Saturday, August 31, 2019

Amerindian Legacies in the Caribbean

Topic: â€Å"The Amerindians have left a legacy that forms part of the Caribbean Civilization. † Discuss. The Amerindians have left a legacy that forms part of the Caribbean Civilization. The Amerindians were two groups of people having completely different personalities. One group was the Arawaks or Taino which occupied the Greater Antilles and the other was the Caribs or Kalinago which occupied the Lesser Antilles. The Arawaks were a very peaceful group of people; slim and short, but firmly built. The Caribs on the other hand were very aggressive people and were taller and had a bigger built han the Arawaks.The Caribs were also cannibals and some people assume that is why they were bigger than the Arawaks. Despite their differences in personalities, they had a similar way of living. They were both excellent fishermen, craftsmen, farmers, handymen and doctors. Since they were naturalists and believed in the environment, they made use of the natural resources they had in order to survive. After the Europeans settled on Amerindian territories, they raped their females, killed and overworked their men and ate their produce.Disease and famine resulted in a rapid decrease in the Amerindian population. Hundreds of years after, Caribbean people still benefit and utilize the legacy of the Amerindians such as place names/ words, food/cuisine, architecture and handmade materials. Long before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean was still relatively â€Å"new'. This allowed the early settlers; the Amerindians, to give names to countries, places inside those countries, animals, food and other objects for the first time. Some of these names are still utilized.The Amerindians called Barbados â€Å"Ichirouganaim†, St. Vlncent â€Å"Hairoun†, Dominica â€Å"Waitukubuli†, Jamaica â€Å"Xaymaca† and named a lot of other Caribbean territories. They gave names to places in Venezuela, such as Tacarigua, and in Trinida d such as Piarco and Tunapuna. They still have their names. The names of some of our fruits, vegetables and other words were derived from the Amerindian words. Some of these words were maize, from â€Å"mahis†, barbeque, from â€Å"barbakoa†, guava from â€Å"guayaba† and hammock from â€Å"hamaca†. In some countries like Dominica and St.Vincent, animals named by the Amerindians still survive. The agouti (rat), manacou(opossum), touloulou(crab) and iguana are some of the animals that still have their Amerindian names. There are plenty more words that we use derived from the Amerindian languages. This contributed to us not being limited to the more â€Å"formal† languages of empire (Spanish, Dutch, English and French) and having our own varieties of Creole between Caribbean countries. The Amerindians were excellent farmers and cooks. They left us a lot of crops and some of their ooking techniques.Both Arawaks and Caribs had diets of meat and vegetab les, but the Arawaks had a more vegetable based diet and cultivated a lot more than the Caribs. They cultivated cassava (yuca), sweet potatoes (batata), corn (maize), squash, peanuts, pineapples, beans and peppers. Most of these are indigenous to the Americas but continued to grow thousands of years after in the Caribbean. The Amerindians ground the roots of the Cassava (yucca) into a powder in which they baked cassava bread. The Amerindians snowed us now to cook; bake, boil, stew and arbeque (cook slowly over open fire).They also taught us how to remove the poison from the cassava roots so it can be made edible. Another thing they did was cook or roast the corn and eat it from the cob. They also grew tobacco and cotton in which they wove hammocks and made clothes and cigarettes. The Amerindians were their own doctors as they used the leaves, roots and barks of certain herbs to heal certain illnesses and diseases. Sage, sweet grass, bitter root and others were used to help the unhea lthy regain their energy and wellbeing.Information of these herbs has been passed down to us, and that is why our grandparents believe we should drink these teas to remain healthy and clean. The Amerindians used to build a lot of things from stone, bone, shell and wood; metal was not familiar to them. They carved the wood from tree trunks to make canoes for fishing, used clay to make pottery, straw to make baskets and calabashes from the opo squash tree. They also left petroglyphs that when read, showed us certain practices that we continue to use today.The anoes are used mainly in the Caribbean countries with rivers to fish, the clay make plates and flat trays for baking, while the calabashes stored food, molasses and drinking water. The Amerindians made Jewelry by hammering gold nuggets into artistic pieces and connecting bones andor shells of small animals and wearing them on various parts of the body. They made their own houses from wood and/or straw with their original gable de signs. Even after thousands of years, the people of the Caribbean make use of the legacies passed down to us from the indigenous people; Taino and Kalinago.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Protect Children on the Internet Essay

As technology and the internet continue to make advancements and are more commonly available to children in school classrooms and public libraries for educational purposes, the need to protect and monitor our children online has also advanced. Congress has continued to pass such laws as COPPA, CIPA, SOX, and FERPA as an attempt to filter obscene and violent content while protecting children’s personally identifiable information. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 6501-6505 imposes certain restrictions and requirements on operators of websites or any online services directed to children under 13 years old without the parents’ consent. The Children’s Internet Protection Act CIPA was enacted by congress in 2000 to formally address any concerns about children’s access to obscene or harmful content on the internet. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed by Congress on July 30, 2002; it was designed to oversee the fina ncial reporting and auditing for financial professionals and pursues legislative auditing requirements to improve accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that is administered by the Family Policy Compliance Office in the US Department of Education and was designed to give parents certain rights with respect to children’s educational records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. As the need continues to grow for more protection of our children on the internet, the need for ongoing monitoring and auditing programs continues to grow with it. Content filtering and the protection of personally identifiable information of our children are only the first steps in protecting our children on the internet.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER EIGHTEEN COLLISION

COLLISION Stor Gendibal was edging toward Gaia almost as cautiously as Trevize had – and now that its star was a perceptible disc and could be viewed only through strong filters, he paused to consider. Sura Novi sat to one side, looking up at him now and then in a timorous manner. She said softly, â€Å"Master?† â€Å"What is it, Novi?† he asked abstractedly. â€Å"Are you unhappy?† He looked up at her quickly. â€Å"No. Concerned. Remember that word? I am trying to decide whether to move in quickly or to wait longer. Shall I be very brave, Novi?† â€Å"I think you are very brave all times, Master.† â€Å"To be very brave is sometimes to be foolish.† Novi smiled. â€Å"How can a master scholar be foolish? – That is a sun, is it not, Master?† She pointed to the screen. Gendibal nodded. Novi said, after an irresolute pause, â€Å"Is it the sun that shines on Trantor? Is it the Hamish sun?† Gendibal said, â€Å"No, Novi. It is a far different sun. There are many suns, billions of them.† â€Å"Ah! I had known this with my head. I could not make myself believe, however. How is it, Master, that one can know with the head – and yet not believe?† Gendibal smiled faintly, â€Å"In your head, Novi†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he began and, automatically, as he said that, he found himself in her head. He stroked it gently, as he always did, when he found himself there just a soothing touch of mental tendrils to keep her calm and untroubled – and he would then have left again, as he always did, had not something drawn him back. What he sensed was indescribable in any but mentalic terms but, metaphorically, Novi's brain glowed. It was the faintest possible glow. It would not be there except for the existence of a mentalic field imposed from without – a mentalic field of an intensity so small that the finest receiving function of Gendibal's own well-trained mind could just barely detect it, even against the utter smoothness of Novi's mentalic structure. He said sharply, â€Å"Novi, how do you feel?† Her eyes opened wide. â€Å"I feel well, Master.† â€Å"Are you dizzy, confused? Close your eyes and sit absolutely still until I say, ‘Now.† Obediently she closed her eyes. Carefully Gendibal brushed away all extraneous sensations from her mind, quieted her thought, soothed her emotions, stroked – stroked. He left nothing but the glow and it was so faint that he could almost persuade himself it was not there. â€Å"Now,† he said and Novi opened her eyes. â€Å"How do you feel, Novi?† â€Å"Very calm, Master. Rested.† It was clearly too feeble for it to have any noticeable effect on her. He turned to the computer and wrestled with it. He had to admit to himself that he and the computer did not mesh very well together. Perhaps it was because he was too used to using his mind directly to be able to work through an intermediary. But he was looking for a ship, not a mind, and the initial search could be done more efficiently with the help of the computer. And he found the sort of ship he suspected might be present. It was half a million kilometers away and it was much like his own in design, but it was much larger and more elaborate. Once it was located with the computer's help, Gendibal could allow his mind to take over directly. He sent it outward – tightbeamed – and with it felt (or the mentalic equivalent of â€Å"felt†) the ship, inside and out. He then sent his mind toward the planet Gaia, approaching it more closely by several millions of kilometers of space – and withdrew. Neither process was sufficient in itself to tell him, unmistakably, which – if either – was the source of the field. He said, â€Å"Novi, I would like you to sit next to me for what is to follow.† â€Å"Master, is there danger?† â€Å"You are not to be in any way concerned, Novi. I will see to it that you are safe and secure.† â€Å"Master, I am not concerned that I be safe and secure. If there is danger, I want to be able to help you.† Gendibal softened. He said, â€Å"Novi, you have already helped. Because of you, I became aware of a very small thing it was important to be aware of. Without you, I might have blundered rather deeply into a bog and might have had to pull out only through a great deal of trouble.† â€Å"Have I done this with my mind, Master, as you once explained?† asked Novi, astonished. â€Å"Quite so, Novi. No instrument could have been more sensitive. My own mind is not; it is too full of complexity.† Delight filled Novi's face. â€Å"I am so grateful I can help.† Gendibal smiled and nodded – and then subsided into the somber knowledge that he would need other help as well. Something childish within him objected. The job was his – his alone. Yet it could not be his alone. The odds were climbing – On Trantor, Quindor Shandess felt the responsibility of First Speakerhood resting upon him with a suffocating weight. Since Gendibal's ship had vanished into the darkness beyond the atmosphere, he had called no meetings of the Table. He had been lost in his own thoughts. Had it been wise to allow Gendibal to go off on his Own? Gendibal was brilliant, but not so brilliant that it left no room for overconfidence. Gendibal's great fault was arrogance, as Shandess's own great fault (he thought bitterly) was the weariness of age. Over and over again, it occurred to him that the precedent of Preem Palver, flitting over the Galaxy to set things right, was a dangerous one. Could anyone else be a Preem Palver? Even Gendibal? And Palver had had his wife with him. To be sure, Gendibal had this Hamishwoman, but she was of no consequence. Palver's wife had been a Speaker in her own right. Shandess felt himself aging from day to day as he waited for word from Gendibal – and with each day that word did not come, he felt an increasing tension. It should have been a fleet of ships, a flotilla. No. The Table would not have allowed it. And yet. When the call finally came, he was asleep – an exhausted sleep that was bringing him no relief. The night had been windy and he had had trouble falling asleep to begin with. Like a child, he had imagined voices in the wind. His last thoughts before falling into an exhausted slumber had been a wistful building of the fancy of resignation, a wish be could do so together with the knowledge he could not, for at this moment Delarmi would succeed him. And then the call came and he sat up in bed, instantly awake. â€Å"You are well?† he said. â€Å"Perfectly well, First Speaker,† said Gendibal. â€Å"Should we have visual connection for more condensed communication?† â€Å"Later, perhaps,† said Shandess. â€Å"First, what is the situation?† Gendibal spoke carefully, for he sensed the other's recent arousal and he perceived a deep weariness. He said, â€Å"I am in the neighborhood of an inhabited planet called Gaia, whose existence is not hinted at in any of the Galactic records, as far as I know.† â€Å"The world of those who have been working to perfect the Plan? The Anti-Mules?† â€Å"Possibly, First Speaker. There is the reason to think so. First, the ship bearing Trevize and Pelorat has moved far in toward Gaia and has probably landed there. Second, there is, in space, about half a million kilometers from me, a First Foundation warship.† â€Å"There cannot be this much interest for no reason.† â€Å"First Speaker, this may not be independent interest. I am here only because I am following Trevize – and the warship may be here for the same reason. It remains only to be asked why Trevize is here.† â€Å"Do you plan to follow him in toward the planet, Speaker?† â€Å"I had considered that a possibility, but something has come up. I am now a hundred million kilometers from Gaia and I sense in the space about me a mentalic field – a homogeneous one that is excessively faint. I would not have been aware of it at all, but for the focusing effect of the mind of the Hainishwoman. It is an unusual mind; I agreed to take her with me for that very purpose.† â€Å"You were right, then, in supposing it would be so. Did Speaker Delarmi know this, do you think?† â€Å"When she urged me to take the woman? I scarcely think so – but I gladly took advantage of it, First Speaker.† â€Å"I am pleased that you did. Is it your opinion, Speaker Gendibal, that the planet is the focus of the field?† â€Å"To ascertain that, I would have to take measurements at widely spaced points in order to see if there is a general spherical symmetry to the field. My unidirectional mental probe made this seem likely but not certain. Yet it would not be wise to investigate further in the presence of the First Foundation warship.† â€Å"Surely it is no threat.† â€Å"It may be. I cannot as yet be sure that it is not itself the focus of the field, First Speaker.† â€Å"But they†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"First Speaker, with respect, allow me to interrupt. We do not know what technological advances the First Foundation has made. They are acting with a strange self-confidence and may have unpleasant surprises for us. It must be decided whether they have learned to handle mentalics by means of some of their devices. In short, First Speaker, I am facing either a warship of mentalics or a planet of them. â€Å"If it is the warship, then the mentalics may be far too weak to immobilize me, but they might be enough to slow me – and the purely physical weapons on the warship may then suffice to destroy me. On the other hand, if it is the planet that is the focus, then to have the field detectable at such a distance could mean enormous intensity at the surface – more than even I can handle. â€Å"In either case, it will be necessary to set up a network – a total network – in which, at need, the full resources of Trantor can be placed at my disposal.† The First Speaker hesitated. â€Å"A total network. This has never been used, never even suggested – except in the time of the Mule.† â€Å"This crisis may well be even greater than that of the Mule, First Speaker.† â€Å"I do not know that the Table would agree.† â€Å"I do not think you should ask them to agree, First Speaker. You should invoke a state of emergency.† â€Å"What excuse can I give?† â€Å"Tell them what I have told you, First Speaker.† â€Å"Speaker Delarmi will say that you are an incompetent coward, driven to madness by your own fears.† Gendibal paused before answering. Then he said, â€Å"I imagine she will say something like that, First Speaker, but let her say whatever she likes and I will survive it. What is at stake now is not my pride or self-love but the actual existence of the Second Foundation.† Harla Branno smiled grimly, her lined face setting more deeply into its fleshy crags. She said, â€Å"I think we can push on with it. I'm ready for them.† Kodell said, â€Å"Do you still feel sure you know what you're doing?† â€Å"If I were as mad as you pretend you think I am, Liono, would you have insisted on remaining on this ship with me?† Kodell shrugged and said, â€Å"Probably. I would then be here on the off chance, Madam Mayor, that I might stop you, divert you, at least slow you, before you went too far. And, of course, if you're not mad†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† – â€Å"Why, then I wouldn't want to have the histories of the future give you all the mention. Let them state that I was here with you and wonder, perhaps, to whom the credit really belongs, eh, Mayor?† â€Å"Clever, Liono, clever – but quite futile. I was the power behind the throne through too many Mayoralties for anyone to believe I would permit such a phenomenon in my own administration.† â€Å"We shall see.† â€Å"No, we won't, for such historical judgments will come after we are dead. However, I have no fears. Not about my place in history and not about that,† and she pointed to the screen. â€Å"Compor's ship,† said Kodell. â€Å"Compor's ship, true,† said Branno, â€Å"but without Compor aboard. One of our scoutships observed the changeover. Compor's ship was stopped by another. Two people from the other ship boarded that one and Compor later moved off and entered the other.† Branno rubbed her hands. â€Å"Trevize fulfilled his role perfectly. I cast him out into space in order that he might serve as lightning rod and so he did. He drew the lightning. The ship that stopped Compor was Second Foundation.† â€Å"How can you be sure of that, I wonder?† said Kodell, taking out his pipe and slowly beginning to pack it with tobacco. â€Å"Because I always wondered if Compor might not be under Second Foundation control. His life was too smooth. Things always broke right for him – and he was such an expert at hyperspatial tracking. His betrayal of Trevize might easily have been the simple politics of an ambitious man – but he did it with such unnecessary thoroughness, as though there were more than personal ambition to it.† â€Å"All guesswork, Mayor.† â€Å"The guesswork stopped when he followed Trevize through multiple Jumps as easily as if there had been but one.† â€Å"He had the computer to help, Mayor.† But Branno leaned her head back and laughed. â€Å"My dear Liono, you are so busy devising intricate plots that you forget the efficacy of simple procedures. I sent Compor to follow Trevize, not because I needed to have Trevize followed. What need was there for that? Trevize, however much he might want to keep his movements secret, could not help but call attention to himself in any non-Foundation world he visited. His advanced Foundation vessel – his strong Terminus accent – his Foundation credits – would automatically surround him with a glow of notoriety. And in case of any emergency, he would automatically turn to Foundation officials for help, as he did on Sayshell, where we knew all that he did as soon as he did it and quite independently of Compor. â€Å"No,† she went on thoughtfully, â€Å"Compor was sent out to test Compor. And that succeeded, for we gave him a defective computer quite deliberately; not one that was defective enough to make the ship unmaneuverable, but certainly one that was insufficiently agile to aid him in following a multiple Jump. Yet Compor managed that without trouble.† â€Å"I see there's a great deal you don't tell me, Mayor, until you decide you ought to.† â€Å"I only keep those matters from you, Liono, that it will not hurt you not to know. I admire you and I use you, but there are sharp limits to my trust, as there is in yours for me – and please don't bother to deny it.† â€Å"I won't,† said Kodell dryly, â€Å"and someday, Mayor, I will take the liberty of reminding you of that. – Meanwhile, is there anything else that I ought to know now? What is the nature of the ship that stopped them? Surely, if Compor is Second Foundation, so was that ship.† â€Å"It is always a pleasure to speak to you, Liono. You see things quickly. The Second Foundation, you see, doesn't bother to hide its tracks. It has defenses that it relies on to make those tracks invisible, even when they are not. It would never occur to a Second Foundationer to use a ship of alien manufacture, even if they knew how neatly we could identify the origin of a ship from the pattern of its energy use. They could always remove that knowledge from any mind that had gained it, so why bother taking the trouble to hide? Well, our scout ship was able to determine the origin of the ship that approached Compor within minutes of sighting it.† â€Å"And now the Second Foundation will wipe that knowledge from our minds, I suppose.† â€Å"If they can,† said Branno, â€Å"but they may find that things have changed.† Kodell said, â€Å"Earlier you said you knew where the Second Foundation was. You would take care of Gaia first, then Trantor. I deduce from this that the other ship was of Trantorian origin.† â€Å"You suppose correctly. Are you surprised?† Kodell shook his head slowly. â€Å"Not in hindsight. Ebling Mis, Toran Darell and Bayta Darell were all on Trantor during the period when the Mule was stopped. Arkady Darell, Bayta's granddaughter, was born on Trantor and was on Trantor again when the Second Foundation was itself supposedly stopped. In her account of events, there is a Preem Palver who played a key role, appearing at convenient times, and he was a Trantorian trader. I should think it was obvious that the Second Foundation was on Trantor, where, incidentally, Hari Seldon himself lived at the time he founded both Foundations.† â€Å"Quite obvious, except that no one ever suggested the possibility. The Second Foundation saw to that. It is what I meant when I said they didn't have to cover their tracks, when they could so easily arrange to have no one look in the direction of those tracks – or wipe out the memory of those tracks after they had been seen.† Kodell said, â€Å"In that case, let us not look too quickly in the direction in which they may simply be wanting us to look. How is it, do you suppose, that Trevize was able to decide the Second Foundation existed? Why didn't the Second Foundation stop him?† Branno held up her gnarled fingers and counted on them. â€Å"First, Trevize is a very unusual man who, for all his obstreperous inability to use caution, has something about him that I have not been able to penetrate. He may be a special case. Second, the Second Foundation was not entirely ignorant. Compor was on Trevize's tail at once and reported him to me. I was relied on to stop Trevize without the Second Foundation having to risk open involvement. Third, when I didn't quite react as expected – no execution, no imprisonment, no memory erasure, no Psychic Probe of his brain – when I merely sent him out into space, the Second Foundation went further. They made the direct move of sending one of their own ships after him.† And she added with tight-lipped pleasure, â€Å"Oh, excellent lightning rod.† Kodell said, â€Å"And our next move?† â€Å"We are going to challenge that Second Foundationer we now face. In fact, we're moving toward him rather sedately right now.† Gendibal and Novi sat together, side by side, watching the screen. Novi was frightened. To Gendibal, that was quite apparent, as was the fact that she was desperately trying to fight off that fright. Nor could Gendibal do anything to help her in her struggle, for he did not think it wise to touch her mind at this moment, lest he obscure the response she displayed to the feeble mentalic field that surrounded them. The Foundation warship was approaching slowly – but deliberately. It was a large warship, with a crew of perhaps as many as six, judging from past experience with Foundation ships. Her weapons, Gendibal was certain, would be sufficient in themselves to hold off and, if necessary, wipe out a fleet made up of every ship available to the Second Foundation – if those ships had to rely on physical force alone. As it was, the advance of the warship, even against a single ship manned by a Second Foundationer, allowed certain conclusions to be drawn. Even if the ship possessed mentalic ability, it would not be likely to advance into the teeth of the Second Foundation in this manner. More likely, it was advancing out of ignorance – and this might exist in any of several degrees. It could mean that the captain of the warship was not aware that Compor had been replaced, or – if aware – did not know the replacement was a Second Foundationer, or perhaps was not even aware what a Second Foundationer might be. Or (and Gendibal intended to consider everything) what if the ship did possess mentalic force and, nevertheless, advanced in this self-confident manner? That could only mean it was under the control of a megalomaniac or that it possessed powers far beyond any that Gendibal could bring himself to consider possible. But what he considered possible was not the final judgment. Carefully he sensed Novi's mind. Novi could not sense mentalic fields consciously, whereas Gendibal, of course, could – yet Gendibal's mind could not do so as delicately or detect as feeble a mental field as could Novi's. This was a paradox that would have to be studied in future and might produce fruit that would in the long run prove of far greater importance than the immediate problem of an approaching spaceship. Gendibal had grasped the possibility of this, intuitively, when he first became aware of the unusual smoothness and symmetry of Novi's mind – and he felt a somber pride in this intuitive ability he possessed. Speakers had always been proud of their intuitive powers, but how much was this the product of their inability to measure fields by straightforward physical methods and their failure, therefore, to understand what it was that they really did? It was easy to cover up ignorance by the mystical word â€Å"intuition.† And how much of this ignorance of theirs might arise from their underestimation of the importance of physics as compared to mentalics? And how much of that was blind pride? When he became First Speaker, Gendibal thought, this would change. There would have to be some narrowing of the physical gap between the Foundations. The Second Foundation could not face forever the possibility of destruction any time the mentalic monopoly slipped even slightly. – Indeed, the monopoly might be slipping now. Perhaps the First Foundation had advanced or there was an alliance between the First Foundation and the Anti-Mules. (That thought occurred to him now for the first time and he shivered.) His thoughts on the subject slipped through his mind with a rapidity common to a Speaker – and while he was thinking, he also remained sensitively aware of the glow in Novi's mind, the response to the gently pervasive mentalic field about them. It was not growing stronger as the Foundation warship drew nearer. This was not, in itself, an absolute indication that the warship was not equipped with mentalics. It was well known that the mentalic field did not obey the inverse-square law. It did not grow stronger precisely as the square of the extent to which distance between emitter and receiver lessened. It differed in this way from the electromagnetic and the gravitational fields. Still, although mentalic fields varied less with distance than the various physical fields did, it was not altogether insensitive to distance, either. The response of Novi's mind should show a detectable increase as the warship approached – some increase. (How was it that no Second Foundationer in five centuries – from Hari Seldon on – had ever thought of working out a mathematical relationship between mentalic intensity and distance? This shrugging off of physics must and would stop, Gendibal silently vowed.) If the warship possessed mentalics and if it felt quite certain it was approaching a Second Foundationer, would it not increase the intensity of its field to maximum before advancing? And in that case, would not Novi's mind surely register an increased response of some kind? – Yet it did not! Confidently Gendibal eliminated the possibility that the warship possessed mentalics. It was advancing out of ignorance and, as a menace, it could be downgraded. The mentalic field, of course, still existed, but it had to originate on Gaia. This was disturbing enough, but the immediate problem was the ship. Let that be eliminated and he could then turn his attention to the world of the Anti-Mules. He waited. The warship would make some move or it would come close enough for him to feel confident that he could pass over to an effective offense. The warship still approached – quite rapidly now – and still did nothing. Finally Gendibal calculated that the strength of his push would be sufficient. There would be no pain, scarcely any discomfort – all those on board would merely find that the large muscles of their backs and limbs would respond but sluggishly to their desires. Gendibal narrowed the mentalic field controlled by his mind. It intensified and leaped across the gap between the ships at the speed of light. (The two ships were close enough to make hyperspatial contact – with its inevitable loss of precision – unnecessary.) And Gendibal then fell back in numbed surprise. The Foundation warship was possessed of an efficient mentalic shield that gained in density in proportion as his own field gained in intensity. – The warship was not approaching out of ignorance after all – and it had an unexpected if passive weapon. â€Å"Ah,† said Branno. â€Å"He has attempted an attack, Liono. See!† The needle on the psychometer moved and trembled in its irregular rise. The development of the mentalic shield had occupied Foundation scientists for a hundred and twenty years in the most secret of all scientific projects, except perhaps for Hari Seldon's lone development of psychohistorical analysis. Five generations of human beings had labored in the gradual improvement of a device backed by no satisfactory theory. But no advance would have been possible without the invention of the psychometer that could act as a guide, indicating the direction and amount of advance at every stage. No one could explain how it worked, yet all indications were that it measured the immeasurable and gave numbers to the indescribable. Branno had the feeling (shared by some of the scientists themselves) that if ever the Foundation could explain the workings of the psychometer, they would be the equal of the Second Foundation in mind control. But that was for the future. At present, the shield would have to be enough, backed as it was by an overwhelming preponderance in physical weapons. Branno sent out the message, delivered in a male voice from which all overtones of emotion had been removed, till it was flat and deadly. â€Å"Calling the ship Bright Star and its occupants. You have forcibly taken a ship of the Navy of the Foundation Federation in an act of piracy. You are directed to surrender the ship and yourselves at once or face attack.† The answer came in natural voice: â€Å"Mayor Branno of Terminus, I know you are on the ship. The Bright Star was not taken by piratical action. I was freely invited on board by its legal captain, Munn Li Compor of Terminus. I ask a period of truce that we may discuss matters of importance to each of us alike.† Kodell whispered to Branno, â€Å"Let me do the speaking, Mayor.† She raised her arm contemptuously, â€Å"The responsibility is mine, Liono.† Adjusting the transmitter, she spoke in tones scarcely less forceful and unemotional than the artificial voice that had spoken before: â€Å"Man of the Second Foundation, understand your position. If you do not surrender forthwith, we can blow your ship out of space in the time it takes light to travel from our ship to yours – and we are ready to do that. Nor will we lose by doing this, for you have no knowledge for which we need keep you alive. We know you are from Trantor and, once we have dealt with you, we will be ready to deal with Trantor. We are willing to allow you a period in which to have your say, but since you cannot have much of worth to tell us, we are not prepared to listen long.† â€Å"In that case,† said Gendibal, â€Å"let me speak quickly and to the point. Your shield is not perfect and cannot be. You have overestimated it and underestimated me. I can handle your mind and control it. Not as easily, perhaps, as if there were no shield, but easily enough. The instant you attempt to use any weapon, I will strike you – and there is this for you to understand: Without a shield, I can handle your mind smoothly and do it no harm. With the shield, however, I must smash through, which I can do, and I will be unable then to handle you either smoothly or deftly. Your mind will be as smashed as the shield and the effect will be irreversible. In other words, you cannot stop me and I, on the other hand, can stop you by being forced to do worse than killing you. I will leave you a mindless hulk. Do you wish to risk that?† Branno said, â€Å"You know you cannot do as you say.† â€Å"Do you, then, wish to risk the consequences I have described?† asked Gendibal with an air of cool indifference. Kodell leaned over and whispered, â€Å"For Seldon's sake, Mayor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Gendibal said (not exactly at once, for it took light – and everything at light-speed – a little over one second to travel from one vessel to the other), â€Å"I follow your thoughts, Kodell. No need to whisper. I also follow the Mayor's thoughts. She is irresolute, so you have no need to panic just yet. And the mere fact that I know this is ample evidence that your shield leaks.† â€Å"It can be strengthened,† said the Mayor defiantly. â€Å"So can my mentalic force,† said Gendibal. â€Å"But I sit here at my ease, consuming merely physical energy to maintain the shield, and I have enough to maintain that shield for very long periods of time. You must use mentalic energy to penetrate the shield and you will tire.† â€Å"I am not tired,† said Gendibal. â€Å"At the present moment, neither of you is capable of giving any order to any member of the crew of your ship or to any crewman on any other ship. I can manage so much without any harm to you, but do not make any unusual effort to escape this control, for if I match that by increasing my own force, as I will have to do, you will be damaged as I have said.† â€Å"I will wait,† said Branno, placing her hands in her lap with every sign of solid patience. â€Å"You will tire and when you do, the orders that will go out will not be to destroy you, for you will then be harmless. The orders will be to send the main Foundation Fleet against Trantor. If you wish to save your world – surrender. A second orgy of destruction will not leave your organization untouched, as the first one did at the time of the Great Sack.† â€Å"Don't you see that if I feel myself tiring, Mayor, which I won't, I can save my world very simply by destroying you before my strength to do so is gone?† â€Å"You won't do that. Your main task is to maintain the Seldon Plan. To destroy the Mayor of Terminus and thus to strike a blow at the prestige and confidence of the First Foundation, producing a staggering setback to its power and encouraging its enemies everywhere, will produce such a disruption to the Plan that it will be almost as bad for you as the destruction of Trantor. You might as well surrender.† â€Å"Are you willing to gamble on my reluctance to destroy you?† Branno's chest heaved as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She then said firmly, â€Å"Yes!† Kodell, sitting at her side, paled. Gendibal stared at the figure of Branno, superimposed upon the volume of room just in front of the wall. It was a little flickery and hazy thanks to the interference of the shield. The man next to her was almost featureless with haze, for Gendibal had no energy to waste on him. He had to concentrate on the Mayor. To be sure, she had no image of him in return. She had no way of knowing that he too had a companion, for instance. She could make no judgment from his expressions, from his body language. In this respect, she was at a disadvantage. Everything he had said was true. He could smash her at the cost of an enormous expenditure of mentalic force – and in so doing, he could scarcely avoid disrupting her mind irreparably. Yet everything she had said was true as well. Destroying her would damage the Plan as much as the Mule himself had damaged it. Indeed, the new damage might be more serious, since it was now later in the game and there would be less time to retrieve the misstep. Worse still, there was Gaia, which was still an unknown quantity – with its mentalic field remaining at the faint and tantalizing edge of detection. For a moment, he touched Novi's mind to make sure that the flow was still there. It was, and it was unchanged. She could not have sensed that touch in any way, but she turned to him and in an awed whisper said, â€Å"Master, there is a faint mist there. Is it to that you talk?† She must have sensed the mist through the small connection between their two minds. Gendibal put a finger to his lips. â€Å"Have no fear, Novi. Close your eyes and rest.† He raised his voice. â€Å"Mayor Branno, your gamble is a good one in this respect. I do not wish to destroy you at once, since I think that if I explain something to you, you will listen to reason and there will then be no need to destroy in either direction. â€Å"Suppose, Mayor, that you win out and that I surrender. What follows? In an orgy of self-confidence and in undue reliance on your mentalic shield, you and your successors will attempt to spread your power over the Galaxy with undue haste. In doing so, you will actually postpone the establishment of the Second Empire, because you will also destroy the Seldon Plan.† Branno said, â€Å"I am not surprised that you do not wish to destroy me at once and I think that, as you sit there, you will be forced to realize that you do not dare to destroy me at all.† Gendibal said, â€Å"Do not deceive yourself with self-congratulatory folly. Listen to me. The majority of the Galaxy is still non-Foundation and, to a great extent, anti-Foundation. There are even portions of the Foundation Federation itself that have not forgotten their days of independence. If the Foundation moves too quickly in the wake of my surrender, it will deprive the rest of the Galaxy of its greatest weakness – its disunity and indecision. You will force them to unite by fear and you will feed the tendency toward rebellion within.† â€Å"You are threatening with clubs of straw,† said Branno. â€Å"We have the power to win easily against all enemies, even if every world in the non-Foundation Galaxy combined against us, and even if these were helped by a rebellion in half the worlds of the Federation itself. There would be no problem.† â€Å"No immediate problem, Mayor. Do not make the mistake of seeing only the results that appear at once. You can establish a Second Empire merely by proclaiming it, but you will not be able to maintain it. You will have to reconquer it every ten years.† â€Å"Then we will do so until the worlds tire, as you are tiring.† â€Å"They will not tire, any more than I will. Nor will the process continue for a very long time, for there is a second and greater danger to the Pseudo-Empire you would proclaim. Since it can be temporarily maintained only by an ever-stronger military force which will be ever-exercised, the generals of the Foundation will, for the first time, become more important and more powerful than the civilian authorities. The Pseudo-Empire will break up into military regions within which individual commanders will be supreme. There will be anarchy – and a slide back into a barbarism that may last longer than the thirty thousand years forecast by Seldon before the Seldon Plan was implemented.† â€Å"Childish threats. Even if the mathematics of the Seldon Plan predicted all this, it predicts only probabilities – not inevitabilities.† â€Å"Mayor Branno,† said Gendibal earnestly. â€Å"Forget the Seldon Plan. You do not understand its mathematics and you cannot visualize its pattern. But you do not have to, perhaps. You are a tested politician; and a successful one, to judge from the post you hold; even more so, a courageous one, to judge from the gamble you are now taking. Therefore, use your political acumen. Consider the political and military history of humanity and consider it in the light of what you know of human nature – of the manner in which people, politicians, and military officers act, react, and interact – and see if I'm not right.† Branno said, â€Å"Even if you were right, Second Foundationer, it is a risk we must take. With proper leadership and with continuing technological advance – in mentalics, as well as in physics – we can overcome. Hari Seldon never calculated such advances properly. He couldn't. Where in the Plan does it allow for the development of a mentalic shield by the First Foundation? Why should we want the Plan, in any case? We will risk founding a new Empire without it. Failure without it would, after all, be better than success with it. We do not want an Empire in which we play puppets to the hidden manipulators of the Second Foundation.† â€Å"You say that only because you do not understand what failure will be like for the people of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Perhaps!† said Branno stonily. â€Å"Are you beginning to weary, Second Foundationer?† â€Å"Not at all. – Let me propose an alternative action that you have not considered – one in which I need not surrender to you, nor you to me. – We are in the vicinity of a planet called Gaia.† â€Å"I am aware of that.† â€Å"Are you aware that it was probably the birthplace of the Mule?† â€Å"I would want more evidence than resides in your mere statement to that effect.† â€Å"The planet is surrounded by a mentalic field. It is the home of many Mules. If you accomplish your dream of destroying the Second Foundation, you will make yourselves the slaves of this planet of Mules. What harm have Second Foundationers ever done you specific, rather than imagined or theorized harm? Now ask yourself what harm a single Mule has done you.† â€Å"I still have nothing more than your statements.† â€Å"As long as we remain here, I can give you nothing more. – I propose a truce, therefore. Keep your shield up, if you don't trust me, but be prepared to co-operate with me. Let us, together, approach this planet – and when you are convinced that it is dangerous, then I will nullify its mentalic field and you will order your ships to take possession of it.† â€Å"And then?† â€Å"And then, at least, it will be the First Foundation against the Second Foundation, with no outside forces to be considered. The fight will then be clear whereas now, you see, we dare not fight, for both Foundations are at bay.† â€Å"Why did you not say this before?† â€Å"I thought I might convince you that we were not enemies, so that we might co-operate. Since I have apparently failed at that, I suggest co-operation in any case.† Branno paused, her head bent in thought. Then she said, â€Å"You are trying to put me to sleep with lullabies. How will you, by yourself, nullify the mentalic field of a whole planet of Mules? The thought is so ludicrous that I cannot trust in the truth of your proposition.† â€Å"I am not alone,† said Gendibal. â€Å"Behind me is the full force of the Second Foundation – and that force, channeled through me, will take care of Gaia. ‘What's more, it can, at any time, brush aside your shield as though it were thin fog.† â€Å"If so, why do you need my help?† â€Å"First, because nullifying the field is not enough. The Second Foundation cannot devote itself, now and forever, to the eternal task of nullifying, any more than I can spend the rest of my life dancing this conversational minuet with you. We need the physical action your ships can supply. – And besides, if I cannot convince you by reason that the two Foundations should look upon each other as allies, perhaps a co-operative venture of the greatest importance can be convincing. Deeds may do the job where words fail.† A second silence and then Branno said, â€Å"I am willing to approach Gaia more closely, if we can approach co-operatively. I make no promises beyond that.† â€Å"That will be enough,† said Gendibal, leaning toward his computer. Novi said, â€Å"No, Master, up to this point, it didn't matter, but please make no further move. We must wait for Councilman Trevize of Terminus.†

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Psychology human development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Psychology human development - Essay Example Identify the theorist (s) associated with cognitive development? The development of cognition in infancy starts when the child becomes aware of his surroundings and begins to explore it. The process of exploration however entails the use of intellect which is a product of adaptation and organization. For the child to adjust to his environment, assimilation and accommodation has to take place. On the other hand, a child is said to have organized his thoughts when he systematically combines structural schemes that are accompanied with ideas and actions. According to the theory of Piaget, the development of the child’s cognition undergoes different stages to include sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and period of formal operations. The child’s cognition becomes refined in each stage thus the child has different reasoning ability as he grows older. For instance, at age two months, the child thoughts are symbolic in nature without thinking of the consequences of his ac tions, as he reaches the next stage, he can associate single and simple words with objects until he can be able to use numbers, size and can relate to time and eventually he knows to reason out. 2.

Change management principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Change management principles - Essay Example Emmerichs et al (2004) provides a sound definition of workforce planning stating that it is â€Å"an organizational activity intended to ensure that investment in human capital results in the timely capability to effectively carry out the organization’s strategic intent.† (Emmerichs et al, 2004, p. ix) Workforce planning is an active phenomenon in Australian corporation, both in governmental and private-sector organizations. In particular, the Australian health workforce is facing a period of major reform with active participation from various national health workforce advisory committees. The best part is that the Australian government provides full support to the health workforce planning and research activities both at the national and state/territory levels. This paper addresses issues relating to the significant reform the workforce planning is going through and what kind of impact it has on the organizational operations. Besides the issue of organizational behavior is also discussed in the paper. Before going into further details, it is important first to look at the strategic planning objectives and the impacts it has on the organization. Strategic workforce planning can be considered as a recent approach in comparison to traditional human resource planning in an organization. The primary objective of a workforce planning is to analyze as well as forecast workforce skills required by the organization to achieve its relevant business strategies. It is important to mention that a workforce planning benefits extensively from the active participation as well as input of different business units within the organization. To be a successful workforce planning, Emmerichs et al (2004) talk about the inclusion of three important factors in the plan: a) active participation of managers, b) accurate and relevant data, and c) appropriate workload and inventory projection models for the effectiveness of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Construction of the cash flows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Construction of the cash flows - Essay Example The users of the financial statements are very interested to learn how the business generates and uses it cash and cash equivalents during a particular period. Thus, the statement of cash flows is very important because the company wants to control the timing of the receipt and disbursement of cash. For, the company needs cash inflows to pay the budgeted and maturing cash outflows such as payables. The cash flow statement clearly shows the company management's ability to juggle the incoming and outgoing of funds. Also, cash inflows from operating activities are defined as those coming from it revenue generating activities. In our case, the airline tickets are bought because they need to visit the different revenue generating shops in different parts of the United States. Capital Budgeting (Maher, 1997; 279-20) involves deciding which long term investment to undertake and how they are financed. Examples are buildings, land, factory site, factory equipment and others. Furthermore, an item is capitalized, meaning recorded as building, equipment, factory and others, if they are tangible assets held by the enterprise for use of production of goods for sale and rendering services. And, the asset bought will be used over a period of more than one year. Thus, the airline tickets only benefit the day or the current accounting period when the flight was taken. Thus, the airline tickets do not fall under capital expenditures but only operating expenses. In the construction of the cash flows associated with the commercial airline contract option, should the analyst include the average cost of business class tickets Yes, because the average cost of business class tickets involves cash flow or cash disbursement or cash payment. As discussed above in the theory of accounts it is part of operating expenses in the cash flow statement. Appendix A shows that for an annual average of 48 annual trips consisting of 4 travelers per trip at $1,000 per round trip ticket, the annual cost for this specific year is $192,000. Also, for the following year at 50 trips at 4 persons per trip the total cost for that year in terms of plant tickets is $200,000. the continues the computation until the year reaches 79 flights in 1 year at 4 persons per year totaling $316,000. QUESTION In construction of the cash flows associated with the commercial airline contract option, should the analyst include the cost of upgrading a business class fare to a first class ticket yes, for the same reason above. The average cost of upgrading a business class ticket to a first class ticket involves cash flow or cash disbursement or cash payment. As discussed in the theory of accounts, it is part of operating expenses of the company to support its day to day operational management Appendix B below shows that for the year when there are 48 airline travels consisting of 4 persons per trip, the first class ticket at $1,300 per ticket will increase the ticket cost on this particular year to $249,600. This is $57,600 bigger than the computation of ticket at costs in Appendix A below. Also, for the year when 50 flights with 4 persons at $1,300 first class, the total airline ticket costs for that year is $260,000 which is higher than the above data by where the business class total cost for the year is only $200,000.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Intercultural Communication Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Intercultural Communication Paper - Essay Example Most migrants have assimilated into America’s traditions and ways of life. Although conventional cultural values and beliefs have been preserved by the originating migrants, their children have completely adapted and adjusted to Western culture. It is interesting to delve into finding out the factors which contribute to the academic performance of migrants’ children, specifically Korean Americans. Adolescents from today’s generation have grown with relatively antithetical thinking and preferences compared to generations that their grandparents and parents were accustomed to. Likewise, academic performance, attitudes and behaviors of previous generations were influenced by communication, among others; as well as traditional and conventional norms. Communication is the â€Å"process of transmitting thoughts, feelings, facts, and other information† through verbal or non-verbal means. (Delaune and Ladner 2006) Verbal messages are messages communicated with the use of words and language. These messages can either be spoken or written. Non verbal communication, on the other hand, is the process of transmitting messages without words, that is, through body language. (Delaune and Ladner 2006). In this regard, the objective of this essay is to proffer a scenario which manifests the relevance of intercultural communication in the academe, affecting the performance of students from another culture, particularly from Korea. A review of literature would initially be presented delving into the effect of communication to cultural diversity. Likewise, the methodology used would be explained in determining the academic achievement of Korean-American adolescents in schools in the US where a hypothesis is developed. Finally, through the interview conducted and through secondary sources, the effect of family, communication and culture in the academic achievement of Korean-American adolescents

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Gender, Labor, and livelihoods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gender, Labor, and livelihoods - Essay Example In my opinion, the gender difference is being lessened due to escalating female participation and decreasing male participation. I also presume that the lessening male participation is due to the rising enrollment of young males in tertiary and secondary education (Elson 613). Two, the transformation to paid work for women is expected to enhance the bargaining power of women in the family. Three, by engaging women in paid labor, it ensures sufficient distribution of women and men in significant economic sectors, for example, transport and services, construction and agriculture. Four, paid labor for females ensures that there is a decrease in gender stereotyping in employment. I presume this will guarantee equal distribution of females and males across broad occupational categories and sectors. Consequently, these causes development as more women are paid to work in the productive economy and less are left to work in the reproductive economy, for example caring for friends and familie s, thus, complementing their male counterparts in the productive economy leading to development in a country (Elson 618). Question 2 Global labor markets may be presumed to be gendered institutions. Economy experts frequently assess labor markets as neutral areas whereby sellers and buyers interact. Sellers and buyers are distinguished by sex and as having different preferences and endowments in the labor markets. In my view, there is discrimination on the basis of sex if there is not an account by the dissimilarities in elements, for example, job experience and education. I suppose discrimination on the basis of sex may be treated as lasting depending on the tastes of employers (Elson 611). In addition, the relation between an employer and an employee in the global labor market is not gender ascriptive in a similar way as the relationship between a husband and wife. Nevertheless, the relation between an employer and an employee is a bearer of gender in the sense that it contains a number of social stereotypes which link masculinity with possessing authority over people in the place of work. It also contains stereotypes depicting what the work of a man and the work of a woman should be. The informal and formal laws which design the venture of labor markets are manifestations of the gender relations of the society in which the labor market is rooted. Therefore, I suppose global labor markets illustrate existing issues of gender subordination and domination, and also the potential for change, subordination, and tensions which is a feature of any gender association even if authority is not equally distributed. In my view, the most significant way in which labor markets are gendered institutions is how they function at the juncture of manners of making a living and care. Question 3 There are a number of factors which may address this issue. Number one is work hours. Research carried out in Bangladesh indicates that between 1990 and 1991, male employees were workin g for approximately 53 hours per week, while female employees worked for approximately 56 hours per week. In addition, these female employees were also involved in longer hours of unpaid labor in the reproductive sector than male employees (Elson 613). Therefore, the hours of working makes people working in export oriented

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Crisis Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crisis Management - Research Paper Example The study discusses the crisis that had engulfed Apple Inc. owing to the departure of Steve Jobs. The study conferred on the response initiatives and strategies employed by Apple Inc while managing the organizational crisis. The study also discusses the public relation and crisis communication strategy adopted by the management of Apple while responding to the crisis. The study focuses on the development of the crisis management policies of Apple Inc. The study conclusively provided recommendations to improve the crisis management and crisis communication strategies of Apple Inc. Table of Contents 1 3 Overview 4 Crisis Management 4 Identification of Potential Crisis and the Crisis Management Plan 5 Cases of Organizational Crisis Management 6 Company Background 7 Crisis Management in Apple 8 Identification and Response of Crisis 8 Public Relation & Crisis Management Plan 9 Recommendations and Conclusion 10 Works Cited 11 Overview The management of a crisis in an organization entails d eterrence, planning, examination, assessment and maintenance to lessen the negative outcomes of the crisis. The procedure employed by an organization determines the consequences for those impacted by the crisis, counting customers and society, in addition to the employees and the organization as a whole (American Institute of Chemical Engineers, â€Å"Corporate Crisis Management†).   ... rporate Crisis Management†).   The study comprises of a comprehensive assessment of organizational crisis management, identification of potential crisis in an organization and the significance of the development of crisis management plans in order to tackle further crisis. This study focuses on the development of the crisis management policies of Apple Inc. The study accentuates on the crisis that had engulfed Apple Inc. due to the departure of Steve Jobs. The study discusses how fast Apple reacted to their latest crisis and how did the company intervene to lessen the damage. The study also discusses the public relation strategy implemented by Apple while responding to the crisis. The study finally offers recommendations for the crisis management and crisis communication policies of Apple Inc. Crisis Management Researchers have described an organizational crisis as a significant unexpected incidence (King, â€Å"Crisis Management & Team Effectiveness: A Closer Examinationâ⠂¬ ) with a possible negative result (Schrivastava, â€Å"Crisis Theory/Practice: Towards a Sustainable Future†) that challenges the endurance of the business organization (Fearn-Banks, K., â€Å"Crisis Communication: A Casebook Approach†; Fink, S., â€Å"Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable†) by effecting the domestic or external configuration (Pearson & Clair, â€Å"Crisis Theory/Practice: Towards a Sustainable Future†, Loosemore & Teo, â€Å"Crisis Preparedness of Construction Companies†), or by impacting the legality of the business. Several authors have attenuated that a crisis is not a daily occurrence, but an unforeseen and unanticipated, low possibility incidence that requires or necessitates quick and effective decisions (Platz & Madsen, â€Å"Crisis Management in IT Projects†; Pearson &

Friday, August 23, 2019

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - Essay Example The History of Love is a novel that revolves around the lives of three people. One of them is Leo Gursky, an ageing man living in perpetual fear of losing his life and feeling that this will happen unnoticed. He prepares for death in a shabby apartment in downtown Manhattan. The second is Leo, a Jew who made his way out of Poland as the Nazi advanced during the 2nd World War. When the author introduces Gursky, he seems to be weary of life after all that he has lost. While he lived in Poland, he was in love with a girl named Alma, to whom he had written a book and named all the female characters in the book after, a book also called â€Å"The History of Love†. However, Leo lost Alma when she moved to America and married someone else after she thought him dead in the Nazi Holocaust. Later on, when Leo moves to America, he leaves this novel to a friend who later tells him that he lost it. Although, Leo is able to survive the Nazi and their war and finally gets to the United State s, he does not have anything left. This is because he has lost the woman he loved and the book in which he chronicled all the memorable incidences that happened in his life. The novel arouses a feeling of sympathy for the losses that this kind man has experienced (Kuster 33). Alone in his house, in Manhattan, having lost the son that he loved so much, he is representative of what happens during old age, and what old people go through regarding their memories of loss. Leo finds it impossible to get over his love and loss of Alma and cannot move on with his life. The loss he felt when Alma left was a lot, however, he still loves her as much when she becomes an old woman, losing her life in a hospital as he did when she was eleven years of age. As she dies, Leo is again confronted by loss and he goes to sit by her side every day during after-hours while telling her jokes: â€Å"She was tiny and wrinkled and deaf as a door knob. There was so much I should have said†¦. yet I told h er jokes† (Krauss 65). When considering the theme of loss in The History of Love, it is impossible not to notice the way that the author uses language to chronicle the feelings of loss. "She was gone, and all that was left was the space you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence. For a long time, it remained hollow. Years, maybe, and when at last it was filled again, you knew that the new love you felt for a woman would have been impossible without Alma. If it weren't for her, there would never have been an empty space or the need to fill it" (Krauss 189). The passage in the novel is a stark description of the feeling of loss, as well as the feeling of void after as a distraught Leo Gursky experienced it. After Leo Gursky had settled, in America, he got himself a job as a locksmith at a shop owned and run by his cousin. As the years pass by, Leo Gursky grows old and begins to lose his health in terms of his heart becomes weaker. He becomes lonely and frighte ned in regards to his unfulfilled life and losses, which he suffers (Kuster 43). He watches on as the son he lost grows up and becomes a renowned writer before he loses him when he grows old and passes away. He has had to do all this from a distance since he lost his son’s love. He earlier stated that he had a son named Isaac who is not aware of his existence. As an old man, Leo attempts to do anything with the aim of making sure that when he dies; he is not forgotten, the memories others have of him are not lost and he does not die as an invisible man. He poses nude for various arts classes, hassles the deliverymen and spills milk at a Starbucks store. He does these to ensure that people remember him and his life does not get lost. He continues with his life, but does not know

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Slope-Intercept Formula to Determine the Annual Increase Essay Example for Free

Slope-Intercept Formula to Determine the Annual Increase Essay Select an inventory management problem that applies to your work or personal life. Prepare a project proposal in which you: †¢Describe the organization, the inventory problem it faces, and the expected benefits that are motivating the organization to implement a solution. †¢Convert time series data collected in Week Two to seasonal indices. You may choose to use the University of Phoenix Material: Summer Historical Inventory Data or University of Phoenix Material: Winter Historical Inventory Data if the data you collected is insufficient. †¢Use seasonal indices to analyze the inventory data. oUse the slope-intercept formula to determine the annual increase in inventory. oProvide monthly seasonal indices for the given data. oIdentify the busy months of year. oIdentify the slow months of year. †¢Construct a histogram of the inventory data using Microsoft ® Excel ®. †¢Forecast the future inventory costs using time value of money concepts. University of Phoenix Summer Historical Inventory Data The University of Phoenix Summer Historical Inventory Data is the source for developing Team B’s inventory management proposal. Annual trend lines were plotted in Microsoft Excel  © to display the inventory amounts for each year. The trend line in this case is positive, which indicates that the likelihood of inventory levels in the subsequent years will continue to rise without considering any additional factors that may influence the business. Factors  to support the observation include economic instability from stock market volatility, a decline in consumer confidence, severe weather, and acts of terrorism. Table 1 shows the existing data and includes the fifth year projections. Figure 1 displays the trend line.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Lecture Notes Beowulf Essay Example for Free

Lecture Notes Beowulf Essay Genre A heroic folk epic rooted in the oral tradition of the Anglo Saxons, Beowulf is an anonymous poem committed to paper by an unknown Christian monk in 1000 Common Era, some 300 years after it was first composed. The manuscript is part of a document known as Cotton Vitellus A housed in a British Library. Beowulf belongs to the epic genre of long, narrative poems dealing with heroic deeds against a background of war and the supernatural and themes of grandeur and significance. Full of legendary myths and somber, elegiac cadences, it has been composed in the Anglo Saxon vernacular and can be classed amongst other great epics such as the Illiad, Odyssey, Aenied and Paradise Lost to name a few. The name Beowulf is a kenning, Bee-Hunter reflecting the warrior heritage of the central character Basic Plot The poem is eponymously named for its hero Bewoulf, a great warrior and later King, who sets out to rescue King Hrothgar and his people from the monster Grendel. During the course of the poem, we see Beowulf slaying first Grendel and then his revenge seeking mother. Beowulf’s final conflict takes place with the Dragon angered by the plundering of the treasure it is guarding. Structure of the Poem There are three prevailing views as to the structure of the poem: -the structure is defined by the three increasingly difficult conflicts Beowulf faces -the structure can also be viewed in terms of kingship for instance, young Beowulf and old Beowulf with a different set of problems to be faced during each phase -the structure is that of interlacing of memories with narratives of present, a cyclical process of action, memory and reflection Background Although the poem is rooted in the Anglo Saxon as well as early Christian traditions, it reflects two distinct value systems frequently at odds with each other. For instance, in line with its Anglo-Saxon origins, the poem celebrates the Germanic heroic code, which, exemplifying the pagan warrior culture, lays stress upon family ties, genealogy, immortality through fame and revenge for wrongs done to one’s kith and kin. It values ancestral heritage and individual reputation. Christianity, on the other hand, believes in immortality in terms of the afterlife and teaches that vengeance is best left to God. Bewoulf and Grendel Bewoulf is not just a warrior and king. He also serves as a cultural ideal and as an incarnation of Anglo Saxon values and beliefs. The ‘Cain-descended’ Grendel, with his innate desire to tear asunder whatever has integrity, represents chaos and disorder, in contrast to Bewoulf, who represents order and cosmos. Grendel is the ultimate exile. Unferth Unferth acts as a foil to Beowulf by accentuating through contrast the character of the latter. He redeems his earlier verbal taunting (flyting) of Beowulf by offering him his sword in a later conflict. Literary devices/techniques Litotes-understatement e. g, ‘Cain had no pleasure from that find’ Kenning-metaphorical descriptions combining two words to offer evocative alternative to original Caesura-a pause in the line of a poem Alliteration- In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words or phrases.

The Effect Of Capitalism On The Society Media Essay

The Effect Of Capitalism On The Society Media Essay The effect of capitalism on the society and culture has been an issue of great discussion since the time it emerged in Europe as a form of economic system in late 18th century. This issue of impact of capitalism on the society is an exception in terms of economic perspectives. In many ways, the cultural impacts outdo all other factors of the system. For the past two hundred or so years, Western civilization has been shaped by the impact of capitalism on the society. The impacts of capitalism on the culture are highly varied and therefore have created room for those who support the idea and also the detractors to challenge its bad effects. It is true that some aspects of society and culture can be seen to be as a result of capitalism. However, defining how and why an issue is said to be as a result of capitalism is quite necessary. Some of the major ideas connected to the study of the impacts of capitalism on the society and culture are beneficial, human, economical and desirable. The capitalist society has its backup on individual consolidation and ownership of the production means where the production of goods is directed by beneficial intention to fulfill human needs (Chapman, 2010). The first effect of capitalism is that of promoting culture of work. Capitalism intends to encourage all people to participate in activities that appear beneficial to them. This is what is perceived by many people as capitalisms most important attribute. Actually, this is a very important factor in the manner in which the system of capitalism has succeeded. A particular level, profit motive and competition that is encouraged the capitalists market system stimulates the system. The motive to act is the main factor in various products that are made by the capitalists societies. In a manner that the capitalist system is functional, however, the reward is not usually proportional the process of contribution. In a number of ways, the capitalism system is a case of winner taking it all hence encouraging stiff competition. In this case, the person at the top is getting a fair share of the reward that was collected everyone. The winner pockets more than what he collects, with the hope getting more than what he has collected propelling the competition forward. It is obvious that could be perfectly fair because any one can become a winner. No one is discouraged or discriminated from participating. In this competition, the case is that an individual who collects a lot is proportionally rewarded with the biggest share. In that perspective, it appears fare. It is apparent however that the amount obtained by the winner is determined by the value collected by everyone el se. The winner takes more than what he contributed as n individual and gets part of what the rest of the participants contributed. In the same way, working hard does not mean that one will win the contest because there are some elements of chance involved (Rosenberg, 1990). Working hard is likely to increase the chance of anyone winning the competition. In the perspective of such a competition does a modern capitalism process enhance progress and create opportunities. It is also by the same fashion that capitalism promotes some form of work ethic, although not exact because it is hard for an individual to know exactly the amount of reward he or she has or the amount held by his competitor. At the end of the day, everyone believes that the amount of reward being given is the same amount they had collected. This makes the first place winner believe that he has collected he has collected all the prize not realizing that any gold has been taken from their contribution. Apart from promoting the culture of work, capitalism can also promote the culture of desire. College textbooks define economics as the study of individual choice in using limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants. The market is limited by the number of thing that people want. This consequently creates a natural trend in the market system for those individuals who sell in the system to work so that they can increase the human need, leading to the development of the extra stronger needs hence expanding the market (Rosenberg, 1990). Whereas marketing is a direct expression of the idea, it actually encompasses the whole culture and reflects individual attitudes, general entertainment, education system, government policy and religious values. The coming up of the culture of desire led as a result of market capitalism has indeed been among the biggest transformation in the American society since its independence. A number of Native Americans believed in strict lifestyles with the Puritans being the most conspicuous example of this. The same Puritans never allowed dancing to take place and put on black attire and practiced cultural self denial. Of course, the Puritans were relatively in small groups particularly during the time of founding of the country. Initially, the average American was comparatively reserve in the early times. It is apparent that America was not a capitalistic nation in the early times because people were self-sufficient. A number of communities and individuals provided for themselves their needs and wants in a direct manner without any regard to the market system. During the early times, America was mainly a family farming nation until the mid nineteenth century (Marable, 2000). Consumer culture and advertising had become significant in the early twentieth century when the American capitalist economy started thriving. Later on consumer culture and advertising increased with the adoption of radio although it was not realistic until mid 20th century with much concern on the use of television and movies. In terms of analysis, it is obvious that a rational need for a particular commodity has been enhanced by the industry itself. However, it is the overall consumerism culture that has a bigger influence. All the social and media practices that improve the desire are generally embraced by the capitalistic culture due to the promotion of the need itself even when it is not directly related to the a certain product, enhances the culture of consumerism and a significant portion of advertising is not related to the promotion of a particular product, but generally about promotion of the culture of desire (Friedrichs, 2009). Emotional needs motivate animals to participate in acts needed for survival and procreation in the natural world. Human needs have developed for millions of years in an environment with fewer resources with strong motivations required to provide action in the face of risk. With the upcoming of human civilization, people have managed to alter the environment make resources that were hard to obtain in the ordinary world much easier to get. This has been taking place very fast over the last ten thousand years or so, with the capacity of people to obtain these resources faster has continued to increase with time. The same stimulating factor is present in the mans brain today as it was millions of years ago when the hominids were working hard to survive (Marable, 2000). This is for instance the reason why people nowadays have a strong affiliation to fatty food. Fats are historically scarce resources for people to get and are extremely high in terms of energy provision. The need for fats made people to look for resources that were very beneficial to their survival in a natural perspective and to choose the resources against alternatives when there was a decision to be undertaken (Friedrichs, 2009). It is very important to remind ourselves that economics is the study of individual choice in connection to limited resources. Fatty foods in America today are not scarce resources. In terms of making a decision, people are mainly forced by their needs to choose fatty foods over others even if the choice for such is not rational. Such acts have resulted in the capitalistic market economy concentrating on marketing and production of fatty foods which they can sell easily to people because of the instinctive desire they have. The culture resulting from marketing feeds on these works and needs to make them more (Pells, 1998). Traditionally, many religions have come up because of the effort to limit the overloading of the normal needs for selfish gains. The setting free and deepening of human passion and the need creates the desire, and that the same demand moves the goods off shelf to satisfy those needs, hence making profit for the sellers. Commercialization of sexuality, because sex is a basic human need, is the initial result of capitalistic market structure. There is a direct marketing of sexuality. However, sexual cues are also highly linked to non-sexual goods in capitalistic economies. By relating sexual signals with goods like cars for instance, the biological need is stimulated. People tend to believe that some products can be achieved by behaving in certain manner. Perhaps the marketing of sexuality to teenagers is the most controversial good of the capitalistic system. Since sex is among the highly primal and strongest forms of need, sexuality is one of the very effective tools hence highly sexually active culture is very open general consumerism. Therefore, capitalism encourages a highly sexually charged society (Pells. 1998). During the puberty stage, people are highly influenced by the marketing of sexual nature. This form of marketing aims at influencing the preteens and teenagers with very sexual media. This is not just in the perspectives of adverts, but all forms of media including stories, books and music. People are highly influenced by things they see and would want to imitate them and see the consequences of the same things when applied in real life situation. Without capitalism, the society would have experienced a different form of life that is full of limitation. Capitalism has enabled people to choose independently what they want for themselves without considering the moral perspectives related to such systems of lifestyles.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Horatio in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- Custom Essays Hamlet

Horatio in Hamlet      Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, the closest friend of the hero is a fellow-student from Wittenberg (Granville-Barker 93), an intelligent and understanding young man by the name of Horatio. This essay seeks to carefully present his character.    Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes Horatio’s part in the opening scene of the play:    The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has brought him there in the night so that he can see it for himself. The hour comes, and the ghost walks. (35)    Horatio, frightened, futilely confronts the ghost:    What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Together with that fair and warlike form   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In which the majesty of buried Denmark   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak! (1.1)    Maynard Mack in â€Å"The World of Hamlet† maintains that Horatio’s words to the spirit â€Å"are subsequently seen to have reached beyond their contexts. . . (244). So Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet, who is home from school. Hamlet is dejected by the â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† of his mother to his uncle less than two months after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). Soon Horatio and Ma... ... Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1964. p.14-16. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/essayson.htm#demag-ess N. pag.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.   

Monday, August 19, 2019

An Organizational Study of The United States Air Force :: Business Organization Research

The United States Air Force faced a leadership vacuum with the resignation of Air Force secretary James Roche and his Undersecretary Peter Teets. The Pentagon decided to take over of the buying decisions for the Air Force since they believed that there was no one who was in the position to take on the responsibility. The Department of Defense is now taking in charge to support and to assist the Air Force Command by overseeing and providing advice on important Air Force programs during a time of transition. It was clarified however that within the next six months, a new Air Force Secretary will be appointed. At present though, the Air Force is under the temporary command of Lt. Col. Michael Rodriguez (http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/28/news/fortune500/pentagon/). All organizations whether it be in the business industry, socio-civic, private or government-regulated face the challenge of running the whole system according to the principles as well as the goals and objectives of the system. The organization normally is confronted with how it will operate accordingly to meet the expectations and put up with the responsibilities and duties of the members as well as the departments that make up the whole system. The changes in the surroundings of the workplace in the internal as well as in the external environment and affairs make influence the overall operations of the structure. The military is not an exemption in this regard even for the fact that the defense team of a country undergo regulations that are very systemic and defined. There are internal as well as external affairs, issues and problems that should be attended to in order for the whole organization to function fully and provide the necessary outputs being demanded. That i s why it is interesting to look at a certain military arm experience a challenge of change in the system to be able to fit in the constantly changing global and wide social context on which it operates. Air Force Organizational Structure Just like other organizations, the United States Air Force is composed of complicated and systematic divisions. The people in this particular service are classified not just according to ranks. Since the recruits in this defense arm came from different state with varying cultural orientation, it is but expected that the people in this service are also diverse.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

How Physical Activity Can Improve on Overall Health Essay -- essays re

How Physical Activity can Improve Overall Health and Personal Development Benefits Of Physical Activity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The benefits of exercise extend far beyond weight management. Research shows that regular physical activity can help reduce your risk for several diseases and health conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular physical activity can help protect you from the following health problems. Heart Disease and Stroke   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity. Optimizing each of these factors can provide additional benefits of decreasing the risk for Peripheral Vascular Disease. High Blood Pressure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Regular physical activity can reduce blood pressure in those with high blood pressure levels. Physical activity reduces body fat, which is associated with high blood pressure. Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By reducing body fat, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes. Obesity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body's ability to use calories. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases. Back Pain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain. Osteoporosis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disability   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Running and aerobic exercise have been shown to postpone the development of disability in older adults. Stress and anxiety management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Exercise may serve as an effective tranquilizer. Studies in adults indicate that 30 min of aerobic exercise reduces muscle tension by as much as does a dose of 400 mg o... ...low off steam’).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ the stimulus-seeking theory (the excitement and thrills resulting from physical activity satisfy the increased need for stimulation).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ the boredom theory (sport provides an alternative to occupy a time void, and by participating in physical activities, the child is too tired and too occupied to have energy left for delinquent behaviour). Character development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athletic competition does not appear to promote character development; instead, there are some studies that suggest that individuals with athletic experience have poorer attitudes toward fair play. Socially desirable behaviours such as friendliness, generosity and cooperation are inconsistent with physical activities that emphasize winning. However, physical activity may have the potential for personal growth in qualities including persistence, deeper self-reliance, commitment and motivation, and may increase resourcefulness. This is probably truer for noncompetitive physical activities than team competition. http://www.pulsus.com/Paeds/07_05/niem_ed.htm http://diabetes.about.com/cs/exercise/l/blNIHweightexer.htm

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Promoting Brand Loyalty at Abercrombie & Fitch Essay

Abercrombie and Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally. The company also operates three offshoot brands: Abercrombie, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. The company operated a post-collegiate brand, Ruehl No.925, that closed in early 2010. The company operates 1,073 stores across all four brands. The A&F brand has 316 locations in the United States, four in Canada, one in London, one in Milan, one in Tokyo, one in Copenhagen, one in Madrid, one in Paris, one in Brussels, one in Dublin, and one in Hong Kong. A&F stores range from 6,000 to 36,000 square feet. The company focuses on providing high-quality merchandise that compliments the casual classic American lifestyle. selling casual sportswear apparel, including knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, outerwear, personal care products and accessories for men, women and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, and Hollister brands. The Company determines its operating segments on the same basis that it uses to evaluate performance internally. The operating segments identified by the Company are Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks. The operating segments have been aggregated and are reported as one reportable segment because they have similar economic characteristics and meet the required aggregation criteria. The Company believes its operating segments may be aggregated for financial reporting purposes because they are similar in each of the following areas: class of consumer, economic characteristics, nature of products, nature of production processes, and distribution methods. The Company views the customer’s in-store experience as the primary vehicle for communicating the spirit of each brand. The Company emphasizes the senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and energy by utilizing visual presentation of merchandise, in-store marketing, music, fragrances, rich fabrics and it s sales associates to reinforce the aspirational lifestyles represented by the brands. The Company considers the in-store experience to be its main form of marketing. The Company emphasizes the senses to reinforce the aspirational lifestyles represented by the brands. The Company’s flagship stores represent the pinnacle of the Company’s in-store  branding efforts. The Company also engages its customers through social media and mobile commerce in ways that reinforce the aspirational lifestyle of the brands. Flagship stores and social media both attract a substantial number of international consumers, and have significantly contributed to the Company’s worldwide status as an iconic brand. The in-store marketing is designed to convey the principal elements and personality of each brand. The store design, furniture, fixtures and music are all carefully planned and coordinated to create a shopping experience that reflects the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister or Gilly Hicks lifestyle. The Company’s sales associates and managers are a central element in creating the atmosphere of the stores. In addition to providing a high level of customer service, sales associates and managers reflect the casual, energetic and aspirational attitude of the brands. Every brand displays merchandise uniformly to ensure a consistent store experience, regardless of location. Store managers receive detailed plans designating fixture and merchandise placement to ensure coordinated execution of the Company-wide merchandising strategy. In addition, standardization of each brand’s store design and merchandise presentation enables the Company to open new stores efficiently. The Company had net sales of $2.929 billion for the fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2010, down 15.9% from $3.484 billion for the fifty-two weeks ended January 31, 2009. Operating income for Fiscal 2009 was $117.9 million, which was down from $498.3 million in Fiscal 2008. Net income from continuing operations was $79.0 million and net income per diluted share from continuing operations was $0.89 in Fiscal 2009, compared to net income from continuing operations of $308.2 million and net income per diluted share from continuing operations of $3.45 in Fiscal 2008. Net income per diluted share from continuing operations included non-cash, store-related asset impairment charges of $0.23 and $0.06 for Fiscal 2009 and Fiscal 2008, respectively. Net cash provided by operating activities, the Company’s primary source of liquidity, was $402.2 million for Fiscal 2009. This source of cash was primarily driven by results from operations adjusted for non-cash items including depreciation and amortization and impairment charges. The Company used $175.5 million of cash for capital expenditures and had proceeds from the sale of marketable securities of $77.5 million during Fiscal 2009. The Company’s Market Share may be  Adversely Impacted at any Time by a Significant Number of Competitors. The sale of apparel and personal care products is a highly competitive business with numerous participants, including individual and chain fashion specialty stores, as well as regional and national department stores. The Company faces a variety of competitive challenges, including maintaining favorable brand recognition and effectively marketing its products to consumers in several diverse demographic markets. And sourcing merchandise efficiently and countering the aggressive promotional activities of many of the Company’s competitors without diminishing the aspirational nature of the Company’s brands and brand equity. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to compete successfully in the future. The science of the Deal Ch.7 Genentech is a biotechnology corporation, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer.   Today, Genentech has the biggest market capitalization in biotech at US $88 billion, with an incredible reputation in drug development, especially in oncology, and a number of blockbuster drugs under its belt. Genentech has multiple products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions. In March 2009, Genentech became a member of the Roche Group, and Genentech now serves as the headquarters for all Roche pharmaceutical operations in the United States. Accordingly, the list below includes products which were previously marketed as Roche products that are now being marketed by Genentech in the United States. Genentech’s relationship with Roche Holding began in 1990, when the Swiss company bought a 60 percent stake in Genentech for $2.1 billion. As a result of additional stock purchases and sell offs, Roche owned about 56perce nt of Genentech in 2008. The success of Genentech as a biotechnology company is indeed in no small part derived from its strategy of forming alliances with smaller companies, whose proprietary drugs and technology platforms have the potential to become blockbusters. The commercialized drug, called Tarceva, is a drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and several other  types of cancer, which was released in 2004 and quickly acquired blockbuster status. It is marketed in the United States by Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals and elsewhere by Roche. In lung cancer, it extends life by an average of 3.3 months at a cost of CDN$95,000. Historically, this approach has brought Genentech great rewards, particularly in the field of oncology, and now the company is hoping to achieve similar success in new therapeutic areas. To support small companies with promising technologies and/or drugs in development that are at too early a stage for licensing. In this way, Genentech has developed a highly competitive approach, singling out small companies with enormous future potential and establishing mutually beneficial relationships at the earliest possible stage. A significant proportion of the Genentech pipeline has always consisted of proprietary technology platforms and drug candidates, and its brave approach to R&D spending reflects this. In 2003, 24% of Genentech’s revenues were directed into R&D, to address the top-heavy position of its pipeline at the time. To balance resource use with the strongest likelihood of success, Genentech continuously evaluates its pipeline products in order to determine which are the most promising projects to move through the many phases of clinical testing. The pipeline includes both breakthrough innovations and new indications for existing, well understood products that may fight more than one disease or more than one form of a disease.