Friday, November 29, 2019

The Crucible Devices Used To Create Hysteria Research Paper Example

The Crucible: Devices Used To Create Hysteria Paper Arthur Millers The Crucible is superficially about the story of how one girl, of the lowest class, created paramount chaos in a brief time span, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The girl, named Abigail, manipulated the townspeople to become stricken with fear and terror. Underneath this external layer lies the story of persecution, deception and fallacious accusations. It is about how the social hierarchy of a seemingly rational town could be disarrayed, how deceit can become truth, how people can be wrongly victimized and condemned. Mostly, it is of how one person can disturb the peace of a society, creating vast amounts of hysteria. One of the most important devices used in The Crucible is the one of the antagonist herself, Abigail Williams. She is described in the play as being a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling (page 8-9). She is a stunning, bewitching teenager of seventeen years, however, she is able to conceal and hide her true motives, thus making her the perfect villain for the story. She has the typical femme fatale persona, one who brings disaster to men and all others who are unfortunately entwined in her sick games. Because of her ability to mask her intentions throughout the play, she manages to manipulate and exploit everyone in town with power to condemn and chastise the innocent. Abigail represents the repressed longings of all the Puritans in Salem. She is the only person in town who does not suppress her desires. She is the simplest character of all the major characters in the story, and has a clear objective of pursuing John Proctor after their affair, as well as eliminating Elizabeth. We will write a custom essay sample on The Crucible: Devices Used To Create Hysteria specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Crucible: Devices Used To Create Hysteria specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Crucible: Devices Used To Create Hysteria specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Declaring witchcraft in Salem allowed Abigail to elevate in the social hierarchy system from being a servant, to one who is able to convict any towns-person of the worst allegation possible, Devil-worship. The setting in which the play is set is Salem, Massachusetts, in the late 17th century, in the year 1692. It is a Puritan society, indicating that it is a strict, solemn and fearful town. The people of Salem are gullible and superstitious, prone to being overly religious. Because of their devout attitude towards religion and God, they are daunted by many fears, including the fear of witchcraft, the Devil and Hell, death and of being caught. In this restrictive community, one is not allowed to enjoy oneself or participate in celebration of any kind, instead, physical exertion and strict compliance with their religion are the most appropriate way to measure faith, trust and honesty. The Salem witch trials allowed those who held grudges to act upon them, allowing many innocent people to be found guilty, thereby sentenced to death by hanging. The time of the Salem witch trials is described by Arthur Miller as One of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.

Monday, November 25, 2019

English Exam Essay

English Exam Essay English Exam Essay Firstly I was at outside with my friends riding our bikes down the enormous road, it was really boiling hot and I was sweating like it was my last day of day in the planet. My friends decided to go home and leave me by my self because they couldn't hack the sweat dripping down the forehead to their shirt. Unforunalty I didn't want to go home now because I still wanted to try out my new bike my dad bought me and if I go home now they wont let me it till tomorrow and I cant wait for that long, It’s never been this loud in the Yankee before; it’s sounds like a football match between the best team in world Barcelona vs. real Madrid. The compound was loud as ever, everyone was cheering because they was watching the baseball game that was taking place in the middle of the courtyard till we all heard 2 gun shots Bang! Bang! The compound turned absolute silent it took less then 2 second for everyone in the compound to be quiet. Everyone was confused no one knew what was happening, I tried to peddle back home as fast as I could but when I looked left I saw a car with a roaring engine coming towards me I tried to focus on who was driving the car so I can see who it was; but my heart was beating to fast and I just wanted to get back to my parents but I gave the car one last look and all I see was a man with a assault rifle shooting everyone that came in his way. Why did he do that? I was just trying to figure out what was going on but there was no time. I was near my house but the car was to close to me and I was panicking thinking I was going to get shot till I heard someone say my name Peter! Peter! My heart stopped straight away I turned back and I see my dad I was in shock so I decided to stay on my bike as my dad was running towards me I saw the same people in car with the assault rifles roaring and coming towards us again and shot my dad on his knees and shot his head right in

Friday, November 22, 2019

Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Research Paper - Essay Example Step 2: Sharing My Knowledge In order to get some information, I visited the website of walmartstore.com. In this website, a sufficient amount of information is available regarding health and wellness, careers and so on. I decided to know a finance opening at Wal-Mart. In this website’s career portal, Wal-Mart has comprehensive plan for young and new workforce. Step 3: Devising Research Questions I have insufficient information about Wal-Mart. To get further information, I have formulated following questions: When Wal-Mart came into existence? What is the current financial strength of Wal-Mart? What is the customer base of Wal-Mart? After devising the research questions, it is important to find some resources to get the answers of these questions. It is important to have reliable source to answer these questions. Step 4: Finding Sources First and most reliable source is the official website of Wal-Mart. The main page of the website has different links. These links connect to d ifferent templates. A sufficient amount of information is available on these provided links. Particularly, the link for â€Å"About Us† gives information regarding the purpose of Wal-Mart and a brief history note is also mentioned. Step 5: Answering Research Questions Following are the answers which I found. ... What is the current financial strength of Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is a financially stable and sound company. In the year of 2010, the company posted the sales figure of $405 billion (â€Å"About Us†). The Fortune Magazine ranked Wal-Mart as first among retailers in the year of 2010. The rank given by the Fortune Magazine gives me the idea of the company is financially strong and sound. This is encouraging factor for me to become an employee of Wal-Mart. What is the customer base of Wal-Mart? Weekly, more than 200 million times these customers are served at the stores of Wal-Mart. Also, a huge chain of 8,838 retail units is always ready to serve the customers. And to serve the customers, Wal-Mart has employed 2.1 million associates worldwide (â€Å"About Us†). I think Wal-Mart serve more than any other company in the world. And this is mainly the company’s service quality that attracts so many customers. Step 6: Presenting the Research Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In the year of 1962, Wal-Mart came into existence (â€Å"About Us†). It launched its business operations by opening the first Wal-Mart discount store in Rogers, Ark. And in the year of 1969, Wal-Mart was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart opened its first Sam’s Club membership warehouse in 1988. With the continued business success and business growth, Wal-Mart became an international entity in 1991 when it launched and opened its very first Sam’s Club near Mexico City. Wal-Mart is a financially stable and sound company. In the year of 2010, the company posted the sales figure of $405 billion (â€Å"About Us†). Additionally, Wal-Mart has a huge figure of customers, associates and members. Weekly, more than 200 million times these

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Cinematic Auteurist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Cinematic Auteurist - Essay Example Some of the major arguments against auteur theory are that the theory is not applied across wide range of film artists and is often confined to the creative inputs of directors. People also believe that it also gives undue credit to the directors when they are supposed to transform the script into films. As directors are supposed to make films as per the script, the originality factor of directors is meaningless. In the contemporary times, auteur theory significantly impacts the marketing of films not only in Hollywood but throughout the world. The personal style of the directors is used as a market statement for advertising the film across all formats of media. The popularity of the directors therefore becomes the key element within the market strategy of the films. The eminence of director and his creative inputs to the scripts give huge credibility to the film and help to market it with success. Hence, auteur theory helps provide the genre of the film with new dimension of interpr etation through the eyes of the director’s creativity. Auteur theory also affects the way that films are analyzed by critics and audiences. The scripts with common themes and issues become stupendous success as films because of the way the issues are treated within the wider scope of film making. The director as main anchor, helps to visualize the thematic portray in a highly sensitive way which gives a unique perspective to the otherwise common issue. Hitchcock films and films by Steven Spielberg have created their own niche market because they have successfully transformed common themes into work of art. Thus, individual contributions of directors often become important part of film success which the critics use to analyze the films.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Fad diet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Fad diet - Essay Example She began drinking nothing but a mixture of maple syrup and lemon water for days. She would supplement this with cabbage soup. Occasionally, she would buy The Hollywood forty-eight hour Miracle Diet juice at Walgreens. She would count fat grams, sugar grams, calories and carbohydrates. June became a fad diet junkie. Many young women undergo the same kind of social segregation because of their body sizes and shapes (Moyad, 2005). Other than the potential physical health complications that obesity poses to millions of citizens around the states, the reported social view of the obese adds another danger of psychological health risks to the obese. For this reason, many people, especially the youth and young adults have resorted to fad dieting oblivious of the effects of such choices (Fineberg, 1972). The research looks at the rationale of fad dieting. It gives answers the question: Is fad diet really an effective way of losing weight and becoming slim, attractive and fit or is it just some fantasy people are living in? The topic of study is important given the rumored health risks associated with the practice. There are claims that fad diet is merely an illusion of getting slim. In fact it is hazardous to health and a waste of time and money. In fact later it results in more over weightiness then before. At the same time, some people report that they actually lose weight through fad dieting. Irrespective of the results of fad dieting, there is another problem of inconsistency of the diet one is supposed to stick to. There is need to research the issue of fad dieting so as to help generate a standard, helpful diet or discourage the practice if it poses more dangers than benefits (Calman, Hauser, Lurio, & Pichardo, 2008). With the current state of improved information technology, there is so much information available to people, but that does not enhance people’s knowledge. The internet has myriad of

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Issues of Company Co-Ownership

Issues of Company Co-Ownership MEMORANDUM 1 i. When in a state of co-ownership, the decision to make alterations and repairs is one in which it is necessary, that both parties must have made a common agreement before any changes are made to a property.[1] It should also be noted that in previous cases where exceptional circumstances arise and the property is in need of necessary repairs that any one of the co-owners is able to make changes to the property.[2]. This can be determined by firstly and very basically establishing that they are in a co ownership,[3] and also that the case provided sees changes made to the property are not repairs as defined as necessary operations in rebuilding, repairing.[4] This means a unanimous agreement was therefore necessary and that the only other way Victor would be entitled to make the changes are seen in Rafique v Amin in which personal bar is referred which would only be relevant if Jack already knew about the changes that were going to be made but chose to do nothing as even though no agreement was reached yet no objection was made. This is also seen not to be the case as Jack was not present or notified at the time of the alterations. Since alterations (not repairs) have been made to the property and not minor changes that are permissible, it can be quite clearly stated that Victor was not permitted to carry out such alterations on the flat. On the one hand there is room for Victor to plead that what is being proposed is so trivial as to fall within the principle enshrined in the brocard à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [5] , on the other hand it seems that the changes made could be classified as more than trivial so it seems that Victor was not entitled to carry out the changes made to the property. ii. The issue of whether Jack can do anything to prevent Victor from making more changes can be rather complex. As found in Barkley v Scott(1983) 10 Sh Ct Rep 23 and owner is quite entitled to make changes to a property as long as they are regarded as de minimis meaning that they are minimal such as previously mentioned above.[6] This would be a an ordinary use of the property in which Jack could not prevent although would need further enquiry. It should also be noted that unauthorised actions will become subject to an interdict. This would prevent Victor from carrying out any more alterations to the property. Such action would require court action which in multiple cases sees declarator granted along with interdict and on occasion a reinstatement in favour of the pursuer who at the time was not contacted.[7] It seems that in this case to stop Jack making further amendments an indictment would have to be placed upon him with the penalties for breaking such indictment becoming ever more serious.[8] So, it can be said with absolute certainty that the common proprietor has the right to veto that will therefore prevent further alterations on the property regardless of whether the property they are disputing over is able to be sold or not.[9] On occasion the pursuer often seeks for a financial return through damages. This would see Victor have to pay for the damage he has done, although often the amount to pay out through damages is hard to quantify[10] and it has been said that for a breach there has to be shown to have suffered material damage from such a breach[11]. For that reason, sometimes the repayment of damage maybe in this case is not suitable. So, it can be said that perhaps indictment is one of the most feasible routes here to prevent Victor from making further changes to the flat. Often, this results in Jack who has been greatly inconvenienced to look to dispone his shares of the flat. This would be at Jacks discretion as whilst not directly linked to preventing Victor from making further unwanted changes to the flat this often occurs when there is a break down in cooperation and in practice the best remedy for this is actually the sale and division of the property. iii. Despite it being clear that Victor does not want Jack to sell the property it can be hard to prevent. The selling of a property is of thought to often depend on, mutual compatibility goodwill, and understanding.[12] Providing that this still exists between Jack and Victor the usual step would be to sell shares of the property or sell the property as a whole. It is said in Latin that both in communionemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ nemo compellitur invitus detineri[13] and that regardless of the relationship communion est mater rixarum.[14] This is particularly significant in Victors case as it means that if the issue is raised in court each party as pro indiviso owners has an absolute entitlement to the right of division and sale.[15] When the division and sale takes place the property will either be sold all together and then split between co-owners or the property is physically divided into the extent of the shares so in this case it would be evenly split. This does seem to then favour division of the property which would prevent sale however, in a situation where it is seen as far from practical or grossly unsuitable it will end in the sale of a property.[16] This is very much so relevant to issues involving common property that cannot be sold at all such as a commonly used stairwell,[17] or that the co-owners are married in which case would have separate rules or that one of the co-owners has been sequestrated, both are irrelevant to Jack and Victor.[18] It is even possible that it is not sold on the market and that Jack can ask Victor to transfer his share of the of the property to him for half its value, however this is the right to buy out is a contentious one but entirely plausible. It seems therefore, that there is very little Victor can do to prevent Jack from selling the flat. iV. As said previously situations in which property is sold is entirely different for married couples as they follow a separate set of rules regarding the sale of property between co owners. In Jack and Victors current situation at common law both cohabitants initially had no legally recognised status. Although unmarried separation rights are the exact same in property terms when the relationship breaks down it is then they are both distinguishable. Due to Jack and Victor not being married if their relationship was to break down their property would be divided into his his and theirs[19] where each couple will claim exactly what is they individually own. This is different if Jack and Victor were married as if they were then the property would be divided into what it is felt each party needs, like in some cases for example, the husband will leave the matrimonial home to be transferred to his ex-wife, along with the fact that matrimonial couples are seen as one unit rather than being treat ed as complete strangers. As at the end of a relationship in divorce it is to be shared equally[20] as special circumstances can be accounted for and these decisions are generally fully down to judicial discretion as it is then that it is decided to what property the property can be valued as. to what value it has. As at the end of divorce it is all calculated towards a figure as matrimonial property seems to only have significant importance during divorce proceedings which can lead to money being exchanged to make a property transfer order. [21]These are considerations Jack and Victor dont need to currently make as they are not married and the only Act that would apply to cohabitants would be the Family Law Scotland Act.[22] This only goes as far as giving the option of financial provisions and also to make sure that goods are perceived as co owned, cohabitants have similar but not entirely equal occupancy rights (such as occupancy rights only up to 6 months ) as contained in the M atrimonial Homes Act 1981. This highlights the problems of couples who live together outside of marriage (such as Jack and Victor) face when their relationship breaks down as while they have some rights protected by some Acts they are not as greatly protected as married couples are. i A lease can be defined as a contract between one person who grants permission for the other to use their property for a set amount of time in return for payment, which is known as rent. There are 3 types commercial, agricultural and residential property. Navid seemingly falls into the commercial property bracket. There are 4 main elements for a valid lease to be present. The first is that there must be a general agreement between the two parties the lessor and the lessee. Secondly, there must be property. The lessee must be given possession of the property and unless in special cases such as shooting rights which can be leased although this must be clarified so the subject of the lease is found.[23] Rent is another which is usual paid periodically and in most circumstance on a monthly basis but can be paid in various different ways such as through services and not only through money.[24] The court may also find a lease exists as long as the other three elements are found.[25] Finally for a lease to be valid there has to be a duration on the lease. So in theory it is allowed for a lease to last for many years.[26] So far it can easily be established that both Navid and Isa have a valid lease in place. Furthermore, the formality of whether or not the lease was signed is irrelevant if the lease lasts one year or less, and longer and both parties must have a written agreement.[27] So, if Navid has entered into a lease for over with Isa for it to be valid it is hoped that there was a written agreement in place along with the other four elements listed above. In most cases a lease will contain the rights of both the tenant and the landlord. This is because the lease is recognised by the law with its own set of terms. The first is possession and that the landlord is obligated (so in this case Isa) to give the tenant what is known as natural possession, one that the landlord should not interfere with.[28] The tenant as a consequence must be present in the property with only short absences allowed as without such a possession of the property the lease can be regarded as a material breach such as when a tenant was absent from a prison due to detention in prison.[29] The second reason is that rent must be paid by the tenant when it is due. The reason leases are so short and are often changed is due to changes in external factors such as inflation, if the new rate set is not agreed on it is for the third party to decide, which will see the rent set in line with market rates. Thirdly, the property must be sufficiently plenished by the landlord to a reasonable standard in which it would be expected to be equitable for the payment of rent, as without this an interdict can be put in place against the land lord.[30] The tenant is also obligated to use the property for the purposes of let and may not alter or invert this which will cause a breach of the lease, however, The Landlord is obliged to make sure that the property in question is fit for the circumstances under in which it will be let, which can lead Isa to be questioned on her upkeep of her property. Finally, the property must be maintained by the landlord, so the landlord must carry out the maintenance to the property within a reasonable time and if he does not he is liable.[31] The landlord however is not liable if an Act of God occurs such as a flood, a third party causes damage ( in which case they are liable) or the tenant will be liable if they breach the obligation to take care of a property in which case they will be made to pay. There are reasons for either Landlord or tenant in this situation to bring the lease to an end. Firstly, Isa could feel the need for the lease to end due to the fact Navid has not paid rent for the past 6 months. This is a clear obligation of a lease, and the onus is very much on Navid to pay that money. Without Navid paying that money it can be cause for Isa to take action against Navid the remedies available include what is known as action for payment. This remedy is typically used for situations including this one in which rent is not paid, this results in the execution of the lease which is often found as a clause within the lease. This enables a judge to carry out what is known as summary diligence which sometimes does not even need court action.[32] Isa is also entitled to rescind the lease due to a material breach of a monetary obligation in which it would require her to give Navid a 14 day notice to pay the unpaid rent. Furthermore, Isa herself as a landlord has a right to th e goods brought into the property by the tenant known as invecta et illata for rent. It however, seems Navid has the stronger case as Isa has quite clearly fell short of providing a suitable standard of property due to the dampness that has ruined Navids stock. This entitles him to either; seek damages for the fact the landlord has failed to carry out the required repairs that will leed to Navid suffering monetary loss although defining the quantification of such a breach is difficult to determine. He is also able to seek the remedy of specific implement which sees the landlord required by the courts to carry out repairs on Navids shop. This is a remedy specific to Scottish courts which unlike England do not offer such a remedy to the keep open clause. A final option for Navid is to keep suspending his obligation to pay rent due to Isa breaching her obligation to repair the dampness on the premises as he is very much allowed to continue to retain the rent from Isa as long as he has not been paying her for months when she has been failing to meet her obligations. [1] Rafique v Amin 1997 SLT 1385 [2] Rafique v Amin 1997 SLT 1385 [3] Cargill v Muir 1837 [4] Bell Principles 1075 [5] Rafique v Amin 1997 SLT 1385 [6] Kleyn, D and Wortley, S Co ownership on Zimmerman, Visser and Reid Mixed Legal Systems. [7] Rafique v Amin 1997 SLT 1385 [8] http://www.lawscot.org.uk/news/2015/02/prison-sentence-for-john-odonnell/ [9] Deans V Woolfson 1922 SLT 165 [10] Barkley v Scott [11] http://www.jandhmitchell.com/pdf/Title%20Conditions%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf [12] Mclead v Cedar Holding Ltd. 1989 SLT 620. [13] No one can be forced to remain in co ownership [14] Common property is the mother of quarrels. [15] Upper Crathes Fishing Ltd v Baileys Exrs 1991 SLT 747 [16] Thom v Macbeth 1875 3 R 161. [17] Bells Principle 1082 [18] Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, s 40 [19] http://www.terry.co.uk/cohabs.html [20] [21] [22] [23] Conway v Glasgow City Council 1999 SCLR 248 [24] Paisley Land Laww para 79 [25] Glen v Roy (1882) 10 R 239 [26] Welwood v Husband (1874) I R 507 [27] RoW(S) A 1995, S 1 [28] Graham v Black and Stevenson [29] Blair Trust Co v Gilbert [30] Co-operative Insurance Society v Halford Ltd 1998 SLT 90 [31] Wolfson v Forrester 1910 SC 675 [32] Cowie v Martalo 2011 GWD 32-676

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

offensive language Essay -- essays research papers

Offensive Language Throughout the day, I find myself exposed to harsh language. Whether in at work or walking through the hallways at school, it is all around us. Later, as I accelerate through rush-hour traffic, I discover that I use these words as well, lashing out with blunt verbal terms in the safety of my enclosed vehicle. I have used bad language before, but I do use it often. I have friends that cuss every other word. However, I do not care for it much. It is not so much offensive, just bothersome. Whether your daily vocabulary consists of several cuss words or it is just the occasional â€Å"shit† in a fit of anger or pain, everyone is guilty of it. Who hasn’t accidentally let a word slip when they slam their finger in a door or stub their toe on the coffee table? Is this impressive, of course not. There used to be a day that when you said â€Å"shit† in public, it was like exploding a bomb in public; people would fall silent, staring at you with half-angry open mouths. Mot hers would clap their hands over their children’s ears and push them away from you; desperately trying to keep their kids form such language. But today, we’ve fallen. Sure there are still a few people that cringe at the sound of vulgar language, but not many. In the 1970’s, George Carlin delivered a monologue citing seven words that you could never say on network television. Now, these words are being used regularly on network television. You could say that swear words have lost their impact, or, you could argue that our language has become downright coarse, offensive, and rude. Where do Cuss words come from, and what do they really mean? Originally it began as cursing. These are the words and phrases that you say in order to curse someone. It was some sort of supernatural or magical belief. Nowadays, people know that telling someone to â€Å"Go to Hell† will not actually curse them there, no matter how angrily it is said. The evolution of profanity continues to change with each generation. Some cuss words have somehow maintained their original meanings throughout hundreds of years, while many others have completely changed meaning or simply fallen out of use. The meaning behind a word is what makes it acceptable or unacceptable. Veterinarians use the word â€Å"bitch† on a regular basis, and think nothing of it. The meaning of the word is female dog. It is a fine word to use in that profession, or... ... the disrespect we have for everything, and our lack of manners, but also a growing rage that we obviously don’t know what to do with. Bad language is all over the media, informing in the attitudes of young people. It creeps into our workplace and into our homes. We need to find a way to diffuse some of this rage, and find more constructive ways to express it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Words are very powerful and word usage is extremely important. Unfortunately, we are living in a society that seems to have forgotten the basics of language. Our growing tolerance of swear words is not a sign of progress, it is a sign of how we have lowered our standards. I am not saying that I am completely innocent. I do not cuss on a regular basis, but when I drop something heavy on my foot the expression â€Å"Darn It† just doesn’t seem to cut it. The fact that we even have words that are considered â€Å"profane† is silly. Words are words, and nothing more. They only exist to describe things. The words poop, crap, and shit all mean exactly the same thing. Why on earth is one of them incorrect to use and the others not? It may not make sense, but that is the way it is and it probably always will be.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Forward the Foundation Chapter 8

21 In two days Joranum had swept Trantor, partly by himself, mostly through his lieutenants. As Hari muttered to Dors, it was a campaign that had all the marks of military efficiency. â€Å"He was born to be a war admiral in the old days,† he said. â€Å"He's wasted on politics.† And Dors said, â€Å"Wasted? At this rate, he's going to make himself First Minister in a week and, if he wishes, Emperor in two weeks. There are reports that some of the military garrisons are cheering him.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"It will collapse, Dors.† â€Å"What? Joranum's party or the Empire?† â€Å"Joranum's party. The story of the robot has created an instant stir, especially with the effective use of that flier, but a little thought, a little coolness, and the public will see it for the ridiculous accusation it is.† â€Å"But, Hari,† said Dors tightly, â€Å"you needn't pretend with me. It is not a ridiculous story. How could Joranum possibly have found out that Demerzel is a robot?† â€Å"Oh, that! Why, Raych told him so.† â€Å"Raych!† â€Å"That's right. He did his job perfectly and got back safely with the promise of being made Dahl's sector leader someday. Of course he was believed. I knew he would be.† â€Å"You mean you told Raych that Demerzel was a robot and had him pass on the news to Joranum?† Dors looked utterly horrified. â€Å"No, I couldn't do that. You know I couldn't tell Raych-or anyone-that Demerzel was a robot. I told Raych as firmly as I could that Demerzel was not a robot-and even that much was difficult. But I did ask him to tell Joranum that he was. He is under the firm impression that he lied to Joranum.† â€Å"But why, Hari? Why?† â€Å"It's not psychohistory, I'll tell you that. Don't you join the Emperor in thinking I'm a magician. I just wanted Joranum to believe that Demerzel was a robot. He's a Mycogenian by birth, so he was filled from youth with his culture's tales of robots. Therefore, he was predisposed to believe and he was convinced that the public would believe with him.† â€Å"Well, won't they?† â€Å"Not really. After the initial shock is over, they will realize that it's madcap fiction-or they will think so. I've persuaded Demerzel that he must give a talk on subetheric holovision to be broadcast to key portions of the Empire and to every sector on Trantor. He is to talk about everything but the robot issue. There are enough crises, we all know, to fill such a talk. People will listen and will hear nothing about robots. Then, at the end, he will be asked about the flier and he need not answer a word. He need only laugh.† â€Å"Laugh? I've never known Demerzel to laugh. He almost never smiles.† â€Å"This time, Dors, he'll laugh. It is the one thing that no one ever visualizes a robot doing. You've seen robots in holographic fantasies, haven't you? They're always pictured as literal-minded, unemotional, inhuman-That's what people are sure to expect. So Demerzel need merely laugh. And on top of that-Do you remember Sunmaster Fourteen, the religious leader of Mycogen?† â€Å"Of course I do. Literal-minded, unemotional, inhuman. He's never laughed, either.† â€Å"And he won't this time. I've done a lot of work on this Joranum matter since I had that little set-to at the Field. I know Joranum's real name. I know where he was born, who his parents were, where he had his early training, and all of it, with documentary proof, has gone to Sunmaster Fourteen. I don't think Sunmaster likes Breakaways.† â€Å"But I thought you said you don't wish to spark off bigotry.† â€Å"I don't. If I had given the information to the holovision people, I would have, but I've given it to Sunmaster, where, after all, it belongs.† â€Å"And he'll start off the bigotry.† â€Å"Of course he won't. No one on Trantor would pay any attention to Sunmaster-whatever he might say.† â€Å"Then what's the point?† â€Å"Well, that's what we'll see, Dors. I don't have a psychohistorical analysis of the situation. I don't even know if one is possible. I just hope that my judgment is right.† 22 Eto Demerzel laughed. It was not the first time. He sat there, with Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili in a tap-free room, and, every once in a while, at a signal from Hari, he would laugh. Sometimes he leaned back and laughed uproariously, but Seldon shook his head. â€Å"That would never sound convincing.† So Demerzel smiled and then laughed with dignity and Seldon made a face. â€Å"I'm stumped,† he said. â€Å"It's no use trying to tell you funny stories. You get the point only intellectually. You will simply have to memorize the sound.† Dors said, â€Å"Use a holographic laughtrack.† â€Å"No! That would never be Demerzel. That's a bunch of idiots being paid to yak. It's not what I want. Try again, Demerzel.† Demerzel tried again until Seldon said, â€Å"All right, then, memorize that sound and reproduce it when you're asked the question. You've got to look amused. You can't make the sound of laughing, however proficient, with a grave face. Smile a little, just a little. Pull back the corner of your mouth.† Slowly Demerzel's mouth widened into a grin. â€Å"Not bad. Can you make your eyes twinkle?† â€Å"What do you mean, ‘twinkle,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ said Dors indignantly. â€Å"No one makes their eyes twinkle. That's a metaphorical expression.† â€Å"No, it's not,† said Seldon. â€Å"There's the hint of tears in the eye-sadness, joy, surprise, whatever-and the reflection of light from that hint of fluid is what does it.† â€Å"Well, do you seriously expect Demerzel to produce tears?† And Demerzel said, matter-of-factly, â€Å"My eyes do produce tears for general cleansing-never in excess. Perhaps, though, if I imagine my eyes to be slightly irritated-â€Å" â€Å"Try it,† said Seldon. â€Å"It can't hurt.† And so it was that when the talk on subetheric holovision was over and the words were streaking out to millions of worlds at thousands of times the effective speed of light words that were grave, matter-of-fact, informative, and without rhetorical embellishment-and that discussed everything but robots-Demerzel declared himself ready to answer questions. He did not have to wait long. The very first question was: â€Å"Mr. First Minister, are you a robot?† Demerzel simply stared calmly and let the tension build. Then he smiled, his body shook slightly, and he laughed. It was not a loud uproarious laugh, but it was a rich one, the laugh of someone enjoying a moment of fantasy. It was infectious. The audience tittered and then laughed along with him. Demerzel waited for the laughter to die down and then, eyes twinkling, said, â€Å"Must I really answer that? Is it necessary to do so?† He was still smiling as the screen darkened. 23 â€Å"I'm sure it worked,† said Seldon. â€Å"Naturally we won't have a complete reversal instantly. It takes time. But things are moving in the right direction now. I noticed that when I stopped Namarti's talk at the University Field. The audience was with him until I faced him and showed spunk against odds. The audience began to change sides at once.† â€Å"Do you think this is an analogous situation?† asked Dors dubiously. â€Å"Of course. If I don't have psychohistory, I can use analogy-and the brains I was born with, I suppose. There was the First Minister, beleaguered on all sides with the accusation, and he faced it down with a smile and a laugh, the most nonrobot thing he could have done, so that in itself was an answer to the question. Of course sympathy began to slide to his side. Nothing would stop that. But that's only the beginning. We have to wait for Sunmaster Fourteen and hear what he has to say.† â€Å"Are you confident there, too?† â€Å"Absolutely.† 24 Tennis was one of Hari's favorite sports, but he preferred to play rather than watch others. He watched with impatience, therefore, as the Emperor Cleon, dressed in sports fashion, loped across the court to return the ball. It was Imperial tennis, actually, so-called because it was a favorite of Emperors, a version of the game in which a computerized racket was used that could alter its angle slightly with appropriate pressures on the handle. Hari had tried to develop the technique on several occasions but found that mastering the computerized racket would take a great deal of practice-and Hari Seldon's time was far too precious for what was clearly a trivial pursuit. Cleon placed the ball in a nonreturnable position and won the game. He trotted off the court to the careful applause of the functionaries who were watching and Seldon said to him, â€Å"Congratulations, Sire. You played a marvelous game.† Cleon said indifferently, â€Å"Do you think so, Seldon? They're all so careful to let me win. I get no pleasure out of it.† Seldon said, â€Å"In that case, Sire, you might order your opponents to play harder.† â€Å"It wouldn't help. They'd be careful to lose anyway. And if they did win, I would get even less pleasure out of losing than out of winning meaninglessly. Being an Emperor has its woes, Seldon. Joranum would have found that out-if he had ever succeeded in becoming one.† He disappeared into his private shower facility and emerged in due time, scrubbed and dried and dressed rather more formally. â€Å"And now, Seldon† he said, waving all the others away, â€Å"the tennis court is as private a place as we can find and the weather is glorious, so let us not go indoors. I have read the Mycogenian message of this Sunmaster Fourteen. Will it do?† â€Å"Entirely, Sire. As you have read, Joranum was denounced as a Mycogenian Breakaway and is accused of blasphemy in the strongest terms.† â€Å"And does that finish him?† â€Å"It diminishes his importance fatally, Sire. There are few who accept the mad story of the First Minister's robothood now. Furthermore, Joranum is revealed as a liar and a poseur and, worse, one who was caught at it.† â€Å"Caught at it, yes,† said Cleon thoughtfully. â€Å"You mean that merely to be underhanded is to be sly and that may be admirable, while to be caught is to be stupid and that is never admirable.† â€Å"You put it succinctly, Sire.† â€Å"Then Joranum is no longer a danger.† â€Å"We can't be certain of that, Sire. He may recover, even now. He still has an organization and some of his followers will remain loyal. History yields examples of men and women who have come back after disasters as great as this one-or greater.† â€Å"In that case, let us execute him, Seldon.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"That would be inadvisable, Sire. You would not want to create a martyr or to make yourself appear to be a despot.† Cleon frowned. â€Å"Now you sound like Demerzel. Whenever I wish to take forceful action, he mutters the word ‘despot.' There have been Emperors before me who have taken forceful action and who have been admired as a result and have been considered strong and decisive.† â€Å"Undoubtedly, Sire, but we live in troubled times. Nor is execution necessary. You can accomplish your purpose in a way that will make you seem enlightened and benevolent.† â€Å"Seem enlightened?† â€Å"Be enlightened, Sire. I misspoke. To execute Joranum would be to take revenge, which might be regarded as ignoble. As Emperor, however, you have a kindly-even paternal-attitude toward the beliefs of all your people. You make no distinctions, for you are the Emperor of all alike.† â€Å"What is it you're saying?† â€Å"I mean, Sire, that Joranum has offended the sensibilities of the Mycogenians and you are horrified at his sacrilege, he having been born one of them. What better can you do but hand Joranum over to the Mycogenians and allow them to take care of him? You will be applauded for your proper Imperial convern.† â€Å"And the Mycogenians will execute him, then?† â€Å"They may, Sire. Their laws against blasphemy are excessively severe. At best, they will imprison him for life at hard labor.† Cleon smiled. â€Å"Very good. I get the credit for humanity and tolerance and they do the dirty work.† â€Å"They would, Sire, if you actually handed Joranum over to them. That would, however, still create a martyr.† â€Å"Now you confuse me. What would you have me do?† â€Å"Give Joranum the choice. Say that your regard for the welfare of all the people in your Empire urges you to hand him over to the Mycogenians for trial but that your humanity fears the Mycogenians may be too severe. Therefore, as an alternative, he may choose to be banished to Nishaya, the small and secluded world from which he claimed to have come, to live the rest of his life in obscurity and peace. You'll see to it that he's kept under guard, of course.† â€Å"And that will take care of things?† â€Å"Certainly. Joranum would be committing virtual suicide if he chose to be returned to Mycogen-and he doesn't strike me as the suicidal type. He will certainly choose Nishaya, and though that is the sensible course of action, it is also an unheroic one. As a refugee in Nishaya, he can scarcely lead any movement designed to take over the Empire. His following is sure to disintegrate. They could follow a martyr with holy zeal, but it would be difficult, indeed, to follow a coward.† â€Å"Astonishing! How did you manage all this, Seldon?† There was a distinct note of admiration in Cleon's voice. Seldon said, â€Å"Well, it seemed reasonable to suppose-â€Å" â€Å"Never mind,† said Cleon abruptly. â€Å"I don't suppose you'll tell me the truth or that I would understand you if you did, but I'll tell you this much. Demerzel is leaving office. This last crisis has proved to be too much for him and I agree with him that it is time for him to retire. But I can't do without a First Minister and, from this moment onward, you are he.† â€Å"Sire!† exclaimed Seldon in mingled astonishment and horror. â€Å"First Minister Hari Seldon.† said Cleon calmly. â€Å"The Emperor wishes it.† 25 â€Å"Don't be alarmed,† said Demerzel. â€Å"It was my suggestion. I've been here too long and the succession of crises has reached the point where the consideration of the Three Laws paralyzes me. You are the logical successor.† â€Å"I am not the logical successor,† said Seldon hotly. â€Å"What do I know about running an Empire? The Emperor is foolish enough to believe that I solved this crisis by psychohistory. Of course I didn't.† â€Å"That doesn't matter, Hari. If he believes you have the psychohistorical answer, he will follow you eagerly and that will make you a Good First Minister.† â€Å"He may follow me straight into destruction.† â€Å"I feel that your good sense-or intuition-will keep you on target†¦ with or without psychohistory.† â€Å"But what will I do without you-Daneel?† â€Å"Thank you for calling me that. I am Demerzel no more, only Daneel. As to what you will do without me – Suppose you try to put into practice some of Joranum's ideas of equality and social justice? He may not have meant them-he may have used them only as ways of capturing allegiance-but they are not bad ideas in themselves. And find ways of having Raych help you in that. He clung to you against his own attraction to Joranum's ideas and he must feel torn and half a traitor. Show him he isn't. In addition, you can work all the harder on psychohistory, for the Emperor will be there with you, heart and soul.† â€Å"But what will you do, Daneel?† â€Å"I have other things in the Galaxy to which I must attend. There is still the Zeroth Law and I must labor for the good of humanity, insofar as I can determine what that might be. And, Hari-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, Daneel.† â€Å"You still, have Dors.† Seldon nodded. â€Å"Yes, I still have Dors.† He paused for a moment before grasping Daneel's firm hand with his own. â€Å"Good-bye, Daneel.† â€Å"Good-bye, Hari,† Daneel replied. And with that, the robot turned, his heavy First Minister's robe rustling as he walked away, head up, back ramrod straight, along the Palace hallway. Seldon stood there for a few minutes after Daneel had gone, lost in thought. Suddenly he began moving in the direction of the First Minister's apartment. Seldon had one more thing to tell Daneel-the most important thing of all. Seldon hesitated in the softly lit hallway before entering. But the room was empty. The dark robe was draped over a chair. The First Minister's chambers echoed Hari's last words to the robot: â€Å"Good-bye, my friend.† Eto Demerzel was gone; R. Daneel Olivaw had vanished. Part II Cleon I CLEON I-†¦ Though often receiving panegyrics for being the last Emperor under whom the First Galactic Empire was reasonably united and reasonably prosperous, the quarter-century reign of Cleon I was one of continuous decline. This cannot be viewed as his direct responsibility, for the Decline of the Empire was based on political and economic factors too strong for anyone to deal with at the time. He was fortunate in his selection of First Ministers-Eto Demerzel and then Hari Seldon, in whose development of psychohistory the Emperor never lost faith. Cleon and Seldon, as the objects of the final Joranumite Conspiracy, with its bizarre climax- Encyclopedia Galactica 1 Mandell Gruber was a happy man. He seemed so to Hari Seldon, certainly. Seldon stopped his morning constitutional to watch him. Gruber, perhaps in his late forties, a few years younger than Seldon, was a bit gnarled from his continuing work in the Imperial Palace grounds, but he had a cheerful, smoothly shaven face, topped by a pink skull, not much of which was hidden by his thin sandy hair. He whistled softly to himself as he inspected the leaves of the bushes for any signs of insect infestation. He was not the Chief Gardener, of course. The Chief Gardener of the Imperial Palace grounds was a high functionary who had a palatial office in one of the buildings of the enormous Imperial complex, with an army of men and women under him. The chances are he did not inspect the Palace grounds more often than once or twice a year. Gruber was but one of that army. His title, Seldon knew, was Gardener First-Class and it had been well earned, with thirty years of faithful service. Seldon called to him as he paused on the perfectly level crushed gravel walk, â€Å"Another marvelous day, Gruber.† Gruber looked up and his eyes twinkled. â€Å"Yes, indeed, First Minister, and it's sorry I am for those who be cooped up indoors.† â€Å"You mean as I am about to be.† â€Å"There's not much about you, First Minister, for people to sorrow over, but if you're disappearing into those buildings on a day like this, it's a bit of sorrow that we fortunate few can feel for you.† â€Å"I thank you for your sympathy, Gruber, but you know we have forty billion Trantorians under the dome. Are you sorry for all of them?† â€Å"Indeed, I am. I am grateful I am not of Trantorian extraction myself so that I could qualify as a gardener. There be few of us on this world that work in the open, but here I be, one of the fortunate few.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ â€Å"The weather isn't always this ideal.† â€Å"That is true. And I have been out here in the sluicing rains and the whistling winds. Still, as long as you dress fittingly†¦ Look-† And Gruber spread his arms open, wide as his smile, as if to embrace the vast expanse of the Palace grounds. â€Å"I have my friends-the trees and the lawns and all the animal life forms to keep me company-and growth to encourage in geometric form, even in the winter. Have you ever seen the geometry of the grounds, First Minister?† â€Å"I am looking at it right now, am I not?† â€Å"I mean the plans spread out so you can really appreciate it all-and marvelous it is, too. It was planned by Tapper Savand, over a hundred years ago, and it has been little changed since. Tapper was a great horticulturist, the greatest-and he came from my planet.† â€Å"That was Anacreon, wasn't it?† â€Å"Indeed. A far-off world near the edge of the Galaxy, where there is still wilderness and life can be sweet. I came here when I was still an earwet** lad, when the present Chief Gardener took power under the old Emperor. Of course, now they're talking of redesigning the grounds.† Gruber sighed deeply and shook his head. â€Å"That would be a mistake. They are just right as they are now properly proportioned, well balanced, pleasing to the eye and spirit. But it is true that in history, the grounds have occasionally been redesigned. Emperors grow tired of the old and are always seeking the new, as if new is somehow always better. Our present Emperor, may he live long, has been planning the redesign with the Chief Gardener. At least, that is the word that runs from gardener to gardener.† This last he added quickly, as if abashed at spreading Palace gossip. â€Å"It might not happen soon.† â€Å"I hope not, First Minister. Please, if you have the chance to take some time from all the heart-stopping work you must be after doing, study the design of the grounds. It is a rare beauty and, if I have my way, there should not be a leaf moved out of place, nor a flower, nor a rabbit, anywhere in all these hundreds of square kilometers.† Seldon smiled. â€Å"You are a dedicated man, Gruber. I would not be surprised if someday you were Chief Gardener.† â€Å"May Fate protect me from that. The Chief Gardener breathes no fresh air, sees no natural sights, and forgets all he has learned of nature. He lives there†-Gruber pointed scornfully-â€Å"and I think he no longer knows a bush from a stream unless one of his underlings leads him out and places his hand on one or dips it into the other.† For a moment it seemed as though Gruber would expectorate his scorn, but he could not find any place on which he could bear to spit. Seldon laughed quietly. â€Å"Gruber, it's good to talk to you. When I am overcome with the duties of the day, it is pleasant to take a few moments to listen to your philosophy of life.† â€Å"Ah, First Minister, it is no philosopher I am. My schooling was very sketchy.† â€Å"You don't need schooling to be a philosopher. Just an active mind and experience with life. Take care, Gruber. I just might have you promoted.† â€Å"If you but leave me as I am, First Minister, you will have my total gratitude.† Seldon was smiling as he moved on, but the smile faded as his mind turned once more to his current problems. Ten years as First Minister-and if Gruber knew how heartily sick Seldon was of his position, his sympathy would rise to enormous heights. Could Gruber grasp the fact that Seldon's progress in the techniques of psychohistory showed the promise of facing him with an unbearable dilemma? 2 Seldon's thoughtful stroll across the grounds was the epitome of peace. It was hard to believe here, in the midst of the Emperor's immediate domain, that he was on a world that, except for this area, was totally enclosed by a dome. Here, in this spot, he might be on his home world of Helicon or on Gruber's home world of Anacreon. Of course, the sense of peace was an illusion. The grounds were guarded-thick with security. Once, a thousand years ago, the Imperial Palace grounds-much less palatial, much less differentiated from a world only beginning to construct domes over individual regions-had been open to all citizens and the Emperor himself could walk along the paths, unguarded, nodding his head in greeting to his subjects. No more. Now security was in place and no one from Trantor itself could possibly invade the grounds. That did not remove the danger, however, for that, when it came, came from discontented Imperial functionaries and from corrupt and suborned soldiers. It was within the grounds that the Emperor and his staff were most in danger. What would have happened if, on that occasion, nearly ten years before, Seldon had not been accompanied by Dors Venabili? It had been in his first year as First Minister and it was only natural, he supposed (after the fact), that there would be jealous heart-burning over his unexpected choice for the post. Many others, far better qualified in training-in years of service and, most of all, in their own eyes-could view the appointment with anger. They did not know of psychohistory or of the importance the Emperor attached to it and the easiest way to correct the situation was to corrupt one of the sworn protectors of the First Minister. Dors must have been more suspicious than Seldon himself was. Or else, with Demerzel's disappearance from the scene, her instructions to guard Seldon had been strengthened. The truth was that, for the first few years of his First Ministership, she was at his side more often than not. And on the late afternoon of a warm sunny day, Dors noted the glint of the westering sun-a sun never seen under Trantor's dome-on the metal of a blaster. â€Å"Down, Hari!† she cried suddenly and her legs crushed the grass as she raced toward the sergeant. â€Å"Give me that blaster, Sergeant,† she said tightly. The would-be assassin, momentarily immobilized by the unexpected sight of a woman running toward him, now reacted quickly, raising the drawn blaster. But she was already at him, her hand enclosing his right wrist in a steely grip and lifting his arm high. â€Å"Drop it,† she said through clenched teeth. The sergeant's face twisted as he attempted to yank his arm loose. â€Å"Don't try, Sergeant,† said Dors. â€Å"My knee is three inches from your groin and, if you so much as blink, your genitals will be history. So just freeze. That's right. Okay, now open your hand. If you don't drop the blaster right now, I will shatter your arm.† A gardener came running up with a rake. Dors motioned him away. The sergeant dropped the blaster to the ground. Seldon had arrived. â€Å"I'll take over, Dors.† â€Å"You will not. Get in among those trees and take the blaster with you. Others may be involved-and ready to act.† Dors had not loosened her grip on the sergeant. She said, â€Å"Now, Sergeant, I want the name of whoever it was who persuaded you to make an attempt on the First Minister's life-and the name of everyone else who is in this with you.† The sergeant was silent. â€Å"Don't be foolish,† said Dors. â€Å"Speak!† She twisted his arm and he sank down to his knees. She put her shoe on his neck. â€Å"If you think silence becomes you, I can crush your larynx and you will be silent forever. And even before that, I am going to damage you badly-I won't leave one bone unbroken. You had better talk.† The sergeant talked. Later Seldon had said to her, â€Å"How could you do that, Dors? I never believed you capable of such†¦ violence. â€Å" Dors said coolly, â€Å"I did not actually hurt him much, Hari. The threat was sufficient. In any case, your safety was paramount.† â€Å"You should have let me take care of him.† â€Å"Why? To salvage your masculine pride? You wouldn't have been fast enough, for one thing. Secondly, no matter what you would have succeeded in doing, you are a man and it would have been expected. I am a woman and women, in popular thought, are not considered as ferocious its men and most, in general, do not have the strength to do what I did. The story will improve in the telling and everyone will be terrified of me. No one will dare to try to harm you for fear of me.† â€Å"For fear of you and for fear of execution. The sergeant and his cohorts are to be killed, you know.† At this, an anguished look clouded Dors's usually composed visage, as if she could not stand the thought of the traitorous sergeant being put to death, even though he would have cut down her beloved Hari without a second thought. â€Å"But,† she exclaimed, â€Å"there is no need to execute the conspirators. Exile will do the job.† â€Å"No, it won't,† said Seldon. â€Å"It's too late. Cleon will hear of nothing but executions. I can quote him-if you wish.† â€Å"You mean he's already made up his mind?† â€Å"At once. I told him that exile or imprisonment would be all that was necessary, but he said no. He said, `Every time I try to solve a problem by direct and forceful action, first Demerzel and then you talk of â€Å"despotism† and â€Å"tyranny.† But this is my Palace. These are my grounds. These are my guardsmen. My safety depends on the security of this place and the loyalty of my people. Do you think that any deviation from absolute loyalty can be met with anything but instant death? How else would you be safe? How else would I be safe?' â€Å"I said there would have to be a trial. ‘Of course,' he said, ‘a short military trial and I don't expect a single vote for anything but execution. I shall make that quite clear.' â€Å" Dors looked appalled. â€Å"You're taking this very quietly. Do you agree with the Emperor?† Reluctantly Seldon nodded. â€Å"I do.† â€Å"Because there was an attempt on your life. Have you abandoned your principles for mere revenge?† â€Å"Now, Dors, I'm not a vengeful person. However, it was not myself alone at risk or even the Emperor. If there is anything that the recent history of the Empire shows us, it is that Emperors come and go. It is psychohistory that must be protected. Undoubtedly, even if something happens to me, psychohistory will someday be developed, but the Empire is falling fast and we cannot wait-and only I have advanced far enough to obtain the necessary techniques in time.† â€Å"Then you should teach what you know to others,† said Dors gravely. â€Å"I'm doing so. Yugo Amaryl is a reasonable successor and I have gathered a group of technicians who will someday be useful, but they won't be as-† He paused. â€Å"They won't be as good as you-as wise, as capable? Really?† â€Å"I happen to think so,† said Seldon. â€Å"And I happen to be human. Psychohistory is mine and, if I can possibly manage it, I want the credit.† â€Å"Human,† sighed Dors, shaking her head almost sadly. The executions went through. No such purge had been seen in over a century. Two Ministers, five officials of lower ranks, and four soldiers, including the hapless sergeant, met their deaths. Every guardsman who could not withstand the most rigorous investigation was relieved of duty and exiled to the remote Outer Worlds. Since then, there had been no whisper of disloyalty and so notorious had become the care with which the First Minister was guarded, to say nothing of the terrifying woman-called â€Å"The Tiger Woman† by many-who watched over him, that it was no longer necessary for Dors to accompany him everywhere. Her invisible presence was an adequate shield and the Emperor Cleon enjoyed nearly ten years of quiet and absolute security. Now, however, psychohistory was finally reaching the point where predictions, of a sort, could be made and, as Seldon crossed the grounds in his passage from his office (First Minister) to his laboratory (psychohistorian), he was uneasily aware of the likelihood that this era of peace might be coming to an end.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Nature of the Traffic Safety Problem in Oman

Nature of the Traffic Safety Problem in Oman Introduction The focus of this paper is to clarify, elaborate and organize emerging perspectives of problem definition. Particular aims are: analysis of malleable nature involving public cases based on the problem definition, determination of common kinds of problem definition as such description posse powerful impacts for policy design and agenda access.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Nature of the Traffic Safety Problem in Oman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, the treatise aims to provide myriad illustrations of persuasive importance of problem definition within political contemporary context. Also, form strategy of investigation, ramification, and elements of the problem definition are addressed. Nature of the traffic safety problem in Oman The analysis of social reality shows that problem definition refers to a political claim which provides solution to such vital policy inquiry. The main aim i s to delineate key problem descriptions with their options. Nature of social problem embraces several dimensions that go beyond causality. Such features may reduce or enhance opportunities of public acts. Problem nature may be analyzed in terms of severity, crisis, novelty, incidence and proximity. Severity is how serious a challenge and its impacts are. For example, if an issue encounters trouble of pubic crowd, magnitude of people will affect public agenda. On the other side, devastating effects of little population may also contribute to a persistent problem. How severity is strong may be a contentious issue because such problem definition is crucial in capturing agenda of the media and public official. Incidence of social problem is a vital dimension which represents affected people such as groups in trouble. Incidence is a debatable issue which intermix existing information and politics. In some cases, the issue is likely to change with time. A problem may be stable, develop, o r decline. Exponential and linear projections are commonly ominous. If accepted to be valid, then it may build intense pressure that is suitable for faster public intervention (Smith Larimer 67-68). New projection of such kind captures space in daily newspapers. For example, troubling forecast on global deforestation, surging traffic challenge experienced in New York due to increased quantity of vehicles’ registration, and issue of declining trends of airline safety are just but a few. Incidence cases have social dimensions that affect human society such as child abuse and poverty issues.Advertising Looking for case study on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Novelty issue is a trailblazing, unprecedented or novel whose effects draw attention. After some time, a novel issue many wane, and media or public get bored with the matter and thus withdrawn from it. Matters that have never been witnes sed are not easy to be conceptualized since they don’t have familiar resolutions from people. Therefore, when tension emerges, it may be publicized while people expect solution from it, though no consensus may be reached by political system to solve the challenge (Shahalam, 23-24). For example, new drug may be promising to treat serious health challenges like HIV-AIDS. People may be pleased with such invention. However, the drug, that is beneficial, may be risky thus have to be assessed carefully. Critics may encounter such as time consuming and problematic. Every invention that brings practical and ethical significance needs evaluation. Proximity may be illustrated in this debate when an issue impinges interests of an individual(s) within his/her or their locality. Proximity may capture people’s attention and may be expressed politically. The matter’s proponents attempt to promote their base due to individual relevance. Consequently, National Commission; which is concerned with child affairs, unveiled its report based on child poverty in United States. It describes such problem as personal tragedy and also as country’s strategy. Crisis is an aspect that is applied in a condition where resolution is overdue for long time and dire situation persist. National deficit is an issue that is associated with crisis. Death cases in 1986 of two famous athletes due to drug overdose together with emergence of new kind of cocaine changed the drug problem into crisis situation. Emergency is a concept synonymously utilized with crisis (Rochefort Cobb 56-71). Problem of homelessness may define a condition as emergent that needs quick response to provide temporary solutions (shelter provision) instead of long-term comprehensive reforms associated with health care, housing and unemployment. Cause of traffic safety problem in Oman Problem causation defines the origin of the problem. Vital distinction is to determine whether a challenge is impersonal or individual cause. For example, underclass challenge may be attributed to either cultural and economical systems or lack of personal determination. In technological realm, (for example), equipment error or human duties may accounts for failure of Nuclear Plants.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Nature of the Traffic Safety Problem in Oman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Perception of causation is likely to be ingrained in human propensity. When something happens, immediate action is to examine underlying justifications as to why such event occurred. Accidental and intended causes are distinct to one another. Intended causes are human act purposively formed to bring specific impacts. According to public making policy, when an action is thought to be victorious, then it is rational. But if it is not successful, such failure sources are linked to conspiracies. Some problems are simple and particular to a single cause. Others have various influences. Problem definitions based on two ways may predispose political action into various impacts. Channeling the aim into either two or one casual factor(s) is an indication that those who define the problem are willing to make immediate response. More complex policies may be formed to promote prompt response. Policy makers may make foolish interventions when overwhelmed with inadequate knowledge of casual interaction. However, there exist vital exceptions to such common system. Policy makers may engender multi-pronged resolutions and multi-casual justifications among sophisticated attempts and those that posses great capability to create effective support. Catastrophic of crude oil in Alaska is a good experience that counsels the society not to concentrate on personal scapegoats but rather to enhance mechanisms of cleanup and prevention of oil spill including other measurers such as faster spill response strategy and effective tanker design. Charact eristics of the problem population Such problems are individuals and groups problems. This happens in social welfare whose aim intends to provide services and resources to particular target populations. Political interests to execute such determinations depend on the societal views of people who will benefit (Baumgartner and Jones, 2-11). Balance between coercion and assistance based on policy designed depends on how negative or positive such perceptions are.These are vital dimensions for government‘s policy, because any attitudinal axes support to form aggregate impression If a community is unworthy or worthy to get support. Out-group (out-law) individuals and deviants’ members may not get similar consideration to people who have shown public willingness and responsilibity. Threatening and sympathetic populations should be evaluated in the similar way. Such attributes may be used to account for mentally ill, elderly, poor and working persons.Advertising Looking for case study on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Data of public opinion may also demonstrate favorable attitude of various claimants to be given support in such a society. Current public policy contracts this move. It claims that it is not wise to use restrict resources in supporting disliked or silent people or sex offenders. In fact, States have to provide more for social aide to the AIDS and elderly and disadvantaged victims. Abusers should not be seen as unfortunate people in society. They should be supported without biasness. Possible policy solutions Definitional attempts in policy making develop from problem issues to those who are interested in and influenced by such to involve solution descriptions toward alleviating such challenges. Unless political harmony crystallizes such issues, government may not implement such. This policy emphasizes projective, empirical and scientific matters to assist in determining the impacts and likelihood to obtain desirable outcomems. The most key focus at this level is to generate effectiv e solutions. It is either worse or good impacts of political realm, a nostrum which have not been evaluated and applied in macro-social level. Thus, policy makers only engage in skepticism (guessing game) to choose either restraint or aggressive intervention. This has influenced economic events with important strategies in experienced touted resolutions whose reliabilities are controversial. For example, Nuclear Plants intends to provide reliable and cheap electricity, health programs is focused to enhance better living standards, training and employments aims to counteract dependency level, and recycling process attempts resolve disposal challenge. All these are faced with controversy due to skepticism. Acceptable solution is not an effective action but has to be an act that conforms to an acceptable standard behavior. This is an ethical issue, though it is faced with controversy. For example, Chemical Warfare was brought by war experience in Middle East region. Such weapons were l ethal not only to the targeted enemies but also to military arsenals who used them. Owning lethal weaponry is not acceptable because it is harmful. Acceptability is an ethical issue that enhances new technology. Though, fetal tissue implantation is important in combating nervous problem in human life, it is opposed because such surgery may enhance abortion. It may be implanted in the person’s brain who suffers from Parkinson disease. Policy intervention may be available, agreed and acceptable, but its affordability raises many inquiries. For instance, Policy makers are careful in carrying out financial tasks. People’s demands are increasing with new and existing programs. A funding has provided positive social and education impacts to disadvantaged preschool aged children (Anderson, 45). There is controversy about how much should be funded to serve all children who are eligible. The country is also determined to improve infant mortality, though prenatal service is comp lex and expensive. It is controversial how all such services will be delivered, particularly through which way of funding. Affordability invokes different standards of aims of participants. Finance comparison with various proposed policies, depending on cost estimates and budgetary constraints compared with social and economic costs of failure to act are prevalent. Conclusively, problem definition remains a fundamental aspect in public making policy. It is a political process in enacting legislation, initiation and program design. This paper examines the impacts, origin and elements of problem definition linking this attempt to recent policy enacting progress and future investigation needs. Pubic making policy is based on logical natural consequence. Social problems may be solved through gathering information. Public officials should assess the causes of the problem and to provide solution by effectively enacting new legislation. The strategy is carried out until the challenge is re solved. Empirical proof refutes such claim. This explains that other factors, a part from objective situations, are responsible to particular challenges. Arbitrariness and controversy may affect how a situation is understood. There exist divergent views of significance, origin and effects of any challenge in the communal context. Language usage is critical in analyzing what aspect of any challenge to be evaluated. Anderson, James. Public Policy Making, New York: Wadsworth / Cengage, 2011. Print. Baumgartner, Frank R. and Bryan D. Jones. Agenda and Instabilities in American Politics. Chicago: University Chicago Press, 2009. Print. Rochefort, David and Roger W. Cobb. ‘‘Problem Definition, Agenda Access and Policy Choice.’’ Policy Studies Journal 21.1(1993): 56-71. Print. Shahalam, A, et. al. ‘‘Oman Traffic Safety Case: Traffic Accidents and Potential Causes.’’ National Engineering Conference on Roads 5(2001): 23-24. Print. Smith, Ke lvin B. and Christopher Larimer. The public policy theory primer. Bouldre: West View Press, 2009. Print.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Silent K

The Silent K The Silent K The Silent K By Sharon One common spelling error is omitting the K at the beginning of words where it is silent (example: nick-nack instead of knick-knack). The origins of silent K are difficult to pin down. What we do know is that the k wasnt always silent, especially in words of Germanic origin. Just as it is in German, the k was actually pronounced and many of the words which now have silent k originally began with that distinctive clicking sound. My high school teacher made a point of this when teaching us Chaucer. However, some time after the Chaucerian era, the k sound disappeared from the kn combination. There is speculation that it suddenly became hard to pronounce, and was just one of many linguistic changes after the Great Vowel Shift. I havent found any corroboration for this theory. Heres a partial list of words with a silent K. Feel free to add yours. knack knacker knapsack knave knead knee kneel knell knelt knew knick-knack knickers knife knight knit knob knock knoll knot know knowledge knuckle Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Compared "to" or Compared "with"?Email EtiquettePhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns

Monday, November 4, 2019

Internet regulation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Internet regulation - Research Paper Example The use of the internet is growing exponentially and moving in directions that no know could have imagined. Regardless whether we change with it, it is a fact that the way we communicate will continue to change. The digital migration has already shifted the boundaries between our personal and professional lives. The internet creates daily contacts with an endless number of electronic databases that in turn preserve our thoughts, statements, video and even voices. It is hard to find an individual who claim that internet is the final frontier or even a particularly revolutionary frontier (Martinsen, 89). Internet usage is a concept that has existed and will continue to exist. However, the fascinating fact is that with the new opportunities, risks and questions presented by the increasing level of technology platforms that allow people across the globe and communicate in new ways. It is used in almost all the sectors of any economy in the swift exchange and access of information and has fuelled faster economic expansion in many economies due to efficient communication and co-ordination of activities it offers. The benefits of the internet are undoubted. However, despite their well-intentioned efforts, there are some limitations that come by the use of the internet. (Determann, 2). The possibility of regulations aimed at neutralizing the internet has been met by fierce debate among scholars globally. While some are of the opposing sides, the rest embraces the idea of regulating the internet usage. Basically, internet regulation is an act of restricting or controlling access to some aspects or information. In a nutshell, internet regulation includes censorship of data and controlling aspects of the internet such as IP address and domain registration. Well, i tend to be of the opinion that the internet usage should have some limitations (Brousseau, Meryem and CeÃŒ cile, 73). One of the areas of concern with regards to negative effects of internet is

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Home Selection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Home Selection - Assignment Example The house is located just a few kilometers from town and this allows easy access to school, and also ease for my parents to get to work, it would have been better for us to live even near the city but the cost of these homes are much higher than the house we live in, we also preferred living some kilometers outside the city due to both noise and air pollution associated with the city, therefore the best home we found is located in a good neighborhood with very high levels of security because it is located near the police quarters. Therefore by acquiring a home in this location has led to various advantages including high security levels due the nearness to a police residence and also low cost of transport to school for us and also for my parents to city where they go to work. We also have an added advantage in that the house is in the middle of a five acre land and that we bought the house and therefore we do not have to pay rent at the end of the month. The house is large with four bedrooms, a master bedroom which has its own bath and this is for my parents, we also have our own bedroom each, we have the sitting room, entertainment room and dinning room, the bedrooms are up stares while the kitchen and the other rooms are down stares.