What Does It Take To Lead Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

What Does It Take To Lead Change - Essay Example It is the process of exploring one's own self-evaluation, thinking whether the way they acted in a particular situation is correct or not. Reflecting on one’s own actions is important for business development. It is a must to improve our communication style, clarify our expectations and put into practice the various theories learnt. In fact there are many programs like the Ignatius exercises which use role modelling to focus on various critical issues, kindle the emotions of a person, get a response and help them reflect on the same. These exercises give a person a chance to act with more maturity and calmness if they face the same problem in real life (Moberg & Calkins, 2001, p. 257 - 270). The project we selected to do was ‘Eliminating Job Satisfaction’. Our team believed it will help us to understand the work environment in the corporate industry better and enable us to act as better managers because we will get to know what different types of workers expect fr om their management and superiors. My group project enabled me to talk to various types of people. What we found out was that, nearly half of the people excelling in today's corporate world do so because they did not have a chance to excel in their field of choice. I realized the meaning of the word 'identity workspace' (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p. 44 - 60) only by working in this project. The experience made me wonder if these people are so productive and capable in a field they have no like or dislike, how much they would contribute if they were only given a chance to work in their field of choice. Surely, the world would be a much better place with many more inventions then. The aim of our project was to reach out to at least a few people who are totally dissatisfied with their job and make them pursue their passion for their own happiness and the betterment of their passionate field. My team attended a workshop at the end of the project, which enabled us to reflect on wh at we have done so far. I got a chance to reflect on several incidents which took place throughout the project. The workshop instilled in me various reflections regarding the way I communicated to my peers, how I failed to make them understand some of my views and how I acted as a self-elected leader in some instances. The workshop did not teach us anything new, but helped us reflect on the way we acted throughout the project and question ourselves what would have been the outcome, if we have acted differently. There is a general notion that management studies will not be much useful, if a person does not have prior management experience. The idea was stressed by Mintzberg (2004) in his work. No matter how many hours you study volumes and volumes of management theories it isn’t equivalent to one day's experience of managing a team in the real world. Managing this project helped me understand this practically. I tried in every possible way to help my team but it only resulted in building more tension within the team. â€Å"Communication within a group deals with the spoken and the unspoken, the verbal and the non-verbal, the explicit and the implied messages that are conveyed and exchanged relating to information and ideas, and Feelings† (Group Dynamics, 2004). I understood where I went wrong and how communication was limited in our team while playing the reflective exercises in this workshop. I strongly felt the way I acted

Social and Physical Benefits of Parks and Recreation Literature Review Essay - 1

Social and Physical Benefits of Parks and Recreation Literature Review Paper - Essay Example n areas in cities in the form of parks and recreation spaces are essential because of their social, physical and psychological benefits, besides preserving the natural resources of the locale. There is increasing evidence from research studies that indicates that â€Å"the presence of natural areas contributes to increased quality of life in many ways† (Chiesura, 2004, p.129) of city residents. Urban nature in the form of parks, forests, and green belts, and its components such as trees and water, positively impacts the environment and ecology of a region. It accomplishes â€Å"important environmental services such as air and water purification, wind and noise filtering, and microclimate stablilization† (Chiesura, 2004, p.130). Thus, parks promote physical health by providing green spaces and fresh air for exercising and walking, and increase social well-being through opportunities for interacting with neighbors at a shared, common location. The social and psychological services of parks and recreation are vital for the livability of modern cities (Chiesura, 2004). This is reiterated by Gidlof-Gunnarsson and Ohrstrom, 2007) who emphasize on the importance of providing easy access to nearby ‘noise-free’ green areas offering relief from environmental stress such as traffic sounds, and opportunities for rest and relaxation. Chiesura (2004) examined the significance of parks for citizens’ well being, and for urban sustainability. The author conducted a survey among visitors of an urban park in Amsterdam, to investigate people’s â€Å"motives for urban nature, the emotional dimension involved in the experience of nature and its importance for people’s general well being† (Chiesura, 2004, p.129). The results demonstrate that parks and recreation spaces are beneficial services fulfilling human needs of an immaterial and nonconsumptive nature. The positive functions of green areas also extends to reduced fear, fewer incivilities, and lower levels of

Plate Tectonics Essay Example for Free

Plate Tectonics Essay The theory of Plate Tectonics covers the extent on how the Earth moves and performs. Findings in the mid 1960s show that the theory is one of the reasons why magnetism, wide distribution of volcanoes, earthquakes, plants, and animal fossils are existing up to the present. The plates usually wriggle like a spinning wheel that they sometimes smash into each other causing a major impact on the Earth’s floor. Likewise, the Plate Tectonics is identified as one of the causes of long-term climate changes, distribution of abound organisms, mountain building, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other major effects of the movement of the continents. As some theorists would explain, the plates composing the Lithosphere, the outer portion of the earth, move around the Earth’s crust which is embedded with continents on it. The plates beneath the continents may share out and cause a crack or a hole in the continental outer shell that fills the sea water. It was found out then that the global temperatures, after the movement, keep rising that could melt most mountain glaciers which will cause a rise in the sea level. This unusual phenomena of changing sea water, atmospheric conditions, and the Earth’s temperature bring forth the evolution of abound organisms, existence of mountain building, earthquakes, volcanic eruption and other extreme changes in the Earth’s floor. The Plate Tectonics caused major impacts on the ocean water. And because of this, the Atlantic Ocean is becoming largely extensive. But as some would see, the earth is sphere-shaped, thus, there should be a place where the entire changes of Atlantic Oceana will meet together. Scholars are afraid that this place will be in the Pacific Ocean and it will become smaller as the movement of continents goes by. Most areas that will be affected are those that are located along subduction zones bringing forth western North America and Asia to come closer together. In the long run, the Pacific Ocean will completely close while Asia and North America will meet up and form a new super continent.

Germany Competitiveness The Porters Diamond Context Economics Essay

Germany Competitiveness The Porters Diamond Context Economics Essay Context for firm strategy and rivalry: Germany can be considered center of Europe both for its geographic and political position. This gives to Germany the possibility to lead the European market and to manage a relevant diversification of its internal economy; it means to create a hugely competitive business environment for German companies. The efficiency rate in German large and small companies is higher than international standards due to the great amount of off shoring and outsourcing practices so that it makes this economy the most competitive in Europe. Throughout last years, German small and medium enterprisers performed better than the large ones, overtaking even the US competitive standards, as shown by the Work Competitiveness Yearbook 2010. Those small enterprisers are the so called hidden champions because they are little known to the public even if they are world market leaders. In contrast to the practice of the other European countries to develop economies related on large state-owned industrial champions, Germany could be considered such as a private driven economy in which the small and medium enterprises are playing the most important role in boosting investments and employment rate. They also make the success of German export with the 80% of the production sold abroad; the Machinery and Equipment Cluster, for instance, holds almost 20% of world export market share. These companies successfully compete on innovation processes and on improving efficiency, getting a great benefit from both the excellent European and German intellectual property protection. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), Germany represents one of the worlds best location in planning and operating security and it is one of the leading Nations in the field of propriety rights protection and contracts protection. This excellence let Germany to grant over 12,500 patents at the EU Patent Office only in 2010 and to be the European leader in triadic patents, registered in the three most important worlds patent offices: the European Patent Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the Japan Patent Office. The German legal system itself can be considered one of the most efficient and independent of the entire world. Moreover, the social and political stability of the country and the Germans culture based on the total respect of the laws principles make this country a greatly attractive places for corporate investments projects even for foreign firms in almost all the industries. In addition to the high quality of the legal organization, Germany has developed a very internationally competitive taxation system: in 2008 an ambitious reform was made in order to decrease the corporate tax burden by around the 25% and the corporate income tax down to 15% on all corporate taxable earnings. Eventually, Germany has developed a unique corporate governance system that makes possible a virtuous match between workers and employers in order to avoid time-consuming and value-destroying disputes: it becomes a key success factor to rise up during recession periods. As a matter of fact, core decisions are taken through Job Alliances that enable flex-security on job market in order to keep companies competitive while maintaining job positions. Great importance is given to the role of federal government which gives big support to this system promoting grants and self-regulation policies. Factor conditions: Germany benefits from a huge number of natural resources such as building materials, natural gas, wood and other strategic natural elements. Its wide land gives to the country a lot of space that can be exploited focusing on clean energy production. Moreover, the climate represents an important factor in producing energy with the key role played by the wind that constantly flows in the northern part of the country. The prevalence of lowlands in northern regions makes Germans able to take the most possible advantage of the wind, becoming part of the Northern Power Cluster for wind energy production. The pretty big population of Germany can be considered little diversified in culture and tradition with a big prevalence of German native speakers over the other cultures ( almost 91% of the entire population, as the CIA World Factbook points out ). The German position on human capital point of view is strongly influenced by the unique education system that represent a best practice in all over the world. This is focused on the importance given to the professional training in order to provide people, since earlier age, with a set of skills useful to join the job market. Parallel to the professional-oriented approach there is also a very good and selective university system for the large number of young people that decide to longer dedicate themselves to study activities: mechanical engineering, with more than 400,000 matriculate students, ranks second in the top 20 of the most in-demand study programs and provides the highest skilled workers for the main sectors of the country such as automotive, machinery, electrical and electronic. This dual track allows enterprises to reduce dramatically the labor costs in term of training programs and young people to enter in the job market already with a high productivity rate. Germany can be considered extremely attractive as a location for investments due to high productivity rates and stable wages. In addition, in recent years the overall labor cost has been the lowest in Europe with an annual increase rate of less than 2%; this job market context contributes to enhance strong competitive business relations. Unskilled workers represent almost the 20% on the total workforce; this evidence reflects the attention paid to education and emphasizes the companies ability to attract skilled workforce from other countries. Germany Important concerns from governments point of view remain the unemployment rate (at the 6% in 2011, as said in CIA World Factbook) and the pretty low participation in work force, compared with countries such as US, UK or Japan. In addition, Germany is one of the worlds leaders in RD investments, both in terms of budget and percentage of GDP, reaching the 2.8% and overlapping the EU average of 2.1%. The high regard to investments is coming both from the public and the private sector and the great number of PPPs (Private and Public Partnership) is playing a key role in German competitiveness and in planned development. The high level of RD investments impacts positively on the dynamicity of German economy: over 27% of the manufacturing turnover is generated from innovative products. Eventually, Germany derives its economic power also from its important and well organized grid of transportation infrastructures: the 2009-2010 Global Competitiveness Report of the WEF ranked Germany at the first position in terms of infrastructures. The rail system, which connects the country with all the neighbors by high speed rail, is gaining more efficiency thanks to the open access to the market given to privates that make the sector much more competitive than the state monopoly. This makes Germany the 6th position for railways infrastructure in comparison with the other states of the world (CIA World Factbook ). Water ways and harbors are extremely well developed too and the airports system is ranked 13th in the CIAs comparison between countries as stated in the CIA World Factbook. By the way, governments biggest challenge is to continue to increase the already large flow of foreign direct investments and to improve, as much as possible, the venture capital system by the adoption of specific policies. Today, German legal framework makes no distinction between national and foreign investments promoting principles such as freedom in trade and payments and the reduction of barriers. Moreover, there are special treatments and opportunities for young entrepreneurs and start-ups: on one hand, special conferences and events like the German Equity Forum, and, on the other one, proposals of venture capital partnerships through development banks and the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Further financial assistance is given at regional, national and European level through a wide number of instruments: cash incentives, interest reduced loans, public guarantees, labor-related incentives and RD grants. Demand conditions: Domestic demand is therefore becoming a more significant driver of Germanys economic expansion (from   CIA World Factbook). Due to the Euro financial crisis the export rate to EU cover the loss in term of exports. In this perspective, a key role is played by the government in boosting investments and supporting internal demand: there are available some governments loans made up for enterprises in order to enable them to borrow new capital at a lower interest rates and, in turn, be able to offer lower prices to the consumers market. A great influence on the demand is played by the high level of quality and environmental standards that characterize German regulation. Germany has a virtuous regulation history, starting with the Deutsches Institut fà ¼r Normung (DIN) during the 20s until today: a huge number of innovations has been introduced in this field such as self-regulation processes related to the new public governance system. German standards and their regulation are also much influenced by EU, which is trying to homogenize the regulation of the Common Market and to stimulate cleaner manufacture and energy production (EU 20/20/20 Program): this affects Germans big industrial sectors such as machinery, chemical and power clusters. This context originates a more complex supply and demand structure which express the need to assess the high level of constraints due to the global environmental challenges. Related and supporting industries: the important number of local suppliers are strongly supported by the efficient system of German scientific infrastructures set up both at the federal and local level . Germany has various types of research locations such as universities, laboratories, non-university institutes, companies and Federal as well as Là ¤nder institutions. Moreover, the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) is a great example of how German companies themselves cooperate to research and innovation activity contributing directly to the country competitiveness. The AIF mostly contributes to the technology transfer process and research activity in the growing market of renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Germany is home to several research infrastructures with global significance in physics, earth science, climate research or the humanities. Examples of research infrastructures are: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and the German Cli mate Computing Centre (DKRZ). In addition, Germany has a greatly developed Machinery and Equipment industry which provides the supply of power transmission engineering, material and air-handling technology and machine tools. This is the most innovative sector within the country and heavily influence German economy supporting all the other strategic sectors such as chemical, electronic, automotive and renewable energy, providing the sub-components needed for production processes. Da inserire nel diamante sul cluster: GREEN ECONOMY, INVESTMENTSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(clean power) Germany is the world leader in green technologies Æ’Â   leader in sustainable industries (wind energy, photovoltaic, bioenergy industry, Electricity (demand, import, exports, quanto produce il solare, il vento..) WIND ENERGY: p.6 PORTERS FORCES (Porters book) Role of Government: Public demand, self-regulation, promoting networks and clusters. Public RD support and PPP P.11 and others (ig. Website) Role of Federal Government in green energy P.5

The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver :: Radio Technology Electronics Essays

The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver The AM Radio has been around for a long time. When the AM radio was first invented, it was not meant to be used to broadcast music. That is why today most music radio stations are on the FM band. Instead, the AM band was used to carry voice frequencies, thus, all the AM talk radio stations. Due to new technology, music is broadcast over the AM band but does not have the same sound quality as the FM band. According to the FCC regulations at www.fcc.gov, the AM broadcasters are only allowed 5 KHz each side of their carrier frequency for their side bands. These side bands will be explained in more detail later on. In order to understand an AM receiver, one must understand each stage and what it does. An AM receiver can be broken down into six stages. These stages will be explained one at a time. The first stage is the RF amplifier. The AM antenna runs into the RF amp where the desired frequency is selected. As stated by Grob (1997), the typical band for AM is 535 Hz to 1605 KHz. For the duration of the paper, we will assume that we are trying to receive a station that is located on 1290 KHz signal. The antenna used must be able to pick up all the stations on the AM dial. Knowing this, we need to select the one we want to hear. In this case, we want 1290 KHz or The Country KOWW. When the dial on the radio is turned to select 1290 KHz, it does two things. There are two variable capacitors The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver being adjusted. I will begin by discussing the first capacitor. This capacitor is connected in parallel with an inductor. While the capacitance changes as the dial is turned, the resonant frequency of the LC circuit also changes. This process is called inductor and capacitor in parallel. When the capacitor is in just the right spot, the resonant frequency will be 1290 KHz. This LC circuit is designed so that only the resonant frequency is passed. The 1290 KHz will now be passed on to the next stage and all other frequencies will be filtered out. The RF amp must also have good sensitivity, which according to Scott Rasmussen (2003), is the ability to amplify a very weak signal.

Dreaming of Home Essay -- Personal Narrative Descriptive Dreams Essays

Dreaming of Home Everyday, after waking up, I realized that I had been dreaming about home again. I lay staring at the ceiling for a moment or two. Then, dragging myself from the bed, I walked to the window and threw open the curtains. The wide open space of the New Mexico high desert stared back blankly at me. The cobalt blue skies, peach colored Sandia Mountains and endless waves of sagebrush and juniper stood in stark contrast to my dreamscape. For the past eight years, my first view of the day was this one. But today was different. Today, I was going home. I grew up in Dublin in the 1970s. To understand how that shaped the person I am today, you have to understand something about Ireland at that time. It has been said by someone a lot more insightful, and perhaps more cynical than me, that the 1960s didn't reach Ireland until about 1975. So I grew up in a time of great change, where the old social norms were being challenged and cast aside. Of course, in my growing years, I didn't always understand this. I viewed Dublin through the eyes of a child. I led a fairly sheltered existence, the eldest of seven children. My parents were country people and had moved here after the birth of my first sibling, Paul. My father worked in the construction industry and construction jobs were much more plentiful here than in the backwaters of Wicklow where he was born and bred. My mother was from the West, born in County Clare and was the daughter of a farm laborer. Her father, Patrick Murray, had moved where the work was too, and had ended up settling and eventually retiring in Wicklow. This was where my parents met and where I had come into being. Our days in Dublin were regularly punctuated by trips to the country to visit my gr... ... We were old friends and lovers, learning that what it was to know one another again and tentatively finding our way back into each others lives. I still love Dublin, but I realize now that I love it despite itself and not because of itself. I think, perhaps, that is how it's always been. And a strange thing happened. I awoke one morning to find myself back in my bedroom, back in New Mexico. My wife lay sleeping beside me, lost in her own dreams. The house was quiet. I walked once more to the window and opened those curtains. The room was immediately filled with warm, brilliant sunlight. The sky was that same fantastic shade of blue and the Sandia Mountains glistened as ever in the early morning light. I gazed out across the waves of sagebrush and juniper and realized I had not dreamed of home. Looking back to where my wife lay sleeping, I realized I was home.

Foundation and Empire 8. To Trantor

Devers bent over the little dead globe, watching for a tiny sign of life. The directional control was slowly and thoroughly sieving space with its jabbing tight sheaf of signals. Barr watched patiently from his seat on the low cot in the comer, He asked, â€Å"No more signs of them?† â€Å"The Empire boys? No.† The trader growled the words with evident impatience. â€Å"We lost the scuppers long ago. Space! With the blind jumps we took through hyperspace, it's lucky we didn't land up in a sun's belly. They couldn't have followed us even if they outranged us, which they didn't.† He sat back and loosened his collar with a jerk. â€Å"I don't know what those Empire boys have done here. I think some of the gaps are out of alignment.† â€Å"I take it, then, you're trying to get to the Foundation.† â€Å"I'm calling the Association – or trying to.† â€Å"The Association? Who are they?† â€Å"Association of Independent Traders. Never heard of it, huh? Well, you're not alone. We haven't made our splash yet!† For a while there was a silence that centered about the unresponsive Reception Indicator, and Barr said, â€Å"Are you within range?† â€Å"I don't know. I haven't but a small notion where we are, going by dead reckoning. That's why I have to use directional control. It could take years, you know.† â€Å"Might it?† Barr pointed; and Devers jumped and adjusted his earphones. Within the little murky sphere there was a tiny glowing whiteness. For half an hour, Devers nursed the fragile, groping thread of communication that reached through hyperspace to connect two points that laggard light would take five hundred years to bind together. Then he sat back, hopelessly. He looked up, and shoved the earphones back. â€Å"Let's eat, doc. There's a needle-shower you can use if you want to, but go easy on the hot water.† He squatted before one of the cabinets that lined one wall and felt through the contents. â€Å"You're not a vegetarian, I hope?† Barr said, â€Å"I'm omnivorous. But what about the Association. Have you lost them?† â€Å"Looks so. It was extreme range, a little too extreme. Doesn't matter, though. I got all that counted.† He straightened, and placed the two metal containers upon the table. â€Å"Just give it five minutes, doc, then slit it open by pushing the contact. It'll be plate, food, and fork – sort of handy for when you're in a hurry, if you're not interested in such incidentals as napkins. I suppose you want to know what I got out of the Association.† â€Å"If it isn't a secret.† Devers shook his head. â€Å"Not to you. What Riose said was true.† â€Å"About the offer of tribute?† â€Å"Uh-huh. They offered it, and had it refused. Things are bad. There's fighting in the outer suns of Loris.† â€Å"Loris is close to the Foundation?† â€Å"Huh? Oh, you wouldn't know. It's one of the original Four Kingdoms. You might call it part of the inner line of defense. That's not the worst. They've been fighting large ships previously never encountered. Which means Riose wasn't giving us the works. He has received more ships. Brodrig has switched sides, and I have messed things up.† His eyes were bleak as he joined the food-container contact-points and watched it fall open neatly. The stewlike dish steamed its aroma through the room. Ducem Barr was already eating. â€Å"So much,† said Barr, â€Å"for improvisations, then. We can do nothing here; we can not cut through the Imperial lines to return to the Foundation; we can do nothing but that which is most sensible – to wait patiently. However, if Riose has reached the inner line I trust the wait will not be too long.† And Devers put down his fork. â€Å"Wait, is it?† he snarled, glowering. â€Å"That's all right for you. You've got nothing at stake.† â€Å"Haven't I?† Barr smiled thinly. â€Å"No. In fact, I'll tell you.† Devers' irritation skimmed the surface. â€Å"I'm tired of looking at this whole business as if it were an interesting something-or-other on a microscope slide. I've got friends somewhere out there, dying; and a whole world out there, my home, dying also. You're an outsider. You don't know.† â€Å"I have seen friends die.† The old man's hands were limp in his lap and his eyes were closed. â€Å"Are you married?† Devers said, â€Å"Traders don't marry.† â€Å"Well, I have two sons and a nephew. They have been warned, but – for reasons – they could take no action. Our escape means their death. My daughter and my two grandchildren have, I hope, left the planet safety before this, but even excluding them, I have already risked and lost more than you.† Devers was morosely savage. â€Å"I know. But that was a matter of choice. You might have played ball with Riose. I never asked you to-â€Å" Barr shook his head. â€Å"It was not a matter of choice, Devers. Make your conscience free, I didn't risk my sons for you. I co-operated with Riose as long as I dared. But there was the Psychic Probe.† The Siwennian patrician opened his eyes and they were sharp with pain. â€Å"Riose came to me once; it was over a year ago. He spoke of a cult centering about the magicians, but missed the truth. It is not quite a cult. You see, it is forty years now that Siwenna has been gripped in the same unbearable vise that threatens your world. Five revolts have been ground out. Then I discovered the ancient records of Hari Seldon – and now this ‘cult' waits. â€Å"It waits for the coming of the ‘magicians' and for that day it is ready. My sons are leaders of those who wait. It is that secret which is in my mind and which the Probe must never touch. And so they must die as hostages; for the alternative is their death as rebels and half of Siwenna with them. You see, I had no choice! And I am no outsider.† Devers' eyes fell, and Barr continued softly, â€Å"It is on a Foundation victory that Siwenna's hopes depend. It is for a Foundation victory that my sons are sacrificed. And Hari Seldon does not pre-calculate the inevitable salvation of Siwenna as he does that of the Foundation. I have no certainty for my people – only hope.† â€Å"But you are still satisfied to wait. Even with the Imperial Navy at Loris.† â€Å"I would wait, in perfect confidence,† said Barr, simply, â€Å"if they had landed on the planet, Terminus, itself.† The trader frowned hopelessly. â€Å"I don't know. It can't really work like that; not just like magic. Psychohistory or not, they're terribly strong, and we're weak. What can Setdon do about it?† â€Å"There's nothing to do. It's all already done. It's proceeding now. Because you don't hear the wheels turning and the gongs beating doesn't mean it's any the less certain.† â€Å"Maybe; but I wish you had cracked Riose's skull for keeps. He's more the enemy than all his army.† â€Å"Cracked his skull? With Brodrig his second in command?† Barr's face sharpened with hate. â€Å"All Siwenna would have been my hostage. Brodrig has proven his worth long since. There exists a world which five years ago lost one male in every ten – and simply for failure to meet outstanding taxes. This same Brodrig was the tax-collector. No, Riose may live. His punishments are mercy in comparison.† â€Å"But six months, six months, in the enemy Base, with nothing to show for it.† Devers' strong hands clasped each other tautly, so that his knuckles cracked. â€Å"Nothing to show for it!† â€Å"Well, now, wait. You remind me-† Barr fumbled in his pouch. â€Å"You might want to count this.† And he tossed the small sphere of metal on the table. Devers snatched it. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"The message capsule. The one that Riose received just before I jacked him. Does that count as something?† â€Å"I don't know. Depends on what's in it!† Devers sat down and turned it over carefully in his hand. When Barr stepped from his cold shower and, gratefully, into the mild warm current of the air dryer, he found Devers silent and absorbed at the workbench. The Siwennian slapped his body with a sharp rhythm and spoke above the punctuating sounds. â€Å"What are you doing?† Devers looked up. Droplets of perspiration glittered in his beard. â€Å"I'm going to open this capsule.† â€Å"Can you open it without Riose's personal characteristic?† There was mild surprise in the Siwennian's voice. â€Å"If I can't, I'll resign from the Association and never skipper a ship for what's left of my life. I've got a three-way electronic analysis of the interior now, and I've got little jiggers that the Empire never heard of, especially made for jimmying capsules. I've been a burglar before this, y'know. A trader has to be something of everything.† He bent low over the little sphere, and a small flat instrument probed delicately and sparked redly at each fleeting contact. He said, â€Å"This capsule is a crude job, anyway. These Imperial boys are no shakes at this small work. I can see that. Ever see a Foundation capsule? It's half the size and impervious to electronic analysis in the first place.† And then he was rigid, the shoulder muscles beneath his tunic tautening visibly. His tiny probe pressed slowly- It was noiseless when it came, but Devers; relaxed and sighed. In his hand was the shining sphere with its message unrolled like a parchment tongue. â€Å"It's from Brodrig,† he said. Then, with contempt, â€Å"The message medium is permanent. In a Foundation capsule, the message would be oxidized to gas within the minute.† But Ducem Barr waved him silent. He read the message quickly. FROM: AMMEL BRODRIG, ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, PRIVY SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL, AND PEER OF THE REALM. TO: BEL RIOSE, MILITARY GOVERNOR OF SIWENNA. GENERAL OF THE IMPERIAL FORCES, AND PEER OF THE REALM. I GREET YOU. PLANET #1120 NO LONGER RESISTS. THE PLANS OF OFFENSE AS OUTLINED CONTINUE SMOOTHLY. THE ENEMY WEAKENS VISIBLY AND THE ULTIMATE ENDS IN VIEW WILL SURELY BE GAINED. Barr raised his head from the almost microscopic print and cried bitterly, â€Å"The fool! The forsaken blasted fop! That a message?† â€Å"Huh?† said Devers. He was vaguely disappointed. â€Å"It says nothing,† ground out Barr. â€Å"Our lick-spittle courtier is playing at general now. With Riose away, he is the field commander and must sooth his paltry spirit by spewing out his pompous reports concerning military affairs he has nothing to do with. ‘So-and-so planet no longer resists.' ‘The offensive moves on.' ‘The enemy weakens.' The vacuum-headed peacock.† â€Å"Well, now, wait a minute. Hold on-â€Å" â€Å"Throw it away.† The old man turned away in mortification. â€Å"The Galaxy knows I never expected it to be world-shakingly important, but in wartime it is reasonable to assume that even the most routine order left undelivered might hamper military movements and lead to complications later. It's why I snatched it. But this! Better to have left it. It would have wasted a minute of Riose's time that will now be put to more constructive use.† But Devers had arisen. â€Å"Will you hold on and stop throwing your weight around? For Seldon's sake-â€Å" He held out the sliver of message before Barr's nose, â€Å"Now read that again. What does he mean by ‘ultimate ends in view'?† â€Å"The conquest of the Foundation. Well?† â€Å"Yes? And maybe he means the conquest of the Empire. You know he believes that to be the ultimate end.† â€Å"And if he does?† â€Å"If he does!† Devers' one-sided smile was lost in his beard. â€Å"Why, watch then, and I'll show you.† With one finger the lavishly monogrammed sheet of message-parchment was thrust back into its slot. With a soft twang, it disappeared and the globe was a smooth, unbroken whole again. Somewhere inside was the tiny oiled whir of the controls as they lost their setting by random movements. â€Å"Now there is no known way of opening this capsule without knowledge of Riose's personal characteristic, is there?† â€Å"To the Empire, no,† said Barr. â€Å"Then the evidence it contains is unknown to us and absolutely authentic.† â€Å"To the Empire, yes,† said Barr. â€Å"And the Emperor can open it, can't he? Personal Characteristics of Government officials must be on file. We keep records of our officials at the Foundation.† â€Å"At the Imperial capital as well,† agreed Barr. â€Å"Then when you, a Siwennian patrician and Peer of the Realm, tell this Cleon, this Emperor, that his favorite tame-parrot and his shiniest general are getting together to knock him over, and hand him the capsule as evidence, what will he think Brodrig's ‘ultimate ends' are?† Barr sat down weakly. â€Å"Wait, I don't follow you.† He stroked one thin cheek, and said, â€Å"You're not really serious, are you?† â€Å"I am.† Devers was angrily excited. â€Å"Listen, nine out of the last ten Emperors got their throats cut, or their gizzards blasted out by one or another of their generals with bigtime notions in their heads. You told me that yourself more than once. Old man Emperor would believe us so fast it would make Riose's head swim.† Barr muttered feebly, â€Å"He is serious, For the Galaxy's sake, man, you can't beat a Seldon crisis by a far-fetched, impractical, storybook scheme like that. Suppose you had never got hold of the capsule. Suppose Brodrig hadn't used the word ‘ultimate.' Seldon doesn't depend on wild luck.† â€Å"If wild luck comes our way, there's no law says Seldon can't take advantage of it.† â€Å"Certainly. But†¦ but,† Barr stopped, then spoke calmly but with visible restraint. â€Å"Look, in the first place, how will you get to the planet Trantor? You don't know its location in space, and I certainly don't remember the co-ordinates, to say nothing of the ephemerae. You don't even know your own position in space.† â€Å"You can't get lost in space,† grinned Devers. He was at the controls already. â€Å"Down we go to the nearest planet, and back we come with complete bearings and the best navigation charts Brodrig's hundred thousand smackers can buy.† â€Å"And a blaster in our belly. Our descriptions are probably in every planet in this quarter of the Empire.† â€Å"Doc,† said Devers, patiently, â€Å"don't be a hick tom the sticks. Riose said my ship surrendered too easily and, brother, he wasn't kidding. This ship has enough fire-power and enough juice in its shield to hold off anything we're Rely to meet this deep inside the frontier. And we have personal shields, too. The Empire boys never found them, you know, but they weren't meant to be found.† â€Å"All fight,† said Barr, â€Å"all right. Suppose yourself on Trantor. How do you see the Emperor then? You think he keeps office hours?† â€Å"Suppose we worry about that on Trantor,† said Devers. And Barr muttered helplessly, â€Å"All right again. I've wanted to see Trantor before I die for half a century now. Have your way.† The hypernuclear motor was cut in. The lights flickered and there was the slight internal wrench that marked the shift into hyperspace.