Tobacco Use Essay Research Paper Comparative forms free essay sample

Tobacco Use Essay, Research Paper Near signifiers of baccy utilization In 1492 local Indians were smoking moved up baccy foliages. In the sixteenth century baccy smoking spread to Europe. By the late 1800 baccy tolled in paper called casket nails were a significant industry with one million millions being sold every twelvemonth. Today there are numerous stocks that contain baccy. Cigarettes and snuff are the most well known available. Cigarettes comprise of baccy abounded in reports that are seasoned, and some with channels. Snuff that comprises of daintily hacked common baccy air stuffed in compartments to chew. Numerous pioneers of the baccy business still can't seem to region that baccy is an irresistible medication. In any case, in the public eye today it is extremely advantageous to purchase baccy. With casket nail s an individual can whiff and breathe in their lungs with smoke, and snuff an individual must place in their oral pits between your underside lip and gum. We will compose a custom article test on Tobacco Use Essay Research Paper Comparative structures or then again any comparable point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Both are ingested into your circulation system and can affect your natural structure in various manners. The two usages of baccy make unwritten captured advancement to the clients. Such unwritten captured advancements are so instructing they can harm your natural structure. With final resting place nails it influences your lungs and pharynx. With snuff it influences your oral depression, gums and pharynx. Both can do terrible bre ath. Both can recolor your fingers and teeth the shading yellow. Both can do early maturing. Tobacco smoke can take to dangerous neoplastic infection in numerous pieces of the natural structure, yet non shockingly the greater part of the mischief it does to the lungs. Biting baccy can take to dangerous neoplastic ailment of the lips and oral pit. Most casket nail exhaust would wish to accept they could shield themselves from harmful neoplastic malady only by using a holder or by trading to channel tipped cigarrettes, stogie or a funnel. Sadly they cant. Biting baccy is far more atrocious. The clients of this accept simply in light of the fact that they are non breathing in it that they are sheltered as acceptable. They are non. Two picks of baccy use you breathe in smoke or chew baccy the impacts are as yet horrible. Both can do disfiguration to the face, pharynx, and lungs. With casket nail smoking your pharynx can be gravely harmed with the inside dividers of your pharynx being deprived of its covering. Your lungs start to be loaded up with baccy pitch that will smother your outside breath and can do awful hacking. Snuff your oral depression and lower jaw can become dim and will hold to be expelled. Regardless of whether you smoke or bite tobacco both are well long haul unwellness s that lead to reliance. Albeit one can take to expire quicker, the two of them each piece harm your health and natural structure.

All the Glitters R Not Gold free essay sample

Every one of that sparkles isn't gold Ambanis and Mittals are no Buffetts and Gates. Be that as it may, we can’t censure them for the horrifying neediness that wins in India Now that Durga Puja’s child et lumiere has blurred, remark may be allowed on what this yearly exercise of costly serious dramatic skill uncovers of mainstream taste. That no uncertainty clarifies why nobody voices the genuine charge that ought to be leveled at the super-rich who ought to be in the dock not for spending excessively yet for the waste and coarse indecency of their spending. Given its Brahmins and Dalits, India has consistently been a place where there is contrasts. It has additionally consistently encapsulated the grouping of riches. Be that as it may, nobody salivated prior over how rich the rich were, the manner by which they gained their cash or how they spent it. Mr Mukesh Ambani’s 400,000 sq ft house is an argument on the grounds that it’s news in the West and on the grounds that people in general and private spaces are not, at this point discrete. We will compose a custom paper test on All the Glitters R Not Gold or on the other hand any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Their covering opens the rich to examination as well as diverts consideration from the Government’s dismissed duties. India falls behind many sub-Saharan nations in practically all the lists of advancement not in view of the Ambanis, Mittals, Mallyas and Modis, but since our lawmakers are eager for advancement and our government workers are accepting kickbacks. It’s their business to make frameworks that empower individuals to increase their expectation of living; it’s not the employment of the individuals who have either gotten away from the rigors of the framework or figured out how to control it to further their potential benefit. The spotlight is on the rich likewise in light of the fact that political vote based system makes its own dreams. Widespread testimonial cultivates the fantasy of participative dynamic. The idea of correspondence under the steady gaze of the law is paid attention to. Tub-pounding government officials prepare populist notion to pander to the exhibition and occupy consideration from their own wrongdoings and luxuries †marble landmarks and sculptures, for example. With the media perpetually keeping watch for titillating titbits, it’s news when Mr Ambani purchases a Rs 642-crore extravagance stream for his wife’s birthday. The data upheaval puts a premium on quickness. The past is another nation. The individuals who boast over the quantity of Indians in the Forbes rundown of tycoons overlook that time was when India involved the Number One worldwide opening. Few asked how His Exalted Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, figured the world’s most extravagant man, had collected his riches or addressed how he spent it. Something many refer to as social cognizance and obligation gives the fake avocation to curiosity. The rationale is that boundaries of riches and wealth are grievous and that the rich owe an obligation to poor people. Obvious utilization is censured for the equivalent evident explanation. In any case, whatever elevated good contentions may be conjured, the fundamental explanation behind denouncing extravagant spending is dread: the rich must for the wellbeing of their own take care not to incite the jealousy and hostility of poor people who are consistently the larger part. The French and Russian Revolutions are history’s admonitions against unbridled and indiscreet indulgence. These are Western thoughts and, essentially, a great part of the information about even our own rich that energizes India’s media originates from the West. A general public where the station framework is solidly dug in doesn't draw back with dismay when an import boycott is briefly suspended to profit one polyester mogul. However, the Western media thought the control preposterous and detailed it. Western culture has advanced thoughts of social cognizance and obligation. Western Governments have accomplished a libertarian ethic and contrived a social government assistance net. In the fifties, the Western media got down to business on what it considered corrupt spending like the gem studded 18-carat gold fixtures on Sir Bernard Docker’s 860-ton yacht. Presently the narratives are about also pompous Indians, and India’s media gets them. That is the means by which Indians realize that the most costly home in Britain is the ? 117-million Kensington townhouse that Mr Lakshmi Mittal (who spent ? 34 million on his daughter’s five-day wedding junket at the Palace of Versailles worked by France’s King Louis XIV) purchased for his child. Another head honcho, Mr Bhupendra Kumar Modi, paid about ? 10 million for one of Singapore’s most costly penthouse pads in Marina Bay. Mr Vijay Mallya, who spent ? 1. million a year ago on purchasing five relics of Mahatma Gandhi, supposedly has 26 living arrangements around the globe and is arranging another home in Bangalore that will take off to 30 stories against Mr Ambani’s 27. Such subtleties disclose to us a lot about the nature of India’s well off. Not for them the case of the 38 US very rich people who promised at any rate 50 percent of their riches to goo d cause through a battle began by Mr Warren Buffett and Mr Bill Gates. Not for them the genuineness of the oil speculator, Mr T Boone Picken, who broadly stated, â€Å"I like creation cash more, however parting with it is a nearby second. Riches may not produce mind or shrewdness in India however that doesn’t mean the affluent can be accused for Mumbai’s ghettos or our dishonorable open administrations. The most we can blame them for isn't putting enough in schools, professional preparing, medical clinics and recreational offices. Rather, many want to store their riches abroad. Some salt it away in disguised records. Mr Ratan Tata wants to obtain car and steel organizations in Britain, South Africa and Singapore, and has allegedly given $50 million to Harvard. The arrangement doesn't lie in redistributing the riches previously made yet in urging others to create more while the Government additionally spends more on comforts like consumable water, sanitation, lodging and cleanliness, and viable free and mandatory essential instruction all through the nation. India’s mental self view is that of a superpower however a nation doesn't become one simply because a couple of individuals are ridiculously wealthy. It’s similarly effortless to contend that India isn’t a superpower on the grounds that 800 million Indians make due on around Rs 70 per day. The British average workers lived in wretched dirtiness when Britannia governed the waves. The arrangement lies in releasing the aggregate imagination of the Indian individuals. Deng Xiaoping’s cure was to â€Å"let a few people get rich first and afterward when they get rich, they will move the entire society and the rest will follow. † It became China’s trademark. Maybe it will work in India as well however in the event that it does, it will likewise mean showy sparkle down the line. Taking the totality of Indian culture, the Ambanis, Mittals, Mallyas and Modis are just business as usual. Source : Internet (by Sunanda K Datta-Ray (columist))

How to Ask Stupid Questions (Without Sounding Stupid)

How to Ask Stupid Questions (Without Sounding Stupid) Imagine this situation: You are in a meeting with your company’s top executives and the CEO is presenting the company’s strategic plan for the next financial year.As he winds up his presentation, he talks about how “the top management will touch base offline and come up with strategic action plans that we can run up the flag pole in order to reach some low hanging fruit and improve our ROI”.This stops you in your tracks.What did he mean by that?You want to raise your hand and ask what he meant but you first look around the room and see your colleagues nodding their heads in agreement.It appears to you that the others have perfectly understood everything that was said.Even though you have no clue as to what has been said, you avoid asking the question because you do not want to sound stupid.After the meeting, while having lunch with another colleague who was in the same meeting, she discloses that she has no clue what was said, but she chose to stay quiet because she didn’t want to be sound stupid.No one likes to ask a question and come across as a stupid person. Doing so can cause embarrassment and make you look incompetent.However, in your professional life, you will inevitably come across situations that require you to ask questions and risk sounding dumb.This could be anything from asking for clarification in a meeting to asking your colleague to teach you something that you are expected to know or something that comes easily to others.The weight of not knowing something becomes heavier as you go higher up the corporate ladder, because the higher you are, the more people expect you to be knowledgeable.However, some situations will require you to ask such questions and therefore you will need to master the art of asking seemingly stupid questions without sounding stupid.WHY IT IS ACTUALLY SMART TO ASK STUPID QUESTIONS There is an old saying that “there are no stupid questions”.However, many of us still refrain from asking questions because we do not want to be seen as stupid.While it might seem counterintuitive, asking stupid questions is actually a smart thing to do.Below are some reasons why.Asking Stupid Questions Helps You Acquire New KnowledgeWhen you ask a stupid question, you might sound stupid for a few minutes, but you will learn something.On the other hand, if you refrain from asking the question, others might not realize your ignorance, but you will continue being ignorant.So, it is up to you to choose betweenlooking dumb for a few minutes and being ignorant for the rest of your life.For instance, let us assume you do not know how to use the office coffee machine. If you ask a colleague how to use it, they might think that you are dumb, but they will teach you how to use it.On the other hand, if you choose not to ask, no one will be aware that you do not know how to use it.However, you will always have to wait for someone else to make the coffee since you cannot make it on your own.Therefore, if you find yoursel f in a situation where you need to ask a stupid question, you should treat it as a learning opportunity.Only by learning can you become smarter.Remember, this might be your only chance to learn that thing.For instance, if you are in a networking event and you find yourself talking to an expert in a certain field, it is better to ask the questions you have in your mind about the subject, even if they seem might seem dumb to them.The person might think you are dumb, but you will gain some knowledge about the subject.On the other hand, if you keep your questions to yourself, you might not get any other opportunity of learning from the person.Asking Questions Shows You Are Actually Paying AttentionIf meetings form a huge part of your weekly schedule, you will have noticed one annoying trait in meetings â€" people who pay zero attention to the proceedings of the meeting.They will either be sneaking peeks at their phones every two minutes, answering emails on their computer or just starin g off into space, lost in their thoughts.This is very rude and disrespectful to the presenter.It shows that their ideas and contribution is worthless.People love being listened to and seeing that their contributions matter. One way to show them that you are actually paying attention is by asking questions.When someone explains something that you do not understand, ask them questions for clarification. Even if your questions might come off as stupid, you are far off better than the colleague who pretends to have understood everything yet they weren’t even paying attention.It shows the presenter that you are actually listening to what they have to say and are eager to know more.Asking Questions Is an Indicator ofan Inquisitive MindSmart people ask questions, even if they risk appearing dumb. A question might appear stupid on the surface, but it can uncover a new way of thinking or lead to better solutions to a problem.Asking questions shows you are an inquisitive person who is open to new ways of looking at things and is not afraid of trying unconventional approaches.Asking questions even in situations where you are expected to be knowledgeable also shows that you are more committed to the outcome than to how others view you.Remember, it is easier to ask a stupid question than to correct a stupid mistake.Asking Stupid Questions Helps Reveal Hidden Ambiguity and Erroneous AssumptionsStupid questions can help you learn a lot. They help uncover any prejudices and assumptions that people might have when discussing a particular topic. They help reveal the complexity of things that initially seem to be obvious.For instance, let’s assume your organization wants to make its operations digital and you are in a meeting to discuss whether you should build a website or a mobile app for the organization.The debate is heated as your colleagues discuss the advantages and disadvantages of one against the other.In the midst of the debate, one colleague raises their hand and asks this:“Why are we going digital anyway?”Initially, this might seem like a pretty stupid question. The assumption is that in today’s world, every business needs to go digital.However, answering that question helps uncover the real objectives the organization wants to achieve by making its operations digital.This makes it easier to choose between a website and a mobile app, based on what the organization wants to achieve.Asking Stupid Questions Ensures Everyone Is on the Same PageThis is related to the previous point.Sometimes, a person with great knowledge on a subject might assume that everyone has a clear understanding of the basics of the subject.Such a person might discuss the topic from their own perspective, leaving others in the dark.Asking a seemingly dumb questions shows the person that everyone does not have the same understanding of the subject as them.While the question might sound dumb to them, it will help place this person on the same page as the people he is addressing.For instance, if you are talking to a web consultant about how to improve your online sales, he might casually mention that your website needs some SEO (a common term in the online and web industry). To them, this is a daily term that everyone should be aware of.So, asking what SEO is might sound dumb.However, it helps remind them that you are not an expert in their industry, and therefore makes it easier for them to explain everything to you clearly.While it is clear that asking stupid questions can actually be smart, the secret lies in knowing how to ask these questions.Without the proper strategy, asking these questions will make you sound stupid and leave others silently questioning your competence.So, how do you ask stupid questions without sounding stupid?THE PROPER WAY TO ASK STUPID QUESTIONSObserve FirstIt makes no sense asking a stupid question if it something you can learn through observation. This is especially relevant to things that are done almost every day and that everyone is naturally expected to know.Instead of actually showing that you do not know how to do it, chat up a colleague as they perform the task while you subtly watch what they are doing.You can then try to replicate what they did on your own.While not all your questions will be based on simple things that you can easily learn through observation, it is always good to try and learn something by yourself before you decide to ask.Practical Example: If you do not know how to use the office coffee machine, asking a fellow colleague might make you look dumb. If you want to avoid coming across as a dumb person, you can walk up to a colleague and chat them up as they brew their coffee. As you chat, subtly observe what they are doing and then return to the coffee machine later to try it yourself.Think Before You AskSome questions are not inherently stupid. What makes them stupid is that they show that you did not give them any thought before you asked the question, and this nat urally makes you sound stupid.Do not simply blurt out a question the moment it pops into your head.Instead, give it some thought and consider whether it is worth asking, and whether it will help you (or others) gain some extra knowledge.Follow the Google RuleDo not ask a stupid question if you think can find the answer on Google.For instance, if your CEO is talking about the new ERP system the company wants to implement, do not raise your hand and ask what ERP means.Instead, if you can discreetly type the term on Google to understand what they are talking about.Even if you are talking to them face to face and you do not have the opportunity to Google the term, make a mental note of the term and Google it up once you get back to your desk.If you find information on Google that you do not understand, you can then ask more specific questions from a more knowledgeable point of view.The key thing here is to avoid asking questions that could be answered with “make Google your friend”. Practical example: Instead of asking your boss how to incorporate Excel graphs into your PowerPoint presentation, you can easily learn how to do that on the internet.Ask Dumb Questions EarlyWhen you start a new job or move into a new industry, it is expected that you might not know a lot about the new job or industry.Therefore, you stupid questions will be more tolerated and people will be more willing to help you out.However, they expect you to learn the longer you stay there, so if you ask some seemingly stupid questions a year after joining the company, they are more likely to view you as a dumb and incompetent person.You should ask your dumb questions early and often to help you learn things faster.Start With What You KnowThe fastest way to look totally stupid is to have absolutely no clue about whatever you are asking.Therefore, if you do not want to sound stupid, do your own research into the topic before asking the question. You might even find the answers you are looking for .Even if you are unable to find the answer, you will have a better understanding of the subject, which will allow you to ask questions from a more knowledgeable point of view.When asking your question, you should then start by mentioning what you know about the topic, and then ask for clarification on what you do not understand.This shows the other person that you actually put in some effort into the subject and makes them more willing to help you out.A good way to show what you do know is to preface your question with statements such as “I’ve read that…” or “When preparing for our meeting, I noted that…” before moving on to the question.Practical example: If you are a marketer who just moved from the automobile industry to the tech industry, you won’t be well versed with everything about marketing in the tech industry. When asking a question that might sound obvious to those who have been in the tech industry, do not say “I have no clue how to handle this situatio n. Could you please show me?” Instead, show what you know by saying, “I have previously worked in the automobile industry, and this is the approach we used for such scenarios. However, I understand things are a little bit different in the tech industry, so could you enlighten me on the best approach for this scenario from a tech industry perspective?”Make a Solid SuggestionSometimes, your questions make you look stupid because they show that you have absolutely no clue about what you are asking.They show that you have not given the slightest thought to whatever you are asking.To avoid sounding clueless, you need to give a solid suggestion to show that you have actually thought about you are asking and that you only need some little guidance.It also makes it easier for the other person to answer your question.Even if your suggestion is not the best, it shows some effort on your part.Practical example: Let’s say your company has just created a digital marketing department, and you have been tasked with conceptualizing and implementing the first digital marketing campaign. This is the first time you are handling digital marketing, and you will definitely have some questions. Do not go to the marketing manager and ask “Where should I start?” Instead, do some research and find out what digital marketing entails. Once you are armed with some knowledge, you can say something like, “I think we should start by creating social media pages for the business and hiring an agency to develop a website for us. Do you agree or is there a better starting point?” This asks the same question â€" “where should I start?” â€" but in a better way that makes you look competent instead of sounding dumb.Don’t Concede Your DumbnessOne of the major mistakes people make when asking a stupid question is to acknowledge that they are asking a stupid question, which makes them sound even more stupid.Do not start your question with a statement like, “I know this is a stu pid question, but…”Do not apologize for asking the question by prefacing the question with a statement like, “I’m sorry, but I wanted to ask…”Doing any of these portrays you as an incompetent person and sets you up for a dismissive answer from the very start. Even when asking a stupid question, ask it with confidence.Ask the question in a straightforward way, without being apologetic. Look the person in the eye and ask your question without fumbling or wavering.Practical example: Let’s say you need to pull a client report from the newly implemented CRM, but you cannot recall how to go about it. You need to ask a colleague (or your boss) to remind you how to do it. Do not go to them and say, “Excuse me George, I know it’s silly of me to have forgotten, but can you remind me how to pull a client report from the new CRM?” Instead, walk confidently to their desk and say, “Hi George, could you kindly remind me the process of pulling a client report from the new CRM? ”Seek Clarification through DetailsSometimes, we ask stupid questions because we have not clearly understood something.If someone has just explained something but you did not clearly understand them, do not concede that you did not understand a thing they said.This will only make you sound stupid. Instead, you can ask for details that would clarify their explanation without showing that you did not understand the explanation.A good way of doing this is to ask them to give you a real-life example of whatever they just explained.Another good alternative of seeking clarification through details is asking open ended questions that encourage longer answers.For instance, you can as questions like “What factors do you think drive XYZ?” or “What do you think about XYZ?”Seek Out Supporting OpinionsLike I mentioned above, sometimes our stupid questions arise from the fact that we did not understand someone’s explanation of something.While we might not have understood their explana tion, perhaps someone else might have a better explanation that we will find easier to understand.You can encourage such a person to voice their explanation by asking questions such as, “Has someone else here ever encountered such a problem before? How did you deal with it?”This makes it easier for you to encourage someone else to explain the concept to you without acknowledging that you did not understand the first explanation.Ask For Feedback from Subject ExpertsSometimes, you might be in a meeting and someone raises a point that you do understand clearly.Acknowledging that you have no understanding of the point being discussed might make you look dumb, especially when everyone else in the room seems (or pretends) to understand it clearly.At the same time, choosing to downplay your ignorance is a risky affair as well. It might backfire on you in case you are asked to give your opinion on the issue.So, how do you get yourself from this catch-22 without displaying your ignorance ?A good way of doing this is by asking for feedback from people who have in-depth knowledge on the matter.For instance, you could say, “That sounds like a great idea, but I would like to hear the COO’s opinion on the matter before we proceed. She is quite knowledgeable in this area and might provide some great insights we might have overlooked.”By doing this, you are asking the subject matter expert to explain the concept without actually acknowledging that you do not have a clear understanding of the matter.Ask Specific Questions Instead of Broad QuestionsBroad questions show that you do not have a clue about what you are asking about, which makes you appear dumb.For instance, if you are holding discussions with the agency you hired to build your new website, saying “I saw that PHP is better in terms of XYZ, but what makes it the best choice for our project in particular?” is a lot better than saying “What is PHP?”However, for you to be able to ask more specific quest ions, you need to have done your own research beforehand to give you a better understanding of the subject.Ask Them to Explain To a ChildIf someone has presented something but you did not understand it, you can hide your ignorance but still ask for clarification by asking the presenter to explain the concept to an imaginary person.Asking them to explain it to a child is a good option.This is because explaining something to a child requires them to explain it in the simplest possible language.You could do this by saying, “To make sure that everyone clearly understands this, can you pretend you are explaining it to an eight year old?”Remain Quiet If You Can Afford ToWhile I started by saying that asking stupid questions can actually be a smart thing to do, there are situations in which it is a lot better to remain quiet.If you feel with absolute certainty that asking a question will lead to others perceiving you in negative light, it is a lot better to research the question later or gain some insight into the subject before asking your question.Assess the situation before asking your question, and if you feel that the situation calls for it, it is better to remain silent and hide your ignorance instead of blurting out and becoming the laughing stock of the company.CONCLUSIONIn the course of your day to day life, you will inevitably find yourselves in situations that require you to ask stupid questions. In some instances, asking stupid questions is actually a smart thing.However, you need to have the right approach in order to ask stupid questions without sounding stupid.Before asking a stupid question, always take the time to think it through and observe. You should not ask questions if the answer can be found on Google.However, if it is an absolute must for you to ask, ask stupid questions early and start by showing what you know.Accompany them with solid suggestions and ask the questions confidently, without acknowledging your ignorance. You can hide your ignorance by seeking clarification through details, seeking out supporting opinions and asking for feedback from subject matter experts.However, always assess a situation before asking a stupid question, and if it is not an absolute must for you to ask the question, it is much better for you to remain silent.

Positive Effects of Entertainment Technology on Human...

In: Rene Jacquart (Ed.) Building the Information Society.  © IFIP, Kluwer Academic Press, 2004, pp. 51-58 51 POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ON HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Matthias Rauterberg Technical University Eindhoven (The Netherlands) Abstract: Worldwide the pros and cons of games and social behaviour are discussed. In Western countries the discussion is focussing on violent game and media content; in Japan on intensive game usage and the impact on the intellectual development of children. A lot is already discussed on the harmful and negative effects of entertainment technology on human behaviour, therefore we decided to focus primarily on the positive effects. Based on an online document search we could find and select†¦show more content†¦General development: Games require the use of logic, memory, problem solving and critical thinking skills, visualization and discovery [34]. Their use requires that players manipulate objects using electronic tools and develop an understanding of the game as a complex system. Play is an effective teaching strategy both inside and outside school. According to Goldstein â€Å"more than 40 studies concludes that play enhances early development by at least 33%† [36 ]. Play with games and toys are an important part of child development to acquire a variety of skills for life, such as motor-coordination, social and cognitive skills [15]. As societies become increasingly concerned about the physical and psychological well-being of children, the value of playing and learning is getting crucial [22]. Players can progress from newcomer to expert, in particular in belonging to a social system [11]. Teaching: If computer games are to become part of educational settings, it is crucial to question existing stereotypes and to ensure that the culture of games players in education conforms to neither [13]. It is teachers’ stereotypes that resist change and not people; therefore, by interrogating conceptions of these stereotypes it is possible to avoid falling into the error of believing them to be exclusive descriptors of games players [11]. Academic performance: In a research program the use of electronic communication and games with children was i nvestigated in both classroom andShow MoreRelatedWhat Impact Does Entertainment Technology Have on Child Behavior?1116 Words   |  5 Pagesproliferation of technology within entertainment has had detrimental effects on those children exposed to them, with many youngsters forgoing the more traditional pursuits in favour of digital interaction with online acquaintances or artificial intelligence. Entertainment now contains a wide variety of technologies including television (standard or interactive), music, computers, games consoles, toys and the internet, to name but a few. 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By the 1940s (1930-1940), at least 83% of homes possessed a radio(Smith, 2014,paragraph 23, Radio: The Internet of the 1930 s). The negativity of certain broadcasting posed as a concern, even in the early years. As Smith explained, But the new technology also raised anxieties. Observers worried about the propriety andRead MoreThe Impact Of Internet On Our Society Today Essay1502 Words   |  7 Pagesmedia in the world today. With technologies becoming better and better after time, the number of new internet users increase daily. Many societies have been formed such as the Internet Society to foster growth and the access of internet through the globe by bringing information and partnerships to people and communities. With every country thriving to increase internet penetration, the internet has a great impact in our daily lives, affecting us in both a positive and negative way. Some users may

Photos of 50 Missing Women Linked to William Bradford

The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution Free Essays

The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution The Stamp Act was essentially a tax on all printed materials and commercial documents. This also included newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. These materials had to carry a special stamp which needed to be purchased. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now This tax, along with the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act, made up the Intolerable Acts. The Stamp Act was created to help cover the 10,000 soldiers left in the colonies after the French and Indian War. The war had put Britain over ? 130,000,000 by 1764. It was created by George Grenville and went into effect on November 1, 1765. This was the first direct tax imposed on the colonists by the British. When news of the Stamp Act reached the colonies in May, the Virginia House of Burgesses stayed in session to pass a set of resolutions protesting the tax. More newspapers throughout the colonies circulated Virginia’s Resolves. As it made its way around the colonies, resolutions grew more numerous and radical. Massachusetts’s legislature circulated a call for a unified response. In October 1765, 27 delegates from 9 colonies met in New York City. This group came to be known as the Stamp Act Congress. On October 19th, the congress adopted 14 resolutions. These resolutions were then forwarded on to the King and the Parliament. It was repealed on March 18, 1766. This was the same day the Declaratory Act passes. This act gave Parliament the right to make any law for the colonies. Unrest in the colonies died down after the Stamp Act was repealed, but the committees that it had created remained. These committees included the Committees of Correpondence, Sons of Liberty, and the boycotts were refined and used later to protest future British taxes. These acts along with the issue of taxation without representation led to the American Revolution. How to cite The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution, Papers

Systematic Sythnthetic Phonics free essay sample

The National Literacy Strategy has been in place since 1998 and since this time there has been a significant increase in the teaching of phonics in literacy, and there have been substantial changes and improvements in the teaching. Although the teaching of phonics has been increased and an improvement has been seen, children were still failing to meet the standards expected in literacy, which means teachers needed to review and improve the way they teach phonics in the literacy hour. Here in the UK we live in a print dependent society, so it is important that, as far as is possible, all children become effective readers and writers, people who are both functionally literate and who enjoy engaging with print. In March 2006 the Secretary of State for Education for England, commissioned the Rose Report which recommended that synthetic phonics must be included in the early reading instruction (Styles. M, 2007). The Rose review provided a simple model of reading which basically states that skilled reading requires two processes: the reader recognises and understands the words on the page (word recognition and decoding) and the development of language comprehension ( that is written texts as well as spoken language are understood and interpreted). Both processes are required, but one without the other is not sufficient (Ofsted, Getting them reading early, 2011) There has always been a debate regarding the teaching of reading, relating to published schemes or a whole language approach, and it had been said that â€Å"understanding the particular demands made by a language like English is crucial for the successful early teaching of reading in English†. Joyce Morris (1984) believed that synthetic phonics was the only way to teach reading and described it as teaching students to convert letters into sounds to form recognisable words, compared to Analytic phonics which introduces children to whole words before teaching them to analyse these into their component part (Styles. M, 2007). Personal teaching practice has seen Jolly Phonics, Letters and Sounds and more recently Read, Write Inc (appendix 1) being used to teach and learn English, throughout Foundation stage and Key Stage 1. These schemes work alongside the principle that children will learn a new sound and then be able to blend sounds together to form a word, they are not literally reciting a word from memory. Whichever programme is delivered, it has been emphasised how importance it is to remain consistent, systematic and delivery being regular, else there is a high chance of the programme being floundered, which is referred to as â€Å"fidelity to the programme†. Through own teaching practice it has been seen where a child memorises words on sight within a book, or literally remembers the story from having it read to them, and then when they read it to a teacher they are believed to have read it fluently so are just given the next book, and before long the child is moved up the reading scheme without having any knowledge of reading at all, and this sometimes is not picked up for some time, and so has a detrimental effect on the child’s reading. Parents do not always have the knowledge to realise when their child is just reciting what they have heard, so foremost it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure the children do have the strategies provided to them to allow them to read accurately, so therefore the Rose Review may help in preventing this from happening. Previous research into the teaching of reading and writing led to the findings that numerous children were not reaching the expected level 4 at age 11 in English, and the proportion stalled to 80%. It was said that the best primary schools in England teach children to read, however this could be argued when children are still starting Secondary School below National expectation. Research has found that children are taught to read when a school sets the foundations for a very rigorous and sequential approach to developing speaking and listening and teaching reading, writing and spelling through systematic phonics, and if schools focus on this objective, adopt a consistent approach and make every minute of every lesson count, then they can achieve high standards in reading (Ofsted, Report summary, reading by six, how the best schools do it, 2010). This obviously requires teachers to eliver a highly structured approach to teaching phonic knowledge and skills, which includes a fast pace, praise and reinforcement, perceptive responses, active participation by all children and evidence of progress, all of which personal teaching practice has witnessed daily (appendix 1). If teachers are going to prevent these statistics of failing children to read and write, then assessment needs to be top priority, as this enables pupils to be quickly identified if they are falli ng behind (Ofsted, Report summary, reading by six, how the best schools do it, 2010). The government’s white paper, the importance of teaching, in November 2010 stated its case for phonics. It said it would ensure all children have the chance to follow an enriching curriculum by getting them reading early, this means supporting the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics and introducing a simple reading check at age six to guarantee that children have mastered the basic skills of early reading and also ensure children are identified with learning difficulties, and this is now reflected in the new teacher standards, under the heading ‘Developing good subject and curriculum knowledge’. Teachers delivering early reading must now demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics. It was also made clear that Ofsted would enhance its inspector’s expertise in assessing the teaching of reading, so that their judgements reflect appropriate expectations and recognise particular features of systematic synthetic phonics teaching. The reason being for this so that if reading and writing are not good at the end of year 2 and 6 then Inspectors have the sufficient knowledge to allow them to ask questions relating to the unsatisfactory progress children have made. The development of the new phonics screening test for six year olds means that inspectors are even more likely to encounter phonics. (Ofsted, Getting them reading early, 2011) The findings of the Rose Report has provided many discussions for schools, and have subsequently made schools review and improve their provisions, particularly the frequency and pace of their phonics sessions. Teachers have now begun to see the importance of teaching the phonemes and graphemes in a specific order, so are delivering the programmes through the correct structure, to enable the children to progress successfully. To allow this success to continue, it is important that all staff be allowed access to regular high quality training, which will be provided by the local authority. (Ofsted, Responding to the Rose Review: schools approaches to the systematic teaching of phonics, 2008). Another impact that the Rose Review has had on schools is the introduction of the year 1 phonics screening check, and this has been used in all mainstream schools in England since 2012, and the purpose of it is to identify pupils who need extra support and ensure that they receive help, children who do not reach the required standard in year 1 then retake the screening check in year 2, which inspectors will then follow up looking at data providing information about the impact of any interventions that the school has put in place and the speed in which children were able to catch up with their peers, the focus of the test is simply to ensure that children have mastered the basic skills of early reading. This obviously has put pressure on schools to make sure that the way they are delivering the systematic synthetic phonics is correct and that every member of staff responsible for it has been given sufficient training and guidance to enable them to achieve the results expected from the m, or be prepared to answer questions about why their pupils are underachieving. Schools which have already undertaken the screen check have already said that they found it helpful in identifying children who are struggling with phonic decoding, and need intervention and pinpointing particular aspects of phonics that numerous children are finding difficult. One area of the test which some schools had issues with was the inclusion of nonsense words, and through personal teaching practice it has been found that some higher ability children do struggle with the concept of nonsense words, because they understand it does not make sense, so refuse to sound it out, however these children must be taught to overcome this as it had been found that children need to have a strategy for working out words that they have not come across else once again you risk the chance that children are just remembering words on sight (Ofsted, Getting them reading early, 2011). Because of the screening check, teachers have to ensure that they make themselves very familiar with the relevant sections as only they are able to administer it, and it has to be administered correctly, and the materials have to be stored securely for the duration of the check week and until the last check has been administered, to ensure no child has an unfair advantage, once the check is complete it has to be reported to the local authority.. Research has been undertaken to address questions such as â€Å"does systematic phonics instruction help children learn to read more effectively than non-systematic phonics instruction or instruction teaching no phonics? †, and â€Å"are some types of phonics instruction more effective than others? †. It was concluded by the National Reading Panel that ‘specific systematic phonics programs are all significantly more effective than non-phonics programmes, however they do not appear to differ significantly from each other in their effectiveness although more evidence is needed to verify this. Rose wrote, ‘analytic phonics is good, but synthetic phonics is better’ (Wyse. D, 2008), for this statement to qualify then the amount of children leaving primary school at the age related level 4 should definitely start to improve and more so now since the introduction of the screening check, as this should prevent children slipping through the system. Since the Rose Report was introduced schools have emphasised that the impact of the systematic approach to teaching phonics had raised their expectations of how quickly and well children could learn to read and write, and subsequently schools have now been forced to look at other aspects of their practice, like the transition from the foundation stage to year 1, the use of tracking data, the grouping of children, and the teaching of writing (Ofsted, Responding to the Rose Review: schools approaches to the systematic teaching of phonics, 2008). It is clear from research that the majority of schools have welcomed the programmes clear structure and believe that it will assist planning and consistency. Evidence is showing that children are enjoying their phonics lessons, due to the fact that they can actually put letters and sounds together in a meaningful way, some schools have actually noticed an improvement in boys enjoyment at learning to read which could be a subsequent improvement in relation to current educational issues relating to the underachievement of boys in English, particularly writing. Personal teaching practice has shown that Read, Write Inc never gives a child a book that they cannot phonetically decode for themselves (as seen in appendix 1) so therefore children are never faced with the daunting worry that they are going to have to read something that they can’t, instead they are full of confidence and actually enjoy reading their books, which then in turn transmits into their writing. The Rose Review enforced a dramatic change in the content and method of teaching children to read. The National Literacy Strategy needed to change before even more children failed to meet the expected standard of Literacy, and were therefore being let down by professional teachers during the most important years of their life. Teaching and learning of reading are human processes, subject to the uncertainties, and unpredictability that comes with human kind. The ability to read is the key to educational achievement, without a basic foundation in literacy children cannot gain access to a rich and diverse curriculum. Poor literacy limits opportunities not only at school, but throughout life. By introducing systematic synthetic phonics throughout all the schools in England it can only be hoped that children are now receiving the delivery of Literacy at the expected level to enable them to become fluent independent readers with the capability to express themselves with words and writing. This way of teaching phonics is always going to come across some barriers, and of course there will be some children that cant process this level of education, but hopefully those children will be in the minority, and will quickly be identified through constant assessment and then through intervention will be able to have their misconceptions corrected and catch up with their peers. Bibliography Morris, J. (1984). Phonics 44 for initial literacy in English. Reading, 18. 1. Ofsted. (2008). Responding to the Rose Review: schools approaches to the systematic teaching of phonics. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from www. ofsted. gov. uk/resources/responding-rose-review-schools-approaches-systematic-teaching-of-phonics. Ofsted. (2010, November 14). Report summary, reading by six, how the best schools do it. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from www. ofsted. gov. uk/publications/100197. Ofsted. (2011). Getting them reading early. Retrieved february 12, 2013, from http://www. ofsted. gov. uk/resources/getting-them-reading-early. Styles. M, W. a. (2007). Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading: the debate surrounding Englands Rose Report . Literacy, 35 42. Wyse, D. a. (2008). Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading. British Educational Research journal, 34 (6), 691 710. Wyse. D, G. (2008). Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading. British Educational research Journal,, 691 710. Appendix 1 An overview of one school’s approach to the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics St Thomas Primary School, Boston, Lincolnshire Read, Write Inc Read, write Inc is a rapid learn to read programme to enable children to read to learn for the rest of their lives. It was designed for children four years plus, for older children who need to catch up, and for children who are new to English. It works by teaching children 44 sounds and matching letters/letter groups, and teaches them to blend sounds to read words. Children read lots of specially written books, which only contain the phonemes which they have learnt, therefore a child is never presented with a book that they can’t actually read. Children are constantly praised throughout the teaching, and always work with a partner to allow them to be a teacher as well, and to learn to give praise back. This approach is relatively new to this school, and has been incorporated by all members of foundation stage and KS1 members of staff, through 2 days of Read, Write INC training. Phonic Lead observes and provides in house/1:1 training and coaching, or team teaching sessions. Some staff are required to have outside training as a top up, or support with their misconceptions. Children’s progress is tracked by assessing them every 6 weeks and then the phonics co-ordinator analyses the data to see if the children are making progress, and then the children are regrouped accordingly to what sounds they know, this prevents children working at the wrong level and having gaps in their knowledge, when this assessment takes place it also gives the Phonics lead the opportunity to identify any children that need intervention. Teachers have Phonic displays in KS1 which link sounds, and words that are continuously linked to all learning. Alphabet freezes to support recognition and formations. Teachers will have flash cards/ words in pocket/apron to show children throughout the day. In Reception and KS1 teachers encourage children to use phonics when reading and writing during carpet session, adult directed activities and independent work. Phonic Lead also delivers phonic training to parents at the beginning of the year, to support learning at home. EYFS lead ob serves children in preschools and

Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse Essay Example

Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse Essay Abstract This work attempts to examine a number of issues generated by the discussion on the communication skills of the mental health nurse. Nursing actions are planned to promote, maintain, and restore the clients well-being and health. Clients and nurses alike come to the communication with unique cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities that they use in their joint endeavor of enhancing the clients well-being. Mental health nurses are responsible for encouraging this interchange of ideas, values, and skills. In an effective helping communication there is a definite and guaranteed interchange between clients and nurses in all three dimensions. The communicative role of the nurse is, thus, an important one. We will write a custom essay sample on Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Communication Skills of the Mental Health Nurse Communication is a life-long learning process for the nurse. Nurses make the intimate journey with the client and family from the miracle of birth to the mystery of death. Nurses build assertive communication for this journey. Nurses provide education that helps clients change life-long habits. Nurses communicate with people under stress: clients, family, and colleagues. Nurses deal with anger and depression, with dementia and psychosis, with joy and despair. Nurses serve as client advocates and as members of interdisciplinary teams who may have different ideas about priorities for care. Despite the complexity of technology and the multiple demands on a nurses time, it is the intimate moments of connection that can make all the difference in the quality of care and meaning for the client and the nurse. As nurses refine their communications skills and build their confidence, they can move from novice to expert. Nurses honor the differences in clients with humility and learn and grow i n their ability to trust their intuition — the sacred moment of connection when we ac- knowledge the divine presence in each of us, the essence of each person. Communication involves the reciprocal process of sending and receiving messages between two or more people. This work will focus on the communication skills of the mental health nurse. Communication can either facilitate the development of a therapeutic relationship or create barriers (Burleson 2003). In general, there are two parts to face-to-face communication: the verbal expression of the senders thoughts and feelings, and the nonverbal expression. Verbally, cognitive and affective messages are sent through words, voice inflection, and rate of speech; nonverbally, messages are conveyed by eye movements, facial expressions, and body language. Senders determine what message they want to transmit to the receiver and encode their thoughts and feelings into words and gestures. Senders messages are transmitted to the receiver through sound, sight, touch, and occasionally, through smell and taste. Receivers of the messages have to decode the verbal and nonverbal transmission to make sense of the thoughts and feelings communicated by senders. After decoding the senders words, speech patterns, and facial and body movements, the receivers encode return messages, either ve rbally, through words, or nonverbally, through gestures.   Figure 1 illustrates this reciprocal nature of the communication process. At any point in an interpersonal communication we send and receive verbal and nonverbal messages about thoughts and feelings. The assertive nurse appears confident and comfortable. Assertive behavior is contrasted with nonassertive or passive behavior, in which individuals disregard their own needs and rights, and aggressive behavior, in which individuals disregard the needs and rights of others (Figure 2). The communication between mental health nurse and clients typology is divided into two broad categories: client–nurse communications and person-in-situation, or environmental, interventions. There are six intervention methods within the client–worker communications category: 1. Sustainment. Communications designed to convey interest, understanding, confidence, and reassurance constitute the bulk of sustainment. Frequently, these are nonverbal cues, such as attentive posture, minimal prompts (repeating a word the client has used ina questioning manner), nods, and smiles. Sparingly used supportive statements such as â€Å"You seem to be coping well with an enormous amount of pressure† or â€Å"It is to be expected that this would be difficult to deal with† reflect a level of understanding of the clients situation and sustain the communication. 2. Direct influence. This communication type is really a continuum of interventions that range from tentative suggestion through directive advice giving. Giving direct advice is seldom appropriate to the mental health nurse. Even so, suggestions such as â€Å"I wonder whether it might make sense to consider X strategy for handling this problem† or â€Å"Have you thought about trying to do X in that situation?† fall within the range of mental health nurse work interventions in health care settings. 3. Exploration, description, and ventilation. These communications are designed to promote client disclosures through questions and other techniques. Although using minimal prompts and nodding are also involved in sustainment, the goal differs when they are used in this context. The exploration of clients problems, motivations, and strengths, their descriptions of interactions and situations, and their opportunity to allow open expression of emotions are all goals of this type of intervention. 4. Person–situation reflection. Reflection of client communications is often a main goal of intervention. Burleson (2003) divides the types of reflection into six further categories: reflections of others (clients own health or other aspects of the exterior world); client behavior (including its effects on others or on self); the nature of clients behavior, thoughts, and feelings; the causes and provocations of behavior; self-image, values, and principles from an evaluative stance; and feelings about the nurse or the client–nurse relationship. 5. Pattern–dynamic reflection. Communication for the purpose of reflecting back general patterns in the clients behavior and the motivations behind the behavior are given a separate category. Much interpretive and analytic work is done with this type of communication. 6. Developmental reflection. Like pattern–dynamic reflection, this type of communication identifies patterns in client motivation and behavior; however, the focus is on historical developmental patterns. Framing reflections in terms of prior client development is a hallmark of this type of interaction. Acceptance, and its associated value of being non-judgmental, is extensively examined in communication skills. It involves ‘respect and concern’ and ‘an uncompromising belief in the innate worth of the individual human being’ (Atkinson 2002). It is essential not simply that the worker should have these beliefs, but that the client actually experiences himself being respected by the worker.   We do not display unconditional positive regard: there is an expectation by the worker that change will occur. Acceptance, however, requires humility. Indeed, it may go beyond simple refusal to judge, but actively to seek to understand can be a prerequisite to acceptance. A final element is the commitment implied by acceptance: that although the client may behave in ways disapproved of, the relationship will continue as far as the nurse is concerned. Atkinson (2002) stresses consciously attempting to suspend personal value judgments, opinions, attitudes and feelings ab out the issues raised, and concentrate on accepting the client’s values, feelings and opinions (p. 174). The nurse should accept the patient as he or she is, and in addition to accepting him/her as he is, the nurse should treat the patient as an emotionally able stranger and relate to him/her as such until evidence shows otherwise. Nurses must remain true to their values while accepting the patient’s right to follow his/her conscience, they must display tolerance of themselves and others and must be non-judgmental so the patient feels free to express his/her real feelings. To be accepting is, at base, to be friendly. Empathy, listening and individualizing are a closely related cluster of qualities. Empathy is perhaps the most widely discussed element in nursing communication skills. Atkinson (2002) suggests it is imaginatively understanding others: ‘the power to feel imaginatively the experience of the other person†¦to â€Å"get on the same wavelength† as them’. The nurses attempt to ‘put themselves in another’s shoes’. However, this should not overwhelm them. Burleson (2003) calls it controlled emotional involvement. Burleson identifies a continual movement between merging with the client and regaining an objective stance. We recognize that we are a separate person, and this is necessary to maintain a sense of proportion. There is a clear intuitive dimension. Jordan (1979, p. 20) considers ‘it requires the exercise of all her [the worker’s] intuitive and imaginative capacities’ to go beyond the detail of the message. It also has a more cognitive element. It involves ‘building up our knowledge’ (Atkinson 2002) and methods of reasoning†¦to make an objective analysis†¦ [and] the theoretical knowledge [to obtain]†¦a mental representation of the other (Burleson Planalp 2000). Listening is a closely associated practice element. Indeed, it would appear a prerequisite to any degree of accurate empathy. Although non-verbal cues may be used, the ability to listen significantly facilitates understanding of the client and the meaning for him of his circumstances. Listening, however, is not a passive activity. Atkinson (2002) emphasizes nurse involvement, and the active seeking for ‘information’: ‘a listener who is able to respond actively and appropriately to the messages he receives’. Riley (2000) considers likewise it is not a passive ‘hearing’. It is an active search for the meaning in and an active understanding of, the client’s communication. (p. 168) It is this active striving for meaning which links it to empathy, the attempt to understand. It is ‘listen and know what I mean’ (Worden 2003). Listening, though, has a further positive element: actually encouraging the client to express himself. It involves listening hard, not only to the words which the client is using, but also the overtones of what he is saying together with encouraging the client to formulate and express his worries. Individualization is also closely associated with empathy: for to empathize is to do so with an individual who has unique qualities. Individualization is the recognition and understanding of each client’s unique qualities based on the right to be treated not just as a human being, but as this human being with his personal differences. Individualization possesses two central characteristics: like others it involves recognition of uniqueness, but also one of value a valuation of an individual’s potential accomplishments. Barrett (2003) identifies three ways in which it occurs in practice: in the present through the current nurse-client relationship; in description of the past through which the client presents their biography; and discussing future actions contributing to his/her personal identity. Overall treatment should be geared to individual needs. Above all, individualization means being free from projecting stereotypes on to people. Communication skills of mental health nursing also discuss empathy. It is the ability to perceive accurately the feelings of another person and to communicate this understanding to him. It is the capacity for participating in a vicarious experience of another’s feelings, volitions or ideas. Atkinson (2002) considers it to be an absolutely essential element of interpersonal communication. Nurse authors recognize it goes beyond simply what another person says: it is the ability to perceive accurately the internal frame of reference of the other and involves the latent meaning of what has been said. It is necessary, though, to retain some separateness: it is the quality of objectivity which distinguishes empathy from sympathy. Overall seeing things through the other person’s eyes involves, first, responding to the words and reflecting them, and second, picking out the unspoken feelings behind what is said. A further cluster of related concepts are authenticity, genuineness and openness. Authenticity requires the nurse be real and human in the communication. It implies spontaneity, the willingness to share one’s own feelings and reactions. Genuineness on the other hand means that there is a striving towards congruence between the nurses’ feelings and their behavior. Authenticity, then, means retaining one’s essential ‘humanness’, while genuineness is significant in the generation of authenticity: the worker openly providing information requested, and when appropriate initiates information sharing. This involves being honest about the reality of the nurse’s position: that the nurse’s powers and limitations are stated clearly when appropriate. Authenticity and openness, therefore, involve being authentic as a professional and not just a private person. Congruence means that nurses bring honest matches the underlying value system and essentia l self as a professional person. At a personal level it motivates a warm and nurturing heart, on objective, open and disciplined mind (heart and head). It is the synthesis of personal and professional which is significant: without this there is a loss of spontaneity with the worker appearing as a guarded professional. How does the nurse demonstrate genuineness? The nurse should give time, be sincere and be consistent in the attitudes and behavior shown during the communication. However sincerity does not involve cushioning the patient inappropriately from reality. This work has examined issues relating to communication (or its likely effect) and client involvement in the process of intervention. The role of the mental health nurse in health communication bears both similarities and dissimilarities to that of the physician. The nurse is in a pivotal position on the patient care team. Often nurses claim that patients should be treated as people rather than cases, they do not communicate as they profess they should nor as they think they do. In summary, this work highlights the importance of practice and preparation in the development of mental health nurses communication skills. Changing and improving the way health care providers interact with patients is complicated for several reasons. First, many nurses have developed a style of communicating that they perceive to be effective and easy to use, especially if they have been practicing for a number of years. To diversify their communicative repertoire, nurses must believe in the need for change , learn new responses (e.g., open-ended questions, attentive listening), and identify and refrain from problematic behaviors. Because of these factors, it is unlikely that a single, brief intervention will lead to significant improvement in a health care providers communicative skills. Research to date indicates that the most successful communication skill interventions will be those that are intensive and employ diverse pedagogical techniques including expert and patient feedback, role playing, modeling, practice, group discussion, and watching ones performance on videotape. References Atkinson, Mary. (2002). Mental Health Handbook for Schools. Routledge/Falmer: London. Barrett, Sheila. (2003). Communication, Relationships and Care: A Reader. Routledge: New York. Burleson, B. R., Planalp, S. (2000). â€Å"Producing emotion(al) messages.† Communication Theory, 10. Burleson, Brant R. (2003). Handbook of Communication and Social Interaction Skills. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. Riley, Julia Balzer. (2000). Communication in Nursing. Mosby: St. Louis, MO. Worden, J. William. (2003). Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. Brunner-Routledge: Hove, England. Figure 1  Ã‚   The Human Communication Process Figure 2 Assertive and Nonassertive Style of Communication Characteristics Assertive Nonassertive Aggressive Attitude toward self and others Im OK Youre OK Im not OK Youre not OK Im not OK Youre not OK Decision making Makes own decision Lets others choose for him or her Chooses for others Behavior in problem situations Direct, fair confrontation Flees, gives in Outright, assaultive Verbal behaviors Clear, direct statement of wants; objective words; honest statement of feelings Apologetic words; hedging; rambling; failing to say what is meant Loaded words; accusations; superior, haughty words; labeling of other person Nonverbal behaviors Confident, congruent messages Actions instead of words (not saying what is felt); incongruence between words and behaviors Air of superiority; flip- pant, sarcastic style Voice Firm, warm, confident Weak, distant, soft, wavering Tense, shrill, loud, cold, demanding, authoritarian, coldly silent Eyes Warm, in contact, frank Averted, downcast, teary, pleading Expressionless, cold, narrowed, staring Stance Relaxed Stooped; excessive lean- ing for support Hands on hips; feet apart Hands Gestures at appropriate times Fidgety, clammy Fists pounding or clenched Pattern of relating Puts himself or herself up without putting others down Puts himself or herself down Puts himself or herself up by putting others down Response of others Mutual respect Disrespect, guilt, anger, frustration Hurt, defensiveness, humiliation Consequences of style I win, you win; strives for win-win or no lose solutions I lose, you lose; only succeeds by luck or charity of others I win, you lose; beats out others at any cost STUDENT NAME_________________ DATE___________________________ GRADING GRID / CRITERIA: FORMAL APA PAPER TOPIC SELECTION: (15%)_____  § Relevant to professional nursing  § Timely/current  § Appropriate for length and course STRUCTURE: (35%)_____  § Correct use of grammar and spelling  § Expression of ideas well organized, clear, and concise  § Appropriate length of paper and paragraphs  § Appropriate use of tables, graphs, etc.  § Correct use of APA editorial format CONTENT: (35%)_____  § Information generates interest  § Illustrations and examples used as needed  § Information is accurate  § Resources/references underpin structure of the paper and salient points  § Implications for nursing practice or research identified REFERENCES: (15%)_____  § Less than 4 years, unless nursing or other theory or supporting reference  § Scientific nursing, medical, or allied health journal or other scholarly Publication

The Rise of the American Political Parties essays

The Rise of the American Political Parties essays Even after the Constitution was drafted, there remained many ambiguous interpretations by the citizens along with politicians of America. The Anti-Federalists, like Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams, had a very strict following of the Constitution. However, the Federalists, such as George Washington and James Madison, believed that the Constitution was a set of guidelines rather than a strict collection of laws. These different ideas, along with the election of 1796, helped to create the division of ideas which resulted in the forming of the political parties. The Federalists, who were led by Alexander Hamilton, believed mainly in a strong central government. Hamilton believed that the common populace could not be trusted and that they would become greedy. He also thought that a strong federal government should have most of the authority because the states would become too divided if they were entrusted with individual powers. The goal of the Federalists was to unite the country and to develop a self sufficient economy based on industry as well as agriculture. Another idea that Hamilton and the Federalists shared was to create a financial policy in which the country would establish a system of credit. Furthermore, a national bank would be established along with a countrywide currency to rid the obstacles that threatened the development of industry in the United States. The Anti-Federalists, in contrast, believed in state powers. They feared that the new national government would take too much power away from the states and would not protect the rights of the individual citizens. Most of the federalists were small farmers and debtors, but some were wealthier people. Some Revolutionary heroes, such as George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry, were also firm anti-federalists. Among them, the most famous was probably Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed in state powers, like most anti-federalists, and believed ve...

Heidegger Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heidegger - Assignment Example On the other hand, practical engagement is more credible since it engages more fundamental modes of behavior and actual or practical engagement with the environment. Unlike theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge entails, learning by interacting the actual presence of the object being studied. There is disparity between mental or logical perception of the object which theoretical knowledge relies on and interaction with the actual presence of the object, which practical knowhow relies on. An example of the postulation above is underscored by the practical approach that teachers adopt in classroom situations. Teaching children theoretical knowledge on transpiration will prove self-defeatist in the long run since children are likely to forget about the same concept with time. To this extent, it is most beneficial [to the teacher and pupils] to learn about transpiration in leaves practically, in the fields. The teacher can have students tie leaves with transparent polythene paper bags for future inspection. It is after this engagement and after learners have found water droplets inside the transparent polythene bags that wrap the leaves that transpiration will be etched into the minds of the entire classroom. In this case, it is understood that Heidegger sees equipment as an object, an avenue or a means to an end. This is definition captures the aforementioned provision where a simple experiment is done by having learners tie leaves with a transparent polythene bag to help students appreciate the essence and reality of transpiration in leaves. In this case, even the simple experiment serves as equipment because it is â€Å"†¦essentially something [that is done] in-order-to [help the learners acquire practical knowledge on something- transpiration in leaves].† According to Bertocci, by using the phrase assignment, Heidegger intended to mean, a process [X] which uses a

Ethical thinking arise from the news reporting - Nude photos of Assignment

Ethical thinking arise from the news reporting - Nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebs posted by hackers - Assignment Example The availability of information and sizeable technological innovations has added to its utility. Presently lives have become increasingly hectic and competitive. No one stops to double think before acquiring an opportunity to eat from someone else’s plate without having to work for it. Undeserved benefits, easy money and respectful back seats of power are craved by everyone. Those who do manage to get their hands on such power are slowly addicted to the uselessness. They put on guises of importance but mostly just eat the profit from the jobs executed by their subordinates. Call that inhumane verbally, but that’s the mode of operation in leading firms and organisations. Unlawful devouring of assets is often masked by a greater degree of deceptive backbone. You have strong sources or friends with powerful seats? Eat all you want. The world is yours. The leaked photos of Jennifer Lawrence, as many blogs and online networking sites are rampant about, are a breach of law and definitely categorised immoral (Steinberg,  2014). Hackers either do these things as a sale pitch for their abilities or as a means to blackmail their chosen party. They have no sense of responsibility but can find well developed and easily accentuated excuses. They attain access to a person’s work station and from there every folder, every document and every picture is their property and for the world to see. These hackers believe that all information, whatever the type, needs to be shared. The cultural infrastructure should therefore be very strong to cope with internal issues as well to aid in a strong clientele formation. The employees have a greater influence on the organisational culture, and it is a substantial part which cannot be easily moulded once formulated. The major role is played by the executive authorities in outlining the culture while the employees have to adhere to it as a whole

A Taxonomy Of Distributed Systems Information Technology Essay

A Taxonomy Of Distributed Systems Information Technology Essay The improvement technology nowadays and as the users of Internet grows extremendously, it has reached a point where the potential benefit of very large scale results distributed application more apparent than ever. Opportunities are emerging to develop large systems that cater to highly dynamic and mobile sets of participants, who desire to interact with each other and stores of online content in a robust manner. These opportunities will inevitably dictate a substantial body of research in the years to follow. Although applications intended to function at this scale have recently begun to appear, there remain a broad set of several issues that must be faced before this emerging class of distributed system can become a reality. One of the current issues in the distributes system is open problem based on taxonomy. 1. Introduction Distributed systems research has historically avoided many hard problems through the carefully calculated use of operating constraints. Scalable resource clusters are assumed to be tucked away in protected facilities and connected by reliable infrastructure [1]. Large systems are assumed to have cooperating nuclei of administrative organizations that do not fail [2]. In peer environments, participants are assumed to behave fairly instead of leaching resources [3]. As the specifications of these systems grow to require operation at a massive scale with highly distributed administration, these assumptions will be strongly challenged as a means of providing useful systems. In short, distributed systems research is quickly approaching a point at which many hard problems cannot be avoided any longer. Prior to embarking on the construction of a large-scale distributed operating system, we felt that it would be useful to survey the landscape of problems that will be faced in the constructio n of this class of system. This paper is a summary of open problem based on taxonomy that must be addressed in order for successful systems of this caliber to be realized. To describe the domain of existing and future distributed systems, we have to design a taxonomy. This model is a two-dimensional space whose axes define the concurrency and conflict of resource access, and the degree of distribution and mobility of resources within the system. From this model, we draw four phyla of application that is point-to-point, multiplexed, fragmented, and peer-to-peer. This last phylum defines our target domain and we apply lessons learned from the other three groups to it. Through our taxonomy, we describe a set of architectural systems problems that must be addressed. 2. A Taxonomy of Distributed Systems We will describe four phyla of distributed systems in a continuous space along two axes. The axe which is access concurrency and resource distribution is a stem from an examination of the evolution of distributed applications. Access concurrency considers the number of simultaneous accesses to a resource and the degree of conflict between these accesses. Access concurrency problems occur as researchers began to move towards time sharing on mainframes. Resource distribution represents how broadly a system is spread across a network infrastructure. Individually, each of these axes represents a steadily increasing gradient of complexity within system architecture. It is in the cases where both axes have high degree that system complexity explodes. Indeed, distributed applications seem to all reside very close to the axes in our models. This observation suggests that there must be some limiting factors that exist, inhibiting the development of complex systems. We now consider the two axe s and four phyla of systems individually. 2.1 Access Concurrency Access concurrency originated with the desire to allow users to share the resources of original mainframe computers. Concurrency mechanisms allow clients to share a resource while preserving the state of that resource during simultaneous accesses. It is worth nothing that without a requirement to avoid conflict, concurrency mechanisms need only act as stateless request multiplexers. Although there are complexity issues in simple multiplexing at the Internet scale, it is conflict avoidance that makes access concurrency especially hard. In order to avoid conflicts between concurrent accesses, extra mechanisms must be put in place. These mechanisms add overhead and complexity to the system. Mechanisms to support access concurrency involve tradeoffs between efficiency and effectiveness. Concurrency control techniques that are very efficient is aim to allow the highest possible amount of simultaneous access, but may do so at the cost of poorly preserving resource state or unfairly schedul ing this access. Techniques that are optimized for effectiveness protect resource state, but may do so by severely limiting concurrency of access. As an example, consider the locking of files to preserve consistency in concurrent systems. Pessimistic locking is most effective at preserving state, but results in a complete loss of concurrency whenever the file is locked for writing. Optimistic locking allows a higher degree of concurrency, but may perform worse in a high state of conflict as many transactions must be aborted. Conflicts may simply be flagged and left for a separate mechanism to resolve later. It is usually happen in the extreme case of efficient concurrency. This is how inconsistencies are addressed after a disconnection in distributed file systems such as Coda. Similar analogies for access concurrency exist with respect to other resources such as process scheduling and memory protection. In this emerging class of large distributed systems, the issue is that a high de gree of concurrency within a system demands efficiency, while individual users will expect effective consistency preservation. Measures, such as conflict resolution, have not been well explored. It is a non-trivial problem to automatically resolve conflicts on information that does not have a high degree of structure, such as files and ad hoc databases (i.e. the Windows registry). Additionally, there exist a set of resources for which resolution may not be appropriate after the fact, and large scale active conflict avoidance is a necessity. 2.2 Resource Distribution Resource distribution describes the degree to which a system has been spread across a network, and how dynamic resources are within it. Even the smallest degree of resource distribution mandates a substantial amount of overhead within a system. Consider the difference between accesses to a local file versus a remote file service such as NFS. Both cases contain all of the complexity involved in reading a file from disk; however the remote access has the additional responsibilities of locating the service, marshalling data in and out of message structures, interacting across the network, and handling a considerably larger set of potential error cases. Transparency, a hallmark goal of distributed systems only obfuscates this problem by concealing the details of distribution. Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) mechanisms, which were intended to simplify application development is forced distribution to be implemented deep within the system. This occurs directly in many of the problems traditio nally associated with distributed systems such as fragility and inflexibility. The troubling aspect in this line of consideration is that these issues indicate a fundamental flaw at the very onset of approaches to distribution. RPC will only provide one degree of distribution, by passing a call to a single remote host. We have only just entered the arena of distributed systems, and already complexity is overbearing with RPC. A larger problem exists in their distribution by assuming that resources can be accessed in an expressive and reliable manner. In order to access resources, it must be possible to first locate them. Moreover, mechanisms must exist to find them in an ongoing manner if the resources are not static within a system. For instance, the location of a resource may have to be determined through a directory service and refreshed with each successive access. In very large scale or highly dynamic systems, a centralized service may not be sufficient to track resource locatio n and other methods, such as forwarding pointers [4], may have to be employed. Distribution equates almost exactly to extra mechanism, and therefore complexity, within a system. The larger and more distributed a system becomes, the more mechanism will be required to locate, track, and access objects within it. 2.3 Four Phyla of Distributed Applications From the two axes described above, we draw four phyla of distributed applications, shown in Figure 2.3. Note that the respective sizes of these domains are by no means equal, we represent this division as it is for simplicity. What follows is a very brief presentation of each of the four classes. In each case, we supply an example of the phylum to demonstrate its characteristics. We also try to identify weaknesses that exist within the domain that may not be acceptable within more advanced systems. Figure 2.3 : Taxonomy of Distributed Application 2.3.1 Point-to-point The point-to-point phylum represents a very simple set of applications in which a client connects to a resource for un-shared access. Point-to-point examples exist primarily as components of more complex applications, for instance the data channel of an FTP session is point-to-point, in that all of the associated resources are allocated at both ends of the connection at the beginning of a transfer. We would also consider simple RPC to be primarily a point-to-point application, provided that the RPC server handles a single request at a time. Point-to-point applications are characterized by the fact that the distribution aspects of the system are typically quite visible. For example when failure does occur it can be identified and resolved primitively by the user. If an FTP server does not respond or crashes during a transfer, the user can attempt a connection somewhere else. Regarding to this problem it is clearly shows that this is not a good system property; however it is generally tolerable within the domain of simple applications. 2.3.2 Multiplexed Multiplexed applications are those in which resources are delivered with a high degree of concurrency, and possibly conflict control, over a relatively small scale of distribution. We can take file and web server as an excellent examples. It is because they provide a set of centralized resources to large number of concurrent users. Figure 2.3.2 show us the taxonomy of web server. Note that in our model, both file and web servers have a high degree of access concurrency, but are still barely distributed. This is because users typically need only connect to a single point to access resources. There are more distributed examples of multiplexed applications which are distributed striped file systems and scalable data structures [5]. In both of these cases, users may still connect to a single resource, but that resource may forward requests through an additional link to an appropriate secondary server. The risk of failure is more significant in multiplexed systems because failure has the potential to affect a much larger number of users on the resource provision side. A very large multiplexed service is often served by specialized hosting facilities where a very high degree of resource reliability may be assumed. It is commonly used to mitigate those problems. Further precautions may involve the installation of redundant resources that take over in the rare case of system failure. Figure 2.3.2: Taxonomy of web server 2.3.3 Fragmented Resource Fragmented systems are those in which resources are spread across, or move within, a set of connected endpoints. Communication is substantially more complex in these systems as messages may not travel directly to a resource, but instead may lead to a cascade of interactions across the system. Existing fragmented systems, such as the domain name service (DNS), are frequently structured as a hierarchy of coupled administrative domains. Note that there do not have many examples of highly fragmented systems. Considered as a whole, the global DNS database is fragmented across a considerable number of hosts. However this is doubtlessly orders of magnitude smaller than the scope desired by advocates of universal Internet-scale directory services, such as LDAP, which have yet to see broad acceptance within the network. The distribution of administration presents a difficulty within the ongoing provision of fragmented systems. In a centralized resource, a single administrative body is capable of quickly affecting changes across the scope of a system. In a fragmented resource, issues arise in how changes should be applied and who is allowed to do them. In the case of DNS, updates must frequently be submitted to human administrators, who authenticate and apply changes by hand. In existing systems this is an acceptable property, DNS lookups are handled with an acceptable degree of expedience, and the frequency of change is small enough typically to be handled off-line. This is not, however, an approach that provides a high degree of scalability. 2.3.4 Peer to peer The client-server model assumes that certain machines are better suited for providing certain services. For instance, a file server may be a system with a large amount of disk space and backup facilities. A peer-to-peer model (Figure 2.3.4) assumes that each machine has somewhat equivalent capabilities, that no machine is dedicated to serving others. An example of this is a collection of PCs in a small office or home. Networking allows people to access each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s files and send email but no machine is relegated to a specific set of services. Peer to peer applications are highly distributed and involve a high degree of potentially conflicting, concurrent access to resources. This is a fairly hypothetical description, as very few such applications currently exist at the Internet scale. Peer-based file sharing applications, such as Gnutella [6], are initial steps within this domain but only begin to enter the phylum. Gnutella does not need to address any conflict issues, nor has it proven able to scale. In this class of application, the acceptable weaknesses within the other phyla compound and cannot be avoided. Failure has a high potential impact, but resources cannot be protected. Administration is distributed and the coupling between administrative domains may become much more dynamic. We discuss these issues more extensively in the next section. Figure 2.3.4 3. Conclusion The purpose of this paper has been to identify open problem based on taxonomy that necessarily must be addressed in order to develop advanced, Internet-scale distributed systems. Regarding to the explanations above, we can highlight that the open problem in taxonomy that contains in access concurrency and resource distribution. We also must consider the four phyla of distributed system; point-to-point, multiplexed, fragmented resource and peer to peer to identify weaknesses that exist within the domain that may not be acceptable within more advanced systems. Projects to develop environments for ubiquitous, invisible, and pervasive distributed applications have, and continue to be, very exciting research that will need to address many of these issues in order to realize their visions.

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER FIVE SPEAKER

SPEAKER Trantor! For eight thousand years, it was the capital of a large and mighty political entity that spanned an ever-growing union of planetary systems. For twelve thousand years after that, it was the capital of a political entity that spanned the entire Galaxy. It was the center, the heart, the epitome of the Galactic Empire. It was impossible to think of the Empire without thinking of Trantor. Trantor did not reach its physical peak until the Empire was far gone in decay. In fact, no one noticed that the Empire had lost its drive, its forward look, because Trantor gleamed in shining metal. Its growth had peaked at the point where it was a planet-girdling city. Its population was stabilized (by law) at forty-five billion and the only surface greenery was at the Imperial Palace and the Galactic University/Library complex. Trantor's land surface was metal-coated. Its deserts and its fertile areas were alike engulfed and made into warrens of humanity, administrative jungles, computerized elaborations, vast storehouses of food and replacement parts. its mountain ranges were beaten down; its chasms filled in. The city's endless corridors burrowed under the continental shelves and the oceans were turned into huge underground aquacultural cisterns – the only (and insufficient native source of food and minerals. The connections with the Outer Worlds, from which Trantor obtained the resources it required, depended upon its thousand spaceports, its ten thousand warships, its hundred thousand merchant ships, its million space freighters. No city so vast was ever recycled so tightly. No planet in the Galaxy had ever made so much use of solar power or went to such extremes to rid itself of waste heat. Glittering radiators stretched up into the thin upper atmosphere upon the nightside and were withdrawn into the metal city on the dayside. As the planet turned, the radiators rose as night progressively fell around the world and sank as day progressively broke. So Trantor always had an artificial asymmetry that was almost its symbol. At this peak, Trantor ran the Empire? It ran it poorly, but nothing could have run the Empire well. The Empire was too large to be run from a single world – even under the most dynamic of Emperors. How could Trantor have helped but run it poorly when, in the ages of decay, the Imperial crown was traded back and forth by sly politicians and foolish incompetents and the bureaucracy had become a subculture of corruptibles? But even at its worst, there was some self-propelled worth to the machinery. The Galactic Empire could not have been run without Trantor. The Empire crumbled steadily, but as long as Trantor remained Trantor, a core of the Empire remained and it retained an air of pride, of millennia, of tradition and power and – exaltation. Only when the unthinkable happened – when Trantor finally fell and was sacked; when its citizens were killed by the millions and left to starve by the billions; when its mighty metal coating was scarred and punctured and fused by the attack of the â€Å"barbarian† fleet – only then was the Empire considered to have fallen. The surviving remnants on the once-great world undid further what had been left and, in a generation, Trantor was transformed from the greatest planet the human race had ever seen to an inconceivable tangle of ruins. That had been nearly two and a half centuries ago. In the rest of the Galaxy, Trantor-as-it-had-been still was not forgotten. It would live forever as the favored site of historical novels, the favored symbol and memory of the past, the favored word for sayings such as â€Å"All starships land on Trantor,† â€Å"Like looking for a person in Trantor,† and â€Å"No more alike than this and Trantor.† In all the rest of the Galaxy – But that was not true on Trantor itself! Here the old Trantor was forgotten. The surface metal seas gone, almost everywhere. Trantor was now a sparsely settled world of self-sufficient farmers, a place where trading ships rarely came and were not particularly welcome when they did come. The very word â€Å"Trantor,† though still in official use, had dropped out of popular speech. By present-day Trantorians, it was called â€Å"Hame,† which in their dialect was what would be called â€Å"Home† in Galactic Standard. Quindor Shandess thought of all this and much more as he sat quietly in a welcome state of half-drowse, in which he could allow his mind to run along a self-propelled and unorganized stream of thought. He had been First Speaker of the Second Foundation for eighteen years, and he might well bold on for ten or twelve years more if his mind remained reasonably vigorous and if he could continue to fight the political wars. He was the analog, the mirror image, of the Mayor of Terminus, who ruled over the First Foundation, but how different they were in every respect. The Mayor of Terminus was known to all the Galaxy and the First Foundation was therefore simply â€Å"the Foundation† to all the worlds. The First Speaker of the Second Foundation was known only to his associates. And yet it was the Second Foundation, under himself and his predecessors, who held the real power. The First Foundation was supreme in the realm of physical power, of technology, of war weapons. The Second Foundation was supreme in the realm of mental power, of the mind, of the ability to control. In any conflict between the two, what would it matter how many ships and weapons the First Foundation disposed of, if the Second Foundation could control the minds of those who controlled the ships and weapons? But how long could he revel in this realization of secret power? He was the twenty-fifth First Speaker and his incumbency was already a shade longer than average. Ought he, perhaps, not be too keen on holding on and keeping out the younger aspirants? There was Speaker Gendibal, the keenest and newest at the Table. Tonight they would spend time together and Shandess looked forward to it. Ought he look forward also to Gendibal's possible accession some day? The answer to the question was that Shandess had no real thought of leaving his post. He enjoyed it too much. He sat there, in his old age, still perfectly capable of performing his duties. His hair was gray, but it had always been light in color and he wore it cut an inch long so that the color scarcely mattered. His eyes were a faded blue and his clothing conformed to the drab styling of the Trantorian farmers. The First Speaker could, if he wished, pass among the Hamish people as one of them, but his hidden power nevertheless existed. He could choose to focus his eyes and mind at any time and they would then act according to his will and recall nothing about it afterward. It rarely happened. Almost never. The Golden Rule of the Second Foundation was, â€Å"Do nothing unless you must, and when you must act – hesitate.† The First Speaker sighed softly. Living in the old University, with the brooding grandeur of the ruins of the Imperial Palace not too far distant, made one wonder on occasion how Golden the Rule might be. In the days of the Great Sack, the Golden Rule had been strained to the breaking point. There was no way of saving Trantor without sacrificing the Seldon Plan for establishing a Second Empire. It would have been humane to spare the forty-five billion, but they could not have been spared without retention of the core of the First Empire and that would have only delayed the reckoning. If would have led to a greater destruction some centuries later and perhaps no Second Empire ever The early First Speakers had worked over the clearly foreseen Sack for decades but had found no solution – no way of assuring both the salvation of Trantor and the eventual establishment of the Second Empire. The lesser evil had to be chosen and Trantor had died! The Second Foundatianers of the time had managed – by the narrowest of margins – to save the University/Library complex and there had been guilt forever after because of that, too. Though no one had ever demonstrated that saving the complex had led to the of the Mule, there was always the intuition that there was a connection. How nearly that had wrecked everything! Yet following the decades of the Sack acrd the Mule came the Golden Age of the Second Foundation. Prior to that, for over two and a half centuries after Seldon's death, the Second Foundation had burrowed like moles into the Library, intent only on staying out of the way of the Imperials. They served as librarians in a decaying society that cared less and less for the ever-more-misnamed Galactic Library, which fell into the desuetude that best suited the purpose of the Second Foundationers. It was an ignoble life. They merely conserved the Plan, while out at the end of the Galaxy, the First Foundation fought for its life against always greater enemies with neither help from the Second Foundation nor any real knowledge of it. It was the Great Sack that liberated the Second Foundation – another reason (young Gendibal – who had courage – had recently said that it was the chief reason) why the Sack was allowed to proceed. After the Great Sack, the Empire was gone and, in all the later times, the Trantorian survivors never trespassed on Second Foundation territory uninvited. The Second Foundationers saw to it that the University/Library complex which had survived the Sack also survived the Great Renewal. The ruins of the Palace were preserved, too. The metal was gone over almost all the rest of the world. The great and endless corridors were covered up, filled in, twisted, destroyed, ignored; all under rock and soil – all except here, where metal still surrounded the ancient open places. It might be viewed as a grand memorial of greatness, the sepulcher of Empire, but to the Trantorians – the Hamish people – these were haunted places, filled with ghosts, not to be stirred. Only the Second Foundationers ever set foot in the ancient corridors or touched the titanium gleam. And even so, all had nearly come to nothing because of the Mule. The Mule had actually been on Trantor. What if he had found out the nature of the world he had been standing on? His physical weapons were far greater than those at the disposal of the Second Foundation, his mental weapons almost as great. The Second Foundation would have been hampered always by the necessity of doing nothing but what they must, and by the knowledge that almost any hope of tinning the immediate fight might portend a greater eventual loss. Had it not been for Banta Darell and her swift moment of action. And that, too, had been without the help of the Second Foundation? And then – the Golden age, when somehow the First Speakers of the time found ways of becoming active, stopping the Mule in his career of conquest, controlling his mind at last; and then stopping the First Foundation itself when it grew wary and overcurious concerning the nature and identity of the Second Foundation. There was Preem Palver, nineteenth First Speaker and greatest of them all, who had managed to put an end to all danger – not without terrible sacrifice – and who had rescued the Seldon Plan. Now, for a hundred and twenty years, the Second Foundation was again as it once had been, hiding in a haunted portion of Trantor. They were hiding no longer from the Imperials, but from the First Foundation still – a First Foundation almost as large as the Galactic Empire had been and even greater in technological expertise. The First Speaker's eyes closed in the pleasant warmth and he passed into that never-never state of relaxing hallucinatory experiences that were not quite dreams and not quite conscious thought. Enough of gloom. All would be well. Trantor was still capital of the Galaxy, for the Second Foundation was here and it was mightier and more in control than ever the Emperor had been. The First Foundation would be contained and guided and would move correctly. However formidable their ships and weapons, they could do nothing as long as key leaders could be, at need, mentally controlled. And the Second Empire would come, but it would not be like the first. It would be a Federated Empire, with its parts possessing considerable self-rule, so that there would be none of the apparent strength and actual weakness of a unitary, centralized government. The new Empire would be looser, more pliant, more flexible, more capable of withstanding strain, and it would be guided always – always – by the hidden men and women of the Second Foundation. Trantor would then be still the capital, more powerful with its forty thousand psychohistorians than ever it had been with its forty-five billion – The First Speaker snapped awake. The sun was lower in the sky. Had he been mumbling? Had he said anything aloud? If the Second Foundation had to know much and say little, the ruling Speakers had to know mere and say less, and the First Speaker lead to know mist and say least. He smiled wryly. It was always so tempting to become a Trantorian patriot – to see the whole purpose of the Second Empire as that of bringing about Trantorian hegemony. Seldon had warned of it; he had foreseen even that, five centuries before it could come to pass. The First Speaker had not slept too long, however. It was not yet time for Gendibal's audience. Shandess was looking forward to that private meeting. Gendibal was young enough to look at the Plan with new eyes, and keen enough to see what others might not. And it was not beyond possibility that Shandess would learn from what the youngster had to say. No one would ever be certain how much Preem Palver – the great Palver himself – had profited from that day when the young Kol Benjoam, not yet thirty, came to talk to him about possible ways of handling the First Foundation. Benjoam, who was later recognized as the greatest theorist since Seldon, never spoke of that audience in later years, but eventually he became the twenty-first First Speaker. There were some who credited Benjoam, rather than Palver, for the great accomplishments of Palver's administration. Shandess amused himself with the thought of what Gendibal might say. It was traditional that keen youngsters, confronting the First Speaker alone for the first time, would place their entire thesis in the first sentence. And surely they would not ask for that precious first audience for something trivial – something that might ruin their entire subsequent career by convincing the First Speaker they were lightweights. Four hours later, Gendibal faced him. The young man showed no sign of nervousness. He waited calmly for Shandess to speak first. Shandess said, â€Å"You have asked for a private audience, Speaker, on a matter of importance. Could you please summarize the matter for me?† And Gendibal, speaking quietly, almost as though he were describing what he had just eaten at dinner, said, â€Å"First Speaker, the Seldon Plan is meaningless!† Stor Gendibal did not require the evidence of others to give him a sense of worth. He could not recall a time when he did not know himself to be unusual. He had been recruited for the Second Foundation when he was only a ten-year-old boy by an agent who had recognized the potentialities of his mind. He had then done remarkably well at his studies and had taken to psychohistory as a spaceship responds to a gravitational field. Psychohistory had pulled at him and he had curved toward it, reading Seldon's text on the fundamentals when others his age were merely trying to handle differential equations. When he was fifteen, he entered Trantor's Galactic University (as the University of Trantor had been officially renamed), after an interview during which, when asked what his ambitions were, he had answered firmly, â€Å"To be First Speaker before I am forty.† He had not bothered to aim for the First Speaker's chair without qualification. To gain it, one way or another, seemed to him to be a certainty. It was to do it in youth that seemed to him to be the goal. Even Preem Palver bad been forty-two on his accession. The interviewer's expression had flickered when Gendibal had said that, but the young man already had the feel of psycholanguage and could interpret that flicker. He knew, as certainly as though the interviewer had announced it, that a small notation would go on his records to the effect that he would be difficult to handle. Well, of course! Gendibal intended to be difficult to handle. He was thirty now. He would be thirty-one in a matter of two months and he was already a member of the Council of Speakers. He had nine years, at most, to become First Speaker and he knew he would make it. This audience with the present First Speaker was crucial to his plans and, laboring to present precisely the proper impression, he had. spared no effort to polish his command of psycholanguage. When two Speakers of the Second Foundation communicate with each other, the language is like no other in the Galaxy. It is as much a language of fleeting gestures as of words, as much a matter of detected mental – change patterns as anything else. An outsider would hear little or nothing, but in a short time, much in the way of thought would be exchanged and the communication would be unreportable in its literal form to anyone but still another Speaker. The language of Speakers had its advantage in speed and in infinite delicacy, but it had the disadvantage of making it almost impossible to mask true opinion. Gendibal knew his own opinion of the First Speaker. He felt the First Speaker to be a man past his mental prime. The First Speaker – in Gendibal's assessment – expected no crisis, was not trained to meet one, and lacked the sharpness to deal with one if it appeared. With all Shandess's goodwill and amiability, he was the stuff of which disaster was made. All of this Gendibal had to hide not merely from words, gestures, and facial expressions, but even from his thoughts. He knew no way of doing so efficiently enough to keep the First Speaker from catching a whiff of it. Nor could Gendibal avoid knowing something of the First Speaker's feeling toward him. Through bonhomie and goodwill – quite apparent and reasonably sincere – Gendibal could feel the distant edge of condescension and amusement, and tightened his own mental grip to avoid revealing any resentment in return – or as little as possible. The First Speaker smiled and leaned back in his chair. He did not actually lift his feet to the desk top, but he got across just the right mixture of self-assured ease and informal friendship – just enough of each to leave Gendibal uncertain as to the effect of his statement. Since Gendibal had not been invited to sit down, the actions and attitudes available to him that might be designed to minimize the uncertainty were limited. It was impossible that the First Speaker did not understand this. Shandess said, â€Å"The Seldon Plan is meaningless? What a remarkable statement! Have you looked at the Prime Radiant lately, Speaker Gendibal?† â€Å"I study it frequently, First Speaker. It is my duty to do so and my pleasure as well.† â€Å"Do you, by any chance, study only those portions of it that fall under your purview, now and then? Do you observe it in microfashion – an equation system here, an adjustment rivulet there? Highly important, of course, but I have always thought it an excellent occasional exercise to observe the whole course. Studying the Prime Radiant, acre by acre, has its uses – but observing it as a continent is inspirational. To tell you the truth, Speaker, I have not done it for a long time myself. Would you join me?† Gendibal dared not pause too long. It had to be done, and it must be done easily and pleasantly or it might as well not be done. â€Å"It would be an honor and a pleasure, First Speaker.† The First Speaker depressed a lever on the side of his desk. T here was one such in the office of every Speaker and the one in Gendibal's office was in no way inferior to that of the First Speaker. The Second Foundation was an equalitarian society in all its surface manifestations – the unimportant ones. In fact, the only official prerogative of the First Speaker was that which was explicit in his title he always spoke first. The room grew dark with the depression of the lever but, almost at once, the darkness lifted into a pearly dimness. Both long walls turned faintly creamy, then brighter and whiter, and finally there appeared neatly printed equations – so small that they could not be easily read. â€Å"If you have no objections,† said the First Speaker, making it quite clear that there would be none allowed, â€Å"we will reduce the magnification in order to see as much at one time as we can.† The neat printing shrank down into fine hairlines, faint black meanderings over the pearly background. The First Speaker touched the keys of the small console built into the arm of his chair. â€Å"We'll bring it back to the start – to the lifetime of Hari Seldon – and we'll adjust it to a small forward movement. We'll shutter it so that we can only see a decade of development at a time. It gives one a wonderful feeling of the flow of history, with no distractions by the details. I wonder if you have ever done this.† â€Å"Never exactly this way, First Speaker.† â€Å"You should. It's a marvelous feeling. Observe the sparseness of the black tracery at the start. There was not much chance for alternatives in the first few decades. The branch points, however, increase exponentially with time. Were it not for the fact that, as soon as a particular branch is taken, there is an extinction of a vast array of others in its future, all would soon become unmanageable. Of course, in dealing with the future, we must be careful what extinctions we rely upon.† â€Å"I know, First Speaker.† There was a touch of dryness in Gendibal's response that he could not quire remove. The First Speaker did not respond to it. â€Å"Notice the winding lines of symbols in red. There is a pattern to them. To all appearances, they should exist randomly, as even Speaker earns his place by adding refinements to Seldon's original Plan. It would seem there is no way, after all, of predicting where a refinement can be added easily or where a particular Speaker will find his interests or his ability tending, and yet I have long suspected that the admixture of Seldon Black and Speaker Red follows a strict law that is strongly dependent on time and on very little else.† Gendibal watched as the years passed and as the black and red hairlines made an almost hypnotic interlacing pattern. The pattern meant nothing in itself, of course. What counted were the symbols of which it was composed. Here and there a bright-blue rivulet made its appearance, bellying out; branching, and becoming prominent, then falling in upon itself and fading into the black or red. The First Speaker said, â€Å"Deviation Blue,† and the feeling of distaste, originating in each, filled the space between them. â€Å"We catch it over and over, and we'll be coming to the Century of Deviations eventually.† They did. One could tell precisely when the shattering phonemenon of the Mule momentarily filled the Galaxy, as the Prime Radiant suddenly grew thick with branching rivulets of blue – more starting than could be closed down – until the room itself seemed to turn blue as the lines thickened and marked the wall with brighter and brighter pollution. (It was the only word.) It reached its peak and then faded, thinned, and came together for a long century before it trickled to its end at last. When it was gone, and when the Plan had returned to black and red, it was clear that Preem Palver's hand had been there. Onward, onward â€Å"That's the present,† said the First Speaker comfortably. Onward, onward Then a narrowing into a veritable knot of close-knit black with little red in it. â€Å"That's the establishment of the Second Empire,† said the First Speaker. He shut off the Prime Radiant and the room was bathed in ordinary light. Gendibal said, â€Å"That was an emotional experience.† â€Å"Yes,† smiled the First Speaker, â€Å"and you are careful not to identify the emotion, as far as you can manage to fail to identify it. It doesn't matter. Let me make the points I wish to make. â€Å"You will notice, first, the all-but-complete absence of Deviation Blue after the time of Preem Palver – over the last twelve decades, in other words. You will notice that there are no reasonable probabilities of Deviations above the fifth-class over the next five centuries. You will notice, too, that we have begun extending the refinements of psychohistory beyond the establishment of the Second Empire. As you undoubtedly know, Hari Seldon – although a transcendent genius – is not, and could not, be all-knowing. We have improved on him. We know more about psychohistory than he could possibly have known. â€Å"Seldon ended his calculations with the Second Empire and we have continued beyond it. Indeed, if I may say so without offense, the new Hyper-Plan that goes past the establishment of the Second Empire is very largely my doing and has earned me my present post. â€Å"I tell you all this so that you can spare me unnecessary talk. With all this, how do you manage to conclude that the Seldon Plan is meaningless? It is without flaw. The mere fact that it survived the Century of Deviations – with all due respect to Palver's genius – is the best evidence we have that it is without flaw. Where is its weakness, young man, that you should brand the Plan as meaningless?† Gendibal stood stiffly upright. â€Å"You are right, First Speaker. The Seldon Plan has no flaw.† â€Å"You withdraw your remark, then?† â€Å"No, First Speaker. Its lack of flaw is its flaw. Its flawlessness is fatal!† The First Speaker regarded Gendibal with equanimity. He had learned to control his expressions and it amused him to watch Gendibal's ineptness in this respect. At every exchange, the young man did his best to hide his feelings, but each time, he exposed them completely. Shandess studied him dispassionately. He was a thin young man, not much above the middle height, with thin lips and bony, restless hands. He had dark, humorless eyes that tended to smolder. He would be, the First Speaker knew, a hard person to talk out of his convictions. â€Å"You speak in paradoxes, Speaker,† he said. â€Å"It sounds like a paradox, First Speaker, because there is so much about Seldon's Plan that we take for granted and accept in so unquestioning a manner.† â€Å"And what is it you question, then?† â€Å"The Plan's very basis. We all know that the Plan will not work if its nature – or even its existence – is known to too many of those whose behavior it is designed to predict.† â€Å"I believe Hari Seldon understood that. I even believe he made it one of his two fundamental axioms of psychohistory.† â€Å"He did not anticipate the Mule, First Speaker, and therefore he could not anticipate the extent to which the Second Foundation would become an obsession with the people of the First Foundation, once they had been shown its importance by the Mule.† â€Å"Hari Seldon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and for one moment, the First Speaker shuddered and fell silent. Hari Seldon's physical appearance was known to all the members of the Second Foundation. Reproductions of him in two and in three dimensions, photographic and holographic, in bas-relief and in the round, sitting and standing, were ubiquitous. They all represented him in the last few years of his life. All were of an old and benign man, face wrinkled with the wisdom of the aged, symbolizing the quintessence of well-ripened genius. But the First Speaker now recalled seeing a photograph reputed to be Seldon as a young man. The photograph was neglected, since the thought of a young Seldon was almost a contradiction in terms. Yet Shandess had seen it, and the thought had suddenly come to him that Stor Gendibal looked remarkably like the young Seldon. Ridiculous? It was the sort of superstition that afflicted everyone, now and then, however rational they might be. He was deceived by a fugitive similarity. If he had the photograph before him, he would see at once that the similarity was an illusion. Yet why should that silly thought have occurred to him now? He recovered. It had been a momentary quaver – a transient derailment of thought – too brief to be noticed by anyone but a Speaker. Gendibal might interpret it as he pleased. â€Å"Hari Seldon,† he said very firmly the second time, â€Å"knew well that there were an infinite number of possibilities he could not foresee, and it was for that reason that he set up the Second Foundation. We did not foresee the Mule either, but tie recognized him once he was upon us and we stopped him. We did not foresee the subsequent obsession of the First Foundation with ourselves, but we saw it when it came and we stopped it. What is it about this that you can possibly find fault with?† â€Å"For one thing,† said Gendibal, â€Å"the obsession of the First Foundation with us is not yet over.† There was a distinct ebb in the deference with which Gendibal had been speaking. He had noted the quaver in the First Speaker's voice (Shandess decided) and had interpreted it as uncertainty. That had to be countered. The First Speaker said briskly, â€Å"Let me anticipate. There would be people on the First Foundation, who – comparing the hectic difficulties of the first nearly four centuries of existence with the placidity of the last twelve decades – will come to the conclusion that this cannot be unless the Second Foundation is taking good care of the Plan – and, of course, they will be right in so concluding. They will decide that the Second Foundation may not have been destroyed after all – and, of course, they will be right in so deciding. In fact, we've received reports that there is a young man on the First Foundation's capital world of Terminus, an official of their government, who is quite convinced of all this. – I forget his name†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Golan Trevize,† said Gendibal softly. â€Å"It was I who first noted the matter in the reports, and it was I who directed the matter to your office.† â€Å"Oh?† said the First Speaker with exaggerated politeness. â€Å"And how did your attention come to be focused on him?† â€Å"One of our agents on Terminus sent in a tedious report on the newly elected members of their Council – a perfectly routine matter usually sent to and ignored by all Speakers. This one caught my eye because of the nature of the description of one new Councilman, Golan Trevize. From the description, he seemed unusually self-assured and combative.† â€Å"You recognized a kindred spirit, did you?† â€Å"Not at all,† said Gendibal, stiffly. â€Å"He seemed a reckless person who enjoyed doing ridiculous things, a description which does not apply to me. In any case, I directed an in-depth study. It did not take long for me to decide that he would have made good material for us if he had been recruited at an early age.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said the First Speaker, â€Å"but you know that we do not recruit on Terminus.† â€Å"I know that well. In any case, even without our training, he has an unusual intuition. It is, of course, thoroughly undisciplined. I was, therefore. Not particularly surprised that he ad grasped the fact that the Second Foundation still exists. I felt it important enough, however, to direct a memo on the matter to your office.† â€Å"And I take it from your manner that there is a new development?† â€Å"Having grasped the fact that we still exist, thanks to his highly developed intuitive abilities, he then used it in a characteristically undisciplined fashion and has, as a result, been exiled from Terminus.† The First Speaker lifted his eyebrows. â€Å"You stop suddenly. You want me to interpret the significance. Without using my computer, let me mentally apply a rough approximation of Seldon's equations and guess that a shrewd Mayor, capable of suspecting that the Second Foundation exists, prefers not to have an undisciplined individual shout it to the Galaxy and thus alert said Second Foundation to the danger. I take it Branno the Bronze decided that Terminus is safer with Trevize off the planet.† â€Å"She might have imprisoned Trevize or had him quietly assassinated.† â€Å"The equations are not reliable when applied to individuals, as you well know. They deal only with humanity in mass. Individual behavior is therefore unpredictable and it is possible to assume that the Mayor is a humane individual who feels imprisonment, let alone assassination, is unmerciful.† Gendibal said nothing for a while. It was an eloquent nothing, and he maintained it just long enough for the First Speaker to grow uncertain of himself but not so long as to induce a defensive anger. He timed it to the second and then he said, â€Å"That is not my interpretation. I believe that Trevize, at this moment, represents the cutting edge of the greatest threat to the Second Foundation in its history – a greater danger even than the Mule!† Gendibal was satisfied. The force of the statement had worked well. The First Speaker had not expected it and was caught off-balance. From this moment, the whip hard was Gendibal's. If he had any doubt of that at all, it vanished with Shandess's next remark. â€Å"Does this have anything to do with your contention that Seldon's Plan is meaningless?† Gendibal gambled on complete certainty, driving in with a didacticism that would not allow the First Speaker to recover. He said, â€Å"First Speaker, it is an article of faith that it was Preem Palver who restored the Plan to its course after the wild aberrance of the Century of Deviations. Study the Prime Radiant and you will see that the Deviations did not disappear till two decades after Palver's death and that not one Deviation has appeared since. The credit might rest with the First Speakers since Palver, but that is improb – â€Å"Improbable? Granted none of us have been Palvers, but – why â€Å"Will you allow me to demonstrate, First Speaker? Using the mathematics of psychohistory, I can clearly show that the chances of total disappearance of Deviation are too microscopically small to have taken place through anything the Second Foundation can do. You need not allow me if you lack the time or the desire for the demonstration, which will take half an hour of close attention. I can, as an alternative, call for a full meeting of the Speaker's Table and demonstrate it there. But that would mean a loss of time for me and unnecessary controversy.† â€Å"Yes, and a possible loss of face for me. – Demonstrate the matter to me now. But a word of warning.† The First Speaker was making a heroic effort to recover. â€Å"If what you show me is worthless, I will not forget that.† â€Å"If it proves worthless,† said Gendibal with an effortless pride that overrode the other, â€Å"you will have my resignation on the spot.† It took, actually, considerably more than half an hour, for the First Speaker questioned the mathematics with near-savage intensity. Gendibal made up some of the time by his smooth use of his MicroRadiant. The device – which could locate any portion of the vast Plan holographically and with required n either wall nor desk sized console – had come into use only a decade ago and the First Speaker had never learned the knack of handling it. Gendibal was aware of that. The First Speaker knew that he was. Gendibal hooked it over his rigth thumb and manipulated it with his four fingers, using his hand deliberately as though it were a musical instrument. (Indeed, he had written a small paper on the analogies.) The equations Gendibal produced (and found with sure ease) moved back and forth snakily to accompany his commentary. He could obtain definitions, if necessary; set up axioms; and produce graphics, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional (to say nothing of projections of multidimensional relationships). Gendibal's commentary was clear and incisive and the First Speaker abandoned the game. He was won over and said, â€Å"I do not recall having seen an analysis of this nature. Whose work is it?† â€Å"First Speaker, it is my own. I have published the basic mathematics involved.† â€Å"Very clever, Speaker Gendibal. Something like this will put you in line for the First Speakership, should I die – or retire.† â€Å"I have given that matter no thought, First Speaker – but since there's no chance of your believing that, I withdraw the comment. I have given it thought and I hope I will be First Speaker, since whoever succeeds to the post must follow a procedure that only I see clearly.† â€Å"Yes,† said the First Speaker, â€Å"inappropriate modesty can be very dangerous. What procedure? Perhaps the present First Speaker may follow it, too. If I am too old to have made the creative leap you have, I am not so old that I cannot follow your direction.† It was a graceful surrender and Gendibal's heart warned, rather unexpectedly, toward the older man, even as he realized that this was precisely the First Speaker's intention. â€Å"Thank you, First Speaker, for I will need your help badly. I cannot expect to sway the Table without your enlightened leadership.† (Grace for grace.) â€Å"I assume, then, that you have already seen from what I have demonstrated that it is impossible for the Century of Deviations to have been corrected under our policies or for all Deviations to have ceased since then.† â€Å"This is clear to me,† said the First Speaker. â€Å"If your mathematics is correct, then in order for the Plan to have recovered as it did and to work as perfectly as it seems to be working, it would be necessary for us to be able to predict the reactions of small groups of people – even of individuals – with some degree of assurance.† â€Å"Quite so. Since the mathematics of psychohistory does not allow this, the Deviations should not have vanished and, even more so, should not have remained absent. You see, then, what I meant when I said earlier that the flaw in the Seldon Plan was its flawlessness.† The First Speaker said, â€Å"Either the Seldon Plan does possess Deviations, then, or there is something wrong in your mathematics. Since I must admit that the Seldon Plan has not shown Deviations in a century and more, it follows that there is something wrong with your mathematics – except that I detected no fallacies or missteps.† â€Å"You do wrong,† said Gendibal, â€Å"to exclude a third alternative. It is quite possible for the Seldon Plan to possess no Deviations and yet for there to be nothing wrong in my mathematics when it predicts that to be impossible.† â€Å"I fail to see the third alternative.† â€Å"Suppose the Seldon Plan is being controlled by means of a psychohistorical method so advanced that the reactions of small groups of people – even perhaps of individual persons – can be predicted, a method that we of the Second Foundation do not possess. Then, and only then, my mathematics would predict that the Seldon Plan should indeed experience no Deviations?† For a while (by Second Foundation standards) the First Speaker made no response. He said, â€Å"There is no such advanced psychohistorical method that is known to me or, I am certain from your manner, to you. If you and I know of none, the chance that any other Speaker, or any group of Speakers, has developed such a micropsychohistory – if I may call it that – and has kept it secret from the rest of the Table is infinitesimally small. Don't you agree?† â€Å"I agree.† â€Å"Then either your analysis is wrong or else micropsychohistory is in the hands of some group outside the Second Foundation.† â€Å"Exactly, First Speaker, the latter alternative must be correct.† â€Å"Can you demonstrate the truth of such a statement?† â€Å"I cannot, in any formal way; but consider. – Has there not already been a person who could affect the Seldon Plan by dealing with individual people?† â€Å"I presume you are referring to the Mule.† â€Å"Yes, certainly.† â€Å"The Mule could only disrupt. The problem here is that the Seldon Plan is working too well, considerably closer to perfection than your mathematics would allow. You would need an Anti-Mule – someone who is as capable of overriding the Plan as the Mule was, but who acts for the opposite motive – overriding not to disrupt but to perfect.† â€Å"Exactly, First Speaker. I wish I had thought of that expression. What was the Mule? A mutant. But where did he come from? How did he come to be? no one really knows. Might there not be more?† â€Å"Apparently not. The one thing that is best known about the Mule is that he was sterile. Hence his name. Or do you think that is a myth?† â€Å"I am not referring to descendants of the Mule. Might it not be that the Mule was an aberrant member of what is – or has now become – a sizable group of people with Mulish powers who – for some reason of their own – are not disrupting the Seldon Plan but supporting it?† â€Å"Why in the Galaxy should they support it?† â€Å"Why do we support it? We plan a Second Empire in which we – or, rather, our intellectual descendants – will be the decision makers. If, some other group is supporting the Plan even more efficiently than we are, they cannot be planning to leave the decision – making to us. They will make the decisions – but to what end? Ought we not try to find out what kind of a Second Empire they are sweeping us into?† â€Å"And how do you propose to find out?† â€Å"Well, why has the Mayor of Terminus exiled Golan Trevize? By doing so, she allows a possibly dangerous person to move freely about the Galaxy. That she does it out of motives of humanity, I cannot believe. Historically the rulers of the First Foundation have always acted realistically, which means, usually, without regard for ‘morality.' One of their heroes – Salvor Hardin – counseled against morality, in fact. No, I think the Mayor acted under compulsion from agents of the Anti-Mules, to use your phrase. I think Trevize has been recruited by them and I think he is the spearhead of danger to us. Deadly danger.† And the First Speaker said, â€Å"By Seldon, you may be right. But how will we ever convince the Table of this?† â€Å"First Speaker, you underestimate your eminence.†