History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History - Assignment Example The four castes were recognizable around 1000 BCE (). The division was part of the creation process. For example, the highest caste of Brahmins came about from the mouth of the primeval being Purusha. The other castes were the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. These three castes came about from the Purusha’s arms, thighs and feet respectively. The relative heights of these bodily locations correspond exactly to the relative levels of the four castes in the social hiearchy. There are many other castes in the Aryan social structure as well, but the aforementioned are the main four. Source: Ralph T. Griffith, trans. The Hymns of the Rigveda, 4 vols., 2nd ed. Benares: E. J. Lazarus, 1889–92, 4:289–93. The ‘Mandate from Heaven’ and its significance 5. What is the meaning of the â€Å"Mandate from Heaven?† Why was it significant to the Zhou Dynasty? How did a ruler know he had lost the mandate from heaven? The expression ‘mandate from heaven†™ refers to the legitimacy of the Chinese emperor’s right to rule the throne. Thus, Chinese emperors acquired their office not merely through exercising force but through permission of divine origin. This mandate made the emperor a holder of absolute power though limited by his responsibility towards heaven. A failure to fulfill this responsibility and in enforcing basic morals had the consequence of resulting in a loss of the divine mandate.

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Essay - 1

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information - Essay Example The knowledge sharing benefits offered by the use of ICTs have encouraged local companies to explore global markets. It has also helped multi-national companies to enter new markets worldwide. The paper analyses the information, knowledge and communication needs of Tesco to achieve its objective. The identified objective for this case is ‘To provide help and support to those who are in need through Tesco’s charity trust’. Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen. In 1929, the company opened its first store in Burnt Oak. After 75 years of experience, Tesco is the third largest retailing company in the world (Tesco, 2011). In 1988, the company started the charity of the year partnership through which it supports a different charity every year. In 2009, Tesco entered into a partnership with the British Red Cross. Recent research studies have shown that by 2021, nearly half a million people would be living with undiagnosed dementia. Tesco along with the Alzheimerâ€⠄¢s society and Alzheimer Scotland have planned to raise ?5million to create awareness of the disease. The main objective is to help raise diagnosis levels from 40% by 2014 (Press Releases, 2010). In the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Tesco has come forward to help the victims of the calamity by garnering support through their sales, employees and customers. Tesco has donated ?50,000 through a disaster relief partnership with British Red Cross. The company has encouraged customers to donate their club card vouchers for this cause. Identifying data and information requirements A business requires different types of data from different sources. These include structured/unstructured data, data from different sources (internal and external) and different quality of data (Ranjan, 2009). Internal data is data gathered from internal sources within the company from employees. External data is information and knowledge collected from external stakeholders, such as vendors, suppliers, customers and shareholders. Data obtained from external sources cannot be directly used in decision making. It needs to be further analyzed for developing appropriate knowledge for use within the business processes. For example, data collected from customers by employees needs to be further analyzed and then used by the executive team in decision making (Ranjan, 2009). In the present information age, companies require access to information, knowledge, people and expertise in order to make informed decisions. As a result, organizations invest a lot of capital, time and effort in ensuring they have the right information to communicate, at the right time to the right person. Tesco’s objective relates to recognizing the need for charity funding and defining strategies to ensure that the funding needs of specific causes like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami are met. Since the strategies are based on identifying the funding needs and accessing funds from diff erent sources, Tesco needs to focus on collecting data on charity requirements that can benefit from such funds. The specific data and information required can be identified as below: Charity causes that require funding – in this case the devastation created by the recent Japanese tsunami and earthquake has been identified for collecting funds from company stakeholders and donating it to the Japanese relief

Nursing and Health Care Essay Example for Free

Nursing and Health Care Essay 1. In 1200 B.C., the ill were treated with a mixture of physical, prayer, and magic spells. Temples were health centers. From the 1st-10th century initial care was at the local bishop’s house. They had deacons and deaconesses. In the 19th century, nurses cared for patients while at the risk of exposure to disease. Nursing in hospitals expanded in the 19th century, but nursing the communities did not increase significantly until 1893 when the Henry Street Settlement opened and focused on the health needs of poor people who lived in tenements in New York City. 2. 3. Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; prevention of illness and injury; alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response; and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. 4. She saw the role of nursing as having â€Å"charge of somebody’s health† based on the knowledge of â€Å"how to put the body in such a state to be free of disease or to recover from disease.† She was the first nurse epidemiologist who connected poor sanitation with cholera and dysentery. 5. There were no standards to help control disease. Nursing was not a distinct profession. 6. Florence Nightingale-implemented methods to improve battlefield sanitation, which ultimately reduced illness, infection, and mortality. Clara Barton- 1st woman to gain employment in the federal government and is the founder of the American Red Cross and tended to soldiers on the battlefield, cleansing their wounds, meeting their basic needs and comforting them in death. Dorothea Lynde Dix-School teacher, founded schools, advocate for the mentally ill, formed an army nursing corps, and organized hospitals and ambulatory services. Mary Eliza Mahoney- 1st African-American RN in the USA, concerned with relationships between cultures and races, Cofounder of The National Association of Colored People. Isabel Hampton Robb- founder of modern ANA and American nursing theory, established nursing standards, develop a grading policy, author of nursing textbooks. Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster opened the Henry Street Settlement. 7. Theories are designed to explain a phenomenon such as self-care or caring. A nursing theory is a conceptualization of some aspect of nursing that describes, explains, predicts, or prescribes nursing. It helps to identify the focus, means, and goals of practice. Theories give us perspective for assessing our patients’ situations and organizing data and methods for analyzing and interpreting information. Integration of theory into practice is the basis for professional nursing. PROFESSIONALISM 1. Caring, Competence, Collaboration, Critical thinking, Commitment to Holistic care, Integrity, Responsibility, and Accountability. 2. A profession requires a basic liberal foundation and an extended education of its members, it has a theoretical body of knowledge leading to defined skills, abilities, and norms, it provides a specific service, members of a profession have autonomy in decision making and practice, and the profession as a whole has a code of ethics for practice. 3. LPN Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)- 2 year program that focuses on the basic sciences and theoretical and clinical courses related to the practice of nursing. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)- 4 year programs that focuses on the basic sciences; theoretical and clinical courses; and courses in the social sciences, arts, and humanities to support the nursing theory Master’s Degree- is important for the roles of a nurse educator and nurse administrator, and it is required for an advanced practice registered nurse Doctoral * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)- Emphasize more basic research and theory and research-oriented * Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)- practice-focused and provides skills in obtaining expanded knowledge through the formulation and interpretations of evidence-based practice 4. Caregiver- help patients maintain and regain health, manage disease and symptoms, and attain a maximal level function and independence through the healing process. Advocate- protect your patient’s human and legal rights and provide assistance in asserting these rights if the need arises. Educator- explain concepts and facts about health, describe the reason for routine care activities, demonstrate procedures such as self-care activities, reinforce learning or patient behavior, and evaluate the patient’s progress in learning. Communicator- it allows you to know your patients’ strengths, weaknesses, and their needs. Without it you cannot give comfort and emotional support, make decisions with patients and families, give care effectively, protect patients from threats to well-being, coordinate and manage patient care, assist in patient rehabilitation, or provide patient education. Manager- uses appropriate leadership styles to create a nursing environment for the patients and staff that reflect the mission and values of the health care organization. 5. Licensure- Must pass NCLEX to receive license. This provides a standard minimized knowledge base for nurses. 6. Certified by national nursing organizations in about 20 specific areas of nursing practice. After passing an exam, maintain certification by completing CEU’s. 7. According to Benner, an expert nurse passes through five levels of proficiency when acquiring and developing generalist or specialized nursing skills. Novice-beginning nursing student learns via a specific set of rules or procedures. Advanced Beginner-Nurse has had some level of experience, may be observational, but is able to identify meaningful aspects or principles of nursing care. Competent- establish long-range goals, and has been in the same position for 2-3 years with an understanding of organization and specific care required by the type of patient. Proficient- Same clinical position for 2-3 years, focuses on managing care, and is able to assess an entire situation and can readily transfer knowledge gained from multiple previous experiences to a situation. Expert-can focus on multiple dimensions of a situation and has an intuitive grasp of an existing or potential clinical problem. Skilled at identifying patient-centered problems and problems related to the health care sys tem. 8. 9. Advanced Practice Nurse-most independent nurse, has master’s degree in nursing; advanced education in pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment; and certification and expertise in a specialized area of practice-clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, and certified RN anesthetist. Nurse Educator-works primarily in schools of nursing, staff development department of health care agencies, and patient education departments. Must have experience in clinical practice to provide them with practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Nurse Administrator- manages patient care and the delivery of specific nursing services within a health care agency. Examples: assistant nurse manager, nurse manager, house supervisor, director of nursing, and chief nurse executive or vice president. Nurse Researcher- investigates problems to improve nursing care and further define and expand the scope of nursing practice. 10. National League for Nursing-advances excellence in nursing education to prepare nurses to meet the needs of a diverse population in a changing health care environment. American Nurses Association- improves standards of health and availability of health care, to foster high standards for nursing, and to promote the professional development and general and economic welfare of nurses. International Council of Nursing- promote national associations of nurses, improving standards of nursing practice, seeking higher status for nurses, and providing an international power base for nurses. National Student Nurses Association/ Student Nurse Association of PA- consider issues of importance to nursing students such as career development and preparation for licensing. Specialty Organizations- seek to improve the standards of practice, expand nursing roles, and foster the welfare of nurses within specialty areas. Publish journals and present educational programs. 11. 12. Problem-solving approach to clinical practice that involves the conscientious use of current best evidence, along with clinical expertise and patient preferences and values in making decisions about patient care. 13. Ask a clinical question that is problem focused. Collect the most relevant and best evidence. Critically appraise the evidence you gather. Integrate all evidence with one’s clinical expertise and patient preferences and values in making a practice decision or change. Evaluate the practice decision or change. Share knowledge. LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING PRACTICE 1. Statutory Law- written by state legislature and U.S. Congress-may be a civil or criminal offense. Civil laws protect the rights of individuals within our society and provide for fair and equitable treatment when civil wrongs or violations occur. Fines or community service and examples are malpractice or negligence. Criminal laws protect society as a whole and provide punishment for crimes, which are defined as municipal, state, and federal legislation-felony or misdemeanor. Administrative Law (Regulatory Law)-reflects decisions made by administrative bodies such as State Boards of Nursing when they pass rules and regulations. Common Law-results from judicial decision made in courts when individual legal cases are decided-informed consent, patients right to refuse treatment, negligence, and malpractice. 2. Federal laws- body of laws that were created by the federal government of the country. Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law (EMTALA)- when patient comes to emergency department an appropriate medical screening occurs within the capacity of the hospital- cannot discharge or transfer patient until they are stable. The Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986. Patient Bill of Right- became patient care partnership given out to patients. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- prohibits discrimination and ensures for persons with disabilities equal opportunities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. People with HIV do not have to disclose their disability. Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)-requires health care institutions to provide written information to patients concerning their right under state law to make decisions including the right to refuse treatment and formulate advance directives. Patients records need to document whether or not the patient has signed an advance directive. For living wills or durable powers of attorney for health care to be enforceable, the patient must be legally incompetent or lack to the capacity to make decisions regarding health care treatment. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-protects individu als from losing their health care insurance when changing jobs by providing portability. These rules create patient rights to consent to the use and disclosure of their protected health information, to inspect and copy one’s medical record, and to amend mistaken or incomplete information. State Laws-Mandatory Reporting Laws-communicable diseases, school immunizations, suspected neglect and abuse, legal immunity provided to the reporter, may face civil or criminal action if nor reported. Good Samaritan Laws-limit liability and offer legal immunity if a nurse helps at the scene of an accident. Nurse Practice Act- describe and define the legal boundaries of nursing practice within each state. Scope of Practice-perform a procedure in which you have training for, distinguishes between nursing and malpractice. 3. RN-licensed and educated in nursing process and critical thinking; responsible for who you delegate to. LPN- licensed but does not cover assessment of patient. Can collect data but must give to nurse. NA/PCT- not licensed 4. Standards of care are set by ANA and are the legal requirements for nursing practice that describe the minimum acceptable nursing care. Nurse practice act defines scope of nursing practice, distinguishing between nursing and medical practice and establishing education and licensure requirements for nurses. Internal-Standards defined within hospital. External- developed by ANA and TJC-accredited body of the hospital-health department. 5. Established to help accredited organizations address specific areas of concern in regards to patient safety. Identify patients correctly. Improve staff communication. Use medicines safely. Prevent infection. Identify patient safety risks. Prevent mistakes in surgery. 6. Advance directive include living wills, health care proxies, and durable powers of attorney for health care. They are based on values of informed consent, patient autonomy over end-of-life decisions, truth telling, and control over the dying process. 7. Living wills represent written documents that direct treatment in accordance with a patient’s wishes in the event of a terminal illness or condition. The patient is able to declare which medical procedures he or she wants or does not want when terminally ill or in a vegetative state. Durable Power of Attorney for health care is a legal document that designates a person or persons of one’s choosing to make health care decisions when the patient is no lo nger able to make decisions on his or her own behalf. 8. 9. 10. Negligence is conduct that falls below a standard of care. Courts define negligence cases as the degree of care that an ordinarily careful and prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances. 11. Malpractice is a type of negligence and is often referred to as professional negligence. When nursing care falls below a standard of care, nursing malpractice occurs. 12. Assault- any action that places a person in apprehension of a harmful or offensive contact without consent. Battery-any intentional touching without consent. False Imprisonment-unjustified restraint of a person without legal warrant and requires the patient be aware of confinement. Defamation of Character- publication of false statements that result in damage to a persons’ reputation. Invasion of Privacy- the release of a patient’s medical information to an unauthorized person such as a member of the press, the patient’s employer, or the patient’s family. Breach of Confidenti ality-

Competitive Advantage of a Construction Company

Competitive Advantage of a Construction Company Assume that you manage a company – ABC Construction, which your company has the  scale similar to YTL. By using 5 forces model (and any other analysis tools), access your  competitive advantage in the property development industry. For this question, assumptions are made to ABC Construction which has similar scale to YTL. However, to increase the competitiveness advantage of the company, I would also like to include other assumptions to ABC Construction. The assumption will be made based on the following: ABC Construction have other subsidiaries companies such as Cement Company and hotels. About the same historical years involving in the construction industry. Has been involved in overseas property development projects. Listed company in Bursa Malaysia and Tokyo Stock Exchange. Involve in the SoHo property development. For property development industry, the threat of new entrants to ABC Construction is low because the barriers to entry property industry is high. As it required huge capital to enter this industry to purchase land, machineries, tools, plants, other business and marketing activities. At this point, since ABC construction has about 60 years of experience in these industry, the threat of new entrants is relatively a minor problem which does not cause any competitive disadvantages to the company. The working capital for the company is already strong enough and very liquidity. Benefit from economies of scale in financial economies and economies of scope, as a big construction player with long history in the industry, ABC construction has increment efficiency, more trustworthy and can take these advantages by borrowing funds from bank at a lower interest rates compared to the other competitors. Lower interest rates, eventually provides bigger cash flow and generate greater profit return. This allow capital expansion such as can build more units of houses or properties with less input costs compare to smaller scale competitors which gets high interest rates in borrowing. Apart from that, ABC construction also able to provide product differentiation. Since the company has been involved in different types of businesses, the company able to apply its unique skills and resources to achieve better utilization of land, human capitals, more appealing design in development and innovation which then generate higher revenues and return in profit. Different design theme and concepts can be applied to produce differentiation such as branded luxury residential (8 Conlay-KSK LAND), private gates park concepts (Sentul Park- Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd), and natural elements to provide therapeutic lifestyles (Ecoworld- Eco World Development Sdn Bhd) with its strong working capital. ABC Construction able to spend a large sum of money in creating something new to attract their potential buyers. ABC construction able to convenience its potential customer by spending a great deal of money on advertising in the newspaper, radio, websites and television programmes. For example, E COWORLD has successful transform their company to a brand which attract customers to value their product and thus new entrance need more resource to overcome loyalties and leads to less profit or even losses. With its globally population and reputation, ABC Construction has an addition competitive advantages. The company can launch and sold their properties through distribution network either locally or internationally. The distribution channel for ABC construction will be high as it does not only involve actively in Malaysia, its subsidiaries company also involve actively in oversea projects in Singapore, Indonesia, England, Australia and China. This make the company has larger distribution channel compared to other competitors. In terms of bargaining power of suppliers, the main materials for construction are steel bars, formworks, concrete. The suppliers are not concentrated or differentiated. On the other hand, ABC Construction will have greater advantages compared to its competitors because the company has its own cement company and internet company. The company do not need to worry about the increase in price for the cement and the fluctuation of the supplies. The control of cement and concrete material is under its own supervision while on the other hand, other competitors has to worry about the bargaining power towards suppliers. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers tend to be low, less threat to forward integration. Besides that, the company has been involved in other business sectors as well, thus they have greater bargaining power to the suppliers for the supplies of materials. Bank is also one of the important suppliers in the property industry, as they will decide whether to fund your project or at what interest is charged to the company. However, with the strong background of the company, this also would not be a big problem. Due to the buoyant economic growth of Malaysia and relatively low property values compared to other Asian country, the bargaining power of buyers in property industry tend to be low. Apart from that buyers for properties are mostly individual thus the pressure tend to be low. However, the increasing number of property in the industry, customer now do possess a threat of integrating backward. According to The Star Online on 16 August 2014, Malaysian property market is consolidating because of the slower growth and the oversupply of high-rise condominium units (Toh Then, 2015). The property of transaction in Klang Valley for 2014 appear to be drop by 36.24% compared to 2013 (Thean, 2015). Besides that, with the implementation of GST, buyers are now tend to be more careful in their spending. Even though the new implemented GST is not included in the residential properties but a comparison done by loan street shows there is a 3.41% increase in price for new residential properties post-GS T implementation (Loan street, 2015). As these scenario happened, the buyers now tend to have more bargaining power. The second rules of thumb for demand and supply stated that if demand decreases supply remains unchanged, leads to a lower price. Buyer now will look for higher quality, greater services at better price. However, property developers are always smart, to secure their profit margin, lower the property’s price tactic will not be used. They will either decrease the size of the property to meet the affordable price of the buyers and also input much more supplementary benefit to increase the sales during down time, ABC Construction can input much more other supplementary benefit to push the sales such as exclude or lower the payment for sell and purchase agreement, offered other services such free installation of wireless broadband services for a certain period for the buyers. Threat of substitute products will be Small Office Home Office (SOHO), Small Office Flexible Office (SOFO) and Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO). This type of property trend had been growing lately but still not so favourable in Malaysia due to issues like it is commercial property where housing loan interest rate, utilities, maintenance and others will based on commercial rate. Thus, the threat of substitute are low. Besides that, ABC construction also involve in the SoHo property development other than residential and commercial property development which means ABC Construction has diverse it development into different field which not only one of the competitive advantages also minimise the threat of substitute. The competitive on rivalry among existing firms will be high. As there are a lot of big players in the property industries such as Sunway Bhd, SP Setia Bhd Group, Sime Darby Property Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, IOI Properties Group Bhd and many others developers. However, due to the diverse investment in different field other than construction industry, ABC construction has lower exit barriers compared to others competitors in the property industry which make them at competitive advantages. It can diverse it resources to other related field such as hotel industry, manufacturing industry and infrastructure industry given that the company cannot cope with the high competitive pressure scenario in property industry.

Human Resourse Management :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

HR UCTION The topic under review is strategic alliances. This particular form of non-equity alliance between firms in the same industry (competitors) is becoming an increasingly popular way of conducting business in the global environment. Many different reasons of why such alliances are occurring have been recognized. These include: the increasing globalization of the world's economy resulting in intensified global competition, the proliferation and disbursement of technology, and the shortening of product life-cycles. This critique will use Kenichi Ohmae's viewpoint on strategic alliances as a benchmark for comparison. Firstly, a summary of Ohmae's article will be provided. Secondly, in order to critique Ohmae's opinion, it will be necessary to review other literature on the topic. Thirdly, a discussion of the various viewpoints and studies, that have hence arisen, will be discussed in detail. Finally, conclusions will be drawn with implications for companies operating in today's glob al environment, together with suggestions for future research on strategic alliances. THE GLOBAL LOGIC OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES The underlying argument or reasoning behind Ohmae's opinion that strategic alliances, or entente, are the only way forward for all companies competing globally. "Globalization mandates alliances, makes them absolutely necessary." (Ohmae, 1989). The author has supported this viewpoint, that globalization makes strategic alliances necessary as vehicles for customer-orientated value, with four issues facing today's companies: 1. The Californization of Need; 2. The Dispersion of Technology; 3. The Importance of Fixed Costs, 4. Dangers of Equity. The first issue, described by Ohmae as the Californization of Need, refers to the convergence of customer needs and preferences and the fact that the national identity of many high-quality products has virtually disappeared. Secondly, companies can no longer maintain a leadership position based solely on superior, advanced technology. This results because of the increasing number of critical technologies embedded in the majority of products, therefore, no one can keep the technology out of the hands of competitors around the globe. Thirdly, Ohmae emphasizes the importance of fixed costs. He believes that companies can no longer compete by keeping their variable costs lower than their competitors. The majority of costs incurred by companies these days are fixed costs, therefore, what matters is maximizing marginal contribution from fixed costs and a logical way to do this through forming strategic alliances. The final issue Ohmae identifies is dangers of equity.

Artificial Life :: essays research papers fc

Artificial life (commonly called a-life) is the term applied collectively to attempts being made to develop mathematical models and computer simulations of the ways in which living organisms develop, grow, and evolve. Researchers in this burgeoning field hope to gain deeper insights into the nature of organic life as well as into the further possibilities of COMPUTER science and robotics (see ROBOT). A-life techniques are also being used to explore the origins and chemical processes of metabolism. Some investigators have even proposed that some digital "life" in computers might already be considered a real life form.BackgroundThe term artificial life was coined in the 1980s by Christopher Langdon, a computer scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe Institute. Langdon organized the first experimental workshop on the subject at Santa Fe in 1987. Since then other a-life conferences have taken place, drawing increasingly wider attention and a growing number of participants.Theoretical studies of a-life, however, had been in progress long before the 1980s. Most notably, the Hungarian-born U.S. mathematician John VON NEUMANN, one of the pioneers of computer science, had begun to explore the nature of very basic a-life formats called cellular automata (see AUTOMATA, THEORY OF) in the 1950s. Cellular automata are imaginary mathematical "cells"-analogous to checkerboard squares-that can be made to simulate physical processes by subjecting them to certain simple rules called algorithms (see ALGORITHM). Before his death, von Neumann had developed a set of algorithms by which a cellular automaton-a box shape with a very long tail-could "reproduce" itself.Another important predecessor of a-life research was Dutch biologist Aristid Lindenmeyer. Interested in the mathematics of plant growth, Lindenmeyer found in the 1960s that through the use of a few basic algorithms-now called Lindenmeyer systems, or L-systems-he could model biochemical processes as well as tracing the development of complex biological forms such as flowers. Computer-graphics programs now make use of L-systems to yield realistic three-dimensional images of plants.The significance of Lindenmeyer's contribution is evident in the fact that so-called "genetic algorithms" are now basic to research into a-life as well as many other areas of interest. Genetic algorithms, first described by computer scientist John Holland of the University of Michigan in the 1970s, are comparable to L-systems. A computer worker trying to answer some question about a-life sets up a system-an algorithm-by which the computer itself rapidly grades the multiple possible answers that it has produced to the question.

Foundation and Empire 26. End Of The Search

There was not a word to be said. The echoes of the blast rolled away into the outer rooms and rumbled downward into a hoarse, dying whisper. Before its death, it had muffled the sharp clamor of Bayta's falling blaster, smothered Magnifico's high-pitched cry, drowned out Toran's inarticulate roar. There was a silence of agony. Bayta's head was bent into obscurity. A droplet caught the light as it fell. Bayta had never wept since her childhood. Toran's muscles almost cracked in their spasm, but he did not relax – he felt as if he would never unclench his teeth again. Magnifico's face was a faded, lifeless mask. Finally, from between teeth still tight, Toran choked out in an unrecognizable voice, â€Å"You're a Mule's woman, then. He got to you!† Bayta looked up, and her mouth twisted with a painful merriment, â€Å"I, a Mule's woman? That's ironic.† She smiled – a brittle effort – and tossed her hair back. Slowly, her voice verged back to the normal, or something near it. â€Å"It's over, Toran; I can talk now. How much I will survive, I don't know. But I can start talking-â€Å" Toran's tension had broken of its own weight and faded into a flaccid dullness, â€Å"Talk about what, Bay? What's there to talk about?† â€Å"About the calamity that's followed us. We've remarked about it before, Torie. Don't you remember? How defeat has always bitten at our heels and never actually managed to nip us? We were on the Foundation, and it collapsed while the Independent Traders still fought – but we got out in time to go to Haven. We were on Haven, and it collapsed while the others still fought – and again we got out in time. We went to Neotrantor, and by now it's undoubtedly joined the Mule.† Toran listened and shook his head, â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"Torie, such things don't happen in real life. You and I are insignificant people; we don't fall from one vortex of politics into another continuously for the space of a year – unless we carry the vortex with us. Unless we carry the source of infection with us! Now do you see?† Toran's lips tightened. His glance fixed horribly upon the bloody remnants of what had once been a human, and his eyes sickened. â€Å"Let's get out of here, Bay. Let's get out into the open.† It was cloudy outside. The wind scudded about them in drab spurts and disordered Bayta's hair. Magnifico had crept after them and now he hovered at the edge of their conversation. Toran said tightly, â€Å"You killed Ebling Mis because you believed him to be the focus of infection?† Something in her eyes struck him. He whispered, â€Å"He was the Mule?† He did not – could not – believe the implications of his own words. Bayta laughed sharply, â€Å"Poor Ebling the Mule? Galaxy, no! I couldn't have killed him if he were the Mule. He would have detected the emotion accompanying the move and changed it for me to love, devotion, adoration, terror, whatever he pleased. No, I killed Ebling because he was not the Mule. I killed him because he knew where the Second Foundation was, and in two seconds would have told the Mule the secret.† â€Å"Would have told the Mule the secret,† Toran repeated stupidly. â€Å"Told the Mule-â€Å" And then he emitted a sharp cry, and turned to stare in horror at the clown, who might have been crouching unconscious there for the apparent understanding he had of what he heard. â€Å"Not Magnifico?† Toran whispered the question. â€Å"Listen!† said Bayta. â€Å"Do you remember what happened on Neotrantor? Oh, think for yourself, Torie-â€Å" But he shook his head and mumbled at her. She went on, wearily, â€Å"A man died on Neotrantor. A man died with no one touching him. Isn't that true? Magnifico played on his Visi-Sonor and when he was finished, the crown prince was dead. Now isn't that strange? Isn't it queer that a creature afraid of everything, apparently helpless with terror, has the capacity to kill at will.† â€Å"The music and the light-effects,† said Toran, â€Å"have a profound emotional effect-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, an emotional effect. A pretty big one. Emotional effects happen to be the Mule's specialty. That, I suppose, can be considered a coincidence. And a creature who can kill by suggestion is so full of fright. Well, the Mule tampered with his mind, supposedly, so that can be explained. But, Toran, I caught a little of that Visi-Sonor selection that killed the crown prince. Just a little – but it was enough to give me that same feeling of despair I had in the Time Vault and on Haven. Toran, I can't mistake that particular feeling.† Toran's face was darkening. â€Å"I†¦ felt it, too. I forgot. I never thought-â€Å" â€Å"It was then that it first occurred to me. It was just a vague feeling – intuition, if you like. I had nothing to go on. And then Pritcher told us of the Mule and his mutation, and it was clear in a moment. It was the Mule who had created the despair in the Time Vault; it was Magnifico who had created the despair on Neotrantor. It was the same emotion. Therefore, the Mule and Magnifico were the same person. Doesn't it work out nicely, Torie? Isn't it just like an axiom in geometry – things equal to the same thing are equal to each other?† She was at the edge of hysteria, but dragged herself back to sobriety by main force. She continued, â€Å"The discovery scared me to death. If Magnifico were the Mule, he could know my emotions – and cure them for his own purposes. I dared not let him know. I avoided him. Luckily, he avoided me also; he was too interested in Ebling Mis. I planned killing Mis before he could talk. I planned it secretly – as secretly as I could – so secretly I didn't dare tell it to myself. â€Å"If I could have killed the Mule himself – But I couldn't take the chance. He would have noticed, and I would have lost everything.† She seemed drained of emotion. Toran said harshly and with finality, â€Å"It's impossible. Look at the miserable creature. He the Mule? He doesn't even hear what we're saying.† But when his eyes followed his pointing finger, Magnifico was erect and alert, his eyes sharp and darkly bright. His voice was without a trace of an accent, â€Å"I hear her, my friend. It is merely that I have been sitting here and brooding on the fact that with all my cleverness and forethought I could make a mistake, and lose so much.† Toran stumbled backward as if afraid the clown might touch him or that his breath might contaminate him. Magnifico nodded, and answered the unspoken question. â€Å"I am the Mule.† He seemed no longer a grotesque; his pipestem limbs, his beak of a nose lost their humor-compelling qualities. His fear was gone; his bearing was firm. He was in command of the situation with an ease born of usage. He said, tolerantly, â€Å"Seat yourselves. Go ahead; you might as well sprawl out and make yourselves comfortable. The game's over, and I'd like to tell you a story. It's a weakness of mine – I want people to understand me.† And his eyes as he looked at Bayta were still the old, soft sad brown ones of Magnifico, the clown. â€Å"There is nothing really to my childhood,† he began, plunging bodily into quick, impatient speech, â€Å"that I care to remember. Perhaps you can understand that. My meagerness is glandular; my nose I was born with. It was not possible for me to lead a normal childhood. My mother died before she saw me. I do not know my father. I grew up haphazard, wounded and tortured in mind, full of self-pity and hatred of others. I was known then as a queer child. All avoided me; most out of dislike; some out of fear. Queer incidents occurred – Well, never mind! Enough happened to enable Captain Pritcher, in his investigation of my childhood to realize that I was a mutant, which was more than I ever realized until I was in my twenties.† Toran and Bayta listened distantly. The wash of his voice broke over them, seated on the ground as they were, unheeded almost. The clown – or the Mule – paced before them with little steps, speaking downward to his own folded arms. â€Å"The whole notion of my unusual power seems to have broken on me so slowly, in such sluggish steps. Even toward the end, I couldn't believe it. To me, men's minds are dials, with pointers that indicate the prevailing emotion. It is a poor picture, but how else can I explain it? Slowly, I learned that I could reach into those minds and turn the pointer to the spot I wished, that I could nail it there forever. And then it took even longer to realize that others couldn't. â€Å"But the consciousness of power came, and with it, the desire to make up for the miserable position of my earlier life. Maybe you can understand it. Maybe you can try to understand it. It isn't easy to be a freak – to have a mind and an understanding and be a freak. Laughter and cruelty! To be different! To be an outsider! â€Å"You've never been through it!† Magnifico looked up to the sky and teetered on the balls of his feet and reminisced stonily, â€Å"But I eventually did learn, and I decided that the Galaxy and I could take turns. Come, they had had their innings, and I had been patient about it – for twenty-two years. My turn! It would be up to the rest of you to take it! And the odds would be fair enough for the Galaxy. One of me! Quadrillions of them!† He paused to glance at Bayta swiftly. â€Å"But I had a weakness. I was nothing in myself. If I could gain power, it could only be by means of others. Success came to me through middlemen. Always! It was as Pritcher said. Through a pirate, I obtained my first asteroidal base of operations. Through an industrialist I got my first foothold on a planet. Through a variety of others ending with the warlord of Kalgan, I won Kalgan itself and got a navy. After that, it was the Foundation – and you two come into the story. â€Å"The Foundation,† he said, softly, â€Å"was the most difficult task I had met. To beat it, I would have to win over, break down, or render useless an extraordinary proportion of its ruling class. I could have done it from scratch – but a short cut was possible, and I looked for it. After all, if a strong man can lift five hundred pounds, it does not mean that he is eager to do so continuously. My emotional control is not an easy task, I prefer not to use it, where not fully necessary. So I accepted allies in my first attack upon the Foundation. â€Å"As my clown, I looked for the agent, or agents, of the Foundation that must inevitably have been sent to Kalgan to investigate my humble self. I know now it was Han Pritcher I was looking for. By a stroke of fortune, I found you instead. I am a telepath, but not a complete one, and, my lady, you were from the Foundation. I was led astray by that. It was not fatal for Pritcher joined us afterward, but it was the starting point of an error that was fatal.† Toran stirred for the first time. He spoke in an outraged tone, â€Å"Hold on, now. You mean that when I outfaced that lieutenant on Kalgan with only a stun pistol, and rescued you – that you had emotionally-controlled me into it.† He was spluttering. â€Å"You mean I've been tampered with all along.† A thin smile played on Magnifico's face. â€Å"Why not? You don't think it's likely? Ask yourself then – Would you have risked death for a strange grotesque you had never seen before, if you had been in your right mind? I imagine you were surprised at events in cold after-blood.† â€Å"Yes,† said Bayta, distantly, â€Å"he was. It's quite plain.† â€Å"As it was,† continued the Mule, â€Å"Toran was in no danger. The lieutenant had his own strict instructions to let us go. So the three of us and Pritcher went to the Foundation – and see how my campaign shaped itself instantly. When Pritcher was court-martialed and we were present, I was busy. The military judges of that trial later commanded their squadrons in the war. They surrendered rather easily, and my Navy won the battle of Horleggor, and other lesser affairs. â€Å"Through Pritcher, I met Dr. Mis, who brought me a Visi-Sonor, entirely of his own accord, and simplified my task immensely. Only it wasn't entirely of his own accord.† Bayta interrupted, â€Å"Those concerts! I've been trying to fit them in. Now I see.† â€Å"Yes,† said Magnifico, â€Å"the Visi-Sonor acts as a focusing device. In a way, it is a primitive device for emotional control in itself. With it, I can handle people in quantity and single people more intensively. The concerts I gave on Terminus before it fell and Haven before it fell contributed to the general defeatism. I might have made the crown prince of Neotrantor very sick without the Visi-Sonor, but I could not have killed him. You see? â€Å"But it was Ebling Mis who was my most important find. He might have been-† Magnifico said it with chagrin, then hurried on, â€Å"There is a special facet to emotional control you do not know about. Intuition or insight or hunch-tendency, whatever you wish to call it, can be treated as an emotion. At least, I can treat it so. You don't understand it, do you?† He waited for no negative, â€Å"The human mind works at low efficiency. Twenty percent is the figure usually given. When, momentarily, there is a flash of greater power it is termed a hunch, or insight, or intuition. I found early that I could induce a continual use of high brain-efficiency. It is a killing process for the person affected, but it is useful. The nuclear field-depressor which I used in the war against the Foundation was the result of high-pressuring a Kalgan technician. Again I work through others. â€Å"Ebling Mis was the bull's-eye. His potentialities were high, and I needed him. Even before my war with the Foundation had opened, I had already sent delegates to negotiate with the Empire. It was at that time I began my search for the Second Foundation. Naturally, I didn't find it. Naturally, I knew that I must find it – and Ebling Mis was the answer. With his mind at high efficiency, he might possibly have duplicated the work of Hari Seldon. â€Å"Partly, he did. I drove him to the utter limit. The process was ruthless, but had to be completed. He was dying at the end, but he lived-† Again, his chagrin interrupted him. â€Å"He would have lived long enough. Together, we three could have gone onward to the Second Foundation. It would have been the last battle – but for my mistake.† Toran stirred his voice to hardness, â€Å"Why do you stretch it out so? What was your mistake, and†¦ and have done with your speech.† â€Å"Why, your wife was the mistake. Your wife was an unusual person. I had never met her like before in my life. I†¦ I-† Quite suddenly, Magnifico's voice broke. He recovered with difficulty. There was a grimness about him as he continued. â€Å"She liked me without my having to juggle her emotions. She was neither repelled by me nor amused by me. She liked me! â€Å"Don't you understand? Can't you see what that would mean to me? Never before had anyone – Well, I†¦ cherished that. My own emotions played me false, though I was master of all others. I stayed out of her mind, you see; I did not tamper with it. I cherished the natural feeling too greatly. It was my mistake – the first. â€Å"You, Toran, were under control. You never suspected me; never questioned me; never saw anything peculiar or strange about me. As for instance, when the ‘Filian' ship stopped us. They knew our location, by the way, because I was in communication with them, as I've remained in communication with my generals at all times. When they stopped us, I was taken aboard to adjust Han Pritcher, who was on it as a prisoner. When I left, he was a colonel, a Mule's man, and in command. The whole procedure was too open even for you, Toran. Yet you accepted my explanation of the matter, which was full of fallacies. See what I mean?† Toran grimaced, and challenged him, â€Å"How did you retain communications with your generals?† â€Å"There was no difficulty to it. Hyperwave transmitters are easy to handle and eminently portable. Nor could I be detected in a real sense! Anyone who did catch me in the act would leave me with a slice gapped out of his memory. It happened, on occasion. â€Å"On Neotrantor, my own foolish emotions betrayed me again. Bayta was not under my control, but even so might never have suspected me if I had kept my head about the crown prince. His intentions towards Bayta – annoyed me. â€Å"I killed him. It was a foolish gesture. An unobtrusive flight would have served as well. â€Å"And still your suspicions would not have been certainties, if I had stopped Pritcher in his well-intentioned babbling, or paid less attention to Mis and more to you-† He shrugged. â€Å"That's the end of it?† asked Bayta. â€Å"That's the end.† â€Å"What now, then?† â€Å"I'll continue with my program. That I'll find another as adequately brained and trained as Ebling Mis in these degenerate days, I doubt. I shall have to search for the Second Foundation otherwise. In a sense you have defeated me.† And now Bayta was upon her feet, triumphant. â€Å"In a sense? Only in a sense? We have defeated you entirely! All your victories outside the Foundation count for nothing, since the Galaxy is a barbarian vacuum now. The Foundation itself is only a minor victory, since it wasn't meant to stop your variety of crisis. It's the Second Foundation you must beat – the Second Foundation – and it's the Second Foundation that will defeat you. Your only chance was to locate it and strike it before it was prepared. You won't do that now. Every minute from now on, they will be readier for you. At this moment, at this moment, the machinery may have started. You'll know – when it strikes you, and your short term of power will be over, and you'll be just another strutting conqueror, flashing quickly and meanly across the bloody face of history.† She was breathing hard, nearly gasping in her vehemence, â€Å"And we've defeated you, Toran and I. I am satisfied to die.† But the Mule's sad, brown eyes were the sad, brown, loving eyes of Magnifico. â€Å"I won't kill you or your husband. It is, after all, impossible for you two to hurt me further; and killing you won't bring back Ebling Mis. My mistakes were my own, and I take responsibility for them. Your husband and yourself may leave! Go in peace, for the sake of what I call – friendship.† Then, with a sudden touch of pride, â€Å"And meanwhile I am still the Mule, the most powerful man in the Galaxy. I shall still defeat the Second Foundation.† And Bayta shot her last arrow with a firm, calm certitude, â€Å"You won't! I have faith in the wisdom of Seldon yet. You shall be the last ruler of your dynasty, as well as the first.† Something caught Magnifico. â€Å"Of my dynasty? Yes, I had thought of that, often. That I might establish a dynasty. That I might have a suitable consort.† Bayta suddenly caught the meaning of the look in his eyes and froze horribly. Magnifico shook his head. â€Å"I sense your revulsion, but that's silly. If things were otherwise, I could make you happy very easily. It would be an artificial ecstasy, but there would be no difference between it and the genuine emotion. But things are not otherwise. I call myself the Mule – but not because of my strength – obviously-â€Å" He left them, never looking back.