Public Meeting Paper Essay Example for Free

Public Meeting Paper Essay The public meeting I went to was at the City Hall chambers building located in downtown El Paso at two civic center plaza drive. It was a regular City Hall Council meeting where voting sessions were conducted. City Council members and mayors of El Paso do these meetings to resolve problems and improve their city through funding, spreading awareness, and implementing laws. City Hall Council meetings are from Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm. City Hall Council meetings allow and encourage public attendance and participation. The City Hall Council meeting I went to was Tuesday March 15th. It was three hours long, but I attended the first hour of the meeting from 8:30am to 9:30 am. At the beginning of the meeting there was a Spanish interpreter provided for Spanish speaking El Pasoans. There was also a sign language interpreter provided for people with special needs. Then there was a prayer thanking God’s grace for safety and prosperity and mentioning the devastating natural disaster in Japan, and asking God to have mercy on Japan and protect the U.S. from similar disasters. After that people were asked to stand in respect for the Pledge of Allegiance which was read by City Council members. Mayor Ann Morgan Lilly announced Mayor’s proclamations. First guest was Miss Shanaya Fastje Day who is an 11 year old girl. She spoke to kids about bullying and its impact and effect on kids. She discussed ways to prevent or at least reduce the cases of bullying. She also mentioned the ways on how kids should deal with bullying and who to reach to incase of such incidents. Mayors thanked her efforts especially Mayor Beto O’Rouke. Her father spoke about his daughter’s efforts and asked the city of El Paso to assist and help her to make her cause and efforts influential and effective. Mayor Pro Tempore Emma Acosta thanked her and asked to applause her. The second mayor proclamation was Franklin Mountain Poppies Preservation Day. Jody spoke about it and asked people to attend a celebration in the Northeast area of El Paso. The celebration was open to the public and is done every year near the Museum of Archaeology of El Paso. From what I understood it’s to preserve and breed poppies. Then a group kids identified as girl scouts but had no recognition. They greeted the City Council members as everyone does. The reason they came is in the hope to be inspired and to become City Council members or mayors themselves one day. Kids identified themselves by saying their names and then were thanked and left. Mayor’s proclamations continued and the following was National Brain Injury Awareness Month. This awareness month was March 2011 as approved by Mayor John Cook. The speaker was Nancy Peters who is the director of marketing for Mentis Neuro Rehab center for Brain Injury, and she is also the facilitator of El Paso Brain Injury Support Group. She spoke in general about brain injuries and mentioned statistics and the common ages for brain injuries which were kids from birth to four and from nine to fifteen. Then she allowed some of their patients to share their stories and testimonies. Most of the survivors stories were soldiers of Fort Bliss and veterans of the Iraq war and one of them was a victim of a car accident. They shared their stories and thanked Mentis for their efforts and help for them. Afterwards there was a call to the public where six members signed to talk. Their names are William Hart, Jerry Fade, Lisa Turner, Jorge Artalejo, Lynn Fitzgerald, and Manny Hinojosa. First was William Hart who spoke about anti immigration laws and how unjust they are. He compared anti immigration laws to slavery and segregation laws who were unjust, cruel, and inhumane. He also mentioned that being laws doesn’t make them good, because there are unjust laws being supported by lobbyists who pay money to law makers in the United States. He asked to get rid of such laws and to emphasize justice and compassion. He also mentioned that the United States is an immigrant country and that the founding fathers had values of freedom, equality, and justice. Also mentioned that most the immigrants come at a young age and know nothing and love nothing but the United States. The next speaker Jerry Fade was absent, so the third speaker was called. The third speaker was Lisa Turner who spoke about rolling blackouts of electricity and water. She blamed El Paso Electric Company and PSP. She said that they failed to do their jobs and that there was no excuse not to operate in cold weather as the generators and machines are made to operate in all climates. She complained about them not paying attention to their equipment and generators that are supposed to pump water and air to generate electricity. She questioned them spending enough money on maintenance and renewing their equipment and generators. She also said that an Ice storm in New Mexico affects El Paso because of no generator capacity. The fourth speaker was Jorge Artalejo and his topic was â€Å"the wind of change blows through the desert of El Paso†. He spoke about utilities are supposed to operate in different conditions. He also spoke about the city of El Paso elections. The fifth speaker was Lynn Fitzgerald and his topic was â€Å"Frank Buckles buried in Arlington National Semetary†. He complained about not having enough memorials in the United States to honor World War 1 veterans. He asked for a memorial in El Paso for all female soldiers who fought in The United States wars. He thanked all service men who fought for the United States and asked to honor them. Before he left he wanted to a share with everybody a picture that depicted the disastrous effect of the natural disaster in Japan. Final speaker was Manny Hinojosa and his topic was â€Å"Transparency†. He requested more transparency from the city of El Paso in matters such as money spending, electric company to be accountable, city’s help for the elderly, and computers ships planted in trash cans and their cost and benefit. He also asked them to improve their web site to be ahead of newspapers on what’s going on in El Paso. He also asked them to answer their emails, be clear or transparent, and to post issues or news on their web site as soon as possible. After the call to the public ended, there was the Consent Agenda where members of the audience can vote, and items that are not called are approved. Representative Robertson corrected things and asked questions. He also asked to delete incorrect postings and postpone discussions. Introductions for voting sessions began with item numbers and codes about specific cases. Most of the motions passed unanimously, some of which were about city elections, construction, and health. This was my first City Hall public meeting and it was a new experience to me. I liked the fact that I had the chance to witness how governments operate even if it was on a small scale such as cities. I think that the meeting was productive and positive and continued as expected without disturbances or shortcomings. The most important issue to be questioned during this meeting was about questioning El Paso Electric Company reliability and professionalism. I was there for the first hour of the three hours meeting, which I think is enough time to discuss and get things done.

Just World Belief and Attitude Toward Jirga

Just World Belief and Attitude Toward Jirga Discussion This study was aimed to investigate the Just world belief and attitude toward jirga among university students. Study shows that the positive attitude toward jirga is positively correlated with just world belief. This shows that people with positive attitude toward jirga system also have high level on JWB. This finding is supported by the theory of â€Å"the belief in a Just life: A fundamental delusion† (Lerner, 1980) .theory purposed that a just world is one in which actions and conditions have predictable and appropriate consequences. When people believe that the consequence of every action is appropriate the also trust the decision making by their elders of jirga cause it support there belief that one will only get what her deserve there is no chance of unjust decisions. Another important finding of the study is, that the level of JWB is high among male students in comparison to female students. JWB is defined as the consequences one faces is because of her own work and what that deserve there. Or in other words â€Å"you reap what you sow†. In our society women are consider weaker them men, Men have more resources and opportunities to fight for their right and get what they want according to Lerner (1980) people are motivated to believe that the world is a just place where people get what they deserve. In most cases women are the once who suffers even if the crime is done by the male member of the family i.e Vani . the sample for this study was conducted from the students of Peshawar many of them belong to the ruler areas where the justice system is week or where judicial system is replaced by the Jirga system, in this kind of situation a men in our society have more power to stand for his right and mostly the judgments given by jirga’ s are in favor of men or if someone committed a murder his sis or daughter is offered to the male member of the victims family to settle the score and bring peace between two families. In this scenario the women how become Vani lost her faith on just world or any other women who saw this kind of treatment lost her faith on just world. The injustices’ for women in our society is not just in the areas where jirga’s are the main sources of decision, in areas where Judicial system is available even there it’s very hard for the women to get justices, for exam if a women became a rape victim the family prohibited her to go to the polices because according to them taking this kind of matter out from the house will jeopardize there respect and the status and if even then a women go out and approach the police she face the humility by the male member of police and then if the rapist get caught he get his self out from the jail on a bile like in the case of Mukhtaran BIBI anti terrorism court sentenced 6 men to death for rape but the Lahore high court cited â€Å"insufficient evidence† and Supreme court too acquitted the accused ( the express Tribune, April 22, 2011). This kind of situations make female member of society not to believe on the phenomena like just world belief. These findings are supported by the study conducted by (Hayes, Loren Bell, 2013) on Victim Blaming Others: Rape Myth acceptance and just World Belief, there results indicate that the level of just world belief is higher among men than women. Important finding of the study is female students have negative attitude toward jirga system then male students and over all the attitude of students toward jirga is more negative than positive. Jirga is a form of local council who have all male members in it, most verdicts given by them goes against women even if it was a male member of the family who committed the crime, Like â€Å"VANI† is an example in which if a male member of a family killed or committee a crime to another person or family the female a daughter or a sister or niece of the murderer forcibly married to the male member family of a victim to settle the scores between families the male who committed the crime didn’t get any kind of punishment, there are many expels of this tradition , in district D.I. Khan a three year old girl given to a man of forty five years on the decision of the local Jirga because the uncle of the three years old who kidnapped a girl (Daily Jung , 22 January 2007) , another case a man ran away with the daughter of the neighbor’s and the girls family took the case into local jiga , the jirga decided that the 6 month old daughter of the culprit’s should be married with the 25 years old brother of the runaway girl.( Al-Juzairi, A.R, 1977) and other example of the decisions of the Jirg system is â€Å"honor killing† jirga allow to murder a women if a male member of her family think that she dishonored his family they don’t even need prove to prove that women guilty, and another example is â€Å"honor rape† in which if a male member of a family raped someone jirga ordered that male members of the victims family should rape the female from the family of the person who rapped. The biggest example of the â€Å"honor Rape â€Å" is the case of Mukhatra BIBI, on June, 2002 the 30 years old Mukhtara BIBI was ganged raped on the order of the local jirga , because there was the accusation on his 12 year old brother that he raped an 18 years old girl ( 28th June 2005 , BBC News). According to the HRCP during the time period of one year January 1 2013 to December 31 2013 there are 510 females became victim of the honor killing and 359 victimized by Karo kari. These numbers and incidents clearly show why women have more negative attitude toward Jirga system. the overall attitude slightly inclined toward negative attitude toward jirga system the reason can be because the data was collected from the Universities the education level played important role in changing the view of the people from positive toward negative attitude. The findings of the research show that the view of the people is changing toward jirga system, the level just world belief shows that females of our society are facing injustice. Females are more than 51% of our population to make our nation stronger it is necessary to give security and confidence to a huge part of the population. Limitations and suggestions: The main limitation of the study was the limited resources and the safety conditions of the country which prohibited the researcher to go further in the rural ares and collect data .To measure the attitude toward jirga system conducting the interviews could give more details views and results. The sample was collected from the Gandhara university Peshawer , it can benefited the study if data was also collated from rural areas e KPK and other provinces where jirga system is also very common . The direct interviews from the victimized females can benefited the study by giving the more insight about the psychological condition and the level of JWB among those females. Implications of the Findings: The findings have very important implications, it is shown by the results that females are clear victims of the jirga system and they clearly showed negative attitude toward this system, authorities should take serious steps toward this jirga system which is clearly violating the rights of the women, secondly women shows low level on Just World Belief , which indicates that women who are more 51% of the population are very insecure and victimized by the unjust Law system and biased society if authorities doesn’t take any proper steps to give security and justices to the women then it will make our society more week and vulnerable. References: Daily Jung , Multan , Pakistan . 22-1-2007. Al-Juzairi, A.R . (1977) . Kitabul Fiqah Ala Mazahib elarab, translated by Manzoor Abassi, Publication sector, Aqff dept. Lahore. PAksitan HRCP , KILLINGS (add it in intro) Tirmizi.(Aprial, 22, 2011) ,Mukhtara Mai: story of extraordinary courage. The express Tribune. Anonymous. (21 aprial, 2011), Pakistan : acquittals in Mukhtara Mai gang rape case. BBCNews, south Asia.(add it in intro) Add research : a social custom Vanni intro and critical analysis. (Add it in intro it’s online.) Rape myth acceptance and just world belief , Rebecca m. hayes , Katherine and kirstin A Bell.(find it online add in references and research in literature reviews)

Effective Written Communication Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Even the best ideas are of small value unless communicated well.† People write in response to situations that call on them to put their thoughts and feelings into words. For example, a boss may ask an employee to write a report on how to market a new product line or the company for which an employee works is requesting assistance in designing a home page on the World Wide Web. In a labor force full of mediocre writers, someone who writes well is bound to stand out and succeed, while someone who writes poorly is bound to do just the opposite. It is not to say that the mediocre writer will not be successful, but the success of a person who possesses excellent writing skills will certainly be far greater. Sponsorship of a workshop for employees to improve writing skills would certainly assist in empowering employees, serve as a motivator for boosting company morale, and ultimately result in an increase in business profits. According to Dr. William C. Byham,â€Å"the successful organizations will be the ones best able to apply the creative energy of individuals toward constant improvement† (5). Yet, constant improvement is a value that cannot be imposed upon people. It has to come from the individual. The only way to get people to adopt constant improvement as a way of life in doing daily business is by empowering them. Empowering employees definitely motivates them to take ownership of their jobs so that they take personal interest in improving the performance of the organization. Formal training in empowerment skills and related areas are conceived via personal and organizational success. Personal and organizational successes are achieved through good advertisement as well as excellent relations with the public. Both of these rely heavily on one’s ability to communicate thoughts and ideas effectively. The heart of effective communication is excellent academic writing skills. Participative management stems from the idea of involving employees in the decision-making process. â€Å"In the Fifties, managers thought it meant being friendly to employees. In the Sixties, they thought it meant being sensitive to the needs and motivations of people. In the Seventies, managers thought it meant asking employees for help. In the Eighties, it meant having lots of group meetings.† The very name â€Å"participative management† seems to imply that it is something that management does whi... ...it.† The effect that a positive tone can have on a company’s image is amazing. A simple â€Å"please† or â€Å"thank you† renders desired results and shortens response times as well. Eliminating negative-tone communication and promoting positive-tone communication guarantees phenomenal yields and profits. Thanks to an effective formal writing program utilized by Brown & Brown at the end of the year 2001, the firm’s net income rose sixty percent, from $38.7 million to $61.7 million for the year 2002. Finally, through sponsorship of a workshop where employees can improve writing skills it affords the employee the opportunity to be taken seriously. It allows the employees to feel as if they are personally contributing to the overall success of the organization. When an employee can influence how things get done or when her efforts are recognized and accomplishments are rewarded it empowers the employee to tackle challenges with undying fervor, therefore; increasing quality, customer satisfaction, and productivity. These kind of positive results ultimately render skyrocketing increases in business profits. Isn’t it amazing what a little workshop on enhancing academic writing skills can do?

Nature vs. Nurture - We are Influenced by a Combination :: Papers Psychology Development Behavior

Nature vs. Nurture Debate The controversy over what determines who we are, whether it is Nature (heredity, our biological make up) or Nurture (our environment) is taking a new shape. Through the past decades, psychologists have developed different theories to explain the characteristics of human-beings; how we feel, think and behave. Usually, these theories were one directional in the nature / nurture question. Today, a new approach to deal with this question is emerging. This new approach finds a middle ground between nature and nurture. The conclusion that nature and nurture are complementary and work hand and hand to shape a behavior (a purposeful and meaningful activity) is not a compromise; it is a result of a vigorous study of each of the components of the equation of heredity and environment and their affects on determining one’s development and behavior. In fact, the more we understand about development and behavior, the more obvious it becomes that nature and nurture are similarly influences rather than determinants, not only singly but also in combination. Here below, I will endeavour to expose the leading theories dealing with the question of nature vs. nurture. I will also try to present the third, new-emerging approach meant to solve the mystery of â€Å" What is it that makes us who we are?† â€Å"Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines.† This is what Richard Darwin states in his book: The Selfish Gene. In his international best seller book, he argues that we are merely a product of our genes and our main purpose in life is to serve the genes, become distribution agents and ensure their proliferation. Before we take any stand to Darwin’s statement, let us familiarize ourselves with what is meant when the term nature is used. Nature represents what we are born with and cannot control. Our biological make up is determined by the genes we receive from our parents(reside in the 23 pairs of chromosomes, 23 from each parent.) â€Å"A gene is a segment of DNA or a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that codes for a functional product,† (Tortora, Microbiology. p. 575.) These genes not only affect our outlook, but also play a significant role in determining our behavior and our well-being. â€Å"Through new genetic studies, clinical observation, and research on identical twins and adopted children, we are becoming increasingly aware that many of the human characteristics previously taken for granted as products of childhood rearing and environment are rooted in the genetic matrix.†, (Neubrauer, Peter. p 38) Studies of identical twins reared apart have provided researchers with a lot of clues

walking your walk :: essays research papers

Walking your Walk The book mentions that ethics is about behavior. This means that for something to be a part of your ethical beliefs, you must be willing to act accordingly if put the situation. If you are not willing to act on something that you say is your ethical and moral belief, is it really a part of your ethics. I do not think that a person can believe something and contradict the beliefs with the decisions that they choose to make. The decisions that people make decide for them, what their ethical and moral beliefs. Talk is cheap when it comes to ethics. I think that in the case of ethics, the phrase should be switched around. If you are walking the walk, you are allowed to talk the talk. For example a teacher has many students, and at the beginning of the semester, or the beginning of their teaching career, they choose to grade fairly and to give students grades depending of the scores of the homework, tests, and participation. This is the right ethical way to grade for the teacher. If the teacher has a student who tries really hard, and puts in the time outside of class, and has a tutor, but in the end just has a hard time with the subject matter. Would that student deserve to get a failing grade just because they are slower than the rest of the class. Why does the smart kid who has to put forth no effort, and everything just comes natural, get the good grade. I think that teachers are more inclined to give the student who tries so hard a passing grade, when the numbers are the things that should determine the grade. I think that you absolutely have an ethical responsibility to be a role model for others in your daily activities. If you are in a management position for example, how can you expect people to behave like you want them to if you are not willing to be the example? I believe that a manager, and even a person for that matter, should not ask you to do something that they would not do themselves if put in the same situation. If you are not acting on something that is part of your ethical and moral beliefs, than it does not belong as part of your ethical makeup. It is more of a moral and ethical wish list, and the only things on that list that you can claim, are the things that you are practicing, and using to make your decisions.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 2 Flight

TRANTOR-†¦ The capital of the First Galactic Empire†¦ Under Cleon I, it had its â€Å"twilight glow.† To all appearances, it was then at its peak. Its land surface of 200 million square kilometers was entirely domed (except for the Imperial Palace area) and underlaid with an endless city that extended beneath the continental shelves. The population was 40 billion and although the signs were plentiful (and clearly visible in hindsight) that there were gathering problems, those who lived on Trantor undoubtedly found it still the Eternal World of legend and did not expect it would ever†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 6. Seldon looked up. A young man was standing before him, looking down at him with an expression of amused contempt. Next to him was another young man-a bit younger, perhaps. Both were large and appeared to be strong. They were dressed in an extreme of Trantorian fashion, Seldon judged-boldly clashing colors, broad fringed belts, round hats with wide brims all about and the two ends of a bright pink ribbon extending from the brim to the back of the neck. In Seldon's eyes, it was amusing and he smiled. The young man before him snapped, â€Å"What're you grinning at, misfit?† Seldon ignored the manner of address and said gently, â€Å"Please pardon my smile. I was merely enjoying your costume.† â€Å"My costume? So? And what are you wearing? What's that awful offal you call clothes?† His hand went out and his finger flicked at the lapel of Seldon's jacket-disgracefully heavy and dull, Seldon himself thought, in comparison to the other's lighthearted colors. Seldon said, â€Å"I'm afraid it's my Outworlder clothes. They're all I have.† He couldn't help notice that the few others who were sitting in the small park were rising to their feet and walking off. It was as though they were expecting trouble and had no desire to remain in the vicinity. Seldon wondered if his new friend, Hummin, was leaving too, but he felt it injudicious to take his eyes away from the young man who was confronting him. He teetered back on his chair slightly. The young man said, â€Å"You an Outworlder?† â€Å"That's right. Hence my clothes.† â€Å"Hence? What kind of word's that? Outworld word?† â€Å"What I meant was, that was why my clothes seem peculiar to you. I'm a visitor here.† â€Å"From what planet?† â€Å"Helicon.† The young man's eyebrows drew together. â€Å"Never heard of it.† â€Å"It's not a large planet.† â€Å"Why don't you go back there?† â€Å"I intend to. I'm leaving tomorrow.† â€Å"Sooner! Now!† The young man looked at his partner. Seldon followed the look and caught a glimpse of Hummin. He had not left, but the park was now empty except for himself, Hummin, and the two young men. Seldon said, â€Å"I'd thought I'd spend today sight-seeing.† â€Å"No. You don't want to do that. You go home now.† Seldon smiled. â€Å"Sorry. I won't.† The young man said to his partner. â€Å"You like his clothes, Marbie?† Marbie spoke for the first time. â€Å"No. Disgusting. Turns the stomach.† â€Å"Can't let him go around turning stomachs, Marbie. Not good for people's health.† â€Å"No, not by no means, Alem,† said Marbie. Alem grinned. â€Å"Well now. You heard what Marbie said.† And now Hummin spoke. He said, â€Å"Look, you two, Alem, Marbie, whatever your names are. You've had your fun. Why don't you go away?† Alem, who had been leaning slightly toward Seldon, straightened and turned. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"That's not your business,† snapped Hummin. â€Å"You're Trantorian?† asked Alem. â€Å"Also not your business.† Alem frowned and said, â€Å"You're dressed Trantorian. We're not interested in you, so don't go looking for problems.† â€Å"I intend to stay. That means there are two of us. Two against two doesn't sound like your kind of fight. Why don't you go away and get some friends so you can handle two people?† Seldon said, â€Å"I really think you ought to get away if you can, Hummin. It's kind of you to try to protect me, but I don't want you harmed.† â€Å"These are not dangerous people, Seldon. Just half-credit lackeys.† â€Å"Lackeys!† The word seemed to infuriate Alem, so that Seldon thought it must have a more insulting meaning on Trantor than it had on Helicon. â€Å"Here, Marbie,† said Alem with a growl. â€Å"You take care of that other motherlackey and I'll rip the clothes off this Seldon. He's the one we want. Now-â€Å" His hands came down sharply to seize Seldon's lapels and jerk him upright. Seldon pushed away, instinctively it would seem, and his chair tipped backward. He seized the hands stretched toward him, his foot went up, and his chair went down. Somehow Alem streaked overhead, turning as he did so, and came down hard on his neck and back behind Seldon. Seldon twisted as his chair went down and was quickly on his feet, staring down at Alem, then looking sharply to one side for Marbie. Alem lay unmoving, his face twisted in agony. He had two badly sprained thumbs, excruciating pain in his groin, and a backbone that had been badly jarred. Hummin's left arm had grabbed Marbie's neck from behind and his right arm had pulled the other's right arm backward at a vicious angle. Marbie's face was red as he labored uselessly for breath. A knife, glittering with a small laser inset, lay on the ground beside them. Hummin eased his grip slightly and said, with an air of honest concern, â€Å"You've hurt that one badly.† Seldon said, â€Å"I'm afraid so. If he had fallen a little differently, he would have snapped his neck.† Hummin said, â€Å"What kind of a mathematician are you?† â€Å"A Heliconian one.† He stooped to pick up the knife and, after examining it, said, â€Å"Disgusting-and deadly.† Hummin said, â€Å"An ordinary blade would do the job without requiring a power source.-But let's let these two go. I doubt they want to continue any further.† He released Marbie, who rubbed first his shoulder then his neck. Gasping for air, he turned hate-filled eyes on the two men. Hummin said sharply, â€Å"You two had better get out of here. Otherwise we'll have to give evidence against you for assault and attempted murder. This knife can surely be traced to you.† Seldon and Hummin watched while Marbie dragged Alem to his feet and then helped him stagger away, still bent in pain. They looked back once or twice, but Seldon and Hummin watched impassively. Seldon held out his hand. â€Å"How do I thank you for coming to the aid of a stranger against two attackers? I doubt I would have been able to handle them both on my own.† Hummin raised his hand in a deprecatory manner. â€Å"I wasn't afraid of them. They're just street-brawling lackeys. All I had to do was get my hands on them-and yours, too, of course.† â€Å"That's a pretty deadly grip you have,† Seldon mused. Hummin shrugged. â€Å"You too.† Then, without changing his tone of voice, he said, â€Å"Come on, we'd better get out of here. We're wasting time.† Seldon said, â€Å"Why do we have to get away? Are you afraid those two will come back?† â€Å"Not in their lifetime. But some of those brave people who cleared out of the park so quickly in their eagerness to spare themselves a disagreeable sight may have alerted the police.† â€Å"Fine. We have the hoodlums' names. And we can describe them fairly well.† â€Å"Describe them? Why would the police want them?† â€Å"They committed an assault-â€Å" â€Å"Don't be foolish. We don't have a scratch. They're virtually hospital bait, especially Alem. We're the ones who will be charged.† â€Å"But that's impossible. Those people witnessed the fact that-â€Å" â€Å"No people will be called.-Seldon, get this into your head. Those two came to find you-specifically you. They were told you were wearing Heliconian clothes and you must have been described precisely. Perhaps they were even shown a holograph. I suspect they were sent by the people who happen to control the police, so let's not wait any longer.† Hummin hurried off, his hand gripping Seldon's upper arm. Seldon found the grip impossible to shake and, feeling like a child in the hands of an impetuous nurse, followed. They plunged into an arcade and, before Seldon's eyes grew accustomed to the dimmer light, they heard the burring sound of a ground-car's brakes. â€Å"There they are,† muttered Hummin. â€Å"Faster, Seldon.† They hopped onto a moving corridor and lost themselves in the crowd. 7. Seldon had tried to persuade Hummin to take him to his hotel room, but Hummin would have none of that. â€Å"Are you mad?† he half-whispered. â€Å"They'll be waiting for you there.† â€Å"But all my belongings are waiting for me there too.† â€Å"They'll just have to wait.† And now they were in a small room in a pleasant apartment structure that might be anywhere for all that Seldon could tell. He looked about the one-room unit. Most of it was taken up by a desk and chair, a bed, and a computer outlet. There were no dining facilities or washstand of any kind, though Hummin had directed him to a communal washroom down the hall. Someone had entered before Seldon was quite through. He had cast one brief and curious look at Seldon's clothes, rather than at Seldon himself, and had then looked away. Seldon mentioned this to Hummin, who shook his head and said, â€Å"We'll have to get rid of your clothes. Too bad Helicon is so far out of fashion-â€Å" Seldon said impatiently, â€Å"How much of this might just be your imagination, Hummin? You've got me half-convinced and yet it may be merely a kind of†¦ of-â€Å" â€Å"Are you groping for the word ‘paranoia'?† â€Å"All right, I am. This may be some strange paranoid notion of yours.† Hummin said, â€Å"Think about it, will you? I can't argue it out mathematically, but you've seen the Emperor. Don't deny it. He wanted something from you and you didn't give it to him. Don't deny that either. I suspect that details of the future are what he wants and you refused. Perhaps Demerzel thinks you're only pretending not to have the details-that you're holding out for a higher price or that someone else is bidding for it too. Who knows? I told you that if Demerzel wants you, he'll get you wherever you are. I told you that before those two splitheads ever appeared on the scene. I'm a journalist and a Trantorian. I know how these things go. At one point, Alem said, ‘He's the one we want.' Do you remember that?† â€Å"As it happens,† said Seldon. â€Å"I do.† â€Å"To him I was only the ‘other motherlackey' to be kept off, while he went about the real job of assaulting you.† Hummin sat down in the chair and pointed to the bed. â€Å"Stretch out, Seldon. Make yourself comfortable. Whoever sent those two-it must have been Demerzel, in my opinion-can send others, so we'll have to get rid of those clothes of yours. I think any other Heliconian in this sector caught in his own world's garb is going to have trouble until he can prove he isn't you.† â€Å"Oh come on.† â€Å"I mean it. You'll have to take off the clothes and we'll have to atomize them-if we can get close enough to a disposal unit without being seen. And before we can do that I'll have to get you a Trantorian outfit. You're smaller than I am and I'll take that into account. It won't matter if it doesn't fit exactly-â€Å" Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I don't have the credits to pay for it. Not on me. What credits I have-and they aren't much-are in my hotel safe.† â€Å"We'll worry about that another time. You'll have to stay here for an hour or two while I go out in search of the necessary clothing.† Seldon spread his hands and sighed resignedly. â€Å"All right. If it's that important, I'll stay.† â€Å"You won't try to get back to your hotel? Word of honor?† â€Å"My word as a mathematician. But I'm really embarrassed by all the trouble you're taking for me. And expense too. After all, despite all this talk about Demerzel, they weren't really out to hurt me or carry me off. All I was threatened with was the removal of my clothes.† â€Å"Not all. They were also going to take you to the spaceport and put you on a hypership to Helicon.† â€Å"That was a silly threat-not to be taken seriously.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"I'm going to Helicon. I told them so. I'm going tomorrow.† â€Å"And you still plan to go tomorrow?† asked Hummin. â€Å"Certainly. Why not?† â€Å"There are enormous reasons why not.† Seldon suddenly felt angry. â€Å"Come on, Hummin, I can't play this game any further. I'm finished here and I want to go home. My tickets are in the hotel room. Otherwise I'd try to exchange them for a trip today. I mean it.† â€Å"You can't go back to Helicon.† Seldon flushed. â€Å"Why not? Are they waiting for me there too?† Hummin nodded. â€Å"Don't fire up, Seldon. They would be waiting for you there too. Listen to me. If you go to Helicon, you are as good as in Demerzel's hands. Helicon is good, safe Imperial territory. Has Helicon ever rebelled, ever fallen into step behind the banner of an anti-Emperor?† â€Å"No, it hasn't-and for good reason. It's surrounded by larger worlds. It depends on the Imperial peace for security.† â€Å"Exactly! Imperial forces on Helicon can therefore count on the full cooperation of the local government. You would be under constant surveillance at all times. Any time Demerzel wants you, he will be able to have you. And, except for the fact that I am now warning you, you would have no knowledge of this and you would be working in the open, filled with a false security.† â€Å"That's ridiculous. If he wanted me in Helicon, why didn't he simply leave me to myself? I was going there tomorrow. Why would he send those two hoodlums simply to hasten the matter by a few hours and risk putting me on my guard?† â€Å"Why should he think you would be put on your guard? He didn't know I'd be with you, immersing you in what you call my paranoia.† â€Å"Even without the question of warning me, why all the fuss to hurry me by a few hours?† â€Å"Perhaps because he was afraid you would change your mind.† â€Å"And go where, if not home? If he could pick me up on Helicon, he could pick me up anywhere. He could pick me up on†¦ on Anacreon, a good ten thousand parsecs away-if it should fall into my head to go there. What's distance to hyperspatial ships? Even if I find a world that's not quite as subservient to the Imperial forces as Helicon is, what world is in actual rebellion? The Empire is at peace. Even if some worlds are still resentful of injustices in the past, none are going to defy the Imperial armed forces to protect me. Moreover, anywhere but on Helicon I won't be a local citizen and there won't even be that matter of principle to help keep the Empire at bay.† Hummin listened patiently, nodding slightly, but looking as grave and as imperturbable as ever. He said, â€Å"You're right, as far as you go, but there's one world that is not really under the Emperor's control. That, I think, is what must be disturbing Demerzel.† Seldon thought a while, reviewing recent history and finding himself unable to choose a world on which the Imperial forces might be helpless. He said at last, â€Å"What world is that?† Hummin said, â€Å"You're on it, which is what makes the matter so dangerous in Demerzel's eyes, I imagine. It is not so much that he is anxious to have you go to Helicon, as that he is anxious to have you leave Trantor before it occurs to you, for any reason-even if only tourist's mania-to stay.† The two men sat in silence until Seldon finally said sardonically, â€Å"Trantor! The capital of the Empire, with the home base of the fleet on a space station in orbit about it, with the best units of the army quartered here. If you believe that it is Trantor that is the safe world, you're progressing from paranoia to outright fantasy.† â€Å"No! You're an Outworlder, Seldon. You don't know what Trantor is like. It's forty billion people and there are few other worlds with even a tenth of its population. It is of unimaginable technological and cultural complexity. Where we are now is the Imperial Sector-with the highest standard of living in the Galaxy and populated entirely by Imperial functionaries. Elsewhere on the planet, however, are over eight hundred other sectors, some of them with subcultures totally different from what we have here and most of them untouchable by Imperial forces.† â€Å"Why untouchable?† â€Å"The Empire cannot seriously exert force against Trantor. To do so would be bound to shake some facet or other of the technology on which the whole planet depends. The technology is so interrelated that to snap one of the interconnections is to cripple the whole. Believe me, Seldon, we on Trantor observe what happens when there is an earthquake that manages to escape being damped out, a volcanic eruption that is not vented in time, a storm that is not defused, or just some human error that escapes notice. The planet totters and every effort must be made to restore the balance at once.† â€Å"I have never heard of such a thing.† A small smile flickered its way across Hummin's face. â€Å"Of course not. Do you want the Empire to advertise the weakness at its core? However, as a journalist, I know what happens even when the Outworlds don't, even when much of Trantor itself doesn't, even when the Imperial pressure is interested in concealing events. Believe me! The Emperor knows-and Eto Demerzel knows-even if you don't, that to disturb Trantor may destroy the Empire.† â€Å"Then are you suggesting I stay on Trantor for that reason?† â€Å"Yes. I can take you to a place on Trantor where you will be absolutely safe from Demerzel. You won't have to change your name and you will be able to operate entirely in the open and he won't be able to touch you. That's why he wanted to force you off Trantor at once and if it hadn't been for the quirk of fate that brought us together and for your surprising ability to defend yourself, he would have succeeded in doing so.† â€Å"But how long will I have to remain on Trantor?† â€Å"For as long as your safety requires it, Seldon. For the rest of your life, perhaps.† 8. Hari Seldon looked at the holograph of himself cast by Hummin's projector. It was more dramatic and useful than a mirror would have been. In fact, it seemed as though there were two of him in the room. Seldon studied the sleeve of his new tunic. His Heliconian attitudes made him wish the colors were less vibrant, but he was thankful that, as it was, Hummin had chosen softer colors than were customary here on this world. (Seldon thought of the clothing worn by their two assailants and shuddered inwardly.) He said, â€Å"And I suppose I must wear this hat.† â€Å"In the Imperial Sector, yes. To go bareheaded here is a sign of low breeding. Elsewhere, the rules are different.† Seldon sighed. The round hat was made of soft material and molded itself to his head when he put it on. The brim was evenly wide all around, but it was narrower than on the hats his attackers had worn. Seldon consoled himself by noticing that when he wore the hat the brim curved rather gracefully. â€Å"It doesn't have a strap under the chin.† â€Å"Of course not. That's advanced fashion for young lanks.† â€Å"For young what?† â€Å"A lank is someone who wears things for their shock value. I'm sure you have such people on Helicon.† Seldon snorted. â€Å"There are those who wear their hair shoulder-length on one side and shave the other.† He laughed at the memory. Hummin's mouth twisted slightly. â€Å"I imagine it looks uncommonly ugly.† â€Å"Worse. There are lefties and righties, apparently, and each finds the other version highly offensive. The two groups often engage in street brawls.† â€Å"Then I think you can stand the hat, especially without the strap.† Seldon said, â€Å"I'll get used to it.† â€Å"It will attract some attention. It's subdued for one thing and makes you look as if you're in mourning. And it doesn't quite fit. Then, too, you wear it with obvious discomfort. However, we won't be in the Imperial Sector long.-Seen enough?† And the holograph flickered out. Seldon said, â€Å"How much did this cost you?† â€Å"What's the difference?† â€Å"It bothers me to be in your debt.† â€Å"Don't worry about it. This is my choice. But we've been here long enough. I will have been described, I'm quite certain. They'll track me down and they'll come here.† â€Å"In that case,† said Seldon, â€Å"the credits you're spending are a minor matter. You're putting yourself into personal danger on my account. Personal danger!† â€Å"I know that. But it's my free choice and I can take care of myself.† â€Å"But why-â€Å" â€Å"We'll discuss the philosophy of it later.-I've atomized your clothes, by the way, and I don't think I was seen. There was an energy surge, of course, and that would be recorded. Someone might guess what happened from that-it's hard to obscure any action when probing eyes and mind are sharp enough. However, let us hope we'll be safely away before they put it all together.† 9. They traveled along walkways where the light was soft and yellow. Hummin's eyes moved this way and that, watchful, and he kept their pace at crowd speed, neither passing nor being passed. He kept up a mild but steady conversation on indifferent topics. Seldon, edgy and unable to do the same, said, â€Å"There seems to be a great deal of walking here. There are endless lines in both directions and along the crossovers.† â€Å"Why not?† said Hummin. â€Å"Walking is still the best form of short-distance transportation. It's the most convenient, the cheapest, and the most healthful. Countless years of technological advance have not changed that.-Are you acrophobic, Seldon?† Seldon looked over the railing on his right into a deep declivity that separated the two walking lanes-each in an opposite direction between the regularly spaced crossovers. He shuddered slightly. â€Å"If you mean fear of heights, not ordinarily. Still, looking down isn't pleasant. How far does it go down?† â€Å"Forty or fifty levels at this point, I think. This sort of thing is common in the Imperial Sector and a few other highly developed regions. In most places, one walks at what might be considered ground level.† â€Å"I should imagine this would encourage suicide attempts.† â€Å"Not often. There are far easier methods. Besides, suicide is not a matter of social obloquy on Trantor. One can end one's life by various recognized methods in centers that exist for the purpose-if one is willing to go through some psychotherapy at first. There are, occasional accidents, for that matter, but that's not why I was asking about acrophobia. We're heading for a taxi rental where they know me as a journalist. I've done favors for them occasionally and sometimes they do favors for me in return. They'll forget to record me and won't notice that I have a companion. Of course, I'll have to pay a premium and, again of course, if Demerzel's people lean on them hard enough, they'll have to tell the truth and put it down to slovenly accounting, but that may take considerable time.† â€Å"Where does the acrophobia come in?† â€Å"Well, we can get there a lot faster if we use a gravitic lift. Not many people use it and I must tell you that I'm not overjoyed at the idea myself, but if you think you can handle it, we had better.† â€Å"What's a gravitic lift?† â€Å"It's experimental. The time may come when it will be widespread over Trantor, provided it becomes psychologically acceptable-or can be made so to enough people. Then, maybe, it will spread to other worlds too. It's an elevator shaft without an elevator cab, so to speak. We just step into empty space and drop slowly-or rise slowly-under the influence of antigravity. It's about the only application of antigravity that's been established so far, largely because it's the simplest possible application.† â€Å"What happens if the power blinks out while we're in transit?† â€Å"Exactly what you would think. We fall and-unless we're quite near the bottom to begin with-we die. I haven't heard of it happening yet and, believe me, if it had happened I would know. We might not be able to give out the news for security reasons-that's the excuse they always advance for hiding bad news-but I would know. It's just up ahead. If you can't manage it, we won't do it, but the corridors are slow and tedious and many find them nauseating after a while.† Hummin turned down a crossover and into a large recess where a line of men and women were waiting, one or two with children. Seldon said in a low voice, â€Å"I heard nothing of this back home. Of course, our own news media are terribly local, but you'd think there'd be some mention that this sort of thing exists.† Hummin said. â€Å"It's strictly experimental and is confined to the Imperial Sector. It uses more energy than it's worth, so the government is not really anxious to push it right now by giving it publicity. The old Emperor, Stanel VI, the one before Cleon who amazed everyone by dying in his bed, insisted on having it installed in a few places. He wanted his name associated with antigravity, they say, because he was concerned with his place in history, as old men of no great attainments frequently are. As I said, the technique may spread, but, on the other hand, it is possible that nothing much more than the gravitic lift will ever come of it.† â€Å"What do they want to come of it?† asked Seldon. â€Å"Antigrav spaceflight. That, however, will require many breakthroughs and most physicists, as far as I know, are firmly convinced it is out of the question. But, then, most thought that even gravitic lifts were out of the question.† The line ahead was rapidly growing shorter and Seldon found himself standing with Hummin at the edge of the floor with an open gap before him. The air ahead faintly glittered. Automatically, he reached out his hand and felt a light shock. It didn't hurt, but he snatched his hand back quickly. Hummin grunted. â€Å"An elementary precaution to prevent anyone walking over the edge before activating the controls.† He punched some numbers on the control board and the glitter vanished. Seldon peered over the edge, down the deep shaft. â€Å"You might find it better-or easier,† said Hummin, â€Å"if we link arms and if you close your eyes. It won't take more than a few seconds.† He gave Seldon no choice, actually. He took his arm and once again there was no hanging back in that firm grip. Hummin stepped into nothingness and Seldon (who heard himself, to his own embarrassment, emit a small squeak) shuffled off with a lurch. He closed his eyes tightly and experienced no sense of falling, no feeling of air movement. A few seconds passed and he was pulled forward. He tripped slightly, caught his balance, and found himself on solid ground. He opened his eyes, â€Å"Did we make it?† Hummin said dryly, â€Å"We're not dead,† then walked away, his grip forcing Seldon to follow. â€Å"I mean, did we get to the right level?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"What would have happened if we were dropping down and someone else was moving upward?† â€Å"There are two separate lanes. In one lane everyone drops at the same speed; in the other everyone rises at the same speed. The shaft clears only when there are no people within ten meters of each other. There is no chance of a collision if all works well.† â€Å"I didn't feel a thing.† â€Å"Why should you? There was no acceleration. After the first tenth of a second, you were at constant speed and the air in your immediate vicinity was moving down with you at the same speed.† â€Å"Marvelous.† â€Å"Absolutely. But uneconomic. And there seems no great pressure to increase the efficiency of the procedure and make it worthwhile. Everywhere one hears the same refrain. ‘We can't do it. It can't be done.' It applies to everything.† Hummin shrugged in obvious anger and said, â€Å"But we're here at the taxi rental. Let's get on with it.† 10. Seldon tried to look inconspicuous at the air-taxi rental terminus, which he found difficult. To look ostentatiously inconspicuous-to slink about, to turn his face away from all who passed, to study one of the vehicles overintently-was surely the way to invite attention. The way to behave was merely to assume an innocent normality. But what was normality? He felt uncomfortable in his clothes. There were no pockets, so he had no place to put his hands. The two pouches, which dangled from his belt on either side, distracted him by hitting against him as he moved, so that he was continually thinking someone had nudged him. He tried looking at women as they passed. They had no pouches, at least none dangling, but they carried little boxlike affairs that they occasionally clipped to one hip or another by some device he could not make out. It was probably pseudomagnetic, he decided. Their clothes were not particularly revealing, he noted regretfully, and not one had any sign of dcolletage, although some dresses seemed to be designed to emphasize the buttocks. Meanwhile, Hummin had been very businesslike, having presented the necessary credits and returned with the superconductive ceramic tile that would activate a specific air-taxi. Hummin said, â€Å"Get in, Seldon,† gesturing to a small two-seated vehicle. Seldon asked, â€Å"Did you have to sign your name, Hummin?† â€Å"Of course not. They know me here and don't stand on ceremony.† â€Å"What do they think you're doing?† â€Å"They didn't ask and I volunteered no information.† He inserted the tile and Seldon felt a slight vibration as the air-taxi came to life. â€Å"We're headed for D-7,† said Hummin, making conversation. Seldon didn't know what D-7 was, but he assumed it meant some route or other. The air-taxi found its way past and around other ground-cars and finally moved onto a smooth upward-slanting track and gained speed. Then it lifted upward with a slight jolt. Seldon, who had been automatically strapped in by a webbed restraint, felt himself pushed down into his seat and then up against the webbing. He said, â€Å"That didn't feel like antigravity.† â€Å"It wasn't,† said Hummin. â€Å"That was a small jet reaction. Just enough to take us up to the tubes.† What appeared before them now looked like a cliff patterned with cave openings, much like a checkerboard. Hummin maneuvered toward the D-7 opening, avoiding other air-taxis that were heading for other tunnels. â€Å"You could crash easily,† said Seldon, clearing his throat. â€Å"So I probably would if everything depended on my senses and reactions, but the taxi is computerized and the computer can overrule me without trouble. The same is true for the other taxis.-Here we go.† They slid into D-7 as if they had been sucked in and the bright light of the open plaza outside mellowed, turning a warmer yellow hue. Hummin released the controls and sat back. He drew a deep breath and said, â€Å"Well, that's one stage successfully carried through. We might have been stopped at the station. In here, we're fairly safe.† The ride was smooth and the walls of the tunnel slipped by rapidly. There was almost no sound, just a steady velvety whirr as the taxi sped along. â€Å"How fast are we going?† asked Seldon. Hummin cast an eye briefly at the controls. â€Å"Three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.† â€Å"Magnetic propulsion?† â€Å"Yes. You have it on Helicon, I imagine.† â€Å"Yes. One line. I've never been on it myself, though I've always meant to. I don't think it's anything like this.† â€Å"I'm sure it isn't. Trantor has many thousands of kilometers of these tunnels honeycombing the land subsurface and a number that snake under the shallower extensions of the ocean. It's the chief method of long-distance travel.† â€Å"How long will it take us?† â€Å"To reach our immediate destination? A little over five hours.† â€Å"Five hours!† Seldon was dismayed. â€Å"Don't be disturbed. We pass rest areas every twenty minutes or so where we can stop, pull out of the tunnel, stretch our feet, eat, or relieve ourselves. I'd like to do that as few times as possible, of course.† They continued on in silence for a while and then Seldon started when a blaze of light flared at their right for a few seconds and, in the flash, he thought he saw two air-taxis. â€Å"That was a rest area,† said Hummin in answer to the unspoken question. Seldon said, â€Å"Am I really going to be safe wherever it is you are taking me?† Hummin said, â€Å"Quite safe from any open movement on the part of the Imperial forces. Of course, when it comes to the individual operator-the spy, the agent, the hired assassin-one must always be careful. Naturally, I will supply you with a bodyguard.† Seldon felt uneasy. â€Å"The hired assassin? Are you serious? Would they really want to kill me?† Hummin said, â€Å"I'm sure Demerzel doesn't. I suspect he wants to use you rather than kill you. Still, other enemies may turn up or there may be unfortunate concatenations of events. You can't go through life sleepwalking.† Seldon shook his head and turned his face away. To think, only forty-eight hours ago he had been just an insignificant, virtually unknown Outworld mathematician, content only to spend his remaining time on Trantor sight-seeing, gazing at the enormity of the great world with his provincial eye. And now, it was finally sinking in: He was a wanted man, hunted by Imperial forces. The enormity of the situation seized him and he shuddered. â€Å"And what about you and what you're doing right now?† Hummin said thoughtfully, â€Å"Well, they won't feel kindly toward me, I suppose. I might have my head laid open or my chest exploded by some mysterious and never-found assailant.† Hummin said it without a tremor in his voice or a change in his calm appearance, but Seldon winced. Seldon said, â€Å"I rather thought you would assume that might be in store for you. You don't seem to be†¦ bothered by it.† â€Å"I'm an old Trantorian. I know the planet as well as anybody can. I know many people and many of them are under obligation to me. I like to think that I am shrewd and not easy to outwit. In short, Seldon, I am quite confident that I can take care of myself.† â€Å"I'm glad you feel that way and I hope you're justified in thinking so, Hummin, but I can't get it through my head why you're taking this chance at all. What am I to you? Why should you take even the smallest risk for someone who is a stranger to you?† Hummin checked the controls in a preoccupied manner and then he faced Seldon squarely, eyes steady and serious. â€Å"I want to save you for the same reason that the Emperor wants to use you-for your predictive powers.† Seldon felt a deep pang of disappointment. This was not after all a question of being saved. He was merely the helpless and disputed prey of competing predators. He said angrily, â€Å"I will never live down that presentation at the Decennial Convention. I have ruined my life.† â€Å"No. Don't rush to conclusions, mathematician. The Emperor and his officers want you for one reason only, to make their own lives more secure. They are interested in your abilities only so far as they might be used to save the Emperor's rule, preserve that rule for his young son, maintain the positions, status, and power of his officials. I, on the other hand, want your powers for the good of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Is there a distinction?† spat Seldon acidly. And Hummin replied with the stern beginning of a frown, â€Å"If you do not see the distinction, then that is to your shame. The human occupants of the Galaxy existed before this Emperor who now rules, before the dynasty he represents, before the Empire itself. Humanity is far older than the Empire. It may even be far older than the twenty-five million worlds of the Galaxy. There are legends of a time when humanity inhabited a single world.† â€Å"Legends!† said Seldon, shrugging his shoulders. â€Å"Yes, legends, but I see no reason why that may not have been so in fact, twenty thousand years ago or more. I presume that humanity did not come into existence complete with knowledge of hyperspatial travel. Surely, there must have been a time when people could not travel at superluminal velocities and they must then have been imprisoned in a single planetary system. And if we look forward in time, the human beings of the worlds of the Galaxy will surely continue to exist after you and the Emperor are dead, after his whole line comes to an end, and after the institutions of the Empire itself unravel. In that case, it is not important to worry overmuch about individuals, about the Emperor and the young Prince Imperial. It is not important to worry even about the mechanics of Empire. What of the quadrillions of people that exist in the Galaxy? What of them?† Seldon said, â€Å"Worlds and people would continue, I presume.† â€Å"Don't you feel any serious need of probing the possible conditions under which they would continue to exist.† â€Å"One would assume they would exist much as they do now.† â€Å"One would assume. But could one know by this art of prediction that you speak of?† â€Å"Psychohistory is what I call it. In theory, one could.† â€Å"And you feel no pressure to turn that theory into practice.† â€Å"I would love to, Hummin, but the desire to do so doesn't automatically manufacture the ability to do so. I told the Emperor that psychohistory could not be turned into a practical technique and I am forced to tell you the same thing.† â€Å"And you have no intention of even trying to find the technique?† â€Å"No, I don't, any more than I would feel I ought to try to tackle a pile of pebbles the size of Trantor, count them one by one, and arrange them in order of decreasing mass. I would know it was not something I could accomplish in a lifetime and I would not be fool enough to make a pretense of trying.† â€Å"Would you try if you knew the truth about humanity's situation?† â€Å"That's an impossible question. What is the truth about humanity's situation? Do you claim to know it?† â€Å"Yes, I do. And in five words.† Hummin's eyes faced forward again, turning briefly toward the blank changelessness of the tunnel as it pushed toward them, expanding until it passed and then dwindling as it slipped away. He then spoke those five words grimly. He said, â€Å"The Galactic Empire is dying.†

Marketing Energy Drinks to Americas Youth Essay

As I started collecting information for this paper, I soon realized that the energy drink industry is a very small (18 percent) part of the beverage industry, but a very dominant part to say the least. Interestingly, the major players in the industry, Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Rockstar, have intentionally veered away from the conventional mediums used to promote products. They instead have chosen marketing mediums that appeal more to their target markets and the â€Å"live life on the edge† lifestyles that they live. Monster for example, shies away from mass market advertising; instead they focus all of their sales efforts and marketing muscle on sponsoring action sports athletes, artists and musical, events and tours. All of this ties in with the company’s overall philosophy that Monster isn’t just a beverage, but a lifestyle brand (Landi). â€Å"The key is for us (Monster) to retain what we do best, which is marketing in an unconventional way and keep that feel for the brand,† said Rodney Sacks, CEO of Hansen Natural Corp. â€Å"Monster is all about action sports, punk rock music, partying, girls, and living life on the edge† (Landi). The companies that produce energy drinks are using the current popularity of action sports such as motocross, skateboarding, BMX, etc. , to showcase their products and to further brand awareness. It’s not coincidental that the demographic that participates in these sports and idolizes its professional athletes are also the same demographic that consumes energy drinks. You’ll see very few TV commercials or print ads promoting energy drinks but when you turn on the ESPN produced X-Games, just about every athlete participating is sponsored by Red Bull, Monster, or Rockstar. John Lee, director of sports marketing for Monster Energy Drink says, â€Å"We don’t do print ads or television. We strictly have promoted our brand through athletes and the events that the athletes compete in. † With our current generation (Gen – Y) of young Americans being the first to really grow up with the Web, it is important for marketeers to embrace the use of the internet as a vital marketing tool and communication medium (Ness). â€Å"This group has a lot of lifetime ahead of them and that makes their Lifetime Value (LTV) high for marketers,† says Greg Ness, Chief Strategy Officer, Burst Media. Ness was also quick to point out that, â€Å"one-third of current college students spend 10 or more hours online per week and one-fifth spend 20 hours or more online. † Ness concludes, â€Å"Their time online exceeds the amount of time they are spending watching TV or listening to the radio. † Monster has recently starting using the internet as a recruiting / marketing tool of sorts when they introduced the â€Å"Monster Army. † The Army is a â€Å"grassroots marketing outreach community that also locates up-and-coming athletes seeking sponsorship opportunities† (Campanelli). In the past few years, more than 50,000 athletes (recruits) have signed up as members of the Monster Army where more than 1,000 of them are currently sponsored through the program. â€Å"It’s been a very successful program, our Army members are out there spreading the word about our products, telling ten of their friends who in turn tell ten of their friends, it’s a snowball effect† (Lee). In addition Monster has also recently announced an exclusive relationship with the Loop’d Network, a social media platform exclusively for online sports communities. The Loop’d Network currently boasts more than 200,000 members worldwide (Campanelli). The history of energy drinks is much deeper than most would imagine. Japan is credited for pioneering the energy drink phenomenon, but the first mass produced energy drink was called Lucozade, and was launched in 1929, in the UK (Research Wikis). It wasn’t until Red Bull, which was first launched in 1987, and introduced the United States to the world of energy drinks a decade later that the energy drink industry really took off (Reuters). Red Bull might have had the first big impact on the market in 1997, but Monster, launched in 2002, by Hansen Natural Corp. has clearly made a strong impression on the market. With its initial market share of 12 percent in 2003, Monster now has a 30 percent hold on the market while Red Bull maintains 25 percent (Reuters). Past portrayals of energy drinks were for the most part all negative as energy drinks are not regulated by the FDA and most contain large amounts of sugar, sodium, and caffeine, among other things. Some brands and flavors have a caffeine content that can range from a modest 50 mg. to an alarming 505 mg. per can (Reissig). For example, an 8. 3 oz. can of Red Bull contains 76 mg. of caffeine which is about twice what a 12 oz.can of Coke contains (LeBlanc). A 16 oz. can of Monster contains about 14 teaspoons of sugar and 200 calories (LeBlanc). So what are all of these â€Å"negative† energy boosting drinks doing to our bodies? A recent study done by Wayne State University in Detroit showed that consumption of energy drinks increased blood pressure and heart rate levels in healthy adults that drank two cans a day (LeBlanc). With all of those negative aspects there must be something good in energy drinks. There is a long list of beneficial ingredients that can be found in most of the energy drinks on the market today. They include; vitamin B-complex, antioxidant vitamins C and E, the amino acid taurine, bee pollen, inositol, glucuronolactone, and herbal extracts from ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba, horny goat weed, milk thistle, yerba mate, damiana, rosemary, skullcap, black seed, royal jelly, and white willow, among others (Berry). The overall benefits that energy drinks are said to produce include stress relief, sobering effects, an improved love life, increased stamina, sharper reflexes, heightened alertness, virility, and they’ll stimulate your metabolism (Berry). The demographic that energy drink companies are after is rather broad. While their number one consumer fits the description of a young white male between the ages of 16 to 25, energy drink companies are broadening their marketing horizons and are now looking at men, women, and children between the ages of 12 and 40 (LeBlanc). â€Å"Younger kids see drinking energy drinks as something their parents might disapprove of,† says Jim Karwowski of Power Brands. A market that has yet to be fully tapped into is the female consumer. While the number of female consumers has grown 74 percent over the last five years, women are still considered the minority population when it comes to energy drinkers. Almost 20 percent of men say they drink energy drinks while only 10 percent of women say they do (Francella). I’ll be using information gathered from a number of different research papers as well as reports produced from beverage industry insiders to substantiate my findings on the marketing techniques being used to lure America’s youth into becoming loyal consumers. Method: During this study I coded 60 magazines. I reviewed issues of Racer X Illustrated and Motocross Action Magazine looking for ads from energy drink companies. My goal was to find print ads directly from the energy drink companies themselves that promoted their product. Once found (if found), I would evaluate what the ad was about and what demographic the ad was targeting. I watched and coded 10 TV commercials (via YouTube) in an attempt to figure out if the messages shown were directed towards a particular market. The only â€Å"corporate made† TV commercials I was able to find were from Red Bull and Rockstar. I found a variety of homemade Monster commercials but none that would have been endorsed by the corporate office. With Red Bull, four of the ads were animated and four were of Red Bull sponsored athletes. The two Rockstar commercials were based around music, one having a more psychedelic look while the other had a guitar player helping a stranded woman. My goal here was to evaluate what the ads were about and what demographic the ads was intended for. I reviewed and coded four web sites, three from energy drink companies and one from an action sports promotion company. My objective while evaluating these sites was to see what groups of people, whether it was men or women, and what age range was the information intended for. I found a vast amount of information to dissect and code from companies that are within the beverage industry. These are companies that do product reviews, market analysis, and product introductions, among other things. Two common messages that I repeatedly found in these articles revolved around college kids using energy drinks to mix with alcohol and the overall abuse of energy drinks. My objective here was to get an idea of how many college kids fall into one of these two groups. Although my options were limited due to a lack of documentation from other academic researchers, I was able to find, evaluate, and code information from four other academic research papers. I was able to find these documents after an exhaustive search using Lexis Nexis, Psychinfo, and the Social Science Citation Index via the Joyner Library. I came across a huge inventory of other academic research papers that were based on similar subjects, but to gain access to more than the first paragraph I would have had to sign up for subscriptions and pay fees. I’m hoping that my frugalness will not negatively impact my grade and hope the information that I was able to obtain and evaluate will satisfy the requirements of this paper. While evaluating and coding the different mediums I looked at the overall tone of the material. Was the tone very harsh and bold, which would possibly be directed more towards college aged males? Was the tone very light hearted and fun which would be more appealing to a younger population and/or women? Or lastly, did the ad have some sexual overtones and innuendos which could either be directed at young men or women? Results: Being a subscriber of Racer X Illustrated and/or Motocross Action Magazine for the last 30 years, I have found that I look at many of the ads in those magazines in a rather numb, non-consuming state of mind. I’ve seen the ads so many times that I know all about the companies and their products so I don’t pay much attention to them. To my surprise, after looking at 60 different magazines that were printed over a span of five years, I didn’t find a single ad that was specifically advertising the actual energy drink. I found a large variety of ads that were promoting energy drink sponsored events, but none for the drinks themselves. The majority of the sponsored events were either motocross races, action sports events, or alternative rock concerts (the Vans Warped Tour) and bands (Linkin Park). If I was to describe the age, sex, and race of the attendees of these events it would probably be predominantly 16 – 25 year old, white, males. Although I didn’t find any product ads in the magazines it was nearly impossible to turn a page and not find pictures of riders or motorcycles that didn’t have the name or logo of an energy drink showing. I felt the four animated Red Bull commercials could be perceived as trying to target the very young viewers and the female market as much as anything else. They were light hearted, funny cartoons that weren’t big, bold, and overbearing. The four Red Bull commercials featuring their sponsored athletes were very action packed and intense. They included Robbie â€Å"Mado† Madison jumping his motorcycle onto the roof of a building in Las Vegas, â€Å"B-boy Ronnie† freestyle break dancing, big wave surfer Ian Walsh, and stunt plane pilot Kirby Chambliss. While the animated commercials carried the pitch, â€Å"Red Bull Gives You Wings,† the commercials with the athletes concluded with the athlete saying, â€Å"Welcome to my World, the World of Red Bull. † These action driven commercials were in my opinion made for the thrill seeking male consumer between the ages of 16 to 25. I also found that Red Bull’s marketing plan has the brand pursuing traditional advertising such as TV commercials as its last phase of product market development (Hein). â€Å"Media is not a tool that we use to establish the market,† says Red Bull’s Vice President of Marketing, David Rohdy. â€Å"The idea is to reinforce, not introduce the brand. Only when a market is deemed mature does the company begin a media push,† concluded Rohdy. Red Bull typically creates two new TV spots each year and runs them in their â€Å"mature markets† (Hein). The four web sites that I reviewed and coded were the corporate web sites of Red Bull: http://www. redbull. com/ , Rockstar Energy Drink: http://www. rockstar69. com/ , Monster Energy: http://www. monsterenergy. com/. In addition to the three top selling energy drink brands I also looked at Alli Sports: http://www. allisports. com/ the promoter of some of the biggest action sports series and events in the world. Themes that were consistent with all four of the sites were action, youth, and energy, energy, energy. The Red Bull site was the most clean cut and professional looking site out of the three beverage sites. I’m not saying that the Rockstar and Monster sites were cheaply made, or have an unprofessional appearance, but the Red Bull site looks like something you would present to share holders of the company. It has the least amount of â€Å"boldness† of the three beverage sites, but is packed full of well filmed video clips showing off their sponsored athletes. I don’t know if the fact that the corporate base for Red Bull is in Austria has anything to do with the web sites visual appeal, but it’s definitely a different approach than its competition took. With the look and accessibility of this site and its features I felt like it was geared for an older more mature audience. I didn’t see the sight selling the sexual appeal of women as much as I did on the Rockstar site. I think Red Bull’s site would appeal to both men and women ages 15 to 40. The Rockstar site was definitely the edgiest of the three beverage sites. Just on the home page alone you see ads for mixed martial arts fights and heavy metal concerts that the brand is sponsoring. If you look further down you can watch a short video clip of five beautiful, big breasted women posing on motorcycles and race cars. There’s also links that talk about the variety of products they offer as well as links to the various music and sports events that they sponsor to include the sponsored bands and athletes that participate in those events. I felt that the Rockstar site was definitely geared for young, white, males, ages 15 to 30. Overall I thought that the site had a very harsh tone to it and women probably wouldn’t appreciate it. With a mix of the fighters and rock concert promotions flashing on the screen a viewer might even feel some rage building inside while viewing the site. The Monster site was all about speed. The home page had a constantly changing look that showcased many Monster sponsored racers. The site overall was neatly laid out. It didn’t have as clean and crisp of a look as Red Bull had but it wasn’t as busy as the Rockstar site was. The site was easy to navigate and was very appealing to the eye. I feel the overall look of the site and the message that it gives was directed more towards the young, white, male between the ages of 15 and 35. The site is very dark, as the background is black, and has a hardcore feel and tone. I think women might be turned off by that. One feature on the Monster site that is inviting to a broader fan / consumer base is the Monster Army. I think the idea of being a part of something is a selling point for many of today’s youth. I think the Monster Army is an appealing environment for both sexes with an age range of 12 to 40. The Alli Sports web site focuses on the promotion of the action sports events that they promote. Although Alli Sports doesn’t have direct sponsorship deals with any of the leading energy drink companies, all of the athletes that are sponsored by those companies participate in Alli Sports produced events. The same demographic that participates in BMX, motocross, wakeboarding, skateboarding, and other alternative action sports that Alli promotes also consume energy drinks. I feel the Alli site is geared more towards the fans of action sports which could be male or female between the ages of 12 and 40. It’s a very bright web site and has a low key and fun overall tone to it. Both the articles I found from industry insiders as well as the academic research papers that I found voiced similar issues and concerns. One issue of concern and importance addressed the use of energy drinks by college students. I was unaware of the fact that many energy drinks are on the list of nutritional supplements banned by the NCAA. Caffeine is a stimulant and college athletes will fail a drug test if the concentration of caffeine in their sample is 15 micrograms per milliliter. That would be the equivalent of slamming five to 10 cups of coffee before a game (Moritz). Another concern that researchers have is the increasing number of college students that are consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks. In the fall of 2006, 4,271 college students from 10 universities in North Carolina were surveyed about their consumption of energy drinks, alcohol, and the combination of the two. The results of the survey showed that 697 of the students had consumed one or more energy drinks within the last 30 days, and one-quarter of the students said that they mixed alcohol and energy drinks. Looking at the amount of energy drinks consumed by the two sexes it was discovered that men drank on average 2. 49 energy drinks per month while women drank 1. 22 drinks per month. Students who were young, male, white, intramural athletes, and fraternity members or pledges, were significantly more likely to drink energy drinks that those in other demographics (O’Brien, Miller). With college students’ taking heavier class loads and the ever present concern of one’s grades, caffeine abuse has been on the rise on college campuses. There has been an increase in reports of caffeine intoxication from the mass consumption of energy drinks as well as an overall an increase in the number of students that are dealing with caffeine dependence and withdrawal issues (Reissig). The poison control center in Chicago has handled 265 cases of caffeine abuse involving energy drinks in the last three years. The users’ average age was under 21 (LeBlanc). Interpretation: Based on information I reviewed, I feel that the energy drink industry is very strong and will continue to grow. I think the marketeers of the energy drinks are doing a great job at getting visibility for their products and they’re focusing on a set consumer demographic that has huge spending power. The youth and college students today are easily influenced and have a strong influence on the products their peers buy. The studies show that because these energy drink companies are gaining brand loyalty from their consumers at a young age that the odds are in their favor that they will become lifelong consumers. Taking the unconventional route to marketing may or may not be any cheaper than doing normal TV spots that Coke and Pepsi do. Either way, the leaders of the energy drink market are making it work for them. From a financial standpoint, I think the return on investment will come faster in the energy drink industry than it ever has in any other aspect of the beverage industry. Selling 8 oz. cans for over $2 a can is a quick way to make money. Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar are dominating the energy drink industry when it comes to consumer preference with white male’s ages 12 to 40, but what about the ladies? The industry has yet to scratch the surface of the young female consumer market. Granted, there aren’t too many professional female athletes participating in alternative sports yet, but there are other lines of approach that the industry needs to consider. I remember seeing a bumper sticker once that said, â€Å"Girls Kick Ass. † It is that same kick ass mentality that has made energy drinks as popular as they are today. I think it will only be a matter of time before we see one of the power players in the energy drink industry come out with a product specifically marketed towards women. Maybe a black Monster can with a hot pink claw mark rather than the green one, who knows?! I foresee the FDA getting involved sooner than later with regulations on how much sugar, sodium, and caffeine can be in each product. I don’t feel that mixing energy drinks and alcohol is that big of a problem and personally hope laws don’t get created to prohibit such mixes. I think that if an individual is going to consume alcohol irresponsibly, they are going to do it regardless on the fact that an energy drink is or isn’t part of their drink selection. Bibliography: Campanelli, M. and Lee, J. , eMarketingandCommerce. com (2007). â€Å"Social Media Tips from Monster Energy† (accessed June 9, 2009). Available at: http://www. emarketingandcommerce. com/view/106 Landi, H. , Hall, M. , and Sacks, R. , Beverage World (2009) â€Å"Monster Energy: A Mighty Force† (accessed June 9, 2009) Available at: http://www. beverageworld. com/content/view/35687/ Scribd, BevNet, Research Wikis (2006) â€Å"Research Wikis Energy Drink marketing Research† (accessed June 10, 2009) Available at: http://www. scribd. com/doc/3259151/ResearchWikis-Energy-Drinks-Marketing-Research Rajan, A. , Reuters (2009) â€Å"Hansen’s Monster Takes the Fight to Red Bull’s Turf† (accessed June 10, 2009) Available at: http://www. reuters. com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5313N320090402 Francella, B. , CS News Online (2008) â€Å"Energy Drink Sales Growth Running Out of Steam? † (accessed June 10, 2009). Available at: http://www. csnews. com/csn/index. jsp Search: â€Å"Energy Drink Sales† Berry, B., Agri-Food Trade Service (2008) â€Å"The Energy Drink Segment in North America† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. ats. agr. gc. ca/us/4387_e. htm LeBlanc, P. , Austin American Statesman (2008). â€Å"The Buzz on Energy Drinks – Energy Drinks Booming in Popularity† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. statesman. com/ Search: â€Å"The Buzz on Energy Drinks† Hein, K. , and Rohdy, D. , Brandweek (2001) â€Å"A Bull’s Market – the Marketing of Red Bull Energy Drink† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_22_42/ai_75286777/?tag=content;col1 Moritz, A. , Tribune Business News (2008). â€Å"Think Before Using an Energy Drink: Colleges† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://proquest. umi. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/login? COPT=REJTPUc2 Search in the ProQuest Research Library database: â€Å"Think Before Using an Energy Drink: Colleges† Reissig, C. J. , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (2009) â€Å"Caffeinated Energy Drinks – A Growing Problem† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://web. ebscohost. com. jproxy. lib.ecu. edu/ehost/search? vid=1&hid=6&sid=5b788385-77d0-43c3-8372-037638da0fc6%40SRCSM2 Search in the PsycINFO database: â€Å"Caffeinated Energy Drinks – A Growing Problem† O’Brien, M. C. , Wake Forest Univ, Bowman Gray Sch Med, Dept Emergency Med, Winston Salem, NC (2008) â€Å"Caffeinated Cocktails: Energy Drink Consumption, High-Risk Drinking, and Alcohol- Related Consequences Among College Students† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://apps. isiknowledge. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/summary. do? qid=2&product=WOS&SID=1BONI6HlgO3hemOl6fP&search_mode=GeneralSearch. Miller, K. E. , SUNY Coll Buffalo, Res Inst Addict, Buffalo, NY – Journal of American College Health (2008) â€Å"Wired: Energy Drinks, Jock Identity, Masculine Norms, and Risk Taking† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://apps. isiknowledge. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/summary. do? qid=5&product=WOS&SID=1BONI6HlgO3hemOl6fP&search_mode=GeneralSearch Ness, G. , Chief Strategy Officer, Sundog. net (2006) â€Å"Marketing to College Students 101 (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. sundog. net/sunblog/posts/marketing-to-college-students-101/.