Monday, September 30, 2019

Standard Of Treatment Mayo Clinic Health And Social Care Essay

Mayo clinic is a group of non-profit organisations dwelling of infirmaries and research centres runing in three geographical countries Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. There are some nomadic infirmaries and research centres working in the nearby countries of these wellness attention centres such as Franciscan Skemp Medical Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Mayo group consists of Mayo medical schools, Mayo alumnus schools, Mayo graduate medical schools and wellness attention centres that are affiliated with mayo clinic. Mayo clinic is celebrated for it ‘s up to day of the month engineering and advanced ways of intervention qualified physicians and research on different diseases. It provide consultancy to the difficult to diagnosed patients who are non diagnosed by the other physicians and intervention for their jobs. Mayo clinic comes within top 20 infirmaries in the universe ranking for its advanced interventions and research because it allocates 40 % of their resources to the research. They maintain high quality criterions through their values like â€Å" The demands of the patient ever come first † .Background and History:Mayo clinic started as individual outpatient installation and now go the choice criterion in USA due to its effectual direction and cost economy policies. Dr. William Worrall Mayo along with his two boies William James Mayo and Charles Horace Mayo had laid the foundation of Mayo clinic. The other Mayo Clinic laminitiss are Drs. Mayo, Dr. Stinchfield, Dr. Graham, Dr. Henry Plummer, Dr. Millet, Dr. Judd, and Dr. Balfour. In the get downing the net incomes of the organisation were shared among the spouses and wage was paid to the other hired staff by the spouses. In 1846 Dr. William Worrall Mayo joined the Mayo clinic as a physician after migration from United Kingdom to the United States. In 1919 the net income oriented organisation was changed into the non net income organisation â€Å" Mayo Properties Association † . The Mayo brothers transferred all the clinic belongings, trappingss and everything to the freshly established association. In 1892, Dr. Augustus Stinchfield who was considered to be the best physician in the little towns near Rocheste to fall in Mayo clinic and when Dr. Stinchfield joined the laminitis physician W.W. Mayo retired from the Mayo Association at the age of 73 old ages. Dr. Henry Stanley Plummer who is considered to be the â€Å" designer of the modern medical pattern † joined the Mayo clinic as a spouse and started pattern in 1901. He designed many advanced systems that are worldwide used today such as single dossier-style medical record and an complecting telephone system. Dr. Plummer is besides known for presenting the diagnostic and clinical facets of the pattern. Mayo brothers excelled their accomplishments in surgery. In 1907 Dr. Louis B. Wilson was hired to carry through Dr. Plummer ‘s plane to set up research and diagnostic research labs. In 1928 Plummer Building was designed by Johnathan Willian Dawson and Ray Corwin wit the inputs from the Mayo clinic staff and was tallest edifice in the Minnesota until the Foshay Tower was built in Minneapolis. This edifice was included in National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The Ellerbe house has besides constructed in 1914 Mayo â€Å" Red † edifice, the 1922 Mayo Institute of Experimental Medicine, the 1927 â€Å" Plummer † edifice and the Nayo edifice in 1954. The Mayo campus in Rochester approximately occupies the three clip s country than the Mall of America. In 1998 new edifice of Mayo infirmary was constructed in East Mayo Boulevard Phoenix and it occupies country of 210 estates site. This edifice contains 244 accredited beds, 18 operation suites and the exigency section of degree II.Patients Served at Mayo ClinicMayo clinic has been supplying wellness attention installations for 100 old ages. Every twelvemonth more than 500,000 patients get installati ons from more than 150 states of the universe. More than 3,700 doctors and scientists and 49,000 medical support staff are working in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. The patients receive doctor ‘s consultancy and medical trial before concluding medical examination really rapidly and patients are operated surgically in the really following twenty-four hours. Due to good direction the patients do n't hold to wait for many yearss for their bend of operation. The ranking of the Mayo clinic is really good. The information of 2009 shows that 62,400 patients were admitted out of which 29,883 inmate and 21,035 outpatient surgeries. In exigency visits of patients were reported to be 79,542. The visits of greater no of people show their trust on the infirmary.Community ServedThe BASIC of the Mayo clinic is to fulfill the wellness demands and work out the relation of the people. Mayo believes that their premier map is to function the patients with welcoming, gracious and healthy attitude . The spouses of the Mayo besides try to keep the nucleus values and maintain their criterions. They non merely ease the patients but besides provide consultancy to the health care issues. They besides provide the nutrition planes, kid attention suggestions and supply planes to run into the hereafter challenges. The nucleus installations provided to all the patients are safe, quality wellness attention, educational offerings and above all a better quality of life. Mayo wellness system is a household clinic and provides a complete scope of wellness calling installations to the whole household with its diversified rand of installations and with updated equipments and qualified physicians. The patients receive quality intervention at their local infirmaries and can be benefited by the mayo ‘s consultancies at any clip. The environing infirmaries of Mayo Clinic are connected to it and can engage consultancies, skilled physicians and other equipment at any clip therefore supplying an overall better kind of wellness attention installations to the whole part.Scope of ServiceMayo Clinic provides a broad scope of services in different countries of the universe. All kinds of diseases are cured here by the qualified physicians with latest engineerings. They provide intervention of the malignant neoplastic disease, Gastritis, gynaecology, Diabetes, Gastroenterology Heart Surgery, Endocrinology, Psychiatry, Kidney Disorders, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation. Health attention programs and consultancies are besides provided by them. They provide non merely wellness attention installations but besides research and educational installations to the community. There are 248 medical occupants, 27 PhD alumnuss, and 21 MS alumnuss and there are 77108 participants in Mayo School of Continuing professional Development. The new and modern engineerings which are discovered and the new ways developed for intervention are provided to the remainder of universe freely and nil is charged to the patients. There is another great service provided in the form of immature pupils ‘ instruction. The fact about Mayo Clinic is that it is really cost efficient in its operations so ensuing in cost economy policies and besides is a beginning of suggestions for other infirmaries. A really alone service provided by the Mayo clinic is to supply the insurance installation for its patients.Leadership and ManagementThe basic motivation of wellness attention organisations is to fix sawboness and physicians who are excel in their field but they besides require directors for taking the organisation at assorted managerial places. Those who want direction instruction have to travel beyond their pattern to other establishments in the yesteryear. This forces the health care establishments to broaden their range of surveies and offer some extra classs to fix their efficient and effectual directors as this is the demand of ambitious dynamic environment. Therefore medical establishments besides started in-house leading plans to develop their directors for future leading. The Mayo initiated the leading plans and being the benchmark is function theoretical account for the other establishments.Staffing and RecruitmentEmployees are the major plus of the services organisations as their major success, productiveness and success depends on the public presentation and attitude of the employees. The more committed, satisfied and skilled employees put their best attempts in supplying services to the organisations. Hiring the right employees is a ambitious undertaking because engaging the incorrect employees is expensive, dearly-won, clip and resource consuming. The non committed employees are besides harmful to the organisation who leads to the increased turnover rate that causes fiscal load on the organisation. The Mayo clinic has good established Human Resource section for the enlisting and staffing procedure that selects employees. There is a formal system of enlisting in which the procedure starts with the occupation attention deficit disorder, so comes the application signifiers, recruitment trial, interview and some simulation trials for look intoing the on the occupation cognition. When anyone is employed he is dictated about the organisation and so preparation is besides provided. These employees are provided wage harmonizing to the market rates and some other benefits are besides prov ided for creative activity trueness and committedness to the organisation. As a consequence of the above discussed activities a really skilled, loyal, satisfied and committed work force is obtained. These employees are divided into different sections and each section executing a specific map.Reimbursement BeginningsThe major beginning of Mayo clinic is the income from the patient attention which is reported $ 474 million for the twelvemonth 2008-09. The 2nd beginning is the part received by the grateful patients which is $ 236 million for 2008-09. Third one is the research activities that contribute in its income. The external grants for the research are $ 324million while Mayo ‘s ain research financess from donees $ 400 1000000s and other beginning of income is their diversified activities of clinical research lab and the wellness attention publications that contribute 57million to the entire income. As the Mayo clinic is a non net income organisation so their focal point in non profit maximization. Mayo ‘s stock market public presentation consequences in the 12.5 % returns. However due to fluctuations in the market Mayo clinic do non trust on the stock returns majorly and plans its budget estimating from other beginnings of income.Non-reimbursable Servicess:The focal point of the organisation is to supply best installations in clinical pattern, instruction and research. The innovations of medical patterns, instruments, processs and other research activities are provided freely to the remainder of the universe and no patents are earned over these things. All these installations are provided to accomplish the ultimate end of better standard life for everyone in the universe. The most of import non reimbursable service is the intervention of the patient, the diagnosing provided or the consultancy provided to the patient whose disease was non diagnosed by any other infirmary. Mayo clinic utilizations such alone patient history in its research and aft er survey publishes it in its research publications that are used by the whole universe. Since that Mayo clinic has really cost efficient system hence they besides provide some cost salvaging schemes to the other infirmaries and other organisations.Information Technology Used:Health information engineering ( HIT ) has been developed to organize attention of patients that have provided many installations to the people. This system provides information to the stakeholders maintaining a certain degree of patient privateness. It has created a calculated balance between the patient ‘s personal medical information and the elements of attention provided to the stakeholders necessary for intervention. Everybody has the entree on the general medical information. This information besides helps to build informations that can be used to avoid harm stairss in the exigency state of affairss of the patients. This accrual medical cognition can be helpful from the bar of many diseases. By util izing this system voluntary patient identifier has been established by which anybody can entree his or her ain wellness and by comparing them with the medical criterions. The patient history is stored in the informational system so it can be really helpful for the diagnosing and for future usage. This system can be helpful in secure interchanging the information between consumer and the supplier of consultancy. This system can be helpful to keep a better and standardised life manner. It can besides supply some societal benefits in early spread of infections and epidemics. Mayo clinic besides provide the proficient aid the attached infirmaries to better their criterions to ease the people of their ain countries.Regulatory and Quality RequirementsCenters for Medicare & A ; Medicaid Services ( CMS ) gives high ranking to the Mayo clinic as it non merely meets the needed criterions but exceeds the criterions required by the national quality steps. The joint committee is an independent a nd non- net income organisation working since 1951 and has categorized about 1500 wellness attention organisations in the United States. It has established many criterions on which organisations are categorized and most of import of which are the patient rights, patient intervention and infection control. These criterions are developed by the audience of wellness attention experts, providers, consumers and measuring experts. Mayo clinic besides fix some academic studies on quality measurings and one such undertaking was â€Å" The Dartmouth Atlas Project † . In this undertaking 4300 infirmaries were studied and checked that how the medical resources are used among the infirmaries of United States. This undertaking analyzed the doctors, infirmaries, part wise infirmaries and United States as a whole. The undertaking was conducted by the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School. University Health System Consortium ( UHC ) was created in 1984 in coaction with the academic wellness centres in the United States taking to increase the criterions of the infirmaries. In 1995 it categorized the Mayo Clinic as one of the best infirmaries of the U.S. The UHS has 95 full clip members and 128 associated members who physically visit the infirmaries and look into the wellness attention installations that are used in the ranking of the infirmary. The direction of the Mayo Clinic ensures that every service provided to the patients is up to the grade and of the declared quality indicated in the mission of the organisation. The plane for each intervention is checked before the start of intervention to guarantee that there is no spread in it. The patient ‘s charts are on a regular basis checked by the senior physicians to look into whether the patient is having intervention harmonizing to the intervention suggested. The dosage of medical specialty is besides reviewed and changed harmonizing to the patient ‘s fortunes. The intervention machines, equipments and other instruments are on a regular basis checked in every forenoon before the start of intervention. Before the intervention of following hebdomad, the plane of the old hebdomad is besides checked to see the betterments. Finally before the any machine the automated computerized system compares the healer ‘s scenes with the original plane so that the patient can neither have overdose or under-dose. There is besides a quality insurance cell which receives the feedback from the patients and attempts to invalidate these spreads. The stakeholders can besides lend by supplying suggestions for betterments in the overall system of the organisation. The Mayo clinic has been recognized by three quality boards the American Board of Family Medicine ( ABFM ) , the American BoardA of Internal Medicine ( ABIM ) , and the American Board of PediatricsA ( ABP ) which is the cogent evidence of their high quality criterions.Market PositionThere are different societies and organisation of Govt. private and public sector that categories the infirmaries and wellness attention organisations on the footing of the criterions set by them. These societies include Centers for Medicare & A ; Medicaid Services ( CMS ) , University Health System Consortium ( UHC ) , The Dartmouth Atlas Project, U.S News and some other organisations. In 1998 Mayo Clinic was ranked thirtieth in orthopaedicss, 36th in rhinolaryngology and 38th in pneumonic disease. In the current twelvemonth 2010 the U.S News studied the 5,000 infirmaries of the United States and categorized them individually harmonizing to the installations for different diseases. Out of 5,000 infirmari es 152 infirmaries gain some forte and 14 infirmaries awarded â€Å" Honor Roll † which contain more than 6 fortes and Mayo clinic is one of them. Mayo clinic ranked in following places in following fortesForteRanking of Mayo ClinicCancer 3 Diabities and Endocrinology 1 Gastroentology 1 Gynecology 2 Heart and bosom surgery 2 Kidney upsets 1 Neurology and neurosurgery 2 Orthopedicss 2 Pulmonology 2 Urology 3 In add-on to above ranking Mayo clinic besides retain some best sawboness, doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff. Their infirmary environment is really hygienic and nutrient served to the patients is of best quality. The Mayo clinic has besides the award of â€Å" honor Roll † of best nurses places in the United States.Considerations for ImprovementThe dramatic promotion in the engineering and other medical processs has put a force per unit area on wellness attention establishments to follow these freshly discovered processs and engineerings. There is ever a room for betterment in every system. Colorado Foundation for Medical Care ( CFMC ) is an organisation working for the betterment of infirmary quality and patient safety in the infirmaries and is working in the U.S. The CFMC is working chiefly on the surgical attention, bosom failure, Methicillin-resistant staphylococci aureus, force per unit area ulcers, physical restraints, the Health Care Leadership and Quality Ass essment Tool, the AHRQ Culture Survey, drug safety, and public coverage. The chief challenge for the direction of Mayo clinic is non to convey alteration and new engineering but to accept and follow that alteration. The staff of mayo welcomes the alteration with unfastened weaponries so that their organisation becomes the benchmark in the part.Future TendenciesThe chief purpose of the Mayo clinic is to transform finds into interventions through research. There are many research surveies that are continued under the counsel of many senior physicians in all the three metropoliss where Mayo clinic is runing. The particular patients who are identified with some new symptoms are specially studied by the Mayo clinic and after a whole research illations are concluded and the upset is identified. Then this alone instance is published in the publications of Mayo clinic. They are chiefly analyzing biomedical technology, bioinformatics, and the scientific discipline of wellness attention bring ing. More than 6,000 employees are working on this research and the research budget for 2008 was $ 523 million. The chief intent of their research is to supply replies to patients that others ca n't supply. The ultimate intent is the public assistance of society and better criterion of lifes through its attempts.Pertinent Aspect Discovered During my ResearchDuring the current survey many important facets were revealed that the Mayo clinic is carry oning. For illustration the neuromodulation is huge field of surgical intercession which is a immune psychiatric upset and batch of research is traveling on in mayo clinic. Beside this reversible intervention schemes for motion upsets are under survey and several tests have been done on this field. In add-on work is besides done on deep encephalon stimulation ( DBS ) in treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive upset ( OCD ) , and Tourette syndrome. The neuromodulation therapies, neurophysiological anomalousnesss and their conse quence on deep encephalon stimulation ( DBS ) are hot subjects to dot and research. The determination Mayo Clinic can duplicate the familial showing effectivity for sudden decease bosom status. All the characteristics, installations, experienced physicians, equipments, processs adopted and research conducted in Mayo clinic suggest that it one of the best wellness attention organisation and serves as benchmark to other wellness attention organisations due its direction and efficient usage of resources.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Stanley in a Streetcar Named Desire

Laura Robertson Ms. Albertson English IV Honors 17 January 2012 A Streetcar Named Desire: Stanley Kowalski In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, an insensitive and cruel character named Stanley Kowalski is depicted. His juxtaposition to Stella Kowalski, his mild mannered and sensitive wife, accentuates his character flaws making them even more prominent and dramatic throughout the play. Through Stanley’s conflicts with Blanche DuBois and his rapist-like sexual advances, Stanley becomes the perfect villainous character, enabling the reader to sympathize with Stella and Blanche. With the violent scenes and the highly sexual content, Stanley is the center of all climactic events in A Streetcar Named Desire. Stanley’s aggressive nature even goes so far as domestic violence, where he savagely beats Stella and verbally abuses her on a regular basis. This is evident in many scenes. Just the presence of Stanley is enough to create fear and uneasiness for the people that surround him. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams depicts Stanley Kowalski as a villain-like character with a mean streak and vicious personality which creates an uneasy environment due to his pugnacious lifestyle and insensitive demeanor. â€Å"The stage directions say that sex is the center of Stanley’s life. Being sexually attractive assures Stanley’s delusional rapist mind that his sexual advances are being welcomed† (Nagel 10). Stanley’s delusional mind makes him believe that his sexual brutality is respected and is a naturally accepted thing. Throughout the play, Stanley’s character is followed by sexual connotations and innuendos. A very vivid illustration of this starts at the very beginning of the play where â€Å"The vigorous physicality and the echo of his primitive nature, combined with the coarse sexual innuendo of his package of meat suggest passion close to the surface and introduce the audience to Stanley’s inner character† (Nagel 10). The bringing of the package of meat to Stella and how Stanley carelessly throws the heavy package to her even though she insists on not being able to catch it shows the brutal nature of his sexuality. The way the package is described as dripping with blood is used to over accentuate the graphic nature of the ordeal, foreshadowing sexual happenings that will occur later in the play. Another example of the graphic nature of Stanley’s sexual brutality is portrayed in the poker game in scene three. After Stella had fled to Eunice’s house and Stanley sorrowfully called to her the play states that Stella came down to him and they made animal noises together. This shows the animalistic behavior of Stanley and the unhealthy relationship between Stella and Stanley. Stanley is described as highly sexed in the play and when Stanley and Stella are together, they create a bond that Blanche can’t ever break† (Nagel 10). Though try as she might, Blanche’s attempts to keep Stella from Stanley are ultimately thwarted due to Stanley and Stella’s unhealthy bond with one another. In addition to Stanley’s savage and animalistic sexual advances his verbal abuse towards both Stella and Blanche even further assert him as a villainous character from the start to the finish of the play. Stanley is especially cruel to Blanche who he had an antagonistic feeling towards from the moment he met her. One of the first illustrations of Stanley’s harsh words is represented with his first argument with Blanche. â€Å"This first confrontation is over the loss of Belle Reve. Stanley’s composure vanishes and his vision becomes so distorted that he mistakes her cheap jewelry as ropes of pearls† (Nagel 10). When this confrontation occurs and Stanley’s composure becomes compromised when he realizes that Blanche had been telling the truth about losing the estate to the mortgage instead of selling it for profit and lashes out to compromise his mistake. Stanley could not stand the thought of being proved wrong by a woman like Blanche so he explodes into a fit of rage to cover up the pride he had lost in being wrong about Blanche. A particularly tense birthday dinner of Blanche leads to yet another episode of Stanley’s dangerous and violent fits of rage. After Stella scolded Stanley for eating like an animal, with his fingers, he erupts into a disastrous rage. â€Å"That’s how I’ll clear the table! (Seizes her arm) Don’t ever talk that way to me that way! ‘Pig-Polack-Disgusting-Vulgar-Greasy! ’—Them kind of words have been on your tongue and your sister’s too much around here! What do you think you are? A pair of queens? Remember what Huey Long said—‘Every man is a king! ’ and I am the king around here, so don’t you forget it† (Williams 107)! This outburst alone highlights the cruel and misogynistic ways of Stanley and further paints him in a negative and harsh light. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams depicts Stanley Kowalski as a villain-like character with a mean streak and vicious personality which creates an uneasy environment due to his pugnacious lifestyle and insensitive demeanor. His juxtaposition to Stella Kowalski, his mild mannered and sensitive wife, accentuates his character flaws making them even more prominent and dramatic throughout the play. Through Stanley’s conflicts with Blanche DuBois and his rapist-like sexual advances, Stanley becomes the perfect villainous character, enabling the reader to sympathize with Stella and Blanche. Works Cited Nagel, James. â€Å"Critical Essays on Tennessee Williams. † Ed. Robert A. Martin. First Edition. New York, New York: G. K. Halland Co. , 1997 Williams, Tennessee. â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire. † New York, New York: New American Library, 1951. Pages 13-142.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE

CONVERGENCE When Stor Gendibal finally made out Compor's ship on his viewscreen, it seemed like the end of an incredibly long journey. Yet, of course, it was not the end, but merely the beginning. The journey from Trantor to Sayshell had been nothing but prologue. Novi looked awed. â€Å"Is that another ship of space, Master?† â€Å"Spaceship, Novi. It is. It's the one we have been striving to reach. It is a larger ship than this one – and a better one. It can move through space so quickly that if it fled from us, this ship could not possibly catch it – or even follow it.† â€Å"Faster than a ship of the masters?† Sura Novi seemed appalled by the thought. Gendibal shrugged. â€Å"I may be, as you say, a master, but I am not a master in all things. We scholars do not have ships like these, nor do we have many of the material devices that the owners of those ships have.† â€Å"But how can scholars lack such things, Master?† â€Å"Because we are masters in what is important. The material advances that these others have are trifles.† Novi's brows bent together in thought. â€Å"It seems to me that to go so quickly that a master cannot follow is no trifle. Who are these people who are wonder – having – who have such things?† Gendibal was amused. â€Å"They call themselves the Foundation. Have you ever heard of the Foundation?† (He caught himself wondering what the Hamish knew or did not know of the Galaxy and why it never occurred to the Speakers to wonder about such things. – Or was it only he who had never wondered about such things – only he who assumed that the Hamish cared for nothing more than grubbing in the soil.) Novi shook her head thoughtfully. â€Å"I have never heard of it, Master. When the schoolmaster taught me letter-lore – how to read, I mean – he told me there were many other worlds and told me the names of some. He said our Hamish world had the proper name of Trantor and that it once ruled all the worlds. He said Trantor was covered with gleaming iron and had an Emperor who was an allmaster.† Her eyes looked up at Gendibal with a shy merriment. â€Å"I unbelieve most of it, though. There are many stories the wordspinners tell in the meeting-halls in the time of longer nights. When I was a small girl, I believed them all, but as I grew older, I found that many of them were not true. I believe very few now; perhaps none. Even schoolmasters tell unbelievables.† â€Å"Just the same, Novi, that particular story of the schoolmaster is true – but it was long ago. Trantor was indeed covered by metal and had indeed an Emperor who ruled all the Galaxy. Now, however, it is the people of the Foundation who will someday rule all the worlds. They grow stronger all the time.† â€Å"They will rule all, Master?† â€Å"Not immediately. In five hundred years.† â€Å"And they will master the masters as well?† â€Å"No, no. They will rule the worlds. We will rule them – for their safety and the safety of all the worlds.† Novi was frowning again. She said, â€Å"Master, do these people of the Foundation have many of these remarkable ships?† â€Å"I imagine so, Novi.† â€Å"And other things that are very-astonishing?† â€Å"They have powerful weapons of all kinds.† â€Å"Then, Master, can they not take all the worlds now?† â€Å"No, they cannot. It is not yet time.† â€Å"But why can they not? Would the masters stop them?† â€Å"We wouldn't have to, Novi. Even if we did nothing, they could not take all the worlds.† â€Å"But what would stop them?† â€Å"You see,† began Gendibal, â€Å"there is a plan that a wise man once devised†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped, smiled slightly, and shook his head. â€Å"It is hard to explain, Novi. Another time, perhaps. In fact, when you see what will happen before we ever see Trantor again, you may even understand without my explaining.† â€Å"What will happen, Master?† â€Å"I am not sure, Novi. But all will happen well.† He turned away and prepared to make contact with Compor. And, as he did so, he could not quite keep an inner thought from saying: At least I hope so. He was instantly angry with himself, for he knew the source of that foolish and weakening drift of thought. It was the picture of the elaborate and enormous Foundation might in the shape of Compor's ship and it was his chagrin at Novi's open admiration of it. Stupid! How could he let himself compare the possession of mere strength and power with the possession of the ability to guide events? It was what generations of Speakers had called â€Å"the fallacy of the hand at the throat.† To think that he was not yet immune to its allures. Munn Li Compor was not in the least sure as to how he ought to comport himself. For most of his life, he had had the vision of allpowerful Speakers existing just beyond his circle of experience, Speakers, with whom he was occasionally in contact and who had, in their mysterious grip, the whole of humanity. Of them all, it had been Stor Gendibal to whom, in recent years, he had turned for direction. It was not even a voice he had encountered most times, but a mere presence in his mind-hyperspeech without a hyper-relay. In this respect, the Second Foundation had gone far beyond the Foundation. Without material device, but just by the educated and advanced power of the mind alone, they could reach across the par. sees in a manner that could not be tapped, could not be infringed upon. It was an invisible, indetectable network that held all the worlds fast through the mediation of a relatively few dedicated individuals. Compor had, more than once, experienced a kind of uplifting at the thought of his role. How small the band of which he was one; how enormous an influence they exerted. – And how secret it all was. Even his wife knew nothing of his hidden life. And it was the Speakers who held the strings – and this one Speaker, this Gendibal, who might (Compor thought) be the next First Speaker, the more-than-Emperor of a more-than-Empire. Now Gendibal was here, in a ship of Trantor, and Compor fought to stifle his disappointment at not having such a meeting take place on Trantor itself. Could that be a ship of Trantor? Any of the early Traders who had carried the Foundation's wares through a hostile Galaxy would have had a better ship than that. No wonder it had taken the Speaker so long to cover the distance from Trantor to Sayshell. It was not even equipped with a unidock mechanism that would have welded the two ships into one when the crosstransfer of personnel was desired. Even the contemptible Sayshellian fleet was equipped with it. Instead, the Speaker had to match velocities and then cast a tether across the gap and swing along it, as in Imperial days. That was it, thought Compor gloomily, unable to repress the feeling. The ship was no more than an old-fashioned Imperial vessel and a small one at that. Two figures were moving across the tether – one of them so clumsily that it was clear it had never attempted to maneuver through space before. – Finally they were on board and removed their space suits. Speaker Stor Gendibal was of moderate height and of unimpressive appearance; he was not large and powerful, nor did he exude an air of learning. His dark, deep-set eyes were the only indication of his wisdom. But now the Speaker looked about with a clear indication of being in awe himself. The other was a woman as tall as Gendibal, plain in appearance. Her mouth was open in astonishment as she looked about. Moving across the tether had not been an entirely unpleasant experience for Gendibal. He was not a spaceman – no Second Foundationer was – but neither was he a complete surface worm, for no Second Foundationer was allowed to be that. The possible need for space flight was, after all, always looming above them, though every Second Foundationer hoped the need would arise only infrequently. (Preem Palver – the extent of whose space travels was legendary – had once said, ruefully, that the measure of the success of a Speaker was the fewness of the times he was compelled to move through space in order to assure the success of the Plan.) Gendibal had had to use a tether three times before. This was his fourth use and even if he had felt tension over the matter, it would have disappeared in his concern for Sura Novi. He needed no mentalics to see that stepping into nothingness had totally upset her. â€Å"I be afeared, Master,† she said when he explained what would have to be done. â€Å"It be naughtness into which I will make footstep.† If nothing else, her sudden descent into thick Hamish dialect showed the extent of her disturbance. Gendibal said gently, â€Å"I cannot leave you on board this ship, Novi, for I will be going into the other and I must have you with me. There is no danger, for your space suit will protect you from all harm and there is no place for you to fall to. Even if you lose your grip on the tether, you will remain nearly where you are and I will be within arm's reach so that I can gather you in. Come, Novi, show me that you are brave enough – as well as bright enough – to become a scholar.† She made no further objection and Gendibal, unwilling to do anything that might disturb the smoothness of her mind-set, nevertheless managed to inject a soothing touch upon the surface of her mind. â€Å"You can still speak to me,† he said, after they were each enclosed in a space suit. â€Å"I can hear you if you think hard. Think the words hard and clearly, one by one. You can hear me now, can't you?† â€Å"Yes, Master,† she said. He could see her lips move through the transparent faceplate and he said, â€Å"Say it without moving your lips, Novi. There is no radio in the kind of suits that scholars have. it is all done with the mind.† Her lips did not move and her look grew more anxious: Can you hear me, Master? Perfectly well, thought Gendibal – and his lips did not move either: Do you hear me? I do, Master. Then come with me and do as I do. They moved across. Gendibal knew the theory of it, even if he could handle the practice only moderately well. The trick was to keep one's legs extended and together and to swing them from the hips alone. That kept the center of gravity moving in a straight line as the arms swung forward in steady alternation. He had explained this to Sura Novi and, without turning to look at her, he studied the stance of her body from the set of the motor areas of her brain. For a first-timer, she did very well, almost as well as Gendibal was managing to do. She repressed her own tensions and she followed directions. Gendibal found himself, once again, very pleased with her. She was, however, clearly glad to be on board ship again – and so was Gendibal. He looked about as he removed his space suit and was rather dumbfounded at the luxury and style of the equipment. He recognized almost nothing and his heart sank at the thought that he might have very little time to learn how to handle it all. He might have to transfer expertise directly from the man already on board, something that was never quite as satisfactory as true learning. Then he concentrated on Compor. Compor was tall and lean, a few years older than himself, rather handsome in a slightly weak way, with tightly waved hair of a startling buttery yellow. And it was clear to Gendibal that this person was disappointed in, and even contemptuous of, the Speaker he was now meeting for the first time. What was more, he was entirely unsuccessful in hiding the fact. Gendibal did not mind such things, on the whole. Compor was not a Trantorian – nor a full Second Foundationer – and he clearly had his illusions. Even the most superficial scan of his mind showed that. Among these was the illusion that true power was necessarily related to the appearance of power. He might, of course, keep his illusions as long as they did not interfere with what Gendibal needed, but at the present moment, this particular illusion did so interfere. What Gendibal did was the mentalic equivalent of a snap of the fingers. Compor staggered slightly under the impress of a sharp but fleeting pain. There was an impress of enforced concentration that puckered the skin of his thought and left the man with the awareness of a casual but awesome power that could be utilized if the Speaker chose. Compor was left with a vast respect for Gendibal. Gendibal said pleasantly, â€Å"I am merely attracting your attention, Compor, my friend. Please let me know the present whereabouts of your friend, Golan Trevize, and his friend, Janov Pelorat.† Compor said hesitantly, â€Å"Shall I speak in the presence of the woman, Speaker?† â€Å"The woman, Compor, is an extension of myself. There is no reason, therefore, why you should not speak openly.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker. Trevize and Pelorat are now approaching a planet known as Gaia.† â€Å"So you said in your last communication the other day. Surely they have already landed on Gaia and perhaps left again. They did not stay long on Sayshell Planet.† â€Å"They had not yet landed during the time I followed them, Speaker. They were approaching the planet with great caution, pausing substantial periods between micro-Jumps. it is clear to me they have no information about the planet they are approaching and therefore hesitate.† â€Å"Do you have information, Compor?† â€Å"I have none, Speaker,† said Compor, â€Å"or at least my ship's computer has none.† â€Å"This computer?† Gendibal's eyes fell upon the control panel and he asked in sudden hope, â€Å"Can it aid usefully in running the ship?† â€Å"It can run the ship completely, Speaker. One need merely think into it.† Gendibal felt suddenly uneasy. â€Å"The Foundation has gone that far?† â€Å"Yes, but clumsily. The computer does not work well. I must repeat my thoughts several times and even then I get but minimal information.† Gendibal said, â€Å"I may be able to do better than that.† â€Å"I am sure of it, Speaker,† said Compor respectfully. â€Å"But never mind that for the moment. Why does it have no information on Gaia?† â€Å"I do not know, Speaker. It claims to have – as far as a computer may be said to be able to claim – records on every human – inhabited planet in the Galaxy.† â€Å"It cannot have more information than has been fed into it and if those who did the feeding thought they had records of all such planets when, in actual fact, they had not, then the computer would labor under the same misapprehension. Correct?† â€Å"Certainly, Speaker.† â€Å"Did you inquire at Sayshell?† â€Å"Speaker,† said Compor uneasily, â€Å"there are people who speak of Gaia on Sayshell, but what they say is valueless. Clearly superstition. The tale they tell is that Gaia is a powerful world that held off even the Mule.† â€Å"Is that what they say, indeed?† said Gendibal, suppressing excitement. â€Å"Were you so sure that this was superstition that you asked for no details?† â€Å"No, Speaker. I asked a great deal, but what I have just told you is all that anyone can say. They can speak on the subject at great length, but when they have done so, all that it boils down to is what I have just said.† â€Å"Apparently,† said Gendibal, â€Å"that is what Trevize has heard, too, and he goes to Gaia for some reason connected with that – to tap this great power, perhaps. And he does so cautiously, for perhaps he also fears this great power.† â€Å"That is certainly possible, Speaker.† â€Å"And yet you did not follow?† â€Å"I did follow, Speaker, long enough to make sure he was indeed making for Gaia. I then returned here to the outskirts of the Gaian system.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Three reasons, Speaker. First, you were about to arrive and I wanted to meet you at least partway and bring you aboard at the earliest moment, as you had directed. Since my ship has a hyperrelay on board, I could not move too far away from Trevize and Pelorat without rousing suspicion on Terminus, but I judged I could risk moving this far. Second, when it was clear that Trevize was approaching Gaia Planet very slowly, I judged there would be time enough for me to move toward you and hasten our meeting without being overtaken by events, especially since you would be more competent than I to follow him to the planet itself and to handle any emergency that might arise.† â€Å"Quite true. And the third reason?† â€Å"Since our last communication, Speaker, something has happened that I did not expect and do not understand. I felt that – for that reason, too – I had better hasten our meeting as soon as I dared.† â€Å"And this event that you did not expect and do not understand?† â€Å"Ships of the Foundation fleet are approaching the Sayshellian frontier. My computer has picked up this information from Sayshellian news broadcasts. At least five advanced ships are in the flotilla and these have enough power to overwhelm Sayshell.† Gendibal did not answer at once, for it would not do to show that he had not expected such a move – or that he didn't understand it. So, after a moment, he said negligently, â€Å"Do you suppose that this has something to do with Trevize's movement toward Gaia?† â€Å"It certainly came immediately afterward – and if B follows A, then there is at least a possibility that A caused B,† said Compor. â€Å"Well then, it seems we all converge upon Gaia – Trevize, and I, and the First Foundation. – Come, you acted well, Compor,† said Gendibal, â€Å"and here is what we will now do. First, you will show me how this computer works and, through that, how the ship may be handled. I am sure that will not take long. â€Å"After that, you will get into my ship, since by then I will have impressed on your mind how to handle it. You will have no trouble maneuvering it, although I must tell you (as you have no doubt guessed from its appearance) that you will find it primitive indeed. Once you are in control of the ship, you will keep it here and wait for me.† â€Å"How long, Speaker?† â€Å"Until I come for you. I do not expect to be gone long enough for you to be in danger of running out of supplies, but if I am unduly delayed, you may find your way to some inhabited planet of the Sayshell Union and wait there. Wherever you are, I will find you.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker.† â€Å"And do not be alarmed. I can handle this mysterious Gaia and, if need be, the five ships of the Foundation as well.† Littoral Thoobing had been the Foundation's Ambassador to Sayshell for seven years. He rather liked the position. Tall and rather stout, he wore a thick brown mustache at a time when the predominant fashion, both in the Foundation and in Sayshell, was smooth-shaven. He had a strongly lined countenance, though he was only fifty-four – and was much given to a schooled indifference. His attitude toward his work was not easily seen. Still, he rather liked the position. It kept him away from the hurly-burly of polities on Terminus – something he appreciated and it gave him the chance to live the life of a Sayshellian sybarite and to support his wife and daughter in the style to which they had become addicted. He didn't want his life disturbed. On the other hand, he rather disliked Liono Kodell, perhaps because Kodell also sported a mustache, though one which was smaller, shorter, and grayish-white. In the old days, they had been the only two people in prominent public life who had worn one and there had been rather a competition between them over the matter. Now (thought Thoobing) there was none; Kodell's was contemptible. Kodell had been Director of Security when Thoobing was still on Terminus, dreaming of opposing Harla Branno in the race for Mayor, until he had been bought off with the ambassadorship. Branno had done it for her own sake, of course, but he had ended up owing her goodwill for that. But not to Kodell, somehow. Perhaps it was because of Kodell's determined cheerfulness – the manner in which he was always such a friendly person – even after he had decided on just exactly the manner in which your throat was to be cut. Now he sat there in hyperspatial image, cheerful as ever, brimming over with bonhomie. His actual body was, of course, back on Terminus, which spared Thoobing the necessity of offering him any physical sign of hospitality. â€Å"Kodell,† he said. â€Å"I want those ships withdrawn.† Kodell smiled sunnily. â€Å"Why, so do I, but the old lady has made up her mind.† â€Å"You've been known to persuade her out of this or that.† â€Å"On occasion. Perhaps. When she wanted to be persuaded. This time she doesn't want to be. – Thoobing, do your job. Keep Sayshell calm.† â€Å"I'm not thinking about Sayshell, Kodell. I'm thinking about the Foundation.† â€Å"So are we all.† â€Å"Kodell, don't fence. I want you to listen to me.† â€Å"Gladly, but these are hectic times on Terminus and I will not listen to you forever.† â€Å"I will be as brief as I can be – when discussing the possibility of the Foundation's destruction. If this hyperspatial line is not being tapped, I will speak openly.† â€Å"It is not being tapped.† â€Å"Then let me go on. I have received a message some days ago from one Golan Trevize. I recall a Trevize in my own political days, a Commissioner of Transportation.† â€Å"The young man's uncle,† Kodell said. â€Å"Ah, then you know the Trevize who sent the message to me. According to the information I have since gathered, he was a Councilman who, after the recent successful resolution of a Seldon Crisis, was arrested and sent into exile.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"I don't believe it.† â€Å"What is it that you don't believe?† â€Å"That he was sent into exile.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"When in history has any citizen of the Foundation been sent into exile?† demanded Thoobing. â€Å"He is arrested or not arrested. If he is arrested, he is tried or not tried. If he is tried, he is convicted or not convicted. If he is convicted, he is fined, demoted, disgraced, imprisoned, or executed. No one is sent into exile.† â€Å"There is always a first time.† â€Å"Nonsense. In an advanced naval vessel? What fool can fail to see that he is on a special mission for your old woman? Whom can she possibly expect to deceive?† â€Å"What would the mission be?† â€Å"Supposedly to find the planet Gaia.† Some of the cheerfulness left Kodell's face. An unaccustomed hardness entered his eyes. He said, â€Å"I know that you feel no overwhelming impulse to believe my statements, Mr. Ambassador, but I make a special plea that you believe me in this one case. Neither the Mayor nor I had ever heard of Gaia at the time that Trevize was sent into exile. We have heard of Gaia, for the first time, just the other day. If you believe that, this conversation may continue.† â€Å"I will suspend my tendency toward skepticism long enough to accept that, Director, though it is difficult to do so.† â€Å"it is quite true, Mr. Ambassador, and if I have suddenly adopted a formal note to my statements it is because when this is done, you will find that you have questions to answer and that you will not find the occasion joyful. You speak as though Gaia is a world familiar to you. How is it that you know something we did not know? Is it not your duty to see to it that we know everything that you know about the political unit to which you are assigned?† Thoobing said softly, â€Å"Gaia is not part of the Sayshell Union. It, in fact, probably does not exist. Am I to transmit to Terminus all the fairy tales that the superstitious lower orders of Sayshell tell of Gaia? Some of them say that Gaia is located in hyperspace. According to others, it is a world that supernaturally protects Sayshell. According to still others, it sent forth the Mule to prey on the Galaxy. If you are planning to tell the Sayshellian government that Trevize has been sent out to find Gaia and that five advanced ships of the Foundation Navy have been sent out to back him in this search, they will never believe you. The people may believe fairy tales about Gaia, but the government does not – and they will not be convinced that the Foundation does. They will feel that you intend to force Sayshell into the Foundation Federation.† â€Å"And what if we do plan that?† â€Å"It would be fatal. Come, Kodell, in the five-century history of the Foundation, when have we fought a war of conquest? We have fought wars to prevent our own conquest – and failed once – but no war has ended with an extension of our territory. Accessions to the Federation have been through peaceful agreements. We have been joined by those who saw benefits in joining.† â€Å"Isn't it possible that Sayshell may see benefits in joining?† â€Å"They will never do so while our ships remain on their borders. Withdraw them.† â€Å"It can't be done.† â€Å"Kodell, Sayshell is a marvelous advertisement for the benevolence of the Foundation Federation. It is nearly enclosed by our territory, it is in an utterly vulnerable position, and yet until now it has been safe, has gone its own way, has even been able to maintain an anti-Foundation foreign policy freely. How better can we show the Galaxy that we force no one, that we come in friendship to all? – If we take over Sayshell, we take that which, in essence, we already have. After all, we dominate it economically – if quietly. But if we take it over by military force, we advertise to all the Galaxy that we have become expansionist.† â€Å"And if I tell you that we are really interested only in Gaia?† â€Å"Then I will believe it no more than the Sayshell Union will. This man, Trevize, sends me a message that he is on his way to Gaia and asks me to transmit it to Terminus. Against my better judgment, I do so because I must and, almost before the hyperspatial line is cool, the Foundation Navy is in motion. How will you get to Gaia, without penetrating Sayshellian space?† â€Å"My dear Thoobing, surely you are not listening to yourself. Did you not tell me just a few minutes ago that Gaia, if it exists at all, is not part of the Sayshell Union? And I presume you know that hyperspace is free to all and is part of no world's territory. How then can Sayshell complain if we move from Foundation territory (where our ships stand right now), through hyperspace, into Gaian territory, and never in the process occupy a single cubic centimeter of Sayshellian territory?† â€Å"Sayshell will not interpret events like that, Kodell. Gaia, if it exists at all, is totally enclosed by the Sayshell Union, even if it is not a political part of it, and there are precedents that make such enclaves virtual parts of the enclosing territory, as far as enemy warships are concerned.† â€Å"Ours are not enemy warships. We are at peace with Sayshell.† â€Å"I tell you that Sayshell may declare war. They won't expect to win such a war through military superiority, but the fact is, war will set off a wave of anti-Foundation activity throughout the Galaxy. The new expansionist policies of the Foundation will encourage the growth of alliances against us. Some of the members of the Federation will begin to rethink their ties to us. We may well lose the war through internal disarray and we will then certainly reverse the process of growth that has served the Foundation so well for five hundred years.† â€Å"Come, come, Thoobing,† said Kodell indifferently, â€Å"You speak as though five hundred years is nothing, as though we are still the Foundation of Salvor Hardin's time, fighting the pocket-kingdom of Anacreon. We are far stronger now than the Galactic Empire ever was at its very height. A squadron of our ships could defeat the entire Galactic Navy, occupy any Galactic sector, and never know it had been in a fight.† â€Å"We are not fighting the Galactic Empire. We fight planets and sectors of our own time.† â€Å"Who have not advanced as we have. We could gather in all the Galaxy now.† â€Å"According to the Seldon Plan, we can't do that for another five hundred years.† â€Å"The Seldon Plan underestimates the speed of technological advance. We can do it now! – Understand me, I don't say we will do it now or even should do it now. I merely say we can do it now.† â€Å"Kodell, you have lived all your life on Terminus. You don't know the Galaxy. Our Navy and our technology can beat down the Armed Forces of other worlds, but we cannot yet govern an entire rebellions, hate-ridden Galaxy – and that is what it will be if we take it by force. Withdraw the ships!† â€Å"It can't be done, Thoobing. Consider. What if Gaia is not a myth?† Thoobing paused, scanning the other's face as though anxious to read his mind. â€Å"A world in hyperspace not a myth?† â€Å"A world in hyperspace is superstition, but even superstitions may be built around kernels of truth. This man, Trevize, who was exiled, speaks of it as though it were a real world in real space. What if he is right?† â€Å"Nonsense. I don't believe it.† â€Å"No? Believe it for just a moment. A real world that has lent Sayshell safety against the Mule and against the Foundation!† â€Å"But you refute yourself. How is Gaia keeping the Sayshellians safe from the Foundation? Are we not sending ships against it?† â€Å"Not against it, but against Gaia, which is so mysteriously unknown – which is so careful to avoid notice that while it is in real space it somehow convinces its neighbor worlds that it is in hyperspace – and which even manages to remain outside the computerized data of the best and most unabridged of Galactic maps.† â€Å"It must be a most unusual world, then, for it must be able to manipulate minds.† â€Å"And did you not say a moment ago that one Sayshellian tale is that Gaia sent forth the Mule to prey upon the Galaxy? And could not the Mule manipulate minds?† â€Å"And is Gaia a world of Mules, then?† â€Å"Are you sure it might not be?† â€Å"Why not a world of a reborn Second Foundation, in that case.† â€Å"Why not indeed? Should it not be investigated?† Thoobing grew sober. He had been smiling scornfully during the last exchanges, but now he lowered his head and stared up from under his eyebrows. â€Å"If you are serious, is such an investigation not dangerous?† â€Å"Is it?† â€Å"You answer my questions with other questions because you have no reasonable answers. Of what use will ships be against Mules or Second Foundationers? Is it not likely, in fact, that if they exist they are luring you into destruction? See here, you tell me that the Foundation can establish its Empire now, even though the Seldon Plan has reached only its midway point, and I have warned you that you would be racing too far ahead and that the intricacies of the Plan would slow you down by force. Perhaps, if Gaia exists and is what you say it is, all this is a device to bring about that slowdown. Do voluntarily now what you may soon be constrained to do. Do peacefully and without bloodshed now what you may be forced to do by woeful disaster. Withdraw the ships.† â€Å"It can't be done. In fact, Thoobing, Mayor Branno herself plans to join the ships, and scoutships have already flitted through hyperspace to what is supposedly Gaian territory.† Thoobing's eyes bulged. â€Å"There will surely be war, I tell you.† â€Å"You are our ambassador. Prevent that. Give the Sayshellians whatever assurances they need. Deny any ill will on our part. Tell them, if you have to, that it will pay them to sit quietly and wait for Gaia to destroy us. Say anything you want to, but keep them quiet.† He paused, searching Thoobing's stunned expression, and said, â€Å"Really, that's all. As far as I know, no Foundation ship will land on any world of the Sayshell Union or penetrate any point in real space that is part of that Union. However, any Sayshellian ship that attempts to challenge us outside Union territory – and therefore inside Foundation territory – will promptly be reduced to dust. Make that perfectly clear, too, and keep the Sayshellians quiet. You will be held to strict account if you fail. You have had an easy job so far, Thoobing, but hard times are upon you and the next few weeks decide all. Fail us and no place in the Galaxy will be safe for you.† There was neither merriment nor friendliness in Kodell's face as contact was broken and as his image disappeared. Thoobing stared open – mouthed at the place where he had been. Golan Trevize clutched at his hair as though he were trying, by feel, to judge the condition of his thinking. He said to Pelorat abruptly, â€Å"What is your state of mind?† â€Å"State of mind?† said Pelorat blankly. â€Å"Yes. Here we are, trapped – with our ship under outside control and being drawn inexorably to a world we know nothing about. Do you feel panic?† Pelorat's long face registered a certain melancholia. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I don't feel joyful. I do feel a little apprehensive, but I'm not panicky.† â€Å"Neither am I. Isn't that odd? Why aren't we more upset than we are?† â€Å"This is something we expected, Golan. Something like this.† Trevize turned to the screen. It remained firmly focused on the space station. It was larger now, which meant they were closer. It seemed to him that it was not an impressive space station in design. There was nothing to it that bespoke superscience. In fact, it seemed a bit primitive. – Yet it had the ship in its grip. He said, â€Å"I'm being very analytical, Janov. Cool! – I like to think that I am not a coward and that I can behave well under pressure, but I tend to flatter myself. Everyone does. I should be jumping up and down right now and sweating a little. We may have expected something, but that doesn't change the fact that we are helpless and that we may be killed.† Pelorat said, â€Å"I don't think so, Golan. If the Gaians could take over the ship at a distance, couldn't they kill us at a distance? If we're still alive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But we're not altogether untouched. We're too calm, I tell you. I think they've tranquilized us.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"To keep us in good shape mentally, I think. It's possible they wish to question us. After that, they may kill us.† â€Å"If they are rational enough to want to question us, they may be rational enough not to kill us for no good reason.† Trevize leaned back in his chair (it bent back at least – they hadn't deprived the chair of its functioning) and placed his feet on the desk where ordinarily his hands made contact with the computer. He said, â€Å"They may be quite ingenious enough to work up what they consider a good reason. – Still, if they've touched our minds, It hasn't been by much. If it were the Mule, for instance, he would have made us eager to go – exalted, exultant, every fiber of ourselves crying out for arrival there.† He pointed to the space station. â€Å"Do you feel that way, Janov?† â€Å"Certainly not.† â€Å"You see that I'm still in a state where I can indulge in cool, analytical reasoning. Very odd! Or can I tell? Am I in a panic, incoherent, mad – and merely under the illusion that I am indulging in cool, analytical reasoning?† Pelorat shrugged. â€Å"You seem sane to me. Perhaps I am as insane as you and am under the same illusion, but that sort of argument gets us nowhere. All humanity could share a common insanity and be immersed in a common illusion while living in a common chaos. That can't be disproved, but we have no choice but to follow our senses.† And then, abruptly, he said, â€Å"In fact, I've been doing some reasoning myself.† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, we talk about Gaia as a world of Mules, possibly, or as the Second Foundation reborn. Has it occurred to you that a third alternative exists, one that is more reasonable than either of the first two.† â€Å"What third alternative?† Pelorat's eyes seemed concentrating inward. He did not look at Trevize and his voice was low and thoughtful. â€Å"We have a world – Gaia – that has done its best, over an indefinite period of time, to maintain a strict isolation. It has in no way attempted to establish contact with any other world – not even the nearby worlds of the Sayshell Union. It has an advanced science, in some ways, if the stories of their destruction of fleets is true and certainly their ability to control us right now bespeaks it – and yet they have made no attempt to expand their power. They ask only to be left alone.† Trevize narrowed his eyes. â€Å"So?† â€Å"It's all very inhuman. The more than twenty thousand years of human history in space has been an uninterrupted tale of expansion and attempted expansion. Just about every known world that can be inhabited is inhabited. Nearly every world has been quarreled over in the process and nearly every world has jostled each of its neighbors at one time or another. If Gaia is so inhuman as to be so different in this respect, it may be because it really is – inhuman.† Trevize shook his head. â€Å"Impossible.† â€Å"Why impossible?† said Pelorat warmly. â€Å"I've told you what a puzzle it is that the human race is the only evolved intelligence in the Galaxy. What if it isn't? Might there not be one more – on one planet – that lacked the human expansionist drive? In fact,† Pelorat grew more excited, â€Å"what if there are a million intelligences in the Galaxy, but only one that is expansionist – ourselves? The others would all remain at home, unobtrusive, hidden†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Ridiculous!† said Trevize. â€Å"We'd come across them. We'd land on their worlds. They would come in all types and stages of technology and most of them would be unable to stop us. But we've never come across any of them. Space! We've never even come across the ruins or relies of a nonhuman civilization, have we? You're the historian, so you tell me. Have we?† Pelorat shook his head. â€Å"We haven't. – But Golan, there could be one! This one!† â€Å"I don't believe it. You say the name is Gaia, which is some ancient dialectical version of the name ‘Earth. ‘ How can that be nonhuman?† â€Å"The name ‘Gaia' is given the planet by human beings – and who knows why? The resemblance to an ancient word might be coincidental. – Come to think of it, the very fact that we've been lured to Gaia – as you explained in great detail some time ago – and are now being drawn in against our will is an argument in favor of the nonhumanity of the Gaians.† â€Å"Why? What has that to do with nonhumanity?† â€Å"They're curious about us – about humans.† Trevize said, â€Å"Janov, you're mad. They've been living in a Galaxy surrounded by humans for thousands of years. Why should they be curious right now? Why not long before? And if right now, why us? If they want to study human beings and human culture, why not the Sayshell worlds? Why would they reach all the way to Terminus for us?† â€Å"They may be interested in the Foundation.† â€Å"Nonsense,† said Trevize violently. â€Å"Janov, you want a nonhuman intelligence and you will have one. Right now, I think that if you thought you were going to encounter nonhumans, you wouldn't worry about having been captured, about being helpless, about being killed even – if they but gave you a little time to sate your curiosity.† Pelorat began to stutter an indignant negative, then stopped, drew a deep breath, and said, â€Å"Well, you may be right, Golan, but I'll hold to my belief for a while just the same. I don't think we'll have to wait very long to see who's right. – Look!† He pointed to the screen. Trevize – who had, in his excitement, ceased watching – now looked back. â€Å"What is it?† he said. â€Å"Isn't that a ship taking off from the station?† â€Å"It's something,† admitted Trevize reluctantly. â€Å"I can't make out the details yet and I can't magnify the view any further. It's at maximum magnification.† After awhile he said, â€Å"It seems to be approaching us and I suppose it's a ship. Shall we make a bet?† â€Å"What sort of bet?† Trevize said sardonically, â€Å"If we ever get back to Terminus, let's have a big dinner for ourselves and any guests we each care to invite, up to, say, four – and it will be on me if that ship approaching us carries nonhumans and on you if it carries humans.† â€Å"I'm willing,† said Pelorat. â€Å"Done, then,† and Trevize peered at the screen, trying to make out details and wondering if any details could reasonably be expected to give away, beyond question, the nonhumanity (or humanity) of the beings on board. Branno's iron-gray hair lay immaculately in place and she might have been in the Mayoral Palace, considering her equanimity. She showed no sign that she was deep in space for only the second time in her life. (And the first time – when she accompanied her parents on a holiday tour to Kalgan – could scarcely count. She had been only three at the time.) She said to Kodell with a certain weary heaviness, â€Å"It is Thoobing's job, after all, to express his opinion and to warn me. Very well, he has warned me. I don't hold it against him.† Kodell, who had boarded the Mayor's ship in order to speak to her without the psychological difficulty of imaging, said, â€Å"He's been at his post too long. He's beginning to think like a Sayshellian.† â€Å"That's the occupational hazard of an ambassadorship, Liono. Let us wait till this is over and we'll give him a long sabbatical and then send him on to another assignment elsewhere. He's a capable man. – After all, he did have the wit to forward Trevize's message without delay.† Kodell smiled briefly. â€Å"Yes, he told me he did it against his better judgment. ‘I do so because I must' he said. You see, Madam Mayor, he had to, even against his better judgment, because as soon as Trevize entered the space of the Sayshell Union, I informed Ambassador Thoobing to forward, at once, any and all information concerning him?' â€Å"Oh?† Mayor Branno turned in her seat to see his face more clearly. â€Å"And what made you do that?† â€Å"Elementary considerations, actually. Trevize was using a latemodel Foundation naval vessel and the Sayshellians would be bound to notice that. He's an undiplomatic young jackass and they would be bound to notice that. Therefore, he might get into trouble – and if there's one thing a Foundationer knows, it is that if he gets into trouble anywhere in the Galaxy, he can cry out for the nearest Foundation representative. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Trevize in trouble – it might help him grow up and that would do him a great deal of good – but you've sent him out as your lightning rod and I wanted you to be able to estimate the nature of any lightning that might strike, so I made sure that the nearest Foundation representative would keep watch over him, that's all.† â€Å"I see! Well, I understand now why Thoobing reacted so strenuously. I had sent him a similar warning. Since he heard from us both independently, one can scarcely blame him for thinking that the approach of a few Foundation vessels might mean a great deal more than it actually does. – How is it, Liono, you did not consult me on the matter before sending the warning?† Kodell said coolly, â€Å"If I involved you in everything I do, you would have no time to be Mayor. How is it that you did not inform me of your intention?† Branno said sourly, â€Å"If I informed you of all my intentions, Liono, you would know far too much. – But it is a small matter, and so is Thoobing's alarm, and, for that matter, so is any fit that the Sayshellians throw. I am more interested in Trevize.† â€Å"Our scouts have located Compor. He is following Trevize and both are moving very cautiously toward Gaia.† â€Å"I have the full reports of those scouts, Liono. Apparently both Trevize and Compor are taking Gaia seriously.† â€Å"Everyone sneers at the superstitions concerning Gaia, Madam Mayor, but everyone thinks, ‘Yet what if – † Even Ambassador Thoobing manages to be a little uneasy about it. It could be a very shrewd policy on the part of the Sayshellians. A kind of protective coloration. If one spreads stories of a mysterious and invincible world, people will shy away not only from the world, but from any other worlds close by – such as the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"You think that is why the Mule turned away from Sayshell?† â€Å"Possibly.† â€Å"Surely you don't think the Foundation has held its hand from Sayshell because of Gaia, when there is no record that we have ever heard of the world?† â€Å"I admit there's no mention of Gaia in our archives, but neither is there any other reasonable explanation for our moderation with respect to the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"Let us hope, then, that the Sayshellian government, despite Thoobing's opinion to the contrary, has convinced itself – even just a little bit – of Gaia's might and of its deadly nature.† â€Å"Why so?† â€Å"Because then the Sayshell Union will raise no objections to our moving toward Gaia. The more they resent that movement, the more they will persuade themselves that it should be permitted so that Gaia will swallow us. The lesson, they will imagine, will be a salutary one and will not be lost on future invaders.† â€Å"Yet what if they should be right in such a belief, Mayor? What if Gaia is deadly?† Branno smiled. â€Å"You raise the ‘Yet what if – † yourself, do you, Liono?† â€Å"I must raise all possibilities, Mayor. It is my job.† â€Å"If Gaia is deadly, Trevize will be taken by them. That is his job as my lightning rod. And so may Compor, I hope.† â€Å"You hope? Why?† â€Å"Because it will make them overconfident, which should be useful to us. They will underestimate our power and be the easier to handle.† â€Å"But what if it is we who are overconfident?† â€Å"We are not,† said Branno flatly. â€Å"These Gaians – whatever they are – may be something we have no concept of and cannot properly estimate the danger of. I merely suggest that, Mayor, because even that possibility should be weighed.† â€Å"Indeed? Why does such a notion fall into your head, Liono?† â€Å"Because I think you feel that, at the worst, Gaia is the Second Foundation. I suspect you think they are the Second Foundation. However, Sayshell has an interesting history, even under the Empire. Sayshell alone had a measure of self-rule. Sayshell alone was spared some of the worst taxations under the so-called ‘Bad Emperors. ‘ In short, Sayshell seems to have had the protection of Gaia, even in Imperial times.† â€Å"Well then?† â€Å"But the Second Foundation was brought into existence by Hari Seldon at the same time our Foundation was. The Second Foundation did not exist in Imperial times – and Gaia did. Gaia, therefore, is not the Second Foundation. It is something else – and, just possibly, something worse.† â€Å"I don't propose to be terrified by the unknown, Liono. There are only two possible sources of danger – physical weapons and mental weapons – and we are fully prepared for both. – You get back to your ship and keep the units on the Sayshellian outskirts. This ship will move toward Gaia alone, but will stay in contact with you at all times and will expect you to come to us in one Jump, if necessary. – Go, Liono, and get that perturbed look off your face.† â€Å"One last question? Are you sure you know what you're doing?† â€Å"I do,† she said grimly. â€Å"I, too, have studied the history of Sayshell and have seen that Gaia cannot be the Second Foundation, but, as I told you, I have the full report of the scouts and from that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, I know where the Second Foundation is located and we will take care of both, Liono. We will take care of Gaia first and then Trantor.†

Friday, September 27, 2019

Discuss on the basis of relevant case law, the legal aspects of the Essay

Discuss on the basis of relevant case law, the legal aspects of the undertaking of seaworthiness in contracts for the carriage o - Essay Example This is a condition that must be fulfilled in order to avoid losses. Compensation will only be guaranteed when seaworthiness is adhered to all the times. A ship is said to be fit if it is in a condition that the owner can allow it to take a voyage. The probable future events are also put into consideration in the determination of seaworthiness (Wilson 2010, p.9-15). Sea worthiness is determined by the type of voyage to be made, and also the class of the vessel. Kopitoff v Wilson (1876) provides the meaning of seaworthiness. This essay seeks to discuss the legal aspect of understanding of seaworthiness in contracts for the carriage of goods by sea. Application of Hague Rules as amended Charter party contract is negotiable in a free market, and it is subject to the law of supply and demand. The rules were designed to clarify on the legality of the carrier of goods (Wilson 2010, p.9-15). There are clauses that guide the parties to the contract. The law of merchant holds water in the des igning and implementation of the rules to be considered in the contract. The Hague/Visby Rules provide a provision to the parties of the contract. All the contracts of Affreightment outline the provision of a sea worthy vessel for the work. This helps in reducing accidents, and also the risks of undertaking the business. There is the obligation rule to stick when carrying out the business of carrying goods via sea. The sea worthiness includes presence of competent crew and sufficient fuel for the voyage (Wilson 2010, p.9-15). The contracting parties are required to operate a fair business involving principle of indemnity. There should be disclosure of the contents of goods to be carried. This reduces the chances of carrying dangerous goods. In the case of Northern Shipping Co v Deutsche Seereederei GmbH & Ors, the vessel was carrying highly inflammable cargo. The cargo had not been declared appropriately. The law provides for the owner of the ship to avail a sea worth vessel. Any br each of contract will result to the nullification of the contract. The vessel availed for the transaction should be fit. Contracting States The Madeline [1967] stated about the non cancellation of charter agreement before the termination of the voyage. The Affreightment contract governed by Hague or Visby Rules, will have to abide with the principle of due diligence. This will facilitate the providence of sea worthy vessel. Any negligence caused by the contracting parties will result to liability (Wilson 2010, p.9-15). The liability can be reduced only by providing a sea worthy ship. Corporate social responsibility is one highly researched on in the recent years. The topic is a current loom in business arenas as scholars and managers seek to improve the way corporations do business. In its simplicity, corporate social responsibility refers to a school of thought of management where corporations are persuaded to engage in their business affairs in a responsible manner. It is a call f or organizations to participate in making their environmental constituents happier and better. This requires that corporations participate in a legal and a socially responsible manner (Wilson 2010, p.9-15). Therefore, an organization should estimate the market expectation and respond accordingly. There are twofold obligations to the ship owner when availing a sea vessel which is sea worth. The vessel must have competent crew to operate it and also necessary facilities for the operation. A vessel is

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Geographies of World Region(s) via Motorcycle Essay

The Geographies of World Region(s) via Motorcycle - Essay Example Planned time was nine months trip. The trip across Latin America began from Buenos Aires in Argentina in January. The motor bike used is the large gauge motorbike known as Astride Norton (1939) which had fuel power of 500cc (Vernon, 2014). The motor bike has a name given â€Å"The mighty one† due to its power and sustainability in long distance travel (Vernon, 2014). I had packed all necessary requirements that would sustain me in every climate and projected situation. I also got legal permit for my geographical trip across the Latin America countries. The journey took a flat rout to the intended first stop at Miramar in Argentina. It was located in a mountainous and cold region of Argentina. It was easy to reach Chile from Miramira in February since it was fairly near the border despite the heavy rains in the mountainous region. Crossing Chile border is easy once the legal documents are available. In Chile, the rout headed North upland towards the cold town of Chuquicamata, a very popular world known copper mining town (Ernesto & Alberto, 2002). After visiting the mines and engaging with miners, I progressed southward towards Peru. In the month of March, I arrived at Peruvian Tacna. In Peru, the mighty one broke down. I was forced to share a truck with the native citizens who were mostly the Indians. I was amazed for they always boarded vehicles with animals. Arrival to the town of Lima in was in May. In the same month but after relaxation, I left for Leper colony of San Pablo that was located in the heart of Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. It took me a month and in June, I was in the Amazon River. After crossing the Amazon River using the Mambo Tango raft, I proceeded to the town known as Letica in Colombia (Ernesto & Alberto, 2002). We proceeded east to Bogota Colombia in July. After penetrating through the barricaded streets in Bogota Columbia, I left for Caracas in Venezuela. I rested there for a week and in the same month I left for

Legal and Ethical Issues Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal and Ethical Issues - Case Study Example The parents claimed that the culprit was initially detained by the local police, however once the culprit pretended to be logically, the culprit was released, the psychologist also used his influence to prevent the Poddar from any future arrest, and made a request to the police department to avoid taking any stern measures against Poddar. Legally, if the psychologist was aware about the killing, as alleged by the parents of Tatiana, then psychologist has violated the laws by supporting the murderer and providing assistance to the criminal. It was observed that 'the superior court sustained defendants' demurrers to plaintiffs' second amended complaints without leave to amend'. As per the protest of the parents on the legal grounds imposed liability on the defendants on two different grounds i.e. the failure on the part of the psychologists to inform and warn the prosecutors about the danger before and after its occurrence, it is correct to relate that the psychologist legally under an y law has no justification for hiding the truth and prevalent danger from the parents, police and courts, therefore as per law the psychologist has proven himself wrong through his actions which are violation of law, surprisingly the defendants forwarded and justified their actions in lieu with the California Tort Claims Act of 1963, according to which the defendants were under no compulsion to provide care and concerns for Tatiana (Lawrence, 2002). The parents of Tatiana held the psychologist responsible under Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. Legally it has been observed that the psychologist has performed such action which is contradicting to the injunctions of the laws, 'defendant therapists cannot escape liability merely because Tatiana herself was not their patient', and therefore the reference provided by the defendants is not credible and non-explanatory. Legally a professional is under compulsion to warn and inform the public and police from any expected criminal course of their patient, therefore it was the legal responsibility of the psychologist to alarm the prosecutors, 'when a therapist has observed that his patient has revealed a serious danger of violence to another, the psychologist is liable to incurs an obligation to use reasonable care to protect the intended victim against such danger' (Lawrence, 2002). As per law and legal perspectives the therapist was bound to take different precautionary measures to avoid such crime from occurrence, which in this case the psychologist failed to perform and execute. The failure on the behalf of the psychologist to inform the police, the court, and university administration and the parents has placed the psychologist under severe scrutiny for his failure to abide by the laws and regulations. Although the psychologist did inform the police at the later moment, however his actions were not enough to prevent the crime from occurrence, which could have been avoided because the psychologist was aware about the appr oach and feelings that were developed by Poddar towards Tatiana. The prosecutor blamed the psychologist, and accused him for his failure and reluctance to share the truth at initial

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Film Clip Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Film Clip - Movie Review Example In the latter part of the clip, the sounds from the set gets more and more clearer. Noises from the outside of Uncle Jean's room can be deciphered by anyone. The sound of the voices in the other rooms, the noise of dishes clanging to the unexplainable sounds emerging from Uncle Jean's radio. The makers of this film wanted it to be more realistic, so they opted to choose the natural sounds coming from the set itself instead of using sound effects and dubbing the characters' voices. None, absolutely none of the sounds in the whole of the film was altered, omitted nor edited. The director captured the heart of the film by doing so. Employing sound effects would make an impression of the film as unrealistic, commercial or will make it seem as if it was overdone. If the viewer listens very thoroughly to all of the film's sounds, even the slightest and the most unimportant of those, he will get a feel of what it is like to be in that hospital room with the beautiful Carmen and her eccentric Uncle Jean. Style / Mis-en-scene/Editing/Plot The 5-minute French film clip, when initially judged by a viewer, looks like a film made in the late 1980's or the early 1990's, the hairstyle of one of the two characters. The quality of the picture states out the hint that the film was probably shot in the 1970's. Other than that, one can not interpret when the movie was made. The style of the scene location is undeniably bleak, it was obviously shot wholly in the hospital room of Carmen's Uncle Jean. The color of the hospital room even adds to the gloom of the purely conversational and poignant film. It looks like a working class hospital in France because of the way his room looks, it doesn't look dirty and shabby, and neither does it look clean and hygienic. Well, it is not that important to dwell on those aspects of the film. Humans express themselves and their emotions in a variety of modes. Whether it be actions, words, pictures, speeches and the like. Each and every one of these modes may be branded as a "language" (mode of expression and communication). In the film, the characters expressed themselves very clearly, from their gestures to their facial expressions. Uncle John is obviously depressed and bored with his situation, so the visit of his niece Carmen felt like utter relief from him, a refuge from his boredom. In his dialogue, he is confusingly reluctant to grant his niece's request to borrow his apartment unit in Trouville. On the set, the lighting did an almost perfect job in blending with the overall ambience of the hospital room, there was barely any light other than sunlight outside the room. Most probably, the scene was morning, so the overall appearance of the room contrasted with the lightness, eagerness and the joyful atmosphere of the morning. The conversation between the two is not movie-like. It was realistically executed and delivered by the characters as if they were really their characters, as if they weren't

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Discussion 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Discussion 6 - Essay Example Aristotle also explained that keeping corruption at bay can help in combating regime degradation. Individual should not practise corruption in order to ensure continuity in the society. When individuals put corruption at bay magistrate will do fair judgment to the people. The factors explained by Aristotle do not help in preventing corruption because individuals learn from those in power. Corruption has been taking place in the society through learning. The people in office teach the new employee on how to increase their earning. Observation of the factors explained by Aristotle can not help in combating corruption because the government systems plays big role in influencing corruption. People are underpaid and they have to find survival means. Lessons which have contemporary relevance are things like education about constitution. When people grow up trained or educated in respect to constitutional demands they will comply with the rule of law and stay away from evil and

Monday, September 23, 2019

Analysis of Doves Real Beauty Sketches campaign Essay

Analysis of Doves Real Beauty Sketches campaign - Essay Example The second set of portraits were more beautiful than the first ones. The video became extremely popular in social media because it revealed that women were more critical of their beauty than were others. While the campaign received widespread praise, some also criticized it for making beauty a central part of women’s self-identity and self-esteem. The following analysis discusses the marketing concepts at work in these praises and criticisms. Social Media Marketing The video was viewed more than 14 million times within a week of its launch (Dan, 2013). This level of reach is a testament to the growth of online and social media marketing. Social media marketing through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube empowers consumers by allowing them to share and comment on the marketing message. According to Tuten (2008), social media helps to impart a personality to brands which helps to differentiate a brand from others. Shareability of marketing content has been facilitate d by the integration of various platforms. Such integration has been achievable because of the Web 2.0 technology (Zarrella, 2010). Evans (2010) explains that marketing through social media creates a deeper sense of engagement with the consumer and develop a two-way relationship with the brand. For instance, Dan (2013) states that he was alerted about the video through his Facebook page. This can also be related with viral marketing through which content reaches a worldwide audience as viewers share it with members of their social networks. Media Planning The choice of platform also reflects the importance of effective media planning by which Dove was able to ensure that the campaign was rolled out to reach the target audiences around the world. According to Funk (2012), YouTube is the most appropriate brand for visual brands such as fashion and lifestyle brand. According to this view, Dove made an appropriate choice of media platform. Secondly, Kelley and Jugenheimer (2008) argue t hat ethnic diversity and geography impact media planning decisions. This supports the initial launch of the campaign in English speaking countries. Role of Market Research Dan (2013) also reveals that the campaign was based on market research findings, thus helping to illustrate the importance of reliable market research for successful marketing campaigns, particularly in international markets (Craig and Douglas, 2005). According to the research used by Dove, only 4 percent of women believe they are beautiful. Dove uses this research to reach out to the 96 percent of women and convince them that they are beautiful. Emotional Branding Another aspect of the campaign is the emotional nature of the content. Gobe (2013) explains that effective consumer interaction is based on feelings and senses. The Dove campaign explores the insecurity women experience when it comes to physical beauty. Travis (2000) explains that greater trust between the brand and consumer is created through emotional branding. The campaign also shows how the looking-glass theory works by showing how women view themselves critically in response to societal pressures and norms (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). The emotional impact is further heightened by the use of testimonial advertising where the women share their thoughts and feelings with the viewer, where the spokesperson adds authenticity to the advocacy role (O’ Guinn, Allen and Semenik, 2009). Perception and Self-Reflection Perception and self-reflection play an important part in consumers’ interpretation of their behaviours (Koekemoer, 2004). The campaign shows how women perceive themselves in terms of beauty. The campaign attempts to promote the concept of real beauty by showing that women are more beautiful

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Factors Affecting Female Achievement Essay Example for Free

Factors Affecting Female Achievement Essay The definition of education guiding mainstream schools today is that education is the delivery of knowledge, skills, and information from teachers to students. While the above metaphor—education as a delivery system—sounds reasonable, it misses what is most important about education. This mistaken idea of what true education is and how it can be achieved is the root problem in mainstream education today. This conception of education contributes to harming students and teachers by driving policy makers to insist on accounting for the units of information that students demonstrate knowledge of on tests. The perceived need for mass scale standardized outcomes leads to a kind of instructional bookkeeping that drives administrators to control teachers behavior, which in turn is directed to controlling students behavior in ways that increases symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other forms of diminished psychological well-being. Student outcomes as measured by tests bear little relationship to true education, and so the instructional bookkeeping scheme is a failure even before the harm it causes is taken into consideration. [[SIDEBAR: Check out my video about Waiting For Superman to see how the delivery metaphor was presented in that movie as an utterly obvious truth for mainstream audiences, much to my chagrin.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Arguments for Vitro Human Embryo Research

Arguments for Vitro Human Embryo Research Mallory Marschall The 14-Day Rule Scientific advancement is accelerating, but current laws and regulations fail to keep up with its progress. This problem leads to several ethical and legal dilemmas in various fields of biology. This problem is especially prominent in embryology. Laboratories focusing on in vitro fertilization have been growing embryos and then implanting them on the seventh day (Hyun et. al 169). Due to recent advances, research labs are currently able to grow embryos in vitro up to 14 days (Hyun et. al 169). Current policies and laws around the world are preventing scientist from continuing their work past 14 days. The Ethics Advisory Board of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare first proposed this rule in 1979. The 14-day rule is a regulatory line that limits in vitro human embryo research (Hyun et. al 170). This regulation prevents labs from allowing the embryo to survive and keep growing after 14 days. The line is drawn at 14 days because it stops growth before the prim itive streak appears. In other words, it marks the beginning of gastrulation in humans (Reardon 19). The 14-day rule is a strictly enforced law in Canada, Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, Iceland, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. In other countries, such as the United States, China, Japan, and India it is not a law but is enforced specifically in all scientific guidelines. Switzerland maintains a strict law that only allows human-embryos to be cultured for 7 days (Hyun et. al 171). The 14-day rule has been used internationally, but due to recent advancements there is now a debate over changing this rule. To solve this current problem, it is important to consider the pros and cons of changing the regulation. There are several benefits of not only continuing in vitro human embryo research but extending the time frame past 14 days. Embryology research has led to new information and advancement in various areas of science. These recent advancements have allowed scientist to understand new aspects of early human development some of which have never been seen before (Reardon 15). This new information is important because it could allow doctors to understand why some pregnancies fail during the early stages of pregnancy (Reardon 15). For example, a recent study has discovered and identified special cells that show up in the embryo around day 10 but disappears by day 12 these cells could lead to new advancements (Reardon 16). This developmental step in embryos was previously unknown. The importance of the research conducted using the 14-day rule can be observed in the new research which is consistently being published. Therefore, even more information could be gathered by extending the time fra me past 14 days. Gaining more knowledge regarding the development of humans could greatly benefit couples who have difficulty conceiving. Another benefit from understanding human embryo development is that it would allow more research in developing human embryonic stem cell-based therapies (Niakan et. al 28). These cells have been used to study hematopoietic tissue for the treatment of various blood disorders and cardiogenic precursors for the treatment of heart and vascular disease (Niakan et. al 28). By continuing in vitro research more advancements could be made toward the treatment or cure of several diseases. The fertility industry could greatly benefit from extending the number of days allowed to grow an embryo in vitro past 14 days. A recent study in a IVF clinic in New York City showed that half of the embryos that are implanted in a mothers uterus doesnt survive (Reardon 16). By continuing to grow embryos in vitro scientist could learn the reason behind this problem and prevent future losses of implanted embryos. Future assisted reproductive technologies could be greatly advanced through the understanding of early human embryo development (Niakan et. al 1). A current argument suggests that studying the development of in vitro human embryos is unnecessary. These groups propose using mouse embryos for in vitro studies instead of human embryos (Reardon 16). Unfortunately, there are several species-specific differences such as the timing of a major wave of genome activation, the patterns of gene expression, the frequency of chromosome missegregation and the patterns of epigenetic modifica tions which make the data collect from mouse embryos less applicable to human studies (Niakan et. al 1). To create and improve new fertility treatments the 14-day rule needs the be evaluated to make room for progress. As stated above, there are several benefits for the allowing in vitro human embryo research to continue. It is critical to understand there are several disadvantages to allowing the current regulation to change. The first issue with extending the time frame of in vitro embryo research is deciding what the next time frame limit should be. There is a moral issue in deciding a new time frame. An important argument to consider is growing an embryo for an extended period could cause the embryo undue distress. Other groups are against embryo research because they believe life starts at the moment of conception, therefore vitro embryo research should be stopped completely. No matter what is decided in the future the most important factor to ensure the success of the future law is to guarantee that the new policy has a clear and legally enforced stopping point for research (Hyun et. al 170). Due to advancements in the embryology field it is now possible to grow an embryo in a laboratory for more than 14 days. The ethical and legal issue of whether to allow scientist to grow an embryo after 14 days needs to be carefully considered. As progress is made laws and regulations need to match. There are several different beliefs regarding this issue and each need to be heard and considered. There are two extreme groups believe that embryo research should be stopped completely or that the research shouldnt have a limit. A larger portion of the science community maintain the idea that committees from around the world should meet and discuss the rule and create a new limits and regulations. The extremely successful 14-day rule was created in a similar manner and the new law should be created using the same method. It is crucial that during these international meeting that all the member reflect on the restriction and the pros and cons of any new regulations (Hyun et. al, 170). The most efficient method to solve this current dilemma is to create open discussion with scientific communities from around the world instead of leaving the decision to an individual government or committee. Work Cited Harper, Joyce C et al. Current Issues in Medically Assisted Reproduction and Genetics in Europe: Research, Clinical Practice, Ethics, Legal Issues and Policy. European Society of Human Genetics and European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. European journal of human geneticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: EJHG 21 Suppl 2.Suppl 2 (2013): S1-21. Web. 23 Jan. 2017. Hyun, Insoo, Amy Wilkerson, and Josephine Johnston. Embryology Policy: Revisit the 14-Day Rule. Nature 533.7602 (2016): 169-171. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. Niakan, Kathy K et al. Human Pre-Implantation Embryo Development. Development (Cambridge, England) 139.5 (2012): 829-41. Web. 23 Jan. 2017. Reardon, Sara. Human Embryos Grown in Lab for Longer than Ever before. Nature 533.7601 (2016): 15-16. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.