, he held it out, â€Å"Take it, then, and put it back exactly where you found it and exactly how you found it. Understand? And then forget this incident. Entirely!† The chief choked down his near-automatic salute, turned sharply and left. The ship bounded through the Galaxy, its path a wide-spaced dotted line through the stars. The dots, referred to, were the scant stretches of ten to sixty light-seconds spent in normal space and between them stretched the hundred-and-up light-year gaps that represented the â€Å"hops† through hyperspace. Bail Channis sat at the control panel of the Lens and felt again the involuntary surge of near-worship at the contemplation of it. He was not a Foundation man and the interplay of forces at the twist of a knob or the breaking of a contact was not second nature to him. Not that the Lens ought quite to bore even a Foundation man. Within its unbelievably compact body were enough electronic circuits to pin-point accurately a hundred million separate stars in exact relationship to each other. And as if that were not a feat in itself, it was further capable of translating any given portion of the Galactic Field along any of the three spatial axes or to rotate any portion of the Field about a center. It was because of that, that the Lens had performed a near-revolution in interstellar travel. In the younger days of interstellar travel, the calculation of each â€Å"hop† through hyperspace meant any amount of work from a day to a week – and the larger portion of such work was the more or less precise calculation of â€Å"Ship's Position† on the Galactic scale of reference. Essentially that meant the accurate observation of at least three widely-spaced stars, the position of which, with reference to the arbitrary Galactic triple-zero, were known. And it is the word â€Å"known,† that is the catch. To any who know the star field well from one certain reference point, stars are as individual as people. Jump ten parsecs, however, and not even your own sun is recognizable. It may not even be visible. The answer was, of course, spectroscopic analysis. For centuries, the main object of interstellar engineering was the analysis of the â€Å"light signature† of more and more stars in greater and greater detail. With this, and the growing precision of the â€Å"hop† itself, standard routes of travel through the Galaxy were adopted and interstellar travel became less of an art and more of a science. And yet, even under the Foundation with improved calculating machines and a new method of mechanically scanning the star field for a known â€Å"light signature,† it sometimes took days to locate three stars and then calculate position in regions not previously familiar to the pilot. It was the Lens that changed all that. For one thing it required only a single known star. For another, even a space tyro such as Channis could operate it. The nearest sizable star at the moment was Vincetori, according to â€Å"hop† calculations, and on the visiplate now, a bright star was centered. Channis hoped that it was Vincetori. The field screen of the Lens was thrown directly next that of the visiplate and with careful fingers, Channis punched out the co-ordinates of Vincetori. He closed a relay, and the star field sprang to bright view. In it, too, a bright star was centered, but otherwise there seemed no relationship. He adjusted the Lens along the Z-Axis and expanded the Field to where the photometer showed both centered stars to be of equal brightness. Channis looked for a second star, sizably bright, on the visiplate and found one on the field screen to correspond. Slowly, he rotated the screen to similar angular deflection. He twisted his mouth and rejected the result with a grimace. Again he rotated and another bright star was brought into position, and a third. And then he grinned. That did it. Perhaps a specialist with trained relationship perception might have clicked first try, but he'd settle for three. That was the adjustment. In the final step, the two fields overlapped and merged into a sea of not-quite-rightness. Most of the stars were close doubles. But the fine adjustment did not take long. The double stars melted together, one field remained, and the â€Å"Ship's Position† could now be read directly off the dials. The entire procedure had taken less than half an hour. Channis found Han Pritcher in his private quarters. The general was quite apparently preparing for bed. He looked up. â€Å"News?† â€Å"Not particularly. We'll be at Tazenda in another hop.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"I don't want to bother you if you're turning in, but have you looked through the film we picked up in Cil?† Han Pritcher cast a disparaging look at the article in question, where it lay in its black case upon his low bookshelf, â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And what do you think?† â€Å"I think that if there was ever any science to History, it has been quite lost in this region of the Galaxy.† Channis grinned broadly, â€Å"I know what you mean. Rather barren, isn't it?† â€Å"Not if you enjoy personal chronicles of rulers. Probably unreachable, I should say, in both directions. Where history concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer. I find it all remarkably useless.† â€Å"But there is talk about Tazenda. That's the point I tried to make when I gave you the film. It's the only one I could find that even mentioned them.† â€Å"All right. They have good rulers and bad. They've conquered a few planets, won some battles, lost a few. There is nothing distinctive about them. I don't think much of your theory, Channis.† â€Å"But you've missed a few points. Didn't you notice that they never formed coalitions? They always remained completely outside the politics of this corner of the star swarm. As you say, they conquered a few planets, but then they stopped – and that without any startling defeat of consequence. It's just as if they spread out enough to protect themselves, but not enough to attract attention.† â€Å"Very well,† came the unemotional response. â€Å"I have no objection to landing. At the worst – a little lost time.† â€Å"Oh, no. At the worst – complete defeat. If it is the Second Foundation. Remember it would be a world of space-knows-how-many Mules.† â€Å"What do you plan to do?† â€Å"Land on some minor subject planet. Find out as much as we can about Tazenda first, then improvise from that.† â€Å"All right. No objection. If you don't mind now, I would like the light out.† Channis left with a wave of his hand. And in the darkness of a tiny room in an island of driving metal lost in the vastness of space, General Han Pritcher remained awake, following the thoughts that led him through such fantastic reaches. If everything he had so painfully decided were true – and how all the facts were beginning to fit – then Tazenda was the Second Foundation. There was no way out. But how? How? Could it be Tazenda? An ordinary world? One without distinction? A slum lost amid the wreckage of an Empire? A splinter among the fragments? He remembered, as from a distance, the Mule's shriveled face and his thin voice as he used to speak of the old Foundation psychologist, Ebling Mis, the one man who had – maybe – learned the secret of the Second Foundation. Pritcher recalled the tension of the Mule's words: â€Å"It was as if astonishment had overwhelmed Mis. It was as though something about the Second Foundation had surpassed all his expectations, had driven in a direction completely different from what he might have assumed. If I could only have read his thoughts rather than his emotions. Yet the emotions were plain – and above everything else was this vast surprise.† Surprise was the keynote. Something supremely astonishing! And now came this boy, this grinning youngster, glibly joyful about Tazenda and its undistinguished subnormality. And he had to be right. He had to. Otherwise, nothing made sense. Pritcher's last conscious thought had a touch of grimness. That hypertracer along the Etheric tube was still there. He had checked it one hour back, with Channis well out of the way. Second Interlude It was a casual meeting in the anteroom of the Council Chamber – just a few moments before passing into the Chamber to take up the business of the day – and the few thoughts flashed back and forth quickly. â€Å"So the Mule is on his way.† â€Å"That's what I hear, too. Risky! Mighty risky!† â€Å"Not if affairs adhere to the functions set up.† â€Å"The Mule is not an ordinary man – and it is difficult to manipulate his chosen instruments without detection by him. The controlled minds are difficult to touch. They say he's caught on to a few cases.† â€Å"Yes, I don't see how that can be avoided.† â€Å"Uncontrolled minds are easier. But so few are in positions of authority under him-â€Å" They entered the Chamber. Others of the Second Foundation followed them.