Cinderella Story Essay

Elisabeth Panttaja states that the mother role in all the Cinderella’s has a wide effect on the fairytales. In the article, Panttaja analyzes the Cinderella myth from the Grimms brothers’ perspective, along with other Cinderella myths. One topic Panttaja mentions is, â€Å"Indeed, Cinderella’s mother’s role is far from marginal: the words and actions of Cinderella’s mother are of vital importance†. Panttaja suggests that even though Cinderella’s mother is not a main character in the story, she is the reason Cinderella does end up having a happy ending. This part is overlooked when reading fairytales; Cinderella’s mother is the whole reason why she has to keep striving to achieve the happy ending. Even though Cinderella’s mother appears to die in the Grimms’ version of Cinderella, her spirit lives on in relation to the tree, and the two birds. As Panttaja says, â€Å"But is she really motherless? Not really, since the twig that she plants on her mother’s grave grows into a tree that takes care of her, just as her mother promised to do†. Throughout the story the mother guides Cinderella by showing up in different forms of life and magically making Cinderella look beautiful for the ball. Cinderella uses this to her advantage, for example, when the two pigeons pluck out the evil stepsister’s eyes in the end of the story. â€Å"The happy ending proves that it is the mother, after all, who has been the power of the story† (Panttaja). This quote shows that Cinderella’s mother guided her throughout the story without actually being alive in person. Later in Panttaja’s article, she explains that Cinderella’s stepmother and her real mother are much alike. â€Å"These two women share the same devotion to their daughters and the same long-term goals: each mother wants to ensure a future of power and prestige for her daughter, and each is willing to resort to extreme measures to achieve her aim† (Panttaja). Panttaja suggests that the two mothers are competing to marry off their daughters and provide them with a happy ending. In the end, Cinderella’s mother wins because Cinderella marries the prince who is noble. Another key point that Panttaja summarizes about is the fact that the fairytales make us think that Cinderella loves the prince, but in reality the readings never seem to mention anything about love. â€Å"The prince marries Cinderella because he is enchanted†¦ by the sight of her in her magical clothes† (Panttaja). The prince never seems to care about the love from Cinderella, just that she is beautiful in the dress that her mother made magically appear. All in all, Panttaja states everything goes back to the moral of the magical mothers powers. In the end, Panttaja explains how the Cinderella legacy goes on to show how siblings compete to be better than one another, and Cinderella shows this in the â€Å"most extreme form† (Panttaja). Panttaja also goes on to explain how Cinderella is not the girl everyone always imagines.

Mahatma Ghandi

Year 11 Community and Family Studies Individuals and Groups – Leadership Term 2 Assessment MAHATMA GHANDI . Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi, known as Mahatma , or ‘Great Soul’ was a successful leader who managed to cause major political change in countries that experienced an abundance of racial discrimination and cultural inferiority . The two most signi? cantly effected countries that experienced direct positive empowerment because of Mahatma Ghandi were South Africa and India. Reason for Ghandi’s immense success with each goal he set was his strong self belief, resilience, persistence and determination.Apart from these characteristics allowing Ghandi to achieve his goals, they made him an exceptional example of an effective leader. In South Africa Mahatma Ghandi fought for Indian civil rights, his success resulted in the reformation of the anti- Indian Legislation, by South African Of? cials. Throughout the history of South Africa racial discrimination was al ways prevalent among society. Native Africans, Indians and Asians were constantly subject to racial injustices, particularly from the 1800’s to 1959.Examples of this are evident throughout the legislations and laws that were directed at Indians; Indians; -Could only freely migrate to South Africa as indentured Labourers (labourers on contract) – They had none of the rights of full citizenship – Were not allowed to own property or land – Were only granted temporary residence -Forced to pay of sum of ? 3 if they were ex-indentured Indians that failed to reindenture or chose to return to India after their labour contracts were completed . Had to live in government allocated areas for ‘sanitation’ purposes – Were the only race that had to complete a educational, health, age and means test in order to gain admission into the country with the exclusion of Indian indentured labourers. (this purpose of this test was to stop further immigration of ‘free Indians’ (Indians that came to South Africa not indentured) ). -Were prohibited from marrying the ‘Whites’ (People of European descent e. g. Dutch, German, French ) These government policies were discriminatory against the Indian race and resulted n them (Indians) being assumed as an inferior race in society which further resulted in the excessive mistreatment of Indians. Being exposed to these racial inequalities, and having been of Indian race Mahatma Ghandi was well aware of these racial inequalities as he stated â€Å"I discovered that as a man and as an Indian I had no rights†. He recognised that change needed to occur in order for the Indian race in South Africa to be equalised within society. This recognition then lead Ghandi proposing an action plan of ‘passive resistance’ which he was leader of.The result of his passive resistance which was taken up by hundreds of other supporting Indians in South Africa was the . refo rmation of the anti- Indian Legislation ( mentioned previously). This meant that the Indian Relief Act was passed, consequently improving Indian civil rights. The act; – Abolished the ? 3 poll tax -Recognised marriages contracted in terms of traditional Hindu and Muslim rites – Indian children of parents living in South Africa are allowed to immigrate Although these modi? ed policies of legislation did improve Indian Civil Rights, there were still major parts which remained law that were racially unjust.For example; Indians were still prohibited from owning property in Transvall and Orange Free State. -Indians were not allowed to reside in Orange Free State. – Restrictions still existed on Indian trades. In 1869 India was part of the British Empire, which meant that Britain ran the government, made laws and took advantage of India’s natural riches in particularly salt, in order to make pro? t. The fact that the British Empire ruled India, basically meant that the Indian’s own country had to a degree been taken from them; they were living in a country that was not theirs. After ? hting in the British Army in Europe during First World War (1914-18) Indians, felt that in return they deserved to be granted Independence. Believing this Ghandi resolved to ? ght for Indian Independence or what he referred to as ‘Swaraj’ . Ghandi’s method of ‘? ghting’ was inspired by his belief of Satyagraha, meaning truth force. He stated â€Å" Satyagraha has been designed as an effective substitute for violence† . In order to achieve this vision Ghandi employed his method of civil disobedience. ?He urged Indians to resist British rule by going on strike. ?He went on hunger strikes ?He made protest speeches ? Encouraged Indians not to wear clothes or pay British taxes – this was the beginning of Ghandi’s Cloth Campaign; he ordered the public to burn their British clothing and instead spin their own thread and make their own clothes. ?Encouraged Indians not to buy British goods, go on strike from their jobs and attend rallies to hear him speak. ?The most signi? cant event that Ghandi lead to achieve Indian Independence in India was the ‘Salt March’ ; during this event Ghandi lead hundreds of his followers to Dandi Beach were he picked up the ? st handful of salt. This symbolised that Indians would no longer bow to British laws. This occurrence was so important because it showed rebellion to British law. During this time (1930’s) it was made law that Indians could not collect their own salt, they had to purchase heavily taxed salt from the British. However after Ghandi’s action, Indians started collecting their own salt. . Mahatma’s main goal was to achieve Indian independence, however he fought for better working conditions for poor weavers and went on a fast until he won them a wage increase.He also set up a ashram which was communal farm , on this farm Ghandi accepted a group of social outcasts, labelled the ‘untouchables’ . The untouchables were seen as the lowest rank in society’s hierarchal structure and therefore they were outcasted and not associated with. By Ghandi’s encouragement and acceptance of the untouchables into the communal farm despite the protests of his followers he showed his belief that all people were equal. Mahatma Ghandi’s approach to protest became popular within society and rapidly he accumulated hundreds of followers, ? hting united with the same intention which was further reason why Ghandi achieved Indian Independence. â€Å"Mass civil disobedience is like an earthquake†, said Ghandi. This same principal which Ghandi proposed and then employed into every protest project he was involved in, is reason why he was such a successful leader. Despite Mahatma Ghandi’s direct action to empower individuals to stand up for what they believe in in South African and India , Ghandi inspired the whole world to do the same. The actions and principles that he utilized resulted in the global empowerment of individuals.His ethics and protesting strategies are still seen in present political rebellion. Mahatma Ghandi was a highly successful leader because he was able see injustices within society, which others experienced and encourage and enforce society to passively yet affectively ? ght in solidarity for positive change. The New Oxford American Dictionary de? nes leadership as ; the ability to lead skillfully. Mahatma Ghandi’s most prominent quality was his leadership, his superior leadership style was the main reason for his successes.There are many diverse leadership styles, such as ; Task-orientated, People-orientated, Autocratic, Collaborative/Democratic, Laissez-faire, Transformational and Cultural. Each of these leadership styles present a leader with varying leadership skills which effect the dynamics and productivity of group members. A transformational leader, such as Ghandi maintains a focus on teamwork and initiative. They provide direction and a goal for the group to achieve and encourage and empower the group members in achieving the goal.As leaders they utilise lateral thinking, promote individual growth and development and group decision making and keep the group focused and productive in reaching their goals by giving regular feedback. Transformational leaders are deeply involved in the group and are constantly enthusiastic and energetic about the input of individuals. This generates a trusting environment where group members feel comfortable to cooperate with group members. Mahatma Ghandi’s transformational leadership style was evident throughout his lifetime, despite the varying group and situation.When analysing his successes, in . particularly his ? ght for equality in South Africa between Indians and the ‘Whites’ . He was extremely involved with the Indian Society a nd produced a clear vision for Indian integration within South African Society. He was deeply involved in his group and worked enthusiastically with each member, encouraging them to strive to achieve a common goal. The reason why he was so successful is because he was able to maintain and initiate intimate relationships with the hundreds of his followers, he empowered each of them to ? ht for ‘satyagraha’ by acknowledging each of their inputs. Individuals that were part of Ghandi’s group felt involved, valued and liberated. Being part of Ghandi’s group promoted individual development. People associated with Ghandi’s group were instilled with Ghandi’s teaching of self belief, discipline and most importantly determination to attain their goals, by non-violence, non-cooperation and self sustenance. There are varying factors which in? uenced Ghandi’s transformational leadership style. The two most dominant in? uences were his culture and n ature of the group.Mahatma Ghandi was of Indian culture, this fact was reason why he was so motivated to gain Indian independence, and the segregation of Indians into South African Society. As an Indian in society, Ghandi’s environment exposed him to racial discrimination and verbal abuse and this consequently effected his growth and development. Ghandi’s resilience and egalitarian nature stemmed from the injustices he experienced, and played a signi? cant role in motivating Ghandi to achieve racial justice. Ghandi’s followers and members of the group were also Indian.Due to the fact that he and his followers shared the same culture ,they experienced the same mistreatment , discrimination and general way of life. Each of these individuals could relate to one another and this was the unifying force. Ghandi was therefore able to lead Indians based on the passion they both shared for racial equality. The nature of the group, refers to quality of relationship that t he leader obtains with the individuals part of the the group. Depending on the level of quality that the relationships hold e. g. High-quality or poor quality, leaders can be respected and have more in? ence over the members. Leaders are more likely to have high quality relationships in groups that are informal because members are able to interact positively and more openly; this was Ghandi’s case. Ghandi was able to maintain high quality relationships with the members in his groups and because of this he gained higher respect and had more in? uence over his followers. Mahatma Ghandi was a highly effective leader because he was able to lead his thousands of followers in achieving a common goal. Ghandi’s effectiveness as a leader can be measured by the successfulness of his visions.Ghandi set out to achieve Indian Independence and Racial equality in South africa and he was successful. In the process of achieving his goals, he empowered nations around the world to challe nge their governments if they had a problem and ? ght to ? x it. This shows that Ghandi was an overachiever, because he did more than he set out to and therefore was a highly effective leader. Ghandi’s strengths were his; ? De? nite purpose – Ghandi maintained a vision and a set way he was going to achieve this. His goals had purpose and so did his actions towards achieving his goals. Self Discipline – He believed that exercising his self discipline strengthened his commitment to achieve his goals. ?Integrity – He was honest about the way he lived and his beliefs , he believed that believing something and not living it was lying. He would rather have been prosecuted for his beliefs then denying them and this was sometimes the case. He stated â€Å" To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest†. ?Related to people – he made an effort to truly understand people, thus instilling motivation in him to achieve his goals, not only for what is right but for what the people wanted.He had an extensive understanding of the human psychology and used it along with his public relation skills. ?Self Belief and faith – He believed in himself and had faith that he could attain success. ?Flexibility – he changed his strategies and methods of challenging his oppositions to suit the situation and in turn increased the effectiveness. ?Resilience – despite setbacks he wasn’t deterred from achieving his goals, in fact he was more motivated; he learnt from his mistakes. ?Spirituality – He promoted love and peace in times when another leader would have made a call to arms. Determination ? Persistence ? Focus ? Will to ? ght for his beliefs ? Unconcern of what others thought of his actions, or how he dressed. ?The fact that he was prosecuted by authorities and publicly shamed in some circumstances did not deter him from achieving his goals. Evidently Mahatma Ghandi presented an exemplary leader b ecause of his effectiveness which came from his individual characteristics. However like every leader there are weaknesses, although Mahatma Ghandi’s weaknesses were insigni? cant, and didn’t majorly impact upon his effectiveness, they still existed.An example of this was Mahatma Ghandi’s experiments in ‘Brahamacharya’ . Gandhi became a brahamachari (celibate) when he was thirty-six. He conducted experiments in Brahamacharya which he used to develop his ability to conquer sexual feelings. Although this act was innocent through Ghandi’s eyes, he was highly criticised for it and it became a very controversial issue. He apparently slept with numerous women in order to test Brahamacharya and see if he had mastered celibacy. This event showed weakness in Ghandi as leader, because he made a commitment to elibacy, however afterwards he had sex with women in order to see if he had mastered celibacy. This act caused some of Ghandi’s followers to lack respect in him because he was no a longer a man that refrained himself of intercourse , even through he made a commitment to do so. As a leader, Ghandi created a unique style of ? ghting for what he believed in, which he referred to as ‘Satyagraha’ . As stated previously in the essay this theory that Ghandi proposed ,meant ‘truth force’ and becoming a ‘Satyagrahi’ meant a ? hter for the truth. His way of resolving and managing con? ict was in? uenced by his belief in ‘Satyagraha’. This meant that individuals were encouraged to ? ght for the truth but in doing so it had to be in a civilised manner. Ghandi is well known globally for his method of opposing the government by civil disobedience and passive resistance. This method was carried out passively, and people that employed this method were encouraged to do so in way that did not harm, violate or create violence with others, even their enemies.Ghandi’s theory enfor ced communicating your message in a peaceful and civilised manner, which is why he is so highly respected. When con? ict arose within his group or between his followers, he encouraged that they settle the dispute in a civilised manner but also effectively communicating their feelings. He encouraged that his followers didn’t simply give up but rather made sure that their opponents knew how they felt in order to understand where they were coming from. He stated â€Å" Never give in. Never. Never. Never. Never†. This mentality of Ghandi’s was re? cted in his methods of government opposition. He used passive methods such as sit-ins, boycotts, blockades and occupations of buildings, tax refusal, and alternative publications and media. More active forms of passive resistance include strikes, walkouts, protest marches, theatrical protests, and hunger strikes. Ghandi was also an advocate of forgiveness, so if there were disputes or disagreements of any kind within his g roup he encouraged his followers to forgive the other which further re? ected Ghandi’s philosophy of love, peace and forgiveness between people of religions, races and beliefs.In order for Mahatma Ghandi to have achieved leadership he followed a path which lead him to becoming a leader. Initially Ghandi started ? ghting for the improvements of Indian rights by himself, and through this process he started to gain members which shared Ghandi’s goal. As Ghandi fought for racial equality he caught the attention of others, the media and the authorities. He became well known and during this process, as people began to become familiar with Ghandi and his vision they too joined him, and his members grew and grew.He was not appointed leader by his followers, he was assumed leader. This was the same case in the instance of Ghandi ? ghting for Indian independence in India. He was able to see, by himself that it was wrong for the British to rule India and afterward with the in? ue nce of others acknowledging the same fact he gained members that shared his beliefs and also wanted independence. This then lead . Bibliography: New Oxford american dictionary – accessed from May 18 – 19. http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/leadership Accessed May 19 , 7:10 pm. ttp://www. mensxp. com/work-life/corporate-skills/3140-leadership-style-ofmahatma-gandhi-. html Accessed May 20 , 9 :30 am. . http://www. guide-to-employee-motivation. com/gandhi. html Accessed May 20, 9 :40 am. http://www. scribd. com/Kunwar23/d/6977301-Leadership-Style-of-MahatmaGandhi Accessed May 20, 10:02 am http://www. kamat. com/mmgandhi/day_with_gandhi. htm Accessed May 20, 11:21 am. . http://www. encyclopedia. com/topic/passive_resistance. aspx Accessed May 20 , 11: 42 am. http://civilresistance. info/ostergaard Accessed May 20 , 12 pm ttp://www. sikhtimes. com/books_020278a. html Accessed May 20 , 1:18 pm. . http://www. mightystudents. com/essay/Compare. strengths. weaknesses. 899 58 Accessed May 20, 1:26 pm. http://www. nndb. com/people/653/000065458/ Accessed May 20, 2:00pm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dalit Accessed 2:13 pm. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ . Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi Accessed May 20, 2:14 pm. http://www. sahistory. org. za/politics-and-society/anti-indianlegislation-1800s-1959 Accessed May 20 , 2:20pm http://www. skwirk. com. u/p-c_s-14_u-309_t-761_c-2862/historical-inquirypeople-motive-and-consequences/ nsw/historical-inquiry-peoplemotive-and-consequences/ investigating-history/historicalinquiry Accessed May 20 , 2: 55 pm . http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/keywords/power. html Accessed May 20, 3:21 pm Ghandi The peaceful revolutionary Anna Claybourne 2002 White Thomson Publishing Ltd. The wisdom Of Ghandi Trudy S. Settel 1995. . to Ghandi once again being assumed leader however never of? cially being appointed leader. In a differing case however, in 1919 Ghandi became an active member of the National Indian Congress and was of? cial ly appointed a leader.He was asked to join the National Indian Congress because his struggle for Indian Civil rights was successful, his ‘satyagraha’ campaign aroused interest and his general ability to effect great social change without employing violence. To conclude it is clear that Mahatma Ghandi was an exemplary leader. What made him such a good leader were his personal characteristics, his style of leadership and how he chose to utilise them in order to achieve his goals. It is evident that Ghandi was a successful leader because he was able to work collaboratively with his group in achieving a common goal being Indian civil rights and Independence. .

Auditing in business world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Auditing in business world - Essay Example This paper aims to discuss whether it is just to involve or blame the auditors for companies' failures or bankruptcies or even fraudulent activities. Are auditors really part of the blame-game or is the public just reacting on what they perceive as the auditor's failure to see and to report these bankruptcies and fraudulent activities' Is there really a gap on what the public expects auditors to do and to report and what the auditors are really tasked to do' According to Robert K. Elliot (1998), the purpose of the audit is to provide assurance that the investors and the stakeholders can rely on the information presented by management in the company's financial statements and that they are not taking on undue financial risk when they invest in such a company. The auditors' report, the ultimate output of the external auditor, is meant to communicate the various claims of the auditors. These claims are: that the auditors have complied with the required auditing standards, that they are independent of the company they are auditing and that they are stating that the balances of the company (as presented in the accompanying financial statements) are free from material misstatements and are thus, reliable to the outside readers and users. The website, www.abrema.net, defined expectations gap in auditing as "the gap between the auditors' actual standard of performance and the various public expectations of auditors' performance (as opposed to their required standard of performance)". The same website enumerated the various expectations of the public. These expectations include (but are not limited to the following): (1) that the auditors should have "prime responsibility for the financial statements" that they audited; (2) that auditors 'certify' the financial statements; (3) that when auditors provide a clean opinion, this means that the financial figures are accurate and free from error; (4) that auditors "should give early warning about the possibility of business failure; and (5) that auditors are "supposed to detect fraud". Another definition, according to Stanley Martens, is that this gap is "the difference between (1) what the public and other financial statement users perceive auditors' responsibilities to be and (2) what auditors believe their responsibilities entail" (2001). Mr. Martens went on to state that this expectation gap has been in existence for several years (even decades) now and may have stemmed from previous "well-publicized hearings" in a previous fraud case. Still another definition from Marianne Ojo is that is the expectations gap is "the difference between what users of financial statements, the general public perceive an audit to be and what the audit profession claim is expected of them in conducting an audit" (2006). In fact, there is also a distinction between the expectations of the audit profession of an external audit and the perception of the external auditor. Thus, even within the accounting profession, such an expectation gap exists. Components of Expectation Gap Www.abrema.net further divides expectations gap into the "requirements gap", where there is a difference between the actual performance of the auditor and what is required by the "current standards of the society" and the "feasibility gap", is the difference between "society's required standard

BUSINESS ANALYSIS - JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP Essay

BUSINESS ANALYSIS - JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP - Essay Example Initially started as a draper store in Oxford Street London, the firm has been able to make critical progress over the period of time by making acquisitions of strategic nature. The very structure and organization of the firm therefore provides it a unique identity and organizational culture which has allowed it to develop and grow over the period of time. A closer analysis of the financial performance of the firm would suggest that it has been able to continuously register an increase in its profitability and revenues. Such consistent performance of the firm therefore indicates that it is one of the leading businesses with stable revenues and profitability. This report will analyse the strategic position of John Lewis Partnership, making direct reference to the key challenges and opportunities for the organistaion and the capabilities which John Lewis can utilise in addressing these issues besides critically evaluating the current strategy of John Lewis and comment on their appropri ateness to the competitive position. A Brief History of John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership started as a draper store in Oxford Street, London in 1864 by John Lewis. The store later on went on to become the departmental store when Mr. Lewis started to purchase other stores and started to expand his business. The store thrived on the promise that the prices will be low as long as long as the prices of the neighborhood stores are low. This strategy seems to have worked for the store and store soon started to grow and generate higher levels of sales. In 1905 John Lewis purchased Peter Jones and made a change towards becoming a departmental store. It was during 1914 that John Lewis gave control of Peter Jones to his son who started the store on more modern footings and implemented new organizational changes including making employees as partners in the firm. 1 During 1955, firm opened first Waitrose store and the management also changed from Lewis family to Bernard Miller. How ever, after the retirement of Miller, the management of the firm was transferred back to the family. Management again changed during 1990s when Peter Lewis retired as Chairman of the firm. John Lewis’s major strategic change occurred with the launch of its online store during 2001 and the establishment of Ocado. Ocado was opened in order to deliver the grocessories purchased on Waitrose. (Wilson & Reynolds, 2006). John Lewis is now in the top 10 list of retailers in the country with more than 30 John Lewis Stores and 246 Waitrose supermarkets.2 SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis of the firm is as follows: Strengths 1. Rich history of successfully operating for more than 200 years. 2. Overall organizational structure and democratic nature of the firm. 3. High level of employee motivation because of employee partnership in the business. (Russell, 2010). 4. Large and diversified network of stores and web stores. 5. Efficient and effective supply chain management system. 6. High brand r ecognition and value in the eyes of customers Weaknesses 1. Only caters to the mid and high end customers. 2. Privately owned partnership therefore restricting itself to procure cheaper funds from capital markets. 3. Largely concentrated into UK with no or very little presence abroad. 4. Too few departmental stores across the country i.e. less than 30 considering 200 years history of

Gun Manufacturer's Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gun Manufacturer's Liability - Essay Example It was due to these persistently occurring firearms caused mortality incidents that spurred the application of legal remedies to regulate the purchase and use of firearms. Regulatory statutes in the past 15 years focused on mandating the legal responsibilities of gun manufacturers in an effort to reduce firearms related deaths. According to former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, "It is a responsibility to put away childish things - to make the possession and use of firearms a matter undertaken only by serious people who will use them with the restraint and maturity that their dangerous nature deserves - and demands" (US Department of Justice 2). Deterring firearms deaths require a holistic solution that targets two major sectors for gun regulation, gun owners and gun manufacturers including the channels of distribution between the two sectors. Every regulatory measure have been met with opposition and criticism from one sector or the other due to the public interest issues involved in gun manufacture and ownership. Strict regulation of gun manufacturers led to the enactment of laws providing the responsibilities and corresponding liabilities of gun manufacturers. An analytical discussion of the responsibilities and liabilities of gun manufacturers, the controversies surrounding the s... In terms of the responsibilities for firearms production, manufacturers hold the duty to design and assemble their products for safe use so that in case of defects they hold liability for injuries and damages subject to the provisions of tort law. The purpose of liability is to motivate gun manufacturers to consider optimum safety in firearms design. This is important since guns together with tobacco are exempt from safety oversight by the federal government. (Low 43) Under tort law, the failure of gun manufacturers to perform their duty of care in ensuring that the firearms they sell to the public are free from foreseeable design defects opens them to liability for negligence based on claims for damages and physical injuries. Penalties for negligence range from suspension and cancellation of businesses licenses to payment of compensation for damages depending upon the extent of link to these incidents. (Cook and Ludwig 2) Responsibility for product design fell upon gun manufacturers because of the significant number of deaths and injuries caused by faulty firearms designs together with recognition that gun manufacturers hold the best position in identifying potential defects and ensuring that the firearms they sell to the public are free from faulty design. Moreover, gun manufacturers have a certain degree of control over the use of the firearms they produce. They can implement certain control mechanisms over the distribution of their products to the criminal market. (Low 43) In relation to the accountability of gun manufacturers for the distribution and sales of firearms, their statutory responsibility is enshrined in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 1993 as strengthened by the Youth

System analysis and design course. Tools analysis and evaluation Term Paper

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Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Methodology - Essay Example Qualitative research methods provide the researchers with rich data and help him to broaden his horizon during the research. Moreover, it allows the researcher to look at the data with several perspectives and conclude it with the one that seems the most feasible in terms of research question and scope. Qualitative research, as mentioned earlier, is mostly used when the researcher is not completely aware about the fact that what exactly is being looked for (McBurney & White, 2009). In this case, the same is very much true. The topic here is the effect of globalization on Saudi Arabia. However, important here to note is that the effects are unknown and hidden and only this research would be able to reveal the same. One may start this research with a narrowed perspective, a presupposition in mind that the globalization may only have affected the GDP, trade volume, services sector and employment levels. A quantitative research method would allow the researcher to check out the relation and impact on all these elements in terms of past and present number. However, what if the researcher’s assumptions are faulty and effects of globalization are widespread on other elements as well. A quantitative research would fail to overcome this problem; however, a qualitative research definitely would. Nevertheless, qualitative researchers are often very subjective (Marshall & Rossman, 2010). Despite the fact that this type of research would provide many perspectives to the researcher, but he or she would definitely pick the one that suits most of him or her, thus leading to biasness. In addition, qualitative research also makes life difficult to conclude something since there is nothing in black and white (Balnaves & Caputi, 2010). Quantitative research is the collection of hard and numerical data that provides absolute, clear picture, black and white picture of the happenings. Unlike qu alitative

Summarize & Critic on Torah (Pentateuch) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Summarize & Critic on Torah (Pentateuch) - Essay Example The saga moves from beyond external conflicts- Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Issac and Moses to resolving internal conflicts - following covenants and commandments and resolving age hold human dissatisfaction with what is available, rebellion and ultimate salvation by entering the promised land. The compilation of Pentateuch was done by multiple authors and over a period of six centuries. Friedman presents evidence why he believes this is so; for instance Friedman provides evidence of "Doublets", which are variations of the same story with some facts similar and others paralleling the other instance of same story. Friedman cites specific couplets and verses where such synchronicity has occurred. On the other hand terminology used parallel that of the doublet which it has followed - same set of names fall into same doublet. Thus the text of the Pentateuch can be demarcated into following discrete divisions: J (Jahwistic), E (Elohistic), P (Priestly) and D (Deuteronomic). Within these divisions common names and sequence, presence or absence of events can be clearly identified. Even linguistic parlance within the above divisions is strongly indicative of separate authorships for each of the divisions. The events as presented within each of the div... Historical references within each of the divisions identify the approximate time frame and time period in which they were compiled or written. Friedman has exhaustively listed specific references from where the time frame can be elicited, he proclaims that Priestly text dates back to (715-687 B.C), whereas Deuteronomic dates to the era of reign of Josiah the great grandson of Hezekiah. The linguistic classification and analysis has also reiterated that Jahwistic and Elohistic belong to an earlier era than Priestly and Deuteronomic. As far as the relationships between the divisions are concerned parallels of events are so close between Jahwistic and Elohistic indicating that were probably edited together. In Priestly stories the differences between it and Jahwistic Elohistic report a contradiction of one event by the other presentation as possibly an attempt to explain the consequences after event has happened. Deuteronomic includes references to passages in other divisions indicating that it is more dated than others. Another factor determining completeness is cohesion of Jahwistic Elohistic - both together form a nearly complete and continuous story where as separately each is incomplete. Similarly Priestly also forms a nearly complete section on its own. This indicates merging of Jahwistic Elohistic earlier with addition of Priestly at a later date. It also shows different mindsets of the editors who combined the separate texts as heavy editing of the Jahwistic Elohistic sources seems to have been done in order to ensure good fit while Priestly's addition was without heavy source editing. There are also theories that such explicit divisions are

Criminological Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminological Theories - Essay Example Under this theory, a crime is committed after the person has decided to commit the crime out of need for money and other material factors that they thought could enhance their lives. This theory is considered to be connected to the Crime Prevention Theory due to the application of "opportunity prevention techniques" in both theories. The so-called "opportunity prevention techniques" are said to be done to increase the endeavor necessary to a crime, to increase the calculated risks of trepidation, to reduce the probable rewards of a crime, and to remove the reasons that complies with existing laws ("Rational Choice Theory", 2006). Trait theories are derived from a psychological perspective. Perpetrators are said to be different form a "normal" individual because of certain physical and psychological traits. Some of these traits are highly recognizable in individuals that have criminal tendencies and more often than not, crimes are committed because of exposure to society. Therefore, it can be extrapolated that individuals are influenced not only from biological factors but from their own experiences as well. The existence of extroverts and introverts are said to be part of this. theory (Jung, C G., Baynes, H. G., & Baynes, C. F., 1928). Not only that it states in the theory that these traits can easily identify the persons having them but it is also makes it possible to determine their behavior of these individuals in the future. Social structure theories on the other hand states that most people follow the law because they are concerned about their personal commitments and relationships as well as their set of values, norms and beliefs. The more an individual values these factors, the less likely they are to commit a crime. This theory at ways in which criminal tendencies can be reduced, proposing that socialization and social learning will strengthen self-control and prevent anti-social behavior in individuals. This particular theory is based on the Functionalist theory, which has four types of control ("Social Control Theory, 2006"). The first type of control is Direct, which is the application of punishment or rewards towards awful and exemplary behavior respectively. Indirect control, on the other hand is the suppression of crime through one's conscience or superego. The third one is Internal control that establishes control by associating emotional pain and disappointment of one's loved ones or kin whe never he or she commits an unruly act. Finally, Control through needs satisfaction suppresses negative behavior by satisfying the needs of the individual ("Social Control Theory", 2006). The Social process theory seeks to explain the occurrence and suppression of deviant behavior by looking at multiple variables and their combinations. This theory is most applicable to individuals who are most akin to commit deviant actions (Akers, 1973). Groups such as gangs, fraternities and peer groups offer "advantages" and other tempting rewards to encourage individuals to join them (especially young individuals) even if they are known to perform criminally inclined acts. The group could offer psychological advantages such as gaining popularity or material. These advantages are used by the groups as some kind of reinforcement for joining that group. Criminal acts

Exemplary Leader Philosophy Paper Essay Example for Free

Exemplary Leader Philosophy Paper Essay I never aspired to be an ethical leader before this class. It is not that I acted unethically, but that I never understood the importance of being an ethical leader. As a child, I was constantly changing my mind about what I was going to be when I grew up, but never once did â€Å"ethical† cross my mind. It seems as though this is a common theme among human beings, that we see success through the masculine lens of materialism and consumerism. Being able to acquire the newest, biggest, most innovative thing is what motivates us from a very young age. This is not something to be necessarily ashamed about, because at one point or another, everyone acts out of self-interest and solely for self-advancement. The thing that has to change, however, is the amount of fully-grown adults who still act out of self interest, and more specifically, adults in leadership roles, managing corporations, institutions, cities, states, and countries, that pull their team in the right direction for themselves, and not necessarily for the organization. This class has taught me who I am, both as an individual and as a part of a cohesive team, who I can be, thanks to the concepts and thought-provoking readings and lectures, and how I can get there by utilizing these concepts and strategies. Throughout the course of this semester, I have been able to continue producing the same amount of success as I have in the past, but I have been able to do it the â€Å"right† way. By identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to those opportunities of my personality and character, I have been able to identify my true self. This identification process is the first step toward becoming an ethical and moral example for peers, subordinates, and even superiors, both in a professional sense and in a personal sense. â€Å"History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.† – B. R. Ambedkar This quote, spoken by Indian scholar B. R. Ambedkar, shows the belief in the common phrase, â€Å"business ethics is an oxymoron.† It is this mentality that began the self-fulfilling prophecy that business leaders use as an excuse for unethical behavior. The â€Å"slippery slope† of ethical breakdowns, as Badaracco calls it, begins with a mentality that justifies the diversion of ethics and economics. Throughout the rest of this exploration of the current self, the prospective self, and the presentation of a development plan, I will disprove this mentality. Current Self In order to effectively assess one’s ethical and moral fortitude, one must objectively identify his strengths and weaknesses relative to being an exemplary ethical leader. Furthermore, one must then address each individual aspect of his personality, including character traits, values, and integrity through relative ethical concepts and principles. By executing this process, one can truly learn about oneself and identify the necessary steps to becoming the possible self, or leader he wants to become. The process of identifying your own strengths and weaknesses can be difficult, especially in terms of being completely unbiased and objective. The key to successfully doing this is in relying on factual evidence that supports each strength and weakness. To be considered either, however, there must be a certain consistency in terms of actions as well as intent, which proves the validity of each strength or weakness. During my self-exploration, I thought back to some of my first memories in order to serve as a foundation for my moral potency and character, and to see how my experiences have shaped my personality, both positively and negatively. This process has given me perspective and helped me attain the knowledge necessary to complete an objective report of my own personality, values, skills, characteristics, and motivations. Without this process, I would have been subject to a common decision making fallacy that was taught in my organizational behavior class, known as the tendency to use information at hand, which describes a person’s inclination to make a decision based on readily-available information, rather than fact-based evidence. In this case, the â€Å"readily-available information† would be anecdotes and experiences that â€Å"stick out† in my memory. These examples are not necessarily wrong to use, but basing my process on them wholly would provide data inconsistent with my true personality. Since I can remember, I have always been a fierce competitor. This is shown through my spirited drive to achieve that has permeated my entire life, from academics, to extracurricular activities, to athletics. This competitiveness has both positive and negative effects on my leadership abilities, because I am driven and motivated to achieve goals, but can prove dangerous in team situations where group consensus is necessary. The competitive nature that is ingrained in my personality can lead to a concept called â€Å"me-ism†, described by Badaracco in chapter 4, which explains the phenomenon of being so goal-oriented that you lose sight of the effects that your actions have on other people. This concept can also relate to Badaracco’s inattentional blindness and motivated blindness, which describe occurrences in which one’s personal goals or lack of careful observation override that person’s ability to sense an ethical dilemma. My competitive nature has led to many successes in my life, including winning the New York under-18 state hockey championship, becoming the first non-senior to be an alternate captain on the Wake Forest club ice hockey team, and of course being accepted into this business school. These examples are all evidence of my competitive nature, and describe my desire to lead and win simultaneously. The concept of the future is tremendously fascinating to me. In another BEM class that I took this semester, we did a personality assessment that included over one hundred twenty questions and returned your five biggest personality strengths, and â€Å"futurism† was one of mine. I truly enjoy thinking about the future because of its uncertainty. I feel so much potential and possibility for myself, which is strengthened by my competitiveness. My ability to constantly think about the future while still keeping my â€Å"feet on the ground† and completing my assignments in the present is one of my most powerful strengths. My futurism keeps me on track toward achieving my personal and organizational goals. Becoming a transformational leader begins with the futurist outlook combined with a strong moral potency, which is the combination of three moral factors: moral ownership, moral courage, and moral efficacy. Moral potency, when combined with futurism, provides a leader with a strong moral and ethical foundation on which to base decisions, as well as the ability to envision the potential of a given organization. By acting in this way, a leader can start a chain reaction called the contagion effect, which is the phenomenon that occurs by promoting a transparent, ethical, and fair environment, starting from the C-level executives and â€Å"infecting† every employee underneath. The aforementioned strengths of mine, a strong competitive nature and a futuristic outlook provide me with an ethically-ambiguous foundation, meaning that both highly ethical and highly unethical leaders sport these qualities, and the actions that I make within the next few years will decide on which end of the spectrum I fall. In order for me to ensure that I do not start down the slippery slope of unethical decisions, I must be conscious of the fact that each decision I make has ethical implications, and I also must be weary of my weaknesses that could lead me down the wrong path. Acknowledging one’s weaknesses is critical to the process of defining your current self. As the saying goes, â€Å"nobody’s perfect,† and the only way to minimize the mistakes you make throughout your life is to accept the fact that you do have weaknesses, and to analyze what they are, why you have them, how you act on them, and how to correct them. My competitive drive has led me to have a strong desire to please authority figures, which is a major weakness of my personality, not in the sense that it is bad to desire recognition and achievement, but it frequently leads to Machiavellian, â€Å"ends justify the means† justifications of morally questionable actions. One of Badaracco’s ethical breakdowns, which he discusses in chapter five, the overvaluation of outcomes, directly relates to this personality trait. Two years ago I interned for a brokerage firm on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and my boss was a task-oriented, results-driven leader, a common type in the financial sector. He demanded that the team of four interns provide a daily projection of trade volume based on an algorithm and spreadsheets dating back to the early 1990’s. After being reprimanded by our boss for presenting him with unfavorable figures, we began to slightly alter the bottom line to get his approval. In this situation, we made a major ethical mistake by overvaluing the results. With the knowledge I have gained from this class, I would have analyzed the decision to alter the numbers using the categorical imperative, and in this situation, especially in the financial sector, it would be a very bad thing if my actions became universal norms. Fortunately, the trade projections were strictly internal, and I found out later in the internship that my boss would assign this project to new interns as a way of â€Å"breaking them in† and showing them the harshness of the business world. This desire to please has affected my leadership skills mostly within the context of leading peers, because, when combined with my competitive nature, I realize that there are few things that I will not consider doing to get ahead, which will ostracize me from my peers and create a divide within the group, decreasing my ability to influence others around me. Another weakness of mine is my tendency to overuse legitimate power when it is given to me. Legitimate power, which is defined as power bestowed upon someone over others, can come as a promotion, as it did in my case, when I was voted captain of my varsity hockey team in high school. This promotion gave me nominal power over my teammates off of the rink, but it was enough to leverage and coerce them to follow my orders. Trevino and Nelson outline the psychology I used to justify this behavior in chapter five, in their discussion of informal organizational cultural systems. The norms usually override formal rules, according to Trevino and Nelson. â€Å"†¦Despite formal rules, regulations, codes, and credos, informal norms are frequently the most influential behavior guides and clues to the culture†. The rationalization that â€Å"it’s the way we do things around here† was understood by my teammates, because the captain before me was the same way. It is this lack of moral potency to realize the unethical behavior and act on my personal values that makes this a weakness of mine. In the heat of the moment, it is hard to stop yourself and think about ethical philosophy, but necessary to promote the organizational culture that is conducive and necessary to running a hockey team. This self-exploration has provided me with a sound basis to analyze myself and prepare to make the jump into the business world with a strong moral compass and the ability to create a working plan to become the exemplary leader that I wish to be. However, first I must decide and articulate exactly what kind of leader that is. Possible Self The second step in becoming an exemplary ethical leader is to identify your possible self, that is, the leader that you wish to become at some point in the future. This can be done in a multi-step process, first by identifying exemplary leaders that serve as role models or mentors to you, and then by analyzing their leadership qualities and determining which of those you wish to attain. It is undeniable that every ethical leader chooses to lead with character and integrity, two of the most important characteristics necessary to manage an organization, but just how do you define character? According to Professor Sean Hannah, character is defined by three aspects: moral discipline, moral attachment or attainment, and moral autonomy. The combination of these facets provides a solid basis for the quantification of leadership characteristics. Moral discipline outlines the ability to act in alignment with your personal values, while moral attachment or attainment refers to one’s ability to hold true to your values over time, and moral autonomy is the ability to formulate moral decisions based on your values and decision-making skills, without the influence of outside factors. Both character and integrity play instrumental roles in the development of ethical leaders, as well as in their ability to become role models for lower-level employees. My most recent role model for ethical leadership is Dean Reinemund, because he has been extremely successful as a leader in two vastly different industries, which shows that he has the skills necessary to lead, regardless of the situational context. During his guest lecture in our class, Dean Reinemund spoke about his â€Å"Four C’s of Leadership.† I believe that these four characteristics are immensely important to become a transformational leader with a vision that inspires employees to work at the highest level possible. The first â€Å"C† is character, which Mr. Reinemund describes as having your internal compass point to â€Å"true north†. Having the character to act in correlation with personal and organizational values in the face of adversity is an extremely admirable quality, and is something that I wish to have in my possible self. Mr. Reinemund’s third â€Å"C† is the one that resonated with me the most, particularly because it is the only aspect of his leadership philosophy that cannot be readily learned. Commitment, Reinemund says, is the passionate, internal drive to succeed, and it is something that is ingrained in your personality. Although you can motivate yourself through other, extrinsic means, the â€Å"warrior’s ambition† that Mr. Reinemund describes is a burning internal passion for the work that is being done. This is another facet of an exemplary leader that cannot be left out. Badaracco writes about Aristotle’s â€Å"Golden Mean† in terms of leadership by describing the balance between having a high concern for oneself and having a high concern for others. By attaining this equilibrium, leaders can act ethically and morally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This philosophy also relates to Badaracco’s four spheres of commitments that leaders have to navigate during each and every decision they make. Managing the four spheres is an integral part of being an exemplary leader and must be included in my definition of an exemplary leader. The last piece of leadership that I would like to emulate as an exemplary leader is the characteristics of a quiet leader. Modesty, self-restraint, patience, and careful, incremental moves can right, or even prevent, moral wrongdoings without blowing the issue out of proportion. The public displays of heroism, as coined by Badaracco, depicted in movies and television are usually extremely unnecessary and their emotionalism and lack of careful planning undercuts their credibility, while simultaneously decreasing the amount of empathy received from the listener. Being a quiet leader means doing the right thing, especially when nobody is looking, and that is why I admire such a quality and desire to be the quiet leader who allows his exemplary actions speak for him. Action Plan The third and final step to becoming an exemplary ethical leader is to formulate and execute an actionable leadership development plan, which outlines the steps necessary to transform the current self into the desired possible self. By identifying my strengths and weaknesses, and then identifying the ideal leader that I want to become, I can precisely calculate the discrepancy between the two, and what specific steps I need to take in order to become the exemplary leader I want to be. By using course concepts and relating them to my current self, I have come up with the following steps for my action plan: 1. Do not underestimate the weight of any one decision, no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be 2. Follow Badaracco’s steps to becoming a quiet leader 3. Apply Trevino Nelson’s 8 steps to recognized ethical dilemmas 4. Read and reflect on the characteristics of an Authentic Leader every day 5. Establish a strong support group to help assist my decision making and provide comprehensive unbiased feedback These five steps, if followed correctly, will create the optimal environment to foster my development as an exemplary leader. My action plan is conducive to the type of leader that I want to be, because it focuses on further improving my strengths, and transforming my weaknesses into strengths by utilizing concepts and strategies learned in class. The first step is the most important one, because due to my competitive nature, I have a tendency to rush decisions in order to complete tasks more efficiently, but in the long run, especially in the professional world, I must be able to recognize the ethicality of each decision I make. By analyzing every decision I make from now on, whether it is my choice of shampoo or a multi-million dollar contract, I will be able to acknowledge the ethical repercussions of each alternative. My second step is to follow Badaracco’s steps to becoming a quiet leader, particularly the second rule, which says to â€Å"pick your battles†, and outlines the concept of political capital. Leadership is not defined by how many times you â€Å"blow the whistle†, but how much of an impact you had when you did decide to take a stand. Consequentially, I must make ethical decisions like Machiavelli’s fox rather than the lion. By building political capital and using it wisely, the respect that colleagues, superiors, and employees show you will increase, and therefore your ability to influence them will also increase, which will allow you to lead with confidence. Trevino Nelson’s 8-Steps to ethical decision making are extremely important, because they provide a framework for which to analyze and come to a conclusion about any decision. The â€Å"action† piece of this step is simple: I have handwritten the steps on a small piece of paper and put it in my wallet, so that I can refer to it in any situation. By slowing down and analyzing each choice I make in terms of these 8 steps, I’ll be able to consistently make the best decision possible, which will instill confidence in my peers as well as show potential to my superiors. On the reverse side of my wallet-sized 8 steps, I have written the characteristics of an Authentic Leader, because I believe that simply being a quiet leader is not sufficient. Being a quiet leader is a great way to get things done, but in the long term may result with my leadership becoming â€Å"silent† leadership, wherein my peers and employees cannot easily see how I analyze ethical dilemmas and may start to infer that I rely on bottom-line statistics only. This is where the slippery slope begins, and my fourth step will counteract the possibility of being perceived as ethically neutral. My final step is to create a support group of people from different parts of my life, including peers such as friends and classmates, superiors (teachers and coaches), and subordinates such as the younger players on my hockey team. By establishing this group, I will be able to ask them to give me feedback on my projected personality. The first four steps of my action plan are important to my development as a leader, however they will be meaningless if what people perceive about me is different than what I want. Moreover, a support group will help me integrate my different lives, as Dean Reinemund spoke about in his lecture, by teaching me that in order to be perceived as an exemplary leader, I must have complete alignment between my espoused personal values and my in-use values in every aspect of my life. Solely having an action plan, however, will not give me the results I desire, which is why I must set both short and long term goals for myself in my journey to becoming an ethical leader. Short-term goals are imperative to maintaining my improvement in leadership skills, because without consistent feedback, it is impossible to gauge one’s progress. The support group I establish will provide me with that feedback. Specifically, I will create a point-based survey and ask each person in my support group to complete it. By doing this, I will have quantitative results at the end of each month to see which areas of my personality need improvement. By setting short-term goals, my competitive nature will enhance my desire to improve, until I reach my long-term goals. Perhaps the most challenging task of this assignment was to envision the evolution of my personality from a college student to a business leader, because I did not know exactly how to set long-term goals. After thinking it through, I believe that the most pertinent long-term goal that I can set is to reflect on my life as a leader, and have no decisions that I regret making. This seems vague, but it must be in order to work. By achieving short-term monthly goals, I will achieve my long-term goal as a result, which is the express purpose of short-term goals. If I can look back on my life as a leader when I retire, and I can honestly say that there is not a single decision that I made or failed to make that resulted in an unethical consequence, I will consider myself a success. Conclusion Throughout the course of this assignment, as well as the class as a whole, I have been exposed to completely new ways of analyzing situations and have been able to integrate those concepts and strategies into my daily life. By creating this action plan for the development of my character and leadership skills; I have begun the preparation necessary to successfully lead in the business world, which is an incredibly valuable head start on students in other business schools around the country. B. R. Ambedkar’s pessimistic quote regarding the ethics versus economics dynamic that I used earlier in the paper was a perfect way for me to gauge the effectiveness of my action plan. I believe that through the analysis of my current self, the reflection and projection of my possible self, and the creation of my leadership development plan, I have been able to disprove the mentality that â€Å"business ethics is an oxymoron† and begin to strengthen the mentality that â€Å"ethics is good business, and good business is ethical.† References 1. Sean Hannah, class lectures and PowerPoint presentations, 8/29/2012-12/4/2012 2. Hannah Avolio, Moral Potency: Building the Capacity for Character-Based Leadership 3. Trevino Nelson, Managing Business Ethics 4. Badaracco, Defining Moments 5. George, Sims, McLean, Mayer, Discovering Your Authentic Leadership 6. Badaracco, We Don’t Need Another Hero 7. Reinemund, class lecture 10/4/2012 View as multi-pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee’s only novel to date is To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960 but set in the 1930s in America’s deep-south. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and was quickly made into a successful film starring Gregory Peck. The popularity that the novel immediately attracted endures to modern times. The semi-autobiographical story concerns the trial of an innocent black man, Tom Robinson for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell and around this central drama the novelist has woven a tale which reveals the appalling nature of prejudice in many forms, not just that of colour, as her ‘mocking birds’ which must not be harmed because they do none, suffer from the cruelty and ignorance of those around them. The story is told through the eyes of the child narrator, Scout, who lives, along with her brother, Jem, with their father, Atticus, the town lawyer and destined to represent the ill-fated Tom Robinson, and their cook/housekeeper and friend, Calpurnia. In his attitude to Calpurnia, as to much in his life, Atticus challenges the contemporary view because though Calpurnia is black, she is treated as a member of the family, much to the annoyance of his sister, Alexandra. Atticus is in fact the means by which Lee examines much that is wrong with Maycomb society, from his lack of prejudice, to his defence of Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley and his skilful means of challenging the education system which denies Scout the freedom to read by simply ignoring it. The motto by which he lives is that, ‘you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of viewuntil you climb into his skin and walk around in it’ and this he passes on to his children. However, Lee is keen to avoid making Atticus appear patently and self-consciously heroic, as in the mad-dog incident and, indeed, his defence of Tom Robinson, he only acts ‘heroically’ when he is compelled to do so. Lee treats the reader to a succession of humorous, sympathetic and engaging characters as the story develops, none more so than the pivotal and mysterious Boo Radley and the quaintly eccentric Dill (the latter is thought to have been based on the author Truman Capote, with whom Lee grew up). Boo is in a sense both the greatest victim and the ultimate hero in the book and in many ways Dill is the ‘comic-relief’ as well as being the representative of what we would now call a dysfunctional family as much as is Boo. By using the device of the child narrator, Lee invites both advantages and disadvantages. She gains the innocence and naivety of Scout together with her ingenuous curiosity and her ability to diffuse tense situations by her inherent innocence but she also has the commensurate disadvantage of having to get round the problems that necessarily attach to a child being the principal means by which a trial for rape is discussed. Lee solves this in the main by having Scout overhear conversations which she does not fully understand but which the reader, of course, does. This dual narrative relationship with the reader is one of the reasons why Lee’s narrative technique has been so highly praised. However, the main reason why the novel has achieved such a seminal place in the development of the American novel is that it was published at a time when racial tension was at its height in America and being challenged as never before by the Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Thus, by showing the injustices which black Americans continued to suffer via a narrative set nearly thirty years before, Lee addresses a contemporary problem by means of the historical resonance with which the book is permeated. Emblematic of this is the trial of Tom Robinson which had a contemporary connective in a similar trial in the 1930s. Tom, one of Lee’s principal ‘mocking birds’, is manifestly innocent and proven to be physically incapable of having committed the crime by Atticus: ‘Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I dont pretend to understand’, he declares and the reader shares his lack of comprehension, making prejudice manifestly against reason. Â  The fact that this does not and cannot save Tom in an atmosphere which seethes with racial hatred adds to the imperative of the narrative; In the secret courts of mens hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed. However, Lee is even-handed in her depiction of racial tension, since when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to the church where the black residents of Maycomb worship, they are not universally welcomed and certainly Tom is not the only victim of prejudice in the story. Boo Radley, imprisoned by his well-meaning but misguided father after a teenage misdemeanour, has become the subject of much gossip and conjecture. Indeed, the children, Scout, Jem and Dill, make him the subject of their daily dramatics, supplanting the ‘Dracula’ stories with which they have become bored. Atticus stops this as soon as it starts and the irony is that a friendship blossoms secretly between Boo and the children, of which the culmination is Boo’s saving the lives of Scout and Jem when they are attacked by the vicious Bob Ewell. Scout reiterates the idea, slightly altered, that Atticus uttered early in the novel, that ‘you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them’ and by now the reader fully understands the meaning of those words, just as the child does. In conclusion, perhaps it is true to say that the enduring achievement of Harper Lee’s novel is to portray racial hatred and a multiplicity of tensions motivated by misapprehension and prejudice via the microcosm of small-town America which is Maycomb. Indeed, perhaps readers continue to respond to To Kill a Mockingbord precisely because of the prejudices which sadly remain. Bibliography: Jerilyn Fisher and Ellen S.Silber, Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of Gender, (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 2003). Wayne Flynt, Poor but Proud: Alabamas Poor Whites, (University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL, 1989). Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockinbird, (Arrow, London, 1989). Claudia Durst Johnson, Understanding to Kill a Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historic Documents, (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1994). Annie Kasper, ‘General Semantics in to Kill a Mockingbird’, ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, Vol. 63, 2006. Dean Shackelford, ‘The Female Voice in To Kill a Mockingbird: Narrative Strategies in Film and Novel’, The Mississippi Quarterly, Vol. 50, 1996. Renee Swanson, ‘The Living Dead: What the Dickens Are College Students Reading?’, Policy Review, No. 67, 1994.

The Thigh Gap Epidemic Essay -- Beyonce photoshopping

Beyoncà © Knowles- Carter is an aspiring artist in the music industry and a major role model for young women of all ages. However, on April 10th of 2014 commenters online slammed the thirty-two year old singer regarding her photoshopped thigh gap in a vacation snap of herself playing golf in the Dominican Republic (see fig. 1) (Dodge). http://images.lifeandstylemag.com/uploads/posts/image/43112/beyonce-thigh-gap-photoshop-1.jpg Fig.1. Beyoncà © photoshops thigh gap Beyoncà © was also accused of using a clone stamp tool to make her thighs appear thinner). After this heating controversy there is no saying if this singer will be able to retain her Queen Bee status. A thigh gap is identified as a gap that becomes evident between a woman's inner thighs when she stands with her feet together. If you haven't heard of it, it’s probably because it doesn't exist in the majority of the population. The infamous thigh gap has been a growing obsession among young girls over the past decade; a bodily phenomenon that has been constantly flaunted by supermodels have brainwashed teenage girls into feeling the need to achieve this thigh gap. Through snapshots on Instagram and Image posts on Tumblr and various social media, the desire for the thigh gap has become a phenomenon. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S6UcJx-ole8/hqdefault.jpg Fig. 2. Painting of a Renaissance Woman. Women weren’t always striving for a thin physique. In fact, women were once admired for their natural, God-given bodies. For Instance, during the Renaissance era (1400s- early 16th century) the more voluptuous a woman’s body was, the more she was desired (Kuchinsky). Painting... ...d over to the states as more young women strive to achieve thinner physiques. Works Cited Dodge, Shyam. â€Å"Beyonce slammed by fans as she is accused of photoshopping a 'thigh gap' into bikini photo†. DailyMail, 2014. Web. 9 May 2014. London, Bianca. Jones, Toni. â€Å"Skinny models spark disturbing trend for 'thigh gap' lipo treatment on Harley Street†. Dailymail, 2013. Web. 10 May 2014. Kuchinsky, Charlotte. â€Å"Beauty through the ages—The Renaissance†. Thebeautybiz, 2007. Web. 9 May 2014. Np.â€Å"A Timeline of Sexy Defined Through The Ages†. Stylecaster, 2010. Web. 9 May 2014. Np.â€Å"Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Economic Trends†. Westga, nd. Web. 10 May 2014. Np.â€Å"Social Media & EdTech†. EdTechRevolutionInEducation, 2013. Print. Np.â€Å"Thigh Gap—Origins of the phenomenon†. Wikipedia, 2014. Web. 10 May 2014.

Human Worth and Religion in Revelation :: Revelation

The story revelation is one that demonstrates and explains Human Worth, Religion, and Society in a very extreme, but very understandable way. Mrs. Turpin who believes that in society there are people like her and her husband ( home and land owners) who are above all others except people with more money and land. â€Å"On the bottom of the heap were most colored people [†¦] then next to them not above just away from them were the white-trash, and then above them the home and land owners to which she a Claud belonged.† She has a very strong belief this and Thanks God that he didn’t make her like any of those people below her. Even goes as far as debating lives if God would have a given her a choice between any of the people she thinks she is better than. A trip to the doctor’s office for her husband’s ulcer brings a new â€Å"revelation† for Mrs. Turpin. While observing the people in the waiting room, she analyzes them and gives them titles in the groups below her. White- trash, ugly and so on. There is one girl in the room though who seems to really have something against Mrs. Turpin. Every comment she makes seems to upset the young girl and make her agitation to rise. It disturbs and also confuses her because she can’t understand why the girl who doesn’t even know her would want to ac so rudely towards such a kind a giving woman such as her. â€Å"All at once the ugly girl turned her lips inside out again. Her eyes fixed like two drills on Mrs. Turpin. T his time there was no mistaking that there was something urgent behind them.† Continuing on in conversation with the white- trash an outburst of thanking the lord aloud causes the young lady to suddenly hurl the book she was reading at Mrs. Turpin and jumping across the table and attempting to choke her. The nurse and doctor try to contain the young girl while slowly giving her a shot in the arm to calm her insanity down. Leaving everyone in shock and disbelief, especially in the case of Mrs. Turpin she boldly asks what the girl has to say to her. Settling her eyes on her the young girl says in a clear, but quiet tone â€Å"Go back to hell where you came from, you old warthog.† This ugly nasty young girl is the thing through which the truth is revealed to Mrs.

Welsh Poetry Essay - Compare and contrast White Roses with Stop all the

Welsh Poetry Essay - Compare and contrast White Roses with Stop all the Clocks. -Compare and contrast "White Roses" with "Stop all the Clocks." "White Roses" is about a young boy who dies. It was written by Gillian Clarke, a modern Welsh poet. The title of the poem is ironic, because "White Roses" suggests youth, beauty and innocence. The poem starts with, "Outside the green velvet sitting room" This suggests luxury and wealth. The use of the colour green is also very indicative, because the colour green suggests spring and fertility and overall life. This is in contrast with the theme of the poem, which is suppoused to be one of death, but in actuality, it is as much about life as it is of death. The next two verses fit in with the theme of green, fertility and springtime. "White roses bloom after rain" "They hold water and sunlight" This is a simile. Water and sunlight are essential to life, which interlock with the theme of life. The newly-bloomed white roses are only still alive because of the water and sunlight they hold. The reader is then taken inside , to a scene of sickness and disease. "Within the boy who sleeps in my care, In the big chair" "Big chair" suggests that this boy is a very small boy. The boy awakens to pain. "The cold bloom Opens at a terrible speed And the splinter of ice moves" The second and the third stanza are linked together, through enjambment. "In his blood as he stirs in the chair" From the next line we can assume that the boy and carer are not family. The narrator is merely a nurse or a carer for this boy. The boy is obviously in a lot of pain. A sympton of some unknown disease. He grits in teeth in effort to subdue of forget the... ...ve, where-as "Stop all the Clocks" is written in first person narrative. "Stop all the Clocks" is also a more personal poem where as "White Roses" is more vauge and abstract. More objective . "White Roses" is about a child, who was not close to the poet, dying. "Stop all the Clocks" is a poem all about grieving and mourning for a lover, a partner. It is about the complete and utter outpouring of grief. "White Roses" is simply a reflection of death. The poem I prefer is "Stop all the Clocks", because I feel it is a more significant poem than "White Roses" simply because it is a more personal poem. A poem full of heartache, grief and despair that someone the poet truly loved has gone forever. I feel it is a more realistic poem. Although "White Roses" is a sad poem, "Stop all the Clocks" is a sadder poem. Full of an overwhelming sense of grief and of loss.

Frequent Shopper Program

Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) is a local upscale specialty food store that is committed to providing customers with the finest selection of specialty foods. In addition, KFF would like to reward their customers for their loyalty by incorporating a frequent shopper program. KFF is planning on developing a system that tracks customer purchases and awards loyalty points for redemption. The system will assist KFF in satisfying their most valued customers.Smith Systems Consulting Firm has been contracted for the development of the system. Smith Systems Consulting has been serving clients since 1994 with high value web and business application services. In this proposal, Smith Systems consulting will propose two alternative methods for completing the frequent shopper application. The advantages and disadvantages for each method and how the firm would conduct testing for each development method will be discussed.Regardless of which method is used, most software process models, follow a similar se t of phases and activities. The difference between models is the order and frequency of the phases. The specific parts of the software process are presented below: 1. Inception – Software product is created and defined.2. Planning – Resources, schedule, and cost are determined. 3. Requirements Analysis – Specify what the application must do. 4. Design – Specify the parts and how they fit 5. Implementation – Write the code 6. Testing – Execute the application with input test data 7. Maintenance – Repair defects and add capability (TechTarget, 2014)The first model that will be proposed is the â€Å"waterfall† process. The â€Å"waterfall† process is the oldest software process model and despite its weaknesses, it is still in widespread use today. The waterfall process requires following the phases in a sequential order where the output for one phase is used as the input for the next. The next phase in the process is not st arted until the previous one has been completed, although a small overlap between phases is accepted. Two advantages and disadvantages of using this model relative to the frequent shopper program will be discussed.The first advantage is the practicality of the process. We have been using this process for many years and have a great deal of experience with it. All individuals involved have and understanding of the process and its execution. The second advantage is the process is simple and easy to use. The criteria of each phase are set and completed sequentially. The order of execution is easy for everyone to comprehend. There is no question on what needs to be completed before the next phase can begin.The first disadvantage is that requirements need to be known up front. KFF currently has a broad range of requirements and every detail is not known. As the project progresses, more details may become known; which could cause the project to be stopped and re-imagined. The second disad vantage is that there is no feedback of the system by stakeholders until after the testing phase. KFF has no way of knowing if the program meets their requirements because the â€Å"waterfall† process does not facilitate intermediate versions.The second method that will be proposed is the agile methodology. The agile methodology proposes alternatives to traditional project management. Agile development focuses on keeping code simple, testing often, and delivering functional bits of the application as soon as they are ready (TechTarget, 2014). One goal of agile development is to build upon small-client-approved parts as the project progresses, as opposed to delivering one large application at the end of the project.One advantage to using agile methodology for the frequent shopper application is the ability to respond to changing requirements. KFF may decide to change the requirements of the project, which can easily be handled using the flexibility of the agile methodology. A second advantage is the face-to-face communication and continues input from customer representatives making sure that there is no guesswork (Buzzle, 2013). The result is exactly what the customer has required.The first disadvantage of the agile methodology is the possibility that the project can be taken off track. KFF is not one hundred percent clear on the final outcome that they want; therefore, the project has the potential to get off track because requirements are constantly changing. Another disadvantage is that it is difficult to assess the effort needed to complete this project at the beginning of the software development life cycle. Since KFF is not specific on the requirements for the project, we cannot plan how much time or the amount of resources we will need to complete the project.Regardless of the method that is used for the frequent shopper application, testing is a necessary component of the process. Testing is conducted differently depending on which software model is used. Since the waterfall method follows a sequential approach, the testing is done so also. The flexibility of the agile method also allows flexibility for the testing process.Using the waterfall method testing would begin during the implementation stage. The work would be divided into modules and the coding would begin after receiving the system design documents. The frequent shopper program would be developed into small programs called units. As an example, there would be a program that handles the input from the customer and another program that would track the employee’s reward points. Each unit is developed and then tested for functionality. Unit testing verifies if the units meet the specifications.The units are then integrated into a complete system during the integration phase and tested to see if all units coordinate between each other and the system functions as a whole per the specification (Onestoptesting, 2014). After testing of the frequent shopper program is successful, the software is delivered to the customer. If problems are found after deployment they are solved immediately. This is referred to be maintenance and sometimes that process is virtually never ending.Agile testing focuses on testing being an integral part of software development rather than a separate phase. (â€Å"Agile Testing†, n.d.) Testing from the beginning of the project and continually testing throughout the project lifecycle is the foundation in which agile testing is built. Agile testing is software testing based on the principles of agile software development.The combined team, including the testing team will take responsibility of analyzing the business requirements of the frequent shopper program. Together the team will define a sprint goal. The testing team will then begin work on the test plan that is validated by the entire team and KFF. As the development team starts the implementation, the test team will begin working on the test case design.Wh en the code is ready to test, the test team will do a quick test on the development environment, in order to identify the early stage defects. Developers will fix the defects on a priority basis. This iteration will continue until the end of the code implementation. In addition after approval from KFF, automated test cases will be run on a daily basis. Because of the frequency of testing using the agile method, automated tests are needed.Smith Systems Consulting needs to choose the methodology that works for them and the client. Since each project is unique, there is not a one-size fit all methodology. Two alternative methods for completing this project were presented and Smith Systems Consulting can make a decision on which to choose.

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIX EARTH

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