Thousand Cranes By Yasunari Kawabata Essays

Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata ILLUSTRATE THE ROLE WHICH MRS OTA AND HER DAUGHTER FUMIKO PLAY IN BRINGING ABOUT THE REFORMATION OF KIKUJIS CHARACTER TO COME TO TERMS WITH HIS PAST. IN WHAT WAYS (IF ANY) DOES THIS HELP HIM BECOME A BETTER PERSON? Kawabatas Thousand Cranes is a novel that puts little emphasis on story lines, placing more value on emotions, reflections, symbolism and such. The rather crude (at first sight) plot of this complicated piece of Japanese literature is concentrated on a tangled web of relationships of the past, riddled with jealousy, insecurity and deep mistrust. Kikuji Mitani, the main character, has grown up watching many of these triangular and adulterous ties all unfold before his eyes his father taking the star role. As a result of this, even now, as a young working man the ghosts of the past come to haunt him, threatening to take over his life and make him a replication of his father even though he is now dead. The center of this haunting is in something he witnessed as a boy of eight or nine Chikakos birthmark. This disgusting image has a surprisingly intense effect on Kikuji, in fact so deep- He could sometimes imagine even that his own destinies were enmeshed in it. This is the state of Kikuji at the start of the book, an obsessive, even neurotic, driven character completely confused and angered by life, trying to push the past as far away as possible. His first meeting with Mrs. Ota is a forced one, a meeting he would rather have avoided. He had wanted to meet the Inamura girl later identified as the girl of the thousand cranes who is beautiful and more importantly pure in his eyes- clean against the rankling histories of middle-aged women in sharp contrast to the likes of Mrs. Ota, whose very presence is impure- It seemed wrong to meet the girlhere before Mrs. Ota. The thought of seeing Fumiko for the first time is even less appealing- he was even more repelled at the thought of meeting the daughter today. However his first impressions after four years of Mrs. Ota are- She seemed wholly warm, tender, overcome by pleasure at such an unexpected meeting. But this is quickly ruined by his malicious thought- One can only conclude she was wholly unaware of her place in the assembly and in society (?). From repulsion for both Mrs. Ota and Fumiko, Kikuji reserves his disgust only for Mrs. Ota, leaving sympathy for Fumiko- Was the woman foolish, or shameless? He was overcome with pity for the daughter Fumiko is still an unknown, with nothing revealed about her personality or any past history, but Kikuji does notice as Mrs. Ota is leaving that- There was a look of appeal in the girls eyes. We can conclude from here that Kikuji is very perceptive, noticing details that others may not take note of, although her appeal can be understood in many different ways, maybe an appeal for forgiveness, or an appeal to stay away from her mother. But the point being made here is that Kikuji is observing maybe a little too much about the two women if he has such a deep hatred for them. He should rather be aloof and uninterested in them. There are many other instances throughout the book where he scrutinizes like this, Fumiko and her mother both being characterized by their long, white neck(s)/throat(s). His keen perception of such detail could be used to guess at another aspect of his personality- that he is to some extent like an artist. However Kikujis newfound willingness to deal with his history is displayed when he purposely walks to Mrs. Ota despite his aversion for her- Nevertheless, he walked toward the gate. This is a very impulsive and perhaps dangerous (mentally harmful) decision for Kikuji to make, quite rash, because anything can happen. He seems to have made it quite clear in the pages before that at the moment he believes that his only salvation from his fathers curse (obviously he feels it is a curse) is to keep away from its living components- Mrs. Ota, Chikako and perhaps Fumiko. Now he is not even stopping to think what this new contradictory action will do to his years of resolve, to his determination to

Pretty Women essays

Pretty Women essays Pretty Women, directed by Garry Marshall, is a light, bubbly, romantic comedy. On a scale from 1-5 (five being the best), I rate this movie a five. The story plot of this film appeals to the emotion of the audience. Between the romance, greed, lust, and power of this film, the audience can relate with these typical issues. Also, I thought the acting was phenomenal by both Gere and Roberts. There was intense passion between them throughout the film, very convincing. Pretty Women, portrays the bad end of the stick life dishes out normally, and the knight in shining armor that possibly may come rescue you. Pretty Women, reminds me of the famous fairy tale of Cinderella, the theme of both films relate. Both share the story line of a confident women working hard on every challenge life threw at her. Finally her day comes when a handsom man will rescue her form her pit of despair, and take her in his arms. Cinderellas life hadnt gone exactly as she planned, she found herself in rags her whole life. Pretty Women, is a nineties version with a little less fiction and a little more harsh reality. Julia Roberts plays a carefree prostitute named Vivian Ward. Her co-star Richard Gere is a successful corporate terminator named Edward Lewis. Their lives are worlds apart until they meet on the corner one night. In a matter of days Vivian goes from rags to riches, her new sweetie Edward opens her eyes to the finer things in life. Vivians energetic spirit challenges Edwards no non- sense, business minded approach to life. Vivian had a blast working for Edward, so much she accidentally fell in love with him. When it came time for Vivian to leave, Edward offered her an apartment, clothes, happiness, all paid for if she stayed. Vivian refused and was disappointed in Edwards poor decisi ...

Rite of Passage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rite of Passage - Essay Example Ceremonies are very important during rites of passage as they help in the preparing an individual on how to adjust to different changes in their life. Besides the rites of passage being marked by the four stages of human life, it also takes the form of professional progress in life. This is indicated by graduation ceremonies that mark the end of educational progress in order to get into the job market. During the rites of passage, marriage is one of human life stages that mark a remarkable change in human life. This is because it involves making a choice of getting into a family commitment. Many societies across the globe celebrate marriage ceremonies. One of the societies that adore marriage is the Hinduism. This is depicted by the harmonious ceremonies they perform. Hindu marriage is understood as a rite of passage in which separation from the previous stage is marked by transition. The ceremony is accompanied by rituals in which integration into new roles of the social world is ma rked symbolically by a ring. Hindu marriage Hindus believe that life is sacred thus every step of their life from childhood to adulthood is marked by traditional ceremonies. Their ceremonies performed during the rites of passage are called the samskara. This marks ending point of one stage of life to the other. ... Samskara ceremony is mostly performed in the church where the couples and the people attending the ceremony surround the Homa fire. In the occasion, the couples are allowed to make a lifetime vows. In addition, they also make seven steps before God in order to be consecrated as a holy union (Das 5). Turner's model of the ritual process Turner was an anthropologist who noted that virtually every society in the world uses ceremonies to mark the transition in social status of people. The rites of passage are meant to validate chances in the individual status. This helps in the transformation of events that ranges from birth, adolescence, parenthood and finally death. He discovered that rites of passage from different societies across the world share similar characteristics. He considers a rite of passage as an activity symbolizing the crossing from old threshold of life into a new social world. Van Gennep, on the other hand, observed the rite of passage as a change in the social positio n which increases with an individual’s age. He identifies that every rite of passage is marked by separation, transition and reintegration (Das 5). Separation is the phase that is identified by symbolic behaviors of people in the society. It indicates how people detach themselves from their earlier fixed state of social structure or cultural diversity. Liminality, on the other hand, is characterized by the ambiguity of the ritual subject in the society. Individuals pass through a culture that has no attribute to the past and the future generation. In addition, reaggregation is the rite of passage that is consummated. In this phase,

Maintaining the Flow of Global E-Commerce Data (Case 2) Case Study

Maintaining the Flow of Global E-Commerce Data ( 2) - Case Study Example On the contrary, philosophy in the United States identifies a level of freedom. There is no government regulation on data privacy and the regulation responsibility relies on individual organization. Even though government agencies act as watchdogs for self-regulation, there is no formal framework for punishing non-compliance. The main difference, therefore, is that while the European Union has a regulated environment for data flow, the United States lacks such a regulated environment. E-commerce relies on technology such as the internet for transmission of data from parties to a commercial communication or transaction. The European Union regulations for data privacy restricts transfer of data to regions that lack a formal regulatory framework on data privacy buy the safe harbor eliminates this rule on the United States. The exemption applies to organizations that meets the Union’s requirements for data safety and allows free transfer of data. The implication of the safe harbor and data privacy is therefore a facilitated E-business because of free transfer of data from the European Union to the United States. Absence of free harbor would prohibit such data transfer and stop E-commerce between the United States and the EU and between organizations in the United States and their subsidiaries in the EU (Morgan and Boardman 217). Conventions such as the establishment of the directive by EU to establish standards for data privacy are legal regulations and binds member states. If the EU and the United States could not agree on the standards then the EU regulations would prohibit data flow to the United States. This would stop E-commerce between the United States and members of the EU because parties in the United States would not receive data from entities from the European Union. The communication barrier would paralyze E-commerce between people from the two regions. This would further have adverse effects on the two economies.

What is childrens literature & how does it enrich children's lives Essay

What is childrens literature & how does it enrich children's lives - Essay Example Therefore, it makes them familiar with all these things and prepares them to handle such situations or problems which may arise in their own lives. A written work produced specifically for the purpose of educating or entertaining young people is termed as Children’s literature. The range of this genre of writing includes classics, picture books, fairy tales, fables, songs from the folk tradition and illustrated stories. Earlier, stories told in the oral tradition constituted this genre, but the late 18th century and the early part of the 19th century saw a spurt in activity in this area while high levels of literacy in the 20th century gave a great impetus to the creation of this form of writing. The purpose of children’s literature is to create a â€Å"revelation, expansion and exploration-pushing back limits† according to Peter Hunt, one of the foremost proponents and critic of this form of writing. Children’s literature plays an important role in molding and nourishing a child’s character. Children’s literature is created keeping in mind the fact that its target audience is not yet ready for adult literature and it is designed to cater to a age group which is still not equipped with the necessary mental skills required to understand and read complex words and ideas. Literature enriches a child by helping him to understand themselves and their surroundings better by placing them in a make believe world, where they immerse themselves into one of the characters and experience the world vicariously. Nancy Anderson has divided children’s literature into six broad categories- early childhood picture books  , fiction, traditional literature, biographies and autobiographies, poems and verses, and non-fiction. She also delineates what does not constitute this genre, and these include joke books, comics, and cartoon books. Pictus† published in 1658 followed by John Newberry’s

Nutrition for Pregnant Women, Athletes and Children

Nutrition for Pregnant Women, Athletes and Children Introduction to Nutrition Genetically Modified Food Foods developed from organisms whose DNA is changed by applying methods of genetic engineering is known as Genetically Modified foods. Such techniques allow control over food’s generic structure and introduce new crop traits. Example There is several genetic modified food, some of them are given below: Pesticide resistant rape plants Golden rice Long-lasting tomatoes Soybeans Vaccination banana GM foods are derived from organisms whose DNA has been modified artificially, these crops are to improve yield by providing resistance to plant diseases. In future, genetically modified foods will alter the nutrient content of foods by reducing it allergic portion or improving the efficiency of food production systems. The main health concerns for new genetically engineered food revolve around being allergic or toxic through the engineered process. FDA reports that foods they have evaluated till now are not likely to cause an allergic or toxic reaction (McFadden, 2014). Nonetheless stomach sections presented reasonable erosive/necrotic lesions in seven female rats but no one in the panels but no histology was done as these were deliberated to be of no prominence. Even though in senior humans who used aspirin to prevent thrombosis, this can cause life-endangering hemorrhage (Kok, 2014). Benefits of GM food Some opportunities to use GM foods for good are: Better resistance against weeds, pest and other diseases; such as corn Corn is widely grown and an essential grain in the United States. Corn cannot be reproduced without human aid. The below table shows that what % of food is modified in UAE: Conclusion In order to decide regarding the use and regulation of these genetically modified plants, one must be well informed and aware of this new technology. Gestational and Maternal Nutrition Key dietary guidelines for a pregnant woman Eating a healthy diet during pregnancy is vital for both mother and baby. Nutritious diet can help you promote your babys growth and development. Grains Many whole-grain and enriched products contain carbohydrate, fiber and iron. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs and beans Protein is important for baby’s growth during second and third trimesters. Protein, B vitamins are present in foods of this group. Dairy products Dairy products are enriched with calcium. Calcium fortified soy milk helps to build baby bones. Recommended supplements used during pregnancy Supplement of folic acid is commonly recommended. Sources recommend 1200 mcg of folate (natural form) per day for maximum benefit. To meet nutritional needs, pregnant women are encouraged to consume a rich, along a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. Recommended food to eat Avocados, Mangoes, Broccoli, Carrots Spinach DHA eggs yogurt, Edamame beans Lentils, Oatmeal Nuts Foods to avoid In order to not get ill or harm baby’s health, there are some foods that should be avoided. Nutritional needs of breast feeding mothers Women are recommended to continue eating nutrition full diet similarly to how they were eating during their pregnancy. A breast-feeding woman requires 200 more calories than a pregnant woman provided that the calories come from nutritious foods. While breast-feeding two to three servings of protein must be taken each day. Good sources of protein include: Meat Poultry Seafood Tofu Dairy products Dried beans The foods that are avoided during pregnancy are also recommended to be avoided during breast feeding because it might cause an allergic reaction or harm to either mother or baby. Nutritional requirements of Athletes Key dietary guidelines for an athlete For an athlete there is an excessive and well balanced diet, which is full of nutrition. As an athlete it is necessary to maintain the proper diet , there must be have proper balance of nutrients, minerals, vitamins and well as calories to improve the performance. Supplements The supplements used by athlete are, BS-Vitamins, protein, omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), vitamin D, magnesium, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Athletes requires more amount of nutrients they actually demand from their bodies than even almost equal fitness buffs in order to compensate with the help of nutrients, which can be obtained from foods or supplement, so that performance cab be remained for a long time. In order to achieve them maximum level of performance, there are some recommended food to gain maximum carbohydrate storage, it is suggested by the experts that they need to get around70% of its calories from carbohydrates, along with pasta, fruits, cereals, vegetables etc. Foods to avoid There are some foods which are recommended to avoid for athletes, these foods are avoidable to meet with the maximum level of great performance. The avoidable foods are including energy and protein bars, sports drink and as well as it is also needful to avoid Before running a long-drawn-out there are some recommended ways that must be done by an athlete? The foremost tips for them are: Dont carbo-overload A body can store sufficient amount of carbohydrates in order to keep them going for around 90 minutes approx., which it has to help to sweltering fat reserves for liveliness Make the use of plain and familiar foods To avoid from unwanted gas, diarrhea, inflating, it is necessary to take care from junk foods, avoid unused foods and also keep away from spicy foods as well. Supplements used by body builders There are some supplements used by an athlete. It is appropriate for working amazingly, but if diet is not proper then these supplements will not be very much effective. Those supplements are usually included, multi vitamins, glutamine, creatine, thermogenics, ZMA as well (Perret, 2014). Side effects of supplements As it is known that there are several supplements used by an athlete to improve the efficiency However, not all supplements are effective. Although there disadvantages are more as compared to their advantages. As time passes it weakens the body, in some cases it make the body addicted to these supplements. Nutrition for School-Age Children and Healthy Lunchboxes Key dietary The key dietary for school age children are usually including eat four to five times a day, as well as including snacks, which are healthy for children. Degree of development and frequently eat 4 to 5 times per day, as well as snacks which are full of nutrients. After coming back from schools it is good for them to take healthy snacks, because these snacks contribute more third of the total calorie for the day (Napier, 2014). Supplements recommended during childhood In case of required supplements for children, vitamins and minerals are significant elements of the total nutritional needs. The reason is that body is not able to produce more amount of vitamin, therefore some supplements are required to adequate the nutritional need in children. The included supplements are Vitamin A, B, C and D. As body need multiple vitamins, that why vitamins and minerals should be increased in an adequate amount. In certain, a good and increased quantity of protein, iron, calcium and as well as vitamins A and D is necessary. Recommended food As calcium is most significant in school age children, therefore it is recommended to increase the amount of calcium in their daily routine. They need calcium around 500 mg per day, and the best basis of this nutrient is cow’s milk. As well as meat, eggs, wheat is also recommended for them. Foods to avoid These are the following food, which are avoidable at school age of children, for example processed meats, sports drink, canned tomatoes, sugary cereals (Weichselbaum, 2014) Potential food allergens Along with a food allergy, the human body comes into some reaction process as though that specific food product is risky and unsafe. Due to which the immune system of body produces antibodies in order to fight with the food allergen, the constituent in the food that activates the antipathy. In the schools of UAE all types of processed food, as well as all categories of crisps, fries and chocolates are provided, although now it is going to be replaced by healthier selections such as vegetables and healthy fruits in the Northern Emirates state schools and in all Dubai. Ways to Make Food More Fun for children In order to attract children towards healthier foods, there are some interesting ways by which school age children can easily get interest, for example by changing the color of food into their favorite colors, because colorful foods naturally more attracting to children, like this we can maximize their interest, use fun names of their foods. To encourage the use of healthy food in children. Do some additional efforts, a child can detecthungerand fullness better, Formerly offering a subsequent facilitating or serving, test your child by making them await for a few minutes to observe if they are really still hungry. Healthy snacking vs. Junk food Junk foods usually have high ranks of calories from sugar or fat along with littleprotein,minerals and vitamins. Foods generally measured junk foods contain saltedsnack foods,candy, sweetdesserts, gum, sugarycarbonated beverages and fried fast food. Plain snacks similar plain cereals, vegetables and pasta are correspondingly slightly general. What effect does tobacco/sheesha have on our body and diet? Tobacco is a sort of plant that is usually grown in the southeastern of USA. North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, are the manufacturers of tobacco (Khan, 2014). Tobacco smoke comprises a poisonous mixture of more than 7,000 toxic elements. In which 70 types of chemicals can cause cancer among the addicted users of smoking. Here are some of the chemicals. Formaldehyde Polonium 210 Vinyl chloride Benzene There are several side effects for long term smokers. Even though the risks regarding health are at high risks among heavy smokers, the usage of tobacco damages the lungs. Condensed lung function and a deteriorating of difficulties from asthma. All smokers are at further risk for: Coronary heart disease Peripheral vascular disease High cholesterol (LDL) Lung cancer Cancer of the mouth, throat and voice box Cancer of the pancreas Cancer of the kidney, and urinary bladder Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Influenza The common cold Peptic ulcers Although it is not well understood, that smoking can have direct effects on the daily dietary routine. Smoking is related with reduced nutrition intake and subordinate body weight. Nicotine accomplished whichever by means of smoking or by smokeless routes, is considered the main constituent of tobaccos. There are many negative effects of smoking on human bodies. Nicotine and the poisonous ingredients in cigarettes not solitary trough the body of vitamins and minerals, nevertheless they also chunk absorption of these vigorous nutrients. Of course tobacco is harmful for body. Percentage of tobacco use in UAE. Several efforts have been done by the government of UAE in order to control the excessive use of smoking in the Arab countries, different number of orders have been made to put health warning on the packets of tobacco and also decided to start some advertisement campaign with the help of TV and radio stations. After several researches it has been observed that the usage of tobacco is not useful for human being, as it damages the lungs, increases the respiratory problems like asthma. Therefore there should have something in order to ban the usage of these types of toxic elements as it is harmful and spoil the precious life of human being. Smoking is self-sufficiently related with reduced bone density of the hip, in body of younger and as well as older persons. What effect does caffeine have on our body and diet? Caffeine is formed by means of numerous plants as a self-protective mechanism, and the caffeine which is added to soda derives from unused produces of tea and coffee handling. Chemicals existent in caffeine arenitrogenousorganic compoundbelong to thealkaloidgroup, constituents that have noticeable physiological special effects. Sometimes caffeine is safe for alders, but on the other hand it has numerous side effects like it can cause insomnia, vomiting, headache, anxiety and agitation as well, caffeine can also increase heart rate and can disturb the respiration. Even amongst grown person, substantial caffeine usage can become the main reason of unkind side effects. And caffeine possibly will not be a respectable selection for people who are exceedingly delicate to its possessions. As soon as the caffeine enters the body it is previously being metabolized by means of the liver and fragmented into theophylline, theobromine, and paraxanthine. The caffeine metabolites are at that point clarified through the kidneys and after that they exit from the body with the urine. Caffeine also prevents the quantity of calcium that is engrossed over the gastric tract and exhausts the volume reserved by means of the bones. Caffeine constrains the receptors of vitamin D, which bound the quantity that will be fascinated (Bray, 2014). For the reason that vitamin D is significant in the absorption and as well as the usage of calcium in bone, further this can reduce bone inorganic density, consequential in an augmented danger for osteoporosis. Benefits of Caffeine Caffeine has several side effects like caffeine assorted along with carbsrefills muscle glycogen meditations sooner after isometrics. Therefore caffeine is healthier than sleep while you have to be alert during driving We can conclude that caffeine expended by means of ordinary sources is doubtless the preeminent meanwhile numerous of the healthiness welfares of caffeine are perhaps fundamentally because of the extraordinary antioxidant intensities originate by consistent coffee and tea. References Bray, G. A., Popkin, B. M. (2014). Dietary sugar and body weight: have we reached a crisis in the epidemic of obesity and diabetes? Health be damned! Pour on the sugar. Diabetes care, 37(4), 950-956. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/4/950.short Kok, E., Pedersen, J., Onori, R., Sowa, S., Schauzu, M., De Schrijver, A., Teeri, T. H. (2014). Plants with stacked genetically modified events: to assess or not to assess?.Trends in biotechnology. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167779913002527 Khan, A., Laronde, D. M. (2014). Waterpipe smoking: A healthy alternative to cigarettes or a health hazard in disguise?. Canadian Journal of Dental Hygiene, 48(1). http://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=trueprofile=ehostscope=siteauthtype=crawlerjrnl=1712171XAN=95297677h=AzEmhzHPPWlAbfHh5VIyex4T3aYkrBUhX7EKBVrG%2fjuVnCzgQBUsjvM9buJOhAmciOQm370ykgEXoHN%2fmdjNZQ%3d%3dcrl=c McFadden, B., Lusk, J. (2014). Cognitive Biases in the Assimilation of Scientific Information on Global Warming and Genetically Modified Food. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/162532/2/SAEA%202014.pdf Napier, C., Hlambelo, N. (2014). Contribution of school lunchboxes to the daily food intake of adolescent girls in Durban. South African Journal of Child Health, 8(2), 59-63. http://www.sajch.org.za/index.php/SAJCH/article/view/658 Perret, C., Shaw, G. (2014). 11 Use of Supplements in Athletes. Sports Nutrition for Paralympic Athletes, 167. http://books.google.com.pk/books?hl=enlr=id=b3pcAgAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PA167dq=Nutritional+requirements+of+Athletesots=rpDP8-Vuizsig=IQutYU1r5tOt80PT9__Ld41L7CE#v=onepageq=Nutritional%20requirements%20of%20Athletesf=false Weichselbaum, E., Buttriss, J. L. (2014). Diet, nutrition and schoolchildren: An update. Nutrition Bulletin. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nbu.12071/full

Essay --

What Are Your Rights Worth To You? George Edward Peele III King &Low Heywood Thomas School National security has been greatly enhanced by the passage of the patriot act. The USA PATRIOT act is an act of congress of Congress that was signed by President Bush in 2001. The title of the act is a ten-letter acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The patriot act was signed into law as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The USA PATRIOT act has had helped America make progress toward becoming the most secure nation in the world. What is the Patriot Act? The USA PATRIOT act was signed into law quickly without much debate back in 2001 right after the September 11th attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The Patriot Act touches almost everything from more funding for businesses that are affected by terrorist attacks all the way to funding affected families of terrorist attacks. The main reason the Patriot act was put in place was to prevent future terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and overseas attacks on Americans. With the act the government would try to stop the attacks before they take place to prevent American deaths. The Patriot Act was put in place to protect America, and at the time many agreed with the Act and went along with it. That was at first. That was when many Americans felt threatened for their safety. Now, many have had time to reflect back on the Patriot Act and feel differently (Ball 2004 p. 78-84). The Patriot Act Pros and Cons is a topic that is much like a double-edged sword. On one hand many people feel they would like to be protected and feel that they will give up some ... ...ed to be worried. It simply is not possible to not to have some measure of national security precautions without jeopardizing the security of the populace, especially with new technology that America has now. The Patriot Act does not infringe upon the rights of citizens; it ensures that those who wish to harm this country have limited means to do so. The Patriot Act was passed as a means to allow better protection of citizens given the current state of technology today. The aftermath of the attacks on September 11th demonstrated that this was necessary. The Constitution is not designed to render the nation defenseless against people who have no value for human life, and who will use whatever means necessary to harm others to advance their goals In conclusion the Patriot Act gives the government the tools in which are necessary to keep America and its citizens safe.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 7 Mycogen

MYCOGEN-†¦ A sector of ancient Trantor buried in the past of its own legends. Mycogen made little impact on the planet. Self-satisfied and self-separated to a degree†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 31. When Seldon woke, he found a new face looking at him solemnly. For a moment he frowned owlishly and then he said, â€Å"Hummin?† Hummin smiled very slightly. â€Å"You remember me, then?† â€Å"It was only for a day, nearly two months ago, but I remember. You were not arrested, then, or in any way-â€Å" â€Å"As you see, I am here, quite safe and whole, but-and he glanced at Dors, who stood to one side-â€Å"it was not very easy for me to come here.† Seldon said, â€Å"I'm glad to see you.-Do you mind, by the way?† He jerked his thumb in the direction of the bathroom. Hummin said, â€Å"Take your time. Have breakfast.† Hummin didn't join him at breakfast. Neither did Dors. Nor did they speak. Hummin scanned a book-film with an attitude of easy absorption. Dors inspected her nails critically and then, taking out a microcomputer, began making notes with a stylus. Seldon watched them thoughtfully and did not try to start a conversation. The silence now might be in response to some Trantorian reserve customary at a sickbed. To be sure, he now felt perfectly normal, but perhaps they did not realize that. It was only when he was done with his last morsel and with the final drop of milk (which he was obviously getting used to, for it no longer tasted odd) that Hummin spoke. He said, â€Å"How are you, Seldon?† â€Å"Perfectly well, Hummin. Sufficiently well, certainly, for me to be up and about.† â€Å"I'm glad to hear it,† said Hummin dryly. â€Å"Dors Venabili was much to blame in allowing this to happen.† Seldon frowned. â€Å"No. I insisted on going Upperside.† â€Å"I'm sure, but she should, at all costs, have gone with you.† â€Å"I told her I didn't want her to go with me.† Dors said, â€Å"That's not so, Hari. Don't defend me with gallant lies.† Seldon said angrily, â€Å"But don't forget that Dors also came Upperside after me, against strong resistance, and undoubtedly saved my life. That's not bending the truth at all. Have you added that to your evaluation, Hummin?† Dors interrupted again, obviously embarrassed. â€Å"Please, Hari. Chetter Hummin is perfectly correct in feeling that I should either have kept you from going Upperside or have gone up with you. As for my subsequent actions, he has praised them.† â€Å"Nevertheless,† said Hummin, â€Å"that is past and we can let it go. Let us talk about what happened Upperside, Seldon.† Seldon looked about and said guardedly, â€Å"Is it safe to do so?† Hummin smiled slightly. â€Å"Dors has placed this room in a Distortion Field. I can be pretty sure that no Imperial agent at the University-if there is one-has the expense to penetrate it. You are a suspicious person, Seldon.† â€Å"Not by nature,† said Seldon. â€Å"Listening to you in the park and afterward- You are a persuasive person, Hummin. By the time you were through, I was ready to fear that Eto Demerzel was lurking in every shadow.† â€Å"I sometimes think he might be,† said Hummin gravely. â€Å"If he was,† said Seldon, â€Å"I wouldn't know it was he. What does he look like?† â€Å"That scarcely matters. You wouldn't see him unless he wanted you to and by then it would all be over, I imagine-which is what we must prevent. Let's talk about that jet-down you saw.† Seldon said, â€Å"As I told you, Hummin, you filled me with fears of Demerzel. As soon as I saw the jet-down, I assumed he was after me, that I had foolishly stepped outside the protection of Streeling University by going Upperside, that I had been lured up there for the specific purpose of being picked up without difficulty.† Dors said, â€Å"On the other hand, Leggen-â€Å" Seldon said quickly, â€Å"Was he here last night?† â€Å"Yes, don't you remember?† â€Å"Vaguely. I was dead tired. It's all a blur in my memory.† â€Å"Well, when he was here last night, Leggen said that the jet-down was merely a meteorological vessel from another station. Perfectly ordinary. Perfectly harmless.† â€Å"What?† Seldon was taken aback. â€Å"I don't believe that.† Hummin said, â€Å"Now the question is: Why don't you believe that? Was there anything about the jet-down that made you think it was dangerous? Something specific, that is, and not just a pervasive suspicion placed in your head by me.† Seldon thought back, biting his lower lip. He said, â€Å"Its actions. It seemed to push its forepart below the cloud deck, as though it were looking for something, then it would appear in another spot just the same way, then in another spot, and so on. It seemed to be searching Upperside methodically, section by section, and homing in on me.† Hummin said, â€Å"Perhaps you were personifying, Seldon. You may have been treating the jet-down as though it was a strange animal looking for you. It wasn't, of course. It was simply a jet-down and if it was a meteorological vessel, its actions were perfectly normal†¦ and harmless.† Seldon said, â€Å"It didn't seem that way to me.† Hummin said, â€Å"I'm sure it didn't, but we don't actually know anything. Your conviction that you were in danger is simply an assumption. Leggen's decision that it was a meteorological vessel is also only an assumption.† Seldon said stubbornly, â€Å"I can't believe that it was an entirely innocent event.† â€Å"Well then,† said Hummin, â€Å"suppose we assume the worst-that the vessel was looking for you. How would whoever sent that vessel know you would be there to seek?† Dors interjected, â€Å"I asked Dr. Leggen if he had, in his report of the forthcoming meteorological work, included the information that Hari would be with the group. There was no reason he should in the ordinary course of events and he denied that he had, with considerable surprise at the question. I believed him.† Hummin said thoughtfully, â€Å"Don't believe him too readily. Wouldn't he deny it, in any case? Now ask yourself why he allowed Seldon to come along in the first place. We know he objected initially, but he did relent, without much fight. And that, to me, seems rather out of character for Leggen.† Dors frowned and said, â€Å"I suppose that does make it a bit more likely that he did arrange the entire affair. Perhaps he permitted Hari's company only in order to put him in the position of being taken. He might have received orders to that effect. We might further argue that he encouraged his young intern, Clowzia, to engage Hari's attention and draw him away from the group, isolating him. That would account for Leggen's odd lack of concern over Hari's absence when it came time to go below. He would insist that Hari had left earlier, something he would have laid the groundwork for, since he had carefully showed him how to go down by himself. It would also account for his reluctance to go back up in search of him, since he would not want to waste time looking for someone he assumed would not be found.† Hummin, who had listened carefully, said, â€Å"You make an interesting case against him, but let's not accept that too readily either. After all, he did come Upperside with you in the end.† â€Å"Because footsteps had been detected. The Chief Seismologist had [been] witness to that.† â€Å"Well, did Leggen show shock and surprise when Seldon was found? I mean, beyond that of finding someone who had been brought into extreme peril through Leggen's own negligence. Did he act as though Seldon wasn't supposed to be there? Did he behave as though he were asking himself: How is it they didn't pick him up?† Dors thought carefully, then said, â€Å"He was obviously shocked by the sight of Hari lying there, but I couldn't possibly tell if there was anything to his feelings beyond the very natural horror of the situation.† â€Å"No, I suppose you couldn't.† But now Seldon, who had been looking from one to the other as they spoke and who had been listening intently, said, â€Å"I don't think it was Leggen.† Hummin transferred his attention to Seldon. â€Å"Why do you say that?† â€Å"For one thing, as you noted, he was clearly unwilling to have me come along. It took a whole day of argument and I think he agreed only because he had the impression that I was a clever mathematician who could help him out with meteorological theory. I was anxious to go up there and, if he had been under orders to see to it that I was taken Upperside, there would have been no need to be so reluctant about it.† â€Å"Is it reasonable to suppose he wanted you only for your mathematics? Did he discuss the mathematics with you? Did he make an attempt to explain his theory to you?† â€Å"No,† said Seldon, â€Å"he didn't. He did say something about going into it later on, though. The trouble was, he was totally involved with his instruments. I gathered he had expected sunshine that hadn't showed up and he was counting on his instruments having been at fault, but they were apparently working perfectly, which frustrated him. I think this was an unexpected development that both soured his temper and turned his attention away from me. As for Clowzia, the young woman who preoccupied me for a few minutes, I do not get the feeling, as I look back on it, that she deliberately led me away from the scene. The initiative was mine. I was curious about the vegetation on Upperside and it was I who drew her away, rather than vice versa. Far from Leggen encouraging her action, he called her back while I was still in sight and I moved farther away and out of sight entirely on my own.† â€Å"And yet,† said Hummin, who seemed intent on objecting to every suggestion that was made, â€Å"if that ship was looking for you, those on board must have known you'd be there. How would they know-if not from Leggett?† â€Å"The man I suspect,† said Seldon, â€Å"is a young psychologist named Lisung Randa† â€Å"Randa?† said Dors. â€Å"I can't believe that. I know him. He simply would not be working for the Emperor. He's anti-Imperialist to the core.† â€Å"He might pretend to be,† said Seldon. â€Å"In fact, he would have to be openly, violently, and extremely anti-Imperialist if he was trying to mask the fact that he is an Imperial agent.† â€Å"But that's exactly what he's not like,† said Dors. â€Å"He is not violent and extreme in anything. He's quiet and good-natured and his views are always expressed mildly, almost timidly. I'm convinced they're genuine.† â€Å"And yet, Dors,† said Seldon earnestly, â€Å"it was he who first told me of the meteorological project, it was he who urged me to go Upperside, and it was he who persuaded Leggen to allow me to join him, rather exaggerating my mathematical prowess in the process. One must wonder why he was so anxious to get me up there, why he should labor so hard.† â€Å"For your good, perhaps. He was interested in you, Hari, and must have thought that meteorology might have been useful in psychohistory. Isn't that possible?† Hummin said quietly, â€Å"Let's consider another point. There was a considerable lapse of time between the moment when Randa told you about the meteorology project and the moment you actually went Upperside. If Randa is innocent of anything underhanded, he would have no particular reason to keep quiet about it. If he is a friendly and gregarious person-â€Å" â€Å"He is,† said Dors. â€Å"-then he might very likely tell a number of friends about it. In that case, we couldn't really tell who the informer might be. In fact, just to make another point, suppose Randa is anti-Imperialist. That would not necessarily mean he is not an agent. We would have to ask: Whom is he an agent for? On whose behalf does he work?† Seldon was astonished. â€Å"Who else is there to work for but the Empire? Who else but Demerzel?† Hummin raised his hand. â€Å"You are far from understanding the whole complexity of Trantorian politics, Seldon.† He turned toward Dors. â€Å"Tell me again: Which were the four sectors that Dr. Leggen named as likely sources for a meteorological vessel?† â€Å"Hestelonia, Wye, Ziggoreth, and North Damiano.† â€Å"And you did not ask the question in any leading way? You didn't ask if a particular sector might be the source?† â€Å"No, definitely not. I simply asked if he could speculate as to the source of the jet-down.† â€Å"And you†-Hummin turned to Seldon â€Å"may perhaps have seen some marking, some insigne, on the jet-down?† Seldon wanted to retort heatedly that the vessel could hardly be seen through the clouds, that it emerged only briefly, that he himself was not looking for markings, but only for escape-but he held back. Surely, Hummin knew all that. Instead, he said simply, â€Å"I'm afraid not.† Dors said, â€Å"If the jet-down was on a kidnapping mission, might not the insigne have been masked?† â€Å"That is the rational assumption,† said Hummin, â€Å"and it tray well have been, but in this Galaxy rationality does not always triumph. However, since Seldon seems to have taken no note of any details concerning the vessel, we can only speculate. What I'm thinking is: Wye.† â€Å"Why?† echoed Seldon. â€Å"I presume they wanted to take me because whoever was on the ship wanted me for my knowledge of psychohistory.† â€Å"No, no.† Hummin lifted his right forefinger as if lecturing a young student. â€Å"W-y-e. It is the name of a sector on Trantor. A very special sector. It has been ruled by a line of Mayors for some three thousand years. It has been a continuous line, a single dynasty. There was a time, some five-hundred years ago, when two Emperors and an Empress of the House of Wye sat on the Imperial throne. It was a comparatively short period and none of the Wye rulers were particularly distinguished or successful, but the Mayors of Wye have never forgotten this Imperial past. â€Å"They have not been actively disloyal to the ruling houses that have succeeded them, but neither have they been known to volunteer much on behalf of those houses. During the occasional periods of civil war, they maintained a kind of neutrality, making moves that seemed best calculated to prolong the civil war and make it seem necessary to turn to Wye as a compromise solution. That never worked out, but they never stopped trying either. â€Å"The present Mayor of Wye is particularly capable. He is old now, but his ambition hasn't cooled. If anything happens to Cleon-even a natural death-the Mayor will have a chance at the succession over Cleon's own too-young son. The Galactic public will always be a little more partial toward a claimant with an Imperial past. â€Å"Therefore, if the Mayor of Wye has heard of you, you might serve as a useful scientific prophet on behalf of his house. There would be a traditional motive for Wye to try to arrange some convenient end for Cleon, use you to predict the inevitable succession of Wye and the coming of peace and prosperity for a thousand years after. Of course, once the Mayor of Wye is on the throne and has no further use for you, you might well follow Cleon to the grave.† Seldon broke the grim silence that followed by saying, â€Å"But we don't know that it is this Mayor of Wye who is after me.† â€Å"No, we don't. Or that anyone at all is after you, at the moment. The jet-down might, after all, have been an ordinary meteorological testing vessel as Leggen has suggested. Still, as the news concerning psychohistory and its potential spreads-and it surely must-more and more of the powerful and semi-powerful on Trantor or, for that matter, elsewhere will want to make use of your services.† â€Å"What, then,† said Dors, â€Å"shall we do?† â€Å"That is the question, indeed.† Hummin ruminated for a while, then said, â€Å"Perhaps it was a mistake to come here. For a professor, it is all too likely that the hiding place chosen would be a University. Streeling is one of many, but it is among the largest and most free, so it wouldn't be long before tendrils from here and there would begin feeling their soft, blind way toward this place. I think that as soon as possible-today, perhaps-Seldon should be moved to another and better hiding place. But-â€Å" â€Å"But?† said Seldon. â€Å"But I don't know where.† Seldon said, â€Å"Call up a gazeteer on the computer screen and choose a place at random.† â€Å"Certainly not,† said Hummin. â€Å"If we do that, we are as likely to find a place that is less secure than average, as one that is more secure. No, this must be reasoned out.-Somehow.† 32. The three remained huddled in Seldon's quarters till past lunch. During that time, Hari and Dors spoke occasionally and quietly on indifferent subjects, but Hummin maintained an almost complete silence. He sat upright, ate little, and his grave countenance (which, Seldon thought, made him look older than his years) remained quiet and withdrawn. Seldon imagined him to be reviewing the immense geography of Trantor in his mind, searching for a corner that would be ideal. Surely, it couldn't be easy. Seldon's own Helicon was somewhat larger by a percent or two than Trantor was and had a smaller ocean. The Heliconian land surface was perhaps 10 percent larger than the Trantorian. But Helicon was sparsely populated, its surface only sprinkled with scattered cities; Trantor was all city. Where Helicon was divided into twenty administrative sectors; Trantor had over eight hundred and every one of those hundreds was itself a complex of subdivisions. Finally Seldon said in some despair, â€Å"Perhaps it might be best, Hummin, to choose which candidate for my supposed abilities is most nearly benign, hand me over to that one, and count on him to defend me against the rest.† Hummin looked up and said in utmost seriousness, â€Å"That is not necessary. I know the candidate who is most nearly benign and he already has you.† Seldon smiled. â€Å"Do you place yourself on the same level with the Mayor of Wye and the Emperor of all the Galaxy?† â€Å"In point of view of position, no. But as far as the desire to control you is concerned, I rival them. They, however, and anyone else I can think of want you in order to strengthen their own wealth and power, while I have no ambitions at all, except for the good of the Galaxy.† â€Å"I suspect,† said Seldon dryly, â€Å"that each of your competitors-if asked-would insist that he too was thinking only of the good of the Galaxy.† â€Å"I am sure they would,† said Hummin, â€Å"but so far, the only one of my competitors, as you call them, whom you have met is the Emperor and he was interested in having you advance fictionalized predictions that might stabilize his dynasty. I do not ask you for anything like that. I ask only that you perfect your psychohistorical technique so that mathematically valid predictions, even if only statistical in nature, can be made.† â€Å"True. So far, at least,† said Seldon with a half-smile. â€Å"Therefore, I might as well ask: How are you coming along with that task? Any progress?† Seldon was uncertain whether to laugh or cage. After a pause, he did neither, but managed to speak calmly. â€Å"Progress? In less than two months? Hummin, this is something that might easily take me my whole life and the lives of the next dozen who follow me.-And even then end in failure.† â€Å"I'm not talking about anything as final as a solution or even as hopeful as the beginning of a solution. You've said flatly a number of times that a useful psychohistory is possible but impractical. All I am asking is whether there now seems any hope that it can be made practical.† â€Å"Frankly, no.† Dors said, â€Å"Please excuse me. I am not a mathematician, so I hope this is not a foolish question. How can you know something is both possible and impractical? I've heard you say that, in theory, you might personally meet and greet all the people in the Empire, but that it is not a practical feat because you couldn't live long enough to do it. But how can you tell that psychohistory is something of this sort?† Seldon looked at Dors with some incredulity. â€Å"Do you want that explained.† â€Å"Yes,† she said, nodding her head vigorously so that her curled hair vibrated. â€Å"As a matter of fact,† said Hummin, â€Å"so would I.† â€Å"Without mathematics?† said Seldon with just a trace of a smile. â€Å"Please,† said Hummin. â€Å"Well-† He retired into himself to choose a method of presentation. Then he said, â€Å"-If you want to understand some aspect of the Universe, it helps if you simplify it as much as possible and include only those properties and characteristics that are essential to understanding. If you want to determine how an object drops, you don't concern yourself with whether it is new or old, is red or green, or has an odor or not. You eliminate those things and thus do not needlessly complicate matters. The simplification you can call a model or a simulation and you can present it either as an actual representation on a computer screen or as a mathematical relationship. If you consider the primitive theory of nonrelativistic gravitation-â€Å" Dors said at once, â€Å"You promised there would be no mathematics. Don't try to slip it in by calling it ‘primitive.' â€Å" â€Å"No, no. I mean ‘primitive' only in that it has been known as long as our records go back, that its discovery is shrouded in the mists of antiquity as is that of fire or the wheel. In any case, the equations for such gravitational theory contain within themselves a description of the motions of a planetary system, of a double star, of tides, and of many other things. Making use of such equations, we can even set up a pictorial simulation and have a planet circling a star or two stars circling each other on a two-dimensional screen or set up more complicated systems in a three-dimensional holograph. Such simplified simulations make it far easier to grasp a phenomenon than it would be if we had to study the phenomenon itself. In fact, without the gravitational equations, our knowledge of planetary motions and of celestial mechanics generally would be sparse indeed. â€Å"Now, as you wish to know more and more about any phenomenon or as a phenomenon becomes more complex, you need more and more elaborate equations, more and more detailed programming, and you end with a computerized simulation that is harder and harder to grasp.† â€Å"Can't you form a simulation of the simulation?† asked Hummin. â€Å"You would go down another degree.† â€Å"In that case, you would have to eliminate some characteristic of the phenomenon which you want to include and your simulation becomes useless. The LPS-that is, ‘the least possible simulation' gains in complexity faster than the object being simulated does and eventually the simulation catches up with the phenomenon. Thus, it was established thousands of years ago that the Universe as a whole, in its full complexity, cannot be represented by any simulation smaller than itself. â€Å"In other words, you can't get any picture of the Universe as a whole except by studying the entire Universe. It has been shown also that if one attempts to substitute simulations of a small part of the Universe, then another small part, then another small part, and so on, intending to put them all together to form a total picture of the Universe, one would find that there are an infinite number of such part simulations. It would therefore take an infinite time to understand the Universe in full and that is just another way of saying that it is impossible to gain all the knowledge there is.† â€Å"I understand you so far,† said Dors, sounding a little surprised. â€Å"Well then, we know that some comparatively simple things are easy to simulate and as things grow more and more complex they become harder to simulate until finally they become impossible to simulate. But at what level of complexity does simulation cease to be possible? Well, what I have shown, making use of a mathematical technique first invented in this past century and barely usable even if one employs a large and very fast computer, our Galactic society falls short of that mark. It can be represented by a simulation simpler than itself. And I went on to show that this would result in the ability to predict future events in a statistical fashion-that is, by stating the probability for alternate sets of events, rather than flatly predicting that one set will take place.† â€Å"In that case,† said Hummin, â€Å"since you can profitably simulate Galactic society, it's only a matter of doing so. Why is it impractical?† â€Å"All I have proved is that it will not take an infinite time to understand Galactic society, but if it takes a billion years it will still be impractical. That will be essentially the same as infinite time to us.† â€Å"Is that how long it would take? A billion years?† â€Å"I haven't been able to work out how long it would take, but I strongly suspect that it will take at least a billion years, which is why I suggested that number.† â€Å"But you don't really know.† â€Å"I've been trying to work it out.† â€Å"Without success?† â€Å"Without success.† â€Å"The University library does not help?† Hummin cast a look at Dors as he asked the question. Seldon shook his head slowly. â€Å"Not at all.† â€Å"Dors can't help?† Dors sighed. â€Å"I know nothing about the subject, Chetter. I can only suggest ways of looking. If Hari looks and doesn't find, I am helpless.† Hummin rose to his feet. â€Å"In that case, there is no great use in staying here at the University and I must think of somewhere else to place you.† Seldon reached out and touched his sleeve. â€Å"Still, I have an idea.† Hummin stared at him with a faint narrowing of eyes that might have belied surprise-or suspicion. â€Å"When did you get the idea? Just now?† â€Å"No. It's been buzzing in my head for a few days before I went Upperside. That little experience eclipsed it for a while, but asking about the library reminded me of it.† Hummin seated himself again. â€Å"Tell me your idea-if it's not something that's totally marinated in mathematics.† â€Å"No mathematics at all. It's just that reading history in the library reminded me that Galactic society was less complicated in the past. Twelve thousand years ago, when the Empire was on the way to being established, the Galaxy contained only about ten million inhabited worlds. Twenty thousand years ago, the pre-Imperial kingdoms included only about ten thousand worlds altogether. Still deeper in the past, who knows how society shrinks down? Perhaps even to a single world as in the legends you yourself once mentioned, Hummin.† Hummin said, â€Å"And you think you might be able to work out psychohistory if you dealt with a much simpler Galactic society?† â€Å"Yes, it seems to me that I might be able to do so.† â€Å"Then too,† said Dors with sudden enthusiasm, â€Å"suppose you work out psychohistory for a smaller society of the past and suppose you can make predictions from a study of the pre-Imperial situation as to what might happen a thousand years after the formation of the Empire-you could then check the actual situation at that time and see how near the mark you were.† Hummin said coldly, â€Å"Considering that you would know in advance the situation of the year 1,000 of the Galactic Era, it would scarcely be a fair test. You would be unconsciously swayed by your prior knowledge and you would be bound to choose values for your equation in such a way as to give you what you would know to be the solution.† â€Å"I don't think so,† said Dors. â€Å"We don't know the situation in 1,000 G.E. very well and we would have to dig. After all, that was eleven millennia ago.† Seldon's face turned into a picture of dismay. â€Å"What do you mean we don't know the situation in 1,000 G.E. very well? There were computers then, weren't there, Dors?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"And memory storage units and recordings of ear and eye? We should have all the records of 1,000 G.E. as we have of the present year of 12,020 G.E.† â€Å"In theory, yes, but in actual practice- Well, you know, Hari, it's what you keep saying. It's possible to have full records of 1,000 G.E., but it's not practical to expect to have it.† â€Å"Yes, but what I keep saying, Dors, refers to mathematical demonstrations. I don't see the applications to historical records.† Dors said defensively, â€Å"Records don't last forever, Hari. Memory banks can be destroyed or defaced as a result of conflict or can simply deteriorate with time. Any memory bit, any record that is not referred to for a long time, eventually drowns in accumulated noise. They say that fully one third of the records in the Imperial Library are simply gibberish, but, of course, custom will not allow those records to be removed. Other libraries are less tradition-bound. In the Streeling University library, we discard worthless items every ten years. â€Å"Naturally, records frequently referred to and frequently duplicated on various worlds and in various libraries-governmental and private-remain clear enough for thousands of years, so that many of the essential points of Galactic history remain known even if they took place in pre-Imperial times. However, the farther back you go, the less there is preserved.† â€Å"I can't believe that,† said Seldon. â€Å"I should think that new copies would be made of any record in danger of withering. How could you let knowledge disappear?† â€Å"Undesired knowledge is useless knowledge,† said Dors. â€Å"Can you imagine all the time, effort, and energy expended in a continual refurbishing of unused data? And that wastage would grow steadily more extreme with time.† â€Å"Surely, you would have to allow for the fact that someone at some time might need the data being so carelessly disposed of.† â€Å"A particular item might be wanted once in a thousand years. To save it all just in case of such a need isn't cost-effective. Even in science. You spoke of the primitive equations of gravitation and say it is primitive because its discovery is lost in the mists of antiquity. Why should that be? Didn't you mathematicians and scientists save all data, all information, back and back to the misty primeval time when those equations were discovered?† Seldon groaned and made no attempt to answer. He said, â€Å"Well, Hummin, so much for my idea. As we look back into the past and as society grows smaller, a useful psychohistory becomes more likely. But knowledge dwindles even more rapidly than size, so psychohistory becomes less likely-and the less outweighs the more.† â€Å"To be sure, there is the Mycogen Sector,† said Dors, musing. Hummin looked up quickly. â€Å"So there is and that would be the perfect place to put Seldon. I should have thought of it myself.† â€Å"Mycogen Sector,† repeated Hari, looking from one to the other. â€Å"What and where is Mycogen Sector?† â€Å"Hari, please, I'll tell you later. Right now, I have preparations to make. You'll leave tonight.† 33. Dors had urged Seldon to sleep a bit. They would be leaving halfway between lights out and lights on, under cover of â€Å"night,† while the rest of the University slept. She insisted he could still use a little rest. â€Å"And have you sleep on the floor again?† Seldon asked. She shrugged. â€Å"The bed will only hold one and if we both try to crowd into it, neither of us will get much sleep.† He looked at her hungrily for a moment and said, â€Å"Then I'll sleep on the floor this time.† â€Å"No, you won't. I wasn't the one who lay in a coma in the sleet.† As it happened, neither slept. Though they darkened the room and though the perpetual hum of Trantor was only a drowsy sound in the relatively quiet confines of the University, Seldon found that he had to talk. He said, â€Å"I've been so much trouble to you, Dors, here at the University. I've even been keeping you from your work. Still, I'm sorry I'll have to leave you.† Dors said, â€Å"You won't leave me. I'm coming with you. Hummin is arranging a leave of absence for me.† Seldon said, dismayed, â€Å"I can't ask you to do that.† â€Å"You're not. Hummin's asking it. I must guard you. After all, I faded in connection with Upperside and should make up for it.† â€Å"I told you. Please don't feel guilty about that.-Still, I must admit I would feel more comfortable with you at my side. If I could only be sure I wasn't interfering with your life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dors said softly, â€Å"You're not, Hari. Please go to sleep.† Seldon lay silent for a while, then whispered, â€Å"Are you sure Hummin can really arrange everything, Dors?† Dors said, â€Å"He's a remarkable man. He's got influence here at the University and everywhere else, I think. If he says he can arrange for an indefinite leave for me, I'm sure he can. He is a most persuasive man.† â€Å"I know,† said Seldon. â€Å"Sometimes I wonder what he really wants of me.† â€Å"What he says,† said Dors. â€Å"He's a man of strong and idealistic ideas and dreams.† â€Å"You sound as though you know him well, Dors.† â€Å"Oh yes, I know him well.† â€Å"Intimately?† Dors made an odd noise. â€Å"I'm not sure what you're implying, Hari, but, assuming the most insolent interpretation- No, I don't know him intimately. What business would that be of yours anyway?† â€Å"I'm sorry,† said Seldon. â€Å"I just didn't want, inadvertently, to be invading someone else's-â€Å" â€Å"Property? That's even more insulting. I think you had better go to sleep.† â€Å"I'm sorry again, Dors, but I can't sleep. Let me at least change the subject. You haven't explained what the Mycogen Sector is. Why will it be good for me to go there? What's it like?† â€Å"It's a small sector with a population of only about two million-if I remember correctly. The thing is that the Mycogenians cling tightly to a set of traditions about early history and are supposed to have very ancient records not available to anyone else. It's just possible they would be of more use to you in your attempted examination of pre-Imperial times than orthodox historians might be. All our talk about early history brought the sector to mind.† â€Å"Have you ever seen their records?† â€Å"No. I don't know anyone who has.† â€Å"Can you be sure that the records really exist, then?† â€Å"Actually, I can't say. The assumption among non-Mycogenians is that they're a bunch of madcaps, but that may be quite unfair. They certainly say they have records, so perhaps they do. In any case, we would be out of sight there. The Mycogenians keep strictly to themselves.-And now please do go to sleep.† And somehow Seldon finally did. 34. Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili left the University grounds at 0300. Seldon realized that Dors had to be the leader. She knew Trantor better than he did-two years better. She was obviously a close friend of Hummin (how close? the question kept nagging at him) and she understood his instructions. Both she and Seldon were swathed in light swirling docks with tight-fitting hoods. The style had been a short-lived clothing fad at the University (and among young intellectuals, generally) some years back and though right now it might provoke laughter, it had the saving grace of covering them well and of making them unrecognizable-at least at a cursory glance. Hummin had said, â€Å"There's a possibility that the event Upperside was completely innocent and that there are no agents after you, Seldon, but let's be prepared for the worst.† Seldon had asked anxiously, â€Å"Won't you come with us?† â€Å"I would like to,† said Hummin, â€Å"but I must limit my absence from work if I am not to become a target myself. You understand?† Seldon sighed. He understood. They entered an Expressway car and found a seat as far as possible from the few who had already boarded. (Seldon wondered why anyone should be on the Expressways at three in the morning-and then thought that it was lucky some were or he and Dors would be entirely too conspicuous.) Seldon fell to watching the endless panorama that passed in review as the equally endless line of coaches moved along the endless monorail on an endless electromagnetic field. The Expressway passed row upon row of dwelling units, few of them very tall, but some, for all he knew, very deep. Still, if tens of millions of square kilometers formed an urbanized total, even forty billion people would not require very tall structures or very closely packed ones. They did pass open areas, in most of which crops seemed to be growing-but some of which were clearly parklike. And there were numerous structures whose nature he couldn't guess. Factories? Office buildings? Who knew? One large featureless cylinder struck him as though it might be a water tank. After all, Trantor had to have a fresh water supply. Did they sluice rain from Upperside, filter and treat it, then store it? It seemed inevitable that they should. Seldon did not have very long to study the view, however. Dors muttered, â€Å"This is about where we should be getting off.† She stood up and her strong fingers gripped his arm. They were off the Expressway now, standing on solid flooring while Dors studied the directional signs. The signs were unobtrusive and there were many of them. Seldon's heart sank. Most of them were in pictographs and initials, which were undoubtedly understandable to native Trantorians, but which were alien to him. â€Å"This way,† said Dors. â€Å"Which way? How do you know?† â€Å"See that? Two wings and an arrow.† â€Å"Two wings? Oh.† He had thought of it as an upside-down â€Å"w,† wide and shallow, but he could see where it might be the stylized wings of a bird. â€Å"Why don't they use words?† he said sullenly. â€Å"Because words vary from world to world. What an ‘air-jet' is here could be a ‘soar' on Cinna or a ‘swoop' on other worlds. The two wings and an arrow are a Galactic symbol for an air vessel and the symbol is understood everywhere. Don't you use them on Helicon?† â€Å"Not much. Helicon is a fairly homogeneous world, culturally speaking, and we tend to cling to our private ways firmly because we're overshadowed by our neighbors.† â€Å"See?† said Dors. â€Å"There's where your psychohistory might come in. You could show that even with different dialects the use of set symbols, Galaxy-wide, is a unifying force.† â€Å"That won't help.† He was following her through empty dim alleyways and part of his mind wondered what the crime rate might be on Trantor and whether this was a high-crime area. â€Å"You can have a billion rules, each covering a single phenomenon, and you can derive no generalizations from that. That's what one means when one says that a system might be interpreted only by a model as complex as itself.-Dors, are we heading for an air-jet?† She stopped and turned to look at him with an amused frown. â€Å"If we're following the symbols for air-jets, do you suppose we're trying to reach a golf course? Are you afraid of air-jets in the way so many Trantorians are?† â€Å"No, no. We fly freely on Helicon and I make use of air-jets frequently. It's just that when Hummin took me to the University, he avoided commercial air travel because he thought we would leave too clear a trail.† â€Å"That's because they knew where you were to begin with, Hari, and were after you already. Right now, it may be that they don't know where you are and we're using an obscure port and a private air-jet.† â€Å"And who'll be doing the flying?† â€Å"A friend of Hummin's, I presume.† â€Å"Can he be trusted, do you suppose?† â€Å"If he's a friend of Hummin's, he surely can.† â€Å"You certainly think highly of Hummin,† said Seldon with a twinge of discontent. â€Å"With reason,† said Dors with no attempt at coyness. â€Å"He's the best.† Seldon's discontent did not dwindle. â€Å"There's the air-jet,† she said. It was a small one with oddly shaped wings. Standing beside it was a small man, dressed in the usual glaring Trantorian colors. Dors said, â€Å"We're psycho.† The pilot said, â€Å"And I'm history.† They followed him into the air-jet and Seldon said, â€Å"Whose idea were the passwords?† â€Å"Hummin's,† said Dors. Seldon snorted. â€Å"Somehow I didn't think Hummin would have a sense of humor. He's so solemn.† Dors smiled.

How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your Content

How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your Content You know that creating amazing content takes a lot of time. When your content doesn’t get the views it deserves, though you wonder if it was worth the time. There is a simple fix for that problem. Sharing your content  on social media with a coordinated social media promotion plan. But, before you can get results, you need content thats worth sharing in the first place. Thats where this blog post comes in. You’re going to learn: How to understand what your audience wants  so you can create and share the right content to reach them. How to find shareable talking points in your content  that can easily be repurposed on social media. How to build a promotion schedule that maximizes traffic and shares. In short, what youll find here is a complete guide to creating and scheduling social promotion to maximize your contents value. How To Build The Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your ContentGrab Your Free Social Media Promotion Plan   Kit This kit includes three templates to help you plan and execute an effective content promotion strategy: Social Media Promotion Posting Schedule Template: Plan out how often youll post on each network. Social Media Calendar: Then schedule all your posts ahead of time in one place. Social Media Promotional Insights Report: Show your results with this simple reporting template. Get them all free now and execute the advice in this post more easily. ... Then Check Out the New and Improved ReQueue ReQueue is the industry's only intelligent social media automation tool, built into .And now it's improved and better than ever: Set it and forget it (with confidence):  Choose posts to reshare and let handle the rest. Reshare your best posts (with intelligence):  Never worry again about sending too many or too few posts. Customize sharing groups (with granular control):  Use Placeholder Groups to customize clusters of messages on the days and times you choose. Ready to try it yourself? Get it free for 14 days and start saving time on social media marketing now. Understand What Your Audience Is Going To Get Out Of Your Content You write your content based on one goal. That could be informing your readers of a new product, or sharing answers to frequently asked questions. Your audience reads your content because they’re being driven by a different goal. They could be looking to learn something new, gather information about your product, or explore more of what your company is about. Your content you share on social media should aim for the overlap between these two goals. But not just the content that you're planning on sharing with your followers. Your social media messages also play a role. By figuring out that intersection between your goals and your audience’s goals, you'll be able to write stronger messages that will drive them to the landing page, blog post, podcast or any other type of evergreen content that you’ve created. The second question you need to ask yourself is what is your audience going to get from your content? People are not going to care unless there's something in it for them. That sounds harsh but the reality is, your audience is going to ask what's in it for me? Your social media messages need to be able to answer that question and inspire them to click. Recommended Reading: The Easy 5-Step Content Plan Template That Will Make Every Piece Amazing Now that you know how to handle WIIFM and the goals behind why you created your content, you can begin to plan out your social media messages and create the right tone and conversation that encourages your audience to interact with your content. In essence, you're going to need to reread your content and pulling out the best talking points based on what your audience is going to get from your content. Things like: What will your readers leave knowing? What is a call to action that would drive them to click? What results should they expect to see after they read your content? Statistics, numbers, and quotes. Write Compelling Social Media Messages The first step in creating compelling social media messages involves tapping into the emotional side of your audience. It's at this point that you're going to dig deep and think about what's in it for them? Let's say for example that I wrote a blog post on creating inspiring Instagram content. I'd think about what my readers are going to get after they finish reading the blog post. That might include: How to think outside-the-box to execute more creative Instagram campaigns. How to increase engagement with better-quality photos. What's the optimal post frequency for the next network? Ultimately, they'll feel better prepared to rock at Instagram marketing, without spending hours of trial and error figuring things out themselves. Helping your audience build new skills while saving time? Sounds like a good goal to me! Once I had determined the benefit to my audience, I would aim my social media messages  at those takeaways. Suddenly you have clear benefits, a clear aim, and an emotional appeal to drive clicks to your content. Successful social posts have: 1. Clear benefit. 2. Clear aim. 3. Emotional appeal.How can you translate that into social media copy? In short, you have to maximize the few words that you have. This is where those talking points come into play. Ask yourself these things before you start: Is the message I’ve written  clearly communicating one of the talking points I selected earlier? Are my readers getting the best idea of what my content is about? Is this going to appeal to them in a way that will encourage them to interact with my content? Recommended Reading: The Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be a Social Word Ninja Create Messages Around Statistics From Your Content One way to create compelling messages is including statistics that you’ve compiled in your content. For example, when we were promoting our social media posting schedule we found out that we could help users increase their traffic by 192%. Now if someone told me that I could increase my traffic by 192%, I’d want to find out how. Here’s another example of another statistic that from our blog on content promotion tactics. Grow your traffic by 3,150% with tip #19 of 100+ blog promotion tactics. https://t.co/HCGhkxIrcr pic.twitter.com/kQQIzEuqPI (@) June 29, 2017 Statistics give someone a data point to fall back on because they’ve been backed by a process that is repeatable and they can prove those statistics to their team. Create Messages Around A Compelling CTA The second type of message that you can create promote your content involves creating a compelling CTA. Telling your audience what to do and what they're going to get out of your content is a great way to encourage clicks. For example, Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda encouraged people to pick up the new karaoke soundtrack for Hamilton and record them singing along. The call-to-action in this case is to buy the soundtrack and sing along. Those karaoke parties?Theyre called #Hamiltunes.Go make one for free wherever you are!Read more: https://t.co/3hvyIrDDxz https://t.co/L5Bq45oqRx Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 30, 2017 Another great CTA social media message example is this Instagram post from Barnes and Noble. They’re maximizing their book sales by encouraging fans to check out a list of gift for graduates that they created. Need some tutoring to help figure out what to get the students in your life? Check out our collection of "Gifts Ideas for Every Graduate" using the link in our bio! A post shared by Barnes Noble (@barnesandnoble) on May 25, 2017 at 2:32pm PDT Create Messages Telling Your Audience What They’re Going To Get When They Read Your Content One of the best things you can do when you’re crafting your social media messages is to tell you audience what they’re going to be getting when they read your content. If I read a message that says I’m going to get 15 different ideas on how to style my hair in a hurry, I hope that’s what I get if I click on the article. That’s why misleading titles or clickbait drive everyone crazy. You’re not being honest about what they’re going to get from your content.

Black Lights and Pet Stains

Black Lights and Pet Stains I got an e-mail from a reader asking about a black light on a carpet cleaner, that could be used to detect unseen pet stains and odors in your carpet. Many body fluids will fluoresce under an ultraviolet lamp aka black light. However, I found it unlikely a black light would be able to show you where you needed to clean your carpet. I sent Ryan, my 11-year-old, on a mission of experimentation. He has a black light, which he uses to display his Legoâ„ ¢ collection. Legos glow spectacularly under ultraviolet light! With pets and kids in the house, it wasnt exactly a challenge to find areas of the carpet that should light up.What do you think Ryan found? He discovered our carpet is not fluorescent. None of the areas in the carpet known to have been involved in pet accidents glowed. That could just be a testimony to my cleaning abilities. He took the black light to the cats litter box... no glow in the clumped urine areas, though there were bright dots here and there in the box. The ba throom was interesting. Toothpaste glows brilliantly. So does urine, so any non-clean areas by the toilet were easy to spot.Based on this informal research, I would guess a black light could be used to detect fresh accidents on a carpet. I would not expect it to detect older areas, unless no attempt had been made at cleaning them. I dont think odors would be caused by a sufficient number of molecules to visibly fluoresce, plus I think some of the problem might be deeper in the carpet, where the light would not penetrate.Things that Glow under Black Light | Candy Triboluminescence

Week 3&5&7&8 discussions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Week 3 discussions - Coursework Example Just before the 16th century ended Islam had spread through conversion and had surpassed Buddhism and Hinduism as the most dominant religion of Sumatra and Java peoples. Initially the spread of Islam was driven mostly by increased trade links. The second factor that led to the dominance of Islam as a religion was the role played by missionaries (Sufis).Thus the Sufis played a major role by spreading the religion by syncretising of Islamic ideas with the existing local religious notions and beliefs. Eventually Islam was embraced by the ruling classes which greatly helped the permeation of the faith throughout the whole region. Islam is still dominant in Indonesia where it harbors 12.7% of all the world’s Muslims. 2. Muslims in Malaysia have rejected Islamic Fundamentalism because of its hard line policies and amid fears that the country could plunge into religious extremism, instability and terrorism. Some Malaysians therefore fear there could be rise in religious fundamentalism if Islamic Fundamentalism was accepted. Over the years Malaysia has detained several suspected terrorist, some of which are linked to al-Qaeda. 3. Ethic Chinese economic success dates back to several centuries ago. It is true that many Chinese people are good entrepreneurs and they are always willing to work hard and smart for money. This has led to their being discriminated against by the locals in several SE Asian countries such as Indonesia. Another economic success factor of the ethic Chinese is that they have a free market under a communist rule. The fact that ethic Chinese businessmen are dealing with America, means they are owed trillions of dollars by America. Dealing with America has made them very rich and successful. Several Chinese Company owners are super rich whereas low class is struggling since they are paid very little for their labor. China does not have tough employment laws and thus has very cheap available, which ensures very high profits. 4. Singapore

SLP 5 - HRM EVALUATING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Essay

SLP 5 - HRM EVALUATING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS - Essay Example There are different models and tools that can be used to evaluate training and development programs that depend on the budget and the nature of the business. However, in the current situation, Kirkpatricks Four-Level Model will be used for the evaluation. The model consists of four levels namely, reaction, learning, behavior, and results. The four levels are all used for a complete evaluation. The model is the best model for measuring the effectiveness of training and development programs. The model helps one quantitatively analyze the impact and the effectiveness of the training so as to improve on it in the coming future. The evaluation model is divided into four parts: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Reaction level measures how the trainee react towards the training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Notably, every instructor wants the trainee to feel that the training was accommodating to them, and they do feel good about the topic, the presentations, and the materials. The main drive of reaction evaluation is to improve the quality of training programs. This will in turn result in the improvement of performance which will be attained by measuring the participant’s reaction to the new program. Evaluation tools in this model are simply feedbacked forms and happy sheets that are based on subjective reaction to the training experiences. Learning level follows the reaction level. The main aim of evaluation at this level is to find the difference between what the trainees already knew and what they have learned from the training program (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). In other words, this is the measure of the increased knowledge from before to the end of the training. In this level, the evaluation focuses on measuring all that was covered in the training events. For this reason, the questions in this level will contain a pre-test that will be taken before practicum