Thursday, December 26, 2019

Underage Alcohol Abuse Essay - 2839 Words

Underage Alcohol Abuse The Story of My Search â€Å"Have you been stealing liquor from your aunt ?† my mother asked me while we were in the car on our way home. Her face looked disappointed and worried when she asked me. This is a question most teens would have feared if they heard it come out of their parents mouth but i knew I didn’t do it so I was fine. I never thought my mother would actually ask me this question hence that fact that i am under the legal drinking age but, liquor was disappearing from my aunts house and it is only right to have suspicion that the teenager did it. I didn’t like how they just suspected me of doing it just because i am a teenager. Now every time i go over my aunts house they like to keep a closer eye†¦show more content†¦These books help start off my search into answering my question as to why people drink alcohol. I then began to read more books focusing more on underage drinking. I wanted to learn more about the effects of drinking on teens. What made teens want to drink? I then went on the web to find answers to my questions. I found many answers that helped me understand more about why underage drinking isn’t such a good idea. I then interview my aunt Cori DuVall who was once a underage drinker. She gave me many answers such as how it affected her, what the consequences were, why she wish she never drank, and why she think teenagers shouldn’t drink. By using the books, internet, and interviewing my aunt I was able to find out more about the effects of underage drinking and why it should be stopped. The Results of my Search Drinking alcohol is like taking a drug. It is a worldwide problem. One of the larger groups effected by alcohol is teenagers and young adults. According to the book Alcohol â€Å"Drinking to get drunk has become more common. Teenagers and young adults say they drink for the buzz.† As time progresses underage drinking becomes more relevant. Teens and young adults drink for various reasons but don’t think of the consequences or effects. Although alcohol abuse causes long term and short term effects, young people still abuse it. Alcohol abuse causes many short term effects. Injuries is one of them such as falls and accidents.Show MoreRelatedUnderage Alcohol And Alcohol Abuse1597 Words   |  7 Pagestoday’s society, there is a lot of issues concerning drug and alcohol abuse in schools whether its at the high school or college level. Not only does drug and alcohol consumption effect your overall health, it can effect your academic performan ce as well. In this paper I am going to be talking about the problems with drug and alcohol abuse, preventions, risks, costs and much more. We are going to dissect the problems with drug alcohol consumption amongst young adults, from high school to collegeRead MoreEssay on Underage Drinkers Face Repercussion1369 Words   |  6 PagesToday there seems to be an increasing number of underage drinkers. Teens seem to be drinking their way through high school and college because it’s the trend of the century. They go out to party and there is no party, if there is no alcohol. They begin to believe there is no fun in partying without the use of alcohol. According to, the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, â€Å"40% of high school students drank some amount of alcohol, 24% binge drank, and 10% drove after drinking and 28% rode with a driverRead MoreUnderage drinking1086 Words   |  5 Pages Underage Drinking It is five o clock on a Friday night and classes are over for the weekend. The options for this evening are the kegger down the street, drinking at the bonfire, or sneaking into a bar with a fake ID. This can be a normal weekend for an underage drinker. Underage alcohol consumption can be very common in the weekly routine for many students. There are many different types of drinkers and reasons for their drinking habits. Some people may drink for social reasons and othersRead MoreEssay about A Better Solution to the Underage Drinking Problem759 Words   |  4 PagesA Better Solution to the Underage Drinking Problem Recently, the issue of underage drinking has become a major problem for our society. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2009), about 10.4 million young people between ages 12 and 20 have drank more than â€Å"just a few sips† of alcohol. Moreover, 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year in alcohol-related deaths including car crashes, homicides, and other injuries such as falls (NIAAA, 2009). When adolescentsRead MoreEssay on Alcohol and Teens: The Effects of Teenage Drinking1520 Words   |  7 Pages When at a party, a student sees another teenager drinking a beer. Thinking nothing of it, the teenager picks up a large bottle labeled Vodka and beings to chug the contents of the bottle. The alcohol rushes through her body and she suddenly has a sense of feeling free and letting loose. The next thing the teenage girl remembers is waking up in a hospital bed to her mother crying by her bed side. The only thing her mom could say wa s â€Å"Honey, please wake up. Please be okay, I want you to beRead MoreThe Plague Of Underage Drinking1356 Words   |  6 PagesThe Plague of Underage Drinking â€Å"Every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries† ( â€Å"11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse†). That is 5,000 more teens or young adults that could be saved from this plague in this society (11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse). Underage drinking and alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States, and as a society need to make a change withRead MoreSadly, In Today’S Society There Is A Lot Of Issues Concerning1294 Words   |  6 Pagestoday’s society there is a lot of issues concerning drug and alcohol abuse in schools whether its at the high school or college level. Not only does drug and alcohol consumption effect your overall health, it can effect your academic performance as well. In this paper I am going to be talking about the problems with drug and alcohol abuse, preventions, risks, costs and much more. We are go ing to dissect the problems with drug alcohol consumption amongst young adults, and talk about ways that weRead MoreTeenage Alcohol Abuse1465 Words   |  6 PagesAlcohol Abuse in Teenagers Underage alcohol abuse is a growing problem in the lives of teenagers today. Almost 80% of high school students have tried alcohol (Dowshen). To effectively combat this growing epidemic, teens need to understand the effects of consuming alcohol, and adults need to recognize the problem and effectively prevent alcohol abuse. Though many teenagers do not realize it, alcohol can significantly affect a teen’s life, including short-term impacts on the teen’s popularity andRead More Effects of Underage Drinking on Society Essay1100 Words   |  5 PagesUnderage Drinking Anyone who is below eighteen years of age is considered as underage and laws in many countries prohibit such a person from consuming alcohol. Alcohol happens to be the most commonly abused drug not only among the youth but also among adults. This paper explores underage drinking, its effects on the society and outlines what can be done to curb it. Young people are considered to constitute the largest number of alcohol consumers and they account for a large portion of alcoholRead MoreKeeping The Legal Drinking Age1576 Words   |  7 Pages Underage Drinking Abby Gallaher Ms. Scannell 10 November 2015 Abstract Keeping the legal drinking age to 21 would be a very good way to go. Many people, who are mostly young adults and teenagers, believe that the legal drinking age should be bumped down to being 18. From kids being in the 8th grade all the way up to young adults in college abuse the use of alcohol. Your brain doesn t fully develop until the age of 21, so with that being said, if the legal drinking age was 18 the

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Why Creationism Should Be Taught - 919 Words

Vanessa Alacantar was a high school student who wrote an argumentative essay entitled â€Å"Why creationism should be taught in schools.† As can be ascertained from the title, the author’s position is that the theory of creation should be taught in schools alongside evolutionary studies. She writes the essay with a sure and almost condescending tone, making certain claims out of context in addition to using faulty logic in what I personally see as an attempt to confuse the reader about the view opposite her own. She begins her essay by discussing how teaching creationism has been banned from the public school system. She goes into discussing how ever since the Scopes Trial, â€Å"Evolution has been taught in schools thus pushing creationism aside, until its teaching was completely prohibited in schools,† she says. Vanessa goes on to say that the theory of evolution itself is not even a scientific study. She makes this claim stating that it cannot be observed or v erified. She makes many claims to back up her statement about its unscientific nature, ranging from varying dog breed’s still all being dogs to statements where she says â€Å"animals that are said to evolve from certain other animals have been proven to have no DNA or RNA similarities.† Next she brings up the theory of creationism and states that it is as unproven as the theory of evolution. â€Å"Creationism does have a bit more reasonable parts to it,† she says, however she neglects to provide any examples to back up her point.Show MoreRelated Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools Essays1921 Words   |  8 PagesA hotly debated topic concerning public schools centers on the origin of life. Now more than ever, science and religion are butting heads. What should public schools teach to their students? Alex Rainert reasons that both â€Å"science and religion are engaged in the same project, to discover the origin of life† (141). In sh ort, one could better describe the debate as a crusade between evolutionists and creationists; both sides have their well-founded arguments, but when one looks at the decisions ofRead MoreThe Creationism Debate Essay examples698 Words   |  3 PagesCreationism being taught in public schools is not right because there are many beliefs about how the earth was created. Many science teachers have different beliefs on this particular subject. Some believe it should not be taught in public schools but on one’s own time at home, church, or another place. Other science teachers think students should be taught all the believable theories about evolution and creationism. Some science teachers have gotten in trouble with the law by not obeying otherRead MoreCreationism Isnt Science but Belongs in Schools Essay849 Words   |  4 PagesCreationism Isnt Science but Belongs in Schools The origin of life has been a point of discussion for as long as history has been documented. Ancient Egyptians believed that the sun god Ra took another form, created land from a watery abyss and created everything, including gods and humans. The Iroquois, a tribe of Native Americans, told a story of god to human lineage that resulted in twins, one being evil and one being good. The good twin creates a picture perfectRead More Creationism and Public Schools Essay example960 Words   |  4 Pages Creationism and Public Schools nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The issue of whether creationism should be taught in public schools, rather than evolution, is a new one. It has only been in the past fifty years that it has even been in debate. Public school science classes, when discussing the origins of life on Earth, coincided with Sunday school classes. Students learned that the Earth, universe and everything else was created in seven days, by God, as stated in the Old Testament. It was notRead MoreShould Religious Education Be Public Schools?1719 Words   |  7 Pagesbackgrounds. Creationism is thought to be a great asset to the education curriculum. Creationism is composed of parts equally religious and science (evolution). It is disadvantageous to exclude this based on its involvement with religion. Additionally, to not include the idea of a creator in our idea of the world’s conception is deemed unconstitutional and senseless. According to the First amendment, no law should prohibit the practice of religion nor should it affect freedom of speech. Creationism shouldRead MoreThe Debate of Orgin: Creationsim versus Evolutionism992 Words   |  4 Pagesscience tells us. And that, in and of itself, is the essence of the nationwide debate. Should Creationism, or as it is sometimes labeled, Intelligent Design, be taught in public schools? The answer, of course, is no. 23% of High School students surveyed said that no, they do not believe in creationism and yet the attend church every week. This is compared to 20% of people who attend weekly and do believe in creationism. What this means is that creationist beliefs and ideals are less common among religiousRead MoreThe Theory Of Evolution, Introduced By Charles Darwin,1265 Words   |  6 Pageswho believe in theistic evolution, which is the study of religious teachings about God (also known as creationism) that are then intermingled with the modern understanding of evolution today. That being said, a commonly asked question is whether or not science such as evolution and religion should be taught together. The answer to this question is no; evolution and creationism should not be taught hand in hand because they are two entirely different subjects. In 1968, the United States Supreme CourtRead MoreShould Intelligent Design and/or Creationism Be Taught Alongside Evolution in Public Schools?641 Words   |  3 Pagesmany controversies in courtrooms about whether or not should intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution in public schools, which has been going on for a great amount of years. Intelligent design is the idea of natures changes cannot be a random process, but a type of guidance must have lead to why nature is the way it is in today’s era. In most cases, that specific guidance is God. God has created the world for a purpose. Creationism is the same idea as intelligent design, believing thatRead MoreThe Battle Of Creationism And Evolutionary Theory869 Words   |  4 Pages The battle of creationism and evolutionary theory is not a new one. That being said, in order to understand whether creationism has a place in secondary education, one must first understand the complexity of the matter. Evolution in itself is a theory proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859. Grossly simplified, the theory states that life evolved from non-life; the concept of descent with modification. This theory arouses conflict because many Christians believe that it negates the literal interpretationRead MoreCreationism vs. Evolutionism in Public Schools1538 Words   |  7 PagesDebate: Creationism vs. Evolution in Schools: 1st Affirmative Constructive Speech Creationism and Evolutionism by definition are very different topics. Currently, evolutionary naturalism is the most widely taught view of origins in America. In schools in the modern day, only evolutionism is taught and condoned. But before the 1920s, only creationism was taught, and evolution was forbidden. Then, on February 20, 2008, the Florida State Board of Education voted to revise the public school guidelines

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Pain Hurts free essay sample

Loss perhaps earns the title of the most devastating emotion experienced by mankind. Most everyone experiences loss in one way or another at some stage of their lives. For most people, death irrefutably seems the greatest loss of all. Whether death takes a loved one, friend, or relative, nothing compares to the pain felt by many of the people who knew and loved them. People who experience loss may feel empty or numb for quite some time. Loss sometimes might cause someone to block people out of their lives completely, if only for a short while. Eventually they may open up, wanting to talk about their feelings with someone they trust. February 11, 2012 marks the first anniversary of my grandpa’s death, a horrible fate for a great man. Cancerous tumors formed in his lungs. At first, he seemed unaffected by it. However, as the days proceeded, his condition gradually worsened. First he became confined to a wheel chair and catheter. We will write a custom essay sample on Pain Hurts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All too soon, he became bedridden, and needed hospice care in his home. His condition eventually became so bad we could not understand a single word he spoke. We only heard a bunch of babbling. Sometimes when we spoke to him, it seemed as if he responded, though incomprehensively. Eventually, the lung cancer took his life. Grief overcame the entire family. Thomas Campbell said, â€Å"To live on in hearts we leave behind is not to die.† This quote holds meaning for me. Just because someone dies, does not mean they no longer exist. They live on in the memories of the ones they left behind. Another quote written by an unknown author also caught my attention. â€Å"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.† This quote eases my grief somewhat. It fills me with joy to know my grandpa is looking down upon me from heaven, happy. â€Å"Time heals all wounds† is a cliche heard by many people when they lose a loved one. This could not prove more false. Time may heal the wound, but a scar will forever remain on the soul. No matter how often people try to rid themselves of the scar, it will remain. The scar forces a person to remember, when all they want is to forget about the gut-wrenching pain of losing a loved one. Loss is not easy. No one wants to know how it feels, though most people do at some period in their lives. Loss means pain. Loss could tear a person’s heart in half. Trying to cope with any loss may seem impossible or unbearable at times. People who never experienced loss may think the period of time where someone grieves for the one they loved and lost holds no length, but it does. The grieving never ceases. It lasts forever, always present, but not always showing. Loss affects men and women alike in a way nothing else can. For a short while after a loss we might try to contact our loved ones, and then we remember they no longer walk this planet. It punches a hole in the heart. It twists our insides until we feel the need to vomit. It makes us feel small and afraid, as if at any moment something else we love will be wrenched from our grip. Loss causes tears, spilled for the ones taken by the black hands of death. Loss causes depression, a black hole in the face of death. Loss leaves a path of devastation and destruction. Perhaps some people may not understand the concept of loss, of the pain and suffering because of it. However, for the people who loved and lost, myself included, we know. We know the feeling of loss. We know how hard it seems to put the pain behind us and move on. We know, and we would not wish the experience upon anyone. It carries with it pain and suffering. People may think they know what awaits them after the death of a loved one, but no one really knows for sure until they experience it in full. People may imagine what it could compare to, but imagination is nothing compared to reality. Loss is not the end of the world. Chances of healing are great, but it just takes time. Maybe a couple of months or years, or maybe even a decade or two. Either way, the grief does not last forever. It will remain present, but it might never completely resurface. Happiness will find a way to surface, but who knows how long it takes. Only time will tell.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Marginalizing Major Problem in Of Mice and Men Essay Sample free essay sample

Have you of all time witnessed person being mistreated because they are non the same as everyone else? If you saw that individual was belittled. made merriment of. how would you respond? In the novel Of Mice and Men how Lennie. Crooks. and Curley’s married woman are marginalized is what conveys the significance of what it’s like to be put down for such unneeded grounds. The first character to be marginalized is Lennie. He is belittled for being stupid throughout the book. Numerous times George was mouth offing approximately Lennie discoursing how he’s non smart. For case. when he says. â€Å"He ain’t bright. Hell of a good worker. though. Hell of a nice chap. but he ain’t bright† ( 29 ) . George was even stating this right in forepart of Lennie like he didn’t attention ; like naming him dense wouldn’t hurt his feelings. In another quotation mark. We will write a custom essay sample on Marginalizing: Major Problem in Of Mice and Men Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page George Judgess Lennie by his past errors by stating. â€Å"Course he ain’t average. But he gets in problem alla clip because he’s so God darn dumb† ( 32 ) . Everyone makes errors. but that doesn’t mean anyone should judge people by their errors. The 2nd character to be marginalized is Crooks. Many people count him as worthless because he is a black adult male. In one of the quotation marks by Crooks himself. he says. â€Å"’Cause I’m black. They play cards in at that place. but I can’t drama because I’m black† ( 49 ) . This meant that he wasn’t allowed in their room to play cards. He had his ain room to stay stray from the other work forces ; an act of segregation. On many occasions in the book. Crooks is called a â€Å"nigger† ( 20 ) by different people because of his tegument colour. This signifier of marginalising person is chiefly because of the clip period in the book. which is when racism was happening. In this clip period. the inkinesss were slaves of Whites. and inkinesss were fundamentally considered belongings. so this is why the work forces in the book were contemptuous Crooks with such a derogatory word. The concluding character to be marginalized is Curley’ s married woman. Her name is neer spoken. doing her more insignificant in the book. She states in one paragraph that a â€Å"show come through. an’ I met one of the histrions. He says I could travel with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t Lashkar-e-Taiba me† ( 61 ) . Curley’s married woman thought that her female parent considered her non suit for an acting calling. On another juncture. the old swamper. stated â€Å"Well. I think Curley’s married†¦ . . a tart† ( 25 ) . She gave the feeling that she ever had her oculus on other work forces. so the work forces decided to qualify her as a prostitute. even though she neer had an matter with any of the work forces. Besides. when she said she â€Å"don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella† ( 62 ) . she tries to acquire Lennie to pay attending to her. to do her non experience so entirely. Curley is ever seeking to watch her and doing certain she doesn’t do anything doing her feel like she’s being treated like a child ; ever holding to be supervised because he doesn’t trust her. In decision. there are many cases of the characters being marginalized. Wordss can sometimes order how the people we are doing merriment of relate to us and society. The words spoken to Lennie made him experience that he is stupid. The intervention of Crooks. because he was a black adult male helped to trivialise his importance as a human being. Last. Curley’s married woman was made to believe she couldn’t accomplish privation she dreamed to make. because she’s a adult female. She was seeking for credence in other people. In short. people who are marginalized have an impact on how society positions them and our actions.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

San Diego Police Department †Management Research Paper

San Diego Police Department – Management Research Paper Free Online Research Papers San Diego Police Department Management Research Paper Police Departments of different cities are undergoing a transition. Police department and their operations, hierarchy design, and strategies are becoming increasingly similar to that of other commercial organizations. Police Departments today operate with a sense of direction, a mission that is broken down into objectives and achievable goals that must be met in order to rank the mission of the department as a success. Therefore, it will not be incorrect to compare police departments to business organizations functioning within the society. Strategic planning is a management tool that is used by organizations in order to effectively implement resource utilization towards future goals, growth, efficiency in operations and sustenance. Strategic planning is highly recommended for organizations in today ever-changing environment. There is no reason why strategic planning cannot be implemented within a police department as it is a significant establishment (or organization) in a society. Strategic planning is being used at various police departments across the United States. An instance of one is the San Diego Police Department. This paper tends to analyze police department and suggests a strategy plan for the future of the department than the one already implemented at the department. About San Diego Police Department The police department of San Diego is one of the most efficient police departments from across the country. The department is also amongst the pioneers in implementing strategies that have won the country the edge in the fight against crime. These strategies include implementation of an Information Technology infrastructure and programs such as ‘Community Oriented Policing’. The San Diego Police Department has a strength of over two-thousand-six-hundred personnel. This strength consists of officers that are sworn, as well as other that are civilians. These personnel function conjointly towards accomplishing the mission of the police department. These personnel are further divided into eight divisions: Field Operations, Special Operations, Neighborhood Policing, Training and Development, Office of Administration, Personnel Services, Professional Responsibility, and Support Services. All these departments function under the assistant chief, except for the Personnel Services which functions under a civilian personnel director. (Decker, Cordner, Ward, 1999) The department has been a leader in trying new strategies for implementing effective criminal justice routines. The department works closely with the community and encourages the society to participate and coordinate with the fight to make the city free of crime. The ‘Community Oriented Policing’ and ‘Problem Oriented Policing’ are two such programs that bring the community and the department together in the fight against crime. Further, the department has also implemented Information Technology as a strategy for efficient crime reporting and monitoring (details of this is mentioned during the course of discussion later in the paper). The aforementioned strategies have yield promising results for the San Diego Police Department. The crime rate has considerably declined in the city and is continues to drop. The crime statistics of the year 1997 show that fewer homicides, murders, violent crimes, property crimes and burglaries have taken place that year as compared to 1978 (Decker, Cordner, Ward, 1999). However, this existing crime rates are still quite high for the United States. The San Diego Police Department has therefore the responsibility to sustain the comparative low crime rates and try to reduce these statistics even further. This cannot be achieved without efficient strategy planning of department’s resources. Following is a study and analysis of the San Diego Police Department. The various aspects of the operations of the department are studied, analyzed, and based on these a strategy plan is devised for sustainability in operation of the department. San Diego Police Department’s Mission The department envisions cohesion of efforts of various entities in the society, aimed at improving the lives of the inhabitants of San Diego. The collaborative work is one of the most stresses attributes of the police department’s mission. This collaboration includes entities such as â€Å"communities, government agencies, private groups and individuals† (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2002) that share the same vision as the San Diego Police Department, i.e. fighting crime and improving the quality of life in San Diego. The attributes of the mission statement are the values that the San Diego Police Department tends to use to accomplish its mission. These values are representative of the spirit, and are the basis of the policies of the police department’s mission. San Diego’s Web Site (2002) lists some of the core values of their police department, rating protection of human beings as one of the highest priority values. This is significant for any police department as the primary reason for establishment of peace, law and order systems is protection of human life. The value deserves to be at top priority as a lack of value suggests taking for granted the objective of the department’s motif for existence. The implementation of ethical policing follows in the list of values. The reason for giving ethics a high importance is crucial for the acceptance of the police department by the people it is established for. There are many issues surrounding execution of duties of the police force and officers, ethics being one of them. It is not fiction but a fact that a police subculture has established itself within the officers which sometimes provides for officers to carry out unethical practices or misuse of authority. The public shows its concern for such unethical practices implemented by law enforcers themselves. Therefore, the implementation of ethics in particular and mention of it that high in the mission statement of the police department is strategically intended to ward off bad attention. Another high ranking value of the San Diego Police Department is the Partnership with the community. It is important for the success of any ‘business’ intended for the public to include the public as much as it can. The San Diego police department is one such activity that is intended to protect the public; therefore this motif must also include public participation. Hence, Partnership is mentioned as one of the key values at the particular key department and may also be pinnacle for the success of the San Diego police department. The overall mission of the San Diego police department will be analyzed by the discrepancy between the mission statement and actual operations strategy of the department. The San Diego police department has been recognized as one of the leading and most effective of the departments operating within the country. The department not only has shown its realization for its key values of protecting human life, but integrates all the other key values such as partnership and ethical policing. Evidence of this can be sought in the fact that there has been a sharp decline in the crime rate in San Diego since the police department has implemented its ‘community oriented policing’ measures. (Tos, 2000) Units in the San Diego Police Department The police department has been organized into several different units based on nature of function or crime. This helps organization of resources as well as represents the image of a well-organized/equipped police department. The different units operating in SDPD are: Air Support Unit, Armory – SWAT, Background Investigations, Canine Unit, Child Abuse, Communications, Crime Analysis, Criminal Intelligence, Crisis Intervention, Data Systems, Domestic Violence Unit, Elder Abuse, Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO), Field Training Officer Administration (FTO), Financial Crimes, Gang Detail, Harbor Patrol, Homicide, Internal Affairs, Juvenile Administration, Laboratory, Legal Advisors, Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST), Media Relations, Mounted Enforcement Unit, Narcotics, Neighborhood Policing, Permits Licensing (Vice Administration), Personnel, Psychological Services, Records, Recruitment, Robbery, School Task Force, Sex Crimes, Special Investigations, SWAT/SRT (Special Response Team) and Vice Operations. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003) Critical Success Factors of San Diego’s Department of Police The success of the Police Department in accomplishing and maintaining the mission objective in the community can be contributes to various factors. Some of these factors can be outline to be critical for the success of department, without which the SDPD could not have realized their mission objectives. These factors are summed up and briefly outlined here as the critical success factors for SDPD. Well-defined Strategy The reason why San Diego Police Department has been recognized as one of the leading police departments in controlling crime is that the department has well-defined strategic objectives. The objectives are responsible for focusing the resources of the organization in an organized manner, towards attaining the mission objectives of the department. Setting up a well-defined strategy for a criminal justice unit is rather a new concept in criminal justice administration as usually these departments just focus resources in an unpremeditated manner towards the customary objective of reducing crime. However, the strategy of the SDPD is different. The police department has laid down a definition of more than one goal and further strategically channelled their resources towards realizing these goals. An instance of such a strategy is the department’s awareness about different approaches towards criminal justice, such as the ‘problem-oriented policing’ strategy or integrati ng the community in the fight against crime in the neighborhood. Training of Human Resource The shift away from the conventional means of operations brings forth the need to train the human resource of any organization to accustom it to the new strategy. Not only would a new strategy introduce new processes for conducting conventional operations, but it may also introduce new tools (such as Information Technology tools, including software and hardware) that are intended to enhance the efficiency of the human resource. San Diego Police Department faced the same circumstances where the introduction of a strategy enticed the need for human resource training. Eventually, the proper and trained use of strategies and tools led to efficient operations and increased productivity of the police department which was unprecedented. Besides the consideration of training with a changing information technology infrastructure, officers at the police department have to undergo extensive training from the police academy before they can start performing their duties in SDPD. A focus of ethical grooming is also maintained during this course of training. This helps realize and implement the value of the San Diego police department to use ethical policing when serving the community. The officers undergo comprehensive training in the police academy which prepares them not only to ‘serve and protect’ but to efficiently implement policing according to the strategy that is implemented at SDPD. A significant aspect of the human resources that has acted as a critical success factor for San Diego Police Department is training of the community. The participation of community members and individuals in accomplishing the mission of SDPD is crucial for the success of the department; hence it is just as important to train the community on how to help the department achieve its objectives. The participants from the community are trained to help SDPD to implement its strategy, which also includes educating/informing individuals about procedures for making their lives more secure and protected. Not only have these measures ensured increased protection of these individuals, but has also have increased the acceptance of SDPD’s mission within the community. Use of Information Technology The introduction of Information technology tools is one important development for crediting the success of the mission at SDPD. Conventional policing shows less use of high tech tool for attaining criminal justice objectives, but with the advancement in technology the role information technology tools play has become a crucial success factor of policing. San Diego Police Department has been one police departments that accredits it success to the use of Information technology tools, including software, hardware and processes. The department has segregated the use of Information technology in various units and systems. The New Technology Unit (NTU) is one such unit which is headed by a sergeant and staffed by patrol officers. Each individual involved in the integration of technology in policing is thoroughly trained, committed and knowledgeable about the use of this technology. The information technology infrastructure is used for a range of operations. This includes activities from in stallation of software of laptop machines to the use of Automated Field Reporting (AFR) devices. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003; Decker, Cordner, Ward, 1999) Information Technology helps improve the efficiency of operations of the San Diego Police Department in various ways. For instance, the patrol officers can electronically transfer information from their remote locations to the central information system regarding criminal activity or general reports. This information can be processed in this database to provide the San Diego Police Department with useful information on crime, criminals and statistics. These may include felons that may be involved in various criminal activities, crimes that are mostly committed in a neighborhood or statistics on the effectiveness of the department in the specific neighborhood. Further the information technology infrastructure is also used to efficiently monitor the performance of police officers on duty. Besides efficiency enhancing policing, the Information technology infrastructure has also improved the integration of the community with SDPD. For instance, individuals can log on to the website of the police department and use various maps available online to conduct criminal analysis. This is just one of the facilities made available to the community and part of the Community-Oriented Policing objective at SDPD. The inclusion of community in criminal justice is complimented with various computerized processes based on the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment) Model which cumulatively make the Problem-Oriented Policing strategy of the police department. Concisely, the various strategies implemented by the department promise community inclusion in criminal justice and analysis and end up contributing to the success of SDPD’s mission. Financial Situation Finances are the backbone of the any organization as refining the state of the community comes at a cost which must be met. Finances help any organization buy and employ resources towards a definite objective. Similarly San Diego Police Department has the primary objective of making the city a secure place by protecting them and further improving their quality of life. In order to realize these (and many other) objectives for the mission of the police department, the department needs finances. Once finances have been obtained, which is further required is the proper and efficient management of these finances in order to get the maximum out a limited finances. Budgeting is used by SDPD to plan its finances most effectively. The total annual departmental budge of SDPD is just under $300 million (the final budge allocation for the year 2004 is $287,972,689). This total budget is further allocated systematically for various activities. For instance, a major portion of this budget goes into the personnel expense account, which also includes the salaries and wages of employees. The remaining of the department’s budget goes into non-personnel expenses. This amount covers expenses for everything ranging from maintenance, acquirement of the existing infrastructure, to costs of implementing the technological infrastructure and training. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003; Decker, Cordner, Ward, 1999) The major part of the budget is used to cover personnel expenses. This shows the worth and its expected reliance on the human resource for the success of the mission of the department. Like any other organization, monetary benefits are used to keep the human resource motivated. When the major portion of the budgeted amount is spent on salaries, the remaining amount is still a hefty lot for the police department to plan investment in information technology and other infrastructure – efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of SDPD. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003; Decker, Cordner, Ward, 1999) The primary sources for the finances made available to the San Diego Police Department are five, namely: Property Tax, Sales Tax, Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), Motor Vehicle License Fee (MVLF) and Franchise Fee. As the financial resource of SDPD depends on the City’s General Fund, they are generally sensitive to political and economic stimuli coming from either local, state or national levels. Fluctuations in any of these sources tend to directly impact the funding of various other departments in San Diego, besides the Police Department. This suggests that adverse political or economic climate of San Diego, California or the United States may have adverse impact on the financial position of the San Diego Police Department. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003) Organizational Design Strategy The organizational hierarchy is clearly listed at the San Diego Police Department Web Site (2003). The organizational hierarchy shows the structure of the police department and the chain of command can be conveniently analyzed. An analysis of the organizational chart reveals that the department is arranged in a way of a business organization with the Chief of Police as the CEO, and the managers take places lower in the hierarchy. So much so that the organizational chart is also labeled as â€Å"San Diego Police Business Center†. These similarities do not stop here, where other similarities such as community involvement in attaining the mission of the organization is another front where SDPD conjoins with any other business organization. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003) The organizational hierarchy is top down, however possesses horizontal attributes, which make communication between individuals working at the same level (horizontal communication) and also across departments. Vertical communication however is not favorable in the top-down hierarchy. (The City of San Diego Web Site, 2003) Further analysis of the organizational chart of the San Diego Police Department reveals that the department intends to implement a central control over other departments / entities working lower in the hierarchy. This organizational design will be helpful in enforcing strict monitoring and accountability of entities lower in the hierarchy. Such an organizational design, therefore, is used to implement effective programs and reduce the relaxation/room for errors for entities as activities are reported to entities higher up in the hierarchy design. This is one strategy that is used to accomplish the mission of ethical policing at all levels within the department. It is safe to suggest that the organizational design of the San Diego Police Department compliments its ethical policing objective. Strategic Plan for San Diego Police Department The aforementioned analysis has laid the foundation to devise a strategic plan for the San Diego police department for the coming years. The analysis of the department’s mission, critical success factors, financial situation and organizational design strategy are the groundwork for a smart strategic plan for the department, which would otherwise not be feasible without these analyses. The following is a suggested strategic plan for the San Diego Police Department including justification for each strategy suggested. Strategic Design for SDPD The analysis of the organizational design reveals a hierarchy with strict and inflexible structure. This organizational design might be appropriate for implementation of ethical policing and complimenting strict measures of control within the department, however the organizational design conflicts with an important aspect within any organization, i.e. communication. The design strategy hinders communications within different departments at different levels of the hierarchy. The design strategy suggests to the community that officers and entities placed lower in the hierarchy will be the interface for dealing with the department, whereas entities higher in the hierarchy depict not much interaction with the public. It is important to mention here the expectancy of the public to have transparent execution of services as it is the public’s money which is the source for funding the police department. Therefore, what the San Diego Police Department needs is an organizational design that fosters communication with all the entities involved in policing, however one that also implements a strict control for implementing ethical policing without hindrance. This can be implemented with a new, lean organizational design. A horizontal organizational hierarchy will implement better communication between entities within the department, at all levels of the hierarchy. However, such a design cannot be implemented without compromising control and accountability of the entities within the department. Thus, to back the same level of control and accountability, SDPD must be backed by assigning leadership status to each entity within the department, along with delegation of responsibility and authority. This assignment of leadership, responsibility and authority offers the officers/entities the right mix for operating independently within the department. An entity responsible for accountability and gauging the execution of duties of each entity must be assigned in the department to conduct assessment of the operations of duties and delegated responsibilities. A new, lean organization design with provision for better communication and provision for entities to function independently and responsibly may be the m ost efficient organizational design for the San Diego Police Department. Such an organizational design will also help motivate and increase the efficiency of the officers as the ability to act as leaders (with delegated authority and responsibility) will encourage active participation and management of the resources of SDPD. The results from the suggested strategic organizational design are expected to be encouraging. The delegation of responsibility and authority will relieve the entities higher up in the existing SDPD hierarchy of hefty routines for check and accountability. With the new hierarchy, each officer will be actively accountable and responsible for the quality of execution of his/her own duties. A department for accountability can help make this task easier (with the use of existing Information Technology infrastructure being used at the San Diego Police Department). Further, the higher-ups in the existing hierarchy would also be relieved and have more time available for paying attention to devising better strategies for the department and maintenance of its caliber. Contingent Strategy for SDPD As analyzed earlier, the financial strategy of the San Diego Police Department is susceptible to economic and political fluctuations on the local, state or national level. This susceptibility poses a threat to the sustainability of operations of the police department by exhibiting dependence on these factors. The department needs to device a financial management strategy to provide when in difficult times such as those that may not cause disruption of work. This means that an alternative source for generation of funds must be established or sought out by the San Diego Police Department that can cater to the financial needs of the department when other currently implemented sources are not available. A primary activity that the department needs to adopt is the establishment of a reserve that can accommodate the revenues of the department from the previous budgeted year. The reserve funds can be collected over many budgeted periods till a threatening situation occurs and requires SDPD to consume from the reserve. Further, the financial resources of the department must be efficiently allocated. This includes the need for the department to reduce redundancies in processes and eradicate all the hidden costs in operations amongst many other options that prove efficient in management of finances. Using Information Technology tools is another noteworthy activity in this regards which helps reduce inefficient processes, reduces hidden costs by cutting down processing time and reducing the instances of errors. Conclusion The San Diego Police Department has implemented quite a few strategies to minimize crime in the city. Nevertheless SDPD must implement further strategic measures for sustainability of its mission of fighting crime. References 1. The City of San Diego Web Site. (2003) â€Å"About SDPD†. [Online] sannet.gov/police/about/ 2. Decker, S., Cordner, G., Ward, S. (1999). Case Study: San Diego, California Police Department Information Systems Technology Enhancement Project. abtassoc.com/reports/ISTEP_C3.pdf 3. Tos, D. (2000). A Fortune 500 Police Department. Cultural Diversity. Mid-City Division, San Diego Police Department. communitypolicing.org/publications/exchange/e30_00/e30tos.htm 4. Anderson, T. (2000). Every Officer is a Leader Transforming Leadership in Police, Justice, and Public Safety. ISBN/ISSN: 1574441183 5. The Reason Foundation. (2002). Study: San Diego Is Most Efficient City Government in State, San Francisco Least Efficient. rppi.org/022302.html Research Papers on San Diego Police Department - Management Research PaperThe Fifth HorsemanUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresThe Project Managment Office SystemThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCapital PunishmentOpen Architechture a white paperPETSTEL analysis of India19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

Saturday, November 23, 2019

5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words

5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words 5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words 5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words By Mark Nichol The complexity of rules about those little dashes that separate many words for various reasons causes so much misunderstanding that many writers just leave them out of the recipe or spill them randomly into the mixing bowl. But your compositional cuisine need not be so undisciplined. The rules may seem complicated at first, but soon you’ll be able to put hyphens in their place. 1. Adjectives Hyphenate two adjectives united to modify a noun: â€Å"a well-trained writer.† But do so only before the noun: â€Å"a writer who is well trained.† Keep in mind, though, a convention that has arisen in which permanent open compounds, words that have been bonded together to form perpetual concepts, like â€Å"income tax† or â€Å"ice cream,† don’t take a hyphen even in phrases like â€Å"income tax records† and â€Å"ice cream cone.† How do you know which compounds have bonded and which remain free agents? If an open compound is listed in the dictionary, it’s permanent. 2. Adverbs But notice that these rules apply to adjectives but not to a similar-looking class of words; adverbs ending in â€Å"-ly† aren’t hyphenated to the verbs they modify: â€Å"a brightly colored shirt,† â€Å"a quickly memorized poem.† But most other adverbs are (â€Å"little-known fact,† â€Å"best-kept secret†); compounds with â€Å"least,† â€Å"less,† â€Å"most,† and â€Å"more† are exceptions. 3. Nouns Nouns are usually compounded, too, of course (â€Å"footstep,† â€Å"mountaintop†) but some, like â€Å"life-form† and â€Å"mind-set,† resist the closure that most of their like have accepted. Compounds that can be used as verbs and nouns alike differ in that the former are often hyphenated (â€Å"I had to jump-start his car†) and the latter aren’t (â€Å"He asked me for a jump start†). Another example is â€Å"fast track†: â€Å"We fast-tracked the project,† but â€Å"It’s on the fast track.†) 4. Multiword Coumpounds Multiword compounds like â€Å"right-of-way,† â€Å"back-to-back,† and â€Å"up-to-date† always include hyphens. Beware, though: â€Å"Head to toe,† although a common expression, does not appear in the dictionary with or without hyphens, so omit them (unless the phrase modifies a noun: â€Å"a head-to-toe inspection†). Familiar word strings that modify nouns are usually hyphenated before and after: â€Å"next-to-last person in line,† â€Å"the reply was matter-of-fact.† 5. Confusing Words Some words in which you wouldn’t expect a hyphen to persist remain to avoid confusion with a similar word with a different meaning (â€Å"re-cover,† as opposed to â€Å"recover†; â€Å"re-creation† instead of â€Å"recreation†). Had enough? We haven’t even covered every hyphen rule yet, but I’ll save some for later. The bottom line about this floating line, though, is: â€Å"When in doubt, look it up.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should Know75 Synonyms for â€Å"Talk†10 Tips About How to Write a Caption

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Thailand Baht Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thailand Baht - Essay Example The Thai government used a majority of their foreign reserves and bought the Thai Baht so as to give strength to its currency, people were selling Baht in mass numbers and this was further weakening the currency, this step of buying the Baht restored some much needed stability and financial order in the country. â€Å"It cost the Thai government $5 billion to defend the baht, which reduced its "officially reported" foreign exchange reserves to a two-year low of $33 billion. In addition, the Thai government raised key interest rates from 10 percent to 12.5 percent to make holding baht more attractive, but because this also raised corporate borrowing costs it exacerbated the debt crisis. What the world financial community did not know at this point, was that with the blessing of his superiors, a foreign exchange trader at the Thai central bank had locked up most of Thailands foreign exchange reserves in forward contracts.† (Competing in the Global Marketplace) After making several attempts to save the Baht the government of Thailand ran out of reserves and resources and finally accepted that the peg had become implausible to defend. They did make several efforts to save the Baht but they could not succeed. The Thai government had $1.14 billion in reserves and all of it was used and even then the currency could not be saved from a freefall. The government of Thailand made earnest several efforts to save the freefall of Thai Baht, the most important measure perhaps was buying the currency by using their foreign reserves, over a billion dollars were spent on purchasing the Thai Baht but even after spending all their foreign reserves the government fell short of idea and accepted their defeat. To conclude it is fair to say that the efforts were indubitably there but the Thai government got their strategy completely wrong and this is why the currency and the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Students are required to produce a report on information systems Assignment

Students are required to produce a report on information systems - Assignment Example There are various categories of information systems and each category contains particular kinds of information systems for instance management information systems and decision support systems. At the present, the success of an organization completely depends on the effectiveness of an information system. This report discusses the role of information systems in today’s ever-increasing competitive business environment. The basic purpose of this research is to show what role information systems play in the success of an organization and what the future of information systems is. Without a doubt, this era is considered as the era of information technology (IT), where only those business organizations get the success that make use of information technology more effectively than their competitors. Additionally, in order to survive in this ever-increasing competitive business world designing and implementing information systems those produce accurate data and information on the subject of marketplace understanding, customers and competitive capacity. The basic objectives that business organizations want to achieve through the development and implementation of these modern technology based information systems include the overall corporate performance and effective and efficient handling of business data (Turban et al., 2005; Laudon & Laudon, 2005). This report will discuss how information systems are playing a significant role in the successful execution of business operations. This report will also discuss some of the successful examples of information systemsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ success. In their book (Turban et al., 2005, p.18) define an information system as a system which collects, processes, stores, evaluates, and distributes information in order to carry out a specific task. Additionally, the nature of tasks varies from department to department. For

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Saddams rule in Iraq Essay Example for Free

Saddams rule in Iraq Essay In text A, the war is represented as having to have exploited Iraq by the Americans; also the reader accuses Britain of having the same mentality as America and Britain are both allies. This is particularly evident in the same oil companies that used to exploit Iraq when it was a British colony are now returning the Iraq war was all about oil. The modal auxiliary verb was in the past tense makes the writer sound knowledgeable and certain that this was the case and also implies that it was not unexpected from the two super powers, commenting on how they are now returning. The verb exploited and the adverbial of manner used to creates sympathy towards Iraq showing how it has already suffered and been taken advantage of by the allies before. The writer then quotes that a US Federal Chairman, recently admitted. The verbal process verb admitted shows that even parties who are amongst the USA government acknowledge their greedy reasons behind the war on Iraq. The writer used this point to further more persuade that the war was a pointless decision. All three texts refer to Saddams rule in Iraq in correlation to the cause of war in Iraq. Text A expresses how Saddams rule in Iraq was for the benefit of his people and the writer does not blame Saddams dictatorship for Americas invasion of Iraq. Text B, shows a strong opinion against Saddams sadistic regime. Whereas, Text C refers to Saddams regime to be the main cause of war against Iraq. Eric Margolis in Text A, refers to Saddams rule as the benefit of Iraqs national development. The abstract noun benefit ties in with the larger theme of the article Iraq was in a well and stationary position before it was invaded, representing the war on Iraq in a negative way as it almost proves how there was no humane reason for war. However this shows the narrow-mindedness of the writer as Text A offers no criticism of how Saddam tortured his people under his dictatorship, or even explain in what way it increased Iraqs national development. Text B uses the evaluative adjectives tyrannical and sadistic to describe Saddams regime in Iraq. By representing it in this way, the article makes the American forces almost heroic because of their efforts to eliminate him. In Text C, it states how the main goal of the invasion of Iraq was to undermine Saddam Husseins ability to wage war, again using Saddams dictatorship of Iraq as a main reason to war, emphasising the importance and positives of the war. In this simple sentence the word war is first used, as the subject of the sentence is Saddam Hussein, showing how war is only associated with him and not the Americans. To make Saddams actions sound more aggressive the dynamic verb is used to create the alliteration wage war. The three texts use similar methods to represent the war on Iraq in the way that they want to. All three articles are heavily biased, which means one could argue that there could be lack of reasoning behind some of their points. They are also all trying to challenge the representations of the war, both positive and negative. Text A, portrays the war as having no backbone other than greed for oil by the Americans, persuading the reader that this is the ugly truth. Text B, tries to gain some sympathy towards American troops instead of the real victims of the American war against Iraq; however emphasising the good aspects the war on Iraq will bring such as liberating people from Saddams sadistic regime. Text B, uses rhetorical persuasive linguistic features to change the minds of people who are against the war on Iraq by convincing the audience that war on Iraq only has advantages.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Death by Highlighter :: Graduate College Admissions Essays

Death by Highlighter I woke up Tuesday morning with a strange sense that I was not alone in bed. Something was jabbing me in the left hip. I opened one eye tentatively. It was 8:47 a.m., and I did not want to be awake. I investigated the source of the jabbing feeling to discover, to my horror, a florescent yellow, uncapped highlighter that I had let slip after falling asleep while reading a report on science and engineering at Duke. I shuddered, moved the higlighter to a more innocuous location on the floor, and went back to sleep. The perils of highlighters, however, extend well beyond my now-fluorescent-yellow sheets, nightgown and left hip. Having highlighted my way through three years of college, four years of high school and a few years of junior high, I have reached the shocking conclusion that highlighters have undermined my education. Before the days of transparent yellow markers, readers took notes on reading, or wrote in ball-point pen in the margins, forcing themselves to transmit information from words on a page to coherent thought to at least somewhat coherent squiggles on the page. The highlighter offers a seductive shortcut--the reader can bypass the "coherent thought to squiggle" step of the process and simply smear interesting passages with fluorescent ink, no analysis required. Particularly impressive phrases may merit an emphatic mark in the margin, and, on rare occasions, the holder of the fluorescent wand may even add a note in blue or black ink. Regardless, however, the marker-wielding reader generally smears large tracts of text with ink, never bothering to summarize or paraphrase information. I know the pathological symptoms of highlighter-addiction because I am a victim. I shouldn't have turned out this way--I had a strictly traditional fifth-grade history teacher who required us to take notes on our reading in outline form. But something happened in high school, I think in European History, when I realized I could never write down every iota of information in our menacingly dense text book--so I grabbed hold of a highlighter and started marking interesting facts in bright yellow. I meant to make notes in the margins, but there wasn't time . . . and so I launched myself down the highlighter path to mental oblivion. Highlighters should shoulder at least as much of the blame as MTV for Generation X's short attention span and anti-intellectual leanings. Death by Highlighter :: Graduate College Admissions Essays Death by Highlighter I woke up Tuesday morning with a strange sense that I was not alone in bed. Something was jabbing me in the left hip. I opened one eye tentatively. It was 8:47 a.m., and I did not want to be awake. I investigated the source of the jabbing feeling to discover, to my horror, a florescent yellow, uncapped highlighter that I had let slip after falling asleep while reading a report on science and engineering at Duke. I shuddered, moved the higlighter to a more innocuous location on the floor, and went back to sleep. The perils of highlighters, however, extend well beyond my now-fluorescent-yellow sheets, nightgown and left hip. Having highlighted my way through three years of college, four years of high school and a few years of junior high, I have reached the shocking conclusion that highlighters have undermined my education. Before the days of transparent yellow markers, readers took notes on reading, or wrote in ball-point pen in the margins, forcing themselves to transmit information from words on a page to coherent thought to at least somewhat coherent squiggles on the page. The highlighter offers a seductive shortcut--the reader can bypass the "coherent thought to squiggle" step of the process and simply smear interesting passages with fluorescent ink, no analysis required. Particularly impressive phrases may merit an emphatic mark in the margin, and, on rare occasions, the holder of the fluorescent wand may even add a note in blue or black ink. Regardless, however, the marker-wielding reader generally smears large tracts of text with ink, never bothering to summarize or paraphrase information. I know the pathological symptoms of highlighter-addiction because I am a victim. I shouldn't have turned out this way--I had a strictly traditional fifth-grade history teacher who required us to take notes on our reading in outline form. But something happened in high school, I think in European History, when I realized I could never write down every iota of information in our menacingly dense text book--so I grabbed hold of a highlighter and started marking interesting facts in bright yellow. I meant to make notes in the margins, but there wasn't time . . . and so I launched myself down the highlighter path to mental oblivion. Highlighters should shoulder at least as much of the blame as MTV for Generation X's short attention span and anti-intellectual leanings.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Engage in personal development in health, social care Essay

1.1 Describe the duties and responsibilities of own work role. I work with clients with Autism and/or a learning disability, within a supported housing setting. My current job role is as a ‘care assistant’. I am responsible for providing support to the service user’s, which includes: personal care, assisting with meal preparation, assisting with medication, organising service user finances, assisting with meal planning and maintaining records. The main purpose of my work is to assist and work alongside clients in their own homes and in the community, helping those clients to access and take part in a full range of community activities. It is my duty to enable clients to acquire and practise everyday living skills, to help make full use of the community resources and facilities and to help provide the personal care and supervision required by individual clients. I received an induction training course when I first joined the company, which provided specialised trai ning relating to the learning disability sector. I receive regular supervision with the house manager where I can discuss any problems, and get support. I can also request training, and my manager can highlight areas where I would benefit from further training in. I attend regular refresher courses in training, so that I am up to date with the current standards required for my role. I treat all service users with respect and dignity, and my work practices reflect and promote equal opportunities. I have read, and understand my Company’s policies and procedures, and am aware of what to do in most circumstances, and the correct reporting/recording procedures to follow. I always work in a professional manner, and ensure all service user information is kept up to date, and confidential. The main purpose of my work is to assist and work alongside clients in their own homes and in the community, helping those clients to access and take part in a full range of community activities. It is my duty to enable clients to acquire and practise everyday living skills, to help make full use of the community resources and facilities and to help provide the personal care and supervision required by individual clients. 1.2 Explain expectations about own work role as expressed in relevant standards. My expectations about my work role are the same as a career as they would be  if I was a service user, I believe you should treat others how you would want to be treated yourself and I’d expect to be treated with dignity and respect In any job your will have standards that you must meet as written in your job description. These are usually ranged from minimum required standards to expected standards, to exceeding expectations. There are regulatory and statutory requirements that are relevant to specific industries which you must comply with for example the GSCC (general social care council) code of conduct would be met with OFSTED standards to provide duties for all employees and employers to comply with. I believe I am aware of all standards that need to be met in my job role at any given time and I make reflective practice a routine part of my job, and would ask my supervisor if I was ever unsure what standards apply to your role. 2.1 Explain the importance of reflective practice in continuously improving the quality of service provided. Reflective practice is important way of learning from experiences and improving services. These methods can determine what methods work well and what doesn’t work very well or not at all. Only when good and poor practices are identified can an accurate assessment of performance be made. Areas of good practice can be built on and repeated and any areas where the service could be improved would be identified and can be addressed with training, advice and support. 2.3 Describe how own values, belief systems and experiences may affect working practice. I believe your background and values are of upmost importance especially in this work setting, a naturally careering person undergoing a careers work role can find the experience very rewarding and very natural however an individual without these particular caring values could find the role a lot of effort and very demanding. Unfortunately I have gained my experience as a career due to a member of my family being autistic, this however as instilled in me a natural ability to provide all levels of care from challenging behaviour to personal care. Looking at this on a bigger scale I can see how this industry could just be a job to some people and therefore would maybe look at some duties as choirs rather than simply helping that person. What you determine as important and what you see as acceptable is an essential single-valued function of who you are. The way in which you respond to subjects or duties is linked to what you believe in, what you consider important and what interests you. You may find you react positively to people who share your values and less warmly to people who have different priorities. When you develop friendships, it is natural to spend more time with people who share your interests and values. However, the professional relationships you develop with people are another matter. As a professional, you are responsible to provide the same quality of support for all. Working in the care sector, you are bound to come across people whose views you do not agree with, and who never seem to understand your point of view. Awareness of differences, your reaction to them and how they affect the way you work is a crucial part of this role and your own professional development. If you allow your own preferences to dominate your work with people, you will inevitably fail to perform to the standards of the Codes of Practice. Beliefs can cause many issues in the care sector, from obvious reasons like the individual would accept only male or female carers to religious beliefs which can be very difficult to understand but is essential to get right to provide good care. If you were careering for an individual of a different religious background their beliefs would be of upmost importance to them and so you must respect that, this could affect a career in a number of ways for example this things in which they talk about, the clothes they wear and being to open with their own religious beliefs could upset the service user. Personal experiences I think play a major role in a persons desired job role, for example a young person who spent a lot of time as a child helping out their father on a building site would more than likely find a skill he or she liked within that industry as they have been introduced to it from a young age. A personal experience story I think answers this question very well is that of my si ster who in a mad panic last year through no choice of her own had to deliver our sisters baby and save his life after he had stopped breathing. Baby and mother all doing well now my sister has just started a midwifery course as she describes the experience as overwhelming and magical, This could lead to a full time job for my sister all spurred on by a personal experience. 4.1 Identify sources of support for planning and reviewing own development. As a large percentage of my job is homecare so my first source of support would be the house manager then the parents/family of the client, and in some cases depending  on the individual’s capacity and communication maybe the client themselves. From these I can learn what has worked in the past and what methods have been tried. I can also get the back story of the client to try and think of new methods and activities in order to help the client’s progression. The client would also have a service plan in their personal file where I can find most of the information I need. If I was working in a community centre I would first read the clients file to try and gather information to fuel my development in order to provide a better service. If I felt I needed more or just further development I could also speak to my seniors within the community centre. The company also hold more detailed files and information that I can access when I need in order to plan and or review development. We regularly receive supervision meetings to discuss any matters and to plan and review development. Here I can ask to be enrolled onto training courses I think would benefit me and my clients.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER THREE HISTORIAN

HISTORIAN Janov Pelorat was white-haired and his face, in repose, looked rather empty. It was rarefy in anything but repose. He was of average height and weight and tended to move without haste and to speak with deliberation. He seemed considerably older than his fifty-two years. He had never left Terminus, something that was most unusual, especially for one of his profession. He himself wasn't sure whether his sedentary ways were because of – or in spite of – his obsession with history. The obsession had come upon him quite suddenly at the age of fifteen when, during some indisposition, he was given a book of early legends. In it, he found the repeated motif of a world that was alone and isolated – a world that was not even aware of its isolation, since it had never known anything else. His indisposition began to clear up at once. Within two days, he had read the book three times and was out of bed. The day after that he was at his computer terminal, checking for any records that the Terminus University Library might have on similar legends. It was precisely such legends that had occupied him ever since. The Terminus University Library had by no means been a great resource in this respect but, when he grew older, he discovered the joys of interlibrary loans. He had printouts in his possession which had been taken off hyper-radiational signals from as far away as Ifnia. He had become a professor of ancient history and was now beginning his first sabbatical – one for which he had applied with the idea of taking a trip through space (his first) to Trantor itself – thirty-seven years later. Pelorat was quite aware that it was most unusual for a person of Terminus to have never been in space. It had never been his intention to be notable in this particular way. It was just that whenever he might have gone into space, some new book, some new study, some new analysis came his way. He would delay his projected trip until he had wrung the new matter dry and had added, if possible, one more item of fact, or speculation, or imagination to the mountain he had collected. In the end, his only regret was that the particular trip to Trantor had never been made. Trantor had been the capital of the First Galactic Empire. It had been the seat of Emperors for twelve thousand years and, before that, the capital of one of the most important pre-Imperial kingdoms, which had, little by little, captured or otherwise absorbed the other kingdoms to establish the Empire. Trantor had been a world-girdling city, a metal-coated city. Pelorat had read of it in the works of Gaal Dornick, who had visited it in the time of Hari Seldon himself. Dornick's volume no longer circulated and the one Pelorat owned might have been sold for half the historian's annual salary. A suggestion that he might part with it would have horrified the historian. Of course, what Pelorat cared about, as far as Trantor was concerned, was the Galactic Library, which in Imperial times (when it was the Imperial Library) had been the largest in the Galaxy. Trantor was the capital of the largest and most populous Empire humanity had ever seen. It had been a single worldwide city with a population well in excess of forty billion, and its Library had been the gathered record of all the creative (and not-so-creative) work of humanity, the full summary of its knowledge. And it was all computerized in so complex a manner that it took experts to handle the computers. What was more, the Library had survived. To Pelorat, that was the amazing thing about it. When Trantor had fallen and been sacked, nearly two and a half centuries before, it had undergone appalling destruction, and the tales of human misery and death would not bear repeating – yet the Library had survived, protected (it was said) by the University students, who used ingeniously devised weapons. (Some thought the defense by the students might well have been thoroughly romanticized.) In any case, the Library had endured through the period of devastation. Ebling Mis had done his work in an intact Library in a ruined world when he had almost located the Second Foundation (according to the story which the people of the Foundation still believed, but which historians have always treated with reserve). The three generations of Darells – Bayta, Toran, and Arkady – had each, at one time or another, been on Trantor. However, Arkady had not visited the Library, and since her time the Library had not impinged on Galactic history. No Foundationer had been on Trantor in a hundred and twenty years, but there was no reason to believe the Library was not still there. That it had made no impingement was the surest evidence in favor of its being there. Its destruction would surely have made a noise. The Library was outmoded and archaic – it had been so even in Ebling Mis's time – but that was all to the good. Pelorat always rubbed his hands with excitement when he thought of an old and outmoded Library. The older and the more outmoded, the more likely it was to have what he needed. In his dreams, he would enter the Library and ask in breathless alarm, â€Å"Has the Library been modemized? Have you thrown out the old tapes and computerizations?† And always he imagined the answer from dusty and ancient librarians, â€Å"As it has been, Professor, so is it still.† And now his dream would come true. The Mayor herself had assured him of that. How she had known of his work, he wasn't quite sure. He had not succeeded in publishing many papers. Little of what he had done was solid enough to be acceptable for publication and what had appeared had left no mark. Still, they said Branno the Bronze knew all that went on in Terminus and had eyes at the end of every finger and toe. Pelorat could almost believe it, but if she knew of his work, why on Terminus didn't she see its importance and give him a little financial support before this? Somehow, he thought, with as much bitterness as he could generate, the Foundation had its eyes fixed firmly on the future. It was the Second Empire and their destiny that absorbed them. They had no time, no desire, to peer back into the past – and they were irritated by those who did. The more fools they, of course, but he could not single-handedly wipe out folly. And it might be better so. He could hug the great pursuit to his own chest and the day would come when he would be remembered as the great Pioneer of the Important. That meant, of course (and he was too intellectually honest to refuse to perceive it), that he, too, was absorbed in the future – a future in which he would be recognized, and in which he would be a hero on a par with Hari Seldon. In fact, he would be the greater, for how could the working out of a clearly visualized future a millennium long stand comparison with the working out of a lost past at least twenty-five millennia old. And this was the day; this was the day. The Mayor had said it would be the day after Seldon's image made its appearance. That was the only reason Pelorat had been interested in the Seldon Crisis that for months had occupied every mind on Terminus and indeed almost every mind in the Federation. It had seemed to him to make the most trifling difference as to whether the capital of the Foundation had remained here at Terminus, or had been shifted somewhere else. And now that the crisis had been resolved, he remained unsure as to which side of the matter Hari Seldon had championed, or if the matter under dispute had been mentioned at all. It was enough that Seldon had appeared and that now this was the day. It was a little after two in the afternoon that a ground-car slid to a halt in the driveway of his somewhat isolated house just outside Terminus proper. A rear door slid back. A guard in the uniform of the Mayoralty Security Corps stepped out, then a young man, then two more guards. Pelorat was impressed despite himself. The Mayor not only knew of his work but clearly considered it of the highest importance. The person who was to be his companion was given an honor guard, and he had been promised a first-class vessel which his companion would be able to pilot. Most flattering! Most – Pelorat's housekeeper opened the door. The young man entered and the two guards positioned themselves on either side of the entrance. Through the window, Pelorat saw that the third guard remained outside and that a second ground-car had now pulled up. Additional guards! Confusing! He turned to find the young man in his room and was surprised to find that he recognized him. He had seen him on holocasts. He said, â€Å"You're that Councilman. You're Trevize!† â€Å"Golan Trevize. That's right. You are Professor Janov Pelorat?† â€Å"Yes, yes,† said Pelorat. â€Å"Are you he who will – â€Å" â€Å"We are going to be fellow travelers,† said Trevize woodenly. â€Å"Or so I have been told.† â€Å"But you're not a historian.† â€Å"No, I'm not. As you said, I'm a Councilman, a politician.† â€Å"Yes, Yes, But what am I thinking about? I am a historian, therefore what need for another? You can pilot a spaceship.† â€Å"Yes, I'm pretty good at that.† â€Å"Well, that's what we need, then. Excellent! I'm afraid I'm not one of your practical thinkers, young man, so if it should happen that you are, we'll make a good team.† Trevize said, â€Å"I am not, at the moment, overwhelmed with the excellence of my own thinking, but it seems we have no choice but to try to make it a good team.† â€Å"Let's hope, then, that I can overcome my uncertainty about space. I've never been in space, you know, Councilman. I am a groundhog, if that's the term. Would you like a glass of tea, by the way? I'll have Moda prepare us something. It is my understanding that it will be some hours before we leave, after all. I am prepared right now, however. I have what is necessary for both of us. The Mayor has been most co-operative. Astonishing – her interest in the project.† Trevize said, â€Å"You've known about this, then? How long?† â€Å"The Mayor approached me† (here Pelorat frowned slightly and seemed to be making certain calculations) â€Å"two, or maybe three, weeks ago. I was delighted. And now that I have got it clear in my head that I need a pilot and not a second historian, I am also delighted that my companion will be you, my dear fellow.† â€Å"Two, maybe three, weeks ago,† repeated Trevize, sounding a little dazed. â€Å"She was prepared all this time, then. And I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He faded out. â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Nothing, Professor. I have a bad habit of muttering to myself. It is something you will have to grow accustomed to, if our trip extends itself.† â€Å"It will. It will,† said Pelorat, bustling the other to the dining room table, where an elaborate tea was being; prepared by his housekeeper. â€Å"Quite open-ended. The Mayor said we were to take as long as we liked and that the Galaxy lay all before us and, indeed, that wherever we went we could call upon Foundation funds. She said, of course, that we would have to be reasonable. I promised that much.† He chuckled and rubbed his hands: â€Å"Sit down, my good fellow, sit down. This may be our last meal on Terminus for a very long time.† Trevize sat down. He said, â€Å"Do you have a family, Professor?† â€Å"I have a son. He's on the faculty at Santanni University. A chemist, I believe, or something like that. He took after his mother's side. She hasn't been with me for a long time, so you see I have no responsibilities, no active hostages to fortune. I trust you have none – help yourself to the sandwiches, my boy.† â€Å"No hostages at the moment. A few women. They come and go.† â€Å"Yes. Yes. Delightful when it works out. Even more delightful when you find it need not be taken seriously. – No children, I take it. â€Å"None.† â€Å"Good! You know, I'm in the most remarkable good humor. I was taken aback when you first came in. I admit it. But I find you quite exhilarating now. What I need is youth and enthusiasm and someone who can find his way about the Galaxy. We're on a search, you know. A remarkable search.† Pelorat's quiet face and quiet voice achieved an unusual animation without any particular change in either expression or intonation. â€Å"I wonder if you have been told about this. Trevize's eyes narrowed. â€Å"A remarkable search?† â€Å"Yes indeed. A pearl of great price is hidden among the tens of millions of inhabited worlds in the Galaxy and we have nothing but the faintest clues to guide us. just the same, it will be an incredible prize if we can find it. If you and I can carry it off, my boy – Trevize, I should say, for I don't mean to patronize – our names will ring down the ages to the end of time.† â€Å"The prize you speak of – this pearl of great price.† â€Å"I sound like Arkady Darell – the writer, you know – speaking of the Second Foundation, don't I? no wonder you look astonished.† Pelorat – leaned his head back as though he were going to break into loud laughter but he merely smiled. â€Å"Nothing so silly and unimportant, I assure you.† Trevize said, â€Å"If you are not speaking of the Second Foundation, Professor, what are you speaking of?† Pelorat was suddenly grave, even apologetic. â€Å"Ah, then the Mayor has not told you? – It is odd, you know. I've spent decades resenting the government and its inability to understand what I'm doing, and now Mayor Branno is being remarkably generous.† â€Å"Yes,† said Trevize, not trying to conceal an intonation of irony, â€Å"she is a woman of remarkable hidden philanthropy, but she has not told me what this is all about.† â€Å"You are not aware of my research, then?† â€Å"No. I'm sorry.† â€Å"No need to excuse yourself. Perfectly all right. I have not exactly made a splash. Then let me tell you. You and I are going to search for – and find, for I have an excellent possibility in mind – Earth.† Trevize did not sleep well that night. Over and over, he thrashed about the prison that the old woman had built around him. Nowhere could he find a way out. He was being driven into exile and he could do nothing about it. She had been calmly inexorable and did not even take the trouble to mask the unconstitutionality of it all. He had relied on his rights as a Councilman and as a citizen of the Federation, and she hadn't even paid them lip service. And now this Pelorat, this odd academic who seemed to be located in the world without being part of it, told him that the fearsome old woman had been making arrangements for this for weeks. He felt like the â€Å"boy† that she had called him. He was to be exiled with a historian who kept â€Å"dear fellowing† him and who seemed to be in a noiseless fit of joy over beginning a Galactic search for – Earth? What in the name of the Mule's grandmother was Earth? He had asked. Of course! He had asked upon the moment of its mention. He had said, â€Å"Pardon me, Professor. I am ignorant of your specialty and I trust you won't be annoyed if I ask for an explanation in simple terms. What is Earth?† Pelorat stared at him gravely while twenty seconds moved slowly past. He said, â€Å"It is a planet. The original planet. The one on which human beings first appeared, my dear fellow.† Trevize stared. â€Å"First appeared? From where?† â€Å"From nowhere. It's the planet on which humanity developed through evolutionary processes from lower animals.† Trevize thought about it, then shook his head. â€Å"I don't know what you mean.† An annoyed expression crossed Pelorat's face briefly. He cleared his throat and said, â€Å"There was a time when Terminus had no human beings upon it. It was settled by human beings from other worlds. You know that, I suppose?† â€Å"Yes, of course,† said Trevize impatiently. He was irritated at the other's sudden assumption of pedagogy. â€Å"Very well. This is true of all the other worlds. Anacreon, Santanni, Kalgan – all of them. They were all, at some time in the past, founded. People arrived there from other worlds. It's true even of Trantor. It may have been a great metropolis for twenty thousand years, but before that it wasn't.† â€Å"Why, what was it before that?† â€Å"Empty? At least of human beings.† â€Å"That's hard to believe.† â€Å"It's true. The old records show it.† â€Å"Where did the people come from who first settled Trantor?† â€Å"No one is certain. There are hundreds of planets which claim to have been populated in the dim mists of antiquity and whose people present fanciful tales about the nature of the first arrival of humanity. Historians tend to dismiss such things and to brood over the ‘Origin Question.'† â€Å"What is that? I've never heard of it.† â€Å"That doesn't surprise me. It's not a popular historical problem now, I admit, but there was a time during the decay of the Empire when it roused a certain interest among intellectuals. Salvor Hardin mentions it briefly in his memoirs. It's the question of the identity and location of the one Planet from which it all started. If ,we look backward in time, humanity flows inward from the most recently established worlds to older ones, to still older ones, until all concentrates on one – the original.† Trevize thought at once of the obvious flaw in the argument. â€Å"Might there not have been a large number of originals?† â€Å"Of course not. All human beings all over the Galaxy are of a single species. A single species cannot originate on more than one planet. Quite impossible.† â€Å"How do you know?† â€Å"In the first place.† Pelorat ticked off the first finger of his left hand with the first finger of his right, and then seemed to think better of what would undoubtedly have been a long and intricate exposition. He put both hands at his side and said with great earnestness, â€Å"My dear fellow, I give you my word of honor.† Trevize bowed formally and said, â€Å"I would not dream of doubting it, Professor Pelorat. Let us say, then, that there is one planet of origin, but might there not be hundreds who lay claim to the honor?† â€Å"There not only might be, there are. Yet every claim is without merit. Not one of those hundreds that aspire to the credit of priority shows any trace of a prehyperspatial society, let alone any trace of human evolution from prehuman organisms.† â€Å"Then are you saying that there is a planet of origin, but that, for some reason, it is not making the claim?† â€Å"You have hit it precisely.† â€Å"And you are going to search for it?† â€Å"We are. That is our mission. Mayor Branno has arranged it all. You will pilot our ship to Trantor.† â€Å"To Trantor? It's not the planet of origin. You said that much a while ago.† â€Å"Of course Trantor isn't. Earth is.† â€Å"Then why aren't you telling me to pilot the ship to Earth?† â€Å"I am not making myself clear. Earth is a legendary name. It is enshrined in ancient myths. It has no meaning we can be certain of, but it is convenient to use the word as a one-syllable synonym for ‘the planet of origin of the human species.' just which planet in real space is the one we are defining as ‘Earth' is not known.† â€Å"Will they know on Trantor?† â€Å"I hope to find information there, certainly. Trantor possesses the Galactic Library, the greatest in the system.† â€Å"Surely that Library has been searched by those people you said were interested in the ‘Origin Question' in the time of the First Empire.† Pelorat nodded thoughtfully, â€Å"Yes, but perhaps not well enough. I have learned a great deal about the ‘Origin Question' that perhaps the Imperials of five centuries back did not know. I might search the old records with greater understanding, you see. I have been thinking about this for a long time and I have an excellent possibility in mind.† â€Å"You have told Mayor Branno all this, I imagine, and she approves?† â€Å"Approves? My dear fellow, she was ecstatic. She told me that Trantor was surely the place to find out all I needed to know.† â€Å"No doubt,† muttered Trevize. That was part of what occupied him that night. Mayor Branno was sending him out to find out what he could about the Second Foundation. She was sending him with Pelorat so that he might mask his real aim with the pretended search for Earth – a search that could carry him anywhere in the Galaxy. It was a perfect cover, in fact, and he admired the Mayor's ingenuity. But Trantor? Where was the sense in that? Once they were on Trantor, Pelorat would find his way into the Galactic Library and would never emerge. With endless stacks of books, films, and recordings, with innumerable computerizations and symbolic representations, he would surely never want to leave. Besides that – Ebling Mis had once gone to Trantor, in the Mule's time. The story was that he had found the location of the Second Foundation there and had died before he could reveal it. But then, so had Arkady Darell, and she had succeeded in locating the Second Foundation. But the location she had found was on Terminus itself, and there the nest of Second Foundationers was wiped out. Wherever the Second Foundation was now would be elsewhere, so what more had Trantor to tell? If be were looking for the Second Foundation, it was best to go anywhere but Trantor. Besides that – What further plans Branno had, he did not know, but he was not in the mood to oblige her. Branno had been ecstatic, had she, about a trip to Trantor? Well, if Branno wanted Trantor, they were not going to Trantor! – Anywhere else. – But not Trantor! And worn out, with the night verging toward dawn, Trevize fell at last into a fitful slumber. Mayor Branno had had a good day on the one following the arrest of Trevize. She had been extolled far beyond her deserts and the incident was never mentioned. Nevertheless, she knew well that the Council would soon emerge from its paralysis and that questions would be raised. She would have to act quickly. So, putting a great many matters to one side, she pursued the matter of Trevize. At the time when Trevize and Pelorat were discussing Earth, Branno was facing Councilman Munn Li Compor in the Mayoralty Office. As he sat across the desk from her, perfectly at ease, she appraised him once again. He was smaller and slighter than Trevize and only two years older. Both were freshmen Councilmen, young and brash, and that must have been the only thing that held them together, for they were different in all other respects. Where Trevize seemed to radiate a glowering intensity, Compor shone with an almost serene self-confidence. Perhaps it was his blond hair and blue eyes, not at all common among Foundationers. They lent him an almost feminine delicacy that (Branno judged) made him less attractive to women than Trevize was. He was clearly vain of his looks, though, and made the most of them, wearing his hair rather long and making sure that it was carefully waved. He wore a faint blue shadowing under his eyebrows to accentuate the eye color. (Shadowing of various tints had become common among men these last ten years.) He was no womanizer. He lived sedately with his wife, but had not yet registered parental intent and was not known to have a clandestine second companion. That, too, was different from Trevize, who changed housemates as often as he changed the loudly colored sashes for which he was notorious. There was little about either young Councilman that Kodell's department had not uncovered, and Kodell himself sat quietly in one corner of the room, exuding a comfortable good cheer as always. Branno said, â€Å"Councilman Compor, you have done the Foundation good service, but unfortunately for yourself, it is not of the sort that can be praised in public or repaid in ordinary fashion.† Compor smiled. He had white and even teeth, and Branno idly wondered, for one flashing moment if all the inhabitants of the Sirius Sector looked like that. Compor's tale of stemming from that particular, rather peripheral, region went back to his maternal grandmother, who had also been blond-haired and blue-eyed and who had maintained that her mother was from the Sirius Sector. According to Kodell, however, there was no hard evidence in favor of that. Women being what they were, Kodell had said, she might well have claimed distant and exotic ancestry to add to her glamour and her already formidable attractiveness. â€Å"Is that how women are?† Branno had asked drily, and Kodell had smiled and muttered that he was referring to ordinary women, of course. Compor said, â€Å"It is not necessary that the people of the Foundation know of my service – only that you do.† â€Å"I know and I will not forget. What I also will not do is to let you assume that your obligations are now over. You have embarked on a complicated course and you must continue. We want more about Trevize.† â€Å"I have told you all I know concerning him.† â€Å"That may be what you would have me believe. That may even be what you truly believe yourself. Nevertheless, answer my questions. Do you know a gentleman named Janov Pelorat?† For just a moment Compor's forehead creased, then smoothed itself almost at once. He said carefully, â€Å"I might know him if I were to see him, but the name does not seem to cause any association within me.† â€Å"He is a scholar.† Compor's mouth rounded into a rather contemptuous but unsounded â€Å"Oh?† as though he were surprised that the Mayor would expect him to know scholars. Branno said, â€Å"Pelorat is an interesting person who, for reasons of his own, has the ambition of visiting Trantor. Councilman Trevize will accompany him. Now, since you have been a good friend of Trevize and . perhaps know his system of thinking, tell me. Do you think Trevize will consent to go to Trantor?† Compor said, â€Å"If you see to it that Trevize gets on the ship, and if the ship is piloted to Trantor, what can he do but go there? Surely you don't suggest he will mutiny and take over the ship.† â€Å"You don't understand. He and Pelorat will be alone on the ship and it will be Trevize at the controls.† â€Å"You are asking whether he would go voluntarily to Trantor?† â€Å"Yes, that is what I am asking.† â€Å"Madam Mayor, how can I possibly know what he will do?† â€Å"Councilman Compor, you have been close to Trevize. You know his belief in the existence of the Second Foundation. Has he never spoken to you of his theories as to where it might exist, where it might be found?† â€Å"Never, Madam Mayor.† â€Å"Do you think he will find it?† Compor chuckled. â€Å"I think the Second Foundation, whatever it was and however important it might have been, was wiped out in the time of Arkady Darell. I believe her story.† â€Å"Indeed? In that case, why did you betray your friend? If he were searching for something that does not exist, what harm could he have done by propounding his quaint theories?† Compor said, â€Å"It is not the truth alone that can harm. His theories may have been merely quaint, but they might have succeeded in unsettling the people of Terminus and, by introducing doubts and fears as to the Foundation's role in the great drama of Galactic history, have weakened its leadership of the Federation and its dreams of a Second Galactic Empire. Clearly you thought this yourself, or you would not have seized him on the floor of the Council, and you would not now be forcing him into exile without trial. Why have you done so, if I may ask, Mayor?† â€Å"Shall we say that I was cautious enough to wonder if there were some faint chance that he might be right, and that the expression of his views might be actively and directly dangerous?† Compor said nothing. Branno said, â€Å"I agree with you, but I am forced by the responsibilities of my position to consider the possibility. Let me ask you again if you have any indication as to where he might think the Second Foundation exists, and where he might go.† â€Å"I have none.† â€Å"He has never given you any hints in that direction?† â€Å"No, of course not.† â€Å"Never? Don't dismiss the thought easily. Think! Never?† â€Å"Never,† said Compor firmly. â€Å"No hints? no joking remarks? no doodles? no thoughtful abstractions at moments that achieve significance as you look back on them?† â€Å"None. I tell you, Madam Mayor, his dreams of the Second Foundation are the most nebulous starshine. You know it, and you but waste your time and your emotions in your concern over it.† â€Å"You are not by some chance suddenly changing sides again and protecting the friend you delivered into my hands?† â€Å"No,† said Compor. â€Å"I turned him over to you for what seemed to me to be good and patriotic reasons. I have no reason to regret the action, or to change my attitude.† â€Å"Then you can give me no hint as to where he might go once he has a ship at his disposal?† â€Å"As I have already said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And yet, Councilman,† and here the lines of the Mayor's face so folded as to make her seem wistful, â€Å"I would like to know where he goes.† â€Å"In that case, I think you ought to place a hyper-relay on his ship.† â€Å"I have thought of that, Councilman. He is, however, a suspicious man and I suspect he will find it – however cleverly it might be placed. Of course, it might be placed in such a way that he cannot remove it without crippling the ship, and he might therefore be forced to leave it in place†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"An excellent notion.† â€Å"Except that,† said Branno, â€Å"he would then be inhibited. He might not go where he would go if he felt himself free and untrammeled. The knowledge I would gain would be useless to me.† â€Å"In that case, it appears you cannot find out where he will go.† â€Å"I might, for I intend to be very primitive. A person who expects the completely sophisticated and who guards against it is quite apt never to think of the primitive. – I'm thinking of having Trevize followed.† â€Å"Followed?† â€Å"Exactly. By, another pilot in another spaceship. See how astonished you are at the thought? He would be equally astonished. He might not think of scouring space for an accompanying mass and, in any case, we will see to it that his ship is not equipped with our latest mass-detection devices.† Compor said, â€Å"Madam Mayor, I speak with all possible respect, but I must point out that you lack experience in space flight. To have one ship followed by another is never done – because it won't work. Trevize will escape with the first hyperspatial jump. Even if he doesn't know he is being followed, that first jump will be his path to freedom. If he doesn't have a hyper-relay on board ship, he can't be traced.† â€Å"I admit my lack of experience. Unlike you and Trevize, I have had no naval training. Nevertheless, I am told by my advisers – who have had such training – that if a ship is observed immediately prior to a jump, its direction, speed, and acceleration make it possible to guess what the jump might be – in a general way. Given a good computer and an excellent sense of judgment, a follower might duplicate the jump closely enough to pick up the trail at the other end – especially if the follower has a good mass-detector.† â€Å"That might happen once,† said Compor energetically, â€Å"even twice if the follower is very lucky, but that's it. You can't rely on such things.† â€Å"Perhaps we can. – Councilman Compor, you have hyper-raced in your time. You see, I know a great deal about you. You are an excellent pilot and have done amazing things when it comes to following a competitor through a jump.† Compor's eyes widened. He almost squirmed in his chair. â€Å"I was in college then. I am older now.† â€Å"Not too old. Not yet thirty-five. Consequently you are going to follow Trevize, Councilman. Where he goes, you will follow, and you will report back to me. You will leave soon after Trevize does, and he will be leaving in a few hours. If you refuse the task, Councilman, you will be imprisoned for treason. If you take the ship that we will provide for you, and if you fail to follow, you need not bother coming back. You will be shot out of space if you try.† Compor rose sharply to his feet. â€Å"! have a life to live. I have work to do. I have a wife. I cannot leave it all.† â€Å"You will have to. Those of us who choose to serve the Foundation must be prepared at ail times to serve it in a prolonged and uncomfortable fashion, if that should become necessary.† â€Å"My wife must go with me, of course.† â€Å"Do you take me for an idiot? She stays here, of course.† â€Å"As a hostage?† â€Å"If you like the word. I prefer to say that you will be taking yourself into danger and my kind heart wants her to stay here where she will not be in danger. – There is no room for discussion. You are as much under arrest as Trevize is, and I am sure you understand I must act quickly – before the euphoria enveloping Terminus wears off. I fear my star will soon be in the descendant.† Kodell said, â€Å"You were not easy on him, Madam Mayor.† The Mayor said with a sniff, â€Å"Why should I have been? He betrayed a friend.† â€Å"That was useful to us.† â€Å"Yes, as it happened. His next betrayal, however, might not be.† â€Å"Why should there be another?† â€Å"Come, Liono,† said Branno impatiently, â€Å"don't play games with me. Anyone who displays a capacity for double-dealing must forever be suspected of being capable of displaying it again.† â€Å"He may use the capability to combine with Trevize once again. Together, they may†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You don't believe that. With all his folly and naivete, Trevize goes straight for his goal. He does not understand betrayal and he will never, under any circumstances, trust Compor a second time.† Kodell said, â€Å"Pardon me, Mayor, but let me make sure I follow your thinking. How far, then, can you trust Compor? How do you know he will follow Trevize and report honestly? Do you count on his fears for the welfare of his wife as a restraint? His longing to return to her?† â€Å"Both are factors, but I don't entirely rely on that. On Compor's ship there will be a hyper-relay. Trevize would suspect pursuit and would search for one. However Compor – being the pursuer – will, I assume, not suspect pursuit and will not search for one. – Of course, if he does, and if he finds it, then we must depend on the attractions of his wife.† Kodell laughed. â€Å"To think I once had to give you lessons. And the purpose of the pursuit?† â€Å"A double layer of protection. If Trevize is caught, it may be that Compor will carry on and give us the information that Trevize will not be able to.† â€Å"One more question. What if, by some chance, Trevize finds the Second Foundation, and we learn of it through him, or through Compor, or if we gain reason to suspect its existence – despite the deaths of both?† â€Å"I'm hoping the Second Foundation does exist, Liono,† she said. â€Å"In any case, the Seldon Plan is not going to serve us much longer. The great Hari Seldon devised it in the dying days of the Empire, when technological advance had virtually stopped. Seldon was a product of his times, too, and however brilliant this semimythical science of psychohistory must have been, it could not rise out of its roots. It surely would not allow for raid technological advance. The Foundation has been achieving that, especially in this last century. We have mass-detection devices of a kind undreamed of earlier, computers that can respond to thought, and – most of all – mental shielding. The Second Foundation cannot control us for much longer, if they can do so now. I want, in my final years in power, to be the one to start Terminus on a new path.† â€Å"And if there is, in fact, no Second Foundation?† â€Å"Then we start on a new path at once.† The troubled sleep that had finally come to Trevize did not last long. A touch on his shoulder was repeated a second time. Trevize started up, bleary and utterly failing to understand why he should be in a strange bed. â€Å"What – What – ?† Pelorat said to him apologetically, â€Å"I'm sorry, Councilman Trevize. You are my guest and I owe you rest, but the Mayor is here.† He was standing at the side of the bed in flannel pajamas and shivering slightly. Trevize's senses leaped to a weary wakefulness and he remembered. The Mayor was in Pelorat's living room, looking as composed as always. Kodell was with her, rubbing lightly at his white mustache. Trevize adjusted his sash to the proper snugness and wondered how long the two of them – Branno and Kodell – were ever apart. Trevize said mockingly, † Has the Council recovered yet? Are its members concerned over the absence of one of them?† The Mayor said, â€Å"There are signs of life, yes, but not enough to do you any good. There is no question but that I still have the power to force you to leave. You will be taken to Ultimate Spaceport†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Not Terminus Spaceport, Madam Mayor? Am I to be deprived of a proper farewell from weeping thousands?† â€Å"I see you have recovered your penchant for teenage silliness, Councilman, and I am pleased. It stills what might otherwise be a certain rising twinge of conscience. At Ultimate Spaceport, you and Professor Pelorat will leave quietly.† â€Å"And never return?† â€Å"And perhaps never return. Of course,† and here she smiled briefly, â€Å"if you discover something of so great an importance and usefulness that even I will be glad to have you back with your information, you will return. You may even be treated with honor.† Trevize nodded casually, â€Å"That may happen.† â€Å"Almost anything may happen. – In any case, you will be comfortable. You are being assigned a recently completed pocket-cruiser, the Far Star, named for Hober Mallow's cruiser. One person can handle it, though it will hold as many as three with reasonable comfort.† Trevize was jolted out of his carefully assumed mood of light irony. â€Å"Fully armed?† â€Å"Unarmed but otherwise fully equipped. Wherever you go, you will be citizens of the Foundation and there will always be a consul to whom you can turn, so you will not require arms. You will be able to draw on funds at need. – Not unlimited funds, I might add.† â€Å"You are generous.† â€Å"I know that, Councilman. But, Councilman, understand me. You are helping Professor Pelorat search for Earth. Whatever you think you are searching for, you are searching for Earth. All whom you meet must understand that. And always remember that the Far Star is not armed.† â€Å"I am searching for Earth;† said Trevize. â€Å"I understand that perfectly.† â€Å"Then you will go now.† â€Å"Pardon me, but surely there is more to all of this than we have discussed. I have piloted ships in my time, but I have had no experience with a late-model pocket-cruiser. What if I cannot pilot it?† â€Å"I am told that the Far Star is thoroughly computerized. – And before you ask, you don't have to know how to handle a late-model ship's computer. It will itself tell you anything you need to know. Is there anything else you need?† Trevize looked down at himself ruefully. â€Å"A change of clothing.† â€Å"You will find them on board ship. Including those girdles you wear, or sashes, whichever they are called. The professor is also supplied with what he needs. Everything reasonable is already aboard, although I hasten to add that this does not include female companions.† â€Å"Too bad,† said Trevize. â€Å"It would be pleasant, but then, I have no likely candidate at the moment, as it happens. Still, I presume the Galaxy is populous and that once away from here I may do as I Please.† â€Å"With regard to companions? Suit yourself.† She rose heavily. â€Å"I will not take you to the spaceport,† she said, â€Å"but there are those who will, and you must make no effort to do anything you are not told to do. I believe they will kill you if you make an effort to escape. The fact that I will not be with them will remove any inhibition.† Trevize said, â€Å"I will make no unauthorized effort, Madam Mayor, but one thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† Trevize searched his mind rapidly and finally said with a smile that he very much hoped looked unforced, â€Å"The time may come, Madam Mayor, when you will ask me for an effort. I will then do as I choose, but I will remember the past two days.† Mayor Branno sighed. â€Å"Spare me the melodrama. If the time comes, it will come, but for now – I am asking for nothing.†