Essay about The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire - 1790 Words

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, The Arab-Israeli conflict began in earnest. As the years went on and the conflict escalated it gradually shifted from a large scale Arab–Israeli issue to the more personal Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The issue that divided both parties is primarily a territorial concern based on secular belief. Zionists belief that God had made a covenant with the Jewish people to return them to the Land of Canaan or the Biblical Promise land (Christian Zionists share sympathize with the Jews, based on common backgrounds). Yet in the Quran, as espoused by the Prophet Muhammad, the lands of Jerusalem are said to be the holiest of all Arabic lands. Three movements would develop in response to these deep†¦show more content†¦They were met by a community of Arabs people who believed they had as much of a right to the territory as the Zionists did â€Å"Zionism is a nationalist movement that seeks the creation of a homeland, in effect a nation-state, for the Jews (Lesch 25) For over two thousand years, the Jewish people experienced a Diaspora (exile) that dispersed them across the glove, but they never gave up their goal of returning to their biblical homeland. The movement was founded in the late 19th century by mostly secular Jews as a response to the rising anti-Semitism across Europe. The proverbial straws that broke the camel’s back were the Dreyfus affair in France and the massacres (pogroms) of Jews in the Russian Empire. Theodore Hertzl a sympathetic journalist reacted to these events by encouraging a Jewish migration, proposing the ottoman Palestine as a possible option (39-43). While the movement would become increasingly secular many preeminent Jewish thinkers saw Zionism as the potential bridge that would create harmony between not only â€Å"religion and life† but between â€Å"religious tradition and the demands of the modern world. (25)† Zionism was birthed out of a religious need and because of this has been unable toShow MoreRelatedThe Collapse Of The Ottoman Empire Essay1838 Words   |  8 Pages1914, Ottoman Empire has been technologically and economically crippled. The empire was confronted with so many issues, such as corruption and decadence. For reasons, which only the rulers of the empire know, perhaps, the fate of Ottoman Empire has been much better if clearer empyreal investments were made to confront the issues faced by the empire. 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Budgeting is a key component in management short and long term

Essays on Budgeting is a key component in management short and long term planning Essay Budgeting is a key component in management short and long term planning The planning phase is the first step in building anything. Every project starts with planning. The project turns out to be a success if everything goes according to plan but everything may not go according to plan and certain severe measures need to be taken sometimes to compensate the loss that has occurred and this is the major role of the management. They need to come up with a feasible plan that would guarantee the success of the project. Plans can either be short term or long term but there are several factors that hold supreme importance in either case. One of these factors is the budget which can influence every other factor involved in a particular project. Budget is simply a quantitative measure of future plans. A budget can help in planning and controlling. Planning relates to the compliance with the goals of the entity and controlling is associated with the performance of its operations. Budgeting involves allotting a monetary amount to the various operations or departments of an entity. The monetary amount assigned to a particular operation or department becomes its cost. This cost comes with the fulfillment of the goals of the department or operation. Budget can primarily affect the quality of work and the time required for the completion of the task and if these two are affected undesirably then it in turn can lead to adverse decision making. Therefore, budgeting is a key element of the planning phase. A well-defined plan captures all the necessary details of the operation based on the historical and forecasted data. In allotting the budget, compromises have to be made between other factors of the performance since the budget, in most cases, is limited. Budget has to capture the feasible cost of the operation else it can seriously harm the success of a project. Cost is analyzed on the basis of market research and economic trends. Now in most cases, efficiency and quality of a project face a trade-off which can be dealt with in the form of the allotted budget. Budget decides how much to spend on a particular activity or item which decides the quality of work. Budget should not be too low or too high as it can create serious problems and it all depends on how well the management has planned the project. Budgeting provides management the ability to make decisions regarding technological needs, capital increment, overheads and borrowing. These factors are necessary in the smooth running of a unit. Technology needs to be updated on regular basis in order to compete. Management needs to be certain whether it is meeting its overheads or not. Budgeting provides the tools to analyze these processes and indicate whether there is an imperative need to cut costs or raise capital whether through equity or loans. This way budgeting would serve as a planning tool. Budgets can be chopped up into smaller unit of time to measure the performance of work. The actual cost can be cross-checked with the budgeted cost so that the actual performance of the work can be measured. Budgets can also give rise to certain schedules according to which the work has to be done. This was the budget serves as a scheduling or performance measurement tool. If the performance is not as expected, then budgeting can help the management in taking relevant decisions in order to increase the chances of success. Ultimately the project has to fulfill its goals which may be closely tied to the quantitative measure produced during the planning phase. The application of budgeting can extend in short term as well as long term planning. It can be assessed on a yearly basis to compare past performance with the current performance. It can also help in forecasting certain crucial information. Budget provides the management with the first step in following a plan. It gives the management something to build on. Budgeting sets the targets for corporation and companies. Budgeting helps model the three key performance indicators of a business entity which are sales, cost and working capital. Based on this information the management can identify and solve issues. So in essence, budgeting can solve various problems that can occur during the achievement of the project’s goals. It can help control finances and expenditure, in decision making, measuring performance. Above all it can assure the management about the financial feasibility of its current and future products. A raw form of the budget can be used to perform cost benefit analysis which in certain cases can also assist in make or buy decision. It is an easy yet effective tool to use. Summarizing what has been discussed above; budgeting provides the management with numerous benefits like managing money, meeting objectives, decision making, allocation of resource, monitoring performance, forecasting data, identifying problems and future planning. All in all budgeting can make a considerable difference in the success of a plan. Works Cited ICAEW. (n.d.). Business budgeting. Retrieved from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074416965r.l1=1073858790r.l2=1073858944r.l3=1074416511r.s=sc The importance of budgeting. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.alpern.com/importance-budgeting-article.php The importance of budgeting. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.finweb.com/financial-planning/the-importance-of-budgeting.html

Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Market †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Market. Answer: Introduction Sainsbury is the second largest chain of Supermarkets in United Kingdom. It is a very old supermarket in UK as it was founded in the year 1869 and was founded by John James Sainsbury. It belongs to retailing industry. There are 1,415 all around UK. The Supermarket is mostly UK based. Big stores of Sainsbury have 30,000 product lines. The company is planning to expand its business in other countries of Europe, for this a market research is needed to be conducted. The countries that the Supermarket is considering for carrying its expansion strategies are, Ireland, Lithuania and Czech Republic. The following report consist PESTEL analysis of Supermarket industry in Ireland, Lithuania and Czech Republic. VRIO model of Sainsbury has been discussed in this report. Various opportunities and threats of Sainsbury has been discussed. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Sainsbury has also been discussed. The target market selected for carrying out the expansion strategy in the future would be Ireland. Ireland is selected for the expansion strategy even after political instability because, despite of political instability Ireland is a promising target market. It is a growing economy. The lifestyle of people are changing people now prefer to by products from supermarkets. The most important reason for choosing Ireland is the country that has more purchasing power than Lithuania and Czech Republic. Supermarket industry is one of the growing industries in Ireland. The economic environment of Ireland is favorable for Sainsbury. The income class of Ireland is increasing which is giving scope for the business to grow and hence it would be beneficial for Sainsbury. Sainsbury offers a variety of health related products, juices, health drinks, fruits and vegetables. The growing trend that is making the people health conscious is making Sainsbury most suitable for customers of Ireland. The econ omic condition of Ireland is largely affected by the Euro zone crisis. The economic condition of any country plays a pivotal role in deciding which country is to be selected. The economic condition of Ireland is not good enough but there are chances that it might improve in the future times. The economic state the purchasing power of the country is affected right now but it will be improved because there will be growth in employment. People look for cheaper products and substitutes of the products. The customers avoid so most of the products in the super markets because they opt for substitutes or some other brand that is comparatively cheaper. The economy range of Sainsbury provides products of slightly cheaper range, they also offer discount in even premium range products so there are chances that the middle class might be attracted to Sainsbury. After Brexit businesses were affected to a great deal because it hit the economic condition of the country. It hit the growth, the trade between Ireland and UK was affected. Before Brexit the conomic condition of Ireland was favorable and even the economists suggest that the economy of the country will improvise gradually and once it happens there is a scope for growth of businesses. Employment generation has incresed. Many products were imported from UK so after the Brexit import taxes were applied on the products that would be imported from UK. The export rate has lowered down that has lead to less spending of the companies and the employees are affected. Sainsbury has been fulfilling the needs of the customers throughout the world. Brexit has disturbed the political condition of Ireland but Government is planning and strategizing to make amendments and policies will be implemented so that businesses would flourish. Another thing that attracts foreign investors is that Government of Ireland encourages foreign investors, FDI is very beneficial for the economic growth of the country. It will be beneficial for the people because it will help in employment generation and that is the reason why Government promotes FDI. The supply chain in the sector of retail and supermarket is very efficient so choosing Ireland for expansion strategy is a very wise decision. It would be very easy to allocate resources for the Supermarket. The tax regulation of Ireland is not much liberated than the tax regulation systems of other countries. Sainsbury is looking for a country that has a lot of potential for growth so that in future it would be good for the Supermarket to flourish its business. The forecasting of the future trends of Ireland are very positive and it would allow business of the supermarket to flourish in the future, though many people prefer buying online but it cannot be applied for all the products of Sainsbury. People do not prefer to buy fruits and vegetables online. There quality of products matters the most then people generally prefer buying products by checking it. There are many online portals and it becomes difficult to decide from where to buy, which portal is providing the best quality of the product. In such scenario buying products from the stores is the best option and hence those who are quality conscious always buy things from stores and not online. Food items are those products that hav e to be of good quality. Opportunities for Sainsbury in Ireland Sainsbury can expand its business in Ireland as it is a country which is growing constantly. The macro economic conditions of the country are very favorable for the business to grow and develop in the future. Sainsbury can open a number of retail stores in many cities of Ireland and not just in Dublin. The people of Dublin have good purchasing power because there most of the people belong to the working class. Another opportunity for Sainsbury is that it can hire local people, because there are skilled people looking for employment opportunities. Sainsbury usually gets its products imported from UK, the distribution channel in Ireland is very good. Sainsbury can provide fresh fish for its customers because in Ireland it is very easy to get fresh fish and other agro based products. Sainsbury has a scope of collaboration with the local small retailers so that it can include a variety of products into its supermarkets and it will be beneficial for its supply chain management. This parti cular industry of retails has a great opportunity, scope for attracting investors and FDIs which will be very beneficial as it would help in improvising of products and services resulting in increased number of customers. The main threat that the company is facing is that there is lot of competition that the company is facing from other Supermarkets like Woolworths and Tesco. This companies are also very much liked by the customers for the value they are providing to its customers. Another threat that is faced by the country is due to technological change. The online portals to some extent have limited the customers of Sainsbury. In order to save their time they are buying products online. Customers have become more aware then before and they are opting products that are cheaper, they usually compare the products and its features and buy that product that according to theme suits their budget. Porters five forces model Threat of new entrants- Supermarket industry is a growing industry and the threat of new entrants is one of the major concerns of the company because many new businesses try to enter the market and try to imitate the product and services that are already offered. They do not do any innovation but their business flourishes because they follow the pioneers of the business. They usually offer cheaper rates and hence attract some of the customers and make them switch to other brands. The industries where there is growth there are chances of threat of new entrants, same is with Supermarkets, there is great scope of growth and hence many new entrants are lured towards entering the market. It attracts investors, which can both be a threat or and an opportunity, if investors plan to invest in Sainsbury it will be an opportunity for the company and if the investors plan to invest in the competitors business it will be a threat for the growth of Sainsburys business. Threat of Substitutes- The threat of the supermarkets are the retailers, it happens that when the price of original product is increased customers switch to its substitutes. Substitutes are generally of cheaper price. If the customers think that buying from supermarket is costlier than buying from retail stores, they might switch towards the retailers. There are substitutes to individual products as well, if the price of certain goods and commodities are increased there are chances that people switch to its substitutes that might not be available at Sainsbury. Another threat associated with the substitutes is that competitors might reduce the price of the substitutes of the products available at Sainsbury and therefore the customers of Sainsbury might switch to competitors like ASDA and Tesco. Bargaining power of Customers- There is tremendous power of the buyers which makes the firms to reduce prices. It affects the business. It can be seen a lot in Supermarkets like Sainsbury where there are offers for customers and they buy products at cheaper rates. This shows the bargaining power of customers. Customers often compel the companies to lower the prices by offering discounts or giving freebies. The customers today easily switch to any other brand or company, which they think, has better services it is very difficult to retain customers when there is so much option available to them and hence Supermarkets often offer discounts and attractive offers to their customers. Bargaining power of Suppliers- The bargaining power of suppliers are also known as market inputs. The suppliers of raw materials, labor force and financial institutions exercise power over the firms there are often situation that firm has no choice and have to agree to the terms and price of the suppliers. This affects the business a lot and supermarket business needs many suppliers, they have to negotiate and bargain with the suppliers. Every organization wants to work with the suppliers and hence they agree to the terms of the suppliers in order to retain them. Industry rivalry- The competitors are the main threats to Sainsbury. The competitors of Sainsbury are Tesco and ASDA because they also sell similar products in the similar product ranges. Sainsbury is facing a harsh competition from Tesco, which is also preferred by many customers. They compare the prices of the products and based on that choose the desired Supermarket, the product range provided by Tesco is also divided into various ranges which belong to category of economy and premium. This creates conflict in the preferences of the customers and they decide between the two supermarkets, then the customers do the comparison very keenly which often results in their choosing Tesco (Adebanjo 2016). Sainsbury is a supermarket and is the second largest supermarket in UK. Several attributes are involved in making Sainsbury one of the best supermarkets. The wide range of products that are offered by Sainsbury are available at comparatively cheaper price this makes it favorite for the customers. Sainsbury offers a wide range of product that includes local supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sainsbury run interesting campaigns and offers good prices for their customers (Lawrence and Dixon 2015). Sainsbury also imports some of its products from other parts of Europe like France, Germany and Spain. Exporting involves a large amount of cost. One of the major drawback is that Sainsbury do not have expansion plans, it is mostly UK based. In scenario of any issues with food retailing in UK, Sainsbury will surely suffer a lot (Knott 2015). VRIO model Value- Sainsbury has been one of the finest supermarkets in the world, the value it has created has helped in increasing its customer base in many countries. The company has been able to create a good will in the society for a number of reasons. The organization is taking care of the environmental issues that needs to be addressed. The issue of Carbon emission by the supermarkets with open freezer has raised a lot of concerns. Sainsbury since then has stopped using open freezers in many of its Supermarkets to reduce the carbon emissions from its end. The supply chain of the company is very efficient, it imports some of it products form UK but all the fruits, vegetables, meat and fishes are usually form the local market. The company has been awarded for providing fresh food products to its customers. The employees of the company are very efficient as they pay attention to the requirements of their customers. The efficient staff members of the supermarket are also one of the value crea tion reason of the company (Homburg, Stierl and Bornemann 2013). Rareness- Sainsbury provides local fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. Though some of its products are being imported from UK, other products are being taken from the local farmers. This particular initiative is taken for the welfare of the local farmers and also making their customers happy by providing them fresh agro products. Most of the Supermarkets have stale fish products but Sainsbury provides fresh fishes because they are usually from the local markets. Apart from that Sainsbury also gives exciting offers to their customers especially in the health drinks for its health conscious customers (Hughes and Merton 2014). It is the quality that they provide is difficult to be achieved and this is the reason why customers prefer Sainsbury over other Supermarket. Sainsbury is offering a wide range of products to its Customers. The Unique selling proposition of Sainsbury is that it provides good quality of products at a price that it is lower than its competitors. To maintain a low price is an attribute that cannot be easily found in any other businesses because the aim of very business is profit maximization. (Josefy et al. 2015). The Nectar Loyalty card of Sainsbury which was introduced in the year 2002. Under this, scheme customers earn points from everything they buy from Sainsbury. For every pound that the customers spend, they get one point. Another very interesting advertising campaign of Sainsbury is Active Kids. Annually Sainsbury runs voucher scheme for the local organizations so that equipments for sports and other activities can be redeemed. Customers of Sainsbury can earn their vouchers from their shopping when they donate to any organization they choose which credits to their account so that it can be spent on items from the catalogue (Aluko and Knight 2017). Organization- Sainsbury as an organization is very capable and efficient in effectively utilizing all the resources that is available to them. Sainsbury is one of the largest supermarket chains in United Kindom. With a variety of products that caters for its customers that includes, food products of their own brand, there are over 6,500 different product line. There are also premium quality food brands in 1100 different product lines. The supply chain of Sainsbury is operated from 13 different regional distribution centers and there are two national distribution centers for goods that move at slower rate. There are two frozen food facilities. The market share captured by Sainsbury is 16. 9%. There are three divisions of the company, Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, Sainsbury Bank and Sainsburys Argos (Howes 2013). Various modes of Entry There are a variety of modes of entry that Sainsbury Supermarket can choose for entering ionto another market in any another country and can expand its business. This strategy is also known as expansion strategy. The various modes of entry are Exporting is the process through which good and services produced in a country is sold to another country. There are two types of exporting direct exporting and indirect exporting. Direct exports- Direct mode of exporting is the basic mode of exporting is the most commonly mode of entering another market. The main feature of direct export is that there is no requirement of intermediaries. Passive exports refer to treating and filling overseas orders like domestic orders. Indirect exports- Indirect export is the process of exporting with the help of domestic intermediaries. In indirect export the export do not have any control over their products. In this entry strategy international licensing agreement is made that lets the foreign firms to have exclusive or non exclusive facility for manufacturing another proprietors product for a period that has been already fixed. In this strategy the licensor in the home country gives limited rights or limited resources to the licensee. The rights and the resources available to the licensee are patents, trademarks, managerial skills, technology and others that will make the selling or manufacturing in the home country. In this strategy there is no requirement of opening a business overseas (Glasson, Therivel and Chadwick 2013). In this business strategy the semi independent business owners also known as franchisees has to pay a fees and royalties to a parent company, which gives the franchisees the right to be identified with its trademark, in order to sell the product and services of the foreign and also use the business format system of the parent company. In this type of projects the clients hire contractors for designing and construction of new facilities and train the manpower. Process is used to transfer or export the process and technology to another country. In this projects the companies can make a plant in any foreign country and earn profits (Sniukas and Morasky 2016). Under this strategy there are two types of modes, Greenfield Investment and the other one is acquisitions. In Green field investment new and wholly owned subsidiaries are established. Acquisitions are another mode which is the most common entry strategy because of its quick and easy access. (Fernie, Fernie and Moore 2015). The aim of the joint ventures is, market entry, risk or reward sharing, technology sharing, and joint product development. It also has some other advantages like, political connections and distribution channels. Joint ventures are created by two or more parties, both the parties in Joint venture share ownership. Joint ventures are generally seen in the Oil and gas industry (Taylor 2013). Amongst all the market entry strategies, the best market entry strategy for Sainsbury would be to Franchising. Sainsbury can open franchisees in Ireland it would not cost much but would be very beneficial for the company to earn significant amount of profit. It is one of the best methods of expansion and it is most commonly used. There are many advantages of market franchising (Wilson, Alexander and Lumbers 2014). Capital has always been the most common barrier for entering in to another country because a significant amount of Cost is involved. If Sainsbury opts franchising as a market entry strategy then the Supermarket will not have to invest a he capital because it does not have a risk of debt or cost equity. The cost involved in opening the store will be invested by the franchisee, the franchisor can grow can grow without having to invest or pay the capital establishing the business, Sainsbury will only have to sign lease and make different contracts. It is an expansion strategy does not have any liability. The franchise will be beneficial for both Sainsbury and the party selected as franchisee. It provides independency to the frachisee, they get already made products and services. It is attractive to the customers, they can expect quality from the store that is associated to the business. Banks are also very supportive towards franchising therefore capital is not much of an issue in Franc hising. Another market entry that can be opted is licensing. Sainsbury can give license to operate in its name in another country, the benefits of licensing are Issuing a licensee to another party gives immediate earnings, the agreement requires various guaranteed revenue for licensing company. The licensee has to to pay for holding license (Kol? 2014). The licensing will provide Sainsbury to promote its supermarket in Ireland. This offers brand credibility and recognition benefits. It helps the brand to get additional support. The entry to market of any other country is very quick and easy. The capital requirements in licensing requirement are very less. There is a scope of large returns on investment in licensing which can be received in a very short span of time. The risk involved in licensing is like franchising, very less (Castao, Mndez and Galindo 2015). Another market entry strategy could be partnering. Sainsbury can partner with other supermarket chains that operate in Ireland or it can partner with any other retail in Ireland. They can offer their products to the retail store, or get partnered with local suppliers, so that the problem of supplies of fresh fruits, vegetables and fishes does not occur. One of the major advantages of Partnering is that Sainsbury will not have to bear the risk alone neither will it have to invest a huge capital in opening the business in another country (Leih and Teece 2014). Conclusion Sainsbury is one of the best Supermarket in United Kingdom, it has been catering the needs of its customers from the past 150 years. This has made the company create a customer base in United Kingdom. It is mostly operational in UK. The company is not extended in many parts of Europe. It is very important for Sainsbury to expand its business beyond UK in order to grow and expand its business. Out of the three countries, Ireland has been selected for expansion through either franchising or licensing. Ireland is selected because the country is a growing in terms of economy. Though the political condition is little disturbed but the government is always welcoming the foreign investors, the tax system also makes it easier to choose Ireland for expanding the business. Another factor is that the lifestyle of people has changed and they like buying from Supermarkets because they can buy many things at a single store. Since it is preferred by people so it is clear that there is a scope for t he business to flourish in Ireland. References Adebanjo, D., 2016. Understanding customer satisfactiona UK food industry case study.British Food Journal,103(1), pp.36-45. Aluko, O. and Knight, H., 2017. From corner store to superstore: a historical analysis of Sainsburys co-evolution.Journal of Management History, (just-accepted), pp.00-00. Castao, M.S., Mndez, M.T. and Galindo, M.., 2015. The effect of social, cultural, and economic factors on entrepreneurship.Journal of Business Research,68(7), pp.1496-1500. Fernie, J., Fernie, S. and Moore, C., 2015.Principles of retailing. Routledge. Glasson, J., Therivel, R. and Chadwick, A., 2013.Introduction to environmental impact assessment. Routledge. Homburg, C., Stierl, M. and Bornemann, T., 2013. Corporate social responsibility in business-to-business markets: how organizational customers account for supplier corporate social responsibility engagement.Journal of Marketing,77(6), pp.54-72. Howes, M., 2013.Politics and the Environment: Risk and the Role of Government and Industry. Routledge. Hughes, D. and Merton, I., 2014. Partnership in produce: the J Sainsbury approach to managing the fresh produce supply chain.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,1(2), pp.4-6. Josefy, M., Kuban, S., Ireland, R.D. and Hitt, M.A., 2015. All things great and small: Organizational size, boundaries of the firm, and a changing environment.Academy of Management Annals,9(1), pp.715-802. Knott, P.J., 2015. Does VRIO help managers evaluate a firms resources?.Management Decision,53(8), pp.1806-1822. Kol?, M., 2014. An Analysis of the Marketing Strategy of a Select Company in the Czech Republic. Lawrence, G. and Dixon, J., 2015. 11. The political economy of agri-food: Supermarkets.Handbook of the International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food, p.213. Leih, S. and Teece, D., 2014. Market Entry Strategies. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. Sniukas, M., Lee, P. and Morasky, M., 2016.The Art of Opportunity: How to Build Growth and Ventures Through Strategic Innovation and Visual Thinking. John Wiley Sons. Taylor, P.G., 2013. Understanding the Marketing Environment.Principles of Marketing: A Value-Based Approach, pp.25-70. Wilson, L.C., Alexander, A. and Lumbers, M., 2014. Food access and dietary variety among older people.International Journal of Retail Distribution Management,32(2), pp.109-122.

Purchasing Management and their Effectiveness

Question: Discuss about the Purchasing Management and their Effectiveness. Answer: Introduction Purchasing can be considered as the first phase of the management of the materials. The procurement of services and goods from the external agencies can be regarded as purchasing. The aim of the assignment is to reflect the role of purchase management in an organization. The assignment also deals with the aspects of purchasing management and their effectiveness (Baily, 2013). The items that are purchased have to be of certain specific quality in required quantities that are available at that particular time and at a price that is competitive. The organization for the analysis is KFC where I have been handling the responsibility as the purchase manager. KFC is considered to be the largest and the best-known restaurant that deals with chicken specifically. KFC has approximately around 10 thousand locations and is spread across over 80 countries (KFC, 2017). The employees of KFC and those who are franchised are almost 200 thousand throughout the globe. It was in 1964 when KFC was purchased by Jerry Messy and John Y Brown for the USA for $ 2 million and that made KFC was established as a corporation (KFC, 2017). Colonel bought 100 shares after duration of 5 years. Then in 1986 KFC was purchased by Pepsi. The logo of KFC was altered by Pepsi in 1991 to KFC from Kentucky fried chicken (KFC, 2017). Later in 1992, the 90th restaurant of KFC was opened in the land of China and the 100th restaurant in Japan. KFC happens to be a side-line of Tricon global restaurant which is the largest group of restaurant in the world serving in al most 100 nations across the globe. Later in 1997, it spun off to be renamed as Yum! Brands. McDonald's is one of the global competitors of KFC. The Admiralty Place in Woodlands Avenue 6, Singapore has KFC franchised which has objectives and aims as to enhance its share percentage in the fast food market. It also aims at improving the profit margins every year to sponsor the company's growth (KFC, 2017). Supplier selection criteria and issues Among the major objectives and aims of KFC is that it runs its campaign is ways that KFC develops the image in the customers' minds that its customers would desire to go to KFC and should be the first choice of every customer. This brand wants to become the first chosen eatery as they being the first choice of customers can help it in boosting the business. This would result in maximum utility and profit (Chao, 2014). Selection Criteria Quality The objectives of the purchasing department are to provide responsive and efficient services so as to obtain products and services of high quality at costs that are reasonable. The objectives of the purchasing department include the purchase of goods efficiently to the maximum possible extent (Christopher, 2016). Providing continuous and high-quality services to the customers is one of the goals of the management of purchase at KFC. Innovative The appropriate criteria for supplying to KFC is to have a strict system of approval and management of suppliers which among the most challenging and thorough systems that have been experienced during managing the department. The suppliers should be selected, rewarded and assessed through the Supplier Tracking Assessment and Recognition system (STAR) (Ellram Cooper, 2014). This will assist the global suppliers to work according to the specified standards and in provisions for independent assessment so as to supplement the audit program. Better Policy Practice Providing oversight, problem solution and guidance to other departments of KFC and to ensure that the purchasing procedures and policies are complied with, is the goal of this department. To clarify, streamline and simplify the process of purchase in KFC involves the purchasing practice by all the employees the most consistent (Ghobadian et al., 2016). Control on Purchasing Activity Provision of an economy in purchasing activities in order to get the value of the return in best possible extent is one of the objectives of the purchasing department. To endure equitable and fair treatment to all individuals related to KFC such as its employees, suppliers, and customers is among the priorities of the brand (Johnsen, Howard Miemczyk, 2014). Having Better Implementation Process The implementation, development, administration of special programs regarding surplus sales and providing a platform for updates of all the future procedures and policies are also the responsibilities of the purchasing department (Kanapathy et al., 2016). Controls for food safety that include pest control, hygiene, facility management, operations, food security and recovery along with product protection are the suggested criteria that should be kept in mind while selecting a supplier (Lu, 2014). Selector Issues Issues arising during supplier selection include group failure as while not being able to manage efficiently when there are multiple good choices of potential suppliers. The management needs to be systematic and categorized in handling the suppliers efficiently in order to have proper purchase (Monczka et al., 2015). Not being able to collect factual information because of over assured of opinions and assumptions can create hindrance in having proper purchase. Thus, proper information about the suppliers should be obtained. ICT for Purchasing Operation The information and communication technology in KFC involves the processes that utilize the technology of internet for the simplification of specific activities in KFC so as to boost up the productivity and efficiency. ICT allows KFC to have communications in easier ways with the suppliers, buyers, and customers. ICT in the purchasing operations can be regarded as the marriage between the operations associated with purchase and the Internet. This marriage does transform many processes in the supply chain, right from purchase and procurement to the management of customers and production (O'Brien, 2015). To introduce and adopt ICT in KFC along with the diffusion of the Internet among the customers have definitely resulted in good comfort level and familiarity with the electronic technologies in various aspects. Involvement of information technology or the activity of purchase using ICT has come out to be a crucial tool for management in order to enhance the supply chain performance. Th e Internet is an ICT that has been utilized in every relationship that is related business to business (Rong et al., 2015). The advent of the internet made it possible to have a quick and efficient management of various relationships in KFC. Some of these associations include the purchasing of goods that are semi-finished, equipment and components, interaction with the wholesalers, providing service through technology and taking new resources. New techniques result in impacts on the services and products in improved ways. Technology is very much crucial in competing with the other competitors (Schweiger, 2015). Companies do keep eyes on their competitors and the new technologies that they use in the market. Complementing the SCM product line, quick service solution has been developed so as to replace prevailing RSS systems that are in use currently. The solution has been executed in Admiralty Place in Singapore (Spina et al., 2013). The application that is front end operates on a display that is touch screen and is completely integrated with the supply chain management, thus, offering functionality that is end to end by attending to the needs of the restaurant and the entire cycle of the sale at the counter, inventory and purchase management. KFC has a more efficient delivery system than its global competitor McDonalds irrespective of the fact that McDonald's has better machinery for cooking. Thus, KFC has faster delivery service (Tate et al., 2016). The KFC outlets in Singapore use email and telephone services for better communication with the head office. This assists them in planning the strategies, getting instructions and sharing ideas for improving and maintaining the business as these are the two communication ways that are faster and cost effective. The point of sale is the location that is physical where the goods are sold out to the customers. The point of sales is the software terminal that is the replacement of computer for a cash register. It is more intricate and sophisticated than the conventional cash resistors (Schweiger, 2015). It is a software system that includes the ability to track the orders of the customers, credit cards processes and inventory management. The point of sale which includes all the hardware and software is installed in all the KFC outlets. The tools that assist in increasing the accuracy of the orders, development of seed of service and enhancing the level of satisfaction of the customers with the technical solutions that span the complete organization, right from the front counter to the office at the back, furthermore beyond the organization. Purchasing Cost Analysis The purchasing costs are the financial costs that are needed for an investor to invest and the cost becomes the cost basis for the investor for calculating profit or loss when the investment is sold. The cost of purchase includes any sales or commission charges that are paid for the investment along with the average cost weighted that is used to purchase multiple times of the same security. The most important part of the business is to undertake the regular purchase analysis to ensure that the best use of capital is been done (Tate et al., 2016). The more huge the organization grows, the purchasing needs get more complex and hence, delivery times should be analyzed maverick spending and if the best use of the suppliers is been done. Comparison of competitive bids is one of the best means of validating the costs. By asking three or more than three suppliers about the costs of the same product, determination of the reasonability of the product can be done (Spina et al., 2013). Though, it does not prevent the total costs analysis. The lowest cost may always not be represented by the lowest bid. Analysis of total cost of acquisition must be done. There are possibilities of the cost being associated with products of lower costs so at to perform according to the standards, the extra costs for early substitution or the redesigning or testing costs that are needed to make the product of lower cost applicable. The total acquisition costs are the cost in the real sense that has to be compared. Prior quotations comparisons are also a tool for purchase costs analysis. In certain situations, the comparison of recent quotations for a particular service in order to determine the current quotation is found to be the most effective. This is mostly used in the cases where the acquisition timing is critical along with the competitive quotes being solicited result in delaying of the procurement (Tate et al., 2016). The method of comparison of the list of the published price should only be applied when the materials that are mostly similar to the services and items that are available to the general customers and the price has to appear in the published list of the price. While comparing these lists of costs, it is crucial to consider the discounts of the standard industry for the purchasers to do a specific dollar or volume of quantity (Zimmermann Foerstl, 2014). These types of discounts must only be taken into account when the list costs and the noted in the documentation of the purchase are being compared. The costs are set by regulation or law in some cases. There is mostly a "pronouncement" of a certain form that helps in referencing the cost structure. This method can be used during the purchase of such items. These methods do find application for analysis of purchasing costs in KFC. Conclusion The purchase management of KFC is briefly described in the assignment. The significance of purchase management as experienced being the manager of the department has been illustrated. The aspects of the management of purchase and measures needed to enhance the effectiveness of the purchase management are clearly stated. Emphasis has been given to the selection of the supplier. Imbuing strict criteria for selection of suppliers is been illustrated. Focus on the issues cropping up during the selection of the suppliers is also described. Along with the issues, the decisions that should be made so as to resolve the unexpected issues arising during the suppliers' selection are illustrated in brief. The role of Information and Communication System in the purchase management of an organization is reflected. The role of Information and Communication Systems in the operations associated to purchase has been described. The goals and requirements for purchase are reflected. The focus is also given to the purchase costs analysis. The tools used for the analysis of the costs related to purchasing are discussed briefly that find application in the organization. The recommendations for the analysis of the issues related to purchasing management are also provided in the assignment. References Baily, P. J. (2013). Purchasing and supply management. Springer. Chao, W.S.,(2014). Enterprise Architecture of Purchasing Management: SBC Architecture Description Language in Practice. Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics supply chain management. Pearson UK Ellram, L. M., Cooper, M. C. (2014). Supply chain management: It's all about the journey, not the destination. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), 8-20. Ghobadian, A., Stainer, A., Liu, J., Kiss, T. (2016). A computerised vendor rating system. In Developments in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (pp. 103-112). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Johnsen, T., Howard, M., Miemczyk, J. (2014). Purchasing and supply chain management: a sustainability perspective. Routledge. Kanapathy, K., Yee, G. W., Zailani, S., Aghapour, A. H. (2016). An intra-regional comparison on RoHS practices for green purchasing management among electrical and electronics SMEs in Southeast Asia. International Journal of Procurement Management, 9(3), 249-271. KFC: Finger Lickin Good. (2017). KFC: Finger Lickin Good. [online] Available at: https://www.kfc.com [Accessed 3 Feb. 2017]. Lu, A. C. (2014). Research on Enterprise Architecture of Purchasing Management Monczka, R. M., Handfield, R. B., Giunipero, L. C., Patterson, J. L. (2015). Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning. O'Brien, J. (2015). Category management in purchasing: a strategic approach to maximize business profitability. Kogan Page Publishers. Rong, T., Yanhui, C., Yuan, L., Jie, J., Yanqin, C. (2015). Countermeasure Study and Influencing Factors Analysis on Teaching and Scientific Research Equipment Purchasing Management in Universities and Colleges. China Modern Educational Equipment, 1, 001. Schweiger, J. (2015). Development of a Purchasing and Supply Management Maturity Framework. OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, 8(1), 11-21. Spina, G., Caniato, F., Luzzini, D., Ronchi, S. (2013). Past, present and future trends of purchasing and supply management: An extensive literature review. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(8), 1202-1212. Tate, W., Fawcett, S., Schoenherr, T., Ashenbaum, B., Carter, C., Bals, L. (2016). Purchasing Supply Management. Weele, A. J., Raaij, E. M. (2014). The future of purchasing and supply management research: About relevance and rigor. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), 56-72. Zimmermann, F., Foerstl, K. (2014). A Meta?Analysis of the Purchasing and Supply Management PracticePerformance Link. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(3), 37-54.

Voting Rights History and Challenges

Democracy is always defined by the citizens’ right to vote meaning that it will not be in existence if they are denied such an aspect. In this case, they should be free to choose their leaders and government as a whole. The founders of America did not believe in universal suffrage as expected but this has been improving as time goes by.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Voting Rights History and Challenges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the initial stages, voters were required to own property and this therefore excluded 60% of the population from voting. As much as this was dropped, the 1800s saw a lot of women and slaves being excluded from voting (Stout, 2009, p. 29). The ratification of 1870 can be described as a major achievement because it secured voting in a broad way. The exclusion of women from voting continued up to 1920 when the country was able to grant all its citizens universal suffrage (St out, 2009, p. 15). This was mostly after the nineteenth amendment and later on the Indian citizenship act that gave a lot of people some citizenship rights. In this case, all Native Americans were grated some citizenship which was a big achievement. As much as this had been reviewed, people’s right to vote was still being governed by the state through different laws. Despite these developments, some states still barred Native Americans to vote. In 1964, the qualifications for an individual to be eligible as a voter were reviewed. This means that various poll taxes and normal literacy tests were done away with. It should be known that this was enhanced by the twenty-fourth amendment. Later on, in 1971 the legal age that was needed for a citizen to qualify as a voter was lowered. This meant that a person of 18 years of age was eligible to vote in any election. 1976 saw the voting rights act make a provision for translations to people who did not understand English as far as ele ction materials are concerned (Finley, 2008, p. 35). In relation to all these constitutional achievements, many people have come to appreciate the fact that United States provides for ultimate universal suffrage. As time has gone by, the law has insisted that any new state laws should be reviewed and approved by the country’s chief legal officer. There is legal protection in relation to universal suffrage but the mentally incompetent have been excluded from voting which is acceptable. These are good developments that are likely to enhance universal suffrage but different people have argued that it is not enough. This means that all citizens should be effectively represented in government for long term sustainability in relation to democracy.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are various challenges to fair and equal voting practices that need to be sorted out in elections a t various levels. This can be either at the federal, state and local levels of elections. Representative democracy has emerged as a challenge that needs to be sorted out because there are people who might be chosen to represent the interests of voters as leaders yet they fail in their duties. Oppressive attitudes have been seen in various areas and this will limit equal voting rights in relation to administrative positions (Stout, 2009, p. 54). Another challenge to fair and equal voting practices is political redistricting practices because this is likely to weaken the gains that have been made in the past years. It should be known that voters’ rights have been protected by amendments to the constitution but poll worker recruitment might end up challenging the minority vote (Finley, 2008, p. 68). There is an argument that equal and sustainable education has not been achieved in the country and this does not provide an equal electoral opportunity. Reference List Finley, K. (20 08). Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight against Civil Rights, 1938-1965. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Stout, D. (2009). Justices Let Stand a Central Provision of Voting Rights Act. New York: The New York Times. This essay on Voting Rights History and Challenges was written and submitted by user Danna V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

5 Ways to Write an A+ Capstone Research Paper

5 Ways to Write an A+ Capstone Research Paper 5 Ways to Write an A+ Capstone Research Paper To cut a long story short, here are 5 sure ways to write an A+ deserving Capstone research paper. 1st Way: Understand and respond accurately to the topic that you have been given Understanding the title is the first step that you should do. Carefully read the title of the issue and make sure you understand what you are asked and what answers you should give. Then, gather your thoughts and write down all the concepts or keywords that you think are related to the title of the written work. This way you will form an initial, rough image of the frame of your work. After you gather some basic ideas, you can then proceed to the next step: a summary of the work is now realistic and necessary. You should now develop the concepts you marked. But beware: written work does not mean scattered ideas and information. 2nd Way: Organize the structure of your work (Checklist) You should make a synthesis of the material you have studied and give a structured response. The text should follow a logical order, which explains and guides the teacher to your own reasons. The more easily you understand the structure of your text, the more positive will be the evaluation of your written work. A thesis usually has three main parts: introduction main theme and conclusions. According to your original plan and the summary that you have written, you can start writing. The growth of import, the main subject and the conclusions are basically subjective matters. 3rd Way: Expand the subject in your own words and by your plan It is essential to develop your work with your own words; present your own ideas. Also, avoid continuous quotations, if not necessary. Copying equals failure; it is best to take notes from your study material. If notes are good, they are certainly useful; feel free to use them in your work. Your thoughts will grow much better if you follow your own words and your own expressions. If you want to add a paragraph, or thoughts of another author, then you should report the name and source of information in your script, but also in literature. It is good to quote your arguments and your thoughts in a structured way. Your job should include sections and subsections, which must be given the appropriate title. From section to section, the text must develop gradually, using inductive reasoning, to a complete argument, that will document your opinion on the requested work. 4th Way: Emphasis in the text language Your purpose is to write a text that will exude professionalism and style: Draw the structure of your document before you start writing. Write the outline view titles of sections and subsections. Structure your text around your point. Each paragraph should describe one issue. Use active voice, especially in English. Use objective language expressions. The academic work is not about personal ideas; everything should be supported by literature. 5th Way. Cornell’s Method Divide the paper into two columns. The right part must be larger. Right side: Notes Left side: Keywords Inventory Write notes on the right side. Reduction Transfer the keywords from the right to the left side. Recitation Recite information using keywords. Reflection Associate the information with your own experiences, add your own thoughts. Repeat Use the left side during the semester. Hope these ideas were useful. If you need professional writing assistance from academic experts, you can always get Capstone research paper help online at .

Managing in Mix Economy National Rail in the United Kingdom Essay

Managing in Mix Economy National Rail in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The organisation has the responsibility of the safety and well being of more than six million people travelling by railways from one part of the country to the other. The company mainly aims at keeping passengers safe and secure in their journey. This is also considered as the mission of the company. It strives hard to provide best possible services to the people of the United Kingdom who travel by train. It has been observed that the company has the vision of providing policing excellence in the country by doing the best possible work in their limit. It further believes that it is vital to have a safer environment so that people can move around freely without any fear (British Transport Company, 2013[2]). In this regard, the company engages highly trained officials who work for it 24X7 for the railway community and the millions of passengers all across the country. Moreover, the company also has certain values that it provides much importance. It has been learnt that all the passeng ers as well as the staff of the company are treated with high respect and provided equal opportunity with minimal partiality. The workers or the officers are provided with a considerably good working environment where they can perform to the utmost level of their capabilities (British Transport Company, 2013[3]). Apart from this aspect, the company is also quite strict to any kind of harassment, bullying or victimisation among their staffs and officers. It respects all communities and builds strong relationships with people of all kind irrespective of their origin and community. This enables it to get respect and trust from the people of all corners of the British society. The organisation aims to develop a workforce that can be able to depict the community they serve. It has been noticed that openness and honesty are the key aspects of the company and it strictly adheres to it (British Transport Company, 2013[4]). British Transport Police has certain strategic plans in order to ens ure that it delivers the best possible services to the people of the country. The objectives of the organisation change after every three years of its operations. For the year ranging from 2011 to 2014, the objective of the company is focused on helping the rail system of the country to run smoothly and in the safest possible environment. Continuous improvement in their operations is also among the major objectives of the company for the coming years. Apart from these, there are also certain policy plans of it that is developed every year. These policies depict its approach on how it would balance both the national as well as the local needs of the country. It has been noted that both the strategic and the policy plans of the organisation are its building blocks upon which it strives for its success. The workforce of the organisation comprises officers of different designations which include chief officers, specialists units and behind the scene support staff among others. Altogethe r the organisation has 2909 efficient officers who constantly provide effective performance for it

Applying the Principles of Instructional Design in E-Learning Research Paper

Applying the Principles of Instructional Design in E-Learning - Research Paper Example Naidu (2006) defines e-learning as â€Å"the intentional use of networked information and communications technology in teaching and learning† (p. 1). E means electronic that signifies the use of the internet in educating students. Furthermore, learning is an act of acquiring knowledge through reading, studying, and applying the skills to measure a person’s understanding of the subject. However, the learning process is rooted on the experiences of students when they use technology. These experiences, whether positive or negative, affect their cognitive understanding of the lessons. Negative experiences develop apprehension in utilizing e-learning, so it is the duty of instructional designer to motivate these students. This paper aims to develop a storyline that will be the basis in applying the principles of instructional design. Storyline The educational system has changed the process of learning through the use of the internet. E-learning has been promoted because it i s more effective in incorporating knowledge on students than ordinary classroom instructions. The students utilize e-mail as a method of communicating with their professor. E-mail contains the link to the instructional materials provided by the professor, which informs students to study. Online learning also includes reviews, tests, and assignments. Students allot time for the application of their learning and professor encourages them to meet the deadline. This method is advantageous to students because they could access their study materials anywhere provided that there is an internet connection. Students living in a rural area are provided with broadband due to the difficulty in accessing their instructional materials. The common trend is that students have their own personal computers at home, while other students rent at the internet cafes. Flexibility is the main characteristic of utilizing information and technology; thus, students can study the course materials depending on their convenient time and place. It is expected that students will get high scores, but during the checking of assignments and tests, the teacher noticed that other students have low scores and only few got an average score. The teacher marvels at the poor performance of students because this reflects to the professor’s method of teaching. Thus, the professor began to study the problems of students in coping with the new method of learning. The teacher wants to find out the problem in his teaching method and begins to investigate on the negative experience that the students encountered. The questionnaires were sent via e-mail that contains the feedback and comments of students. Upon receiving the comments, the instructor discovers that the problems are focused on the instructional materials and the technical aspect. For the instructional materials, the students comment that the learning process was very boring or the materials are not interesting. Due to the monotonous feelin g of students, they never bothered to understand the concept in the text. The result is poor performance or low scores in their assignments and tests. Another comment received by the professor is the limited value of online information. The students complained that the materials are not new, which discourage them to study seriously. The professor wonders because this is in contrast with the study of Merrill (2002) that one of the principles of instruction pertains to the â€Å"

If all countries were democracies, there would still be war Essay

If all countries were democracies, there would still be war - Essay Example Does it follow then that if all the countries in the world were democracies, there would be no war pitting one with the other Is democratic peace possible I would argue in this paper that while there is still the possibility of war in this scenario, it is less likely to occur as compared to a scenario wherein undemocratic countries exist. My line of thinking would be what Achen (1986) called as the selection-effects argument. An analysis of conflicts would show that most wars pitted one form of regime with another and that democracies tend to win more often than other political systems. They do so because they are more careful in deciding whether to initiate war. They select their position by evaluating the effects and oftentimes democracies find wars as a risky venture. The studies of deterrence of Fearon (1994) and the democratic peace by Rousseau et al. (1996) point out the role that democratic electoral institutions play in limiting the possibility of war between democracies. ... However, I do not claim that this fear eliminates the possibility of war but it does show that only when they are sure of victory would democracies involve themselves. The crucial point is that when countries do become democracies, they become more efficient in waging war because they become more cautious and conduct more evaluations on the likeliness of victory. A good example of how this works was shown in the 1898 Fashoda Crisis when democratic France evaded war with the British after their evaluation have shown them they military inferior. This shows that democracies tend to be more peaceful and diplomatic with others because their political institutions constrain leaders from pursuing belligerent foreign policies. A second argument is that democracies practices freedom of expression and offer higher quality and quantity of information. There are many benefits from the abundance of quality information one of which is enabling government agencies to make better policies. This is possible because democracies allow for the vigorous discussion of alternative and provide for an open dissemination of ideas. A free press, one of the salient features of democracies, provides another deterrent for waging war. When the media has limited government control and censorship, they are more likely to expose the flaws regarding foreign and local policies and improve governance in the process. Statistical studies conducted by Snyder (1991) and Van Evera (1994) indicate that the propensity for foolhardy wars decreases as media censorship decreases. Reiter (1995) showed in an empirical study that media expositions pressure government officials to release higher quality and less biased information. In contrast, nondemocratic regimes have

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine Abstract Background: Journal clubs` emerging goals are now considered to be teaching critical appraisal skills and learning how to use evidence based medicine in practice. Although journal clubs are well accredited, designing the right format to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge. Methods: We conducted journal club structure modifications in internal medicine residency program of a university affiliated hospital. Initially group-based sessions identified feasible changes and baseline data concerning residents` knowledge of evidence based medicine (EBM) was collected by a questionnaire. Modifications implemented and a second set of group discussions and data collection took place after 12 months. Results: Total number of 78 residents participated. The most important identified changes were schedule adjustments and setting new goals regarding EBM, medical statistics and critical appraisal teaching. Group discussion showed increased satisfaction and questionnaire assessments showed significant improvement in residents` knowledge of EBM. Conclusions: Redesigning journal clubs with emphasis on regularity and setting new horizons basically improves their effectiveness. Assigning entire sessions to augment participants` skills in new areas of knowledge is a unique way to fit journal clubs as a novel and innovative teaching practice. Practice Points Journal clubs are connecting bridges between knowledge and practice. Journal clubs have gradually evolved to be a teaching tool in modern medicine. Considering growing popularity of evidence based medicine, journal clubs can be a way to introduce this discipline into educational programs. Redesigning old journal club structure is somehow necessary to better keep up with growing knowledge of medicine. Furnishing journal clubs with innovative methods might be a reasonable way of reform. Introduction The earliest reference to the origin of the phrase journal club is in memoirs and letters of Sir James Paget, describing a small room near St. Bartholomews Hospital in London in the period 1835-1854 in which pupils met and read journals (Paget 1901). More than a century has passed since Sir William Osler started the first recorded journal club in North America in 1875 as a way of sharing periodicals he could not afford individually and later established a club at Johns Hopkins University to review the latest medical research (Alguire 1998; Sleeman 1990). Today’s journal clubs have evolved a great deal and are found in nearly every medical school and residency training program in almost all fields of medicine (Valentini Daniels 1997; Sidorov 1995; Green 1999). Traditionally journal clubs are educational meetings in which a group of individuals meet to discuss and critically evaluate the current articles in the scientific literature (Mcleod et al. 2010; SVN Research Committee 2009). The major aim of journal clubs was to keep their attendees up to date with the latest medical literature (Valentini Daniels 1997; Forsen 2003; Goodfellow 2004). Gradually they have become a means for teaching critical appraisal skills, improving biostatistical knowledge, getting familiar with epidemiologic methods and most recently promoting the practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) (Valentini Daniels 1997; SVN Research Committee 2009; Woods Winkel 1982). Critical appraisal skills and basing clinical decisions on the best published evidence available (i.e. EBM) have become an important facet in clinical medicine and are part of core general competencies required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in all residency programs (ACGME 2009; Yew Reid 2008; Carpenter et al. 2010). In the ensuing years, EBM has enjoyed widespread popularity. Today’s journal clubs are effectively assisting practitioners translate knowledge into practice and serve as an excellent bridge between research and clinical work. While journal club has been a mainstay in postgraduate medical education for many years, several authors have pointed out the diversity of its format (Alguire 1998; Sidorov 1995; Ebbert et al. 2001). The desirability of journal clubs in internal medicine has been reinforced by accreditation requirements that mandate residents` participation in journal clubs. Although the goals and purposes of journal clubs are well established, selecting the right format and setting to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge (Kelly Cronin 2010; Hartzell et al. 2009). With the growing appreciation of evidence based medicine (EBM) and its widespread application in clinical decision making, we thought of revising and implementing possible modifications in our journal club structure to improve quality of sessions and weigh their effects on our journal club program. Methods We conducted revision program into our journal club structure involving internal medicine residents attending the internal medicine residency program in a teaching university affiliated hospital. The modification process consisted of several steps. First we conducted group-based discussion sessions with participation of two clinical experts, two research experts, the program manager and chief resident. Group discussion primarily consisted of brain storming, reviewing similar works and their outcomes and sharing experiences. Five such meetings were held with main purpose of gauging current program features and identifying possible essential changes required to improve the program. Findings of these sessions then were shared with residents` delegates, 2 residents from each year, through three separate sessions. Identified feasible modifications were finally determined out of group-based discussions and implemented to make a new journal club structure. The group-based discussion took place for the second time, 12 months after executing alterations. Group participants were the same. This time the group assessed different aspects of changes made including residents` attendance, residents` satisfaction and the content of new sessions. Furthermore we measured the residents` existing knowledge of EBM by a self-reported questionnaire, designed and internally validated by the discussion group. The questionnaire consisted of three questions to assess three fields: residents` knowledge of statistical significance, their acquaintance with evidence rating and their familiarity with study design. Possible answers were as â€Å"No familiarity†, â€Å"Fair familiarity†, â€Å"Good familiarity† and â€Å"Excellent familiarity†. In order to facilitate further comparison, the first two answers were classified as cluster 1 (limited knowledge) and the two remaining answers as cluster 2 (acceptable knowledge); therefore making comparison between two clusters. Each resident was given the questionnaire before applying changes and again 12 months after running the new program. Residents` responses were also discussed in the second set of group discussion. The results were collected anonymously and data was then imported to Excel software (2010, Microsoft) for examination. We specified the distribution of answers in each cluster before and after modifications and calculated the absolute difference between them using descriptive statistics. Results Seventy-eight internal medicine residents (43 Female, 35 Male) were included into the survey. An almost even participation was observed among residents from all years of internal medicine training. Results of this study can be divided into two phases; before applying changes and after implementing modifications. Phase I Founded on the primary group-based discussions, the acknowledged key points for developing our new journal club structure encompassed program and schedule modification, adding motives, defining new goals, content revision and implementing feedback mechanisms from which, content revision was considered the most critical one. The main aspects of modifications made are explained in details. Our new schedule was designed as weekly sessions on Thursdays (the day before weekend in our country). We planned the sessions to be held from 7 to 8 in the morning (Breakfast time) and on the day with minimal educational and clinical workload to assure maximal attendance. To ensure the regularity and predictability of our program, we already scheduled the sessions for the next entire year. Holidays, exam days and residents` rotations were carefully noticed in planning the journal club calendar and the presenter for each session was specified at the beginning of the educational year. Furthermore we changed the place to a bigger room with better facilities. Also we decided to provide a mini breakfast meal during all sessions as a potential incentive that can increase participants` interest. Defining new objectives was also emphasized by group members. Therefore, we set our new goals not only to keep updated with medical literature and review the current literature, but also to introduce medical statistics to residents, encourage arguments and develop critical appraisal skills and understanding EBM. We changed the composition of our journal club participants to include relevant attending physicians, medical statisticians and experts in EBM and critical thinking as well as internal medicine residents from all levels. In order to achieve the broad goal spectrum, our reformed program consisted of two different types of sessions. Three sessions of each month were dedicated to presenting review articles and discussion about the main topic (analogous with former program). The last week of the month was devoted to evidence based journal clubs in which an original article was presented to the audience and 2 to 3 relevant articles or guidelines were also considered. The main focus of these sessions was to discuss the methodology and to point out statistical points through which critical appraisal skills were practiced and evaluation of the quality and validity of the results taught. Both types of sessions were moderated by an attending physician with experience in medical research and education background. Review article journal clubs were presented by a second year internal medicine resident employing slideshows; hence each resident was provided the opportunity to benefit from this chance at least twice a year. Evidence based journal clubs were presented by senior residents familiar with medical research and statistics and with acceptable teaching skills. These sessions were supervised by a team (at least 2 persons) of expert physicians in EBM and critical thinking skill. A support committee consisting of two senior internal medicine residents, journal club moderator and an EBM expert was formed for evaluating and choosing articles for presentation. The responsible resident had to provide up to 5 papers to the committee, who would then return one or two of them for presentation. The major selection criteria were relevancy and novelty of the topic and being in accordance with the interests of the participants. The other thing considered especially for articles to be presented in EBM sessions was being somehow controversial regarding the methodology or conclusion. At the end of each session a brief explanation was provided including critical points and a conclusion. For EBM sessions the strength and limitations of the article were also emphasized, inspiring the participants to involve in this process valuable in didactic endeavors. The conclusion of each session was then uploaded in the departmental forum of residents and interns for more discussion. Sometimes, a practical question was also provided in order to ascertain that residents have got the point correctly. Phase II Second phase results are described after 12 months of running the new program. Group-based discussion findings for new schedule clearly showed increased attendance and residents were more satisfied with the fixed and pre-defined sessions. Nonetheless we noticed that providing food was not of residents` concerns. Definition of new objectives for journal club sessions persuaded residents to participate more. Experts in the group-based discussions were also satisfied with the new content of sessions and monthly devoting an entire session to EBM and teaching statistical points and critical thinking. Regarding questionnaire assessment, final results showed that in the field of â€Å"evidence rating knowledge†, the number of residents in cluster 1 reduced from 51 to 17 and accordingly the number of residents in cluster 2 increased from 27 to 61 (43.6% absolute change regarding the total number of participants; P Similarly, before-after comparison for the field of â€Å"statistical significance acquaintance† revealed the absolute change to be 23.1%; i.e. the residents` acquaintance with concept of statistical significance was noticeably augmented, changing from limited knowledge to acceptable knowledge, in 18 residents (P Discussion Our conventional journal club structure first started in internal medicine department of Shariati hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in year 2007. Since then it was running in a small room and on a weekly basis with focus on review article presentation only. Participants were mainly residents, internal medicine interns and medical students and presenters of sessions were selected from first year residents. There are considerable studies describing journal clubs conducted in different settings and for different health providers; yet there appear to be no ‘Gold Standard’ approach for conducting a journal club or assessing its effectiveness. It is therefore an ongoing challenge in designing effective journal club format that assists the participants to translate journal club activities into evidence based practice (Deenadayalan et al. 2008). As residency programs deal with work hour restrictions and implement competency educations (Hatala et al. 2006; Goroll et al. 2004), they need to undergo intense reassessment and possible remodeling to determine if they are meeting their goals. Our questionnaire survey showed that our reformed program made significant change in residents` knowledge and the number of residents significantly shifted from low knowledge to acceptable knowledge. We postulated that holding journal clubs on a regular basis is necessary to achieve continuous educational progress and gradually obtain the desired improvement in residents` competency which is in accordance to most previous studies (Deenadayalan et al. 2008 ). Regularity of sessions basically show the importance of this type of learning, as a new method of education is being introduced to the learners (residents). On the other hand, disorderliness might suggest that the program is not so useful and coordinators are not sure of its value, which in turn will dissuade participants from joining and following the schedule. Pre-defining the whole schedule would be a great way in achieving this goal. Although fixed schedule might seems impractical for many institutes but authors assumed that accurately considering some fine points such as work hour’s prerequisites before scheduling the program may be helpful. In addition, this would assist participants to adjust their time and for presenter to know their schedule and being prepared for that. Regarding best frequency, according to most of studies reporting this, it seems that monthly period is endorsed (Letterie Morgenstern 2000; Burstein et al. 1996). Our reformed structure had a weekly basis, though our new EBM sessions were held monthly, not to shrink residents` enthusiasm for participating in these educational gatherings. Some studies have shown that timing of journal clubs might be of importance considering attendance, especially when they were coincided with meal times (Bazarian et al. 1999; Langkamp et al. 1992). While they advised provision of food as a way to increase attendance, our group-based discussions and residents feedbacks did not show such relation. This might be due to . Authors believed that forward movement without adding new goals and/or lacking enough motivation would not be successful in improving participants` competency. Increasing knowledge of medical statistics and understanding EBM were the primary new objectives of our program which is demonstrated to be well achieved regarding our survey. Participants of journal clubs must be in accordance to the aims and contents of the program. Similar to Hartzell (2009), authors think that inviting attending physicians and involving senior residents may contribute to fulfillment of journal club objectives. This composition would facilitate the arguments and give space for better discussion and reaching a practical point. Assigning an entire separate session to introduction of this new area would also be of great benefit, since innovative thinking and learning new skills necessitates more time. New educational goals for residency programs now include conduction of problem oriented sessions, evidence based journal clubs and also experiencing critical appraisal. Considering that almost all of medical education programs have introduced journal clubs as a routine in their curricula, we thought of it as a useful tool to familiarize our residents with better interpreting medical literature, critical thinking and evidence based medicine. This approach has been supported by previous researches (Hatala et al. 2006; Ghali et al. 2000). Although this survey showed promising results and improvement in residents` knowledge and participation, our results are far from perfect. Yet we must increase our efforts to recognize subtle obstacles and further improve effectiveness of journal club. Conclusion In conclusion, journal clubs are of great value in today`s medical education addressing both clinical practice and evidence based learning improvement. Yet there is no gold standard to achieve the best result with this regard. We have enjoyed revolutionizing our traditional structure of journal clubs and furnishing it with novel objectives and construction and noticed significant improvement in attendance and competency of our internal medicine residents. Declaration of interest The authors report no declarations of interest.

Capital Punishment And Christianity :: essays research papers

Capital punishment has been stated as ‘murder in its worst form’ barbaric, disgusting, unusual and completely unnecessary. Should Christians really support the death penalty? Many Christians believe that the Bible has spoken to the issue, but others believe that the New Testament ethic of love replaces the Old Testament law. Some early Christian writers who discussed capital punishment were absolutely opposed to it. Christians were instructed to not execute a criminal, to not attend public executions and even to not lay a charge against a person if it might eventually result in their execution. One example is Lactantius (260 to 330 AD) who is primarily known for his books, ‘Introduction to true Religion’ and ‘The Divine Institutes’. He wrote in The Divine Institutes, Book 6, Chapter 20: â€Å"When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits the violence that is condemned by public laws, but he also forbids the violence that is deemed lawful by men. Thus it is not lawful for a just man to engage in warfare, since his warfare is justice itself. Nor is it [lawful] to accuse anyone of a capital offence. It makes no difference whether you put a man to death by word, or by the sword. It is the act of putting to death itself which is prohibited. Therefore, regarding this precept of God there should be no exception at all. Rather it is always unlawful to put to death a man, whom God willed to be a sacred creature.† Abolitionists believe that the offender should be required to compensate the victim’s family with the offender’s income from employment or community service. Their thinking is that someone can do more alive than dead. By working, the criminal inadvertently ‘pays back’ society and also the victim and/or the victim’s family. There is no reason for the criminal to receive any compensation for his work. Money is of no value in jail. One of the most well known examples of the criminal contributing to the betterment of society is the case of Leopold and Loeb. Leopold and Loeb were nineteen years old when they committed ‘The Crime of the Century’. In 1924 they kidnapped and murdered a fourteen year old boy just to see what it was like. They were both spared the death penalty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Together, their accomplishments include working at hospitals, teaching ill-iterates to read, creating a correspondence school, making si gnificant developments in the World War II Malaria Project and writing a grammar book.

Forward the Foundation Chapter 3

4 There was a short silence again, but only because thoughts are silent. Seldon's were tumultuous enough. Yes, it was true. His wife did seem to have an uncanny knowledge of robots. Hari had wondered about this so often over the years that he had finally given up, tucked it away in the back of his mind. If it hadn't been for Eto Demerzel-a robot-Hari would never have met Dors. For Dors worked for Demerzel; it was Demerzel who â€Å"assigned† Dors to Hari's case eight years ago to protect him during his flight throughout the various sectors of Trantor. Even though now she was his wife, his help-meet**, his â€Å"better half,† Hari still occasionally wondered about Dors's strange connection with the robot Demerzel. It was the only area of Dors's life where Hari truly felt he did not belong-nor welcome. And that brought to mind the most painful question of all: Was it out of obedience to Demerzel that Dors stayed with Hari or was it out of love for him? He wanted to believe the latter-and yet†¦ His life with Dors Venabili was a happy one, but it was so at a cost, at a condition. The condition was all the more stringent, in that it had been settled not through discussion or agreement but by a mutual unspoken understanding. Seldon understood that he found in Dors everything he would have wanted in a wife. True, he had no children, but he had neither expected any, nor, to tell the truth, had greatly wanted any. He had Raych, who was as much a son of his emotionally as if he had inherited the entire Seldonian genome-perhaps more so. The mere fact that Dors was causing him to think about the matter was breaking the agreement that had kept them in peace and comfort all these years and he felt a faint but growing resentment at that. But he pushed those thoughts, the questions, away again. He had learned to accept her role as his protector and would continue to do so. After all, it was he with whom she shared a home, a table, and a bed-not Eto Demerzel. Dors's voice brought him out of his reverie. â€Å"I said-Are you sulking, Hari?† He started slightly, for there was the sound of repetition in her voice, and he realized he had been shrinking steadily deeper into his mind and away from her. â€Å"I'm sorry, dear. I'm not sulking. Not deliberately sulking. I'm just wondering how I ought to respond to your statement.† â€Å"About robots?† She seemed quite calm as she said the word. â€Å"You said I don't know as much about them as you do. How do I respond to that?† He paused, then added quietly (knowing he was taking a chance), â€Å"That is, without offense.† â€Å"I didn't say you didn't know about robots. If you're going to quote me, do so with precision. I said you didn't understand about robots. I'm sure that you know a great deal, perhaps more than I do, but to know is not necessarily to understand.† â€Å"Now, Dors, you're deliberately speaking in paradoxes to be annoying. A paradox arises only out of an ambiguity that deceives either unwittingly or by design. I don't like that in science and I don't like it in casual conversation, either, unless it is meant humorously, which I think is not the case now.† Dors laughed in her particular way, softly, almost as though amusement were too precious to be shared in an overliberal manner. â€Å"Apparently the paradox has annoyed you into pomposity and you are always humorous when you are pompous. However, I'll explain. It's not my intention to annoy you.† She reached over to pat his hand and it was to Seldon's surprise (and slight embarrassment) that he found that he had clenched his hand into a fist. Dors said, â€Å"You talk about psychohistory a great deal. To me, at any rate. You know that?† Seldon cleared his throat. â€Å"I throw myself on your mercy as far as that's concerned. The project is secret-by its very nature. Psychohistory won't work unless the people it affects know nothing about it, so I can talk about it only to Yugo and to you. To Yugo, it is all intuition. He's brilliant, but he is so apt to leap wildly into darkness that I must play the role of caution, of forever pulling him back. But I have my wild thoughts, too, and it helps me to be able to hear them aloud, even†-and he smiled-â€Å"when I have a pretty good notion that you don't understand a word I'm saying.† â€Å"I know I'm your sounding board and I don't mind. I really don't mind, Hari, so don't begin making inner resolutions to change your behavior. Naturally I don't understand your mathematics. I'm just a historian-and not even a historian of science. The influence of economic change on political development is what is taking up my time now-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, and I'm your sounding board on that or hadn't you noticed? I'll need it for psychohistory when the time comes, so I suspect you'll be an indispensable help to me.† â€Å"Good! Now that we've settled why you stay with me-I knew it couldn't be for my ethereal beauty-let me go on to explain that occasionally, when your discussion veers away from the strictly mathematical aspects, it seems to me that I get your drift. You have, on a number of occasions, explained what you call the necessity of minimalism. I think I understand that. By it, you mean-â€Å" â€Å"I know what I mean.† Dors looked hurt. â€Å"Less lofty, please, Hari. I'm not trying to explain to you. I want to explain it to myself. You say you're my sounding board, so act like one. Turnabout is fair play, isn't it?† â€Å"Turnabout is fine, but if you're going to accuse me of loftiness when I say one little-â€Å" â€Å"Enough! Shut up! You have told me that minimalism is of the highest importance in applied psychohistory; in the art of attempting to change an undesired development into a desired one or, at any rate, a toss undesired one. You have said that a change must be applied that is as minute, as minimal, as possible-â€Å" â€Å"Yes,† said Seldon eagerly, â€Å"that is because-â€Å" â€Å"No, Hari. I'm trying to explain. We both know that you understand it. You must have minimalism because every change, any change, has a myriad of side effects that can't always be allowed for. If the change is side effects too many, then it becomes certain that the outcome will be far removed from anything you've planned and that it would be entirely unpredictable.† â€Å"Right,† said Seldon. â€Å"That's the essence of a chaotic-effect. The problem is whether any change is small enough to make the consequence reasonably predictable or whether human history is inevitably and unalterably chaotic in every respect. It was that which, at the start, made me think that psychohistory was not-â€Å" â€Å"I know, but you're not letting me make my point. Whether any change would be small enough is not the issue. The point is that any change greater than the minimal is chaotic. The required minimum may be zero, but if it is not zero, then it is still very small-and it would be a major problem to find some change that is small enough and yet is significantly greater than zero. Now, that, I gather, is what you mean by the necessity of minimalism.† â€Å"More or less,† said Seldon. â€Å"Of course, as always, the matter is expressed more compactly and more rigorously in the language of mathematics. See here-â€Å" â€Å"Save me,† said Dors. â€Å"Since you know this about psychohistory, Hari, you ought to know it about Demerzel, too. You have the knowledge but not the understanding, because it apparently doesn't occur to you to apply the rules of psychohistory to the Laws of Robotics.† To which Seldon replied faintly, â€Å"Now I don't see what you're getting at. â€Å"He requires minimality, too, doesn't he, Hari? By the First Law of Robotics, a robot can't harm a human being. That is the prime rule for the usual robot, but Demerzel is something quite unusual and for him, the Zeroth Law is a reality and it takes precedence even over the First Law. The Zeroth Law states that a robot can't harm humanity as a whole. But that puts Demerzel into the same bind in which you exist when you labor at psychohistory. Do you see?† â€Å"I'm beginning to.† â€Å"I hope so. If Demerzel has the ability to change minds, he has to do so without bringing about side effects he does not wish-and since he is the Emperor's First Minister, the side effects he must worry about are numerous, indeed.† â€Å"And the application to the present case?† â€Å"Think about it! You can't tell anyone-except me, of course-that Demerzel is a robot, because he has adjusted you so that you can't. But how much adjustment did that take? Do you want to tell people that he is a robot? Do you want to ruin his effectiveness when you depend on him for protection, for support of your grants, for influence quietly exerted on your behalf? Of course not. The change he had to make then was a very tiny one, just enough to keep you from blurting it out in a moment of excitement or carelessness. It is so small a change that there are no particular side effects. That is how Demerzel tries to run the Empire generally.† â€Å"And the case of Joranum?† â€Å"Is obviously completely different from yours. He is, for whatever motives, unalterably opposed to Demerzel. Undoubtedly, Demerzel could change that, but it would be at the price of introducing a considerable wrench in Joranum's makeup that would bring about results Demerzel could not predict. Rather than take the chance of harming Joranum, of producing side effects that would harm others and, possibly, all of humanity, he must leave Joranum alone until he can find some small change-some small change-that will save the situation without harm. That is why Yugo is right and why Demerzel is vulnerable.† Seldon had listened but did not respond. He seemed lost in thought. Minutes passed before he said, â€Å"If Demerzel can do nothing in this matter, then I must.† â€Å"If he can do nothing, what can you do?† â€Å"The case is different. I am not bound by the Laws of Robotics. I need not concern myself obsessively with minimalism. And to begin with, I must see Demerzel.† Dors looked faintly anxious. â€Å"Must you? Surely it wouldn't be wise to advertise a connection between the two of you.† â€Å"We have reached a time where we can't make a fetish of pretending there is no connection. Naturally I won't go to see him behind a flourish of trumpets and an announcement on holovision, but I must see him.† 5 Seldon found himself raging at the passage of time. Eight years ago, when he had first arrived on Trantor, he could take instant action. He had only a hotel room and its contents to forsake and he could range through the sectors of Trantor at will. Now he found himself with department meetings, with decisions to make, with work to do. It was not so easy to dash off at will to see Demerzel-and if he could, Demerzel also had a-full schedule of his own. To find a time when they both could meet would not be easy.** Nor was it easy to have Dors shake her head at him. â€Å"I don't know what you intend to do, Hari.† And he answered impatiently, â€Å"I don't know what I intend to do, either, Dors. I hope to find out when I see Demerzel.† â€Å"Your first duty is to psychohistory. He'll tell you so.† â€Å"Perhaps. I'll find out.† And then, just as he had arranged a time for the meeting with the First Minister, eight days hence, he received a message on his department office wall screen in slightly archaic lettering. And to match that was the more than slightly archaic message: I CRAVE AN AUDIENCE WITH PROFESSOR HARI SELDON. Seldon stared at it with astonishment. Even the Emperor was not addressed in quite that centuries-old turn of phrase. Nor was the signature printed as it usually was for clarity. It was scripted with a flourish that left it perfectly legible and yet gave it the aura of a careless work of art dashed off by a master. The signature was: LASKIN JORANUM. It was Jo-Jo himself, craving an audience. Seldon found himself chuckling. It was clear why the choice of words-and why the script. It made what was a simple request a device for stimulating curiosity. Seldon had no great desire to meet the man-or would have had none ordinarily. But what was worth the archaism and the artistry? He wanted to find out. He had his secretary set the time and the place of the appointment. It would be in his office, certainly not in his apartment. A business conversation, nothing social. And it would come before the projected meeting with Demerzel. Dors said, â€Å"It's no surprise to me, Hari. You hurt two of his people, one of them his chief aide; you spoiled a little rally he was holding; and you made him, in the person of his representatives, seem foolish. He wants to take a look at you and I think I had better be with you.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I'll take Raych. He knows all the tricks I know and he's a strong and active twenty-year-old. Although I'm sure there'll be no need for protection.† â€Å"How can you be sure?† â€Å"Joranum is coming to see me on the University grounds. There will be any number of youngsters in the vicinity. I'm not exactly an unpopular figure with the student body and I suspect that Joranum is the kind of man who does his homework and knows that I'll be safe on home territory. I'm sure that he will be perfectly polite-completely friendly.† â€Å"Hmph,† said Dors with a light twist of one corner of her lip. â€Å"And quite deadly,† Seldon finished. 6 Hari Seldon kept his face expressionless and bent his head just sufficiently to allow a sense of reasonable courtesy. He had taken the trouble to look up a variety of holographs of Joranum, but, as is often the case, the real thing, unguarded, shifting constantly in response to changing conditions, is never quite the same as a holograph-however carefully prepared. Perhaps, thought Seldon, it is the response of the viewer to the â€Å"real thing† that makes it different. Joranum was a tall man-as tall as Seldon, at any rate-but larger in other directions. It was not due to a muscular physique, for he gave the impression of softness, without quite being fat. A rounded face, a thick head of hair that was sandy rather than yellow, light blue eyes. He wore a subdued coverall and his face bore a half-smile that gave the illusion of friendliness, while making it clear, somehow, that it was only an illusion. â€Å"Professor Seldon†-his voice was deep and under strict control, an orator's voice-â€Å"I am delighted to meet you. It is kind of you to permit this meeting. I trust you are not offended that I have brought a companion, my right-hand man, with me, although I have not cleared that with you in advance. He is Gambol Deen Namarti-three names, you notice. I believe you have met him.† â€Å"Yes, I have. I remember the incident well.† Seldon looked at Namarti with a touch of the sardonic. At the previous encounter, Namarti had been speaking at the University Field. Seldon viewed him carefully now-under relaxed conditions. Namarti was of moderate height, with a thin face, sallow complexion, dark hair, and a wide mouth. He did not have Joranum's half-smile or any noticeable expression-except for a sense of cautious wariness. â€Å"My friend Dr. Namarti-his degree is in ancient literature-has come at his own request,† said Joranum, his smile intensifying a bit, â€Å"to apologize.† Joranum glanced quickly at Namarti-and Namarti, his lips tightening just at first, said in a colorless voice, â€Å"I am sorry, Professor, for what happened at the Field. I was not quite aware of the strict rules governing University rallies and I was a little carried away by my own enthusiasm.† â€Å"Understandably so,† said Joranum. â€Å"Nor was he entirely aware of your identity. I think we may all now forget the matter.† â€Å"I assure you, gentlemen,† said Seldon, â€Å"that I have no great desire to remember it. This is my son, Raych Seldon, so you see I have a companion, too.† Raych had grown a mustache, black and abundant-the masculine mark of the Dahlite. He had had none when he first met Seldon eight years before, when he was a street boy, ragged and hungry. He was short but lithe and sinewy and his expression was the haughty one he had adopted in order to add a few spiritual inches to his physical height. â€Å"Good morning, young man,† said Joranum. â€Å"Good morning, sir,† said Raych. â€Å"Please sit down, gentlemen,† said Seldon. â€Å"May I offer you something to eat or drink?† Joranum held up his hands in polite refusal. â€Å"No, sir. This is not a social call.† He seated himself in the place indicated. â€Å"Though I hope there will be many such calls in the future.† â€Å"If this is to be about business, then let's begin.† â€Å"The news reached me, Professor Seldon, of the little incident that you have so kindly agreed to forget and I wondered why you took the chance of doing what you did. It was a risk, you must admit.† â€Å"I didn't think so, actually.† â€Å"But I did. So I took the liberty of finding out everything I could about you, Professor Seldon. You're an interesting man. From Helicon, I discovered.† â€Å"Yes, that's where I was born. The records are clear.† â€Å"And you've been here on Trantor for eight years.† â€Å"That is also a matter of public record.† â€Å"And you made yourself quite famous at the start by delivering a mathematical paper on-what do you call it?-psychohistory?† Seldon shook his head very slightly. How often he had regretted that indiscretion. Of course, he had had no idea at the time that it was an indiscretion. He said, â€Å"A youthful enthusiasm. It came to nothing.† â€Å"Is that so?† Joranum looked around him with an air of pleased surprise. â€Å"Yet here you are, the head of the Mathematics Department at one of Trantor's greatest Universities, and only forty years old, I believe. I'm forty-two, by the way, so I don't look upon you as very old at all. You must be a very competent mathematician to be in this position.† Seldon shrugged. â€Å"I wouldn't care to make a judgment in that matter.† â€Å"Or you must have powerful friends.† â€Å"We would all like to have powerful friends, Mr. Joranum, but I think you will find none here. University professors rarely have powerful friends or, I sometimes think, friends of any kind.† He smiled. And so did Joranum. â€Å"Wouldn't you consider the Emperor a powerful friend, Professor Seldon?† â€Å"I certainly would, but what has that to do with me?† â€Å"I am under the impression that the Emperor is a friend of yours.† â€Å"I'm sure the records will show, Mr. Joranum, that I had an audience with His Imperial Majesty eight years ago. It lasted perhaps an hour or less and I saw no signs of any great friendliness in him at the time. Nor have I spoken to him since-or even seen him-except on holovision, of course.† â€Å"But, Professor, it is not necessary to see or speak to the Emperor to have him as a powerful friend. It is sufficient to see or speak to Eto Demerzel, the Emperor's First Minister. Demerzel is your protector and, since he is, we may as well say the Emperor is.† â€Å"Do you find First Minister Demerzel's supposed protection of me anywhere in the records? Or anything at all in the records from which you can deduce that protection?† â€Å"Why search the records when it is well known that there is a connection between the two of you. You know it and I know it. Let us take it then as given and continue. And please†-he raised his hands-â€Å"do not take the trouble to give me any heartfelt denials. It's a waste of time.† â€Å"Actually,† said Seldon, â€Å"I was going to ask why you should think that he would want to protect me. To what end?† â€Å"Professor? Are you trying to hurt me by pretending to think I am a monster of naivete? I mentioned your psychohistory, which Demerzel wants.† â€Å"And I told you that it was a youthful indiscretion that came to nothing.† â€Å"You may tell me a great many things, Professor. I am not compelled to accept what you tell me. Come, let me speak frankly. I have read your original paper and have tried to understand it with the help of some mathematicians on my staff. They tell me it is a wild dream and quite impossible-â€Å" â€Å"I quite agree with them,† said Seldon. â€Å"But I have the feeling that Demerzel is waiting for it to be developed and put to use. And if he can wait, so can I. It would be more useful to you, Professor Seldon, to have me wait.† â€Å"Why so?† â€Å"Because Demerzel will not endure in his position for much longer. Public opinion is turning against him steadily. It may be that when the Emperor wearies of an unpopular First Minister who threatens to drag the throne down with him, he will find a replacement. It may even be my poor self whom the Emperor's fancy will seize upon. And you will still need a protector, someone who can see to it that you can work in peace and with ample funds for whatever you need in the way of equipment and assistants.† â€Å"And would you be that protector?† â€Å"Of course-and for the same reason that Demerzel is. I want a successful psychohistoric technique so that I can rule the Empire more efficiently.† Seldon nodded thoughtfully, waited a moment, then said, â€Å"But in that case, Mr. Joranum, why must I concern myself in this? I am a poor scholar, living a quiet life, engaged in out-of-the-way mathematical and pedagogical activities. You say that Demerzel is my present protector and that you will be my future protector. I can go quietly about my business, then. You and the First Minister may fight it out. Whoever prevails, I have a protector still-or, at least, so you tell me.† Joranum's fixed smile seemed to fade a bit. Namarti, at his side, turned his dour face toward Joranum and made as though to say something, but Joranum's hand moved slightly and Namarti coughed and did not speak. Joranum said, â€Å"Dr. Seldon. Are you a patriot?† â€Å"Why, of course. The Empire has given humanity millennia of peace-mostly peace, at any rate-and fostered steady advancement.† â€Å"So it has-but at a slower pace in the last century or two.† Seldon shrugged. â€Å"I have not studied such matters.† â€Å"You don't have to. You know that, politically, the last century or two has been a time of turmoil. Imperial reigns have been short and sometimes have been shortened further by assassination-â€Å" â€Å"Even mentioning that,† put in Seldon, â€Å"is close to treason. I'd rather you didn't-â€Å" â€Å"Well, there.† Joranum threw himself back in his seat. â€Å"See how insecure you are. The Empire is decaying. I'm willing to say so openly. Those who follow me do so because they know only too well it is. We need someone at the Emperor's right hand who can control the Empire, subdue the rebellious impulses that seem to be arising everywhere, give the armed forces the natural leadership they should have, lead the economy-â€Å" Seldon made an impatient stopping motion with his arm. â€Å"And you're the one to do it, are you?† â€Å"I intend to be the one. It won't be an easy job and I doubt there would be many volunteers-for good reason. Certainly Demerzel can't do it. Under him, the decline of the Empire is accelerating to a total breakdown.† â€Å"But you can stop it?† â€Å"Yes, Dr. Seldon. With your help. With psychohistory.† â€Å"Perhaps Demerzel could stop the breakdown with psychohistory-if psychohistory existed.† Joranum said calmly, â€Å"It exists. Let us not pretend it does not. But its existence does not help Demerzel. Psychohistory is only a tool. It needs a brain to understand it and an arm to wield it.† â€Å"And you have those, I take it?† â€Å"Yes. I know my own virtues. I want psychohistory.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"You may want it all you please. I don't have it. â€Å"You do have it. I will not argue the point.† Joranum leaned closer as though wishing to insinuate his voice into Seldon's ear, rather than allowing the sound waves to carry it there. â€Å"You say you are a patriot. I must replace Demerzel to avoid Imperial destruction. However, the manner of replacement might itself weaken the Empire desperately. I do not wish that. You can advise me how to achieve the end smoothly, subtly, without harm or damage-for the sake of the Empire.† Seldon said, â€Å"I cannot. You accuse me of knowledge I do not possess. I would like to be of assistance, but I cannot.† Joranum stood up suddenly. â€Å"Well, you know my mind and what it is I want of you. Think about it. And I ask you to think about the Empire. You may feel you owe Demerzel-this despoiler of all the millions of planets of humanity-your friendship. Be careful. What you do may shake the very foundation of the Empire. I ask you to help me in the name of the quadrillions of human beings who fill the Galaxy. Think of the Empire.† His voice had dropped to a thrilling and powerful half-whisper. Seldon felt himself almost trembling. â€Å"I will always think of the Empire,† he said. Joranum said, â€Å"Then that is all I ask right now. Thank you for consenting to see me.† Seldon watched Joranum and his companion leave as the office doors slid open noiselessly and the men strode out. He frowned. Something was bothering him-and he was not sure what it was. 7 Namarti's dark eyes remained fixed on Joranum as they sat in their carefully shielded office in the Streeling Sector. It was not an elaborate headquarters; they were as yet weak in Streeling, but they would grow stronger. It was amazing how the movement was growing. It had started from nothing three years back and now its tentacles stretched-in some places more thickly than others, of course-throughout Trantor. The Outer Worlds were as yet largely untouched. Demerzel had labored mightily to keep them content, but that was his mistake. It was here on Trantor that rebellions were dangerous. Elsewhere, they could be controlled. Here, Demerzel could be toppled. Odd that he should not realize that, but Joranum had always held to the theory that Demerzel's reputation was overblown, that he would prove an empty shell if anyone dared oppose him, and that the Emperor would destroy him quickly if his own security seemed at stake. So far, at least, all of Joranum's predictions had come to pass. He had never once lost his way except in minor matters, such as that recent rally at Streeling University in which this Seldon fellow had interfered. That might be why Joranum had insisted on the interview with him. Even a minor toe stub must be taken care of. Joranum enjoyed the feeling of infallibility and Namarti had to admit that the vision of a constant string of successes was the surest way of ensuring the continuation of success. People tended to avoid the humiliation of failure by joining the obviously winning side even against their own opinions. But had the interview with this Seldon been a success or was it a second stub of the toe to be added to the first? Namarti had not enjoyed having been brought along in order to be made to humbly apologize and he didn't see that it had done any good. Now Joranum sat there, silent, obviously lost in thought, gnawing at the edge of one thumb as though trying to draw some sort of mental nourishment from it. â€Å"Jo-Jo,† said Namarti softly. He was one of the very few people who could address Joranum by the diminutive that the crowds shouted out endlessly in public. Joranum solicited the love of the mob in this way, among others, but he demanded respect from individuals in private, except for those special friends who had been with him from the start. â€Å"Jo-Jo,† he said again. Joranum looked up. â€Å"Yes, G.D., what is it?† He sounded a little testy. â€Å"What are we going to do about this Seldon fellow, Jo-Jo?† â€Å"Do? Nothing right now. He may join us.† â€Å"Why wait? We can put pressure on him. We can pull a few strings at the University and make life miserable for him.† â€Å"No no. So far, Demerzel has been letting us go our way. The fool is overconfident. The last thing we want to do, though, is to push him into action before we are quite ready. And a heavy-handed move against Seldon may do it. I suspect Demerzel places enormous importance on Seldon.† â€Å"Because of this psychohistory you two talked about?† â€Å"Indeed.† â€Å"What is it? I have never heard of it.† â€Å"Few people have. It's a mathematical way of analyzing human society that ends by predicting the future.† Namarti frowned and felt his body move slightly away from Joranum. Was this a joke of Joranum's? Was this intended to make him laugh? Namarti had never been able to work out when or why people expected him to laugh. He had never had an urge to. He said, â€Å"Predict the future? How?† â€Å"Ah? If I knew that, what need would I have of Seldon?† â€Å"Frankly I don't believe it, Jo-Jo. How can you foretell the future? It's fortune-telling.† â€Å"I know, but after this Seldon broke up your little rally, I had him looked into. All the way. Eight years ago, he came to Trantor and presented a paper on psychohistory at a convention of mathematicians and then the whole thing died. It was never referred to again by anyone. Not even by Seldon.† â€Å"It sounds as though there were nothing to it, then.† â€Å"Oh no, just the reverse. If it had faded slowly, if it had been subjected to ridicule, I would have said there was nothing to it. But to be cut off suddenly and completely means that the whole thing has been placed in the deepest of freezes. That is why Demerzel may have been doing nothing to stop us. Perhaps he is not being guided by a foolish overconfidence; perhaps he is being guided by psychohistory, which must be predicting something that Demerzel plans to take advantage of at the right time. If so, we might fail unless we can make use of psychohistory ourselves.† â€Å"Seldon claims it doesn't exist.† â€Å"Wouldn't you if you were he?† â€Å"I still say we ought to put pressure on him.† â€Å"It would be useless, G.D. Didn't you ever hear the story of the Ax of Venn?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"You would if you were from Nishaya. It's a famous folktale back home. In brief, Venn was a woodcutter who had a magic ax that, with a single light blow, could chop down any tree. It was enormously valuable, but he never made any effort to hide it or preserve it-and yet it was never stolen, because no one could lift or swing the ax but Venn himself. â€Å"Well, at the present moment, no one can handle psychohistory but Seldon himself. If he were on our side only because we had forced him, we could never be certain of his loyalty. Might he not urge a course of action that would seem to work in our favor but would be so subtly drawn that, after a while, we found ourselves quite suddenly destroyed. No, he must come to our side voluntarily and labor for us because he wishes us to win.† â€Å"But how can we bring him around?† â€Å"There's Seldon's son. Raych, I think he's called. Did you observe him?† â€Å"Not particularly.† â€Å"G.D., G.D., you miss points if you don't observe everything. That young man listened to me with his heart in his eyes. He was impressed. I could tell. If there's one thing I can tell, it is just how I impress others. I know when I have shaken a mind, when I have edged someone toward conversion.† Joranum smiled. It was not the pseudowarm ingratiating smile of his public demeanor. It was a genuine smile this time-cold, somehow, and menacing. â€Å"We'll see what we can do with Raych,† he said, â€Å"and if, through him, we can reach Seldon.†