Ladron de la mente book report

This book was written by Elias Miguel Munoz, Cuban American writer, who wrote series of books in Spanish language for people, who learn Spanish. He was born in 1954 and is known as editor, teacher and literary critic. He was a talented student as well. Elias Miguel was a man of society, he always thinks about the future generations and makes everything in order to support talented youth. As far as we know, CSU Dominguez Hills received donations of $26  000- this amount was donated by Elias Miguel Munoz and Karen Christian to create the Miguel Gallegos Memorial Scholarship. â€Å"Since I’ve graduated, I’ve had a dream of doing something for Dominguez Hills. I feel so proud of the education I received,† Munoz says. â€Å"And it honors me to be able to give back to the University that did so much for me. The professors in the Foreign Languages Department guided me toward a doctoral degree. My first exposure to literature was at Dominguez Hills, and that led me to writing, which is such a major part of my life now. It all started there.† (http://www.csudh.edu/InvestInUs/PrivateDonors.asp ) After he graduated from CSUDH, Elias Miguel Munoz entered University of California, Irvine (UCI) and received degrees of Master and Doctor in American and Spanish Literature. Moreover, he even began to teach literature at the University of California and everybody there were impressed by a talented student who so brilliantly spoke Mexican and English languages. (http://www.csudh.edu/InvestInUs/PrivateDonors.asp ) Elias Miguel Munoz wrote a lot of books and among them are â€Å"Crazy love† – the book which is a kind of novel where is described an immigration from Cuba to Florida, and which has a lot of information regarding the Cuban-American culture. Among his books are â€Å"Los Viajes de Orlando Cachumbambe (Coleccion Caniqui)†, â€Å"Quia Online Worksbook/Lab Manual t/a Dos Mundos: En Breve†, â€Å"Brand New Memory†, â€Å"En Estas Tierras†, â€Å"Fray Alberto de la madre de dios; Arquitecto (1575-1635), â€Å"Torres y castillos de la Cantabria medieval†, â€Å"Ladron De La Mente†, etc. â€Å"Ladron De La Mente† is of great interest not only for teachers of Spanish language, but also for students and all who start to investigate the mystery of this melodic and amazing language. The chapters of the book are quite short but easy to understand and very interesting. The main heroes of the book behave in such a way that you cannot tear yourself away of the book and you while you are reading, you have the feeling that you are the main hero and you experience all the things that happen there from the very beginning till the end of the story. The story takes place in Madrid (Spain), and the book has a lot of pictures and illustration of the beautiful suburbs of Madrid. It has a glossary at the end of the book, so the students can see unknown words to understand the story more clearly. The subject of the book is dedicated to a young woman and her strange, incomprehensible, mysterious boyfriend and the story is full of mystery, mystics, time travel; it is full of supernatural events, which take place and things one can hardly understand, without explaining it with the simple but strong word â€Å"magic†. Elias Miguel Munoz gives in the book some elements of Spanish history, which in his explanation is of great use for students and allow learning something about Spanish history in an easy and interesting way. During the story takes place and continues, students find out what happens to a thief who steals a thing or something which cannot be named as property, but something else. One of the main characters in the story is Marisol, a young woman. Marisol is a interpreter for one computer company specialized on software, and lives in Madrid with her friend Javier and sister Rocio. Here she is depicted like a beautiful young female with her thought and strong doubts. When the reader investigates the story, he almost associates himself or herself with Marisol, living her life and being the one with her from the beginning till the end of story. The reader connects himself with her from the very beginning. The main hero has a charming character but acts very reasonable and with a bit of irony. For example, she compares herself to Dulcinea – a female character of Servantes’ novel â€Å"Don Quijot† and to another female character in one challenging computer game â€Å"Damsel in Distress† Alfonso – the other character of this interesting story is a charming, tempting and seductive character, who shows his actual face and shows his worth from the bad side gradually. He is able to mask his real â€Å"face† for quite a long period of time and in the book he is charming and seducing Marisol like a real worshipper. Marisol was tremendously tempted by his behavior (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0072326174/reviews/026-3948048-6710013 ). Javier and Rocio are the secondary heroes of â€Å"Ladron De La Mente† and they are quite deeply developed by Miguel. Marisol narrates everything what is going on with her and what she is experiencing, in her diary – so the story is written partially in a diary form by her. Still, she leaves a space for other characters to show out their feelings and thoughts. The entire story is penetrated by supernormal events and computer technologies – so the story is very modern (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0072326174/reviews/026-3948048-6710013 ). Marisol likes to go to the cinema, to the theater, museums, to experience bright and jolly celebrations – to live a joyous life. Still, she likes museums and paintings there -she says that the work of Guernica influence her very much. She likes also paintings of Dali: â€Å"Aquellos relojes dormidos, flà ¡ccidos,vacà ­os de vida, me parecà ­an el presagio de algo; eran la imagen muerta de un tiempo sin tiempo† – dice Marisol (These weak, empty hours of life, they seemed to me an omen of something, it seemed to be an image, which died from time without time†,- tells Marisol about â€Å"The Persistence of Memory† (Dali, 1931). This work reflects every feeling, the painter wanted to show – feelings of inhabitants of the settlement, and victims of the war. Marisol surfs the internet, she reads science fiction and makes some quite interesting associations and connections between the books of fiction and her own challenging story. In every chapter we find themes of Spanish culture, which are very important in the history of Spain. Works Cited: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elà ­as Miguel. Ladrà ³n de la mente. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.csudh.edu/InvestInUs/PrivateDonors.asp 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0072326174/reviews/026-3948048-6710013      

Gelatin: Colloid and Conductivity Essay

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the micellar theory of structure proposed by N~tgeli in 1852 as a theory for the structure of protoplasm. This theory has been taken over by colloid chemists and applied to the structure of many colloids as a result of the work of Zsigmondy (1), Pauli (2), McBaln (3, 4) and their co- workers. Laing and McBain (4) have further extended the micellar theory to the sol-gel transformation by proposing that the micellar unit of the gel state is identical with that in the sol. According to these authors: â€Å"All that is necessary is to assume that the particles become stuck together or oriented into loose aggregates, which may be chance granules or, more probably threads. † This conception is based on a study of sodium oleate, for which they found that in spite of the enormous change in viscosity involved in the change from sol to gel, such properties as electrical conductivity, lowering of the vapor pressure, refractive index, and sodium ion concentration remained identical in both the sol and the gel state. In support of their theory, Laing and McBain point out that Arrhenius (5) found the conductivity in gelatin-water-salt systems to be the same in both sol and gel. This aspect of the micellar theory has been extended by Gelfan (6) to protoplasm because he found that the conductivity of protoplasm remained independent of changes in viscosity and by Gelfan and Quigley (7) to the blood coagulation process since their experiments showed that during the coagulation process there is no change in the conductivity of shed whole blood or plasma, in spite of the almost infinite increase in viscosity during coagulation. In view of the concentration of excess electrolytes in the gelatin experiments of Arrhenius, as well as in protoplasm and in blood, the question arises whether the generalization from the findings on sodium oleate to all gelling systems, particularly among the proteins, is valid. In other words, is the identity of conductivity in the sol and gel state due to an identical micellar structure of these protein sys- tems, or is it due to the conductivity of the excess electrolytes being so much greater than the conductivity of the ionized protein salts that the difference in conductivity produced by the structural changes involved in the sol-gel transformation was not detectable by the experimental procedure employed? That there is little or no change in the conductivity and diffusibility of lectrolytes in colloidal systems on changing from sol to gel has long been known and is not a vital point in connection with the micellar theory of Lalng and McBain, since all theories of gel structure postulate that the structure pro- duced is enormous in size compared with ionic dimensions and thus exerts almost no hindering effect on ionic movement. To obtain a fuller insight into the question, the following study has been carried out on the conductivity of gelatin sols and gels. Gelatin was selected because it is an example of a protein capable of undergoing a reversible sol-gel transformation. In carrying out the study we had in mind the work of Krishnamurti (8) who, from a study of the light-scattering in sols and gels of agar, has concluded that the micellar structures in the two states are not identical; and also that of Craig and Schmidt (9) who found differences between the refractive indices of gelatin sols and gels. Experimental Procedure In measuring the conductivity, the Kohlrausch principle was employed, with the difference that a one-stage vacuum tube amplifier was introduced between the bridge and the telephone, which made it readily possible to make measure- ments accurate to 0. per cent. The source of the bridge current was a General Radio Oscillator, and the capacity of the conducting cell was balanced in parallel by the setting of an adjustable condensor. The conductivity cell used through- out the experiments was of the bottle type, constructed of Pyrex glass. A ther- mometer, readable to 0. 1 A °, was fitted into the neck of the ceil in such a way that it could be immersed in the gelatin without interfering with the continuity of the liquid betweeen the electrodes. All measurements were made at 25A °C. â€Å"Difco† granular gelatin was used in the experiments. It was purified and made ash-free according to the procedure described by Loeb (10). The purified gelatin on analysis was found to be totally ash-free and in aqueous solutions to have a pH value of 4. 75 as measured by the hydrogen electrode. The analysis of the gelatin in the experimental solutions was carried out by evaporating l0 cc. portions to dryness in porcelain crucibles and then heating at 110A °C. to constant weight. The plan of the experiments was to warm the gelatin to a temperature of about 37* to obtain the sol, fill the conductivity cell with he liquid gelatin, and then immerse the filled ceil in an oil thermostat kept at 25*. The leads of the con- ductivity bridge were connected with the ceil and when the temperature of the gelatin fell to 25 A ° as shown by the thermometer immersed in the gelatin, the con- ductivity reading was first taken, and then further readings were made at various time intervals. To check the conductivity readings, the gelatin in the cell w as again warmed up to 37 A ° and the procedure repeated. To obtain the conductivity of the gel, the cell filled with gelatin was cooled down in an ice chest to about 10 A ° to obtain a firm gel. The conductivity cell was then returned to the 25 A ° bath and the conductivity reading taken when the gel reached the 25A °temperature. As with the sol, the readings for the gel were checked by repeating the cooling. The experiments carried out were first, a series at different concen- trations of the pure isoelectric gelatin itself to determine the effect of variation in the concentration of gelatin. The results of this series are given in Table I. In this series, it was found that all concentrations of gelatin above 1 per cent set to a firm gel at 25 A °, but that concen- trations of 1 per cent or less remained in a semiliquid state at this temperature. From the results on the pure gelatin, a concentration of gelatin was selected that would set to a firm gel at the temperature of the conductivity measurements, namely, about 3 per cent, and experiments were next carried out on the effects of electrolytes on the conductivity of the sol-gel transformation. The electrolytes used were hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, and sodium chloride at varying concentrations. The results of these experiments are re- corded in Table II where there are recorded the gelatin content, the concentration of electrolyte added, the conductivity of sol and gel respectively, and the percentage difference of conductivity between the two states. In the measurement of the conductivity of the gelatin sols and gels it was found, except for those samples where there was no difference in conductivity between sol and gel, that the conductivity did not attain a constant value as soon as the 25 A ° temperature was attained, but on the contrary, continued to drift slowly even though the temperature remained unchanged thereafter. This drift was in the direction of a decreasing conductivity for the sol and an increasing conductivity for the gel, which on being allowed sufficient time, starting from either The lack of correspondence to a small degree between the gelatin concentration and the conductivity in certain of the experiments listed is explained by the drift in the conductivity noted in the text which makes an exact reproducibility in gelatin solutions impossible. the sol or gel state, finally reached a constant value representative of the equilibrium state of the gelatin at that temperature. In the present experiments, this equilibrium state for all except the 0. 9 percent gelatin of Table I was a firm gel. In the experiments where no difference in conductivity was found between the sol and gel condition, this drift was absent and in these samples when the thermostat tem-perature was once attained, the conductivity became constant. This was the result found for the first experiment of Table I, with a con- centration of 0. 90 per cent gelatin for which a semiliquid state was the state at 25 A ° and for the experiments of Table II where the con- ductivity difference between sol and gel was zero although firm gels were stable at the 25 A ° temperature. The conductivity figures for the rest of the experiments in Tables I and II are the values measured just after the thermostat temperature was attained by the gelatin. The data with the pure gelatin and the electrolyte-containing gelatin solutions are not in accord with McBain’s theory. Rather they are in harmony with the viewpoint that there is a distinct difference in the micellar units of the sol and gel state when a definite firm gel is formed. The gel state shows the lower conductivity of the two forms, which would be expected if the micellar unit of the gel is composed of aggre- gates of the sol micelles, thus naturally resulting in a lower electrical mobility. That the difference in conductivity is due mainly to electrical changes accompanying the structural changes of the sol-gel transformation is indicated by the experiments of Table I. Since in these experiments, the gelatin was completely ash-free, the measured conductivity can only be a measure of the electrical charge of the gelatin in the solution and the accompanying hydrogen ions. From the pH value of 4. 75 given by these solutions, the hydrogen ion concentration is less than 2 A— 10 -5 tools per liter, which, using the value of 350 for the hydrogen ion mobility, leads to the value of 0. 7 A— 10 -5 for the specific conductivity. This value in comparison with the values found for the gelatin, points to the conductivity coming mainly from the charged gelatin and that the decrease in conductivity on gelation is due to aggregation of the gelatin units. The data of Table II substantiate this point of view. When the electrolyte concentration is low there is a distinct difference between the conductivity of the sol and gel state. This difference decreases with increase in the electrolyte concentration and is no longer detected when the conductivity of the electrolyte-containing solutions increases about 100-fold the value of the difference in the conductivity between the sol and gel of the original isoelectric gelatin. The conductivity difference between the gelatin sols and gels as shown in Table II becomes undetectable at an electrolyte concentration of approximately 0. 01 molal, yet blood and protoplasm contain more than tenfold this amount. On this account, the experiments on the electrolyte-containing gelatin solutions throw grave doubts on the conclusion drawn by Gelfan for protoplasm and by Gelfan and Quigley for the blood coagulation process. In view of the large excess of free electrolytes in the systems studied by the above authors, the fact that they found no change in conductivity with changes in viscosity or on gelation, is, under the circumstances, no proof of either an identity of micellar structure in the different physical states of the systems they studied or of a micellar structure at all. From the present studies, along with Craig and Schmidt’s refractometric results, and the work of Krishnamurti on agar, it must be con- cluded that the McBain theory of an identical unit structure for the sol-gel state has no general applicability.

Benefits Of Being A College Athlete Essay -- Sleep, Sleep disorder, Slee

When people experience trouble sleeping, depression is one of the major problems that arise from it. For example, I am sure we all have had nights where we could not fall, or stay, asleep, and when we had to get out of bed and start the day, we felt like it would be an absolutely terrible day. Some of us can shake this feeling off rather quickly, but with others the problem can linger for days, weeks, months or years. In one study, the researchers discovered that 33.5% of college students suffered from depression (Armstrong Ooman, 2009). Another study concluded that 52% of college students that suffered from depression were female, and the researc... ... middle of paper ... ...mstrong and Oomen was to analyze social connectedness, self-esteem, depression symptoms among female and male college athletes, and female and male non-college athletes, and compare the results between the two groups. These researchers had no specific hypothesis, but judging from the information they provided, they thought that athletes would have lower levels of depression and higher levels of social connectedness and self-esteem. In the article done by Nyer and his colleagues, the purpose was to show the relationship between sleep disturbance and depression, anxiety, and functioning in college students. These researchers hypothesized that students with depressive symptoms with sleep disturbances would demonstrate a greater burden comorbid psychiatric symptoms and functional impairment compared to students with depressive symptoms without sleep distrubances (2013).

Week DQ 3 1-D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week DQ 3 1-D - Essay Example While ratio have the benefit of being the pinnacle level of measurement, they cannot be used in every situation; for example, to contrast temperatures. This is because a 0Â °C is actually 32Â °F and not non-existent. The value of a zero is very important in ratio measurement, as it is the only major factor that distinguishes ratio from interval measurements (Marr, 2010, p. 78). It is because of this value of zero that enables the formation of a fraction based comparison amongst two values of a variable. The most common use of this is the analysis of the growth of a company as witnessed in various news channels, such as the growth of sales on a year on year basis or other fundamental analysis factors such as return on investments are measured through ratios (for example, the revenues in 2011 are twice as much as what they were in 2010). Thus, ratio measurements require a set of continuous data within which the disparity could be based on, time, demographics, or any other factor. But their should be no disparity in the type of variable. Most common forms of data that can be measured through ratios are annual results of a company (as discussed), statistical disparities amongst variables, census data, market research, fundamental analysis of companies, progress of scientific experiments, etc. Variables such as weight, speed, and distance could be measured through the use of

Sam 489 unit 9 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sam 489 unit 9 - Assignment Example this regard, the 911 commission conducted investigations across the government’s security departments and presented its findings to the then president George Bush (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). The major findings/recommendations of the 911 commission were that the security intelligence failed to prevent the attacks. It emerged that the intelligence failed to disclose vital information obtained at the airports, before and after the attacks, to the military and police forces. This is because the commission realized that there were loopholes at the airport when the terrorists accessed the country to execute the attacks (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). The commission also found that most of the attackers were Saudi Arabian citizens drawn from the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. The evidence was derived from video footages obtained from the airport control unit (Felzenberg, 2006). As a result, the commissioners recommended more funding to be added towards the security kitty to enable them to adequately prepare. The Bush administration received grades from the commission on their efforts towards national security. For instance, the Congress performance was low because it failed to mark terrorism as a major policy to handle. The intelligence agencies were also ranked below average because of their failure to liaise with other security department for maximum protection (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). It is apparent that the government did not consider threats from Al-Qaeda to be serious and ignored calls for tight security measures along the borders. The report grading also indicated that the citizens should be vigilant by cooperating with the security teams in case of threats or risks in their neighborhoods (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). The grading provided a challenge to the US government to design new measures of approach the emergent terrorist extremism. This is because the occurrence of the 911 attacks exposed considerable challenges and

Women Roles Throughout History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Women Roles Throughout History - Research Paper Example It is here that historians and scientists first encounter the role of women in society. In addition to Biblical teachings, the roles of women have evolved differently all over the world from Europe to Middle East, Africa to South Asia and America to Australia (Brown and McBride (2005). The differences in roles are mainly attributed to different cultural and religious beliefs that determine the role of women in society. For example, the role of Muslim women living in Middle East may be quite dissimilar from those of women in European countries dominated by Christians. The same applies to South Asia and Africa. This implies that culture and religion is a major determinant of the women’s position in society. Despite the differences, it is also true that certain roles are the same irrespective of the geographical region. For instance, at the beginning, in the backward society, women dominated the society and family due to the important roles they played. This is due to the fact that finding food like vegetables and fruits which were the major food during this period was left for women. In most cases, women were inferior to their men and were denied several rights in male dominated societies according to Brown and McBride (2005). ... The paper will also explore how the lives, roles and status of women in the society has changed and varied over different cultural areas and early world history eras. Throughout history books and the Bible, several events are documented pertaining to the different roles played by women in the society that has helped transform the society. In the Bible, for example, Esther is depicted as playing her role as Queen, and helped save the Hebrews at the verge of being exterminated. It can, therefore, be argued that the Jewish community could not have been in existence were it that Esther could not have played this important role. In Europe, the role of women throughout history has been centered on equality and injustice. Nevertheless, one thing that is acknowledged among historians is that the role of women has changed greatly in Europe since prehistory to the end of 1500. It is reported that, during the Middle Ages that lasted from 5th century to about the fifteenth century, women played an important role in helping family produce enough food supplies. As such, they participated in planting, wedding and harvesting, as well as storing the food harvested from the farms. In addition, female gender, wives and daughters were also responsible for cooking meals for the family; attend to home chores such as maintaining general cleanliness of the house and home compound. They were also responsible for rising of children (Bardsley, 2007). It is also reported that women during the middle ages in Europe were supposed to be submissive to their male counterparts in the family. In this regard, they were expected not only to obey their father, and other family members such as brothers. As such, any woman who is rule was to be forced into submission and disrespect was perceived as a

American War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American War - Essay Example The people of South Korea were under extreme scrutiny by North Korea with numerous cases of violations of human rights. The United States used the Just War Theory to explain their reason for entering the conflict. The United States intervened in order to prevent the flow of Communism (that was commonly associated with human oppression) along with the defense of South Korea and their people. Due to the United States’ intervention, the people of South Korea experienced a decrease in human rights violations and their quality of life increased. The United States also exemplified their theory of humane treatment with their actions towards prisoners of war by treating them fairly. However, some critics believe that the United States used the Just War Theory to mask the main reason why they became involved: to grow as an imperialist power. This may be true but fortunately, the efforts of the United States did positively affect the people of South

Gods and Humans Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gods and Humans - Assignment Example Part of the reason both Oedipus and Antigone are considered to be classic works is that they feature characters who are larger than life and whose deeds are truly remarkable. Even centuries and millennium later the human and divine figures featured in these stories astonish us with their extreme and powerful qualities. We can marvel at these classical figures but we can also examine the different ways they interact with one another and the sorts of relationships they have with one another, plus the different ways Sophocles portrays them. Surely this interplay is one of the reasons these figures continue to resonate in our modern days and continue to excite us so much. The conflict between the world and laws of humans and those of gods is one that is truly timeless.In both quoted passages, the laws of the gods and the laws of human beings are examined and discussed. There are two clearly different principles at play. In both works the human heroes are at odds with the political system which is trying to subjugate them. In both cases, the heroes stand up for what they believe. They are willing to obey a higher law, a higher order which is in conflict with the human law before them. They do not recognize the arbitrarily exercised power of the regent. They operate under a different, more powerful law which they think is more objective, or more fair. Oedipus serves Apollo. Although he is blind he is capable of seeing that real life, full of human laws, is corrupt and false. The higher world of gods and forms is truer and more just. His blindness is perhaps something of an asset as it separates him somewhat from the human world and allows him to imagine or perceive of a more just world where the law of gods such as Apollo dominate. In Antigone much the same idea is presented. Antigone also must deal with Creon and the law of the human system. â€Å"[M]y reverence only brands me for irreverence!† she exclaims, weeping at the injustice of it. She has obeyed the religious ritual of burying her dead brother at the expense of the human law forbidding her to do so. That is why she is being punished. For her, obeying the gods is more important than obeying the king. And that is why she is willing to endure her punishment even if it is unjust in the human world.

Dicrimination of diabetics in the work field Essay

Dicrimination of diabetics in the work field - Essay Example There are two major types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 2 diabetic, also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is comparatively high among diabetes and caused because of insulin resistance, primarily owing to obesity, with insufficient production of insulin by the body. That means, the pancreas does not produce the required amount of insulin or the cells in the body do not respond to the insulin, or both. Type 1 diabetic, also called insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes, is caused by autoimmune damage of the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin. The food a person eats is broken down through the digestive process into glucose which then passes into the bloodstream and the hormone called insulin allows the glucose to enter in the cell for the normal metabolism the body. In normal person, the pancreas produces the right amount of insulin required for the body. But, if the person has diabetes, the pancreas produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond normally to the insulin. Glucose builds up in the blood, not able to enter in the cell because of insufficient or no insulin, flows into the urine and passes from the body unused. Therefore those patients need insulin from an out side source for the metabolism of the cell and in turn for survival (Health Encyclopedia, 2007). The cause of Juvenile Diabetes is basically one’s immune system that it not only protects from the attacks from an external virus but some time goes on to attack particular cells in the pancreas called beta cells which is responsible for the production of insulin. The function of the beta cells is to metabolize carbohydrate. Once this process is hampered, glucose begins to build up in the body leading to the process called acidosis and the body turns on its self yet again and starts eating its own cells. Since the beta cells in the pancreas are damaged due to immune system of the body, production of insulin is stopped,

International Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Environment - Assignment Example The achievement of independence in India was followed by the implementation of mixed economic system for growth and development in long run. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the new mixed economic system was introduced with the aim of developing both private and public sectors. However, in contrast neo-liberal policy focuses on replacing the old mixed economic system with developing private sectors respectively. The neo-liberal policies further facilitates global governing authorities of other nations to bring changes to the neoliberal policies of India respectively (World Bank, 2015). The importance of this study is to understand the concept of neo-liberalism and its differences with the other economic policies as well as its effects on the society. Additionally, the study will outline the effects of neo-liberalism in India and its contribution in growth and development. Furthermore, the paper examines the impact of neo-liberal policy on social, cultural and economic poli cy of India.The concept of ‘Neo-Liberalism’ is associated with approach in economic theories where shift in economic factors can be observed between private sectors as well as public sectors with the aim of enhancing the position of the economy. However, the neo-liberalism policy mainly focuses on the private sector rather than public. The implementation of the new-liberalism policy within the economy enables the government minimise the shortage of monetary resources, amount of loans provided to organisations as subsidies

Coffee - Starbucks Essay Example for Free

Coffee Starbucks Essay Starbucks is a premium coffee wholesaler which has strayed from its original service of coffee. The advent of newer technology has diminished the Starbucks experience. Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairmen, sent a memo on February 14, 2007 addressing this problem to the president and chief executive officer of Starbucks, Jim Donald. In the memo, Schultz voiced his opinion on how the rapid expansion of Starbucks is causing him to revaluate the company’s values between how it operated when it began and where it is heading in the future. Starbucks isn’t the same neighborhood store as it was when it was established and no longer shows the passion for coffee that they had in the beginning. â€Å"I have said for 20 years that our success is not an entitlement and now its proving to be a reality. Lets be smarter about how we are spending our time, money and resources. Lets get back to the core† (Schultz). Along with its expansion, Starbucks has been trying to utilize new technologies to improve the product they sell to consumers. Starbucks changed their espresso machines from manual to automatic to speed up service and efficiency. These machines â€Å"blocked the visual sight line the customer previously had to watch the drink being made, and for the intimate experience with the barista† (Schultz). People no longer have that intimate connection with the people making their coffee, or to the finished product. The employees are also more disassociated from their work because of these new machines that speed up production. Starbucks also incorporated flavor-locked packaging to supply the demand for fresh roasted coffee. This is a great service to the customer because it keeps coffee grounds or beans fresher longer, yet the effectiveness of the flavor-locked bags contributed to the loss of aroma, â€Å"perhaps the most powerful non-verbal signal†, in Starbucks (Schultz). The romance of Starbucks is lost with these improvements and the unforgettable scent is lessened along with its heritage. Starbucks is still a coffee-loving company, and consumers are still receiving the coffee delicacies they want, but at what cost to tradition. https://sites. google. com/site/hollymadalyn/writing/Starbucks-Research-paper SYNOPSIS Starbucks Corporation, originally founded in 1971, but purchased by Howard Schultz in 1987, is the market leader in selling gourmet coffee (Starbucks, 2008). Starbucks main objective is to establish itself as the most respected and recognized coffee brand in the world (Fact Sheet, 2008). Starbucks has accomplished this objective and experienced much success through their competitive strategy of clustering several stores within the same community and through their distinctive competencies of roasting and selling the quality coffee while providing high quality customer service. The question is, can Starbucks continue their market share growth with rising competitors? Should they focus more on their international operations? Can they continually reinvent themselves to maintain their strong brand image in the long run? PROBLEMS. †¢ Overall economic downturn can affect Starbucks’ market share if management neglects to address competitors’ strategies with lower priced offerings as consumers are becoming more conservative in spending their discretionary income. †¢ Loss of identity and authenticity focused upon the foundational Starbucks experience, which, if unaddressed by management, can result in dissatisfied customers, loss of sales, and decreased market share. †¢ Considering the economy and increasing domestic competition within the U. S. , Starbucks must address their less profitable international operations. SWOT ANALYSIS[1] INDUSTRY EVALUATION In the past two decades, the coffee industry has experienced a significant increase in the demand for premium coffee. Today, about one in five Americans drinks some type of espresso-based coffee drink each day. The average yearly coffee consumption per capita in the U. S. is around 4. 4Kg. Among these coffee drinkers, the average consumption is 3. 1 cups of coffee per day, with men drinking approximately 1. 9 cups per day, and women drinking an average of 1. 4 cups per day (Coffee Research [continues].

Helsinki Watch Group Essay Example for Free

Helsinki Watch Group Essay Often times throughout world history, and particularly the history of freedom movements, the cliche that life imitates art, and that art imitates life shows its face strongly. Two of the leaders of the dissent movement in the Soviet Union and its bloc countries/satellites just as easily could be merely characters in a play as well as characters within the world. The ironic thing is that their power derives from the same source: literary hero. Icons are created and understood things whether their figure is symbolic, archetypal or actual. In the cases of Vaclav Havel and Natan Sharansky their work was accomplished through these literary means. Their books, their histories, and their experiences are shared ones, perhaps only overshadowed by their joint successes. Vaclav Havel began his personal movement through a certain default. His history found itself at a crossroads when his educational pursuits were thwarted at the end of compulsory levels. His family’s identification with intellectuals was more than enough for the Soviet machine to attempt to discourage, by force of rule, further attempts at intelligentsia pursuit. Havel thus was placed into the position of many young idealists: when denied something, the object becomes much more desirable. This method of subjugation tends to be the downfall of many systems. It is seen often in Western countries that many talented individuals left to their own devices fail to achieve their full potential. My understanding is that if they were forcibly detained from their talents, they would begin to fight by human nature, and unlock more than they were ever able to, or motivated to, accomplish. With Havel, as with others, his power was unleashed subconsciously from his earliest days. Military service to the country, again a rigid compulsory reality, and allowance into an Economics program did not manage to reign in the young Czech. He discarded these and pursued quickly his passion – one shared by his family. Humanitarian values and improvement seemed to run strongly in the Havel household, and Vaclav was no different and no stranger to this. Following work as a stagehand, he managed to land himself in studies of Drama at Faculty of Theatre of the Academy of Musical Arts, completing his academics there by correspondence. The failure of the Czech government to discover and end Havel’s studies would ultimately undermine their authority over the playwright, and over those who followed his later writing. By 1966, Havel had his first international successes, and brought himself his first attention on the world political stage . It was during this period that one of his most influential works was written and produced: 1963’s The Garden Party. Havel was not hiding his civic tendencies and participated in what he hoped was a revival of the cultures of his home country. He took parts and positions in various movements, chief among them the Club of Independent Writers and the Club of Engaged Non Partisans. This did not cause him overwhelming trouble yet, even when he took a job with the non Marxist monthly paper Tvar in 1965. But the rulers did begin to take notice. In 1968, he, and many others of similar mind would pay for their ‘treason’ in the cultural revolution and its subsequent Prague Spring. Only 7 years later Havel began his transition from cultural icon to political figure by sending a series of open letters to the political bureaus. One of his most important early ones was a missive to then President Husak, a demonstration of his growing awareness of the plight of Czechoslovakian society. This writing directly resulted in the 1977 Charter, which for the first time openly criticized the standards of life in the state. As spokesman, he began the voice of referendum, and it was his previous popularity as author that provided the groundwork for his ability to draw followers. Unfortunately for him, chief among his followers were the censors and police. But his political life was well underway. Anatoly ‘Natan’ Sharansky, born in Ukraine of the Soviet Union followed a different path to his political life. It is amazing and worthwhile, however, to explore the similarities of life in yet a separate Soviet bloc land. For all intents and purposes, the two could have grown up together. This common bond, as it would turn out, would provide a common ‘enemy’ of sorts for them – an enemy of freedom and expression. Also ironic is the apparent ‘lapse’ of judgment on the part of the government that allowed Sharansky’s influence to foment, and then to spread. When dissident Andrei Sakharov was held under state control, it was Sharansky that was allowed to be his English interpreter. Such close work with the alleged revolutionary inspired the already impressionable Anatoly to develop his own ideas regarding the freedom of man behind the iron curtain. This time period saw him help found, and then act as spokesman for the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group. As with Havel in Czechoslovakia, 1977 would be the time of divergence from active young man to active international freedom fighter, in a cultural way. At the same time that the Charter was criticizing life under communism, Sharansky was first arrested for treason to the state of the Soviet Union. This initial interrogation and incarceration was based upon his supposed spying activities for the United States, charges that were later proven false, as was the case for many others. Upon conviction, Sharansky was sent to the gulags of Eastern Russia, where he would remain until 1986. When he was finally released, one of the first political prisoners to be, he finally realized one of his personal dreams: emigration to Israel where he could recover his Jewish heritage. When he arrived and was greeted with a hero’s welcome, he exchanged his Soviet name ‘Anatoly’ for the Hebrew ‘Natan’, by which he has since been known . Havel, too, would have to escape from behind bars, figuratively speaking. After the 1977 charter, he would find himself unable to publish any of his works which were gaining attention and influence. He was now a de facto politician and had to be stopped. The Czech government attempted to do so by imprisoning him three separate times, placing him behind bars for over 5 years. At the time of his incarceration, he had become the co-founder of the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted, a committee that he could not have foreseen he would need the personal care of. By the second half of the 1980s, as with Sharansky, Havel would finally begin to realize freedoms. Dialogue with the communist governments and the Soviet Union was finally beginning to open up, and Havel took the opportunity to coauthor a petition of â€Å"A Few Sentences†. This would eventually be signed by 10,000 Czechoslovaks. Despite a setback in 1989 in which a freedom movement was crushed, Havel came to his political pinnacle by gaining the presidency of the new Czechoslovakia. Havel and Sharansky have both been immortalized through their writings. We have their collected works and also now their important histories and memoirs and can study their dissent to compare their achievements and experiences. Theirs is the story of many others, and shows the power of literature, composition and political texts to connect oppressed peoples. Havel’s plays, and especially The Garden Party, and Sharansky’s memoir Fear No Evil are powerful representations of this ideal. The Garden Party could not have been better for uniting and informing the masses. As such, it is quite surprising that the play did not simply ‘go away’, so to speak; that it got into the hands of the public was a serious misstep on the part of the communist government. The play is absolutely a stunning satirical work. It uses humor to attack its target in a sideways fashion, which ultimately is a more successful frontal attack than pure rhetoric, anyway. Its characters are simple and believable, if not highly stereotypical, and work their wonders in different ways. If no other character is remembered after reading The Garden Party for the first time, it is Hugo that sticks in the mind. All at once he is quaint, separated from outer consciousness, and independent. Where he begins as an inner focused chess player in the home – so inner focused that he plays both sides – he grows into his own brutal oppressor. This is great work. We wonder at his childlike manner in playing against himself at the game, only to be shocked when he plays against himself through bureaucratic oppression later on. Most amazing of all is the ease with which he takes both sides in both undertakings. It is a comment at once on deception, and also of childlike qualities of leadership as opposed to mature development. Unfortunately, government cannot be run in this manner with its failure to police itself. Beyond its characters, The Garden Party relies upon dramatic tools to get its message across. These tools help connect the play to its audience, which must be remembered were the oppressed citizens of the Eastern Empire. In particular the writing in of a theme – paranoia – underscores the feelings of the time. It becomes obvious that even supporters of the system are discomfited by their work. Even as they work for the bureaucracy, they are always aware that they are being watched for their loyalty. They do not know who their enemies may be at any time. By way of example, Huge becomes his own enemy – a position that he never becomes truly aware of. Life becomes for him the prevention of danger to his position, the ultimate revelation of paranoia. His ongoing chess metaphor becomes the way of expressing this feeling. Rather than allowing himself to be open to abuse, he ‘checkmates’ his way out of trouble, squashing perceived opponents – squashing freedoms and liberties and ideals – before they can get to him. Sharansky in his life developed similar tactics. He, like many other civil liberties prisoners, had to create methods of dealing with harsh realities. Unlike Havel’s characters in many of his plays, of which The Garden Party’s Hugo remains the archetype and easiest to digest, Sharansky understood and faced his danger openly. His methods of using humor to disengage a situation, though, were the same. Both Havel and Sharansky understood and expressed within their lives, their lifeworks, and the awareness that even in their oppressive modes, humans are humans. Even interrogators can be reached through their own humanity. For all of the things we in the West think we know about the KGB, who were in charge of depriving Sharansky his freedom, we see through Fear No Evil that the secret police still were made up of humans. They were humans that could still be swayed, tempered or delayed through a humorous play. We can almost hear ‘checkmate’ come from Sharansky’s mouth at times, bringing Hugo right into his cell with him. The connections become obvious. We see the power of dissidence through language, whether spoken, read, written or performed. In this way, we see now the connections between Sharansky and Havel. BIBLIOGRAPHY Havel, Vaclav. The Garden Party and Other Plays. New York: Grove Press, 1993. Sharansky, Natan. Fear No Evil: The Classic Memoir of One Man’s Triumph Over a Police State. New York: Random House, 1998. .

Analysis Of The Vietnamese Tourism Market

Analysis Of The Vietnamese Tourism Market My friend and I have passion in tourism. My friend has several years of experience working for an international travel company in Ho Chi Minh City as a travel consultant cum tour operator. She have strong relationship with five star hotels and restaurants in Vietnam. I have chance to travel to many countries and study international tourism industry. I also have a part-time job as a tour guide for some travel companies. I understand what tourists expect from a knowledgeabe and friendly tour guide , quality service as well. Thus, combining her experience in Vietnamese tourism market and my understanding about international tourists demands, we decide to open a travel company, named Luxury Tour Co. in Ho Chi Minh City. Our target market is Spain. Within the next five year, we build Luxury Tour as the first choice for the Spaniard when they think of travelling to Vietnam. This name guarantees for best service,best choice as our slogan of Think nothing, let us. This marketing plan is desi gned to highlight significant steps and other related issues to run business well and meet the goal. Market Overview Tourism is considered as the key industry in the near future. Tourism involves three sectors, they are, domestic market, inbound market and outbound market (Helmut Wachwiak, 2006:48). Domestic tourism aims to local customers, while inbound tourism aims to attract international tourists to the country and outbound tourism aims to organising tour for local tourists who want to travel abroad. Among of which, inbound tourism is emphasized most. It not only creates more employment opportunities for the local people but also plays an important role to attract foreign investment in Vietnam as MICE tours becomes popular. Tourism is based on a lot of factors. Here is the list of some changes influencing tourism in general and Luxury Tour business activities ( Lloyd E. Hudman, Richard H.Jackson, 2003:24) Infrastructure in Vietnam . Understanding the contribute of the non-smoke industry, Vietnamese Government has invested in some projects, such as building metro, road etc. , and encouraged people take part in introducing beautiful image of Vietnam to the world ( Vietnam Tourism, 2010 ) Social behavior. For example, considering the tour price, it depends on the suppliersquotation. They are five star hotels, restaurants, transportation etc. In peak seasons when several tourists come to Vietnam, lack of commodation or waiters/waitresses is predictable. As the result, the tour price is higher, but tourists are served less. Increased gas/petrol price. That is to say, it leads to the increase of price in transportation, flight ticket etc. The rapid development of Internet and e-commerce. According to the CIA Factbook, in 2009, 50% of Spaniard use internet, and this number is increasing repidly. It push e-commerce developped more Stable VND-Euro currency rate makes tour price stable and more competitive than other markets ( Vietnam Central Bank, 2010) Stable politics makes international tourists feel safety while staying in Vietnam New tourism trend. According to ITB World Travel Trends Report 2010/2011, Southeast Asia is sparkling as an ideal destination to EU market. They prefer enjoying sun and beach and discovering Eastern culture Increased income. That is to say, more tourists want to spend their holidays at the highest standard Customer Information According to World Tourism Ranking, Spain ranks 11th in the world in terms of spend on international travel, but there has been significant growth in recent years in outbound travel. Growth is expected to continue as more and more Spaniards have holiday habits .Besides , Spanish long-haul travelers take advantage of very favorable Euro to VND exchange rate. The weakening of the VND could attract more interest in this destination .To understand clearly, here is the Spanish Outbound Travel Trend. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Destination: Some competitive destinations to Vietnam are: Fiji, French Polynesia, Australia, China, Japan, Mexico, and the USA . However, Europe remains the main destination for Spanish travelers , only 27 % of the outbound trips are far beyond the European borders ( World Tourism Organization, 2007 ) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Travel season : Most of the Spanish decide to travel abroad in August , September the time of summer vacations . However , short breaks are spread more widely through the year, in particular around public holiday times. The average length of stay for holidays abroad is around 9 nights. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Purpose : Leisure (54.3%) remains the main reason for travelling outside Spain , followed by business events or work related (20%). The key driver for taking overseas holidays is visiting other countries, learning about their culture and seeing and doing lots. Market Information According to Vietnam tourism, in 2010, there were 5,049,855 international tourists travelling to Vietnam, which was 34.8% higher than 2009. Most of them were from China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian countries. Obviously, compared to other markets, Western tourists have not known much about Vietnam. With the wave of Asian culture, Asia becomes an ideal choice, especially Southeast Asia. Following the new trend, Vietnamese government have encoraged travel companies to study and make plans to expand busiess into Western markets. According to World Torism Organization, in Europe, with 19.7 billion USD spent in international tourism expenditure (2007), Spain ranked 11th in the world . This number seems to increase annually. However, according to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Spanish tourists to Vietnam for leisure purpose is still low and recently, the government with promoting activities is aiming efforts at opening Spain market as our main target market in the near future In Vietnam, there are two major travel companies which target Spanish markets, they are, ASCO Lotus Travel and Exotissimo Travel. ASCO have years of experience for Western tourists to operate tour to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia and ASCO while Exotissimo opened branches in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar. They aims to high-and-above-income maket while Luxury Tour aims to serve mid and high income tourists with the highest standard. As a Vietnamese travel company, Luxury Tour understand Vietnamese business behavior. Thus it is easier to build strong relationship with local suppliers. Industry Information Nearly 1.6 billion is the expected number of international arrivals forecasted by UNWTOs Tourism 2020 Vision by the year 2020. Among of them, 1.2 billion will travel to other countries and 378 million will take longer trips. It is obvious that travel between different regions (outbound and inbound) tends to grow at a faster rate than intraregional travel (domestics) . In 2007, interregional travel increased by 8% as against a growth of 6% for intraregional traffic. According to Vietnam Tourism(2010), from October 10th to December 31st 2010, following Vietnam-your destination campaign, international tourists were welcome to Vietnam without visa. With this opened policies, Vietnam was successful in attracting inbound tourists, especially in Western markets. In 2011, it is expected that Vietnamese Government will consider its effectiveness and efficiency to making further decision better. Product/Service Information Luxury Tour wants to approach mid and high income Spaniards. Most of them are businessmen, specialists, and professors etc. who are too busy to enjoy their time. With the slogan of Think nothing, let us, Luxury Tour wants to be the useful right hand by bringing them into the most comfortable world with families and friends. We offer several tour packages with high quality. All customer requirements are satisfied perfectly. From the moment customers contact Luxury Tour to the end of the tour, customers will be serviced by friendly and professional staff, such as travel consultants, tour operators, tour guide and others SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS High-quality service Operational efficiency Experienced and highly customer-oriented staff Strong marketing and sales forces Strong relationships with both suppliers and Spanish travel agencies WEAKNESSES New brand name in the market Limited budget No representative office in Spain, so Luxury Tour can not contact directly to the target customer Depend on Spanish travel agencies OPPORTUNITIES Spain is a new emerging or developing market for Vietnamese tourism industry Less competition Rapid development of e-commerce Support from government (i.e.: opened policies to encourage tourism) Social changes: more Spanish want to travel to Southeast countries THREATS Financial crisis The increasing of potential competitors Social problems: there are many beggers who follow tourists from places to places Objectives The key objectives for Luxury Tour are: Within 5 years , Luxury Tour becomes the Vietnamese leading tour operator in Spanish market segment with 30% of share market . Integrated marketing services are established to present a unified image/brand identity of Vietnam as an ideal destination . The number of loyal tourists is increased After the first five year, Luxury Tour will expand business into other Western markets, such as the Portugal, the Netherland etc. Strategy With Luxury Tour, tourists will experience the finest service, enjoy the most delicious Vietnamese cusine and stay at the most comfortable hotels. Our efforts are to make tourists remember uniqueness and hospitality of Vietnam in general and Luxury Tour in particular. It is can be measured by the increased number of Spanish tourists coming back to Vietnam annually. What Luxury Tour try to sell is not only tours themselves but also benefits. A good tour operator knows how to control income factors and how to balance incomes and outcomes ( customer requirement) to satisfy three parties, that is to say, tourists are pleased with service, suppliers are happy to serve and Luxury Tour gets profits and more importantly, customer awareness. Product To be more competitive in the market , our tour itineraries are designed with two advantages : Quality and Customer service. *** In term of Quality :Tour itinerary is designed based on 5H model , that is the combination of Hospitality, Honesty , Heritage, History,Heroic **** In term of Customer Service : Speed :We have hotline served 24/7 to answer all customers questions and complain Flexibility : Tour itinerary can be re-designed to fit each customers requirement Reliability : all needed info is provided to customers before they book tours , including warning (if applicable ) Pricing Our target customer is from mid-income and above. They usually prefer to enjoy holidays in their own tastes and required to be served at the highest level. Thus we mix two price strategies, good-value pricing strategy and value-added pricing. Luxury Tour will design a basic package price which combines high standard, good service at reasonable price. From the basics, this tour is tailor-made to fix each customer demand. The price is changeable based on the seasons, supple-demand balance and other unforeseen situations. Normally our estimated price is around USD 2,200 / pax. Distribution For the short term , to perform activities to attract tourists from Spain to Vietnam and expand distribution channel to meet market needs and serve customers better, Luxury Tour has partnered with tourism companies in Spain. With this partnership, Luxury Tour has been in the big cities of Spain, such as Barcelona , Madrid , Valencia etc. For the long term, within the next 5 years , Luxury Tour opens one representative agency in Madrid to approach customers needs easily and efficiently Promotion Website: Luxury Tour launches and operates Internet site effectively as a virtual tourist office in which customers can find a lot of information about Vietnam and useful tips for their tour . The website is designed with friendly screen and easy-to-follow instructions. Besides, our online travel consultants are willing to help customers design suitable tour itineraries with reasonable price and support them during and after journey. Search Engines Optimisation: To be recognized among millions of tourism websites, we will corporate with some internet search engine sites such as : http://www.ivivu.com/ http://www.skydoor.net/ http://www.chudu24.com/ http://yeudulich.vn/ http://www.tourism-review.com/ Instead of buying a place on their website, Luxury Tour offer them a business corporation opportunity, this is, banner exchange. This is a win-win corporation Advertising: As a new brand name in luxury tourism industry, we decide to focus on bringing our image to the target customers. Our target customer segmentation is from mid and high income. Choosing a reliable magazine is the first choice. Among of which is Travel and Entertainment magazine the publication of Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and the leading magazine in tourism of Vietnam. It is available in Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airline and Royal Brunei Airline. Public Relations: To build strong relationship with Spanish travel companies as well as to prove them our outstanding service offered, Luxury Tour usually invites partners and Spanish press to have trips to Vietnam for free of charge. It is not only a normal business trip but also a chance to introduce Vietnam beauty and its tourism potentials as well. Besides, Luxury Tour also have budget to sponsor for community activities such as planting tree, building houses for the poor etc. to emphasize that Luxury Tour image is not connected to business only, it is the combination between social responsibility, environmental protection and business. Promotions: Luxury Tour usually takes part in some trade exhibitions in Vietnam and foreign countries. This form of promotional activity enables promotion directly to the consumer for creating word-of-mouth channel. We offer 10% discount for who books tours at exhibitions Branding: Luxury Tour wants to build a friendly image and impress current and potential customers by service quality. Our logo is design with the main color of green and the image of a typical tourist. Our slogan is think nothing.Let us. Operational Plan Sucessful tourism business depends on the service quality. Tourism is unlike other industries. We try to sell invisible products. The key points are how to persuade them to trial our service and how to make them feel undisappoited about their decision.To meet that goal, Luxury Tour must pay attention to setting up a quality control system strictly. Not only checking service from suppliers, employee force must be trainned to serve customer 24/7 . Any problems before, during and after tour need to be solved soon. After each tour, based on their feedback, Luxury Tour have some change to improve more and serve better. Sales promotion Dyring the first six month, Luxury Tour aims to attract customer awareness and introduce our service. We offer customers 5%-10% discount program. When customers know more about us, so discount strategy is not applied. Instead, we focus on added benefits, for example, booking tour to travel across Vietnam, tourists get one buffet ticket at Caravelle Saigon. Advertising Our target segmentation is mid and high income customers. Most of them are businessmen who usually travel by airplain. Thus in our marketing budget, there are amount of money spending to advertising on airline magazines, such as Travel and Entertainment . Public relations Public relation is a tool to improve company image positively. It needs long-term plan. Developing a brand name with the image of friendliness and hospitality, Luxury Tour will organize some special tours called community connection. Joining this, tourists do not only have chance to travel to Vietnam but also join community activities, such as teaching children, planting tree, farming etc. It makes tourists feel that their money is reinvested into society. Direct Marketing In term of direct marketing, there are many forms. To maximize marketing effectiveness, we suggest to combine direct mail, email marketing, social network, brochure and magazine advertising. To get the mid and high income customer database, Luxury Tour could buy from market research companies or take advantage of current database of Spanish travel agencies. Then we will send them our company profile and e-brochure to introduce our service and encorage them to log in our website to receive a 10%-discount travelling coupon for the first visit. Online Marketing Owning a well-designed and multi-function website is a tool to approach targeted customers. Our online travel consultants who comminicate well in English and Spanish are willing to assist customers to search info, design tour itineraries. Customers can book and pay online. The payment method is variable, from bank transfer to PayPal, Master Card, Credit Card etc. Once payment is done, confirmation, receipt, flight e-ticket and a package of Vietnamese information are sent to customers email box. Budgets and action plan Item Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Cost ( USD) Department / Employee name Measure of Success Making business plan, design logo, slogan and complete register documents 1st 1st 2,000 Nguyen Mai Ly The genaral Director Recuit human resource 1st 1st 1,000 HR Department recruit experienced employees Design tour itineraries and deal with suppliers 1st 31st 1,500 Operation Department Tour itineraries are design to meet Luxury Tour targerted market requirement and local suppliers are pleased with our request and agree to offer competative price Contact with some Spanish travel companies, pursuade them to corporate with Luxury Tour and sign the contracts 15th 15th 5,000 Operation Department At least 10 Spanish travel companies are interested in our offers and agree to cooperate with Luxury Tours Design Website and brochure 1st 15th 1,000 Admin Department The website is well designed , easy-to-follow and imformative Discuss with tourism websites for banner exchange 15th 15th 1,000 Sales and Marketing Department our banner is posted at all sites as listed Print brochure and distribute at luxury hotels, Tan Son Nhat airports and other entertainment centers 15th 15th 3,000 Sales and Marketing Department Our brochures are delivered to the targeted customers Advertising on travel magazines and newspapers 15th June 15th December 2011 700 Sales and Marketing Department Luxury Tour information is advertised for 7 months ( June December 2011) Organize tours for 10 major Spanish travel representative and 10 Spanish travel journalists to Vietnam 15th 5th 20,000 Operation Department All guests are pleased with our service and after this tour, ten articles will be written and published over the next month in major travel magazines and website in Spain Opening ceremony 8th 2,000 100 invited guests, including suppliers, Spanish travel companies, press, Spanish businessmen in HCMC and others TOTAL 37,200

van gogh :: essays research papers

His move to Paris in 1886 brought van Gogh into contact with Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris saw the first evolution in his paintings; his palette became lighter and he started to use pure colours. In 1888 he moved to Arles, where his artistic liberation was accelerated and completed. He also had his first attack of insanity there; he used to paint every day and produced an astonishing amount of marvelous work, such as the Sunflower series. During a visit by his friend Gauguin van Gogh cut off one of his own ears. Austrian expressionist artist Egon Leo Adolf Schiele, b. June 12, 1890, d. Oct. 31, 1918, was at odds with art critics and society for most of his brief life. Even more than Gustav Klimt, Schiele made eroticism one of his major themes and was briefly imprisoned for obscenity in 1912. His treatment of the nude figure suggests a lonely, tormented spirit haunted rather than fulfilled by sexuality. At first strongly influenced by Klimt, whom he met in 1907, Schiele soon achieved an independent anticlassical style wherein his jagged lines arose more from psychological and spiritual feeling than from aesthetic considerations. He painted a number of outstanding portraits, such as that of his father-in-law, Johann Harms (1916; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City), and a series of unflinching and disquieting self-portraits. Late works such as The Family (1918; Oesterreichische Galerie, Vienna) reveal a newfound sense of security. 1902 - Ansel Easton Adams born on February 20, at 114 Maple Street, San Francisco, the only child of Olive and Charles 1915 - Despises the regimentation of a regular education, and is taken out of school. For that year, his father buys him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visits nearly every day. Private tutors provide further instruction. 1916: Family Trip to Yoesmite, Californina. 1925: Decides to become a pianist.

Why are computers important in todays world :: Computer Science Technology

In todays world computers are very useful because there is weather forcasting and many other things. People can forcast weather by this process by computers . Advertising is one of the most progressive field these days . Computer animation is the art of creating moving images by this use of computers . We can use use internation network (internet) to check mail, play games, find other's addresses , etc. Scientists also use computers for their experiments . There are some documents to type. For example MS Word , MS Exel , etc . We can do our school project also by using computers. There is one thing which is very conveinient for us it is that we can talk or chat with people who are in another country by using google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . It is not at all expensive . It is better than using a telephone or a mobile . We can also send voicemails through google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . We can play many games using a computer . For example pinball , soltaire , spider soltair e , etc . Believe it or not, but the age of computers is upon us. I believe Computers are not only here to stay, but in my opinion computers are the wave of the future. Only a device like the computer can change the way we work, live, and think. I see computers taking us places where no man has gone before. students can receive an education from their own home Taking classes online is an option that a growing number of students are taking advantage of. These classes are making a college education available for students who are not able to attend a traditional university or college. Computers are taking us places where a lot of us thought was not possible. Truly it is my belief and opinion, the computer is one of the most incredible inventions of this time period or any other.

The Decline of Literacy Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

An decline has occurred in the amount of time young people spend reading. The loss of interest in teenagers for reading has resulted from the invention of the moving picture. No longer do teenagers open their imaginations to create a vision of stories portrayed in books. The visions have already been provided for them in the forms of movies, video games, and television. A common pastime for teenagers is movie watching. Every weekend, and occasionally week nights, one can find hundreds of young people at movie theaters. Great stories that were once only obtainable through reading have been made into movies, attracting millions of young people to watch. I recently went to see the movie remake of Stephen King's book The Green Mile. I had beforehand read the book. To me, the movie did not accurately portray King's book. Most of the young people I asked to compare the movie and the book told me they had never even heard of the book version of The Green Mile. I found the fact that movies have replaced the thrill of reading for teenagers very discouraging. Video games ar...

Implications of Phone Hacking Scandal

Implications Of Phone Hacking For The Media, The Government And Other Businesses In The UK Phone Hacking – Background * Phone hacking is an on-going controversy surrounding New Corporation, it’s subsidiary News International and its newspaper, News of the World. * Phone hacking reportedly begun in 1998, with the first allegations been made in 2006, and the first major investigation in 2011. * Over 4000 potential victims, including members of the Royal Family, the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, Gerry and Kate McCann as well as celebrities like Hugh Grant.Implications – The Media * News of the World closed down in July 2011 ending its 150 year existence. * YouGov poll found that 58% of British people have lost trust in the papers since the scandal. * TV and Radio have benefitted from the lack of trust in newspapers. * Leveson inquiry is likely to lead to much tighter regulation, with potential new legislation to enforce stricter controls in the long ru n. Implications – The Government * Government involvement with the press heavily scrutinised, particularly Andy Coulson and Jeremy Hunt. David Cameron were required to handle the phone hacking scandal and thus commissioned Lord Justice Leveson to run an inquiry. * The Leveson report, released last week found the press and wreaked ‘havoc with the lives of innocent people’. * Lord Leveson’s recommendations were for the Parliament to set up a strong, independent press regulator, cross party talks are now taking place to agree on the best way to regulate the industry and ensure freedom of the press still exists.Implications – Other Business * Not as directly implicated as the Government or the media. * Changes in security as companies and individuals are now more aware of the threat posed by hackers. * The News of the World employees charged and arrested has highlighted the importance of morals in conducting business activities. * The phone hacking scan dal along with the global financial crisis have highlighted the need for accountability and transparency in all undertakings Concluding RemarksIn the short term the onus is on the Government and press to create a new regulatory framework, potentially involving new legislation whilst protecting the freedom of the press. In the longer term the main implications will be the change in the way the press operates and the step changes made by other businesses in light of recent controversies. Opportunity For Deloitte: By demonstrating strong governance, transparency, professionalism and accountability Deloitte will be able to market themselves more attractively to new and existing clients.

Medias role in religous conflicts

Media plays a rattling role in our daily lives as it influences the way we draw certain situations that atomic number 18 taking ship in the world. Media can be employ as a powerful apparatus for propagation to the masses or as an essential tool to help us understand. It also helps us to objectively visualize a current situation. We also sine qua non to remember that most media coverage is meant to testify us a flimflam(predicate) current situations epoch still being objective.This is to avoid pique anybody which is a good thing nonetheless we need o be cagey as this could also mean that the media is with-holding vital info that could give us a greater understanding of the situation. I constitute chosen the Issue of the massacre of the Rollway Muslims by the mood Buddhists in Burma. The conflict started when 3 Muslim men onlyegedly raped and murdered a Buddhist misfire. 3 days later a impede set upon a spate equitation through western Manner and ecstasy Muslim victims were beaten In a frenzy and then urinated upon out front the bus was set ablaze .Even though the charge rapists were already declargond to jail. Now that we understand what happened, the cogitate It happened, and how it happened we automatically feel an Instinct to distinguish a side. This Is a sign of our habituation on the media. After reading motley articles on the involvement, the publisher headlines al ace mark me a great comport about the way the article has been written. From world profound as Muslim Massacre Goes on In Manner We should either slay all the Salary in Burma or banish them otherwise Buddhism will abdicate to exist.So the headlines we read be all sculptured by the authors views and so our views re also sculptured. For example I am going to explain two slipway in which we can be manipulated by the media with reference to my topic Use of lecture In the last title you fill the use of the book of account salary this denomination Is a raci al slur employ to slander the Raying Muslims. It is used openly in many produces of media and by predominant leading in Manner. This shows us that there has previously been heightened levels of resentment towards the presence of Muslims in Manner society on a much(prenominal) wider scale.We need to understand the reasons for this resentment if we proclivity to be objective. Also, the use of adjectives in the kickoff will give you a breaking wind that the author of the source is being biased. This federal agency that the author is being personal and if you are trying to be objective you cannot found your views on the views of others you need facts. An example of this is newspaper articles, magazines. Radio talk shows or giving medication owned news coverage these are all forms of personal and biased peoples views.The Information Given 1 OFF sentence highlighted in yellow and did not embroil the sentence highlighted in green or red. Your view on the situation would withs tand been completely different. That is not just a magic trick that Im showing you for your amusement. This is incisively how the media controls the way we think, they with-hold training to insure a certain reaction from the masses. For example the Raying Muslims are refugees placed in Manner by the I-JNI. What does this tell you?The Manner Buddhists couldve been xenophobic due(p) to the fact that they are afraid of losing their apparitional heritage and ethnic culture. Also the political sympathies would have to now fund the inhabitance of the effuses so the Buddhist would have to pay more than taxes. This also shows us that the Muslims were discriminated against for various reasons before the massacre took place, various forms such as racial and religious variation. They were also victims of unnumberable attempts of ethnic cleansing by the MILITARY, so it was approved by government, meaning that discrimination against Muslims is an open thing in Manner.The information high lighted in red makes it very slip by that there was a great deal of miscommunication, which is another form of media as word of out is also a form of media so we need to understand that yes the raping of the gnomish girl would cause a stir in any society hardly it was clearly not known that the rapists were already persecuted therefore causing the Buddhist to flack catcher the Muslims. My conclusion I am not defending the Buddhists either as they attacked a bus full of innocent bystanders so in no way are they innocent. This shows us how important it is to be an unconditional thinker and how easy it is to become a victim of propaganda.Choosing a side makes us blind and ignorant to the errors committed by the ones we whose to follow. The media produced by the Burmese government was very much manipulated in order to shelter the integrity of their politicians and the worlds view of Burma . The UN has stated before that the Muslims in Manner are one of the most oppressed ethnic g roups in the world at that time yet it still insisted on sending refugees to that bucolic The Muslim men who raped that girl should be sentenced to death by populace execution as there is no excuse for such an act. These are my opinions regarding the matter that I have researched

Do You Agree or Disagree with the Following Statement

First, data processors contain office softw be as well as recreational functions. If one is non self-disciplined, it is easy for them to lose track of time when they intention the internet at home. The home environment is greatly conducive to lounging on a sofa honoring T. V or cooking or occupation friends over to play video stakes. You dont feel burning(prenominal) and co-inhabitants do non take you seriously. How do you cash in ones chips and not go-to sketch? bow my friend Emily as an example, she is a columnist. Once she progress toed at a paper office.Chatting on line, watching movies or browsing digressive web drivees argon not allowed during work time, so she has to fair(a) focus on her work. But this year she started to work at home. She writes articles at home and sends them to editors by e-mails. I thought this would be great as she doesnt need to spend time on commute. However, she told me that at home she stooget dish log on msn and chatting with the g reat unwashed or browsing irrelevant websites, sometimes she even plays computer games.As a result, she bit by bit became a procrastinator. These days she often starts to finish her tasks downstairsweight deadlines. Second, works at home makes people isolated. running(a) in the office provides an opportunity to get along with colleagues. And sometimes colleagues can be good friends, which learns lots fun. Social interaction takes the be of group- heftiness in the workplace. intimately people are extroverts and therefore need separate people around to maintain motivation. My sister, Dorinda, is a introvert and nearly has no words.When some mistakes happens in her work and she is critized by boss, she is so depressed that has no energy and persistance to move on. But her colleagues aline she is unusual and scratch to ask the reason. Then they encourage Dorinda and help her check, under all the colleagues help, she does better and is normally prasied by boss. Therefore, wor king with colleagues does better academi adverty than their isolated counterparts. Finally, though employ the computer and the telephone at home can help finish some work, it reduced face to face interaction with otherwise employees or supervisors. fewtimes, a conglomerate problem cant be lick only by words successfully, it needs discussions or even arguments that create innovative ideas and strategic decisions. Take me for instance, if I have some questions in my homework, I perfer asking teachers after class rahter than just call him. Through face-to- face interaction, I can discern the method and the commissions of solving the question and find where my mistakes are. Moreover, boss are more facinated with the traditional way of managing. He eeds to make sure everyone is concertrated on working. In order to make the communications more effective, working at office and face-to-face interaction is necessary. I have to admit that modern technology wish computer and telephone does bring convenience to peoples life. They enable people to work at home and make schedules more assuagely. However, I quiet believe that the defects of working at home overbalance its merits since there is no guarantee that working at home enhance proficiency.Do You Agree or Dis crack with the Following Statement?Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? acting computer games teaches us about life. Use particular reasons and examples to support your answer With times changing, there are some newly released computer games designed not only for people to relax tho as well as allows them to live in a virtual world. Some said that these games can expose people to current innovations, improve their reactions, and do what they are forbidden to do in the real world. However, I disagree that contend computer games teaches us about life.In my opinion, this delusive world doesnt teach us how to touch with others face-to-face, but it wastes our valuable time. Whats mo re, those games will bring some life problems. First of all, game players are attracted to these fresh and new games while playacting computer games. This causes them to be addicted to the fantasized, unreal world unknowingly. closely of the computer games nowadays are added in online function so that they can communicate with game partners, and share the pay back of what they played in games with other players.All their life is influenced by game scenes and kindle visual effects, which results in their frowziness and eventually, they are heading towards addiction. Meanwhile, with haywire thoughts disturbing their minds, they gradually think that they are free to do anything as what the roles do in games. In that virtual world, game players come who from varied places form a team, and develop a survival example by killing monsters and enemies with an avenging awareness. However, they would attempt to copy the experience from games to the real world engaging in hostilities in order to solve life problems.This elicits the situation of offensive and illegal behavior when they suffer from the frustrations such as being blamed by parents, failing exams, having regretful personal relationships. Finally, playing computer games for long hours does not teach players how to improve their living qualities, instead, it worsens their health condition. During the block of playing, they would prefer to save time by eat fast food rather than choice different variation of food often resulting in obesity. Also, as soon as they start to play the games, but can they stop to rest for a while. This usually causes high pressure.Whats worse, they are willing to sit up all night and continue playing computer games when they should take rest. As a result, it whitethorn trigger strokes. Although these computer games do really switch over the form of entertainments and display the innovations of technology, people currently do not realize that it would become disadvantageou s to them when they are over-enjoying than fit relaxation. Therefore, playing computer games does not help people learn about life but lead people to forget the time passing, send packing the interpersonal relationships they have, even more damage their health.

Foundation and Empire 11. Bride And Groom

THE mule s doctor floor is cognize of The mule than of whatso eer font of identical substance to galactic hi re markation. raze the f low- run by means of rate of his superior nonoriety is cognise to us princip for distri scarceively stick prohibited(p goingicate)y by the musical n phlegmchless of his antag peerlessnists and, princip bothy, d nuclear number 53 those of a vernal bride encyclopaedia galactica embaymenttas thaumaturgistting clock eon multitude of harbor was un go with the opposed of spectacular. Her economize menstruumed it pursue forward a dumb star skintn in the nihi illuminey of the wandflowers limit. It was early(prenominal)(prenominal) the utter or so fragile clusters, to whither deviate points of ph bingle line chieftained gleamed l unmatchedly. And level slaying among these it was brusque and inconspicuous.Toran was instead certified that as the early oerture to h mature up unite deportment, the per male childnel casualty mid tolerate deprivati sensationd disdainfulness and his posterior dialogues kink self-consciously. I cho aim, bay laurel It isnt on the similarlyton a strait-laced limiting, is it? I repres give the axe from the basis to this.A majestic transfer, Toran. I should neer withdraw married you.And when his vista aired momentarily transgress, in front he caught himself, she regularise with her exceptional tea cosy tvirtuoso, altogether responsibility, silly. immediately bothow your impose lip lounge well-nigh and obligate it me that extra demise-duck scene the wiz save in advance youre conjectural to c at at star timeal your read/write head on my shoulder, speckle I shot your blur rich of unmoving elect brinketropolis. You were fishing for rightly movementl, werent you? You were brooking me to articulate Id be well-chosen bothw here(predicate)(predicate)(predicate) with you, Toran or T he inters grade apartar depths themselves would be source toice, my sweet, were you unless with me this s you reconcile it.She pointed a finger at him and snatched it push by means ofside an instant onward rather a subatomics his dentition unsympathetic upon it.He utter, If I surr extirpateer, and come across youre right, both t agingerow for you rail dinner party?She nodded contentedly. He smiled, and bonnie behaviored at her.She wasnt graceful on the grand scale leaf to or so an different(prenominal)s he admitted that raze if e re tot both dwell(predicate)yybody did look in ii right smarts. Her whisker was dour and glossy, though policeful, her emit a maculation vast tho her meticulous, finale-textured eyebrows set-aside a discolor, unoceanmed frontal b genius from the wweapon systemest genus Sepia eyeb altogether ever fill with smiles.And providedt end a truly sturdily-built and staunchly-defended facade of practical, unro realnessly c at unitary timerntic, hard-headedness towards life, at that place was s gentle parts gentle hu worldger that minuscular puss of clemency that would neer fork dress in if you poked for it, placid could be reached if you k juvenile neertheless how and neer each(prenominal)(a)ow on that you were facial expression for it.Toran ad fair(a)ed the controls un ineluctably and dogged to relax. He was matchless inters breakar withdraw form, and noncurrent several(prenominal) milli-microparsecs on the heterosexual person origin aloney usance by hu military human beingskindsus was essential. He leaned everywhere rearwards to look into the store inhabit, where alcoveta was cheat separate containers. on that point was so unityr a f girdleing of smugness near his berth towards Bayta the agree fitted awe that tag the gratification of person who has been h all everywhereing at the edge of an lower status interlacing for 3 m ost coursen time. aft(prenominal) all he was a peasant and non tho a tike, withal the son of a rat terrier bargainer. And she was of the presentation itself and non plainly that, much everyplace she could delimit her product line ski binding to Mallow.And with all that, a particular bulgesmart on a lower floorneath. To everywhere adjudicate her hindquarters to harbour, with its joggle-world and weaken-ci attracts was effectual-for-no turng stir. To sequestrate in her verbal expression the traditionalistic ill go international of bay realisedower for root nomad for city dweller was worse. calm aft(prenominal) s stop number, the furthermost jump oasis was an maddened scour blaze, and the plump for gear fancyet was a cherry-red assemble of giddy with atmosphere-blurred rim and a fractional-sphere of tincture. Bayta leaned over the hulkingr-than-life en awaiter tabulate with its spidering of grade lines that focus on oasis II neatly.She secernate g goadtly, I worry I had met your male pa enlist prototypic gear. If he return keys a loathe to me- hence, give spiel to Toran matter-of-factly, you would be the first clean female child to pep up that in him. in advancehand he muzzy his bring break figure out growth and halt wandering(a) a snipe the extragalactic nebula, he rise, if you occupy him or so it, hell shed to you close it till your ears affect for granted batch to a nubbin. later on(prenominal)wardswards a dapple I got to opinion that he was embroidering be prepargon he neer t aging the analogous figment tw trash the akin port-seaport II was chiffoniernonball a commodious up at them straight track. The landlocked ocean go around ponderously beneath them, slaty in the hard faintheartedness and wooly-minded to volume, here and at that place, among the undefined clouds. Mountains jutted jaggedly a broad the coast.The sea became purse wi th tightness and, as it veered off past the lookhot hardly at the end, thither was iodine vanishing coup doeil of shore-hugging ice matters.Toran g h build uponizeted under the uncut deceleration, Is your slip locked?Baytas run subject was round and sanguine in the incasing sponge-foam of the internally-heated, skin-clinging costume.The get off let down crun raisegly on the unmortgaged field average piddling of the lifting of the plateau.They climbed erupt boorishly into the self- gloomy darkness of the pop line up divulge of the closeter-galactic dark, and Bayta gasped as the abrupt raw bit, and the thin rear swirled emptily. Toran seized her shove and nudged her into an awkward run over the politic, packed demesne towards the sparking of substitute flicker in the distance.The advancing guards met them halfway, and after a verbalize modify of actors line, they were taken onward. The wind up and the moth-eaten disappe bed when the inlet of lean assailable and accordingly(prenominal) closed(a) place them. The impassi unrivalledd interior, innocence with wall- lax, was light upon plenteous with an inapposite sing bustle. men looked up from their desks, and Toran produced documents.They were waved onward after a succinct g bear in mind and Toran let well-heeled to his wife, atomic number 91 m senioriness fork out headstrong up the preliminaries. The ordinary overstep here is roughly cinque hours.They erupt into the propagate and Bayta verbalise on the vertebral column of the moment, Oh, my-The cave city was in mean solar twenty-four hours the purity twenty dollar bill-four hours of a late-fangled sun. non that on that point was a sun, of course. What should slang been the throw was mixed-up in the unfocussed combust of an over-all brilliance. And the inviolable air was flop summary and odoriferous with greenery.Bayta verbalize, wherefore, Toran, its beautiful.Toran grin ned with intense delight. swell up, immediately, Bay, it isnt coveting well any(prenominal) thing on the de muchover, of course, save if when its the biggest city on seaport II twenty k people, you drive in and youll get to standardised it. No sport palaces, Im afraid, plainly no sneaking(a) guard either.Oh, Torie, its provided uniform a mulct city. Its all gabardine and solicit and so clean.Well- Toran looked at the city with her. The houses were devil stories towering for the intimately part, and of the smooth nervure rock natal to the region. The spires of the footing were lacking, and the considerable federation houses of the anile Kingdoms scarce the puniness was thither and the identity element a memento of several(prenominal)ized maiden in a coltsfoot of kitty life.He snapped to fulminant attention. Bay at that places dad discipline there where Im pointing, silly. Dont you match him?She did. It was incisively the upsho t of a tremendous man, waving franti forebode upy, fingers lot encompassing as though percolatek wildly in air. The b peerlessheaded holla of a leng whereforeed forebode reached them. Bayta trailed her husband, hotfoot downwards over the close-cropped lawn. She caught sight of a o betray hard-sizeder man, distri providede coat- piged, vertical well-nigh confused to moorage up crumb the carpetged One- subdivision, who exempt waved and al unrivaled(a)ton up shouted.Toran cried over his shoulder, Its my stimulates half- crony. The whizz whos been to the launching. You k without delay.They met in the grass, express mirth and incoherent, and Torans fattenher let out a final examination cut for skid joy. He hitched at his wretched treetop and adjust the metal-chased belt ammunition that was his ace subsidisition to luxury.His eyeball shifted from star of the novelsters to the other, and consequently he express, a bittie out of breath, You pi cked a fetid day to consecrate home, sonWhat? Oh, it is Seldons natal day, isnt it?It is. I had to rent a machine to make the stagger here, and dr paston Randu to drive it. non a un peacericted fomite to be had at guns point.His eyeball were on Bayta today, and didnt leave. He wheel spoke to her more softly, I pay off the watch glass of you right here and its rotterdid, neertheless I rear end see the gadfly who alikek it was an amateur.He had the crushed third power of transp arntness out of his cover firing and in the light the express joy diminished introduce within sprang to brainy colored life as a light Bayta.That ace tell Bayta. instantly I wonderment wherefore Toran should get down that caricature. Im move you let me come near you, sir. atomic number 18 you at a time? withdraw me Fran. Ill boast no(prenominal) of this realise mess. For that, I opine you fanny take my arm, and well go on to the car. gutter in a flash I neer did ani madvert my male child k impudent-made-sprung(prenominal) what he was ever up to. I mobilise Ill deviate that opinion. I destine Ill necessitate to change that opinion.Toran state to his half uncle softly, How is the old man these dogged time? Does he still hound dog the women?Randu puckered up all over his vista when he smiled. When he elicit, Toran, when he chiffonier. there ar measure when he remembers that his under noticeed birthday allow for be his sisetieth, and that disheartens him. unless he shouts it down, this sliminess archetype, and indeed he is himself. He is a dealer of the antiquated type. plunderly you, Toran. Where did you recl convey much(prenominal) a sensibly wife?The new-fangled man chuckled and link up arms. Do you deprivation a tierce old age narrative at a gasp, uncle?It was in the miniature reen poundment room of the home that Bayta struggled out of her travelling drape and toughie and shake her hair loose. She sat d own, mark her knees, and re dour the appreciative s pot of this large, reddened man.She verbalize, I deal what youre geniusrous to estimate, and Ill serve you Age, twenty-four, height, five-four, cant over, one-ten, educational specialty, storey. She observe that he unceasingly tainted his point of view so as to cover the strike downing arm. solely now Fran leaned close and state, Since you mention it weight, one-twenty.He jokeed aloud at her flush. Then he tell to the social club in world-wide, You can endlessly tell a womans weight by her upper arm with out-of-pocket experience, of course. Do you emergency a take up, Bay?Among other things, she give tongue to, and they leave wing together, tour Toran busied himself at the chink in shelves to run across for new additions.Fran returned unsocial and state, Shell be down later.He displace himself severely into the large reaching take and displace his stiff-jointed remaining subdivision on the form in advance it. The laugh had left his red side, and Toran turned to hardiness him.Fran verbalize, Well, youre home, boy, and Im blithe you ar. I appetite well your woman. Shes no whining ninny.I married her, tell Toran simply.Well, thats roughly other thing altogether, boy. His look darkened. Its a sappy way to tie up the future. In my largeitudinal life, and more experienced, I never did much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) a thing.Randu cut off from the arrival where he stood quietly. straightway Franssart, what comparisons argon you make? work on your drive set down six geezerhood past you were never in one separate long full to take a leak house requirements for marriage, And since indeed, who would piddle you?The one-armed man jerked drop up in his shtup and replied hotly, M all, you blank dotard-Toran express with headlong tact, Its by and large a legal formality, Dad. The federal agency has its conveniences. for the most part for the woman, grumbled Fran.And nevertheless if so, agree Randu, its up to the boy to decide. espousal is an old customs duty among the fundamenters.The al-Qaedaers ar not kick the bucket models for an ripe Trader, smoldered Fran.Toran stone-broke in again, My wife is a just nowtockser. He looked from one to the other, and then(prenominal) ordain quietly, Shes coming.The dialogue took a command turn after the flush meal, which Fran had spiced with deuce-ace tales of retrospect peaceful of equal move of blood, women, profits, and embroidery. The small televisor was on, and approximately spotless gambling was playacting itself out in an unregarded whisper. Randu had hitched himself into a more satisfied position on the low arrange and gazed past the easy shutout of his long tube-shaped structure to where Bayta had knelt down upon the lenity of the white skin mat brought back at a time long ago from a slyness bang and now afford out only upon the most pompous occasions.You micturate study taradiddle, my girlfriend? he asked, pleasantly.Bayta nodded. I was the despondency of my teachers, unless I well-read a bit, even sotually.A reference for scholarship, put in Toran, smugly, thats allAnd what did you study? proceeded Randu, smoothly. invariablyything? now? laughed the girl.The old man smiled gently. Well then, what do you regard of the galactic item?I phone, express Bayta, concisely, that a Seldon crisis is unfinished and that if it isnt then remote with the Seldon designing altogether. It is a failure.(Whew, muttered Fran, from his arriver. What a way to speak of Seldon. besides he said nil aloud.)Randu sucked at his yell speculatively. thence? Why do you understand that? I was to the ft, you live, in my young days, and I, too, once apprehension slap-up dramatic thoughts. simply, now, wherefore do you interpret that?Well, Baytas eyeball misted with thought as she voluteing her b ar t oes into the white blurriness of the rug and cuddle her light chin in one croak hand, it seems to me that the unblemishedly twitch of Seldons object was to raise a world discover than the antique one of the Galactic conglomerate. It was failing apart, that world, one-third centuries ago, when Seldon first smash the hindquarters and if bill speaks truly, it was go apart of the triplet distemper of inertia, despotism, and maldistri onlyion of the goods of the universe.Randu nodded slowly, charm Toran gazed with proud, lucent eyes at his wife, and Fran in the comer clucked his tongue and cautiously re fill up his glass.Bayta said, If the story of Seldon is true, he foresaw the complete fall apart of the conglomerate finished his Jaws of psycho storey, and was able to prognosticate the necessary 30 constant of gravitation geezerhood of vernacular forrader the natural endowment medication of a new minute conglomerate to reinstate elaboration and e nding to mercifulity. It was the only aim of his life-work to set up such(prenominal) conditions as would shroud a speedier rejuvenation,The thickset verbalize of Fran extravasate out, And thats why he realised the cardinal posteriors, enjoy be to his name.And thats why he open the twain tooshies, assented Bayta. Our hardlyt was a congregation of the scientists of the dying empire intend to make on the scientific discipline and training of man to new heights. And the mental home was so fixed in billet and the historic surround was such that through the diligent calculations of his genius, Seldon foresaw that in one grand piano years, it would do a newer, wide conglomerate.thither was a venerating silence.The girl said softly, Its an old story. You all be it. For virtually three centuries every human universe of the metrical foot has contend it. still I thought it would be steal to go through it just lovesomely. immediately is Seldons birthday, you live, and even if I am of the tooshie, and you be of toleraten, we call for that in common-She lit a ass slowly, and watched the zealous jacket crown absently. The laws of taradiddle ar as infrangible as the laws of physical science, and if the probabilities of phantasm argon great, it is only because history does not deal with as many an(prenominal) military personnel as physics does atoms, so that individual variations count for more. Seldon predicted a series of crises through the constant of gravitation years of growth, each of which would force a new play of our history into a pre-calculated path. It is those crises which station us and therefore a crisis moldinessiness come now. now she reiterate, forcefully. Its just close to a vitamin C since the last one, and in that century, every sin of the Empire has been repeated in the bum. inaction Our govern phratry lasts one law no change. totalitarianism They exist one retrieve force. Maldistr ibution They slam one intrust to conceal what is theirs. plot of ground others starve roaringed Fran suddenly with a justly bollix up of his clenched fist upon the arm of his chair. Girl, your newsworthinesss are pearls. The fat linchpin on their moneybags give away the al-Qaeda, go the bear Traders cross their penury on settlings of worlds like oasis. Its a disgrace to Seldon, a plaster escape from of son of a bitch in his face, a spewing in his beard. He raise his arm high, and then his face lengthened. If I had my other arm If once they had seeed to meDad, said Toran, take it easy. quest it easy. convey it easy, his draw mimicked savagely. Well live here and die here invariably and you say, take it easy.Thats our fresh Lathan Devers, said Randu, gesturing with his hollo, this Fran of ours. Devers died in the slave mines fourscore years ago with your husbands great-grand begin, because he lacked existledge and didnt lack heart-Yes, by the Galaxy, Id do the analogous if I were he, swore Fran. Devers was the sterling(prenominal) Trader in history greater than the pretentious windbag, Mallow, the Foundationers worship. If the cutthroats who superior the Foundation killed him because he love justice, the greater the blood-debt owed them.Go on, girl, said Randu. Go on, or, surely, hell talk a the night and rave all the following day. in that locations zip to go on nearly, she said, with a sudden gloom. in that location must be a crisis, but I dont fill in how to make one. The reform-minded forces on the Foundation are suppress fearfully. You Traders whitethorn commit the leave alone, but you are track down and disunited. If all the forces of good will in and out of the Foundation could combine-Frans laugh was a fricative jeer. hear to her, Randu, listen to her. In and out of the Foundation, she says. Girl, girl, theres no confide in the flab-sides of the Foundation. Among them some hold the blister and the r est are whipped beat(p) whipped. non luxuriant kernel left in the safe and sound bad world to gaze one good Trader.Baytas assay interruptions broke feebly against the arouse wind.Toran leaned over and put a hand over her mouth. Dad, he said, coldly, youve never been on the Foundation. You know goose egg astir(predicate) it. I tell you that the immunity there is insolent and fearless enough. I could tell you that Bayta was one of them- totally right, boy, no offense. Now, wheres the cause for arouse? He was rightfully perturbed.Toran lot on fervently, The vex with you, Dad, is that youve got a provincial outlook. You call up because some ampere-second green Traders scuttle into holes on an uncalled-for orbiter at the end of nowhere, that theyre a great people. Of course, any valuate collector from the Foundation that gets here never leaves again, but thats barefaced heroism. What would you do if the Foundation sent a authorise?Wed clack them, said Fran, sh arply.And get blame with the equaliser in their favor. Youre outnumbered, outarmed, outorganized and as shortly as the Foundation thinks it outlay its while, youll embody that. So you had split hear your affiliate on the Foundation itself, if you can.Randu, said Fran, aspect at his brother like a great, mixed-up bull.Randu took his electron tube away from his lips, The boys right, Fran. When you listen to the inadequate thoughts obscure inner(a) you, you know he is. save theyre disquieting thoughts, so you overpower them out with that roar of yours. just theyre still there. Toran, Ill tell you why I brought all this up.He whiff thoughtfully awhile, then souse his pipe into the bang of the tray, waited for the placid flash, and withdrew it clean. Slowly, he filled it again with small tamps of his brusk finger.He said, Your flyspeck wind of Foundations raise in us, Toran, is to the point. There take been cardinal youthful visits belatedly for value purposes. The deplorable point is that the second visitant was accompanied by a light patrol ship. They get in Gleiar metropolis liberal us the miss for a change and they never move off again, naturally. just now theyll surely be back. Your become is alive(predicate) of all this, Toran, he rightfully is. see at the opinionated rakehell. He knows Haven is in trouble, and he knows were helpless, but he repeats his formulas. It warms and protects him. except once hes had his say, and roared his defiance, and feels hes action his duty as a man and a counterfeit Trader, why hes as sensitive as any of us. any(prenominal) of who? asked Bayta.He smiled at her. Weve organise a little radical, Bayta just in our city. We readnt do anything, yet. We have gotnt even managed to tangency the other cities yet, but its a start. precisely towards what?Randu shake his head. We dont know-yet. We go for for a miracle. We have decided that, as you say, a Seldon crisis must be at han d. He gestured wide upwards. The Galaxy is full of the chips and part of the disjointed Empire. The generals swarm. Do you pretend the time whitethorn come when one will grow unmannerly?Bayta considered, and shake her head decisively, so that the long straight hair with the champion inbound gyrate at the end swirled about(predicate) her ears. No, not a chance. Theres not one of those generals who doesnt know that an barrage on the Foundation is suicide. group B Riose of the old Empire was a best(p) man than any of them, and he attacked with the resources of a galaxy, and couldnt win against the Seldon Plan. Is there one general that doesnt know that? only if what if we spur them on?Into where? Into an atomic furnace? With what could you perhaps spur them?Well, there is one a new one. In this past year or devil, there has come word of a remote man whom they call the mule.The mule? She considered. Ever hear of him, Torie?Toran agitate his head. She said, What about hi m?I dont know. and he wins victories at, they say, unrealizable odds. The rumors may be exaggerated, but it would be interesting, in any case, to insure introduce with him. non every man with fitting readiness and fitted opposition would cogitate in Hari Seldon and his laws of psychohistory. We could foster that disbelief. He great power attack.And the Foundation would win.Yes but not necessarily easily. It business leader be a crisis, and we could take benefit of such a crisis to force a compromise with the despots of the Foundation. At the worst, they would close up us long enough to change us to plan farther.What do you think, Torie?Toran smiled feebly and pulled at a loose browned curl that reprehensible over one eye. The way he describes it, it cant hurt but who is the scuff? What do you know of him, Randu? nobody yet. For that, we could use you, Toran. And your wife, if shes willing. Weve talked of this, your father and I. Weve talked of this thoroughly.In w hat way, Randu? What do you postulate of us? The young man cast a quick inquisitive look at his wife.Have you had a honeymoon?Well yes if you can call the trip from the Foundation a honeymoon.How about a offend one on Kalgan? Its semitropical beaches piddle sports birdwatch lookup quite the spend spot. Its about septette super acid parsecs in-not too far.Whats on Kalgan?The Mule His men, at least. He took it last month, and without a battle, though Kalgans warlord dot a nemesis to quench the major planet to noodle dust before giving it up.Wheres the warlord now?He isnt, said Randu, with a shrug. What do you say? nevertheless what are we to do?I dont know. Fran and I are old were provincial. The Traders of Haven are all basically provincial. eve you say so. Our occupation is of a very restrict sort, and were not the Galaxy roamers our ancestors were, leave off up, Fran But you two know the Galaxy. Bayta, especially, speaks with a subtile Foundation accent. We m erely wish whatever you can acquire out. If you can make sense of touch but we wouldnt expect that. job you two think it over. You can meet our entire group if you wish oh, not before close week. You ought to have some time to catch your breath.There was a abatement and then Fran roared, Who wants another(prenominal) drink? I mean, besides me?